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Readings & watchings
Off we go again. I've been getting quite a bit of writing and stuff done of late, but I still managed to read a lot of books and watch many DVDs. Not that the To Be Read pile is getting any smaller…
Moonraker, Ian Fleming (1955), is actually the third of the Bond novels, and is very much a book of its time. The first third is about a bridge game Bond plays with Hugo Drax – who cheats – and was completely lost on me as I don't know how to play the game. The rest of the book is about Drax's "atomic rocket" – what we would call nowadays a "nuclear missile" – and the plotting is like one of those dot-to-dot pictures where the dots are so close together it's bloody obvious what the picture is. The writing throughout is dreadful – Drax is introduced via one of the clumsiest info-dumps I've ever come across… and I read science fiction. Having said that, the Bond of the books is a more interesting character than the Bond of the films.
Nova War, Gary Gibson (2009), is the second book in the space opera trilogy begun with Stealing Light. There are some really good bits in this – a nuclear-warhead-powered Project Orion-type spacecraft landing on a planet is one scene that sticks in memory – but I found it a less satisfying read than the preceding novel. The lead Shoal character, Trader in Faecal Matter of Animals, started to really irritate me. It didn't help that while his language rightly stuck to marine turns of phrase (he's a giant fish, after all), every now and again he'd use a sailing expression. Fish don't sail. There were also a few "As you know…" conversations, and one construction I especially hate in sf novels: "If Trader had ever seen a terrestrial bat, he might have recognized a certain passing resemblance." This is breaking voice, and it stands out in a sf novel like a fart in a spacesuit. Having said that, the introduction of the Emissaries – another alien race, and the giant fishes' enemy – is… Really! Very! Funny! This book sees the plot escalated to a level I think might be difficult to sustain in the final book of the trilogy. Nevertheless, Nova War is pretty much a textbook example of High-Stakes Bloody Great Huge Idea space opera, written with wit and invention… but a bit rough in patches.
The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook, Suzette Hayden Elgin (2005), I bought and read because of my own poetry here. Elgin's background in linguistics is clear in the detailed analysis she performs on her sample poems. This was an interesting and, I hope, useful, read.
Mission to Mars, Michael Collins (1990), is by that Michael Collins, yes – the one who went to the Moon in 1969 but stayed in the CSM in lunar orbit. I reviewed this book on my Space Books blog here.
The Desert King , David Howarth (1965), is a biography of Ibn Saud, the man who founded Saudi Arabia. It read like Dune without the sandworms. Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul-Rahman al Faisal al Saud, was a prince of one of the two royal houses of the Bedouin who occupied the central regions of the Arabian peninsula. But he was an exiled prince, living in Kuwait since the House of Rashid had thrown his father out of their home town of Riyadh. Ibn Saud won back his kingdom, united the Bedouin, defeated the Rashidis, and eventually took over the Hijaz, the southern strip of land in which are located Mecca and Medina. He was helped by the British, although he never fought for them. It was the Sherif of Mecca with whom TE Lawrence fought against the Turks during World War I. Ibn Saud sat out the war; and the Second World War, too. Having grown up in the Middle East – although I never lived in Saudi – I've always been fascinated by the area. Even so, I was surprised at how fascinating a read The Desert King proved to be.
From Saturn to Glasgow: Fifty Favourite Poems , Edwin Morgan (2008), is a collection of Morgan's poems, chosen as favourites by a poll of Scots. Each of the poems in this book has a small paragraph by someone, explaining why it is their favourite. I'm in two minds about Morgan's poetry – it's very clever, but the language often feels too prosaic. Some of them in this book I like; some of them, I can't see the appeal.
Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb (1995), was February's book for this year's reading challenge. I wrote about here.
Buck Rogers – A Life in the Future, Martin Caidin (1995). In 1988, TSR created a role-playing game based on the character of Buck Rogers. That lasted half a dozen years. Then, for some reason, they published a "re-imagining" of the character by Martin Caidin. In Buck Rogers – A Life in the Future, Rogers is an airline pilot who is fatally injured in a re-enactment of a WWI dogfight, and put into suspended animation in a secret government project. He is woken, and cured of his injuries, in the twenty-fifth century. Where he finds himself working for the military of the Federation of Amerigo against the Mongol Empire on an Earth only just recovered from a nuclear war a couple of centuries before. Oh, and there's Atlantis, which is some sort of ancient history extra-terrestrial civilisation. It's hard to describe quite how crap this book is – everyone is perfect, it's sexist, Caidin's attempt at science and technology is risible, the writing is appalling, and it's put together in so slapdash a fashion the author contradicts himself from chapter to chapter. I have now read two sf novels by Caidin, and they were both shit. I won't be reading any more by him. He gives hacks a bad name.
Exhibitionism, Toby Litt (2002), is a collection of short stories, most of which felt a little too self-consciously clever to work. When Litt stuck to more traditional narratives and structures, he was at his best – as in 'My Own Cold War' and 'The New Puritans'. Not an embarrassing collection, but not an especially memorable one, either.
Voices Of A Distant Star , dir. Makoto Shinkai and Steven Foster (2003), is a 25-minute sf anime and would have been really good if it hadn't been so, well, dull. A pair of friends – boy and girl – separate when she goes into space to fight in a war against aliens. They keep in touch by texting each other. It's all very poignant, and some of the imagery from the space war is pretty good. But the pace is so slow that its short length feels like twice as long.
Secret Ballot , dir. Babak Payami (2001), is probably going to appear in my top five films of the year list. It's an Iranian film and, like one of my favourite movies, Divine Intervention , it's deadpan absurd humour. A female election agent is dropped off on a remote island to collect the votes of its inhabitants. She is accompanied round the island by one of the local soldiers. He's as laconic and cynical as she is idealistic and voluble. It's very funny. Recommended.
Superbad , dir. Greg Mottola (2007), is another Judd Apatow comedy, and as unlikeable and dumb as his others. The two main characters are prats, who do prattish things. With much foul language. One or two set-pieces are vaguely amusing, but it's one of those films that fails to entertain because five minutes in and you just want a bus to appear and drive over the two leads.
Outlander , dir. Howard McCain (2009), I reviewed for The Zone – the review hasn't gone up yet. I'll link to it when it has.
Travelling Man – The Complete Series , Granada Television (1984), I reviewed for VideoVista – see here.
Death Race , dir. Paul WS Anderson (2008), is yet another film by a man who doesn't have a decent film in his oeuvre. It's a remake of Roger Corman's Death Race 2000 from 1975, and I can think of no good reason why the original should have been remade. In this version, the drivers are all prisoners, and the company which runs the prison makes huge profits from the race. Most of the film is taken up with the titular contest – which involves lots of crashes and people getting killed in various gruesome ways – and then star Jason Statham stages a jailbreak. Yawn. If by-the-numbers didn't imply the ability to count to more than three, I'd have described Death Race as by-the-numbers…
The Interceptor , dir. Konstantin Maximov (2009), I reviewed for VideoVista – see here.
A Sound Of Thunder , dir. Peter Hyams (2005), surprised me. It is actually dumber than Star Trek XI . I didn't think that was possible. But then, I hadn't considered someone trying to make a film adaptation of a short story in which a man steps on a butterfly during a time-travel trip to the Cretaceous, and returns to his present to find the world changed. Because, of course, that's a story that's pretty much immune to adaptation. So instead, this movie has "time waves" sweeping through the city every twenty-four hours after the butterfly-squashing incident, and these result in man-eating plants sprouting everywhere. And armoured reptilian baboons. Every time one of the characters attempts exposition, they open their mouth and complete and utter bollocks comes out. This is definitely a film to avoid.
The Apartment , dir. Billy Wilder (1960), won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars in 1960, and is in the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. As a satire, it seems a bit feeble, although the world in which it's set holds a certain fascination. Jack Lemmon plays a clerk in a New York insurance company (which employs over 35,000 in a single skyscraper). He allows a group of four executives to use his apartment for trysts with their mistresses and girlfriends. This arrangement comes to the attention of the director of human resources, who wants to join in. Lemmon is suitably rewarded – an office on the 27th floor, a key to the executive washroom – for agreeing. Meanwhile he's fallen for elevator girl Shirley Maclaine, who also happens to be the director's mistress… There are no real surprises in the plot, but it's witty, well-played by its cast, and ends well.
Rien ne va plus , dir. Claude Chabrol (1997), is the second of Chabrol's films I've seen, both of which I'll happily admit I rented because they starred Isabelle Huppert. And both of which proved to be fairly ordinary thrillers, In this one, Huppert and her father (played by Michel Serrault) are con artists. They decide to rip off a courier who is carrying five million Swiss Francs to the Caribbean… but the owners of the cash prove to be somewhat less business-like and, well, legal, than they'd anticipated. The plot is as twisty-turny as a twisty-turny thing, but the mechanisms are all set up well in advance so it rolls along like a well-oiled machine. A well-made thriller, certainly; but not an especially memorable one.
Flash Gordon – Complete Series 1 , Sci-Fi Channel (2007), has been roundly panned by all and sundry. But the more I watched it, the more I found it growing on me. It's sort of like a high school version of Flash Gordon, put on by a group of people who didn't actually know much about Flash Gordon in the first place. But what they've come up with actually works quite well. Unfortunately, the cast aren't especially good. John Ralston plays Ming well, but the character is too erratically written. Amanda van Hooft plays Princess Aura as petulant and, er, that's about it. But Karen Cliche as Mongo bounty hunter Baylin and Jody Racicot as Dr Zarkov aren't bad. The world of Mongo makes more sense in this series than it does in the original – and has an interesting back-story – although it does look cheap and under-populated. It's not great television by any means, but it's less embarrassing than I expected it to be. A shame it got cancelled…
The International , dir. Tom Tykwer (2009), is a film of two very distinct halves. It starts off well, as a European thriller about international banking and the arms trade. A Luxembourg-based bank, the International Bank of Business and Credit – gosh, do you think that could be based on the BCCI? – is buying weapons, and both Interpol and the New York attorney's office are interested. Then the action moves to New York… and the film turns into some implausible over-the-top Bruce Willis-type action movie. An Italian arms magnate backs out of his deal with the bank, and so the IBCC has him assassinated. Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, the two stars, track the assassin to New York. Owen and a NYPD officer follow him to the Guggenheim, where he meets his handler from the IBCC. When they try to take them into custody, they're attacked by fifty Uzi-wielding thugs, who shoot up the museum. Bah.
Atomised , dir. Oskar Roehler (2006). I read Michel Houellebecq's Atomised last July, and thought it good. I hadn't known it had been made into a film, until I spotted this going cheap in HMV. So I bought it. It's an excellent adaptation of the novel – especially the use of colour in the flashback sequences – and is as bleak as the source text. But, where the novel tried to turn the narrative on its head in an epilogue, the film tries to do the same with two paragraphs of text before the end. And it doesn't quite work. I always felt the epilogue was meant to redeem the story, but in the novel it didn't quite succeed. The film feels like it handles the story's emotional arc better, but then flubs the epilogue. I'm not sure if this film will make my best of the year list, but it'll probably get an honourable mention. Recommended.
Ministry Of Fear , dir. Fritz Lang (1944), is based on the novel of the same name by Graham Greene. Which I read many years ago. Which means I can't recall its plot. But surely it can't have been this WWII clone of The Thirty-nine Steps ? Ray Milland is released from a mental hospital after serving two years for assisted suicide. He stops off at a village fête, is mistaken for someone else by the fortune-teller and so given the cake from the Guess the Weight stall. It's all to do with a spy ring based in Britain, with a contact in one of the ministries, and which for some bizarre reason uses village fêtes as dead letter drops. There's some excellent camera-work and mise-en-scène, which lift this above other films of the period. It's just a shame the plot is a by-the-numbers wartime thriller.
Categories: books, films | Permalink.
Getting to grips with the short stuff
This year, a number of people in the sf blogosphere have vowed to read more short fiction, or are blogging their way through issues of sf magazines. I've decided to do something similar. But I'm not going to blog about every short story I read, I'm just going to try and keep up to date with the magazines I subscribe to/follow. And if I come across any stories I think are particularly good, then I'll mention them on my blog.
The magazines I read include Interzone, Jupiter, Postscripts, The Hub, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, Futurismic, Daybreak… plus any others I might stumble across.
I'm now up to date with my short fiction reading. Three stories from the magazines named above have especially impressed me. They are – and this wasn't planned – of three different genres: science fiction, fantasy and steampunk. All three are also from online magazines.
The stories are:
'Dali's Clocks' by Dave Hutchinson – Daybreak Magazine (January 2010)
'Gizzard Stones', Garth Upshaw – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #35 (28 Jan 2010)
'A Serpent in the Gears', Margaret Ronald – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #34 (14 Jan 2010)
I'll probably post something like this again in another couple of months. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to suggest sf/fantasy magazines I should try – online or print – or has a recommendation for a short story published in the last two months that I should read…
Categories: fantasy, magazine, science fiction, short stories | Permalink.
Somebody out there likes me…
…or rather, likes one of my stories. Tangent Online has reviewed Postscripts #20/21 'Edison's Frankenstein' here, and it's a mostly positive review of the anthology/magazine. Steve Fahnestalk says of my story 'Killing the Dead' (you have to scroll about halfway down the page):
"I particularly liked this story as it was pure SF that couldn't happen in a different context; that is, the reasons for the terrorism could only exist at that time in that place, and the arguments for and against made perfect sense in context; as well, the Inspector's conclusions were in keeping with his personality and his role aboard ship. Highly recommended."
Which I'm particularly happy about… because if you can change the setting of an science fiction story and it still works, then it's not science fiction. And I write science fiction.
The "Highly recommended" is very nice, too.
Categories: my fiction, reviews | Permalink.
by iansales	11 Comments
Fantasy Challenge 2: Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb
Assassin's Apprentice was not unknown to me when I picked it as one of my dozen fantasy novels for this year's reading challenge. I knew that it was popular – the first book in a best-selling fantasy trilogy, in fact. I knew that Robin Hobb was a pen-name, used by Megan Lindholm (whose real name is actually Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden). I'd also heard that Lindholm, after ten fantasy novels, found it difficult to sell her next project as her sales had been declining. So she used the pen-name Robin Hobb instead. And Assassin's Apprentice, her first book under that name, went on to become a best-seller. (A more cynical person than myself might have suggested that the perceived gender of Robin Hobb played a part…)
I've no idea how true how that is. Certainly some authors are deemed "category killers", and subsequently find publication easier under a pseudonym. It seems more likely that Lindholm used the pseudonym simply to distinguish Assassin's Apprentice and its sequels from her earlier work as it was a very different type of fantasy. Nonetheless, it did feed into my perception of the book…
Which was that Assassin's Apprentice was a stereotypical secondary-world fantasy.
Except. The book is written in the first person – which is not typical of secondary-world fantasies. But it has a map – which is typical of secondary-world fantasies. I am, I admit, not a big fan of maps in books. I think they're unnecessary… although I confess there's a childish amusement to be gained looking up on them the places mentioned in the story. Also, the map in Assassin's Apprentice did not bode well. I complained last month about Edding's use of names in Pawn of Prophecy (see here). But at least he made an effort. Hobb instead chose to give the various parts of her fantasyland the most boring names ever – Near Isles, Mountain Kingdom, Neat Bay, South Cove, Cold River, Blue Lake… The characters' names are no better: King Shrewd, Prince Chivalry, Prince Verity, Lady Patience… (It doesn't help that Verity is a female name.)
But, the story: Fitz is the apprentice of the title. He's the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, dumped on the royal family at the age of six. They acknowledge him as an illegitimate son, and he's left in the charge of Burrich, the Stablemaster. Fitz grows up in the royal castle, Buckkeep Castle, learns how to look after animals, how to scribe, and becomes secretly apprenticed to the king's assassin, Chade. Much of Assassin's Apprentice covers Fitz's childhood and early teen years – his various minor adventures, escapades and learning experiences during that time.
But it is only when he reaches the age of fourteen that the plot of the novel actually begins… Prince Verity is busy using his telepathic Skill to keep the evil Red Ship Raiders from the shores of the Six Duchies (which is the name of the kingdom). But his father, King Shrewd, has decreed he must marry. So Verity's younger brother, Prince Regal, a nasty piece of work from the first chapter, finds him a bride, Princess Kettricken of the Mountain Kingdom. As part of a powerplay, Regal lies about Kettricken's brother, the heir to the throne of the Mountain Kingdom, and so persuades King Shrewd to send Fitz with the wedding party to off the Mountain Kingdom prince.
It's all a heinous plot, of course. And the nasty villains get their comeuppance. And you know they're villains because they've been nasty since they first appeared. Although Hobb makes a decent fist of characterising her cast, she does signpost a bit too blatantly where the reader's sympathies should lie.
As a secondary-world fantasy, Assassin's Apprentice fails the immersion test. The world Hobb has created is, frankly, a bit dull. The convention of giving everything prosaic names evokes nothing, and suggests only a lack of imagination. The world itself is pretty much your bog-standard cod mediaeval world – although unlike the real Middle Ages, the royal family are just an ordinary bunch of folks with a bit more responsibility than most. Which seems a bit… egalitarian – a fault of many fantasies by US authors. There's very little actual fantastic content – a mention of dragons, the Skill (telepathy), the Wit (empathy with animals), and the world itself. It seems odd that the world should feel as though it were painted in washed-out colours, given that over half of the book is essentially world-building.
Despite all that, I found myself enjoying Assassin's Apprentice. It was an easy read, and Hobb has an engaging voice. I wasn't convinced by Fitz, the narrator – the action starts when he's fourteen, but he came across as somewhat older. It was certainly a better book than Pawn of Prophecy, but even so I've no plans to continue with the trilogy. Or indeed any other books by Hobb. There are some hints in Assassin's Apprentice of a bigger story-arc and more interesting revelations. But. While the book is fairly typical of the genre, it also felt a lot like a fantasy with training wheels. It's too much like a mediaeval boy's adventure, sort of King Arthur meets Tom Sawyer, with very little actual secondary-world fantasy content.
A step up from last month's read then, but still disappointing.
Categories: 2010 reading challenge, book review, fantasy, robin hobb | Permalink.
This month's VideoVista is now up, containing my reviews of Russian action film The Interceptor (see here) and a Granada television series from 1984, Travelling Man (see here).
Categories: film review, videovista | Permalink.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home Arts & Entertainment Life at 33 1/3: All the young dudes
Life at 33 1/3: All the young dudes
By Carl Meyer
Mott The Hoople, All The Young Dudes (CBS)
August 9, 1972, a little over 43 years ago, "All The Young Dudes" climbs into the New Musical Express' Top 30 at a modest 29. Glamrock is the latest fad, Bowie rules with his "Ziggy Stardust" album and Alice Cooper tops the singles charts with "School's Out".
Mott The Hoople is a new name for most people, the song is written by Bowie, sounds like a mixture of the "Ziggy"-album's opening and finale ("Five Years" and "Rock'n'Roll Suicide"), sporting a glorious singalong chorus pouring out from behind verses that are unconditionally adaptable to the frustrated post-Beatles generation. An apocalyptic hymn (that would not have been out of place in "A Clockwork Orange") and a glam rock's call to arms, sung by a mysterious guy who already had turned 33 and was older than all of the ex-Beatles.
It is a perfect recording from start to finish, the adrenaline burns in a whoosh of guitars and wailing backing vocals, and Ian Hunter's flamboyant phrasing set the standard for the entire British glamrock genre and its neighbouring counties (say hello to Steve Harley).
What people didn't know was that Mott The Hoople were an old band, a bunch of worn toilers who had soldiered through the club circuit for ages without getting anywhere. They had four albums of varying quality on their conscience, all released on the Island label. I discovered them back in 1969 on the cheap-o sampler "Nice Enough To Eat". Mott's mighty, forever droning version of Doug Sahm "At The Crossroads" was a true delight and whetted my appetite for more.
I bought their debut album with its fascinating Escher sleeve. At the time Hunter looked like a "Blonde On Blonde"-sleeve outtake and sounded more like Dylan on amphetamine than the androgyne whizz kid on "Dudes". I bought all their albums the moment they were released, but Mott never managed to find the redeeming formula, although parts of their fourth album, "Brain Capers", were close. And then they gave up.
It turned out, however, that David Bowie was a fan. When he heard that Mott was imploding, he offered them "Suffragette City" from the still not released "Ziggy" album. The group declined. A wise decision it turned out to be, as Bowie was not willing to take no for an answer. According to the myth he simply composed "All The Young Dudes" on the spot, sitting cross legged on the floor strumming his guitar, in front of a baffled Ian Hunter. And would they like him to produce their next album? The revitalized Mott The Hoople was ready for the world.
"All The Young Dudes" never got any higher than #3 on the British charts. But the recording would prove to be so durable that it sounds just as triumphant and relevant today, 43 years later. And though Bowie repeatedly tried to steal it back, Mott The Hoople's version will forever stay the defintive one.
I am so old that I've had the pleasure of seeing Mott The Hoople (with Mick Ronson) perform it back in 1974, and Ian Hunter doing the same thing at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1979. Back in the real old days. I guess you can call me lucky.
As for the album that took its name from that classic piece of 45 rpm vinyl, it doesn't quite match its namesake. In fact, some of the tracks probably were meant for an aborted fifth Island- album. However the album does include a handful of strong tracks that point towards Mott's key works, "Mott" (1973) and "The Hoople" (1974). The cleverly subdued version of Lour Reed's "Sweet Jane" is a humdinger, and so is the call to arms "One Of The Boys". The romantic mystic Ian Hunter delivers the dark beauty "Sea Diver", and in "Mama's Little Jewel" he proves yet again that as a Dylan impersonator, he is in a league of his own.
The album offers Mick Ralphs plenty of space for his Stones like riffing and tense, ringing solo-runs. He is also responsible for one of the album's best tracks, "Ready For Love", which he sings himself.
"All The Young Dudes" is not the best Mott The Hoople-album, far from it, but it did what it was supposed to do. It saved the band, or rather delayed their disintegration long enough for them to record two of the greatest albums ever made by a British rock'n'roll-band – and turning Mott The Hoople into a legend.
Ian Hunter is still performing (and recording excellent albums). 76 years old. God bless him.
Released: September 8, 1972
Produced by: David Bowie
Contents: Sweet Jane/Momma's Little Jewel/All the Young Dudes/Sucker/Jerkin' Crocus/One of the Boys/Soft Ground/Ready for Love/After Lights/Sea Diver
Mott The Hoople:
Ian Hunter – vocals, guitar, piano
Mick Ralphs – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Ready For Love / After Lights"
Verden Allen – organ, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Soft Ground"
Pete Overend Watts – bass guitar, backing vocals
Dale "Buffin" Griffin – drums, percussion, backing vocals
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Q: cbind with do.call stores dataframe name in column variable Why do I have different column names here for test1 and test2? If I change the data frame to only one column, they have the same name. I would like to have them the same name but use the do.call function.
a <- data.frame(col1 = c(1,2,3), col2 = c(1,2,3))
b <- data.frame(col3 = c(1,2,3), col4 = c(1,2,3))

test1 = cbind(a, b)

dataframe_name = c("a", "b")
test2 <- do.call(cbind, mget(dataframe_name, envir = .GlobalEnv))

colnames(test1)
colnames(test2)

# only one column
a=a[1]
b=b[1]
test1 = cbind(a, b)
test2 <- do.call(cbind, mget(dataframe_name, envir = .GlobalEnv))
colnames(test1)
colnames(test2)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Former Liverpool Defender Steve Nicol Gives Damning Verdict on Struggling Reds Forward
Steve Nicol has criticised the form of Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, suggesting the Brazilian is struggling to find his feet at the moment.
Despite beating Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday night, the outspoken Scot has some harsh words for the Brazilian. But the flak goes further, with Nicol arguing that Firmino's not the only one.
Speaking as a pundit on ESPN FC, the former Liverpool right back laid into the Reds' attacking triumvirate, stating: "Absolutely they're under-performing. They played the same system last year and were incredible. They're just under-performing.
Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
"Firmino's the guy that we say sort of knits everything together. At the present time he can't find any of his own team. So that's a huge problem."
Nicol's bad blood with Firmino is understandable. For a player who scored 27 goals last season and provided a further 17 assists, his current showing is well below par. In 19 games, Liverpool's number nine has only managed to see the net bulge five times.
But as a former Red, Nicol wants to see Liverpool rediscover last season's swashbuckling form, adding: "We're moaning but we're still two points off City and they're getting it done. If they can ever put it together again, it just shows you what they're capable of."
Liverpool are still only two points off league leaders Manchester City in the Premier League, using a new-found grit and staying power to keep up the chase. In 14 league games, the Reds have kept nine clean sheets and have conceded a club record of five goals.
VI-Images/GettyImages
For Nicol, all that's left now is for Jürgen Klopp's men to reignite the goalscoring exploits of the 2017-18 season. With the upcoming visit to Turf Moor this Wednesday, a leaky, 19th-placed Burnley could be a good place to start.


The conflict in Libya is a full-blown war. As underlined by Jon Mitchell, in his article opening the series, "a continuing and strengthening Libyan civil war poses a significant challenge in the North African and Middle Eastern regions, and even beyond. Besides the direct domestic disaster resulting from civil war, the early involvement of five foreign regional governments (each with their own political or security stake in Libya) backing the fighting domestic actors could be a powder-keg, further destabilizing the region." Notably, the war in Libya had – and still has? – the strong potential to play in the hand of the Islamic State (see corresponding articles).
This ongoing series, started in October 2014, thus aims at providing strategic foresight and warning analysis of the war in Libya, focusing first on the actors before to move on to scenarios.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya within the Next Three to Five Years by Helene Lavoix and Jon Mitchell , 1 June 2015.
Potential Futures for Libya Series – Features of a War by Jon Mitchell, 13 October 2014.
Libya's Future Scenarios – Sc 2 (7) Libyans vs International Coalition: Tensions ahead, by Jon Mitchell, 18 April 2016.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Sc 2 (6) International Intervention with Libyan Partners, by Jon Mitchell, 21 March 2016.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Sc 2 (5) International Intervention by Jon Mitchell, 29 Feb 2016.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Sc 2 (4) Qatar Intervenes on the Islamist Side, by Jon Mitchell, 8 Feb 2016.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Sc 2 (3) Egypt Intervenes on the Nationalist Side by Jon Mitchell, 18 January 2016.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenario 2 (2) – The Joint Arab Force Intervenes by Jon Mitchell, 21 December 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 2 (1) – The Joint Arab Force Takes a Side by Jon Mitchell, 7 December 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 1 (5) – A Libyan-Mediated Peace? by Jon Mitchell, 9 November 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 1 (4) – Failed negotiations by Jon Mitchell, 19 October 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 1 (3) – A Successful Peacebuilding Mission? by Jon Mitchell, 28 September 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 1 (2) – a Victorious United Government? by Jon Mitchell, 7 September 2015.
Scenarios for the Future of Libya – Scenarios 1: Towards Peace? (1) by Jon Mitchell, 29 June 2015.
War in Libya and Its Futures – Tribal Dynamics and Civil War (3) (Toubou and Arab Tribes), by Jon Mitchell, 11 May 2015.
War in Libya and Its Futures –Tribal Dynamics and Civil War (2) (Amazigh and Tuareg Tribes), by Jon Mitchell, 20 April 2015.
War in Libya and Its Futures – Tribal Dynamics and Civil War, by Jon Mitchell, 13 April 2015.
Update – War in Libya and its Futures – The Islamic State Advance and Impacts by Jon Mitchell, 9 March 2015.
War in Libya and its Futures – Potential International Intervention in Context by Jon Mitchell, 16 February 2015.
War in Libya and its Futures: State of Play – Islamist Forces (2) by Jon Mitchell, 26 January 2015.
War in Libya and its Futures: State of Play – Islamist & Misrata forces (1) by Jon Mitchell, 5 January 2015.
War in Libya and its Futures: State of Play – Nationalist Forces (2) by Jon Mitchell, 1 December 2014.
War in Libya and its Futures: State of Play – Nationalist Forces (1) by Jon Mitchell, 3 November 2014.
Thank you so much for warning us!


For the last 20 years, innovation in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) product space has largely dictated the evolution of how these two services are supported. Over this time, the products have also shaped perspective on how to effectively perform these enterprise services. This influence on perspective has only increased as products have added more sophisticated features to meet more complex requirements.
The technology has come to dominate the thought space both within the enterprise and among practitioners as the market has matured. In some organizations, we have seen that the distinction has been lost between the SIEM and the enterprise services it enables. This also extends to the SIEM infrastructure itself - full commitment to a particular SIEM platform can restrict possible solutions to enterprise needs. These restrictions are often artifacts of vendor support, outsized infrastructure requirements, or (more depressingly) cost.
These artificial constraints are unacceptable for an organization whose mission is risk mitigation. Tectonic shifts in the threat space occur regularly (if not predictably). Each new high-impact vulnerability could require retooling infrastructure, analytics, and procedures to provide an effective countermeasure. This can even be considered an implicit third function for the enterprise SOC - an agile strategic response capability that can adapt to shifts in technology, attack techniques, and even the hard lessons learned in a compromise.
Just thinking about a SIEM replacement often requires an examination every enterprise system no matter how large or small. The cognitive load alone can shut down any serious deliberation. This architectural inertia can become a strategic vulnerability over time if not kept in check.
ThetaPoint has time and again encountered these challenges in the Fortune 500 and Public Sectors, and we've developed an architectural remedy that we feel so strongly about, that we're giving it away. ThetaPoint has developed the ThetaPoint Security Reference Architecture, a battle-tested design for SOCs based on open standards and our SOC services expertise.
The ThetaPoint Security Reference Architecture provides guidance for staffing your SOC with qualified practitioners. First, we articulate the analytical and operational functions required to staff a future-proof SOC from talent pools available on the open market. We also provide the minimum qualifications you would need to select talent from available candidates. Finally, we provide guidance for skills development tracks in each position, along with measurable expectations for both achievement and performance.
The ThetaPoint Security Reference Architecture builds processes that create consistent analytical outcomes and provide repeatability as you adapt to new data, technologies, and threats. We establish clear Mission goals for strategic guidance, a policy framework that establishes authorities and governance, and modular workflows that are easily adapted to your requirements.
The ThetaPoint Security Reference Architecture establishes a highly performant and scalable Baseline Infrastructure that evolves at your own pace. The Baseline Infrastructure extracts commodity workload out of the SIEM and onto a utility infrastructure that can be reused for data distribution, filtering, aggregation, enrichment, custom analytics, and workflow automation. Once established, the Baseline Infrastructure lowers future migration cost and transition risk. This lets you execute on less disruptive transformations, either through addition, incremental displacement, or outright replacement of existing technology solutions.
Over the coming weeks, we will be publishing the framework in more detail on our blog. We hope to engage you in a collaborative discussion of the challenges we have encountered and the solutions we have developed.


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Multimedia Content Producer
US-NY-New York
Type: University Relations and Public Affairs (WS1044)
Category: Marketing/Advertising/Public Relations/Media/Video/Audio
*** This is a one-year fixed-term role.
Working in the Office of Public Affairs and reporting to the Assistant Director of Social Media, the Multimedia Content Producer will develop and tell important University stories—highlighting campus and university life as well as faculty and student achievements and endeavors—through video, photography, animated graphics, social media, etc. The Multimedia Content Producer should be an exceptional storyteller who is able to work independently to identify and develop compelling visual content and narratives; to interview faculty, students, and administrators on sometimes complex subject matter; and to produce a diversity of content under tight deadlines. In creating content for a wide variety of media, the incumbent should possess an appealing 'voice,' but must also represent the University according to its priorities and identity. The incumbent should be able to carry out research for a story independently, and will be expected to look for connections between campus activity and broader media trends when developing pieces. The incumbent should have technical skills sufficient to post pieces in all digital and social media domains and in a content management system.
Bachelor's Degree or BFA
Required Experience:
2+ years relevant experience in journalism, media, advertising, or marketing specific to social media, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:
Proficiency in end-to-end filmmaking, including pre-production, production (cinematography, lighting, audio production), editing and video compression for the web. Experience with DSLR video production and workflow. Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite. Demonstrated experience and strong photography skills. Excellent organization, consultative, and verbal/written communication skills. Ability to interact with a diverse population at all levels.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:
Experience with After Effects and graphic design skills. Proficient in archiving content as well as using a variety of content service providers
EOE/AA/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
About New York University
Founded in 1831, New York University is now one of the largest private universities in the United States. Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities in America, New York University is one of only 60 member institutions of the distinguished Association of American Universities.
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No 'Quantitative Easing,' Li Keqiang Says, But Government Will 'Energize the Market'
March 16 (EIRNS)—Speaking for two-and-a-half hours at a press conference yesterday following the conclusion of the National People's Congress, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang answered a flurry of questions from international media attending the Congress, on its results and on China's policy moving forward. While admitting that the development of the Chinese economy had been slower this year (a combination of a global slowdown and the U.S. tariffs), Li said that the Chinese government was not going to move towards a policy of "quantitative easing." It would, however, initiate a broad program of tax cuts and fee cuts, aimed in particular, at promoting small- and medium-sized industries. Li indicated that the policy was one of "releasing the energy" of the economy through such measures." In addition, the new Foreign Investment Law, which would open up more areas for foreign investment and make it easier for companies to set up businesses in China, would lead to greater foreign direct investment and also serve the purpose of stimulating economic activity, Li said.
The subsequent loss of revenue would be accompanied by stricter control of government spending and making it more streamlined, Li said. There would also be a push to make sure that all the state agencies, including the state-owned enterprises were compliant with their obligations. "The job of government," Li stressed, "is not to direct but to energize the markets." At the same time, he noted, there must be increased regulation to make sure that the companies adhere to Chinese law. "We will make sure that the rules are transparent and that there is no arbitrary regulation."
Li indicated that there would be further regulations coming out soon which would further clarify the law. Li also made clear that there would be no loans to "zombie" companies—major state-owned enterprises that have long ceased showing any profit—and that any issues of non-compliance by SOEs would be dealt with.


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Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
The Homeric Power of Advance Directives
Published July 5, 2022 | By Charles Foster
By Charles Foster
[Image: Ulysses and the Sirens: John William Waterhouse, 1891: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne]
We shouldn't underestimate Homer's hold on us. Whether or not we've ever read him, he created many of our ruling memes.
I don't think it's fanciful (though it might be ambitious) to suggest that he, and the whole heroic ethos, are partly responsible for our uncritical adoption of a model of autonomy which doesn't do justice to the sort of creatures we really are. That's a big claim. I can't justify it here. But one manifestation of that adoption is our exaggerated respect for advance directives – declarations made when one is capacitous about how one would like to be treated if incapacitous, and which are binding if incapacity supervenes if (in English law) the declaration is 'valid and applicable.' 1.
I suspect that some of this respect comes from the earliest and most colourful advance directive story ever: Odysseus and the Sirens. Continue reading →
Posted in Bioethics, Charles Foster's Posts, Clinical Ethics, Critical Care, Decision Making, Disability, Chronic Conditions and Rehabilitation, End of life decisions, Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Health, Medical ethics, Neuroethics, Professional Ethics, Reflections
Is Life-Sustaining Treatment Being Lawfully Withdrawn From Patients In Prolonged Disorders Of Consciousness? Nobody Seems To Know
Published May 21, 2021 | By Charles Foster
From the time of the decision of the House of Lords in Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993) until the decision of the Supreme Court in An NHS Trust v Y (2018) (which I will refer to here as 'Y") it had been understood that the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (typically clinically assisted nutrition and hydration – 'CANH') from patients in a vegetative state should be endorsed by the court. Over the years, this practice had been extended to cover such withdrawals in Minimally Conscious States too.
In Y, the Supreme Court held that there was no requirement for court review or endorsement. Why? Continue reading →
Posted in Bioethics, Charles Foster's Posts, Clinical Ethics, Critical Care, Current Affairs, Decision Making, Disability, Chronic Conditions and Rehabilitation, End of life decisions, Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Health, Medical ethics, Neuroethics, Professional Ethics, Reflections, Regulation
Press Release: Medical and ethical experts say 'make general anaesthesia more widely available for dying patients'
Published April 21, 2021 | By Julian Savulescu
General anaesthesia is widely used for surgery and diagnostic interventions, to ensure the patient is completely unconscious during these procedures. However, in a paper published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) ethics and anaesthesia experts from the University of Oxford say that general anaesthesia should be more widely available for patients at the end of their lives.
Painkilling medications (analgesia) are commonly given to dying patients. But they may not be enough, leading to the use of continuous deep sedation (also known as "palliative" or "terminal" sedation).
"However, for some patients these common interventions are not enough. Other patients may express a clear desire to be completely unconscious as they die," explains co-author Professor Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair of Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, UK. "Some dying patients just want to sleep. Patients have a right to be unconscious if they are dying. We have the medical means to provide this and we should."
The authors make clear that their proposal is not about assisted dying, currently illegal in the UK. Instead, their focus is on options available to ensure that patients are comfortable at the end of their lives.
Put simply, some patients will want to be certain they are unconscious and unaware as their final moments arrive.
"The desire to be unconscious as a means of eliminating the experience of physical or mental suffering is understandable," says co-author Jaideep Pandit, Professor of Anaesthesia at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. "Unconsciousness through general anaesthesia offers the highest chance of making sure that the patient is unaware of going through an adverse process."
He adds that "although general anaesthesia in end-of-life care has been used and described in the UK since 1995, modern multidisciplinary guidelines will be needed before this can be offered more widely. Raising this issue now is important, especially in view of international trends showing increased use of general anaesthesia for dying patients."
Informed consent will, say the authors, be crucial in helping patients understand implications of general anaesthesia for end-of-life care, and the other options they have to manage their final days.
"It is vital that patients are informed of all the legal options available to them to relieve suffering at the end of life. That includes analgesia, sedation and, potentially now, anaesthesia," says co-author Professor Dominic Wilkinson, Director of Medical Ethics, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, UK. "The risks and benefits of each should be explained. Patients should be free to choose the option, or combination of options, that best meet their values."
In a separate survey of the general public, published recently in the journal PLOS One, Professors Wilkinson and Savulescu found a high level of support for access to deep sedation in dying patients. Some 88% of those surveyed said they would like the option of a general anaesthetic if they were dying. About two thirds (64%) said they would personally choose to have an anaesthetic at the end of life.
Professor Wilkinson adds "members of the general public appear to value the option of deep sleep and complete relief from pain if they were dying. Our previous research indicates that the public believes that patients should be given this choice."
The authors counter any concerns that the use of general anaesthesia for end-of-life care could hasten death. Studies show no statistically significant difference in mean survival time between patients at the end of life who receive continuous deep sedation and those who do not. In several countries, propofol infusion as used for general anaesthesia has been continued for up to 14 days. "This stresses the point that the purpose of administering anaesthesia is not to hasten death but simply to achieve unconsciousness." explains co- author Antony Takla, Research Associate at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford.
The authors believe the UK medical community should prepare for increased requests for general anaesthesia for end-of-life care, based on current trends in Western Europe and Scandinavia.
They conclude: "we have described a potential role for general anaesthesia in end-of-life care. This has, in reality, been available to UK patients since the 1990s, but is not commonly discussed or provided. There is a strong ethical case for making this option more widely available. This does not imply that existing palliative care practice is deficient. Indeed, we might see that general anaesthesia in end-of-life care is requested by, or suitable for, very few patients."
"However, the number of patients involved should not alone determine whether this issue is regarded as ethically important. Even if complete unconsciousness is desired by only a few patients, there is a moral imperative for national anaesthesia, palliative care and nursing organisations to prepare for the possibility that general anaesthesia in end-of-life care may be requested by some patients, and to work collaboratively to develop clear protocols to address all of the practical, ethical and medicolegal issues concerned."
Posted in Dominic Wilkinson's Posts, End of life decisions, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Julian Savulescu's Posts, Medical ethics, Press Statements
Press Release: Majority of UK public want choice at the end of life – survey
Published March 24, 2021 | By Julian Savulescu
Most people in the UK would like the option of being heavily sedated, having a general anaesthestic or to having euthanasia, if they were dying, according to Oxford research published today in the medical journal PLOS One.
Professor Dominic Wilkinson, Professor Julian Savulescu and colleagues from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, surveyed more than 500 adults in August 2020 on their views about the care of a patient who had one week to live.
The study found a high level of support for access to deep sedation in dying patients.
Some 88% said they would like the option of a general anaesthetic if they were dying. Meanwhile, 79% of those surveyed said they would like to have the option of euthanasia.
But just 64% said they would personally choose anaesthetic at the end of life and nearly half said they would not choose euthanasia for themselves or a family member.
The report maintains, 'This study indicates that a substantial proportion of the general community support a range of options at the end of life, including some that are not currently offered in the UK.'
According to Professor Wilkinson, 'Previous surveys have shown that a large proportion of the UK public wish to have the option of euthanasia. This study shows an even larger number wish to have the choice of being heavily sedated or even receiving a general anaesthetic if they were dying.'
He continues, 'Currently, in the UK it is legal for doctors to provide pain relief to dying patients, and to use sedatives if that is not enough to keep a patient comfortable. Heavy sedation is used as an option of last resort. General anaesthesia is not currently considered. But members of the general public value the option of deep sleep and complete relief from pain if they were dying. They believe that patients should be given this choice.'
Meanwhile, Professor Savulescu adds, 'Patients have a right to be unconscious if they are dying. This survey shows that the general public want to have greater choice at the end of life.'
Notes for Editors
For more information, please contact news.office@admin.ox.ac.uk
1. The survey is based on two anonymous online surveys of members of the UK public, sampled to be representative. They were given a scenario of a hypothetical terminally ill patient with one week to live and asked about the acceptability of providing titrated analgesia, gradual sedation, terminal anaesthesia, and euthanasia.
2. Across both surveys, a majority had undertaken higher education, with seven in 10 having A levels or higher qualifications. Meanwhile, just 2.4% overall had no qualifications.
3. Just over half of all respondents said they were religious with 13.8% describing themselves as very religious.
Posted in Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Press Statements
Refusal Redux. Revisiting Debate About Adolescent Refusal of Treatment.
Published November 25, 2020 | By Dominic Wilkinson
by Prof Dominic Wilkinson @Neonatalethics
Last month, in an emergency hearing, the High court in London heard a case that characterises a familiar problem in medical ethics. A 15 year old adolescent (known as 'X') with a long-standing medical condition, Sickle Cell disease, had a very low blood count and required an urgent blood transfusion. However, X is a Jehovah's Witness and did not wish to receive blood as it was contrary to her religious beliefs. X's doctors believed that she was at risk of very serious health consequences without a blood transfusion (a stroke, or even death).
Of no great surprise to anyone, the court authorised the emergency blood transfusion for X. Although X was "mature and wise beyond her years", and judged to be 'Gillick competent' (see below), the judge made the decision in her best interests.
That decision is consistent with many previous cases that have come to the courts in the UK and overseas (see here, here, here )[1]. It is very similar to the case in Ian McEwan's novel and film "The Children Act" (the book, had been based on real cases before the courts). The courts, in the UK at least, have always decided to over-rule under-eighteens who wish to refuse potentially life-saving treatment. Once the teenager reaches the age of eighteen, the decision is different, however. At that point, if they are judged to have "capacity", (ie they have the ability to use, understand, and communicate the information necessary for a decision) they can refuse even if the treatment would certainly save their life.
Although the decision is unsurprising, the judge made a comment implying that future cases might not always reach the same conclusion. X's lawyer argued that the traditional legal approach may be "in need of urgent re-analysis and review", and the judge appeared to agree that these arguments needed careful consideration (not possible acutely given the urgency of X's case).
Should the ethical and legal approach to adolescents who refuse treatment change?
Posted in Bioethics, Children and Families, Clinical Ethics, Dominic Wilkinson's Posts, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Podcast and Event Summary: New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar: Medically Assisted Dying in Canada: from where we've come; to where we're heading, presented by Professor Arthur Schafer (Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of Manitoba)
Published June 1, 2020 | By admin
Written by: Dr Amna Whiston
In this seminar (available on podcast), Professor Arthur Schafer discussed the ethical challenges involved in the Canadian euthanasia debate at the New St Cross Special Ethics Seminar (online). Professor Schafer, who has written extensively over the last thirty years about a range of topics that includes professional and bio-medical ethics, having been a long-standing proponent of the view that allowing people to die with dignity enriches our rights as humans, critically addressed the question of whether Canada is currently heading in the right direction regarding the legalization of medical assistance in dying.
Autonomy, as Professor Schafer reminds us, is one of the core Canadian values, and this is reflected through the public battle against the prohibition of assisted suicide. Back in 1993, (Rodriguez v. British Columbia [Attorney General]), the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada urged that at that time there was no public consensus among Canadians that the autonomy interest of people wishing to end their lives is paramount to the state interest in protecting the lives of its citizens. In recent years, Canadian public opinion has undergone a significant shift in favour of the autonomy interest of irredeemably suffering patients who, with no hope of recovery, wish to end their lives with dignity. In June 2016 the Canadian Parliament passed a legislation bill legalizing medical assistance in dying, which has now become legally permissible in several American states (Oregon, Washington State and Montana) and in a number of European nations (the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxemburg). Today more than two-thirds of Canadians support the new legislation which makes it legally permissible for doctors to help the terminally ill to end their lives. This fact, nonetheless, leaves open a more general question (beyond the Canada context) of whether constitutional rights should be settled by opinion poll.
Posted in Amna Whiston's Posts, Audio Files, Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Event Summary
We're All Vitalists Now
It has been a terrible few months for moral philosophers – and for utilitarians in particular. Their relevance to public discourse has never been greater, but never have their analyses been so humiliatingly sidelined by policy makers across the world. The world's governments are all, it seems, ruled by a rather crude vitalism. Livelihoods and freedoms give way easily to a statistically small risk of individual death.
That might or might not be the morally right result. I'm not considering here the appropriateness of any government measures, and simply note that whatever one says about the UK Government's response, it has been supremely successful in generating fear. Presumably that was its intention. The fear in the eyes above the masks is mainly an atavistic terror of personal extinction – a fear unmitigated by rational risk assessment. There is also a genuine fear for others (and the crisis has shown humans at their most splendidly altruistic and communitarian as well). But we really don't have much ballast.
The fear is likely to endure long after the virus itself has receded. Even if we eventually pluck up the courage to hug our friends or go to the theatre, the fear has shown us what we're really like, and the unflattering picture will be hard to forget.
I wonder what this new view of ourselves will mean for some of the big debates in ethics and law? The obvious examples are euthanasia and assisted suicide. Continue reading →
Posted in Bioethics, Biomedical Science, Charles Foster's Posts, Clinical Ethics, Collective Responsibility, Critical Care, Current Affairs, Decision Making, End of life decisions, Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Health, International/ Global Health, Medical ethics, Pandemic Ethics, Political Philosophy, Politics, Public Health, Reflections, Regulation, Science, Virtue
Abolish Medical Ethics
Published June 30, 2019 | By Charles Foster
Written by Charles Foster
In a recent blog post on this site Dom Wilkinson, writing about the case of Vincent Lambert, said this:
'If, as is claimed by Vincent's wife, Vincent would not have wished to remain alive, then the wishes of his parents, of other doctors or of the Pope, are irrelevant. My views or your views on the matter, likewise, are of no consequence. Only Vincent's wishes matter. And so life support must stop.'
The post was (as everything Dom writes is), completely coherent and beautifully expressed. I say nothing here about my agreement or otherwise with his view – which is comfortably in accord with the zeitgeist, at least in the academy. My purpose is only to point out that if he is right, there is no conceivable justification for a department of medical ethics. Dom is arguing himself out of a job. Continue reading →
Posted in Bioethics, Charles Foster's Posts, Clinical Ethics, Critical Care, Current Affairs, Decision Making, Disability, Chronic Conditions and Rehabilitation, End of life decisions, Ethics, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Health, Medical ethics, Neuroethics, Reflections, Response
Withdrawing Life Support: Only One Person's View Matters
Published May 24, 2019 | By Dominic Wilkinson
Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford
Shortly before Frenchman Vincent Lambert's life support was due to be removed, doctors at Sebastopol Hospital in Reims, France, were ordered to stop. An appeal court ruled that life support must continue.
Lambert was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 2008 and has been diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state. Since 2014, his case has been heard many times in French and European courts.
His wife, who is his legal guardian, wishes artificial nutrition and hydration to be stopped and Vincent to be allowed to die. His parents are opposed to this. On Monday, May 20, the parents succeeded in a last-minute legal appeal to stop Vincent's doctors from withdrawing feeding, pending a review by a UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Lambert's case is the latest example of disputed treatment for adult patients with profound brain injury. The case has obvious parallels with that of Terri Schiavo, in the US who died in 2005 following seven years of legal battles. And there have been other similar high-profile cases over more than 40 years, including Elena Englaro (Italy, court cases 1999-2008), Tony Bland (UK 1993) Nancy Cruzan (US 1988-90) and Karen Ann Quinlan (US 1975-76). Continue reading →
Posted in Bioethics, Disability, Chronic Conditions and Rehabilitation, Dominic Wilkinson's Posts, Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Neuroethics
Victoria's Voluntary Assisted Dying Law isn't on a Slippery Slope
Published August 14, 2018 | By Julian Savulescu
By David Copolov and Julian Savulescu
This week the Australian Senate will debate a private members' bill that will consider whether to overturn the 21-year-old Euthanasia Laws Act that nullified the ability of Australian self-governing territories to pass legislation in relation to euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The deliberation on whether to continue the arbitrary over-riding of the territories' legislative autonomy in this domain will inevitably also turn a spotlight on the judiciousness of Victoria's recent voluntary assisted dying legislation that empowers terminally ill people who are residents of our state and who are experiencing unrelievable suffering, to end their lives on their own terms.
Standing firmly and resolutely against such legislation is Professor Margaret Somerville, from the University of Notre Dame, who was interestingly described in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald two days ago as having "spent decades observing euthanasia in Canada", even though medically assisted dying only became legal in that country in 2016.
One of the concerns she has raised is the "slippery slope" to unethical assistance in dying. Currently, this might well be on people's minds because of the reports of the deaths of three minors during 2016-2017 as the result of euthanasia in Belgium, out of 4337 deaths during that period. The deaths of the under-18-year-olds occurred as a result of the removal of age limits on access to euthanasia in Belgium that took place as a result of legislation introduced in 2014, 12 years after the introduction of euthanasia for adults.
In contrast to Belgium (which is the only jurisdiction that places no age restrictions on euthanasia or assisted dying), the Victorian Parliament passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act in November last year, which limits voluntary assisted dying (VAD) to terminally ill people 18 years and older, who fulfil very strict criteria in relation to experiencing unrelievable suffering and possessing sufficient decision-making capabilities. They must be in the last six months of life, unless they're suffering from a neurodegenerative disease, in which case they must be in the last 12 months of life.
There are many reasons that both the Victorian Legislative Council's Inquiry into end of life choices and the Ministerial Advisory Panel on Voluntary Assisted Dying recommended limiting VAD to adults, including the fact that the extensive consultations with the Victorian public led to the firm conclusion that, as stated in the inquiry's final report: "Victorian values do not support allowing assisted dying to be provided to those who are yet to reach adulthood."
Posted in Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Guest Post, Julian Savulescu's Posts


Matt Faction's prose, (and let's call it what it is) is fantastic. The only way it could be topped is by the art Christian Ward provides; and it is visually ravaging. ODY-C #2 was such an overwhelming reading experience that I had to literally pause for a moment after I finished reading the issue, to sit back and take it all in.
The density of the story and art is staggering.
Fraction's plot is straightforward yet full of complexity. It is not only entertaining for the longtime and die-hard comic audience who wants to pick up a different sort of book, but for anyone new to the comic experience. While ODY-C may seem at first glance, to be a bit much, the story is so immersive that to miss out on it would be a disservice as a reader. As we have moved past the first issue, returning to this series seemed easier the second time around, as familiarizing yourself with the ideas makes the reading deeper and more enjoyable as a result.
Now that we are past the initial origin setup, the story flows naturally here. The continued context provided by the likes of Zeus in issue two grounds the story further. This 'playing out' of the visual and narrative story elements is crucial to the series and leads the reader along a poetic path that both challenges what we take for granted about the genre and enhances it with a new dimension, all at the same time.
Christian Ward's art continues to feel like a cool trip. It induces a sense of cosmic symphony with style and flair as shown here. This is brought about by not only by the fluid lines, but the flamboyant colors as well. Ward's work in his issue matches the cosmic brilliance the story calls for. As a space odyssey, ODY-C needs to look and feel submerged in a finer layer of details to pull of the grandiose adventure it is, and this is overwhelmingly achieved.
The panel and page layout that Ward has used compliments Fraction's approach to the story. For instance, as Fraction guides the ODY-C and her crew to the Phage-World, Ward immediately strikes a different tone from the preceding pages. This seems to match the change in narrative as Fraction begins to employ the dactylic hexameter. By following the spiraled journey of Odyssia and her sebex, Ero, down the labyrinth of the Lotus-fueled pleasure palaces, Ward displays such wanton exuberance for artistic talent it practically oozes from the page.
The pinnacle of the art in ODY-C are the colors. They explode from the pages. The water wash style color palette used is beautiful. Every comic book needs a hook. When a new reader goes into a shop and picks up a random comic from the stand, it needs to hit them instantly, so that they will be more inclined to buy it. With this series, the art speaks for itself, but the colors really grab you. Their vivid use and arrangement has a pull that is enticing.
This series makes an outstanding contribution to the comic book field. It is experimental, in your face, pure flair. The creators involved are showing why such an endeavor needs to be done; to challenge an industry that thrives on creative new approaches. While I admit, ODY-C is a heavy read, it is intended to be so. There is so much more that is gained as a reading experience because of this fact.
While this book continues to impress me, what do you think of it? Do you like the writing and narrative style used? What do you think of the art?


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Ledger Wallet Dash
December 6, 2021 by allsaintsorthodoxchurch.com
NGRAVE ZERO offers many advantages over other cryptocurrency wallets. The device never has to be connected to the internet or public networks. It only has one port that is used to charge it and to constantly monitor the integrity of the wallet. The device also does not have a debugging port, which means it cannot be hacked. It communicates with other devices using QR codes.
The ZERO is secured by its NGRAVE Perfect Key. This security feature can recover lost private keys. The recovery seed phrase can be from twelve to forty-eight words long, and it should never be shared online. Your funds will be kept safe in the event that your wallet is lost or stolen.
In collaboration with top research and development agencies, the NGRAVE GRAPHENE backup key device was developed. The device combines the convenience of an app with the security of a physical wallet. It uses the most advanced firmware and cryptographic protocols available and is certified to be the best in security. To ensure the safety of users' private keys, NGRAVE has partnered with renowned organizations such as Imec, a world-renowned Research & Development centre for nanoelectronics and COSIC, a world-leading research group for applied industrial cryptography.
This cryptographic device is made from high-quality stainless steel, which makes it durable and resistant to water and shocks. The NGRAVE GRAPHENE is also equipped with an Ultimate Recovery Code (URC), which enables you to recover the upper plate in the event of the device being stolen or lost. The solution is made up of two plates. The top plate has an unique ID.
Ngrave Liquid is an app that connects to the blockchain and supports over 1,000 ERC20 Tokens. You can use it to make and receive payments without sharing your private keys. Your private keys are kept safe by the app communicating with hardware wallets using QR codes. You can download Ngrave Liquid on the App Store or Google Play. The app supports all ERC20 tokens on the Ethereum network.
As the cryptocurrency market fell in 2018, the Founders set out to solve the biggest barrier to adoption. In the largest pre-order campaign ever recorded for crypto wallets, they managed to raise USD450K. NGRAVE's flagship product, the ZERO wallet, has been shipped to 85 countries since then. The ZERO wallet, the first EAL7-certified cryptocurrency hardware wallet, is now available. It also offers the first formal financial product for the crypto market.
Support for more than 1000 coins
NGRAVE supports more than 1000 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. The unique fingerprint interaction and built in light sensor allow for the creation of a private key instantly. These features ensure that there is no private key before the setup.
Ngrave is a high-end wallet for storing crypto. Although the device is costly, it offers a lot of value. It supports 18 mainnet coins, as well as a host of Erc-20 tokens, including Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Diamond, Ethereum Classic, and NEO. It also offers a mobile wallet and QR code to sync your accounts.
Biometric security is a new feature being added to NGRAVE to secure private keys. For further personalization, fingerprints can be added to key generation processes. This technology will make it impossible for anyone to pretend to be the owner of a key. This feature has been proven secure and tested so far.
Backdoor vulnerabilities can be security problems that put an organization at serious risk. These backdoors can often be undetected and are not known. These backdoors can be set up intentionally or unintentionally. There are many ways to stop backdoor attacks. Here are some ways to keep your company safe.
First, be sure to set a recovery phrase for your account. This will stop hackers from accessing your private keys. NGRAVE Wallet employs a large metal plate to protect private key and a 64-hexadecimal recovery, "Perfect Key". This technology has made a breakthrough in private key recovery. However, the company's security study showed that 54% of all hardware wallet users are vulnerable.
Multiple Ledger Wallets
Resale Ledger Nanos Wallet


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Photos: Carly Fiorina and her "body woman"
By : Dave Harris
Tag: Carly Fiorina, Fiorina, State, Support
New York Carly Fiorina has evolved like the Republican entrant along the occasion in measured fundraisers people, sketch the awareness of a given multimillionaire Koch bros and other well-to-do donors could you instantaneously restructure her shoestring presidential promotion.
During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday", Carly Fiorina said she has "seen the footage" of an abortion she vividly described during the GOP debate, even after we and other fact checkers reported that no such footage exists in the undercover videos taken at Planned Parenthood clinics.
To my surprise, she said she had indeed used this counter-argument, showing that Boxer was guilty of the fallacy of not building the proper counter-factual.
After being pressed to specify how many charities, she replied, "I'd just say dozens".
That's roughly 40 times the amount the 2010 senate campaign had-but the Washington Post barely mentions it. And let's not forget this is the same media organization that was widely mocked after trying to claim Carly wasn't a secretary while noting she had been a full time secretary after college.
Flores didn't respond when asked why Fiorina doesn't entrust her charitable givings to a donor-advised fund that promises not to give money to Planned Parenthood.
Her campaign thus far has been a bare-bones operation, relying on a young, relatively low-paid, skeletal staff as opposed to the sprawling operations built by more well-endowed candidates like Bush.
Even before her rapid rise in the polls – she has vaulted to second place in the key early voting state of New Hampshire – Fiorina had already garnered about $2 million in support from the likes of reclusive hedge fund baron Robert Mercer and former Univision CEO Jerrold Perenchio.
"Imagine if we could bring a few of that pro-life passion into being more, well, pro-life", he said. "Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain". "They have been supportive of my Senate race". "She's good in the room", said one participant at the event, who declined to be named.
She's still working on keeping the candidate's favorite "crunchy gum" in her bulging bag.
Fiorina told Boston Herald Radio she'd welcome their financial support.
Fiorina also served as the chairwoman of Good360 from 2012 to 2015. Schieber had hairspray, mints, pantyhose, hand sanitizer, trail mix at the ready and alternated seamlessly between offering water, a pen or taking photographs as Fiorina shook hands and posed for photos. "And she doesn't react like an adolescent".
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Yemen officials say rebels trading fire with coalition ships


Long-term researchers have established that death rates occasioned by chronic breast cancers can be cut down to 70% when patients cut down on weight loss by a minimum 5lb, and consume diets that reduce the fatality potentials of their cancers.
About 2,400 women were tested and watched for weight loss cuts over a 10-year period, and it was discovered that death rates were cut down by 70% among even women with the deadliest cancers so long they had lost weight.
Tracking thousands of women over two decades, the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study found out that changes in diets would greatly reduce the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence after the women had initially gone through some breast cancer treatments.
Divided into two groups, some women were placed on a low-fat diet; and they were found to have lower death rates over the next 20 years after they were able to maintain weight loss cuts of 6lb over a five year period. About 20% of the women that had breast cancers not linked to any hormonal problems experienced the greater results of death cuts. This group even involve patients with triple negative cancers as well as those with BRCA1 – resulting from a faulty gene – as the one that made Angelina Jolie to undergo double mastectomy.
70% death rate reduction was observed in women that lost a minimum 5lb over 10 years, and death incidents were halved even 20 years after.
Diets with reduced calories and natural fibers targeted at a 6lb weight loss goal over a number of years ensures that women with breast cancers have their fatality rates cut down by 50% to 70%.
And the war on fat continues. Notice some items completely absent in this reporting: what type of fat was reduced? Was it animal fat, which has been demonstrated for eternity to be good for you? Or was it processed vegetable fat, such as what's found in margarine & most processed foods, which has been demonstrated to be horrible for you? And what exactly were these women eating? Is it possible that, in addition to cutting down on certain fats, they also cut down significantly on processed carbohydrates and sugar? Which, by the way, brings us to the crux of the whole thesis: fat is NOT the problem in obesity; sugar and other processed carbohydrates are. This is why people on Atkins and Paleo diets lose a ton of weight, despite eating copious amounts of animal fat. Agree or disagree with their diets, they are living proof that fat is NOT the issue in obesity. So even if losing weight were helpful in reducing mortality rates, then you don't need to cut down on fat to lose weight — you need to cut out the sugars and processed carbs. Furthermore, it's not "weight loss" that is saving these women, anyway. It's reduction in inflammation, of which obesity is a symptom. I'm so bloody sick of the propaganda and junk science spewed by the health industry and promulgated by today's lazy media.
Weight loss cuts makes it sound like you should not lose weight. Cut down on the weight loss.
ya.. whats up with the grammar and phrasing…lol…"cut down on weight loss".
Please hire an editor or someone that can write clearly, this is painful to read and does not make sense.
I agree, should not have been published as is.


text:
Q: Series describe function pandas ploting I have question for you. Which plot is a best to show describe result in series pandas
filter = genderage['Customer_Gender'] == "F"
genderage[filter]
genderage[filter].describe()

    Customer_Age
count   54724.000000
mean    36.168993
std 10.910622
min 17.000000
25% 28.000000
50% 35.000000
75% 43.000000
max 87.000000

A: A boxplot will combine nearly all of this information into a single visualization. It won't plot the mean by default but you can add that as a dashed line with meanline and showmeans.
The whiskers extrend from the max to the min. The dashed line is the mean. The box extends from the 25% to 75% and the solid line in the box is the median (50%). You just miss the standard deviation and the counts, which can be added as text if you wanted.
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

np.random.seed(123)
s = pd.Series(np.random.chisquare(34, 100))

s.describe()
#count    100.000000
#mean      34.674010
#std        8.393988
#min       15.306646
#25%       29.043357
#50%       33.556184
#75%       40.380201
#max       56.930963
#dtype: float64

s.to_frame('data').boxplot(meanline=True, showmeans=True)


text:
Plots of planetary system properties
Where is …
Units and quantities
How many transiting planets are known?
This plot shows the discovery rate of the known transiting planets. For the discovery date of each planet, I have taken the time at which a refereed journal article was published giving its sky position, orbital ephemerides and proof of planetary nature. If the paper appeared on the arXiv preprint server first, I have taken that date instead.
The black line shows the cumulative number of known transiting planets versus year. The lower coloured lines show the individual contributions of specific groups or data sources (those which have discovered 5 or more transiting planets).
The plot is also available here as an encapsulated postscript file for easy inclusion in a talk or presentation.
This plot shows the sky positions (right ascension and declination) of the known transiting planets.
The scattered red points in the Northern hemisphere are due to the HAT project, and the blue points predominantly covering the Southern hemisphere come from the SuperWASP consortium. The big concentration of light-green points in the top left shows the Kepler field, the darker green patches on the ecliptic plane are from the K2 mission, and the smaller groups of magenta points near zero declination are from the CoRoT satellite. The grey line shows where declination is zero and the dashed grey line indicates the position of the galactic plane.
This plot shows the masses and radii of all known transiting planets and their host stars. The transiting planets are the main sea of points in the plot, the stars are the diagonal line of points in the top-right, and the brown dwarfs form a sparse bridge between them. Objects analysed in the Homogeneous Studies papers are shown in blue and the remaining objects are shown in red. Solar system bodies are also plotted for reference, using green circles.
Last modified: 2017/03/07 John Southworth (Keele University, UK)


text:
Home/Operating systems/Windows/What's new and improved in windows 10 20h1 build 18990
What's new and improved in windows 10 20h1 build 18990
Although at the moment we do not know anything about Windows 10 19H2, the next Windows update that should arrive next week, Microsoft continues to develop 20H1, May 2020 Update, the great update that will reach everyone in spring of next year. Like every week, Microsoft Insider users have just received a new version of this update, build 18990. This update is one of the largest we have seen in recent months, and it comes full of changes, improvements, new features and, of course, fixes.
The new upgrade Windows 10 20H1, build 18990, is already reaching Insider users through Windows Update. This update continues to shape what will be the next major version of the operating system, an update that will arrive with a large number of changes, improvements and news spread throughout the system.
Insider versions of Windows 10, especially Fast Ring versions (like this one) are often very unstable and full of bugs. It is recommended to use them only on test computers or virtual machines to avoid problems.
Windows 10 20H1 will allow you to run UWP applications automatically when you start your PC
One of the novelties that we have seen in this new Windows 10 update is the possibility of configuring the operating system to automatically start UWP applications when we start or restart the computer.
Within the section «Settings> Accounts> Login options» we will find the new option called «Restart applications». If we activate this option, when we restart Windows or turn on the system from scratch, the operating system will automatically reopen all the UWP applications that we had open at the time of shutdown.
Although users have been asking for something similar for a long time, and it is not exactly what many were looking for, at least it is a step forward that will undoubtedly be used by most.
A native FPS counter in Windows 10
Last week we saw a great novelty on the Internet that was going to reach the Game Bar, or Game Bar, of Windows 10: the FPS counter. This feature is widely used by gamers as it allows them to monitor the performance of the computer and know if they need to adjust the graphics further to get the best possible experience.
Until now, it was only possible to enable an FPS counter in Windows using third-party software, such as Steam, FRAPS, or NVIDIA drivers. However, Microsoft wants to go all out with its game bar and, therefore, with Windows 10 20H1 we can have this native feature in the operating system. Starting with build 18990 released today.
Of course, to have this feature we must download the Xbox Insider Hub application and become an Insider of the Xbox program since, otherwise, we will not see it yet.
WSL: another great protagonist in 20H1
Another of the sections in which Microsoft has paid special attention has been in WSL, the Linux subsystem for Windows. With Windows 10 20H1 will come the second version of this platform (WSL2) that will bring a large number of changes and corrections of all kinds.
Taking advantage of this new compilation, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to improve the performance of this platform, specifically the \\ wsl $ directory, in addition to correcting two important flaws in the platform.
Cloud download: the new way to reset Windows 10
Until now, when we had to reset the PC, Windows 10 took advantage of its own installation to reinstall itself. This, in addition to taking almost an hour, did not always work correctly, and many users were left hanging having to create an installation media by hand to reinstall Windows.
Cloud Download will be one of the new features that will come to Windows 10. This option will allow us to restore the computer by downloading the latest version of the operating system from the cloud and reinstalling the system from scratch.
Although we saw this option some time ago, the great news is that, finally, we know how it will work. Windows 10 will download the files required for system installation from the cloud and automatically reboot into Windows RE, the operating system recovery environment. From here you will install the drivers, the OEM applications (the bloatware, properly speaking, from the manufacturers) and continue with the operating system installation process.
Of course, an excellent, much safer and more stable alternative for users who have to reset the PC and the normal method does not work for some reason.
Bugs and issues fixed in Windows 10 20H1 build 18990
Microsoft has fixed a large number of bugs and bugs in this new build of Windows 10. The full list of fixes that have come with the new build 18990 of Windows 10 is:
Fixed an issue that prevented the context menu from appearing in the File Explorer search box for pasting clipboard content.
The Windows 10 file explorer search box is now a bit larger to better see what we type.
Fixed a reliability bug in the Action Center.
Fixed the error that made the login window not appear when connecting to a VPN network.
Fixes in Windows Magnifier
Corrections in the Magnifier when using it at different levels of DPI.
Fixed an issue that prevented closing the magnifying glass with Alt + F4.
Fixed another issue that caused the magnifying glass window to turn black when switching modes.
Fixed an issue with the magnifying glass that prevented it from being used in certain languages (such as Russian).
The "read from here" function has been properly defined so that users are not confused.
Magnifier box is now highlighted for better readability.
Reading in Magnifier mode has been improved.
Fixed an issue that caused the text cursor indicator to not appear.
Made the text cursor indicator more readable and static.
Correction of problems in Narrator
Fixed an issue with Narrator where when changing the reading speed with the keyboard it remained the same.
Fixed Narrator whitespace sound.
Improved the experience of automatic reading of Narrator dialogues.
Improved hotkeys for controlling table content when using Narrator.
Improved the narrator page summary dialog.
Narrator will no longer read Google Chrome notifications that are not selected.
The Narrator tool now better reads iTunes play buttons and links.
Narrator can now revert to previous content when reading from Chrome and Firefox.
This tool now updates connected braille displays in real time when expanding XAML content.
IME glyphs have been improved and a large number of bugs found in this input method. Chinese and Japanese keyboards should now no longer cause problems, neither working on their own nor in conjunction with other keyboards.
Other Known Unresolved Windows 10 Issues
In addition to the above list, which is not short, Microsoft also warns users that it is aware of a number of bugs but has not yet fixed them. We have already seen these bugs and errors in previous versions:
Some 2D applications cause problems when used with Windows Mixed Reality.
If we are recording a video of a bug in Feedback Hub with Windows Mixed Reality, we will not be able to stop the recording. This is because the content is recognized as protected.
The "optional updates" section of Windows Update shows old drivers.
In addition, a new bug means that users who have the system configured in dual scanner (WSUS and Windows Update) may not receive Insider updates from the Fast Ring.
How to show hidden files and folders in Windows 10
Partition hard drives and ssds using only windows
How to switch audio between speakers and headphones on my Windows 10 PC
How to maximize battery life in Windows 10
How to create a shortcut to shut down or restart my Windows 10 PC
How to repair applications if they are giving you problems in Windows 10


text:
GTB posts N142.28bn 9-months' PAT, down 3.2% YoY, but Q3'20 PAT up at N48.01bn
November 26, 2020205 views0 comments
By Charles Abuede
9-Months' PBT = N167.4bn
Nigeria's Tier-1 lender, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, has reported a profit after tax (PAT) of N48.01 billion for the third quarter of 2020. This figure is N155.85 million higher than the N47.86 billion recorded during the same period of 2019. The bank also recorded N2.77 billion increase in its profit before tax (PBT) for the same period to N54.64 billion in Q3 2020 from N54.86 billion in Q3 2019.
The foremost financial institution revealed this in its unaudited interim financial statements for the 9-months period ended September 2020, which it filed at the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Similarly, the Q3 result shows improved performance across key financial metrics, reaffirming the financial institution's capability to navigate the current economic challenges brought about by the global health crisis.
According to the bank, it recorded a 3.2 per cent decline in its profit after tax (PAT) to N142.28 billion as at the close of the 9-months trading period from N146.98 billion during the corresponding period of 2019. Similarly, its profit before tax (PBT) witnessed a 1.93 per cent dip to N167.35 billion for the period from N170.65 billion that was recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
Furthermore, a breakdown of the result from the bank revealed that during the period under review, its total assets came to N4.57 trillion, appreciating by 21.68 per cent from N3.76 trillion as at the same period of 2019.
Also, it recorded a 0.09 per cent increase in its interest income from N219.35 billion by the close of 9 months period in 2019 to N219.54 billion as at the end of September 2020. However, the bank's loan and deposit book grew by 4.5 per cent and 25.1 per cent to N1.6 trillion and N3.3 trillion by the close of September 2020 from N1.5 trillion and N2.6 trillion recorded as of December 2019 respectively.
With the balance sheet remaining positively structured, diversified and resilient, the bank's shareholders' funds closed at N755.5 billion, with a full impact of the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) standing strong to close 23.9 per cent while its asset quality was sustained as the NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (CoR) closed at 6.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent in September 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
Segun Agbaje, managing director and chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Bank, while commenting on the result said the financial performance for the period is a testament of the customers' enduring loyalty and shareholders' support in the drive to deliver best in class financial services and sustainable returns.
"Our 3rd Quarter result is a reflection of how we have appropriately positioned our balance sheet to cope with current economic realities and the challenging business environment. It is also a testament to the enduring loyalty of our customers, the hard work and dedication of our staff and the unwavering support we continue to enjoy from all our stakeholders in our drive to deliver best-in-class financial services and superior and sustainable returns," Agbaje said.
"As an organisation, we will continue to build on our commitment to enriching lives by leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to improve customer experience and maintain a high standard in service delivery, and going beyond banking to create and drive innovative financial solutions that add value to our customers in all aspects of their lives," Agbaje further stated.
Meanwhile, in its condensed results of consolidated entities as at 9 months ended September 2020, Guaranty Trust bank Ghana recorded N13.55 billion in its total income for the period after-tax; the Sierra Leone arm of the bank submitted the sum of N1.68 billion in profit after tax; GT Bank Liberia also recorded a profit after tax in the tune of N1.02 billion as at the close of September 2020.
In the same vein, the bank's subsidiary in the Gambia recorded N1.26 billion in PAT for the period, with Cote D'Ivoire and Kenya subsidiaries canvassing N1.01 billion and N2.10 billion in profits respectively for the close of the trading period while the United Kingdom and Tanzania subsidiaries recorded losses to the tune of N1.16 billion and N296.65 million as a loss after tax respectively for the period under review.
In general, Guaranty Trust Bank plc maintains its position as one of the best in the Nigerian banking industry in terms of all financial ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.3 per cent, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6 per cent, and Cost to Income ratio of 40.2 per cent. Meanwhile, the bank shares have outperformed gaining 20.5 per cent year to date against the 29.1 per cent for the NSE all-share index.
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A mini masterpiece of your dog on a mug to enjoy with your favorite hot beverage at home or in the office! Gretchen Kish Serrano has been painting dogs in whimsical styles reminiscent of the Masters for her clients for over 10 years. Shown here in her "Woofhol" style is a pop-art, graphic Labrador.