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Image copyright Metropolitan Police Image caption Islam was sentenced at the Old Bailey A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in a young offenders' institution for grooming a "vulnerable" young man to kill UK soldiers. Kazi Islam, of Newham, East London, tried to persuade Harry Thomas, also 19, to buy ingredients for a pipe bomb and to attack soldiers. He was convicted of preparing to commit acts of terrorism on 29 April. The judge called his behaviour "callous" and "manipulative". Islam was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 and to be subject to a terrorism prevention requirement for 15 years. The court heard Islam, of Meanley Road, had been inspired by the 2013 killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich. Islam encouraged Mr Thomas to start calling himself Haroon instead of Harry, and attempted to radicalise him with stories of innocent children murdered by military forces. But the defendant, who denied wrongdoing, said he had only spoken to Mr Thomas about getting the components for a bomb as an "experiment" in radicalisation. 'Extremely vulnerable' The trial heard Islam befriended Mr Thomas in October 2013 - five months after Fusilier Rigby was attacked in the street near Woolwich Barracks - after meeting him the previous year on an IT course at college. A series of exchanges between the pair on BlackBerry Messenger and social media sites were uncovered when police raided the house in east London where Islam lived with his family, jurors were told. In them, references were made to buying ingredients to make bombs. The plot was said to have been unwittingly sabotaged by Mr Thomas, who failed to buy any of the right ingredients for a bomb and revealed what was going on to "a few friends". The court also heard Islam had downloaded a document on explosives, but he said his interest in extremism was "purely for research purposes and to understand the political side of my religion". Sentencing, judge Richard Marks QC told Islam he had shown neither remorse nor insight into the seriousness of what he had done. His behaviour towards Mr Thomas, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), was an aggravating feature, the judge said. He continued: "Even on your own account, that you knew he was an extremely vulnerable young man, your treatment of him was as callous as it was manipulative."
Something odd is happening in late night on CBS. James Corden, the host of the 12:35 a.m. Late Late Show, was asked in a recent interview whether he’d like to take over the network’s flagship Late Show from Stephen Colbert, who began the job less than a year ago. He said all the right things, of course—namely, “That’s never going to happen”—and it’s worth considering that interviewer Howard Stern is a noted provocateur. Still, the mere fact that the question could be credibly asked feels like uncomfortable news for the network, and for the man who was supposed to be its flagship star. Colbert, though in my view the best of the three major late-night hosts, has had a rocky entry onto the network scene after hanging up his Colbert Report faux-conservative persona. Coming in to replace the well-established and immediately identifiable David Letterman, Colbert has seemed at times ill at ease with the anachronistic demands of being a late-night host, like interviews. A New York Times piece on Colbert’s “uneven” first eight months cited an interview with Casey Affleck as particularly grim: “Neither acted as if he wanted to be there for the too-familiar promotional exercise.” Outside the realm of celebrity, he also hasn’t found a voice on politics nearly as strong as the one he used to such great effect on Comedy Central. The appointment, in April, of a new executive producer suggested that the network wanted what Vulture’s Joe Adalian called “a set of outside eyes.” But while Colbert has seen some challenges, Corden has done nothing but win. On the night of the Super Bowl, when both CBS late night shows followed the game, Colbert seemed at times unsteady in his live broadcast, while Corden sucked up all the next-day press coverage with an edition of his wildly popular “Carpool Karaoke” segment and a Pepsi-ad parody with Cindy Crawford. (“Carpool Karaoke,” whose Adele edition got 107 million views online, also got its own primetime special.) The CBS upfront, an annual presentation directed at advertisers, placed Corden front and center as he opened the show with a parody of Hamilton, the frontrunner at this year’s Tonys (which he will host); Colbert got less time, later on. He is behind NBC’s Seth Meyers in the ratings, but Corden, bolstered by a huge following online, certainly feels as though he has a great deal of momentum. Which leads to an uncomfortable situation, whereby CBS’s biggest star doesn’t quite feel like their biggest star. After all, if timeslot distinctions are growing less and less relevant—if fans, in the millions, can tune into a “Carpool Karaoke” video on YouTube—then what makes Colbert senior to Corden at all? Corden’s recent appearance on Colbert’s show seemed like an attempt to redress the balance, with Colbert mockingly dropping a pen every time the ebullient Corden dropped a name. The distinction between the pair’s worldviews—one a charming cynic, the other simply a charmer—couldn’t have been clearer. And the onus to answer these questions will stay on Colbert, who’d do well to lean yet harder on the sort of bits that work best for him online (and, coincidentally enough, are the best): His interviews with newsmakers like DeRay Mckesson or Tim Cook. Being forced to prove one’s worth day-in and day-out—the unglamorous work of a host—isn’t comfortable. But left unresolved, questions like Stern’s tend to blossom. Jay Leno used to say he’d never return to The Tonight Show when Conan O’Brien took it over, too. Contact us at [email protected].
Is it really true that Swift made the most valuable company in the world switch its policy overnight? Cue told The New York Times that Swift’s note “solidified that we need to make a change,” which implies that he’d been considering it already. The service is set to go live on June 30, and as of now, Apple has nailed down agreements with the major labels but not the big independents. Recently, some of those independents publicly criticized the three-month trial terms and other aspects of the deal Apple had offered. A proposed solution, in which Apple would pay a slightly higher royalty rate in the long run in exchange for the free period, still presented problems: Albums released during the trial window would potentially make almost no money from the service, and other revenue streams could be hurt as consumers try out the new product. Could Apple Music have credibly launched for consumers without offering a huge portion of the independent catalog—including, for example, all of Adele’s recordings? Observers were skeptical. So, Apple might have come to this point even without Swift’s note. Unless more info about the state of negotiations and Apple’s internal calculations leak, it’s impossible to know. Last year, Swift similarly called out Spotify for its “freemium” model and pulled her albums from the service, but that company hasn’t changed course. The business calculation for Apple is different, though. It’s launching something new and, with all its iPhone money in the bank, can theoretically afford the costs of three months of royalties; Spotify’s popularity has largely been predicated on free offerings, and it has yet to turn a profit. What seems certain is that the free-trial discussion, like most ones regarding rights and record labels in the 21st century, would have gone on without much public notice if Swift hadn’t spoken up. Apple, whose brand is in large part about being culturally cool and a friend of the creative community, takes a very real hit when someone of Swift’s status calls it out. She has the fourth-most Twitter followers of anyone in the world, and her “Swifties” are more fervent than many others. This is a woman who invites fans into her home, writes them handwritten notes, and pays for their student loans. Often, people deride such fan service as being self-congratulatory PR work. But the truth is that all Swift’s efforts to tend to her following—though music, through promotion, and yes, through baking cookies—amount to real-world leverage.* Beggars, the independent record company whose roster include Adele, spoke out against Apple Music’s free trial days ago and had nowhere nearly the public splash Swift had. This doesn’t necessarily make her the most powerful person in music—she can’t commit thousands of artists to a deal like, say, Lucian Grainge, the head of Universal Music, can. But it does give her independence and influence.
Mix together a couple of big oil refiners, an arch-conservative oil tycoon, "green tech" venture capitalists, a former secretary of state and California's far-reaching climate legislation, and stir. The result is one of the most volatile and expensive political battles of the year. The issue is Proposition 23, a California referendum that would shelve the state's four-year-old climate legislation until unemployment there falls to 5.5 percent - more than half the current level - which economists agree could take many years. The delay would upend a myriad of solar, wind and low-emission automobile projects. The referendum has also become a test case about the power of corporate money - mostly from two Texas-based firms - and a measure of how much climate change is sucking wind as a political cause. Fresh off their defeat on a climate bill in Congress, environmentalists and their allies are fighting to prevent their biggest policy success from being rolled back in the country's most "green"-friendly state. The California legislation would slash greenhouse emissions by 30 percent, limit tailpipe emissions and set targets for utilities' renewable energy use. A game of big money One indicator of the emotional charge surrounding the debate was the language Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) used to attack Prop 23 supporters. "Does anyone really believe that these companies, out of the goodness of their black oil hearts, are spending millions and millions of dollars to protect jobs?" Schwarzenegger said recently. "This is like Eva Braun writing a kosher cookbook. It's not about jobs at all, ladies and gentlemen. It's about their ability to pollute and thus protect their profits." The proposition held a slight lead at one point, according to polls, but is now narrowly trailing. The measure was the brain child of a state legislator, a Sacramento lobbyist who has represented tobacco companies and two oil refiners. By early October, Valero Energy, the nation's biggest refiner, had poured $4 million into an ad campaign, public records show. Tesoro, the other refiner, has matched that, a company official said. The Koch brothers, who have supported the tea party movement and other conservative causes, added more than $1 million. Other donors brought the total to $16 million. But Big Oil isn't the only big money in California. Lined up against the refiners are a group of wealthy fund managers, clean technology investors, environmental groups and onetime Reagan secretary of state George Shultz, who believes that "climate issues are very real" and that Proposition 23 is "a very bad thing."
LONDON (Reuters) - All new Jaguar Land Rover cars will be available in an electric or hybrid version from 2020, Britain’s biggest carmaker said on Thursday, as it speeds up plans to electrify its model range. Last year, the company, owned by India’s Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), said it would offer greener versions of half of its new line-up by 2020, but it has now ramped up its plans. Demand for electric models continues to rise sharply and in July Britain said it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2040 to cut pollution, replicating plans by France and cities such as Madrid, Mexico City and Athens. Carmakers are racing to tap into growing demand for low-emissions models with Nissan (7201.T) launching a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle on Wednesday in a bid to better take on Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Model 3. Related Coverage UK needs to do more for electric car future: Jaguar Land Rover CEO Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which showcased its first electric model in 2016, said it would release a range of powertrain options over the coming years. “We will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles,” said Chief Executive Ralf Speth. The automaker, which built nearly 550,000 of Britain’s 1.7 million cars last year, has said it wants to build electric models in its home market but a number of factors need to be in place first, including support from government and academia. It will build its first electric model, the I-PACE, in Austria. Slideshow (10 Images) Like much of the British car industry, JLR is also worried that Brexit could leave its car exports facing lengthy customs delays and tariffs of up to 10 percent, risking the viability of production in Britain. But as traditional carmakers battle with tech firms such as Google (GOOGL.O), and disruptive entrants including Tesla, JLR also unveiled its latest plans to tap into new and developing technologies. At a ‘Tech Fest’ in London, the company is showcasing several autonomous and connected car gadgets including a steering wheel called ‘Sayer’ which will contain speech recognition software, enabling it to answer questions, connect to news, select entertainment and order food.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A potential strike by transport unions that would shut down access to commuters trying to reach New York City from neighboring New Jersey would cost the city’s businesses $5.9 million per hour, an influential business group said on Monday. The loss of productivity would be felt most keenly in the city’s dominant financial sector, with losses reaching $1.9 million for a one-hour delay, according to the analysis by Partnership for New York City. “A transit strike is among the most expensive events that can happen to New York City,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the organization, which represents many of the city’s biggest corporations. Transport unions failed to reach agreement with representatives of NJ Transit, which runs rail and bus links into the city, during talks with federal arbitrators in Washington D.C. on Friday. In the absence of a pact this week, unions have said they will walk off the job on Sunday. Unions are asking for 2.5 percent annual pay rises in return for increases in employee health-care contributions. They say that is their final offer and they will not accept the 0.6 percent they say NJ Transit is offering. NJ Transit officials released an emergency plan last week but warned they could only accommodate 38 percent of normal traffic. A strike would displace over 100,000 commuters and lead to snarl-ups on roads and serious overcrowding on alternative public transportation routes, they said. Officials said a shutdown could force an additional 10,000 cars per hour into rush-hour traffic during peak times, creating tail backs stretching more than 20 miles into New Jersey as drivers jostle to pass through limited crossing points into Manhattan.
August 30th is just around the corner, so the official Tôei Animation YouTube Channel has released three new teaser videos for the upcoming 3D2Y One Piece anime special featuring a taste of the new theme song “Next Stage” sung by Japanese music group AAA, enjoy! The first video focuses on the anime special’s main villain Byrnndi World and his World Pirates crewmates. Byrnndi World: Your crew? Your brother? Who are you going to defend the way you are right now?! The second teaser focuses on the multiple side-characters that will be appearing in the anime special: Buggy, Perona, Mr. 3 and more! Luffy: I’m going to become stronger so I can protect them! The third video focuses on Ace’s death at Marineford and certain scenes of the Marineford battle that were redone just for this anime special! Be sure to go through some of our previous posts to be up-to-date with what the anime special will be about and more!
MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews made perfectly clear he is over the moon with the newly "authentic" and "relatable" Hillary Clinton, beguiled by her jokes the other day at a South Carolina Democratic women's event about how she's been dying her hair for years and so won't go gray in the White House. What's more, Matthews's roundtable guests on his May 28 program seemed to agree that Hillary was hitting her stride as a personable candidate comfortable in her own skin, all of them, that is, save for Republican political strategist Liz Mair, who offered that Hillary's gotten only slighter better on the campaign trail and hinted that perhaps she's feeling her oats because she has no credible contender giving her a run for her money in the primary race: LIZ MAIR: I mean, candidly, I have a different interpretation on what we saw of Hillary recently-- CHRIS MATTHEWS: That's why you're here. MAIR: Yeah, I don't think she-- Thank you. I don't think that this is somebody who comes off as being real or authentic. Like, OK, maybe it's a small improvement, but given how much she was sort of the liberal equivalent of Mitt Romney in terms of being so scripted and so like, you know, unmovable and static and very almost robotic, it's such a minor difference to me that I just think she's going to have a long way to go with a lot of people. MATTHEWS: We disagree. I think she's been great. [...] MATTHEWS: Jeb's at 10 percent. Jeb's at 10 percent right now. Hillary's at 80! MAIR: He's also, he's also in a primary field that is packed with other plausible contenders. She's in a primary field with Bernie Sanders. There's a reason that those numbers look different. But to your point about does she look any worse -- MATTHEWS: Before you put down Bernie Sanders, let me put him up against a couple of the guys. Ben Carson, is he going to be president of the United States? MAIR: No. MATTHEWS: Is Ted Cruz going to be president of the United States? MAIR: I don't think so. MATTHEWS: There are a bunch of them that don't really look like they're heading to the Oval Office. MAIR: OK, but then let's go ahead and compare Bernie Sanders to Marco Rubio. Let's go ahead and compare him to Chris Christie. Let's go ahead and compare -- MATTHEWS: Well, how about Martin O'Malley? PERRY BACON: Martin O'Malley is a more real candidate. I disagree with you Chris a little bit -- MAIR: You cannot say that the Democratic field is comparable. Of course, there was no persuading Matthews, who has all but transferred his lovin' feelings for Barack Obama to being weak in the knees for Hillary. Here's his closing "Let Me Finish" commentary (emphases mine):
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P. ONE FEATHER STAFF In August, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians declared the opioid crisis a public nuisance. Now, the Tribe is filing litigation on the matter. Tribal Council passed a resolution, submitted by Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed, during Annual Council on Monday, Oct. 16 that approves the filling of a civil action and directs Special Counsel to take action “against all manufacturers and wholesale distributors legally responsible for causing or contributing to the opioid epidemic plaguing our Tribe”. Chief Sneed said declaring the opioid crisis a “public nuisance” in August was the first step in establishing legal standing for the Tribe to file the lawsuit. “The foundational part of the lawsuit looks to hold the distributors responsible for the epidemic…the lawsuit is based on a DEA rule that states that distributors are required to report to the DEA anytime there is a suspicious or irregular pattern in the number of pharmaceuticals being ordered by pharmacies or doctors. This was during the height of the pill epidemic when pain clinics were popping up all over the country.” He told Tribal Council that the opioid epidemic has claimed over 200,000 lives nationally. “That is three times the number of deaths of U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War.” Chief Sneed said the lawsuit is about saving lives in the future as well as helping the Tribe pay for services related to the epidemic including the Snowbird Residential Treatment Center, the new needle exchange program, and the Crisis Stabilization Unit at the Cherokee Indian Hospital – all of which total between $6-7 million annually in costs to the Tribe. “Should we prevail in court, any settlement funds would be designated for rehabilitation, education, and law enforcement,” he noted. “Once again, this would be the EBCI leading the way in Indian Country.” He added, “That number is not going to come down anytime in the foreseeable future. In fact, the cost will probably increase year after year until we get a handle on this. Anything that we can do to help get funds that we, as the Tribe, have to pay for, these drug companies need to held accountable. This is a manufactured crisis.” During discussion on the issue, Yellowhill Rep. Tom Wahnetah inquired, “Will this affect families that have lost loved ones if they choose to proceed with legal action against the pharmaceutical companies?” Chief Sneed replied, “It would not. This is a totally separate approach, and this approach specifically deals with that DEA policy and the laws that say that the distributor has a responsibility to report any irregularities…that would be a personal injury case that would be completely separate from this lawsuit.” Big Cove Rep. Perry Shell commented, “It’s a scary situation what’s happening at the federal level. They’re a part of this problem. But, I see where the Cherokee Nation filed a lawsuit as well. What’s the difference in what we’re doing and have we thought about partnering up with a class action with other Indian tribes?” Chief Sneed answered, “Their suit is different and the route that they’re going and what they’re trying to accomplish is different. Ours is based specifically on this one DEA rule that the distributors are supposed to report these irregularities in ordering.” He went on to praise the Cherokee Indian Hospital for its efforts, “Hats off to our hospital for taking steps to make sure there is not over-prescribing happening at our hospital.” The Cherokee Nation filed a lawsuit against six companies (McKesson Corporation; Cardinal Health, Inc.; Amerisource Bergen; CVS Health; Walgreens Boot Alliance, Inc.; and Wal-Mart) in April “charting the companies with failing to prevent the flow of illegally prescribed opioids to men, women, and children in the Cherokee Nation.” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said at the time, “Tribal nations have survived disease, removal from our homelands, termination and other adversities, and still we prospered. However, I fear the opioid epidemic is emerging as the next great challenge of our modern era. As we fight this epidemic in our hospitals, our schools, and our Cherokee homes, we will also use our legal system to make sure the companies, who put profits over people while our society is crippled by this epidemic, are held responsible for their actions.”
The Parliament session on Monday is set to be a heated one, given that the Congress will be taking on the BJP over recent reports of tribal girls from Assam allegedly being trafficked by the Sangh Parivar for ‘indoctrination’. On Saturday, the Congress accused three Sangh Parivar organisations of ‘trafficking’ 31 minor tribal girls from Assam, aged between three and 11, in violation of all laws. “We will take it up in the session. As opposition, Congress will also take up the issue in the Punjab and Gujarat assembly sessions. The cases of only 31 girls have come to the fore. We don’t even know how many more cases there are,” party spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told dna. “It is shameful and shocking that these girls have not been allowed to go back to their parents and have been held captive for almost a year, despite several child protection units demanding their release,” said Chaturvedi. "Painful, ugly and dirty truth of trafficking of young tribal girls from Assam under the garb of better education by none other than three affiliates of the 'Sangh Parivar' ie 'Rashtra Sevika Samiti', 'Vidya Bharti' and 'Sewa Bharti' stand exposed," a party press release claimed. Addressing the press with Mahila Congress chief Shobha Oza, Chaturvedi claimed that the trafficking has taken place with the connivance of the BJP governments in Gujarat and Punjab and that a detailed investigation of evidences has proved that. “The Sangh Parivar flouted Indian and International Laws on 'Child Rights' to traffic 31 young tribal girls from Assam to Punjab and Gujarat to indoctrinate them,” Chaturvedi said. “The Sangh Parivar paid no heed to the orders of the Assam State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, Childline, Delhi and Patiala to return these children to Assam. The institutions made it clear that no pictures are left with the parents of these girls to remove all evidence. They also claimed these girls were orphans and were from flood-affected families, which is false and baseless,” Chaturvedi said. "Is this the fulfillment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'? Is this BJP/RSS' idea of inculcating education and protecting children?” she asked. "Will the BJP government at the Centre as also of Gujarat/Punjab take action against RSS workers and its affiliate organisations for defying the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, Indian Penal Code and other laws?" the duo asked.
During New York’s Fleet Week, which runs from May 25 to June 1 this year, some 3,000 sailors, Marines, and members of the Coast Guard descend on the city. It’s often said that women prefer a man in uniform. Is that true? Maybe, maybe not. Hard evidence is scarce, but in a 2006 paper titled “G.I. Average Joe: The Clothes Do Not Necessarily Make the Man,” researchers from North Georgia College and State University determined that, for 120 female college students, photos of six ROTC cadets in their “dress blues” were not significantly more enticing than photos of the same cadets in their civilian clothes. The Explainer also came across a marketing survey , conducted by Kelton Research for the retail chain Men’s Wearhouse, indicating that while 91 percent of Americans believe that dapper clothing can enhance a less-than-handsome man’s appearance, only 37 percent consider military garb more appealing than business suits. There’s also some general research on whether different outfits change the way women react to potential mates. In 1990, for instance, researchers at the University of Toledo asked a panel of 30 female anthropology majors to choose one “attractive” and one “unattractive” man from a line-up of volunteers wearing plain white T-shirts. Based on these ratings, they picked two models—one rated as attractive, the other as unattractive—and showed 112 female college students slides of each man in three separate costumes: as “doctors,” they donned fancy shirts, designer paisley ties, blazers, and Rolex watches; as “teachers,” they wore white tees; and as “Burger King workers,” they sported blue baseball caps and polo shirts printed with the company logo. Women consistently described the “doctors” as more alluring than the “fast food employees,” even when the man in the B.K. group had previously received a higher attractiveness rating than the M.D. (A good-looking teacher still out-performed a bad-looking M.D.) The researchers concluded that clothing suggesting low socioeconomic status is a turn-off. Sailors and Knicks dancers during New York’s Fleet Week It’s not obvious what sort of socioeconomic status a military uniform connotes—are unpleated khaki trousers perceived more like a doctor’s paisley tie or a fast-food employee’s baseball cap? One psychologist suggested in an interview that Marine or Navy uniforms (especially when decorated with gold and silver insignia) indicate high status and offer women social validation. Like Brooks Bros. suits or tuxedos, she contended, uniforms imply a man in a position of authority; furthermore, they symbolize “alpha” qualities such as confidence and courage. Yet the richest and most powerful Americans don’t generally gravitate toward the armed forces, George H.W. Bush, John McCain’s sons, and John Kerry aside. Despite the relative paucity of experimental data, many sexologists are convinced from clinical experience that the stereotype about women and uniforms is true. They speculate that the cliché holds for a variety of reasons: Some, pointing to the latent (and at times overt) aggression in military work, propose that women find the menace of uniformed men exciting. Others ascribe the mystique of sailors on leave to the opportunity for casual sex. Still others argue that evolution has wired women to seek competent, dependable types for the long road of childrearing; these clinicians claim that uniforms advertise a history of service and reliability. Of course, it’s questionable how reliable a mate could be if his job requires him to ship off into conflict zones at a moment’s notice. Explainer thanks Helen Fisher of Rutgers University, Arlene Krieger of Boca Therapy, and David Schnarch of the Marriage & Family Health Center.
Cleveland, we finally have a winning home team. Sunday, while the Super Bowl yet again did not feature the Cleveland Browns, and the Cleveland Cavaliers recovered from their fourth straight loss Saturday, northeast Ohio picked up two trophies at one of the biggest and most venerable comics festival in the world. Derf Backderf won the best debut graphic novel for “My Friend Dahmer,” his widely acclaimed 2012 book, at the Angouléme Comics Festival. (Actually, he won the prix revelation for his graphic novel, “Mon Ami Dahmer,” which has just been published in French.) And Bill Watterson, the creator of the popular comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” won the Angoulême Grand Prix, a lifetime achievement award given each year to a living comics creator. Watterson, who stopped writing and drawing “Calvin and Hobbes” on Dec. 31, 1995, after 10 years, is one of the few Americans to win the prize. Backderf was there to collect his prize, promote the French edition, sign autographs and enjoy time at Angouleme, a comic convention that takes over most of the quaint French town in southwest France and attracts even more fans than the big San Diego Comic-Con International. “It would be comparable to the Cannes Film Fest,” Backderf emailed from France, where he is now on a book tour. “Creators come from all over the world. There's really nothing like it.” The famously reclusive Watterson, who treasures his privacy and rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances, did not attend. “They talked to his editor on the phone,” Backderf wrote. “He missed out, because it's all great fun.” Even with the fun, though, Backderf confessed that he almost missed out on the best part of the ceremony, which included a band, a comedy troupe and a smoke machine. “Actually, I was dozing off when the award was announced. It was hot, I was tired and everything was in French so I had nothing to hold my attention. My editor had to elbow me awake. ‘Derf! Go up to the stage. You won!’” Backderf said he is discovering some differences between French readers and Americans on the book tour. “The French have no idea who Dahmer is,” he wrote. “He just wasn't on their radar. So readers here have no preconceptions of what the book is or isn't, unlike most American readers, who often think it's a book about grisly murders and horrible crimes. So the book is judged purely on the merits of story and art. It's refreshing. I'm getting a little tired of answering questions about serial killer trivia. I knew that was inevitable, but it's only natural to get weary of answering the same questions.” To see Backderf accept his award, go to minute 44:00 of the video of the ceremony on YouTube.
Instructions for Commencement Day Commencement Day Sunday, May 5, 2019 12:00 PM 1. Arrive on campus by 10:30 AM. Bring your line assignment with you. 2. Graduates assembling in French Field House should park in any of the permit zones around St. John Arena and the French Field House. Graduates assembling in the RPAC should use the Neil Avenue Garage. Additional parking is available at the Schottenstein Center or on West Campus. Click here for the class assembly locations. Parking locations are open to you and your guests on commencement day on a first-come, first-served basis. No Ohio State parking permit is required. The Arps, Ohio Union, Lane Avenue and Neil Avenue parking garages will be available at no charge. Shuttle buses will run from West Campus parking lots to the Sisson Hall footbridge beginning at 9:00 AM until one hour after the ceremony concludes. Disability parking is located in the East Stadium lot on a first-come, first-served basis. A permanent or temporary Ohio or other state-issued Disability Placard is required. Enter the East Stadium lot from Tuttle Park Place. Please plan to arrive early as reserved parking is not guaranteed. Click here to view parking map. 3. Assemble promptly by 11:15 AM in the assembly locations in academic costume and line up as you did at rehearsal. Only graduates are permitted in these areas. As you enter, you will be given a copy of the commencement program that lists your name in proper sequence. One copy is provided for each graduate. Do not leave any personal belongings in the assembly locations. 4. Dress appropriately for the day and the occasion. Weather in Columbus can be unpredictable, so please be aware of the forecast and plan to dress comfortably under your academic regalia. 5. Be mindful of your footwear. All graduate processional routes into the stands of Ohio Stadium require the use of stairs and walking distances of up to half a mile. We recommend that you choose comfortable footwear, and discourage shoes with high or narrow heels, tall platforms or wedges. 6. Wear the tassel on the left side of your cap. 7. Allow extra time if you have guests that need to be escorted to a seat. Ohio Stadium provides easy access for guests with permanent or temporary disabilities. Seating for those guests is located at entry level and throughout the stadium. Guests in a wheelchair, or having limited mobility, and one companion, are permitted in these areas. Click on the Disability Accommodations link for family and guests for further information. An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter will be present during the ceremony. Click on the Disability Accommodations link for family and guests for further information. Live captioning of the ceremony will also be available on the south stadium scoreboard of Ohio Stadium. Click here to view seating chart. Click here to view Ohio Stadium facilities diagrams. 8. Advise your guests that photographs must be taken from the stands. Only press photographers are permitted on the field. Guests should be courteous and respectful of all those wishing to take photographs. A professional photographer will take a photograph of each graduate as diplomas are awarded. A complimentary photo will be mailed to the graduate within one month after graduation. You are not obligated to order photographs; this is merely a service. All information is subject to change. We recommend checking back periodically for updates.
The duck has landed. But not everybody is happy about the six-storey tall rubber duck, weighing over 13 tonnes, that arrived in the harbour Friday morning to kick off a weekend of Canada Day celebrations and the Redpath Waterfront Festival. The duck, which is said to be the world’s largest and which cost the province $120,000 to rent from July until August, has been the subject of controversy since its participation in the festivities was announced this spring. Many have taken issue with the expensive price tag, and the fact that it’s not related to anything Canadian. “As the PC Critic for Tourism, Culture, and Sport, I am not against people enjoying Canada Day festivals and festivities, but what I object to is the government funding a giant rubber duck that has no connection to Ontario or Canada 150,” wrote Conservative MPP Rick Nicholls in a statement Friday. Article Continued Below Christine Van Geyn, director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, agreed, and said that spending so much money on a tourist attraction was useless because people would come to the harbourfront anyway. “They don’t expect the government to spend so much money to draw people to a festival they would have come to anyway,” said Van Geyn. Steph Braun, a passerby who came to see the duck, said she really enjoyed it. “I like it, I think its fun and it makes people happy. I guess some people don’t like how much the government spent on it but I think they’re uptight,” Braun said. Victoria Syme, a co-producer of the Redpath Waterfront Festival, said the organization had actually considered a giant inflatable loon, but dropped the idea after realizing that it would have cost far more money to build and then store. The World's Largest Rubber Duck has made its official Canadian debut today in Toronto Harbour. The 6 storey tall duck is 78 feet wide and 89 feet long and weighs in at 30,000 lbs. ( Rick Madonik / Toronto Star ) “We thought we needed something on the water to make a big spectacle. It (the duck) brings tourism, it’s known globally, it’s great with kids and adults,” she said. The Redpath Waterfront Festival rented the duck for the summer from its co-owners, Craig Samborksi and Ryan Whaley. Article Continued Below “The duck has given us a lot of attention for people who might not have known about the festival,” Syme said. “People can enjoy the duck, not only the duck but the other programming that we have, and maybe it will bring them back in years to come.” The World's Largest Rubber Duck has made its official Canadian debut today in Toronto Harbour. ( Rick Madonik ) Whaley said the duck was a hit in other places around the world and that the goal was to bring people together and help them enjoy Toronto’s harbour. “It’s really about bringing smiles and about bringing people together, bringing attention to the waterfront, which is a beautiful backdrop,” said Whaley. Regarding the design dispute with Studio Florentijn Hofman, which alleged that the giant duck is a counterfeit of the Dutch artist’s work, Whaley said the design for the duck is open and available online. “You can buy it on the internet,” Whaley said. “But this is the world’s largest.” Stephanie Saagi, jogged by and took a look. “It’s such a huge waste of taxpayer money,” Saagi said. “Why is it a duck, why not a beaver?” The duck, which was inflated over the course of about two and a half hours in the Port Lands Friday morning, will stay in Toronto until Monday afternoon before being deflated and quacking on to Owen Sound, Sault Ste. Marie, Midland, Amherstburg, finishing in Brockville on Aug. 13.
Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email The repair bill for Falls Park in West Belfast is expected to be around £100,000 in just one year a councillor has said. The park was hit by a double attack over the weekend with both the play park and outdoor gym burnt out in similar attacks. Sinn Fein Councillor Steven Corr believes that young teenagers are behind the latest attacks - and said that he expects the total repair bill for the Falls Park area to cost as much as £100,000. The area around the park has been plagued with anti-social behaviour in recent weeks. Councillor Corr told Belfast Live: “Before the weekend there have been loads of incidents where wheelie bins have been taken in and burned and when they get burned an entire section of tarmac has to be lifted and replaced. “The swings have been destroyed, there have been fences broken, fires been lit, flowers been pulled out, trees being burnt, walls being destroyed, metal work being destroyed.” He said that there is frustration in the west of the city. He added: “People are disgusted and angry in West Belfast. “There’s a call for CCTV, for naming and shaming - but one of the overriding things from people is that they’re upset: What kind of people would go in and destroy play equipment there for toddlers? “It’s a shock and then that shock turns to anger. “It’s making West Belfast very, very angry.” Councillor Corr said that there will be short term measures to curb the problem from this weekend. There is to be extra lighting, extra security and CCTV. Medium-term he wants to see an updating of security in the area with more permanent lighting. Long-term, he believes that the Falls masterplan will help to alleviate the problem. A police spokesman described the weekend’s incidents as a ‘new low’. He said: “The cost of damage to the playpark alone has been estimated at over £30,000, money which could have been better spent improving other facilities for the community. The damage now means the people who have been benefiting from the outdoor gym and the local children who have been using the playpark have now lost their facilities. “Since the start of summer this year, we have issued countless appeals, asking parents and guardians to ensure they know where their children are, what they are doing and who they are with. “Police officers are regularly being called to attend incidents and anti-social behaviour in parks, public spaces and even rail halts to deal with children and teenagers who are at times gathering up in large numbers. "We recognise that the vast majority of young people are well behaved and are only spending free time with their friends, but as with any large group, there are a few whose behaviour is simply criminal. “From drinking and playing loud music, upsetting local residents, through to throwing stones at police, passing cars and buses, which at times has led to critical bus services for local people being diverted or stopped altogether. The damage caused within the park at the weekend is a new low.”
Los Angeles, CA, May 9, 2017 – Berns Weiss LLP announces that is investigating potential claims on behalf of cryptocurrency exchange users who may have incurred losses due to recent DDoS attacks. On May 7, 2017, San Francisco-based virtual currency exchange Kraken executed a large sell order for the popular cryptocurrency, Ether, which depressed the price of that currency. Within the same hour, the exchange’s website was the subject of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, which prevented Kraken users from logging in to the site to manage their accounts. Delaware-based exchange Poloniex was also the subject of a DDoS attack on May 8, 2017, within minutes of the execution of a large Ether sell order. Due to users’ inability to access their accounts because of the attacks, both Kraken and Poloniex exercised their discretion to liquidate users’ margin accounts. This action has led users to assert that they may have been the victims of market manipulation and possible insider trading. If the exchanges or individuals associated with the exchanges violated the law, then users who suffered losses as a result of those violations may bring a lawsuit to recover money damages. According to Jeffrey Berns, Managing Partner of Berns Weiss LLP, “the virtual currency/blockchain practice group of Berns Weiss LLP has been contacted by various people inquiring about potential legal action against Poloniex and Kraken with regard to the recent sell off at those exchanges in conjunction with DDoS attacks.” If you are a Kraken or Poloniex customer who has suffered losses since the DDoS attacks began and would like information, or if you have information that may be useful to our investigation, please contact us at [email protected]. ### Berns Weiss is ideally positioned to protect the rights of the individuals who participate in the developing virtual currency/blockchain eco-system. Its partners have decades of experience protecting the rights of consumers, employees, retirees and investors through class action litigation in federal and state court. The firm’s Virtual Currency and Blockchain Technology practice group is staffed by attorneys that have developed the necessary experience and expertise to guide individuals and businesses working on virtual currency and blockchain applications through the existing legal labyrinth. Attorney Advertising. Prior Results Do Not Guarantee A Similar Outcome. CONTACTS Berns Weiss LLP Jeffrey K. Berns, Esq. Lee A. Weiss, Esq. David C. Berns, Esq. 818-961-2000 [email protected] www.law111.com
After more than a year of reports indicating the Podesta Group's work for a pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank was not properly disclosed to the Justice Department, on Monday news broke that special counsel Robert Mueller has opened a federal criminal investigation into the firm's conduct. Mueller's probe of the firm grew out of the special counsel's investigation into ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to NBC News, which was first to report the story. Over the past 14 months, several outlets have published thorough reports on the Podesta Group's retroactively disclosed work on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a Brussels-based think tank with ties to Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions, but most have failed to adequately note Tony Podesta's ties to Hillary Clinton. For instance, extensive reports in both CNN and the AP noted Tony's brother John Podesta, co-founder of the Podesta Group, served as chairman of Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign (though he was no longer affiliated with the firm by the time period in question). But, crucially, along with NBC News, neither outlet noted that Tony himself was involved with that campaign. As I noted last April, by July of 2016, Tony Podesta had raised $268,000 for Clinton's campaign. He donated $34,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund, according to FEC records. Clinton's campaign website listed him among its "Hillblazers," described as "individuals who have contributed and/or raised $100,000 or more for Hillary for America, the Hillary Victory Fund, and/or the Hillary Action Fund" since the campaign's launch. He also donated $33,400 to the DNC over the course of the 2016 cycle. Given that his firm was actively lobbying Clinton's State Department -- and failed to disclose the extent of that lobbying until 2017 -- Tony Podesta's connection to her campaign is a relevant detail. Take this section from CNN's extensive May report: The Podesta Group's work for the center peaked in October 2012 at a crucial time in U.S.-Ukraine relations. Europe's leading election observer reported in early October 2012 that candidates in Ukraine were being attacked, opposition leaders were imprisoned, and that reports were circulating of intimidation, bribery, and vote-buying. Clinton, then secretary of state, voiced concerns about the election four days before it was held and called it "an important bellwether" of the Ukrainian government's commitment to democratic institutions. The Podesta Group went to work. In the two weeks before and after Ukraine's election, the firm had near-daily contact with the State Department, holding seven meetings, conducting "outreach" on seven days and having conversations or email exchanges on 11 days, including with top department officials. In this context, Podesta's direct financial connections to Clinton (to whom he had previously donated as well) are clearly relevant. Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.