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You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters An Atlas 5 rocket lifted off Wednesday morning from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The primary payload on this mission for the US Air Force is the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV). This 29 -foot long, 9.5-foot high “mini-space-shuttle” began its life as a NASA project to create a reusable space plane before being transferred to the Department of Defense. Specifics of exactly what is aboard this and the other 3 OTVs is classified, but these reusable spacecraft do provide a platform for experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth. Like many Atlas 5 launches, a little payload space is available for small satellites carrying experiments aboard CubeSats. These miniaturized satellites are based around cubes measuring 10 cm on a side. The U.S. Naval Academy is experimenting with TCP/IP in space with 30cm x 10cm web server equipped CubeSat they’ve titled USS Langley. Their Psat CubeSat will also enable handheld texting from the ground. The Naval Academy teamed up with nearby George Washington University in propulsion equipping a 15cm x 10cm CubeSat with miniature pulse plasma thrusters The Air Force Research Lab’s 30cm x 10cm CubeSat experiments with the commercial Globalstar communications constellation in low Earth orbit. MIT is launching a pair of 15cm x 10cm CubeSats demonstrating Carbon Nanotube and Scalable ion Electrospray Propulsion system in support of the National Reconnaissance Office. The Planetary Society led LightSail-A CubeSat will experiment with Solar Sail technology from a 30cm x 10cm CubeSat (about the size of a loaf of bread). While small teams of students will eagerly watch each of the university led CubeSat projects, the crowd anticipating LightSail-A’s launch is much larger. 11,142 (and rising) private citizens have donated nearly $600,000 to fund the project. LightSail uses solar pressure, or photons coming from the sun to provide low-thrust propulsion. The idea isn’t new, scientists like Johannes Kepler described effects of pressure coming from the sun and science fiction writers like Jules Verne have written about harnessing it for space travel. The satellite uses an clever system for keeping itself steady in orbit. Three magnetorquer rods (oriented along the X, Y and Z axises) to interact with the Earth’s own magnetic field to provide attitude control (ACS). This enables the little spacecraft keep its sail pointed to the stream of photos so that it can “tack” like a sailboat in low Earth orbit. Two hours after liftoff, LightSail will be ejected from the rocket’s upper stage and the ACS will engage beginning the process of aligning to the Earth’s magnetic field. An antenna will be deployed and begin transmitting about an hour later. Ground stations at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo and another at Georgia Tech will monitor the satellite as it orbits during the month long mission. Should the launch occur on time, teams should get their first signals back from LightSail 19 minutes later when it is visible in the sky above Cal Poly. By 5:29 p.m. Eastern, teams at Georgia Tech will have their turn at tracking the satellite. In subsequent days images from onboard 2-megapixel cameras will be downloaded. The teams plan to deploy the solar sails more than two weeks into the mission after a spacecraft checkout period. A small motor will be engaged and four tape-measure like booms will extend unfurling the solar sails. The mission is expected to live another two days at this point before reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. Tony Rice is a volunteer in the NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador program and software engineer at Cisco Systems. You can follow him on twitter @rtphokie. |
Action from the clash between the VFL Cats and Port Melbourne (Credit: Arj Giese) Geelong’s VFL side has gone down to an efficient Port Melbourne on Saturday, falling to the Borough 6.8 (44) to 13.18 (96). The Cats played catch-up football all day and could never trim the margin back after a poor first term. The visitors came out of the blocks firing, their five unanswered goals put the Cats on the back foot at quarter time. Geelong’s woes continued in the second term with turnovers proving costly, allowing the Borough to open up a 38-point half time lead. The Cats started strongly in the third term but their impressive play was soured by a significant head injury suffered by Cats’ youngster Campbell Floyd. Despite the Cats slowing the visitors’ scoring in the final two quarters, they were unable to close the gap between the sides, ultimately falling by 52 points. It was a poor performance by Shane O’Bree’s side, but one they can learn from according to the Geelong coach. “It was a good reality check against a quality opposition in Port,” O’Bree said. “We’ve continually got to teach these guys, a lot of young players, with their method and being able to do it for the whole game.” Whilst the overall result was disappointing, there were numerous positives to take out of the match. Scott Selwood made his return from a foot injury and got through the match unscathed. Selwood finished with 23 disposals, four clearances and four tackles in limited game time. “(Selwood) got a bit of the ball, which was tough going as a midfielder, I think Scooter got what he needed out of today’s game,” O’Bree said. “We will just keep adding layers to his game over time.” Jack Henry played his first match since the JLT Community Series and showed promise playing across half forward. The Cats rookie kicked a goal from eight touches and looks to be a dangerous player according to his coach. “Jack is very lively, he’s got a bit of X-factor about him,” O’Bree said. “We have just got to get as many games into Jack as possible and expose him to different things that are at a high level.” After an inconsistent start to the year, Ryan Gardner returned to form as a quality lockdown defender on Saturday, shutting down key forward Jordan Lisle. The Port Melbourne spearhead kicked seven goals in round one but was kept goalless by Gardner in a strong showing by the young Cat. Jed Bews put his hand up for AFL selection, compiling a consistent game switching between forward and back. Bews was named best on ground for the Cats after finishing with 24 possessions, 14 of which were contested, along with four tackles. “I thought (Bews) was one of our better players, consistent on the day, tried to use the ball effectively and tried to do what he needed to do,” O’Bree said. Rhys Stanley also pushed his case for a senior recall, dominating in the ruck whilst having a strong impact around the ground. Stanley finished with 27 hitouts, 20 disposals and six marks to be amongst the Cats’ best. Geelong’s VFL contingent also provided a number of contributors with the evergreen Tom Atkins, Alex Hickey and Sam McLachlan performing admirably. The VFL Cats will return to Simonds Stadium next week and look to get back on track in their round three clash with Casey. VFL Round 2 – Bendigo Bank Cats 6.8 (44) def. by Port Melbourne 13.18 (96) Goals: Buzza, Hayball, Henry, Jones, Reid, Atkins Best: Bews, Edwards, Atkins, McLachlan, Stanley, O'Connor Reports: W. Buzza (Striking) Injuries: Floyd (Concussion) @ Simonds Stadium |
CRISPR provides a far easier and more specific way to edit genes than has been previously available. Editas Medicine, a company at the forefront of developing the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, has raised $120 million to create new treatments for conditions including cancer, retinal disease, and sickle-cell anemia. Monday’s announcement reflects a surge of interest in CRISPR, a technology that is only a few years old. It also serves to clarify the goals and strategy of Editas, which was founded by some of the most prominent inventors of the gene-editing system, including Feng Zhang, a researcher at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. “We’re here to make medicines,” Katrine Bosley, Editas’s CEO, declared in an interview at the company’s offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The new group of investors was led by Boris Nikolic, who was Bill Gates’s chief science and technology advisor at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is managing director of the investment company Bng0. Editas confirmed that Gates was also among the new investors, as are several other wealthy individuals whom the company declined to identify. Editas, which had previously raised $43 million before this latest round, is one of several private biotechnology companies that have been amassing cash in order to create new types of treatments. Earlier this year, for instance, the biotechnology company Moderna Therapeutics raised $450 million. Juno Therapeutics—which is trying to treat cancers by genetically engineering T cells, a key part of the immune system—raised more than $300 million before going public this year. CRISPR is particularly promising in making precise changes in cells. T cells taken from a patient could be edited and then infused back into a patient’s body, for example—an approach that Editas is developing through a partnership with Juno. Or cells could be fixed and put back in the blood of a patient with sickle-cell anemia. Such treatments, however, are in their early days. Editas is not yet running clinical trials involving CRISPR-edited cells. “We don’t want to get out there so fast with patients when we’re not ready, we don’t have the programs yet,” said Bosley. In addition to using T cells in treating blood cancers, a second major project Bosley will discuss involves treating a genetic retinal disease called LCA10, which causes blindness. A dysfunctional protein in the eye’s photoreceptors is to blame. Editas scientists have taken retinal cells out of patients with LCA10 and used CRISPR to give those cells proteins that function—in the lab, for now. Editas is also working on sickle-cell anemia. And, said Bosley, “there are some interesting viral diseases.” But she said Editas is not working on HIV, though its new investor Nikolic had been active in HIV-related investments while at the Gates Foundation. The funding comes less than two years after Editas was founded. “I was working out of a closet,” says Morgan Maeder, the first scientist Editas hired in October 2013. Now the company has just over 40 employees. |
Students welcomed Chancellor Carmen Fariña to the Washington Heights Educational Campus for a town hall meeting on Dec. 15, 2015. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Carolina Pichardo FORT GEORGE — Parents worried about cuts to school foreign-language programs were told by education chief Carmen Fariña that, if they don't like it, they should buy the pricey audio course Rosetta Stone. The schools chancellor slapped down concerns about the loss of language classes at a recent town hall meeting to discuss the effectiveness of dual-language programs and second-language learning in Uptown's District 6. When the mother of a seventh-grade student at the Mott Hall School told Fariña that her son had his French courses cut from twice to once a week amid a growing emphasis on STEM education — short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math — Fariña gave an answer that drew gasps from the room. "I’m going to give you my grandmother advice to this one. I have a 9-year-old grandson that loves language and I bought him Rosetta Stone for the holiday," she told the mom at the Dec. 15 meeting. The educational software, which retails for $200, is "a really good program," she added. "That’s something I strongly recommend. It’s very exciting." “First and foremost, be happy you have an embarrassment [of] riches," Fariña added, to the shock of many in the 1,200-person crowd that had gathered in the George Washington Educational Campus. Fariña also noted that Rosetta Stone can be "integrated" into after-school programs. "All you need is the use of a computer room and laptops," she said. Parents said they were blown away by the comment, given that 27 percent of the population in Washington Heights and Inwood lives below the federal poverty line, according to the U.S. Census. "Rosetta Stone is expensive," Kari Steeves, a local parent and former member of the Community Education Council for District 6, said after the meeting. “If she really means what she says about the importance of being bi- or multilingual, her policies should reflect that for all children, whether or not they're in a dual-language school.” Fariña has been a strong proponent of dual-language programs. This past year, the city created 40 new ones and expanded dual-language programs at schools across the five boroughs, bringing the total number to 154 and making it the single most requested program for parents. Of those dual-language programs, 21 are in District 6 alone, including at Inwood's Amistad and Washington Heights' Dos Puentes schools, according to district superintendent of elementary and middle schools Manuel Ramirez. The Mott Hall School parent was speaking about stand-alone foreign-language classes rather than dual-language programs, in which two languages are built into the curriculum. Judith de los Santos, principal for the Mott Hall School, said the cuts to foreign-language programs were necessary because the school was already exceeding the number of years that it had to be taught. Schools must provide one year of foreign-language instruction, which Mott Hall offers in eighth grade, she said. But students were also being taught in seventh grade. The Department of Education did not respond to questions about Fariña's Rosetta Stone remark. "The DOE has prioritized opening and expanding dual language programs and is committed to ensuring that all students have access to a great education regardless of their native language or zip code they live in," spokeswoman Yuridia Peña said in a statement. Fariña — who also highlighted her family’s travels to Spain and Miami and told how she emphasizes learning a second language to her grandchildren — said parents need to take the lead in how their children learn about different languages and cultures, and not just leave it to teachers. “I think this is something parents have to get,” Fariña said, “People with two languages actually have more assets than anyone else.” Fe Florimon, CEC president and chairwoman of the youth and education committee for Community Board 12, said the council has shared with the chancellor the district's concern about bilingual programs on several occasions. "This is the population that has a great problem with the [English] language," Florimon said. Although this was Fariña's second town hall in the district, she has come Uptown several times since her appointment in 2013 and meets regularly with principals, attends events and stays in constant communication with District 6's superintendents, Florimon said. For her part, Fariña said the dual-language programs have proven effective, and she's hoping that next year the number of schools carrying them will double. |
PARIS (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Thursday (July 28) confirmed that a National Guard would be formed from existing reserve forces to better protect citizens facing terror attacks. A "defence council" to be held early next month will hammer out the force's hierarchy and command structure, Mr Hollande's office said in a statement. Parliamentary consultations will follow in September in the hope that "this force can be created as fast as possible to protect the French". The announcement came after France suffered two attacks in less than a fortnight this month - in a bloody series that began with the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo killings - and the government has come under fierce criticism for alleged security lapses. Calls arose for the National Guard following the Nov 13, 2015 massacre in Paris that claimed 130 lives. The President said he hopes the guard, made up of volunteers from the police, paramilitary police and military, will be operational by early autumn. Mr Hollande had previously considered boosting existing reserves among the three groups. In this framework, some 15,000 operational reservists should be available by the end of the month "to ensure security for various events of the summer", Mr Hollande said while on a visit to south-western France. Earlier this month he said the Defence Ministry would call up 28,000 reservists for the coming weeks, while the paramilitary police will tap an extra 10,000 men and women who retired less than two years ago. In January, he called for the number of army reserves to be boosted from the current 28,000 to 40,000 by 2019. France has not had a national guard since 1872. Members of the very first one, formed in 1789 at the outset of the French Revolution over fears of a royalist coup, wore a blue, white and red rosette on their hats - the origin of the French national colours. |
Glenn Thrush, New York Times Sexual Deviant, Ousted From White House Press Job It was just announced that Glenn Thrush, the sexual deviant who writes for Carlos Slim’s New York Times blog, will no longer be covering the daily press briefings with Sarah Sanders. But get this: he will still be working at the New York Times. Hey @PressSec, now that @GlennThrush won't be preying on women in the WH anymore – can I have his seat? https://t.co/2saFcCGSsC — Lucian B. Wintrich (@lucianwintrich) December 21, 2017 A month ago, VOX wrote a lengthy report detailing the mounting claims of sexual harassment against correspondent Thrush; many of the reports and claims discuss the 50-year-old Thrush luring women as young as 23 into alcohol-induced “mentorships” that end with the young women in terrified and in tears. Three young women I interviewed, including the young woman who met Thrush in June, described to me a range of similar experiences, from unwanted groping and kissing to wet kisses out of nowhere to hazy sexual encounters that played out under the influence of alcohol. Each woman described feeling differently about these experiences: scared, violated, ashamed, weirded out. I was — and am — angry. Details of their stories suggest a pattern. All of the women were in their 20s at the time. They were relatively early in their careers compared to Thrush, who was the kind of seasoned journalist who would be good to know. At an event with alcohol, he made advances. Afterward, they (as I did) thought it best to stay on good terms with Thrush, whatever their feelings. An hour ago, the New York Times announced that Thrush would be reassigned within the organization. In a truly bizarre statement, Baquet admitted to Thrush’s outrageous and violent behavior but said that it is STILL not worthy of termination: “While we believe that Glenn has acted offensively, we have decided that he does not deserve to be fired.” “We understand that our colleagues and the public at large are grappling with what constitutes sexually offensive behavior in the workplace and what consequences are appropriate,” Mr. Baquet added. “Each case has to be evaluated based on individual circumstances. We believe this is an appropriate response to Glenn’s situation.” The NYT piece ends with an odd and tasteless list of Thrush’s “accomplishments” including Bobby Moynihan portraying him on “Saturday Night Live” because that’s every MSM reporter’s real goal. |
Highlighting: Every time a user signs a transaction, that transaction is factored into their own individual moving average. Any time a user’s moving average exceeds the current network limit their transaction is delayed until their average falls below the limit. Rate limiting based upon balances implies that there exist unique accounts with publicly knowable balances. Any account with a balance below the minimum required to transact once per week would be unable to transact. This implies that all new accounts should be funded with at least this minimum balance. Basically, this is the same business model as my bank account: everything is free as long as you have at least $5000 in your account, and you let the bank earn interest off of it and pay you 0.05...um, I mean 0.00%. Because there's still a rate limit, and that rate limit is still proportional to how much you put in (if you want to have 2x more transaction processing capacity, you could at the very least get two accounts), and as we've known since at least Bastiat the time value of money is itself worth money, this is basically an incredibly roundabout transaction fee scheme, and so it raises the question: are there other somewhat less roundabout transaction fee schemes that would also do the trick? The "gas" metaphor in Ethereum was chosen in part for this reason: it's supposed to feel like filling a tank of gas, driving around for a while, and filling it again. Gasoline is a micropayment system, and yet we've managed to avoid the problem of drivers anxiously deciding whether or not moving their car left one lane to get around a slow driver ahead of them is worth the $0.0057124 amortized cost. |
After a 10-month ordeal in the wake of a broken left wrist suffered last May while playing for Russia at the IIHF World Championships, Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov is scheduled to return to game action. The 23-year-old was formally reassigned to the Hershey Bears Friday for conditioning purposes and will make his 2014-15 season debut Friday night when the Manchester Monarchs visit Giant Center. "Today is a big day for me," Orlov said. "It's hard to explain what I feel right now. Just positive things. I'm ready to go." Orlov, who has practiced with Hershey since Tuesday, underwent surgery and lengthy rehabilitation for the injury. "It was tough mentally," Orlov said. "It's good to have my parents and my girlfriend to help me a lot, to help my mind be OK and try to, you know, not kill myself. It was tough to come to practice everyday and do bag skating and all this stuff." Orlov, a left shot who prefers to play right D, will pair with Mike Moore and also play on the second power play unit. Bears head coach Troy Mann said the plan is to get him 15 minutes of ice time. "We're all familiar with him, especially myself," Mann said. "There's a little bit of concern of rust, but I'm sure he's probably pretty excited to play his first game. Emotion, hopefully, will take over in terms of having a pretty solid game for us." Mann was Hershey's assistant coach and ran the defense during Orlov playing stints in Hershey starting late in the 2010-11 season and running through 2012-13. Orlov also played 11 games for Hershey last season. "He's a nice guy," Orlov said of Mann. "He always makes jokes. It's nice to be with this team. Everybody is together and coaches and whole staff and the team. "Right now, positive things happen and I'm pretty excited to be back. It's always fun to play. It was a tough time for me, but I try to forget and focus on this time when I can play. I need to try to get my confidence back, game feeling in all situations. I just hope I will be good." Orlov said he feels comfortable with his entire shot repertoire. "It feels pretty good," Orlov said. "Finally, I can shoot and can do one-timers. It's a long time and a long road for me." Mann said if things go well for Orlov Friday night, the plan is for him to sit Saturday and then play Sunday at Bridgeport and Wednesday against Worcester. "Then they'll sit down as an organization next week and make the decision on whether he can finish the year up there as one of their seven or shut him down for the season," Mann said. If Orlov can successfully return to Washington's active roster, it will increase organizational depth on the blue line and reduce the potential of recalls from Hershey. NOTEBOOK Former Bears winger Louis Robitaille, 33, now an assistant coach with Drummondville (QMJHL), was named an assistant coach for Canada's National Men's Under-18 team for the 2015 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. Former Caps assistant coach Tim Hunter was named head coach. Morning skate lines: Conner-Kennedy-Galiev Burakovsky-J. O'Brien-Wellman Gazley-Newbury-Brown L. O'Brien-Stephenson-Mitchell Extras: Cornet, Broda D-pairs: Schilling-Oleksy Schmidt-Carrick Moore-Orlov Landry-Burgdoerfer Extras: Djoos, Kundratek ON TWITTER: @timleone |
The White House on Saturday denied a report that President Donald Trump had demanded a royal carriage to ride in during an upcoming state visit to the U.K. “We have not even begun working on details for this trip,” a White House spokeswoman said, according to People. Earlier: President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding that a trip in a royal carriage be a part of his itinerary during a state visit to Britain later this year, according to the U.K.’s The Times. A carriage procession from London’s Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace is a normal part of the protocol for a state visit. But The Times notes that President Barack Obama chose not to travel in the carriage during a 2011 visit, opting instead to make the trip in his armored limousine. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. If Trump does travel by carriage, he could likely use the lavish gold-plated Diamond Jubilee State coach, which other foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, have used during past state visits. Sources told The Times that the carriage was not as secure as the president’s traditional armored vehicle, which is bulletproof and can protect against a chemical attack and a small bomb. Security officials are preparing for massive protests during Trump’s visit, which The Times reported will require unprecedented security. The Evening Standard reported in February that policing costs for the visit could be up to 7 million pounds. “The vehicle which carries the president of the United States is a spectacular vehicle. It is designed to withstand a massive attack like a low-level rocket grenade,” a source told The Times. “If he’s in that vehicle he is incredibly well protected and on top of that it can travel at enormous speed. If he is in a golden coach being dragged up the Mall by a couple of horses, the risk factor is dramatically increased.” The drain on resources for a carriage trip may be of little significance to Trump. He has stretched the Secret Service thin and spent millions in American taxpayer funds to protect his family and to take frequent weekend trips to his estate in Florida. Trump, known to obsess over imagery and the way he appears on television, toyed with the idea of having military equipment in his inaugural parade. More than 1.8 million people signed an online petition earlier this year arguing that Queen Elizabeth II shouldn’t extend a formal invitation for a state visit to Trump because “it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.” In January, British Prime Minister Theresa May extended an invitation to Trump on behalf of the queen for a state visit. He accepted. “This invitation reflects the importance of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office wrote in response to the petition. “At this stage, final dates have not yet been agreed for the State Visit.” |
The NCAA Tournament is getting set to come to a conclusion and the Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag is full. We continue to answer your questions! I had so many questions to clean out of the mailbag that I wanted to get to, that I decided to split it up into two posts. You can see Volume 5 of the Mailbag here, where I answer questions about the Magic’s draft needs and what the Magic need to go after in free agency. A lot of the questions are going to persist for the next few months. But I am happy to answer them. So as the NCAA Tournament winds down, I am finishing off my mailbag. Keep those images of Stanley Johnson, Mario Hezonja (more on him in a bit) and Willie Cauley-Stein dancing in your heads. It would also be nice for the Magic to get a new coach. I will address that some in this mailbag. And, oh by the way, the Magic season is winding down to its end as we are less than 10 games from the season’s end and getting a lot of these questions (finally) answered. If not satisfactorily answered. Phew, it will be very busy here in the Magic Kingdom for some time. If you have an Orlando Magic question, or any kind of question, send it to me for future mailbags at [email protected], or tweet at me anytime @omagicdaily. I save some for future mailbags and some I answer immediately. I am here for you. Let’s continue the mailbag: |
WHEN soldiers bundled Honduras’s elected president onto an aeroplane to Costa Rica in a coup in 2009, nobody believed that the Central American country would swiftly get back to normal. But even pessimists must be disappointed by what has happened. Although the constitutional crisis was resolved early in 2010 after the election as president of Porfirio Lobo and the return of Manuel Zelaya, his ousted predecessor, Honduras continues to march backwards. Gang violence, catalysed by drug trafficking, and weak law enforcement have given Honduras the highest murder rate in the world. Poor financial management and the hangover from a stop to aid after the coup have left the government struggling to pay its bills. And Congress has picked a fight with the judiciary, creating fresh constitutional strains just as the country gears up for another presidential election in November. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. The scale of violence is dizzying. Last year saw 86 murders per 100,000 people according to the National Autonomous University. That was about the same as in 2011, but more than double the Central American average—itself among the highest in the world (see chart). In 2012 Honduran men in their 20s faced a 1-in-300 chance of being murdered, or 1-in-150 in the most dangerous towns. Drug mafias, under pressure in Mexico, have set up in Honduras. In January the authorities discovered a cache of weapons, including a gold-plated AK-47, believed to belong to Mexico’s “Zetas” mob. Honduras’s wild coast and empty jungle provide landing points for some 40% of cocaine destined for the United States. Traffickers pay their hired help in drugs rather than cash, creating a local market and the mayhem that goes with it. Some of the violence comes from gangs known as maras, which migrants form in jails in the United States and remain members of in Central America after they are deported. Then there are seemingly targeted assassinations. At least 25 journalists, including eight last year, have been killed since the coup. Some members of the opposition have accused the government of snuffing out dissent. But Robert Marín, a reporter on El Heraldo, a newspaper, who has himself received threats, points out that journalists of all political stripes (and none) have been victims. So, too, have gay-rights campaigners—at least eight were killed last year—and lawyers, 15 of whom were murdered. However, these are by no means the people most at risk: some 60 taxi drivers were killed in 2012, in many cases following extortion attempts, and about 70 police. Last month the teenage son of a former police chief was shot dead. The underlying problem is that few of the killings are investigated, let alone punished. Even as Honduras’s murder rate has doubled, the number of police has fallen, from about 14,000 in 2009 to 13,000 now. Many supplement their $400 monthly wages by charging a “war tax” on citizens. A vetting programme begun in August tested 1,231 officers by the end of the year, firing 281 of them. A further 450 left voluntarily. The remainder are due to be vetted this year, and a thousand more recruited annually until the force reaches 20,000. Training time has been doubled, to 12 months. It will take a decade fully to restore faith in the police, which had “fallen into total discredit”, admits Héctor Mejía, the force’s spokesman. The army patrols with the police in Tegucigalpa, the capital, and in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, as part of an “emergency” measure renewed three times since it was introduced in 2011. Many Hondurans are taking protective measures into their own hands. In Villa Cecilia, a small working-class suburb of mechanics, seamstresses and policemen in Tegucigalpa, residents pay 700 lempiras ($35) per household per month to employ four security guards with shotguns. Next will come CCTV, an entry-phone system and a bigger perimeter wall. “If you want to sleep well, you have to pay”, shrugs Jiovanny Aguilera, a taxi driver whose home is protected by two metal doors, barbed wire, and a pair of large dogs. The city government has encouraged such barrios seguros, permitting residents to block off their streets. The poorest districts, built on steep hillsides lacking formal roads, remain unsealed. Despite the violence, Honduras’s economy grew by a respectable 3.3% last year, and clocked up record (legal) exports. A free-trade deal with Central America and the United States has helped to attract maquila factories and call-centres, and to protect investments from political turbulence. Remittances keep consumption going, as shown by the glitzy shopping malls mushrooming in the capital. But the resilient economy hides weak public finances. The government’s unpaid bills to its workers and contractors amount to 4% of GDP. Many teachers have stopped turning up at school. A standby agreement with the IMF has not been renewed. As a result, the World Bank has halted its budget support, though it plans to step up other project funding. The government has turned to borrowing in the expensive local market. It is considering an international bond issue. But last month Moody’s, a credit-rating agency, changed its outlook on Honduras’s already weak credit rating to negative. The government has told several loss-making state-owned companies to come up with reform plans by the end of March. But any savings may be squandered in the run-up to the election. Honduras’s politics has become as dysfunctional as its government and security forces. In December Congress voted to sack four Supreme Court justices who had repeatedly found new laws to be unconstitutional. Their replacements have been more co-operative, approving several controversial laws. One gives the legislature the power to sack senior public officials. “The rule of law in this country has broken down”, says Ramón Custodio, head of the official but independent Human Rights Commission. He is among the officials who can now be fired by Congress. He also worries about a media bill that promises new taxes and regulations, which newspapers have described as censorship. The head of Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, is the candidate of the ruling National Party in the presidential race. Polls show him neck and neck with Xiomara Castro, Mr Zelaya’s wife. Salvador Nasralla, a television personality, is running for a new Anti-Corruption Party. He has little chance of winning, but he may split the anti-Zelaya vote, to Ms Castro’s advantage. If Honduras is to halt its spiral of decline, it desperately needs strong democratic leadership and an end to its political splits. Neither looks likely. |
Several months ago, Facebook acquired messaging startup WhatsApp for a whopping $16 billion, plus an additional $3 billion for its founders and small staff . On Tuesday, Facebook announced that in 2012 and 2013, WhatsApp lost a combined $192.8 million. (WhatsApp famously has no advertising, and its current revenue model is to make money off annual subscription fees.) Facebook also disclosed for the first time how it arrived at that $16 billion purchasing figure: $15.3 billion of that was simply wrapped up in the nebulous accounting term: “goodwill.” "We're the most atypical Silicon Valley company you'll come across," Brian Acton, a WhatsApp co-founder, told Wired UK in February. "We were founded by thirtysomethings; we focused on business sustainability and revenue rather than getting big fast; we've been incognito almost all the time; we're mobile first; and we're global first." Brian Blau, an analyst with Gartner Research, told Ars that while the $15 billion goodwill figure is high, it's not as crazy as it may seem. "It is a big task for the WhatsApp and Facebook teams and this is a product they will need to focus on and really build as a community, but if there are missteps along the way then all that goodwill will be a sorely missed resource," he said. This announcement came on the same day that Facebook filed its quarterly earnings reports. This year, the social network giant profited $806 million in its third quarter, nearly double its total from the same period a year ago. |
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Munich's Police President Hubertus Andrae confirmed the suspect's death A shooting at a Munich shopping centre which left nine people dead was carried out by one gunman who then killed himself, German police have said. The suspect was an 18-year-old German-Iranian dual national who lived in Munich, police told a news conference, but his motive is unclear. Sixteen people were injured, three critically, police added. A huge manhunt was launched following reports that up to three gunmen had been involved in the attack. The body of the suspect was found about 1km (0.6 miles) from the Olympia shopping centre in the north-western suburb of Moosach. Events as they happened Munich shooting in pictures Eyewitness accounts Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae told the news conference early on Saturday that the suspect had not been known to police and there were no known links to terror groups, although investigations were continuing. The reports of three suspected attackers came when witnesses saw two people leaving the scene in a car "at considerable speed", but they were later confirmed not to be involved, he added. "The motive or explanation for this crime is completely unclear," he said. Mr Andrae also said that children were among the casualties, but gave no further details. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many people, including tourists, were stranded when the city main railway station was closed Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Armed police escorted people from the shopping centre after the shooting Following the attack, the Bavarian capital's transport system was suspended and the central railway station evacuated. Public transport was reopened several hours later when police gave a cautious "all clear". Thousands of people stranded by the emergency and unable to get home were offered shelter by local residents. First reports of the shooting came in just before 18:00 (16:00 GMT) on Friday. Witnesses said the attacker opened fire on members of the public at a fast-food restaurant in Hanauer Street before moving to the nearby Olympia shopping centre. A video circulated on social media showed a pistol-wielding man dressed in black walking away from a restaurant while firing on people as they fled. Police described it as "an acute terror situation" although officials stressed that the motive was as yet unknown. Witness Luan Zequiri, who was in the shopping centre, told German broadcaster N-TV that the attacker had been wearing military-style boots and a backpack. "I looked in his direction and he shot two people on the stairs," he said. Mr Zequiri said he hid in a shop but when he left he saw bodies of the dead and wounded on the ground. Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, told national TV: "We cannot rule out that it is linked to terrorism but we can't confirm it either, but we are also investigating in this direction." Mrs Merkel is to convene her government's security cabinet on Saturday. Police urged the public to avoid speculation on social media and to desist from using photos or video of their deployments online. German security forces have been on alert since a teenage migrant stabbed and injured five people on a train in Bavaria on Monday, in an attack claimed by so-called Islamic State. The authorities had warned of the danger of further incidents. Germany's allies rallied to give their support following Friday's attack. US President Barack Obama said the US would give "all the support that they may need in dealing with these circumstances". French President Francois Hollande offered his "sympathy and support to the German people in this difficult hour". British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he was "shocked and appalled" by the attack. "We stand ready to assist our friends in Germany," he added. |
Quote of Hacker: umad? turns out u guys dont own us the community fights back we wont take your s*** u ban us from ur game u hide your codes u run stop its time for the community to take over you let idiots like elf and raider run your servers and you expect security you expect me to run away from a home ipd box i lold. you wont figure out how i got in you wont rid yourselfs of me guess what happens next you loose control no more dictatorship no more closed source only community only success no more fs goodbye fs we wont miss you Link to source removed as it's a criminal act and we can't verify it's free from viruses. good bye As you may be aware of the event unfolding this weekend we have had a data breach which resulted in all of our sources stolen. This has been confirmed both by our own investigations of the server in question and of course the public release of our code base.Today RaideR received this email:Of course this is going to have some long lasting and major impact on how Urban Terror is developed going forward. Honestly, they have had a victory, let's not be naive about that. They got what they wanted and pretty sure it has the desired effect. To say otherwise would be foolish.However, it is the strong reservation of this team that we will not simply "roll over and die" which seems to be the personal mission of "persons unknown". We won't go after them, such a pursuit would be futile, but almost certainly we will not quit simply because some bullies want us to.In the coming days we will have some major changes (obviously) in the way that this team will move forward on our project. In addition we would like to make the following statement.The source code for 4.2 was taken and published without consent and the theft has been reported to law enforcement. While we won't actively pursue the case, this data is stolen property and we ask that should you come across these sources that you do not use them. Crime has been committed here and while we have little to no interest in pursuing the individuals responsible we appreciate any information people have regarding the incident.This is an attack on Frozensand and this community, we have been abused and forcibly violated. No less by people who claim to be acting in its best interests.Further information will follow this public statement in the near future!Regards,Team FSYou can discuss this on our forums |
Source: The Humanist and ArtVoice March/April 2003 Title: “What bush didn’t want you to know about Iraq” Author: Michael I. Niman Faculty Evaluator: Thom Lough Ph.D. Student Researcher: Lindsey Brage, Licia Marshall First covered by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! Throughout the winter of 2002, the Bush administration publicly accused Iraqi weapons declarations of being incomplete. The almost unbelievable reality of this situation is that it was the United States itself that had removed over 8,000 pages of the 11,800 page original report. This came as no surprise to Europeans however, as Iraq had made extra copies of the complete weapons declaration report and unofficially distributed them to journalists throughout Europe. The Berlin newspaper Die Tageszetung broke the story on December 19, 2002 in an article by Andreas Zumach. At the same time, according to the investigation by Michael Niman, the Iraq government sent out official copies of the report on November 3, 2002. One, classified as “secret,” was sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency, another copy went to the UN Security Council. The U.S. convinced Colombia, chair of the Security Council and current target of U.S. military occupation and financial aid, to look the other way while the report was removed, edited, and returned. Other members of the Security Council such as Britain, France, China and Russia, were implicated in the missing pages as well (China and Russia were still arming Iraq) and had little desire to expose the United States’ transgression. So all members accepted the new, abbreviated version. But what was in the missing pages that the Bush administration felt was so threatening that they had to be removed? What information were Europeans privy to that Americans were not? According to Niman, “The missing pages implicated twenty-four U.S.-based corporations and the successive Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. administration in connection with the illegal supplying of Saddam Hussein government with myriad weapons of mass destruction and the training to use them.” Groups documented in the original report that were supporting Iraq’s weapons programs prior to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait included: – Eastman Kodak, Dupont, Honeywell, Rockwell, Sperry, Hewlett-Packard, and Bechtel, – U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture and Department of Defense, – Nuclear weapons labs such as Lawrence-Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia. Beginning in 1983, the U.S. was involved in eighty shipments of biological and chemical components, including strains of botulism toxin, anthrax, gangrene bacteria, West Nile fever virus, and Dengue fever virus. These shipments continued even after Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran in 1984. Later, in 1988 Iraq used the chemical weapons against the Kurds. But perhaps most importantly, the missing pages contain information that could potentially make a case for war crimes against officials within the Reagan and the Bush Sr. administrations. This includes the current Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld – for his collaboration with Saddam Hussein leading up to the massacres of Iraqi Kurds and acting as liaison for U.S. military aid during the war between Iraq and Iran. UPDATE BY MICHAEL I. NIMAN: The first time I had a story nominated for a Project Censored award was in 1989 after I went into the bush on Costa Rica’s remote Osa Peninsula to track pirate gold miners and the U.S. military. I drank stagnant water to battle dehydration and picked ticks from my body. In short, I went after the story. This was different. I didn’t break this story. It was broken by German reporter Andreas Zumach and brought to the U.S. by Amy Goodman on her Democracy Now radio show. No media outlet in my hometown of Buffalo covered it, so I added some media analysis, a few rants about censorship, and ran it in Buffalo’s weekly ArtVoice. Since the national media never picked up the story, The Humanist took my story nationwide. I didn’t use primary sources for this story. I just monitored the alternative and foreign press. With such thorough self-censorship in the U.S. press – reading the international press is now akin to going into the remote bush. It is now five months later and there are still no new developments regarding this story. No corporate or government figures have been indicted. There is no investigation. The major media still hasn’t carried the story. In its place, however, most media outlets ran false pronouncements from the Bush administration about pending Iraqi weapons programs. We now know that these weapons no longer existed. And that the Bush administration was able to hijack the U.S. into war based on a combination of misinformation and missing information. |
An Arizona company that makes traffic cameras may have systematically bribed public officials, including some in Massachusetts, in exchange for contracts, according to a lawsuit filed by a former employee. Aaron Rosenberg, the one-time executive vice president of sales for Redflex Traffic Systems, claimed in court filings that he was “carrying out orders’’ from the company’s executives and Board of Directors when he bribed officials in at least 13 states, including Massachusetts. Redflex, which denies Roesenberg’s claims, had a company-wide practice of “lavishly providing customers, including government officials, with perquisites and gifts in various forms,’’ Rosenberg claimed in suit against the company. He said the bribes often took the form of meals, golf outings and tickets to sporting events. Advertisement Redflex executives set aside money for bribes in the “entertainment’’ expense category of the company’s annual budget, Rosenberg said. “There was never a distinction between those types of entertainment expenses and expenses that are considered gratuities and bribes,’’ he claimed in the suit. Redflex fired Rosenberg and five other executives last February, after the Chicago Tribune reported that money and bribes had been flowing from the company to a city official in charge of Chicago’s traffic camera program. In a suit filed in Arizona the same month, the company blamed Rosenberg for the scheme. In October, Rosenberg countersued the company, claiming Redflex had defamed him by alleging he was solely responsible for the bribes. Rosenberg did not name specific officials or municipalities that received bribes in his countersuit. He said he was cooperating with authorities investigating Redflex. In December 2006, Redflex signed a three year contract with Saugus to install traffic cameras at up to 10 intersections in the town, according to the company’s SEC filings. The cameras were designed to capture the license plate numbers of cars that sped through red lights. They were never installed, however, and Redflex was never paid because the state legislature did not pass legislation allowing the town to use the cameras, said Andrew Bisignani, who was Saugus’ town manager at the time. Advertisement “I can tell you that [bribery] never happened with us, it was all above board,’’ he said. “It was a very transparent process.’’ Saugus’ police department, fire department, and Board of Selectmen all signed off on the Redflex contract before it was finalized, Bisignani said. As of 2008, the last year Redflex submitted SEC filings, Saugus was the only municipality in Massachusetts to contract with the company. Redflex vehemently denied Rosenberg’s accusations in a statement released last month. “Redflex will aggressively defend itself against the allegations as well as prosecute its claims against the former executive,’’ the company said. “We are committed to transparency and honesty in our business practices. Our focus continues to be on providing best in class customer service and technology to our clients to make their communities safer.’’ |
Luke 19:1-10 New International Version (NIV) Zacchaeus the Tax Collector 19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” |
C-130 Hercules News Accident report for Jalalabad C-130J crash released Air Mobility Command has released the results of an accident investigation that examined what caused the Oct. 2, crash of C-130J-30 #08-3174 during a takeoff from Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, which killed all 11 individuals onboard and three Afghan Special Reaction Force (ASRF) members on the ground. USAF C-130J #08-3174 from 40 AS seen recovering to Nellis AFB during MAFEX 11-1 on May 18, 2011. [Photo by Bruce Smith] However, because the pilots were operating in darkened nighttime flying conditions and wearing NVGs, neither pilot recognized and removed the NVG case after loading operations were complete or during takeoff. Once airborne, the aircraft increased in an excessive upward pitch during the takeoff climb. The co-pilot misidentified the flight control problem as a trim malfunction, resulting in improper recovery techniques. The rapid increase in pitch angle resulted in a stall from which the pilots were unable to recover. The aircraft impacted approximately 28 seconds after liftoff, right of the runway, within the confines of Jalalabad Airfield. The aircraft struck the ground, a perimeter wall and a guard tower, which resulted in all personnel onboard the aircraft being killed, along with three ASRF members assigned to the tower. "Our hearts go out to the family members and friends of those killed in this accident," said Brig. Gen. Patrick X. Mordente, who led the accident investigation board. "The investigation team pushed an intense fact-finding investigation to understand what happened on Oct. 2, 2015, and to honor all whose lives were cut short." The crew consisted of the pilot, copilot, and two loadmasters assigned to the 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Also on board were two fly-away security team members assigned to the 66th Security Forces Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass, and five civilian contractor passengers. The aircraft was from the 317th Airlift Group, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and operated by the 39th Airlift Squadron. While operating at the deployed location, the aircraft and crew were assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. April 15, 2016 (by Asif Shamim) -The crew flew a successful mission from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to Jalalabad Airfield. While conducting engine running on-load/offload operations at Jalalabad Airfield, the pilot raised the elevators mounted to the horizontal stabilizer by pulling back on the yoke. This provided additional clearance to assist with offloading tall cargo. After a period of time in which the pilot held the yoke by hand, he placed a hard-shell night vision goggle (NVG) case in front of the yoke to hold the elevator in a raised position.However, because the pilots were operating in darkened nighttime flying conditions and wearing NVGs, neither pilot recognized and removed the NVG case after loading operations were complete or during takeoff. Once airborne, the aircraft increased in an excessive upward pitch during the takeoff climb. The co-pilot misidentified the flight control problem as a trim malfunction, resulting in improper recovery techniques. The rapid increase in pitch angle resulted in a stall from which the pilots were unable to recover. The aircraft impacted approximately 28 seconds after liftoff, right of the runway, within the confines of Jalalabad Airfield.The aircraft struck the ground, a perimeter wall and a guard tower, which resulted in all personnel onboard the aircraft being killed, along with three ASRF members assigned to the tower."Our hearts go out to the family members and friends of those killed in this accident," said Brig. Gen. Patrick X. Mordente, who led the accident investigation board. "The investigation team pushed an intense fact-finding investigation to understand what happened on Oct. 2, 2015, and to honor all whose lives were cut short."The crew consisted of the pilot, copilot, and two loadmasters assigned to the 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Also on board were two fly-away security team members assigned to the 66th Security Forces Squadron, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass, and five civilian contractor passengers.The aircraft was from the 317th Airlift Group, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and operated by the 39th Airlift Squadron. While operating at the deployed location, the aircraft and crew were assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Air Mobility Command Public Affairs Related articles: C-130J crashes in Afghanistan (2015-10-01) C-130 Hercules news archive External link: Accident Investigation Report (PDF) Forum discussion: Start a discussion about this article in the C-130.net forum. Tags |
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California will move its presidential primary from June to March under a bill signed on Wednesday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, a change aimed at giving the liberal-leaning state more influence in choosing candidates from either national party. FILE PHOTO - A poll worker places a mail-in ballot into a voting box as voters drop off their ballot in the U.S. presidential primary election in San Diego, California, United States, June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The most populous U.S. state, which voted heavily for Democrat Hillary Clinton in November’s presidential election, has traditionally held its primary so late that Democratic and Republican voters in other states had essentially already chosen their parties’ candidates. “The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” said Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat who backed the change, in a statement. “Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.” The bill was passed mostly along party lines in the majority-Democrat legislature. The new date will leave the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in place as the first and second contests of the presidential election cycle, during which voters in each state choose the candidate they would like their party to nominate for president. Because California’s primary has been in June while others were held earlier, candidates have largely ignored the state, spending less on outreach than elsewhere, making fewer visits, and failing to prioritize California voters’ concerns in their campaigns, supporters said. In 2016, California Democrats chose Clinton and Republicans opted for Donald Trump, the populist businessman who ultimately won the presidency. Backers in the legislature said the early primary would lead to less divisive choices by members of both major parties in the 2020 election cycle, and establish California as a leading voice in the choice of candidates. Progressive Democrats also believe that moving the primary up could result in their party’s selection of more liberal candidates. “California is the beating heart of the national resistance to Trump, and California Democrats are defining the progressive agenda for America,” state Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman said in a press release. “When it comes to deciding the Democratic nominee, our voices need to be heard early in the process.” |
Welcome to Cybracero Systems. These days, it’s hard to avoid the news: America is facing a crisis unlike any seen before. A combination of economic catastrophes and international security challenges threatens the very fabric of our nation. Central to these challenges is one issue: immigration. Immigration is an economic issue -- in many sectors our economy relies on immigrant labor. It is also a security issue -- our borders must be sealed. However, if America solves the immigration crisis through true border security, it could further weaken the economy, by removing a source of low cost labor. CYBRACERO SYSTEMS believes “We can have it all!” Our business model is the first to use network technology, and cutting-edge robotics, to create a final solution to the immigration crisis – and keep America competitive along the way. On this site, we’ll elaborate on exactly how the multiple challenges facing America can be turned into opportunities. This is a time of great change, and for CYBRACERO SYSTEMS, great hope. |
MIT Trying To Block The Release Of Aaron Swartz's Secret Service File from the sharing-of-knowledge dept I have never, in fifteen years of reporting, seen a non-governmental party argue for the right to interfere in a Freedom of Information Act release of government documents. My lawyer, David Sobel, has been litigating FOIA for decades, and he’s never encountered it either. It’s saddening to see an academic institution set this precedent. It's not all that uncommon to see government agencies try to refuse to release information that is subject to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request -- but to have a non-governmental third party jump into a FOIA request to seek to block the info from being released? That's pretty damn rare. But it's happened -- and, amazingly, the third party is MIT, a school that is supposedly dedicated to advancing knowledge . Except, apparently, if that knowledge is going to make MIT look bad.We recently noted that Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly had ordered Homeland Security to release the Secret Service file on Aaron Swartz that had been requested by Wired reporter/editor Kevin Poulsen. However, MIT has now stepped into the case trying to block the release of the information . The judge has consented to putting a stay on the initial order until MIT can file its motion.MIT's concern -- as it was in a separate legal fight concerning releasing the evidence used against Aaron -- is apparently that the released documents will reveal which MIT employees helped with the investigation, and that could lead to unwarranted harassment. However, as Poulsen notes, the documents that have already been released have been redacting those names, so it's unlikely that these further releases would leave those same names unredacted.The larger issue, however, is that an institute of higher learning, one which supposedly supports information sharing and knowledge transfer, is intervening in a FOIA case to actively support keeping information from the public. This is quite incredible, and a rather shameful move from the MIT administration, following a string of similarly shameful moves having to do with how it handled the Swartz situation from the very beginning. As Poulsen notes, the situation is incredibly rare:MIT was one of the first universities to support open online courses. It has a long history of encouraging the open exchange and sharing of knowledge and information. It seems like quite a departure from its history and mission to suddenly focus on trying to increase the government's secrecy and blocking access to information. Filed Under: aaron swartz, foia, homeland security, mit, public information |
youtube.com Jon M. Chu in his Crazy Rich Asians casting call “This guy has a great look; his accent is close. He seems like he’s Australian,” filmmaker Jon M. Chu said to BuzzFeed News as he sat perched on a couch in the airy living room of his West Hollywood home in late February. He was watching an audition video on YouTube that had been submitted by one of the thousands of actors hoping to land a part in his upcoming film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians. A small smile crept across the director’s face, as his eyes stayed glued to the computer screen. Weeks prior, Chu had released a video of his own, requesting aspiring Asian and Asian-American actors to post audition tapes online to be considered for a part in Crazy Rich Asians. “We’ve done open calls before on some of my other movies,” he said. “[The actors] are not always the highest quality because they are inexperienced, but I always find a couple — sometimes many — people who just never had that opportunity.” The move to bust the audition process wide open is one way Chu hopes to make good on his promise: that Crazy Rich Asians would comprise “amazing Asian actors cast in EVERY SINGLE ROLE.” His pronouncement followed a particularly egregious season of Hollywood “whitewashing” and now, nearly a year since he set that goal, the Step Up director intends to deliver, but finding a “cream-of-the-crop Asian cast” has proven to take some time. View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @jonmchu Chu and Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan For one thing, Crazy Rich Asians — originally a bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan — consists of more than a dozen distinctive characters. There’s Chinese-American Rachel Chu, who travels with her Singapore-born boyfriend for a wedding in his homeland. There, she meets her partner’s mother, his Hong Kong-bred cousin, and another cousin from London, among many other roles that require actors to adeptly speak with a British or Singaporean accent on top of having what Chu describes as an X factor. “When you have a wide range of characters that you’re supposed to find, they’re not going to be people you know necessarily,” Chu said. “When I do a ‘regular’ movie with Caucasian actors as the leads,” he said with a small laugh, gesturing with air quotes,“… actors are everywhere.” That’s not the case when it comes to finding Asian actors, he said, but it’s not because there aren’t enough Asians to audition. In fact, the director attacked the myth that there are few Asian entertainers (“There are so many!”) and explained that, rather, it’s a consequence of the lack of roles written for them. When actors can’t land managers, agents, or other representation, they have less of an opportunity for exposure, and the vicious circle spins on. “There are not parts for these people, and so … why would they have a manager?” Chu's search for Asian male leads has been particularly challenging, because he needs five of them. “It’s a systemic problem because there aren’t enough leading-man roles for people to cut their teeth on and learn how to be a leading man,” he explained. “As an Asian male myself, I feel like this representation is very important to me, and I want it to be a range of dudes that have a range of looks and feels, so it’s not just one-note either.” Although Chu said Warner Bros., the studio behind the forthcoming film, has been supportive of his vision and has agreed to invest “more money, more time, more effort” into finding actors who fit the bill, he wanted to cast a wider net for those who aren’t established names already. Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Constance Wu at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards “Even though we’ve seen thousands of professional actors and now thousands of new people who want to pursue acting … it is still very difficult,” Chu said. “[We] realized mainland Chinese actors can’t necessarily do an English accent properly or understand the strife of an Asian-American character.” Fortunately for Chu, he at least has found one of his leading women in Constance Wu, who signed on as Rachel, the Chinese-American girl-next-door naïve to her boyfriend’s lavish world — and to his scheming, status-obsessed family. “When we started to develop this movie, I always had her in mind but didn’t know if she would ever do it,” Chu said of Wu. The pair met last year to discuss the prospect of her joining the film, but the actor was filming Fresh Off the Boat Season 2 through the end of 2016, which was the same time production on the movie was slated to begin. However, she later asked him to delay production until she was done shooting Fresh Off the Boat so that she could join the cast, he revealed. “She wrote an email to me and said, ‘I know there are some logistical things that are in our way, but I keep thinking about the book … I think it’s a very important story to tell. I think we can tell it together.’” Chu shared her note with the movie’s producers, who agreed to Wu’s request. Some very exciting news for y'all ❤️️ so much love and gratitude for this https://t.co/OVBCgKaNvx “I always wanted a true Asian-American to represent the journey of Rachel, and she was always the perfect person,” he said, grinning. (Wu did not respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment.) While he is thrilled to have Wu on board, there are other issues that have “kept me up at night.” “One of the biggest questions now is: Do we have to hire a Chinese to play a Chinese? Can you have a Korean play a Chinese? Can you have a Japanese play a Chinese? Can you have a mix?” Chu said. He admitted to consulting many friends and colleagues involved in Asian-American entertainment — his own private “brain trust” — for their thoughts on the matter. So far, he’s heard a range of opinions, though he thinks limiting his cast to solely those of Chinese descent would be “a ridiculous ask.” “That’s saying, ‘Oh you’re Chinese, you can’t come to the call. You can only come to the call if you’re Japanese.’ I get that we look different, but at the same time, there are passable tradeoffs in the same way Caucasian actors are passable,” he said, visibly frustrated. “That would take out so many opportunities for so many Asian actors. I mean, Meryl Streep can play any ethnicity that she kind of looks like. We have US soldiers being played by British dudes and superheroes — very American superheroes — being played by other people, so why do [Asian-Americans] need to have that kind of restriction?” At the same time, Chu said, “It’s definitely a priority to try to get ethnicity as accurate as possible.” And he understands why some see the need for ethnicity-specific casting, citing the problem of Memoirs of a Geisha, which features three Chinese actors as Japanese women. “Maybe it’s because Memoirs of a Geisha is so culturally Japanese.” Columbia Pictures Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Gong Li in Memoirs of a Geisha |
On Monday, the trial began in the case against Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, former aides of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who were allegedly involved in orchestrating lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as payback against a political opponent. The scandal, known as “Bridgegate,” caused traffic delays that affected emergency vehicles responding to calls, and significantly longer trips for commuters. It was allegedly done after Mark Sokolich, the Democratic Mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, didn’t endorse Christie when he ran for reelection. Opening statements in the case took place Monday morning, and prosecutors let out a little bombshell. They claimed that Gov. Christie knew about the plot when it was happening in 2013. Christie has long denied being behind it or having any knowledge of the scheme. The prosecution alleged that Baroni and co-conspirator David Wildstein bragged to Christie about the lane closures when it happened, and that the point of it was to “mess” with Sokolich. Defense attorneys had previously indicated that Christie had knowledge of the operation, but this was the first time prosecutors made that claim. LawNewz.com will provide updates on the case as it unfolds. [Image via Rich Koele/Shutterstock] |
Denver, Colorado (CNN) -- During emergency drills at Deer Creek Middle School, teacher David Benke used to tell his students that if anything ever happened, he wanted to be able to "do something about it." When he saw a man shooting at students as they were leaving the Littleton, Colorado, school on Tuesday, "What was going through my mind," Benke said, "was that I promised." Benke tackled the gunman, who had shot and wounded two students, and with the help of another teacher and some bus drivers, was able to hold him until police arrived. "I noticed that he was working a bolt-action rifle," he said. "I noticed that and realized that I had time to get him before he could chamber another round." Still, Benke told reporters Wednesday, "it bothers me that I was a little bit late. It bothers me that he got the second shot off" and struck a second student. Authorities identified the suspect as Bruco Strongeagle Eastwood, 32. Eastwood, who police said had been a student at the school in the 1990s, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder. He appeared in court via video link from jail Wednesday morning. CNN affiliate KUSA reported a judge ordered him held on $1 million bond. If he does post bond, the court ordered that he have no contact with anyone under 18 and said he must seek mental health treatment, KUSA reported. It also said that if he posts bond, he cannot possess alcohol, drugs or firearms and must be monitored by GPS. The affiliate said Eastwood's next court appearance is March 2. Authorities released no information about a motive in the shooting, saying the case was still under investigation. Deer Creek is two miles from Columbine High School, site of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, where 12 students and one teacher were killed in 1999. The two gunmen, both Columbine students, then turned their guns on themselves. The students wounded Tuesday, a boy and a girl, were taken to Littleton Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, a sheriff's office spokeswoman said. Principal Rob Hoover said one is doing well and the other was "progressing well" but was still hospitalized. Both students were eighth-graders, the school district said. KUSA reported one was Reagan Weber, who was treated and released from Littleton Adventist Hospital. The other, Matthew Thieu, was in serious condition at Children's Hospital. In a written statement, his mother expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support, but asked for privacy as she focuses on his recovery. She said her son was recovering from a fractured rib and a lung injury. Eastwood's father, War Eagle Eastwood, told KUSA that his son had struggled with mental illness, was behind on bills and couldn't hold a job because of his "not really knowing what he's doing half the time." His son, who heard voices, tried to seek help, he said, but had no money to pay for it. Bruco Eastwood had been cooperative with investigators, said Jefferson County sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley. Eastwood had been living with his father for about five years, and was unemployed other than working as "kind of a ranch hand" for his father, she said. He had been attending a community college attempting to get his GED. The rifle used belonged to Eastwood's father, she said. Authorities found additional rounds around the school property. School officials could not give many details to reporters Wednesday because of an ongoing police investigation, but Hoover said the suspect had come inside the school earlier and signed in. "We know he did that much, but then we know he left, and that was all we knew at that point." Assistant Principal Becky Brown told reporters she ran outside after hearing "the pop" and saw Benke tackle the suspect. "When I saw Dr. Benke and the look on his face, I knew that we needed to help," she said. While Benke and the suspect struggled on the ground, she grabbed the gun "and got it out of there," she said. Benke said the suspect threatened to sue him during the struggle, saying he was using excessive force. Asked why she ran toward gunshots when others might flee, Brown grew emotional as she said, "Those kids are my kids, and it's important, and my teachers, we're like family." "You're just doing what you can do to try and protect your kids," Benke said. CNN's Andy Rose contributed to this report. |
I hate to say it, but I get some bad writer’s block sometimes, and I’ve discovered some easy ways to plow through even some of the worst blocks. I’ll give you my favorite six ways to move your cursor further in the page and get you towards that print button. 1. Dreams I always keep a notebook by my bed, and as soon as I get a dream I write it down. Hopefully when I wake up, I’ll have a new perspective on something or a new idea entirely. Why it works: Often, dreams present a problem we are dealing with a random cast of characters and a jumbling of everything. There is no conscience when we dream, so there is no one to say; hey, this is ludicrous or that’s not possible. It may be just the right mixture of truth and ridiculousness to get you through your block. 2. Coffee Coffee is my best friend, and when I’m writing it’s always there beside me. If I’m struggling on a piece of writing, I’ll switch up my mugs or the blend of beans. Why it works: it just does. I swear. Okay, I do not have any facts to back this up. At least, it can’t hurt. 3. Change what you are writing Give yourself a break. If you are struggling, try working on another piece, write an email, or hell write a love letter. Write something. Why it works: getting your mind off of what you are struggling with will allow you possibly to revisit the problem after a break. Also, get the writing juices flowing; then head back to take out that writer’s block. 4. Read something inspiring When I cannot find the write words, I often just read books on grammar, writing, or writer’s biographies. It will get me inspired to forge ahead in whatever I’m doing. It also might give me some way of solving a problem that caused my writer’s block. Why it works: reading about how someone conquers their own issues will only help encourage you to do the same with yours. 5. Ask a friend Have a friend look at your writing and see if he/she has some input or even some words of encouragement. Why it works: You may be solid in why you chose what you chose, but maybe your friend has a couple questions that challenge where your writer’s block may have originated. Even if they just say it was good, that might be enough positive reinforcement you need to wage ahead. 6. Change of Scenery If you are at your apartment, go to the local coffee shop. If you are at your local coffee shop, go to the park. If you are at the park, go to the library. Change where you are and what you are looking at. Why it works: Different scenery will change what you hear and see, which may help you need to overcome your struggles. |
LGBT people of color face a high risk of suffering from poverty because of discrimination and lack of strong legal protections, according to a new report released on Thursday. An estimated 3 million American adults identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people of color, according to the report co-authored by the left-leaning Center for American Progress, a think tank, and the LGBT-focused advocacy group the Movement Advancement Project. Black, Latino, Native American and Asian LGBT people are more likely to be poor than white LGBT people, the report said, with transgender people suffering from poverty most of all. “Disproportionate numbers of LGBT people of color live in places that lack any explicit state-level protections for LGBT people,” Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, said in a release. “This means that LGBT people of color face a high risk of economic harm from anti-LGBT laws.” While the report (PDF) said research in this area is limited, LGBT people of color are more likely than white LGBT people to suffer from poverty. For example, black Americans in same-sex couples are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than those in opposite-sex married couples. While the average unemployment rate among the general LGBT population in the U.S. hovers around 8 percent, according to the report, the number reaches 15 percent among that population who are black, 14 percent among those who are Latino, and 11 percent among those who are Asian/Pacific Islander. But transgender people of color are most threatened by extreme poverty: Some 28 percent of Latino trans people, 34 percent of black trans people, 23 percent of Native American trans people and 18 percent of Asian or Pacific Islander trans people are extremely poor, with annual household incomes of $10,000 or less. That’s compared with 15 percent of the trans population as a whole that suffers from extreme poverty. Being an LGBT racial minority has an even stronger impact when it comes to wage discrimination, the report said, because black and Latino workers make between 17 to 43 percent less than white and Asian workers. “Additionally, workers of color, and likely LGBT workers of color, are heavily concentrated in low-wage jobs that lack opportunities for advancement or benefits,” the authors wrote. The federal Civil Rights Act protects against workplace discrimination based on “sex,” the report points out, but it may not be specific enough to apply to gay, bisexual and lesbian workers. In absence of a federal law explicitly protecting LGBT people against job discrimination, those living in the 22 states and the District of Columbia that do have laws protecting LGBT people against employment discrimination have better luck. However, just 19 of those states protect against employment discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity expression, and in the rest of the country, LGBT employees can be fired based on their sexuality or gender identity. When it comes to health care, LGBT people of color are less likely to have health insurance than whites and more likely to experience discrimination from health workers. For example, while 82 percent of white LGBT people are insured, just 61 percent of Latino LGBT people, 71 percent of Asian LGBT people and 79 percent of black LGBT people have health insurance. The report, citing a survey from Lambda Legal, (PDF), a civil rights organization, said that 7 percent of gay, lesbian and bisexual people of color have experienced physically rough or abusive treatment in health care settings, 11 percent have been denied care and 14 percent were spoken to harshly. Among transgender people of color, it was far worse — 29 percent were denied care, 25 percent were spoken to harshly, and health care workers would not even touch 18 percent of them. The authors of the report recommended that lawmakers strengthen federal and state-level laws to explicitly protect against housing, employment and public accommodation discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. They also recommend that government agencies and other researchers who do population surveys should include questions about gender identity and sexual orientation so they can have a better idea about how to better serve the needs of the LGBT population. “Eliminating the injustice and the financial penalties facing LGBT Americans of color simply requires that they, and their families, be treated equally under the law,” the report said. |
You’re about to hear quite a lot—again—about the Republican National Committee’s “Growth and Opportunity Project.” That was the official name of he party’s “autopsy” on the 2012 election. In the wake of Mitt Romney’s defeat, Republicans focused extensively on the party’s inability to appeal to the core of Barack Obama’s coalition: minority voters and women. It also noted the party’s problem with young voters. In 2016, Donald Trump and the party he now leads set fire to the “autopsy” and disregarded its recommendations. The problems the party faces with these demographics have only been exacerbated by Trump’s campaign. That is particularly true for the youngest elements of the electorate. Given the drubbing the GOP appears set to endure in the fall, the question the party must ask itself is whether it has alienated an entire generation for good. Research suggests that an individual’s first vote, particularly their first presidential vote, is a powerful determinative force that shapes his political perceptions and self-identification for most of his adult life. “The clearest pattern is that younger voters who turned 18 during the presidencies of Clinton, Bush or Obama –the younger members of Gen X and the Millennial generation – have typically voted much more Democratic than the average,” read Pew Research Center’s report on political affiliation across generations, citing data spanning nearly 20 years. Their conclusion, that the national political environment and electoral events that occur when a voter reaches 18 are formative, is supported by the findings of the New York Times’ “Upshot” team. They found that political events and the sitting president’s approval ratings “at age 18 are about three times as powerful as those at age 40” when gauging effects on political identity. This isn’t to say that these voters cannot be wooed by the party with which they do not identify later in their adult life, but that first impressions are by far the most important. Trump’s performance among young voters is among his worst. A national Marist University survey released last week showed Trump drawing the support of 17 percent of young voters, well behind Hillary Clinton’s 53 percent and “neither,” which garnered 26 percent of the youth vote. Trump fares no better in surveys that include all the options on the ballot in November, including Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. A YouGov/Economist poll found 22 percent of voters “under 30” backing Trump. Fox News’ latest poll found Clinton winning 50 percent of voters “under 35” backing Clinton with 23 percent supporting Trump to 19 percent backing Johnson—well within that subsample’s margin of error. Investors Business Daily’s latest survey showed the youngest eligible voters are the most repelled by their choices in 2016. That survey found Trump in fourth place with the backing of just 12 percent of the Millennial vote. Now, young voters are notoriously unlikely voters, and they appear unenthusiastic about their choices in November. It is therefore reasonable to assume that young voters will make up a smaller portion of the electorate this year than they had in past presidential cycles (in 2012, voters aged 18 – 24 made up 11 percent of the electorate, down from the high watermark of 2008, when young voters made up 18 percent of the vote). Cold comfort for Republicans. This year, Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest living generation in America. They will grow up, and their turnout rates will increase as they age. They voted enthusiastically for Barack Obama, a president who will likely leave office with a majority of Americans approving of the job he did as president. The Republican brand to which they’ve become accustomed is represented by a man they find unambiguously racist, bigoted, and backward-looking. An entire generation’s formative period will be one in which identifying with Republicans is socially unacceptable. Hillary Clinton is by no means the draw for young voters that Obama was, and Republicans have a deep stable of young officeholders to whom they can look next year for youth appeal. But Republicans are likely to lose a lot of their talent at the state and federal level if Trump proves to be a drag on the ticket. The GOP cannot simply wait until young voters become homeowners and start paying income taxes. That is a recipe for permanent minority status. It will likely take the utter repudiation of the approach that the party took in 2016 to focus Republican voters on the prescription the party’s leaders acknowledged was necessary in 2012. In November, the Republican Party may actually benefit from the kind of thrashing it needs to get back on course. |
Story highlights Belgium pulls three points clear of Croatia after beating Serbia 2-1 in Brussels Expected to collect three points against Scotland, Croatia loses 1-0 at home Portugal ends Russia's perfect record with a 1-0 victory in Lisbon Striker Mario Balotelli sees red in Italy's 0-0 draw at the Czech Republic Belgian defender Vincent Kompany said this week there would be a "commotion" in Belgium if his country failed to qualify for next year's World Cup. After Friday's win against Serbia, Belgium, with its so-called golden generation of players, is getting closer to Brazil. The Red Devils, who last appeared at soccer's showpiece event in 2002, beat Serbia 2-1 in qualifying. Kevin De Bruyne and Marouane Fellaini scored headed goals in each half in Brussels to lift Belgium to 19 points in Group A. Kompany's club teammate at Manchester City, Aleksandar Kolarov, pulled a goal back for Serbia in the 88th minute. De Bruyne, who also set up Fellaini's effort, could be the next Belgian to move to the Premier League -- he's being linked with Chelsea. The majority of players Belgium used on Friday ply their trade in England's top division. Belgium received a further boost, guaranteed of at least second spot, when Croatia blew an opportunity to go level on points with three matches remaining. Despite registering nearly 20 shots, Croatia was upset 1-0 by Scotland in Zagreb. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal defeated Russia 1-0 to move into top spot ahead of Fabio Capello's men in Group F. Postiga winner Veteran striker Helder Postiga netted on a tap-in in the ninth minute in Lisbon to end Russia's perfect 4-0 record. Portugal, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 courtesy of playoff victories against Bosnia-Herzegovina, improved to 14 points, although Russia possesses two games in hand. JUST WATCHED Pele: Mourinho is 'good for Chelsea' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pele: Mourinho is 'good for Chelsea' 01:42 JUST WATCHED Grooming Ghana's next football stars Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Grooming Ghana's next football stars 08:08 JUST WATCHED FIFA Congress tackles racism and reform Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH FIFA Congress tackles racism and reform 02:41 Ireland and Austria recorded victories to rise to 11 points in Group C as they seek to nail down second place behind runaway leader Germany. Robbie Keane celebrated becoming Ireland's most capped player -- he made his 126th appearance to surpass goalkeeper Shay Given -- by scoring all of Ireland's goals in a 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands in Dublin. "There was a lot of talk about getting the record caps but that was almost in the back of my mind," Keane said. Even with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in its ranks, Sweden fell 2-1 to Austria in Vienna. Johan Elmander, not Ibrahimovic, tallied for the visitor with eight minutes remaining. Sweden, though, will be favored to reach 11 points next week, as it faces the Faroe Islands. Ukraine, co-host of Euro 2012, did England a favor in Group H by topping group leader Montenegro 4-0 away from home. Ukraine took the lead early in the second half -- after being reduced to 10 men -- with Montenegro then having two players dismissed as its frustration grew. Montenegro leads the group with 14 points, two more than England and three more than Ukraine but with a game more played. Away wins for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece, over Latvia and Lithuania, respectively, leave Bosnia-Herzegovina three points ahead of Greece in Group G. More trouble for Mario Although in little danger of not qualifying from Group B, there was a sour note for Italy in its 0-0 draw at the Czech Republic. Striker Mario Balotelli, no stranger to controversy, was dismissed in the second half after receiving two yellow cards. He struck defender Theodor Gebre Selassie in the face with a forearm to receive his marching orders. "Balotelli should control himself better -- he allowed himself to be provoked," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told reporters. "There were a couple of fouls that were not given but that's no explanation for what he did." |
The Action Team of Lucca in 1922. Jose Antonio/Wikimedia Commons Excerpted from Ordinary Violence in Mussolini’s Italy by Michael R. Ebner. Published by Cambridge University Press. This article supplements Fascism, a Slate Academy. To learn more and to enroll, visit Slate.com/Fascism. During the high tide of “squadrismo,” members of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento movement, who would form the official Fascist party by 1922, mobilized tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of Italian men who carried out thousands of acts of brutal violence within their own communities and neighboring cities, towns, villages, and hamlets. Before this “takeoff” in provincial fascism, the Fascists were initially an urban phenomenon, motivated primarily by nationalism. They desired revenge against the Socialists and others who had not supported Italy’s participation in the Great War. Even before the war’s end, veterans who would later become Fascists were calling for the extirpation of Italy’s “internal enemies,” whom they held responsible for Italy’s crushing defeat to the Austro-Hungarian and German forces at the 1917 Battle of Caporetto.1 Fascist attacks against Socialists, according to Benito Mussolini, were like assaults “on an Austrian trench.” He declared, “This is heroism…This is the violence of which I approve and which I exalt. This is the violence of Fascism.”2 The rise of fascism in the provinces of the Po Valley, in northern Italy, occurred in reaction to the remarkable postwar growth of Socialist power. During the biennio rosso (red two years), between 1918 and 1920, Socialists made huge electoral gains nationally and locally, while labor unions unleashed a wave of strikes unprecedented in Italian history. In the Po Valley, the Socialists established a virtual “state within a state,” winning control of municipal government, labor exchanges, and peasant leagues (unions). Socialists also founded cooperatives, cultural circles, taverns, and sporting clubs.3 Such working-class organizations exercised their power largely through legal means—elections, boycotts, strikes, and demonstrations—which nonetheless often led to clashes with police, with injuries and deaths on both sides. Political culture and the social order had been radically altered, with rough peasants and workers occupying the halls of power and red flags hanging from town halls. For landowners, life in this new “red” state meant higher wages, higher taxes, reduced profits, lost managerial authority, deteriorating private property rights, and the threat of social revolution. Moreover, displays of red flags, busts of Marx, and internationalist slogans offended nationalist and patriotic middle-class sentiments.4 Conservatives denounced the “red terror” and “atrocities” of this period, though the landowners and middle classes were in little real physical danger.5 They were not physically assaulted, nor were their homes, offices, or private property damaged or destroyed. Yet, from their perspective, they lived in a world turned upside down. The Socialists had virtually “taken over,” and the liberal state appeared to have lost control of law and order. In the provincial centers, Fascist violence was initially used to break the Socialist hold on local administration and labor organizations. Fascists interrupted meetings, beat elected officials, and made impossible the work of local government. Socialists in particular were intimidated, threatened, and even beaten until they resigned. The consequences for the Socialist Party, which was entirely unprepared to counter organized, paramilitary violence, were disastrous. In the province of Bologna, one of “reddest” provinces in the entire Po Valley, where the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) received almost three-quarters of the vote in 1919, the Fascists demolished the Socialist Party in a matter of months. Between March and May 1921, the squads destroyed dozens of newspapers offices, chambers of labor, peasant leagues, cooperatives, and social clubs.6 Throughout northern and central Italy, Fascists replicated this feat. Having conquered major provincial centers, Fascists spread out into small towns and hamlets. Major cities provided launching points for attacking other cities. Having consolidated power in these places, the squads then moved into more peripheral areas. Newly founded fasci were local initiatives, organized by Fascists who understood the life of the place. The leaders were often locals who bore a particular grudge against Socialists, whether economic, political, or personal. When necessary, stronger fasci nearby lent paramilitary support. After rooting Socialists out of a community, Fascists commonly held a public ceremony inaugurating the new fascio. As fascism penetrated smaller rural communities, it became a mass movement without precedent in Italian history. As Adrian Lyttelton has noted, the most immediate and powerfully symbolic form of squadrist violence was the annihilation of the institutions of the Socialist Party, “but the ‘conquest’ of Socialist organizations and municipalities was reinforced and made possible by terror exercised against individuals.”7 The peasant leagues, cooperatives, labor halls, and social clubs—the entire infrastructure of the Socialist “state”—were intensely parochial institutions, organized around popular, charismatic political and labor leaders.8 Fascist squads thus practiced highly personal, localized strategies of violence and intimidation, attacking the most prominent and influential “subversives” within a given province, town, or comune. Fascists sometimes beat these men, occasionally with homicidal intent, but perhaps more commonly intimidated them until they were forced to leave town, thereby decapitating their organizations. The Fascists spent their weekends chasing prominent peasant leaders across the countryside. Thus, life for labor leaders became terror-filled, especially because Fascists did not limit their attacks to the public sphere. Nowhere was safe. Late at night, 10, 30, or even 100 Blackshirts, as these squad members became known, sometimes traveling from neighboring towns, might surround a home, inviting a Socialist, anarchist, or Communist outside to talk. If they refused, the Fascists would enter forcibly or threaten to harm the entire family by lighting the house on fire.9 In small towns, where everyone knew everyone, Fascists inflicted ritual humiliation on their enemies, a powerful strategy of terror understood by all. Blackshirts forced their opponents to drink castor oil and other purgatives, and then sent them home, wrenching with pain and covered in their own feces. In some cases, squads forced their enemies to defecate on politically symbolic objects: pages of a speech, a manifesto, a red flag, and so on. After administering a castor oil treatment, Fascists sometimes drove prominent anti-Fascist leaders around in lorries in order to reduce them in the eyes of their own supporters.10 They also accosted their opponents in public, stripped them naked, beat them, and handcuffed them to posts in piazzas and along major roadways.11 Although individual working-class leaders might have been willing to live under the constant threat of physical attacks, most were unwilling to subject their families to such danger. Deprived of leadership, meeting places, offices, records, and sympathetic Socialist town councils, the landless peasantry became subject to the landowners’ conventional tactics of strike breaking and intimidation. Having broken the leagues, the Fascists then forced the laborers into “politically neutral” (Fascist) syndicates. Vulnerable peasants had little choice but to join. Landowners used their newfound position of power to restore labor relations to the 19th century status quo. The squadrists’ most explicit goal—destroying “Bolshevism”—was rapidly achieved, yet the violence continued unabated. Only by perpetuating this “revolutionary” situation could the Fascist movement undermine the liberal state and continue its push for political power. Additionally, at the local level, violence and criminality persisted more or less independent of any immediate larger political goals. The power of the Ras and the bonds of squadrist camaraderie depended on Fascists sustaining a state of lawlessness and initiating new attacks.12 Illegal activities increased feelings of belonging and emotional interdependence among squadrists, making it more difficult for individual Blackshirts to pull out of the squads or refrain from violent acts. Any retreat, any return to normalcy, would have required dealing with potentially serious legal and psychological consequences.13 Violence thus became cyclical and self-sustaining. Squads perpetuated the environment of terror by constantly identifying new victims. Not surprisingly, due to its intimate nature, Fascist violence was shaped by local conditions: petty feuds, personal rivalries, and other motives beyond mere class warfare. Having “conquered” and “pacified” Socialist communities, Fascists next asserted domination over the political and symbolic use of public space. The Fascists tore down red flags, busts of Marx, and Socialist slogans, replacing them with the Italian flag, busts of the king, and the fasces. Marches, parades, and political ceremonies reinforced the perception that the Fascists now dominated public spaces only recently occupied by Socialists. This “performance” of Fascist dominance intimidated real and potential enemies, while also fostering cohesion and solidarity among the Blackshirts.14 It also served to reassure the provincial bourgeoisie that their dominant social position had been restored. Conservative and even moderate liberal provincial newspapers expressed support for the Blackshirts, praising their “patriotism” and respect for “law and order.”15 The new Fascist “state within a state” was very different from the preceding two years of Socialist hegemony. Through illegal violence, rather than elections, Fascists controlled government administration and destroyed the offices, newspapers, and cultural and social organizations of the Socialists, trade unions, and peasant leagues. Cyclical violence directed against local leaders prevented Socialists from reorganizing. Mass demonstrations, supported by the police and property-owning classes, were patriotic, reaffirming the primacy of the nation over internationalism. Politically, economically, and socially, traditional elites had reasserted their dominance over the laboring classes. Despite its broad geographic impact and the importance of large, coordinated, interprovincial squad activity, the Fascist “Revolution,” or reaction, largely consisted of thousands of intensely local episodes of violence. Fascists and their victims perceived squadrismo as a continuation of the Great War, squads resorted to personal, highly symbolic, face-to-face violence and murder, rather than mass anonymous killing. In essence, although they could be exceeding brutal, Fascist squads practiced a selective, calibrated, and choreographed economy of violence. Squad political violence started to erode the institutions of the liberal state even before the Fascists marched on Rome.16 Inside the parliament, deputies debated the legitimacy of squadrismo. Right-wing Fascist sympathizers deemed it patriotic, and therefore just, while Socialist and anti-Fascist Liberals lamented the demise of the rule of law. Meanwhile, the governments of Ivanoe Bonomi (1921) and Luigi Facta (1922) seemingly failed to appreciate the scope of the phenomenon, issuing assurances that incidences of attacks against citizens and the state were “limited and isolated.”17 On one hand, this misperception seems justifiable. Accounts of murders, beatings, and arsons appeared, if at all, in local newspapers, often in the sections devoted to common crime.18 Political elites with no personal connection to the localities affected by Fascist terror thus might be excused for failing to comprehend its magnitude. On the other hand, Fascist violence deeply affected national politics.19 The elections of May 1921, which brought 35 Fascists into the parliament, were preceded by a wave of squad violence that, in just two weeks, left 71 people dead and 216 wounded. Fascists attacked candidates in their home districts, in Rome, and even in the parliament. At the convening of the new legislature, the Fascist deputies refused to allow the Communist deputy, Francesco Misiano, to enter the chamber. Fascists had thus successfully pushed for, and attained, a system in which state agents and political leaders tolerated and even legitimized illegal right-wing violence inflicted on Socialists, Communists, Catholic Popolari, and anti-Fascist liberal moderates. Though its success was not inevitable, the 1922 March on Rome was a Fascist coup against a system whose institutional integrity had already been severely compromised.20 The March on Rome has often been portrayed as a comic opera, a “bluff.” But as Giulia Albanese has shown, it was accompanied by serious, widespread violence. In provinces throughout Italy, paramilitary groups seized control of prefectures, telegraph offices, post offices, and rail stations. In Rome, Fascists marched through popular neighborhoods and destroyed the offices and meeting places of left-wing newspapers, social clubs, and co- operatives.21 Fascists also raided the homes of nationally prominent politicians—including the former prime minister, Francesco Nitti—throwing their books and furniture out the window and lighting the pile on fire. Meanwhile, in the provinces, Fascists seized control of local administrations that had resisted up until then. By the end of 1922, Fascists or pro-Fascists controlled virtually every communal administration in Italy.22 Finally, the freedom of the press was severely curtailed. In the days following Oct. 28, 1922, Fascists prevented most major dailies from publishing news of events.23 On Oct. 29, 1922, the Italian king appointed Mussolini prime minister. Mussolini presided over a mixed cabinet consisting of Fascists, Nationalists (who were absorbed by the Fascists in 1923), Liberals, and Popolari. Many political elites assumed that a Mussolini government would bring an end to two years of violent disorder, but it did not. By taking the portfolio of minister of the Interior for himself, he controlled the Italian police.24 Political violence in the years after the March on Rome continued to serve the same purposes as before: it suppressed opposition, replaced Socialist and non-Fascist administrations, and extended Fascist control over the rest of Italy.25 Mussolini occasionally decried the illegal activities of the squads, but they operated as the motor that drove his government along the road to dictatorship. Excerpted from Ordinary Violence in Mussolini’s Italy by Michael R. Ebner. Published by Cambridge University Press. 1. See Angelo Ventrone, La seduzione totalitaria: Guerra, modernita`, violenza politica, 1914–1918 (Rome, 2003), 211–54. 2. Mussolini, OO, XIII:64–6. 3. De Grazia, Culture of Consent, 6–10. 4. See Corner, Fascism in Ferrara, 76–84; and Lyttelton, “Fascism and Violence,” 259. 5. On the overstatement of “red violence,” see Reichardt, Faschistische Kampfbu ̈ nde, 70–1. 6. Cardoza, Agrarian Elites and Italian Fascism, 340–1. 7. Lyttelton, “Fascism and Violence,” 266. 8. See Lupo, Il fascismo, 68–70. 9. On home invasions, see Partito Socialista Italiano, Inchiesta socialista sulle gesta dei fascisti in Italia (Milan, 1963), esp. 21–4; see also Franzinelli, Squadristi, 73. 10. Franzinelli, Squadristi, 77–8. 11. Lyttelton, “Fascism and Violence,” 266–7. 12. Ibid., 268–9. 13. Reichardt, Faschistische Kampfbu ̈ nde, 474–5. 14. Reichardt, Faschistische Kampfbu ̈ nde, 135–39; Lyttelton, “Fascism and Violence,” 269. 15. On the support of provincial elites, see Corner, Fascism in Ferrara, 113–15; Cardoza, Agrarian Elites and Italian Fascism, 309–10; Snowden, Fascist Revolution in Tuscany, 56–7, 226n158. For examples of moderate and conservative press coverage, see Alberghi, Il Fascismo in Emilia Romagna, 267–8. 16. Giulia Albanese, La Marcia su Roma: violenza e politica nella crisi dello stato liberale (Bari, 2006). 17. Petersen, “Violence in Italian Fascism,” 285. 18. Ibid., 286. 19. Franzinelli, Squadristi, 77–8. 20. Albanese, Marcia su Roma, 36–41. 21. On violence and March on Rome, see Albanese, Marcia su Roma, 117–18. 22. Ibid., 119–21, 127. 23. Ibid., 100–1. 24. Lyttelton, Seizure of Power, 8–9. 25. Albanese, Marcia su Roma, 176. |
A little over a month ago, in a room of uniformed military commanders and the press eager to catch a glimpse of the new presidential aesthetic, Trump referred boastfully to a “calm before the storm” that their meeting represented. Characteristically coy, and perhaps uncharacteristically restrained, Trump bid the press wait and see what would happen. Media speculation ran wild for days, suggesting that it could be a planned strike on the DPRK or an end to the Iran deal; perhaps some other imperial plot, hatched between the various blood-suckers populating the room. But so far no such “storm” has yet materialize at the behest of the orange menace. In any case, as those words are lost down the memory-hole there remains a very real unease spreading among the media and people. The unease cuts a bit deeper than the potential for an end to a nuclear agreement, or the fear of a new war between amerika and the DPRK (although such a thought does evoke serious anxiety). This anxiety cuts to the core of the project of empire in amerika, as the people are coming to see the writing on the wall: a new, deeper crisis is coming. European finance ministers can sense it, economists in the united $tates have warned about it. Although gas prices are—for the moment—reasonable and the standard of living is going up in the united $tates, this unease concerning the potential for an political and economic sinkhole persists. Consumer confidence may have peaked in the united $tates on halloween, but the confidence of average people in the political situation is sinking like a stone. Things like “this country won’t exist much longer” are more common than ever. A statement that we never thought would be uttered in the 1990’s, when the world seemed to be truly falling apart as we knew it, is now treated as absolute fact. Trump is right, this is the calm before the storm, and we have no idea how long it may last. The worldwide tension that existed throughout the cold war, with people wondering when things would come to a head, abruptly ended with the collapse of the socialist bloc. However “socialist” we may believe it was by the end, nobody can deny that it has had a poisonous effect on the state of geopolitical affairs for the communist left since then. The decline of the world into an amerikan unipolarity, along with their NATO allies in Europe, was a disastrous climax to the decay of socialism in the East. However, such a crisis had not been seen in decades up until that point, and then after an 18-year party in the west, we had the first global micro-crisis. The “great recession” caused by the amerikan housing market collapse would seriously upset the post-Soviet boom in the First World. We say “micro-crisis” because ultimately the economic effects, though politically and psychologically profound, were soon more or less patched up. It lingered, but it did not explode the world order; it ignited an accelerated decay. We are now entering the decade post-collapse, and in the First World things appear rather normal. There are still lingering effects of austerity measures introduced by the imperialist governments, partially reversed by the stubborn working classes who have now found themselves, for the first time in decades, forced into a kind of political action. However, no revolutionary movement has arisen, parties have collapsed rather than coalesced, and we are no closer to a genuine international class consciousness than 10 years previous. That is not to be defeatist, or to assume that nothing can be done, it is simply meant as a critical reflection on the shortcomings of the spontaneous actions lead by the labor aristocracy following the first collapse. Conducting such an autopsy on the long-dead occupy movement, and those that sprung up in the years following, is necessary to prepare for what is to come. It is clear that another crisis is on its way, and we have no idea what will serve as its impetus. That is not to say that the people have not been spurred to political consciousness, or even to a kind of rudimentary class consciousness. Certainly a great degree of this tension and unease that we currently feel burning slowly in our stomachs is the fact that it is, to a great degree, a political tension. However, this consciousness has been largely petty bourgeois and labor aristocratic class consciousness, which lurches rightward to protect its historical political-economic position in the First World. The alt-right, a movement that existed solely online and whose membership and ideas were virtually unknown until 2016 despite having existed for more than a decade, now cannot hold a simple march without instant international news coverage and top-trending on social media. That said, and to the credit (and hope) of the left, revolutionary Maoists are now periodically featured by local as well as national news agencies, despite having no party or national organization. This is no doubt provoked by the burning debate over antifa tactics in dealing with fascist and conservative movements, but even in considering this we must recognize that we are far behind the mobilization on the right. However, this looks only at the united $tates. If we zoom out and take a look at the world situation as it is currently developing, we see an existing—not just looming—conflagration in the Third World. One that has excited all manner of anti-imperialist forces both left and right, with perhaps one of the most promising world-scenarios for communist revolution we have experienced in decades. We have seen the decline of supranational authority—Negriists be damned—and the aggressive rebirth of multipolarity threatening to tear the world apart at the seams. Of course we have also witnessed the decline of some of the most prominent revolutionary armies, fighting for the rebirth of Marxist socialism, but they also seem to be on the cusp of a second wind, this time without the trifling unipolarity that made even small slights against empire nearly impossible in the past. To avoid an endless and unproductive optimism, we must also be aware that it is only because of the extreme danger that we now face that such exciting developments have come into being. With the degradation of supranational power has come the aggressive multipolarity previously mentioned, wherein the UN has now taken a backseat to the “big persons” discussion and brawling. Just as the League of Nations was eventually stripped of all the laughable authorities it was given, in a practical (rather than legal) sense so too has the UN become a toothless entity, incapable of legally mediating global conflict—a condition that preconditions a great intensification of inter-imperialist warfare. Where competing powers once made demands, they now simply take. Such is the case in the various territorial disputes between amerikan imperialists and China, which now utilizes its status as a world power to simply take what it wants. That is not to justify amerikan claims or that of its puppets, but simply to demonstrate that the emerging world powers no longer need to utilize the UN when something must be settled. The same is true of the Crimea and Russia. Albeit with the support of the people, the Russian government decided to simply take what they considered theirs, and to promote its authenticity post facto. This is not to equate the power and criminality of Russian and Chinese imperialists with that of the amerikans and the west. Rather, this is an observation of the flimsiness of international law, which has decried the obvious land-theft of nations that held internationally recognized sovereignty. This is without even touching upon Israel, which has done the same to the Palestinians first by consent of the UN and then in spite of it. This degradation has only accelerated with the departure of world leaders from the International Criminal Courts, the amerikan condemnation and subsequent departure from UNESCO, and the nearly 30 years of begging by UN human rights watchdogs to prevent and intervene in the very real genocides that have gone on at the behest of various imperial actors. Most recently, the UN committee designated to investigate and lead the challenging of Saudi and Western war crimes in Yemen, that has lead to the literal hands-and-knees begging of human rights investigators from the UN commission on human rights itself, resulted in a shrug and a nod from UN leaders that could affect absolutely no change. It is no longer a performance, it is an outright disintegration. The only time that the UN can pass any kind of meaningful decisions that are truly enforceable is through the consensus of the imperial multipole. Primarily, this has been aimed toward the DPRK, which has been hit with an increasing load of sanctions every single time it lifts a finger toward independence—evidence still of the fragility of the world system. This is the UN we are speaking of, not the petty international agreements made to be broken. The sole purpose of the UN was to prevent a war between rivaling powers, and to preserve world peace in regards to the nations that “matter”; i.e. imperialist ones. It is the bulwark that prevented the metastasis of hostilities between the global powers in the Cold War, which operated through the rather explicit causeways of political discourse built around the very clear bipolar world system. Now we lack even this. We lack the clarity of a bipolar system, or a tripolar system, or even a quadripolar system for that matter. It is a rat race of all the aspiring and veteran imperialists looking to make their countries “great” again. This is such an exceedingly dangerous moment that any serious crisis could spill over into global inter-imperialist warfare. That is at once a blessing and a curse, as it threatens the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions of people if it were to burn up in a toxic gas fire. The Blessing, however, comes with the promise that even the small become powerful, and even the fringe can now move to the center. While socialism was thought to have gone down with the ship, so to speak, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, here we are. We have a powerful resurgence of diverse social revolutionaries that all coalesce around some kind of Marxism, however twisted their individual interpretations may be. It may seem like a situation just as bleak as ever to any left-communist or phony Marxist-Leninist, who seeks only the purest and most refined kool-aid to drink. However, let us remember that the Third International was brought into its founding congress with a majority of those in attendance being quasi-social democrats and anti-authoritarians. It was nearly 30 years after the success of the Bolshevik revolution before a socialist bloc was established. It took two world wars to consolidate a world wherein just 1/3rd was socialist. We are not looking to jump from 1905 to 1949 in just a few years, and we should not delude ourselves with the idea that such reckless and haphazard progress could be sustained until final victory. That said, we are certainly no longer alone in our ideas, and the world has broken out of the post-Socialist spiral into something that we can salvage as we move into the next great crisis. For this reason all optimism is warranted, but practicality is paramount. Things will get much worse before they get better, and our jobs are going to become far more dangerous. That said, our work is all the more important, as we have very little time to prepare in the First World, where fascists, identitarians and the alt-right are quickly outpacing us. We must accept the possibility that we may lose, but not resign ourselves to it as reality. This possibility must inspire us to make difficult decisions and accept greater responsibilities both individually and collectively. What we need now more than ever are high-agency comrades who are willing and ready to take real initiative in building the revolutionary center. Oftentimes it is easy to get caught up in the hopelessness of a situation and find yourself unable to gain a sense of what to do, but it is necessary that we act deliberately. The neoliberal husk wherein we currently reside is quickly crumbling, and is set to fall in on us. We cannot stand on a platform of exceptionalism wherein we purport we have the right to lead before we have proven ourselves capable. The struggle of the world proletariat is on the march, in unity with all progressive movements aimed at rooting out imperialism as the primary human anguish of this era. We must step in line, and build with the primary intention of entering this great conflagration alongside the world proletariat. We cannot shelve our international responsibility, and, in fact, we cannot succeed without it. The success of any First World revolutionary movement is dependent upon the development of the world proletarian movement. We are trapped by the hegemony of the hostile middling classes that predominate in the First World, and who have lead the fascist resurgence we are now experiencing. It is only through anchoring ourselves to the world proletarian movement that we can effectively build and focus our own hegemony against that of the reactionary petty bourgeoisie and labor aristocracy. Any revolutionary center we put our minds and our bodies to work in creating must be integrated with this emerging worldwide struggle, and we must accept that we are in but the first stage of a grand reawakening. The fire rises, let us see it consume the world. |
The England team have shown off their official World Cup suits - and there is more than just a hint of 1966 in the design. Forty-four years ago, Sir Alf Ramsey's World Cup winners sported an ensemble with thin lapels and narrow trousers - a look England manager Fabio Capello was keen to see repeated. He asked for the thin lapels, a slim silhouette, and slanted pockets - and if Marks & Spencer could provide an injury free defender at right back too, that would be a bonus. 606: DEBATE Created in collaboration with Savile Row tailor Timothy Everest, the suit marks a break away from the designer attire of previous years, and the more superstitious might hope that it will even inspire a change in the team's World Cup fortunes. M&S' menswear director Richard Price said: "The Football Association and M&S are both great British institutions so we are extremely proud to continue to dress the England team as they travel to South Africa this summer." The suit will be available for fans to buy in stores and online. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing output barely rose in September and contracts to buy previously owned homes recorded their largest drop in nearly 3-1/2 years, the latest signs the economy’s momentum ebbed as the third quarter ended. The reports on Monday showed economic activity was on weak footing even before a 16-day partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government early in October that is expected to weigh on fourth quarter growth. “The economy seems to be losing steam as higher mortgage rates have hit the housing market and destructive government policy will likely bash the rest of the economy,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisers in Holland, Pennsylvania. Manufacturing production edged up 0.1 percent last month after advancing 0.5 percent in August, the Federal Reserve said. Factory output was held back by a 0.5 percent drop in computer and electronic goods production. Output of electrical appliances also fell. While automobile output increased 2.0 percent, that was a sharp slowdown from the 5.2 percent rise logged in August. Separately, the National Association of Realtors said its Pending Homes Sales index, based on contracts signed last month, plunged 5.6 percent to the lowest level since December. The decline was the largest since May 2010. The index, which leads home resales by a month or two, has now dropped for four straight months. Realtors believe home resales, which dropped in September, peaked in July and August. The reports come on the heels of data last week showing a gauge of business spending tumbled in September. That data, combined with a disappointing reading on hiring released earlier this month, has offered a dull picture of economic activity. Thomas Costerg, U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, said a run up in interest rates over the summer on expectations the Fed would soon trim its bond-buying stimulus appeared to be holding back the economy. “This will make the Fed even more cautious when they next start to hint at tapering,” he said. Rates on 30-year fixed rate mortgages rose to an average of 4.49 percent in September from an average of 3.54 percent in May, according to Freddie Mac. But a surprise decision by the central bank in mid-September not to cut its purchases and soft economic data have pulled rates lower since then. With politicians in Washington still to agree on a budget, uncertainty over fiscal policy may also continue to hinder growth, making it unlikely the Fed will be in a hurry to start scaling back its purchases. Fed officials meet on Tuesday and Wednesday and are expected to maintain their $85 billion per month bond-buying pace. WEAK DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL DEMAND While manufacturing accounts for only about 12 percent of U.S. economic activity, it was the main driver of the economy from the 2007-09 recession. Factory output rose at a 1.2 percent rate in the third quarter, rebounding from a 0.1 percent fall in the prior three months. Economists expect manufacturing slowed in October as the federal government shutdown hurt business confidence. The weak manufacturing data contrasts with fairly upbeat business surveys. For example, a closely watched gauge from the Institute for Supply Management has been pushing higher since contracting in May. “We are inclined to focus on actual activity gauges like manufacturing production, rather than surveys, which have given several false signals during this recovery,” said Peter D’Antonio, an economist at Citigroup in New York. “The soft manufacturing output reflects weakness abroad, little need to build inventories, and the general slowdown in demand in the first half of the year.” Workers assemble built-in appliances at the Whirlpool manufacturing plant in Cleveland, Tennessee August 21, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Berry Despite the softness in factory output, a rebound in utilities output lifted overall industrial production 0.6 percent, the largest increase since February. Utilities rebounded 4.4 percent in September after five straight months of declines. Mining production rose 0.2 percent, but that was a slowdown from at 0.6 percent increase in August. Last month, the amount of industrial capacity in use rose to 78.3 percent, the highest level since July 2008, from 77.9 percent in August. |
TransAm Map Set GPX Data Map Details Astoria, OR - Yorktown, VA (4,223.0 miles) Product Code BD-15 Brand Adventure Cycling Association Price $59.88 Current File Version Oct 10, 2018 Quantity Add To Cart Add To Cart These GPX Data products cannot be used with the Bicycle Route Navigator App! Unless you plan to use a standalone GPS device, we highly recommend purchasing route sections WITHIN the Bicycle Route Navigator app Please note, GPX Data is not refundable! Please examine the sample data on the device of your choice before purchasing GPX data packages. More information about GPX Data files can be found here. GPX Data products consist of track and service waypoint files in gpx (GPS Exchange Format) file format to be used on a GPS device, smartphone, or tablet. These products are suggested as a companion product to the printed Adventure Cycling Route maps and feature the same services listed on the physical maps. More information about GPX Data for Devices can be found here. The route that made cross-country cycling famous (Outside magazine calls the TransAm the "ultimate bicycle tour"). Ride through the history of the nation - colonial Virginia, plantations, Civil War battlefields, Lincoln's birthplace, and along the Oregon Trail. More information about this route is available here. GPX Data Resources * These products are delivered in compressed zip files. Instructions on extracting the data are located here. **NOTE: Occasionally, the GPX data you purchase will be newer than the paper map currently being sold. They may still be used together. See the Tracks and Service Points FAQs for more information.** Reviews Average rating: based on 3 reviews. They work but I have some suggestions Rating: Reviewed By: Rolf Riley These are exactly as described and delivery process was flawless. I combined the route file and poi file in ride with gps. It’s much easier that way on the bike in my opinion, maybe and the combined files as an add on to this package? Also one really cool thing would be to have every city park on the route added to the poi file as ‘ city park’ as these are great free bivvy sites mostly. Recommended for those not keen on the paper map weight, although paper maps don’t come with added technology learning curves and fails of garmin and smartphone devices lol! Great GPX files Rating: Reviewed By: John Middelberg This summer will be my second trip. I love your GPX files. They are great and very accurate. Never lost my way. Highly recommended. Rating: Reviewed By: Richard I downloaded this package as a Zip file to my Mac easily and instantly. A master folder uncompressed with the 12 sections contained as sub folders. Each subfolder has a portion of the route in both Eastbound and Westbound file versions, with any extra bits (alternate route sections etc.) contained as a separate file. The services for the route are also provided as a separate file for each section. So far I have only uploaded the set to Google Maps where the 'track' files appear as a clear blue line. The services appear as waypoints named by abbreviations (CG = Campground for example) and brief contact details / directions. In .gpx form (I suggest uploading these to a website called 'GPSVisualizer' - it can show pretty elevations of the individual sections on the 'profile' page), the services have a colourful icon set - Google alas does not translate this for whatever reason and represents them as standard flagpoints. I'd absolutely recommend this set, it has already proved invaluable for me in planning this trip even though I don't have a dedicated GPS device. I also now understand when people say that these are intended as a complement to the physical maps, not a replacement - my expectation is that you'd still need the real maps out in the field. A few extras I would have liked: 1. for Google to represent the true service icons, rather than translate them into universal Google flags, 2. if the turn by turn details and info on the section, that the physical maps have, were included as a separate text-only file, 3. if the whole route was included as an additional file, this would be great to view an overall elevation easily for example, 4. if it would be possible to have a digital addendum to update the maps based on the latest information - that would be quite cool and save the maps becoming outdated. Maybe, rather than buying static files, you'd buy access to a private webpage that hosted downloads for the latest versions? It is a brave new world and props to ACA for staying on the cutting edge. Add Product Review |
Google has won a patent on a new way to unlock a device and access applications. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday awarded Google a patent on "Alternative Unlocking Patterns." The technology describes a method by which users would create several different unlocking patterns that would pertain to a particular action. Upon completing that pattern input, the device would perform the predetermined action. According to Google's patent, the company envisions a way in which users would open up applications, check for new calls, or perform other actions through the use of the patterns. Currently, software allows for different unlocking patterns, but all they do is open up the handset's software. Google's technology would unlock the device and bring people to a certain place within the software. Here is how Google describes the patent: The stored unlocking patterns are associated with respective actions that are performed upon completion of the respective unlocking patterns. The unlocking patterns are associated with a same level of unlocked security access to the computing system. The computing system responds by unlocking the computing system and performing the action that is associated with the matching unlocking pattern. Google doesn't say in the patent whether it'll integrate the technology into Android. As with other major companies, Google applies for and is awarded patents on a wide array of technologies. In many cases, those technologies don't ever launch. (Via Engadget) |
How to Encourage Creativity and Sharing for More Productive Meetings We all know that meetings can be tedious, tiring, and ineffective at resolving the problems our businesses are facing. We need creativity and openness, and what we get instead is disinterested yawning and unhelpful criticism. In many cases, however, this unfortunate situation can be improved with some strategic adjustments to our usual meeting routines. Encouraging Participation First and foremost, allow people to share ideas without fear of criticism or interruption. Managers or other employees who respond negatively to “bad” ideas discourage people from sharing their ideas at all. Many people are already hesitant to speak up in groups or take the social risk of sharing their ideas. Harsh or critical responses all but guarantee decreased participation. Keep brainstorming sessions free of judgement about the value of individual ideas in order to foster openness. It can also help to make it clear from the outset that there’s nothing wrong with sharing ideas that don’t work or won’t ever get used. We all have lots of ideas and not all of them are equally viable or valuable, but sharing them gets everyone thinking. One person’s off-the-wall concept might lead to another person’s a-ha moment. It’s common for most groups to have a few people who speak more than others and maybe a few folks who hesitate to speak at all. A simple way to address this is to go around the room and ask each person to contribute an idea or share their opinion. You can do this during a meeting if you need to bring back some balance to the conversation, or you can do it in advance by letting each participant know that they should be prepared to share at least one idea. Depending on the size and structure of your team, you may want to consider stepping things up a notch and breaking people up with a 3 meeting combo. It works like this: Hold a short initial meeting with all the relevant players. This meeting is simply to lay out the problem that you are working on, not to solicit suggestions or ideas for solutions. Ask everyone to go back and consider the problem for a day or so. Schedule the next meeting with the creative thinkers on your team. The purpose of this meeting is to generate lots of ideas for potential solutions or courses of action. Let them know that you won’t be settling on anything during this meeting. Just gathering ideas. Finally, hold a meeting with the more analytical members of the team. The people who might have spent their time poking holes in people’s ideas during the creative meeting are ideal here. Review the ideas presented in the creative meeting and let this team voice their objections. The outcome of this process should be a good set of thoroughly vetted ideas. You may want to continue this process, sending anonymized feedback to the creative group and soliciting more ideas for further analysis, until a solution becomes clear. Encouraging Creativity Sometimes simply creating a healthy environment and encouraging participation isn’t enough. You need something to light that creative fire. It may sound counter-intuitive, but a good way to approach this is to ask for everyone in the meeting to share the worst idea they can think of. This can be especially effective when creativity has stalled or a problem is particularly difficult. Thinking of terrible ideas takes the pressure off and brings some humor into the room, two important factors that contribute to creative thinking. It’s surprising how often breakthrough ideas can come out sessions like this. It seems that when we are presented with clearly bad ideas our minds automatically start thinking of better alternatives. Another way to get the ideas flowing is to play the “Yes and…” game. This is an improv game, and it works like this: One person starts off with a basic idea or concept and, no matter what it is, instead of negating it, belittling it, or disagreeing with it, the next person has to say, “Yes, and…” They must accept the scenario as it’s presented and then to add to it. Each person should try to add something that the next person will also be able to build from. “We could all wear tuxedos to the trade show this year.” “Yes, and we could host a black tie party on the last day of the show.” “Yes, and we could lend people clothes for the party in exchange for a meeting with us during the show.” “Yes and…” You get the idea. Running through this exercise a few times can usually generate a lot of very creative ideas. Not all of them will actually work, but that’s ok. Those ideas led to the ones that do work. However, if you still aren’t getting the ideas you’re looking for, here’s one last tactic: Take a walk. There’s nothing like fresh air to bring out fresh ideas. This works best when done one-on-one or in very small groups, so everyone can easily participate in the conversation. At first, just talk about life or whatever else is on your mind. You’ll find that the conversation will probably come back around to work fairly quickly, and then you can get into the problem at hand. So there you have it. We hope at least one of these techniques helps improve the quality of your meetings and leads to some breakthrough ideas. |
In my youth, I always explained away my disorganization as my being “artistic.” Once I began my full-time career as an adult however, the need to plan, organize, and manage my time became more than just an exercise in clerical development. Yet I felt so lost. And it wasn’t that I didn’t try: I was an early adopter of the PDA (Personal Digital Assistant); I embraced gadget features like digital calendars, and virtual notepads; I even used that task-tracking app “Remember the Milk.” If there was a new productivity tool out there I tried it. Even so I struggled to integrate the various methodologies and eventually grew frustrated by how tethered I became to specific operating systems/devices that didn’t work. Eventually, I’d always end up in the Moleskine section of bookstore again, filled with longing. It felt like the right place but the blank pages simply didn’t offer enough guidance. Or so I thought. Enter the Bullet Journal. Billed as “the analog system for the digital age,” the Bullet Journal is UX designer Ryder Carroll’s genius brainchild, initially created to help him manage his own struggles with ADD. Rightly touted as a “customizable and forgiving organization system,” the bullet journal enables users to combine note-taking, list-making and planning into one place according to their own personalized system without making it a chore. It’s become so successful that now Carroll has spin-offs and imitators, some of them quite good. So which one is best for you? Read on. For the Purist The Bullet Journal mastermind Ryder Carroll explains his personal approach to the organizational system of in a simple, straightforward way. All that’s needed is a blank notebook. Novices are then instructed how to create “modules,” add rapid logging, assign “bullets” and migrate tasks. He encourages users to develop their own systems, which is exactly what some of his followers have done. For the Hyper-Organized Kara “Boho” Berry has a “bujo” fanbase of almost 75k followers on YouTube alone. And for good reason. For those who see the benefits of color-coding and need their journal to serve multiple functions (work, home, play, for example), Berry has devised a complex (but not over complicated) system that allows you to expand your bujo well beyond the scope of original Carroll’s approach. Berry’s system additionally is highly decorative as well. For the Crafty Type If you describe yourself as artsy, Sara Rose’s take on the bullet journal is even more creative than Kara Berry’s (which she acknowledges as an inspiration). Rose, however, incorporates more art supplies! Her journal features colored pens and even watercolors. Charmingly, she’s quite humble about her current bujo and by confiding to us that she’s still working on her handwriting, she gives us permission to make mistakes. She’s also incorporated a welcome new component: The Goal Tracker. For the Intellectual So you’re the type who really likes to know how things work? Enter Carrie Crista who takes a deep dive into the “system.” For those who want to know the full range of options, Christa explains all the options. And if this initial video still leaves you wanting more, Christa has some follow-ups that further explain other potential uses for your bullet journal. Added perk: This video is an astonishing celebration of someone with really gorgeous handwriting. For the Minimalist In spite of having been “invented” by a man, bullet journaling knows no gender. Nevertheless, inspired by his wife, Matthew Kent has devised a “masculine” method expressly for “dudes,” an approach which forsakes the craftier stickers and tape flags. (Interestingly, Kent admits to enjoying the evolution of his handwriting since he started his own bullet journal practice.) For those who want to stick to the basics (black pen, notebook), this is your ticket. – Laura Rebecca Other Posts You Might Like |
What goes on the campaign bus should perhaps stay on the campaign bus – at least as far as David Cameron’s remarks about closing down the BBC are concerned. The Prime Minister, amid the rigours of a tough old election campaign, told journalists he was “going to close it (the Corporation) down after the election.” The story emerged – secondhand – via the venerable Nick Robinson, who was recovering from surgery during the campaign. My instinct here is that BBC journalists – and I was one of their number for more than a dozen years – are right when they describe this as “yet another of bit of pressure” from a Conservative party which has long viewed the BBC with suspicion and in some cases outright detestation. However it also rather sounds as though an embattled Cameron was letting off steam rather than making any kind explicit threat. Nevertheless it would be a mistake to overlook the fact the BBC is approaching negotiations about charter renewal and any kind of comment by the governing party of the day about the broadcaster’s future will rightly be scrutinised to destruction within New Broadcasting House. Employees there, certainly the journalists, have felt under near constant siege since around the mid-point of the last decade, with several strikes and a long slump in morale the outcome. First came the devastating findings of the Hutton Inquiry in 2004, which plunged the Corporation into the biggest crisis in its history; there has since followed the seemingly endless rounds of budget cuts borne by those on the shop floor of news. Taken together these traumas have destroyed confidence BBC producers had in their own ability and produced a drip-feed of hemlock taken via doom-laden emails from senior managers unaffected by mountains of proposed savings. So the Prime Minister may joke and others around him fire off volleys of complaint in what the tabloid press gleefully calls the government’s ‘war with the BBC’ but oddly there is much the Conservatives would approve of at the Corporation. While not being an arm of the State the BBC certainly carries with it much of the architecture of State. That is to say the overwhelming majority of senior journalists and bosses tend to be white, middle aged, middle class men and often hail from a public school background. Their views – hardly surprisingly – reflect much of that and the idea of the BBC being a haven for socialists and subversives is just rubbish, for if there was ever a ‘Left-wing bias’ there certainly is no longer. Rather the BBC is a socially liberal place and I suspect that is – in a broad sense – the politics of those who work there too. Witness the visit of the Queen back in 2013, with journalists flocking to get near the old dear for a selfie or two. Indeed those of us who have worked there for any length of time know there is just as much pressure from the political Left as the Right to cover events in an unbiased way. I recall fielding editorial complaints from the likes of David Blunkett, Tory Central Office and the Israeli government. Mr Cameron and his ilk might be interested to know that if anything there is an in-built editorial bias from the Right because of the way the newspapers – and especially the Daily Mail – help shape the day-to-day agenda at the BBC. Senior editors plough their way through bundles of the day’s papers before ever committing themselves to covering a story and often end up reflecting what has already been printed, not only in the Mail, but the Times, Sun and Telegraph too. All of this said I, like Nick Robinson, suspect the BBC will be around for a good long time to come even with John Whittingdale as Culture Secretary. It’s been in bigger scrapes in the past with Tory governments, especially those headed by Margaret Thatcher. Imagine the UK without the BBC? – not even David Cameron would find that funny. |
A Pirate Party branch founded last November has scored a win in regional elections in Switzerland, with the city of Eichberg to fly the pirate flag under new mayor, Alex Arnold. The 31-year-old software developer is a local to the town and works for works as a developer for VRSG, which focuses on software and systems integration for the Swiss public sector. Arnold defeated two candidates from the Swiss Peoples Party to take the part-time mayoralty and took 60 percent of the vote. But the Party made no dent on elections for the parliament of St Gallen and Gosseau, the Cantons around Eichberg. The mayoral chains of Eichberg won't give the Pirate Party an enormous platform from which to push its policies: Wikipedia states the town's population is 1,481. The win is nonetheless a fillip for the Pirate Party, which had its first successes in Germany soured by reports that the organization is in disarray in that country. Earlier this month, reports emerged of organizational problems – including non-payment of fees, in-fighting, and poor strategy. The German organisation was also embarrassed last week when it emerged that party executive Julia Schramm’s publisher Random House is using DCMA takedown notices against those who pirate her book. Swiss site 20Minutes Online said the Pirate Party’s earlier foray into politics in March harvested just 1.3 percent of the vote in local elections. ® |
Treyarch has just released a new update for the Black Ops 3 beta on Xbox One, and the update includes weapon changes and specialist tuning. Vonderhaar has stated that these changes were also made to the PS4 beta when the beta was live last week. M8A7 Increased time in between bursts – Has a slightly increased upward recoil pattern – Drakon Increased Recoil Fire rate is a little faster Hitting an enemy in the upper chest no longer 1-hit kills. Neck up does 1-hit kill Razorback Used to kill in 4 shots out to 1250 units, now should only kill in 4 shots out to 800. Anything beyond 800 should take 5 shots to kill. 850 units is roughly the length of the bridge on Hunted. Slightly increased recoil HVK Hip spread size is a little smaller. Vesper Used to kill in 4 shots out to 350 units, now should only kill in 4 shots out to 300. Anything beyond 300 units will be at least 5 shots to kill. Haymaker Fire rate has increased by about 10%. Should be noticeable. Should take roughly 2.25 seconds to empty a standard magazine. KRM Up close damage increased. Should never cause a non-lethal hit within 250 units. Damage at a further distance has been reduced and can’t 1 hit kill as far out, even when ADS. XR-2 Delay between bursts has been reduced by a frame, very slight change. Kinetic Armor Lasts 7 seconds now instead of 5 Active Camo Lasts 5 seconds now instead of 4 Glitch Takes 2 full minutes to earn with no score, up from 1.5 minutes. Travels back 700 units, down from 800 Vision Pulse Range is 1400 units, down from 1600 Ripper Takes 2 full minutes to earn with no score, down from 3 minutes. Lasts for 20 seconds if no attacks are made, up from 15 seconds. Tempest Beam has a slightly smaller width. Have to be more on target to hit enemies Time in deathcam after being killed is now 2.5 seconds, down from 3 Speed Burst Stays on when moving at full speed after activating for 5.5 seconds, up from 5 War Machine Clip size is now 6, down from 8 Explosion radius damage is slightly reduced Rejack Takes 3 full minutes to earn with no score, down from 2 minutes. The animation time to get up from the Rejack has been increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds. SOURCE: Reddit |
Robots are coming for more Americans’ jobs — and you can blame the Fight for $15 fanatics. Wendy’s is now moving to install self-service kiosks in 1,000 of its restaurants (about a sixth of its total) by year’s end. The point is to save on labor costs, which are soaring thanks to radical jumps in the minimum wage to as much as $15 an hour in places like New York and California. “Last year was tough — 5 percent wage inflation,” says Wendy’s COO Bob Wright. That was more than twice the 2.1 percent overall inflation rate. And he’s expecting wages to climb almost as fast this year, too. But automation, Wright says, can shave 31 hours a week of paid labor from a single restaurant — almost a full-time job. Say goodbye to nearly 1,000 jobs — for starters. Wright warns that robots can take on other work: “repetitive production tasks” that aren’t “core” to what customers love. And the trend runs far beyond Wendy’s. Panera Bread, McDonald’s and others are adding touch-screen kiosks. At Cafe X in San Francisco, a robotic arm prepares and serves coffee. It’s hard to blame firms facing a sky-high $15 minimum wage for looking to rein in costs, but the toll is ugly. Job-loss estimates from a $15 minimum in New York alone run as high as 600,000 — from automation as well as shops closing and just trimming staff. Meanwhile, a new Heritage Foundation report predicts a $15 mandatory wage floor will push up fast-food prices “at least a fourth.” And since lower-income groups rely more on fast food and other products made by minimum-wage workers, they’ll be hit hardest. “Minimum-wage increases,” the report concludes, “do little to redistribute wealth.” Great: Humans lose their jobs. Machines take over. And you can thank the US labor movement. |
CARACAS (Reuters) - Investors see Venezuela’s new free-floating foreign exchange system as an important step toward improving the country’s stretched finances, but economists question whether it can provide enough dollars to kick-start the economy. A woman counts bolivar notes as she pays for an electronic item at an store in La Guaira outside Caracas January 12, 2010. REUTERS/Jorge Silva The Sicad 2 mechanism opened on Monday and has offered dollars at around 51 bolivars, or eight times the official rate. After 11 years of currency controls, critics said the launch of Sicad 2 amounts to a devaluation of 88 percent. Fitch Ratings cut its rating for Venezuela debt. Still, Venezuela’s bonds rose on Tuesday, extending gains from Monday as the measures encouraged investors. It remained unclear how much the system will ease dollar shortages that have left factories without replacement parts and consumers without basic goods including toilet paper. “With no real efforts to significantly increase the supply of foreign currency, we suspect that it is another false dawn in Venezuela’s battle to overcome a dollar drought,” wrote David Rees of research firm Capital Economics in a note. The measure offers companies such as American Airlines (AAL.O) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) a legal alternative to repatriate revenue. But that would imply heavy losses for the companies. Airlines, for example, sell tickets at the official rate but would repatriate funds at the much weaker Sicad 2 rate. The central bank has not provided details on how much currency has changed hands under Sicad 2, and did not respond to calls seeking comment. President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend said the system will supply 8 to 10 percent of the economy’s demand for dollars. That would mean around $60 million per day compared with the $100 million daily volume of a similar market that functioned until 2010 when it was outlawed, according to Russ Dallen, managing partner of Caracas Capital Markets. “Anything’s better than nothing, and at least they’ve done something,” said Dallen, who facilitated transactions in the prior market. “They control it and only they can see what’s happening, so it’s kind of a black box to us on the outside.” Sicad 2 has added a third tier to the currency control mechanism that already sells dollars at 6.3 bolivars for preferential goods and at around 11 for non-essential items. On Tuesday, Maduro said the system would supply between 5 and 7 percent of “non-essential currency needs,” adding that nearly 85 percent of dollar demand would be supplied at 6.3. Insufficient supply of dollars would leave importers and businesses struggling to obtain hard currency. That could further pressure the black market rate, which helped drive inflation to 57 percent in February. DEBTS PILE UP In the run-up to Sicad 2, the bolivar strengthened on the black market to reach 59 per dollar on Monday from nearly 90 in recent weeks. On Tuesday the rate slipped back to nearly 73, according to the widely watched website DolarToday.com. The Sicad 2 rate is the average of transactions in a trading day, reported by the central bank after the close of operations. That adds a third official exchange rate to the 11-year-old currency mechanism created by late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. Barclays analyst Alejandro Grisanti said Maduro’s comments suggested the system would provide about half the volume he had originally expected. “We see that as a concern,” he said. “Lower FX sales in Sicad 2 would imply a smaller average devaluation, smaller fiscal improvement, a more limited capacity of this new market to stabilize the exchange rate.” For years, the government currency board has declined repatriation requests from foreign companies operating in Venezuela, preventing transfers of revenue to headquarters. Companies would suffer substantial losses buying dollars at the Sicad 2 rate, especially airlines that must sell tickets in bolivars at the rate of 6.3. The International Air Transport Association says its members have $3.8 billion in revenue frozen by the currency controls. On Tuesday, its representative said the new exchange rate would not apply to its members because they sold tickets at 6.3 bolivars, and at the previous official rate of 4.3. The Sicad 2 rate will also be available to tourists, who have traditionally used the black market. Chavez set up currency controls in 2003 after an opposition-led oil industry shutdown nearly left the country without hard currency. He maintained that policy even after the government stabilized output and soaring oil prices flooded the country with cash. That spawned corruption as well-connected officials bought cheap dollars and flipped them for huge profits on the black market. |
Community advocate Nicholas Wong has announced he’ll run as an independent in Delta South in the upcoming provincial election. Wong, who was born and raised in Delta, is hoping to fill the void that will be left by two-term independent MLA Vicki Huntington, who announced last month she won’t run again. article continues below The 26-year-old has Huntington’s endorsement and says her constituency association will help his candidacy to ensure the riding keeps an independent voice that’s not handcuffed by party lines. “As long as I’ve been able to vote she’s been a hero of mine. What she’s done in comparison to the other MLAs who have been around, we see just how few times a party’s representatives can go against the party line. I think her brand of independent representation is exactly the type of representation we need in South Delta,” said Wong. A graduate of Delta Secondary, Wong has a degree in philosophy at Simon Fraser University and now works in software development and project management. He ran for Delta council in 2014 and was also involved with the community group that campaigned for better surgical services at Delta Hospital. He originally planned to support Huntington’s re-election campaign, but felt someone with a passion for the community needed to step up after she made the surprise announcement she wouldn’t seek a third term. “In today’s political environment that’s rife with spin and so-called alternative facts, we’ve lost sight of what politics was meant to be, and it’s meant to be a discourse where everyone can weigh the facts as they are presented and come up with the best solution for everyone involved. Somehow that got so lost and muddied along the way,” he said. Wong said that, first off the bat, he hopes to introduce a bill to remove corporate and union donations from B.C. politics. As far as South Delta, it’s all about “the impacts on the well- being and quality of life of South Deltans” from the various things locally that are under provincial control, such as the underfunding of Delta Hospital. Also saying LRT is very doable for south of the Fraser, he agrees a buck a bridge” tolling system is the most fair and would help ease congestion. Wong has made it clear he’s no fan of Port Metro Vancouver’s Terminal 2 project as well as the George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge, a project he says can easily be replaced with a much less costly twin tunnel. He said the facts, not spin, need to get out about such projects. Wong said he thinks there’s an appetite among the electorate for more independents in the legislature, especially after seeing how well Huntington has represented South Delta. “Nick and I hold many of the same values, and most of all we share an abiding sense of the need to be a true representative of – and voice for – the people of South Delta,” Huntington said in a statement. “I urge you to take another leap of faith and vote for a man that I believe will deliver sound and intelligent service to our community.” Wong is the second candidate to declare for the May 9 provincial election. will be running against Ian Paton, the Liberal candidate in this year’s election, but the NDP still haven’t named their candidate for Delta South. Prior to Huntington announcing she wouldn’t be running, the Greens said they wouldn’t run a candidate out of respect for her, but it’s not clear if they’ll do the same for Wong. For more on Wong check out nicholaswong.ca. |
The paradox of Turnbull and the budget Updated Nothing about this time in politics makes much sense. We have a budget that could not be more politically important, but no one wants to sell it. And we've got a Prime Minister who loves the grey when everything we know about elections calls for black and white. Barrie Cassidy writes. There's a real paradox around next week's federal budget. While it is the most important politically - if not economically - for many years, the build up is both sanguine and low key, the opposite to what you would expect. Typical budgets are preceded by a softening up process; the laying down of markers; the development of a clear narrative; and the odd officially-sanctioned leak. This one - the one that precedes a formal election campaign and that has to achieve so much - has none of that. Unlike Wayne Swan and Joe Hockey before him, Scott Morrison decided not to go to the meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in the United States, which conveniently happen just before the budget every year. The events help the treasurer to frame economic strategy against a global background. But neither is Morrison locked away in treasury, beavering away and eschewing public appearances. Morrison is both active on social media and in the marginal seats. But for all that he's not saying much at all. Typically, his Twitter message is this: Well it's a week to go until we hand down the budget. This is a critical time for our economy. We are moving from that mining boom through to a more diversified economy. And this: We are focussed on a plan for jobs and growth for your future and the future of your family and I look forward to updating you more as we go through the week. Well not so far he hasn't. The messages are just as vague and general as they've always been. If that is because there really is nothing particularly earth shattering about the budget - that it really will be modest and free of political risks - then that in itself is a risk, especially now with expectations so high. As Niki Savva wrote in The Australian on Thursday, this budget: ...has to fulfil the Liberal credo of lower spending, lowering taxes and lowering or eliminating the deficit; it has to be economically credible and politically appealing ... and cement the Coalition's standing as superior economic managers. So little time, so little money, so few options. Everything about this budget promises to be modest, except what it is expected to achieve. It will certainly need to go beyond the rhetoric and the promises of every budget since the country went into deficit eight years ago. All of them promised improvements in the bottom line and so far none of them have delivered. Cynicism on that front is building faster the deficit itself. On a second front, the Government's tactics are unusual, turning political orthodoxy on its head. All week - with a break for the submarines announcement - the Government has been running dual scare campaigns against the Opposition. Usually it's the other way around. Of course ministers should attack the policies of their opponents if they disagree with them. But is that the priority with the budget just days away? And with the submarine decision still to be further exploited? Doubtless over time the Government will pressure Labor on climate change and negative gearing. But the scare campaign won't be quite the "horror show" that the Daily Telegraph suggests it might be, for several reasons. The negative gearing campaign lost some of its momentum when the Prime Minister and the Treasurer handpicked the Mignacca family as the best example of "mum and dad" investors. It turned out they had negatively geared a property for their daughter, Adison, who is not yet one. And to compound their problems, the Grattan Institute has forcefully put the case for a dilution of concessions around negative gearing. The Liberal Party's Victorian president, Michael Kroger, hit back saying the institute "is not an intellectually independent organisation ... it comes from a left political bent ... and always argues for higher taxes." And - he neglected to mention - the Prime Minister's wife is on the board! The scare campaign around climate change got off to a more promising start when Bill Shorten used words similar to Julia Gillard's "there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead." That was - and is - the stuff of instant internet advertisements. Despite that, however, Labor's new policy is vastly different from Gillard's. Her government put a fixed price on big emitters - initially $23 a tonne. Shorten's model returns to a market mechanism, but it has no carbon price, and therefore, semantics or not, no carbon tax. It is closer to Turnbull 2009 than Gillard 2012. The fact is Malcolm Turnbull cannot scare like Tony Abbott can scare - or the Telegraph can scare. He doesn't have it in him. He appears to constantly wrestle with his conscience, as if there's an invisible Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder. In his exchange with Leigh Sales on 7.30, he didn't embrace discredited modelling, preferring instead to argue "commonsense". "So you have to trust my analysis on this?" Sales suggested. And that's pretty much where he left it. Here's Turnbull's character trait/problem - call it what you will. Most politicians are wired to see just black or white. Cabinet can sit around for hours arguing the merits, for example, of ridding negative gearing of the "excesses". It might narrowly decide - after robust discussion - to leave the thing alone. Then, politics being what it is, ministers go out with a hard line that ignores the nuances of their previous discussions. They go on the attack, warning that anybody who goes down that track will ruin the economy. That's how it always works. It's either black or white. Once a decision is taken, there is no longer a middle ground; no room for compromise. Any argument to the contrary is lost in that "take no prisoners" approach. Some politicians are shameless; they carry that off ruthlessly and often convincingly. Others, like Turnbull, find it hard to conceal their discomfort. That's because his natural home is in the grey area. He knows - he's demonstrated this in the past - that on some issues - many issues in fact - the strength of the arguments on both sides demand a mature debate. But politics as we have come to know it doesn't allow for that anymore. Barrie Cassidy is the presenter of the ABC TV program Insiders. Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, tax First posted |
Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. In order to avoid admitting to cheating on his wife, Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 97 times during his divorce proceedings with Ivana Trump in 1990, the Huffington Post reported Friday. So it should come as little surprise that Trump had kind words for a system that allows men to divorce their wives without going to court: Saudi Arabia’s Shariah law. The Republican presidential candidate praised the Islamic law, or Shariah, system during a 60-second syndicated daily radio commentary called “Trumped!” that he recorded from 2004 to 2008. In a January 2008 segment, Trump discussed a news story of a Saudi man who had divorced his wife for watching a television show while alone at home because, in Trump’s telling, the husband considered it tantamount to being alone with a strange man. “Men in Saudi Arabia have the authority to divorce their wives without going to the courts,” Trump said. “I guess that would also mean they don’t need prenuptial agreements. The fact is, no courts, no judges—Saudi Arabia sounds like a very good place to get a divorce.” BuzzFeed first uncovered the show and its website in March, and the Wall Street Journal published some audio and transcripts in July. According to BuzzFeed, stations that still have an archive of the shows cannot release the audio without Trump’s permission. When it comes to Trump’s beliefs about women, Trump’s radio vignettes often mirror his own life and his past treatment of and attitudes toward women that are now haunting his campaign. In recent days, Trump has threatened to begin attacking Hillary Clinton for her husband’s infidelities. But it’s Trump who has extensive experience with divorce—and it’s no wonder he would have preferred the Saudi system. Before finalizing his divorce from his first wife, Ivana, Trump began seeing Marla Maples, who would become his second wife. The divorce required five depositions, during which he repeatedly took the Fifth. Trump’s remarks about Saudi Arabia were not the only commentary from his radio show with relevance to Trump’s own marriages. Trump often used the show to discuss the appearance of female celebrities. In one segment from 2005, Trump noted that pop star Britney Spears had disappeared from a list of the sexiest women alive compiled by FHM, a men’s magazine. “Angelina [Jolie] took over the crown from Britney Spears, who didn’t even make the sexy list this year,” Trump said. “She has gone down, there’s no question about it. That’s what a marriage can do for you.” His belief that marriage hurts a woman’s appearance wasn’t great news for his own marriage to Ivana. As that union unraveled, he made it clear to her that her looks had deteriorated—and Ivana seemed to internalize that critique and blame herself. “She threw herself into my arms sobbing and crying and saying, ‘Donald doesn’t want me anymore,'” former New York Daily News columnist Liz Smith recently recalled. “‘He has told me, he can’t be sexually attracted to a woman who has had children.'” In order to entice her husband, Ivana got a face lift and a breast augmentation, Smith said. It didn’t work. Trump was seeing a new woman and setting the stage for his future radio commentary about Saudi Arabia. |
Catch the signs early Don’t wait to get help if you experience any of these heart attack warning signs. Some heart attacks are sudden and intense. But most start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Pay attention to your body and call 911 if you experience: Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes – or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes – or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath. This can occur with or without chest discomfort. This can occur with or without chest discomfort. Other signs. Other possible signs include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. Download our heart attack warning signs infographic (PDF). Symptoms vary between men and women As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. Learn about the warning signs of heart attack in women. Watch video: “Just A Little Heart Attack” – a short film directed by and starring Elizabeth Banks Don’t hesitate to call 911 Learn the signs for heart attack, and remember: Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, have it checked out. Minutes matter. Fast action can save lives - maybe your own. Call 911 if you experience heart attack warning signs. Calling 911 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. An emergency medical services (EMS) team can begin treatment when they arrive – up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital, too. For many reasons, it’s best to call 911 so that an experienced EMS team can begin treatment and arrange rapid transport to the emergency room. Watch an animation of a heart attack. Learn more: |
Pre-Alpha 8 was released on Monday, so we took some time this week to watch people play to see what common problems they encountered and to find the areas that we need to improve most. The time right after a release is also great for fixing long-standing issues and improving old code, because if I break something now we’ve got a couple weeks left until the next release to notice it (on the contrary, doing bigger changes a couple days before release is always a bit scary). We also worked on giving our website a makeover. Almost done! Won’t go online for a couple weeks though :) We added a tilt-shift effect (blur near the top and bottom of the screen to make everything look more like a miniature): It is disabled by default, but if you want to take some nice screenshots or record videos or even play with it there’s an option for it. And we added the Tourbillon ride: It looks a bit like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is a real ride currently in development. The movement pattern in the game is randomized. |
Game Info Box Art N/A Platform PS4 Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment Developer Heavy Spectrum Release Date May 17, 2016 Do you have fond memories of Shadow of the Beast? No, not Altered Beast, that retro grave was already desecrated in Europe and Japan in 2005. We're talking about Shadow of the Beast. Let's say you do, in fact, have a soft spot for the 1989 cult classic from Reflections and Psygnosis. Despite the lengthy development time (the remake was announced way back in 2013) you're eagerly waiting to see how demonic warrior Aarbron has made the leap to modern platforms. If that describes you, then you ... you had better sit down. There is much wrong with Shadow of the Beast Shadow of the Beast was a standout when it was originally released on Amiga computers, largely for the parallax scrolling graphics that put so many of its contemporaries to shame. It also had one heck of a cool score. The remake of Shadow of the Beast being released in 2016 by Heavy Spectrum has neither of these advantages to lean on. It's got some interesting art choices and a decent soundtrack, but neither are radical enough to stand on. No, this new Shadow of the Beast has to live or die by its mechanics and ... well, it certainly does one of those things. Spare me a paragraph to sum up the story: Aarbron is a magic baby turned into a mindless demon warrior by an evil wizard named Maletoth. But when Maletoth charges him with tracking down another magic baby (greedy), Aarbron also kills the baby's human guardian ... who just happens to be his own human father. The unintentional patricide reminds him what he once was, and sets him on a quest for vengeance against Maletoth. Shadow of the Beast is, like its predecessor, a two-dimensional brawler that, unlike its predecessor conflates hyper-violence with modernity (Aarbron's hands are two big murder prongs for crying out loud). Sadly, in the pursuit of stylishly violent combat animation, Heavy Spectrum has sacrificed fluidity and fun. There is much wrong with Shadow of the Beast, but most of it daisy chains back to this: It's sluggish. Button presses feel less like commands and more like suggestions. I lost count of how many times I got hit with a cheap shot from behind because I was performing some stylish attack animation on the monster in front of me. Every fight feels like it's being conducted in a vat of half-congealed Jello. Aarbron has some special moves, like an attack that siphons health or one that ups the experience points he's awarded for each fight. But the demonic warrior controlled so poorly, I was almost always rewarded for my flashiness by getting sucker punched. I learned to stick with the basic dodge-punch-repeat-forever combo. I can't imagine a game good enough to claw its way out of a core gameplay loop of perfectly blended boredom and frustration. Shadow of the Beast doesn't even come close. For starters, the sluggishness bleeds into the platforming segments that surround the combat. Every jump is granted an added layer of tension when it's anyone's guess as to when Aarbron will decide to leave the ground after the "X" button is pressed. The platforming feels terrible, and it makes it discouraging to unearth secrets hidden throughout each level when getting around feels so bad. Here's the hitch: If you don't seek those secrets out, you probably won't have any clue what's happening in the story. Baffling as it may sound, the actually surprisingly decent tale of Aarbron's vengeance must be unlocked piecemeal via hidden collectibles. Actually collecting those spheres requires you to waste one of Aarbron's extremely powerful screen-clearing special attacks. I have no idea why. There's a lot I'm in the dark about regarding Shadow of the Beast, so poorly did it communicate with me. I got stuck for a full hour because I couldn't find a mission-critical item better hidden than any of the game's secret collectibles. Shadow of the Beast actually works itself up to a few half-decent puzzles, but they were only admirable after I stumbled into a solution, because in the moment they hovered between baffling and infuriating. |
Demolition Truck Unit Affiliation Soviet Union ( Libya only) Role Suicide vehicle Armament Demo Bomb (Nuclear Bomb) Tier 2 Tech level 10 Properties Hit points 150 Armour type Light Amphibious No Production Cost $1500 Build time 1:00 Produced by Soviet War Factory Requires Radar Tower Combat Ground attack 400 (RA2) 300 (YR) (DemobombWH) Cooldown 80 Speed 6 (RA2) 5 (YR) Attack range 1 Sight range 5 “ Let's make a delivery! - Demolition truck ” The demolition truck (often shortened to demo truck) was a special suicide unit used by Soviet-affiliated Libya during the first and second iterations of the Thrid World War. Contents show] Background “ The Libyan Demolition Truck self-destructs on an enemy target, setting off a small nuclear bomb. - Multiplayer loading screen for Libya ” By the closing months of Second World War, both Allied and Soviet usage of remote control nuclear delivery systems called demolition trucks claimed many of their enemies' lives. After the war, the Allies wished to minimize the chance of nuclear environmental poisoning as much as possible, and much of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, demolition trucks included, had been greatly neutered on the terms of their defeat. However, this did not prevent Soviet-affiliated states to secretly develop such weapons. Libya was tasked with the design and assembly of the new generation of the demolition truck. The trucks were generally controlled not by remote - instead, they were steered to their destination by suicidal drivers. Usage The demolition truck, albeit not as powerful as a tactical nuclear missile, can be very effective against enemy units, particularly if more than one is used. The trucks were very effective against base defenses, even if they were destroyed before they reached their target. Soviet commanders could also use it in combination with the Iron Curtain to deliver an unstoppable and deadly attack. On the other hand, if an Allied commander was to obtain demolition trucks, a Chronosphere could be used to transport up to 9 trucks right inside an enemy's base. Demolition trucks cost a fairly high amount to build and due to their low health, spamming them can backfire. To combat this, one or more Apocalypse tanks may be sent first to distract nearby defensive structures. Demolition trucks can then be used to target their base without being fired upon. Counters Demolition trucks were very dangerous to keep inside bases because of their volatile nature. Allied Harriers can destroy a truck in a single hit, causing substantial damage if the truck is still within its base. Chrono legionnaires can be used to freeze and erase a demolition truck without setting off its payload. Alternatively, a single tank can be used to intercept the truck and destroy it before it reaches the vicinity of other friendly units. Assessment Pros Effective against enemy ground units and buildings. Does Splash damage. Very dangerous when used with the Iron Curtain and/or Chronosphere. Cons Expensive ($1500; $1125 with an Industrial Plant) for a suicide unit. Its creation is announced to all players. Cannot target aircraft. A single Harrier or Black Eagle missile can destroy it. Radiation left disappears pretty quickly compared to the desolator's radiation field. If a Magnetron can lifts it and releases it above water, the demolition truck will sink without setting off the bomb. Chrono legionnaires can remove them from time safely, also avoiding detonation. Only available for Libya. Quotes “ My truck is loaded! - When created and selected ” “ Let's make a delivery! - When selected ” “ I shall avenge us! - When selected ” “ Why don't you drive? - When selected ” “ One way trip! - When moving ” “ As you wish... - When moving ” “ Watch out for the bumps! - When moving ” “ For my people! - When ordered to attack ” “ I am prepared to die! - When ordered to attack ” “ It will be a smoking crater! - When ordered to attack ” “ Don't wait up for me! - When ordered to attack ” “ Aaaaah-kakakakaka!!!! - When ordered to attack ” Gallery Trivia |
More than 40 people illegally crossed the U.S. border and claimed refugee status within Quebec this past weekend, while 21 others did the same in Manitoba, border officials say. The influx of asylum seekers from the United States comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at the White House on Monday for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump last month signed an executive order that temporarily banned Syrian refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Patrizia Giolti, a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson, in an e-mail Sunday said 42 people made refugee claims in Quebec over the weekend. Ms. Giolti did not say precisely where the refugee claimants crossed. Story continues below advertisement Opinion: How Canada can take Trump's refugees Read more: Trudeau concerned about refugee influx in Manitoba border town Related: Manitoba town pleads for federal help with refugee influx The RCMP did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday. A force spokesperson earlier said it had witnessed an increase in illegal border crossings in Quebec, Manitoba, and British Columbia, with the largest of those increases in Quebec. Mr. Trudeau said last week his government was "very concerned" about the rise in asylum seekers. He emphasized the need to protect both migrants and Canada's border. Refugee lawyer David Matas said Sunday when police discover migrants crossing into Canada they take them to the CBSA, which then screens them for security reasons but does not detain the migrants simply for entering the country at an unguarded area. He said he has had a number of clients from Somalia who crossed into Canada, avoiding the ports-of-entry. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement "They have dramatic stories," he said in an interview. "They start off in Somalia. Then they'll go to Djibouti, Kenya, and all the way down to South Africa. Sometimes they have a lot of trouble in South Africa because there's a lot of xenophobia there. Brazil is often a destination … and then they just come north from there traversing all the Latin American countries. And eventually they end up in Canada." CBSA did not provide annual totals for refugee claimants in Quebec. But it has said the number of refugee claimants crossing into Manitoba so far in the 2016-17 fiscal year is over 400, up from 68 in 2013-14. Most were from African countries, particularly Somalia. Unlike the United States, Canada will not deport failed refugee claimants to Somalia because the country is deemed too dangerous, Mr. Matas said. "People here without status are not guaranteed to stay indefinitely. They're just here supposedly temporarily," he said. Though CBSA and the RCMP said the largest increase in asylum seekers was in Quebec, much of the attention in recent days has been paid to crossings in Manitoba, with migrants arriving in the town of Emerson, population 700. Story continues below advertisement Greg Janzen, Emerson's reeve, in an interview Sunday said he does not expect the increased arrivals to stop any time soon. All 21 people who arrived in Emerson this weekend showed up Saturday morning. Mr. Janzen said it was unclear why no one arrived Sunday. On the previous Saturday, the RCMP stopped 19 people who had crossed the border. The lawyer for two men from Ghana who passed through Emerson just before Christmas has said they lost fingers to frostbite. Mr. Janzen said there is worry among locals that some of the people attempting to cross into Emerson might not have survived. "That's another coffee-shop discussion," he said. " … That possibility is real. They have been coming across when there's wind chills of -35. … I'd hate to be a farmer all of a sudden finding somebody dead laying there on the side of his field." Story continues below advertisement Emerson officials met with the RCMP, CBSA and representatives from the federal and provincial governments on Thursday to address the community's concerns. Mr. Janzen said after the meeting, he was given assurances Emerson would receive support from other levels of government. He said Sunday he was satisfied with that level of support. Migrants who cross at open fields or other unguarded areas are not covered by the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, and have the right to make a refugee claim in Canada. The safe-third-country agreement requires refugee claimants to apply for status in the country they arrive in first. The United States is the only country with which Canada has such an agreement. A Canadian government website says that that is partly because the United States meets a high standard of human rights. At a minimum, all refugee claimants on Canadian soil are entitled to an oral hearing and fair procedures, under the Supreme Court's 1985 Singh decision establishing modern refugee rights in Canada, according to Efrat Arbel, who teaches law at the University of British Columbia's Allard Law School. At the refugee hearings in Canada, a migrant's entry through a safe third country is irrelevant, Prof. Arbel said. Story continues below advertisement "It doesn't matter how you've entered. Once you make your way in you advance your refugee claim as usual," she said. "If you've entered through a field, then the safe-third-country agreement wouldn't be attached to your claim. You're not obligated to disclose the manner by which you have entered." She said the safe-third-country agreement creates an incentive for unauthorized border crossings. "It therefore not only puts the lives and safety of refugees at risk, it also makes our border less secure, more disorderly, more dangerous," she said. A group of 235 Canadian legal scholars has called on the federal government to halt the safe-third-country agreement. A recent report by the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic argued the United States can no longer be considered a "safe" country for refugees. |
Both Brazil internationals have admitted to be surprised by the struggles of former club Milan this season… PSG’s defender Thiago Silva and Real Madrid’s midfielder Kaka have spoken about the unhappiness regarding their former side Milan, right after the Brazil-Colombia superclash. The two stars have featured in Brazil’s 1000 jubilee match, and few moments later they both commented Milan’s current crisis situation giving their full support and best wishes. “It’s not easy to judge from the outside, but I’ve never seen a Milan side like this,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport. It is certainly not Milan-like to lose six of their first 12 League games. I hope they can pick themselves up”, said Thiago Silva. The Brazilian was one of the many big name players to leave the Diavolo this summer, but he’s still a fan. “I’ll always be a supporter of the Rossoneri because I was really happy at that club,” he commented. As far Kaka is concerned, he has once again come up with a wonder-way to make the fans proud and bring their hopes back on. “I’m sorry that they have been in this difficult situation. I am sure that it will all change very soon and Milan will start performing well both in Serie A and Champions League.” The 30-year-old midfielder has always been the Achilles’ heel of the Italian giant and for that reason, he has been linked to San Siro return for a countless number of times. “Remember, Milan will always be Milan”. Download my e-book “The footsteps of a Legend – Ricardo Kaka” and find out all there is to know about this magnificent player, including stories and statements which have never been revealed before. 41.720000 21.793333 |
Image Credit Blue Sky Homes I will confess to a case of prefab ennui; I have waited a decade for it to make green modern design affordable and accessible and it has not yet fulfilled its promise. Where once the prefab proselytizers could claim that being better built in a factory was enough, it isn't any more, and one has to look closely to see: is really green? Is it too big? Too far away? Fortunately, Preston at Jetson Green has keeping up with the prefab scene, and covered five of them in February, including this little gem from Blue Sky Homes. It is one of the more interesting prefab ideas around, built with a steel frame and insulated steel panels. More at Jetson Green While the American real estate market is in the tank, the Canadian one is still pretty strong, particularly in Alberta, home of the oil industry. That's where Karoleena Custom Homes builds the Karo Cabin. The Karo Cabin is a factory-built, future-ready structure designed to be used as a summer escape, backyard studio, laneway house, or something similar and can be delivered anywhere in North America (assuming a road or ferry route). More at Jetson Green Another cute Canadian is the Faberhaus. Preston writes: Designed and built by Faberca, faberhaus gives folks a self-sufficient living space in the country. In other words, no electrical grid connection is necessary with solar power for the LED lights and propane power for the fridge, hydronic radiant heat, and everything else. It is tiny, has everything you need, expensive radiant heat, and of course, the commenters complain about the price at $ 237 per square foot. Sigh. More at Jetson Green. I have a real problem with this one by EcoSteel.. Preston writes: This sturdy steel cabin is off-grid, off-pipe, and self-sufficient, making it an interesting case study of sustainability and coastal design. The home was completed just over a year ago on Cusabo Island in South Carolina -- an impressive feat given the remote site accessible only by boat. The owner was able to take advantage of prefab construction and had the parts flown in by helicopter. And therein lies the problem. It is almost 4,000 square feet, built to resist floods and hurricanes, and everything is brought in by helicopter, the most expensive and carbon intensive form of transport in the world next to the Space Shuttle. Sustainable? Puleeze. More at Jetson Green I am going to look more closely at LABhaus. Reading their philosophy, they seem to have a good mix of design, materials and green goodies. They write: At LABhaus, we consider sustainability to have three core components: environmental, economic, and market. Environmental stability means building homes with the lowest possible impact throughout their life cycle. We use non-toxic, renewable materials, constructed using low-waste techniques, to produce a home with the maximum quality and durability with the lowest possible energy use. Economic sustainability means building homes which represent the best possible value for our consumers and which are more affordable to purchase and maintain than similar homes. More at Jetson Green When I first looked at the LABhaus rendering, I thought "another wide lot suburban design, we shouldn't do that any more" and almost wrote it off. That would have been a mistake; there is a lot going on in the prefab world, a lot of good design, ingenuity and innovation. Thanks to Preston for continuing to cover it at Jetson Green. More modern prefab from Jetson Green in TreeHugger: Top Five Super Green Modern Homes Ten Things Wrong With Sprawl Follow me on Twitter! @lloydalter and friend me on Facebook |
The bikes have stopped and the riders are enjoying some well-deserved holiday time. Andrea Iannone is spending some time in Ibiza before getting back on his Suzuki in early August at Brno. This evening the Italian rider carried out a phone interview with Sky Sport 24. The Maniac took the opportunity to explain how he's feeling: “This is the hardest break of my life – he stated - unfortunately I've never reached the holidays with such difficulties, there's a real weight when you are so keen to achieve important results”. He won't hear of giving in though: “These are life lessons that help you to grow anyway – he pointed out – I continue to train with the aim of taking the Suzuki to the top”. His GSX-RR has so far failed to meet with expectations this season: “We're continuing to develop the bike – commented #29 - last year the Suzuki could count on a different regulation, with less restrictions”. Iannone is nevertheless confident: “The bike has a good base and can become competitive – he stated – unfortunately I crashed at the Sachsenring but I was trying to bring home the best possible result”. Looking back, this isn't the first time that The Maniac has faced such a situation: “I arrived in Ducati in 2013 with more problems than I have today – he recalled - in some ways it's like returning down a path I've already taken. So as a result I'm not overly worried - he revealed - also because I believe in my team and the people around me". His last words concern Schwantz: “I've always respected Kevin – declared Iannone - he can say whatever he thinks. I would have preferred him to speak to me face to face, like a father does with his son, or if we'd confronted each other”. |
The names of Emily and Caleb have been changed to protect their identities because possession of ayahuasca is illegal under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Jennifer Logan's relatives say they are hoping test results will reveal why she died at a retreat in Peru after drinking a concoction called "tobacco purge tea." The Canadian woman died at the retreat outside the city of Puerto Maldonado on Jan. 17 after drinking the tea, meant to provide a spiritual cleanse through purging, during a ceremony with a shaman. Logan, 32, died of a pulmonary edema, an abnormal buildup of fluid in the air sacs of the lungs. Her sister, Amy Logan, says the family believes the tea played a role in her death. Tobacco purge tea is made from a potent variety of tobacco found in the rainforest called mapacho. When used in tea the plant induces vomiting intended to cleanse. Her memorial took place Saturday in her hometown of Saskatoon. The drink was apparently not ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea that is believed by those who practise plant-based healing to have cleansing and psychological healing properties, but it is similar in that ayahuasca also has a purging effect on those who ingest it, and it is a growing trend at spiritual ceremonies. Ayahuasca is being used in clinical research to treat depression, anxiety and PTSD. However, it has been connected to several deaths at spiritual ceremonies. Diligence is urged The indigenous cultures of the Amazon have for centuries been brewing plant concoctions that induce vomiting and contain naturally occurring doses of the hallucinogen dimenthyltryptamine (DMT). Plants used to make tobacco tea and ayahuasca are legal in Peru. Staff at a Peruvian jungle retreat said Jennifer Logan had an 'extreme and unusual' reaction after drinking what they described as a 'tobacco purge' tea. (Facebook) Sonya Weir, co-ordinator for the Institute of Shamanic Medicine in British Columbia, says people have to be very discerning when travelling to South America to participate in plant healing ceremonies. "It's a terrible tragedy, and there might have been compounding factors — we don't have all the facts yet," says Weir, a shamanic healing practitioner, about Logan’s death. "But regardless, you have to do your research." Weir does not participate in ceremonies involving teas mixed with medicinal plants, and they are not endorsed by the Institute of Shamanic Medicine. "We have travelled to Bolivia and done shamanic work with teachers in South America. We would say if you want to do a retreat, we could recommend a shamanic practitioner. Do your homework. Do your research. I would absolutely not go to Peru and meet someone on the street and go off and put my faith in them." Canadian underground culture But tea ceremonies that involve teas containing tobacco or ayahuasca are not just taking place in South America; they also occur right here in Canada. Although the plants do not naturally grow here, there is a plant-healing culture, which remains largely underground because the ceremonies are illegal. Jennifer Logan is shown in a family photo. Relatives say they are hoping test results will reveal why she died at a rainforest retreat in Peru. (Takumi Furuichi/Canadian Press) Those who have participated in ayahuasca ceremonies in Canada that involve purging similar to the effects of tobacco tea say preparation is of the utmost importance. "If you prepare properly, you basically just spit. There’s nothing to really bring up," said Caleb, a 36-year-old Toronto resident. "Sometimes when it’s too intense you want to fight it. The shaman works you through it." "It’s sad to know that happened," he said of Logan. "I think it’s an amazing adventure, but it’s not to be taken lightly." Caleb only agreed to be interviewed if his real name wasn’t used. "Maybe there are blogs and people who are open about this, but for me it is all word of mouth," he said. "I by no means think it's a bad thing, but don't abuse it. Make sure it's right for you. Do your background research and do your homework." Instructions distributed ahead of an ayahuasca ceremony direct participants to alter their diet and fast beforehand. "Cut back on salt, sugar, alcohol, sexual activity a few days prior. The day of ceremony, fast at least half the day with light lunch or a full day if comfortable. Need to know of any medications being used," the directions read. "I’ve purged in ayahuasca ceremonies every time," says Emily, 34, a Toronto woman who has participated in four ceremonies, both in Canada and abroad. "For me, the purge is mostly energetic, meaning even though you go through the motions of vomiting, nothing is actually coming out. You feel like the purge is a release of a blockage of sorts. I think the diet is very important prior to the ceremony." Amy Logan said staff at the all-female retreat made various teas for clients and crafted a tea designed to make her sister vomit and cleanse the body, giving her "clarity on her future path." "The other three women in the group stopped vomiting within 15 minutes … Jennifer didn't stop and began to panic," before she passed out, Amy Logan said. Staff gave her first aid before she was taken by motorcycle and boat to hospital, but doctors could not revive her. Amy Logan said her sister was healthy, about 120 pounds, and a vegetarian who did yoga and meditation. "Who knows how long it took to get her to the hospital," Caleb said. "Here the hospital is maybe 20 minutes away." The CBC documentary The Jungle Prescription looks at the use of plant medicines like ayahuasca to treat addiction: |
Copyright by WOODTV - All rights reserved Emergency personnel work at the scene early Sunday, March 19, 2017, of a fatal shooting Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. A sheriff's deputy died after being shot near a barber shop during the course of an investigation, authorities said Sunday. Copyright by WOODTV - All rights reserved Emergency personnel work at the scene early Sunday, March 19, 2017, of a fatal shooting Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. A sheriff's deputy died after being shot near a barber shop during the course of an investigation, authorities said Sunday. The Associated Press - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A sheriff's deputy in Louisiana is dead after being shot near a movie theater in Baton Rouge, police said Sunday. East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office deputy Shawn T. Anderson was rushed to the hospital after being shot while on duty late Saturday, spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said in a news release. Anderson, 43, was conducting an investigation with another deputy at a strip mall near the AMC movie theater when the shooting occurred. "Our hearts are broken as we grieve for one of our brothers," Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said. Louisiana State Police spokesman Bryan Lee told local media outlets that the deputies were not responding to a call for service. A suspect was shot and injured and taken to a hospital. The condition of the suspect was unavailable. Anderson began working at the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office in 1999. He was presented the Life Saving Award in 2010 for saving the life of a woman on Old Mississippi River bridge and recognized for serving more than sixty high-risk warrants in 2013 as part of a SWAT team with no injuries or shots fired. He also delivered a baby on the side of the road last year. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Police Chief Carl Dabadie asked for prayers for Anderson's family. "I think we are a very praying community and I think that thoughts and prayers are needed here and we come together just like we always do and always have," Dabadie added. "There's no doubt we won't here, also." The New Orleans Advocate (http://bit.ly/2nzNuM0 ) quoted Hicks as saying the Louisiana State Police would conduct the investigation. Authorities did not release the identity of the suspect. The deputy was taken from Ochsner Medical Center shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday with a procession of law enforcement vehicles. "Our hearts and prayers are with the family and friends of the fallen deputy and all the brave men and women in law enforcement who risk their own safety every single day to protect the communities they serve," said Corey Amundson, acting U.S. attorney. "We will devote whatever federal law enforcement resources are necessary to ensure that justice is served." |
The catch? Hägerstads Castle itself is uninhabitable, after it was gutted by a fire in 2011. The interiors were completely destroyed, and the agents say frankly it will probably have to be pulled down. Up close, the effects of the fire are more apparent. Over the years the castle, near Hannäs in the Åtvidaberg municipality, has been a home for retired governesses and a council-run centre for people with alcohol abuse problems. For the past few years it has been a private home, and remained so until the fire. From above you can see the potential of the peninsula. The castle - perhaps more accurately a mansion - was built in 1868 on a peninsula jutting out into Lake Vindomen by Hugo Beijer, who is still buried in the grounds. He spent his later life in England, where he is said to have built a miniature copy of Hägerstad, though it is unclear where. The modern homes on the plot might make up in comfort what they lack in aristocratic charm. Beijer not the only one buried there - there are also ancient Viking burials on the plot. Despite the fire, if you buy the property you won’t be short of somewhere to lay your head: the plot contains the old gardener’s cottage and two decent-sized family homes, built in the 1960s. These currently have tenants, but they’ll be gone by the end of the year. You’ll also get a boat house with a pontoon, a stable and a large greenhouse. As for the big house, you would be free to restore it or rip it down - but if you demolish it you will need planning permission to build something in its place. Tempted? FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit Skeppsholmen Sotheby's International Realty. |
Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards One of the Nicest Places in America by Nate Wardle The Washington Wizards began their early season west coast swing with a hard-fought victory against the Denver Nuggets, but what’s the Wizards key to success so far in 2018? Atop the Eastern Conference is the 3-0 Washington Wizards, who are the only undefeated team left in the East. So far, the Wizards have taken down the agile Philadelphia 76ers (1-3) to open the season, the new look Detriot Pistons (2-2) and the revamped Denver Nuggets to begin their abnormally early West Coast trip. Not to mention, the Wizards perfect start comes without their starting power forward Markieef Morris and reserve forward Jason Smith. John Wall leads the East with 30 assists, Otto Porter Jr. leads the NBA with 11 steals and Bradley Beal has scored at least 20 points in the Wizards’ first three games. However, there’s one statistic that stands out among the rest and that’s the Wizards success thus far at the free throw line. Heading into Tuesday’s NBA action, the Wizards have converted on 85-of-101 free throws attempts which presents them with the fifth best free throw percentage in the NBA at 84.2 percent. If success continues at the line, it would be a massive improvement from just a season ago when the Wizards shot 78.4 percent from the foul line. After finishing No. 22 in the NBA for free throw attempts last season, John Wall and the Wizards have been aggressive early on this season in getting to the line. It’s possible the NBA, including the referees, finally see the Wizards as a dominant team which has resulted in more calls going the Wizards way. Also, referees grant priority when you have an inspired superstar like John Wall quietly taking the NBA by storm. Want your voice heard? Join the The Baltimore Wire team! Write for us! Last night’s Wizards scrappy victory provides a perfect example of the importance of free throws. The Wizards shot 26-of-28 from the line in a 109-104 win against the Nuggets to extend their win streak to three games. When diving into the NBA stats, all but two teams (Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors) in the top 10 for field goal percentage own winning records. |
Flying Lotus, aka Steven Ellison, thinks he should've worked on Kanye West's Yeezus, as he tells Newsweek. "I should have been on it," he said. "It was kind of weird that I wasn’t. Just being totally real, not on some ego shit.... I was like, 'They didn’t even call!'" It's a fair complaint, given how many people worked on Yeezus. "That's my favorite one of his albums," Ellison continued. "I really wish I was part of it." He also said it wasn't the only album he missed out on. "There's a few things that came out that I really wish I was on. I wish I was on that. I wish I was on the Earl [Sweatshirt] album, the Doris album." When asked if he'd like to feature Kanye on a future Flying Lotus album, Ellison said, "I've been trying, man! I feel like, at this point, it's been expressed enough. He knows here I'm at." In the interview, Ellison was also asked about Thom Yorke, with whom he collaborated on 2010's Cosmogramma and 2012's Until the Quiet Comes. "He’s got some shit. Something happening soon," he said. "I just feel it. Something’s around the corner. I feel it in my bones." Presumably, he was referring to Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, which received a surprise release at the end of September. But maybe we've got another collaboration headed our way. Read Nate Patrin's review of the new Flying Lotus album, You're Dead!, and check out our most recent interview with him. Watch him and Thundercat on an episode of Pitchfork.tv's "Over/Under": |
Arcade Mod V2 for MCPE 0.12.3 Mods for Minecraft Pocket Edition (MCPE) Author: DrLazuli Author site : http://mcpeuniverse.com/author/DrLazuli Author youtube channel: Author: DrLazuli Compatible with MCPE: 0.12.3 List of all the games Pac-Man: Eat all the pac dots while avoiding the ghosts to win this game. Pong: Use the left and right arrow keys to move your bar around and bounce the ball past your opponent who now has IMPROVED AI!!! Super Snake: Guide the snake to the melon blocks to eat them and increase your score! Be careful… the more you eat… the longer it’s tail gets and you don’t want to run into that. Galacta: Use the left and right arrow keys to move and the up arrow key to shoot. Destroy all the alien ships before they retreat to get a higher score! Some have to be hit several times to be destroyed! Avoid the retreating ships. Aerial Attack: Watch out for the missiles and get ready for RAGE. Runner: Use the up arrow key to jump and down to duck! Watch out for the obstacles! Frogger: Press up to hop forward! Cross the busy street safely! Be careful! You have to let go of the up key and then press it again to hop again. Holding the key isn’t going to get you anywhere. Mario vs Donkey Kong: Use the left and right arrow keys to walk and up to jump. Watch out for the barrels. Press buttons to clear barriers and create safety paths. Beat all 5 levels for bragging rights. Download Arcade Mod For 0.12.3 Java Script Download: http://www.dl.9minecraftpe.net/ARCADE_MOD_V2.js mcpe 0.12.3 mods |
Wilfried Bony: Swansea striker a target for champions Manchester City are set to finalise a £30m deal with Swansea for striker Wilfried Bony on Wednesday, according to Sky sources. The two Premier League clubs opened formal dicussions for the Ivory Coast international to make a January move to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, and Sky Sports News HQ's Jim White reports that the deal is "very, very close". He is also set to finalise personal terms before flying to the Middle East to join up with his country's preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on January 17 in Equatorial Guinea. Bony has been highly sought-after both domestically and abroad since his breakthrough season in the Premier League, the 2013-14 campaign, in which he scored 25 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions for the Swans. Brentford manager Mark Warburton examines where Wilfried Bony will fit into the Manchester City line-up Brentford manager Mark Warburton examines where Wilfried Bony will fit into the Manchester City line-up Bony's representatives held talks with Liverpool last summer, while Tottenham were among other clubs interested in his services in pre-season, but ideas of a move away broke down amid conflict over a £19m release clause in his contract. The striker signed a new contract in November which removed that clause, and he has continued to impress this season, scoring nine goals in 22 appearances so far. Bony began his career in his native Côte d'Ivoire with Issia Wazi before signing for Sparta Prague in 2008, where he scored 27 goals in over 50 games. He moved to Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands for £4m in 2011 and scored 51 times in 69 games before the Swans snapped him up for £12m in 2013. Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini recently played down his interest in Bony amid concerns over the club's transfer restrictions under UEFA's financial fair play protocols and the limit on non home-grown players. |
WASHINGTON -- Presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump entered June with just $1.3 million cash on hand in his campaign account, according to a campaign finance report filed on Monday. The tiny sum is the result of Trump’s poor first month of fundraising from donors that netted just $3.1 million. The total is unbelievably paltry for a major party nominee, and places him further behind his opponent in terms of funds and campaign infrastructure than any other modern presidential candidate. In 2012, the collected efforts of the candidates, parties and super PACs of both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney spent more than $1 billion each. Clinton, by comparison, raised $26.4 million for her campaign in the same time period as Trump's $3.1 million. In May 2012, when Romney was the presumptive Republican nominee, he raised $23.4 million. When party committees and supportive super PACs are factored in, the disparity between Clinton and Trump becomes astronomical. Aside from the $26.4 million raised for Clinton's campaign, Priorities USA Action (the super PAC endorsed by her campaign) pulled in an additional $12.4 million. The Democratic National Committee also raised $12.3 million. In total, these three committees comprising Team Clinton entered June with $103.4 million cash on hand. Team Trump -- his campaign, the Republican National Committee and the super PAC Great America -- had a combined $21.7 million cash on hand. That is five times less than what Team Clinton has available to spend. Team Clinton and Team Trump Cash on Hand (May 31, 2016) HuffPost Source: Federal Election Commission. The astonishing gap in funding has produced massive disparities in both television advertising and staff on the ground. Priorities USA Action just launched a $20 million ad buy across swing states and has already spent $10.5 million attacking Trump and another $5 million boosting Clinton on air. The Clinton campaign just reserved television air time across eight states. The Clinton campaign boasts a massive staff of 685 people, while the Trump campaign’s payroll sits at 69. Both numbers are down from April, but the presumptive Democratic nominee also has already begun to farm out her campaign staff to the DNC and state parties to begin to organize in key swing states and beyond. She has further promised to place staff in all 50 states to help get out the vote for her campaign and down-ballot Democrats. Trump effectively became the party nominee on May 4 after defeating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Indiana primary. He quickly stated that he would cease self-funding his campaign and start raising money for both his own committee and the Republican Party. “I'm not looking for myself, I'm looking out for the party, so the party can compete in Senate races and House races. I want to raise money for the party,” he said on Fox at the time. And he did raise $3 million through a joint fundraising committee called Trump Victory, formed in the waning weeks of May, for the Republican National Committee. That is about a quarter of the $13 million the RNC raised last month. The problem, though, is that Trump’s fundraising totals are both little and late, especially compared to both Clinton's current total and the 2012 total of Romney, who became his party’s leader nine days earlier in the election year than Trump did. The majority of Trump’s available cash is housed at the RNC, but the central party committee may have expected much more. In 2012, with the help Romney’s formidable network of wealthy donors, the RNC raised $34 million in May -- $21 million more than this year. Romney, meanwhile, raised $23.4 million in May 2012, his best fundraising month of the cycle and $20 million more than Trump. Overall, the RNC has raised $163 million through May, or $6 million less than in 2012 at the same point. But the RNC’s fundraising strength is centered on the large contributions it has received in special accounts that cannot be used to pay for election expenses. The committee has pulled in $33.4 million for its convention, building and recount accounts from donors who can give up to $100,200 to each one. That leaves just $129 million in their main campaign account to help Republican get elected this fall -- far less than they had in 2012 at this juncture. The DNC trails the RNC, with $108 million raised overall and $100 million raised when not including the convention, building and recount accounts. This will not help make up the astronomical gap between Clinton’s $42 million cash on hand and Trump’s $1.3 million cash on hand. Candidates pay the lowest unit price for advertising, while parties and outside groups pay the expensive going rate. This means that candidate money goes much, much further -- as Romney, who leaned too hard on super PACs in 2012, learned the hard way. Trump has increased his fundraising schedule, and has already made stops in Texas, New York, Arizona, Georgia and Virginia in June. It is increasingly likely, however, that political scientists will finally get to see a real-world test of whether having a fully funded and fully functioning campaign really matters for its results. UPDATE: June 21 -- In a press release sent out Tuesday, the Trump campaign deflected any criticism of the candidate's precarious fundraising position by stating, "the campaign's fundraising has been incredible." It went on to state that the campaign continues "to see a tremendous outpouring of support for Mr. Trump and money to the Republican Party." |
Main Gallery Prime's Alpha Trion disguise fooled few. Christmas is a holiday celebrated by humans on December 25, commemorating the birth of someone called "Christ", who is considered God. It seems to revolve around the exchange of material goods, the slaughter and festooning of conifers, and the consumption of roasted avians. Autobot intelligence suggests that at this time, humans gather together and don't shoot each other. More importantly, Christmas is the focus of a powerful "spirit" manifesting in charity, goodwill, and appreciation. Even hardened Decepticon warriors and vengeance-driven humans are subject to its influence. Such spirit is manifest in a saint, named Santa Claus, who travels over the world bearing gifts. Some Autobots have been known to don a red outfit with a bushy, white beard, imitating Santa Claus as part of the Christmas ritual. Another human custom, Black Friday, is rumored to be the busiest day of shopping for the material goods needed for exchange on Christmas. Christmas: Date — December 25th. Annual festival celebrating Christ's birth. Features include family reunion, gift-giving... Starscream's "Internal Data File", "Stargazing" Fiction Generation 1 continuity family Woman's Day magazine The magic of Christmas made Bumblebee and the Autobots do the power company's repair work. The Night the Transformers Saved Christmas Marvel Comics continuity Marvel The Transformers comics Christmas appeared exclusively in the UK portion of the Marvel Comics continuity "Me, Grimlock, love energo letter opener me got for Christmas." God bless us, every one. Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity Macrocosmic Seekers The Headmasters comic The magic of Christmas was spread by the Autobot Headmasters when they visited a children's hospital to hand out presents. Raiden got in on the fun, carrying all the presents in a giant sack and even donning a colossal Santa hat. IDW Generation 1 continuity The real miracle is that every light on that thing is on. Ho, ho, ho...man this itches. The magic of "the holidays" made Optimus think wearing a gaudy sweater was a good idea. [1] Loyal Subjects Nemesis Prime figure bio The magic of Christmas caused Nemesis Prime to attack Santa Claus' village on December 14. Nemesis Prime destroyed his village, burnt his reindeer alive, then defaced the corpse of an elf before Nemesis tried to choke Santa to death. Thankfully, the magic of Christmas also compelled a mysterious stranger to transport Nemesis Prime away. The magic of Christmas may have adverse effects on some entities. Nemesis Prime figure bio Dreamwave Armada comics Animated cartoon "Merry Christmas to all, and to all, some good trash." The magic of Christmas turned the Autobots into humans! Well, it wasn't so much the magic of Christmas as it was Soundwave plugging them into a virtual reality world, but it could have if it chose to. Human Error, Part I The magic of Christmas would also free Wreck-Gar from his entrapment in the lake bed, giving Sari Sumdac another ally in stopping Soundwave. It would also entice Wreck-Gar to give garbage to all the good little girls and boys! Human Error, Part II Live-action film series Revenge of the Fallen film Yakov hopes that the magic of Christmas bonuses will help him achieve his dream of buying those new teeth he saw in Sky Mall. Revenge of the Fallen Revenge of the Fallen Titan magazine The magic of Christmas got Ironhide to give Barricade a present! From Ratchet of course, Ironhide wouldn't douse him in coolant if he was on fire. (It was a large fist shaped object he had in a cardboard box on the end of his arm...) Law and Disorder The magic of Christmas was something Bumblebee was eager to experience, and it got him to sing carols while beating on some guy. The magic then saw Bumblebee give the Witwicky family presents (he seemed to think they were cars but it's the thought that counts). The Nightmare Bee-4 Christmas The Last Knight film The Decepticon Dreadbot wears some Christmas lights on his upper right arm. Aligned continuity family Prime cartoon When Team Prime was put in stasis lock by the Nemesis, Agent Fowler, who bore witness and had hopes that this battle would win the Autobots the war, denounced his plans for a Christmas vacation in Fiji as being cancelled. Flying Mind Prime Titan magazine The magic of Christmas allowed Arcee and Bulkhead to discover their mutual love of ice skating. Ice Breaker Commercial appearances My own dog gone commercial. I can't stand it. AAUGH! Kre-O Kre-O cartoon The magic of Christmas made the Autobots prank Megatron. A Gift For Megatron Kre-O comic The magic of Christmas allowed the Autobots to give Megatron his own room in a rebuilt Metroplex after an attempted Decepticon takeover of the city-bot. Two Giant Bases! Everybody Getting Along, Come On, Fight! Ask Vector Prime The magic of Christmas caused Optimus Prime to invite Vector Prime over to this universe to help celebrate. While he was there, he kept an eye out for any sign of Sideways' mischief. Ask Vector Prime Cyberverse cartoon Upon being informed that they were heading to the North Pole, Bumblebee played an audio snippet of Santa Claus. The Extinction Event Merchandise Holiday Ornaments Seasonal Specialties Autobot symbol Bumblebee Optimus Prime Optimus Prime 2-pack Decepticon symbol Megatron Megatron 2-pack 5-pack American Greetings Generation 1 Heirloom Ornaments Optimus Prime Megatron Bumblebee Movie (2007) Bumblebee Bumblebee (flat ornament) Megatron Optimus Prime Optimus Prime (flat ornament) Animated Autobot Team Bumblebee Optimus Prime Revenge of the Fallen Optimus Prime Heirloom Ornament Optimus Prime/Autobot logo Holiday Stockings Megatron Optimus Prime Bumblebee (mini) If you build it, they will play. This toys & merchandise-related article is a stub. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Notes |
Craig Shergold was a typical nine year-old living in the UK when, in 1988, he started complaining of ear aches. But his ear problems were not the typical ones suffered by young children. Shergold’s were caused by brain tumors believed to be terminal at the time — he was expected to live only a few months. In 1989, Shergold’s friends and relatives, looking to accomplish the amazing during his short time left on Earth, decided that he should break a world record. They wanted Shergold to receive the most greeting cards — ever. A few decades later, Shergold is still alive, having undergone a successful experimental operation in the U.S. in 1991. And he has that world record, too. He has received an estimated 350 million greeting cards in the last twenty-plus years. The people closest to Shergold started a chain letter, asking the recipients to send Craig a greeting card, explicitly to get his name into the Guinness Book of World Records. The efforts picked up steam quickly, with the Children’s Wish Foundation International, an organization which aims to fulfill the wishes of terminally ill children, helping solicit greeting cards. (Children’s Wish claims to have done so not via chain letter, but by other, less controversial means.) Whether Children’s Wish’s efforts or the chain letter’s were the driving force behind this early success is unknown. But by May of 1990, Shergold’s supporters had met their goal. Shergold has received over 16 million greeting cards, an accomplishment noted by Guinness. And a year later, Guinness updated the record, as Shergold, still alive, hit 33 million. The attention never stopped. The chain letters, which began as paper-and-ink messages requiring a stamp, merged quickly into email, where it spread even faster. By 1998 — seven years after Shergold’s tumors were surgically removed — he had received over 250 million cards, and the postal service gave his childhood home its own postal code in order to handle the volume of mail. And as About.com notes, Shergold’s efforts have now flipped. Instead of asking for more greeting cards, he has asked that people stop — but to no avail. Since then, Shergold’s family has moved out of the home to which the greeting cards are still being sent. Where do all the cards end up? According to the Make a Wish Foundation (which was not involved in Shergold’s campaigns), they go right to a nearby recycling center, most likely unopened. Bonus fact : Both the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake were originally greeting card art. From the Archives: World Record Record Holder: Meet the person who holds the world record for most world records held. Related: A set of flash cards — half Care Bears, half Strawberry Shortcake. Image via Fisk and Fern |
A database can never be too optimized, and DBAs will never be completely satisfied with the performance of their creations. As your MySQL databases grow in size and complexity, taking full advantage of the optimizing tools built into the MySQL Workbench becomes increasingly important. DBAs have something in common with NASCAR pit crew chiefs: No matter how well your MySQL database is performing, there’s always a little voice in your head telling you, “I can make it go faster.” Of course, you can go overboard trying to fine-tune your database’s performance. In reality, most database tweaking is done to address a particular performance glitch or to prevent the system from bogging down as the database grows in size and complexity. One of the tools in the MySQL Workbench for optimizing your database is the Performance Dashboard. When you mouse over a graph or other element in the dashboard, you get a snapshot of server, network, and InnoDB metrics. Other built-in optimization tools are Performance Reports for analyzing IO hotspots, high-cost SQL statements, Wait statistics, and InnoDB engine metrics; Visual Explain Plans that offer graphical views of SQL statement execution; and Query Statistics that report on client timing, network latency, server execution timing, index use, rows scanned, joins, temporary storage use, and other operations. A maintenance release of the MySQL Workbench, version 6.2.4, was announced on November 20, 2014, and is described on the MySQL Workbench Team Blog. Among the new features in MySQL Workbench 6.2 are a spatial data viewer for graphing data sets with GEOMETRY data; enhanced Fabric Cluster connectivity; and a Metadata Locks View for finding and troubleshooting threads that are blocked or stuck waiting on a lock. Peering deeper into your database’s operation One of the performance enhancements in MySQL 5.7 is the new Cost Model, as Marcin Szalowicz explains in a September 25, 2014, post on the MySQL Workbench blog. For example, Visual Explain’s interface has been improved to facilitate optimizing query performance. The new query results panel centralizes information about result sets, including Result Grid, Form Editor, Field Types, Query Stats, Spatial Viewer, and both traditional and Visual Execution Plans. Also new is the File > Run SQL Script option that makes it easy to execute huge SQL script files. Attempts to optimize SQL tables automatically via the OPTIMIZE TABLE command often go nowhere. A post from March 2011 on Stack Overflow demonstrates that you may end up with slower performance and more storage space used rather than less. The best approach is to use “mysqlcheck” at the command line: Alternatively, you could run a php script to optimize all the tables in a database: A follow-up to the above post on DBA StackExchange points out that MySQL Workbench has a “hidden” maintenance tool called the Schema Inspector that opens an editor area in which you can inspect and tweak several pages at once. What is evident from these exchanges is that database optimization remains a continuous process, even with the arrival of new tools and techniques. A principal advantage of the Morpheus database-as-a-service (DBaaS) is the use of a single dashboard to access statistics about all your MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and ElasticSearch databases. With Morpheus you can provision, deploy, and host SQL, NoSQL, and in-memory databases with a single click. The service supports a range of tools for connecting, configuring, and managing your databases, and automated backups for MySQL and Redis. Visit the Morpheus site to create a free account. Database optimization has never been simpler! |
Japan and South Korea are still testing the U.S. wheat they buy to make sure the grain is not contaminated with an experimental genetically modified version developed by Monsanto Co., but can stop the practice, the head of a U.S. wheat association said Thursday. The two countries, which are among the top purchasers of U.S. wheat, have been sampling and testing all U.S. wheat they have purchased since last year, when news broke that a farmer in Oregon had found Monsanto’s unapproved biotech wheat growing in his field, according to U.S. Wheat Associates, which markets American wheat to international buyers. All of their test results on more than 5 million tons of wheat have been negative, it said. The testing requirements are a competitive disadvantage for American wheat, said U.S. Wheat President Alan Tracy. But both countries now should be able to stop the testing after assurances last week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the Oregon event was isolated and no biotech wheat had made its way into commercial supplies. “We’re hopeful that they’ll be able to suspend the testing. It is not something they really want to keep doing indefinitely,” Tracy said. “They approach things cautiously. They felt they had no choice until this report (from USDA) was out.” U.S. Wheat Associates will meet representatives from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea later this month, he said. According to U.S. export sales data, Japan bought about 3 million tons of U.S. wheat in the 2013-2014 marketing year, which ended May 31, making it the fourth-largest buyer of U.S. wheat for that period after Brazil, China and Mexico. So far this marketing year, Japan has bought 1.4 million tons. Japan has the sampling and testing of the wheat it buys handled in the United States before it is shipped, Tracy said. South Korea bought 1.3 million tons during the last marketing year, making it the seventh-largest buyer. So far this year, it has purchased 749,000 tons. There is no commercially approved biotech wheat, but Monsanto’s herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready wheat was near commercialization a decade ago before the company shelved the project amid fears that export sales would be hurt. The fact that experimental wheat was found growing uncontrolled in Oregon last year led to fears the biotech wheat might be in commercial supplies. The unapproved wheat was also found this summer in Montana, growing in a research plot where field trials of the GMO wheat were conducted from 2000 to 2003. The USDA said Friday that it is investigating the Montana situation, but like Oregon there are no indications the unapproved wheat entered commercial supplies. Tracy said Asian markets remain very cautious about GMO grains in general. “It’s not up to us to tell them what to do,” he added. |
BY: Follow @P_Crookston David Clarke may be joining the Trump administration after resigning Thursday from his position as sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis. Clarke has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, despite being a Democrat, and two sources told Politico that he is expected to take a job in the White House. Clarke has appeared regularly on Fox News, and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Politico reported that the administration is unlikely to appoint him to a position requiring Senate confirmation, and is instead going to give him a position in the White House. Administration officials declined to say whether Clarke would be taking a job. "We have no announcement at this time," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told Politico. "Will talk about my future plans next week," Clarke said in a text. Clarke's record has come under increased scrutiny after deaths among his Milwaukee County jail inmates. These include Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration after being denied water for several days. Trump has remained supportive of Clarke, however, even tweeting to promote his book, Cop Under Fire: Moving Beyond Hashtags of Race, Crime and Politics for a Better America. Clarke had previously said he was taking a position in the Department of Homeland Security, but he announced that he was withdrawing his acceptance of the job. It is unclear whether he was ever officially offered a position. |
The Chinese digital landscape can be a bit disconcerting at first. You won’t find many familiar faces there, no Google so no Google Plus and no Youtube but also no Facebook, no Twitter… Instead, expect a stream of similar search engines and not-so-similar social media services with a serious Chinese-style look and feel to them. Here are a few things to know to get acquainted with China’s digital landscape and to find your new favorite Chinese sites. Discover new Chinese sites Google and Chinese search engines Google, as we mentioned, was banned from mainland China. Google.cn is now only a picture of Google in Chinese, that redirects to the Google Hong Kong site. The following two sites are well known Chinese search engines you can turn to. 百度, Baidu Baidu is China’s reigning search engine. It’s also much much more. Expect to find Baidu everywhere, from a search engine, obviously, to OS and phone provider, to online Wikipedia, thanks to its 57 services. Baidu is opening a Silicon Valley lab to work on R&D and rumor has it that Baidu Eye is on its way. Sound like Google much? 有道, Youdao This popular alternative is Baidu’s Bing in a way. Youdao offers a range of services, including an exploration-worthy dictionary and translation service, which provides nice, current, English-Chinese sample sentences taken from the web. Understanding social media in China In a similar fashion to Google, Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus were locked out of China’s Great Firewall. You, therefore, need to turn to Chinese sites and social media to get your fill of socialities. Fret not, there’s plenty to choose from. In fact, 8 Chinese social brands were on the Most Valuable Social Media Brands list in 2012. Here are a few things to know. A social war between two giants Unlike in the US, where the roles are pretty clear-cut, in China, the hustle isn’t over yet. Two giants, Sina and Tencent are waging a war against each other to rule China’s social world. Sina vs. Tencent in short Basically (although that’s really simplifying things), Tencent rules the instant messaging world and social login with QQ. With over a billion registered users, QQ login is as omnipresent in China as Facebook connect is over here. Some apps and sites are pretty much QQ-member only. On the other side, Sina rules the micro-blogging world with its uber-popular micro-blogging site Weibo (微博). (Tencent also has its own Weibo though, to make things more confusing.) Sina Weibo has often been compared to Twitter but it’s a lot more than that. One of the first things you notice on this site is how incredibly active it is. It’s also (therefore?) a great way to learn Chinese. Who’s Facebook in China? Renren -人人网 – the dominant player? When it comes to being the Chinese answer to Facebook, things are less clearcut. Renren is often said to be China’s Facebook with 170 million registered users and 45 million active users. Truth is, while none of the others look as much like Facebook as Renren, sites like Kaixin001, Douban, Pengyou (Tencent) and QZone (Tencent) are also strong Chinese social network contenders. QZone, the oldest social media of the lot was even named QZone is China’s most valuable social media brand China’s most valuable social media brand in 2012. Giants and new players Some observers, however, base their comparisons on users rather than features and prefer likening Tencent QQ’s billion users to Facebook’s user base. Others see Sina Weibo as China’s answer to both Facebook and Twitter. But that’s not it. The third type of players, mobile chatting apps – smartphone users are on the serious rise – have also decisively entered the playing field. Chat apps like WeChat (Tencent) are already at 200 million users (including me) in two years and their userbase has spread all over the world, scaring even possibly the likes of Facebook. So who knows what the social media scene in China will look like in a few years. There’s a lot more to be said about China’s social media sites and guessed about China’s future digital landscape. In the meantime, nothing beats trying these sites on your own to form your own opinion. So prepare yourself to experience visually different sites, full of pop-ups and Chinese and give Chinese sites a try! If you want to start easy, Hootsuite has recently started offering both Tencent and Sina Weibo and Renren integration in its social management suite. Surround App also lets you enter the Weibo world, sans Chinese. And if you’re going in full-Chinese mode, the Zhongwen Cloze browser add-on is a good travel companion, as it instantly translates any word you don’t know. Happy exploring! Let us know how it was! The Nincha Team Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest. Try the best way to learn Chinese today Ninchanese is free to use Sign up ——- Credit: Chinese Digital Landscape infographic by digital jungle. |
There is fierce competition for places to study medicine – and state school pupils often miss out because they are ill-prepared Over 90% of applications to medicine degree courses were rejected in 2014. For many would-be students, the odds of obtaining an offer to study medicine at university are extremely slim – especially if they are not from a privileged background. With just shy of 85,000 applications to UK medical schools last year, it is obvious that not everybody can secure a highly coveted place. However, the success rates of top applicants vary wildly, with many receiving no offers, while some secure the maximum four. This is often down to the lack of support offered by some schools to students applying. A recent report on university admissions highlighted how “a lack of support and guidance for applying to medical school is a major barrier for many students from less advantaged backgrounds”. Widening access to medicine as a career remains a huge challenge. The financial burden of a degree that lasts at least five years acts as an obstacle for many students. And statistics show that those who study medicine generally come from well-educated homes – 65% of doctors in training have at least one parent who completed a university degree. Jonny Wood, a fourth-year medical student at Oxford University, attended a comprehensive school, and neither of his parents went to university. He says: “My school tried, but knew very little. I wasted time on applications to universities that I didn’t even match the criteria for. “I was one of the lucky ones, but so many of my school friends were excellent candidates who deserved places and didn’t even reach the interview stage of the application process. They were just as good candidates as some of the people I am studying alongside now.” Detailed knowledge of the application and selection processes make a big difference to success rates. It is essential that students match their strengths with the universities that best suit them. The right advice is crucial and the support provided by an experienced teacher or school can enhance an application and give students confidence in their decisions. Self-assurance is vital - too often uncertainty is mistaken for a lack of interest or drive. This is important, as students are usually subjected to multiple mini-interviews (commonly referred to as MMIs). In this style of interview, students can expect to encounter up to 12 “stations”, and have around five minutes to impress at each of them. Each station can present the applicant with a different challenge, from ethical decision-making to situations that test interpersonal skills. Many state school students receive absolutely no preparation for this very specific style of selection process. Students like Wood “didn’t even know it existed”. In 2014, my friends and I founded Applican – a team of 20 Oxbridge medical students using our first-hand experience to try to level the playing field. Our ambition is to offer support to medical course applicants, regardless of their schools’ status or reputation. Five books to read before starting medical school Read more Last summer we worked with around 70 school students, and the results have been excellent. Over 90% of them received at least one offer to study medicine. Ruairi Maguire, 19, from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, came to the August course after unsuccessfully applying the previous year. “It got me thinking, and actually made the preparation engaging and interesting,” he says. “My preparation showed me what to do and how to do it, but most importantly how to enjoy it and find my passions within it.” Another student, Niamh Murray, 18, from Belfast, received offers for all four of the choices she applied for. “In every interview, everything felt so familiar,” she says. “On the course, we had discussed difficult practical and ethical scenarios which meant on the day, nothing stumped me.” Students need resources to navigate the application minefield. Good preparation gives them the confidence to succeed, whatever their background. Keep up with the latest on Guardian Students: follow us on Twitter at @GdnStudents – and become a member to receive exclusive benefits and our weekly newsletter. |
SUGAR LAND, Texas - The Sugar Land Police Department is on the lookout for three women who went on a crime spree using other people's credit cards and bank cards. All the cards were stolen from stores at First Colony Mall, in Sugar Land. The first incident happened April 10 at a Dillard's. A woman told police she placed her wallet containing cash and credit cards on a counter while working at Dillard's and was unable to locate the wallet 30 minutes later. She said her bank card was used to make unauthorized purchases at a Walmart the same day. Police reviewed surveillance video at Walmart and saw a woman wearing a blonde wig, glasses, a beige shirt and tan pants use the stolen credit card. The woman was accompanied by another woman wearing a beanie hat, glasses, and a blue and white shirt with the No. 88. Police said they left the store in a gray, four-door Mercedes. The second theft happened April 18 at a Macy's. A victim told police she placed her purse containing a bank card, credit cards and other personal items in a cabinet under a register while working at Macy's. The victim said her bank notified her about suspicious activity on her card that evening, and she returned to the cabinet and saw that her purse was gone, according to police. She later discovered her card was used at a Shell gas station. A review of surveillance video from the gas station showed two women using the stolen card. Investigators said one of the women was also seen on video using a stolen card at Walmart. The third theft happened April 19 at Chico's clothing store. The victim told police she placed a purse containing cash, credit cards and other personal items in an unsecured locker. Her husband contacted her later that evening to report unauthorized purchases that were made with one of her cards, including one at a Target. She said she returned to the locker and her purse was missing. A review of surveillance footage at Target showed two women using the stolen card. Investigators said they were the same two women who used a stolen card at Walmart. Investigators are hoping the surveillance video they released will help solve these cases. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2540 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477). Copyright 2017 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved. |
I stepped into the dark of the ramshackle hillside temple. It was a hot day, and the climb had been steep. There were no other tourists around. The only people I passed on my way up the mountainside steps were two pious old ladies, pausing to catch their breath as they struggled through the afternoon heat. Inside it was cool, the air fragrant with incense. To one side of the door was a table, and behind the table sat a small, neat man in the robes of a Daoist priest. A handwritten sign in front of him announced that temple entrance was two yuan (20p). I paid my fee and he smiled. ‘Welcome,’ he said. I peered into the dark, where deities and mythological beasts clamoured for attention on the painted walls. I had visited other temples elsewhere in China, in larger cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Wuhan; but there I had blended in among the hopeful devotees and noisy tourists. Here, on the other hand, I was on my own, and felt somehow out of place, unsure how to conduct myself. The priest, however, was in a chatty mood. ‘Where do you come from?’ he asked me in Chinese. ‘England,’ I told him. He smiled. One of his front teeth was missing. ‘What are you doing in China?’ I told him I was writing a book. ‘A book about China?’ he asked. I hesitated. I had heard the old joke several times now. When foreigners come to China for a month or two, they go home and write a book. When they have been there for several months more, they write an article. If they have lived in China for more than a year, they end up writing nothing. I was in China for only a couple of months. I hesitated about what to say, then I decided I might as well tell him. ‘It is about the I Ching,’ I said. ‘I am writing a book about the I Ching.’ I was in China in pursuit of an obsession that, among certain of my more sober-minded and rational friends, was the cause of some alarm. For the previous few years, I had been increasingly preoccupied by that strangest of books, the Chinese Book of Changes or I Ching. In the West, the I Ching is mainly known as a divination manual, found on shelves alongside books about tarot cards, crystal healing, reiki, and contacting your angels, a part of the wild carnival of spurious notions that is New Age spirituality, that great tide of unreason against which the prophets of scientific rationality protest in vain. I knew the arguments against the I Ching: divination doesn’t work, it belongs to the realm of prescientific superstition, it is a primitive attempt to tame the uncertainty of the future. I had heard these arguments many times, and they made sense to me; and yet there was something about the I Ching that continued to fascinate me, something that — the more I studied it — could not allow me to dismiss this book so lightly. My interest in the I Ching had begun several years before, neither as a fascination with Chinese culture, nor as a mystical concern with divinatory practices, but instead in the course of a rambling and idle conversation with a friend. It was 2006, and I was casting around for a fresh writing project. My first novel was due out in the following year. I wanted something new and substantial to work on, but I had no clear sense of direction. At some point during our conversation, we found ourselves talking about the taste for astrology, tarot cards and other forms of prognostication. I was happily pouring scorn on these practices, protesting at their unreason, when my friend interrupted me. ‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘it is not about predicting the future.’ ‘What is it about, then?’ I asked. My friend shrugged. ‘Perhaps it is about imagining new possibilities.’ I was momentarily silenced. ‘Perhaps,’ I said. Then the conversation moved on, but the thought stuck with me. I was in need of new possibilities. And, after all, hadn’t Italo Calvino, a writer I loved, played with tarot cards in his book The Castle of Crossed Destinies (1973)? So, a few days later, I went to the bookshop, made my way to the Mind, Body and Spirit section, and tentatively picked up a copy of the I Ching: Or Book of Changes, first published in 1951 in a handsome red-and-black jacket, and now in a Penguin edition, with Richard Wilhelm’s German text translated by Cary F Baynes and the rather flaky foreword by Carl Jung. I had come across the I Ching numerous times before on the bookshelves of friends, and had even tried to read it on occasion, but always given up, frustrated by the thickets of obscurity it presented. As I stood in the bookshop flicking through the I Ching, my knowledge of the book was fairly rudimentary. I knew that it was a divinatory text, divided into 64 chapters, with each of these chapters headed by a six-lined symbol, referred to in English as a ‘hexagram’ and in Chinese as guaxiang. I knew that each of the hexagrams was associated with a number of prognostications, and that the book was often put to use by tossing coins or sorting yarrow stalks, to randomly derive a hexagram made up of broken and unbroken lines. There was a pleasing mathematical completeness to this series of symbols. Six-lined figures, with each line in one of two states, meaning that there were two to the power of six possibilities in all, or 64. Associated with these hexagrams were divinatory statements that were often astonishingly obscure and laconic: ‘Flying dragon in the heavens. It furthers one to see the great man… When there is hoarfrost underfoot, solid ice is not far off… Bites through tender meat, so that his nose disappears… The wild goose gradually draws near the tree. Perhaps it will find a flat branch. No blame.’ Finally, I knew that the I Ching had touched almost every aspect of Chinese thought — from philosophy to statecraft, from music to medicine, and from astronomy to painting, and that on account of that alone, it should be counted as one of the most influential books in the world. In the weeks and months that followed, I started getting to know the I Ching better. As I did so, I slowly pieced together the strange tale of its place in history: the connection with oracle bone divination in the Chinese Bronze Age; the philosophical commentaries dating to the third century BCE that forever sealed its place as a central text for Chinese thought, securing the book’s far-reaching influence in all corners of Chinese life; and its eventual arrival in the West, via the Jesuits and the German philosopher G W Leibniz, through 20th-century psychoanalysts, esotericists and hippies — via Bob Dylan, John Cage, Philip K Dick and Raymond Queneau, all of whom made use of the book — down to the present day. It was in this way that I found myself becoming a diviner. A couple of days after getting the book home, for the very first time I took three coins — twopence pieces seemed to be suitably unostentatious — formulated a question, and went about the ritual of casting my first hexagram on the basis of each toss of the coins, thus putting my foot on the slippery slope that would lead first to learning Chinese and, eventually, almost inevitably, to China. My relationship with the I Ching was complex from the very beginning. Despite repeated re‑reading of the text, in translation and later in the original Chinese, I have never come across anything that looks much like wisdom. Meanwhile, on the internet, whole armies of crazies advanced their theories about the book: that it coded the deep structures of human DNA; that it provided mathematical proof of the Mayan prophecy of the ending of the world; that it might hold the secret to that holy grail of the physicists, a Theory of Everything. And when I read these things, I found myself thinking of the 20th-century British Sinologist Joseph Needham, who said that the I Ching was nothing more than a massive filing system for pigeonholing novelty and then doing nothing more about it. The I Ching seemed to adapt to any purpose whatsoever. I felt myself descending into a realm of unfettered lunacy, stumbling across increasingly bizarre claims made on behalf of the I Ching; and yet on the other hand the book seemed, bafflingly, to work. I divined for new hexagrams and new stories, tossing coins or sorting yarrow stalks, sat at my desk with a stick of incense burning, and the longer I did so, the more the stories continued to multiply. I was caught between profound unease at the sheer unreason of what I was doing, and the fact that the I Ching so often bore rich fruit in new thoughts, ideas and images. So, in 2010, I travelled to China to get to the bottom of things. There, covering thousands of miles by train and bus, I set about trying to establish once and for all what this book was about. In Tianshui, I made offerings in the temple of Fuxi, the legendary originator of the I Ching; in Shandong and Hong Kong, I spent time discussing divination practices with philosophers; between Beijing and Guangzhou, I endured an uncomfortable 26-hour train journey in the company of a deranged tattooed diviner who talked the entire time; and along the way, I accumulated books and articles that I sent home in large, unwieldy packages. It was towards the end of my trip that I found myself in the company of the friendly Daoist priest in that hillside temple, and there the thought came to me: ‘Now, perhaps, things will become clear.’ I began to wonder if attempting to understand the I Ching in terms of understanding the I Ching was to risk misunderstanding the I Ching The priest pushed his entrance-fee sign to one side, opened a drawer and took out a notebook, tearing off a page. He took a biro from his pocket and smiled at me. ‘I will explain everything,’ he said. Then he started an impromptu lecture. As he talked, he scribbled complex diagrams and notes on the page. He told me about Fuxi, about hexagrams and their constituent three-line trigrams, about the pole star and astrology, about philosophy and metaphysics, about the Hetu or the River Map, which explains the relationship between the eight trigrams, and about the wuxing or five phases of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and its relationship to the numerological magic square known as the Luoshu, or Luo River Book. I leant forwards, occasionally asking him to repeat something, trying to look intelligent; but very quickly I found myself lost in thickets of philosophical and linguistic difficulty. I had read about all this stuff countless times, but I have never had the kind of mind that could keep track of complexity. This makes me a poor student of esoterica. As the lecture proceeded, a crowd started to gather, because in the most populous nation on earth, crowds are easily summoned. The two old ladies whom I had passed on my way up the hill now stepped into the cool of the temple and grinned wildly to see the foreigner talking with the priest. A family appeared from somewhere or other, the children peering at me in fascination. Three or four others also congregated behind me. As the priest continued to scribble various astral configurations and hexagrams and mystical diagrams, all annotated in a spidery handwritten Chinese, a debate began to take hold among the onlookers. The foreigner doesn’t understand! Yes, he does! No, look, he clearly doesn’t have any idea what the priest is talking about. But I heard him speak Chinese! Ah, these foreigners, all they can say is ni hao, that’s all. No, I distinctly heard him speak some Chinese! A few words, perhaps, no more. What about Dashan, the Chinese TV celebrity? Dashan is a Canadian, and he speaks Chinese. Yes, but this guy is clearly not Dashan. With the debate behind me, and the priest in front of me spiralling ever deeper into metaphysical complexity, I felt the beginnings of a headache; but at last the lecture came to an end, the priest folded up the paper and handed it to me. I put it in my breast pocket, where later, while hiking up another nearby hill, it would become unreadably drenched with sweat. ‘Now you understand the I Ching,’ he said confidently. ‘Your book will now be very interesting.’ I thanked the little old Daoist. He chuckled as he shook my hand. Then I stood up and smiled at the small crowd that had gathered behind me, and I scuttled into the darkness to nurse my headache and get myself some peace. Now you understand the I Ching, he said; but in truth I understood no more than I had before. The I Ching has always had the curious quality of becoming more baffling the more I have found out about it. While I knew an increasing number of facts relating to the I Ching, as time went on I was not sure that I actually knew the I Ching itself any better than when I started out. By the time I flew home, I felt even further away from understanding the I Ching than at the outset. It was only after my return to the UK that I began to wonder if attempting to understand the I Ching in terms of understanding the I Ching was to risk misunderstanding the I Ching. In other words, although we are accustomed, in this information age, to treat books only in terms of the information that they contain, what is most compelling about the I Ching is not so much the promise of some secret, hidden, innermost meaning. Instead, what is most striking is the very real and concrete impact the book has had upon the world through the centuries. Meaning nothing, containing the seeds of countless possible meanings, the I Ching is the space at the hub that allows the wheel to turn Undeniably, the I Ching has been one of the most breathtakingly productive of books, a book that has put its stamp on some of the greatest philosophers, poets and writers in Chinese history, that gave Leibniz sleepless nights, that fired up the creative juices of the likes of Dylan and Philip K Dick. A book this productive had to have something going for it. The only question was, what? So, more recently, I have started to ask a different set of questions about the I Ching. I am no longer so worried about what the book means, about what wisdom, if any, it imparts. Instead, I have started to content myself with asking about what it does. In fact, I have come to suspect that perhaps the book has no wisdom to impart, that perhaps it means nothing whatsoever, and it might be in this that it is possible to find the secret of its power. Meaning nothing, the seethe of images — dragons and hoarfrost, migratory geese and ice — nevertheless contains the seeds of innumerable possible meanings. It is like a ring doughnut: empty in the middle, but with the meaning around the outside. But, of course, there cannot be a ring doughnut without a hole — or to paraphrase the passage in the ancient Chinese text the Laozi, it is thanks to the hole at the hub that the wheel turns. After seven years, the book I set out to write is complete. I have written 64 stories, with commentaries, each based on a hexagram of the I Ching: stories about gods, bizarre machines, archaeologists and kleptomaniac pensioners, non-existent rulers, fox-spirits, inventors, and infernal bureaucrats. Like the I Ching itself, this book of changes that I have written is a strange beast, a little too strange perhaps for any wholly sane publisher to take a risk on. But long ago, this project stopped being about writing this one book. So much else has followed from my long tussle with the I Ching: five years of studying Chinese, visits to hillside temples in China, innumerable new stories and fresh thoughts, a multiplication of projects, possibilities and friendships, and new scents to follow. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, although my own book of changes is close to an end, I still find myself turning to the I Ching for guidance. I do so not because the I Ching provides me with fresh certainties or with off-the-peg wisdom, but rather because when I put the book to work it tends to give me better uncertainties. The 12th-century poet and scholar Yang Wanli once wrote: ‘The profound implications of the Book of Changes are what plunges people of the world into doubts and makes them think.’ Sitting with the coins or yarrow stalks in my hand, going through the ritual of asking the I Ching a question, I am not looking for some irrational mystical guidance. Instead, I am looking for a release from the prison of competing certainties, a way of letting loose the simmering doubts and confusions that accompany all thought, so that I can take advantage of their creative richness. In other words, I use the I Ching not as a certainty machine, but as an uncertainty machine. Dissolving false certainties, it integrates the fact of unknowing into the fabric of my thinking, opening me up to hitherto unimagined possibilities, scattering the monotony of my either-or dilemmas into a myriad of forking paths. The world we live in is very different from that in which the I Ching first arose. We have access to an astonishing array of tools and algorithms and banks of data that help in predicting probabilities for the future. Nevertheless, the world remains more vast and extensive than all of our data and all of our algorithms. Uncertainty is not just an adventitious fault that can one day be eradicated. It is also a part of being a human, with limited knowledge, in an endlessly complex world. And given that we will never have the complete knowledge to which we might aspire, we must always act in the twilight between certainty and uncertainty, between knowing and unknowing. This is where the I Ching seems to me to be extraordinary: in its ability to multiply uncertainties, in its demonstrated efficacy — whether by accident, by design or by long evolution — to be so exquisitely productive of new thoughts, for more than two and a half millennia. Meaning nothing, containing the seeds of countless possible meanings, the I Ching is the space at the hub that allows the wheel to turn on its axle. And if I still use this weird, ancient divination manual, it is not because I want to flee from reason into the comforts of irrationality, nor is it because I believe the book contains a deep ancestral wisdom. Instead, it is because the I Ching repeatedly prompts me to go beyond false certainties and to create new and unexpected possibilities. In this way, divination might not be the enemy of rational thought but could be a means to its fuller flourishing. |
A man has died as a result of an avalanche near Rowe Peak in Waterton Lakes National Park on Saturday, Feb. 15. Lethbridge City Councillor, Wade Galloway, 37, and a friend were split-boarding in the Waterton Park back country, a non-restricted area, when the avalanche hit at 3:30 p.m. The other member of the party was not buried and was able to partially extricate Galloway. After repeated attempts of resuscitation were unsuccessful the man reported Galloway’s death to parks staff. Parks Canada’s efforts to retrieve the body have been hindered by wind and snow conditions. Motorists are advised the Akamina Parkway may close on short notice to facilitate the recovery. On the City of Lethbridge’s website, Galloway is described as a commercial landlord who helped build a skate park and organize fundraisers for the Canadian Avalanche Foundation. He was married and the father of two children. greg.cowan@sunmedia.ca @echo_cowan |
Guwahati: Hours after a peaceful first phase Assembly election recorded nearly 80 percent turnout on Monday, a blast rocked Goalpara in lower Assam, going to the hustings in the second phase on 11 April, killing two persons. Suspected ULFA(I) militants carried out the explosion which also injured 21 others, including four policemen, near a temporary election office of BJP at Dudhnoi in Goalpara district, Superintendent of Police Nitul Gogoi told PTI. The bomb suspected to have been kept in a bag on the footpath near the BJP office adjacent to Dudhnoi traffic police point exploded at around 7.30 pm killing two civilians, Gogoi told PTI. The deceased were identified as Bapon Saha and Ajit Dutta. The 21 injured were taken to hospital where the condition of 14 was stated to be serious, police said. The explosion which also damaged two shops in the busy market place caused panic and police cordoned off the area. Assam had a peaceful polling with nearly 80 percent voter turnout in the first phase of polling today for 65 of the 126 Assembly constituencies. Goalpara is among the 61 constituencies going to the hustings in the second phase on 11 April. Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button. |
Guttenberg leaves after a news conference where he announced his resignation in Berlin on Tuesday Guttenberg leaves after a news conference where he announced his resignation in Berlin on Tuesday THE GERMAN DEFENCE Minister has resigned after it was found that he plagiarised large parts of his university doctorate. Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said he was resigning from all political offices at a news conference in Berlin today, Reuters reports. Guttenberg was considered as a possible future chancellor of Germany until the scandal emerged last month. He had already been stripped of his PhD on Constitutional Law in the EU and the United States from Bayreuth university. The story came to light after it was found that Guttenberg may have plagiarised at least eight significant passages in his thesis with more allegations that he copied passages emerging in recent weeks. German chancellor Angela Merkel had stood by her minister but on Monday more than 20,000 academics wrote to her complaining that Guttenberg was still in his job, according to the BBC. Guttenberg said in the news conference: I thank the chancellor for her support but I have reached the limits of my strength. The 39-year-old comes from an aristocratic background and is formally titled as a Baron. He was considered to be a rising star of the party who had also been a minister for economics and technology in Merkel’s first cabinet. Guttenberg had voluntarily given up his title in the wake of the scandal that Der Spiegel reports has divided Germany. |
You may have seen Spelunky mentioned somewhere and asked yourself "What's Spelunky?" Spelunky is a platformer with lots of monsters, items, traps, and secrets. Dying in Spelunky can be quick and painful. But each time you restart, you'll play a new, randomly-generated set of levels! It will feel fresh and exciting, and you'll have to think on your feet. You can pick up and use or toss practically everything you come across (to your own detriment, if you're not careful!). There's a lot of freedom to how you want to navigate the levels, which are fully-destructible. And even though they're randomized, you will still get more skilled over time! If you play enough, not only will you get good enough to beat the game, but you may start to unravel some of its deepest secrets... The original game was released on PC in 2008 and is available to play for free. Since then, Andy Hull and I have been working on this new version for XBLA. It's much more than a port of the original game, and has new graphics, music, zones, monsters, items, traps, and secrets. The controls are much smoother, too, and designed specifically for the gamepad. And even though the game is randomized, players of the original enjoyed highscoring and speedrunning, so we're trying to limit the luck involved. You'll be able to compete on XBLA's leaderboards. You'll also be able to play Spelunky with friends at home! There's co-op and deathmatch. With multiple players interacting, co-op becomes a much different game. It's easy to help or hurt each other, so socialization is important! Deathmatch has been likened to a platformer version of "Bomberman" by testers, although it's much faster-paced, with more (and more varied) items and weapons at your disposal. We'll have AI bots for those that want to deathmatch alone. (This AI is also used in the single-player campaign for some of the NPCs.) By the way, Spelunky for XBLA was nominated for 3 awards at the IGF and won the Excellence in Design Award! Whoo hoo! In fact, maybe that's how you heard about it in the first place! One of the IGF judges said this about the game: If that sounds good to you, then we hope you'll try the game! Adventure awaits! |
Money raised by evangelical Christians in the United States is fueling a violent antigay movement in Uganda, according to the “Gospel of Intolerance” by filmmaker Roger Ross Williams. “American evangelicals are sending millions of dollars in donations to Africa to spread their message by funding Ugandan pastors and sponsoring missionaries, many of who do good work feeding the hungry and providing shelter to orphans,” Rev. Kapya Kaoma explained in the mini-documentary, which was published online Tuesday by the New York Times. “But some of that money just goes to feed a dangerous ideology that teaches that gays, lesbians, transgender, and bisexual people do not have a place in God’s kingdom and are a threat to society.” Evangelicals from the United States have a strong influence in the deeply religious country, where antigay sentiments are mainstream. A number of Ugandans faced harassment and threats in 2010 after a newspaper published of list of alleged homosexuals. Kaoma said he was forced to flee the country after supporting LGBT rights. The country has also faced international criticism for a proposed law that would make various acts related to homosexuality, including failure to report a gay Ugandan to police, punishable with life in prison. The legislation previously would have allowed those accused of homosexuality to be put to death. In response to the criticism, Uganda banned 38 nongovernmental organizations for “promoting homosexuality.” “In a country like Uganda, what may simply seem like culture war rhetoric in the U.S. gets ramped up to untold heights and sexual minorities pay the price,” Kaoma said. Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by The New York Times, below: |
In the country's biggest share sale ever, the government will sell up to 10 per cent stake in Coal India Ltd to raise about Rs 24,000 crore on Friday. The government will sell 31.58 crore shares, or five per cent stake, in a public offer, with an option to sell another 5 per cent, Coal India said in a regulatory filing. The disinvestment will help the government meet half of the Rs 43,425 crore revenue target from stake sale in public sector. At today's closing price of Rs 384.05, a 10 per cent stake sale in the world's largest coal producer will raise Rs 24,257 crore. The floor or minimum sale price for the offer will be announced tomorrow. Government currently holds 89.65 per cent stake in Coal India, which was listed through a record initial public offering (IPO) in October 2010, raising Rs 15,199 crore. With only Rs 1,715 crore being raised this fiscal by way of disinvestment, the government is looking at aggressively selling stakes in public sector firms to help meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP for the year ending March 31. The other major stake sale lined up is in Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), but the slumping oil prices have dampened the company's prospects. The ONGC disinvestment was to give the government at least Rs 15,000 crore. To overcome the shortfall, it has lined up a host of companies including NMDC, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), National Aluminium (Nalco) and Dredging Corporation (DCIL). Five per cent stake sale in PFC and REC are also on cards. For the Coal India stake sale, the government has doubled to 20 per cent the quota reserved for retail investors, who can buy shares worth up to Rs 2 lakh in the share sale. They would also be given a 5 per cent discount to the bid price entered by them. Coal India would be second company to hit the markets under the government's disinvestment programme. The government had garnered Rs 1,715 crore through stake sale in steel maker SAIL last year. A minimum of 25 per cent of the Coal India issue would be reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies. The government will sell 5 per cent stake in ONGC this fiscal even though falling global oil prices pose a challenge, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said earlier today. The government faces a daunting task as it has to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent in the current year ending March and proceeds from disinvestment would be a major boost to Centre's plan of restricting it. Fiscal deficit has reached 98.9 per cent of Budget Estimate (BE) in eight months ended November 2014 to Rs 5.25 lakh crore, highlighting tight financial position of the central government. It was 94 per cent of BE in corresponding period last year. |
Alaska Lt. Governor Craig Campbell contended today that Republican Joe Miller’s campaign has changed its tune when it comes to pushing a “literal interpretation” of the write-in ballot count laws in the contentious Alaska Senate race. Miller’s campaign filed a lawsuit yesterday, arguing that the state should not count misspelled write-in ballots as votes for write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski, since the law stipulates that write-in votes may only be counted “if the name, as it appears on the write-in declaration of candidacy, of the candidate or the last name of the candidate is written in the space provided.” In a press conference this afternoon, Campbell argued that the Miller campaign had previously objected to such a “literal interpretation” of the law, back when Campbell initially announced that write-in votes cast for Miller would be tossed since he is not a declared write-in candidate. At the time, Miller accused Campbell of “bias” when he refused to count those votes, and Campbell quickly decided to count them. Campbell said today that he decided to count those votes because he wanted as many votes as possible to be included if “voter intent” could be determined. The Miller campaign argued at the time that the law required those votes to be counted.Campbell told reporters today that the state has given itself a November 29 deadline to decide the election, which accounts for extra time for potential recounts and legal challenges. “We expect to have a recount,” he said. “We expect that it may go to court.” He explained that though there is no specific standard for the write-in ballots, they are allowing “minor misspellings” as long as “voter intent” can still be determined. “If it is so badly misspelled that it cannot be recognized, it will be not be counted.” He added that each ballot is overseen by two election officials, as well as a representative from each of the campaigns. “The intent is to not disenfranchise voters,” Campbell said, adding that previous court cases have given the state “latitude” to look at voter intent “so as not to disenfranchise.” One reporter pointed out that the cited court cases focused on how much the oval on the ballot was filled-in, not how the name was spelled. Campbell contended that the two cases were comparable. But, interestingly, he also noted that ballots with a name written in the write-in slot would not be counted if the oval was not filled in, even if the name is spelled correctly. “The oval part was determined to be a very clear indication that you intended to vote for that person,” he said, adding that the law is clear that the oval must be filled in. The law says: “In order to vote for a write-in candidate, the voter must write in the candidate’s name in the space provided and fill in the oval opposite the candidate’s name.” Campbell also said that a judge will hear from both sides in a hearing today. Enough write-in ballots were cast to force a count to see how many were for Murkowski. Miller currently has about 11,000 fewer votes than the write-ins. |
Cluster management is the term that Google uses to describe how we control the computing infrastructure in our datacenters that supports almost all of our external services. It includes allocating resources to different applications on our fleet of computers, looking after software installations and hardware, monitoring, and many other things. I'll present an overview of some of these systems and introduce Omega, the new cluster-manager tool we are building. Much of the talk will be about exciting challenges that we're facing along the way, driven by the scale at which we operate, an acute awareness of failures, and the drive to provide ever-better service-levels while curbing complexity. We certainly don't have all the answers, but we do have some pretty impressive systems. John Wilkes has been at Google since 2008, where he is working on cluster management and infrastructure services. He is interested in far too many aspects of distributed systems, but a recurring theme has been technologies that allow systems to manage themselves. In his spare time he continues, stubbornly, trying to learn how to blow glass. http://e-wilkes.com/john |
NAIA Airport Immigration Text Mate: Immigration Officer Uses Personal Info on Forms to Text Pretty Traveler Imagine passing through your airport security with no fuss. No lines, no fuss, nothing crazy. It’s a nice way to start a trip right? But then, imagine getting home and getting private texts on your phone from the immigration officers apparently looking for a text mate?!?! Below is a story posted on Facebook about a travelers’s NAIA 3 airport immigration ordeal: I passed through immigration at NAIA 3 today at around 1230pm. I filled out the required forms which were then received by the immigration officer – no fuss, easy peasy. One hour later, I received this text. This public officer used my personal CONFIDENTIAL information for his own personal use. I find this to be very disturbing – an extreme invasion of privacy. I had my home address written on that form!!! Does anyone know anyone who works for immigration? I hope you can pass this on to the proper authorities. Thanks What are your thoughts on this? Please forward so the proper authorities can see this and take proper action. Our private information should be better taken care of. UPDATE: Response from the Bureau of Immigration Commissioner: As head of the Bureau, kindly accept my apology for the inappropriate and offensive behavior of one of our Immigration Officers. Help us in the investigation. xinfo@immigration.gov.ph Be assured of our prompt administrative actions if warranted. SIEGFRED B. MISON Commissioner What are your thoughts on this? NAIA Airport Immigration Text Mate: Immigration Officer Uses Personal Info on Forms to Text Pretty Traveler |
If you look at the history of software development, writing and maintaining software has been a very complicated & time consuming process. Making software development easier and faster by improving developer productivity literally saves companies thousands or millions of dollars annually and this is exactly the function that’s being optimised by many Cloud Vendors around the world. Before we dive into what serverless actually is, let me give you a quick recap on how Cloud evolved in the last couple of decades and why it is the way it is today and lastly, why serverless is the next big thing. Brief History of the Cloud Image Credit : MyCloudBlog Infrastructure To optimise for developer productivity and cost of running apps and services in the last decade — cloud vendors have introduced IaaS, where companies don’t have to buy hardware to host their apps, they can “rent” the hardware out from any of the cloud vendor and can only pay for what they use. This is called Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS for short) where cloud vendors provides virtual machines to these companies where they can ssh into and install and maintain their own OS, and can install any software and service on them. It saved companies a lot of money by not having to buy hardware physically, hire a ops team to maintain the server uptime, pay for energy to power and cool these machines, but you still had to install and maintain operating systems, make sure your server is secure by installing security patches and so forth. So, In short IaaS is “I’ll give you virtual machines and you can SSH in them, and install anything you like.” Some of the best known IaaS are EC2, Azure Virtual Machines, Google Compute Engine, etc. Platform IaaS did improve a lot of productivity when compared to legacy enterprise IT, but it did took a lot of work to manage these virtual machines and maintain it (like installing patches, configuring firewalls, etc). Developers wanted a way to just write applications and give it to the Cloud Provider which would host it for them and they would not worry about OS’es, Security, etc. That’s where Platform as a Service (or PaaS for short) comes in. Machines are abstracted away from you and you cant SSH into them. All you can do is, upload your app and a cloud provider would run it for you. Cloud Provider would take care of installing and maintaining OS, patching it underneath, so you don’t have to and with every every abstraction, you lose a little control over your environment but gain an order of magnitude of productivity. Some of the best known Platform as a Service today are Heroku, Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine, and more. Serverless Think of serverless as an abstraction over PaaS. There are actually two types of serverless which I’ll talk about briefly here : Backend as a Service (BaaS) / Backendless : BaaS services like CloudBoost, BaasBox, and more offer developers with a rich set of API’s that takes care of most of the things their app needs like managing state, storing data, authentication and session management, notification and more. A lot of the apps that are built on backend less are typically ‘rich client’ applications (think single page web apps, or mobile apps). Advantages of using BaaS Platforms includes not having to manage your own server for 99% of the tasks and most of the business logic will be client side (which will be secured by ACL’s), so the only thing you focus on is the client which cuts your backend team and dev team in half. : BaaS services like CloudBoost, BaasBox, and more offer developers with a rich set of API’s that takes care of most of the things their app needs like managing state, storing data, authentication and session management, notification and more. A lot of the apps that are built on backend less are typically ‘rich client’ applications (think single page web apps, or mobile apps). Advantages of using BaaS Platforms includes not having to manage your own server for 99% of the tasks and most of the business logic will be client side (which will be secured by ACL’s), so the only thing you focus on is the client which cuts your backend team and dev team in half. Function as a Service (FaaS): Function as a Service typically means you as a developer write pieces of server side logic or “functions” and upload them to the Serverless platform where these functions will be triggered and executed when you need and you only pay for the execution time. Few advantages include, you don’t have to manage a backend as these are small bits of server logic that is uploaded to the serverless platform, you don’t need to worry about scale — the platform will scale your code to thousands of execution instances of need be, and you only pay for the time your code is actually executed which saves companies a lot of money down the line. Most widely known FaaS framework is AWS Lambda. Benefits of Serverless Computing Cost savings: One of the biggest benefits of serverless computing is that you only pay for the execution time of your code. In case of IaaS or PaaS you would be charged even if your application is idle whereas in serverless there is no concept of “idle” resources and you are not charged if the function is not executed. This is especially helpful for applications that are only used a few times an hour, which means any dedicated hardware, VMs, or containers would be sitting idle for the majority of the time, and a user would be charged for underutilized resources. With serverless computing, you could build out an entire infrastructure and not pay for any compute resources until customers start using the application. Scale: Scalability is also simple with a serverless architecture. If your code needs to scale, the platform will make copies of the function to handle the load. An example of this would be if you’re building a service like Yelp, then your peak demand is only during breakfast, lunch and dinner hours. So, the platform would automatically scale your code to thousands of instances automatically during your peak hours and would automatically scale it down when the demand subsides and you only pay for the time your code actually executes. Developer Productivity: Serverless computing is ideal for teams that need to quickly develop, prototype, and iterate. Development is quicker since there aren’t any dependencies on DevOps. Code is usually single threaded which makes debugging easier. The build process is also broken down into smaller and more manageable chunks of code. This increases the number of changes that can be pushed through the CI/CD pipeline, resulting in faster deployment and much tighter feedback loop with users. Less Administration and Ops: Most of the ops element of your infrastructure is eliminated. There are zero servers to manage, maintain, and scale. Thank you for reading. I’m Nawaz Dhandala and I’m the founder of CloudBoost.io. CloudBoost is a serverless and a backend as a service company which does data-storage, search, realtime, and a whole lot more. CloudBoost is open source on GitHub under a liberal Apache 2 license. If you want to truly go server-less, you can also check out the managed offering here. |
The placebo effect even works for sleep New research suggests we perform better on cognitive tests if we’re told we had a good night’s sleep How did you sleep last night? Did you get a sufficient amount of high-quality shut-eye? Newly published research suggests that if you believe you did, you’re more likely to perform well at certain challenging tasks. It isn’t the actual amount of sleep that matters, but rather your conviction that you got the rest you needed. Advertisement: That’s the conclusion of Colorado College psychologists Christina Draganich and Kristi Erdal. Writing in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, they provide further evidence of the remarkable strength of the placebo effect. They describe two experiments in which they manipulated participants’ perceptions regarding the quality of their sleep. In the first, the participants—50 undergraduates—began by estimating (on a scale of one to 10) how deeply they had slept the night before. They were then hooked up to a machine that supposedly uses certain biomarkers to determine how much REM sleep they had received. In fact, no such machine exists: The only thing that was measured was their brain activity. The students were informed that people who spend one-quarter of their slumber in REM sleep tend to do well on learning and memory tests, while those who spend less than 20 percent of the time in that state tend to do worse. They were then presented with their (completely fictional) reading of either 16.2 or 28.7 percent REM sleep. Afterward, each took the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, a tricky assignment that is “perceived as difficult and stressful,” the researchers write. The results: “When participants were informed that they had experienced below-average sleep quality the night before, they tended to perform worse on the test, regardless of how well they felt they had slept,” the researchers write. “The observed pattern of cognitive functioning is consistent with what one might observe if participants had actually experienced a poor night’s sleep.” Advertisement: The second experiment, featuring 114 undergraduates, replicated the first with a few additions. It produced the same results for the serial addition test. For a second test measuring verbal fluency—the students were asked to say as many words as possible beginning with a certain letter in one minute—participants told they had experienced a high-quality sleep tended to perform better, regardless of their original perceptions. So the “placebo information” influenced their actual performance in both positive and negative ways. The mechanism behind this phenomenon isn’t clear, but Draganich and Erdal offer two likely possibilities. Perhaps the good or bad news the study participants received affected their anxiety and/or motivation level. “Performance then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy based on what is known by laypeople abut the effects of actual sleep deprivation and restfulness,” the researchers write. Advertisement: Or it could be a matter of classical conditioning, the pattern of behavior made famous by Pavlov’s dog. Believing we have slept well (or poorly), we feel the symptoms we associate with that state. The researchers consider this potentially positive news. They conclude that, while this placebo effect clearly has limits, it has the potential of improving our cognitive functioning, “perhaps without even actually altering sleep patterns.” So if your significant other has an important test or presentation to make, and you can tell they were tossing and turning the night before, do them a favor and insist that they, in fact, slept surprisingly soundly. That little lie could make a big difference. |
High-speed rail advocates in California have long dreamed of the day when bullet trains would revolutionize transportation, and they're counting on voters to pony up nearly $10 billion to bankroll what would be the nation's first true high-speed rail line. Proponents have been pushing high-speed rail for 25 years and always fallen short. But they say a confluence of events – rising fuel prices, gridlocked roads, jammed airports and concern about global warming – present the best chance yet to bring bullet trains to America. "We have a perfect storm ... those four factors make a perfect case for high-speed rail," Ron Diridion of the state's High Speed Rail Authority, recently told the San Francisco Chronicle. We've heard this before. There once was talk of a bullet train between Los Angeles and San Diego, and of a line linking L.A. and Las Vegas. Both were shot down. Will things be any different this time, and will America finally follow Europe and Japan in embracing high-speed rail? If it does, it will require changing how we live and how our cities grow. Proposition 1A would authorize $9.95 billion in bonds to finance the first phase of an 800-mile high-speed rail line that would connect the San Francisco Bay Area with Los Angeles. Several transportation, environmental and business groups say it would offer a faster, cheaper and greener travel while easing the strain on California's notoriously backed-up highways and airports. Trains would make the 400-mile run between the two cities at about 220 mph (considerably faster than the 150 mph top speed attained by the Acela Express linking Washington, D.C. with Boston). The trip would take about 2 1/2 hours and cost riders $55, according to the High Speed Rail Authority. The project is expected to cost $32 billion, with extensions to San Diego and Sacramento adding another $10 billion. State officials are banking on taxpayers, Uncle Sam and private investors sharing the costs equally. Construction could begin as early as 2011 and trains might be running by 2020. Advocates claim the largest public works project in state history would create as many as 160,000 construction jobs and spur 400,000 more jobs once the system is up and running. Some opponents warn the final tab could be closer to $80 billion. Regardless of the final cost, taxpayer advocates and the California Chamber of Commerce argue California can't afford it. Repaying the $9.95 billion bond issue over 30 years would cost $19.4 billion, with annual payments hitting $647 million. That's a lot of coin for a state that already spends 6.1-percent of its budget on debt service. Opponents also say final tab might be closer to $80 billion. Even some rail advocates and transportation experts say the current proposal would never work. "It's technologically impossible to do what the High Speed Rail Authority claims can be done, for any amount of money," Prof. James Moore, director of the transportation engineering program at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times. "When it comes to predicting the actual cost of systems like this, I just say a zillion and leave it at that." Voters may be leery of spending any money, given the state of the economy, the collapse of Wall Street and California's budget deficit. And then there's the fact a Metrolink commuter train crashed in L.A. last month, killing 25 people. That could make the high-speed line a tough sell. Of course, it isn't enough to simply build a high-speed rail line. As the Chronicle notes this morning, if bullet trains are going to work here like they do in Europe and Japan, California – and, by extension, America – must develop and live in denser cities while expanding public transportation. "It's a lifestyle change we're talking about," Noriyuki Shikata of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says. "It affects how people lead their lives." It remains to be seen whether people are pony up for high-speed rail, let alone make the changes that might be needed to ensure its success, but polls show the proposition passing by a slim margin. Post updated 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. PST. Image by California High Speed Rail Authority. |
When we talk about post-punk, we almost inevitably place the emphasis on punk. Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, Talking Heads, Gang of Four, Television—they’re all bands that were born of punk and evolved from that simple, three-chord ideal into something more sophisticated and complex. Sometimes it arrived in the form of a dark disco, and sometimes it was a haunting dirge, but the direction of its outgrowth came almost exclusively from one simple, abrasively revolutionary starting point. But there are always exceptions to be discovered, and in post-punk that proved true more than a few times. The Pop Group built their abrasive beats out of the scrapyard of dub and free jazz, while Tuxedomoon crafted a darkly alluring atmosphere out of minimal synth and jazz noir. And then, out of a different world entirely, came This Heat. Formed in 1976 by Charles Bullen, Gareth Williams and Charles Hayward, This Heat were an anomaly of the post-punk era. Their background was in experimental music and progressive rock—Hayward briefly played with Canterbury scene cult favorites Gong and Quiet Sun, the latter featuring Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music fame. And though their songwriting style embraced unpredictability, abrasion, anarchy and non-conformity, the end result was a far cry from the dark grooves of Joy Division or Gang of Four (though maybe not that far from Wire at their weirdest). Their forefathers were Throbbing Gristle, Can and Stockhausen, and if those DNA helixes tangled up into the shape of a pop song, it certainly didn’t resemble anything like an actual pop song during their five-year run. This Heat only released three studio efforts during their brief, five years together—1979′s self-titled effort, 1981′s Deceit and the 1980 EP Health and Efficency, all of which have been reissued on vinyl for the first time since their original releases through Light in the Attic—but there’s a world of depth and curiosities to discover within the all too succinct 24 tracks that make up their catalog. Coincidentally, that number makes a conspicuous appearance in the title of one of their landmark recordings, “24 Track Loop.” The centerpiece of This Heat’s debut album, “24 Track Loop” is a pioneering track in use of tape loops to form the basis of a song, essentially using two-inch analog tape as a primitive sampling device. The darkness and chill of the track places it in the same league as the post-punk and industrial artists of the day, but there’s something very foreign about it as well. It’s almost like the post-punk take on ’70s era Miles Davis, who also used tape loops and cut-and-paste methods for reconstructing new grooves. All one needed to know about the strange, unconventional methods used by This Heat could be found in “24 Track Loop,” a track that’s as much curiosity as it is revelation. Yet it’s also the most accessible piece of music on the group’s 1979-released self-titled debut, which juxtaposed fully formed songs with extended periods of improvisation. There are eerie, unsettling chants, avant garde ambient pieces that nod to John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, chilling dirges and shrieking shards of progressive noise rock. This Heat abandoned any adherence to genre. They evaded convention. They deconstructed music itself. “We did stuff that was edgy and floaty, and then stuff that was dense [with] lyrics about politics,” Hayward says in an interview with post-punk historian Simon Raymonde, as published in The Quietus. “Suddenly you’d go into these other places. It was the switch from one to the other that was the true confrontation for me. People would be hearing with the cultural ears of one experience and they’d be confronted with a different set of things and for a moment they wouldn’t know how to listen. And that was what was important to me, making people listen in different ways, with different ears.” Listening to This Heat’s debut album is a bit like conditioning one’s ears to receive music differently with each drop of the needle. Each track turns the previous one’s approach upside down and inside out. It’s disorienting by design, which is part of what makes it thrilling to revisit. The first listen is like plummeting from the sky into a dangerous and unfamiliar place. It transitions from deep pulses and scratches of guitar (“Horizontal Hold”) to ominous, formless dirge (“Water”) to musique concrête (“Not Waving”) to the minimal, eerie pop ballad “Twilight Furniture,” which is one of the other rare moments of accessibility on the album, as well as a song that undoubtedly proved highly influential to Liars’ Drums Not Dead some 27 years later. With each subsequent listen, This Heat’s stunning first effort feels less immediately disorienting, which is essentially the point. Once you’ve taken to This Heat’s method of listening with different ears, their once confounding approach turns from confusing to beautiful. Released between the band’s two studio albums is 1980′s Health and Efficiency EP, its title track the most accessible item in the band’s catalog while showcasing how their own version of accessibility is still a safe distance from normal. And that semblance of catchiness—their flirtation with conventional rock songwriting—lasts only about two and a half minutes, before it tumbles into a sort of motorik-inspired repetition, guitar riffs and rattling, stop-on-a-dime percussion tumbling over and over in a seemingly infinite loop as found sounds turn a briefly upbeat and fun post-punk gem into a menacing and twisted proto-industrial exercise. The first time I heard the song, I didn’t even know that the first part existed; when heading into KCR studios for my college radio show sometime around 2001, the music director was spinning the entirety of “Health and Efficiency” on vinyl (one of the library’s most fascinating artifacts, to be sure). What I heard was a four-minute repetition of some of the nastiest grooves to ever hit my ears. The first few minutes of the song are much more approachable, even fun. Sounding a bit like The Fall with a sunnier disposition and a penchant for hardcore intensity, This Heat crafts a mesmerizing and hard-driving track dedicated to, well, health and efficiency. The opening lyric actually goes, “Here’s a song about the sunshine/Dedicated to the sunshine,” a far cry from the darkness and disorientation that defined so much of the band’s work. And yet, the positive outlook wasn’t in any way insincere, no matter how much of an anomaly it seems by comparison. “We wanted to put a vibe across that wasn’t the doom thing completely, that wasn’t ‘We’re being poisoned by toxins and can’t do anything about it,’” Hayward told Reynolds in 2001. “It was very anti-punk, in a way, because there was a lot of weediness in punk, it became a cult of defeatism. The whole goth thing. So we were responding to that.” The flipside of “Health and Efficiency,” titled “Graphic-Varispeed,” is an entirely different beast, spanning three minutes longer and eschewing melody altogether, more or less. Essentially a long ambient track using pitch control effects (hence the “Varispeed”), it reconjures the unsettling and disorienting experimental tone of the band’s debut album. That sense of foreboding, of intangible yet palpable menace, hits critical mass on the band’s second and final full-length, 1981′s Deceit. That it features their most cohesive set of songs while retaining that harrowing dread is what sets it apart as their true post-punk masterpiece. “We were resolved that maybe the ‘song’ thing needed to be focused on,” Hayward says in an interview with Fact. “We wanted to reconnect with what had been smashed up, almost as a way of moving forward.” Deceit is less a product of the studio-as-art approach of This Heat’s debut as it is that of a group of musicians playing instruments in a room as a fully-formed band. These are rock songs, as peculiar and sometimes twisted as they end up sounding. The multi-part progression of the alternately harsh and groove-based “Paper Hats” nods to the group’s prog roots, while opening track “Sleep” showcases one of the group’s most immediate melodies. And then there’s “S.P.Q.R.”, a two-chord, galloping punk anthem that thumps and gallop with intention and accessibility. Whatever new ears are needed to allow This Heat’s more experimental tendencies to better resonate, there’s a sense of joy in hearing such tautly constructed songs through that atypical filter. Juxtaposed with this newfound sense of immediacy is the heavy presence of Cold War terror. Inspired by a genuine fear of nuclear war and the imperialist nations that would bring it about, Deceit doesn’t feel so much like a protest record as a tense cry of panic set to intriguingly constructed melodies. “Cenotaph” is a none-too-subtle critique of the endless cycle of war, with its mentions of “The war to end all wars/And the war that came after that,” while “Paper Hats” returns to the refrain of “the sound of explosions?” Just as potent a statement is “Independence,” an ominous dub-inflected track that features the opening statements of the Declaration of Independence. And the album art echoes this overarching critique of leaders with itchy trigger fingers, its collage of photographs projected on a face, disturbingly juxtaposing images of Krushchev and Reagan with mushroom clouds against the backdrop of what seems like a primal scream. When Deceit moves away from such explicit statement material, however, the results can be even more terrifying, as in the atonal keyboard drones and factory-crank percussion of “Triumph,” or the variable speed thumps and Czech shortwave warnings in “Radio Prague,” which sounds closer to one of the numbers stations broadcasts collected on the Conet Project than anything else of the post-punk era. It’s hard not to experience some cognitive dissonance when hearing some of the band’s best-written songs under the context of fear and intertwined with some briefly harrowing listening experiences (and maybe not coincidentally, their studio was dubbed “Cold Storage”). It’s what makes Deceit more than a powerful listen, but in fact a wholly visceral experience. More than any other band of the post-punk era, This Heat were about changing perceptions. Not political perceptions, necessarily, though it’s impossible to extricate their music from the sense of Cold War dread that surrounded it. Rather, This Heat were communicating music in an entirely unfamiliar way, and surely it’s been processed differently by everyone that’s heard it. The Slits’ Viv Albertine told the band that their music was “sexy,” while Caribou’s Dan Snaith says that it sounds “like the future.” And though their body of work is between 35 and 40 years old, he’s not wrong. This Heat’s vision still feels like just a faint shape looming over the horizon. You might also like: |
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it had detained an American tourist for violating its laws after entering the secretive state in April, bringing the number of U.S. citizens held by Pyongyang to three. Pyongyang has detained a number of U.S. citizens in recent years, using them as a tool to extract visits by high-profile figures, including former President Bill Clinton, for propaganda means. North Korea periodically accuses the United States of military hostility and conspiracy to overthrow its leadership. The two states have been locked in a tense diplomatic conflict over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. The latest American to be held was being questioned by authorities for conduct inappropriate for the purpose of his visit as a tourist, state media reported on Friday. The North’s KCNA news agency named him as Jeffrey Edward Fowle and said he entered the country on April 29. It gave no further details. A State Department official said Washington was aware of reports that a third U.S. citizen had been detained in North Korea. “There is no greater priority for us than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad,” the official said, adding no further information was available. Earlier on Friday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the North had detained a U.S. citizen in mid-May. Kyodo cited unidentified diplomatic sources as saying the American was detained just before he was to leave North Korea, for having left a Bible in his hotel. Two other Americans are currently being held by the North, arrested after arriving on tourist visas and accused of crimes against the state. Korean American missionary Kenneth Bae has been in custody for 18 months and a second man has been held since April. In May, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory urging Americans not to travel to North Korea because of the “risk of arbitrary arrest and detention” even while holding valid visas. “Foreign visitors to North Korea may be arrested, detained, or expelled for activities that would not be considered criminal outside North Korea,” it said. WAR VETERAN RELEASED North Korea has detained and then released other Americans in the past year, including Korean War veteran Merrill E. Newman, whom it expelled after holding him for more than a month accusing him of war crimes. In April, the North said it was holding an American named Matthew Todd Miller who had made “a gross violation of its legal order” after entering the country on a tourist visa. He tore up his visa and demanded asylum, KCNA said in April. Bae was arrested in 2012 and has been sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor on charges of state subversion. His family says he suffers from a variety of health issues, including diabetes, an enlarged heart, kidney stones and severe back pain. North Korea has twice canceled visits by Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, to discuss Bae’s case. The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and the interests of its citizens in the country are represented by Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang. |
Love can make you do some crazy things as one husband found out first hand when his wife set his hair on fire during a night out. CCTV video from January 9 shows the inside of a bar in one of the US's 16 states which still allow smoking indoors. According to Jukin Media the unnamed couple are either extremely affectionate towards one another or at each other's throats; this video clearly depicts the latter. The husband is seen having a great time, dancing and chatting with other patrons across the bar. His wife sits next to him smoking a cigarette, visibly annoyed. Without warning she reaches out with her lighter to ignite her husband's hair before returning to her cigarette. While the other patrons immediately see his hair light up, the man keeps talking animatedly for several seconds before realising something is wrong. © Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2019 |
The problem I encountered with names in old colonial Philippines was a pain in the neck. The Regidor (Treasury Accountant) had complained constantly like a broken record to the Governor General of the impossibility of fulfilling his tax-collecting task due to the liquidity of naming conditions in the whole archipelago. There was simply no credible way of registering and validating the people and the population because of three anomalies that created confusion for his department First, the natives were named after the area where they lived. If one lived by the seashore he was Kato Tabing Dagat. However, if Kato changed his address to the forest glen, he became Kato Ginubatan. He was the same person yet he was registered as two persons in the municipal registry book. Second, the traditional practice was to be named as the grandson of so and so, as in Apo ni Tuliao or Apo ni Lagmay. In Onofre D. Corpuz’s book The Roots of the Philippine Nation I had come across the signature of some people written in the ancient, extant syllabary that reads: Apo ni Gagui.” If the grandfather died, the name changed to the father’s name as in Anak ni Batak, or Anak ni Tasyo. Third, if the person had a unique characteristic, his name was a physical description of his/her person. Cross-eyed Juan was called Juang Duling. Berto had a misshapen jaw, so his name became Bertong Bukol. A little satirical ridicule happened when a very bald guy was called Kulot (Curly). Sometimes, very cruelly, a disgusting name was given to an individual. Even names of towns did not escape this naming pattern. That is how “Cagayan” was made into a place name. In Spanish cagar means “to poo.” Cagayan means the place where to do your “number two.” Philippine American Writers and Artists President Edwin Lozada tells about his friend, a physician, whose name happens to be Dr. Cagar, or Dr. Shit. His Hispanic patients don’t want him treating their ailments. The given surname changed when the kid grew older or if another signpost event occurred in his lifetime. Fathers, sons, brothers who belonged to the same immediate family tree had different surnames. Tracing one’s genealogy became a daunting endeavor. Examples in the literature are very instructive about European Onomastics. The northern Europeans used the suffix “son” in their names. The son of Anders was called Anderson. Richard’s son was “Richardson.” In Spain, the son of Rodrigo became Rodriguez. Hernando’s son became Hernandez, Gonzalo’s son became Gonzalez and Fernando’s son became Fernandez. With this in mind, Governor General Narciso Claveria, who didn't have anything better to do, asked Madrid for a list of names to be given out to the colonial subjects in the Philippines. Madrid collected all the names in all the provinces of Spain. It was called Catalogo de Apellidos. |
Guests: Jordan Morris Jordan Morris Guests: Guy Branum Guy Branum Guests: Margaret Wappler Margaret Wappler Guests: Karen Tongson Karen Tongson Guest host Jordan Morris sits down with Karen, Margaret, and Guy to talk about their favorite topics brought up in the official Pop Rocket Facebook group! They talk chicken nuggets, indie comic books, and Beyonce’s pregnancy photos. Guy chats about Mary Tyler Moore, Karen can’t get enough K Stew and Jordan loves Jen Kirkman’s newest Netflix special. And of course, some jams to top it all off. With Jordan Morris, Guy Branum, Karen Tongson and Margaret Wappler. That’s My Jam: Margaret Wappler - Cherry Glazerr - Told You I'd be with the Guys Karen Tongson - Team Dresch - Freewheel Jordan Morris - Pigeon John - She's Loud Guy Branum - Kids in the Hall - Buddy Cole Each week we’ll add everyone’s jams to this handy Spotify playlist. You can let us know what you think of Pop Rocket and suggest topics in our Facebook group or via @PopRocket on Twitter. Produced by Christian Dueñas and Kara Hartfor MaximumFun.org. Additional Links: SNL's Totino's Sketch Jen Kirkman Just Keep Livin'? Trailer |
poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201611/764/1155968404_5210172655001_5210130504001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump’s first ambassador: Barack Obama On his last foreign trip as president, the task ahead of Obama is enormous: Reassuring the world about a successor he said couldn’t possibly win. ATHENS — There was a time, a week ago, when the Obama White House was focused on questions like who would take over tending to the first lady's vegetable garden. Now President Barack Obama is setting out on what was supposed to be a fun post-election farewell trip to Greece and Germany with not just his entire domestic record at risk of being gutted by President-elect Donald Trump, but transatlantic new order he cultivated is in the midst of being rejected. His failure to convince people against Brexit no longer looks like a fluke: British voters recoiled at his campaigning for Remain in the spring, and last week, many from his own coalition of voters weren’t compelled by his warnings that Trump would be a threat to all the progress his administration had made and to the safety of the world. Story Continued Below And he’s going to explain to all the world leaders he meets — he’ll gather with his European counterparts in Berlin on Friday and then with the Chinese and other Asia-Pacific leaders in his stop in Peru over the weekend — why he got the election so wrong, after assuring them all year that they need not be too worried about Trump winning, or even his brand of politics much influencing the future of American foreign policy. Then he’s going to tell them to trust him this time on his promises and assessments of where things will go now that Trump did what he assured them couldn’t happen. Only minutes after Trump finished a friendly phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it fell to Obama to reassure the world that America’s foreign policy actually wouldn’t change much — and it wouldn’t even be made solely by the man who has questioned nearly everything about how the U.S. does business abroad, from support for free trade to opposition to nuclear proliferation to treaty-level commitments to allies. “One of the great things about the United States is that when it comes to world affairs, the president obviously is the leader of the executive branch, the commander-in-chief, the spokesperson for the nation, but the influence and the work that we have is the result not just of the president, it is the result of countless interactions and arrangements and relationships between our military and other militaries, and our diplomats and other diplomats, the intelligence officers and development workers,” Obama said at his pre-trip press conference at the White House on Monday. He added: “And there is enormous continuity beneath the day-to-day news that makes us that indispensable nation when it comes to maintaining order and promoting prosperity around the world. That will continue.” Ahead of the election, White House aides struggled to give good reasons for why Obama was headed to Greece. Now going looks more quaint, a bit of closing presidential tourism meant to congratulate the Greek people on coming through the turmoil of their economic collapse and ongoing refugee crisis — a planned message that perhaps didn't fully account for how this small Mediterranean country’s collapse seems to have shaken the very idea of globalism. Obama was going to Berlin to buck up his friend and spirit sister Angela Merkel against the domestic political backlash she’s facing. He’s arriving with Merkel looking like the last bulwark of Western liberal values, a leader who could be headed for an unexpected fall of her own without anything he or anyone else can do about it. Alternatively, some believe, Germany and Europe overall is where Obamaism will hibernate to wait out 2020, much like they felt happened during George W. Bush’s presidency — when Obama looked like such a welcome restoration to their sense of America that he won the Nobel Peace Prize just for getting elected. Obama remains hugely popular on the continent, and the fears sparked by Trump's election, intense in Germany, seem to be reminding Europeans of that. Trump has emboldened the European nationalist right, but his victory has also woken up the left and center to how real, and how existential a moment the world is in. “This is a time of great change in the world, but America's always been a pillar of strength and a beacon of hope to peoples around the globe and that's what it must continue to be,” Obama added at the press conference. Obama said he was impressed by how much Trump seemed to agree with him on foreign policy during their 90-minute meeting in the Oval Office last week. Trump has not signaled any of that supposed alignment himself. During the campaign, Hillary Clinton accused Trump of being a puppet of Moscow and Obama made a similar case. Trump repeatedly said that Putin was a stronger leader than Obama who needs to be treated with more respect. On that point, the president-elect appears to be sticking to what he said — at least according to the Kremlin. Putin’s government put out a statement on his call with Trump, during which according to the they “not only agreed on the absolutely unsatisfactory state of bilateral relations but also expressed support for active joint efforts to normalize relations and pursue constructive cooperation on the broadest possible range of issues”—words likely to set off a panic in many Eastern European capitals. And, in a signal that the Kremlin expects the sanctions enacted after Russia’s seizure of Crimea to disappear, the statement added: “They emphasized the importance of establishing a reliable foundation for bilateral ties by developing the trade and economic component.” The president-elect’s transition team gave only a cursory account of this call, and made no apparent effort to correct or amend Russia’s version of the conversation. A revamped relationship with Russia could lead to inviting Putin to rejoin the group of leading nations to make the G7 into the G8 again, reversing the decision that booted Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. At the very least, the next G7 meeting scheduled for May in Sicily is going to look very different from the one Obama attended in Japan this past spring. Other than Merkel, who’s up next October, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose election last October represented to many of the president’s supporters the ascent of an Obama-generation progressive, could be the only familiar face left. Obama's compatriot David Cameron has already been replaced by Theresa May in the U.K. Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi, the protégé the president hosted for his final state dinner last month, faces an anti-European Union referendum next month that may force him to resign. Marine Le Pen feels empowered ahead of France’s presidential election next April. And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — who is rushing to New York this week to meet Trump — faces his own internal turmoil from some of his turns to the west, including sticking his neck out for the now-dead Trans Pacific Partnership, on top of Japan’s always volatile domestic politics. On Wednesday, Obama will give a big speech here in the Greek capital that was always meant to be about the future of globalism, said deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes last week. That speech hadn't been written before the election results, he noted, so the text hasn't had to be torn up — but obviously, it's needing to be rethought. "Look, there are certain things that have endured for decades under administrations of different parties," Rhodes said, holding to assumptions that Trump insisted throughout the campaign he would challenge if elected. "The transatlantic alliance is certainly one of those. The NATO alliance is certainly one of those. We have taken steps during our time in office to reinforce the NATO alliance, to reassure Eastern European allies, to move significant military personnel and equipment to our eastern flank to ensure that those nations are reassured, and also to work with NATO on counterterrorism and deal with refugee flows." |
Interim Chair's comments Dr Tania Mathias, interim Chair of the Committee, said: "Artificial intelligence has some way to go before we see systems and robots as portrayed in the creative arts such as Star Wars. At present, 'AI machines' have narrow and specific roles, such as in voice-recognition or playing the board game 'Go'. But science fiction is slowly becoming science fact, and robotics and AI look destined to play an increasing role in our lives over the coming decades. It is too soon to set down sector-wide regulations for this nascent field but it is vital that careful scrutiny of the ethical, legal and societal ramifications of artificially intelligent systems begins now." Transformational impacts AI systems are starting to have transformational impacts on everyday life: from driverless cars and supercomputers that can assist doctors with medical diagnoses, to intelligent tutoring systems that can tailor lessons to meet a student's individual cognitive needs. Such breakthroughs raise a host of questions for society, including ethical issues about the transparency of AI decision-making as well as privacy and safety. The Committee is calling for a Commission on Artificial Intelligence to be established at the Alan Turing Institute to examine the social, ethical and legal implications of recent and potential developments in AI. The UK is well-placed to provide this type of intellectual leadership. Much of the significant progress in this field—such as improved automated voice recognition software, predictive text keyboards on smart phones and autonomous vehicles—has been driven by UK-based technology start-ups, founded by graduates of UK universities, as well as universities themselves. The Committee found, however, that Government leadership in AI was lacking. Dr Mathias said: "Government leadership in the fields of robotics and AI has been lacking. Some major technology companies — including Google and Amazon — have recently come together to form the 'Partnership on AI'. While it is encouraging that the sector is thinking about the risks and benefits of AI, this does not absolve the Government of its responsibilities. It should establish a 'Commission on Artificial Intelligence' to identify principles for governing the development and application of AI, and to foster public debate." Implications for employment Improvements in productivity and efficiency, driven by robotics and AI, are widely predicted. Yet there are conflicting views about what this would mean for jobs in the UK. Some expect rising unemployment as labour is substituted for AI-enabled machines. Others foresee a transformation in the types of employment available, with the creation of new jobs compensating for those lost and AI augmenting existing roles, enabling humans to achieve more than they could on their own. Despite these differing views, there is general agreement that a much greater focus is needed on adjusting the UK’s education and training systems to deliver the skills that will enable people to adapt, and thrive, as new technology comes on stream. Dr Mathias said: "Concerns about machines 'taking jobs' and eliminating the need for human labour have persisted for centuries. Nevertheless it is conceivable that we will see AI technology creating new jobs over the coming decades while at the same time displacing others. Since we cannot yet foresee exactly how these changes will play out, we must respond with a readiness to re-skill and up-skill. This requires a commitment by the Government to ensure that our education and training systems are flexible, so that they can adapt as opportunities and demands on the workforce change. It is disappointing that the Government has still not published its Digital Strategy and set out its plans for equipping the future workforce with the digital skills we will need." Further information Image: iStockphoto |
Affordable Travel Everyone should be able to travel. We don’t all have budgets for an around-the-world ticket, or 4 months in Japan, but if you’re willing to sacrifice immediacy, you can still experience great adventures. I’m defining this category as approximately $500 for an epic travel adventure. This is loosely based around the amount of savings a low-income couple (real circumstances) can accumulate over a 6 month period. All you need is time, and if you’re not making any of that, that’s really nobody’s problem but your own. The internet caters beautifully to this idea, providing us with avenues to connect with our peers, share knowledge and rooms, cars and workspaces. We live in an incredible time for affordable anything really, it just comes down to us taking advantage of the tools we are given. Below I’ve outlined some of my personal go-to services for affordable accommodation and transportation. • Secret Flying can find you a $200 ticket out of the country (almost any country). • With HitchPlanet, you can get across the country (Canada or USA) for around $200. If you’re new to the world of ridesharing, be sure to check out RideShare for Beginners. • BusBud is a great way to find the cheapest possible bus fares on any given route. You can occasionally catch some crazy deals on there for getting around Canada or the USA. • HipCamp offers unique campsites on ranches, gardens, peoples wood lots, etc, all for a small nightly fee. • HostelWorld allows you to connect with hostels everywhere, and search based on location and availablity for nightly or weekly dormatory bed rentals. • Purple Tent is a pretty cool idea. Rent a tent in somebody’s backyard for a small nightly fee. They’ll even send you a free tent if you’re willing to host travellers. Free Travel Now, anyone truly can travel, regardless of budget. All you need is time, and if you’re not making any of that, it’s really nobody’s problem but your own. This category requires a few more sacrifices, but if you want to travel, and you can find the time, you really can do it for free. A clear schedule helps a ton when it comes to taking advantage of free travel opportunities, but you’ll always have to be flexible when it comes to travel. These are some of GoHobo’s top choices for free travel, so dig in and enjoy. Be sure to let us know if you end up using any of these services, we would love to hear about your experiences! • TransferCar or HitTheRoad.ca will even pay you to drive yourself across the country. • RV Relocations can be one of the best (although hard to find) means of getting around a land mass. If you can get yourself one, they often include daily road allowances and all your camping and sleeping gear. • If you’re on your own, Couchsurfing will get you a free couch to crash on. • HouseCarers can find you a place to stay for up to 6 months almost anywhere in the world, for the mere price* of dogsitting a family pet, or maintaining the residence at an automated bed and breakfast somewhere in the jungles of Costa Rica. • Staydu offers rooms for rent around the world for a small labour exchange, and often for free. Work Exchange You can volunteer your time, and have your room and board covered for as long as you want to stay and work. I’ve had the chance to try out similar programs both in Mexico and Australia and had spectacular experiences in both places. Some truly life-long memories were born out of these adventures. If communal living, farming and free travel sound good to you, consider this your new currency. • Projects Abroad offers some pretty interesting programs and initiatives for volunteers. They have a global network of organizations offering internships and volunteer opportunities on almost every continent. • World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms offers a straight-up work exchange program. You get the chance to work and learn on an organic farm, anywhere in the world, in exchange for food and accommodation. • WorkAway is a grassroots program, offering budget travellers opportunities to connect and work (in exchange for food and accommodation) for local communities all over the world. • HelpStay offers accommodation and hospitality on ranches or farms, hostels and more, in exchange for all sorts of skills. Cheap Travel Cheap travel vacations are a great way to enjoy a week or two of relaxing in the sun, ordering all your meals from a menu, all day casual cocktails or playing water polo, all while you take some time away from whatever it is that you need time from. Who doesn’t love cheap travel? These packages work well as a home base to explore another country. Some people fly in, stay at the resort for a night, and hop on a bus, exploring the countryside for several days, before making their way back to the resort. This is a great way to catch a last minute getaway, and interact with the local culture as well - which is by far, one of the most valuable assets when travelling. Here are a few of the usual suspects when it comes to cheap travel: Hotwire has some reasonable deals when it comes to hotels, and vacation packages. If you can fly out of Canada, Trip Central offers last minute deals for as little as $350 for a week on a sunny beach. Expedia Last Minute is a trusty dealer of cheap travel; cars, hotels, flights and package deals. GoHobo is always happy to share or talk about resources and experiences with the community. We strive to be the number one destination for all things alternative travel and are massive adventure enthusiasts. Adventure for regular people. If you think we missed something or have anything to add, feel free to email us at gohoboco@gmail.com or hit us up on Twitter. |
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday that they are teaming again; this time in an effort to make widespread adoption of the electric car a reality. Ford F, +1.37% said it plans to use Microsoft's Hohm electric-car charging optimization service to help drivers determine the ideal time to charge their vehicles and how to best minimize impact on the grid. Ford points out that powering up electric vehicles can effectively double home energy consumption and managing the expected spike in demand is critical. "For Ford, this is a needed step in the development of the infrastructure that will make electric vehicles viable," CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement. The Internet-based service will be used for the Focus Electric plug-in hybrid in 2011, and in two next-generation hybrids in 2012. Microsoft MSFT, +0.69% and Ford have already proven to be a successful partnership with the Sync system, a decade-long effort designed to improve drivers' in-car experiences. Sync was launched in 2007 and has been installed on more than 2 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. |
A farmer has gone on trial, accused of biting his brother’s penis during an altercation over the payment of electricity bill. Adjei Amponsah, 30, pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was granted bail in the sum of GH¢6,000.00 with two sureties by the Juaso Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Alex Obeng Asante, to make his next appearance on February 7. Police Detective Inspector Bismark Peasah said the accused lives together with the victim, Kwaku Amponsah, and some tenants in a family house at Patriensa, near Konongo. Amponsah has always had cause to complain anytime he is asked to pay his share of the monthly electricity bill. Matters came to a head about two weeks ago when he flatly refused to pay his part of electricity charges for the months of October and November, last year. This generated heated argument between the two siblings, then a fight, during which he sunk his teeth into the penis of the victim and bit it, resulting in a deep cut. The prosecution said Kwaku bled profusely and was rushed to the Konongo Government Hospital for medical attention and a formal report made to the police. GNA |
Billionaire Paul G. Allen will donate $100 million to fight Ebola, the philanthropist and co-founder of Microsoft announced Thursday. This will quadruple his earlier promise to donate $26 million to various nonprofit groups and government agencies fighting the most deadly outbreak of the virus ever recorded. He is one the largest individual donors to tackle the disease, which has killed nearly 5,000 people in West Africa and infected nearly 10,000, according to the World Health Organization. The promise of significant relief funds comes as more people are quarantined and placed on “watch lists,” and the country works to contain the disease and prevent another outbreak on American soil. A Connecticut family of six was quarantined after traveling in West Africa, West Haven Mayor Edward O’Brien said late Wednesday. They don’t have any symptoms of Ebola, NBC News reported, but under the executive orders signed by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy this month, anyone who has been travelling in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea must quarantine themselves for 21 days and take their temperature twice daily. The family will be monitored by public health workers, who will phone twice daily to check for signs of the disease. RELATED: Ebola aid group worries about delays and staffing shortfalls This is the latest Ebola containment effort that’s affected hundreds across the country who are being monitored by the authorities, told to stay home, or prohibited from travelling. While a week has passed since the last diagnosis and more and more high-risk healthcare workers have been cleared, many Americans still remain on edge as the deadly virus ravages West Africa. In Ohio, 164 are still under the Center for Disease Control’s watch and three are under quarantine; in Texas, more than 100 are being monitored. Newly released graphic showing remaining Ebola contacts under surveillance and days left @CDCgov pic.twitter.com/UE7DMSQ1sQ — Judge Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) October 22, 2014 It will be weeks until those in America who are being watched are free from the restrictions put in place to preemptively curb possible spread of Ebola. Starting Monday, the CDC will also begin monitoring anyone who has traveled in the three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak for the full virus incubation period, 21 days. That new measure will add hundreds more to the CDC’s watch lists. Experts say this kind of contact tracing is key to protecting the U.S. from more cases of Ebola, but across the country, Americans are struggling with the implications of quarantines and anxiety that the disease could spread quickly. There have been instances of forced, medically unnecessary quarantines and ostracizing due to Ebola panic: Rwandan students in New Jersey are being told to stay home for three weeks, despite the fact that Rwanda is thousands of miles from the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak. In Mississippi, a school principal who visited Zambia (even farther away from the outbreak than Rwanda) is prompting parents to keep their students home. A family who had traveled to Ethiopia — which is across the continent and considered East Africa — to adopt a child was ostracized by fellow parents despite the fact that Ethiopia has fewer cases of Ebola than the U.S. Meanwhile, states are rushing to prepare themselves. In Illinois, both the state and the city of Chicago have launched Ebola-related preparation forces, readying hospitals for the possible handling of Ebola cases. On Wednesday, the governor also announced that he would signed an executive order creating a task force with the state’s Department of Public Health, “to further strengthen our ability to respond to Ebola,” a release said. One of the five airports passengers from Ebola-stricken nations may travel through is in Chicago. Texas, ground zero for the American outbreak, has also hurried to create testing, treatment, and preparedness protocols and facilities, with Gov. Rick Perry speaking regularly and updating the public about their efforts. |
Deep in our Galaxy, approximately 30,000 light-years from Earth, a small gravitational monster is sucking matter from a companion star, causing the infalling matter to violently radiate X-rays and occasionally be launched to form radio-wave-emitting jets that emanate close to the speed of light. This enigmatic binary star system, known as Cygnus X-3, has fascinated astronomers over four decades. It is thought to be either a small black hole or a neutron star and an ordinary, albeit massive star orbiting each other. Now, a team of researchers, including TKK's Metsähovi Radio Observatory, have made the first definitive detection of high-energy gamma rays from this system. The findings may provide a new window on how Cygnus X-3 accelerates charged particles to enormous energies. The study is scheduled to appear in an upcoming Nature. Detecting the gamma rays, the most powerful type of electromagnetic radiation, is a feat in itself, and in this study their detection were made possible by sensitive detectors on-board italian gamma-ray satellite AGILE (Astro-rivelatore Gamma ad Immagini Leggero). From these observations an unexpected clockwork pattern of the gamma-ray emission was noted, which always seems to occur just before the onset of the powerful radio jets. "Cygnus X-3 is a strange case indeed, being one of the brightest radio source in the Galaxy except when it descends into a radio quenched state. And now these extremely energetic gamma rays have been observed during this state. This may be indicating the preparation of the major radio flare, which follows just days after, when the source shoots up energetic radio jets from the core of the compact object," says researcher Karri Koljonen from Metsähovi Radio Observatory. The new gamma-ray findings are expected to shed also light on how distant quasars, powered by supermassive black holes, pump even greater amounts of energy into space. Microquasars such as Cygnus X-3 are the ideal laboratory for studying the jet phenomena that dominate the most luminous quasars' emission. Because the emissions from microquasars vary on time scales of days to weeks rather than decades like quasar emissions, they present a convenient test bed for probing quasar activity. The gamma rays observed by AGILE were in the form of flares at energies of about 100 million electron volts. Simultaneously the source was observed by AMILA (Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array) and RATAN-600 radio telescopes from UK and Russia together with NASA's Swift and RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer) X-ray satellites, which revealed that the flares preceded radio jets and occurred during a decline in high-energy X-rays from Cygnus X-3. "The very complex behavior of Cygnus X-3 requires monitoring throughout the electromagnetic spectrum from radio through X-rays and now including also gamma-ray emission. Not until we have gathered data from all possible wavelengths we can start to form a unified picture of this enigmatic object. Microquasars have strong magnetic fields which can store enormous amount of energy. During these gamma-ray flares this stored energy can accelerate charged particles to observed high energies which prompts them to emit gamma rays. Then the magnetic gate opens, and radio-emitting blobs are pushed out of the system producing the major radio flares," Koljonen concludes. Metsähovi will stay as a radio eyes for Cygnus X-3 along with other international radio, infrared, X-ray and gamma-ray facilities. |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Luxembourg on Friday upped its bid to be a leader in the nascent space mining industry by setting aside 200 million euros ($223 million) to fund initiatives aimed at bringing back rare minerals from space. Luxembourg in February announced plans for a law that would make it the first state in Europe to give legal clarity to the commercial exploitation of asteroids. A similar law was passed by the United States in November. “We have a first budget to get started but if we need more money, we will be able to provide it,” Etienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s economy minister told a news conference. Luxembourg’s ambitions drew interest from pioneers in the field such as U.S. operators Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries which aim to set up offices in the grand duchy. A first reconnaissance mission to scout nearby asteroids for resources could take place as soon as three years from now. Primarily known for its fund management and private banking industry, Luxembourg has high ambitions for the exploration of space. “Luxembourg’s aims is to be in the top 10 space faring nations in the world,” Schneider said. One of the successes the country can point to is Luxembourg’s SES one of the world’s largest operators of communication satellites. “In 1985 the government decided to launch the first satellite. We had huge discussions then that nobody would need that kind of satellite or that it could fall from the sky,” Schneider added. Under international law, mining in space is a contentious subject as international treaties call for exploration to be carried out for the benefit of all countries. Mining in space could not only help to bring back minerals to earth, but also aid with the exploration of distant planets by producing fuel for far away missions. |
Tokyo: Near Akira and Makoto’s apartment - 22/4/2018(Sunday) – Late night Yet another speed bump rattled the small truck. It shook Akira awake once more, he’d felt so very groggy the entire ride. “Time to wake-up kid, we’re almost there,” a gruff voice sounded out from the driver’s seat next to him A truck slowly squeezed its way through the tiny back streets of this residential district. It slowed and the engine wheezed for its last gulp of air before calmly coming to stop in front of an apartment complex. Despite the late hour there were still a few passers buy and a little traffic on the road Its two occupant’s disembarked the still humming vehicle and made their way to the back. The driver held out a bulky hand held computer for his digital signature. Akira yawned as he lazily scrawled something on the machine. The driver didn’t seem to mind as he put the machine away, and opened the back of the van. The driver let out a whistle, “That’s one hot ride.” Akira just nodded as a small smile played on his lips. He tossed Akira a small bag, “You already have the keys. The registration, and other pertinent documentation should be in there. It should have a little bit of petrol in the tank but fill her up first thing, “He lowered a ramp before proceeding to roll a bike out from the truck. He parked it next to Akira, “Now if you don’t mind I should be on my way.” “Alright, thanks for the lift and you have a good night,” Akira said with a polite smile. “Oh, one last thing. As an adult it would be a little bit irresponsible if I didn’t say anything. But don’t go joyriding tonight in that state you hear? You’ve looked tired as hell since you got in the van.” Akira fought back a yawn, “Thanks, but the bike is not for me.” Cocking an eyebrow he asked, “You don’t say… who’s it for?” Scratching the back of his head, “It’s for my girlfriend; she’s always wanted one.” The driver let out another whistle, “Must be a real special girl, if a college boy like you is willing to spend this much cash.” Akira flashed a sheepish smile in return. “Considering how much trouble you went through to have it delivered tonight. Good luck,” a mischievous smirk played on his face as he made to get back into the van. “Thanks…” Akira said an anxiously, running his hand over the brand new bike. The truck roared to life and sped away moments later, leaving Akira alone on the quiet night streets. He calmly rolled the bike towards the apartment complex. Though they never used it before now, they did have an assigned parking spot. Satisfied to have it behind the secured gate. He made for the elevator to go home. Akira hit the button and waited for the elevator to arrive. Massaging his temples in the meantime, ‘I am exhausted, but all that’s left to do is surprise her. It might be nice to thank Haru for her help first. ’ He pulled out his phone and tapped away at messenger app, “I just parked the bike in our garage going up to surprise her now, thank you so much for helping out Haru. I couldn’t have had it delivered on a Sunday without your help, please just let me know how I can repay you alright,” Send. *Ting* as the elevators doors slid open. Akira boarded and tapped the panel for the top most floor. *Bling* He pulled out his phone to see a message from Haru, “All I did was pass you the phone number and address, you did the talking and dealing all by yourself.” “Without those Okumura contacts. Getting a vehicle registered and road worthy on a weekend is not a feat I could have done by myself. Tell me how I can make it up to you?” Send. *Bling*“Well…” *Bling*”If you insist, I’m going to a movie premier next week, why don’t you and Makoto give me some company?” *Ting* as the elevator reached its destination. ‘The 20th floor’ Akira walked out onto his floor, ‘Knowing Haru it’s probably another slasher pic and a bloody one at that if she’s gone to the trouble of going to the premier. Makoto’s terrified of those films…’ A devilish smirk played on his lips. “You know how Makoto feels about those films, so obviously we’re coming. Let me know when.” Send *Bling*”ExcellentJ. Good luck tonight.” *Bling*”Wish her the best from me to too.” Fumbling for his key ring as he reached his door; one of four on this floor. Akira put his phone away as he finally unlocked and walked inside the modest home he and Makoto had made together. It’s a small one bedroom apartment. The living space was shared with a tiny kitchen, but it had a balcony with an amazing view of Tokyo’s night lights. Akira took of his shoes at the tiny entrance way. All the lights were off with the room lit only by the lighting outside. He stepped onto the elevated wooden flooring and made his way inside as quietly as possible. It was already late, and he had messaged ahead asking Makoto not to wait up for him tonight. In case she was already asleep, he didn’t want to wake her up. Unfortunately the *growl *in his stomach quickly betrayed his stealth. Sojiro had kindly donated the old fridge from Le’blanc, even if he tried to pass it off as him getting rid of old junk. Most of It lay covered with a never ending list of to-do items such as house hold chores, bills, and other appointments. The remaining space over the freezer was reserved for photos. It had slowly grown to a decent collection with many photos of the phantom thieves, most were from their recent trip to Okinawa. There were also some others with just his mom, Sae, Sojiro, Yukiko, and their many other friends. Akira recognised the obvious gap, where he had removed the few photos with his father. He thought it might be better without a daily reminder, but he missed him all the same. Akira was about to look inside for a quick snack, when he spotted a covered box on the countertop. There was a small note to next to it, “Some of us at work went out for sushi, so I saved you some leftovers.” Akira quickly opened the box, and hungrily ate through it. The rest of the room was much like the photos on their fridge, apart from some essential furnishings like a couch and table, the space was cluttered with various objects and kick-naks they had picked up together. Some coffee beans from Le’Blanc featured prominently on the countertop, while Makoto had brought a small bookshelf from her sister’s apartment. Most of the small appliances, a heater, a microwave, etc, Akira bought in from his home town. After the house was sold, there was nowhere else to put them anyway. Satisfied with his snack, ‘That sushi wasn’t half bad, if the place wasn’t too pricey. It might be nice to eat there together next time. ’ Akira reached towards a sliding door. It opened into their bedroom, the double bed lay empty but neatly prepared. The room was sparse for any other furnishing, besides a study desk that he and Makoto shared. Its surface was stacked with an intimidating number of Akira’s first year, and Makoto’s second year law books. There at the desk he found her slumped over yet another law tome, with the warn study light bathing a side of her face as she slept. Makoto recently took a part-time position as an aide at a law firm. Ever since then Akira had found her in this state far too often for his liking. Back in school she may have had other duties as student council president, but she never worked a paying job. Between her university studies and work she was slowly running her-self ragged. Akira worried about her, but he was in much the same situation. Between university, work and other commitments he was barely getting enough rest some days. The wall facing the desk was decorated with numerous photos of just Akira and Makoto. Many taken by each other on their numerous dates these last two years. Some were also confiscated from their more intrusive friends and family. There was a sketch by Yusuke. It was of the two of them in a boat, hastily drawn from the first time he’d taken Makoto out over the lake. However, his personal favourite was at the arcade. Akira and Makoto had teamed up for a game of Gun’about against Shinya. He had considered the photo proof of their ‘cheating,’ apparently being able to guide each other or hold each other while playing was an unfair advantage. That monster in a red cap had devastated their combined score anyway. But at least he had captured that lovely moment of Makoto between Akira’s arms; the two of them glowing with carefree happiness with guns pointed at the screen. Reaching forward. Akira ran his fingers through her hair. He planted a soft kiss on her cheek, before gently lifting her curled up form. She felt frail in his arms, and he could feel her light breathing in her sleep as he put her to rest on her side of the bed. Laying down next to her, he pushed the night light on his watch. Through the cracked screen, he could make out the time at 11:09. Akira set an alarm for midnight, ‘There’s still time. I’ll let her rest a little more. We both need the sleep.’ The bedroom didn’t have a balcony, but it shared the view. As had become a ritual, he gazed at the slow flickering lights of Tokyo’s skyline until his eyes had become heavy. *Alarm**Buzz**Alarm**Buzz**Alarm**Buzz* Akira shot awake dazed. His watch read 12:01. Disabling the alarm, he turned to a still sleeping Makoto. Part of him was tempted to let her sleep, she seemed so peaceful it seemed wrong to wake her up. Akira put those thoughts aside. He gently nudged her awake, snaking his arms around her as he felt her stir. He planted a light kiss on her lips to hasten the process, “Hey...” Eyes still closed and releasing an escaped yawn, “Hey… what time is it?” “Just a little bit past midnight. So, Happy birthday Makoto.” Her eyes still closed, a sheepish smile played on her face, “Well… in that case. Why don’t you give me my present?” Her arms shot free of his hold, pulling him in for a fierce make-out session. Makoto ran her fingers through her hair, cupping his face with her palm. Akira let one hand wonder all over her shapely form, while the other pressed against her ample chest. She guided him on top of her throwing her hands around his neck. Their moans between kisses spurring them on despite their collective tiredness. Both hungered for each other in the moment; desperate to be in their own little world for as long as possible. Makoto widened her legs as Akira’s hips began to rock ever so slightly, he felt her reach down to undo his pants. ’No. Yes…No!’ Akira painfully resolved to make her stop. “Why not?-We have so little time together as it is!” Akira stared into her lovely red eyes. He saw the desire there, it was no doubt mirrored in his own steely sight. He also saw the flashes of frustration play in her eyes. Akira knew she was rather irritated at not getting her way. With a nervous smile, “Grab your things and come with me… I have a surprise for you.” Parking - A short while later… 23/4 Akira escorted Makoto forward, “We’re nearly there.” He had his hands over her eyes. “Is this the parking garage? -What are you planning?” She was as sharp as ever to guess where they were. Akira had the elevator stop at a few random floors just in case, but that didn’t fool her. Makoto slowly fumbled forward as Akira guided her path. Her hands cautiously feeling out the air in front of her. “I distinctly remember telling you to not try anything elaborate this year; especially considering last year’s disaster,” Makoto said, as Akira tried his best not to think about last year’s incident. Tonight was sure to turn that into a distant memory. With only a foot or two left to go, Akira grew very anxious. Leading her to the rear of the bike, “So, it’s right in front of you now. Why don’t you try guessing what it is just with your hands?” Makoto nervously reached forward till her hands made contact with the rear seat, “Is this it?” “That’s right,” Akira said struggling to hide his anticipation as a grin slowly crept across his face. Makoto felt her way around the curves of the bike, “It’s a lot bigger than I was expecting.” She eventually found the rear tire and seemed to quickly determine what it was, “This… but then.” She shot along the side of the bike, Akira struggling to keep up with her sudden motion. Her hands finally settled on the bike handles, “It can’t be…” Akira withdrew his hands; letting her see for herself. He Triumphantly waved his hand around the bike as he made his way to the other side opposite her, “Its last years update, 1000cc, A liquid cooled 4-cylynder engine, fuel Injection, 13,000RPM, 0 to a 100km/h in 2.8 seconds, and I got it in black with the silver accents for the open metal work. Of course, you already know all this. ” Makoto stared at him in disbelief, her beautiful eyes betraying a childlike wonder. With clear excitement she hopped on to the bike, “This is… I’ve wanted this bike for so long… Don’t tell me, this is why you’ve been working so many extra shifts these last couple of months. Akira why did you?-” Silenced her with a quick kiss, “Happy birthday,” he said softly under her breath. Her fingers stroked his cheek. “You’re really spoiling me… thank you Akira,” she replied amorously with a loving smile, before pulling him in for a longer kiss. “But I mean it… this is too much. As amazing as it is, it’s not worth you working yourself to the bone,” Makoto says with a concerned expression. “I didn’t do it for the bike, I did it for you,” he replied wryly. Unmoved by his deflection. She took his hand, “Please promise me Akira, I was really worried seeing you so exhausted on most days these last couple of months. I don’t want you to do something like that again.” Scratching his head he let out a sigh, “Alright. Alright, I promise.” He dangled the keys in front of her, “I’ve missed our rides on Johanna. What do you say, you want to go for a ride?” Makoto snatched the keys with a light chuckle, “Stop teasing and-get-on-already.” Grinning from ear to ear, he took the rear seat. Based on experience, his arms cinched her waist like a corset till she was satisfied. The bike roared into life as they launched towards the exit, testing every bit of Akira’s hold. Petrol Station – a short drive later The two of them let out a sigh of relief when the guzzling petrol tank finally read full, *thunk*. Suffice to say both of them had been worried about the cost of filling it up. As she paid the amount, Makoto seemed content that it wasn’t beyond their means, but she didn’t know about the insurance rate. As Akira remembered the full amount he grew white as a ghost, insanely chuckling at his new financial ruin. All he could see was floating numbers showing his savings ticking down to zero. He felt a hand on his head bring him back to reality. Makoto was staring at him with a perplexed expression. “Akira, you don’t have a fever, but you’re looking very pale. Maybe we should just head back for today? I don’t want you getting sick.” Despite her concerned tone, Akira could see the disappointment in her eyes, “Just a little tired that’s all. I haven’t had much to eat tonight. Thanks for the Sushi by the way, it was nice. We should go there together sometime.” “Ok, if you say so,” she replied. Akira knew her eagerness was overriding anything else. They set off once more. Ready to go with a full tank, Makoto clearly struggled to keep herself in check while they navigated the quiet residential streets. Her driving had even turned a few disapproving heads from passers-by. Akira could feel her anxiousness to really test her new bike. Once finally on the freeway however, she let loose to her hearts content. He held her close as she whizzed the bike past, and slipped it around, any traffic they encountered. He could sense her Queen persona take over as she grinned at vehicles disappearing in her rear view mirrors, and she seemed far too thrilled by the noise it made speeding through the tunnel. Their hair fluttered in the wind as they cut through the cold night air. This did little to dampen Makoto’s bright glow. After what it took to get her bike, Akira was content seeing her enjoy herself so. He relaxed his grip on her, the cold air seemingly also washing away his exhaustion. He stared up at the sky. Just watching the street lights disappear one after another, ‘Moving far away from anything, everything. Just Makoto and me. Far away from trains, work, bills…and myself.’ He shut his eyes, letting the roaring wind mask all other sound. ‘Right now, it was just the two of us in our own little world.’ “Hey, do you want to get married?” Masked by the wind, his words barely reached Makoto’s ears. “Huh?” she responded, still focused on her driving. Akira leaned in close, and this time speaking into her ear, “I know it’s not exactly a ring, though a bike fits you just as well. Makoto, If all you want is the quiet life counting days until retirement, say no. I can’t promise happiness. I can promise to always chase after it with you; and I promise we’ll never be bored. You’re the love of my life Niijima Makoto, will you marry me?” A sheepish smile played on her lips, “ahh ha ha ha!” as she exploded in laughter. A bemused Akira joined her laughter moments later. Breaking their reverie he planted another kiss on her cheek, “I’ve felt that way for a while; sorry I took so long to say it. I promise, I’ll buy you a proper ring, one you can show off to all our friends.” “Don’t. I like this; this is what I want. This is us… I promise to always stand by your side, come what may. I love you Kurusu Akira, and I’ll marry you,” She said, still trying to focus on the road. ‘We’re engaged… we may not have a ceremony for a long long time, but now she’s my fiancée,’ It was surprising just how thrilling that felt. Akira sensed that Makoto was also feeling the same way. He desperately wanted to kiss her again, but there would be plenty of that later on. No more words needed to pass between them in the moment. The two lovers rode along Tokyo’s snaking freeways into a shared tomorrow. Slicing through that cold night air as they vanished into the night. |
Anyone who knows us, knows that we love music, and we now hate KU for trying to pass this off as such. Join us as we watch this video of Kansas’ unprecedented effort to force horrific lip syncing and dancing into one video. Just when you thought nothing could be more embarrassing than the University of Kansas Jayhawks football team, the school releases this video. Allow us to recap some of the highlights lowlights of this music video… Nobody should be this happy while holding a giant silver star. • • • Absolutely loved her work in A League Of Their Own. • • • Actually, this shot does a nice job of showing off KU’s advanced science and discovery department, who apparently successfully created a perfect genetic combination of Forest Whitaker and LeVar Burton. • • • If there is one thing this video had too much of, it’s guys pointing at the camera wearing rolled up jorts. • • • Come to KU! We have plenty of room for you in our half empty football stadium! Yes… we have a football team. • • • Director: “Ok, for this shot, I want you to point your chin as high in the sky as possible while still looking at the camera.” • • • Remember that night Steven Spielberg had a one night stand with that Asian woman? It lives in KU’s dinosaur museum. • • • Two and Seven: Not just KU’s conference record in football. • • • Did we learn nothing from the ’80s? Let’s think twice before we create these music videos. And KU isn’t the only school at fault. The rest of you know who you are. Let’s all sit a few plays out. • • • This post was created by Austin. You can follow him and his jokes on Twitter: @TheAHuff Also, for up-to-the-minute sports jokes, follow Korked Bats on Twitter: @KorkedBats |
Photo by @epicantus Let's see Angular route resolvers in action. You are creating an Angular Typescript application. You have created a few services for it that contain a couple of rest calls wrapped in promises. Now you are setting up routes, and you want to load certain resources before the page displays. To load those resources before page display, you need to strap your route with a resolve parameter that references an injectable class called resolver. You can add a resolver to your Angular application the same way as you would add a regular service. ng generate service resolver/projectResolver What Are Resolvers Resolvers are classes that implement the resolve interface and have a resolve method which gets executed when the route is activated. The router expects the resolver to return either an Observable or a Promise. If the returning variable is an Observable the router stops the route navigation and listens for the observable to emit a 'complete' event before resuming. If the returning variable is a Promise then the router waits for the Promise to resolve. A resolver looks similar to the following: /// project resolver import {Observable} from 'rxjs/Observable'; import {ActivatedRouteSnapshot, Resolve} from '@angular/router'; import {DynamoDBService} from '../service/ddb.service' import {Injectable} from "@angular/core"; //// notice how this implements the resolve interface @Injectable() export class ProjectResolverService implements Resolve<any> { /// I'm using serverless architecture so instead of having a service that makes ajax calls I have a service that makes database calls. constructor(public db:DynamoDBService) { } /// This is the resolve method that is inherited from the resolve interface. The resolve method returns an observable. When the observable emits 'complete' the route successfully navigates /// To capture and use URL parameters you need to pass in `ActivatedRouteSnapshot`. resolve(route:ActivatedRouteSnapshot):Observable<any>{ ///My route has an /:projectId parameter. I use that identifier to load a specific resource from the database. let projectId = route.paramMap.get("projectId"); /// My service methods are wrapped in promises. I use the `Observable.fromPromise` method to change the methods returned promise to an observable. return Observable.fromPromise(this.db.getProject(projectId)); } } My resolver class has some extra fluff in it, but don't worry, I added comments to help break things down. The route using the resolver looks similar to the following: /// route.ts import {RouterModule, Routes} from "@angular/router"; import {ModuleWithProviders} from "@angular/core"; import {SecureHomeComponent} from "./secure/landing/securehome.component"; import { ProjectsComponent } from "./secure/projects/projects.component"; import { ProjectResolverService } from './service/project-resolver.service'; const secureHomeRoutes: Routes = [ { path: '', redirectTo: '/securehome', pathMatch: 'full' }, { path: 'securehome', component: SecureHomeComponent, children: [ {path: 'project/:projectId', component: ProjectComponent, resolve: { ///Notice here that I have the resolve paremeter and the resolver service. project: ProjectResolverService } } } ]; const routes: Routes = [ { path: '', children: [ ...secureHomeRoutes ] }, ]; export const appRoutingProviders: any[] = []; export const routing: ModuleWithProviders = RouterModule.forRoot(routes); I stripped away a lot of methods from the following service so that you don't have to scan through a lot of code to figure out what is happening. It should get the point across: |
CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. (January 28, 2016) - The New York Red Bulls opened the 2016 preseason schedule with a 3-1 victory over the University of South Florida Thursday at the Omni Resort in ChampionsGate, Fla. New York and USF played three, 30-minute periods under rainy conditions. The New York Red Bulls controlled play in the first 30 minutes and had several scoring chances before breaking through to score the scrimmage's first goal. New York opened the scoring as Bradley Wright-Phillips scored the first goal of the preseason on a perfect pass from Mike Grella as he one-timed a shot past the USF goalkeeper. "It was a nice play from Mike (Grella) down the left (side)," said Bradley Wright-Phillips. "I just tried to keep my eye on the ball and make good contact." Neither side scored during the second 30-minute period. New York head coach Jesse Marsch rolled out three different starting lineups for each period of play to open the preseason vs. the Bulls. "It was good to get going," said Marsch. "We haven't had as much time to concentrate on enough of the details because we were a little bit sidetracked by the weather back in New York. Overall, to come down here for the first day against a college team (USF) I thought the effort was good and the emphasis was there." In the final 30 minutes of action, Manolo Sanchez scored the scrimmage's second goal on an assist by rookie Chris Thorsheim. Just minutes later, rookie Homegrown forward Brandon Allen scored his first goal of the preseason as he scored from close range. MLS SuperDraft First Round pick Justin Bilyeu assisted on the Allen goal. The Red Bulls continue preseason play with a pair of split-squad scrimmages Sunday at the Omni Resort. New York faces Jacksonville Armada FC at 10:30 a.m. and Montverde Academy at 12:30 p.m. BOX SCORE New York Red Bulls 3, USF 1 Thursday, January 28, 2016 Omni Resort - ChampionsGate, Fla. Scoring Summary: NY - Bradley Wright-Phillips (Mike Grella) NY - Manolo Sanchez (Chris Thorsheim) NY - Brandon Allen (Justin Bilyeu) USF - Penalty Kick New York Red Bulls First Group: Kyle Reynish; Kemar Lawrence, Ronald Zubar, Zach Carroll, Chris Duvall, Dax McCarty ©, Sean Davis, Mike Grella, Vincent Bezecourt, Stefano Bonomo, Bradley Wright-Phillips New York Red Bulls Second Group: Ryan Meara, Connor Lade, A.J. Cochrane, Aaron Long, Sal Zizzo, Felipe, Tyler Adams, Derrick Etienne, Jr., Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam, Gonzalo Veron New York Red Bulls Third Group: Rafael Diaz, Justin Bilyeu, Trialist, Tim Schmoll, Chris Thorsheim, Mael Corboz, Shawn McLaws, Scott Thomsen, Manolo Sanchez, Noah Powder, Brandon Allen |
Trudy’s Brides and Special Occasions has a new look at the Pruneyard Shopping Center. On Nov. 30 Trudy’s will hold a grand reopening for its 42-year-old, two-level store. The event is set for 5 to 8 p.m. at 1875 S. Bascom Ave. The bridal and occasion dress store will celebrate generations of brides saying “yes to the dress.” The expansion took a year to complete and includes a new large floor space to accommodate visitors and a grand staircase at the entrance leading to the upper level. Trudy’s renovation is just one of many the Pruneyard visitors will see in the coming years after its owners, Ellis Partners, received the OK last month from the city to renovate existing buildings while adding new ones. “We started off in 1974 in the shopping center, and my parents set it up,” said owner Steven Blechman, son of Trudy Blechman, for whom the store is named. “You know the Pruneyard is exciting with all the changes coming up. (Ellis Partners) wants something really special that has great longer-term advantage for Campbell, really.” Trudy’s wasn’t always a go-to place for wedding and special occasion gowns. Blechman said his parents dabbled with sportswear when Trudy’s first opened. “The next thing they did was they started experimenting a little bit with special occasion dresses, and they found that the market was really responding,” Blechman said. “Customers started asking us for wedding gowns. That was the next step for us.” After finding its niche, Trudy’s began stocking prom dresses, wedding gowns and other dresses. Blechman said he doesn’t think his parents envisioned the store growing so much. “I think just from reinventing ourselves and going through the process in retail, listening closely to our customers and reacting to social media has enabled us to be successful,” Blechman said, adding that his mother still gives the stamp of approval to designer dresses that come into the store. “To be honest with you, after 42 years I feel Trudy’s has made a name for itself.” The reopening next week will feature an informal modeling of gowns, refreshments and a chance for people to donate newly used dresses to charity. Until Dec. 5, Trudy’s will give $50 in store credit to anyone who donates a dress to the store. Donations will go to the Princess Project, which accepts and organizes donated dresses and accessories for giveaways to high school students unable to afford prom dresses. “My goal would be able to have people stop by with their dress and take pictures with Trudy,” Blechman said. “The reason I bring that up is because so many moms have bought their bridal gowns with us, and now they’re bringing their daughters in. There’s a certain kind of celebration with the tradition of the store that people enjoy.” |
Get the biggest Arsenal FC stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Arsenal Wenger is prepared to play a waiting game for Luis Suarez, writes John Cross in Saitama. Wenger admits there is still a long way to go in their £40m pursuit of Suarez and the Arsenal manager tried to be coy with the potential transfer delicately poised. Arsenal boss Wenger has already had a sensational and cheeky £40,000,001 bid turned down and it is now likely that Suarez will have to force the move and may have to ask for a transfer. Wenger fears it will take time but insists the right deals will turn Arsenal into genuine title contenders next season after they made it four straight wins on the tour of Asia. "We are ready to do quick deals but all the transfers do not depend only on us," said Wenger as he spoke about the transfer for the first time. "But we are prepared to wait. It looks unlikely before the Emirates Cup (next weekend). "We still have a strong squad but we are there on the market to try to strengthen our team. With or without additions we can be title challengers next season." Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has insisted Suarez is not for sale and has even claimed that it would be a sideways step for him to join Arsenal. Wenger refused to get into a war of words with Rodgers and said: "He must explain that. I don't know. We are not close to signing Suarez or anybody else so there's no reason why I should talk about it. (Image: Getty) "There is nothing to say. I have been away now for two or the weeks and it's hard to see how things are advanced because everyone is on tour at the moment and it's very difficult to get in touch with people. "I believe that every club competes on a very high level. What has changed recently is that in Europe some countries like France suddenly have bought some very very talented players who two or three years ago would all have come to England. It makes the chase for talent very difficult. "What we want is not as name but as good player. The name is less important. What is more important is the quality of the player. At the moment I must tell you we are not close to signing anybody. "We try to do the job and we will try to do it well. But that is in front of us. We have worked a lot but nothing has been concluded with anybody. "Of course we want to do as many top players as we can. But we also have to focus on the players we have and develop them. We have plenty of candidates in midfield now and there is a big fight there. Bacary Sagna settles in well at centre-back with Thomas Vermaelen out." Arsenal yesterday beat Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1 thanks to goals from Lukas Podolski and Chuba Akpom to make it four straight wins in Asia. But they looked jaded after 17 days away and now face Napoli in the Emirates Cup on Saturday which means a reunion with Rafa Benitez and Gonzalo Higuain - who so nearly joined Arsenal - will lead their attack after his transfer from Real Madrid. (Image: REUTERS) Wenger is confident that his team are in good shape with the season three weeks away after Jack Wilshere also came through yesterday's game with no ill effects after making his first start. Santi Cazorla will also join up with the squad this week. Wenger said: "We've had two tough, full sessions in the last two days and we had to dig deep tonight to get through. That's part of pre-season. We still managed to create many chances but we are not as sharp physically as we can be. "They were as well aggressive and made many fouled from behind. Wilshere got a lot of fouls but it was planned before the game to take him of at half-time. "I don't have a problem with that. We wanted a competitive game and we got one. We saw overall a team who plays very deep defensively and comes out quickly so it was a good test for us. "We are well advanced in our preparation. It depends now how we well we recover from this trip because it was very difficult and it will certainly take a few days to recover from that." |
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