text
stringlengths 316
100k
|
|---|
India’s symbolic gift of democracy to Afghanistan – its new parliament building – is almost complete with plans in the works for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kabul in the near future for the official inauguration, reported Afghan news agency TOLONews.
Indian media claims that the prime minister’s office is pressuring all stakeholders to complete the project at the earliest, with Modi eager to attend the inauguration ceremony.
The project was initiated by the Indian government in 2007 as a mark of friendship and cooperation to help rebuild war-torn Afghanistan, and is set for completion on Dec 31.
But the new parliament building was due to have been completed in November 2011 and has missed at least three completion deadlines over the last four years.
In the latest review, conducted by India’s Secretary of Urban Development Madhusudan Prasad and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), it was found that 96 per cent of the work has been completed and the project team is putting final touches to the building.
The project had been conceived as a $45 million venture but is now likely to cost the exchequer $90 million.
The parliament building has elements of Mughal and modern architecture and will have Asia’s largest dome as its key feature.
It is situated between historic landmarks King’s Palace ‘Darulaman’ and the Queen's Palace – which bear the marks of the war and tell the story of conflict and devastation.
The building will house the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) with a seating capacity of 294, a 190-seat Meshrano Jirga (Upper House), entrance lobby, offices, conference rooms, dining halls and a press room among others.
When he inaugurates the parliament building, Modi wants to emphasise India’s role as a major player in the region, media reports said.
|
Montenegro has Serbia, Estonia has Finland, and the Palestinian Territories have Israel. Every country has their favorite, (or at least a reluctant favorite) country to trade with. A nation’s top trading partner is an integral part their economy, providing materials, fuels, and goods for domestic use, a larger market for domestic products, or both.
Quartz analyzed data from the International Trade Centre to determine the top trading partner in of every nation in the world—as determined by the combined value of exported goods and imported goods from a partner nation.
Most of the countries claiming top trader status with the most nations are unsurprising—the US, China, Germany, France, and Russia—five of the eight largest economies in the world.
More than half of the 222 areas specified in the database—which includes idiosyncrasies like “Ship stores and bunkers” and “areas not elsewhere specified”—trade most with the US, China, Germany, and France. In total, just 43 places are at least one nation’s top trading partner.
But with 10 countries calling it their top trading partner, South Africa is out of place with its smaller—albeit fast-growing—economy. Its high rank is a result of its regional mining and manufacturing prowess. South Africa is by far the largest African supplier of both road vehicles and fossil fuels to other African nations, according to data from the Trade Centre. The countries that trade the most with South Africa—with the exception of American Samoa—are all in Africa.
Geographic proximity is a large driver of trade. A country’s top trading partner is often its neighbor. (Don’t be fooled by the map’s projection, The US is closer to China than it is South Africa.)
|
An organization of United States health professionals has put out a comprehensive analysis of the role US health professionals played in the CIA torture program. The analysis, stemming from the US Senate intelligence committee’s executive summary of its torture report, raises alarming questions about whether these professionals engaged in “human subjects research” that constituted a crime against humanity.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) highlights eight “categories of abuse” and a range of activities health professionals committed in violation of treaties, laws and ethical codes. It outlines the obligations health professionals have, which were not followed, and concludes “CIA relied upon health professionals at every step to commit and conceal the brutal and systematic torture of national security detainees.”
“PHR finds that health professionals played not only a central but an essential role in the CIA torture program—to an extent not previously understood,” according to PHR’s report [PDF].
In response to the revelations, PHR calls on President Barack Obama for a “federal commission to investigate, document and hold accountable all health professionals who participated in the CIA torture program.” The federal commission should specifically focus on how health professionals designed, directed, monitored and attempted to provide “legal justifications.”
The “unethical and illegal acts perpetrated by CIA health professionals,” which PHR outlines, include:
1) Designing, directing, and profiting from the torture program: Psychologists conceptualized and designed the CIA torture techniques, then helped implement the program, receiving a sole source, multi-million dollar CIA contract for these services.
2) Intentionally inflicting harm on detainees: Health professionals intentionally inflicted and/or threatened to inflict severe harm and suffering on detainees in CIA custody.
3) Enabling [Justice Department] lawyers to create a fiction of “safe, legal, and effective” interrogation practices: Health professionals participated in the DoJ’s Office of Legal Counsel’s spurious legal rationale that the techniques would not be considered torture so long as health professionals certified they were not.
4) Engaging in potential human subjects research to provide legal cover for torture: Health professionals collected and analyzed data from application of techniques in an effort to legitimize torture. [Office of Medical Services] officials expressed concern that these documentation practices could constitute illegal human subjects research. Senior CIA officials who were asked to evaluate the efficacy of the tactics expressed similar concerns.
5) Monitoring detainee torture and calibrating levels of pain: Health professionals monitored, documented, and calibrated the intentional infliction of harm on detainee.
6) Evaluating and treating detainees for purposes of torture: Health professionals evaluated and treated detainees before, during, and after torture in order to enable the torture to occur.
7) Conditioning medical care on cooperation with interrogators: Health professionals provided medical care that was contingent upon whether or not detainees were deemed to have cooperated with interrogators.
8) Failing to document physical and/or psychological evidence of torture: Health professionals did not document the torture inflicted on detainees, which served to conceal the tactics’ harmful effects.
PHR acknowledges that the prohibition against human experimentation in response to Nazi atrocities during World War II. “Unethical human subjects research also arose in the United States with the now infamous Tuskegee experiment, whereby black men were monitored as they died of diagnosed, but untreated, syphilis.” Following the experiment, which ended in 1972, safeguards were enacted to require that subjects of studies give “informed consent.”
The torture report summary contains a number of details that suggest human experimentation may have been ongoing. Part of deciding what “tactics” to use on detainees stemmed from analyzing “previously collected” data on detainees who were tortured. The data was used to “reauthorize” the use of certain torture techniques.
“Data collection from detainees by OMS is consistent with definitions of human subjects research under US federal codes,” PHR states. “If further investigation establishes that human subjects research without consent was performed systematically on detainees then such activities are violations of the Nuremberg Code and could constitute a crime against humanity.”
An OMS officer at one point expressed concern that studying results of CIA interrogations may constitute “human experimentation.”
The CIA inspector general replied, “OIG did not have in mind doing additional, guinea pig research on human beings. What we are recommending is that the Agency undertake a careful review of its experience to date in using the various techniques and that it draw conclusions about their safety, effectiveness, etc., that can guide CIA officers as we move ahead.”
In regards to the “intentional infliction of harm,” one of the most grotesque acts described in the summary is rectal force-feeding.
Former CIA director Michael Hayden has barbarically defended this as a “medical procedure.” However, the case of Majid Khan shows this “medical procedure” was really torture.
PHR summarizes:
…Khan accepted nasogastric and IV feeding and was allowed to infuse fluids and nutrients himself. Nevertheless, after three weeks, the CIA opted to rectally force-feed him with Ensure and his own pureed lunch to eliminate “unnecessary conversation.” The summary noted that according to CIA records, Khan was “very hostile” to rectal feeding…
Khan is the detainee who had hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins ‘pureed’ and rectally infused.” And, as PHR points out, this could cause “rectal trauma” and “additional harmful health consequences both physically and emotionally.”
“Rectal exams” conducted with “excessive force” on detainees also were torture. PHR notes, “One of the detainees, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, was later diagnosed with “chronic hemorrhoids, an anal fissure, and symptomatic rectal prolapse.”
“Rather than reject such brutal practices, medical officers appear to have modified them to increase pain: ‘we used the largest Ewal [sic] tube we had,’ stated one officer in a February 2004 email.”
It was a medical officer who found that subjecting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to “rectal rehydration” helped clear his head and was “effective” in getting him to talk. These professionals identified with interrogation objectives more than patient care. Their notes would help medical officers “perfect” the torture.
The summary shows, as PHR also highlights, “medical officers often documented torture techniques that they monitored in meticulous detail demonstrating the medical staff’s profound disconnect from core principles of medical ethics prohibiting the participation of health professionals in torture.”
On August 4, 2002, Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded for the first time. PHR suggests that subsequently Zubaydah had his diet changed to help facilitate watarboarding.
During the first waterboarding session, which lasted two-and-a-half hours, Zubaydah “coughed, vomited, and had ‘involuntary spasms of the torso and extremities,'” according to the summary.
The attitude of one medical officer was one of feigned indifference. “So it begins,” the OMS officer wrote in an email. “Abu Zubaydah seems very resistant to the water board. Longest time with the cloth over his face so far has been 17 seconds. This is sure to increase shortly. NO useful information so far.… He did vomit a couple of times during the water board with some beans and rice. It’s been 10 hours since he ate so this is surprising and disturbing. We plan to only feed Ensure for a while now.”
The intentional infliction of harm as well as the calibration of “levels of pain” may seem like the most brutal acts CIA health professionals committed. Yet, what is possibly more sinister is how the health professionals engaged in a conspiracy to make certain the brutality remained within limits that could be construed as “legal.”
It has long been known that lawyers for the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), like John Yoo, authored memos indicating that health professionals ensured “severe and long lasting” mental and physical pain and suffering did not occur in violation of US laws, which prohibit torture.
For inflicted physical and mental pain to be torture, the “physicians and psychologists would need to confirm that the interrogator (in some cases, the physicians and psychologists themselves) specifically intended to cause physical and mental pain.” Victims could experience severe physical and psychological trauma and if personnel could claim that was not the intent they were able to argue they did not torture.
Both CIA contract psychologists, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, are condemned by PHR for their role in developing torture. Mitchell and Jessen were key to implementing methods that would “break the detainees’ will and create a condition of debility, dependency and dread.”
One cable Mitchell and Jessen sent on the “aggressive phase” of Zubaydah’s interrogation indicated:
Our goal was to reach the stage where we have broken any will or ability of subject to resist or deny providing us information (intelligence) to which he had access. We additionally sought to bring subject to the point that we confidently assess that he does not/not possess [sic] undisclosed threat information, or intelligence that could prevent a terrorist event.
As PHR states, “Prolonged deprivation of food, sound, light, and sleep (for up to 180 hours); exposure in freezing temperatures (resulting in death in one case); diapering; being forced to soil one’s self; repeated beatings; and multiple near drowning experiences by waterboarding to the point of unconsciousness are intentional acts that cannot be conducted without inflicting severe physical and mental pain.”
Altogether, PHR’s analysis shows health professionals “violated their professional ethics, undermined the critical bond of trust between patients and doctors, and broke the law.” Health professionals are supposed to “do no harm” and “protect the lives and health of patients under their care from harm and brutality.” Personnel acting as health professionals flagrantly and criminally disregarded these ethics.
Records on any human experimentation or human subjects research that took place should not be concealed and covered up. That information, if senators have it readily available, should be made public immediately.
|
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who won last month’s New Hampshire Democratic primary by the largest margin since John F. Kennedy, has centered his presidential campaign around the theme of economic inequality and decrying the actions of Wall Street and “the billionaire class.”
S. 1206 — the Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Exist Act — is one of Sanders’ main bills in this Congress confronting the financial sector. It aims to address a major issue of the 2008 financial crash, when much of the $700 million in taxpayer funds used for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) went to some of the largest corporations and financial entities in the country. In the view of Sanders and others, many of these groups were rewarded for contributing to the crash itself — including Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
Too big to fail
The logic behind TARP, supported by most economists, was that these firms were so large that if they went bankrupt or became insolvent, the domino effect would drag along the entire economic system into collapse. This argument became popularly known as “too big to fail” and sparked much public outcry among those decrying the practice as “welfare for the rich.”
Too big to exist
Sanders’ bill would direct the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to create a list of banks deemed too big to fail. Within a year, the Secretary of the Treasury — currently Jack Lew — would be required to break up entities on the list. The FSOC currently pegs that threshold at $50 billion in assets, which means that as many as 38 banks would have to be broken up into smaller companies. In a statement introducing the bill, Sanders said the initial list would include at least eight banks.
“Today… three out of the four largest financial institutions in this country — JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — are 80 percent larger than they were on Sept. 30, 2007, a year before the taxpayers of this country bailed them out,” Sanders said. “If any of these financial institutions were to fail again, the taxpayers of this country would be on the hook for another bailout, perhaps even larger than the last one. We must not allow that to happen. No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation’s economic well-being.”
Sanders has introduced this legislation in previous sessions of Congress, but it’s gotten nowhere. In addition to the concerns among Republicans that Sanders’ bill (and his ideology in general) constitutes an anti-business and anti-success mentality, even among Sanders’ fellow Democrats his bill has no cosponsors, not even such Wall Street crusaders as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Most Democrats at this time are focusing less on increased regulations and more on defending the Wall Street reforms already put in place by the Dodd-Frank law, which itself barely passed in 2010 and is under constant attack and repeal threats from Republicans.
Plus it faces logistical issues even in the unlikely chances of passage. As American Banker pointed out, four of the seven Federal Reserve governors would need to go along with such a plan, according to rules set forth in Dodd-Frank. “If the current Fed board thought the big banks needed to be broken up, it would be doing so already. Moreover, while Sanders could fill the two current vacant seats on the Fed board, the other five have long terms that extend until 2022 at the earliest,” they write. “That’s a long time to wait to gather the votes necessary for Sanders to implement his plan.”
Sanders’ bill has been referred to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. An identical bill was filed in the House by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA30) as H.R. 2600 and has one co-sponsor, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL9). It has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee.
|
Now I know many people don't really care about this, but it is important to realize now what we may expect in the coming years if an alternative budget that balances is not agreed on soon.
You should also know about who is voting for you on you own behalf if you are a US citizen. It is important to keep track of there voting history. It shouldn't matter if they are your party or not, what matters if they represent how you want them to vote in the senate. If they do not, look for another candidate. If they do, then keep on keeping on.
I however will be remembering this vote when it comes to the next election. If I were still in Arizona, I would be letting everyone know how John McCain didn't give a rat's ass about balancing the budget.
Here are the links to the vote tallies, the current budget resolution, and Rand Paul's Amendment should you choose to read through them. They are long, and pretty boring if numbers and accounting aren't really your thing.
|
Because Damon Lindelof co-wrote Prometheus, which comes out this weekend, he’s been talking to the press quite a bit lately, and dropping a few Star Trek sequel tidbits along the way. After the jump, read his comments on the improved Enterprise set, star Benedict Cumberbatch, and the secrecy surrounding the sequel. Also check out highlights from Roberto Orci‘s impromptu fan Q&A on TrekMovie.com, and discuss what a Klingon was doing in the background of J.J. Abrams‘ MTV Movie Awards skit.
While doing the rounds to promote Prometheus, writer Damon Lindelof sat down with Collider to talk a little bit about the upcoming Star Trek sequel. Speaking about the bigger, better Enterprise set, Lindelof revealed:
There’s certainly an instinct to just go bigger in the second movie and one of the things that we did was we connected all the sets, so you can just basically follow the actors off the bridge, into a turbo lift, down, walking through a plaza, into the med bay as opposed to [having to] cut every time you do that, because when we were shooting on the Paramount stages we just didn’t have the money to connect all the sets.
Sounds great. Lindelof also spoke about the pleasure of watching the actors work together (including newcomer Alice Eve, whom he called “awesome”), but saved his biggest praise for Benedict Cumberbatch‘s work as the villain who may or may not be Khan:
Benedict Cumberbatch, I can already say with a certain degree of confidence that he is gonna give an iconic film performance and one of the best sci-fi performances that I’ve ever seen. And not even having seen the movie yet, just sitting there in video village with the headphones on. So I’m really psyched.
Not that Cumberbatch’s talent comes as a surprise to anyone who’s seen the UK series Sherlock, of course. Head to Collider to watch the video from the interview.
Lindelof also got into a nice meaty discussion with TrekMovie.com. Asked about the intense aura of secrecy surrounding the film, Lindelof asserted that he didn’t think fans really wanted answers to all their questions:
We want to leave some air of mystery and intrigue surrounding the movie. Because as much as people clamor for information, I really fundamentally believe they don’t want to know. It is modulating that desire between “I know that my Christmas presents are in my parents closet and if I open it up I can see what I will get.” But, on Christmas morning when you see those same gifts under the tree, you know what’s inside and there is a part of you that wishes you hadn’t peeked. So it is up to us to lock the closet tight.
It’s true that part of the fun of Star Trek (or really any project involving Abrams or Lindelof) is not knowing what to expect, so as curious as I am to know more I have to admit he has a point. But Lindelof acknowledges that they’ll have to reveal a little more at some point, noting that the teaser trailer would likely offer the first good look. When we’ll get to see that video, however, is still up in the air.
I’m not going to confirm or deny that [the trailer will be at Comic-Con]. Our feeling is, that if we can get something together that is worthy of showing on that timetable, then we will most certainly show it. But, if it is sub-par or not ready or requires more post-production, then nobody at Comic Con is going to want to hear us say “hey this is very temporary, but we wanted to show you something.” We need to put our best foot forward. We just wrapped principal photography as you know and Comic Con is in mid July so it is an aggressive timetable. If we are going to go we are going to go big or not go at all.
For all our sakes, let’s hope they manage to go with “going big” rather than “not going at all.” Read the rest of the interview here.
Meanwhile, also over at TrekMovie.com, Lindelof’s co-writer Roberto Orci spontaneously dropped by the site to field some fan questions. Orci kicked off the conversation by writing, “On an airplane with a glass of wine in my hand. Good time to try and trick me into revealing something” and then gave up some minor reveals about the new movie. Here are some of the highlights:
(Maybe) confirmed that Klingons are in the sequel (then sort of backtracked)
Did confirm Klingons (if they appear) will have ridged foreheads (like in 2009 deleted scenes)
Title for sequel still being debated
Hopes that first teaser will be “very soon”
No word yet on what’s going on for San Diego Comic Con (but will know soon)
Sequel was “harder” to write than the first Trek due to lower expectations for the first one
Animated show still a possibility
“More than a few” hints have already been dropped into ongoing comics
Harry Mudd is NOT the villain in the Star Trek movie –
No comment if Nimoy will appear
Watched all of original Star Trek series and TOS movies to prep for sequel, took away ” a better sense of tone and where our heroes are supposed to be like once they mature out of 09″
Hardcore fans will definitely want to drop by the site to read the Q&A transcript in full.
But Lindelof and Orci aren’t the only one who’ve been teasing Star Trek 2 tidbits lately. Some eagle-eyed viewers noticed an interesting figure in the background of a skit that director J.J. Abrams did for the MTV Movie Awards. In it, Abrams jokes that he had to cut out a Klingon subplot from the upcoming sequel — and a screen behind him shows a masked figure that, indeed, appears to be a Klingon. Here’s the video:
Did you catch it? Here’s a blurry close-up of that mysterious figure:
Klingons were originally set to appear in Abrams’ 2009 film, but wound up on the cutting room floor. TrekMovie.com offers this look at a Klingon in a deleted scene from that movie:
So yeah, that was indeed a Klingon in the MTV sketch. But what does it mean? Sources who spoke with HitFix were careful not to give away too much, but noted that the Klingon didn’t get in there by accident — which suggests that they will be making an apperance in the new film. We still don’t know exactly what role they’ll be playing in the plot, however… or for that matter, what the plot is.
Klingon or no Klingon, Khan or no Khan, Star Trek 2 opens May 17, 2013.
|
American rapper
Joseph Bruce (born April 28, 1972),[1] known by his stage name Violent J, is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler, and part of the hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. He is co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow ICP rapper Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler) and their former manager, Alex Abbiss. Also along with Utsler, Bruce is the co-founder of the professional wrestling promotion Juggalo Championship Wrestling.
Early life [ edit ]
Joseph Bruce is a native of Berkley, Michigan. He was the last born of three children. His father, Richard Bruce, stole all of the family's money and left when Bruce was two years old.[2] Joe's mother, Linda, was forced to care for him and his siblings, Robert and Theresa, off the income she made as a janitor. At age seven, Joe and his brother caught a butterfly, and both were fascinated by the vibrant colors and overall peacefulness of the creature.[2] They kept the butterfly in a jar overnight, and intended to free it the following morning. When they awoke, the brothers found the butterfly had died, and felt as if they had committed a murder. The brothers made a vow that "one day, [they] will make it to heaven, so that [they] can [...] apologize to that Butterfly face-to-face."[2] On every Insane Clown Posse album and EP it reads "Dedicated to the Butterfly."
Bruce received all of his clothes from rummage sales, and his food from canned food drives held at his own school.[3] After moving to Oak Park, Bruce met John Utsler, and his little brother Joey.[4] He also began his gang life by reluctantly getting involved in criminal activity in Royal Oak Township.[4] Along with John and Joey, Bruce got heavily into rap music. In 1989, Bruce, as Jagged Joe, Joseph Utsler, as Kangol Joe, and John Utsler, as Master J, released the single titled Party at the Top of the Hill under the name of JJ Boys, but they did not pursue a serious career in music.[5]
Bruce dropped out of school in ninth grade,[6] and moved in with his friend, Rudy, in River Rouge.[7] There he formed his own gang called Inner City Posse, which would terrorize people with Army-issued tear gas and steal car radios for money.[7] One night, Joe's mother, who had just moved to Ferndale, had her house attacked by rival gang Hazel Parks.[7] Fearing for his mother's life, Joe fled to Bonnie Doone, North Carolina, a trailer park town just outside Fort Bragg, where his brother was staying with the U.S. Army.[7] It was there that Bruce witnessed the open racism which would later emerge as the hate for bigots referenced in Insane Clown Posse's lyrics.[7]
At seventeen, Joe returned to Ferndale. He was soon jailed, and the experience convinced him to get away from gang life.[8] In 1989, after a short career in professional wrestling, Bruce and his friend Dale Miettinen jr. recorded Intelligence and Violence on a karaoke machine, which marked the debut of Bruce's stage name Violent J.[8] Joe bought his own karaoke machine and, along with Joey and John Utsler, formed the music group Inner City Posse, named after their gang. After the release of the album Bass-Ment Cuts, the group hired record store owner Alex Abbiss as their manager, and established the Psychopathic Records record label with him in 1991.[8]
Musical career [ edit ]
Solo career (1990–present) [ edit ]
In 1990, Bruce recorded his first solo release, Enter the Ghetto Zone, using two cassette players. One played the beat, while the other recorded, and Bruce stuck his head between the two and rapped.[8] In 2003, Bruce released his second solo release Wizard of the Hood, which was an extended reference to the Wizard of the Hood songs which he recorded on Inner City Posse's Intelligence and Violence and Dog Beats, and Insane Clown Posse's Carnival of Carnage. In 2009, Bruce released the LP The Shining, which was initially given away for free at the 2008 Gathering of the Juggalos before being nationally released.[9][10] During ICP's GOTJ 2013 seminar J and Shaggy stated that were wanting to do solo albums. On December 10, 2015 with the release of "Phantom: X-tra Spooky" EP two flyers were released. One for Shaggy 2 Dope's new solo album titled "F.T.F.O.M.F." said to be released in 2016. The other flyer was for Violent J's new solo album titled "Karma Forest" said to be released in 2016.
Insane Clown Posse (1989-present) [ edit ]
In late 1991, Inner City Posse changed their style, look, and name. Bruce recalled a dream of a clown running around in Delray, which became the inspiration for the group's new name: Insane Clown Posse.[11] Upon returning home that night, Bruce had a dream in which spirits in a traveling carnival appeared to him—an image that would become the basis for the Dark Carnival mythology detailed in the group's Joker's Cards series.[11] These stories each offer a specific lesson designed to change the "evil ways" of listeners before "the end consumes us all." Insane Clown Posse has a dedicated following, often referred to by the group as Juggalos and Juggalettes.
John Utsler left the group about a month before the release of Carnival of Carnage and Insane Clown Posse has since been composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the murderous, wicked clowns Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. The duo performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore, and is known for its dark, violent lyrics and elaborate live performances. Insane Clown Posse has earned two platinum and five gold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the entire catalog of the group has sold 6.5 million units in the United States and Canada as of April 2007.[12]
Golden Goldies (1995) [ edit ]
Golden Goldies was a comical group whose lyrics focused solely on gold.[13] The group consisted of Psychopathic Record's employees and friends; Joseph Bruce (Golden Jelly), Joseph Utsler (Gold D), Robert Bruce (Golden Gram), Billy Bill (Gold Double B), Alex Abbiss (Gold Rocks), Mike E. Clark (Gold Digger), Rich Murrell (Golden Warrior), Frank Giammanco (Golden Frank), Keith Jex (Gold Teeth), Josh Silverstein (Rold Gold), Kelly Eubanks (Gold Spud), Dave Fink the East Side G (Golden Toby), and Matt Mackalantie (Gold Spakalantie).[13] Their only LP, Gimme Them Fuckin' Nuggets Bitch, Or I'll Punch Your Fuckin' Face, was recorded in 1995 in a span of one week, and was not publicly released.[13] Golden Goldies was a project put together by Insane Clown Posse for entertainment purposes only. To add more humor to the album, each artist was given only five minutes to write their verses, and had only one take to record them, which resulted in some artists messing up their lines, and lyrics containing "some very strange things."[13] The group held only one live performance, which occurred at the record release party for Insane Clown Posse's Riddle Box.[13]
Dark Lotus (1998-2017) [ edit ]
Formed in 1998, Dark Lotus consisted of Bruce and Utsler of Insane Clown Posse, Jamie Spaniolo and Paul Methric of Twiztid, and Chris Rouleau.[14] Each member was said to "act as a 'petal' of the lotus,"[14] and it was announced that there would be six members. After switching between two different "sixth members," Marz, and Anybody Killa, Dark Lotus decided to keep the group to only five. On January 19, 2017 via an interview with Faygoluvers, Insane Clown Posse announced that the group disbanded.
Psychopathic Rydas (1999–present) [ edit ]
Psychopathic Rydas formed in 1999, and consists of Psychopathic Records-associated rappers performing under alternate stage names in the style of mainstream gangsta rap.[15] The group's current lineup consists of Bruce (Bullet),[15] Utsler (Full Clip),[15] Methric (Foe Foe),[15] Spaniolo (Lil' Shank),[15] Rouleau (Cell Block), Lowery (Sawed Off)[16] and Hutto (Yung Dirt).[17]
Psychopathic Rydas reuses the beats of popular rappers within the genre without paying to license the original songs or requesting permission from copyright owners to use the music, effectively making their albums bootlegs[18] and resulting in the releases becoming difficult to find in some markets.[15]
Soopa Villainz (2002–2005) [ edit ]
Formed in 2002, Soopa Villainz consisted of Detroit rappers L.A.V.E.L. (Mr. Heart), Bruce (Mr. Diamond), Esham (Mr. Spade) and Utsler (Mr. Club). The group made appearances on Insane Clown Posse's The Wraith: Shangri-La[19] and Esham's Acid Rain[20] and Repentance[21] before releasing their debut album, Furious, in 2005.[22] Following Esham and Lavel's departure from Psychopathic Records in October 2005, the group disbanded.
Style and influences [ edit ]
Bruce has cited the artists Esham, N.W.A, Ice Cube, Awesome Dre, Geto Boys, Gong, Pearl Jam, and Michael Jackson as influences on his music.[11][23][24][25][26] Allmusic reviewer James Monger has referred to Bruce's style as an "onslaught of Midwest Dirty Rap."[27]
Professional wrestling career [ edit ]
Early career (1983–1986) [ edit ]
Bruce began wrestling alongside his friends Joseph and John Utsler. The three got involved in backyard wrestling, and created two backyard wrestling rings for their made up promotion Tag Team Wrestling, later renamed National All-Star Wrestling.[4] The trio staged National All-Star Wrestling's first show, NAW Wrestling Extravaganza, in front of friends and family. Among others, the show featured Bruce wrestling under the moniker Darryl "Dropkick" Daniels, and Joey Utsler wrestling as both Rhino, and the masked NAW World Champion White Tiger.[4] Bruce stopped wrestling after becoming involved in gang life and forming Inner City Posse.
Independent circuit (1990, 1994–2004) [ edit ]
After being released from jail in 1990, Bruce decided to get away from gang life and start a career in professional wrestling.[8] Bruce's friend, Rudy Hill, got him booked in a local wrestling promotion. Rudy had lied to the promoter by telling him that Bruce had been trained at the Chris Adams Wrestling School in Texas.[8] At the event, Bruce met Rob Van Dam and Sabu, two other first-timers with whom he became very good friends.[8] Bruce wrestled as Corporal Darryl Daniels, wearing a U.S. Army uniform that his brother had sent him while in the Gulf War, and had his first match against "Irish" Mickey Doyle at Azteca Hall in Southwest Detroit.[8] Training alongside Rob Van Dam, Bruce went on to wrestle for Al Snow, including the event which featured the debut of Van Dam.[8] After a short run in the business, Joe realized his dislike for the backstage politics, and decided to take up a career in music, taking the name Violent J.[8]
Bruce returned to wrestling in the independent circuit in 1994, under the name Hector Hatchet.[29] He competed for Midwest Championship Wrestling throughout the next year, wrestling in between recording sessions and touring.[29] From 1996 to 1998, Bruce was involved in a rivalry with Sewer Dwella in Insane Championship Wrestling.[29] He continued to compete in several independent promotions for the next three years, including IWA Mid-South and NWA Mid American Wrestling.[1][29]
In 2001, Bruce appeared in Xtreme Pro Wrestling at XPW Rapture to aid Utsler. After Bruce suffered a real-life injury from a sloppy clothesline, the duo left the company.[30] On October 5, 2002, he and Utsler wrestled in Ring of Honor and defeated Oman Tortuga and Diablo Santiago.[1] Bruce was later made a playable character in both Eidos Interactive's video games Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home and Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood as Violent J. To help promote the games, he competed in a series of matches for Backyard Wrestling in 2003 and 2004.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997) [ edit ]
In August 1997, Bruce received a telephone call from friends Rob Van Dam and Sabu.[31] They asked if he and Utsler could appear on Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)'s second pay-per-view (PPV) program, Hardcore Heaven. The duo went to Florida to discuss the ECW program's content with Van Dam, Sabu, and Paul Heyman. Heyman was pleased that Bruce and Utsler were former wrestlers, which meant that they could surprise the crowd by taking bumps. Heyman also favored the idea of using Insane Clown Posse, because it was unlikely that anyone knew of the relationship the group had with Van Dam and Sabu.[31] Heyman presented his idea to Bruce and Utsler, who agreed to participate. Insane Clown Posse opened the ECW program by performing songs and exciting the crowd. Then Van Dam and Sabu, the main villains at the time, attacked Bruce and Utsler. The top fan favorite, The Sandman, came in and saved them by chasing away Van Dam and Sabu with his signature Singapore cane.[31]
ICP's Strangle-Mania Live (1997) [ edit ]
Being avid wrestling fans, Bruce and Utsler owned, and were fascinated by, the death match wrestling collection Outrageously Violent Wrestling from Japan. The duo decided to create a compilation of their favorite matches, recording their own sports announcing under the personas named "Handsome" Harley Guestella a.k.a. "Gweedo" (Utsler) and "Diamond Donovan Douglas" a.k.a. "3D" (Bruce).[32] The compilation video was released nationwide under the title ICP's Strangle-Mania. The video's success allowed Bruce and Utsler to host their own wrestling show, ICP's Strangle-Mania Live, to a sold-out performance at St. Andrew's Hall. The main event featured Insane Clown Posse versus The Chicken Boys, who were played by two friends of Bruce and Utsler.[32] With local wrestling booker Dan Curtis, other wrestlers such as Mad Man Pondo, 2 Tuff Tony, Corporal Robinson, King Kong Bundy, and Abdullah the Butcher were also booked on the show to wrestle in the same death match style as shown in ICP Strangle-Mania.[32]
World Wrestling Federation (1998) [ edit ]
In 1998, Insane Clown Posse were asked by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to perform the entrance theme for the wrestling group The Oddities.[33] The WWF also wanted Bruce and Utsler to appear on their SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) program in August 1998 and rap live while The Oddities entered the ring. Once the duo arrived at the arena, they realized their wrestling dreams had come true; they had been contacted by wrestling's top company and were now set to appear on their PPV program at the company's most historic venue, Madison Square Garden.[33] Bruce and Utsler were assigned to the locker room with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker, who were to wrestle during the main event that night. The duo immediately felt the animosity of the locker room that had previously driven them away from wrestling.[33] Insane Clown Posse performed and was asked to return for the live broadcast of Monday Night Raw the following night. At the broadcast, Bruce and Utsler requested for more than just a rapping role; they wanted to wrestle. Vincent McMahon favored the idea and allowed them to participate.[33]
Insane Clown Posse was put in a feud with The Headbangers. In the first wrestling match, The Headbangers were stiff, throwing real punches and kicks.[33] In the rematch, a move was planned where The Headbangers would be flipped over by Bruce and Utsler. When the time came to flip over, however, The Headbangers refused to move, forcing Insane Clown Posse to genuinely flip them over and begin throwing punches.[33] Realizing that the match was getting too heated, McMahon ended the feud after that match.[33] Bruce and Utsler were put into other matches along with The Oddities. Vince Russo told Bruce and Utsler to "make it seem like you don't know anything about wrestling, and you guys keep choking and digging into their eyes".[33] During this time, Bruce and Utsler had no contract with WWF. They, however, did have an agreement that the WWF would occasionally play Insane Clown Posse commercials, and in return, Bruce and Utsler would wrestle for free.[33] Bruce and Utsler knew that airtime cost significantly more than any monetary compensation they would receive and were thus satisfied with the agreement. The duo were told they were to suddenly turn on The Oddities in their match against The Headbangers, then join them in beating up the group. They were also informed that their commercial would air the very next week, which had still not aired after three months of being involved with the WWF.[33] The next week Insane Clown Posse and The Headbangers had a match with Steve Austin. Backstage, Austin made it clear to Bruce and Thrasher that Thrasher would receive the first Stone Cold Stunner, after which Bruce would turn around and receive the second.[33] During the match, Austin gave Bruce the Stunner first, catching him off guard, thus having Bruce sell the move awkwardly. Although disappointed over the events during the match, Bruce and Utsler continued in hopes that McMahon would air the commercial as promised. Bruce and Utsler contacted Abbiss to inquire about the commercial and were informed that it was not aired. Given that McMahon failed to uphold his promise to air Insane Clown Posse's commercial, Abbiss recommended that Bruce and Utsler terminate their agreement with the WWF.[33]
Hellfire Wrestling (1998) [ edit ]
While involved with the WWF, Insane Clown Posse brought Dan Curtis with them. After leaving the WWF, Curtis suggested that Insane Clown Posse start its own promotion while continuing with its music. He came to Bruce's house each night to discuss ideas about the promotion. Curtis convinced Bruce to coordinate another Strangle-Mania Live show, to be followed by an eighty-city "Hellfire Wrestling" tour.[33] Curtis booked the talent and wrote the scripts. Strangle-Mania Live sold out the Majestic Theater in Detroit.[33] Two days after the show, Curtis was found dead in his apartment, due to a sudden diabetic problem.[33] The "Hellfire Wrestling" tour was subsequently canceled.
World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000) [ edit ]
Bruce then went on to wrestle a long stint in World Championship Wrestling with Shaggy 2 Dope. The duo formed two stables. The first stable, The Dead Pool, consisted of Insane Clown Posse, Vampiro, and Raven; the second consisted of Insane Clown Posse, Vampiro, Great Muta, and Kiss Demon, known as The Dark Carnival.[33]
On August 9, 1999, Insane Clown Posse made their WCW debut on Monday Nitro in a six-man tag team match.[34] Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro defeated Lash LeRoux, Norman Smiley, and Prince Iaukea. At Road Wild 1999, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Billy Kidman, and Eddie Guerrero defeated Vampiro and Insane Clown Posse.[35] Insane Clown Posse continued to wrestle on Monday Nitro, defeating Public Enemy one week, and losing to Konnan and Rey Mysterio, Jr. another. At Fall Brawl 1999, the tag team of Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and Billy Kidman again defeated Vampiro and Insane Clown Posse. On September 13, Insane Clown Posse defeated Lenny Lane and Lodi.
On the August 23, 2000 episode of WCW Thunder, Great Muta, Vampiro, and Insane Clown Posse beat Tank Abbott and 3 Count.[36] Five days later, on Monday Nitro, Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro defeated 3 Count, and the following week, Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Juventud Guerrera beat Insane Clown Posse. On September 25, Mike Awesome defeated Insane Clown Posse in a Handicap Hardcore match.[37]
Juggalo Championship Wrestling (1999–2006) [ edit ]
On December 19, 1999, Bruce and Utsler created their own wrestling promotion, Juggalo Championshit Wrestling (now known as Juggalo Championship Wrestling). That night, the duo defeated the team of two Doink the Clowns to become the first ever JCW Tag Team Champions.[38] The event was taped and released as JCW, Volume 1. Commentary was provided by Bruce and Utsler under their "3D" and "Gweedo" announcing personas.[39] In 2000, Insane Clown Posse was involved in a rivalry with The Rainbow Coalition (Big Flam, Bob, and Neil). That April, the duo teamed with Vampiro to defeat The Rainbow Coalition.[29] They defeated the Coalition again when they teamed with Evil Dead later that year, and the match that was featured on JCW, Volume 2.[40]
In 2003, Insane Clown Posse defended, and retained, their JCW Tag Team Championships against Kid Cock (a parody of Kid Rock) and Feminem (a parody of Eminem).[41] The match was featured on JCW, Volume 3. At the 2006 Gathering of the Juggalos, Bruce, Nosawa, and Vampiro lost to Mad Man Pondo and The Headhunters, but defeated Pondo and Powers of Pain the next day.[1] Bruce continued to wrestle for JCW, which could only be seen at live events until the 2007 start of JCW SlamTV!.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004, 2006) [ edit ]
On January 21, 2004, Bruce appeared alongside Utsler on an episode of the weekly NWA Total Nonstop Action PPV. The duo were shown partying in the crowd alongside the Juggalos in attendance.[42] In the main event of the night, which featured Jeff Jarrett going against El Leon, Jarrett and El Leon were fighting in the crowd when Insane Clown Posse sprayed Faygo in Jarrett's eyes.[42] The following week, Insane Clown Posse were interviewed in the ring by Mike Tenay. The duo explained that they were fans of TNA, and that they wanted to be a part of the promotion themselves. As they started making kayfabe negative remarks toward Jarrett, Glenn Gilberti and David Young interrupted. When Gilberti tried to convince the duo to apologize to Jarrett, Insane Clown Posse chased Gilbertti and Young out of the ring before challenging the team to a match for the next week.[43]
On February 4, Insane Clown Posse defeated Glen Gilbertti and David Young. Later that night, Scott Hudson interviewed Insane Clown Posse, and the duo announced that they would face whoever Jeff Jarrett threw at them next in a "Juggalo Street Fight".[44] Insane Clown Posse won against the team of Glen Gilbertti and Kid Kash on February 18.[45] Two weeks later, Insane Clown Posse announced that they would take part in a "Dark Carnival match" the next week against Glen Gilbertti and any partner he chooses.[46] The following week, Insane Clown Posse and 2 Tuff Tony took on Glen Gilbertti, Kid Kash, and David Young. "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown made his TNA return, and cost Insane Clown Posse and 2 Tuff Tony the match.[47] During their stint in TNA, Insane Clown Posse brought the company its largest paying crowds in history.[48] After the duo left, they remained close with the company.
On March 17, 2006, Insane Clown Posse hosted and booked TNA's first ever house show, which took place in Detroit, Michigan.[48] The duo defeated Team Canada members Eric Young and Petey Williams.[1]
Return to the independent circuit (2004–present) [ edit ]
On December 12, 2004, Bruce and Utsler competed in the event A Night of Appreciation for Sabu, teaming with the Rude Boy to defeat the team of Corporal Robinson, Zach Gowen, and Breyer Wellington.[49] Utsler received surgery on his neck the following year, forcing Bruce to compete as a singles competitor and as a member of the Hatchet Boys, alongside Corporal Robinson and 2 Tuff Tony.
In late 2006, Bruce was involved in a rivalry with Pro Wrestling Unplugged. On November 18, he turned on Corporal Robinson, the then JCW Heavyweight Champion and PWU Hardcore Champion, provoking a series of matches between JCW and PWU.[50] At Pro Wrestling Unplugged's "PWU vs JCW", Team PWU (The Backseat Boyz and Corporal Robinson) defeated Team JCW (2 Tuff Tony, Violent J, and Dyson Pryce).[50] The following month, Team PWU (Trent Acid, Corporal Robinson, Johnny Kashmere, Pete Hunter, and Gary Wolfe) took on Team JCW (Nosawa, 2 Tuff Tony, Violent J, Mad Man Pondo, and Raven) in a War Games match.[50] Raven, however, attacked both teams, provoking all members of Team PWU and Team JCW to join forces and attack Raven.[50]
Bruce continues to appear as Violent J at various promotions in the independent circuit.[29]
Return to JCW (2007–present) [ edit ]
In 2007, JCW launched SlamTV!. With it came the first broadcast of JCW since the three initial DVDs. Bruce returned to commentary as Diamond Donovan Douglas, and Utsler returned as "Handsome" Harley Guestella. 3D and Gweedo announced in an episode of SlamTV! that Insane Clown Posse had been stripped of the JCW Tag Team Championships due to them not defending the title.[51] At the first annual Bloodymania, JCW's premier wrestling event, Insane Clown Posse teamed with Sabu to defeat Trent Acid and The Young Alter Boys w/ Annie Social the Nun.[52]
Later that night, Corporal Robinson, Scott Hall, and Violent J formed the Juggalo World Order (JWO).[53] Shaggy 2 Dope, Nosawa, Kevin Nash, 2 Tuff Tony, and Sid Vicious later joined the group.[53][54] On January 26, 2008, Bruce and Tony won the JCW Tag Team Championship. However, their victory was declared void, stricken from the record, and the title was vacated.[55][56][57] On November 9, 2008, the Juggalo World Order (Scott Hall, Shaggy 2 Dope, Violent J, 2 Tuff Tony, and Corporal Robinson) "invaded" Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Turning Point PPV by purchasing front row tickets to the event. They proceeded to promote their faction by flashing their JWO jerseys, which each member had on, before being removed from the building.[58][59]
At Bloodymania III, Juggalo World Order (Corporal Robinson, Scott Hall, Shaggy 2 Dope, Violent J, and Sid Vicious) defeated Trent Acid and the Alter Boys (Tim, Tom, Terry, and Todd).[54] On February 10, 2011, Bruce took the on-screen role of commissioner of the company.[citation needed] During their GOTJ seminar on July 24, 2015 Violent J said he is hoping to wrestle again by next year but he wants to "get in a better space".
Acting career [ edit ]
Bruce starred in the Psychopathic Records crime comedy Big Money Hustlas, as Big Baby Sweets, in 2000. A sequel, Big Money Rustlas followed in 2010, in which Bruce portrayed Big Baby Sweets' ancestor, Big Baby Chips. In 2001, Bruce was offered a role in the musical Prison Song, in which he was asked to play a bigoted prison guard.[60] The producers offered Bruce the role on the basis of his appearances on The Howard Stern Show, and told him that they wanted "a big white dude with urban slang to his voice", and on the basis of his radio appearances, thought that Bruce was perfect for the role.[60] While Bruce had interest in acting outside of Psychopathic Records projects, as well as being willing to act without face paint, he did not want to play a racist, and turned the role down.[60] In preparation for Big Money Rustlas, Bruce starred in the film Death Racers in 2008. According to Bruce, "We just did it for fun. We knew it was gonna be basically garbage."[61]
Personal life [ edit ]
Family [ edit ]
Joe Bruce has a younger sister, and an older brother Jumpsteady who has been the "Psychopathic Records Don" from 1992 until he left in 2005 to become a paramedic, and regained the position when he returned in 2012. Jumpsteady has released 2 albums on Psychopathic Records (The Chaos Theory and Master of the Flying Guillotine). He is the uncle to Jumpsteady's daughter Samantha. Bruce has two children with his wife Michelle "Sugar Slam" Rapp; a son named Joseph "JJ" Bruce II, born in 2005, and a daughter named Ruby Bruce, born in 2006. On Father's Day June 16, 2013 Bruce married Michelle "Sugar Slam" Rapp [62][63][64] On the same day he released a single titled "Fuck My Dad (Richard Bruce)". In February 2016 it was announced in the Hatchet Herald that he and Sugar Slam have decided to mutually separate, but will always remain good friends and will always put the needs of the other before their own. Bruce has recorded tracks specifically for his children entitled "Song 4 Son" for his son and "Ruby Song" for his daughter.[65] In 2016 it was rumored that J and new artist Blahzay Roze were dating, which was found out to be true, but broke up later that year. On June 17, 2017 he released the music video for the 2013 Father's Day Single titled "Fuck My Dad (Richard Bruce)" and featured appearances from Lyte, Shaggy 2 Dope, Jumpsteady, their younger sister Denise, and Violent J's kids Ruby and JJ.
In support of his daughter's interest in furry fandom, he declared himself "a juggalo furry[66]" and attended Midwest Furfest with her in December 2018. During the convention, he sometimes dressed in a fursuit with sewn-in juggalo makeup[67] made by "DraconicKnight".[68]
Legal troubles [ edit ]
Bruce, along with his bandmate Joseph Utsler, has had numerous run-ins with the law, having been arrested multiple times starting at the age of seventeen:[8]
Bruce was jailed for ninety days in 1989–1990 for death threats, robbery, and violating probation;[69] this experience convinced him to reduce his involvement in gang life.[69]
On November 16, 1997, Bruce was arrested on an aggravated battery charge after allegedly striking an audience member thirty times with his microphone at a concert in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bruce was held for four hours before being released on US$5,000 bail.[70]
After a show in Indianapolis, Insane Clown Posse's tour bus stopped at a Waffle House in Greenfield, Indiana. When a customer began to harass Spaniolo and Bruce, a fight broke out between the customer and all of the bands' members.[32] Months later on June 4, 1998, Bruce and Utsler pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges (reduced from battery) in an Indiana court and were fined US$200 each. Members of Twiztid, Myzery, and Psycho Realm were charged with battery.[71]
On June 15, 2001, Bruce was arrested in Columbia, Missouri for an outstanding warrant in St. Louis stemming from an incident in February 2001. That incident involved Insane Clown Posse allegedly attacking employees of a St. Louis radio station over disparaging remarks that a disc jockey made on the air. The police used several squad cars to detain Bruce, Utsler, and two associates a few miles from a venue where the group had completed a concert. Bruce was transferred to St. Louis the following day and released on bail without charge on June 18.[72] On February 6, 2002, Bruce plead guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault in the second degree and was sentenced to 12 months' unsupervised probation.[73]
Discography [ edit ]
Solo (1990–present) [ edit ]
w/Insane Clown Posse (1991–present) [ edit ]
w/Dark Lotus (1998–2017) [ edit ]
w/Psychopathic Rydas (1999–2017) [ edit ]
w/Soopa Villainz (2002–2005; 2018–present) [ edit ]
w/The Bloody Brothers (2005; 2018–present) [ edit ]
w/The Killjoy Club (2013–2016; 2018) [ edit ]
w/The Loony Goons (2017–present) [ edit ]
Group Membership [ edit ]
Filmography [ edit ]
Big Money Hustlas (2000), as Big Baby Sweets/Ape Boy
(2000), as Big Baby Sweets/Ape Boy Bowling Balls (2004), as J
(2004), as J Death Racers (2008), as Violent J
(2008), as Violent J Big Money Rustlas (2010), as Big Baby Chips
(2010), as Big Baby Chips Big Money Thrustas (2020)
Championships and accomplishments [ edit ]
Bibliography [ edit ]
Behind the Paint by Violent J with Hobey Echlin (2003) – Autobiography ISBN 0-9741846-0-8
|
Darknessfall
Premium Member
join:2012-08-17 Darknessfall Premium Member Name
"Looks at AT&T" Congrats on your original/creative name"Looks at AT&T"
jorcmg
join:2002-10-24
USA jorcmg Member Re: Name Yea...I see letters from lawyers in their future.
Zenit
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA 1 recommendation Zenit Premium Member Re: Name Nah they are fine, its clearly a different meaning!
G1gapower is the l337sp33k ver5ion. Cnt u see that m8?
:P
wiggie116
Premium Member
join:2013-10-31
Pittsfield, MA wiggie116 to Darknessfall
Premium Member to Darknessfall
copied the name but not the price
Anonguy
@68.106.20.x 6 recommendations Anonguy to Darknessfall
Anon to Darknessfall
Wow... BBR gets it wrong again..
All I see is G1GABLAST... Not Gigapower
Zenit
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA 2 recommendations Zenit Premium Member Re: Name You are right, actually.
Cox does not mention G1gapower in their PR release.
Darknessfall
Premium Member
join:2012-08-17 1 recommendation Darknessfall to Anonguy
Premium Member to Anonguy
said by Anonguy : Wow... BBR gets it wrong again..
All I see is G1GABLAST... Not Gigapower Haha, I went to the site and you are right :P.
telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ 1 edit telcodad MVM Re: Name OK, I see that Karl has made the correction now.
EDIT: I guess it can get a bit confusing with all those different "Giga-names" now:
GigaPower - AT&T
Operation GigaSpeed - SuddenLink
GigaZone - Paul Bunyan Communications
GigaSphere - The NCTAs new brand name for DOCSIS 3.1 technology
Zenit
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA Zenit Premium Member Re: Name What will Comcast call theirs? Gigafinity? xgigafinity? x1000ity? "Comcastic 1000mbit Link"?
:P
Darknessfall
Premium Member
join:2012-08-17 5 recommendations Darknessfall Premium Member Re: Name Xfinigig lol
chrismitt
join:2012-07-09
Orange, CA chrismitt Member 1gbps What about price with out tv service? Hope they don't forget about us here in san tan valley :d fess all I can do is hope for gfiber
cb14
join:2013-02-04
Miami Beach, FL 1 recommendation cb14 Member Re: 1gbps That's the trick. You have to bundle with their expensive TV service I would not have use for.
ajwees41
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Omaha, NE ajwees41 to chrismitt
Premium Member to chrismitt
does this mean ultimate is going to be cheaper since it right around $99?
KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK KrK Premium Member What's the ACTUAL penalty price without TV? I'll take a guess.... $130
dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ dvd536 Premium Member Re: What's the ACTUAL penalty price without TV? yeah. they suck all the value out of it by requiring TV[probably the top tier with all 4 premiums!]
doesn't really bother me since they're going to cherrypick the area[s] they want.
my guess: scottsdale
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY ·Optimum Online
·ooma
tmc8080 Member about time more cable companies should be transitioning to ftttp infrastructure. docsis will only go so far.. and the upstream of coax won't be able to keep up with the downstream without it costing as much or more than fiber anyway (such as the long past due diminishing returns of DSL)
dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ dvd536 Premium Member Re: about time i believe fios uses coax. not DOCSIS though.
telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ telcodad MVM Re: about time said by dvd536: i believe fios uses coax. not DOCSIS though. Verizon FiOS uses fiber to the home, but (currently) does use coaxial cabling inside the home (though not DOCSIS, as you said). The short lengths used there can support up to a few GHz in bandwidth.
chrismitt
join:2012-07-09
Orange, CA chrismitt Member Re: about time Why not kill ultimate and sell for 99 a month also will it be symmetrical or bysymmetrical ?also will the cap be exempt? What good is 1gbps will a gay 400gb cap?
rizwan602
join:2004-03-20
Gilbert, AZ rizwan602 Member Gigabit -- OK but what about bandwidth limit? What is the official statement on bandwidth limits? Current Cox residential customers get 250 Gigabytes per month. What is the limit with this G1gablast?
Azlen
join:2010-05-03
Peoria, AZ Azlen Member Re: Gigabit -- OK but what about bandwidth limit? said by rizwan602: What is the official statement on bandwidth limits? Current Cox residential customers get 250 Gigabytes per month. What is the limit with this G1gablast? According to » www.cox.com/aboutus/poli ··· lans.cox (your location has to be set for Phoenix to see the Gig information) the cap for Gig will be 1 TB. Cox doesn't seem to enforce their caps though other than sending you an email.
jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH jgkolt Premium Member awesome Hopefully this expands past their home state.
brad152
join:2006-07-27
Columbus, OH 936.1 40.6
·WOW Internet and..
·Comcast XFINITY
·AT&T U-Verse
brad152 Member Yawn Call me when Cox can deliver their currently advertised speeds 24/7. I just tried them again once they upped the 50Mbps to 100Mbps in Downtown Phoenix.
In biltmore:
- The TV still craps out when there's high DOCSIS usage in the area (thank you SDV!)
- The Internet STILL drops to just just a few Mbps during peak usage (hey this time they were able to sustain 9Mbps instead of the 2Mbps i was experiencing before)
I'm just glad i never cancelled my CenturyLink as even though it's only 40Mbps i actually get what i'm paying for 24/7 for a reasonable price. Cox can shove it until they can get their reliability in order.
namida12
join:2004-10-30
Las Vegas, NV 177.7 10.0
namida12 to brad152
Member to brad152
brad152,
Centurylink has already deployed 1 gig service in Vegas, and expanding in the fiber built area. I understand Cox Communications will be pushing the 1 gig service here shortly. I guess Google's 1 gig deployment has ISP bring the service customers want.
Hopefully speeds will increase @ a price customers can afford. When 1 gig service in Japan's countryside is less than than $60 a month we are getting closer to international rates. Japan's outlying area density is similar to a subdivision in Phoenix or Las vegas. Country side is far less populated...
|
JSR-315 has produced a Public Review (PR) of the Servlet 3.0 specification, accompanied by a reference implementation in the GlassFish trunk. This release has resulted in a debate around the choices that the Expert Group (EG) has taken for the next generation Servlet APIs and the whole of the Java EE 6 platform.
The Servlet API has always been a bit rough around the edges and since the Early Draft, the JSR 315 EG has been working on refining and improving the specification in areas like Ease of Development (EoD), pluggability and asynchronous support, as Rajiv Mordani, who is one of the Spec Leads, describes:
Ease of Development (Eod) : In the early draft we added the annotations that allowed you to essentially write a Servlet as a POJO. However after some discussions in the expert group and feedback from some folks in the community, we decided to actually remove the method level annotations like @GET, @POST etc and keep the doGet, doPost method contracts and require extending an HttpServlet. However the top level annotations which are renamed for better usage in applications still exist. The @WebServlet annotation is used to declare a servlet, @ServletFilter to declare a filter and @WebServletContextListener to define ServletContextListeners. In addition to these annotations, other annotations like @Resource, which have been supported in web applications since Servlet 2.5 will continue to work as before.
: In the early draft we added the annotations that allowed you to essentially write a Servlet as a POJO. However after some discussions in the expert group and feedback from some folks in the community, we decided to actually remove the method level annotations like @GET, @POST etc and keep the doGet, doPost method contracts and require extending an HttpServlet. However the top level annotations which are renamed for better usage in applications still exist. The @WebServlet annotation is used to declare a servlet, @ServletFilter to declare a filter and @WebServletContextListener to define ServletContextListeners. In addition to these annotations, other annotations like @Resource, which have been supported in web applications since Servlet 2.5 will continue to work as before. Pluggability : Web frameworks built on top of servlets are very popular for developers and there are a lot of them that address various different problems. In order to better support frameworks for developers writing webapps we are adding ways in the servlet 3.0 specification to make it easier to use and configure frameworks of their choice.
Web frameworks built on top of servlets are very popular for developers and there are a lot of them that address various different problems. In order to better support frameworks for developers writing webapps we are adding ways in the servlet 3.0 specification to make it easier to use and configure frameworks of their choice. Asynchronous processing: This is the biggest change that we have made in the servlet 3.0 specification. In the early draft we had suspend and resume and certain semantics that were defined. However after the early draft the expert group had a lot of discussions on solving various use cases for asynchronous processing and the changes that are made to the specification in this area now also address the various use cases.
Roy Van Rijn had expressed his concerns about some features that were presented in this Early Draft:
My preference would still be not using annotations at all for GET/POST methods, but I've read the Java EE 6 specification is promoting the use of annotations like this and the JSR-315 writers have 'no choice' (bad excuse). The comments I made in this article have been send to the JSR-group, but I haven't got a response yet. Also I've been unable to reach members for a reaction and/or explanation and/or clarification. Recently the Java EE 6 specification went on public review, and it contains references to this Servlet 3.0 specification, so it will become part of Java EE 6. This must mean they are working actively, maybe even franticly, to finish it on time. But I plead them to take the time to reconsider their choices about the annotations.
With the release of the Public Review (PR), Greg Wilkins from Webtide, has been arguing that the spec is “poor document and the product of a discordant expert group (EG) working within a flawed process”. His main arguments against the PR are:
It represents a thought experiment in API design unhindered by the complexities of implementation, trial usage or community feedback.
Requests for test implementations have been denied.
There is no open or considered mechanism to collect requirements from the community and precious little community consultation.
Some unsubstantiated requirements (eg. wrapped asynchronous requests) have been included at a late stage without any use-cases or user demand.
It has been badly written, as most other JCP documents.
Some of the new features raise security concerns and may cause slower deployment.
The proposal for asynchronous servlets has diverted from the course it had in the Early Draft. The original approach was the result of Jetty Continuations and had been available as a trial implementation in the pre-releases of Jetty-7 since March 2008 which has been tested by many frameworks and applications, including Cometd, DWR, JSF and BlazeDS.
Greg concludes that:
I believe significant errors are being made in the current PR and that the flaws in the process have been enough to prevent the application of due diligence sufficiently for these flaws to become self evident. While I have received support in the EG with the debate on these issues, I have been unable to convince the spec lead of their validity and I have probably not helped the cause by some over-vigorous participation in the debate.
Rajiv’s answer to Greg points out that:
An implementation is available in GlassFish.
He never saw a request of feedback from Greg.
The new features can be switched off if they are not desirable.
There is no solid argument about making deployments slower
The way the proposal for asynchronous servlets has been growing is perceived better by the community and he quotes emails to the EG.
Rajiv also refers to a blog post that Bill Burke from RedHat had made, where he criticized the implementation of async servlets in Jetty 6 continuations.
Afterwards, Greg Wilkins announced that he has been working on an implementation of the Servlet 3.0 asynchronous servlets with some of the fixes/extensions he had suggested in his blog and from some continuing discussion within the EG. These are:
A new ASYNC DispatcherType for redispatched asynchronous requests
The isAsyncStarted() method is false when a request is redispatched.
An IllegalStateException is thrown is startAsync() or startAsync(request.response) are called if getReader() or getOutputStream() have been called. This restricts asynchronous handler to the simpler cases.
If asynchronous mode was started with startAsync(request,response), then it is an IllegalStateException to use any of the forward(...) methods on AsyncContext. This avoids the complication of redispatching wrappers, but allows wrappers to be used by asynchronous handlers.
The forward(path) and forward(context,path) methods have not been implemented.
The code is available at a branch of Jetty and branch of the servlet-api.
Greg wraps up on the async servlet issue:
While more testing is needed, this implementation demonstrates that significant asynchronous behaviour can be implemented without the complexities of redispatching wrapped requests or the forward(path) methods. I believe it represents a reasonable compromise for 3.0. If additional features are required, surely they can be added in 3.1 after we have gained experience with a simpler subset from 3.0?
You can find more information on the Servlets, GlassFish, Jetty, Comet and Java EE right here on InfoQ.
|
History of a HEX card – Unleashing the Beast
Corey Burkhart here! Today I’m going to run you through the history, design, and development of one of my favorite cards in Herofall, Unleash the Beast! Each card in HEX can go through many iterations before we finally find the correct one to not only suit the needs of the set we’re making, but also provide that artistic balance of simple, fun, and deep design that players are going to love. Some cards will be put into a set early on and exist in the ecosystem of the set for months without change. Others, like our card today, went through many changes until we finally got to a spot we truly loved. Let’s take a look at that journey.
When design started on Herofall, we knew we were going to focus on the conflict between the Ardent and the Underworld. Since most of the Ardent races touched Diamond as a shard mechanically while most of the Underworld races touched Blood, it was a natural fit to put the two warring parties based in those shards. As more of the set got built out, we were looking for mini themes within the set that would play well. One of the themes we liked was caring about 1 cost cards. Both Valors and Dreadlings were one costs that helped focus on the warring of the factions. With this in mind Ryan Sutherland, lead designer of Herofall, made a number of rares for our early Herofall drafts and sealeds. One of the more exciting rares was named Cycle of Rebirth.
This card was pretty cool for a number of reasons. At the time, we were exploring some design space with gems that gave +1 cost to the cards they were socketed in. This allowed you to build decks with many more cards of the same cost, ensuring that Cycle of Rebirth could get them out of your crypt. Cycle of Rebirth was a rather interesting rare, but it proved to do a ton more than we expected. Herofall introduced a number of keywords that augment your individual cards by granting them additional powers or increasing their attack and defense. Being able to bring those troops back made this card was very deadly in both Valor decks that wanted to build up on one giant troop and with Scrounge cards that add powers to themselves the more times you Scrounged.
The card was fairly fun, but its versatility had us move it to 3+X cost fairly quickly on in the development cycle. The card was much better in Valor decks because the outputs on some Valorous troops would also grant additional powers while continually growing your troops with the Valor trait. On the flip side, Scrounge cards illuminated something we weren’t really pleased with in terms of the design. The fact that Scrounge asked you to void troops from your crypt was in conflict with resurrection strategies like those enabled by Cycle of Rebirth. We weren’t comfortable printing designs that would care about which troops you left in your crypt at low rarity because it made decision points that weren’t the most exciting for players. Your crypt, though ripe for exploration at a later date, wasn’t the highlight for this set. We wanted Herofall to be about the epic war happening right there on the battlefield. As such, we determined games were much less fun if they were decisions about “Which troop should I leave in my crypt for a card like Call the Grave or Rotten Rancor.” Instead, we wanted players interacting with the game from the standpoint of how best to allocate their Valors, summon up their Dreadlings, and by representing the Ardent/Underworld conflict through play. We didn’t want players to feel like they had to micromanage their crypts.
Once we removed all Scrounge cards at low rarity that cared strongly about specific cards in the crypt, we noticed that Cycle of Rebirth was one of the few remaining leftovers with that type of effect. As such, Ryan completely re-designed the Cycle of Rebirth into:
This rare replaced Cycle of Rebirth and, at first, it was a little bit of a head scratcher. We had been playing around with some cards in Herofall that would have multiple bolded numbers of them. As such, most of us quickly were able to identify what was going on with the card. But when we showed it to other people, it soon became clear that there were potential issues with presentation. We quelled most of these presentation problems (like, “What happens when another power with a number gets added to Wildlife”), but in the end determined that we could make this design much more elegant and user friendly.
While the designers and developers noodled through the designs in Herofall for the exact right textboxes they wanted, our thematic team began its post design pass. At the conclusion of that meeting, art was ordered for Herofall! In R&D we needed to find the finishing touches for each card in the set. After more review, we determined simplifying the whole recipe of Wildlife would make the card much more appealing and much more exciting. It got renamed to Unleash the Beast for all the wildlife that Wild magic can contain.
This is an image of the card shortly after engineering and some QA testing. We did a ton of work on the Assault mechanic. We learned from our experiences with the Escalation keyword in Shards of Fate that it wasn’t always clear to players that the numbers on the card were bolded. We wanted to make this clear to players. Plus, there were some cards in Herofall that really wanted multiple numbers to be bolded. If any of them remained in the same random design space of Wildlife, we would really need some UI help to communicate that to our users. Thankfully, our engineering team did a fantastic job of working with us on these problems and the UI on these ended up pretty solid.
At that point, we were pretty happy with Herofall. We’d gotten through QA testing and the R&D + QA teams were playing a ton of matches of constructed, draft, and sealed in the client. But as we played, we found an annoying problem. Random designs like Unleash the Beast would fail to make a troop on some specific outcomes. For example, there aren’t yet any Wild troops that cost 11 or more and it wasn’t completely unreasonable to attack 10 or more times.
Ben Stoll and Ryan Sutherland had been pitching a suggestion for these random designs for a nearly a year now, and oddly enough lead engineer Chris Woods also came and presented to us nearly the exact same solution to the problem. The idea was to create a card in HEX that represents a failed random effect. If you fail to create a random artifact or troop, instead you will create a That Which Does Not Exist.
The idea is that instead of getting nothing, we want players have the best experience. If you’re going to put one of these insanely fun random designs in your deck, you shouldn’t be punished because you made it outside of the range of random creation. Instead we should reward you with a cool card that can make memorable stories.
If you create a That Which Does Not Exist, it gets +cost equal to the cost of the troop or artifact you were looking for. Thus, if we played an Unleash the Beast and the cost of the troop we would create would be 12, we’d get a 12 cost That Which Does Not Exist. Therefore, you’d get a 12 cost 12 attack, 12 defense troop for your 3 resources! This design didn’t happen until very late in the process, but we’re exceptionally pleased with the outcome.
We’re really excited for Herofall, and especially for Assault and Unleash the Beast. Let us know your thoughts about Unleash the Beast in the forums, and I’ll be back soon with another History of a HEX cards for Herofall!
Don’t forget to Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, and Follow us on Twitch.
Discuss this article in our forums!
|
The Verified by Visa system may be marketed as an optional opt-in system for internet shoppers, but some banks are forcing users to enrol after only three attempts to avoid it.
The unpleasant experiences of Verified by Visa refusenik and Reg reader Steve are likely to be faced by other cardholders, according to Andrew Goodwill, a director at card fraud prevention specialists The 3rd Man. The little-publicised mandatory use of Verified by Visa is down to how some banks apply the system, he explained.
A spokesman for UK banking association APACS confirmed that more banks are making the scheme (and MasterCard's equivalent SecureCode service) mandatory.
"Most card issuers offer it. Some are making it mandatory but we don't keep a tally on what the banks are doing. This is a competitive offering so different banks are doing different things," he explained.
Visa is yet to respond to our requests for information on what percentage of banks insist the cardholders sign-up and use Verified by Visa, or its guidance on the best way to explain the rollout of the scheme to merchants and cardholders.
Roll up, sign on
Both Verified by Visa (VbyV) and MasterCard's SecureCode services are designed to add an extra layer of security to credit or debit card purchases, and work using 3D Secure protocol checks. Each is designed to reduce the likelihood of fraudulent transactions while transferring the liability for bogus transactions from merchants who run purchases through the system back towards banks and other card issuers.
When shoppers make purchases online with participating retailers they are typically taken to a website run by the card-issuing bank, where they are asked to submit a VbyV or SecureCode password to proceed with the purchase. The password is set up when cardholders enroll in the programme, a process that requires knowledge of the personal details of cardholders (in the US this might be the last four digits of a social security number, for example).
An APACS spokesman summarised the desired benefits of the scheme: "For cardholders both Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode make cards safer by making card not present fraud harder. Even people who don't use their cards for e-commerce transactions should sign up. [That way] even if a criminal only gets a hold of the basic card details he won't be able to use it fraudulently online.
"For e-commerce retailers the scheme guarantees they are dealing with a genuine customer. If the retailer has Verified by visa then the liability shifts back to the bank, avoiding charge-backs for fraudulent transactions."
But while these are laudable aims there are practical problems.
For example, potential confusion can arise because e-commerce users are in many cases taken to an unfamiliar website run by the card-issuing bank. The Verified by Visa guidelines suggest the bank's verification page is loaded in an inline frame session rather than a pop-up but that approach can make it difficult to confirm the frame is tied to a valid digital certificate.
Steve made a conscious decision not to opt in to the Verified by Visa system because he's not convinced of its benefits to cardholders. Recently this decision has made it more and more difficult for him to buy goods or services online.
"In the last month I have made more than half a dozen attempted online purchases," he said. "All of which have ended with the retailer's page presenting me with a 'Verified by Visa' enrolment page. Since there is no 'no thank you' button, only an 'Activate now!', I am forced to either enrol or close my browser, and I choose to do the latter.
"In each case my card provider has stopped my card. Apparently declining their invitation to enrol is a sign of fraudulent activity. I look like a fraudster who has been scared off by VbyV instead of like a customer who chooses not to enrol."
|
Expand © 2011 Human Rights Watch
(Beirut) – The arrest by security forces of well over a dozen peaceful reform activists since September 7, 2012, signals the government’s toughening stand toward demands for political reform in the kingdom. The authorities should release all of those detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to expression, association, and assembly.
The security services arrested activists in various parts of the country for peacefully protesting or calling for reform, in what appeared a concerted move by security and judicial authorities against opposition groups. Those arrested include eight activists from the southern town of Tafila, two from Karak, and seven from Amman. All were charged under terrorism provisions, which place them under the purview of the military-dominated State Security Court, three lawyers for the activists told Human Rights Watch. All remain in detention.
“The arrests show how shallow promises of political freedoms in Jordan are,” said Christoph Wilcke , senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is deeply worrying that Jordan is using laws against terrorism to prosecute peaceful activists.”
Participants in the protests involved who were interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the demonstrations were peaceful and the government has not charged the activists in question with violent acts.
After noon prayers on Friday, September 7, a group of activists from the Tafila Popular Youth Movement, an opposition group, demonstrated in Tafila, a southern province, raising banners that said, “We will not pay the bills of your promiscuity,” using a derogatory Arabic term with sexual connotations, and, “Down with the rule of the low-lifes.”
Security forces at the protest arrested Muhammad al-Ma’abiri, who was holding one of the banners, another protester told Human Rights Watch.
In the evening, the group held another protest without banners calling for al-Ma’abiri’s release. Security forces “randomly” arrested some participants, one of them told Human Rights Watch. Khalid al-Harasis, Husain Shubailat, Ahmad al-Jarayisha, Zaid al-Hajjaj, and Abd al-Mahdi al-‘Awwajin were arrested at the demonstration. That night, security forces arrested Dr. Bassam al-‘Amayiri, another participant, at his home. The military prosecutor at the military-dominated State Security Court charged them with “incitement to resisting the political system of government in the kingdom”under article 149 of the penal code.
On September 11, Ibrahim Abu ‘A’isha, a Tafila, an activist, presented himself to the police after learning he was also wanted for participating in the two protests and was arrested, two lawyers for the activists told Human Rights Watch. Civilian prosecutors charged him under the same article, a Tafila Movement activist said. He has not yet been transferred to the military prosecutor of the State Security Court, said Tahir al-Nassar, a lawyer for the other Tafila activists.
Also on September 7, security forces raided a cafe in the area of the Sports City roundabout in Amman and arrested two opposition activists, Mu’in al-Harasis and Muhammad al-Ra’ud, of the Tafila Neighborhood Popular Youth Movement in Amman for leading calls to hold protests in capital the following week against corruption under the heading of the Rejection Protest, two activists told Human Rights Watch. Opposition activists in Jordan have taken to giving names to weekly protests, such as Anti-Corruption Protest, or Judicial Independence Protest.
Security forces arrested a third activist from the Tafila Neighborhood Movement, Hisham al-Sarahin, that day in the same area as he was walking home, two activists told Human Rights Watch separately. All three have been charged with “incitement to resisting the political system of government in the kingdom,”and their cases were transferred from civilian prosecution to the military prosecution service at the State Security Court on September 12.
Lin al-Khayyat, one of the lawyers for the activists, explained to Human Rights Watch that civilian prosecutors may first look into the case and charge the defendant, but later decide that the criminal subject matter is outside their jurisdiction and refer the case to the State Security Court. All three lawyers of the Tafila and Tafila Neighborhood activists, al-Khayyat, al-Nassar, and Muhammad al-Harasis, described this as a delaying tactic by the government to prolong pre-trial detention.
Under amendments to its constitution promulgated during a period after King Abdullah II tasked the government with political reform in October 2011, the jurisdiction of the military-dominated State Security Court over civilians was restricted to crimes of terrorism and drugs. Although none of those arrested are accused of violent acts, which the definition of terrorism in article 147 of the penal code requires, prosecutors apparently classified their acts and the crime as falling within the rubric of terrorism.
On September 11, police in Amman took Abdullah Mahadin into custody when he tried to reclaim his car, which police had confiscated the day before. Mahadin is a well-known activist of the Amman Popular Youth Movement, a reform group that was calling for an end to corruption and fair elections among other issues. He faces charges of “undermining the political system of government” as a result of his participation in peaceful demonstrations in Amman on September 7, 8, and 9, in addition to a charge for carrying and possessing weapons, al-Khayyat and a reform movement activist told Human Rights Watch. A Jordanian news website, khaberni.com , cited security sources as saying they found an electrical stick, a scalpel, publications, and brochures in Mahadin’s car. The activist, who was present when the car was confiscated, told Human Rights Watch that the stick was made out of wood, and was lying unused in the car.
Security forces also arrested two people from the opposition Karak Popular Youth Movement, Ibrahim al-Dhumur and Ra’uf al-Habashna, during the week following September 7 as a result of their peaceful protest activities and charged them under article 149, three activists told Human Rights Watch.
Jordanian news websites, one political activist, and one lawyer confirmed another arrest – Muhammad al-Natur on September 11 for writing reform slogans on walls. The activist said al-Natur was not known to belong to any political movement. It was not known whether he had been charged.
On September 12, security forces arrested Fadhil al-Masamira and a second person identified as Laith, whose full name is not known, who were demonstrating in front of the Interior Ministry in Amman for the release of Mahadin and other activists, one activist told Human Rights Watch. He said al-Masamira was charged with working to “change the constitution of the state by unlawful means” under article 136 of the penal code, which is punishable by death.
Since January 2011, Jordan has witnessed hundreds, if not thousands of demonstrations, from small protests to larger marches. Following a change of the Public Gatherings Law in 2011, organizers no longer required prior approval to hold a public protest and Jordanians have made use of this change. In March and April 2012, however, the government began to arrest activists and bring politically motivated charges against them for their reform activities. Prosecutors have reverted to a provision in the penal code that criminalizes the unlawful gathering of seven or more people with the intent to carry out a crime.
One of those detained before the recent string of arrests was Sa’ud al-‘Ajarma, a member of an opposition group who has been in detention for over two months, al-Nassar, his lawyer, told Human Rights Watch. Al-‘Ajarma faced five charges of insulting the sovereign (lese majeste), criminal defamation, resistance to police, and attack on public property, in addition to incitement to resisting the political system of government, al-Nassar said. Al-‘Ajarma has participated in a number of peaceful demonstrations.
Some of the other arrested activists from Tafila, Karak, and Amman also faced additional charges of lese majeste, unlawful gathering, or stirring up sectarian strife.
On September 13, the Legal Committee of Jordan’s upper house of parliament approved amendments to the Press and Publications Law that would increase censorship on online expression, after the lower house had endorsed the government’s bill with minor changes. Human Rights Watch had criticized the draft amendments as incompatible with Jordan’s international obligations to protect the right to freedom of expression.
“Jordan’s government is in full reversal mode against the modest gains in public liberties achieved by reform activists during the regional popular empowerment in 2011,” Wilcke said. “The government should address legitimate concerns rather than trying to silence people who raise them.”
|
The Evil Within was supposed to be Shinji Mikami’s triumphant return to form. The creator of Resident Evil had revitalized the brand once with RE4, and The Evil Within promised to be the next big step in the survival horror genre. A new universe from the mind behind some of Capcom’s biggest games should have been great, but The Evil Within failed to meet the expectations set by Mikami’s previous work. Even though Mikami set out to make a horror game, what he ultimately created was a game that’s much better at action than at horror.
The premise is simple: Sebastian “Seb” Castellanos, a cop, is called in to investigate a violent homicide at a mental institution. He then gets trapped in a nightmarish hellscape and has to fight his way out by killing Ruvik, the psychic monster determined to kill everyone.
The Evil Within bucks the trend of weaponless horror games like Amnesia and Five Nights at Freddy’s and stocks you with a carefully-balanced arsenal. Instead of charging through waves of enemies, mowing them down with powerful weaponry, The Evil Within cleverly starves the player of resources and randomizes pickups, so no two playthroughs are the same. Some guns can kill enemies in a single shot, but good luck keeping yourself stocked on ammunition.
The Evil Within gets a lot of mileage out of this balance, but it recognizes the importance of occasional empowerment. Rather than a single, monotonous sense of dread, The Evil Within is sometimes generous with resources. This generates an ebb and flow of excitement and fear, giving the game a rich emotional texture. One moment, you’re racing through the city on a bus blasting away at the monster the size of a house; the next, you’re creeping through a village, hoping against hope that no one notices you. Mikami wisely recognizes the importance of emotional diversity, and his game delivers.
Advertisement
Of course, simply having a beautifully balanced inventory system isn’t enough to make The Evil Within feel great. Fortunately, Mikami delivers some robust weapon feel as well. Shoot a monster in the face and you might end up simply blowing a hole through its skull, but that might not be enough to kill it. If you shoot again, the bullet might actually fly through the hole you made, failing to halt the monster’s advance. Similarly, when you hit a monster with a shotgun, it doesn’t simply absorb the damage like a sponge. Hitting someone with a shotgun in The Evil Within causes them to fly backwards, fall over, or explode in a shower of blood. When a weapon hits in The Evil Within, it hits with conviction.
This intelligent use of great-feeling weapons and the flow of abundance and scarcity are highlighted by excellent encounter design. Some of my favorite encounters in the game are in Chapter 6. At one point, you’re trapped in a locked room, waiting for a friend to pick the locks while monsters storm you from all sides. Shortly after, you have to snipe heavily-defended enemies perched high above you while juggling waves of enemies who’d rather get up close and personal. Other great encounters include sneaking through a village at night, setting enemies on fire before they’re aware of you, the aforementioned bus chase, and a fight with a boss who can become invisible.
At its best, The Evil Within works when it’s presenting its players with new, action-intensive challenges that demand engagement. Facing off against the sniper encounter in Chapter 6 is great because there are so many paths through the level, as well as massive cliffs and enemies who attempt to herd you into areas where you’re more vulnerable. The quality of tension in that moment is radically different from the tension in Chapter 3, where you’re low on weapons, can hear an enemy trapped in a barn nearby, and have to resort to staying out of sight, stabbing enemies in the back of the head and stealthily setting them on fire when you can.
Advertisement
The Evil Within’s strength is in its ability to contrast different kinds of tension; rather than repeating the same things ad nauseum, The Evil Within plays it like variations on a theme. Build great variation around strong mechanics and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect game. The problem is when its attempts at variation go too far, veering into survival horror territory that it can’t quite master.
The Evil Within is a game plagued by as many, if not more, bad encounters than good. One of the worst involves waiting for a specific enemy to get close before the player can run away from him. But if you hide two or three times, you can circumvent this encounter entirely. During one of the encounters, I walked away from my computer, poured myself a glass of water, came back, sat down, and found that the bad guy had left the level, all without my doing anything.
Advertisement
Many great horror games rely on stealth. For instance, Alien: Isolation, one of my favorite horror games, let players hold their breath, use tools to distract enemies, and even move around in the locker they’re hiding in. As a horror trope, The Evil Within’s stealth mechanics never feel up to snuff. Great horror requires tension, not passivity and frustration.
The Evil Within also struggles with player movement. While many horror games seem to rely on bad controls and tanky player movement to generate fear, The Evil Within’s shoddy movement just feels unfair. It seems to be more animation-driven than input-reliant, which means that the character may continue to move after the player has stopped pressing keys. Traps are a common obstacle throughout the game, but players often die due to traps because Seb keeps moving when he shouldn’t. These deaths feel undeserved, especially when coupled with the game’s occasionally strange hitboxes—the invisible box around all objects in games that detects whether objects collide with each other or not.
One section involves a boss that requires split-second timing but could also kill you in one hit. Several of my deaths seemed to be thanks to the game not responding to me as quickly as I would have liked—a must when a boss requires great timing—or because the hitboxes felt ill-defined. Several times, a particularly frustrating boss was able to kill me with a single lunge when I felt she should not have been able to, based on how our player models failed to collide.
Advertisement
Many enemies in the game are invincible, or nearly so. While many horror games have relied on this idea to increase the player’s sense of fear and helplessness, The Evil Within often leaves the player little choice in these encounters except to run around in a circle hoping these enemies won’t hurt you. One particularly egregious encounter locks you in a small rectangular room. Run around the edge of the room, take the occasional shot at the boss, he’ll disappear for a moment, reappear, and proceed to follow you around the room—repeat until a door opens.
It’s not nearly as fun as the more proactive ways the game gives you to deal with enemies, such as setting up traps in a courtyard before letting a madman with a chainsaw loose, or counter-sniping a particularly nasty enemy, switching to a shotgun and blasting a crowd of zombies, seamlessly changing back to your rifle and sniping another enemy, then luring some zombies into a trap, all in one smooth motion.
Advertisement
Good encounter design is dramatic encounter design, meaning it follows the rules for good drama. The player wants something, but something is in the way of obtaining that, so the player must struggle to overcome the obstacle to reach their goal. Simply running around a room to avoid getting hit by an invincible boss isn’t very dramatic. Horror games succeed by trimming the fat; the best ones try to ensure that every element works together to create a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. But The Evil Within is so preoccupied with trying to throw every single idea into the game design blender that it never bothers to ask itself whether those ideas work well together.
The result is a messy game that can be great one moment and horrible the next, rather than a tightly focused horror experience. The Evil Within tries to do too many things without taking advantage of its combat strengths, repeating encounters that are built around its horror weaknesses instead. Things that should be frightening come off as weird, comical, or forgettable, like a room full of murder Roombas (yes, that’s a thing) which comes across as more silly than frightening.
Advertisement
Ultimately, The Evil Within betrays the horror genre’s greatest strength: it throws too many ideas at the wall to see what will stick. It tries too hard to avoid being an action game in its encounters, but the action mechanics are vastly superior to the non-action mechanics. Nevertheless, it’s well worth playing; the sheer variety of encounter design is worth exploring, and there are lessons to be learned from both the successes of its action and the failures of its survival horror. The Evil Within isn’t perfect, but it’s always interesting.
|
Seb sez, "The Association for Learning Technology has published a brief guide about how to tender for a new publishing contract for a scholarly journal. This is, on the face of it, dry-as-dust stuff. But what underlies it is the sea change that is taking place in the way that peer-reviewed research is published, and, in particular, the move towards making the results of research (usually publicly funded....) publicly available under one or other Open Access model. Here is the abstract:"
Hundreds of societies publish journals in collaboration with publishers. Some may be considering how and whether to renegotiate or go out to tender. Some may be considering whether they can/should/wish to change the business model of the journal (e.g. by a move to Open Access). Other societies may be considering using an external publisher for the first time. This guide, based on our experience, is written for all of these. In mid October 2010 we issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a new publisher. We had interest from six publishers who asked questions about our intentions. We then received four proposals: one which offered an Open Access model only, one which offered both Open Access and conventional publishing as discrete alternatives, and two which offered approaches that included an Open Access component. Three of the proposals were from big publishers. After evaluating the proposals, ALT's Trustees decided in December 2010 to make the journal, which has been renamed Research in Learning Technology, a fully Open Access journal with effect from 1st January 2012.
|
Attorneys for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Butterfly Labs are allegedly holding talks that could lead to a possible reopening of the troubled bitcoin mining business.
The conversation, while still in its early stages, may allow Butterfly Labs to exit its previously announced court-ordered shutdown, The Kansas City Star reported.
Butterfly Labs was placed in temporary receivership by a US judge last week, a condition that was extended during a hearing on Monday when prosecutors made the case that both the company and its employees effectively profited at the expense of customers.
US District Judge Brian Wimes asked at the time if both sides could potentially agree to what he called a “business plan”. The media outlet suggested that both parties were reportedly enthusiastic about the idea, and discussions have been ongoing since the end of that hearing.
Jim Humphrey, an attorney defending Butterfly Labs, said that he was unable to comment at the time but voiced positivity about the future viability of the company.
Humphrey told the Star:
“I’m unable to comment on ongoing negotiations, but the parties continue to work together. We remain optimistic that we will be able to serve our customers again soon.”
Case continues to evolve
The discussions follow allegations levied by the federal regulator that Butterfly Labs defrauded customers and failed to deliver mining devices as promised. Further, the action by the agency, which polices anticompetitive or deceptive business practices, follows months of complaints against the company.
Documents released prior to Monday’s hearing allege that the company used equipment built for customers to mine bitcoins for extended periods prior to shipment.
Details about an inaccurate online mining profitability calculator and evidence that Butterfly Labs employees created paraphernalia that mocked customer complaints were also divulged in the documents.
Customer recourse
At this time, it remains unclear whether Butterfly Labs will reopen completely or partially under court control. Yet, the idea does represent a potential avenue for providing recourse to customers that together lost millions in both investment costs and future profitability as a result of not receiving equipment.
There are also questions about if and when customer refunds will be processed. As previously explained by FTC attorney Leah Frazier in an interview with CoinDesk, any refunds that were being issued were frozen as a result of last week’s court decision.
She remarked at the time:
“The accounts are frozen right now and the receiver is in control of the business. So, we can’t make any predictions on an ongoing basis as to the status of the refunds. A lot of that will hinge on the court’s decision.”
The order extended on Monday continues the asset freeze placed on Butterfly Labs. However, should the company resume operations, there could be provisions put in place mandating that some or all revenue be directed toward customer refunds.
Document signing image via Shutterstock
|
My family has a long history with Vanilla. My grandparents brought back two bottles of Mexican Vanilla eons ago and ever since we’ve been rationing its use in recipes. I’ve searched far and wide for the same bottles of vanilla but have always come up short. Store bought vanilla just doesn’t taste the same. So when I wanted to make a homemade gift for my family this Christmas, I knew what I had to do, I had to recreate the infamous Mexican Vanilla. Through my research, different types of vanilla beans have distinct flavor profiles. It turns out you can actually buy Mexican Vanilla Beans just like those used in my family’s favorite vanilla! In case you were wondering were this fits into keto, vanilla is great for some keto ice cream, homemade whipped cream or even a cheesecake! So, after getting some beans and a cool bottle, I was off to vanilla land.
I couldn’t believe how well they turned out! When I handed them out at Christmas I’m not sure people realized at first that they were a homemade gift 🙂 I guess my Photoshop skills were too good. Here’s the ingredients you’ll need. The most important is the Vanilla Beans. You can get any type you want but I was specifically going for the flavor of the Mexican Vanilla Beans. The vodka actually doesn’t matter that much but I used a high quality one anyway. Finally you need bottles. You can put it in anything you want. I was aiming for a specific look so I grabbed a dark blue Boston Round Bottle. This has the added benefit of not letting as much light in.
Here’s a closeup of the beans. They’re from a company called beanilla who carries a ton of different types of beans. Next up is the Vodka. In case you hadn’t heard of it, Tito’s is widely regarded as one of the best vodkas on the market. Its distilled 6 times and has won a ton of awards. As an added benefit its Gluten-Free! As an even bigger benefit its cheap!! You only need a 750 mL of vodka for this recipe but it was cheaper to buy the handle of it so I got the larger one. If you won’t drink the vodka separately just get a 750 mL and you’ll use it all up in the recipe. Wash the bottles out and make sure they’re dry! The caps have a nice seal on them. And here is the star of the show, the Vanilla Beans! Now, with a really sharp knife, slice the Vanilla Beans lengthwise. This is a picture of all four vanilla beans sliced lengthwise. Now place all of the beans into the Boston Round Bottle. Since they are a little bigger than the bottle, I just pushed them into the bottle so they twist into place. Here’s what the vanilla beans look like in the bottle. Next add the vodka to the bottle. Ideally, use a flask funnel, but if you don’t have one you can just free pour. Here’s view of the filled bottle. I’m not sure I’d fill it as full next time as there isn’t much room for shaking. But you do want the vanilla beans to be covered. Now here’s the same shot but with the vodka added. You can see the seeds of the vanilla beans starting to mix in with the vodka. Here’s five of the bottles ready to be labeled! Now for the labeling. I spent a decent amount of time trying to think what I wanted to do for the labels. I wanted to print them and fairly simply. So, I picked up a pack of Avery 5263 2″ x 4″ labels. This way I didn’t have to print commercial, I could just print them on a laser printer. Since I wasn’t on top of it enough to make the vanilla so it was ready for Christmas, I added a ready by date on the label along with a To and From line. I made the lines from a picture of a vanilla bean for an added touch. You can download my Template in Word here. Make sure to fill out the labels before you put them on the bottles as its a lot easier 🙂 I had my wife write out the labels because my handwriting is miserable … Homemade Gluten-free Vanilla Extract! Isn’t it beautiful?
|
Like many of his colleagues, Gamble considers V.A.R. a different job. It prizes mental flexibility, strong communication skills, composure and decisiveness. It also commands a degree of attention and focus that, some said, transcends their on-field demands. There are no lulls or breaks in the replay booth.
To maintain that level of engagement, the video assistant referees often narrate the game aloud. They say words or phrases like “potential offsides” or “reset” — notifying the technician sitting beside them to disregard the footage that happened before.
“In here, there’s no salvation if you miss it,” said Christina Unkel, who officiates professional and international matches. “It’s a different kind of concentration because now you have no excuse for why you missed something.”
Unlike in the N.F.L., where coaches can challenge a call on the field, the recommendation for a review in soccer comes from the V.A.R., who sits away from the playing surface, often by the broadcast trucks, and communicates over a wireless headset. Although the number of cameras will vary among stadiums, the V.A.R. will have access to all available broadcast feeds, which will cover at least eight angles.
If a recommendation comes, the on-field referee initiates a video review by forming a rectangle with his fingers — the signal for television — and he can then either watch a replay on a monitor beside the field or accept the V.A.R.’s counsel before ruling whether to uphold or reverse the original call.
Unless evidence to the contrary exists, the decision on the field prevails, though some officials said they would watch the replays themselves as a way to reinforce their credibility to players.
“As referees, we’re obsessive-compulsive,” said Dave Gantar, an M.L.S. referee. “If we make an error in a game, we can’t sleep all night. So, to have somebody come on and go, ‘Hey, trust me,’ is going to be a challenge for a lot.”
|
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 26: Devin Hester #23 of the Chicago Bears celebrates a touchdown catch against the New York Jets at Soldier Field on December 26, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Jets 38-34. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Super Bowl 41 in Miami, Florida. That was the scene of the biggest moment of Devin Hester's 11-year NFL career.
The Riviera Beach native took back the opening kickoff of that Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts in the same city that he turned heads at the University of Miami.
A 92-yard kickoff score wasn't enough for the Bears to beat future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and company, but it was the greatest play of Hester's career and one of the top moments in franchise history.
On Tuesday, the former 2006 second round pick to Twitter to officially announce his retirement from the NFL (LINK). He hadn't played since latching on with Seattle late last season, so this move isn't a big surprise at age 35.
Hester totaled an NFL all-time best 20 regular season return touchdowns from 2006-16. In eight seasons with the Bears, he had 19 total return scores including 13 punt returns, five kick returns and one missed field goal. He would go on to play for Atlanta, Baltimore and Seattle from 2014-2016, adding one more return touchdown.
His rookie season was just the start as he had five return touchdowns. Hester topped that a year later , 2007, with six return scores.
This will always be my favorite Devin Hester return touchdown, an 82-yard punt return for six in the Monday Night Miracle against Arizona during his rookie season.
This will always be my favorite Devin Hester return TD, an 82-yard PR for 6 in the Monday Night Miracle against Arizona. @D_Hest23 #Bears pic.twitter.com/Mvht3wcngT — Jake Perper (@BearsBacker) December 12, 2017
The Super Bowl opening kickoff return was pretty fun to watch to.
Why even kick to him? @D_Hest23 takes back the opening kickoff in Super Bowl 41. #Bears pic.twitter.com/rhnyrBFRmJ — Jake Perper (@BearsBacker) December 12, 2017
Current Bears special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers wasn't in charge of the team when Hester was in town, but he has the utmost respect for No. 23.
"He's the best that's ever done it. You're holding your breath (going against him)," Rodgers told the Bears website writer Larry Mayer on Wednesday. "There's been nobody like him in my generation."
When you think of Hester, you envision speed, elite cutting ability and just overall electric play.
Bears announcer Jeff Joniak made the phrase "Devin Hester you are ridiculous" famous. Hopefully, if Hester earns a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Joniak can be there to introduce him.
A religious, quiet and down to earth person, Hester is one of the best pure scorers in team history. Every time he touched the ball, it made football exciting to watch.
Hester ranks 14th overall in Bears history with 34 total touchdowns which include 14 receiving scores as well. Originally a cornerback as a rookie, Hester switched to wide receiver and was thrust into the starting lineup for a few seasons, hampering his special teams value.
Regardless, Hester is a Hall of Famer in my opinion. He changed the game and changed the kickoff rule simply because he was that good. The kickoff rule was largely altered due to safety reasons, but Hester is a different species when it comes to returning kickoffs or punts.
As a 15-year-old fan of the Bears in 2006, I simply was all about the hype that was surrounding Devin Hester. Two years later, I started this site Bears Backer and I transitioned from a young adult/fan to a writer of the team and critic.
Hester will always be one of the best in my eyes and I was lucky enough to be able to watch his entire career from start to finish.
Bears rookie running back/returner Tarik Cohen has some Hester instilled in him, but there will never be a player quite like Hester in terms overall playmaking ability and creativeness.
Thoughts on the Bears? Make sure to weigh in on the comment section below.
Make sure to follow Jake on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Chicago Bears.
|
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to personally deal with a group of Islamist militants by publicly eating them alive. Duterte described in detail how he would carry out his revenge for last week’s bombing on a night market in the country.
Read more
“They will pay. When the time comes, I will eat you in front of people,” Duterte said on Monday night, addressing an audience including children while on a visit to Laos for a regional summit, AFP reported.
The statement comes in response to a bombing that took place last week at a crowded market in Duterte’s hometown, Davao City, which killed 14 people and injured 68 others. The government blamed Islamic State-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf for the blast.
The group, which is based on remote southern islands in the Philippines, pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in a 2014 video.
The group has been put on the list of terrorist organizations by the US, and has kidnapped foreigners for ransom and beheaded two Canadians in 2016.
The president didn’t mince his words when speaking of what he is planning to do with the militants, who are also accused of killing 15 local soldiers in August.
“I will really carve your torso open. Give me vinegar and salt and I will eat you. I’m not kidding,” Duterte said, as cited by AFP.
“These guys are beyond redemption,” he added.
Read more
The Philippines leader is known as a tough talker, with recent outbursts targeting US President Barack Obama.
On Monday, Duterte called Obama a “son of a b****” and warned the US president against lecturing him over the Philippines’ human rights record. The US leader subsequently canceled his meeting with Duterte scheduled for Tuesday, September 6.
Afterwards, however, Duterte expressed regret that President Obama had taken the tirade as a personal insult.
Renato M. Reyes Jr., political activist and secretary general of Bayan (an alliance of leftist organizations in the Philippines), believes that President Duterte did not intend to insult Obama, but had instead tried to protect his country from outside interference, though in somewhat rude terms.
“I do not think Duterte was actually insulting the late mother of the US president. He was merely expressing how he would feel should the US try to intervene in the Philippines’ domestic policy,” Reyes said.
Duterte, 71, promised to fully eradicate the drug trade in the country as part of his election pledges, and launched a full-scale crackdown on drug dealers after taking office. The move has found vast support among Filipinos.
Human rights organizations, however, have condemned his methods, with 1,011 suspected criminals killed since June and another 1,391 deaths under investigation, according to the latest police figures revealed by AFP.
|
The story of how the Central Intelligence Agency came to operate a secretive program of rendition, detention, and interrogation under President George W. Bush has been made public by a number of investigations into the abuses that resulted. In 2007, the Red Cross detailed the methods used to interrogate suspects at CIA-run “black sites.” In 2010, the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility strongly criticized the Bush administration lawyers who wrote the legal memos permitting the CIA to use torture. And last year, the Constitution Project Task Force on Detainee Treatment—a nonpartisan group that included a number of former military and intelligence personnel—analyzed what is known about mistreatment of detainees and the policy decisions that led to such ugly consequences.
Now a new report is expected from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which is charged with overseeing the activities of the CIA. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee’s chair, launched an investigation into the CIA’s detention and interrogation program in 2009 after learning that the agency had destroyed videotapes of “enhanced interrogations” and had misled Congress about its activities for years. The committee reportedly concluded that the CIA’s use of torture was broader and more brutal than had been acknowledged, and that agents continually lied about the significance of information obtained through torture in order to justify its use. The senators’ report was completed in 2012, but its release has been held up by the CIA’s own “classification review.” Citing security concerns, the agency returned the report’s executive summary with about 15 percent of the text redacted. According to Feinstein—who has long been known as a staunch supporter of the intelligence community—those redactions “eliminate or obscure key facts that support the report’s findings and conclusions.” She asked President Barack Obama to address her concerns, pledging not to release the report summary “until it is readable and understandable.”
It is hard to have faith in the CIA’s judgment about its own secrets, especially given the agency’s recent and flagrant violations of trust. Agents accused intelligence committee members of illegally obtaining an internal agency report, known as the “Panetta review,” that is said to confirm the committee’s findings and contradict the CIA’s official response. Attempting to validate this accusation, CIA personnel illegally searched and read the e-mail of Senate committee members and, when questioned by the agency’s inspector general, “demonstrated a lack of candor about their activities.” After Feinstein decried the intrusion, agency director John O. Brennan expressed outrage at the “spurious allegations.” “My CIA colleagues and I believe strongly in the necessity of effective, strong, and bipartisan congressional oversight,” he insisted.
The CIA’s obstructionism makes a mockery of Brennan’s stated commitment to upholding “the core values that define us as Americans,” not to mention the president’s pledge of “an unprecedented level of openness in government.” On taking office in 2009, Obama declared, “The government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.” That, Feinstein and others allege, is precisely the CIA’s motivation for suppressing information in the committee report. As the Constitution Project Task Force found in 2010, “The high level of secrecy surrounding the rendition and torture of detainees since September 11 cannot continue to be justified on the basis of national security.” The price of keeping such secrets, the task force warned, is high: “Ongoing classification of these practices serves only to conceal evidence of wrongdoing and make its repetition more likely.”
Though an intelligence agency operates largely in secret, its credibility depends on respect for the law and clear standards of accountability. Yet, when the CIA breach of Senate computers was confirmed—and Brennan was compelled to apologize—Obama not only voiced “full confidence” in the CIA head, but went on to scold anyone still seeking accountability for torture and other documented human-rights abuses. “It’s important for us not to feel too sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had,” he said, adding that those who tortured “were working hard under enormous pressure and are real patriots.”
The president’s impulse to excuse abuses that occur in the process of preventing terrorism is alarming, given the renewed threat from Islamist extremists in the Middle East. As ISIS continues its campaign of terror in Iraq—making deliberate reference to the CIA’s history of torture—and Obama looks to advisers like Brennan for guidance, careful oversight of the CIA’s counterterrorism activities will be crucial. The Senate intelligence committee is supposed to provide that oversight. But if the CIA can control whether its past transgressions are exposed, then there is no check on its power—and nothing to guarantee that, in the face of new pressure, America’s “core values” will prevail.
|
In my last post , I scrounged the parts for a very crude, but very cool, experiment you can do in your basement to demonstrate quantum entanglement. To my knowledge, it's the cheapest and simplest such experiment ever done. It doesn't give publishable results, but, to appropriate a line from Samuel Johnson, a homebrew entanglement experiment is "like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." As a warm-up exercise, I sandwich my source of entangled photons--a disk of radioactive sodium-22--between my two Geiger counters (see diagram and photo below) and leave the system to run overnight, measuring how often the Geigers click at the same time. If gamma-ray photons are indeed emerging two by two in opposite directions, the coincidence rate should vary strongly when I change the alignment of the two Geigers. And that is what I see. When the Geigers are pointing straight at each other, each clicks about 900 times per minute and both do so in unison about 4 times per minute. This is about 40% greater than the expected rate of accidental coincidences. There are various subtleties in separating accidental and genuine coincidence rates and in estimating statistical errors, but the signal I observe is something like 10 standard deviations above the noise. When I rotate one of the Geigers out of alignment, the coincidence rate drops precipitously. For a 25? angle, it only about 15% greater than the accidental rate, which is still statistically significant, if barely. For 45? and 90?, it is equal to the expected accidental rate. So I can tentatively conclude I'm seeing pairs of gammas--one or two of them per minute! This is no mean accomplishment given how crude the equipment is. Just because the gammas emerge in pairs doesn't mean they are entangled, though. To check for entanglement, I measure the photons' polarization with a technique called Compton polarimetry. A pair of aluminum cubes bought at OnlineMetals.com serve as gamma-ray prisms, scattering photons in directions that depend on their polarization. The two gammas produced by the annihilation of an antielectron and electron are linearly polarized at right angles to each other , so they should scatter off the aluminum in perpendicular directions. Here's where the physics gets spooky. Each individual photon scatters in a random direction, yet the random direction one photon takes is related to the random direction its partner does. The gammas act in synchrony. How can they do that, if they're truly random? Einstein concluded that the photons either are not truly random or are acting on each other at a distance. In a first attempt to observe this effect, I sandwich the sodium-22 disk in between the two cubes and put a Geiger on one face of each cube (see photo below). I start by pointing the Geigers in the same direction and letting them sit overnight to count the coincidences. In the morning, I move one Geiger to a different face of its cube, so that the two detectors are now perpendicular to the other, and leave the system to run all day. I continue cycling through different ways to align the detectors either parallel or perpendicular to each other. Entanglement should betray itself as an asymmetry in the coincidence rate. And indeed that's what I see. About one coincidence occurs per minute on average, and the rate is consistently greater when the Geigers are perpendicular. It looks like entanglement in action! A wise graduate student would hesitate to show this result to his or her faculty advisor, though. The perpendicular rate stands a couple of standard deviations above the expected accidental-coincidence rate, but the parallel rate swims in the noise. So the asymmetry might well be a fluke of statistics or a subtle bias in the setup. To improve on the experiment, I need to beat down the accidental rate--in particular, the rate caused by gammas traveling straight from the sodium to the Geiger counter rather than scattering off the aluminum. I enclose the radioactive sodium in a so-called collimator: a lead storage canister in which I drilled a 1/2-inch hole at either end. A couple of hundred gammas per minute leak out through each hole, forming a pair of gamma-ray beams. The lead squelches off-axis radiation by a factor of about four. With the collimator, the coincidence rate drops by a factor of 10, but now exceeds the predicted accidental rate for both orientations. The perpendicular rate is the higher of the two, again as the Compton-polarimetry theory predicts for entangled photons. This still isn't anything to call the Nobel committee about. At best, it implies the detection of one entangled pair of photons every 20 minutes, and with such a meager trickle, who knows what subtle bias might be operating. What was iffy for the pioneering Bleuler and Bradt experiment can only be more so for my apparatus. Then again, all I'm seeking is a suggestive demonstration, not a research-grade system. A possible next step would be to special-order a stronger sodium-22 source, which would bring the particle rates in my experiment up to the level of Bleuler and Bradt's, at the price of posing a greater radiation hazard. Another idea would be to try scatterers besides aluminum cubes. Beyond that, however, I think you exhaust the el-cheapo options and have to dig deeper into your wallet, starting with replacing the Geigers counters with scintillation counters, as Wu and Shaknov used. These are more efficient at picking up radiation; create shorter electrical pulses for each particle they detect, which reduces the probability of accidental coincidences; and measure particle energy, which would help to sift out annihilation-produced photons. But such instruments are pricier and fussier. A useful guide to further refinements is Leonard Kaskay's Ph.D. dissertation from 1972. A student of Wu, Kasday systematically went through the possible sources of error: multiple scattering, geometric misalignment, unwanted photons, and more. He was able to achieve enough precision to show that the gammas violated a mathematical inequality derived by theorist John S. Bell, confirming that he was seeing spooky action at a distance rather than some mundane effect. These kinds of experiments are notoriously tricky, so please share your thoughts and advice--not to mention your attempts to reproduce! Wait till your friends hear that you're an amateur quantum physicist in your spare time.
|
OSLO (Reuters) - A thawing Antarctic glacier that is the biggest contributor to rising sea levels is likely to continue shrinking for decades, even without an extra spur from global warming, a study showed on Thursday.
An iceberg which was part of the Pine Island Glacier is shown separating from the Antarctica continent in this MODIS image taken by NASA’s Aqua satellite on November 10, 2013 and released by NASA November 14, 2013. REUTERS/NASA/Handout via Reuters
Scientists said the Pine Island Glacier, which carries more water to the sea than the Rhine River, also thinned 8,000 years ago at rates comparable to the present, in a melt that lasted for decades, perhaps for centuries.
“Our findings reveal that Pine Island Glacier has experienced rapid thinning at least once in the past, and that, once set in motion, rapid ice sheet changes in this region can persist for centuries,” they wrote in the U.S. journal Science.
A creeping rise in sea levels is a threat to low-lying coasts from Bangladesh to Florida, and to cities from London to Shanghai. Of the world’s biggest glaciers, in Antarctica and Greenland, Pine Island is the largest contributor.
The trigger of the ancient thinning, of about a metre (3 ft) a year, was probably a natural climate shift that warmed the sea and melted the floating end of the glacier, removing a buttress that let ice on land slide more quickly into the sea.
“It seems to be a similar mechanism now ... it could easily continue for decades,” Professor Mike Bentley of Durham University in England, a co-leader of the project that included experts in the United States and Germany, told Reuters.
Other studies indicate that a build-up of man-made greenhouse gases, rather than natural shifts, is behind the warmer waters blamed for an accelerating thinning and retreat of the glacier in the past two decades, he said.
Regardless of the cause, the glacier’s history suggests that nations may have to factor several centimetres of rising sea level from Pine Island alone into their planning for coastal defences. Experts are studying the history of other glaciers for clues to their future.
TEN PINTS A DAY
“The amount of ice being lost from Pine Island glacier is equivalent to every person on our planet pouring 10 pints of water into the ocean every day,” Professor Andrew Shepherd, an expert at the University of Leeds who was not involved in the study, told Reuters. “That’s the last thing our flood defences need right now.”
The United Nations’ panel on climate change says that global warming means that sea levels are likely to rise 26 to 82 cms (10-32 inches) by the late 21st century, after a gain of almost 20 cms over the last 100 years.
Scientists uncovered the Pine Island glacier’s past thinning by studying quartz rocks in which the element beryllium changes when exposed to cosmic rays that bombard the planet’s surface.
“It’s like a stopwatch,” James Smith, an author of the study at the British Antarctic Survey, told Reuters.
|
The restaurants and bars to avoid during Dreamforce
Tonga Room 950 Mason St.
Dreamforce guidebook quote: "Rather than being a place to impress your guests, it’s a good informal place to get to know your fellow attendees and build relationships." Tonga Room 950 Mason St.
Dreamforce guidebook quote: "Rather than being a place to impress your guests, it’s a good informal place to get to know your fellow attendees and build relationships." Photo: Gabrielle Lurie Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 25 Caption Close The restaurants and bars to avoid during Dreamforce 1 / 25 Back to Gallery
Dreamforce doesn't just cause a traffic jam in San Francisco: It causes a major overcrowding issue in seemingly every downtown space.
With an estimated 170,000 attendees, Dreamforce balloons the size of San Francisco for the week. And when those folks aren't attending U2 concerts or guest speaker panels, they're crowding our restaurants, bellying up at our bars and wandering our streets.
The good news is that Dreamforce attendees may well be congregating in places you can easily avoid — they're handily listed in the conference's guide to the "25 places to have a business meeting in San Francisco." The list, available here for free, is curated for attendees "catching up with colleagues, making new contacts, and checking in with customers."
The Dreamforce guidebook also includes a list of places tourists should see while in town. Among them is the singularly worrisome recommendation to visit Twin Peaks at night. In the last year, Twin Peaks has been the site of several high-profile muggings, particularly at night.
For some of the restaurants and bars Dreamforce recommends to its attendees, check out the gallery above.
|
SNOW HILL, Md. (AP) -- Police say three men who were pretending to be police officers assaulted and robbed a pregnant woman in Maryland.
Maryland State Police say the woman was driving from New York to Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday when she was pulled over by what she thought was a police car. The 38-year-old woman is from Brooklyn, New York.
The woman said one of the men approached the car and sprayed pepper spray into the car before spraying it on a towel that he held over her face.
The woman said the man then punched her in the stomach when she got out of the car. She said that another man who was holding a handgun stole her purse, which contained cash and an expensive jeweled belt.
Police have not found the suspects.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
Image copyright Martin Smith Image caption Filaments of the ancient fungus
It is smaller than a human hair, resembles a mushroom, and is thought to be the earliest fossil of a land-dwelling organism.
The fungus, which dates back 440 million years, spent its life under the ground rotting down matter.
Even the scientist who analysed it - Dr Martin Smith - admits it is a ''humble little fungus''.
But the pioneer, known as Tortotubus, could help explain how early life colonised the rocky barren Earth.
Most scientists agree that life moved from the sea to the land between 500 and 450 million years ago.
But in order for plants and animals to gain a foothold on terra firma there needed to be nutrients and soil to support them.
Fungi kick-started this process, by getting nitrogen and oxygen into the rudimentary soil.
Fossil record
Dr Smith says there were probably bacteria and algae already on land - but these are rarely preserved in the fossil record.
This makes Tortotubus probably the oldest fossil of a land-dwelling organism yet to be found.
Image copyright Martin Smith Image caption Samples were discovered in Gotland, Sweden
Dr Smith told BBC News: ''It's the first fossil of an organism that only lived on land.
''It would have broken down dead, decayed material - essentially rotted it.''
Mushroom-forming fungi
The fossilised fungus has been found in many locations, including Sweden and Scotland.
Each microfossil is shorter than a human hair is wide and has a rope-like structure similar to that of some modern-day fungi.
Scientists think that early fungi contributed to soil formation and the rotting process, thereby paving the way for flowering plants and trees, then animals.
''During the period when this organism existed, life was almost entirely restricted to the oceans: nothing more complex than simple mossy and lichen-like plants had yet evolved on the land,'' said Dr Smith, who carried out the research at the University of Cambridge but is now based at Durham University.
''But before there could be flowering plants or trees, or the animals that depend on them, the processes of rot and soil formation needed to be established.''
The research is published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.
Follow Helen on Twitter.
|
The chairman of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Frank Daly has made a complaint to the State’s ethics watchdog about a former member of the agency’s Northern Ireland Advisory Committee who is at the centre of the Cerberus controversy.
Mr Daly, in a letter to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) dated March 2nd 2016, complained formally about Frank Cushnahan, saying he “may have contravened section 17” of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995.
Mr Daly’s complaint means that an investigatory agency of the Republic – Sipo – has now joined the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and a US investigation, in examining Project Eagle, Nama’s single largest property deal in which the US-based fund, Cerberus, was ultimately successful.
Section 17 of the Republic’s ethics Act states that a person who holds a directorship in a public body must tell Sipo of any interests they have that could materially influence them in relation to the performance of their duties as a director.
In his complaint to Sipo, Mr Daly claims that Mr Cushnahan may have contravened the Act because of shares he (Mr Cushnahan) held in the Graham Group companies “which were obligors in respect of loans acquired by Nama from participating institutions”, according to a July 7th letter from Sipo to the independent TD Mick Wallace.
Mr Wallace has been at the forefront in questioning Nama and the sale of its Northern Ireland portfolio (Project Eagle) with a par value of €5.7 billion, which was eventually bought by the United States-based company Cerberus for a reported €1.6 billion in 2014.
Initial bidder
Sipo has apointed an investigating officer, Simon Noone, to examine Mr Daly’s complaint against his former colleague Mr Cushnahan.
Project Eagle was brought to fruition in part through the efforts of the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee in which Mr Cushnahan played a leading role.
It has since been claimed by Mr Wallace in the Dáil that several advisors, lawyers and politicians in the North were due to receive bribes as part of the process of securing the portfolio’s sale to Cerberus.
|
The Mets are averaging just three runs per game, the least amount in the NL, since the end of their 11-game winning streak on April 24.
The Mets scored just one run on Tuesday. They had just one hit entering the eighth inning, during which they scored their only run off a sac-fly by Kevin Plawecki. They were hitless in three at bats with a runner in scoring position.
Matthew Cerrone: They're not hitting well, regardless of who is on the mound, and there is no other way to put it. They look totally opposite of the team that hit, worked counts and got on base so well the first few weeks of the season. They were one type of offense for three weeks, now they've been a significantly lesser one the last three weeks. So, which is it?
Obviously, they're missing David Wright and Travis d'Arnaud, but the problem is more widespread than just those two slots. These days, the entire team is not driving the ball. They're swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone. And, inversely, they look hesitant in key situations. Meanwhile, Lucas Duda has become nothing but a spray hitter; Michael Cuddyer has been the definition of streaky; and prolonged slumps appear to be contagious.
If I had to guess, it looks to me like guys are a bit overextended and maybe looking to do too much, and got off their game, given the injuries to Wright and d'Aranud, and Daniel Murphy and Juan Lagares to a lesser extent. And, through it, they've developed some bad habits and now it's in their heads. I was more than willing to praise Kevin Long when his batters were looking efficient and smart, so it's only fair to question his tactics as they slump. I don't know what he's doing these days, but he may want to force in-game situation, and get back to playing team psychologist and cheerleader to re-focus these guys back to teamwork and playing to their strengths.
|
Metro Detroit-area organization supporting foster children and families to hold fundraising gala June 1, 2012. Sponsorship opportunities available.
End
-- DETROIT – On Saturday, June 1, the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association's program for foster children will hold its annual fundraising gala at the Roostertail. The event, “In Seventh Heaven,” benefits For The Seventh Generation (www.fortheseventhgeneration.org), an organization that matches donors of goods and professional services to foster children in need in metro Detroit.For The Seventh Generation is a project of the DMBA Foundation in cooperation with the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Human Services.In 2012, In Seventh Heaven featured live music by the Jill Jack Band and local, Grammy-nominated jazz ensemble Straight Ahead. According to DMBA Foundation and For The Seventh Generation Executive Director Lorraine Weber, attendees can expect live music to be among the main features of the 2013 event as well.“In 2012 we broadened the focus of In Seventh Heaven beyond the legal community because of the launch of our music lesson program for foster children, Play It Forward,” Weber explained, “so live music and a dance floor were a natural fit. Everyone who came had a fabulous time, so of course we want to repeat that success and build on it for 2013.” Weber added that, in addition to the entertainment, the event will continue to feature the multi-course, gourmet strolling supper that patrons enjoyed in 2012.“The Roostertail has an exquisite menu – we definitely recommend that participants plan on enjoying dinner as well as dancing this year!,” she said.As the event has expanded, so too has For The Seventh Generation. In addition to Play It Forward, the foster service organization has added a Help Closet to distribute donations that are originally accepted through the FTSG website. The non-profit has also expanded its social media presence with a Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/ fortheseventhgeneration ), a blog, and a new LinkedIn company page.While details on sponsorship rates and packages are yet to be decided, Weber said that she is currently taking calls from individuals, companies, and other organizations that may want to reserve their sponsorship opportunity early.“With our expanded social media presence we'll be able to give our sponsors an extra publicity boost this year,” Weber explained. “We enjoyed a wonderful response from the corporate, non-profit and legal communities in 2012, and I'm looking forward to being able to offer our sponsors even more in 2013.” Weber invited potential In Seventh Heaven sponsors to contact her via email at [email protected] or by phone at (313) 961-6120, ext. 206.Last year's In Seventh Heaven sponsors included Charity Motors ( http://www.charitymotors.org ); GEM Asset Management (www.gemasset.net/home); Kelly Ramsey Photography (www.kellyramseyphotography.com/);Matthew Belcher (www.belcherlawoffice.com), the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law (www.cooley.edu)and Vincent Mastrovito from Luminous Wealth Management. Southfield's Park West Gallery (www.parkwestgallery)continued its historic support of the event as well.For The Seventh Generation is a project of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation in cooperation with the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Human Services. For more information visit the organization's website at: http://www.fortheseventhgeneration.org or its Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/fortheseventhgeneration.
|
There are minor spoilers for the Evil Dead remake within. Most of the spoilers, such as they are, have been revealed in trailers and clips released online.
The most disturbing part of the SXSW premiere screening of Evil Dead 2013 came after the tree rape scene, when the hundreds of people in the Paramount Theater erupted into applause. “YEAH!” shouted a guy from the balcony. I had been having a hard time getting into the film, and that reaction really pulled me right out of it.
I won’t judge that crowd too harshly (well, the “YEAH!” guy probably needs to be put in jail, but the rest...) because I suspect what was happening was they were responding in a Pavlovian fashion to a callback from the original film, which also featured a brutal rape by tree. There were a lot of moments like that in the film, tons of Family Guy-esque ‘This reminds me of the time there was a chainsaw in the previous Evil Dead movies,’ bits of fanservice.
The tree rape itself... well, it’s problematical in general. Before we get to why, let’s talk about the history of the tree rape, and it was presented in The Evil Dead.
According to Sam Raimi, he regrets having it in the original film. Talking in this video interview, Raimi says, “I think it was unnecessarily gratuitous and a little too brutal. And finally because people were offended in a way that I didn't...my goal is not to offend people. It is to entertain, thrill, scare...make them laugh but not to offend them.”
He chalks it up to being a kid when he made the film, a kid who maybe wasn’t thinking it through. “I know that a lot of nineteen year olds that are stealing cars and murdering people. Not to make that comparison but I think my judgement was a little wrong at that time.”
The original The Evil Dead tree rape is actually incredible filmmaking. Raimi, even when he’s going too far, is an impeccable craftsman, and the sequence is horrifying and creepy and powerfully intense. There’s a moment where Ellen Sandweiss' Cheryl, pinned to the ground by prehensile roots and branches, desperately attempts to cover her bare breast as the tree rips her hand away. It’s sheer exploitation, but in Raimi’s hands it’s almost shattering in its depiction of Cheryl trying to maintain any of her dignity. The actual penetration is fast and brutal, but Raimi doesn’t linger on it - there are a lot of shots of smoke in front of lights, representations of Cheryl’s point of view intended to counterpoint the Deadite POV through the early parts of the rape.
I could make an argument that the original tree rape is interesting in that it dramatizes the way that the world itself seems to be menacing women, in the way that rape culture is almost part of the landscape, but that isn’t what Raimi was going for in 1981. He was trying to make a totally over-the-top, no holds barred exploitation movie in line with stuff like Last House on the Left and I Spit On Your Grave, but with a nightmare quality those two ‘realistic’ films lacked. He was going for surreal ugliness and nastiness, and he succeeded.
Thirty years later, the tree rape is back. Director Fede Alvarez has said that it was included in the remake at the behest of the producers; I’ve heard from behind the scenes folks that it was Rob Tapert who thought it was a vital addition to the remake. He’s certainly correct that it’s one of the defining moments of the original. But in this new, slick, studio movie it takes on strange and new connotations.
There’s an attempt to ‘soften’ the tree rape by not having the tree actually rape anybody. Instead the tree restrains Jane Levy’s Mia while an undead witch rapes her with some kind of a huge tongue worm that also impregnates her with Deadites or something. This adds a strange new psychosexual element to it all, a lesbian side that’s meant to... make the rape less about rape culture? Less male-induced? To bring a sense of gay panic? Is the metaphor here that a dyke rapes a girl and brings her to the other team? There’s some credence to that, because later in the film Mia, locked in the cellar, attacks another girl by making out with her. That girl also becomes a Deadite.
It’s all part of Evil Dead 2013’s confusing and contradictory gender politics. There’s a scene where Jessica Lucas’ Olivia, in the early stages of possession, looks at herself in the mirror and begins cutting her face off. Her boyfriend, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, comes into the bathroom to help her and she attacks him with a hypodermic needle, trying to stab him in the eye. Here, in one scene, is an extraordinary metaphor for how the male gaze impacts women and how they want to fight against it. Then Pucci crushes her head with a toilet lid and nobody ever questions why he just murdered his faceless girlfriend. The revolt against the male gaze is put down and all is right in the world. What a weird mixed message; just from a narrative standpoint it would make sense for the other characters to question Pucci’s actions, since nobody was in the bathroom with him when this craziness went down.
I don’t think much of this is purposeful, but rather a symptom of an attempt at making a movie that’s gory and roars from scene to scene. The movie, as I wrote in my review, drops its central metaphor of drug addiction as possession as fast as it possibly can so it can just get to the gore. That means it’s muddled and confused.
This is where the tree rape ‘problem’ comes in. The original The Evil Dead is a nasty movie. It’s kind of mean-spirited. It has that Raimi glee in there, but it’s nothing like the splatstick of Evil Dead 2, which is the movie most people think of when they think of this franchise. The tree rape is, as noted above, UGLY. Scary. But Evil Dead 2013 isn’t really like that. While Fede Alvarez does, admirably, try to get really disturbing along the way, the film is mostly a gory Gallagher show, where it’s guts in your face instead of watermelon. In that context the tree rape is weird. And it’s even weirder because it’s only in the film because it was in the original film. Aesthetically the tree rape doesn't feel part of the whole of Evil Dead 2013.
I’m curious how the tree rape is going to play with general audiences. I suspect more people will see Evil Dead 2013 this weekend than saw The Evil Dead in its entire theatrical run. And the people who will be seeing the movie are not the kind of people who are educated in the exploitation history of the film. To jaded horror dweebs like me, tree rape is just a thing, but to the people coming to the new movie starring that girl from Suburgatory... well, it’s going to be a real shocker.
My old boss, Nick Nunziata of CHUD, has already discovered that. He got into a small brouhaha after a free screening of the film - you can read about it here. Nick has said that his joke at the screening was taken out of context in the Tumblr post, and I don’t doubt it, but what he’s missing is that the context of the moviegoing world itself has changed. This isn’t just a movie for us, it’s a mass market movie, which makes some of the rougher and more gratuitous stuff - stuff that Raimi felt went too far when he was making a grindhouse film - stand out all the more.
As a guy who has watched absolutely despicable films like Hot Summer in the City, the Evil Dead 2013 tree rape didn’t phase me. But its purposelessness in the film - the way it’s just there because fans want it there, the way it’s been ‘neutered’ in such a manner as to actually make it more offensive - did. And that guy in the balcony, the guy who yelled “YEAH!” - he keeps getting into my head. I keep wondering what it says about this movie that I think this guy had the reaction the filmmakers intended.
|
About This Game
Super VR Trainer
Unleash your power shooting your opponents with your bow, deflecting blaster shots with your laser swords, surviving an infested hospital, being the king of basket or surfing with your hoverboard. Welcome toWithyou'll enjoy 6 games carefully crafted with love for VRAn abandoned hospital. Your only company are your flashlight and your trusty gun. Well, your only company aside zombies, crawling heads, ogres, zombie dogs and the terrifying lizardman!Use your light blades and defend yourself from shooting soldiers, mechanic spiders, robotic ninjas and killer drones! Feeling overwhelmed? Activate your powers to slow down time!The cartoon-looking bow & arrow game where you'll have to defeat spear-throwing enemies. You'll have to physically dodge those spears while attack with your own bow.Show your skills! A simple but fun arcade basketball game. Running out of time? Try to earn some extra seconds scoring on the basket on your back!Speed up time or slow it down while surfing with your own music! How long can you survive traveling these futuristic landscapes?Evil emperor Glurg got you trapped on an asteroid and has slaved you to into completing lines on this reimagined classicOK, there's no emperor, slavery or history for this one. It's just a puzzle game!
|
While everyone is debating the block size, there is another ongoing lighter debate taking place - the logo and symbol of Bitcoin. Its letter B needs to be standardized to the single horizontal slash Unicode version or the double vertical slash Thai Baht-looking version. There is also another discussion of how the Bitcoin logo should look - the physical gold coin logo or the flat orange logo.
The controversial attitude surrounding this topic is that Bitcoin is not a company, product, brand or logo. However, branding is still important as it adds value to even decentralized computer protocol and the ideas surrounding it.
A group of industry leaders have tried to standardize Bitcoin's symbol back in 2014 with creation of a website to express their opinions. The industry leaders' chosen B is already an unofficial Unicode character but this has yet to be accepted by the Consortium.
Branding adds communication and visual messages to the cryptocurrency environment. People pay more to Coca-Cola and Nike than their generic versions. However, consensus for these visual Bitcoin ideas has not been met and is hard to achieve because no one controls Bitcoin.
The issue with the double vertical slash B is that it is a logo and not a member of a font character set. It can be used as a webfont which has different characteristics than Unicode. It is an image and a brand type that can be seen as a product.
Most of the time we see the vertical double slash white B surrounded by an orange circle. Satoshi Nakamoto used the double vertical slash B in the original Bitcoin client. The single horizontal slash B is a Unicode character (not quite yet) that represents itself as a currency symbol.
The intentionality of the slashes in the B character is supposed to represent a similarity to current currency icons. A symbol like the dollar or euro is used to represent a currency which is said to be not owned. However, some would disagree with this statement because almost all legal tender is owned by its countries' governments or private banks.
The horizontal slashed Unicode entry is used in a variety of font styles from Arial to Ubuntu. The double vertical slashed symbol meanwhile is not and the closest version available is the Thai Baht. Some people do not like this resemblance since Bitcoin does not represent any geographical region or sovereign government.
Throughout the years, many have shared both sides of this debate through icons, apps, and product placements. The tilted B with the orange background seems to be the most popular logo in graphics and this has yet to be challenged.
However, this logo would probably never see the light as a unicode character. Even the unofficial single horizontal slashed B has yet to make it into the Unicode Consortium although members of the community have been trying since 2011.
Gold coins with the B symbol do not sit too well with a lot of people either. Some say that having Bitcoin represented on a gold coin puts a new concept on top of a vintage thought. The conflation with gold coins is not the direction some would like to use.
Gold coins are not Bitcoin and most of the time the protocol has no resemblance at all with coins and physical money. Others would argue that Bitcoin is very much like "digital gold" and have no problem imagining the protocol in this way.
Bitcoin vs bitcoins
There is also the debate surrounding the capitalization of Bitcoin. There is a difference between the currency and the protocol so it should be separated in written language, people argue. However, this argument is not entirely agreed upon as many use different methods when writing.
Some capitalize Bitcoin all the time while some use the separation to distinguish code protocol and currency symbolization. According to the Bitcoin wiki entry on the subject of capitalization:
Accepted practice is to use Bitcoin (singular with an upper case letter B) to label the protocol, software, and community, and bitcoins (with a lower case b) to label units of the currency.
Can Bitcoin be officially branded?
It's highly doubtful at this point in time as both methods seem to be chosen and an unofficial representation exists. Maybe this is not such a bad thing as both can exist simultaneously and cover Bitcoin as both a brand or an uncontrolled decentralized currency.
This is the beauty of Bitcoin where it cannot be controlled by one singular force and the entire network of participants must agree. Over time demonstrated methods of preference will outweigh some concepts and this will be the case for the logo and branding too.
As a graphic artist, this debate is very interesting as it shows the preferences of the human spirit. The fun thing about this debate is that there is still no specific design structure that must be followed. This means that if a person uses the Unicode style B or the logo, the audience usually accepts this as the designer's individual opinion.
A Bitcoin currency symbol has many attributes to give to those trying to understand it. If recognized by the Unicode Consortium, the value of the protocol and currency may be seen in a better light. It may give it validity in the realm of monetary legitimacy. The acceptance of the icon by Unicode would help graphic artists, typographers and writers deliver a brand that everyone recognizes universally.
To me the ‘Honey Badger’ doesn't care what you think and it continues its life. But maybe Bitcoin isn't a Badger at all. Maybe I personally think it's a little monkey on your back, both friendly and devious at the same time. The choice is yours, that's the most inspiring thing about individualism, human action and the digital protocol that we all love. Over time, a symbol, icon or brand may prevail but until then, no one is wrong and all kinds of symbolization is used.
|
About
Sharp-It is a new and innovative magnetic accessory to help you keep track of your Sharpie® brand marker.
Our story:
Most people would agree that a universal experience for all of us who use Sharpies® in our daily lives, whether at home or in the workplace, is not being able to find one when you need it.
While we were working in our machine shop/ fabrication shop, we use the Sharpie® as a general purpose marking implement. It can be used for rough layout lines, writing on projects, or even jotting down a note. We were spending way too much time searching for our Sharpies®.
We just wanted to be able to find our Sharpies®!
The Sharp-It was born out of necessity.
It will be available in two styles: an industrial version which is knurled, and a smooth contoured version.
Knurled and Contoured Sharp-It
We like to think of it as a beautiful accessory for your favorite writing instrument, almost like Sharpie® jewelry.
The Sharp-It is sure to find many suitable applications in your everyday life. Find a magnetic surface to stick your Sharp-It to, or apply the included Landing Pad/Strip for non-magnetic surfaces such as wood, plastic or glass.
NEW BOOST GOAL:
Polished Copper, Polished Aluminum, and Polished Brass Sharp-Its
The Landing Pad:
Landing Pad and Contoured Sharp-It
When we came up with the Sharp-It we were sticking it to the machine tools in our shop. When we began to bring them home and use them more in our day to day life's, we realized that there were places with non-magnetic surfaces that we wanted to stick our Sharpies® to as well. That's when we came up with the idea for the landing pad. The landing pad is a 1x1 inch brushed steel plate with 16th inch double-sided foam adhesive tape on the back. It will adhere to most surfaces such as wood, plastic, or glass. The foam backing even allows for uneven surface adhesion such as the diamond plate found on most aluminum tool boxes.
Materials:
The Sharp-it is made from 6061-T6 aircraft grade aluminum, for maximum durability and outstanding fit and finish. We use super strong Neodymium magnets which provide over 3 pounds of magnetic force to keep your Sharpie® securely in place.
Anodizing:
We want to supply the Sharp-It in numerous colors, especially colors to accompany the standard Sharpie® color palette. The only thing standing in our way is an initial lot charge at the anodizing facility. If we provide ten different colors, and the minimum lot charge is $60 per batch of different colors. We would have to pay $600 in anodizing prototypes alone, and this is only for one run. Meaning if we want to try new colors or styles we need to know that there is an interested market before we invest in the experimentation of color choices. We would like to produce a large enough run of Sharp-Its to justify this cost.
A colorized representation of potential anodizing colors
Anodizing goal:
As the Kickstarter progresses we will use a monetary goal to determine if there is interest in anodized versions of the Sharp-It. Once we pass $5,000 we will begin to offer Sharp-Its anodized in the primary colors.
If there is not interest in anodized colors, the Sharp-It will be provided in a polished aluminum finish as shown in our photos.
Mini Sharpies® are compatible too!
Applications:
Automotive
Machine Shop
Wood Shop
Construction
Food Service
Household
School/ Educational
Electrical
Plumbing
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Artists
Hobby/ Crafts
And more!
Examples of use: On the fridge with a pad of paper, to jot quick notes, To-Do lists, or grocery lists.
On the freezer to write expiration dates on frozen or defrosted food.
Stick it to the side of a toolbox
Leave one on each of your machines in your shop, and you'll never have to look for the sharpie again (strong enough to stick to cast iron)
Stick one on your work so you don't have to rummage around for a marker.
Apply a landing pad/strip to the dashboard of your car
The evolution of the Sharp-It:
From left to right: First handmade plastic prototype, First handmade metal prototype, 3D Printed prototype of contoured version, Finalized version of knurled model, Finalized version of contoured model
CAD Drawing of the Sharp-It
Usage:
Step 1. Slide the sharp-it onto your favorite Sharpie® brand marker.
Step 2. (optional) Remove adhesive backing and apply the Landing Pad to a non-magnetic surface.
Step 3. Stick your Sharpie® to a magnetic surface for easy access and the ability to quickly find it.
One handed operation:
The cap can be removed by pushing up on the Sharp-It with a thumb while holding the marker in one hand, the cap can then either be placed on the back of the marker to allow the placement of an open marker on a magnetic surface, or stuck to a magnetic surface for safe keeping while the marker is in use. This is especially useful if you are holding something with your non-writing hand.
Contoured Sharp-It on stainless steel Sharpie®
Goals:
1. Have the Sharp-It anodized in a variety of vibrant colors to match your favorite Sharpie® colors as well as to help it stick out so you can spot your marker easily. If we reach $5,000 we will begin to get some prototype Sharp-Its anodized.
2. Acquire more robust and time efficient CNC equipment to facilitate growth of production.
Right now we are essentially producing the Sharp-It with two different CNC machines. One is a heavily modified Little Machine Shop brand 4100 HiTorque Mini Lathe, and the other is a Tormach PCNC 770 personal CNC mill. These two machines have served us quite well during prototyping and early production stages.
Our objective right now is to increase our production speed, so that we are able to provide the Sharp-It in larger quantities for a more affordable price. We know that people have more than one Sharpie® lying around, and that you will probably want 5 or more Sharp-Its in each package. The whole objective is to decrease our manufacturing cost on multi-unit packages, so we can pass that savings on to you the customer.
In order to accomplish this goal we need higher capacity production equipment. The machine we feel is best suited for this task is a Haas ST-10Y. A CNC lathe with milling capabilities. By helping us get this machine we will be able to produce the Sharp-It as well as come up with a slew of other new and innovative products that require a machine like the ST-10Y.
We feel very confident that we can supply the necessary rewards to fulfill any orders generated through Kickstarter, because we are already operating a full machine shop business. We've been in business for over 10 years, job shopping, and doing general fabrication. The direction we would really like move in is towards a mass marketed quality product that is produced in the US.
Production:
We need to turn this:
The custom fabricated mini-lathe that currently produces Sharp-its
Into this:
The Haas ST-10Y CNC we need to buy
Why we need the Haas:
Currently we are producing Sharp-Its on two separate machines, the mini CNC lathe pictured above and a CNC mill. The benefit of acquiring the Haas machine is that it combines the CNC milling capability and the lathe into one. The equipment we have is more suited to prototyping rather than large scale production. We can currently produce 10 finished parts an hour between the two machines, which is roughly 80 parts a day. The Haas would allow us to make a minimum of 500 parts a day.
Our reasoning behind our funding goal:
Why $11,500? We thought it would be presumptuous to expect you as our community to pay for our machine outright. Therefore we are only asking for the down payment and few months payments on the machine to secure this products success.
Special Thanks:
Andrew Shewell - Music score
Reilly Lorastein - Product name
Tormach and LittleMachineShop.com - CNC equipment
Our friends and families for all their support!
Disclaimer:
The Sharp-It is a small item that contains magnets and should not be given to small children. (You probably don't want your child to be wielding a permanent marker anyway)
|
Sony has a released a bunch of statistics covering the first four months of life of its new baby. Beyond regular sales figures (six million units so far, and nearly 14 million game sales), some of the more interesting numbers relate to how PlayStation gamers are engaging with the console's online features. We're told that half of all PS4 owners have been persuaded to cough up for a PS Plus subscription, which grants access to online multiplayer gaming as well as a number of discounted and free titles. Meanwhile, the 'Share' button on the DualShock 4 controller has apparently been used 100 million times to share recorded game highlights with the PS4 community, and 3.6 million gameplay broadcasts have been streamed over Twitch and Ustream -- a feature that still hasn't been enabled on the Xbox One. And who knows? The PS4's Twitch numbers might have been even higher if people hadn't gotten themselves banned for playing real-live strip poker.
|
A video of a racist altercation in Abbotsford is making the rounds online.
The slur-ridden video appears to take place in a parking lot on South Fraser Way and Pauline Street. In it, a Caucasian man verbally assaults another person behind the camera, apparently over a parking space.
In the 2:20 minute video, the man calls the person a “Hindu” and a “P*ki” who “should go back to India.”
He also calls him a “camel-riding motherf*****” and other racial slurs not appropriate for publication.
Early on in the clip, he bangs his chest and shouts “white power motherf*****.”
At one point, the man approaches the camera and asks, “When did you come to Canada?” to which the person filming responds, “I was born in Canada.”
The man then enters the passenger seat of a truck, rolls down the window and says: “Did you ever wear a turban? You should. I think your wife would like you better.”
Abbotsford Police spokesperson Cst. Judy Bird says officers have been made aware of the video and have identified all parties involved.
She told Global News the man seen in the video was being ticketed for parking in a reserved spot on Friday, Oct. 21. According to their ongoing investigation, a community member of South Asian descent began filming when they became worried about his alleged aggressive behaviour toward the ticketing agent.
Bird noted they did not receive a complaint from anyone involved in the altercation but began investigating when they were sent the video on Sunday.
|
Hate Hillary Clinton? Terrified of a Donald Trump presidency? Or has an Alaska legislative candidate inspired you to vote for the first time?
Your wait is finally over. Early voting began Monday at more than 150 polling places across the state.
When voting started in the chilly fall morning in Anchorage, with temperatures in the high teens, the line at the regional election office at 2525 Gambell St. stretched down a hallway, through the lobby and out the door, said Cindy Hawkins, a poll worker.
"It's going to pretty well set the destiny of the country for the next four years," said Anchorage resident Mike Schowen, 65, who voted early Monday to "avoid the rush" on Election Day, Nov. 8.
At the Anchorage elections office, officials seated at six computers checked voters' information amid a steady turnout that workers said was typical for the first day.
A separate early voting place was open in downtown Anchorage at City Hall.
In the 250-resident North Slope village of Kaktovik, at the edge of the Beaufort Sea, no early voters had shown up by 11 a.m., though City Clerk Keith Sims said one man asked about it before the polls opened.
"I haven't seem him yet," Sims said, adding that in a past election, about two-dozen people voted before Election Day.
The state Elections Division's website lists the early voting locations. If you're traveling and still want to vote early, ballots for each of the state's 40 districts are available at the regional elections offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Nome and Wasilla, as well as at Anchorage City Hall and the State Office Building in Juneau.
|
Sixty years ago, the great Whittaker Chambers penned a letter to William F. Buckley, Jr. dissecting the 1958 election disaster in which the Republicans lost 48 seats in the House and thirteen seats in the Senate to the Democrats.
What Chambers said to Buckley then could have been written yesterday, and one can only hope it will serve as a warning to the Republican establishment of our present day:
If the Republican Party cannot get some grip of the actual world we live in and from it generalize and actively promote a program that means something to the masses of people – why somebody else will. There will be nothing to argue. The voters will simply vote Republicans into singularity.
The Republican Party will become like one of those dark little shops which apparently never sell anything. If, for any reason, you go in, you find, at the back, an old man, fingering for his own pleasure some oddments of cloth. Nobody wants to buy them, which is fine because the old man is not really interested in selling. He just wants to hold and to feel…
Elected to the Senate that year were liberal Democrats Edmund S. Muskie, Philip A. Hart, Eugene McCarthy and Robert C. Byrd among others.
In the House, the entire Connecticut delegation switched from Republican to Democrat as the Republicans were wiped out. Delaware’s lone seat also switched. Indiana lost six Republicans, and future House Majority Whip and liberal icon John Brademas won his first term in Congress. The list went on and on with Democrats winning what had been safe Republican seats from New England to the far West.
Chambers, who died in 1961, did not live to see his great admirer, Ronald Reagan, turn the “dark little shop” of the Republican Party into a vibrant modern mall full of ideas and polices, such as lowering taxes and getting government off their backs, that meant so much to the masses of people that it generated three landslide election victories.
But those days are long gone.
The vibrant mall and promise of Reaganism has, under the care of this generation’s Republican establishment, become like so many other malls in America – a half-vacant wasteland with the closed storefronts staring like the empty eye sockets of a skull across vacant parking lots choked with the weeds of broken promises.
Going into the 2016 election, be it as a “dark little shop” or a half-vacant mall, the Republican Party had no program that meant something to the masses of people, and that was fine, because the Republican establishment had no intention of producing anything the masses of people actually wanted – such as a border wall, limits on immigration, tax reform and an end to Obamacare.
That all changed when Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for President.
Trump not only restocked and turned the lights on in the dark little shop and filled the storefronts at the mall – he went door-to-door and took orders for what the masses of people wanted; however, as the to-and-fro over the repeal of Obamacare has demonstrated, the Republican establishment has no apparent intention of filling those orders.
So, rather than the “dark little shop” or the half-vacant mall, perhaps a better metaphor for today’s Republican establishment is one of those online retailers whose slick website accepts your credit card for merchandise that is perpetually on back order – voters have paid in good faith, but their order never ships.
As things stand now for the Republican establishment, whether one adopts the metaphor of Whittaker Chambers’ “dark little shop,” the half-vacant mall or the swindling online retailer, the result for the Republican establishment is starting to look the same: If they don’t produce what the masses of people want, the border wall, the repeal of Obamacare, tax reform and the rest of the Trump agenda, if the 1958 election is any indication, they will be voted into singularity.
|
I've never seen the rules of the so-called "Knockout Game" myself but I'd imagine this would be high on the list:
DON'T show your knockout video to an off-duty cop.
Ignoring this rule was a 27-year-old Houston man named Conrad Barrett, who will appear before a judge on Friday after being arrested last month. According to police, Barrett bragged to an off-duty cop he had just met at a local restaurant about knocking out a 79-year-old black man.
Barrett is said to have asked the cop and a woman he was with if they had heard of the game before taking out his phone and showing the two video of the alleged incident. The cop then found a uniformed officer who arrested Barrett.
In the video, which has not yet been released, Barrett allegedly approaches and greets the elderly man before punching him and yelling "knockout." Barrett is being charged with a hate crime because in further searching Barrett's phone, police found video of him using racial slurs as well as another in which he asks, "That plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?"
The victim, who has yet to be identified publicly, required surgery to repair his jaw, which was broken in two places. Barrett's attorney maintains that his client suffers from bipolar disorder.
Of course, the uncomfortable subtext of this case is that the original fervor over the "Knockout Game" came from white media stoking public fear of young black men. That narrative was obviously bullshit from the start, but Conrad Barrett is anecdotal confirmation nonetheless.
|
+1 Share Pin 0 Shares
New here? You may want updates via email or RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
This is a guest post from Corrinne Fisher, who is transitioning from career woman to stay-at-home mom.
I stared down at the two pink stripes on the pregnancy test with the same feeling one has when they find themselves strapped into the front of a roller-coaster. Heart pounding, you start to wonder whether you really want to take this ride, but the decision has already been made. And as you climb to the top of the first giant drop, you realize that for better or for worse, there's no turning back.
For us, this was something we wanted. We'd been married for several years, had found financial security, and had decided that it was time to expand our family. But once “trying” became “we are”, we had some major thinking to do. Planning our financial future was topmost on that list. We faced another challenge because we decided not to use daycare, but to have one of us stay home to raise our daughter.
I hope that by sharing our financial preparations with other expecting parents, we might help them develop a plan that will allow them the freedom to make the choices that suit their plans and values.
Start from a good financial perspective
By the grace of some very influential resources, we were able to start this baby savings plan from a place of financial security. Neither of us earns large salaries; however, we have learned some financial lessons that have helped us to talk and to plan for this major life change.
From David Bach's Smart Couples Finish Rich , we learned how to talk about our values and have them govern our spending decisions. This helped us establish a financial dialogue that is the foundation of our marriage and has bridged the gap between the spender and the saver.
, we learned how to talk about our values and have them govern our spending decisions. This helped us establish a financial dialogue that is the foundation of our marriage and has bridged the gap between the spender and the saver. Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover taught us to eliminate debt and to shed the mentality that carrying debt was just the way it was. His book also helped us establish our goal of a fully-funded emergency account.
Dave Ramsey's taught us to eliminate debt and to shed the mentality that carrying debt was just the way it was. His book also helped us establish our goal of a fully-funded emergency account. The third resource was the Get Rich Slowly website and blog. This has helped me, in particular, learn tips and strategies to maintain a lifestyle to help us continue our path to financial security. I've obtained some good advice from parents that helped us to create a plan that will allow one of us to stay home with our baby.
Evaluate your current budget
What are your necessities and fixed expenses? Who makes what? Can you meet your fixed expenses and necessities with one salary? Our answer was “just barely”. If we eliminated travel to see family, fun money, and frivolous purchases, we could do it, but those are exactly the type of choices that would have us turning to credit cards. We needed find a way to supplement our single income with a little more money per month.
Identify expenses that can be cut if necessary, such as separate phone services and bills, the number of dinners out, or cable television. We found that between online viewing and Netflix, we are able to watch just about everything we would want. We go back to the values-based decision making. What is more important to us, having a parent at home or having access to some of these “perks”?
Calculate new insurance premiums into your fixed expenses
Make sure you have a good medical insurance plan, and anticipate the change in premiums when you move from a single plan to a family plan. Our premiums rose by a shocking $400 per month. Additionally, start looking at life insurance plans — it's more important than ever now that three people are dependent on one wage-earner. Consider this when you are looking at your budget and your fixed expenses.
Create a new savings account
We opened a new account at ING Direct called “Baby IRA”. The money deposited there will be drawn in the leaner months, much like distributions on a retirement account. We have been contributing to that account twice a month when I receive my check. We have accumulated enough to supplement my husband's income, permitting an occasional night out or a trip to see family.
Reduce dependency on one of your salaries
Since we had become accustomed to two salaries, it didn't seem likely that we could stick to a plan where we could immediately sock away my salary. Instead, we took a graduated approach to savings, taking a greater sum from each of my checks each month until we have reached saving (almost) the whole sum of my check. In the last month, we allowed ourselves a little more flexibility to allow us to live it up during our last days as a twosome.
We've agreed that our emergency savings should not be used to support our new lifestyle, but should remain untouched until we have an emergency. That said, should my husband lose his job, we could survive a few months before we would be facing dire circumstances. This makes it easier to leave the security of that second salary.
Talk to your boss
As soon as I knew that we weren't going to use daycare, I told my boss about the dilemma. Ideally, I would like to continue my relationship with my employer and earn some additional income, but I understand that my decision creates a hardship for the company. Luckily, we have agreed that I will take on a portion of my job and work as a consultant when I complete my unpaid maternity leave. Had this not been an option, I would have been working my network to see if I could find some project-based consulting that utilized my skills.
Please note, that consulting comes with its own expenses and needs to be budgeted and accounted for — not only for the day-to-day expenses, but also the taxes that will need to be estimated and saved.
Beg, borrow, and buy used
There's no reason folks need to spend tons of money in anticipation of a baby — most of the stuff can be reused. We accepted a range of hand-me-downs from maternity clothes to all of the baby stuff. While we don't always get the best or cutest baby accoutrements, we are happy to know that we have barely spent any money out of pocket for the items that we need.
Save gift cards for upcoming needs
We received a lot of gift cards. We have used a couple to buy necessities, but have saved the bulk of them for things we will need in the future from clothing to diapers to who knows what. These cards will help us to weather the changes to our budget that a new baby brings on.
Putting the plan into action
We welcomed our daughter Cecelia on August 4th, and have just recently sat down to reevaluate our budget and the increases in many of our expenses. It is going to be tight year, and I am sure we have some tough spending decisions ahead. However, we have a solid plan, an account to draw on saved especially for this purpose, and a plan to continue supplementing our income with additional work.
There is no guarantee that we won't have financial struggles, but we are well on our way to feeling secure in our decision to have one of us stay home with the baby.
Roller-coaster photo by gaelenh. Photo of parents and baby by J.D., and is not a photo of Corrinne and her family.
This post is part of the MBN Group Writing Project for September. Other participants include:
Author: Guest Author
|
MEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A Tufts University student reported an assault near campus early Sunday morning, leaving students on edge.
The female student said a man followed her home and inappropriately touched her before she could run inside, officials said.
Tufts students were on high alert Sunday night after receiving an email from the school about the alleged assault.
The university said the student was walking home just after midnight when a man reportedly approached her as she was unlocking her front door, grabbed her inappropriately and then took off.
Tufts recommended students take precautions that included walking with friends, staying vigilant and using “SafeRides” offered by Tufts University Police.
Many students said they do feel safe overall, but with a suspect still on the loose, they said they’ll be a bit more on edge heading into winter break.
The victim said the man looked young, late-teens to mid-20s. 7News spoke with the victim who said she’s okay.
The university has asked anyone with information to call Tufts Police or Somerville Police.
(Copyright (c) 2019 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
|
Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril said he would be in town for the start of the team's offseason program which began Monday, but without a new contract Avril did not show up for the voluntary workouts.
Avril and the Lions have been negotiating a long-term contract for the starting defensive end who said that he had no immediate plans to sign his one-year franchise-tag tender.
Avril is not required to take part in any offseason workout without a signed agreement in place.
"Cliff is like any other player who is in the last year of his contract," Lions President Tom Lewand told MLive.com. "He's on a one-year deal for $10.6 million. There's no secret about that. We like Cliff. There's no secret about that. We would not have tagged him if we didn't. We want Cliff around."
If Avril and the Lions fail to work out a new deal before the contract deadline of July 15, he would be forced to play the 2012 season under a one-year deal.
"I think we're going to continue to try and get something done hopefully and we'll see how it goes," Avril told the Detroit Free Press.
Avril started all 16 games for the Lions last season recording 36 tackles and a career high 11 sacks.
|
Otago University workers have been shocked to learn just how many jobs are on the line amid proposed job cuts, their union says.
Photo: Facebook / University of Otago
The university is proposing cutting 182 full-time equivalent support staff positions.
The university held meetings with staff today at its campuses in Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington to announce the proposal.
Tertiary Education Union spokesman Shaun Scott said about 600 staff turned out for the Dunedin meeting, and the number of proposed cuts caught people by surprise.
"I think there was a bit of shock in the room, it certainly went pretty quiet at that stage."
Otago employs 2300 full-time general support staff, and its support services have been under review since 2015.
Mr Scott said its was biggest shake up he had seen in the past two decades and the total number of staff affected could be much higher than the 182 full time equivalent roles signalled.
He said it wasn't good for the city of Dunedin, which is already reeling from the loss of about 360 Cadbury worker jobs.
However Dunedin mayor Dave Cull said he was confident Dunedin wouldn't be unduly affected by the job losses.
"Any job losses are upsetting and difficult for staff who will be affected by the announcement.
"However, the types of jobs in a community are regularly changing and developing, and it's quite possible the positions would be absorbed within the city," he said.
Vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne said it had been 20 years since administrative services were comprehensively reviewed.
Professor Hayne said the proposed cuts would make the university's funding go further in core academic and research endeavours.
Although the university had an operating surplus of $27 million last year, it had already been swallowed up by its new music and performing arts centre, she said.
The review was necessary because departments had developed their own internal practices for managing administration, I.T, finance and marketing over the years, and instead the university wanted to develop a shared pool of support staff, she said.
It wasn't yet clear how many staff would be affected, because some were performing a combination of tasks such as administration and marketing.
Professor Hayne said she understood the proposal would have a huge impact on staff morale, and support measures were already being offered.
If adopted, the changes would save $16.7m a year and free up over 7000 sq/m of space.
The majority of job cuts would be carried out by mid 2018.
Staff have until 25 August to give feedback on the proposal.
|
Few war stories are both comical and serious, but this one year memoir is unique in both respects. Lieutenant Piers Platt as a cavalry platoon officer attends enough schooling to sink a ship while in Kentucky and then Germany, but he has to receive even more training after he is deployed to Iraq. It’s a soldiers world with gutsy language, pranks for all newcomers, a place where rules are made to be broken, where punishments are handed out and then rescinded hours later, and where one lives fluctuating between constant boredom or ever-looming life-death situations.
Platt’s writing includes a lot of acronyms for military weapons and procedures that are incomprehensible to the average reader and could have had more explanation for non-military readers, but those who have served in Iraq will definitely relate to all of it. The reader isn’t quite sure whether one should be amused or horrified by the deplorable state of the equipment these soldiers rely on for travel, defense and attack while out on missions. Add to that the realistic scenes of killing and coming close to being killed, and the reader realizes how stressed out these men are and their almost desperate need to have plenty of humor to cope with the realities of everyday war.
This story actually takes place at the end of the Iraq war when American soldiers were cleaning up after the major battles and dealing with leftover insurgents who must have missed the memo about the end of the war and were still dropping IEDs and shooting at soldiers, all designed to perpetuate the war that was over but really wasn’t over quite yet.
Platt writes in a uniquely light tone about the idiotic decisions made by “higher-ups” in sending soldiers into deadly areas such as Samarra. Yet he also describes the Iraqi people’s joy and determination when they finally got the opportunity to vote. All in all, what is conveyed most is the unity and powerful friendships that developed between these men who truly “cared” for each other in such an admirable way. That alone is worth the great read provided by Lieutenant Piers Platt! Thank you and all who served with you!
|
ADELAIDE City attacker Alex Rideout says holding down a regular job and chasing the FFA Cup dream and a professional football career has been problematic.
Adelaide City faces Brisbane Strikers in an FFA Cup clash at Marden from 7pm on Tuesday, September 16, with Rideout again hunting for work after he was last week forced to give up another job because of his passionate commitment to football.
Christies Beach-based Rideout spends about eight hours a week driving to and from Adelaide City’s Oakden base for training and games and clocks up about 320km.
Alex Rideout landscaping at Christies Beach. Source: News Corp Australia
“I’ll leave home before 4pm to get to training at 5.30pm,’’ Rideout said.
“I wanted to prove to myself this year that I can play at a good club like Adelaide City.
“Me and my parents sat down and they said ‘look dedicate this year to City and see how far you can go with it’.
“But I’m really looking forward to meeting Brisbane Strikers, I’ll go into the next game like we did the last one when we beat Wanderers (1-0), we’ve got nothing to lose.”
Rideout, 22, has worked as a baker, landscaper and a roofer after leaving Cumberland to join the Black and Whites this year.
Rideout worked at Bakers Delight for two years during his time at Cumberland.
His shift started at midnight and ended at 8am.
On Saturdays he would turn up for Cumberland’s game day sleep deprived but ready for a 3pm kick off.
“A lot of people said ‘how did you do it?’,” Rideout said.
“I don’t know how I did it myself but my oldest brother, Phillip, he plays for Seaford — he’s been doing that shift at Bakers Delight for 10 years.
“My oldest brother, Anthony, he was probably one of the best — he was at SASI.
“He stopped playing to lay carpets and second oldest Robert, he wasn’t into it (soccer). Jonathon, who’s 18, plays for South Adelaide just round the corner (from home).”
Rideout — a left footer — has been in spectacular form for Adelaide City, scoring 11 goals.
He also helped Adelaide City book its FFA Cup spot when he jagged a spectacular brace in a 4-1 SA Federation Cup final win over West Adelaide in May.
|
The anti-inflammatory effect induced by exposure to low temperature might trigger the endocrine function of muscle and fat tissue. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the whole body cryostimulation (CRY) on irisin, a myokine which activates oxygen consumption in fat cells as well as thermogenesis. In addition, the relationship between hepcidin (Hpc) - hormone regulating iron metabolism, and inflammation was studied. A group of middle aged men (n = 12, 38 ± 9 years old, BMI > 30 kg m(-2)) participated in the study. Subjects were exposed to a series of 10 sessions in a cryogenic chamber (once a day at 9:30 am, for 3 min, at temperature -110 °C). Blood samples were collected before the first cryostimulation and after completing the last one. Prior to treatment body composition and fitness level were determined. The applied protocol of cryostimulation lead to rise the blood irisin in obese non-active men (338.8 ± 42.2 vs 407.6 ± 118.5 ng mL(-1)), whereas has no effect in obese active men (371.5 ± 30.0 vs 343.3 ± 47.6 ng mL(-1)). Values recorded 24 h after the last cryo-session correlated significantly with the fat tissue, yet inversely with the skeletal muscle mass. Therefore, we concluded the subcutaneous fat tissue to be the main source of irisin in response to cold exposures. The applied cold treatment reduced the high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and Hpc concentration confirming its anti-inflammatory effect.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
|
Check translation Partially translated
Before commenting, read the how to comment guide. Kadoya over 7 years ago When these kinds of stories are involved it's usually Sakuya that bites it, not everyone else. Damn. BlueFox over 7 years ago Indeed. That was truly unexpected. Giorno Giovanna over 7 years ago Is that Marisa in the grave next to Patchouli's? user 361013 over 7 years ago Flandre killed herself because Meiling was dead, that's pretty touching. Stabb over 7 years ago I recognize the content from the first panel - it was the loading screen for the final mission in Ace Combat 0. Is that enough to add an Ace Combat tag, though...? nemochin over 7 years ago I've just noticed that Flandre wears Marisa's apron as she had it in UFO. cybeast over 7 years ago I don't really get it... but I guess everyone died except Sakuya? damn it ;_; and Flandre's death ;_; Co250 over 7 years ago waiting warmly for translation... Tetsamaru over 7 years ago My mind if full of....damn..... I always had a feeling though other than Sakuya(not in the case of this story though) Patchouli would probably be the first one to bite it. Phaaze over 7 years ago Can't say I understand Japanese myself.
I think I get the jist of the final bits though. Basically Sakuya is sad that everyone but her has died and then realizes that she will get to see them all again in the afterlife. Which is what we end up seeing in color. The big family of the scarlet mansion is reunited and gets to be together for all eternity. RaptorJesus over 7 years ago Phaaze said:
Can't say I understand Japanese myself.
I think I get the jist of the final bits though. Basically Sakuya is sad that everyone but her has died and then realizes that she will get to see them all again in the afterlife. Which is what we end up seeing in color. The big family of the scarlet mansion is reunited and gets to be together for all eternity. I dunno, that goes one way, but then the author implies she'll be stuck like that for all eternity. ...Then again, the author also implies Remilia's time ran out due to her Luna Dial, so maybe it latched to Sakuya. Clocks always wear down and stop. MMaestro over 7 years ago RaptorJesus said:
I dunno, that goes one way, but then the author implies she'll be stuck like that for all eternity. ...Then again, the author also implies Remilia's time ran out due to her Luna Dial, so maybe it latched to Sakuya. Clocks always wear down and stop. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Black Gold Saw over 7 years ago Wow, this is the best role reverse "A Tragedy of A Long Life" I've ever seen. And it's depressing. Also, everyone died except Koakuma and Sakuya. Lord Enki over 7 years ago wow... I actually got waves of goosebumps and all... Krugger over 7 years ago Always though Sakuya living was the happy ending but god this hurt me everything especially the Flan thing(deep routed FlanMei love). RaptorJesus over 7 years ago Black_Gold_Saw said:
Wow, this is the best role reverse "A Tragedy of A Long Life" I've ever seen. And it's depressing. Also, everyone died except Koakuma and Sakuya. Koakuma might be. Remilia notes she's either back in Makai or killed herself to join Pache. And given how Flandre took Meiling's death, it's probably the latter. And as before, Sakuya's time will run out someday. Heparine over 7 years ago Ha! It's opposite day! ThunderBird over 7 years ago Aren't the Scarlet sisters supposed to be ageless/immortal too? At least the two of them should be keeping Sakuya company. I don't know who's worse off: Sakuya, for not aging a single day and watching her friends die, or Mokou, for not aging her single day and watching her friends die, without even the possibility of killing herself to see them on the other side. marc46 over 7 years ago Nice to see something else. Even though it's just the other way around. RaptorJesus over 7 years ago ThunderBird said:
Aren't the Scarlet sisters supposed to be ageless/immortal too? At least the two of them should be keeping Sakuya company. I don't know who's worse off: Sakuya, for not aging a single day and watching her friends die, or Mokou, for not aging her single day and watching her friends die, without even the possibility of killing herself to see them on the other side. Erm... read the story. Flandre kills herself to be with Meiling and Remilia was artificially aged due to Sakuya's Luna Dial. Also, there's theories that Sakuya is Lunarian (where you can die, but not by natural methods) or the Luna Dial keeps her young. _cf over 7 years ago Should this be tagged role reversal? :P 6163 over 7 years ago This was really amazing. There's nothing else I can say. An original dark twist, a very touhou-like tragedy. Kumihou over 7 years ago Heparine said:
Ha! It's opposite day! Okay, I laughed more than I should have, especially at 3:30 AM. ThunderBird over 7 years ago RaptorJesus said: ThunderBird said:
Aren't the Scarlet sisters supposed to be ageless/immortal too? At least the two of them should be keeping Sakuya company. Erm... read the story. Flandre kills herself to be with Meiling and Remilia was artificially aged due to Sakuya's Luna Dial. Also, there's theories that Sakuya is Lunarian (where you can die, but not by natural methods) or the Luna Dial keeps her young. From dictionary.com:
Immortal, adjective:
1: not mortal; not liable or subject to death; undying: our immortal souls.
2: remembered or celebrated through all time: the immortal words of Lincoln.
3: not liable to perish or decay; imperishable; everlasting.
4: perpetual; lasting; constant: an immortal enemy. ageless, adjective
1: not aging or appearing to age.
2: lasting forever; eternal; undying: the ageless beauty of Greek sculpture. That means Flandre can't kill herself, and the Luna Dial can go bonkers on Remilia, and she still won't age/die of old age. Amraphenson over 7 years ago As far as I understand it, Flandre probably used her power on herself to make sure it was permanent. And so much time has passed that even Remilia's vampiric 'immortality' ran out. From this artist's understanding, I guess Remilia had 'effective immortality' while Sakuya had 'true immortality'. And while, to us, Remilia is more or less immortal, to a 'true immortal' like Sakuya, she'd age away and die all the same as everyone else. We might be a drop in the bucket compared to Remilia, but she's a bucket compared to Sakuya's ocean. Or something like that. RaptorJesus over 7 years ago ThunderBird said:
That means Flandre can't kill herself, and the Luna Dial can go bonkers on Remilia, and she still won't age/die of old age. I'm pretty sure slashing one's throat will do the trick on a vampire. Also, it seems like the Luna Dial drains life itself, which, vampire or not, seems to shorten their time regardless. Lord Enki over 7 years ago WHY DID I COME BACK AN READ THIS AGAIN?! DX Hellbus over 7 years ago Giorno_Giovanna said:
Is that Marisa in the grave next to Patchouli's? The stone says "Kirisame," so it must be. The only question then is who went first. Shin-Houin almost 7 years ago The epitome of a clock: It repeats itself everyday with no end nor beginning. It is something which my culture calls "The Devil's Circle". Basically, its an unending circle where there is no end nor beginning in a circle shape. Hellbus almost 7 years ago Amraphenson said:
As far as I understand it, Flandre probably used her power on herself to make sure it was permanent. And so much time has passed that even Remilia's vampiric 'immortality' ran out. Notice that in Flan's last few panels she looks more adult (or at least taller) compared to the start of the comic. HT Rock almost 7 years ago Remember the first rule of storytelling, folks; any rule can be broken if it makes for a good story. In lighter news: Flan in Chucks and striped socks like she's Avril Lavigne works surprisingly well. Chibi Musashi over 5 years ago To whoever(Traze) added this to the pool and thus bumped it. You magnificent bastard, the feels. bangnhi almost 5 years ago As heart-breaking and tragic it is, this is the best "Tragedy of Long Life" I've ever read. unicron245 almost 5 years ago I am crying a river now. Having Osana Reimu's OST playing in the background did not help Nana1177 over 3 years ago Author's idea may base on canon information about Sakuya but modified in extremely way. It mention in PMiSS, Sakuya possible live for hundred years but still appear as young woman and may related with her time manipulation that it possible to imply Sakuya can stop or slow her age.
|
The median age of death for Hispanic residents in Hartford was 20 years younger than for white residents, according to data recently released by the city. For non-Hispanic blacks the gap with whites was 14 years.
TrendCT analyzed data that tracked deaths from 2008 to 2012 and found that the median age of death for non-Hispanic whites was 82 — the older end of the spectrum — but for Hispanic residents, it was 62. For Non-Hispanic blacks it was 68. For all non-whites, the median age of death was 17 years younger than for whites.
Median age of death in Hartford by ethnicity Between 2008 and 2012 Ethnicity Median age Number of deaths Per 100 residents Hispanic 62 1108 2.04 non-Hispanic black 68 1456 3.06 non-Hispanic white 82 1307 7.18 Other 72.5 102 3.44 City of Hartford. Rate based on Census 2013 ACS data.
The median age of death for Hispanics is a slight improvement — three years — when compared to 1999, but the gap with non-Hispanic whites remained identical. The median age of death rose two years for non-Hispanic blacks and three years for non-Hispanic whites, so the gap between those two groups increased by about a year.
Heart disease and cancer were the top two specific causes of death for Hartford residents. Between 2008 and 2012, the deaths of 940 people did not fit 15 pre-set categories such as liver disease, HIV, or unintentional injuries.
Leading causes of death in Hartford Between 2008 and 2012 Category Frequency Other unspecified 940 Heart disease 901 Cancer 819 Unintentional injuries 211 Stroke 169 Chronic lung disease 144 Kidney disease 116 Diabetes 106 Homicide 105 Pneumonia & Influenza 104 City of Hartford, US Census 2013 ACS
The top three causes of death are the same for all ethnicities, although they differ in their respective orders. Each group had a unique cause of death that showed up in the fourth through sixth spots.
For Hispanic residents, the unique cause was HIV, with 4 percent.
For non-Hispanic blacks, it was homicides, at 4.5 percent.
For whites, it was chronic lung disease, with 4.5 percent.
For other unspecified ethnicities, it was kidney and liver disease (4 percent).
Leading causes of death by ethnicity Measuring percent of deaths within ethnic groups in Hartford, 2008-2012 Rank Hispanic non-Hispanic black non-Hispanic white Other 1 Other unspecified (26%) Heart disease (24%) Heart disease (26%) Other unspecified (29%) 2 Cancer (18%) Cancer (22%) Other unspecified (25%) Cancer (25%) 3 Heart disease (17.6%) Other unspecified (20%) Cancer (21%) Heart disease (20 %) 4 Unintentional injuries (8%) Stroke (5%) Chronic lung disease (4.5%) Stroke (4%) 5 HIV (4%) Unintentional injuries (4.5%) Stroke (4%) Kidney disease (4%) 6 Stroke (3.8%) Homicide (4.5%) Unintentional injury (4%) Liver disease (4%) City of Hartford
Looking more closely at the data reveals some interesting trends:
In Hartford, white residents made up the highest percentage of deaths related to Alzheimer’s disease (48 percent), suicide (42 percent) and lung disease (40 percent).
Sixty-two percent of homicide victims were black.
Hispanic resident made up the largest percentage of deaths in Hartford related to HIV (46 percent), unintentional injuries (42 percent) and liver disease (43 percent).
Black residents had higher percentages of deaths in eight different categories, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, stroke, and septicemia (blood infection).
Next, we looked at causes of death by neighborhoods. The rates of death are based on the population of each neighborhood, and the percent of residents over the age of 65 was included to add context.
North Meadows had the least amount of deaths with only two in four years
North Meadows also had the lowest median age of death at 43 followed by Clay Arsenal at 59
South West had the highest rate of death related to Alzheimers with 1.59
Barry Square had the highest rate of death related to heart disease at 17.38
Blue Hills had the highest rate of death for cancer at 6.76
Barry Square had the highest rate of death related to homicides at 3.67
Men were most likely to die of heart disease, while women died more often of “other unspecified.” More men than women have died and thus outnumber women for most causes of death except Alzheimers, stroke, lung disease, septicemia, and diabetes. Below is a list of deaths by gender listed in order of percent disparity.
|
ES Football Newsletter Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account
Dele Alli is set to be handed a new contract after making a spectacular start to his career at Tottenham.
The 19-year-old midfielder earns about £10,000-per-week and can expect to see that figure at least doubled as Spurs move to reward their player for his outstanding form.
Tottenham have a record of improving the terms of players who perform well. Since July 2014, Harry Kane has signed two new deals, elevating his salary dramatically to about £50,000 a week.
Kane’s latest agreement ties him to Spurs until the summer of 2020 and he is likely to be offered another fresh contract at the end of the campaign, moving him into line with the club’s top earners. In the current first-team squad, Erik Lamela, Hugo Lloris and Mousa Dembele are thought to be at the top of the tree, collecting between £70-80,000 a week.
Before he moved to Real Madrid for a world-record £86million in the summer of 2013, Gareth Bale signed new contracts with the club in May 2010, March 2011 and June 2012.
When Alli signed for Spurs from Milton Keynes Dons one year ago, he was given a five-and-a-half-year contract. Any new deal is likely to run until the summer of 2021.
Alli’s impact at White Hart Lane has been remarkable. He was initially loaned back to MK Dons for the second half of last season and when he linked up permanently with Spurs ahead of this season, he was not expected to become a first-team regular immediately.
In Focus: Dele Alli 5 show all In Focus: Dele Alli 1/5 Personality: 4/5 Making a jump from League One to the Premier League would intimidate many players. Not Alli, who has made it clear he feels he belongs at this level. In his first top-flight start — a 1-0 win at Sunderland in September — Alli produced a display brimming with confidence. “He has a very poorly developed sense of fear,” his former manager at Milton Keynes Dons, Karl Robinson, told Standard Sport. Tottenham are trying to protect Alli from excessive media exposure but when he does speak, he is unruffled and thoughtful. He has integrated well in the dressing room, where he is particularly close to Eric Dier, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane. 2/5 Technique: 4/5 It is hard to see a weakness in Alli’s game here. He is naturally right-footed but his left side is strong, too. His vision is excellent, his control superb. It is usually rare for a player to score one goal per season of the quality of Alli’s against Everton — when he controlled Toby Alderweireld’s long pass to volley past keeper Tim Howard, not to mention his wonder goal against Crystal Palace. One note of caution: Alli can sometimes try one trick too many in his own half, which is perhaps why he is used more regularly in the No10 position at the moment. 2016 Getty Images 3/5 Eye for goal: 5/5 Alli can play as a deep-lying midfielder or just behind a lone forward but he has the instinct of an experienced striker. He has seven goals for club and country this season and most of them have been spectacular. Yet it all comes naturally, as Alli explained after he struck in that victory over Villa. “I judged the ball, judged the play,” he said. “It was natural instinct that the ball was going to drop at the edge of the box, so I delayed my run a bit and luckily it did.” Thanks to that talent, he was in the perfect place to collect Alderweireld’s passes for the goals against West Brom and Everton. 4/5 Versatility: 4/5 It is difficult enough to master a single position in your first season in top-level football. Alli has managed two. “I believe his best position will be as an ‘eight’ [the more attacking of the two central midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 system] but he is a throwback to the type of midfielder who can attack and defend,” Robinson says. Playing in that No8 role, he dominated midfield along with Dier in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal in November and scored a spectacular goal for England against France. As a No10, he combines effectively with Kane, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, as well as Son. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 5/5 Prospects: 5/5 Alli has been compared with Steven Gerrard and he has the potential to emulate the achievements of the former Liverpool captain. If he has enough fuel in the tank, he is a possible star of this summer’s European Championships. “When he was 17, I said he would play for England,” Robinson recalls. “He is talented and fearless but also very humble and grounded. He needs the time and space to grow, mature and become a top player.” Alli is also as ferocious as he is skilful, squaring up to Mark Noble in November after the West Ham midfielder made a late challenge on Kane. His value is already above £30 million and if Tottenham do not progress at the same rate, they may find it difficult to keep Alli in the long term. 1/5 Personality: 4/5 Making a jump from League One to the Premier League would intimidate many players. Not Alli, who has made it clear he feels he belongs at this level. In his first top-flight start — a 1-0 win at Sunderland in September — Alli produced a display brimming with confidence. “He has a very poorly developed sense of fear,” his former manager at Milton Keynes Dons, Karl Robinson, told Standard Sport. Tottenham are trying to protect Alli from excessive media exposure but when he does speak, he is unruffled and thoughtful. He has integrated well in the dressing room, where he is particularly close to Eric Dier, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane. 2/5 Technique: 4/5 It is hard to see a weakness in Alli’s game here. He is naturally right-footed but his left side is strong, too. His vision is excellent, his control superb. It is usually rare for a player to score one goal per season of the quality of Alli’s against Everton — when he controlled Toby Alderweireld’s long pass to volley past keeper Tim Howard, not to mention his wonder goal against Crystal Palace. One note of caution: Alli can sometimes try one trick too many in his own half, which is perhaps why he is used more regularly in the No10 position at the moment. 2016 Getty Images 3/5 Eye for goal: 5/5 Alli can play as a deep-lying midfielder or just behind a lone forward but he has the instinct of an experienced striker. He has seven goals for club and country this season and most of them have been spectacular. Yet it all comes naturally, as Alli explained after he struck in that victory over Villa. “I judged the ball, judged the play,” he said. “It was natural instinct that the ball was going to drop at the edge of the box, so I delayed my run a bit and luckily it did.” Thanks to that talent, he was in the perfect place to collect Alderweireld’s passes for the goals against West Brom and Everton. 4/5 Versatility: 4/5 It is difficult enough to master a single position in your first season in top-level football. Alli has managed two. “I believe his best position will be as an ‘eight’ [the more attacking of the two central midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 system] but he is a throwback to the type of midfielder who can attack and defend,” Robinson says. Playing in that No8 role, he dominated midfield along with Dier in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal in November and scored a spectacular goal for England against France. As a No10, he combines effectively with Kane, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela, as well as Son. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc 5/5 Prospects: 5/5 Alli has been compared with Steven Gerrard and he has the potential to emulate the achievements of the former Liverpool captain. If he has enough fuel in the tank, he is a possible star of this summer’s European Championships. “When he was 17, I said he would play for England,” Robinson recalls. “He is talented and fearless but also very humble and grounded. He needs the time and space to grow, mature and become a top player.” Alli is also as ferocious as he is skilful, squaring up to Mark Noble in November after the West Ham midfielder made a late challenge on Kane. His value is already above £30 million and if Tottenham do not progress at the same rate, they may find it difficult to keep Alli in the long term.
Six months later, Alli is one of the most important players in Mauricio Pochettino’s team, and he has won four caps for England, scoring his first goal for them in the 2-0 friendly win over France in November.
He has five goals in 25 appearances for Spurs, including two brilliant volleys in the 1-1 draws with Everton and West Brom, and has shone both as a No10 — operating just behind Kane — and in a deeper midfield role.
Although Tottenham’s pay structure does not compare with those of the wealthiest Premier League clubs, Spurs are keen to show their best young players that their work is appreciated. In 2015 alone, Kane, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Eric Dier all signed new contracts.
Asked about the future of players like Kane and Alli earlier in the season, Pochettino said: “If you are successful the club gives you what you deserve.
“This club always pay their players a good salary. It is step by step. We need to stay calm but if you deserve a new contract, the club will give it to you.”
|
Abstract
Previous research, using an analysis of Google Trends, published in January 2016 suggested that interested in prog may be declining. However, very little critical and independent analysis of this question has been published since then. If prog is really dying, what theoretical hypotheses might explain this decline? Rather than use a data mining methodology, can we discover why prog might be dying out based on an analysis of the elusive prog fan in his or her natural habitat?
The Proglodyte
What are the primary characteristics of the Proglodyte (Progo sapiens)? It is important to note that there are several subspecies with some subtle differences in phenotype:
Progo sapiens classicus: The original species from which many subspecies have evolved. While their mating calls are complex and intricate, they remain isolated. This could be due to the fact that they believe they are the only species of progo sapien, and that all others died out sometime in the mid 70s.
Progo sapiens metallus: The prog metal fan. Individuals of this subspecies can be identified by thick black coats, chains, ear gauges, and fedoras (not the good kind).
Progo sapiens jazzius: The most pretentious subspecies. It is unclear whether this is a subspecies or a separate genus altogether. Musicians in this subspecies are sometimes heard alone at night, scatting under their breath.
Progo sapiens canterburium: Found in the forests and river valleys of southeast Britain as well as on college campuses. They are easily identified by their crooked posture, button up cardigans, and unbrushed mane.
Progo sapiens lysergicacidiethylamidum: Psychedelic and experimental prog fan. Found in habitats where the plant species Cannabis sativa and Salvia divinorum are abundant.
Scientific evidence suggests that cross-subspecies reproduction is common and often causes difficulty in subspecies identification.
Factors that May Affect Progo sapiens’ Reproductive Rates
It is commonly held that members of the Progo sapiens species have low reproductive rates, and this may contribute to habitat loss. It is difficult to determine which factor is most salient in determining the cause of low reproductive rates among Progo sapiens. A few examples are:
High education rates.
Low reproductive interest or compatibility.
Higher risk of predation by lower life forms (e.g., nu-metal fans).
Factors that Contribute to Species Resilience
Other factors may be considered protective to the continued existence of the Progo sapiens into the next century. Some of these factors include:
Broad geographical range.
Adaptations to escape and avoid predators (e.g., face melting guitar solos, patience, odor).
Additionally, predators have difficulty catching Progo sapiens due to the fact that prog is rarely catchy.
Progo sapiens has been observed to flourish in many different biomes and environments.
Members of the Progo sapiens species have an ability to mimic the more familiar Homo sapiens and members of the species may even be indistinguishable. Progo sapiens can even be found hidden among Homo sapiens populations, with varying degrees of successful integration.
Conclusion
In my estimation, Progo sapiens will likely continue, even if the numbers of the species diminish. The species may have to find a biological niche in which Progo sapiens adapts to its future environments without losing its biological distinctiveness. Additionally, the species of Progo sapiens will likely never end, because the average prog song doesn’t seem to either.
Advertisements
|
On Monday, 21 September 2015 at 04:22:30 UTC, Paul O'Neil wrote: > As the title says, cpp_binder is a tool that generates C++ bindings. It reads C++ headers and produces a D file filled with "extern(C++)" declarations. It can translate a bunch of cool, small examples, but is not close to being ready for prime-time. It crashes a lot, especially in the STL; since the STL is pretty pervasive, I have not successfully used cpp_binder on an actual C++ library. > > I've written more about cpp_binder and my experiences at > > The code is available at > > I hope that this post will spur discussion / decisions / action binding C++ libraries into D. I think the language capabilities (e.g. extern(C++, namespace)) get really far and that the next big push needs to be on binding real libraries and tools to help. As the title says, cpp_binder is a tool that generates C++ bindings. It reads C++ headers and produces a D file filled with "extern(C++)" declarations. It can translate a bunch of cool, small examples, but is not close to being ready for prime-time. It crashes a lot, especially in the STL; since the STL is pretty pervasive, I have not successfully used cpp_binder on an actual C++ library.I've written more about cpp_binder and my experiences at http:// www.toda yman.net/ cpp_bin der-pre- announcement- and-sta tus.html The code is available at https:// github.com/ todayman/ cpp_binder . cpp_binder still dumps lots of debugging info to stdout and stderr, so you'll probably want to redirect those somewhere beesides your console.I hope that this post will spur discussion / decisions / action binding C++ libraries into D. I think the language capabilities (e.g. extern(C++, namespace)) get really far and that the next big push needs to be on binding real libraries and tools to help.
|
Roxham Road is about as nondescript as any corner of the United States could be. Yet the country lane lined with trailer homes that dead-ends at the Quebec-New York border is an easily recognized thoroughfare for asylum seekers leaving the uncertainty of Donald Trump's America for the welcoming unknown of Canada.
It's at the end of Roxham Road that RCMP officers greet people entering the country illegally with a smile, handcuffs at the ready.
It's this spot, with the possible exception of the frozen fields outside Emerson, Man., that's come to symbolize the plight of those who no longer feel welcome in the U.S. but know they cannot enter Canada through the front door.
Figures provided by the Canadian government show that in the first two months of the year, the RCMP intercepted 677 asylum seekers crossing into Quebec alone, according to The Canadian Press. Including numbers in Manitoba, B.C. and Saskatchewan brings the total to 1,134, compared to 2,464 in all of 2016, the Immigration Department said.
An RCMP officer warns a man in New York state to stop or he'll be arrested for entering Canada illegally. (Catharine Tunney/CBC)
On a sunny Thursday in March a U.S. Border Patrol agent sits in her vehicle halfway up the road. The agency says it has no power to stop anyone who is legally in the U.S. from leaving.
On the other side of the swampy ditch and solar-powered stand of lights and cameras that marks the border, a pair of RCMP vehicles idle.
The Mounties are a constant presence at this spot, near Hemmingford, Que., about 70 kilometres south of Montreal. Day and night, seven days a week.
That presence is no deterrent to those determined to cross.
"We give them a warning that if you pass the border we are going to arrest you," says RCMP spokesman Const. Erique Gasse. "This is not very common in our job, but when we say that, they start walking toward us!"
The whole world is watching
Images of those arrests have been beamed around the world. Mounties gently carrying children, Mounties assisting women struggling with their possessions once they make it over the ditch.
Gasse shakes his head as he describes how the force has given interviews about the asylum seekers to broadcast crews from Norway and Australia, to the BBC and China state television.
"They tell us they are interested in the story because of the way we treat them when they cross the border. For us, it's a crime. We arrest them. We do our police work. But in other parts of the world they aren't as warm as here in Canada." Posted at the Canadian border south of Montreal, an RCMP officer surveys the U.S. side for illegal border-crossers. (Catharine Tunney/CBC)
That warmth, the generosity of Canada's refugee system, is a source of pride to many Canadians. It's also a growing source of debate.
Just this week Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O'Leary said he'd use the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to ensure people who "sneak across the border" can't claim charter protections, and won't have access to benefits. This clause gives government the authority to respond to situations like this & put in place reasonable policies for Canada. —@kevinolearytv
Not to be outdone, fellow leadership contender Maxime Bernier vowed he'd deploy the military to border points like Roxham Road.
The easy explanation is that both candidates, in their bids to win the Conservative race in May, are intent on exploiting the asylum seekers.
The more politically charged suggestion might be that they're tapping into a strain of anger inside Canada that's readily accessible on social media, that these asylum seekers — many of whom are in the U.S. legally — are taking advantage of a loophole in the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement that allows them to make a refugee claim in Canada just as long as they don't enter the country at an official port of entry. A swampy ditch and a solar-powered stand of lights and cameras mark the border, where RCMP vehicles idle. (Catharine Tunney/CBC)
Montreal immigration lawyer Eric Taillefer represents many of the asylum seekers who've made the journey down Roxham Road. His office in Old Montreal is filled with young men awaiting their date with immigration officials who will decide whether they stay or go.
"What the agreement does, it forces people to enter Canada by any means that they can find, whether it be hiding in a car, crossing through the woods or finding any other kind of method of crossing."
Others have warned that suspending the agreement would only add to the number of refugees arriving in Canada.
For some residents of this northern corner of New York, an area that voted for Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential election, the exodus is disturbing. They consider it a sign the U.S. dream of equal opportunity for all, the country's reputation as a beacon of hope around the world, is being diminished. 'Somehow, this country seems to have lost sight that it was founded by immigrants,' says Carole Slatkin. She is a founder of Plattsburgh Cares, a coalition trying to counter the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. (Catharine Tunney/CBC)
Jo Ellen Miano is one of the founders of Plattsburgh Cares, a recently formed coalition of social groups, faith-based organizations and others in the city about 25 kilometres south of the border, who are trying to counter the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment.
"Our hearts are really broken that this has tarnished who we feel we still are," she says. "The best thing we can do is to articulate that we are determined to hang on to the values that are fundamental to the United States of America."
U.S. 'founded by immigrants'
Group members are writing members of Congress. They've also written to the Canada Border Services Agency and the Montreal YMCA to offer help.
"Somehow, this country seems to have lost sight that it was founded by immigrants,'' another of the Plattsburgh Cares founders, Carole Slatkin, says.
"We want to find out who is coming up here so we can offer food. Offer clothing, To do whatever practical things we can do."
What they can't do, both women acknowledge, is give those terrified of being deported any assurance that things will be all right. That the Trump administration's hard line on immigration will soften.
|
Radian is an open source JavaScript library that makes it easy to embed plots in HTML documents. It is being developed as part of OpenBrain’s BayesHive project. Instead of writing JavaScript plotting code yourself, you use custom HTML elements to represent plots. For instance, the HTML code on the left produces the plot on the right: <plot height= 200 aspect= 2 stroke-width= 2 x= "[[seq(0,4*PI,101)]]" axis-x-label= "Time" axis-y-label= "sin(x) / cos(x)" > <lines y= "[[sin(x)]]" stroke= "red" ></lines> <lines y= "[[cos(x)]]" stroke= "blue" ></lines> </plot> Radian uses the AngularJS JavaScript framework to provide the machinery to implement custom HTML elements, and to allow two-way binding between attributes in HTML elements and JavaScript variables, and it uses the D3.js plotting library for graphics generation. Plots are generated as SVG elements embedded directly in the page, so can be rendered by most modern browsers. Radian is licensed under the Mozilla public license.
Applications Radian is used extensively in the BayesHive Bayesian statistics platform. If you want to get an idea of what you can do with Radian, take a look at BayesHive.
Features
Easy to use for both functional and data-based plots
No need to write any JavaScript
Most common plot types supported: lines, points, bar charts, area plots, heatmaps (WIP)
Integrates with AngularJS for more complicated interactive applications
Open source with a liberal license
Examples and comprehensive documentation
Rationale
There are many JavaScript plotting and graphing libraries out there, ranging in complexity from quick-and-easy utilities like Flot up to powerful but complex libraries like D3.js. These things are great, and produce attractive graphs, but they do require you to write JavaScript. Radian is a plotting API that works in a different way: plots are defined declaratively using custom HTML elements. Apart from a tiny bit of boilerplate setup code, you don’t need to write any JavaScript. This has a couple of benefits:
For users who either don’t know JavaScript, don’t want to write it, or just want a quick and simple way to drop a plot into a web page, Radian offers an ideal solution – you write your plots inline in the HTML for your web page. (This works with other markup systems as well. All of these web pages are written in Markdown. All that’s needed to make Radian plots appear are a few <script> tags to provide access to the Radian library and its dependencies.)
For more complex applications where there may be dozens of plots on a page, and where the numbers and contents of the plots aren’t known in advance, it’s much easier to generate HTML containing Radian’s custom tags than it is to generate an HTML page with parallel JavaScript code defining the plots. In fact, the development of Radian came out of just such an application: the BayesHive Bayesian statistical authoring system allows you to write literate documents describing complex statistical calculations, the results of which are rendered into Radian plots. It became apparent pretty quickly that we needed something like Radian to allow us to do this with a minimum of pain.
We couldn’t do it without…
Radian leverages the power of two very cool JavaScript libraries:
AngularJS is a framework for building web applications that’s based on a couple of interesting and innovative ideas. The first is two-way data binding – you can easily set things up so that the contents of an HTML page are linked to JavaScript variables, so that changes in the JavaScript values are reflected immediately in the displayed page, and changes in the page (via interactive elements in forms) are propagated to the JavaScript values. The second idea is that of extending HTML with custom tags and attributes that to implement application-specific behaviours. As you’ll see, Radian makes heavy use of both of these ideas. For example, two-way data binding makes it almost trivial to produce interactive plots, and custom HTML elements are used everywhere: <plot> , <plot-data> , <lines> , <points> , and so on.
The second big thing we use is D3.js. This is a library for building “data-driven documents”. It’s quite complex to use, but it can produce amazing results – take a look at some of the examples for a taste of what it can do.
We wanted to take some of the best features of AngularJS and D3.js and use them to make a plotting API that was ridiculously easy to use for simple things, and possible to use for complex things.
As well as AngularJS and D3.js, we make use of a few other very useful libraries: we use a modified version of the Acorn JavaScript parser and the estraverse and escodegen libraries for parsing and processing Radian expressions.
|
St. Patrick's Day really snuck up on us this year, huh? By "us," I really mean "me," but I bet you're not as far along in your holiday knitting as you'd like, either. Depending on where you live, this could be due to this year's endless winter—which, bad news, will also be next year's endless winter, because that's how endlessness works—or just the fact that Tuesday is a very dumb day for a drinking holiday.
Booze publicists can usually be counted on to keep me abreast of all upcoming holidays (both real and imagined), but unless the emails started preposterously early and I deleted them all unread in January, I've fallen off the green-drink-pushers' radar. There are worse things to fall off—Midori's for teens, crème de menthe is for day-shift VFW barmaids, and Chartreuse is for drunks and poseurs—but this oversight nearly caused me to be derelict in my duty to advise all you handsome theme-drinkers on just how to get down this Paddy's Day, whenever the hell it is.
I realize it's officially Tuesday, but as discussed above, that's dumb. So if you're celebrating in properly exaggerated fashion, you're probably doing so this weekend. Chicago and Boston are having their parades on Saturday, and your town probably is, too, because you probably don't live in New York City (they're waiting till Tuesday), and though a lot of bloggers tend to forget this, the vast majority of planet Earth's human inhabitants do not live in New York City. Please, though, tell us more about the fucking bagels.
Anyhow, so you're going to drink all day Saturday, and good for you! But you don't want to drink Guinness all day. Guinness is good, for sure, and it's way lower in both alcohol and calories than you'd think (4.2 percent alcohol-by-volume, same as Bud Light; 126 calories, half as much as a big IPA, since a beer's calorie load correlates very closely to its alcohol percentage). But you don't need to be drinking a dozen doses of nitrogen-treated beer, friend. Besides, Guinness isn't really craft beer; it's owned by gigantic Diageo. And it's barely even Irish anymore, with breweries all around the world.
If you want real Irish craft beer in America, you don't have many options. Carlow Brewing Company, located in something called a Bagenalstown, which is likely in County Something or Other, debuted in 1998 as Ireland's first modern craft brewer, and today it's the biggest. They make O'Hara's beer, a reasonable volume of which is shipped overseas. My favorite O'Hara's is their excellent barrel-aged Leann Follain stout, but that's hard to find, and, at 8.1 percent ABV, ill-suited to day-drinking.
Advertisement
For St. Patrick's Day purposes, then, I recommend sticking with O'Hara's Irish Red, which took a surprising second-place finish in last year's Drunkspin Irish beer ranking (behind Guinness Extra Stout, which isn't the stuff you always see on tap; that one's 6-percent booze and therefore not a great party beer). Red ales tend not to be critical darlings, because they're generally light on both hops and alcohol, and they don't taste like melted dark-chocolate ice cream. And in the United States, they're further tarnished by association with Killian's Irish Red, one of the worst Coors products but also the best-selling red ale in the country.
Red ales are built upon a base of malted barley that's more heavily kilned than pale ale and pilsner malts, but not nearly as roasted as the grain that goes in stouts and porters. Reds tend to be lightly hopped, so the predominant flavor comes from the semisweet, fruity malt. O'Hara's is the best version I've had.
This is what I wrote about it last year. It's still true.
Oh man, this is one hell of a beer. It smells like sweet fruit, maybe maraschino cherries or raspberries. It's bright and lively, with the fruit complemented by a touch of milk chocolate and honest caramel. The finish is dry and assertive for the style, with just enough hops to keep everything on the up and up. This is by far the best red ale I've had.
Advertisement
If you're looking for a real Irish beer this holiday season, O'Hara's Irish Red is a good way to go. It's easy and fun to drink, not too expensive (generally about the same price as Guinness), and not too hard to track down.
This is Drunkspin Daily, the Concourse's adequate source for booze news, reviews, and bullshit. We'll be highlighting a beer a day in this space; please leave suggestions below.
Advertisement
Will Gordon loves life and tolerates dissent. He lives in Cambridge, Mass., and some of his closest friends have met Certified Cicerones. Find him on Twitter @WillGordonAgain. Image by Jim Cooke.
The Concourse is Deadspin's home for culture/food/whatever coverage. Follow us on Twitter.
|
After playing in the sand, the Curiosity rover is poised to trek across the Martian landscape in search of a rock to drill into.
The six-wheel rover has been parked for more than a month at a sand dune where it has been busy scooping up soil, sniffing the atmosphere and measuring radiation levels on the surface.
Its next task is to zero in on a rock and that requires driving to a new location.
Mission deputy scientist Ashwin Vasavada expected Curiosity to be on the move in the "next few days".
"It's the bedrock which really gives you the story of ancient Mars," said Vasavada of the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the US$2.5 billion mission.
"The soil is a little harder to interpret because we don't know how old it is or where it came from."
The car-size rover touched down in Gale Crater, an ancient depression near the Martian equator, in August on a two-year mission to probe whether the landing site once had conditions capable of supporting microbial life.
Armed with a high-tech suite of instruments, it's the most sophisticated spacecraft to ever land on the red planet.
During the first three months, a weather station aboard Curiosity detected brief drops in air pressure, a sign of whirlwinds in the region.
"These events are starting to occur more and more often," said Manuel de la Torre Juarez of Nasa JPL. ‘
"We expect to see more in the future."
Previous rovers have spotted and even recorded dust devils dancing across the Martian terrain, but scientists said Curiosity has not yet seen evidence that the swirling winds have lifted dust.
Curiosity's ultimate destination is a 5km mountain rising from the centre of the crater floor that's rich in mineral deposits.
Scientists had hoped to drive to the base of the mountain before the end of the year, but that doesn't look likely after the extended stay at its current spot.
|
It's getting very close. The tension is rising. Over 11 days, around 4,200 athletes from 150 countries will have the London arena, as well as Weymouth for sailing and Eton Dorney for rowing, as their setting for a global audience.
I am talking, of course, about the Paralympics. There's an appetite. More than 2m of the 2.5m tickets have been sold, and it seems impossible to get hold of the rest. Global television coverage will focus on athletes who have become heroes in their own countries – and who have congenital problems, who are blind or hearing-impaired, or spine-damaged or have lost limbs after accidents.
Though disabled athletes had occasionally taken part in the Olympics before, the Paralympics proper goes back to disasters of the last century. Its real founder was the neurologist Ludwig Guttmann, a German Jewish migrant to Britain who left Germany in 1939 on the eve of war. He settled in Oxford and then in 1944 went to Stoke Mandeville hospital, to treat British servicemen who had suffered spinal injuries.
There, inspired by the 1948 London Olympics, "Papa" Guttmann put his belief in the strengthening power of sport into practice with his own wheelchair-based games. By 1952, the Stoke Mandeville Games had 150 international competitors. In 1960, at the Rome summer Olympics, the competitions were being held in parallel; the term "paralympics" was probably originally meant to refer to paraplegia, but now means "alongside" the Olympics, and was first used officially in 1988.
It's useful to know all that, I think, as a corrective to any notion that the Paralympics are recent, or "politically correct". Indeed, the more you think about them, the more inextricably linked they are to the thinking of the mainstream games.
For sport isn't fair, is it? You need guts and hard work – but you also need the luck of a particular physique. The dominance of Kenyans, Ethiopians and Somalis in long-distance running has a lot to do with geographical altitude and having bigger lung capacity as a result. To be a great sprinter, you need formidable power – you can't train yourself to be Usain Bolt. Or think of the huge arm-spans (and feet) of great swimmers – you can't will yourself into the same shape as Michael Phelps, either.
Then there are the other kinds of luck. There aren't many Indian athletes because India doesn't care as much about the Olympics as, say, China or Brazil. A talented gymnast shrewd enough to be born in Russia, or the US, would have rather more help and support than one who happens to be born in Chad or Bolivia.
There is a crude, unthinking sports fan who confuses the human lottery with virtue; who worships a Bolt or a Phelps because they are big and physically impressive; or who thinks that Australian or British sportspeople are inherently "better".
Why waste time talking about it? Because it's exactly the same kind of stupidity that denigrates other people because they happen to have been born with physical palsy or a learning disability, or to have had a car accident that resulted in both legs being amputated. When it comes to sport, thinking people aren't particularly interested in the unequal distribution of luck that is part of the human condition; they're interested in the guts, spirit and staying power.
What's interesting is what separates out the ones with determination, no self-pity and considerable courage. Some people with Mo Farah's physical inheritance are presumably lazy. Farah himself, even with his advantages, speaks of a long, long slog to reach the medal podium.
And this is the story of the Paralympics on stilts – or wheels, rather, or blades. These are athletes whose initial store of physical luck was less, but whose determination equals than of a Bolt or a Rebecca Adlington; and whose courage is greater.
If we are prepared to learn about the weird scoring system for diving, or pretend to understand why a little man on a motor-scooter leads the sprint cyclists, because we're interested in the human stories they reveal, then just the same must apply to the rules and qualifications for wheelchair rugby, or boccia (the boules-style game for people with cerebral palsy) or goalball (for the sightless).
However, the Paralympics may be morally more important than the Olympics. For the stupid adoration of people because of their physical luck has as its flip side the stupid ridiculing or hostility to people because of their disabilities. In essence, it's the same thing. The comedian's vile insult, the punch at a bus-stop, the schoolboy mockery of wheelchair-users are all failures of empathy – failures to see the people who are actually there.
And in Britain, at least, this is the time to worry. Official government figures show that the number of disability hate crimes reported to the police in England and Wales has reached a record high – there were some 1,942 last year. That figure has doubled since 2008 and, given the likelihood of the most vulnerable and scared people reporting such crimes, is only a tiny tip of a big iceberg. Other surveys suggest that a fifth of Britain's 10 million disabled people have suffered abuse or harassment in public.
So what's going on? Charities believe it must be linked to the rise in "scrounger" rhetoric by ministers, and the suggestion that huge numbers of people are dishonestly claiming benefits. In hard times, this is toxic. And because there are always a few bad apples, it is an addictively easy blame game. Yes, there are idle people with disabilities. Yes, there are crooks who happen to be partially sighted. It's the same with those who aren't disabled … except that they are a little harder to pick out, and pick on.
As the Paralympics will remind us, there's a vast range of disability, and it's people with learning disabilities who are most at risk. According to the Papworth Trust, 90% of them report being bullied, with a third saying it happens every week or every day. These are the people at the sharpest end of the fear and insecurity that comes with hard times.
What's happening to them is the latest episode in the sad saga of discrimination of old: "they're the same" – all black, gay or Jewish people. It's seeing the label, not the person. Mostly, in modern Britain, we've moved beyond this. Mostly, but not quite. That's why the Paralympics matters so much. Papa Guttmann is watching.
|
Memory Hole (definition):
A mechanism for the alteration or disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcripts, or other records, such as from a website or other archive, particularly as part of an attempt to give the impression that something never happened. The concept was first popularized by George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the Party’s Ministry of Truth systematically re-created all potential historical documents, in effect, re-writing all of history to match the often-changing state propaganda.
Saturday, March 25, 2017, as planned, there was a protest in front of the White House to raise awareness about Pizzagate.
The protest was planned to begin at 11 a.m.
At 12:09 p.m., AltMedia powerhouse Gateway Pundit published a report by its correspondent Lucian Wintrich on the protest, “#Make America Great Again Vets Rally Alongside #PizzaGate Protesters in Washington, D.C.“. That evening, FOTM received Wintrich’s article in an email from reader “GiGi”. By that time, the article had garnered 65 comments from Gateway Pundit‘s readers.
Wintrich’s article consisted of 4 photos of the protest, some pics taken at an earlier date of the interior of Comet Ping Pong, and two paragraphs of text written by Wintrich. Below are 2 pics from the protest.
This is what Lucian Wintrich wrote:
Outside the White House, hundreds have gathered to both show support for President Donald J. Trump while others gathered to raise awareness over the controversial #PizzaGate conspiracy. For those of you who might not know, #PizzaGate believers allege that a Washington pizzeria, named Comet Ping-Pong, is the home of a global pedophilia and child sex abuse ring organized by people including Hillary Clinton, Jon Podesta, among and other leading Democrats and members of the DNC. While a member of The Gateway Pundit reporting staff did venture down to Comet Ping-Pong to investigate, the only thing we came away with is the fact the pizzeria is very creepy and does not seem child-friendly at all. We were not able to prove or confirm allegations of child trafficking, just creepiness (see pictures below, taken by a Gateway Pundit reporter inside Comet Ping-Pong).
Here are 4 pics of Comet Ping Pong in Lucian Wintrich’s article:
Early Sunday morning, when I clicked on the embedded link to Wintrich’s article (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/03/maga-vets-rally-alongside-pizzagate-protesters-washington-d-c/), I got this message:
Not found, error 404 The page you are looking for no longer exists. Perhaps you can return back to the site’s homepage and see if you can find what you are looking for. Or, you can try finding it by using the search form below.
I did just that:
I went on Gateway Pundit‘s home page (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/) and scrolled through its recently published articles. There is no article titled “ #Make America Great Again Vets Rally Alongside #PizzaGate Protesters in Washington, D.C. “.
“. I searched for “PizzaGate protesters,” “PizzaGate protest,” “vets rally”. Again, there is no article titled “ #Make America Great Again Vets Rally Alongside #PizzaGate Protesters in Washington, D.C. “.
“. I then went on Lucian Wintrich’s author’s page (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/author/lucian/). As you can verify for yourself, the page shows that Wintrich’s most recent article was published on March 22, 2017 on London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The page shows no article written by Wintrich since March 22, and most certainly no article on the Pizzagate protest.
In other words, Wintrich’s Pizzagate protest article had been disappeared into the memory hole, with no explanation from Gateway Pundit.
A day before the Pizzagate protest, Alex Jones of InfoWars, another AltMedia powerhouse, publicly apologized to James Alefantis — the owner of Comet Ping Pong whom GQ magazine named the 49th most powerful person in Washington, D.C. — for having broadcast videos and published articles on Pizzagate, which Jones now calls “an incorrect narrative”. See “Alex Jones apologizes for Pizzagate ‘fake news’ on eve of March on D.C.“.
***Visit our new FREE SPEECH community built exclusively for our readers. Click to Join The Deplorables Network Today!***
Sure looks like the Alex Jones virus has infected Gateway Pundit as well.
~Eowyn
Dr. Eowyn’s post first appeared at Fellowship of the Minds
|
With just a week to go before lobster traps are set for the spring season in northern New Brunswick, fishermen are bracing for another year of low prices.
Gilles Thériault, a fisheries consultant, said record breaking lobster catches in Maine once again are expected to drive prices down.
"The forecast is that we could see as much as another 10 to 15 per cent increase this year, and that's a lot of lobster when we are already producing world record-breaking production," Thériault said. "So it's very problematic."
Thériault said fishermen in southeastern New Brunswick will again be vulnerable because their catches tend to be lower and their eight week season, starting in August, is later in the year.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we're going to have another very difficult year price-wise," he said.
Thériault calls the situation for Zone 25, which covers the Northumberland Strait along the southeastern part of the province, "very serious" and predicts prices could be lower than last year — a troubling forecast for local fishermen.
Bobby Donelle, a fisherman in Petit-Cap, said he fished for $3 per pound last year, down from $4.50 per pound in 2009.
"We just managed to survive, keep our head out of the water and breathe," he said. "To be honest, it's not a good sign."
Donelle said fishermen in the province can't compete with the season in Maine, where "they fish just about all year round."
Guy Cormier has been fishing for more than 40 years, and says a long-term solution must be found.
"With the Americans, we need to sit down as an industry, we need to spend more than half a day, probably weeks, weeks in order to resolve our problems," he said.
Some fishermen say more protests — like the ones last summer — are inevitable during what many call a make or break year.
|
Dubai might be getting its first batch of autonomous passenger drones this summer, but this Russian startup wants to fill up the sky with fully-manned hoverbikes.
Human-carrying drone manufacturer Hoversurf has built an impressive single-seat aircraft that not only has the capacity to lift you up in the sky, but also puts the control right into your own hands.
The fully-manned Scorpion-3 fundamentally combines the standard motorcycle design with futuristic quadcopter technology to offer the speed, agility and stability of flight to “the hands of amateur and professional navigators.”
While Hoversurf says its electric airborne vessel is currently mostly seen as an “extreme sports instrument,” the company hopes its invention will soon realize its full “transportation potential.”
Here’s a video of the Scorpion-3 in action:
Inspired by other fully-manned aircraft prototypes like the E-volo, the Scorpion-3 relies on in-house software solutions to offer both automated as well as full-manual control over the vessel.
To ensure the safety of its pilot, Hoversurf has built-in a special system into the Scorpion-3 that automatically controls and limits the maximum speed and altitude of the aircraft in order to prevent accidents.
The Scorpion-3 isn’t the only quadcopter Hoversurf has built so far. Last year, the company showcased another aircraft prototype, which could be controlled both remotely from a controller and manually by a pilot.
|
"The Great British Bake Off" produces a new heroine, Nadiya Hussain, who's a genius with sugar, eggs and flour
LONDON: The victor of The Great British Bake Off was hailed as a Muslim role model on Wednesday after winning the hit television contest, as well as the hearts of the nation.
Nadiya Jamir Hussain, a 30-year-old mother of three from the northern English city of Leeds, survived 11 weekly vote-offs to win the series after impressing judges with an array of artistic creations.
For her final show-stopping piece in the finale she made a cake decorated with a sari in the blue, red and white of Britain’s Union Jack.
Read: 6 fun and delicious recipes you can make with your kids
Hussain charmed viewers with her witty one-liners and endearing range of facial expressions, which spawned a “Many Faces of Nadiya Appreciation Blog”, becoming the audience favourite to win the programme — a runaway success whose final was expected to draw a record-breaking 14 million viewers.
Magic Mary makes the tears go away #GBBOFinal pic.twitter.com/93sM5fskF9 — British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) October 7, 2015
The Muslim Association of Britain called her “an inspiration to many British Muslims, and especially Muslim women”.
“I think she’s incredibly talented and it’s really wonderful to see a British Muslim just showcasing the best of Muslim talent in this country,” said Zara Mohammed, vice president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he was rooting for her, as did Chancellor George Osborne who tweeted “Go Nadiya!!”.
Born to a Bangladeshi family in the multicultural hub of Luton, Hussain was credited with helping overthrow stereotypes.
“Nadiya is the first British woman who wears a hijab to have occupied such a positive, joyous role in British mass culture,” Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer for The Guardian daily, wrote ahead of the final.
Hussain had admitted before the final that she was at first “a bit nervous that perhaps people would look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake”.
“I’m just as British as anyone else, and I hope I have proved that,” she said.
Read: 10 ways to get rid of cooking smells
Hussain burst into tears as she was announced the winner and said “there must be some mistake”.
Holding her trophy, she vowed never to doubt herself again.
“I’m never going to say: I don’t think I can,” she said. “I can, and I will.”
Morning after the night before… All feels like a dream… Somebody pinch me — Nadiya Jamir Hussain (@BegumNadiya) October 8, 2015
A passionate baker since she was a schoolgirl, Hussain was a full-time mother before going on the show but could be poised to reap new opportunities.
Previous winners have created careers out of their victories, penning cookbooks and newspaper columns.
Twitter was just as ecstatic with Nadiya’s win:
This year keeps getting stranger… Great British Bake Off finalists draw floods of fans for book signing http://t.co/DfxDiZiY0g — Ian Cumming (@iancpix) October 8, 2015
She CAN and she WILL. Nadiya Hussain, we salute you. Congrats, love. So happy for you #greatbritishbakeofffinal pic.twitter.com/hr6H1ofilh — الحمد لله (@_TheBlankCanvas) October 9, 2015
BEST STORY ON INTERNET TODAY INVOLVES HOPE, INCLUSION & LOTS OF CAKE, OMG. Nadiya Hussain wins Great British Bake Off http://t.co/GiPWkJwcdU — Van Badham (@vanbadham) October 8, 2015
This is Nadiya Hussain's twitter handle @BegumNadiya !!! who won the #BritishBakeOff. Congrat her. God bless. This is spirit. — Fatimah Manshad |FKM (@FatimahLove92) October 8, 2015
.@MazJobrani, your dreams are coming true. Headline story about a Muslim that baked an amazing cake. No terrorism. http://t.co/WbPMc1o5MT — Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) October 8, 2015
Read full story
|
Wendy's, home to a bunch of square burgers and Frosty, is following in Burger King's footsteps and embracing mobile payments. Now, you can use the Ohio company's app to pay for your purchase in most (but not all) of its locations in the US. Just like its Burger King counterpart, the app acts as sort of a digital wallet that generates six-digit codes you'll have to give to cashiers for payment. Wendy's, however, has regrettably left out one of the BK app's best features -- discounts and coupons.
The fast food chain apparently decided to offer mobile payments in an effort to attract the younger, smartphone-obsessed set. Unfortunately, the app's limited features (you can't use it to call in a delivery, if you're wondering!) and lack of discounts as a perk make it a less convincing download than its competitors. But, hey, at least it can show nutritional values, so you don't scarf down a Baconator without knowing it has 940 calories.
|
According to Freedom House's report on development of post-Communist countries, Estonia maintains its high ranking among 29 countries in review, writes LETA/National Broadcasting. Latvia ranked 3rd and Lithuania 6th.
The report points out the setbacks in the democratic administration of Eurasian, Balkan and Central European countries; among 29 countries assessed last year, there were only 13 with democratic governance, including Estonia. Six countries were still in the transition phase, and ten had authoritarian regimes.
Just as in 2013, the average democracy rating kept falling in the entire region, and Estonia maintained its second place, only behind Slovenia.
Of the 29 countries assessed for 2014, 13 were rated as democracies, 6 as transitional regimes, and 10 as authoritarian regimes.
Russia earned its largest ratings decline in a decade in 2014, as the Kremlin stepped up suppression of dissent at home while seeking to destabilize the new government in Ukraine.
As in each of the previous 10 years, the average democracy score declined in 2014, with 12 countries suffering downgrades.
|
Group B was mostly dominated by the story surrounding Brazilian team, Immortals. It might be the most spectacular nosedive in Counter-Strike history, a team that made the major final in Krakow just two months ago, now completely falling apart. It has nothing to do with results. The team remains capable of beating anything North America might throw at it and a good chunk of Europe too. Instead, this team has fallen apart for reasons that truly make little sense when held up to any type of scrutiny. Whatever you want to say about the sensibilities of professional players, you will find a slender minority that believes it’s acceptable to have late nights and consume alcohol the night before championship matches. Out of that minority, it seems three of them just so happen to play for Immortals. Furthermore, most would also accept that there are little grounds to defend a tweet threatening to “kill” another professional player over this observation. Worse still, if you actually go looking for someone at a tournament to enact your threats. Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe hasn’t just doubled down on this by refusing to apologize, but he has almost certainly sealed his fate as a high-level professional player by choosing this hill to die on. All the hard work and high level performances are utterly meaningless if you’re a ticking time bomb who is always one tweet away from getting disqualified, or potentially arrested. Any organization wanting to take on that liability is as utterly mad as those making excuses for Giuseppe’s meltdown.
And understand, this doesn’t come from a hand-wringing, virtue-signaling outrage peddler like we have seen creep into esports. I’ve been an isolated voice arguing for trash talk in and out of games, for young players not being held to unbelievably high expectations, and that esports doesn’t need to import a more mainstream code of conduct in order to succeed. There’s just no way to defend the collective madness or the swollen egos of those who would put a night on the tiles before championship glory, before their teammates who have worked harder than they have, before the fans who support them, or the organization that took a risk and paid them exorbitant salaries in exchange for the reasonable, tacit agreement of effort at events. This selfishness cannot be respected and I extend even less respect to anyone who would be willing to endanger the welfare of a fellow professional. There isn’t a rule that says we all have to like each other or get along, but some things have to be off limits.
So Immortals came with Giuseppe, his visa issues posing further questions about his long-term future and potentially being a convenience anyway. In his place, a legend was drafted as a stand-in, which gave ELEAGUE viewers a welcome surprise. Raphael "cogu" Camargo is the original Brazilian star, a talismanic player who propelled his mibr (Made in Brazil) team to becoming the best in the world in 2006 and is rated by many as one of the top Counter-Strike 1.6 players of all time. At 32, it isn’t clear how much more gas is in the tank, but when you have that kind of pedigree, you’re always capable of producing moments, and indeed he did, even if they weren’t enough to push Immortals through this group. He’s not likely to feature in Immortals or indeed ELEAGUE ever again, but it was good that we got to include him in this piece of esports history. For Immortals, they will now be waking up to the fact they have bigger problems on the horizon than failing to qualify for ELEAGUE’s playoffs. The worst might yet be to come for model professionals Lucas "steel" Lopes and Ricardo "boltz" Prass, possibly faced with losing their right to compete at a major spot they earned if rumors are to be believed.
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
This storyline seemed to overshadow the arrival of Danish team North. Not that long ago, I referred to them as the most underwhelming all-star team currently active. It was a just criticism. Despite a roster of some of the best players their country had to offer, big salaries and being backed by a mainstream sports organization, the team repeatedly flopped at tournaments. Even as recently as the major in Krakow, they labored through their best of one matches and then lost their first best of three to a team in terminal decline in the form of Virtus Pro. However, since the addition of Valdemar "valde" Bjørn, they’ve looked like a much more complete team. Prior to his arrival, the last time they managed a top four finish at a notable tournament was all the way back in February. Since he joined, they were finalists at DreamHack Malmo and winners of DreamHack Montreal, courtesy of the gift of a free map that Immortals gave them.
I expected them to breeze through to our playoffs, but it was anything other than easy, not because they met stiff opposition, but rather North is a team that struggles to put games to bed. In their first match against fnatic, they built up a decent lead on one of the signature maps, Mirage. 9-6 at half time, and then at one point 15-9, amazingly, the game went 16-14 with the Danes winning by the narrowest of margins. This was followed up by a double overtime against the troubled Immortals team, North’s own brilliance hamstrung by basic errors and poor decisions. Still, winning is all that matters and I doubt North will dwell too much on the nature of their victories here. They’ll take winning ugly over where they were a few months ago.
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
Fnatic was the real story of this group for me. Having made what seemed an underwhelming recruitment choice for their new in-game leader, academy player Maikil "Golden" Selim,, it wasn’t clear what direction the team was likely to take. The talent and experience on the roster is without question, yet recent placements would make you believe this team was ordinary, consigned to be an “also-ran” at every event they attended. Their performances at ELEAGUE might well be remembered as the start of their transformation, provided they can continue to be consistent.
After the aforementioned narrow defeat at the hands of North, a game they could have conceivably won if they’d managed to not lose to just one more force-buy, they could have taken the scenic route to the playoffs. Keep in mind, Selim had literally stepped off a plane and drove through Atlanta traffic to hop straight into a game, something that makes immortals’ cries of their incident being jetlag-related seem even more implausibly pathetic, so there’s extra credit for them making it competitive. They overcame Mousesports, who were strangely flat despite a tournament win in Mykonos just prior to this, showing that Fnatic’s map pool might be deeper than first thought. Finally, it seemed that their new in-game leader was getting the most out of Freddy "KRIMZ" Johansson and Robin "flusha" Rönnquist, the latter delivering a level of performance not seen since the height of his mouse-lifting speculation. Following this up by putting Immortals out of their misery in two maps showed that they potentially turned a corner. Make no mistake about it, fnatic came to ELEAGUE as the team who were fourth overall on form and got through anyway.
There remain questions of course… Did they get lucky, in the sense that they played a stumbling North, a Mousesports slightly complacent due to their first tournament win and an imploding Immortals? Sure, I think these are fair statements. Were they supposed to be winning any of these games despite these factors? Probably not. That’s how far Fnatic has fallen of late. It could be that their veterans delivered two performances that aren’t representative of what they will deliver next week, or the week after that, an insane series of fortuitous events, the stars aligning just to get them to the playoffs. It doesn’t feel like that though. It might not be a new dawn, but I’m sure fnatic’s loyal fanbase will take the promising signs that they are back on their way to being competitive again.
|
He masterminded Manchester United's glory days — and Sir Alex Ferguson made a visit to his former club's training ground ahead of their crunch clash with Arsenal.
Ferguson oversaw an unrivalled period of domination at United where he led the club to 38 trophies, including two Champions League titles, before finally calling time on his reign in 2013.
The legendary manager was back at his former club on Friday as he visited their Aon training complex while some of his ex-players geared up for the mouthwatering tie.
Sir Alex Ferguson arrives at Manchester United's training ground with his wife Cathy
Ferguson visits the state-of-the-art Aon complex ahead of United's crunch clash with Arsenal
FERGUSON'S RECORD FOR UNITED AGAINST ARSENAL Games played: 42 Wins: 19 Draws: 12 Defeats: 11 Win percentage: 45.2 per cent Premier League stats only
The 74-year-old Scotsman was pictured arriving at the state-of-the-art training complex in his Mercedes, accompanied by his wife Cathy.
Perhaps Ferguson was visiting to give his advice to current boss Jose Mourinho, who is preparing his United side for the visit of Arsene Wenger's side.
During his time as the Red Devils' manager, the club icon guided his team to 19 wins in 42 Premier League matches against Arsenal.
Mourinho, who took charge at Old Trafford in the summer, will need as much help as he can get, having suffered somewhat of a defensive injury crisis in recent months.
Ferguson was present for United's session as they prepare to face bitter rivals on Saturday
The legendary boss guided the Old Trafford club to 13 Premier League titles (pictured in 2013)
Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia are among the players ruled out for Saturday's crunch clash, while the experienced Zlatan Ibrahimovic is suspended.
The Red Devils, however, will be hoping to get one over their title rivals when they go head-to-head in Saturday's early kick-off.
Going into this weekend's fixtures, United are currently sixth in the Premier League table, eight points behind surprise leaders Liverpool.
And victory over Wenger's side will see them move to within three points of Arsenal, who currently occupy the last Champions League spot.
Ferguson oversaw an unrivalled period of domination before calling time on his reign in 2013
|
IN the most sexist take of last year’s American presidential election, Hillary Clinton claims she lost because women can’t think for themselves.
The reason so many women voted against her was that they were pressured by “fathers and husbands and boyfriends and male employers”, she told CBS news.
Having assumed that women would blindly vote for a woman just because she was a woman, Clinton did worse with the female vote than Barack Obama. She tanked with uneducated white women, who voted almost two to one for Donald Trump.
But she doesn’t blame herself for failing to resonate with her own sex. She blames women for being weak.
“Women will have no empathy for you, because they will be under tremendous pressure — and I’m talking principally about white women — they will be under tremendous pressure from fathers and husbands and boyfriends and male employers not to vote for ‘the girl’.”
No, maybe women just aren’t so selfish that they vote on chromosomes. And maybe they don’t appreciate feminists like Clinton dismissing the men they love as “deplorables”.
|
What a widiculous movie!
Over time, has any film veered more toward kitsch than Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" of 1968? Now, seen in the actual 2001, it's less a visionary masterpiece than a crackpot Looney Tune, pretentious, abysmally slow, amateurishly acted and, above all, wrong.
Earth to Stanley Kubrick: Gee, Stanley, up there in movie god heaven, you know what, Pan Am didn't get the space shuttle franchise and zoom us up to the orbiting wagon-wheel stations in sleek ships complete with stewardesses in super beehive hats and Velcro slippers so the zero grav wouldn't set them afloat. Here's who got the franchise: nobody. Stanley, read my lips: Commercial space flight is dead, unless you're a zany dot-com millionaire.
And, Stanley, guess what else: You know, aliens probably didn't plant electronic devices on earth 4 million years ago that emitted a beam that tickled our clumsy ape brains into mutating toward cognition, self-awareness and irony. But that's really what the movie ever so earnestly argues, and what was an amusing trope in a minor Arthur C. Clarke short story seems portentous misanthropy when blown out to epic length.
Or maybe it's just that I wasn't high this time when I watched it.
At any event, Kubrick's film, thankfully only reprinted and not reinflated with any kind of "director's cut," is on view on the Uptown's giant curvy screen, and kids, don't try this at home. Sit in the second half of the house, not the first, elsewise the action will bend through your peripheral vision and give you a bellyache.
The movie is an annoyance wrapped inside of an enigma as constructed by a cosmic ego that had been praised so much he believed it. "Dr. Strangelove" was his great film, and "Paths of Glory," "A Clockwork Orange" and "Full Metal Jacket" his near-great ones. The rest were overblown, self-indulgent and silly, but "2001" has to be the stupidest.
The monkey stuff is okay, if you buy the premise, which I don't, and if you like seeing people in hair suits jump around going uck-uck and, yes, that wondrous moment when a million years of human history is summed up in the nanosecond transfiguration of a thrown bone into a spacecraft. The second stage of the story in which stiffs who would never act professionally again pretend to deal with the emergency of the discovery of a new sentinel on the moon is endlessly dreary, with its obsession for showing what were then spectacular special effects and today seem only cheesy. Kubrick overdosed on people walking upside down, which isn't that interesting after the first two steps. At least when Fred Astaire went upside down, he danced.
The third part is by far the best: Heroic if underacted astronauts Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood deal with a rebelliously neurotic computer. It has actual narrative gripping power, instead of inert spectacle.
The final part remains visually stunning if intellectually vaporous. Evidently astronaut Dullea finds, beyond a Jovian moon, a stargate, by which he short-circuits the universe and discovers an unknowable and superior alien life form. So, er, Stanley, are you sure you want to stand on this one? The space beings, having listened to too much German music by too many composers who had themselves read too much Nietzsche, send him back to Earth, born again, as a planet-size embryo. What's he going to do when he reaches 15th and K: drip amniotic fluid on everyone? If he's that big, how's he going to get into Morton's?
Oh, kids, go ahead and see it, if for no other reason to learn how silly your parents were at your age.
|
About
We have spent the last few years developing a new battery technology called Graphilium™, and now we are launching our crowd funding campaign because we need your help to introduce Graphilium™ Cell Technology to the world.
Basically our Graphilium™ Cells are composed from a combination of Graphene, Nano Carbon and Lithium-Ion technology.
The extraordinary properties of our AEGEA Graphilium™ Cell are:
• Super fast Charging times (Charges within minutes and even seconds)
• Exceptional life cycle – (Last over a million charge cycles)
• Non Flammable even under high electrical pressure
• Works even in Extreme hot or cold temperatures
• Capable of high energy outputs
• Stores energy charge for a long period of time
We truly believe that we are on to the next generation of battery technology, and that is why we have invested everything we have to finance the development of Graphilium™ and start our company “AEGEA”.
So now we are seeking your help in funding our next phase, which will surely demonstrate the amazing properties of Graphilium™ and see our vision through.
The next phase in our development is to apply our Graphilium™ Cell to a useful consumer product, and think we might just have the perfect platform to do so.
The AEGEA AutoJump™ will be your ultimate car jump starter!
The AutoJump™ can jumpstart any vehicle with a 3000cc engine, or below.
Applying Graphilium Cell to an emergency car jump starter has many benefits that today's lithium ion jump starters do not offer.
You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
sound 00:00 00:00
The AEGEA AutoJump™ can fully charge in 5 minutes or less.
The Graphilium Cell inside can charge up really really fast!
Since extreme temperatures do not affect Graphilium™, the AEGEA AutoJump™ even works in -14°F (-25°C) weather such as in the case of getting stuck in a snowstorm.
Graphilium™ Cell can charge and recharge over a million cycles so we're confident that our AutoJump™ is superior and we stand by our commitment to ensure a quality product to our supporters.
With high-energy outputs and instant charge capabilities, the AEGEA AutoJump™ can even directly connect to your car's battery terminal and bypass your car battery completely. The Graphilium™ Cell is so powerful and stable that your car can actually run directly from the AutoJump™
So as you can see, the AEGEA AutoJump™ can save you even in the worst emergency scenarios.
We began this journey with AEGEA together with a common passion of helping the world save energy. As we learn more about the potential of Graphilium™, our vision is one day applying it to all things electricity powered.
You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. Play Replay with sound Play with
sound 00:00 00:00
With so much global energy being wasted and the non-renewable resources being consumed everyday, we really hope that our Graphilium™ Cell can become a major contribution against the world's energy crisis.
Please help us reach our funding goal by purchasing our AEGEA AutoJump™, so we can deliver Graphilium™ Technology on a global scale.
OUR STORY
Two brothers Alex and Greg Mak, have been developing innovative consumer products their whole careers. A rare dynamic duo, Alex the passionate marketing wiz and Greg the engineering genius teamed up with their childhood friend Eduardo Roza-Pereira and set out in search of a revolutionary project to work on together.
Eduardo, an entrepreneur who has co-founded everything from creative centres to the F&B industry, invited the Mak brothers to a research facility one day where they stumbled upon a material called Graphene. This new material was said to have amazing properties and unlimited capabilities of energy storage. Suddenly, the three partners found themselves dedicating their futures to explore its potential.
Fast forward 5 years later, AEGEA technology is established and Graphilium Cells are born...
|
Manchester City prevail at Old Trafford
1:2
Manchester is Blue. Pep Guardiola’s team continue their quest to the Premier League title with a key win in the 175th playing of the Manchester Derby. After the match, City extend their unbeaten streak to 16 games, drawing only once in the league in that time and setting a new record of winning 14 consecutive matches. City also have an 11 point gap over their crosstown rivals. Manchester United remain in second place, but this result makes their quest for the league title a difficult task.
The largest talking point going into the match was who wasn’t going to be playing, specifically Paul Pogba. The exuberant midfielder out of this match due to suspension, receiving a straight red card during United’s away win at Arsenal. To replace the Frenchman, Ander Herrera was slotted next to Nemanja Matic. Jose Mourinho opted to change his team’s formation back to a 4-2-3-1, as seen in numerous teams he has managed over the years. Ashley Young was put in at left back following his performances over the past few weeks as a wingback in United’s 3-4-1-2 formation, while Martial and Rashford flanked Jesse Lingard to form the trio of attacking midfielders.
Manchester City were afforded the luxury of being able to rest their key players in the midweek Champions League game, so their starting selection was as expected, with perhaps the exception of Gabriel Jesus getting the nod over a recuperating Sergio Aguero.
Mourinho’s Matchplan
Rashford and Martial dropped into the midfield line when defending to form a 4-4-1-1 shape, with Lingard responsible for covering the space that Fernandinho occupied. Lingard would periodically step up in line with Lukaku, creating a 4-4-2, and these moments would take place when City were building up along the halfway line. United were reluctant to apply pressure in these instances, preferring to cover the options that could be played to and applying man-orientations to the dangerous player.
Mourinho set his team to have Silva and De Bruyne to be essentially man-marked by Herrera and Matic respectively, while Romelu Lukaku aimed to prevent the ball from going toward City’s left side by using his cover shadow to block Otamendi from receiving the ball. Otamendi would solve this later in the match by stepping up into the midfield when Kompany received the ball so he could carry it out of defense and move up the field easily, as United defenders did not want to leave their man to pressure the Argentine on the ball.
Once Kompany received the ball, United’s would pressure slightly more, with the likely intention of rushing Kompany to make a decision on the ball and having him force passes into avenues where United could win the ball. If they won the ball, they could counter through the pace and individual abilities of Rashford, Lukaku, and Martial, with Lingard acting as a central running option to switch the ball from one side to the other if the far side was open.
For those familiar with Mourinho’s work, this is hardly a surprising approach for his United team. However, due to City’s positional structure and the manner in which United defended, they struggled to generate attacks that weren’t predicated on individual skillful dribbling.
United’s Shortcomings
The aspects of Manchester City’s play in possession will be discussed in the next section, but through the way that United set out to defend City, large spaces were found centrally at various moments in the match. For example, just like the graphic above, it was common to find large spaces centrally because of Herrera and Matic being so preoccupied with the player they were marking. This allows for easier passes for any players moving into that space. Another outcome that was common to see was for a City player to take the ball and dribble up the middle, with no pressure being applied until he was close to United’s penalty area.
Due to the reluctance of United to apply pressure onto the visiting club, Man City could easily establish themselves inside the opponent’s half, while the home side would drop off and focus on defending the central areas in the penalty area. United’s crowded box defending made it so City struggled to finish off decent moves that were often generated in wider positions from Sane and Jesus. But the manner in which United defended for large portions of the match made it challenging for United to effectively counter.
When Manchester United had possession after a failed City attack, all of their players were so close together that they were easy to counterpress, as many options could be eliminated just by providing a decent cover shadow. To alleviate the pressure then, many long balls were directed towards Lukaku, and the Belgian was helpless because his support that would be behind him normally in any counter attack was too far away to link up productively. This led to City regaining possession, and the cycle would continue once again.
There is a quote from Juanma Lillo, in which he states “The quicker the ball goes forward, the quicker it comes back“. This is essentially how the match played out from United’s point of view. Manchester United were very direct in how they moved up the field, as if it wasn’t a long ball aimed for Lukaku, it was a through ball from the midfielders, or a marauding dribbling sequence taking advantage of the advanced positions of City’s fullbacks.
Sometimes these attacks work, as seen with Marcus Rashford’s goal on the stroke of halftime, but relying on them against a team intelligently positioned when your team is so deep is not optimal. When the wingers and midfielders move up to be part of the attack, they have to travel large distances to participate in the attack. As the ball moves faster than the players, the rate at which they support is usually too slow to keep up with the play if they are excessively deep. When the opposition win the ball, there exists a large gap in between the lines of players because of the movements that take place during attacking transitions. This leads to the opponent easily progressing up the field back to where United were fighting tooth and nail to protect.
Such was the nature of Manchester United’s counterattacking on the day, as they were heavily reliant on the talents of their attacking players rather than a cohesive counterattacking strategy aimed at a particular zone of the pitch. United were in a pendulum between attacking and defending, with City moving up the field quickly when the attacking 4 players moved up to attack while the rest of the team failed to move up sufficiently in anticipation of the next City attack. Later on in the match, Lingard, Martial, and Rashford became restless and tried to initate a higher press of their own, but City were able to navigate this easily.
This was due to how United’s back 4 and defensive midfielders were focused on covering rather than pressuring, and this discontinuity between the front and back of the team led to large gaps for City to play into. Overall, a better approach I feel would’ve been to force City to play long balls by implementing a higher offside line and pressure in a similar manner to how United operated against Arsenal in the prior week. The absence of Paul Pogba was a big loss, but strategically, Mourinho gave Guardiola spaces for his side to establish their superiority over the Red Devils.
City vs. United’s Defense, Adjustments to beat Man-Orientations
For Manchester City, they employed a slight variation of what has been used in the past few weeks. Rather than having Gabriel Jesus central, he was slotted out left and Raheem Sterling was placed centrally, playing as a False 9 and checking deeper into midfield to create 4v3 situations with De Bruyne, Silva, and Fernandinho. Sane was positioned on the right flank on the touchline, occasionally looking to run in behind and get on the end of long passes from the back, but these were sparse and he mainly sought to challenge Young on the dribble.
The best attacks in the opening stages of the match came from switches over to Sane, and he would frequently look to cut the ball for any runners to finish. These were anticipated and dealt with by United, meaning not many quality shots arose from these.
In an effort to gain more of the ball, Silva and De Bruyne began to drop back closer to Fernandinho. This did escape them from their marks, but offered little solution to actually breaking down United. What it did accomplish was keeping possession and have United chase to cover their spaces, leading to eventual zones that City tried to beat by combination play.
Sterling’s movement as a False 9 then acted as the main solve up the field, since Rojo and Smalling did not follow him into the deeper spots. De Bruyne and Silva were too far however to be effective options for Sterling once he got the ball, which led to many stagnant City attacks that had a lot of side to side circulation once they were high up the field.
The most amount of success for City took place when the ball went from the central areas to wide spots, as the large gaps mentioned earlier in the piece allowed them to get near the penalty area with relative ease. De Bruyne would drift righward in support of Sane, with Silva just behind him often. This made the game quite small sided and on occasion played into United’s hands. Mourinho’s team was heavily protective of the center however meaning that either shots were blocked, passed out wide and easily saved by De Gea, or cutbacks were cleared away.
Ilkay Gundogan was brought in at halftime for Kompany, moving Fernandinho to center back for about 15 minutes, before Mangala replaced Gabriel Jesus. These shifts led to Silva playing as the false 9, Sane back to the left, and Sterling to the right. The same patterns and themes took place in this timeframe, but as United began to pressure haphazardly, Gundogan was a great asset in circulation leading to several chances for City, but were unable to convert any of these.
A Tangent on Deep Defending
Jose Mourinho said the following quote to the media after the match.
“They scored two goals which were quite unbelievable to concede. They scored two goals out of nothing with rebounds….two easy goals. We did good things, we did bad things… I think they are a very good team, they are lucky, they have decisions in their favour.”
Pep Guardiola commented about how his team had not worked on attacking set pieces all week and managed to score two of them during the match to come away with three points. While set piece goals may be a byproduct of luck, the goals themselves came from long spells of defending deep. The first corner kick goal originated from a sequence which ended in a save from Leroy Sane’s shot on target, while the second was a freekick that unfortunately deflected off a United player during a clearance into the path of Otamendi.
Perhaps Manchester City are lucky in that Ederson had a couple of world class saves 5 minutes from the injury time. However, for the sake of a thought experiment, if the events that take place in a football match are random, but somewhat determined by the positioning of players in your team, then by being close to your own goal for such a large portion of the match, you are subjecting your team to a higher risk of having one of these random events leading to a goal.
With Manchester City being so far from their goal for a majority of the game, they are subjecting themselves to less risk of conceding because United have a large distance to travel in order to score. Therefore, Mourinho’s tactics of sitting deep and hitting on the counter do not in fact provide the best chance of winning big matches against opponents of equal or superior skill. While it does work sometimes, it is pretty risky and very dependent on having certain “random” events, like set pieces, go in your favor (in terms of not conceding, or scoring them) for 90 minutes. Football doesn’t always work like that, and managers should have tactics that don’t depend so much on chance.
This may be expanded on the future in a tactical theory piece in the future, but for now, it should be stated that defending deep is not the most risk averse strategy a manager can employ. As we saw with PSG-Barcelona earlier this year or even BVB against Schalke, this instinct of protecting your own goal at all costs is counter productive and just increases the amount of opposition attacks and places constant pressure on your defense.
Conclusion
While this wasn’t the spectacle of previous Manchester Derbies or prior encounters between Jose and Pep, the loss will sting from United’s point of view, as Manchester City inevitably look like they will march to the title. In a less than top performance, City still demonstrated their quality over their neighbors. Even though both teams have about equal squads in terms of ability, Manchester City were better on the day, and saying Guardiola has nothing to do with that is naive. His way is working in England after all.
|
Flickr Italy, deep in the midst of a national bout of soul searching over their enormously wasteful state (for example, read about Mario Monti's New Year's Eve dinner here), has had its national statistics office look into exactly how much money politicians get paid in different countries.
The resulting study revealed the base salaries that each EU country's politicians earned along with a look at the perks and expenses that politicians can also claim as part of their living.
Taking this data (and additional, slightly older, data from the Directorate General of the European Parliament) we've compiled a list of which EU countries pay their serving politicians the best.
Now if this list is logical, as Ezra Klein has noted, it would roughly correlate with the GDP of the countries. Of course, it doesn't! And somehow we're betting you might be able to guess who comes in at number 1...
(Please note: that we haven't included expenses, just base salary. Of course there are some very substantial perks at work for some of these politicians.)
|
One of the most impressive features of Windows 8.1 Pro is Hyper-V. It's Microsoft's top-of-the-line, enterprise-grade virtualization solution, and it's a godsend for developers, security researchers, IT pros, and anyone who wants to tinker with PCs without screwing up a perfectly good working system.
We've put together step-by-step instructions to help you understand what Hyper-V is, check that your hardware is capable of being used for Hyper-V and, assuming your PC passes the compatibility test, how to get it running. Good news: It's not complicated.
After Hyper-V is successfully set up, you have the capability to create your own virtual machines, without the hassle of physical hardware and cables.
My ZDNet colleague Larry Seltzer pinged me today with a very good question: Where do you get the operating system software to install in those VMs?
I want to create a Win 8.1 VM. I know I can get install media and a key from my MSDN subscription, but am I not able to use the Win 8.1 I have preloaded? I need a separate key for each VM? I recall that Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 included an XP license. What happened to that feature?
Larry has a good memory.
Windows XP Mode was a signature feature of Windows 7 Professional and higher versions. It included a copy of Windows Virtual PC, a rudimentary virtualization tool that was good enough to handle the custom Windows XP Mode package.
The point of XP Mode was to remove a stumbling block for anyone who had an older peripheral for which Windows 7 drivers weren't available (yes, XP Mode recognized USB devices) or needed to run a program that wasn't compatible with Windows 7. (If you're curious, here's "A closer look at Windows XP Mode", from late 2009.)
Windows 8 has no such option. You can install any modern Windows or Linux version, desktop or server, using Hyper-V. But you'll need to bring your own license and software for the base OS. Here are the best ways to do that:
Windows Enterprise with Software Assurance
If your PC has a Volume License upgrade to Windows Enterprise Edition with Software Assurance attached, you are entitled to a slew of enhanced installation rights, including some useful Virtual Desktop Access rights.
The most relevant item on that list is the right to run up to four virtual instances of Windows in local virtual machines (VMs) on the licensed device. You also get the right to create a dual-boot installation using the same OS, which is normally prohibited.
Software Assurance isn't a product you can purchase individually. Your organization needs a volume license agreement with Microsoft first, making this option realistic primarily for very large companies.
Evaluation Software from Microsoft
If you need a Windows VM for occasional compatibility testing, especially for a project that will only last for a few months, this is an excellent option.
You can download free 90-day evaluation versions of Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 from Microsoft's TechNet Evaluation Center. The latest version of Windows Server is available from the MSDN Evaluation Center and is good for 180 days.
All of these evaluation versions are full-featured, with no limitations during the evaluation period. At the end of the evaluation period, you need to start over with a fresh registration and a fresh download. The downloads are in ISO format and can be directly attached to a Hyper-V VM for installation.
Ready-made VMs for Internet Explorer
Microsoft's modern.IE site has a rich library of test VMs designed primarily for testing Internet Explorer, but you can use them for more thorough testing if you want.
The test VMs are available for OS X, Linux, and Windows, with support for VMware Player and VirtualBox as well. On Hyper-V, you can get virtual machine image files running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, with your choice of Internet Explorer versions.
The downloads come as multi-part compressed files (RAR format) that need to be reassembled into a virtual machine. The resulting file is ready to run with no OS installation required.
MSDN subscription software
There was a time, not so long ago, that the easy answer to this question would have been, "Get a TechNet subscription." Alas, Microsoft shut down that program last year, and the very last TechNet software subscriptions are ending for good this month.
The alternative is a subscription from MSDN, which is aimed at software developers. The MSDN Operating Systems subscription, which costs $699 a year, includes access to the latest versions of Windows and Windows Server, "for development and testing purposes."
These downloads are must be installed manually (on physical hardware or in a new virtual machine), but unlike evaluation editions they have no expiration date. You're expected to stop using any software acquired through this subscription if the term ends and you don't renew, but there's no time bomb in the software itself.
Packaged software
Retail versions of Windows are available from just about any online retailer in retail and OEM versions.
The OEM versions are typically sold at a significant discount over the corresponding retail version. For example, Amazon and Newegg currently have the Windows 7 Professional System Builder DVD (OEM) for around $140. The full retail package, by contrast, runs about $300, if you can find it.
The licensing rules for OEM software are, quite literally, insane. If you buy an OEM System Builder version of Windows 7, its license terms specifically prohibit you from installing it in a new virtual machine for your own personal use. However, there is no technical restriction to prevent you from doing so, and the resulting copy passes activation, validation, and every anti-piracy check.
Special Feature Virtualizing the Enterprise Virtualization has swept through the data center in recent years, enabling IT transformation and serving as the secret sauce behind cloud computing. Now it’s time to examine what’s next for virtualization as the data center options mature and virtualization spreads to desktops, networks, and beyond. Read More
For Windows 8, Microsoft removed that restriction and in fact create a new license type called a "Personal Use License for System Builder," which specifically permits installation in a virtual machine. Buy that version and your upgrade to Windows 8.1 is free.
And then, insanely, Microsoft released Windows 8.1 and changed the license terms back to the Windows 7 version, removing the Personal Use Rights license . So if you buy a Windows 8 System Builder OEM box and install it in a virtual machine, you can upgrade it to Windows 8.1 and you have followed the license terms to the letter. Buy a Windows 8.1 System Builder copy and do the same thing and you're technically in violation of license terms.
I told you it was crazy.
Linux on Hyper-V
Microsoft actively supports running Linux in Hyper-V virtual machines. Most modern Linux distros include Microsoft's Linux Integration Services (LIS), which enable Hyper-V devices with Linux running as a guest OS. Hyper-V Program Manager Ben Armstrong, for example, offers this detailed look at Ubuntu 14.04 running in Hyper-V on Windows 8.1.
Can you spot any options I missed? Send me a note via the contact form form or leave a comment in the Talkback section.
|
Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lucifer comic. Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by John P. Fleenor/FOX, DC Comics.
Lucifer, a new show airing Monday nights on Fox, is apocalyptically bad. The series details the exploits of the devil (Tom Ellis), who has given up his infernal domain to manage a night club in Los Angles—which is, presumably, a lateral move for him. Thanks to a series of events too ludicrous to explain, he partners with an LAPD detective (Lauren German) to help her solve crimes, occasionally taking a break to entertain her winningly obnoxious child (Scarlett Estevez). In the pilot, they puzzle over the murder of a fallen Britney Spears-like pop star. Another episode finds the pair trying to determine who shot at a shoe designer, a plot that Lucifer himself describes as “boring.” He’s right.
The mere existence of this show might well be proof that the Beast of Revelation already walks among us, spreading not terror but bad television. If the premise sounds stupid—and as executed here it is very stupid—rest assured that it didn’t have to be. Lucifer has it origins in a comic book series of the same name, one written by Mike Carey and illustrated by a host of accomplished artists. Published by Vertigo, the mature readers imprint of DC Comics, Carey’s Lucifer goes deep into the potential of its premise. No story about the devil solving mysteries, this is an epic about the mysteries of the cosmos itself.
Unsurprisingly, then, the staid television series borrows only the most superficial trappings from its source material. In both, Lucifer Morningstar’s club is named Lux, and in both, his second in command there is the dangerous Mazikeen (Lesley-Ann Brandt). The television series inexplicably gives its devil a therapist (Rachel Harris), but keeps the wrathful angel Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside) as his antagonist. Apart from these small details, little else has carried over. Though its procedural premise presumably takes inspiration from the odd couple charms of Sleepy Hollow, it refuses to lean into the inherent weirdness of its premise as that series does.
In fact, were it not for the one character constantly announcing to others that he is literally Satan, there would be hardly anything supernatural about the proceedings. There’s a promising moment in one early episode when Lucifer bends over to taste a pool of blood and observes that it’s “not human.” Ah!, the still hopeful viewer might think here. Is it demon blood, then? Or angel, perhaps? Alas, we soon learn the blood simply belongs to a recently deceased pig, killed for purposes as banal as they are ultimately benign. With no dark magic to be found, this is depressingly quotidian stuff, leaving one wondering why the show’s creators bothered to option such a comic in the first place.
To be fair, bringing the cosmic ambitions of a series like Carey’s to television screens was always destined to be difficult, especially in the play-it-safe climate of network television. Adaptations need not fail, though, as Carey’s own work shows. Indeed, his own series was an adaptation of sorts, borrowing characters and context from Neil Gaiman’s earlier Sandman comics in a way that at once did justice to them and made them new.
Among the most important comics series of the ’90s, Sandman follows the exploits of an embodiment of Dream. Though its goth-y pretentions sometimes feel dated today, its 75 issues are still full of richly weird ideas, not least of which is a sequence that finds the devil running an earthly piano bar. Carey takes up this premise in his own work, though he uses it less as a foundation than as a trampoline. In the process, he demonstrates that it’s possible to honor an original creation without mindlessly submitting to it, a lesson that the show’s creators seem to have understood poorly, if at all.
Carey’s series, which was was originally published as individual comics, has since been collected in a variety of editions, most recently in five massive volumes. As it does on television, the first collection of stories begins with our fallen hero is still tickling the ivories at Lux, an idyll that he soon interrupts to deal with a collection of formless beings left over from the dawn of time. By the second book, he’s dueling with a sentient tarot deck for control of a second creation, one that exists outside the domain of God himself. And as the third volume opens, we find him preparing for a duel in which the winner must eat the loser’s heart.
From there, things only get crazier. And as they do, they grow ever more delightful. Carey treats readers to biblical detectives, corrupted cherubs, vengeful Japanese deities, and celestial palaces. Much like Gaiman, he’s a master of transformative appropriation, forever shaping new narrative pantheons from the mashed-up bits of old myths. Hard to put down, the results are inventive and smart, but they’re also pulpy fun: If, as in the television pilot, someone were to murder a pop star here, it would probably be to summon a demon made from the essence of celebrity itself, not to resolve some petty jealousy.
Wacky as it sometimes gets, Carey’s storytelling always remains surprisingly disciplined. Readable in small chunks, the series as a whole is intricately plotted, every bit as elaborate as its protagonist’s own schemes. Its magical universe feels endlessly open, forever manifesting new possibilities, but tying them to old ones in ways that feel coherent and sensible. That’s apt, since it’s how Carey negotiates the series’ central conflict—a battle between predestination and free will rather than heaven and hell. A playful and brilliant bricoleur, Carey knows that there are always new ways to orchestrate familiar songs. His Lucifer ably evidences how delightful such songs can be.
|
The Red Wings’ injury situation has gone from ludicrous to surreal.
The Wings announced Tuesday morning that Justin Abdelkader will miss up to two weeks with a leg laceration suffered when he was cut by a skate in Sunday’s game in Chicago.
Coach Mike Babcock announced after the morning skate that defenseman Brendan Smith would play forward.
I guess we’re hard-pressed for some forwards right now with all the injuries. Brendan Smith
He also said Todd Bertuzzi was a game-time decision and if he can’t play, Landon Ferraro would take his place.
"For sure, I was surprised," Smith told reporters. "I guess we’re hard-pressed for some forwards right now with all the injuries. They see that I’m the most versatile on the back end that can step in."
Smith said he hadn’t played forward since he was a teenager with line mates John Tavares and Sam Gagner with the Toronto Marlies.
According to redwings.com, Smith will skate with Luke Glendening and Teemu Pulkkinen.
David Legwand will center the top line with Johan Franzen and Daniel Alfredsson. Riley Sheahan will center Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. Cory Emmerton will center Drew Miller and either Bertuzzi or Ferraro.
Jordin Tootoo is a healthy scratch.
As Bill Roose of redwings.com observed, the Wings now have 11 players on their roster that won the Calder Cup last spring with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The Griffins only have 10 players left who won the Calder Cup.
|
About
Want to help make this awesome? Please, spread the word!
Share BlitzZone in just two clicks: Facebook | Twitter
“Stunning Fantasy Football pitch on Kickstarter. Take your Fantasy Football with you anywhere / Espectacular Campo de Juego para Fantasy Football en Kickstarter. Desplaza tu Fantasy Football donde quieras” Fanhammer
“A compact, light and robust pitch. An all-round product for gamers. With personalization options, which undoubtedly will make it even more appealing / Es un campo compacto, ligero y resistente. Muy completo. Se ofrecerán opciones de personalización, lo que sin duda lo hará aún más atractivo” TurnoCu4tro
Your perfect match. Anywhere. Anytime. BlitzZone has been designed to be the perfect match for your Fantasy Football games. It’s a portable pitch conceived to provide the best gaming experience in almost any situation. We know that every coach has different tastes and preferences. Thus, you don’t have to adapt to a single option, instead, BlitzZone adapts to you and your needs. You decide your own unique experience, your very own BlitzZone. We don’t believe in the “wow” factor. Something that is cool just for a week, it’s not what we are looking for. We want you to love your BlitzZone in a year as much as you do today. That’s why we’ve designed it to make you feel like you are in the game, a fully immersive experience. And the best part is that it can evolve throughout the years. If you want to make it have a fresher look, just change its color, game field, start a new dugouts conversion, add cool accessories… there are endless possibilities! So, which is our approach? It’s based on three items: 1. Concept First off, BlitzZone is a high quality pitch, an out-of-the-box concept that allows gamers to simply open it and start playing and a smart all-in-one solution to easily and safely carry two full teams. 2. Personalization One of the core ideas behind the project was to create a pitch that everybody could enjoy customizing and conversioning without limits. The entry model is designed to make it easy to paint, glue, screw, drill, engrave… Nevertheless, if you wish, we also offer you a wide range of finishes and other options to make it hard to find another pitch like yours. As a brand our main goal is to make gamers happy, from day one and through the years. That’s why –even being confident with what we offer– we’ve decided to introduce a game board system that allows gamers to exchange it whenever they want. This way you can revamp your BlitzZone as many times as you wish. 3. Accessories Since its inception, we envisioned a pitch that could grow with gamers. The system had to be simple, effective and invisible when not in use. We are very happy with the result and we believe that you are going to love our add-ons! Once opened, you’ll find a stunning screen-printed exchangeable felt game field. An official-sized grid with everything else integrated in the side trays, which is why it actually takes less room than conventional pitches. The felt surface provides a firm and soft feeling that protects your miniatures during games. The main structure integrates counters, scatter templates and a weather spinning token. Under the game field, two side trays are conveniently located including dugouts, turn markers, reroll counters as well as the miniatures carriage and protection cases. Each case is designed to fit 16 players on 25mm bases. There are also 4 extra large compartments for big guys, special miniatures, dice, tokens and templates. Furthermore, you may need some dice, a ball, templates and other cool stuff, right? Well, among the wide variety of Stretch Goals we’ve included a number of them –“Kekons”– that will be free for every applicable level once unlocked as a big thank you for your help in making BlitzZone a reality! But there is more. What about teams? Just pick one of the available team pledge levels and thanks to our friends from Willy Miniatures, you will be able to choose among ANY of Willy’s spectacular catalogue*! Simply amazing! (*) Painting and assembly not included
Sturdy Just holding it in your hands you realize that BlitzZone is a high quality pitch that feels robust and reliable. Even more, due to its steadiness, you can move it in the middle of a game keeping everything in place, your miniatures included. Don’t let anything interrupt your game having to rearrange the whole thing. Just move it as it is and keep playing! Light The MDF –Medium-density fibreboard– structure provides an optimum balance between thickness, weight, strength and durability. The clever inner reinforced structure keeps the weight as low as 4kg –8,8 pounds–, less than a regular laptop case or roughly a 6-pack of 33cl/11,2oz beverage bottles. Durable We’ve designed BlitzZone to last. With its solid structure, protections, stainless steel assembly screws and polymeric paint –where applicable–, provided that it has been subjected to normal use, you can look forward to many years of Blitz-time! Non-slip The corner protectors are slip-resistant. Thus, your matches won’t be spoiled by unintentional hits. Hands-free Its comfortable and ergonomic synthetic leather lined handle –available for all models– is not the only way to carry your pitch. We’ve designed a set of straps that can easily let you carry your BlitzZone as a shoulder bag or even a backpack within seconds. When not in use, they are seamlessly integrated and attached to the case. Designed and handmade in Spain We’ve developed a manufacturing process based on laser cut designs resulting in over 200 individual pieces that are carefully assembled by hand in our workshop. The semi-industrialized process provides accuracy and quick design adjustments. With the assembly and finish phases you get a quality artisan product. We estimate 30 pitches assembled per month. Being manufacturers ourselves and having initiated deals with providers, we can start production in a very short period of time. As entrepreneurs we strongly believe in supporting and working with local small and medium-size businesses. This approach also has an additional advantage: we are able to have a complete control of the entire process. Affordable How is that possible? What’s the secret? Many hours designing the optimum manufacturing process to keep costs at a minimum without compromising quality and looking for the best local providers, telling them and making them part of our story. With our passion it isn’t difficult to fall in love with this amazing project. And of course, thanks to YOUR support, we can negotiate special bulk order pricing. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, especially for YOU! Your perfect match. Anywhere. Anytime. BlitzZone is portable, right? So you should be able to take it with you and play anywhere. And when we say anywhere, we mean it! Only a minimum surface for the main structure is required, less than 30cm (11,81in) wide to ensure that the case is still protected by the fabric straps. That’s all! Also, our extendable side trays remain solidly supported by the main structure of the game field. You are guaranteed a stunning gaming experience almost anywhere!!! BlitzZone adapts to you and your needs. Thus, if you wish you can always completely draw one of the trays and put it on the other side bringing a total width of just under 69cm (27,16in). You decide. Dimensions in cm / inches: 45,30 x 41,75 / 17,83 x 16,44 (closed)
45,30 x 81,10 / 17,83 x 31,93 (opened) Side trays extension in cm / inches: 21,70 / 8,54 per side (both attached)
23,60 / 9,29 in total (when both are in the same side) You can pledge for unpainted and painted versions, with or without teams. If you want more than one of a particular model, just multiply the pledge by the desired number and set that as your pledge amount. Please note that the Early Bird version is limited to one-per-backer. There are two different paint levels: Paint level 1 : outer surface of the BlitzZone painted ( Assassin Elf and Dark Lycanthrope )
: outer surface of the BlitzZone painted ( and ) Paint level 2: BlitzZone completely painted, including dugouts, turn markers and reroll counters (Dwarf Juggernaut) If you pick a team pledge, you’ll be able to choose whichever team you desire from Willy Miniatures’ catalogue. One full team –or two, depending on the pledge level– from day one! No waiting for unlocked levels! The info regarding color schemes on painted editions will be collected after the campaign via the pledge manager. Onyx Stadium (Black&Black)
(Black&Black) Dark Stadium (Black&Red)
(Black&Red) Azure Stadium (Blue&Black)
(Blue&Black) Scarlet Stadium (Red&Black)
(Red&Black) Ashen Stadium (Grey&Black) As the campaign progresses, we will be unlocking two kinds of Stretch Goals: “Kekons” –free for all pledge levels– and optional add-ons. So please help us spread the word and stay tuned to see which surprises we have waiting for you! Depending on the option you choose, you may have one or more free cool add-ons to enrich the gaming experience. And of course you can get more! For more add-ons, simply increase your pledge in the “pledge amount" box by the total of the add-ons you want to add anytime during the campaign. Every extra add-on will be available for just 10€! You will receive a laser cut MDF flat-packed design –assembly instructions in the video above. The Dice Tower attaches easily to the pitch. Thus, it doesn't need a support surface and goes with the pitch whenever you move it from one place to another! The Customization Set 1 finish depends on the pledge paint level. Unpainted pledges: laser engraved and unpainted
Paint level 1: monochrome personalized logo in line with the chosen color scheme. Unpinted laser engraved banners and labels
Paint level 2: monochrome personalized logo in line with the chosen color scheme. Painted banners and labels With the Big Guy Special Tokens, you will be able to replace your Big Guy miniatures in those special situations where they hinder others during the match. The six-sided dice include: Prone, Stunned, Bone-Head, Really Stupid and Take Root. On the sixth side you can place your player number so you can differentiate them when playing with more than one Big Guy. Dimensions in mm: 25x25x25
painting and assembly included Enjoy a fully immersive gaming experience! It includes: 4 doors –with hinges
2 team benches
2 coffins
2 torture machines
2 stairs
2 coach tactic boards
2 wooden buckets
2 first-aid kits We also offer the possibility to even further improve your BlitzZone with some upgrades! Check them out. We will be updating them.
(*) Only 10€ for the DWARF JUGGERNAUT edition! / Solo 10€ para la edición DWARF JUGGERNAUT! For those of you gamers who enjoy playing big on big pitches, Kekonomicon introduces the magic growth potion that shifts your BlitzZone into BIG-BLITZZONE: A bigger version of your portable pitch that includes a two-sided game field. On one side you have your classic grid of 29mm squares. On the other side there’s a new game field design with a grid of 32mm squares. You get two game versions in one set! And of course, more room for your miniatures inside the trays. PS: The magic growth potion may have side-effects... Dimensions in cm / inches: 49,80 x 45,65 / 17,83 x 16,44 (closed)
only 4,5 x 3,9 / 1,77 x 1,54 larger than the classic version!
49,80 x 88,90 / 17,83 x 31,93 (opened)
This upgrade enables you to improve any applicable pledge from paint level 1 to paint level 2, for just 35€!
Paint level 1: outer surface of the BlitzZone painted (Assassin Elf and Dark Lycanthrope)
Paint level 2: BlitzZone completely painted, including dugouts, turn markers and reroll counters
|
A viral rap video in which a group of black teens armed with weapons threaten to kill Donald Trump is being celebrated by several media outlets.
The lyrics to the song, entitled “F*ck Trump Anthem,” contain a number of violent threats towards the presidential candidate, including a vow to cave Trump’s head in with a shovel and a promise that if he visits Baltimore, Trump will “die”.
One of the lines in the rap also talks about filling Trump with hollow point bullets.
“We got a choppa in the trunk for Donald Trump,” the teens sing in the chorus. Choppa is a slang word for an AK-47.
The main protagonist behind the song is Abdel Ibrahim, a Sudanese Muslim who includes the phrase “All praise be to Allah” on his Twitter profile.
The video has been posted on YouTube for days and isn’t even age-restricted, but what’s most shocking is that several media outlets have given the video positive news coverage.
Bilboard.com reported that the track was a powerful “viral protest song,” noting that it landed a “barrage of verbal blows on Trump”.
A Baltimore Sun write-up of the video characterizes it as a humorous jape, saying it has a “schoolyard-insults spirit,” while giving Ibrahim a platform to claim “We didn’t mean no harm by it”.
According to a Twitter user, the song is even being played on the radio in South Jersey.
One suspects that if a group of white rednecks had released a song in which they threatened to kill Hillary Clinton, media coverage wouldn’t have been very complimentary.
The entire issue once again highlights how the media is blaming Donald Trump for “inciting violence” while Trump himself faces a deluge of actual death threats on a daily basis.
SUBSCRIBE on YouTube:
Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.
|
When Conservative Premier Howard Ferguson founded the Liquor Control Board of Ontario in 1927, the new Crown corporation was by no means a sophisticated purveyor of wines and spirits.
Now Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne plans to sell recreational cannabis through the same agency.
The federal government's plan is that beginning on July 1, 2018, adults will be allowed to purchase fresh and dried cannabis, cannabis oils and seeds and plants for cultivation. Provincial governments will set up their own regulatory systems.
The original purpose of the LCBO was to limit and control a substance that, only a few years previously, the majority of Canadians had believed was harmful and even dangerous.
Since those early days, the provincial liquor monopoly — like others across Canada — has become a discriminating buyer and retailer of the world's finest wines and spirits.
Trusted dealer
As the government moves into the role once performed by those private enterprise professionals commonly called drug dealers, the question is whether the LCBO can cultivate the same kind of sophistication and trust it has developed as a seller of wine.
Just as in the post-Prohibition 1920s when alcohol became legal again, Canadians are far from unanimous that pot should be legalized at all.
The experts in selling marijuana are people who have been 'basically breaking the law,' says Dan Malleck of Brock University. (David Horemans/CBC) Provincial governments will again be under political pressure, at least at the beginning, to act as if they are performing a necessary evil, taking legal control of a substance that has been in the hands of criminals.
But as experts I spoke to say, to attract the current recreational users of cannabis and thus wipe out the illegal trade, the government agency will have to develop a level of marketing savvy not unlike what they have established in alcohol distribution.
An accredited sommelier, Lori Davis worked for the LCBO for 20 years and is just one example of the agency's expertise.
"My background was from the Maritimes, and my mom and dad drank Baby Duck," she exclaims with mock horror, recalling the Sunday dinner tipple.
Cannabis pairings?
Despite her unrefined oenological beginnings, with the support of the Crown corporation and considerable outside training, Davis became a leading taster.
"Let's talk about Niagara on the Bench," she says, describing a tasting session comparing nearby Ontario wine areas. "Why that would be different from Twenty Miles?"
Online recipes and food pairings are among the ways the LCBO has moved far beyond selling liquor in brown paper bags. Will pairings for pot be next? (LCBO) Cannabis educator Alex Revich says the pot business may eventually get around to passing on cultural values such as terroirs and cannabis pairings ("Strains to pair with certain music?"), but some of the others skills Davis describes at the LCBO will be urgently needed for managing recreational marijuana.
Revich began learning about cannabis at the Canadian company MedReleaf in the early days of legalized medical marijuana. He's one of a rare breed, someone willing to talk about both medical and recreational marijuana who didn't learn his skills in the black market.
People will have to learn things about the recreational market that are quite different from the medical side, he says.
For instance, the variety of pot you want for a dance party will be different from the kind you might take for bowel relief.
An acquired taste
The method of consumption could be different as well, he says. Medical cannabis for nausea or pain is taken as an anal suppository. That would be an acquired taste amongst the youthful party crowd.
Strains of pot contain varying amounts of complex organic molecules, some responsible for making the user feel high and some that relax them. Especially when advising new legal users, Crown corporation employees will have to know the difference.
Cannabis sativa imparts euphoria that may not be desirable for pain relief, but it can also lead to anxiety in some people, says Revich. The most common street drugs are strains of Cannabis indica called kush, that he says have a relaxing effect.
The LCBO has a huge testing laboratory that looks for pesticides and other chemicals in samples of the thousands of wines it sells, and it does contract work for others. (LCBO) The fragrance of the smoke, or as non-users might say, the horrible stink, also varies with strain depending on the content of organic compounds called terpenes, but Revich says even for recreational users, smoking is the worst way to consume the drug. He is sure government retailers will soon include other methods such as vaping where dosages can be accurately controlled.
When it comes to measuring impurities, strength and quality, the laboratories of the LCBO make it a powerhouse in the global industry says Niagara College winemaking teacher Gavin Robertson. But compared to measuring a single active ingredient, alcohol, pot chemistry will be far more complicated.
The LCBO has much to learn, says Dan Malleck, an internationally recognized expert in drug and alcohol policy at Brock University and author of the booksWhen Good Drugs Go Bad and Try to Control Yourself.
Just the buzz
He says that while people enjoy wine, beer and spirits for their bouquet and flavour, consuming recreational pot is exclusively about the effect, something LCBO employees will have to understand.
Just as sommeliers must drink wine and, as Lori Davis points out, know the taste of various cigars, being a knowledgeable consumer of pot may be a job requirement in the new LCBO division.
"The buzz is what people who are smoking it recreationally are interested in," says Malleck. And while smokers may choose a strain based on good aroma rather just the strength of the drug effect, "I don't know any people who just smoke cannabis because they like the taste."
That could change as the marijuana equivalent of Baby Duck drinkers move on to the pot equivalent of a Riesling from the Niagara Bench.
Right now it is crucial for the LCBO to gather enough expertise not just to sell to the unsophisticated new smoker, but to win over users who now buy from dealers or storefront shops.
Since recreational pot is illegal, says Malleck, by definition almost all the expertise in recreational pot is in the illegal market.
"Part of it comes down to whether there will be the political will to bring into the fold people who have been basically breaking the law," says Malleck.
Follow Don on Twitter @don_pittis
More analysis from Don Pittis
|
Packers linebacker Erik Walden really came on during the NFC playoffs last season. Credit: Mark Hoffman
By of the
Green Bay - Long before Aaron Rodgers threw his first pass, referee Walt Anderson flipped a coin and Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem, Green Bay Packers linebacker Erik Walden had an end zone at Cowboys Stadium all to himself.
With nary another player around and linebackers coach Kevin Greene keeping a watchful eye over him, Walden ran sideline to sideline to test an ankle sprain he had suffered in the NFC Championship Game two weeks earlier. Heavily taped, Walden gave it his best and then got the news from Greene.
He wasn't going to play in Super Bowl XLV.
"KG did a great job of just kind of calming me down and making me see the big picture," Walden said, now six months later. "As long as we win, I'll still get a ring. That's the main thing. But that was tough; that was a tough pill to swallow."
It was tough because Walden came out of nowhere to secure the right outside linebacker position and become a prime-time performer for defensive coordinator Dom Capers in the playoffs. Before he rolled his ankle on the messy Soldier Field turf, he had amassed 31 tackles, four sacks, eight quarterback hits and a forced fumble in the final four games.
As fulfilling as it was to help the Packers achieve their dream, there was an empty spot in the pit of Walden's stomach left over from not playing.
"That's why I've been working so hard to help get this team back," he said. "Lord willing, hopefully, I can play this time."
Locked in a three-way battle with Frank Zombo and Brad Jones - both of whom started games at the position before Walden took over - Walden has been the one who has charged out of the gate first.
Every practice he seems to make one physical play that sends Greene into an apoplectic rush of celebration, usually resulting in Walden getting slapped on the helmet or chest-bumped. Physically more imposing than he was a year ago, Walden seems to be taking it just fine.
"I saw him at the ring ceremony and I was like, 'Man you swolled,' " inside linebacker Desmond Bishop said. "He definitely got bigger and more powerful in the off-season. It definitely shows."
Anyone who has watched practice tape can see that Walden can get underneath the pads of an offensive tackle and jack him up on a running play. He said he put 10 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame and greatly increased his upper body strength.
Signed Oct. 27 after being released by the Miami Dolphins, Walden didn't have the luxury of learning what Greene wanted from him over the course of an off-season or training camp. He was a quick study when it came to the playbook but didn't really start to come around until Zombo got hurt against Detroit Dec. 12.
Walden has a better idea of what Greene wants, and that's why he hit the weight room hard in the off-season.
"He wants us to be physical," Walden said. "When you're not being physical, there's a problem. What he's teaching us has worked for him and I'm sure it will work for us. We just have to make sure, especially as an outside linebacker, that we be physical. There's no ways around it.
"That was kind of my approach to be more physical and set up other things for me as far as pass rush and things of that nature."
Walden wasn't sure until early July that he would be able to play this way because the high ankle sprain he suffered against the Bears was slow to heal. Tests were done again in the off-season, but he was assured nothing was wrong structurally and the ankle would heal on its own.
About the beginning of July, he was able to start running without the ankle taped heavily.
The two things Walden holds over the other two linebackers is strength and versatility. Zombo improved greatly dropping into coverage and can rush the passer better than the other two, but he's not as stout at the line of scrimmage. Jones plays with good leverage at the line and also drops well into coverage, but he hasn't shown much pass rush ability.
That's where the power comes in. Walden would like to get opposing tackles worrying about his bull rush so he can counter and slip around them. The power is the part that's noticeable now.
"You can tell he was doing some good things in the off-season," guard T.J. Lang said. "Watching him on film, he's a good player. He's a guy who sticks out. He's having a great camp so far."
Because it's a three-man race, Capers has the option of going with just one or using all three. How he decides to use them in the regular season will depend a lot on the opponent unless one of the three just consistently outperforms the others.
"Each guy has his strengths and weaknesses," Capers said. "We use so many different personnel groups that if certain guys have their niche, we might fit them in different personnel groups. We'll do a lot of different things with those guys."
Walden, like the others, would prefer not to come off the field, but to do so he'll have to add a better pass rush to his game. He did a fine job of dropping into coverage and spying the quarterback, but Capers needs someone to replace end Cullen Jenkins' ability to apply pressure.
"I feel like I really have a whole camp to develop," Walden said. "Last year I had to struggle to learn the plays. I had to do that in practice. Now I have a whole camp, a preseason to work on my fundamentals and techniques, so I think that's going to enhance my play a lot.
"I feel like it's going to be a great competitive battle and may the best man win."
|
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.
If there was any doubt that Brendan Gallagher is a key player for the Canadiens, it was erased Friday afternoon as the feisty winger returned to the lineup after missing 17 games with two broken fingers.
Gallagher scored a goal and added an assist but, more importantly, his return allowed coach Michel Therrien to return to the lines that were so successful for Montreal earlier in the season.
“You’re always looking for chemistry,” said Therrien. “We’re back to the lines that were successful with the Plekanec line (Tomas Plekanec between Max Pacioretty and Gallagher) doing good, but also all the other lines.”
There are statistics that illustrate Gallagher’s effect on the Montreal offence. When Gallagher is in the lineup, the Canadiens have scored three or more goals in 19 of his 23 appearances.
Gallagher said he didn’t intend to change his game and that was evident in the first period when he planted himself in front of Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask. Boston defenceman Zdeno Chara, who stands a foot taller than Gallagher, responded by grabbing the Montreal player and throwing him to the ice with a move that would have earned him a 15-yard penalty in football for face-masking.
“I missed seeing him out there, getting banged around and bouncing up with a smile though his bloody teeth,” said Pacioretty. “I didn’t miss trying to peel Chara off his back.
Pacioretty and Gallagher took turns setting up each other for goals, while Plekanec had two assists.
“This game was the most fun I’ve ever had playing hockey,” said Pacioretty. “Everything was so perfect, the ice, the weather, the fans.”
Fourth-liner Paul Byron, who was claimed on waivers from Calgary at the end of training camp, scored twice and has a career-high seven goals. He became only the fourth player to score multiple goals in a Winter Classic.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Byron. “Back on Oct. 1, I never dreamed that I would be playing in the Winter Classic.”
Byron admitted to having negative thoughts when the Flames let him go, but he said they have been overshadowed by all the positive things since he joined the Canadiens.
Mike Condon, who grew up about 20 minutes from Gillette Stadium, also didn’t dream of playing in this game. Carey Price was supposed to centre stage for this one, but he’s out with a right knee injury.
“The first step was just making the team and that was hard enough as it was,” said Condon. “When you’ve got a guy like Carey Price, this game is obviously marked off for him. But hockey is a crazy game. Anything can happen. So you’ve just to make sure you’re prepared for the opportunities you get.”
Condon was solid as he made 27 saves, taking a shutout into the third period before Matt Beleskey scored at the 3:56 mark.
Condon had a new addition to his helmet — an autograph from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady — and a cheering section led by his father. He said he took the occasional glance at the crowd, but mainly focused on making the next save.
Pacioretty said Condon gave the Canadiens a lift when he made a glove save on Ryan Spooner in the dying seconds of the second period with Montreal leading 3-0. Spooner had time and space to tee up his shot, but Condon was ready for it.
“The Bruins had some momentum in that second period and it might have been a different game if they had scored,” said Pacioretty. “After that save, we went into the dressing room feeling pretty good about ourselves.”
David Desharnais opened the scoring, but he had mixed emotions after the game. Gallagher’s return meant that Desharnais and Tomas Fleischmann were reunited with Dale Weise. But Weise suffered an upper-body injury in the second period, from a slash by Kevan Miller.
“It’s tough to lose him,” said Desharnais. “We hope it’s not too serious but when a guy leaves the game, it doesn’t look good.”
The Bruins tried to intimidate the Canadiens at several points in the game, but Pacioretty shrugged that off as “typical. We’re not going to intimidate anyone, but they don’t intimidate us.”
[email protected]
|
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher is stepping up his recovery after a bowel operation but expects to miss the start of the season.
The 29-year-old Scotland international has been out since Boxing Day and in January had surgery on a long-standing problem of ulcerative colitis.
Asked when he would be back, Fletcher told BBC Radio 5 live: "Hopefully, not too long after the start of the season.
Fletcher's career Age: 29
29 Man Utd appearances: 310
310 Man Utd goals: 23
23 Scotland appearances: 61
61 Scotland goals: Seven
Seven Honours: Four Premier League titles (2007, 2008, 2009 & 2011), FA Cup (2004), Two League Cups (2006 & 2010), Champions League winner (2008), World Club Cup winner (2008)
Four Premier League titles (2007, 2008, 2009 & 2011), FA Cup (2004), Two League Cups (2006 & 2010), Champions League winner (2008), World Club Cup winner (2008) Debut: v Basel, 12 March 2003 (Champions League second group stage)
v Basel, 12 March 2003 (Champions League second group stage) Most recent game: v Newcastle, 26 December 2012 (Premier League)
"I think I will just miss the beginning of the season."
Fletcher had to take an extended break from the game in December 2011 because of the chronic bowel disease, and it flared up again 12 months later.
"I've had it for five years but really struggled to control it for the last three years," said the Scotland captain. "It's had a big impact on my day-to-day life, never mind trying to play football.
"Medication wasn't helping me but surgery was the only solution if I wanted to have not only a future playing football but even a quality of life going forward.
He added: "It's all going well. I am still under the hands of the medical team just now and the surgeon who is looking after me. Everything is going to plan so far and I am not that far away now.
"I am doing exercise on my own. I've not been given the green light to join in contact in football training but I am doing my own running and physical activities and feel great. Hopefully, in the next few weeks I am going to get the green light to join in and to start making the comeback, which is looking very good."
Fletcher had been hoping to be ready in time to play in Scotland's match against England on 14 August at Wembley, but he concedes that will not now be possible.
The match will be sandwiched in between the Community Shield on 11 August and the start of the Premier League campaign on 17 August.
Fletcher was quick to reject any idea there will be many withdrawals from the Scotland camp because of the scheduling.
"From the Scotland side of it, [England] is the game that you want to play in when [you] are growing up.
"Maybe England might have a few call-offs but I definitely know in the Scotland camp we won't have many call-offs. I know all the lads will desperate to play in that match.
"It's been so long since we have played against England. Everyone has grown up with stories from their parents or people in football about the old games at Wembley and the old Home Nations matches and how fierce they were.
"Definitely in the Scotland camp we are looking forward to it."
|
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White is proud of her players for kneeling in solidarity during the national anthem prior to Tuesday's game. (0:24)
INDIANAPOLIS -- During the playing of the national anthem, the entire Indiana Fever team knelt and locked arms Wednesday night, while two players on the Phoenix Mercury also knelt before the teams' first-round game in the WNBA playoffs.
The two Mercury players who knelt were Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone; the rest of the Phoenix players remained standing, as did the coaching staffs of both teams.
Athletes from around the nation have joined in kneeling during the anthem at various sports events as part of a protest movement started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In the team's pregame huddle after the anthem, Fever coach Stephanie White told her team, "I'm proud of y'all for doing that together, being in that together. That's big. That's big. It's bigger than basketball, right? Bigger than basketball." AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Tamika Catchings, who played the final game of her career in the Fever's 89-78 loss to the Mercury, reached out to her teammates on Tuesday to ask them what they thought about kneeling during the anthem.
"It was unanimous that we were going to do it together," Fever player Marissa Coleman said. "We have a platform, and I think it's a disservice if we don't use it. This was bigger than basketball. As important as this game was, there are other things going on in this world. It's just to get conversations started."
Coleman posted an extended statement via Twitter on Thursday morning.
Fever coach Stephanie White did not kneel during the anthem, but she fully supported her players' decision.
"The first thing she said to us in the huddle before the game started was how proud she was of us for doing it," Coleman said. "I'm proud to be part of this organization."
Phoenix's Diana Taurasi did not kneel but said that should not be taken as a sign that she didn't support those who did.
"Whether you kneel or stand, everyone is against injustice and people being discriminated against and being killed," Taurasi said. "Those are things as a society we have to get better at."
Bass and Indiana's Briann January were among the most outspoken players in the league earlier this year during a controversy when WNBA players were initially fined for wearing T-shirts during warm-ups that supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The fines were later rescinded.
Editor's Picks WNBA players should be applauded for taking a stand WNBA players are among the most educated and politically aware athletes in sports. So it was no surprise Wednesday that they took a stand by kneeling during the anthem as the playoffs opened.
Bass said she did not want the players' actions on Wednesday to be seen as disrespectful to police or the military.
"I have the utmost respect for the amazing police officers who keep the integrity of their job and are upholding what they swore to do, which is to protect and serve," Bass said. "As well as all the people overseas who serve and protect us. However, the bad apples are making it a bad situation for all those who are good."
There didn't seem to be much of an audible or visible reaction from the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to the WNBA players kneeling.
"I have no negative feelings about it at all; I respect the players," said Carla Wise, an Indianapolis resident who has had season tickets for the Fever since the franchise began in 2000. "I respect that it's addressing an issue we have in society. I think it's a very peaceful and respectful way to call attention to something that needs to be addressed."
Wise is white; she was at the game with friends who were white and black.
"The fans that I speak to, and the ones I sit around, I think most of them would be in support," Wise said. "Again, it's a peaceful thing they're doing. I think most fans would be appreciative of that. Certainly not everyone, but individuals I talk to respect what the players are doing."
Renee Brown, the WNBA's chief of basketball operations, was in attendance on Wednesday to present the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award to Catchings. Brown did not address the subject of the players' actions, but the league released a statement from WNBA president Lisa Borders.
"I support our players expressing their views on important social issues," Borders said. "Standing for an anthem is a sign of respect and a demonstration of unity across many cultures throughout the world.
"The call to action is for all of us to invest time and resources to help rebuild and strengthen our communities. And we have been actively working with the players on this next impactful effort."
|
Mayor Dan McQueen of Corpus Christi, Texas, has resigned after just 37 days in office.
McQueen’s brief term was marked with controversy that he fueled with negative posts on his personal Facebook page about City Council members, city staff and the local news media, according to The Caller Times. It is difficult to track down exactly what he wrote because according to reports, his account was deactivated.
TALL TASK: PATCHY BORDER BARRIER SHOWS CHALLENGE TRUMP FACES IN BUILDING 'WALL'
McQueen made comments about the education levels of members of City Council, KIII-TV reported. The Mayor allegedly said the city council members only had a high school education, which is largely untrue. Many have at least bachelor’s degrees from reputable colleges.
However, during an interview with KIII just two hours before he resigned, McQueen dodged questions about his own education.
According to the station, McQueen claimed to have an engineering degree during his campaign. But during the interview McQueen conceded and said, “Do I have a specific degree that says engineer on it? No. Does that make me not an engineer?”
PRESIDENT'S DECISION TO FREE TERROR LEADER SPARKS OUTRAGE
City Secretary Rebecca Huerta confirmed McQueen’s resignation Wednesday during a news conference. McQueen originally posted his resignation on Facebook and then submitted both an emailed and hand-written resignation to Huerta.
McQueen wrote to Huerta, “Consider this my resignation. The city can no longer deal with such differing views and divisiveness. I step down from my position as Mayor of Corpus Christi, TX.”
City Councilman Rudy Garza hinted in an email to Fox News that the resignation was a good thing for the city.
“I think when we remove uncertainty, we can focus on moving forward and addressing the issues we were elected to do. The mayor's situation created a lot of uncertainty,” Garza wrote.
According to Texas Election Code Section 201.023, when a resignation is submitted, “whether to be effective immediately or at a future date, a vacancy occurs on the date the resignation is accepted by the appropriate authority or on the eighth day after the date of its receipt by the authority, whichever is earlier."
Technically the mayor is still the mayor until the City Council decides whether to accept the resignation at its next meeting on Tuesday, according to the Executive Assistant for the City Secretary. From there, city officials will further explain the process for filling the position.
According to the Corpus Christi Charter, in the event of a mayor’s resignation, the City Council member elected at large who received the highest number of votes in the last regular election shall immediately become the mayor. That council member is Joe McComb. But because there’s more than one year until the next regularly scheduled city council election in 2018, that person will be the mayor until a special election can be called. The Mayor Pro Tem is Carolyn Vaughn.
Huerta explained they're not certain what to do because they've never used that provision of their charter. The city attorney is researching how the provisions should be interpreted and they'll address that at Tuesday's meeting.
“(We're) just looking forward to meeting on 24th so we can get more clarity for our citizens and community. We want to move forward at this point and have council complete their term successfully,” Huerta said.
Fox News reached out to every member of the Corpus Christi City Council and heard back only from Garza. Requests for an interview from McQueen also went unanswered.
|
Spring rolls are one of my all-time favorite foods. I love them anytime of the year, even in the winter and fall. For lunch, dinner, or even as a light snack, they are always a welcome addition at my table. Especially as the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, spring rolls become the perfect meal. These Rainbow Spring Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce are delicious enough to suit the taste buds of meat eaters and vegetarians alike, and it’s very possible that even the kiddos might love them too!
As much as I love baked goods and delectable bites, my background in healthcare reminds me that balance is the key to a happy life. When I try to make a traditional recipe healthier, I like to spend a lot of time making sure that it actually still tastes good. If a fantastic tasting recipe is also healthy it becomes golden to me, something to remember and make often. I like that these spring rolls have visual appeal and also taste amazing. When I look at these Rainbow Spring Rolls my mouth waters the same way it would if I were looking at a cupcake. Don’t you love it when healthy foods can create that kind of response?
These Rainbow Spring Rolls are made mostly with raw veggies. The only vegetable I’ve chosen to cook is the asparagus–just a quick blanching to bring out more of it’s flavor and color. Adding a thin slice or two of firm avocado gives rich creaminess to balance out the rest of the crunchy textures. If I am making these ahead of time, I like to give the cut avocado slices a spritz of lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
The tangy, spicy, Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce is what makes these Rainbow Spring Rolls shine. It’s common to find ketchup in other recipes for sweet and sour sauce, but this recipe gets its brilliant color from fresh orange juice, a squirt of Sriracha, and a sweet, sunny base of strongly steeped oolong tea. Oolong is commonly paired with orange in tea blends as both the flavors have a warmth and sweetness about them. In this light sauce, tea adds depth and character without adding any extra calories. For another layer of flavor, I use honey as the sweetener here instead of using sugar.
Rainbow Spring Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce are the perfect meal as we head into warmer months. Crunchy, creamy, light, and tangy, these rolls make healthy eating a no-brainer. With colors so inviting and a taste so fresh, you’ll realize why I think that this recipe is one for the keeping!
Rainbow Spring Rolls with Sweet & Sour Sauce
Makes 12 rolls.
Ingredients:
{Spring Rolls}
1 large red bell pepper, sliced into 3″ long strips
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced into 3″ long strips
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 3″ pieces
1/4 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced into 3″ long shreds
1 avocado, ripe but firm, halved and peeled, then cut into thin slices lengthwise
small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
3 small scallions, green part thinly sliced
12 spring roll wrappers
{Sweet & Sour Orange Oolong Sauce}
zest of 1 orange
1/3 cup fresh orange juice (1-2 oranges)
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup oolong tea, strongly steeped (1 Tbsp loose tea leaves steeped in 1/2 cup water for 3-5 minutes @ 190 degrees F), strained then cooled to room temperature
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce
few drops sesame oil
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Equipment:
fine grater
work surface
large casserole or deep, large dish
medium pot
medium bowl with ice-cold water
wire mesh sieve
Directions:
1.) Fill a medium pot with water, then bring to a full boil. Blanch the asparagus by throwing the tip portions into the boiling water for about 45 seconds. Remove the asparagus with a wire mesh sieve, then plunge into another bowl filled with ice-cold water. Blanch the non-tip asparagus sections for 1 minute in the boiling water, then remove with the sieve and also plunge into the ice-cold water. Remove all the asparagus from the cold water and place on a dish to drain off excess water. Set aside.
2.) Fill a large casserole or deep, large dish with about 1″ of warm water. Submerge 1 spring roll wrapper in the water completely, wait for it to soften for about 10 seconds, then place the sheet on a clean work surface.
3.) Stack 2 strips of the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, asparagus, and avocado in the lower 1/3 section of each sheet, towards the center. Add some of the shredded cabbage and carrots on top of the stack. Scatter some chopped cilantro and sliced green onions on top of the stack to finish. Roll up spring roll and fold right and left sides of the wrapper in towards the center of the roll. Continue rolling upwards (away from you) until you get a completed roll. If you prefer visuals, please check out Andrea Nguyen’s instructions on how to wrap rice paper rolls. She’s one of my culinary idols, and gives very clear directions on how to do this.
4.) Repeat the rolling process for all 12 rolls, then make the Sweet & Sour Sauce by first reserving 1/4 cup of the tea and setting it aside. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients (except cornstarch) into a medium pot, then place the mixture on the stove on medium heat until it comes to a boil.
5.) Mix the cornstarch into the reserved 1/4 cup of tea to create a slurry. When the mixture reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and add in the slurry. While constantly stirring the mixture, wait for it to come back to a boil and cook into a translucent, glaze-looking sauce. Pour the hot Sweet & Sour Sauce into a medium bowl and serve along with the spring rolls. Enjoy!
|
Gamescom is such a massive hit with gamers and game makers around the world because of its eclectic approach to hosting both a public and press show about all things gaming.
At the top of the list of things that aren't games, but are definitely worth checking out, is the show's annual case mod competition.
The 14th German CaseMod Championship (DCMM) ran from Aug. 5 to Aug. 9 and included not just a showcase of some of the most impressive new case mods from around the world, but also a 24-hour, live modding challenge which has teams of case modders building new creations on the fly.
This year's big show broke entries down into five categories:
CaseMods: These are your regular, run of the mill computer case modifications. CaseCons: Entirely self-planned and self-constructed cases. CE Mods: A fascinating sub-category that recreates regular consumer electronics with a twist. Often this includes things like external hard drives that look like med kits or other items pulled from games. Cases on the Move: These are casemods, casecons and CE Mods with moving parts. 24-Hour Challenge: Two-member teams spend 8 hours a day, for three days, building a case from the same parts at the show.
The biggest winner this year around was master modder Ali Abbas who captured the CaseMod category with his "67th Brigade" case and the CaseCon, Most Spectacular Creation and Cases on the Move categories with "Ragnar's Revenge." He also managed to snatch second place in the special themed category (Beauty Case) by teaming up with Johannes Loew to build Amazing Grace.
Below you'll find a video tour by Abbas of "Ragnar's Revenge" as well as a photo gallery of some of the more spectacular creations. All photos come from the DCMM.
|
Subaru of America, Inc. is introducing a limited-production BRZ tS (tuned by STI) for 2018 that gives this sports car its most agile handling capability ever. This special performance variant, which will be limited to 500 units, will be available at Subaru dealers in the first quarter of 2018.The Subaru BRZ delivers a purist sports car driving experience while also offering comfort and practicality for everyday driving. Subaru last year gave the BRZ sports car a comprehensive performance, design and equipment upgrade, and the 2018 BRZ tS moves the needle further for track handling performance. This limited-production model also features exclusive aerodynamic design enhancements and interior appointments.Also new for 2018, the BRZ Limited and new tS models feature new SUBARU STARLINK™ Multimedia Navigation system with Android® Auto and Apple® CarPlay. The BRZ Premium trim gains standard heated exterior mirrors, and all models feature new one-touch directional signals for more convenient lane changing.The 2018 BRZ tS builds on the comprehensive chassis upgrade that the BRZ received for 2017, which included exclusive coil springs and dampers as well as a larger rear stabilizer bar, various chassis reinforcements and higher stability control system thresholds. Incline Start Assist helps prevent roll-back on an incline as the driver begins to accelerate from a stop.The BRZ tS takes full advantage of the sports car’s light weight, ultra-low center of gravity and precision handling, adding greater flexibility and better control and stability. The upgrade adds STI-tuned front and rear SACHS® dampers and coil springs as well as flexible V-braces in the engine compartment. New draw stiffeners are added to the chassis and sub-frame to improve steering response. The BRZ tS is also equipped with this model’s first 18-inch wheels. The lightweight STI wheels are mounted with 215/40 R 18 Michelin Pilot® Sport 4 tires for superior grip and quicker turn-in. A high-performance braking system, using Brembo® rotors, 4-piston front calipers and 2-piston rear calipers, enhances stopping power, fade resistance, and pedal feel. (This braking system is also used for the Performance Package available for the BRZ Limited.)The BRZ tS exterior also adds a more aggressive look with an exclusive STI rear carbon fiber spoiler, which is manually adjustable to fine-tune rear downforce for track driving. The addition of STI front, rear and side underspoilers helps control airflow for better traction and stability.Externally, the BRZ tS is also distinguished by an exclusive Cherry Blossom Red accent around the front grille and unique rear bumper cover, and the rear hatch displays the official BRZ tS badge. The exterior foldable mirrors, roof-mounted shark fin antenna, BRZ and SUBARU badging all have a black finish. Also, the fog lights have been deleted.The BRZ tS also features special cabin appointments, including black leather and Alcantara® upholstery with contrasting red stitching. The front seats feature red leather bolsters, and the seatbacks are embroidered with the tS logo. Red accents appear throughout the interior, including the steering wheel, door and dash panels, knee pads and the shifter and parking brake boots.The visor over the gauge cluster and interior door trim are unique to the tS, and the center console has been updated to a cast-black finish. The BRZ tS also comes standard with red front seat belts and a frameless interior rearview mirror. The BRZ tS will be available in WR Blue Pearl, Crystal Black Silica and Crystal White Pearl. (Full specifications and pricing will be announced later this year.)The Subaru BRZ displays classic GT coupe proportions with a long, low hoodline and a roofline that sweeps rearward over the rear quarters. The shape is practical, yielding 2+2 seating. The rear seats can accommodate front-facing child seats, and the rear seatback lowers to expand the space offered in the 6.9 cubic-foot trunk. With the seatback down, the cargo area can hold two standard golf bags. Drivers who enjoy slalom or track events can also fold the rear seatback and have room for four wheels, a helmet and basic supplies behind the front seats.In front, signature “kono-ji” style LED headlights, which incorporate Daytime Running Lights (DRL), are augmented by available LED fog lights for enhanced visibility and a distinctive nighttime appearance. All BRZ models feature an aluminum rear spoiler in matching body color on the sides and black finish on the horizontal surface. The pedestal design improves downforce, enhancing stability and control. As with the headlights, the rear combination lights use LEDs for better visibility and energy efficiency. On both the Premium and Limited trims, the 10-spoke, 17-in aluminum alloy wheel design features a high-contrast black and machined finish.The Subaru BRZ FA-Series engine uses “square” architecture, meaning that its bore and stroke dimensions are identical, in this case 3.38 inches (86mm). This geometry gives the BRZ engine a quick-revving nature, with a 7,400 rpm redline. The engine delivers 205 hp at 7,000 rpm, while the 156 lb-ft of torque peak arrives at 6,400 rpm. (Output remains 200 hp and 151 lb-ft with automatic transmission).Yet, the BRZ engine is not as “peaky” as those numbers would suggest. The Subaru Dual Active Valve Control System (DAVCS) is instrumental in helping the engine produce a broad torque curve to help make the BRZ feel responsive in daily driving.The BRZ fuel injection system uniquely combines direct injection and port injection technology. A direct-type fuel-injection system provides a cooling effect in the cylinders, which enables use of a very high 12.5:1 compression ratio. In light- and medium-load conditions, the port fuel injectors help produce precise combustion, increasing performance and efficiency.The BRZ offers the choice between a 6-speed manual and, optional for the Limited, a 6-speed automatic transmission. The 6-speed manual features a short-throw shift lever, and triple-cone synchronizers on first through third gears help ensure durability. The 6-speed automatic offers no-compromise fast-shifting performance. The driver can select Sport mode from a switch on the center console for quicker, firmer automatic shifts. Moving the console mounted shifter from “D” to “M” enables manual shifting using the shifter handle or steering wheel paddle shift control switches. Downshift blipping control enhances the sports car driving experience.A standard Torsen® limited-slip differential helps the inside wheel maintain traction during cornering. For track driving, the standard Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and traction control system (TCS) offer four driver-selectable settings, including a new Track mode and a TCS Off switch for track driving activities. The double-wishbone rear suspension system provides outstanding bump absorption to enhance tire grip over varied surfaces. Electric power-assist steering, which reduces weight and load on the engine compared to hydraulic power steering, is tuned for engaging feedback.Subaru continues to offer an optional Performance Package for the 2018 BRZ Limited with the 6-speed manual transmission. This comprehensive chassis upgrade features SACHS Performance dampers to enhance handling and steering stability and wider alloy wheels (17-in x 7.5-in aluminum versus the standard 17-in x 7.0-in). The high-performance braking system uses Brembo® rotors, 4-piston front calipers and 2-piston calipers to enhance stopping power, fade resistance, and pedal feel.Subaru once again offers the BRZ in Premium and Limited trims, upholding the brand’s tradition of outstanding value with their long list of standard amenities. Key among these is the SUBARU STARLINK 6.2” Multimedia system that includes a 6.2-in. high resolution multi-function touch screen display; AM/FM stereo and HD Radio®; single-disc in-dash CD player; 8 speakers; Bluetooth® hands-free phone connectivity and audio streaming; SiriusXM® All-Access Radio and SiriusXM TravelLink®; Subaru STARLINK smartphone integration with Pandora® and Aha®; Subaru STARLINK Apps including iHeart® Radio and Stitcher™ and a Rear Vision Camera.The Subaru BRZ Limited offers additional features while keeping the vehicle’s weight low. Seats are upholstered with Alcantara inserts and leather bolsters, and dual-mode heated front seats are standard. Externally, the BRZ Limited is distinguished in front with LED fog lights.The BRZ Limited and tS models present a wide array of vehicle performance readouts through a 4.2-in. LCD multifunction display positioned to the right of the prominent tachometer. This display conveys lateral Gs, accelerator pedal position, braking force, steering angle, oil and water temperature, and battery voltage as well as an integrated stopwatch for recording lap times. The leather-wrapped steering wheel has a firmer, sporty feel along with audio controls and multifunction display switches for greater control and convenience while driving.BRZ Limited substitutes dual-zone automatic climate control for the Premium model’s manual system, and Keyless Access with Push-Button Start enhances convenience. A full security system augments the Premium model’s engine immobilizer. The dual visor vanity mirrors are illuminated, and front door courtesy lights illuminate when the doors are opened. “BRZ” is embroidered in red on the front seatbacks.The Subaru ring-shaped reinforcement frame design, proven in all Subaru models, forms the foundation for crash protection and occupant safety in the BRZ. The compact Boxer engine enhances safety by allowing more crush room in front and on the sides. High-strength front seat frames provide increased protection against whiplash injury in a rear-end collision. For occupant protection, the Subaru Advanced Frontal Airbag System utilizes dual-stage-deployment driver and front passenger airbags. Deployment strength depends on the proximity of the driver to the steering wheel, and whether there is an adult occupying the passenger seat. Front seat side pelvis/torso airbags and side curtain airbags offer additional security for front and rear occupants. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise , which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $120 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.For additional information visit media.subaru.com . Follow us on Facebook Twitter , and Instagram
|
Looking for news you can trust?
Subscribe to our free newsletters.
Until he was shot dead in his church in May 2009 by anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder, Dr. George Tiller was the No. 1 target of anti-abortion groups in Kansas and around the country. Since then, abortion foes have relentlessly pursued one of his former colleagues, Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus; this Friday, a state panel that includes appointees of Kansas’ anti-abortion governor will hold another hearing to decide whether Neuhaus will be allowed to keep her medical license.
From 1999 through 2007, Neuhaus spent one day a week in Tiller’s clinic providing the legally required second opinion on whether there was a medical need for a woman to have a third-trimester abortion. She did not provide these later-term abortions herself at Tiller’s clinic. In October 2006, Cheryl Sullenger, an anti-abortion activist and convicted felon, filed a complaint, alleging that Neuhaus did not adequately evaluate the women who came to Tiller’s clinic or properly document their cases in her files. That led to an investigation by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, which regulates medical services in the state.
Given the origins of the complaint and the anti-abortion views of some of the panel’s members, Neuhaus’ supporters worry she has little chance of a fair hearing. They also fear that the state isn’t doing enough to protect her from potential violence.
They have a point: Sullenger, who filed the complaint, is a senior policy adviser for Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group that relocated to Wichita for the purpose of shutting down Tiller’s clinic. She served time in federal prison for her role in a 1988 plot to blow up a California abortion clinic and was in contact with Roeder not long before he killed Tiller. The Board of Healing Arts, which took Sullenger’s complaint against Neuhaus seriously and opened an investigation, has been accused of bias against abortion providers. Sam Brownback, the state’s Republican governor and a staunch abortion foe, recently appointed Rick Macias, a lawyer for Operation Rescue and other anti-abortion groups that harassed Tiller, to serve on the board.
Neuhaus, who previously provided first trimester abortions, no longer does so. She placed her license on inactive status in 2009, when she returned to school at the University of Kansas Medical Center to pursue a master’s degree in public health, and is only taking charity cases currently. She would like to resume a full license to practice medicine when her fellowship ends in December. There were five days of testimony in September, and on Friday, the Board of Healing Arts will hold a sixth day of hearings to determine whether Neuhaus will be allowed to resume practicing medicine.
Neuhaus’ husband, Michael Caddell, worries that even if the allegations against his wife aren’t substantiated, she will remain a target for anti-abortion activists. “If she wins, she keeps her license, but she’ll move higher up on the threat level,” Caddell says. But if she loses her license, he fears they won’t be able to keep their house and 10 acres of farmland about 38 miles north of Lawrence. “They’re battering my wife—professionally, legally, beating her—mainly because of association with Dr. Tiller,” he says.
While there is a need to investigate legitimate complaints against doctors, those “shouldn’t be something that’s anybody’s business,” says Dr. Anne Davis, the medical director of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, an advocacy group for abortion providers and their patients. The investigation of Neuhaus is part of a broader effort to make abortions harder to obtain, Davis says: “It discourages [doctors] from providing services when you see the relentless attempts to close people down, take away their license, or try to discredit their medical career.”
The board’s investigation of Neuhaus focuses on 11 files, all from 2003, that involve women—girls, really—ages 10 to 18. Under a Kansas law at the time, an abortion could only be performed after 22 weeks if two doctors have certified that continuing the pregnancy would cause “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.” At the time these abortions were performed, mental health could be considered a major bodily function; since then, the state Legislature has changed the law to exclude mental health as grounds to approve a third-trimester abortion. In each case, Neuhaus certified that yes, these young women would face significant harm if they were forced to carry their fetus to term.
Neuhaus found the girls to be suffering from depression, anxiety, or stress related to the pregnancy, and she issued a letter to Tiller approving the procedure. The hearings—and much of the coverage of them—have focused on selective aspects of those cases. One of the girls, 15, had been a barrel racer and worried that having a baby would end her ambitions of becoming a rodeo professional. Another girl had lost interest in things she used to do, like basketball. But, Neuhaus contends, those stories have concentrated on details taken out of context and don’t convey the complex reasons these girls came to Tiller’s clinic so far along in their pregnancies.
Nor are the files representative of the women who came to Tiller’s clinic for third-trimester abortions, around 300 a year. Neuhaus would usually come in one day a week, on a Monday or Tuesday. Most days she would see two or three patients. On busy days, it could be eight or nine. She met with each woman for an hour and talked through her individual situation. At the time, there were only three facilities in the United States that performed late-term abortions, and the clinics’ patients included women from all over the US and other countries. Before arriving in Wichita, the women had already been through a phone screening session. At the clinic, they would usually see a staff member, then Neuhaus, then a social worker. Tiller was also known for the group sessions he held with third-trimester patients—gatherings he treated much like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Deciding whether continuing a pregnancy would cause “substantial” and “irreversible” impairment of a major bodily function was a judgment call—though one made on a professional and individual basis, Neuhaus says. “All I have to do is be able to say that in my best judgment that they will have an impairment of some bodily function that is substantial and irreversible,” she says. “It was so vague, it was hard. I didn’t really know how to approach it for a long time.”
Many of the younger girls either didn’t realize they were pregnant until pretty far along, were in denial, or thought they could keep hiding it. There was also the social context to consider. Should the prospect of single motherhood, poverty, and diminished educational or job opportunities be a consideration? And there were the difficult factors concerning how the woman might react should she carry to term. Would she cut her wrists or take a fistfull of pills? Would the baby end up in a dumpster somewhere, or be abused? “It’s quite a task,” Neuhaus says. “There are not very clear goal posts. Somebody had to do it, and I was asked to, and I felt like I needed to.”
Still, there were many women whose need was straightforward. One woman found herself in Neuhaus’ office on September 11, 2001. She was a statuesque African American woman, wearing a red bandanna, and she was in the middle of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer that had metastasized. She didn’t think she could even get pregnant, and she didn’t find out she was until a CAT scan before a round of chemo indicated that she was six months along. She was probably going to die from the disease and didn’t want to leave behind a potentially ill infant with no mother.
“For them to belittle it, to say that its okay for a 10-year-old have a kid by her uncle, and no harm is going to come from it, that’s just beyond the realm of decency,” says Neuhaus.
Then there was the young woman who had been roofied and raped by multiple men, including an ex-boyfriend. She passed out, and they raped her on top of a pool table in a beach house and videotaped the whole ordeal. There had been a court case, but the judge had ruled against her because she’d had consensual sex with one of the men in the past, and because she wasn’t resisting in the video. “She was pregnant as a consequence of that and had horrible PTSD,” Neuhaus says. “The trial was like a re-rape. She was literally being raped in public, as the videotape was being shown. That’s the kind of backstory I didn’t put in the records.”
One time, Neuhaus evaluated a 10-year-old girl who had been raped by her uncle, which is one of the files the medical board is investigating. This girl was tiny, maybe 4’8″, Neuhaus recalls. There had already been a police investigation, and the uncle was in jail, but it took until the third trimester for the girl to make it to the clinic. “For them to belittle it, to say that its okay for a 10-year-old have a kid by her uncle, and no harm is going to come from it, that’s just beyond the realm of decency,” she says.
Not all of those details were in the paperwork, however, because Neuhaus says she knew that records weren’t truly confidential given the anti-abortion leanings of Kansas law enforcement officials. “I chose to sacrifice details,” Neuhaus says. “I risked nothing but my license. I didn’t compromise their health care.”
At the clinic, Neuhaus’ decisions were made in a place that was constantly under threat. Tiller was shot in both arms outside the facility in 1993. To enter, patients had to go through a metal detector. For a while, Neuhaus says, she wore a bulletproof vest to work. She even carried a .40 caliber pistol in her scrubs for a short period and took up target practice. “I was a reasonably decent shot,” she says. “I would not have had too much trouble shooting one of those people if I had to.” There were also bomb threats. But as time went by, she got more comfortable with the situation: “I think at some point, you get used to it, and you don’t have anxiety.”
In 2007, Kansas charged Tiller with 19 misdemeanor violations of state abortion law, arguing that Neuhaus wasn’t really an independent physician, as the state law required, because she used his office and because Tiller had once sold her a car for $300. But the photos of the banged-up 1994 Toyota Camry with yellow tape holding the bumper together—which Neuhaus still drives today—failed to convince the jury. Tiller was acquitted in March 2009, after jurors deliberated for less than an hour. Shortly after the criminal trial, the Board of Healing Arts—the same group now investigating Neuhaus—began looking into similar charges. But two months later, Tiller was dead. The files that the board is considering in Neuhaus’ hearings were released in the course of the case against Tiller.
Neuhaus and Caddell worry about her safety at the hearings. The most recent hearings were held in the basement of a state office building in Topeka, without a metal detector on site. The dates, times, and locations for these hearings are posted online on the board’s website and often publicized by anti-abortion groups. Operation Rescue staffers—including Sullenger—were present for the first week of hearings, tweeting from just behind Neuhaus.
In response to a question about safety at the hearings from Mother Jones, the panel’s executive director, Kathleen Selzler Lippert, noted that since Tiller’s murder, the board “has enhanced security and will endeavor to continue to provide safe and appropriate environments to fulfill our statutory mission.”
Neuhaus says she’s not interested in providing abortions anymore. “I have too much PTSD about the whole thing,” she says. It’s not the fear of being shot at. It’s the fear of having to deal with hostile abortion rights opponents both inside and outside of the Kansas government. “It makes me feel panicky and sick when I think about it. It’s not logically in my interest to deal with.”
|
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Adding radiation therapy to standard drug treatment can cut in half the death rate from advanced prostate cancer and should become the standard of care globally, Swedish researchers reported on Monday.
Their study of more than 800 prostate cancer patients showed that nearly 24 percent of men who got only standard drugs had died after 10 years, compared with just under 12 percent of men who also got radiation treatment.
Adding radiation does not add too many side-effects, they wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology.
“The quality of life and adverse effect profile is acceptable. We therefore suggest that endocrine treatment plus radiotherapy should be the new standard of care for these patients,” Anders Widmark of Umea University in Sweden and colleagues wrote.
“The results should change current practice, making long-term hormonal therapy plus radical radiotherapy the standard of care for men with locally advanced prostate cancer,” Dr. Chris Parker and Dr. Alex Tan of Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey, wrote in a commentary.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer killer of men, killing 221,000 every year globally, with 679,000 new cases diagnosed.
It is easily cured in early stages with surgery or radiation. For prostate cancer that has spread, drugs that interfere with cancer-fueling hormones are prescribed.
In the United States, adding radiation therapy is already standard, said Dr. Howard Sandler, chair of Radiation Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and a spokesman for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
He said health agencies in Europe did not always provide radiation as the standard of care. “A 50 percent reduction in the risk of prostate cancer death is a real clinical benefit,” Sandler said in a telephone interview.
“The radiation therapy that was performed here (in the study) was somewhat simplistic,” Sandler added. “Modern radiation therapy with higher doses, if anything, might magnify the benefits.”
|
Col Abu Taher in 1972. Star file photo.
The High Court has termed the execution of Col Abu Taher through a military tribunal order in 1976 an "outright murder".
The full text of an HC verdict, which was released on Monday, also termed the military tribunal judgement "illegal".
Explaining their terming the execution as a "cold blooded assassination", the judges who passed the verdict said Gen Ziaur Rahman, the then chief martial law administrator, had decided to execute Taher much before the formation of the so-called tribunal.
It also directed the government to try those who were involved with the so-called trial, if any of them are still alive.
The verdict, passed by Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain, was originally announced on March 22, 2011.
The two judges signed the full text on Monday.
Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder told The Daily Star that the 198-page judgment was released after the judges signed it.
The judgement will be uploaded on the website later in the day.
In the judgment, the HC cited some portions of the book written by BNP leader Moudud Ahmed, saying that the then Gen Ziaur Rahman had formed the military tribunal to sentence Col Taher to death in order to satisfy army officials who had returned from Pakistan.
Earlier on March 22, declaring the military tribunal and the trial illegal and unconstitutional, the HC said the trial and execution of freedom fighter Col Abu Taher in 1976 was masterminded by the then chief martial law administrator, Gen Ziaur Rahman.
Col Taher was a sector commander during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.
His supporters say he had a role in the soldiers' uprising on November 7, 1975 that saw Ziaur Rahman's release from confinement in Dhaka Cantonment.
Taher was later arrested and put to trial by a military tribunal that sentenced him to death on charges of mutiny and treason. He was executed on July 21, 1976.
Sixteen others including politicians Sirajul Alam Khan, ASM Abdur Rab, Maj (retd) Zia Uddin, Hasanul Huq Inu, Sharif Nurul Ambia, and Mahmudur Rahman Manna were also tried on the same charges and sentenced to various jail terms.
|
LONDON (Reuters) - Human excreta could have a key role in securing future food security, helping prevent a sharp drop in yields of crops such as wheat due to a shortage of phosphorus inputs, a UK organic body said on Monday.
“It is estimated that only 10 percent of the three million metric tons of phosphorus excreted by the global human population each year are returned to agricultural soils,” Britain’s largest organic certification body, the Soil Association, said.
An adequate supply of phosphorous is essential for seed formation, root development and maturing of crops.
The supply of phosphorus from mined phosphate rock could peak as soon as 2033 after which it will become increasingly scarce and expensive, the report said.
“We are completely unprepared to deal with the shortage of phosphorus inputs, the drop in production and the hike in food prices that will follow,” the Soil Association said.
Historically in Europe, phosphorus was returned to agricultural land through the application of animal manure and human excreta but from the mid nineteenth century it was replaced by phosphate mined in distant places.
HEAVY METALS
The report called for a change in European Union regulations to permit the use of treated sewage sludge, known as biosolids, on organic certified land, subject to appropriate restrictions on issues such as concentrations of heavy metals.
EU regulations prohibit the use of biosolids on organic land due to concerns about the toxic effects of heavy metals cause by combining human excreta with other waste products such as industrial effluent.
“Heavy metal levels have declined in recent years and are now low enough for the organic movement to re-consider allowing treated sewage sludge to be used where it meets strict standards,” the report said.
The report also called for a reduction of the amount of meat in human diets to reduce demand for mined phosphorus.
“This is because the efficiency with which phosphorus inputs are converted into dietary phosphorus is much higher in vegetable-based products than livestock products,” it said.
|
McCain Defends Clinton Aide, Tells Bachmann And Others To Back Off
Enlarge this image toggle caption C-SPAN screenshot C-SPAN screenshot
(Updated at 5:14 pm ET)
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took to the Senate floor Wednesday in an apparent attempt to shame Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., and other House GOP lawmakers who recently questioned whether a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was a fifth columnist for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, didn't mention Bachmann by name, but it was clear his comments were aimed at her and a few House GOP colleagues who have requested an investigation of Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Clinton, among others. (His remarks begin at about the 2:24:00 mark in this C-SPAN video.)
The Arizona Republican personally vouched for Abedin and dismissed the suspicions raised by Bachmann and the others as groundless. Bachmann's letter also was signed by Republican Reps. Trent Franks of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Thomas Rooney of Florida and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia. Here's McCain:
"Recently, it has been alleged that Huma, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States by unduly influencing U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist causes. On June 13, five members of Congress wrote to the deputy inspector general of the Department of State, demanding that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Huma and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government. The information offered to support these serious allegations is based on a report, 'The Muslim Brotherhood in America,' produced by the Center for Security Policy."
"To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant. ..."
"I have every confidence in Huma's loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well. All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country."
Abedin is the wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner. The New York Democrat resigned from the House last year after a scandal that resulted from some unfortunate tweets he sent to young women.
If that searing experience endured by Abedin evoked any empathy from Bachmann and the House Republicans who joined her request for a probe, it wasn't readily apparent in the letter they sent to the State Department's deputy inspector general and his counterparts in other agencies.
In a statement, Bachmann said her letters to the State Department inspector general and other officials were "unfortunately being distorted."
"I encourage everyone, including media outlets, to read them in their entirety. The intention of the letters was to outline the serious national security concerns I had and ask for answers to questions regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical group's access to top Obama administration officials."
McCain's statement called to mind another moment in Senate history. In 1954, Sen. Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt for communists in the federal government collided with Army lawyer Joseph Welch, who helped reveal the senator as a bully by famously asking during a televised hearing: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
McCain used different words, but to the same effect.
(Update) — Bachmann's former presidential campaign manager, Republican political operative Ed Rollins, minced no words in condemning her for questioning Abedin's patriotism. In a piece on the Fox News site, he wrote:
|
About a week ago, a Monmouth University poll showed Donald Trump crossing a striking threshold: the survey showed the New York developer reaching 41% in the Republican primary at the national level. The obvious question was whether this was an outlier to be dismissed or evidence of Trump’s ceiling reaching new heights.
The evidence now points towards the latter. A day after the Monmouth poll was released, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed Trump leading the GOP pack with 38%. And on Friday, a Fox News poll , conducted entirely after last week’s debate, raised even more eyebrows:
1. Donald Trump: 39% (up from 28% in November)
2. Ted Cruz: 18% (up from 14%)
3. Marco Rubio: 11% (down from 14%)
4. Ben Carson: 9% (down from 18%)
Every other competitor in the Republican field was at 3% or lower, including Jeb Bush, who’s down to 3%, which is his lowest point to date. At the top, Trump’s national 39% support is the strongest performance of any GOP candidate in any Fox poll this year, and his 21-point lead – he’s now ahead of Cruz, Rubio, and Carson combined – is also the largest advantage any Republican has enjoyed in 2015.
There’s also the latest survey from Public Policy Polling, which was also conducted entirely after last week’s debate:
1. Donald Trump: 34% (up from 26% in November)
2. Ted Cruz: 18% (up from 14%)
3. Marco Rubio: 13% (unchanged)
4. Jeb Bush: 7% (up from 5%)
5. Ben Carson: 6% (down from 19%)
This seems like a good time to pause and think about some historical context – because next year, something unprecedented is going to happen.
Based on the latest, overall national averages, Trump isn’t just the leading Republican candidate, he’s actually dominating by more than 20 points . These same overall averages show the frontrunner, at least for now, with more support than Cruz and Rubio combined.
When was the last time a Republican presidential candidate led by more than 20 points in late December and failed to win his party’s nomination? Never. It just hasn’t happened.
Now, some caveats are probably in order. When I say “never,” I’m referring to the modern era: election cycles in which polling existed and in which Republican primary and caucus voters chose the GOP nominee in contested races.
In other words, we’re basically looking at 40 years’ worth of presidential elections (for Democrats, it’s 44 years, but since Nixon ran effectively unopposed in 1972, it’s 40 for the GOP). In that time, no Republican had a national lead this big and ended up losing.
The only candidate who’s in the same league is Rudy Giuliani, who enjoyed big early leads in 2007 – before voters got to know him – but by Christmas Week eight years ago, his lead was either modest or non-existent, a far cry from Trump’s advantages now. What’s more, Giuliani’s support in early nominating states had already collapsed by this point in the process, while Trump remains a top-tier contender in all of the early contests.
Am I saying Trump is going to win the nomination? Not exactly. I am saying we’re looking at a dynamic in which we’ll either see (a) the biggest Republican collapse in modern American history; or (b) the first Republican nominee since 1940 with no experience in public office.
|
It’s Grand Final week, and we’re not just cheering for our favourite teams.
In early 2014, Newcastle Knights back-rower Alex McKinnon was critically injured in an NRL game against the Melbourne Storm. He suffered two fractured vertebrae after a tackle thew him head-first into the ground.
He was told he might never walk again.
But despite his ongoing struggles, McKinnon has refused to accept that he will forever be seated – and today, less than a year and a half after the shock diagnosis, the footballer walked a distance of 80 metres.
In an Instagram post, McKinnon celebrated being able to “lock out” his knees when walking in rehabilitation. With the help of trainers, who swung his legs, Alex was able to walk a distance of 80 metres.
You can watch his success here:
|
It is an unprepossessing orchid, the kind that’s unlikely to win prizes at shows or elicit a double take from passers-by. But the giant stream orchid is an irresistible enigma to some Southern California plant enthusiasts and collectors who relish a challenge.
For one, it’s elusive. You are unlikely to find it next to the common Phalaenopsis or Dendrobium at a grocery store or a garden center. Yet, if you hike into the local mountains during the spring and you look carefully, you just might spot Epipactis gigantea blooming mere steps from a stream. Look all you want, but don’t take it with you.
Also called giant helleborine, this is one of a handful of orchids that are California natives. More prolific in the wild in the northern and central parts of the state, it is less common in Southern California. Sometimes, it shows up in the strangest places, such as the occasional drainage area next to a freeway. It usually starts blooming in the late spring and early summer, then goes dormant in the fall and winter.
The giant stream orchid grows up to 1 foot, with sword-like, long leaves and inch-wide yellow/chartreuse/brown flowers with purple veins. If you shake the stalk or if a fly tries to pollinate it, the flower’s lower lip will quiver, thus earning this plant the charming moniker chatterbox orchid.
Ron Vanderhoff had been looking for the Epipactis gigantea in the wild for many years during his nature hikes in the hills and mountains of Orange County. It eluded him for a long time, making the orchid that much more alluring.
He bought his first Epipactis about five years ago from a grower, but getting the plant to look as vibrant as its wild cousins took awhile.
“I was drawn to Epipactis gigantea because they are a local native plant, but more particularly because they are an orchid, and most folks would not think of Southern California and orchids in the same context,” said Vanderhoff, a board member and Orange County native plant field trip leader for the California Native Plant Society.
“Epipactis grow only in a few areas in Orange County, so their relative rareness also attracted me,” he said. “Most serious horticulturists abhor common plants, since everyone else already has them and they are no longer special.”
During one of his hikes in the Santa Ana Mountains, Vanderhoff made his way to a spring and spotted a lush plant with flowers blooming on a nearby cliff. He could not identify it, so he photographed it. Within days, that photo somehow made its way to Harold Koopowitz, a UC Irvine professor of ecology and orchid expert who identified the mystery plant as an Epipactis gigantea.
Vanderhoff didn’t make the connection between his potted plant and the one in the wild because they bore little resemblance. Having seen the environment and moist natural conditions that the orchid thrived in, he sought to create the same for the one in his garden. It has since improved and flourished, spreading in clumps.
Roberta Fox, on the other hand, is a prolific connoisseur of orchids, with a private collection numbering between 1,800 and 1,900 that she amassed over two decades. Fox, who is co-chairwoman of the Fascination of Orchids show at South Coast Plaza Village next weekend, bought her two giant stream orchids at garden shows.
She wanted to add a California native to her extensive collection, especially a species that’s not widely available. Like other collectors, Fox is figuring out how to keep the orchid healthy and get it to bloom again next year.
“It’s one of my little projects,” Fox said. “It’s a learning process about what the plant wants and what you can give them, given the conditions and the constraints of what you have. You try to find the overlap.”
One of the essential things she found was that the giant stream orchid grows best in soil, not on bark, unlike other orchids. “Treat the orchid like a wildflower, not like an orchid,” she said.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
|
JAGODINA, Serbia (Reuters) - Ultra-nationalists are set to return to Serbia’s parliament in an April 24 election after an absence of several years, boosted by growing discontent with Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s pro-European Union stance and austerity policies.
A supporter of Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj lights a flare before Seselj's pre-election rally in Jagodina, Serbia April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
They include firebrand Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, whose popularity in Serbia was boosted by his acquittal last month of crimes against humanity by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
Polls indicate Seselj’s Radicals and the right-wing Dveri grouping, which hold pro-Russian and anti-NATO views and demand an end to integration with the EU, will both get over the threshold needed to get into parliament and together could win about 25-30 seats in the 250-seat assembly.
While the ultra-nationalists are unlikely to challenge the prime minister’s strong hold on power, they will use the platform to attack his pro-EU course and fight any concessions he is forced to make during Serbia’s negotiations to join the bloc, which began in December.
Opinion polls suggest Vucic’s Progressive Party is on track to retain its parliamentary majority, but Seselj’s Radicals — who failed to win any seats in elections in 2012 and 2014 — could become the third-largest group in parliament.
Seselj, whose war crimes acquittal is being appealed by prosecutors, gives voice to the grievances many Serbs feel over NATO’s 1999 bombing of Serbia over the Kosovo conflict. Seselj was deputy prime minister at the time.
“The EU is made up of NATO countries. They bombed us, they took Kosovo away from us,” he told cheering supporters last week in Jagodina, a central town where unemployment runs at 30 percent.
Seselj, 61, was a mentor to Vucic until 2008 when his protege broke with the Radicals.
Seselj, who has been battling colon cancer for several years, remains a fierce advocate of the “Greater Serbia” ideology that fueled bloodshed in the 1990s Yugoslav wars.
His goal is to secure enough members of parliament — one third or 84 legislators — to block any attempt to change Serbia’s constitution if Belgrade comes under pressure during the EU negotiations to remove a constitutional reference to Kosovo being part of Serbia.
AUSTERITY FATIGUE
A sharp 2014 recession sent Serbia’s budget deficit soaring, forcing the government to seek a 1.2 billion euro ($1.35 billion) loan from the International Monetary Fund, which demanded public spending and subsidy cuts, tax hikes and the privatization of inefficient state firms as a condition.
EU membership will also require painful economic restructuring.
Analysts say austerity measures and an unemployment rate of 18 percent have pushed voters towards the rightist parties.
Until two years ago, Suzana Arsic, a 52-year-old kindergarten teacher from Jagodina, voted for the pro-EU Democratic Party, but now she is changing sides.
“I’m going to vote for the Radicals this time. I didn’t like what I saw — plants were shut down, people lost their jobs and were pushed to expensive borrowing they couldn’t manage,” she told Reuters.
Serbia’s economy is set to grow 1.8 percent this year, slower than its neighbors, the World Bank says. The average monthly wage of 357 euros is among the lowest in the region.
Many Serbs see little benefit from the country’s talks on joining the EU. A recent opinion poll found nearly 72 percent of Serbs oppose joining the EU and NATO.
Vucic says joining the EU, Serbia’s biggest trading partner and investor, remains Belgrade’s No. 1 policy goal. The conservative leader is going to the polls two years early to seek a mandate for economic reforms needed to qualify for EU membership.
Vucic, who says Serbia will not seek to join NATO, warns of the dangers of rising nationalism. “There can be no compromise with those who are pushing Serbia back in the past,” he said.
The ultra-nationalist resurgence is not causing great alarm in the EU for now because Vucic has ruled out a coalition with the right-wingers, diplomats say.
Hrvoje Stojic, a Zagreb-based analyst with Hypo Group Alpe Adria bank, said the strengthening of rightist parties was a regional trend, noting eurosceptic parties are in power in Poland and Hungary.
Both the Radicals and Dveri, running in coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), pledge to halt privatizations, subsidize farmers and impose import duties to protect domestic producers.
“If people look in their wallets, if they open their eyes and switch off their TV sets they’ll realize that they’re being fooled (by the current government),” Sanda Raskovic Ivic, head of the DSS party, told Reuters, referring to Vucic’s promises of improving living standards.
Many nationalist voters are not elderly Serbs nostalgic for the old Yugoslavia, but young people who remember little of the wars that accompanied Yugoslavia’s break-up.
“Vucic has lost his credibility ... He made us slaves to capitalists and that’s why I will vote for Dveri,” said Dejana Simic, a 23-year-old waitress from Belgrade.
Slideshow (9 Images)
Many Serbs, however, accept that Serbia has no option but to seek close ties with the EU.
“There’s really no alternative to the EU,” said Djordje Trifunovic, 22, a Belgrade law student.
($1 = 0.8879 euros)
|
ACTION COMICS (1938-2011) #1 Publisher: DC Grade: CGC VF: 8.0
It is important to keep in mind that this Action Comics #1 (as well as all books in this auction) carries NO buyer's premium. This makes a huge difference when investing at this level.
The most important comic book in the history of comic books. This is the introduction of the archetype of all other heroes to come. Superman transcends comic books and pop culture. He is an icon of Truth, Justice and The American Way! Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman is quite possibly the most recognizable fictional character in the world. The creation of two struggling sci-fi fans from the Rust Belt, the Man of Steel became an instant icon to depression-era readers, and easily transformed into an icon of American spirit and spunk during the brutal days of WWII. Since then, he has lasted as both a beloved character and a symbol of modern hope and vigor, making this first appearance not just a piece of comics' history, but of American history as well.The second highlight of the Hidden Valley Collection, not only is a truly handsome example of this important comic, this is the highest-graded conserved copy on the CGC census, making it irresistible to anyone collecting the best of the best. With fiery colors and a sturdy spine, this solid copy feels and looks stronger than most others we've seen (and we've seen a few). As with the other keys in the Hidden Valley Collection, this was selected for its eye appeal and historical value, both of which it has in spades. The best-loved and best-known of all comic keys in splendid condition.Overstreet Guide 2017 VF (8.0) value = $1,300,000.If you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us 24 hours in advance of the item closing at 212.895.3999 or [email protected] so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.) Once approved, please log out of your account and then log in, for the approval to take effect.
|
Photo credit: The Goldwater
Once again we see the petty left wing cultural marxists, who are both funded and financed by<a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/3655-Indivisible-George-Soros-Newest-Coalition-Better-off-Invisible">George Soros and Project Indivisible, a subsidiary of Barack Obama</a>, causing mayhem and violence in the streets of Seattle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Violent left wing marxists Antifa and Black Lives Matter attacking Police in Seattle right now <br>Where's the media coverage? <a href="https://t.co/vKbXCiLzf3">pic.twitter.com/vKbXCiLzf3</a></p>— Red Pill (@IWillRedPillYou) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWillRedPillYou/status/896899249534783489">August 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The media isn't batting an eye, still talking about the Charlottesville incident and pushing radical propaganda about White Supremacy.
These issues occurred long before Charlottesville, yeah, I'm talking to you Fox News. You are a disgrace. I will never watch you again.
What's happening right now in Seattle is complete and utter chaos with zero regard for private property or innocent life. These savages are terrorizing the streets and undermining law and order, even attacking the police.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chaos continues in Seattle. Tensions high. Acts of violence. Logic out the window. Civility gone. <a href="https://t.co/7QpOwVl3wC">pic.twitter.com/7QpOwVl3wC</a></p>— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) <a href="https://twitter.com/NatashaFatah/status/896873908099465216">August 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In one instance it appears to be a Jewish man filming the Antifa terrorists, you can see the star of David around his neck, and the violent thugs with their Black Lives Matter criminal golems are assaulting him and trying to steal his phone.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Waiting for the march to start. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Charlottesville?src=hash">#Charlottesville</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cville?src=hash">#Cville</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seattle?src=hash">#Seattle</a> <a href="https://t.co/uAOEXdpUEL">pic.twitter.com/uAOEXdpUEL</a></p>— Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsmikebivins/status/896824227973562368">August 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
What the hell is wrong with these people? Why isn't the media covering it? Well it could be that the American media is owned by six corporations, many financed by Soros and the Deep State and refuse to tell you the truth.
If it doesn't fit their narrative, they simply do not care to talk about it. Yes, even the “right wing” media is lying to you, because it's owned by
<a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/4885-After-G20-George-Soros-Financing-Nationwide-Protests-July-15th">marxist globalist filth</a> that donates to the Democratic Party.
Haim Saban, George Soros, and other dual American citizens have more influence in America than the politicians, in fact they're the ones pulling the strings to begin with.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Soviet flag is flying high. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seattle?src=hash">#Seattle</a> <a href="https://t.co/g0PAlIxCNR">pic.twitter.com/g0PAlIxCNR</a></p>— Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) <a href="https://twitter.com/itsmikebivins/status/896825908228747264">August 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a href="http://thegoldwater.com/news/6469-Governor-McAuliffe-Refuses-to-Condemn-Antifa-on-Behalf-of-Haim-Saban">Haim Saban is the key reason former DNC head and now Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe refused to denounce Antifa</a>, because the puppetmaster is funding him.
You continuously hear the name Soros, but it's very rare we follow the money to the top of the food chain. There are many, elusive and secretive global businessmen and bankers financing these insurgencies.
Why? They speculate off markets for one, Soros is infamous.
Two, while you're distracted they can influence whatever agenda they need to push.
Three, if things get insane enough they can crack down on people like me who report the uncensored truth such as they've done in the UK, where they hide behind hate speech laws to censor free speech.
That's the endgame folks, complete and utter control. That's what they want, and that's what they had before the age of the internet since they owned and controlled every newspaper and entertainment industry.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alex Jones Claims Virginia Attacks Staged to Enact Martial Law<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RedPill?src=hash">#RedPill</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Goldwater?src=hash">#Goldwater</a><a href="https://t.co/P5rbz9Sr1s">https://t.co/P5rbz9Sr1s</a></p>— Red Pill (@IWillRedPillYou) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWillRedPillYou/status/896714288584196096">August 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It may even cause martial law to be enacted as per the response to the continued violence. While that idea is being pushed by Alex Jones, popular ‘conspiracy theorist’, it holds some water. We're headed in that direction.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash">#BREAKING</a> Flash bangs and pepper spray deployed in downtown <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seattle?src=hash">#Seattle</a> where opposing rallies fill the streets: <a href="https://t.co/rAULE0pkYT">pic.twitter.com/rAULE0pkYT</a></p>— Kevin W. (@kwilli1046) <a href="https://twitter.com/kwilli1046/status/896894674971090945">August 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
How can we stop this? There's a civil war already happening in America, just very few shots have been fired yet.
|
Information in hands from SamMobile confirm Samsung is going to test a new update service. Samsung want to have more control in each country about updates and sales. Samsung wants to know exactly how many devices has been sold in all countries. Samsung’s plan is to stop the retailers that are shipping for example French based software devices to The Netherlands. Samsung won’t give devices updates if you bought a phone outside your home country. This could mean retailers need to pay more for devices and the prices could go higher. Also customers could have to wait longer on their new devices. So far we can conclude from our information Samsung will start to test this way by no longer notification trough OTA (over the air).
Another thing to know is that Samsung will still use both KIES and OTA services. But could test in the future IMEI based updates. If Samsung decides to use IMEI tracking for updates this is most worst way for developers. We do not expect Samsung to choose this way at the moment. For Samsung at the moment KIES and OTA are fine. IMEI could be dangerous for Samsung self too.
What does this all mean for Samsung, retailer and customer?
Samsung
– Control of updates in each country. (faster way of updates)
– Exact sales numbers.
– Could bring the price up / down if needed or cancel device that do not sell well.
Retailer
– Retailer must ship country based devices otherwise customer isn’t able to update.
– Retailer shop price could be more expensive.
Customer
– Delay in new device.
– Customer isn’t able to update their device outside the country of origin.
– Price can be higher.
|
German “Anti-Fascists” Threaten Mafia-Style Attacks on Anti-Immigration Village
The East German village of Clausnitz was in the news this week because a crowd surrounded a bus full of illegal immigrants, who were going to be housed there.
(White Genocide Project)
The crowd chanted “We are the people” and stopped them getting off the bus for 2 hours, until the police arrived.
Anonymous German so-called “anti-fascists” have released a threatening open letter to the villagers. It reads:
“Dear Clausnitzers, everywhere one reads that you are afraid, that you are insecure. You want a dialogue at eye level. On Thursday you showed, where your dialogue leads and we are happy to build on it!”
“We of the Antifa visited your village. A beautiful village. Even your local museum was much appreciated.”
“Things can go broken, tractors can spontaneously combust – it would be a shame. Well, some of our other options would unsettle the population.”
“If you scare one more refugee, there will be consequences for you. We’re watching you. Another attack on a refugee, a firecracker outside the property – and your village will be in ruins. We will drive up the price of your inhumanity as high as possible.”
“Your hatred and your agitation will not remain unchallenged. We will not stand by the sidelines as you live out your authoritarian character. You live in a world in which ‘Being German’ is worth more than being human. We will not tolerate that.”
They also threatened police, saying they “promote a racist Saxon mob.”
“You too will feel the consequences for your inhuman act.”
So the “anti-fascists” are telling people what to do and threatening people if they don’t . . . and it hasn’t dawned on them that they ARE what they claim to fight?
Merkel has waged a full-out White genocide against Germany, in the form of forced “diversity”. Her so-called “anti-fascist” friends haven’t yet realized that they are White as well, and their comfortable lives in a nice White suburb is coming to an end if they keep pushing these policies.
There is a saying: be careful what you wish for...
|
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There the two legends sat, together. One in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other, not.
And to Brett Favre, that just didn’t seem right.
The iconic Green Bay Packers quarterback was back in Titletown last Sunday to be feted yet again. This time he was having his name unveiled in Lambeau Field’s Ring of Honor, a distinction reserved only for the team’s Pro Football Hall of Famers -- the latest of which Favre had become in August.
But as Favre, in the team’s alumni suite, waited during the Packers’ game against the Dallas Cowboys for the halftime celebration to commence, he found himself scanning the stadium’s façade, reading all the names.
Among Jerry Kramer's NFL achievements: five first-team All-Pro nods with the Packers and earning a spot on the league's 50th Anniversary team. James Flores/Getty Images
Starr. Lombardi. Nitschke. Hutson. White. Twenty-three names in all, with the soon-to-be 24th member’s name covered with a forest green tarpaulin.
That’s when Favre turned to the man seated beside him: Jerry Kramer. And it was then that Favre thought the same thing so many other Packers fans have over the years.
He should be in.
And so, Favre told Kramer that. Told him how, although he was the new guy in Canton, he’d love to help. Pull a few strings. Use some of that Southern charm of his. Draw something up in the dirt, as he always used to do on the field. Do whatever he could, even though Kramer, a 10-time finalist, would have to be nominated by the seniors committee at this point.
“And I really liked his comment [back],” Favre said of their exchange. “He said, ‘Life’s been too good for me to worry about will I or won’t I.’
“The honor, would it be a bigger, greater honor for him at this point in his life? I think so. But I think he’s at peace with where he is and how he played and what type of legacy he’s left behind. As he should be.
“We all know Jerry and of course pull for him. It’d be a tremendous honor for him, I know. But he’s in a good place, which is good to see and good to hear.”
Yes, Jerry Kramer says, he would still be thrilled to someday get a call from the Hall. (“It would be great.”) Yes, it means the world to him that his supremely driven daughter, Alicia, has made it her life’s work to convince the electorate that her father belongs. (“I learned not to argue with her mother after about 40 years.”) And yes, he appreciates the ultra-supportive Packers fans who’ve written letters and bandied his name about on social media, expressing what a travesty they believe it is that so many of Kramer’s "glory years" teammates are in, and he is not. (“Packers fans are sensational to me.”)
But as Favre learned last Sunday, Kramer doesn’t need the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a high school student growing up in Sandpoint, Idaho, he remembers saving a copy of the local newspaper from the first time his name appeared in it, for a fourth-place finish in the shot put. So much has changed.
“Now, the Sandpoint Bee didn’t have a lot of circulation, but it was the major paper in the area. And that kind of validated my existence, somehow,” Kramer said on ESPN Wisconsin’s Distant Replay podcast. “It was very comforting to see my name and know that other people might see my name and know that maybe I was somebody.
“[But] this life, it’s so much greater than any life I could have anticipated when I left Sandpoint High that I just feel very blessed to be where I am. I’m comfortable with how I played and what I achieved -- and certainly our championships are a wonderful part of the journey. I know I was a good football player.
“The Hall was a thing that at the time, in the mid-1970s, when the [other] guys were going in, I kind of expected to go in. I was nominated 10 times for it. And finally, you look at it and go, ‘Life is good.’ I don’t think a whole lot would change if I was in the Hall of Fame. [Packers fans] can’t be any better to me. They can’t give me any more applause or any more love than they do.
“So the Hall of Fame would be great, but it’s not really the thing I wake up in the morning and worry about. If it comes along, fine. If it doesn’t come along, fine. It’s been a hell of a ride.”
Jerry Kramer, right, helped Vince Lombardi and the Packers win five league championships, including two Super Bowls, in his 11-year career. AP Photo/File
Kramer is widely regarded not only as the greatest Packer not in the Hall but also as the greatest NFL player who hasn't been given the honor. A five-time first-team All-Pro, a member of both the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade team and the league’s 50th Anniversary team, Kramer was on five championship teams (including two Super Bowl champions) in his 11 NFL seasons before retiring in 1968.
But his life has evolved into something greater than his on-field accomplishments. Now 80 years old, he keeps a schedule that men half his age would struggle to match, with a variety of charity events to attend and a myriad of interests both related to and outside of football.
He is the unofficial spokesman for the Lombardi-era Packers, the leader of the network of former teammates who constantly check in on one another. He is a passionate advocate for making the game safer, focused specifically on the repetitive head trauma his fellow offensive linemen sustain on a regular basis. And he is fascinated by the possibilities created by stem-cell research, something he has studied extensively and shared with the family of his old teammate, quarterback Bart Starr.
Told that with Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man in the World” having retired, he might be a candidate to replace him, Kramer laughed. While he’d be OK with the product -- “I’ve tried that out a couple times and it’s not bad,” he said -- he said he’d be “a little put off by the apparent arrogance” of such a title. “I would tend to vote for someone like Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein from the past. Somebody that had the intellect to match the title.”
Instead, when asked about his life, Kramer recalls a lesson he learned from his legendary coach more than 50 years ago, one that continues to guide him today. And one that helps explain why he is at peace.
“It’s, ‘After the game is over, the stadium is empty, the parking lot is empty, the lights are out and the press releases have been filed, and you’re back in the quiet of your room, all alone, championship ring is on the dresser, the only thing left for you at this time is to try to live a life of quality and excellence and make this world just a little bit better place because you were in it,’” Kramer said. “Basically, I think that sums up my philosophy.
“The good Lord has been very kind to me. He checked my situation out two or three different times, looked me over and said, ‘No, he isn’t done yet. Send him back.’ I’ve been trying to break even for the last 20 years, 30 years, to make up for my early years. And the more you do this, the more you want to do this, and the better it makes you feel. And we can blame Bart Starr for this to a certain extent, too. He’s been my model, my idol. He’s a sensational human being, and if I can be half the guy that Bart is by the time we hear the final bell, I’ll be a happy guy.
“It’s an endless story -- the never-ending quest to make the human being a little more successful, a little more of a life. So all in all, when I look back on the journey, it’s been a wonderful ride. I wouldn’t change any part of it. It’s just been a special, special thing that I never could have dreamed growing up as a young boy in Sandpoint, Idaho, and thinking that someday I might be driving a logging truck -- if I got lucky.”
|
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., expects Congress' investigation into President Trump and Russia to reveal additional, unprecedented details about both parties.
"There's a lot of things about our relations with Russia that trouble me a lot," McCain told CNN's "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper on Sunday morning. "There's a lot of aspects of this whole relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin that requires further scrutiny, and so far I don't think the American people have gotten all the answers. In fact, I think there's a lot more shoes to drop from this centipede."
The 2008 GOP presidential nominee said a number of Trump's campaign and transition associates need to be called to testify by the House and Senate intelligence committees, including Roger Stone.
Stone has claimed to know Guccifer 2.0, the hacker supposedly behind the release of Democratic National Committee emails last summer. Stone also said he corresponded with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the election.
"Obviously I think [Mr. Stone] and others need to be questioned," McCain said. "This whole issue of the relationship with the Russians and who communicated with them and under what circumstances clearly begs — cries out for an investigation."
McCain, who has been a critic of Trump's foreign policies since the president took office in January, warned the public to withhold its judgment until the investigations are completed.
|
Timothy Stanley is a historian and columnist for Britain's Daily Telegraph. He is the author of "Citizen Hollywood: How the Collaboration Between L.A. and D.C. Revolutionized American Politics." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) Donald Trump defies his critics, which is one of the things his fans love about him. Loud, crude, philosophically ill-defined -- he ought to have crashed and burned as a Republican presidential candidate weeks ago.
Yet his big win in the New Hampshire primary finally proves that his national poll ratings can be turned into votes. Trump can win. Trump must be stopped.
Trump is a real estate magnate who helped transform the New York skyline in the 1980s, before moving into casinos and a retail empire that includes a tacky clothes-line. He previously identified as both an independent and a Democrat, before apparently shifting to the Right a decade ago.
When he entered the Republican presidential primaries , many of us wrote it off as a publicity stunt. The fact that it was such bad publicity should have told us we were wrong. Trump went after illegal immigrants -- branding many of them as "rapists" , while asserting that "some, I assume, are good people" -- and promised to surround the country with a wall.
From that the pundits deduced that he was far-right, if not a nationalist, like Marine Le Pen of France . But his appeal proved more complex.
JUST WATCHED How Trump speaks without talking Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How Trump speaks without talking 01:19
On some domestic issues he is more left-wing: health care, infrastructure spending and tax. On social issues, like immigration, his tough guy appearance strikes a chord with people who feel they've been betrayed by weak national leadership and silenced by political correctness.
They revel in the shamelessness of a man whose fortune means he's beholden to no one -- and who doesn't look like he cares whether he wins or lose.
Americans choose their presidential candidates in a series of state-wide elections or primaries -- and Trump lost the first Republican contest in Iowa . That was probably because the state is heavily religious and winners there tend to have a good ground game. But he won in the more secular New Hampshire with an interesting constituency that includes self-described moderates and new voters.
In other words, the Trump campaign poses a challenge to the Republican Party leadership and its conservative establishment. The leadership has failed to fight back because it is hopelessly divided.
Can moderate Republicans unite to defeat Trump?
In New Hampshire there were four establishment-type moderates running: Jeb Bush , Chris Christie, Marco Rubio and John Kasich . Each has strengths and weaknesses. Kasich, governor of Ohio, came second and has a good claim to lead the fightback against Trump. But he lacks the money and organization necessary to mount a long campaign through these complex, expensive primaries. Jeb Bush has the most dollars and activists, but has underwhelmed the voters.
There is a chance to stop Trump in South Carolina on February 20. That state is more ideologically conservative, with a stronger local party leadership and a tradition of preferring mainstream candidates. But if the moderate field remains divided, it's quite possible that Trump will win again.
And that would be bad for all of us. Trump has served some useful purpose: he has punctured the arrogance of the establishment and proven that character can beat big money in U.S. politics. But he represents the politics of protest, and that rarely translates into good government.
His characterization of Mexican migrants -- legal or otherwise -- is wrong and damaging at a time when America is evolving towards a less-white society. His stance on Muslim immigration , which he would cease until the terror threat is brought under control, is racist.
Trump does not care about the things that regular conservatives have dedicated their lives to fighting for: controls on abortion, protection of marriage, reform of the healthcare market. His inclination towards expanding the government and putting it on the side of his people isn't terribly constitutional. And his claim in a debate that the purpose of conservatism is to conserve wealth is spiritually impoverished.
The Republican Party needs to stop him -- and sooner rather than later.
|
As Jeremy detailed on Monday, many colleges are turning out graduates who, even after four years of higher education, have cognitive skills that are still sorely lacking. Of particular note is a seeming decline in grads’ writing abilities; one-third of students see no improvement in their writing skills from freshman to senior year, and 80% of employers wish colleges would put more emphasis on this area.
Even if you have no plans on becoming a professional writer, being able to write well is one of the most important skills you can have. From typing up memos at a corporation, to penning blog posts that accompany your online store, to writing grant proposals for your non-profit — it is a skill that will truly come in handy no matter what line of work you end up going into.
Beyond just having professional benefits, learning to write better will up your game in your love notes and enhance your correspondence with others – whether through email or handwritten letters. Writing is truly an ability every man should seek to practice and improve throughout his life.
With that in mind, from time to time we’ll be sharing posts on how to sharpen your writing skills. None of us here on AoM consider ourselves master writers, and we’re all constantly trying to improve as well. So think of these posts as tips from fellow travelers.
Today we’re going to explore what we consider the very best way to get started with becoming a better writer: copying the work of others. Copywork, as it’s called, used to be the standard method by which students learned to write, and it is the “secret” to how many of history’s greatest writers mastered the craft. While it may sound unsexy and unoriginal, it really works, and today we’ll show you how to get started.
The History of Copywork
Copywork was the primary way that schools in 18th and 19th century America taught children how to write. It was thought to be a highly effective way to teach students handwriting as well as proper grammar, punctuation, and syntax.
But during the 20th century, schools began to shift away from the method, believing that “mere” imitation wasn’t the best way to teach children how to write well. Instead, teachers sought to convey the overarching strategies that made for good writing and then set students loose to produce it.
This approach makes sense in theory, but the studies mentioned above, as well as my own anecdotal evidence (98% of the guest posts we receive – and these are articles from folks who want to write for a living – are abjectly terrible), show that it doesn’t seem to be working very well in creating competent writers.
So maybe our educational forebearers were on to something after all. While it may sound dull and ineffective on the surface, imitation is the primary way we learn things. When we were babies, we learned how to talk, interact with other humans, and walk through imitation. When we learn an athletic skill, we begin by simply imitating others. When we want to know how to act in different situations, we watch how others act. So why do we shun the idea of copying when it comes to writing?
At issue is our modern infatuation with the idea of originality and creativity – a belief that good art of any kind will spring unabated from a place of passion within us. Yet ironically, many of history’s greatest writers achieved that status not from harkening to the muses, but by laboriously copying the work of others.
Eminent Writers Who Used Copywork to Become Great Writers
“Reading the works of men who had arrived, he noted every result achieved by them, and worked out the tricks by which they had been achieved — the tricks of narrative, of exposition, of style, the points of view, the contrasts, the epigrams; and of all these he made lists for study. He did not ape. He sought principles. He drew up lists of effective and fetching mannerisms, till out of many such, culled from many writers, he was able to induce the general principle of mannerism, and, thus equipped, to cast about for new and original ones of his own, and to weigh and measure and appraise them properly. In similar manner he collected lists of strong phrases, the phrases of living language, phrases that bit like acid and scorched like flame, or that glowed and were mellow and luscious in the midst of the arid desert of common speech. He sought always for the principle that lay behind and beneath. He wanted to know how the thing was done; after that he could do it for himself. He was not content with the fair face of beauty. He dissected beauty in his crowded little bedroom laboratory…and, having dissected, and learned the anatomy of beauty, he was nearer being able to create beauty itself.” –Jack London, of his alter ego, Martin Eden
We often believe that history’s greatest writers would simply put pen to paper, and wait for beautiful prose to erupt like a geyser from their fountain of inborn talent. We believe that only a truly ungifted writer – a real hack – would have to learn how to write by copying other people.
The truth is most great writers began by doing just that – painstakingly writing out in longhand the works of the greats who had come before them.
They understood that one’s writing style does not emerge fully developed like Athena from Zeus’ head, but has to be cultivated. Imitation of another’s style was not the end of this cultivation process, but a means to an end. Like a chef who never stops sampling and dissecting the delicious dishes of other cooks in order to find inspiration to up his own game and create his own new recipes, great writers spun the underlying elements of others’ style into something uniquely theirs.
Here are just a few of history’s great writers who mastered their craft through copywork:
Jack London. Jack London was largely self-educated and his first attempts at writing professionally resulted in a thick stack of rejection letters. He knew he had to improve his writing, and was willing to apply himself with single-minded devotion until he had achieved his goal.
A large part of the self-improvement program London set out for himself involved studying the work of other great writers. Of these literary mentors, London most admired the style of Rudyard Kipling. For hours at a time, and days on end, he would make it his assignment to copy page after page of Kipling’s works in longhand. Through such feverish effort, he hoped to absorb his hero’s rhythmic musicality and energetic cadence, along with the master’s ability to produce what one contemporary critic called “throat-grabbing phrase.”
London’s labor was not in vain, and later in his life he openly and gratefully acknowledged the debt he owed to this exercise:
“As to myself, there is no end of Kipling in my work. I have even quoted him. I would never possibly have written anywhere near the way I did had Kipling never been. True, true, every bit of it.”
Robert Louis Stevenson. When the author of classics like Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde decided he wanted to learn how to really write, he copied word for word the great prose of those who had come before him. Stevenson would take a passage from a great writer and carefully read it twice. He’d then turn over the passage and try to reproduce it from memory — word for word and punctuation mark for punctuation mark. At first the exercise was a tremendous struggle and his attempted copies were riddled with errors. But with practice, he was able to read huge passages and reproduce them from memory with exactitude. He continued the practice even after he became a literary success.
Besides helping him learn style and grammar, the way Stevenson did his copywork — reading the passage twice and trying to replicate it from memory — also made him a more attentive reader. Which, of course, only helped further improve his writing.
G.K. Chesterton would say that Stevenson always seemed to have an uncanny ability “to pick the right word up on the point of his pen.” The irony is that Stevenson’s originality and sharp eye for style was forged from years of studied imitation.
Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin was not only an inventor, statesman, and publisher, but also a prolific writer. Besides penning his famous autobiography, he produced numerous magazine articles and several scientific treatises. To master the writing craft, Franklin created a copywork-like exercise for himself when he was a teenager:
“About this time I met with an odd volume of The Spectator – I thought the writing excellent, and wished, if possible, to imitate it. With this view I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, tried to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them. But I found I wanted a stock of words, or a readiness in recollecting and using them. Therefore I took some of the tales and turned them into verse; and, after a time, when I had pretty well forgotten the prose, turned them back again. I also sometimes jumbled my collections of hints into confusion, and after some weeks endeavored to reduce them into the best order, before I began to form the full sentences and complete the paper. This was to teach me method in the arrangement of thoughts. By comparing my work afterwards with the original, I discovered many faults and amended them; but I sometimes had the pleasure of fancying that, in certain particulars of small import, I had been lucky enough to improve the method or the language.”
Instead of transcribing essays word for word, Franklin’s copywork exercise looked like this:
Read essay. Make notes for each sentence that he read and set it aside. Look at notes and try to replicate essay in his own words (he’d sometimes jumble up his notes to make the exercise even more difficult). Compare his version to the original. Revise and improve his version.
Why Copywork Will Help You Become a Better Writer
I learned about copywork while I was in law school and used it as a way to improve my own writing. My methodology was similar to Franklin’s. I’d take legal memos from reputable attorneys, read them and take notes, and try to replicate the memo based off of those notes. It was freaking hard, but well worth the effort. Nothing helped my writing more than that exercise.
I wish I had learned about copywork earlier in my academic career. As Kate can attest, before law school, my writing abilities hovered somewhere between mediocre and horrible. Copywork continues to help my writing improve.
Here’s why copywork is so effective in strengthening your writing chops:
Improves your style. As you copy the greats, you’ll slowly find yourself noticing the different elements of their unique, but often subtle writing styles. At the same time, these masterful elements will almost imperceptibly become absorbed into your own style.
Improves your word choice and syntax. An important part of a writer’s style is their word choice and syntax. As you carefully read the work of accomplished writers and copy them on to paper by hand, you’ll see how the masters carefully choose and arrange words for maximum impact. Improving my word choice and syntax has been the biggest boon for me with copywork.
For example, whenever I feel like my writing is starting to get a bit bloated, doing copywork with Hemingway seems to get me back on track for making it a little punchier. Robert Greene’s writing is another of my favorite sources to copy when I’m looking to get better at streamlining my own. If I’m feeling like my writing needs a bit more masculine energy, I’ll copy out the works of Jack London.
Improve paragraphs. Two areas of writing that many folks have trouble with is how to organize paragraphs and make the transition from one paragraph to the next. Copywork gives you an in-depth view of how great writers organize their thoughts.
You may even learn how to master the power of the one-sentence paragraph.
(See what I did there?)
Improves spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Hopefully, you’ll only copy the works of established writers whose works have been rigorously edited and proofread. By doing so, you’ll get to practice your spelling (which is probably terrible thanks to spellcheck) as well as the mechanics of good punctuation and grammar.
Additional Non-Writing Benefits
Besides improving your writing, copywork provides other compelling benefits as well:
Improves memory and focus. If you use Stevenson’s method of copywork, you’re bound to improve your memory and focus in the process. It requires an intense amount of cognitive strength to read a paragraph twice and then write it out word for word from memory. When I first tried it, I positively sucked. I couldn’t even complete one sentence. But with time, one sentence became two, and soon I was able to transcribe entire paragraphs from memory.
If you’re a student and need to memorize your class notes or an outline, writing them out over and over again by hand will do the trick. I used this tactic extensively in law school and credit it with allowing me to memorize 20-page outlines for my closed book exams.
It’s meditative. Copywork can also be quite meditative, and has been used by adherents of religious traditions to deepen their faith.
One of Judaism’s 613 commandments is that every male must copy the Hebrew Torah by hand sometime in his life. Each of this “Sefer Torah’s” 304,805 letters are inked with a quill pen upon special parchment. To ensure the transcription is without blemish and thus honors God, the copywork is done with painstaking care and can take a year and a half to complete.
While Christian monks and priests of the pre-printing press era had to copy the Bible by hand out of necessity, they turned the task into a spiritual meditation — by writing God’s word on parchment, they felt as if they were inscribing the words on their hearts as well. (Many Christian families that homeschool have their kids do copywork with Bible verses for this same purpose. Copywork in general remains a popular practice in homeschooling circles.)
As someone who has done extensive copywork for years, I can vouch for its meditative property. When you first start, you’ll be bored out of your mind. But with time, you’ll find yourself slipping into a zen-like state. The monkey chatter in your brain will quiet down and you’ll feel a renewed sense of calm at the end of your session. I even find myself gaining insights about the text I’m copying when I’m particularly in the zone.
Improves handwriting. If you want to improve your handwriting, copywork is for you. It’s the way students have practiced their penmanship since ancient times, and it was used extensively in American schools in the 18th and 19th centuries. As you do your copywork, take it slow and focus on your writing technique. Be deliberate with each stroke. If it takes five minutes to write a perfectly legible sentence, so be it. With time and continued practice, you’ll notice your handwriting improving.
How to Get Started
1. Choose a writer that inspires you. Don’t pick writers you think you should imitate. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with these guys, so you want to pick someone who has a style you genuinely enjoy and that truly inspires you.
I also recommend choosing writers from both fiction and non-fiction. Because I spend most of my time writing non-fiction, I do copywork with non-fiction writers that I admire and wish to emulate. However, I do mix in fiction copywork from time to time. I feel like it helps give my writing a bit of panache.
2. Handwrite. Studies have shown that handwriting provides a myriad of cognitive benefits. We actually learn better and think clearer when we write by hand. To get maximum benefit from copywork, overcome the temptation to tap it out on your laptop and utilize pen and paper instead.
3. Start with shorter passages and slowly work your way up to longer pieces. Don’t start off by copying War and Peace. You’ll just burn out. Start with smaller passages and then work your way up to longer pieces. Poems, scripture verses, and aphorisms are good places to start. You could also do copywork with our manvotionals and gain some virility along with your improved writing skills. After that, move on to short stories and from there to whole books.
4. Set aside time each day for it. Make copywork a daily habit like journal writing. I try to do mine at the start of my writing sessions for the blog. It primes the writing pump.
Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of copywork. It really does work if you put in the effort and time.
|
The new cryptocurrency draft law from the Ministry of Finance is much welcomed by bitcoin experts and the community as a step away from bitcoin ban but criticised for its imperfections.
The new decision to legalise cryptocurrency purchase and use outside Russia but to prohibit its issuance within the country has been voiced by the Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev. CoinFox asked Russian experts to comment on the new draft law.
According to Gleb Davidyuk, iTechCapital managing partner and BitFury investor,
“The Ministry of Finance is moving in the right direction. But one should look before he leaps. It’s too early to make conclusions while there is no bill yet.”
Marina Guryeva, Acting Director of Innovations Office, Higher School of Economics, was critical of the new limitations imposed by the proposed law:
“Tokens are an integral part of any blockchain system. If the wording is generalised, then all the tokens of any system are at risk of being banned. If the Ministry of Finance somehow specifies the characteristics of the tokens used only as a cash equivalent, then not only bitcoins will fall under the ban, but also other coins, for example, steem coins used to pay to the creators of Steem social network (steemit.com). The more services like Steem we have the harder it is for regulators to control issuance in Russia. Moreover, Russia will lose from the expulsion of all teams that are willing and able to develop services such as Steem (Steem’s capitalisation has grown from $13 million up to $350+ million in a few weeks).”
Konstantin Koltsov, Communications Director at QIWI, leading Russian e-payment provider, is more optimistic:
“It may facilitate the development of blockchain projects in terms of technology. This initiative will allay the fears of blockchain products developers that they can be held accountable for the use of bitcoins even for solely technological purposes.”
Bitcoin community worldwide seems more maximalist both in appraise and in criticism of the proposed law. Bitcoiner Bryce Weiner wrote on his Twitter feed:
Russia has become the first nation to formally allow entry into #Bitcoin.
Biggest news of 2016. — Bryce Weiner (@BryceWeiner) 18 июля 2016 г.
Reddit author mwblredditor reacted:
“If this is true, awesome. Love Putin.”
Others sound more sceptic. Said user mistaik:
“Considering that just recently they wanted to give bitcoiners "up to 7 years" in teh gulag, would be a weird reversal.“
Some users questioned the validity of the new idea and the ability of Russian government to control the mining of cryptocurrencies:
“Still so clueless and confused, still combining uncombinable and separating inseparable. Almost as if they read about BTC in 2010, and never checked whether anything changed since then.” (theartlay) “The Russian government has such a surplus of time and resources, they'll definitely be able to stop its use! Lol, nah this is simply a power move, look strong and "allow" what you cannot stop. (JacobElProdigy)”.
Alexey Tereshchenko
|
This Friday, Chicago will experience a first when two America’s Cup yachts set sail on Lake Michigan as part of the new Next Level Sailing Chicago. The experience will also mark a first for the country in that Chicago will be the only place in the U.S. where guests can race toe-to-toe on a pair of America’s Cup yachts. That means you won’t have to travel far to knock off this bucket-list experience.
The boats—“Abracadabra” and Dennis Connor’s “Stars & Stripes”—have both raced in America’s Cup events, including “Abracadabra’s” stint in the 2000 America’s Cup in Auckland. Substantial and designed for speed, each weighs 50,000 pounds and measures 80 feet long with a 114-foot mast, which towers 11 stories over the boat.
Local sailing enthusiasts Paul D. Schulz and Ryan Weber, the managing partners of Next Level, brought both yachts to Chicago from San Diego’s America’s Cup Harbor.
“These are the only pair of these style yachts in the USA,” says Schulz, who explains that having the same generation pair allows Next Level to deliver true America’s Cup–style match racing, one-against-one in tight quarters. “The up-close racing often has these 80-foot yachts sailing barely feet apart and crossing each other remarkably close.”
“These boats were built to be the fastest sailboats that an almost unlimited budget could build,” says Schulz. Exotic alloys and high-tech carbon fiber were utilized to save weight and harness tremendous forces. “Guests are amazed to hear the boats howl and groan as they work their way around a race course.”
Next Level will launch sailing and racing excursions aboard the yachts from Lake Michigan’s 31st Street Harbor. Hand-on experiences start at three hours and range from $150 a person to chartered group experiences for up to 20 guests from $3,000. Schulz says Next Level will also offer family packages with teens paying half prices and kids sailing for free. “We are excited to expose people to sailing and racing on Lake Michigan. We want this to be accessible to all.”
To see Next Level’s America’s Cup yachts in action, check out this clip at WGN.
Travel News
The Chicago Athletic Association Opens Wednesday
The long, 125-year wait is over: Step inside the historic private-men’s-club-turned-hotel this Wednesday when at last the Chicago Athletic Association opens its doors to the public. Get a sneak peak at Chicago before you go.
How to Get a $1,000 Day in Paris for $100
Less about saving cash and more about experiencing an authentic side of Paris, one concierge at Pavillon de la Reine hotel shares his idea of a perfect day—for a tenth of the price. More at the New York Times.
10 Top National Parks for a Road Trip
From the Badlands and Epic Yellowstone to Shenandoah and even Denali in Alaska, these 10 national parks offer up great American road trips, perfect for a summer vacation. See more at Condé Nast Traveler.
This will be the last edition of Chicago Travel, but you can keep up with Chicago news, dining, style, and more by subscribing to our other weekly newsletters. Go to chicagomag.com/newsletter/subscribe.
Share
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.