text
stringlengths 316
100k
|
|---|
An already nightmarish season for Southern Mississippi turned morbidly funny on Thursday night when the Golden Eagles found a creative new way to lose.
They finished their 73-71 overtime loss to Florida International with only four players on the floor.
Scroll to continue with content Ad
Two of the seven players Southern Miss dressed had already fouled out in regulation when second-leading scorer Matt Bingaya also picked up his fifth foul with 45.5 seconds to go in overtime, forcing the Golden Eagles to play a man down the rest of the way. They still nearly forced double overtime anyway, but Chip Armelin's potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer rimmed out.
Southern Miss began Thursday's game severely shorthanded because of injuries and absences related to the NCAA's ongoing investigation into potential recruiting violations committed under former coach Donnie Tyndall. Starting guard Rasham Suarez and starting forward Jeremiah Eason were ruled ineligible by the NCAA on Jan. 29, forward Norville Carey was in a walking boot on Thursday and forward Davon Hayes was not in uniform for undisclosed reasons.
Credit Southern Miss coach Doc Sadler for getting his team to fight until the final buzzer in spite of all that adversity because the Golden Eagles have every reason to quit.
They've lost 14 of their last 15 games to fall to 6-17 overall and 1-11 in Conference USA. They also announced a self-imposed postseason ban last month, meaning they will not participate in the Conference USA tournament and their season will be over March 5 against Louisiana Tech.
A loss to Southern Miss would have been disappointing enough for an FIU team that's 12-12 this season and 5-6 in league play. Had the Panthers lost with the Eagles down to four players, they might never have lived it down.
Story continues
- - - - - - -
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
|
On Tuesday, The Guardian reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has changed its rules regarding how it redacts Americans’ information when it takes international communications from the National Security Agency’s (NSA) database. The paper confirmed the classified rule change with unnamed US officials, but details on the new rules remain murky.
The new rules, which were approved by the secret US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), deal with how the FBI handles information it gleans from the National Security Agency (NSA). Although the NSA is technically tasked with surveillance of communications involving foreigners, information on US citizens is inevitably sucked up, too. The FBI is then allowed to search through that data without any “minimization” from the NSA—a term that refers to redacting Americans’ identifiable information unless there is a warrant to justify surveillance on that person.
The FBI enjoys privileged access to this information trove that includes e-mails, texts, and phone call metadata that are sent or received internationally. Recently, the Obama administration said it was working on new rules to allow other US government agencies similar access to the NSA’s database.
But The Guardian notes that the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Group (PCLOB), which was organized by the Obama administration in the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks, took issue with how the FBI accessed and stored NSA data in 2014.
"As of 2014, the FBI was not even required to make note of when it searched the metadata, which includes the ‘to' or ‘from' lines of an e-mail,” The Guardian wrote. "Nor does it record how many of its data searches involve Americans’ identifying details."
However, a recent report from PCLOB suggested that the new rules approved by FISC for the FBI involve a revision of the FBI's minimization procedures. Spokespeople from both the FBI and PCLOB declined to comment on that apparent procedure change, saying it was classified, but PCLOB’s spokesperson, Sharon Bradford Franklin, told The Guardian that the new rules "do apply additional limits.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said that the new procedures may be publicly released at some point.
|
As we close in on WWDC, which kicks off with a Steve Jobs keynote on June 7, more details about the next revision of the iPhone continue to leak. The supposed display and aluminum chassis have been throughly examined, while Chinese manufacturers claim to have cases ready for sale. Also, the latest beta of iPhone OS 4.0 has a working implementation of Places in the Photos app, similar to the feature that appeared on the iPad this year and iPhoto '09 last year.
Czech site Super iPhone put what is believed to be the display of the next iPhone under a microscope, and compared it to current iPhone and iPod touch models as well as the Google Nexus one. The analysis suggests the next iPhone will have a wide viewing angle IPS LCD display, much like that found in the iPad. The resolution should also be 960 x 640 pixels, as is widely rumored. The benefit here is that current iPhone apps can be pixel-doubled to fit the screen with no apparent difference in quality. However, apps that are built to take advantage of the higher resolution will look even better. In particular, the 320ppi density should make text extremely sharp, even at small point sizes.
iPhone Portugal—currently offline with its ISP reporting the site's account as "suspended"—got its hands on what are purported to be the machined aluminum and plastic inner chassis for the next-gen iPhone. These frames were reportedly purchased in China, and it's not known if they are authentic or not. However, the site claimed the quality and workmanship led them to believe the parts are the real McCoy. The site created lengthy videos comparing the frames to the iPhone 3GS and iPad—from what we have seen from the videos and earlier leaks, the parts do appear to be legitimate.
Unsurprisingly, Chinese manufacturers are already claiming to have cases for the new iPhone ready for sale. MacRumors points out that these cases are likely designed around leaked prototypes or parts, which has happened in the past. The tactic backfired last year, however, when an updated iPod touch shipped without the camera which some prototypes had.
Finally, AppleInsider has screenshots detailing the recently activated Places feature set to debut for iPhones and iPod touches in iPhone OS 4.0. The feature had already been promised for the update, but it wasn't functional until the most recent developer beta. Places will show a Google map with pins indicating where particular images were taken, essentially identical to features found in the iPad's Photos app and on iPhone '09. As expected, Faces and Events will also likely appear in the final version, expected to be revealed in full next week during WWDC.
|
UPDATE: Viral liquor thief to serve jail time Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Video Video
SHREVEPORT - UPDATE: The woman caught on camera stealing from a Shreveport liquor store on Monday was sentenced to six months in the parish jail for that crime, and two years for a previous shoplifting charge.
Sekonie Jones, who was captured on video stuffing 11 bottles of liquor in her shirt, pants and bag at Thrifty Liquor in the 400 block of Bert Kouns on August 18, 2017, pleaded guilty after prosecutors dropped her felony theft charge to a misdemeanor.
However, earlier in the year, Jones was arrested for concealing packaged meat items and canned baby formula underneath her jacket and leaving the Kroger Store in the 9100 block of Mansfield Road.
She was charged with one count of Theft of Goods, a felony. On Monday, she also pleaded guilty to that charge and Caddo District Judge John Mosely sentenced her to two years at hard labor.
The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning Jones will be allowed to serve both at the same time.
Video of Jones stealing from Thrifty Liquor last August went viral. The video of the theft on the KTAL NBC 6 Facebook page was seen by 38 million people.
UPDATE: The woman caught on video stealing from a liquor is now behind bars.
Jail records show Sekonie Jones was taken into custody Thursday morning and charged with misdemeanor theft.
Shreveport Police Sekonie Jones Shreveport Police Sekonie Jones
The video NBC 6 placed on our Facebook page Tuesday night, has since gone viral.
The video has been seen by over 20 million people and shared over three-hundred thousand times.
In a post on her Facebook page, Jones said she's been called by people that recognized her and said she was going to turn herself in.
Misdemeanor theft carries a six month prison sentence, if convicted.
UPDATE:
It's all caught on camera, August 18th surveillance video captures this woman stealing several bottles of alcohol from Thrifty Liquor, in Shreveport.
"I think that this lady needs rehab. I can't stand a thief. She obviously needed the liquor," says a Shreveport resident.
"It's hilarious to me. I'm thinking she may be an alcoholic or have some mental problems," says another Shreveport resident.
She steals not one, not two, but nine bottles of liquor, and stores them in any place she can, including the seat of her pants.
"She's just loading liquor up like she's stock piling this liquor. I think she payed for one bottle of liquor but she is definitely a thief in the liquor department," says Jim Taliaferro, Exec. Director Caddo Parish Crime Stoppers.
Crime Stoppers is actively working to figure out who this woman is... And is offering 300 dollars to anyone that comes forward with information leading to her arrest.
"We feel confident that before the day is out someone will call in and give us the information and we will get a warrant for her arrest," says Taliaferro
When captured, the lady will face charges of theft.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shreveport Police needs your help identifying the person caught on video on August 18 stealing multiple bottles of liquor from a store located on Bert Kouns in Shreveport.
Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to $300 for information and the identity of the individual in this video. Several others may have been involved and are also wanted for questioning in connection with this event.
Authorities are urging anyone with information about this crimes to contact Shreveport- Caddo Parish Crime Stoppers at (318) 673-7373 or www.lockemuo.org.
|
C# Static Defined Brushes for Material Design a guest Aug 8th, 2015 1,045 Never a guest1,045Never
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up , it unlocks many cool features!
rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint C# 51.53 KB // C# Static Defined Brushes/Colors for Material Design // For XAML Material Design Brush Resources, go to http://pastebin.com/zecw6yiE public class MaterialPalatte { #region Brushes public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Red900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Pink900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Purple900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurple900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Indigo900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Blue900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlue900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Cyan900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Teal900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Green900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreen900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Lime900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Yellow900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Amber900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Orange900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrange900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Brown900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_Grey900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey50 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey50 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey300 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey300 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey500 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey500 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey600 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey600 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey800 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey800 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey900 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueGrey900 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_RedA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_RedA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_RedA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_RedA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PinkA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PinkA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PinkA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PinkA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PurpleA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PurpleA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PurpleA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_PurpleA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurpleA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurpleA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurpleA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepPurpleA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_IndigoA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_IndigoA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_IndigoA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_IndigoA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_BlueA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlueA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlueA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlueA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightBlueA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_CyanA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_CyanA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_CyanA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_CyanA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_TealA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_TealA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_TealA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_TealA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_GreenA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_GreenA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_GreenA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_GreenA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreenA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreenA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreenA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LightGreenA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LimeA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LimeA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LimeA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_LimeA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_YellowA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_YellowA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_YellowA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_YellowA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_AmberA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_AmberA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_AmberA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_AmberA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_OrangeA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_OrangeA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_OrangeA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_OrangeA700 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA100 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrangeA100 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA200 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrangeA200 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA400 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrangeA400 ) ; public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA700 = new SolidColorBrush ( Colors . c_DeepOrangeA700 ) ; #endregion public class Colors { public static readonly Color c_Red50 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 235 , 238 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 205 , 210 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red200 = Color . FromRgb ( 239 , 154 , 154 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red300 = Color . FromRgb ( 229 , 115 , 115 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red400 = Color . FromRgb ( 239 , 83 , 80 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red500 = Color . FromRgb ( 244 , 67 , 54 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red600 = Color . FromRgb ( 229 , 57 , 53 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red700 = Color . FromRgb ( 211 , 47 , 47 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red800 = Color . FromRgb ( 198 , 40 , 40 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Red900 = Color . FromRgb ( 183 , 28 , 28 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink50 = Color . FromRgb ( 252 , 228 , 236 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink100 = Color . FromRgb ( 248 , 187 , 208 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink200 = Color . FromRgb ( 244 , 143 , 177 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink300 = Color . FromRgb ( 240 , 98 , 146 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink400 = Color . FromRgb ( 236 , 64 , 122 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink500 = Color . FromRgb ( 233 , 30 , 99 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink600 = Color . FromRgb ( 216 , 27 , 96 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink700 = Color . FromRgb ( 194 , 24 , 91 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink800 = Color . FromRgb ( 173 , 20 , 87 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Pink900 = Color . FromRgb ( 136 , 14 , 79 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple50 = Color . FromRgb ( 243 , 229 , 245 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple100 = Color . FromRgb ( 225 , 190 , 231 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple200 = Color . FromRgb ( 206 , 147 , 216 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple300 = Color . FromRgb ( 186 , 104 , 200 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple400 = Color . FromRgb ( 171 , 71 , 188 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple500 = Color . FromRgb ( 156 , 39 , 176 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple600 = Color . FromRgb ( 142 , 36 , 170 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple700 = Color . FromRgb ( 123 , 31 , 162 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple800 = Color . FromRgb ( 106 , 27 , 154 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Purple900 = Color . FromRgb ( 74 , 20 , 140 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple50 = Color . FromRgb ( 237 , 231 , 246 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple100 = Color . FromRgb ( 209 , 196 , 233 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple200 = Color . FromRgb ( 179 , 157 , 219 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple300 = Color . FromRgb ( 149 , 117 , 205 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple400 = Color . FromRgb ( 126 , 87 , 194 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple500 = Color . FromRgb ( 103 , 58 , 183 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple600 = Color . FromRgb ( 94 , 53 , 177 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple700 = Color . FromRgb ( 81 , 45 , 168 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple800 = Color . FromRgb ( 69 , 39 , 160 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple900 = Color . FromRgb ( 49 , 27 , 146 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo50 = Color . FromRgb ( 232 , 234 , 246 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo100 = Color . FromRgb ( 197 , 202 , 233 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo200 = Color . FromRgb ( 159 , 168 , 218 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo300 = Color . FromRgb ( 121 , 134 , 203 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo400 = Color . FromRgb ( 92 , 107 , 192 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo500 = Color . FromRgb ( 63 , 81 , 181 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo600 = Color . FromRgb ( 57 , 73 , 171 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo700 = Color . FromRgb ( 48 , 63 , 159 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo800 = Color . FromRgb ( 40 , 53 , 147 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Indigo900 = Color . FromRgb ( 26 , 35 , 126 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue50 = Color . FromRgb ( 227 , 242 , 253 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue100 = Color . FromRgb ( 187 , 222 , 251 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue200 = Color . FromRgb ( 144 , 202 , 249 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue300 = Color . FromRgb ( 100 , 181 , 246 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue400 = Color . FromRgb ( 66 , 165 , 245 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue500 = Color . FromRgb ( 33 , 150 , 243 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue600 = Color . FromRgb ( 30 , 136 , 229 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue700 = Color . FromRgb ( 25 , 118 , 210 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue800 = Color . FromRgb ( 21 , 101 , 192 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Blue900 = Color . FromRgb ( 13 , 71 , 161 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue50 = Color . FromRgb ( 225 , 245 , 254 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue100 = Color . FromRgb ( 179 , 229 , 252 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue200 = Color . FromRgb ( 129 , 212 , 250 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue300 = Color . FromRgb ( 79 , 195 , 247 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue400 = Color . FromRgb ( 41 , 182 , 246 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue500 = Color . FromRgb ( 3 , 169 , 244 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue600 = Color . FromRgb ( 3 , 155 , 229 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue700 = Color . FromRgb ( 2 , 136 , 209 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue800 = Color . FromRgb ( 2 , 119 , 189 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlue900 = Color . FromRgb ( 1 , 87 , 155 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan50 = Color . FromRgb ( 224 , 247 , 250 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan100 = Color . FromRgb ( 178 , 235 , 242 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan200 = Color . FromRgb ( 128 , 222 , 234 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan300 = Color . FromRgb ( 77 , 208 , 225 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan400 = Color . FromRgb ( 38 , 198 , 218 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan500 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 188 , 212 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan600 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 172 , 193 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 151 , 167 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan800 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 131 , 143 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Cyan900 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 96 , 100 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal50 = Color . FromRgb ( 224 , 242 , 241 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal100 = Color . FromRgb ( 178 , 223 , 219 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal200 = Color . FromRgb ( 128 , 203 , 196 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal300 = Color . FromRgb ( 77 , 182 , 172 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal400 = Color . FromRgb ( 38 , 166 , 154 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal500 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 150 , 136 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal600 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 137 , 123 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 121 , 107 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal800 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 105 , 92 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Teal900 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 77 , 64 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green50 = Color . FromRgb ( 232 , 245 , 233 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green100 = Color . FromRgb ( 200 , 230 , 201 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green200 = Color . FromRgb ( 165 , 214 , 167 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green300 = Color . FromRgb ( 129 , 199 , 132 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green400 = Color . FromRgb ( 102 , 187 , 106 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green500 = Color . FromRgb ( 76 , 175 , 80 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green600 = Color . FromRgb ( 67 , 160 , 71 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green700 = Color . FromRgb ( 56 , 142 , 60 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green800 = Color . FromRgb ( 46 , 125 , 50 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Green900 = Color . FromRgb ( 27 , 94 , 32 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen50 = Color . FromRgb ( 241 , 248 , 233 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen100 = Color . FromRgb ( 220 , 237 , 200 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen200 = Color . FromRgb ( 197 , 225 , 165 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen300 = Color . FromRgb ( 174 , 213 , 129 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen400 = Color . FromRgb ( 156 , 204 , 101 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen500 = Color . FromRgb ( 139 , 195 , 74 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen600 = Color . FromRgb ( 124 , 179 , 66 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen700 = Color . FromRgb ( 104 , 159 , 56 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen800 = Color . FromRgb ( 85 , 139 , 47 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreen900 = Color . FromRgb ( 51 , 105 , 30 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime50 = Color . FromRgb ( 249 , 251 , 231 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime100 = Color . FromRgb ( 240 , 244 , 195 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime200 = Color . FromRgb ( 230 , 238 , 156 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime300 = Color . FromRgb ( 220 , 231 , 117 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime400 = Color . FromRgb ( 212 , 225 , 87 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime500 = Color . FromRgb ( 205 , 220 , 57 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime600 = Color . FromRgb ( 192 , 202 , 51 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime700 = Color . FromRgb ( 175 , 180 , 43 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime800 = Color . FromRgb ( 158 , 157 , 36 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Lime900 = Color . FromRgb ( 130 , 119 , 23 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow50 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 253 , 231 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 249 , 196 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 245 , 157 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow300 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 241 , 118 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 238 , 88 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow500 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 235 , 59 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow600 = Color . FromRgb ( 253 , 216 , 53 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow700 = Color . FromRgb ( 251 , 192 , 45 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow800 = Color . FromRgb ( 249 , 168 , 37 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Yellow900 = Color . FromRgb ( 245 , 127 , 23 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber50 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 248 , 225 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 236 , 179 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 224 , 130 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber300 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 213 , 79 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 202 , 40 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber500 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 193 , 7 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber600 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 179 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber700 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 160 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber800 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 143 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Amber900 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 111 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange50 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 243 , 224 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 224 , 178 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 204 , 128 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange300 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 183 , 77 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 167 , 38 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange500 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 152 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange600 = Color . FromRgb ( 251 , 140 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange700 = Color . FromRgb ( 245 , 124 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange800 = Color . FromRgb ( 239 , 108 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Orange900 = Color . FromRgb ( 230 , 81 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange50 = Color . FromRgb ( 251 , 233 , 231 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 204 , 188 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 171 , 145 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange300 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 138 , 101 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 112 , 67 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange500 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 87 , 34 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange600 = Color . FromRgb ( 244 , 81 , 30 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange700 = Color . FromRgb ( 230 , 74 , 25 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange800 = Color . FromRgb ( 216 , 67 , 21 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange900 = Color . FromRgb ( 191 , 54 , 12 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown50 = Color . FromRgb ( 239 , 235 , 233 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown100 = Color . FromRgb ( 215 , 204 , 200 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown200 = Color . FromRgb ( 188 , 170 , 164 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown300 = Color . FromRgb ( 161 , 136 , 127 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown400 = Color . FromRgb ( 141 , 110 , 99 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown500 = Color . FromRgb ( 121 , 85 , 72 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown600 = Color . FromRgb ( 109 , 76 , 65 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown700 = Color . FromRgb ( 93 , 64 , 55 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown800 = Color . FromRgb ( 78 , 52 , 46 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Brown900 = Color . FromRgb ( 62 , 39 , 35 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey50 = Color . FromRgb ( 250 , 250 , 250 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey100 = Color . FromRgb ( 245 , 245 , 245 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey200 = Color . FromRgb ( 238 , 238 , 238 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey300 = Color . FromRgb ( 224 , 224 , 224 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey400 = Color . FromRgb ( 189 , 189 , 189 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey500 = Color . FromRgb ( 158 , 158 , 158 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey600 = Color . FromRgb ( 117 , 117 , 117 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey700 = Color . FromRgb ( 97 , 97 , 97 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey800 = Color . FromRgb ( 66 , 66 , 66 ) ; public static readonly Color c_Grey900 = Color . FromRgb ( 33 , 33 , 33 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey50 = Color . FromRgb ( 236 , 239 , 241 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey100 = Color . FromRgb ( 207 , 216 , 220 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey200 = Color . FromRgb ( 176 , 190 , 197 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey300 = Color . FromRgb ( 144 , 164 , 174 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey400 = Color . FromRgb ( 120 , 144 , 156 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey500 = Color . FromRgb ( 96 , 125 , 139 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey600 = Color . FromRgb ( 84 , 110 , 122 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey700 = Color . FromRgb ( 69 , 90 , 100 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey800 = Color . FromRgb ( 55 , 71 , 79 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey900 = Color . FromRgb ( 38 , 50 , 56 ) ; public static readonly Color c_RedA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 138 , 128 ) ; public static readonly Color c_RedA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 82 , 82 ) ; public static readonly Color c_RedA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 23 , 68 ) ; public static readonly Color c_RedA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 213 , 0 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PinkA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 128 , 171 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PinkA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 64 , 129 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PinkA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 245 , 0 , 87 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PinkA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 197 , 17 , 98 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PurpleA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 234 , 128 , 252 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PurpleA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 224 , 64 , 251 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PurpleA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 213 , 0 , 249 ) ; public static readonly Color c_PurpleA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 170 , 0 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 179 , 136 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 124 , 77 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 101 , 31 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 98 , 0 , 234 ) ; public static readonly Color c_IndigoA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 140 , 158 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_IndigoA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 83 , 109 , 254 ) ; public static readonly Color c_IndigoA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 61 , 90 , 254 ) ; public static readonly Color c_IndigoA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 48 , 79 , 254 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 130 , 177 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 68 , 138 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 41 , 121 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_BlueA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 41 , 98 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 128 , 216 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 64 , 196 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 176 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 145 , 234 ) ; public static readonly Color c_CyanA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 132 , 255 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_CyanA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 24 , 255 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_CyanA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 229 , 255 ) ; public static readonly Color c_CyanA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 184 , 212 ) ; public static readonly Color c_TealA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 167 , 255 , 235 ) ; public static readonly Color c_TealA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 100 , 255 , 218 ) ; public static readonly Color c_TealA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 29 , 233 , 182 ) ; public static readonly Color c_TealA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 191 , 165 ) ; public static readonly Color c_GreenA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 185 , 246 , 202 ) ; public static readonly Color c_GreenA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 105 , 240 , 174 ) ; public static readonly Color c_GreenA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 230 , 118 ) ; public static readonly Color c_GreenA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 0 , 200 , 83 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 204 , 255 , 144 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 178 , 255 , 89 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 118 , 255 , 3 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 100 , 221 , 23 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LimeA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 244 , 255 , 129 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LimeA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 238 , 255 , 65 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LimeA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 198 , 255 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_LimeA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 174 , 234 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_YellowA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 255 , 141 ) ; public static readonly Color c_YellowA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 255 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_YellowA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 234 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_YellowA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 214 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_AmberA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 229 , 127 ) ; public static readonly Color c_AmberA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 215 , 64 ) ; public static readonly Color c_AmberA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 196 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_AmberA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 171 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_OrangeA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 209 , 128 ) ; public static readonly Color c_OrangeA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 171 , 64 ) ; public static readonly Color c_OrangeA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 145 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_OrangeA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 109 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA100 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 158 , 128 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA200 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 110 , 64 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA400 = Color . FromRgb ( 255 , 61 , 0 ) ; public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA700 = Color . FromRgb ( 221 , 44 , 0 ) ; } }
RAW Paste Data
// C# Static Defined Brushes/Colors for Material Design // For XAML Material Design Brush Resources, go to http://pastebin.com/zecw6yiE public class MaterialPalatte { #region Brushes public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Red900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Red900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Pink900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Pink900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Purple900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Purple900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurple900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurple900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Indigo900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Indigo900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Blue900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Blue900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlue900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlue900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Cyan900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Cyan900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Teal900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Teal900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Green900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Green900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreen900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreen900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Lime900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Lime900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Yellow900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Yellow900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Amber900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Amber900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Orange900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Orange900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrange900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrange900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Brown900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Brown900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush Grey900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_Grey900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey50 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey50); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey300 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey300); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey500 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey500); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey600 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey600); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey800 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey800); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueGrey900 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueGrey900); public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_RedA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_RedA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_RedA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush RedA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_RedA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PinkA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PinkA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PinkA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PinkA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PinkA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PurpleA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PurpleA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PurpleA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush PurpleA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_PurpleA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurpleA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurpleA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurpleA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepPurpleA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepPurpleA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_IndigoA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_IndigoA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_IndigoA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush IndigoA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_IndigoA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush BlueA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_BlueA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlueA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlueA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlueA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightBlueA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightBlueA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_CyanA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_CyanA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_CyanA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush CyanA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_CyanA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_TealA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_TealA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_TealA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush TealA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_TealA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_GreenA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_GreenA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_GreenA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush GreenA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_GreenA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreenA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreenA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreenA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LightGreenA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LightGreenA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LimeA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LimeA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LimeA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush LimeA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_LimeA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_YellowA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_YellowA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_YellowA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush YellowA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_YellowA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_AmberA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_AmberA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_AmberA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush AmberA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_AmberA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_OrangeA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_OrangeA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_OrangeA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush OrangeA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_OrangeA700); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA100 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrangeA100); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA200 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrangeA200); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA400 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrangeA400); public static readonly SolidColorBrush DeepOrangeA700 = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.c_DeepOrangeA700); #endregion public class Colors { public static readonly Color c_Red50 = Color.FromRgb(255, 235, 238); public static readonly Color c_Red100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 205, 210); public static readonly Color c_Red200 = Color.FromRgb(239, 154, 154); public static readonly Color c_Red300 = Color.FromRgb(229, 115, 115); public static readonly Color c_Red400 = Color.FromRgb(239, 83, 80); public static readonly Color c_Red500 = Color.FromRgb(244, 67, 54); public static readonly Color c_Red600 = Color.FromRgb(229, 57, 53); public static readonly Color c_Red700 = Color.FromRgb(211, 47, 47); public static readonly Color c_Red800 = Color.FromRgb(198, 40, 40); public static readonly Color c_Red900 = Color.FromRgb(183, 28, 28); public static readonly Color c_Pink50 = Color.FromRgb(252, 228, 236); public static readonly Color c_Pink100 = Color.FromRgb(248, 187, 208); public static readonly Color c_Pink200 = Color.FromRgb(244, 143, 177); public static readonly Color c_Pink300 = Color.FromRgb(240, 98, 146); public static readonly Color c_Pink400 = Color.FromRgb(236, 64, 122); public static readonly Color c_Pink500 = Color.FromRgb(233, 30, 99); public static readonly Color c_Pink600 = Color.FromRgb(216, 27, 96); public static readonly Color c_Pink700 = Color.FromRgb(194, 24, 91); public static readonly Color c_Pink800 = Color.FromRgb(173, 20, 87); public static readonly Color c_Pink900 = Color.FromRgb(136, 14, 79); public static readonly Color c_Purple50 = Color.FromRgb(243, 229, 245); public static readonly Color c_Purple100 = Color.FromRgb(225, 190, 231); public static readonly Color c_Purple200 = Color.FromRgb(206, 147, 216); public static readonly Color c_Purple300 = Color.FromRgb(186, 104, 200); public static readonly Color c_Purple400 = Color.FromRgb(171, 71, 188); public static readonly Color c_Purple500 = Color.FromRgb(156, 39, 176); public static readonly Color c_Purple600 = Color.FromRgb(142, 36, 170); public static readonly Color c_Purple700 = Color.FromRgb(123, 31, 162); public static readonly Color c_Purple800 = Color.FromRgb(106, 27, 154); public static readonly Color c_Purple900 = Color.FromRgb(74, 20, 140); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple50 = Color.FromRgb(237, 231, 246); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple100 = Color.FromRgb(209, 196, 233); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple200 = Color.FromRgb(179, 157, 219); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple300 = Color.FromRgb(149, 117, 205); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple400 = Color.FromRgb(126, 87, 194); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple500 = Color.FromRgb(103, 58, 183); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple600 = Color.FromRgb(94, 53, 177); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple700 = Color.FromRgb(81, 45, 168); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple800 = Color.FromRgb(69, 39, 160); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurple900 = Color.FromRgb(49, 27, 146); public static readonly Color c_Indigo50 = Color.FromRgb(232, 234, 246); public static readonly Color c_Indigo100 = Color.FromRgb(197, 202, 233); public static readonly Color c_Indigo200 = Color.FromRgb(159, 168, 218); public static readonly Color c_Indigo300 = Color.FromRgb(121, 134, 203); public static readonly Color c_Indigo400 = Color.FromRgb(92, 107, 192); public static readonly Color c_Indigo500 = Color.FromRgb(63, 81, 181); public static readonly Color c_Indigo600 = Color.FromRgb(57, 73, 171); public static readonly Color c_Indigo700 = Color.FromRgb(48, 63, 159); public static readonly Color c_Indigo800 = Color.FromRgb(40, 53, 147); public static readonly Color c_Indigo900 = Color.FromRgb(26, 35, 126); public static readonly Color c_Blue50 = Color.FromRgb(227, 242, 253); public static readonly Color c_Blue100 = Color.FromRgb(187, 222, 251); public static readonly Color c_Blue200 = Color.FromRgb(144, 202, 249); public static readonly Color c_Blue300 = Color.FromRgb(100, 181, 246); public static readonly Color c_Blue400 = Color.FromRgb(66, 165, 245); public static readonly Color c_Blue500 = Color.FromRgb(33, 150, 243); public static readonly Color c_Blue600 = Color.FromRgb(30, 136, 229); public static readonly Color c_Blue700 = Color.FromRgb(25, 118, 210); public static readonly Color c_Blue800 = Color.FromRgb(21, 101, 192); public static readonly Color c_Blue900 = Color.FromRgb(13, 71, 161); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue50 = Color.FromRgb(225, 245, 254); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue100 = Color.FromRgb(179, 229, 252); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue200 = Color.FromRgb(129, 212, 250); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue300 = Color.FromRgb(79, 195, 247); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue400 = Color.FromRgb(41, 182, 246); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue500 = Color.FromRgb(3, 169, 244); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue600 = Color.FromRgb(3, 155, 229); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue700 = Color.FromRgb(2, 136, 209); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue800 = Color.FromRgb(2, 119, 189); public static readonly Color c_LightBlue900 = Color.FromRgb(1, 87, 155); public static readonly Color c_Cyan50 = Color.FromRgb(224, 247, 250); public static readonly Color c_Cyan100 = Color.FromRgb(178, 235, 242); public static readonly Color c_Cyan200 = Color.FromRgb(128, 222, 234); public static readonly Color c_Cyan300 = Color.FromRgb(77, 208, 225); public static readonly Color c_Cyan400 = Color.FromRgb(38, 198, 218); public static readonly Color c_Cyan500 = Color.FromRgb(0, 188, 212); public static readonly Color c_Cyan600 = Color.FromRgb(0, 172, 193); public static readonly Color c_Cyan700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 151, 167); public static readonly Color c_Cyan800 = Color.FromRgb(0, 131, 143); public static readonly Color c_Cyan900 = Color.FromRgb(0, 96, 100); public static readonly Color c_Teal50 = Color.FromRgb(224, 242, 241); public static readonly Color c_Teal100 = Color.FromRgb(178, 223, 219); public static readonly Color c_Teal200 = Color.FromRgb(128, 203, 196); public static readonly Color c_Teal300 = Color.FromRgb(77, 182, 172); public static readonly Color c_Teal400 = Color.FromRgb(38, 166, 154); public static readonly Color c_Teal500 = Color.FromRgb(0, 150, 136); public static readonly Color c_Teal600 = Color.FromRgb(0, 137, 123); public static readonly Color c_Teal700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 121, 107); public static readonly Color c_Teal800 = Color.FromRgb(0, 105, 92); public static readonly Color c_Teal900 = Color.FromRgb(0, 77, 64); public static readonly Color c_Green50 = Color.FromRgb(232, 245, 233); public static readonly Color c_Green100 = Color.FromRgb(200, 230, 201); public static readonly Color c_Green200 = Color.FromRgb(165, 214, 167); public static readonly Color c_Green300 = Color.FromRgb(129, 199, 132); public static readonly Color c_Green400 = Color.FromRgb(102, 187, 106); public static readonly Color c_Green500 = Color.FromRgb(76, 175, 80); public static readonly Color c_Green600 = Color.FromRgb(67, 160, 71); public static readonly Color c_Green700 = Color.FromRgb(56, 142, 60); public static readonly Color c_Green800 = Color.FromRgb(46, 125, 50); public static readonly Color c_Green900 = Color.FromRgb(27, 94, 32); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen50 = Color.FromRgb(241, 248, 233); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen100 = Color.FromRgb(220, 237, 200); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen200 = Color.FromRgb(197, 225, 165); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen300 = Color.FromRgb(174, 213, 129); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen400 = Color.FromRgb(156, 204, 101); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen500 = Color.FromRgb(139, 195, 74); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen600 = Color.FromRgb(124, 179, 66); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen700 = Color.FromRgb(104, 159, 56); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen800 = Color.FromRgb(85, 139, 47); public static readonly Color c_LightGreen900 = Color.FromRgb(51, 105, 30); public static readonly Color c_Lime50 = Color.FromRgb(249, 251, 231); public static readonly Color c_Lime100 = Color.FromRgb(240, 244, 195); public static readonly Color c_Lime200 = Color.FromRgb(230, 238, 156); public static readonly Color c_Lime300 = Color.FromRgb(220, 231, 117); public static readonly Color c_Lime400 = Color.FromRgb(212, 225, 87); public static readonly Color c_Lime500 = Color.FromRgb(205, 220, 57); public static readonly Color c_Lime600 = Color.FromRgb(192, 202, 51); public static readonly Color c_Lime700 = Color.FromRgb(175, 180, 43); public static readonly Color c_Lime800 = Color.FromRgb(158, 157, 36); public static readonly Color c_Lime900 = Color.FromRgb(130, 119, 23); public static readonly Color c_Yellow50 = Color.FromRgb(255, 253, 231); public static readonly Color c_Yellow100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 249, 196); public static readonly Color c_Yellow200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 245, 157); public static readonly Color c_Yellow300 = Color.FromRgb(255, 241, 118); public static readonly Color c_Yellow400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 238, 88); public static readonly Color c_Yellow500 = Color.FromRgb(255, 235, 59); public static readonly Color c_Yellow600 = Color.FromRgb(253, 216, 53); public static readonly Color c_Yellow700 = Color.FromRgb(251, 192, 45); public static readonly Color c_Yellow800 = Color.FromRgb(249, 168, 37); public static readonly Color c_Yellow900 = Color.FromRgb(245, 127, 23); public static readonly Color c_Amber50 = Color.FromRgb(255, 248, 225); public static readonly Color c_Amber100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 236, 179); public static readonly Color c_Amber200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 224, 130); public static readonly Color c_Amber300 = Color.FromRgb(255, 213, 79); public static readonly Color c_Amber400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 202, 40); public static readonly Color c_Amber500 = Color.FromRgb(255, 193, 7); public static readonly Color c_Amber600 = Color.FromRgb(255, 179, 0); public static readonly Color c_Amber700 = Color.FromRgb(255, 160, 0); public static readonly Color c_Amber800 = Color.FromRgb(255, 143, 0); public static readonly Color c_Amber900 = Color.FromRgb(255, 111, 0); public static readonly Color c_Orange50 = Color.FromRgb(255, 243, 224); public static readonly Color c_Orange100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 224, 178); public static readonly Color c_Orange200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 204, 128); public static readonly Color c_Orange300 = Color.FromRgb(255, 183, 77); public static readonly Color c_Orange400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 167, 38); public static readonly Color c_Orange500 = Color.FromRgb(255, 152, 0); public static readonly Color c_Orange600 = Color.FromRgb(251, 140, 0); public static readonly Color c_Orange700 = Color.FromRgb(245, 124, 0); public static readonly Color c_Orange800 = Color.FromRgb(239, 108, 0); public static readonly Color c_Orange900 = Color.FromRgb(230, 81, 0); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange50 = Color.FromRgb(251, 233, 231); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 204, 188); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 171, 145); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange300 = Color.FromRgb(255, 138, 101); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 112, 67); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange500 = Color.FromRgb(255, 87, 34); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange600 = Color.FromRgb(244, 81, 30); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange700 = Color.FromRgb(230, 74, 25); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange800 = Color.FromRgb(216, 67, 21); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrange900 = Color.FromRgb(191, 54, 12); public static readonly Color c_Brown50 = Color.FromRgb(239, 235, 233); public static readonly Color c_Brown100 = Color.FromRgb(215, 204, 200); public static readonly Color c_Brown200 = Color.FromRgb(188, 170, 164); public static readonly Color c_Brown300 = Color.FromRgb(161, 136, 127); public static readonly Color c_Brown400 = Color.FromRgb(141, 110, 99); public static readonly Color c_Brown500 = Color.FromRgb(121, 85, 72); public static readonly Color c_Brown600 = Color.FromRgb(109, 76, 65); public static readonly Color c_Brown700 = Color.FromRgb(93, 64, 55); public static readonly Color c_Brown800 = Color.FromRgb(78, 52, 46); public static readonly Color c_Brown900 = Color.FromRgb(62, 39, 35); public static readonly Color c_Grey50 = Color.FromRgb(250, 250, 250); public static readonly Color c_Grey100 = Color.FromRgb(245, 245, 245); public static readonly Color c_Grey200 = Color.FromRgb(238, 238, 238); public static readonly Color c_Grey300 = Color.FromRgb(224, 224, 224); public static readonly Color c_Grey400 = Color.FromRgb(189, 189, 189); public static readonly Color c_Grey500 = Color.FromRgb(158, 158, 158); public static readonly Color c_Grey600 = Color.FromRgb(117, 117, 117); public static readonly Color c_Grey700 = Color.FromRgb(97, 97, 97); public static readonly Color c_Grey800 = Color.FromRgb(66, 66, 66); public static readonly Color c_Grey900 = Color.FromRgb(33, 33, 33); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey50 = Color.FromRgb(236, 239, 241); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey100 = Color.FromRgb(207, 216, 220); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey200 = Color.FromRgb(176, 190, 197); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey300 = Color.FromRgb(144, 164, 174); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey400 = Color.FromRgb(120, 144, 156); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey500 = Color.FromRgb(96, 125, 139); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey600 = Color.FromRgb(84, 110, 122); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey700 = Color.FromRgb(69, 90, 100); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey800 = Color.FromRgb(55, 71, 79); public static readonly Color c_BlueGrey900 = Color.FromRgb(38, 50, 56); public static readonly Color c_RedA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 138, 128); public static readonly Color c_RedA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 82, 82); public static readonly Color c_RedA400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 23, 68); public static readonly Color c_RedA700 = Color.FromRgb(213, 0, 0); public static readonly Color c_PinkA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 128, 171); public static readonly Color c_PinkA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 64, 129); public static readonly Color c_PinkA400 = Color.FromRgb(245, 0, 87); public static readonly Color c_PinkA700 = Color.FromRgb(197, 17, 98); public static readonly Color c_PurpleA100 = Color.FromRgb(234, 128, 252); public static readonly Color c_PurpleA200 = Color.FromRgb(224, 64, 251); public static readonly Color c_PurpleA400 = Color.FromRgb(213, 0, 249); public static readonly Color c_PurpleA700 = Color.FromRgb(170, 0, 255); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA100 = Color.FromRgb(179, 136, 255); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA200 = Color.FromRgb(124, 77, 255); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA400 = Color.FromRgb(101, 31, 255); public static readonly Color c_DeepPurpleA700 = Color.FromRgb(98, 0, 234); public static readonly Color c_IndigoA100 = Color.FromRgb(140, 158, 255); public static readonly Color c_IndigoA200 = Color.FromRgb(83, 109, 254); public static readonly Color c_IndigoA400 = Color.FromRgb(61, 90, 254); public static readonly Color c_IndigoA700 = Color.FromRgb(48, 79, 254); public static readonly Color c_BlueA100 = Color.FromRgb(130, 177, 255); public static readonly Color c_BlueA200 = Color.FromRgb(68, 138, 255); public static readonly Color c_BlueA400 = Color.FromRgb(41, 121, 255); public static readonly Color c_BlueA700 = Color.FromRgb(41, 98, 255); public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA100 = Color.FromRgb(128, 216, 255); public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA200 = Color.FromRgb(64, 196, 255); public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA400 = Color.FromRgb(0, 176, 255); public static readonly Color c_LightBlueA700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 145, 234); public static readonly Color c_CyanA100 = Color.FromRgb(132, 255, 255); public static readonly Color c_CyanA200 = Color.FromRgb(24, 255, 255); public static readonly Color c_CyanA400 = Color.FromRgb(0, 229, 255); public static readonly Color c_CyanA700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 184, 212); public static readonly Color c_TealA100 = Color.FromRgb(167, 255, 235); public static readonly Color c_TealA200 = Color.FromRgb(100, 255, 218); public static readonly Color c_TealA400 = Color.FromRgb(29, 233, 182); public static readonly Color c_TealA700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 191, 165); public static readonly Color c_GreenA100 = Color.FromRgb(185, 246, 202); public static readonly Color c_GreenA200 = Color.FromRgb(105, 240, 174); public static readonly Color c_GreenA400 = Color.FromRgb(0, 230, 118); public static readonly Color c_GreenA700 = Color.FromRgb(0, 200, 83); public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA100 = Color.FromRgb(204, 255, 144); public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA200 = Color.FromRgb(178, 255, 89); public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA400 = Color.FromRgb(118, 255, 3); public static readonly Color c_LightGreenA700 = Color.FromRgb(100, 221, 23); public static readonly Color c_LimeA100 = Color.FromRgb(244, 255, 129); public static readonly Color c_LimeA200 = Color.FromRgb(238, 255, 65); public static readonly Color c_LimeA400 = Color.FromRgb(198, 255, 0); public static readonly Color c_LimeA700 = Color.FromRgb(174, 234, 0); public static readonly Color c_YellowA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 255, 141); public static readonly Color c_YellowA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 255, 0); public static readonly Color c_YellowA400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 234, 0); public static readonly Color c_YellowA700 = Color.FromRgb(255, 214, 0); public static readonly Color c_AmberA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 229, 127); public static readonly Color c_AmberA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 215, 64); public static readonly Color c_AmberA400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 196, 0); public static readonly Color c_AmberA700 = Color.FromRgb(255, 171, 0); public static readonly Color c_OrangeA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 209, 128); public static readonly Color c_OrangeA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 171, 64); public static readonly Color c_OrangeA400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 145, 0); public static readonly Color c_OrangeA700 = Color.FromRgb(255, 109, 0); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA100 = Color.FromRgb(255, 158, 128); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA200 = Color.FromRgb(255, 110, 64); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA400 = Color.FromRgb(255, 61, 0); public static readonly Color c_DeepOrangeA700 = Color.FromRgb(221, 44, 0); } }
|
EHR Implementation Challenges in Small Practices
One mistake many offices make when converting files to electronic health records is to attempt to do everything at once. If your medical office isn't ready for a full-scale EHR implementation, a push to complete the process on a tight deadline overwhelms and burns out staff. Converting records at a pace that isn't right for your office—or doing so before you're ready or have the right resources in place—can also corrupt your patient care processes, resulting in treatment mistakes or poor patient experience. Here's a look at how to face those, and other, EHR challenges in a small or mid-sized medical office.
1. Limited Technical Resources
In most cases, a small doctor's office or other medical practice isn't going to have an in-house technical department. Large companies have the staff to integrate existing processes and software with new EHR software, programmers to tweak systems, and technical experts to conduct training. They may also have the right hardware—like servers—to support a large EHR solution.
Small practices will need to depend on an EHR software vendor to provide most of the technical know-how for an EHR implementation. Because onsite hardware and implementation can be expensive, offices should consider cloud or web-based EHR solutions to reduce the cost of initial set up and long-term maintenance. A good vendor can provide web-based solutions that offer all the functionality and security of an in-house set up.
2. Limited Compliance Resources
In a large organization, every change that involves confidential patient information is filtered through a compliance or legal team. Admittedly, that type of process presents its own challenges for an electronic medical record implementation, but without those compliance resources, you may be left wondering if your EMR software for small practice solution is compliant. Health IT comes with its own set of privacy rules, which you can learn about on the government's HealthIT website. You should also select a vendor that demonstrates an understanding of federal, state, and local regulations and has a proven track record of compliance implementations.
3. Limited Staff Resources
When selecting an EMR Software for small practice offices, consider the limitations of your office staff. A very small office may have a physician, a nurse, and one or two front-end office assistants. Even a medium-sized office may only have a dozen employees. You can't afford to pull these staff members constantly from patient-care responsibilities, so you'll need to plan your implementation with care. Work with a vendor who understands the specific challenges of smaller offices and who will offer assistance and advice throughout the process. Consider scheduling the implementation over a longer span of time to avoid burn out—you might convert the most used or most recent patient files first, and work backwards over the course of a year. After a few weeks or months, most of the information used on a regular basis will be in the system, and someone will only need to make trips to the file room or archives for odd requests.
4. Limited In-House Training Resources
Unlike corporate medical facilities, which have their own training departments, you'll probably need to rely on vendor training for your EHR implementation. If you have a very small office, the vendor can probably train everyone directly. For medium-sized offices, avoid pulling everyone from work by selecting a few individuals for training. Those individuals would then train others. When going this route, it's a good idea to choose at least one office staff member—such as a claims biller or front-desk clerk—and one clinical staff member, such as a nurse. Each area will have different concerns, questions, and needs, so including both in training ensures your office gets the most comprehensive EHR software training.
The keys to a successful EHR implementation in a small or mid-sized office are understanding when your practice is ready for an implementation and selecting a vendor that takes the time to learn about and meet your specific needs. EHR software is not only becoming a requirement for most healthcare organizations, but it will also allow your office to deliver more efficient and accurate patient care. Receiving those benefits requires you to face the challenges of EHR implementation in a small office and work with your vendor for success.
5 EHR Training Tips to Ensure Successful EHR Implementation
The Ultimate EHR Implementation Guide
New EHR Implementation: 5 Essential Reasons Why
8 Cardinal Sins of EMR Training
|
[+]Enlarge Fertilized human embryos (about 100–200 μm in diameter) from which researchers claimed they had removed a genetic mutation. Credit: OHSU
Last month, an international team reported using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing techniques to remove a common genetic mutation from human embryos that causes the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Now, experts in embryology and genetics are calling that report into question.
In the initial study, published Aug. 2 in Nature, researchers led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health & Science University claimed they used CRISPR to correct a mutation in the MYBPC3 gene introduced into embryos by a sperm donor’s DNA (DOI: 10.1038/nature23305). To do so, they simultaneously injected the sperm and CRISPR/Cas9 components into healthy eggs. The CRISPR system snipped out the mutation, and, the researchers contended, natural repair mechanisms used the egg’s maternal gene as a template to rebuild a healthy version.
Lack of direct proof that this repair process occurred is central to the doubts raised by Maria Jasin of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dieter Egli of Columbia University, and four other scientists. The group uploaded a paper on Aug. 28 to the biology preprint server bioRxiv outlining their concerns (DOI: 10.1101/181255).
One of the issues the authors highlight is that maternal and paternal DNA are too far apart inside a brand-new embryo for the maternal gene to guide repair of CRISPR-made cuts in the paternal gene. They suggest instead that an error-prone repair mechanism may have added or deleted enough nucleotides to render the cut region unrecognizable. Only the mother’s healthy copy of the gene would be detectable in this situation, leading to an incorrect conclusion, the authors argue. The preprint paper is under review with a journal, so the authors did not speak with C&EN for this story other than to confirm its factual accuracy.
The doubts raised in the bioRxiv paper are legitimate concerns, says Tony Perry, a developmental biologist at the University of Bath. After fertilization, maternal and paternal genomes must cross tens of micrometers—“intergalactic distances, in cellular terms,” he says—before they are close enough for the kind of DNA repair suggested in the Nature paper. Determining which repair process actually occurred will take serious bioinformatics effort, Perry says.
|
I must confess that, while I was still keen on the progress of the lawsuit between Amaretto Ranch Breedables and Ozimals (et al), very limited access to court documents and the relatively slow progress of the case had sent my attention largely elsewhere.
On the fifth of November, however, this little beauty turns up. Judge Charles R. Breyer is granting (in part) and rejecting (in part) a motion for summary judgement. And wow, this document itself is probably the best thing you’ll read about this case.
Summary judgements are decisions made by the court about matters of the case which none of the parties are in dispute about. These are events or evidence or other facts which all parties agree on.
That makes a a summary judgement interesting catch-up reading if you want to know who did what to whom, and how everyone got into a dispute over the remaining facts/evidence/events in the first place, all placed conveniently into the public record and public domain.
Quite a bit of this case has been opaque or vague to me, and Breyer’s judgement is a doozy of a document for getting it all straight. It is certainly the most interesting court document I’ve read this month, and it has had some stiff competition already, though I’ll remind you that while the disputed content involves Second Life, and virtual pets, this is a simple copyright dispute, like any other.
So, here we go, Breyer’s summary judgement. Enjoy.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t look like Judge Breyer is going to have all that much left to rule on to finalise this case. It may drag on a little longer, but not that much longer, I’m thinking.
Share this: Twitter
Google
Facebook
Reddit
Tumblr
More
LinkedIn
Pocket
Pinterest
Print
Tags: Amaretto Ranch Breedables, Amaretto vs Ozimals, Charles R Breyer, Copyright, DMCA, Law, Lawsuit, Opinion, Ozimals, Second Life, Virtual Environments and Virtual Worlds
|
August 4, 2013 - Matias Laba following Toronto's 1-0 win in New England.
INTERVIEWS: Nelsen | Morgan | Henry | Wiedeman | Bendik | Caldwell
TORONTO - With Toronto FC now unbeaten in three games and having conceded only one goal during that stretch, head coach Ryan Nelsen has been quick to credit his entire squad for the team's recent success. But the glue holding the group together may already be Young Designated Player Matías Laba.
Laba scored his first MLS goal on Sunday in TFC's 1-0 win over the New England Revolution and was the unquestioned Man of the Match in a game in which his pressing and fine defensive play in the midfield was just as key as his goal with respect to Toronto coming away with all three points.
Video: Matias Laba scores his first goal in New England.
With 14 MLS appearances now under his belt, the 21-year-old Argentine is now starting to flex his offensive muscles and he has shown a genuine propensity to be a game changing force in all areas of the pitch.
TFC president and general manager Kevin Payne contended earlier this season that fans likely would not see the best of his first marquee signing until the club surrounded him with the right players. But Laba's recent form has illustrated clearly that the Argentinos Juniors product is a truly multidimensional player, with both offensive skills in addition to an ability to influence the outcome of matches via high quality defensive play.
"I am a player that tries to play both offensively and defensively, but only when there is an opportunity to go forward," Laba told MLSsoccer.com via translator. "I enjoy going forward and playing defensively."
While he was full of praise for the manner in which Laba scored his first MLS goal, Nelsen was equally quick to compliment the defensive play of his young DP.
"Matías is naturally a very good reader of the game and he steps up extremely well and flows on with his pressure," Nelsen said. "He is relentless and when he pressures that hard it is very difficult for the opposition to keep the ball. You have to be a very special player to be able to handle his type of pressure."
According to TFC assistant coach Jim Brennan, Laba is only going to get better and better as he becomes more accustomed to his new league and new club.
"You haven't seen the best of Laba yet," Brennan said. "It is always hard when you come to a new country and you don't speak the language. You are also trying to settle in with a new team and to find your feet in a new formation. The way he has handled himself so far has been great to see. I think eventually Laba will be one of the top players in this league."
In many ways, the biggest adjustments that the talented young midfielder has had to make since leaving the Argentine Primera División have been off the pitch rather than on it, with learning a new language and adjusting to the rigors of travel in the MLS being two variables that he is still getting used to.
"It is tough for a young man from Argentina who is away from his family and all that," Nelsen added. "The travel that we do is something that he has never experienced before in Argentina, such as flying for five-and-a-half hours across the country to play two games and then flying another five and a half hours back to Toronto."
Added Laba: [The effects of the travel] are something I can definitely feel in my legs, but there are no excuses," Laba stated. "I am studying English very hard but also finding it difficult."
While the team has experienced plenty of bumps in the road as the TFC brass has endeavored to rebuild the squad on the fly this season, the acquisition of Laba and his play to date have been major positives for the team to build on as Toronto now look ahead to continuing to improve their results in the second half of the MLS calendar.
If Laba, who played both the holding midfielder and central attacking midfielder positions in Argentina, can consistently use his abilities to improve Toronto's attack going forward in the coming months, it could provide something of a missing link for a team that has competed well but fallen short of results on a number of occasions.
Asked what he hopes to achieve in the second half of TFC's 2013 campaign, the former Argentina U-20 International did not mention goals or assists.
"I would love for our results to not be so close and for them to go in our favor," Laba said.
|
PARSIPPANY — With a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the Parsippany council instructed its clerk to file ethics charges against the municipality's own township attorney, John Inglesino.
The charges allege Inglesino should have stepped down from his post, citing a recent legal opinion stating he has conflicts that should prevent him from serving Parsippany government.
Inglesino's been in the headlines in recent weeks for his role in the very public legal battle between 18-year-old Rachel Canning and her parents, Sean and Elizabeth. He funded the teen's lawsuit, in which she's trying to get her parents to pay for her tuition and living expenses, even though she was no longer living with them. As of Wednesday, the teen was back home.
Councilman Louis Valori and Council President Paul Carifi Jr. have been battling Mayor James Barberio for months over whether Inglesino — a noted ally of and fundraiser for Gov. Chris Christie — should keep his position as township attorney. Last week, the two produced a letter from the firm Eric M. Bernstein and Associates, alleging Inglesino has committed ethical violations and has conflicts that should keep him from serving Parsippany government.
And Barberio filed an ethics complaint last month alleging the two councilmen were using their positions to harass Inglesino and interfere with a lawsuit the township has against Carifi's brother.
He said Wednesday the Local Finance Board sent him a letter dated March 7, advising him that the board intended to conduct an investigation of the complaint.
Tuesday night, the councilmen attempted to remove Inglesino from his position, by stating he is in conflict with the rules of professional conduct, under an argument outlined in the Bernstein letter — which said Inglesino committed an ethical violation when he spoke up about his job at a meeting, advising the council about a matter where he has a financial interest.
But Barberio shot down that move, saying Inglesino would not be removed without proper notice. Under Parsippany's form of government, the mayor nominates a township attorney, and the council confirms the post. But since Parsippany's council hasn't yet agreed to do so, Inglesino's been continuing as a holdover from his previous appointment.
Carifi then made a motion to direct the clerk to file ethics complaints against Inglesino, a move that passed by a 3-2 vote.
A separate resolution read by Valori, alleged Inglesino acted in violation of the township's pay-to-play ordinance, saying that state Sen. Kevin O'Toole made a $5,000 contribution to Barberio's campaign, and then the lawyer and his firm — Wyciskala & Taylor LLC, formerly Inglesino, Pearlman, Wyciskala & Taylor LLC — made several contributions to O'Toole's campaign amounting to $5,000.
The resolution received a 3-2 vote and passed the council, to be forwarded to the Department of Community Affairs, Local Government Services; to the Office of State Comptroller; and the Attorney Ethics Disciplinary Review Board.
According to Valori and Carifi, on March 19, 2013, Inglesino made a $300 contribution to O'Toole, Steve Pearlman made $1,567 contribution, John Wycizkala made a $1,567 contribution and Lisa Taylor made a $1,566.
Those contributions by members of the law firm Wyciskala & Taylor LLC (formerly Inglesino, Pearlman, Wyciskala & Taylor LLC) add up to $5,000, the councilmen say, and offset a $5,000 contribution O'Toole made to the Friends of Jamie Barberio on March 4, 2013.
"The timing and amount of the aforesaid contributions create an irrefutable presumption that the contributions were in exchange for one another, in direct violation of the pay to play ordinance," Valori said Tuesday, reading from the proposed resolution.
O'Toole was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but Chief of Staff Al Barlas said the the allegations were false.
"The senator has been a well-known contributor to Republican candidates and cause throughout the entire state. He's probably one of the more generous members of the Legislature," Barlas said. "Last year, he gave about $200,000 to candidates up and down the state and Republican causes. The senator and Mayor Barberio have been friends for a while. The mayor has attended the senator's events in the past. They speak periodically when they mayor has questions about government and public policy and needs a sounding board."
Barlas said O'Toole has given more than $10,000 to Barberio.
"If there are pay-to-play issues in Parsippany, we don't know about them — we don't deal with it," Barlas said.
Barlas said O'Toole and Barberio developed their relationship shortly after the senator's district took in a couple of Morris County towns, and the senator got to know the local officials.
Barberio called the councilmen's claims "bizarre," and said Tuesday was the first he had heard of them.
"It's ridiculous and further shows the conflict they have voting on Mr. Inglesino," he said. "They continue their obsession of revenge. Hopefully, we can start working together and do what is right for our town and its wonderful people."
Inglesio said Tuesday night that the resolution made factual allegations that were untrue.
"I find this to be very disappointing to say the least," he said. "It's inappropriate. It's an untrue allegation."
Inglesino said Carifi was upset with him because of the township's lawsuit against Carifi's brother.
"I'm a pretty principled person," Inglesino said. "I do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. I know that I am representing the township concerning a matter regarding council president's brother and some serious allegations. I understand he's upset with me about that. It's unfortunate I am being treated in this way for doing my job for the people. I appreciate the mayor's confidence. With his confidence and his trust I will continue in this position."
Inglesino's been a familiar name in Morris County and state politics for years. He's a former freeholder, as well as a fundraiser for and friend of the governor (who also served on the county freeholder board). In 2012, Christie — who endorsed Barberio last year and previously swore the mayor in for his first term — appointed Inglesino to the state's Education Funding Task Force. Inglesino was named one of the Top 100 "powerful people" in New Jersey by Politicker NJ for 2013. He's planning board attorney for Morristown and Florham Park, special counsel to Lopatcong and Rahway, and is general counsel to the Morris County Insurance Fund.
Council President Carifi and Councilman Valori — trying to oust Inglesino — said in a statement last week 1099 forms show Inglesino has received about $3 million in payments since taking his post in Parsippany in 2010.
But Barberio said this week that figure is wrong — and said the figures the councilmen cited include money from a trust account used to acquire flooded properties. He said Inglesino's firm has actually billed the township an average of under $500,000 a year for each of the four years he's held the township attorney post.
Inglesino and the councilmen seeking his ouster have an uncomfortable history — and its bearing on whether he can continue as attorney is currently a matter of dispute.
Last year, Valori accused Barberio, Inglesino and former council president Brian Stanton of offering to create for him a $50,000 a year township job so that he would not run in the township's GOP primary. Valori last year ran for and won a council seat on the same ticket as Carifi, who unsuccessfully challenged Barberio for the mayoral seat in the primary.
Valori secretly recorded his meeting with the other officials, in which they can be heard discussing a potential job. But Barberio later said no job was ultimately offered, and no political bribery was involved.
The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office ultimately decided criminal charges would not be filed, and no further investigation was warranted after conducting various interviews and reviews of documents.
Carifi's brother, retiring police Capt. James Carifi, is in contentious litigation with the township, which is represented by Inglesino. He maintains the township is unfairly denying him access to his nearly $110,000 annual pension and nearly $370,000 in unused time off — which he can only get if he retired in good standing. The township alleges he stole 960,000 electronic police department documents on the way out, deleting the copies on municipal servers along the way
Barberio, citing a legal opinion from the township's conflict attorney, has said that history means the two councilmen shouldn't be able to vote on whether Inglesino continues in the township post. The councilmen, sighting the Bernstein letter, say if any conflicts exist, it's up to Inglesino to step aside, not them.
Correction: This article previously incorrectly stated one of the resolutions did not pass the council. Both resolutions passed the council 3-2.
|
"The behavior attributed to Mr. Davis does not align with the standards and values of CNN," the network said in a statement.
CNN has fired senior producer Teddy Davis over claims of inappropriate behavior.
"A comprehensive investigation was conducted as soon as this matter was brought to our attention. The behavior attributed to Mr. Davis does not align with the standards and values of CNN and Mr. Davis is no longer with the company," a CNN spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement.
Davis served as producer on the network's State of the Union, hosted by Jake Tapper, prior to his termination.
According to a source at CNN, the network's internal investigation into Davis surfaced instances of the ousted producer making fellow colleagues uncomfortable. There were no reports of physical or sexual assault.
In response to news of Davis' firing, Tapper tweeted that he was "fully supportive" of CNN's decision.
"When CNN executives were told about these complaints, they reacted swiftly and appropriately, as they should," he said. "Workplaces need to be safe and I am fully supportive of CNN's action."
This tweet is accurate. When CNN executives were told about these complaints, they reacted swiftly and appropriately, as they should. Workplaces need to be safe and I am fully supportive of CNN's action. https://t.co/S4ZPNfTCPm — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 29, 2017
Davis' exit comes in the wake of NBC News' firing of Matt Lauer on Wednesday morning over alleged sexual misconduct in the workplace. In an investigative report by Variety, multiple women came forward to accuse Lauer of sexual harassment and making unwanted advances.
In January, Davis commented on his exit through his lawyer, Michael Weinsten of Lavely & Singer. "My client was not accused of sexual harassment. Nor was he ever accused of any physical contact, language of a sexual nature or any other sort of lewd conduct," said Weinsten in a statement.
Jan. 9: Updated with statement from lawyer.
|
The 115th Congress is back in session, and at least one thing looks the same as usual: 91 percent of its members identify as Christians. This proportion has basically remained constant for more than five decades, as long as this kind of data has been available, according to a new study from Pew Research Center. What has changed is the U.S. population: Only 71 percent of American adults identify as Christians.
Some religious minorities, including Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, are slightly underrepresented in Congress relative to their population sizes in the United States, while others, including Jews and Mormons, are slightly overrepresented. But these groups aren’t the source of the demographic mismatch between Congress and the rest of the country. The Americans who are vastly underrepresented in Congress are those who don’t identify with any religion at all: Only one member of Congress, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, says she is religiously unaffiliated, while 10 others declined to state their affiliation in surveys and interviews with CQ Roll Call.
There are at least two good explanations for this phenomenon. The first is that religiously unaffiliated Americans don’t vote. Another way of putting that is that young people don’t vote: According to the Public Religion Research Institute, 18-to-29-year-olds are three times as likely to be religiously unaffiliated compared to people over 65. Even though the religiously unaffiliated share of the American population has significantly increased from 14 to 22 percent between 2004 and 2014, the share of religiously unaffiliated voters only increased from 9 to 12 percent. This chart offers a stark illustration of how politically disengaged these voters really are:
|
Maurice Henry Pappworth (9 January 1910 – 12 October 1994) was a pioneering British medical ethicist and tutor, best known for his 1967 book Human Guinea Pigs, which exposed the unethical dimensions of medical research. Born and educated in Liverpool, Pappworth graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1932 from Liverpool University. After working in a series of junior medical positions, his applications for more senior posts were rejected because of his Jewish parentage. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Having been unsuccessful in achieving a post in any well known London hospital after the war, he set up in London as an independent medical consultant and tutor.
Pappworth's teaching of postgraduate students had a profound effect on the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) examination pass rate, and his contact with junior doctors led him to investigate the ethics of medical research on humans. The publication of Human Guinea Pigs, which examined unethical medical research practices, exposed the subject to a wider audience and led to Pappworth's becoming persona non grata within the medical establishment for much of his career, but ultimately helped lead to stricter codes of practice for human experimentation .
Early life and education [ edit ]
Born Maurice Henry Papperovitch on 9 January 1910,[nb 1] Pappworth was the seventh child in a family that included three sons and six daughters.[1] He graduated from Liverpool University's medical school in 1932 as Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery,[2] after previously studying at the Birkenhead Institute. In 1936, he received his medical doctorate and passed the MRCP exam, after which he worked in several Liverpool hospitals in junior roles—including as a registrar under Henry Cohen.[1] Before the Second World War, Pappworth sought a medical consultant role only to suffer from anti-Semitic discrimination, being told that "no Jew could ever be a gentleman" when he applied for a post in 1939. That position eventually went to a student whom he had coached for the MRCP exam.[2] From 1941 to 1946, he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving in Africa, Italy, Greece and finally India, where he ran a British general hospital.[1][2] In 1946, Pappworth moved to London, where his applications for prominent medical positions were rejected. He turned down several lesser posts before setting up as an independent consultant. In 1953, he married Jean Goldberg; the couple went on to have three daughters.[1]
Postgraduate teaching [ edit ]
In the 1950s, the pass rate for the MRCP examination seldom topped fifteen percent, partly due to the medical establishment's need to restrict the number of applicants to senior positions,[1] but also—Pappworth maintained—because of low teaching standards in medical schools. Almost no preparation for the MRCP exam was given to postgraduates,[3] so Pappworth resolved to tutor qualified doctors in the particulars of medicine and patient examination that the exam required. Charging one pound—then not inconsiderable—for a two-hour class, Pappworth began teaching in his consulting rooms, later moving the classes to a public hall in London.[1] He also staged mock examinations in nearby mental hospitals for a higher cost.[3] The pass rate for Pappworth's students was "outstandingly good"; sometimes more than half of those who passed the exam had been taught by him. Over the course of his career, Pappworth tutored more than 1,600 doctors, many of whom were from overseas. He claimed that 75 percent of the successful New Zealand and Australian candidates could trace their success to his teaching.[1] Many working consultants in the United Kingdom admit Pappworth's influence on the success of their careers.[3] While recognized as the best medical teacher in the country, Pappworth was unafraid of speaking his mind about the medical establishment; equally, the Royal College of Physicians did not withhold criticism of Pappworth's unwanted encroachment into its affairs.[1] In 1960, Pappworth's lectures were published as A Primer of Medicine. It ran to three editions, but lacked the comprehensive and incisive nature of his spoken lectures.[3][4]
Human Guinea Pigs [ edit ]
In the 1950s and 1960s, Pappworth became concerned by descriptions in medical journals of unethical experiments on human subjects in the United Kingdom and United States;[3] his growing awareness of the issue was reinforced by the concerns of his postgraduate students, who sometimes had no choice but to facilitate and participate in such experiments or face career ruin. The experiments went against the principles set out in the Nuremberg Code, so Pappworth began writing letters to medical journals that had presented the research. Many of these went unprinted, so in 1962 he published fourteen of the letters as Human Guinea Pigs: A Warning in a special edition of Twentieth Century magazine.[1][5]
Pappworth made plans to publish an extended version of his article as a book. Human Guinea Pigs: Experimentation on Man named those responsible for the research and fully cited its sources. It detailed experiments on children and inmates of mental and penal institutions, and included 78 examples of research that had been carried out on patients who were at National Health Service hospitals for routine surgery. Some of these patients had been subjected to cardiac catheterization—the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart—without informed consent.[1] Pappworth believed the reasons for the experiments to be purely for the career advancement of those involved.[3][6] Pappworth was advised by the medical establishment to keep quiet on the issue, but he refused.[3] The first publishers he approached declined the book on legal grounds, but Human Guinea Pigs was eventually published in 1967 by Routledge and Kegan Paul.[1][6]
The book's publication provoked an immediate storm; newspaper and television coverage of the issue followed, as well as questions in Parliament.[1] Pappworth's American contemporary Henry K. Beecher, with whom Pappworth had corresponded before and after Human Guinea Pigs' publication, had published similar findings in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1966,[2][7] but had not named those involved. Despite official disinterest and professional impedance, Pappworth's and Beecher's work eventually led to the introduction of stricter codes of practice for human experimentation and the establishment of research ethics committees, which would have come much later had it not been for their exposés.[1]
Later career and personal life [ edit ]
It has been suggested that the unintended consequence of this exposure was Pappworth's becoming persona non grata within the medical establishment.[2] His critical nature may have been partly to blame for this, as he not only continued to admonish Royal College of Physicians, but also alienated some of those in the medical establishment that were sympathetic to his cause; Pappworth's personal comments about specific consultants quickly distanced his audience when he was invited to speak to the residents at Hammersmith Hospital, whose medical school he had criticised in Human Guinea Pigs for its unethical methods. Pappworth's attitude towards students could also leave them feeling "ignorant, foolish, and humiliated".[1]
Towards the end of his life, he wrote an article in the British Medical Journal that included his view that "those who dirty the linen and not those who wash it should be criticized. Some do not wash linen in public or in private and the dirt is merely left to accumulate until it stinks".[3] Pappworth continued to be disregarded by the medical establishment. For example, election to a fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians is usually a formality awarded after passing the MRCP—which Pappworth did in 1936—and after being in practice for ten to fifteen years. He was not awarded a fellowship until 1993, when changes in the corridors of power made this possible.[1][2]
Pappworth's interests outside medicine included photography, fine art and watercolours, philosophy,[3] religion, and politics. He died on 12 October 1994 of coronary heart disease at his London home; he was survived by his wife and three daughters.[1]
References [ edit ]
Annotations
^ [1] To parents (Isaac) Jacob Papperovitch (d. 1960), who changed the family name in the 1930s, and (Miriam) Mary (d. 1935).
|
Scientists found the first fluorescent frog in the world – by accident – in South America. Researchers at Buenos Aires’ Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum stumbled across the discovery while studying pigment in polka dot tree frogs, which are common in the continent. Beneath an ultraviolet (UV) light, the otherwise dull-colored frog glows bright blue and green.
Fluorescence – or the ability to take in light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths – is found in several ocean creatures but is incredibly rare on land. Only some scorpions and parrots were known to possess it until now, and this is the very first amphibian we’ve found that fluoresces. Scientists don’t really know why creatures are fluorescent; they could be communicating, attracting mates, or concealing themselves.
Related: Biofluorescent sharks glow bright green in the depths of the sea
The scientists initially thought the frog might glow a faint red because it contains the pigment biliverdin, which gives some some insects a slight red fluorescence. But when the researchers shone a UVA flashlight on polka dot tree frogs that came from the Santa Fe, Argentina area, they were amazed to see the brown-green frogs glow bright green and blue instead. The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published their research on March 13.
Study co-author Maria Gabriella Lagoria told Chemistry World, “This is very different from fluorophores found in other vertebrates, which are usually proteins or polyenic chains.”
And there could be even more fluorescent frogs that we haven’t discovered yet. Co-author Julián Faivovich told Nature, “I’m really hoping that other colleagues will be very interested in this phenomenon, and they will start carrying a UV flashlight to the field.” He plans to seek fluorescence in 250 other tree frog species that have translucent skin like the polka dot tree frog.
Via Nature and The Guardian
Images via Carlos Taboada et al
|
Oct. 25, 2016, 5:00 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 25, 2016, 5:00 PM GMT By Thomson Reuters Foundation.
When ice hockey player Harrison Browne asked his professional league to change his name in his official player profile, he did not suspect what a big moment it was.
"I didn't know that I was making history when I did it," said Browne, who according to advocates is the first openly transgender athlete on a U.S. professional sports team.
A general view of game action between the Boston Pride and the Buffalo Beauts on March 12, 2016 Andy Marlin / NHLI via Getty Images
Now, the 23-year-old says he will put to use his fame, acquired after his name change became public this month, to inspire and encourage transgender people at a time when the United States is politically divided over their rights.
Becoming a public figure could have been unnerving, but Browne said his employer, the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), offered "unconditional support."
He plays for the Buffalo, New York Beauts. The NWHL this month quietly updated his online profile, replacing references to his former name and referring to the left-wing forward as "he."
Since then, Browne has published online videos on YouTube to talk about coming out as a transgender man.
"I thought I had to give up the sport in order to transition, but apparently I don't," he says in one video.
Videos by other people about transgenders and transitioning helped him make sense of his gender identity as a teen, he said.
"Maybe there's a 13- or 14-year-old that was in my shoes who is watching my videos and seeing my success in the league," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"They could look at me and say, 'Wow he did it, so you know what I just got to keep fighting,'" he said.
Studies show high rates of depression and suicide among transgender people. In 2011, one study by two U.S. advocacy group found 41 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming people said they had attempted suicide.
"I had dark times when I was younger," Browne said. "I wouldn't have imagined the way that I am right now, out publicly."
His official name change prompted the women's professional hockey league to begin crafting a policy for inclusion of transgender people.
The league was established last year and has four teams -- the Buffalo Beauts, Boston Pride, New York Riveters and Connecticut Whale.
Browne, a Canadian native, has not undergone sex reassignment surgery because that could keep him from playing for the women's league, he said.
This year, duathlon athlete Chris Mosier became the first openly transgender athlete to compete on a U.S. national team in an international biking and running championship.
Last year, decathlon Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner came out as a transgender woman, becoming the most high-profile American to do so.
Follow NBC OUT on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
|
Albus Nox Luna's Kirill "Likkrit" Malofeyev has confirmed that he has chicken pox shortly after the conclusion of the 2016 League of Legends World Championship Group Stage. While he does admit to having chicken pox for the third time, the support player says that he will "most likely" play in the wildcard team's upcoming quarterfinal match against H2k-Gaming.
to all who asked - yes, i have chickenpox. its 3rd time for me, so its expected to be easier than 2nd. most likely i will play in quarters. — Malofeev Kirill (@Likkrit) October 10, 2016
ANX's historic run through the group stage is the first time a wildcard team has made it to the bracket stage of a major international event. They tied with ROX Tigers in Group A, with both teams holding a 4-2 record, but lost the tiebreaker to place second in the group. They will take on H2k-Gaming in a best-of-five quarterfinal match on Oct. 16.
Riot’s FearGorm, who works in the Esports Central League Operations and took part in scheduling the quarterfinals, commented on a Reddit post to explain why H2K’s match against ANX match was poorly timed for LoL’s European audience. In the post, FearGorm said that that match in particular was scheduled for Sunday to allow time for Likkrit to be driven from San Francisco to Chicago in case he is unable to fly due to his illness.
“As a result [of his illness], we'll probably need to drive him from San Francisco to Chicago, which takes several days and severely cuts into his practice time with his team,” FearGorm wrote in the post. “To help accommodate the circumstances, we scheduled H2K vs ANX for Sunday.”
Slingshot esports reported on Likkrit's Chicken Pox on Oct. 9, hours before the player confirmed his condition on social media. An earlier Slingshot esports interview with Michael “Kira” Garmash quoted the Albus Nox player as saying that Likkrit was unwell.
"Especially Likkrit, now he has red circles on his skin," he told Slingshot esports' Vince Nairn. "We don’t know what the fuck is this, we just said to him ‘OK (if) you are dying, just play our game and then die afterwards, please."
Likkrit posted a 1.9 KDA and 1.14 WPM over the course of their group stage matches. He played five different champions over seven games, with only Bard appearing more than once, winning only one of the three games he was picked in.
Annabelle "Abelle" Fischer is a writer for theScore esports with a love for Dota 2, birds and cheese. You can follow her on Twitter.
|
Tim Gionet (left) and James Allsup after their Uber driver kicked them out of her car outside the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, on Friday evening.
Uber permanently banned white supremacist James Allsup from its ride-hail platform on Saturday after an Uber driver in Washington, DC, kicked him and alt-right leader Tim Gionet, better known as Baked Alaska on Twitter, out of her car for allegedly making racist remarks. The decision makes Uber one of a handful of tech companies that denied service to groups or individuals associated with the violent white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.
"Drivers always have the right to refuse service to riders who are disrespectful or make them feel unsafe, as the driver in this case rightly did," Uber said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "We’ve reached out to the driver to make sure she’s okay, and express our support for her and how she handled this situation. The rider has been permanently removed from our platform."
According to Uber, Allsup and Gionet were riding past the National Museum of African-American History and Culture on Friday evening when their comments finally made their driver, an unidentified African-American woman, uncomfortable enough that she ended the ride and told the pair to leave. Gionet posted a video to Twitter in which he repeatedly asks the driver, “why are we racist?” The video ends shortly after the driver pulls away, leaving them standing beside the Washington Monument.
The exchange took place one day before the white supremacist group Unite the Right hosted a rally at the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. The rally turned violent, leaving one anti-racist protester dead and 19 others injured. Both Gionet and Allsup were reportedly scheduled to speak at the event, which Allsup later said he only attended in a media capacity. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News. (Gionet was previously an employee of BuzzFeed.) Allsup has since resigned from his position as president of the College Republicans at Washington State University.
"The events surrounding the white supremacist rally in the City of Charlottesville are deeply disturbing and tragic," said Uber in a statement. "We stand against this hate, violence, and discrimination."
After talking with Gionet and Allsup’s Uber driver on Saturday morning, Uber decided to permanently ban Allsup, who tweeted about it Saturday afternoon. Uber said while it did initially issue Allsup an automatic refund after he filed a complaint, the driver was paid in full for the ride.
Meanwhile, also on Saturday, the company shared the following note with drivers in the Charlottesville area, warning them that a state of emergency had been declared following violent clashes, and reminding them of their "right to feel safe and respected when you use our platform."
|
Recently, Rabbi Ysoscher Katz released a teshuva permitting breast-feeding in shul. In turn Rabbi Ozer Glickman commented on Facebook, generating the start of a discussion between them. Facebook does not do well for hosting such a conversation; it was moved to this blog. The discussion will be on Facebook. But first a few prefaces.
Rabbi Ysoscher Katz is the Chair of the Talmud Department. at Yeshivat. Chovevei Torah; Director of the Lindenbaum. Center for the Study of Halakha received ordination from Rabbi Yechezkel Roth, dayan of UTA Satmer. Rabbi Katz studied in Brisk and in Yeshivat Beit Yosef, Navaradok.
Rabbi Ozer is a Rosh Yeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He has worked in hedge funds, banking, and risk management. He has also studied critical Talmud in the general academy.
The interesting contrast here is that the former has moved from the Haredi world to the modern world and is self-conscious as modern, while the latter has moved from the Conservative Conservadox world and is self-conscious of his journey.
The Topic: Breastfeeding in public was accepting in many segments of the United States for the last few decades, but the discussion was opened anew in 2007-2008 when people objected to a magazine cover. It quickly became another chip in the culture wars for the last eight years. However, recently Pope Francis made a bold action and others affirmed the act as natural. Rabbi Katz wrote a teshuva permitting breast feeding in public, here is the definitive Hebrew version online, and as PDF Breastfeeding and showing affection in shul. Word Breastfeeding and Showing Affection in Shul.
Finally, who is supporting breastfeeding in public? The clearest answer is a select percentage of millennials since they are of child birthing years.
Rabbi Glickman responded to the Teshvah with a Facebook post rejecting Rabbi Katz’s current self-identity as modern and his pesak as a modern pesak as meaningful for someone deciding Jewish law. Remember, the discussion will be on Rabbi Katz’s wall. The conclusion was posted three days later here.
On the Politics of P’sak
At the invitation of Rabbi Ysoscher Katz, I am publishing thoughts on his recent piece on nursing in shul posted on Facebook. Rabbi Katz and I have begun to develop a relationship founded on the mutual respect appropriate for two b’nai Torah in public and private discourse. At the outset, let me state unequivocally that I acknowledge Rabbi Katz to be a talmid chacham with the highest standards of integrity and honesty. I value his opinion, sincerity, and Torah knowledge. That said, there is a fundamental disagreement that has cropped up on the last three things of his that I have read. I am looking forward to discussing this difference with Rabbi Katz personally after the chagim at what we hope will be the first of several regular discussions.
When Rabbi Katz published his invitation to the community to participate in Torah study and prayer on Shabbat ha-Gadol, I noticed it. The Torah was described as “progressive.” I guess that is a dog-whistle word to the base, i.e., proponents of so-called Open Orthodoxy, that the Torah would be to their social and political taste. Given our relationship of candor with one another, I wrote to him privately (eschewing the mores of social media which demand a snarky, arrogant dismissal, often anonymous) questioning whether Torah should be consciously anything other than Torah. We agreed to table the discussion.
When Rabbi Katz published his post on kitniyot, I noticed it again. Rabbi Katz offered one suggestion for those that self-identify as Modern Orthodox and another for those who self-identify as ultra-Orthodox. I again responded, this time in the comments but with respect and affection.
When I read his piece on nursing, I saw the trope again and this time I am moved to respond to him in more detail (I will at a later time comment on the specific textual readings he offers in his extraordinarily well-written teshuva).
It is clear that poskim operate on the basis of political (in the policy rather than electoral sense) views. As human beings who engage with society, they cannot help but have views on the societies in which we live. I do not believe, however, that a genuine poseik ever proceeds with a conscious political agenda. Poskim may intend their decisions for certain ethnicities within the Jewish people that maintain distinct halakhic traditions and practices but never for groups that self-identify sociologically. Writing a Modern Orthodox teshuva is not the same.
It reminds me of a cousin by marriage who is a Conservative Rabbi. When he has discussed halakhah with me, he never discusses the issues; he can only refer to decisions by the Rabbinical Assembly or the United Synagogue. There is no supposition that there is anything actually called Halakhah without a prefix.
I do not teach Modern Orthodox Halakhah in the Yeshiva and I suspect Rabbi Katz doesn’t in his either. I don’t write teshuvot (there are plenty of real poskim to do that) but when I teach Torah I attempt to teach the real thing, without a prefix. It isn’t Modern Orthodox and it isn’t even consciously Orthodox- it’s Torah.
This is a major difference between Rabbi Katz and me. He is much more taken with the notion of Modern Orthodoxy. This stands to reason. I grew up in a Conservadox community (the lines weren’t so clear back then) with a lifestyle very close to the one I live today, the major difference being knowledge. My rabbi was a YU musmakh. Whatever I didn’t do correctly during high school wasn’t because I held other beliefs; it was because I didn’t know better. Without being too personal, Rabbi Katz consciously affiliates with a group very different from the one in which he was raised. It is natural, I would think, that he is more conscious of his current affiliation than I am of mine.
But it is more than that. In my mind, Modern Orthodoxy is descriptive, not prescriptive. I would not ever say about any practice, “We don’t do that- we’re Modern Orthodox.” There is no Modern Orthodox halakhah. There are sociological descriptions of what people who identify themselves as Modern Orthodox do. That is more for sociologists than for poskim.
I note the observations that Rabbi Katz makes about “our women.” I do not think the identity between men and women that he describes regarding attitudes toward public prayer and Torah study are as widespread as he represents. If this is a teshuva for his kehillah, then he is well within his mandate. Teshuvot, though, are written for broad swaths of the Jewish people. The mores he describes are limited to small clusters. It may well be that we should aspire to these changes but I know vast swaths of the religious community that self-identifies as Modern Orthodox in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Los Angeles, Michigan, Canada, Massachusetts, Tennessee not to mention Yerushalayim, Beit Shemesh, Modiin… where nursing a baby in a minyan would offend.
It may be that the commenter was correct: this was intended as “Open Orthodoxy pesika.” That is a notion that I still find difficult to accept.
Please note: Rabbi Katz and I are committed to a calm, cordial and respectful tone. Our מחלוקות are לשם שמים. It would be nice if commenters would maintain the same tone.
Editors original FB comment: So what is the operative factor here? 1) a self-identified catering to an audience 2) a mistake in what the community reactions are to breastfeeding – the “our women” issue 3)The use of modern/progressive as a meta-halakha?
לכבוד הגאון ר’ עוזר גליקמן שליט”א
אחדשת”ה כראוי וכיאות
I first want to thank you for your thoughtful comments and insightful feedback. It is reassuring to know that in a world of סתירת נערים where people who תורתם אינם אומנותם promote a Torah which thrives on an ethos of איש את רעהו חיים בלעו, there are still gedolim Be’Torah like yourself, who are able and willing to disagree with dignity and also focus on גופן של דברים.
As for your actual critique: you infer from my writings that I believe in “prefix” pesika, that there is such a thing as “Modern” or “Progressive” Torah, which is intrinsically different than its non-modern or non-progressive form. You argue that such a halakhic posture is wrong. You believe that pesika should be an objective exercise in which religious affiliation or philosophical inclination plays no role. In other words, from your perspective we differ on whether the judicial process is objective or subjective. You claim that my pesika is subjective and are strongly opposed to this approach. You see a major divide in our judicial philosophies.
(While you label it “politics” of psak, I prefer to call it the “philosophy” of psak. Politics describes considerations that are external to the judicial exercise. Philosophy, in contrast, describes considerations that are intrinsic to the pesika enterprise.)
While at first blush it seems that we strongly disagree, we actually agree-with a caveat. I too believe that agenda driven Torah is wrong and inauthentic. I, nevertheless, maintain that it is a mistake to assume that Torah exists in a pristine and objective void. Every posek brings to bear his religious orientation when deciding halakhic matters.
I will illustrate my point with an exercise I use in my halakha classes.
Satmar Rav (Rav Yolish Z”L) and R. Moshe Feinstein Z”L famously disagreed on three things, chalav stam, artificial insemination, and the required height of the mechitza.
I do not reveal to my students which views each of them held. I only tell them that each respectively paskened the same way on all three, le’chumra, or le’kulah. I then ask them if they can guess who paskened leniently and who stringently. Using the information they have about these two poskim’s judicial personalities, they always guess correctly: that R. Moshe took the more lenient position on all three issues, while Satmar Rav paskened more stringently on all three.
This outcome is not a coincidence. Their consistent approach implies that there is an underlying principle informing their decisions, an overarching “philosophy” that animates their pesak. This to me is clear evidence that each posek brings a certain orientation to his pesika. The Satmar Rav’s orientation towards chumra was based on his suspicious view of human nature. R. Moshe had the opposite orientation. His halakhic orientation was permissive because he was less cynical about human intentions.
Therefore, regardless of how much a posek claims that his psak is objective, it is simply untrue. Every psak is guided by the posek’s convictions and internal value system. A posek should consequently not strive for an objectivity which does not exist. He instead needs to develop an internal compass which will lead towards an “orientation” which is true to the text and consistent with tradition’s values. While not determinative, this orientation will then guide the posek’s pursuit of Torat emes.
Personally, my pesika is agenda free but at the same time guided by a deep sense of what I believe the Torah was meant to do. In my case, it is a strong belief that a Torat chaim coupled with a Torat chesed (Mishlei 31) is one which is aware of contemporary realities and proactively responds to them.
Derech agav, I also wish to address what seems to be a slight misunderstanding about a phrase I use in the Teshuva. When I mention “our women” (נשי דידן), I was talking about shul going, not breastfeeding.
It was an argument I utilized in the context of addressing the judicial silence on the subject. As I researched the topic I was surprised to learn that in close to two thousand years of pesika, the question of breastfeeding in shul never arose.
I believe that the explanation is sociological, that female shul attendance on the scale we are witnessing today is a relatively new phenomenon and, therefore, questions relating to female presence in shul rarely if ever came up. Until recently, women, especially those of child bearing age, would attend shul twice a year, on Rosh Ha’shana for tekiat shofar and Yom Kippur for however long they could stay in shul. (In certain communities they would also come for the kria of parshat zachor.) A Rabbi, consequently, was never asked to address this question, breastfeeding moms were not in shul. Today this sociological reality is no longer true. “Our women” have full-fledged lives even during their child-bearing years. They have rich secular and professional lives and expect the same in the religious arena. Thus when I was referring to “,נשי דידן” I was making a sociological, not a judicial claim.
בידידות והוקרה, ובברכת חג כשר ושמח,
To this Rabbi Glickman responded:
I enjoyed again reading your thoughts. I am especially charmed by the conscious desire to narrow the gap between us. Our positions may be a reflection of either our temperaments or characters. It may simply boil down to the fact that Ysoscher Katz is a much nicer person than Ozer Glickman. This is something I suspected when I first met you.
My recalcitrance, however, is unconscious and unwitting. And that is precisely my point. I may have views on economics, politics, and social policy and they may impact my view of halakhah. I suspect that they may be very different from yours. They do not, however, directly determine how I read a gemara. You and I can debate the meaning of a text and its relative weight in halakhic decision-making without dealing with the political differences between us. We are not encapsulated by our political personae and neither are the poskim to whom we both look for guidance.
The parallels between Open Orthodoxy and classical Conservative Judaism are too great to ignore. Consider Professor Louis Finkelstein’s The Pharisees in which the rabbis are transformed to populists beneficently caring for the downtrodden masses and Rabbi Akiva is recast as FDR. Consider Professor Louis Ginzberg’s essay “On the Significance of the Halakhah for Jewish History.” Beis Shammai represent the mindset of the wealthy capitalist and Beis Hillel the perspectives of labor. I do not need to reject their analyses out of hand if there is historical truth in what they claim. My point was that poskim are not prisoners of their political mindsets and that Jewish law is not social policy.
Classical Conservative Judaism failed when the historical analyses of Finkelstein and Ginzburg were turned from being descriptive into being prescriptive. Open Orthodoxy makes the same error. I simply don’t believe that Beis Hillel set out to decide halakhic matters on the basis of their philosophic approach. It was unwitting. They and all other poskim would not routinely violate what they believed textually should be the correct halakhah in favor of a philosophic principle. I attribute a greater degree of intellectual honesty to them. If the demands of the system say forbidden, all the orientation in the world won’t change the final decision.
A detail: I didn’t misconstrue what you meant by “our women.” In the Modern Orthodox community in which I live, women attend shul but not as frequently as men do. Open Orthodoxy seeks identity between the genders. I neither believe that the facts on the ground, at least in the part of the ground that I live on, support this nor do I believe that it would be a good thing if they did. Equality does not mean identity, but that’s a discussion for another time.
The exercise you describe in your halakhah class was very enlightening. I’d like to propose another exercise for your classroom. Next time you are writing on a woman-oriented halakhic question, let the students vote how their rebbe would decide before looking into any sources. I’m willing to bet they know the answer every time. Did I for a moment believe that a progressive would not assert a woman’s right to nurse? Anywhere? At any time?
That isn’t the case in my classroom, by the way, so at least we are consistent. I may have a formalist notion of law and it may be a major factor in the way I weigh legal sources. You may be a legal realist and it may be a major factor in the way you weigh legal sources. When I ponder a halakhic problem, however, that orientation is unconscious. I may not be reading the sources with full objectivity but I strive to. This makes me less predictable. Another discussion for another time: rabbinic Judaism appears to me to be unassailable formalist. That’s worth dis-cussing, too.
At this point in our discussion, though, which I hope will continue פנים אל פנים, I think we can be candid with one another. For my part, I think that an Orthodoxy that is dominated by progressivism is neither Orthodox nor Open. To redeem myself in your eyes, I am going to find some progressive question where my scholarly Kohanic friend will prove the point by opting for halakhic integrity over the fashionable mores of Riverdale.
Uh oh! I guess I just proved that I am right: you are a nicer person than I am!
בידידות ובהוקרה רבה
עוזר
Editors note- (1) Rabbi Louis Ginzberg’s approach to historically situate Halakhah and its evolution was used by Rabbi Ezriel Hildeshimer and Rabbis David Zvi Hoffman, as committed students of Von Savigny. So too at Jew’s College in London, see Rabbi Isidor Epstein introduction to the Soncino Talmud on the evolution of the law, or Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits, even by Polei Agudah’s Rabbi Kalman Kahane approves of a historical approach. Prof. Jacob Katz, whose work is influential at YU is seen as the heir to that method. (2) See the classic Marshall Sklare, Conservative Judaism (1955, updated 1972) where he notes that in the 1940’s, 1950’s, and into the 1960’s the laity were not observant of the dietary laws or the Sabbath and they did not turn to rabbis for permission or leniency. Both Sklare and more recently Prof. Jonathan Sarna emphasized that the movement was congregational – meaning that each congregation decided on their own and even a public vote or ritual committee could decide- no halakhah was needed. A shul could choose to hold a non-kosher non-Sabbath observant Hadassah excursions. For more discussion, see Sklare chapter 7 to show that these theories of Conservative law were only a concern of a narrow right wing while unknown and with no effect on the unconcerned laity. (3) Legal realists who dealt extensively with solving practical issues to generate their response include Rav Moshe Issues, Maharam Mintz of Padua, Rav Yitzhak Elchanan, Rav DZ Hoffmann, Rav Waldenberg, and even Rabbi Liebes of the Rabbinical Alliance.
Rav Ozer,
It is Erev Yom Tov, but briefly, three quick points:
1) Your latest response very much reminds me of arguments I often have with my Satmar friends. In my conversations with them they will occasionally evoke the “milchama against tziyonos” as a justification for certain behaviors. I quickly remind them that the “war” is long over! Presented as a justification for particular actions, it is really an excuse for inaction.
When our opponents evoke the “C” (Conservative movement) argument I feel the same way. They cite old tropes as an excuse for ignoring new challenges. It adds nothing substantive to the debate. Our scourge is internal, not external. Our dor faces real challenges (high attrition rates, religious apathy, etc.), repeating the Conservative movement’s mistakes, however, is not one of them. Instead of throwing out clichés, let us work together to inspire our communities. We desperately need to revivify a Modern Orthodoxy that has become dormant and apathetic.
2) While Professor Lieberman may have overstated his case, we now know that his claims have a strong basis in the facts. Much new scholarship has been written on Qumarn in the interim. Scholars like Chana Verman, Vered Noam, Aaron Shemesh, and others have done incredible comparative work on that community. Their arguments make it abundantly clear that Chazal were in dialogue with the Dead Sea communities, offering a more tolerant bent towards the tradition. Their research makes clear that even Chazal were informed by a particular orientation when establishing Rabbinic Judaism.
3) If we are looking at historical precedence, it would be a mistake to not also look at the 12th century. R. Tam, as is well known, revolutionized our understanding of the strictures of hilchot Avodah Zara. He consistently modified the absolute prohibitions that Masechet seems to impose on interfaith commerce. He clearly did not approach masechet Avodah Zara objectively, without a predetermined orientation. To claim that his consistently lenient conclusions are coincidental is far fetched and highly unlikely. The more likely explanation is that he approached his pesok on this topic with an eye towards the financial wellbeing of his community. Proving once again that judicial orientation is an integral part of the judicial process.
Thanks again for this fruitful conversation. Hopefully this will be the beginning of many more, להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה.
A freilichen yom tov,
Ysoscher
Editors note: We are still wishing that Rabbi Katz would be more careful in the use of words like progressive, modern, evolution, or respond to reality. These words have been the subject of denominational debates, which he is seemingly unburdened. Also what is the role of all this newly read historicist scholarship in his pesak? The pronouncements in scholarly articles relying on the latest changes in social sciences are not Aharonim. Why do they have a role? Will all of Rabbi Katz’s pesak be reactive rather than constructive? Rabbi Glickman gave him an opening to call himself a legal realist, he should have taken it.
Now dear readers, like the Shakespearean narrator, I step back for the FB discussion to unfold in several acts. Be aware that as I post the opening act, they are already busy scribing their third round.
Conclusion is here.
|
An Idaho prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old boy who failed to appear in court after he was charged for stealing a pack of gum.
Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh said the warrant was issued against the boy because it was the second time he missed his day in court, a local NBC affiliate reported. Mr. McHugh said he couldn’t comment further because the case involves someone younger than 18.
Post Falls Chief of Police Scott Haug said this is the first time in his 30 years in law enforcement that he’s ever seen an arrest warrant issued for someone that young.
“I was surprised that it had gotten to this level,” he told the news station.
Chief Haug said the boy failed to appear because the family didn’t have the means to get him to the courthouse.
“Had we known that before the court date we would have provided something for the family,” he told the station. “I wish we would have had more information that way we could have provided some sort of assistance.”
The child is currently in the Juvenile Detention Center awaiting a date to be set for him to appear before a judge.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
|
The logo of General Electric Co. is pictured at the Global Operations Center in San Pedro Garza Garcia, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, on May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
(Reuters) - Power development company Invenergy LLC and General Electric Co on Wednesday announced plans to build the largest wind farm in the United States in Oklahoma, part of a $4.5 billion project to provide electricity to 1.1 million utility customers in the region.
The 2-gigawatt Wind Catcher wind farm is under construction in the Oklahoma panhandle and will come online in 2020. The facility will be linked to a 350-mile dedicated power line that will send the wind farm’s electricity to Tulsa.
American Electric Power Co Inc is asking utility regulators in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma to approve plans to build the power line, which will serve customers of its Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Southwestern Electric Power Company regulated utility units.
The utilities also plan to buy the wind farm from Invenergy once it is built.
GE will provide 800 2.5-megawatt turbines for the project.
The cost of wind power has fallen dramatically in recent years, making it competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels. The wind farm and transmission line are expected to save utility customers more than $7 billion over 25 years, the companies said in a joint statement.
The project will also support about 4,000 direct jobs during construction and 80 permanent jobs.
|
Rand Paul said on Friday that, if the Republican establishment tries to block an outsider candidate from winning the party's nomination through a brokered convention, "there'll be war within the party and they'll destroy the party."
Boston radio host Jeff Kuhner asked Paul what he thought of a Washington Post story that reported key figures within the Republican party are preparing for a contested convention in which, the story said, "the GOP's mainstream wing could coalesce around an alternative" to Donald Trump, who continues to lead primary polls.
Paul, who is polling toward the bottom of the Republican presidential field, expressed strong opposition to the plan.
"If the establishment tries to block an outsider from winning the nomination, there'll be war within the party and they'll destroy the party," he said. "The establishment needs to realize that Republicans across the country are unhappy, they're unhappy with the Washington leaders who are not exercising the power of the purse. They're unhappy with Washington leaders not standing up to president Obama. And they're sick and tired of all of it."
"So if they see their will thwarted through the primary process, I think you're gonna find that, uh, there'll be a war declared," Paul continued. "But it'll be a war that the establishment has decided to declare on the grassroots and it's gonna be a real problem."
|
Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) share price jumped after it beat revenue estimates thanks to cryptocurrency miners snapping up the firm’s graphics cards. Shares rose 11% after the chip company announced earnings on July 25, but the firm’s stock is up 152% over the last 12 months, making it the fourth best performer on the S&P 500, CNBC reported.
Lisa Su, AMD’s chief executive, said the firm saw “elevated demand” from cryptocurrency miners during the quarter. This need for graphics cards helped AMD give a “solid beat” to analyst estimates, said Kevin Cassidy of Stifel, who covers AMD’s stock at Stifel Financial Corp.”While management wasn’t specific on how much, the [graphics processor unit] revenue upside was driven by cryptocurrency applications.”
Crypto miners—in particular those mining ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market valuation behind bitcoin—have been in the crypto equivalent of a gold rush since early this year. They are racing to take advantage of ethereum’s exploding price by adding more processing power to their mines. Some of them are even resorting to leasing Boeing 747s to fly the increasingly scarce graphics processors from AMD and Nvidia directly to their ethereum mines so they can be plugged in to the network as quickly as possible.
“Time is critical, very critical,” in mining, Marco Streng, chief executive of Genesis Mining, a major ethereum miner, told Quartz. “For example, we are renting entire airplanes, Boeing 747s, to ship on time. Anything else, like shipping by sea, loses so much opportunity.”
Up for grabs is a supply of roughly 36,000 units of new ether, the digital token associated with ethereum, per day. At current prices of around $200 per ether, that translates to $7.2 million worth of ether that miners compete for each day.
“When building our data centers, we have the highest priority on time,” Streng said. “Time counts so much. We are using the fastest delivery possible. You risk the opportunity to mine for the days you are delayed. If you are deploying 10 days later, you are losing 10 days of mining—that is the cost.”
To make money, miners must buy GPUS (graphics processing units) from AMD or Nvidia, then pay the costs of electricity and labor to run them, and maintain giant warehouses to store the machines. In return, miners get a supply of ether each day if they possess sufficient processing power. Because their costs have remained stable while ether’s price has surged from around $10 at the start of the year to a high of $400 in June, miners’ potential profits have increased 40-fold.
“Everyone began to realize this and wanted to get GPUS to get mining. This created an absolute shortage in the market,” Streng said. “The mining gear has a certain price. And suddenly the price of coins goes from $10 to $400—so a factor of 40. The mining return has gone up by 40 but the hardware is still the same cost. This creates an incredible economic incentive for people to start mining.”
The amount of processing power devoted to mining ethereum is measured in “hash rate.” Here’s a chart showing that explosion in mining resources:
Streng says he has maintained “very strong connections” with his GPU suppliers, by virtue of being one of the earliest large ethereum miners. But the competition is heating up. “Now more and more miners are coming, and you have these scenarios where you experience shortages,” he said.
Genesis maintains mines around the world, including in Iceland and China, Streng claims. Streng was visiting his facility near Shanghai when Quartz contacted him. Miners are notoriously secretive about the size and location of their facilities since they must compete against each other to win new supplies of cryptocurrency. It’s an “information advantage” to maintain secrecy, Streng says.
Despite the thirst for graphics cards from crypto miners, AMD management says it’s not going to include that demand in its forecasts. “We didn’t have cryptocurrency in our forecast and we’re not looking to it as a long-term growth driver,” Su said. The chip maker says it’s focusing on its core market of gamers. In the meantime, though, it’s selling virtual shovels to miners as the cryptocurrency gold rush continues.
|
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and California governor Jerry Brown (L) shake hands after signing a pact to strengthen economic and research ties between California and Israel at the Computer History Museum on March 5, 2014 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In a victory for Israel advocates, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill against the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement on Saturday.
Brown’s signature makes California the 13th state to enact an anti-BDS measure, most of which bar state contracts or pension funds from going to entities–non-profits or corporations–that support BDS. (12 of those states, including California, passed the law through the normal legislative process. In New York, though, Governor Andrew Cuomo bypassed the legislature and signed an executive order barring state funds from flowing to entities that support BDS.)
California’s law is slightly different than other states’ in that it requires a company who receives a state contract over $100,000 to certify, under penalty of perjury, that any policy they have against Israel, including a boycott, is not discriminatory. Legal organizations against the bill–the Center for Constitutional Rights, Palestine Legal and the National Lawyers Guild–have criticized the language as potentially leading to a floodgate of “complaints, investigations, and possible felony prosecutions into the thoughts and beliefs motivating a prospective contractor’s support for Palestinian human rights,” as they wrote in a letter opposing the bill.
Asked for comment on the bill, Deborah Hoffman, a spokesperson for Governor Brown, told Mondoweiss “we are letting the governor’s signature speak for itself and won’t be commenting any further.”
Brown’s decision is the latest victory for pro-Israel groups, who have lobbied legislators across the country to enact anti-BDS legislation. California is one of the most significant prizes for pro-Israel groups. It’s the most populous state in the country and activists groups on opposing sides of the issue have waged intense battles over BDS and Israel-Palestine. The University of California, Berkeley’s decision to suspend a class on Palestine and settler-colonialism–and then reverse that decision–was the latest case to make headlines in the state and the country.
Anti-BDS bills are pending in states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, and it is likely other states will consider similar legislation in the coming months.
The news that Brown signed the bill into law came as one the main groups pushing for the legislation, the Israeli-American Council, gathered in Washington, D.C. for a conference featuring the likes of Dennis Ross, Rudy Giuliani and Sheldon Adelson. Adam Milstein, the national chairman of the council, celebrated the “sensational news” on Twitter.
“The bill sends the clear and unmistakable message that the state of California wants no part of the goals and tactics of the BDS movement,” said Janna Weinstein Smith, the American Jewish Committee’s Los Angeles Regional Director, in a statement. The group had joined the Israeli-American Council in lobbying for the bill. “Thanks to this legislation, those who wish to target Jews and Israelis for discrimination will not be doing business with the state of California.”
Brown’s signature on the bill brings an end to a months-long battle over the precise text of the bill. Originally, the legislation, authored by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, a Democrat from Santa Monica, sought to bar state contracts over $10,000 from going to pro-BDS companies. Then, after lobbying by civil liberties groups and advocates of BDS, references to Israel and BDS were stripped out of the text. But Bloom ultimately succeeded in crafting language that his colleagues were comfortable with, and references to Israel and BDS were reinserted.
Estee Chandler, a leader in the Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, told Mondoweiss she was not surprised at the outcome of the fight over the BDS bill. Chandler and other Palestine solidarity activists had appealed to Brown by noting his friendship with and support for Cesar Chavez, the legendary Latino labor activist who used boycotts to win victories for farm workers.
“We’d hoped his history would play a role in his reading of this,” said Chandler. She is worried that the bill may impact church groups who receive state money and whose denominations have divested from firms linked to the Israeli army.
Still, Chandler added that the fight over Palestine and BDS is “not a short game but a long game. We need to take the example of the Palestinian people–they are committed and they are steadfast. And we need to keep moving on and keep doing what we do, keep educating the public and educating legislators, because if you wanna change US policy you need to change the understanding that legislators and staffers have of the situation.”
She said that during the campaign against Brown’s bill, she saw some success when staffers and legislators told her and other advocates, off the record, that they wanted the legislation to go away.
But those sentiments did not translate into many votes. Only two legislators–Assemblyman Mark Stone and Senator Bill Monning–voted no on the bill when it came up for votes in late August.
Brown’s office then fielded calls and e-mails from activists on both sides of the issue, asking him to veto or sign the legislation. On September 24, Brown made up his mind. He signed the bill into law, and California joined the growing number of states that have taken aim at the BDS movement.
|
How age groups in the U.S. have shifted between 1950 and 2060
ASPEN, Colo.—Throughout human history, plotting populations by age group has yielded a pyramid. Across societies, the young (the base) exceeded the old (the tip).
But in recent decades, these pyramids have been morphing into rectangles and other previously unseen shapes. Just look at how the age breakdown of the U.S. population is expected to change between 1950 and 2060, in the GIF below. As early as 2030, the percentage of Americans 65 and older could surpass the percentage that is younger than 15.
"This is uncharted water," according to Paul Taylor, who researches demographic and generational changes at the Pew Research Center.
This trend isn't confined to the United States. Between 2010 and 2050, global population growth is forecast not only to slow but also to be strongest among older age groups (the phenomenon is blunted somewhat by rapid population growth in regions such as Africa).
In fact, the shifts are even more pronounced in some European and Asian countries than they are in America. Demographers anticipate that by 2050, the majority of people in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany will be older than 50.
By mid-century, China, in part because of its one-child policy, will have an age pyramid resembling a "top-heavy trapezoid," Taylor said in a talk on Saturday at the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is organized by the Aspen Institute and The Atlantic. In Germany, deaths have exceeded births every year for the last four decades. And the most dramatic manifestation of the phenomenon is in Japan.
|
As Philippe Coutinho departed from the pitch on a warm afternoon in east London, his 89th‑minute substitution met by raucous applause by those who filled the away end, he was embraced by Jürgen Klopp. Nothing surprising there given the frequency with which the Liverpool manger hugs his players but this one felt a little different: tighter, longer, stronger. A thank you in physical form and, perhaps even, the warmest of pleas to the Brazilian to stay exactly where he is.
In the past week Coutinho has yet again been linked with a move to Barcelona, despite having signed a new five-year contract with Liverpool in January, with the city’s leading daily newspaper Sport running a front page headline on Tuesday that suggested in unequivocal terms that the player has agreed a €90m move to the Camp Nou in the summer. Liverpool immediately insisted he is not for sale but the rumours refuse to die and will have only grown on the back of how the 24-year-old performed against West Ham United. He was yet again brilliant and the hope for Klopp and everyone at Anfield must be that, having contributed greatly to the club in all but securing a return to the Champions League, Coutinho will deem his immediate future does indeed lie on Merseyside.
Philippe Coutinho strengthens Liverpool’s grip on top four at West Ham Read more
The midfielder certainly looked content on an afternoon in which he scored two goals, set up another and generally dazzled with a combination of masterful technique, stunning vision and ruthless finishing. Those in claret and blue simply could not tame him and if there was one image which summed up the torment it was probably that of James Collins standing flat-footed and looking utterly clueless as Coutinho cut inside him before lashing the ball past Adrián to make it 3-0 to Liverpool on 61 minutes. Watching on, Slaven Bilic must have felt tempted to reach for the nearest white towel and throw it on the pitch.
It would be wrong to suggest Coutinho was the only one who shone for Liverpool in a 4-0 victory that leaves them requiring just one more win, against Middlesbrough on Sunday, to guarantee a top-four finish. Theirs was a collective pummelling, with Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum among those in the visitors’ ranks who also caught the eye. But the star turn was yet again Coutinho and what was particularly intriguing about the No10’s contribution was that it came from a No8 position.
This season Coutinho has most often lined up on the left of Liverpool’s three-man attack. Here, though, he was positioned on the left of a diamond midfield as Klopp reverted to a conventional two‑man attack consisting of Sturridge and Divock Origi, who completed the scoring on Sunday on 76 minutes. Klopp had hinted at the tactical switch on the eve of this match, suggesting Coutinho could have “more influence” on proceedings from a deeper position and having made the change, the German watched on with delight as ‘O Magico’ lit up the London Stadium.
Marked less tightly and with space, Coutinho made his presence felt from the outset and it was his delicious defence-splitting pass on 35 minutes that opened the scoring for Liverpool. Nathaniel Clyne appeared the obvious target as Coutinho collected possession by the halfway line but instead of going right he set Sturridge free with a perfectly weighted delivery through the middle that the striker duly converted for his first goal since 2 January.
From there the Brazilian continued to menace a West Ham team who, it should be said, defended appallingly, and on 57 minutes he scored his first of the afternoon, gliding past Havard Nordtveit and Winston Reid in quick succession before drilling a right‑footed shot into the far corner. Coutinho’s second four minutes later came via a breakaway that he led on the halfway line and took the Brazilian’s tally to 12 in the Premier League for the season which, allied to his seven assists, makes this his most productive campaign since he arrived from Internazionale in January 2013.
Play Video 1:02 'A perfect afternoon' for Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool – video
“It was obvious Phil can play this,” Klopp said when asked about Coutinho’s performance from a deeper position. “If he starts on the wing he’s very often in this position – he’s always a playmaker and it’s not interesting where he’s coming from; he needs to be in the decisive area, shooting and finishing situations.”
Seasoned Liverpool watchers will already have been aware of the damage Coutinho can cause from a midfield role given that is where he mainly performed during the 2013-14 season, excelling as Brendan Rodgers’s men came close to winning the title. As Klopp states, it is a base from which he can move into different areas and what is so mesmeric about watching the Brazilian perform is how he can do something by doing nothing, dropping a shoulder and standing still, forcing defenders off balance before gliding past them with the ease of a cyclist peddling down a ramp. He is a captivating talent who Liverpool must keep if they are to progress domestically and, almost certainly now, make their mark in the Champions League next season. Barcelona’s advances will remain strong but the message from Anfield needs to be straightforward: our main man is going nowhere.
|
I am using Lavary's laravel-menu package, and I am trying to build a simple 2 level menu system based on the contents of a db table. I have the middleware created to create the menu on each request:
public function handle($request, Closure $next) { Menu::make('NavBar', function($menu){ $menuitems = MenuItem::all(); foreach($menuitems as $menuitem) { if(!is_null($menuitem->parent)){ // For example, 'Conferences', a top level menu item with a null parent field $menu->add($menuitem->title, url($menuitem->url)); } else{ // Parent is a field in database, for example 'Traverse City 2015' would have the parent 'conferences' $parent = $menuitem->parent; $menu->item($parent)->add($menuitem->title, url($menuitem->url)); } } }); return $next($request); }
In my view, I call:
{!! $NavBar->asUl() !!}
I would expect this to render as such:
<ul> <li><a href="/conferences">Conferences</a></li> <ul> <li><a href="/conferences/traverse-city-2015">Traverse City 2015</li> </ul> </ul>
Instead, it is rendering:
<ul> <li><a href="/conferences/">Conferences</a></li> <li><a href="/conferences/traverse-city-2015">Traverse City 2015</a></li> </ul>
Any ideas why the sub-items aren't showing up correctly?
|
Two burglars who threatened a woman in her Warwickshire home called for an ambulance after she collapsed.
Police said the men kicked in the back door of the house in Watling Street, Dordon, at about 2300 BST on Monday.
However, while they were searching the house, they came across the woman who lived there. They threatened her and she collapsed.
Officers said the men, who were white and in their late teens or 20s, then called an ambulance before fleeing.
The woman was checked by an ambulance crew and was said to be suffering from shock but was not hurt.
One burglar was described as being of stocky build and had light brown hair, the other man was shorter with a thin face and dark short hair.
Police have urged anyone with information to contact them.
|
Don't worry, concerned fans, Jon Jones' bank account is doing just fine these day. At least, that's what his brother, Baltimore Ravens defensive end Arthur Jones says.
After a fan tweeted Arthur about needing to hook Jon up with a better agent so he could make the kind of money Arthur and brother Chandler (a defensive end for the New England Patriots) pull in, Arthur tweeted back the following:
Arthur has a one year contract with a base pay of $2,023,000 while Chandler has a four year deal worth a total of $8,172,552 ($7,421,215 guaranteed). $4,384,000 is a signing bonus and they have his base pay structured out so that he only makes $761,522 in base pay this year -- not exactly a bad thing given the large signing bonus.
The idea that Jones makes as much as them might seem slightly hard to believe but when you factor in sponsorships (even if people tend to think fighters make more from sponsor deals than is reality) and base pay plus the always hard to pin down undisclosed bonuses, it's shouldn't really be that far fetched that he's making $4,000,000 a year ($2mil a fight the past two years).
It's a different sport with a different pay structure, and Malki Kawa is not Al Haymon on Malki's best day and Al's worst, but if Andre Berto can pull $1,650,000 against Guerrero on HBO, one would hope that the best fighter in the UFC can compete with that on top drawing PPVs.
|
This is part of a series on a family of dimension-reduction algorithms called non-linear dimension reduction. The goal here is to reduce the dimensions of a dataset (i.e. discard some columns in your data)
In previous posts, I discussed the MDS algorithm and presented some key ideas. In this post, I will describe how those ideas are leveraged in the Isomap algorithm. A clojure implementation based on core.matrix is also included.
Intuition
Isomap uses the same core ideas as the MDS algorithm:
Obtain a matrix of proximities (distances between points in a dataset).
This distance matrix is a matrix of inner products.
An eigendecomposition of this matrix gives us the lower dimension embedding.
Isomap differs from MDS in one vital way - the construction of the distance matrix. In MDS, the distance between two points is just the euclidean distance.
In Isomap, the distances between points are the weight of the shortest path in a point-graph.
The point graph is constructed by placing an edge between two points if the euclidean distance between them falls under a certain threshold or between a point and its top $ k $ neighbors.
This distance matrix captures the underlying manifold more accurately than one constructed using euclidean distances. The following toy example demonstrates this:
The data shown here looks like a swirl that starts at point 1 and ends at point 9. We would like to recover this phenomenon in our lower-dimension embedding.
The first step is to build a distance matrix. Say we use euclidean distances between two points as the corresponding entry in the distance matrix.
In this figure, it is clear that euclidean_distance(1, 6) = euclidean_distance(1, 8) and euclidean_distance(1, 5) = euclidean_distance(1, 9) .
Clearly the distances computed here miss the “swirl” in the data entirely. Working with the point graph mentioned above helps us get around this problem.
Let us build a point graph by adding an edge between a node and its nearest neighbor (so $ 1-NN $). The weight on the edge is the euclidean distance between the nodes. The distance between two points is the weight of the shortest path between these points. The point graph is shown below:
Observe that when we use this newer distance metric, distance(1, 6) is indeed less than distance(1, 8) and distance(1, 5) is indeed less than distance(1, 9)
This distance function is clearly doing a better job of capturing the “swirl” in the data.
The Isomap algorithm uses a distance matrix constructed like this in place of one constructed with euclidean distances. This distance matrix is then plugged into the MDS framework and an eigendecomposition is run on the double-centered matrix.
Implementation
Let us do a clojure implementation.
We have a point-set as a core.matrix matrix. First, we compute the point-graph. I am going to place edges between a point and its 3 nearest neighbors (so $ 3-NN $). This routines expects a map of the type {point-index point-vector, …}
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ( defn build-point-graph "A point graph is a k-NN graph. Edges between a point and its 3 nearest neigbors" ([ indexed-points ] ( build-point-graph indexed-points 3 )) ([ indexed-points num-neighbors ] ( reduce ( fn [ acc pt ] ( let [ other-points ( filter ( fn [ x ] ( not= ( first x ) ( first pt ))) indexed-points )] ( merge acc {( first pt ) ( map first ( take num-neighbors ( sort-by # ( distance ( first pt ) ( first % )) other-points )))}))) {} indexed-points )))
Then a simple Floyd Warshall algorithm implementation that computes the weights on the shortest paths. It takes the graph built in the previous step and the original indexed points and builds the graph.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 ( defn floyd-warshall-distance "Expected graph representation: {V -> neighboring-points}" [ a-graph indexed-points ] ( let [ indexed-points-dict ( into {} indexed-points ) edges ( reduce ( fn [ acc [ x neighbors ]] ( concat acc ( map ( fn [ n ] [ x n ]) neighbors ))) [] a-graph ) inf-matrix ( + Double/POSITIVE_INFINITY ( zero-matrix ( count indexed-points ) ( count indexed-points ))) zero-diag ( reduce ( fn [ acc i ] ( mset acc i i 0 )) inf-matrix ( -> indexed-points count range )) weights-init ( reduce ( fn [ acc [ x y ]] ( mset acc x y ( distance ( indexed-points-dict x ) ( indexed-points-dict y )))) zero-diag edges )] ( reduce ( fn [ old-distances [ k i j ]] ( if ( < ( + ( mget old-distances i k ) ( mget old-distances k j )) ( mget old-distances i j )) ( mset old-distances i j ( + ( mget old-distances i k ) ( mget old-distances k j ))) old-distances )) weights-init ( for [ k ( -> indexed-points count range ) i ( -> indexed-points count range ) j ( -> indexed-points count range )] [ k i j ]))))
Once we have a distance matrix, we can simply feed it to MDS:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ( defn isomap "Takes indexed-points and the target dimension" [ points n ] ( let [ indexed-points ( map-indexed ( fn [ i x ] [ i x ]) points ) graph ( build-point-graph indexed-points ) distances ( floyd-warshall-distance graph indexed-points )] ( mds/distances->points distances n )))
And that’s it!
Examples
I will use word-vectors from word2vec for these 10 words: river lake city town actor doctor dog cat animal home
The word vectors for these words are available in foo.csv.
Let us reduce these to two dimensions. We get:
ISOMAP Embeddings
The embeddings produced by the MDS algorithm are:
MDS Embeddings
Compared to the plot produced by MDS, we have more separation between terms - for instance cat and dog are place close by but they don’t overlap (unlike the MDS plot). This is a qualitative analysis, it is pretty hard to gauge which embedding is better.
Full Source
See this repo: https://github.com/shriphani/clojure-manifold
|
As basketball fans our passions are always stirred by a player or team that shows heart on the court. In the feel good story of the preseason so far, the Utah Jazz showed off the size of their heart by fulfilling the dreams of young J.P. Gibson.
J.P, a five year old basketball enthusiast who is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia was signed to a one-day contract by the Jazz allowing him to play in their annual White and Blue scrimmage. He signed the contract with a blue crayon as he stood next to his family, parents Josh and Megan, two year old sister, Elsie, and Team President Randy Rigby and predicted he would score seven points in the game.
According to his mother Megan Gibson, “He’s been fighting cancer longer than he has not been in his little life.”
That didn’t seem to slow J.P. as he high-fived Toure’ Murry and subbed into the game in the third quarter sporting wristbands, a #1 jersey with his name on it, and an unbelievable swagger for a young man surrounded by idols he has watched since he was a one year old . He took the inbound pass and drove past Jazz defenders as he rose to the basket for an emphatic two hand dunk assisted by 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert. He then high-fived his teammates and opponents as the arena was filled with applause.
“Chemo damages their joints, so we didn’t know if he’d be able to run or walk or anything like that. And so to see him go out there on the court tonight with the Jazz, I don’t think there are words to express. We are so grateful.” His mother said, through tears in an interview with KHOU11 after the game. She also added in a release issued by the team that, “He (J.P.) started insisting on shooting hoops when he was just 15 months old. He knows he has to be 6 before he can play Junior Jazz, and he reminds us all the time that he can’t wait until he’s 6.
His father Josh Gibson said. “I wish it was for a different reason. It’s unfortunate that it’s because he has cancer, but we’re happy that there’s great people out there that care.”
Before the game J.P. prepared with the team in the locker room, went through pregame stretches alongside teammate Dante Exum, and even impressed in the Rookie dance off at midcourt. He then sat patiently on the bench relaxing with other players for the first half of the game.
J.P. and his family were clear winners in the event hosted by the Jazz as part of photographer Jon Diaz’s “Anything Can Be” project that creates storybooks for children, but it was obvious by the smiles on their faces that the players were winners too as they showed tremendous affection for their temporary teammate.
The old adage says that there is great joy in giving, and it was apparent that happiness has infected the Utah Jazz. Now we can all watch with great anticipation to see just how far it will take them and their new little friend in this young season.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo via Getty Images
|
Fluoroscopy ([1]) is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging, a fluoroscope ()[2][3] allows a physician to see the internal structure and function of a patient, so that the pumping action of the heart or the motion of swallowing, for example, can be watched. This is useful for both diagnosis and therapy and occurs in general radiology, interventional radiology, and image-guided surgery. In its simplest form, a fluoroscope consists of an X-ray source and a fluorescent screen, between which a patient is placed. However, since the 1950s most fluoroscopes have included X-ray image intensifiers and cameras as well, to improve the image's visibility and make it available on a remote display screen. For many decades fluoroscopy tended to produce live pictures that were not recorded, but since the 1960s, as technology improved, recording and playback became the norm.
Fluoroscopy is similar to radiography and X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) in that it generates images using X-rays. The original difference was that radiography fixed still images on film whereas fluoroscopy provided live moving pictures that were not stored. However, today radiography, CT, and fluoroscopy are all digital imaging modes with image analysis software and data storage and retrieval.
The use of X-rays, a form of ionizing radiation, requires the potential risks from a procedure to be carefully balanced with the benefits of the procedure to the patient. Because the patient must be exposed to a continuous source of X-rays instead of a momentary pulse, a fluoroscopy procedure generally subjects a patient to a higher absorbed dose of radiation than an ordinary (still) radiograph. Only important applications such as health care, bodily safety, food safety, nondestructive testing, and scientific research meet the risk-benefit threshold for use. In the first half of the 20th century, shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were used in shoe stores, but their use was discontinued because it is no longer considered acceptable to use radiation exposure, however small the dose, for nonessential purposes. Much research has been directed toward reducing radiation exposure, and recent advances in fluoroscopy technology such as digital image processing and flat panel detectors, have resulted in much lower radiation doses than former procedures.
Fluoroscopy is also used in airport security scanners to check for hidden weapons or bombs. These machines use lower doses of radiation than medical fluoroscopy. The reason for higher doses in medical applications is that they are more demanding about tissue contrast, and for the same reason they sometimes require contrast media.
Mechanism of action [ edit ]
Visible light can be seen by the naked eye (and thus forms images that people can look at), but it does not penetrate most objects (only translucent ones). In contrast, X-rays can penetrate a wider variety of objects (such as the human body), but they are invisible to the naked eye. To take advantage of the penetration for image-forming purposes, one must somehow convert the X-rays' intensity variations (which correspond to material contrast and thus image contrast) into a form that is visible. Classic film-based radiography achieves this by the variable chemical changes that the X-rays induce in the film, and classic fluoroscopy achieves it by fluorescence, in which certain materials convert X-ray energy (or other parts of the spectrum) into visible light. This use of fluorescent materials to make a viewing scope is how fluoroscopy got its name.
As the X-rays pass through the patient, they are attenuated by varying amounts as they pass through or reflect off the different tissues of the body, casting an X-ray shadow of the radiopaque tissues (such as bone tissue) on the fluorescent screen. Images on the screen are produced as the unattenuated or mildly attenuated X-rays from radiolucent tissues interact with atoms in the screen through the photoelectric effect, giving their energy to the electrons. While much of the energy given to the electrons is dissipated as heat, a fraction of it is given off as visible light.
Early radiologists would adapt their eyes to view the dim fluoroscopic images by sitting in darkened rooms, or by wearing red adaptation goggles. After the development of X-ray image intensifiers, the images were bright enough to see without goggles under normal ambient light.
Nowadays, in all forms of digital X-ray imaging (radiography, fluoroscopy, and CT) the conversion of X-ray energy into visible light can be achieved by the same types of electronic sensors, such as flat panel detectors, which convert the X-ray energy into electrical signals, small bursts of current that convey information that a computer can analyze, store, and output as images. As fluorescence is a special case of luminescence, digital X-ray imaging is conceptually similar to digital gamma ray imaging (scintigraphy, SPECT, and PET) in that in both of these imaging mode families, the information conveyed by the variable attenuation of invisible electromagnetic radiation as it passes through tissues with various radiodensities is converted by an electronic sensor into an electric signal that is processed by a computer and made output as a visible-light image.
History [ edit ]
Early era [ edit ]
(top right) examining his hand with fluoroscope. Experimenter in 1890sexamining his hand with fluoroscope.
Thoracic fluoroscopy using handheld fluorescent screen, 1909. No radiation protection is used, as the dangers of X-rays were not yet recognised.
Surgical operation during World War I using a fluoroscope to find embedded bullets
Thoracic fluoroscopy in 1940.
Adrian shoe-fitting fluoroscope used prior to 1950 in shoe stores for testing the fit of shoes. A high-tech sales gimmick, these were phased out due to concerns about unnecessary radiation exposure.
Fluoroscopy's origins and radiography's origins can both be traced back to 8 November 1895, when Wilhelm Röntgen, or in English script Roentgen, noticed a barium platinocyanide screen fluorescing as a result of being exposed to what he would later call X-rays (algebraic x variable signifying "unknown"). Within months of this discovery, the first crude fluoroscopes were created. These experimental fluoroscopes were simply thin cardboard screens that had been coated on the inside with a layer of fluorescent metal salt, attached to a funnel-shaped cardboard eyeshade which excluded room light with a viewing eyepiece which the user held up to his eye. The fluoroscopic image obtained in this way was quite faint. Even when finally improved and commercially introduced for diagnostic imaging, the limited light produced from the fluorescent screens of the earliest commercial scopes necessitated that a radiologist sit for a period in the darkened room where the imaging procedure was to be performed, to first accustom his eyes to increase their sensitivity to perceive the faint image. The placement of the radiologist behind the screen also resulted in significant dosing of the radiologist.
In the late 1890s, Thomas Edison began investigating materials for ability to fluoresce when X-rayed, and by the turn of the century he had invented a fluoroscope with sufficient image intensity to be commercialized. Edison had quickly discovered that calcium tungstate screens produced brighter images. Edison, however, abandoned his researches in 1903 because of the health hazards that accompanied use of these early devices. Clarence Dally, a glass blower of lab equipment and tubes at Edison’s laboratory was repeatedly exposed, suffering radiation poisoning, later succumbing to an aggressive cancer. Edison himself damaged an eye in testing these early fluoroscopes.[4]
During this infant commercial development, many incorrectly predicted that the moving images of fluoroscopy would completely replace roentgenographs (radiographic still image films), but the then superior diagnostic quality of the roentgenograph and their already alluded safety enhancement of lower radiation dose via shorter exposure prevented this from occurring. Another factor was that plain films inherently offered recording of the image in a simple and inexpensive way, whereas recording and playback of fluoroscopy remained a more complex and expensive proposition for decades to come (discussed in detail below).
Red adaptation goggles were developed by Wilhelm Trendelenburg in 1916 to address the problem of dark adaptation of the eyes, previously studied by Antoine Beclere. The resulting red light from the goggles' filtration correctly sensitized the physician's eyes prior to the procedure, while still allowing him to receive enough light to function normally.
More trivial uses of the technology also appeared in the 1920s–1950s, including a shoe-fitting fluoroscope used at shoe stores.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Concerns regarding the impact of frequent or poorly-controlled use were expressed in the 1950s,[14][15][16][17][18] leading to new guidelines,[19] regulations[20][21][22] and ultimately the practise's end by the early 1960s.[23][24][25][26][27][28]
They are no longer used because the radiation exposure risk outweighs the trivial benefit. Only important applications such as health care, bodily safety, food safety, nondestructive testing, and scientific research meet the risk-benefit threshold for use.
Analog electronic era [ edit ]
1950s fluoroscope
Analog electronics revolutionized fluoroscopy. The development of the X-ray image intensifier by Westinghouse in the late 1940s[29] in combination with closed circuit TV cameras of the 1950s allowed for brighter pictures and better radiation protection. The red adaptation goggles became obsolete as image intensifiers allowed the light produced by the fluorescent screen to be amplified and made visible in a lighted room. The addition of the camera enabled viewing of the image on a monitor, allowing a radiologist to view the images in a separate room away from the risk of radiation exposure. The commercialization of video tape recorders beginning in 1956 allowed the TV images to be recorded and played back at will.
Digital electronic era [ edit ]
Digital electronics were applied to fluoroscopy beginning in the early 1960s, when Frederick G. Weighart[30][31] and James F. McNulty[32] (1929-2014) at Automation Industries, Inc., then, in El Segundo, California produced on a fluoroscope the world’s first image to be digitally generated in real-time, while developing a later commercialized portable apparatus for the onboard nondestructive testing of naval aircraft. Square wave signals were detected on a fluorescent screen to create the image.
From the late 1980s onward, digital imaging technology was reintroduced to fluoroscopy after development of improved detector systems. Modern improvements in screen phosphors, digital image processing, image analysis, and flat panel detectors have allowed for increased image quality while minimizing the radiation dose to the patient. Modern fluoroscopes use caesium iodide (CsI) screens and produce noise-limited images, ensuring that the minimal radiation dose results while still obtaining images of acceptable quality.
Etymology [ edit ]
Many names exist in the medical literature for moving pictures taken with X-rays. They include fluoroscopy, fluorography, cinefluorography, photofluorography, fluororadiography, kymography (electrokymography, roentgenkymography), cineradiography (cine), videofluorography, and videofluoroscopy. Today the word fluoroscopy is widely understood to be a hypernym of all the aforementioned terms, which explains why it is the most commonly used and why the others are declining in usage.[33] The profusion of names is an idiomatic artifact of technological change, as follows:
As soon as X-rays (and their application of seeing inside the body) were discovered in the 1890s, both looking and recording were pursued. Both live moving images and recorded still images were available from the very beginning with simple equipment; thus, both "looking with a fluorescent screen" (fluoro- + -scopy) and "recording/engraving with radiation" (radio- + -graphy) were immediately named with New Latin words—both words are attested since 1896.[34]
But the quest for recorded moving images was a more complex challenge. In the 1890s, moving pictures of any kind (whether taken with visible light or with invisible radiation) were emerging technologies. Because the word photography (literally "recording/engraving with light") was long since established as connoting a still-image medium, the word cinematography (literally "recording/engraving movement") was coined for the new medium of visible-light moving pictures. Soon several new words were coined for achieving moving radiographic pictures. This was often done either by filming a simple fluoroscopic screen with a movie camera (variously called fluorography, cinefluorography, photofluorography, or fluororadiography) or by taking serial radiographs rapidly to serve as the frames in a movie (cineradiography). Either way, the resulting film reel could be displayed by a movie projector. Another group of techniques were various kinds of kymography, whose common theme was capturing recordings in a series of moments, with a concept similar to movie film although not necessarily with movie-type playback; rather, the sequential images would be compared frame by frame (a distinction comparable to tile mode versus cine mode in today's CT terminology). Thus electrokymography and roentgenkymography were among the early ways to record images from a simple fluoroscopic screen.
Television also was under early development during these decades (1890s–1920s), but even after commercial TV began widespread adoption after World War II, it remained a live-only medium for a time. In the mid-1950s, a commercialized ability to capture the moving pictures of television onto magnetic tape (with a video tape recorder) was developed. This soon led to the addition of the video- prefix to the words fluorography and fluoroscopy, with the words videofluorography and videofluoroscopy attested since 1960.[35] In the 1970s, video tape moved from TV studios and medical imaging into the consumer market with home video via VHS and Betamax, and those formats were also incorporated into medical video equipment.
Thus, over time the cameras and recording media for fluoroscopic imaging have progressed as follows. The original kind of fluoroscopy, and the common kind for its first half century of existence, simply used none, because for most diagnosis and treatment, they weren't essential. For those investigations that needed to be transmitted or recorded (such as for training or research), movie cameras using film (such as 16 mm film) were the medium. In the 1950s, analog electronic video cameras (at first only producing live output but later using video tape recorders) appeared. Since the 1990s, there have been digital video cameras, flat panel detectors, and storage of data to local servers or (more recently) secure cloud servers. Late-model fluoroscopes all use digital image processing and image analysis software, which not only helps to produce optimal image clarity and contrast but also allows that result with a minimal radiation dose (because signal processing can take tiny inputs from low radiation doses and amplify them while to some extent also differentiating signal from noise).
Whereas the word cine () in general usage refers to cinema (that is, a movie)[34][36] or to certain film formats (cine film) for recording such a movie, in medical usage it refers to cineradiography or, in recent decades, to any digital imaging mode that produces cine-like moving images (for example, newer CT and MRI systems can output to either cine mode or tile mode). Cineradiography records 30-frame-per-second fluoroscopic images of internal organs such as the heart taken during injection of contrast dye to better visualize regions of stenosis, or to record motility in the body's gastrointestinal tract. The predigital technology is being replaced with digital imaging systems. Some of these decrease the frame rate but also decrease the absorbed dose of radiation to the patient. As they improve, frame rates will likely increase.
Today, owing to technological convergence, the word fluoroscopy is widely understood to be a hypernym of all the earlier names for moving pictures taken with X-rays, both live and recorded. Also owing to technological convergence, radiography, CT, and fluoroscopy are now all digital imaging modes using X-rays with image analysis software and easy data storage and retrieval. Just as movies, TV, and web videos are to a substantive extent no longer separate technologies but only variations on common underlying digital themes, so too are the X-ray imaging modes. And indeed, the term X-ray imaging is the ultimate hypernym that unites all of them, even subsuming both fluoroscopy and four-dimensional CT (4DCT) (4DCT is the newest form of moving pictures taken with X-rays).[37] However, it may be many decades before the earlier hyponyms fall into disuse, not least because the day when 4D CT displaces all earlier forms of moving X-ray imaging may yet be distant.
Risks [ edit ]
Fluoroscopy burn from long exposure
Because fluoroscopy involves the use of X-rays, a form of ionizing radiation, fluoroscopic procedures pose a potential for increasing the patient's risk of radiation-induced cancer. Radiation doses to the patient depend greatly on the size of the patient as well as length of the procedure, with typical skin dose rates quoted as 20–50 mGy/min.[citation needed] Exposure times vary depending on the procedure being performed, but procedure times up to 75 minutes have been documented.[citation needed] Because of the long length of procedures, in addition to the cancer risk and other stochastic radiation effects, deterministic radiation effects have also been observed ranging from mild erythema, equivalent of a sun burn, to more serious burns.
A study of radiation induced skin injuries was performed in 1994 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[38][39] followed by an advisory to minimize further fluoroscopy-induced injuries.[40] The problem of radiation injuries due to fluoroscopy has been further addressed in review articles in 2000[41] and 2010.[42]
While deterministic radiation effects are a possibility, radiation burns are not typical of standard fluoroscopic procedures. Most procedures sufficiently long in duration to produce radiation burns are part of necessary life-saving operations.[citation needed]
X-ray image intensifiers generally have radiation-reducing systems such as pulsed rather than constant radiation, and last image hold, which "freezes" the screen and makes it available for examination without exposing the patient to unnecessary radiation.[43]
Image intensifiers have been introduced that increase the brightness of the screen, so that the patient needs to be exposed to a lower dose of X-rays.[44] Whilst this reduces the risk of ionisation occurring, it does not remove it entirely.
Equipment [ edit ]
A fluoroscopy X-ray machine is a great asset during surgery for implants
X-ray image intensifiers [ edit ]
The invention of X-ray image intensifiers in the 1950s allowed the image on the screen to be visible under normal lighting conditions, as well as providing the option of recording the images with a conventional camera. Subsequent improvements included the coupling of, at first, video cameras and, later, digital cameras using image sensors such as charge-coupled devices or active pixel sensors to permit recording of moving images and electronic storage of still images.
Modern image intensifiers no longer use a separate fluorescent screen. Instead, a caesium iodide phosphor is deposited directly on the photocathode of the intensifier tube. On a typical general purpose system, the output image is approximately 105 times brighter than the input image. This brightness gain comprises a flux gain (amplification of photon number) and minification gain (concentration of photons from a large input screen onto a small output screen) each of approximately 100. This level of gain is sufficient that quantum noise, due to the limited number of X-ray photons, is a significant factor limiting image quality.
Image intensifiers are available with input diameters of up to 45 cm, and a resolution of approximately 2-3 line pairs mm−1.
Flat-panel detectors [ edit ]
The introduction of flat-panel detectors allows for the replacement of the image intensifier in fluoroscope design. Flat panel detectors offer increased sensitivity to X-rays, and therefore have the potential to reduce patient radiation dose. Temporal resolution is also improved over image intensifiers, reducing motion blurring. Contrast ratio is also improved over image intensifiers: flat-panel detectors are linear over a very wide latitude, whereas image intensifiers have a maximum contrast ratio of about 35:1. Spatial resolution is approximately equal, although an image intensifier operating in 'magnification' mode may be slightly better than a flat panel.
Flat panel detectors are considerably more expensive to purchase and repair than image intensifiers, so their uptake is primarily in specialties that require high-speed imaging, e.g., vascular imaging and cardiac catheterization.
Contrast agents [ edit ]
A number of substances have been used as radiocontrast agents, including silver, bismuth, caesium, thorium, tin, zirconium, tantalum, tungsten and lanthanide compounds. The use of thoria (thorium dioxide) as an agent was rapidly stopped as thorium causes liver cancer.
Most modern injected radiographic positive contrast media are iodine-based. Iodinated contrast comes in two forms: ionic and non-ionic compounds. Non-ionic contrast is significantly more expensive than ionic (approximately three to five times the cost), however, non-ionic contrast tends to be safer for the patient, causing fewer allergic reactions and uncomfortable side effects such as hot sensations or flushing. Most imaging centers now use non-ionic contrast exclusively, finding that the benefits to patients outweigh the expense.
Negative radiographic contrast agents are air and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The latter is easily absorbed by the body and causes less spasm. It can also be injected into the blood, where air absolutely cannot due to the risk of an air embolism.
Imaging concerns [ edit ]
In addition to spatial blurring factors that plague all X-ray imaging devices, caused by such things as Lubberts effect, K-fluorescence reabsorption and electron range, fluoroscopic systems also experience temporal blurring due to system lag. This temporal blurring has the effect of averaging frames together. While this helps reduce noise in images with stationary objects, it creates motion blurring for moving objects. Temporal blurring also complicates measurements of system performance for fluoroscopic systems.
Common procedures using fluoroscopy [ edit ]
Another common procedure is the modified barium swallow study during which barium-impregnated liquids and solids are ingested by the patient. A radiologist records and, with a speech pathologist, interprets the resulting images to diagnose oral and pharyngeal swallowing dysfunction. Modified barium swallow studies are also used in studying normal swallow function.
Gastrointestinal fluoroscopy [ edit ]
Fluoroscopy can be used to examine the digestive system using a substance which is opaque to X-rays (usually barium sulfate or gastrografin), which is introduced into the digestive system either by swallowing or as an enema. This is normally as part of a double contrast technique, using positive and negative contrast. Barium sulfate coats the walls of the digestive tract (positive contrast), which allows the shape of the digestive tract to be outlined as white or clear on an X-ray. Air may then be introduced (negative contrast), which looks black on the film. The barium meal is an example of a contrast agent swallowed to examine the upper digestive tract. Note that while soluble barium compounds are very toxic, the insoluble barium sulfate is non-toxic because its low solubility prevents the body from absorbing it.
|
Until the discovery last year that a string of unsolved killings had been perpetrated by neo-Nazis, few in Germany considered far-right extremism a major threat.
After the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, security agencies around the world poured energy into fighting Islamist terrorism, and Germany did so with special urgency because several of the hijackers had lived in Hamburg. But the shift led to the neglect of other types of homegrown violence in this nation of 82 million people, critics now say, allowing a neo-Nazi movement to flourish.
Although security services were keeping an eye on neo-Nazi groups, official assessments declared that the threat of right-wing terrorism was insignificant. But while resources were being concentrated on Islamist extremism, a small cell of neo-Nazis went undetected while it killed 10 people, nine of them with immigrant backgrounds, over seven years.
Police never suspected a right-wing connection — they found it only after the neo-Nazis virtually dropped into their laps after a bungled bank robbery. Last week, Germany installed a new head of its equivalent to the FBI. He has sworn to overhaul the country’s intelligence services.
Monitoring Islamist terrorism and other threats can be a difficult balance in any country, with shootings Aug. 5 at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin only the latest reminder. There, police say, Wade Michael Page, with ties to “white power” groups, killed six people before turning his gun on himself.
In Germany, “our institutions didn’t have right-wing terrorism on their screens,” Sebastian Edathy, a member of Germany’s Parliament who is leading an inquiry into the intelligence failures, said in an interview. “Society has focused over the last 10 years on the threat of Islamist extremism, but this is not the only extremist threat that we’re facing.”
The string of killings was underway by Sept. 11, 2001, and the slayings continued as Germany turned its attention away from neo-Nazis. A 2006 intelligence overhaul merged offices dealing with left-wing and right-wing extremism, in part to free resources to fight al-Qaeda and Islamist terrorism.
The focus had shifted so thoroughly by last year that a 473-page annual intelligence report by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, roughly equivalent to the FBI, said that “no structures of right-wing terrorism were detectable.”
It was released not long before the neo-Nazi cell was discovered.
‘No political will’
As for the killings, police initially said that they probably were part of an underworld dispute among Turkish crime gangs, and media dubbed them the “doener murders,” after a popular Turkish kebab sandwich. The final victim was officer Michele Kiesewetter, slain in April 2007, who police theorize may have been targeted so that her attackers could secure another weapon.
The gang is also alleged to have committed more than a dozen bank robberies and the bombing of a hair salon in an immigrant neighborhood of Cologne. But until the dramatic discovery of arms in the neo-Nazis’ home in southeastern Germany after a bungled bank robbery in November — weapons that linked them to the killings — police had not zeroed in on a racist motivation for the deaths.
“There was no political will” to go after neo-Nazi groups, said Hajo Funke, a professor at the Free University of Berlin who is an expert on right-wing extremism. “This is one of the reasons the groups could go so widespread.”
Revelations this summer that German security service members had destroyed files related to the case the day after a neo-Nazi link became public only deepened criticism about the authorities’ seriousness in pursuing the investigation. The German Interior Ministry has said that the shredding was a routine file purge unrelated to the news, but the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution resigned as a result.
Neo-Nazis have found a home in the ex-Communist eastern portion of Germany, where jobs are scarce, anti-immigrant sentiments run high and Nazi-era attitudes toward minorities never fully disappeared. A neo-Nazi-linked political party, the National Democratic Party, holds seats in two state parliaments. This weekend, it held a rally in a town near the Polish border.
“The biggest success of the neo-Nazi movement is that eastern Germany is still white, because they’ve threatened people,” said Anetta Kahane, the head of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, an organization that works to protect minority rights. “People with an immigrant background would never go there. And this is a third of the territory of a democratic country in the center of Europe.”
An intelligence review
Anti-neo-Nazi groups say that the attention given to the problem since November has helped sensitize security agencies to the violent potential of right-wing extremists, but controversy remains as to what to do to fight the problem.
The new head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, who was installed Friday, has resolved to improve communications between his federal office and the patchwork of 16 regional intelligence agencies. He promised a “comprehensive and self-critical” review of his agency’s work.
But for many critics, change at the top is insufficient to alter an institutional culture that allowed the neo-Nazi group’s string of crimes to continue for so long. Nor are greater resources the answer, they say; instead, all levels of the security services, and society, need to be more conscious about the threat of crime driven by racism.
“It is very essential and crucial to keep in mind that you don’t have only one kind of extremism, and you can’t neglect one part of it to focus on another,” said Edathy, the member of parliament. “You have to deal with the threat appropriate to its relevance.”
Petra Krischok contributed to this report.
|
The Federal Communications Commission's new net neutrality rules haven't taken effect yet, but they're already facing lawsuits from Internet service providers.
One such lawsuit was filed today by USTelecom, which is led by AT&T, Verizon, and others. Another lawsuit was filed by a small Internet service provider in Texas called Alamo Broadband. (The Washington Post flagged the lawsuits.)
The net neutrality order , which reclassifies broadband providers as common carriers and imposes rules against blocking and discriminating against online content, "is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion," USTelecom alleged in its petition to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The order "violates federal law, including, but not limited to, the Constitution, the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and FCC regulations promulgated thereunder." The order also violates notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements, the petition said.
The petitions don't go into any more detail on the Internet service providers' arguments. The timing is an issue; the FCC's rules haven't been published in the Federal Register and do not go into effect until 60 days after publication. USTelecom's suit says it "is filing this protective petition for review out of an abundance of caution... in case the FCC's Order (or the Declaratory Ruling part of that Order) is construed to be final on the date it was issued (as opposed to after Federal Register publication, which USTelecom believes is the better view)."
Parties have ten days to file lawsuits from whichever date of publication ends up being the significant one. The full order was posted on the FCC's website on March 12.
The DC Circuit threw out similarly early appeals from Verizon and MetroPCS to the FCC’s first net neutrality order back in April 2011, calling them premature. Verizon ultimately filed after the correct date and won, forcing the FCC to start over.
“We believe that the petitions for review filed today are premature and subject to dismissal,” an FCC spokesperson told Ars.
Lawsuits are also likely to be filed by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association, the major trade groups representing cable and wireless operators. Trade groups, rather than individual Internet providers, are expected to lead the fight against the FCC this time around.
|
Former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden likened using air power against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to “casual sex.”
“The reliance on air power has all of the attraction of casual sex: It seems to offer gratification but with very little commitment,” the retired general told U.S. News & World Report.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hayden’s remark caught fire on Twitter, after CNN showed the quote on air Friday morning.
Hayden was director of the CIA and the NSA under President George W. Bush. He was also a sharp critic of the disclosures from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about the country’s secret surveillance programs. Hayden said those leaks endangered national security.
Hayden’s comments come with President Obama opening the door to airstrikes targeting ISIS in Syria.
The general though cautioned that air power alone might not be enough to defeat the al Qaeda offshoot.
“We need to be wary of a strategy that puts emphasis on air power and air power alone," he said.
“The sooner we take the fight into Syria against [ISIS], the better off we’ll be,” he added.
Asked about the emarks on Friday, State Department deputy spokesman Marie Harf said Hayden is “well aware” of the tools that the U.S. has to take down terrorists.
“General Hayden, all joking aside, knows very well the counterterrorism tools that we have at our disposal from when he was CIA director — some of which we obviously don’t utilize any more, as we’ve been clear, but some of which are tools we still have at our disposal, including, of course, direct action. So he is well aware of how you take the fight directly to terrorists.”
Harf reiterated that the the United States won't be using American ground troops to fight ISIS.
“The best partner on the ground in that role is the Iraqi and the Kurdish security forces in Iraq and the moderate opposition in Syria,” Harf said.
— This story was updated at 1:56 p.m.
|
Transgender showrunner Amy Fox took some time to talk to Solzy at the Movies about The Switch.
When did you conceive the idea for this series, which is the first transgender sitcom, and how soon did you start a Kickstarter campaign for The Switch?
Amy Fox: We came up with the idea in 2010. We did a web pilot and tried kickstarting a first season in 2013 – but the Kickstarter failed. We made a TV pilot instead. Then we funded a first season in with a mix of investment, a 2014 kickstarter, a broadcaster fee, government tax credits, and community donations of things like shooting space and meals – and labour. Huge amounts of labour.
June 2014 was a year before Caitlyn Jenner came out and a year after Laverne Cox was on the first season of Orange is the New Black. What has and hasn’t changed since then?
Amy Fox: Casting directors are looking for trans actors more than they did before – albeit usually for small roles. But we have major characters in Sense8 and The OA. We have a few Trans showrunners – the Wachowskis, Jen Richards and Shadi Petosky. There’s a non-binary character on Billions. Shows with trans characters make it to second seasons and beyond. On the Indie side, there’s Tangerine, and Brothers.
On the other hand, there’s still a lot of discrimination. I see more trans female representation than trans male, or non-binary. And what trans female representation I see often requires that people look the beauty queen part. And I see intersections of race and size disqualify trans folks. I still see visible trans people getting turned down for parts that can be played by literally anyone, like “bus passenger” or “refugee.” Trans content is still considered niche and usually needs to wrap itself in cis stories to get past old school execs.
There’s been a lot of controversy with cis men playing trans roles. What do you make of this and how do we improve trans representation in the media?
Amy Fox: To start, as other trans creatives have pointed out, it pushes the idea that trans women are men pretending to be women, and that feeds into some dangerous myths.
But it’s more than that. Right now, our media pushes the message that if you are any combination of heavy, female, average-looking, old, openly queer, brown, mixed, trans, visibly disabled, short, and/or have a non-mid-western accent, then you, your life and your stories just aren’t worth the time. And when it grudgingly acknowledges a marginalized community and its struggles, it refuses to hire people from that community? That’s ridiculous.
We need film and TV made by and starring the full range of humanity. Casting a variety of trans people in trans roles helps correct some of this inequity, but it’s only a first step. If we treat trans-as-trans as a final goal, we pigeon-holes trans talent – out trans actors can play trans street people or trans brothel workers, but not bus-drivers, parents, doctors, vampires or space captains – roles that can and should look like everyone.
Also, trans actors don’t need a consultant to be trans, The other advantages is that a trans actor in a trans role doesn’t need a consultant, and can show up ready to work.
OutTV in Canada has aired the six episodes. Where can interested viewers watch in the US?
Amy Fox: Right now it’s available on Vimeo and Revry. It’s coming to Amazon, Google Play and Itunes this summer. And if we can sell 100,000 copies of season 1, then we can make season 2. It’s up to viewers whether there wil be more of this.
What is your background in comedy or television?
Amy Fox: Before The Switch, my performance and TV background was pretty minimal. I dug into improv in as soon as we decided to make this, then enrolled in a college film program. As soon as I graduated, the team started making the web pilot – we’d only planned on a webseries then. Since then, going from pilot to a season, to prepping for season two, it’s been a long road of learning the industry.
A lot of my creative writing since 7th grade has had transgender themes naturally happen in one way or the other until the OMG moment at the start of November 2015. Were you the same way?
Amy Fox: For me it came out more subtly. I had a lot of gender-ambiguous figures in my art and RPGs, and I loved – and, in retrospect – identified with the representation of gender-variant women. My writing had a lot of gender-odd content in it. I played a trans character in larp. In retrospect, it was pretty darn clear.
I’m an aspiring screenwriter myself with an outline for a sitcom with a trans lead. What advice would you offer to someone like me as far as proceeding forward with my idea after I expand the outline into a pilot script?
Amy Fox: First, television is extremely competitive as most writers want in on scripted content, especially series. It’s also emotionally and financially abrasive. Getting a series off the ground takes years, even for established professionals. So if you’re in, get ready for a triple-marathon. Don’t over commit your self, your wallet, or your heart, talk to people who have done it before you. Be cautious of good news. Celebrate small victories.
Ask if it has to be a scripted series. Can it be a feature film, a reality TV show, or web content? Those are much easier to make.
With that in mind – to pitch a show, you need to start with a “series bible” (a synopsis of the show) and a pilot script. Attach an agent and some well-known actors. Then go for it.
|
CORKMAN GRAHAM BOYLAN has stepped down as CEO of Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, Europe’s top mixed martial arts promotion.
Boylan has been at the helm for Cage Warriors since 2010 and is recognised as having played an enormous role in the recent growth of MMA in Ireland.
He informed the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship board of his decision yesterday, following a meeting to map out the promotion’s schedule of events for 2015.
“It’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life so I have stepped down as CEO of Cage Warriors, but I’m very proud of what we achieved in the last four years,” Boylan revealed exclusively to The42.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time as CEO of a brilliant promotion. My team and I established the number one mixed martial arts organisation in Europe, and I’m very thankful to every single person who played a part.”
When Boylan initially took the reins five years ago, Cage Warriors had become a dormant brand, having previously launched the careers of the likes of Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy.
However, CWFC soon came to be regarded as the leading MMA promotion in Europe, with over 200 of the best fighters from across the continent competing exclusively for the promotion during Boylan’s 48-event reign.
The departure of the Leeside native represents a significant blow to the European MMA scene, and particularly in Ireland. After assuming control of Cage Warriors, the London-based businessman made the growth of Irish MMA one of his priorities.
“Cage Warriors is a brilliant organisation” said Conor McGregor in an interview last year. “They’re doing great things for European MMA and they’re giving the platform for guys like me who came through. They’re vital. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities I got.”
Conor McGregor was a two-division Cage Warriors champion before joining the UFC. Source: Dolly Clew
Cage Warriors staged eight events in Ireland during Graham Boylan’s tenure as CEO, including two unprecedented sold-out New Year’s Eve shows at The Helix in Dublin in 2012 and ’13.
The seven Republic of Ireland fighters currently signed to the UFC are all veterans of – or were previously contracted to – Cage Warriors, including former champions Conor McGregor, Cathal Pendred and Neil Seery. Boylan sought to provide Irish fighters with opportunities to showcase their talents on the international stage.
As for his future plans, Boylan says he will continue to have a degree of involvement in MMA. He’s currently managing fighters like Donegal’s Joseph Duffy, who’ll make his UFC debut in Dallas next month.
Boylan said: “Joseph can go right to the top. The UFC understand his potential and they’re excited by the fact that he was the last person to beat Conor McGregor. In the short term, I am focusing on helping Joseph and my other fighters to develop their careers, along with my other business interests.
“As for another promotion? Maybe, and there are certainly some interesting conversations going on about how to further the growth of the sport in Europe. I may play a role in that too.
“I understand that my resignation will come as a surprise to fans, as it has to the board, but I know Cage Warriors will continue to do great things but it’s obviously important that the board is given time to find a successor and get the show back on the road.”
While Ireland is currently experiencing a golden generation in terms of MMA talent, there’s no doubt that Graham Boylan was hugely instrumental in bringing the sport into the public consciousness here for the first time.
|
India rejected on Tuesday media reports that a demarche was issued to the United States over the killing of a Hyderabad engineer, saying pro-active response of the American government and senior authorities in Kansas “obviated” the need for such an action.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was working at GPS-maker Garmin headquarters in Olathe, was shot dead by an American in a crowded bar in Kansas City in an apparent hate crime incident .Adam Purinton, 51, the alleged shooter, thought they were Middle Easterners and was heard telling them to “get out of my country” at the time of the shooting.
Kuchibhotla’s colleague Alok Madasani, also an Indian, and an American citizen, who tried to stop the shooter, were injured in the incident.
“It is important to note that the US authorities are engaged with us on the larger concern regarding safety of Indians in the US, a matter which continues to receive the government’s top priority,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay asserted.
He said the US government and senior authorities in Kansas have promptly responded to the killing of 32-year-old Kuchibhotla, and also drew attention to the strong condemnation of the tragic shooting by the US Embassy in New Delhi last week.
Kuchibhotla is possibly the first casualty of the religious, racial and ethnic divisiveness that has swept the US following the election of President Donald Trump, with minorities such as Jews and Muslims reporting a surge in attacks on them and their institutions.
The US Charge d’Affaires had stated that her country welcomes people from across the world and the US authorities will investigate thoroughly and prosecute the case, Baglay said.
“This approach is reflected in the sentiments and assurances from senior most authorities of Kansas, who have reached out to the Indian Consul General in Houston. These developments obviated the need for a demarche by the government on this matter,” Baglay said.
The spokesperson was reacting to a query on the media report that the Embassy of India in Washington had issued a demarche to the US State Department.
In Washington last week, Indian embassy spokesman Pratik Mathur had said in a statement, “Government of India has taken up the matter with the US authorities to express our deep concern and have asked for speedy investigation. US government while condemning the attack, have assured us that they are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.”
Baglay also mentioned that “We also must not forget the noble and courageous gesture of the young American Ian Grillot, who risked his life while countering the shooter.”
Former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has asked Trump to “step up and speak out” on rising hate crimes in the US. Her comments came as the body of Kuchibhotla was flown to India and cremated on Tuesday in Hyderabad with grieving relatives, friends and neighbours gathering for the last rites.
The White House has said reports on the killing was “disturbing”. “I don’t want to get ahead of the law enforcement, but I was asked the other day about the story in Kansas -- the shooting in Kansas,” Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer said in his opening remarks at the daily briefing on Monday.
First Published: Feb 28, 2017 20:15 IST
|
Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Bernie Sanders Town Hall finishes third in cable news race, draws 1.4 million viewers Woman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid MORE (I-Vt.) blasted President Trump's announcement Friday that he would not certify the multination Iran nuclear deal, saying Trump's comments amounted to "a lot of bluster."
Sanders argued that moving away from the Obama-era agreement would lift constraints on Iran's nuclear program and "irreparably harm America’s ability to negotiate future nonproliferation agreements."
"If we are genuinely concerned with Iran’s behavior in the region, as I am, the worst possible thing we could do is undermine this nuclear deal. It would make addressing all of these other problems harder. Unfortunately, I heard no strategy from Trump today, just a lot of bluster," Sanders said in a statement.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trump announced earlier Friday that he would not certify Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement, declaring that the deal was not in the national security interests of the U.S.
“We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout," Trump said.
However, the president stopped short of withdrawing the U.S. from the deal, which was established by a United Nations Security Resolution.
Trump also did not request that Congress impose additional sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities, which would have effectively removed the U.S. from the deal.
The president instead asked Congress to pass new benchmarks for Iran to achieve in order to avoid nuclear-related sanctions down the road.
Despite the president stopping short of withdrawing the U.S. from the deal, Sanders said Trump's announcement on Friday further isolated the U.S. from its European allies, who played an integral role in brokering the deal with Tehran.
"Trump’s decision also isolates the United States from some of its most important allies. France, the U.K. and Germany all continue to support the agreement and have consistently said that it is in their own national security interests," Sanders said.
|
As a kid, I was a popular-science junkie. Back in the 1980s, I was able to feed my habit with a steady stream of paperback books, a few glossy magazines, and the occasional special on public television. Today's offerings run the gamut from polished shows on radio and television and full-scale documentary films to snarky blogs, playful online videos, live events in pubs and theaters, and "citizen science" projects that connect volunteers with ongoing research projects.
More than just the medium has changed; the message has, too. Many prominent efforts to engage non-specialists these days are crafted as personal narratives. A new generation of science communicators has adopted classic techniques of storytelling, with an emphasis upon scientists' subjective experience, casual informality, even strategic uses of humor. Often the focus is on mysteries and what remains unknown, rather than a triumphant litany of stable truths.
Last year some colleagues and I gathered 74 participants from the realms of scientific research, communication, education, and outreach for a workshop at MIT. We were struck by some remarkable changes underway in the motivations, forms, and responses to science in popular culture. We recently released a report on our findings.
At our workshop, many participants spoke passionately of their goal to bring elements of scientific practice into wider circulation -- to share insights about everything from mutated genes to black holes with broad audiences. They also sought to describe the processes of scientific inquiry in ways that captured the messy, everyday travails of research better than older caricatures had done.
But many of today's leading science communicators distanced their efforts from objectives that had seemed self-evident a generation ago. Though none spoke out against education, several participants emphasized that their primary motivations had little to do with learning outcomes or the laudable goal of fostering an informed citizenry.
They spoke instead about ideals of artistic expression and emotional connection with an audience -- of sharing what it feels like to try to learn something new about the natural world. Across multiple media, today's science-engagement landscape features stories that turn on moments of exhiliration and deep intellectual satisfaction, to be sure, but often set amid routine frustrations, personal ambitions and vulnerabilities, petty rivalries, and penetrating self-doubt. The emphasis is often as much on expressing oneself as informing or inspiring others.
The personal turn is not in itself brand new. The Double Helix, first published in 1968 by molecular biologist James Watson, carried the subtitle, "A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA." A reviewer in Science magazine scoffed that "habitual readers of gossip columns will like the book immensely." Many surely did -- but the commercial success of Watson's book did not inspire many followers.
In 1985, for example, famed physicist Richard Feynman published two books, both of which became bestsellers. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" featured vivid, personal storytelling -- safe-cracking at wartime Los Alamos, learning to draw nude models during his down-time at Caltech -- but virtually no science. Feynman's other book that year, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, was an accessible treatment of the work in quantum physics for which he had earned the Nobel prize. QED was brimming with metaphors and line drawings but devoid of personal stories. Even the iconoclastic Feynman respected a bright line between scientific description and personal commentary.
Three years later, physicist Stephen Hawking's book, A Brief History of Time, broke with such conventions. Hawking narrated his account in the first person, interspersing stories of his apprenticeship in the field, his family life, and his struggles with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) amid descriptions of his research into the warping of spacetime and the fate of black holes. The book sold more than 12 million copies during its first decade and quickly became a template. A colleague of mine, working on his own popular physics book in the mid-1990s, had his manuscript returned from an editor because he did not appear -- as a first-person protagonist -- until midway through the narrative.
So the personal turn is not a product of the Internet or cellphone selfies. But there can be no doubt that the proliferation of social media, inexpensive tools for digital production, and broader cultural shifts in self-expression and self-presentation have expanded the range of scientists' styles and sensibilities when engaging with broader audiences. (Imagine if Feynman had a Twitter account.)
What might today's trends in personal narrative, artistic expression, and informality portend for scientific authority in contemporary culture? Watson, Feynman, and Hawking wrote from a presumed position of authority; they had already scaled the heights in their fields. For younger scientists today, authority might derive instead from how an audience perceives the authenticity of a personal tale. Humor, emotion, and storytelling can lower the barriers between scientists and non-specialists. Whether such increased familiarity with scientists -- foibles and all -- will make it easier or more difficult for, say, climate-change denialists to convince voters to ignore scientific consensus remains to be seen.
|
The financial district of Yujiapu in the port city of Tianjin aims to be a rival to Manhattan within ten years. The government has spent billions building replicas of Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center, and are building China's largest high-speed rail station here. Economists question the district's future. - Rob Schmitz/Marketplace
Listen To The Story Marketplace Embed Code <iframe src="https://www.marketplace.org/2013/07/03/world/chinas-hangover/china-replica-manhattan-loses-its-luster/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe>
The buildings rising from a saltwater marsh in the port city of Tianjin looks an awful lot like New York City. But don’t be fooled, says Lin Lixue, a dapper young spokesman for a local developer. This Manhattan replica aims to be a bigger Apple.
“Our goal is to create the world’s largest financial center, right here, within ten years," says Lin. "We’re building skyscrapers, we’ve got China’s largest high-speed railway station coming soon, we’re building a tunnel under the sea, and we’ll soon build several subway lines.”
Li sounds like a boy whimsically building sandcastles. And this is a very big sandbox. The city‘s called Yujiapu. It’s now one of the biggest construction sites on the planet. Workers are completing dozens of skyscrapers, many over 50 stories tall.
Zhang Xiaoying is a real estate analyst for Tianjin Centaline Property Consulting. Her job is to advise those who are interested in investing in this area. What is she telling them about China’s next Manhattan?
"Don’t invest here!" Zhang says loudly, "It’s way too risky. Some developers have re-sold entire buildings at a loss just so they can pull out of here as soon as possible. For the projects that are finished, the investors are now pulling out."
The way Zhang sees it, Yujiapu is more Detroit than Manhattan, and it hasn’t even been built yet. So I ask her: why IS it being built?
"Hu Jintao," Zhang says with a nervous giggle.
Under Hu's presidency, China’s economy grew at an unprecedented rate. The formula for much of that growth has been pretty straight-forward, says economist Anne Stevenson-Yang.
“All the land belongs to the government. The government has the right to clear the land. Take it over, and then to either build stuff on it themselves, sell it to a developer or use it as collateral for loans. They do all three, and they’ve made a killing doing it.”
Stevenson stands in the ravine-like surroundings of a narrow avenue between giant half-finished skyscrapers in Yujiapu. She says the Tianjin government took this land, assessed it at many times its current value, and then used it as collateral for loans. She says Tianjin has borrowed nearly as much as its entire annual GDP to pay for Yujiapu. With China’s economy now in slowdown mode, Stevenson-Yang says the region’s future is bleak.
"Think of it: every single dollar made in Tianjin, one for one, is lent to this particular district which will be written off to no more than a tenth of its value. Where does that money go? It just doesn’t disappear. It becomes everybody’s debt."
She predicts that ten years from now, China’s property bubble will have burst, land will be worth around half of what it is now, and squatters will inhabit Yujiapu’s half-built skyscrapers, like something out of a "Mad Max" movie.
"This is going to be 'Apocolypse Then.' It’s sad. I’ve lived in china for 23 years. I have a huge batch of Chinese in-laws. I like China. I wish things were different. But I don’t see how they can be." In the meantime, China’s Manhattan project marches forward, thanks, in part, to support at the highest levels of government.
An ambitious former Tianjin mayor, Zhang Gaoli, helped secure funding for this district. He now works in Beijing as China's Vice Premier. After hearing Stevenson-Yang’s grisly predictions for Yujiapu, I return to the dapper young developer’s office to ask a few more questions.
Inside, the only sign of life is a receptionist. She’s sleeping at the front desk. A tense-sounding piano tune plays over the PA system, echoing through the marble halls. In front of her desk are framed advertisements for the future city. One proclaims in English: “Concentrate world capital and set China’s ambition.”
Outside, a city is being built. And the receptionist continues to sleep.
“I think the best compliment I can give is not to say how much your programs have taught me (a ton), but how much Marketplace has motivated me to go out and teach myself.” – Michael in Arlington, VA As a nonprofit news organization, what matters to us is the same thing that matters to you: being a source for trustworthy, independent news that makes people smarter about business and the economy. So if Marketplace has helped you understand the economy better, make more informed financial decisions or just encouraged you to think differently, we’re asking you to give a little something back. Become a Marketplace Investor today – in whatever amount is right for you – and keep public service journalism strong. We’re grateful for your support. BEFORE YOU GO
|
“Don’t forget to put the honey butter on your chicken,” the server says as he lowers a tray of fried chicken onto your table.
Though the reminder may seem silly at a place called Honey Butter, it’s crucial. In a city with no shortage of excellent, affordable fried chicken choices (HBFC’s runs $15 for four pieces, with two corn muffins), this Avondale spot differentiates itself best through accoutrements: rum-barrel-aged hot sauce; inspired sides (three, with a muffin, for $10.50) such as creamed corn with Thai green curry, cumin-laced kale slaw with dehydrated pomegranate, and pimiento mac ’n’ cheese.
And, oh, that honey butter. Whipped till silky, it oozes into the double-battered skin and moist, brined meat, injecting even more decadence into one of life’s great pleasures.
Honey Butter Fried Chicken, 3361 N. Elston Ave., 773-478-4000
Hours: 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. daily; open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesdays.
This article appears in the December 2013 issue of Chicago magazine. Subscribe to Chicago magazine.
Share
|
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker was once considered to be President Donald Trump's vice president and secretary of state. Republicans to Trump and Corker: Please just stop 'We’ve got so many other things that we need to be focusing on right now,' one GOP senator says of the growing nastiness.
Senate Republicans are imploring President Donald Trump and Sen. Bob Corker to end their increasingly ugly feud, fretting that it's threatening to further hobble the party's flagging agenda.
But the public tit-for-tat has shown no sign of abating.
Story Continued Below
On Tuesday, Trump took to Twitter to lambaste "Liddle Bob Corker," after the Tennessee Republican said he worried that Trump’s belligerent foreign policy rhetoric could ignite "World War III." Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon called on Corker to resign, and House Budget Chairman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) took Trump’s side over that of her home state colleague.
The standoff has Senate Republicans forced to choose between a senior senator and the president of their own party. And it's exacerbating the perception of Republican dysfunction at a time that the party's agenda is stalled on Capitol Hill and a slate of outsiders is threatening primaries against GOP incumbents.
The Corker-Trump tussle has been playing out for months, but it ratcheted up after Corker announced his retirement two weeks ago.
Trump “needs to stop. But I wish Bob would stop too. Just stop,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in an interview Tuesday. "We’ve got so many other things that we need to be focusing on right now. We need to look ahead, not reflect on anything that’s been done or said in the past.”
Corker had no response to Trump's latest taunt as of Tuesday; he and his office have kept quiet since giving a lengthy interview to The New York Times on Sunday. Corker — in addition to saying the president could trigger World War III, and accusing him of treating his job like a reality show — gave the harshest criticism by a sitting Republican senator of Trump yet.
Corker was once considered to be Trump's pick for vice president and secretary of state, and Senate Republicans have been gobsmacked by the disintegration of their relationship. It began this spring when Corker said the White House was in a “downward spiral." More recently, the senator questioned Trump’s competence in the wake of white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Last week, Corker said some of Trump’s Cabinet secretaries are keeping the country from “chaos.”
Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Trump claimed that Corker “begged” him to run for reelection and blamed him for the approval of the nuclear deal with Iran. Corker said on Sunday the White House has become an “adult day care center.”
And on and on it has gone.
Republicans hoped the back-and-forth would cease with the new workweek, but no such luck. On Tuesday morning, Trump unleashed this another tweet: “The Failing @nytimes set Liddle' Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and that's what I am dealing with!” Later, asked about Corker’s “World War III” comments, Trump said the country was on the “wrong path” before he became president and is now on the “right path.”
“It’s an unfortunate exchange … I would like to see this end,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in the Capitol on Tuesday, adding that he does not, in fact, believe the White House is an adult day care center. “I would encourage them both to stop what they’re doing and get focused on what we need to be doing.”
With the Senate on recess this week, Republicans fanned across the country. But the Corker-Trump skirmish distracted from their main mission of selling tax reform. Instead, many GOP lawmakers are being asked whether they agree with Corker, who also remarked to the Times that the majority of Senate Republicans share his views about Trump.
Most senators have studiously avoided taking sides.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Corker a “valuable member” of the party, noting his importance to passing tax reform. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told The Associated Press that the news wire should talk to Corker, not him. And Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) noted that he, too, occasionally has disagreed with the president.
"Our focus isn’t on spats between Corker and the president," Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told the Charleston Post and Courier.
Most of all, Republicans tried to avoid escalating things further.
“I have a lot of respect for Sen. Corker and what he brings to the Senate," Blunt said. "But I think the president is leading in the right direction and I’m supportive of what he’s doing."
Others were far less restrained. Bannon, who is recruiting primary challengers to GOP incumbents, told Fox News on Monday that Corker “doesn’t have the guts” to run again for reelection and that he’s a “total disgrace.”
“Look, if you talk about an adult day care center, I’m sorry, but I think the Senate is an adult day care center,” said Black (R-Tenn.), who is running for governor, in a Tuesday interview with Hugh Hewitt. “But I’m not sure that all of this throwing these words back and forth to one another are really very helpful.”
On that, at least, Republicans agree. Corker is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must approve many of Trump’s diplomatic nominees, including any potential successor to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Plus, Corker already is threatening to oppose any tax reform plan that blows a hole in the deficit. With Republicans operating under such tight margins in the Senate, public feuds between a rank-and-file senator and the president is, at best, a distraction and, at worst, a risk to the entire GOP agenda.
Corker’s allies say he would not vote against Trump’s priorities out of revenge. But Republicans don’t want to take any chances.
"I would hope," Ernst said, "that it doesn’t bleed into legislation.”
|
Looking for news you can trust?
Subscribe to our free newsletters.
The Washington Post has gotten hold of the Senate investigation into CIA interrogation practices and—
No, wait. They haven’t. They’ve only learned what the report says “according to U.S. officials who have reviewed the document.” It’s impossible to say if these sources are characterizing the report accurately, and their summary descriptions of the report make it very hard to judge how fair the report’s conclusions are.
But with those caveats and cautions out of the way, what does the report say? This:
Several officials who have read the document said some of its most troubling sections deal not with detainee abuse but with discrepancies between the statements of senior CIA officials in Washington and the details revealed in the written communications of lower-level employees directly involved. Officials said millions of records make clear that the CIA’s ability to obtain the most valuable intelligence against al-Qaeda — including tips that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 — had little, if anything, to do with “enhanced interrogation techniques.” …”The CIA conflated what was gotten when, which led them to misrepresent the effectiveness of the program,” said a second U.S. official who has reviewed the report. The official described the persistence of such misstatements as among “the most damaging” of the committee’s conclusions. Detainees’ credentials also were exaggerated, officials said. Agency officials described Abu Zubaida as a senior al-Qaeda operative — and, therefore, someone who warranted coercive techniques — although experts later determined that he was essentially a facilitator who helped guide recruits to al-Qaeda training camps.
However, for those of us who think that detainee abuse is, in fact, as important as the lies that were told about it, there’s this:
Classified files reviewed by committee investigators reveal internal divisions over the interrogation program, officials said, including one case in which CIA employees left the agency’s secret prison in Thailand after becoming disturbed by the brutal measures being employed there. The report also cites cases in which officials at CIA headquarters demanded the continued use of harsh interrogation techniques even after analysts were convinced that prisoners had no more information to give. The report describes previously undisclosed cases of abuse, including the alleged repeated dunking of a terrorism suspect in tanks of ice water at a detention site in Afghanistan — a method that bore similarities to waterboarding but never appeared on any Justice Department-approved list of techniques.
So the torture was even worse than we thought; it produced very little in the way of actionable intelligence; and the CIA lied about this in order to preserve its ability to torture prisoners.
Anybody who isn’t sickened by this needs to take very long, very deep look into their souls. For myself, I think I’ll go take a shower now.
|
Close
Scientists with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) proclaimed on Friday, Jan. 8 that a quasar is running on empty after a black hole sucked up all of the quasars gas. The news comes just days after NASA announced that another black hole belched.
The researchers had been observing the quasar, SDSS J1011+5442, for about a decade, watching as its black hole heart absorbed the gas that kept the quasar lit. The quasar's changing emission over 12 years was "stunning," remarked Penn State University's Michael Eracleous, an astrophysicist.
"The luminosity of the gas declined by over a factor of 50; if we had taken our first observations of the quasar today, we would view it as a typical galaxy with no suggestion that it hosted a supermassive black hole," said Eracleous.
The SSDS's Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) discovered the quasar back in 2003 and it was the survey's first major finding. During the quasar's final decade, scientists observed a 50-fold dip in brightness.
Everyone has grown used to "thinking of the sky as unchanging," stated the University of Washington's Scott Anderson, principal investigator of TDSS.
"The SDSS gives us a great opportunity to see that change as it happens. In fact, we found this quasar because we went back to study thousands of quasars seen before," Anderson said. "This discovery was only possible because the SDSS is so deep and has continued so long."
It's the first time scientists have seen a quasar die this dramatically and quickly, stated Jessie Runnoe, a postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University.
"Essentially, it has run out of food, at least for the moment," said Runnoe. "We were fortunate to catch it before and after."
Earlier last week, astronomers from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory reported observing x-ray blasts emitting from the mouth of a black hole at the center of the NGC 5195 dwarf galaxy. The findings are evidence that black holes, known to gorge on gas and dust in the disk surrounding them, also "burp" after their meals, according to study lead Eric Schlegel from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
"Our observation is important because this behavior would likely happen very often in the early universe, altering the evolution of galaxies," Schlegel said. "It is common for big black holes to expel gas outward, but rare to have such a close, resolved view of these events."
ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
|
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia are the cheapest places in the world to buy technology such as smartphones, games consoles and tablet computers, while Venezuela, Angola and Brunei are the most expensive.
Consumers gifting an Android phone this Christmas will spend an average of $539.18 in Kuwait, while Venezuelans will have to spend the equivalent of $78,054.19. The sky-high figure for Venezuela is due to its economic crisis, where inflation is forecast to reach 1,500 percent in 2017. Angola ranks as second most expensive overall, where the average price of an Android phone is $2,641.01.
The 2016 technology price index, compiled by Latin American online retailer Linio, looks at the average retail price, including taxes, of 14 popular devices in 71 countries. It studied several brick-and-mortar stores, smaller retailers and at least three websites per country.
|
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced Monday that official Cat Conti will work the Sept. 6 game between Kansas and Southeast Missouri State, making her the first female official to referee a game involving a Big 12 team.
Female Cat Conti will officiate Sept. 6 game between SE Missouri and Kansas. "She's a darn good official," Bowlsby says. — Ryan Autullo (@AutulloAAS) July 21, 2014
Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby announces Catherine “Cat” Conti will work the SE Missouri-Kansas game. “A good opportunity for her and for us." — George Schroeder (@GeorgeSchroeder) July 21, 2014
Conti has been an official since 2000, working her way up through high school, junior college and Division II games. She worked her first Division I game in 2010, and became a full-time official for the Southland Conference in 2011.
MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL: 'The Winston Show' at ACC Kickoff | Football's most interesting recruit
According to FoxSports.com, Conti's goal is to become an NFL referee.
In 2007, Sarah Thomas became the first female official to work a Division I game. The NFL has been considering making her a full-time official, which could occur this season, according to CBSSports.com.
- Ben Estes
|
Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker (D) is secure in his beliefs on guns, thanks to some first-hand experience.
In a Sunday appearance on ABC's "This Week," Booker delivered an emotional argument for more gun control, highlighting personal tragedy in the process.
"I don't know if anybody here has seen anybody shot," Booker said. "I have. I don't know if anybody here has had to put their hand in somebody's chest and try to stop the bleeding so somebody doesn't die, I have."
Booker then tied that experience to America's current debate, calling the fight against tighter restrictions "false."
"What frustrates me about this debate is it's a false debate, it's a false debate," Booker said. "This is a convenient trick to try to divide our country more. Most of us in America, including gun owners, agree on things that would stop the kind of carnage that's going on in cities all over America."
The mayor's comments were made minutes apart from those of National Rifle Association Chief Wayne LaPierre, who advocated for armed guards in schools.
"I know there's a media machine in this country that wants to blame guns every time something happens," LaPierre said. "I know there's an anti-Second Amendment industry in this town," referring to Washington.
|
This was one of the only other sessions that I purposefully scheduled for Origins. I had heard a podcast of All Flesh Must Be Eaten before, and I was looking for some zombie-game goodness. What I got was that, and a whole lot more.
The game in which I played was a very cool amalgamation of Chronicles of Riddick, Gears of War, Aliens, Soldier, and probably a few other Sci-Fi greats that I’m likely forgetting. The system was the standard All Flesh stuff with additional info from All Tomorrow’s Zombies. The scenario was set in a modified version of the Riddick universe, taking the place of the first part of Chronicles of Riddick. The government had Jack/Kiira in their care, and that had Riddick by the shorthairs. Additionally, the wired him with an explosive collar that was tied to his proximity to the rest of the group; move too far away and BOOM. The other members of the group were the mercs who hunted Riddick, and a corps of marines made up of characters from the other sci-fi worlds.
I got to play Riddick. I’ve always love the Riddick universe, even the second movie (the DVD release, not the theatrical version), and I did my best to bring him to life even though my voice is almost the furthest away from Vin Diesel’s as you can get.
The system played well, and the group dynamic was pretty good, especially since we had eight or nine players in the group.
It’s an interesting challenge playing a well-known, already-established character. On the one hand, you have a lot to work with, especially if you’re familiar with the character in question. On the other, you have a possible burden in trying to live up to a professional actor’s body of work. Ultimately, I decided to give it my best shot, and it ended up being a lot of fun.
Here’s the evidence of the fun we had. All Flesh Must Be Eaten is a product of Eden Studios.
[tags]rpg, rpgs, Origins, role playing games, All Flesh Must Be Eaten[/tags]
|
When the clock strikes midnight for the new year Wednesday, it also will ring in a new day for the American health care system.
President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law nearly four years ago, and Jan. 1, 2014, culminates a lot of work, strife and anxiety. It also represents the birth of a new health insurance market for individuals who aren't covered by their employers or government programs like Medicare, especially for low-income and uninsured people receiving unprecedented help paying for coverage.
Starting on Wednesday, health insurance companies can't turn away anyone because of their medical histories or pre-existing conditions. Prices can't be higher for people with chronic ailments, or for women, and older individuals can't be charged more than three times what younger customers pay. Basic benefits like hospitalizations, prescription drugs and mental health care must be covered. Annual and lifetime limits to essential coverage are gone. And nearly everyone must obtain health coverage or face a tax penalty under the law's individual mandate.
"The new law is transformational for our entire health care system, and for millions of Americans who finally have health security," Sebelius said.
These enrollees change the politics of Obamacare. Republicans held dozens of congressional votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, precipitated a government shutdown in a bid to defund the law, brought a Supreme Court challenge to its constitutionality, refused to expand Medicaid in half the states and vowed to undo Obamacare if they won the White House in 2012. Any such efforts in 2014 would entail taking away benefits from millions of people.
The beginning of the first enrollment period under Obamacare, which commenced Oct. 1 and runs through March 31, has been messy. The early weeks and months of the new benefits will bring new challenges as patients, medical providers and insurance companies adapt to the new system.
Lingering technical problems with the federal and state health insurance exchanges will mean some consumers will find the insurance they chose isn't actually in place. Others, whose policies were canceled because they didn't meet the Affordable Care Act's standards, will suffer lapses in their coverage if they couldn't complete applications for new plans in time, or if they couldn't afford costlier replacements on the exchanges.
Obamacare's troubled beginnings, and worries about its uncertain future, have captured national attention since October. But the program's launch also brought relief and hope to people like Nancy Nally of Palm Coast, Fla.
Nally, 42, a self-employed writer and editor, has been uninsured since January 2012. Her husband Michael, 45, lost his job and the family's health benefits in June 2010, after which they turned to an expensive COBRA plan that cost more than their mortgage, Nancy Nally said.
Because she has lupus, Nally couldn't find replacement insurance when the COBRA ran out after 18 months, she said.
"I've had people literally hang up on me mid-sentence when I say the word 'lupus,'" Nally said. "You just can't buy insurance when you have lupus."
Nally has been paying out of pocket for the medicines she needs to stay healthy and for doctor visits and tests she requires to make sure her condition isn't worsening. "I've been doing the stuff I know, for sure, will kill me if I don't do it," she said. Nally avoids doctor visits for routine illnesses and injuries, hasn't had a mammogram in two years and has skipped regular gynecological exams.
After struggling with the health insurance exchange website, Nally finally broke through on Dec. 22 and enrolled. She and her husband will have medical and dental coverage in 2014 for $58 a month, including the tax credits and an extra subsidy for low-income people that cuts their out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles, Nally said. Their 10-year-old daughter, who has juvenile arthritis and autism, is covered by an existing policy that costs $200 a month.
In spite of success stories like Nally's, Obamacare begins 2014 on uncertain ground.
The administration doesn't know how many of the 2.1 million who've enrolled have locked in coverage by paying their first premium, due Jan. 10 in most states. An uncounted number of individuals will find that their enrollments didn't make it through the balky exchange systems. Others will learn their new insurers haven't finished processing their enrollments. And the data available don't show how many people whose policies were canceled because of the law found new coverage, and how many will become uninsured Wednesday.
The Obama administration, health insurers and medical providers are preparing for the confusion that will ensue as individuals with problematic enrollments, along with newly covered people clamoring for health care services, start using their benefits in January. Insurance companies have offered people more time to pay their premiums, the federal government and some states are offering special assistance to those who aren't enrolled because of technological problems, and pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS will dispense drugs to patients while they sort out their coverage.
The administration and states with their own health insurance exchanges remain far from the 7 million private plan enrollments projected by the Congressional Budget Office. Critically, intensified outreach is needed to attract younger and healthier people with lower medical costs to offset the expenses of older, sicker individuals on the exchanges. And tens of millions of low-income Americans remain uninsured, despite many qualifying for Medicaid or generous subsidies.
Some of that targeted assistance is finding its way to the people for whom it was designed. Nathaniel Carroll, a 28-year-old law student in St. Louis, will save hundreds of dollars a month on health insurance next year thanks to the law's tax credits, he said. Carroll and his wife Rebecca, 25, signed up for a policy last week that will cost them $43 a month, down from the roughly $300 he's been paying for a student health plan. Their children, ages 5 and 3, are enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program.
|
THE science is settled: Trump can’t be stumped.
The controversial billionaire has an 87 per cent chance of defeating Hillary Clinton in November, and a 99 per cent chance of defeating Bernie Sanders.
That’s according to the Primary Model, a statistical analysis model developed by Stony Brook University political science professor Helmut Norpoth, which has correctly predicted the last five US elections since it was introduced in 1996.
It comes as voters in Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi have their say in the US presidential nominating race, with Trump picking up the latter two states.
The Primary Model relies on the presidential primaries and the election cycle as predictors of the vote in the general election, and Professor Norpoth says early primaries are a leading indicator of electoral victory.
Trump won the Republican primaries in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, while Clinton and Sanders split the Democratic primaries in those states.
“What favours the GOP in 2016 as well, no matter if Trump is the nominee or any other Republican, is a cycle of presidential elections,” he wrote on The Huffington Post.
“After two terms of Democrat Barack Obama in the White House the electoral pendulum is poised to swing to the GOP this year. This cycle, which is illustrated with elections since 1960, goes back a long way to 1828.”
Professor Norpoth says in a match-up between Trump and either Democratic contender, the Primary Model predicts Trump would defeat Clinton by 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent of the two-party vote.
Against Sanders, Trump would take 57.7 per cent versus 42.3 per cent.
Importantly, Professor Norpoth says that result even factors in Trump’s outrageous comments.
“Winning early primaries is a sign that a candidate has a favourable image,” he wrote in a recent question-and-answer session on reddit. “Whatever past gaffes or scandals might affect a candidate have been absorbed into that image by then.”
Trump was accused of dragging the presidential race into the gutter last week with a reference to his penis size, after rival candidate Marco Rubio made a suggestive comment about Trump having “small hands” at a rally.
“Trump has held pretty steady in the 30s,” Professor Norpoth says. “He does not seem to slip in approval for any stupid, silly, outrageous and offensive remarks. That alone is a new thing.”
This all assumes Trump, who has been hit with an onslaught of attacks from both rivals and the Republican establishment, wins the nomination.
Over the weekend, a secretive meeting of billionaires, tech CEOs and high-ranking Republicans — which included Apple’s Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page and Tesla’s Elon Musk — put their heads together to work out a plan to defeat the real estate mogul.
And in an unprecedented attack last week, former Republican candidate Mitt Romney blasted Trump as a “fraud”. However, a new poll suggests that attack may have actually helped Trump, finding 31 per cent of Republican voters are more likely to vote for him because of Romney’s speech.
Professor Norpoth says he can’t predict the outcome of nomination contest. “But ask yourself, who has not got the nomination in at least the last 60 years who racked as many wins in the primaries as Trump? I can’t think of any,” he said.
In January 2012, Professor Norpoth predicted Barack Obama would defeat Mitt Romney with 88 per cent certainty, and around the same time in 2004 that George W. Bush would be re-elected with more than 95 per cent certainty.
The model pulls in data from every presidential election going back until 1912 — the year the primary system was introduced — to estimate the weight of primary performance.
“That year the candidate who won his party’s primary vote, Woodrow Wilson, went on to defeat the candidate who lost his party’s primary vote, William Howard Taft,” Professor Norpoth writes.
“As a rule, the candidate with the better primary performance, as compared to his or her strongest rival, beats the candidate with the weaker primary performance.”
Applied retroactively, the Primary Model has correctly picked the winner in every presidential election going back to 1912 except for 1960, when John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon.
Professor Norpoth remains cautious, however. “I agree with Mark Twain,” he wrote. “Prophesy is good business, but it is full of risks.”
[email protected]
|
Non-rocket spacelaunch refers to concepts for launch into space where some or all of the needed speed and altitude are provided by something other than rockets, or by other than expendable rockets.[1] A number of alternatives to expendable rockets have been proposed.[2] In some systems such as a combination launch system, skyhook, rocket sled launch, rockoon, or air launch, a rocket would be part, but only part of the system used to reach orbit.
Present-day launch costs are very high – $2,500 to $25,000 per kilogram from Earth to low Earth orbit (LEO). As a result, launch costs are a large percentage of the cost of all space endeavors. If launch can be made cheaper, the total cost of space missions will be reduced. Due to the exponential nature of the rocket equation, providing even a small amount of the velocity to LEO by other means has the potential of greatly reducing the cost of getting to orbit.
Launch costs in the hundreds of dollars per kilogram would make possible many proposed large-scale space projects such as space colonization, space-based solar power[3] and terraforming Mars.[4]
Comparison of space launch methods [ edit ]
Static structures [ edit ]
In this usage, the term "static" is intended to convey the understanding that the structural portion of the system has no internal moving parts.
Space tower [ edit ]
A space tower is a tower that would reach outer space. To avoid an immediate need for a vehicle launched at orbital velocity to raise its perigee, a tower would have to extend above the edge of space (above the 100 km Kármán line),[20] but a far lower tower height could reduce atmospheric drag losses during ascent. If the tower went all the way to geosynchronous orbit at approximately 36,000 km, or 22,369 miles, objects released at such height could then drift away with minimal power and would be in a circular orbit. The concept of a structure reaching to geosynchronous orbit was first conceived by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.[21] The original concept envisioned by Tsiolkovsky was a compression structure. Building a compression structure from the ground up proved an unrealistic task as there was no material in existence with enough compressive strength to support its own weight under such conditions.[22] Other ideas use very tall compressive towers to reduce the demands on launch vehicles. The vehicle is "elevated" up the tower, which may extend above the atmosphere and is launched from the top. Such a tall tower to access near-space altitudes of 20 km (12 mi) has been proposed by various researchers.[23][24]
Tensile structures [ edit ]
Tensile structures for non-rocket spacelaunch are proposals to use long, very strong cables (known as tethers) to lift a payload into space. Tethers can also be used for changing orbit once in space.
Orbital tethers can be tidally locked (skyhook) or rotating (rotovators). They can be designed (in theory) to pick up the payload when the payload is stationary or when the payload is hypersonic (has a high but not orbital velocity).[citation needed]
Endo-atmospheric tethers can be used to transfer kinetics (energy and momentum) between large conventional aircraft (subsonic or low supersonic) or other motive force and smaller aerodynamic vehicles, propelling them to hypersonic velocities without exotic propulsion systems.[citation needed]
Skyhook [ edit ]
A rotating and non-rotating skyhooks in orbit
A skyhook is a theoretical class of orbiting tether propulsion intended to lift payloads to high altitudes and speeds.[25][26] Proposals for skyhooks include designs that employ tethers spinning at hypersonic speed for catching high speed payloads or high altitude aircraft and placing them in orbit.[27]
Space elevator [ edit ]
A space elevator would consist of a cable anchored to the Earth 's surface, reaching into space
A space elevator is a proposed type of space transportation system.[28] Its main component is a ribbon-like cable (also called a tether) anchored to the surface and extending into space above the level of geosynchronous orbit. As the planet rotates, the centrifugal force at the upper end of the tether counteracts gravity, and keeps the cable taut. Vehicles can then climb the tether and reach orbit without the use of rocket propulsion.
Such a cable could be made out of any material able to support itself under tension by tapering the cable's diameter sufficiently quickly as it approached the Earth's surface. On Earth, with its relatively strong gravity, current materials are not sufficiently strong and light. With conventional materials, the taper ratio would need to be very large, increasing the total launch mass to a fiscally infeasible degree. However, carbon nanotube or boron nitride nanotube based materials have been proposed as the tensile element in the tether design. Their measured strengths are high compared to their linear densities. They hold promise as materials to make an Earth-based space elevator possible.[29]
Landis and Cafarelli suggested that a tension structure ("space elevator") extending downward from geosynchronous orbit could be combined with the compression structure ("Tsiolkovski tower") extending upward from the surface, forming the combined structure reaching geosynchronous orbit from the surface, and having structural advantages over either one individually.[22]
The space elevator concept is also applicable to other planets and celestial bodies. For locations in the Solar System with weaker gravity than Earth's (such as the Moon or Mars), the strength-to-density requirements aren't as great for tether materials. Currently available materials (such as Kevlar) could serve as the tether material for elevators there.
Endo-atmospheric tethers [ edit ]
KITE Launcher — transferring momentum to the vehicle.
An endo-atmospheric tether uses the long cable within the atmosphere to provide some or all of the velocity needed to reach orbit. The tether is used to transfer kinetics (energy and momentum) from a massive, slow end (typically a large subsonic or low supersonic aircraft) to a hypersonic end through aerodynamics or centripetal action. The Kinetics Interchange TEther (KITE) Launcher is one proposed endo-atmospheric tether.[13]
Dynamic structures [ edit ]
Space fountain [ edit ]
Hyde design space fountain.
A space fountain is a proposed form of space elevator that does not require the structure to be in geosynchronous orbit, and does not rely on tensile strength for support. In contrast to the original space elevator design (a tethered satellite), a space fountain is a tremendously tall tower extending up from the ground. Since such a tall tower could not support its own weight using traditional materials, massive pellets are projected upward from the bottom of the tower and redirected back down once they reach the top, so that the force of redirection holds the top of the tower aloft.[30]
Orbital ring [ edit ]
Orbital ring.
An orbital ring is a concept for a space elevator that consists of a ring in low Earth orbit that rotates at slightly above orbital speed, and has fixed tethers hanging down to the ground.[citation needed]
The first design[citation needed] of an orbital ring offered by A. Yunitsky in 1982.[31]
In the 1982 Paul Birch JBIS design[32] of an orbital ring system, a rotating cable is placed in a low Earth orbit, rotating at slightly faster than orbital speed. Not in orbit, but riding on this ring, supported electromagnetically on superconducting magnets, are ring stations that stay in one place above some designated point on Earth. Hanging down from these ring stations are short space elevators made from cables with high tensile-strength-to-mass ratio. Birch claimed that the ring stations, in addition to holding the tether, could accelerate the orbital ring eastwards, causing it to precess around Earth. If it were possible to make the precession rate large enough – once per day, the rate of rotation of the Earth – the ring would be "geostationary" without having to be at the normal geostationary altitude or even in the equatorial plane.[citation needed]
Launch loop [ edit ]
Launch loop.
A launch loop or Lofstrom loop is a design for a belt-based maglev orbital launch system that would be around 2000 km long and maintained at an altitude of up to 80 km (50 mi). Vehicles weighing 5 metric tons would be electromagnetically accelerated on top of the cable which forms an acceleration track, from which they would be projected into Earth orbit or even beyond. The structure would constantly need around 200 MW of power to keep it in place.[citation needed]
The system is designed to be suitable for launching humans for space tourism, space exploration and space colonization with a maximum of 3 g acceleration.[33] Some other Launch Loops are developed in.[34]
Pneumatic freestanding tower [ edit ]
One proposed design is a freestanding tower composed of high strength material (e.g. kevlar) tubular columns inflated with a low density gas mix, and with dynamic stabilization systems including gyroscopes and "pressure balancing".[35] Suggested benefits in contrast to other space elevator designs include avoiding working with the great lengths of structure involved in some other designs, construction from the ground instead of orbit, and functional access to the entire range of altitudes within the design's practical reach. The design presented is "at 5 km altitude and extending to 20 km above sea level", and the authors suggest that "the approach may be further scaled to provide direct access to altitudes above 200 km".
A major difficulty of such a tower is buckling since it is a long slender construction.
Projectile launchers [ edit ]
With any of these projectile launchers, the launcher gives a high velocity at, or near, ground level. In order to achieve orbit, the projectile must be given enough extra velocity to punch through the atmosphere, unless it includes an additional propulsion system (such as a rocket). Also, the projectile needs either an internal or external means to perform orbital insertion. The designs below fall into three categories, electrically driven, chemically driven, and mechanically driven.
Electromagnetic acceleration [ edit ]
Electrical launch systems include mass drivers, railguns, and coilguns. All of these systems use the concept of a stationary launch track which uses some form of linear electrical motor to accelerate a projectile.
Mass driver [ edit ]
A mass driver for lunar launch (artist's conception).
Electro-dynamic interactions in a railgun.
A mass driver is basically a very long and mainly horizontally aligned launch track or tunnel for space launch, curved upwards at the end. The concept was proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in 1950,[36] and was developed in more detail by Gerard K. O'Neill, working with the Space Studies Institute, focusing on the use of a mass driver for launching material from the Moon.
A mass driver uses some sort of repulsion to keep a payload separated from the track or walls. Then it uses a linear motor (an alternating-current motor such as in a coil gun, or a homopolar motor as in a railgun) to accelerate the payload to high speeds. After leaving the launch track, the payload would be at its launch velocity.
StarTram [ edit ]
StarTram is a proposal to launch vehicles directly to space by accelerating them with a mass driver. Vehicles would float by maglev repulsion between superconductive magnets on the vehicle and the aluminum tunnel walls while they were accelerated by AC magnetic drive from aluminum coils. The power required would probably be provided by superconductive energy storage units distributed along the tunnel. Vehicles could coast up to low or even geosynchronous orbital height; then a small rocket motor burn would be required to circularize the orbit.
Cargo-only Generation 1 systems would accelerate at 10–20 Gs and exit from a mountain top. While not suitable for passengers, they could put cargo into orbit for $40 per kilogram, 100 times cheaper than rockets.
Passenger-capable Generation 2 systems would accelerate for a much longer distance at 2 Gs. The vehicles would enter the atmosphere at an altitude of 20 km from an evacuated tunnel restrained by Kevlar tethers and supported by magnetic repulsion between superconducting cables in the tunnel and on the ground. For both Gen 1–2 systems, the mouth of the tube would be open during vehicle acceleration, with air kept out by magnetohydrodynamic pumping.[14][37][38]
Chemical [ edit ]
Space gun [ edit ]
A space gun is a proposed method of launching an object into outer space using a large gun, or cannon. Science fiction writer Jules Verne proposed such a launch method in From the Earth to the Moon, and in 1902 a movie, A Trip to the Moon, was adapted.
However, even with a "gun barrel" through both the Earth's crust and troposphere, the g-forces required to generate escape velocity would still be more than what a human tolerates. Therefore, the space gun would be restricted to freight and ruggedized satellites. Also, the projectile needs either an internal or external means to stabilize on orbit.
Gun launch concepts do not always use combustion. In pneumatic launch systems, a projectile is accelerated in a long tube by air pressure, produced by ground-based turbines or other means. In a light-gas gun, the pressurant is a gas of light molecular weight, to maximize the speed of sound in the gas.
In the 1990s, John Hunter of Quicklaunch proposed use of a 'Hydrogen Gun' to launch unmanned payloads to orbit for less than the regular launch costs.[39]
Ram accelerator [ edit ]
A ram accelerator also uses chemical energy like the space gun but it is entirely different in that it relies on a jet-engine-like propulsion cycle utilizing ramjet and/or scramjet combustion processes to accelerate the projectile to extremely high speeds.
It is a long tube filled with a mixture of combustible gases with a frangible diaphragm at either end to contain the gases. The projectile, which is shaped like a ram jet core, is fired by another means (e.g., a space gun, discussed above) supersonically through the first diaphragm into the end of the tube. It then burns the gases as fuel, accelerating down the tube under jet propulsion. Other physics come into play at higher velocities.
Blast wave accelerator [ edit ]
A blast wave accelerator is similar to a space gun but it differs in that rings of explosive along the length of the barrel are detonated in sequence to keep the accelerations high. Also, rather than just relying on the pressure behind the projectile, the blast wave accelerator specifically times the explosions to squeeze on a tail cone on the projectile, as one might shoot a pumpkin seed by squeezing the tapered end.
Mechanical [ edit ]
Slingatron [ edit ]
In a slingatron,[17][40] projectiles are accelerated along a rigid tube or track that typically has circular or spiral turns, or combinations of these geometries in two or three dimensions. A projectile is accelerated in the curved tube by propelling the entire tube in a small-amplitude circular motion of constant or increasing frequency without changing the orientation of the tube, i.e. the entire tube gyrates but does not spin. An everyday example of this motion is stirring a beverage by holding the container and moving it in small horizontal circles, causing the contents to spin, without spinning the container itself.
This gyration continually displaces the tube with a component along the direction of the centripetal force acting on the projectile, so that work is continually done on the projectile as it advances through the machine. The centripetal force experienced by the projectile is the accelerating force, and is proportional to the projectile mass.
Air launch [ edit ]
In air launch, a carrier aircraft carries the space vehicle to high altitude and speed before release. This technique was used on the suborbital X-15 and SpaceshipOne vehicles, and for the Pegasus orbital launch vehicle.
The main disadvantages are that the carrier aircraft tends to be quite large, and separation within the airflow at supersonic speeds has never been demonstrated, thus the boost given is relatively modest.
Spaceplanes [ edit ]
A spaceplane is an aircraft designed to pass the edge of space. It combines some features of an aircraft with some of a spacecraft. Typically, it takes the form of a spacecraft equipped with aerodynamic surfaces, one or more rocket engines, and sometimes additional airbreathing propulsion as well.
Early spaceplanes were used to explore hypersonic flight (e.g. X-15).[41]
Some air-breathing engine-based designs (cf X-30) such as aircraft based on scramjets or pulse detonation engines could potentially achieve orbital velocity or go some useful way to doing so; however, these designs still must perform a final rocket burn at their apogee to circularize their trajectory to avoid returning to the atmosphere. Other, reusable turbojet-like designs like Skylon which uses precooled jet engines up to Mach 5.5 before employing rockets to enter orbit appears to have a mass budget that permits a larger payload than pure rockets while achieving it in a single stage.
Balloon [ edit ]
Balloons can raise the initial altitude of rockets. However, balloons have relatively low payload (although see the Sky Cat project for an example of a heavy-lift balloon intended for use in the lower atmosphere), and this decreases even more with increasing altitude.
The lifting gas could be helium or hydrogen. Helium is not only expensive in large quantities but is also a nonrenewable resource. This makes balloons an expensive launch assist technique. Hydrogen could be used as it has the advantage of being cheaper and lighter than helium, but the disadvantage of also being highly flammable. Rockets launched from balloons, known as " rockoons", have been demonstrated but to date, only for suborbital ("sounding rocket") missions. The size of balloon that would be required to lift an orbital launch vehicle would be extremely large.
One prototype of a balloon launch platform has been made by JP Aerospace as "Project Tandem",[42] although it has not been used as a rocket launch vehicle. JP Aerospace further proposes a hypersonic, lighter than air upper stage. A Spanish company, zero2infinity, is officially developing a launcher system called bloostar based on the rockoon concept, expected to be operational by 2018.[43]
Gerard K. O'Neill proposed that by using very large balloons it may be possible to construct a space port in the stratosphere. Rockets could launch from it or a mass driver could accelerate payloads into the orbit.[44] This has the advantage that most (about 90%) of the atmosphere is below the space port.
Artist depiction of an aerial view of a SpaceShaft.
A SpaceShaft is a proposed version of an atmospherically buoyant structure that would serve as a system to lift cargo to near-space altitudes, with platforms distributed at several elevations that would provide habitation facilities for long term human operations throughout the mid-atmosphere and near-space altitudes.[45][46][47] For space launch, it would serve as a non-rocket first stage for rockets launched from the top.[46]
Hybrid launch systems [ edit ]
Separate technologies may be combined. In 2010, NASA suggested that a future scramjet aircraft might be accelerated to 300 m/s (a solution to the problem of ramjet engines not being startable at zero airflow velocity) by electromagnetic or other sled launch assist, in turn air-launching a second-stage rocket delivering a satellite to orbit.[48]
All forms of projectile launchers are at least partially hybrid systems if launching to low Earth orbit, due to the requirement for orbit circularization, at a minimum entailing several percent of total delta-v to raise perigee (e.g. a tiny rocket burn), or in some concepts much more from a rocket thruster to ease ground accelerator development.[14]
Some technologies can have exponential scaling if used in isolation, making the effect of combinations be of counter-intuitive magnitude. For instance, 270 m/s is under 4% of the velocity of low Earth orbit, but a NASA study estimated that Maglifter sled launch at that velocity could increase the payload of a conventional ELV rocket by 80% when also having the track go up a 3000‑meter mountain.[49]
Forms of ground launch limited to a given maximum acceleration (such as due to human g-force tolerances if intended to carry passengers) have the corresponding minimum launcher length scale not linearly but with velocity squared.[50] Tethers can have even more non-linear, exponential scaling. The tether-to-payload mass ratio of a space tether would be around 1:1 at a tip velocity 60% of its characteristic velocity but becomes more than 1000:1 at a tip velocity 240% of its characteristic velocity. For instance, for anticipated practicality and a moderate mass ratio with current materials, the HASTOL concept would have the first half (4 km/s) of velocity to orbit be provided by other means than the tether itself.[10]
A proposal to use a hybrid system combining a mass driver for initial lofting followed by additive thrust by a series of ground-based lasers sequenced according to wavelength was proposed by Mashall Savage in the book The Millennial Project as one of the core theses of the book, but the idea has not been pursued to any notable degree. Savage's specific proposals proved to be infeasible on both engineering and political grounds, and while the difficulties could be overcome, the group Savage founded, now called the Living Universe Foundation, has been unable to raise significant funds for research.
Combining multiple technologies would in itself be an increase to complexity and development challenges, but reducing the performance requirements of a given subsystem may allow reduction in its individual complexity or cost. For instance, the number of parts in a liquid-fueled rocket engine may be two orders of magnitude less if pressure-fed rather than pump-fed if its delta-v requirements are limited enough to make the weight penalty of such be a practical option, or a high-velocity ground launcher may be able to use a relatively moderate performance and inexpensive solid fuel or hybrid small motor on its projectile.[51] Assist by non-rocket methods may compensate against the weight penalty of making an orbital rocket reusable. Though suborbital, the first private manned spaceship, SpaceShipOne had reduced rocket performance requirements due to being a combined system with its air launch.[52]
See also [ edit ]
|
Thousands of people living in California have been forced to flee their homes after a number of wildfires took hold around Los Angeles.
Six large wildfires, and other smaller blazes, have erupted since Monday. About 500 buildings have been destroyed.
Satellite imagery taken on 5 December shows how the fires took hold - driven by extreme weather, including low humidity, high winds and parched ground.
About 5,700 firefighters have been battling the brushfires, officials said on Thursday, with many drafted in from neighbouring states to help.
Read more: Residents flee as fires spread
Thomas Fire
The Thomas fire in Ventura County to the north of Los Angeles remains the largest of the blazes and has spread as far as the Pacific coast.
It has consumed 180 square miles (466 sq km) since it broke out on Monday, and destroyed more than 430 buildings, fire officials said.
Creek Fire
Another blaze north of Los Angeles, the Creek fire, is 20% under control and covers some 15,323 acres (62 sq km).
Rye Fire
The Rye Fire threatened more than 5,000 homes and structures northwest of Los Angeles near Santa Clarita.
It consumed thousands of acres and triggered evacuations of homes and schools.
The fire authorities say it is now 25% under control.
The fires have been recorded over 48 hours
Skirball Fire
Image copyright EPA
In the wealthy Los Angeles enclave of Bel Air, firefighters were seen removing artwork from luxury homes on Wednesday as the Skirball Fire raged.
It has forced hundreds of residents in the wooded hills to evacuate and charred more than 475 acres.
Lilac Fire
Image copyright Reuters
North of San Diego, another blaze called the Lilac Fire spread from 10 acres to 4,100 acres in just a few hours.
It destroyed 20 structures and prompted evacuations and road closures.
A Reuters news agency photographer described propane tanks under houses exploding and sounding like bombs.
Californian authorities have issued a purple alert - the highest level warning - amid what it called "extremely critical fire weather".
The powerful, desert-heated Santa Ana winds have been fanning the flames.
|
I’ve been thinking lately about getting together a Kill Team team, something that I could eventually ally together with my Space Marines, which obviously meant it was one of the ol’ Forces of the Imperium.
And while the innumerable hordes of the Imperial Guard are a big draw to me (I mean, if we lived in the year 40,000 none of us would be Space Marines, we’d be the chumps with lasguns.) But I wanted something different, not just another swarm army.
But then I saw the Necromunda terrain Mic over on Re-entering the Hive has put together.
So now I wanted something that was playable in Kill Team, that could ally as Blood Brothers with my Space Marines and could also play in Necromunda. Which obviously only left me with one choice: the Adeptus Arbites.
So today I put together a test-figure, an Arbites, just out of some loose bitz, to see how it turned out:
He’s got a Space Marine Scout bolt-pistol, Tempestus Scions legs and torso, the pointing Tempestus arm, which is holding a Brettonian lantern, and a Skitarii head.
Sorry about the quality of the photo, but my camera is buggered so I’m stuck with the phone.
Let me know what you think, as I’m working on another half-dozen!
Advertisements
|
NEW DELHI: India’s deputy consul general in New York Devyani Khobragade was strip-searched and confined with drug addicts after her detention in a visa fraud case. She was also subjected to DNA swabbing.On Monday, India retaliated against the US for the humiliation of diplomat with Speaker Meira Kumar and NSA Shivshankar Menon refusing to meet a Congressional delegation on Monday.Sources confirmed that the government made it a point to convey to the delegation that the Speaker was not going to receive them because she had been deeply troubled by the manner in which Khobragade, who is accused of visa fraud, had been dealt with by the US authorities.The 1999-batch IFS officer, working as India's deputy consul general in New York, was detained from near the school of her children and later handcuffed.Menon too chose not to meet the delegation because of the same reason. Like Kumar, Khobragade also is a dalit IFS officer.Foreign minister Salman Khurshid did meet the delegation though keeping in mind the seniority of the Congressmen. The five-member delegation was led by Congressman George Holding, Representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district, who serves on the foreign affairs committee and judiciary committee.The four other Congressmen are Pete Olson, David Schweikert, Robert Woodall and Madeliene Bordallo.India has been deeply offended by the manner in which Khobragade was treated by the US authorities who chose to ignore her status as a middle-level diplomat from a friendly country. It has continued to emphasize before the state department that the treatment meted out to Khobragade was in complete violation of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR).As a consular officer, Khobragade had certain privileges — even if she did not have diplomatic immunity — which New Delhi believes were denied to her. She had limited immunity as a consular officer and could be arrested only if her crime was grave. The government is backing Khobragade's lawyer's contention that if her crime was indeed grave, why she was released on bail just two hours after her arrest.The state department earlier responded to the summoning of envoy Nancy Powell by foreign secretary Sujatha Singh by declaring that the consular officer did not have immunity under VCCR. India, however, sees this as an attempt to deflect attention from the real issue — the humiliation in public of an Indian diplomat.New Delhi has highlighted how the US authorities had violated Article 41 (Section 3) of VCCR which says that proceedings against a consular officer “shall be conducted with the respect due to him by reason of his official position."
|
Kyle Lowry has no idea I have a history of jinxing players. So bad that one time in the middle of an interview with Jerry Stackhouse, Kevin Garnett interrupted and told Stack he needs to get the "hell" away from me before I ruin his career. I did the story on Stack. His career was never the same after.
A few hours before the NBA announced this year's All-Star starters, Lowry called my phone. Interview previously set. He is having a season on par with any top guard in the East at this point. Name's being mentioned in that "best point god" conversation. People saying, "Derrick Rose might have a problem if the Bulls play Toronto in the playoffs." Words no one saw coming.
And even though the power of Drake and Justin Bieber in Toronto is real, Lowry knows nothing of the power of my jinx. So, we talked.
Scoop: You ready for the All-Star Game?
Lowry: Man, you know I ...
Scoop: I'm not trying to jinx you or anything ...
Lowry: Let's just put it this way: I'm just ready for that time again. I know it's a break at some point. [Laughs] It's either going to be less of a grind if I make [it] because I'll be able to hang out, get those experiences, be around all of the stars, and if not, I'm ready for that break to get to go hang out on a beach, enjoy some good weather and get more of a tan.
Scoop: Yeah that's a nice politically correct answer, brah. Look, if I don't see you in New York, there's a problem.
Lowry: I've heard that a few times, man. [Laughs] Hopefully we won't have that problem so that we don't have to start anything.
Scoop: [Laughs] Seriously, how does it feel to hear people saying that to you now? You know, hear those things about you being in the All-Star Game?
Lowry: You know what, it's a testament to all of the hard work I feel I put in throughout my career. Just to know people kinda noticing you for what you do is always good. You know I don't do this for the recognition, I do it for the love of the game. It is always good to have recognition, just like what you do: When a reporter does a great article, he might not do it for the recognition; they do it because that's their passion, but when they do get recognized for it, it's always amazing, always an amazing feeling. And you can say, "OK, it's cool that people recognize that I'm putting in this work and I'm doing the right things, and I'm saying the right things because I care about it so I want people to pay attention to it." So for me, to be able to put the work in that I put in and for people to recognize me, it's always good to get that love back sometimes.
" To be able to put the work in that I put in and for people to recognize me, it's always good to get that love back sometimes. " -- Kyle Lowry
Scoop: So if last year was your "welcome to the world" party, what has this year been?
Lowry: My "I'm here to stay" party. [Laughs]
Scoop: Is that part of the relief of finally getting a [big] contract or is that a "Let me step up so that people don't think last year was a fluke?"
Lowry: Well, I had a nice contract before, I made good money before [Note: Lowry's new contract doubled the money he was making annually on his previous contract], so it's not about a contract, it's about, "These guys paid me to do a job and they paid me to do a job well," so I'ma get paid to do my job and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. I'm going to train hard, work hard, I'm going to make sure I put my team in a position to know that we are going to be able to win games. You know, if you get paid to do a job you should do it, no matter if ... of course, things happen, injuries happen, you might miss a game or two and you are just unable to [play], but if you can, you should just go out there and do your job that you are getting paid to do. And for me, it's about that. I get paid to do a job that I love to do, so I'm going to go out there and give it my all every night.
Scoop: You are nine years deep in the league, right?
Lowry: Nine years.
Scoop: How important, from your standpoint of being in it this long, is stability in connection to success in this League?
Lowry: I think it is important. If you can establish a continuity in a team, example, the San Antonio Spurs. Look at them. They've won championships and they've had stability, the same people in place. Popovich has been there 20 years. It's hard to do and it's hard to get a Tim Duncan, a Tony Parker and a Manu Ginobili, but you get the continuity that they have and you get that one person in charge for that long, it shows what can possibly happen. And that's really important to have in this League.
Scoop: Does that apply to individual situations as much as with teams?
Lowry: Yeah, I think so. I think if you begin to get a little bit of, "Ah man, I'm going to get traded this year?" or "Am I or am I not going to make the team?," it can affect you. Instead of a "Look, I'm going to be here and I'm going to work extremely hard because these people put their trust in me."
Scoop: Has doubt ever set in with you about your ability to play?
Lowry: Um, yeah. Hell, yeah. A few times, well not a few times, but one time, seriously, doubt has come into play. I mean, you work extremely hard and things just aren't going your way. I think every player hits a little bit of doubt. But if you are strong, you are supposed to be strong mentally because that's our job and you know what you can do. So you are like, "A'ight cool, I'ma be all right. I'm going to figure this out." You have to dig down deep inside and find that fire, find a reason to know and remind yourself that this is what you do. And then it just becomes a small setback, a small hurdle to get over.
Lowry isn't worried about where he ranks among the game's best point guards. AP Images/Jae C. Hong
Scoop: Do you think about what you have to face every night now that we are in the "golden age of the point god"? Do you think about your place in this so-called era? Say to yourself at any time, "Before I leave this game, when they talk about this being the era of the point guard, I want my name to be mentioned." Do you at all think about or like that?
Lowry: Naw. Not at all. Because there are so many great point guards, someone is always going to get left out of that conversation. Like right now, CP3 [Chris Paul] isn't getting the praise that he usually gets because Steph [Curry] is having an unbelievable year. Tony [Parker] is not getting the praise that he usually gets because Russ [Westbrook] is having an ... See, someone is going to get left out. And my thing is, as long as you work as hard as you can and you are extremely happy with your game and how you are playing, you can't worry about anyone else or where your place is.
Scoop: Speaking of Tony Parker ... you mentioned earlier Tony, Tim and Manu. Now I'm looking at the three you all have in Toronto and I'm not going to put words in your mouth or misquote you, but can it be said that you all may not be the best Big 3 in the NBA right now, but you might be the most dangerous?
Lowry: Yeah ... I ... don't ... know ... I'll say we have talent. We are a talented group. We have some hellafied talent. I think with [Terrence Ross and DeMar DeRozan] still being young, they haven't even reached their primes yet. And with me being in my prime and them getting better, I figure sky's the limit for us.
Scoop: Yeah, another politically perfect answer. You're good. Really, that's how I feel it's going to happen when playoff time comes around. No disrespect to Cleveland or Atlanta or Washington or Chicago, but you all, because of the three of you, might be that team that's going to cause the biggest matchup problems for other teams to deal with.
Lowry: Well, right now we aren't winning games that we should, but that's a part of the season, that's just the way it goes, but you've seen what we can do when we are in our stride. So once we hit our stride again, we'll be that team that people look at and say, "OK, we have [the Raptors] coming in and it's going to be a rough one."
Scoop: On that same note, what are you going to take into this year's playoffs that you all learned from last year's playoffs?
Lowry: Probably physicality. The mental part of it. Being able to fight through the mental part of every game and making those adjustments after every one. I think that's what I'm going to take with me into the playoffs this time.
Scoop: And when it's all said and done, once you've done the Tony Parker and have a ring or two on your fingers and a Finals MVP, what do you want people to say about Kyle Lowry?
Lowry: I just want them to be able to say that I was a professional and that I was a winner.
Scoop: Nuff said. I'll see you in NY. For real. No jinx.
Lowry: [Laughs] I hope so.
An hour after we got off the phone, Lowry was announced as the a starting guard for the East in the All-Star Game.
|
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
A criminal pleads insanity after getting into trouble again and once in the mental institution rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients.
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers.
A young FBI cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soapmaker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75.
Oskar Schindler is a vainglorious and greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric German Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, it is a testament to the good in all of us. Written by Harald Mayr <[email protected]>
Did You Know?
Trivia During production, the atmosphere was so grim and depressing that During production, the atmosphere was so grim and depressing that Steven Spielberg asked his friend Robin Williams if he could tell some jokes and do comedy sketches while Spielberg would watch episodes of Seinfeld (1989). Some of Williams' sketches, while played through the speaker phone to the cast and crew, ended up being part of dialogue material for his character in Aladdin (1992), the Genie. See more
Goofs The bottle of Hennessy cognac as seen in the movie is the new shape released in 1990s. The original bottle shape was taller and had different label. The bottle of Hennessy cognac as seen in the movie is the new shape released in 1990s. The original bottle shape was taller and had different label. See more
Quotes [ first lines ]
[ a Hebrew prayer is chanted, followed by a flashback to 1940s Poland ]
Krakow registrar : Name?
See more » : Name?
Crazy Credits The theatrical version juxtaposed images from the film of the actors portraying certain identified "Schindler Jews" as each actual person placed a stone on Schindler's grave. The VHS version does not use this device, showing only the actual persons, credited by name. The theatrical version juxtaposed images from the film of the actors portraying certain identified "Schindler Jews" as each actual person placed a stone on Schindler's grave. The VHS version does not use this device, showing only the actual persons, credited by name. See more
|
Gabriel Bourque, 26, and Rene Bourque, 34, both joined the Avalanche as professional tryouts (PTO) last month. Rene shared the team scoring lead this preseason with four points (one goal, three assists) in five exhibition games, while Gabriel added one assist in four contests.
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed forwards Gabriel Bourque and Rene Bourque each to a one-year contract for the 2016-17 season.
Selected by Nashville in the fifth round (132nd overall) of the 2009 Entry Draft, Gabriel Bourque had spent his entire career with the Predators, recording 78 points (31 goals, 47 assists) in 242 career NHL games. He also dressed in 15 career playoff contests for the Preds, notching five points (three goals, two assists).
A native of Rimouski, Quebec, Bourque appeared in 22 games for the Predators during the 2015-16 season, tallying four points (one goal, three assists). He missed 48 contests due to an upper-body injury suffered on Nov. 27, 2015 at Philadelphia. Bourque finished second on the Predators with 11 goals during the shortened 2012-13 campaign and went on to record a career-best 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 74 games with Nashville the following year in 2013-14. He made his NHL debut in 2011-12, tallying 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 43 games. Prior to turning pro, the 5-foot-10, 206-pound right wing helped the Moncton Wildcats capture the 2010 President's Cup as Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions.
Now entering his 12th NHL season, Rene Bourque has tallied 298 points (151 goals, 147 assists) in 660 career NHL games with Chicago, Calgary, Montreal, Anaheim and Columbus. He has also picked up 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in 27 playoff contests. The 6-foot-2, 217-pound right wing dressed in 49 games for the Blue Jackets last season, registering eight points (three goals, five assists).
Originally signed by Chicago as a non-drafted free agent on July 29, 2004, Bourque tallied 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games as a rookie with the Blackhawks in 2005-06. He produced three straight 20-goal campaigns with the Flames from 2008-11, which included back-to-back 27-goal seasons in 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Lac La Biche, Alberta, native helped the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final in 2013-14, notching a team-leading eight goals (eight goals, three assists) in 17 playoff games that spring.
After a four-year collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin (2000-04), Bourque won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Trophy as the American Hockey League's rookie of the year with the Norfolk Admirals in 2004-05.
|
When Amazon launched a product called Mechanical Turk (MTurk) just over a decade ago, the e-commerce giant billed it as an online service to enable a marketplace of workers to complete tasks in exchange for payment. But it didn’t take long for the product to become a significant research tool in psychological science worldwide.
In 2011, psychological researchers Michael Buhrmester, Tracy Kwang, and APS Fellow Sam Gosling published a paper in Perspectives on Psychological Science titled “Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A New Source of Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Data?” The paper has been cited more than 2,300 times, according to Google Scholar.
And it’s easy to see why there is such intense interest in MTurk. Data collection can be much faster online, and MTurk subjects often are compensated at a lower rate than are university students or individuals from other samples, making MTurk research cheaper than average. The service is also an equalizer of sorts — researchers at small schools can have access to large samples that previously were available only at larger research universities. And it’s hard to beat the convenience of posting a study online just before bedtime and waking up to a complete data set.
But over the last few years, psychological scientists have begun viewing MTurk with a more critical eye. Many have been concerned about the unique characteristics of the MTurk sample, the appropriate amount to compensate MTurk subjects, and the recent fee increases that Amazon has levied on researchers who use the service.
A Unique Population
A fundamental aspect of MTurk’s success is that, in most cases, the subject pool appears to produce quality data. Some of the earliest MTurk research determined that results from online studies often mirror results from lab studies. APS Fellow Jeffrey Karpicke (Purdue University), who uses the tool to study students’ learning and memory, believes that this makes the service a valuable tool.
“We are very enthusiastic about MTurk. We have done several experiments both in the lab and on MTurk, and the results look the same,” Karpicke said.
“I think the people completing studies on MTurk take the tasks very seriously — probably more than undergraduates doing required experiments for introductory psychology do.”
Although results may be consistent across laboratory- and MTurk-based versions of a study, some researchers continue to investigate the idiosyncrasies of the MTurk subject pool.
Scientists who were among the earliest users of MTurk claimed they were capturing samples that were far more representative than the traditional pool of undergraduate students. But now, researchers have determined that MTurk subjects have their own set of distinctive characteristics.
Gabriele Paolacci (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) and Jesse Chandler (University of Michigan and Mathematica Policy Research) summarized these differences in a 2014 article in Current Directions in Psychological Science:
“Workers tend to be younger (about 30 years old), overeducated, underemployed, less religious, and more liberal than the general population … Within the United States, Asians are overrepresented and Blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented relative to the population as a whole,” they wrote. “It should not be treated as representative of the general population.”
Many MTurk subjects rely on the service as a source of income. They congregate in online communities, akin to employees meeting around the water cooler. These communities, such as Turkopticon (maintained by researchers at University of California, San Diego), allow MTurk subjects to rate experimenters or labs on a variety of different dimensions, including compensation to subjects. (This author’s rating on Turkopticon is found below — it appears that he could improve the amount he pays subjects.) Another digital water cooler can be found in the subreddit “HITs Worth Turking For” on Reddit.com.
Whether and how these ratings affect the quality of subjects who participate in a given study is unclear, and these questions should be important topics for future investigations.
And unlike in a laboratory study, in which a researcher can observe a subject going about an experimental task, the convenience of the Internet comes with a level of opaqueness that can be a challenge to fully grasp. Researchers can use manipulation and attention checks as a way of trying to gauge whether subjects complied with study instructions, but there’s no way to guarantee that workers are actually devoting their undivided attention to the study task. In fact, some even admit to completing MTurk tasks while at work.
Another concern with having a core community of workers is that they eventually can become “expert” subjects. Whereas college undergraduates may spend a year or two participating in several studies across many psychology disciplines, MTurk subjects, on average, participate in dozens of studies, sometimes simultaneously or over very short periods of time. A 2015 study by an international team of researchers suggests that these subjects’ experiences with common research materials (e.g., the “ball-and-bat problem”) mean that they may not respond as researchers expect them to.
Chandler and colleagues followed up with subjects who earlier had completed a series of psychology tasks via MTurk. Subjects were contacted a few days, about a week, or about a month after initial participation and were asked to complete the same tasks online a second time. Some subjects were assigned to the same condition they were in initially, whereas others were assigned to different conditions.
The psychological scientists found that the effects of the experimental manipulations were smaller in the second experiment compared to the first. The decrease in effect size was greatest when subjects were assigned to a different condition in the second study than they were assigned to in the first.
The authors wrote that they found “no direct evidence of a mechanism underlying this decline,” but speculated that several potential factors — including practice effects, cognitive elaboration, and motivation to perform a certain way — could be at work.
Additionally, the large number of repeat subjects participating in a given experiment means that the reach of MTurk is narrower than one might expect. A recent study led by psychological scientist Neil Stewart (University of Warwick, England) suggests that researchers using MTurk have an available sample size of 7,300 subjects — greater than the average university research pool but far from the 500,000 workers from 190 countries that Amazon advertises.
“Amazon Mechanical Turk, and other crowdsourcing platforms, are a great new tool for getting science done,” Stewart said. “But the populations might not be as large as you think; 7,300 workers in your population, often shared with maybe hundreds of other researchers, is great, but it is not that many.”
And many of those research subjects are voicing complaints about the way they are treated and compensated for their
participation.
Fees and Compensation
The average rate of pay on MTurk is well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Earlier this year, PBS Newshour produced a piece titled “The Internet’s hidden science factory” detailing some of these issues. The program described one worker who estimated completing 20,000 surveys, some presumably psychology experiments, over a 5-year period (that’s more than 10 per day).
Pay is low and the tasks are sometimes repetitive, leading some to refer to MTurk as a “digital sweatshop.” That’s what led a large group of MTurk workers a year ago to petition Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to improve worker conditions. One site has even proposed an MTurk code of conduct for academic requesters.
“Many workers consider $0.10 a minute to be the minimum to be considered ethical,” the document declares. And there may be real repercussions for breaking these guidelines: “Tasks paying less … are likely to tap into a highly vulnerable work pool and constitutes coercion.” And when accusation of coercion is involved, university Institutional Review Boards may take interest.
“I think there is a very strong case for paying more to hit a living-wage level,” said Stewart.
Money also has become a source of contention for researchers using MTurk. Several months ago, MTurk rolled out a commission increase that’s costing researchers more money. A Twitter roundup by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology captures researchers’ complaints about the changes.
Prior to this increase, Amazon took 10% of payments to subjects in processing fees. Now, the fee is 40%, assuming the researcher is collecting more than 10 subjects’ worth of data at a time. A 200-subject 15-minute study, for instance, would originally have cost $330, but now costs $420, assuming a low payment of $0.10 per minute.
“These changes would be intended to allow us to increase our investment in the marketplace and bring future innovation to Mechanical Turk that will benefit both Requesters and Workers,” stated the official MTurk blog a short time before the price increase occurred. As of yet, no one has noticed any innovations.
Other Options
Researchers unwilling to rely on MTurk alone have the alternative to synthesize MTurk data collection with other kinds of studies. For example, Steven Isley, a quantitative policy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, uses MTurk to test ideas before conducting larger-scale studies for the US Department of Energy.
“MTurk has helped us refine many aspects of our research before investing the time and money in a real field trial,” he said, giving an example. “We were going to conduct a field test of a new augmented-reality decision-support tool, and we used MTurk to help us refine our user interface. While the online experiment wasn’t a replacement for the field trial, it helped us understand where the app instructions weren’t clear and which data visualizations were likely to be more effective in the field.”
Conducting dual online and offline studies also allows researchers to replicate their own work within different populations before seeking publication.
There also are choices for researchers who want to conduct Internet research while avoiding MTurk altogether, as several alternative services have sprung up to fill a perceived need. A site called Prolific Academic advertises high-quality, diverse, and naive subjects. The service requires that researchers pay subjects a minimum of $7.50 per hour. Prolific Academic was founded by Ekaterina Damer (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom), a doctoral student in psychology, and Phelim Bradley (University of Oxford, United Kingdom), who is pursuing a PhD in genomic medicine and statistics.
“We designed Prolific specifically with academic research in mind,” Damer said. “Prolific has a pool of more than 24,000 participants around the world, so you can test for effects of different cultures.”
Qualtrics, the popular survey software, also advertises its Qualtrics Online Sample service. Enter the number of subjects needed, the length of the survey, and several other details, and a researcher is on his or her way to beginning data collection. The site SurveyMonkey offers a similar service called SurveyMonkey Audience. Other choices are detailed in a 2015 preprint by Eyal Peer (Bar-Ilan University, Israel) and colleagues.
Of course, the cost of these made-to-order samples varies. According to personal communication with the Qualtrics marketing team, 100 subjects participating in a 20-minute study would be “looking towards the low thousands.” In other words, none of these options is likely to beat MTurk in terms of affordability.
Proceed With Caution
Researchers’ mixed views about MTurk are captured in a 2015 special section in the journal Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Richard Landers (Old Dominion University) and Tara Behrend (The George Washington University) led the discussion with an article emphasizing that all convenience samples, like MTurk, have limitations, and that scientists shouldn’t be afraid to use these samples as long as they consider the implications with care. Among other recommendations, the authors cautioned against automatically discounting college students, online panels, or crowdsourced samples, and warned that “difficult to collect” data is not synonymous with “good data.”
While other researchers warned about repeated participation, motivation, and selection bias, APS Fellow Scott Highhouse and Don Zhang, both of Bowling Green State University, went as far as to call Mechanical Turk “the new fruit fly for applied psychological research.”
Finally, as Buhrmester noted, the convenience of online studies affects not only how subjects behave in studies, but also how experimenters conceive of the studies in the first place.
“There’s the issue of whether MTurk has become too popular among researchers,” he said. “I wonder how often researchers have chosen to design a study around what’s possible on MTurk rather than what would be most ecologically valid. I also wonder whether researchers are doing as much as they can to provide truly rewarding research experiences.”
Despite those concerns, Buhrmester believes MTurk has strong potential.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “it’s in everyone’s best interest for the MTurk community to grow and prosper.”
Tara Behrend will be speaking at a Cross-Cutting Theme Program on “Advancing Psychological Science Through Technology” at the 2016 APS Annual Convention, May 26–29 in Chicago, Illinois.
References and Further Reading
Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011). Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3–5. doi:10.1177/1745691610393980
Chandler, J., Paolacci, G., Peer, E., Mueller, P., & Ratliff, K. A. (2015). Using nonnaive participants can reduce effect sizes. Psychological Science, 26, 1131–1139. doi:10.1177/0956797615585115
Landers, R. N., & Behrend, T. S. (2015). An inconvenient truth: Arbitrary distinctions between organizational, Mechanical Turk, and other convenience samples. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8, 142–164. doi:10.1017/iop.2015.13
Paolacci, G., & Chandler, J. (2014). Inside the Turk: Understanding Mechanical Turk as a participant pool. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 184–188. doi:10.1177/0963721414531598
Stewart, N., Ungemach, C., Harris, A. J. L. X., Bartels, D. M., Newell, B. R., Paolacci, G., & Chandler, J. (2015). The average laboratory samples a population of 7,300 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers. Judgment & Decision Making, 10, 479–491. Retrieved from http://journal.sjdm.org/14/14725/jdm14725.pdf
|
A bartender prepares a beer in a bar in central Sydney in this May 11, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/Files
By Madeline Kennedy
(Reuters Health) – - Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have less gray matter, an important brain structure that aids in memory, decisions, and self-control, according to a Finnish study.
The study was observational, so it is impossible to say whether heavy drinking caused this stunted brain development. People may have less brain matter due to genetic factors, and this abnormality may make them more likely to abuse alcohol, the researchers write in the journal Addiction.
“Substance use has been found to be connected to social exclusion, mental health problems and lower educational attainment,” said lead author Noora Heikkinen of the University of Eastern Finland.
Having less gray matter may cause similar problems, as gray matter contains most of the brain’s neurons and plays an important role in memory, emotions, decision-making, and self-control.
“Brain structural changes might be one factor that contributes to the social and mental problems among substance-using individuals,” Heikkinen told Reuters Health by email.
To explore the effect of alcohol use on developing teenage brains, the researchers studied 62 young adults who were participating in the Finnish Youth Wellbeing Study.
Between 2013 and 2015, the participants filled out questionnaires, answering questions about how often they drank and how many drinks they consumed.
The participants had all completed similar questionnaires five and 10 years earlier, starting at age 13.
As teens, 35 of the participants fell into the category of heavy drinkers. For example, they drank four or more times a week, or they drank less often but when they did, they drank heavily. The other 27 young adults in the study were considered light drinkers.
No one in either group showed symptoms of depression or other serious mental illnesses. Heavy and light drinkers had similar rates of anxiety, personality disorders, and drug use. Heavy drinkers were significantly more likely to smoke cigarettes than light drinkers, however.
But when participants underwent brain scans to look at gray matter and other brain structures that may be affected by alcohol use, the heavy drinkers had smaller volumes of gray matter in several brain areas when compared with the light drinking group.
Specifically, those areas are known as the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, the right orbitofrontal and frontopolar cortex, the right superior temporal gyrus and the right insular cortex.
The frontal section of the brain, which helps people plan and make decisions, continues developing until people reach their early 20s, said Samantha Brooks, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa who studies the effects of drinking on adolescents.
During this period of brain development, teens are in a “vulnerability window” where they may be more likely to develop substance use problems, said Brooks, who was not involved in the study.
In addition, if teens drink heavily during this sensitive time, they may cause damage to their brains that can make their drinking behavior worse and cause other problem behaviors like missing school or having unsafe sex, Brooks said.
“Parents and teachers must be alert to the vulnerability window during adolescence, and seek help as early as possible, to prevent more serious damage to the brain,” Brooks said by email.
Stopping alcohol use can increase gray matter volume when it is done early enough, Heikkinen noted. “However, when alcohol use has continued for a long time, some structural changes become irreversible,” Heikkinen warned.
“Teenage years are very important for brain development, and alcohol can tamper with this process,” Heikkinen said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/2fRFG37 Addiction, online November 19, 2016.
|
Abstract
Objectives: For this cross-sectional study, we aimed to elucidate whether higher glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and glucose levels exert a negative impact on memory performance and hippocampal volume and microstructure in a cohort of healthy, older, nondiabetic individuals without dementia.
Methods: In 141 individuals (72 women, mean age 63.1 years ± 6.9 SD), memory was tested using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Peripheral levels of fasting HbA1c, glucose, and insulin and 3-tesla MRI scans were acquired to assess hippocampal volume and microstructure, as indicated by gray matter barrier density. Linear regression and simple mediation models were calculated to examine associations among memory, glucose metabolism, and hippocampal parameters.
Results: Lower HbA1c and glucose levels were significantly associated with better scores in delayed recall, learning ability, and memory consolidation. In multiple regression models, HbA1c remained strongly associated with memory performance. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that beneficial effects of lower HbA1c on memory are in part mediated by hippocampal volume and microstructure.
|
Mayor Rob Ford disappeared into a Vancouver-area bar’s tiny staff washroom after midnight last weekend and emerged — more than an hour later — “talking gibberish in what sounded like another language” and appearing impaired, according to an eyewitness account of the mayor’s latest late-night jaunt. It took some time before Ford was able to speak to restaurant staff coherently. When he could be understood, and after he was assured all patrons had left the Foggy Dew pub in Coquitlam, B.C., Ford ordered and enjoyed rounds of beers, rum-and-cokes and shots of Jack Daniels with three people, according to an account of the evening.
This photo was taken at 2:29 a.m. after closing time at the Foggy Dew. This photo was taken at the Foggy Dew bar at 2:43 a.m. This photo was taken at 1:01 a.m. at the Foggy Dew, before Ford went to the bathroom.
The person providing this account is not being identified due to a fear of consequences for speaking out. All of this took place in the wee hours of Saturday, Feb. 1, between midnight and 3 a.m. — hours after Ford was ticketed by the RCMP for jaywalking and after local media had left the area. Ford has stated publicly that, prior to the jaywalking incident, he drank only Diet Coke. The Star asked him this week about alleged drug use and heavy drinking at the Foggy Dew later that night, after it was closed for the evening, but Ford has not responded to the questions.
Article Continued Below
The Star was unable to independently verify allegations connected to Ford involving suspected drug use or consumption of alcohol at the Foggy Dew. His brother, Councillor Doug Ford, has spoken to reporters only about the jaywalking incident. Councillor Ford claimed that local RCMP officers targeted his brother and would not have laid a charge if his name was “John Smith.” The Foggy Dew pub has not responded to questions about Ford’s conduct or about allegedly serving alcohol after hours. A manager who answered the phone at the popular bar on Thursday described Ford’s time in the back room as “a private event.” The pub did not respond to written questions asking, among other things, about serving alcohol after the stated closing hour of 2 a.m., or about the mayor appearing impaired and incoherent after his long stay in the washroom. A person who described himself as “John Teti, Proprietor, Foggy Dew” wrote to the Star on Thursday, saying the bar was not talking. “Your request for comment, regarding the conduct of Mr. Ford’s patronage at the Foggy Dew, is that we have no comment,” Teti said in a brief email.
Last November, Ford publicly vowed he was done with drinking. He characterized as a “misstep” a recent incident in which he was videotaped at the Steak Queen in Etobicoke, appearing impaired and making derogatory comments in Jamaican patois towards Chief Bill Blair, criticizing him for the ongoing investigation of Ford by top detectives. Ford has admitted to being ticketed by the RCMP for jaywalking on the street near the Foggy Dew, which took place around 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. Ford was staying in a nearby hotel, travelling with former assistant Dave Price and attending Price’s mother’s funeral.
Article Continued Below
The story of the mayor’s night became much more interesting in the hours after Global TV and other media, who had been alerted to Ford’s jaywalking, departed. Around midnight, Ford reappeared in the area of the Foggy Dew and was mobbed by people who wanted photos taken with the mayor. With Ford were three people: a man with curly hair and a man and a woman who appeared to be a couple he had recently met. The Star has not been able to identify these individuals. Foggy Dew bouncer Colin Jamieson was given the task of escorting Ford. He took Ford through the gated parking lot to a back door and into the staff and kitchen area of the pub. Asked to comment on his knowledge of the event, Jamieson said, “We’re not authorized to speak about anything regarding customers or patrons.” Jamieson added: “Private citizens. Private establishment. I can’t comment.” According to a person in close proximity to Ford that night at the Foggy Dew, the mayor had been drinking when he arrived after midnight but was coherent. For a little more than a half-hour, Ford chatted with staff and allowed a few photos to be taken. Then, according to a witness, he said, “Okay everybody, I have to go to the bathroom.” Though there are larger washrooms for patrons in the pub area, Ford entered a small (less than two metres square) single-toilet bathroom used by male staff. He did not emerge for more than an hour. Staff were unable to use that washroom. The curly haired man visited him at one point. So did bouncer Jamieson. When Ford emerged shortly after 2 a.m., according to the account provided the Star, he was incoherent. He was scratching his chest and the back of his neck and making “weird twitch-like movements non-stop with his hands,” according to an eyewitness. “You could not understand a word he was saying,” said the eyewitness. The first words witnesses could understand from Ford were: “No pictures.” Ford, who was still in the kitchen area outside the staff bathroom at this point, asked if everyone was gone from the main pub area. The lights had come on in the pub, signaling that it was past 2 a.m. and the pub was closed. Management assured Ford everyone was gone. Ford, the Star was told, was suspicious that Foggy Dew employees had been the ones who tipped media around 10 p.m. to his being in the area. Ford was told nobody from the bar had called the media. Assured that all patrons were gone, Ford and his three friends then settled into a table in the main dining area of the pub. Ford ordered rounds of drinks, which were served after 2 a.m., when the bar was officially closed. A photo taken just before 3 a.m. shows Ford and his friends at a table covered with numerous drinks. (The Star was able to obtain numerous photos of the evening for a nominal fee.) The Star was unable to determine who paid the tab or how many drinks were ordered. The account of Ford in the small bathroom is reminiscent of one the Star published last summer. It reported that, while attending a Toronto Maple Leafs playoff game at the Air Canada Centre on May 8, 2013, Ford and friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi disappeared into the small one-stall bathroom at the Director’s Lounge. No explanation has ever been given for Ford and Lisi spending time in the bathroom. Lisi, whose movements were tracked in the Project Brazen police investigation of Ford, is facing drug and extortion charges in connection with allegations he tried to retrieve the infamous crack cocaine video, which shows Ford smoking a crack pipe and making racist and homophobic comments. Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or [email protected]
Read more about:
|
Google took a page out of Apple's book and killed the headphone jack with its new Pixel 2 phones — which means that if you want to enjoy some music on a set of old school headphones with a 3.5 mm connection, you're gonna need a dongle.
When the first Pixel USB-C to 3.5 mm jack dongle was announced, there was a big problem: Google planned to sell the accessory for $20. That's twice the cost of Apple's headphone jack workaround, which is available for $9. Unsurprisingly, people online were not pleased.
SEE ALSO: Hands on with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
Here's the Google USB-C Digital to 3.5 mm headphone adapter dongle. Pretty standard dongle, there — certainly not worth $20. Thankfully, Google relented and dropped the price to Apple's level, $9, which was spotted by 9to5Google.
Solid dongle, Google. Image: google
Sure, every brand new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will have a dongle included in the box when the phones are released on Oct. 19, but those little buggers get lost easily. I generally keep mine attached to a pair of over the ear headphones to keep it from being misplaced — but if you're switching between multiple sets, you'll probably want at least two dongles, just in case.
Google's move to cut the dongle's cost preemptively shows that it has learned by following in Apple's footsteps. Last year, one of the first-gen Pixel's big marketing points was that it had a headphone jack, which the iPhone 7 famously lacked — so when the second iteration rolled around without one, the best move would probably be to keep the switch under the radar with comparably priced accessories.
You'll now be able to stock up on extra dongles for less than $10, and Apple and Google are on equal footing. But seriously, if the iPhone 7 wasn't reason enough to switch to wireless headphones, this should be your last straw.
|
Speaking at the Hillsong conference, Mark Driscoll repented for a number of things. Praise God. Hallelujah.
Milking the Best-Seller’s List by Improperly Using Church Funds
Asking staff about their wive’s favorite sexual position
Well more than a dozen counts of plagiarism
Porno-graphic discerno-vision
Throwing people under the Mars Hill bus
No. Driscoll didn’t repent for any of that stuff. Driscoll repented for having criticized Joel Osteen.
Yep. You read that right. Fast-forward to about 20 minutes, 40 seconds to hear it.
Driscoll used the opportunity to publicly apologize for having ever criticized Osteen, and claimed to have asked Osteen permission to send him a private letter of apology. Houston, of course agrees, and says “…at the end of the day, we’re all on the same side.”
We agree. Osteen and Driscoll and Houston are definitely on the same side.
Other highlights include:
Comparison of Martin Luther’s 95 theses to “angry bloggers” on the Internet
Houston calling his church “grace oriented” (as opposed to repentance-oriented?)
Driscoll apologizing for “misconceptions” regarding his complementarianism
Driscoll’s “Women are penis homes” comment was definitely brought up, and Driscoll says of himself that “…this was not a healthy person operating from a godly place.”
Driscoll laments not having more women involved in ministry at Mars Hill
Driscoll says it’s not his business to correct or critique Brian Houston
Driscoll says he wants to come into different families of church to learn and teach
Driscoll repeats – again – the story of God’s direct revelation and spoken word from God telling them to resign (at which point Driscoll breaks down in tears)
As Pulpit & Pen has said from the very beginning, watch Driscoll. He’s going full-bore charismatic. That’s the circle that will rehabilitate just about anybody. He knows that.
Did you ever think you’d see the day that Driscoll publicly apologized to Joel Osteen for criticizing him? He’ll be on TBN in no time. Mercy.
[Contributed by JD Hall]
[Editor’s Note: Thank you to William Throckmorton, who uploaded this audio first]
|
Warner Bros. debuted a new trailer for Justice League on Saturday during the studio’s Comic-Con panel, featuring Ben Affleck’s Batman alongside Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and the other heroes of the DC Universe. At the panel, Affleck addressed rumors about his future as Caped Crusader, which is expected to continue in Matt Reeves’ solo-superhero film, The Batman. After the panel, Affleck spoke to EW, further clarifying his role in that film and in the greater DC universe.
“My status remains what it always is,” the star explains. “I’ve done the two movies. I’ve always intended on doing a third if Warners wants to make it. Certainly, if the Batphone rings, I will answer.”
He blames some of the reports on his decision to step down from directorial duties on The Batman, which occurred in January of this year. “It’s such a big job, in terms of the stunts and the suit and the action and the character. Trying to do that, and direct, would probably be too much. Something would be compromised. I think it came off, optically, to the broader world, like lack of interest or enthusiasm. When in fact I love this character.”
Affleck also broadcast his support for the studio’s choice of director for The Batman. “I think getting Matt Reeves to come in and do it is really, really exciting,” he says. Rumors have swirled that the War for the Planet of the Apes filmmaker wants to use The Batman as a springboard to a trilogy. Says Affleck, “Matt hasn’t really unveiled his full vision yet. He wanted to wait until Apes came out, and he was obviously consumed with that. So I’m looking forward to hearing what his story is.”
This will be Affleck’s second starring role as the Caped Crusader (Affleck also did what he called a “walk-on” in last year’s Suicide Squad) and it’s the latest product of his longtime collaboration with Warner Bros., which dates back to his acclaimed crime thriller The Town.
“Warners has been working on it, making sure we’re getting it right. That’s the partnership you definitely want. With Wonder Woman, they really hit a home run. With [Justice League], I think we’ve found the tone, and found the flavor of it,” he says.
“I’d love to do it as long as they’ll have me,” he concludes. “Eventually it’ll be somebody else, and I’m sure they’ll get somebody great. But while I’m doing it, I’m going to do the best job I can, and really appreciate how lucky I am.”
|
Trump, joking about falling to second place behind Carson, said at a rally in October, "You know some of them: 'We have a breaking story. Donald Trump has fallen to second place behind Ben Carson. We informed Ben. But he was sleeping."
One such occasion, he writes, is how he knew he was meant to be with his wife Candy.
As a senior at Yale, Carson was driving a sleeping Candy Rustin (now Candy Carson) back to New Haven from Detroit, when he too succumbed to fatigue.
"With my hands relaxed on the wheel, the car flew along at 90 miles per hour," he wrote in his 1990 autobiography Gifted Hands. "The heater, turned on low, kept us comfortably warm. It had been half an hour or more since I'd seen another vehicle. I felt relaxed, everything under control. Then I floated into a comfortable sleep too."
He was abruptly awakened, he says, by the "vibration of the car striking the metal illuminators that separate each lane," at which point he "grabbed the steering wheel, and fiercely jerked to the left." A "heartbeat" after the car came to a stop, "an eighteen-wheeler transport came barreling through on that lane."
It was then, he writes, that Candy told him she thought they were meant to be together and Carson said he thought so too. It's a story he has re-told in other books, such as this year's You Have A Brain.
Fast-forward to 1998, when, according to a friend quoted in a Real Clear Politics piece on Carson, the renowned neurosurgeon had another epiphany after falling asleep while driving.
The RCP story says Carson was "weighed upon" by the death of the friend's daughter and "a late night of surgeries," when he passed out at the wheel, only to be awakened by the "sound of the cars' wheels on the shoulder."
"The episode also awakened Carson to a work-life dynamic that he decided was gravely out of balance, Boyer recalled; the next day, Carson asked that his workload at Johns Hopkins be reduced," RCP reports.
Carson writes of a similar event in his 1999 book The Big Picture. He fell asleep at the wheel twice "in a matter of days," in the weeks before the completion of that book.
|
Germany's Colossus of Prora, a vacation retreat built by the Third Reich in the time leading up to World War II, is getting a makeover.
Prora, which was constructed in the 1930s with a design believed to have been chosen by Adolf Hitler, remained mostly abandoned after it was built on the Baltic Sea on the German island of Rügen. Once World War II began, the resort was not used for tourism.
Previously, the plan for the former vacation spot was to turn it into a luxury hotel. Now, Berlin-based Metropole Marketing has released renderings of what Prora will look like after renovation, including luxury apartments and a spa.
According to Metropole, the renamed "Prora Solitaire" property will be split into two parts: "Prora Solitaire Hotel Apartments and Spa" and "Prora Solitaire Home," with 130 apartments available for rent or purchase starting at roughly $112,000.
|
Right now the US mainstream media is obsessing over Donald’s alleged womanizing and female groping soap opera as the Clinton’s/MSM’s pruriently entertaining smokescreen, neatly designed to cover up Hillary/Bill’s serial raping and her criminal lead role as enabler/strong armed intimidator of past victims.
Meanwhile, barely noticed in a virtual media blackout in the West are at least a half dozen high alert, significant international developments this last weekend that all strongly indicate the extreme danger of a nuclear war breaking out at any time against Russia and its Eastern alliance. Again, do not pay attention to the US deceivers behind their Oz-like curtain and their frenzied pushing of Western propaganda machine levers as sleight of hand distraction to willfully withhold the fact that many unreported major world events are simultaneously occurring now that foretell the start of World War III potentially just days away.
The current threat level to every human life on this planet even surpasses the October Cuban Missile Crisis of 54 years ago as the earth today is in more peril by manmade destruction than any previous time in human history. Yet the neocon madness of Obama, Hillary and their MSM minions do not want Americans to know this dire truth that the US is rapidly moving to very likely execute a series of false flags that could ignite a global war between US-NATO and the Eastern powers: Russia, China and Iran.
And based on alarming rapid fire events, it could even begin prior to the scheduled November 8th presidential election just three weeks away. Make no mistake – that perfect storm of destabilizing developments triggering WWIII, the global economy crash and possible martial law timed with the US presidential election that many independent journalists like myself have been writing about for months is unfolding right this very moment.
Here are just a few of these disturbing breaking news events and anomalies that are currently unfolding over this last weekend that are conspicuously missing in action from all MSM headlines:
FAA issues no fly zone over parts of Montana
Per the FAA on Saturday a no fly zone went into effect for most of the day from 3PM to midnight over selected parts of the state of Montana.
The FAA claimed that US military rockets were being launched in connection with “space operations” yet the only missiles in Montana are nuclear armed warhead missiles. According to NewsPrepper.com, the missile silos in Montana are armed with Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV’s) and each MIRV contains a 100 kiloton nuclear warhead. Within a half hour after launch, each single rocket is capable of destroying eight cities anywhere on earth.
The real question is what was the government actually up to on Saturday with nuclear missiles in Montana?
Source: Nuclear Archive
Buildup of US military planes and ships on Diego Garcia Island
Last Friday isn this remote US military outpost on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean (see image below), a US military private contractor who cycles through every nine days working on the island for ongoing maintenance of military hardware reported an enormous, unprecedented buildup of US Air Force bombers – both B-1’s and B-2’s. Some were painted flat black. On a related note, this past week the US Air Force was caught dressing up its warplanes disguised as Russian aircraft that would likely be used in false flag operations to blame Russia for aggression it didn’t commit. The civilian contractor on Diego Garcia stated that far more activity was witnessed than any time prior in the 9 years he’s been on the job there. He reports that under the tightest security the government has blocked off access roads and that so many warplanes have been assembled on the island that aircraft are now being parked on blocked off roads.
A count of over a dozen refueling tankers were sighted and flights were taking off on the average of every 15 minutes. He also observes the tent city that sprang up includes temporary barracks and hangars for both US Air Force and Navy personnel. His ex-Air Force coworker speculated that the ultra-tight security and sudden influx of so much activity is characteristic of top secret nuclear weapons movement. Speaking of which, the eyewitness also noticed that 6-8 US Navy vessels were offshore and the island docks were busily unloading countless pallets of bombs. Obviously sneaky Obama is up to something very big against his targeted cold war enemies potentially including nuclear powered Russia and China.
DEFCON Level 3 warning
Even the Sunday edition of the British rag the Daily Star ran the headline “US nuclear attack warning ‘upgraded to level 3’ as Russian threat goes ‘beyond Cold War.’” Though midway through the article the Star quietly backtracks from its sensational headline claiming the US government has not officially released any public notice that the US is currently on DEFCON level 3, it references its “breaking news” headline based on the “conspiracy theory” website defconwarningsystem.com.
In any event, only three previous times in US history has Washington issued a DEFCON level 3 warning as its official nuclear war alert index, the last time being on 9/11. This particular level on the Chiefs of Staff developed “defense readiness condition” entails a nuclear attack readiness that the US Air Force is prepared to mobilize a nuclear strike within a 15 minute period. Level 3 also calls for the federal plan to take immediate effect that will maintain continuity of government services in response to imminent threat of any national emergency or crisis. Though true to form, the most secretive US president in history – Barack Obama and his neocons – are choosing to not publicly disclose this level 3 grave danger facing the American people, admitting the US is on the brink of nuclear war against Russia. For many years now the powers-that-shouldn’t-be have been secretly preparing for this nuclear showdown moment.
The five-level alert system ranges from level 5 at no threat at all to level 1 which is all-out nuclear war within the hour. Despite Washington’s official non-disclosure, a reasonable chance exists that we could be headed toward level 2, signifying an urgent readiness to deploy an armed attack within six hours in what would most likely amount to a nuclear exchange with one or more adversaries (Russia and China), resulting in mutually assured destruction (MAD) that’s long been an integral part of US national security policy and strategic military doctrine. During the first cold war MAD prevented either side from pushing the nuke button due to the principle of deterrence motivating both parties to not dare engage in such insanely suicidal behavior. However, the puppet masters and their neocon lunatics presently calling the shots are operating from a deluded sense of false security believing that when safely cloistered in their luxurious underground bunkers, they’re capable of surviving a nuclear holocaust at the earth’s surface.
Last Friday Obama met with foreign policy advisors on the Syrian crisis
Obama met last Friday with his top security advisors to assess and weigh all his military and non-military options in Syria and beyond. Clearly with all the unprecedented activity noted just since this meeting, the chronically weak leader who’s been our commander-in-chief the last eight years is racing against election time heavily influenced by his hawkish, “preemptive strike” neocons to rewrite his legacy. Putin. Keep in mind Barack Hussein Obama’s been the Manchurian puppet president who’s dutifully followed his globalist masters’ marching orders to destroy America to the T. So the big question remains is he planning to defy Russian warnings and attack Assad forces like he sneakily did on September 17th and thereby initiate war directly against Russia? By what has been happening over the weekend, it appears he just might.
CIA coordinating cyberattacks on Russia
No doubt also high on Obama’s meeting agenda last Friday is the covert cyber operation against Russia. As part of US retaliation for Putin allegedly hacking into DNC and Clinton emails while trying to change the election outcome in favor of Trump, all unsubstantiated deep state lies, MSM presstitute NBC News just reported that the CIA is coordinating the launching of cyberattacks against Russia. All the major powers engage in hacking and cyber warfare, so really there’s nothing much new here other than efforts to derail Russian intelligence apparatus and economic infrastructure is at its height right now.
This tit for tat game Empire’s playing now is serious risky business. Repercussions may have a boomerang effect manifesting as either a false flag or real cyber security breaches that could wreak havoc with US military and economic infrastructure. One morning we may wake up and not be able to withdraw cash from our local ATM or even pump gas. Or if asymmetrical warfare escalates to EMP attack, we may find ourselves without electricity for months, which within the first year is estimated to result in the death of 90% of the American population. The stakes are only growing higher yet our despots in charge appear to be throwing all caution to the wind. But then if their eugenics plan calls for 90% of us to be dead, it readily explains their reckless, homicidal behavior given both the means and motive.
US at war now in Yemen and signs of escalating violence and conflict at other global hotspots
This week’s aggression in Yemen by US Navy destroyers firing cruise missiles on Yemen soil can easily be construed as yet another clear, premeditated act of war against both Yemen as well as its fellow Shiite ally Iran.
Again without confirming any evidence of truth behind its claim, a highly deceitful US insists that Houthi rebels fired a missile twice during this past week at a Navy destroyer. Hence five missiles were launched by the destroyers at alleged Houthi radar stations.
It’s no accident or random event that the Ukraine conflict is also heating up now. This week a helicopter with NATO military instructors onboard was shot down by Donetsk freedom fighters. With freshly supplied new heavy weapons and even American snipers, the US puppet government in Kiev launched another offensive into the Donetsk People’s Republic with heavy mortar shelling. The US is stepping up its hostilities globally on all hotspot fronts in its apparent launch of this century’s world war.
As yet another further sign of the West’s plan to wage global war against Eastern powers, a Sunday FARS News Agency article is reporting that based on recent WikiLeaks released emails sent to Hillary, Israel has entertained designs in its warming of relations with the House of Saud to use a Saudi airbase from which Israeli air force jets can be deployed for purposes of attacking Iran. The article also mentioned in a related matter that The New York Times in 2010 disclosed that Saudi Arabia was prepared to give its air force stand down orders so that Israeli warplanes could safely pass through Saudi airspace to enable Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.
Multi-modal Information war propaganda
At the same time that NBC discloses the CIA hack-attack plan, messenger boy Biden makes his NBC appearance to further deliver the message to both America and Putin on Meet the Press. These so called countermeasures against fabricated Putin aggression are being carried out in a multitude of ways, just one being through recklessly blunt, sabre rattling threats recently uttered by members of both the State and Defense Departments.
Of course another old oft-used Empire standby is to engage in economic terrorism through such Empire vassal appendages as the UN and EU. The UK represented by warmongering Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his sniveling US counterpart Kerry just met in London to discuss the latest round of ante upping economic sanctions against both Syria and Russia for their alleged “misconduct in Aleppo.” Again they’re hypocritically hiding behind their worn out phony humanitarian excuses when in fact it’s Putin and Assad who are doing the world the favor of wiping out their US supported terrorists. In perhaps the most provocative development leading to the West’s war against Russia, as the #1 US lackey last week the UK has given its fighter jet pilots in the Royal Air Force the greenlight to fire upon Russian aircraft in Syria.
Meanwhile the criminal cabal in Washington says nothing when those same terrorists they’re backing are shelling and killing civilians daily in western Aleppo. Last Thursday five children were killed in a bombed out school. Nor do they squawk when their terrorists are repeatedly using chemical weapons on Syrian people. Just two months ago in Aleppo five civilians were asphyxiated to death. Remember Obama’s self-righteous faked redline in August 2013 after his terrorists killed all those children in Ghouta? Or when every day Saudi jets are committing horrific war crimes of the century on the innocent civilians of Yemen 10,000 victims later. Instead of acknowledging humanitarian responsibility to protect the innocent in the poorest nation in the Middle East, the US Empire has now directly entered that war with recent missile attacks killing more Yemenis. Empire’s egregious criminality cannot be ignored.
Vice President Biden on NBC’s Meet the Press: Obama is threatening Putin with nuclear war
But the latest smugly delivered message to Putin of the ominous nuclear Armageddon comes out of the mouth of his VP Joe Biden on Sunday’s Meet the Press interview. The last question asked was what is Obama doing about Putin tampering with the US election outcome? A clear US lie without any supporting evidence thus far. Though Biden danced around the issue with a nebulous innuendo reply that career politicians are notorious for, he alluded that Obama is sending Putin an implicit threat. According to highly astute historian and geopolitical writer Eric Zuesse’s deciphered interpretation, that threat is the nuclear war that Putin and the Russians are now taking very seriously.
Hillary has repeatedly made war against both Russia and Iran her top priority imperative. On the other hand, Trump has made it clear that he would work with Putin as a partner to eradicate the scourge of the terrorists worldwide. And without the terrorists, no more war on terror, no more terrorism, no more reason for making draconian laws in the name of national security that kill what’s left of our mortally wounded Constitution, and as an ally of Putin who dislikes globalism as much as terrorism, no more reason for one world government tyranny. Bearing this in mind, it’s very easy to see why Obama and Hillary are so gung ho and determined to risk all our lives for their NWO cause.
Saturday’s 20 nation meeting over Syria ends without agreement
Syrian talks in Lausanne, Switzerland involving 20 nations ended with zero agreement reached (other than be open to meeting at an undisclosed hypothetical future time). US et al versus Russia et al are deadlocked completely at odds with each other as US Empire is unwilling to pursue diplomatic channels with Russia to prevent the larger war. The US led coalition airstrike on Syrian soldiers last month proved that much in reality. At this point Russia does not trust the West and for good reason.
Russia’s preparedness for nuclear war
In response to the cold war approaching the boiling point in recent weeks, and in total contrast to America, Russia has been busy preparing its citizens for potential nuclear war. Moscow ordered all Russian citizens, diplomats and students traveling, working or studying abroad to immediately return home. Members of Russia’s diplomatic corps were threatened with reprimands and career demotions should they refuse to comply with the Kremlin directive. Additionally 40 million Russian citizens, that’s near one-third of the nation’s total population, just completed an unprecedented massive nuclear war defense drill. Also unlike the US, Moscow has built underground facilities for housing its 12 million residents under the capital city for safe refuge. Again unlike America, Russia is taking the extreme threat of nuclear war with the West very seriously. Even MSM fixture ABC News ran a story how Russians have been preparing for a nuclear winter outcome. In stark contrast, outside of Putin bashing and the election sideshow, neither Washington nor its propaganda whores in the press have alerted Americans that they are currently in grave danger. In fact it’s been an MSM news blackout while Russian media has told its citizens that nuclear war is “imminent.” Meanwhile as another sign that Putin means business, in response to NATO’s nuclear missiles activated in Romania and Poland, Putin has ordered at the ready his nuclear capable missiles in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.
“The Russians are Coming” Propaganda Ploy: Alleged “Russian Invasion” of US by way of Alaska
Britain’s tabloid the Daily Star (quoted by The Inquisitr) has run an October 16th headline “The Russians Are Coming”, Says Ex-Navy Leader: World War 3 Will Start with Alaska Invasion.”
Inquisitr Headlines (October 15, 2016)
No doubt, the anonymous source to the “Russians Are Coming” story published by the Daily Star is but part of the Clinton-Obama propaganda blitzkrieg falsely blaming Putin for everything gone wrong in this world as yet more propaganda used to justify a US war against Russia. That said, according to the Inquisitr article, the unnamed “high-ranking former US Navy official” warned that an unprotected part of America’s largest state Alaska with its closest point separating America from Russia just 50 miles, has been Putin’s planned designated target where Russian submarines will secure an invasion of our 50th state and proceed southward to the continental US. The former naval officer stated:
Our feeling in the Navy was that Obama had turned Alaska into a defenseless area that will serve as a forward base of operations when World War III begins.
The tabloid propaganda article quoting an unidentified former naval officer as the leaked source also claimed that Russian soldiers disguised in Alaska as “highway road crews” have been literally laying the groundwork for the invasion and will be used to secure bridges and disrupt communications during the invasion. The article goes on to report that other unnamed sources have independently also laid claim that Russians have been moving into the local area and living in abandoned motels and military bases.
Conclusion
The bottom line is the West and their terrorist allies are losing the war in Syria. The battle for Aleppo is being won as the Syrian Arab Army is making headway in the eastern part of Syria’s second largest city. Not only is the legitimate president of Syria – Bashar al-Assad – going to remain in power, but the US wet dream of a no fly zone under US control is not in the cards either. Putin has checkmated the neocon traitors by deploying his advanced S-400 and S-300 anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems vowing to shoot down any unidentified airplanes in the skies over Syria. The trained Syrians will be the ones pulling the trigger.
The US is realizing its longtime investment in terrorists and terrorism is being lost as Raqqa will be the final ISIS stronghold to be vanquished once Aleppo is liberated. Another second largest city in a neighboring country, Mosul will also be next, won back by Iraqi forces. The terrorists and their Western and Gulf State backers are going down in defeat. Knowing that US Empire’s run as the unipolar hegemonic kingpin of the world is rapidly fading, DC crazies are now acting out aggressively with wild abandon. Hopefully they’re not so deranged to push the button.
The most fitting metaphor for the current geopolitics chessboard drama being played out in Syria is the neighborhood bully who for years always has had his way browbeating and terrorizing his smaller neighbors into submission.
But one day the bully finally meets his match – a worthy challenger willing to stand up and fight the bully once and for all. Always having bragged about his strength and power over everyone else through his frequent show of force, which he has brutally and repeatedly demonstrated, ultimately the bully is now having second thoughts, having to face reality that his stealth and strength cannot match his false bravado.
The bully realizes that he can’t actually beat his worthy challenger who has been able to outsmart and outfox him. Since the bully knows that the jig is up, he is fast running out of options. Unable to face the public humiliation of being exposed as the weaker, finally dethroned opponent, the bully is becoming increasingly agitated, mentally unstable and desperate.
Before whimpering away in defeat, the bully decides to throw one final but huge tantrum as his last defining moment as the king of the hill, exercising all his power and intimidation, he threatens to kill everyone in the neighborhood. This is what’s going on right now, the world bully – the United States Empire – is finally receiving his comeuppance. But the only problem is the mentally deranged bully possesses WMD’s that can in fact destroy the entire global village. Since he knows his days as top dog are over and he feels he has nothing left to lose since he’s going down anyway, will the bully follow through on his threat to bring down the entire planet with him? That’s the big question.
Joachim Hagopian is a West Point graduate and former US Army officer. He has written a manuscript based on his unique military experience entitled “Don’t Let The Bastards Getcha Down.” It examines and focuses on US international relations, leadership and national security issues. After the military, Joachim earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field with abused youth and adolescents for more than a quarter century. In recent years he has focused on his writing, becoming an alternative media journalist. His blog site is at: http://empireexposed.blogspot.co
|
DNN and Blockchain: Shedding Light on Modern Day News
DNN Media Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 21, 2017
Creating a decentralized, incorruptible platform for media, including news, will change the way we consume content, potentially making fake news a thing of the past.
Author: Anita Sthankiya
If fake news was presented to you, or came down your news feed on social media, would you recognize it? The article, website, and content may appear to be legitimate, but it can be virtually impossible to authenticate the information being presented. Until now, that is.
The future of media is evolving at an exponential speed, thanks to the blockchain and sites such as DNN.media. In fact, fake news and unbalanced reporting have met their match through this platform, which drives accountability through a peer-reviewed process. DNN is using the power of the Ethereum blockchain to allow for a fully decentralized network. Meaning, the platform can never be hacked, taken down, or censored.
Blockchain technology was originally devised for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, but the tech community is finding other useful alternatives for the technology, such as in the media industry.
Pexels.com
Media industries have been heavily impacted, as content has been undermined and piracy of intellectual property has been widespread. The industry has suffered significantly from digitization, since content can be copied and distributed with a loss of quality. Paywalls and digital rights management systems have not substantially reduced copyright infringements.
But, as we look to the future, blockchain technology is poised to resolve some of the current challenges, according to Blockchain Institute report completed by Monitor Deloitte: A new Game Changer for the Media Industry?
The report indicates that blockchain-based technologies could resolve issues surrounding paid content by introducing micropayment-based pricing models. Copyright infringements and piracy would be nearly impossible, and advertising budgets could become more accurate and targeted, as media usage can be directly linked to the respective content items.
Consumer needs and demands have changed over the years, with many choosing to read and consume single articles, news bites, videos, and pictures. Streaming services for music and video have intensified this trend, so it could be argued that the service would naturally be available for media as well.
“Becoming more and more accustomed to ‘digital’ business models, consumers expect ‘per-use’ payment models, instead of paying a monthly/yearly fee for an online subscription to one particular newspaper/(Pay-)TV channel,” states the report.
Pexels.com
Blockchain-enabled micro-payments can help publishers by monetizing articles for this group of consumers. Articles could be sold for cent-prices, something available with crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Moreover, an additional charge for “ad free” could be implemented, increasing revenue. The little guy can now compete with corporations for not only advertising dollars but for money from consumers as well.
Content has been traditionally created by large corporations and developed for mass audiences. But, now thanks to social media, anyone can set up a channel with the click of a button. As a result, media is free to consumers, which has spelled bad news for the media industry and specifically its workforce. While content is easily consumed, other than on YouTube, there was no way to monetize viral videos and articles. This process is poised to change with the single-service pay concept.
Blockchain technology can also help with transparency. As DNN states, the decentralized network means authority relies on content reviewers, rather than a central authority. Published works will be determined by the people, for the people, and undergo an extensive review process. Fact-checkers will validate writer submitted content for overall accuracy and legitimacy.
Fraud and fake news is a major problem, and one that isn’t going away anytime soon. But, it can be virtually impossible for a consumer to identify a legitimate source from something that is grossly inaccurate. The easiest way to combat this issue is for non-corporate organizations to adapt the blockchain technology and the vetting process onto their platform.
An independent organization can be confused for fake news because it’s name isn’t as recognizable as the big players, which could hurt their bottom line. Introducing a transparent system that has accountability and no central authority will help differentiate them from the fraudsters. The chain of legitimacy can also be checked by the reader, and there would be no need to navigate away from the website to another platform, such as snopes.com.
In June, MetaX and the Data & Marketing Association launched adChain, an open protocol on the Ethereum blockchain that will help with fraud. It tags a piece of creative and follows it on the internet, determining where and with who that piece of content lands. Smaller media organizations that share data and information could use this platform to help gather and check information for themselves, adding yet another layer of transparency and legitimacy.
Pexels.com
The technology will not only change traditional media, it is expected to change social media as well. According to Forbes, blockchain pushes social media to a new level.
“The very nature of blockchain technology provides a methodology whereby users can have vastly more control over privacy of information, while at the same time, potentially receiving monetary compensation for the viral content they create.”
The technology allows users to control how their content is shared and distributed and helps them make a profit. Currently, social media producers watched their content be consumed and attract fame without compensation. The platform sees a financial gain, not the creator. According to Forbes, social media is losing its edge.
We’re still a few years away from seeing a major shift that is accepted widely by audiences, but it is coming. Once the technology makes its mark in the media industry, it will only be a matter of time before it will be implemented in several different ways, including on platforms that cater to news curation and dissemination.
|
Tater Tots, those crunchy little pellets of shredded potato, are a ubiquitous bar snack, thanks in no small part to the McMenamins chain, which offers them -- “Cajun” style -- at nearly every location. A less common but still widespread variation, variously known as totchos, tochos, tachos, and dirty tots, improves on the original with with melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, and other nacho toppings.
Totchos are old hat in Portland, where they're a mainstay of sports bar menus and the concession stands at Providence Park, but the dish is having something of a national moment. Interest in the dish spiked starting in 2013, as totchos appeared in faux dive bars from Seattle to Brooklyn and spawned articles on serious food blogs and despicable content mills alike.
It is fitting that Oregon should be at the forefront of the national totcho trend, because tater tots were invented here. In 1952, brothers Nephi and Golden Grigg bought a foreclosed-upon freeze-drying plant in Ontario, on the Idaho border, with a plan to make frozen French fries. They named the business Ore-Ida. Fry production left a lot of waste in the form of potato shavings, which were sold as livestock feed, at very low profit. The Griggs brothers' solution: mix the shavings with spices, form them into pellets, and fry them. The new product was an immediate hit, and Ore-Ida remains a major employer in Ontario today. (Heinz, the current owner of Ore-Ida, did not respond to requests for comment on this story.)
Given the Tater Tot's sixty-two-year history and America's penchant for gastronomic excess, it seems inevitable that someone would eventually cover them in melted cheese to be consumed with beer. But can Portland claim credit for the invention? Several hours of searching periodicals, cookbooks, and the Internet indicate the answer is yes, probably.
Though there are some prior examples of cheesy Tater Tot recipes (one, submitted to Taste of Home's Quick Cooking in 2003 by a reader in Tennessee, involves four different dairy products and a crushed-potato-chip topping), the first mention of proper Tater Tot nachos in any media was in 2006, with the opening Oaks Bottom Public House in Sellwood. The man responsible: Jim Parker, a prolific publican and former journalist who opened the pub with New Old Lompoc owner Jerry Fechter.
If you drink beer in Portland, you've likely been served by Parker at some point. In addition to Oaks Bottom, he's worked at or helped open Concordia Ale House, the Horse Brass, the Green Dragon, plus several pubs in Colorado and Washington. These days he's a brewery consultant and part-time bartender at Baerlic Brewing.
Parker was in charge of the menu at Oaks Bottom. One evening before opening, while drinking with one of his bartenders, Jonathan Carmean, Parker suggested an unorthodox appetizer.
"I said, I have an idea that sounds a little nuts, but I think it could be really big here. I think I'll call them nacho tots," Parker recalls. "And he said, 'no, they shall be called totchos.'"
Fechter, Parker's partner, and the pub's cook were less taken with the idea.
"They looked at me like I was growing a third ear. They said, 'that sounds like stoner food,'" Parker says. "They were humoring me to put them on the menu, but it ended up being one of our most ordered items."
The Oaks Bottom totchos are topped with cheddar and jack cheese, chopped tomato, jalapenos, black olives, red onion, sour cream and salsa. An alarmingly large portion, hot from the broiler, runs $9. They remain a signature appetizer nine years after their debut.
"The reason it all really came about is because I led this deprived childhood where I never got tater tots as a kid, and once I discovered them I was hog-wild over them," Parker says. "Also, I hated the way tortilla chips got all soggy [in nachos].
The dish spread rapidly, with imitations springing up at other Portland bars within weeks of the pub's opening. Soon, other cooks were riffing on Parker's innovation: Tater Tots with garlic and Parmesan at the Jolly Roger bar; Tater Tots with olive oil, lemon juice and oregano at Mad Greek Deli; housemade, cheese-filled tots at Tilt; housemade tots with smoked salmon and cream cheese at Seasons & Regions Seafood Grill; Tater Tots with bacon, grilled onion and a fried egg at The Dog House food truck; "okonomiyaki tots" with spicy mayonnaise, Worcester-like tonkatsu sauce, bonito flakes, togarashi spice and dried seaweed at Boxer Ramen.
At Bunk Bar, a nocturnal offshoot of his popular sandwich shop chain, owner Tommy Habetz serves Tater Tots smothered in a rich mole seasoned with chiles and sweet spices and topped with avocado, cilantro and queso fresco.
"We had been doing debris gravy fries, which are like New Orleans poutine fries, and I wanted to do something that could be vegan," Habetz says of the mole tots. "To me it just seemed like a natural thing with how popular poutine had been getting."
Though Parker says he experimented with other Tater Tot toppings, including a Greek version with feta ("after-hours drinking can lead to a lot of ideas," he says), and even considered opening a Tater Tot-only food cart, but is relieved he stuck with the nacho theme at Oaks Bottom.
"I was trying to figure out some way to do poutine, with gravy and cheese curds, with Tater Tots," he says, "but I'm glad I went with the totcho thing. I'd hate, nine years later, to have a reporter call me and ask me about being the father of poutots."
-- Ben Waterhouse
|
What a curious strategy for a third-party candidate who knows full well that his ticket is drawing more from Clinton’s voters, especially young left-leaning voters, than from Trump’s. That being so, logic dictates that you should maximize your vote share by attacking her, not him. Calling Trump a unique evil who must be stopped could backfire by convincing millennials who are leaning towards Johnson to reconsider and vote for Clinton inste—
Oh. Ohhhhh.
This is the same Bill Weld, of course, who said five days ago that no one is more qualified to be president than Hillary Clinton, a candidate leading a rival party.
The Libertarian vice presidential candidate, William F. Weld, said Tuesday that he plans to focus exclusively on blasting Donald Trump over the next five weeks, a strategic pivot aimed at denying Trump the White House and giving himself a key role in helping to rebuild the GOP… While Weld insisted he still supports Johnson, he said he is now interested primarily in blocking Trump from winning the presidency and then potentially working with longtime Republican leaders such as Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour to create a new path for the party after the election… Weld, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts, said he is focusing on Trump because, while he disagrees with Hillary Clinton on fiscal and military issues, Trump’s agenda is so objectionable it’s “in a class by itself.”… At one point, Weld strategists researched Libertarian Party rules to see if it were possible for him to take over the top of the ticket. The rules state the vice presidential nominee automatically assumes the presidential spot if there is a vacancy. But Johnson, peeved at the suggestion, flatly rejected the idea.
When asked if he was thinking of leaving the Libertarian Party, Weld told the Globe that he wouldn’t do so … this year. Next year? Who knows. That’s not surprising given that he’s always been a centrist Massachusetts Republican, not a libertarian, and won the VP nomination at the convention this year by the barest margin only because he was Johnson’s handpicked running mate. What is surprising, given Weld’s LINO status, is that he would have broached the idea of replacing Johnson at the top of the ballot. If he’s not invested in libertarianism, why would he want to lead the ticket? Even odder, Weld could be more salable to voters in both parties who hate their respective nominees but find Johnson too kooky to get comfortable with. He might have expanded the Libertarian Party’s vote share this year as nominee, but only at the price of sacrificing the libertarian brand — and if he had expanded it, he might have inadvertently enabled a Trump victory by peeling off more votes from Clinton than from Trump.
But maybe Weld thinks he wouldn’t have done better than Johnson as nominee, and that’s why he wanted to replace him. Weld the centrist moderate might have been a bust with younger voters and not quite interesting enough to disaffected older voters to get them to desert Trump or Clinton. If so, that would probably be a net gain for Clinton as millennials unimpressed with Weld gradually drifted back into her column. In other words, Weld might have become interested in supplanting Johnson once Johnson began to draw enough support from Clinton in swing states like Colorado to make the possibility of a Trump victory real. The mutiny wasn’t considered in the interest of righting the Libertarian ship but of sinking it. And if Weld as nominee did begin to catch on with voters, it seems more likely that he’d catch on with anti-Trump Republicans who were looking for a “sane” version of the party than far-left Berniebros who want some sort of radical alternative to Clinton. What’s the point of voting for centrist Bill Weld, young progressives might have asked, when they could vote for a centrist from their own party? If that’s true, that Weld heading the ticket would have hurt Trump more than Clinton, then the insurrection against Johnson would fit snugly into his “anyone but Trump” approach.
The Globe says he’s planning to travel to a handful of red states and New Hampshire to make the case against Trump, but if he’s really intent on helping Hillary, he’ll end up in battlegrounds like Colorado and Pennsylvania. We’ll see. Incidentally, I’m highly amused at the thought of Weld joining forces with Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour to try to “create a new path” towards centrism and moderation for a party that now largely consists of reactionaries and nationalists plus a sizable rump conservative minority. Does this guy really not understand how we’ve arrived at this point? He’d be better off trying to build a center-right third party, which of course would only have the effect of helping Democrats win elections if it caught on him. But Weld seems pretty comfortable with that.
|
Allstars 4on4 show match - date & teams set
The four-on-four All Stars match will be happening on theSeptember atcet. It will be a series of 5 maps total, not a best of five as previously announced.Andeh from Suddendeath will be hosting the show, along with to be announcedco-caster.Edit: game has been played and there are demos or Twitch VOD if you missed it.
20'th
19:00
Maplist:
dm2
dm3
e1m2
cmt3
cmt4
Team One:
Milton
Rikoll
Kingpin
Diki
mm
Wimpeeh
Maga
Team Two:
Carapace
bps
Xantom
Razor
Paradoks
Meshuggah
Predator.
The four-on-four All Stars match will be happening on theSeptember at. View-able on http://www.twitch.tv/suddendeathTV Andeh from Sudden Death will be hosting the show, along with to be announcedco-caster.It will be a series of 5 maps total, not a best of five as previously announced.Here are the two teams that will be fighting against each other:Big thanks to you all for being open for this project, and for helping making it real. Hopefully this will be something we can repeat in the not to near future. Make sure to help spread the news on social media!//ocoini
|
Solar start-up Veranda Solar wants to change the world of solar power the way Apple changed computers. Veranda got a big head-start on financing the start-up when the company was awarded 100,000€ as runner-up in the PICNIC Green Challenge, funded by the Dutch postcode lottery. The solar panels Veranda uses are nothing special. The prototypes were developed in cooperation with Stanford University and SunPower Corp. No new photovoltaic advances, no biomimicry.
But these solar panels are offering something new to the market. Check the photo over the fold to see what makes Veranda solar special and decide for yourself if they have what it takes for success.
Image via: Veranda Photos
Veranda Solar panels are plug-and-play. They can be installed in hours, with just a screwdriver, and without expensive solar specialists. The ease of installation on balconies and hanging out of windows will appeal to sustainably-oriented city dwellers, although solar panels will certainly join clotheslines and television dishes in the architectural eyesore wars. But this is exactly the angle Veranda Solar will use to compete. Veranda intends to win the wars by selling -- in the words of Travis Bradford, president of solar-research firm Prometheus Institute: "sexy solar."
The solar panels can be flat-packed for efficient shipping and come with everything needed for operation. At $400 for a 60 to 70 watt ($600 for a panel with inverter and cables), the Veranda solar panels are affordable, or at least in line with the cost of many electronic toys that are enjoyed by the people in Veranda's target market, but not beating the market benchmark of $1 per watt. However, Veranda can appeal to lower income buyers with the expandability concept. Consumers can start with one panel, adding additional panels later simply by snapping them on. Veranda also plans to use financing models that promote the accessibility of the technology, such as leasing the panels through utility companies.
CEO Capra J'neva is quoted in Salon:
We interact with real people to create our products, so we are reducing market risk by understanding the real needs of people.
More on Solar Power
Solaria: Finding Clever Ways to Make Cheaper Solar Panels
First Solar: Our Solar Panel Manufacturing Costs Are Now Below $1 Per Watt
How to Make Inexpensive DIY Home-Built Solar Panels with Damaged Solar Cells from Ebay
15 Photovoltaics Solar Power Innovations You Must See
|
Smallpox was a mere childhood disease in Europe at the time Columbus arrived in the Caribbean. Europeans only dealt with it as that, as they had never experienced catastrophic proportions of the disease. However, the natives in North, South, and Central America had no contact except with each other for thousands of years after their ancestors had crossed into the North American continent over the Bering Strait. Any chances for smallpox exposure had been wiped out by the end of the 15th Century. So when the disease was brought over by the Europeans, the native peoples had no immunity to it and no chance to prepare for this disease that was so strange to them. Smallpox was first brought over to the New World by a ship from Spain in 1518. It was on Hispaniola, which is the current Dominican Republic and Haiti that this ship landed. The disease wrecked havoc upon the native Taíno people that lived on Hispaniola. After smallpox had transferred from the Spanish to the Taíno, it did not take long for the disease to take its course. And when it had, half of the Taíno people were dead, allowing for the Spanish to easily control the Caribbean island (MSN Learning & Research-Smallpox 2). Before long, smallpox had spread from the island of Hispaniola to the mainland of Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico. And perhaps what might be considered the most deadly and fateful epidemic of the Conquest Period was the toll the disease took on the Aztec Empire. A conquest lead by Hernan Cortés into the depths of Mexico began the death toll for the Aztec people. Cortés reached the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlán in November of 1519, unknowlingly bringing the deadly and fateful disease with the army that he had brought to conquer the great empire. When his plans to seize the city failed in 1520, Cortés had no idea as to what would find him once his army returned to the great city. After Cortés had left the city, the disease struck the Aztec people. This account can be found in the book "Broken Spears" edited by Miguel Leon-Portilla.
It began to spread...striking everywhere in the city and killing a vast number of our people. Sores erupted on our faces, our breasts, our bellies; we were covered with agonizing sores from head to foot. The illness was so dreadful that no one could could walk or move. The sick were so utterly helpless that they could only lie on their beds like corpses, unable to move their limbs or even their heads. They could not lie face down or roll from one side to the other. If they did move their bodies, they screamed with pain. A great many died from this plauge, and many other died of hunger. They could not get up to search for food, and everyone else was too sick to care for them, so they starved to death in their beds. (Portilla 92-93) When Cortés came back to Tenochtitlán in 1521, he was met with a disease ravaged people, unable to fight for their own land and lives. Even in an article by Geoffrey Cowley, the words of Bernal Diaz, Cortés' chronicler speak of the massive destruction they saw. "'We could not walk without treading on the bodies and heads of dead Indians. I have read about the destruction of Jerusalem, but I do not think the mortality was greater there than here in Mexico....Indeed, the stench was so bad that no one could endure it...and even Cortes was ill from the odors which assailed his nostrils.'" (Cowley 1). Also according to Cowley's article, in Mexico only, the population of natives fell from 30 million people in 1519 to only 3 million people by 1568. Even though there was devestation to other areas of the New World, this was by far the most catastrophic of all the smallpox epidemics (Cowley 1). Yet, one other great nation was yet to be destroyed by the aid of smallpox. The great Incan Empire in current day Peru was also struck by the disease, although not to the tremendous degree that the Aztecs suffered. Civil war was already being waged among the Incas before Pizzaro reached the large empire. The disease killed the Incan ruler, Huayna Capac in 1925, as well as nearly 100,000 Incans in their capital city, Cuzco (MSN Learning & Research-Smallpox 3). Overall, this disease almost completely wiped out a native population of 40 to 50 million peoples in the New World. Some estimates of decimation have been at a devastating rate of 90%. Without this deadly disease, history books would be written differently, perhaps celebrating the victories of the native peoples instead of their sad and horrid defeat. But it should be known that the defeat not only came from the sword of the Spanish and Portuegese empires, but also from the germ of smallpox from the Old World.
|
DURING THE LAST CENTURY, (after the perfection of propaganda by Ed Bernays, Ivy Lee and others), MUCH OF THE HISTORY WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT HAS BEEN ‘MANUFACTURED’ TO COVER UP THE ATROCITIES BOUGHT AND PAID FOR BY THE INTERNATIONAL BANKSTERS.
In the Shadow of Hermes by Jüri Lina
This documentary (while painfully tragic) shows how freemasons, international bankers, and communists joined forces in an unholy alliance and through the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 established in Russia the most brutal and dehumanizing slave society the world has ever seen.
Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1974 admonished his countrymen:
“Live without lies!” This applies equally to the West. The Truth in our time is in no way self-evident. Most official facts about communism are not true. Solzhenitsyn emphasized: “In our country the lie has become not just a moral category, but a pillar of the state.”
The facts have been suppressed both in the East and the West.
The film “In the Shadow of Hermes” is an important documentation of those financial masonic forces that cold-bloodedly worked behind the scenes through communism to profit from the suffering of others.
The director, Jüri Lina, stresses that it is his duty to tell the truth about communism and its grey eminences, and not just superficially treat its psychopathic symptoms, while the truth today is not highly valued.
History is made every day, but by whom? The answer is given in this film, the aim of which is to unmask the truth, despite the falsifications of history, so meekly reported by the media.
To know the real history of communism is the best insurance against ideological impostors. Based on the book “Under the Sign of the Scorpion” by the Estonian dissident Jüri Lina who narrates this documentary in Swedish.
Related
Jüri Lina, Under the Sign of the Scorpion – the rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire
Another Jüri Lina documentary: Freemasons . . . What Most Folks Don’t Know
Eustace Mullins (author of Secrets of the Federal Reserve), The Secret Holocaust
The Enemy Within – aka TheMoneyMasters
Advertisements
|
UFC announced that it has suspended Jon Jones indefinitely and stripped him of the light heavyweight title as a result of violations of the organization’s Athlete Code of Conduct Policy. Jones was recently arrested in Albuquerque, N.M. on a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury. As a result of the charge and other violations of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy, the organization believes it is best to allow Jones time to focus on his pending legal matters.
UFC feels strongly that its athletes must uphold certain standards both in and out of the Octagon. While there is disappointment in the recent charges, the organization remains supportive of Jones as he works through the legal process.
With this decision, UFC has determined that No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson will now fight No. 3 contender Daniel Cormier for the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas.
|
Personal property of Jewish financier Bernard Madoff were sold in an auction that raised more than $2 million to repay the victims of his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.
Billions are missing or owed, $2 Million will repay?
Is there a new scheme in the making??
Auction of Madoff Family Possessions Brings in $2 Million for Victims Personal property of Jewish financier Bernard Madoff were sold in an auction that raised more than $2 million to repay the victims of his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. The weekend auction in New York run by the U.S. Marshals Service raised money for the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Fund, whose proceeds are used to compensate Madoff’s victims. Among the items sold was Madoff’s wife’s 10.5-carat diamond engagement ring, for $550,000, and a pair of slippers embroidered with Madoff’s initials, for $6,000, Reuters reported, Unused Madoff underwear was also sold, as well as a Rolex watch, furniture and antiques. An auction of Madoff’s possessions last year raised $1 million. Madoff, 73, was jailed last year after pleading guilty to running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands and caused the collapse of several Jewish charities. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Source Image by Bendib
|
'I've learned to accept my body shape... I'm an imperfect human being': Emma Watson on how she overcame her insecurities
She's one of the most sought-after young actresses who is making a name for herself away from the Harry Potter movie franchise which made her famous.
And despite being envied by millions of young women worldwide for her toned figure, Emma Watson says it took a long time for her to come to terms with her body.
The 22-year-old actress made the admission as she posed for a stunning photoshoot in Britain's Glamour magazine.
Cover girl: Emma Watson has opened up about overcoming her insecurities while posing for a stunning photoshoot in Glamour magazine She said: ' I've accepted my body shape more as I've got older. I went through a stage of wanting to have that straight-up-and-down model look, but I have curves and hips, and in the end you have to accept yourself as you are.' Emma added: 'My weight has fluctuated between a size 6 and a 10. When you're growing, your body is still figuring itself out and it takes a while to settle down.
'I keep telling myself that I'm a human being, an imperfect human being who's not made to look like a doll, and that who I am as a person is more important than whether at that moment I have a nice figure.'
Changing shapes: Emma says that despite her weight fluctuating between a size 10 and a tiny size 6 (right), she has finally learned to be happy with her body
Emma, who can soon be seen in upcoming movie The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, also revealed to Glamour that she finds it difficult to see young women pressurised into losing weight.
She said: ' It makes me sad to hear girls constantly putting themselves down. We have these unbelievably high expectations of ourselves, when actually we're human beings and out bodies have a function.
'We say that the pressure is coming from men but actually it's from each other. I think women feel so much pressure these days and it can turn us against each other. But we really damage our own confidence when we put ourselves down, so I try not to.'
New love: Emma was seen last week in London enjoying a romantic stroll with her new man, Will Adamowicz
Emma, who is now dating American student Will Adamowicz, also spoke about her relationship history, and how she has learned to manage her personal life.
She said: 'I wish someone had told me at 15: "You accept the love that you think you deserve." I would have approached my relationships completely differently if they had. I like this idea of quality control - that we don't have to accept just anyone into our lives.
'People talk about love as though it just happens to you - as though you're a victim in it all, when actually you can make good choices and bad. But women have a natural tendency to want to nurture and take care of men. I tend to date people who are quite introspective. I like deep thinkers.'
The full interview with Emma appears in the October issue of Britain's Glamour magazine, on sale Thursday.
|
COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today confirmed that the core of its 2017 side that reached the 2017 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Championship is set to return in 2018 as the club announced that it has exercised the contract options on nine players from its 2017 roster, while 10 others were already under contract for the 2018 season, giving the Black & Gold a roster that currently features 19 players.
Crew SC exercised the options of defenders Lalas Abubakar, Harrison Afful, Connor Maloney and Josh Williams; midfielders Artur, Mohammed Abu, Niko Hansen and Cristian Martinez; and forward Ola Kamara. Crew SC will continue to remain in dialogue with Brazilian club Sao Paulo FC regarding Artur.
The Black & Gold simultaneously announced that they have declined the contract options of goalkeepers Logan Ketterer and Brad Stuver; defenders Waylon Francis and Gaston Sauro; and midfielders Marshall Hollingsworth, Abuchi Obinwa, Rodrigo Saravia and Ben Swanson. Crew SC will remain in discussions with Sauro and Francis this offseason. Crew SC has also extended an offer to forward Kekuta Manneh, who is out of contract.
“Preparations for 2018 are underway and we are pleased to bring back the core of this year’s roster for next year,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. “We came just short of our goal of returning to MLS Cup, but will look to continue to shape our roster in an effort to improve for the 2018 campaign.”
A full Major League Soccer list of players eligible for Free Agency, the Waiver Draft and Re-Entry Draft will be announced by the League. The MLS Half-Day Trade window takes place between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, December 10 and the Expansion Draft is set to be held on Tuesday, December 12 at 2 p.m. ET. Later that same day, MLS Free Agency begins at 3 p.m. ET. The MLS Waiver Draft is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET and the MLS Re-Entry Draft begins with Stage One on Friday, December 15 at 3 p.m. ET. Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft takes place on Thursday, December 21 at 2 p.m. ET.
Crew SC's current 2018 roster:
Goalkeepers (1): Zack Steffen
Defenders (7): Lalas Abubakar, Harrison Afful, Alex Crognale, Connor Maloney, Jonathan Mensah, Jukka Raitala, Josh Williams
Midfielders (9): Artur, Mohammed Abu, Niko Hansen, Federico Higuain, Hector Jimenez, Cristian Martinez, Justin Meram, Pedro Santos, Wil Trapp
Forwards (2): Adam Jahn, Ola Kamara
|
ROME - Italian farmers paraded small, pink pigs in protest outside parliament on Thursday, declaring they were being driven to ruin by hams and salami sold as 'made in Italy' but produced largely elsewhere.
The agriculture sector has long been in decline in the euro zone's third largest economy and farmers say it is undermined by counterfeit products and low quality foreign food that is merely processed in Italy.
The farmers urged passers-by to "adopt" one of the pigs,which lay contentedly in straw-filled sties surrounded by crowds of protesting farmers dressed in the vibrant yellow of Italy's biggest agriculture group Coldiretti.
"We have nothing left, everything's destroyed. Houses abandoned, land abandoned, everything's been left to ruin," said Vittorio Mauri, a farmer from the countryside outside Rome who said he could no longer afford to work his land.
The group says the meat production industry provides 105,000 jobs in an economy where unemployment is at a record high, and has launched a "Battle for Christmas" campaign to encourage Italians to buy national products.
"Too many products with an unclear origin enter our country on a daily basis and then magically become 'Made in Italy' simply because we lack a clear law on the labelling," Coldiretti President Roberto Moncalvo told Reuters.
On Wednesday, thousands of farmers protested at Italy's border with Austria and stopped trucks to examine where their produce came from. Coldiretti said they found German mozzarella cheese destined for Sicily and ham bound for Modena, in the centre of the region famous for Italy's cured meats.
|
News Delhi: In a major setback for the country, three officers of India's external spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) have 'willingly' disappeared. All these defections took place in last three months.
According to a report in the Sunday Guardian, all three of them are now likely to be in a large Western country, which has a history of accepting and facilitating such disappearances of Indian intelligence officers.
The Cabinet Secretariat, the controlling body of the RAW, remains tight-lipped on the issue. Several emails seeking its response on the issue did not get any acceptance or denial from the body.
All three officers, one of whom was posted at a senior level, had already shifted their families that western country before disappearing. The news report says that two of these officers were looking after South Asian countries whereas, the third officer was handling a large East Asian country.
It is feared that all these officers had been working for this western country for a long time and may had passed on several vital informations to them.
|
Maine Gov. Paul LePage thinks Donald Trump could be "one of the greatest presidents." | AP Photo Maine Gov. Paul LePage endorses Donald Trump
Maine’s Paul LePage became the second governor to endorse Donald Trump on Friday.
LePage's support comes hours after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared alongside Trump at a press conference in Fort Worth, Texas, announcing his endorsement of his former presidential campaign rival.
“I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular. So I think I should support him because we’re one of the same cloth,” the governor said on the “Howie Carr Show.”
Like Trump, LePage is a businessman whose viability was questioned by pundits. “Everybody’s saying this guy's a dead governor walking,” he recalled of his reelection bid, “and we set a record for the most votes in the history of the state of Maine for a governor.”
Trump has also brought out a record number of voters, bolstering the billionaire to consecutive first-place finishes by double-digit margins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
LePage called Trump’s primary rivals, Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, part of the problem and accused them of “killing the brand” of the Republican Party with their blitz on Trump during the debate Thursday night.
“I think there’s a mini-revolution going on in our country,” LePage said. “We’re saying enough is enough with the gridlock. Washington is broken. And the reason I am coming out is two of the people that are chasing him are two of the people that create the gridlock. They’re in the Senate. The Senate is the problem.”
LePage, who had previously endorsed Christie, said he would like to see a governor in the White House, but since that’s not the kind of candidate voters are looking at this year, he’s backing Trump.
“I think he could be one of the greatest presidents if he sits down and puts together a good team,” he said.
LePage is no stranger to controversial remarks and stances. Earlier this month, he broke with most Republicans when he said President Barack Obama should nominate a Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia. In January, he called for his state to bring back the guillotine to execute drug traffickers and suggested African-American men with names like “D-Money, Smoothie” and “Shifty” come up north with drugs and impregnate Maine’s young white women.
He told Carr he had spoken to Christie this week. “We decided, you know, we could do a lot worse. We could have another Obama in there,” LePage said. “We can’t afford that.”
Speaking on the show after LePage, Trump had nothing but pleasant things to say about the Maine governor.
"He's a great guy — respected by a lot of people and I'll tell you really respected by Chris Christie," Trump said. "And Chris informed me of it. That is our terrific honor."
Trump also scored his first congressional endorsements this week, with Reps. Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter announcing their support.
|
Showing the universe as art is an admission that the truth is sufficiently beautiful and that it deserves our attention. The Black Rock Observatory will be a mobile observatory dedicated to the celebration of art and science.
Our 1:6 scale model, under the stars by Major Tom
Rather than build an observatory for research and measurement, we choose to build one for the public as art and a celebration of science. As modern astronomy moves ahead, the telescope is seldom used visually. Cameras and spectrographs have separated us from seeing the universe with our own eyes. We intend to show the public the joy, immediacy and beauty of our solar system and universe with telescopes.
Black Rock Observatory and the Mars Rover Art Car at Burning Man
The observatory consists of two 21 foot domes built with interlocking CNC cut plywood and inhabited by instruments for viewing and sensing the universe. Balls viewing spheres from orbs on a globe. The sphere is the universe's answer to the form problem. Orbs above; orbs below. Echoes of the outer planets, the domes lie in a remote space requiring skills, effort and patience to reach. Eyeballs and color coded lasers fondle the planets overhead while 'zards, 'nauts and 'bots conduct experiments below.
1:6 scale model complete!
At Burning Man 2014, on the outer playa, curious Burners will approach spherical structures with a strange but familiar form. Two globular domes designed by architect Gregg Fleishman will beckon like plywood planets of Finland Birch. They’ll discover a telescope 10 feet tall where they can view planets, distant nebula and galaxies. Participants will rotate the dome manually and work together for an unobstructed view. At night, they’ll be invited from miles away by high powered lasers pointing out planets and distant targets from an Open Sky Planetarium. Like bubbles in the fabric of space time, structures on a sheet beckon.
This year, the Desert Wizards of Mars are teaming up with Jedi master architect Gregg Fleishman to bring the citizens of Black Rock City a place to contemplate their place in the universe. We're creating a gallery for time, physics, astronomy, geometry and symmetry. Gregg has been experimenting with slotted plywood construction for over forty years. His use of cubic symmetry allows him to build complex structures made completely of interlocking wood, with no nails, screws or metal fasteners of any kind. Fleishman uses geometry like a wizard to bring beautiful forms, elegance, sustainability and portability together into his amazing designs. His workshop looks like the Kama Sutra for Birch trees. His structures are gorgeous to behold, easy to assemble and they last for years.
Gregg Fleishman's Temple of Whollyness
Gregg's Burning Man evolution started when he designed and built the first structure in the Walk In Area, the Otic Oasis, at Burning Man 2011, offering citizens a refuge from the din and a quiet space to replenish themselves. His Burning Man journey then led to the Pistil within the Man base in 2012, comprising the very center of the city. It was a means to ascend and to understand Fertility. Echoing this movement, he built a pyramid in 2013. Last year's Temple of Whollyness served as our spiritual center at 12 o' clock on the map and the apex of our city. Gregg created a truly sacred place where our community could come together, meditate, pray, pay tribute and let go. Gregg Fleishman's art made a pilgrimage from the city to the temple and is now continuing on into the white-out void of deep playa and into quiet black void of deep space.
photo by Roy2K
The shape of our dome is a 26-sided Archimedean solid. The Small Rhombicuboctahedron is made up of 18 squares and 8 triangles in its spherical form. It was first identified by Archimedes, but never drawn until Leonardo da Vinci drew the image below left in 'De Divina Proportione', printed in 1509.
Drawing from this geometry, Gregg has designed a place where we can open up to the universe but also a building system that will allow our domes to stand 15 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter, yet still pack down within 8' x 4' x 4'. While Burning Man is our primary mission, the dome can be built in less than a day and taken down in less than an hour, allowing us to rebuild the dome at festivals, science outreach events, star parties, observatories and city parks where we can bring the wonders of the universe to the people.
Gregg has lived in Culver City for almost 50 years and is contributing his skills to four projects on the Playa this year. His groundbreaking construction techniques are perfectly suited for the conditions of the Black Rock Desert and his creations look stunning there rising from the dust. His work has been shown in the Museum of Modern Art (NY), Yale University Art Gallery, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many more.
Seraphim - photo by Curious Josh
The Desert Wizards of Mars are a collective of artists, scientists, engineers, makers and doers based in Los Angeles with members in Nevada, Arizona, New York, Germany and all over the universe. The group constructed the Los Angeles C.O.R.E. project Seraphim and they also also built the regional effigy, The Human Spirit for the inaugural L.A. regional burn, BEquinox in 2013. Many of our members helped build the L.A. C.O.R.E. project, SCARAB truck and Chronos at Bequinox: Mythos 2014.
MRAC broadcasting the burn back to Earth.
In 2013, The Desert Wizards constructed a tribute to the Mars Rover Curiosity's landing on the Red Planet: the Mars Rover Art Car. Named 'Dustiny', it landed at Black Rock City during Burning Man 2013. It was permitted in the inner circle on burn night to officially broadcast the burn over the internet for the Burning Man Organization, much like a real space probe would report back from another world. The Wizards made it possible to view the burn from anywhere on the globe, transmitting our signal to our family who couldn't make the trip with us, saluting all those at mission control that couldn't make it. We made a ton of grilled cheese sandwiches, too.
The Mars Rover Art Car
The Mars Rover project was successfully funded on Kickstarter in April 2013 and was chosen as a Kickstarter Editor's Choice. We were stoked! It was covered by CNET, Laughing Squid and more. We're asking our community to put their faith in us again in 2014.
The work of Gregg Fleishman and the Desert Wizards at L.A. Decompression
The Human Spirit at BEquinox 2013
Desert Wizards at BEquinox 2013
We’re going to build our giant telescope from the ground up just for the citizens of Black Rock City. Dust!? We got this covered. Our telescope will resolve the Galilean Moons of Jupiter, the Rings of Saturn and 5 of its moons, Martian polar ice caps and the outer planets. We'll be exploring faint galaxies many thousands of times too dim to view with the naked eye and distant nebula where stars are being born from coalescing hydrogen gas. Our telescope is a design created by Isaac Newton 346 years ago in 1668. His telescope was 6 inches wide and 2 inches in diameter (not bad Newton). Ours will stand 9 feet tall and 20 inches in diameter; it will provide views that will expand minds, widen perspectives and open consciousness. Viewers will take home memories of distant vistas reserved only for a select few.
Photons are particles of light. They travel at 186,000 miles per second. Right now, there are beams of light, with photons that left a galaxy millions of years ago, rushing toward Burning Man at light speed just to meet you there. Particles of light with your name on them have traveled unfathomable distances at the fastest of all speeds over epochs and over eons of time through the vacuum of space to just to meet YOU at Burning Man. Holy. Crap. Are you going to be there?
For the geeks: our telescope is a 20" f4.5 Newtonian telescope on a Dobsonian mount. If everything goes well, it will track targets and have GOTO capability. We'll also be bringing a menagerie of smaller scopes and we invite our fellow astronomer and star gazing types to set up their gear, too if they'd like. Monday after gate is a New Moon, which will allow for great viewing conditions of deep sky objects. We'll have Mercury low after Sunset, Saturn and Mars set at about 10:30pm PST, Neptune and Triton are at opposition on the 29th (perfect viewing) and yes, I know you were wondering, we will indeed be able to spot Uranus (or your friend's if they're not careful). We will also show you nebulae, globular clusters, planetary nebula and far away galaxies.
We also have an extensive daytime program in store for participants including white light and h-alpha solar telescopes, pinhole viewers and a radio telescope.
Citizens will notice lasers from deep playa pointing out at the stars, then drawing the constellations. Upon further examination, they'll see a group of interlopers resting around an astronomer indicating constellations and asterisms with high powered lasers. Tales of mythology, comedy and astronomy ring out over the playa. Every sort of speaker from Physicist to Philosopher will wonder aloud about the mysteries of the void and pontificate on the beauty of the cosmos. It's a planetarium show without the ceiling.
Our planetarium will be a place where travelers can rest their weary feet and dazzle the brain. An outpost for the curious and intrepid, we want to give the sky back to those who have forgotten it belongs to them. We want to give them views of the night sky they can explore again after Exodus by simply looking up and connecting.
As we are Black Rock Observatory, it's only fitting that we have a black rock on display. Nickel-iron meteorites will be displayed for participants of our great city so that they may touch and hold the oldest thing they've ever clutched and bask in the age of the Solar System. Citizens will feel the weight of 4.5 billion years in their hands. These black rocks hold the keys to the chemistry of the early solar system and they may be the end of our future, too. They might just kill us if we don't pay closer attention. These octahedrites formed with the Solar System 4.3 billion years ago but are just now finally getting tickets to Burning Man.
Visitors to Black Rock Observatory will touch and fondle meteorites. Why? Because, they're metal space crystals of doom forged in the outer solar system and they are awesome. A meteorite hovered just out of reach in the center of Black Rock City last year; this year, you can get all creepy with it.
Nickel-Iron meteorite from Gibeon, Namibia
Scale model in the Sierras - photo by Major Tom
We need your help!
We have a great design, an amazing crew of veteran burners, more space geeks than we can handle and the track record to make this happen. The only element remaining is the funding. We need money. We need your money, even if it's only a buck. We can make this happen, we just need your help to do it. No bucks: no Buck Rogers.
Please share this with your friends and donate at a level that you're comfortable with. If we are even one dollar short of our goal when the time is up, we get nothing. We have a really amazing opportunity to bring astronomy to the playa in a new, artistic and fun way and you can make it happen right now.
Our original goal will enable us to show participants the wonders of the universe and the depths of the cosmos, but with your help, we can do so much more! If we can reach $23,500 , we can add an amazing solar telescope to double our effectiveness, expand our daytime program and offer views of the Sun in spectacular H-alpha light that will FREAKING BLOW YOUR MIND.
help, we can do so much more! If we can reach , we can add an amazing solar telescope to double our effectiveness, expand our daytime program and offer views of the Sun in spectacular H-alpha light that will FREAKING BLOW YOUR MIND. $25,000 we'll add, a radio telescope to view radio targets through clouds and dust, making our observatory WEATHERPROOF! , plus we can add a dedicated white light solar projector for viewing sunspots!
we'll add, a to view radio targets through clouds and dust, making our observatory WEATHERPROOF! , plus we can add a dedicated white light solar projector for viewing sunspots! $30,000 If we can raise this, we'll be able to outfit our telescope with state of the art closed-loop digital encoders and motors that will allow our giant telescope to locate and track over 10,000 objects automatically providing more views in less time. We have plans for building out the open sky planetarium with chairs and lasers if everything goes well, so come along on this journey with us, the sky is the limit! )'(
If we can raise this, we'll be able to outfit our telescope with state of the art closed-loop digital encoders and motors that will allow our giant telescope to locate and track over 10,000 objects automatically providing more views in less time. We have plans for building out the open sky planetarium with chairs and lasers if everything goes well, so come along on this journey with us, the sky is the limit! )'( $40,000 We have a great observatory planned where you can explore and experiment, but if we can get to $40,000, we can fully realize the project as we originally envisioned it. At this level of funding we can create a new kind of public observatory that could touch the mind and soul like the great science centers of the world, but ours will be mobile! We'd be able to obtain a trailer for transportation and storage to lower the cost of travel and mitigate the cost of renting transport to maximize your investment. The cheaper our operating costs, the more schools, festivals and events we can reach with this project.
Our Sun in beautiful H alpha light
We have the opportunity to bring space to the community in a way that has never been seen before. Join us on our adventure!
We've created some unique rewards for backers of all levels. Please donate at level that you're comfortable with and pat yourself on the back for being a patron of the arts and a citizen of Black Rock City.
$1 Backer Reward: High Resolution Digital Photograph from Major Tom (scroll down for more)
$15 Backer Reward: Digital Download of Kim Boekbinder's Album, The Sky is Calling
Spacey songstress, Kim Boekbinder, will give you a download code for her new astro-themed album at this level. The Sky is Calling journeys deep into the universe with dancey supernova beats and haunting orbital harmonics. See link to the music video of the single, and check out Kim's website for more samples. Video single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCJzUiBZItk
Black Rock Observatory logo for Kickstarter Rewards
$25 Backer Reward: Bandana
$50 Backer Reward: Custom Astrolabe Star Map
$65 Backer Reward: Pewter Dome Pendant
$100 Backer Reward: Zipper hoodie
$2,000 Backer Reward: A night with the Mt. Wilson Observatory 60" Telescope
$2,000 Backer Reward: Night with the Mt. Wilson Observatory 60" Telescope. This is Saturn and 5 of its moons through the 60" at Mt. Wilson by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
$1 Backer Reward: Digital photograph by Major Tom
#1 Backer Reward: Digital Photograph from Major Tom
|
Rahul Gandhi addressed Lok Sabha after AIADMK protests and a fierce debate on the Aircel-Maxis issue.
There's Modi Ji 'Fair and Lovely Yojna', kale dhan to kaise gora banaya jaye (How to convert black money into white).
Modi ji had promised employment. When you ask people have they been given employment, nobody is raising their hands.
Modi ji said I have not seen a scheme as bad as MGNREGA. He said it is a failed scheme and it has destroyed the nation, but I will not remove it so people can see UPA's mistake.
But Arun Jaitley came to me and said that it's a very good scheme. I told him, why don't you say this to your boss?
When money was allotted to MGNREGA, I closed my eyes and thought it was Chidambaram presenting the Budget.
The JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar gave a 20-minute speech on the JNU campus. I have heard the speech. He never said a word against the country, and you have still put him in jail.
The income of 40 per cent of the students' parents in JNU, is less than Rs 6,000. Why are you behind JNU? Because they are poor, weak, Dalits and Tribals? You want them to stay behind? We will not let this happen. You will not be able to crush JNU or the poor of the country.
I want to speak a little bit about religion. Tell me, which book says that we should thrash our teachers. Why were JNU teachers, students and media beaten outside the Patiala House courts? And when they were, why did your government not even say a word?
You have been taught by your RSS teachers that there's only one truth in the universe - Your Own.
That nobody's opinion matters. PM can't run the country based on just his own opinion.
Country is not the PM, and PM is not the country.
PM said that he'd solved the Nagaland crisis. Our Chief Ministers had not briefed us about anything, so we called them and they said they hadn't heard anything of the sort.
Even the Home Minister had no idea about this. Did he know about the accord? Did the Nagaland chief minister know about the accord?
And where has it gone now? Gone with the wind?
Pakistan sent trained killers into the heart of Mumbai. 200 people killed, butchered. The op to stop them was on, our soldiers, citizens dying.
Our government begged the then CM of Gujarat, not to go to Mumbai. And he went there and grabbed his headlines while our people died.
It is the work in J&K that the UPA did, that makes us proud. By the end we had broken the back of insurgency.
But what does the PM do? He decides to have a cup of tea with Nawaz Sharif.
PM destroyed our work in Jammu and Kashmir when he went to meet Pakistan PM Nawaz. This is because he thinks only his opinion matters.
He did not consult the country's able bureaucrats and experts. he disrespected the flag and destroyed the conversations with the country's citizens.
PM just has to listen to his country, listen to Rajnath Singh ji, Smriti Irani ji, Sushma Swaraj ji. Listen to your MPs.
We are not your enemies, listen to us as well, we don't hate you. Just give the people the dignity of their word and listen to them.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed lawmakers in Lok Sabha, attacking the Modi government over black money among other issues. He said Modiji brought a 'Fair and Lovely Yojna' to convert black money into white and blamed him of destroying UPA's work against insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and terrorism.
|
Aborted Babies Reportedly Cut Open while Still Alive Share Tweet
Experiments were reportedly done on aborted babies while they were still alive, according to an article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
LifeNews.com draws attention to the article and says the experiments were done at Stanford University Hospital by Dr. Robert C. Goodlin.
The purpose of the experiments was to observe the still-beating hearts of the aborted babies.
The babies were reportedly kept in incubators and their chests were cut open and their hearts observed.
In a grisly description of the experiments, the Journal says: “The thorax [chest] was opened and the heart was observed directly. When the heart was beating, the fetus was returned to the chamber and the experiment was resumed.”
One of the babies survived for 11 hours under these brutal conditions.
This kind of experimentation on aborted babies who are still alive is illegal in the U.S., despite these studies.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: August 19, 2016
|
When fringe parties talk of forming a ‘progressive’ alliance, their aim is to weaken the Labour party and help themselves, argues Progress deputy editor Conor Pope
There are only two political parties in Britain. The culture in this country means that for the most part, the political bubble pretends that it is not the case, while on the whole the voters tend not to hold such pretence. Some go further, and predict the demise of the two-party system with surprising regularity. Yet still it maintains.
The two parties are, of course, Labour and the Conservatives. No surprises there; they are the only two that, since the mid-1920s, have had a real prospect of forming a government.
The other parties are, essentially, narrow pressure groups that take a very active political role. They do not have to come up with enactable programmes for government, or appeal to wide sections of society, so they can pretty much say what they like to move forward their specific agenda.
Take the Greens. They are an outrider for environmentalism. As an outrider, their environmental policies are at an extreme: they are, after all, attempting to move that debate forward. But take a look at any of their other policy areas. They are, at best, consistently daft. From four-day weeks to votes at 16, nothing they say has any remote significance to the problems the country faces. On anything but the thing they really care about, they are simply not serious.
On the inverse of the spectrum, the United Kingdom Independence party is exactly the same. Its determination to see a ultra-hard Brexit is blinkered and extreme, but resembles a denizen of wisdom when compared to its other half-baked reactionary notions – which is why Paul Nuttall would ban burqas, but cannot explain why the ban would not include beekeepers’ veils.
The Liberal Democrats certainly claim otherwise, and in the post-Brexit world becoming the natural home of Remain ultras has certainly widened their scope a bit.
But, well, signing off on all manner of brutal welfare reforms in return for a referendum on changing the voting system does give a small indication where their priorities lie. As with the other ‘parties’, it is precisely because they will not govern alone that almost none of their policies should be taken seriously. Everything else is just empty populist guff designed to up the vote in a way that can best push forward what they actually want to get – which is how they ended up with the tuition fees pledge.
On Friday, they pledged to end rough sleeping. It is a good and achievable pledge, but not one actually achievable by them. In fact, by the time they entered government in 2010, the previous Labour administration had come close to doing it already. But under the coalition, it skyrocketed. It is not really a pledge for government; it is just something to say during election time to give the pretence of being a political party.
Some might think that the Scottish National party, being an actual party of government in Scotland, might be an exception. But not really.
Take a look at its record, after a decade of power, on education – which should be a priority for any progressive government worth its salt. Class sizes and attainment gaps have grown as teacher numbers have fallen. It is abysmal.
And it is because everything the SNP is geared towards is pushing a nationalist independence agenda. All else comes second. The SNP does not have a programme for government; it has a programme for grievance.
The thing is, if you are on the centre-left and have an actual idea of how the country as a whole should look, then the best way to move your agenda forward is undoubtedly from within the broad church of the Labour party.
The others recognise this, and that is why to reach their goals they need to cripple the Labour party. None exist outside of Labour by chance or accident, and all must realise that if building an ‘anti-Tory’ majority truly was a priority, supporting the already-existing, large anti-Tory party would be the only logical conclusion. But they did not come to this conclusion. They decided that setting up other electoral groups was a better political strategy. Other groups that would pose as political parties and oppose Labour.
So, when the idea of an electoral alliance is proposed, we should be wary. The aim of these suggested pacts is not – not ever, not even occasionally – to help the Labour party. It is to weaken the Labour party and help themselves.
Recall the televised ‘challengers’ debate’ from the 2015 election: it was a disaster. With David Cameron absent, the Greens, SNP, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru all used the opportunity to lay into Ed Miliband. Faced with Labour in a position of weakness, they pounced. They are not our progressive allies, they are our opponents.
Now, they see opportunity in Labour’s weakness again. Not to help make us stronger, but to weaken us further.
––––––––––––––––
Conor Pope is deputy editor of Progress. He tweets at @Conorpope
––––––––––––––––
Photo
|
I’m very happy to announce the first proper availability of the continuation of i686 support within Manjaro, using archlinux32 as upstream instead of Arch, and the standard Manjaro infrastructure for package delivery instead of a custom repo.
archlinux32
If you find manjaro32 useful please consider donating to, or helping with, archlinux32. It’s a small team taking on a huge project and any help will no doubt be very much appreciated.
How do I get it?
Edit your /etc/pacman-mirrors.conf and change (or set):
Branch = x32-unstable
making sure there is no comment marker ( # ) at the start of the line, then update your mirror list as normal, install the keyring package, and update:
pacman-mirrors -c all pacman -Sy archlinux32-keyring-transition pacman -S archlinux32-keyring pacman -Syu
pacman-mirrors doesn’t yet know about this branch so you’ll need to manually edit /etc/pacman-mirrors.conf to set the branch.
What about the [manjaro32] repo?
All i686 packages are available in the x32-unstable branch. There is no longer any need for the [manjaro32] repo in your /etc/pacman.conf - please remove it.
What about package updates?
Manjaro-specific packages may lag behind x86_64 because there aren’t as many packagers. I may also trim the supported package list (e.g. kernels) to save effort, depending on frequency of updates to packages and packagers who volunteer to help out. If you notice an important package is lagging please report it; at the moment it’s only me packaging for i686:
[manjaro32] Out-of-date Manjaro package report Manjaro Development Using manjaro32 and spotted an out-of-date Manjaro package? First, check the Manjaro GitHub sources for core, extra, and community. If it’s in the GitHub sources, it’s a Manjaro package. Alternatively, check the Arch package list to see whether the package is one likely to be built by archlinux32. If it’s a Manjaro package, and it’s out-of-date, report here.
What about installer images?
I have no plans to offer installer isos. I hope once manjaro32 is completely off-the-ground and proven the current maintainers might spin a 32-bit iso, even if it’s just an Architect variant.
What about x32-testing and x32-stable ?
There is too much work left to do to get the packages back in sync with x86_64 to have other branches yet. Once packages are up-to-date I’ll snap to x32-testing and from then try to match the x86_64 release schedule. This relies on people testing, though.
I get “invalid signature” warnings
You’ll need to install the archlinux32-keyring and/or archlinux32-keyring-transition package if you haven’t already. I’d also suggest you add archlinx32-keyring to your SyncFirst in /etc/pacman.conf .
You might also need to clear your package cache to remove any i686 packages signed by the Arch Linux devs.
Any problems?
|
Now that Canada's border services agency has put Vancouver's Olympic Paranoia on the radar across Canada and to our neighbors to the south, thanks to their treatment of journalist Amy Goodman, it's probably a good time to try to explain a few things, such as why Vancouver and British Columbia are acting as paranoid as the high school pot-head trying to avoid the vice principal after a BC bud and hash brownie lunch.
To recap, Ms. Goodman was held up at the border because she was giving some talks in Vancouver and Victoria about Afghanistan, Iraq, health care, and a few other topics that could be grouped under the heading “Not the Olympics.” But the only thing the border guards were concerned with was if she was planning on talking about the 2010 winter games. She was incredulous that they were incredulous that she didn't plan on talking about it. It was a veritable vertigo of incredulity.
The comment sections on sites carrying the story were filled with people wondering, in the manner of comedians everywhere, What's the deal with Vancouver and the Olympics? Well, here's the deal: We Canadians are a sensitive peoples. So when we offer to host the Olympics and pass city by-laws restricting basic rights in order to satisfy corporate sponsors, our feelings get hurt when these actions are misconstrued as sinister by dirty hippies.
You see, when it comes to citizens' rights during the Olympics, the government treats them the way I treat a red light at 4 am on empty streets – as merely a suggestion. Granted, restricting rights and falling prostrate to the Olympic overlords may seem like conduct unbecoming of a first world country and wannabe-world-class city, but hey, we're nothing if not polite, and we want to make the IOC happy – hence the internal conflict. We can't stand the idea of people not liking us.
When the Beijing Olympics announced that there would be “free speech zones” far away from any venues, there was an international outcry against that move. Now, Vancouver is planning to do the same thing, without the attendant dictator to say, “Whaddaya gonna do about it?” The governments' only recourse is to try to convince us it's for our own safety, of which it is eminently concerned. Don't believe them? Their feelings get hurt. I mean, what's wrong with calling for celebratory-signs-only near sports venues? Okay, then. So, no to “Free Tibet”, but yes to “HOORAY! I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT FREEING TIBET!”
Now, due to public pressure, and the BC Civil Liberties Union's lawsuit, the city is reconsidering the language in the by-law.
But still, negative press started building, and the city and the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) tried to play it all down (It reminds me of a line from The Flintstones. Barney: Hi Betty what makes you think there's a body in the trunk?).
Then, the Vancouver police buy some military grade hardware (the LRAD), originally developed to combat pirates, as a public address system. It's main use is usually to emit ear-splitting noise, perfect for use in Fallujah and dispersing protesters, which is what it was used for at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh recently. Some people find it hard to believe it wouldn't be used in this manner, and the VPD public relations department resents having to work so hard to convince us otherwise.
And, of course, there's that other perennial problem for the Olympics – what to do with the homeless? British Columbia has a terrible record on dealing with the issue, but, just in time for the Olympics, it passes the Assistance to Shelter Act. Against our own Charter of Rights, it would allow police to sweep up the homeless and deliver them to shelters against their will. No shelter provider in Vancouver thinks this is a good idea.
Shelters are overcrowded and some people don't like to be packed in like that unless it's a four-man bobsled, preferring to bundle up and sleep outside. Actually, they prefer adequate housing, and a crammed shelter doesn't qualify. “I consider it to be a draconian piece of legislation, which I hope will receive...a court challenge,” said Miloon Kothari, the former United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing.
And so the paragon of virtue becomes a parvenu with a retinue of goons, and that's bad optics.
So, yeah, authorities are smarting a little from having their good intentions misinterpreted. They're terrified of protests and they don’t want to see any embarrassment for the different levels of government; they don’t want to see it on the national or international news.
You have to understand, this paranoia is a particularly acute Canadian problem. I get the feeling that China didn't give a rat's ass what anybody thought about its “free speech” zones. And when the Americans host the Olympics, well, what?—you gonna tell the Americans what to do? Didn't think so. They will not go gently into that fortnight.
And then there's Maude, er, I mean Canada. We care deeply about what people think about us. “Does France think I'm fat? What does Holland think about my bong policy? Does hiking up my skirt to the Olympic Franchise make me look cheap?”
Most Vancouverites know that people are being hurt by the Olympics, but they choose to disavow this knowledge in favour of the Olympics....”I know what I see on the streets before my eyes, but I pretend otherwise, because the authorities tell me that the Olympics are a good thing...”
In psychoanalysis, this 'disavowal' of the real has the structure of psychosis, and man, does that ever make some people PARANOID. And that makes us feel like the Amy Goodman's of the world are out to get us. Not gonna happen. People will like us. Must make people like us. Please like us.
|
Trump haters (and there are many of you), brace yourselves.
The polls are showing Democratic contender Hillary Clinton as the odds-on favoured winner in Tuesday night’s election, but the S&P 500 stock market index begs to differ.
A trader monitors offers in the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index options pit at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) on August 24, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The index’s movements in the months ahead of a U.S. election have been a reliable indicator of the outcome: When the S&P 500 is up in the three months before an election, the incumbent party controlling the White House (this year, the Democrats) wins, and when it’s down, the incumbent party loses.
Well this year, the S&P 500 is down 4.5 per cent in the three months leading up to the election, predicting a Trump win.
But this index isn’t a perfect predictor. According to Zero Hedge, it has accurately predicted the election outcome 86.4 per cent of the time — which means it’s been wrong 13.6 per cent of the time. Here's Zero Hedge's chart:
This year is shaping up to be one of those times when the S&P 500 was wrong. The most recent polls, released Sunday and Monday, show Clinton with a lead over Trump of three to six points, depending on the poll.
And not all indicators are pointing to a Trump win. Marketwatch looked at the U.S. economy's job performance, and found it also correlates with election results. It finds the incumbent party gets elected when job growth is strong, and is tossed out of office when it's weak. The one major exception was George W. Bush's win in 2000, when Bush beat the incumbent Democrats in the electoral college, but lost the popular vote.
What the number of new jobs created this year says about who will win https://t.co/mtYcbqLrZu pic.twitter.com/4SQrtZFHPq — Michelle Coffey (@m_cof) November 7, 2016
Also on HuffPost
|
This offer has expired! Be sure to follow us on Twitter for the latest deals and more. Sign-up for our newsletters and have our best offers delivered to your inbox daily.
Update (11/19 10:00am): Amazon is now taking $100 off select MacBook Pro models without Touch Bar, matching some of the B&H deals below.
B&H is taking up to $200 off several build-to-order models of Apple’s all-new 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar. Aside from a brief pricing error at Amazon, this is the first notable discount that we’ve seen on Apple’s latest release from a trusted retailer. Even better, B&H only charges tax at the time of purchase for New York residents. Free shipping is available across the board.
Discounts available include:
The 2016 MacBook Pro features a slim design with “the brightest, most colorful Mac notebook display ever.” A new butterfly mechanism keyboard and larger Force Touch trackpad also highlight this device. Of course, it offer fours USB-C ports that can charge your MacBook or support multiple 4K displays. Our full video review can be found after the break.
Be sure to swing by our roundup of the best messenger bags, sleeves and cases for your new MacBook Pro. You’ll find top-rated options from Timbuk2, Pad & Quill and more. You’ll also want to pick up a few extra USB-C cables to round out your new setup.
|
Dec. 21 (UPI) — The founder and CEO of Papa John’s will step down next month, the company announced Thursday.
John Schnatter will be replaced by company president Steve Ritchie effective Jan. 1, according to a company press release.
Schnatter became the face of the third-largest pizza chain in the country by appearing in several television commercials and print advertisements over the years since the company’s founding in 1984. But Schnatter has also been outspoken on other issues, including the NFL’s reaction to players protesting during the national anthem, which he blamed for hurting his company’s pizza sales since ratings for games have been down and Papa John’s is a main sponsor of the NFL.
“This should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago,” Schnatter told investors during a conference call in November. “The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country.”
Schnatter’s comments were criticized for being racist, tone-deaf and hostile to free speech. He became the butt of jokes everywhere from late night talk show hosts to the white supremacist Daily Stormer website, which joked that Papa John’s was the “official pizza of the alt-right,” according to CNN.
The company later issued an apology for Schnatter’s comments.
“We believe in the right to protest inequality and support the players’ movement to create a new platform for change,” papa John’s said on Twitter. “We also believe together, as Americans, we should honor our anthem.”
Although the company hasn’t said if Schnatter’s comments were a driving force behind his resignation, but industry analysts say the timing indicates it had at least some effect.
“At the very least, it was distracting and I’m wondering whether this was board-driven or if it was John’s choice,” restaurant consultant John Gordon of the Pacific Management Consulting Group told USA Today.
The promotion of Ritchie to CEO will be he first time the company has been headed by somebody other than Schnatter. According to the company press release, Ritchie started at Papa John’s as a customer service representative in 1996 making $6 per hour. Ten years later, he became an owner of a franchise and has since taken on larger roles in the corporate side of the business.
|
Gagadon ("Gaga tooth") is an extinct genus of even-toed ungulate that lived in the early Eocene of North America. The type and only known species, Gagadon minimonstrum, was described in 2014 based on lower teeth and jaw fragments found in the Wasatch Formation of Bitter Creek, Wyoming. The genus is named in honor of the singer Lady Gaga, while the species name minimonstrum ("mini monster") refers to the small size and presence of unusual cusps on the teeth.[1]
See also [ edit ]
Gaga (plant), a genus of ferns also named after Lady Gaga
(plant), a genus of ferns also named after Lady Gaga List of organisms named after famous people
References [ edit ]
^ Stucky, Richard K.; Covert, Herbert H. (2014). "A new genus and species of early Eocene (Ypresian) Artiodactyla (Mammalia), Gagadon minimonstrum, from Bitter Creek, Wyoming, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 731–736. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.827580.
|
The legends haven't played in the capital since 2010
Autechre are set to play a rare London show at Electric Brixton on 21 November with a sprawling list of support acts. For full details see below.
The electronic duo, who were the leading artists of Warp Records is making their live return in London where they haven't played in five years. Their live show are a revelatory experience, combining abrasive bass with lush electronica.
The all-nighter show will also see support from a host of other experimental electronic music including Objekt, Powell, Russell Haswell and Rob Hall. Tickets for the event go on general sale this Thursday (14 May) at 11am.
Listen to 'Bladelores' from the group's latest album below:
The band's last release was an EP L-Event released at the end of 2013.
|
The finalists for the 2014 Hugo Awards and finalists for the 1939 Retrospective Hugo Awards were announced at three conventions and online via UStream, as well as via the Twitter feed and other social media of Loncon 3, the 2014 Worldcon, on April 19, 2014.
1,923 valid nominating ballots (1,889 electronic and 34 paper) for the 2014 Hugo Awards and 233 valid nominating ballots (226 electronic and 7 paper) for the 1939 Retro-Hugo Awards were received and counted from the members of LoneStarCon 3, Loncon 3 and Sasquan, the 2013, 2014, and 2015 World Science Fiction Conventions. This year’s nominating ballot count smashes the previous record of 1,343 nominating ballots cast last year and even exceeds last year’s final ballot turnout of 1,848 votes.
See the 2014 Hugo Awards page for the full list of 2014 finalists and the 1939 Retro Hugo Awards page for the full list of 1939 finalists.
A full breakdown of nominations, including how many nominations each finalist received and a list of works that did not make the final ballot but were in the top fifteen places, will be published after the Hugo Awards ceremony in August.
Online balloting will be available on the Loncon 3 web site Hugo Awards page as soon as possible. Loncon 3 will also distribute paper ballots to its members. Only supporting and attending members of Loncon 3, the 2014 Worldcon, are eligible to vote on the final Hugo Award ballot.
A Hugo Voter Packet of nominated works will be released as soon as it is available. The availability of nominated works is dependent upon the generosity of the authors, artists, publishers, and rights holders, and no work is guaranteed to be in the Hugo Voter Packet. Only eligible voters (voting members of the 2014 Worldcon) will be given access to the Hugo Voter Packet.
The 2014 Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Award winners will be announced Sunday, August 17, 2014, during the Hugo Awards Ceremony. The 1939 Retrospective Hugo Award winners will be announced Thursday, August 14, 2014, during the Retro-Hugo Awards Ceremony. Both events will be at Loncon 3 in London.
Please direct questions about the administration of this year’s Hugo and Campbell Awards to the Loncon 3 Hugo Administration Subcommittee. TheHugoAwards.org does not actually manage the administration of each year’s Hugo Awards, and while we can answer general queries, definitive answers to specific questions about given year’s Awards can only come from that year’s Administrator.
|
Here’s a list of comparisons of Dogecoin to Facebook:
Both started as a total joke. Dogecoin as a meme currency, Facebook as a dorm “hot-or-not” popularity contest. Both experienced immediate, unprecedentedly massive growth. Both built on the most successful mechanics of existing players. Dogecoin is a Litecoin clone, which was itself inspired by Bitcoin. Facebook cloned many of the UI features of Friendster, Myspace, etc. Both have ambitious, nobel social missions. Dogecoin as a means to “share and connect” wealth, Facebook to “share and connect” people throughout the world. Both have a defining, mythical leader. Dogecoin has the Doge itself. Facebook has Mark Zuckerberg.
Here’s a list of comparisons of Bitcoin to Myspace:
Both were the 1st major mover in their spaces. Both were dominated by awful clientele. We can debate about the extent to which this is perception vs. reality, but Myspace was known as a place for bad kids. Bitcoin is most known for being used by porn websites and drug dealers. Both were fallen by repeated technical disasters. It was a running joke how much of the Myspace website regularly didn’t work. Mt.Gox, the oldest, biggest Bitcoin exchange has had several flameouts leading to massive panic. Both had ineffective or even evil leadership. Myspace had many well-documented management issues and then they were bought by News corp! One of Bitcoin’s most prominent supporters, Charles Shrem, was recently arrested for money laundering and faces years of jail time. Both got pinned down as niche products. Myspace was the place for music and then came iTunes. Bitcoin is seen as a fringe payment method offered by desperate companies, e.g., Zynga, to generate publicity.
“You know what’s cool?”-Justin Timberlake/Sean Parker
I don’t think it’s gonna be the 21 million Bitcoins. My hunch is it’s the 100+5% (such inflation!) BILLION Dogecoins.
|
Oct. 7, 2014 By Christian Murray
The MTA plans to spend more than $110 million on repairing Astoria’s six above-ground subway stations, according to its recently released capital plan.
The Astoria-Ditmars, Astoria Blvd, 30th Avenue, Broadway, 36th Avenue and 39th Avenue subway stations would each receive more than $18.8 million in “renewal” work starting in 2015, according to the MTA plan.
The work, if funded, would start in 2015 and end in 2016, according to the plan. The work involves upgrading the lighting, platforms and stairways at each station. Furthermore, it would involve the installation of elevators at the Astoria Blvd station and switch work by PS 85 to mitigate noise.
The MTA also plans to repair three Woodside stations—52nd Street, 61st Street and 69th Streets—which would each receive more than $21 million depending on funding. That work would begin in 2017 and conclude in 2019.
“It’s good to see the MTA recognize that our train lines in western Queens are in dire need of upgrades,” said State Sen. Mike Gianaris. However, “It will take a concerted effort to make these plans a reality.”
“ I will keep the pressure on the MTA to deliver on our transit needs, on everything from improving service and renewing stations on the 7 line to adding elevators at Astoria Boulevard and reducing noise by PS 85.”
For more information, please click here
|
This is the first of two posts examining the use of Hive for interaction with HBase tables. The second post is here.
One of the things I’m frequently asked about is how to use HBase from Apache Hive. Not just how to do it, but what works, how well it works, and how to make good use of it. I’ve done a bit of research in this area, so hopefully this will be useful to someone besides myself. This is a topic that we did not get to cover in HBase in Action, perhaps these notes will become the basis for the 2nd edition 😉 These notes are applicable to Hive 0.11.x used in conjunction with HBase 0.94.x. They should be largely applicable to 0.12.x + 0.96.x, though I haven’t tested everything yet.
The hive project includes an optional library for interacting with HBase. This is where the bridge layer between the two systems is implemented. The primary interface you use when accessing HBase from Hive queries is called the BaseStorageHandler . You can also interact with HBase tables directly via Input and Output formats, but the handler is simpler and works for most uses.
HBase tables from Hive
Use the HBaseStorageHandler to register HBase tables with the Hive metastore. You can optionally specify the HBase table as EXTERNAL , in which case Hive will not create to drop that table directly – you’ll have to use the HBase shell to do so.
[sql]
CREATE [EXTERNAL] TABLE foo(…)
STORED BY ‘org.apache.hadoop.hive.hbase.HBaseStorageHandler’
TBLPROPERTIES (‘hbase.table.name’ = ‘bar’);
[/sql]
The above statement registers the HBase table named bar in the Hive metastore, accessible from Hive by the name foo .
Under the hood, HBaseStorageHandler is delegating interaction with the HBase table to
HiveHBaseTableInputFormat and HiveHBaseTableOutputFormat . You can register your HBase table in Hive using those classes directly if you desire. The above statement is roughly equivalent to:
[sql]
CREATE TABLE foo(…)
STORED AS
INPUTFORMAT ‘org.apache.hadoop.hive.hbase.HiveHBaseTableInputFormat’
OUTPUTFORMAT ‘org.apache.hadoop.hive.hbase.HiveHBaseTableOutputFormat’
TBLPROPERTIES (‘hbase.table.name’ = ‘bar’);
[/sql]
Also provided is the HiveHFileOutputFormat which means it should be possible to generate HFiles for bulkloading from Hive as well. In practice, I haven’t gotten this to work end-to-end (see HIVE-4627).
Schema mapping
Registering the table is only the first step. As part of that registration, you also need to specify a column mapping. This is how you link Hive column names to the HBase table’s rowkey and columns. Do so using the hbase.columns.mapping SerDe property.
[sql]
CREATE TABLE foo(rowkey STRING, a STRING, b STRING)
STORED BY ‘org.apache.hadoop.hive.hbase.HBaseStorageHandler’
WITH SERDEPROPERTIES (‘hbase.columns.mapping’ = ‘:key,f:c1,f:c2’)
TBLPROPERTIES (‘hbase.table.name’ = ‘bar’);
…
[/sql]
The values provided in the mapping property correspond one-for-one with column names of the hive table. HBase column names are fully qualified by column family, and you use the special token :key to represent the rowkey. The above
example makes rows from the HBase table bar available via the Hive table foo . The foo column rowkey maps to the HBase’s table’s rowkey, a to c1 in the f column family, and b to c2 , also in the f family.
You can also associate Hive’s MAP data structures to HBase column families. In this case, only the STRING Hive type is used. The other Hive type currently supported is BINARY . See the wiki page for more examples.
Interacting with data
With the column mappings defined, you can now access HBase data just like you would any other Hive data. Only simple query predicates are currently supported.
[sql]
SELECT * FROM foo WHERE …;
[/sql]
You can also populate and HBase table using Hive. This works with both INTO and OVERWRITE clauses.
[sql]
FROM source_hive_table INSERT INTO TABLE my_hbase_table
SELECT source_hive_table.* WHERE …;
[/sql]
Be advised that there is a regression in Hive 0.12.0 which breaks this feature, see HIVE-5515.
In practice
There’s still a little finesse required to get everything wired up properly at runtime. The HBase interaction module is completely optional, so you have to make sure it and it’s HBase dependencies are available on Hive’s classpath.
[bash]
$ export HADOOP_CLASSPATH=…
$ hive -e “CREATE TABLE … STORED BY ‘org.apache…HBaseStorageHandler'”
[/bash]
The installation environment could do a better job of handling this for users, but for the time being you must manage it yourself. Ideally the hive bin script can detect the presence of HBase and automatically make the necessary CLASSPATH adjustments. This enhancement appears to be tracked in HIVE-2055. The last mile is provided by the distribution itself, ensuring the environment variables are set for hive . This functionality is provided by BIGTOP-955.
You also need to make sure the necessary jars are shipped out to the MapReduce jobs when you execute your Hive statements. Hive provides a mechanism for shipping additional job dependencies via the auxjars feature.
[bash]
$ export HIVE_AUX_JARS_PATH=…
$ hive -e “SELECT * FROM …”
[/bash]
I did discover a small bug in HDP-1.3 builds which masks user-specified values of HIVE_AUX_JARS_PATH . With administrative rights, this is easily fixed by correcting the line in hive-env.sh to respect an existing value. The
work-around in user scripts is to use the SET statement to provide a value once you’ve launched the Hive CLI.
[bash]
SET hive.aux.jars.path = …
[/bash]
Hive should be able to detect which jars are necessary and add them itself. HBase provides the TableMapReduceUtils#addDependencyJars methods for this purpose. It appears that this is done in hive-0.12.0, at least according to HIVE-2379.
Future work
Much has been said about proper support for predicate pushdown (HIVE-1643, HIVE-2854, HIVE-3617,
HIVE-3684) and data type awareness (HIVE-1245, HIVE-2599). These go hand-in-hand as predicate semantics are defined in terms of the types upon which they operate. More could be done to map Hive’s complex data types like Maps and Structs onto HBase column families as well (HIVE-3211). Support for HBase timestamps is a bit of a mess; they’re not made available to Hive applications with any level of granularity (HIVE-2828, HIVE-2306). The only interaction a user has is via storage handler setting for writing a custom timestamp with all operations.
From a performance perspective, there are things Hive can do today (ie, not dependent on data types) to take advantage of HBase. There’s also the possibility of an HBase-aware Hive to make use of HBase tables as intermediate storage location (HIVE-3565), facilitating map-side joins against dimension tables loaded into HBase. Hive could make use of HBase’s natural indexed structure (HIVE-3634, HIVE-3727), potentially saving huge scans. Currently, the user doesn’t have (any?) control over the scans which are executed. Configuration on a per-job, or at least per-table basis should be enabled (HIVE-1233). That would enable an HBase-savy user to provide Hive with hints regarding how it should interact with HBase. Support for simple split sampling of HBase tables (HIVE-3399) could also be easily done because HBase manages table partitions already.
Other access channels
Everything discussed thus far has required Hive to interact with online HBase RegionServers. Applications may stand to gain significant throughput and enjoy greater flexibility by interacting directly with HBase data persisted to HDFS. This also has the benefit of preventing Hive workloads from interfering with online SLA-bound HBase applications (at least, until we see HBase improvements in QOS isolation between tasks, HBASE-4441).
As mentioned earlier, there is the HiveHFileOutputFormat . Resolving HIVE-4627 should make Hive a straight-forward way to generate HFiles for bulk loading. Once you’ve created the HFiles using Hive, there’s still the last step of running the
LoadIncrementalHFiles utility to copy and register them in the regions. For this, the HiveStorageHandler interface will need some kind of hook to influence the query plan as it’s created, allowing it to append steps. Once in place, it should be possible to SET a runtime flag, switching an INSERT operation to use bulkload.
HBase recently introduced the table snapshot feature. This allows a user to create a persisted point-in-time view of a table, persisted to HDFS. HBase is able to restore a table from a snapshot to a previous state, and to create an entirely new table from an existing snapshot. Hive does not currently support reading from an HBase snapshot. For that matter, HBase doesn’t yet support MapReduce jobs over snapshots, though the feature is a work in progress (HBASE-8369).
Conclusions
The interface between HBase and Hive is young, but has nice potential. There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit that can be picked up to make things easier and faster. The most glaring issue barring real application development is the impedance mismatch between Hive’s typed, dense schema and HBase’s untyped, sparse schema. This is as much a cognitive problem as technical issue. Solutions here would allow a number of improvements to fall out, including much in the way of performance improvements. I’m hopeful that continuing work to add data types to HBase (HBASE-8089) can help bridge this gap.
Basic operations mostly work, at least in a rudimentary way. You can read data out of and write data back into HBase using Hive. Configuring the environment is an opaque and manual process, one which likely stymies novices from adopting the tools. There’s also the question of bulk operations – support for writing HFiles and reading HBase snapshots using Hive is entirely lacking at this point. And of course, there are bugs sprinkled throughout. The biggest recent improvement is the deprecation of HCatalog’s interface, removing the necessary upfront decision regarding which interface to use.
Hive provides a very usable SQL interface on top of HBase, one which integrates easily into many existing ETL workflows. That interface requires simplifying some of the BigTable semantics HBase provides, but the result will be to open up HBase to a much broader audience of users. The Hive interop compliments extremely well the experience provided by Phoenix. Hive has the benefit of not requiring the deployment complexities currently required by that system. Hopefully the common definition of types will allow a complimentary future.
|
Image caption This artist's impression shows HIP 13044 b, an exoplanet orbiting a star that entered the Milky Way from another galaxy
Astronomers claim to have discovered the first planet originating from outside our galaxy.
The Jupiter-like planet, they say, is part of a solar system which once belonged to a dwarf galaxy.
This dwarf galaxy was in turn devoured by our own galaxy, the Milky Way, according to a team writing in the academic journal Science.
The star, called HIP 13044, is nearing the end of its life and is 2000 light years from Earth.
The discovery was made using a telescope in Chile.
Cosmic cannibalism
Planet hunters have so far netted nearly 500 so-called "exoplanets" outside our Solar System using various astronomical techniques.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A video shows how the distant solar system may appear
But all of those so far discovered, say the researchers, are indigenous to our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
This find is different, they say, because the planet circles a sun which belongs to a group of stars called the "Helmi stream" which are known to have once belonged to a separate dwarf galaxy.
This galaxy was gobbled up by the Milky Way between six and nine billion years ago in an act of intergalactic cannibalism.
The new planet is thought to have a minimum mass 1.25 times that of Jupiter and circles in close proximity to its parent star, with an orbit lasting just 16.2 days.
Image caption The exoplanet was detected by a team using the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope in Chile
It sits in the southern constellation of Fornax.
The planet would have been formed in the early era of its solar system, before the world was incorporated into our own galaxy, say the researchers.
"This discovery is very exciting," said Rainer Klement of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, who targetted the stars in the study.
"For the first time, astronomers have detected a planetary system in a stellar stream of extragalactic origin. This cosmic merger has brought an extragalactic planet within our reach."
Dr Robert Massey of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society said the paper provided the first "hard evidence" of a planet of extragalactic origin.
"There's every reason to believe that planets are really quite widespread throughout the Universe, not just in our own galaxy, the Milky Way, but also in the thousands of millions of others there are," he said, "but this is the first time we've got hard evidence of that."
End Days
The new find might also offer us a glimpse of what the final days of our own Solar System may look like.
HIP 13044 is nearing its end. Having consumed all the hydrogen fuel in its core, it expanded massively into a "red giant" and might have eaten up smaller rocky planets like our own Earth in the process, before contracting.
The new Jupiter-like planet discovered appears to have survived the fireball, for the moment.
"This discovery is particularly intriguing when we consider the distant future of our own planetary system, as the Sun is also expected to become a red giant in about five billion years," said Dr Johny Setiawan, who also works at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, and who led the study.
"The star is rotating relatively quickly," he said. "One explanation is that HIP 13044 swallowed its inner planets during the red giant phase, which would make the star spin more quickly."
The new planet was discovered using what is called the "radial velocity method" which involves detecting small wobbles in a star caused by a planet as it tugs on its sun.
These wobbles were picked up using a ground-based telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla facility in Chile.
|
PASADENA >> A young woman escaped a would-be kidnapper who tried to drag her into his pickup truck in Pasadena on Saturday night with the help of some good Samaritans who intervened in the attack, officials said.
The attempted abduction unfolded about 8:15 p.m. as a woman in her late-teens was walking on the sidewalk in the 400 block of North Fair Oaks Avenue, just north of the 210 Freeway, Pasadena police Lt. William Grisafe said.
A white, late-2000s-model Dodge Ram pickup truck pulled up beside the woman, according to Grisafe.
“The occupant exited the truck, grabbed her from behind and attempted to drag her into the truck,” he said.
The woman screamed for help, drawing the attention of several nearby witnesses.
As the good Samaritans rushed to the woman’s aid, the attacker released her, returned to his truck and sped away, the lieutenant said.
Grisafe said the woman suffered minor injuries to her knees and elbows as a result of being dragged by the failed kidnapper.
Police described the attacker as a Latino man in his early 20s, with a light complexion, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and of thin build.
He was last seen driving west along Maple Street before getting onto the westbound 210 Freeway. Anyone with information is urged to contact Pasadena police at 626-744-4241. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
|
Bob Ryan and Frank Isola both believe that Andre Iguodala calling the Thunder the best team the Warriors played in the postseason last year was a direct jab at the Cavaliers. (2:05)
The best team in the 2016 NBA playoffs was not the Cleveland Cavaliers, at least not in the eyes of Andre Iguodala.
Iguodala gave that label to the team his Golden State Warriors beat in the Western Conference finals -- Oklahoma City -- and said he believes the Thunder deserved to win the title.
Editor's Picks Durant on move: 'People don't like me right now' Kevin Durant said he talked with former teammate Russell Westbrook about his decision to join the Warriors and knows their relationship "won't ever be the same."
Cuban: 'Villain' Warriors good for NBA business Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the possibility of the Golden State Warriors becoming villains to fans due to their confluence of talent will actually be good for the business of the NBA. 1 Related
"They played us better than anyone," Iguodala told Power 105.1 radio in New York on Wednesday. "They played us better than Cleveland. Some of the stuff they was doing, it's like ... 'Oh, man. We gotta play perfect.'"
The Thunder held a 3-1 series lead on the Warriors in the West finals but squandered a double-digit lead at home in the second half of Game 6 before being eliminated in Game 7 in Oakland, California.
Much has changed since.
The Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, delivered the city of Cleveland its first title in more than 50 years thanks to a Game 7 victory over Golden State, which had won the championship a year earlier behind Finals MVP Iguodala.
This month, Thunder star Kevin Durant opted to leave Oklahoma City via free agency and join forces with Iguodala, Stephen Curry and others with the Warriors.
"Now that we got KD, I can say it: They were the best team last year in the league in the playoffs," Iguodala said of OKC. "They were better than us. They were better than Cleveland. They were the best team in the playoffs. They should've won a championship."
|
By
21st Century Wire says…
If you live in in North America or Europe, you are currently getting blasted with wall-to-wall media coverage of the destabilization of Iraq, softening up the public for a few big announcements coming soon…
The function of our media in this case, is to paint Iraq as a failed state in desperate need of Western military intervention, either by the US or a NATO confab. “ISIS has taken over and threatens to establish an Islamic Caliphate in the region”, and “The Sunni – Shi’ite divide has never been so severe”, or so the narrative goes.
Yesterday, we were told by the US State Department, ‘We to ‘work with the Maliki government’, while tomorrow we’ll be told that the PM Makili needs to step down.
Yesterday we were told the US will send 300 ‘special advisors’ in to help, and today we are told that drones are now flying over Baghdad, while tomorrow we will be told that US fighters will be joining in the fight. Thankfully, no revelations of the UN-NATO joker card… ‘intelligence reports suggest WMD’s are in play’, not yet anyway.
All along the timeline however, you can be certain that Washington and its allies are carefully managing the controlled chaos in the region, and whatever announcements are due – each move was already agreed and pre-engineered months ago by the Pentagon and the CIA.
Terrorist menace antagonists ISIS and ISIL were built-up and enabled by the west in Libya and Syria over the last four years (at a cost of billions to the US taxpayer and the Saudi and Qatar crowns), just as the Mujahedin (al Qaeda) was built-up and enabled through the Soviet-Afghanistan war in the 1980’s.
Washington, Riyad and Tel Aviv’s primary objective is to break the Shi’ite alliance which currently exists between Iraq, Iran and Syria. The rest is simply a formality…
RT.com
Iraqi government forces backed by helicopter gunships began an offensive on Saturday to retake Tikrit from Sunni Islamist militants, while party leaders pursued talks to end Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s rule, which is seen as highly divisive.
Politicians in Baghdad and around the world have warned that as well as taking back cities captured by insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), Iraqi authorities must quickly form a government that might be able to bring the country’s split communities together.
Since the beginning of June, ISIS jihadists have overrun mainly Sunni areas in the north and west of Iraq.
ISIS’ aim is to re-create a medieval-style caliphate stretching from the Mediterranean to the Gulf. They believe that Shiite Muslims are heretics that should be killed, and there is already confirmation that they have staged mass executions of Shiite government soldiers, as well as civilians captured in Tikrit.
On the battlefield, Iraqi troops have been advancing on Tikrit from Samarra, and have stemmed the militant advance south towards Baghdad.
Iraqi special forces air-dropped snipers inside Tikrit University on Thursday, which had been taken over by ISIS fighters. Helicopter gunships were used against other targets in the city on Saturday, and ISIS fighters abandoned the main city administration building.
A senior Iraqi official told AFP that his security forces were coordinating with Washington, which has military advisors on the ground to help push back the militants. There were also reports of US drones flying over the city, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the Iraqi military, told reporters on Saturday that militant commanders are starting to struggle because “their morale has started to collapse.” He added that 29 terrorists were killed in Tikrit on Friday.
But in the south of the country, ISIS militants were on the offensive. In Jurf al-Sakhar – located 85 kilometers south of Baghdad – police sources said that 60 ISIS fighters and 15 Iraqi security forces were killed in an attack on an army camp, but the militants retreated when they could not hold their positions.
Political Wrangling
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a powerful Shiite cleric, intervened Friday and urged Iraq’s political blocs to agree on a new premier, parliament speaker, and president before the newly-elected legislature meets in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia promised US Secretary of State John Kerry to use his influence to encourage Sunni Muslims to throw their weight behind a new, more inclusive Iraqi government, in an effort to undermine support for the Sunni Islamist insurgents. The king’s words are a significant shift from Riyadh’s unwillingness to support a new government unless Maliki steps down, which may reflect his disquiet about the regional implications of ISIS’ rise.
A Shiite lawmaker from the National Alliance, which groups all Shiite Muslim parties, said that a session of the Alliance – including Maliki’s State of Law party – would be held throughout the weekend and that a number of Sunni political parties would also meet later on Saturday.
“The next 72 hours are very important to come up with an agreement to push the political process forward,” the lawmaker, who asked to be kept anonymous, told Reuters.
Iraq’s Sunnis accuse Maliki of pushing them aside and repressing their community, which has led many armed Sunni tribes to support the hardline ISIS insurgency.
The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region has also said that Maliki should go. Maliki’s party won the most seats in the April election and was pushing for a third term before the ISIS offensive began. Now, some senior officials in his party say there is a possibility of him being replaced.
“It’s a card game and State of Law plays a poker game very well. For the Prime Minster, it will go down to the wire,” one official told Reuters.
Meanwhile, on the Iraq-Syria border, other Islamist rebels have challenged ISIS’ grip on power and have launched a counter-offensive on the border town of Albu Kamal…
READ MORE ISIS NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire ISIS Files
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.