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The women’s game has truly hit new heights. This has been a FIFA Women’s World Cup of fabulous goals, wonderful games, and a sporting tournament that has truly made an impact across the globe. The #FIFAWWC has inspired girls & women around world. Ask your Federation how to get involved. http://t.co/jTyEQmI8Cc pic.twitter.com/4oEjZAqlg8 — FIFA Women'sWorldCup (@FIFAWWC) July 5, 2015 In the United States, television audience records have been set. In Africa, nations like Nigeria and Cameroon have held their heads high. In the UK, the traditionally hard bitten media has finally been turned to shine a light on the game. And here in Australia, the Matildas have garnered press attention, commercial TV mentions, and created a little bit of Australian football history into the bargain. They have even knocked Tim Cahill off the Australian cover of FIFA 16. From the perspective of SBS, this has been a ground-breaking month: every match available online, 41 matches broadcast live in high definition on TV, and a nightly highlights show. It’s been the most comprehensive coverage of women’s team sport ever seen on free-to-air television. The results have been hugely encouraging: growing, engaged audiences, not just jumping on the “Aussie” bandwagon, but sticking around to see what Cameroon, Canada, China and Netherlands have to offer, too. On Sunday, nearly 350,000 watched Australia fall to Japan in the quarter-finals, with the Women’s World Cup surpassing AFL and NRL activity on Twitter. Overall SBS's coverage is approaching 2.5 million viewers, and it’s all been led by three women: Lucy Zelic, Sally Shipard and Joey Peters. The feedback has been tremendous. Online, you’ve joined us in your tens of thousands, too, for live match streams. You’ve shared our content across your own social media pages and been part of some terrific conversations online that have only served the stand up the women’s game as the excellent spectacle it is. As an example, when we shared that winning Matildas moment against Brazil on The World Game’s Facebook page, thousands of you shared it with your own friends and family, and hundreds of thousands of you watched it. FIFA Women's World Cup Round of 16 RESULTBrazil 0-1 AUSTRALIAReport:... Posted by SBS The World Game on Sunday, June 21, 2015 The World Game website hit almost 1 million unique users through the World Cup month of June while our man on the ground, Vitor Sobral, was glowing in his praise of coach Alen Stajcic and the entire playing group declaring they were 'wonderful to work with' as he played his part in bringing you all the latest from the Matildas camp during their Canadian odyssey. However, as good as the numbers have been, it was never the point. We didn’t decide to show the whole tournament to gain huge viewing figures or garner some sort of commercial success. We did it because it was the right thing to do. At SBS, we are uniquely placed to offer alternatives. We can provide services that other media outlets simply would not bother to. We want to inspire and encourage passion communities and promote diversity and multiculturalism. We want to make a difference. To this end, the FIFA Women’s World Cup can be held up as a figurehead for our purpose, for what we are about. And it's all those things that we are hugely proud of. There’s a school of thought that women’s sport doesn’t interest people. People say it’s always going to be inferior to the games played by male counterparts. If that were the case, then this country would only ever show NRL, AFL, and cricket. Women would be relegated to cheerleaders and WAG’s. “Pass us a beer love, the footy’s on.” How sad. No Cathy Freeman moment. No Dawn Fraser. No Opals, Hockeyroos, thrilling netball finals. No Anna, Sally, Steph, Kerryn, Leisel and Libby. Perhaps most importantly, no role models for our young kids. I have a daughter. She’s 7 years-old, going on 17. She swims, plays netball and football, and even cricket sometimes. She cheers on Spurs, Sydney FC and Wests Tigers (rarely) and the Socceroos. But this month I’ve been able to show her another side, an actual team she could get into. I’ve shown her a team of players she can relate to and aspire to, and that is priceless. The groundswell of support for the Matildas has also opened up many debates around coverage, pay and acceptance. It’s also opened many eyes. The challenge now, for us at SBS as much as anyone, is to keep those eyes open as the stardust of the World Cup fades. When it’s back to 'normal' there are no guarantee. Yet for the first time, in forever, I get a real sense of change in the game, a sense that there’s a feeling of something significant building. The Era of the Matildas is on its way.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled a new bill this week requiring all groups that spend money independently of campaigns, candidates, or parties to influence a federal election or nomination to disclose their donors. Although we have concerns with the bill, the senators' hearts are certainly in the right place, and they should be applauded for actively soliciting input during the drafting process from interested parties on all sides of the debate. The "Follow the Money" Act does several things better than competing proposals like the DISCLOSE Act. For instance, it removes the disclosure requirements for ads that simply mention a candidate close to an election or primary. It also raises the threshold for reporting of direct contributions to candidates from the exceedingly low $200 to $1,000 and creates two options for groups looking to preserve donor anonymity, which are similar to existing law. Groups can either create a safe harbor account seeded by donations below $1,000 (donors to which stay anonymous), or they can create a separate account for covered spending (and only contributors to that account have to be disclosed). Unfortunately, like all of the recent disclosure proposals, the Wyden-Murkowski bill fatally fails to clearly define the type of expenditure that would trigger disclosure. The heart of the bill is the creation of a new definition of "independent federal election-related activity expenditure," which I'm going to imaginatively call an IFERAE. IFERAEs are defined as any expenditure that "considering the facts and circumstances, a reasonable person would conclude is made solely or substantially for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the nomination or election of any individual to any Federal office." The definition is not, as is usually the case, limited to just advertising and could cover independent polling, research, or messaging. If you make IFERAEs over $10,000—no matter what—you automatically have to disclose all your donors. The only exceptions are the separate account options I mentioned above, which are certainly welcome but may not be feasible for smaller or single issue advocacy groups who often have to rely on large donations from fewer contributors. There is also a waiver for donors who contribute less than $5,000, which may be hard for groups to secure in practice. The vagueness of the IFERAE definition creates two main problems. First, this bill is going to cover a lot more political activity and speech. It almost certainly will sweep in pure "issue ads" by groups like the ACLU, the Sierra Club or the Humane Society. For instance, a similarly vague provision in the 1971 campaign finance law was cited in the decision by the New York Times to refuse to publish an advertisement by the ACLU in the New York Times criticizing President Nixon for his position on busing. The ad itself did not call for Nixon's defeat, but the Times feared that its harsh tone would open it to liability for publishing an illegal campaign ad. Second, the bill is going to open the door to selective enforcement. Groups critical of the government or who support unpopular causes will find that their expenditures are more likely to be covered by the definition. There is no question the public has a legitimate interest in knowing who is corruptly spending scads of cash trying to influence voters and lawmakers. But the public should also be able to anonymously support advocacy organizations that engage on the issues of the day, even if they praise or criticize candidates or nominees for their positions on those issues. Absent anonymity, some donors—on both the left and the right—will simply not donate out of the legitimate fear they will be harassed or retaliated against for their advocacy. Importantly, it's not clear—and it needs to be clear—that anonymous political donations to independent issue advocacy groups are actually corrupting. During the last election cycle, there was significant outcry over so-called "dark" money: political expenditures by groups that do not publicly disclose their donors. But, when you look at the facts, dark money made up a relatively small percentage of all outside spending, and even groups that support expanded disclosure find that it had little concrete effect on the ground. In many tight Senate races, for instance, it was actually the incumbency advantage in direct fundraising by Democrats that made the difference. Before we vastly expand disclosure requirements for issue advocacy, we need a record of real harm, which we just don't have right now. The campaign finance issue is hard because reform is actually being pushed in response to a real problem: large, self-interested agglomerations of wealth that can and do wield an outsized influence in the political process. That's something that we need to address, but the real question is how. As Justice Brandeis famously said, "[t]he greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." In other words, sometimes the urge to just "do something" about a problem results in serious unintended consequences. Donor disclosure is one of the areas where we need to be very careful of those consequences. Learn more about campaign finance reform and other civil liberty issues: Sign up for breaking news alerts, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

There’s no denying that we live in a golden age of personal vaporizers and mechanical mods. The market is full of devices of every kind of size, shape and function. We’ve come a long way from the simple e-cigarette just a few short years ago. In no small part, we can thank the incredibly creative small businesses and individuals who have raised the bar with innovative designs. However, the massive availability and affordable prices can be traced to overseas manufacturers shamelessly copying these devices and selling them at a fraction of the price of the genuine article. Along with this choice on the market comes one of the great schisms in the vaping community. There seems to be camps who believe that the so-called clones are harming the innovators in the industry. The other camp tends to believe that makers of the high-end devices charge too much for their products. The most commonly duplicated devices are mechanical mods. All mechanical mods essentially are a method to connect a battery as directly to an RBA as possible. So why should a dead simple device cost so much? To be perfectly honest, I can see both sides of the argument. I also think many people on one side of the fence or the other tend to over simplify the situation. There’s a lot of moving parts there that are often overlooked in some of the heated arguments. Obviously, I have, in the past reviewed clone devices. Many of which are flat-out copies of originals all the way down to logos and certificates of authenticity. I’m personally bugged by versions that ape the logo and include a fake serial number. That’s quite honestly uncalled for. I do, however, think that there is a place in the community for a discussion, and I don’t believe simply refusing to review them would solve anything. It’s a personal choice. I get why some folks choose to not give press to these devices. I’ve honestly struggled with the question personally myself. Some folks have even gone so far to tell me that they would stop paying visits to this site if I continued to cover these devices. I completely respect that. I’ve made my choices, they’ve made theirs. I of course regret I couldn’t do something that would make everyone happy, but you rarely can. I don’t think any less of anyone who makes a stand for his or her beliefs. [Tweet “There’s a lot of moving parts there that are often overlooked in some of the heated arguments.”] I’ve stated my views on the clones several times in some of the reviews I’ve done previously, so I don’t intend to make this post a rehash of such things. No, what I’m interested in hearing is what you think about this whole topic. Specifically, you as readers of this site. I’ve seen all the arguments and fights in the forums, so I’m not interested in starting any of those. I want to know what you as readers think on the topic. The comment system below is awaiting your response. Pick your favorite platform and let your feelings be known!

SWAK — And Baked Goods! For Christmas, my grandparents sent me a gift card to Williams Sonoma. That afternoon, I scoured the store’s website, as excited as a kid in a candy store as I browsed page after page of rolling pins, cookie cutters, and grill pans. During my search, I discovered two differed sizes of pretty gold loaf pans that, with tax, added up to almost the exact amount on the card. But at the mall, too many other post-Christmas shoppers liked the smaller loaf pan and snatched all of them off the shelves before I even set foot in the store. Disappointed, I still bought the larger size and resolved to send my thank-you card once Williams Sonoma restocked the mini pans. Unfortunately, life turned into a whirling tornado of activity shortly after the holidays, and I have yet to drive back to the store—or mail my letter. But I finally mixed up a moist batter to break in the first pan, and if I hadn’t devoured the entire loaf, I would have slipped a few slices into a box to send along with the belated thank-you card. Pear and Applesauce Quick Bread serves 16 This quick bread is extremely moist, perfect for breakfast, a snack, or even a sweet treat after dinner. Substitute apples for the pear if you prefer. 2 c. whole-wheat flour ½ c. granulated sugar 2 tsp baking powder ¾ tsp baking soda ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp nutmeg ¾ c. unsweetened applesauce ¼ c. agave nectar 2 tsp vanilla 1 pear, diced Preheat the oven to 325° and coat an 8×4” baking tin with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Add in the applesauce, agave, and vanilla, stirring just until moist. Gently fold in the pears. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, and bake at 325° for 45-60 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check after 30-35 min; if the top is browning too quickly, cover the tin with foil and continue baking until done. Cool in the pan for 10 min before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cover the bread in plastic wrap and tin foil, and refrigerate for 8 hrs or overnight to allow the flavors to deepen. Advertisements

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Training young children in spatial reasoning can improve their math performance, according to a new study. The researchers trained 6- to 8-year-olds in mental rotation, a spatial ability, and found their scores on addition and subtraction problems improved significantly. The mental rotation training involved imagining how two halves of an object would come together to make a whole, when the halves have been turned at an angle. [sources] Past research has found a link between spatial reasoning and math, but the new study is the first to provide direct evidence of a causal connection—that when children are trained in one ability, improvement is seen in the other. The findings are published in the Journal of Cognition and Development. Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology at Michigan State University, says the findings suggest spatial training “primes” the brain to better tackle calculation problems. Mix authored the study with Yi-Ling Cheng, a doctoral student in the College of Education. “What’s shocking is that we saw these improvements in math performance after giving the students just one 20-minute training session in spatial ability,” Mix says. “Imagine if the training had been six weeks.” Understanding the connection between spatial ability and math, she says, is especially important in the early elementary grades because many studies indicate early intervention is critical for closing achievement gaps in math. Spatial ability is important for success in many fields, from architecture to engineering, to meteorology, according to a Johns Hopkins University paper. An astronomer must visualize the structure of the solar system and the motions of the objects in it, for example, while a radiologist must be able to interpret the image on an X-ray. Some education experts have called for including spatial reasoning in the elementary math curriculum. But there are many forms of spatial ability and Mix says it’s important to first figure out how each of them may or may not relate to the various math disciplines. To that end, Mix is leading a larger study that tests elementary students on different forms of spatial ability and math performance. The Institute of Education Sciences, which is the research arm of the US Department of Education, funded the research. Source: Michigan State University

TL;DR Perl already won once - in the nineties it was the technology that powered the whole web. It got a market share that none of the 'cool' languages will ever be able achieve - be that Python, or Ruby, or Go, or Node, or whatever. Be that backed by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist or Booking.com. PHP is coming close, but it won't achieve it, exactly because of the cool new programming languages, because of the much larger internet market and of the diversity of software developers. I believe the main reason haters gonna hate Perl forever is because their language of choice will never achieve its dominant adoption. Transition to Perl Having those list, scalar, string, or void contexts is pretty confusing when you're first exposed to them. The types of variables are totally different from anything that I've seen that far - scalar, array and hash type. It was also hard to get along with the TIMTOWDI (There Is More Than One Way To do It) principle which is everywhere - should the $customer->orders method return undef when no orders are present, or should it simply return, or should it return an empty array or maybe an empty array ref - this is just one question that I found myself asking over and over again. I came for the money and stayed for the robustness I decided to switch from Progress because there was only one company in Cluj-Napoca that was using it. While you would normally expect, as an extremely specialized technologist, to earn a bigger salary because of the scarcity of experts in a certain field, the opposite was true - I earned a smaller than average salary, exactly because I could do nothing about it (ie I didn't had where to go). Although I wanted to switch to Java, the first opportunity I had was Perl. Given that we had at that time about 5 companies that were doing Perl development in Cluj, and that the salary this company offered, as a junior Perl developer (I wasn't able to even code the 'hello world' without googling it), was bigger than the one I got as a senior Progress developer with a commitment of salary negotiation after one month with the company, signaled me that there had to be something good with the language that I've only heard about it looks the same before and after it is encrypted. While I worked as a Progress developer, I was doing the whatever part time project I wanted to work on using technologies like PHP, Ruby and Python, mostly because of the high costs of running a Progress app (at that time they were charging even for the runtime VM, I don't know if that still applies). I don't have any public project since that time. When I switched to Perl I decided to use it for everything I do - I wanted to see if that's possible, without losing any productivity and in order to become more proficient in the language. The right tool for the right job Since 2010 when I started to develop in Perl, I found out that Perl has everything that I needed, some more and they're all rock solid pieces of software: Want a RoR like framework? go with Catalyst Want a Sinatra like framework? choose between Dancer2 and Mojolicious Want an uber ORM? - go with DBIx::Class (dbic) That's why Perl became my Young but wise the average Perl developer has 12 years of software development experience. What kind of code would you prefer in your business critical, money making software products? one written by people with an average of 12 years experience in the language of choice, or one written in a language that appeared on the radar in the last decade: I think that the average age of a Perl developer is about 35 years (I have no official data for this, my hunch is based on the people I saw at numerous YAPC s I had the opportunity to be present at). Assuming this is true and assuming a dev enters into production at 23 years old, it results thatWhat kind of code would you prefer in your business critical, money making software products? one written by people with an average of 12 years experience in the language of choice, or one written in a language that appeared on the radar in the last decade: Ruby on Rails, the framework that made Ruby popular was launched in late 2005 NodeJS is not yet at version 1, having its first version launched in May 2009 In my imagination a language that is dying does not have frequent releases, nor it has modern frameworks and it doesn't inspire other languages also. A short story I currently work on a project written completely in Perl for a company that sells economic reports - lets call it X, because I don't have their permission to use their name. The project was started around 1998 and for about 8 years there were less than 3 developers who supported the whole online division of the company. The company that I currently work for (an outsourcing one) started to assist the X company with the project around 2008. If I remember correctly, between 2008 and 2012 there were no more than 5 developers assigned to the project from my company at any one time. In late 2012, a new CIO was hired by the X company in order to help with modernizing their so called legacy codebase. It was indeed legacy - the whole website was done entirely with CGI.pm. The new CIO promised to rewrite the whole system in .NET in just one year, because you know, how much functionality can be implemented by an average number of 3-4 developers in a technology that is so old and rusty as CGI, while also maintaining the core, business critical and money generating, functionality? So, in November 2013 they started to lay out the business logic that takes place in the online app in order to be able to start implementing it in early 2013 so it would be done by the end of 2013. It was March 2013 when the CEO decided to stop the idea of rewriting the app in .NET because they weren't able in those 4 months to even define the scope of the project. The CIO was out. My company made the commitment to rewrite the whole app using Modern Perl and to also respect the original schedule, compensating the time lost because of the unsuccessful .NET rewrite attempt. I remember my department manager saying after he came back from company X with the project "I might have made the most stupid commitment ever, but it might also be the best". Long story short - by October 2013 we rewrote 90% of the old application using Catalyst and DBIx::Class on the backend and Bootstrap from Twitter on the front end. By the mid of 2014, the old application, the CGI one, was taken out of production. There was no business interruption because of the rewrite. Conclusion Watch out for whoever says that Perl is an ancient technology, because they're either ignorant and completely clueless about what's really happening in the world of computer programming, or they have hidden agendas. I know, this might be a biased post - I love Perl, but so are the posts that people wright when they say it is irrelevant. Let me ask you a few biased questions: Why do you love Perl? How did Perl helped you in your profession? How did Perl helped your company? How do you intend to use Perl in the next years? As a result, I currently have 2 extra projects that I work on and have real users www.eatfab.com (a food ordering application) and www.prforge.com (a crowd speaking platform).Since 2010 when I started to develop in Perl, I found out that Perl has everything that I needed, some more and they're all rock solid pieces of software:That's why Perl became my golden hammer Regarding youth, Perl's last stable version is 5.20.1, released in 14th of September 2014. The Dancer2 framework had its first release in 2013 and it had 37 more releases since then. Mojolicious reached version 1 in December 2010, now it's at version 5.72 - have a look at the frequency of releases In my imagination a language that is dying does not have frequent releases, nor it has modern frameworks and it doesn't inspire other languages also.Watch out for whoever says that Perl is an ancient technology, becauseand completely clueless about what's really happening in the world of computer programming, orI know, this might be a biased post - I love Perl, but so are the posts that people wright when they say it is irrelevant. Let me ask you a few biased questions: This post is a response to the Yet Another Perl Rant article which appeared on hackernews Without being a special kind of paranoid or conspiracy theory adept, I can't help myself noticing that from time to time an article appears which tries to convince us that Perl is dead and there are no reasons to learn it.I started programming in Perl in 2010, after 4 years of professional software development (in progress ) and after I did some projects in PHP, Ruby and Python.I have to admit, as a programmer it wasn't really easy to start with Perl:

The year is ninety-four, in my trunk is raw In my rear-view mirror is the motherfuckin' law Got two choices y'all, pull over the car or (hmm) bounce on the Devil, put the pedal to the floor And I ain't tryin' to see no highway chase with Jake Plus I got a few dollars, I can fight the case So I, pull over to the side of the road "Son, do you know why I'm stoppin' you for?" Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low Or do I look like a mindreader, sir? I don't know Am I under arrest or should I guess some more? "Well you was doin fifty-five in the fifty-four; license and registration and step out of the car -- are you carryin a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are" I ain't steppin out of shit, all my papers legit "Well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?" Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk in the back And I know my rights, so you gon' need a warrant for that "Aren't you sharp as a tack! You some type of lawyer or somethin, somebody important or somethin?" Child I ain't passed the bar, but I know a little bit Enough that you won't illegally search my shit "Well we'll see how smart you are when the canine comes" I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one Hit me! Fairly valid, although it depends on the state; I'm not familiar with the laws of 1994, and the location is unspecified, but from the video, possibly Brooklyn, NY.Here's my take on the song:Not running from the police seems like excellent advice.In general, not volunteering information at a traffic stop is great advice.Unless the cop can testify to reasonable suspicion [RS] that the defendant is armed -- in which case he can search the driver and immediate vicinity for weapons for self protection -- you shouldn't need to get out of the car. Pushing back on this makes sense, if only to ensure whatever RS grounds would be documented, so they can get the case thrown out later. If the RS was invalid or not present, all evidence coming after that is "fruit of the poisoned tree" and discarded.Consenting to a voluntary search is never a good idea, especially if you have felony weight on you. The standard to search the glove compartment is actually fairly low in California, since it's accessible to the driver. Even though it is locked, the tenth circuit court of appeals has found that during a protective search of the vehicle (i.e., looking for weapons with RS), the glove box can be searched since it being locked may not prevent the driver from gaining control of a weapon. (1) The trunk can be opened if the car is impounded, for inventory reasons, which is a common way to get evidence. However, a locked case inside the trunk will not be opened (depends on the state).A canine can only be used during a routine traffic stop if it doesn't unduly delay the driver -- it's reasonable to walk back to your cruiser to get a dog, but you can't wait to call one in. This all goes out the window if reasonable suspicion is developed.(1) US v. Palmer, 360 F. 3d 1243 - Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit 2004

The rift between President Obama and FBI Director James B. Comey over the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement deepened Thursday, with the White House again disputing Mr. Comey’s assertion that it’s the cause of spiking crime in major cities. “We just need to make sure that our policy approach to addressing this situation is rooted in evidence and facts,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “It’s clear that we don’t have enough evidence at this point.” For the second time in recent months, Mr. Comey said Wednesday that he believes a spike in violent crime in many cities may be due to officers’ fears of appearing on Internet videos confronting suspects. He told reporters that a “viral video effect” is leading to less aggressive policing that “could well be at the heart” of an increase in murders in many cities. “There’s a perception that police are less likely to do the marginal additional policing that suppresses crime — the getting out of your car at two in the morning and saying to a group of guys, ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’” Mr. Comey said. Although violent crime rates nationwide are near historic lows, a surge in more than 40 big cities is causing concern across government agencies trying to understand and respond. Crime rates have risen in those cities in the first three months of 2016, according to a briefing the FBI director received on Wednesday. He said two cities that stood out especially in the latest tallies were Las Vegas and Chicago. In Chicago murders are up 54 percent and shootings up 70 percent over the same period last year. “I don’t know what the answer is, but holy cow do we have a problem,” he said. “It’s a complicated, hard issue, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. A whole lot of people are dying.” Last fall, Mr. Comey referred to the trend as “the Ferguson effect,” a reference to the Missouri city where a white officer shot unarmed black teen Michael Brown, sparking the Black Lives Matter movement, with which the president has expressed support. Mr. Earnest said Mr. Obama last year directed the Justice Department to work with communities affected by the surge in violent crime, resulting in a program to capture more violent fugitives. “That six-week initiative resulted in the arrest of more than 8,000 gang members, sex offenders and other violent criminals,” Mr. Earnest said. “That is an indication of the important role that federal law enforcement can play in supporting the work of local law enforcement in these communities.” But he said Mr. Comey really doesn’t know the reasons for the surge in urban crime. “The FBI director actually made clear that he didn’t know exactly what was going on either,” Mr. Earnest said. “The president’s point is we need to make policy decisions that are based on facts and evidence and not anecdotes. There is still no evidence to substantiate the claim that the increase in violent crime is related to an unwillingness of police officers to do their job.” Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Sebastian Gorka had already raised eyebrows as President Trump’s deputy assistant and one of his chief advisers on foreign policy due mainly to his long history of associations with fringe anti-Muslim groups, many of whom indulge in Islamophobic conspiracy theories. Numerous critics have argued that Gorka’s background disqualifies him from a White House post. The scrutiny became intense in recent weeks due to revelations in the Jewish magazine Forward that Gorka and his family had longstanding ties to a Hungarian nationalist society, Vitézi Rend, that was allied with Nazi forces during World War II, and had a history of anti-Semitic activity. The questions raised the possibility that Gorka could face an investigation over his immigration papers due to the revelations. However, it seems that Gorka’s past includes other issues that raise questions about his role as a presidential adviser. According to Hungarian publications, Gorka failed to pass Hungary’s national-security test in 2002 when he applied for a seat on a commission investigating the activities of the sitting prime minister. Gorka, who was born in London to Hungarian parents and lived in Hungary from 1992 to 2008, worked in the Hungarian Ministry of Defense during the 1990s tenure of József Antall, the nation’s first post-Communist prime minister. He became active again in 2002 while attempting to join a parliamentary committee investigating the postwar activities of the new prime minister, Petr Medgyessy. Medgyessy had been an undercover officer in the Secret Police, the organization that had maintained the previous dictatorship and played a central role in crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. According to the Hungarian news site Magyarnarancs, Gorka was denied a spot on the committee after failing the national security test. According to the article, Gorka was member of the British army for three years and had excellent contacts with the British intelligence services, as well as with U.S. intelligence services; these connections may have been responsible for his failure to pass the test. Gorka nonetheless played a prominent role in the Medgyessy inquiry, telling a British newspaper at the time: "Medgyessy makes these Alice-in-Wonderland claims that he was the only deep cover secret policeman who never spied on people, who rarely wrote reports and then only about the economy of Communist Hungary. It is patently clear that his account to us cannot be equated with reality, given the testimony of senior former secret police officers and the declassified documents from that time." Gorka’s associations with Hungarian far-right elements remain murky. First, the Forward reported that Gorka had associated with anti-Semitic leaders in Hungary – especially during the period following his involvement with the Medgyessy investigation. Gorka’s involvement with the far right, the report said, “includes co-founding a political party with former prominent members of Jobbik, a political party with a well-known history of anti-Semitism; repeatedly publishing articles in a newspaper known for its anti-Semitic and racist content; and attending events with some of Hungary’s most notorious extreme-right figures.” A follow-up story reported that Gorka had sworn a lifetime loyalty oath to the Hungarian pro-Nazi group Vitézi Rend. Gorka initially issued a generic response: “I’ve been a committed opponent of anti-Semitism, racism and totalitarianism all my life. Any suggestion otherwise is false and outrageous,” Gorka said in a statement sent from the White House. Later that week, he issued another statement: “I have never been a member of the Vitézi Rend. I have never taken an oath of loyalty to the Vitézi Rend. Since childhood, I have occasionally worn my father’s medal and used the ‘v’ initial to honor his struggle against totalitarianism,” Gorka told Tablet Magazine. In the meantime, James Lobe has been steadily reporting on Gorka’s background, including his recent revelation that Gorka’s mother at one time worked as translator for notorious Holocaust denier David Irving. Additionally, the Hungarian Free Press reported that Gorka attended a far-right convention led by Jobbik in 2007. Gorka himself has dismissed all the allegations as partisan attacks on the Trump administration. In a Breitbart News interview, he said: “Of course, the attacks we’ve seen in the last month are outrageous and dishonest, but I don’t really take it personally. These attacks aren’t about me, really; they’re about making sure that the American people don’t get the policies they resoundingly voted for.” He added: “We’ve come to a place, unfortunately, where elements of the media are waging a scorched earth campaign against the president by trying to throw everything they have at anyone associated with his administration. … And in the end, as the son of parents who survived the Nazi takeover of Hungary and then the nightmare of Communism, these attacks have no power over me.”

The wave of unrest that erupted in the Arab world last year reached Syria in March, with widespread protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Assad's troops began a series of harsh crackdowns, in some cases shelling and occupying residential areas. The UN estimates more than 5,000 Syrians have been killed in the past 10 months. Thousands continue to protest, despite the threat of government snipers in the streets and alleged incidents of torture and execution by Syrian forces. The Arab League, Europe, and the United States have all imposed stringent trade sanctions against Syria, and the Arab League has sent in a team of observers to monitor the situation -- but nearly 150 Syrians have reportedly been killed since the observers arrived two weeks ago. The Arab League mission will issue a full report on January 19, possibly referring the issue to the United Nations. However, Russia and China oppose UN action, and the U.S. and Europe do not appear to be planning any Libya-style intervention. Gathered here are images of the unrest in Syria over the past several weeks. Many of these photos have been made available despite harsh government restrictions on reporting.

They say breast is best when it comes to nurturing a baby. That message doesn’t translate well when it comes to baked goods. An unnamed mother has stirred up outrage on Facebook after she made brownies with breast milk for a school bake sale. A post on the Sanctimommy Facebook page revealed the mother’s dilemma when she ran out of cow’s milk as an ingredient for her baking and decided to use her own breast milk as a substitution. “I didn’t have time to run to the store and didn’t think it was a big deal (some of those kids could use the nutrition let’s be honest),” the mother wrote. “And it wasn’t even that much.” The mysterious mommy stated another parent found out about the secret ingredient and was “blowing it way out of proportion.” The woman foolishly turned to the Internet for suggestions. Let’s just say the reaction to the post – which has garnered 921 shares and more than 1,000 comments on Facebook – has been mixed and emotional. “Honestly this is actually a damn near criminal offense,” one outraged commenter stated. “Breast milk, like blood or semen, can carry diseases, which is why legit donation services screen the milk before passing it along to moms and their babies.” “Secretly feeding children that aren’t yours baked goods with your bodily fluids in them is gross, shady and borderline psychotic,” another angry commenter wrote. While most of the comments were hateful, some people were confused over the situation. “But…milk isn’t even one of the ingredients for brownies…human or cow,” wrote a confused commenter. Others found humour in the situation. “But was it homogenize?” joked one person. “‘Susan. These brownies are DELISH! What’s in them? …me,’” another humourously chimed. While breast milk is good for babies, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that HIV and other serious infectious diseases can be transmitted through the liquid.

Clear your calendar for 12/23 at 5 pm, well . . . then you might as well clear your calendar for Christmas Eve, too, because you’re going to need some serious recovery time after you see what Gerard Robertson at Coalhouse Pizza in Stamford has planned for you. Yes, it’s true: some of New England Brewing’s best beers will be on tap for this special night (we’ll update with the time when we get it). Think of it as Gerard’s Christmas present to you. First of all, Fuzzy Baby Ducks will be on tap! You’ve probably heard about it, and you’ve probably seen that it’s been popping up here and there at great bars and restaurants that love good, craft beer. So, whether this is is your first time or 12th time having FBD, you’ll want to see what the #5 ranked IPA in the COUNTRY by Beer Advocate tastes like! Yes, #5. Secondly, Gerard (that lucky fuzzy duck) was able to snag some Zapata Bot! This beer was released in bottles in a very limited batch (only 1,000), but he’s got it pouring for you on 12/23. Why Zapata? They age their DIPA Gandhi-Bot in tequila barrels! We’ve been dreaming about trying this, so now we get to! Thirdly, you’ll have to come and see what mysterious cask that NEBCO is giving to Coalhouse. We don’t know, you don’t know, but we’re sure that we’re going to love it! What would you want it to be? Lastly, their classic brews will be pouring out too: 668 Neighbor of the Beast Elm City Lager Ghost Pigeon Porter Imperial Stout Trooper Sea Hag See you there, people and seriously consider hiring an Uber, this is gonna get messy!

According to an article posted on The Recorder Online by Chris Demorro, the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid is not actually that efficient. Their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer. In order to fully understand this argument, you need to know the overall architecture of the Prius powertrain. The car consists of two engines, a 1.5L gas engine and an electric motor. The electric motor is capable of propelling the car up to 25mph and from there the gas engine kicks in. Therefore the car saves fuel by turning the gas engine off when it is idling and driving in traffic. The battery for the electric motor is recharged through the braking system. When the current Prius was released for the 04′ model year, Toyota boasted about the car’s estimated 60 mpg in the city and 51mpg on the highway. Consumers ate this information up and flocked to Toyota dealers in droves. Soon after its release consumers began to complain about the fact that their cars were not achieving the claimed mpg. This was due to the out of date EPA tests that the government uses to estimate a car’s mpg. (The new tests will be applied to 2008 models) In most real world applications the Prius only manages to achieve 45 mpg, which is not much higher than most subcompact economy cars (Aveo, Yaris, Scion). That is the first main issue with the current Prius. Second is the issue with the actual production of the batteries for the hybrid cars. It is only slowly being revealed that the nickel batteries that hybrids use are not environmentally friendly. The nickel for the Prius is produced in Sudbury, Ontario. According to Demorro, " This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles." Toyota produces 1,000 tons annually. The production of the batteries does not end in Canada, the nickel is then sent off to a refinery in Europe and then off to China and finally it ends up in finished form in Japan. This in turn uses more energy to create the batteries since it involves many factories all over the world. When you factor in all the energy it takes to drive and build a Prius it takes almost 50% more energy than a Hummer. In a study by CNW Marketing called "Dust to Dust", researchers discovered that the Prius costs and average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles (the expected lifespan of a hybrid). On the other hand the Hummer costs $1.95 per mile over an expected 300,000 miles. Which means that the Hummer will last three times as long and use less energy than the Prius. ( I am not sure about the claim that the Hummer will last three times longer…) This also doesn’t take into account the problem with disposing of the used batteries. Most of the hybrids have not been on the market long enough to be disposed of yet, but when it does happen there are going to be more environmental implications. Basically to sum this up, the Prius and all hybrids for that matter are not exactly what the public perceives them to be. Hybrids for the most part do not have huge gains in gas mileage over their gas powered counterparts. There is also a premium to buy a hybrid and there is a large chance that the premium will not be offset by the time you get rid of the car. According to Demorro, "It takes five years to offset the premium price of a Prius. Meaning, you have to wait 60 months to save any money over a non-hybrid car because of lower gas expenses." Then there are the issues with the batteries and their effect on the environment. Basically if you want to save gas and pollute less you should buy a subcompact with a PZEV rated engine. It will save you more money in the long run and the earth will thank you. This may all change in the coming years as technology gets better and the price of hybrids drop. Full Article: The Recorder Online by Chris Demorro

More than 70 Humber College students at a campus residence fell ill Thursday night with some type of gastrointestinal illness, but the cause of the sudden outbreak remains unknown. The students all live at the one residence on the north campus at Highway 27 and Finch, and started reporting feeling ill late in the afternoon, according to Andrew Leopold, director of communications. More students fell ill as the evening wore on, he told CBC Toronto early Friday morning. The school's dean of students later told reporters that of the 77 students in total who got sick, 30 were taken to hospital. "All students who were transported were treated and released and returned to residence throughout the night," Jen McMillen told reporters outside the school. Toronto Public Health investigating The students were all suffering from symptoms like vomiting and abdominal pain, she said. Some of the school staff members who were helping students at the residence through the night have also developed the symptoms, according to McMillen. More than 70 Humber College students at a campus residence fell ill Thursday night with some type of gastrointestinal illness, but the cause of the sudden outbreak remains unknown. 0:24 The source of the illness has not yet been determined, she said when asked whether food poisoning may be to blame. To her knowledge, food was still being served on campus. The school notified Toronto Public Health (TPH), McMillen said. The city agency focused on food poisoning when addressing CBC's questions on Friday. Dr. Michael Finkelstein, associate medical officer of health, said TPH has opened an investigation, which includes speaking to officials at the hospital where students were treated, as well as health-care personnel at the school. "TPH will be reaching out to the students who reported that they were ill today to gather more information such as where they ate and what food they ate before they became ill and if they attended any specific functions where food was served before they became ill," Finkelstein said in a statement provided to CBC. 'Nobody wants to come out of their rooms' Students who were outside the residence Friday described the atmosphere in the building. "Nobody wants to come out of their rooms," Duncan Lotoski told CBC. Lotoski was in bed around 9:30 p.m. ET when he noticed flashing lights through his window. When he looked out, he saw a number of ambulances. "Then you hear supervisors in the halls handing out masks saying, 'Wash your hands, wash your hands,'" he said. "I just stayed in my room for the rest of the night." Jazz McClean said friends who have fallen ill are convinced they got food poisoning. "It was wild," he said of what it was like inside the residence building overnight. "There were people on the floor." Meanwhile, classes and other services on campus were not affected on Friday, McMillen said. Students are being instructed to rest, drink lots of fluids and to "practice good hygiene," she said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ohioans who buy their own health insurance should see an average out-of-pocket savings on premiums of 21 percent because of taxpayer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study by the Rand Corp., a widely respected think tank. Without the health care law, Ohioans who bought individual policies would pay $3,973, on average, in premiums in 2016, the study shows. But the subsidies, or tax credits, will bring the individuals’ costs down to $3,131. These people will buy their insurance through a computerized marketplace, or “exchange,” where insurers will compete for business. The study, done for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, covered ten states that together were considered representative of the nation. A number of its findings are likely to please supporters of the health care law, known widely as Obamacare. But the study also somewhat supports a claim by Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, an Obamacare critic who leads the state Department of Insurance. Taylor said in early August that the Affordable Care Act will drive up premiums by an average of 41 percent . She based this on rates that insurers submitted to the state for policies to be sold on the exchange in 2014. This was for the same kind of policies studied by Rand: those bought by individuals who don’t have employer-provided coverage and who in 2014 will buy their policies on the exchange. Taylor’s figure did not account for buyer subsidies, nor for the wide variety of policies that are now available, some with deductibles of $10,000 and even $25,000, that will no longer be sold. Obamacare will require a change in coverage for many, with more exams and medical conditions covered, and will eliminate some of the high-deductible, bare-bones policies now sold and used in Taylor’s comparison. Figures from the Rand study suggest that on price hikes, Taylor was correct in theory -- if excluding these key factors -- but that her numbers were off. Without factoring in subsidy offsets and the policies that people are likely to buy, premiums for individual policies in Ohio will average $5,312 in 2016, according to figures from Rand. That’s 34 percent higher than the average for individual premiums without Obamacare, Rand’s figures show. But that, too, is a high estimate that does not factor what kind of coverage people will actually buy on the exchange (there’s a choice of four levels of coverage -- bronze, silver, gold and platinum), the actuarial value of that coverage and how age and tobacco use will play into premiums and choices. Insurers have had to weigh this for their rate-setting calculations. Christine Eibner, a senior Rand economist and lead author of the study, told us in a telephone interview this afternoon that she considers this is a realistic way of comparing premiums. It compares premiums for coverage people will get on the exchange with coverage they have or would have had without Obamacare. Based on that calculation, the average premium for individual policies in Ohio would rise by $900, or 22.65 percent. That's nearly half of Taylor’s unweighted calculation. The price hike would be offset for many Ohioans by the taxpayer subsidy. Either way, here’s how costs would break down on average in 2016 under the Rand analysis: The policy buyer would pay $3,131 in annual premiums. Another $2,181 would come from a tax credit, paid for by the act’s taxes, fees and offsets. Tax credit eligibility will be determined by income, phasing out after 400 percent of the poverty level. Some 67 percent of exchange enrollees in Ohio will be eligible, Rand found. By 2016, 9.9 percent of Ohio’s non-elderly population will be enrolled, the study estimated. This is likely to boost business for insurers, Rand data suggest. Fifteen percent of non-elderly Ohioans are now uninsured, and that will go down to 6.2 percent by 2016, the study estimated. Nearly 63 percent of those expected to enroll in Ohio would not have had insurance without the Affordable Care Act, Rand said.

LAFD Firefighters and Arson investigators were very busy through the night, extinguishing and investigating a series of eight fires in the North Hollywood and Sun Valley areas that may have been intentionally set. The suspected arson fires broke out beginning around 3 a.m. Sunday, October 25, 2015. The fires ranged from dumpster bins that were set on fire to a burning mattress laid against an automobile to small structures near a large commercial building that were set on fire. Fortunately, due to firefighters’ quick efforts, all fires were swiftly extinguished minimizing damage and no one was injured. Six on-call arson investigators responded to the rash of fires, canvasing areas and combing through debris. They detained and questioned one person of interest, however, that person was released and the cause of the fires remain under active investigation. We are asking the public to assist. Anyone with information they feel may assist in determining the cause, or any suspicious activity noted in the North Hollywood and Sun Valley areas around 3 a.m. this morning are encouraged to contact the Arson Counter/Terrorism Section at (213) 893-9850. Anybody even contemplating starting a fire in the act of arson in L.A. better think twice. The LAFD considers the crime of arson to be one of the most egregious crimes committed in the city and we will utilize all of our resources to investigate and prosecute the responsible parties.

LINCOLN SQUARE — Police are warning of robberies of businesses in the area, citing three cases where offenders with guns escaped with cash from registers. The robbberies all occurred on Jan. 20th. "In these casesm two offenders or three offenders entered the business, displayed a blue steel handgun and demanded money from the register," police said in an alert. "The offenders moved the victims to the rear of the store or into a storage area and took money, alcohol, cigarettes and other property." The Jan 20th incidents occurred: • 4900 block of north Damen Avenue at 7:53 p.m. • 2500 block of west Lawrence Avenue aty 9:45 p.m. • 4600 block of north Kedzie at 9:55 p.m. Police describe the suspects in the first case as three black men, 19 to 22 years old, 5'8 to 5'10 and wearing dark clothes, gloves and a covering over their face. In the two other cases, the suspects are black men, 17 to 25, 5'6 to 5'8. They also wore dark clothing and gloves and had their faces covered, police said. The Damen robbery was reportedly Windy City Liquors. Surveillance camera footage obtained by ABC7 showed the robbers storming into the business and overwhelming the clerk. Brazen armed robbery caught on video in Ravenswood: https://t.co/gkhREaT252 pic.twitter.com/b8fAMz9C1T — ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) January 22, 2016 Police urge anyone who may have information about the crimes to contact the Bureau of Detectives - Area North at 312-744-8263. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Captain HMS Captain was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1787 at Limehouse. She served during the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars before being placed in harbour service in 1799. An accident caused her to burn and founder in 1813. Later that year she was raised and broken up. French Revolutionary Wars [ edit ] At the start of the French Revolutionary War, she was part of the Mediterranean fleet which occupied Toulon at the invitation of the Royalists in 1793 before being driven out by Revolutionary troops in an action where Napoleon Bonaparte made his name. During this operation Captain was deployed in the Raid on Genoa. In June 1796, Admiral Sir John Jervis transferred Captain Horatio Nelson from HMS Agamemnon into Captain. Jervis appointed Nelson commodore of a squadron that was first deployed off Livorno during Napoleon's march through northern Italy. In September 1796, Gilbert Elliot, the British viceroy of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, decided that it was necessary to clear out Capraja, which belonged to the Genoese and which served as a base for privateers. He sent Nelson, in Captain, together with the transport Gorgon, Vanneau, the cutter Rose, and troops of the 51st Regiment of Foot to accomplish this task in September. On their way, Minerva joined them. The troops landed on 18 September and the island surrendered immediately. Later that month Nelson oversaw the British withdrawal from Corsica. In February 1797, Nelson had rejoined Jervis's fleet 25 miles west of Cape St. Vincent at the southwest tip of Portugal, just before it intercepted a Spanish fleet on 14 February. The Battle of Cape St Vincent made both Jervis's and Nelson's names. Jervis was made Earl St Vincent and Nelson was knighted for his initiative and daring. Nelson had realised that the leading Spanish ships were escaping and wore Captain to break out of the line of battle to attack the much larger Spanish ships. Captain exchanged fire with the Spanish flagship, Santísima Trinidad, which mounted 136 guns on four decks. Later Captain closely engaged the 80-gun San Nicolas, when the Spanish ship was disabled by a broadside from Excellent and ran into another ship, the San Josef of 112-guns. With Captain hardly manoeuvrable, Nelson ran his ship alongside San Nicolas, which he boarded. Nelson was preparing to order his men to board San Josef next when she signalled her intent to surrender. The boarding of San Nicolas, which resulted in the taking of the two larger ships was later immortalised as 'Nelson's Patent Bridge for Boarding First Rates.' Captain was the most severely damaged of the British ships as she was in the thick of the action for longer than any other ship. She returned to service following repairs and on 6 May 1799 sailed for the Mediterranean, where she joined Captain John Markham's squadron. After the Battle of Alexandria, the squadron under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, consisting of the 40-gun Junon, 36-gun Alceste, 32-gun Courageuse, 18-gun Salamine and the brig Alerte escaped to Genoa.[3] On 17 June 1799 the French squadron, still under Perrée, was en route from Jaffa for Toulon when it encountered the British squadron under Markham in Centaur.[3] In the ensuing Action of 18 June 1799, the British captured the entire French squadron, with Captain capturing Alerte. Markham described Alerte as a brig of 14 guns and 120 men, under the command of Lieutenant Dumay.[4] Napoleonic Wars [ edit ] In 1807 it had been one of the escorts for the expedition leaving Falmouth that would eventually attack Buenos Aires. Turned back north once the expedition reached the Cape Verde Islands. Captain shared with Amaranthe, Pompee, and Morne Fortunee in the prize money pool of £772 3s 3d for the capture of Frederick on 30 December 1808. This money was paid in June 1829.[5] Captain took part in the capture of Martinique in 1809. In April 1809, a strong French squadron arrived at the Îles des Saintes, south of Guadeloupe. There they were blockaded until 14 April, when a British force under Major-General Frederick Maitland invaded and captured the islands. Captain was among the naval vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the islands.[Note 1] Fate [ edit ] Later that year, Captain was put into harbour service.[7] On 22 March 1813, she was accidentally burned in the Hamoaze, off Plymouth, Devon.[8] At the time, she was undergoing conversion to a sheer hulk. When it was clear that the fire, which had begun in the forecastle, had taken hold, her securing lines were cut and she was towed a safe distance away from the other vessels so that she could burn herself out. Even so, orders were given that she be sunk. Ships' launches with carronades then commenced a one-hour bombardment. She finally foundered after having burned down to the waterline. Two men died in the accident.[7] The wreck was raised in July and broken up at Plymouth.[2] Notes, citations, and references [ edit ] Notes ^ [6] The prize agent for a number of the vessels involved, Henry Abbott, went bankrupt. In May 1835 there was a final payment of a dividend from his estate. A first-class share was worth 10s 2¾d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 1d. Seventh-class (landsmen) and eighth-class (boys) shares were fractions of a penny, too small to pay. Citations; References

Public Square’s big-ticket greening, updating and newfound popularity may shape the future of a 22-story office building bordering it that Optima Management Group has started to market for sale. The Miami Beach-based property owner has listed 55 Public Square for sale, potentially as a redevelopment property with CBRE, said David Browning, the real estate brokerage’s Cleveland managing director. Browning also confirmed prior reports that CBRE has a listing to sell the AECOM Building, 1300 East Ninth St. “Optima made a huge (financial) commitment to Cleveland,” Browning said. “Right now is probably a great time to bring some things to market. With 55 Public Square’s location and the renovation of the square, we’re very excited about being involved with it. We’ve had a lot of interest, both from the usual local suspects and capable local groups as well as regional and out-of-town developers.” If Optima succeeds in unloading the properties, it may be able to execute the classic play in real estate: buy when few are buying and sell when prices are climbing. However, changes in office building fundamentals due to the trend of office downsizing and slow office-job growth may make that difficult. Optima also will have to see how much a developer wants to pay for a building such as 55 Public Square that needs substantial repairs as well as the expense of converting it to residential use. AECOM Centre, which has some vacancy, will have to find an owner willing to work on the property and not just collect rent checks, always a bigger challenge in the Midwest than on the coasts. An affiliate of Optima paid $34 million for 55 Public Square in 2008. That is a big number to beat to essentially rebuild the property. Another Optima-linked firm paid $46.5 million for AECOM in 2010. Alec Pacella, managing partner of NAI Daus, said selling each building will take some hard negotiating. “Big picture, it’s a good time to sell. The national spotlight is on Cleveland with the Republican National Convention,” Pacella said. “It’s a good time for Optima to recycle some capital. 55 Public Square has a great location as an apartment conversion. AECOM also has some vacancy. It’s hard to get paid for vacant space. Sellers can get paid as much as possible for leased space, but getting paid for empty bricks and sticks means finding a different kind of value. Which building will be easier to sell? It’s hard to say.” Pacella pointed out Optima is not marketing its One Cleveland Centre office building. “That’s no surprise. It’s their best performing building,” he said. Continued ownership of One Cleveland and a big stake in the Westin Cleveland make it technically incorrect to say the low-profile, media-shy Florida investor is exiting Cleveland. Chaim Schochet, Optima’s Cleveland investment executive, did not return three calls about 55 Public Square and has left a total of seven calls unreturned this month. The 55 Public Square building, once the home of the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co., which now is part of FirstEnergy Corp of Akron, dates from 1958 and signaled what is regarded as the beginning of Cleveland’s modern office building era. It was the first multitenant office building erected with air conditioning in Cleveland. Its vintage also means that it may qualify for federal and state historic preservation tax credits to help finance renovation and conversion expenses.

Planning on filing your taxes on time? Feeling like a sexy San Franciscan? Lucky you! Trojan, the trusted condom company that caused quite a buzz when they announced they'll be giving away free vibrators on tax day earlier this year, will be doling out grown-up toys on Friday, April 12 at The Box in SoMa. According to the good people over at SFist, all you have to do is show up at the event space some time before noon and 4 p.m. and mention you've filed your taxes. No proof necessary -- just your own enthusiasm. A plethora of other national chains -- mainly of the fast food variety -- will also be handing out Tax Day freebies to upstanding citizens, as our friends at HuffPost Money noticed. But this is San Francisco, after all, so you're obviously getting the most bang for your buck at The Box. Just be sure to proceed with caution.

Thou who seek solitude. We breathe gently. We watch the unexpected; We smile cleverly, We kindle the most intended. Then what does the prophecy proclaim? Our thoughts are haunted, Our actions are wounded. We live with no freedom. We move with permission; We cry with no reason, We bonded with discretion. One run away from memory. Other mocked on his grave; Millions follow the decree, Solitude is all thou crave. The Star of Hope then shines in the sky, Thou shall not live with fear, Thou shall not believe what thy hear. Decades have withered away, Now cast yourself from the most desired clay. Walk into the realm of oneself. Its awaiting; Learn to know more of your self. Its still awaiting. Thou who seek solitude. Shall seek happiness; Nothing could be more happier than to know oneself. Breathe-in closed doors. Let your mind explore; Awaken your guilt. Awaken your fear, Awaken the memory you ignore to hear. Thou shall then seek the answers to all, What prophecy had proclaimed, you shall have it all. Your thoughts will not stale, Your actions will harmlessly inhale. Thou who seek solitude. Shall always seek freedom; (and) Nothing could be more free-er than to cherish your own wisdom. Gravity-Shatters now has its own Facebook page.Join our community for Inspired Living! facebook.com/gravityshatters.

Image copyright Oxford University Image caption These images produced by the researchers were 0.07mm across - smaller than the width of human hair Scientists have patented a new way to make ultra high-res displays that can bend and are thousandths of a mm thick. They used a miniscule layer of a phase-change material, that flips between two chemical states when hit with current. By sandwiching it between transparent electrodes, they made pixels just 300 nanometres across and produced images smaller than the width of human hair. The design, published in Nature, could be useful in wearable technology, smart contact lenses or foldable screens. According to Prof Harish Bhaskaran, who led the research at Oxford University, it will be "at least five years" before any applications appear. But as far as Prof Bhaskaran is aware, the resolution of the images his team produced is among the highest ever achieved. "I haven't seen any other technology that approaches 100 or 200 nanometre resolution," he told the BBC. You could roll out your screen from inside a pen Prof Harish Bhaskaran, Oxford University Phase-change materials are commonly used in heat management, because they absorb or release heat in switching between an orderly, crystalline state and a more chaotic "amorphous" state. Because their optical properties change with these states as well, they have also proved useful in data storage, such as rewritable DVDs. The key to the new design is a very thin layer of one of these materials: an alloy containing germanium, antimony and tellurium (Ge2Sb2Te5, or "GST" for short). Instead of using GST to encode ones and zeros within the rings of a DVD, Prof Bhaskaran's team sandwiched it in between two layers of a transparent material that conducts electricity, producing a three-layered film no thicker than 0.0002mm. Then they painted a picture into the GST, pixel-by-pixel, by delivering current to different points across the film. Electrical current causes the GST to switch states - and change colour. In this way, the researchers produced a number of microscopic images. Image copyright Oxford University Image caption The team produced films that were flexible and semi-transparent They also demonstrated that the technique could produce different colour changes, by using different thicknesses for the outer layers of the sandwich. None of the pictures move - yet - but the team has filed a patent because of the potential to develop a new generation of flexible, thin, high-resolution displays. "The cool part about this is that the functional part is very thin," explained Prof Baskaran. "Because of that you could actually have displays that are non-intrusive, because you can keep the electronics far away." This contrasts with current LCD displays, which require transistors immediately behind the screen to switch the colour of the pixels. "Think of having a pen - and you can roll out your screen from inside the pen, but the electronics are contained within the pen," Prof Baskaran said. Other mooted applications include smart glasses or contact lenses, and even synthetic retinas, if the technology could be rejigged to convert pixels of light into electrical impulses. The design could also offer big energy savings, because the pixels would simply stay put until they need to be changed. Image copyright Oxford University Image caption A microscopic image of a well-known Oxford landmark, made up of 150x150 300-nanometre pixels "Unlike most conventional LCD screens, there would be no need to constantly refresh all pixels, you would only have to refresh those pixels that actually change," said Dr Peiman Hosseini, the study's first author. "This means that any display based on this technology would have extremely low energy consumption." Dr Stephen Kitson runs the Bristol display technology company Folium Optics, developing other strategies for flexible, high-resolution displays, and is also a visiting professor at the University of Western England. He said the findings were promising. "It's a really challenging area, to get something that's bright," he told BBC News. "There's a way to go, to see if they can get the dynamic range that you'd need - in other words, can you switch from really bright to really dark. "They've got some interesting colour switches there, which is a brilliant first step." Prof Bhaskaran agrees this is only the first stage. "We're showing that we can combine thin-film effects with a super-thin layer of phase change material, and get colour out of it," he said.

I review a few dozen speakers each year, and listen to a bunch more. Most are pretty decent, a few are dreadful, and fewer still are truly remarkable. This year the ELAC Debut B6 bookshelf and Magnepan .7 panel speakers topped my list as terrific values, but the Harbeth 40.2 is the one I'll remember 10 years from now. It's that good. I favorably reviewed Harbeth's Super HL5Plus speakers earlier this year, so when the US importer Fidelis AV offered the new Harbeth 40.2 top-of-the-line speaker for review, I jumped at the chance. The 40.2 is unabashedly big, it's 29.5 x 17 x 15.3 inches (750 x 432 x 388mm), and weighs a rather substantial 83.8 pounds (38 kg). The speaker has twin bass ports on its front baffle, and all-metal cable binding posts on its backside. It's big for a reason, there's no way a smaller speaker could present music's unrestrained dynamics, scale and power that come so easily from the 40.2. That's why I couldn't resist playing the 40.2s louder than usual, they sounded better and better the louder I played them. Jim Holden When I chatted with Harbeth's owner and designer Alan Shaw, he told me his biggest export market is Japan. I was taken aback by that factoid, Japanese homes are usually rather small, but those guys love the big Harbeth speakers. Japanese audiophiles are also among the world's most demanding of build and sound quality, and the fact that Harbeth does so well there says a lot about the company. The 40.2 speakers sell for $14,990 per pair in Cherry in the US, $15,990 for Rosewood, Eucalyptus and Tiger Ebony 40.2s. My samples' real Rosewood finish was impeccable. UK prices start at £9,995 and AU$21,190 in Australia. Behind its removable black cloth grille the 40.2's front baffle hosts a 12-inch (300 mm) Radial woofer, 8-inch (200 mm) Radial midrange, and 1-inch (25 mm) soft dome tweeter. The woofer and midrange drivers are proprietary designs, made in Harbeth's factory in Sussex, England (the tweeter is made by SEAS in Europe). The 40.2's impedance is listed as 6-8 ohms. I used Resonant Woods 16 inch (406mm) tall floor stands with the speakers. Shaw's top priority for all of his speakers is proper reproduction of the sound of the human voice. Seems straightforward, but a lot of otherwise excellent speakers either add too much "chest" that makes voices sound deeper than they really are, or thinner than they do in real life. So when I played Rosanne Cash's "10 Song Demo" CD, the 40.2 brought new life to the sound of her voice and guitar. I've played this music on hundreds of speakers over the years, but the 40.2 was the most lifelike. Most speakers shrink, contain and limit the sound of singers, at least that's what I felt after spending time with the 40.2. I can't say the sound was perfect when I first set the speakers up, I found the 40.2s rather finicky about placement: the distance from the wall behind them, from me and from each other. I spent weeks moving them to and fro, before I found the best spots in my room. I put tape marks on the floor to mark each position, before I settled on their final resting places. I used my Pass XP-20 preamp, Pass XA100.5 power amp, dCS Puccini CD player, and VPI Classic turntable for most of my listening tests. I also substituted a VPI 299D tube integrated amp (review in the works) for the Pass amps a few times, and felt the 40.2 speakers also worked quite well with tube electronics. Listening to Miles Davis playing trumpet, I'm noticing more of the way he plays his horn, his breath, his dynamics and the way he holds onto some notes. With the 40.2 speakers, I'm hearing a lot deeper into Davis' music. There was more soul-stirring life to the sound of his music, that's what really grabbed me. With "Punk 45: Extermination Nights In the Sixth City," a collection of Cleveland-based punk tunes from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, amply demonstrated the 40.2s' stamina when cranked nice and loud. The onslaught of raucous guitars, gutsy bass and impassioned vocals plastered a big, fat smile on my face. Picasa Late in the review process I hooked up the VPI 299D tube integrated amp to the 40.2 speakers. The sound from this 38 watt per channel amp was even more vivid and sensually developed than the solid-state amps. The sound really moved something in me, I was enjoying the sound so much it was hard to stop listening. Familiar recordings all sounded better than I thought they were. Summing up: The Harbeth 40.2's effortless treble clarity, full-bodied midrange, as well as its robust, visceral and finely tuned bass are all magnificent. The 40.2 speakers are expensive, but the best stuff always is. I won't soon forget the 40.2 speakers' sound, but I've felt that way about all of the other, less expensive Harbeths I've tested, including the terrific little P3ESR.

Saracens' Tim Streather tackles Dion Jones of Scarlets Anglo-Welsh Cup Scarlets (0) 17 Tries: Allen, McBryde Cons: Maynard, McBryde Pen: Maynard Saracens (18) 32 Tries: Tompkins, Gallagher, Ellery, Whiteley Cons: Malins, Whiteley 2 Pens: Malins Saracens all-but ended Scarlets Anglo-Welsh Cup hopes with a bonus-point win in Llanelli. The visitors were 18-0 up at the break with Nick Tompins and Matt Gallagher going over. Morgan Allen struck back for the hosts, but Mike Ellery's touchdown kept the hosts at bay. Billy McBryde came on to score as Scarlets again threatened, but Tom Whiteley sealed the bonus point with Saracens' fourth try. Saracens rose to the top of Pool One while Scarlets remained third in Pool Four. Scarlets: Dion Jones; Tom Williams, Steff Hughes, Gareth Owen, Corey Baldwin; Jack Maynard, Declan Smith; Dylan Evans, Emyr Phillips (capt), Nicky Thomas, Josh Helps, Rynier Bernardo, Jack Condy, Josh Macleod, Morgan Allen Replacements: Torin Myhill, Gethin Robinson, Peter Edwards, Phil Day, Tom Phillips, Connor Lloyd, Billy McBryde, Richard Smith. Saracens: Matt Gallagher; Mike Ellery, Tim Streather (capt), Nick Tompkins, Rotimi Segun; Max Malins, Henry Taylor; Titi Lamositele, Scott Spurling, Petrus Du Plessis, Nick Isiekwe, Mark Flanagan, Joel Conlon, Will Fraser, Samu Vunisa. Replacements: Jared Saunders, Jack Culverhouse, Billy Walker, Kyle Baillie, Ben Earl, Neil De Kock, Tom Whiteley, Dominic Morris.

A split-second decision by woman to get back in a vehicle with a man after he’d exchanged gunfire with a Department of Public Safety trooper resulted in her being charged with a first degree felony, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Ashley Elesha Simpson, 20, and Marcus Christopher Lott Jr., 23, the accused gunman and driver during the resulting 20-mile chase, are both charged with attempted capital murder of a peace officer. They were being held Thursday with no bond at the Ector County Detention Center. The charges are in connection to shots fired at DPS trooper Max Honesto after he stopped a 1994 blue Toyota Camry for speeding Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 20. Simpson and Lott Jr. are both residents of Radcliff, Ky., where Lott Jr. has outstanding warrants. According to public records, Lott was convicted of a 2006 aggravated robbery in Shelby County, Tenn., on Aug. 27, 2007. Radcliff Police Department Public Information Officer Bryce Shumate said Lott had an outstanding warrant for possession of a handgun by a convicted felon in Radcliff. Shumate said Lott fled from police on Nov. 30 and threw a Glock .45 while being chased. “This is a bad man who knows how to get guns,” Shumate said. The third person inside the vehicle and original driver, Alfonso Butler Jr., 3800 Ruth Road, Richland Hills, Texas, was being held at the Ector County Detention Center with no bond on a parole violation. All three were in a Toyota Camry when Honesto pulled the vehicle for speeding near mile marker 95 while eastbound on Interstate 20, an arrest affidavit stated. Honesto first talked to Butler, the driver, who told the trooper he was on parole for possession of a firearm in a weapon free zone, the affidavit stated. Honesto then talked to the front passenger, Simpson, and could smell marijuana, the affidavit stated. Honesto then asked Simpson and the passenger in the back seat, Lott, get out of the vehicle, Barton said in a news release. While Honesto was conducting a pat-down on Lott, Lott pulled out a handgun, later identified as a .22 revolver, and shot Honesto once, the affidavit stated. Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Trooper John Barton said Lott hit Honesto in the arm, the bullet getting lodged in his back. Honesto fired at Lott in return, the affidavit stated. Barton said the bullet went through Lott’s left knee and was lodged in his right knee. After the shots were fired, Lott and Simpson got back into the vehicle and fled the scene, the affidavit stated. Alfonso, however, stayed at the scene. “He surrendered to troopers when backup arrived,” Barton said. During the chase, Lott threw the gun out of the window around mile marker 115, which was recovered later, the affidavit stated. The chase finally ended after the vehicle rolled over spike strips, popping the tires and causing the Camry to run into a pole at the entrance to Comanche Trail Park, Barton said. A search of the vehicle found two bags of marijuana, a pound of marijuana and two firearms, Barton said. Possession of between one to five pounds of marijuana classifies as a state jail felony. Honesto, an eight-year DPS veteran, is stationed in Big Spring. He was released Wednesday evening from Medical Center Hospital. Lott Jr. and Simpson had also taken to MCH, where they were released Wednesday afternoon. @OAcrime

Photo: John Rogers/Northwestern University A soft, skin‐mounted microfluidic device for capture, collection and analysis of sweat. Advertisement Editor’s Picks Sweat Sensors Will Change How Wearables Track Your Health Sweat could be the next thing wearable devices sense to track your health, researchers say. A new microfluidic skin patch capable of collecting and analyzing sweat has survived tests that included a grueling 104-kilometer bike race. And the next-generation wearable device has attracted the attention of companies such as cosmetics giant L’Oreal and a major sports beverage maker—not to mention the U.S. military. It could even pave the way for a painfree, bloodless method of prescreening people for diabetes in the future, according to its inventors. The flexible sweat sensor collects sweat in a tiny tubing system as it’s worn against the skin. Different sections of the sensor slowly change color as they react to different levels of certain chemicals found within sweat. Any smartphone with the right app can take a picture of the sweat sensor to automatically interpret the color changes and biochemistry of the sweat as certain health signs. To tests the device’s ruggedness, volunteers even wore the sweat sensor during a long-distance, outdoor bicycling race. “This is radically different from current-generation wearable devices that are a block of electronics strapped to the body,” says John Rogers, a physical chemist and materials scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “This allows a clinical-like precision measurement of health markers that physicians know how to interpret.” Rogers’ group has previously developed soft electronics such as flexible, dissolvable brain implants. In this case, they minimized the use of electronics in the skin patch to ensure that it could be resilient and cheap enough for one-time use. The details on their work with an international team of South Korean and Chinese collaborators appeared last week in the online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine. The biggest challenge in making the sweat sensor was balancing the softness, thinness, flexibility and comfort of the device with its functionality as a health sensor, Rogers explains. The researchers ensured that the device could create a water-tight seal with the surface of the skin so that it could remain in place during even the most high-intensity exercise. Photo: John Rogers/Northwestern University A soft, skin‐mounted microfluidic device for capture, collection and analysis of sweat But they also needed to figure out how to make a functional sensor without relying on either cheap but rigid electronics or more expensive, flexible electronics. Their solution was to use a microfluidic system of tiny tubes to channel the sweat toward different absorbent sections capable of chemically reacting to the presence of the different sweat components. By comparison, today’s athletic research facilities currently use absorbent pads or paper and bulky benchtop lab equipment to collect and analyze sweat. “Our device uses microfluidic, lab-on-a-chip type approaches in sweat capture and analysis, and simple colorimetric chemistries for detection,” Rogers says. “Much different than previous approaches that rely on less sophisticated fluid capture schemes and more expensive electronic-based readout schemes.” The readings collected by the sweat sensor seemed comparable to the current lab-based standards during a trial involving nine volunteers doing indoor cycling. Health readings included sweat rate and sweat loss, pH (an indicator of hydration levels), and concentrations of lactate, glucose, and chloride. A separate trial tested the sweat sensor’s ability to hold up during a 104-kilometer bike race called the El Tour de Tucson. Marvin Slepian, an interventional cardiologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who worked with Rogers’ team, enlisted the help of several cyclist friends—a total of 12 healthy volunteers—to carry out the outdoor trial. The resiliency of the devices under such tough conditions was a testament to the flexibility and ruggedness of the microfluidic tube system, which had been extensively modeled by research collaborators at Northwestern University in Illinois and Zhejiang University in China. The sweat sensor can hold captured sweat for about 125 hours after being peeled off the skin as long as all the sensor channel openings are sealed. Even with open channels, the captured sweat remains for about 75 hours after removal from the skin. Rogers and his collaborators believe it’s possible to eventually turn the experimental sweat sensor into cheap, disposable commercial devices. The disposable or recyclable design avoids complications such as cleaning and possible contamination during reuse. Their current goal is to make the sweat sensor into a device costing just $1 or $2. Sweat sensors gets truly exciting when imagining the medical possibilites. Rogers’ lab has been in talks with a biomedical company about how such sweat sensors could eventually enable bloodless prescreening for diabetes. But first, the researchers need to boost the sensitivity range of the glucose sensing and nail down the correlation between glucose in sweat and in blood. But even the current generation of flexible sweat sensors holds much promise for many different companies. L’Oreal, for example, played a large role in organizing and funding this particular study. The company is interested in using the sweat sensors to replace the bulkier research tools for understanding sweat chemistry and odor so it can develop new products. “As a cosmetics company, they’re basically a skin company when you think about it,” Rogers says. Rogers’ lab has also been conducting additional exercise and physiology studies with an unnamed sports beverage company. And the U.S. Air Force has gotten on board with testing more advanced versions of the sweat sensors as worn by active-duty airmen at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The researchers have already developed and begun testing several different versions of sweat sensors beyond the one described last week; a consequence of the time lag between publishing research results and making progress in the lab. “At this point we’re two or three steps beyond what is being reported in this paper,” Rogers says.

1 in 6 Nodes Now Support Bitcoin Classic The Bitcoin block size debate is still in effect as we speak, and things are heating up once again between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Classic supporters. Now that a working client for Bitcoin Classic users has been released, various Bitcoin nodes seem to be favoring this solution over Bitcoin Core. However, the battle is far from over, as not everyone is for supporting blocks that are larger than 2MB in size. Also read: Bitcoin Summer School Announced in Greece Bitcoin Classic Nodes on the Rise By taking a look at the number of Bitcoin Nodes active on the network right now, the picture becomes clear for anyone to see. Bitcoin Core nodes are still in the lead, with close to 4,000 nodes in operation at the time of publication. Keeping in mind how easy it has become to run a Bitcoin Node off of any device these days, that number could rise higher shortly. At the same time, Bitcoin Classic is starting to make its presence felt on the Bitcoin nodes list as well. With over 850 nodes in operation, Bitcoin Classic is gaining a lot of support from people who seem to favor a much larger block size shortly. However, this situation might not be viable for the Chinese miners, due to Internet restrictions in the country. This is one of the main reasons why Chinese mining pools have reluctantly agreed to increase the block size to 2MB for now, as the Bitcoin Core approach is far less taxing on their infrastructure. Mining Bitcoin requires a stable internet connection, and with Chinese connectivity being rather on the slow end, a major block size increase is not favorable. A recent post has surfaced on the Bitcoin.com forums, explaining how it is possible to run a Bitcoin Classic on a Synology device. Needless to say, these devices are always powered on and connected to the Internet, making them a perfect solution to run a node off of. Plus, Synology devices are housing tons of hard drive space, which removes any friction when it comes to storing the Bitcoin blockchain. But there is another interesting factor to take into account in this game of Bitcoin nodes. Up until a month ago, Bitcoin XT seemed to be the main contender to Bitcoin Core regarding increasing the block size. However, ever since Mike Hearn left the digital currency space, things have gone eerily quiet regarding that project. As a result, the number of Bitcoin XT nodes is dropping to just above 130, putting Bitcoin Classic in the second spot on the charts. Convincing the Miners is More Difficult While it is interesting to see so many people taking a liking to the idea of running a Bitcoin Classic node, it will not change matters much unless miners are on board as well. An interesting discussion thread has started on Reddit, asking users what it would take to switch to Bitcoin Classic as a miner. Changing the mind of mining pool operators may prove to be a daunting task, though. In a recent Bitcoin Roundtable letter, Bitfury, BTCC, F2Pool, BW Pool, and Ghash.io rejected the Bitcoin Classic solution altogether. This solution would hard fork the Bitcoin code, which could lead to two separate versions of Bitcoin competing with one another in the not-so-distant future. Keeping in mind how a successful adoption of Bitcoin Classic requires 75% – or more – of the hash power to activate the new block size, the debate is far from resolved. The increase in Bitcoin Classic nodes will certainly be interesting to watch, but ultimately, it will be up to miners and mining pools to choose whether they will adopt this solution. What are your thoughts on the number of Bitcoin Classic Nodes increasing? Let us know in the comments below! Source: Reddit Images courtesy of Bitcoin Classic, Shutterstock

Adil Charkaoui (in Arabic عادل الشرقاوي born 1974) is a Morocco-born Canadian citizen who was arrested by the Canadian government under a security certificate in May 2003.[1] Before issuing the certificate, evidence was submitted that he had trained in an anti-Soviet Jihadist camp in Afghanistan. The court was also not satisfied with his reasons for visiting Pakistan for six months in 1990. Evidence that he practiced Karate was also among the submissions. Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) testimonies included opinions that he would also "have been trained in such areas as: operating rocket-propelled grenade-launchers, sabotage, urban and assassination." CSIS also alleged that "[i]t was noteworthy that one of those who participated in the hijacking of [the September 11 attacks in 2001] had taken martial arts training in preparation..." and suggested that Charkaoui represented a sleeper agent.[2] This led to the issuance of the security certificate by the two responsible government ministers after which he was detained, and such evidence was also enough to uphold the certificate by Federal Court upon review. Personal history [ edit ] Born in Morocco in 1973, Charkaoui joined his sister and parents in moving to Montreal, Quebec in 1995.[3] He has been a Canadian citizen since July 2014.[4][5] Charkaoui graduated with an MA from Université de Montréal and is an Arabic-language teacher, who now styles himself as a sheik,[6] and an imam.[7] He is married and has three children, and is a combat sport group leader, as well as a skilled backwoodsman.[7] He is also the director at the Centre communautaire islamique Assahaba.[3][7] Charkaoui is the President of the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia,[8][9][10] an advocacy rights group he established in 2013. In the late 1990s, Charkaoui associated with hard-line Montreal Muslims who had turned up in Bosnia, Afghanistan, the Sudan, and other violence-prone areas.[11] In 1998, he flew to Pakistan to study religion for a book he was hoping to write;[12] the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) believes he slipped across the border into Afghanistan and attended Khalden training camp under the name Zubeir Al-Magrebi, although he denies the allegation.[13] According to friends, he knew Raouf Hannachi well enough that the two would "shake hands when they crossed paths".[13] The government later stated that he had not accounted for "a period of his life, from 1992 to the end of that decade".[2] Arrest and release [ edit ] Adil Charkaoui is represented in a 2004 protest outside the Toronto office of CSIS. From 2001 to 2003, Charkaoui operated a Montreal pizzeria, where the CSIS first approached him in the wake of 9/11. He refused to account for his whereabouts or reason for travel to Pakistan. Moroccan authorities stated that Charkaoui provided funds and resources to an Islamic insurgent group.[11] Charkaoui was arrested under a security certificate in May 2003, which was co-signed by Solicitor General Wayne Easter, and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre.[14] He was detained without charge or trial in Rivière des prairies Detention Centre. The Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui was formed in defense of his rights, with Coalition launching a campaign for his release. He was released from prison on C$50,000 bail on 18 February 2005. His bail conditions included a curfew, electronic monitoring, designated chaperones for leaving his home, restriction to the island of Montreal, 24-hour police access to his home without warrant, and a prohibition on access to the internet, on the use of cell phones and on the use of any telephone except the one in his home. Not long after his release, Charkaoui unsuccessfully tried to help Bloc Quebecois candidate Apraham Niziblian defeat Coderre in the Canadian federal election, 2006, saying:[15] “ It's not a question of being anti-Coderre. We are citizens before anything, we have the right to have political ideas and to have choice. Gone is the time when the Liberals could take the ethnic vote for granted. ” Restrictions on his conditional release were gradually lifted to be cancelled in September 2009.[9] A helpful timeline of his arrest and events subsequent was produced by The Globe and Mail,[16] on his final release order by Federal Court Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer: "There will be an order all conditions be revoked immediately."[11] Charkaoui opened on 22 February 2010 a $24.5 million lawsuit against the Canadian government in Quebec Superior Court in which he demanded compensation for wrongful arrest and detention. He sent a letter asking for an apology, Canadian citizenship and compensation for lost income and legal fees after a federal judge quashed a security certificate against him. Past federal ministers Denis Coderre and Wayne Easter, Diane Finley and Stockwell Day were named in the suit.[17][18] Defender of unpopular causes [ edit ] In August 2013, Charkaoui defended the right of two foreign Islamic hate-preachers to spread their message in Montreal, even if they held sexist and misogynist views of women in society. Citing security concerns, the event was cancelled by the convention centre where it was supposed to be held. Charkaoui maintained that it was Islamophobia to ban their visit to Canada.[5] Activities at Collège de Maisonneuve [ edit ] For a time prior to 2015, Charkaoui rented classroom space every Sunday from Collège de Maisonneuve, a Montreal Cegep near the Olympic Stadium, for Muslim education and Arabic language studies,[6] which he calls l'École des compagnons.[7] Charkaoui also rented classroom space at the nearby Collège de Rosemont, also a Cegep.[7] It was reported in February 2015 that six of his young students had absconded to Syria, allegedly with intent to join an Islamic terrorist group, either ISIS or the Nusra Front.[6] Of these, four students were following his guidance at the de Maisonneuve location, and at least one teenager, Mohammed Rifaat, he knew through the Rosemont location.[7] Before the week was out, Charkaoui threatened to sue both Colleges because they had terminated the arrangements under which he leased the classroom spaces.[7][10] At a press conference, he deemed the termination unacceptable and dishonest.[10] An interview of Charkaoui by ICI RDI's Anne-Marie Dussault sparked quite a bit of controversy the following week.[19] Dressed in a djellaba, Charkaoui presented himself as a victim and rejected calls for him to condemn violent jihadism and the Islamist project.[20] Instead he accused occidental politicians of promoting violence against Muslims in a degenerate, Islamophobic culture.[20] Charkaoui maintained that ISIS was a creature of the US government, and on his website he hyperlinks to other websites that offer praise of Osama bin Laden.[20] He rejects any interference of the wider community in which he lives on his religious rights; he finds this argument to be nefarious.[20] One commentator was shocked because of what his position meant in the context of his pedagogical pursuits.[20] Court challenges to security certificate [ edit ] Charkaoui has consistently denied the allegations against him and has challenged the legitimacy of the security certificate regime. Canadian authorities and the Federal Court have refused to disclose the case against Charkaoui, relying on provisions in the security certificate process that allow evidence to be kept from the defence and the public. Charkaoui's certificate has not undergone a court review and thus has not been upheld. The case has been suspended since March 2005, pending a new decision on protection by the Minister of Immigration. Charkaoui has been at the centre of a public campaign against the extension of state power in the name of the "war on terror". In February 2006, Amnesty International reminded Canada, "His fundamental right to liberty and security of the person accords him the right to due process or release from the restrictive bail conditions that have been imposed on him." In February 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision of Charkaoui v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) on the appeals Charkaoui, Hassan Almrei, and Mohamed Harkat. The Court ruled that the certificate process violated sections 7, 9 and 10 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and struck down the security certificate legislation (sections 33 and 77 to 85 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act). However, the judgment will not take effect for one year. In March 2007, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a second challenge by Charkaoui, this time relating to the destruction of evidence in Charkaoui's case. Government lawyers revealed in January 2005 that CSIS had destroyed evidence in Charkaoui's file. The situation raised concerns about the accuracy of the secret evidence before the court. The Supreme Court will hear the challenge in January 2008. In April 2007, Charkaoui submitted a leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in a third challenge; in this instance to the law permitting deportation of non-citizens when there is a risk of torture. The Canadian government's position is that legal safeguards against being sent to torture do not apply to people who are subject to a security certificate, basing this policy on their interpretation of the 2002 Supreme Court Suresh decision. Charkaoui is challenging the legal framework permitting deportation to torture, the lack of due process, as well as the fact of being subject to the threat of deportation to torture and excessive procedural delays. A CSIS agent identified only as J.P., the Deputy Chief of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation in the Ottawa Regional Office as of 2005, testified against the petitions for release by Hassan Almrei, Mahmoud Jaballah and Charkaoui.[21] In June 2008, Charkaoui managed to have the Supreme Court of Canada overturn as unconstitutional the security certificate. The ruling is known as Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) 2008 SCC 38. CSIS was ordered by the SCC to stop destroying its tapes and notes in terrorism investigations. For the previous 25 years CSIS had interpreted their constitutional law as obliging the destruction of such records - a procedure that largely kept CSIS intelligence out of open court - but this was ruled by the SCC a fundamental mistake. Given spies were becoming closer to police in the post-9/11 world, they had to disclose their investigations just like police do. The judges ruled "The only appropriate remedy is to confirm the duty to disclose Charkaoui's entire file to the designated judge and, after the judge has filtered it, to Charkaoui and his counsel."[11] In motions filed the next summer in Federal Court, lawyers arguing for CSIS said it could not abide by such vast disclosure without jeopardizing its source and methods, which CSIS considers the lifeblood of national security. The Crown pulled all of the wiretaps it used against Charkaoui, and half of its human sources, leaving it with insufficient evidence to meet the security certificate's test that there is a "reasonable suspicion" that Charkaoui is a threat to Canadian national-security. The judgment proceeded accordingly in September 2009.[11] In May 2013 federal prosecutors produced evidence that Charkaoui may have been plotting a terrorist attack in the Montreal metro in 2002. The memo also mentions CSIS surveillance where Charkaoui was spotted stealing valuables from parked cars.[22] Ahmed Ressam withdraws his allegations [ edit ] Fabrice de Pierrebourg of the Journal de Montreal testified in Federal Court on 22 August 2007 that, in correspondence, Ahmed Ressam had withdrawn his allegations against Adil Charkaoui;[23] the former had written to the latter, who is also known as the Millennium Bomber for his failed plot to bomb LAX airport,[11] in the course of writing a book about terrorism in Montreal. Ressam was convicted in the United States and held under an unusual arrangement whereby he was offered a reduced sentence in exchange for information. Under this arrangement, over a period of some years, he fingered 130 people as "members" of the "extremist Islamist network linked to Bin Laden". Two cases in the United States were dismissed after Ressam's evidence proved worthless. Earlier in Charkaoui's case, Charkaoui's lawyer introduced an arrest warrant for Ahmed Ressam for an incident that occurred in Montreal at a time when Ressam claimed, under oath in another case, to have been in a training camp in Afghanistan. Ressam is known to have suffered a mental breakdown while in prison. After learning that Mr. Ressam was supposed to have named him, Charkaoui repeatedly asked to be able to cross-examine him in court, but the motion was not granted. In the original charges against Charkaoui, two government ministers mistakenly referred to martial arts having been used by a hijacker aboard "American Airlines Flight 93", a mistaken reference likely meant to refer to United Airlines 93 or American Airlines Flight 11.[2]

Image caption The participants in Channel 4's The Undateables The world of disability and dating is being examined in new series The Undateables. But what are some of the dating complexities that disabled people face, asks Damon Rose. It goes without saying that you can't lump all disabled people together when discussing this most personal of all subjects. The barriers to dating, and having a successful relationship, are different depending on your disability and circumstances. Adrian Higginbotham, 37, is blind and explains that for him, the difficulties start with making first contact, the starting point for any relationship. "You can't do that casual walking into a room and making eye contact thing. You can't smile at someone you have seen twice before walking down that same street." Anybody blind doesn't know if the person sitting on the train next to them is the one they sat next to yesterday or if they're someone who works in their building three floors up. Image caption Adrian Higginbotham, who is blind, says dating difficulties start with making first contact They can't have nodding relationships that could go further. "A blind person I know used to deliberately wear odd shoes to try and get people to comment on it to see if anyone would say to him: 'Do you realise you've got odd shoes on?,'" says Higginbotham. "He was trying to engineer a social interaction, though I hope he was being slightly tongue-in-cheek." When thinking about the basic blocks of relationship building, little can be more basic than choosing who you spend your time with. But not everyone has that choice. Channel 4's The Undateables features many people with learning difficulties and introduces us to a dating agency, Stars in the Sky, which helps put people in touch with each other. Lydia Jones is one of their chaperones - she makes sure that clients get to the date venue safely and that they meet the right person, but she also helps tackle lulls in conversations. Love at no sight Though love at first sight may happen for people blessed with eyes, love after first discussion is the closest you'll get to it if you can't see. I've often thought that "sighties" might be just a little bit disabled by having vision. I've seen friends chasing people for their looks yet getting hurt very badly because their beauty is only skin deep, their personality somewhat rotten. But good looks and attraction can be complex for blind people. And oh how I'd love to be able to sit here and tell you that blind people are without prejudice: not caring if you're a prince or whether you're plug ugly and that we don't care about such superficial matters. Sadly, that's just not true. Read the full Magazine article by Damon Rose from 2009 "Quite often, people with learning disabilities are forced into sharing relationships with people who they don't have a choice about being with," says Jones. "Their peers are the ones they meet at a day service or in supported living accommodation." Stars in the Sky is a small charity which has organised more than 180 dates since starting in 2005. So far it has been the catalyst for one marriage, one same-sex ceremony, three engagements and about 15 longer-term relationships. Physical access gets top billing in terms of importance for wheelchair user Shannon Murray, a model who was the face of a recent publicity campaign for Debenhams. She doesn't intend to get caught out by a date who might see her struggling up steps and be put off before the date even starts. "I keep a shortlist of restaurants and bars on my Blackberry which don't just have accessible loos but also have completely flat entrances. On a first date I am worried that guys come to the table believing I'm needy or not independent. I need to be completely in control." She feels that some of her relationships may have failed because of "over-independence" and her drive to never show vulnerability. "I've gone too far the other way; it's hard to get that balance right," she says. Image caption Shannon Murray says physical access is paramount on dates Disability campaigners believe changes to benefits under the Welfare Reform Act will make things harder. In a recent entry for the Liberal Conspiracy blog, campaigner Lisa Egan suggests the changes make it harder for disabled people to have relationships. Employment Support Allowance (ESA) will now be taken away from someone if they have a partner who earns more than £7,500, she explains. "It's going to mean that someone like me who's not currently in a relationship will never be able to live with a partner, because after one year of being together I would lose my income. I am one of the most determinedly independent characters on the planet. I could never put myself into a situation where my partner was expected to 'keep' me." The Undateables programme has been vigorously discussed on social media over the last few weeks but mostly because the title is a provocative one. No-one likes to think that they're "undateable" but it is accepted that, for various reasons, being disabled can decrease the chances of romance. Disability talk on Twitter Mel says: "Don't go out with her, you'll end up being her carer" Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson says: "I've never been out with someone in a chair but if it doesn't work out with the other girl, I'll take you out" Helen says: "I pretend my epilepsy meds are vitamins. Nobody wants a one-night stand with an epileptic" Though many disabled people are happily married or dating with no difficulties, others do face a complex range of reactions. Those with a disability date a variety of people - both disabled and non-disabled. But occasionally there can be strange attitudes from the latter. Lisa Jenkins, 38, had been set up on a date with a friend of a friend who didn't know she had cerebral palsy. "We entered a bar and he walked straight down the steps in front of us. I tried to walk down but I just couldn't, there was no rail to hold onto." Jenkins's date asked if she was all right, at which point she had to tell him about her cerebral palsy. When I was a teenager, guys would offer me a drink and ask me straight away: 'Can you still have sex?' Shannon Murray "I could see the change in his face; he was immediately less attracted to me. It was quite interesting really. "I've had guys who fancied me but thought there was something wrong with fancying me. You're supposed to fancy the birds who are 5ft 9in and blonde, after all." Then there is just downright weirdness. One potential date told Jenkins: "I've always fancied some kinky sex." The strangeness of his attitude was clear. "He considered me slightly freaky," Jenkins explains. A 2008 poll for the Observer found that 70% of those surveyed would not have sex with a disabled person. Murray, who is in her 30s, agrees that sex is often at the heart of what people are thinking and, after 20 years of being disabled, still seems taken aback by the comments she receives from would-be dates. Image caption Lisa Jenkins, who has cerebral palsy, has encountered unusual attitudes "When I was a teenager, guys would offer me a drink and ask me straight away: "Can you still have sex?'" When internet dating became popular, many disabled people took to it thinking they could hide their disability. But it was soon appreciated that if you want to actually date someone, you can't hide behind your laptop forever. A new complexity developed - should you be upfront and tell people you are disabled, or let them get to know your real personality first and reveal the disability later? Murray has done both. "When I first started road-testing online dating, I couldn't decide whether to declare my disability or not. In the end, because I was nervous, I didn't say, and any photos were just waist up." From Ouch! with love Ouch! is the BBC's disability affairs blog and podcast. Read highlights from the entry on dating and disability. Eschewing specialist disabled sites, Murray used only mainstream dating services. "Guys would get in touch and we'd email back and forth, and I'd wait until there was a definite chemistry and then say look I've got to tell you something. Only one guy ever backed out at that stage, saying that was slightly more baggage than he could deal with ... which was honest at least, if a little narrow minded." But Murray wanted to try another more direct approach. "I did it again about a year later and this time I made sure you could see the chair in the photo. In my profile I put something light-hearted like - if their interests were hiking up Everest I wouldn't be able to join them but I'd wait around at base camp and try to keep the tent warm. "Once I put my disability 'out there' I expected less interest, but I got more response than when hiding the chair. I went into the top five most liked women of the week." The Undateables starts on Channel 4 on Tuesday 3 April at 21:00 BST. Here is a selection of readers' stories on dating and disability.

To hear Telltale tell the tale, The Walking Dead wasn’t built to be a wildly acclaimed game of the year award magnet. A good game? Yes. A great story? Clearly. But not a bowling ball catapult into zombified super stardom. With all eyes suddenly on the once-unassuming developer, “that Fables game” has an incredibly tough act to follow. But The Wolf Among Us is a) about a gruff, nicotine-addicted werewolf detective and b) not about gazing sullenly out the window while protesting, “No, it’s just the rain/my allergies/this waterfall we’re standing under.” It takes place in a mad fantasy reality where anything can happen – except, um, the undead apocalypse. It’s maybe a bit different. So, where does Walking Dead’s DNA end and Wolf Among Us begin? What about Fables-specific issues like mystery-solving, a pre-established main character, wolfed-out combat, and a somewhat controversial creator? I spoke with Telltale president Kevin Bruner about all of that and more. RPS: The Wolf Among Us takes place in pseudo-modern times, but under a premise that’s far more surreal. Walking Dead was at least grounded in… Bruner: Real people in a zombie apocalypse. RPS: Whereas this is a lot more outlandish and crazy. How are you embracing and leveraging that? What are the biggest changes? Bruner: In a lot of ways I think Fables is the hardest thing we’ve ever done to date. In Walking Dead, Lee and Clem were inventions. They could be things that were convenient for the game world. Their backgrounds, their personalities, the way they react to things. We could craft those characters in a way that was fun to role-play as and fun to interact with. With Fables, you play Bigby Wolf. He has to be Bigby Wolf. Snow has to be Snow. The world has a stricter set of rules than Kirkman’s zombie world. The role that you play, as a kind of detective and the sheriff of Fabletown, isn’t as life and death as “I am protecting Clementine from being eaten by zombies.” The bar is set a lot higher for us as far as how we make all that work. [pullquote]I think Fables is the hardest thing we’ve done to date.[/pullquote] But we really have embraced it. We’ve come up with new storytelling techniques. We call it the evolution of choice. A big thing in Walking Dead was going where the story took you, and we would throw these choices at you, but you couldn’t really determine what was going to happen next. Whereas in Fables, the choices you make in the moment are all there, like in Walking Dead, but there are places where it branches timeline-wise. Two events are happening at the same time and you have to choose which event you’re going to interact with. When you get there, you make the same kind of in-the-moment choices, but there’s stuff happening somewhere else at the same time. Not only do you get to choose what to say and how to treat people, but you also get to choose when and where you’re saying it. If you go one way, people will be like, “Where were you? We were over here and we could have really used you.” You have to explain why you weren’t there. These are all new role-playing aspects that we’re using as tools to help us stay within the bounds where Bigby Wolf can be Bigby Wolf and the Fables universe can stay consistent. RPS: Is that how you’re handling the issue of ownership of a pre-established character? Like you said, Lee was your own invention. Bigby’s an animal of an entirely different (and literal) sort. Bruner: It’s interesting. He’s the sheriff, right? Your first instinct is that it should be a crime-solving game. We’ve done a bunch of forensics games at Telltale before. Where we landed was, he’s the sheriff of Fabletown, and there’s a crime, and it’s a story about a sheriff figuring out what’s going on with a crime, but the gameplay isn’t [necessarily crime]. That’s the backdrop. That’s what happens. But the gameplay is about relationships. It’s about how Bigby and Snow start to come closer together. There, in canon, Snow isn’t the deputy mayor yet. You can see how Crane treats her. You can start to form some opinions about… Bigby can express to Snow, “Well, don’t do that,” or “I’m gonna go and kick his ass.” Those kinds of things. We let you explore that level of detail, in the context of this narrative of this crime and this event that happens in Fabletown. That’s the backbone that you ride along. The gameplay is about something different. It’s not like an L.A. Noire crime-solving game. But the story is about investigating and interviewing and things like that. RPS: Aside from those moments where you can choose to go to one event or another, is this story by and large fairly linear? Or is there more exploration to it? Bruner: There’s more non-linear areas in each episode than there are in Walking Dead, but certainly early on in the episodes, they all end in the same place that you can share with your friends. RPS: You recently mentioned that Telltale sort of “begrudgingly” adds adventure game-y elements to its stories. You’re trying to,er, tell tales first and foremost. Compared to Walking Dead, is this even less puzzle-heavy? Bruner: Yeah, I’d say it’s less puzzle-heavy, but that’s because the core narrative, being a mystery, has more intrigue built into it. I think some of the same questions that a puzzle, in a more traditional adventure games, might pose in your head, like “How am I going to do this?”, it’s more like, “What does this information that I have right now mean?” In some ways it’s like a whodunit kind of thing. I think you feel a lot of the same things you might feel if there were more puzzles, but it’s not a puzzle game, in the same way. I think it’s mentally challenging in the same way as a puzzle game, but that’s more because of the whodunit nature of the tropes. RPS: How does the whodunit part function? Can you make a wrong call? Can you accuse someone who’s entirely innocent? Bruner: A big part of the choices that you make is how you interpret the information that you know right now. That’s one thing that’s going to be a lot of fun. The game certainly isn’t set up in a way where it rewards or punishes you for making a call. If you say, “I think all the events that I saw mean this, or this other thing,” it just allows you to express that. The world comes back and says, “Well, if it means that, then this follows.” But it’s very non-judgmental. The story allows all that space to exist. It feeds that kind of detective story whodunit intrigue. Okay, you saw this, what does it mean? What we want is for you to say, “I don’t know what it means.” Narratively you don’t have enough information to know exactly what it means. You could say, “I think it might mean this,” and then the story will start telling itself. If that’s what you think it means, we’ll give you a bit of information that reinforces that, or maybe a bit of information that will make you question that, and we’ll take it from there. I think that makes it really engaging. It feels cool. RPS: Bigby is also, at heart, a gigantic wolf monster. He fights, right? How are you approaching combat in this one? I’m guessing you’ve evolved it quite a bit from Walking Dead. Bruner: Yeah, the fight sequences are completely over the top. They’re fables, right? They’re hard to kill. One of the things we didn’t want to do was make it feel like it turned into a superhero game. When fights break out, we want you to get excited. You feel the fight coming and you have the controller in your hand, and then the fight gets so over the top that you’re like, “Whoa, hold on, that’s not exactly what I was going for there.” Bigby, when he becomes the wolf, he’s out of control. We want to convey that to the player. The level of control and the things that you can do when Bigby is the wolf aren’t exactly the expected things. You’ll be like, “Yeah, I’m totally going to be a big badass right now and punch that guy in the face.” So you punch that guy in the face, but you punch his face off. There’s blood everywhere. It’s totally brutal. As a gamer, we want you to be like, “OK, that’s not exactly what I meant. I meant I wanted him to be a big badass hero. Then I obliterated this guy in a horrible way.” That’s kind of like Bigby being out of control and when he wolfs out, he doesn’t always do [what you’re expecting]. [pullquote]Bigby’s a wolf – not a superhero. He’s being his DNA, what’s inside him.[/pullquote] He goes a little overboard most of the time. It’s a reflection of the Fables thing. They’re not Superman and Batman fighting. He’s not a kung fu master. He’s a wolf. It’s very animalistic. He’s not being a superhero – he’s being his DNA, what’s inside him. RPS: With the combat, how direct is the control for the player? Is it just a few little QTE button inputs, or are you fully moving him around? Bruner: It’s cinematic combat. It’s kind of QTE-ish. More like what we did in Walking Dead. It’s not like an Arkham Asylum kind of combat, where you can target people and things like that. The sequences are scripted in a way so that they’re timed and dramatic. You shouldn’t feel like you’re getting scored. There’s not a power meter or anything like that. It’s still very cinematic. We want to be telling stories all the time. Coming back and putting a power meter up, for us, is not narratively the right thing to do. RPS: But I saw in another report that you can get beaten up, and people will actually react to your battered appearance. Bruner: Yeah, you can succeed to varying levels when you’re in a fight. You can lose fights. Sometimes you can intentionally lose a fight, if you think that’s the right thing to do. Then, if your face is all beat up and bruised and you go back to Snow, she might be like, “What the hell happened to you? I thought you were a tough guy?” Or she might say, “What the hell happened to you? C’mere, let me warm up to you a little bit, get a little closer.” You can kind of use the fighting narratively as a tool if you want to. That’s more what getting beat up is about. RPS: It’s interesting that you’re approaching combat from the narrative perspective first and foremost. Combat is one of gaming’s main means of interaction, but gratifying violence is always the end goal. What’s it like reinventing a very common game trope for an entirely different purpose? Bruner: It’s pretty hard. How do we do it cinematically? How do we look at really great fights in the movies and more linear mechanisms? Why are they compelling? Why do you care what’s happening in a fight? We’ve been working on it all through Jurassic Park, all through the zombie attacks and the different activities you do in Walking Dead, and I think Fables is our next iteration of it. But the fighting in Fables is definitely a result of different combat prototypes that we’ve done over the years. It’s hard, because in games, in skill-based gaming, you have arena fighting games, which is all about dexterity and memory and button combos. They’re really compelling to play. The line gets really close between video game fighting, for skill-based rewards, and a fight in a story-based game that is narratively important. That’s a really fine line to tread, a difficult line to tread. RPS: For all its fantastically brutal emotional and narrative beats, Walking Dead didn’t look so great. It moved really robotically, and the art style kind of clashed with everything else. Wolf Among Us is quite a looker in still shots, though. Is fluidity and animation getting a similar treatment? Bruner: We get pretty maniacal about making things look the way that they’re supposed to look when we get into various IP. We have what we call a “living ink” look for the game. When we released the first round of screenshots, there was a lot of, “Holy crap, is that concept art?” It’s the game. The game really looks like that when it’s moving. It’s not cel-shading in the more traditional cartoon cel-shading. It’s a very flat look that looks more like inked comic books. We’ve invested a lot in some technology to make it look like a comic book, like a newsprint comic. Then we keep iterating on what our actors can do, trying to make our animations look better. But we’re always challenged by the amount of content that we do. Every game is like trying to do an animated feature film, a five- or six-hour animated movie on a very small budget in a very short amount of time. We have a lot of tricks up our sleeves to do that. We keep trying to get better at it. But on this one, I think the art direction is very bold, very cool. The overall look that comes out is very unique. I haven’t seen anything that quite goes to the extent of looking like a regular printed comic the way Fables does. RPS: Are seasons of Wolf Among Us and Walking Dead going to run concurrently, or will it be one and the other alternating? Bruner: We’re not announcing any release dates for anything other than Fables right now, but certainly we’re gearing up to have multiple games or shows running simultaneously. We’ll have an episode of one thing coming out at the same time as an episode of another thing, which we’ve never done before. We’re definitely getting prepared for that. You talked about the technical problems. One of the things that we want to make sure of is that, before we get two games going simultaneously, we get one game going without people having saved game problems and technical issues like that. That’s our immediate goal, to get Fables out there, get it clean, feel confident that if we have two of these things going simultaneously, we have the bandwidth to support it properly. We feel pretty confident that we’re there, but the proof’s in the pudding. We’ll have to wait until Fables launches. RPS: I’ve only recently gotten into Fables myself, but I keep hearing of controversy attached to its creator. He’s said some things about Israel apparently, and he even alluded to it in the comic once. But do you think that stuff’s really an issue – especially for your game and your story? Bruner: I don’t think our story is overly conservative or has any kind of personal political slant to it or anything like that. Bill [Willingham] has been great to work with. I’ve heard similar things, but in our interactions with him, he doesn’t seem like he has an agenda or anything like that. He just seems like he wants to tell a great story with these characters. RPS: It’s always an interesting thing to see, when people just will not remove a creator’s work from the creator themselves. In some cases it’s maybe warranted. Case in point: Orson Scott Card. But is that at all a concern for you guys? Bruner: It hasn’t really come up so far. Fables is a comic book. Fables doesn’t have a TV show. The really hardcore Fables audience is still relatively small. We feel like one of the things that we’re trying to do is to get a lot more people introduced to Fables. So I think everyone’s aware that, for a lot of people, the Fables game is going to be their first contact with the franchise. We feel like we have a lot of heavy lifting to do, just about Fabletown and the Mundies and all that. When we get to that level of, “Is there an agenda to it or not?” you have to get pretty deep into the IP. Most of our effort is focusing on people who are new to the franchise and explaining why these fairy tales live in New York and how long they’ve been there and what the relationship is with the mundane world. We have an enormous amount of expositional ground-level work to do. RPS: Especially relative to The Walking Dead, because even if it’s its own universe, it’s still like, “This is the world. Now there are zombies in it. That’s pretty much it.” [pullquote]We’re gearing up to have multiple games or shows running simultaneously.[/pullquote] Bruner: If you say it’s a zombie story, you have a big head start, whereas the Fables universe is really sophisticated and really complicated. Getting people up to speed with enough of it that they understand how the game is working has been a real challenge. We’ve deliberately focused on just a few aspects of the world to start with, because if you try to go wide and explain everything – which we did contemplate at one point, having a big speech at the beginning of the game where we figured out a way to dump as much information as possible, like at the Remembrance Day festival or something like that – [it’s too obvious]. We’ll talk about the Mundies. We’ll talk about glamours. We’ll talk about how they got to Fabletown. And we’ll leave the rest of it for episode two [laughs]. RPS: Personally, I think that’s probably the better way to go. Usually, when there’s an exposition dump, most people can pick up on it. People are pretty story-savvy. Bruner: Yeah. We want to be clever about it. The Remembrance Day is a great time to talk about the past. Can we squeeze that into two minutes and feel like people understood what they were doing, though? We explored that for a little while, and we said, “No, let’s just start small.” Start small, start intimate, try to get people engaged in what they’re doing, and let the story get bigger as it goes along. RPS: For better or worse, I think all eyes are on you right now, because Walking Dead was such a success. Admittedly, the follow-up to Walking Dead is Walking Dead season two. But a lot of people will look at Wolf and say, “That’s the follow-up to Walking Dead,” because it’s the next thing sequentially. When you have that kind of comparison, how do you manage it? How do you manage the fact that a lot of people are going to be coming to your game because they liked The Walking Dead? Bruner: You do two things. You continue to do the best work you can possibly do, and then you run in the corner and hide as much as possible [laughs]. It’s tough coming on the heels of such a successful and an important game to people, saying, “Hey, do you want to try this other thing?” We think a lot of people who played Walking Dead will really like Fables. It may not be for all of them, because it’s a different context. Maybe some people who never played Walking Dead, Fables will be their thing. But we believe that Fables is the right kind of world for us to play with. It works really well for the kind of games that we want to make. We didn’t know Walking Dead was going to be what it was, so hopefully, as long as we stick to our guns and the same things we thought were important with Walking Dead… If we’re doing that with Fables, hopefully it will resonate the same way with people. Check back tomorrow for part two, which digs deep into Telltale’s super-duper secret (and very interesting) experimental projects. Complex non-combat AI, being able to say whatever you want to characters, atypical games that bridge the gap between seasons – those sorts of things. Also, we talk about why King’s Quest ended up falling by the wayside.

A gay couple on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging Michigan's refusal to recognize their out-of-state marriage. Bruce T. Morgan and Brian P. Merucci, who married in New York last year, argue that a separate ruling currently on hold striking down Michigan's ban on gay marriage means the state must recognize their nuptials. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati stayed the lower court's order in March after roughly 300 gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows in Michigan. Republican Governor Rick Snyder declared the marriages valid but refused to recognize them pending an appeal. Morgan and Merucci say Snyder failed to address the marriages of gay couples performed elsewhere. Stephanie D. Myott, the couple's attorney, told MLive.com that “Snyder only addressed the couples who married in Michigan after the DeBoer ruling.” “No one is talking about the thousands of couples in Michigan who were married in another state, like Bruce and Brian. The Constitution protects their fundamental rights as well,” she said. “Unlike the same-sex marriages performed in Michigan on Mach 22, 2014, the legality of Bruce and Brian's marriage is in no way dependent upon the decision in the Sixth Circuit appeal,” the couple's complaint states. “Bruce and Brian's marriage was legal when performed in New York. When judge Friedman found the Marriage Amendment and its implementing statutes unconstitutional, Section 2 of DOMA no longer allowed Michigan to deny Bruce and Brian their state marital rights and benefits, which were vested in them pursuant to the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Even if the Sixth Circuit overturns Judge Friedman's decision, Bruce and Brian's state marital rights and benefits are vested in them and cannot be taken away.” Morgan, who is battling a 2011 diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer, said he wanted the marriage recognized so that hospital staff will recognize “the decisions [Merucci] makes regarding my care.” “I know that Brian will be by my side during this difficult time, and I want him to be recognized as my spouse when he does because that is who is he is,” Morgan said.

[Haskell-community] Next Steps in Downloads Page Discussion Hi all. Let me try to sum up the state of the discussion and propose next steps -- please feel free to disagree with my summary if you are so inclined. I'm trying to capture the current state and help move discussion, so if people feel this doesn't capture it, its good to know sooner rather than later. == Key Points == * We distinguish between "download method / installer" and "getting started". We add a new page "Getting Started" with links at the top level just like "Downloads / Community / Documentation / News". * The Downloads page points to the minimal platform installer (however named) that includes GHC, stack, cabal-install, and a few other binaries (but no extra global libraries). Below that we can have links to other mechanisms as well, but the minimal platform is the clearly distinguished recommended way. * The "Getting Started" page proceeds to describe next steps for new users to get up and running right away after installing the minimal platform. Since many people have made the case that for someone who hits the page without some prior guide, a stack workflow is the easiest to get running on and best documented at this time, I imagine this workflow will be stack-oriented. == Additional Considerations == * People have pointed to some issues in the windows platform installer. We are going to work to resolve these. A patch for one (which improves stack behavior when it can find ghc but not msys) is already submitted. Sorting out the other (which pertains to enterprise installs, not single-user installs) is underway. * As in the past, we shouldn't focus our discussions on what the answer is "for all time" -- tech will change, things will evolve. We should think of this as something that does the job reasonably well for say the next six months, give or take. == Next Steps == * There is a mock-up of a new download page already on github (Thanks so much Jacco!): https://github.com/haskell-infra/hl/issues/176 Under its "getting started" I would propose something like: 1. Download and run the Haskell Toolchain installer 2. Follow the _getting_started_guide_ to start running some code! with the latter linking to the new getting started page. I hope this is acceptable to people? Maybe some other bullet points should be there too... * I would like to solicit a kind volunteer or two to draft up what they think a "getting started guide" should look like so we can spawn a separate discussion on that. Given that we've decoupled this guide from the download page, it can afford, I think, to have a bit more text than just how to compile and run "hello world"... == a few other thoughts == We've had a productive discussion on this list, I think. But as many probably know, not all the discussions over this have been so positive. I just want to make a general point that has been nagging at me, and apologies for the sappiness that follows. While there is some commercial support, Haskell is an open-source language and community at heart that historically has and currently still relies on people volunteering their time. Be it in writing code, writing documentation, teaching others, and especially in working on tooling and infrastructure. (This goes all the way up to GHC which also runs on donated time and effort in many ways). Being run on volunteer steam is great in many ways. But it has one important caveat. People have to want to volunteer, because they enjoy the technical challenges, but especially because they want to help others, and because they find it rewarding to contribute to things which bring joy and benefit to others. All of us, working on installers, working on fundraising efforts, working on documentation, working on compilers and libraries, or trying to sort out weird issues with mailservers and proxying content delivery networks or php bugs impacting wikis or google-analytics tokens or whatever else, we're all here not because we have to be, but because we want to be. And that's great! But it is also precarious and fragile, because if it becomes not fun, or not rewarding, or we feel that what we do is being disparaged and attacked (and this goes for everyone, i think, on all sides of recent discussions) or diminished, then we change our calculus, and we stop wanting to participate, and stop wanting to fix things for others. And that's understandable. So, if we let our discussions or language play out in a way that can hurt others, can make them feel that their work is no good, or not appreciated, then they have no reason to want to help anymore. And they won't. And I can't blame them. And if we all start to hurt one another too much, it will become no fun for any of us, and then the whole endeavor falls apart. So I want to extend my gratitude and thanks to everyone working on any element of our open-source tooling and infrastructure, or even lending a voice to give insight into how to improve it. And I also want to ask us all to remember this in our interactions with one another, and to remember that people will say things we find unbelievably wrong at times, and discussions may stall at times, and things may get stuck for longer than we'd like. And we have every right to get frustrated when that happens. But we can't let our frustrations at difficult _situations_ turn into words that diminish other _people_, other potential collaborators, others also freely giving of their time trying to improve and help others, whatever our disagreements. I have more to say, but I'm not sure how, and this is long and inarticulate enough. Anyway, onto the next steps (I hope), and please everyone consider stepping forward to help with this stuff, in drafting language, or helping with design and implementation of the actual changes to the site (on which more volunteers welcome -- please email me!), etc. (By the way I want to put out more calls for help on more concrete infra stuff soon, not at all web related -- but in the immediate future, if you have experience running a mail server and dealing with the many painful hassles therein, and are willing to help a bit, please contact me soon). Best, Gershom

Train traffic is again moving this morning after a 13-car derailment near Peers, west of Edmonton early Sunday morning. Patrick Waldron, a spokesperson for CN Rail, said the train derailed around 1 a.m. MT Sunday near Peers in Yellowhead County, about 180 kilometres west of Edmonton. Waldron said the 137-car train was en route from Prince George to Edmonton when it derailed. One of the derailed cars is a dangerous goods tanker carrying sulphur dioxide. The other 12 cars were loaded with lumber. The dangerous goods car is upright and not leaking, said Waldron, who added there are no environmental concerns or threats to the public at this time. Fire officials from Yellowhead County have been in touch with CN and have assessed the crash site, but firefighters were not needed. CN Rail crews are on the scene. The cause of the derailment remains under investigation; however, the Transportation Safety Board said it will not be sending investigators. Nearby residents first thoughts were of Gainford Sunday's incident occurred along the same tracks as the 13-car derailment near Gainford only two weeks ago. The two derailments occurred about 90 kilometres apart. The TSB is still investigating the cause of that crash, which forced about 100 people from their homes for several days while crews worked to put out flames on two cars containing liquefied petroleum gas. Theresa Lytle, who works in Peers, told CBC’s Laura Osman her first reaction to the derailment was bafflement. “Really? So soon after the one at Gainford?” she said. Lytle said she was relieved to realize the derailed cars were primarily lumber, unlike the petroleum gas and crude oil that complicated the situation in Gainford. But she did say the derailment gave her pause for how the community would have been impacted should the incident have been more serious. “I was kind of wondering with the one at Gainford if it would happen here, with the houses being so close to the railroad.” Resident Erville Lennon echoed Lytle’s concerns, saying his first thought was concern for the people and environment near the derailment. “You wonder what’s going on: are they maintaining their tracks or not maintaining their tracks for that to happen that quickly?” Yellowhead County Mayor Gerald Soroka said Sunday's derailment did not impact his faith in CN. (Doug Steele/CBC) Yellowhead County Mayor Gerald Soroka said he’s aware the community got off relatively easy. “We only had a few issues arise from it," he said. "There was no loss of life, we didn’t have to shut down any major highways, we didn’t have to have our fire departments involved in this – so there were some benefits.” And while he said the crash will likely spur CN to look more closely into their operations and day-to-day maintenance, he said he’s not too worried about future trains crossing through the county. “I do put a lot of trust and faith in CN,” he said. “I feel they’ve done a very good job keeping the train on the rails. I believe it’s always going to be a concern but hopefully it doesn’t ever happen – a derailment such as the one that happened in Quebec, for instance.” Call to action Greenpeace spokesman Mike Hudema spoke out Sunday afternoon about the recent string of derailments. "This is another derailment that we're dealing with in a province that has already seen its fair share of derailments in the recent months. There really is a lot that we need to be doing to improve rail safety that is not being done." Hudema suggested Ottawa conduct an independent review of petrochemical transportation across the country. He said the public should also be told about the dangers associated with hazardous materials moving through their communities. "It's time that the federal government actually steps up and does its job."

Hillary's Espionage and the Statute of Limitations Alger Hiss was a U.S. State Department official who was accused in 1948 of being a Soviet spy. Hiss's indictment stemmed from alleged espionage in the form of secret State Department documents spirited out of Foggy Bottom and into the hands of persons "not authorized to receive" them. "The Pumpkin Papers" consisted of sixty-five pages of retyped secret State Department documents, four pages in Hiss's own handwriting of copied State Department cables, and five rolls of developed and undeveloped 35mm film. Being charged under the Espionage Act was appropriate for those who obtained any information relating to the national defense and delivered that information to someone who was not authorized to have it. The former State Department official, Alger Hiss, typed classified information on his office typewriter, slipped the copies into a briefcase, removed classified information from the State Department, and provided all of this to his Soviet handler, who photographed and microfilmed it. The FBI wished to prosecute Alger Hiss for espionage, but the Justice Department indicated that the statute of limitations had run out, and Hiss was convicted of the lesser crime, perjury, for lying to the FBI. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton insisted that she "had broken no rules" to conduct government business through the use of a private email service in lieu of the U.S. government's unclassified system, the Non-Classified Internet Protocol (IP) Router Network (abbreviated as NIPRNet) and the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet). These are a system of interconnected computer networks used by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of State to transmit classified information. The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars developing, deploying, and protecting its internet protocol router networks to enable authorized government officials to conduct the business of government, properly exchange information, and intelligence, up to and including information classified SECRET, with others in the government (and their contractors) who are authorized and entitled to have it. Mrs. Clinton purposely avoided using the government's networks through the use of a homebrew server. That she found a way to transmit countless classified documents, up to and including special access program material, to her personal server has been made public and is not in question. The former Democratic presidential candidate disclosed that she and her aides had deleted more than 30,000 emails she deemed "personal." For a frame of reference, 30,000 emails printed out represents a stack of 60 reams of paper, a stack 11 feet tall. When the FBI retrieved the spools of microfilm, the Alger Hiss "Pumpkin Papers" printed out to a stack four and a half feet tall. Hillary Clinton and the FBI have learned much from the Alger Hiss case. The American public will not be able to read a transcript of Hillary Clinton's interview with the FBI, because the bureau did not transcribe it. Furthermore, Mrs. Clinton was also not placed under oath during the three-and-a-half-hour interview. When Mrs. Clinton wasn't placed under oath, she could not be charged with lying to the FBI, as Alger Hiss was eventually charged with and convicted of. There doesn't seem to be a race against the clock for the Trump DOJ to charge Mrs. Clinton with espionage. Alger Hiss escaped prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917 due to the statute of limitations having expired. Also, there was no appetite by the DOJ to charge the former senior State Department official and Democrat lawyer. Although federal statute USC 3282 provides for a five-year statute of limitation for the vast majority of federal crimes, this statute of limitations does not necessarily stand in the case of espionage prosecution. It is generally agreed by legal scholars that acts of espionage can be prosecuted for at least ten years after the alleged act. I wish Congressman Trey Gowdy could give Attorney General Sessions a lesson on Spoliation of Evidence, with which attorneys fresh out of law school are familiar. Hillary Clinton's deletion of 30,000 emails is a classic case. When parties fail to produce relevant evidence within their span of control, evidence they are otherwise naturally expected to possess, the U.S. legal system allows and even mandates that unfavorable presumptions be drawn against them. So when some item of relevant evidence – whether documents, physical objects, or data relevant to an ongoing legal matter – is destroyed, discarded, or modified in some way, the U.S. legal system allows us to presume that the missing evidence was unfavorable to that party and allows us to draw conclusions accordingly. The classic junior high school excuse, "the dog ate my homework," isn't valid under the law when the disappearance is suspicious. Spoliation of evidence is prohibited by an array of laws and regulations. Also, anyone who destroys relevant evidence or assists in such destruction is subject to criminal prosecution, civil fines, tort liability, exclusion of testimony, and dismissal of claims, as well as adverse evidentiary inferences. We have little way of knowing if any one of the 33,000 missing documents under Mrs. Clinton's control could have been used "to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation." The Trump DOJ should be making all possible efforts to retrieve the missing 33,000 emails and determine once and for all: "was it espionage or was it yoga?" "You don't use BleachBit for yoga emails or for bridesmaids emails," Congressman Trey Gowdy said in an interview to Fox News. "When you are using BleachBit, it is something you really do not want the world to see." The cabal of President Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and FBI director James Comey did everything they could to protect Hillary Clinton from the politically explosive charge of espionage when it was obvious to anyone in the intelligence community what she was doing. There is sufficient and obvious evidence that like the Soviet spy Alger Hiss, Mrs. Clinton should be charged with espionage before the statute of limitations runs out.

[JURIST] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that probable-cause warrants are not required to access cell phone location information. In a 2-1 decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed lower court decisions that said the location data was protected by the Fourth Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder]. The court stated that warrantless access is “not per se unconstitutional” because mobile location data is “clearly a business record” and therefore unprotected by the Fourth Amendment. Authorities were requesting cellphone data under the Stored Communications Act [Cornell LII backgrounder], part of the Electronics Communications Privacy Act, which the court stated gives authorities the option of obtaining a court order, but does not require the higher standard necessary for a search warrant. The Fifth Circuit is the third federal appeals court to allow authorities to track mobile devices without a warrant. Courts and lawmakers remain divided on what types of warrants are required to perform cell phone searches. Last week the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that police must obtain search warrants before obtaining tracking information from cell phone providers, marking the first time a state supreme court has recognized a Fourth Amendment protection for cell phone location data. Earlier this month the Maine Legislature [official website] voted in favor [JURIST report] of a new law requiring police to obtain a warrant to track a cell phone. In May the Florida Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] that police need a warrant [JURIST report] to search a defendant’s cell phone at the time of arrest. In 2012 the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] that a warrantless search [JURIST report] of a suspect’s cell phone to collect its phone number does not constitute a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

Our original plan was to go to the schools on Monday. But there happened to be a district wide strike called. The schools are in Morigaon which is about 1.5-2 hours one way from Guwahati and traveling the long distance during the strike was not recommended. We headed out on Tuesday and were completely floored at the welcome we received upon our arrival. As we arrived at the Morigaon Jatiya Vidyalaya school gate, we saw a beautiful banner the school had made welcoming Kids on Computers. The entire school was outside waiting for us. They greeted us with a small Puja and each of us received a hand-woven shawl with a design that is unique to Assam. As we saw the kids and their eager, smiling faces, I couldn’t help but get tears in my eyes. Morigaon is a rural district with miles of beautiful farm land and rice paddies. Cows and goats roam the roads as if it were their own. It is also the poorest district in Assam and has a literacy rate of 69.37% as of 2011. These computer labs have been a long time in the making and we are so happy to finally set them up. We first visited the room that had been set up for the computer lab. We determined the room was too small (we tested by having students come in and sit and saw that it would be difficult to have 12 computers running in there). We decided to use a larger room the school had. The school personnel and electrician proceeded to discuss what would need to take place in the next 2 days to convert the room into a computer lab. After this discussion, we then visited each classroom and were greeted with a huge “Hi!” and “Namaskar!”. This school has classes from Kindergarten to 10th grade. There is one class for each grade, except for Kindergarten which has two, and approximately 15-30 students per class. The teachers had prepped the students and instructed each of them to greet us formally. The classroom walls were constructed from woven bamboo. The students sat at simple desks and benches. You could see the joy in their eyes as we spoke to them. In the afternoon, we headed out to the second school – Jatiya Vidyalaya Charaibahi. This school is about twenty minutes away and in a more rural area. Both schools are privately run by an NGO which hires the teachers, sets the student tuition (100 rupees (~2 USD)/month for younger students and 150 rupees for older students), and makes decisions on what courses are taught. The committee which runs the NGO meets monthly. We worked with Nilutpal Kakati, the committee Secretary, on the creation of these labs. The reception at the second school was just as grand as the first one. We were again presented with custom hand-woven shawls. As they presented them to us, they said Namaskar to us. We quickly adopted to saying it back to them. The whole school had assembled outside – the students had carried their school benches outside. We were all asked to sit at a make-shift stage with a canopy, tables and chairs facing the students. There were microphones and speakers set up for us. Nilutpal gave a small introduction and we were then all asked to say a few words. Afterwards, a group of students sang a beautiful song accompanied by live music. The students then went back to class carrying their benches back. We went to view the computer lab and then visited each classroom here as well. As we walked back outside, we saw that a group of parents had convened outside the school gate. We proceeded to go back to the first school. When we got back, the computer vendor from Guwahati had arrived with the computers. To be more streamlined, we decided to use the small room as a staging room where all the computers would be installed. This way, we could work on software installations while the larger room was being prepared and the second school’s computer room was being made more secure. This first school will receive twelve computers. The second school will have six as their computer room is much smaller. I was eager to test out the OS install via USB pen drive so we pulled out one computer and put it together. Success! We were able to get Lubuntu 13.04 on there – everyone cheered for joy (well, maybe only in my head). What an amazing day! We were so excited to come back and install the computers the next day. KOC’s goal is to provide access to education and learning materials via technology to kids who don’t otherwise have access. We believe and hope the content we put on the computers will open more doors and provide for more opportunities for the kids (and adults) and they will be able to improve their own communities with this knowledge.

Family members among 157 asylum seekers being detained on the high seas in separate rooms on a customs vessel are allowed out for meals and ''approximately three hours'' of daylight a day, according to a document lodged with the High Court on Tuesday. While it was previously stated 153 asylum seekers were on a boat that was intercepted off Christmas Island more than three weeks ago, the document says there are 157. Scott Morrison arriving for talks with India's Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Rajnath Singh. Credit:Jason Koutsoukis A document filed by the government reveals the national security committee of cabinet decided on July 1, two days after the boat was intercepted, that those on board ''should be taken to a place other than Australia''. The document says the asylum seekers are permitted ''approximately three hours' outside during the day in natural light for meals'', but says it would be unsafe to give them unrestricted movement.

The jihad sisters: Bubbly and exceptionally bright, these twins with 28 GCSEs were set to train as doctors. Now they're in Syria 'training to be killers' Twins Salma and Zahra Halane left their parents’ home in middle of night They then caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border to Syria Sisters appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping Now they are feared to be training for battle in footsteps of elder brother Twin schoolgirls who followed their jihadi brother to Syria were hard-working students who hoped to train as doctors. Sixteen-year-olds Salma and Zahra Halane, who last summer achieved 28 GCSEs between them, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border. Police said the pair are thought to have followed their elder brother, who ditched his own ‘excellent’ academic career to join the ISIS terror group around a year ago. Scroll down for video Salma (left) and Zahra Halane (right), who last summer achieved 28 GCSEs between them, left their parents’ home in the middle of the night and caught a flight to Turkey, before crossing the border Friends said the twins had appeared to be typical teenagers, pouting for selfies and shopping at Primark – but they are now feared to be training for battle. Last night a rebel fighter boasted that he was teaching girls as young as 16 how to fight. Yilmaz, a Dutch national who has been in Syria for two years, told Sky News: ‘It’s extremely easy to get here. People go on holiday ... they end up in Syria.’ The twins’ parents raised the alarm last month, after finding the girls’ beds empty and their passports and clothes missing. A former neighbour said the couple had been ‘quite strict’, and did not allow the girls to ‘mix with other children on the street’. Others recalled that the twins wore headscarves when they were as young as nine. But Rhea Headlam, who sat next to Zahra in primary school, said they were ‘just normal teenage girls’. ‘I’m really shocked – I used to bump into them at Primark,’ she added. ‘They were both really clever.’ Selfies: Zahra, left, and Salma, right, pose with friends in pictures taken not long before they fled the UK Schoolgirl: Zahra Halane kneels in front of friends when she was in Year 6 at her primary school Last summer Salma achieved 13 GCSEs – 11 of them at grades A* to C – while Zahra passed 15, of which 12 were A*-C. The results put them in the top 10 per cent of their year group at Whalley Range High School for Girls in Manchester. They went on to study at Connell Sixth Form College, where fellow students said they hoped to follow in the footsteps of their elder sister Hafsa, 25, who is at medical school in Denmark after graduating from Manchester University. ‘The twins both have aspirations to become doctors – that is their ambition,’ said one. Another claimed it was ‘typical’ of the girls to head to Syria ‘after they had finished term’, adding: ‘They wouldn’t want to mess up their education. ‘I’m shocked they have gone. They didn’t seem to be radical or extremist in their views.’ Support: Visitors arrive at the family home yesterday, but the girls' parents have not spoken publicly It emerged yesterday that the girls’ devoutly Muslim Somali refugee parents and their 11 children had been moved from an estate made famous by the TV series Shameless to an upmarket suburb, after telling the council they needed more bedrooms. They were given a six-bedroom end-terrace despite the protests of the existing tenant. Yesterday the large back and front gardens were strewn with discarded household items and children’s plastic toys. The house's previous resident - a 40-year-old Army heroine who served in Bosnia - said last night she had been booted out of the house by Manchester City Council so the twins and their family could move in. Former lance corporal Dawn Benjamin told The Sun she had thought the house - her childhood home - would be 'going to a good family'. She added: 'I lost my life, memories, everything I'd grown up with, to house jihadi wannabes'. Ms Benjamin and her young son had to move out after they were served with a court order. The council confirmed the house had been needed for a larger family. Police probe: Officers were seen leaving the house. The large back and front gardens were strewn with discarded household items and children's plastic toys Neighbours said the twins’ parents were keen to share elements of Somalian culture with them, taking round dishes of traditional delicacies for them to try. The twins’ father Ibrahim is understood to teach at a nearby mosque, where leaders this week issued a statement repudiating extremism and opposing violence of all kinds. Mohammed Shafiq, of the Ramadan Foundation, said the family were moderate Muslims who know all about the dangers of war-torn countries. ‘They were desperately unhappy to discover [their son] had gone to Syria, and they thought they were keeping a watchful eye on their other children. Then this happens,’ he said. Sources believe Salma and Zahra were inspired by their brother’s transformation into a jihadi fighter, and became radicalised themselves while viewing extremist Islamist material online. According to police sources, their brother also travelled to the family’s native Somalia, where he may have linked up with another Islamist terror group al-Shabab. A friend told The Sun the brother was known for his ability to recite long passages of the Koran. Officers are investigating how the girls funded their own trip, over fears they have been bankrolled by jihadi fighters who want them as their wives. As many as 1,500 Britons may have travelled to Syria to fight alongside rebels. Many of them have posted messages online promising to use their ‘terror skills’ if they return to Britain.

The Tanzanian prosecutor investigating worldwide misconduct by BAE, Britain's biggest arms company, confided to US diplomats that "his life may be in danger" and senior politicians in his small African country were "untouchable". A leaked account of what the head of Tanzania's anti-corruption bureau, Edward Hoseah, termed the "dirty deal" by BAE to sell Tanzania an overpriced radar system, is revealed in the US embassy cables. BAE is to appear in court in London tomorrow, when their system of making secret payments to secure arms contracts, exposed by the Guardian, will be officially detailed for the first time. Every individual involved in the BAE scandal in Britain and Tanzania has escaped prosecution. But the arms giant agreed with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to pay £30m in corporate reparations and fines, provided the word "corruption" did not appear on the indictment. A corruption conviction would debar the company from EU contracts. The former overseas development secretary, Clare Short, said at the time: "It was always obvious that this useless project was corrupt." Hoseah met a US diplomat, Purnell Delly, in Dar es Salaam in July 2007, and claimed (unrealistically it turned out) he would be able to prosecute guilty individuals in the BAE case. The US cable reports: "He called the deal 'dirty' and said it involved officials from the Ministry of Defence and at least one or two senior level military officers." Hoseah spoke gloomily about the prospects for Tanzania's anti-corruption struggle and his original hopes to prosecute the "big fish" of corruption. "He told us point blank ... that cases against the prime minister or the president were off the table ..." The cable then details allegations against former leaders and their inner circles, saying they would be "untouchable". "He noted that President Kikwete does not appear comfortable letting the law handle corruption cases which might implicate top-level officials." The cable then says Kwitke "does not want to set a precedent" by going after any of his predecessors. There were "widespread rumours of corruption within the Bank of Tanzania", Hoseah said, and the island region of Zanzibar was also "rife with corruption". The diplomat noted: "Hoseah reiterated concern for his personal security ... saying he believed his life may be in danger ... He had received threatening text messages and letters and was reminded every day that he was fighting the 'rich and powerful'." He might have to flee the country. He warned: "He said quietly: 'If you attend meetings of the inner-circle, people want you to feel as if they have put you there. If they see that you are uncompromising, there is a risk.' " The US embassy noted in a "cynical" aside, that probably the only reason Hoseah felt obliged to attempt a BAE prosecution was because the SFO had presented him with "a fully developed case file, brimming with detailed evidence". Today's court appearance by BAE is the culmination of lengthy attempts to bring the company to justice since the Guardian exposed its worldwide secret payment system. The prime minister at the time, Tony Blair, intervened in 2006 to halt an SFO investigation into payments to members of the Saudi royal family. The US department of justice has had more success than the SFO, forcing BAE to pay $400m (£260m) in penalties under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. £28m radar deal 'stank' Tanzania, on Africa's east coast, is one of the poorest states in the world, formerly controlled in turn by Arab slavers, German colonists and the British. At the time of the radar deal, life expectancy was 45. Tanzania was forced to apply for debt relief from the west and was heavily dependent on aid. It is ravaged by HIV/Aids and its GDP per head is just $723 (£465). President Benjamin Mkapa, whose regime did the deal, was succeeded in 2004 by his political colleague Jakaya Kikwete. Tanzania, which has no air force, bought the military air defence radar from BAE in 2001 for £28m. It was claimed the Commander system, which was portable and festooned with anti-jamming devices, could also be used for civilian air traffic control. The country borrowed the cost from Barclays, adding to its debt burden. Both the World Bank and the International Civil Aviation Organisation called the purchase unnecessary and overpriced. In London, the then development secretary, Clare Short, temporarily blocked aid payments in protest. "It stank," she now says of the sale. She urged an export licence be withheld, but was overruled by Tony Blair himself. Robin Cook, then foreign secretary, recorded bitterly in his diary that Dick Evans [of BAE] seemed to have "the key to the garden door of No 10 [Downing St]". In January 2007 the Guardian disclosed that BAE had used an offshore front company, Red Diamond, to secretly pay £8.4m, 30% of the radar's ostensible price, into a Swiss account. The account was controlled by Tanzanian middleman Sailesh Vithlani. His "consultancy" agreement was, it is alleged, formally signed off in London by Evans.

Fargo revels in parables and symbolism, and one of the recurring images in the series so far has been the presence of fish, whether in the background or front and center. I’ll be upfront with you, dear reader, I’m stumped, I don’t have a fucking clue what exactly the fish mean. Seven episodes in and writer Noah Hawley has kept throwing them into the show, but with nothing in the way of explanation. So this is less of an analysis and more cataloging the trend. Sometimes it feels like the symbolism is hitting us in the face. And sometimes it’s more subtle. Then in the sixth episode, “Buridan’s Ass”, we open with the fish, as one of them is served up for the Fargo gang’s boss. However by the end of the episode, it looks like the fish have turned the tables, as they take their scaly revenge on mankind. WHAT’S WITH ALL THE FISH FARGO!!! Advertisements

Please enable Javascript to watch this video Authorities said a Virginia Beach man is being kicked out of the country after his mother was convicted of creating a fake family. It’s been a dramatic fall for Natallia Liapina. A year ago, the woman from Belarus was married to a doctor, living in Virginia Beach with her teenage son. She landed a job as a Russian teacher at Tallwood High School, where her colleagues adored her.But then came the prosecutors. They said all this was a hoax, an elaborate fraud to get Natallia a green card. Previous: Man fighting deportation due to accusations of marriage fraud against family Prosecutors said Natallia’s husband, Armando, was actually in love with Natallia’s oldest son. The two men carried on a romantic relationship, the prosecutors said. And to please Danil, prosecutors claimed Armando agreed to marry Danil’s mother so she could live in America. Natallia and her sons deny all of this. Danil said there was no romantic relationship with Armando. He was already married to an American woman named Victoria. And Ivan, Natallia’s youngest, said this was a real family. No one who worked with Natallia at Tallwood believes any part of the government’s case. Teachers stepped forward to tell NewsChannel 3 Natallia was not only a good teacher, but a good person. “It’s so upsetting because it is the opposite of who she is. They are telling her that you are dishonest in all that you did here, and she was the epitome of honesty and integrity in everything that she did,” says one of the teachers. All of this happened, Ivan says, because his sister-in-law got jealous. Danil and Victoria split up. According to court records and interviews, when Victoria found out there was another woman, she went to the authorities and declared the marriage a fraud. She essentially turned herself in, and said her marriage to Danil was fake. Danil told us that even after his wife reported him, they got back together and remarried. But that didn’t end the investigation. In fact, it broadened to include Natallia. Danil’s family says jailhouse phone calls between Danil and Victoria reveal a real marriage. The dozens of calls show they fought, a lot, about money mostly. They talked about sex. And Victoria revealed she was angry Danil had left her for someone else. None of this was allowed in court. According to court testimony, Victoria helped prosecutors after they promised not to charge her. She would not agree to an interview for this story. Prosecutors said there were at least three other Americans involved in this conspiracy, but no one else was arrested. In the end, these teachers say the school system has lost an excellent instructor to a prosecution that, in their eyes, was way off the mark. They are hoping Natallia can appeal and one day return to teaching. “It’s unfair because I know all my family, including me, including Vanya, including Danil, worked hard in this country,” says Natallia. As for Ivan, whom his mother calls Vanya, he worries he’ll be forced from the country. The government says if his mother’s immigration paperwork is fake, then his isn’t valid either. The Liapin family has set up a fund to pay for an appeal. Facebook page for the Liapin Family Defense Fund Statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on why none of the four accused Americans were prosecuted in this case: “Over the past five years, the Eastern District of Virginia has charged more than 120 people with marriage fraud, including both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Decisions on whether to bring charges in a criminal case are guided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Principles of Federal Prosecution. While we do not disclose the reasons why a person associated with a case may not be charged, these principles state that we must consider the evidence at hand, the person’s culpability in connection with the offense, their previous criminal activity, and their willingness to cooperate, among several other factors.” I’d also point you to what we stated in our sentencing position paper for Mr. Lyapin: Danil Lyapin tried no less than four times with fraudulent marriages to get permanent residence in the United States. Mr. Lyapin deliberately broke down his spouses through repeated mental attacks which from time to time had a physical component. During these “green-card” marriages, Mr. Lyapin continued to date other women and carry on other relationships that further caused mental damage to some of his “wives” and girlfriends. One of these relationships was with Armando Figueroa. Mr. Lyapin and Mr. Figueroa, who was several decades his elder, carried on a romantic relationship for a period of years to allow Mr. Lyapin to use Mr. Figueroa resources to bank roll his lifestyle. Mr. Figueroa bought Mr. Lyapin cars and a restaurant. Still, as the evidence showed, this was not enough. Mr. Lyapin caused Mr. Figueroa to marry the defendant Ms. Liapina so she could also obtain a green-card. Ms. Liapina never had a bonafide marriage with Mr. Figueroa. Mr. Lyapin admitted to agents that Mr. Figueroa only married his mother as a favor to Mr. Lyapin. The defendant’s conduct during the investigation far exceeded most of the other approximately 120 offenders the government has prosecuted over the past five years. This defendant was the only one to enter into three distinct marriage frauds. This defendant was particularly hard on his spouses and his girlfriends who were smart enough not to marry him. This defendant made fraudulent filings and set up at least fraudulent marriage with his mother. Statement from Danil Lyapin’s wife, Victoria, (Natallia Liapina’s daughter-in-law), in declining to participate in this story: I think it is highly inappropriate to air any story concerning me and my life, you know nothing about me and my life. However I respect freedom of speech do whatever you chose, those who know me and care for me know what the truth is, those who don’t, I’m unconcerned what they think they know about me. Until they have walked a mile in my shoes they cannot begin to know anything about me and my life. Do what you feel is best. I have certainly in my life, in every aspect of it. Written by Mike Mather, WTKR.

I often wonder why riders who say they want to win or be better riders never utilize the one thing, the one FREE thing that is at their disposal all the time. Riding outside the ring. I hear every excuse in the book, and I could care less what yours might be, but riding outside the ring is the of the most underutilized tools of becoming a stellar rider, and stellar horse, especially pertaining to the hunter rings. Yep—that “cross-country” term that brings people to firmly shake their heads, quiver in their boots, and refuse to even consider. Yet, those who are keeping an open mind about progressing as a rider and actually do venture out into a field or woods, quite often have better equitation and better instincts in the actual show ring. And it costs absolutely nothing. Your heels automatically go further down—those thousands of dollars you are tossing out the window to hear your instructor/trainer/coach to remind you to put your heels down 10,000 times a year is basically achieved after one month of going outside of the ring, up and down hills, and standing in two-point for a gallop (or brisk trot out, whatever). Your body has reflexes, and when you don’t want to lose your stirrups as the horse you are on is jumping sideways from a bird, guess what? Permanent Heel Down Syndrome. It is a proven science, trust me. Walking a mile back home on your own two feet is not normally an appealing option. Speaking of reflexes, your other body parts sharpen drastically as they learn natural movements of the horse outside of the ring. A horse going around in his natural element is friskier, livelier, more on the defense from predators such as bunny rabbits, and believe me, you start to read his mind at every shudder, shake and start. Once back in the ring, everything will seem so much easier, you will be able to control the spooking before it even happens, and know to turn your horse’s head away from whatever is catching his attention. Position. If you didn’t understand the three types of seats you are supposed to learn before going cross-country, you will understand them by the time you get back. You need the two point for going up a steep incline, you need a half-seat when you cross tricky terrain or a water crossing, and you fully comprehend deep seat when starting down any descent. Want to up the difficulty level? Drop your stirrups. Have you ever been told you look down too much? Another 10K repeat from your trainer is my guess. I’ll give you a hint—looking down is kind of not a viable option for people riding outside the ring. Not only are you looking for every hazard known to man and beast, your life greatly benefits from you keeping a very keen relationship with the horizon. On the horizon could be lurking any potential suspect which might disrupt a perfectly sane outdoor experience. Your eyes will be up and in navigation mode. Permanently. Confidence. This should be self-explanatory, but I can tell you about a hundred thousand stories of riders and horses gaining confidence merely by attempting a trek across a field, through the woods, over a log, and the giddiness that ensued. It has literally changed lives, and soaked up a fairly large portion of my monthly iPhone data with snaps, texts, and Facebook or Instagram tags. Frankly, there is not much more rewarding than someone frantically trying to recap every thrilling moment in their 15-minute escape around the farm on one of their favorite borrowed horses. I don’t now, maybe it is just me, but those moments are priceless. So why don’t Americans go ride outside? Ten million reasons. But what a waste. The ultimate resource in advanced horsemanship and perfect position is completely accessible to thousands of young and old riders alike. No one seems to want to venture outside the gate, experiment with a trail ride, (or even hire trail horses), borrow friends ponies, sign up for an eventing clinic with Jimmy Wofford, or Dom Schramm, yet those same riders want to qualify for a medal final, win a derby, or compete at a league final. It makes no sense. There are thousands of exercises with cavaletti, poles, gymnastics and other tools suggested or sold to riders to try and improve your balance, reflexes, and sense of timing, when all you need is to find a local hunter pace or cross-country course to school, and might cost at the most $20, if that. Your trainer might frown upon your experiments, but I can guess why. Money. Maybe he or she cannot financially benefit from improvements you can make on your own. Whenever someone doesn’t want me to do something I always ask, why not? It usually is about money. Or maybe time. Time. So many horses to be ridden in that busy stable before 5 o’clock, there just isn’t enough time. You have soccer practice to get to. Well, when you or your parent writes that check to the horse show, how much time and money goes into that weekend? Did you win? Did you want to? How much was that check written for? I can see the backlash now, “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly allow my six-figure imported horse to take a step in grass. He might go lame.” He could go lame for any reason, but sure OK, whatever you want to believe. I personally think it is fun to teach an imported horse how to go up and down hills for the first time. Most of them come from the very flat Holland or Belgium or the part of Germany without inclines or turnout, and it is highly entertaining when a young horse experiences one of our hills. One descent and climb at the walk usually leaves them completely winded! It is comical for them to figure out how to navigate hills at the walk, trot, or canter, and then eventually become masters of descent! With the increase in derby classes I thought for sure I would see an increase in our hunter riders jumping cross-country, but instead I have only seen people build crazy spooky courses in an indoor or fenced-in arena where a horse is less likely to show his true colors. So what happens when the real derby asks the right questions? A whole lot of faults? I don’t know actually, maybe this would answer my frustrations with the handy classes, when we are seeing horse after horse spooking at the trot jump. Instead of having a schooling jump, maybe the horses need to just school cross-country before showing at the most prestigious show of the year. Ugh, so many questions, so little opportunity for change. Last year, while in Gulfport over the winter, I saw a couple of riders accessing the hill out by the trailer parking lot, and thought, “How smart!” There is only one hill on the show grounds, but this father/daughter team was taking full advantage of conditioning their horses on that slight incline during their six-week duration in Mississippi. Stumble or trip every once in a while? Probably, but they were out there for a reason, and it probably had to do with the benefits for horse and rider. I would imagine they were able to teach the horses how to overcome the occasional trip or stumble by changing the balance and placing more focus on the hind end rather than the forehand. Genius really, but then again, they were from Maryland, maybe it was just born into them. I know, I know, not everyone has access to the outdoors in an outdoor sport, but there are still loads of people NOT taking advantage of natural terrain even though they can, and that is a real shame for our sport. Not to mention the fun factor is literally being tossed out the window along with all those lesson dollars. #makesnosense. #bringbackfun If you are fortunate enough to be exposed to fox chasing, take full advantage of it, those tools learned last a lifetime. ^^same kid both pics^^ By the way, for fun I used the Google for locating state parks that allowed trail riding? Guess what, every state has one. Hunter/jumper trainer Deloise Noble-Strong runs her business out of her family farm in Upperco, Md. She follows in the footsteps of many generations of horsemen in her family. Deloise has spent time living in Belgium, Holland and Germany and imports, trains and sells many hunter prospects. She also speaks her mind on her personal blog, Deloise In America.

Bellman is a Rust-language library for building zk-SNARKs — small, cheap-to-verify zero-knowledge proofs of arbitrary computations. The goal of bellman is to make it easier for the general public to use and experiment with zk-SNARKs, and also as a step forward for improving the security and performance of Zcash’s next major release, Sapling. Bellman contains an implementation of the BLS12-381 elliptic curve construction that we described a couple weeks ago, which will appear in an upcoming paper by our scientists. This construction was designed specifically for efficiently building zk-SNARKs, while maintaining a high security margin. This week, I’ve added a primitive implementation of a new zk-SNARK proving system designed by Jens Groth. Secure in the generic group model, the new design produces smaller proofs that can be constructed faster and with less memory. Overview of zk-SNARKs If you’re interested in how zk-SNARKs work internally, Ariel Gabizon has been writing a series of blog posts about the underlying math that you should check out! For now, we can understand them on a surface level. zk-SNARKs are powerful proofs that, unlike other zero-knowledge proving schemes, are very small (a couple hundred bytes) and cheap to verify (several milliseconds), even if the statement being proven is large and complicated. Their zero-knowledge property allows the prover to hide details about the computation from the verifier in the process, and so they are useful for both privacy and performance. The only such schemes known to be efficient are preprocessing. In a sense, this means that a kind of “environment” must be constructed which allows the prover to evaluate the statement and produce a proof. There is no known way to construct such an environment without necessarily being temporarily in possession of information that would allow you to construct false proofs. Zcash, which uses zk-SNARKs for its shielded transactions, uses parameters that were constructed in a sophisticated multi-party computation ceremony that you can read about here. zk-SNARKs are also useful in the designated verifier model, where the verifier itself constructs the needed parameters, and so neither the prover nor the verifier are concerned about its integrity. In many zk-SNARK schemes, the statement being proven is reduced to what is called a rank-1 quadratic constraint system, or R1CS. In this system, the prover is given a system of arithmetic constraints over a set of variables (elements in a large prime field :math:`\mathbb{F}_r`), and asked to produce an assignment to the variables which satisfies the constraints. Overview of Bellman Bellman is currently in its infancy, but we can already use it to construct these kinds of proofs. Currently, only a very low level API is available, upon which we can construct DSLs and various abstractions for synthesizing circuits. If you want to experiment with it, grab the bellman crate from crates.io. All of our circuit abstractions are written generically over an Engine trait that handles the elliptic curve and finite field arithmetic. Central to circuit synthesis is the ConstraintSystem trait: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 pub trait ConstraintSystem < E : Engine > { /// Allocate a private variable in the constraint system, setting it to /// the provided value. fn alloc ( & mut self , value : E :: Fr ) -> Variable ; /// Enforce that `A` * `B` = `C`. fn enforce ( & mut self , a : LinearCombination < E > , b : LinearCombination < E > , c : LinearCombination < E > ); } There are two important design decisions here: All variable allocation, assignment, and constraint enforcement is done over the same code path. This differs from the design of libsnark’s gadgetlib, for which it was too easy to potentially forget a constraint or notice bugs in existing abstractions because of the separation. This approach makes it easier to write abstractions and perform code review. All variable allocation and assignment are done simultaneously, and the existing assignments cannot be queried or modified. This encourages better gadget design, and prevents gadgets from accidentally using the assignments to “communicate” with each other. This also has a performance benefit: since all variables are already assigned, constraint enforcement during proving is directly synthesized into the underlying witnesses to avoid having to keep a constraint system in memory at all. As an example of a kind of gadget implementation, here’s how a boolean constrained variable could be implemented, along with XOR: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 #[derive(Clone)] pub struct Bit { var : Variable , value : bool } impl Bit { pub fn alloc < E , CS > ( e : & E , cs : & mut CS , value : bool ) -> Bit where E : Engine , CS : ConstraintSystem < E > + ? Sized { // Allocate the variable let var = cs . alloc ( if value { E :: Fr :: one ( e ) } else { E :: Fr :: zero () } ); // Enforce (1 - var) * var = 0, which requires // var to be either 0 or 1 cs . enforce ( LinearCombination :: one ( e ) - var , LinearCombination :: zero ( e ) + var , LinearCombination :: zero ( e ) ); Bit { var : var , value : value } } pub fn xor < E , CS > ( & self , e : & E , cs : & mut CS , other : & Bit ) -> Bit where E : Engine , CS : ConstraintSystem < E > { let new_value = self . value ^ other . value ; let new_var = cs . alloc ( if new_value { E :: Fr :: one ( e ) } else { E :: Fr :: zero () } ); // 2a * b = a + b - c cs . enforce ( LinearCombination :: zero ( e ) + self . var + self . var , LinearCombination :: zero ( e ) + other . var , LinearCombination :: zero ( e ) + self . var + other . var - new_var ); Bit { var : new_var , value : new_value } } } Building a circuit is a matter of implementing the Circuit and Input traits: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 pub trait Circuit < E : Engine > { type InputMap : Input < E > ; fn synthesize < CS : ConstraintSystem < E >> ( self , engine : & E , cs : & mut CS ) -> Self :: InputMap ; } pub trait Input < E : Engine > { fn synthesize < CS : PublicConstraintSystem < E >> ( self , engine : & E , cs : & mut CS ); } This design splits up circuits into a Circuit implementation, which provers instantiate to construct proofs, and a Input implementation, which provers and verifiers use to perform input allocation and related circuit synthesis. This differs from libsnark, where these code paths are redundant, use different utility functions and require careful code review to ensure consistency. Once we actually do have an implementation of Circuit and Input , we can use the functions provided in the groth16 module: create a keypair (with some randomly selected trapdoors), construct a proof, and perform verifications: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 // Create a proving key and verifying key let ( pk , vk ) = { let tau = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let alpha = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let beta = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let gamma = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let delta = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let c = DummyCircuit ; groth16 :: keypair ( e , c , & tau , & alpha , & beta , & gamma , & delta ) }; // Construct a proof let proof = { let r = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let s = E :: Fr :: random ( e , rng ); let c = DummyCircuit ; groth16 :: prove ( e , c , & r , & s , & pk ). unwrap () }; // Prepare the verifying key let pvk = groth16 :: prepare_verifying_key ( e , & vk ); // Verify proof assert ! ( groth16 :: verify ( e , | cs | { DummyInput }, & proof , & pvk )); Future work These lower level foundations are all that is available in Bellman right now. In the future we will be writing tools which allow us to build things like hash functions and stream ciphers. Bellman is still under development and shouldn’t be used in production software yet. In fact, its API deliberately does not expose anything that would allow you to actually use it! It currently serves as an excellent learning opportunity for constructing zk-SNARKs safely and efficiently, and the lessons we learn from building it will shape the future of Zcash. We’re also excited to be writing Bellman in Rust! If you’re a Rustacean and you’re interested in zk-SNARKs or Zcash, we invite you to check out our project, join our community chat or look at some of the various things we’ve written in Rust before, like our multi-party computation ceremony code.

Canada’s poised to welcome the first planeload of Syrian refugees Thursday evening as part of the federal Liberals’ much-touted pledge to resettle 10,000 (formerly 25,000) by the end of this month. But the government still hasn’t followed through on its election promise to reverse health cuts to refugee care made under the previous government three years ago. READ MORE: What’s the deal with refugee health care? “The Government is committed to restoring the Interim Federal Health Program. We are currently working towards that goal,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Nancy Caron said in an email to Global News Thursday evening. But the feds have made a special provision to ensure Syrian refugees get the full slate of health care as other privately sponsored refugees and asylum-seekers in limbo get turned away. “The current Interim Federal Health Program includes provisions that allow the Minister to extend the coverage available to an individual or group,” Caron wrote. “In this case, full IFHP benefits, known as ‘Type 1’ coverage, is being made available to all of the Syrian refugees arriving in Canada as part of this initiative. We will have more details available soon.” Caron wouldn’t say when the health cuts will be reversed for all refugees. READ MORE: Canada’s scrambling to resettle Syrian refugees but won’t say when health care will be restored About 20,000 refugees come to Canada per year, from dozens of countries. Canada is in the midst of several multi-year commitments to resettle refugees from Eritrea, Sudan, Iraq, Bhutan, Turkey and elsewhere. A federal court called the 2012 cuts to refugee care “cruel and unusual.” The then-governing Conservatives appealed that ruling and hadn’t reinstated refugee health care when the Liberals defeated them in October. Restoring full refugee health care was one of the Liberals’ campaign promises. Both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum and Health Minister Jane Philpott have reaffirmed that pledge. WATCH: Philpott on Syrian refugee health care It isn’t clear why that hasn’t happened. In the meantime, privately sponsored refugees, people whose claims are in limbo or who are making an “inland” refugee claim after having arrived in Canada don’t get the full benefits of their counterparts. In response to the cuts Ontario, Quebec and other provinces put in place stopgap refugee health coverage of their own. But the ensuing system was so confusing, the paperwork so arduous for often-overworked health practitioners, that many stopped treating refugees altogether. As Global News reported earlier this year, even those who qualify for health coverage sometimes get turned away. Advocates have said this is bad for both vulnerable people and public health: When people delay seeking treatment because they can’t afford to pay for it, they get sicker and pose a risk to other people if they have an infectious disease. They’re also more likely to need much more expensive emergency treatment later on.

Artistic impression of what a psittacosauras, a 'parrot-lizard' dinosaur looked like They also found other remains including limbs and feathering of both herbivorous dinosaurs and predators. The trawl in a dinosaurs graveyard on the banks of the Olov River includes body parts from the smallest such creatures ever found by paleontologists. They found tails with scales and a three fingered limb. Top to bottom: Kulinda site, where dinosaurs remains were found, Dr. Sofya Sinitsa of Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology, Chita, Trans-Baikal region, and Dr. Sinitsa's assistant working on the site. The feathering discovery is seen as highly significant if confirmed as belonging to the Compsognathus, a dinosaur roughly the size of a turkey - since such feathers, though suspected, have never been unearthed before. 'We are working in this area for third year. There are really a lot of dinosaurs remains, and every year we are finding something unique,' said Dr Sofya Sinitsa, a specialist of Geo-Mineralogical Sciences at the Chita-based Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. 'We have more than ten preserved bits of skin. It remained untouched because of the volcanic ashes from eruptions 30-40 km away, which covered the skin and acted like a time capsule. 'During three seasons of our work there we have gathered a very good collection of dinosaur remains. 'Their bodies were about a metre long, they weighed from 3 to 4 kgs.' The finds come from a lower valley in an area known as Kulinda. Top to bottom: Joseph Oberndorfer acquired this fossil of compsognathus in Bavaria, Germany, in 1859; an artistic impression of what the dinosaur looked like and as compared with human body 'We found both herbivorous dinosaurs and predators - the smallest of all ever found by paleontologists', Dr. Sinitsa said. 'There is no information about such a dinosaurs' site anywhere else in Russia. There is a similar one in China, where scientists have been working for more than 10 years.' Describing the finds as 'very rich', she said: 'We found a three-fingered limb, and feathering. This year we got a lot of scaled tails, as well as numerous hip and shoulder bones. 'We aim to keep working on the site', Dr. Sinitsa added. She is now seeking sponsorship for her intriguing dinosaur hunt, stressing the need for a bulldozer to dig down deeper where even more significant remains may exist. 'We are hoping to get sponsorship for next season and be back there summer 2013.' Psittacosauras, an amasing-looking 'parrot-lizard', here given in comparison with human body The two main dinosaur types they found remains of are the Compsognathus and the Psittacosaurus. The lizard-eating Compsognathus lived around 150 million years ago. Previously discoveries have been made in France and Germany. It is believed to be related to various birds. The Psittacosaurus - from the Greek for 'parrot lizard' - lived 130 to 100 million years ago and fossils have been found previously in Russia as well as China and Mongolia. With various different species, they were 'gazelle-sized bipedal herbivores characterized by a high, powerful beak on the upper jaw', said Wikipedia. There are many more fossils in existence than for the Compsognathus. This year Chita regional government gave a sum of 350,000 roubles to gather the remains of Comsognathus dinosaurs.

Here, too, the most interesting moment in the video isn’t the rant; it comes when an aghast patron intervenes. “Do not talk to other people that way,” he says. The two then discuss whether they should “step outside” and settle things, before the Trumpeter leaves the shop grumbling about the “absolutely ridiculous” experience. (He has since apologized for his behavior, but still maintains that he was discriminated against.) The Delta video was perhaps the most bizarre of these three instantly famous incidents—and the reaction it captures is also telling. The man on video appears to be exhorting a plane full of people to share his enthusiasm about the president-elect, clapping his hands over and over while shouting “Donald Trump, baby! ... Come on, baby! Trump!” Greeted by utter silence, he then demands to know, somewhat defensively, whether “We got some Hillary bitches on here?” (which might have been what got him banned from the airline for life). So, yes, these people were acting entitled. In two of the cases, they were engaged in racial harassment. And sure, they’re all displaying petulant and pathetic assertions of white privilege. But they’re also full of what the scholar and author Robin DiAngelo calls “white fragility”—“a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves.” Anti-racist activist Tim Wise says these episodes demonstrate, as much as anything else, how recent years have created “a perfect storm of white anxiety” in the United States: There was the economic crisis, followed by the election of the first black president—and a nagging anxiety about the fast-approaching end of majority-whiteness in America. And then, of course, along came Trump, who Wise describes as “much more the bullhorn than the dog whistle” with his racial appeal. The president-elect has mainstreamed expressions of bigotry, allowing for greater expression of a new white identity politics—even among Americans who don’t support Richard Spencer-style white nationalism. The good news in these videos, to the extent that there is any, is that both their content and their spread on social media suggests that other white people aren’t going to be, to use a Wise phrase, “silent partners” for assertions of white nationalism and privilege. Jessie Grady’s decision to capture the episode in Michaels—and to immediately rally to the aid of black store employees, along with several other customers—was a prime example of what racial-justice activists call “white allyship.” (Grady also raised more than $22,000 on GoFundMe for the store manager.) Wise said he’s seen more white anti-racist activists in recent years than he has for many decades—and Trumpism has undoubtedly helped them find their voices, too. In a strange way, these disturbing viral videos can be a gift, showing Americans who we really are—both bad and good. They’re also an challenge to be our best selves, to act in such situations the way we’d hope to be seen on camera.

“It’s obvious to anyone who picks up a newspaper or turns on the news that the nation is in the midst of a crisis,” FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe said at a July 13 press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he joined Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the heads of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in announcing the charges. “Opioid abuse destroys lives and it devastates families. This week, we arrested once-trusted doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals who were corrupted by greed. These people inflicted a special kind of damage.” Additionally, HHS began suspending 295 providers—including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists—so they can no longer participate in federal health programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, a health insurance program for veterans and the military. The takedown targeted schemes that billed the federal programs for medically unnecessary prescription drugs. It also focused on medical professionals who unlawfully distributed opioids and other prescription narcotics, thereby contributing to the opioid epidemic.

Mr. Gunter, who helped clients with software issues, said he was barely six months on the job at Vurv when the family car broke down. He had to ask a neighbor for a ride to work that day, and he feared his new job was at risk. That same day, Vurv bought him the used car. “It wasn’t the nicest car,” he said. “It wasn’t the prettiest car. It wasn’t fresh off the lot with new-car smell. But boy, did my overwhelming feeling of dread go from that to enlightenment. This is what this company is about. This is what Derek is about.” At that point, Mr. Gunter said: “I was just hooked. The 80-hour weeks we worked after that never meant anything. It was give and take. I was giving and the company was definitely giving back.” Ms. Richmond, who helped companies deploy Vurv’s software, was a single mother of two in 2000. Her Chevrolet Cavalier, with 270,000 miles on it, “finally took its last breath,” she recalled. “I lived 45 miles away from the office, so I had quite a hike back and forth.” Her supervisor, who is no longer with the company, and Mr. Mercer knew of her troubles, she said, and at her annual evaluation offered to buy her a car instead of giving her a $3,000 raise. They also helped her find the right car, a Diamanti, and paid $4,500 for it, she said. She told them to work out an installment so she could pay the difference. They never did. And then she got a second pleasant surprise: her raise started showing up in her paycheck as well. “A company that takes care of their employees,” Ms. Richmond said, “it definitely is returned to them tenfold because their employees are going to take care of them and do a good job.” Creativity and sensitivity meshed with good business sense at Vurv, and that is a crucial aspect of problem solving, according to Glenn Okun, clinical professor of management and entrepreneurship at the Stern School of Business at New York University. “Entrepreneurs must remember that resources have costs that must be borne by the firm,” he said. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Small-business owners should approach such instances analytically, Professor Okun said, examining risk and opportunity. Act as if you are a third party interested in financing your own company, he suggested, and then decide how to proceed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Especially now, when economic times are tough, Professor Okun said, business owners will have to weigh unexpected outlays against the knowledge there will be potentially less revenue coming in and less credit extended by lenders and investors to smooth rough patches. In this environment, he said, “problems get magnified, even if the firm is solid.” The solution at Vurv was a balancing act of trying to help employees while not hurting the bottom line. The same was true for the Transtec Group in Austin, Tex., which helps public and private agencies in street, highway, airfield and seaport projects. Dan K. Rozycki, its president, recalled what happened when an employee had to get out of her apartment after a relationship broke up. “In a matter of days,” Mr. Rozycki said, “we helped her find a new apartment and we furnished the whole place from sofa to spatula.” The company has done so many things for employees, he said, that “it’s hard to remember stuff we’ve done over the years.” “When you’re small and flexible and put co-workers first,” he said, “stuff just happens, but nobody records it or thinks it’s that shocking.” When another employee had serious personal problems, he said, the company offered and paid for the professional therapy. And when a new employee from China needed to learn how to drive, colleagues took him for driving lessons and helped him shop for a car. In addition, he said, over the years, the company has learned how to avoid common pitfalls that could fester as problems. Asking for raises is often tricky for employees and employers, Mr. Rozycki said, “so we give out raises every Jan. 1 to everyone.” No one has complained in the last seven years, he said. As to industry conferences, he said, the company decided to invite every one rather than select a few so that no one felt left out. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “What it really comes down to,” he said, “is we’re trying to create the ultimate workplace. We believe you can do the right thing and be profitable.”

People need to understand exactly what was going on before forming conclusions.The layers of the securization process go very deep. In simple terms: 1. Bank lends you the money 2. They sell the loan into securization 3. The loan is then bundled with many other similar loans 4, Then the whole bundle is divided into dozens if not hundreds of pieces and sold to investors. 5. The investors then hold, sell, trade, whatever is their fancy 6. Pieces of your loan go from party to party. 7. Folks also short the securization, which in effect creates double the amount of long holders on that piece of the loan, offset by those who are short your loan. 8. This process repeats itself and you have 5 times your loan held by investors offset by four times your loan being short. In effect your loan is being paid to five different investment pool parties and four other investment pool parties are also profferring up payments on your loan along with yours to even it all out. (possibly exaggerated) 9. All along, the legal requirements for transferring ownership of the loan are ignored. Thats because there is no true distinct owner of the loan. Since they didn't bother naming the true owner before hypothecating the loans, these loans are truly invalid under contact law. The banks are just acting as agents of the trust when they foreclose. The trust is just a nominee and can't be an owner under the law. These means neither the bank nor the trust are able to truly prove ownership. I said long ago the only solution was for the fed to buy these loans and refinance them at current market values. Banks could have continued servicing them to earn their money. A $100,000 loan modfied down to $70,000 still means a $135,000 total repayment at 5% interest. This could have allowed most people to keep their homes and also would set the ground for newly valid mortgage contracts. And the government could have even made a profit on it and saved the economy in one quick swoop. Proves they are not friends of the people.

Where the First Empire was born of a remnant of the Student Men, on the eastern coast of Bluewine Bay on the Telsion peninsula and the Dragons Teeth a new civilization emerged from the ground up from the Dark Ages following the War of Four Centuries. Between 3000 and 2600 BIA Small towns and villages grew into City-States with some aide from trade with the resurgent Qanthrathi states to the west as well as trade contacts with Dwarven States, the High Elves and even the Drow (when they were not attempting to enslave them). Power in these states was distributed. A few of them had ruling dynasties but none of them ever developed a formal nobility or the rigid feudal structure. Far more common among Telsionic city state were oligarchies (in which a wealthy elite could vote on matters and their elected leaders) and democracies (in which all adult male citizens could vote on matters and their elected leaders), though slavery was widespread among them. The Drow fought with them on occasion, but were more concerned with dealing with orcish clans, hunting down Necrites and fighting wars with each other and with High Elvish raids. A few of their cities were reaped, especially early on, though eventually the Drow found it more productive to extort tribute out of these states and to use them as a source of mercenaries. It was from this extortion that a power arose. With the persuasion of the famous statesman Ferrenes the Younger five of these city states came together in 2525 BIA with a proposal to two of the three neighboring Drow states: they would collect tribute for them from other states in return for a 8% cut, to which the Drow agreed. Thus was born the League of Five. Working together these five states could match any other state and with the profits they gained from extracting tribute their cities grew wealthier and stronger and continued to do so for five years. Their influence waxed as they vassalized other city states as 'junior members' of their league. Eventually in 2398 BIA their power had grown to the point where the Five Archons of the League told the Dark Elvish tribute collection party that they would no longer be their loan collectors. The Drow launched an attack to deal with this insolence, but this attack was repulsed. Two years latter they launched a second assault bringing to bear much larger forces, but these too were ultimately repulsed with the assistants of the High Elves. Having survived it's first trial by fire The League of Five had emerged as the Second Empire, which would continue a gradual expansion. The Second Empire was a very loosely nit society. Junior members and client kingdoms were mostly free to run their territories as they saw fit, though they were required to pay taxes to the League and provide troops and ships when requested. The armies of the League were similarly diverse as each nation was usually free to raise warriors as it saw fit and came to include charioteers, slingers, crossbowmen, axemen, foot and mounted archers, shock infantry armed with fearsome warscythes, axes, men armed with primitive flame throwers and firebombs and elephant riders. Dwarvish minorities. Even so the most common soldiers in their armies were Hoplites: citizen soldiers clad in either linen, leather, chainmail or plate with large round shields and spears who fought in tight phalanx formations. The greatest (or at least most prestigious) hoplites came from the League's five ruling cities, where every free man was required to train for war and serve if called for. The Second Empire was very unusual in that it had five capitals which rotated on an annual basis. Eventually the government turned to subsidizing armaments. League policy was set by two bodies, the Council of Archons (which had five members elected by the people of each of the five cities) and the League Assembly (representatives of each of the League's Junior members, which included some colonies created by the Senior Members). The League Assembly did have some power and influence, in particular over budgetary matters even though the Council of Archons still served as the executive wing. In addition to the League Members there were also League Subjects who had resisted the League and were stripped of their right to assembly, usually for periods of 50 or 100 years. Though the Second Empire fought several wars with the Drow ultimately it avoided too much confrontation with them. Fearing what happened to the First Empire they repulsed Drow attacks and fought battles at sea, but never launched an attack on a Drow State itself, in spite of considerable prodding from the High Elves. There was also a fair amount of trade between the second empire and the neighboring Drow States. Though a few sources embellish it most the role the Dark Elves played in it's end was secondary, for ultimately the Second Empire collapsed from within. In 1979 BIA, Triaxicles (Strategos of the Southern Seas) in one of seventh and final war between the Second Empire and the Halicanisid Seraphate. From the Empire's assets on the eastern coast of the Greenwater Sea he launched an invasion, bested armies four times the size of his and (with reinforcements from the Empire Proper) pushed into the heart of the Second Empire's long time rival. In three years he had conquered the bulk of the Seraphate and left the rest to break apart. He was recalled in 2874 BIA to stand before the five Archons and was offered a boon from the Council of Archons of anything they could provide. What he asked for was that the League of Five become the League of Six, with his own city becoming a senior member of the League along with the five founding member states. This request was refused and he refused any other boon offered to him. This move intensified a rift between the alliance's Senior and Junior partners and after Triaxicles' assassination in 1968 BIA (who was responsible for doing so has been a subject of scholarly debate to this day) eventually culminated in civil war. Thirty Seven junior members went out and formed The League of Thirty Seven to contest control of the league from the old capital. Fighting continued as border regions declared independence from the league, were over run by barbarians, were reaped by Dark Elves (who also acted as mercenaries for each side while for the most part refusing to fight other Drow forces). After thirteen years of fighting and the deaths of millions of subjects, the League of Five had lost more than 70% of it's territory, with 30% of it's former territory in the hands of the League of Thirty Seven and the remaining 40% lost to both. It's wealth spent, most of it's best forces dead and large sections of it's farmland and infrastructure in ruins and much of it's forces dedicated to garrisoning contested territory and guarding new boarders the Second Empire was left vulnerable and would continue in decline for another twenty years until the forces of the ascendant Third Empire came and absorbed what remained.

© COLUMBIA PICTURES - ANNAPURNA PICTURES - POINT GREY - 2016 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Non, le fourrage d’un petit pain par une saucisse, aussi salace soit-elle, ne risque pas de « corrompre les mineurs ». Pas plus que le frottement l’un contre l’autre de deux paquets de céréales, ou l’entrechoquement d’un pot de moutarde et d’une bouteille de ketchup, même accompagnés de soupirs plus ou moins suggestifs. C’est ce qu’ont estimé les juges du tribunal administratif de Paris qui, mardi 13 décembre, examinaient le recours déposé par plusieurs associations dont Promouvoir (proche des milieux catholiques intégristes et habituée des demandes de reclassification) demandant la suspension du visa d’exploitation de Sausage Party, dont l’affiche montre une saucisse fièrement dressée. Ce film d’animation américain, qui met en scène des objets et produits de consommation courante se trémoussant dans des poses évocatrices, avant de se livrer à une orgie dans un caddie de supermaché, est sorti en France le 30 novembre accompagné de la mention « interdit aux moins de 12 ans ». Une restriction que Promouvoir, suivie par Juristes pour l’enfance et Action pour la dignité humaine, juge insuffisante et qu’elle demandait de porter aux moins de 16 ans. Aux Etats-Unis, le film a été classé R (pour restricted), c’est-à-dire interdit aux moins de 17 ans non accompagnés d’un adulte. Après s’être livré à une analyse des scènes critiquées, le juge des référés a estimé que le film « ne diffusait pas un message à caractère violent et que les scènes à caractère sexuel ne visaient pas à corrompre les mineurs. Il lui a semblé que, compte tenu notamment de la dimension humoristique du film, l’absence d’interdiction aux jeunes adolescents ne méconnaissait pas l’exigence de protection de l’enfance et de la jeunesse ». Le texte de l’ordonnance, qui donne le détail de la décision, recèle des passages savoureux : « Considérant que, si une séquence, furtive, mime les relations sexuelles entre une boîte de gruau et une boîte de crackers, elle ne paraît pas, en l’état de l’instruction, figurer un viol à caractère raciste », peut-on ainsi lire dans les attendus du jugement. Les juges, qui ont visionné le film minute par minute, se sont aussi arrêtés sur la « fameuse » scène finale, et en ont conclu que « si, durant trois minutes, des aliments et autres produits de consommation, dont aucun ne figure au demeurant un mineur, simulent explicitement diverses pratiques sexuelles, cette scène se déroule dans un univers imaginaire, et ne peut être interprétée comme incitant le spectateur mineur à en reproduire le contenu ». « Allô le CNC » Les détracteurs du film lui reprochaient de tenter de « corrompre la jeunesse » en créant la confusion par son style – le dessin animé –, le ton et l’expression des personnages rappelant, selon eux, l’univers de Pixar, le studio américain à qui l’on doit notamment les films pour enfants Le Monde de Dory, Vice Versa ouToy Story. André Bonnet, avocat de l’association Promouvoir, estimait en outre qu’une « bande-annonce totalement trompeuse » visait « volontairement à toucher le jeune public ». Le juge dit au contraire que « l’interdiction de la diffusion aux moins de douze ans, le titre, l’affiche et la bande-annonce du film mettent suffisamment en relief son caractère “subversif” et l’omniprésence des connotations sexuelles ». D’autres associations s’étaient élevées contre ce film dès sa sortie en salles en France. La Manif pour tous avait, dans un tweet, demandé une interdiction aux mineurs en interpellant le Centre national de l’image animée (CNC, qui délivre les visas d’explotation) : « Allô @LeCNC, expliquez-nous comment vous autorisez la projection d’une partouze géante, à voir en famille? » Les Associations familiales catholiques (AFC) ont de leur côté mis en garde contre « un film clairement pornographique, sous couvert de second degré et de politiquement incorrect ». Présenté par les producteurs, Colombia et Annapurn Pictures, et le distributeur comme « la première comédie d’animation pour adultes à l’humour particulièrement osé », le film de Greg Tiernan et Conrad Vernon se veut une critique de la société de consommation, portée par une fantaisie déjantée et des dialogues particulièrement crus.

Freddie Gibbs nearly lost his life last night during a shooting that took place after his concert in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The show actually went off without incident on Tuesday evening (Nov 3) at the Rough Trade record store. Following the successful performance, Gibbs was in a black SUV parked at North 9th Street near Wythe Avenue. That’s when a lone gunman fired multiple shots at Gibbs and two people with him. Gibbs’ DJ reportedly suffered a minor leg wound and another victim was struck in the hand. According to police, the shooting took place at 1:13 a.m. and no arrests were made in the case. Freddie’s crew members are reportedly in stable condition at Bellevue hospital in New York. “They tried to kill Tupac. They tried to kill me,” Gibbs told The Post outside the club. “I’m still alive.” Check out Freddie’s first Instagram post after the shooting below… Yep. Still Livin. Thanks NYC. A photo posted by @freddiegibbs on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:12am PST Related: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Feat. Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$ & Ransom “Knicks (Remix)” New Video: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib “Harolds” Album Stream: Freddie Gibbs & Madlib ‘Piñata’ Freddie Gibbs Responds to YouTube Comments On His “Thuggin” Video

Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world Estonia has legally recognised the marriage of a gay couple for the first time. On appeal, a court in the country’s capital Tallinn recognised the marriage of a same-sex couple, in a hopeful sign that full marriage equality may not be too far off. A court in the district of Harju refused to enter the marriage between the men, who wed in Sweden, into the civil register. But on appeal, the court ruled in favour of entering the men’s marriage into the register. Judges said in December that there was “nothing in the way” of allowing the men to register themselves as married. As authorities did not appeal, the ruling is final. The couple were then on Tuesday able to finally register themselves as married, LGBT activists and legal experts have said they hope that the ruling will set a precedent paving the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in the Baltic State. The Estonian Parliament back in 2014 narrowly passed legislation to legalise gay civil partnerships. The bill, which recognised civil partnerships of both straight and gay couples, passed with 40 votes to 38. 23 members were absent for the vote. The legislation took effect in 2016, and made Estonia the first former Soviet republic to allow civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

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The myth of 'mum and dad' property investors Updated Property groups want us to believe that average income earners dominate property investment and negative gearing - a closer look at the statistics shows that's a furphy, writes Michael Janda. There's no doubt that a lot of ordinary, average-income Australians own investment properties, many of which are negatively geared. If you aren't a property investor yourself, then there's a good chance you know plenty of them, and run into them incessantly at weekend barbeques, weddings, on the golf course, or at a range of other social functions. That's not surprising, because Tax Office statistics show there are almost 1.9 million individuals who declare rental income or, more typically, make rental losses. What is surprising is that, according to the Housing Industry Association, nearly three quarters of them earn a taxable income of $80,000 or less. That's one of the key justifications trotted out for maintaining the current negative gearing regime - that it overwhelmingly benefits ordinary, average-income 'mum and dad' investors. When the HIA made that claim again this week upon releasing an economic report in defence of negative gearing, it set off my bull-dust detectors big time. So I went to the source, the ATO's tax stats, to find out the truth. For those who argue that negative gearing isn't overwhelmingly the domain of society's better-off, the truth hurts. When I crunched the raw numbers, I did find that 72 per cent of investors indeed earned $80,000 or less in the latest 2011-12 figures (the discrepancy with the HIA figures being that their report used the 2010-11 stats). But this just didn't tally up with Melbourne University's widely respected Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey taken every four years that examines the nation's household finances in depth. Figures compiled by the Reserve Bank from that survey show that investment housing loans are, unsurprisingly, more than twice as common amongst the top fifth of highest-earning households than amongst any other income group. In its latest Financial Stability Report, the RBA's analysis of HILDA also shows that a whopping 60 per cent of investment housing debt is held by the top fifth of income earners. That got me thinking about the apparent discrepancy between the RBA data and the tax stats - such a large survey as HILDA surely couldn't have got it that wrong. An obvious issue with the HIA's use of the ATO data was that it looked at taxable income - after people take out various deductions to lower their tax bills. When I crunched the numbers, over 60,000 people with investment properties whose taxable income was $80,000 or less had total incomes above that $80,000 threshold. That takes the HIA's claimed 74 per cent, which is 72 per cent on the latest data, further down to 68 per cent. But more than two thirds of landlords earning under $80,000 a year still seemed way too high in light of other evidence. That's when I found the ATO's Excel tables that look at what taxable and total incomes people have declared who collect rent from investment properties. Almost 74,000 people who declare rental income or losses have a total income of less than $0 - that's right, they either live on nothing or have other means of paying the bills that don't have to be declared to the ATO. Speaking to tax experts, including Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand's Michael Croker and UNSW's Professor Peter Swan, there are a few unverifiable possibilities as to who these people might be. They could be people who own a property, are losing money on it, but are living off their partners' incomes; they could be people living off savings whose rental losses outweigh any investment income they earn; they could be superannuants drawing on now non-taxed drawdowns and pension streams; maybe they have some sophisticated trust structures which mean they can pay the bills while apparently earning no money. Or they could be foreign investors. Rental income or losses are the only earnings that non-resident foreign property investors are likely to have to declare to the Australian Tax Office, as their wages, profits or other investment earnings are likely to be sourced overseas. Separate ATO data show 50,600 non-residents declared rental income in 2011-12, of which almost all (49,520) earned $80,000 or less in Australia. So take them out of the HIA figures and you are now down to 65.7 per cent. That's already a fair bit less than three-quarters, but still more than the HILDA figures would seem to suggest. However, on top of the 74,000 negative income earners, there are another quarter of a million people declaring rental income or losses who have total incomes below $20,000. Again, it is highly unlikely that these people could survive if that was their genuine income level, let alone service the mortgages that the 116,000 of them who are negatively geared have. Completely removing all double counting, if we exclude these people as well, that takes the proportion of landlords earning $80,000 or less down to around 60 per cent - certainly closer to the truth, but probably still overstating the true situation. The very reason that many housing investors fall below the $80,000 threshold is because they have used negative gearing to slash their tax bill. That's because the ATO's measure of "total income" includes net, not gross, rent - that is, rental earnings or losses after deductions such as interest payments have already been removed. The very reason that many housing investors fall below the $80,000 threshold is because they have used negative gearing to slash their tax bill. The net result of all these calculations could be boiled down to a 'fact check' of the HIA's statement, and the outcome would be 'massively overstated'. The vagaries of what is counted as income for tax purposes, and of tax deductibility, mean that it is impossible to be sure exactly how many landlords really earn less than $80,000 per year. One other interesting fact from the ATO's figures is that the average 'total income' of Australian taxpayers was $55,000. That means that on the way the tax office calculates 'total income' - looking at net rent and net capital gains, and excluding non-taxable items - someone on $80,000 is already a relatively high income earner. Income by itself is also an incomplete measure of whether these are 'average' Australians - wealth is just as important as income when considering the equality of tax measures. Many of the sub-$80,000 income earners are self-funded retirees who may own several investment properties, and possibly have a substantial share portfolio or bank balance as well. Their incomes may be below $80,000 in any given year, but they have the option to liquidate those assets at will to fund their retirement lifestyle. Given that superannuation drawdowns aren't counted either, it is certain that many of these superannuants are exactly the "so-called wealthy investors" that the HIA claims the tax figures show are so few in number. A lot of this group may no longer be utilising negative gearing, but it will have undoubtedly assisted them in building up the assets that will give them a comfortable retirement. For all these reasons, the HILDA data - used extensively by the Reserve Bank - is a much more reliable measure than the Tax Office data on what type of household gets by far the biggest benefit from negative gearing, and it ain't the poor. Michael Janda is an online business reporter with the ABC. View his full profile here. Topics: housing, housing-industry, tax First posted

True Justice Must Be Served For Guantanamo Detainees President Barack Obama lifted a moratorium on transfers of Guantanamo bay detainees to Yemen – a moratorium he put in place. Why Obama put this moratorium into place after vowing, on a multitude of occasions, to do whatever he could to restore justice and shut down Gitmo is neither here nor there. I don’t intend to speculate on his reasons for taking so long, but I will say that this is one step forward after 3000 steps back. But of course, this step is only a drop in the bucket representing justice for those jailed indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay. Now that Obama has made a meaningful step forward toward ending Gitmo, we must put pressure on the executive to see true justice is served. So what will true justice look like for those innocent individuals jailed at Guantanamo? Surely justice would not be to merely release these prisoners into Yemen, where they may very likely meet their end in death-by-drone at some later date. First, we must look at compensation. In half of the union’s states, compensation is due to those who have wrongfully been imprisoned. Federal statute stipulates $50,000 per year of imprisonment, and $100,000 for those on death row. But of course, for far too many at Gitmo, their wrongful caging goes beyond the standard state or federal case. For example, many were never formally charged with a crime. Many were stripped from their homeland and brought to a foreign island. Many were either tortured directly or force fed during a heroic and continuing hunger strike. All were forced to live under the constant threat that any privileges afforded to them can be stripped away, if they ever refused to comply with the demands of guards. And lastly, many have been known to be innocent for years. For all of these reasons, we must consider that due compensation far exceeds that of the average wrongfully imprisoned American. I do not mean to speak softly of the plight of your average American prisoner. Practice of solitary confinement has been found by human rights watchdogs to be nothing less than torture. But issues of solitary confinement at Guantanamo are even worse than your average federal supermax. As of 2009, a majority of Gitmo detainees were being held in solitary confinement, often deprived of sleep and beaten for the slightest deviations of prison protocol according the Center For Constitutional Rights. The issue of compensation is then a difficult one to calculate. There are no standards one can abide by. I might suggest a lump sum of $2m for each innocent detainee, along with either continued compensation from their torturers or even a shifting of the torturers’ wages and benefits to those who should be freed. The same will go for any other prisoner who, in the past or in the future, will be proven innocent of crimes they have never even been accused of formally. There is also the concerning issue of releasing detainees into Yemen, where I earlier half-jokingly referred to their possible fate of being bombed by the same government that at one time imprisoned them. President Obama, in the same recent speech that he addressed the issue of Guantanamo, also hinted that the drone policy of his administration is going to be made permanent and even be pursued to new degrees. Perhaps instead we should allow the detainees to be freed into the U.S., into any area of their choosing. Anthony Gregory has suggested Pennsylvania avenue as a possible relocation for them, but that might not be in the cards. I think that they should at least be given the option of living in America, as opposed to Yemen or other countries. Perhaps we can even get them on a path to U.S citizenship? This might, quite ironically, be the safest place for them. And then there is the issue of future justice. Justice can not truly be served while the practices that led to their wrongful imprisonment are still being carried out. We must arrest their torturers and those responsible for implementing, endorsing and enforcing their torture. This includes both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with a lengthy list of top military brass. They, like all others, are entitled to a trial. Those found guilty must pay restitution. We must end the unjust occupations that made such black-bagging of individuals seem necessary. End our campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and all other nations under attack by the U.S government. End government secrecy. Allow free and open journalism about war crimes the U.S has committed. We must make a solemn promise to never allow such a travesty of justice to occur ever again. Finally, there is the issue of legacy. Many of those detained unjustly have acted as noble heroes worthy of reverence. Their hunger strike forced the issue, laying bare the injustice of their imprisonment. As such, a memorial is in order. Perhaps we can set aside a space in the heart of Washington D.C, alongside those who seek to emblazon the injustice of Japanese internment camps, where family, friends and supporters can set up such a memorial. To create a memorial for all those innocent victims of a racist United States military. We must honor, revere and restore as much justice as possible to these innocent victims. We must never forget.

Ironically, Uzi fans are waiting on new music because they're listening to his old music so much. Before people started talking about Lil Uzi Vert jumping 20 feet off a sound tent into the crowd at last weekend's Rolling Loud festival in Miami, the conversation surrounding the 22-year-old Philly native mostly centered around the delayed release of his much-anticipated upcoming project, Luv is Rage 2. After releasing two well-received mixtapes—Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World and The Perfect LUV Tape—and earning his first No. 1 record (he was a guest on Migos' "Bad and Boujee") in 2016, Uzi jumpstarted his 2017 campaign with the release of "XO TOUR Llif3," a TM88-produced single that, in its sixth week on the chart, is sitting at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Given the incredible success of "XO TOUR Llif3," which has racked up over 88M streams on Spotify alone, it would make sense for Uzi's label, Atlantic Records, to capitalize on the song's momentum and finally release Luv is Rage 2, right? Well, not exactly. During Episode 111 of The Joe Budden Podcast, Joe revealed that he recently had a conversation with Michael Kyser, a veteran executive at Atlantic whom he's known since his first record deal at Def Jam. According to Kyser, the reason why Uzi fans are still patiently waiting for an album is, ironically, because of their incredible, unwavering and massive support of his material on streaming services. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website "He's doing 50 million streams a week. Why do I need to put an album out?" Kyser told Budden. It should be noted that during a Q&A in April, Uzi's producer and label manager Don Cannon revealed the album was not finished. While artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Logic have all put up incredible numbers over the past six months by releasing full-length albums, the idea that artists no longer need to release an album (or, for that matter, a full body of work) has been brewing for quite some time. Last September, in a piece entitled "Albums Are Dying a Slow Death at the Hands of Prospering Playlists," Yoh wrote, "Young Thug could sell only 15K units in his first week, but if he has songs that appear on multiple popular playlists, he could very well still tour and have a fan-favorite setlist." Eight months later, Lil Uzi Vert is in the same boat. Should Atlantic Records risk the potential embarrassment of low first week sales when a string of hit singles will keep Uzi's name on the charts and his songs on all the popular streaming service playlists, allowing for a plethora of show and touring opportunities? The answer, we now know, is no.

Hasbro is now facing an international boycott of its Nerf products after tricking a fan blogger into giving the company his address in order to send legal notices. Hasbro’s problem was with a post published by Martyn Yang on his toyblaster review blog Urban Taggers last year—a review of the N-STRIKE ELITE “RAMPAGE” BLASTER, which Nerf was not yet selling but, as Yang pointed out on his blog, was already widely available. “I had genuinely believed that I was not doing anything wrong by Hasbro given that my endorsements are for genuine products etc,” Yang told Australian news site Crikey. “As a consumer and long-time fan, I felt that the far from up-front emails from Hasbro and their lawyers were very poor behaviour from such a large and sophisticated organisation.” The problem started when Hasbro sent Yang an email offering him some Nerf gun accessories for a giveaway. All the company needed was his address, and Yang quickly complied. However, the freebies never came. Instead, six days later, he received a threatening letter from Hasbro’s law firm, Baker and Mckenzie, demanding Yang take down the post immediately. Yang agreed, but after that matters only got worse. Even though Yang cooperated, Nerf could not determine who was distributing the leaked products. Three weeks later, Yang discovered representatives from the law firm allegedly hanging around his apartment and questioning his neighbors. This was the last straw for Yang. “I really do not appreciate being ambushed by lawyers or their representatives on a Sunday afternoon when I haven’t done anything wrong,” he wrote to Nerf. “I have taken down the images and it’s not my fault that neither you nor Hasbro seem to be able to find out whoever the original source of the guns.” He shared the saga, including the full email quoted above, with Urban Taggers community members, many of whom vowed to boycott the company. “Hasbro is just insane. Everyone knows Urban Taggers is the biggest and best blog and do a helluva lot more for the Nerf brand than any other marketing channel,” wrote one commenter. “I’ve been having a lot of reservations about Hasbro stuff lately, and this just cemented my resolve to not buy Hasbro anymore,” wrote another. Hasbro’s legal threats not only failed to determine the source of leaked Nerf products, it also alienated its biggest customers in the process. Now that’s a review worth deleting. Photo via Urban Taggers

Two further points to make. By Tim Colwill on September 9, 2014 at 1:17 pm I posted this article following two weeks in which high-profile female developers and critics were subjected to violent threats from an angry minority of gamers. These types of threats are not welcome on games.on.net, and while passionately argued, the position outlined in the article was a straightforward extension of our acceptable use policy. I’d like to thank those of you who have expressed their support for the article and for my stand. Today, however, there are two points I would like to address. Firstly, I made the decision to disable comments on the article in question. This is not in keeping with the policies of iiNet, or of games.on.net, and indeed it was the first time in five years of writing for the site that I have disabled comments on an article. In my judgement as editor, I believed that the comments would quickly devolve into argument. Seeing such arguments on our site does nothing but hurt our image and turn away visitors. I was anxious to avoid this, and I was also anxious to avoid accusations of posting “flamebait”, of simply posting a controversial article simply to benefit from the traffic that comes from visitors having an intense argument. Nevertheless, I recognise that public debate and engagement is welcomed by both iiNet and games.on.net, and I apologise for closing comments on this article. We will be reviewing our commenting policy in the coming days and weeks to ensure that we can maintain the levels of debate and engagement you expect, while working hard to stand up for the equality and decency we believe is so important in gaming. Secondly, my conduct on my Twitter account has always been passionate and personal, and uses a level of language that breaches iiNet social media policy, and has no place in a professional environment. I apologise for my conduct on Twitter, and to any readers of games.on.net or iiNet Group customers who have taken offence at that conduct. In the interest of transparency and accountability, I will be posting our complete editorial policy in the coming days. Thanks again to all of our readers and customers for your overwhelming support. Tim Colwill Editor-in-Chief games.on.net

Important Notice: You have to update your device’s firmware if you purchased your device before 6th October 2016 for Arbites Innova 2 to work properly, using Arbites Innova 2 on a device with the older firmware will not work. Diverge, Diverge TM, Terminus Series Firmware Update Guide Terminus Mini, Felix Firmware Update Guide Summary Yay! Finally, after such long waits, Arbites and Animus Innova 2 are finally out. This update does not seem much but a lot of the underlying code on both Animus and Arbites were refactored, you could get the new copy of Arbites over here (Guide also included). Right now only the Windows versions are up but I’ll also post the Linux and Mac versions (gtk2/3 and cocoa respectively) over the weekend once I’ve made sure they are bug free. The new version of Arbites finally adds multi-language support, I haven’t have time to set up the other languages but the capability is there (see arbites/input-method), as far as I know, this makes Arbites the first key remapper tool with a configurable input method, other tools always assume that the user utilises the US input method. Macro editing is finally in the thing, I gotta say the macro editing capability is working like a charm. I’ll have some more detailed info below. Usage Guides for the new Arbites: (Seriously, you will need to read it) Getting Started with Arbites Rebinding Keys with Arbites Editing Macros with Arbites Technical Talk on Animus The older version of Animus stores its layout by ASCII code (97 dec is “a”), the new version of Animus stores its layout by HID scancode (4 dec is “a”), this means that the older version of Arbites will not work with the newer version of Animus and vice versa, I would really love to avoid reverse/compatibility issues but this is really something that I wish I’ve done sooner. The older version uses ASCII codes because Animus’ base code heavily utilises the Arduino libraries, and part of it was using Arduino’s implementation of the HID keyboard, which means the older version of Animus grandfathered the ASCII code storage. This is fine if we could just settle for supporting only US ASCII on the editor, but I’d really like to get multi-language support working, so the HID module was rewritten and standard HID scancodes are used instead. The implementation of macros in Animus is of course, hardware based, but editable via software, (see the Editing Macros Guide for more details) this means you could configure your macros on a machine with Arbites, then you could bring your keyboard anywhere and the macros would still work on any machine. About the expand-ability and future of Animus and Arbites If you have been looking at some of my code, you will realise that Arbites has always been playing the catch up game with Animus, Animus has a lot of capabilities which can be tapped into, but Arbites was never able to fully utilise Animus, for example, the macros and dual roles modules for Animus has been done for over 3 months already (you could check the github commits), but there was no easy way to configure the macros other than manually sending a serial command containing hex code. Now Arbites is finally catching up, so I’m pretty excited about it. Arbites at its current state is still not complete, like previously mentioned, the capability for additional language support is already there, but I haven’t got any time to create the alternate input methods (such as swedish/nordic/german/british/etc) since each set of language has over 1400 entries that I have to manually edit (which is extremely tedious), the key menu is also not completely filled, in the key menu, you will notice that the tabs “ctrl’d”/”alt’d”/”shifted” exists, but tabs for a combination of those keys still do not, the capability is already there in Animus (so no further firmware upgrade in the future is necessary), but I haven’t set it up in Arbites. I was going to also sort out the aforementioned features first before releasing but I figured you guys have waited long enough, so I’ll push out the upgrade progressively. I’ll also make a batch update post in a few minutes, there’s so much to say but for some reason I am finding it quite difficult expressing myself. (heh, I’m probably just tired because its 5:19 AM and I slept for only 2 hours ~20 hours ago)

Get answers from your peers along with millions of IT pros who visit Spiceworks. Here are some stories we’ve found across the internet from tech support folks we’d love to share. Each of them is full of fun and drama. 1. Making users liars since 1975 Once, I had a user come in… User: My MacBook air is really slow. Me (while opening up terminal and running uptime): Hmm, when was the last time you rebooted? User: Oh, a few days ago. Me: According to your compute, it’s been up for 41 days. User: It’s lying. She also had 5 Chrome Windows with at least 20 tabs apiece, Spotify, Photoshop, Word, AND Excel. 2. Now you see me, now you don’t. Customer: Do I have to watch my computer screen to use your app? Me: It’s considered a best practice. Otherwise you can’t see what people are saying. Customer: I see… 3. Cat and mouse Me: Good afternoon, this is Ari. How can I help you? Lady: My son’s computer is just pissing me off. He is traveling with his new wife. Can you help me? Me: Sure. Have you started the computer? Lady: Oh yeah. Me: I will need to see the configuration. Can you do a left click on the Start button bottom left of your screen with the mouse? Lady: That arrow thing is acting like a son of a bitch, not moving. The right clicks seems to show me some shit. Me: Could you please lift the mouse and check that the ball is moving freely and there is no dirt? Lady: Ah… uh… Now I know where that bloody ball came from. My cat’s been playing with it since yesterday… 4. P as in Peter Me: Sir, do you see a login screen asking for username and password? User: Yes. Me: Type admin as username. User: Badmi? Me: No, sir, its admin. A as in alfa, D as in delta, M as in Mike, I as in India, N as in November… User: Admin, right. (35 minutes passed. Finally, the user did it.) Me: Can you type the word password in the password field and click login? User: Bassword. “Invalid bassword.” Me: Try again. Type P as in Paul. User: B as ball? Me: No sir. It’s P as in Peter or P as in parrot. User: B as Beter? Me (trying again): P as papa. User: B as bapa, (This next part is my favorite.) Me (losing my temper): Sir, it’s not AB… it’s abcdefghijklmnop. P. P! User: Oh so it’s P! Huh!! I’ll try now. 5. My computer is not yours Me: XYZ technical support, how may I assist you? User: I have some difficulty in locating some files on my computer, it seems I am not able to open any files Me: Sir, could you please check whether you are able to get the Desktop screen. User: Yes, now what? Me: Can you open My Computer? User: How can I open your computer? 6. Fix it! Customer: Fix it! Me: Fix what, ma’am? Customer: My Internet connection. Can’t you tell why I’m calling? Me: No, ma’am, the technology doesn’t work that way. (I apologize for any inconvenience, and then check her connection. Everything is fine. I even test with ping and packet testing; again, very strong signal to the Internet.) Me: Ma’am, are you using a router? Customer: I don’t know. You guys installed it all. Me: Ma’am, we don’t install routers. Do you know the name of the router you’re using? Customer: No. Me: We can test the modem to make sure it’s working. Can you take your laptop into the room with the modem and unplug the modem from the rou— (Had I finished, I would have asked her to connect the laptop to the modem directly.) Customer: No. I couldn’t possibly do that! You just need to fix it. Me: Ma’am, are you suffering from an illness or injury preventing me from helping you today? Customer: No, and I couldn’t possibly be bothered with that. The modem and the laptop are on different floors. I called you to fix it. Why can’t you just fix it? 7. Push When Ringing Me: Thank you for calling [Cell Phone Provider]. This is [My Name]. How may I assist you today? Customer: Yes. Every time my phone rings and I try to answer it, my phone shuts off. It happens every time. Me: Well, that is pretty odd. Let me see if I can figure out what the issue with your handset is. (After spending almost an hour trying to look up account info and diagnose what could possibly be wrong with this woman’s phone with no luck, I am about to give up and replace the phone.) Me: So that I can write up in your account what exactly is happening so we can replace your phone, what button are you pushing when trying to answer the phone? Customer: The “Push When Ringing” button. Me: I’m sorry, which button? Customer: “Push When Ringing.” You know? P-W-R. Me: I think I know the problem… What are the funniest tech support stories you’ve ever heard? Share with us.

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the best films ever made. Almost 50 years after its release, it remains a topic of heated discussion and great reverence. It’s one of those films you could only dream to own a part of. But now you can. The San Francisco Art Exchange is selling a collection of work called The 2001 File, an archive of over 1,500 sketches, designs, paintings, and more that production designer and art director Harry Lange created for Kubrick’s film. Advertisement This is truly historical, jaw-dropping stuff. It’s work Lange did specifically at Kubrick’s request, much of which made it into the movie almost exactly. Here’s just a teeny, tiny taste of what’s available. Advertisement Advertisement As you can see, almost every one of those pieces is instantly recognizable as being a part of 2001. These are the original drawings used to spark those designs and sets in the final film. Advertisement “Lange’s illustrations are stunning to look at, and as you take them in you realize that they represent a kind of guided dreaming,” Theron Kabrich, co-founder and co-director of the SFAE, said in a press release. “2001 came at a very important period of time. America was working on going to the moon, and the film made space exploration seem imminent. Kubrick, [Arthur C. Clarke], and Lange didn’t put it so far out into the future that we couldn’t feel it. It’s pretty remarkable to look at Lange’s work from 50 years ago and see that so much of what he predicted is now part of our everyday life.” So this stuff is awesome, right? Well, here’s the bad news. First, it’s not on public display. Second, it’s all for sale but it ain’t gonna be cheap. The SFAE has estimated the collection is worth $8.75 million so, yeah. These are for serious collectors only. But if you are one of those, or if you have questions, you can contact San Francisco Art Exchange at sales@sfae.com, or call 415-441-8840.

Clinical-stage drug company Cempra Inc. CEMP, +0.15% said Thursday it has received a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its new drug applications (NDAs) for solithromycin, a treatment for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. The letter says that the FDA cannot approve the NDAs in their current form and says the company must provide additional safety data and resolve unspecified issues with its manufacturing facility. "Based on their review of the NDAs, the CRL stated that the FDA determined the risk of hepatotoxicity had not been adequately characterized," the company said in a statement. The FDA said the size of the safety database -- 920 patients -- is too small to measure adverse effects, and is recommending a study of about 9,000 patients. The company said it will seek a meeting with the FDA to discuss the issues raised in the letter. "With more than $225 million of cash on hand, patent protection for solithromycin through 2032 and a pipeline that includes fusidic acid and other potential programs for solithromycin, including an ophthalmic formulation, we have flexibility to determine the best course forward for solithromycin and Cempra," Chief Executive David Zaccardelli said in the statement. Shares tumbled 28% premarket and are down 80% for the year through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.08% has gained about 10%. Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.

Psychiatry (Edgmont) . 2007 Oct; 4(10): 40–47. PMCID: PMC2860525 PMID: 20428310 Psychotherapy with a Narcissistic Patient Using Kohut's Self Psychology Model , MD Jamie McLean Drs. McLean and Gillig are from the Department of Psychiatry, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio Find articles by Jamie McLean Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer Jamie McLean, Drs. McLean and Gillig are from the Department of Psychiatry, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; Corresponding author. Corresponding author. ADDRESS CORRESPONDENCE TO: Department of Psychiatry, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, P.O. 927, Dayton, Ohio 45401; Department of Psychiatry, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, P.O. 927, Dayton, Ohio 45401; ude.thgirw@naelcm.eimaj :liam-E EDITOR NOTE: All cases presented in the series “Psychotherapy Rounds” are composites constructed to illustrate teaching and learning points, and are not meant to represent actual persons in treatment Copyright notice Abstract According to Kohut's self psychology model, narcissistic psychopathology is a result of parental lack of empathy during development. Consequently, the individual does not develop full capacity to regulate self esteem. The narcissistic adult, according to Kohut's concepts, vacillates between an irrational overestimation of the self and irrational feelings of inferiority, and relies on others to regulate his self esteem and give him a sense of value. In treatment, Kohut recommends helping the patient develop these missing functions. Kohut proposes that the therapist should empathically experience the world from the patient's point of view (temporary indwelling) so that the patient feels understood. Interpretations are used when they can help the patient understand his sometimes intense feelings about any empathic failure on the part of the therapist, and understand why he (the patient) needs to restore solidity and comfort after being injured by any failed empathic (self object) ties. As insight develops, the patient begins to understand why he might experience these apparently small empathic failures so deeply. In this article, therapy with a narcissistic patient is approached from the point of view of Kohut's self psychology theory, and the successes and problems that were encountered with this approach are described and discussed. Keywords: Kohut, self-psychology, narcissistic personality disorder, temporary indwelling, self object, empathy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, mirroring transference, idealizing transference, transmuting internalization Introduction Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is one of the least diagnosed of the personality disorders. However, it is estimated that the disorder, or narcissistic traits, are present in a large number of patients presenting to a psychiatrist's office with complaints of depression or other mood symptoms. Approximately 18 percent of males and six percent of females have narcissistic traits.1 The prevalence of the full-blown NPD in the clinical population ranges from 2 to 16 percent and exists in the general population at a rate of less than one percent.2 This disorder tends to be more predominant in male subjects with 50 to 75 percent of NPD cases being male.2 The main characteristics of NPD are grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy ( ). These characteristic behavior patterns can affect a patient's interpersonal relationships and life in a profoundly negative manner. Often these patients will outwardly behave with a sense of entitlement and superiority, be dismissive of others, and often display disdainful or patronizing attitudes. However, behind these attitudes, and central to this personality disorder, are low self esteem and feelings of inadequacy. Although many patients accomplish high achievements, eventually the characteristics of this disorder interfere with both the patient's occupation and his or her personal relationships. This is because the patient often is unable to recover from criticism or rejection and also because he or she has behaved in an unempathic manner with overall disregard for others. Table 1 Grandiose sense of self-importance Preoccupation with fantasies of success, power, brilliance, beauty Belief that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people Requires excessive admiration Has a sense of entitlement Is interpersonally exploitative Lacks empathy Is often envious of others and believes that others are envious of him or her Displays arrogant and haughty behaviors Open in a separate window There are many theories about the causes of NPD. Often certain childhood developmental and parental factors have been implicated. An example of a developmental factor includes a postulated innate oversensitive temperament in the child; parental factors include excessive admiration by parents, lack of realistic feedback from parents during development, unreliable parental caregiving, and/or emotional abuse during childhood.3 Heinz Kohut proposes that in order to understand the narcissistic patient, the therapist must assume an empathic-introspective observational stance. By doing so, the therapist can understand the complex, inner world of the patient and the patient's inner subjective experience. The patient can then communicate freely, and the analyst becomes privy to what is being repressed or warded off by the patient. Self psychology, like object-relations theory, emerged out of an effort to treat patients who were not responding to ego psychology therapies constructed around the analysis of psychological defenses.4 Heinz Kohut asserts that adult narcissistic psychopathology is a result of parental lack of empathy during development. By failing to provide appropriate empathic feedback during critical times in a child's development, the child does not develop the ability to regulate self esteem, and so the adult vacillates between an irrational overestimation of the self and feelings of inferiority. Furthermore, the adult relies on others to regulate his self esteem and give him a sense of value, essentially looking for empathic feedback not received during development. Kohut believes that under normal circumstances, the developing infant has two important psychological constructs: the grandiose-exhibitionistic self (normally evolving into self-assertive ambitions) and the idealized parental imago (normally evolving into internalized values and ideals). Pathology in the first area results in fixation on grandiosity, and pathology in the latter area results in deficits, where the psychopathology is rooted in fixations on archaic idealizations ( and ).4 Open in a separate window Open in a separate window In Kohut's self psychology model, the dyad occurring between a child and his parents is a continually evolving process (via the formation of self objects). In Kohut's theory, a self object consists of the developing child plus each of those people who give the child the abilities to maintain self structure and firmness and a sense of cohesion and steadiness.5 They are self objects because, according to Kohut, the infant is unaware that they are not part of his- or herself and that they are providing functions the infant will later learn to do on his or her own as these functions are incorporated into his or her psychic structure. In Kohut's model, when certain self object needs are not met empathically, a developmental arrest occurs and pathologic narcissism can occur. Kohut describes three reasons for this relative lack of parental empathy to occur: 1) A poor fit between the child and parents in regards to the disposition of both; 2) the parent(s) is unable to react to and nurture the child, which can often be secondary to physical or mental limitations; and/or 3) the child has unusually great self object needs.6 Whatever the reason, the earlier and more pervasive the failures occur, the more severe the developmental arrest and the degree of narcissistic pathology in the adult. Case Presentation (Composite Case) Michael was a 38-year-old man who presented with complaints that he lacked the ability to develop and maintain friendships. He spent most of his adult life employed as a police officer but had made few friendships with his coworkers. He attributed this to their jealously of his intelligence and overall better skill, but also felt that it was also due to his inability to make small talk with people. He desired therapy because in one month he would be switching careers from law enforcement to fire fighting. He said that he wanted a quick fix in order to have an easier time making friends with his new coworkers. Furthermore, he said he was depressed, with low energy, poor focus and concentration, early morning awakening, decreased interest and motivation, and feelings of guilt and shame. Most of the stressors in his life were due to the fact that he did not have many friends or family in his life. In fact, he hoped that by learning to make friends he would also be able to form relationships with his children, with whom he had not had much contact in at least a year. Michael was born an only child. His parents divorced while his mother was pregnant with him, and after his birth, his mother was left to raise him without the help or support of his father (His father left town never to be heard from again except on a few occasions in Michael's life). Consequently, Michael's mother worked two jobs in order to financially support herself and her son. This left Michael to be raised by various relatives in many different homes, as his mother would ask relatives if they could temporarily adopt Michael for short periods of time. Consequently, he lived in 11 different homes, many in different states, and attended nine different schools from kindergarten through high school. During his last years of high school, he lived with his mother and her boyfriend and was verbally abused by both. After high school graduation, he left his mother's home and married soon after. He and his wife had two children. They divorced after six years of marriage because “I just didn't love her anymore. She wasn't doing anything for me.” He remarried approximately three years later and had two more children. This marriage lasted nine years. Michael reports that his second wife “became too demanding and needy,” which he had difficulty tolerating. Michael's children were all living in his current town, yet he did not have a close relationship with any of them. Michael named this as one of his sources of sadness and stated that more recently, as he was aging, he was starting to feel that they should want a closer relationship with him. He was able to admit that he was not a good father to them and was “emotionally not there.” Despite wanting a closer relationship with them, he felt that he had gone out of his way to communicate with them by e-mailing each of them and stating that he was not to blame for being a poor father since he was only parenting the best way he knew how. To do more, he stated, would “be letting them walk all over me.” He felt there was nothing more he could do and that they should voluntarily come to him. Self Psychology By describing the quest for a narcissistic individual to fulfill unmet self object needs, Kohut describes a certain aspect of narcissism inherent in all of us. Kohut describes the self as “the center of the psychological universe” and believes we spend our entire lives trying to build and maintain our self esteem through the use of self objects.7 However, in contrast to other theorists, Kohut does not believe this type of narcissism to be pathologic and argues for continuity between normal infantile narcissism and pathologic narcissism. Kohut argues that pathologic narcissism occurs only with early self object failures. When these failures occur, these patients search for gratification of missing childhood self object needs in their adult lives. They also are fearful of encountering, or repeating, earlier past failures. Therefore, they may present with an attitude of superiority or haughtiness, reflecting anxiety they feel over encountering further self object failures.7 This fear may also manifest itself in relationships. Patients with NPD may have a history of many failed relationships secondary to disappointment that the relationship is not giving them the longed-for childhood gratification and their missing self object needs.7 In the case presented in this article, Michael's perceptions of his current interpersonal relationships reflect this need for gratification, fearfulness, disguised as haughtiness, of encountering earlier past failures, and disappointment in current relationships causing him to abandon them. Case Presentation, Continued Michael's concerns over his children were soon placed on a backburner when his new career began. Instead of mentioning his children, every session focused on peer relationships with his coworkers and how he was feeling left out. He complained that he was never included in card games played during down times at the firehouse and that no one seemed to like him. He could not understand why this was happening to him again as it did with the police force. He said that he was “…someone they should all like. I mean, I'm cooler than most of them.” He also struggled with learning that he was not the most skilled among his peers. During his training, all of his evaluations from his supervisors indicated that his physical fitness and knowledge of firefighting were average. They also indicated that he needed to listen better to suggestions provided by his more experienced peers. One supervisor said that it would serve Michael well to learn to better accept criticism. Self Psychology, Continued Kohut emphasizes that we all desire to be perfect, that all of us think of ourselves in a grandiose manner, and that these desires and thoughts are not initially subject to reality testing in the infant. However, with adequate parenting, these ideas are gradually lessened over time (although never entirely destroyed) through inevitable minor self object failures or optimal frustrations. These minor frustrations are necessary for shaping a child's sense of self but are not psychologically traumatic.7 Kohut points out that it would be erroneous to believe parents can (or should) at all times meet the self object needs of a child as parents themselves are human and are not with the child at all times. Kohut believes these failures are necessary to alter the innate grandiose delusional ideas with which we are born because they require the child to learn internal mechanisms to self sooth and maintain his or her self esteem, despite not being perfect. Once these mechanisms are in place, the child relies less on self objects for appreciation and praise to regulate self esteem because the child can regulate it himself. In the narcissistic patient, self object needs were not met during childhood, and so these mechanisms never develop and he or she will continually look to others (self objects) for buttressing self esteem. Therefore, the narcissistic individual is very sensitive to any criticism or apparent rejection. Case Presentation, Continued Michael understood that he had a difficult time interpreting social cues and felt that this was the reason for his inability to make small talk or feel comfortable with making conversation. He would openly ask at almost every session what the therapist thought of his social skills. Later, he began directly asking how the therapist perceived him and how his coworkers might perceive him. He would often ask for the therapist's opinion on his appearance and the rightness and wrongness of his actions, and seek the therapist's advice on major and minor decisions. However, he only seemed to tolerate positive feedback and would become enraged if he received anything that he interpreted as criticism. Whenever offended, he would respond with such statements as, “Well how would it make you feel? You haven't had much experience as a therapist, have you?” Practice Points Parents normally meet self object needs of a child largely through two processes: The parent reflects back to the child the feelings and thoughts that the child is experiencing to give the child a sense of being validated and understood (mirroring transference), and the parent accepts that the child wants to view the parent as his or her protector and feel a sense of strength and comfort from doing so (idealizing transference).In the course of therapy with a narcissistic patient, these self object needs can emerge and are referred to as self object transferences. The two transferences that most often surface in therapy are the mirroring and idealizing transferences.6 Mirroring transference.The mirroring transference occurs when the analyst is experienced in fulfilling a structure-building function, a function the patient cannot yet perform for himself.4 A simple example of mirroring might occur when a parent shows a sense of delight with the child and conveys a sense of value and respect. A narcissistic patient may need the therapist to provide the mirroring he never received in order to build a missing structural part of the self. In this simple case, any feedback deemed non-praising may leave the patient feeling worthless and not valuable. At times, unempathic interventions of the therapist may inadvertently repeat earlier similar trauma, easily injure the self, and result in anxiety with temporary fragmentation of the cohesion of the transference. Narcissistic rage may occur at times, which Kohut believes is caused by a deflation of one's archaic grandiosity or to a traumatic disappointment in an idealized figure (see 'Idealizing transference” next), and this rage can evoke intense and violent destructive responses. As such, it is a reactive aggression and is present as long as the self remains seriously vulnerable and prone to fragmentation. Idealizing transference. A developing child needs to rely on the parent for safety, comfort, and calmness. In a normal child's development, the need for comfort from the external self object (parent) decreases as the child's internal means of self soothing increase. The narcissistic patient may need to use the therapist for self soothing as this capacity was never fully developed. In doing so, the patient might assign his or her therapist imagined characteristics, such as strength, high intelligence, or beauty, in order to feel a greater sense of safety and calmness.6 Case Presentation, Continued Michael seemed to have much difficulty with being the patient in the doctor-patient relationship. He also did not seem to tolerate the one-sided nature of psychotherapy and eventually said, “I think I'll go and see a different therapist, one who doesn't pretend to be perfect. I've been to better shrinks than you and they didn't just listen, they also shared about themselves. You act like you're a princess and like you don't have any problems. In fact, they say that shrinks are the most mentally ill people out there. You act like I'm the mentally ill one. I'm not mentally ill.” Michael also had difficulty in a social skills group, which was affiliated with a local hospital program and something he learned about through an advertisement on the radio. Even though joining the group was Michael's idea, he was reluctant to go because he was not convinced that he truly needed help with his social skills. Once in the group, he became more distressed and complained that he did not belong there. He became blameful and complained, “I can't believe you thought that the group would be a good idea for me. I can't believe you think I'm like them. They all have big problems...they're really messed up and I'm not at all. This makes me think that you don't know what you're doing.” He attended several more sessions with the therapist's encouragement, but reported that the other group members didn't like him. Eventually, the other group members told Michael that he acted as though he was “better than all of us.” Michael told them that he essentially felt that this was true and that he was leaving the group. The other group members did not seem upset by this news or ask him to stay. Following his exit from the group, he continually sought an apology from the therapist for thinking “that I was all screwed up like them.” Teaching Point In addition to self object transferences, defenses may also develop during the course of psychotherapy. These defenses are used as protection against the possibility of re-experiencing self object failures in the therapy that were experienced in the patient's past. There are three major defenses, all fairly primitive and available early in life, used by patients with NPD. These are projection, denial, and distortion.8 Projection is defined as reacting to unacceptable inner feelings as if they were happening outside of one's body. Often these unacceptable inner feelings are attributed to or projected onto another person.8 A patient with NPD will often feel uncomfortable with being the patient and feeling that he or she might have a mental illness. Projection was evident when Michael spoke of “shrinks” being mentally ill. In reality, it was too painful for Michael to face his fear that he might be mentally ill. Denial is defined as completely ignoring awareness of painful stimuli or facts.8 Denial differs from repression in that it does not just defend against effects, it ignores external reality. In NPD, denial is used as a means of maintaining self esteem in addition to avoiding painful aspects of life that might shed a negative light on the patient's behavior. Michael had a difficult time reviewing his parenting skills and thus denied the fact that he was almost entirely responsible for the lack of relationship with his children. Instead, it seemed easier for him to focus on how they were mean and cold children for not wanting him in their lives. Distortion is defined as largely changing and transforming external realities to fit the person's internal needs.8 Patients with NPD will use this defense so that reality meets his or her sense of entitlement. Michael distorted the reasons why his co-workers did not include him in their friendships, transforming those reasons into jealous ones. Believing that jealously was the reason they did not like him was a better fit for Michael's overall psyche. Treatment Using Heinz Kohut's self psychology model, the goal of therapy is to allow the patient to incorporate the missing self object functions that he needs into his internal psychic structure. Kohut calls this process transmuting internalization. In this sense, these patients' psyches are “under construction” and therapy is a building time. In order to achieve this goal, a therapist does not just try to imagine what feelings a certain situation might evoke, but rather can feel what the patient felt in that situation. This has been referred to as “temporary indwelling.”4,9 This empathy has been credited with being one of the vehicles for making lasting changes in therapy. Without it, the patient, whose self is too weak to tolerate more aggressive interpretation, would not benefit from therapy and in fact may suffer more damage. In accordance with providing continued empathic acceptance to what is transpiring in therapy, self psychology asserts it is not wise to agree, disagree, or gratify wishes of the patient or provide advice. To do so would change the therapeutic environment from one of empathy to one of judgment.4,6 Self psychology does not endorse using interpretations early in the therapy. Instead, self psychology asserts that allowing the transferences to unfold completely is the vehicle to helping the patient gain insight. When interpretations are called for, it is best to provide interpretations that focus on the patient's need to restore solidity and comfort after being injured by broken or failed self object ties ( ).4 Table 2 Separate developmental line of narcissism/new model of personality development and of the mind Reconceptualization of empathy Reexamination of transference (mirroring, idealizing and twinship) Deficit vs. conflict psychopathology Reformulation of drive theory Therapist's contribution to psychotherapy Nature of cure: transmuting internalization Reconceptualization of idealization Open in a separate window Presentation, Continued Toward the end of therapy, Michael began to notice how “prickly” he could be with people and would comment on this. He began to notice that his frustration with people over their common mistakes or not living up to his expectations was excessive. Michael was also able to see that these expectations were too high, and consequently, his tolerance rose. In fact, Michael became noticeably more tolerant in therapy and less defensive. At one point, he stated, “You know, I'm constantly thinking about the reasons I'm angry when I get upset with people. You've made me stop and think if I'm out of line.” Likewise, Michael reported that he was feeling more comfortable at the firehouse. He even had a “buddy” who seemed to include Michael in the social aspects of the firehouse group. Discussion Self psychology has both critics and supporters. Critics have likened self psychology to nothing more than supportive psychotherapy and have doubted its ability to make lasting changes in patients. Some have stated that is too supporting of these pathologic patients, which allows them to bypass any responsibility for their conflicts.10 Other critics have stated that although the theory of self psychology has broadened our views of narcissism and its development, it is incomplete and does not address some of the unconscious introjects of a patient's psyche. In other words, self psychology can adequately account for some of the pathogenesis of narcissism, but self psychology cannot be a “one size fits all” label applied to all narcissism. Instead, some think it better to think of narcissism as a behavioral syndrome with a number of different pathways of pathogenesis. Supporters state that self psychology is a form of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. They argue that empathy, one of the crucial elements of self psychology, is comparable to interpretations in making lasting changes. In fact, supporters of self psychology feel that narcissistic patients have such fragmented selves that they are unable to tolerate interpretations at an early point in therapy. Empathy, one of the primary tools in self psychology, allows first for a therapeutic alliance to form. Then, the patient is able to fill in developmental voids by processing the positive experiences happening between him and the therapist through transmuting internalization. As therapy progresses, empathy allows the patient, who now trusts the therapist as a positive self object, to look beyond what the therapist can offer in the way of mirroring or an idealizable self object. Instead, the patient is now able to examine his own perceptions of situations. Once this happens, the patient discovers further repressed conflicts and developmental needs and is now able to tolerate interpretations that focus on these repressed needs. Empirical studies directly comparing self psychology techniques to other forms of psychotherapy are rare. One randomized, controlled study found self psychology to be more effective than cognitive orientation treatment in treating eating disorders.13 The patients treated with self psychology had significant improvements while those treated with cognitive orientation did not. The process of uncovering the patients' underlying conflicts, which were not necessarily directly related to food intake, was proposed by the authors as the explanation for the success of the self psychology approach in contrast to cognitive therapy.13 On the other hand, Adler10 mentions several limitations of self psychology. According to Adler, one of these limitations is that self psychology overlooks guilt as important in the psychopathology of narcissism. He contends that Kohut dismisses guilt because it is more likely an “intrapsychic phenomenon” rather than something that occurs as a result of interpersonal conflict, situations happening between two individuals, or empathic failures. This, as Adler points out, also lends credit to the critics that say Kohut's self psychology does not address unconscious or intrapsychic phenomena. Furthermore, Adler believes that a patient's guilt can be the cause for certain negative reactions in therapy, rather than always being reactions to empathic failures on the part of the therapist. Kernberg has some similar criticisms.11 As self psychology evolves, it continues to be in a state of flux.14 Some may always argue that self psychology is nothing more than warmth and empathy and that most patients, to some degree, will have mirroring and idealizing transferences in the course of therapy as this is something we all desire. Despite this, there does seem some lasting contributions of self psychology to the psychoanalytic field. It is unclear whether self psychology will remain a singular form of therapy or rather be broken apart into contributing pieces.14 These contributions include the fact that self psychology provides a new developmental pathway of narcissism. Narcissism is less a “dirty” word since the advent of self psychology. Second, self psychology emphasizes the importance of empathy and how this tool may advance treatment. Third, self psychology very clearly elucidates the self object transferences. And fourth, self psychology brings to the forefront the therapist's contribution to therapy and the idea of intersubjectivity.15 This intersubjectivity can be described as an interplay between the subjective experiences of both the therapist and patient and their “reactions to one another.”15 The patient's psychology is understood only through the analyst's subjective lenses, so to speak.15 In fact, a new relational perspective of therapy is beginning to gain ground.15 In this perspective, facets of self psychology and intersubjectivity are combined along with facets from many other psychoanalytic theories.15 This relational perspective focuses more on the two-person nature of therapy than that of classical analysis.15 Conclusion Patients with NPD suffer a great deal. Kohut describes the depression and anxiety that a narcissistic patient may feel as “the deepest anxiety a man can experience.”6 NPD has also been described to be as overwhelming as the fear of death.6 The torment narcissistic patients suffer should never be discounted. Furthermore, these patients can and do present a risk. They feel less than human when they encounter even minor failures and, in order to regain a sense of unity within themselves, they act in ways that seem narcissistic to others, including suicide. In formulating Michael's treatment program, the developmental model of self psychology was used to explain the pathogenesis of Michael's narcissism. His self object needs clearly were not met empathically by his over extended mother. As therapy progressed, however, it became clear that there might be other factors to consider in the development of Michael's narcissism, especially that of his basic biological and psychological temperament. As treatment unfolded, the neutral and empathic stance, which according to self psychology the therapist should always maintain, became a difficult task. Michael's rage and sarcastic defenses were, at times, triggers for negative countertransference. In self psychology, it is the job of the psychiatrist to help these patients build for themselves the lattice of self object experiences in order to thrive beyond the therapy. However, narcissistic patients, such as Michael, can bring about quite a bit of countertransference in the psychiatrist, and at times, this may be overwhelming. In order to appropriately treat these patients, the psychiatrist must understand and be fully aware of these countertransferential feelings so that they do not interfere in therapy. Empathy has been referred to as crucial to the curative process in self psychology.9 Countertransference can interfere with empathy, and without empathy, the tone of therapy will not allow for the patient's full elaboration of his self object needs. This was difficult to achieve during Michael's therapy. Although providing therapy to a patient such as Michael who has NPD can prove challenging, it is also rewarding. Through growth in therapy, Michael ultimately found some relief, fleeting at first, from his depression and anxiety and learned ways to change some of his behaviors in a lasting way. As therapy progressed, Michael began to find some sense of unity, giving him a more durable peace within himself that was usually able to sustain him.

Exclusive Preview | Justice League # 45 The epic showdown between Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor appears to have been decided. And the Anti-Monitor has won! But the Darkseid War continues within the pages of Justice League # 45. In “Darkseid War: Gods and Men,” several of the Justice League members have been given the power of the New Gods, and possibly their curse as well. Men were never meant to be Gods, and their very existence may at stake if they can’t hold on to their dwindling humanity. In CraveOnline’s exclusive preview for Justice League # 45, the assembled League and Mr. Miracle witness something that they never thought possible: the broken body of Darkseid himself! And if a God can die, then what comes next? Writer Geoff Johns teams up with guest artist Francis Manapul for Justice League # 45, which will hit comic book stores everywhere on Wednesday, October 21. DC fans, share your thoughts on the Darkseid War storyline in the comments section below! Photo Credits: All Images Provided by DC Comics

Photo Credit: Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports The Vancouver Canucks and the agent for Ryan Miller gently disputed some of the details of a report that surfaced on Wednesday from TSN’s Farhan Lalji, which suggested that the Canucks’s starter was not going to return to action within his original four-to-six week recovery timeline, that he was several weeks away from even skating, and that the goaltender wouldn’t return before the NHL playoffs. It would appear that while Miller has taken part in some on-ice workouts, he’s yet to skate with equipment, according to Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins. Also Miller’s agent Mike Liut contended in a conversation with News 1130 Sports that Miller isn’t behind schedule, he’s on schedule, and a four week recovery timeline was always an optimistic fallacy. Read past the jump. Let’s get into the nitty gritty a bit, and try to figure out what’s going on here. Liut – Miller’s agent, who also represents former Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider, so we can assume he’s familiar with how crazy the Vancouver market can get about Canucks goaltenders – elaborated on Miller’s timeline during a conversation with News 1130 Sports on Thursday. “He is not behind schedule, he is on schedule,” Liut insisted. “This injury is never 4 weeks for a goalie, it’s 6-8 weeks.” Liut : “As I told you 2 weeks ago, goalies take longer to recover from this type of knee injury.” #Canucks — News1130 Sports (@News1130Sports) March 19, 2015 Wednesday’s news was also a surprise to Canucks general manager Jim Benning: Nux GM Jim Benning says via text: “I haven’t heard that Ryan (Miller) is going to be out longer than expected.” #canucks — Elliott Pap (@ElliottPap) March 18, 2015 Meanwhile, Canucks head coach Desjardins suggested that Miller had in fact begun skating but avoided confirming that Miller’s recovery is behind schedule during his availability on Thursday. “I think Ryan is on track from everything I’ve heard,” Desjardins said. “He has skated, but not with gear on.” So what do we make of this cacophony of mixed messages? I think the key thing to remember is that Miller was originally reported to be likely to miss “a minimum” of four-to-six weeks. That was three-and-a-half weeks ago, and obviously Miller isn’t close. So the four-to-six week timeline seems like it was overly optimistic, which is what Lalji’s report stated, although – we suppose – technically Miller may still be ‘on’ rather than ‘behind’ schedule because four-to-six weeks was always presented as an optimistic projection. In the immediate wake of Miller’s knee injury the Canucks were very open about their intention of proceeding with extreme caution. From a Benning appearance on TSN 1040 in late February: So he got the MRI done, it looks like he’s got a sprained knee and so the timetable for Ryan is going to be anywhere from 4-6 weeks. So we’ll just keep looking at it as we go through the process here. We won’t bring him back, and he won’t be playing, until he’s 100 percent healthy. It looks like it’s going to be that long.. With the end of regular season rapidly approaching – it’s now only 23 days away – Miller isn’t close to returning. That much everyone seems to agree on. Though details were quibbled with and semantics debated on this issue on Thursday, all that really matters is that the substantive part of Lalji’s report – that Miller won’t be back in the Canucks crease prior to the beginning of the NHL postseason – isn’t in any obvious dispute.

In late 2006, the writer John Green came up with the idea of communicating with his brother, Hank, for a year solely through videos posted to YouTube. The project wasn’t quite as extreme as it sounds. John, who was then twenty-nine, and Hank, who was three years younger, saw each other about once a year, at their parents’ house, and they typically went several years between phone calls. They communicated mainly through instant messaging. Hank was living in Missoula, where he’d started a Web site about green technology. John was living on the Upper West Side while his wife, Sarah Urist Green, completed a graduate degree in art history at Columbia. He had published two young-adult novels, “Looking for Alaska,” in 2005, and “An Abundance of Katherines,” in 2006, and was working on a third. Like the best realistic Y.A. books, and like “The Catcher in the Rye”—a novel that today would almost certainly be marketed as Y.A.—Green’s books were narrated in a clever, confiding voice. His protagonists were sweetly intellectual teen-age boys smitten with complicated, charismatic girls. Although the books were funny, their story lines propelled by spontaneous road trips and outrageous pranks, they displayed a youthfully insatiable appetite for big questions: What is an honorable life? How do we wrest meaning from the unexpected death of someone close to us? What do we do when we realize that we’re not as special as we thought we were? Green was more forgiving toward adults than Salinger was, but he shared Salinger’s conviction that they underestimate the emotional depth of adolescents. Green told me, “I love the intensity teen-agers bring not just to first love but also to the first time you’re grappling with grief, at least as a sovereign being—the first time you’re taking on why people suffer and whether there’s meaning in life, and whether meaning is constructed or derived. Teen-agers feel that what you conclude about those questions is going to matter. And they’re dead right. It matters for adults, too, but we’ve almost taken too much power away from ourselves. We don’t acknowledge on a daily basis how much it matters.” Y.A. novels are peculiarly well suited to consideration of ethical matters. It seems natural when a high schooler like Miles Halter, of “Looking for Alaska,” is depicted struggling to write essays on topics like “What is the most important question human beings must answer?” Miles is equally preoccupied with girls and with collecting the dying words of famous people. (His favorite: Rabelais’s “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”) Though “Looking for Alaska” sold modestly, it won the Michael L. Printz Award, the American Library Association’s honor for best Y.A. book of the year. At the time, Green was living in Chicago, working at the association’s magazine, Booklist, where he had reviewed books in a peculiar constellation of subjects: conjoined twins, boxing, and theology. Upon graduating from Kenyon College, in 2000, Green had thought of going to divinity school, and he worked for six months as an apprentice chaplain at a children’s hospital in Columbus. He found the experience almost too sad to bear, and decided that such a life was not for him. Still, he remained deeply interested in spiritual matters, with one exception: “Is there a God?” struck him as “one of the least interesting questions.” After “Alaska” won the prize, Green quit his day job. He got more writing done, but he missed the intellectual camaraderie that he’d always had with his peers. The YouTube project was, in part, an attempt to fill that void. (It was also a smart marketing stunt, though Green could not have predicted how smart.) Hank had reservations about becoming the repository for John’s excess energy. He told me, “I found John exciting and smart and interesting but also a little dramatic. He gets frustrated easily. He’s anxious. Hypochondriacal.” At the same time, he said, “John, for me, has always been the baseline of what was cool and valuable and important. If he liked a band, I’d buy all of their CDs and memorize them and become a bigger fan than he ever was.” In 2006, YouTube was entering its second year, and people were starting to post video diaries, which, in their more theatrical moments, looked like performance art staged in somebody’s basement. John Green was a fan of several such series, especially “The Show with Zefrank,” which enlisted viewers in quirky projects, such as dressing up their vacuum cleaners as people. Hank shared John’s enthusiasm for these experiments, and it trumped any hesitations that he had. “We really believed in the importance of online video as a cultural form,” Hank said. The Greens started posting videos several times a week, under the name the Vlogbrothers. The project was less a conversation than an extended form of parallel play. They shared personal stories—John confessed that the only sports trophy he ever got was made by his parents, and bore the inscription “All-Star in Our Hearts”—but mainly they exchanged ideas. The brothers had signature preoccupations, which they discussed with excitable urgency, talking into the camera at tremendous speed. John discussed books, existential anxiety, and pizza; Hank was into science, math, and corn dogs. John invented a highly undignified “happy dance”; Hank wrote and performed songs, many of them about Harry Potter. The tone of their monologues ranged from goofily informative (how giraffes have sex) to wonkish (“Why Are American Health-Care Costs So High?”). Many posts dispensed adult wisdom, but in a reassuringly modern way. In a post advising boys on how to charm a girl, John jokingly said, “Become a puppy. A kitten would also be acceptable or, possibly, a sneezy panda”—an allusion to a popular clip on YouTube. But he also said, “If you can, see girls as, like, people, instead of pathways to kissing and/or salvation.” The Greens’ vlogs were filled with in-jokes and code words that rewarded dedicated viewing. “D.F.T.B.A.” stood for “Don’t Forget to Be Awesome,” and John referred to his wife as “the Yeti,” because she was much talked about but—by her choice—never seen on camera. When a brother broke a rule that they’d established, such as posting a video longer than four minutes, the other brother could impose a punishment. Hank once had to spend fifteen consecutive hours in a Target; John had to eat a generous helping of “slobber carrots.” (His toddler, Henry, provided the slobber.) In February, 2007, John was stuck at the Savannah airport, and he spotted an arcade game called Aero Fighters. He initially misread the name as “Nerdfighters,” and later, in a video, he started riffing: what if Nerdfighters were a real game? As he put it, “The band geek would be, like, ‘I will destroy your ears with my tuba!’ And the theatre guy would be, like, ‘I am an expert at sword fighting!’ And the English nerd would be, like, ‘Hmm, I know a lot of Shakespeare quotes!’ ” Why did people still pick on nerds, anyway? Who did the popular guys have on their side—George W. Bush and Tom Brady? Green declared, “I raise you an Abraham Lincoln and a Franklin Delano Roosevelt and . . . an Isaac Newton, a William Shakespeare, a Blaise Pascal, an Albert Einstein, an Immanuel Kant, an Aristotle, a Jane Austen, a Bill Gates, a Mahatma Gandhi, a Nelson Mandela, and all four Beatles. We win.” Fans loved the term “nerdfighter” and started using it to identify themselves. Initially, Green talked about nerdfighters with a hostile edge: they stood against the popular people. But the word soon took on a more celebratory, inclusive cast. Nerdfighters weren’t against anything; they were simply proud to immerse themselves in interests that others might find geeky or arcane. Indeed, the nerdfighter community is strikingly civil and constructive for an Internet subculture. Through an annual charity event, the Project for Awesome, nerdfighters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for one another’s favorite causes. Their comment sections, on YouTube and elsewhere, are filled with earnest suggestions for further reading and mock complaints that Green has made them care about a distant war that they’d been ignoring. Rosianna Halse Rojas, a pioneering nerdfighter, recalls the moment the concept caught on. “It was like the formation of a nation,” she told me. “Only we weren’t fighting anybody to do it.” On June 6th, Twentieth Century Fox releases “The Fault in Our Stars,” the movie version of John Green’s wildly successful 2012 novel about teen-agers with cancer. “T.F.I.O.S.,” as fans call it, has been on a Times best-seller list for a hundred and twenty-four consecutive weeks, and has spent forty-three weeks as the No. 1 Y.A. book. The trailer for the movie, which stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, has been viewed nearly twenty million times. Publishing executives talk about successful books as if they were lightning strikes, but the popularity of “The Fault in Our Stars” was no accident. Nerdfighters, who by then numbered in the millions, were evangelical about it, tucking notes into copies of the book and encouraging readers to join their movement. In fact, “The Fault in Our Stars” reached the No. 1 position on Amazon six months before it was published, when Green announced its title online. Many authors do pre-publication publicity, but Green did extra credit: he signed the entire first printing—a hundred and fifty thousand copies—which took ten weeks and necessitated physical therapy for his shoulder. In recent years, whenever Green has appeared at a book signing he has been greeted by hundreds, often thousands, of screaming fans, mostly teen-age girls. The weirdness of this is hard to overstate. Green is a writer, and his books are not about sexy vampires. “Stars” is a novel about young people with a deadly disease; its title is taken from Shakespeare, and it has an uncompromising ending. In the movie, as in the book, the lead character, Hazel Lancaster, wears an oxygen tube in her nose. Green did not write the film’s script, but he was an informal consultant, and it was important to him that the film retain this detail: “It flies in the face of the notion that romance, particularly about teen-agers, has to be straightforwardly ‘aspirational,’ as they always say.” Green, now thirty-six, is thin and tall, with light-brown hair that shifts around like a haystack in a stiff wind; he often rakes his hands through it, causing random clumps to stand up straight. He has the charm of the middle-school teacher you secretly thought was cute, but he is no match for Elgort, the twenty-year-old who plays Hazel’s romantic interest, Augustus Waters. I attended a preview of the movie in Manhattan this spring. Thousands of fans had lined up for free tickets, and, after the screening, they screamed when Elgort strode down the aisle for a Q. & A. But they screamed louder for Green. “We love you, John!” they called out. When Green told the crowd that, though he was proud of the movie, it wasn’t his movie, someone shouted, “But it’s your plot, John!”—which marked the first time I’d ever heard heckling about the nature of authorship. One questioner, who had to apologize for hyperventilating as she spoke, asked the five actors onstage to name their favorite lines from the book. Woodley was partial to “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once”; Elgort cited “The world is not a wish-granting factory.” I had never watched a movie in a theatre where there was mass crying—not discreet nose-blowing, or stifled sniffles, but wracking sobs. (I was not immune.) Green told me that he had loved and hated Erich Segal’s “Love Story” when he read it in high school, and that he had wanted to write “an unsentimental cancer novel.” A story about dying teen-agers would be too wrenching, he decided, if it weren’t also romantic, and funny in a way that offered “some basis for hope.” Much of the novel’s vibrancy comes from the first-person voice of Hazel, which is irreverent but never nihilistic. After she reads online tributes to a girl who’s died of cancer, Hazel observes that the girl “seemed to be mostly a professional sick person, like me, which made me worry that when I died they’d have nothing to say about me except that I fought heroically, as if the only thing I’d ever done was Have Cancer.” When Green initially tried to write about kids with cancer, he centered the narrative on a young chaplain—“the worst kind of wish-fulfillment version of me.” The result, he once said, was “like a terrible ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ ” Then, in 2007, he became aware of a girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, named Esther Grace Earl, who was one of the earliest nerdfighters. Esther had thyroid cancer, as Hazel does in the book, and was dependent on an oxygen tank. Green got to be friends with her online, and later visited her in person. Green is careful to say that Hazel—whose middle name is Grace—is not Esther, but Esther’s father and sister have spoken, appreciatively, of how much Green’s creation reminds them of her. Esther died in 2010, at the age of sixteen. “I could not have written it without her friendship,” Green said, adding that “there is definitely something weird about her not being here to give her blessing or not.” (“This Star Won’t Go Out,” a collection of writing drawn from Esther’s journals, letters, and blog posts, came out in January from Green’s publisher, Dutton, with an introduction by him.) When Green finished the manuscript of “Stars,” he and his editor, Julie Strauss-Gabel, felt that they had something special. Most Y.A. readers are girls, but because Green is male and his first books featured boys as protagonists his new novel seemed capable of reaching both genders. “Stars” is a love story, but Strauss-Gabel successfully pushed for a cover that did not look like a traditional Y.A. romance: no pink, no photograph of a pretty girl. Instead, the title dominates, and the background is blue. The stripped-down cover also meant that adults could read it on the subway without embarrassment. Adults have become big consumers of Y.A. fiction, and Green treats his grownup characters with unusual empathy. Hazel worries a good deal about how her death will affect her parents: “There is only one thing in this world shittier than biting it from cancer when you’re sixteen, and that’s having a kid who bites it from cancer.” Green gives Hazel’s mother not only a devoted temperament but a sense of humor; she watches “America’s Next Top Model” with her daughter and takes her to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author, Peter Van Houten. Green’s books seem calibrated for an era in which parents—vigilant and eager not to seem out of touch—often read the books that their children are reading. Lizzie Skurnick, who runs a publishing imprint that reissues Y.A. literature from the past, told me that “Green writes books that are appropriate for teen-agers and for the adults who want books to be appropriate for teen-agers.” Such parents may be pleased that their child is touched enough by a book to cry over it, but they don’t want the experience to be too unsettling. Skurnick feels that Green’s approach is a bit tamer than that of Y.A. authors from earlier eras: Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, Richard Peck. In Katherine Paterson’s beloved 1977 book, “Bridge to Terabithia,” a fifth grader’s best friend dies alone in the woods after falling from a rope swing, and there is little consolation in the form of either teachable ideas or romantic spark. “John Green’s books all have a point and a lesson,” Skurnick said. “They’re sophisticated points, but they’re there.” In April, I visited Green in Indianapolis. He has lived there since 2007, when Sarah took a curatorial position at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In the Midwest, the Greens added to their household, in this order: Willy, a West Highland terrier; Henry, their now four-year-old son; and Alice, their daughter, who just turned one. When Sarah was pregnant with Alice, the Greens did a Google Hangout with Barack Obama, during which they asked him which name he preferred: Eleanor or Alice. The President demurred, saying, “The main thing is, tell either Eleanor or Alice not to forget to be awesome.” I was staying downtown, and Green picked me up in his car, a Chevy Volt, to take me to his office and video-production studio, in the Broad Ripple neighborhood. He was wearing a checked shirt, jeans, and Adidas sneakers with green-and-turquoise Argyle socks. At one point, he told me, “I don’t see why anyone would ever wear socks that are not Argyle.” Broad Ripple is as cute as its name. There are coffeehouses tucked into bright-painted wooden buildings and brewpubs in older brick ones. Green’s office occupies the third floor of a solid, Midwestern-looking building. Nearby, there’s an encampment of youngish homeless people, known locally as the Bridge Kids, and a weekly farmers’ market that makes an appearance in “Stars.” At work, Green has surrounded himself with people who are approximately as smart as he is, but a lot calmer. When I asked Sarah how anxious John was, she laughed and said, “The word ‘very’ comes to mind.” But, she said, “it’s part of his identity and the way he experiences the world, and it’s not a wholly inward-focussed anxiety. It also helps him to be empathetic.” Green told me that he had been prone to “obsessive thought spirals for as long as I could remember”—but he’d had good therapy, starting when he was a teen-ager, and felt that his emotions were “fairly well managed.” Besides, “from a novelist’s perspective, the ability to cycle through all the possibilities and choose the worst is very helpful.” Vlogbrothers, which has more than two million subscribers, has become the anchor of an online empire. In 2011, after YouTube approached the Greens about doing additional series, they launched Crash Course videos—short educational lectures with animation accompaniments. John handles the humanities, Hank the sciences. The videos, which have the jump-cut aesthetic and speedy delivery of the Vlogbrothers posts, are the pedagogical equivalent of Red Bull shots, and if you watched them all you’d know a lot, but you’d also think you knew more than you did. Raoul Meyer, a history teacher who taught John Green in high school, and who now writes scripts for Crash Course, is sometimes bothered when people say that John is the best teacher they’ve ever had, because in real life teachers tell you when you’re wrong. “This is delivery of content and we do a really good job of it, but that’s just one part of teaching,” he said. The walls of Green’s office are covered with framed nerdfighter-themed art work, most of which has been thrust into his hands at book signings. In one corner is an Aero Fighters arcade console, a birthday gift from Hank to John. Another gift from Hank hangs on a nearby wall: a photographic mosaic, amassed from hundreds of images of fans, of the “nerdfighter salute,” a gesture in which the hands are crossed at the wrists in a way that makes actual fighting impossible. A video blog may not sound like an intimate medium, but it has brought John and Hank closer. After the first year of Vlogbrothers, they resumed other forms of communication; John told me that they now talk on the phone every day. “If anything, we talk to each other too often,” he said. “Now our collaboration is so deep, and our work together feels so intertwined, that I can’t imagine we were ever so distant. But we still need projects. We still don’t talk about personal stuff.” They say “I love you” once a year—on Esther Day, which is a holiday that Esther Earl asked nerdfighters to observe on her birthday. Her idea was that it could become a celebration of non-romantic love—a day when you’d say “I love you” to people who don’t often hear it from you. “Oh, and Happy Father’s Day.” John walked me into his inner sanctum, where a grubby, oatmeal-colored La-Z-Boy hulked in a corner. “I know it’s not a physically beautiful item,” he said. But his mother gave it to him for his twenty-second birthday, and he has written parts of all his books in it. “It has moved successively farther from the center of our house,” he observed. “In New York, it was dead in the middle of the apartment.” A bookshelf held translated editions of his books. The Norwegian edition of “Stars” is called “Fuck Fate.” Green laughed. “That is, arguably, a better title than ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ ” he said. “You’ve got to love Norway—you can put ‘fuck’ on the cover of a young-adult book!” That morning, Green was making a Crash Course video about “Beloved,” the Toni Morrison novel. Unlike his Vlogbrothers posts, Green’s Crash Course videos are written not by him but by hired experts. He revises them, however, and as he read the script on a teleprompter he added jokes and asides. The video was being filmed by Stan Muller, a tall, broad-shouldered guy who answered a Craigslist ad placed by Green three years ago. Muller adopted the role of fond, soothing parent. Green reveres “Beloved,” but it’s harrowing—Sethe, a runaway slave, kills her baby—and he was worried about getting the tone right. In Crash Course videos, Green often performs as Me from the Past, a jaded younger version of himself who asks obvious questions. In the guise of this alter ego, Green slouched in a chair and said into the camera, “Like, do you think Beloved is a ghost or not?” As his current self, he complained, “You’re ruining it, Me from the Past. We were having a moment there.” They stopped filming for a second, and Green said, hopefully, “That was kind of a joke. It was almost a joke. It’s about to get really unfunny, though.” One of his knees was jiggling. “Oh, man! How about if I add, ‘You have a special gift for finding the least interesting question’? Can I say that, or is it too dismissive of a large body of scholarship? I don’t care—I think it’s funny. Stan, do you like it?” “I do,” Muller said. “It is the least interesting question you can ask.” “I agree.” Nerdfighters have a term for assessing the heights that Green’s hair achieves when he worriedly tugs on it—“puff levels”—and this morning they were rising. “Fuck, it’s literally haunting, this book,” he said. “Like there’s a ghost in the room.” It was a little surprising to hear Green use “fuck” so often, because he is careful not to do so in his videos or his books. He continued reading the script, evoking the book’s themes of dehumanization, buried memory, and love that’s “too thick.” He then described the moment when Sethe, caught by her slave-owner, takes her kids “out back to the woodshed to kill them all before he can take them.” In an unusually slow voice, he noted, “She only manages to kill one, sawing through its neck.” Afterward, he worried some more: “Gaaaaah. This is going to get, like, the least views of any Crash Course video ever made.” “Nah,” Muller replied. “It’ll get a hundred thousand.” Afterward, in Green’s office, we talked about the years of his life that might be chronicled in a Y.A. novel. He grew up in Orlando, Florida, where his father, Mike, was the state director of the Nature Conservancy; his mother, Sydney, stayed home with John and Hank when they were little, then worked for a local nonprofit called the Healthy Community Initiative. Green’s parents now live near Asheville, North Carolina. “They have goats and chickens and a vegetable garden and make goat’s-milk soap,” Green said. “I was so worried about them leaving their home of twenty-five years and, like, an hour after they arrived they were the happiest they’d ever been.” In middle school, Green said, he was a regrettable combination: a nerd who was not a good student. He was also bullied and unhappy. When he was fifteen, his parents sent him to Indian Springs, a boarding school outside Birmingham, Alabama. It was an excellent move. Green had always loved to read—he had a soft spot for “girl books,” like the Baby-Sitters Club series—but in high school he read Salinger, Vonnegut, Morrison, and Chabon, and found other people who liked to talk about books. Indian Springs offered the kind of verdant, self-contained setting where one could have a preëmptively nostalgic coming-of-age. You could almost feel yourself missing it while you were still there. Green captures this delicious melancholy in “Looking for Alaska,” which tells a story of friendship, first love, and intellectual questing at a school very much like Indian Springs. Green was much happier in Alabama, but he remained a “genuinely poor student.” He told me, “I had always been told I was smart and had potential, but I had never shown the ability to deliver on it. It’s a bit cliché to say, but I think I actually was scared I wasn’t smart.” (After a beat: “I was actively bad at math. And languages.”) Raoul Meyer, then a young teacher at Indian Springs, has a different take. He told me, “John was very vocal about his relationships with his friends being more important than his schoolwork. He broke a lot of rules—he smoked very visibly, for instance, and frequently got caught. You had the impression that if he’d wanted to be an A student he could have been, but that wasn’t the identity he wanted.” The writer Daniel Alarcón was in Green’s class, and remembers that they both wanted to be writers then, and “shared a seriousness about it that wasn’t exactly normal for adolescents.” Not until Alarcón enrolled in the M.F.A. program at Iowa was he again around people who, like Green, “talked about literature the way other people talked about sports, and who could break down a story over beer and not think of it as pretentious or boring.” Alarcón recalled a road trip to Orlando that he took with Green and Townsend Kyser, the scion of a catfish-farming family. Once there, they “spent, like, a week writing oblique and inscrutable messages on construction paper and planting them in public places, like the manicured lawns of branch banks.” At Indian Springs, Green also became friends with boarders who staged brazen pranks. In one infamous episode, someone invited a woman who was supposedly an academic expert on teen sexuality to speak at an assembly; in fact, she was a stripper, and started disrobing in response to the urging of a guy in the audience. In “Looking for Alaska,” a similar incident occurs, but the stripper is a man, the student in the audience is a young woman, and the whole stunt is an homage to a troubled girl who has died in a car accident—all of which makes it far more palatable. When Green was at Indian Springs, a girl at the school was killed in a car accident. She wasn’t a close friend, but it was a small school, and, as he said, “it’s so hard to get your head around that when you’re a kid.” He went on, “Infinite sets are a difficult thing to get your head around generally, but the forever of it—I just felt so bad for her. I still feel so bad for her.” Although Green often suggests that he was a sad-sack dork as a teen-ager, his old friends don’t remember him that way. Alarcón said, “At our school, we didn’t really have jocks. It was a pretty high-achieving school. I’m not saying it was paradise. Plenty of kids are socially awkward, and there’s nothing that will save them from other adolescents. But John wasn’t like that at all. John was funny and charming, and people looked up to him.” Green was sensitive, and he fell hard for the girls he had crushes on, but Alarcón said that “John exaggerates his haplessness with women,” adding, “This is just speculation, but if your fans are a lot of thirteen-to-fifteen-year-old girls, it seems kind of smarmy if you come across like a ladies’ man.” Green enrolled in Kenyon in 1995. He chose a double major in religion and literature. His friend Kathy Hickner, who also hung out in the religion department, remembers him as “one of these really huge personalities” who was “always talking,” but also as the person she could count on “to go to church with me and discuss the sermon.” She added, “We were both into this whole layer of Christian thinkers who were very open-minded, scholarly types.” Green continued to pursue writing, particularly in an evening seminar that he took with the novelist P. F. Kluge, who was, Green recalled, “encouraging of my work but also very, very critical of it—I once titled a story ‘Things Remembered, Things Forgotten,’ and he said, ‘Green, you don’t get to title your stories anymore.’ ” When Green was not accepted into the advanced creative-writing course at Kenyon, “it was crushing,” he recalled. “Kluge took me to his house and poured me a drink and said, ‘I think you should have gotten into the class. But your writing isn’t that great.’ I think he called it a ‘solid B-plus.’ But, he said, ‘the stories that you tell during the smoke break—if you could write the way you told those stories, then you would write well.’ ” Kluge told me that what he remembered most about Green was not his writing but his “spoken energy.” “He was so rapid-fire,” he said. “Also decent, self-deprecating, and funny.” In class one evening, Green read aloud a story with a sex scene in it. When he was done, the other students offered polite critiques. Kluge then said, “Green, you’ve never had sex before, have you?” Green said no. In subsequent classes, he provided updates on the status of his virginity, which for a long time was “nothing new to report.” Upon graduating, he moved to Chicago, where he eventually ended up at Booklist. He was hired to do data entry, but he found mentors in the editor-in-chief, Bill Ott, and Ilene Cooper, a staff editor who also wrote children’s and young-adult books. Cooper said of Green, “He was a horrible slob, and he didn’t do his job all that well,” recalling that he failed to send out checks to freelancers. “He was smoking but trying to quit, so he was chewing tobacco, which was kind of gross. But he was so engaging, and he would want to talk about things like our place in the universe.” Green’s older colleagues chided him for what Ott called “some of his outrageous young-person pronouncements,” such as the claim that black-and-white movies are a waste of time. Ott said that he and Cooper, who are now married, saw him through a “ ‘Sorrows of Young Werther’-like downturn” after a girlfriend dumped him; Green told me that Ott ordered him to watch the profoundly silly 1950 film “Harvey,” which both lifted his spirits and cured him of his antipathy toward black-and-white. Eventually, Ott started assigning Green reviews, and Cooper did several edits on the manuscript of “Looking for Alaska,” which she passed along to her publisher, Dutton. When Green was twenty-six, he met Sarah Urist, who was managing an art gallery in Chicago. She had been three years behind him at Indian Springs, and they became reacquainted through the woman Green was then dating—Sarah’s sparring partner at a boxing gym. After Green and the girlfriend broke up, he and Sarah started a friendship with a large epistolary component. “We e-mailed back and forth for a year and talked about everything,” Green said. “It was one of the most invigorating conversations I can remember having.” When I met Sarah, she was wearing red lipstick, black boots, and tortoiseshell glasses; she is at once hipper than Green—she’s grounded in theory and cutting-edge art—and steadier, with a quieter, more skeptical sense of humor. She left her job at the Indianapolis museum last fall, and now works with Green on a Web series called “The Art Assignment,” in which she showcases contemporary artists who then “assign” viewers to make a specific work of art. Sarah told me that she had an intellectual interest in fandoms like her husband’s, but found them difficult to identify with. “It’s a bias I have to get over, because being a fan is so much a part of young life now,” she said. “But there’s part of me that’s always wondering, How much could you really love all of these things?” One of the themes of “The Fault in Our Stars” is the relationship between authors and readers. Hazel says, “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books like ‘An Imperial Affliction’ ”—Peter Van Houten’s novel—“which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.” In a different era, “The Fault in Our Stars” could have been that kind of cultish book. For many young people today, however, reading is not an act of private communion with an author whom they imagine vaguely, if at all, but a prelude to a social experience—following the author on Twitter, meeting other readers, collaborating with them on projects, writing fan fiction. In our connected age, even books have become interactive phenomena. Green, for his part, seems to feel that it is a betrayal not to advertise your affections. Every day, he gives his fans a live stream of his stream of consciousness. In addition to posting on YouTube, Green contributes indefatigably to Tumblr and Twitter. Even when he’s feeling anxious, he’s willing to chat with people who approach him in public. As his fame has grown, he has discovered the need for a few limits: he doesn’t like it when fans show up at his house or make Tumblrs about his kids. Green’s boyishness and his energy make a lot of what he does look easy. But it’s hard for him to channel the emotional kid inside while remaining an analytical adult—to embrace simultaneously the voluble aesthetic of the Internet and the contemplative sensibility of the novelist. Raoul Meyer, the history teacher, told me, “John strikes me in some ways as the same teen-ager he once was, just trying to figure out his place in the world. Only now the world is changing much faster and he’s an agent of that change, creating the world he’s trying to fit into. And that’s a tough role.” Green’s online projects keep proliferating along with his fans, and he seems determined to keep up with them all. He told me that he has sketched out some scenes for a new novel, about “two male best friends who live less privileged lives in a world of privilege,” and that he hopes to work on it after the movie junkets are over and he has taken a few days of vacation with his family, in a Tennessee farmhouse devoid of electronic devices. One wonders, however, when he’ll actually find the hours to recline in the La-Z-Boy. E. Lockhart, an acclaimed Y.A. novelist, is an old friend of Green’s. She said, “Most of us look at what John does and say ‘That’s awesome,’ but we’d rather be in our pajamas writing.”

Jose Mourinho has led Manchester United to a 15-game unbeaten run in the Premier League Jose Mourinho feels the praise for the playing style he has implemented in English football is long overdue. Manchester United scored three goals in eight minutes to defeat Premier League champions Leicester City 3-0 on Sunday and close the gap on fifth-placed Liverpool to a single point. Mourinho's side are now unbeaten in 15 league games and the manager feels he is finally starting to get the recognition he has long deserved in English football. 2:37 Leicester 0-3 Manchester Utd Leicester 0-3 Manchester Utd He said: "My team is playing very well but for many, many years in my career, especially in this country, when my teams were ruthless and when they were phenomenal defensively and very good in the counter-attack, I listened week after week... it was not enough, in spite of winning the title three times. "It looks like this season, to be phenomenal defensively and be good at counter attack is art, so it's a big change in England. "I don't want to change the profile of our play. This is the way we want to play. I don't want to be the manager of a team that plays very well, creates chances and doesn't win matches. We need to score goals and today we did." The result at the King Power never looked in doubt as United turned in a dominant performance against a Leicester side struggling at the wrong end of the table after a superb 2015/16 season in which they won the title. Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates after scoring United's second goal at Leicester on Sunday It was a far cry from last season, when Mourinho lost his job as Chelsea boss after a 2-1 defeat at the King Power Stadium - and he could not resist a joke at his expense. He said: "The last time I was sat in this chair, the next day I was sacked!"

The Seattle Seahawks talked Tuesday about their plans for veterans Chris Clemons and Brandon Browner, each players recently re-signed to the team. Tuesday offered the first official words from the Seahawks about the recent re-acquisitions of cornerback Brandon Browner and defensive end Chris Clemons — each members of the team’s Super Bowl XLVII-winning team before playing the last two seasons elsewhere. And confirming what had been speculated, the Seahawks said each veteran player is likely going to be used in a more situational role than during their previous stints with the team. Each was a starter on the defense that helped Seattle beat Denver 43-8 in the Super Bowl before departing — Clemons was released in a salary-cap move while Browner was not re-signed after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Browner, 31, played last season with New Orleans and in 2014 with New England while Clemons, 34, played the last two seasons with Jacksonville. Each recently signed one-year contracts that represent a small investment and little risk for the Seahawks. Here’s how general manager John Schneider described the plans for each player when asked during the team’s annual pre-draft press conference Tuesday: “With Chris, last year they wanted him to be a little bit more of a situational pass rusher. They ended up playing him more than they wanted to. We recognized that, you could kind of see it on tape. But he’s been here, he’s got a specific attitude about him. Losing Bruce (Irvin in free agency), some of those reps that Bruce was taking as a situational rusher, that’s really kind of how we see Chris. With Brandon, it was really a situation where the last two places he’s been — New England and then New Orleans — he’s been a strong leader for them. When you have to make those decisions to move on from a guy because you can’t afford him and then yet they still want to come back to your family, your team, your organization, that’s big for us. So it was a way for us to accentuate that. Now how we use him, that’s still to be determined.” Said coach Pete Carroll: “Both guys are really special competitors and they’re really tough-minded guys and we loved them when we had them, we hated when we had to lose them. So the opportunity arose and John figured it out and jumped at it. Both guys come back, and they bring something special to us. Clemons is a really adept rusher, and he’ll be good to help our young guys learn, too. If we can keep it in the mode that we want to and the numbers of plays we want to, we think we can really keep him effective. Brandon’s got some special skills as we know, and he’s very aggressive coverage-wise and makes things happen. So we’re going to do some different things with him you’ll see in the future. We have a nice plan for it. So we’re excited about both those guys coming back. Fun to have in the building.” Schneider added that continued enhancements in how the team monitors the conditioning of players makes it easier to bring back veterans and know how to get the most out of them. “When you get those guys, guys like this, I would say four or five years ago we wouldn’t be able to do something like this,’’ Schneider said. “But with Sam Ramsden and his staff on the sports science group working with our coaches and the trainers and strength and conditioning guys, we’re able to track them a little bit better and monitor how we’re using them, how they’re practicing, and can we help them where they are at physically.”

A VIGILANTE commuter who boldly confronted train vandals and filmed them says they had to be taught a lesson. The man, known only as Mark, said he was sick of seeing taxpayers' money wasted on cleaning up graffiti on trains before he boldly confronted the train vandals and filmed them, saying they had to be taught a lesson. Do you know more? Email our reporter So when he spotted three vandals tagging in a carriage as he was on his way home, he could not turn a blind eye. "I thought, if these kids aren't taught now they'll probably think they will get away with it and continue doing it -- and probably end up in the big house when they are older. And you don't want that," he told Channel 9 News. His footage shows him cornering two taggers as the third runs off. "Guess what, matey? You're gone," he says. "Guess where this is going, boys? Straight to Crime Stoppers." The footage has gone viral, with more than 444,000 views on YouTube and 22,000 likes on Facebook in one day. The video ends with Mark grabbing the two taggers, chasing them off the train at the next station, and trying to make a citizen's arrest. Mark said he released one youth he was holding only after one of the boy's mates produced a rock. Today, police spokeswoman Anita Brens said police were keen for Mark to officially come forward, report the incident and hand over any footage. “We urge that person to hand the footage into police,” Ms Brens said. “It would form part of any evidence we may need to present." Victoria Police and Metro yesterday urged people not to take the law into their own hands. Senior Sergeant David Cochrane, of the transit police, urged people not to approach offenders but to ring police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. "Be aware of the risks involved and think carefully before you do it," he said. "In this case, the person has let the offenders know he was filming and he was about to arrest them ... and it appears he has been assaulted as a result of it, which is concerning to us," Sen-Sgt Cochrane said. "If you see this stuff and you film it, we advise that you ring police. "Please let the police know in the first instance, because you put the prosecution at risk by putting it straight on to YouTube." Metro spokesman Daniel Hoare urged anyone who witnessed vandalism on a train or at a station to call police immediately. "If someone sees graffiti being carried out on a train, we urge them to press the red emergency button on the carriage, which will activate a call to police," he said. Metro must clean up graffiti within 24 hours of it being reported, which can force trains out of service. Graffiti offences attract a $276 on-the-spot fine and possessing graffiti equipment on a train carries a $704 fine. Criminal damage carries a penalty of up to 10 years' jail. Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said his group also did not encourage people to take matters into their own hands. He said the video showed how a situation could get out of hand and distress other passengers. Do you know more? Email our reporter

SPOONER, Wis. — Two recent and credible reports of feral hogs running wild in the woods of Washburn County spurred the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Friday to remind hunters and landowners to shoot the animals on sight. “Go ahead and poke them. We want them dead as soon as possible,” said Mike Zeckmeister, DNR wildlife supervisor in Spooner. Zeckmeister said the wild hogs can cause severe damage to the forest. The pigs also can carry disease, damage wildlife habitat, compete with native wildlife for food, cause crop damage and even threaten human safety, the DNR notes. The animals, which can grow to several hundred pounds, can either be wild boars that escape from game farms or, in some cases, domestic pigs that escape and turn wild. “They physically change; they get hairy and grow tusks and everything. And they definitely can survive a Wisconsin winter,” Zeckmeister said. The feral hogs’ most notable features include coarse hair with long bristles, elongated snouts and moderately long, uncurled tails. They are usually black, but also can be gray, brown, blond, white or even reddish to spotted. The DNR gets occasional reports of wild pigs on the loose in northern Wisconsin. The Washburn County reports from August are the only recent ones, Zeckmeister said. But reports have come from Douglas, Polk, Burnett, Taylor and Oneida counties in the past decade, he said. Several hunters worked together to track and kill a giant wild hog in Polk County two years ago, he said. No license or permit is required to shoot the pigs on your own property, but a small game or deer hunting license is needed on public land. Whoever shoots them can keep the meat, “and it’s pretty good, I’m told,” Zeckmeister said. “The goal is, with hunting seasons coming up, that if someone is in their bow stand they won’t hesitate, wondering if they can shoot them. Go ahead and do it,” he said. “An ounce of prevention here can help a lot.” If you cannot kill the wild pig, the DNR asks that you contact a local DNR wildlife biologist or file a report online. In July 2001, several wild pigs escaped from a game farm in northern Douglas County by rooting under a fence. At least one was shot by a local landowner, but several were never accounted for. It is illegal to operate a captive feral pig hunting facility in Wisconsin. It also is illegal to stock feral pigs for hunting purposes, to release hogs into the wild or to possess live feral hogs without a permit.

THIS WEEK 6 | NewScientist | 20 July 2013 BONES. That is all the passing millennia have left us of the Neanderthals and the more elusive Denisovans. Until recently, the main insights gleaned from these bones have been physical: what our cousins might have looked like, for instance, and how they moved. But cutting-edge genetic science is changing that. We can now see, for the first time, which genes are switched on in humans but were not in Neanderthals and Denisovans, and vice versa. The findings point to subtle differences between our brain structure and function, and theirs. The research, presented last week at the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution meeting in Chicago, reveals that after our ancestors split from Neanderthals and Denisovans, they evolved differences in genes connected with cognitive abilities. Many of those genes are associated with mental disorders in modern humans. Working out which genes are switched on or not involves looking at the epigenome, or the chemical “methyl” tags attached to genes. Genomes, in contrast, show only the basic sequence of genes. Liran Carmel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Svante Pääbo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and colleagues analysed the epigenomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans and compared them with those of modern humans (s ee “What’s good about decay”, top right). Altered methylation patterns are frequently associated with disease, particularly cancer and mental disorders. So Carmel’s approach has the potential to give us unprecedented insight into the – Dem bones got something to say – The first look at which genes were switched on and off in our extinct cousins is allowing us to peer into their minds Inside the brain of a Neanderthal Sara Reardon, Chicago “The approach could offer unprecedented insight into the mental abilities of extinct hominin species”

With Donald Trump’s election to the White House, accusations are now being thrown around every which way by progressives seeking to blame anyone apart from themselves for America’s collective decision. Rather than looking inward, the media’s progressive left has turned once again towards the ever-reliable bogeyman of GamerGate. Depending on who you ask, GamerGate could be described as completely ineffectual, responsible for Trump’s ascent, literally worse than ISIS, the greatest threat to women on the Internet, or deader and more irrelevant than it ever was since its stillbirth in late 2014. In short, it’s anything and everything you want it to be — a strawman for millennial social justice warriors. Some of those slinging virtual Molotov cocktails at the wicker man argue that gamers aren’t responsible for themselves. No — they argue — it is the games that they play that cause them to support Donald Trump. Advertisement Get our exclusive newsletter—the best of Heat Street every day “For decades, developers have focused on making games fun. It’s about time we started working toward other kinds of emotional responses than instant gratification,” “For decades, developers have focused on making games fun. It’s about time we started working toward other kinds of emotional responses than instant gratification,” argues Tim Gruver for the Daily UW. “Games like ‘Gone Home’ and ‘Papers, Please’ have spoken up for LGBTQIA+ communities and immigration reform. Games can teach, debate, and argue points rather than just entertain. And that need can directly translate to gamer culture at large.” “Games have the chance to create disarming experiences that disassemble our worlds and tell truths,” says Gruver. But only if the truths are consistent with the approved SJW narrative, I suppose. When games allow players to But only if the truths are consistent with the approved SJW narrative, I suppose. When games allow players to make their own moral choices , someone is bound to have a hissy fit. On GamesIndustry.biz, the site’s Editor-in-Chief On GamesIndustry.biz, the site’s Editor-in-Chief James Brightman claims that a segment of the gaming population—one that he equates to GamerGate supporters—does not want to see any games being made that aren’t traditional Hollywood-budget shooters. Worse still, he claims that the games and the culture surrounding them are inextricably tied to the “exclusionary thinking” he says gamers exhibit towards certain kinds of games. “That’s just faulty thinking – the Call of Dutys and Battlefields and so on will still be made,” argues Brightman against an imaginary foe. “And to demand that other types of games for people who aren’t ‘gamers’ not be made is flat out exclusionary and wrong.” “And that’s just it, isn’t it? The same undercurrent in society that produced Gamergate, the alt-right movement, Brexit and now a Trump election (bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, religious persecution, fear mongering, etc.) are what led to exclusionary thinking in the game-playing populace,” adds Brightman. “’How dare you change my games?’ they’ll say. But they aren’t ‘your’ games; just because the industry has catered to the 18-34 white male audience over the last two decades doesn’t give you some special claim to the medium. Just like movies, books and TV, games are for everyone.” Thank you for that wonderful bit of virtue signaling. Most gamers have no problem seeing the market grow with the release of titles that aren’t military-themed shooters. Some of the most popular games out right now include Rocket League, RimWorld, Stardew Valley, Planet Coaster and Civilization VI, and a host of other titles that don’t fall easily within the small box Brightman describes. And titles like Pokémon Sun & Moon and a new Phoenix Wright are at the top of everyone’s Christmas wishlists. Games are already for everyone, but judging from what Brightman wrote, he’d be happier if games were no longer made for those who play them the most. The idea that everyone’s only interested in playing Call of Duty is a fantasy that exists only in the minds of game journalists unable to hide their disdain towards their audience. What’s certain is that the only people who have a real problem with certain types of games are not gamers, who are blessed to have such a wide variety of experiences to choose from. You can’t help liking what you like. When the argument put forth by Brightman, Gruver and so many others are taken to its logical conclusion, it falls to game developers to create the kinds of titles that push their viewpoints because no one will willingly play them if there is any other choice. We can only speculate on what will happen to those who refuse to comply with the fun police. Much as Wasteland 3 game developer Brian Fargo said in my interview with him, Much as Wasteland 3 game developer Brian Fargo said in my interview with him, game developers are here to entertain people , not change the world. Creators are under no obligation to promote any social or political agendas, and they sure as hell shouldn’t be shamed into doing so. Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken game critic. You can reach him through social media at Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken game critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook

Free Boxsona Box Contest! ❮❮ Newer Download | Full View Older ❯❯ Submission © 2016 BoxsonaOfficial Main Gallery 108 submissions Free Boxsona Box Contest! - by BoxsonaOfficial Submission information: Posted: Category: All Theme: All Species: Unspecified / Any Gender: Any Favorites: 7 Comments: 19 Views: 534 Image Specifications: Resolution: 469x1000 Keywords: boxsona furry subscription_box subscription box fandom prize giveaway contest free box Free Boxsona Box Contest! Hey everyone! We’re giving away a free Boxsona box to mark our opening. All you need to enter is an email. The contest is only open to those living in Canada (excluding Quebec) or the USA currently. Follow the link for more details! We have lots of ways to enter and to gain extra entries! http://www.boxsona.ca/ http://www.boxsona.ca/Promotions.php The contest will be opening tonight at midnight, and will run until Sunday August 28th @ 11:59pm AST We wish everyone the best of luck, and ask that you share our contest with anyone you think would be interested. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Chris Hess, his wife Angela, their teenage daughter and her boyfriend were on a mountain biking excursion near Brightwood when they crossed paths with David and Pamela Gathwright. The Mother's Day 2013 confrontation began with two meandering dogs and culminated with David Gathwright pointing a handgun at Chris Hess' head. The clash led to criminal charges against the Gathwrights. Their trial started Tuesday before Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Susie Norby. On Wednesday, Norby found David Gathwright, 60, guilty of unlawful use of a weapon, menacing and pointing a firearm at another person. She found Pamela Gathwright, 58, guilty of attempted second-degree animal abuse. They will be sentenced April 7. It wasn't the first time the Gathwrights confronted people using the Sandy Ridge mountain biking trail system about 11 miles east of Sandy, according to the U.S. Forest Service. "Over the past several years, the Gathwright's have been, allegedly, confronting and harassing bikers and hikers along the trail brandishing pepper spray, Tasers, and at least one instance of pointing a hand gun," the Forest Service said in a news release after the Gathwrights' arrest July 1, 2014. Mountain bikers informally reported encounters with a couple believed to be the Gathwrights. Pamela Gathwrigh told a U.S. Forest Service ranger that people who use the trails are "thugs" and off-leash dogs on the trails are dangerous, according to trial testimony. The Gathwrights had not been cited before the incident with the Hesses. The Gathwrights and the Hesses gave conflicting accounts of what happened that day. The Hesses had their two miniature Australian shepherds with them. They came to a stop where the trail crossed a Forest Service road. That's where they encountered the Gathwrights. As the Gathwrights approached, they yelled for the Hesses to get control of the dogs, who were off leash. On that, both sides agree. The Hesses said their dogs -- no more than 40 feet away from them -- were friendly, showed no aggression and posed no threat. Dogs are not required to be leashed. They said Pamela Gathwright pulled out an electric stun gun, leaned forward and clicked it at one of the dogs. The device made a visible arc. Words were exchanged. The Gathwrights claim Angela Hess said, "I'm going to kick your ass" and her teen-age daughter used profanities. From there, things moved quickly. Chris Hess lifted his bike in the air in a protective gesture. He recalled reading that is was a good tactic if confronted by a bear. "That wasn't helpful, and I lowered it," he said, Chris Hess said David Gathwright pulled out a gun -- later identified as a Glock semi-automatic pistol. "He was aiming straight at my face," Chris Hess testified. "I thought I was going to die. The Gathwrights offered a different scenario. Pamela Gathwright had been bitten by a dog and was wary of the animals. The Gathwrights said it was the Hesses that escalated the situation through their hostile and threatening behavior. David Gathwright said he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the ground in self-defense. The Gathwrights "provoked this particular argument" and have no right to claim self-defense, said prosecutor Bill Golden. Norby didn't find the Gathwrights version believable. David Gathwright's testimony in particular, seemed "self-serving," she said. Gathwright testified that he and his wife "always chose the least dangerous thing" when they feel the need to protect themselves, Norby said. "The least dangerous when presented with a perceived risk is to change the course of their path of travel. But they did not do that," Norby said. Pamela Gathwright's use of a stun gun "was not an act of self-defense but one of purposeful aggression," Norby said. Norby said that, based on the evidence, she believed that Gathwright aimed the gun directly at Hess. Norby noted that David Gathwright testified that in the 25 years the couple have been hiking and biking they have never been attacked by a dog or other animal. "The hikers and bikers who testified in this trial were the Hess family, who had bicycles and small dogs on the trail on Mother's Day, and the Gathwrights, who carry OC spray, stun guns, tasers and a loaded handgun when they traverse a trail," Norby said. "As the evidence shows, the Gathwrights themselves seem to be the most fearsome hikers on the trail," Norby said. -- Steve Mayes smayes@oregonian.com 503-294-5916; @ocmayes

1) Riot is scum for mind ****ing you guys. The psychological aspect of being cheated hurts your play and TSM got a free ride. A complete and easy free ride that they didn't earn or deserve. Seeding is seeding messing with it is in breach of everything competitive systems represent. As FIRST you are ENTITLED to playing against LAST. It's why you even bother going for first. Edit: I'm not saying TSM are bad players, I'm saying the whole thing is on Riot for GIVING you opponents that you didn't earn and you were only fine with it because it benefited you even though it was a HORRIBLE decision for Esports and this game. BUT 2) You guys played like **** and it was clear you guys didn't practice or prepare enough for this. Just watching Kobe play was actually hilarious... he clearly hasn't played this game in a year... cuz he was god awful the entire time... no matter what he played he just blew. You guys didn't go into it with a strong mentality, that's not your fault fully. That's Riots. But you guys have been in the spotlight for a long time... shouldn't be choking this hard.

Wintzell's Oyster House is shuttering its Huntsville store today after six years in business. The Mobile seafood chain announced the closure Sunday on Facebook. No one at the Sanderson Street restaurant was available this morning for an interview about the closure. Wintzell's continues to operate restaurants in Guntersville, Mobile, Saraland, Fairhope, Orange Beach, Greenville, Montgomery and Fultondale. After careful consideration, Wintzell's in Huntsville has made the very difficult decision to close it's doors effective... Posted by Wintzell's Oyster House-Huntsville on Sunday, February 19, 2017 The closure comes three years after Wintzell's shut down its Decatur eatery on Beltline Road Southwest in the Plum Tree Shopping Center. Thirty-five Wintzell's employees were left jobless less than two weeks before Christmas. Sam's Sports Grill now operates in the former Wintzell's space. AL.com will update this story as more details are available.

I Bought It Affiliate Links I received the Su:m 37 Skin Saver Melting Cleansing Balm yesterday from 11st (they have an AMAZING international EMS shipping deal right now–check out my Facebook post on how to get the 40,000 won-off coupon; this balm cost 26,000 won plus 2,500 won for domestic shipping and it arrived one week after I placed my order. MAGIC!). Cleansing balms are soft, sort of grainy-waxy-seeming solids until they hit your skin and get massaged in–at that point they become an oil that slices through your makeup, oil, and face grime and then emulsifies when in contact with water to wash all that nasty away. It’s the first step in my double cleanse (followed by a foaming face wash). Notable examples include the Banila Co Clean It Zero balm and The Face Shop’s Seed Fermentation Oil Cleansing Balm. I picked this up for my upcoming (in forever) mega comparison review of oil, oil-gel, and balm cleansers. And also because I wanted it. ahaha I was wondering about the ingredients, of course. So I translated the ingredient list from Korean into English. I’m not a professional Korean-English translator or even an unprofessional translator (I’ve only passed translation exams in a few European languages, but no Asian languages). I just try my best and welcome translation help. <3 Let me know if you see any errors! Korean Ingredient List: 하이드로제네이티드폴리데센, 카프릴릭/카프릭트리글리세라이드, 트리에칠헥사노인, 피이지-20글리세릴트리이소스테아레이트,폴리에칠렌, 사이클로헥사실록산, 세틸에칠헥사노에이트, 피이지-30소르비탄테트라올리에이트,아스코빌테트라이소팔미테이트,클루이베로미세스/락토바실러스/아프리코트커넬발효오일여과물, 기름야자오일, 육두구추출물, 오렌지껍질오일, 드럼스틱나무씨오일, 라임오일, 센티드제라늄꽃오일, 한련초추출물, 로즈마리잎오일, 인도멀구슬나무잎추출물, 소듐스테아로일글루타메이트, 시트랄, 시트로넬룰 [this is how it is typed in the list, but the correct Korean spelling seems to be시트로넬롤], 리모넨, 제라니올, 리날룰. English Ingredient List (done using the Lioele product dictionary): Hydrogenated Polydecene, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Triethylhexanoin, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Polyethylene, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, PEG-30 Sorbitan Tetraoleate, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Kluyveromyces/Lactobacillus/Apricot Kernel Oil Ferment Filtrate, Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Oil, Myristica Fragrans (Nutmeg) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Eclipta Prostrata Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Citral, Citronellol, Limonene, Geraniol, Linalool. Here’s the link to the CosDNA analysis. Guess what? This product (unless the obscure Kluyveromyces/Lactobacillus/Apricot Kernel Oil Ferment Filtrate turns out to be evil, but it’s unlikely) contains no acne or sensitive skin triggers. Holy mother of balm, this product is worth the price. Updated: find the full review in my roundup of 15 Korean oil cleansers. Buy it on Amazon. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Clicking those links before you shop means that fan-b receives a small commission, which helps to support the blog. Please see my full disclosure for more information.

Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians was named the American League's top pitcher, winning his first Cy Young Award. Kluber captured 17 first-place votes and 169 points, narrowly edging out Felix Hernandez of the Mariners who earned the other 13 first-place votes and 159 points. White Sox LHP Chris Sale finished third with 78 points. Editor's Picks Schoenfield: Kluber edges Felix to win AL Cy You couldn't go wrong with Corey Kluber or Felix Hernandez as the AL Cy Young winner. The race was that close, David Schoenfield writes. "I think I'm definitely surprised," Kluber said. Kluber enjoyed a breakthrough 2014 season, his second full year as a starter, going 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 235 2/3 innings. The right-hander led the league in wins, finished second in strikeouts, third in innings pitched and was third in ERA. The 28-year-old Kluber was dominant down the stretch this season with the Indians (85-77), who fell just short of a postseason berth despite posting a winning record for the second straight year. He posted a 1.73 ERA after the All-Star break and won his last five starts, recording 54 strikeouts and a 1.12 ERA over that stretch. Kluber became the fourth Indians pitcher to win the award, joining Cliff Lee (2008), CC Sabathia (2007) and Gaylord Perry. Tight Race Many expected Felix Hernandez to win his second Cy Young Award, but Corey Kluber held his own against King Felix. Here is a look at both pitchers: Category Hernandez Kluber IP 236 235 2/3 Strikeouts 248 269 HR allowed 16 14 ERA 2.14 2.44 --ESPN Stats & Information When asked how he would celebrate the award, Kluber revealed plans far from flashy. "Probably go home and give my daughters a bath," he said. Hernandez said the tough loss will motivate him even more. "I don't know what to say. That was tough,'' Hernandez said. "A little disappointed. Just give me more motivation to work harder and harder and be better next year." Hernandez went 15-6 with an AL-leading 2.14 ERA and 248 strikeouts in 236 innings. He set a major league record when he pitched 16 straight games of seven or more innings and allowing two earned runs or less. It was a brilliant stretch from May to early August that put Hernandez in the lead for his second Cy Young award. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

A little bit ago AMD sent out an announcement updating their official outlook for the second quarter of 2015. Though we don’t typically publish financial projections, the long and short of it is that AMD is looking to brace investors for a worse than expected Q2, after an already difficult Q1. Soft APU sales are being blamed for dragging down both revenue and gross margins, with AMD now expecting Q2 revenue to be down 8% sequentially, or around $950M, while the non-GAAP gross margin will be just 28%. Much more interesting however is this little nugget of information buried in the announcement towards the end, offering a short update on AMD’s 20nm plans. AMD had previously announced their intentions to bring out some products at 20nm – these were most likely just APUs, with the only one we explicitly know about being the now-canceled Skybridge. In any case, AMD is now confirming that they have moved several of their 20nm designs to a “leading-edge FinFET node,” and as far as we know AMD no longer has any further 20nm projects in the pipeline. AMD’s press release does not state which foundries these products are now at – or indeed if they’re at multiple foundries – so it’s unknown at this time whether the work is at TSMC, GlobalFoundries, or split between the two of them. The rationale for announcing this shift at this time comes from the financial aspect. AMD will be taking a $33M charge to their GAAP gross margin as part of the work required to move these designs to a new node. Jumping to FinFET nodes should improve the competitiveness of these products, and greatly so in the case of anything that needs to clock high or is otherwise heavily exposed to leakage, but of course this will take additional time and engineering resources in order to transition these products. We expect AMD to discuss the issue in at least a bit more depth later next week, when they hold their Q2 earnings call on July 16th.

This article is over 4 years old CPS confirms no further action will be taken against man who was arrested last December and who has not been named A sixth man held over the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence will not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed no further action will be taken against the suspect, who has not been named and was arrested 11 months ago. Lawrence, 18, who wanted to be an architect, was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack as he waited at a bus stop in Well Hall Road, Eltham, south-east London, with a friend on 22 April 1993. It took more than 18 years to bring two of his killers – Gary Dobson and David Norris – to justice. Three other men have also previously been named as suspects but deny involvement. An inquiry following the murder found failings in how the Metropolitan police had investigated the crime and led to the force being accused of institutional racism. Lionel Idan, deputy chief crown prosecutor, said: “On October 21 the CPS decided that no further action will be taken in relation to an individual, identified as a suspect in the ongoing police investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. “A file was received on 31 May 2014 from the Metropolitan police. After careful consideration it has been decided that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. “The decision has been made in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors. “Any decision by the CPS does not imply any finding concerning guilt or criminal conduct – the CPS makes decisions only according to the test set out in the code for crown prosecutors and it is applied in all decisions on whether or not to prosecute.” A Metropolitan police spokesman confirmed the man, who is in his 40s, was arrested on 23 December last year on suspicion of Lawrence’s murder. The spokesman said: “He was bailed to return pending further inquiries and a file submitted to the CPS for their consideration. “The individual has now been advised there will be no further action against him.” It comes as a senior police officer facing claims of discreditable conduct linked to the case prepared to be reinstated to full duties next week. Scotland Yard confirmed last month that Commander Richard Walton, who was removed from operational duties in March, will resume his role on 1 December, even though he is still facing an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

It would just be so awesome if he hadn't. With so much money bet against bitcoin I would like to see him lose it all. It would just be so awesome if he hadn't. With so much money bet against bitcoin I would like to see him lose it all. It would just be so awesome if he hadn't. With so much money bet against bitcoin I would like to see him lose it all. It would just be so awesome if he hadn't. With so much money bet against bitcoin I would like to see him lose it all. The order book looked convincing that we werent going to see $7 any time soon so he probably figured he had time to cancel his order. Even if he was rapidly clicking liquidate during this it wouldnt make one bit of difference because the site wouldnt be able to liquidate his position in time. Hopefully an expensive lesson learned. Next time buy and sell the coins directly without leverage and you will never have 0. It would just be so awesome if he hadn't. With so much money bet against bitcoin I would like to see him lose it all. My personality type: INTJ - please forgive my weaknesses (Not naturally in tune with others feelings; may be insensitive at times, tend to respond to conflict with logic and reason, tend to believe I'm always right) If however you enjoyed my post: 15j781DjuJeVsZgYbDVt2NZsGrWKRWFHpp There is no real liquidating on the graph, look at the volumes, i have 20 000 short possition.the total volume on the "liquidating candle" was 20 000. So there is no real liquidation. bitcoinica didnt liquidate my possition. they need 20 000btc to buy up to 7.0but where is another 20 000? to liquidate ? This is can be funny, i dont care about money.but this is a cime, and people who do the crime should go to jail.this is the screen with volume of the trade which liquidated me.there is just 20 000 volume.exactly what you need to move price to 7.0If i was liquidated, where is another 20 000?the same situations was herePossition :Liquidation (point in point) at 6.75 +spread 3 = 6.78 look at the price...Real liquidation :what do you think now ?this guy is an offender. Tommorow i go to police.Who has the same situation please contact me.

This has been the softest launch of a game I’ve ever done. I spent about $100 total on facebook post boosts, I tweeted, I blogged and I posted to the ProductionLine facebook page. Since then…thats it, I’ve been pretty much going along on word of mouth, and even then, sales have exceeded my expectations! This is really good news, because so far the development of the game has gone exactly as I had hoped, with a lot more focus on what actual players of the game want, rather than me guessing, or doing just want I want, or me trying to guess what makes the press happiest. This has resulted in a lot of bug reports! (many thanks for that) and some really good suggestions and ideas, some of which have already made it into the game. People do seem to be surprised how quickly stuff goes in or gets improved, but frankly thats because I worked on this game for about a year in silence so there is this whole huge library of decent engine code in the background that is *done* and thus I only really have to code new features and GUI stuff now. New GUI does not take that long, and thankfully I’ve got good enough at debugging multi-threading and recursive stuff that this is not a huge bottleneck either. I’m almost disappointed nobody is having frame-rate issues, because I love optimizing :D This is just as well as there have been a LOT of ideas and suggestions. I’ve already seen factories way bigger and more efficient than anything I have managed to create. It never occurred to me to re-use the conveyor belts in cunning roundabout-style loops with the individual processing elements happening at different junctions…until someone found a bug in it. Users feedback has been excellent, encouraging and invaluable. But anyway! I’m actual;y sending out a puny mailing list today with 7,500 recipients, so that should open things up a bit, especially as some are press. I don’t expect massive press coverage, but I’m not relying on it either. The game remains very much in Alpha (not even beta) so I expect a lot of people, gamers and press alike will stay in a ‘wait and see’ mode. In the meantime, I have just set a big patch(1.04) live, and here is the fairly hefty changelist. (not bad for about 4 days work). [version alpha 1.04] 1) The task ‘make fuel tanks’ now unlocks when researched correctly. 2) Fixed some crashes and routing bugs caused by deleting resource importer bays. 3) Pop-up details on the slot-picker now should show decimal places for times. 4) Vehicle details windows limited to one per vehicle and can now be dragged by the player. 5) Fixed minute format bug in save games. 6) Pause now works as a toggle, and all speed controls have hotkeys. 7) Escape key now closes slot picker. 8) Slot picker has less visual ‘padding’. 9) Double-click on the relevant window now loads a save game. 10) The upgrades section of a slot details dialog is now hidden if there are no upgrades available for selection. 11) Any open dialogs are now correctly closed when going to the main menu. 12) Fixed crash bug when a single stretch of uninterrupted conveyor belt was over 64 tiles long. 13) Added new efficiency dialog which shows efficiency over time and also a snapshot of current slot efficiency. 14) Fixed bug where slots could be placed ‘spilling’ over into a locked factory area. 15) Fixed bug on low resolutions where the slot upgrades window did not fit on the screen. 16) Floating numbers fade out now even when paused. 17) Improvements to ‘load-balancing’ at junctions. 18) New ‘Efficiency’ dialog currently just showing global state of all slots now and over time. 19) Slight speedup of creating the load-game dialog. 20) New vehicle pop-ups show the reason a vehicle is stuck. 21) Some conveyor belt graphics now have darker, more obvious direction arrows. 22) Fixed incorrect sizes of some delivered resources. 23) New upgrade for painting slot: ‘High pressure paint nozzles’ 24) Fixed bug where components built inside the factory at ‘make’ slots did not survive a save and load. 25) Corrupt resource deliveries to roof making and similar slots fixed. 26) New graphics for the tyre-making slot and the window making slot. Thanks for everyone pre-ordering, and I also really appreciate it when people tweet or post online about the game, its really helpful. If you don’t have the game yet, here is the order form :D

You might not know it but New Zealand has a ban on commercial parallel importing of DVDs that were bought legally overseas. Australia doesn’t have a ban, and neither does the U.S. When the government previously reviewed the ban in 2008 their own studies showed that the argument for retaining the ban was “weak” but despite that it was maintained. Recently MBIE called for submissions [PDF] again on parallel importing and we responded [PDF]. The restriction limits our access to legitimate copies of works that our peers in the rest of the world are already discussing, dissecting, and deriving new ideas from. It leaves us behind the curve, but without an offsetting benefit to the New Zealand creative sector. New Zealand artists can import movies for non-commercial use (e.g. from Amazon), albeit at an additional cost that a commercial importer could avoid through economies of scale. This effectively prices many films out of reach, or it puts additional costs on New Zealanders who will send their money offshore (with a corresponding loss of tax revenue to the New Zealand government, which supports New Zealand artists through entities such as the New Zealand Film Commission). If the public cannot, for example, legally obtain current material in a timely manner, then they may become skeptical of copyright law as a whole – if there are no suitable legal options then people will be more likely to use illicit channels. Maintaining a ban on commercial parallel importing decreases the supply of legal alternatives which affects all artists, not just individuals seeking to create market segmentation by controlling distribution. Read our full submission here [150KB, PDF].

Mindfulness has become a trendy word that is used to describe everything from yoga exercises to colouring activities. It can be hard to find a simple way to explain it, especially to children. This is how I explain modern secular mindfulness to both kids and adults. I try to keep it simple. How to explain mindfulness to young kids: Mindfulness is simply… noticing what is happening right now. Mindfulness is taking notice of how your body feels and what you see, smell and taste. Maybe you even feel emotions in your body, perhaps through a tightness somewhere, or a good sensation. Mindfulness is also noticing what your mind is doing. What happens when you start noticing these experiences? When you notice what is happening around you, you focus more deeply, and that attention to your own senses will help you improve in diverse areas of your life. Improved focus can help you achieve at higher levels in sports, school or music. It will help you score higher on tests, too. We always do better when we’re able to pay attention to what we’re doing, right? But there’s more… When you notice what is happening around you, it can help you to calm down when you’re sad, angry or frustrated. Mindfulness helps you deal with tough emotions, and mindfulness can make you happy and feel good. Would you like to try it out? I would! That’s a great way to start talking about mindfulness with younger children. How to explain mindfulness to teens: When talking with adolescents, you could simply expand on the previous explanation and say that mindfulness is a basic life skill that can benefit us in many ways. A popular way to put it is to say: mindfulness is about paying attention in a particular way – on purpose, in the present moment and without judgment. The non-judgment part means that we simply have an experience without contemplating if the experience is good or bad. By doing this, we develop more self-awareness, emotional balance, and impulse control. It’s about recognising our inner and outer experiences and understanding how they affect our well being. How does mindfulness work? We tend to be reactive. For example, when someone says something we don’t like to hear, we react. Sometimes we say something that we would like to take back the moment after we blurt it out. Or we are knocked down by a heavy emotion and it can take days to bounce back, sometimes even weeks. Mindfulness helps us create space between a strong emotion and our actions. We learn to deal with positive and negative experiences more calmly and by making better decisions. When we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings, we can respond in a more clever way, without hurting our own feelings or the feelings of others. As we create more emotional balance, we are less easily knocked down by our emotions, but in moments when we are knocked down, we bounce back faster. Pretty awesome, isn’t it? Most adolescents deal with strong emotions, and mindfulness skills can really make a difference. Now that you know more about mindfulness, would you like to give it a try? What is the goal of mindfulness practice ? “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom” – Victor Frankl Mindfulness helps us sustain our awareness more often and for longer periods. We can begin to practice mindfulness by adding many brief moments of awareness into our lives on a daily basis. This awareness comes with lots of benefits. Here are some of the good things mindfulness can bring to your life: Mindfulness helps us create space between the emotions we have and the actions we use to respond to them. Mindfulness helps us focus. Mindfulness can make us feel better emotionally and physically. If you need studies as proof to practice mindfulness, you’re in luck: thousands of studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness. Benefits such as; decreased stress and anxiety, improved health, better sleep, improved focus and awareness, better problem solving, improved impulse control, increased compassion and kindness, stronger relationships, altruism, and even higher life satisfaction. Wow, now that’s an impressive list! :) Did you know that studies have shown that practicing mindfulness, even for just a few weeks, can bring a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits? Before we start believing mindfulness is a panacea, it’s important to point out that mindfulness is not the silver bullet that will solve every problem. Even if we practice mindfulness, we will still experience difficult feelings and mental chatter. However, with mindfulness, we can change our relationships with our emotions, thoughts and negative self-talk. We don’t have to believe every thought we have, or be knocked down so often by our emotions. Sometimes we can let our thoughts drift by and then disappear, just like a cloud in the sky. Here’s one more fun definition. A friend of mine says mindfulness is… like being the best possible parent to yourself. Present, gentle, attentive, compassionate and grateful for each moment. I love that definition. I hope this short introduction will help you communicate the idea of mindfulness to your family. If you are new to mindfulness with children we recommend our online courses: Get notified here! May you be happy and healthy! Chris ( Chief Mindfulness Ninja @ Blissful Kids ) See also: Mindfulness And The Brain Made Easy Chris Bergstrom is the co-founder of BlissfulKids.com and a dad who is thrilled to practice mindfulness with his son. He is a certified mindfulness facilitator, and trained to teach mindfulness to students in K-12. He’s also an executive consultant, and has taught meditation for more than 10 years.

Do you know how to turn a simple sunflower seed into a piece of delicious meat? If not, ask the Russians – some of them know nice ways of how to survive the crisis… First of all, buy a packet of sunflower seeds. Go to the nearest place with the high concentration of pigeons. Throw the seeds on the ground. Wait till the greedy creatures approach your feet. Make an abrupt movement and grab the youngest and the gentlest one. Or the fattest one. A pigeon is an exceptionally dull bird, so in this way you can catch up to 3 pigeons in one place. Pluck them. Cut the head and the legs off. Marinate the bodies either in vinegar, mayonnaise and spices, or, if the crisis is not so bad, in wine for at least one day, otherwise the meat will be tough!

As a valued friend of the GIANTS you can access 4 x FREE tickets to the GWS GIANTS match at Spotless Stadium this Saturday in Sydney Olympic Park. The match details are below: WHEN MATCH TIME Saturday, 30 April GWS GIANTS v Hawthorn 4.35pm To register for your tickets simply follow the steps below and see you at the game! 1. To redeem your FREE family pass within general admission, CLICK HERE 2. Login to your existing GIANTS account or register for a new account. Note, you must create an account before entering the promo code password at step 4. 3. Select “Find Tickets” next to your match 4. Type the password “NEVERSURRENDER” when prompted to enter a promo code (no spaces, all capitals) 5. Select your number of tickets (max 4 per person) and click “continue” 6. Review your order and click “add to cart” 7. If you already have a GIANTS account, simply log in using your email and password. Otherwise click on “create an account” and enter in the details requested 8. Select your delivery option (TicketFast Tickets only) and click “Checkout” 9. Agree with the terms of use and select “submit order” 10. Select “Print tickets” and scan in at the gate on game day For any questions, please contact ticketing@gwsgiants.com.au or call 1300 GIANTS (1300 442 687) during business hours only. Tickets are strictly subject to capacity so get in early to avoid missing out. See you at the game!

Tim Campbell, a third-year campus doctoral student in computer science, died Sept. 15 at age 26 after living with cancer for four years. He is remembered by friends and colleagues for his positivity and his innovative mind. At UC Berkeley, he studied human-computer interaction, a discipline that examines how humans engage with technology. According to Eric Paulos, Campbell’s adviser and an assistant professor in the campus’s electrical engineering and computer science department, he was a pioneer in a field he called “digital apprenticeship.” Campbell was first diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in August 2011 and relapsed three times in the past four years. He was in the middle of chemotherapy and radiation treatment when he decided to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley. “He had a terminal diagnosis four years ago, and instead of giving up, he chose to be an incredibly present and loving husband,” said his wife, Katie Campbell. “He chose to keep creating in spite of the very real possibility that he would never get to actualize any of his ideas. He kept investing in new relationships and developed best friends. He chose to start a Ph.D. program when he knew he would have weekly chemo, and he chose to just face it head on. I think that is remarkable.” Tim Campbell was an active member of the campus community. He participated in the Computer Science Graduate Student Association, where he planned social events and mentored younger graduate students, and was also part of UC Berkeley’s Graduate Baking Club. “He was a kind of a baking nerd,” said Campbell’s friend and fellow graduate student Cesar Torres with a laugh. “Fermentation (of yogurt and bread) was his hidden agenda, his hidden project.” His wife noted how he would often wake up in the middle of the night and be overcome by the desire to do research on the subject, watching videos on fermentation for hours. She said he would often switch gears in the middle of conversations, frantically sketching out ideas on bundles of paper towels and other available surfaces. While at UC Berkeley, Campbell worked for Autodesk, where he wrote instructables. In addition, he worked as a mechanical design engineer at Xerox, consulted for Adobe and helped invent hydrosense technology at the University of Washington. “Tim was just overflowing with ideas,” said Paulos. “It was his character to always be so happy and so ready with ideas about what could be next. He never slowed down — that part of his energy and spirit here that really feels like a loss.” Campbell was always working despite his diagnosis. According to Katie Campbell, he would ride his bicycle from chemotherapy to class and edit papers while getting chemo treatments. Throughout middle school, high school and his undergraduate education, Tim Campbell worked with younger children as a Christian leader and mentor. To honor his memory, Katie Campbell is working with Paulos as well as Tim Campbell’s family to create a scholarship at UC Berkeley “to fuel innovation at Cal and give other aspiring kids a chance to create,” she said. “It’s been a tremendous loss for the human interaction community,” said Bjorn Hartmann, Tim Campbell’s colleague and an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley. “He was such a positive force. It’s been really hard for everyone to grieve his loss, but we cherish the great luck we’ve all had to have known him and had the chance to work with him.” Contact Maya Eliahou at [email protected].

Good try, (insufficiently-)Evolved. Makes me think you, not every Trump hater (that would be to stereotype, surely unfairly to some), think some people can't do with statistics whatever they like, think the NYT, CNN, the three used-to-be major networks, and WaPo are as close to objective truth in everything they say as there is, have no clue as to the range of Trump-voter views on evolution, have idolized whatever your idea of free trade, are a blind follower, not a thinker, where global warming is concerned, don't understand what the founders and other early Americans understood "separation of church and state" to be and why they valued it as they did (you really should read a book like Thomas Kidd's God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution on this one), would love the federal government to be able to usurp every power reserved to the states by the Constitution, believe in politicians who think like you do or whose thinking you follow blindly, in gods of your own making who let you do what's right in your own eyes, and in political power whose exercise is certainly facilitated by much more than guns. I won't try to sum up what that makes you, in other words, other than to say I think it makes you the kind of person who would've voted joyfully for HRC.

Marshall Lytle's '40s Epiphone B-5 there's one thing we have in abundance around here, it's reverence for the tools of rock 'n' roll. Guitars, drums, basses; we think all that stuff is great. Every once in a while, though, we come across an instrument that's so historic, so iconic, and so badass, that it truly blows us away. This is one of those pieces. It's a late '40s Epiphone B-5 upright bass that belonged to Marshall Lytle. Marshall was the bass player for Bill Haley and His Comets during their 1950s heyday, and he used this bass to record such classics as "Rock Around the Clock", "Shake", "Rattle and Roll", and "Rock the Joint". Think about that for a second. Those three songs were the beginning of a cultural earthquake whose aftershocks are still rumbling in the 21st century. The lexicon of early rock bass playing was written by Marshall on this very instrument. It's currently on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, Florida.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned from an overseas trip today, greeted by a rally organized at the airport by the ruling party while the rest of the country saw anti-government protests continue, and demands for Erdogan’s resignation grow. It wouldn’t seem like staying the course is even an option at this point, but Erdogan insisted that was the plan, promising to go through with his plan to demolish an Istanbul park despite it having sparked what is now being called the “Turkish Summer.” Instead of hinting at any sort of deal to end the demonstrations, Erdogan immediately delivered a speech angrily condemning the protesters as “terrorists,” and insisting that what had started as a minor “environmental” protest was now full of crazed terror groups determined to “burn and destroy.” The protests have now stretched nearly a week, with over 4,000 demonstrators wounded in police crackdowns, three killed and a huge number of others disappeared on various pretexts, from participating in rallies to criticizing police on Twitter. Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

My second (and last) Hobonichi order arrived this week, so I'm finally all set for 2017. I've changed my mind a few times in the past couple of months about what setup I want for my 2017 planners, and no doubt I'll change my mind throughout the next year, as well. But for now, I'm set on what I'll start the year with, at least. Warning: image-heavy post! Roterfaden A5: journalling My Roterfaden will continue housing my Kindle, an A5 Tomoe River pad for writing letters, and my journal. My journal itself will change slightly, though. My first Hobonichi order was for the Cousin Avec set for 2017 and the second book (July-Dec) from 2016 to test the Cousin layout. I used the 2016 book for about a month as an all-in-one planner, but decided I could fit everything onto an A6 page after all, and I like having planners and notebooks that are only as big as I need them to be. I also kept the Cousin in my Roterfaden, which I love, but which feels a bit chunky and heavy when I'm carting it around the house all the time. I thought about selling the 2017 Cousin Avec (which is why I kept it wrapped in plastic while using the 2016 version to test how it fit into my planning setup), but ultimately decided to try it out as a journal, instead. I don't remember the last time (if ever) I tried a dated journal, but I've been writing in my journal almost every day recently anyway, so I think this could work quite well. So far, this has been my journal. The Tomoe River paper in this notebook is amazing, and in my eyes it's a little superior to the Hobonichi Tomoe River paper. Because this is a plain notebook, it's undated, so I can pause my journalling in this notebook while I try the day-per-page Hobonichi, and come back to it later. But I've also been using this as a commonplace book of sorts, writing in quotes and notes from books I read. And I've sometimes written a few pages on whatever I'm thinking about, or a big decision I'm trying to make. Since the Hobonichi limits how much I can write each day, I'll keep the Crossfield as an overflow journal, as well as a commonplace book. Both of these will be housed in my Roterfaden, since the Avec is so slim it can fit neatly beside the thick Crossfield. Which means I won't have any issues switching between the two for different types of journalling. I call this a work notebook, because it's the one I use to actually get work done, but really it's kind of a combination planner and notebook. It houses a couple of inserts and an A6 Hobonichi. For my daily to do list, I prefer a small-sized page. When I was using the Bullet Journal system in my regular Traveler's Notebook, I ended up purchasing a passport size for my daily planning, because I found the regular pages too big. But for monthly planning, which I use extensively, the passport was too small. I still haven't found a perfect combination of how much room I need for each of these, so I'm going with two different planners in 2017. The A6 Avec Hobonichi will just be for my daily to do list. For now I don't have any plans to use the monthly section, but it's not a big proportion of the book, so I don't feel too bad wasting it. I'm planning on keeping this in the middle of my Traveler's Notebook by sliding the cover into the kraft folder insert I have, which I saw in this blog post. Since my Traveler's Notebook is the one I have with me when I'm actually working, it makes sense for my daily to do list to be there, too. When I got my second Hobonichi order, I added a couple of cheap things I wasn't totally sure I needed—this is one of them. Because Hobonichi shipping is so expensive, I knew I wouldn't want to make a new order for one or two cheap things, so I just threw them in, in case I wanted to use them later. At this stage I'm not sure I need or want the weekly booklet. I'm going to try tracking my expenses and income in here, and slip it into the kraft folder behind the A6 Avec, but I may not stick with it. (The other cheap item I threw in was the set of Weeks memo books. I had a plan for those a few weeks ago, but with my current setup I'm not sure what—if anything—I'll use them for.) Besides my Hobonichi, I'm using two inserts in my Traveler's Notebook. I use Tomoe River exclusively these days, for two reasons: one being that it's amazing paper, and I write with fountain pens most of the time, which shine on this paper. The second reason is that Tomoe River paper lays flat more easily than other papers, because it's so thin and soft. Compared to the paper in Traveler's Company inserts, it's a lot easier to make Tomoe River inserts lie flat. I do a lot of writing in this notebook, so flat pages are important for me. One of these inserts is for all manner of notes: phone numbers, notes during calls, outlining and drafting blog posts, brainstorming ideas, making notes during interviews for articles I'm working on. The other insert is for my sketchnotes, though lately I haven't been drawing in these so much, so they're more just notes for articles I'm writing. Anyway, when I was drawing more in these notes, I wanted to keep them later, so I had a separate insert for them. I still do that now, even though I spend less time making them look interesting. If you follow me on YouTube or Instagram you'll know I've been raving about this planner recently. It's a competitor to the Hobonichi, made in Japan with Tomoe River paper, but much harder to get hold of outside Japan. After ordering mine, I decided I didn't need it after all, and expected to sell it. But once it arrived I realised I liked it more than I expected to, and didn't want to give it up. The Jibun doesn't have any daily pages, which is the only real drawback for me (the pages are a bit busy for my liking, too, but that doesn't make it less usable). The Jibun is made up of monthly and weekly pages only. This is why I'm using the Hobonichi A6 for my daily to do lists. At first I tried using the weekly column layout for my daily to do list, but there's not enough room to write everything I want to there, and I couldn't find a good way to distinguish completed and incomplete tasks in the tiny spaces. The column layout is designed as a timeline, for planning time-based tasks or appointments. I don't have a lot of those, so what I need more is a daily to do list. However, I've found the Jibun is handy for planning how I'll spend my time each day. I've started blocking out events and chunks of time throughout the day in my Jibun. I'll plan chunks for different types of work, and block out time needed to travel to and from events. This has been helpful in making my plans more realistic, because I tend to only get two or three big chunks of work time in a day, around events, meals, and breaks for naps or exercise. In the monthly section of the Jibun, I plan almost everything. Any events I'm going to, appointments, meeting friends, travel, deadlines for my freelance work, and birthdays go in here. It can get pretty busy, but I like having everything in one place, so I can see at a glance how busy I am, and what's coming up soon. So the Jibun is where I plan ahead for what's coming up. In my A6 Hobonichi I plan for the day, and in my Traveler's Notebook inserts I get work done. This is the one planner I think I probably don't need, but I wanted to give it a go so I would be sure about whether I want another one next year. No doubt if I sold it, I'd remain curious about it and end up buying another one for 2018 or even later in 2017! I initially bought this to use for uni planning, as I was expecting to study throughout 2017. The Weeks layout seemed a good fit for uni, as I could use the monthly layout for planning deadlines (I was studying online, so no lectures or tutorials to attend), the weekly section for deadlines and planning work to get done, and the notes section for planning assignments and taking notes on lectures and readings. But I decided not to keep going with uni, so I'm going to use the Weeks as a planner for my company, Hello Code. We're not making enough to pay me a salary yet, which means I tend to fit in working on my Hello Code responsibilities whenever I find time around my freelance work. I'm hoping that using a planner for this work will give it a little more structure and help me stay on top of it more regularly. In the monthly section I'll be planning deadlines for my work on the Exist iOS app and content marketing work like guest posts, interviews, and writing content for our blogs. In the weekly section I'll rewrite deadlines from the monthly view, and use the grid pages to keep a to do list for the week. In the notes pages I'll write outlines and drafts of blog posts, brainstorm ideas, and plan out new iOS features to help me think through the logic before writing the code. These are all notes I usually make in my notes insert in my Traveler's Notebook, so I'll just be attempting to keep them all together with my Hello Code planning. Phew! It's a complicated setup in some ways, but it covers all my needs, and mostly caters to my preferences. I'd love to have a Jibun with daily pages in the future, and I'm not sure I'll end up sticking with the Weeks, but I'm excited to try this setup and see how well it keeps me on track in 2017. P.S. I make some stuff you might like: Exist, a personal analytics app to help you understand your life, and Larder, a bookmarking app for developers. This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase something via one of my product links, I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you). I only add affiliate links after writing a blog post, so the products I mention are truly what I want to write about.

AUSTIN -- Texas isn't shying away from new abortion legislation after suffering a major blow in the Supreme Court this summer. Lawmakers filed multiple bills Monday that aim to further regulate the practice in the state, all of which will be brought up in the legislative session next year. Possibly the most contentious of the bills was proposed by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler. House Bill 87 would prohibit women from having abortions after 20 weeks because of a fetal abnormality. Current rules allow abortions to take place after 20 weeks only if the fetus is not viable, if the abortion is necessary to prevent death or serious impairment to the woman or if the fetus has a severe abnormality. Schaefer also proposed a bill that would require abortion facilities to submit monthly, instead of annual, reports to the state on each abortion performed. House Bill 144 states that the report, however, would not identify "by any means an abortion facility, a physician performing the abortion, or a patient." House Bill 201, which was filed by Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, would write the state's proposed fetal remains rules into law. The rules would essentially require fetal remains, regardless of the period of gestation, to be cremated or buried. Current rules allow for fetal remains to be incinerated or ground until rendered unrecognizable and disposed of in a sanitary landfill. Joint Resolution 9, filed by Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, proposes a state constitutional amendment that would extend rights of life and liberty to unborn children and prohibit abortion to the extent authorized under federal law. To take effect, the resolution would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of both chambers and a majority of state voters. Although the bills could place some restrictions on abortions in the state, Texas hasn't introduced major legislation on the issue since House Bill 2 in 2013, which the Supreme Court partially struck down in June. The bill would have forced clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and to meet hospital-like standards. If the law would have gone into effect, it would have left as few as 10 clinics in the state. By the time of the ruling, half of the abortion clinics in the state had closed.

DRAM and Neil Young’s long-rumored song is finally coming out. It’s called “Campfire,” and it appears on the soundtrack to the new Netflix film, Bright, starring Will Smith. The soundtrack album is due out December 13 via Atlantic Records. It also features tracks from Ty Dolla $ign, Migos, A$AP Rocky, Tom Morello, Alt-J, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. View the full tracklist below via Complex. Directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Training Day), Bright sees Will Smith as an LAPD officer who partners with an orc in the movie’s fantasy world. It’s coming to Netflix on December 22. DRAM teased his collaboration with Young last year, calling the experience “monumental.” DRAM recently released a new Rick Rubin-produced song called “Check Ya Fabrics.” Young’s Hitchhiker LP came out in September, and his new album The Visitor is due December 1. Revisit Pitchfork’s Rising interview with DRAM.

NINGGUO, China, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Officials in a Chinese province faced online ridicule for releasing a poorly doctored image of administrators meeting with a 103-year-old woman. The photo, captioned "love and consideration for the elderly is a cherished Chinese tradition. They should feel the warmth of the party and the government," depicts four Chinese Communist Party officials in Anhui province and the 103-year-old woman, but one of the men is cut off in the middle and all three men are towering over the elderly woman, Cheng Yanchun, who was clearly edited in from a different photo, The Mirror, Britain, reported Thursday. Officials said the employee responsible for the Photoshop disaster was ordered to write a "self-criticism report." The government said the photo may have been faked, but the visit was real. "Cheng was sitting on a chair on the balcony, under the sun. The balcony space was very small and the camera lens could not cover the whole scene," a government statement said. "When the employee of the municipal civil affairs department uploaded the photos, ... he simply merged two shots. We express deep regret to Internet users for its negative influence. We will learn from the experience, to improve civil affairs work."

Today, T-Mobile quietly released a new data-free cell phone plan: unlimited talk & text only for $25/mo, with taxes and fees included. Both new and existing T- Mobile customers can get unlimited talk & text only, but it's not available for No Credit Check or prepaid accounts. Unlimited Talk & Text Only: features This cell phone plan includes: Unlimited talk & text in Mexico and Canada just like in the U.S. (data not included) Simple Global rates for voice and messaging in over 140 countries and destinations (data not included) Stateside International Unlimited Texting when in the US and texting other countries (Stateside International Talk may be added as an additional feature for $15/month) Unlimited Talk & Text Only: fine print Be aware of these details before you buy: This plan does not include data and there is no option to add data. To use an app that requires data such as iMessage or WhatsApp, you'll need to connect to Wi-Fi. and there is no option to add data. To use an app that requires data such as iMessage or WhatsApp, you'll need to connect to Wi-Fi. The autopay discount and Netflix on Us benefits are not available with this plan This plan cannot be extended for international use; you must reside in the U.S. Unlimited Talk & Text Only lines may not be added to an existing T-Mobile ONE taxes inclusive plan. You would need to migrate from your existing T-Mobile ONE or Simple Choice plan and give up your promotional benefits or your free or discounted line(s). Cell Phone Plans Filters Plan Inclusions Price T-Mobile $20 Unlimited Talk & Text Only $20 Unlimited Talk & Text Only $20 Unlimited Talk & Text Only No Data Included Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $20 + $25 Upfront $ 20 + $25 Upfront Go T-Mobile ONE | Unlimited 55+ YRS ONLY ONE | Unlimited 55+ YRS ONLY ONE | Unlimited 55+ YRS ONLY Unlimited Data Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $50/mo + $25 Upfront $ 50 /mo + $25 Upfront Go T-Mobile ONE | Eligible Military ONLY ONE | Eligible Military ONLY ONE | Eligible Military ONLY Unlimited Data Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $55/mo + $25 Upfront $ 55 /mo + $25 Upfront Go T-Mobile Essentials Essentials Essentials Unlimited Data Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $60/mo + $25 Upfront $ 60 /mo + $25 Upfront Go T-Mobile ONE ONE ONE Unlimited Data Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $70/mo + $25 Upfront $ 70 /mo + $25 Upfront Go T-Mobile ONE Plus ONE Plus ONE Plus Unlimited Data Unlimited National Talk & Text No Contract $85/mo + $25 Upfront $ 85 /mo + $25 Upfront Go About T-Mobile... T-Mobile is one of the "Big Four" cell phone carriers in the United States, a key player in the wireless market. Founded in 1994, T-Mobile USA is helmed by outspoken CEO John Legere. Network: T-Mobile's 4G LTE network runs on LTE bands 4 and 12. These bands use the frequencies 1900, 1700 def and 700a. For phones using 2G or 3G network technology, the T-Mobile network will primarily use the 1900 MHz frequency. Coverage: At last check, T-Mobile ranked #3 in overall coverage in the U.S. That may change, though, as the company quickly buys up spectrum in previously-uncovered areas. Where to Buy: T-Mobile products can be purchased online or at one of the company's over 3,500 U.S. stores. Bring Your Own Phone to T-Mobile: Customers can bring along their unlocked, GSM-compatible phones for service on T-Mobile. Just make sure that the device supports T-Mobile's LTE bands and 3G frequencies; you can check here. Tethering: T-Mobile's unlimited ONE plan includes unlimited hotspot data at up to 3G speeds. Customers can add ONE Plus to get unlimited Smartphone Mobile HotSpot data at up to 4G LTE speeds. Prepaid: T-Mobile offers a litany of prepaid plans, and also owns prepaid carrier MetroPCS. Taxes & Fees: One of the biggest perks of T-Mobile is that all taxes and fees are included in the price of their plans. Fact: T-Mobile's unlimited plans have been incredibly popular, and arguably moved the entire wireless industry in the direction of all-you-can-use talk, text and data plans. Learn more about T-Mobile via our carrier review. View All T-Mobile Plans

Co-founded by Lochlainn Wilson and Yuka Kojima, the project has a very prominent supporter: Philip Rosedale, who tells me he plans to make his new VR-compatible world High Fidelity compatible with the FOVE. In fact, he believes the eye-tracking technology is so important for the future of VR, it'll become standard in the next generation of VR HMDs: FOVE: The World's First Eye Tracking Virtual Reality Headset , is a new Kickstarter VR project which incorporates eye-tracking technology into a VR head-mounted display (or HMD) to very cool effect -- watch: "Being able to see exactly where someone else is looking is probably the most important missing component of 1:1 communication in a virtual environment, if we have head and upper body motion, facial gestures, and hand movement," as Philip puts it to me. "Eye contact is extremely important and eye movement is a rich form of communication. Having used it, I can attest to the fact that FOVE has demonstrated successful, accurate eye tracking in an HMD. So we can expect that second generation HMD's will have eye tracking built in, and that this will be a big and important advance in 1:1 presence." That sounds right to me. With Philip's first VR world, Second Life, the avatar eye-lock function is an incredibly compelling way to create simulated connectivity between two people. Go here to consider getting in on this Kickstarter. Thanks to Adrian Cutler for the tip! Please share this post: Tweet

Putting solar panels on your rooftop just became way more affordable: Customers can now pay for just the power they get from the solar panels. A new law took effect Wednesday that allows financing for residents who want to lease rooftop solar panels. Bo Finau, vice president of business development with Creative Solar USA in Kennesaw, expects his business to double by the end of the year. “They wouldn’t be paying for the installation, the labor, for the actual panels themselves, and also the insurance,” Finau said. “So there’s quite a few things that are covered and protected while this third-party leasing is in effect.” Finau said people will likely save around 15 percent off their current utility bills by leasing panels. Julie Hairston, of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, said the law is a major step in a state where financing was not allowed. “It’s hard to deny that we have abundant sunshine and that we should be putting it to work for us, and we are now beginning to realize that potential.” She says customers should be careful about who they choose to finance their solar panels. Georgia Power also announced it would sell solar panel installation services to interested residential customers. It is through a separate business unit called the Georgia Power Energy Services. “It’s an unregulated part of the business, so that those costs are not borne by our rate payers or our regular customers,” said John Kraft, a spokesman with Georgia Power.

This is police state stuff. Two men were shot and killed, in public, in February. Police know who did it, but they will not tell us. They say no charges should be laid in the case, but they will not tell us why, or give us the information they uncovered in their investigation. Police have security-camera video of the incident, but they will not show it to us. Chief Mark Saunders has released little information about why police decided not to charge an off-duty security guard who fatally shot two people at a McDonald's in February, but held out faint hope that a coroner's inquest, somewhere down the road, might be called that would reveal more of the story. ( Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star ) Two people are dead, and the Toronto Police Service’s response, after four months of investigation, boils down to: Nothing to see here. Trust us. Move along. But see, that’s not how this whole democracy thing works. That’s not how this whole justice system of ours works. That response from the police doesn’t work. Here’s what we know: the double shooting happened at a McDonald’s near Danforth and Coxwell, according to a police statement. “The two men became involved in a physical confrontation with an armed uniformed private security officer who was working at a nearby location. During the altercation, the private security officer discharged his firearm, fatally wounding both men. The private security officer was subsequently taken to hospital where he was treated for a firearm-related injury.” Article Continued Below And that’s about all we know. Police have interviewed witnesses and seen video evidence, and have concluded, after consulting with the Crown, that there is “no reasonable prospect of conviction,” and therefore no charges will be laid against the guard. They share that conclusion with us, but will not share any of the logic or evidence that leads them to that conclusion. “We haven’t charged anyone, so we wouldn’t discuss specifics,” police spokesman Mark Pugash told the Star, citing what he said was a department policy. As this case illustrates, it’s a policy in desperate need of revision. A longstanding principle of our justice system, often cited by the Supreme Court in its decisions, is that “justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.” There’s no way to see if justice is being done if the police keep all the evidence and information secret. Police Chief Mark Saunders says people who want information can just wait to see if the Ontario Coroner decides to hold an inquest. “If that does happen, then that will be the forum where you have the opportunity to hear all of the evidence and have an understanding of why things have concluded the way that they have,” he said, pointing to a possible and theoretical day years down the road. That response doesn’t really work, either. Police shouldn’t pass the buck to the coroner to disclose basic information. We shouldn’t have to wait years to know whether we can trust what they are saying. Two people are dead, shot publicly in front of bystanders. No one is going to be held responsible for that. How can we, the people of Toronto, see the justice in that if no one will tell us what happened? Was it a clear-cut case of self-defence? I could imagine a hundred scenarios in which that’s possible, but we don’t know. Article Continued Below Pugash would not confirm or deny even that hypothesis in talking to my colleague Rachel Mendleson yesterday. Why was this security guard armed in a restaurant? We don’t know. What kind of work was he doing nearby? We don’t know. Was his life in danger? Was he being robbed? Was he defending other people? We don’t know. And the people who do know refuse to tell us. If we can’t see justice being done, and evaluate it for ourselves, we cannot be certain injustice isn’t being covered up. If we cannot see the results of the police investigation, we cannot trust its conclusions. Without an explanation for what happened, people are left to wildly speculate. There are those who think police are likely to be too sympathetic to another uniformed authority figure authorized to carry a gun in a case like this. Who is to say they are misguided, if we have no information? In 2010, when an independent prosecutor announced that no charges would be pursued against former Attorney-General Michael Bryant for the automotive death of bicycle courier Darcy Alan Sheppard, he outlined a detailed theory of the events of the night and the reasoning behind dropping the case. That decision remains controversial and often lamented, but at least the reasoning is there for all to see and analyze, in both the prosecutor’s statement and a written report. Even at that, many still feel a courtroom, where the stories and evidence from that investigation could be tested in front of a judge, would be the only place justice could have been done and unresolved questions been answered. That Bryant case looks like an absolute model of disclosure and transparency in comparison to this. It’s possible to imagine reasons why it might be reasonable to protect the identity of the armed guard in this situation. Although it is possible to imagine more reasons why his name should be public, even if he’s not guilty of anything. After all, without knowing his identity, how can we know if the police in charge of the investigation had any relationship to him that would compromise their objectivity? But even if protecting his privacy is reasonable, we deserve to know what happened in that McDonald’s. What the witnesses saw. What the cameras captured. We deserve to know, in part because this incident itself is a matter of significant public interest, in which the public needs to be able to judge the appropriateness of the response by the police and attorneys who represent us. But also because a policy in which not just the details but the most basic determinations of fact of police investigations are kept secret, and that secrecy is considered routine, is a dangerous policy, ripe for abuse. Investigators who share only their conclusions, while saying “trust us” when asked how they arrived at those conclusions, do not belong in a democracy. That’s police state stuff. And apparently, it’s standard operating procedure in Toronto. Edward Keenan writes on city issues ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire

Created Last update By This (almost) daily post intends to follow up the activity changes of volcanoes all over the world. This post is written by geologist Rodger Wilson who specializes in Volcano seismicity and Armand Vervaeck. Please feel free to tell us about new or changed activity if we haven't written about it. - April 28, 2013 volcano activity We start our daily overview with another great video from yesterday's Etna (Sicily, Italy) Paroxysm (short powerful eruption) KVERT reported no significant changes in eruptive/seismic at the five active Kamchatkan volcanoes: Tolbachik, Sheveluch, Bezymianny, Kizimen, and Karymsky. Seismicity at Gorely volcano, which presently exhibits a high level of hydrothermal activity, remains at a moderate level. Small shallow earthquakes continue in varying daily numbers at Iliamna volcano (Alaska Range) (station INE). Several small earthquakes occurred at/near Mount Rainier (Cascade Range) (WA) (station RCS) and Mount Saint Helens (station VALT) today. Seismic data from Colima volcano (Mexico) continue to be unavailable. The Colima volcanocam showed no obvious surface activity when viewed a few hours ago. Exhalations occurred at an average rate of nearly two events per hour at Popocatepetl volcano overnight. An exceptionally large outburst took place at the volcano earlier today and launched an ash-laden plume to over a kilometer in height above the cone. The Popo seismogram continues to show mainly low-level volcanic tremor occurring within/beneath the cone. Volcanic tremor is high at Pacaya volcano (Guatemala) (station PCG) at this time, but surface activity has been relatively low. Small strombolian explosions, incandescent rockfalls from the snout of the newly extruded lava flow, and nearly continuous "locomotive sounds" characterize activity at Fuego volcano (station FG3) today. Small vulcanian explosions have recently increased from the Caliente dome at the Santiaguito Dome Complex (Santa Maria volcano ) (station STG3), some are visible on today's Santiaguito seismogram. Volcanic tremor remains slightly elevated at San Cristobal volcano (Nicaragua) (station CRIN). Magnitudes of seismic events at Telica volcano (station TELN) have increased overnight, but their rate of occurrence has been only slightly above the "normal" high background level observed at the volcano. Volcanic tremor at Masaya volcano (station MASN) remains unstable, but has generally declined in amplitude over the past few days. Higher-than-normal magnitude volcanic earthquakes continue at San Miguel volcano (El Salvador) (station VSM). Local earthquakes and hydrothermal "noise" continue at Poas volcano (Costa Rica) (station POA2) today. Seismicity remains unstable at Nevado Del Ruiz volcano (Colombia) (station OLLZ). Small earthquakes affect Sotara (station SOSO) and Cumbal (station MEVZ) volcanoes, and pulses of gas (and ash) emission tremor have recently appeared on seismograms at Galeras volcano (station CUVZ). Eruptive activity has re-commenced at Tungurahua volcano (Ecuador) (station RETU) less than two days after we noted an increase in seismicity (see yesterday's report) at the volcano. Small earthquakes continue, though with reduced amplitudes today, at Cotopaxi volcano (station CO1V). Co-eruptive(?) seismicity has increased at Reventador volcano (station CONE) since yesterday. Volcanic tremor continues its slow decline at White Island volcano (New Zealand), but surface hydrothermal activity remains strong there. OMI satellite data have not been updated during the past few days (another victim of "The Sequester"?). Volcanic "hotspots" were identified in MODIS satellite images of Tolbachik, Fuego, Etna and Stromboli (Italy), and Batu Tara (eastern Java) volcanoes. zTime goes here