Hi I’m an editorial designer for BBC News and recently my teammates and I have been working on an interactive feature to accompany and enhance the BBC Two Horizon programme The Secret Life of the Cat.
Ever wondered what your cat gets up to once it leaves the cat flap? The Horizon programme, in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College, set off to a Surrey village with GPS trackers and collar ‘cat cams’ to find out.
While the idea seemed light-hearted to begin with there was some serious science behind it. We know more about wild tigers than our cuddly feline roommates and this project aimed to fill that information gap. The study, the largest of its kind ever conducted in the UK, also offered interesting challenges for our team.
Wanting to make our content fun as well as educational we decided to arrange the information around 10 of the cats tracked by the research team. In order to do this we made clickable 'cat tabs', illustrations of each of our 10 cats which would serve as the main navigation around the content.
When a user chose to click on a tab it would take them to a new page of content about that selected cat with information about their character and roaming habits as well as video of their activities.
None of us had illustrated cats before and it turns out it's tough to get right. We have discarded art boards full of cat disasters: stylized robots, cheap clipart and several rather evil looking specimens.
After a few rounds we established a style we were happy with and wanted the illustrations to be slightly sprawling over the top of the page in a ‘cat-like’ way. It was also important we carried that same style across all platforms.
The different profiles also became more enhanced with static maps of each cat's daily journey and clips of cat cam footage. Once into tablet and desktop space we went to town. We made the maps clickable so that the different cat routes would lead the user back to each cat profile page, we added cat cam video panels navigated to from an individual cat image as well as the clickable cat tabs mentioned previously.
A key aspect to the work was mapping the data. Developer Noah Veltman, our visiting Knight-Mozilla OpenNews Fellow, worked on parsing and sequencing tens of thousands of raw GPS readings into a usable format and then used that data to build prototypes using mapping tools like Leaflet and D3. He experimented with a variety of different views like a heat map, a comparison of one cat's movements on different days and a chart of total distance travelled, before settling on the time-lapse of a day in the life of a particular cat as the most interesting view.
All these elements were being assembled by developers Marina Shchukina and Steven Atherton with help from Chris Finch. They were often coding while we were still figuring out aspects of the design.
Working in such an agile way has its advantages and drawbacks. It’s easier to make design decisions when they can be seen in a browser, but as we work to such tight deadlines it can create unexpected complications such as compatibility in older browsers, responsive coding complications and so on.
This more joined up way of working with development, design and editorial teams collaborating from the start, is the inevitable future for our team in my opinion.
A lot of hard work went into this feature and I’m grateful to have worked on it alongside some very talented people. I would be interested to hear what you think.
Helene Sears is an editorial designer for BBC News.
Read more about developing the cat-cams for The Secret Life of the Cat on technologist Alia Sheikh's blog and more about the programme on the BBC TV blog.


The incident happened around 4:45 p.m. Feb. 14 at mile marker 112.5 of U.S. 1, said FHP spokeswoman Lt. Kathleen McKinney. That’s right around the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line.
It is not known why the minivan in which the man was a passenger was pulled over.
The video shows one trooper pull the man out of the vehicle. The man came out with his arms raised.
The trooper puts the man’s arms behind his back, while at the same time, another trooper shoots the man with his Taser stun gun. The man yells and falls to the ground.


Hollywood actor and pro-life advocate Eduardo Verástegui is planning to erect the biggest statue of Jesus in the world in his hometown in Mexico.
The state's reputation is possibly why Verástegui is embarking on the project, which he has named the "Christ of Peace" statue. The statue will be built at a towering 252 feet, which is nearly twice the size of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which stands at 125 feet.
Currently holding the record for the tallest Jesus statue in the world is the Christ the King statue in Świebodzin, Poland, measuring 172 feet off the ground.
Verástegui’s statue, designed by Romero, will be similar to other statues of Jesus that depict Christ with arms outstretched, representing the opening of an embrace.
Verástegui, the filmmaker behind the 2015 faith-based film "Little Boy," and the successful 2007 pro-life film “Bella,” hopes Christ of Peace will “transform the area much the same way He changed his life,” Fox News reported.
"I understood that I was not born to be an actor or something else, but to know, love and serve Jesus Christ," Verastegui said in a 2003 interview after vowing to make more faith-based and pro-life films.
The Spanish publication Clarin reports that the actor plans to present the project to Pope Francis and Catholic Church officials announced builders will break ground early this year.
Other Jesus statues around the world include a 128-foot tall bronze statue of Jesus on a mountain top in war-torn Syria as a symbol of peace in the Middle East. Smaller sculptures include Christ the Redeemer in Maratea, Italy, Christ of Vũng Tàu on the densely forested Mount Nho in Vũng Tàu of Vietnam and Cristo del Otero in Spain, just to name of few.


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President Obama answering question during his "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit.@BarackObama Twitter feed.
President Obama set the internet aflame Wednesday with his “Ask Me Anything” Q-and-A on Reddit, the massive web aggregator and online community.


Motion Picture--Drama: "Forrest Gump," Paramount Pictures; "Legends of the Fall," TriStar Pictures; "Nell," Egg Pictures, 20th Century Fox and PolyGram; "Pulp Fiction," A Band Apart, Miramax Films; "Quiz Show," Hollywood Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures Dist. Inc.
Motion Picture Musical or Comedy: "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert," Latent Image Productions, PolyGram Film International; "Ed Wood," Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures Dist. Inc.; "Four Weddings and a Funeral," Working Title Films, Gramercy Pictures/PolyGram Film International; "The Lion King," Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)," Pret Productions, Miramax Films.
Actress, Drama: Jodie Foster, "Nell"; Jessica Lange, "Blue Sky"; Jennifer Jason Leigh, "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle"; Miranda Richardson, "Tom & Viv"; Meryl Streep, "The River Wild."
Actor, Drama: Morgan Freeman, "The Shawshank Redemption"; Tom Hanks, "Forrest Gump"; Paul Newman, "Nobody's Fool"; Brad Pitt, "Legends of the Fall"; John Travolta, "Pulp Fiction."
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Jamie Lee Curtis, "True Lies"; Geena Davis, "Speechless"; Andie MacDowell, "Four Weddings and a Funeral"; Shirley MacLaine, "Guarding Tess"; Emma Thompson, "Junior."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jim Carrey, "The Mask"; Johnny Depp, "Ed Wood"; Hugh Grant, "Four Weddings and a Funeral"; Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Junior"; Terence Stamp, "The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert."
Foreign Language Motion Picture: "Eat Drink Man Woman," Central M.P. Corp. Prods., the Samuel Goldwyn Co., Taiwan; "Farinelli," Stephan Films, K2 Productions, UGC Images, Sony Pictures Classics, Belgium; "Queen Margot," Renn Prods., Miramax Films, France; "Red," CAB Prods., Miramax Films, Switzerland; "To Live," ERA International (HK) Ltd, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., Hong Kong.
Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst, "Interview With the Vampire"; Sophia Loren, "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)"; Uma Thurman, "Pulp Fiction"; Dianne Wiest, "Bullets Over Broadway"; Robin Wright, "Forrest Gump."
Supporting Actor: Kevin Bacon, "The River Wild"; Samuel L. Jackson, "Pulp Fiction"; Martin Landau, "Ed Wood"; Gary Sinise, "Forrest Gump"; John Turturro, "Quiz Show."
Director: Robert Redford, "Quiz Show"; Oliver Stone, "Natural Born Killers"; Quentin Tarantino, "Pulp Fiction"; Robert Zemeckis, "Forrest Gump"; Edward Zwick, "Legends of the Fall."
Screenplay: Paul Attanasio, "Quiz Show"; Richard Curtis, "Four Weddings and a Funeral"; Frank Darabont, "The Shawshank Redemption"; Eric Roth, "Forrest Gump"; Quentin Tarantino, "Pulp Fiction."
Original Score: Elliot Goldenthal, "Interview With the Vampire"; James Horner, "Legends of the Fall"; Mark Isham, "Nell"; Alan Silvestri, "Forrest Gump"; Hans Zimmer, "The Lion King."
Original Song: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" ("The Lion King") music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice; "Circle of Life" ("The Lion King") music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice; "The Color of the Night" ("The Color of Night") music and lyrics by Jud J. Friedman, Lauren Christy and Dominic Frontiere; "Far Longer Than Forever" ("The Swan Princess") music by Lex De Azevedo, lyrics by David Zippel; "I'll Remember" ("With Honors") music and lyrics by Patrick Leonard, Madonna and Richard Page; "Look What Love Has Done" ("Junior") music and lyrics by Carole Bayer-Sager, James Ingram, James Newton Howard, Patty Smyth.
Series, Drama: "Chicago Hope," CBS; "ER," NBC; "NYPD Blue," ABC; "Picket Fences," CBS; "The X-Files," Fox.
Actress, Drama: Kathy Baker, "Picket Fences"; Claire Danes, "My So-Called Life"; Angela Lansbury, "Murder, She Wrote"; Heather Locklear, "Melrose Place"; Jane Seymour, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."
Actor, Drama: Dennis Franz, "NYPD Blue"; Mandy Patinkin, "Chicago Hope"; Jason Priestley, "Beverly Hills, 90210"; Tom Skerritt, "Picket Fences"; Sam Waterston, "Law & Order."
Series, Musical or Comedy: "Frasier," NBC; "Grace Under Fire," ABC; "Home Improvement," ABC; "Mad About You," NBC; "Seinfeld," NBC.
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Candice Bergen, "Murphy Brown"; Brett Butler, "Grace Under Fire"; Ellen DeGeneres, "Ellen"; Helen Hunt, "Mad About You"; Patricia Richardson, "Home Improvement."
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Tim Allen, "Home Improvement"; Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier"; Craig T. Nelson, "Coach"; Paul Reiser, "Mad About You"; Jerry Seinfeld, "Seinfeld"; Garry Shandling, "The Larry Sanders Show."
Miniseries or Motion Picture: "The Burning Season," HBO; "Fatherland," HBO; "The Return of the Native," CBS; "Roswell," Showtime; "White Mile," HBO.
Actress, Miniseries or Motion Picture: Kirstie Alley, "David's Mother"; Irene Bedard, "Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee"; Diane Keaton, "Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight"; Diana Ross, "Out of Darkness"; Joanne Woodward, "Breathing Lessons--A Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation."
Actor, Miniseries or Motion Picture: Alan Alda, "White Mile"; James Garner, "Breathing Lessons--A Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation"; Rutger Hauer, "Fatherland"; Samuel L. Jackson, "Against the Wall"; Raul Julia, "The Burning Season."
Supporting Actress: Sonia Braga, "The Burning Season"; Tyne Daly, "Christy"; Jane Leeves, "Frasier"; Laura Leighton, "Melrose Place"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Seinfeld"; Laurie Metcalf, "Roseanne"; Miranda Richardson, "Fatherland"; Liz Torres, "The John Larroquette Show"; Leigh Taylor Young, "Picket Fences."
Supporting Actor: Jason Alexander, "Seinfeld"; Fyvush Finkel, "Picket Fences"; John Malkovich, "Heart of Darkness"; Edward James Olmos, "The Burning Season"; David Hyde Pierce, "Frasier."


Brazil’s new far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has stumbled out of the gate with infighting, policy flip-flops and confusion in his one-week-old government, raising concern among investors about his ability to carry out pressing fiscal reforms.
Divisions have quickly emerged between his political and economic teams over plans to overhaul a messy tax code and costly pension system to bring a high budget deficit under control.
Bolsonaro’s comments in interviews and Twitter posts have also been at odds with senior aides, a red flag for investors who expected the government to arrive focused on a swift pension reform to shore up its finances before tackling an array of hot-button social issues and foreign policy proposals.
Last Friday, for example, Bolsonaro told reporters he was increasing the tax on financial operations and cutting the highest income tax rate.
That prompted a quick denial from an undersecretary to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, with Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni later saying the president was mistaken.
The back-and-forth unsettled investors who had been pleased at the team of orthodox economists assembled by Guedes, many of whom are fellow alumni of the University of Chicago’s free-market school of economics.
It put many in a wait-and-see mode, especially in debt markets, said Fabio Knijnik, head of Sao Paulo-based wealth fund K2 Capital. While many domestic investors remain bullish, foreigners with other options have been more cautious about Brazil.
Brazil’s stock market has been one of the best performing in the world over the past six months, with the benchmark Bovespa stock index climbing 25% as Bolsonaro won election in October and appointed his market-friendly cabinet.
Brazil’s currency and stocks extended a rally into the new year, but gains have slowed as questions mount.
On Wednesday, Bolsonaro celebrated a record high for the Bovespa. “Optimism about the new Brazilian government is adding to the global scenario,” he said on Twitter.
However, confusion about pension reform, which Knijnik called the keystone of the president’s economic agenda, has some worried that the party might not last.
Bolsonaro proposed in an interview with the SBT television network that the new minimum retirement age would be 62 for men and 57 for women, higher than now but lower than ages proposed by the previous government.
Investors read that as a sign that he could water down the bill written by the prior government to limit the political costs, easing passage through Congress but requiring further legislation down the road. Guedes has said he favours a tougher proposal that may be politically difficult but would make a larger and more lasting impact on public debt, which has soared to 77% of gross domestic product.
“The political and economic teams are at odds. There is a lack of cohesion and even co-ordination between President Bolsonaro’s closest aides,” said Leonardo Barreto, head of Brasilia-based political consultancy Factual.
Guedes is taking an all-or-nothing approach to fiscal reforms, while Lorenzoni has signalled he would make concessions to lawmakers to shore up political support, said Barreto.
The contradictions highlight broader tensions in Bolsonaro’s government.


A friend of a friend with access to the National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey data looked into the "how many seven footers are there?" question for me and found that the six years of the survey have counted over 3,000 people of whom . . . none are taller than 6 foot 8 inches. Which is to say that "big man" sized people are, in fact, extremely rare. What's more, according to an exhibit I saw at the Mutter Museum last weekend, a majority of people taller than about 6'10" actually suffer from pathological pituitary gland disorders (Sun Ming Ming, for example) that make them ill-suited to be athletes.
The point of this, you'll recall, was to try and estimate what proportion of age-appropriate seven footers are professional basketball players. Perhaps the question should be further refined to include information about this pituitary business. A few super-tall people who, as best I can tell, aren't basketball players are Leonid Stadnyk, Xi Shun, and Ajaz Ahmed. Angus MacAskill at 7'9" was apparently the tallest person recorded without a serious growth disorder, but having been born in Scotland in 1825, basketball wasn't an option.


Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has launched the Dubai Audio Library, the largest Arabic audio library in the world, according to the Government of Dubai Media Office.
In a statement on Thursday, the media office said that the library, which targets seven million visually impaired people in the Arab world, is an initiative undertaken by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in collaboration with the website Bookshare.org.
The launch of the initiative coincides with International Volunteers Day.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, and Abdullah Al Basti, Secretary General of The Executive Council of Dubai, attended the inauguration of the library.
The launch saw the uploading of the first book to the Dubai Audio Library.
Zayed Diwan, a collection of 87 poems written by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was the first book to be uploaded.
The collection features 87 poems that pay tribute to Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The Dubai Audio Library supports the Day for Dubai initiative, which seeks to instill a culture of volunteering in the community by dedicating at least a day a year for volunteering activities. The library is part of RTA’s efforts to support People of Determination by spreading a culture of reading among them, and integrating them into the community. The RTA is seeking to provide 300,000 books in Arabic. More than 10,000 volunteers will convert Arabic books into digital format using OCR scanners and edit them before uploading them to the website.
The library is a volunteering platform for supporting seven million visually-challenged Arabs. The Bookshare.org website has 600,000 books in English, but only 300 Arabic books. RTA is seeking to increase the number of Arabic audio books on the website to 300,000. To achieve this, RTA will collaborate with various organisations including Arab publishing houses and get their consent for uploading Arabic books to the website for the benefit of visually impaired people.
Volunteers can contribute to the initiative in two ways. The first is scanning pages of books and uploading them. The second is proof-reading books in their digital format before uploading them. Selected books will be on the topics of positive ideas, confidence building, determination in coping with life challenges, and enhancing imagination.


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In return, we offer the chance for you to work with a talented team, in a dynamic working environment where you\’ll have the opportunity to grow your skills and your career with an industry leader.


SAO PAULO, May 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA is making progress in talks with leading bank creditors about a potential loan package days before the due date to repay $144 million its construction unit owes to bondholders, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
An agreement may be reached as soon as this Tuesday, the sources added, asking for anonymity because the negotiations are private.
Brazil’s two top lenders, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA and Banco Bradesco SA, are discussing a joint 2.6 billion reais ($710.7 million) loan.
State-controlled Banco do Brasil SA has agreed to the outlines of the loan and how the collateral would be divided among the banks, but Bradesco and Itaú still need to agree on the terms, two of the sources added.
Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Itaú declined to comment. Odebrecht said it is still in negotiations with banks.


Some Hamas officials suggested on Tuesday that Israel carried out the bombing, while other Hamas leaders insinuated the PA did.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Hamas of carrying out the roadside bombing that struck PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and PA General Intelligence Services Majid Faraj’s motorcade in the northern Gaza Strip last week.
“We are fully aware that Hamas is the one who stands behind that incident and carried it out,” Abbas said.
On Tuesday morning, a roadside bomb exploded adjacent to Hamdallah and Faraj’s motorcade in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, injuring seven members of their staffs and damaging several cars.
On the same day, Abbas’s office said Hamas bears responsibility for the bombing, but stopped short of formally accusing Hamas of carrying it out.
Meanwhile, some Hamas officials suggested on Tuesday that Israel carried out the bombing, while other Hamas leaders insinuated the PA did.
Abbas also said that if Hamdallah and Faraj had died in the bombing, a bloody inter-Palestinian conflict would have broken out.
Abbas also said that the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership does not want any details from the Hamas-run security forces’ investigation into the bombing.
The Hamas-run security forces in Gaza have been investigating the bombing and arrested a number of individuals suspected of carrying it out, according to Hamas-run Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozm.
However, the PA president did not explicitly state which measures he decided to take, but he appeared to suggest that they will affect Gazans when implemented.
Last year, Abbas ordered cuts to budgets allocated to Gaza for electricity, medical services, government employees’ salaries and other purposes to pressure Hamas to cede control of the coastal enclave. Many of these cuts remain in place.


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If you have an Android phone and need a Wikipedia browsing app, then try Wapedia by Taptu. Wapedia may be the only Wiki app you'll need.
Wapedia features stunningly fast searches, intuitive organization, and other powerful features. Users can either install the free application from the Android Market or steer their mobile browser to http://wapedia.mobi. Either way you get it, the app provides an impressive mobile Wiki browsing experience.
When the app opens, a search bar appears along the top of the screen with a button on the right for bookmarking favorites. Below it is a statement on the number of articles (currently around 3 million) that Wapedia has from the Wikipedia encyclopedia. The tabbed home page includes "Categories," "In the news," "Did you know...," "Random articles," "Popular pages," and "Featured content."
Another noteworthy feature is Change Wiki, which enables users to switch between dozens of different Wikis such as Wikitravel, BibleWiki, Call of Duty Wiki, and Twilight Saga Wiki.
The Help and About options are stashed neatly along the bottom menu bar, which also has options to go back to the last page, list the numerical table of contents, and share (my options included Gmail, Email, TweetCaster, Evernote, and SMS message). The bottom menu will also open search results in other languages or other Wikis. You can set other preferences under the "More" button to change image size, font size, page length, theme, and so on.
Selecting "Popular pages" returns results such as "HTTP 404," "Searching," and "Justin Bieber," while "Did you know..." informed me that the black honeyeater bird eats charcoal. Neat! The "In the News" option includes a handy "In this day" section, and the Categories section has an impressive number of subcategories. It's easy to get lost fiddling around with the Categories and subcategories here--but categories aren't everything.
Wapedia's most useful feature is search. The search function on this app is extremely rapid because it autofills as you type. Results will populate below the search bar display until you finish typing. Wapedia found my search query for "French Bulldog" almost instantly and organized the results neatly and naturally on my mobile screen.
Wapedia's rapid search results, intuitive organization, and neat features make it a keeper.
If you have an Android phone and need a Wikipedia browsing app, then Wapedia by Taptu may be the right choice.


Portland point guard Damian Lillard scored 30 points in a 104-99 Game 1 victory over the Thunder on Sunday. He answered questions about the Trail Blazers’ first playoff victory since 2006.
Question: How good does it feel to go out and play well after the Blazers were swept in the first round of the last two playoffs?
Is there any sense of vindication after a 10-game playoff losing streak?
After getting up big, what was your mindset when the Thunder came back and made it close?


Maher: “You mean the Oxycontin that he was on?...Why couldn’t he have croaked from it instead of Heath Ledger?” — HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, February 8, 2008.
Democrats inside and outside the Obama White House have declared a Public Enemy Number One, and it isn’t some vague concept like Poverty or Terrorism or Cancer. It’s a radio talk show host named Rush Limbaugh. Over the years, liberals haven’t just wished his wildly popular radio program would fail. Some have wished he were dead, on national television.
Limbaugh recently joined a group seeking to purchase the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams, which spurred the latest attempt by the American Left to drive Limbaugh off the radio and far away from a place in the mainstream of American life. Limbaugh and his tens of millions of listeners are routinely placed by the media on the menacing fringes.
Almost from the beginning of his nationally syndicated radio show in 1988, Limbaugh has brought out the worst in journalists who are supposed to honor fairness and accuracy. They have presented Limbaugh not merely as a commentator, but as a clear and present danger who must be curtailed. Network stars have showed more neutrality toward the humanity of Saddam Hussein than they allowed for an American talk-radio host.
This year’s attacks on Limbaugh began with an interview taped on January 19 for Fox News. Limbaugh told Sean Hannity that the media worked to elect Obama. He pointed out that the media’s elders came of age during the civil rights protests of the Sixties, and they’ve taught young journalists to see politics through the same prism of affirmative action: “Racism in this country is the exclusive province of the Left. We’re witnessing racism all this week that led up to the Inauguration. We are being told that we have to hope Obama succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this was the first black President. We’ve got to accept this.” The media establishment lined up to denounce Limbaugh and demanded that Republicans distance themselves from his claims.
— MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell anchoring the 3pm ET hour of MSNBC Live, January 26, 2009.
— CNN’s Jack Cafferty on The Situation Room, January 27, 2009.
— Chris Matthews on his syndicated The Chris Matthews Show on February 22, 2009 teasing a segment about Rush Limbaugh criticisms of President Obama’s policies.
— Exchange on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman, March 2, 2009.
— New York Times writer Timothy Egan on the Times “Outposts” blog, March 4, 2009.
— New York Times columnist Charles Blow on Republican Party chairman Michael Steele’s apology to Limbaugh for saying on CNN that his show was “ugly” and “inflammatory,” March 6, 2009.
– MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on his syndicated Sunday program The Chris Matthews Show, March 8, 2009.
— CNN commentator Jack Cafferty, March 10, 2009 edition of The Situation Room.
— CNN anchor Aaron Brown on the October 10, 2003 NewsNight after Limbaugh announced he was seeking treatment for an addiction to prescription pain medicine.
■ “Empathy has never been one of Rush’s strongest suits. Do you detect anything in his broadcast yesterday that would suggest that Rush is now going to become a kinder, gentler Rush Limbaugh?”— CBS’s Harry Smith to Syracuse University media expert Robert Thompson on The Early Show, November 18, 2003, the day after Limbaugh ended five weeks of treatment for drug addiction.
—ABC’s Charles Gibson to Bill Bennett on the November 18, 2003 Good Morning America.
— ABC’s World News Tonight, April 29, 2006.
■ “Rush Limbaugh is set to sign a deal with prosecutors today after three years of prescription drug fraud investigations. But did he get off easy?... Coming up on Good Morning America, a rush to judgment? He’s made a deal with prosecutors. Did Rush Limbaugh get off easy?...We’re going to start the half hour with Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk show host. He’s expected to sign a deal with prosecutors later today....But now there are new questions: Is Limbaugh getting off too easy?”— ABC’s Charles Gibson, Good Morning America, May 1, 2006.
— MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on Countdown, April 28, 2006.
— Fired CBS News producer Mary Mapes, as quoted by former reporter John Mashek in an April 7, 2006 posting to his blog on the U.S. News & World Report Web site.
— Comedian Kathy Griffin on her own USO tour for the troops on ABC’s Nightline, January 20, 2006. In February 2005, Limbaugh spent several days with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
— Writer Jeffrey Goodell in the January 1994 Elle magazine.
— Former Washington Post reporter David Remnick in the Post, February 20, 1994.
— Former NBC News President Michael Gartner in a USA Today column, July 12, 1994.
—Radical poet Allen Ginsberg in The Progressive, August 1994.
—Washington Post reporter David Broder in his April 25, 1995 column.
—Washington Post columnist and chief book critic Jonathan Yardley, May 1, 1995.
■ “Rush Limbaugh is the king. He is also a cretinous liar, with off-the-wall opinions. And he has the audacity to call himself a journalist.”— Infamous anti-American CNN and MSNBC foreign correspondent Peter Arnett quoted by John Corry in The American Spectator, May 1995 issue.
— Today co-host Bryant Gumbel adding to President Clinton’s pointed criticism of talk radio six days after the Oklahoma City bombing, April 25, 1995.
— Then-NBC Sports anchor Greg Gumbel responding to a February 6, 1996 letter from Bob Wagner of Homer City, Pennsylvania (who forwarded a copy to the Media Research Center).
— Washington Post reporter Phil McCombs on comedian Al Franken’s then-new book Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations, January 19, 1996 Style section.
— Boston Globe TV critic Frederic Biddle reviewing Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz's book, Hot Air: All Talk, All the Time, February 26, 1996.
Limbaugh’s staff reflected anxiety at the idea of counter-programming the overwhelming wave of celebration at that moment in the media culture. Obama was lauded as a world-class sage and savior, a dramatic contrast to the media’s treatment of Rush Limbaugh. What followed was a typical pattern of intentional misunderstanding. Limbaugh was portrayed as not only unpatriotic, but as beyond the pale of civility – someone the Republicans should be desperate to deny was part of their coalition.
— MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell to Rep. Mike Pence, on MSNBC Live, January 28, 2009.
— Washington Post reporter Keith Richburg on MSNBC live coverage, March 3, 2009.
— Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter in a Web-exclusive column posted on March 4, 2009.
— MSNBC’s David Shuster to former Bush White House spokesman Ari Fleischer on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, March 4, 2009.
— Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe on MSNBC’s Countdown, March 5, 2009.
— NBC’s Today, May 21, 2007.
Wild charges of racism also burst forth when Limbaugh worked briefly as an ESPN football analyst in 2003. He resigned after a liberal firestorm over his disparaging Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb: “The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback can do well—black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. There’s a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he didn’t deserve.” Despite plenty of evidence of liberal sports columnists “desirous” of black advancement in the NFL (New York Times columnist Selena Roberts complained the NFL was “white as baking soda”), Limbaugh was glued to amateur geneticists like Jimmy the Greek Snyder and Al Campanis, who lost jobs after suggesting blacks were “bred” for athletics (Snyder) or couldn’t swim (Campanis).
— CBS commentator Nancy Giles on Sunday Morning, October 5, 2003.
—NBC’s Katie Couric to Tim Russert on the October 1, 2003 Today. Couric did not note the source was a 1992 book by the far-left group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
— CBS Evening News, October 1, 2003.
— ABC World News Tonight anchor Peter Jennings, October 1, 2003.
The left and Democrats im Congress then mangled Limbaugh’s comments to claim he had said that any servicemen or women who might oppose the war in Iraq in public had been defamed by the talk show host as “phony soldiers.” They typically made no reference to the actual “phony soldiers” Limbaugh was talking about.
— MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Hardball on September 28, 2007.
— MSNBC’s Hardball on September 28, 2007.
— MSNBC’s Countdown, September 28, 2007.
— CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room, October 1, 2007.
— Co-host Meredith Vieira to former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, who was pushing to get Limbaugh removed from Armed Forces Radio, on NBC’s Today, October 3, 2007.
Then came Limbaugh’s current bid to seek ownership of the St. Louis Rams. On October 7, the demonization began with St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Bryan Burwell, whose column demonized the entire country, as he claimed these words were Limbaugh’s: “I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: Slavery built the South. I’m not saying we should bring it back. I’m just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark.” Burwell then added: “I know how those words play out in Idiot America. They are embraced as gospel.” But NFL players wouldn’t tolerate them, he said. No one asked them to tolerate them, and no one in the media seemed to ask Burwell to actually verify them with an airdate or an audio clip.
The Post-Dispatch found the quote came from a book by liberal author Jack Huberman called 101 People Who Are Really Screwing America (a concept and title ripped off from author and former CBS News correspondent Bernard Goldberg, whose original was 101 People Who Are Really Screwing Up America). Huberman has also written the books Bushit and The Bush-Hater Handbook, edited the book The Quotable Atheist, and has titled his weblog “Well to the Left of Attila the Hun.” But he was an agreeable source for the liberal media.
The national onslaught began on October 11, when MSNBC welcomed Dave Zirin of the radical magazine The Nation to spread the quote that Limbaugh believed “slavery had its merits.” Zirin, who was described only as a “sportswriter,” charged that players “don't want an owner who has said slavery was a good thing because it made the streets safer.” Anchor Contessa Brewer accepted the claim as true, wondering about Limbaugh’s bid: “Is there anything the NFL commissioner, or anybody else for that matter, can do to stop it?” Zirin added that NFL players “don't to see a swine owning a ram.” He closed the interview by deriding the radio host as someone who has “open, publicly-stated contempt for people with dark skin.” MSNBC didn’t ask him why Limbaugh has often used black professor Walter Williams as a substitute host on his radio show.
The national media should not be expected to root for the success of Rush Limbaugh’s radio program. But they should be expected to allow room for free speech, including space for the idea that some Americans do not wish that President Obama succeed in imposing a liberal agenda on the country. Instead, they have blatantly wished for Limbaugh to fail, and tried to make that failure occur. Obama had a ready ally in the attempt to transform Limbaugh into a pariah when he came to the White House.
Liberals inside and outside the media figures suggest it is a national injustice that Limbaugh has the popularity and influence that he has when his words are so vicious. But while they suggest he needs to be marginalized by the media and the Republican establishment, their coverage and analysis and mockery of Limbaugh has crossed every line of civility and now shows contempt for the elementary rules of evidence.


Learn how easy-to-do stretches and other yoga moves can help relieve pain. Peggy Cappy joins yoga and neuromuscular therapist Lee Albert to offer effective strategies for alleviating symptoms and moving towards a pain-free life. Airing March 2018.


Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Rapper Eminem is scheduled to sing the title track to the blockbuster movie Venom Monday atop New York's Empire State Building.
The performance will air on that night's edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which is taping in Kimmel's native Brooklyn all next week. Live! is usually filmed in California.
Kimmel's guests for his East Coast shows include Adam Sandler, John Krasinski, Cardi B. and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The episodes will be recorded in front of a live studio audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House. This will be the fourth time Kimmel broadcasts his ABC talk show from BAM.


India will stage next year's edition of the Johnnie Walker Classic, organisers said on Tuesday.
Former world number one Vijay Singh will be in the field for the $2.5 million event, jointly sanctioned by European, Asian and Australasian Tours.
The Arnold Palmer-designed DLF Golf and Country Club course near New Delhi will host the event from February 28.
Launched in 1990, the Johnnie Walker Classic has been played in seven countries so far. South Africa's Anton Haig won last year's event in Phuket, Thailand, claiming his maiden European Tour title.
Vijay Singh, the former US Masters and US PGA champion, has previously played a Skins event at the course and said he is delighted to be making a return.
"I began my professional career in Asia, so I'm excited to be returning to my old stamping ground," he said in a statement.
"I particularly enjoy playing in the Johnnie Walker Classic as it always boasts a top field of international players."
The event closely follows the inaugural $2.5 million Indian Masters European Tour event to be held in New Delhi from February 7.
India, thanks to its booming economy and fast-improving players, is becoming an attractive destination for organisers of major tournaments.


FULHAM are set to sanction the £4m sale of goalkeeper David Stockdale to help fund their move for Roma shot-stopper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Stockdale was once considered a potential for the Fulham number one jersey, but he has spent the majority of the season on loan at Hull City.
Cottagers boss Martin Jol is believed to be in talks with Roma's Maarten Stekelenburg after an initial asking price of £5.1m was met, and is looking to fund the bid by selling Stockdale.
Hull would be keen on permanently signing the 27-year-old if they achieve promotion to the Premier League, and are currently on course to do so in second place in the Championship.
However, West Ham may offer the Tigers competition for Stockdale, with Hammers keeper Jussi Jääskeläinen beginning to show his age this season.
Jol and Fulham are hopeful of auctioning off Stockdale for as much as £4m, as he has been adjudged as surplus to requirements at Craven Cottage.
40-year-old Mark Schwarzer's contract is due to run out at the end of the season.


Flowers and tributes are laid by the car park to The Scarborough pub in Thornhill, Dewsbury, after the death of a man over the weekend.
A total of nine people have now been arrested in connection with the death of a man following an alleged altercation outside a Dewsbury pub.
A 19-year-old was initially questioned over the incident on Friday evening outside The Scarborough pub on The Town, Thornhill.
The victim was named locally as father-of-one Jonny Binns, 32, who died from his injuries in hospital.
Police have now confirmed that a further eight people were arrested with six of them now bailed pending further inquiries.
Mr Binns was a regular at the pub and dozens of bunches of flowers have since been left outside.
Staff described him as a ‘lovely lad’ and well liked by everybody.


Samsung Electronics is in preliminary talks with the EU regulator to settle charges it abused its market position by barring arch rival Apple from using an essential mobile phone patent, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Samsung and Apple, the world's top two smartphone makers by volume and sales, are locked in patent disputes in at least 10 countries as they vie to dominate the lucrative and fast-growing mobile market and win over customers with their latest gadgets.
The talks came after the European Commission, which acts as EU competition regulator, told Samsung in December that it was acting unfairly by seeking injunctions against Apple over use of the essential patents.
"Samsung has been involved in settlement discussions for several months now. Samsung wants to settle," said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The sources said it was still too early to say if the discussions would result in a settlement. That would mean no finding of wrongdoing for Samsung and no fine, which could otherwise reach as much as $17.3 billion if the South Korean firm is found to be in breach of EU laws.
The European Commission declined to comment. Samsung was not immediately available for comment.
The Commission's case against Samsung centers on essential patents for the European Union's 3G UMTS standard. The firm pledged to license its patents on fair terms to rivals when the standard was adopted in Europe.
Samsung came under regulatory fire last year when it began seeking injunctions in various EU countries in 2011 against Apple's use of these patents.


For peace of mind (and that’s exactly what you are paying for here) you may want to go with a two-year subscription to some kind of security suite. These security suites will annoy you by slowing down your computer, asking you to reboot when they update, and generally being in your way. However, they are important if you or anyone using your laptop is likely to click on things that say “Click here!” and generally doesn’t know what he or she is doing with a computer. There’s a lot of computer crime out there now, and one of these suits will protect you from the simple stuff if you are the type to try to install Peer-to-Peer and lame instant messaging software on your PC, click on ads for free stuff, etc. If you or anyone using your computer is persistent enough, you can figure out how to get around the measures and infect your PC. In that case, good luck to you. The security suites cannot protect you from yourself. If you are a brave soul who skips the security suite, keep your PC on a NAT’d IP address, close down unnecessary services, regularly patch your PC, don’t download stupid things with Internet Explorer, and you will never miss it.
Face it: laptops get stolen. There are a couple of good ways to protect your laptop physically, though. The first is with a cable lock. This type of lock features a cable that loops around an immovable object (don’t attach it to a table leg when you can lift the table up and remove it) and hooks into a special security slot on your laptop. The security slot on laptops is designed so that you will cause lots of damage to the laptop before you get the cable off of it. This can be good as a deterrent, or bad if you have a stupid thief. This method of securing a laptop is best if you leave your laptop at work or if you take care of laptops at your workplace. That way you don’t have to worry as much about lax security at the office when you aren’t there.
Another method of laptop protection is a combination motion alarm and cable lock. This alarm will ensure that your laptop is not removed from your presence if you put it under a table at a restaurant or fall asleep at the airport when your flight is delayed. If it’s moved without the alarm being disabled, the alarm goes off.
Both of these security devices are cheap compared to the price of a good laptop full of “recommended components.” Many companies make cable locks, and you can expect to pay a mere US$40-$50 for either of these devices.


Oakland Mills' Larry Aaron signs his National Letter of Intent to play football at Marshall University in West Virginia.
Oakland Mills' Larry Aaron poses for a picture with his family and coach Tom Browne before signing his National Letter of Intent to play fooball at Marshall University during a signing ceremony at the school on Wednesday.
The regular signing period is underway as of April 13 for high school seniors planning to continue their athletic careers in college and several local athletes have been participating in the festivities. Other athletes who are headed to play Division III have also announced their commitments. Photos are also included from the early signing period in February. If we are missing a photo from a signing during either of the spring periods involving a Howard County athlete, email it to us at bkennedy@tribune.com.


Sixth-ranked Pleasant plays No. 1 Eastwood for a Division V regional championship Friday at Lima's Spartan Stadium.
Eastwood is 12-0 for the first time in school history and ranked No. 1 in the last state poll.
Pleasant is 10-1 and ranked No. 6 in the final AP state poll.
The two teams played last year in the regional opener and Eastwood won 35-28.
MARION - In a season full of big games, this is the biggest. Against a bunch of outstanding teams on the schedule, this is the best.
"Eastwood is as good as it gets," Pleasant coach Aaron Cook said. "They are a state championship caliber team, no doubt about it. They are the number-one team in the state of Ohio for most of the season for a reason."
The sixth-ranked Spartans (10-1) get top-ranked Eastwood (12-0) in a Division V regional championship football game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lima Senior's Spartan Stadium.
"They are fundamentally sound. They are big and fast and quick and deep. There’s a reason they’re at the top of Division V right now. We are well aware of what they have coming back," Cook said.
Historically, Pleasant has had the Eagles' number, winning playoff games in 2007, 2008 and 2014. But last year, Eastwood controlled the tempo most of the game, then held off a late Pleasant charge to win 35-28 in a regional opener.
"I don’t remember much of them last year because I’ve tried to forget it right after it happened," junior quarterback and safety Ethan Warner said. "I remember last year that they had the freshman running back who was really good."
Eastwood sophomore Jaden Rayford didn't get worse in his second season. He's run for 1,724 yards and 29 touchdowns for an offense that averaged 368 yards with 329 coming on the ground.
"Jaden is a great player and as good a back as you’re going to see in high school football in any division,"' Cook said. "He’s the real deal. For a sophomore, he’s special. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be."
Like Pleasant, the Eagles don't throw it much in the wing-T, but when they do, Jake Pickerel is effective. Eight of his 22 completions have gone for TDs.
Also like the Spartans, Eastwood features a dominate run-stopping defense. They've allowed 1,564 yards in 12 games with an average of just 40 yards coming on the ground.
"I knew when I walked off the field last year that that was going to be one heck of a team the following year and the front-runner to go win this thing. They are every bit of that," Cook said.
Eastwood has never been 12-0 in school history and has yet to win a football regional championship.
Jerry Rutherford, who coached the Eagles for 35 years and went 227-140 with 10 playoff appearances since 2002, retired in the offseason, giving control to his son Craig, 29.
"Our guys know that they have a chance to do something that is special; something that has never been done in school history," Rutherford said. "So that might sharpen things up a little bit, but the excitement is definitely still there."
Note: Jack Carle contributed to this story.
Region 17 at Canal Fulton: No. 1 Canfield South Range (12-0) vs. No. 3 Sullivan Black River (11-1).
Region 18 at Lima Senior's Spartan Stadium: No. 1 Eastwood (12-0) vs. No. 2 Pleasant (10-1).
Region 19 at Chillicothe: No. 1 Wheelersburg (12-0) vs. No. 3 Johnstown (10-2).
Region 20 at Beavercreek: No. 2 Middletown Madison (10-2) vs. No. 5 West Jefferson (12-0).
State semifinals: Friday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m., sites to be determined. Region 17 vs. Region 18; Region 19 vs. Region 20.


One of the biggest obstacles to improving information security within an organisation is the business executives, with the CIO being a big part of the problem, PwC's Global State of Information Security 2014 report has revealed.
PwC’s survey of more than 9,600 senior leaders from across 115 countries found 18 per cent of Asia Pacific respondents see the CIO to be a hindrance when taking action to improve the effectiveness of information security within their organisations, 2 per cent above the global average.
The CIO is nearly as big an impediment to this as insufficient capital expenditures (almost 22 per cent), and a greater hindrance than insufficient operating expenditures (15.5 per cent) in the region.
The survey found that the CFO mostly considers the CIO to be a hindrance, with a lack of dialogue between the two causing this issue.
Read Financial services firms concerned about risk systems.
Others from the senior leadership team were not off the hook as 25 per cent of Asia Pacific respondents pointed the finger at the CEO, president or board of their company for being a hindrance to improving information security. Nineteen per cent pointed the finger at CSO or CISO.
While senior business leaders point at each other, the survey also found a lack of actionable vision or understanding of how future business needs impact information security to be an obstacle for almost 30 per cent of Asian Pacific respondents. Lack of information security strategy was noted by about 28.5 per cent.
Globally, 23.5 per cent said a lack of actionable vision was a problem, with 22 per cent citing lack of information security strategy.
“It is troubling that deeply fundamental issues such as the understanding and alignment of security with future business needs and the efficacy of security strategies are among top concerns.
"Respondents are also very likely to point to executive leadership, the CEO in particular, as a top impediment to improved security,” read PwC’s report of the survey.
Another factor contributing to the problem is 19.4 per cent of Asia Pacific respondents said their organisation does not have a senior executive who proactively communicates the importance of information security to the rest of the organisation, 5 per cent above the global average.
Despite the lack of vision and collaboration internally, almost 59 per cent of Asian Pacific respondents said their organisation collaborates with others in their industry to improve security and reduce risk, 9 per cent above the global average.


NEW YORK - Will the snowy New York City area really reap an estimated $600 million economic boost from the Super Bowl? Probably not.
Despite such lofty predictions, sports economists say the financial impact of the Super Bowl could fall far below expectations, in part because visitors often spend their cash at NFL-sponsored or corporate events rather than at tourist attractions. Some hotels say Super Bowl bookings are running behind what they hoped for, prompting them to ease demands for minimum stays and room deposits. And academic studies show that at best, past Super Bowls generated tens of millions, not hundreds of millions.
The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, which has worked closely with the NFL to prepare for Sunday's game, has claimed in the yearslong run-up that it would generate $500 to $600 million for the region, but it refused to provide any information on how it tabulated that estimate. An NFL spokesman said the league does not conduct economic impact studies on the Super Bowl.


New ad targeting capabilities from Twitter give brands a way to use their own data to create more niche targeting and deliver even more tailored advertising across Twitter's platform. Known as tailored audiences, this new targeting capability presents an opportunity for marketers to create a custom audience of new prospects and customers and reach them on Twitter.
Download this guide to learn how you can drive better engagement and reach new prospects based on web-wide browsing behavior and interests.


Can a lazy lover be a Casanova? We wondered as we leaned back at the expansive sofa at Lighthouse 13, listening to the song being played. It was Friday night, time for our weekly fix of Jack and Coke (not the white poison of course!). Some good food and a nice place to let our hair down.
Lighthouse 13 is a mall eatery and we are not particularly fond of eating inside malls, preferring stand-alone joints. The idea is a mall eatery is a place where you drop in when you get too tired shopping! A stand-alone eatery is where you go with the singular purpose of eating. But these are old-fashioned ideas and Lighthouse is not an afterthought. As it turned out, the owners have put some thought in doing it up. From the plush sofas to the dim lights, the place has a unique 'feel'.
We ordered our Jacks and then flipped through the impressive menu. The smoked chicken salad which is cold smoked chicken, crispy bacon, apples and assorted lettuce with mustard dressing proved to be a good starter for the evening. But we wanted some more starter to compete with our heavy drinking! So in came Mezze Hummus, that is sun-dried tomato hummus, baba ganaush, Avocado dips, Lamb kibbeh, and a whole lot more!
For the mains, we ordered a roasted duck which is served with tomato orange sauce and a grilled salmon which was a lip-smacking dish!
All in all, Lighthouse 13 turned out to be rather pleasant experience. Only if we could have figured out if a lazy lover can be a Casanova!


3 Why Are Atomic Emission Spectra Discontinuous?
4 How Do Prisms in Optics Work?
Visible light, radio waves, x-rays and other types of radiation are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from roughly 400 and 700 nanometers. In physics, a color is visible light with a specific wavelength. Black and white are not colors because they do not have specific wavelengths. Instead, white light contains all wavelengths of visible light. Black, on the other hand, is the absence of visible light.
The correspondence of a color to a specific wavelength is called spectral color. White and black are excluded from this definition because they do not have specific wavelengths. White is not defined as a color because it is the sum of all possible colors. Black is not defined as a color because it is the absence of light, and therefore color. In the visual art world, white and black may sometimes be defined as distinct colors. This is different from the concept of spectral color in physics.
How Do We Experience Color?
When we see color, we experience light of that wavelength reflecting off an object or emitting from it. For example, when light from the sun shines on your blue t-shirt, the t-shirt absorbs all of the light other than the blue light. The t-shirt reflects the blue light and some of it reaches your eyes. Black is the absorption of all visible light. This is also why your black t-shirt is hot on a sunny day. All of the colors of visible light are absorbed into a black object, heating it up.
Where Does White Light Come From?
When objects generate extreme amounts of heat, they produce radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light. This process is called blackbody radiation. A blackbody is a theoretical object that absorbs all radiation. Consequently, it heats up and then emits radiation across all wavelengths. As real world objects become hotter, their behavior approaches that of a blackbody. This is why the light from the sun includes all colors of visible light; it is so hot that it behaves like a blackbody.
You can use a prism to visualize why white is not a color. If you shine white light on a prism, the light is refracted into all different colors. Refraction is the process of light bending as it passes through a medium. Different wavelengths of light are refracted at different angles by the prism, hence the visual rainbow. White light contains all the various wavelengths that you see coming out of the prism.


The account of popular progressive Instagram model @lilmiquela (1 million followers) was supposedly "hacked" last week by popular pro-Trump instagram model @bermudaisbae (64k followers). While details around the hack are hazy, a photo of the models together suggests that the event was coordinated. Instagram says "there’s no indication that the account in question was compromised."
The case for anonymity online is being tested as regulators, platforms and brands try to wrap their heads around the messy consequences of non-human social media accounts.
No one knows exactly who is responsible for these accounts, although @lilMiquela has recently alluded to a robotics and AI firm, Brud, as being the origin of her creation and @bermudaisBae says she's made by an AI company called Cain Intelligence, which says on its website that it openly endorsesDonald Trump.
Why it matters: These accounts are often — by Instagram and the Federal Trade Commission's standards — considered to be commercial enterprises that are subject to the same advertising disclosure laws as real models.
These accounts sometimes don't adequately disclose sponsorship information, which makes rules hard to enforce. @lilMiquela, for example, credits certain hair care products for her "silky" locks, but none of her posts are labeled as an "ad," if these endorsements even are ads.
It can be difficult for the FTC and other regulators to crack down on these fake personalities, because their origins are difficult to track.
"The FTC might have to start suing people," says, Consumer Unions Director of Consumer Privacy and Technology Policy Justin Brookman. "But they're probably nervous about that because their guidelines are based on underlying law that was passed a century ago, which broadly says 'don't be deceptive.'"
The big picture: Accounts like these also have the ability to disrupt political discourse by taking advantage of the popularity around emerging trends to build an audience and then promoting certain political perspectives.
In this example, both "models" are gaining traction by promoting real fashion and culture trends while also taking vocal positions about divisive political issues. @lilMiquela, for example, supports LGTBQ rights and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, while @Bermudaisbae is an open skeptic of climate change science.
"They play to all of the social psychological biases we have," says Holly Schroth, a senior lecturer at the Haas School of Business who specializes in social psychology.
Similar to hoax accounts used during the 2016 elections,these accounts play to the modern political psychology of appealing to audiences that resonate with social media movements over policies, or even people.
What's next: The lines are only going to continue to blur as technology becomes more sophisticated.


A man police say robbed a Cascade bank Monday was located and taken into custody within four minutes of the activation of the bank's hold-up alarm.
The Valley County Sheriff’s Office was advised of the alarm at Umpqua Bank at 101 S. Main Street in Cascade Monday around 2:30 p.m.
Responding units were provided a description of a lone male who entered the bank and demanded money.
Units were advised the male was 5’10, 175 lbs, wearing a bright orange sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, carrying a bag with a beach towel sticking out.
Units responded to the bank and located a male fleeing the area who matched the description provided by the bank employees. The male was taken into custody.
He is identified as Brent L. Gutierrez, 47, Agoura Hills, CA. The male was in possession of a bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash, beach towel, and an orange hoodie.
Gutierrez was taken to the Valley County Jail and booked on the charge of Robbery.


Waiting lists for elective surgery have dropped across the country, with some figures falling by two thirds since January.
New figures have been released in a report by the Office of the Auditor-General.
Since January, the number of people waiting more than four months for a specialist assessment fell from 552 to 160.
The number of people waiting more than four months for treatment, meanwhile, fell from 606 to just over 257.
The figures were well within the buffer zone and, as at the end of September, more than 99 percent of all patients were treated within assigned timeframes, the report said.
The lists for people waiting for more than six months were also generally dropping.
The report's author, Leanne Arker, said one of the areas looked at was whether heart surgery patients were being treated in order of priority.
"For many years in the past this has been a problem area, and the DHBs (district health boards) made progress in 2013 when we last reported, and in this report they have made even more progress.
"They are looking at shortening the maximum time for cardiac surgery patients, so we think that's really good."
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman on funding, tackling childhood obestity and why he lost confidence in the figures the Southern DHB were providing him.
A fund dedicated to health advice lines, mobile surgical units and other services has been slashed by almost $18 million.
New money is being poured into palliative care for the terminally ill, with $76.1 million to be spent on hospices and community care services in the next four years.


Samsung to unveil Galaxy S10 in San Francisco next month. January. 12, 2019 07:47. by Seok-Jun Bae eulius@donga.com.
Samsung Electronics has announced that it will roll out its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S10, in San Francisco next month.
The world’s No. 1 smartphone maker said Friday that it invited journalists and partners around the world to an Unpacked event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Feb. 20 to showcase the new Galaxy S10 series.
Samsung has usually released its new smartphones at the Mobile World Congress (MWG) in Barcelona, Spain, in late February. London and New York have also been chosen as the location for Unpacked events, but this is the first time that the tech giant hosts the gathering in San Francisco, close to the headquarters of its rival, Apple, located in Cupertino. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is an arena at which Apple has often showcased its new products such as iPhone 7. Watchers say that Samsung’s choice of the venue points to the company’s confidence in the Galaxy S10.
This year is also a landmark year for the South Korean smartphone maker as it marks the 10th anniversary of Galaxy phones. Back in 2007 when Apple first released its iPhone, there were concerns about Samsung diving into the smartphone business. The company, however, launched its first Galaxy S model in 2010 and has topped the list of the world’s smartphone makers in global sales since the third quarter of 2011 with the series succeeding in the global market.
The Galaxy S10 is expected to come in three types: a base model with a 6.1-inch screen, a plus model with a 6.44-inch screen and a low-tier model with a 5.8-inch screen. Some speculate that a fifth-generation (5G) network-powered model may come out after March. “Samsung Electronics plans to unveil its 10th anniversary flagship phone lineup and show a fully functional foldable-screen handset at Feb. 20 events,” the Wall Street Journal reported.


BOSTON — Parents curious about the licensure status of individuals teaching their children can now look up that information online. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced the new lookup tool Wednesday.
Until now, parents interested in learning about the licensure status of their children's teachers could call the department, according to department spokeswoman Jacqueline Reis. She said that teachers in public school district schools are required to be licensed while charter school teachers need to have passed the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure, but do not need a full license unless they teach English as a second language.
Reis said many charter school teachers are licensed and they are listed under the lookup tool as well.
"Massachusetts residents can check their doctor's or lawyer's licensure status online, and I am pleased that people can now do the same for their children's public school teachers and school administrators," said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester in a statement. "I am happy to make this information easier for the public to access."
According to the department, teachers' unions and professional associations were consulted in developing the tool and the department recommends that while the new tool can be used for basic inquiries, school "leaders and hiring officials should continue to access broader information through a separate, existing system and use that system to inform hiring decisions."


You must know what you’re doing when you make the deal or Satan will cheat you blind. That’s the word from Dr. Rex Touth, expert on satanic rituals and author of How to Negotiate Unholy Contracts.
Dr. Touth cites cases dating all the way back to the 16th century in which humans have agreed to spend eternity in Hell when they die in exchange for earthly pleasures while they’re alive.
“Human history and world literature are teeming with stories like that of Germany’s Dr. Faustus who sold his soul,” says Dr. Touth. “Our own American statesman Daniel Webster once debated Satan in a landmark soul-selling case in which he renegotiated the contract and had it overturned.
SET THE DEAL UP PROPERLY. There’s a right and wrong way to make contact with the Devil. The right way is to be alone in your room, close your eyes and say, “Satan, I summon you. I have a quality soul to sell if the price is right.” It may take dozens, even hundreds of tries but at all costs, avoid sounding desperate or needy. He’ll show up eventually.
DEAL FROM A POSITION OF POWER. By far the biggest mistake people make is to underestimate how badly Satan wants their soul. It’s like precious gold to him and he’ll pay anything to get it. When he appears, get him to make the first offer, then up it.
REMEMBER TO DEMAND THE LIFE-EXTENSION CLAUSE. Satan won’t tell you if you don’t ask but you can get a guarantee of 300 years of youthful life before you go to eternal damnation. Why enjoy a mere 75 or 80 years of reckless living when you can get 300?


The official chatter is that the OPEC meeting in Algeria from September 26 to 28 could conclude with an agreement to freeze production by the member nations, with even Russia joining forces in a freeze that may prevent further oil price erosion.
But everyone's a bit gun-shy after the false hopes of the last round in Doha—even if a freeze at levels that existed then wouldn't have meant much either—and it's hard to blame them. The question is, how many times can the Saudis cry wolf without forever losing the ability to leverage this chatter to affect a rise in oil prices?
However, let’s rewind a bit to the nature of the recent chatter. The Saudi Energy Minister has indicated that Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, is willing to proceed with a production freeze.
"We are, in Saudi Arabia, watching the market closely, and if there is a need to take any action to help the market rebalance, then we would, of course in cooperation with OPEC and major non-OPEC exporters," said Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, reports Reuters.
"We are going to have a ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum in Algeria next month, and there is an opportunity for OPEC and major exporting non-OPEC ministers to meet and discuss the market situation, including any possible action that may be required to stabilize the market."
The hopes of reaching an agreement in Doha were scuttled by Saudi Arabia, because it wanted its archrival, Iran, to participate in the freeze. Unfortunately, for oil prices, Iran had made it clear that it would not join any such discussion until they reached pre-sanction levels of oil production.
What has changed from Doha to Algeria?
Iran's oil production is close to its pre-sanction levels, meaning that its first cited prerequisite for any discussion has now been met—a criteria that was not met at the time of the Doha meeting. In addition, increasing oil production further by Iran is a big ask—it would need billions of dollars’ worth of investments in both upstream and downstream facilities to make this happen. With oil prices languishing below $50 a barrel, major oil companies are reluctant to commit huge sums of money for new oil projects.
Iran's oilfields are mature, and more than half of its wells have an annual decline rate of 9 percent to 11 percent, according to Michael Cohen, an analyst at Barclays in New York. Therefore, at their existing production levels, they need an additional 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day annually to replace the shortfall from their aging wells.
Iran needs more money and investment to continue pumping at the current rate, making it more likely for Iran to agree to some kind of an arrangement where they continue to pump oil at a rate close to their target of 4 million barrels a day.
That said, the last thing that Iran wants is to be sidelined, so Tehran is bound to make its presence felt at the meeting with strong statements. However, at the end of the day, it is unlikely that Iran will scuttle an agreement where it has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
"There may be a little bit more to it this time. I'm still very skeptical, but it's just with Iran being where they are production-wise, they'll be more inclined to eventually go along with a deal," said Again Capital's John Kilduff, reports CNBC.
The oil-rich nation underestimated the resilience of the U.S. shale oil drillers when they declared war on them in 2014. American oil has not only kept flowing—the shale producers have managed to bring down production costs considerably. This ability was not anticipated by Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has burned more than $175 billion in reserves since August 2014. The Saudis have introduced austerity measures and plans to monetize their crown jewel Saudi Aramco to survive the oil downturn. Nevertheless, things are not going well for this nation, which youth is struggling to find jobs as shown in the chart below.
A large population of unemployed youths who cannot take care of their families can sow seeds of frustration, and the Arab Spring will still be fresh in the memory of the rulers.
Saudi Arabia is struggling to grow in this oil downturn. Barring the 2009 dip, the current growth rate of 1.5 percent is the worst in a decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
If oil prices remain low, the Saudi plan to sell shares in Saudi Aramco might not fetch them the valuations they expect, and a nation that cannot provide the most basic of amenities—food for its foreign workers—says a lot about their financial condition.
Saudi Arabia has seen the recent slide in crude oil prices towards the $40/barrel mark, which could have gone deeper without the chatter of a production freeze. And since they have already cried wolf once in Doha, doing so again in Algiers decrease the importance of any ‘chatter' leverage they have in the future.
Barring Iran and Saudi Arabia, the rest of the nations agreed about the need to freeze production during the Doha meeting.
The oil-producing nations want to ensure that even if there are talks of a production freeze, they should not feel the pinch. Hence, even before the meeting, they will try to produce more, rather than less. The recent ramping up may very well be an indication that a freeze—although at a level higher than what would have likely come out of the Doha meeting—may be on the horizon.
The oil markets are so sensitive that even a statement of agreement by OPEC at the end of the meeting is enough to send oil prices flying above the resistance level of $51 a barrel.
What about the shale oil producers?
Though U.S. production is declining and experiencing a flurry of bankruptcies, the remaining companies are much better positioned to continue pumping at lower levels to survive the downturn.
Though the risk remains that the shale oil drillers will come back in full force when oil prices recover, the risk is worth taking. OPEC and Russia have realized that any new world order will have to include the shale oil companies. They are a large enough force not to be neglected or defeated.
With all of this in mind, an agreement between OPEC and Russia is more feasible in Algiers than it was in Doha. It might not mean much though, with output levels soaring ahead of the meeting. A freeze at current levels—or levels reached by the time of the meeting—won't do much to change the fundamentals, nor is there any indication that a freeze would have long legs.


The United States pays Cuba $4,085 a month in rent for the controversial Guantanamo naval base, but Cuba has only once cashed a check in almost half a century and then only by mistake, Fidel Castro wrote in an essay.
The ailing Cuban leader, who has not appeared in public for more than a year, said he had refused to cash the checks to protest the "illegal" U.S. occupation of the land which he said was now used for "dirty work".
"The base is needed to humiliate and to do the dirty work that occurs there," he said of the detention camp where some 355 terrorism suspects are still being held with no legal rights despite international criticism.
Castro, who turned 81 on Monday out of public sight, said the U.S. checks are made out to the "Treasurer General of the Republic," a position that ceased to exist after Cuba's 1959 revolution.
He said only one U.S. check was ever cashed -- in 1959 due to "confusion" in the heady early days of the leftist revolution.
Castro's refusal to cash the checks to protest the "illegal" occupation has been long known. In a television interview years ago, he showed the checks stuffed into a desk drawer in his office.
The final installment of Castro's long historical essay on Cuba's hostile relations with the United States -- written for future generations -- was published by the ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma.
The essay entitled "The Empire and the Independent Island" recounted Castro's view of U.S. efforts to control Cuba since U.S. troops landed on the island in the Spanish-American War that secured Cuban independence from Spain in 1898.
The United States retained 46.8 square miles (121 square kilometers) at the entrance to Guantanamo Bay in eastern Cuba for a naval base, which has been used as a prison camp for Taliban and al Qaeda terrorism suspects since the Afghanistan war following the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The base was initially a coaling station for the U.S. Navy to protect the approaches to the Panama Canal.
Castro said the enclave was "illegally usurped" by the United States, adding that the base no longer had any strategic military purpose in the age of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers packed with fast fighter-bombers.
"If we have to wait for the collapse of the (capitalist) system, we will wait," Castro wrote. He said Cuba was always on alert to the threat of a U.S. invasion.
Castro handed over power to his brother Raul on July 26 last year after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. His health is a state secret, but few Cubans expect him to return to office.
The Cuban leader, the last of the major Cold War figures still alive, is seen as a Stalinist tyrant by his enemies but is widely admired in the Third World for standing up to the United States, a David-versus-Goliath role he has relished.


Few have left their mark on the Los Angeles like David Hockney. Known for his passion for experimentation in all its forms and use of vibrant, colorful California landscapes, Hockney brought visibility to gay life the early in 1960's by painting members of the community living openly in LA. As a prolific painter and multimedia artist, the 80-year-old Hockney has yet to slow down.
His latest body of work, 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life, is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art right now. Presented together as one work of art, the 83 paintings were created in his Hollywood hills studio. Over the course of three years, Hockney seated model after model, in the same spot -- all in a striking yellow chair with a blue-green background.
The exhibit has been touring museums in Europe and has come home to be seen in Los Angeles for the first time.
"I never set out to paint 82 portraits. They just grew and that's the number I finished, eventually," Hockney said. "It was a mad thing to do really, paint 82 portraits, but I enjoyed doing them very much. And I think you can tell that here."
All of the 82 subjects were part of Hockney's circle. Family, friends, employees, and even notable personalities like Frank Gehry and Barry Humphries make up the sprawling body of work.
In early March 2014, a friend of Hockney's had to cancel because her father was ill. Hockney's paints were already set up though, so he painted this still life instead.
"I think if you know them very well, you really know what they look like," Hockney said. "Whereas, if I was drawing you now, never really having met you before, it would take me awhile to find your face, really. The more you know about people, the more I can put in the painting."
Each portrait took two to four days to paint and Hockney painted his subjects virtually back to back, over the course of three years. And Hockney was not willing to take much of a break. When a subject was unable to sit for a scheduled portrait, Hockney opted to place an arrangement of fruit, thus providing the singular still-life in the bunch.
Stephanie Barron was painted by Hockney as part of the series in January of 2014. She's also curated the LACMA exhibit and displayed the portraits in chronological order.
Exhibit curator Stephanie Barron says "the rest of the world just fades away" when you sit for Hockney.
"Ultimately, this work is enormously accessible," Barron said. "There’s a joyousness. There’s astonishing color. There’s an openness. It’s just work that, frankly, makes you smile. And I think so often, people come to works and they feel like I’m not smart enough to know that, or I need to read a text to understand that. And that’s not the case here. These are works that I think speak to everybody."
Hockney arrived in Los Angeles 55 years ago and fell in love with the region pretty quickly. His depictions of Los Angele life and landscapes are staples of Hockney's decades-long portfolio.
"I think of myself as an English Los Angeleno," said Hockney. "That’s what I am."
Hockney may have helped shape the L.A. art scene, but creating work in L.A. has shaped Hockney as an artist. "When I went back to England to paint some landscapes, I was going back with 30 years of painting in California," Hockney said. "So, I painted it differently."
"I think it’s very lively here. I love it. I love L.A. I do. It’s a marvelous city. There’s lots of artists here now. There’s lots and lots of interesting people live in LA. All kinds of people. All types."
If you'd like to check out portraits of some of those interesting people living in L.A., 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life will be at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art until July 29, 2018.


China says it has completed assembling the first module forits space station, and the country's space agency hopes to launch it next year.
The unmanned Tiangong-1 module, weighing almost 19,000pounds (8,500 kg), will lift off on a Chinese Long March 2F carrier rocketsometime in the first half of 2011, China's Xinhua news agency reportedTuesday. An unmanned spacecraft, the Shenzhou 8 vehicle, is expected to launchlater and rendezvous with the module in the first demonstration of the Chinesespace station's docking capability.
Testing is currently under way on the Tiangong-1, includinganalysis of the module's electronic, mechanical and thermal properties, amilitary source told Xinhua. Tiangong means "Heavenly Palace" inEnglish.
The space station plans are part of China'sburgeoning space program, which kicked off with the nation's first mannedspaceflight, the 2003 mission of Shenzhou5. China is the third country in the world, behind Russia and the UnitedStates, to independently have launched humans to space.
Eventually, China plans for manned spaceships to dock withTiangong-1 and crews to take up residence on the station. If the Shenzhou 8mission goes well, its successors, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10, are likely tolaunch with Chinese "taikonauts" on board in 2012.
China also plans to add more rooms to the space stationafter it is established. The second module, Tiangong-2, is scheduled to debutin 2013, to be followed by the launch of Tiangong-3 sometime between 2014 and2016, Chinese authorities have said.
Once the Chinese space station is fully assembled ? perhapsaround 2022 ? it is expected to function for about three years.
The newest batch of recruits to the Chinesetaikonaut corps includes the country's first female spaceflyers. Theastronauts are training now for those upcoming docking missions, the source toldXinhua.


Mark Critz is a Democrat who represents a district in western Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives. He won his seat in a May 2010 special election to succeed the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., for whom Critz worked as an aide.
"The Democratic Congress has already taken significant steps to create jobs and jump-start the economy, resulting in the lowest tax rates in over 50 years and the creation of over 500,000 new jobs so far this year."


Cameroonian opposition leader Joshua Osih wants to wrench the country’s politics out of the 20th century. His running for the presidency in October of this year turns a page on the leadership of John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), whose glory days were the failed insurrection of the 1990s. The tougher challenge will be President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, and the ruling Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC).
Osih, 49, is older than the average Cameroonian but younger than the current crop of ministers and senior official. This digital native wants to rock the boat, but there is inevitably pushback. Osih took flak from the old guard in the SDF for gaining attention with his popular social media presence. He managed to dethrone Fru Ndi, 76, from the SDF flag bearer position in a hotly fought congress at the opposition stronghold of Bamenda in February.
With a Swiss mother, a career in the aviation sector – where he still owns a company – Osih is popular and bilingual. Does that make him a threat for the Biya regime, as the country heads to the polls?
He believes so. He told his 16,500 Twitter followers in September: “This is lame. Apparently, this government got inspired by my program. They are now planning a salary increase for civil servants. We are not fools!” Osih had already pledged to quintuple the minimum wage, to bring it in line with peer countries, before the government issued plans to raise salaries.
It is a sign of the times: US President Donald Trump realised that social media allowed him to do retail politics at scale, speaking to voters directly. Osih understands this too, using the power of the internet to reach his compatriots.
By providing a steady blend of well-produced short videos, a mobile app, personalised campaigns like the ‘1,000 Faces for Change’ and pedagogical cartoons on subjects such as health insurance – alongside sharp put downs – he is taking political life in Cameroon into a new era.
It’s not just online. Osih’s speaking tour of the country, taking him to all four corners of Cameroon, shows he understands the importance of pressing the flesh. The SDF is trying to improve its ground game and get-out-the-vote campaigns to persuade young people to become politically active. Many young Cameroonians are voting with their feet by seeking better opportunities in neighbouring countries with the hope of making it to the West. Fru Ndi scored just 10.7% of the last presidential vote in 2011, with the opposition criticising the partiality of the electoral commission and the pro-RDPC state media.
Will Osih’s wind of change be enough to take down the rigged system against which he battles? Seasoned observers argue that the patronage powers of the regime remain paramount. The opposition is also divided, with the likes of Akere Muna and Maurice Kamto also running for the presidency – not to mention the fact that turnout is likely to be low in Osih’s Anglophone heartland due to the separatist conflict there and a potential boycott by voters.


Thirty percent would go to transit, much of that to Sacramento Regional Transit, which operates buses and light-rail trains. The STA board made a point of requiring RT to spend 75 percent of its tax allocation in the first five years on shoring up basic operations, such as replacing old buses, doing maintenance and improving security, rather than expanding routes.
Leaders from Sacramento cities and the county say they are pushing the tax measure because state and federal transportation funds have not kept up. State and federal transportation gas pump tax levels have not increased since the early 1990s. The emergence of more fuel-efficient cars and trucks has eaten into gas pump tax revenue, as well.
Each city submitted lists of projects it hopes to fund with the money, including interchanges, road widenings, and bike, pedestrian and transit improvements. The tax would provide funds to extend light rail to Sacramento International Airport, and will allow Elk Grove to create a high-tech corridor to allow express buses to avoid car congestion. The measure will fund widening of the Capital City Freeway, including on the bridge over the American River.
STA officials and their consultants say they believe the November ballot measure will pass, although its margins are slim. A recent survey conducted for the transportation authority found that 69 percent of likely Sacramento County voters would support the tax measure, just above the 67 percent threshold. The poll showed support levels could drop to 61 percent, however, if there is organized opposition.
Transportation authority board Chairwoman Kerri Howell, a Folsom City Council member, called on business representatives, transit advocates, bike and pedestrian activists and others to join in supporting the measure, even though some are disappointed with their share.
Sacramento County already is among 19 “self-help” counties in the state that have passed transportation sales tax measures to supplement state and federal funds. Sacramento's existing half-cent transportation sales tax was passed by voters in 2004. It went into effect in 2009 and will be in place until 2039. The potential new tax would overlap the existing tax for a number of years.
The Sacramento County sales tax rate is 8 percent. The rate in the city of Sacramento is 8.5 percent.


In the same week that long-time Vertigo executive editor Karen Berger left DC Entertainment, DC fired its most prominent female creator from her most popular book, Batgirl .
The firing was not over sales. Batgirl was last ranked #36 on the list of top 100 comics, ahead of books featuring two previous Robins, Nightwing and Red Hood & the Outlaws , but over creative differences. Simone said in a later post that DC “nixed” everything she had planned for the next arc and the company has pulled the next two issues that were solicited in her name.
It appears that she will not be writing any other books for DC Comics in the immediate future, as she posted on the Brian Bendis forums that “I am indeed now without a paycheck from DC.” She does have a Kickstarter comic, Leaving Megalopolis coming next year with artist Jim Calafiore and will be doing a webcomic for Thrillbent, a sited co-founded by creator Mark Waid.
I’ve written numerous posts about DC’s gender issues, with over-sexualized art, with stories that too often marginalize women, and with the small number of female creators currently employed by DC. While Simone was once the only female creator on the new 52 reboot from DC, her departure doesn’t mean the company is without female talent. Nicola Scott is the artist on Earth-2 , Christy Marx is writing Sword & Sorcery , Ann Nocenti is writing Catwoman and Amanda Conner just finished up the Before Watchman: Silk Spectre mini-series.
But Simone was the most prominent of DC’s female writers, often using twitter, tumblr and her message board to interact with fans to promote her projects and talk on various issues from cosplaying to the need for more female, LGBT and minority representation in superhero comics. She created the site Women in Refrigerators even before she was a comics creator in to bring attention to the treatment of female characters. I’ve followed her career since she first starting writing Birds of Prey for DC in 2003, and she was often one of the most vocal voices (and hilarious, check her Twitter) for those who seemed to have no voice.
She knew Babara Gordon’s previous identity of wheelchair-bound hacker Oracle was a symbol for fans with similar challenges and when that identity was discarded, her new Batgirl series shifted the character’s challenges to recovery from injury and PTSD so some of that would not be lost. I started reading Batgirl with trepidation, as I loved Barbara Gordon as Oracle, but I came to enjoy the new series immensely. At this point, I cannot imagine another creator will be able to match Simone’s understanding of the character.
What were the creative differences?
It’s unclear as Simone hasn’t been specific but I have heard from a number of people that DC editorial has some serious issues in how they are handling their talent. On Twitter, Marjorie Liu said “I’ve been silently, professionally irritated at DC for some time now but this with @GailSimone sealed the deal. Now I’m disgusted.” Liu told me some time ago that she’d been asked to pitch a new setup for Birds of Prey when it rebooted but turned down the opportunity because of time constraints and because she didn’t “trust” those in charge of editorial.
Gail had a twitter exchange that seemed to indicate it might have been a disagreement over how to handle a female character to the point of killing the character off. That could be the newly reintroduced Barbara Gordon Sr., Batgirl’s mother. But Gail also hinted on her forums and foreshadowed the possibility that Babs’ new roommate was a transwoman. She said today on her tumblr that this plot point is likely to never be followed up.
This is not even the first time Gail has been unceremoniously pulled from a book. It’s the third time. She was pulled from Wonder Woman to make way for J. Michael Straczynski’s aborted revamp and her second run of Birds of Prey was ended abruptly because of the reboot.
It is true that creators get pulled from books all the time. As a comic fan for over 30 years, I’ve gotten mostly used to runs I’m enjoying ending or getting cut off abruptly. But Simone’s departure, coming the same week that Berger ended her career at DC and combined from what I’ve been told by various creators about difficult conditions for talent at DC comics makes me view this as far more than a favorite creator being pulled from a book but as a symbol of a larger problem.
Simone’s departure seems to indicate those problems are getting worse, not better, and it’s shame that a talented writer and strong advocate who brought many female fans into reading superheroes was forced off a book and it seems rather cold it was done by email.
But readers may be the winner if Simone moves over to creator-owned projects without this kind of editorial interference.


New London — A city native and New London High School graduate, Felix Reyes told graduating seniors that he credits his upbringing in the city and its rich diversity with giving him an edge as he climbed to positions of responsibility in the corporate world.
“It was kickball at State Pier, marbles on Federal, delivering newspapers on Colman Street, cookouts on Laurel Drive and playing basketball at the Martin Center,” Reyes said.
“In the home that I grew up in and where my parents still reside today ... across the street was an Asian family, to our left an African-American family, at 2 o’clock a Jewish family and, to the right," a Caucasian family, he said. “The diversity is very special in this city. I tell you there is an advantage there."
Reyes, recently hired as the city’s director of the Office of Development and Planning, addressed the more than 220 graduating seniors at Tuesday’s commencement for the New London High School and Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut. Both schools are located on the same campus.
The diversity Reyes spoke of was evident in the faces of the seniors and the families who cheered them on Tuesday.
The class included 46 students who earned a Seal of Biliteracy, an acknowledgment of proficiency in English and at least one other language.
Ana Ruiz, 18, who is fluent in English and Spanish, was among that group and proudly wore a “para mi familia” message on her cap as she walked with classmates onto Cannamela Field as the band played "Pomp and Circumstance."
Nicole Stacy, an 18-year-old transplant from the Philippines, was similarly excited. She is fluent in English, Tagalog and Ilocano.
“Finally, after four years I’m going to graduate,” she said.
Tuesday’s ceremony was highlighted by class speaker and valedictorian Chris Jensei Alemania, who managed to earn a grade point average of 4.801, said STEM Magnet High School Director Laurelle Texidor.
Alemania told fellow seniors that to use their brains and hearts.
“We need passion, discipline, consistency and intelligence. 'You are what you repeatedly do,' Artistotle once said. To be successful, you must make a habit out of excellence,” Alemenia said.
“It doesn’t matter if you go to Yale. It doesn’t matter if you go to Harvard or go to some community college or are not going to college at all,” he said. “As Mark Twain once put it, ‘I never let school interfere with my education.’ We control our own education."


The Ecuadorian president takes the oath under the new constitution which saw his re-elected with a comfortable majority.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa was sworn in for a second term on Monday vowing to deepen his socialist revolution. Announcing his vision for a new term, Correa said he sought to fight inequality and invest in projects to help the poor, improve education and improve the lives of long-neglected Andean indigenous groups.
It's a gigantic struggle ... but we have already started and no one is going to stop us, said Correa in a speech before a group of Latinamerican leaders, including presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales from Bolivia, Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Raul Castro of Cuba.
During the next four years we're going to continue our campaign ... it's not just about helping the poor, it's about stamping out the structural causes of poverty, he added.
Heavy social spending and his frequent outbursts against Ecuador's business elites have raised Correa's popularity but have rattled investors.
OPEC member Ecuador exported 2.7 billion US dollars of crude oil and refined oil products in the first half of the year, 60% less than in the same period last year.
Correa has admitted that export revenues and money sent home by Ecuadoreans working abroad have plummeted. However not much has been said of plans to diversify the economy from its dependence on oil export revenues.
Multilateral lenders have offered up to 2.5 billion USD to Ecuador this year, and the country is set to receive a billion USD down payment for a deal to export oil to China.