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President Trump's inauguration on at the U.S. Capitol in Washington | Ricky Carioti - Pool/Getty Images PLAYBOOK POLL Poll: Should the European Commission have a public inauguration ceremony?
It’s the stuff of Europhile dreams and Euroskeptic nightmares, and you can vote on it here.
European Parliament Secretary General Klaus Welle has won the backing of the institution’s executive committee for an elaborate ceremonial swearing-in of the next European Commission president.
That doesn’t mean the ceremony really will happen — we’re a few steps away from that, including getting the next President to agree to appear.
If it happens, the ceremony will more resemble a US-style presidential inauguration than the current low-key and indoor swearing-in by judges from the European Court of Justice.
Welle thinks a public ceremony is the right finale for the Spitzenkandidat process that in 2014 saw Jean-Claude Juncker, the lead candidate of the European People’s Party which won the most seats in the European election, go on to become Commission president.
Interestingly it was the Party of European Socialists that won more votes in the election, and there may be changes to the system ahead of the 2019 election.
Should the next @EU_Commission president have an American-style open-air public swearing-in ceremony? #EU Parliament's executive says yes. — Ryan Heath (@PoliticoRyan) March 13, 2017
The ceremony would be paid for out of a €33-million communication budget for the election. POLITICO’s Florian Eder has more.
The big unanswered question: if the magnetic figure of Donald Trump in a 240 year-old republic can’t fill his inauguration crowd, how will the EU?
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Late on Thursday, a 28-year-old from the Vanniyar community from Vengampatti died as a result of an alleged assault by a group of Dalit youth in Mallur town panchayat.
The New Indian Express reports that the incident took place in Ambedkar Nagar and five Dalit youth have been taken into custody.
Now, the police have reportedly deployed 400 personnel to prevent any further incidents.
The Mallur police have told media that there was an alleged clash between the Vanniyars and Dalits during the Mariamman temple festival on Wednesday. This temple is located in a village dominated by Vanniyars and some Dalit youth had come from Ambedkar Nagar to attend the festival. They reportedly teased a Vanniyar girl which led to a fight and the police at the temple intervened and sorted it out.
The daily reports that on Thursday night at around 10 pm, a group of about 50 Vanniyars from Vengampatti went to Ambedkar Nagar and threw stones at some houses. Post that, around 100 Dalits got together and hit back. But they managed to catch B Karthick and assaulted with stones and weapons. He is stated to have died on the spot.
Salem Range DIG Nagarajan and SP Amit Kumar Singh immediately went there and then sent Karthick's body to the Salem Government Hospital for a postmortem. The police managed to catch five out of the seven youth who assaulted him.
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Japan upgrades Fukushima tank radiation leak to 'serious incident'
Posted
Japan has raised the severity of the latest leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant, now describing it as a "serious radiation incident".
The plant's operator, TEPCO, has revealed 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water has leaked from a tank at the plant.
The water is so contaminated that TEPCO says a worker standing near it for just one hour would receive a dose five times above what it regards as the safe annual limit.
The company yesterday revealed the highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank and had formed puddles on the ground, with fears it could contaminate groundwater flowing into the Pacific.
After declaring it a level one incident on the International Nuclear Event Scale, Japan has now raised it to level three, which is defined as a serious incident involving severe contamination.
The company has faced a growing catalogue of incidents at the plant including several leaks of radioactive water, more than two years after the worst nuclear disaster in a generation which was triggered by a huge quake and tsunami in March 2011.
The company - which faces huge clean-up and compensation costs - has struggled with a massive amount of radioactive water accumulating as a result of continuing water injections to cool reactors.
The embattled utility in July admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater had been leaking outside the plant and this month started pumping it out to reduce leakage into the Pacific Ocean.
The problems have led the Japanese government and its nuclear regulator to say they would get more directly involved in the cleanup at Fukushima plant, which had largely been left in the hands of the company.
While no one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the meltdowns at Fukushima's reactors, large areas around the plant had to be evacuated, with tens of thousands of people still unable to return to their homes.
ABC/AFP
Topics: nuclear-accident, disasters-and-accidents, japan
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Two years ago today – brothers Matt and Ben Pickering and axe man Andrew Chamberlaine came together with multi-instrumentalist/sit-in wizard Scott Hannay to form Albany’s Mister F. Despite their short tenure – the F have grown exponentially – building crowds up and down the coast and deep into the mid-west. They are also attracting some top name attention with Umphrey’s Joel Cummins sitting in at a recent F show.
The band is celebrating the occasion by releasing three brand new videos to say thanks to their fan-base – known as F-Squad. The first is “Don’t Lose Your Watch”. NYSMusic caught up with keys man Hannay who shared the thought process behind the song’s creation:
SH: When we were writing and had the song pretty much put together, we decided it would be cool to lay down vocoder vocals for this one. I ended up getting hooked on the game Portal 2 that same week, and there is an omnipresent computer talking to you the whole game, taunting you and playing mind games with you. I thought to write it from the perspective of a similar computer, as the human is trying to get it to understand music based in 5 beats per measure (most of the song itself). The computer is basically saying “yeah, not gonna happen. doesn’t really matter, I’ll still be around when you’re gone” but encounters some frustration when it really tries to figure it out. In the end, the computer doesn’t really need to understand it, because it’s a computer, and tells the human to stop wasting its time with such a futile endeavor – “Don’t lose your watch, your time is wealth”
Check out the new tune below and watch for two new videos the next two Sundays. After all three videos are released the songs will become available on the F bandcamp page as a new EP titled: The Snow Day Sessions.
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This week, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) added gender identity to the district’s non-discrimination policy to protect transgender employees and students.
The new policy states: “The District prohibits acts of any kind, including harassment, based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law (e.g., cyberbullying via social network sites). Retaliation against anyone involved in the complaint process is a violation of District policy and is prohibited.”
According to Community Impact Newspaper, a student and leaders in the LGBT community came together to testify.
Keisha Martinez, a clinical services director for a local organization for LGBT youth, explained in her testimony, “Creating a gender-inclusive space is accomplished by using appropriate gender pronouns and providing access to services in accordance with individuals’ authentic identity versus their designated gender at birth. … Policy changes are imperative.”
School districts that pass policies explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity take a crucial step toward creating a welcoming climate. Without such a policy, LGBT teachers and other staff members may be at risk for losing their jobs and students can become the target of harassment and discrimination in the classroom. HRC applauds AISD for taking this important step.
There are a number of concrete steps that schools can take to demonstrate their commitment to LGBT inclusiveness. Click here for examples of LGBT-friendly policies and practices schools should implement to fully welcome and affirm all students and families.
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When the latest alpha version of uTorrent was released earlier this week several users spotted something unusual in the 'about' window. For years the uTorrent client belonged to BitTorrent Inc., but all of a sudden ownership was being credited to an unknown company named Gyre Inc. The uTorrent team was quick to fix this 'coding mistake,' but they couldn't wipe out a trail of evidence suggesting that BitTorrent might rebrand itself in the near future.
A few days ago the latest uTorrent alpha release saw the light.
Among other things, the new version aims to make downloads even faster for users with high bandwidth connections.
But there was something else quite unique about the release. Those who took a peek at the ‘about’ section saw the name of a new mysterious company. BitTorrent Inc. wasn’t listed there, but Gyre Inc.
So had uTorrent been quietly sold?
TorrentFreak contacted BitTorrent Inc. to find out more, and we were told that Gyre Inc. was listed there because of a “coding error.” The company didn’t want to confirm or deny the existence of a rebranding exercise, but did say that they “regularly test new brand and product names internally.”
This vagueness encouraged us to research the “Gyre” brand and to speculate about BitTorrent’s future.
Let’s start with some details on Gyre Inc. first. The company was registered in January of this year and lists BitTorrent Inc. CEO Eric Klinker as the service agent. The company address is identical to that of BitTorrent’s San Francisco offices.
One of the signs that points in the direction of a rebranding effort is the fact that BitTorrent Inc. copied all their BitTorrent trademarks for the term Gyre. These three Gyre trademarks cover devices, software and licensing and are identical to the existing BitTorrent trademarks.
And that’s not all.
There is also some evidence to suggest that Gyre is more than just a front for a new product. The company name already appears in the “Terms of Use” for the “Share” app released by BitTorrent Inc. a few months ago. In these same terms there’s also a reference to “SoShare”, another term trademarked by BitTorrent recently.
BitTorrent developers are also referencing Gyre in their code. In the new plugin.btapp.js for example we see several mentions. This is part of a yet-to-be-released product where web browsers can talk to uTorrent/BitTorrent via a plugin.
And what about the unusual fact that “Gyrecorp” is selling uTorrent stickers and shirts?
Gyrecorp?
But perhaps the strongest support for a possible rebranding is that BitTorrent didn’t deny this when we specifically asked about it. We were informed that uTorrent and BitTorrent will continue to be released under BitTorrent Inc. But it wasn’t specified for how long.
BitTorrent Inc. wouldn’t be the first of its kind to change names. Several years ago Azureus changed its name to Vuze. This rebranding also covered the name of the BitTorrent client, but there is no indication that the uTorrent brand will disappear.
The ultimate question is of course why BitTorrent Inc. needs a new brand name to begin with. Could it be the pirate stigma? Are investors pushing for something new? Is there a sale on the horizon?
All speculation for now, but something is up for sure.
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Last update: 28-06-2016 In the history of foreign Brood War, clan leagues have provided many great opportunities for players to play in competitive environments, granting spectators riveting entertainment. ICCup clan leagues have been invaluable in their format and entertainment. Unfortunately, the clan leagues were discontinued due to lack of player interest and an era has come to an end.
We have been waiting for an opportunity to revive the spirit of team competition ever since. Today, we're glad to announce the launch of the new Nation League. For the first season, ten teams will be invited to the Nation League. We have invited the following teams after careful deliberation, drawing inputs from the ESPB-Nation Wars. CANADA Canada, Usa EASTERN TEAM Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden GERMANY PERU POLAND POLAND-B RUSSIA-MainTeam RUSSIA-Alfa WORLD TEAM All the countries not listed except Korea and China
These teams will be placed into the same division for the Nation League. Each team will face each other twice in a round robin format and earn points accordingly. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. Nation Wars will be played in the following format: 4x 1v1 and 1x 2v2 all at the best of three. The Nation League will start the 10th of April; matches will be played every Sunday at 17:00 CET. The broadcast for the Nation League will start around 19 CET and will be brought to you exclusively on our twitch channel iCCupBwTV. Players who are interested in picking up the role of Leader in a team are encouraged to apply for that position in the according thread linked in this news. If you just want to be a part of a team, you may sign up as well. However, the team leader will make the final decision regarding the team's roster. A more detailed descryption of the sign up process is provided in the thread as well. Thanks to the donations made by the community and the sponsorship from esports-betting.pro the current prize pool is about €500. Additional donations to the prize pool are gracefully received — the donation link can be found below. Why have you invited only 10 Nations? The system allows only multiple of 10 teams and we start with the minimum number in the first season. We may very well look to increase the size for consecutive seasons. When will start? April 2016. How can I play? Ask the Leader of your Nation to recruit you. Can my team pick up a certain player as stand-in? The administration will decide stand-ins on a case by case basis. Ask in the according thread. How can i support this event? You are welcome to show support in the forums, as well as making a donation. All donations will be added directly to the prize pool. Why are China and Korea excluded from the event? We feel that having a Chinese and Korean team will bring too many problems regarding high pings and communications to the league, harming the playing experience for the other teams. • Rules: link • link Donations: • link Broadcast: • link Standings: • link Sign-up: link • Teamliquid: Note: Admins will not reply on TL Writers: iCCup.xkcd iCCup.Cele Graphics: TylerC Liquipedia: (give your contribution)
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Could Rep. Keith Ellison be the new face of the DNC?
The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) after he failed to disclose that a group founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood paid for him to make a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy site of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
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Top Democrats have considered shifting to the left by electing Ellison party chairman, but critics say his previous association with radical groups should disqualify him from the leadership role.
Ellison has associated with the Muslim American Society, a Virginia-based group founded by Muslim Brotherhood members in 1993 to act as the “overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States,” according to federal prosecutors in 2007. The United Arab Emirates recently added the group to a list of terrorist organizations.
In 2008, the society paid for Ellison, a practicing Muslim, to make a 16-day pilgrimage, known as the hajj, to Mecca. He was joined on the trip by Asad Zaman, who sits on the board of the Muslim American Society’s Minnesota chapter. Zaman has contributed thousands of dollars to Ellison’s congressional runs, both before and after the Mecca trip.
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A contractor for Duke Energy has been transporting coal ash from its plant at Lake Julian south of Long Shoals Road to the airport since 2007.
A dump truck on Pinner Road carries coal ash from Duke Energy's Lake Julian plant to Asheville Regional Airport. (Photo: Mark Barrett/[email protected])
Duke Energy has agreed in principle to pay the state to repave and possibly improve about two miles of roadway damaged by trucks hauling coal ash from the utility's generating plant at Lake Julian to Asheville Regional Airport.
About 200 dump trucks a day carry the ash over parts of New Rockwood Road, Glenn Bridge Road and Pinner Road and a state Department of Transportation engineer says the roads are deteriorating as a result.
"You'll see places where there are some potholes that are showing up. There are some places that are pretty severely cracked," said Mark Gibbs, DOT division maintenance engineer.
DOT and Duke have been discussing the situation since last fall, Gibbs said, and a Duke official says the company accepts responsibility for the problems. Gibbs and Jason Walls, Duke's district manager, said they hope to have a formal agreement finalized shortly.
A contractor for Duke has been transporting ash from the plant south of Long Shoals Road to the airport since 2007. The ash is being placed in a lined landfill to create more flat land at the airport.
Cracks and potholes are indeed visible at several places along the route.
Gibbs said the trucks are within the legal weight limit for the roads, meaning DOT cannot directly force Duke to pay for the damage. But, he said, if Duke did not cooperate, DOT could restrict use of the roads by heavy trucks.
"We don't want to do that. We've not gotten to that point," he said.
Walls said Duke and DOT "recognized that the daily hauling of coal ash between the Asheville airport and the Lake Julian plant has caused damage."
The agenda for the Feb. 5 meeting of the state Board of Transportation contained an item informing the board that DOT and Duke had agreed to pay an estimated $97,699 for the work. However, Gibbs said that notice is premature and the two sides are still working out final terms of an agreement, including how much Duke would pay.
The current ash removal project is scheduled to be completed sometime before the end of the year, but Duke has asked state approval of a plan it submitted last year to remove additional coal ash from the Lake Julian property over the next two or three years, Wall said.
DOT hopes to repave the roads this summer and may include some steps to improve them in the job, Gibbs said. It would assess their condition after the hauling work is completed to see if additional work is needed, he said.
Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/1DhSX9Q
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Homes are springing up along with the daffodils in Allendale and Georgetown townships this spring, many of them aimed at the needs of Grand Valley State University students.
It's been a long time coming, but The Enclave in Allendale is well on its way to housing up to 275 students, one of several new projects near Grand Valley State University.
The 14 acres of land in Allendale at 4628 Allen Park Drive, west of Sleep Inn Suites and Laser Dynamics, became a political battleground when owner Stu Becker first proposed a campus housing development in 2010. Now, after two referendum elections and a lawsuit that prescribed a slightly downsized project, the site is finally under construction. Now called The Enclave, the project will be home to as many as 275 college students and possibly a handful of small businesses. A small parcel of land north of The Enclave also was recently rezoned to allow student housing.
At a recent facilities meeting, GVSU officials shared plans to remove some older on-campus apartments and add some new, to make a total of between 463 and 498 units.
More student housing is going up near the GVSU campus. The Grove, the name of the first project first proposed by Becker on Allen Park Drive, is a new student housing project on Pierce Street just west of 48th Avenue. Site work started last year. Campus Crest is now the developer of The Grove, a 12-building project that will provide 600 beds.
Across the street from The Grove, fraternity and sorority houses boasting Greek names were completed in 2014. A second phase is beginning this spring.
West Wind Place, a townhome-style development, has a long history of zoning changes, and is now being marketed as upscale multi-family housing for young professionals.
In Georgetown Township, at the Allendale border on the south side of the GVSU campus, cottage-style houses began going up last summer. The township approved the plan for 105 single-family units and 36 multi-family units for a total bed count at build-out of 700.
New single-family homes are also coming. A new phase of Hidden Forest in Allendale is underway that will eventually add 33 single-family residences. A new 12-home residential development is under construction at the southeast corner of 48th Avenue and Baldwin Street. Another section of Rolling Hills development in Georgetown Township also has been proposed.
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The Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot is a system designed to take control of a commercial aircraft away from the pilot or flight crew in the event of a hijacking.[1] If implemented, the system would allow the craft to automatically guide itself to a landing at a designated airstrip.[2] The "uninterruptible" autopilot would be activated either by pilots, by onboard sensors, or remotely via radio or satellite links by government agencies, if terrorists attempt to gain control of a flight deck.[2]
Both Boeing and Honeywell have contributed significantly to the introduction of digital autopilot technology into the civil aviation sector.[3] A patent for the system was awarded to Boeing in 2006.[4] Honeywell has also been developing a system with Airbus, and a prototype has been tested on small aircraft.[5]
In 2013, a 16-seater Jetstream airliner became the first passenger plane to fly unmanned across UK civilian airspace. However, Britain's Civil Aviation Authority says there is no remote control system currently available that could cope with navigating the country's crowded skies. According to a spokesman, "There are companies working on it, but the technology doesn't exist in a practical or usable form yet".[6]
There have been claims that the technology has been secretly fitted to some commercial airliners. Some have blamed it for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, whose cause is unknown as of 2018 .[7][8][9] According to Bob Mann, an airline industry consultant, there is no evidence that the Boeing Uninterruptible Autopilot has ever been used in a commercial airliner.[10] Safety concerns, including the possibility that such a system could be hacked, have prevented its roll-out. [11]
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The 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, Fla. won’t get underway for another 636 days. But that hasn’t stopped the Republican National Committee from spending over $636,800 on the convention more than a year and a half before it starts.
That’s 18 times the amount spent that was spent in a comparable time frame four years ago, the Washington Post reported, causing more than a few raised eyebrows within the party.
Critics of RNC Chairman Michael Steele have also focused on a lucrative job given to his longtime aide, Belinda Cook, convention-related gigs given to her family and friends and a variety of large expenses footed by the RNC.The Washington Times first reported on Cook’s salary — which is nearly three times what her predecessor made — earlier this month. Over two years ahead of the 2012 convention in Tampa, Steele signed a contract making Cook a “convention liaison” and paying her $15,000 per month.
FEC records show that Cook was also paid $25,000 for “Political Strategy Consulting” back in July. Records reflect thousands of dollars in additional reimbursements made to Cook for travel, food and beverages.
The Daily Caller reported that Cook’s niece (Pamela Kesner), her son (Lee Cook), her son’s college friend (Erik Rohrmann) her former assistant (Grace Cushing) are all on the RNC payroll. Cook’s sister, Betina Barcus, has been paid over $25,000 for hotel management consulting, according to Federal Elections Commission records.
The RNC is also renting for Cook a waterfront mansion that measures 3,200 square feet and comes with private pool and dock, the Daily Caller reported. All in all, “The extended Cook cabal took home a total of $139,923 in the three month reporting period from July 1 to Sept. 30,” the Daily Caller wrote.
Solomon Yue, an RNC member from Oregon, is calling on the RNC’s executive committee to freeze both hiring and spending and conduct a review of all RNC contracts.
“My first reaction [to the press reports about convention spending] was ‘how do we fix this?” Yue told TPM.
Yue told TPM he’s sensitive to claims that an investigation into Steele’s fiscal management of the RNC so close to the chair elections could appear unseemly to Steele supporters. He said he’ll create a 16-member investigative panel he says will include more than a few members who have strongly supported Steele in the past.
He promised the process would be transparent and said he’s open to criticism.
“If critics want to see a problem with the process, they can let me know and I’ll fix it,” Yue, a member of the executive committee member and a founder of the Republican National Conservative Caucus, told TPM. “We’re taking an open approach.”
Belinda Cook — who formerly defended the Tampa Bay Host Committee’s minaret-featuring logo — did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
Additional reporting by Evan McMorris-Santoro.
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Image copyright Other Image caption Nomadic herders moved en masse into Europe from the steppe around 4,500 years ago
DNA analysis has revealed evidence for a massive migration into the heartland of Europe 4,500 years ago.
Data from the genomes of 69 ancient individuals suggest that herders moved en masse from the continent's eastern periphery into Central Europe.
These migrants may be responsible for the expansion of Indo-European languages, which make up the majority of spoken tongues in Europe today.
An international team has published the research in the journal Nature.
Prof David Reich and colleagues extracted DNA from remains found at archaeological sites around the continent. They used a new DNA-enrichment technique that greatly reduces the amount of sequencing needed to obtain genome-wide data.
Their analyses show that 7,000-8,000 years ago, a closely related group of early farmers moved into Europe from the Near East, confirming the findings of previous studies.
The farmers were distinct from the indigenous hunter-gatherers they encountered as they spread around the continent. Eventually, the two groups mixed, so that by 5,000-6,000 years ago, the farmers' genetic signature had become melded with that of the indigenous Europeans.
But previous studies show that a two-way amalgam of farmers and hunters is not sufficient to capture the genetic complexity of modern Europeans. A third ancestral group must have been added to the melting pot more recently.
Prof Reich and colleagues have now identified a likely source area for this later diaspora. The Bronze Age Yamnaya pastoralists of southern Russia are a good fit for the missing third genetic component in Europeans.
The team analysed nine genomes from individuals belonging to this nomadic group, which buried their dead in mounds known as kurgans.
The scientists contend that a group similar to the Yamnaya moved into the European heartland after the invention of wheeled vehicles, contributing up to 50% of ancestry in some modern north Europeans. Southern Europeans on the whole appear to have been less affected by the expansion.
Image copyright Other Image caption By 5,000-6,000 years ago, Europeans were a two-way mix of indigenous hunters and Near Eastern farmers
Even more intriguing is the possible link between this steppe expansion and the origins of Indo-European languages.
Most indigenous European tongues, from English to Russian and Spanish to Greek, belong to the Indo-European group. The classification is based on shared features of vocabulary and grammar.
Basque, spoken in south-west France and northern Spain, does not fit in this group, and may be the only surviving relic of earlier languages once spoken more widely.
Two principal hypotheses have been put forward to explain the preponderance of Indo-European tongues in Europe today.
According to the "Anatolian hypothesis", Indo-European languages were spread by the first farmers from the Near East 7,000-8,000 years ago.
But the latest paper supports the "Steppe hypothesis", which proposes that early Indo-European speakers were farmers on the grasslands north of the Black and Caspian Seas.
"An open question for us is whether the languages spoken by these steppe migrants were just ancestral to a sub-set of Indo-European languages in Europe today - for example, Balti-Slavic and maybe Germanic - or the great majority of Indo-European languages spoken in Europe today," Prof Reich told BBC News.
But he added that Indo-European languages spoken in Iran and India had probably already diverged from those spoken by the Yamnaya before the nomads blazed a trail into Europe.
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IATA lobbies for carrier over SF mishap; rival KAL opposes leniency
By Kim Rahn
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the nation's two flagship carriers, are trading barbs over a penalty that may be slapped on Asiana for a plane crash in San Francisco in July last year.
All interested parties, including chiefs of the two companies, unions, foreign carriers operating in Korea and an international association of airlines have voiced their opinions on the proposed sanctions.
The crash-landing of Asiana's Boeing 777 flight at San Francisco International Airport on July 7 last year left three dead and 180 injured.
After the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in June that pilot error was the main cause of the accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been discussing how to punish Asiana.
The ministry initially planned to decide on sanctions back in August, but has been dragging its feet since then without providing an adequate reason, triggering rampant speculation across the industry.
According to domestic law, Asiana may be subject to a fine of between 750 million won and 2.25 billion won, or else banned from operating flights to San Francisco for a period of up to 90 days. While many industry sources expect a suspension of flights, Asiana is urging the government to issue a fine, as any suspension will cause huge losses to the carrier. A 90-day suspension for instance could cost the airline anything up to 30 billion won, in addition to damaging its already tarnished brand image.
Offering support to Asiana were International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Antony Tyler, 43 domestic and foreign carriers operating in Korea, and seven Korean-American groups who filed petitions to the ministry for leniency.
Tyler said Asiana has already suffered a lot from the accident, "The imposition of further penalties by the state as an attempt to demonstrate oversight is disproportionate and unreasonable."
The 43 carriers also asked the government not to order a suspension of operations. "Please give a penalty that can minimize Asiana's financial losses so the airline can continue to invest in safety measures," they said.
Such appeals are irritating Korean Air, however.
Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho said on Nov. 5 that the law is the law however undesirable it may be, implying that Asiana should receive the due sanction ― an operations suspension.
"It is up to the Korean government to decide on the penalty," Cho said. Regarding the IATA's letter to the government, he said it was an "intervention in domestic affairs."
The carrier also issued a statement last month, claiming that while the NTSB concluded that pilot error was the main cause of the accident, Asiana still points to flaws in the aircraft, misleading the issue.
"We are concerned that Asiana mobilizes interest groups to help create public opinion favorable toward it, focusing on profits and neglecting people's worries about safety."
Korean Air's position is perhaps linked to sanctions it received back in 1999 following a plane crash in Guam in 1997 that killed 229 people. The carrier's flights to Guam were suspended for three months, and it was banned from opening new routes for 18 months afterward.
While saying that punishment was "harsh," it added, "If a carrier receives a slap on the wrist such as a fine for a huge accident, it may lead to negligence in safety and consequently more accidents."
Concerning the criticism, Asiana issued its own statement to counter Korean Air: "Although we compete in other areas, we have to cooperate with and encourage each other over safety. Please show minimum magnanimity toward a company in the same industry that is trying to overcome difficulties and make efforts to ensure safety."
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It’s not an easy thing to mount a big exhibition of artifacts from China without any artifacts from China.
That’s the position the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology now finds itself in, as it prepares to open a major show on Saturday, “Secrets of the Silk Road,” which was organized by the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Calif., last year and traveled from there to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
The Penn Museum, as it is known, had advertised its version of the show as “an extraordinary collection of materials, including spectacularly preserved clothing and textiles, personal items and golden treasures, all recently excavated at desert burial sites in the far western reaches of modern China.” But on Wednesday the museum announced that China had requested that none of the artifacts be shown. In a statement the museum said the exhibition “has been modified,” and will now consist only of photographs, multimedia presentations and a recreation of an excavation site. It added that it would refund money to everyone who had bought tickets for the show ahead of time and that the exhibition would now be free.
The star attractions of the traveling show have been two mummies, more than 3,500 years old, that were unearthed in the Tarim Basin of western China, the first time any Chinese mummies had been shown in the United States.
Pam Kosty, a spokeswoman for the museum, declined to explain why China had made the request or whether the artifacts were already installed at the museum when the request was made. The museum has had long associations with Chinese archaeologists and scholars. It has also long been regarded as a leader in advocating for stronger protections surrounding the export and acquisition of antiquities from around the world to discourage the illicit trade in artifacts.
The original negotiations between China and the United States and within China itself that brought the artifacts to the United States last year were long and complicated. Mummies and other artifacts that have been found in the region in recent years there have been identified as Caucasoid, with long noses and light hair, discoveries that have caused controversy there. The discoveries have raised questions about who first settled that part of western China and for how long. Chinese authorities have faced an intermittent separatist movement of nationalist Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who number nine million in the region, and Uighur nationalists have used evidence from the mummies–whose corpses span thousands of years–to support historical claims to the region.
The Los Angeles Times reported last March that the Uighur population was not happy with the idea of sending the artifacts and mummies abroad. Officials from the Bowers traveled to the region and drafted an agreement, sent to Beijing, for loans of such items from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region Museum and the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology in Western China, and the requests were granted in June 2010.
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Silat and FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) differ from most other martial arts in that their optimal range is the Trapping range. Wing-Chun is one of the few traditional arts outside of FMA and Silat which shares this focus on the Trapping range (Jeet Kune Do Trapping is a blend of both Wing-Chun and Silat/FMA).
Trapping range is intermediary between the blurred ranges of Punching/Kicking and the most intimate range: Grappling. Punching/Kicking range is between the furthest and shortest distance from which you can fully extend your arm/leg and still hit properly. Grappling range is basically body-to-body contact and almost inevitably ends up on the ground. While Trapping range is very up close and personal, it generally excludes gripping/wrestling and maintains the ability to shift around the opponent or to dis-engage at will (unlike Grappling). The main advantage of Trapping range is that the practitioner has access to all of their weapons; one can use their fists/palms, elbows, knees, head, shoulder, feet, etc. all at once. Other ranges are more limited.
To provide some perspective, consider that arts like Karate and Shaolin Kung-Fu are geared primarily towards Punching and Kicking ranges. Full extension of the limbs and powerful generative rotations exemplify these arts.
Arts like Judo and Catch Wrestling focus on the Grappling range. Joint locks, submissions, chokes, and take-downs are generally the province of these arts.
Trapping range is essentially the bread and butter of the advanced martial artist. The skills required for mastery of this range are the most subtle (flow, soft rotation, etc.). And the best part is that these are all skills which you can maintain well into your old age because they do not rely on flexibility or strength.
Silat and FMA, more so than Wing-Chun, are extremely aggressive and destructive. You could describe them as the martial arts world parallel to General Sherman's "scorched earth" policies. Moving from Punching/Kicking range to their favored Trapping range, they have a series of techniques for muscle and bone destruction; the practitioner essentially destroys everything in their way as they enter. Standing (neck) locks/breaks, foot trapping, tying up arms, and spinal contortions are all favorites once inside. Also, core to these arts is the "no matter where you are, you are in my space" mentality.
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Washington (CNN) -- The number of traffic fatalities continued its welcomed downward trajectory last year, falling 3% to its lowest levels since 1949, and a 25 percent drop from 2005, according to U.S. Department of Transportation estimates released Friday.
Preliminary figures show that 32,788 people died in traffic accidents last year, down from the 33,808 killed the previous year and significantly below the 43,510 people killed only six years ago, according to the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Experts attribute the change to a variety of reasons, including changes to cars -- such as vehicle rollover protection -- and programs to change driver behavior -- such as campaigns addressing drunk driving, distracted driving and seat belt use. Laws aimed at young people also likely have had an impact, notably older minimum drinking ages and graduated drivers' licenses.
"I think I'm going to take a little bit of credit here on our two years of really hammering on distracted driving," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We're not where we want to be, but we know with good laws and good enforcement, people will put their cell phones down and their Blackberries."
He also gave credit to stricter enforcement of driving laws and drivers taking personal responsibility for their safety.
Traffic fatalities in the United States peaked in 1972, with 54,589 killed, according to the DOT. But the rise and decline of the grim number has numerous peaks and dips, influenced by direct changes such as the national speed limit and indirect causes such as recessions.
In recent history, the most notable change was a 9.7 percent plummet in deaths in 2008. In a report examining that drop, DOT officials gave credit to DOT safety programs, but also noted that the drop coincided with a recession in the economy. The recession, and high unemployment rates among the young workforce, probably had a big impact on travel among young drivers, and it probably accounts for a steep decline in fatalities involving younger people, the DOT said.
The 2010 drop is notable because the decline comes despite an increase in the number of miles driven.
But figures also suggest the downward trend may be at its end. DOT figures show that fatalities declined in the first quarter of the year (down 11.4 percent) and second quarter (down 5 percent) compared for the same quarters the previous year, but increased in the third and fourth quarters, up 1.6 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
Terry Kline, a professor at the Traffic Safety Institute at Eastern Kentucky University, said so many factors influence crashes that its difficult to assign credit or blame.
"Each one wants to say, 'Yes, it's my program that did it,' but it's very hard to prove," Kline said.
A number of factors are "taking more 16 year olds off the road," which could be having a significant impact on the statistics, he said. In many states, young drivers can only drive with an adult in the car, he said. And the recession and the high cost of cars and gas also are keeping teen-agers from jumping in the driver's seat.
The lack of uniformed police reports makes it difficult to compile reliable statistics, Kline said.
Secretary LaHood said the up-tick in traffic deaths in late 2010 does not portend higher figures this year.
"Absolutely not," he said. "We can never sit back on our laurels. We can never take for granted that people have gotten the message, not when 30-thousand people have lost their lives. So we're going to continue our efforts."
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Getty Images
The San Francisco 49ers made easy work of the Washington Redskins Monday night.
The 49ers kept the Redskins’ top-ranked rushing offense in check and repeatedly hit Robert Griffin III in limiting him to just 127 yards passing on 27 attempts.
Griffin struggled last week against the Philadelphia Eagles as well before a fourth quarter burst made his effort look stronger in total than it actually was. It’s been a difficult sophomore season for Griffin where he’s struggled to find the consistency of his rookie year.
49ers’ linebacker Ahmad Brooks thinks he knows why Griffin continues to struggle this season after seeing him in person Monday night.
According to JP Finlay of CSNWashington.com, Brooks says he feels Griffin’s knee isn’t 100-percent and he doesn’t believe Griffin should be playing.
“I don’t think he should be playing,” Brooks said. “You can see it. Everybody can see it, everybody can see it.”
Brooks picked up two sacks against Griffin Monday night.
Griffin completed over 65-percent of his passes as a rookie and had a 102.4 passer rating. This season, Griffin is completing 60-percent of his passes with a rating of 81.9. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
“He’s a man, he has the heart of a warrior and is going to go out there and play regardless of the circumstance,” Brooks said. “Everybody can see it. Everybody can see it. He shouldn’t be playing.”
The Redskins have many more issues than just the quarterback position. However, Griffin clearly doesn’t look like the same player he was last year.
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Anders Nilsson is a lot more than a Buffalo Sabres goaltender.
The 26-year-old is enjoying a strong season - he has a .934 save percentage in eight games and seven starts - but he's making headlines for sporting a pride flag in support of the LGBT community on the back of his helmet.
Nilsson spoke about the flag with The Buffalo News' John Vogl, saying gay friends and witnessing their struggle was the impetus behind the decision.
"Life hasn't been easy for them growing up," Nilsson said. "It's time that hockey starts to pay some attention to that.
"This summer, I thought, why not be the first goalie to put (the pride flag) on the helmet and raise some awareness?"
anders nilsson has a pride flag on his mask :,) pic.twitter.com/iQ6Ma7nuY1 — destiny (@mqrner) December 4, 2016
Nilsson was the recipient of very high praise from Wade Davis, a former NFL player who came out after his playing career was over and who now serves as director of the You Can Play organization.
"Anders Nilsson is courageous beyond the understanding of many," Davis said. "He is taking a risk on multiple fronts and is standing up for something that he believes in, knowing the backlash that could come his way. He's my hero."
Nilsson said a lot's been done by You Can Play, hockey, and by the sports world in recent years, but much work needs to be done. With the flag on his helmet, he's doing his small part to keep progress moving forward.
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For Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and all the rest, friendship isn't always easy -- but it's always worth it.
1. School Daze Part I 22m When Twilight Sparkle realizes the Friendship Map has grown beyond Equestria, she decides to open a School of Friendship with help from the Mane Six.
2. School Daze Part II 22m After her School of Friendship suffers a major setback, Twilight Sparkle must reunite her students and make a few changes.
3. The Maud Couple 22m When her sister Maud starts dating a prickly pony named Mudbriar, Pinkie Pie worries their friendship bond may be fraying.
4. Fake It ‘Til You Make It 22m Crisis in Ponyville! Rarity leaves Fluttershy in charge of the Manehattan boutique, where the haughty customers are anything but approachable.
5. Grannies Gone Wild 22m Desperate to ride a wild rollercoaster in Las Pegasus, Rainbow Dash agrees to serve as chaperone to some older ponies who are heading there, too.
6. Surf and/or Turf 22m A young Hippogriff with relatives on Mt. Aris and in Seaquestria can't decide where to live. It's up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders to help him out.
7. Horse Play 22m To help celebrate a big anniversary, Twilight Sparkle casts Princess Celestia in a play ... but quickly learns that not everyone is destined to act.
8. The Parent Map 22m Starlight and Sunburst are summoned to their hometown of Sire's Hollow, where they cross paths with their problematic parents.
9. Non-Compete Clause 22m Applejack and Rainbow Dash -- both hoping to win Teacher of the Month -- lead a group of students on a field trip, where things don't go as planned.
10. The Break Up Breakdown 22m It's Hearts and Hooves Day, and Big Mac has something special planned for Sugar Belle -- but a mix-up might put a damper on the fun.
11. Molt Down 22m When Spike starts going through adolescent changes, he worries Twilight Sparkle might kick him out of the castle.
12. Marks for Effort 22m Denied admission to the School of Friendship, the Cutie Mark Crusaders do the next best thing and tutor a struggling student.
13. The Mean 6 22m Queen Chrysalis returns with a sinister plan to clone the ponies and take control of the Elements of Harmony.
14. A Matter of Principals 22m When Twilight Sparkle is called away, she leaves Starlight in charge of the school -- a fact that doesn't sit too well with Discord.
15. The Hearth’s Warming Club 22m As the ponies settle in for Hearth's Warming Eve, a prank threatens to put a damper on the festivities.
16. Friendship University 22m Twilight learns about another school of friendship and is surprised to see that her idol, Star Swirl the Bearded, is enrolled.
17. The End in Friend 22m Wait, why are they friends again? Rarity and Rainbow Dash begin to wonder why they bother hanging out when they don't seem to have anything in common.
18. Yakity-Sax 22m Pinkie Pie is all about her new hobby -- playing the Zenithrash. There's just one problem: She's not very good at it.
19. On the Road to Friendship 22m Things get tense when Trixie heads off to Saddle Arabia to perform magic along with her assistant, Starlight.
20. The Washouts 22m Rainbow Dash worries that Scootaloo's newfound fandom for a group of stunt ponies could mark the end of an era.
21. A Rockhoof and a Hard Place 22m Twilight Sparkle and the ponies do their best to help Equestria legend Rockhoof adjust to life in modern times.
22. What Lies Beneath 22m While studying for a big test on the history of magic in Equestria, some of Twilight Sparkle's students stumble upon a secret in the library.
23. Sounds of Silence 22m Applejack and Fluttershy take on an unusual Friendship Quest: helping a group of ponies who took a vow of silence.
24. Father Knows Beast 22m Spike is instantly smitten with a dragon who crash-lands in Ponyville and claims to be his father.
25. School Raze, Part I 22m Something strange is going on with the magic in Equestria, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends are determined to unravel the mystery.
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THE son of a First World War soldier has sold his Bournemouth home so he can publish his late father’s harrowing memoirs that have recently been unearthed.
John Burder has turned the hundreds of pages of text written by Captain Claud Burder into a book after finding masses of documents hidden in a dusty trunk in the attic.
The 72-year-old managed to run off a limited edition of 500 hardback copies of his father’s horrifying account of life in the trenches, called ‘Hell on Earth’, which were mostly given to friends and family.
But he believes the memoirs ought to be read by a wider audience and, after he started getting requests from more people, he approached several publishing companies with no success. So Mr Burder has sold his detached home in Bournemouth and moved into a Branksome bungalow to raise £25,000 to fund the publishing project, including having the book professionally designed.
Using the self-publishing house New Generation, he will be printing on-demand, but is hoping to produce 10,000 copies and wants to supply as many as possible to schools and colleges.
‘Hell on Earth’ details the grim and bloody experiences Capt Burder endured in the trenches, including seeing a comrade ‘blown to pieces’ while stood next to him and diving for cover from a shell only to land on a dead comrade.
Despite completing hundreds of pages, Capt Burder locked the manuscript in a chest and never spoke about the war before his death in 1968 aged 87. His son inherited his family’s belongings but didn’t get round to opening the trunk until 2009.
He was stunned when he learned of what his father had gone through at the notorious battlegrounds of Ypres and the Somme.
Mr Burder, a retired TV producer, said: “The book is not the work of a journalist or a historian or a general getting reports from people at the front. It is a verbatim, contemporary account written by a man who was there throughout the entire war.
“A man who suffered with his men and went through it all and somehow survived it.
“It should be read by any young person who has even the slightest interest in the war, because it does show how stupid and futile it was. I thought it my duty to try and get my father’s story in front of as many people as possible.”
Capt Burder’s war ended in 1918 when he was struck in the head by a piece of shell. A young officer who had been stood next to him was ‘blown to pieces’ in the explosion. He wrote: “Nothing whatsoever was left of him, not a single button.”
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Avoiding Mocks in ScalaTest
Nicolas A Perez Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 8, 2017
Many times people have asked me how do I do mocking when writing tests for Scala applications. Since testing is a great deal for us (see Simplified Testing with ScalaTest and Custom Matchers) seems that mocking has to be an integral part of our testing technique, so let’s explore some thoughts on this area.
Let’s start by showing a common problem that occurs to us every single day. Please, notice that the example could be very simplistic, but given a context, it can be extrapolated to everyday realistic problems.
Our problem domain is the one related to Application User Manipulation.
Let’s define some high-level abstractions from the very beginning.
First, we have an interface that store and retrieve objects from some kind of storage. As you may see, this definition is very abstract, and we need, at some point, specializations of it.
Now, we can define another abstraction closer to our domain.
UserRepository is the abstraction that represents how we are going to manage the users in our application.
At this point, we need to implement UserRepository and it needs a concrete representation of DB to work with.
Let’s start by writing some tests.
There is nothing unusual about this test. The only thing it does is make sure a user is recoverable once it has been added it. The problem with it is that it needs some instance of DB.
At this point, we can add a mocking lib to our dependencies and start mocking DB; but the question is if that is really necessary.
What about if just implement a version of it we can use in our tests?
Now, in our tests, we need to initialize InMemDB before running them.
In some way, we are creating a real implementation of DB which is fine for many cases, but sometimes we want to have more flexibility and in here is where mocking libs shine.
In this case, we don’t have to implement DB to use it. We can mock/simulate the behavior of it in the way we want. However, in order to setup the mocking, extra steps are required.
Let’s write another test using this technique.
In here we are testing that the predicate (user.name.length ≤ 3) is being executed.
As you can see, it is not hard to set up these mocks, but it could also be another way to do the same without introducing extra dependencies to our tests.
What about if we could write the same test in the following way.
We can actually create an instance of DB and implement it inline. The drawback is that we need to have the other functions there as well, even when we are not using them.
We can cheat around of this by creating another trait with default implementation and then using the new one within the tests.
And now we can rewrite our test as follow.
It is important to remember that in here we are not testing DB at all. All that matters here is to be able to successfully test UserRepository.
There is at least one more way to replace DB for something we could use in UserRepository. We could mix in DB with our test class.
In this particular way, we need to implement the DB functions inside our test class which makes it an instance of DB. That is kind of the same we did with UserDBForTesting, but in this case, we don’t need an extra class, and the implementation is exactly what our test needs and nothing else.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 30, 2013
Contact: Elizabeth Ray or Matille Thebolt (703-683-5004)
“The decision to allow two gay couples to ‘marry’ on a float during the Rose Parade denigrates this once family-friendly event.” — Brian Brown, NOM president —
Washington, D.C. — The following statement may be attributed to Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM):
“Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome once famously said of gay ‘marriage,’ ‘This door’s wide open now; it’s going to happen whether you like it or not.’
“Unfortunately, his words have proven to be all too true. The decision to allow two gay couples to ‘marry’ on a float during the Rose Parade denigrates this once family-friendly event. It’s another ‘in your face’ example that should serve as a teachable moment for the American people. Once marriage is redefined to make it genderless, this perverse construct of ‘marriage’ is forced on everyone. Just as unsuspecting children watching the Rose Parade will be exposed to the spectacle of men ‘marrying’ men with the attendant public hugging and kissing, so too will American children be told in school that marriage as the union of one man and one woman is bigoted and discriminatory. Those who think that the ongoing marriage debate doesn’t affect them should rethink their position. Once marriage is redefined to make it genderless, it’s going to be foisted on every American no matter the historic truth of marriage. The record is replete with examples of people who have been punished for refusing to support genderless marriage. At least with the Rose Parade, parents watching on television are forewarned and can simply change the channel – although families who long ago made plans to travel to the event will have to either abandon their plans or be forced to endure this political spectacle. We urge Americans to demand that their political leaders change the legal channel to make sure true marriage is protected and preserved.”
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To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray (x130), [email protected], or Matille Thebolt (x143), [email protected], at 703-683-5004.
Paid for by The National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, president. 2029 K Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006, not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. New § 68A.405(1)(f) & (h).
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First, the "EZTV.it" domain was gobbled up for "five figures" by a third party, using the same company name (EZCloud) under which NovaKing had originally registered EZTV. That party then proceeded to strip all references to the original site, which had relocated to the .CH domain in the meantime -- while the new owners tried to get the original site to play along. Using a fake name, faux-EZTV managed to seize the original .SE domain held by the EuroDNS registrar, despite NovaKing's attempt to block the move. From there, the rogue "EZCloud" was able to reset various EZTV services and passwords and take control of every domain, eventually including EZTV.ch.
If this site tells you not to go to somewhere, we'd listen
Though EZTV's servers apparently weren't compromised, a staffer said NovaKing was distraught by the attack and decided to walk away from his "non-profit" labor of love. The purloined EZTV sites continue to operate using new, non-EZTV torrents (complete with ads and pop-unders) while the operators claim that all is still well. However, other torrent sites like Pirate Bay and KickAss torrents have severed ties, and TPB is even warning users to "stay away" from EZTV.ch. And if a site where you go to get "internet herpes," (as my colleague put it), tells you to stay away, we'd advise you to listen. After all, there are plenty of similar sites and of course, lots of legal options
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SAN JOSE — Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski understands the challenge has become tougher as he tries to remain part of the U.S. soccer team.
Although he wasn’t included on the team that will play host to Ecuador on Friday, Wondolowski hopes to stay in the picture after making his World Cup debut in the summer.
“We have one of the deepest pools right now that we’ve ever had,” Wondolowski said Monday. “You’ve got to give guys chances. I’m just trying to fight my way in.”
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann is integrating promising young players with some veterans in a match that will serve as Landon Donovan’s final game with the national team.
“We want to continue the energy that was created in Prague last month when we won against the Czech Republic and see how far these younger players can take it,” Klinsmann said Monday through U.S. Soccer.
Klinsmann added that the latest call ups serve as a chance to break in players who he expects to compete for spots for the 2018 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
“Guys like Kyle Beckerman, DaMarcus Beasley, Brad Davis, Chris Wondolowski and others are not in this roster, not because they aren’t part of the national team moving forward, simply because we want to see the youngsters make their point,” the coach said.
Klinsmann has told Wondolowski to keep putting in the time to improve. The Danville native scored his team-leading 14th goal last weekend. Since returning from the World Cup, Wondolowski has nine goals and four assists to become one of Major League Soccer’s hottest players in the second half of the season.
Wondolowski wants to compete in the Gold Cup next summer to help the Americans reach the 2017 Confederations Cup, a prestigious tournament a year before the World Cup.
“It’s a big goal of mine,” he said. “I have to play to the highest standards so I can get the opportunity.”
Klinsmann might have more big decisions in the coming years than ever seen in U.S. soccer. The Americans also expect to build a powerful under-23 team for the 2016 Olympics. They also will comepte in the important 2016 Copa America that includes South American powers.
One of those young players in the conversation is Stanford sophomore Jordan Morris, a member of the Seattle Sounders Academy. The striker got his first senior national call up last month and is part of the U-23 team training in Brazil next week.
“We evaluate people based on their potential, based on talent and their willingness to learn,” Klinsmann said. “Sometimes people on the outside might think it’s coming a bit too early for a player like Jordan Morris, but we don’t think so because we see the potential.”
Another local who could factor in is Earthquakes rookie Tommy Thompson, 19, who this year made his first under-20 appearance. Thompson said Monday that he hasn’t had any recent conversations with U.S. coaches but hopes to get invited to the next U-20 camp. “For us, it’s always important to mix things up,” Klinsmann added. “For this first game we are mixing things up with MLS players and with players that are coming from overseas but they are not as established yet as we would like them to be, so maybe we let a few go after the Friday game back to Europe so they have a whole week of preparation for the next game.
“It’s time to start fresh again. And so whatever the experienced players have done deserves a lot of respect, but it in a certain way it’s behind us. They need to be on their toes; otherwise the younger ones shoot by them.”
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/elliottalmond.
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Carmen Ortiz's Husband Criticizes Swartz Family For Suggesting Prosecution Of Their Son Contributed To His Suicide
from the foot-in-mouth-disease dept
As we've stated over and over again, it's a bit simplistic to place the "blame" for Aaron Swartz's suicide on the federal prosecutors, led by US Attorney Carmen Ortiz and her assistant Stephen Heymann. It is still quite reasonable to question their activities, but suicide is a complex thing and going all the way there may be going too far. Still, you can understand why Swartz's family did, in fact, directly call out the US Attorneys given their hardline position on the case, and the stress that created for Swartz. Lots of reporters have been contacting Ortiz and Heymann and the US Attorneys' offices and have consistently been getting back a big fat "no comment." Some reporters are even upset that no one put President Obama on the spot concerning the Swartz suicide at Obama's recent press conference. But, the stance of the government has been to avoid all such questions.However, some noticed that Ortiz's-- an IBM exec named Tom Dolan -- apparently felt no such restriction. He took to Twitter... to complain about the statement from the Swartz family and to further scold anyone who claimed that Swartz faced 35-years in prison. Amazingly, he chose to do this by taking on some "big names" in the tech and media world: Mitch Kapor, Dan Gillmor and the blog ThinkProgress:Dolan has since deleted his entire account after he either came to his senses or someone suggested strongly that he think better of it. While you can understand his desire to defend his wife's efforts, the tweets aren't just somewhat offensive following Aaron's suicide, but misleading as well. To argue that the prosecution was fair because they offered him a 6 month plea deal is complete and utter hogwash. As many have pointed out, it doesn't appear that Aaron should have been facingfederal charges at all. The 35 years is completely relevant, because that's part of thethat his wife was using to pressure him into taking the 6 month plea deal so that she and her assistant could get a big headline about another "guilty" plea. To act like the 6 month offer is some sort of "leniency" is insane when you know the details of the case and everything else that came with it.Dolan also -- conveniently -- ignores that the government supposedly told Aaron's lawyers that if he didn't take the deal, the next one they'd come back with, and that if the case actually got to court, they'd try to get the judge (notorious for strict sentences) to throw the book at Swartz.The one thing that Dolan got right is that "35 years" probably wasn't accurate. But he had it in the wrong direction. Thefour charges had a maximum possibility of 35 years. After Dolan's wife upped the charge count to 13, it was looking like the total could possibly be upwards of 50 years -- for a situation where Swartz didn't think he'd done anything wrong. In that scenario, the plea bargain is an insult, but the entire situation must be incredibly difficult. Dolan's response isn't just insensitive, but it's downright misleading.
Filed Under: aaron swartz, carmen ortiz, plea bargains, tom dolan
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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
SAT 3/12 VS MONTREAL 2 PM
SUN 3/13 VS EDMONTON 1 PM
TUE 3/15 AT OTTAWA 7:30 PM
SUN 3/20 VS RANGERS 12:30 PM
MON 3/21 AT DETROIT 7:30 PM
THU 3/24 AT PHILADELPHIA 7 PM
FRI 3/25 VS NEW JERSEY 7 PM
SUN 3/27 VS FLORIDA 1 PM
TUE 3/29 VS PHILADELPHIA 7 PM
THU 3/31 AT TAMPA BAY 7:30 PM
SAT 4/2 AT FLORIDA 7 PM
TUE 4/5 VS NEW JERSEY 7:30 PM
FRI 4/8 AT ISLANDERS 7 PM
SUN 4/10 AT ATLANTA 3 PM
END OF REGULAR SEASON
PITT BASKETBALL
THU 3/10 12 PM VS UCONN, BIG EAST TOURNAMENT, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
PITTSBURGH PIRATES
FRI 4/1 AT CUBS 2:20 PM
SAT 4/2 AT CUBS 1:05 PM
SUN 4/3 AT CUBS 2:20 PM
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Bike share arrived in Sacramento Thursday with several dozen ready to rent in downtown Sacramento and along the West Sacramento waterfront.
The bikes, operated by a company called Social Bicyles, rent for $4 per hour, but can be rented in increments as small as a minute. Users tap into a smartphone app, which tells them where the nearest bikes are parked. Riders can then unlock the bikes by tapping a personal code into the pad behind the bike seat.
Most bikes will be parked at 14 designated bike stands in the street at popular central city locations, such as next to The Barn and Raley Field in West Sacramento, in Capitol Park and in front of Zocalo restaurant and across the street from Der Biergarten in midtown.
City officials said Thursday’s launch represents a step toward enabling residents, downtown workers and others to get around the central city and river areas without cars. Fifty bikes were available for use at the 14 stations as of Thursday at noon.
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The temporary website to download the app is at www.bikethetower.com.
“It’s a great new alternative way to get around for work, for errands, for lunch, for other short trips, taking advantage of our great weather and flat landscapes to just grab a bike and go,” said West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon. “It’ll allow you to get all around the downtown core area of both cities and ultimately to Davis as well.”
For now, organizers are soft-pedaling the program until they can land a sponsor to pay for a bigger system. Cabaldon said the two cities and regional transportation officials hope to sign a major local business to kick in several million dollars over the next few years to allow the program to add hundreds more bikes and add bike stations outside the central core.
Social Bicycles operates similar bike share programs in 35 cities in the United States and overseas. Regional transportation funds are being used to purchase and install the Sacramento bike racks, which can also be used by riders with their own bikes.
The goal is to put 800 bikes and 100 electric motor-assisted bikes on the streets by November. Renters can pick them up and drop them off at designated racks, whose locations are identified on the app’s map. But they also can lock and leave them at any bike rack of their choosing, paying a small add-on fee if it is not one of the designated racks.
Each bike’s GPS system will allow other renters to see where all bikes are parked. A person who picks a bike up at an outside rack and returns it to a designated station will get a discount.
“This is going to be the easiest, cheapest way to get around,” City Councilman Steve Hansen said.
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The standoff over the budget and debt ceiling that culminated in a government shutdown amounted to a political disaster for Republicans. One of the main reasons why has nothing to do with what happened and everything to do with what didn't.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Friday explains it. Forty-four percent of Americans say they paid very close attention to the fight over the short-term budget and the debt limit, while only half as many say the same thing about the glitches that have plagued the rollout of the health-care law's online exchanges or marketplaces. Just 24 percent say they paid scant attention to the shutdown and debt showdown, compared to 46 percent who say the same thing about the troubled health-care rollout.
(Chart via Kaiser Family Foundation)
So, while Republicans were dominating the headlines with their fight against Obamacare in the budget debate, the real-world problems with the law were going overlooked by the public for much of last month. In short, Republicans couldn't get out of their own way.
It's especially stinging for Republicans because Obamacare was at the center of the House GOP strategy that led to the shutdown. Republicans' repeated refusal to pass a clean stopgap spending bill was rooted in an unyielding desire to use the budget debate to pick apart the health-care law. They talked over and over again about the negative impact of the law, and how it needed to be stopped.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration's unsteady unveiling of HealthCare.gov during the same period gave rise to widely publicized causes for concern. But instead of allowing those issues to dominate the conversation, Republicans elbowed them to the side with their fight against the health-care law in Congress, which dealt the party a big-time political blow, even before taking into account the missed opportunity to spotlight the rollout woes. The party's image plunged to an all-time low in the wake of the shutdown, a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed.
The good news for Republicans bent on hammering Democrats over the law and pointing out its problems is the shutdown is over while the problems with the health-care law are not.
Even as overall views of the law have held steady, most Americans say they think the Web site problems are part of a broader problem with the law’s implementation, according to Post-ABC polling. In the Kaiser poll, 80 percent say the federal government's implementation has been only fair or worse; 48 percent say it's outright poor.
Finally, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, “Hold me accountable for the debacle,” at a House hearing earlier this week -- strong words that illustrate the seriousness of the complications the Obama administration is facing.
Still, politics is all about moments. When an opportunity arises, if you're not there to seize it, you lose, even if they other side doesn't win. The GOP just learned that the hard way.
Fixbits:
CBS reports six people signed up on the first day of the Obamacare exchanges and 248 were signed up by day two.
The campaign of Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is buying ad time to coincide with Democrat Charlie Crist's campaign launch.
Mitt Romney will be on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
A new poll shows New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) maintaining an 18-point lead in next Tuesday's election.
Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) wants an individual mandate delay.
President Obama's top aides explored swapping in then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Vice President Biden on the 2012 ticket.
Freshman Rep. Steve Daines (R), who is expected to run for Montana's open Senate seat, has scheduled a "special event" for Wednesday.
Obama gives Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) a vote of confidence.
The father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) says Obama should go "back to Kenya."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says the Senate will vote again on the two nominations Republicans blocked Thursday.
Rudy Giuliani will campaign for Christie.
Terry McAuliffe raises half a million dollars in a single day, while Ken Cuccinelli raised $12,000.
Rachel Maddow responds to Rand Paul.
Must-reads:
"Book Details Obama Aides’ Talks About Replacing Biden on 2012 Ticket" -- Jonathan Martin, New York Times
"In Alabama Race, a Test of Business Efforts to Derail Tea Party" -- Campbell Robinson and Eric Lipton, New York Times
"In the Clintons’ talk of brokering compromise, an implicit rebuke of Obama years" -- Philip Rucker, Washington Post
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I have a big problem with the fact that the Torah originally had the punishment of taking out someone's eye. What does it say for the Torah if it began as a barbaric set of laws, and only later rabbis try to smooth it out?
I recently heard a talk explaining "an eye for an eye" in the Torah. As society has become less barbaric, the rabbis reinterpreted the verse to mean one pays the damages for the eye, instead of actually taking out the eye of the perpetrator as it used to be done in the olden days.
The verse you are referring to, discussing a fight between two Jews, says the following: "…an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot; a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise." (Exodus 21:24-25).
This verse, taken literally, truly sounds like one must be punished in the way you said, to put out the eye or the tooth, to chop off the hand, etc. I, however, respectfully take strong issue with the assumption that this verse was ever taken literally. There is no evidence anywhere, literary or archaeological, that a literal "eye for an eye" was Jewish practice at any time. Nor is there the slightest hint in the Talmud, the principle body of Jewish law that this verse was ever taken literally. It is simply an erroneous assumption based on the literal reading of the verse.
The Talmud, in fact, records a lengthy discussion of this verse, (Bava Kama 83b-84a). The Talmudic sages bring a number of compelling proofs, both logically and from the inference of other verses, showing one should not even entertain the thought that "an eye for an eye" is to be taken literally. Maimonides, the renowned 12th century sage, further cites the verses in Exodus 21:18-19 which openly speak of damages in terms of monetary payment. Hence, a few verses later when the Torah speaks of "an eye for and eye…" it is obviously referring to the same sort of payment. Other early sages bring additional proof: if literal, if the perpetrator injures another and minimizes his sight by one third or half, how is it possible to do the same in punishment, no more and no less?
The key principal is that the Torah cannot, and was not meant to be understood literally. Only with the Oral Tradition given together with the written can the Torah be understood correctly and accurately.
One big question still remains: If the Torah meant to pay monetary damages, why did it write this the way it did, which seems to be misleading?
The answer offered by Maimonides and Maharal (16th century Prague) is based upon a profound sense of responsibility for one's actions. The Torah, by expressing the payment in this way, is teaching an important and crucial lesson. Had the Torah simply ordered the aggressor to pay damages, he might have thought that it is sufficient to simply write a check to the victim and he is done.
The Torah is teaching that if one perpetrates a loss of limb to his fellow, he truly deserves to have the same done to his self. He should truly contemplate the profound damage to the quality of life of his fellow, his pain and suffering he is forced to endure for the rest of his life. He has done a terrible thing and the slate will not be cleared by monetary payment alone. He must beg forgiveness from the injured party for what he has done, and perform Teshuva, repentance to God, coupled with making serious life changes that will ensure a similar act will not be repeated.
With proper interpretation and understanding, profound lessons can be gleaned from our holy Torah.
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Perusing the Syracuse Orange basketball photo gallery over at SUAthletics.com from the win over the California Golden Bears, there's a lot of images of Jim Boeheim.
There's stoic Jim. There's concerned Jim. There's impatient Jim. You know, the usual Syracuse basketball photo gallery photos.
And then there's one photo in particular (No. 48), that reveals a side of Jim Boeheim that I don't think any of us really know...
ENHANCE...
There's a 57% chance that's actually a suit Boeheim wore in 1977 that has been converted into a lining. Now I want to see the linings of every suit in Boeheim's closet. Where is Cribs: Syracuse when I need it?
UPDATE: I don't know how I didn't see it but eagle-eyed reader (and PBA commissioner) Tom Clark noticed that it's a Jim Boeheim Court in the Carrier Dome pattern). I feel faint...
H/T: Rob S.
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Online storage, once a backwater of the Silicon Valley technology scene, is suddenly a hot commodity.
Dropbox, a five-year-old San Francisco start-up that allows users access to stored documents via the web, is seeking $250 million in funding in a round that would value it at more than $8 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
If successful, such a fund-raising round would more than double the company’s valuation. It last took on money in October 2011, when it raised $250 million at a valuation of about $4 billion.
Though it was not immediately clear who was prepared to invest in Dropbox at this lofty valuation, venture capital firms are sitting on billions of dollars, looking to pour late-stage capital into well-established companies that are likely to go public or be sold. News of Dropbox’s efforts to raise the round was first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek.
Dropbox is just the latest young technology company to seek a sky-high valuation. Last week, it was revealed that Snapchat, a photo-sharing application with no revenue, turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook. Twitter is valued at more than $22 billion after a week and a half of trading. Box, another online storage company that competes with Dropbox, is valued at more than $1 billion and is looking to conduct its initial public offering next year. And Pinterest, a bookmarking service, recently raised $225 million at a valuation of $3.8 billion.
Dropbox is growing quickly and now has more than 400 employees. As it grows, it is looking to shift from a focus on consumers to an emphasis on enterprise services. Active users have doubled to 200 million this year, and more than four million businesses now use its services, up from two million a year ago.
Though Dropbox could go public now, given strong investor appetite for shares of new technology companies, people knowledgeable about the company’s thinking said this was an “opportunistic” round that would allow it to stay private for at least several months more, while increasing its valuation ahead of a likely initial public offering next year. Funds from the round will be used to continue to hire new employees and market its services as it shifts its focus to the enterprise.
Drew Houston, the 30-year-old chief executive of Dropbox, said that the market for online storage was growing quickly. “It’s a huge market,” he said, speaking at a conference in San Francisco on Monday organized by Salesforce. “The experience of Dropbox will be hugely different a year from now.”
And while critics claim online storage companies do not have defensible business models, given the low barrier to entry, Dropbox says it believes that it can succeed by becoming a one-stop shop for users’ online storage needs, and that with time, its business will grow because customers will not want to move documents to a new platform.
“We think about what are the problems out there that people don’t know they have,” Mr. Houston said.
For a young company, Dropbox has already been acquisitive, buying a number of smaller companies in recent years. An infusion of capital would give it the ability to continue shopping.
“I’m sure we’ll do a lot more,” Mr. Houston said on Monday.
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Companies like Marble, Starship and Postmates want to use San Francisco sidewalks for robot deliveries, but opponents argue those public spaces should only be for people.
After a two-hour hearing Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee voted 2-1 to send to the full board a proposed ban on sidewalk deliveries by robots.
Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Sandra Fewer supported the legislation, while Supervisor Jeff Sheehy opposed it.
SEE RELATED: Yee continues to push for robot delivery ban despite opposition from business leaders
It remains unclear if Supervisor Norman Yee, who introduced the legislation, has the at least six votes needed to pass the proposal at the full 11-member board Tuesday.
If approved, Mayor Ed Lee could veto the legislation, which would take eight board votes to override.
“This is regulation,” Yee said. “Our sidewalks are for people.”
Robotic companies and business interests denounced banning delivery robots on San Francisco’s sidewalks, but pedestrian advocates said The City should ensure sidewalks are for people only to protect the safety of pedestrians, particularly the elderly, disabled and children.
The advocates likened the proposed ban to the laws prohibiting bicycles and segways on sidewalks.
Fewer said that she wanted preserve San Francisco as a walkable city. “My seniors in my neighborhood are already having a difficult time navigating their sidewalks,” said Fewer, who represents the Richmond.
Sheehy said he viewed the proposed ban as a method “to get the attention of the industry” to begin “a real dialogue” and was satisfied in the progress of talks around regulations.
“I would hope we could find some middle ground,” Sheehy said.
Doug Bloch, political director for Teamsters Joint Council 7, opposed the ban. Instead he encouraged the board to shape the industry to protect jobs as the wave of automation sweeps the nation.
Bloch said the Teamsters are in talks with Marble, which is based in Potrero Hill, to strike an agreement where the Teamsters would represent its manufacturing and deployment employees.
“We started out driving teams of horses,” Bloch said in an email to the San Francisco Examiner. “In the future it looks like we will be driving teams of robots.”
But Ronen said The City has fumbled in the past by waiting too long to regulate emerging tech services and that it was “time we get ahead of the game.”
She noted, however, if the right regulations were proposed she would be open to revisiting the ban.
“If we strike that right balance then I am open to lifting part of this ban,” Ronen said. “I need to see it first.”
Robot companies appealed to the board members to support regulations instead of imposing a ban.
“We are here to reason with one another and with the opponents to find a way that we can accommodate each other’s points of view,” said Starship Technologies spokesperson David Catania. The company produces 50 pound robots that travel 4 miles per hour.
Walk San Francisco, a group that advocates for the safety of pedestrians, supported the robot sidewalk ban and encouraged people to show up at Wednesday’s hearing. Walk San Francisco also launched an online petition. Since Sept. 15, 334 people have signed it.
“Most people would tell you they want more space on the sidewalk,” Cathy DeLuca, interim executive director of Walk SF, said. “These vehicles will take away spaces from people who are walking.”
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Commission opposed the ban, as did the tech advocacy group established by angel investor Ron Conway, the mayor’s prominent backer, sf.citi. That group said the ban “could create a massive barrier to future innovation in the industry, particularly in regards to the future of automation.”
The full board will vote Tuesday on the legislation.
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Here’s a shocker: Sen. John McCain of Arizona is more popular among Democrats than Republicans, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Wednesday.
Poll: McCain is now better liked by Democrats than Republicans https://t.co/YXPapdI2yH pic.twitter.com/fH2hNikHpw — The Hill (@thehill) November 2, 2017
The Hill reports:
Forty-four percent of Republicans surveyed in the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Wednesday hold a negative view of McCain, while only 35 percent have a positive view of him. Meanwhile, 52 percent of Democrats surveyed now see him in a positive light. Overall, 43 percent of survey respondents had a favorable view of McCain and 28 percent a negative one.
The Hill notes that, in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, 79 percent of Republicans viewed him positively.
Surprising to no one on the right. https://t.co/f1mjxDFeBw — Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 2, 2017
And vice versa. Just one big ole love fest. They recognize the maverick that he is. https://t.co/iuyEPh7TZn — Stule Cvel (@stule) November 2, 2017
That's not how this works… that's not how any of this works. https://t.co/qb8ltSbsf2 — Trump❷⓿❷⓿ (@He_Has_Failed) November 2, 2017
He’s the media’s favorite again… I guess their numbers are already included with the Democrats. https://t.co/NPjpNauEDr — Rschrim (@Rschrim) November 2, 2017
And yet …
They’d still shit all over him if he ran for president again. https://t.co/xF4MA66gpF — #DumpSpeakerRyan? (@Goaliemom3533) November 2, 2017
Yep … just look at the newfound love and respect Democrats have for George W. Bush and Mitt Romney.
Quick… someone Remind them about Palin! https://t.co/5ea5fN2OgI — Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) November 2, 2017
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Related:
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There might be audio treasures stashed in a relative's record collection, but only if you can restore the discs to less topographic conditions. Wired's How-To Wiki offers a guide to restoring that warped vinyl with careful heat application.
Image from Positive Feedback.
There's no one guaranteed method to getting records back into shape, because different records have been molded from different vinyl mixtures and been exposed to a wide range of storage conditions. That said, the "LP sandwich" described by Wired requires only two sheets of flat glass and the patience to watch a record in an oven set at 200 degrees. If that sounds a bit too risky for your really good discs, there's also a method that uses gradual warming from direct sunlight:
Use the same method as above, and put the LP sandwich in direct sunlight. The glass will slowly heat up and the vinyl will begin to soften. If the glass doesn't seem heavy enough to press the LP flat, find a weight (a can of soup or some such) to press it down in the middle. Normally, 10-15 minutes is long enough to heat the vinyl. After it's cooked, let it cool and give it a spin.
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Have you fixed any of your own warped records using the "LP sandwich"? Got another method that seems to work better? Spill your best practices on ancient platters in the comments.
Fix a Warped Record [Wired How-To Wiki]
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.- The U.S. bishops' international justice and peace representative has called on the state department to pressure the Israeli government to cease its efforts to confiscate Palestinian land in the West Bank.
“I ask you once again to urge the Government of Israel to cease and desist in its efforts to unnecessarily confiscate Palestinian lands in the Occupied West Bank,” Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines wrote Jan. 28 to John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State.
Earlier in the month, Bishop Pates, along with 13 other bishops, had visited the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in a mission of solidarity with the Palestinian people. They visited Bethlehem in the West Bank, and the Cremisan Valley, where a proposed Israeli security barrier would cut off the access of 58 Christian families from the land by which they earn their livelihood.
“As I stood amidst the beauty of this agricultural valley and heard the testimony of the Christian families whose lands, livelihoods, and centuries-old family traditions are threatened, I was simply astounded by the injustice of it all."
He called the situation in the Cremisan Valley “a microcosm of a protracted pattern that has serious implications for the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” adding that it threatens Kerry's “commendable efforts to achieve a peace agreement.”
Bishop Pates' letter came a day before the Israeli supreme court heard a case about the route of the proposed Israeli security wall. The wall would either cut through the Cremisan Valley or through Battir, a Palestinian village located on the armistice line which functions as the Israeli border.
The case was brought by the Society of St. Yves, a Catholic human rights group under the patronage of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, on behalf of a Salesian convent and school located in the Cremisan Valley.
If the barrier is constructed in the Cremisan Valley, it will affect agricultural workers as well as children who will be cut off from their school.
The construction of the barrier is believed to be linked to the protection of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank; some 500,000 Jews currently live in more than 100 West Bank settlements, according to the BBC. Under international law, the settlements are considered illegal, though Israel disputes this.
Bishop Pates attached a statement from the bishops with whom he visited Israel and Palestine, the Co-ordination of Bishops' Conferences in Support of the Church in the Holy Land. The Holy Land Co-ordination was founded in 1998 at the request of the Holy See, and includes bishops from North America, Europe, and South Africa.
In the West Bank, the bishops visited three neighboring Christian towns, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour.
While the bishops recognized Israel's right “to security and secure borders,” they said the plan “to build a security wall on the land of 58 Christian families should be abandoned.”
“We heard of their pain and anguish. They are faced with the threatened loss of their land and livelihood as the planned security wall will destroy vineyards, groves and orchards and separate them from their land.”
They noted the planned route of the security barrier “deviates sharply” from the internationally-recognized “Green Line” demarcating Israel from the West Bank: over 75 percent of the proposed route falls outside this line, and inside Palestinian land.
According to the bishops, this route is illegal under an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and breaches the Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“We urge our governments to encourage Israel to follow international law,” the bishops of the Holy Land Co-ordination wrote.
“Our deep concern, as we have repeatedly stated is that this planned security wall is more about consolidating the settlement areas and permanently choking off Bethlehem from Jerusalem. This particular plan is a microcosm of the tragic situation in the Holy Land which incites resentment and mistrust, making the possibility of a much-needed solution less likely.”
The bishops also encouraged Israel to “respect the livelihoods” of the Christian families in the towns surrounding Bethlehem, that the people of Beit Jala would “be protected from further expropriation of their land and homes by Israel.”
“Our prayers are with the people of Beit Jala as they seek justice. We offer them also for all who seek a just peace in the Holy Land.”
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Gradually, over time, political rhetoric used by politicians and the media has become more inflamatory. The degree to which violent words and phrases are considered commonplace is striking. Candidates are "targeted". An opponent is "in the crosshairs". Liberals have to be
"eliminated". Opponents are "enemies". This kind of language eminates largely from those who claim to defend American democracy against those who would destroy it, who are evil, and who want to "take away our freedoms".
Today we have seen the results of this rhetoric. Those with a megaphone, whether provided by public office or a media outlet, have responsibilities. They cannot avoid the consequences of their blatant efforts to inflame, anger, and outrage. We all know that there are unstable and potentially dangerous people among us. To repeatedly appeal to their basest instincts is to invite and welcome their predictable violence.
So long as we all tolerate this kind of irresponsible and dangerous rhetoric or, in the case of some commentators, treat it with delight, reward it, and consider it cute, so long will we place all those in public life, whom the provocateurs dislike, in the crosshairs of danger.
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The people and the rides that occupied Geauga Lake may be long gone, but its legacy will be remembered.
Geauga Lake will be dedicated as a historical marker— a move commemorating the cherished history and importance it had on the community.
Many people can connect their first amusement park experience at Geauga Lake while riding the water rides and roller coasters.
The community of Geauga Lake began as a cluster of summer cottages that were occupied by visitors to Giles Pond. In the late 19th century, locals established the area as a dance hall, picnic area and other facilities for those who went looking for a country getaway.
RELATED:
What's next for the Geauga Lake property? Future plans are hitting a road block
PHOTOS: The Geauga Lake rides we miss the most.
During prohibition, the rural setting of Geauga Lake provided a haven for speakeasies and dance halls.
The post-war era housing shortage and improvements in transportation brought year-round housing to the community.
The harmonic sounds of a turning carousel and the echoing screams from the passengers riding the 70-foot high Corkscrew stooped when the park closed in 2007.
Memorabilia such as old photos and ticket stubs will be on display during the ceremony.
The City of Aurora's Landmark Commission will host the ceremony on Sept. 17 at 3 p.m.
The marker will be placed on the property owned by the Geauga Lake Improvement Association, located along Route 43 next to the Geauga Lake Ballroom.
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ISIS terrorists are picking out the “prettiest virgins” from the women they capture and sending them to their Syrian stronghold to be sex slaves, according to a UN expert.
And there are horrific reports about the fate of the brave women who resist the murderous terrorists - including one victim who was burned alive for refusing to perform “extreme sexual acts”.
Zainab Bangura, the special representative of the UN secretary general on sexual violence, has travelled to Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan and spoken to women who have endured sexual violence at the hands of militants, particularly women of the Yazidi minority.
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She spoke of how the terror group strips girls naked, conduct virginity tests, and send them to slave auctions after they have attacked their villages, often killing their husbands, fathers and brothers.
Fierce haggling usually breaks out at slave auctions, where the girls are sold naked.
ISIS leaders are the first to choose, followed by the fighters, Ms Bangura said.
Bidders often take three or four girls and then sell them on a few months later once they are bored of them, she told Middle East Eye.
"We heard of one girl who was traded 22 times and of a ISIS leader who had written his name on the girl’s hand to show that she was his “property”, the UN envoy said.
Some of the terrified women are so desperate to escape their ordeal that they use their headscarves to hang themselves.
As a result, the rapists of ISIS banned women from wearing headscarves in some areas.
(Image: Wikipedia)
Ms Bangura also spoke about a girl who had been burned alive after refusing to carry out the extreme sexual acts demanded by her sick “owner”.
Women are promised to fighters as a recruitment tool and the terror group raise funds through trafficking, prostitution and ransoms.
Sexual violence is also used to displace populations, to punish, humiliate and demoralise dissenters, to extract information for intelligence purposes and to dismantle communities, she added.
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Pyongyang on Tuesday warned Seoul and Washington of an expansive retaliation against any attempt to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or invade the communist nation.
"All the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign of their special operation forces and equipment moving to carry out the so-called 'beheading operation' and 'high-density strike,'" said the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army in a statement carried by state media.
According to Pyongyang, the joint military exercises between South Korea and the US are annual preparations for an overt war.
The military's statement added that its first target would be Seoul's presidential Blue House, saying it is "the center for hatching plots for confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north, and reactionary ruling machines."
It added that it would also target American bases in the Asia-Pacific and mainland US.
North Korea has "the most powerful and ultra-modern strike means" in the world capable of "dealing fatal blows at the US mainland any moment and in any place," the statement noted.
Seoul and Washington maintain that the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle war games are for defense purposes
The threats, which Pyongyang often makes ahead of US-South Korea war games, comes as Seoul's defense ministry announced it would hold its largest annual military exercises with American troops this year, although it has not confirmed a date.
In February, South Korea suspended operations at a jointly-run industrial park with North Korea following the latter's rocket launch, which Pyongyang claimed was to place a satellite in orbit.
The international community largely agreed the move was an attempt to test the communist nation's ability to launch long-range rockets.
The UN Security Council is considering tougher sanctions to punish North Korea over the rocket launch and a nuclear bomb test in January.
The Korean Peninsula was divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone - one of the most militarized borders on the planet, despite the name - following a truce in 1953. The two sides never signed a full peace deal.
Faces of the Korean War Abandoned in the rubble The armistice agreement on July 27, 1953 marked the end of almost three years of war. In September 1950, all alone, this girl cries desperately in the ruins of Incheon. The child's identity is unknown. Shortly before this picture was taken, American troops had retaken the South Korean city from North Korean troops. At this stage of the conflict it all pointed to a South Korean victory.
Faces of the Korean War Caught between the lines This family's hut is located in the border area between the warring North and South. By the summer of 1951, the conflict had become static, taking place mainly along the 38th parallel.
Faces of the Korean War A constant flow of refugees These North Korean refugees try to escape the fierce battles that have been raging on since 1951. On their way south they pass by frozen rice fields.
Faces of the Korean War Heading south A Korean civilian carries his father on his back as they cross the Han River in 1951. Despite the counter offensive launched by UN forces to stop the Chinese and North Korean troops, Korean civilians continued to flee the northern Korean region.
Faces of the Korean War Uprooted A total of 4.5 million North Koreans left their homes because of the war and headed south or abroad. Its unclear how many people lost their lives during the three-year conflict. By the time the armistice agreement was signed in 1953, North Korea had lost half of its pre-war population.
Faces of the Korean War Left in ruins Carrying her wounded grandchild on her back, this elderly woman wanders among the debris of their wrecked home in the aftermath of an air raid by US planes over Pyongyang, the Communist capital of North Korea, in the fall of 1950.
Faces of the Korean War Foreign rescuers A fateful encounter: In the cold of winter, US lieutenant William Doernbach comes across this Korean orphan girl in a deserted village and leaves her in the care of an orphanage. She escapes the orphanage and finds her rescuer. They reunite in May 1951. Author: Esther Felden / gd
ls/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
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AT&T overcharged two Florida school districts for phone service and should have to pay about $170,000 to the US government to settle the allegations, the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday. AT&T disputes the charges and will contest the decision.
The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) to AT&T, an initial step toward enforcing the proposed punishment. The alleged overcharges relate to the FCC's E-Rate program, which funds telecommunications for schools and libraries and is paid for by Americans through surcharges on phone bills. The FCC said AT&T should have to repay $63,760 it improperly received from the FCC in subsidies for phone service provided to Orange and Dixie Counties and pay an additional fine of $106,425. AT&T prices charged to the districts were almost 400 percent higher than they should have been, according to the FCC.
AT&T violated the FCC's "lowest corresponding price rule" designed to ensure that schools and libraries "get the best rates available by prohibiting E-Rate service providers from charging them more than the lowest price paid by other similarly situated customers for similar telecommunications services," the FCC said. Instead of charging the lowest available price, "AT&T charged the school districts prices for telephone service that were magnitudes higher than many other customers in Florida," the FCC said. Between 2012 and 2015, the school districts paid "some of the highest prices in the state... for basic telephone services."
Each year, AT&T submitted forms to the E-rate program "inaccurately claiming that it complied with the Commission’s rules," while "depleting limited public funds that could have supplied other schools and libraries with access to crucial learning technologies and services," the FCC said. The FCC document also noted that AT&T "dramatically increase[d] its pricing" after Florida deregulated phone service prices in 2011, leading to the school districts paying much higher rates.
AT&T didn't dispute the amounts paid by the school district but argues that the charges are legal. "The allegations lack merit and we look forward to making that case in detail in response to the NAL," AT&T VP Joan Marsh said in a statement provided to Ars. "Among other deficiencies, the NAL proceeds from the flawed premise that AT&T should have ignored regulations issued by the State of Florida when selling intrastate E-rate services in Florida.”
While the case could end up in court, AT&T must first try to convince the FCC to reduce or eliminate the penalty. But the FCC already disputes AT&T's argument.
AT&T's claim that it could charge higher prices because of Florida regulations is apparently related to a state telecommunications network called Suncom, which has a contract with AT&T that lets schools and libraries purchase E-Rate services at reduced prices. AT&T argues "that Florida regulations bar AT&T from charging the Suncom prices because they specify a procedure the applicants must follow to purchase from the Suncom agreement," the FCC said. "However, the regulations AT&T identified only specify a procurement process that parties should follow if they wish to purchase from the Suncom agreement. They do not prohibit AT&T from charging other customers the same rate in the agreement."
Under E-Rate rules, schools and libraries aren't obligated to negotiate lower rates—providers must offer them the lowest price, the FCC said. AT&T documents show that other customers have been able to get Suncom rates despite not being part of the Suncom agreement, the FCC also said.
The NAL was issued by the FCC's Democratic majority, with Republicans Michael O'Rielly and Ajit Pai dissenting. Pai issued a statement saying he agrees "that AT&T may have violated that rule in Florida" but says the FCC acted too late, after the one-year statute of limitations. The FCC decision claims that AT&T's “violations are continuing because the forms have not been corrected and AT&T has retained the excessive reimbursements," even though the last charges were collected on June 1, 2015.
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A national advocate for open nudity has spoken about why he thinks the attitude to being naked needs to change.
Peter Wright, 64, a legal volunteer for the British Naturism group, got in touch after reading several stories about naked people on DevonLive last week.
They included reports of a man spotted walking naked down Exeter High Street and a couple who were caught having sex in a field in Holsworthy.
But Peter has told devonlive.com that he believes public nudity should be more acceptable.
He said: "People's attitudes need to change. In Germany and Scandinavia and much of Europe the body is simply accepted - and some of those countries are a lot colder than ours.
"Britons seem to have a sense of prudery which I believe has come from religion over the years.
"There's an air of indecency about it here, but it's nothing untoward - it couldn't be more natural."
Although Peter doesn't condone walking down the high street naked, he does feel nudity should be tolerated in other public areas.
He said: "A good rule of thumb is if you wouldn't wear a bathing suit somewhere, you probably shouldn't be naked there.
"Places like public parks, lakesides and beaches could quite easily be naturist friendly.
"In fact, there are plenty of nudist-friendly spots around the country, including several in Devon.
"Brighton Beach has famously had a nude-friendly section since 1979.
READ MORE: Where are Devon's nudist beaches?
"Paris and Munich have opened up public parks with nudist sections, and we have requested similar at a park in Glasgow.
"Last week there was a theatre production of Hair in London to a completely naked audience.
"It's definitely expanding and becoming much more popular.
Peter also believes there are naturist benefits for children and says young people should "be brought up innocent, not ignorant".
He said: "Kids are much better raised in naturist environments - it means there is no fascination and they won't feel inclined to do things secretly.
"If parents don't teach children about their bodies they will find pornography online and that gives all the wrong messages.
"There's no one to guide them online."
When a naked man was spotted walking down Exeter High Street last week, the moment was captured on a smartphone.
Peter, who is a legal volunteer for British Naturism, says he would have expected more complaints to police about nudity due to the proliferation of smartphones, but actually the opposite is true.
He said: "There were only three court cases brought against naturists last year, and most were dismissed.
"We cooperate fully with police and actually help in some cases, determining whether or not certain pictures are acceptable.
"We don't want bad guys in our communities any more than you."
Talking about DevonLive's story last week in which a couple were spotted having sex in a field full of sheep in Holsworthy, Peter believes they may not have been breaking the law.
He explained that outdoor sex is legally ambiguous, but against custom and practice.
"If the couple didn't realise they had been seen and had made efforts to ensure their privacy, it is lawful. However, that would change if there were a voyeuristic element to their behaviour.
"There is no sexual component to naturism though."
For more information you can visit the British Naturism website here.
The Benefits of Naturism - according to Peter Wright of British Naturism
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It wasn’t so many years ago that political elections consultant James Carville made famous the phrase “It’s the economy, Stupid.”
When it comes to climate change science, “it’s the data!” The data, that is, being far more than the models that those contesting the science often seek to characterize as the be-all and end-all of climate science understanding.
Which is not to diminish or side-step the value and importance of climate models in understanding Earth’s planetary system and its reactions to climate-forcing additives. It’s just to keep models in their right place relative to empirical data and evidence.
That’s the basic message of this month’s new “This is Not Cool” video for Yale Climate Connections.
Scientists interviewed in the video point to thousands of varied data sets – including everything from increased water vapor to increasing sea levels, from moisture and rainfall to measurements of the cryosphere, of snow ice, and of the heat content of the planet’s oceans.
All are providing “an internally and physically consistent story that the planet is warming,” says climate scientist Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. And “despite our best efforts,” he continues, scientists are unable to find that natural causes can explain that observed warming.
“The people who know the least about climate science are the ones who are most fixated on climate models,” says Texas A&M climatologist Andrew Dessler. “Models are the most visible part for people who don’t know much about climate science,” he says.
University of Washington scientist Sara Myhre adds that “across these broad fields, there is so much coherency and agreement.” She adds that “there is incredible agreement about the drivers of climate science.” She points to tree rings and ice cores and sediment cores. These are the actual things that recorded Earth’s changes in the past. They were there! They have embedded information that is so useful …. They’re irrefutable evidence that there are major consequences of climate warming.”
“Ice asks no questions, presents no arguments, reads no newspapers, listens to no debates. It’s not burdened by ideology and carries no political baggage, says University of Michigan emeritus professor Henry Pollack. “As it passes the threshold from solid to liquid, it just melts.”
Myhre view of the “incredible agreement” among climate scientists based on evidence is shared by A&M’s Dessler.
“It’s inarguable,” Dessler agrees, adding with a chuckle “although some people still argue it.”
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A new internationalist Antifascist battalion (AIT) has been formed in Rojava-Northern Syria Federation to fight the Islamic State group.
The battalion, formed by foreign volunteers from around the globe was declared on 19 December 2016 with a press statement.
The statement by the group, which was released online read:
“Today a group of fellow anti-fascists, internationalists, anarchists, communists, socialists and libertarians are appealing for support to the revolution of Rojava and so joining struggle of the oppressed. We come from the shadow of the western capitalist world, to fight and to learn from our fellow comrades in Rojava how to claim freedom and the right to exist. With their courage we hope to create a life without oppression and persecution, a world without fascism and obscurantism. We set sail towards this goal pushed by the winds of liberty, equality, and respect for the Earth. This is the way of those exceptional people who have sailed towards oblivion leaving an unquenchable heat inside our hearts. It is the same warmth that we feel now, that animates us, that drove us across the threshold of the flames of the struggle of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.”
The group’s symbol, a phoenix is taken from the revolutionaries who fought Franco’s fascism in 1935 the statement said.
“Every comrade, here, now, fights for the light, with the living memory of previous partisan struggles, for a better world, that have led up to these fiery lands. So, with the name of our unit, we want to remember the comrade Martyr lvana Hoffman, who fell valiantly fighting ISIS on the Tell Tamir front, in March 2015. Together we fight to defend those values, which we retain in our hearts. We take our symbol from the revolutionaries who fought in Spain, in 1935, for a world without borders, without shadows and without fear— History did not defeat them. Their dreams did not die, but are now reborn with us, with each comrade, who now fights in Rojava. As a phoenix always rises from the ashes, so the fire of the Revolution, will continue to burn forever.”
Hundreds of foreign volunteers have travelled to Rojava since the social revolution there gained international recognition with the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Kobane in 2014. More than a dozen volunteers have died in the ranks of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Source: Kurdishquestion.com
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Elliott Brown split his time between Chicago and Los Angeles, working as a road manager for a rap group, according to his family.
He had just bought a new car, a BMW coupe, and planned to ship it to Los Angeles. He was already packed for the trip.
Around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Brown and his girlfriend were riding down the Chicago Skyway, heading for a casino in Indiana, when a black SUV pulled alongside and someone opened fire, according to police.
Brown, 25, died on the scene and his girlfriend, 23, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a gunshot in the arm, according to Officer Thomas Sweeney, a police spokesman.
Police said the people in both cars had some "contact" before the shooting but did not elaborate. No one was reported in custody Thursday.
Brown's family said he had been a basketball and football standout at De LaSalle Institute high school and graduated in 2008 before attending St. Louis University.
"He was the gem of the whole family," said his grandmother, who did not want to be identified. "I'm really devastated. He was my heart. It doesn't make any sense."
Brown was splitting time between Los Angeles — where the mother of his 5-year-old son, Elijah, was living with the boy — and Chicago. He was working with a cousin in the music business and was serving as a road manager for a rap music group, she said.
Matt Marton / Daily Southtown Former De La Salle Institute student Elliott Brown, center, and other members of the varsity basketball team dress in sport coats and ties Dec. 21, 2007, in the locker room at the high school in Chicago. Their coach required suits to be worn prior to each game. Former De La Salle Institute student Elliott Brown, center, and other members of the varsity basketball team dress in sport coats and ties Dec. 21, 2007, in the locker room at the high school in Chicago. Their coach required suits to be worn prior to each game. (Matt Marton / Daily Southtown) (Matt Marton / Daily Southtown)
He had recently bought the BMW and was driving it to an Indiana casino with his girlfriend when they were shot, the grandmother said. "Someone pulled up on the side and started shooting," the grandmother said. "They never saw the car before."
She suspects the shooters were after the BMW, which he had planned to ship to Los Angeles. "He had his suitcase packed," the grandmother said.
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Baurusuchids were badass. If you don't know that, you have been missing out. Just look at how paleontologists Felipe Montefeltro, Hans Larsson and Max Langer described this extinct group of crocodiles by way of introducing a new species into the group earlier this month:
Baurusuchidae is a group of extinct Crocodyliformes with peculiar, dog-faced skulls, hypertrophied canines, and terrestrial, cursorial limb morphologies.
Granted, that's a little technical – the conventions of the technical literature fail us when it comes to expressing excitement about fantastic organisms – but I think you can get the picture; terrestrial, dog-faced crocodiles well-adapted to running down prey and tearing into their victims with big, sharp teeth. Even better, these creatures lived alongside – and probably occasionally fed on – dinosaurs. They were not some early croc offshoot that filled the niche that would later be occupied by predatory dinosaurs. They were right there, competing with the carnivorous theropods of their day. Perfect nightmare fuel.
Montefeltro and co-authors have dubbed their new creature Pissarrachampsa sera. (Say that 10 times fast.) This predator lived during the latter half of the Cretaceous in what is now Brazil, and is represented by two skulls – one more complete than the other. The better skulls is quite impressive. The basic, underlying croc structure is there, but is modified into a shorter, stouter shape, and the size of the teeth differs throughout the jaws. This was a crocodile with big canine-like fangs at the front of the jaw (which makes me wonder if anyone will ever find a truly saber-toothed prehistoric crocodyliform). Maybe it's just me, but I think such a creature deserves a starring role in a horror movie. I'll be standing by to chat with any interested screenwriters.
Top Image: One of the skulls of Pissarrachampsa sera, as seen from the left side. From Montefeltro et al., 2011.
Bottom Image: Croc illustration by McGill Professor, Hans C.E. Larsson
References:
Montefeltro, F., Larsson, H., & Langer, M. (2011). A New Baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the Phylogeny of Baurusuchidae PLoS ONE, 6 (7) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021916
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Copyright by WISH - All rights reserved Tony Moreno. (Middletown Police Department)
Copyright by WISH - All rights reserved Tony Moreno. (Middletown Police Department)
Brian Spyros, WTNH Reporter - MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WTNH) - Court documents have given a glimpse into the mind of a Connecticut father who confessed to killing his son before trying to take his own life.
21-year-old Tony Moreno is now charged with murder in the death of his young son, Aaden and documents show what happened in the final moments before police say Moreno threw Aaden from the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown.
Copyright by WISH - All rights reserved Aaden Moreno.
Earlier this week 24-Hour News 8's sister station, WTNH, learned that Aaden's mother, Adrianne Oyola, tried to take out a restraining order for her and her son against Tony Moreno. She said she feared for her and her son's safety. That restraining order was denied.
Court documents reveal there were growing issues between Moreno and Oyola, which culminated late Sunday night several hundred feet above the Connecticut river.
A text conversation began between the two right around 11:18 p.m. Moreno texted Oyola saying he needed to talk to her. When she tried to see what it was about, he told her not to worry about it. The following messages transpired between the two right around 11:30, shortly before Moreno and his son went off the bridge.
Here are some of the actual messages:
TONY: Enjoy your new life without us.
ADRIANNE: You can't just deside not to bring him back Tony.
ADRIANNE: Seriously don't play around like that. Please don't try and take him from me!!!!
TONY: You tried to take him away from me. You failed. I didn't
TONY: Enjoy your new life without us.
ADRIANNE: Where are you?!
ADRIANNE: Where's Aaden?
TONY: He's dead
TONY: And soon I will be too
ADRIANNE: Your playing right now! Please tell me your kidding!!!!!!!
To read the whole text conversation, click here. Warning: some graphic language included.
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The maximum sentence for even the most extreme cases of animal cruelty in England and Wales is just six months in prison - the lowest across Europe, the United States and Australia. Battersea would like to see this raised to five years.
Our campaign for tougher penalties was launched in Westminster today by our Chief Executive, Claire Horton, who said:
"Battersea’s research into extreme animal cruelty tells us the sentences handed out are actually no punishment at all. We and many other rescue centres see shocking cases of cruelty and neglect come through our gates and there are many more that are dumped and don’t even make it off the streets. These are the dogs and cats we’re speaking out for today.
"We looked at 100 different jurisdictions across the world and England and Wales’ maximum six-month sentence is the lowest, lagging far behind countries like Ireland at five years and Germany at three years. It would be laughable if it weren’t so shocking."
Six months is not enough
Last year a London man admitted torturing and killing nine puppies after local vets became suspicious and raised the alarm. He had beaten, stabbed and sprayed bleach in the puppies’ eyes. The strangled body of another was found in a bin. After an RSPCA investigation, he received the maximum sentence possible - just six months in prison.
In another case, two brothers from Teesside admitted animal cruelty after they were filmed beating their pet Bulldog and throwing her down a flight of stairs. The Bulldog died from her injuries but they walked free from court with a suspended sentence of 21 weeks. The local MP in this area, Anna Turley, was so incensed by the crime, she has raised a Bill in Parliament to increase sentences, which will be debated on Friday, 24 February.
Let the punishment fit the crime
Claire Horton continued: "It isn’t acceptable that our courts are unable to hand out tougher sentences in such extreme animal cruelty cases, yet the likes of fly-tipping can result in prison sentences of up to five years. So let’s get this into proportion and let the punishment for abusing animals truly fit the crime."
Battersea and other animal welfare charities care for such victims of wilful cruelty and neglect, with some making remarkable recoveries under the care of the charity's Veterinary team. These include Tiger, a tabby cat brought into Battersea in January, where the Veterinary team discovered he had been shot in the head at close range with an air gun. Two metal pellets were found lodged in his skull and, had they been any closer to his brain, would have proved fatal. During delicate surgery, Battersea’s vets were able to carefully remove the pellets without causing further damage and Tiger has now recovered.
It is now time for the Government to increase the maximum custodial sentence for animal cruelty. Please stand up for the animals and be their voice.
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As we mentioned earlier this week, there are 9 billion connected devices at present, and by 2020, that number is going to explode to 24 billion devices, according to new statistics released by GSMA, the global mobile industry trade group. The total number of mobile connected devices will double from 6 billion today to 12 billion by 2020, GSMA says. This explosive growth will support an addressable revenue opportunity for mobile operators of nearly $1.2 trillion by 2020, a sevenfold increase from expected revenues in 2011.
What does this Internet of things really mean? More connected televisions, cars, DVD players, photo frames and of course tablets and smartphones. This is a profound shift, and its implications are going to have an impact on every aspect of our society. We are going to be discussing the impact of this “connectedness” with the folks who are inventing this connected future — folks like Twitter’s Jack Dorsey — at our upcoming conference, RoadMap, scheduled to be held on Nov. 10 in San Francisco.
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Check out the GSMA’s data on connected devices in this infographic:
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Image caption Churchill is near the migratory patterns of polar bears in Canada's north
A Canadian reportedly had a lucky escape as a polar bear mauling him was apparently scared off by the light from the man's mobile phone.
The man pulled out the handset as the bear pounced on him in the coastal town of Churchill, Manitoba province.
The device's light startled the animal allowing him to flee, reports CTV News.
Churchill is dubbed the "polar bear capital of the world" because of the large numbers of the animals that pass through during autumn migration.
Mike Spence, who is mayor of the town, said the unnamed man was walking home on Saturday when the bear attacked, scratching his shirt and biting him on the back.
Conservation officials confirmed a polar bear attack on Saturday and said the animal was captured the same day.
The bear was taken to the agency's polar bear holding facility.
The last person to be killed by a polar bear in Churchill was in the 1980s, according to the mayor.
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[Follow-up] Regarding Congestion for Instanced Battle Content: Follow-up
FFXIV Producer and Director Yoshida here.
This is a follow-up regarding difficulty in accessing certain instanced battle content.
The development team has changed the process for dealing with this issue so that as many players as possible can be moved to instanced areas for certain main quests and instanced battles.
As a result, players have become able to transition to instanced areas faster than originally estimated, but at the same time, players are now gathering at certain areas in large numbers, and this is causing the servers go down on some Worlds as a result.
Currently, the development team is making detailed adjustments by adjusting the speed at which players are transferred to instances on each World so that areas no longer continue to go down and to ensure that all players can continue to play as comfortably as possible.
Although these measures were taken to help alleviate the difficulty in transitioning to instances, we apologize about zones going down as a result.
Congestion in the “Rhalgr's Reach” area is especially intense, so to prevent zones from continuously going down, we are carefully controlling the logins to each World and transitions to the Rhalgr's Reach zone. Due to this, it will take some time to log in to any of the Worlds.
Everyone on the team will continue to put in our full effort to ensure everyone can enjoy early access.
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Australia with Kids – One can travel indefinitely here
Our RTW trip brought us to a five week adventure in Australia, a truly interesting and welcoming country with breathtaking beauty. Known for crocs, poisonous toads, sharks, flying boomerangs and Aboriginal culture – we, like most people were very intrigued by this distant land.
We loved the 35,876 km coastline which offered sun, sea and surf in abundance! Apart from the lively beach culture, Aussies love their cricket, footy (Australian football) and Vegemite, extremely salty and savoury taste made from yeast extract.
Austin and Amie – a big thank you from us three! Your warmth and hospitality was reflective of Australia’s open and welcoming nature to travellers. Speaking of ‘nature’, we experienced some really heavy downpour on the East Coast.
Western Australia – Awe-inspiring beauty and extraordinary experiences
If you’re visiting Australia with children, you’ll love it! From Singapore, we headed to Perth, an isolated city, home to circa 1.7 million people but quite far from the hustle and bustle of the country’s bigger cities. Blessed by the Fremantle Doctor (west southerly wind), this location resembles Southern California for its beautiful beachside drives, excellent infrastructure and affluent society.
We met some very friendly folk like Maryellen and Oli at Mullaloo Beach and Finn and Jon (fellow couchsurfers) who shared with us some invaluable tips about Australia and their own travel experiences. Thank you for inviting us!
Keep in mind that Perth is quite far from other locations worth visiting (a day’s drive at times). This is important to note, especially if you’re planning to be in Australia with kids.
We drove past the amazing sand dunes of Lancelin, have seen the Pinnacles (unreal limestone formations) in the Nambung National Park, experienced the Margaret River one of Australia’s most important wine regions and walked on a 2 km long Busselton Jetty – which happens to be the longest wooden pier in the Southern Hemisphere.
There are tons of other attractions and experiences like wine tasting in which you can indulge if you have more time.
Our journey brought us to Cape Leeuwin (most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, 18,500 km away from Toronto. This was the furthest point from home on our journey.
It was worth to go this far as we enjoyed every moment, Western Australia is as big and interesting as one’s imagination.
Australia with Children – Never a dull moment!
We headed out to Lancelin which is a small fishing village popular for jeep tours on sand dunes. People often surf these dunes on modified surf boards. Niko enjoyed running around on the dunes, slipping and sliding along the way.
He also enjoyed bike riding in Perth and the many playgrounds in the region. Apart from the white sand beaches, Niko loved the Whiteman Park in the Swan Valley and the Caversham Wildlife Park.
Things to Keep in Mind – Travel tips for Western Australia
If you’re in Australia on your round the world trip it’s best to rent a car as organized tours are rather expensive. You can get a detailed map and suggested travel itineraries at any tourist information centres that dot the country. However, if you’re planning a road trip, book your accommodations well in advance, so you can take a break in-between those long drives.
Western Australia delivered all that it had promised and more!
If you have similar adventures from Western Australia, please share them in the comments section below. Thanks!
Here are some of our photos from our Western Australia:
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The Heat have formally extended a qualifying offer to combo guard Tyler Johnson, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (via Twitter). By doing so, Miami has made Johnson a restricted free agent, which means the team will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet Johnson were to ink this summer.
Johnson, 24, earned $845,059 for his work in 2015/16 and his qualifying offer is valued at $1,180,431. With the NBA salary cap set to increase to as much as $94MM for 2016/17, Johnson has an excellent shot at significantly increasing his salary for this past season, plus, he has the opportunity to sign a long-term agreement that would provide him with greater security moving forward.
The combo guard’s 2015/16 campaign was shortened due to injury, with Johnson only appearing in 36 contests courtesy of a bum shoulder that required surgery in February. Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.0 minutes per outing for the Heat when on the court and his shooting line on the season was .486/.380/.797.
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Shibes,
We’ve been testing the dogetipbot beta on Twitch this weekend at PAX Prime 2014 with a few select streamers. As this year’s convention comes to a close, we’re officially ready to share this with the rest of you. 🙂
Please note that this is still majorly beta. It’s live, but it’s not pretty (yet) — we’re going to be adding a massive number of features over the next few weeks and squashing bugs as they arise. If you’re adventurous, feel free to join us and test it out! 😀
The link is live at https://dogetipbot.com/login — from there, you can sign up for a dogetipbot.com account and link both your reddit and Twitch accounts. Once you’ve linked up your accounts, you’re ready to start tipping.
Note that your dogetipbot balance is shared across all the services we’re launch on, so if you get tipped on reddit and want to tip a streamer on Twitch, you don’t have to transfer dogecoins between the two — it’s all done automatically.
Right now, we’re limiting the number of active streamers (listed below) during the beta phase, but we’re adding more all the time. If you’d like to be first in line as we add more channels, send us your twitch username here.
The dogetipbot beta does not send notifications on Twitch yet — this is deliberate on our end, so we don’t flood the channels with unnecessary spam. We’ve got a notification system in the works that isn’t as annoying. You can view your twitch tips (both sent and received) at dogetipbot.com or via +history on reddit. You can also check your balance, withdraw, and deposit at dogetipbot.com.
To tip a streamer, use !dogetipbot tip 100 — note that all the keywords work too (megarolls, blazeit, etc).
If you’re a streamer (and want to do giveaways, etc) — you can use !dogetipbot tip <username> 100 to tip viewers in your channels.
Without further ado, here’s a list of streamers who currently are accepting dogecoin tips via dogetipbot.
Enjoy!
http://www.twitch.tv/LukeZaz
http://www.twitch.tv/itsshmoogleosukami
http://www.twitch.tv/arkadeum
http://www.twitch.tv/SirLameGame
http://www.twitch.tv/cyrg
http://www.twitch.tv/adelewen
http://www.twitch.tv/Hectate
http://www.twitch.tv/Hatsuney
http://www.twitch.tv/rabidchihuahua
http://www.twitch.tv/vinberdon
http://www.twitch.tv/Nachozombie
http://www.twitch.tv/canilan
http://www.twitch.tv/aaronakacookie
http://www.twitch.tv/lonewolf2877
http://www.twitch.tv/StrangeUSB
http://www.twitch.tv/arby233
http://www.twitch.tv/gabe1118
http://www.twitch.tv/BPrime712
http://www.twitch.tv/jocloud31
http://www.twitch.tv/bobmock
http://www.twitch.tv/BandhippieGames
http://www.twitch.tv/Jolly_Rodgering
http://www.twitch.tv/charliewinsmore
http://www.twitch.tv/didntnoticeyou
http://www.twitch.tv/rizeuprev
http://www.twitch.tv/gosucrew
http://www.twitch.tv/Cosmicdarklord
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$2800 Star Wars Gaming PC with Build Video.
Ivannooz submitted us his Gaming PC, which Is built by him, Ivannoz Is an Army veteran, he gets very less time to full fill his hobbies, still, he tries everything he can. His PC has quite unique specifications and is really beautiful. Here are his PC Specifications
1 of 7
Build Video:
Specifications:
I7 7700k
Gtx 1080 ti with water block
Gigabyte designare z270
480gb m2 SSD 2600 Mbps speed
480gb SSD for additional storage
Windows 10
Gskill Trident z RGB 32gb 3200mhz
Raidmax Sigma case (modded)
1000 PSU
4 lepa chopper fans top and back
RGBgb 120mm fans front
Watercooling components
240 pure copper radiator top
120 radiator back
Koolance 390i CPU block
Ekwb GPU block
Enermax RGB pump/reservoir with pump speed
Cool helix reservoir
Lots of fittings and petg hard tubing
Uv light and RGB led strips
Price
$2800 without monitor.
His Facebook & Youtube Channel.
Up next : $6500 Gaming PC
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Cramps and bloating, headaches and blood. Is it any surprise some women opt to stay home when menstruation begins?
But while a handful of Asian countries have actually codified the right of women to have sanctioned work leave during their periods, Western nations haven’t given much thought to a menstrual leave.
Until now.
Italy’s parliament is currently mulling a bill that would enshrine the right for women to take up to three days per month for those who experience particularly excruciating and debilitating periods.
The reaction has ranged from celebratory to doubtful.
The Italian edition of Marie Claire magazine, as quoted in the Independent, hailed the bill as a “standard bearer of progress and sustainability.” Others were a bit less sanguine. Lorenza Pleuteri wrote in the Italian women’s magazine Donna Moderna that if the law passes, “employers could become even more oriented to hire men rather than women.”
But wait. Period leave?
Yes. Severe cramps. Blood. Your own couch. A hot water bottle. Privacy. For women who spend a day or more doubled over in miserable pain, the need for period leave is serious.
The idea of period leave actually began in Japan in the late 1940s, when the country created a nationwide labor law ensuring that women who “suffered heavily” could take leave. A similar law has been passed in several Chinese provinces. South Korea created one in 2001. Taiwan passed a law in 2013 offering a paltry three days per year (in theory, women have a period each month), and Indonesian women can take two days per month.
Japan’s Labor Standards Law was passed in 1947, when women were suddenly working outside the home in numbers so large that many employers weren’t yet prepared to accommodate their bathroom needs.
But in 2016, the Guardian found that most Japanese women didn’t take their allotted leave — either out of fear of revealing their personal health information to colleagues, or out of concern that their male cohorts would find it irksome.
The majority of Japanese women who spoke to the Guardian about their leave policy were skeptical about using it. “[I]f you’re trying to prove yourself in a man’s world, you’re not going to take menstrual leave in case it’s interpreted as a sign of weakness,” one woman at a Japanese firm told the newspaper.
An entire story about the Chinese version of the policy in China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper was titled simply, “Menstrual leave policy could cost women their career.”
As a 2014 piece on menstrual policies in the Atlantic points out, perhaps the best example for why some feminists are a bit skeptical about such laws comes from a Russian lawmaker who proposed a period leave policy in his country because “Strong pain induces heightened fatigue, reduces memory and work-competence and leads to colourful expressions of emotional discomfort.” The notion that women should stay home on their periods because they might inflict “colourful expressions of emotional discomfort” on their colleagues is not exactly the most feminist idea.
Until now, the idea of period leave has been so unusual in the West that the Guardian did a whole profile in 2016 of one creative co-working space in Bristol, England, that added period leave for their (majority female) employees to meet the needs of workers who were refusing to take leave even when they were clearly, visibly in severe pain.
In the case of Italy, the debate has just begun. “Women are already taking days off because of menstrual pains, but the new law would allow them to do so without using sick leaves or other permits,” economist Daniela Piazzalunga told the Independent. “However, on the other hand I wouldn’t exclude that [if the law is approved] this would lead to negative repercussions: The demand for female employees among companies might decrease, or women could be further penalised both in terms of salary and career advancement.”
Given that, in the United States, the Freedom Caucus just last week debated removing insurance for ‘maternity coverage’ as an “essential health benefit,” and has long lagged behind the industrialized world in granting women paid leave for childbirth, it’s unlikely American women will see any such policies considered at a national level anytime soon.
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Courtesy of Chris Gorham
Image Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS[/caption]
It was a finale for the ages — specifically, the age in which lovably low rent reality television took over both our television sets and our lives. Dan, Danielle, and Ian all entered last night with dreams of dollar signs dancing in their heads. In the end, however, Danielle was in tears, Dan was in shock after being almost goose-egged by a still bitter jury, and Ian’s biggest, nerdiest fantasy had finally come true as the 21-year-old engineering student won the $500,000 and title of Big Brother 14 champion.
How were the three feeling the morning after? We called them up on the InsideTV Podcast to find out. And fireworks ensued when Dan told us that he would have taken Ian to the final two had he won the final HOH challenge. How did Danielle take that when we informed her of that fact a few minutes later? Not well. Not well at all. She had no idea until we told her! Her realization and response alone may just make this the best InsideTV Podcast EVER! Also: How caught off guard was Ian by Dan’s attack during their final pleas to the jury? Does Dan blame the jury for his loss? Would Danielle have taken Dan or Shane to the finals? And where is that grandfather cross necklace now? We ask the final three all that and more on this special Big Brother edition of the InsideTV Podcast.
To hear our interviews with Ian, Dan, and Danielle, just click on the audio player icon below. Or, since we’re on iTunes, you can subscribe for free and take the podcast with you. No iTunes? No problem. You can also download the entire podcast right here. And to send a question to the InsideTV Podcast team, follow us on Twitter @InsideTVPodcast. But first let us know what you think. Did the right player win? Did Dan go too far? And does Danielle have a right to feel betrayed? Hit the message boards and let us know!
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I’m not trying to be self-congratulatory by saying this but, I’ve been vegan for quite a while. Long enough at least to remember when powdered soymilk was a viable non-dairy milk option; when the only tofu I knew was sold in aquarium sized buckets of murky water at the local Asian market and the few vegan zine recipes I had in my arsenal did it no justice.
So, I think for that reason, I hated tofu in those early days. When I ate it at restaurants, I was rarely impressed – not because I had a distinguished palette mind you, but more so because I didn’t. I didn’t understand tofu. And it didn’t understand me. Our relationship had all the makings of a bad sitcom! Oh Tofu!
Gladly – things have changed and certain advances have come forth like a surprise witness in a Law and Order episode. And. While I’m not rushing out to buy Tofu’s latest R&B album – I’ll at least buy the hit single off I-Tunes.**
So, to me, this tofu recipe is akin to Michael Jackson’s Thriller Album. It’s got all the makings of a hit. If, like me, you’re not the biggest fan of tofu then this will in the very least have you moonwalking your way to a nutritious breakfast staple.
Admittedly this isn’t the most traditional of tofu scramble recipes and it does require a few ingredients that you might not have – but should. It’s super easy. And let me say this now: This is the best tofu scramble recipe ever! (Google – do your werk!)
Tofuevos – Tofu Scramble
1 package of firm tofu – drained
2 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS Vegenaise
1 TBS Almond Milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 Heaping TBS of Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric (for color)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch of cumin
salt to taste
Canola oil – for lighly frying the tofu
1. Break up (drained) tofu with your hands (in smallish pieces) into a medium sized bowl.
2. Add the rest of your ingredients to the tofu.
3. Using a rubber spatula incorporate all of the ingredients thoroughly.
4. Taste your tofu. Adjust your salt level.
At this point your tofu as is should taste good. Salt to taste – If you need your adjust your seasonings to your liking this is when you should do it.
5. Heat Canola Oil in a skillet or rimmed pan. Add your tofu and cook until heated throughout.
This is when you decide how you want your tofu. For a harder ‘scramble’ allow tofu mixture to cook longer and brown evenly. For a softer scramble – heat throughout and eat!
* At this point I’ve eaten tofu scramble all over the world and I can safely say this is the best. If you disagree with me then the terrorists have won. So. There. I’m kidding people!
** Tofu has yet to put out an album of music. It is strictly inferred.
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The surge in deportations of criminals came in part as a result of a program called Secure Communities, officials say, which allows local law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of every person, including American citizens, booked into a county or local jail. The identity check is based on comparing fingerprints of people arrested against prints in Department of Homeland Security databases.
Initiated in 2008 in Harris County, Tex., which includes Houston, the program has grown to include about 660 counties and cities nationwide. Sheriff Adrian Garcia of Harris County said on Tuesday that since the start of the program officers there had identified more than 20,000 immigrants in the county jail system who were eligible for deportation.
Many immigrants in Houston who were identified for deportation “didn’t come here to make a better life for themselves, they came to continue their criminal careers,” Sheriff Garcia said.
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About one-third of the criminals who were deported had committed the most serious crimes, including murder, rape and major drug offenses, according to the Homeland Security figures.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement also conducted more than 2,200 audits of hiring documents at businesses to check for unauthorized immigrant workers, the officials said, bringing criminal charges against 180 employers and levying more than $50 million in fines.
Officials said that many of the nearly 200,000 immigrants deported who had committed no crimes were fugitives from immigration courts or had recently crossed the border illegally.
Immigration lawyers questioned that portrayal. “Were they immigrants who were just caught in the web of a very dysfunctional system?” asked David Leopold, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He said that repairing the system would require a broader overhaul to provide channels for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
“Everybody is behind smart enforcement,” Mr. Leopold said. “But smart enforcement without a comprehensive fix to the system is not smart.” Despite repeated pledges by President Obama, he has made no progress on persuading Congress to take up an overhaul.
Researchers who study federal statistics said they could not dig into the immigration figures to learn more about the deportees who were not criminals, because immigration authorities had blocked them for the first time from receiving detailed data.
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“It is unprecedented what they are doing withholding data,” said Susan B. Long, a co-director of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a group that studies federal data.
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Missing Bookseller Case Compels Anonymous’ Hong Kong division to attack Chinese police websites
The infamous hacking group Anonymous’ Hong Kong division has vowed to hack Chinese police official websites as well as government websites.
This statement has arrived by the international hacktivist collective to show resentment towards the alleged abduction of Hong Kong’s bookseller by Chinese authorities.
What happened was that Lee Bo, a Hong Kong publisher and shareholder of the Causeway Bay Bookstore, went missing all of a sudden. His wife stated that Lee just vanished after he left for the warehouse of the bookstore.
Later, she received a call from him via a Shenzhen number and Lee Bo told her that he was “assisting in an investigation,” according to HongKong Free Press.
It must be noted that the Causeway Bookstore is well-known for publishing indecent tales about the personal lives of Chinese leaders and the Communist party’s internal power discrepancies without any credible proof.
Recently, Lee’s other four colleagues also went missing in Thailand and the mainland.
This series of abductions has naturally stoked fear within Hong Kong and Beijing is unanimously being accused of the abductions, which seem to be an onset of a crack down on Causeway Bookstore.
Therefore, Anonymous’ HK division was quick to respond and uploaded a video on its Facebook account, in which the group pledged that all “CCP websites” will be attacked over this incident.
[fullsquaread][/fullsquaread]
The message also stated that:
“We cannot tolerate the China police who violated the section ‘One Country Two Systems’ and robbed those five Hong Kong citizens.”
The group also warned readers not to purchase books through Causeway bookstore because its website has been compromised and buyers information will instantly reach the third party.
The message was posted on Sunday and as of Monday, there haven’t been any information or news about the hacking of government libraries and Chinese police websites.
This is not the first time Anonymous is going after Chinese police. Last year, the hacktivist group hacked Chinese police website for arresting and not allowing protesters to demonstrate their issues.
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SALT LAKE CITY—The nation's largest chemical weapons depot has destroyed its final stockpile of nerve agent -- a 4,100-pound supply seized by U.S. troops from Nazi Germany.
The Deseret Chemical Depot says the Nazi nerve agent had been stored in bulk containers since the end of World War II.
The Army depot in Utah's west desert is ending a 15-year campaign of destroying a variety of chemical weapons.
Only small supplies of other chemical agents remain to be incinerated, and that job is expected to be completed by early next year.
The stockpiles are being destroyed under an international treaty to rid the world of chemical weapons.
The Deseret Chemical Depot, 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, once held more than 40 percent of the nation's chemical weapons.
© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev informed investigators that he and his brother were not directed by a foreign terrorist organization. Instead, they were “self-radicalized” and motivated to kill, in part, by U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported.
The 19-year-old also acknowledged his role in the attack while being questioned by investigators in his hospital bed, the report said. Tsarnaev, who has a gunshot wound to the throat and was sedated, responded in writing. He also suffered gunshot wounds in the head, neck, legs and hand during a late-night shootout in Watertown, Mass.
Meanwhile, Tsarnaev's condition is improving, the FBI said on Tuesday. The college student, who had been listed in serious condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center since his capture on Friday, is now in fair condition, the bureau said.
The update comes a day after Tsarnaev was charged with two federal counts of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, injure and cause widespread damage at the marathon. Tsarnaev was informed of the charges and read his rights in his hospital room on Monday morning, and placed in the custody the U.S. Marshal Service. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
[Related: ‘#FreeJahar’: Support for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev seen on Twitter]
Three people were killed and more than 200 others wounded when two powerful homemade bombs exploded near the race’s finish line. Dzhokhar and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed by police as the two attempted to avoid capture, are suspected of planting those bombs.
Tamerlan was an ardent reader of jihadist websites and extremist propaganda, U.S. officials told the Associated Press, suggesting the brothers were motivated by an anti-American, radical version of Islam.
Meanwhile, U.S. investigators traveled to southern Russia on Tuesday to speak to the parents of the brothers, a U.S. Embassy official told the news service. Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of the suspects, and their father, Anzor, are in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim province in Russia's Caucasus.
After the bombings, Anzor said he believed the brothers were set up and called Dzhokhar a "true angel." Maret Tsarnaeva, the brothers' aunt, who lives in Toronto, also said she believes her nephews were framed.
Family members are not the only ones expressing doubt.
Many Twitter users have been expressing support for Dzhokhar using the hashtag #freejahar.
And just like the conspiracy theorists who claimed last week that the Boston Marathon attacks were staged, the support for Dzhokhar has been fervent despite his reported confession.
A Change.org petition to "guarantee Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the right to a fair trial," addressed to President Barack Obama, has more than 6,000 supporters.
"We believe that within the chaos caused by the Boston Marathon explosion, two young men were wrongfully accused of something they did not do, and one of them has lost his life before even getting the opportunity of a proper trial," Anita Temisheva, the user who launched the petition, wrote. "We do not wish to see blood of yet another innocent victim, someone who, by U.S. law, is innocent until proven guilty. It is vital to end this persecution, as all the conflicting information shown by the media, and footage from the incident, seen by people from all corners of the world, doesn't manifest itself as enough evidence to condemn Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of this heinous crime."
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...to ensure that our government does indeed adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the Constitution; that it leads by example
With Spc., the atheist soldier who filed a lawsuit to protect his religious freedom , finally getting some media attention, I have been repeatedly asked what we can do to support him. I recommend supporting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation by making a donation and/or helping to publicize their advocacy on behalf of soldiers like Hall. They have been instrumental in making sure Hall's story is told and in bringing this important lawsuit.I am pleased to see the outpouring of support Hall has received in the secular community. I am also encouraged by a spike in the number of searches I am seeing on Hall. These data suggest that his story is leading many who have not yet explored atheism to investigate more. As people learn more about Hall, they may begin to understand the plight of atheists in the United States.In addition, Hall's case should remind those who need reminding that atheists do serve in the military . Much like civilian atheists, they often experience discrimination and bigotry at the hands of the Christian majority. But their position is far more precarious than that of most civilian atheists. Just imagine being surrounded by heavily armed Christians determined to convert you! That the U.S. military would promote such evangelism is despicable as well as unlawful.Simply put, the goal of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is:Sadly, the notion of the United States leading by example has become increasingly difficult to imagine, particularly given our current administration. Still, this is the noble goal to which we should aspire, and it is fortunate that we have groups like the MRFF to serve the watchdog function. They deserve our gratitude and support.
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Image copyright Getty Images
Singer and guitarist Steven Wilson has been crowned the current king of prog rock after winning three prizes at the Progressive Music Awards in London.
Wilson fronts the band Porcupine Tree and has now found solo success with his album Hand. Cannot. Erase.
It won the awards for album of the year, commercial breakthrough and box set design.
Swedish metal veterans Opeth won best band, while Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks was named "Prog God".
Pink Floyd had three nominations but won nothing for their album The Endless River, based on unreleased material from sessions for their 1994 album The Division Bell.
'Tour de force'
The Progressive Music Awards, in their fourth year, were handed out by Prog Magazine at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre's Underglobe.
Wilson triumphed after reaching number 13 in the UK album chart with Hand. Cannot. Erase. That gave him his highest chart position either as a solo artist or with Porcupine Tree.
He is also due to play two nights at London's Royal Albert Hall later this month.
In a five-star review in February, The Guardian described him as "modern progressive rock's undisputed figurehead" and said he had made a "smart, soulful and immersive work of art".
Classic Rock magazine, meanwhile, described it as "a tour de force of experimental music making".
Progressive Music Awards - full list of winners:
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BTW
White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway seemed quick to feel the love this Valentine’s Day—arguably too quick.
Twitter user Lib Hypocrisy on Tuesday praised Conway’s “strength and resiliency in the face of vile hatred, bigotry, & sexism of the unhinged left,” and then declared “love you!” Conway replied with an appropriate “love you back,” and retweeted the message.
A quick glance at Lib Hypocrisy’s Twitter bio, though, shows that Conway professed love to a white nationalist.
BuzzFeed News reporter Mike Hayes first picked up on the tweet Tuesday afternoon, posting screengrabs before Conway deleted it.
Next to the username sits a small frog icon, which could refer to Pepe the Frog, an internet symbol adopted by white supremacists. “Hate Anti-American Liberals, Marxists, & Commies,” the bio reads, followed by “WhiteIdentity” and “Nationalist” hashtags.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Conway said she didn’t know who had access to her account, and that she “obviously” didn’t know who Lib Hypocrisy was.
“I denounce whoever it is,” Conway told BuzzFeed. “It will be immediately deleted. Everybody makes mistakes.”
H/T BuzzFeed News
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by Raymond Ibrahim • Dec 20, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Cross-posted from Jihad Watch
Time and time again, we see how Western concepts, when articulated through an Islamic framework, lead to results antithetical to the West. For instance, “democracy” and “elections”—which in the West suggest “freedom,” “human rights,” “liberty,” etc.—are today being used to bring Sharia law, the antithesis of Western law, to power.
In this recent video, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Dr. Safwat Hegazy, a popular preacher, talks about how he yearns to see Arab nations become “like the United States”—for them to unify into the “United Arab States.” While that may sound like an admirable (or at least neutral) goal, bear in mind what he is alluding to: the resurrection of a caliphate—which by nature exists to expand, including through jihad.
Moreover, Hegazy made clear that his interest in seeing the “United Arab States” has less to do with Arab solidarity (nationalism) and more to do with Islamic allegiance (religion). As he gushed about how wonderful it would be for Arab nations to unite into one bloc, the secular and skeptical host interviewing him reluctantly agreed, “so long as the capital is Cairo,” that is, so long as Egypt’s integrity remains. To this, Hegazy replied: “No, I say the capital is Jerusalem, Allah willing.”
Thus, just as that sacrosanct word “democracy” is being used to establish fascist rule in the Muslim world, so too is the notion of a “United Arab States” fraught with problems—from the elimination of Israel to the establishment of an expansionist caliphate on its remains.
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I understand that Nick Clegg is to challenge Nigel Farage to a debate on Britain’s EU membership ahead of the European Elections this May. The Liberal Democrat leader will issue this challenge imminently.
Clegg’s decision to challenge Farage to a debate is all part of his party’s effort to try and turn the European Elections into a contest between the Liberal Democrats, championing In, and Ukip, who are for out. Those close to Clegg hope that a head to head debate between these two will highlight this contrast. They alos expect that it will put pressure on the Tories and Labour to be clearer about where they stand on the European Question.
Nigel Farage has little choice but to accept Clegg’s challenge. Ukip has long argued that the political establishment is running scared of it. But if Farage refused to debate the deputy Prime Minister, it would like he was running scared of Nick Clegg.
But this strategy is not without its risks for Clegg. Farage is a skilled verbal pugilist and is bound to land some blows. Also, a Clegg, Farage debate will put the two men on an equal footing. Up against the Ukip leader, Clegg won’t be able to stand on his deputy Prime Ministerial dignity.
Clegg versus Farage will be a fascinating political event. If Farage’s case for leaving the EU can stand up to Clegg’s factual assault, it will be vastly strengthened. Equally, if Clegg can puncture the Ukip balloon, he’ll be able to credibly claim that he is the guarantor of the centre ground in British politics. But, I suspect, that both men could end up winning from this debate. Farage’s performance will delight his base and having Clegg as the face of staying in Europe will help him with Euro-sceptic Tory and Labour voters. While Clegg taking on Farage will delight his own activists, who despise Farage, and bolster his claim to be the voice of moderation in British politics.
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Following 2001: A Space Odyssey, the great Stanley Kubrick tried and failed for years to make Napoleon, a film about the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He wrote a screenplay, scouted locations, wanted Jack Nicholson to be his star, and even reportedly amassed approximately 50,000 men from the Romanian Army to participate in battle scenes. It eventually became one of those “famous films that never was,” but in recent years Steven Spielberg announced his intention to work with Kubrick’s family and adapt the film into a TV miniseries for HBO based on the screenplay. The filmmaker eyed The Great Gatsby helmer Baz Luhrmann to direct, but that too never came to be.
Now, it seems there’s still hope for the film nobody got to see.
On Friday, May 13th, De Montfort University in Leicester, England, played host to Stanley Kubrick: A Retrospective. Jan Harlan, Kubrick’s brother-in-law and an executive producer on a number of his films, attended the event. Afterwards, Filippo Ulivieri, author of Stanley Kubrick and Me, posted an update on his Tumblr that stated Harlan revealed Napoleon will finally come to a screen as a 6-hour HBO miniseries helmed by True Detective and Beasts of No Nation director Cary Fukunaga. The post also named David Leland on script duties.
Kubrick’s longtime assistant Tony Frewin spoke with Vice about the intended Napoleon film, saying:
[Kubrick] was always very interested in Julius Caesar, particularly the invasion of Britain, but this ability to be a man of action – an intellectual, a strategist, with political objectives – and how you balanced all this and did what was right. I guess Napoleon grew out of that.
Alison Castle released a textbook title Stanley Kubrick’s Napoleon: The Greatest Movie Never Made, which features the original script treatment and essays examining it.
HBO did not immediately respond to Collider’s request for comment, and footage and documentation from the retrospective is hard to come by. So, take this talk of a miniseries with a grain of salt for the moment. But if it’s true … it’s potentially the kind of hit project that HBO desperately needs, and a miniseries might be the perfect way to tell this epic saga. Fukunaga seems like a dream director as well, but does that make it feel all the more like it’s too good to be true? Let us know what you think of the potential project in the comments.
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'I think his views would be disastrous,' King says of Paul. | AP Photos King: Paul 'feeding into paranoia'
Republican Rep. Peter King said Wednesday that Sen. Rand Paul as president would be “disastrous,” charging that the Kentucky senator brings discussions on national security and foreign policy to a “hysterical level.”
“I think his views would be disastrous,” the New York congressman said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I think he appeals to the lowest common denominator. This is an isolationist wing from the 1930s.”
Story Continued Below
King, who has been harshly critical of his Republican colleague in the past, said Paul’s rhetoric “is just feeding into paranoia.”
( QUIZ: Do you know Rand Paul?)
“Rand Paul brings it to this hysterical level,” King said. “He talks about the CIA trying to kill Americans having coffee in Starbucks, when he talked about President Obama listening to his cell phone conversations.”
“That to me is just feeding into paranoia,” he added. “We do need an intelligent debate, and I don’t think Rand Paul is capable of having that debate.”
His comments follow a growing backlash this week from the right against Paul’s stance on foreign policy.
( WATCH: Peter King slams Rand Paul: 'Feeding into paranoia')
While noting that the GOP benefits from a figure like Paul, who doesn’t fit the typical Republican mold, conservative columnist Rich Lowry wrote Tuesday in National Review that the Kentucky senator and potential 2016 candidate’s “instincts sometimes seem more appropriate to a dorm-room bull session than the Situation Room.” Lowry also writes for POLITICO.
Bret Stephens similarly took Paul to task in the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal on Monday, writing Paul is not qualified to be president.
“What we need as the Republican nominee in 2016 is a man of more glaring disqualifications. Someone so nakedly unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of sane Americans that only the GOP could think of nominating him,” Stephens wrote. “This man is Rand Paul.”
Paul took to the opinion pages himself in The Washington Post on Tuesday to push back against his critics and defend his stance on Iran.
“False choices between being everywhere all of the time and nowhere any of the time are fodder for debate on Sunday morning shows or newspaper columns,” Paul wrote. “Real foreign policy is made in the middle; with nuance; in the gray area of diplomacy, engagement and reluctantly, if necessary, military action.”
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Donald Trump’s VP Mike Pence published articles urging news organisations not to hire homosexuals, an investigation has uncovered.
Mr Pence, the Governor of Indiana, was unveiled as Mr Trump’s Vice Presidential pick last month.
Pence stirred up international outrage last year when he signed the controversial ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, which gives businesses the right to discriminate against gay people on the grounds of religion.
Governor Pence has previously suggested that HIV prevention funding be drained in order to fund state-sponsored ‘gay cure’ therapy, and earlier this year appeared unable to answer when asked whether it should be legal to fire people because of their sexuality.
But a fresh investigation from Right Wing Watch has found Pence published extreme anti-LGBT articles when he was the head of the Indiana Policy Review in the 90s.
In the IPR’s journal, Pence himself penned an article lamenting “an endless line of pro-choice women, AIDS activists and proponents of affirmative action” at the 1996 GOP convention.
Pence headed the IPR from 1991 to 1994.
In an item published under his tenure in the December 1993 issue, the publication criticised The Wall Street Journal for taking part in a job fair for gay journalists.
It suggested that “gaydom” was a “pathological condition”, arguing that gay journalists would be biased in their coverage because of their sexuality.
It argued: “The more extreme of the gay movement consider themselves members of a sexual determined political party.”
1993’s August edition of IPR included an article attacking gay people serving in the army.
It claimed: “Homosexuals are not as a group able bodied. They are known to carry extremely high rates of disease brought on because of the nature of their sexual practices and the promiscuity which is a hallmark of their lifestyle.”
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There have been protests in Europe against Italy's measures
The Italian government has lashed out at an influential Catholic magazine which suggested fascism might be resurfacing within the government.
An editorial in the Famiglia Cristiana weekly is critical of government policy towards the Roma community.
Two cabinet ministers said the tone of the article was "irresponsible".
The Vatican has also distanced itself from the publication with a papal spokesman saying it "does not reflect the views of the Holy See".
In an article due to appear in the magazine next week, editorialist Beppe Del Colle writes: "Let's hope their fears are unfounded that another form of fascism is looming here".
'Bludgeoning tone'
The article is accompanied by a famous image of a Jewish child being searched in the Warsaw ghetto.
The magazine has repeatedly denounced tough new measures introduced by Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government targeting the Roma, or Gypsy, communities whom officials blame for much of the country's violent and petty crime.
One junior minister, Carlo Giovanardi, attacked the magazine saying: "You are fascists, with your bludgeoning tone".
The head of Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party in the upper house of parliament, Maurizio Gasparri, said he would sue the magazine's editor over comments he made in a newspaper interview.
Correspondents say the government's left-wing opponents often label it fascist, but the allegation is more damaging when it comes from a publication linked to the Catholic Church, to which many centre-right politicians and their supporters swear allegiance.
Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi said the article did not express the views of the Italian bishops.
In response, the magazine emphasised its editorial independence.
Director Antonio Sciortino, a Catholic priest, said "we have never dreamt of being the official organ of the Holy See".
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Microsoft (MSFT) recently initiated the first company-wide layoffs in its history, with 1,400 employees let go and an eye towards 5,000 position reductions within 18 months. So with Microsoft scrutinizing itself so deeply, perhaps the company can finally admit it's time to shutter the Zune.
Not the least because the Zune is doing even worse than we thought: Microsoft's quarterly filings reveal Zune sales plunged 54% year-over-year last holiday season, all the while Apple (AAPL) is selling more iPods than ever before. And selling the Zune is going to be even harder going forwards: The high-profile failure of Zune 30GB models on New Year's Eve due to a Y2K-like bug is only going to spook consumers more.
We understand why Microsoft has insisted until they're blue in the face they're "deeply committed" to the Zune: Microsoft (wisely) realized no one would buy a Zune if they seemed ambivalent towards their own device.
But in light of the most recent numbers -- and Microsoft's self-professed desire to cut costs -- there's no point left in pretending the Zune's not a failure. Time for Microsoft to cut its losses and move on.
See Also: Microsoft Backpedals Again, Now 'Deeply Committed' To Zune
Get the latest Microsoft stock price here.
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This morning, the following pitch landed in the inbox of at least one reputable Manhattan PR agency: To whom this may concern, I am the designer of a
This morning, the following pitch landed in the inbox of at least one reputable Manhattan PR agency:
To whom this may concern, I am the designer of a product called the Backtacular gluteal cleft shield. It's a hypoallergenic adhesive patch that is applied directly to the skin above the gluteal cleft area of the buttocks. The patch is made of denim with a rhine stone and/or rhine stud design. The product stops gluteal cleft exposure when wearing low rise apparel. The picture of Jennifer Garner below is courtesy of the TMZ " Crack Is Wack" section of the TMZ website. The Backtacular Gluteal cleft patch is patent and trademark pending. I would appreciate your consideration in taking my company on as a client. Thank You, Kimberly Brewer The publicist who forwarded it on noted, "I just thought it was classy of her to name it "BACKtacular" instead of "CRACKtacular". Somewhere, deep inside her core, she has SOME sense of decorum."
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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Well over a hundred years after San Francisco paved over Mission Creek, the city’s buried marshland is still pumping out problems, but the low-lying mission isn’t the only neighborhood swimming in the city’s original waterways.
“Well, this is like the lowest point in the city, so all of the water sort of collects over here,” Deidre Locklear told KPIX 5’s Wilson Walker.
For restaurant owner Jennifer Bennett, the legacy of that water has been two decades of flooding and foundation damage.
“It was always under these two tables, these back six feet that were collapsing. We had to close every three or four months to fix that corner,” Bennett said.
Eventually, she had to replace the hardwood floors with concrete. But, for her neighbors – the problems continue to this day.
“This entire side of the street, huge problems down on the corner,” Bennett said.
“We know that it’s all still wet down there, even though there’s not as much water as there was back in the days before paving took over San Francisco,” Historian Joel Pomerantz said.
Pomerantz has spent years piecing together what San Francisco spent generations covering up, and with some sharp sleuthing he’s discovered something else that still affects daily life in San Francisco.
“This creek is the one that came down from what we call ‘The Wiggle,’” Pomerantz said.
Yes – the very same wiggle that allows cyclists to avoid San Francisco’s hills.
“I’ve also been able to find a photograph taken in 1862. It shows willows growing in a zig zag through that area. Willows mean water flowing year round,” Pomerantz said.
Bicycles and water move much the same way – they’re looking for the path of least resistance. So when you zig-zag through the wiggle, you’re following the path of that old creek as it ran through what we now call the Lower Haight.
“You can see willows growing in a zig zag pattern leading to that point, which is Haight & Pierce now,” Pomerantz said.
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But other voices warned of a potential ethics storm, brewed by fears that technology used on our closest animal relatives could be turned to create genetically-engineered humans. In a study published in the British journal Nature, a team led by Erika Sasaki of the Central Institute for Experimental Animals at Keio University reported on experiments on common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), a small monkey native to Brazil. They introduced a foreign gene, tucked inside a virus, into marmoset embryos that were then nurtured in a bath of sucrose. The gene codes for green fluorescent protein (GFP), a substance that was originally isolated from a jellyfish and is now commonly used as a biotech marker. An animal tagged with GFP glows green when exposed to ultraviolet light, proving that a key gene sequence has been switched on. The transgenic embryos were then implanted in the uterus of seven surrogate mother marmosets.
Three of recipients miscarried. The other four gave birth to five offspring, all of which carried the GFP gene. In two of these five, the GFP gene had been incorporated into the reproductive cells. A second generation of marmosets was then derived from one of the two. The work is important, because medical researchers have hankered for an animal model that is closer to the human anatomy than rodents. Mice and rats, genetically engineered to have the symptoms of certain human diseases, are the mainstay of pre-clinical lab work, in which scientists test their theories before trying out any outcome on human volunteers. But many disorders, especially neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, are so complex that they cannot be reproduced meaningfully in rodents because their biology is different.
Hopes for a non-human primate model have until now been dashed by the failure to insert a gene into a monkey's sperm and eggs -- the "germline" that ensures that the inserted DNA is passed on to future generations rather than lost. The first genetically-modified monkey was born in 2000. Known as ANDi (the initials of "Inserted DNA," spelt backwards), the rhesus carried the GFP gene but not in its reproductive cells. The latest exploit thus opens up hopes of eventually breeding colonies of transgenic primates with inherited traits that closely replicate human disease. "This is the first case ever established in the world that an introduced gene was successfully inherited (by) the next generation in primates," the researchers said in a press relase. Future plans include creating transgenic marmosets that replicate human diseases such as Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
In a commentary also published by Nature, Gerald Schatten and Shoukhrat Mitalipov, primate research specialists in the US, praised the achievement as "undoubtedly a milestone" but sounded caution. They said marmosets were not as useful as baboons or rhesus monkeys in replicating some diseases, notably HIV and tuberculosis. Another question was the random insertion of a foreign gene in the monkey's genetic code. This may have caused some of the miscarriages and, if previous research is a guide, could unleash cancer. Scientists also have to address legitimate public concern about animal welfare and the need for "realistic policies" to prevent genetically-engineered babies, they warned. "There are many unanswered questions," Helen Wallace, of GeneWatch UK, a British NGO that monitors the ethics of gene research, told AFP.
"It's a big step from making a fluorescent green marmoset to making a marmoset that replicates a human disease, it's a much more complicated thing to do. "There's also a very important ethical debate, firstly about the animals themselves and secondly about what this might lead to in the future, whether it might be ethically justified to genetically engineer humans."
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The Claremont vandalism is part of a flurry of attacks on Planned Parenthood facilities since the front group the Center for Medical Progress began its smear campaign in coordination with Republican lawmakers and extremist anti-choice groups.
The spate of violence against Planned Parenthood facilities continued Wednesday in Claremont, New Hampshire, when an intruder destroyed phones, medical equipment, and computers with a hatchet.
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See more of our coverage on recent attacks against Planned Parenthood here.
The spate of violence against Planned Parenthood facilities continued Wednesday in Claremont, New Hampshire, when an intruder destroyed phones, medical equipment, and computers with a hatchet, according to police officials, two weeks after “murderer” was spray-painted onto that same facility.
A committee in New Hampshire’s GOP-majority legislature voted in early August to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood in the wake of heavily edited and widely discredited videos released by an anti-choice front group charging that Planned Parenthood had violated fetal tissue donation laws.
Police did not describe the suspected vandal beyond identifying the person as a juvenile, who was caught at the scene of the crime. No one was hurt in the attack on the Claremont Planned Parenthood, which does not provide abortion care. Local police officials have bolstered security around the facility since graffiti was found on its walls, and are reportedly considering stepping up security once again after this week’s vandalism.
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The Claremont vandalism is part of a flurry of attacks on Planned Parenthood facilities since the front group known as the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) began its smear campaign in coordination with Republican lawmakers and extremist anti-choice groups.
State and federal investigations have yet to find evidence that Planned Parenthood violated any law. Republican legislators launching these investigations, however, have used the CMP videos as reason for why Planned Parenthood should lose all government funding, even though those funds aren’t used for fetal tissue research donations.
A Planned Parenthood facility in Southern California was set on fire in early October, while a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman, Washington, was set ablaze in September. An unidentified person in August poured gasoline on a recently laid foundation and a security guard’s car at the construction site of the Planned Parenthood facility in New Orleans.
“This illegal activity is the second incident in New Hampshire since the recent escalation of attacks against Planned Parenthood,” Jennifer Frizzell, vice president for public policy for Planned Parenthood Northern New England, told WCVB. “These acts have no place in New Hampshire.”
A police official told WCVB that the Claremont facility had never been attacked in 18 years of operation.
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) spoke out against the ongoing attacks on Planned Parenthood facilities.
“These acts of vandalism are an attack on the fundamental right of women to access health care, and should be strongly condemned by all,” Hassan said in a statement. “The women of the Claremont region will be without access to these services while this damage is repaired. It is long past time to end extreme attempts to block access to critical health services for women.”
Threats of violence against reproductive health-care providers has doubled since 2010, according to a nationwide survey released in February. The percentage of clinics affected by threats and targeted intimidation tactics increased from 26.6 percent to 51.9 percent over a five-year stretch.
In February, duVergne Gaines, director of the National Clinic Access Project and an author of the survey, said of anti-choice activists: “They are emboldened. They feel as though they can intimidate with impunity. That I see has a direct relationship to these legislative attacks.”
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Alfred Hitchcock was born today in 1899. To celebrate the “Master of Suspense," here are five facts about the strange habits and quirky fears that made his life as intriguing as his films.
A publicity still from the"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV series. (Photo: CBS/Photofest)
Food & Loathing
Alfred Hitchcock was seriously overweight for most of his life, and at one time carried 365 pounds on his 5’8” frame. A typical dinner consisted of “a roast chicken, a small void ham, potatoes, two vegetables, bread, a bottle of wine, salad, dessert, and brandy." "His lifelong craving for ice cream was usually satisfied later in the evening,” one biographer wrote. Besides the pleasure food gave him, he expressed his absolute fear and loathing of eggs in another interview: “. . .I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened; they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes and when you break it, inside there’s that yellow thing, round, without any holes… Brrr! have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid?”
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Fear of Authority Figures
Hitchcock was terrified of authority and of policemen in particular. He attributed this fear to an experience he had when he was 6 years old. His father had sent him to the local police station with a note. The officer on duty read it and locked him in a cell for several minutes saying, “This is what we do to bad little boys.” Fast forward several decades when he was asked what he would like inscribed on his tombstone inscription, Hitchcock replied, "This is what we do to bad little boys." Hitchcock was cremated and his ashes scattered; there is no tombstone marker for the director.
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His Goofy and Sadistic Pranks
Alfred Hitchcock strangles a bust of himself on the Universal Studios lot. It's the same location where he threw a morbid lunch for the cast of Family Plot (1976), among the prop tombstones pictured in the background. (Photo: Universal Pictures/Photofest)
Hitchcock was infamous for his practical jokes, some funny and others twisted and cruel. He once sent Peter Lorre a suit made by London’s most prestigious tailor; the suit, however, was sized for a child. On another occasion, the director sent an actor 400 smoked herrings, and in a much more macabre prank, he gave Tippi Hedren’s 6-year-old daughter Melanie Griffith an eerily accurate doll of her mother wearing a dress from The Birds and lying in a miniature coffin.
Alfred vs. Walt
Walt Disney thought Psycho was a disgusting movie and refused to let Hitchcock film at Disneyland in the 1960s. Although Hitchcock did call on some Disney magic for one of his other creepy films: he hired animation and special effects artist extraordinaire Ub Iwerks, the co-creator of Mickey Mouse, and used Disney’s special camera to film the famous bird attack in The Birds.
Tippi Hedren running from Hitchock's birds. (Photo: Universal Pictures/Photofest)
Snubbing Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg never got to meet his idol Hitchcock. (Photo: Getty Images)
Hitchcock avoided meeting his greatest fan Steven Spielberg. According to actor Bruce Dern’s autobiography, he attempted to convince Hitch: "I said, 'You're his idol. He just [wants] to sit at your feet for five minutes and chat with you'," but Hitchcock refused. "He said, 'Isn't that the boy who made the fish movie?... I could never sit down and talk to him... because I look at him and feel like such a whore.'" Pressing him further Dern asked, “'Why do you feel Spielberg makes you a whore?' Hitch said, 'Because I'm the voice of the Jaws ride [at the Universal Studios theme park]. They paid me $1 million dollars. And I took it and I did it. I'm such a whore. I can't sit down and talk to the boy who did the fish movie... I couldn't even touch his hand."
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Bernie Sanders in Washington Square Park View Full Caption
GREENWICH VILLAGE — A surrogate for Bernie Sanders told a crowd of the presidential candidate's supporters at a large rally in Washington Square Park Wednesday night not to elect "corporate Democrat whores who are beholden to big Pharma and the insurance industry."
Dr. Paul Song's use of the word "whores" seemed to surprise some in the estimated 27,000 people who had packed into the park to support Sanders.
On Twitter, leading New York politicians admonished the campaign, urging them to denounce the statement.
This level of rhetoric is simply unacceptable. Let's see if it is denounced. #ImWithHer #EstoyConElla https://t.co/M0QYaNoNXw — Melissa MarkViverito (@MMViverito) April 13, 2016
Sanders took to Twitter Thursday morning to denounce Song's comments.
Dr. Song's comment was inappropriate and insensitive. There's no room for language like that in our political discourse. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 14, 2016
Also, Song tweeted an apology.
I am very sorry for using the term "whore" to refer to some in congress who are beholden to corporations and not us. It was insensitive. — Paul Y. Song (@paulysong) April 14, 2016
Washington Square Park was closed down Wednesday as fans of the Vermont Democrat arrived early for the rally.
Emptiest I've ever seen Washington Square Park pic.twitter.com/SGW5urE1Yp — Danielle Tcholakian (@danielleiat) April 13, 2016
Emily Petras, 21, of New Jersey, arrived just before noon. This election will be her first time voting.
“It’s good to have a candidate you can be excited about” as a first time voter, she said.
Doors to the event opened at 5 p.m., with entrances at the southwest and southeast corners of the park. Admission was first come, first served.
Waiting for Bernie https://t.co/SZf3dSkRJZ — Danielle Tcholakian (@danielleiat) April 13, 2016
Indie band Vampire Weekend performed for supporters, and cheered the union members on strike from Verizon who had come out to support Bernie — though frontman Ezra Koenig had to disappoint one member who wanted to hear a Led Zeppelin song.
The band didn't know any Led Zeppelin songs, Koenig said. He promised to learn one for "next time."
Koenig and his bandmates are alumni of Columbia University, and were backed up Wednesday night by the college's all-female a capella group, the Metrotones. He acknowledged the irony of performing in their rival school's front yard, with the New York University campus all around them.
"But if there's one place to put aside all the bourgeois rivalries of private universities, I think it's a Bernie Sanders rally," he said. "So f— all that."
"Shout-out to CUNY," he added, referring to the city's public university.
Other celebrity speakers at the rally included Tim Robbins, who railed against the media and the Democratic Party and recalled protesting the Vietnam War in the park. Director Spike Lee also attended.
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A 35-year-old man, Yinka Offehin, who resides on Popoola Street, off Abaranje Road in the Ikotun area of Lagos is now battling to survive after his scrotum was cut off by the children of his landlady.
According to reports, Yinka was attacked while sleeping in his room with his family members.
His wife, Bisi, who was with him when the incident happened, identified the assailants as Solomon and Damilola, the children of the landlady.
She told Punch that, “On Thursday morning, around 3am, while we were sleeping, we heard loud bangs on our door. We initially thought they were armed robbers because the house beside ours had recently been robbed.
“When they entered, we saw they were children of our landlady. They began destroying our electronics and other property.
“They were two of them. One held a knife in his hand. They took N8, 000. They descended on my husband and he also fought back. In that confusion, my husband shouted and we saw that one of the attackers had cut Yinka’s scrotum. I can’t say what they used to cut off my husband’s scrotum.”
Explaining what led to the unthinkable action, the victim said the genesis of his problem was when he had a misunderstanding with his landlady and was asked to vacate his apartment.
“I was asked to leave the house immediately, but after the intervention of the traditional ruler of the community, I was asked to leave by the end of August.
“But that decision did not go down well with the children of my landlady and they continued to make trouble with me.
“I was already planning to leave their house and had even contacted an agent when they attacked me without any provocation. I want the government to fight for me,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the incident, saying “It was around 3am, while the victim was sleeping in his room, that one Solomon Olowogbemi and Damilola Olayeye, the children of his landlady, went in and started fighting with him.
“In the process, they inflicted injury on him with an unknown object. The skin of his scrotum was partly cut off, thereby exposing one of his testicles. The two suspects have been arrested and detained and the victim taken to a hospital.”
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Our ability to store memories improves during childhood, associated with structural changes in the hippocampus and its connections with prefrontal and parietal cortices. New research from UC Davis is exploring how these brain regions develop at this crucial time. Eventually, that could give insights into disorders that typically emerge in the transition into and during adolescence and affect memory, such as schizophrenia and depression.
Located deep in the middle of the brain, the hippocampus plays a key role in forming memories. It looks something like two curving fingers branching forward from a common root. Each branch is a folded-over structure, with distinct areas in the upper and lower fold.
“For a long time it was assumed that the hippocampus didn’t develop at all after the first couple of years of life,” said Joshua Lee, a graduate student at the UC Davis Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain. Improvements in memory were thought to be due entirely to changes in the brain’s outer layers, or cortex, that manage attention and stretagies. But that picture has begun to change in the past five years.
Recently, Lee, Professor Simona Ghetti at the Center for Mind and Brain and Arne Ekstrom, assistant professor in the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, used magnetic resonance imaging to map the hippocampus in 39 children aged eight to 14 years.
While subfields of the hippocampus have been mapped in adult humans and animal studies, it’s the first time that they have been measured in children, Ghetti said.
“This is really important to us, because it allows us to understand the heterogeneity along the hippocampus, which has been examined in human adults and other species” Ghetti said.
Looking at three subregions — the cornu ammonis (CA) 1, CA3/dentate gyrus and subiculum — they found that the first two expanded with age, with the most pronounced growth in the right hippocampus. Only in the oldest 25 percent of the children, within a few months either side of 14, did the sizes of all three regions decrease.
When they tested the children for memory performance, children with a larger CA3/dentate gyrus tended to perform better, they found. The work was published online March 15 by the journal Neuroimage.
In a related study in collaboration with the laboratory of Professor Silvia Bunge at UC Berkeley, published March 27 in Cerebral Cortex, the researchers also demonstrated how white matter connections projecting from the hippocampus to the brain cortex are related to memory function in children.
“White matter” tracts connect the prefrontal and parietal regions of the brain cortex, which control how we pay attention to things and engage in memory strategies, with the media-temporal lobe, the area that includes the hippocampus.
In the study, children performed a memory test that prompted them either to actively memorize an item — and therefore engage the prefrontal and parietal cortices — or to view an image passively. The ability to successfully modulate attention was linked to development of white matter tracts linking the prefrontal and parietal cortex tothe mediatemporal lobe, Ghetti said, but not to fronto-parietal connections.
Lead author on the paper is UC Berkeley researcher Carter Wendelken, with coauthors Lee, Bunge and Ghetti as well as Jacqueline Pospisil, Marcos Sastre and Julia Ross, all at UC Davis. It’s part of a large collaborative study of memory function and brain growth in children, lead by Ghetti and Bunge, and funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study will look at the development of in a cohort of children from age eight to 14 years.
More information: Simona Ghetti’s Memory and Development Lab at UC Davis
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With 41 days still left until The Originals' season three premiere, (Heck yes, we've been counting!) we're currently going through some serious Mikaelson family withdrawals.
Lucky for us, and for all of you witch and werewolf-lovers out there, ETonline has your exclusive behind-the-scenes look at one of last year's most exciting events: the four-part webseries, The Originals: The Awakening.
"Today's a big day because we're shooting a big series of webisodes starring Nathaniel Buzolic, who audiences may remember as the original Kol," series creator Julie Plec explains on set in our DVD/Blu-Ray first look above.
WATCH: 'The Originals' Finale: Elijah Is Furious (And We're Terrified!)
The Awakening took fans back to the early days in New Orleans when the Mikaelson family first arrived, and acted as an information-packed companion series to The Originals' sophomore season.
The four-part saga focused on "bad boy" Kol‘s plan was to use witch Mary-Alice Claire (Keri Lynn Pratt), the ancestor of Davina Claire (Danielle Campbell), to take down his brother Klaus and his witches.
"We've got two new characters in the webseries," The Awakening's writer, Carina Adly MacKenzie, spills. "We have Mary Alice Claire, a sweet witch. She's just trying to avoid getting caught up on the war that Klaus has started."
Plec adds, "And so [Mary-Alice] gets a little bit sucked into Kol's mischievousness."
Pick up your copy of The Originals: The Complete SecondSeason on Blu-ray/DVD this Tuesday, Sept. 1 and tune into the season three premiere on Thursday, Oct. 8 on The CW.
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Serena Williams is letting the press back into her life, big time. If you're unfamiliar, this is the "Serena comes out of her shell" part of the Serena dialectic, which is only a few pungent quotes from a full retreat and the "Why won't Serena let herself be loved?" stage.
The latest entry is a Rolling Stone profile, which comes on the heels of John Jeremiah Sullivan's Times Magazine cover story last August and a new documentary on Serena's tennis life with her big sis. The RS story is by Stephen Rodrick, author of the new book The Magical Stranger and this great Dennis Rodman profile that you can read at The Stacks. He visited Serena in Florida three months ago, and she gave him, well, a few pungent quotes.
Here, for instance, is Serena with an unfortunate "she wore the dress" take on Steubenville:
We watch the news for a while, and the infamous Steubenville rape case flashes on the TV—two high school football players raped a 16-year-old, while other students watched and texted details of the crime. Serena just shakes her head. "Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don't know. I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember? It could have been much worse. She's lucky. Obviously I don't know, maybe she wasn't a virgin, but she shouldn't have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that's different."
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While on the phone with Venus, Serena didn't do much to conceal some bad-mouthing of a fellow WTAer:
"There are people who live, breathe and dress tennis. I mean seriously, give it a rest." Serena exits the car and the conversation moves on to a Top Five player who is now in love. "She begins every interview with 'I'm so happy. I'm so lucky'—it's so boring," says Serena in a loud voice. "She's still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it."
Rodrick takes an "educated guess" that it's Maria Sharapova since her boyfriend is Grigor Dimitrov, an ex of Serena's (unless, for some reason, Serena thinks that Redfoo has a black heart, which maybe we can't disagree with).
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And Serena says what we long knew about her relationship with Sloane Stephens, and we hope this puts an end to it all:
I don't know where all that mentor stuff came from. I am definitely not that girl's mentor.
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We'll let you know when Rolling Stone puts it online. Wimbledon begins next week.
UPDATE, 6:40 p.m.: Here's the full piece.
UPDATE, June 19, 10:43 a.m.: Serena Williams has released a statement. Here it is:
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What happened in Steubenville was a real shock for me. I was deeply saddened. For someone to be raped, and at only sixteen, is such a horrible tragedy! For both families involved – that of the rape victim and of the accused. I am currently reaching out to the girl’s family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article. What was written – what I supposedly said – is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame. I have fought all of my career for women’s equality, women’s equal rights, respect in their fields – anything I could do to support women I have done. My prayers and support always goes out to the rape victim. In this case, most especially, to an innocent sixteen year old child.
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Photo: Getty
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Develop an Auto Classifieds Mobile App with web backend.
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a. Website
Auto Classifieds Theme and Plugin Demo:
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The website is run on WordPress CMS
You can make any changes from Admin
Theme
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The Vampire production is a collaboration between two filmmakers Geoff Orlowski, owner of TorchMan Films, and Matt Peters of Mad Angel Films. The film is currently in pre-production but has recently acquired the full cast and crew.
We decided that we wanted to pursue crowd funding with this project to ensure we delivered a visually captivating film. Funds earned through this campaign will cover the majority of production costs. We're also hoping that the Kickstarter campaign will raise interest and awareness in our project, our companies and our passion as filmmakers.
THE STORY
Zelene, an investigative news journalist, examines a bizarre case of mass animal brutality in an abandoned part of the city. After police refuse to get involved in the story, Zelene takes action into her own hands. Upon closer examination of the animal deaths, Zelene discovers something "human-like" is responsible for killing and draining the blood from the bodies. As Zelene's leads become more dangerous, they bring her closer to solving the mystery revealing something shocking. A young girl named Oona, The Vampire.
The story involves several universally appealing themes. The Vampire is a story about acceptance, individuality, loyalty, misconception, betrayal and of course a blood thirsty vampire. Although vampire theme films are common, we truly believe we have a unique and exciting story to tell!
Oona the vampire
THE BIG PICTURE
The film is called, 'The Vampire,' because it takes place in a world where vampires do not exist. Oona is one of a kind. As the story progresses there are hints that other 'monsters' exist and are in fact related to Oona in some way. You will meet some of these other 'monsters' in this film. (Here's a hint: One is a famous zombie and the other is known for being covered in hair).
My plan is to make several films or a mini series to follow this one and hopefully introduce other characters and other monsters. This is just the beginning!
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Yet another teaser that was rolled out by the folks over at Xiaomi do point to the very real possibility of the Xiaomi Mi Band 1S being unveiled as soon as tomorrow, that is, July 22nd. If that were to be the case, it makes plenty of sense, taking into consideration how that happens to be the very first anniversary of the unveiling of the very first Mi Band. In the teaser, it was mentioned in Chinese that “Good Things Happen Tomorrow,” alongside the July 22nd date, of course.
To date, Xiaomi has already shipped more than 6 million units where the very first Mi Band is concerned, and chances are this could be due to the highly affordable price point of just $12 a pop – which would certainly make it fall under the impulse purchase category when you look at it. In fact, Xiaomi happend to be the second largest shipper of wearable devices for the first quarter of the year by commanding 24.6% of the market.
When the Mi Band hit the market, it brought with it the capability to measure your sleep as well as track your health and workouts. Not only that, it is also capable of “waking up” your Xiaomi smartphone if you so desire want it to do so. The lack of a display certainly has something to do with the extremely affordable price point, which means you still need to pair it up with an Android-powered device.
Filed in . Read more about Mi Band, Wearable Tech and Xiaomi. Source: technodify
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Do you think LCS should expand from eight teams to ten?
Genja: I don’t think that it’s a bad idea. More teams will bring more variety to the games.
Read: LCS EU Summer Playoffs
Kubon: I think expanding LCS to ten teams is a great idea. I think we will witness more new champions, for example, amateur scene introduced Swain top. Another thing is, changing competition system could make LCS more interesting and exciting to watch.
Edward: I don’t think that having 8 teams it that bad, but 10 or even 12 would be even better. At the same time, LCS format should be altered! For instance, teams should play two BO2 series biweekly.
Diamond: I am up for it if it will reduce a number of games during a season and will increase their number during playoffs. There is no clear correlation though. On one hand, it will make these regions stronger by increasing a level of completion, but on the other hand, Riot Games will have more teams to take care of. I am up for it as long as they can cope with it.
niQ: Yes, I think it should. As a player who played in EUCS series, I have to say that LCS is much more professional in everything, so the more people can experience it and the opportunity it gives the better. I don't really understand "it will weaken amateur scene" argument, for me it sounds like "I don’t want them to take my job".
4 Teams Single Elimination
Team 1.1 0 Team 1.2 0 0 Team 1.3 0 Team 1.4 0 0 0
4 Teams Double Elimination
Winner Bracket
Team 1.1 0 Team 1.2 0 0 Team 1.3 0 Team 1.4 0 0 0
Loser Bracket
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Story highlights Democrats have sought info from Treasury and Deutsche Bank on Trump's finances
(CNN) Democratic lawmakers are asking the Treasury Department to turn over any intelligence data it has about President Donald Trump and his associates, citing two recent reports of financial dealings with Russians.
Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and four other Democrats renewed their request for suspicious activity reports and other financial intelligence data tracked by the agency's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Their request comes after reports highlighting one of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' investments that has ties to Russia and separate reports alleging money-laundering through a Trump-licensed property in Panama.
"It is unfortunate that despite the constant revelations about this administration, you continue to refuse to provide us with records relating to potential money laundering violations by Russian persons and the Trump Organization, including violations involving Trump-licensed properties, which we requested in May," the Democrats wrote in their letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. "It seems to be clear to everyone but you that these continuing revelations demand immediate attention."
Read More
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"Fox News" tv news was just banned in Canada because of a story where it is suspected reporters deliberately lied or mislead people on broadcast news.
On the Wisconsin barricades the middle class of America fights for survival. Apparently Fox News has made dishonest and biased news stories about the protests from Wisconsin.
Canada's Radio Act is a law stating that lying on broadcast news will lead to the ban of the news show was applied. FoxNews was forbidden to be aired in Canada because it was considered to have aired such a news story. FoxNews tried to repeal the law but it didn't manage to do so.
The Canada's Radio Act keeps the quality of the news high and prevents made up or flourished news stories from appearing as news coverage.
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(Image: Nacho Doce/Reuters/Corbis)
The best way to protect rainforests is to keep people out, right? Absolutely not. The best way to keep the trees, and prevent the carbon in them from entering the atmosphere, is by letting people into the forests: local people with the legal right to control what happens there.
Given the chance, most communities protect rather than plunder their forests, says a new study by the World Resources Institute and Rights and Resources Initiative, both in Washington DC. The forests provide food, water, shelter, medicines and much else.
The report, Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change collates many existing studies. It concludes that forest communities only have legal control over one-eighth of the world’s forests. The rest is mostly controlled by governments or leased for logging or mining, often in defiance of community claims.
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But community-owned forests are often the best-protected. In the Amazon rainforest, deforestation rates in community-owned areas are far lower than outside.
Hand it over
Since 2000, annual deforestation rates in Brazil have been 7 per cent outside indigenous territories, but only 0.6 per cent inside. The report estimates that indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon could prevent the emission of 12 billion tonnes of CO 2 between now and 2050.
Brazil’s indigenous territories are an important reason why deforestation rates there have fallen by two-thirds in the past decade. The country is a leader in handing over forests to local people, having recognised some 300 indigenous territories since 1980. Almost a third of all community forests are in Brazil.
Likewise, in Guatemala’s Peten region, which includes the Maya Biosphere Reserve, deforestation is 20 times lower in community areas than those under government protection. In Mexico’s Yucatán state, deforestation is 350 times lower in community forests.
“We can increase carbon sequestration simply by transferring ownership of forests from governments to communities,” says Ashwini Chhatre of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who was not involved in the report. He led a 2009 study that reached similar conclusions (PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0905308106).
Not happening yet
However, global progress on recognising community claims has slowed since 2008. Governments, especially in Asia and Africa, are reluctant to give up control. In Indonesia, which recently overtook Brazil as the country that is deforesting fastest, the report found that only 1 million of its 42 million hectares of forests are formally under the control of their inhabitants.
“No one has a stronger interest in the health of forests than the communities that depend on them for their livelihoods and culture,” says Andy White of the Rights and Resources Initiative. “It is tragic that this has not yet been fully adopted as a climate change mitigation strategy.”
That could change. This year’s round of international climate negotiations will be in Lima, Peru, near the Amazon. Agreeing how to protect forests and the carbon they contain will be a central focus. “Strengthening community forest rights is critical to mitigating climate change,” says Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute.
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"In addition to the ability to circumvent higher level security controls, attacking EFI also makes the adversary very stealthy and hard to detect (it’s hard to trust the OS to tell you the truth about the state of the EFI); it also makes the adversary very difficult to remove—installing a new OS or even replacing the hard disk entirely is not enough to dislodge them," Duo researchers say.
"For the main EFI vulnerabilities that were acknowledged by Apple and patched during the time of our analysis, there were surprising numbers of models of Macs that received no update to their EFI despite continuing to receive software security updates," Duo researchers say.
"Even if you’re running the most recent version of macOS and have installed the latest patches that have been released, our data shows there is a non-trivial chance that the EFI firmware you’re running might not be the most up-to-date version,"
"However, we are of the belief that the main issues we have discovered are generally relevant across all vendors tasked with securing EFI firmware and are not solely Apple," the researchers said.
."This is one of the most popular and critical advice that every security expert strongly suggests you to follow to prevent yourself from major cyber attacks.However, even if you attempt to install every damn software update that lands to your system, there is a good chance of your computer remaining outdated and vulnerable.Researchers from security firm Duo Labs analysed over 73,000 Macs systems and discovered that a surprising number of Apple Mac computers either fails to install patches for EFI firmware vulnerabilities or doesn't receive any update at all.Apple uses Intel-designed Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) for Mac computers that work at a lower level than a computer's OS and hypervisors—and controls the boot process.EFI runs before macOS boots up and has higher-level privileges that, if exploited by attackers, could allow EFI malware to control everything without being detected.What's worse? In addition to neglecting to push out EFI updates to some systems, Apple does not even warn its users of the failed EFI update process or technical glitch, leaving millions of Macs users vulnerable to sophisticated and advanced persistent cyber attacks.On average, Duo said 4.2% of 73,324 real-world Macs used in the enterprise environments were found running a different EFI firmware version they should not be running—based on the hardware model, the operating system version, and the EFI version released with that OS.You will be surprised by knowing the numbers for some specific Mac models—43% of the analysed iMac models (21.5" of late 2015) were running outdated, insecure firmware, and at least 16 Mac models had never received any EFI firmware updates when Mac OS X 10.10 and 10.12.6 was available.Duo also found 47 models that were running 10.12, 10.11, 10.10 versions of macOS and did not receive the EFI firmware update with patches to address the known vulnerability, Thunderstrike 1.While 31 models did not get the EFI firmware patch addressing the remote version of the same flaw, Thunderstrike 2.The Thunderstrike attacks, initially developed by the National Security Agency (NSA), were also exposed in the WikiLeaks Vault 7 data dumps, which also mentioned the attack relies on the outdated firmware.More details on the vulnerable Mac models can be found in the Duo Labs research report.According to the researchers, their research was focused on the Mac ecosystem as Apple is in a somewhat unique position of controlling the full stack, but it can be widely deployed.Enterprises with a large number of Mac computers should review their models outlined in the Duo Labs whitepaper , "" to see if their models are out-of-date.Mac users and administrators can also check if they are running the latest version of EFI for their systems by using free open-source tool, which will soon be made available by the company.
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A top House Democrat believes Russia is laughing at the United States, but not for the same reason President Trump tweeted Tuesday.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on House Intelligence Committee, hit back at Trump for claiming Russian officials are laughing at the coverage of potential collusion between them and Trump's campaign.
"They were certainly laughing in the Oval Office, but that had more to do with your conduct than anything else. And who can blame them?" the California Democrat tweeted.
They were certainly laughing in the Oval Office, but that had more to do with your conduct than anything else. And who can blame them? https://t.co/WZavE3DIlg — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 30, 2017
Schiff has also expressed concerns over reports Trump's son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, proposed a backchannel with Russian officials. He is pushing for Kushner to testify before his committee over his talks with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak before Trump took office.
He is also calling for a review of Kushner's security clearance in light of the report.
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BALTIMORE - Steven Wright isn't often compared to Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale or Jonny Cueto.
When he was told after Monday's 7-2 win over the Orioles that he joined the distinguished trio as the only starters in basball to have thrown three complete games this season, Wright laughed.
The knuckleballer lowered his season ERA to 2.45 and hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts against American League East opponents. For a pitcher who's bounced back and forth between the minors and the majors throughout his career, Wright admitted the run he's on this season has been special.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't (think about it) because, you know, I'm in the big leagues," he said. "That's the thing that's everybody's dream."
Wright allowed two runs on four hits and five walks over nine innings while striking out seven Orioles batters. He induced a career-high 19 swings-and-misses, a testament to his wild, yet effective, knuckleball.
Wright escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second after an infield single, two walks, a wild pitch and a passed ball. He got nine-hole hitter Caleb Joseph to ground out to first to escape that threat.
In the fifth, the Orioles tagged him for two runs after Nolan Reimold led off with a triple and scored on a Jake Flaherty RBI single. Flaherty scored the tying run at the time on a sacrifice fly two batters later, but Wright settled down to get the final two outs.
The Red Sox homered three times in the sixth and eighth innings to take Wright off the hook as he cruised through the final four frames.
"I've worked hard with (Tim Wakefield), Dana (LeVangie) and Carl (Willis) and that's one thing we really concentrate on is staying in that delivery because it's all about staying relaxed and repeating your delivery, especially for me," Wright said. "I think because I'm getting more years of doing it, more reps of doing it, it's becoming easier for me to make an adjustment pitch to pitch."
From the sixth through the ninth, he registered four of his seven strikeouts, while dipping as low as 59 miles per hour on his low-speed knuckleball to keep the Baltimore bats off balance.
"I think in that inning they scored the two runs I got caught up in the same speed," Wright said. "I went out there after that and really concentrated on not throwing too many of the same speeds because really it throws them off. Then it lets me get away with if I leave one up, hopefully the difference in speed will leave them out front."
"I thought today he had probably the best touch with changing speed," manager John Farrell said. "He threw the slow knuckleball a number of times to really keep people off strides. We could talk all day about him. An outstanding performance on his part."
Follow MassLive.com Red Sox beat reporter @jcmccaffrey on Twitter. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
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Ub3rgames has announced the final negotiations have been completed with Aventurine and that the company has secured licensing for Darkfall Online. Ub3rgames is currently at work on its iteration of the game called Darkfall: New Dawn.
So, what now?
Well, last week we talked about medium to long term time frames, today we’ll talk about the short term next steps:
We will first audit and analyze the code base and make a few modifications. We expect this phase to last from a few weeks to a couple months. We’ll be thorough as we don’t want to take any chances and will keep the community posted weekly, as usual.
We will open our store and announce a server opening date only once we are certain that we have a working product to sell. You can already read up on our business model.
There will be a three weeks long public stress test phase.
This will be free and open to all, we want to collect as many metrics as possible and catch server issues before New Dawn becomes a paying product.Its purpose is also to let players experience the game again as soon as possible.
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White House deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders stole a line from President Trump on Wednesday to celebrate Republicans' winning their fourth and fifth special election less than a day earlier.
"Frankly, I think Republicans are going to get tired of winning at some point if the Democrats don't ever get an agenda," Sanders told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" Wednesday.
Sanders said conservatives were able to pull out wins in Georgia's 6th Congressional District and South Carolina's 5th Congressional District on Tuesday because Republicans have campaigned on an agenda, while Democrats have not touted a plan for leading.
"The American people put him and other Republicans in place for a reason — they have an agenda, they want a healthcare system that works, they want an environment where we're creating jobs and growing the economy," Sanders said. "That's what this president is focused on. That's why he was elected in the first place, and that's why he continues to keep winning."
Trump's line about winning became famous during a speech he gave while visiting the Iowa State Fair during the presidential campaign. He continued to use it throughout the campaign and it became a signature phrase.
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The leaders of the social protest and the Israeli Forum for Equal Service will join forces tomorrow night in a rally for universal military service and against the government's tough economic measures.
The organizers, who expect thousands to attend the event outside the Tel Aviv Museum at 8:30 P.M., say the rally will determine the protest's future.
Musicians such as Idan Raichel will appear.
"This isn't only a young people's campaign," said students union chairman and social activist Itzik Shmuli at a news conference yesterday. "It's the campaign of everyone who bears the economic, social and defense burden - everyone who cares how this country will look in a few years."
According to Shmuli, "A series of decisions in recent weeks struck at the middle class and lower-income earners. The new economic decrees threaten to crush the middle class and grind down the weaker ones .... They're the outcome of a government policy that hits people who give and serve. This has to stop."
Social protest leader Stav Shaffir also took part in the conference.
"It's time to go to an all-out war," she said. "The games are over."
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Boaz Nul, head of a movement fighting draft evasion, said the activists organized the rally because "things have come to a head. This week proved that the government is cut off. Two great historic opportunities to make a real change were squandered by a prime minister who gives free lunches to his allies - lunches that we pay for."
Social activist Karin Elharar, head of Bar-Ilan University's legal clinics, said "Israel is led by people who have no national responsibility, who prefer certain groups to others. All the burden is on the middle class and poor people. It's time to say we need a serious change in priorities."
Eran Weintraub, director of the humanitarian organization Latet, said the latest decrees, especially the increase in value added tax, would harm the needy especially.
One reason for the demise of the social protest movement of summer 2011 was that many Israelis could not identify with its left-wing agenda.
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The Romantic Eye, 1760–1860 and Beyond
April 17-18, 2015
Yale University
Call For Papers
This symposium examines Romanticism as a shape-shifting cultural phenomenon that resists easy categorization. Focusing on the period from 1760 to 1860, the symposium embraces the amorphousness that has been ascribed to Romanticism historically by eschewing any limiting definition of it, seeking instead to explore the broad range of art and visual culture characterized as “Romantic” during this hundred-year span. We are interested in what the Romantic “eye” pursued and perceived, and how it set itself the task of recording those perceptions. In addition to interrogations of the relationship between the visual arts and Romanticism, we welcome papers on writers, composers, scientists, and philosophers whose projects engaged the visual. Papers also are sought for a special panel that will address the legacies of Romanticism in contemporary art.
This symposium coincides with a major collaborative exhibition organized by the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale University Art Gallery, The Critique of Reason: Romantic Art, 1760–1860, which opens March 6, 2015. The exhibition comprises more than three hundred paintings, sculptures, medals, watercolors, drawings, prints, and photographs by such iconic artists as William Blake, John Constable, Honoré Daumier, David d’Angers, Eugène Delacroix, Henry Fuseli, Théodore Géricault, Francisco de Goya, John Martin, and J. M. W. Turner. Talks that respond explicitly to works in the collections of the Yale Center for British Art or the Yale University Art Gallery are particularly encouraged, as are cross-disciplinary and comparative studies.
We are seeking presentations of thirty minutes in length. Graduate students and early career scholars are particularly encouraged to apply. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the organizers. Please e-mail abstracts of no more than three hundred words and a short CV or bio (no more than two pages) by February 2, 2015, to [email protected].
The symposium is cosponsored by the Department of the History of Art at Yale University, the Yale Center for British Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Yale Student Colloquia Fund.
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I’m so happy this “Original Broadcast Version” exists here on Amazon. It’s been years since we’ve been able to see a digitized version of Robotech with the original sounds and effects. Here they are! And they’re as beautiful as they ever were.
For some background, produced in 1985, Robotech used many sound FX elements taken directly from the multiple Japanese series upon which it was based, but at that time syndicated broadcasts and/or budgetary concerns only allowed for a monophonic audio track. The modern DVD and Blu-Ray releases therefore have many empty channels of audio to fill. As a result, many of these modern releases crammed the other audio channels with new generic sound effects so the other speakers in your home theatre have something to do. Ultimately these new audio tracks diluted the original charm and authenticity of this series. If sound isn’t your thing, this won’t mean much to you. But if like me, you loved everything about this show since 1985 - animation, story, sounds, and all - this is an incredibly wonderful moment.
Thank you Amazon.
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Yes! As of today noon, paid apps are now visible on my Android Nexus One in India. Few salient points (Also, look at the end to see how to get paid apps if you are not able to see them yet):
The marketplace shows approximate prices of each app in Indian Rupees (INR) (Edit: I’ve just learned from few tweets that this is a new feature worldwide. People everywhere are now seeing approximate app costs in their local currencies. Good stuff!)
You can see the paid apps on main list and in the “Just In” Tab but there is no “Top Paid” tab available. (**Update: **If you can’t see the “top paid” tab, then go to settings->Applications->All->Market and clear data and cache & launch market app again. You will be able to see top paid tab as well :) )
You can, however, search for any paid app or follow a direct marketplace link fine.
Final payment is done in the original currency of the app developer (e.g. pounds or dollars)
The payment method is credit cards through Google Checkout.
Debit cards won’t work for payment. Even though google checkout accepts them, they show up as “invalid” while buying apps. I presume that this is because of the 24 hour refund feature of Android marketplace.
Carrier Billing is not available though
Another new thing reported. “Update All” feature which was so far available only on Froyo ROMs has also been included for devices with older Android versions. I’m not sure which all versions have it but it is at least showing up on 2.1 (Eclair) ROMs now.
Let me know if you can see the paid apps as well. If you cannot, try these two things:
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Academia, Hollywood, and Big-City Mayors
As you know, there are many threats to the Second Amendment out there. Yes, even after Donald Trump pulled off the biggest political upset in over six decades, there are still threats to the Second Amendment. But three don’t quite get the attention they should. Academia, Hollywood, and big-city mayors are all taking deadly aim to partially or totally strip away our Second Amendment rights.
The threat academia poses is a two-fold threat. The most notable threat comes when academics or others release studies like Arthur Kellerman’s claim that firearms are 42 times more likely to kill someone in the home than to be used to kill someone in self-defense. The media tends to run with these stories as well, helping the gun-grabbers make their case against our Second Amendment rights.
The second part is much more insidious. A look through some stories on this site should explain why. At Cornell University, the president of the College Republicans is assaulted. At Bryn Mawr, a student who supported Donald Trump was harassed so badly that she called the college’s suicide hotline before dropping out. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that a student journalist who covered that story also faced harassment. A professor at Georgetown University cyberbullied a Muslim woman who voted for Trump for over a month. Want to be none of the perps in this series of incidents dealt with any consequences other than support for their actions? Also, keep in mind that in many colleges, there is a hostile climate for anyone who isn’t buying into the latest crusade from the SJWs.
Hollywood is not as bad, but let’s be very honest, Hollywood has drawn a bulls-eye on the Second Amendment. That said, Miss Sloane bombed, but star Jessica Chastain is up for a Golden Globe. We see other anti-Second Amendment messages all the time. Hollywood stars line up to express their support for gun-grabbers.
The big-city mayors could pose the most lethal threat. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many tried to sue firearms manufacturers – threatening them with bankruptcy unless they complied with an anti-gun agenda that was being beaten in state legislatures and Congress. Lately, though, big-city mayors are teaming up with major law firms. In short, the goal is simple, they will go after you – and they now have much deeper pockets. Legal bills can rack up quickly – and many FFLs or ranges don’t have the means to pony up six figure sums of cash. Furthermore, between big-city mayors, corporate clients, and billionaires, gun-grabbers can simply try to outlast those who wish to protect their rights.
These are all serious threats, but the most serious threat is complacency. Yes, we have every reason to celebrate the fact that the next President respects our Second Amendment rights. In fact, we deserve to. But we cannot let ourselves be lulled into a sense of complacency, that we can just let Donald Trump take things from here. He needs some serious backup. The Heller and McDonald rulings hang by a single justice, and Charles Schumer is already threatening to block Trump’s choice to replace Antonin Scalia (never mind that he threatened to block any George W. Bush nominee in 2007).
In other words, after January 20, we have work to do.
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