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Swindon Town are interested in taking QPR striker Andrew Johnson on loan, BBC Wiltshire has learned. The 32-year-old ex-England forward has not played since September after suffering a serious knee injury, but is set to return to full training. Johnson is not able to play for QPR because he was not named in their 25-man Premier League squad in January. Johnson's goal tally QPR: 4 games, 0 goals 4 games, 0 goals Fulham: 111 games, 27 goals 111 games, 27 goals Everton: 74 games, 22 goals 74 games, 22 goals Crystal Palace: 160 games, 85 goals 160 games, 85 goals Birmingham: 106 games, 13 goals Total career appearances: 455 Total career goals: 147 Swindon are currently under a transfer embargo following a recent takeover at the League One club. With the loan deadline approaching, the promotion chasers will need to have the sanction lifted by Thursday in order to add to their squad. Johnson, who has eight England caps, started his career at Birmingham City before joining Crystal Palace in July 2002, where he scored 85 goals in 160 games. He secured a £8.6m move to Everton in 2006 but left for Premier League rivals Fulham two years later - for a reported £10.5m. Johnson spent four years at Craven College before his release last summer, when he was snapped up by QPR on a free transfer. But just four games in to his Rangers tenure he faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament.

This jam is now over. It ran from to . View results Hey hi hello folks! Welcome to Giant ROM 2, the second game jam for all things more or less related to Giant Bomb! Since it's been about half a year since the last one, it's time to make some games together again! THE THEME HAS BEEN DECIDED: "WHAT HIDEO KOJIMA DOES NEXT" MAY DAN HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL. START: November 28th (I will announce the theme live just past midnight when that day begins, so don't start working before then!) (I will announce the theme live just past midnight when that day begins, so don't start working before then!) END: December 6th (be sure to submit your game before that day is over!) (be sure to submit your game before that day is over!) There will be a special theme picked at random from the GB folks' suggestions at the PAX Prime panel! In addition to this theme, the game should also be somehow related to Giant Bomb. picked at random from the GB folks' suggestions at the PAX Prime panel! In addition to this theme, the game should also be somehow related to Giant Bomb. Do what you want, but please try not to be too crude or offensive - be a Giant Bomber, not a Giant Bummer! So that's November 28th to December 6th - 9 days total, which includes two weekends. Hopefully that's enough to let as many people as possible make some really cool, really silly games... again! The Themes Nearly every member of the crew suggested a theme for the jam when I asked during the PAX Prime panel, so for the sake of fairness I'm trying to track down everybody so each staff member has a chance to contribute. Here are the themes; only one will be chosen, and I have no idea which! The Crowd: Johnny V Jeff: East VS West Dan: What Hideo Kojima Does Next << SELECTED THEME Vinny: Italian Pac-Man Austin: Bleak Cyberpunk Dystopias Jason: Babies Alex: FMV Brad: (TO BE DETERMINED) Drew: (TO BE DETERMINED) Rorie: One Big Chomp Good luck, and check out this thread on the Giant Bomb forums for the latest updates!

The Heritage of the Great War 1914-1918 Numerous graphic pictures and thought-provoking articles on the Great War: the First World War 14-18, using English and Dutch (Flemish) De Erfenis van de Groote Oorlog '14-'18 : talloze foto's en prikkelende artikelen over de Eerste Wereldoorlog 1914 - 1918 in het Engels en Nederlands (Vlaams) This website is about the Great War, the First World War 1914 1918, also known as Greatwar. We show graphic and censored war pictures, and Great War pictures and numerous color (colour) war photo's. Subjects are: the horror of the Great War battlefields, killed soldiers and kid soldiers (boy soldiers) in the First World War, civilians, wounded men, doctors, and the daily life in and behind the trenches of No Man's Land aka Nomansland during the Great War 14-18. Lots of music and songs from the Great War as MP3, WAV's and Real Audio files, downloadable as well. Great pictures from war-photographer Frank Hurley. We have color pictures, photographs, pics and articles on poppies, on the armistice of 11 November 1918 (the Great War treaty of World War 1 in Versailles) ending WW1, called Eerste Wereldoorlog in Flemish or Groote Oorlog. Also the beginning, the origins of the Great War. Pictures of America (AEF) in the Great War and a list of famous people. We show pictures of soldiers wounded or killed by toxic gas (musterd gas, chlorine gas) that was put in munition or ammunition shells. We also have Great War propaganda posters and postcards and censored, forbidden pictures of corpses, dead and mutilated soldiers, mud and rain and shell holes and trenches, many trenches and entranchments, executions. There were Great War internment camps and we have Flanders Fields in Vlaanderen, Belgium. Soldiers were killed KIA and wounded or mutilated at the Battles of the Somme, at Verdun, Ypres, Zonnebeeke, Passchendaele, the Chemin des Dames and Marne. Telegrams and pictures did not pass the censor or died on the battlefield. Don't forget the photography censors. There was music. Horrible fighting and dying with the BEF in Ypres or Wipers or Ieper, also known as Ieperen, Yper and Yperen, photographed and filmed by war photographers, sometimes in full colour, color. Vipers salient and Vimy and Passchendaele play important roles. Passendale and Picardie (or Picardy) and the Flemish Westhoek. Great War poetry like 'The making of John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields' on poppy and poppies and of course Sassoon. Kid soldiers were in all armies, young boys, children, dying on the battlefields. We show their Great War pictures, photo's, photographs and pics, some in color (colour). Superb war photographs by the Australian war photographer Frank Hurley. Visit the War memorial at the Menin Gate or Meense Poort, come with writers and painters, artists and poets like Albert Hahn and John McCrae and Rudyard Kipling and Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen and Erich Maria Remarque, aka Remark or Kramer. Winston Churchill is here as wel, and Robert Graves and Adolf Hitler, so is Alexander Haig. Ernest Hemingway plus Kathe Kollwitz and J.R.R. Tolkien and Barbara Tuchman. That was the Great War. Common civilian and military people. Quotes from Zimmermann and his telegram. Think of the chaplain who cares for executed soldiers at the Great War battlefields or shot at dawn by their fellow comrades. Execution and their victims (slachtoffers). This site has also articles on origins of the Great War and on the American AEF. Plus famous people, toxic gas gifgas mosterdgas musterd gas in the First World War, munitie, munition, obus granaat and shell trenches. Gas munition dump in the North Sea. There were "internerings kampen": in English internment camp, far away from the trenches (loopgraven), but there was also an electric wire on the border between Holland (the Netherlands) and occupied Belgium. The Great War was in Flanders Fields in Vlaanderen and on the battlefields of the Somme, Verdun, the Chemin des Dames and the Marne. The BEF in Ypres, called Wipers or Ieper or Ieperen or Yper or Yperen or Vipers in the salient. Vimy and Passchendaele also known as Passendale and battles in Picardie Picardy and the Westhoek. There was a poppy and poppies near the war memorial at the Menin Gate, the Meense Poort, an "oorlogsmonument" and a klaproos, drawings by Albert Hahn. Poems by McCrae, Kipling, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen and music from the First World War, aka Great War. Books by Erich Maria Remarque (also known as Remark or Kramer), Winston Churchill and Robert Graves. Article on Adolf Hitler and on Alexander Haig, Ernest Hemingway and Kathe Kollwitz. Tolkien is here and Barbara Tuchman who quotes Zimmermann telegram. Chaplain poet with executed soldiers who were shot at dawn, doodgeschoten soldaten dus en de executie van slachtoffers. Censored and forbidden, prohibited pictures, photo's, in color as well. Shell shock, or shellshock in Craiglockhart with William Halse Rivers. And in Baghdad, Bagdad, general Maude and Kazim Karabekir and Pasha Prince Faisal and of course Saddam Hussein in the Middle-East or Near-East in Turkey Ottoman. Complete Great War books on the slagveld and romantic poems and poetry with love postcards letters on love (liefde) brieven brief and ansichtkaarten, heel romantisch. Beroemde personen uit Deutschland, Germany, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, England, Engeland, and Great Britain. Ook uit Nederland, Frankrijk, France and Belgium (Belgie). Australia and the Aussies, the Diggers, and Duitsland, Ierland, Amerika, Knokke. Houthulst ammunition dump and kaiser Wilhelm II crownprince. Doorn buried. Philospher Eli Siegel. Items with children, kid soldiers: boys and weapons. General colour color pictures and handcolored handcoloured and artificially colored photographs from the Great War. Chlumberg Barnes and Mary Riter Hamilton, her Great War paintings of the Western Front. Frank Hurley, photographer from Australia in the Great War. Different from the Eastern Front and has little to do with the Christmas truce in 1914 and 1915. Aussies in Gallipoli and Pozieres, with music from the Great War in wav and midi files. William McBride and George Grosz and the electric fence, elektrische draad, in La Bassee and High Wood this tourism in neutral Netherlands (Holland) and flea market battlefields. Casualties: dead, wounded, missing in action and killed. And the executions, shot at dawn cases. Vermandere and Arthur Stadler had drawings, explicit horror, fear of hanging and suicide marshes. Complete books and maps kaarten and discussions on a forum our guestbook has a search page. Studenten and students scholars pupils. Censored and forbidden prohibited pictures from the First World War (Great War) and shell shock and shellshock. Craiglockhart had William Halse Rivers, Great War shell shock expert. No POW prisoner-of-war. Russia and Austria and Baghdad with Maude, a general, Kazim Karabekir and Pasha Prince Faisal. Saddam Hussein not in the Great War, but later in the Middle-East. In the Near-East is Turkey 1915, 1916 en 1917. Palestine in 1918 with Jericho all in the Australian Light Horse Brigade. Ottoman Empire crushed. Complete books. Romantic postcards with love girls and romance (loving) in the Great War postcard. Poems and poetry in Vlaanderen in Vlaams and German, Duitsland or Deutschland. Germany and Canada and Scotland and Ireland all in the Great War. So was England Engeland and Great Britain and Nederland niet. Frankrijk was there, France, Belgium Belgie and Australia with Aussies, aka Diggers in Duitsland Ierland and Amerika. Knokke en Houthulst have Great War munition dump and more dumps out in the North Sea. Kaiser Wilhelm II was responsible and his son Wilhelm crownprince. Emperor was in Doorn buried. Eli Siegel philospher of philosophy. Peace movement. Children become orphans or kid soldier boys. They had weapons in the Great War invented like tank, flame thrower, hand grenades and the infamous gas shell. General Haig. Photographers made autochrome colour (color) or handcolored cq. handcoloured photographs on the Western Front. Chlumberg was a playwright. Barnes and Mary Riter Hamilton paintings. Great War Western Front and the Eastern Front both had a Christmas Truce. And Gallipoli? Pozieres made into music from the Great War, First World War, with wav's, midi files etc. William McBride was there and George Grosz. The border had an electric fence. Not in La Bassee or High Wood where tourism went from the neutral Netherlands. Holland had a flea market on the battlefield. Many casualties: dead, wounded, missing in action, just killed. Great War casualties were 10 million. Willem Vermandere Flemish singer and story teller. Arthur Stadler drawing explicit horror in the Great War like fear hanging suicide marshes etc. Complete books with map discussions forum. Great War guestbook and search page for studenten students scholars pupils, young child children boy soldiers. Music with mp3 and midi download. In Dutch (Netherlands) and Flemish: Deze website gaat over de Eerste Wereldoorlog 1914-1918 ook bekend als de Groote Oorlog en betreft onderwerpen als oorlog wereld foto's fotoverzamelingen erg dood gewond slagveld en slagvelden photo's kleurenfoto's klaprozen Versailles Vlaanderen Engeland Amerika Nederland en zijn neutraliteit. De kindsoldaten van de Eerste Wereldoorlog. De kerstvrede in 1914 en 1915. Hitler en Remarque giftige gassen gifgas (mosterdgas en chloorgas) munitie in granaat obus opslag van munitie en dumpen in zee bij Knokke aan het strand voor de kust. Granaten scherven gewond en gedood artsen en soldaten oorlogsmonument klaproos. Frontkaart kaarten van het Westelijk Front. Opblazen bunkers en munitie depot van het militair leger Belgie. Zompig en modder in de loopgraaf en loopgraven in Vlaanderen en Noord Frankrijk de Westhoek met Ieperen Yperen en Verdun. Hurt by shell shock dood en leven telegram godsdienst verboden gecensureerd. Fotograaf en filmer uit Duitsland, Oostenrijk en de geallieerde landen, veel verschrikkelijke oorlogsfoto's, veel ook in kleur. Andere landen in de Eerste Wereldoorlog waren: Italie Turkije, Australie en Canada Ierland Groot-Brittanie Palestina Australie en Nieuw-Zeeland samen de ANZAC strijdkrachten. Pasha internering kamp loopgraven. Wapenstilstand 1918 Prins koning keizer Wilhelm en de kroonprins Wilhelm uitgeweken gevlucht Wieringen en Doorn paleis huis Doorn begraven mausoleum herdenking. Veel muziek uit de Groote Oorlog, liedjes, in wav en midi formaat. Elektrische draad en elektrocutie grens bewaking vluchten en vluchtelingen: jongeren kinderen kindsoldaat vechten en sterven, doodgaan. Executies doodschieten en doodgeschoten, geexecuteerd aan het Westelijk Front doodgeschoten soldaten: slachtoffers. Muziek mp3 en midi (downloaden) en afspelen. Op het slagveld in Niemandsland in Wereldoorlog 1 14-18 zagen we kind soldaat (boy soldier), kindsoldaat en nog meer kindsoldaten, allemaal kinderen, allemaal jong. Rusland krijgsgevangenen Oostenrijkse keizer. Trein. Beroemde personen uit de oorlog de Groote Oorlog Wereldoorlog. Veel wapens geweren kanonnen en kanon met bajonet steken met pistool schieten kogels zoals dumdum schilderijen kunst loopgraven tekeningen met angst en zelfmoord executie bij zonsopgang executiepeloton veroordeeld door krijgsraad en doodschieten doodgeschoten, vermoord. Marcheren door zompig en modder, verdrinken forum scholieren en hun werkstuk spreekbeurt groep 7 en groep 8 basisschool schrijven en voorlezen. Belgen internering kampen kleur ansichtkaart meisjes liefde romantische postkaarten en propaganda kleur handgekleurd of ingekleurd autochrome ansichtkaart militaire post en ansichtkaarten. Voor het front der troepen doodgeschoten geexecuteerd gesneuvelden en sneuvelen en gesneuveld gedicht en gedichten en dichten krijgsgevangen of pow prisoner-of-war studenten scholieren allemaal in de Groote Oorlog ook wel bekend als de Eerste Wereldoorlog. About Ruggenberg and his books for children / Over Ruggenberg en zijn kinderboeken: Rob Ruggenberg, author of the Heritage of the Great War website, is also a writer of childrens books, especially historical youth novels, e.g. Het verraad van Waterdunen (The Waterdunes Treason), set during the 80 Years War between the Netherlands and Spain, and Slavenhaler (Slaver) on the subject of Dutch slave trade in the 17th century. Rob Ruggenberg, auteur en webmaster van de Erfenis van de Groote Oorlog website, is ook schrijver van kinderboeken, met name van historische jeugdromans, zoals Het verraad van Waterdunen, dat zich tijdens de Tachtigjarige Oorlog afspeelt, en Slavenhaler, over de Nederlandse slavenhandel in de 17de eeuw.

After a brief hiatus to recharge the batteries, give things a rethink, and apply a spiffy new makeover, Aqua City Odaiba’s ramen resource returns on the 22nd of this month. Formerly Ramen Kokugikan (ラーメン国技館), it now assumes the moniker Tokyo Kokugikan Mai (東京ラーメン国技館 舞). The core concept remains the same; promote ramen. This time though, the management are looking to spread the slurpin’ and a sloppin’ beyond these shores with a more immersive ramen-as-Japanese-culture experience that overseas visitors can indulge. Gone is the old free-for-all food court, and in its place ramen shops each with their own exclusive space, allowing each brand to better express their flavors. Gone too, are the old menus, replaced by six regional ramen brands/restaurants that collectively bring together flavors from across the nation, or more specifically, Sapporo, Hakata, Saitama, Nagoya, Nagano, and Tokyo. Some of the names here also have a presence overseas. Tokyo Ramen Kokugikan Mai (東京ラーメン国技館 舞) opens Friday April 22, but we were allowed in for a sneak peek today, and a chance to sample some of the wares. Each restaurant has put together a dish exclusive to Tokyo Ramen Kokugikan Mai, as well as bringing their old favorites to the table. Prices are not so cheap, ranging from around 800 yen for the standards, through to around 1,200 yen for the exclusive dishes. First on the menu for this slurper was a dish from 札幌みその / Sapporo Misono, a miso specialist who’s rich broth echoes that of its southern, Hakata, counterpart, tonkotsu. The miso used here is the northernmost produced in the country. Next up, we headed south to 博多だるま / Hakata Daruma for thinner noodles but no less rich a broth. The exclusive menu here is 炙り豚とろチョモランマ / Aburi Toro Chomolungma (below right). The name sound familiar? It’s the native name for Mt. Everest, and reflects the mountainous serving of pork atop another mountain of bean sprouts. Larger stomachs can get a noodle ‘refill’ (替え玉) for 150 yen. We rounded things off at tsukemen (つけめん) pioneer 頑者 (ganja)NEXTLEVEL . Based in Kawagoe, Saitama, the noodles here are made fresh every morning. 頑者 derives from the combination of tough/up for it and ninja. At times, it appears on the menu as ガンジャ / ganja. Don’t confuse this with, well, that! We went with their Tokyo Ramen Kokugikan Mai exclusive 特製濃厚海老豚骨つけめん / Tokusei Noukou Ebi Tonkotsu Tsukemen, a rich broth with a shrimp base and a massive serving of pork. A part of Tokyo Ramen Kokugikan Mai’s remit is to bring an air of class to the usually robust ramen experience. Pleasant interiors and higher prices reflect this, but orders are still made a ticket machines by the entrance to each eatery. As for the name, Kokugikan (国技館) is traditionally the venue for sumo matches, here though is the battle between ramen specialists. Mai (舞), seems to represents dance or flight, reflecting this operation’s goal of taking ramen to the next level, and putting it on the international stage. Opening: April 22, 2016 Address: 5F AQUA CiTY ODAIBA, 1-7-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Tel: 03 3599 4700 Hours: 11:00 - 23:00 (last order 22:30) AQUA CiTY ODAIBA homepage Map: Twitter: City_Cost_Japan Facebook

There’s a lot we don’t know about spinosaurs. Even though a few of these croc-snouted animals are known from mostly complete skeletons—including Baryonyx and Suchomimus—many spinosaurs are known from only sparse bits and pieces. The large spinosaur Oxalaia from the Cretaceous rock of Brazil is known from two skull fragments, and only a few elements have been found from the newly announced Ichthyovenator. We know even less about another recently proposed spinosaur. Called Ostafrikasaurus, this dinosaur is represented by a pair of teeth. Paleontologist Eric Buffetaut described the dinosaur teeth in the journal Oryctos. They were found a century ago by the German fossil expeditions to Tanzania. During that time, the field team collected more than 230 teeth attributable to Late Jurassic theropod dinosaurs, predators that lived among sauropods and stegosaurs around 150 million years ago. Determining exactly which dinosaurs these dental tidbits belonged to has been a persistent problem. Mammal teeth, with their various cusps and troughs, are often distinctive enough to identify genera and species, but isolated dinosaur teeth are not usually so informative. Many dinosaur species named from teeth alone have turned out to be synonyms of dinosaurs known from better material. Unless you have a detailed knowledge of the dinosaurs that lived in a particular area at a given time, attributing isolated teeth to particular dinosaurs is a risky proposition. Anatomical context is extremely important in these situations. No surprise, then, that the teeth Buffetaut described have had a complicated history. German paleontologist Werner Janensch, who did much of the initial descriptive work on the Jurassic dinosaurs of Tanzania, thought that the serrated, ridged and slightly curved teeth probably belonged to a dinosaur O.C. Marsh named from the Jurassic of North America, “Labrosaurus.” (“Labrosaurus” is now considered a synonym of Allosaurus.) More recently, in 2000, paleontologists James Madsen and Samuel Welles suggested that the teeth belonged to a form of Ceratosaurus, a highly ornamented theropod typically found in the Late Jurassic rock of western North America. And in 2008, paleontologist Denver Fowler mentioned that these peculiar teeth from Tanzania might hint at a connection between ceratosaurs and spinosaurs. With this in mind, Buffetaut reexamined the strange teeth and concluded that they represent a hitherto unknown form of early spinosaur. Buffetaut singled out two possible spinosaur teeth—specimens designated MB.R.1084 and MB.R.1091. Both of these teeth have relatively coarse serrations and a number of prominent vertical ridges along both sides of the teeth, with more on the tongue side than the cheek side. Overall, they look similar to the teeth of Baryonyx, and so Buffetaut created a new genus and species of dinosaur for the two teeth: Ostafrikasaurus crassiserratus. If Ostafrikasaurus is a spinosaur, it would be the earliest known and could help elucidate what these dinosaurs were like before they became fish-catching specialists. But there’s too little material to be sure. The Ostrafrikasaurus teeth look similar to spinosaur teeth, but as previously recognized by other paleontologists, they also resemble ceratosaur teeth. We need a nice skull set with Ostrafrikasaurus-like teeth to determine what this dinosaur actually was. The same is true of a large claw found in the Late Jurassic strata of North America, currently attributed to Torvosaurus, that has been highlighted as possible evidence of a spinosaur. There may have been spinosaurs in North America, and their history might have stretched back 150 million years to the time of Apatosaurus, but definitive proof remains elusive. Until adequate fossil evidence turns up, the idea of Late Jurassic spinosaurs will be left hanging. References: Buffetaut, E. 2011. An early spinosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru (Tanzania) and the evolution of the spinosaurid dentition. Oryctos. 10, 1-8

“I’ve never seen so much snow,” says local woman who has never left the city’s mild climate Following the recent snowfalls, Vancouver residents have voted the city as the snowiest city in Canada. This comes in the wake of a four-month onslaught of snow that has left Vancouverites without warmth or shelter — other than the shelter of their own warm homes — and unable to attend their Moksha yoga classes, throwing their “centre” dangerously out of balance. “It’s just too cold,” commented one resident. “I had to put on all three of my North Face jackets each time I wanted to go jogging this morning.” Coffee shops, including Canadian treasure Tim Hortons, have also been impacted by the extended dip in temperatures. Recent studies have shown that purchases of iced coffee beverages in the Vancouver area have risen by 395%, five points higher than the seasonally expected 390%. “All these layers of warmth make me too sweaty,” explained one customer. “I like buying something that cools me down.” Meanwhile the city continues to enforce their new “Hold the Salt” initiative, asking local restaurants to empty their salt shakers onto the streets to help the city’s lone, overworked snow plow. Residential roads and sidewalks continue to be mostly uncleared. “This is unsafe! The city should do something about this,” said one resident about his own unshoveled sidewalk, as he stomped on it until it turned to ice. Additionally, members of local hate groups continue to be rushed to hospitals to undergo treatment for hypothermia and exposure. According to witnesses, the individuals had spent several hours shouting at the sky in unprompted anger at the falling snow. One member was heard repeatedly insisting that he was “stronger than the weak leftist beta cuck snowflakes” shortly before passing out. Meteorologists say that Jack Frost will continue nipping at our ankles, with forecasts calling for at least 28,000 acres of snow before the end of 2019, primarily focused on areas between where you are and where you need to be, and on the sidewalks of assholes.

Stay in the loop with notifications when new content comes out. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. Innkeeper Voiceovers Like the Announcer, the Innkeeper is a non-player character that players will interact with several times during their game sessions. The Innkeeper welcomes players back to the game after they've logged in, lets you know when a friend has challenged them to a duel, and more! Fireside Chat #3 VoD If you missed the latest Fireside Chat live, it's been uploaded to the HearthPwn Youtube channel. Congratulations to weszu, winner of Fireside Chat #1's giveaway for their Murloc's Charge Swarm deck. Be sure to check out this week's deck building contest, and tune in to the next episode of Fireside Chat where we'll discuss the winner. Weekly News Recap Not too much happened this week since the Blizzard CMs are on vacation. Hopefully upon their return we will have some more valuable information to share!

Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated in the wake of recent flu-related deaths. Jean Elle reports. (Published Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014) Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated in the wake of recent flu-related deaths and a new strain of the H1N1 virus. So far this season, in the Bay Area, nine cases of swine flu-related deaths have been confirmed by officials: San Francisco County: 1 Marin County: 2 Sonoma County: 1 Alameda County: 1 Contra Costa County: 1 Santa Clara County: 2 San Mateo County: 1 Officials said the H1N1 virus currently spreading is the first new strain in decades -- and has been killing not just the elderly -- as is often seen with the other strains -- but also younger adults and children. 9 H1N1 Flu-Related Deaths Reported in Bay Area Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated in the wake of recent flu-related deaths and a new strain of the H1N1 virus. (Published Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014) Many of those who died did not have any underlying health risks, officials said. Alameda County's deputy health officer, Dr. Erica Pan, said she is concerned about people choosing not to get the flu shot becase they feel "it's not safe." She said health departments get new vaccines each year as a response to the changing flu virus. 5-Alarm Fire Rages at San Jose Warehouse MORE: Flu Prevention Tips While the flu season tends to peak in February, doctors are seeing an influx of patients suffering from flu-like symptoms. "The fact that we are seeing an increase in flu activity, flu-related hospitalizations and deaths should motivate us to take action now and get a flu shot to prevent the most serious effects of the flu," said Dr. Scott Morrow, Health Officer for San Mateo County. CES 2014: The Coolest New Gadgets Regional Medical Center in San Jose has set up a large tent to treat patients with flu symptoms. Doctors said this also helps them keep patients with the symptoms away from other patients. This is first time the hospital has had to set up the flu tent. MORE: Riverside County Man Dies of H1NI

(written from a Production point of view Real World article The Enterprise crew is affected when they are adrift in a remote area of space, and find themselves unable to dream. Contents show] Summary Edit Teaser Edit The USS Enterprise-D is given orders to find a lost Starfleet vessel, the USS Brattain. They come upon the ship adrift in an unexplored binary star system. Beaming on board, an away team finds the entire crew murdered, except for a Betazoid, Andrus Hagan, the Brattain's scientific advisor who is catatonic. Act One Edit In sickbay, Doctor Beverly Crusher informs Captain Picard that some of the Brattain's crew were found barricaded in their quarters, some who obviously fought hand-to-hand. They identify Hagan, but Counselor Troi cannot get through to him. As Crusher and Picard leave, however, she then hears him describe voices "out there." Data, Geordi La Forge, and Commander Riker unsuccessfully try to figure out the engine malfunctions aboard the Brattain so the ship can get to the nearest starbase. Crusher reports to Picard in his ready room that there is no indication of a psychological or physiological disease based on the autopsies of the crew, leaving the growing madness on board the Brattain, as detailed in the last log entry of Captain Chantal Zaheva unexplained. She had her first officer, Commander Brink, "eliminated" for suspicion of mutiny. All 34 of the crew killed each other, with no alien presence. In the meantime, Counselor Troi has entered a rather intense dream. Spoken to by an unidentified voice, she asks the speaker "Where are you?". The voice repeats the phrases "eyes in the dark" and "one moon circles" as Troi is drawn toward two lights that are reminiscent of the binary star system in which the Enterprise is currently stationed. Act Two Edit With little progress, Picard decides to tow the Brattain to Starbase 220. Unfortunately, now the Enterprise crew begins to experience her own problems, marked by an inexplicable increase in irritability and fatigue. On the Brattain, La Forge has to reassure a crewman who apparently heard some noises when no one was there, acknowledging that the thirty-four dead people found aboard would make anyone uneasy. And on the Enterprise, conflict is spreading all over the ship; when Keiko O'Brien enters the O'Briens' quarters, she and Miles quarrel, during which Miles displays a great deal of envy towards one of his wife's co-workers, Tom Corbin. Miles leaves their quarters and enters Ten Forward, where he is warned by Chief Gillespie about the current events. O'Brien brushes the warning off, dismissing it as "ghost stories". In the meantime, Picard is in his ready room when the door chimes. He says "Come" several times, but no one enters, and yet the chimes repeat. He finally goes to the door and sees no one there. The door continues to chime and finally someone knocks. At the door are Troi and Crusher. They say that the occurrences of violence aboard the Enterprise are continuing to escalate. Captain Picard gives the order to tractor the Brattain and move away from the area, only to find that all propulsion systems fail to operate, rendering the ship unable to move, like the Brattain. Act Three Edit The Enterprise has been adrift for ten days, and due to their isolated and distant location will not get assistance for at least two weeks. In the observation lounge, Data reports that it is actually trapped inside a space-time anomaly known as a Tyken's Rift, named after a Melthusian named Bela Tyken who had escaped a similar rift by detonating his cargo of anicium and yurium. However, they don't have the energy to reproduce the situation. Furthermore, a Tyken's Rift is not known to cause the unusual behavior that is becoming more and more widespread among the crew. Picard and Riker talk in the turbolift while going to the bridge and Riker says that sometimes he feels like someone is in his quarters, waiting for him. With grave importance on keeping their faculties intact, Picard relieves Riker for a few hours, telling him to get a nap. Riker obeys but as soon as he leaves and the door shuts, Picard thinks the turbolift ceiling is coming down on him. The door opens and the crew see him screaming. It's only a hallucination, but it's enough to make him feel that he needs Data for their continued survival while they try to find a solution to leave the Tyken's rift. Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher is taking brain tissue scans of the dead Brattain personnel in the morgue, with the intention of comparing them to a random cross-section of the crew. As she does so, she fights off the hallucination that the bodies are moving and even sitting up. Later, in Picard's ready room, Dr. Crusher hypothesizes that the rampant outbreaks of violence aboard both ships are due to lack of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, leading to fatigue, loss of concentration, extreme irritability, hostility, and ultimately, insanity. However, its not clear that this is not being caused by the Tyken's Rift but another force at work. Crusher notes that Troi can sleep, and Troi notes that she is the only person aboard the ship who continues to be able to dream, perhaps due to her being Betazoid, but that all of her dreams are nightmares. She believes the crew will eventually meet the same fate as the Brattain. Act Four Edit Troi, fatigued due to her nightmares, continues to listen to Hagan without any more information. She remarks to Dr. Crusher about the contrary situation the Betazoids and Humans have, but still with a dire ending. She takes a break to go to the bridge. Data and La Forge in engineering signal to the bridge to execute their earlier plan of using a deflector burst to disrupt the Tyken's Rift. La Forge is losing his concentration, so Data helps him out. However, it is unsuccessful since the energy was still absorbed into the Rift. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew are behaving irrationally. Gillespie expresses desire to fight instead of waiting until he meets the Brattain. Worf feels so helpless after the deflector burst attempt that he tries to commit suicide in his quarters. He feels that he is no longer a warrior because he is afraid of whatever is causing their sleeplessness. Troi fortunately runs to his quarters and manages to convince him to put the knife down, telling him that whatever is tormenting them is just an illusion. He agrees to go to sickbay, and it is a sign of the bizarre atmosphere aboard the ship, to see the hulking Klingon warrior being led by the hand like a frightened child by the diminutive Betazoid. Act Five Edit Data has assumed command of the Enterprise since Picard, like most of the crew, cannot function. Fortunately, Troi has a breakthrough with Hagan, and reports to Picard in his ready room that she thinks there are aliens trying to communicate telepathically because they are also trapped. Data says it's plausible there's another ship caught by the Tyken's Rift and, if so, they could free themselves by working together to create an explosion. At the bridge science station, Data investigates elements to use for creating an explosion, though Troi realizes one of her message "one moon circles" refers to a hydrogen atom. If the Enterprise releases hydrogen toward the other ship, and Troi sends the message to act, they could produce the necessary explosion. Troi goes to sickbay to be put to sleep; Data says she only has two minutes to send the message. Data prepares the release, and assumes the role of acting captain of the Enterprise when he finds Picard slow to respond, ejecting the hydrogen into the space immediately in front of the ship through the Bussard collectors. To get more power, Data orders all crew to go to designated emergency shelter areas so unoccupied parts of the ship can be taken off of life support. The crew in Ten Forward thinks the situation is an experiment and want to mutiny, led by Gillespie. Guinan realizes that something might happen and calls security. As soon as security enters, a fight breaks out. Guinan takes a weapon she acquired from Magus III from behind Ten Forward's bar and fires it into the ceiling. The shock value of the sight is enough in stopping the fight. Just after there is no longer sufficient power to maintain the hydrogen stream leaving the Bussard collectors, an explosion erupts in front of the ship, indicating that Troi was successful. Power and life support are restored to normal, allowing the Enterprise and the alien vessel to escape the rift, although the Brattain is apparently left behind. As his last duty as acting captain, Data orders Picard and the rest of the crew to their quarters to sleep. Data leads the Enterprise to Starbase 220. Log entries Edit Memorable quotes Edit "Eyes in the dark... one moon circles." - Counselor Troi's recurring nightmare, later determined to be a telepathic message from another vessel trapped in the rift "First officer Brink and his men were behind it. They got to the engines, they don't work anymore. Had to eliminate Brink!" - Chantal Zaheva, commanding officer of the Brattain during her captain's log "All 34 of them appear to have killed each other." "What could have caused such an event? Drugs? A virus? Poison?" - Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard "There is an inevitable conclusion to this pattern and if I can't find a way to stop it... we will all go insane." - Crusher, on the crew's lack of REM sleep "I will need to rely on you from now on. We may need to count on you for our very survival." "I will do my best, sir." - Picard and Data, as the situation aboard the Enterprise continues to deteriorate "I am no longer a warrior! I am no longer strong! I feel..." "What? What do you feel?" "...I feel fear." "To admit that you're afraid gives you strength." - Worf and Troi "What is that?" "This is a little souvenir I picked up from Magus III. That was setting number one. Anyone wanna see setting number two?" - Gillespie and Guinan, regarding her phaser rifle "Sir... as my final duty as acting captain... I order you to bed." - Data, to Picard "Pleasant dreams, sir." - Data, as Picard goes to his quarters to sleep Background information Edit Production history Edit Story and production Edit Continuity Edit Reception Edit Video and DVD releases Edit Starring Edit Also starring Edit Guest stars Edit And Special guest star Edit Uncredited co-stars Edit Stunt double Edit Stand-ins and photo doubles Edit References Edit anicium; antimatter pods; atom; autopsy; autopsy report; Balthus; barricade; Betazed; Betazoid; binary star system; biology; boatswain's whistle; Borg; brain tissue; Brattain, USS; Brink; Bussard collectors; calendenium; Cardilia; catatonic state; chemical imbalance; coffee; Corbin, Tom; cortical scanner; cross section; deflector dish; deuterium injector; directed dreaming; distress call; drugs; electron; energy; entorhinal cortex; field generator; frequency; ghost story; headache; hydrogen; impulse engine; isozyme; Kaladian thorn flower; Kenicki; laticifer; life support system; Magus III; Magus III energy weapon; magnetic containment; matter valves; Melthusian; Melthusian starship; Miranda-class; mutiny; Number one; ontogeny; phaser; photon torpedo; plant biology; plant biology lab; PGO signal; plot; poison; polymorphism; positron emission sensor; power coil; propulsion system; proton; rapid eye movement (REM sleep); rat; scientific advisor; snake; somatic drug; Starbase 220; Starfleet ghost; suicide; telepathy; theta wave; thruster; tractor beam; turbolift; Tyken, Bela; Tyken's crew; Tyken's Rift; Tyken's Rift being; virus; visual cortex; warp drive; warp tow; weapon; yurium Okudagram references Edit Adams Research Group; antimatter (antideuterium); avitable compound 283; Balter compound 298; Balter detonator; bio-genovesium; bioneutralization; Bishop/P 374; Blitmanite; Blitmanite 834; brown tricobalt 126; carbon; Cervantes fusion explosive; clancium oxide; class H; class K planet; class N; class R; deuterium; electrolytic fractioning; electrolytic recycling; electronic pulse actuator; emergency disconnect explosive bolt; emergency jettison thruster; engineering; Evora oxide; firefighting; fuel; fusion reactor; gamma pulse ignition device; Grant thermite 893; Gronerium compound 3983; Hoffmeisterite compound 239; hutzelite 27; hydrogen; impulse propulsion system; laser detonator; Lauritson solid 451; Lichfield suspension; long-range impact probe; Ludovko IX; magnesium; magnetic confinement pod; medical tricorder; microfusion device; microwave pulse ignition device; microwave pulse detonator; mining; molnar composite (thermal); mooride polyronite B; moyerite (synthetic); neussite 283; nuclear explosive; organic waste; oxygen; pastorium liquid 342; Pl cohesion; plutonium; plutonium ryanite; radioisotope; remote spectroscopy vaporization device; Rossium-K; R'M'Yr B'rneht Institute; Ryan Crystals 8489; sarium krellide; saurium krellide 024; shelf life; specific impulse; standard year; Starfleet Regulations; sodium; solid rocket motor device; sternbachium; takemurium 9839; terraforming; thermal grantium compound; thermal pulse ignition charge; toddtracium; toxicity; tricorder; tri-nikolas powder; type VI reactor; type 12 Hillebrand detonator; type 43 fusion detonator; ullage thruster device; ultritium; ultritium 283; ultritium 342; ultritium compound 902; vernier thruster device; walkerite 342; warp propulsion system; Wynsdey III Dedication plaque references Edit 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards (40 Eridani A); Advanced Technologies Division; Brownfield, Dick; Chamberlin, Mandy; Chess, Joe ; Exploratory Division; Fleet Administration; Fleet Operations; Fleet Yards Operations; James, Richard; Landau, Les; Legato, Robert; Mission Operations; Nesterowicz, John; Orbital Operations; Peets, Bill; Rush, Marvin; Simmons, Adele; Sordal, Bob; Starfleet Academy; Stellar Imaging Division; Tactical Command; Yacobian, Brad; Yoyodyne Division

The Philadelphia GOP tweeted out a video this morning claiming that voter fraud being conducted by the members of the Democratic Party was blatantly taking place at a polling station. In the clip below, Brittany Foreman tells the camera that she works in the 52nd Ward of the 15th Division, and "today I witnessed voter fraud." "My name is Brittany Foreman... and today I witnessed Voter Fraud." #VoterFraud ILLEGAL. Please SHARE pic.twitter.com/5Plk8FszuT — Philly GOP (@PhillyGOP) November 8, 2016 Foreman continues, "I witnessed a committee member, John Push, assisting people on voting. I was told by the assistant ward leader that he was not supposed to be in the room, he was not supposed to be helping people vote, and he was. Not only was he helping people vote, he was also giving out literature, Democratic literature in the polling place. I then called my father who is the ward leader. He instructed me to call the number, like Joe DeFelice told me during training and that's what I did." Foreman says that as soon as the committee member and his counterpart, a female judge from the 19th District, were confronted they produced poll-watcher certificates that were not present earlier. Foreman believes that they forged the documents to get away with their actions. "I believe that they are doing this so everybody will vote Democrat," Foreman says. CBS Pittsburgh is reporting: Election judges in Clinton Township, Butler County confirmed there were issues with two of their eight automated voting machines. Most of the issues came when people tried to vote straight party ticket. However, other said they specifically wanted to vote for Republican Donald Trump only to see their vote switched before their eyes to Democrat Hillary Clinton. “I went back, pressed Trump again. Three times I did this, so then I called one of the women that were working the polls over. And she said you must be doing it wrong. She did it three times and it defaulted to Hillary every time,” Bobbie Lee Hawranko said. Footage below: Exit thought from DNC operative Scott Foval, "It doesn't matter what the fricken legal and ethics people say. We need to win this motherfu--er.":

History Edit Graphically the exclamation mark is represented as a full stop point with a vertical line above. One theory of its origin is that it is derived from a Latin exclamation of joy (io). The modern graphical representation is believed to have been born in the Middle Ages. Medieval copyists wrote the Latin word io at the end of a sentence to indicate joy. The word io meant "hurray". Over time, the i moved above the o, and the o became smaller, becoming a point.[1][2] The exclamation mark was first introduced into English printing in the 15th century to show emphasis, and was called the "sign of admiration or exclamation"[3] or the "note of admiration" until the mid-17th century;[4] admiration referred to its Latin sense of wonderment. The exclamation mark did not have its own dedicated key on standard manual typewriters before the 1970s. Instead, one typed a period, backspaced, and typed an apostrophe.[5] In the 1950s, secretarial dictation and typesetting manuals in America referred to the mark as "bang",[6][7] perhaps from comic books where the ! appeared in dialogue balloons to represent a gun being fired,[8] although the nickname probably emerged from letterpress printing.[9] This bang usage is behind the names of the interrobang, an unconventional typographic character, and a shebang line, a feature of Unix computer systems. Slang and other names for the exclamation mark Edit In the printing world, the exclamation mark can be called a screamer, a gasper, a slammer, or a startler.[10] In hacker culture, the exclamation mark is called "bang", "shriek", or, in the British slang known as Commonwealth Hackish, "pling". For example, the password communicated in the spoken phrase "Your password is em-nought-pee-aitch-pling-en-three" is m0ph!n3 .[11] Languages Edit Proper names Edit Warnings Edit Unicode and HTML Edit The mark is encoded as U+0021 ! EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ! ) and ! in HTML5.[a] Related forms are encoded: U+01C3 ǃ LATIN LETTER RETROFLEX CLICK (HTML ǃ ) (In IPA: alveolar click) (HTML ) (In IPA: alveolar click) U+203C ‼ DOUBLE EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ‼ ) (for use in vertical text) (HTML ) (for use in vertical text) U+2048 ⁈ QUESTION EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ⁈ ) (for use in vertical text) (HTML ) (for use in vertical text) U+2049 ⁉ EXCLAMATION QUESTION MARK (HTML ⁉ ) (for use in vertical text) (HTML ) (for use in vertical text) U+26A0 ⚠ WARNING SIGN (HTML ⚠ ) (exclamation mark in triangle) (HTML ) (exclamation mark in triangle) U+2755 ❕ WHITE EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT (HTML ❕ ) (in Unicode lingo, "white" means hollow) (HTML ) (in Unicode lingo, "white" means hollow) U+2757 ❗ HEAVY EXCLAMATION MARK SYMBOL (HTML ❗ ) (HTML ) U+2762 ❢ HEAVY EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT (HTML ❢ ) (HTML ) U+2763 ❣ HEAVY HEART EXCLAMATION MARK ORNAMENT (HTML ❣ ) (HTML ) U+A71D ꜝ MODIFIER LETTER RAISED EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ꜝ ) (HTML ) U+A71E ꜞ MODIFIER LETTER RAISED INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ꜞ ) (HTML ) U+A71F ꜟ MODIFIER LETTER LOW INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ꜟ ) (HTML ) U+FE57 ﹗ SMALL EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ﹗ ) (for special applications within CJK text) (HTML ) (for special applications within CJK text) U+FF01 ！ FULLWIDTH EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML ！ ) (for special applications within CJK text) (HTML ) (for special applications within CJK text) U+1F574 🕴 MAN IN BUSINESS SUIT LEVITATING (HTML 🕴 ) (a humanized exclamation mark imported from Webdings) (HTML ) (a humanized exclamation mark imported from Webdings) U+E0021 TAG EXCLAMATION MARK (HTML 󠀡 ) Some scripts have their own exclamation mark: U+055C ՜ ARMENIAN EXCLAMATION MARK U+07F9 ߹ NKO EXCLAMATION MARK U+109F ႟ MYANMAR SYMBOL SHAN EXCLAMATION U+1944 ᥄ LIMBU EXCLAMATION MARK Use in various fields Edit See also Edit Notes Edit ^ [23][24] HTML5 is the only version of HTML that has a named entity for the exclamation mark.

Ten years ago, Kagen Cox tasted his first crepe. “It was a little bit of heaven in my mouth,” he recalled, adding that he and his wife, Jennifer, were on vacation when he discovered the thin French pancakes. “From that point on—whenever we’d take trips—we were always trying to find places that made crepes.” Now they’re making the sweet and savory treat themselves at Kagen Coffee & Crepes in the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland. The couple dreamed of opening a bistro one day, but it wasn’t until their daughter’s school, Liberty Christian School, put Jennifer Cox in charge of finding vendors for a fundraiser that the bistro idea really started taking shape. “The school wanted a coffee vendor to come in, and we thought maybe we’d get a little traveling coffee stand—like a coffee cart. We started looking for a place we could rent by the hour to prepare the coffee,” Kagen Cox said. “The church next door to the location we were looking at was excited about getting somebody in this vacant space and suggested we do a brick and mortar location. And when my wife said, ‘It’d be awesome to do crepes and coffee,’ I thought, ‘Let’s go for it.’” The problem was the 900-square-foot space adjacent to the EastLake Tri-Cities church in the Uptown had been empty for years and needed an overhaul. The 15,000-square-foot church takes up the old theater space purchased by Warren Luke in 2006. EastLake’s teaching pastor, Brent Johnsen, said the church was in need of more space on Sunday mornings for its youth group. The church worked with Luke to include an addendum to its five-year lease for the vacant property so it could sublease it while utilizing the space on Sunday mornings. “We had at least a dozen people do a walk-through of the space,” Johnsen said. “Kagen was the first one to put in his own personal investment into the space, and he had a good game plan in place. We knew he was going to improve the space so much, and it’s a coffee shop setting, so it’s perfect for us.” After weeks of renovations, Kagen Coffee & Crepes opened for business last month at the south end of the Uptown. Joining the Uptown The owners painted the walls off white and the ceiling mocha. Exposed duct work and Edison light bulbs provide an industrial feel, but red leather wingback chairs help give the eatery a 1950s flair similar to its neighboring businesses. “We didn’t have the décor in mind when we started, but it’s perfect for the Uptown,” Kagen Cox said. “We also fell in love with a couch that had that older style with the square arms, that ’50s look. And the wingback chairs make the room pop.” Gus Sako, owner of Octopus Garden—a novelty item and gift store in the Uptown—said the 1950s décor is in the underlying bones to the shopping center. “There’s quite a bit of vintage and antique stores, some consignment stores, the church, restaurants—it’s really all over the map,” said Sako, who opened his business in 1976 and now serves as the business improvement district chairman for the Uptown. “We usually don’t hear about new businesses until somebody signs a lease, but there’s a little more energy and change lately,” said Sako, who said the entire shopping center has several landlords who operate different parcels. “Kagen’s definitely is coming in during a time of revitalization,” Johnsen added. One of the biggest changes the Uptown has seen in recent years are the murals being painted on some of the walls of businesses, said Sako. “It was an idea championed by our contact point with the city of Richland,” said Sako. “They said, ‘Here’s something we can do,’ and the city commissioned an artist to come up with a palette and all the elements that can be used. The business that’s going to get the painting only has to pay for the prep work and has to agree to maintain it for five years.” Sako said as much as he’d like to see a grocery store move into the Uptown, the complex doesn’t have the physical space to support one. However, he’s pleased to see restaurants joining the mix of businesses there and looks forward to popping into Kagen Coffee & Crepes. “I definitely have to go there,” he said. “I mean, find somebody who doesn’t like crepes.” Savory, sweet and coffee The Coxes hired four employees, two of whom work full time. Jennifer Cox makes the syrups and gluten-free recipes. All of the company’s coffee syrups are made in-house, but Kagen Cox said the eatery’s focus is the crepes. “We’re more versed in crepes than coffee. We’re not claiming to be high-end coffee, just a good cup of coffee and awesome crepes,” he said. A breakfast crepe filled with eggs, ham, spinach and cheese costs $8. Other fillings include avocado, salsa and lime. Sauces vary from Dijon to pesto and hollandaise. For customers interested in the sweeter side of crepes, there’s lemon, sugar, Nutella and strawberries. Kagen Coffee & Crepes is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, but hours could change as the business evolves. The couple said they had a better than expected opening day with more than 400 people coming through the front door. “We thought we bought food for three days but we ran out of most things by 6 p.m. It’s been crazy,” said Kagen Cox. “Everyone has been so nice. We are having a blast.” For more information about Kagen Coffee & Crepes at 270 Williams Blvd., find them on Facebook.

The World Bank reports Africa will receive the bulk of the $75 billion the International Development Association, or IDA, will spend to finance life-saving and life-changing operations over the next three years mainly in 30 of the world’s poorest, most fragile countries. The IDA is a part of the World Bank which supports anti-poverty programs in the most poor developing countries through long-term, no interest loans. The World Bank reports the African region will receive $45 billion of the $75 billion allocated for development purposes. It says other recipients will include small Pacific island states threatened by climate change and fragile countries in the Western Hemisphere, such as Haiti. The fund, which runs from July 1 through June 30, 2020, also will support specific development projects in 82 additional fragile states, including Guinea, Nepal, Niger, and Tajikistan. Axel van Trotsenburg, vice president for Development Programs at the World Bank, says the aid package will make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of people. For example, he says it could deliver essential health and nutrition services for up to 400 million people. “We will or expect to train up to 10 million teachers to benefit 300-plus million children. We intend to immunize between 130 and 180 million children… and would undertake investments that could improve the access to improved water resources for up to 45 million people,” he said. Long-term and emergency assistance While IDA is largely focused on supporting long-term development projects, it does have provisions for helping people in crisis situations. Van Trotsenburg tells VOA that IDA has just announced a $1.6 billion support package for emergencies, with critical support going for famine relief in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and northern Nigeria, where an estimated 20 million people are at risk of famine. “The financial support will be a combination of recently approved operations that we have been in the last six, eight months that were already started to target, for example, the north of Nigeria to the remaining resources that are still available in our crisis response window,” he said. Van Trotsenburg says IDA still has about $360 million left over from development projects executed over the past three years. He says that money will be used for famine relief.

SEATTLE (MarketWatch) -- Mutual funds' Achilles' heel is a bear market. Your 401(k) has an Achilles' heel too: mutual funds. Most mutual funds families' fund prospectuses state they will do nothing to protect shareholders' assets from a bear market. They will not sell stocks short, go to cash, or hedge against obvious risks. As if the 2000-2002 bear market was not bad enough... This meant that older workers with larger retirement savings lost heavily in the three-year 2000-2002 bear market. After that traumatic experience, it took the unlikely discipline of staying fully invested for the next five years simply to break even. ...Here we go again down that slippery slope In the past 10 months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.13% has fallen about 17%, the U.S. dollar index is down about 6%, and inflation as measured by the CPI (all items) is rising at a 4.9% annualized rate. That means that in just 10 months investors' wealth has been eroded almost as much as it was during the entire three-year bear market. The difference this time is that the recession and the bear market are just beginning -- one year after the credit crisis news broke. Different markets require different strategies. Get your priorities straight Given that your employer probably won't be making any substantial changes to your 401(k) plan soon, you and your fellow employees may want to take some actions to protect your savings and embrace investments more appropriate to a bear market. Your priorities should be: (1) Shift investments in the 401(k) to the safety of cash until you can decide where more productive investments might be. (2) See if your plan offers Rydex or ProFunds bull and bear market funds. (3) Put your savings in a self-directed brokerage account if the plan offers such an option. (4) Even better, find out if an in-service rollover to a self-directed IRA is available. (5) Ask your human resources department to enlist an independent accountant and investment adviser experienced in bear-market investing to counsel workers. Don't accept a representative of the fund family that is losing you money. "Stay the course" and "think long-term" are not good advice to employees who don't have a long-term left. (This recession could take you as long as a decade to experience and recover your losses; the last bear market took eight and one half years to unfold and recover.) (6) Start an investment club to educate employees about how to survive this bear market. For example, you might want to discuss why, when you are hearing about the oil companies' obscene profits, your 401(k) plan doesn't have an energy-sector fund for you to invest in. Head your employer off at the pass! Some employers are considering dropping the incentive of matching employer contributions when they implement automatic (just say "No" or "negative option") enrollment plans that will require you to participate unless you opt out. Congress has approved so-called lifecycle or target maturity funds as default investments if you do not make another choice. These unproven funds start out with a larger allocation to stocks and increase the allocation to bonds as you approach the target maturity. Target maturity funds are largely unproven (32 have 10-year track records and the best only averaged 4.88% over a full investment cycle of bull and bear market years), and have on average lost almost 8% in the first six months of 2008. More importantly, interest rates are at or near historic lows and are more likely to rise than fall over the coming decades, guaranteeing that the increasing bond allocation will be a losing proposition as time goes by. Once again, most plans offer no provisions to even try to profit during bear markets. Finally, if your employer is laying off staff, having difficulty getting bank financing or otherwise having financial troubles, that's a clear sign that you should not be investing in company stock. The revolution begins Post this column on a bulletin board at work and email the link to your friends. It's time to assemble the wisest investors in your company and schedule a meeting with the Plan trustees and the human resources staff, perhaps with the supporting attendance of the corporate treasurer to attach credibility to the discussion. This week would be a good week to start scheduling such a meeting and formulating strategy on how to deal with the very real possibility of a prolonged bear market standing between you and your retirement. It's your money in your 401(k) plan and no one from your employer will be ready to bail you out in retirement. Now is the time for all good employees to protect their interests and make retirement savings an employee benefit that benefits employees.

A man accused of wanting to blow up the U.S. consulate and other buildings in Toronto’s financial district will remain in custody for another month, pending a deportation hearing. Jahanzeb Malik, a Pakistani-born permanent resident, has been kept at a Lindsay, Ont., jail since March 9 following a Canada Border Services Agency investigation. A man accused of plotting to blow up the U.S. Consulate in Toronto is being held in custory for another month. ( Bernard Weil / Toronto Star ) Jahanzeb Malik is seen via video link from the Lindsay, Ont., jail at his detention hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board in Rexdale on Monday morning. Malik is accused of planning to blow up the U.S. Consulate among other Toronto buildings. ( Colin McConnell / Toronto Star ) Jahanzeb Malik appears via video link from jail for his Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Monday morning. ( Alexandra Newbould / For the Toronto Star ) A representative for his lawyer, Anser Farooq, made no submissions Monday to Immigration and Refugee Board member Iris Kohler, who was reviewing Malik’s detention. None of the allegations against Malik has been proven in court. Farooq has said that Malik, a 33-year-old father, will be contesting his inadmissibility to remain in the country. He is demanding that the government try his client in a courtroom. Kohler said Monday she was given no reasons to end Malik’s detention, saying she agreed with the decision made by colleague Marilou Funston last Wednesday at another review hearing for Malik. Article Continued Below “I am in agreement with member Funston that you, on a balance of probabilities, pose a flight risk, a danger to the public, and should be detained for security reasons while the minister continues their investigation into their concerns of inadmissibility on security concerns,” she said. Malik quietly watched the proceedings from jail. Bearded and clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, Malik shook his head when Kohler reminded him of the allegations against him. The government has also alleged that Malik is a self-proclaimed supporter of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, who wanted to film his attacks to encourage others. She set his next detention review hearing for April 14, when she said she expects the federal government will present a full report on Malik’s inadmissibility to Canada. She said she did not “anticipate” that his detention would be lengthy. Read more about:

The 2016 presidential circus isn’t over with yet, but no matter the result it has already proven to be a frustrating electoral season for libertarians. Both Senator Rand Paul’s and former Governor Gary Johnson’s campaigns have disappointed most of their respective bases, and it now seems uncertain whether Johnson will achieve the 5% national goal the Libertarian Party to help them in future campaigns. What lessons should libertarians learn? Perhaps the most important takeaway is that the goal of a libertarian savior riding into Washington and saving the day is an inherently foolish one. This goal overlooks how bureaucratic and indissoluble most of the Federal government has become. As opposed to Congressman Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign, which focused primarily on educating people on issues such as the Federal Reserve and blowback, both Senator Paul’s and Governor Johnson’s focused on the personal value each would bring to the White House and an implicit promise that they could make the beltway more libertarian. But libertarians need to realize that Washington isn’t salvageable, for reasons Ludwig von Mises well understood. While Murray Rothbard loved to hate the state, Ludwig von Mises did not. Throughout his life, Mises was a champion of liberal minarchism and believed that a watchman state was necessary for the protection of private property and individual liberty. But as an uncompromising advocate for free markets and fierce opponent of central planning, Mises was well aware of the dangers of a professional governing class isolated from accountability. Anyone who has read his book Bureaucracy, or any other of his works related to the subject, knows the disdain Mises held for this professional class of government workers. Bureaucratic, tyrannical governments were disastrous — not necessarily due to the character of the individuals involved — but due to the stifling nature of the government bureaucracy: The bureaucrat is not free to aim at improvement. He is bound to obey rules and regulations established by a superior body. He has no right to embark upon innovations if his superiors do not approve of them. His duty and his virtue is to be obedient. In Planning for Freedom, Mises also highlights the perverse financial incentives within government bureaucracies, writing: Seen from the point of view of the particular group interests of the bureaucrats, every measure that makes the government’s payroll swell is progress. Unfortunately the sort of system Mises condemns here, along with his other writings condemning interventionist economic policies, are even more accurate descriptions of Washington today than they were when Mises was alive. The Federal government itself has not only added a whole collection of various departments, agencies, and police forces — but with such expansion we’ve seen a massive growth of lobbyists, think tanks, and other organizations that exist purely to influence government affairs in the capital. Mises also was an advocate of democracy, not because he believed in the superiority of majority rule — but because it thought it served as an important mechanism in removing bad government leaders. While this remains largely true of our elected politicians, most of the decisions makers in Washington aren’t elected — even within the legislative branch. Meanwhile even low ranking Federal employees enjoy a level of job protection that most would be envious of. Getting "the Right People" Won't Solve the Problem What libertarians should take away from an honest assessment of Washington DC is that the mess we have is systemic, and not personality driven. As the disappointing record of Ronald Reagan shows, American government can’t simply be fixed by electing a politician who’s read Mises or F.A. Hayek. Therefore, any libertarian political campaign should not be focused on the ability of an individual candidate to fix Washington, nor selling libertarianism as a centrist position of compromise between the two parties. Instead, what is needed is a populist message outing Washington itself as the problem and abolition — not reform — as the solution. Political decentralization should be the goal rather than political influence. We need a strategy that is more "Brexit," and less "Reagan Revolution." The Federal government is never going to be fixed from within, but it can be attacked from without. The biggest gains in the drug war, for example, have come from nullification of Federal laws. The non-commandeering doctrine, which prohibits the Federal government from requiring state law enforcement from enforcing Federal law, has been employed to help combat Washington overreach on gun laws. And the most promising moves on issues like monetary policy have not come from Washington, but from state initiatives like the Texas gold bank. This is not to say that Presidential politics is useless — after all, one common point among these movements is that much of the organizational foundation came from people who were involved in Ron Paul’s education-focused presidential campaigns. In fact, Congressman Paul’s effective populist attack of the Federal Reserve has transformed anti-Fed rhetoric into Republican orthodoxy, turning what was once considered a largely academic, “wonkish” subject into a question most Congressmen face routinely back home. But Ron Paul’s success came in making his campaign about ideas that can change the world, rather than selling himself as a figure who could do it. Ron Paul’s own election was always secondary to educating those who listened to him. Given the track record of other approaches during this election cycle, hopefully we will see a return to Ron Paul’s issue-driven libertarianism. Because trying to “Make America Sane Again” won’t work until Americans identify the Federal government itself as the insane asylum. Tho Bishop directs the Mises Institute's social media marketing (e.g., twitter, facebook, instagram), and can assist with questions from the press. Contact: email; twitter; facebook.

See this page in: Dutch, Indonesian, Spanish Have you ever wondered, “Why do we wear clothes?” This is an interesting question, and we can find the answer in the Bible. I was in a meeting once and I said to all the people, “Why are you wearing clothes today?” Someone put up their hand and said, “Because it's cold.” I said, “Well, what happens when it's hot? Does that mean that you all take them off?” They sort of looked at me rather strangely. Do you realize that the meaning of clothing goes back to the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve were naked to begin with, before there was sin in the world. God gave clothes to them later, after they sinned. After Adam sinned, God made coats of skins and clothed Adam and Eve. To do this, God must have killed at least one animal (possibly more). Why did God do this? Look at Hebrews 9:22, where we're told that 'without the shedding of blood there is no remission' [of sin]. God was illustrating to Adam and Eve that there had to be payment for their sin. In covering them, He was showing them that there had to be death and bloodshed to take away their sin. The clothing of Adam and Eve is a picture of the Gospel. It is very possible that the animal that God killed for the coats of skins could have been a lamb. This would symbolize Jesus Christ who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So, when God first gave human beings clothes, it was the first blood sacrifice as a temporary covering for sin, which was a picture of what was to come in Jesus Christ—the Lamb of God who would take away our sin. Man is not just an animal; he is not connected to the animal kingdom. Man was made separately from the animals; he was made in the image of God. Therefore, we needed a man to die for our sin, which is why God sent His son Jesus Christ to become one of us, to be our relative, so that He could die on the Cross and be raised from the dead to save us from our sins. You see, when we understand that sin distorts nakedness and that men and women were created to respond to each other in particular ways, it also means that there is a standard of clothing which must be in accord with a moral basis as to why clothes were given in the first place. The more society abandons the book of Genesis and the foundation that God created, the more you will also see people rejecting clothing standards, or even clothing itself. So why do we wear clothes? The answer is in Genesis. God gave clothes because of sin. Author: Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis. Copyright © 1995, 2002, Answers in Genesis.

Product Description 13th Annual Event! (Yes, we've been doing this even longer than we were officially "ThatDailyDeal!") This is a huge success every year due to the giving nature of our amazing TDD fans. Let's work together to make this year even better! Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity. Also, those that donate you get early access to our most popular item of the year, our Mystery Santa Bag of Awesome! THIS IS A DONATION! YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE THIS ITEM! Please see the videos to the right, we truly appreciate your participation! When you make this purchase, a shoe box will be assembled in your honor and donated to Operation Christmas Child. The above picture is example of what our team will fill the boxes with. An assortment of photos of the completed boxes will be made available once the operation assembly has been completed. Your $5 will be multiplied , as we at TDD will be chipping in extra for every box purchased. On top of that, for every box sponsored, we will MATCH it! Yes, if you donate a box, we will donate a box. If you donate 10 boxes, we will donate 10 boxes! The boxes will be assembled and delivered to a local drop off area. THANK YOU for your support over the years. Not only for your donations, but for spreading the word to friends and family. If you want to learn more about the organization, you can visit them at http://www.samaritanspurse.org. Thanks for your consideration and God bless!

Anyone can sign up for an account at a video-streaming site like UStream.tv or Justin.tv and start streaming themselves to the world, but making a show look clean and professional takes a lot of work, know-how, and experience. That's why I thought I'd take you through some of the lessons I've learned while shooting over 200 episodes of my Web TV show about Starcraft II, the Day[9] Daily. This guide should get you past most of the common problems, but be prepared for some detours along the way. Just remember: Don't be too hard on yourself, and have fun. The Three Ingredients of Webcasting Any successful live Webcast has three main components: A screen capture program, a video encoder, and an Internet site that will stream your feed out to your viewers. First you'll need to capture the audio and video that you want everyone to see. For the Day[9] Daily, I want my viewers to see what's on my computer screen and hear what comes out of my speakers, so I use a screen capture app called VH Capture, and a driver called VH Screen Capture Driver. VH Capture takes that audio and video and feeds it to my video encoder app (Flash Media Live Encoder), which compresses the audio/video so it's easier to stream over the Internet. Finally, this encoded version of the show is sent to a Website that can distribute it. Let's start with the screen capture app. Editor's note: VH Capture is no longer officially supported by the original app developer. How to Capture Your Screen For this tutorial, we're going to stick with VH Capture, although a number of screen capture programs are available. Start by downloading and installing VH Capture, then watch the above video for instructions on how to set it up. Be careful not to install the 64-bit version, as that version currently does not work properly in this setup. If you open VH Capture and do not see the "Video compression" and "Audio compression" boxes, you probably don't have your microphone properly installed. Also, the options that you have under video and audio compression will depend on the codec pack you've installed (I use the K-Lite Codec Pack), as well as on the output file type that you've selected (I use .avi). When you're adjusting your bit-rate settings, you should keep an eye on your frame rate, also known as frames per second (FPS)--higher FPS means smoother video. While the screen capture lets you set the desired FPS, the actual number is displayed in the program in the bottom right corner once you hit record. When your settings are too high for your computer to handle, the actual FPS will drop below your desired FPS. If this happens, try changing the type of video and audio compression, the bit rate, or the FPS to a level that your computer can handle. The right settings for you will depend on your computer's capabilities and your specific show. Each compression type has a different tradeoff between the computing power required and the quality per byte. However, you generally want to tend toward higher bit rate and lower compression in your screen capture program, because we'll be able to better tweak and compress the video in the next step with the video encoder app. For our show, we use the H.264 codec, which gives some of the best quality per byte (1000KBps for a 30-FPS, 854-by-480-pixel stream is pretty good) but will also use most of your computing power. Getting audio to work properly will depend heavily on your sound card. The important steps are to ensure your microphone is set to play back through your speakers (so your audience can hear both your PC sounds and your mic sounds), to ensure that nothing you want to hear is muted, and to enable a setting called "Stereo Mix" if available. These settings can be found in Windows in the Control Panel under "Sound." Make sure to write down your frames per second from this section--using a different FPS for the steps in the next section causes ghosting and other undesired effects. Also, remember your audio sample rate (we use 44100 KBps). Finally, remember the width and height of the recording window (often 854 by 480 or 1280 by 720 pixels).

Earlier this year, Glassdoor highlighted the 25 Highest Paying Jobs in America, but now, which companies pay their employees the most? According to Glassdoor’s latest report revealing the 25 Highest Paying Companies in America for 2016, several companies are offering employees six figure paychecks. This report is based on each company’s median total compensation, compiled by looking at salary reports at companies in which employees have anonymously and voluntarily shared both their base pay and other forms of compensation (i.e. commissions, tips, bonuses, etc.) over the past year*. Which companies offer the biggest paychecks? Check out the complete results: 1. A.T. Kearney Median Total Compensation: $167,534 Median Base Salary: $143,620 Industry: Consulting 2. Strategy& Median Total Compensation: $160,000 Median Base Salary: $147,000 Industry: Consulting 3. Juniper Networks Median Total Compensation: $157,000 Median Base Salary: $135,000 Industry: Technology 4. McKinsey & Company Median Total Compensation: $155,000 Median Base Salary: $135,000 Industry: Consulting 5. Google Median Total Compensation: $153,750 Median Base Salary: $123,331 Industry: Technology 6. VMware Median Total Compensation: $152,133 Median Base Salary: $130,000 Industry: Technology 7. Amazon Lab126 Median Total Compensation: $150,100 Median Base Salary: $138,700 Industry: Technology 8. Boston Consulting Group Median Total Compensation: $150,020 Median Base Salary: $147,000 Industry: Consulting 9. Guidewire Median Total Compensation: $150,020 Median Base Salary: $135,000 Industry: Technology 10. Cadence Design Systems Median Total Compensation: $150,010 Median Base Salary: $140,000 Industry: Technology 11. Visa Median Total Compensation: $150,000 Median Base Salary: $130,000 Industry: Finance 12. Facebook Median Total Compensation: $150,000 Median Base Salary: $127,406 Industry: Technology 13. Twitter Median Total Compensation: $150,000 Median Base Salary: $133,000 Industry: Technology 14. Box Median Total Compensation: $150,000 Median Base Salary: $130,000 Industry: Technology 15. Walmart eCommerce Median Total Compensation: $149,000 Median Base Salary: $126,000 Industry: Technology 16. SAP Median Total Compensation: $148,431 Median Base Salary: $120,000 Industry: Technology 17. Synopsys Median Total Compensation: $148,000 Median Base Salary: $130,000 Industry: Technology 18. Altera Median Total Compensation: $147,000 Median Base Salary: $134,000 Industry: Technology 19. LinkedIn Median Total Compensation: $145,000 Median Base Salary: $120,000 Industry: Technology 20. Cloudera Median Total Compensation: $145,000 Median Base Salary: $129,500 Industry: Technology 21. Salesforce Median Total Compensation: $143,750 Median Base Salary: $120,000 Industry: Technology 22. Microsoft Median Total Compensation: $141,000 Median Base Salary: $125,000 Industry: Technology 23. F5 Networks Median Total Compensation: $140,200 Median Base Salary: $120,500 Industry: Technology 24. Adobe Median Total Compensation: $140,000 Median Base Salary: $125,000 Industry: Technology 25. Broadcom Median Total Compensation: $140,000 Median Base Salary: $130,000 Industry: Technology [Related: Employers, learn the art of crafting job posts to attract candidates well-suited for your company.] Why so many consulting and tech companies on this list? “This report reinforces that high pay continues to be tied to in-demand skills and higher education, which in part, is why we see several companies on this list among the consulting and technology industries,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist. “Salaries are sky-high at consulting companies due to ‘barriers of entry’ in this field, which refers to employers wanting top consultants to have personal contacts, reputations and specialized skills and knowledge. In technology, we continue to see unprecedented salaries as the war for talent is still very active, largely due to the ongoing shortage of highly skilled workers needed.” While the companies on this list pay handsomely and a Glassdoor survey shows salary and compensation are among peoples’ top considerations before accepting a job, Glassdoor research also shows that salary is not among the leading factors tied to long-term employee satisfaction. In contrast, culture and values, career opportunities, and trust in senior leadership are the biggest drivers of long-term employee satisfaction. This pay report comes on the heels of Glassdoor’s Pay Equality Roundtable Discussion, which featured Hillary Clinton and other leaders, last week in New York City. Want to check out the highlights? Watch our 3 minute video replay. How much do you earn at your company? Help others by anonymously sharing a salary report. #ShareYourPay *Methodology: Glassdoor’s 25 Highest Paying Companies in America report identifies companies with the highest median total compensation package (including base salary and other forms of compensation, such as commissions, tips, bonuses, etc.), as reported by U.S.-based employees on Glassdoor over the past year (3/30/15-3/29/16). Companies considered for this report must have received at least 50 salary reports in U.S. dollars by U.S-based employees during the timeframe. While ‘other forms of compensation’ is an optional field on Glassdoor, salary reports considered for this report must have been from employees who shared both their base pay and other forms of compensation. In cases where companies have the same median total compensation, the company with the higher number of salary reports receives the higher rank. Subsidiaries of companies were considered for this report if they met the methodology, have their own distinct job listings and profile on Glassdoor.

Russell Martin complained he was misled about the appropriate price to pay. A Christchurch real estate agency and salesperson engaged in unsatisfactory conduct when they helped a Lotto winner buy a house he later sold at a loss, the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled. Russell Martin took his case to the tribunal after having his complaint rejected by the Complaints Assessment Committee of the Real Estate Agents Authority. Martin told Stuff he was happy with the outcome, but did not want to comment further as the process was ongoing. 123RF The Lotto win gave Russell Martin the chance to buy a house for the first time. In 2014, Martin won a Lotto prize described as "substantial". That put him in the position to buy a house, something he had never before contemplated as being possible. He had been on a sickness benefit. READ MORE: *Real estate agent's licence cancelled over rent shortfalls Hamilton's housing market takes a breather Agents fight over housing shortage The tribunal noted that he was not familiar with any part of the process of buying a house, nor with the prices being paid for houses in Christchurch. He turned to a real estate salesperson, Nathan Tamihana, of Harcourts Gold Real Estate, whom he knew through a mutual friend. He enlisted his help and was shown more than a dozen houses. When he expressed interest in a house on Idris Rd, that was to be sold at auction, he was guided through the process of putting in a pre-auction offer, for $890,000. The listing agent had appraised the house at $840,000 to $910,000 but after a number of open homes only had two people interested in the property and told other prospective purchasers that the vendors' expectations had dropped. Martin tried to withdraw his pre-auction offer but was told he was not able to. The auction was brought forward, his offer was presented as the opening bid, and there was no competition. The house was his. A few months later, he sold it for $765,000. He complained that he had been misled on the level of interest in the property, was pressured into putting in an offer at too high a price and that the amount he offered was inappropriate. He said he did not realise the offer would be the opening bid at auction and could not be withdrawn. His complaint was rejected by the REAA's committee because it said the pressure Martin was put under was that experienced by many, if not all, prospective purchasers, he had received legal advice and the price was not unrealistic. The tribunal said Martin did not realise that Tamihana was acting for the vendor. "[Martin] did not ask the licensee who he was acting for because, he said, the subject never came up." It said the committee was wrong not to enquire further into the complaint, and Tamihana and his agency had engaged in unsatisfactory conduct. A phone conference will be arranged to set a timetable for filing submissions and, if a hearing is sought, to set a date for a penalty hearing.

android.permission.READ_CONTACTS android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS android.permission.READ_SMS android.permission.WRITE_SMS android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE android.permission.CALL_PHONE android.permission.SEND_SMS android.permission.RECEIVE_SMS android.permission. RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED android.permission.WAKE_LOCK android.permission. WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE android.permission.SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_READ android.permission.READ_SYNC_SETTINGS android.permission.WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS android.permission.INTERNET android.permission. ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION android.permission.READ_CALL_LOG android.permission.WRITE_CALL_LOG android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO android.permission. SET_PREFERRED_APPLICATIONS SET_PREFERRED_APPLICATIONS android.permission.WRITE_APN_SETTINGS android.permission.READ_CALENDAR android.permission.WRITE_CALENDAR android.permission. KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES android.permission.RESTART_PACKAGES android.permission.MANAGE_ACCOUNTS android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS android.permission.MODIFY_PHONE_STATE android.permission.CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE android.permission. ACCESS_LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS ACCESS_LOCATION_EXTRA_COMMANDS android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE android.permission.VIBRATE android.permission.READ_LOGS android.permission.GET_TASKS android.permission.EXPAND_STATUS_BAR com.android.browser.permission. READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS com.android.browser.permission. WRITE_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS WRITE_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS android.permission.CAMERA com.android.vending.BILLING android.permission.SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW android.permission.BATTERY_STATS android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS com.kms.free.permission.C2D_MESSAGE com.google.android.c2dm.permission. RECEIVE I wrote a piece a few days ago about how the Meitu app asked for a bunch of permissions in ways that might concern people, but which were not actually any worse than many other apps. The fact that Android makes it so easy for apps to obtain data that's personally identifiable is of concern, but in the absence of another stable device identifier this is the sort of thing that capitalism is inherently going to end up making use of. Fundamentally, this is Google's problem to fix.Around the same time, Kaspersky , the Russian anti-virus company, wrote a blog post that warned people about this specific app. It was framed somewhat misleadingly - "reading, deleting and modifying the data in your phone's memory" would probably be interpreted by most people as something other than "the ability to modify data on your phone's external storage", although it ends with some reasonable advice that users should ask why an app requires some permissions.So, to that end, here are the permissions that Kaspersky request on Android:Every single permission that Kaspersky mention Meitu having? They require it as well. And a lot more. Why does Kaspersky want the ability to record audio? Why does it want to be able to send SMSes? Why does it want to read my contacts? Why does it need my fine-grained location? Why is it able to modify my settings?There's no reason to assume that they're being malicious here. The reasons that these permissions exist at all is that there are legitimate reasons to use them, and Kaspersky may well have good reason to request them. But they don't explain that, and they do literally everything that their blog post criticises (including explicitly requesting the phone's IMEI). Why should we trust a Russian company more than a Chinese one?The moral here isn't that Kaspersky are evil or that Meitu are virtuous. It's that talking about application permissions is difficult and we don't have the language to explain to users what our apps are doing and why they're doing it, and Google are still falling far short of where they should be in terms of making this transparent to users. But the other moral is that you shouldn't complain about the permissions an app requires when you're asking for even more of them because it just makes you look stupid and bad at your job.

I wasn’t a hockey fan in 1995, so why did I ask my parents for a Bill Barilko Maple Leafs jersey for my birthday? I’ve been digesting the answer to that, and my greater relationship with their music since they announced Gord Downie’s terminal cancer diagnosis. Nobody would outright declare that the Hip were solely responsible for their understanding of Canadian geography, history or politics. Likewise, no one would say the Hip were the only ones exposing them to other important Canadian artists. But the Hip were the only ones who brought all of that into one package you could digest at 12, 16, 20 and 40. They grew up while I did. They learned life lessons while I did. They were kindred spirits. They were ours. As a body of work, but also as a cultural experience, the Tragically Hip represent a series of life lessons that the passage of time, nor the agony of their loss cannot erode. Be a Weirdo I spent the ridiculously overhyped 1999 new year’s eve with the Hip at the Air Canada Centre. We all did the countdown at 11:59 and then thousands of balloons fell from the ceiling, all over the crowd, all over the stage. When the Hip came back on to complete their set (starting with “Ahead by a Century” – natch), Gord absolutely went to town on the balloons. And by went to town, I mean he flopped all over them, humped them, belly-flopped onto them. It was just so weird – even for Gord. Every time I saw them, I lived vicariously through Gord’s confidence. In all that smoke and feedback, I paid no mind to the people paying me mind. I flailed and I flopped, and I didn’t care. “Dance like nobody’s watching”? No. Dance like 20,000 people are watching. It’s OK to love your Country Let’s get this out of the way: Canada isn’t boring. It’s muted, but glorious all the same. The thing is, it takes a lot to appeal on its behalf to an angry, dumb teenager like I was. At 12, I heard “Little Bones” for the first time on some classic rock station. Even then, with all the knowledge I was missing, I understood the song’s context as a national anthem, if rewritten by the cynical guys at a small town dive bar. Nobody has a love for this country the way our American pals do, but they love it for what it is. “Nothing’s dead round here/just a little tired” is the healthiest form of patriotism I’ve ever heard. But it’s also OK to acknowledge its warts Despite the weird brand of patriotism the Hip wove, they were fully aware of this country’s darker side. “Wheat Kings” has become the Hip’s Freebird; the biggest singalong on Fully Completely – an album full of them. but it also decried the commonly dispensed mob rule that sent David Milgaard – an innocent man – to prison for the murder of Gail Miller. It illustrates such a stunning image of “the Paris of the Prairies”, and juxtaposes the corrupt police and hysterical town that took 27 years of this man’s life away. The same goes for “Looking for a Place to Happen”, a song that sends up the European annexation of indigenous lands, and subsequent disregard for indigenous people (“I’ll paint a scene, from memory/so I know who murdered me”). It pulls no punches, and neither should any of us. We live in a great country, but it’s far from perfect. We need to say that out loud, and often. It’s normal to seek out validation Around 1995, the Hip had become the biggest band in a generation – but only at home. They sold out every venue they played, in any part of Canada, but things changed when they crossed the border. The Hip had a following in the U.S., but it was tiny by comparison. Six months after the release of Day for Night, the Hip appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Intro’d by fellow Kingstonite Dan Ackroyd, Gord and co did their best to put the furious energy of their live show into two songs (“Grace Too” and “Nautical Disaster” – in front of tens of millions of people. But they were nervous, and the context of what made them so beloved was not there. It was a thrill to see them on such an enormous platform, and no one could blame them for wanting the approval of the much-larger US audience, or the resulting album/ticket sales – even if it never came. They were the friend who was great at basketball, or guitar, or computer programming. They were the small town friend whose staggering promise was their ticket out of here – make it or not. And if that validation never comes, don’t sweat it In the Hip’s various attempts to gain stateside notoriety, their Canadian tours took precedence. In 1993, 1995 and 1997 they hit the road with their Another Roadside Attraction tour – and only in Canada. These were festival tours (all the rage at the time) with huge names like Blues Traveller, Wilco, Sheryl Crow and Ziggy Marley, and they were specially curated for Canadian audiences. Any manager at the time would have told them to remove the Canadiana from their songs. Nobody in Minnesota knows what Bobcaygeon is. Nobody in Texas knows (or cares) about the 1972 Summit Series, but the band’s entire career remained a tribute to the place they grew up in, and the people who love them. Love what you do, and never stop getting better The “fake it till you make it” mantra works because the entertainment industry is full of focus groups that demand unrealistic personas and on-stage characters from people who’ve spent their lives honing a craft and being told that’s not good enough. And it’s not as if that’s anything new, but it is why each generation looks back at their youth, and harkens back to its simplicity. In the late eighties, the Hip put blues standards like “Boots or Hearts” up against a backdrop of Tin Machine-era Bowie. They wore their everyday clothes in an era of Flock of Seagulls haircuts, acid washed jeans and (actual) leopard skin, button-up shirts, and they took absolutely no interest in changing anything about themselves. They stayed the course through Guns n Roses, Grunge and Goth and they evolved their own way because they were very good at what they did, and they loved doing it. They made it in a sea of fakes. Growing older isn’t something to fear In the last decade, Canada’s relationship with the Hip has changed. The Hip still sold out (pretty much) every Canadian venue they booked, but they were something of an elder statesman. To say we took them for granted sounds harsh, but we absolutely did. Here was a band who (as far as we knew) never went through the spiral of addiction so many rock stars do. Here was a band who reliably released an album every 2-3 years and toured it extensively – all at reasonable prices. Here was a band that never really went away. As I got older myself, it gave me enough comfort to believe they’d be around forever, and that it would probably be a long time before I’d have to think or write the way I am right now. It must have given them comfort to know that we were all in it together. To the end. Neither is death On Friday, I will walk into the Air Canada Centre to watch the Hip for the final time. If anything, I’ve put off saying that for as long as humanly possible. Denial. But to put things into perspective, the worst part of this pre-grieving process was was the first day. Since then, writers and musicians and fans all alike have written their missives about Gord and the boys. They covered their geographical importance, their political importance, the lyrics that swelled their hearts, and the ones the broke them. We all came to terms with this together, as they say “not to mourn, but to celebrate”. These sorts of things are rare. We so rarely get to say such a long goodbye, but that’s not even what this is. This tour. These retrospectives. These streamed events. They’re a cultural event befitting a long-running cultural pillar. We always knew what we have, and we are all lucky to do it, as we remember it, one more time. We do not fear their end, although we understand its weight. We do not gnash our teeth in the face of all of this, however sobering it may be. We don’t do this for just anybody. We do this for the Tragically Hip. Because they haven’t just altered our identity; they are our identity. Pictures lovingly taken from thehip.com

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Jews were playing dreidel, being celibate, and tearing toilet paper. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images On Christmas Eve, Christians will be gathering with families, feasting and opening presents and maybe even attending church services. Meanwhile, what will Jews be doing? Some will be tearing toilet paper. In a 2009 piece, Benyamin Cohen explained the history of Nittel Nacht. The article is reprinted below. ’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Jews were playing dreidel, being celibate, and tearing toilet paper. Allow me to explain. Please. The Jewish community has long had a tense relationship with Christmas. You wouldn’t know it by the two main customs observed by many 21st-century Jews on Dec. 25: eating Chinese food and being the first to see the Christmas blockbuster. But less well-known are the more historic—and, to be blunt, more bizarre—Christmas Eve customs that Jewish communities have kept secret, even from most Jews. As a public service announcement, I’m here to let you in on what the rabbis thought about Christmas Eve. Gather round, little ones. This is a scary tale. The Talmud, with its share of rabbinic repudiations against Jesus, was never a big fan of Christmas. Call it the Grinch. Indeed, the rabbis looked at it as a day of mourning—perhaps due to the suffering that Jews encountered in Jesus’ name throughout history. And Christmas Eve—named “Nittel Nacht” by Jewish scholars in the 17th century—took on a life of its own. Some Jewish mystics were under the impression that many apostates were conceived on Christmas Eve (which is one reason the rabbis forbade sex on Dec. 24; more on that later). In Europe, the Jewish community was victim of more acts of violence on this night. All in all, it didn’t end up being a festive evening for Jews. And so the rabbis decreed that the public study hall be closed and that no Torah learning take place on this night. I guess it’s our version of “Silent Night”—literally. The edict came about partially because of pogroms, but the leaders were also concerned about the popularly held belief in Judaism that studying the Torah brings spiritual benefit to the world at large. Many didn’t want to make this positive contribution on what they considered a “pagan” night. Although there is no exact demarcation as to the genesis of this odd holiday, the renowned Talmudist Rabbi Samuel Eides (commonly known as the Mahrasha in Torah circles) observed Nittel Nacht as early as the late 1500s. The Baal Shem Tov, a famous Jewish mystic and the founder of Hasidism, popularized the holiday in the 1700s. Many rabbis after him added on their own special rules. By the mid-1900s, when Judeo-Christian relations matured, the Christmas Eve customs fell mostly by the wayside as the Jewish community wanted to show their support for their Christian neighbors. While there are still some Orthodox groups that observe Nittel Nacht, these are not widespread customs among modern Jews. Indeed, in doing research for this article, I found that asking for information on Nittel Nacht was sort of equivalent to asking for directions to the nearest Freemasonry. Although Torah study was forbidden, some privately studied what’s called Toledot Yeshu—a medieval manuscript that tells the story of Jesus from a non-Christian perspective. A few didn’t even sleep on Christmas Eve for fear that they might dream about Torah study. It’s probably the only time the rabbis would prefer visions of sugarplums dancing in your head. Hassidic legend says that dogs, often and quizzically seen in ancient Jewish texts as a symbol of evil, appear to those who study Torah on this night. The rabbinic sages behind Nittel Nacht also decreed that a married couple should not have sex on Christmas Eve. I guess they would shudder at all the unmarried Jews today who use the night to hook up at Jewish singles events. (There are similar customs—no Torah study, no sex, etc.—on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, the historic date on which both of the Jewish Temples were destroyed. Ironically, many rabbinic authorities actually suggest this was the actual day of Jesus’ birth.) In classic Talmudic fashion, there are debates as to when Nittel Nacht actually begins. Chaim Saiman, a law professor at Villanova who specializes in Jewish legal theory, calls it the “Russian nesting doll” theory. Ask one question and several others pop out. You can’t study Torah on Christmas Eve? Great … when does that start? Midday? Sunset? Nightfall? And since Orthodox Christians observe Christmas in January, there was actually a rabbinic debate about when to “celebrate” Nittel Nacht. Not surprisingly, extra-strict Jews decided to hedge their bets and observed Nittel Nacht on both nights. So what would Jews do on Christmas Eve? 1) Tear toilet paper. I kid you not. Bear with me, as the reason is a bit convoluted: Observant Jews do not tear anything on the Sabbath as they consider it a form of “work.” As such, they either don’t use toilet paper on Saturdays (opting instead for pipe-clogging tissues) or pre-rip toilet paper before sundown on Friday. (I reluctantly confess, this is something I was exposed to while growing up the son of an Orthodox rabbi.) Since Jews were not allowed to study Torah on Christmas Eve, the rabbis still wanted the community to be doing something, um, productive. So they suggested people spend the time pre-ripping toilet paper for the entire year. I wish I was joking but, alas, I am not. 2) Play cards, play chess, spin a tiny top. Many synagogues held poker games on Christmas Eve; some say this is where the custom of spinning the dreidel on Hanukkah matured from, as a way for Jews to pass to the time. 3) Everything from managing finances to reading secular books to, get this, sewing. (That last one was actually a custom of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.) It’s obviously important to keep in mind that the often bizarre customs of Nittel Nacht were, as Rabbi Ari Enkin points out, “born out of political realities rather than theological ones. … Nittel Nacht comes to us from an era when relations between Jews and Christians, the Church and Judaism, could be described as ‘tense’ at best. We are fortunate to be living in a day and age where relations between these two groups have flourished immensely.” I couldn’t have said it better. This is an era of remarkable religious tolerance. Hanukkah menorahs get erected next to Christmas trees at the mall. Kwanzaa gets its own postage stamp. The Gap’s holiday commercials name-check winter solstice. Which is why most Jews no longer celebrate (or even know about) Nittel Nacht. It is, on many levels, a holiday far past its expiration date. Regardless, because it’s the nature of the beast, there will be Jews gone rogue: holding poker tournaments and furiously ripping toilet paper this Christmas Eve. And to them I simply say, “Merry Nittel Nacht, and to all a good night.”

Tyler Tate Guest post by Tyler builds websites and web apps for Vyre in London. In Part 1 we covered how to setup a lightweight CSS grid. I promised that this same grid could streamline the way page templates are used in content management. Well, here we go! One is better than two Every content management system is driven by templates. The beauty of the template is that an entire site can be updated by editing just a single file. But imagine a website that has two distinct layouts: one layout for the homepage, a second layout for all the other pages of the site. In this situation you would typically require two separate template files. This means that in order to make a site-wide change, you would now have to update two template files instead of just one. Now, two templates are manageable. But what about a site that requires many different layouts? I recently worked on project that had – no joke – 23 unique page templates, each page with slight differences from the others. Suddenly what should have been a 1 minute change took half an hour! The solution Fortunately, the tidy rows of our CSS grid can be used to reduce the number of page templates required. First, lets add an ID to the body tag to indicate the current page. Most content management systems provide a mechanism for accomplishing this, and it’s a good practice even if you don’t use this grid. body id="home" body id="subpage" Second, lets add an additional class to each row of our grid that describes the columns within. For example, we could add a class of row_6_6 to a row that contains two columns with a width of 6 units each. <div class="row row_12"> <div class="column grid_12"> </div> </div> <div class="row row_6_6"> <div class="column grid_6"> </div> <div class="column grid_6"> </div> </div> <div class="row row_9_3"> <div class="column grid_9"> </div> <div class="column grid_3"> </div> </div> Now for the important bit. Lets create a new CSS file named layout.css. Here we can tell the browser to display certain rows when the body ID is set to home, and other rows when the ID is set to subpage. We can accomplish this by hiding all the rows by default, then showing just the ones we need. .row { display: none; } .row_12, body#home .row_6_6, body#subpage .row_9_3 { display: block; } Fresh out of the oven We now have all the necessary ingredients to facilitate different layouts on different pages from a single template. See the homepage and sub-page in action, then download the demo. By creating a single template that defines the layout for all the pages of your website, you can drastically reduce the number of templates in use. Fewer templates mean simpler development and quicker maintenance. The disclaimer I should leave you with a few words of caution. First, this font-end technique should only be used after all server-side options for consolidating templates have been fully explored. Second, hiding unused rows should only be done when little or no content is inside those rows. Hiding large amounts of content will raise a whole host of issues and is best avoided. Tune in next time for... In the third and final installment we will look at how to implement nested rows (that’s rows within other rows). Until then, adios. UPDATE (20 Jun 2009): Read the last part of the 1KB grid series here.

Lead dogs on musher Rollin Westrum's team charge through the streets of Anchorage Saturday as the Iditarod gets underway in 1995. (Photo11: Eileen Blass, USA TODAY) For only the second time in 42 years, the famed Iditarod Sled Dog Race has been forced to shift its route due to lack of snow, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The start of the race, which begins March 7, has been moved from its traditional location in Willow to Fairbanks; this happened once before, in 2003. Members of the trail committee's board voted unanimously Tuesday to change the course "due to low snowfall in some of the most treacherous sections of the trail's roughly 1,000 miles," the paper reported. "This year, you can't go through a rock," Nome musher Burmeister told the News- Miner. "There's boulders and rocks that we've never seen there in 20-some years that are littering all the gorge, places that you'd never even see a rock because you're going over feet of snow going through there. This year, you're looking at bare ground." Over the past 50 years, wintertime temperatures across Alaska increased by an average of more than 6.3 degrees, due to man-made climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. Overall, Alaska's temperatures are rising twice as fast as those in the lower 48 states. Low-snow winters are a concern, race director Stan Hooley told the News-Miner. "I think we're all worried about the weather," Hooley said. "There's a pattern that's developed. And that's a concern to all of us." The Iditarod begins with a ceremonial start March 7 in Anchorage. Dog teams carrying passengers make a leisurely 11-mile run from downtown to an airstrip on the city's east side. Actual racing begins a day later and usually starts in Willow. The trail takes mushers and dogs through the Alaska Range, down the Yukon River and along the Bering Sea coast to the old gold rush town of Nome. Contributing: Associated Press Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1DiE07k

After installing GHC 6.10.1, you probably want to get cabal-install installed as quickly as possible, so you can grab all that Haskell library goodness from Hackage with the minimum of fuss. Once the Haskell Platform is available, this will be much easier, but until then we have to bootstrap cabal-install using just Cabal. After a release I find myself doing this on multiple machines, so today I made a little script to automate it, and I thought I’d share it. Obviously it’s just a quick hack, only works with GHC 6.10.1, has no error-checking etc., but it does work on both Windows and Unix. Enjoy! Update: Duncan Coutts pointed out to me that there’s a Windows cabal.exe binary available. #!/bin/sh set -e for i in $TMPDIR /tmp c:/temp; do if test -d $i; then dir=$i break fi dir=$HOME done cd $dir wget http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/zlib/0.5.0.0/zlib-0.5.0.0.tar.gz tar xzf zlib-0.5.0.0.tar.gz cd zlib-0.5.0.0 ghc --make Setup ./Setup configure --user ./Setup build ./Setup register --inplace --user cd $dir wget http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/HTTP/3001.1.4/HTTP-3001.1.4.tar.gz tar xzf HTTP-3001.1.4.tar.gz cd HTTP-3001.1.4 ghc --make Setup ./Setup configure --user ./Setup build ./Setup register --inplace --user cd $dir wget http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/cabal-install/0.6.0/cabal-install-0.6.0.tar.gz tar xzf cabal-install-0.6.0.tar.gz cd cabal-install-0.6.0 ghc --make Setup ./Setup configure --user ./Setup build # Don't need these libs any more... ghc-pkg unregister zlib-0.5.0.0 ghc-pkg unregister HTTP-3001.1.4 # Now use cabal-install to install itself and its dependencies ./dist/build/cabal/cabal update ./dist/build/cabal/cabal install cabal-install # Clean up... cd $dir rm -rf zlib-0.5.0.0* rm -rf HTTP-3001.1.4* rm -rf cabal-install-0.6.0* echo "ALL DONE!" Advertisements

If there was ever any doubt that the US doesn’t have a good handle on who the ISIS leadership is, it should be exemplified by the new reports of US officials openly talking about, in their effort to “destroy ISIS,” assassinating people whose Twitter accounts are seen as too pro-ISIS. There appears, at the very least, to be some debate among counter-terror officials on the matter, though none seem to be questioning whether or not it’s appropriate to assassinate people on the basis of speech, and are simply arguing over whether or not it’s worthwhile. The opponents see it as “wasting time” on “low level guys,” and believe the US should spend more time trying to assassinate actual ISIS leaders, instead of just killing Tweeters and declaring them “propagandists.” One unnamed US official in favor of killing Tweeters, who ominously started his argument by declaring “we are the angel of death” like he’s some comic book villain, argued that since the ISIS war is a “propaganda war” and a “war of ideas” it’s entirely appropriate to kill people who are forwarding ideas they object to, saying he sees no reason to limit the killing to “military leaders.” Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero was also a proponent of assassinating people on social media, saying ISIS has a “huge competitive advantage” on Twitter and that with little intelligence on the actual leadership of ISIS, you “attack what you can,” which means people on Twitter. Another official, perhaps even more ominously than “angel of death” guy, talked up the killing of US-born cleric Anwar Awlaki as an example of the US assassinating people for speech, declaring “shoot your mouth off all you want. Eventually we are going to kill you.”

Image copyright Hannes Sjoblad Image caption The newly created cyborgs seem very happy to have been upgraded Darkness had fallen over Stockholm as a group of eight people entered Swahili Bobs, a tattoo parlour in the dark alleys of Sodermalm. By day there were tech entrepreneurs, students, web designers and IT consultants - but that night they were going to be transformed into cyborgs. It may sound like the beginning of a science-fiction novel, but in fact it is a recollection of real events, by bio-hacker Hannes Sjoblad. He organised the so-called implant party, which took place in late November and was one of several he has arranged. At it, eight volunteers were implanted with a small RFID (radio frequency identification) chip under the skin in their hand. Mr Sjoblad also has one. He is starting small, aiming to get 100 volunteers signed up in the coming few months, with 50 people already implanted. But his vision is much bigger. "Then will be a 1,000, then 10,000. I am convinced that this technology is here to stay and we will think it nothing strange to have an implant in their hand." Image copyright Hannes Sjoblad Image caption All the implants are done by professional tattooists He finds volunteers through social media and hacker communities in Sweden, people that are used to tinkering with technology. Currently the chip acts as a simple security interface, allowing users to open their door without a key, although to do so they need to buy a new door lock, which are at the moment still expensive. With a tweak to an Android phone, it can also unlock the device. But there is potential beyond that. "I believe we have just started discovering the things we can do with this," Mr Sjoblad says. "There is huge potential for life-logging. "With the fitness-tracking wearables at the moment, you have to type what you are eating, or where you are going. "Instead of typing data into my phone, when I put it down and tap it with my implant it will know I am going to bed. "Imagine sensors around a gym that recognises, for instance, who is holding a dumb-bell via the tag in your hand. "There is an ongoing explosion in the internet of things - the sensors will be all around for me to be able to register my activity in relation to them." Image copyright MC10 Image caption Digital tattoos take wearables to the next stage Increasingly the lines between human and machine are blurring. People with missing limbs are routinely fitted with bionic ones, which are getting ever more sophisticated. People think nothing of getting an artificial hip or laser surgery to correct vision problems. And last year, Google released contact lenses that can monitor glucose levels in an effort to provide better diagnostics for diabetes. And of course wearables - from smart watches to gadgets such as Jawbone's Up or the Fitbit - are getting increasingly clever at monitoring a range of body functions from heart rate, calorie intake and sleep patterns. But already firms are thinking beyond wearables. BioStamp is a digital tattoo developed by US firm MC10. It can be stamped directly on to the body and collects data on body temperature, hydration levels, UV exposure and more. As with other wearables, the data can be uploaded Meanwhile another US company, Proteus, has developed a pill with an embedded sensor that works in tandem with a patch worn on the skin and, when swallowed, measures a range of body functions. "These kind of things are already here," says David Wood, head of the London Futurists. "The real question is whether they can work better if they are on our skin or inside us, and one of the big advantages is that we can't forget them like we can a phone or a wristband." He doesn't think implantable technology is ready for the mainstream quite yet, but he does think that the time is definitely ripe for a debate about it. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption When mass vaccination programs were introduced, there was suspicion about them "Some people are horrified by this. They see it as completely crazy and have a deep unease about where technology is taking us and we have to be sensitive to people's feelings. "Years ago there was fear over vaccinations and now it seems perfectly normal to have cells injected into us. That is an early example of bio-hacking" Mr Sjoblad also hopes that his implant party will spark a conversation about our possible cyborg future. "The idea is to become a community that is why they get implants done together," he says. "People bond over the experience and start asking questions about what it means to be a man and machine. "Curiosity is one of the biggest drivers for us humans. I come from a maker hacker culture and I just want to see what I can do with this." For those who decide life as a cyborg isn't for them, the procedure Mr Sjoblad uses is reversible and takes just five minutes. But he has no intention of removing his. "We've been putting chips in animals for 20 years," he points out. Now it is the turn of the humans. "This is a fun thing, a conversation starter. It opens up interesting discussions about what it means to be human. This is not just for opening doors."

The demand for French immersion in B.C. public schools is “outstripping capacity in many B.C. communities,” particularly remote school districts, according to a report released Thursday by The Canadian Parents for French. The 32-page report, by the B.C. and Yukon branch of the organization, found three key areas of French language education in B.C. public schools need improvement: program access, providing for students with learning disabilities and dealing with a shortage of qualified French teachers. According to the report, there were 46,900 students registered in French immersion last year in B.C., which is 8.1 per cent of the entire public school student population. Enrolment in French immersion has been increasing for 14 years. Glen Lewis, executive director of Canadian Parents for French B.C. and Yukon, said there are no studies to show exactly how many French immersion teachers are needed in the province to keep up with the demand, but anecdotally it’s clear there are not enough when so many districts offer enrolment by a lottery system. The report noted of the 60 school districts in B.C., 40 offer French immersion. As of January, parents were lobbying for new French immersion programs in Tofino, Nanaimo, Squamish, Gibsons, Whistler, Vancouver, New Westminster, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Penticton, Vernon, Mackenzie and Fernie. “School districts continue to mitigate FSL (French Second language) program capping in a variety of ways including: enrolment lotteries and early morning registration that has forced some parents to camp overnight. Access then becomes an unfair game of chance and/or parental resources (time),” the report states. The report recommends a national teacher labour mobility agreement, which would permit teachers to teach anywhere in Canada. It also recommends that all new teachers take one mandatory French methodology course as part of their teacher certification. At the moment, there is no requirement for students studying to become teachers to take a French course even though they may be required to teach core French. This is where basic French is taught, typically starting in grades 4 or 5, for one to two classes per week. “There are 220,000 kids in core French and a UBC study in 2007 found only 22 per cent of elementary school teachers (in B.C.) who taught core French reported being at ease teaching it. “For middle school, it was 29 per cent who felt at ease,” compared to a national average of 75 per cent for elementary and middle school teachers feeling at ease teaching French, Lewis said. “That’s a big red flag for us. We’re clearly behind the eight ball having enough qualified core French teachers.” Besides core French, the other two areas of French education in the province are intensive French — where instruction, for half of the year for grades 6 and 7, is done in French — and French immersion, where the main language of instruction for all classes is French. Ministry of Education spokesman Matt Silver said Thursday Minister Don McRae will be reviewing the report, but it is too early to make a comment on whether any of the recommendations will be acted upon. The report, called State of French Second Language Education in B.C., also recommends increasing online learning opportunities from grades 6 to 12 instead of the current grades 10 to 12, noting this will help provide better access to French language education for remote communities that do not have French immersion programs. kpemberton@vancouversun.com

Unity's 4.3 update was a great big door swinging open for 2D game developers, with many new tools and ways to approach 2D game development in this already powerful engine. In this tutorial I will be showing you how to create a character in Inkscape that can be used in Unity 4.3's amazing new editor. Things to Consider A few tips on game character creation before we begin: Work from a previously thought out concept or sketch—it will save you time and headaches! Create as many whole pieces as possible. Developers will (frequently) ask for color changes and variations. Creating whole pieces that can be easily changed will make your job a lot easier in the long term. Screen test your characters by placing them over backgrounds you are using while working on them. (Or alternatively, work on a neutral background—if it pops on grey, it will pop on anything.) Be mindful of your sprite "budget". More joints can be more lifelike, but it can also be more complicated. 1. Create the Character Step 1 Open Inkscape and select File > New . From the list of available options, select the size that is most likely to be your game's resolution. 640 x 480, 800 x 600, or 1024 x 768 are common game resolutions for the PC—for this project I will be choosing 800 x 600. If you are working with a developer, check with them for the proper resolution! The great thing about working with vector art however is you can always change the size of the character later. Step 2 Create a new layer by selecting Layer > Add Layer (Shift-Control-N) and name it "Sketch". Set it to Below Current Layer. Working in layers keeps your files clean and easy to manage. Name your layers properly so you can remember what's on them. Step 3 Get your concepts together. In this case I just used a simple sketch I created in Sketchbook Pro. I tend to create at least two action views of the character so I can get a good idea of how I want it to be animated and what pieces I need to break it down into. You can simply copy and paste your concept from another program or drag and drop the file into Inkscape. If you drag and drop the file select embed, not link. You'll be throwing out the sketch later anyway as it's not necessary for the whole process. Concept sketches help solidify your idea so you are not working blindly. Step 4 Resize your drawing to whatever size you're comfortable working at using the sizing handles. Click on the sketch and lock the proportions of the image by clicking the Lock Icon. Locking the proportions prevents distortion. Step 5 Since the Inkscape Preset palettes are generally not very pretty for games, I tend to make my own beforehand. You can edit your Inkscape Palette by going into your Inkscape folder under the Share > Palettes sub-folder. The file may be in a different location depending on your OS. Step 6 Right-click "Inkscape.gpl" and select open with your favorite text editor. I just used Wordpad. You can now add your own RGB and Hex values to the list and they will appear in the order you put them. If you are unfamiliar with Hex and RGB codes, there are many easily accessible charts you can find around the Internet or in the color picker of almost any image editing program. You can find one of them here: Here are the ranges I used for the different parts of the Octopus' body for those of you that like to collect palettes: Main Body 110 4 84 #6E0454 164 0 92 #A4005C 188 24 120 #BC1878 220 68 112 #DC4470 235 99 109 #EB636D 243 147 131 #F39383 250 201 172 #FAC9AC Eyes 57 33 49 #392131 Snail Shell 52 48 89 #343059 67 70 126 #43467E 62 87 150 #3E5796 90 105 192 #5A69C0 103 150 232 #6796E8 126 175 238 #7EAFEE 126 199 217 #7EC7D9 Snail Body 132 71 60 #84473C 165 103 79 #A5674F 206 137 78 #CE894E 243 180 107 #F3B46B 249 246 100 #F9CE64 248 229 122 #F9E57A 251 251 158 #FBFB9E You can copy and paste these codes into your .gpl file and save them, and they will be there the next time you run Inkscape. I recommend you keep a copy of your original .gpl file in case something goes wrong. Add the codes as they are displayed in the file. You can place them in the order you'd like them to appear though. Step 7 Draw the main body first. I am just using a simple circle shape for the octopus' body. I set the stroke to 3.5px in the object editor (Shift-Control-F) but you can make yours whatever you like. Step 8 Draw the legs all as separate pieces on a new layer using the Bezier Curve tool (Shift-F6). Remember, to get an actual curve, you must hold down the mouse button after clicking to position the second node/point and drag it around. Step 9 Rather than manually adjusting the stroke and color on the leg, we can click on an object that is similar (like the circle) and copy it (Control-C) and go to Edit > Paste Style or (Control-Shift-V) to match the style of the copied object. This is a good way to make sure all your object fills and strokes are uniform. You may also want to draw legs in different positions, so they can be reused to make more animations. Alternatively, you may want to draw the whole body with the legs in different positions if you do not want the legs to all move independently. Remember that you can join pieces together by selecting both objects and combining them via Path > Union or Control-Shift-+ or just Control-+ with the numpad. Step 10 To get a smoother curve I often add extra points and then delete them after I get the shape I want. I turn off the Body layer using the eye icon next to the layer name that I want to turn off. Go into Edit Path By Nodes mode (F2) and click in the node you want to delete, then hit the Delete Key. You can adjust using the handles on the other nodes if anything goes awry, or by changing the node type in the toolbar. Step 11 Since I want the legs on the far left and right sides to be almost the same, I will copy the left one and just edit it slightly. Bring back the Body layer by moving to the layer in the drop down and clicking the eye icon once again, so you can position the leg properly. Select the leg (which will take you back to the leg layer automatically) and copy it (Control-C) then paste it (Control-V). Flip the image by using the Flip Horizontal button or by pressing the H key. This will also make the octopus easier to animate. Move the leg into the desired position. I've also squished it horizontally slightly for perspective, using the sizing handles. If you have problems with the image snapping when you are sizing it, go to View > Snap. Step 12 I'm going to make the front legs in multiple pieces to add more depth. Make a new layer (Shift-Control-N) to add the legs that will be in front of the body. Add an oval with the Oval Tool and copy and paste the style from the legs onto the oval. We will be able to add a bobbing motion to the front tentacle this way if we want. Now add a second oval and rotate it. You can rotate objects by clicking on the object twice, and then using the handles. Now this part of the tentacle can move separately! Step 13 Now you can simply copy the leg and flip it to fill in the other leg Don't worry too much about tentacle position for now, it will adjusted in Unity. Step 14 Let's add some shading and highlights to the octopus before moving on to the face. I do this by creating ovals and then using another oval to "subtract" the parts I don't want. Position the highlight to where you want it. Now copy and paste the circle and adjust it to where you want to cut away. Make it a different color so it's easier to see. I prefer to make it the same color as the main body. I find this method best for balloons and other round, shiny objects. Now Shift-Select both circles, making sure to select the highlight circle last, and go to Path > Difference. A nice smooth highlight! Select all the objects and Group them (Control-G) to make sure they don't get moved around from where you want them. Note: You can still copy and paste the style from an object by using direct select/edit path by node even when they are grouped. Step 15 Draw some highlights on the legs as well, using the Bezier Tool (Shift-F6). Make sure you are drawing on the layer with the appropriate tentacle and group them with their related piece when you are done. Try to use the same color from the previous highlight. You can add fewer or more highlights, to your taste. Step 16 I drew the eyes using the Circle Tool (F5). I do the same thing here that I did with the tentacles to make sure they were the same; copy and paste the left eye and adjust for position and perspective again. He now has a simple set of peepers. Step 17 Draw a simple mouth with the Bezier Curve Tool, and adjust the settings in the stroke and fill menu (Shift-Control-F). I set the Stroke to 3.00 and the cap to Round Cap. You can play around with these settings to get them how you'd like. Step 18 I decided to add some more highlights to give him a bit more depth. If you find when you're adding new stuff later on that it is appearing over previous objects when you regroup them, select and cut the object that is behind (Control-X), click on the object you want to paste it over that's on the same layer, and select Edit > Paste In Place or (Control-Alt-V). Keeping your groups clean will help you organize your sprite sheet later. Step 19 I've also added a secondary highlight, again using Bezier Curves and the Circle tool, only this time I'm using the #F39383 color. While there are a few up-and-coming programs that allow the easy addition of dynamic lighting to 2D art (such as Sprite Lamp), they are still very rudimentary and mostly meant for pixel art so we will have to add them ourselves for now! Step 20 For a point of interest, I am also adding a snail on top of the octopus' head. I will make the body first with the Bezier Curve Tool (Shift-F6). I will make the snail on a new layer, but I don't need to make one also for the shell as long as they are grouped properly. You can make them on separate layers if you prefer. As before, I will delete any unnecessary nodes and smooth out the body with the Edit Path by Node (F2) mode. You can also select around multiple nodes and move them in this mode. Step 21 Now add some lighter shades to bring out the volume of the snail. Again I will use the Bezier Curve tool (Shift-F6). Make sure to group the body objects when you are done! If you find when you're making a curve you have made it too steep and can't connect it without this happening: Messy curves are no good! If you accidentally connect it, just hit Control-Z to go back! You can right-click to exit the curve, and then reconnect it manually. Easy to fix! Step 22 To make the base of the shell, draw a circle with the Circle Tool (F5). I used #5A69C0 as the stroke and #7EC7D9F as the fill. Step 23 Use the Bezier Curve tool (Shift-F6) to create the bottom "lip" of the shell. Step 24 Use the Spiral Tool to add the proper shape to the shell (F9) and set the turns to 1.50. Now rotate and position the spiral so it looks like a real shell. I also set the cap for the spiral to Round Cap to avoid a harsh edge. Step 25 For the highlight of the snail shell, we will again use the bezier curve. I will just be using white for the color, but I will set the shape to 50% Opacity so that it blends. You can adjust the opacity in the Fill and Stroke Menu (Shift-Control-F). You can also use the blur slider to soften the appearance, but I don't recommend it for a shell. Step 26 Continue on with the rest of the highlights. You can copy and paste the style of the first highlight to the other highlights and it will also copy and paste the opacity, which makes it a lot easier. It's worth noting that I made the shell and the snail body separate groups. I am going to be saving them separately in case I want to animate them later. 2. Create the Sprite Sheet Step 1 First let's delete the sketch to get it out of the way. Click the "sketch" and press the Delete key. Make sure you unlock the layer before attempting to delete it or you will not be able to. You can also delete the actual layer from the Layer Menu. Just be sure the layer you want to delete is active at the time you delete it. Step 2 Make sure you save your file before doing the next part (though it is worth noting you should be saving frequently anyway, just in case). To do this, go to File > Save As (Shift-Control-S). I generally keep the original file and the sprite sheet file separate so I can remember how the character was positioned. Step 3 Now you need to separate the pieces of the octopus so that they are far enough apart for the slicing tool in Unity to pick up that they are separate pieces. There are settings you can tweak in Unity to help with this, but an organized sprite sheet is always better. This will be a good test of your grouping skills. If you grouped all the right pieces together this should be relatively easy. You can learn more about Grouping in Inkscape thanks to a helpful tutorial created here on Tuts+. Click-drag each piece to arrange them how you like. Step 4 I also align the edges of objects on the outside of the sheet. While computers are so fast now you might not notice it too much, it's always better to save what space you can, and make the sheet as small as possible. Open up your Align menu (Shift-Control-A) and make sure Relative To is set to the Last Selected rather than the page, as the objects will be what is exported and not the page. This means that the first object and all subsequent selected objects will be aligned based on the position of the last placed object. You can set it to First Selected if that is your preference. The alignment doesn't have to be perfect. Here you're just trying to reduce the white space as much as possible, and aligning is an easy way to do that. The main thing is to make sure that an object is not going to expand the sheet more than necessary. This way won't increase the sheet size This however, will increase the file size, even though you're not using all of the extra space. Step 5 Pack the sheet as tightly as possible. There are programs to do this but many find it quicker to just eyeball it in Inkscape. However if you do prefer to use one (or already have exported each image separately for use in other game engines), you can download Texture Packer here: It's available for Mac, Windows, and Linux for free! Step 6 Save the sheet as a separate file, again so you have the original composition (you could also keep them both in the same file if you wish). You will notice the eyes seem unnecessarily far apart for texture packing. This is because I've opted to treat them as one object rather than have each eye operate independently. You can do this and then still split them up in unity as separate eyes. Step 7 Select all the objects at once by clicking and dragging over the entire area as if you are trying to contain them all in a box (see image below). My "sheet". Step 8 Now to export your sheet! Select File > Export (Shift-Control-E). You can export the sheet as a size that fits your needs, but I've just kept it at almost the same as the size as I started with in Inkscape. A great thing about vectors is that if it turns out to feel wrong for the game, I can simply re-export at a larger or smaller size. You can edit the filename in the filename box so that it's something recognizable. Otherwise, it will be named by Inkscape as the last path or group that was selected (e.g. g720.png). You may notice the Batch Export Objects option. You can actually just export everything as its own file this way, but keep in mind the shape that it is in Inkscape will be its exported size, so you may have to adjust it manually. Note: There's currently a bug in Inkscape. If you name the file when all the objects are selected, and you attempt to batch export, it will only export the last object as they are now all named the same thing. Step 9 If you look at the exported file now, you should see the sheet including transparency. 3. Bring it into Unity For this part of the tutorial I am going to assume you know how to open Unity and start a project. If you are unfamiliar with Unity there is plenty of documentation for beginners on the Unity website. I am just going to explain the process of getting a sprite sheet into Unity and cutting it up for use in a game. Step 1 Open your project and make sure your editor is in 2D mode (to make things easier) by going to Edit > Project Settings > Editor and selecting 2D as the Default Behaviour Mode. You can always change this setting back if you're more comfortable in 3D mode. Step 2 Drag the sprite sheet from your File Explorer into your Assets folder. Step 3 Select the sprite sheet, and open up the Inspector via Window > Inspector (Control-3). Step 4 Change the Sprite Mode to Multiple. This will enable you to open up the sprite editor. Truecolor is a good choice for the Format as it is best for nice clean images, especially when dealing with pixel art sprites. Your other settings may depend on the individual project. Step 5 Open up the Sprite Editor. You can also access it from the Inspector Step 6 Click Slice. Normally I would just choose Automatic and leave it as is, however I cannot do that in this case as it would split the eyes into two parts, like so: In order to fix this, click one of the bounding boxes and Delete it. Now stretch the other bounding box over to include both eyes and click Apply. If you lose a box or need to make a new one as it didn't slice them properly, click-drag in an empty space. Click Revert to undo any changes you have not applied. You may also notice the box on the bottom right has a place to name each piece. This is very important for organization, as if you drag any of the sprites onto the screen, they will be automatically named whatever the Name box indicates. Another parameter you can adjust here is Pivot which indicates the main anchor point of the sprite. When you rotate the sprite in the animator, it will rotate around this point. Step 7 Adjust all the pivots to where you'd like by clicking and dragging the circle in the middle of each sprite, or by typing them in manually to the Pivot field. Click Apply when done. Now you can see all of your sprites as individual objects in the Project > Asset Folder. Step 8 Now we can drag the pieces onto the scene to create Game Objects. However, first let's create an empty Game Object (Control-Shift-N) and call it "Octopus". Click on the Game Object in the Hierarchy and go to the Inspector to rename it. Step 9 Now you can drag the other body parts onto the Octopus Game Object in the Hierarchy and arrange them how you wish, but make sure they are centered over the empty Game Object. There's a slight problem... Step 10 So as you may have noticed, the octopus tentacles are not quite in the order we want them. We can fix this with Sorting Layers in the Inspector. Normally I might create a new sorting layer for the Octopus but for now I will just leave it as default and adjust the numbers. The higher the number the closer the object is to the camera. Step 11 Now let's save a test scene and the project (File > Save Scene). Unity can crash when you start getting into more in depth actions, so I recommend saving often. Since I'm not making an actual game project, I will just name this "testscene" for now. Awesome Work, You're Ready for Animation! This character doesn't have animations yet so it is hardly "game ready". The animator in Unity is extraordinarily powerful but there is a bit of a learning curve! It is good for artists to know how their art will look in the engine, and how they can be animated to help make graphics more suitable for game development. It's worth noting that even after you've gotten to this point, you can easily update your sheet and put it back in the asset folder (Unity defaults to your project folder in "Documents") and the game will automatically update. Just be aware if you change sizes of the sprite in any way, even by adding "extras" you may have to re-slice the sheet.

Have you ever bitten off more than you can chew, and loved it? Dennistoun Bar-B-Que is a little american-style diner on Duke Street. Having a cheeky awning at the outside, and a retro cinema style front board, the Bar-b-Que looks appealing from the outside, and a recent refurbishment inside makes it attractive too. The food here at Dennistoun Bar-b-Que is something else. I had a “burger” (it would be a disservice to simply refer to the foods here as burgers) on both of my visits. The one I had on my first visit – The Triple Columbia – was a monster of a thing, consisting of three patties with cheese, bacon, pulled pork, and coleslaw to top it off. Being the largest item offered on the menu, I had to take the top bun off and use a knife and fork for the first half before attempting to again eat it in a standard fashion. On my second visit I enjoyed the Smoke Stack, a dish consisting of patty, cheese, and onion rings piled on top. However, deciding to splash out, I added an extra patty and some bacon too. There’s something about the way the meat is cooked here that causes the burgers to just ooze flavour. I usually only enjoy eating the meat in burgers in conjunction with all of the toppings and sauce of the usual varieties. Here at Dennistoun Bar-b-Que it’s possible to simply enjoy the taste of the patty alone. Here at Dennistoun Bar-b-Que; the rest is a bonus. Meal deals are available which include a side dish and a can of juice. A range of sides are available including fries, onion rings, chilli, potato salad, beans, or coleslaw. The prices are all very reasonable and I’m happy to support a small local business which produces consistent quality dishes anyway. Customer service was also a plus as they’re all cool dudes in there. Props to the dude who likes Killswitch and actually played them for me after recognising my shirt. Dennistoun Bar-b-Que is the kind of place you wish there were more of. It’s one of the few places in which I know for certain: I’ll be back.

Twenty-five years ago, David Lynch held a crystal clear mirror up to the face of America. Blue Velvet, which had played festivals in Montreal and Toronto, opened in the US on September 19, 1986. It was mainstream America’s real introduction to the private world of David Lynch. Eraserhead was still a cult film. While many people had seen The Elephant Man and some (not many) had seen Dune, few were prepared for the deeply idiosyncratic dreamscape Americana seen in Blue Velvet. Attacked for depicting a savage sexuality rarely seen on screen, the movie attracted no shortage of negative attention, but it quickly became regarded as a classic. After twenty-five years Blue Velvet’s mysterious and musical vision of middle-American life remains seductive and powerful. Its gallows humor still earns laughs, and a peculiar clash of of classical Hollywood and noirish styles draws viewers in to Lynch’s unique world. The classic and noir impulses came out of Lynch’s own fondness for movies, but combined with his depiction of raw, violent sexuality they suggested something specific. That is, the deranged sexual power games in Blue Velvet aren’t anomalies; they’re what was always going on when the camera panned away in movies of the past. The film established the career of Laura Dern and prevented Kyle MacLachlan’s image from being lost in the sandstorm of Dune. (MacLachlan’s look as the young Jeffrey Beaumont was actually based on Lynch’s own sartorial manner.) More than anything else it gave Dennis Hopper a framework in which to create one of the strongest, ugliest and most frightening characters ever seen on the silver screen: the raging gangster and sexual manchild Frank Booth. The film’s twenty-fifth birthday is something to celebrate. As Jeffrey says when making a toast in the film, “here’s to an interesting experience.” As I said when I looked back at Aliens, I don’t really go for nostalgia. I made an exception there, and I’ll make another here, because with respect to my own personal history with and interest in film, Blue Velvet may be the most important movie I’ve ever seen. Before I saw Blue Velvet I was a Star Wars kid. I saw the Lucas blockbuster in ‘77, when I was five, and it immediately defined what I wanted out of movies: spectacle, effects, and the whiz-bang rocketship elements that kids love. For the next decade I was primarily drawn to movies in that vein. When I saw Robocop or Aliens I might recognize concepts that went deeper than the film’s basic action, but I was really there for the effects, the big stuff. I didn’t see Blue Velvet in 1986. I knew what it was; I was aware of the reputation it quickly acquired. I have distinct memories of the poster, and the incongruity of seeing it displayed in a Midland, TX. mall cineplex ticket lobby. The Siskel and Ebert review of the film provides a tidy summary of what I knew about the movie. Ebert praised Lynch’s direction, but sharply criticized his treatment of actors. “Sure, the movie’s well-made, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it.” Here’s the review, which also provides a convenient plot synopsis: I saw the movie in ‘88 or ‘89 after a friend accosted me at school. “I watched this movie last night. Blue Velvet. It was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen. It’s on again tonight. Come over.” The crisp opening imagery, droll comedy and narrative non-sequiturs, such as the ear in the field, hooked me. By the end, I got it; which is to say, I got movies. That cliche unveiling took place: I knew what movies could do as a storytelling medium that went way beyond the big effects-based stuff I’d loved until that point. Blue Velvet is a movie with everything on the surface — from the weird courtship between Jeffrey Beaumont and Sandy Williams (Dern) to Frank Booth’s insistence that Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) not look at him during his sexual dominance, to the simple voyeurism practiced by Jeffrey, and therefore by us. I was sixteen or seventeen when I saw the film, and the movie’s use of imagery and cinematic syntax, presented almost as a fairy tale, was my perfect entry point into ‘real’ movies. Watching it now I still get a thrill, a little zing of an unusual delight. I wouldn’t necessarily argue that Blue Velvet has any special power to change perceptions of cinema, but many years ago it had that power for me. Because Lynch’s tale is a particularly exaggerated, concentrated piece of cinema, its power was potent. If I hadn’t seen Blue Velvet when I did I probably would still have become enamored with film to such a degree that I oriented much of my life around it. I do know that what I saw on the screen that night was the catalyst for a great many things that are still a big part of my life. (The movie also taught me something about dealing with psychopaths: be calm. And suave. “So fuckin’ suave!” Being a bit of a psychopath yourself doesn’t hurt, either, I suppose.) As a creative act, the film actually began with the image of a man finding an ear in a field. After finishing The Elephant Man, Lynch met with producer Richard Roth, who had read another Lynch script, the still-unproduced Ronnie Rocket. Roth asked if Lynch had anything else and the young director said he only had ideas. I told him I had always wanted to sneak into a girl’s room to watch her at night and that, maybe, at one point or another, I would see something that would be a clue to a murder mystery. He loved the idea and asked me to write a treatment. I went home and somehow I pictured someone finding an ear in a field. The project was pitched to Warner Bros., and Lynch wrote two drafts, which he says were horrible. (This has always heartened me; to think that something like Blue Velvet began as a couple of disowned script drafts should give any young writer a lot of hope.) Eventually, after Dune, Lynch got Dune producer Dino DeLaurentiis to buy the script from Warners. More drafts followed, and with a real script in hand Lynch got Dino to grant him final cut on the eventual project by cutting his fee and the film’s budget in half. Dune had been a massively traumatic experience for Lynch, but it provided him with the relationship with DeLaurentiis that led to Blue Velvet, and gave him a leading man in Kyle MacLachlan. Many other supporting actors from Dune turned up as well. Jack Harvey, playing the father of Jeffrey Beaumont, wasn’t in Dune, but he still looks like a Harkonnen in his hospital bed, encumbered as he is with a frightfully exaggerated set of medical dressings. Blue Velvet continued Lynch’s working relationship with many actors, but it was his first collaboration with composer Angelo Badalamenti. Their meeting was almost accidental — it came about when the musicians Isabella Rossellini rehearsed with for her nightclub scenes just didn’t work out. Lynch was skeptical of Badalamenti at first, but the composer quickly got exactly the results Lynch wanted, and partnership was born that would span years. As is always the case in filmmaking, there were other accidents and near-misses: Helen Mirren was a possible Dorothy Vallens for some time, and Lynch credits her with helping him work out issues in the script. Hopper’s Frank Booth character was originally written to mime Roy Orbison’s song ‘In Dreams,’ but in rehearsals Dean Stockwell owned it, and the performance went to him. On set, he picked up a work light thinking it was the prop he was meant to use, and that classic image was born. I get the impression that David Lynch employs happy accidents more than almost any other filmmaker, and his intuitive, painterly approach to film is likely the major reason that Blue Velvet remains so alluring. The film is almost elemental as it shows the deep recesses of desire. It feels right, even when the things on screen are terrible and frightening, even inhuman. That smile on Dorothy’s face when Frank Booth slaps her is among the most disquieting things I’ve seen in a film. And Frank’s statement to Jefferey, “you’re like me” – is there anything that could change you so deeply as having a guy like Frank say such a thing? Despite that bonus for intuitive approach the film’s long gestation period also makes this one of Lynch’s most long-considered films. He and cinematographer Frederick Elmes, who had shot Lynch’s short film The Amputee and some of Eraserhead, had plenty of time to work out approaches to some of the film’s most famous imagery as the film remained a possible project in the years after The Elephant Man. Without that long conceptual birthing process, the film might not have emerged as the concentrated nightmare worth celebrating today. The intuitive nature of the film was an early lesson to me in how movies can access the intangible, and how this most collaborative medium can produce stories that are intensely personal. The same lessons can be taught by any number of other films and directors, but for me it was this one. Simple stuff, sure, but valuable, and they’re lessons that I’ve never forgotten. At this point in my life, when I want to be provoked, challenged or inspired (all three often happen simultaneously) I’d take the output of Luis Buñuel over that of Lynch. I never would have got to Buñuel without films like this one, however. As a sort of birthday present, a press release recently went out announcing the 25th Anniversary Edition Blue Velvet blu-ray, which will hit on November 8. When that disc arrives it will have 50 minutes of footage previously thought lost. I reported on that months ago, but 50 minutes is a bonanza — far more than I ever expected.

WASHINGTON -- North Carolina House Republicans are pushing legislation that would restrict abortion access, attaching the measure to an unrelated motorcycle safety bill on Wednesday and giving neither the public nor Democratic legislators any advance notice. On Wednesday morning, state Rep. Joe Sam Queen (D) wrote on Twitter, "New abortion bill being heard in the committee I am on. The public didn't know. I didn't even know." "I wish I had more time to look at this new bill before I had to ask questions about it or debate it," he added. The bill then passed the state House Judiciary Committee in a 10-5 party-line vote. The stealth maneuver came after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) threatened to veto a similar Senate bill on Wednesday morning. The Senate legislation would require abortion providers to meet strict licensing standards and would mandate that a doctor is present for the entire procedure. The state's top health official has called for lawmakers to slow down on the abortion legislation, and in his 2012 campaign, McCrory pledged not to sign any legislation that would further restrict abortion access. House Republicans tweaked the Senate legislation: A doctor would have to be present when the first drug in an abortion procedure is administered -- rather than for the entire procedure -- and clinics would not have to meet the same standards as ambulatory surgical centers. According to the Raleigh News and Observer, Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam (R), who has been leading the House push, believes the bill addresses McCrory's concerns. The paper added that "McCrory’s lobbyist appeared to work with the bill's chief supporters before the meeting, but it’s still unclear how McCrory would act on the amended bill." When asked for reaction to the House bill, McCrory spokesman Ryan Tronovitch said the governor had no additional comment at this time. In an email to The Huffington Post, Judiciary Committee co-chair state Rep. Chuck McGrady (R) said that Stam and state Rep. Ruth Samuelson (R) led the process for the legislation. "I played no role in deciding how to move the bill," he said. State Rep. Rick Glazier (D), who spoke out aggressively against the bill, said that despite the changes, the intent of the legislation was still the same. The Senate had also stuck its abortion legislation onto an unrelated measure that would ban Sharia law, drawing a rebuke from McCrory. On Wednesday, House Democrats denounced the process surrounding the House bill as a "sham" and "as bad as the Senate." “It is a disgrace to North Carolina that legislators have again resorted to sneak attacks to move their anti-women’s health agenda forward,” said Planned Parenthood Health Systems' Melissa Reid, in a statement. "Once again there was no public notice that this bill would be heard. The public and even many legislators on the committee only learned this was a possibility at 9:57 a.m. -- three minutes before the committee was to meet -- when a political reporter was tipped off and posted it on Twitter. This is outrageous and not how the people’s business should be conducted."

England manager Gareth Southgate says Joe Hart is currently his first-choice goalkeeper, but insists there is a lot of competition for the No 1 spot England manager Gareth Southgate says Joe Hart is currently his first-choice goalkeeper, but insists there is a lot of competition for the No 1 spot Gareth Southgate has said that Joe Hart remains England’s number one goalkeeper but has acknowledged the West Ham stopper faces severe competition for the starting jersey at the 2018 World Cup. England qualified for the World Cup in Russia with an unbeaten record and impressed during the November international break to record two goalless drawd against heavyweight nations Germany and Brazil. Hart is battling with Premier League counterparts Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland for the spot in England's line-up and Southgate has said as a coach he is "never settled" on selection, with England's former World Cup winner Gordon Banks arguing the case for Butland. Gareth Southgate has said Joe Hart remains his England number one "Gordon obviously is a Stoke man so I would expect him to back Jack but we have some very good goalkeepers," Southgate said. "We have really good competition for places. Joe has been our number one through the qualifying campaign and has performed really well. "We had the best defensive record in Europe. We have also come off the back of two nil-nils against Brazil and Germany so in terms of our defence and our goalkeepers they have had as good performances as anybody in Europe up to this point. "Equally we know there is great competition for places. Three types of goalkeeper in as many ways - in terms of their experiences and styles. Plus we have the likes of Fraser Forster and Tom Heaton, who is out injured, and there are other young goalkeepers coming through. "You are never settled as a coach. You are always looking at who is in form and we are still six months to the finals so it is great not only in goal but other position on the pitch we have got great competition. "If we play tomorrow, I think Joe Hart would be our number one. I said that before the last game and he had a very good performance against Brazil. Equally, as I keep having to say to him, we are six months away and he has got to maintain form and make sure [of that] in the lead up to the World Cup." Meanwhile, Southgate admitted he is positive about the future for his youthful England squad as they build towards next summer's finals and said the public are "excited" by what the side can achieve. When asked what Southgate was most pleased about with England's squad make-up, he said: "The fact that so much is ahead of them. At the moment very few of them have won anything. Most of them are at an age where I think we are one of the three youngest squads to have qualified. Southgate believes his England squad will be one of the youngest at next year's World Cup "I am sure we will be one of the youngest squads to come. We don't have huge experience, yet, of big matches across the group. We have some players who do so that is all going to come over the next few years. "The potential, hunger, enthusiasm and energy of the squad, particularly what we found last month, not only excited us as a group of staff and excited the public. That has created a nice feel and we have got to build on that now." England manager Gareth Southgate insists he's excited by his young squad and isn't worried about the inexperience within it ahead of the World Cup next summer England manager Gareth Southgate insists he's excited by his young squad and isn't worried about the inexperience within it ahead of the World Cup next summer Meanwhile, the England manager does not believe former captain Wayne Rooney will return to the England fold following his international retirement in August. Southgate said: "We spoke to him (Rooney) at the beginning of the season about being involved in the group but he had made his decision it was time for him to retire and allow others the opportunity to take over. That is his decision really."

The vast majority of TreeHugger readers undoubtedly take for granted cooking on a stove that doesn't produce prodigious amounts of smoke every time you use it -- that smoke's produced elsewhere a lot of the time, at the power plant, but let's leave that aside. But in many places in the developing world biomass-fired cookstoves are the norm, and the indoor air pollution and health problems they cause are not insignificant. Now, researchers from the University of Nottingham are working on a high-efficiency biomass cookstove that also functions as an electrical generator Called the SCORE (Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity), the cookstove converts heat into acoustic energy and then into electricity through a linear alternator. Currently field trials are being conducted in Nepal:The final unit is expected to weigh in somewhere between 10-20 kilograms, using one kilogram of fuel (wood, dung, or any other locally-available biomass) per hour of use. The target price for the unit is £20 ($33) -- seemingly dirt cheap, but remember that for many of the people this device is intended for that could be nearly a month's wage. SCORE's developers are currently looking for sponsorships to conduct further field testing, with the goal of full production beginning sometime after 2012.

Originally Posted by Laura_Everett Originally Posted by I will reply to each point you made; The issue with trait points is null and void in my honest opinion; whilst levelling a character up, everything that you "should" have done whilst levelling contributes to trait points, also prior to the trait point system contributed to class traits themselves. All the class character deeds need to be done as before, same with all the class quests, same with the first 6 books of the moria epic, the same with getting kindred with iron garrison guards. All of this, should you have levelled properly, should have been done - the only issue there is, if you use Turbines sham of a cheat valar box and skip that process. Up until lv85, all trait points are acquired on the "old" system. After that, yes, "Unfortunate" to some, you actually have to play ALL the content to get all those trait points - sorry, I see nothing wrong with this? Yes its unfortunate that turbine are forcing players to play all the content to be the best.... Wait.. Sorry, no thats not unfortunate at all. Thats the way it should be. Yes I admit, the current instances are getting old, but farming thorog every day to complete your legendary items was no different than farming any prior raid for your armour or your jewellry for weeks on end? When I referred to gearing up, I included essences in what I was saying. Because just having the base jewellry with no essences is not gear. And let me bring this to my earlier point of casual players VS full time end-game players; it is quite easy for "casual" players, to get essences, majors and greaters are easily obtainable, and given the content available to casual players who don't necessarily raid, major and greater essences will do fine in order to complete any of the content that they play. For end-game players, yes, they should be made to grind, and so they should; if you dont like RNG, which I don't myself there are a multitude of other options to getting essences, crafting them yourself, and buying them with gold - quite frankly, if you know what you are doing - gold is "Not hard" to obtain, whatsoever, its easy to make a butt load of gold these days, very quickly. So, just buy your essences, problem solved if you don't want to grind. Coming onto the subject of characters... Anyone who wishes to continue playing 3-4 alts must come to terms with the reality that these characters are not going to be the best geared as they can be. If you don't come to terms with that fact, you are wasting your time. You can continue playing all of your alts if you want, but these alts would have to be casual characters - pick a main and gear it up. Once you have geared it, move on if you want to. So yes, you can still play all of your characters if you want, just gotta accept a few truths. And in my opinion - an "ALT" character, should never be as good geared, or as good as your "MAIN" character; that is why they are called ALTs and MAINs?? I play a runekeeper as my main character, right now she has 3 sets of fully completed legendary items, a stone and bag for all 3 trait trees. Because she is my main character and as an end-game player I have geared her fully. Yes it was a long, grindy, difficult time to get there, but now that I am there I can sit back and relax and enjoy it, until turbine further advance the legendaries - I don't see a problem there at all? And convincing new players to join the game. In my opinion turbine offers something for everyone. If you are only interested in PvP with little work, there is creep side, if you wish to play as a freep, in PvP commendations will buy you EVERYTHING... You can buy legendary items, you can buy empowerment scrolls, you can buy armour, essences, your jewellry is easily crafted. I again, fail to see the problem here? I would tell my friends to come and play the game, the hard-core players would stick to it and become the best, the casual players would either stop along the way or just be happy with whatever they managed to obtain along the way / at the end. The only money turbine gets out of me is the £8.99 I pay a month as VIP, and for loads of other players, that is the same. And quite frankly I am more than happy to continue paying because I enjoy the game and find it fun. To the players who are continuously QQing and complaining about the game, and how turbine are making them "work" to be the best, I tell them - they know where the log out buttons and delete character buttons are. If you want the best, you must work for it. If you are not prepared to work for it, you will not and cannot have the best. It is a very easy choice. For too long, within the game it has been possible for every player, to have the very best equipment and jewellry, and legendary items, and for an MMO, this is WRONG level 85 to the first year or so of level 100, everyone could easily have the best stuff. Not every player should have the best stuff, only those players who spend a lot of time playing the game, who are very good at the game, or who have spent ALOT of money on the game should have it. This was the case at level 50 with rift, where by only those players who raided rift had the best stuff - and the same was true all the way up to now. Instead of giving us a raid to GRIND they gave us dailies, and quests to GRIND. There is no difference, except perhaps people do not find dailies, quests as enjoyable as raids... But I say again - no one is forcing you to do them..

Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption The time it took to announce action, sparked anger amongst social media users. Thirty-seven people have been arrested in eastern China over a huge vaccine scandal, state media report. It comes after police in Shandong announced last month they had arrested a mother and her daughter accused of buying and selling vaccines illegally. The estimated $88m (£61m) worth of vaccines were not properly refrigerated or transported. The illegal vaccine ring, said to have been in operation since 2011, has sparked widespread anger in China. The scandal has led to a crackdown, with checks ordered on vaccine makers, wholesalers and buyers. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Counterfeit and improperly stored medicines are a problem around the world The vaccines were bought from a variety of sources, both licensed and unlicensed, then sold on to both illegal agents and legal local disease control and prevention centres at inflated prices, reported the Xinhua news agency. The ring is alleged to have involved hundreds of people across 20 provinces, it said. Though authorities had known about it since April last year, they only made the news public late on Friday when they issued a call demanding that suppliers come forward to help them trace potential victims. The delay has angered many people in China who questioned why the authorities had not alerted the public earlier. Local authorities have now been given a deadline of Friday to identify who bought the medicines. Three pharmaceutical companies are being investigated, Xinhua reports, citing people handling the case. One, Shandong Zhaoxin Bio-tech Co, has been ordered to suspend operations, it added. The China office of the World Health Organization (WHO) said vaccines needed to be handled properly or they can become less effective. But it stressed that improperly kept vaccines did not in themselves present much danger. "It is important to note, however, that improperly stored or expired vaccine seldom if ever causes a toxic reaction. Therefore there is likely to be minimal safety risk in this particular situation,'' the WHO said.

Acetaminophen has recently been recognized as having impacts that extend into the affective domain. In particular, double blind placebo controlled trials have revealed that acetaminophen reduces the magnitude of reactivity to social rejection, frustration, dissonance and to both negatively and positively valenced attitude objects. Given this diversity of consequences, it has been proposed that the psychological effects of acetaminophen may reflect a widespread blunting of evaluative processing. We tested this hypothesis using event-related potentials (ERPs). Sixty-two participants received acetaminophen or a placebo in a double-blind protocol and completed the Go/NoGo task. Participants' ERPs were observed following errors on the Go/NoGo task, in particular the error-related negativity (ERN; measured at FCz) and error-related positivity (Pe; measured at Pz and CPz). Results show that acetaminophen inhibits the Pe, but not the ERN, and the magnitude of an individual's Pe correlates positively with omission errors, partially mediating the effects of acetaminophen on the error rate. These results suggest that recently documented affective blunting caused by acetaminophen may best be described as an inhibition of evaluative processing. They also contribute to the growing work suggesting that the Pe is more strongly associated with conscious awareness of errors relative to the ERN. © The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio—President Barack Obama's supporters waited all of two months after his inauguration to start laying the groundwork here for what has become a re-election machine that is bigger and tougher than his would-be Republican rivals' nightmarish imaginings. Oh, I'm afraid the Obama campaign will be quite operational when his Republican challenger arrives. Powerful, the president's re-election effort is: A new NBC News/Marist poll finds Obama trouncing his opponents in hypothetical general-election matchups in this state. He leads Mitt Romney in Ohio by 12 points among registered voters, 50 percent to 38 percent; Ron Paul by 10 points, 48 percent to 38 percent; Rick Santorum by 14 points, 50 percent to 36 percent; and Newt Gingrich by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent. While the seesaw battle for the Republican Party's presidential nomination has grabbed the news media spotlight, the unopposed Democratic incumbent has quietly worked to enlist new supporters and woo back the armies of volunteers and small donors who powered his historic victory in 2008. Supporters like Sarah Williams, a 24-year-old student at Ohio University in Athens, are among the campaign's most important assets: veterans of the '08 effort who are at least as enthusiastic now as they were four years ago. "I'm passionate about the president," Williams told Yahoo News as the campaign opened a field office in Athens. "He ran on change, he delivered on that change, and now we have to protect it." Williams calls her brief meeting with Michelle Obama on Feb. 23, 2008, "the day that changed my life," leading her to change her major from creative writing to political science ("my concentration is 'elections'"), to volunteer for Obama's presidential campaign—and now, in 2012, to volunteer for his re-election effort. She views her job as "getting people excited again," she said. A senior official with the president's re-election campaign in Ohio, asked by Yahoo News how the Obama campaign is reaching out to its volunteers from 2008, replied, "We never stopped talking to them." Organizing for America, on operation run by the Democratic National Committee that grew out of the movement that swept Obama into the White House, resumed operations in Ohio in March 2009—more than two years before the president's re-election effort formally began on April 4, 2011. "Literally two months after the president's been inaugurated, we're on the ground with paid staff," the senior official told Yahoo News. The campaign made the senior official available to Yahoo News on the condition that he not be named. Obama's backers in Ohio have been repeatedly tested, first with the fights over his landmark laws on health care law and Wall Street regulation, followed by the Democratic rout in the 2010 midterm elections, and finally in their successful campaign to roll back "Issue 2"—a Republican-backed drive to curb the power of public-sector unions. "You leave the 2010 cycle demoralized, but 2011 reinvigorates your volunteers," the Obama senior official said. "And organization builds on action." The Obama campaign has created "neighborhood teams" to enlist and motivate its volunteers, relying on the time-honored—well, honored since at least 2004, when Karl Rove used the same tactic to help George W. Bush win Ohio and, thus, re-election—political principle that the strongest endorsement a voter can hear comes from a friend or neighbor. Matt Caffrey, a retired Air Force colonel, made that point to the North Beavercreek and Fairborn neighborhood team—a dozen friends and neighbors sitting on the vast blue sofa of his living room or on folding chairs, near a table piled high with snacks and a blue bag full of campaign-funded cellphones. "Be polite," he emphasized as they prepared to call area voters. "The biggest thing about neighborhood teams is: We really are neighbors." (His polite policy extended to this reporter—he gave Yahoo News a copy of the call script.)

In what could spell trouble for Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar, Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena — the film wing of the Raj Thackeray-led MNS — on Friday made it clear that they not just want Pakistani actors to leave India but will also stall the release of Raees and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in Maharashtra. Both the films have Pakistani actors in pivotal roles — while Mahira Khan is SRK’s leading lady in Raees, Fawad Khan plays an important role in Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Advertising Talking to indianexpress.com, Shalini Thackeray, general secretary of MNS Chitrapat Karamchari Sena, said, “It is not a veiled threat. It’s a direct threat to producers like SRK and Karan Johar who take Pakistani actors in their movies. You can’t find Indian actors for your films? In this 125 crore Indian population, can’t you find a single Indian actor to cast in your films that you import people from a place like Pakistan, a country with which we all are facing a problem. It’s not a veiled threat but a direct threat. We will not allow the release of these movies here.” When asked if in the eventuality of Karan Johar and SRK agreeing to MNS terms, would the party allow the films to be released since shooting for both films with Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan are almost over, Shalini said, “That’s for them to decide what they should be doing with their films that has Pakistani actors. We will not allow films with Pakistani’s actors to be released here in Maharashtra. We are sending letters to all producers and would request them to cooperate with us, which we hope they will in Maharashtra. If they don’t, we will stop the shoot wherever Pakistani actors are involved. ” Also read: Fawad Khan, Ali Zafar, Mahira Khan: 7 Pak stars who may have to leave India after MNS threat Watch Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Trailer – First Impression: Advertising Meanwhile, Amey Khopkar, President of Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, said, ” We are not doing this to gain political mileage. This is a very critical issue. We will not allow any Pakistani actors to work in Mumbai. And why do we need Pakistani actors. We have talent in India. We have good actors in India. Why do we need Pakistani artists in India. The party in power should have taken this stand. We have always shook hands with Pakistan and in return what have they done? Our brave jawans are losing their lives because of attacks orchestrated by Pakistan. How can we sit and watch the performance of Pakistani actors in our country? Our people should also understand. Look at what happened when director Kabir Khan went to Pakistan. If they keep attacking us, why should we watch them and their shows? We will also take a stand against the shows that promote these Pakistani actors here.”

Pakistan’s national airline has caused misery by failing to load two corpse-filled coffins on a flight out of New York. “The grieved families have been agonised” by the mistake, said Hasan Mubarak, who was due to meet the body of his 28-year-old cousin at Lahore airport. Another family suffered the same shock when the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight arrived on Saturday. Instead of the coffins, food and drink were loaded on the plane, according to Mr Mubarak. A spokesman for scandal-plagued PIA regretted the “inconvenience caused” but blamed the mishap on foreign ground handling staff. By the time the family of Mr Mubarak managed to locate the bodies, through the US-based funeral company that had prepared their relative’s coffin, the remains had been left unattended in JFK for 14 hours. Muslim burial custom dictates that a body be interred as soon as possible after death. The brother of Nauman Badar, the deceased 28-year-old, had thought himself to be accompanying the body on its journey to Pakistan. In despair at the error, and left unassisted by PIA, he quickly booked himself and Mr Badar’s father on the next flight back to America in order to complete the burial there. On Wednesday, four days after it was due to arrive, PIA delivered the other corpse to anguished loved-ones via an Emirates flight. Once the pride of Pakistan, years of mismanagement and allegations of corruption have turned the flag-carrier into a source of national shame. In the past year alone, a pilot left a trainee at the controls as he took a nap in business class, Heathrow officials found 20kg of heroin on a flight from Islamabad, and a goat was slaughtered on the runway to ward off bad luck after a crash. Efforts to privatise the state-owned company, which loses £340m a year, have repeatedly stalled, leading to speculation that it could simply be declared bankrupt and shut down.

The problem was built into the system. Having members of a political and partisan body pass judgment on their colleagues has inherent conflicts. Fail to act when wrongdoing is apparent? The old-boy network is protecting its own, proving the corruption of politics. Take tough action or bring controversial charges? That can reflect partisan motives or revenge, or the ambitions of members of the ethics panel taking out rivals for power. Clouds of suspicion hang over the process. Those conflicts are true in the best of times; even when the members of the ethics panel act together in good faith, skepticism is inevitable. But the years leading up to 2008 were anything but the best of times. First came the ethics wars, led by Newt Gingrich in the years leading up to 1994, using the ethics process for partisan leverage, criminalizing policy differences. After Gingrich became speaker, the backlash hit him directly, in a tit for tat. Under Speaker Dennis Hastert and his henchman Tom DeLay, it got worse. The nadir came in 2004 when an honest ethics panel, chaired by conservative Republican Joel Hefley of Colorado did its duty and recommended sanctions against DeLay for unethical conduct. Hastert responded by firing Hefley and removing two standup Republican members, Kenny Hulshof of Missouri and the late Steve LaTourette of Ohio. When Democrats recaptured the House in 2006, the new speaker, Nancy Pelosi, began a process to clean the House, choosing Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano to lead the effort via a bipartisan select panel. Through a lengthy, arduous process, with deep opposition from nearly all Republicans and real reluctance on the part of many Democrats, Capuano, working closely with me and Tom Mann and a small group of other reformers, pieced together a balanced plan that respected and preserved the constitutional requirement that the House be the judge of its own members, kept intact the ethics committee, but created a way to build larger credibility that the ethics process would be honest and fair whatever the political currents or partisan pressures. It was weaker than we had hoped—it had no subpoena power, even indirectly via the ethics committee—but it was still a major breakthrough. The OCE would never have made it over the finish line if it were not for Pelosi (and the respect Capuano had among his colleagues.) But while it passed on a near-party line vote, it would have been neutered quickly if it were not for the willingness of Republican Leader John Boehner to pick strong members for the first office. It was the initial cast of members who kept OCE on course despite opposition from the members of the ethics committee and the wariness of a large group of lawmakers. David Skaggs and Porter Goss were the first leaders, and were exemplary, as were their colleagues, including other former members (Bill Frenzel and Ab Mikva, may they rest in peace, along with Yvonne Burke and Karan English, and two others who had deep experience around Congress, Jay Eagan and Allison Hayward.

Amazing Picture! Roma pay tribute to Manchester United legend George Best Whilst the seventh anniversary of the death of George Best was largely passed over in the UK this weekend, Roma fans paid a tribute to the Manchester United legend during their 1-0 win at Pesacara in Seria A on Sunday. Italian fans have received some awful press in England since Spurs fans were stabbed in Rome in midweek but this shows that not all supporters can be tarred with the same brush. Roma paid tribute to the former Northern Ireland winger and Manchester United number seven with the following message: “The last drink… Goodbye George. You are the Best!!! Roma Casual Firm. As far as we are aware, this far supersedes anything Manchester United produced before, during or after their win over QPR on Saturday.

MANILA, Philippines -- Former national team and San Miguel Beermen coach Ron Jacobs has passed away on the eve of Christmas day. He was 72. Quinito Henson, a friend of Jacobs and a columnist for The STAR, broke the sad news on Twitter on Thursday evening, a few hours before Christmas. Sad to report Ron Jacobs passed away tonite at 830 in Makati, he would've turned 73 on Dec 27-he was a great basketball coach n dear friend — Quinito Henson (@TheDeanQuinito) December 24, 2015 Jacobs suffered a stroke on Dec. 22, 2001. Since then, he lived on a wheel chair unable to speak and walk until his death. The former Loyola Marymount coach will be best remembered for handling the Northern Consolidated Cement, the old version of the Gilas program in the 80's. Under Jacob's watch, the NCC won six titles including the 1981 and 1985 William Jones Cup and the 1985 ABC Championship, the forerunner of the FIBA Asia Men's Championship. By virtue of winning the ABC title that year, the NCC team qualified to join the 1986 FIBA World Championship but failed to do so due to the political turmoil that gripped the country that eventually led to the EDSA People Power Revolution. Jacobs briefly handled the San Miguel Beermen in the late 90's and was tapped to coach the 2002 Busan Asian Games-bound national team until he suffered the near fatal stroke. His protege Jong Uichico went on to handle the team and finished fourth after a heartbreaking loss to host South Korea in the semifinals. Jacobs coached a San Miguel Beermen led by the bull-strong Nelson Asaytono. He won two third place finishes despite a lineup bereft of stars. He was named PBA Coach of the Year in 1997, his only season as a head coach in the league, and was later on enshrined to the PBA Hall of Fame 10 years later.

Dirty Little Secrets DLS for 2001 | DLS for 2002 | DLS for 2003 DLS for 2004 | DLS for 2005 | DLS for 2006 DLS for 2007 | DLS for 2008 iPods In Combat by James Dunnigan August 27, 2008 Discussion Board on this DLS topic The U.S. military went into Iraq with few troops able to speak Arabic. Now they can use their iPods to do the talking for them. A new software product, VCommunicator Mobile, and a speaker than plugs into where the ear buds go, enables troops to quickly access a library of phrases. There is also a set of protective covers for the iPod and speaker, with Velcro straps so that you can attach both to your arm. If all this sounds very soldier-friendly, that's because the product was designed with the help of troops from the 10th Mountain division, who have been using 260 of these specially equipped iPods for the last year. This cost the army $800,000, and included language modules for Iraqi Arabic (it's a distinct dialect) and Kurdish (an Indo-European language spoken in the north). There are also modules for languages spoken in Afghanistan (Dari and Pushto). Over 700 troops are using the device in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VCommunicator Mobile software and libraries takes up four gigabytes per language, so it can be used on the smaller, and more rugged, Nano iPods. The software displays graphics, showing either the phrase in Arabic, or a video of a soldier making the appropriate hand gesture (there are a lot of those in Arabic.) There are collections of phrases for specific situations, like checkpoint, raid or patrol. You can use any accessory made for the iPod, like larger displays or megaphones. The army has been developing translation devices like this since 2001. All previous ones needed a laptop or PDA (a device being made obsolete by more powerful cell phones). The VCommunicator Mobile approach took advantage of the fact that most troops had iPods and knew how to operate them. That saved a lot of training time. It was also discovered that many Iraqis were familiar with iPods, or had their own. They were fascinated by this use of the iPod, and this helped break the tension. While the translation is one way, but asking for "yes/no" answers, or directions (to an arms cache, a wanted man, or someone in need of medical help), the VCommunicator Mobile worked quite well. While troops quickly pick up a basic vocabulary of phrases, the VCommunicator Mobile accelerates the process, as troops can use it to help them learn more Arabic (or Dari or Phusto). VCommunicator Mobile also comes with an editor, that runs on a laptop, enabling troops to edit their libraries, adding new phrases or reorganizing them. The army has found that the troops can handle a lot of technology, if the stuff is actually useful. In that case, soldiers will often buy stuff with their own money. Not so much with VCommunicator Mobile, as it costs $2,000 to have an iPod loaded with just one language. The army has also provided a solar recharger for the iPods of troops spending a lot of time out in the hills of Afghanistan.

Training for Your First Fixed-Gear Century I wrote this a while ago for an audience that has less long riding experience than many people here so parts of it might seem too basic. The fixed-gear aspects, though, I thought could be useful to some. Comments and feedback welcome. You can find lots of advice on the internet and in cycling magazines about training for and riding your first century. Most of it isn't very good (more on that later). And almost none of it addresses issues unique to tackling your first century on a fixed-gear bike. This this post attempts to fill that gap. My record-keeping isn't perfect, but I've done at least 182 centuries since 2004. 37 of them have been on fixed-gear bikes, so I know a few things about riding 100 miles -- most of it learned the hard way. Here are some tips and strategies for making your first fixed century as fun and smooth as possible: First, most of the tips that apply to "riding your first century" that you can find elsewhere apply to fixed riders, too. Search out some of those articles and read them. Ok, now that you've done that, here's my thoughts on what you just read. I think most "first century" training plans are crap. Here's the Word: If you are in reasonable shape and riding a bike that fits you and is in good order, then you will most likely complete your first century, and have fun doing it, if in the two months before your century you have a total ride volume of 400 miles and successfully complete a "long ride" of 65 miles over similar terrain in the same weather that you'll be riding your first century in. That's it. That's all. Thousands of pages of cycling advice can be distilled down into that one statement. And that statement is true whether you're riding those miles on a geared bike or a fixed-gear. It doesn't matter what the bike is, as long as you check all the boxes in the statement above riding that same bike. Most of that statement is uncontroversial, but there are two aspects of it that depart from what you probably read elsewhere. First, you don't need huge training volume. There are training programs out there that call for laying down 1000 miles in building up to your first century. On one level, it's true that the more volume you have, the better conditioned and experienced you'll be and therefore the more likely you'll successfully complete the ride. Big volume has drawbacks, though. You run the risk of an over-use injury. You run the risk of burning out. And getting wrapped up in some big-mileage training program builds anxiety about your century ride. You absolutely want to avoid the guilt of, "Oh, snap! I needed to ride today and I didn't so now I'm behind on my miles...." That mental stuff can be a real impediment to successfully completing a long ride. So, ride big miles because you want to (if you want to), not because they're part of some training program. I've seen a 60-year-old fat guy on a cheap hybrid bike complete his first century using my program. The smile on his face at the end of it was awesome. If he can do it, you can, too. (That guy is now 63, no longer fat, rides a sweet full-carbon bike, and has done many more centuries!) The second departure I make from traditional wisdom is on the "long ride." I've seen a program that would have you build mileage up to a 90-mile ride before your first century. That's too much. Of course you can ride 100 miles if you successfully ride 90. Duh! I'm a big fan of the "50% Rule": You can always ride 50% farther than your longest ride ever. So as long as you have the 400 miles, and so long as your 65-mile ride fairly represents the same conditions you expect on your century, then you'll be fine. Ok. With all that out of the way, here's the goods on riding fixed : Things are going to hurt, and they're going to hurt more on a fixed-gear than if you were riding something with a freewheel. You cannot rest easily on a fixed-gear bike. So, things that contact the bike -- hands, feet, butt -- need to be managed more carefully to ensure you stay comfortable. Forget about how tough you are and how you can "ride through the pain." That's b.s. I'll guarantee you plenty of pain. You'll be sore and tired. This stuff I'm talking about here is ride-ending. And if you mess around, you can even do permanent damage to your body. Here's what you need to get sorted out: Hands . Many fixed-gear riders prefer handlebars setups that don't give you a lot of hand positions. And this isn't just about your hands. Where your hands are placed is going to affect where you are on the saddle, your hip angle, how you're using those leg muscles, the angle you're holding your head at -- everything. Road-style bars with hoods and aerobars give you optimal different hand positions. Now that's not necessary. And many of you fixed-gear riders could never stomach the aesthetic of that setup. But, do whatever you can to give yourself as many hand positions as possible. And use them. Use them long before your hands (or anything else) start to hurt. Preemptively switch your position every few minutes from the start of the ride and you'll be happy and comfortable. Butt . There are contrarians out there, but you'll be happiest in the saddle if you get some cycling shorts with a chamois in them. If it dings your image, wear something over them. Never, ever, wear anything under cycling shorts. Ladies, you too. They don't function as intended unless you're going commando. Cycling shorts wick moisture away from your body, they protect sensitive areas from getting banged up, and they prevent chafing. Worth. Their. Weight. In. Gold. Hipsters should adjust the nose on their bike saddle. A Brooks is supposed to be comfortable, so don't point the nose of it at the sky. Your saddle should support you on your sit-bones. Adjust it until it does. Even with proper gear and setup, the butt is where riding distance fixed kills you, especially in flat terrain. If it's flat, then you're going to be stuck in the same narrow band of cadences for the whole ride. All that sameness equals soreness. Like with your hands, it's all about prevention. Stand up and stretch out every few miles, and start doing this well before you're sore. Feather one of your brakes to create resistance (mimicking shifting into a higher gear when you're standing up to stretch on a geared bike), which will help you stretch your butt, back, and leg muscles. Use those different hand positions to put you on different parts of your butt. Nothing is worse than riding along forever on the tops or hoods -- your butt will be killing you. Spend some quality time in the drops (which puts you on the nose of your saddle) to give your butt a break. Feet . If you get the hot foot, things are tougher riding fixed. You really can't pull a foot out and shake it about or stretch while continuing to ride. Dangerous. Dumb. Keep in mind that on a long ride, especially when it's hot out, your feet are going to swell. If your shoes are snug at the start, you might be in for some real foot pain before your ride's over. Your best bet, especially when you get deep into the ride, is to stop for a minute and stretch out. Take your shoes off and give your feet a breather. Your body will thank you. And even 60 seconds off the bike makes a huge difference in your comfort (which makes a huge difference in your mindset!). Knees . Knee pain is usually indicative of one of two things when riding long distance on a fixed-gear bike. Either you're pushing too big a gear (see below), or you're not fit properly. Get the fit figured out when you're riding your 400 miles. You should have NO knee pain when riding distance fixed. Knee pain not part of the deal. Achilles tendon pain . Your saddle is too high. Lower it. It doesn't take much. Even dropping it 1cm can make this problem go away. The tendon gets inflamed because it's getting stretched out too much, 80 or 100 times a minute. You might not notice this one until you're far into your ride. Drop the saddle down as soon as you notice the problem. The pain should disappear pretty much instantly. The other usual suspects are your neck and back . Prevent a lot of neck pain by moving your head around a lot when you ride. Don't just stare off down the road. Do that for 8 hours and -- duh! -- your neck will be sore. Back pain is either poor posture on the bike or a lack of proper fitting (or an issue that has nothing to do with cycling). Get both resolved before your century. Remember to do some core-strengthening exercises as part of your general fitness routine and your back and neck and upper body will thank you. Carrying stuff . Lots of fixed gears aren't drilled for bottle cages. And if you're not wearing a cycling-specific jersey, you're going to have issues with where you put all your stuff (at a bare minimum: ID, money, tools and materials for fixing a flat). Courier bags or Camelbaks work fine for some. I don't find them comfortable for long distances. Whatever your solutions for schlepping your stuff, get it dialed in during your 400 miles. Gearing . Better too low than too high. "Too high" means roughing up your knees, trashing your quads, cramping, and potentially not finishing your ride. Worst-case scenario with "too low" is you finish but you could have finished faster than you did. That ain't no big deal. You just rode 100 miles on a fixed gear. Off to the bar with ye for proper celebration! When selecting a gear, take into consideration both the terrain and the weather. Wind can be a bigger deal than hills. And wind/hills that appear at mile 10 are different than wind/hills at mile 90. Experiment to find what works best for you. Most people I know who have done fixed centuries (and much longer rides) ride something between 65 and 75 gear inches. I did a century in 49x14 once, but I wouldn't recommend that. A good gear for cruising casually around town is usually a good gear for riding 100 miles. Pacing and goal-setting . Most people who fail to finish centuries have training and preparation that is fine. They just mess up the ride by going way too fast or by not getting enough calories or water on board. For your first century, you have only one goal, and that's to finish it. Forget about how fast you're going, what your average is, how fast your friend did her first century... that's all b.s. Ask yourself, can I put out this effort all day? If the answer is "No," then slow down. Stop before you need to to hydrate, eat, and stretch out. Forget about how long it takes. Just finish the ride. You just rode a century on a fixed-gear bike, which is something that the vast majority of cyclists will never, ever do. They'll tell you it's impossible. They'll tell you you're a stud. Not a one of them is going to care whether you did it in 6 hours or 10. Would you rather ride it in 10 and finish, or try to ride it in 6 and not finish? Take the finish. Start the party. After you get the first one under your belt then you can set about figuring out how to do later ones faster. But just finish the first one. Chose your terrain/route wisely . On a fixed-gear, dead-flat routes are tougher than routes with some rolling terrain on them. Really. Like, flat is a lot tougher. A lot. A route that gets you a variety of terrain will get you a variety of cadences and some opportunities to get up out of the saddle. You don't need anything wacky-wacky, but just don't think you're doing yourself a favor by intentionally selecting a flat route. It's tougher on every part of your body. So how hard is it, really, to ride a century fixed ? Tougher than a geared bike, for sure. But not as tough as most people think. It's one of those rare things in life that looks and sounds way more bad-*** than it really is. So, get out there, get training and see you on the road!

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Centre to file reply on a plea seeking inquiry into alleged telephone calls and SMSes made from the US to Delhiites seeking support for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the assembly polls. A bench headed by Justice Pradeep Nandrajog asked the Centre to files its reponse on the application seeking direction to the government to inquire and file their report about the role of "a team from America" in the Delhi Assembly elections. The plea was moved by advocate M L Sharma whose petition against the alleged foreign funding to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also pending before the high court. The application said that the Kejriwal and his associates were being "fully promoted/supported by a USA group Ford Foundation since long and they are active in India in the name of non-residential Indians". Citing a media report, the application said "from November to December 2013, during the Assembly polls, more than six lakh telehphone calls billing to Rs 10 crore and 300 SMSes were made from Los Angeles to Delhi voters to support and cast vote in favour of AAP". It said the telephone calls and SMSes were made without any permission from the Home Ministry or appropriate government authorities and are against national security, amounting to treason. The plea also seeks to know whether foreign interference in the election process is allowed under the Indian Constitution. PTI Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.

New Delhi, March 6: The sea level along India's coastline has risen by about 3.2mm per year over the past two decades, more than double the rate of rise during the 20th century but in sync with global trends, Indian oceanographers have said. Scientists at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, have documented what they say is an accelerated sea level rise in the northern Indian Ocean region since the mid-1990s compared to sea level trends during the 20th century. Their study, based on satellite and tide gauge observations, has calculated the average sea level rise at 3.2mm per year between 1993 and 2012, much steeper than an earlier measurement of 1.3mm per year based on tide gauge data during several decades of the 20th century. "The rate of sea level rise has increased over the past 20 years, but we still need to understand the factors underlying this accelerated rise along the Indian coastline," Alakkat Unnikrishnan, a scientist in the physical oceanography division at the NIO who led the study, told The Telegraph. Unnikrishnan and his colleagues have also found that the northern and eastern coasts of the Bay of Bengal appear to have experienced an even faster sea level rise at about 5mm per year over the past two decades. Their findings, just published in Current Science, a journal published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, corroborates the faster sea level rise near Diamond Harbour observed by University of Calcutta researchers nearly five years ago. "The rise in the northern Bay of Bengal appears to be an exception," Unnikrishnan said. But some researchers say the Hooghly estuary is not an appropriate site to gauge sea level rise. "We may be seeing an accentuated sea level rise in the Hooghly estuary," said Sunando Bandopadhyay, professor of geography at the University of Calcutta, who had used annual tide gauge records to study sea levels at different points along the estuary. "The estuary is accumulating sediments - the slowly rising bed may explain the observed rise in the sea levels," Bandopadhyay told this newspaper. In their earlier study, Bandopadhyay and his colleagues had found that the sea level rise in the Hooghly estuary progressively appeared faster as they measured tide gauge records upstream. Diamond Harbour had the fastest rise of about 4.85mm per year. Several studies by international teams of scientists over the past three years have indicated that the global average sea level has risen at about 3mm per year between 1990 and 2010, a much faster rise than the 1.5mm to 1.8mm per year during the period from 1901 to 1990. Scientists believe multiple factors are contributing to the sea level rise - the heating of the ocean under the influence of global warming, changes in ocean circulation patterns and the melting of land ice, including the loss of glacial ice in the Himalayas. "We cannot explain the accelerated sea level rise since the 1990s," said Unnikrishnan. The researchers say it is still unclear whether the change is due to global warming trends or may be explained through natural variations in the sea level that occur in periodic cycles of decades.

Screenshot from YouTube For folks living in the charming beach community of Atafona on the Brazilian coast north of Rio de Janeiro, there's a sense that the ocean is not only alive -- it's hungry, too. Since the quaint village was first established in the 1950s, hundreds of homes have literally been swallowed up by the ocean as sea levels rise at an alarming rate. Throughout the shrinking town, ominous signs hint at its uncertain future; "Jesus is coming back!!!" warned a message painted on the side of one tall building before it collapsed into the sea. Still, many residents are refusing to budge.According to researchers, the ocean has been advancing inland over the last fifty years -- at a rate of close to ten feet a year. In that time, folks in Atafona have witnessed 14 city blocks disappear beneath the waves, taking with it some 200 houses and shops. Each year, as the sea level continue to rise, a new batch of residents are put on the forefront of a losing battle -- but many refuse to move, despite their grim future. "I will not defy the sea, but I have put my faith and trust in the hands of God," says Sonia Ferreira, a retiree who's lived in Atafona for the last 13 years. In the past few seasons, her home has become beach-front property. She describes how a neighboring structure was overtaken by the sea, in an interview with Brazilian media. It was a building full of history. It had a supermarket, office space ... But the sea was slowly eating away underneath, and we could only watch the disaster. Two blocks in front of my house came to be taken. While many of the faithful in Atafona turn to prayer during what must seem like apocalyptic times for their little beach town, for researchers studying the encroaching sea the implications of this phenomena are only slightly less troubling. According to environmentalist Ronaldo Novelli, two human caused factors may be contributing to the town's gradual disappearance. For starters, Atafona is located along a point where a river meets the sea, and deforestation near the estuary has contributed to the erosion. Then there's the problems caused by climate change . "The trend is for raising sea levels," says Novelli For folks like Sonia Ferreira, whose livelihoods are on the front line of a changing planet, the end may be nigh, but their faith doesn't erode so easily. "I love this place," she says. "It is a paradise, a place of tranquility. I will only leave here if God wants me to leave it." No word yet on the second coming, but soon any trip to Atafona just may require the ability to walk on water. More on Rising Sea Levels Rising Sea Levels Threaten Drinking Water Supplies for 15 Million California Prepares for Rising Sea Levels Rising Greenhouse Gases Amplify Sea Level Rise in Indian Ocean

In a world where Marcin Gortat has called his team’s bench “the worst” in the league (right now), the challenge has been posed (by TAI’s Conor Dirks) to rank the best Wizards bench players from the John Wall era. Let's rank the best #Wizards bench players in the John Wall era. — Conor Dirks (@ConorDDirks) November 14, 2016 Without thinking too much, I threw out some names and prematurely arrived here: 1) Trevor Booker, 2) Tomas Satoransky, 3) Garrett Temple, 4) Ramon Sessions, 5) Martell Webster, and 6) Andre Miller. Very unofficial. But then I got to considering: how can we solve this with data? To the Basketball-Reference.com machine! First, let’s choose an advanced standard or two by which to measure—let’s go with the enduring Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Box Plus/Minus (BPR, an estimate of the points per 100 possession a player contributed above a league-average player). Second, let’s choose criteria—and we might have to skin this cat two ways: best bench players over a single season, versus best bench players over all combined seasons since Wall’s 2010-11 rookie season. And to qualify for either list, a player’s total games would have to be greater than or equal to two times their number of starts. So, for example, Trevor Ariza’s first season in Washington (2012-13) would qualify for the single season list since he played in 56 games but only started 15. But since he played in 77 games the next season, starting all of them, his combined two seasons with the Wizards would not qualify for the cumulative list. (In other words: Too many starts, not enough overall run with the second unit.) And in terms of minutes requirement (500 for a single season, 1,000 combined), apologies would be issued to James Singleton, J.J. Hickson, Gary Neal, and Alan Anderson—none of you actually counted (even though A.A. was a helluva bench cheerleader in a suit). Best Single Season Wizards Bench Player (according to BPM): Trevor Ariza (2012-13) +1.5 Garrett Temple (2014-15) +0.8 Nene (2015-16) +0.2 Trevor Booker (2012-13) +0.1 Martell Webster (2013-14) -0.1 Jan Vesely (2011-12) -0.2 Otto Porter (2014-15) -0.4 Trevor Booker (2010-11) -0.7 Jordan Crawford (2012-13) -0.9 Ramon Sessions (2014-15) -1.0 It takes you all the way until No. 5 to get to someone who had a negative impact (Webster), and OH MY GOD JAN VESELY IS RANKED SIXTH. We get quite the different list if we use PER as our standard measure: Nene (2015-16) 16.8 Ramon Sessions (2015-16) 15.9 Kevin Seraphin (2011-12) 15.8 Kris Humphries (2014-15) 15.4 Trevor Booker (2010-11) 15.3 Jordan Crawford (2012-13) 14.7 Ramon Sessions (2014-15) 14.7 Jordan Crawford (2011-12) 14.5 Andre Miller (2014-15) 14.3 Trevor Ariza (2012-13) 14.0 Ariza goes from the top of the list for BPM to the bottom of the top 10 for PER. And would you just look at Jordan Crawford? Now let’s review best bench player over combined seasons, according to BPM: Otto Porter +0.6 Martell Webster +0.2 Trevor Booker 0.0 Jan Vesely -1.0 Garrett Temple -1.1 Ramon Sessions -1.6 Rasual Butler -1.7 A.J. Price -1.8 Kris Humphries -1.9 Jordan Crawford, Drew Gooden -2.1 (t) For one, this tells us terrible things, like all those negative numbers. It should also be noted that Porter, top of this chart, was drafted to groom him into a full time starter, which he now is–kind of disqualifies him from the big picture. And for a little bang-for-the-buck perspective, let’s use Win Shares per 48 Minutes. The rankings: Andre Miller .127 Trevor Booker .123 Kris Humphries .119 Martell Webster .116 Ramon Sessions .113 Otto Porter .106 Drew Gooden .095 Rasual Butler .984 A.J. Price 0.84 Jan Vesely 0.74 To conclude: Yes, Tomas Satoransky, even if he doesn’t qualify, probably would already rank on any of these lists. And yes, it’s a sad state of affairs when Vesely, 2011’s sixth overall pick who played just 141 games with the franchise, ranks as one of the top bench players during the Wall era. Thanks for stopping by and have a safe trip home. BONUS: What Twitter Said… @ConorDDirks 1. Martell Webster (13-14) 2. Ramon Sessions 3. Trevor Booker HM-Alan Anderson (emphasis on bench part of bench player here) — Nbilka (@nbilka) November 14, 2016 @ConorDDirks half a season of andre miller. ramon sessions. martell webster? — Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) November 14, 2016 @ConorDDirks Al Harrington? He was the stretch four Wall was clamoring for. — Jeremy Feldman (@JFeld628) November 14, 2016 @ConorDDirks 5) $$$ received for Jordan Clarkson — D'Mordecai Karr (@ShinSooJew) November 14, 2016 @Truth_About_It sad part is how true this is… Betting on a grumpy Seraphin over Booker might be EGs most underrated screw up — Jey Rheta ® (@JKCove) November 14, 2016 @Truth_About_It @ConorDDirks remember when Kevin seraphin came off the bench and balled out against the raptors in the playoffs? — Caleb (@fehercaleb) November 14, 2016 @Truth_About_It @ConorDDirks @GTemp14 is #1 on my list. 1 min or 40 min – he was always ready. Close 2nd to Booker. 3.Sats. 4. Me — GLP (@TartanHokie) November 14, 2016 Will Bynum had a podium game once in the playoffs. Ask @MrMichaelLee https://t.co/AC2CUDvSFF — Boy Genius (@BoyGeniusLA) November 14, 2016

If you want to understand human nature at work, start with a doughnut. Today being National Doughnut Day, it’s not tough to find a free one from Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Tim Hortons or many other bakers. Place it on your desk. Then read the following warning. Eating doughnuts or any other foods high in fat and sugar increases your risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and other serious health issues. Should you eat it? Take your time. Think about all the bad things that could happen to your health if you made a habit of eating doughnuts. You do want to live to 90, right? You really shouldn’t eat it, and you know you shouldn’t. Now see how long you can leave the doughnut without eating it. If you feel your will failing, perhaps insults will help. Here’s what one one blogger wrote some years ago about the pastry. I do not like doughnuts. Never have, never will, and with good reason. Among the myriad offensive foodstuffs enjoyed in this nation of atherosclerotic manatees stuffed prematurely and unnecessarily into grossly over-expanded stretch-pants, whirring around strip malls in motorized scooters, the doughnut has always been, and will always remain, particularly loathsome. The doughnut is a delicacy of the dim — a favored indulgence of those with a pedestrian palate and absolutely no understanding of how to run a cost-benefit analysis. So run the cost-benefit analysis. Then look again at the doughnut, the yummy doughnut sitting right there, helpless. Chances are, you failed fairly quickly. The warning did not dissuade you. The insult only insulted you. If your fate is to be a dim atherosclerotic manatee, at least you will be a dim atherosclerotic manatee happy from just having eaten that doughnut. The emotional part of your brain wanted the doughnut more than the logical part of your brain could persuade you not to eat it. So you ate it. Welcome to behavioral economics. To a classically trained economist, all the doughnut consumption makes little sense. For many decades, the prevailing theory of economics held that people were largely rational, that if they had enough information to make an informed decision about what was in their best interest, they would, in fact, make that kind of decision. Rational Man, he was called, or Homo Economicus. Behavioral economist Richard Thaler calls them “Econs” for short, “mythical creatures that populate economics textbooks.” What makes them mythical? “They solve any problem as well as an economist would.” In this respect, he says, they are a lot like the Star Trek character Mr. Spock. “I prefer the concrete, the graspable, the provable,” says Mr. Spock in one episode. “You’d make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock,” responds Captain Kirk. “That is very kind of you, Captain,” says Spock. “We’ve evolved that the agents of the economy, as assumed by economists, have been getting smarter and smarter for the last 60 years,” Thaler said in a 2010 interview. “But human being are just as dumb as we always were, just as human.” Real humans, he argues, are less like Mr. Spock than they are like Homer Simpson. A behavioral economist knows that in any real-life environment, people will eat the doughnuts. Why? Forget about today’s office worker and think instead about his deepest ancestors. For them, the food supply was unreliable. Starvation was a constant risk, and sometimes the only meal available might be less like the giant doughnut taken on by Adam Richman in the TV show Man v. Food and more like the bugs eaten by Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild. They might go weeks between a large, fatty kill, or finding ripe, sweet fruit. When they had these foods, survival might depend not just on eating, but on overeating calorie-rich foods. So in many ways, we eat doughnuts today because somewhere deep in our brains we’re trying to store up calories for the coming famine, a famine that never comes because, unlike our ancestors, we have grocery stores, and fast food, and every week someone brings doughnuts rather than carrots and celery to the office. Try as leaders might to explain, warn, or incentivize toward what makes sense, people act as people have acted for tens of thousands of years. “One of the unstated assumptions of economics is that people have perfect self-control because they choose just what they should choose. So, an ‘Econ’ never has a hangover, never needs to go on a diet because he eats just the right amount,” said Thaler. “It’s not that people are choosing to be fat. There’s a conflict there. One part of them wants to be thinner; another part of them reaches for the bag of potato chips. If we’re going to have a good model of that conflict, we have to face it head-on.” The doughnut dilemma is one of hundreds of mismatches between the rational way people “should” react and way they actually do react in the workplace. Leaders who design choices in wellness programs, compensation plans, company mergers, performance ratings or dozens of other systems assuming too much rationality are destined to be disappointed. Such programs often fail as human nature kicks in and unintended consequences spring to life. For example: • From a rational standpoint, employees should not need much recognition. The bi-weekly paycheck should be reinforcement enough. In practice, employees are strongly motivated by recognition, and recognition has proven to be a pivotal aspect of productivity-boosting engagement. • Strictly rational employees would collaborate whenever the benefits outweigh the costs. In the real world, people have a strong friend-or-foe response, jumping in with people they trust while shunning or even extracting revenge on the people they dislike, even if both kinds of decisions are costly. • In a logical world, everyone’s pay could be public knowledge. In reality, most people consider their pay a private matter, and, if the books were opened, the emotions of everyone making comparisons among themselves could bring a company to a virtual standstill and cause mass resignations. But while human nature creates many managerial complications, it also brings many incredible upsides. A strictly rational person would not be motivated to design a wildly creative advertising campaign unless he was fairly certain it would get him more money or a shot at a promotion. A rational employee would not grind away week after week formulating a new medicine chiefly for the fulfillment of making the breakthrough. A rational employee would not form an inordinate attachment to a company because it’s a cool place to work, and could be lured away for a decent pay raise. In fact, real people work not just for pay, but for the emotional rewards, which leads to great customer service, inspiring design, incredible innovations and thousands of other accomplishments enriched by human nature rather than pure rationality. The lesson for leaders and front-line managers is to build their employee value propositions around, not against, human nature — to create a company that appeals as much to employees’ emotions as it does to their rationality, to inspire and recognize and mentor and challenge and celebrate and pay attention to all the reasons why people will find an inspiring place to work as irresistible as they find a doughnut.

Irvine Welsh called his book about addiction Trainspotting. He said the hobby invokes the same levels of obsession as he had seen in junkies. And that’s what we are. Junkies. We spend our time and energy on these little bits of cardboard. Personally I consume deck techs and draft videos like they are canapés at a wedding. I can’t get enough of talking about the value of different underplayed cards. If anyone in my local games shop wants to venture an opinion on what Modern staples will be reprinted, we could be there for an hour. And I love it. You do too. That’s what a consuming hobby does to you. It takes the weird and unreasonable things and makes them normal. I wonder how many of you have had this conversation with your friend or colleagues? “So did you do anything over the weekend?” “Yeah I went to Milton Keynes with a few mates.” “Oh nice. What did you get up to?” “Well…” They nod politely and wait for your answer. “… I went to a convention where I played Magic: The Gathering. It’s a strategy card game.” “Oh.” You can see it in their eyes, they wanted a normal response. They wanted you to tell them you watched a football match or went to a pub. They didn’t want you geeking up the conversation. It won’t stop us, we are all too far down the rabbit hole. I came to the game late, I’m in my mid thirties and have only been playing for 18 months. My story is very similar to most who start to play. I bought a few intro decks for me and my son to play with. We played with them at home on the kitchen table. We played ten games a day in the first week; we never stopped. My wife thought it was weird but we were so interested in working out what we were doing. I went back to the LGS (Cheap Thrills) and the guy there sold me two more intro decks. He also gave me one each of the starter packs and handfuls of land and tokens. When we got home, me and my son looked at this huge pile of cards and I remember him saying “Wow, look at all these cards! We will probably never need another card again. We can probably make like ten decks with this lot.” And that is similar to what I thought too. I look back at how foolish I was now and shake my head. Going to your first FNM is scary. I see posts about it from people looking for advice on MTG forums quite frequently. Most people will be like me and my son, they will build and play against each other for a while before going to FNM. And then they will get beaten for weeks and weeks but, like every addiction, they will endure great pain and humiliation just to be able to play. If you’ve been playing for a while you will remember when things started to click for you. A moment in time when you saw a particular interaction and it was as if someone had lifted a veil from your eyes. It took me a while. I had to consciously study to improve, and what made my slow improvement more exasperating was the fact that my nine year old son was a natural. In my LGS we used to use a small room behind the shop itself. Most weeks there would be a few overflow tables out in the corridor. If you were winning you were in the room, the lower your table number the more likely you would end up in the corridor. I was always out there. The first few weeks my son was too but then he started winning. He was in the room. I only got to see him between rounds if he chose to visit me out in the corridor. I would play against the teenagers who were having a bad run that week. Out in the corridor with me they would ask, “How come you’re so bad when Brew is like eight and he wins all the time?”. Talk about kicking a bloke when he’s down. My son too is an addict. I would feel bad about turning one so young onto such a consuming habit but the truth is it’s a good cover story for those awkward conversations at work. “Well it’s for my son really.” People are much more accepting when they think it’s just a game for children. MTG has a habit of leaking into our family life. We use its language and rules in real life all the time. More than once I have told him that “Get to bed does not use the stack.” Or he has told me that he has “countered tidy up.” But my favourite has to be when we were having our kitchen remodel’ed and we had only basic cooking facilities. The children loved it because they got to eat all sorts of convenience food that my wife would never normally let them eat. On this particular occasion I was making [card]Smash[/card]. The box was on the side, my son comes in and starts chatting to me about his school day. The curious new food stuff catches his attention and he reads the box out loud. “Instant Mash Potato.” There is a small beat where I can hear his cogs start to whir. “Does that mean I can Mash Potato in response?” he asks, cracking himself up. Man, I love this game. Liam Please let us know what you think below...

When comparing properties we usually look at location, price and possession date. These are no doubt important parameters for short-listing, however there are many more important things to check before you finalize a deal.Ask for copies of all necessary permissions prior to making any financial commitment. Check the following documents and clearance certificates to avoid getting into any legal tangle in future:Title deed is the most important document as it gives details about ownership, rights, obligations and mortgages on the property. So it validates whether the land where the project is coming up has been registered and development rights transferred. Get a copy of it from the builder and cross-check the information with the land record office.A 'certificate of commencement' is mandatory to commence any construction of a property. The certificate is issued by the town planning and engineering department post the inspection of the basic foundation for a superstructure and building boundaries. This also means that the builder would have obtained the required licenses, sanctions and permissions for the map that are required before you can even start excavating.It is good to run an additional check and verify that the building plan and layout plan has been approved and no byelaw applicable in the area has been broken. Make sure that the floor where you have booked your flat has been approved in the building plan.The layout should be in accordance with the National Building Code of India (NBC). NBC is a comprehensive guideline, a code, for regulating the building construction activities across the country. Get this document verified with the local municipal authorities.Also, some projects claim a 'green status'. In that case it should be either certified by the Indian Green Building Council or be rated by Green Buildings Rating System India (GRIHA), a TERI University initiative. The focus areas of all such certification for a building are energy, water and waste management. There are a couple of other rating systems also available right now in India, but GRIHA is the most popular and has standardized norms.It is illegal to have residential properties on a commercial or industrial zone. Apply to the urban development authority and check the certificate to ensure that the property you plan to purchase is in the residential zone. Sometimes the land will be in what is called a 'converted zone'. Cities are expanding and often agricultural land is converted for non-residential usage by paying a fee to the government. In such a case, check for the endorsement order given by the tehsildar or deputy commissioner of the zone that licenses residential construction on that land.Often builders claim future infrastructural development of the area such as upcoming metro or highway near the project. Don't believe everything blindly. Look at the area's master planning to verify. These plans are easily available with the town planning department.The builder should also be able to give you a copy of the urban land ceiling NOC (if applicable), an environment clearance NOC as well as NOCs from the electricity, water and lift authorities, if there is one.An easy way to verify that the project has clean paperwork is to see if it has loan approvals from financial institutions. Banks have stringent lending rules and do their necessary due diligence before clearing loans. However, this is not always error-free and there have been many cases in the past where the builder had bank support, but the project landed in legal troubles. It is therefore better to get professional help. If necessary get a paid opinion from a lawyer who specializes in property transactions and get all documents verified.

Almost 50 people, including many children, have been killed in missile attacks on at least five hospitals and two schools in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York on Monday. The medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) reported earlier that seven people were killed and eight others were presumed dead in a strike on a hospital it supported in Maarat al-Nuaman in Idlib. The group did not say who was responsible for the airstrike. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group, said it appeared to have been carried out by Russian forces. Another apparently Russian airstrike hit a second hospital in the town, killing two nurses, the Observatory said. Meanwhile, a Turkish security official confirmed Reuters that seven Russian missiles struck a hospital in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Monday, adding the the civilian death toll to rise. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, local civil defense officer Abu Muhammad said that several positions in the opposition controlled-town together with Azaz-Al-Salam route were targeted with cluster bombs and 10 civilians were killed in the offensives. As wounded people were brought to hospitals in Turkey's southeastern Kilis province, Muhammad said Russian jets had hit hospitals and schools in the heavy offensives that target Azaz and the surrounding area. The town is 7 kilometers from the Turkish border. Tens of thousands of people have fled to the town, the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey, from towns and villages where there is heavy fighting between the Syrian army and militias. "We have been moving scores of screaming children from the hospital," said medic Juma Rahal. At least two children were killed and ambulances ferried scores of injured people to Turkey for treatment, he said. French charity Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement that at least eight staff were missing after four rockets hit a hospital that it supported in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria. PYD forces are advancing from the west and have been fighting anti-government insurgents on the of town, only a few kilometers away from the main Bab al Salam border crossing. The regime forces are advancing from the south. Both the PYD and the regime want to wrest control of that stretch of border with Turkey from the insurgents. Russian bombing raids on rebel fighters are helping the Syrian army to advance toward Aleppo, the country's largest city and commercial center before the conflict. If the army takes the city, it will by the Syrian regime's biggest victory of the war. Independent Doctors Association, a Syrian non-government organisation that runs a hospital in Bab al Salama near the Turkish border, said at least 30 people were wounded in the attacks.

No person is more Feared & Loathed by the Castro regime than Mauricio Claver-Carone, who until last week headed the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee (USCD PAC) as well as Cuba Democracy Advocates. No person is more Feared & Loathed by the Castro regime’s U.S.-based propaganda and lobbying apparatchiks (i.e. “Cuba experts”) than Mauricio Claver-Carone. (seen above right) Above left: Cuba Expert” Julia Sweig of the Council on Foreign Relations, who reputedly played an advisory role in Obama’s opening to the terror-sponsoring Castro regime–and who is now a “consultant” for businessmen who seek partnerships with the Castro-Family-and-Military-Crony-Crime-Syndicate (commonly mislabeled as “Cuba” by the media and Obama State Dept.) Above right; her head upon hearing of Claver-Carone’s appointment. Above left: “Cuba Expert” Phil Peters who was exposed right here on Babalu Blog by Henry Gomez as getting under-the-table bribes from traffickers in stolen U.S. property for his relentless media lobbying against the Cuba embargo and on behalf of the Stalinist thieves. Nowadays Peters serves as a consultant to businessmen seeking partnerships with his long-time Cuban contacts and cronies …And why not?…Let’s face it. Few people know more of them and have more intimate relations with the terror-sponsoring murderers who run Cuba than do Sweig and Peters. Above right: Peters’ head upon hearing of Claver-Carone’s appointment. Probably no person alive understands the exact letter of the law comprising what is commonly called the “Cuba Embargo” better than Mauricio Claver-Carone. This Cuba embargo is the most Feared and Loathed legislation on earth by the Castro-Family-and-Military-Crony-Crime-Syndicate (commonly mislabeled as “Cuba” by the media and Obama State Dept.) Consequently, nobody knows how horribly this letter of the law has been violated recently by the Obama administration in its “opening” to the terror-sponsoring Castro regime. Consequently, nobody is better positioned to direct any efforts to repair the terrible damage to the letter of U.S. law done by the Obama administration and it’s “Cuba-expert” advisors. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump pledged to reverse President Obama’s (probably illegal) executive orders over the last few years that have circumvented U.S. law and greatly enriched the Castro regime. This enrichment has enabled increased repression of the Cuban people and emboldened the Castro regime to persist in its terror-sponsorship and relentless efforts against U.S. national security. Gentleman on left: “My Cuba legacy has just…been…SHATTERED!” President-elect Donald Trump has just appointed Mauricio Claver-Carone to his transition team. As the Trump team takes office, rolls up its sleeves and spits on its hands, brace yourself to read and hear–whenever the media mentions Cuba– a favored Media/Obama lament. You will hear and read it about FIVE GAZILLION times, believe me. This familiar liberal lament consists of four words: “turning back the clock” ( delivered with a sad frown or grimace by the media personage delivering it.) Amigos, every time you read or hear the term: “turning back the clock on Cuba” please translate it in your mind as: “Upholding the U.S. Constitution. Ending U.S. subsidies to the Cuban people’s oppressors. Halting the enrichment of America’s terror-sponsoring enemies.”

Researchers help create 'gold standard' method for measuring an early sign of Alzheimer's Close (Photo : Pixabay) Researchers help create 'gold standard' method for measuring an early sign of Alzheimer's After six years of painstaking research, a UCLA-led team has validated the first standardized protocol for measuring one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease -- the atrophy of the part of the brain known as the hippocampus. The finding marks the final step in an international consortium's successful effort to develop a unified and reliable approach to assessing signs of Alzheimer's-related neurodegeneration through structural imaging tests, a staple in the diagnosis and monitoring of the disease. The study is published in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia. Using brain tissue of deceased Alzheimer's disease patients, a group headed by Dr. Liana Apostolova, director of the neuroimaging laboratory at the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research at UCLA, confirmed that the newly agreed-upon method for measuring hippocampal atrophy in structural MRI tests correlates with the pathologic changes that are known to be hallmarks of the disease -- the progressive development of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Advertisement "This hippocampal protocol will now become the gold standard in the field, adopted by many if not all research groups across the globe in their study of Alzheimer's disease," said Apostolova, who was invited to play a key role in the consortium because of her reputation as one of the world's leading experts in hippocampal structural anatomy and atrophy. "It will serve as a powerful tool in clinical trials for measuring the efficacy of new drugs in slowing or halting disease progression." The brain is the least accessible and most challenging organ to study in the human body; as a result, Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed definitively only by examining brain tissue after death. In living patients, physicians diagnose Alzheimer's by evaluating other health factors, known as biomarkers, in combination with memory loss and other cognitive symptoms. The hippocampus is a small region of the brain that is associated with memory formation, and memory loss is the earliest clinical feature of Alzheimer's disease. Its shrinkage or atrophy, as determined by a structural MRI exam, is a well-established biomarker for the disease and is commonly used in both clinical and research settings to diagnose the disease and monitor its progression. But until now, the effectiveness of structural MRI has been limited because of the widely different approaches being used to identify the hippocampus and measure its volume -- which has called into question the validity of this approach. A typical hippocampus is about 3,000 to 4,000 cubic millimeters in volume. But, Apostolova notes, two scientists analyzing the same structure can come up with a difference of as much as 2,000 cubic millimeters. In addition, no previous study had verified whether estimates for the volume of the hippocampus using MRI corresponded to actual tissue loss. To address these deficiencies, the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium-Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative was established to develop a Harmonized Protocol for Hippocampal Segmentation, or HarP -- an effort to establish a definitive method for measuring hippocampal shrinkage through structural MRI in a way that best corresponds to the Alzheimer's disease process. Once the HarP was established, Apostolova and four other experts were invited to develop the gold standard for measuring the hippocampus to be used by anyone employing the HarP protocol. The UCLA-led team then validated the technique and ensured the changes in the hippocampus corresponded to the hallmark pathologic changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. "The technique is meant to be used on scans of living human subjects, so it's important that we are absolutely certain that this methodology measures what it is supposed to and captures disease presence accurately," Apostolova said. To do that, her group used a powerful 7 Tesla MRI scanner to take images of the brain specimens of 16 deceased individuals -- nine who had Alzheimer's disease and seven who were cognitively normal -- each for 60 hours. This provided unprecedented visualization of the hippocampal tissue, Apostolova said. After applying the protocol to measure the hippocampal structures, the researchers analyzed the tissues for two changes that signify the disease: a buildup of amyloid tau protein and loss of neurons. The team found a significant correlation between hippocampal volume and the Alzheimer's disease indicators. "As a result of the years of scientifically rigorous work of this consortium, hippocampal atrophy can finally be reliably and reproducibly established from structural MRI scans," Apostolova said. Although the technique can be used immediately in research settings such as clinical trials, the next step, Apostolova noted, will be to use the standardized protocol to validate automated techniques available for measuring the hippocampus so the approach could be used more widely -- including for the diagnosis of the disease in doctor's offices and other patient care settings. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Advertisement Print Print Email Email Plus Plus Minus Provided By University of California - Los Angeles

California Attorney General Asks State’s Lawmakers To Clarify Issues Concerning Dispensing Of Medical Cannabis SACRAMENTO, CA — California Attorney General Kamala Harris is requesting lawmakers to “clarify” the state’s guidelines regarding the production and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. In a December 21, 2011 letter from Harris to Assembly Speaker John A. Perez and Senate President Pro-Tempore Darrell Steinberg, the Attorney General states, “[S]tate law … needs to be reformed, simplified, and improved to better explain to patients and law enforcement alike how, when, and where individuals may cultivate and obtain physician-recommended marijuana.” Specifically, Harris is asking lawmakers to “articulate the scope” of patients’ rights to cultivate cannabis in a “collective” manner. Harris further requests that legislators provide regulations regarding the operation of cannabis dispensaries, stating, “Here the legislature could weigh in with rules about hours, locations, audits, security, employee background checks, zoning, compensation …. (and) what it means for a collective or a cooperative to operate as a ‘non-profit.'” The Attorney General also requests that lawmakers address issues regarding the production and distribution of cannabis-infused food products, which she states are not specifically regulated under existing state law. Article continues after ad Advertisement Harris’ letter follows a statewide crackdown of California medical cannabis producers and providers by the United States Justice Department. Neither the language of Proposition 215, enacted by voters in 1996, nor the Medical Marijuana Program Act, enacted by the legislature in 2003, explicitly addresses the act of cannabis distribution by third-party dispensaries. In 2008, then-Attorney General (now California Governor) Jerry Brown issued guidelines stating that such facilities should operate on a non-profit basis, “acquire marijuana only from their constituent members,” and “may not distribute medical marijuana to any person who is not a member in good standing of the organization.” Harris’ letter references the 2008 guidelines, but states “[T]he facts today are far more complicated” than they were then and acknowledges that “non-binding guidelines will not solve (California’s) problems.” Tags: California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President Mike Pence honored veterans this Memorial Day from his residence at the Naval Observatory, where about 200 vets attended and Project Hero launched its 10th Annual Memorial Day bike ride to Virginia Beach. Pence stepped out and greeted the close to 100 riders to cheers from the crowd. He was joined by Karen Pence and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin. Project Hero President John Wordin addressed the crowd, noting it was the fourth year in a row the ride began at the Vice President’s residence. He pointed out the problem of suicide among veterans and Shulkin’s work in partnership with Project Hero to address it. Shulkin told the crowd, “If it’s for veterans, they’re going to be there for us.” He continued, “Both he and Karen are passionate and relentless when it comes to veterans’ issues.” Pence then took to the podium saying, “This is a day we remember those who served and did not come home…To be able to welcome you here on this most hallowed of days is profoundly humbling to Karen and I.” The Vice President thanked the veterans in attendance for their service and thanked Project Hero. “We’ll be joining the president in just a few moments at Arlington National Cemetery,” said Pence, adding that he and Karen, as avid cyclists themselves, were slightly jealous of the riders who would be setting out for Virginia Beach shortly. Karen and I are so grateful to have you here at the Vice President’s residence. It is deeply humbling to be with you to mark Memorial Day. pic.twitter.com/Bk1WhYL1ky — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 29, 2017 Today all Americans show their thanks to the generations of brave men & women who gave the last full measure of devotion for our freedom. pic.twitter.com/4SPTACDCva — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 29, 2017 The Vice President took a moment to hail the President’s recent “extraordinary trip” to Europe and the time he spent with military troops in Italy. He highlighted Trump’s veteran health care executive order. Pence also lauded Project Hero’s work when it comes to the “unseen wounds” and prevalence of PTSD. Pence wished the riders “Godspeed, safe travels all the way to Virginia Beach and for Project Hero and all of those that it helps all the way to a full recovery in an America that cherishes all those who serve.” Second lady Karen Pence offered a brief prayer directly after her husband concluded his message. She encouraged the riders to take oranges and bananas that were set out for them. Vice President and Mrs. Pence as well as Shulkin were presented with blue Project Hero biking jerseys to commemorate the ride. “That’ll give me a year to fit into it,” joked Pence. Thank you, Project Hero, for the new biking jerseys for Karen and me. May you all have a safe ride to Virginia Beach! #MemorialDay pic.twitter.com/Ja0SCPkcAJ — Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) May 29, 2017 Project Hero is a national nonprofit which describes itself as an “organization dedicated to helping Veterans and First Responders affected by PTSD, TBI and injury achieve rehabilitation, recovery and resilience in their daily lives and increasing awareness to combat the national mental health emergency posed by PTSD and TBI.” Riders set out from the Vice President’s residence shortly after Pence departed to join President Donald Trump for a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. The riders headed toward their Virginia Beach destination. Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana

As co-executive producer of the Netflix hit Grace and Frankie, John Hoffman was bound to have uncanny insights into this delightful show’s two primary unforgettable characters (played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin). And as an Emmy-nominated writer himself, Hoffman seemed also guaranteed to come up with crafting some highly entertaining answers when asked to curate a list of desert island CDs for these two titular leads. What wasn’t expected, however, was how deep and thorough his knowledge of the two legendary actresses’ careers would prove and how good — dare we say, impeccable — his own taste in music would be. And so without further ado… What three CDs would you ship to Grace if she were stranded on a desert island? 1. Helen Reddy’s Greatest Hits — because there’s something so quintessentially ’70s feminist within Grace and she should always have at her access “I Am Woman,” “Leave Me Alone” and “You and Me Against The World.” The first for herself, the second and third to continue to deal with her feelings about Frankie (even though she’d be alone on this island). 2. Donna Summer’s Endless Summer: Donna Summer’s Greatest Hits — because there’s something so quintessentially ’80s power woman about Grace and she would always want to be inspired by, well, Donna’s voice…and “She Works Hard For The Money” (because she always does), “Hot Stuff” (because she is) and “State of Independence” (which is newfound and which she needs to continue to learn to embrace on this island). 3. Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life — because Grace needs a MAN on this island! And Sinatra is her kind of guy, truth be told — a little bad, a little rough around the edges, but all cool…with impeccable style. The title song would become her mantra and “Sand and Sea” and “I Will Wait For You” would be the romantic companion dream for her time alone here. What about Frankie? 1. Bob Marley and The Wailers Catch A Fire — because, come on…Do I need to explain this? Frankie?! I mean, come on!! 2. The Shaggs’ Philosophy of the World — because Frankie would find hope in their pursuit of success as artists that not enough people appreciated. And she would just like their weirdness. And she would like to imagine Grace being driven crazy by having to listen to it if she was with her on this island. 3. A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got it From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service — because my girl is CURRENT! — and classic — and she likes that Q-Tip and the gang have her style and substance and because their mix of rap, social justice and Vincent Price is just too damn intoxicating not to spend every day listening to just this album in the sand forever! What about yourself? Now…my three choices…(and this was a MOTHER!)…are all first albums. So. Make of that what you will. 1. Tom Waits’ Closing Time — because there are no better melodies in the history of melody and because it’s my favorite album ever by the funniest, most soulful heartbreaker poet freak at the peak of his powers even though he went on to do amazing things. This thing is perfection. 2. Roberta Flack’s First Take — because she is the voice that flattens me and here she is in 1969 being more raw than you knew she could be or would be again and between “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Compared To What” and her “Ballad of the Sad Young Men.” I’d be in church on that island and would not care that I picked an album with only a scant eight songs for what could be forever. 3. Rufus Wainwright’s Poses — I know, this isn’t his first, technically, but this one is SO much better than his first that I’m compelled to help him out here and dub it his first. And I’ll be alone on a deserted island so I will be able to lie like that if only to please myself. I’m also taking this one because I will want to MOVE to his “California” and dream in the way he does about “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” and “Grey Gardens.” Now curate a weekend binge for CultureSonar fans. Three comedies on Netflix any Grace and Frankie fan must be up to speed on, in my humble opinion, must start with the obvious… 1. 9 To 5— because “oh, just watch it and you’ll love the holy hell out of it” and because the two geniuses are brilliantly funny here along with the equally brilliant Mr. Coleman, Ms. Wilson and the one and only Ms. Parton whom…yes, of course we’re trying to get a part for her on G&F, what do you think?!?!? 2. Flirting With Disaster — because there are hints of Lily’s Frankie within here and because I think it’s one of the best comedies made within — and it hurts me to think this could possibly have been made so long ago! — the last 20 years. 3. Cat Ballou — because this movie is insane in all the right ways and because Jane is drop-dead stunning and funny and game for all the insanity and Lee Marvin is ridiculously perfect opposite her as the drunkest man ever on film who went on to win an Oscar — but it’s still Jane you’ll have your eyes on throughout. It’s a comic-western romp and Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole sing the title song — together on screen — IN the movie. Go. Get thee to Netflix now and binge away!!! – The CS Team PS. We’re doing our part to make your holiday shopping a little easier. Visit our store to find cool stuff to buy. It’s powered by Amazon, so you know you can trust it. Plus, shopping here helps support CultureSonar. Everybody wins! PPS. You may also enjoy our posts on some other great records: A Staggeringly Good New Album from…The Monkees, Forty (!) Years Later, “Songs In The Key of Life” Is As Fresh As Ever, The Who’s 11 Studio Albums: From Great to Glorious, and 5 New Albums That Keep the Spirit of the ‘60s Alive. Other Posts You Might Like

Being levels above in [rationality] means doing rationalist practice 101 much better than others [just like] being a few levels above in fighting means executing a basic front-kick much better than others. - lessdazed I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. - Bruce Lee Recently, when Eliezer wanted to explain why he thought Anna Salamon was among the best rationalists he knew, he picked out one feature of Anna's behavior in particular: I see you start to answer a question, and then you stop, and I see you get curious. For me, the ability to reliably get curious is the basic front-kick of epistemic rationality. The best rationalists I know are not necessarily those who know the finer points of cognitive psychology, Bayesian statistics, and Solomonoff Induction. The best rationalists I know are those who can reliably get curious. Once, I explained the Cognitive Reflection Test to Riley Crane by saying it was made of questions that tempt your intuitions to quickly give a wrong answer. For example: A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If you haven't seen this question before and you're like most people, your brain screams "10 cents!" But elementary algebra shows that can't be right. The correct answer is 5 cents. To get the right answer, I explained, you need to interrupt your intuitive judgment and think "No! Algebra." A lot of rationalist practice is like that. Whether thinking about physics or sociology or relationships, you need to catch your intuitive judgment and think "No! Curiosity." Most of us know how to do algebra. How does one "do" curiosity? Below, I propose a process for how to "get curious." I think we are only just beginning to learn how to create curious people, so please don't take this method as Science or Gospel but instead as an attempt to Just Try It. As with my algorithm for beating procrastination, you'll want to practice each step of the process in advance so that when you want to get curious, you're well-practiced on each step already. With enough practice, these steps may even become habits. Step 1: Feel that you don't already know the answer. If you have beliefs about the matter already, push the "reset" button and erase that part of your map. You must feel that you don't already know the answer. Exercise 1.1: Import the feeling of uncertainty. Think of a question you clearly don't know the answer to. When will AI be created? Is my current diet limiting my cognitive abilities? Is it harder to become the Prime Minister of Britain or the President of France? Close your eyes and pay attention to how that blank spot on your map feels. (To me, it feels like I can see a silhouette of someone in the darkness ahead, but I wouldn't take bets on who it is, and I expect to be surprised by their identity when I get close enough to see them.) Hang on to that feeling or image of uncertainty and think about the thing you're trying to get curious about. If your old certainty creeps back, switch to thinking about who composed the Voynich manuscript again, then import that feeling of uncertainty into the thing you're trying to get curious about, again. Exercise 1.2: Consider all the things you've been confident but wrong about. Think of things you once believed but were wrong about. The more similar those beliefs are to the beliefs you're now considering, the better. Meditate on the frequency of your errors, and on the depths of your biases (if you know enough cognitive psychology). Step 2: Want to know the answer. Now, you must want to fill in this blank part of your map. You mustn't wish it to remain blank due to apathy or fear. Don't avoid getting the answer because you might learn you should eat less pizza and more half-sticks of butter. Curiosity seeks to annihilate itself. You also mustn't let your desire that your inquiry have a certain answer block you from discovering how the world actually is. You must want your map to resemble the territory, whatever the territory looks like. This enables you to change things more effectively than if you falsely believed that the world was already the way you want it to be. Exercise 2.1: Visualize the consequences of being wrong. Generate hypotheses about the ways the world may be. Maybe you should eat less gluten and more vegetables? Maybe a high-protein diet plus some nootropics would boost your IQ 5 points? Maybe your diet is fairly optimal for cognitive function already? Next, visualize the consequences of being wrong, including the consequences of remaining ignorant. Visualize the consequences of performing 10 IQ points below your potential because you were too lazy to investigate, or because you were strongly motivated to justify your preference for a particular theory of nutrition. Visualize the consequences of screwing up your neurology by taking nootropics you feel excited about but that often cause harm to people with cognitive architectures similar to your own. Exercise 2.2: Make plans for different worlds. Generate hypotheses about the way the world could be — different worlds you might be living in. Maybe you live in a world where you'd improve your cognitive function by taking nootropics, or maybe you live in a world where the nootropics would harm you. Make plans for what you'll do if you happen to live in World #1, what you'll do if you happen to live in World #2, etc. (For unpleasant possible worlds, this also gives you an opportunity to leave a line of retreat for yourself.) Notice that these plans are different. This should produce in you some curiosity about which world you actually live in, so that you can make plans appropriate for the world you do live in rather than for one of the worlds you don't live in. Exercise 2.3: Recite the Litany of Tarski. The Litany of Tarski can be adapted to any question. If you're considering whether the sky is blue, the Litany of Tarski is: If the sky is blue I desire to believe the sky is blue. If the sky is not blue, I desire not to believe the sky is blue. Exercise 2.4: Recite the Litany of Gendlin. The Litany of Gendlin reminds us: What is true is already so. Owning up to it doesn't make it worse. Not being open about it doesn't make it go away. And because it's true, it is what is there to be interacted with. Anything untrue isn't there to be lived. People can stand what is true, for they are already enduring it. Step 3: Sprint headlong into reality. If you've made yourself uncertain and then curious, you're now in a position to use argument, empiricism, and scholarship to sprint headlong into reality. This part probably requires some domain-relevant knowledge and an understanding of probability theory and value of information calculations. What tests could answer your question quickly? How can you perform those tests? If the answer can be looked up in a book, which book? These are important questions, but I think the first two steps of getting curious are more important. If someone can master steps 1 and 2, they'll be so driven by curiosity that they'll eventually figure out how to do step 3 for many scenarios. In contrast, most people who are equipped to do step 3 pretty well still get the wrong answers because they can't reliably execute steps 1 and 2. Conclusion: Curiosity in Action A burning itch to know is higher than a solemn vow to pursue truth. If you think it is your duty to doubt your own beliefs and criticize your own arguments, then you may do this for a while and conclude that you have done your duty and you're a Good Rationalist. Then you can feel satisfied and virtuous and move along without being genuinely curious. In contrast, if you can find within yourself the slightest shred of true uncertainty, then guard it like a forester nursing a campfire. If you can make it blaze up into a flame of curiosity, it will make you light and eager, and give purpose to your questioning and direction to your skills. My recommendation? Practice the front-kick of epistemic rationality every day. For months. Train your ape-brain to get curious. Rationality is not magic. For many people, it can be learned and trained.

It’s arguable that in recent times, the advent of the likes of Steam and other digital stores has led to more opportunity for those interested in making a game but worried about the overhead costs that may have existed. The number of independent developers now attempting to make their ideas a reality is encouraging for an industry that needs to be as diverse as possible in the interests of creativity, and digital stores, along with the more affordable game engines that are now available, play a part in that. Exploding Tuba Studios are another example of the positive impact of the range that now exists in the industry, allowing people who may not have been able to get a game made before to do so now. We spoke to director Chris Tilton, an accomplished musician who has worked on a wide range of scores in TV and games, about the team’s upcoming sci-fi adventure game, Divide; the circumstances in which it has been made; and his experiences making a game for the first time. In this first part, we will be dealing with the start of the process, and how things started to look more plausible for the company. Find out more about Divide and what makes it so unique in the next installment. BEGINNINGS Chris’ path to founding Exploding Tuba has not been a conventional one. He originally got started working as a musician in a different form of media. “I moved out to LA in 2001 and started working for Michael Giacchino, the composer.” he said. “I was and am a composer and wanted to get in to films. I started working for him on the TV show Alias. That was sort of my introduction to the industry, which allowed me to see how everything worked.” From there, Chris elaborates on how he got in to video games and how music wasn’t his only interest. “I’ve always been a gamer and my roommate at college, who I had done music for, wanted to go in to games, and he ended up being the lead designer on this one.” “We’d always talked about game design,” Chris continued. “I pursued a music career in games and TV but the opportunity eventually came where I could make the game that I wanted.” Chris had entertained the thought of designing a game before, and while it didn’t seem plausible, he always didn’t let the idea go while he continued work as a composer. “A lot of the time I never thought I would get in to this. I had fleeting ideas about game designs when it was totally infeasible to make them on a small scale and so I just never even imagined doing it, but I was always interested in how games worked, why things were working and how decisions were made. I decided to use that to make something.” He credits timing for making the whole venture possible. “In 2012, the industry was at a place where it was feasible to get a few people together and create something, so I said if we’re gonna do it we should just do it. My old roommate, JD Straw, had been working in the industry for quite a while, so he helped me put together a small team of people who were dependable and experienced like him.” Together, Chris and JD started to get the ball rolling. “We knew the pieces we were going to need, though the fine details probably went back and forth a lot. I knew I was going to be able to guide the ship, and I needed JD to help design it because he had a lot of experience and was very knowledgeable, so I knew he was going to help me with most aspects of making a game. Anything extra outside of that and any help we had for getting stuff in the game we just ventured out when we felt we needed it.” What was it about 2012 that worked so well for him? A number of factors were involved in making the game possible, but the fact that it has become easier to get the process started is definitely one of them, as Chris explains. “It was the timing of a lot of things. I had been doing the music for a TV show called Fringe for a number of years and that show was pretty much going to its final season, so I was thinking about what I wanted to do next. The game industry had got to a point where you could licence a game engine for a reasonable cost, not millions of dollars like it used to be but thousands. Consoles, which continue to be highly important to today’s gamer, were starting to have digital stores, which meant all this overhead of releasing a game was gone. You really could make a game with just a few people and actually get it in front of gamers who would realize it exists. It was actually viable from a business perspective.” Like a lot of indie developers, the team is spread out, and relies on the internet to keep in touch and update each other. Chris told us about the situation. “We all have our home offices. Our programmer lives in the LA area with us, but JD lives north of San Francisco, and our animators and environment artists were in Seattle. We would just use things like Google Hangout and Skype to keep in touch, and screen sharing has been useful too. There were certain situations where it would have been easier if we were all in the same room, but being able to do it remotely has worked very well for us.” “Regular face to face check-ins via video are important,” he added. “If you couldn’t do that, it would be very difficult to make sure everybody was on the same page design wise, tone wise and so on. We all had to make sure we were on the same page and knew what the vision was.” Chris mentioned earlier that they had assembled a team that knew their roles and could be relied upon, but the actual set-up was, and still is, more complicated than that. He gave us a rundown of his role in the company, as well as what the core members of the team are responsible for, and reminded us that because it’s only a small team, everyone has multiple roles so the team can get to the plethora of things that they have to address, so the roles are quite fluid. “I started the company and came up with the idea for the game and most of the story,” Chris explained. “I have a friend, Chris Carle, who helped write a lot of the dialogue, which isn’t one of my strong points. I prefer coming up with the story and the emotional arcs involved, and Chris is definitely better at dialogue. “We’ve slowly been working the story together for a long time, but I’ve also been collaborating with JD, who is our lead designer, on what the gameplay should be like. In the broad strokes of the game I’m the director but I also put together the environment, and am responsible for 80% of the rooms that you walk in throughout the game. JD did certain key sequences, but a lot of the places to explore fell on me to do while he was doing lots of actual design work. “Then we have our engineer, Shai Kalev, who designed every tool and is the reason that you can see things on the screen. There is our environment artist, Chris Durso who was on with us for about two years and basically created all the art within the game. The way that worked with how I built it is that we deliberately created puzzle pieces that kind of fit together like Lego where he would design a style, which could be a certain kind of floor or wall or furniture that would fit thematically with the set so that I could go in and make multiple rooms out of this one theme.” “For example it could be an underground themed area which allowed me to create environments and things to explore from just that set and then you go to a different location and we have different location sets. He created all these sets which allowed us to build any kind of room we wanted and made it easier for us to build rooms quickly and efficiently.” “We also had an animator, Kevin Dalziel, who basically built and animated all of our characters in the game.” It’s clear that as a team things came together for Exploding Tuba to be able to make the game that they wanted, and that the transition from music to directing a video game had so far been successful for Chris, having assembled the team and made his dreams more of a reality. Tune in for the second part of the interview TOMORROW for a whole lot more on how Chris came up with Divide itself, which includes his insights on the story, the gameplay, the challenges the team faced and are still having to deal with, and much more.

Authored by Andrei Akulov via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The US Constitution says that only Congress can declare war for an extended time but there is a workaround. Congress approved the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), giving the president the authority to track down and destroy al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The resolution stipulates that “The President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.” The resolution’s 2002 version gave President Bush the authority to invade Iraq. Only 25 percent of the current members of Congress in the House and Senate were present when the current AUMFs were passed. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and several other Democrats are asking whether a new law authorizing the use of military force should be written. They are planning to introduce legislation that would prohibit Trump from starting a pre-emptive war against North Korea, absent an imminent threat or without express authorization from Congress. They call for one without a sunset date, saying that Congress needs to have a voice. The deadly incident in Niger last month ignited a push among many members of Congress to update the legal parameters for combat operations overseas. The revelation that the US is at war in Niger, without Congress even knowing, was startling. This is the perfect illustration of the US’s permanent war posture around the world, where battles are waged with little or no public scrutiny and no congressional authorization. All previous attempts to ditch the old authorization and force Congress to craft a new one have failed. For years now, Congress has abdicated its responsibility to debate and vote on US wars. This time lawmakers mentioned the possibility of using military force in crises involving North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, as well as the ongoing efforts against multiple militant groups that did not exist at the time the AUMF came into force. The AUMF authorized military actions only against al Qaeda, the Taliban and other perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. During testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on October 30, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis opposed the idea of rewriting the legislation in force and told the lawmakers demanding a new war authorization that existing laws governing combat operations are legally sufficient. The two secretaries explained that the executive branch has the power to launch an attack in certain circumstances where US citizens and national security interests are being imminently threatened. Tillerson and Mattis declined to make precise whether they see North Korea as an imminent threat to be dealt with without congressional approval. They also said the AUMF should not be repealed until a replacement is in place. The top officials believe that repealing the law prematurely could signal the United States is backing away from the fight against terrorists. They cautioned senators against imposing restrictions on American military forces using force overseas, should Congress decide to write new AUMF legislation, as it would allow the enemy "to seize the initiative." Tillerson and Mattis told the committee that a new war authorization should not have time constraints or geographic constraints. Their view has strong support. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) appeared to cast doubt on the need to pass a new AUMF as it would “send the wrong message to our allies and our adversaries that we are not united and committed to victory.” Backers of a new AUMF say the 2001 authorization has let presidents wage war wherever they like, without answering to Congress, or the public. According to them, the current law is used as a pretext for using force abroad against the forces that have no relation to the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Republican Senator Rand Paul believes that Congress has surrendered its war-making power to the White House. In September, he tried to repeal the current authorization, saying it allowed the president to engage in war "anywhere, anytime, anyplace on the globe". There are disagreements about what a new authorization should look like prevent the repeal of the current AUMF or introduction of a new legislation. It seems unlikely that a new law will be introduced to be considered by Congress - at least not soon. Meanwhile the AUMF, the open-ended document, is used to justify operations in many countries across the world with neither an exit strategy nor a defined goal. The combat actions are waged in Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. It opened the door for attacks in on Pakistan and Mali and the new drone bases in Niger and Djibouti. There are many more involvements under the veil of “train and assist” missions. US commandos are operating in 137 countries. Drone campaigns are intensified in many countries, especially in Africa. Unmanned aerial vehicles attacks have quadrupled under President Trump. The administration still wants to increase drone strikes and commando raids. The US military presence in other countries is mushrooming. In 2013, businessman Donald Trump tweeted, “The president must get congressional approval before attacking Syria — big mistake if he does not!” Having become President, Donald Trump appears to forget his own admonition. Some time ago, the president said he would avoid interventions in foreign conflicts. Instead of investing in wars, he would spend money to build up America's aging roads, bridges and airports. Easily said and easily forgotten. The legislation - a writ for war without temporal or geographic limits - allows any president a boundless and unchecked ability to start wars. No checks and balances are in place. A strike can be delivered anywhere anytime without deliberations. Meanwhile, the United States continues to conduct covert endless shadow wars under the radar and beyond any scrutiny. The president is free to launch a war on a whim.

Janette Sadik-Khan, who turned New York City's public spaces into 'living rooms', looks to Australia Updated The woman who redesigned the Big Apple's transport system and revamped Times Square to wide acclaim has turned her planning eye to Australia's major cities. Former New York City transport commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has recommended Australian cities integrate more cycle paths and bike share programs. Speaking at Adelaide's Velo-Cities conference, Ms Sadik-Khan said streets need to be redesigned to act more like social "living rooms" rather than congested pathways. Her new approach to footpaths revolutionised NYC, removing congestion and encouraging more people to walk. We used a fast-acting approach and literally painted the city that we wanted to see. Janette Sadik-Khan As in many Australian cities, the introduction of a bike share system and extensive cycle path network proved controversial. "Our streets are where we play and meet, kind of like the living rooms of New York, and so when you change something like that it can cause a stir." The stirring sometimes got personal, she said. "There were days where it was not fun to pick up the tabloid papers." New York City now has a privately operated bike share program - reportedly facing financial problems - and a network of mostly separated paths that traverse and connect all five boroughs. The bike share scheme has an annual membership and is available to tourists. Cyclists have been encouraged to respect their fellow riders through a "Don't be a Jerk" safety campaign featuring NYC comedians, models and chefs astride two wheels. Leadership at the local level is where Ms Sadik-Khan sees most of the innovation in urban design taking place. "It's interesting to see that the innovation that you see in cities like Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland and in New York City ... it's the cities that are innovating," she said. "To a large degree national governments ... you're not finding the funding and the policy guidance ... on [that] level." Ms Sadik-Khan is now an adviser to a national transportation association that fosters cooperative approaches to key transportation issues. Reflecting on her role as commissioner, she said: "I wouldn't say it's a ballet in New York; there are lots of interactions. But we've worked it out and the last seven years have been the safest in New York City history. It's been a wonderful ride." Sadik-Khan literally painted vision of a better NYC When Ms Sadik-Khan was appointed in 2007, in then-mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration, there was plenty that bothered the fit, bike-riding New Yorker. "Congestion bugged me, the streets seemed very dangerous and unorganised," she said. "So making our streets more accommodating to cyclists, making our streets more accommodating for people walking, was important." Ms Sadik-Khan said the city's transport did not take its enormous population into consideration. We used a fast-acting approach and literally painted the city that we wanted to see. Janette Sadik-Khan "New York City was the great oxymoron. It's a great walking city but there was literally no place to sit down. You'd walk down the street and see families with kids crunched onto these fire hydrants – [it was] just really bad," she said. "Even the signs for parking [were] really complicated." Rather than instigating a drawn-out planning process, Ms Sadik-Khan moved quickly. She and department of transportation officials temporarily closed sections of road and car parks and marked out where a new plaza might be built. "So we used a fast-acting approach and literally painted the city that we wanted to see. We painted curb lines, painted green as if it was grass, we threw down tables and chairs and temporary planters," she said. "The key was to change the use of a space quickly so people could see what it looked like." Ms Sadik-Khan did this in areas where residents and business wanted the public space. If anyone did not like it, "we could change it back". Overhauling the 'crossroads of the world' When she proposed closing Times Square, "there was tremendous concern about it," she said. "Businesses were anxious, theatre-owners were worried; lots of people were sceptical." Ms Sadik Khan kept her course. With strong support from Mr Bloomberg, she transformed Times Square in the middle of his re-election campaign. At a meeting of the city's executive, she said the mayor told her: "I don't ask my commissioners to do the right thing according to the political calendar; I ask my commissioners to do the right thing, period. "And he said, 'let's do it', and he shook my hand an awful lot." Building streets that make it easier to get around and make the city more attractive for businesses and residents is a key economic-development strategy for New York City. At the end of their respective terms, in December last year, Ms Sadik-Khan and Mr Bloomberg cut the ribbon on the finished Times Square project. "It's gorgeous and it is really worthy of its name: the crossroads of the world," she said. Ms Sadik Khan points to the data to show the value of the renovation: retail rents near Times Square have tripled, six major retailers have opened, and Times Square is now rated as one of the top 10 retail locations on the planet for the first time ever. Sydney will soon have its own Times Square moment with plans approved for the closure of George St for light rail and a large plaza in front of Sydney's Town Hall. Topics: transport, urban-development-and-planning, community-and-society, cycling, australia, sydney-2000, adelaide-5000, united-states First posted

In an exciting declaration, Pope Francis I stated that God should not seen as a "magician with a magic wand," while unveiling a statue of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Pope Francis also stated that evolution and the Big Bang theory are both true and not incompatible with the church's views on the origins of the universe and life. "When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so," Francis said, according to the Independent. Francis continued by stating that God "created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment." Advertisement: "The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it," Francis explained. "Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve." While the pope's understanding of the origins of life still requires a divine force (rather than a scientific one), his views are a leap forward for the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is not the first pope to welcome these two scientific theories. However, the Catholic Church has a long reputation of being at odds with science, and Pope Francis' declaration is looked at as “trying to reduce the emotion of dispute or presumed disputes” between the church and science. It is an especially groundbreaking stance in terms of evolution. The theory, broadly accepted by the majority of scientists, is still under attack by Young Earth Creationists, and it is taught alongside the pseudo-science of creationism in American schools. Some mainstream politicians even try to distance themselves from the term "evolution."

Ask any Android user what they like most about Android and there’s a coin-toss of a chance they’ll say it’s the control and customizability. This is something that you just don’t get with Android’s competitors no matter how much jailbreaking or unlocking you do. Of course, there’s more to Android than personalization. Beneath the skins, root mods, and tweaks is a powerful mobile operating ecosystem that undoubtedly earns the “smart” in “smartphone”. But Android has also been a template for countless custom ROMs that have been created over the years, each offering its own unique interpretation of the beloved OS and some innovative features while remaining mostly true to what makes Android… well, Android. Here’s another exercise: Ask any Android user to name the first custom Android ROM that comes to mind. Chances are you’d hear the name of what has remained one of the most popular ROMs in almost a decade: CyanogenMod. It’s also possible you’d hear Cyanogen OS from someone who’s less knowledgeable of the difference, or perhaps Cyanogen, Inc. from someone trying to score name-dropping points. There’s no denying that there’s a common thread between CyanogenMod, Cyanogen OS, and Cyanogen, Inc., but the three are, in fact, different entities. Fortunately, that’s exactly what we’ll be discussing during today’s impromptu lecture. So take out some paper and a pencil, spit out that gum, and join me as we hash out the very long, tumultuous, complicated history — Psst… It’s really not that complicated. — of CyanogenMod, Cyanogen OS, and Cyanogen, Inc. Dawn of the mod It was in the third quarter of 2008 when the first device running Google’s Android operating system was commercially released. Released just over a year after the wildly successful iPhone, the T-Mobile G1 — or the HTC Dream outside the U.S. and Europe — was only moderately popular as a smartphone. Users were somewhat unimpressed with the Android operating system; however, when someone realized you could gain privileged control of the Linux-based system through a process we now call rooting, the popularity of both Android and the T-Mobile G1 exploded. The T-Mobile G1 is the genesis of what Android stands for today Many Android-lovers look back on the G1 with fondness as it essentially represents the genesis of what Android stands for today: a mobile operating system that gives users the chance to ride the horse rather than merely in the carriage. And that’s exactly what people started to do. Over the course of a year, scores of users were creating their own firmwares by modifying and tweaking the Android OS. One of the most popular custom builds at the time was released by JesusFreke. The JesusFreke developer eventually stopped working on the firmware and referred his fanbase to Steve Kondik. Steve Kondik, at the time, went by the handle “Cyanogen” and worked on an enhanced version of JesusFreke’s custom builds. The product of JesusFreke and Cyanogen’s input was the original iteration of CyanogenMod. CyanogenMod became immensely popular. It had an extensive fanbase and a community of developers called Team Douche who continued refining the firmware. In a matter of months, the list of devices on which CyanogenMod could be run grew from one to dozens. Development of CyanogenMod continues today with most new devices getting their own special builds of CyanogenMod. This means anybody can keep using the firmware no matter which device they may be carrying. CyanogenMod does a lot of things vanilla Android can't At this point you may be wondering what it is, exactly, that CyanogenMod could do that stock, “vanilla” Android couldn’t. Initially, the answer to such a question would have been quite brief: tethering via USB, FLAC compatibility, and some minor tweaks. But as Android has evolved and gained many more features along the way, so, too, has CyanogenMod. Today, CyanogenMod has a very robust theming engine that gives you complete control of how your Android smartphone looks and feels, customizable on a per-app basis. You also get an advanced equalizer controls for a significant boost in audio quality that even audiophiles have found impressive. However, the feature that could be said to characterize CyanogenMod the most is really more like the philosophy behind the CyanogenMod firmware: choice. Whereas most handsets running Android will surely have a number of pre-installed applications you might never use, CyanogenMod gives you complete control of what is and isn’t installed on your phone. Don’t want Google Play Music? You have the choice not to install it, or to uninstall it if it’s already there. It’s a much greater level of freedom than what you’d get with regular Android and why CyanogenMod has such a loyal following. The developers responsible for CyanogenMod have done more than just create an alternate flavor of Android The developers responsible for CyanogenMod have done more than just create an alternate flavor of Android. By creating CyanogenMod, they changed the way that many people, especially those in the industry, viewed software created by third parties. Before CyanogenMod, the assumption was if you wanted your device to function reliably or if you wanted to be able to use all its capabilities, you couldn’t use anything but pure, unadulterated Android. There was also worry that installing CyanogenMod made devices insecure. But the quality of CyanogenMod and the unquestionable power it can add to a device has completely changed perceptions of custom software. Cyanogen goes commercial Since its creation, CyanogenMod has continued to gain more followers and more developers year after year. It’s an open-source project, which means that virtually anyone can contribute to the operating system, which has been a major contributor to its growth. Videos OnePlus One vs OnePlus 2 The OnePlus One... Now OnePlus One vs Nexus 5 OnePlus One Review OnePlus One that launched with a version called CyanogenMod 11S. However, the developers in charge needed to create a divide between CyanogenMod (the open source project) and CyanogenMod (the version that came pre-installed on some Android phones). Enter: Cyanogen OS. Simply put, Cyanogen OS is the name of the firmware that would come pre-installed on various Android phones, and CyanogenMod is the name of the community-driven open source project. Essentially, the commercial version was created so that Cyanogen OS could have more control over the firmware and the software pre-installed on it, without compromising what makes CyanogenMod so great in the first place, which is being able to eliminate bloat, streamlining the Android operating system, and letting a device run at its full potential. Not a ‘what’, but a ‘who’ We’ve discussed CyanogenMod and Cyanogen OS, which leaves Cyanogen, Inc. And this is the easiest one of all to understand because it’s the company behind the operating system. In those first days of CyanogenMod, discussing the developers responsible for creating the firmware was as simple as discussing specific people like JesusFreke and Cyanogen. Since then, there have been countless other developers to contribute to CyanogenMod, even though the firmware technically belongs to Steve Kondik and Cyanogen, Inc., the company he co-founded in 2012. You might say the purpose of Cyanogen, Inc. is to monetize or commercialize CyanogenMod, and from those efforts Cyanogen OS was born. By all indications, Cyanogen, Inc. will proceed with Cyanogen OS as a commercial third-party OS that’s separate from CyanogenMod. Make no mistake that both iterations of the Cyanogen vision will continue to be major players in the Android space. Let’s review: CyanogenMod is the community-driven and much-beloved custom ROM based on Android. Cyanogen OS is a more commercial version of CyanogenMod and is typically available as the pre-installed operating system on devices made (at least so far) by smaller OEMs. The whole operation is overseen by Cyanogen, Inc., which is the company created and run by Steve Kondik, AKA Cyanogen. And now for the most important question of all. Why CyanogenMod? For most people, regular ‘ole Android is a perfectly capable operating system that can meet all their needs. While its versatility definitely makes Android impressive, that’s not what makes it so beloved. It’s the potential that Android has to adapt not just to your needs, but your wants. In many ways, CyanogenMod actualizes the potential of Android as well as the potential of your mobile device. The people who oversee the evolution of CyanogenMod have worked at Samsung, at Sprint, at Qualcomm, or been key players in the development of Android itself. In other words, these are people who know tech, use tech, and know how they want their tech to perform. Additionally, CyanogenMod benefits from its vast and knowledgeable base of developers that have contributed directly and intimately to the firmware. The result is a level of customization surpassing that of stock Android, which is already a very customizable OS. You also get enhancements of virtually every aspect of the Android ecosystem, from refined audio to more precise voice search to powerful built-in productivity tools. But there’s much more to CyanogenMod than customization and performance: It’s every bit as secure as stock Android, if not even more secure. So the next time you’re trying to explain your Android loyalty to an iNaysayer, you can cite CyanogenMod as one of many ways in which you can actualize the potential of an Android device.

Website Update: We’re moving from GoDaddy As many of you may be aware, we here at XDA-Developers occasionally stand in support of our members. All of you feel that you can submit things on the forums, knowing that the information is appreciated, used, and shared. We have members all over the world, and we know that the rules aren’t always the same when it comes to what you are “legally” allowed to do. I think I can speak for a great many by saying that while our unified voices are strong, there is nothing stronger than action. In keeping with that, we have decided to move XDA-Developers away from GoDaddy entirely. This won’t surprise many. GoDaddy’s original support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, followed by their frankly cowardly flip-flop when that stance showed unpopular was enough for the decision to be clear. If SOPA clears, The very existence of a site like XDA would be at risk. For the record, SOPA would allow: The US Government to selectively censor the web based on requests made by organizations who disapproved of content Deny the owners of a site due process of law by blacklisting a DNS based on just a claim of copyright infringement Force sites like XDA to aggressively monitor and filter all content Hold site owners accountable for everything users post, with consequences like jail time and heavy fines If SOPA passes, XDA would be forced to switch to a review system, where the forum moderators would have to inspect and approve every post on every subforum. The result would seriously decrease activity on XDA, and it wouldn’t be very long after that we’d likely be forced to close our doors. Obviously this is a “worst case” scenario, but it doesn’t change the fact that this could be a reality if SOPA passes. Over the next few days, we will be moving all XDA assets away from GoDaddy. In the mean time, we encourage you to head over to the EFF, where they have created a page for how you can do your part to oppose this legislation that would allow the US to firewall content from their own citizens.

Do you every find yourself thinking, "There is no way I can work out after such a long day at work!". You are not alone. This is the biggest and most frequent reason I hear for not exercising. I don't blame them either. It is really hard to work up the energy to exercise when you are drained from a long work day, and thinking about spending an hour on the treadmill is too much. To those patients, I recommend changing what you think about exercising. Tell yourself you only need 10 minutes...Just 10 little minutes.... Do you every find yourself thinking, "There is no way I can work out after such a long day at work!". You are not alone. This is the biggest and most frequent reason I hear for not exercising. I don't blame them either. It is really hard to work up the energy to exercise when you are drained from a long work day, and thinking about spending an hour on the treadmill is too much. To those patients, I recommend changing what you think about exercising. Tell yourself you only need 10 minutes...Just 10 little minutes.... There is a difference between being mentally tired and physically tired. Doing something physical, like exercise, can actually help combat the mental fatigue. Try telling yourself you aren't going to do more than ten minutes of exercise (ten minutes is better than nothing, right!?). Often, once you get moving it isn't hard to continue the work out. The hardest part is usually just getting going. In studies preformed at Northern Arizona University, they found that doing ten minutes of moderate exercise, was enough to improve moods and fatigue levels. Try having your route home from work take you past the gym. Capitalize on the fact that you are already out and next to the gym, you haven't already parked it in front of the TV. Also, plan ahead for ways to exercise at home. Plan on taking the dog for a walk, or playing catch with your kids. Have work out DVDs next to the TV and ready to go. Have a yoga mat on hand and ready to be used. Anything you can do to make those ten minutes not so painful and you are much more likely to get some kind of work out in. Remember, ANY work out is better than NO work out. You can do THIS! Found this a long time ago...not sure who to credit, sorry! How do you get moving after a long day at work? Share in the comments section below! Hope you got your daily dose of nutrition today, and thanks for reading! If you enjoy the blog, please share using the buttons below, or in the box to the right. Also, we would love to have you join us! Join this site in the "followers" box to the right. "Like" the blog on facebook, and follow me on twitter (@jennasteprd) and pinterest using the the boxes on the right. Thanks, and have a great day! ~jenna

In the film The Men Who Stare at Goats, George Clooney played a psychic recruited by the CIA as part of its ‘New Earth Army,’ a unit that seeks to employ paranormal powers to thwart America’s enemies around the world. The film was a fictionalized version of a nonfiction book of the same name by British journalist Jon Ronson, and while Ronson largely concluded that the CIA’s efforts to get one up on their rivals using the power of the paranormal were a failure, a remarkable cache of freshly declassified documents reveals that the agency did indeed conduct a week of experiments in 1973 on one of the U.K.’s most famous TV personalities of the day: Uri Geller, who became famous for bending spoons by gently stroking them on British television. The research on Geller, the 32-page document shows, was part of the “Stargate” program—closed in 1998—which aimed to explore “remote viewing,” a system by which it was hoped psychic spies having controlled out-of-body experiences could “observe” individuals in far-flung locations. Geller—who has been much mocked in the British media over the years for his claims—completely convinced the CIA of “his paranormal perceptual ability in a convincing and unambiguous manner.” The document published by the CIA states that Geller was taken to Stanford Research Institute in California from Aug. 4 to Aug. 11, 1973, and in a series of experiments was asked to try and copy pictures being drawn at random by CIA agents in another room “about half a mile away.” The CIA was confident there was no “sensory leakage” between the two rooms. The scientists opened a dictionary and picked a word at random. The first word chosen was “fuse” and a scientist drew a firecracker. “Geller was notified via intercom when the target picture was drawn and taped on the wall outside his enclosure,” the documents state. “His almost immediate response was that he saw a ‘cylinder with noise coming out of it.’” He then drew an image that looked similar to the firecracker, which has been published as part of the cache. The scientists repeated the experiment, the document says: “The second word selected was picked, which was “bunch,” and the target was a bunch of grapes. Geller’s immediate response was that he saw “drops of water coming out of the picture.” He then talked about “purple circles.” Finally ,he said he was quite sure that he had the picture. His drawing was indeed a bunch of grapes. Both the target picture and Geller’s rendition had 24 grapes in the bunch.” The experiments continued for more than a week. In one case, the target picture was a devil in the form of a man with a trident, and Geller drew images including a trident, the Ten Commandments, an apple with a worm in it, in response. The report states: “The inability on Geller’s part to draw the devil may be culturally induced. Geller did draw the trident from the target picture, but he did not draw the man holding it. “From this it seems clear that Geller does not just copy lines from the target picture, but does perform some mental processing on them before drawing them himself.” Several attempts were not successful. However, on another occasion, the scientists drew “a flying seagull. Geller said almost immediately that he saw a flying swan on a hill.” “He drew several birds and said he felt sure his drawing was correct, which it was,” his handlers wrote. Geller was even able to reproduce elements of images “drawn and stored in a computer’s memory so that no visible evidence was available in the computer room after it was stored.” The researchers could not decide whether this meant Geller was perceiving the image from the computer, or from the ‘mental contents’ of “several people in the computer room, all of whom knew the nature of the target that was stored.” Geller did pass on various tests, saying he could not get a “clear impression.” The documents concluded that he did better when there were no “skeptical observers” present. Geller told the Daily Telegraph that one international agency, which he wouldn’t name, asked him to kill a pig with his mind. “I was asked to stop the heart of a pig. It was probably so they could stop the heart of Andropov, who was head of the KGB. "George Clooney basically played me in that film (The Men Who Stare at Goats). It wasn't a goat, it was really a pig."

Photo credit: The Goldwater It’s unfortunate that some of this Hollywood personalities sold their souls and as a result they’re not allowed to freely express their political opinion. However, if they decide to express their opinion like Nicole Kidman did, the worst is due to happen. As reported by a source at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, the Hollywood personality had her contracts cancelled by two Hollywood studios and has also been warned by the famous liberal celebrities to steer clear of the Oscars. Nicole Kidman has also received threatening letters warning her to go back to where she came from. Kidman was born in Hawaii and she holds dual US-Australian citizenship. The intolerant liberals are all over the place spreading the hate because on the 10th of January, Nicole Kidman, who is a Hollywood A-lister, dared to go against the Hollywood agenda and told an interviewer that we need to support whoever is the president. In a nation governed by Democracy, that sounds like a reasonable statement. However, that’s not the case for Hollywood puppets. The backlash began days later, the mainstream media decided to mobilize against her and started reporting that Kidman exhibited a bizarre behavior during the Golden Globes. Its without a doubt that the mainstream media and Hollywood are attacking free speech by using underhand methods. As reported by Vigilant citizen reports, there is something wrong with the mass media. The crooked corporate media has resulted in censorship, character assassination. The term ‘’fake news’’ is used to dismiss important stories. Individuals who happen to go slightly out of the ideological boundaries that the crooked media has set are shunned, destroyed and harassed. Recently, Kanye West was handcuffed and forcibly sent to a hospital shortly after showing support for Trump. West praised Trump’s strategy of bypassing mass media and its crooked ways to reach out to his electorate.

You are going to die. May be today. May be tomorrow. May be after a month. May be after an year. May be after 25 years. May be after 30 years. Or May be after 50 or 100 years. But the fact is that- You are not going get out of here alive. Either you take chances or not, you are going to die. Either you sleep whole day and live a demotivated life, or you work your ass off and live an enthusiastic and positive life; does not matter, because you are going to die. So now, decide. If you want to die a loser demotivated person crying and complaining like an ass hole, or you want to die happy , enthusiastic, glowing and always moving forward sort of person. Choice is yours.

Herculez Gomez was under no illusions when it came to what awaited Santos Laguna at BMO Field on Wednesday night. Gomez scored his ninth goal in seven games to help los Guerreros to a 1-1 away draw against Toronto FC in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, but was hauled off with bruising from a battle that bore all the hallmarks of a true cup semifinal. “Coming in, we knew it was going to be tough for us,” Gomez told MLSsoccer.com after the game. “They gave us a good fight.” The hard-fought draw cements the Mexican league leaders as firm favorites ahead of the return leg in the Estadio Corona on April 4, and Gomez is confident that Santos will come out all guns blazing. READ: Gomez, TFC's Morgan give differing takes on postgame brawl “I don't know if you would call it a good result for them or a bad result for us, but there are still 90 minutes left and we're going to come out with everything,” he said. After clashing with Toronto goalkeeper Milos Kocic, Gomez said it was coach Benjamín Galindo's choice to bring him off in the 69th minute as a precaution, which wasn’t altogether surprising considering the team has already played seven games this month. “I don´t know what they saw in the replay, but the ‘keeper left his studs,” explained Gomez. “He's protected himself and caught me in the knee.” HIGHLIGHTS: Toronto 1, Santos Laguna 1 Gomez later clarified, on Twitter, that he didn't feel Kocic had gone into the challenge with any intent to hurt him. But before the knock could shelve him, Gomez added yet another goal to continue his fine run of scoring, but the Las Vegas native preferred to give the majority of the credit for his 30th-minute goal to Colombian Darwin Quintero, who provided the killer pass. “It was 90 percent him, 10 percent me,” Gomez said. He also lamented the postgame brawl, calling it a shame and saying it’s not the type of thing you want to see on the soccer field. Gomez did, however, stick up for Quintero, who received a red card after the game, and said he saw the whole thing unfold. “I saw [Toronto's Ashtone Morgan] strike [Quintero] in the face,” Gomez explained. “It's the classic you react, you get caught. It's a shame the other guy went down like he got shot.” The World Cup veteran also had some words for any Toronto players and fans who believe that a physical approach next week in the industrial northern city of Torreón will reap rewards for the Canadians. “I don't know how much you guys know about our home crowd and the city we live in,” Gomez said, “but it's probably not the smartest idea picking a dogfight.” Tom Marshall covers Americans playing in Latin America. E-mail him at tom.marshall.mex@gmail.com. Additional reporting by Aman Dhanoa in Toronto. Follow@MexicoWorldCup

Have you ever dreamed of wearing a crazy costume and rocking out in a cemetery to your favorite legendary bands while helping out a good cause? Your oddly specific fantasy is about to come true this weekend with the Ghost of Uncle Joe's Halloween Fundraiser in Jersey City. In one of the most highly anticipated annual Halloween events, local musicians dress up and play as some of their favorite bands to raise money for the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, and if they're loud enough, to raise the dead. Guests come in costume, too, and it's a rock 'n' roll party unlike anything else you'll find in North Jersey. THE BANDS Check out the lineup for the Ghost of Uncle Joe's Halloween Fundraiser's cemetery concert and its after-party at the Lamp Post Bar and Grille: • 1:30 p.m.: Gates open • 2:40 p.m.: Bob Dylan • 3:30 p.m.: Green Day - Performing Kerplunk • 4:20 p.m.: Operation Ivy • 5:10 p.m.: Janis Joplin • 6 p.m.: Smashing Pumpkins • 6:50 p.m.: Oasis • 7:40 p.m.: WFMU Death Ballads and Blood Songs • 8:30 p.m.: The Smiths • 9:20 p.m.: Guns N' Roses • 10 p.m.: Concert moves to Lamp Post • 10:30 p.m.: TBA • 11:20 p.m.: Thin Lizzy • 12:10 p.m.: Beastie Boys • 1 a.m.: Radiohead "People like this event because it's an opportunity for musicians to pay homage to their favorite bands or influences, and in some cases a secret crush they have," said event organizer Anthony "Dancing Tony" Susco of Rock-it Docket. "Also, how often are you going to be able to go to a Halloween show in a cemetery?!" This year's lineup was mostly booked by Susco's business partner, Neil McAneny. The day kicks off with Journal music columnist Jim Testa and Montclair's the Porchistas as Bob Dylan, then continues with acts like Green Day, Operation Ivy, Janis Joplin, Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, The Smiths and Guns N' Roses. WFMU will also be participating this year, this time with an aptly themed set billed as "Death Ballads and Blood Songs," mixing songs by various artists. Attendees can enjoy food from local vendors and costumed guests could even win prizes from area businesses like Virile Barbershop, Thirty Acres, Balance Hair Salon and Another Man's Treasure. The fun continues with an "after-life party" at Lamp Post Bar and Grille, at 11 p.m. with Thin Lizzy, Beastie Boys and Radiohead. Money raised go towards repairing the roof of the cemetery gatekeeper's house and general operations. Last year raised $8,000, and Susco's goals for this year are an even $10K and a good time. "This event brings the music community together to help a great local cause," said Susco. "And people love it! I hope when I'm buried at the cemetery that someone else is doing it and people are dancing on my grave." The Ghost of Uncle Joe's Halloween Fundraiser is Saturday, Oct. 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, 435 Newark Ave., and at 11 p.m. at Lamp Post Bar and Grille, 382 Second St. Admission is a suggested donation of $10. For more information, visit RockItDocket.com. Also check out local musicians as Big Star, Santana and the Pogues for SaturDay of the Dead, Nov. 1, at Lucky 7 Tavern, 322 Second St.

In what can only be called the end of an era, the original Daddy Jack's on Greenville Avenue is closing. Its closure comes on the heels of similar news about the Crown & the Harp next door, which is also closing, due to the building they're in being sold. A spokesperson for Daddy Jack's confirmed that it would close on May 6. The restaurant has been serving New England-style seafood since 1993. Owner Jack Chaplin, who'd been chef at the Fairmont Hotel, re-created the kind of New England chowder house he'd grown up around as a native of Connecticut. "As a boy, I spent my summers helping my grandmother prepare the lobsters and other seafood we caught off the family's homeplace in Nova Scotia," Chaplin says. The restaurant was not only an early Greenville Avenue settler, it also provided a culinary counterpoint to the Cajun-style seafood joints that dominate the local dining landscape. It was among the first to make lobster a common thing, decades before the current lobster roll trend. Most Daddy Jack's entrees feature a bountiful piece of fish, sided with a baked potato and steamed vegetables — a nothing-fancy simplicity that's old-school New England. The signature dish is fish topped with a "stuffing" made from Ritz cracker crumbs bound with butter. In Boston, the fish of choice would be cod, but it works on any fish. In the '90s, the concept underwent expansion, with branches in Deep Ellum, Coppell, Frisco, and Southlake. Those closed, but there's a branch in Fort Worth with different owners, which will remain open. Chaplin moved back to New England, where he opened a branch in his hometown of New London, Connecticut, which earned a review from The New York Times. But he still owned a piece of the restaurant on Greenville Avenue, as well as the property where it was located, along with the building that was Crown and Harp. Given what's happening on Greenville Avenue, he decided it was time to sell. "That whole area has changed so much," he says. "Real estate in that area is going out of sight. You can make a living owning a restaurant, but you don't have a retirement plan." Times have also changed in the restaurant world. "Daddy Jack's had the surf and turf, the crab legs, and a great wait staff, but with rents the way they are, you couldn't open something like that now," he says. "It was awesome to be a part of something successful."

A satellite view of Antarctica is seen in an undated NASA photo released on Feb. 6, 2012. (Reuters/NASA) As our planet continues to warm, coastlines worldwide will retreat inland — in the long run, maybe by a lot. That means some coastal cities, in places like Florida — where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debated precisely this topic on Wednesday night — stand to lose quite a lot of land where people currently live and own property. It seems doubtful that we can defend all of the many coastal zones that will be at risk. So is there any other way to head off sea level rise? It may sound ridiculous to even contemplate. But in a new study just out in the open access journal Earth System Dynamics, scientists have actually published an idea for doing that and provided some calculations regarding the scale of what it would take. That scale turns out to be simply massive, ultimately rendering the idea about as unfathomable as the oceans themselves. But then, that’s kind of the point. “This is not a proposition,” said Anders Levermann, a sea-level expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the study’s authors. “It’s a discussion. It’s supposed to initiate the discussion on how big the sea level problem really is.” The paper was composed by Levermann and fellow researchers Katja Frieler and Matthias Mengel. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies mapped five-year global temperature averages. 2014 now ranks as the warmest year on record since 1880, according to an analysis by NASA scientists. (YouTube/NASA Goddard) Their idea, simply put, is to pump excess seawater more than two miles into the air to the top of the Antarctic ice sheet, where it would freeze and stay put — for a very long time, although not forever. The new study, accordingly, uses a computer model of Antarctica to study the consequences of adding huge volumes of salt water to different portions of the ice sheet. And there turn out to be a few, er, problems: the unfathomable amount of energy required and the massive geoengineering of what is arguably the only truly unspoiled place on Earth. Accordingly, the Potsdam Institute itself has framed the research as backing the idea that “future sea-level rise is a problem probably too big to be solved even by unprecedented geo-engineering.” [Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are showing a startling increase] The problem with using geoengineering to counter rising seas is that every millimeter of sea level rise is equivalent to 360 billion tons of ocean water. And seas are currently rising at a rate of over 3 millimeters per year, with the rate of increase expected to grow still further in the future. The modeling study suggests that pumping water deep into the center of Antarctica, 700 kilometers inland and over two miles into the air, would indeed keep it there for a good while. Here, the addition of one meter’s worth of sea level rise would translate into raising the total elevation of continental ice by 25 meters. If you pump water to this exceedingly remote, freezing place, said Levermann, then in 1,000 years, only about 20 percent of its equivalent will return to the ocean, through the gradual spreading and flow of Antarctic ice out toward the sea under its own massive weight. So in effect, Antarctica would indeed store sea level rise (so long as you keep on pumping). Still, there’s an enormous catch. You would be moving so much water that merely to lift 3 millimeters’ worth of sea level rise annually, the amount of energy required would amount to 7 percent of all the energy that the world generates, the study calculates. To pump even more water as sea level rise accelerates, you’d need even more energy. Moreover, you’d have to do all of this in an exceedingly remote place where right now, there’s nothing like the capacity to generate that much power. [The hidden driver of climate change that we too often ignore] Therefore, the research finds, you’d also have to install 850,000 wind turbines around Antarctica — “the windiest place on the planet,” Levermann observed. Collectively, these turbines would generate a steady stream of 1,275 gigawatts (or billion watts) of electricity. This would amount to tapping into 8 percent of Antarctica’s total wind energy potential, the study says. (For reference, the total U.S. electricity generating capacity in 2012 was just 1,063 gigawatts.) For the pumping, meanwhile, you would need “90 of the largest pump stations currently under construction in New Orleans,” each of which would be capable of pumping 360 cubic meters of water per second, the study calculates. “The scope of such a project is unprecedented and would require major technical innovations, if possible at all,” the study says. “Therefore, costs cannot be reliably estimated.” “There are a million problems associated with this method that we haven’t even been able to study,” said Levermann bluntly. That includes the problem of adding large volumes of saltwater on top of a freshwater ice sheet, with unknown consequences. The research also notes that such a massive human intervention would undoubtedly despoil Antarctica’s uniquely preserved coastal ecosystems and, thus, violate the Antarctic Treaty. The scale of this proposal is, in the end, self-refuting — which, again, is part of the point. Still, the fact that the idea has actually been published in a peer reviewed journal gives a sense, perhaps, of where we now find ourselves. Oceanographer Josh Willis from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains how sea levels have changed over the last two decades. (NASA) More at Energy & Environment: Before his tragic death, nature photographer shot iconic images of climate change’s threat The more we learn about Antarctica’s past, the scarier the present looks What the Clinton-Sanders divide on fracking says about our energy future For more, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and follow us on Twitter here.

David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, and the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He also performed the theme song for the children's cartoon series Arthur. Musical career [ edit ] Early career and musical upbringing [ edit ] In the earliest known record of his musical career, David Marley performed as part of a singing group called The Seven Do Bees, made up of him and his classmates, and wherein he was given the stage name "Freddie Dic". The moniker never stuck, however, and instead, David went on to become known as "Ziggy", a nickname given to him by his father Bob Marley, meaning ‘little spliff’. But Ziggy stated the following to Melody Maker Magazine in 1988: "Me name David but me big Bowie fan. So at the time of the 'Ziggy Stardust' album, me call meself Ziggy and now everyone do."[1] During the late 70s, Ziggy could also be seen alongside his brother Stephen at some of their father’s larger concerts around Jamaica and abroad. In 1978, the duo appeared on stage at the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston,[2] and the following year at Reggae Sunsplash II in Montego Bay.[3] Also in 1979, Ziggy and his siblings Sharon, Cedella and Stephen formed the Melody Makers – named after the British weekly pop/rock music newspaper, Melody Maker – and made their recording debut with "Children Playing in the Streets". The track was written for them by their father, who had composed the song four years earlier for them and wanted to share this gift with children around the world. All royalties from the single were pledged to the United Nations, to aid its efforts during the International Year of the Child. Later that year, the Melody Makers made their on-stage debut as a group on 23 September 1979, performing on the same bill as their father for the first and only time at the ‘Roots Rock Reggae’ two-day concert series in Kingston's National Arena.[4] Ziggy was 11 years old at the time. Notable other early moments in Ziggy’s musical history include a performance with Stephen at their father’s funeral in 1981, and later that year the Melody Makers released their second single, "What A Plot", under the family’s Tuff Gong record label. After Bob Marley’s passing, Ziggy began performing in his place alongside the Wailers at various shows around Jamaica,[5] and in 1984 the group went on tour in support of the year’s Bob Marley ’Legend’ compilation album release.[6] He received The George and Ira Gershwin Award from UCLA during UCLA Spring Sing on May 19, 2017. Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers [ edit ] 1984–1987: Play the Game Right, name change and subsequent releases [ edit ] Later in 1984, Ziggy Marley got back into the studio with his siblings and English producer Steve Levine for what became the single, "Lying in Bed." The following year, they released their debut LP, Play the Game Right.[7] The album was produced by their mother, Rita Marley, and featured Aston and Carlton Barrett on bass and drums, respectively, who were originally the rhythm section for Bob Marley’s Wailers. In 1986, Hey World was released and credited to Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers.[7] This album laid the groundwork for the group's fast maturing sound. A phenomenal mix of upbeat pop and heavier roots, cemented by hip electro-production, it was evident that the Melody Makers were no longer in the thrall of their father's music, but had found their own voice. In support of the album, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers embarked on their first tour, a veritable Tuff Gong roadshow with Nadine Sutherland and the I-Three along as opening acts. The group was well received at the yearly Reggae Sunsplash in 1986 and 1987. 1988–1990: Conscious Party, career breakthrough and subsequent releases [ edit ] In 1988, the band's popularity was at such a height that they were signed to the international major label Virgin Records. Later that year, they went into the studio with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads to record their third album, Conscious Party. The album charted at #23 on the Billboard 200 and at #26 on the R&B Albums chart.[8] The album spawned the successful single "Tomorrow People", which charted at #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #39 on the Hot 100.[9] The second single "Tumblin' Down" was also well received charting at #1 on Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and at #28 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles charts.[9] The album received a Grammy award for "Best Reggae Album". The Melody Makers' follow-up album One Bright Day, released in 1989. The album charted at #26 on the Billboard 200 and at #43 on the R&B Albums chart.[8] The single "Look Who's Dancin'" received positive feedback and charted at #41 on Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart and at #23 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles charts.[9] The album also spawned the singles "Black My Story (Not History)", "One Bright Day", "Justice", and "When the Lights Gone Out". The album received a Grammy award for "Best Reggae Album". 1991–1992: Jahmekya [ edit ] In 1991, the group released their sixth album, Jahmekya. Although it brought the Melody Makers their most glowing reviews, the record itself did not begin to equal the sales of their last albums, and their single, "Good Time", barely scraped into the bottom reaches of the charts. The single "Good Time" only charted #85 on Hot 100 charts.[9] The album charted at #3 on the Top World Music Albums and at #63 on the Billboard 200.[8] The album also spawned the singles "Rainbow Country", "Kozmic", and "Small People". The album received a Grammy nomination. 1993–1997: Joy and Blues, Ghetto Youths United, leaving Virgin Records and subsequent releases [ edit ] In 1993, the group released their seventh album "Joy and Blues". The album charted at #5 on the Top World Music Albums chart, #75 on the R&B Albums chart, #178 on the Billboard 200 chart, and #11 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[8] Returning to their roots with a vengeance, and accompanied by former Wailers' bassist Aston Barrett, the album was their final one for Virgin. In 1995, the group signed a record deal with Elektra and released "Free Like We Want 2 B" accompanied by the group's own recording label "Ghetto Youths United". The album charted at #170 on the Billboard 200 chart and #3 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[8] The single "Power to Move Ya" charted #13 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles.[9] In 1996 Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers released a song called "Love Power" for the Jim Henson soundtrack movie Muppet Treasure Island with the composers Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil. He also performed the song "Hey What a Wonderful Kind of Day" which was later released as the theme song to the Arthur TV Show on PBS.[10] In early 1997, the group performed at the tribute concert "Marley Magic Live" in Central Park, New York on the Summerstage. They also released their second best-of album "The Best of (1988-1993)". Later that year, the group released their ninth album "Fallen Is Babylon". The album only charted #3 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[8] In 1998, the second single "Everyone Wants to Be" charted at #16 on the Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart. The album earned the group their third Grammy award. 1999–2001: The Spirit of Music and final releases [ edit ] Marley brothers in 2000 In 1999, the group released their tenth studio album, "The Spirit of Music". The album peaked at #1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[8] The album spawned the singles "Higher Vibration", "Jah Will Be Done", and "One Good Spliff". Later that year, the group reunited to perform at the "One Love All-Star Tribute Concert". The concert was recorded and released in the same year and features other performances from Rita Marley, Julian Marley, Erykah Badu, and other artists. In 2000, the group released their live album "Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers Live, Vol. 1", which charted at #5 on the Top Reggae Albums chart.[8] In May 2001, the group released a concert DVD "Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers Live". The DVD was filmed in 2001 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Solo career [ edit ] Dragonfly (2003) [ edit ] Ziggy Marley's debut solo album, Dragonfly was released on 15 April 2003. The album featured the single "True To Myself." The track "Rainbow in the Sky" features both Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, while "Melancholy Mood" features only Flea. Love Is My Religion (2006) [ edit ] On 2 July 2006, his second solo album, Love Is My Religion, was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. The album carried on the reggae-style pop sound and the lyrical themes established in Dragonfly. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album,[11] making it Ziggy's 4th Grammy win. Donna Summer (2008) and Family Time (2009) [ edit ] Collaborated for the Crayons album Crayons being released during summer of 2008 debuting at #17 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, which was also its peak and again peaking at #5 on the US R&B albums chart in 2009. The title track is a duet with the one and only Donna Summer. On 5 May 2009, his third solo children's album Family Time, was released on Tuff Gong Worldwide. Family Time features family and friends; Rita Marley, Cedella Marley, Judah Marley, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Toots Hibbert, Laurie Berkner, Elizabeth Mitchell, and more. This album won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children.[12] In 2013 his song "I Love You Too" won him a Daytime Emmy Award in the 'Outstanding Original Song – Children's and Animation' category, after it was used in the Disney Channel animation 3rd & Bird.[13] Ziggy released his first children's book based off the song "I Love You Too," illustrated by Agnieszka Jatkowska. The book release coincided with the release of the I Love You Too interactive mobile app. Wild and Free (2011) [ edit ] In April 2011, Ziggy Marley announced his fourth album, entitled Wild and Free would be released on 14 June. The title track, featuring Woody Harrelson, was available for free with the pre-order of Ziggy's first comic book, "Marijuanaman". Ziggy Marley: In Concert (2012/2013) [ edit ] On 1 January 2013 Ziggy Marley: In Concert was released. The album was recorded live on Ziggy's 2012 World Tour. His band included legendary drummer Santa Davis (Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Carlos Santana), lead guitarist Takeshi Akimoto, guitarist and backing vocalist Beezy Coleman, bassist Pablo Stennet, keyboard players Michael Hyde and George Hughes, percussionist Angel Roché Jr., and backing vocalist Tracy Hazzard. The album won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album at the 56th Grammy Awards. Fly Rasta (2014) and Ziggy Marley (2016) [ edit ] On 15 April 2014, Ziggy Marley came out with his fifth solo studio album, entitled Fly Rasta, with "Background Vocals from Cedella Marley, Sharon Marley, Rica Newell, Tracy Hazzard, Ian "Beezy" Coleman, Vincent Brantley, Sean Dancy, and Tim Fowlles". Songs like " I Don't Wanna Live on Mars" and "Sunshine", show the emotion that Ziggy tried to portray in this new album.[14] Fly Rasta won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album at the 57th Grammy Awards. Marley later announced his sixth solo album Ziggy Marley to be released spring 2016.[15] Rebellion Rises (2018) [ edit ] On May 18, 2018, Ziggy Marley released his seventh solo studio album, Rebellion Rises, through Tuff Gong Worldwide. The album was fully written, recorded and produced by Marley.[16] The album received rave reviews upon release. Cryptic Rock gave the album 5 out of 5 stars, stating "Politically and socially relevant, Rebellion Rises is a war of music, creating peace with a purpose."[17]. Island Stage called the album "a 10-track masterpiece that continues his father’s tradition of promoting emancipation from mental slavery through education, social activism, and healthy living."[18] Reggaeville said "Rebellion Rises is not an angry record. It is not a bitter record. But, it is not a record of hope, either. The time of hoping for change is a notion Marley considers past due. This is a record of action, and for Ziggy Marley, the time for action is now."[19] Personal life [ edit ] Ziggy Marley is the eldest son of Bob Marley and Rita Marley. His brother are Stephen Marley, Julian Marley, Ky-mani Marley, Robert Nesta Marley, Jr, Rohan Marley and Damian Marley. His sisters are Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Makeda Marley. He is married to Orly Agai, an Israeli of Iranian-Jewish descent,[20][21] who is a former vice-president of William Morris Agency. Together they have four children: Judah Victoria, Gideon Robert Nesta, Abraham Selassie Robert Nesta, and Isaiah Sion Robert Nesta. Additionally, Ziggy also has three other children from previous relationships: Zuri, Justice, and Daniel "Bambaata" Marley, who is also a reggae and hip-hop artist in his own right. Daniel has also appeared with Ziggy on "Changes." Most of the family resides in Miami.[22] Philanthropy [ edit ] Ziggy Marley founded Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment (URGE), which works to help children (especially in Jamaica and Ethiopia). In 2007, Marley signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the United States. He has visited with children in the program and sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member. Other work [ edit ] In 1991, Marley and the Melody Makers contributed the song "Give A Little Love" to the Disney album, For Our Children. The album is a collection of kid-friendly songs by popular artists (e.g. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John), with proceeds given to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Marley made guest appearances as himself on an episode of the sitcom Family Matters in 1995, and on the television series Charmed in season 6 (episode 13, "The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell"), performing "Rainbow in the Sky". He and his Melody Makers made a guest appearance on the popular kids television show Sesame Street in the 1991–92 season, and sang a Sesame Street version of "Small People" from their 1991 album Jahmekya In 1996, Marley and the Melody Makers recorded the reggae-style theme song for the children's television series Arthur called "Believe in Yourself". He voiced Ernie, one of Sykes' (Martin Scorsese) Rasta jellyfish henchmen in the 2004 film Shark Tale. In the film when Oscar (Will Smith) tries to sing the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds", Marley's character zaps Oscar on the head and says "That's not the way you sing that song, mon." The title song for the film was a cover version of "Three Little Birds" performed by Marley and Sean Paul. Further voice acting includes "Crockadle" on an episode of My Gym Partner's a Monkey, the Cheshire Cat in a 2010 episode of Wonder Pets, and Reflux the Knaaren in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. Marley covered "Drive" by The Cars for the Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates opting to use his live band for the recording (Carlton "Santa" Davis- drums, Pablo Stennett - bass, Mikey Hyde - keyboards, Takeshi Akimoto - guitar, Tracy Hazzard - background vocals, Angel Roché Jr. - percussion), and his father's song "Three Little Birds" for the Dora the Explorer soundtrack. Ziggy is listed as the featured artist on Donna Summer's song, "Crayons," the title track from her 2008 album. He has also performed duets with Angelique Kidjo, Sting, Dora the Explorer, Taj Mahal, The Chieftains, Sean Paul and others. Marley and his daughter Judah made an appearance in the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Marley appeared in the 2011 documentary “Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals” which was featured on BBC and described as “The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica”.[23][24] In 2011, Marley recorded the featured single for the film Beat the World, entitled "Express Yourself" featuring Nneka. Ziggy Marley released "A Fire Burns for Freedom", a pro-marijuana song in support of the 2010 California Proposition 19 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.[25] Voters rejected the ballot initiative, but legalization ultimately occurred with the 2016 Adult Use of Marijuana Act. He performed in an episode of Sesame Street, playing his well-known song "Set Your Piggies Free", which encourages children to take off their shoes and socks and to explore nature with bare feet. The video involves many celebrities with their children, singing along. The main message of the video, however, is to just "Go Barefoot and Wiggle Those Toes!". He also appeared on Counting Cars on the History channel. It premiered in June 2013; In the episode, he meets Danny at Vamped to commission a restoration on his father, Bob Marley's, vintage Mercedes. He also sang with Cody Simpson in his song "Love". Ziggy Marley produced an unreleased EP for LOONER (band). An indie rock act belonging to his longtime percussionist Angel Roché Jr. Ziggy co-wrote the song "Home" with them, it was released in 2014 on Avian Recording Company. The song can be heard on Season 3 of the WIGS (web channel) series Blue (web series) starring Julia Stiles. In 2016, he appeared in the TV series Hawaii Five-0 (season 6) Episode 16. Marley was featured in the song "Life Is A Honeymoon" with Florida Georgia Line, a popular single off of FGL's third studio album Dig Your Roots, which was released in August 2016. Discography [ edit ] Albums with the Melody Makers (1985-2001) [ edit ] Solo albums [ edit ] Live albums [ edit ] 2008: Love Is My Religion Live 2009: Ziggy Live From Soho 2013: Ziggy Marley in Concert 2017: We are the People Tour

(CNN) -- A fourth person who died while in the custody of Bahrain police in recent days may have been tortured, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, as it called for urgent investigations into the deaths of detainees. The death of Kareem Fakhrawi, 49, was the fourth detainee death reported by the Bahrain government in nine days, the human rights group said. He was detained April 3 after going to a police station to complain about a predawn raid on the house of a relative, the agency said. Police reported he died Tuesday. "Four detainee deaths in nine days is a crime, not a coincidence," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The government tells families of detainees nothing about their whereabouts or well-being while they are alive or about the circumstances of their deaths." At Fakhrawi's funeral Wednesday, a crowd of mourners demanded to see his corpse because of concerns he had been tortured, then took photos and videos of the body, the agency said. A video of a dead body, purported to be Fakhrawi's, was posted on Facebook Wednesday and showed a badly bruised corpse as people crowded around to take pictures. The body had ligature marks around one of the ankles and deep reddish-purple bruises on the entire upper arms and on a large part of one thigh. The face was black and blue and blood was on the right side of the neck. In a posting on Twitter, the Bahrain News Agency said an official at the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital attributed Fakhrawi's death to kidney failure. Human Rights Watch said its personnel did not see the body in person, but urged a thorough and impartial investigation into allegations of torture. "Bahrain is flagrantly violating the most basic human rights by arbitrarily detaining hundreds, keeping their whereabouts secret, and covering up the reasons for deaths in custody," Stork said. The human rights agency did view the body of another person who died in custody -- protester Ali Isa Saqer -- and said it showed signs of "horrific abuse" and torture. The human rights agency said there may be as many as 430 people who have been arrested in Bahrain in the government's effort to quell protests there. A member of Human Rights Watch observed Saqer's body Sunday after Bahraini authorities said he died in detention. "His body showed signs of severe physical abuse. The left side of his face showed a large patch of bluish skin with a reddish-purple area near his left temple and a two-inch cut to the left of his eye," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "Lash marks crisscrossed his back, some reaching to his front right side. Blue bruises covered much of the back of his calves, thighs, and buttocks, as well as his right elbow and hip. The tops of his feet were blackened, and lacerations marked his ankles and wrists." Saqer, 31, died at a detention center in early April, according to the general director of Muharraq Governorate Police. Saqer was being held on charges of attempted murder of policemen while trying to run them over with his car March 13. Authorities said Saqer was creating chaos at the detention center, and when security forces sought to subdue him, he resisted them and sustained various injuries in the process. He was sent to the hospital, where he later died. Human Rights Watch said there were at least two other people who have died in the custody of police in Bahrain recently. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke with Bahrain's foreign minister Wednesday about the situation. "He said he was very concerned about the violence in which demonstrators have been killed or injured," a U.N. statement said. "He called for maximum restraint and caution." The foreign minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, recently spoke to CNN about accusations that protesters were being abused. He said the demonstrations had quickly led the country to "the brink" and that calling in the military had been necessary to restore stability and safety. "Our economy came to the brink of collapse," Sheikh Khalid said. "So we had no choice but to protect the interests of our country ... from collapse, from total collapse internally. And from external threats."

Welcome to Curbed’s first-ever Transportation Week! From how to improve public transportation in cities, ranking the best car-free neighborhoods across the country, and a friendly competition between NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to determine which has the best public transit, this week is all about how we get around in our favorite cities. All aboard! At this past summer’s pop-up Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the many soaring printed screens that adorned Eakins Oval featured an image of an ornate, brick bridge and tunnel, surrounded by lush foliage. It was a compelling image, meant to highlight one of the many little-known pieces of history hiding in Fairmount Park. If you tend to frequent West Fairmount Park’s many mountain biking trails, chances are you’ve stumbled upon this tunnel, which is a short walk from the historic Chamounix Hostel. But back in its hey day, the impressive engineering work of a art was just one of the many passages part of the Fairmount Park Trolley. An affordable, fun way to explore the park Few Philadelphians know that from 1896 to 1946, Philly used to be home to the Fairmount Park Trolley, one of the few passenger trolleys in the world that ran solely through a city park. Passengers could board at 33rd and Dauphin streets, and the open-air trolley would make 16 stops within Strawberry Mansion and West Fairmount Park, bringing residents to the park’s Woodside amusement park and recreational areas. As evidenced by this silent video, the Fairmount Park Trolley offered a scenic ride through the park. The natural landscape was only enhanced by the 20 impressive bridges and tunnel structures built specifically for the trolley line, like delicately arched Chamounix Tunnel (or what Hidden City Philadelphia refers to today as the “prettiest bridge to nowhere.”). The trolley’s demise As the story goes, the advent of the automobile killed the need for the Fairmount Park Trolley, and it shut down service in September 1946. The park’s trails suffered years of neglect and went unmaintained in the post-World War II era, leaving the trolley’s 10 miles of trails to go unused and inaccessible. The trolley’s end also played a role in the closure of Woodside Amusement Park, which was a main stop along the rail. The trolley equipment was ultimately auctioned off, but the bridges and tunnels were left standing throughout West Fairmount Park. The Trolley Trail It wasn’t until mountain biking became a popular activity here in the late 1990s and early 2000s that people began to explore and reconsider the abandoned trolley line. As cyclists traversed through the park, they created user-created trails, some of which happened to travel along portions of the trolley’s original route. This is about the time that the Parks and Recreation Department and Fairmount Park Conservancy stepped in and began mapping these user-created trails. With the help of PennPraxis, the groups established a master plan in 2014, with the goal of enhancing the park experience for visitors and making its sites more accessible. The Trolley Trail was one of the projects that came out of the master plan. In efforts to better connect locals with the park’s trail systems, the Trolley Trail will ultimately be a nearly five-mile loop that will follow portions of the original Fairmount Park Trolley route, taking cyclists, hikers, and runners past, through, and over old tunnel structures and bridge spans. The first half-mile of the trail is already complete (you can find a map of it here) and work on the second phase of the project is underway. According to the Fairmount Park Conservancy, it will add on an additional 3,400 feet of trail “from the ‘elbow’ where the Belmont cross country trail (aka Fire Road) makes a 90-degree turn to the former trolley tunnel under Greenland Drive.” Keep an eye out for these changes on your next adventure through the park. You might even have the pleasure of stumbling across one of these impressive pieces of transportation history yourself.

Unionizing Workers at Intel Confront Anti-Homeless Sentiments from Tech Community Shane Burley I Urban Issues I Commentary I March 16th, 2016 Collective outrage reverberated from the heart of San Francisco's Mission District and across the country when a hail of media coverage descended on what one Silicon Valley import had to say about the homeless people share his neighborhood. Justin Keller, who is colloquially referred to as the 'tech bro,' is the founder of the start-up Commando.io. After living in San Francisco for three short years, he wrote an open letter to Mayor Ed Lee demanding that the homeless were moved out of his neighborhood so he does not have to "see the pain, struggle, and despair of homeless people" going to and from work. This letter comes amid one of the most aggressive periods of gentrification and mass displacement for San Francisco residents as property values and rents in previously working-class areas of the city have skyrocketed, replacing the established population with highly paid tech workers from well-funded start-ups and social media giants like Twitter. With this in mind, a group of unionizing food service workers employed under contract to dish up the plates of Santa Clara Intel employees, decided to use Keller's letter as a rallying cry to support the city's growing houseless population. The group, who have banded together in the forming of an organizing committee to unionize their workplace, set up an outdoor feed to service the people of Keller's neighborhood. Using the information from the registry of his website's domain name, they were able to find his address and set up the feed directly in front of his building. While Keller was not one of the more than a dozen people who ate dinner with them that evening, they left him a plate of food at his front door with a sign saying "San Francisco is for Everyone, Not Just the Wealthy!" "The same forces that push people out of their homes in San Francisco are also pushing up our rents and pushing us further and further out of the bay," said one of the organizing Intel workers, asking to remain anonymous. "The message we wanted to convey is that we all have a right to live and stay here. It's a right, not something you buy, as Mr. Keller thinks." Citing the fact that the vast majority of unhoused people living in San Francisco used to have standard housing in that city, the workers are operating on the notion that the homeless residents of these neighborhoods are just as representative of the city as its housed population. "These are working class people," says one organizer, who also asked to remain anonymous during the organizing drive. "There, but for the grace of God, go me and my family." For many workers on the edges of the new Silicon Valley boom, homelessness is often just one minor emergency away. It was both the precariousness of the Bay Area life and the callousness of the original letter that motivated Maria Guerrero, another cafeteria worker at the Santa Clara Intel location . "Honestly, I was a little disgusted that there was someone that would feel so passionate to move people out, you know, just so that he wouldn't have to see their struggle," said Guerrero. "The way I was raised, helping people is something you should be willing to do." Though Maria owns her home in San Jose, she has an additional ten tenants renting space in their small three-bedroom house. Another cafeteria worker reported that he was living in the living room of a co-worker's apartment, while she shared the one bedroom with her three children. This group of workers are currently employed with Guckenheimer Corporate Dining and went public with their organizing drive on February 10th at a public rally, demanding that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich support the contracted employees as if they were Intel direct hires. Wages have been a key sticking point that led to the campaign, with many workers publicly citing the local housing market as the driving expense to be met. In a recent survey of 30 of the Guckenheimer workers done by Unite Here, the median wage was $14.50/hr, which, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, is about half of what a living wage would be for a single parent in the area. A delegation went forward on February 25th to confront management, looking at the wages and working conditions that have stretched employees so thin. The workers were later shuffled between contracting companies, moving over from Guckenheimer to Eurest, a food-service contractor with almost 2,000 locations across the country. Eurest is only a piece of the massive Compass Group conglomerate that holds other known food service, educational, and hospitality companies such as Canteen, Bon Appetit, and Flik. Workers report that the move to Eurest only increased tensions, with some employees alleging that their first paychecks once Eurest took hold were missing worked hours. These allegations ranged from just a couple of hours all the way to a few days or a complete work week. Many new hires say that they have been unclear what their starting wage is, building on the uncertainty that is happening both on the shop floor and inside the organizing committee that was built when Guckenheimer was still at the helm. Unite Here has not took this situation with silence, going as far as to leaflet Intel's presence at the South by Southwest festival. Their one-page, including an "inequality inside" spoof in the corner, paired Intel's 2015 record for $55.9 billion in revenue with the meager wages that their cafeteria workers make. Today the committee reports union cards signed from 82% of employees in the proposed bargaining unit and right now management's lack of response has left many workers to wonder what they have planned to undermine unionization attempts. This is not the first union push to use the collective housing issues of the area as a driving factor in organizing as labor around the country has been forced to confront the lack of livability that their membership is facing. This has been an ongoing project, with unions like the Service Employee International Union starting community-partners like We Are Oregon in the wake of Occupy Wallstreet to work on the continued post-crash wave of evictions. The dynamic of displacement has shifted in the direction of tenants, and now much of the focus for housing justice activists is on urban areas seeing a blast of desirability from a combination of job growth and cultural branding. As places like San Francisco, Portland, Brooklyn, and Seattle become less and less affordable, a shift in priorities is happening back to looking at rent control, confronting no-cause eviction, and seeing homelessness as having a key place in the struggle for economic and housing justice. The core organizing committee in Intel's kitchen has committed to making housing an issue in this fight, and to take those issues back into the community that is seeing a crunch inside and outside of the tech industry. They plan on returning to Keller's neighborhood in the future to continue providing food for the homeless community of the area. In this way they hope to make their push towards unionization a tool in the larger movement that is advocating unity among organized labor and housing justice organizations.

Can a third party in Florida ever elbow aside Republicans and Democrats? When the Florida Libertarian Party held its annual convention last month in Cocoa Beach, it vowed to try, and it has its work cut out: “Objectively speaking, 2016 was the Libertarian Party's best year ever. It was also a savage disappointment.” That was the verdict of Reason Magazine on the party’s presidential candidate Gary Johnson, who won only 2.2 percent of the vote in Florida. As Libertarians look to the future, what’s the state of the national party and in Florida? For a Libertarian’s answer, the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board sought out Marcos Miralles, 23, newly elected state party chair. Marcos Miralles, 23, newly elected chair of the Florida Libertarian Party. Marcos Miralles, 23, newly elected chair of the Florida Libertarian Party. Q: What are the lessons for the Libertarian Party from the loss of its presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2016? A: We need better organization from the first to the last step. Johnson never had a chance in the Sunshine State because our grass-roots game remained weak. Ultimately, the Libertarian National Committee is likely to focus more on smaller states, like Montana and South Dakota, so we need to realize that we will be on our own in 2020. We’ll need to set up field offices throughout the state, we’ll need a much stronger outreach to the Hispanic community, we’ll need to start an actual absentee ballot plan, and we’ll need to put our volunteers to work. Thousands of individuals signed up in Florida to volunteer in 2016, and the great majority of them were never to be seen. It all comes down to organization. Q: Libertarian members have been described as split between “pragmatist converts vs. stalwart radicals.” How would you describe the party’s core philosophy? A: If you look deeply into our philosophy, you’ll see that Libertarians have a rational and unwavering distrust of all government actions, and we will always look for free-market solutions to each problem in society. But our message resonates with both liberals and conservatives to some extent, and given our considerable support from independent voters last year, we have the potential of being the real middle-of-the-aisle party that dissatisfied voters can come to. Q: What would Libertarians have concentrated on in the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, if they had representation in Congress? A: If we had Libertarians in Congress, we would have focused on tax reform. It’s clear that President Trump is en route to clash with Libertarians every week of his presidency, but in some occasions, we could work together. Nobody from the Republican establishment dared to touch tax reform in the first 100 days, and this is where we would have come in. Q: Does the party have a national database of members, or those who contribute financially? A: Yes, and yes. That database grew exponentially thanks to the 2016 presidential campaign. Q: How does party membership in Florida and nationally stack up against figures before the 2016 vote? A: Our membership numbers are just a fraction of what we could have if all 2016 Libertarian voters registered with our party. Although we barely cover 0.1 percent of statewide registered voters, we could be a major party by 2020 if all those who voted for our nominees registered with the Libertarian Party. And that needs to be our first and foremost focus by the end of the 2018 mid-term season. Q: Libertarians seem to focus on the national level. What is the party doing to recruit candidates on the state and local level? A: We’ve actually just launched Operation: First Step, which focuses on recruiting candidates in each county of Florida to run for community development districts, soil and water boards, and other similar special districts. We’ve focused for a long time on large elections, but if we want to be realists and be successful, we need to start from the bottom and involve ourselves in the smallest level of government. Only then can we create leaders within our society who — with time, rapport and a good understanding of their community — will one day step up to win those seats at the national level. Q: What are the party’s top policy goals for Florida? A: Ideally, we would love to see an end to the war on drugs, work toward the demilitarization of police, a complete end to civil asset forfeiture, and budget trimming and severe tax cuts. However, there is only so much that Libertarians can accomplish without any presence in Tallahassee. So we’ll need to first focus on policies that can help the party become an established presence. We want to see a change in the state’s determination of what constitutes a major party. Now, that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on other potential reforms. Just this year, our team introduced, thanks to the collaboration of state senator and currently a candidate for Congress, Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Coral Gables), SB 1750, a bill to reform special taxing districts and to give residents the power to abolish them. Q: Without any Libertarians in the Legislature or in statewide offices in Florida, how does the party stay relevant? A: It’s a humbling realization to see how much work we can accomplish regardless of having no elected officials in the Legislature. Ultimately, all politics is local. Nebraska, Nevada and New Hampshire all have state legislators. Our turn will come. Meanwhile, we’re confident we can show Floridians what Libertarians can do with our multitude of local elected officials that we currently have and will add on by November 2018. Q: Who is jockeying to be the party’s presidential nominee in 2020? A: I’ll let the potential candidates to their own bidding for now. But what I can guarantee you is that whoever the Libertarian delegates pick in 2020, that candidate will have a better result than Gary Johnson had in 2016 and will have a real chance at unseating the current president.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Neither J.R. Smith nor Mo Williams arrived in Santa Barbara, Calif., Tuesday for the start of LeBron James' minicamp this week, multiple sources told cleveland.com. For the third consecutive season, James invited his Cavs teammates to work out together ahead of training camp, which begins Monday. The workouts, held this year at the University of California-Santa Barbara, about 90 miles north of James' Los Angeles home, are voluntary and started Wednesday morning. All the big names -- Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson -- are there. Actually, the only players not there for Wednesday's first workout who you might expect to see wearing a Cavs uniform for the 2017 title defense were Smith and Williams. Their absences are notable. Smith, the starting shooting guard for each of their last two Finals runs, remains a free agent and at an impasse with the Cavs in negotiations for a new contract. The UCSB workouts are not technically a team function -- they are neither run nor sanctioned by the Cavs -- so Smith could attend if he wanted to, break a sweat, and drink some celebratory wine with his friends (future teammates) without harm. But only players are invited to the sessions, and coach Tyronn Lue and his assistants, as well as members of the team's support staff, are in the vicinity. Smith's agent, Rich Paul, said Smith is not a member of the Cavs right now, so he's not going to be there. Williams' absence, while not a surprise, is surrounded by a bit more mystery. Sources close to the 33-year-old reserve guard say Williams has had multiple changes of heart this summer over whether or not to retire after 13 pro seasons. The latest indication he had made, according to one source, was that he was leaning again toward playing. As of late August and early September, the feeling of multiple friends and associates of Williams believed he would retire. His missing of James' workouts, though not necessarily a signal he has again reversed course, clouds the picture. Should Williams make it to UCSB this week, his intentions would be much clearer. The Cavs could not find a trade partner for Williams, who will make $2.2 million this season. Williams' agent, Raymond Brothers, has not returned numerous messages seeking comment. Several players and coaches arrived in Santa Barbara Tuesday, though some were still getting there Wednesday morning. According to Richard Jefferson's Snapchat, the team gathered for an 8 a.m. lifting session at UCSB's weight room. Several members of the team -- including James -- and the Cavs' support staff could be seen in the picture. James also shared several pictures of the team's weights session on his Instagram account, showing Irving, Love, Thompson, Channing Frye, Jordan McRae, Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, and newly acquired Mike Dunleavy, Chris "Bird Man" Andersen, and rookie Kay Felder. Dahntay Jones, who was on the team last season but was waived over the summer, was also working out with the Cavs. He may be invited to camp, though the Cavs didn't immediately confirm it. James has a business event in Los Angeles Friday evening, while Irving has a charity walk and basketball planned for Saturday in Cleveland. Love, meanwhile, will be honored at the University of California-Los Angeles Saturday during the school's football game for the "significant" financial contribution made to the school. The amount wasn't disclosed, but Love's donation is said to have matched Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook's earlier contribution to come from the school's vast array of famous former athletes. Revisiting the Williams scenario, the other potential backup to Kyrie Irving at point guard on the roster is rookie Felder. A source confirmed Cleveland's interest in free agent point guard Norris Cole, among others, but said the Cavs likely wouldn't bring in a veteran free agent until Williams' status -- and capability -- was determined. Williams played on a bad left knee last season.

Shock of Gibraltar as Brendan Rodgers is humiliated in first Celtic game BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Whatever, if any, of his achievents as Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers' name and reign will forever be associated with the most humiliating, embarrassing defeat in the club's proud 128 year history, shamed 1-0 in Gibraltar last night by previously unknown part-timers, Lincoln Red Imps. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/celtic/shock-of-gibraltar-as-brendan-rodgers-is-humiliated-in-first-celtic-game-34878989.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/celtic/article34878988.ece/cae88/AUTOCROP/h342/2016-07-13_spo_22775533_I1.JPG Email Whatever, if any, of his achievents as Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers' name and reign will forever be associated with the most humiliating, embarrassing defeat in the club's proud 128 year history, shamed 1-0 in Gibraltar last night by previously unknown part-timers, Lincoln Red Imps. Bizarrely, Camlough man Rodgers claimed there was "no embarrassment" in losing his first game as Celtic boss in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at the Victoria Stadium. The Parkhead side were stunned when striker Lee Casciaro, who had scored Gibraltar's first international goal against Scotland at Hampden in 2015, sensationally put the part-timers ahead in the 47th minute. Hoops striker Leigh Griffiths hit woodwork twice as the visitors battled back but the home side held out for a result which ranks as the most embarrassing in Celtic's European history, although the Scottish champions will fancy their chances in the return game in Glasgow next week. Asked if there were red faces in the dressing room, the former Liverpool boss, who took over from Ronny Deila in May, said: "No. There is obvious disappointment. There is no embarrassment. It was a tough game in tough conditions. We didn't take our chances, they took their chance. "We have seen enough to see that we can get through in the second leg. Of course you are disappointed to lose." Rodgers added: “We dominated and created enough chances to score. Sometimes it can happen, obviously with the pitch, an awkward bounce and all of a sudden the player is in, it’s into the floor and goes in. “It was difficult, of course. They set up 5-4-1. And it doesn’t matter what team, what level. Teams have good organisation, 11 players behind the ball. “Throw the pitch into that, it’s very, very tough for the players. “But we created enough chances, their keeper made fantastic saves. It gives us a bit of work to do in the second-leg.” Rodgers’ message to Celtic fans, over 300 of whom were in the stadium, was to “stay calm”. He said: “Celtic fans expect us to get through to the group stages. It was disappointing but the players gave everything they had. “The message to the fans is to stay calm. This is a good group of players, they are working hard and in a week’s time we will need them. I always thought this qualification phase would be based on the second-leg at home, so we will need that support and hopefully get the job done next week. “They were never in command. We were the team with dominance. What we lacked was the final touch, the final ball. “I’m not really shocked. I’ve been around often enough, I know these results can happen. We stay calm. We need to put in a performance next week.” Lincoln Red Imps captain Roy Chipolina stood behind his comments earlier in the week when he said victory over Celtic would be the biggest shock in European football. He said: “I think so, looking at the history of both clubs. Nothing has changed, Celtic are still a massive club and they are still favourites in the tie, but I don’t think anyone expected us to have a 1-0 lead. “We will be going over there more confident than we thought, trying to put the same shift in again and, if miracles can happen again, we will knock Celtic out of the Champions League. “I don’t think the lads will believe that we have actually beaten Celtic. It is just unbelievable.” Belfast Telegraph

Most people who know of my online habits and haunts know that I spend what is probably an inordinate amount of time in the company of some odd and sometimes unsavory characters. No, I’m not talking about The Burning Taper (at least, not specifically); rather, I’m talking about the places on the internet where those who are predisposed against Freemasonry tend to congregate. While there are plenty of blogs, web sites and online forums, my favorite place to watch the konspiracy krowd is on Usenet. Perhaps because Usenet is the remnant of the old Internet, it is often frequented by people who one can easily imagine sitting on an overturned recycling bucket, typing away on a desk made of milk crates and boards at an old, cast-off 386 PC, with pictures of UFOs on the wall sporting, Fox Mulder-like, the catch phrase “I want to believe.” Yes, this is my secret shame: whenever I’m feeling down and blue, or if I’ve had a bad day at work, or even if I’m just having a bad hair day, I put on my fingerless gloves, crank up the 1980s punk rock, and head down the Information Superhighway to those little dark corners of the net in order to watch – and sometimes to bait – the Anti-Masons. Don’t look at me in that tone of voice. It’s cheaper than gambling, and easier on my health than drinking. Anyhow, it’s long been my contention that anti-Masons tend to fall into three rather broadly defined groups; the religious, the konspiracists, and the kooks. In general, you can tell which in group an anti belongs by looking at the content and context of their argument: “You Masons are a false religion, you worship Baphoment, and the glory of the LORD will see your downfall. You’ll burn in HELL for all eternity for promoting your lies and falsehoods!” “Not only are you Masons in league with the Illuminati and the Council on Foreign Relations, you also have a secret lair underneath the Denver Airport.” “Damn kids – get the hell off of my lawn! Just ‘cos your fathers are Freemasons, you think that I won’t try to take you all to court for harassment? I know all those Masons look out for each other downtown, but I’ll be sittin’ on the porch with my shotgun full o’rock salt next time, y’hear me?” Note: if you are not sure as to which group each statement belongs, then perhaps you should not be reading this. Those people with religious objections to the fraternity are often the most difficult to deal with because they aren’t often swayed by reason. Unfortunately, they are more often swayed by sensationalized and overly dramatic presentations by slick-haired preachers, most of whom seem to be more interested in filling the coffers of their ministries than in promoting things like “truth” and “tolerance.” Admittedly, I have a difficult time understanding this because it seems that most of those with religious objections to Freemasonry tend to practice more fundamentalist versions of their faiths, which is often associated with very literalistic interpretations of their scriptures. One would think that such literal-minded thinking would be less prone to influence by the sensationalism peddlers. Be that as it may, most of the arguments that I see between religious Antis and Masons seem to center around the writings of several noted Masonic authors, with the the Antis pointing to passages in various books and saying “See, you lying evil monger? This passage PROVES that Masonry is a religion,” and Masons responding by saying “You’re barmy, you daft old goat! Nobody can define the Craft that way.” Etc., etc. Hilarity ensues. My own perspective is that Masons intending to argue (for example) the finer points of Albus Dumbledore Albert Pike are doomed to frustration; most fundamentalists will be more interested in promoting their own views than in learning about Masonry. More to the point, Masons trying to argue the finer points of any Masonic author of a century ago will need to discuss the issues in terms of symbolism, allegory, and metaphor, all of which are unlikely to be understood by those looking at the issues with a more literal-minded perspective. Literalism itself is not necessarily a bad quality; however, it is particularly ill suited for discussions that range off into the esoteric. Masons in such situations will inevitably find that while both of you are speaking English, you will seem to lack a common language. It’s not unlike dealing with teenagers, in that respect. A secondary issue is that, as blogger John Ratcliff points out, most Masons (at least, in the US) aren’t all that up to speed on the esoterica. And again, this isn’t a bad thing itself – Masonry is large, it contains multitudes. However, it does mean that most Masons will actually be unfamiliar with many of the oft-quoted paragraphs of Pike, Mackey, Hall, or Hodapp. This is perfectly normal, however, and rest assured that if you are in a discussion about Pike with an anti-Mason, he or she probably has not read much of it either. In my own experience, most of the Antis who quote Pike always quote the same paragraphs, almost as if they are reading the same books or websites by the uber-Antis who all quote exactly the same passages. Of course, I also suspect that Pike’s “Morals & Dogma” is one of the top ten books that Masons pick up and put down long before they’ve finished it. I think that my copy makes a very nice paperweight. Since Pike is by far the most quoted author by Anti-Masons, I think it’s worth addressing some of those points directly. One of the most difficult things for Anti-Masons understand about the Craft (and indeed, this is true even for some old-time Master Masons, as well) is that there is no underlying philosophy, doctrine or dogma to Freemasonry on which all of the members agree. That is, while Masons are encouraged to study for their own personal improvement, and while there have been some excellent writings in the past and will likely be more in the future, not one of them is accepted as doctrinal. Indeed, even Morals & Dogma – referenced probably by more Antis than actual Masons – contains this passage in the Preface: “The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word “Dogma” in its true sense, of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Every one is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound. It is only required of him that he shall weigh what is taught, and give it fair hearing and unprejudiced judgment. Of course, the ancient theosophic and philosophic speculations are not embodied as part of the doctrines of the Rite; but because it is of interest and profit to know what the Ancient Intellect thought upon these subjects, and because nothing so conclusively proves the radical difference between our human and the animal nature, as the capacity of the human mind to entertain such speculations in regard to itself and the Deity. But as to these opinions themselves, we may say, in the words of the learned Canonist, Ludovicus Gomez: “Opiniones secundum varietatem temporum senescant et intermoriantur, aliæque diversæ vel prioribus contrariæ renascantur et deinde pubescant.” So, let’s extract the basics. 1) M&D is not an authoritative, definitive, or canonical work. 2) Masons (or more specifically, Scottish Rite Masons- Southern Jurisdiction, to whom this book was given until the early 1960s) are free to disagree with Pike’s interpretations. 3) The ancient teachings described by Pike are not even a part of the ritual; they are discussed simply as an illustration of their moral evolution. To me, it seems pretty obvious that M&D was written for Masons interested in in exploring the nature of their relationship to their Deity, written from a perspective of comparing theology of some of the older religions dating back to the Egyptians. This point is pretty obvious to most Masons, but it somehow escapes the attention of the Antis, who are more interested in extracting short passages out of context that seem to support their position that Masonry is a religion unto itself, and possibly a demon-worshiping one, at that. Antis also have a hard time believing that not all Masons are on board with this religion thing, much less that few Masons have actually read Pike. In trying to explain that Pike was a great thinker, but that his writing might have been above most of those who received copies of this book, they express doubt. Why would the SRSJ hand out the books if it weren’t required reading, they ask. And truth be told, the explanation does sound lame: Because no one person speaks for Freemasonry; not having a dogma, Freemasonry has no requirement that its members study any particular author. One can almost imagine the raised eyebrow while Antis pose the question: Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that your organization survived several hundred years without having so much as a mission statement? Yes, it seems unbelievable that the fraternity has survived for centuries without some kind of “mission statement,” but it’s my opinion (and since I’m a respected Masonic writer, it must be true) that the lack of a formal doctrine has actually contributed to the longevity of the Fraternity. The Ancient Charges themselves make it clear that the essential points of membership, and the qualities venerated by the membership, are to be men who are trustworthy and honest, and who have a belief in a Supreme Being. Yes, it’s really that simple. Again, this is the part where non-Masons get it wrong; that some men write about Freemasonry in such loving and lofty terms often reserved for religious discussion leads some of them to assume that they do so because Freemasonry actually is a religion – albeit one in which the overwhelming majority of members don’t seem to recognize it as such. More astounding, though, is the incredible lapse in reasoning that goes along with this thinking. What kind of religion is it in which the members don’t believe they are practicing? Furthermore, considering that most Masons in the US and UK practice some form of Christianity, what kind of religion is it in which the members believe that they belong to a different religion entirely? This is akin to visiting a synagogue or church and trying to tell the people that what they are really practicing is Santaria. It’s amazing when you think about it; the entire purpose of the Fraternity is to be exactly that: a fraternity. To develop the bonds of friendship among those who would have otherwise remained at a perpetual distance. It’s a testament to the power of this simple bonding, the creation of friendships among men of different ages, religions, ethnic backgrounds that so many men speak so highly of their experiences with the Craft. It’s difficult to explain to an Anti, or even to a non-Mason, that feeling one gets when visiting a strange city and bumping into a person wearing a ring with the Square & Compasses, or being invited to a dinner at a strange lodge while on a business trip, or even the elevation of one’s spirits at the end of a bad day at work when walking into one’s mother lodge and being greeted by people that you know. It’s not a “religious” experience in the sense that there is nothing inherently spiritual, but it can an uplifting and calming experience, especially so for men of an age who are more accustomed to being strong and silent. At this point, the quick-witted Anti might think to ask “If no one man speaks for Masonry, then why should I believe your explanation over those of the great authors of the last century?” This is actually a very good question, and one that Masons themselves might want to consider before we tackle it in the next installment of Freemasonarianism: The Religion of Freemasonry.

Among the many recurring themes on this blog, the evolution of birds from feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs is probably the most prevalent. Hardly a month goes by without a new study relevant to this major evolutionary transition, and as paleontologists discover more they continue to find that many traits once thought to be exclusive to birds were widespread among dinosaurs. Yet this understanding has only coalesced within the last 15 years. For over a century, the early evolution of birds remained a mystery, and numerous suggestions were made about avian origins. For much of the past 150 years, how the first birds evolved and what sort of animals they originated from depended upon whom you asked. The English anatomist Thomas Henry Huxley proposed that there was a step-by-step transition from small dinosaur-like creatures through flightless birds (like ostriches) to flying birds, whereas his colleague Harry Govier Seeley vehemently disagreed and believed that birds had evolved from pterosaurs. The idea that birds had an aquatic origin—either evolving from swimming dinosaurs or becoming adapted to life in the sea before taking to the air—was also espoused by several naturalists. But one of the most amusing ideas I have yet encountered was an article by W.T. Freeman printed in an 1897 issue of Gentleman's Magazine. Freeman had developed his own peculiar way of looking at the history of life. A creationist, but of a different sort than today's religious fundamentalists, he thought that there was a clear succession of organisms over time in which there were distinct species incapable of evolving into something else. As evidence for this, Freeman cited the fact organisms created near-perfect copies of themselves through reproduction. No organism gave birth to a different species, and even when two species interbred—an inappropriate interaction Freeman deemed "perverted"—the hybrid never became established as a new species. Within this creationist system, Freeman believed he had found an explanation for Archaeopteryx. Recognized by many naturalists as an early bird with reptilian characteristics such as teeth and a long, bony tail, Archaeopteryx was regularly used as evidence that birds had indeed evolved from reptiles. ("Everything has, or has had, a definite purpose in life," Freeman wrote, "and the archaeopteryx lived its life in order to bring bliss to the soul of the evolutionist.") But Freeman took a different view. The mish-mash of bird and reptilian characters indicated that Archaeopteryx was nothing more than a sign of ancient indiscretions: I suggest that in the earlier days there were ill-developed, low-typed, wallowing birds, also some highly developed reptiles. Perverted sexual instinct exists now, why not then, and as a result of this, why has not the archaeopteryx been an anomalous false hybrid that has been incapable, like other mongrels, of reproducing its kind? When I first read this, I had to wonder if the essay was meant as some kind of joke or satirical jab at the science of evolution. How could anyone seriously believe that Archaeopteryx was the product of a union between birds and reptiles? Yet Freeman's essay is serious from start to finish, and I was able to find at least one other essay by him about his off-kilter creationist beliefs. Frustratingly for Freeman—but fortunately for our understanding of the natural world—the idea that Archaeopteryx was the monstrous offspring of reptile and bird never took off. The animal truly was the first feathered dinosaur ever found, and, even though it took over a century to arrive at this view, the multiple Archaeopteryx specimens discovered so far remain important to ongoing research about the evolution of birds.

Buy Photo Jaylen Smith 4 of Flint waits in line with his father Keith Sanders 25 of Flint to have blood samples taken to be tested for lead on Saturday January 23, 2016 at the Masonic Temple in downtown Flint. Smith goes to family members houses outside of the city of Flint for water relief. The free lead level testing event for children and adults was sponsored by The Sanders Law Firm to help Flint residents dealing with the Flint water crisis to find out how they've been effected. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced Sunday that he has asked for expanded Medicaid support for about 15,000 Flint residents, especially for pregnant women and those under 21, in the wake of the city’s water crisis. “Children, teens and young adults exposed to lead need more coverage to get testing and the treatment they need,” Snyder said in a news release. He submitted a request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The expanded coverage would mean that all pregnant women and young people who used Flint’s water would be eligible for help, not just those whose income levels meet the requirements. (Those who earn more than four times the poverty level would have to buy into the program.) Obama administration officials have already said on Friday that they expect to expand Medicaid services for Flint, including lead blood-level monitoring, behavioral health services and nutritional support for children and pregnant women in Flint as a result of the water crisis there. Contact Daniel Bethencourt: 313-223-4531 or dbethencourt@freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @_dbethencourt. Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/1Xs6EeL

Comparing the development of high-speed Internet as part of the president’s economic recovery act to electrification projects under the New Deal, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Aug. 4 more than $1.3 billion in funding for more than 120 broadband projects in rural communities across the country. Since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, federal authorities have allocated about $2.6 billion to fund more than 230 broadband projects in 45 states. The goal of these projects is to provide high-speed Internet service for private home use as well as to help local businesses, hospitals, libraries, schools, government entities, public safety facilities and community organizations gain access to broadband services. “The broadband projects announced today will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, jobs, health care and educational opportunities,” Vilsack said. “These projects will create jobs building these networks, and the completed systems will provide a platform for rural economic growth for years to come.” According to data provided by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the funds for the latest broadband projects will go to 38 states. For example, Clear Lake Independent Telephone won an award of close to $8 million to provide high-speed Internet to more than 2,000 previously unserved homes and businesses in Iowa. The Leslie County Telephone Company in Kentucky will use its $6.1 million grant to provide DSL to 3,500 homes, 35 businesses and 35 community organizations, creating at least 100 jobs along the way. On a larger scale, the West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation Inc., which covers parts of Tennessee as well, will put its $123.8 million award toward creating 160 jobs in order to provide high-speed Internet service to more than 21,000 homes in 11 counties, 3,500 businesses and 100 community institutions. In Florida, the Windstream Corporation will use almost $50 million in government grants and loans to provide rural communities, comprising some 120,000 people and 4,750 businesses and 150 community institutions, with access to high-speed Internet services. The company estimated its projects would create 225 new jobs. Crystal Automation will use its $26 million grants and loans to lay fiber optic cable to provide Internet services to 140,000 people in central Michigan’s rural communities. In addition, an estimate 5,000 businesses and 700 community organizations will be serviced, creating 150 jobs upfront. A $64 million award to Montana Opticom, LLC, will create 650 jobs upfront in order to lay fiber optic cable to service some 18,500 people, 4,100 local businesses and 58 community organizations in Gallatin County, Montana. Among the community organizations are libraries, health care facilities and schools. More than 13,000 households and 1,200 businesses in Chelan and Okanogan Counties, in Washington state, will see new broadband service as part of separate awards totaling about $35 million award to the publicly owned Public Utility District 1. Dozens of community institutions stand to benefit along with new jobs created. An almost $22 million award will provide new high-speed Internet service to 8,500 people in rural Wilkes County, North Carolina. From California to New York, Minnesota to Texas, Mississippi to North Dakota, millions of Americans and tens of thousands of businesses and community institutions will have new access to high-speed Internet services as a result of these projects. The USDA estimates that tens of thousands of new jobs will be created as well. USDA Rural Utilities Service Administrator Jonathan Adelstein said these projects are a good start to making broadband access available everywhere in the country. “It’s a down payment, not a balloon payment,” he said. “It clearly makes a difference, but there is still far more work to be done to make broadband available in all corners of the country.” He noted that the program creates new jobs and helps bring the U.S. into comparative advantage with other countries that have wider broadband coverage. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/believekevin/130936470/ cc 2.0

What if you could spend the majority of your working time connected to your heart, in the zone, doing the work you know really matters? What if this could be the default space that you create from? I think it can. Over the last several years I’ve been experimenting and testing different techniques for getting into this heart-centered, community-reaching, deep-creativity space. I’ve been avidly pursuing it mostly because for so long I’ve not been in that state as consistently as I’d like. At first, you get a taste or a flicker. Little satori, as the zen monks say. A glimpse of what it’s like to simply flow, to create from the heart and to create something that truly matters. This flicker is a view of what’s possible. A blip that quickly fades. But over time, this momentary experience can become the reality you wake up to. After lots of hard work and continuous cultivation of course. The paradox of greatness and ease Have you ever created or built something that just came to you on the fly and you thought almost nothing of it? It may have seemed insignificant, or it was so effortless that you thought it couldn’t possibly matter very much. But then, by some stroke of serendipity it received more of a response and ovation than anything you’d previously slaved over. Why is this? Why does our best work almost seem like happenstance, like some kind of random luck? I believe it’s because during those moments that seem like “whatever” we’ve gotten out of the way. We’re not trying desperately to force something. We’re not trying to slave something into perfection. We’re not using brute force to make something happen. We’re tapping into a source of power and creativity much deeper than ourselves. You can call this Source, divine inspiration, or whatever you like. Making the Great Work State your stage But this begs the question: can creating from this place transition from being a state experienced fleetingly and scarcely to an experience that is the stage we work from? I want that state to become my stage. That’s what I’m interested in. In this article I’m going to share with you the process I’ve refined over the last six years for getting myself in this place. And let me just be clear, by no means is this perfect. It’s a living breathing process for me. And for a long time it was in such a state of amorphousness that I didn’t feel it would be useful to share with anyone, or that it could be made sense of. Without further ado, this is my practice for getting into the Great Work Flow. I’m tentatively calling this the Great Work Commencement Exercise. (Hat tip to Michael for his book Great Work and giving us that frame to work with.) Step 1: Get Centered First, get centered in your body. Breathe deeply. Feel your heart. Say a prayer, make an intention: “Help me get out of the way.” (It’s not important whether you’re secular or otherwise, the important part is that you acknowledge that to do great work something bigger must come through you.) Step 2: Get Clear Have you defined the one mission that’s most important to your heart today? – Is it a clear, doable action? – Is it something that will have an impact long-term (over the next 1-3 years at least)? – Does it align with your heart? If not, figure out what that mission is that meets these criteria now. Step 3: Remember Why Still in a state of inner stillness, ask yourself “Why am I doing it?” Really feel why you’re doing it. Allow it to expand like a chord resonating through the amphitheater of your heart. Now, imagine what you secretly want to have happen as a result of your action. What’s the highest good that could result from you doing this? Let the chord resonate further, through your body, through the room you’re in now. Let it resonate through your city and beyond. Let your Why expand and resonate throughout the world, the solar system, the galaxy and Universe. Step 4: Use your imagination Imagine the highest good of all coming to pass as the result of your commitment and depth. The highest good of those you’re serving. The highest good of yourself and your family. The highest good of the world. Step 5: Starting is success Now, breathe in that why and start. Remember it may be hard, daunting or scary. For that reason, don’t try to finish. Just take one step and remember that starting is success. An alive work in progress I should say right now, I don’t always do this entire process. Sometimes I just get settled in my heart and try to identify the one thing I can do now that will make a long-term difference. Sometime that’s enough. At other times, maybe in a monthly review, or quarterly planning session, you might want to go through the whole process. It can be particularly helpful when you’re planning a major project that feels exciting and scary as hell. This should be something you feel into in the moment. The highest wisdom I’ve found is the ability to feel into the moment and simply do whatever is needed. Don’t be rigid when you feel like you need less or more. Got it? My humble request to you: Now, I have two questions for you that I would greatly appreciate you answer in the comments: 1. What processes help you for getting into the right state for doing your best work? 2. Would you be potentially interested in a guided meditation or worksheet for getting into Great Work Flow to listen to before beginning your work for the day? I’m seriously considering producing something like this. Looking forward to learning from you. Sharing is caring!

The brothers escaped on a Sunday. Matt, 14, Terrick, 12, and Joseph, 11 pretended to go to church that day in 2006, but in secret they had planned to run away and never come back. No more living with an angry grandmother who drank. No more beatings with the belt. They stashed a black plastic garbage bag full of clothes next to a dumpster outside their grandmother’s apartment in Whittier, California, and wore extra socks, shirts and pants underneath their church outfits. Their older sister, 23, would pick them up at a nearby Burger King. From there, according to the brothers, she would whisk them away and raise them as her own. So instead of stepping onto that church bus as they had done every week past, the Bakhit brothers walked to Burger King praying that whatever lay ahead was better than what they left behind. Matt, the eldest, was the mastermind. At 14, a wrestler and high school freshman, Matt said living in the strict, abusive home stifled his maturity. How could he grow into a man? “My grandma, over any little thing, would pull my pants down and whoop me with a belt,” Matt, now 22, said in an interview. But freedom from his abusive grandmother didn’t mean an end to his and his brothers’ hardships. Child protection intervened less than a month later at their sister’s San Diego home. The brothers remember a social worker telling them they would not be separated. They packed their belongings once again into plastic bags and piled into the social worker’s car. The brothers cried. Despite the promise, 20 minutes later the social worker dropped Matt off at a foster home. Terrick and Joseph were taken to the Polinsky Children’s Center, a 24-hour emergency shelter in San Diego for kids without a home, or as Joseph calls it, “purgatory.” San Diego County’s child welfare department, which oversees foster care and the Polinsky Center, declined to comment on the brothers. The department never discloses information on any children or families who have been under its care, said Child Welfare Services Program Manager Connie Cain. Having been thrust into foster care, the brothers were forced to navigate an unfamiliar world. Their goal was to stick together. But they were separated, reunited and separated again. California is home to more than 66,000 foster youth, according to data collected by the California Child Welfare Indicators Project. Nearly all of them have gone through some type of trauma. Two decades of research has shown that children with untreated trauma are more likely to grow up and have health problems. Providing stable homes, with caring adults, and tailoring treatment plans to each child are what these kids need, according to childhood trauma experts. The tale of the brothers Bakhit exemplifies the strengths and weaknesses of a foster care system struggling to care for thousands of abused and neglected children. The same system that nurtured Joseph also alienated Matt, and lost Terrick to the juvenile justice system, which cut him from foster care and cast him out on the streets: broke, hungry and with nowhere to go. Terrick pled guilty to stealing a car at age 17 and a judge sent him to a juvenile facility, making him ineligible for foster care benefits, which now extend to age 21 in California. Once a judge terminates a foster youth’s case, child welfare is basically out of the picture. “We always comply with the judge’s orders,” Cain said. San Diego County Juvenile Court declined to comment for this story. Joseph, a success story Despite a traumatic childhood, Joseph, the youngest, now 19, grew up a success by most standards. He graduated as valedictorian from San Pasqual Academy, a residential school for foster youth. The academy gave him a car: a black 2008 Toyota Scion XD. When he got accepted to UC Berkeley, scholarships and financial aid available only to foster youth paid his full ride. And because of a 2010 law extending foster care to age 21, he gets a $838 check every month until age 21. Now in his second year of college, Joseph works at a dorm cafeteria and is engaged to his high school sweetheart. Falling through the cracks Terrick and Matt’s experience was totally different. By the time Joseph graduated from high school, Terrick and Matt were homeless on the streets of downtown San Diego. Terrick bounced around from group home to group home, rarely staying in one place for more than three months during his five years in foster care. His temper got him in trouble. Foster care abruptly ended when Terrick took a joy ride in the van his last group home used to cart around boys like himself. It wasn’t the first time he took the van without permission, but this time he got caught. Three minutes in, police pulled him over on a freeway entrance ramp. The police released him back to the group home only to arrest him the following morning. Terrick pleaded guilty to stealing the car and spent three months in juvenile hall before a judge ordered him to a year at Camp Barrett, a correctional facility for chronic, serious and violent juvenile offenders. Removing a kid from foster care and placing him or her in a correctional facility isn’t a decision taken lightly, according to Michele Linley, who runs the juvenile division of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. Lawyers from all sides, social workers and probation officers meet throughout the process to decide what’s best for the youth. “There’s always a fine line,” Linley said, speaking generally. “We are concerned about the minor, and what is in the best interest of the minor, but also, we represent the California people and are concerned with public safety.” The final decision is always up to the judge. “To punish a youth by taking away his or her foster youth status is not an appropriate use of judicial power,” said State Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose), who authored Assembly Bill 12, which extends foster care services to the age of 21 from 18 to help the transition into adulthood. Only active foster youth can take advantage of AB 12. According to Beall, kids who are removed from foster care and sent to the juvenile justice system are, under law, still technically foster youth. They have what are called “waiting placement orders” and can reenter foster care once released from custody. However, if a judge removes the order and the youth turns 18, he or she can never reenter. Terrick celebrated his 18th birthday at the camp and was released a few weeks later. No longer considered a foster youth, Terrick couldn’t access the money and housing benefits offered to other foster kids his age. He was forever ineligible for the transitional services offered to all other transition-age foster youth, and his younger brother. “It doesn’t make sense that, by turning 18 without a placement order, a foster youth would be denied AB 12 and could then never ever get it back again,” said Beall. “It is not how AB 12 is supposed to work; in fact, it is the opposite.” Normally when a foster youth is incarcerated, Beall said, the foster care placement order stays in place. Only a judge can lift the order, and many judges don’t know the rules of AB 12. Beall suggested a legislative fix that would require judges to undergo training in AB 12 extended foster care. All the people interviewed for this story agree that what happened to Terrick isn’t common. But no one could confirm that, because that data doesn’t seem to exist. Cain, of child welfare in San Diego, told us they don’t have reliable data on foster youth who end up in jail, cut off from AB 12 benefits. Neither does probation. The Division of Juvenile Justice, which oversees the state facilities that house juvenile offenders, knows it has kids from foster care but doesn’t collect any of that data. For Terrick, Camp Barrett wasn’t the problem. In fact, it turned out to be a productive year. He got his GED and attended self-help groups, earning a handful of certificates of completion. His troubles began after release. Without the safety net of the foster care system, Terrick struggled to live in a world for which he wasn’t prepared. He said he survived on the streets by stealing food and smoking methamphetamines, which kept him alert. When Matt turned 18 in 2010, AB 12 was still a bill waiting for then Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature. Matt lived in transitional housing for six months while interning at the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. With money to spend and little guidance, Matt partied too hard and management kicked him out. “I did what someone without a family does,” Matt said. “I spent my money on making friends.” Mom abandons the boys Before the brothers ended up with Grandma, they lived with their mother, Michele Bakhit. Michele first smoked crack cocaine at 17, she said in an interview in her San Diego home. That love-hate relationship would last for 28 years. The boys were with a babysitter the night their mom never came home. Michele was in a motel room, smoking crack cocaine with a friend, she said. Once the the drugs were gone, she needed more. She stole her friend’s van and drove off in the middle of the night to get them. “I took the car and went to Compton and never came back,” Michele said. “I knew if I came back I’d have to answer for that night.” She is now 48 years old, and hasn’t smoked crack in a couple years, she said. Wearing rolled-up jeans and a pink tank top, she sat on her bed holding back tears remembering that night. She has the names of her seven children tattooed on her back. All three brothers have different fathers that they’ve never met. “It was easier for me to not deal with it and not look back and that’s exactly what I did.” Michele spent the next six years in and out of prison for drug-related offenses. Grandma keeps order with a belt The three Bakhit brothers went to live with their grandmother, Patricia Ybarra, who admitted to spanking the kids with a belt. “I just didn’t know how to deal with boys,” Patricia said. “I didn’t know what to do. I’d flip out.” Patricia’s own mother also ran a strict home with harsh punishments. Now 69, Patricia has made peace with those years. She said she drank a lot back then, but stopped drinking five years ago. “I don’t regret those years. I can’t. They happened for a reason. What that reason is, I don’t know,” she said. “I just wish that I wasn’t so strict, that I had let them be boys.” Family reunion A couple Christmases back, Joseph rounded up his two homeless brothers for a family dinner at Grandma’s house. Their mother was living there too, while she tried to get clean from drugs. After that Christmas, Michele decided to be a mom. Her goal: to put a roof over Terrick and Matt’s heads. For a while, the three of them stayed in motel rooms. Tensions ran high as the newly reunited family tried to reconnect in a single room with two double beds. Terrick’s anger escalated. He began punching the walls. His hand would swell up for weeks and, once healed, he’d punch a wall again. It became routine. “People have always asked me: ‘Why are you so angry?’ I’ve heard that question for years. I told everyone I do not know,” Terrick said. After talking about his anger with Joseph one day, something just clicked. He finally connected his childhood abuse to his anger. “Now, I can tell them it is because of my grandma, because of my past. That is exactly why I was so angry.” One morning Terrick erupted in anger, fought his brother and punched through a window, which sliced up his arm bad enough to require surgery. It was a moment of clarity for Terrick. He needed to get a grip on his anger. Getting Over the Pain Terrick, Matt and their mom now live rent-free together in Spring Valley, a San Diego suburb, where Michele acts as caregiver for a disabled man who provides housing for the family. Joseph lives in Berkeley with his fiancée, while he attends school and works in a dorm cafeteria. Anger and substance abuse runs in the family, and all except Joseph seem to struggle with it daily. The toll of childhood abuse, addiction and incarceration isn’t easily undone. The aftereffects linger on, creating a long list of health problems, according to studies by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The research showed that the more abuse, stress and neglect there was during childhood the greater the risk for health problems later in life, including alcoholism, drug use, smoking, depression, suicide, domestic violence, heart disease, liver disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While Michele said she was off the crack cocaine, she admitted to drinking alcohol. In her purse were a pack of Maverick cigarettes and a miniature bottle of liquor. Not too long ago, Michele was court-ordered to attend anger management classes after getting in a fistfight with a neighbor. Terrick has mellowed out but still struggles with his anger. He switched from smoking weed everyday to smoking “spice,” a mix of herbs and chemicals found at smoke shops that is sometimes labeled “synthetic marijuana.” But, that too, he hopes to quit someday. His cigarette brand of choice is Newport. He enrolled at Colorado Technical University and was just hired as a salesman at a mall. Anger still rages in Matt, who turns to poetry for release. He works in construction and sleeps on the floor of a downstairs apartment at his mother’s workplace, while Terrick and his girlfriend occupy the bedroom. The brothers’ goal of sticking together never completely panned out. But their bond never broke. The family speaks proudly of Joseph’s success. He is regarded as the one who made it out. “I always wished I could be like him,” said Terrick. “I’m not really jealous, but I kind of wish I had the stuff he had.” On Terrick’s right shoulder are the tattooed initials MTJ: Matt, Terrick, Joseph. Go to Prime collective to view more photos of the Bakhit Brothers. Max Whittaker is a freelance photojournalist and founding member of Prime.

Sorry to keep blogging about this, but wait ’til you hear what happened. This is beyond outrageous. I mean…the word “disgusting” doesn’t even begin to describe it. As the title up top suggests, this is my fourth Best Buy entry. Click here for the first, here for the second, and here for the third. And now get ready to hear about their latest series of failures. Yesterday, the 57th day since I had a working TV, was supposed to be THE day that my new TV was delivered and installed. Did it happen? No, of course not. Keep reading and you’ll see why… MESS-UP #1: Best Buy told me that I’d get a phone call half an hour before the TV was delivered. Surprise-surprise: no one ever called. The delivery guys showed up out of the blue with it — not a big deal, but it still annoyed me. More than anything, though, I was relieved (and in a state of shock) that the TV was actually in my possession: MESS-UP #2: I was given a four-hour window when the installation would take place. Initially, it was set up for 8am to 12pm, but (shocker!) at the very last second, it had to be pushed back to 12pm to 4pm. I don’t even know why. Somehow, the guys who were supposed to do it in the morning were unavailable. I accepted this, but told Best Buy three different times that I was going to have to leave my place no later than 3:30pm. They promised me that the Geek Squad — that’s who was going to be installing the TV — would arrive early and finish the job by that time. MESS-UP #3: At 2pm, the Geek Squad called to ask what streets I live between — and to get subway directions. You’d think that after 57 days, Best Buy might have that information in its computer system. MESS-UP #4: The Geek Squad did not arrive until 2:45pm — way too late to finish the job on time. MESS-UP #5: Only ONE guy showed up to do the job — a major problem considering that the new TV weighs 97 pounds and needed to be lifted onto a wall mount. MESS UP #6: The Geek Squad guy mistakenly thought that his job simply entailed mounting the TV. Inexplicably, Best Buy had neglected to inform him that he’d need to run a monster cable from the TV to a nearby audio-video cabinet, then drill a hole in it to get the wires through, and set up various pieces of electronic equipment (DVD player, VCR, high-def receiver, old-school Nintendo, etc.). MESS-UP #7: The guy didn’t have the right parts to secure the brackets for the wall mount. He actually had to ask me for nuts and bolts; naturally I didn’t have the ones he needed. MESS-UP #8: Get ready for it. No really…get ready. At around 3:15pm, I discovered that the TV screen was cracked!!! I truly could NOT believe it. Here I am taking a photo of the damage (with the Geek Squad guy calling his supervisor): By the way, my apartment looks empty because I had to move all my furniture out of the way. Everything has been a mess here for weeks. It’s so stressful to have my home turned upside down, and this is where I work every day on my book . My career has been suffering as a result of this ordeal. I’m not joking. The amount of time and energy I’ve wasted, along with the aggravation I’ve endured, can’t even be measured or reimbursed. Want to see the actual cracks? (Yes, there were two.) Check this out: Here’s a closer look at the crack on the right: CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! BEST BUY MADE WE WAIT N EARLY TWO MONTHS FOR A TV AND THEN DELIVERED ONE WITH TWO ******* CRACKS!!!!!! WHAT THE **** DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A ******* TV THAT ******* WORKS? But wait, that’s not all… MESS-UP #9: The Geek Squad guy told me he’d call his supervisor and then call the store and then call me back with an update. He had my home phone number. I gave him my cell phone number. He never called. No text message. No voice-mail. Nothing. So, basically, I have not heard a single thing from Best Buy in the 11 hours since I discovered that they sent me a cracked TV — not an apology or an explanation or an update or anything. I am so angry about this that…I don’t even know what to say anymore. To everyone reading this, please spread the word. Tell everyone you know not to shop at Best Buy. Tweet about it. Post on Facebook about it. Link to my blog entries about it. Do not EVER buy anything from this company. They are thoroughly inept and apathetic. They’re idiots and thieves. I truly hope that it goes bankrupt (but not before they refund my money). I don’t even want them to keep trying. I don’t want a TV from them. I just want my money back, and of course they’re refusing to give it to me. Finally, I now have *two* lawyers on the case. I’m going to make a conference call to the Best Buy corporate headquarters later this morning with one of them, and depending on how that turns out, I have another lawyer-friend who’s gathering details and info and preparing to fax Best Buy’s general counsel’s office a letter, informing them that they’re being sued.

"A failed spell incurs no cooldown, but penalizes the caster with the loss of MP. The amount of MP lost varies depending on the circumstances: a fumbled partial incantation might only deduct a portion of the spell's MP cost, since the system cannot know the player's intent and can only tally the costs of the spellwords that were spoken correctly. But a fully-incanted spell against an invalid target will incur the loss of the spell's normal cost, and the spell will fail to manifest or affect said target. Players are cautioned that repeatedly fumbling incantations or attempting to cast a spell beyond one's skill level have a chance of triggering more serious consequences—both for the caster, and for those around them…" —Alfheim Online manual, «Spell Failures and Fumbles» 10 May 2023: Day 186 - Morning For a few moments, as Kirito and the other three players from his new group rose rapidly past the orchard and hedge maze that bordered the steps ascending to the Warpgate, he felt a passing suspicion that Burns was leading him somewhere far off in order to force him to tire his wings. It was not a trivial concern: having the high ground was useful in a fight, but taking the high ground rapidly expended wing energy, and Kirito was familiar with more than a few tactics for forcing opponents to fly or ascend when they didn't need to. Once drained, wings took a fair amount of time to recharge, and a player who couldn't use their wings on a moment's notice not only couldn't fly—they couldn't use a burst of flight-assisted speed as an evasive maneuver on the ground. Kirito had every expectation of needing tactics like those in order to avoid all the debuffs Burns was likely to start throwing at him the moment the duel timer counted to zero. He knew he was predisposed to distrust Burns, and had any number of good, well-informed reasons for that distrust. Doing something outside of the duel to put him at a disadvantage, like making him use up wing energy on a long trip to some inconvenient location, wouldn't have struck Kirito as being out of character—even if that was a handicap that cut both ways. But it seemed like the four of them had only been in the air for seconds before reaching the apex of their flight arc. They descended towards the upper terraces of the Arboretum, an expansive open-air park near enough to the Warpgate that they could've very well walked; Kirito realized what their destination had to be at about the same time that the colored streaks trailing from the other three players cut off and put them into a glide. The Grand Gazebo loomed large over the sparse treetops from Kirito's vantage point, the domed roof with its thick post-and-lintel timber supports rising nearly four stories above the raised tile platform it covered. A scattering of NPCs from various factions were present, some in the faint shade beneath the dome and others pathing their scripted ways along the irregular stone walkways that meandered through the open garden which filled the clearing around the gazebo itself. A quick toggle of Searching revealed no other players nearby—at least, none who weren't hiding their cursors in some way. It certainly qualified as a public place, and it was well within Arun's safe zone—but it wasn't exactly Main Street, either. As a place to hold a duel, however, Kirito had to admit that it was inspired. He knew that the game considered everything within a hundred meters of the point where a duel was initiated to be part of the playable area for the duel—and everything further to be "out of bounds". By long practice eyeballing distances in the game, he estimated that the entire garden area surrounding and including the Grand Gazebo was just shy of 200 meters in diameter on its short axis. For much of his time in Alfheim, Kirito's eye had come to evaluate terrain from the perspective of a solo player seeking to evade or gain advantage over larger groups, or to see it in terms of how it might affect PvE battles and survivability. But for the first time in a long time, he found himself automatically appraising the site's suitability as an arena. Not just an arena in the general sense, but as an element of game and level design. He came in for a landing near the center of the central structure itself, an octagon of perhaps fifty meters with open sides that allowed free movement in and out of the covered rotunda. The roof, rafters, and man-thick pillars provided sources of potential hard cover against AOEs, while the scattered trees and hedges throughout the garden served as "soft" cover that wouldn't protect him—but might, in a pinch, be able to block LOS if needed. "It's perfect," Kirito said quietly. Soft as his words were, he hadn't realized that he'd spoken aloud; Kirito felt a light impact as Xorren slapped his back with one of his white-gloved hands. The other Spriggan stepped past his landing spot at the center of the towering gazebo, grinning and spreading his arms wide as he turned in a half-circle. "Isn't it the best? Burns knew this place from the beta, and it's one of my favorite spots for arranged duels now." Burns seemed as if he'd been busy in his menu; he swept his hand to one side and looked up past a loose drift of long, straight black hair. "I just sent a quick hey to Kramer and Yar, letting them know where to find us, but they'll probably be a few minutes. Any last-minute stuff you need to sort out?" "Let's go over ground rules," Kirito said while pacing the breadth of the structure and getting the lay of the land. "Gear limitations?" "Well, I think I mentioned sev gear before?" Burns said immediately, with a faint rise to his tone that suggested a half-question; Kirito turned back towards him and nodded. "Yeah, that's probably the one constant rule we have for duels—don't buff your Critical Severity; it makes for more extreme damage spikes, and spike damage runs the risk of corpselighting someone unintentionally." Corpselighting, Kirito thought. That's a cute new euphemism for killing. Though in an effort to be fair, he reminded himself that if the rez was timely, getting turned into a Remain Light wasn't murder—just the punishing death penalty to skills and experience. Bad enough at their levels, and to be avoided… but still within the bounds of sportsmanship if it wasn't intentional. "Other than that..." Burns shrugged, then donned a grin that slowly spread across his broad cheeks while he spoke. "Free advice you probably don't need if you're half the player I think you are: got any gear that can buff your Status Resist, put it on now. You'll need it." Kirito nodded, saying nothing. Burns was almost certainly aware that Spriggans had innate Status Resistance. And if he didn't already know, Kirito wasn't going to surrender an advantage by warning him that some of his debuffs might not stick for as long as he was expecting—or, if Kirito was lucky, at all. "Starting position? Buffs and pre-casting?" Burns upturned his hands in yet another signal of indifference. "Start where you want, do what you want. If the game'll let you make a play, go for it. Just don't get DQ'd, because we'll laugh and make fun of you." "A lot," added Xorren with a grin. In other words, Kirito thought as he signaled his understanding with a single nod, anything goes as long as the game doesn't flag it as a violation. Which means you could start casting a few seconds before the start, and have your spell go off before the other person has a chance to retaliate. He resolved to be prepared for any ambush of the sort, although trying to pull off something like that would be tricky—get the timing wrong, and you'd be disqualified for attacking before the duel actually started. The thought brought an unpleasant memory back to Kirito, a reminder of Fausta's attempt to exploit duel mechanics in order to try to OHK him with a Dark Magic suicide-bombing. He pushed the memory away; this wasn't the time for distractions. Burns seemed to be examining him closely, and from the shifting direction of his gaze Kirito surmised that the other boy was taking advantage of the spare moments by evaluating what he could tell about Kirito's gear. He quickly took inventory of the mage's equipment with his own gaze. Nothing I recognize except his gloves; the star-shaped pattern on the back of the hands looks just like the Slitharch sigil. If I had to guess, he got those from a named drop a couple zones back. Slitharch gear leans towards AGI buffs and status procs—he might be faster than I expect, and his hits could inflict debuffs. The rest of it… I see a few Jotunn-themed adornments that suggest HP buffs, but most of his gear looks like rare drops, not crafted pieces—I can't tell anything from just looking at them. When his eyes returned to the Imp's face, their gazes met; Burns gave him a slight smile, as if to say that he knew exactly what Kirito had been doing. For all Kirito knew, he approved. "Let's do this," said Burns. A thrill of excitement raced through Kirito. It didn't feel quite the same as it might have in the real world; he couldn't feel his heart pounding in his chest, even though he knew his real one probably was, and the rapidly-spreading chill that the system tried to simulate in response to his mental state and bio-signs was a best-effort facsimile of the way a real adrenaline rush made his extremities feel cold. But it was close enough, and it was the sort of reaction that fed back on itself. He shifted his weight from side to side, flexing his fingers, and met his opponent's enthusiasm head-on. "Let's." Burns was well-practiced at the motions of initiating a duel; his hands moved in a way that was almost pre-programmed, gaze snapping up above Kirito's head to where his cursor would be. A moment later the invitation window popped up in Kirito's vision, prompting him to choose the win conditions. He tried not to register any surprise; if Burns had ulterior motives for the duel, he'd passed up a chance for advantage by not specifying the duel type. A gesture of good faith? Kirito wondered. Or something to put me off-guard? They'd agreed on a half-HP duel, but there wasn't anything stopping the recipient from picking something else if the initiator didn't specify the kind of duel they wanted. Kirito had no intention of doing anything like that; he didn't hesitate before selecting «50% HP» as the win condition. The moment he did, the window disappeared, and a flat holographic banner appeared in the air at the midpoint between the two players declaring their names and the beginning of the countdown. They were standing near the center of the towering gazebo; as soon as Kirito accepted the duel, Burns startled him by bringing his wings to life just long enough to give himself a burst of acceleration backwards. His arc took him a good twenty meters back to just before the gazebo steps, and without thinking, Kirito mirrored the move, putting each other at the edge of typical spellcasting range almost as if they were taking starting positions in a formal match of some kind. Remember, Kirito reminded himself fiercely, Burns knows this terrain better than you do. He knows his own range, he knows the sightlines and the sources of cover, and he's more practiced at PvP. You'll always be at a disadvantage in this fight, whether you know it or not. He could see Burns working at his menu, and thought he caught a flicker on the other boy's 3D model; some of his equipment had changed. Kirito did the same now that they were at a distance, reviewing his gear and deciding to swap in a few pieces of subtle jewelry that would sacrifice a small amount of STR in order to raise his base Status Resistance. Twenty-five seconds. Kirito watched Burns carefully. He could faintly hear an incantation, and for a brief moment green energy surged along the length of the other boy's wand, sheeting over his body. A Wind Magic buff. Not Transparency; that'd be a visible change. Blur? No, I'd see that effect too. There were only so many Wind effects that would be useful for a mage to cast at the start of a battle. It has to be Haste, Kirito concluded. Burns is reducing his cooldowns—smart. Only thing I have to reduce mine is my Momentum skill mod, but I actually need to be landing hits in order to proc that. I don't think Burns is going to give me many opportunities to strike; he'll stay as far from me as he can. If he's got Wind, there's still a good chance he'll use Transparency to hide his cursor, which will make my sword techniques harder to land. It occurred to Kirito that he had no need to back off as far as Burns had, putting so much distance between the two of them—in fact, it was disadvantageous. Burns himself had said that he could start wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted, and Kirito was much better served by getting as close to melee range as he could manage before the fight started. His wings were already manifested; Kirito gave his jump a flight assist and landed close to the center of the gazebo floor where they'd initiated the duel in the first place. He began slowly advancing on where Burns stood, closing the distance between them with each step. Let's see how you react to being pressured. Ten seconds. Kirito had expected Burns to back off, circle around, or otherwise try to put some space between himself and the imminent mortal danger of being caught within Kirito's sword range. The Imp mage smiled as he watched Kirito close within about ten meters, then whipped his arms out to the sides and slightly downwards quickly enough to startle Kirito into stopping with his sword presented defensively. Violet eyes alight, he spoke an incantation in a rapid-fire near-whisper. "Yatto yojikke plemzure ralth tepnaga dweren." Kirito realized almost immediately that the spell wasn't directed at him; Burns had his arms pointed straight out in nearly opposite directions, one of them past Kirito and the other behind himself. Dark power rippled down his arms and raised a veil of violet-black from the ground before him, the energy churning itself into an opaque wall that slanted diagonally across the arena and separated the two combatants. As the wall was still forming, Kirito heard a second incantation, nearly but not quite identical to the first; another Dark Hazard shot out in the other direction, converging roughly on a single point just in front of its caster. Eight seconds. Alarm flared in Kirito's brain; he took to the air to get a clear picture of where his opponent was, backing himself up and away. The pair of Dark Hazard effects drew a massive slanted X across one side of the gazebo, each wall two meters thick and crossing each other almost exactly at the gazebo steps where Burns had stood. Kirito could not see the Imp at all, even when he toggled on Searching; he had to be hiding inside the Darkwall somewhere. I can't see him, and he can freely take all the time he wants to target me. Worse, if I chase him into that hazard to get in melee range, it'll keep me Blinded as long as I'm touching it. Think! Two seconds. Kirito had time enough to cast a single spell. The biggest risk to him in these opening moments was a homing attack with a disabling status effect; nearly anything Burns hit him with would be bad, and he had every expectation of it being Delay or Distress, or something similar. He just barely heard the beginning of an incantation— "Futto zabukke—" Wind, Fourth Magnitude. The recognition triggered a response before he consciously thought about it; Kirito began casting. "Matto zabukke—" "—plorjabu vethleka—" Homing attack, like I suspected. Kirito had been intending to summon a Decoy, but the incoming spell would already be targeted on his cursor at this point; he switched spells. "—tamzul buren!" Just as the countdown timer reached zero, Kirito's maintained shield flared out from his outstretched free hand into a translucent disc of gray smoke, manifesting in time for the incoming projectile to burst against it. The two spells were equivalent in magnitude; Kirito lost a small amount of MP but suffered no other effect, and clenched his fist to release the defensive spell the moment he saw the impact. The projectile had come from within one of the strips of the overlapping Dark Hazards, but Kirito did not make the mistake of assuming that Burns was still in the same location, especially not after a follow-up burst of violet shot out from a spot several meters in another direction. Kirito kept moving at high speed, circling the interior perimeter of the gazebo to make it harder for Burns to target him with non-homing attacks. Want to hide your cursor? Two can play at that. As soon as the next projectile seared out towards him, Kirito wove his flight path behind one of the support pillars to break LOS, and spoke quickly while the AOE detonated harmlessly on the other side of his cover. "Matto zabukke vayezul dweren." While the intensity of Transparency's visual effect was minimal at low magnitudes, the spell still had one important use in PvP: until the effect expired or Kirito attacked, Burns would find it impossible to see his cursor or—more importantly—use Focus to target it. That granted Kirito some momentary relief from homing attacks as he emerged from behind the pillar, but he didn't kid himself that he'd done anything but buy time to come up with an attack plan. Burns wasn't giving him that time if he could help it. When a third Dark Hazard spell stretched out to create a churning, lopsided asterisk just moments before the first barrier vanished to again leave behind a giant X shape, Kirito quickly repositioned himself with a grimace. The Imp's strategy was clearly to hide within his own spell effects, making it impossible for Kirito to pop his cursor or even be certain of his real location, while allowing Burns to attack at leisure. And with enough cooldown reduction, he could probably sustain those barriers for some time as long as he had MP. It wasn't even unfair or imbalanced; Kirito could think of any number of hard counters to this approach. All he needed was the ability to cast a Dispel effect, or carpet bomb the Dark Barrier with ranged AOEs and force his opponent to either eat the splash damage or flee his cover. Neither of those options were feasible for Kirito. His Illusion was high enough to cast a number of AOE attacks, but the unique property of Illusion was that despite its capacity for high spike damage it was, in effect, "scratch" damage—a temporary effect that slowly faded until it was made "real" by striking the target with a different damage type. Even if he could tag Burns with the splash damage from Illusion AOEs, he couldn't wage a war of attrition; in order to lock in the damage dealt, he'd have to immediately use another element—which he didn't have—or hit Burns with a physical attack. Burns certainly had multiple sources of AOE capability; Kirito grimaced as he took a small amount of splash damage from the edges of a Fire Magic spell that burst against the rafters. For a brief second, Kirito felt the telltale slow-time sluggishness of Delay status, but although it threw off the rhythm of his evasions, it was gone before Burns could take advantage of it. He couldn't recall any way for Fire to inflict Delay; it had to be a proc from something on the Imp's gear, a random chance for an added effect. He couldn't afford to take any attack for granted. That's three elements he's used now, Kirito thought, twisting his body to evade another Fire-based projectile. Dark is racial; he'll have at least three more skills I don't know about. From the attacks so far, he seems lean heavily on Dark and Wind, and prefers a steady onslaught of low-cost, quick-recast projectiles to keep the pressure on me. That pressure forced Kirito to constantly maneuver while he tried to get a read on Burns's location; once he had to sharply evade away from the ground in order to avoid being Rooted, and the threat of an AOE root coming out of nowhere as well as the need to get a vantage point on the overlapping Darkwalls forced Kirito to stay in the air. The way he must be burning through MP, he doesn't seem worried about running out—he's got to be recovering it somehow, and I doubt he's drinking potions or using up Mana Crystals for a duel. I'm betting he's taken cost-reduction skill mods, and probably has some MP recovery procs on all that expensive gear of his— A thought occurred to Kirito then, an idea strong enough to carry through the distraction of fending off the barrage of ranged attacks. I need a way to track Burns within his Dark Hazards, but it blocks «Searching». «Detect Movement» probably would've been perfect, but Burns is the one with Wind Magic, not me. All Kirito had was a very extensive toolkit of Illusion spells, most of which were of very limited utility in PvP. Including the one that he was considering using in a way that struck him as… not entirely intended. Kirito reasoned that the base-magnitude version would do as a test. He took a moment to recall the words to a spell he usually only used when soloing, and uttered them as quietly as he could: "Makke hevakulth dweren." At that magnitude the buff would only last for a few seconds, but it was enough to validate whether the «Detect Treasure» effect would work the way he expected in this context. The spell wouldn't pick up anything that Burns had currently equipped or stored in his inventory; it was designed to highlight loot hidden in containers or sitting out in the world waiting to be discovered. But consumables like potions and crystals needed to be ready at a moment's notice; no one could afford to be distracted in their inventory during a battle. And items in pouches or pockets, Kirito knew, counted as being "in the world"—if they had durability, they would decay just as if they'd been sitting on the ground. Kirito was counting on that, and hoped he wasn't wrong. As soon as the spell took effect, a few glimmering golden motes in varying shapes began to shine brightly at roughly waist level within the roiling blackness of the Dark Hazard; a dotted line of them traced upwards and diagonally for a short distance in the shape of a belt or strap. While Kirito watched, they jerked to a stop where the two Dark Hazard effects crossed, then abruptly changed direction and headed down one of the legs of the X just before the Detect Treasure effect faded from his vision. A moment later, a Fire projectile burned its way towards Kirito from the very same spot. Got you. His hunch confirmed, Kirito quickly cast the next-magnitude version of the detection spell so that he wouldn't lose track of his opponent again, but took care not to stare directly at the spot where he could see the glow of the valuable consumables Burns carried on his person. I only get one shot at this before he realizes I can see him. Make it count. Burns was dashing down the length of the Darkwall that he'd just recast, heading towards the center; he fired off an unguided Dark projectile from the intersection of the two walls before immediately changing directions and racing away within the confines of the older barrier. Kirito responded with his own attack almost immediately, an Illusion projectile that trailed black wisps as it rocketed out towards the point where the attack had come from. A explosion of coal-black smoke blossomed out from the place where the two walls overlapped, and Kirito swooped low to put that temporary cloud of obscurity between himself and Burns as he closed the distance. He won't be able to see through that smoke cloud, and detonating an AOE right there will make him avoid that spot for a few moments—he's trapped in that leg of the wall unless he leaves it. Kirito cut his wings as he dropped through the smoke and landed right beside a particular point on the churning blackness of the Dark Hazard, sword already in position to execute «Hurricane Slash». It wasn't one of the more powerful longsword techniques. It wasn't even a multi-hit combo, and it took nearly a full second to charge up. But Kirito had it fully charged by the time his feet touched the ground, and the diagonal upward slash released a torrent of brilliant green energy that had built up along the length of his sword, turning it into a short-range blast of elemental Wind. Kirito wasn't expecting his blade to connect with anything, and it didn't. Hitting Burns with the melee attack wasn't the point. The Wind-based blast that was the technique's secondary effect had a range of 5 meters, and it was more than enough to penetrate the intangible Dark Hazard and squarely impact Burns. Kirito didn't wait to see the results; as soon as the brief freeze time ended he kicked off the ground and sent a surge of power to his wings, rocketing him up and over the Darkwall just in time to see the physics impulse from the Wind blast eject Burns from the other side of it at high speed. The instinct of most players, when thrown any distance by an attack, would've been to use their wings to stop themselves before they hit something; Burns allowed himself to be catapulted back and away from Kirito, aiming his wand while still in mid-flight. "Futto famudrokke zhukaru jan!" A crescent-shaped blade of green energy shot out from the wand; Kirito was already incanting his Defensive Shield spell in order to block it. As the shield was manifesting, he caught the last bit of a follow-up that Burns chain-cast as soon as the first spell left his wand. "—tovslagu vethleka ayelejan!" Kirito kept the shield up, free hand outstretched in anticipation of the homing attack. No second projectile came shooting out towards him from Burns; instead he sensed danger and heard the sizzle of magic above him just before the spell impacted him in the shoulder. The icon for «Distress» status appeared in his HUD, sealing off his ability to use weapon techniques and for a short time—six seconds, Kirito read, sparing a moment to Focus the debuff icon—removing a considerable amount of the melee threat that he posed. Well-played, Kirito thought as he closed the distance further between himself and Burns, meters disappearing in fractions of a second. You got me expecting another attack from the front, and instead used a Strikedown spell to hit me from another direction. And you saved that play until a clutch moment. It had been an excellent gambit, and it had almost bought Burns the time to get back to the concealment of his Darkwalls, but Kirito had no intention of allowing that—or of giving Burns the time to stop and cast anything else, if he could help it. Every time the Imp tried to maneuver to get past him, Kirito used the opportunity to cut him off and close more of the gap between them. The seething black mass of the closest Darkwall began to dissipate and fade as its duration expired; Kirito had correctly judged which one would run out first and put himself between Burns and the more recent source of cover. "You're using up lots of MP, Burns," Kirito called out as his opponent summoned an Offensive Shield effect to discourage Kirito from getting closer. "Even with recovery procs and cost reductions, you can't keep casting those walls forever." "It's not the only tool in my kit," Burns said, folding his wings and dropping just long enough to evade a freehand crosscut that Kirito aimed at his neck. "Most real-world fights don't give me a chance to set up the battlefield for maximum cheese anyway. I just wanted to see how you'd handle it." Kirito could feel the DOT from the Imp's Offensive Shield begin to eat away at his HP now that he was in close proximity, but his gauge wasn't dropping quickly enough for him to worry about it. He used his wings to thrust himself downwards as he redirected his blade into an overhand chop. "And?" Burns killed his wings entirely and dropped to the ground, then rolled out of the way and re-manifested them in order to carry himself beneath and behind Kirito just before Phantasmal Dirge bit into the ground. Kirito spun in mid-air as he yanked his sword free and leapt to the side, bringing up the flat of his blade just in time to block a smoky ultraviolet projectile and mitigate most of its damage. When he rotated the blade edge-on to Burns, he saw the other boy grinning. "We'll chat when I'm done kicking your ass." Kirito took a moment to glance at Burns's status ribbon. The Wind blast from Hurricane Slash had done the job of getting the fight out in the open, but had delivered surprisingly little actual damage. The other Darkwall began to dissipate as well, but rather than trying to recast it, Burns suddenly held his wand straight up in the air, arm stretched high above him, and chanted the words to a spell that Kirito had never heard before. "Yatto famudrokke, kredstabralth dweren." Faced with a skilled opponent casting an unfamiliar spell of unknown power, Kirito knew to be wary. With no time to either summon his own shield or close the distance again and interrupt the spell, he braced for virtually any kind of attack that could hit him from any direction and raised his own free hand to begin casting. No attack came. Instead, a column of crackling violet-black energy sheeted across Burns's entire body, culminating in a purple stroke of lightning that briefly connected him with the ceiling of the gazebo. Globes of black fire erupted from his hands, and Kirito had a Defensive Shield chanted up before he even realized he was doing it. Then, beginning with a single spoken word, Burns began chain-casting faster than Kirito had ever seen anyone cast before. Projectile after projectile shot forth from the twisted wand the other boy held out before him, each flick of the wrist and accompanying litany barraging Kirito with homing attacks that he didn't dare try to dodge or soak; his own MP rapidly dropped with every impact against his maintained shield. Some of the attacks struck down at him from above again, afflicting him with short-lived status effects as they bypassed his shield and eroded his HP. It was hard to see anything through both the smoky disc of his own shield and the effects exploding against it, but when Kirito caught a glimpse of his opponent's status ribbon, he was startled to see the other boy's HP actually going down—rapidly. Every few spells, Burns would cast a heal of some sort in order to recover some of the loss, but whatever spell he'd used to supercharge his casting ability appeared to come at a cost—it was quickly draining his own HP, and it wouldn't be long before it reached the halfway point if he didn't keep healing himself. There was no telling how long that spell effect would last, or whether Burns would be able to sustain it longer than Kirito could maintain his shield. Before, he could've played for time, trying to goad Burns into using up his MP and leaving himself defenseless—now the shoe was on the other foot. Burns cast another Wind-based healing spell; Kirito took advantage of the brief lull in attacks and tensed up his entire body, wings vibrating as hard as possible within the limits of his control over them. Just as the next attack splashed across his barrier, he kicked off the ground and channeled all the power he could muster into a burst of acceleration that almost instantly shot him forward at full speed. He had just enough time to see Burns's eyes go wide before he collided with the other boy, Defensive Shield still held out and maintained in place with the last of his MP. F=ma, Kirito thought triumphantly. Alfheim Online was, ultimately, a simulation of reality that resulted from the interaction of complex systems and rulesets. Kirito knew many of them very well, some almost intimately from his hours of experimentation and study—and one of the most important lessons he'd learned was that when it came to physical damage in the game, a weapon's special properties and upgrades only enhanced, to one degree or another, the outcome of the extremely simple physics equations underlying the simulation. Any weapon's damage would vary depending on how hard and how accurate a blow the player struck, which was part of what made the System-Assisted weapon techniques so powerful. And anything can be a weapon if you hit someone hard enough with it. The total mass of Kirito's avatar had to be, in his estimation, somewhere in the vicinity of 70 kilos with all of the equipment included. At his maximum burst flight speed, Kirito reasoned that he was probably traveling at least 12 meters per second. He didn't have time to work out the math, but the end result was exactly what he expected: Burns went tumbling backwards from the impact, HP dropping, and Kirito's shield dissolved while trying to mitigate his own HP loss. Kirito didn't stop there; he let his momentum carry him forward and struck Burns in his empty-handed near arm using a quick, cheap single-strike sword technique with a fast recovery time. The blow severed the limb at the elbow and sent a burst of particles spraying away from the stump, interrupting the spell that the mage had begun casting. It was a gamble that Burns would panic for a moment over having an arm cut off; Kirito was locked for half a second in the end frame for that technique, his body frozen in place—and now, for a few seconds at least, he was completely out of MP. To Kirito's chagrin, the other boy kept his cool; he still had his wand in his main hand, and at this range he couldn't possibly miss with whatever he was about to cast. Undeterred by the loss of one of his arms, Burns was already quickly chanting an incantation, victory in his eyes. "Fuppa yatto yojikke navgoji—" A loud tone sounded in the air. The greenish-black projectile that Burns finished casting impacted harmlessly against Kirito's torso just as the freeze time for the technique ended, allowing him to launch himself backwards in a state of wary confusion. Burns seemed just as confused—but only for a moment, only until his eyes went upwards. Kirito followed his gaze to the duel result banner, then back down at Burns. The other boy's status ribbon popped as soon as his cursor did, revealing his HP at exactly the halfway point—and clearly yellow. Burns started laughing. Suddenly, loudly, but with unmistakably genuine amusement. "Oh, that's awesome." "I won," Kirito said, almost tentatively. He was still trying to understand why he'd won; the last time he'd checked Burns had been just about to lock Kirito down with what had sounded awfully like a Paralysis spell. He gave his sword a perfunctory flourish before sheathing it on his back. The rest of the party had clearly arrived at some point during the duel; Xorren and Kramer jogged up to the two former combatants, both Spriggans with grins that matched the one Burns was wearing. "Yeah," said Burns, still tamping down his chuckles so that he could hold a conversation. "That was great. I can't believe you got me to «Lifeburn» myself below fifty. I'm usually really good at managing that, but I didn't realize just how much damage you did when you body-slammed me with your shield. Burned myself right out of the match." Burns glanced down at the stump of his left arm, laughed again, and slipped his wand into a sheath at his side. He held out his remaining fist; after a moment, Kirito gave it a bump with his own, then answered the same gesture from Kramer. "Not bad for a carebear," said the Spriggan tank, causing Kirito's smile to falter. "Wouldn't mind taking you on myself sometime, straight melee." Xorren laughed, but still gave Kramer a punch in his arm where armor didn't cover. "Cut the carebear crap, dude. Anyone who can tank Burns when he goes all-out gets respect." Kirito now had the leisure of wondering where Asuna was hiding; he hadn't picked her up with his brief use of Searching during the duel, and he was expecting her to show herself any minute now that the duel was over. She had to be somewhere that she could keep visual tabs on what was going on in addition to watching the party list—but given that neither of them had known where they'd be going, she would've had to improvise and could be anywhere. He felt a hand on his shoulder; glancing and half-turning to his left, his eyes met Mentat's. "Nicely done," said the Salamander healer. "Something to be said for getting your opponent to defeat himself." He stepped past Kirito and briefly touched Burns while casting a Water spell that restored the Imp's missing arm. "It wasn't any kind of grand strategy," Kirito admitted, watching with fascination as the arm reformed in a blue-white shimmer once the lost HP had been restored. "When I realized that Lifeburn spell of his was trading HP for power somehow, I knew I had to stop Burns from healing himself." "It sacrifices all my MP, and five percent of my max HP every second," Burns explained, flexing his left hand and all of its fingers while Mentat healed both combatants back to full. "But while it's running I don't use MP to cast spells, and all my cooldowns are halved." No wonder he was able to start unloading on me like that. "That sounds almost broken. What's the catch?" "Besides that it's slowly killing me?" To snickers from the rest of the group, Burns went on. "Eh, it makes a great oh-shit button, and I'm pretty good about knowing when to cancel it early, but I need a dedicated healer to make the most of it. I've got access to a few heals through Wind, but as you saw, they can't really keep up with the burn in a one-on-one if I'm taking damage, too." Good to know if I ever have to face Burns for real, Kirito thought. I'm sure he's thinking the same thing about whatever he learned from our duel. A soft tone and a flash in his notifications caught his eye; he briefly diverted his attention just long enough to focus the message and confirm that it was what he expected. A moment later he got the pop-up he was anticipating, letting him know that Asuna had just dropped him from her party. Kirito caught a glimpse of blue and white in his peripheral vision; he saw Asuna emerging from the edges of the hedge maze and making her way through the garden on foot. On cue, he opened his game menu and turned towards the others. "Anyone already partied up?" At the chorus of shaken heads, he Focused each player's cursor and sent invites with the ease of long practice, bringing his new group into a party of five. "Incoming," said Kramer with a tip of his head to the side; Kirito followed his gaze to where Asuna was slowly strolling towards the group. "Just a squid," Yar remarked. "Not bad-looking, though." Kirito ground his teeth together at Yar's comments, but decided this was as good an opening as any to make his play. "Yar," he began, waiting until the Salamander boy turned at the sound of his name. "What color is her cursor?" "Yellow," Yar replied immediately. Kirito turned to Kramer. "What about to you?" The Spriggan tank hadn't taken his eyes off Asuna. "Same. Why?" In lieu of an answer, Kirito asked Mentat the same question. "Green," said the healer. Xorren had the same answer, while Burns, like Yar and Kramer, reported seeing Asuna's cursor as the yellow of a neutral race. Kirito nodded. He'd expected as much. "Yar, Kramer, and Burns," he said, waiting for each boy to look at him. "I need you to change your cursor mode to Friendly Bias, please." Yar frowned. "Why the hell would I want to do that?" "Because that's the only way you join any Spriggan clearing group from now on," Kirito said, meeting Yar's suspicious look with a hard expression of his own. "We're going to be working with other clearing groups—as equals, and as friends. When we do, I need to know that they're not at risk of friendly fire." He nodded towards Asuna as she joined him at his side. "Asuna here is on my friend list, and I'm partied with you. The only reason any of you should've seen her as yellow is if you've set your cursor to Hostile Bias." "News flash, group leader," Yar said, crossing his arms in defiance. "Some of us have enemies who legit want us dead. I'm not gimping my ability to see one of them coming just because they might be your friend." Kirito didn't budge. If anything, he was doing his best to keep his anger in check, an anger that was pushing him to be even harsher than he already was. "This isn't a request, Yar," he said. "It's a requirement of partying together. I need to know that your nukes aren't going to hit anyone but the mobs we're fighting. If someone comes after you while you're in our party, I'll back you up—but I am not going to tolerate anyone putting innocent lives at risk." Yar snorted in a clear expression of derision. "Innocent. Listen to this fucking clueless carebear. Can you guys believe this?" His hands moved jerkily in the air; despite being in a safe zone, Kirito tensed up until he saw what he'd expected: the notification of Yar leaving the group. "That your final answer, Yar?" Kirito asked as the cluster of players all went uncomfortably still. He could sense Asuna seething beside him, and thanked his good fortune that she was keeping it to herself—for now. "Think about it carefully. You don't get a do-over on this." The substance of Yar's response was delivered in the form of a raised finger. "Dunno what Coper was thinking making you his lead clearer, but it's him I trusted to have my back, not you. I'm not dying to some butthurt frog with a blood feud just because you want to be everyone's buddy." Kirito looked at the other players in his party. His gaze wasn't unfriendly, but only because he was doing his best to keep his contempt for Yar off his face. "Anyone else who wants to walk because they can't play nice with others, don't let me stop you. Our job isn't just to clear the game—it's to show all the other factions that Spriggans are better than Yoshihara made us look. If you've got so many people wanting to kill you that you can't afford to take the chance of giving other players the benefit of the doubt, maybe you don't have what it takes to be a part of what we're trying to do here." "Whatever," Yar said as he began to leave. "Anyone who doesn't want Kirito here getting you killed, meet me by the LFG wall in ten minutes and we'll find another party." Kramer sighed and shouldered his polearm. "Hate to say it, Kirito, but the guy's got a point. I don't have a bunch of people gunning for me, but I'm not cool with having my group leader tell me what to do with my UI settings." "It's not just a UI preference," Kirito said. "The cursor color you see determines who your spells and abilities can affect. Why take the chance of killing someone or making their party hostile with a stray AOE?" The Spriggan tank's shrug was slight, but his weapon still bobbed on his shoulder with the motion. "I'm a tank, man. I don't think it's as big a thing as you're making it out to be, but like Yar said, whatever. Good luck with what you're trying to do. I think I'll find another group." Kramer reached out to give parting fist-bumps to Xorren and Burns before jogging off to catch up with Yar. This party is shrinking pretty fast, Kirito noted with mixed feelings. And becoming a lot less Spriggan by the numbers. He turned his attention to the only remaining person in the group who'd mentioned seeing Asuna as yellow. Burns met Kirito's gaze directly; a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth before he opened his game menu and dropped his eyes to it. "I think I'll stick around, actually," he said. "You're an interesting guy, Kirito, and that was a damn fun duel. I'm curious to see where you're going with this." Kirito had to fight to keep the grimace from showing on his face. He'd been half-hoping that mandating Friendly Bias—a harmless change for anyone who didn't have a long list of enemies—would drive out Yar and Burns, but he would've preferred that Kramer stick around. Instead he now found himself with a party member he still didn't quite trust, but didn't have any reason to eject without risking looking unreasonable to the others—and he had the vague feeling that he was already on thin ice with them. "You sure about this, Burns?" Again, Kirito tried not to be blatantly unfriendly, but it was a struggle to keep an even tone. "I'm not trying to go on some kind of power trip here, but it's a fact that Coper asked me to lead the clearing groups, and he did that because he thought I'd help smooth things over between our clearing groups and the other factions. You want to be part of that, you're welcome, but that's going to mean changing some of how we do things." "It's going to mean finding a new tank, too," Burns said with a glance in the direction that Yar and Kramer had gone. "Look, Kirito, Yar's not wrong; he's got to look out for his own skin. But he was kind of being a dick about it, so that's on him. I'm no stranger to people setting ground rules for a party, and I don't mind tweaking my cursor mode if I've got a group backing me up." He gave Asuna a long look, eyes going to just above her head. "Green to me now." "Don't worry about tanking," Kirito said. "I've got a replacement in mind from the list of volunteers Coper sent me, and for today, Asuna and I can handle it." A long silence spread after this comment, with more eyes training themselves on Asuna as the implications of what he'd said sunk in. "She's joining the party?" asked Mentat. "She's my second in command," Kirito said, dropping this news in tones that welcomed no debate on the matter. He drew open his game menu and glanced to the side just long enough to catch a glimpse of Asuna's cursor and send her a party invite. "She my friend, she's a top clearer, and I trust her with my life. That's not a problem, is it?" Mentat shook his head. "Not at all. I'll be the last guy to bitch about having a second healer, but it seems redundant unless we're raiding." "The way I see it," Asuna said, taking a step forward as she spoke and looking over the rest of the group, "this gives us versatility. I've reviewed all of the information Coper sent over on your group. I have experience healing in both a raid and a clearing group, but I can do just as well at melee DPS. So here's how we arrange this." Asuna gestured between herself and Kirito. "Until we get a regular tank, Kirito and I will take the forward positions. We've partied together and know how to balance each other's aggro. Mentat and Burns, you'll stay in your previous dedicated roles. Xorren, I want you to default to magic DPS, ready to go melee if we need more physical damage." The named players nodded; Asuna went on. "On the other hand, if we encounter mobs that resist physical, I can take over healing while Mentat adds armor-defeating magic DPS, and in a worst-case scenario we have two strong healers to get people back on their feet." "We have the beginnings of a solid group here," Kirito said. "We can make a difference, and show the rest of the world that Spriggans aren't outcasts who can't be trusted to work with anyone else. But first we have to show that we can work together. Are you with us?" A visual chorus of glances went back and forth between the three other players, and Kirito was intrigued to note that he could almost see the subtext passing between them based on what he knew of those players. It was fascinating to watch. One by one they seemed to arrived at a consensus, and it was actually Burns who delivered the answer with a two-fingered salute that almost but not quite touched his forehead. "You're the boss, boss." ·:·:·:·:·:· Klein was trying his hardest to be patient. He really was. But patience in the face of inaction, though an easy thing to recommend to others, had never come easily to him—especially when people were depending on the outcome in some way. In this case it was actually Dale who was the subject of all player attention in the Cedar Ridge Inn's common room, and Klein's longtime friend seemed no more comfortable than Klein was with having more than half a dozen eyes trained on him. The Gnome healer had a flower in one hand, and a blue glowing thingamabobber—that was, Klein determined, its proper name—in the other. Dale's lips were moving slowly but silently while he read through a spell in his game menu that—judging from his first few attempts—was probably supposed to sound like a German car commercial, and kept coming out imperfectly unintelligible even by that standard. Klein's eyes made a circuit of the few people lingering in their corner of the public room. Thelvin was leaning against a wooden load-bearing post as motionlessly as if he was trying to become one with it, still enough that his full plate armor made no sound; if he was growing impatient, it didn't show on his face or in his body language. Drem's leather boots were propped up on the table of the booth where he was sitting, and his gaze was averted so pointedly that he might as well have been staring; his striped tail occasionally thumped against the cushion of the seat beside him. Teel, standing a meter away from Drem, was staring—but under the circumstances that was entirely understandable, as was the nervous hand-wringing the archer probably didn't even realize she was doing. The Caits in the room were being incredibly polite, but after nearly a full minute with nothing but the soundless shapes of almost-words on Dale's lips, Klein's reserve finally broke. "Any time, man." "Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate." "I get ya, but the World Tree won't clear itself and that's where we gotta go. Like, an hour ago. Need any help?" Dale's dark brown eyes met Klein's gaze; the frustration in them was about two hairs short of unfriendly. He sighed and set his menu visible, flipping the spell list to face his party leader. "Sure, man, you can cast this spell for me. How the hell do you pronounce that third word?" Klein leaned in and squinted at the small print. "Jye… jebu… jeburu… jebureru… fuck if I know." "'Fuck if I know'. Thanks, I'll try that. Meanwhile, this is how it's supposed to come out sounding." Dale spun the list back to face himself and pressed the «Pronunciation» button; since the menu was currently set visible, it played the sound for everyone in the room using a natural-sounding male voice. "Dotto yojikke jevrelth shaja min." Dale's own attempts had been noticeably—and at least once, spectacularly—short of matching the middle word in that computer-generated demonstration. Klein gave Thelvin a look of entreaty. "I'm really sorry about this, Thel, but… any chance you could lend us a mage to help Dale out with this spell?" Thelvin sighed lightly, stirring from his lean and shifting his weight more fully upright. "The reason I asked you in the first place is because we don't have anyone near Arun right now with Earth high enough for this. I would've tried hiring Sasha again, but she wasn't at the church this morning." "We can't keep depending on outside help, Thel," Drem said. "Getting Earth mages trained up needs to be more of a priority for us now that we know the requirements for pet-rez. Some of our healers have it, but that's just for basic tank buffs like «Bracing» and «Stoneskin». Until now they didn't have any reason to grind it the way they do Water and Holy." His eyes briefly shifted to include Dale. "Or have a racial advantage that lets them level it up faster," he added. "It's not my race or skill level," Dale said with a touch of defensiveness. "It's my tongue. This freaking word here—look, these letters show up in a couple of my other spells—" "Not to mention the start of Thelvin's name." "Nobody pronounces that correctly anyway," remarked Thelvin. "I just liked the way it looked in print." "That's different, though," Dale said. "It's not as bad when it's something you've said a lot, or when it's at the start of a word—instead of in the middle where you have to go from saying one thing to saying another exactly right while you're chewing on a ball gag." Dale's colorful choice of metaphors did not result in a visual gift that Klein appreciated receiving. "Er." "Point is, I've had to spend hours practicing all those words so that I can say them without screwing it up, and I still practice them every day by casting them in combat. It's one thing to say them exactly right, but I've never used this spell before. It's gonna take me some repetition to get it even once, just like with the others." "It's okay," Teel said, breaking her long silence and putting an end to the back-and-forth. "I really appreciate you trying, Dale. «Mochi's Heart» should last at least another day, so I'll stay here as long as it takes to get it right." Klein threw up both hands in surrender and turned back to Dale. "Well bro, you've only made the room explode once. At least we're in a safe zone." He glanced reflexively over at the NPC innkeeper, who had previously admonished them about behaving in a way that was courteous to other patrons in the immediate wake of said explosion. The innkeeper otherwise seemed to pay no mind to the group of players; for all intents and purposes they seemed to cease to exist as far as he was concerned unless something triggered him to pay attention. If anything, Klein was surprised the NPC wasn't pitching a fit about Drem's big boots on one of his tables. Maybe that's not rude in NPC-land. Dale's mouth moved a bit more in a deliberate, almost exaggerated way, and then he straightened his posture and took a deep breath, holding out both hands with an item in each. "Dotto yoji—" "Whoa, warning please!" "Son of a—" Dale pressed his lips together tightly and puffed out his cheeks, nearly clenching his fists; Klein saw a small amount of MP disappear from the bar in his party list. "Klein. Dude. Not another word. I need to concentrate." Klein's hands went up again, and he backed slowly away. "Dotto yojikke, jevrelusu—" It took several more tries after that; thankfully there were no further catastrophic failures, and only a few minutes were spent waiting for Dale's MP to recover. It was impossible to miss when he got the spell right—there was a blaze of golden illumination that made Klein wince, and the items in Dale's hands began to levitate of their own accord, which caused him to take a worried step back with his arms spread wide. "Not me! If it explodes, I'm not doing this!" "You already did it," Thelvin said calmly, gesturing to everyone with both hands in a bid for calm. "It's working. Teel?" "Come back to me, baby," Teel said, taking a few tentative steps towards the painfully brilliant warm light that blazed out from where the Heart and the Flower had joined. The light that faded could have easily been replaced by the light in her eyes as she saw her pet Gazer form in the air before her, solidifying until it spread its bat-like wings from around the single eye that dominated its teardrop-shaped body. "All good?" Klein asked. With a laugh almost as musical as the jingle of the adornments on her braids, Teel vigorously rubbed Mochi's sides while the creature made high-pitched sounds that Klein could only assume were as friendly as Teel's own affectionate coos. "Yes, you're just fine now aren't you, you ugly little flying rice ball? Guess who's not standing watch next time?" The Cait Sith archer didn't actually seem to be talking to him specifically, but Klein took the response as an answer of sorts. A flash and a subtle chiming sound drew his gaze to his notification bar; he stepped back in and slapped a hand on the back of Dale's robes. "Knew you could do it, man. Why don't you catch up with the guys? I need a minute before we head out." "Something on your mind?" Thelvin asked, giving a glance at the retreating backs of the other players as Drem exited the room right behind Teel. Klein shook his head vigorously. "Alicia wants to talk to me before we head in. Go on, I'll catch up." A brief smile touched Thelvin's expression. "To you. Not to her raid leader. I see how it is." Mild heat spread to Klein's cheeks. "Dude, please don't. I get enough of this from my buddies." Thelvin chuckled softly, giving Klein's shoulder armor a light swat with the back of his hand. "Just amused. Drem fully briefed me on the new zone last night, so there shouldn't be any surprises—nothing I need from Lady Alicia today except to know that she supports what we're doing. Meet us at the warpgate when you're ready." At least this time she messaged me before calling, Klein thought once the room was empty of players. He didn't really care about the NPCs that were still in the inn, and in fact more or less dismissed them entirely when he didn't need something from one of them. Privacy was nice, but it only really counted if the prying eyes belonged to people. It was just as well that they'd arranged the call in advance; the only warning Klein had before the spell activated was the way the light level around him seemed to dim slightly before a dark hole ripped open in the air, flattening itself into a shimmering oval trimmed with purple fire. The iridescent surface faded, sank in, and gained depth before resolving into an image of Klein's favorite person in Alfheim, lounging on her belly in the middle of a pile of pillows. "Morning, babe. Ready for another exciting day of adventure?" Klein's first answer to this long-running joke was a snort. "Oh yeah, it's gonna be a blast. Three guesses where I'd rather be." Little sharp fangs peeked around Alicia's lips as she pursed them and tapped at her cheek with one fingertip. "Oooh, do I really get three? Because for the first, I'm going to go with: at a bar in Ginza getting plastered with your friends. Do I win anything?" For a jest, Alicia's guess came uncomfortably close to the truth. And here I was trying to be legit sweet. Leave it to my girlfriend to ruin it with a way-too-real joke. "You win, uh…" Klein racked his brain. Seconds flew by while Alicia propped her chin up on both hands, blonde eyebrows raised expectantly. He stalled for time. "You win… um..." She grinned. "I win. I'll take that. You know, you're really cute when you're trying so hard to pop off with a funny line but can't think of anything." Then the playful grin faded a bit. "Listen, I don't have much time, conditions are super crappy right now for «Moonlight Mirror». But I know the new zone's been tough on everyone, and I wanted to give you a quick call so you know I'm thinking of you. And to tell you… well, be careful." The warmth that had previously rushed to Klein's face spread out a bit, filling him with a pleasant floaty feeling while making him feel vaguely embarrassed. He looked around; there were still no players in the rustic inn's main room to see him acting that way. "Thanks, Alicia. You know me—I'm always careful." "Except when you're not," Alicia said quickly, and with a quirk to her smile. "Fortunately, Thelvin's got enough careful to go around, so maybe you can borrow some of his." Klein's thick red eyebrows rose with skepticism. "Oh, right. That'd be the same Thelvin 'careful' that ended up with him needing a rez last time? I'll be sure to ask him to share." Alicia grimaced briefly in an automatic sort of way. "Okay, forget I said anything. Speaking of rezzing though, you get Teel taken care of?" "Yeah, that hideous thing she calls a pet is back up and… well… doing whatever it does, I guess. She seemed happy." Alicia made a disapproving noise. "Way to be all judgey. Just because you don't have a floating eyeball thing of your own…" "Oh yeah, that's high on my list of 'shit I need in my life' right now." Klein's face twisted as if he'd eaten something that didn't quite taste the way it ought to. "You know what I need in my life? A vacation. Somewhere with you. Maybe in a hot spring again." A pause, and then: "Preferably with no recording crystals anywhere nearby." Alicia, for once, was the one to blush slightly. "I made Verity destroy that thing! Anyway, you just had a vacation. Like, days ago. So there's that." Klein sighed. His eyes went briefly up to his clock; he wasn't sure exactly how much duration Alicia had, but he didn't want to keep Thelvin or his friends waiting for too long. "I know, I know. It just sucks that the place I have to go to do my job is so far away from you. It gets hard sometimes." "I'll bet it does." Klein opened his mouth slightly to follow the flow of conversation onward, then stopped when he saw the mischievous look in Alicia's eyes. "I…" "Yes? Would you like to rethink your phrasing?" "I, um…" Still lying on her belly with her chin in her hands, Alicia fluttered her eyelashes with theatrical innocence, tail waving languidly in the air above and behind her. A few more moments passed with no coherent response from Klein. "I can do this all day, you know. It's kind of funny watching you discombobulate at the slightest hint of sexytime." Klein's eyes were drawn to the shrinking edges of the portal that was their link to each other. "Oh damn, what a shame that your spell's running out of duration. I can barely hear you, you're kshhhht breaking up a bit, pshhhht too much static…" Alicia laughed and bounced up to her hands and knees, shimmying her way closer to her side of the arcane mirror. Her voice, almost a whisper, still carried clearly through as she pressed her face almost up against the threshold. "The spell doesn't work like that, babe." She kissed at the air, then grinned. "Message me when you get out tonight. Give Thel and everyone else my best." Even though he knew there were only NPCs in a position to see him, Klein still looked around the room self-consciously before turning back to the dwindling mirror and awkwardly answering Alicia's air kiss. It was not a gesture that left him feeling exceptionally manly. "Will do," he said. "Take care, and stuff." "And stuff?" Those two words, followed by Alicia's uncontrolled laughter, were the last things Klein heard before the portal shrank to a point and closed with a sound like rushing air. "And stuff," Klein said aloud, though there was still no one to hear other than NPCs. His gaze tracked around the inn's main room, taking in the waitress and the barkeep. He felt an odd sense of reassurance at the inhumanity of their uncaring, scripted animations. "You know," he explained to the air unnecessarily. "Stuff. Stuff that's important. Stuff that I'd say if I knew the right words." The front door to the inn cracked open, admitting the sounds of the morning crowd outside. Harry One's sharp-featured face peeked in through the opening, eyes shaded by both his metal helm and the backlighting from the outdoor illumination. "Hey, Leader. Thel's getting itchy." "Ugh," Klein said, abruptly ceasing his monologuing and hoping Harry hadn't overheard any of it. "Not too bad I hope?" Harry stepped the rest of the way in, but kept the door held open. "Well, I mean, it's Thelvin. He's not going to be a dick about it, but I can tell he wants to get moving. Guess what? So do we." "And so do I," Klein said, making for the door. "So let's go turn in our marks and get on with the next zone." ·:·:·:·:·:· Yuuki opened her eyes, and found that she couldn't move. It took a moment for the panic of immobilization to penetrate. Her mind felt fuzzy, as if her thoughts had to clear their way through a fog bank and wait their turn to be acknowledged, and her vision blurred in odd ways. There was no Paralysis status in her HUD, no status effects of any kind that she could see, but she felt constrained all around—as if something encased her avatar entirely, leaving only the eyes exposed. She couldn't even feel her hair on her face, and couldn't see it when she tried to look around. Yuuki's gaze wouldn't focus properly, and it was tough to tell exactly where she was. Somewhere dark, to be sure; she could see the glimmer of torches in the edges of her sight, hear the crackle as they burned, and smell the oil in which they'd been dipped. But even those impressions came and went, as did the faint whimpers and cries she thought she could hear in the distance. Or perhaps they were closer than she thought; it was impossible to tell with the way the sounds echoed. She tried to squirm, tried to test the limits of her bonds, but her body wouldn't respond. Her imprisonment was total; she had only the feeling of being bound and the numbers in her HUD to tell her that she wasn't a Remain Light. Panic welled up in her again as she heard voices draw near, and every time her gaze darted around she thought she caught a glimpse of someone that she knew—somehow—she didn't want to see. Self-discipline had kept her quiet until then, but after struggling for some time like that and being unable to so much as wiggle a toe, she cried out. "Is anyone there? Can you hear me?" "Oh, I can hear you all right," said a voice she never thought she'd hear again. Gitou stepped into her view, and no matter how much Yuuki wanted to recoil into herself at the sight of him, she still couldn't move at all. "But no one else can. No one else ever will again." Yuuki's panicked thoughts fell over each other trying to get out, ending in a jumble of incoherent babble that was the only protest she managed to voice. You're dead, she thought, over and over again, the words echoing in her head. You're dead, I saw you die. I let it happen. "That's right, sweetie," said Gitou, leaning in close to her until his face filled her vision no matter how much she wanted to look away. "You tried to have me killed. Got someone to do it for you, since you were too much of a coward to chop my head off yourself when you had a chance." "No!" Yuuki yelled back, trying to twist free and still finding herself unable to even make the effort. She felt as if she was trying, but nothing moved in response to her will; she didn't even have the weak twinge of stamina that she would've in her real body. "You're not real, you're dead, I know it! I saw your Remain Light disappear!" Gitou simply laughed, the sound echoing off of the unseen walls in a way that only amplified the claustrophobic feeling of entrapment. "Yeah, well guess what? You fucked it up. Got that whore Fianna killed instead. And now you're mine." "Ours," said Trey, the other Salamander from her tormented past coming into view and standing at Gitou's side. "And so is she." Yuuki's eyes moved just enough to see the immobile figure behind them as the shadows parted enough to reveal the form of another person she had never thought to see again, and one whose face would forever be inscribed in her memory. Another scream rose up within her at what she saw. Looking at Aiko had always been, in many ways, like looking into a mirror. And it was terrifying to see that reflection of herself lying immobile on a stone slab. A frenzy overtook Yuuki then, a mix of anguish and righteous rage filling her at the sight of her long-dead sister, imprisoned as she was. Layer after layer of belted straps flew out from behind the slab to which Aiko was affixed, snaking around her until everything except her terrified face was covered with the rough-worked leather belts. Yuuki found that she could move then, but only enough to thrash and claw at the air, forever held out of reach of either Gitou and Trey or her sister. You were always the strong one! Yuuki thought in the midst of her despair. What do I do now? "Run!" Aiko screamed suddenly. "Run and don't look back!" "I can't!" came Yuuki's full-throated reply as she struggled to free herself from restraints she couldn't even see or touch. "I'm stronger now! I can stop them!" "Not strong enough," said Fianna, drawing Yuuki's panicked gaze to the side just long enough to catch a glimpse of steel-blue braids beneath another form mummified within countless leather straps. "You can't fight this. You're too young." "Too young," agreed Rei, the older Imp girl's voice coming from yet another corner of the room. "There are ways to capture and hold someone if you really need to," Gitou boasted, again stepping into her view and filling her vision with his loathsome face. "Sometimes people need to be dealt with." "He didn't just know how to kidnap people, he made a job out of keeping them that way," Rei said from within her own cocoon. "He could've had other victims out there…" Yuuki heard the words, but her eyes wouldn't leave Aiko now, and laughter rung in her ears from Gitou and Trey almost as loudly as her sister's shrieking insistence that she run and save herself. The laughter built like a crescendo, the cries from the other fellow prisoners rising with it, and before she knew it Yuuki found herself joining them in their horrific lament. She awoke screaming. It had been several days, but she still wasn't used to Asuna not being there when she woke up. There was no comforting sisterly warmth next to her, only the mild chill of the empty inn room. She couldn't feel her heart beating—a player's avatar had no heart to beat—but the same sense of anxiety and trembling excitement from the lingering dream filled her as if it had been pounding against the inside of her chest the entire time. For all she knew, her real heart in her real body was pounding; weak as it was, she wondered if she might end up having another heart attack. She was certain that was what had happened to her in the Sewers; it wouldn't have been the first time in her short life. It's in God's hands, Yuuki reminded herself. There's nothing you can do if it happens, and you won't know until it's too late. Just keep living the life He's given you. It was far from the first time she'd given herself a reminder like that; for someone with her chronic health problems, it was an important part of being able to get on with the business of living. But not for the first time, it brought with it a nagging counter-argument that would not go away. Is it good enough to just survive? Is it enough to keep living, if that's all you're doing with it? What am I supposed to be doing with this life? From very early in the death game until this moment, she'd had easy, ready answers for that annoying nag of self-doubt—answers that she'd rarely been able to muster before Alfheim Online. She was Asuna's clearing partner, chosen sisters in all but blood. She was a member of the Undine clearers. She was fighting the good fight, trying to help make sure the people she cared about—and as many others as possible—could survive to escape the game. But was she doing enough? Was she even doing the right things? Haydon and Kumiko hadn't been sure. Rei had had other ideas. Even among the Undine clearers, she only really had a place because she was paired up with Asuna. And the dream would not leave her. Her mind kept circling around to it, like a train always being rerouted back to the same run-down station in a bad neighborhood. Even now, staring at the plain oaken walls and sparse furnishings of the inn room she'd rented for the night, Yuuki could still hear echoes of the horrible things she'd seen and heard. It was a bad dream, Yuuki told herself. One of the worst I think I've ever had, but still just a dream. All the things they were saying were just jumbled-up memories. Don't let it mess you up. It was easy to say; harder to do. Yuuki pushed away the bedcovers and sat up, stretching with her arms high above her head before bouncing to her feet and heading over to the window. She'd slept in her field gear, which left uncomfortable spots here and there where the buckles had pressed. The late morning sun was shining through the treetops and momentarily dazzled her when she pushed open the shutters, but the warmth felt good on her face, and she slid herself into a sitting position on the broad lintel, letting the sunlight recharge her wings while it filled her with something approaching calm. The vision of Aiko, imprisoned and screaming, just would not go away. It crawled back into her mind whenever a stray thought took her anywhere near recent events or the people connected with them, a flash of awfulness that she hoped would fade quickly in the way that dreams always seemed to do. If it had been just the nonsensical product of her subconscious, she thought that would've been easier to deal with. She'd banished horrible thoughts like that before by distracting herself with other things, and perhaps that was what she ought to be trying to do here. But every distraction led her back to the same place: the nagging, guilt-ridden feeling that she was running away from something she didn't want to face. Still soaking in the comforting feeling of the sunlight on her skin, Yuuki opened her game menu and navigated to view her friends. It was a very short list: Asuna and Kirito, of course, as well as Diabel and a handful of Undine clearers from her usual group. She touched Asuna's name, selected an option, and checked her location; Asuna showed up as being in the World Tree, but since they weren't in the same zone as each other, that's all she could tell. No reason to rush the rest of the way to Arun. She's out clearing, and won't be back until much later. No point in trying to send a message right now, either. Yuuki went back to the list of friends. No matter how much she wished it were otherwise, Aiko wasn't there; they'd never been apart on the first day of the game, and everything had happened before they ever got around to exploring much of the game's systems. But if Aiko had lived a bit longer, if they'd had the time, she knew her sister would still be there, right where Asuna's was in the Latin-alphabetical list. Even if it only ended up as a greyed out name. Aiko is dead, Yuuki told herself, the words no longer quite as painful a reminder as they once were. She'd had to tell the story so many times in recent days, had revisited those traumatic minutes in so many ways that she'd almost become desensitized enough to be able to think about them clearly. Let her go. You've tried PMing her, and it doesn't work. You would've found each other long before now if she was alive. Maybe you should've asked Haydon while you were there, but there didn't seem to be a point—in your heart, you know she's dead, and believing otherwise is just wishful thinking. The dream nagged at her again, and this time Yuuki took notice. God had never spoken to her before—not with words, at least, not the way He did in movies or Scripture. But her mother had always told her that God spoke in other ways, that sometimes you just had to stop and listen to realize that's what was happening. Yuuki always tried to do what she felt was right, and she'd always imagined that her conscience was God's voice, in a way. Is that what's happening now? Is that awful dream some kind of message from God, and that's why I can't get it out of my head? Yuuki stopped there and made herself think. Gitou was dead. She knew that, for a fact; she'd been in the room when his Remain Light disappeared. Fianna was dead too, as was Aiko. Yet all of them had been present in her dream, talking to her, and the whole thing seemed to revolve around being imprisoned somehow. Why was that so bothersome to her that she just couldn't let it go? He didn't just know how to kidnap people, he made a job out of keeping them that way. Rei had said those words to her the night before, and they'd showed up in the dream again. The older girl had also told her she was going to ask her friends, to try to find out more info about Gitou's guild and what they were doing. They could have other victims. No, there's no 'could' about it—they do have other victims. They have to. If he's made a job out of this, if his guild is actually kidnapping people for money, that has to mean they've done it more than once. It means there's at least a few people, if not many more, that they've figured out how to capture and imprison. People who've been 'dealt with' by locking them away somehow… and somewhere. It wasn't just a hypothetical question anymore. The more she thought about the mere fact that Gitou's guild existed, and his claims about what they'd been doing—and doing well enough for Gitou to want to hire Yuuki and Rei to work for them—the more horrified she was at the implications. The terror she'd felt in her dream, that she'd seen and heard from the others imprisoned in that dream—it was only a fraction of what someone might be going through for real, kept in that position for months without end. Sure, they'd be alive. Plenty of others weren't so fortunate. But was it enough to simply survive? What kind of life would they have, locked away inside themselves like that—unable to go anywhere, do anything for themselves, or even reach out to anyone else without assistance? No life worth living, was Yuuki's immediate answer to herself. She knew that on a deep, personal level, because that had been her life before the FullDive virtual environment—and the medical experiments based on its early prototypes—had given her the freedom to truly feel alive, rather than just continuing to live. A life trapped in a body that didn't want to cooperate with being alive was no life at all. Alfheim Online had been a promise of the kind of true freedom she never would've known in her own body, wracked as it was with illness and seemingly always on the verge of failing. Kayaba's promises had been fulfilled beyond her wildest dreams… albeit with a terrible, unspoken price for everyone who took part in it. Yet even that price, that risk of losing a life she'd long ago accepted as nothing more than borrowed time, was one that she was happy to pay in exchange for the freedom she'd been granted. She couldn't stand the idea of someone else being locked away in their own body the way she had been. And the more Yuuki thought about it, the more certain she was that that was what had to be happening. You can't stop someone from using their game menu, not without cutting off their hands. There'd be no way to keep someone from contacting a friend unless you did that, or unless they were all tied up the way that Rei wanted to do to Gitou. Yuuki was still facing the morning sun; she turned her eyes southwards for a time. I can't just go straight back there; Rei said we need to keep our heads down for a few days. But I can't just let this go without trying to do something about it, either—it's not right. I'll continue on to Arun for now, and meet up with Asuna tonight while I'm there. She turned back to the north, following the path of her thoughts. I have to be smart about this—get my gear repaired, see if Argo knows anything, see my friends. I miss them, and they miss me. Give things time to cool down around Gattan and Everdark, give Rei some time to talk to her network. The question, then, was what to do in the meantime. I could still ask Asuna for help—maybe even Kirito, though from Asuna's last message they're probably going to be busy trying to help the Spriggans build up their clearing groups. I know they'd make room for me in a moment if I asked… but maybe it's better that I don't. Kirito needs to focus on what he's doing, and he needs to earn the trust of his new group. If I tell him my suspicions about what's going on with Gitou's guild, he's going to insist on doing something about it. I know Asuna would, too—and they need to go back to clearing now, not be distracted by this. Yuuki still had a choice of what to do from there—by going back to Arun and taking some time to prepare, she wasn't bound to a single course of action. She could still decide to ask for help from her dearest friends if she really needed to. It wasn't an amazing plan. But for the moment, it would have to do. Yuuki had nothing in the rented inn room to gather and no bill to pay; when she felt that her wings were sufficiently recharged from spending the night indoors, she let herself slip off the edge of the window sill. The hooked-blade shapes of her translucent wings blazed with power, raising her into the air and arcing northwards at the head of a thin streak of purple. ·:·:·:·:·:· For all of her entirely justified skepticism towards these new party members, Asuna had to admit that their first outing together was going surprisingly well. Perhaps part of that success came from the fact that she and Kirito, as forwards, were able to set the pace and call the shots. The two of them made an excellent team; they knew each other's capabilities pretty well, and after traveling solo together for so many days, they were so in tune with each other's attack rhythms that there were times she found herself switching in at the same moment that Kirito called for it. With a decent healer backing them up, the two of them probably could have carried even a mediocre group. And this was not, despite her misgivings, a mediocre group. Asuna knew that, for all of her inexperience with games prior to Alfheim, she had by this point become a skilled and knowledgeable clearer who knew her way around a raid group—enough so that both Diabel and Argo had, each in their own ways, encouraged her to provide that expertise to Kirito in an attempt to get the Spriggan clearing groups off the ground. She thought herself a good judge of a player's abilities, and had spent most of the game working hand in hand with the very competent members of the Undine clearing groups. She had never, in all her time raiding, seen anyone who was as good at crowd control as Burns. The boy seemed to have an almost preternatural sense of when adds were incoming, and consistently locked them down and kept them under control before they even reached the group. He knew the attack patterns of the mobs they were facing here in the «Halls of Judgment», and was able to apply exactly the right debuffs at the right time to neutralize their most dangerous attacks. And on top of it he had an easygoing attitude that caused her to question the intensity of her dislike for him—a dislike that was, admittedly, predicated on what Argo had told them about his supposed involvement with Yoshihara's assassination and connections to the Salamander clearers. That raised what was for her a somewhat uncomfortable, awkward question: could Argo be wrong? The question was uncomfortable, but in a way also silly. Of course Argo could be wrong about Burns. She could have received bad information, or even have an agenda of her own that she was trying to push. Asuna trusted the info broker up to a point, but it was difficult to put complete, unconditional trust in someone who bought and sold secrets and regarded everyone as a customer. Kirito considered her a friend, which also disposed Asuna to do the same, but Kirito was also—to put it mildly—far from the world's foremost expert on the female mind. What it came down to, for Asuna, was this: it was possible that Argo was wrong about Burns, and equally possible that Kirito himself was wrong about Argo. And so far, Burns had given her no reason of her own to doubt him. Neither, for that matter, had Mentat or Xorren. Although something within Asuna still cringed defensively whenever she saw a flash of red hair and crimson robes in her peripheral vision, Mentat's heals were on point, and not once so far had she felt the slightest worry that she might drop below half-HP, let alone find herself suffering the death penalty from needing to be rezzed. The man was quiet, reserved, and even laconic to a degree, and only when a mob was nearly dead and Kirito called for all DPS in did he expend his MP on anything other than keeping the party topped off and the two forwards buffed. He was, in short, one of the oddest Salamanders she'd ever met. Though Asuna had to concede even inwardly that most Salamanders she'd met had not been under the best of circumstances. Xorren himself was reliable enough with his own share of the buffing… but he confused Asuna quite a bit. Even though she knew enough about his abilities and style to assign him a default role, that role in and of itself was a bit fluid. She wasn't really sure exactly what kind of character he seemed to prefer—melee, magic, utility—only that he seemed to shift from style to style as needed and had a keen eye for when it was necessary to do so. Kirito and Argo had joked about him being a Red Mage, which she supposed made sense to them, but the one time she'd asked Kirito to elaborate he'd tried to describe some kind of "fantasy job" of his; with a few exceptions the words had been Japanese, but the explanation itself had bordered on gibberish. All in all, the situation left Asuna with mixed feelings. She'd volunteered to work with these people, to do everything she could to help Kirito build up a Spriggan clearing group to the point where they could work with the Undine clearers, and so far the group had exceeded all of her expectations—or, more to the point, had confounded those expectations, none of which had been particularly high in the first place. She'd staked out Kirito's duel with Burns fully expecting to need to rez someone at some point, and had prepared herself for the possibility that she and Kirito would have to eject members and carry the group themselves—or worse, fight one or more of them. Instead, what she'd found was a small group of irreverent but highly competent and skilled players who would've been an asset to just about any clearing group. As the day went by, it became increasingly difficult to sustain animosity or distrust towards people who were doing a very good job of watching her back and keeping her alive. Kirito held up a hand as they approached a closed metal door at the end of a long hallway; the gesture brought Asuna out of her musings and sharpened her attention. "Cursors," he said, eyes suddenly alight with his Searching skill. "Five red in the next room near floor level, big cluster of yellow and green further away." "Betting those are Graveworms other side of that door," said Xorren, his yellow eyes shifting into the same green as Kirito's for a few moments. The glow faded, to be replaced by the glow of good humor as he smirked. "That, or we've got a small party of Sprig exiles crawling around on their bellies in the middle of the World Tree for reasons." "Hey, you never know," Burns remarked. "I've done weirder things to throw off pursuit and make myself look like an isolated mob." Kirito gave a light snort of amusement; when Asuna looked back at the others, they were all grinning. "How many in the far cluster?" asked Burns. "Twelve," Kirito answered. "Raid group," Burns said immediately, caution in his voice. "One hundred percent guarantee you that's two full parties of players right there. We should give them some space." "Friendly players," Kirito said almost as quickly, as if reminding others who might have forgotten. "I see one of them as green. They're not in our party, so that means they have to be either a Spriggan, or friends with one of us." Kirito doesn't have all that many people friended, Asuna thought. I doubt many of us in this group do—the list of possibilities must be pretty short, and I bet everyone's thinking about them. Both Burns and Mentat seemed to relax slightly, nodding as Kirito glanced at each of them. "Not going to be a problem, is there?" "None from me," Mentat said, their healer almost sounding a little put off by being asked. Burns shrugged. "None that I'll start, boss. If your friends are cool, I'm cool." That, Asuna thought to herself, is an equivocal answer at best. But it was hard for her to see a way for him to answer any other way, either. Burns couldn't really know who that green contact was, what Kirito's friends were like, or—perhaps more importantly—how they were going to react to him. Kirito gave him a look of scrutiny, and then nodded. "All right. Let's go clear this trash and meet some friends. Watch your AOEs." His eyes met Asuna's then, and the two of them smiled at each other in a way that sent warmth through her. Then Asuna felt a different kind of warmth and faint tingle rush across her body as her party buffed her; one by one the icons for Stoneskin, Haste, Bracing, and Reactive Heals appeared on her status bar, with a similar collection popping up beside Kirito's and showing on his visible ribbon. As soon as the first of the buffs began landing, she and Kirito rushed through the now-open doorway with weapons drawn, charging down a short stone stairway into a large open area filled with packed dirt and broken gray stone sarcophagi. Another party had been clearly through this room relatively recently; the signs of combat and the scorches of magic impacts on the environment were not only obvious to the naked eye, but showed little sign of having begun to fade or reset. Asuna wasn't sure exactly how long it took for a zone to return to its default state, but she suspected not much more than half an hour had passed, if that. It also struck her as somewhat unusual to find only a single encounter in such a large room, but she pushed the thought out of her mind as Kirito engaged the Graveworms with a long-charge, long-cooldown AOE technique that brought his sword around in a sweeping, almost over-extended slash that hit the whole clustered encounter of mobs at once. With aggro squarely on him, Kirito immediately jumped back and called for a switch. Asuna was already on her way in, unleashing the broad cone AOE of her «Wild Impaler» technique in order to get the attention of the nearest mobs. She heard chanting; black tendrils erupted from the floor between her and the Graveworms, and the mobs found themselves Rooted as soon as they slithered towards her. The moment the Root status took effect, she heard Xorren's voice from behind her; a smoky projectile shot between herself and Kirito and exploded right in the midst of the Graveworms. Their HP bars all dropped by nearly a third, but began to slowly creep back up until Kirito waded in with a series of sweeping strikes that managed to tag each mob at least once, locking in the fading Illusion damage and turning it permanent. A mob exploded into particles at the touch of Asuna's one precisely-targeted single strike technique; the next followed almost immediately as Kirito spun on his heel and cut down a Graveworm that broke its Root and lunged towards the back ranks. The three remaining seemed to hesitate for a moment as Kirito switched out, and Asuna was already in mid-motion of leaping forward to intercept a third when she heard the always-unnerving sound of mobs spawning behind her. "Adds!" Burns said sharply, the word flowing almost immediately into an incantation. "Yatto tsutakke navamdu tepnaga jan!" Asuna didn't have the liberty of turning to look, but she knew, in that moment, exactly why it had been bothering her to find only a single encounter in this large, recently-cleared room. Repops. There had to have been multiple Graveworm encounters in this room, and only one had repopped—until just now. She had no choice but to trust her party members and let them handle it; she risked a glance over her shoulder and only barely caught a glimpse of the new Graveworms that Burns had just Rooted, then had to return her attention to the fight in front of her as one of the mobs remaining in their first encounter burrowed into the ground and reappeared right in front of her. It hadn't even finished the animation of rising from the ground before Asuna's attack struck it right in the mouth, eliminating the last of its HP. The next fell to the black blur of Kirito's sword, and Asuna chanted up a Defensive Shield just in time to block the acid spit from the final mob, with Kirito taking advantage of its preoccupation to get the Last Attack. "First group clear!" Kirito called out. "Adds locked and disabled," Burns said from the back ranks, while both Kirito and Asuna dashed past their squishier party members in order to deal with the new encounter. "Six seconds on Root." "We can handle these," Kirito said, a heavy diagonal slash trailing elemental flames as he engaged the nearest Graveworm from the second group. "Burns, keep an eye out for any more repops!" If Asuna hadn't already been wary and alert for more adds, she might not have noticed the strange but disturbingly familiar ripple in the air a few meters behind the Graveworms. As dark as these barrows were, it almost escaped her notice—and she might have mistaken it for one of the many spell effects filling the air had she not seen the same thing very recently, and under circumstances that had burned the image into her mind. It was just like when the spiders had uncloaked themselves back in Snjarholt—except that the shape was roughly humanoid, rather than that of a dog-sized arachnid. "Someone's invizzed over there!" Asuna called out in the moment she had while her technique was charging up. She'd barely begun speaking before Burns had another Root deployed to that part of the room, Dark Magic blackening the floor near his target just before stretching out to grasp at the legs of their new assailants. Humanoid they might have been, but they were not players; their forms were twisted and stooped beneath dirty, ragged robes, with eyeless faces and the loose skin of advanced age. Cursors that had been yellow for a brief moment after appearing shifted immediately to red as the pair of mobs were Rooted, and as Asuna's gaze lingered on them, the tag of «Umbral Caretaker» appeared above each of their heads. Asuna had heard a bit about these mobs, but the sense of recognition from most of her party was far more immediate and personal. "Oh shit, Caretakers!" Xorren blurted out. "They're locked down!" Burns called out immediately after casting what Asuna recognized as a Silence spell. "Try to avoid hitting them!" From what Asuna had been told by everyone who'd encountered them, that was sound advice. Near as she could tell at a quick glance, neither Caretaker had suffered any damage so far; she quickly returned her attention to the Graveworms that Kirito was making short work of cutting down. "Asuna, switch!" The corrosive spittle from the remaining two Graveworms converged on the spot that Kirito had just occupied a moment after he leapt back; Asuna danced in past the hissing puddle on the ground and neutralized the weakest Graveworm with a quick freehand strike that pinpointed the weak spot on its upraised belly, then took advantage of the short freeze time to unload a far more hard-hitting technique against the Graveworm that was still at half HP. Both mobs exploded obligingly with the sound of tinkling glass, leaving only the two visibly upset Caretakers still bound by the long-duration Root Burns had hit them with. "Worm adds clear!" "Clear!" Kirito said loudly, before eyeing the two Caretakers. "Mostly. Burns, Xorren, you've dealt with these before. What's your play?" "Burn them down fast and GTFO," said the Imp mage. His violet eyes went briefly upwards. "Eight seconds on Root. We start damaging them, it's gonna summon a Norn. We don't wanna to be here when it shows up." Kirito was already turning towards the nearest Caretaker. "Asuna—" "I'm with you." Kirito's target was still Rooted; he began charging up what she thought she recognized as a very powerful multi-hit technique. "Everyone, as soon as this hits I want you all to—" The voice from behind them was sudden, unexpected, and alarming. Its almost-sibilant, raspy tones were spoken by no player, by no human mouth of any kind; the words were in no language that Asuna recognized, nor any spell that she knew. But by the reactions of nearly her entire party, those words meant that all of them were in danger. "Noruna domuru, uthan." A status effect appeared in Asuna's HUD with an icon she didn't recognize; by a healer's long habit she focused on it to pop its description. She actually had to stop for a critical moment and double-take; «Judgment of the Norns» apparently had no duration and was simply… there. "You can't cure it, don't waste MP!" Mentat said loudly towards Asuna, saving her the trouble of trying. She was only a few paces behind Kirito as he broke away from the group and rushed towards the «Norn Custodian», a Dark Magic projectile from Burns streaking just past his shoulder and Rooting the mob. The Norn had some kind of Offensive Shield that crackled with energy she didn't recognize; the moment Kirito came within its range, his HP started dropping alarmingly fast, and some of that energy actually arced out from Kirito to strike Asuna just as she switched in. Whatever element was behind the mob's shield DOT, It didn't seem to do quite as much damage to her, but Asuna couldn't really spare any time or attention to reason out which of her resists was responsible—there'd be time to debrief and figure out the mechanics later. The Norn began to cast another spell, but Asuna had already prepared «Stinging Barb», and the extremely fast one-hit technique inflicted an «Interrupt» on the Norn that cut off its incantation and caused it to turn its attention to her. The technique had no freeze time in its End Frame, but a startlingly quick slash from the Norn's weathered metal gauntlet still struck a glancing blow. It did minimal damage through her Stoneskin and Spiritual Armor buffs, but forced her to jump backwards to evade a follow-up. Kirito, freshly healed by Mentat, was already switching back in, but was just a moment too late to prevent the Norn from trying to cast its spell again. A wave of dark silver-gray energy blasted out from the Norn and washed over Asuna; her MP began to drain away rapidly for a few seconds before Mentat's cure landed and got rid of the debuff. As he'd said, however, Judgment of the Norns didn't respond to the same cure, nor was it clear to her what the effect was even doing. Argo said a lot of clearers think it increases the damage you take if you've hurt Caretakers, but this is the first time Kirito and I have even seen them! From far behind Asuna, she heard Burns call another debuff on their targets. "New Root, thirty seconds! Melee out!" Both Kirito and Asuna had been briefed by Argo on the new zone, but Burns clearly knew this mob better than either of them; they wasted no time in leaping and somersaulting backwards as soon as the Root landed and fixed the Norn in place. No sooner than they'd done so did the Norn chant out another spell that hit her and Kirito with Silence. Almost at the same time, the air began to fill with chanting as Mentat cast a Dispel on the mob that shattered its Offensive Shield, then another chain of incantations cured their status effects, healed them, and refreshed some of their short-duration buffs; all the while Xorren and Burns barraged the Norn with ranged magic attacks. Asuna spared a moment to review the party's status while the mob was incapacitated and she was being healed. Everyone's health was still in good shape, but both Kirito and Mentat were low on MP. Mentat's usage made sense; he was working overtime to keep the party topped off and deal with all the debuffs that the Norn churned out. But he'd cured the MP drain almost immediately, and Kirito had barely cast anything at all; she saw him chugging an MP potion and wondered why it was even necessary at this point in the fight. Asuna knew the Root wouldn't survive the onslaught of all-out magic DPS, and sure enough, the thick ropes of Dark Magic that kept the Norn pinned in place dissolved once enough damage was dealt to the Rooted mob to trigger its break chance. Kirito, already healed to full and on his way back in, charged and executed a dashing move that sideswiped the Norn with a glancing slash as he passed it. The Norn, whirling on ethereal legs of translucent mist, obligingly turned to face the opponent that had maneuvered behind it, exposing its back to the rest of the party; by the time it had done

Whether it’s for senior suicides, toddler suicides or the worst photoshop in human history, Anhui province has a habit of getting into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This Tuesday, however, a 37-year-old teacher, surnamed Zhu, in Tianchang proved that Anhui has its heroes too. When a student of his at Jinji Middle School suddenly went missing and left a note for him saying she was giving up on school and leaving home, Zhu went searching high and low for her. He finally found her at a classmate’s home that night and tried to console her, but she suddenly made a dash for the window. Zhu ran to grab her but was too late: by the he got a hold of her the two were already plunging three stories down to the ground. As they fell, Zhu held onto his student tightly and turned himself into “meat cushion” for her, breaking her fall and saving her life. Unfortunately, however, he died saving his troubled student. We also wish Anhui cops had been as brave as Teacher Zhu. By Ryan Kilpatrick [Image via hk.apple.nextmedia.com] Share this: Pocket Telegram Print

A highly sensitive measurement system for the performance of nanoscale magnetic devices, invented and developed at NIST, was successfully replicated recently by Intel Corporation, enhancing the company's ability to evaluate the tiny structures' suitability for use in future computing. Now scientists from Intel and Stanford University have published their first results from the NIST-model system in the Journal of Applied Physics. "It's sort of the next stage in tech transfer," says Tom Silva of NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory. "Not only are they using it, but they're publishing papers on measurements taken with it." The system in question, called a ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectrometer, allows scientists to examine the dynamic properties of materials for potential eventual use in "spintronic"* random-access memory (RAM). That field is a matter of urgent interest worldwide because of spintronics' intrinsic high speed and low power requirements. Conventional computer dynamic RAM works by storing binary data as charge states in arrays of minuscule capacitors. That requires an electrical current to perform memory operations, and then more current to continuously refresh the system so that the data will not be lost as the capacitors gradually discharge, a condition called volatility. (The current can produce a substantial amount of heat in chips with billions of individual components packed together on the nanometer scale.) Spintronics, by contrast, processes information by manipulating the spin states of electrons, a procedure that can be accomplished with vanishingly small amounts of power in a very short time. Moreover, once the information is "written" – that is, after a population of spin-aligned electrons alters the magnetic orientation of nanoscale ferromagnetic materials – spintronic memory is non-volatile. But the performance of spintronic memory depends critically on the degree to which the ferromagnetic nanostructure materials resist changing their spin orientation. That property, called damping, has traditionally been very difficult to characterize and understand the kinds of extremely thin magnetic films that are required for memory applications. So starting in 2009, Silva and NIST colleague Hans Nembach designed, built, and iteratively improved a system that could measure damping properties and reveal how they vary with material composition, mode of excitation, and layer thicknesses. A sample is placed in a magnetic field and exposed to microwaves that travel down a waveguide. When the microwaves interact with the material, the electron spins tend to resonate with the microwave frequency and the applied magnetic field; changes in resonance are monitored as the magnetic field is varied. Adjusting the parameters of the system identifies key parameters in the material's damping properties. With collaborators including NIST's Justin Shaw, the scientists published the initial results from the system in 2011. "Hans Nembach and I basically beat on the instrument and figured out all the ways we could get rid of the noise sources for measuring very challenging, single-layer samples," Silva says. "We modified it to eliminate most of the noise, and pushed the sensitivity up to where we can measure films in the range of 0.5 nanometers or so." Shortly thereafter, Brian Doyle from the Components Research Department of Intel in Hillsboro, Ore., came to the Silva/Nembach lab and expressed interest in the FMR spectrometer. "There are a plethora of logic and memory devices being researched at present. One of our jobs in Components Research is to sort through the various devices and establish the real from the hype," Doyle says. "For that, having the possibility of being able to nail down the key physical properties of any given system is fundamental to being able to accurately benchmark new devices. "For spintronics devices, the reputation and expertise of Silva and co-workers in both magnetics and magnetic measurements made this a natural place to visit and to collaborate with, taking advantage of the unique role NIST plays in its interactions with industry." Eventually, Intel decided that it needed its own instrument based on the NIST design, and Silva and Nembach advised the company about how to replicate their system. "World-known experts in magnetic dynamics Tom Silva, Hans Nembach, and Justin Shaw have been essential in advancing Intel's understanding of magnetic thin films," says Kevin O'Brien, a senior engineer also from Components Research at Intel and one of the lead authors on the new publication. "Furthermore, we decided to reproduce the NIST FMR setup in-house at Intel because of the great data quality – essentially a copy exactly of the NIST experimental setup. We very much appreciate all of the support we have gotten from the NIST team." * Just as electronics involves the manipulation of electron charges, spintronics generally involves the manipulation of an electron's "spin" – a kind of angular momentum that gives each electron a property analogous to a north or south magnetic polarity. If a number of electrons with aligned spins are transferred into a ferromagnetic material, it changes the net magnetization of the material. That change can serve as a unit of stored information.

WA’S drawn-out fight for a fairer GST could be drawn out further, with speculation the Turnbull Government could delay the public release of the Productivity Commission’s final report on GST reform until after the State and Federal budgets in May. Sources told The Sunday Times this week the Turnbull Government was panicking that any hint of GST reform — which would rob other States and Territories of billions of dollars in GST monies — could have a detrimental effect on State polls, as well as the Federal Election due in 2019. The South Australian and Tasmanian State elections are due in March next year. The Productivity Commission’s horizontal fiscal report is due to be handed to the Australian Government by January 31. But the Productivity Commission Act 1998 allows Treasurer Scott Morrison to delay the tabling of the Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation report in Federal Parliament for a maximum 25 sitting days after receiving the report from the commission. Sources said Mr Turnbull was also preparing a multibillion-dollar cash splash for WA in the May Federal Budget, as a way of appeasing WA voters who want swift action on the GST. Mr Morrison this week refused to say when the final Productivity Commission report would be tabled in Federal Parliament, only telling The Sunday Times: “The Government will issue a full response following receipt of the final report due early next year. “The Turnbull Government’s goal is to deliver a fairer, more durable and more efficient system for implementing HFE into the future. “The Turnbull Government has been open and honest about Western Australians copping a raw deal from the current GST payments system. There are real and genuine grievances from Western Australians concerned they are not getting their fair share. We understand this. We were the first to acknowledge it and do something about it.” The Productivity Commission released its draft report in October this year, saying the current system created significant weaknesses. WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith said yesterday the commission’s draft report was “a strong and convincing case that GST reform is in both WA’s interest and critical for the future economic growth of Australia’’. “WA must be sensitive to the concerns of other States and Territories, but their concerns cannot dictate the final shape of GST reform,” he said. “Western Australians have been patient and conscientious in arguing for GST reform and I am confident Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison will reward this with a meaningful and thorough GST reform response that sets WA up for future jobs and economic growth.” WA Premier Mark McGowan said yesterday that WA expected swift action from the Federal Liberal Government. “We’ve been ripped off for so long and we haven’t seen a solution from the Federal Government,” he said.

TV Reviews All of our TV reviews in one convenient place. “The Other 48 Days” (originally aired 11/16/2005) They had to go back. Once the writers of Lost introduced the Tailies, “The Other 48 Days” was inevitable. The new characters serve the practical purpose of energizing the storytelling and creating new conflicts to keep the show from having to hit the same survival beats over and over again. The easiest way to keep things fresh is to introduce new characters, but that’s challenging in an environment where we’ve come to know these characters so intimately. If you don’t want Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Libby, and Bernard to be perceived as lame ducks from the moment they’re introduced, we need to understand how their journeys compare to Jack, Locke, Hurley, and Rose. Advertisement Without getting into spoilers, “The Other 48 Days” is as successful as a failure can be. On the one hand, I would argue that the Tailies can never escape the fact that they were introduced into this narrative 48 days late, particularly given the way their respective arcs are handled in the seasons ahead. In this sense, “The Other 48 Days” does not do enough to successfully gloss over any of the challenges associated with adding characters to such a distinct storyworld. However, the episode is a success in that revisiting those events makes for fantastic television. Regardless of how successfully any of these characters integrate into the cast, Lindelof and Cuse take full advantage of the narrative potential of mapping out an alternate sequence of events in the same universe. What if there had been no flight manifest, and Ethan had been able to live among them for even longer? What if the crash site had been closer to the Others, speeding up the process by which they were infiltrated and eventually captured? What if there had been no guns with which the castaways could protect themselves? What if there was never a down moment where someone like Hurley could find levity with a makeshift golf course? Advertisement Answering those questions takes some gymnastics on the part of Lindelof and Cuse, whose script has the challenge of reaching an inevitable conclusion. If you’re going to show the Tailies’ side of this story, you need to find ways to generate tension that extend beyond who survives, since we already know the answer to that question. The episodes leading up to “The Other 48 Days” were therefore a crucial space to build a set of mysteries into this side of the storytelling, with bits of information revealing Eko’s silence, the substantial loss of castaways since the crash, and the unfortunate business surrounding Goodwin. The episode plays with this knowledge in interesting ways. On the one hand, if you weren’t paying enough attention during “…And Found” to remember that Eko had identified the body as Goodwin, the episode wants you to see things from Ana Lucia’s perspective and presume that Nathan is the guilty party. For these viewers, then, the reveal where Goodwin kills Nathan is meant to be shocking, a turning point in the episode as we shift away from the mystery and toward the grisly resolution. However, if you were paying close attention or reading online about what happened with Goodwin, the storyline still works. The reveal may not be as dramatic, but the mystery becomes more about capturing the tragedy of how the early invasion of their camp created a culture of paranoia in which Ana Lucia identifies the wrong suspect. All Nathan had to do was mysteriously disappear into the jungle for a couple of hours and he is marked for torture by Ana Lucia, and death by Goodwin. There were similar moments early on in season one—thinking specifically of the mystery of the missing water, and then of course Shannon’s inhalers—but the stakes were never so dire, and there was never the specter of abducted children hanging over the proceedings. There was also the pragmatic and level-headed Jack as opposed to Ana Lucia, whose leadership is less clearly articulated given there is only chaos to respond to. Advertisement Ana Lucia is at the center of “The Other 48 Days,” and from the moment the tail section crashes into the ocean she emerges as the leader of this group. Like Jack in the “Pilot,” she’s there on the beach helping with the rescue, and then she’s in the jungle talking Bernard through escaping from airplane seats lodged high in a tree. Michelle Rodriguez gives a strong performance in the episode, particularly when she breaks down at the edge of a stream after the weight of the past 40 days catches up with her. However, at the same time, the episode doesn’t fully delve into why she became a leader, or why she responded the way she did after the crash. The lack of flashbacks means that “The Other 48 Days” both resolves the questions we had about this alternate survival experience and creates some new questions that keep us anxious to see the flashbacks for characters like Ana Lucia and Eko (more on that below). All of this analysis, however, is really only true in retrospect. I found “The Other 48 Days” a tough episode to remove from the context of rewatching it with the rest of the series in mind, given how much the introduction of the Tailies defines this season and marks a key test of the writers’ ability to expand this universe. I don’t believe this analysis to be unfair, nor do I consider it to be inherently negative, but it does obscure how daring this episode was. Even if the narrative demanded it, to entirely abandon characters we’ve known for over a season to focus on characters we’ve barely known is risky. But from the moment that serene shot of the ocean is invaded by falling debris and the tail section slams into the ocean just before a seat flies into the camera, “The Other 48 Days” reactivates our memories of the terror that came with the series’ opening moments. Even if it does not successfully develop Ana Lucia or Eko into characters that can integrate seamlessly with the existing castaways, it creates a history for them that resonates as familiar in some ways and horrifyingly unfamiliar in others. Advertisement In other words, “The Other 48 Days” is about perspective. All of Lost is about perspective, mind you, what with the Flashbacks, but this episode in particular is invested in actively giving the audience perspective in order to move forward with the narrative as planned. And while it remains evocative and engaging when put in perspective of returning to the series in the context of this column, I couldn’t help but wish that I were returning to a point of complete ignorance. Imagine if you had neither seen a promo, nor read a TV Guide, nor seen a Netflix episode description, nor learned to the episode title, nor had any other indication that this episode would be focusing on what it was. And then imagine the episode began with that serene image, and you wondered where it was from, and then the debris started falling, and you saw it was the tail section, and the pieces—literally—fell into place? It’s nearly impossible to recreate this scenario now, but the possibility speaks to the episode’s strengths, even if the future speaks to its futility. Advertisement Stray observations: Look, I know that the geography of the island never makes any sense and pointing out issues of continuity is pointless, but I had a whole lot of trouble tracking the location of the Tailies at any given moment. Specifically, weren’t the trap Ana Lucia built for Nathan and the Arrow Station some distance from one another? I know it’s not worth it to obsess over it, but I wish there was a map to consult. I was struck by Goodwin’s comment about someone Ana Lucia’s age knowing about the Peace Corps, as it reminded me that I never really think about the adult characters’ ages in the show. She’s 29 according to Lostpedia, but I don’t know if I ever would have said she was 29, just as I’ve never thought all that hard about Claire, or Hurley, or Charlie’s ages. Not entirely sure why that is, but it happened. Speaking of Goodwin, Brett Cullen does such a nice job switching on the “Others” persona during his back-and-forth with Ana Lucia. The knife adds a nice element of tension, even though we at that point know how the scene has to end. We knew the other side of the radio conversation was coming, but we didn’t know why the conversation didn’t continue: I would say Ana Lucia’s paranoia that it was the Others attempting to get their location justifies stopping the transmission. Cindy the Flight Attendant’s survival may have been for other reasons, but I’m presuming it was primarily so that there would be someone on the other beach who could replicate the pilot’s knowledge that the flight was well off its intended route. I would say more about Mr. Eko, but given that he doesn’t talk for 40 of the 48 days after killing two of the Others who invaded the camp on the first night, we’re definitely meant to be anxious for a clear sense of why. Plus, we didn’t get a good look at what he was carving into his stick, so there’s another mystery to add to the pile. Advertisement “Collision” (originally aired 11/23/2005) Returning to Lost has, to this point, been a walk down memory lane: through the first season and the opening episodes of the second season, these reviews have activated distinct recollections of seeing and responding to the series in real time. Advertisement This stops dead in its tracks in “Collision.” I knew from perusing Wikipedia that this was an Ana Lucia episode, but I had absolutely no memory of what her flashback contained. I obviously knew that the Tailies were going to be integrated into the core group, but I had limited memory of how this happened. It was as though the basic fact this episode occurred had replaced any specific memory I might have had of it, leaving the content of the episode a mystery such that I felt closer to a “new” viewer than someone who has seen every episode of a television show should. Going into the episode on these terms created two different responses to the episode, which is the weakest of the season thus far despite strong moments. The primary response was one of frustration, as Ana Lucia is saddled with a lumpy, overstuffed flashback that works way too hard to construct a tragic backstory in a short period of time despite the fact the episode doesn’t need one. Michelle Rodriguez does some good work on the island, struggling to reconcile her guilt over shooting Shannon with the survival instincts that have allowed her to survive to this point. As much as she is panicking, and as much as Libby and Bernard are right to consul her to tell the truth and acknowledge it was all a tragic mistake, she has every reason to be paranoid in this context. “The Other 48 Days” clearly mapped out the logic for why Ana Lucia would tie Sayid up to give herself time to think through what just happened, particularly given how her snap judgment in regards to Nathan resulted in his death. Advertisement Taken on its own, Ana Lucia’s on-island journey remains compelling, particularly as her pain becomes paralleled with Sayid’s. These are both people who have made decisions on the island that they regret, decisions that they carry with them, and decisions that have had distinct consequences. When they each speak of their willingness to embrace death, they speak to the challenge of retaining humanity in an inhumane environment, and speak to the core of the show in a way that resonates with the series’ larger trajectory. “Collision” is not content with this, though. It instead constructs an elaborate backstory in which Ana Lucia is “explained” so wholly that there’s barely room for the character to breathe. Why was she so panicked after shooting Shannon? Because she had a loose trigger finger in a similar situation shortly after retuning to duty as a police officer following being shot during a burglary. Why was she so concerned about the kids in “The Other 48 Days?” Because she was pregnant when she was shot. Where does she get her particularly harsh sense of justice? Probably from her decision to allow the man to shoot her to go free so she could hunt him down and kill him herself. Advertisement The facts of the flashback lack subtlety in and of themselves, but the flashback is also full of scenes where Rodriguez is saddled with exposition to pair with her actions. “You’re doing this because you’re my captain? Or because you’re my mother?” is like something you’d hear in a parody of a cop show, while the reveal that she was pregnant is spoken aloud to her attacker like she’s in a parody of that parody of a cop show. When you have a series of events that are already working overtime to establish a crowded backstory (shooting victim, lost pregnancy, and revenge murder), you can’t also have that backstory established through on-the-nose dialogue, a mistake that apparently led me to block this flashback from my mind entirely. I spent my time watching “Collision” stewing over this response, making notes of the adjectives to describe just how much of a failure Ana Lucia’s flashback is both dramatically and in the context of the episode. That frustration extended to the return of the love rhombus, a necessary development with Sawyer’s return but nonetheless something that works more in moments—like Kate seeing Sawyer and Eko before Jack—than as a concentrated storyline. The show does a decent job of bringing Eko into the hatch—which we notably haven’t seen for a few episodes now—and starting the process of integration, but Ana Lucia’s flashback did a lot to sour me on the way the rest of the episode was playing out. And then we got to “The Gathering.” Whereas “Collision” works too hard to underline Ana Lucia’s characterization, the montage that brings the episode to a close explodes with emotion based on long-term development. There’s Vincent as the last vestige of Walt for Michael to hold onto; there’s Rose and Bernard as the couple ripped apart in mid-air and brought back together just as she always knew they would; and there’s Jin and Sun, separated on uncertain terms and brought back together having each gained new perspective on their love for one another. The second this montage began, and Michael Giacchino returns to the themes from the raft’s launch in “Exodus,” the show pulled me out of my frustration and delivered the kind of emotional moment that reaffirms how compelling the show has been to this point. Advertisement “Collision” struggles under the weight of introducing a new character through flashback, working too hard to parcel out character details that would have worked better over three flashbacks instead of one. For as much as flashbacks where nothing happens are problematic, flashbacks that try to cram everything in are more debilitative, and nearly bring the episode and the season to a grinding halt. And yet the benefit of the flashback model is that they’re easy to look past provided the “results” of the flashback are moving in a productive direction. In this way, “Collision” combines Lost at its best and worst, and showcases its skill at managing the latter with the former to keep from entirely losing the plot. Stray observations: The choice to have Sun learn from Michael that Jin is both alive and nearby is an interesting one. It makes her reaction at the reunion a different kind of reunion, as at this stage both clearly knew the other was fine, and this was just them finally getting a chance to see one another. It also makes things awkward if you think that Sun learned Jin was alive, and nearby, and just went back to doing laundry instead of looking for him. It just doesn’t track. I really love the way the episode drops us back into the hatch, and reminds us that they’ve settled into a routine: Locke has his crossword puzzles, and Jack’s appearance outside of the hatch surprises Rose enough to presume he’s been spending plenty of time indoors as well. I ultimately think it’s defined well enough for the show to get away with it, but sticking Eko in that room with Jack and Locke is really just kind of cruel when you think about it. They just wanted exposition, and he’s not the man to give it to them. Mommy Issues Alert: The fact that Ana Lucia’s mother was her captain ends up being pretty insignificant, but it definitely frames her story as one defined by family, both in terms of herself as a daughter and herself as a mother. The fact that Ana Lucia’s mother was her captain ends up being pretty insignificant, but it definitely frames her story as one defined by family, both in terms of herself as a daughter and herself as a mother. As though Jack and Kate flirting over golf wasn’t already hitting my buttons in regards to Lost’s somewhat unsubtle efforts to rekindle the love triangle and turn it into a rhombus, there’s the added—intentional—awkwardness of doing it while Shannon is lying dead in the jungle. Priorities, people! I had forgotten Michael Cudlitz, now on The Walking Dead and best known recently for playing an L.A. cop in Southland, played an L.A. cop on Lost. I know Jack and Ana Lucia’s meet-cute played a crucial role in “Exodus,” but I’m still not sure they earned that cliffhanger staredown. Advertisement Spoiler Station (only read if you’ve seen the entire series): We’ll debate this more as we move forward, but in hindsight it’s hard not to see the Tailies as the least significant of the season arcs. As great as “The Other 48 Days” is, and as much as I would argue it provides some good space for the writers to test out what does and does not work in this universe, I feel comfortable calling them a failure. I’m curious to know how everyone else feels, without pulling the comments too far forward into spoiler territory. In the end, they needed to speed through Ana Lucia’s flashbacks given she would only ever have two of them. What’s interesting to me is how much this backstory was designed to soften the character, but they do so in such an overbearing way that it never feels genuine. When she is eventually written out either because of legitimate story reasons or because of the drunk driving charge, she never felt like part of the show, which is productive on some level but makes the time spent here seem that much more pointless. Hearing Sayid speak about death in such certain terms makes that character’s arc more compelling for me. I don’t know if I would have put Sayid’s later arc in the context of his scene with Ana Lucia here, but it fits with his eventual fate, and the journey he takes in between. I’ll be curious to revisit later seasons in light of this. Advertisement Next week: Episodes that promise closure on one mystery, and the start of another, respectively.

US authorities are considering charging BP managers with manslaughter after decisions they made before the Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion last year killed 11 workers and caused the biggest offshore spill in US history. Sources close to the process told Bloomberg that investigators were also examining whether BP's executives, including former chief executive Tony Hayward, made statements that were at odds with what they knew during congressional hearings last year. The US justice department opened criminal and civil investigations into the spill last June. The department filed a civil lawsuit against BP in December and has not filed criminal charges. An official at the department told Reuters these charges could include manslaughter, but the official declined to confirm this was under consideration. According to Bloomberg, authorities are investigating BP managers who worked both on the rig and onshore to determine if they should be charged in connection with the workers' deaths. The investigation aims to determine whether decisions by BP managers to cut costs and increase speed on the project led to fatal safety sacrifices. As well as the testimony of Hayward and others before congress, investigators are reviewing emails and other documents to determine what BP officials and its partners in Deepwater Horizon knew when they testified last June. In January, a presidentially appointed national commission filed its report on the Deepwater Horizon spill and concluded that the "explosive loss" could well have been prevented. In a final report Fred Bartlit, chief counsel of commission, laid considerable blame on BP. Bartlit said BP had been aware of problems with lab tests of Halliburton cement used to seal the well for three years. He said BP decided not to install a safety device known as a lockdown sleeve in order to save $2m (£1.2m) in costs. He also said BP's well-site leader missed a critical test known as a negative pressure test that indicated something was wrong, a test he should have supervised. Last June US attorney general Eric Holder promised to "prosecute to the full extent any violations of the law" his investigations uncovered relating to the spill. Holder declined to name specific charges but said the justice department would be reviewing the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Endangered Species Act, and "other traditional criminal statutes", a statement interpreted to refer to possible manslaughter charges. BP has committed $20bn to settle claims by businesses and individuals who were hurt by the oil spill and has already paid out more than $4bn. BP shares closed down 2.2% in London after the reports against a 0.3% drop in the Stoxx Europe 600 Oil and Gas index . BP declined to comment.

Right On! was a magazine created by Judy Wieder in the 70s. Judy has been an accomplished musician, has been given many honors and awards for various human rights issues, she has a Grammy, check her LinkedIn. Onto this specific issue of Right On! from March 1987, it has a cover with Michael Jackson art because I’m guessing they couldn’t get a photo based on the article related to Jackson in the magazine. I don’t want to spoil all of it, but the big Michael Jackson interview that happens does not actually contain Michael Jackson himself being interviewed, best “cover story” ever. Above is not every single page, but I went ahead and grabbed more than the usual amount of pages. This item is not currently for sale. See more images on Steemit here. For users of LBRY, you can grab these images in a set as a pdf at lbry://rightonmarch1987michaeljacksoncoverandmore

24.06.2016 Kommentar af Jens Rohde, Medlem af Europa-Parlamentet (RV) DET ER EN GYLDEN REGEL, at man ikke skal skrive hverken mails eller læserbreve, når man er vred. Men jeg har lovet RÆSON at skrive et indlæg, og så må jeg jo til tasterne. Brexit er i skrivende stund et par timer gammel. Og jeg indrømmer det gerne: Jeg er vred. Ikke på briterne. De traf deres demokratiske legitime valg. Det skal man respektere fuldt og helt. Jeg er vred på David Cameron, og jeg fnyser også af alle de ledere og kommentatorer, som udråber den britiske afgørelse som et chok og en overraskelse. Hvordan kan nogen med bare en smule historisk og politisk indsigt være overrasket over resultatet af den britiske afstemning og Camerons afgang som premierminister? Ja, bagklog kan vi jo alle være, tænker du sikkert som læser. Men jeg skrev og sagde det første gang allerede en time efter, at David Cameron d. 23. januar 2013 havde holdt sin tale, hvori han lovede en folkeafstemning: ”Det bliver et farvel til Storbritannien i EU, det bliver et farvel til Storbritannien i sig selv, og denne tale vil gå over i historien som David Camerons svanesang, nøjagtig som det skete for Thatcher og siden Major, da de begav sig ud på den umulige færd at forsøge at komme de EU-skeptiske backbenchere i møde og satte sig mellem to stole”. At David Cameron, som ellers på lange stræk har været dygtig, driftssikker og haft evnen til at satse højt og rigtigt i flere tilfælde, totalt overså sit partis historie, giver ham et eftermæle som historieløs. Samtidig troede han, at han gennem sine seks år som premierminister kunne italesætte EU som et kæmpe centralistisk, næsten altomfattende og samtidig dysfunktionelt problem og herefter på tre måneder vinde befolkningens tillid til sine argumenter for at blive i EU. Dét er udtryk for en helt ufattelig arrogance over for befolkningen. Man kan simpelthen ikke bede folk om at sige ja til et fællesskab, som man selv udtrykker foragt for. Man kan ikke vinde folkets tillid ved at gå ind for noget, samtidig med, at man bruger al sin tid på at fortælle, hvorfor det man går ind for, er noget skidt. Man kan ikke vinde folkets tillid ved at gå ind for noget, samtidig med, at man bruger al sin tid på at fortælle, hvorfor det man går ind for, er noget skidt _______ David Camerons tale til nationen 23. januar 2013 varede ca. en halv time. Han brugte 25 minutter på at fortælle, hvor dårligt fællesskabet fungerede, hvor centralistisk unionen havde udviklet sig, og i hvor høj grad magten gennem årene kun var gået én vej – og det var mod Bruxelles. Ja, sådan sagde han. At det sidste var og er faktuelt forkert, eftersom lovgivningen er mere end halveret siden 2010 og at magten i høj grad er sivet ud af Bruxelles og til Berlin, lod han sig ikke distrahere af. Han brugte fem minutter på at forklare, hvorfor han alligevel gerne forblev i EU, såfremt han fik en ny aftale. Eklatant fejl! Hans egen store fejl var selve præmissen om en ny aftale for Storbritannien. Det var dømt til at gå galt på forhånd. Man kan ikke sælge Coca-Cola, hvis man starter med at fortælle, at det giver dårlige tænder, og den desuden er lunken og afbruset. Heller ikke, selvom man finder en ny flaske til indholdet. Folk vælger naturligvis den rene vare. Det gjorde briterne også i EU-spørgsmålet. Som det er tilfældet i Danmark, hvor borgerlige konstant taler om det europæiske projekt på nationale præmisser, hvis partiformændene da ikke ligefrem nedgør EU, og dermed sender vælgerne i armene på nationalisterne. I Danmark er det Dansk Folkeparti. I England er det UKIP med Nigel Farrage i spidsen. Derfor var det givet på forhånd, at uanset hvad Cameron kom hjem med af aftaler, ville han aldrig nogen sinde kunne tilfredsstille sit eget EU-skeptiske bagland. Deres vare måtte nødvendigvis være lige så ren som den, Farage havde at tilbyde. Uanset hvad Cameron kom hjem med af aftaler, ville han aldrig nogen sinde kunne tilfredsstille sit eget EU-skeptiske bagland _______ Den tredje og mest utilgivelige kapitalbrøler, som Cameron begik, var, at han valgte at spille hasard med Storbritannien som sådan for at redde sit eget personlige skind før det britiske parlamentsvalg. Han satsede hele imperiet – og tabte. Sandsynligheden for at Skotland og Nordirland melder sig ud og dernæst ind i EU, er overvejende stor. Den risiko vidste Cameron alt om. Man kan simpelthen ikke sætte sig selv og sit eget parti så højt, at man er villig til at satse hele den britiske union. Det er tarveligt. Egentlig er det så banalt og logisk, at det burde være unødvendigt at skrive det. Men flere og flere statschefer og partiledere i både Danmark og resten af Europa synes at tro på, at David Cameron havde fundet løsningen på vælgerflugt og EU-skepsis. Intet kunne være mere forkert. Og det var i den grad til at forudse. DET ER BÅDE rystende og forstemmende, at tænksomme mennesker i spidsen for de politiske partier tilsyneladende endnu ikke har set skriften på væggen. Deres kurs fører både deres land og dem selv som ledere lige lukt mod nationalismens åg og en politisk afgrund af usete dimensioner. Man kunne have håbet, at refleksionen over en tabt dansk folkeafstemning og en britisk ditto for EU-tilhængerne ville have lært en og anden den lektie. Men nej; det fortsætter med sweettalk af dem, som aldrig fortæller, hvad de vil, men kun kritiserer og taler om enten udmeldelse eller en anden usolidarisk national præmis at deltage i fællesskabet på. Man omfavner dem, som pisser på fællesskabet og bagefter siger, at det lugter. Betyder det så, at jeg mener, at intet i EU bør laves om? Naturligvis ikke. Jeg har fremlagt 52 forslag til ændringer af traktaten. Men pudsigt nok ønsker alle at reformere EU. De vil bare ikke åbne for en ny traktat, hvilket udstiller hykleriet i debatten om et EU, som i den grad har behov for at blive reformeret for at kunne levere den basale ydelse, som folket med rette forventer af et fællesskab; nemlig tryghed. At nationalstaten så heller ikke er garant for tryghed, åbenbares dog i disse dage. Jeg tillader mig at gentage, hvad jeg skrev i 2013: Det er en svanesang for såvel EU som de etablerede partier! Det er, hvad der står tilbage efter briternes exit og Camerons ditto. Og sådan fik jeg overholdt mit løfte til RÆSON, om end jeg erkender, at dette indlæg rummer om ikke vrede så i hvert fald en vis indignation. Det må du, kære læser, så tage med – jeg ønsker alt det bedste for både briterne og europæerne. ■ ILLUSTRATION: Miriam Dalsgaard/Polfoto Deres kurs fører både deres land og dem selv som ledere lige lukt mod en politisk afgrund af usete dimensioner _______

Since the Crimean referendum, some countries have found it difficult to take an unequivocal position on the Ukraine-Russia conflict. For the Balkan states trying to comply with international law and principles, it has become even more confusing since Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the Crimean case by referring to Kosovo's secession from Serbia. Russia has strongly opposed Kosovo's independence citing the need to uphold the territorial integrity of Serbia, while the US and the majority of Western countries supported and recognised the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo in 2008. They then claimed that Kosovo is a sui generis case and was entitled to secession because the former regime of Slobodan Milosevic had committed atrocities against Kosovo Albanians. Now the "Great Powers" have reversed their arguments and switched sides. Washington now claims that it is unacceptable to recognise the secession of any region especially when it is not done in agreement with the central government, while Moscow says that if it had been possible for Kosovo, it is now possible for Crimea. It is complicated for Washington to prove that Kosovo was an isolated case which would not effect future secessions all over the world, especially when some policy experts now claim that, "Kosovo is very much a legitimate precedent," as Dimitri K Simes, president of the Center for National Interest, a Washington think-tank has said. Agreeing with Moscow's argument, he stresses that independence in Kosovo was accomplished despite strong opposition by a legitimate, democratic and basically Western-oriented government: Serbia. Between the hammer and the anvil For Serbia, the events in the Ukraine and the comparison with Kosovo paradoxically come at the worst possible moment. The country has yet to form a government after the recent parliamentary elections, and will have to tackle the divisive issue. The agreement with Kosovo on normalisation of relations, brokered by Brussels, has finally been reached, clearing the way for advancing towards EU accession. The EU continues to demand that Serbia follow this path, while the Serbian population in North Kosovo strongly opposes the Brussels accord which they see as a path to the recognition of the new state. The recent events in Ukraine have worsened the situation. Serbia is under pressure by Russia on one side, and Ukraine and the EU on the other, to endorse one of the opposing sides on the issue of Crimea. The pressure from Moscow is particularly strong, as Serbia, which is in deep economic recession, depends on favourable trade agreements and Russian loans. The irrational and traditional emotional link to "Mother Russia" among Serbians should never be underestimated. Serbia has decided to postpone a formal response to the status of Crimea. No Serbian representative was even present at the General Assembly of the United Nations when the vote on the Ukraine resolution took place on March 27. "The world is large and diverse, and Serbia has friends everywhere. [...] Serbia has its own path, which means that it does not want to choose any of the sides by endangering its relations with the other," Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said, when asked whether Serbia can be expected to voice an official position on the Crimea issue. "Those who are expecting specific answers from us could get them by May," Nikolic said, referring to the expected date for the formation of the new government. The closest neighbour, Republika Srpska, has no need to wait to announce its position on Crimea. It was created as an autonomous part of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995 after the bloody wars in ex-Yugoslavia. With a majority Serbian population, its government never concealed that its long-term goal is secession from dysfunctional Bosnia in order to join Serbia. The president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, hailed as legal Crimea's secession from the Ukraine and its decision to join Russia. In the meantime, calls have been made by ethnic Albanians from regions in southern Serbia to hold a referendum on separating from Serbia in order to join Kosovo, which they obviously perceive as an independent state. Now, when the genie has been let out of the bottle again in the ethnically divided Balkans, few can hear the warnings that there can be "no more redrawing of borders in the Balkans", as British Foreign Secretary William Hague emphatically stated in an interview with Dnevni Avaz, when he visited Bosnia recently. Only a single and sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina within its present borders can join the EU, he said. At the same time, Serbia's path towards full EU membership is conditional upon the recognition of Kosovo's separation. Bombing into independence However, the EU is in trouble itself, due to the announced independence referendums in Scotland in September, and in Catalonia in November. London has reluctantly agreed to the referendum in Scotland, while Madrid has ruled the referendum unconstitutional. In both cases, however, if the Scots or the Catalonians vote for independence, the EU will lose these territories and nearly 13 million inhabitants. The newly formed countries would have to go through the whole process of accession to the EU while any member will have the right to veto their joining the EU. It is interesting that Spain is one of five countries in the EU that do not recognise the independence of Kosovo. But in Barcelona, one can hear more and more often that the Catalonian parliament should unilaterally declare independence from Spain as was done in Kosovo. Here in Serbia, 78 days of NATO air strikes in 1999, which took place without a UN Security Council authorisation, killing hundreds on the ground, are still fresh in the memory of ordinary people. Washington called it a "humanitarian intervention" in order to preclude Serbian ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. NATO military intervention 15 years ago resulted in a de facto independent state of Kosovo. Nine years later, Kosovo's parliament declared an independent state and was immediately recognised by the US and the majority of Western countries. Trying to limit the future impact of the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state in 2008, the US State Department explained that it "considers Kosovo to be a special case that should not be seen as a precedent for other situations". In Belgrade, the media has pointed out that "the model of Kosovo has come back to the West as a boomerang". Most Serbs, as recent polls show, still want to join the EU, despite the obvious Western hypocrisy about complying with UN principles and international law. Zorana Suvakovic is a Belgrade-based journalist, columnist and editor, working for the Serbian newspaper Politika.

A cheeky ad campaign aimed at helping women and men deal with premenstrual syndrome by the California Milk Processor Board has been shut down after complaints over the content. Titled “Everything I Do Is Wrong,’ the multi-platform campaign was a comedic spin on PMS, advocating how a steady diet of milk can reduce dreaded symptoms. The milk board pulled an ad campaign about PMS after some voiced complaints about the cheeky tone of the slogans. ( SUBMITTED ) While PMS is the domain of women, the campaign directed its attack at men with a slew of ads of frightened husbands clutching cartons of milk with taglines like, “I’m sorry I listened to what you said and not what you meant,” or “I apologize for not reading between the right lines,” with “Milk can help reduce the symptoms of PMS” at the bottom.. “PMS and its symptoms are sensitive issues to discuss among couples,” Steve James, executive director of the milk board said in a statement at the campaign launch. “We hope that this campaign, through its message and humour, would empower both men and women to talk about this topic more openly and to take action by learning how to help relieve symptoms by drinking dairy milk.” The campaign’s website launched July 11 and was supposed to run until the end of August but as of July 21 was no longer running. Article Continued Below When users type in everythingidoiswrong.org they are directed to gotdiscussion.org which lists comments and articles, as well as an apology from the board about the original campaign. “Over the past couple of weeks, regrettably, some people found our campaign about milk and PMS to be outrageous and misguided – and we apologize to those we offended,” it says. “Others thought it was fun and educational.” The campaign’s original website allowed users to locate stores in the California area that sell milk, find a “sensitivity vocabulary” for men – i.e. use the word “passionate” instead of “irrational” – and a mischievous “Global PMS Level”. The milk board, who brought us the widely popular Got Milk? ads of the past decades, based its findings for the campaign on a number of milk and PMS studies when creating the campaign, which show in some cases calcium can help ease severe PMS symptoms. A 1998 study led by New York endoncrinologist Dr. Susan Thys-Jacobs of St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, tested the effectiveness of calcium in women suffering from severe PMS. Her study tracked nearly 500 women, looking at their common PMS symptoms: bloating, food cravings, discomfort and mood swings over a period of a few months. Some participants were then given a daily 1,200 milligrams of a calcium supplement while others took a placebo for three months. Article Continued Below Thys-Jacobs and her team found the overall severity of PMS symptoms was reduced by 48 per cent for those who took the supplement. The placebo group, however, had a 15 per cent increase in pain symptoms, the study found. In a similar study referenced by the milk board, Dr. Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts studied the relationship between calcium and vitamin D and PMS. Her team compared the diets of 1,057 women between the ages of 27 and 44 who said they developed PMS over the course of a decade to 1,968 women who reported no PMS diagnosis or no minor PMS symptoms in the same timeframe. “We found a lower risk of developing PMS over time among women who consumed high amounts of vitamin D, as well as in women who consumed high amounts of calcium,” Bertone-Johnson wrote in an email to the Toronto Star. “To my knowledge, an association between vitamin D and PMS had not been observed before.” They also found somewhat stronger results for intake of both nutrients from food sources than from supplements. Bertone-Johnson, who had no contact with the milk board prior to their ad campaign, stressed that both her study and Thys-Jacobs’ were done of women with clinically significant PMS and not just any premenstrual symptoms. “Clinically significant PMS is probably experienced by only 15-20 per cent of menstruating women, not the majority of women,” she said. Requests for an interview with the California Milk Processor Board weren’t immediately returned.

This article is over 1 year old Russian anti-terror organisation investigating after bomb packed with shrapnel goes off in supermarket At least 10 people injured by explosion in St Petersburg store At least 10 people were injured on Wednesday by an explosion at a supermarket in St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city and the site of a deadly subway bombing this year. Russia’s investigative committee said a device containing 200 grams of explosives had gone off at a storage area for customers’ bags. It said the device had been rigged with shrapnel to cause more injuries. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion at a branch of the Perekrestok supermarket chain in the north-western Kalininsky district of the city. Alexander Klaus, the chief of the local branch of the investigative committee, said 10 people had been taken to hospital with injuries. Andrey Kibitov, a spokesman for St Petersburg’s governor, tweeted that the injured were in satisfactory condition and one had been discharged from hospital. A criminal investigation has been launched. St Petersburg metro explosion leaves 11 dead and dozens wounded Read more While officials stopped short of branding the explosion a terror attack, Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said it was coordinating the search for suspects. Viktoria Gordeyeva, who walked past the supermarket shortly after the explosion, said people were afraid to enter other stores in the area. “There was no panic, but people were reluctant to enter a nearby drug store and a grocery store,” she said. Another local resident – Marina Bulanova, a doctor – heard the explosion and rushed to see if she could help any of the injured. She said ambulance crews had already taken the victims to hospitals in the city by the time she got there. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, telephoned his US counterpart, Donald Trump, this month to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St Petersburg, Putin’s home town. Seven suspects linked to Islamic State were arrested in connection to the alleged plot. The Kremlin said the arrested suspects had planned to bomb Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites. In April, a suicide bombing in the St Petersburg subway killed 16 people and wounded more than 50. Russian authorities identified the bomber who blew himself up as Akbardzhon Dzhalilov, a 22-year-old Kyrgyz-born Russian national.