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W. Europe needed a Marshall plan in 1947. In 2017 Marshall plan is needed for Ukraine
Andrius Kubilius
In 1947, following his return to Washington after the negotiations with Stalin and Molotov in Moscow, George Marshall, the famous US military leader and post-war Secretary of State, saw the need to promote economic recovery in Western Europe destroyed by war. This was seen as a stabilising factor and the only way to halt Stalin's ambitions of expanding his political dominance to Western Europe.
© DELFI / Šarūnas Mažeika
On 5 June 1947, Marshall delivered the famous Harvard University speech on the US commitment to help Europe. This was followed by an intensive intellectual and political work, resulting in the eventual launch of the Marshall Plan in 1948. Ever since that day, 5 June is considered to be the date of launching the most successful US foreign policy initiative. We are nearing the 70th anniversary of this wise step.
As we know from history, the Marshall Plan was a genuine success. Despite Stalin's resistance and his influence on French and Italian Communists who tried to wreak havoc in their respective countries in 1948, and despite Stalin's efforts to undermine the West by the blockade of West Berlin, the US and the West managed to resist. Wisely implemented within a period of several years, the Marshall Plan both spurred economic recovery and political stabilisation in Western Europe. Moreover, it also effectively halted Stalin's ambition of political expansion to the West. More importantly, US pressure towards the integration of European economies, wisely put on Western Europe in general, and on France in particular, finally reached the noble end. In 1951, the idea of a European Coal and Steel Community masterminded by Robert Shumann and Jean Monet became flesh. This was the beginning of the European Union.
Ukrainian Govt delegation arriving to mark start of visa-free travel to EU
Ukrainian defense minister in Vilnius: Russia building up forces at Ukraine's border
My country, Lithuania, was left on the other side of the iron curtain as a result of the latest in a series of our historical tragedies. For 50 years we suffered from Stalin's occupation, deportations, and Soviet oppression. This was not our choice. We were unable to use the opportunities provided under the Marshall Plan. Anyway, in 1947–1951, the Marshall Plan prevented Stalin from casting an iron curtain over entire Western Europe. The Marshall Plan led to the establishment of the European Union, and NATO was also established alongside. As a result, in the long term, the West won the cold war and in 1990 Lithuania regained its freedom.
All of this owes to G. Marshall and his followers who, together with the entire US political elite, summoned sufficient geopolitical wisdom, unparalleled global responsibility and focused political leadership in order to implement this successful geopolitical initiative, which was started on 5 June 1947. While celebrating its 70th anniversary, we are pleased to commend the outstanding success of the Marshall Plan. Furthermore, we can draw lessons from it and model the ways to address the geopolitical challenges the European continent faces today.
Today, 70 years after the Marshall Plan was announced, the situation in Europe is reminiscent of the events that took place back in 1947. Of course, Western Europe no longer needs a Marshall Plan for economic reconstruction and recovery. However, the Kremlin seeks political dominance again and targets the European regions which have long been either dependent on, or occupied by the Soviet empire and now want to develop on their own, independent from the Kremlin. This is what causes aggressive opposition from Putin's regime. Most Eastern Partnership countries situated between Russia and the European Union, and the Western Balkans as a whole can be identified as the regions in question. However, special attention needs to be attached to Ukraine.
After the Maidan Revolution in 2014, Ukraine's ambition was to follow the European path of reform. The Kremlin responded by the violent occupation of Crimea and aggressive war in Eastern Ukraine. The main reasons for this lie in Putin's fear that Ukraine's European success story could infect the Russian society and foster its efforts to pursue the same objectives in Russia. This, in turn, would pose a threat to the survival of the Kremlin regime.
Putin's long-term strategy in Ukraine is simple. It is aimed at weakening the Ukrainian economy and preventing the Ukrainian authorities and the people from focusing on implementation of essential reforms by protracting the smouldering military conflict in Eastern Ukraine. This is all done to prevent Ukraine from becoming a success story. Similarly, to Stalin, who tried to do his utmost to prevent the recovery of Western Europe in 1947–1948, Putin is now interested in a non-recovery of Ukraine.
This is because Putin who destroyed democracy in Russia is well aware of the weak point in any democratic process. Ukraine is a country under economic difficulties, a country where people can't wait to see miraculous and immediate signs of improvement after the revolution, and a country that needs to wage a war to defend itself against the military aggression of the big neighbour. Under these circumstances, democratic elections are not immune to political forces that are declaring populist ideas to refuse further implementation of the necessary reforms. Their political success would be the biggest strategic victory for Putin. For him, this would be the way to regain political dominance in Ukraine's political agenda.
Back in Stalin's time, natural popular frustration resulting from economic difficulties was a powerful political force Stalin tried to exploit through local Communists in Western Europe before the Marshall Plan was launched. Putin is also trying to create and exploit disappointment in Ukraine. He has already achieved this in Moldova, which recently elected an openly pro-Russian president. This was mainly due to the frustration of ordinary Moldovans when they failed to see any improvement in their economy and failure to see any real membership perspective despite to the European integration track announced by Moldova government for several years in a row.
Putin's strategy in Ukraine is clear. His objectives are obvious. Reaching them is not very difficult. All he needs to do is to wait for Ukrainian's disappointment.
The legitimate question is whether Western countries have a long-term strategy today to prevent success of Putin's scenario in Ukraine. Unfortunately, such a wide-ranging and comprehensive strategy on Ukraine does not exist to this day. We are observing Western sanctions against Russia, we are seeing efforts to make Putin implement the Minsk agreements, but we are not seeing any Western strategy on Ukraine that would be similar to the approach taken by George Marshall to Western Europe. Not yet. As of today, we are not seeing a Western strategy which would prevent the recovery of Putin's political dominance in Ukraine.
Ukraine should matter to the West not only for Ukraine's sake. Not only because Ukraine renounced its nuclear weapons and received a guarantee of protection of its sovereignty, which the West failed to materialise. Ukraine should also matter for the West as the only possibility to help Russia transform into a European state over time. Because example of Ukrainian success story is the only instrument that the West has in its hands to help Russia. Therefore, by helping Ukraine, the West would essentially address the causes of the latest tectonic conflict on the European continent between undemocratic Russia and continental Europe.
In the long term, through the European Coal and Steel Community and the ensuing establishment of what is now the EU, the 1947 Marshall Plan in Western Europe resolved the tectonic conflict between France and Germany that had previously led to two world wars. The Marshall Plan for Ukraine would help to finally resolve the eternal conflict between Russia and continental Europe. In particular, as the Baltic countries, we are highly interested in this as we have so far been the biggest victims of such conflicts.
Why did Central Europe and the Baltic States not need the Marshal Plan after 1990 to become stories of success? The reason is that the West granted us the EU membership perspective from the very outset. Both the EU and NATO membership perspective were open to us on the condition that we implement the necessary reforms. This was the only reason that attached us to the European path of reform even though natural frustration of the general public meant that new parties came to power after every election. A realistic prospect of not very distant membership in EU has led to the formation of a strong national political consensus on the need to implement the necessary reform. The Western strategy to help us quickly and successfully implement complex European reforms was clear and effective. In addition, at the end of the day, Russia under Yeltsin back then differed a lot from Putin's Russia today.
The EU's enlargement policy after the fall of the Berlin Wall resulted in accession of Central European countries and the Baltic States, stabilised the region and helped to create successful European States. This initiative was just as successful as the post-war Marshall Plan for Western Europe. In the post-1945 era, the West has implemented only two successful geopolitical initiatives that prevented the Kremlin from either gaining or recovering its political dominance in territories beyond Russia: the Marshall Plan in 1947 and the enlargement of the EU in 2004.
Thus, when we talk about the Western strategy for Ukraine, the main aim of which is to prevent Putin from the recovery of political dominance in Ukraine, the West may choose between two proven geopolitical strategies, opting either in favour of initiatives similar to the post-war Marshall Plan, or offering an EU accession perspective for Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the European Union currently does not seem to be able to offer Ukraine a membership perspective, even though this is what Lithuania campaigns for. Brexit, refugees, and Ukraine's large size are among the multiple reasons for that.
The only remaining option, therefore, is to model a Western strategy for Ukraine on the Marshall Plan experience. The Marshall Plan for Ukraine is not a new idea in the Western community after the Maidan Revolution. George Soros and Bernard Henry Levy raised the idea before, and Lithuania has even announced its implementation to be Lithuania's official policy. Anders Aslund, Washington based expert on Ukrainian affairs, recently calculated that, given a Marshall Plan for Ukraine is implemented, mobilising around 5 billion US dollars of annual investment into the real economy, Ukraine's annual GDP growth would rise from 2 % to an average of 6–8 %. Similar figures have been recently released by Natalie Jaresko, former Ukrainian Minister of Finance.
In this case, people in Ukraine would finally feel that the reforms are bringing economic growth, new jobs and higher wages. Similarly, to 1947, this would halt public disillusionment and prevent Putin from implementing his strategy in Ukraine.
Like the Marshall Plan for Western Europe, the Marshall Plan for Ukraine should be implemented on the basis of clear conditions for reforms in Ukraine; and the release of funds should be based on the conditionality principle. Following the example of the post-war Marshall Plan, a dedicated agency should be established in Ukraine, modelled on the European Agency for Reconstruction that managed the Marshall Plan funds in Western Europe.
The Kremlin's aggression, when unchecked, traditionally expands to ever new territories. As demonstrated by the experience of recent years, Moscow no longer limits itself to Crimea, Eastern Ukraine or Syria. It has recently made efforts to affect the election results in the United States and France. One may only speculate what will come next. The only appropriate response is the one formulated in a Long Telegram by George F. Kennan, one of the Marshal Plan's ideologists, back in 1946: Russia's aggression should be confronted with unalterable counter-force at every point and the Kremlin should not be allowed to win any strategic victories in new territories.
Today, this new territory is Ukraine. Ukraine is the land where Putin's political appetites need to be curbed. Ukraine is the place where Putin's political strategy needs to be aborted. And a Marshall Plan for Ukraine is needed for that. This is urgent, because only Putin will benefit from delay.
Is the West beginning to see this? There are some encouraging signs of that. In particular, they come from Europe itself. The largest European People's Party (EPP) convened at a Congress in Malta recently and adopted a resolution in support of Ukraine, proposed by our delegation. The resolution also approved the Marshall Plan for Ukraine. All we have to do now is implement it. Such a statement from the EPP has led to a wave of enthusiasm and great expectations in Ukraine. Now it is a matter of honour for the EPP to make sure that the Marshall Plan for Ukraine becomes a reality. It is a matter of honour for the entire the Western community to prevent Putin from winning in Ukraine.
It's good that EU and member states are starting to build a legal and financial infrastructure which will allow Marshall Plan for Ukraine to be implemented.
In September 2016 EU Commission announced that EU External Investment Plan should be implemented. EU Commission is announcing that such an External Investment Plan should have a large capacity of 88 billion euros till 2020. Half of that amount should be devoted to what Germany is calling "Marshall Plan with Africa". Another half, according to EU External Investment Plan, should be devoted to the EU Neighbourhood. Ukraine should be one of the most important targets of this Investment Plan.
Two conditions need to be met for the Marshall Plan for Ukraine to become a reality. First, we need a clear understanding of the reasons for and the features of the Russia's containment strategy. In the words of George F. Kennan, we should confront Russia with counter-force on every point, including Ukraine. Secondly, we need leadership in the West, comparable to the leadership summoned by Henry Truman and George Marshall in 1947. It is high time for the Western leaders to take up the challenge. G7 meeting this weekend is a good occasion to start real discussions on this very important issue.
Andrius Kubilius, former Prime Minister of Lithuania (1999-2000, 2008-2012), Leader of "Pro-Ukraine" group in Lithuanian Parliament
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HomeGadget Bridge AceSony PlayStation 5's new software update allows games to be stored on...
Sony PlayStation 5's new software update allows games to be stored on external USB drives: Here are the advantages
The new feature will enable users to keep a large number of games on multiple storage drives.
By Anurag Sharma
Sony recently announced a new software update for the PlayStation 5 console that will enable the users to keep their video games on external storage drives. Considering the large volumes of modern video games, this update is perceived not only beneficial but also essential.
How will the secondary storage option benefit PlayStation 5 users?
What is the limitation of the new software update in PlayStation 5?
What other features will the new software update offer?
How to access games using an external storage drive on PlayStation 5?
The new feature of secondary storage comes under the April update of the PlayStation 5. The console offers total internal storage of 825GB SSD. However, some storage is utilised by the system files and the operating system. As a result, the effective memory available for video games is only 667.2GB. On the other hand, PC gamers have the flexibility to store their games on as many external devices as they want to allow them to play unlimited games.
According to Hideaki Nishino, PlayStation's Senior Vice President of Platform Planning and Management, "It is faster to reinstall PS5 games from USB extended storage than to re-download or copy them from a disc. Because PS5 games are designed to take advantage of the console's ultra-high-speed SSD, PS5 titles can't be played from USB extended storage."
The new feature in PlayStation 5 will allow the gamers to keep their large-sized games on external USB storage devices like external hard drives or external SSDs. Some high-volume video games include GTA V (68GB), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (77GB), Hitman 2 (149GB), Red Dead Redemption 2 (150GB), and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (231 GB).
Although the PlayStation 5 users will get the flexibility to keep their games on multiple storage options, they can't play the video games directly from the external drives. To run a video game, the users will have to copy the game files to the console's internal storage.
According to Hideaki Nishino, PlayStation's Senior Vice President of Platform Planning and Management, "PS5 titles also cannot be directly downloaded to USB extended storage" the "games that you transfer or copy back to internal storage will automatically update when applicable."
The April update of the PlayStation 5 software will come with the ability to automatically download the video game updates. It will also have a cross-generation Share Play feature that will enable the PlayStation 5 users to share their screen with PlayStation 4 users. As a result, PlayStation 4 users can enjoy the PlayStation 5 games via Share Play.
What other features will the new software update offer? (Image Credit: Sony PlayStation)
This method is preferred by users when you wish to transfer your PlayStation 4 games to PlayStation 5. To access games using an external storage drive on PlayStation 5, follow these steps.
Connect the external USB storage to your PlayStation 5 console.
Go to Settings > Storage > External Storage > Games and Apps.
You will find a list of games contained in the external storage device.
Anurag Sharmahttp://www.gadgetbridge.com
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Gigabyte may be aiming this fanless BRIX as an IoT solution, but it can be used as a PC.
If you're looking for a tiny NUC-like desktop PC that's small enough to be mounted on the back of a monitor, the Gigabyte BRIX is a popular choice (if you can get past the UEFI vulnerabilities). Recently, a couple of new models have been quietly added to the range, but these aren't aimed at those of us looking for a desktop PC. These BRIX are for the Internet of Things (IoT).
FanlessTech was the first to notice new listings for the BRIX IoT models on Gigabyte's website. Two versions will be available running 14nm Apollo Lake processors. The cheaper of the two uses an N3450 quad-core Celeron processor running at 1.1GHz (Burst Frequency: 2.2GHz). The other model uses an N4200 quad-core Pentium processor also running as 1.1GHz (Burst Frequency: 2.5GHz). Both chips have a 2MB L2 cache and a TDP of just 6 Watts, meaning they are suitable for this fanless BRIX IoT design measuring just 165-by-105-by-27mm.
These are barebones systems, so RAM, storage, and an operating system are required. They support up to 8GB of DDR3L RAM, an M.2 SSD such as the Samsung 960 EVO, and as it's an Intel platform you can choose between Windows 10 and your favorite Linux distro.
As they are meant for IoT, Gigabyte included a mini PCIe slot for a 3G module and a Micro SIM card slot, meaning you can set this up as a remote computing platform if you so wish. Alternatively, the included VESA bracket allows mounting on the back of a monitor and it's capable of handling two displays thanks to having two HDMI ports. It's also got two LAN ports, four USB 3.0 ports, a Micro SD card slot, microphone/headphone combo, and even an RJ45 COM port.
For now, these BRIX models have only been made available through a Russian online retailer, with the N4200 version costing $330. Hopefully listings will appear closer to home in the near future.


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Lightboard.info
Build or Buy?
Lighting & Layout
Googlegroup
Lightboards of the World
This page discusses
left-right reversal
video mixing
the presenter's monitor
control desk
video mixer (switcher)
powerpoint mix-in
Visitors often ask how I learned to write backwards. It's fun to explain that the board is photographed in reflection, using a mirror. My studio uses a mirror, but there are actually 4 good solutions:
1. Mirror: The instructor and the glass board are videotaped in reflection (via a mirror) to correct the left-right reversal which results from viewing from the "wrong side" of the glass. Instead of a tripod, I used an adjustable ball head to mount my camera on a shelf, together with a 4x6 inch front-surface mirror, 6mm thick. It's about 20 feet from these to the Lightboard, but closer would be OK. If you use a mirror, make sure it is a front-surface mirror, and that the way you mount it to doesn't cause it to bend, nor allow it to vibrate. If it's not quite flat, your images won't be in sharp focus.
2. Scan-reverse cameras: Some cameras have a scan-reverse option built in, so that they electronically produce a mirrored video stream. Cameras that I know of that have this feature are the Canon Vixia HF10, Canon XA10, and Canon XF105, and the higher models of each of these lines. I haven't found any 1080p cameras with scan-reverse.
3. Scan-reverse appliance: The Decimator MD-HX Converter has a setting to left-right reverse a video stream on the fly, so you can use any DSLR or video camera. (Thanks, Justin Melick, for finding this.) One disadvantage of electronic mirroring is that it adds yet another signal delay. Latency hurts when you are drawing on superimposed graphics, making it harder to guide your hand. The camera, the switcher, and the monitor each take their toll. Decimator adds 33mS.
4. Reverse in video editor software: Most video editors give you the option to left-right reverse the whole video file in post-production. This is a good option if you aren't using a presenter's monitor (which needs to show a live reversed image).
You won't get good results if your camera is hunting for focus, changing exposure levels, and raising/lowering audio. The black backdrop makes focus and exposure hunting worse than usual.
I used the semi-pro Canon XF-105 videocamera, which makes it easy to set aperture, gain, focus, zoom, and audio levels manually, and keep them. Unlike consumer cameras, it won't forget its settings when it's powered down. The XF-105 shoots interlaced video, 1080i30.
Recently I changed over to 1080p60 (or 1080p59.94 to be more precise) to get better resolution and to avoid motion artifacts that arise from interlaced video frames. After trying several consumer videocameras and finding them unsatisfactory in image quality or in allowing full manual control, I turned instead to mirrorless digital cameras that are intended primarily for still photography. These can be manually controlled in every way, and have excellent image quality.
I used a Sony Alpha A6000 mirrorless digital camera, with a 55-210mm SEL-55210 zoom lens and a 49mm diameter CPL polarizer. Accessories were an Sony AC power adapter and a micro-HDMI cable. Even when it is not recording to its SD card, the camera has to be set on AVCHD recording mode (not MP4) or else it won't output clean HDMI at a true 60fps (frames per second). I can't recommend the Sony cameras because they overheat and shut down; I had to add a fan to prevent this. John Mocko (U Florida) recommends the Panasonic GH4, GH5, GX8, and pointed out a camera comparison chart.
HDMI gets noisy on a long cable run, so it's important to switch signals over to SDI near the camera. Good choices for this are Decimator MD-HX Converter (if you are doing electronic mirroring) or Blackmagic Design 3864 HDMI to SDI converter.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of good audio. The HVAC in my studio was loud and I had it revised. I put sound absorbing eggcrate foam on the wall behind the black cloth that the presenter stands in front of. This eliminated a hollow echo effect between the back wall and the glass board.
Sound is captured by a Sennheiser wireless microphone system with a lapel microphone on the presenter's collar. Sound is fed into the left and right channel XLR microphone input of the Canon XF105 camera. When I have two presenters, I use two wireless microphone transmitters and two receivers. The Switcher includes an audio mixer. Earlier I used an Audio Technica wireless microphone, but I found that it occasionally would create a loud click or pop. The Sennheiser does not.
When I changed to the Sony Alpha A6000 mirrorless camera instead of a videocamera, I found that the A6000 does not have an audio input jack! (Later models in this line do have an audio input jack.) So I took the audio from the wireless mic receiver directly into the BlackMagic Design switcher. Now the audio was arriving promptly, but the video was being delayed in the camera, so the audio and video were slightly out of sync. I used a Behringer Shark FBQ100 to delay the audio. The right amount of delay turned out to be 33mSec.
If you don't want to mix in any other video sources (such as powerpoint) while recording, you can skip this. Below, I describe a video mixer that uses dedicated video hardware. John Mocko at UFL has instead used a software solution, making use of vMix software on a general purpose computer instead of dedicated video hardware.
The signal from the video camera is combined with other video sources by a Video Switcher. Switchers are intended for use in live broadcasts. They allow a certain amount of editing and combining of signals, on the fly. This is in contrast to Video Editors (e.g. iMovie) that you use between recording and later presentation. The Switcher selects sources, superimposes one image on another, does "wipe" transitions, green-screen effects (chroma-keying), etc. Using the Switcher, little or no post-production editing is needed. Even live streaming is possible.
My first switcher was a Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Production Switcher which supports up to 1080i30. In 2017 Blackmagic released the ATEM Television Studio Production Switcher HD at about the same $1K price point. The new HD model supports 1080p60. However unlike the earlier model, the HD model does not internally do H.264 encoding and provide USB to a computer, for capture to file. So I also had to add a $500 Blackmagic Design H.264 Pro Recorder, to recover that essential functionality.
One of the things the Switcher can do is superimpose graphics from a computer onto the live image from the videocamera. The graphics can be from a powerpoint presentation, and can even include other videos. The Switcher sums the signals from the videocamera and the powerpoint presentation. My powerpoint slides are therefore done in 16x9 aspect ratio, and with a black background, so that the background doesn't show up in the summed video stream (see example slide below). I've provided a sample powerpoint deck.
The new HD model switcher has a new feature that we found very useful (in addition to its 1080p60 capability of course). It has two output streams, while the older non-HD model only has one. We use one of the output streams to mix the lightboard video with powerpoint graphics, and then send this to the H.264 Pro Recorder and via USB to a computer for capture. On the other channel we can mix not only the lightboard video and powerpoint graphics, but also a "teleprompter" script from yet another computer source. This output goes to the presenter's monitor, discussed next.
Presenter's monitor
You can skip this if you don't need to see yourself, or any superimposed powerpoint graphics, while recording.
I can't see the powerpoint graphics on the glass itself, because it's not projected there. Instead it's added-in digitally by the Switcher. If I want to interact with the graphics, or even draw on the graphics, it's necessary to have a monitor that I can see while at the Lightboard, so that I know where my marker tip is relative to the graphics.
The monitor (a 50-Inch 1080p HDTV) is near the videocamera, so that I can see it while looking in the proper direction, toward the camera. This causes a problem: the reflection of the monitor, in the glass panel, is very visible to the videocamera, as you see below.
To block this reflection I take advantage of the fact that all the light from an LCD TV is polarized; polarization is inherent to LCD technology. I use a CPL polarizer on the videocamera to reject that polarized reflection. The polarizer can be adjusted to a very good extinction of the reflection.
Video feeds from all three cameras, as well as HDMI output of one or more laptop computers (e.g. for powerpoint), are delivered to the six available inputs of the Switcher. A 22" LCD monitor is attached to the Switcher for the use of its operator, to display all the video feeds and the program video output. The Switcher has a "multiview" output that displays all these signals at once on a single monitor.
The Switcher needs a computer to display its array of switches and controls, and also to record the captured, compressed video stream to disk. I initially used a PC but found that the software runs more stably on a Mac mini. It's helpful to have plenty of flash disk space in the computer that ATEM's "capture" writes to. Our mac mini has 256GB but I wish it had more.
The control software for the Switcher, running on the Mac mini, communicates with the Switcher over a TCP/IP link. I established a LAN for just these two devices. I used a Netgear WNDR4000 N750 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router to establish the LAN. Any router can establish a LAN. I turned off the wireless feature to avoid RF interference. The router also provides an uplink to the university network.
Below is a wiring diagram of the studio electronics (click to enlarge; or here's a pdf version.
Switcher (video mixer)
If you don't need to mix video sources (lightboard + powerpoint, for example) you may not need a Video Switcher at all.
This page is an intro to the Video Switcher (Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Production Switcher). The Switcher control panel is an onscreen adaptation of hardware switchers that video production people are familiar with. User manuals tend to assume that familiarity, and don't explain the basics much.
Below are instructions for mixing the lightboard video with powerpoint graphics, displaying the sum on the presenter's monitor, and recording to disk. It also explains a split-screen use, in which the lightboard occupies part of the image and a macro camera (or other live source) occupies the other.
We normally just add the brightness of the powerpoint graphics to that of the lightboard camera, which is why both are on black backgrounds to start with. If you want to get fancier, there are ways to have the Switcher combine these images so that the powerpoint graphics appear to be behind the presenter, or in front of the presenter. Details are at ADVANCED SWITCHER MODES.
Also, we recently started using a newer switcher (the HD model) which allows us to use the presenter's monitor not only to show the lightboard image and the powerpoint graphics, but also a teleprompter script, all superimposed. Details are at TELEPROMPTER MIX.
Video mixing panel
Below is the "switcher" panel of the Blackmagic Design ATEM software, which controls video mixing.
The switcher recognizes up to six video inputs (Cam1 through Cam6), plus there is an all-black pseudo-input (Blk).
For us, Cam6 is the videocamera that is permanently aimed at the lightboard. Cam2 is a portable videocamera that we sometimes use for macro shots (e.g. photographing someone's hands as they build circuits), or for "talking head" closeups.
A computer running powerpoint provides graphics, and Cam1 is the video from this computer. We want to be able to superimpose Cam1 on any other video source, especially the lightboard, and this is done with the Upstream Keyer. The right side of the panel above shows how the Upstream Keyer is configured: its Fill Source and Key Source are both set to Cam1, and the button for Pre Multiplied Key is selected. This can be set up once and for all. Now, when you want to superimpose the graphics, turn the keyer on/off with the KEY1 button.
The Preview/Program Transition Slider determines whether the video being recorded comes from the PROGRAM SOURCE bank of buttons, or from the PREVIEW SOURCE bank of buttons. Typically we select Cam6 (the lightboard camera) on PROGRAM SOURCE, and Cam2 (the macro or portrait camera) on PREVIEW SOURCE.
Very usefully, the Preview/Program Transition slider can be slid half way. If the transition type is WIPE (shown below), this allows us to split the screen, half lightboard and half macro, for instance. There is far far more you can do with the ATEM switcher, for instance see the subpage on ADVANCED SWITCHER MODES. The above is usually all we use.
Audio mixing panel
The ATEM switcher control software also has an audio mixer panel:
Our wireless mic signals go into the audio inputs of the main videocamera (Cam6), and so its channel is the is the only one that I enable for audio on the audio mixer panel. Audio channels from all other cameras and laptops are disabled, so that we don't pick up unwanted sound.
I found that the ATEM switcher audio mixer's volume sliders don't work correctly, so I set them all at full volume (0 db), and I use other volume controls to adjust the audio level. Specifically, I first set the wireless mic receiver's output volume control knob to about 50%. Then I set the videocamera's manual audio level to get a reasonable level on the ATEM audio tab's VU meters. Thereafter, to fine tune for different presenters, I only need to adjust the wireless mic receiver's output volume control knob, which is the one most easily at hand.
The VU meters on the ATEM's audio mixer tab should bounce into the red rarely, but get close often. But if I need to adjust this, I don't use the audio mixer's sliders, which are still defective (as of 2016).
Video "capture to file" tab
The ATEM switcher has a capture feature:
The built-in capture now works well (as of ~2015). It is important to set the recording format to "native", not "native progressive"
The video format is H.264 inside an "mp4" filetype. If your computer doesn't have enough RAM, or isn't fast enough, it won't be able to keep up with the stream for long. If you want to check this file format, you can download a 3-second sample at the bottom of this page (videosample.mp4)
Powerpoint graphics
To serve as an input to the switcher, your laptop HDMI output must be capable of driving a 1920x1080 monitor. If the laptop cannot produce the protocol (e.g. 1080i30) that the Switcher is using, the Switcher will show it as black; there's no conversion, error message. You can get this VGA to 1080p scaler.
Powerpoint slides should be on a black background, and the whole deck should be formatted to an aspect ratio of 16x9 before you start putting content on the slides (otherwise the content will get stretched when you reformat). Here is a template powerpoint deck you can start with. (You can also download it at the bottom of this page.)
For non-powerpoint sources where you don't get to choose the color scheme, such as web pages, it can be useful to Invert your laptop's display, changing white backgrounds to black, dark text to light, etc. On a mac, the Invert control is at System Preferences / Accessibility.
I've been happy using a very simple editor, MPEG Streamclip, that works natively in H.264 format rather than "transcoding" the video up and back to other formats. Transcoding is slow, reduces video quality, inflates file size, and often messes up audio/video sync.
MPEG Streamclip allows you to trim clips or concatenate clips, and that's about all. After trimming, use "save as", not "export", to avoid transcoding.
You can directly upload these .mp4 files to youtube, vimeo, etc. The H.264 encoding is what they like best.


Posts tagged "Securities Fraud and Misrepresentation"
On behalf of Russell L. Forkey, P.A. posted in Securities and Securities Fraud on Sunday, May 14, 2017.
South Florida Unregistered Investment Adviser Fraud and Misrepresentation Attorney.
On behalf of Russell L. Forkey, P.A. posted in SEC Enforcement Actions 2016 on Saturday, February 13, 2016.
On behalf of Russell L. Forkey, P.A. posted in SEC Enforcement Actions 2015 on Tuesday, December 1, 2015.


It was finally time to hand back the keys to Britain's most iconic landmark, the Tower of London.
General Lord Dannatt was saying farewell as the 159th Constable of the Tower on his retirement.
The public ceremony was attended by the famous Beefeaters and the Queen's Colour Squadron of the RAF.
Lord Dannatt, as the Queen's representative at The Tower, championed the poppies art installation 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' in 2014 to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
He also helped raise millions of pounds for service charities, campaigned for the conservation of the Tower chapels and was on the board of trustees for Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for The Tower.
He stepped down from the post on Friday after almost seven years. General Sir Nicholas Houghton takes over when he is installed as the new Constable later this year.


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Fall for the grand architecture of France
More than merely a gateway to the French capital, Le Havre is a major port city that was almost completely rebuilt after World War II. Take time to discover its concrete grandeur before you head inland to the art, fashion and haute cuisine of Paris. Instantly recognisable icons, Michelin Star restaurants and priceless artistic treasures make it a much loved-destination.
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Le Havre, translated to English as 'the harbour', was established in 1517 by King Francis I. It has long been the port of choice for mariners and international traders thanks to its prime location. Situated on the banks of the River Seine estuary, it offers accessible docking, as well as onward passage to Normandy's inland cities.
The majority of the city was devastated in 1944, though it rose from the ashes after World War II with the help of Belgian architect Auguste Perret. A pioneer in utilising reinforced concrete as a cheap and versatile material, he reconstructed Le Havre with such bold grandeur that it has been recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. View his striking work throughout the urban centre and at the sky-scraping octagonal tower of St Joseph's Church.
Other notable architectural feats include Le Volcan cultural centre and the light-filled André Malraux Museum of Modern Art (MuMa), where Monet's 'Waterlilies' is on display. Away from the industrial hustle and bustle you'll find a large yachting marina, a hut-lined pebble beach and the wonderfully contemporary Les Bains des Docks aquatic centre and swimming pools.
A couple of hours from Le Havre is magnificent Paris, where history and culture can be found at every turn. First time visitors will undoubtedly want to visit the iconic Eiffel Tower - a wrought iron marvel that's become the symbol of France's capital city. Three observation levels, including two restaurants, offer panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and are a common place for smitten lovers to get engaged. The Arc de Triomphe monument on the Champs-Elysée is a must-see, as are the Louvre museum and the Gothic gargoyles of the 12th century Notre Dame Cathedral.
Aside from the many major attractions, Paris offers a wealth of memorable experiences. Parisians are famed for passion for food, fashion and style so a stroll through the streets gives a true flavour of this decadent lifestyle. Browse haute couture clothing through boutique windows, succumb to delicious temptation in a vibrant patisserie, follow your nose to a local market or walk arm-in-arm over the cobblestone bridges of the Seine.


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Our client is currently seeking a Utilization Review (RN) who will gather and conduct clinical information to permit services. This is a full-time, contract to hire position.
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Our client is currently seeking an RN Case Manager who will handle in-home patient care, hospitals, and nursing homes. This is a full-time, permanent position.


In the wake of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers and gun-control advocates have argued that a full ban on "assault-style" weapons and high-capacity magazines is the only way to ensure the safety of children in educational institutions, but school administrators across the country have other ideas in mind.
Some school districts have already implemented, and more are now considering, giving teachers and other employees the option to carry a concealed weapon on school grounds.
The Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, passed in 1990 and signed by then-President George H.W. Bush, made it unlawful for individuals to knowingly carry loaded or unsecured firearms within 1,000 feet of a school zone. The law—which applies to public, private, and parochial institutions—included a provision to allow firearms on school premises if they are used in a program approved by the school board or are in accordance with a contract entered into between a school and an individual or an employer of the individual. That section of the bill has sparked the interest of school administrators in finding innovative alternatives to ensuring the safety of students and employees, while not undermining the budgetary commitments their institutions have to provide a quality education.
Ensuring school safety is officially supposed to be the domain of school resource officers, sworn law enforcement officers responsible for "safety and crime prevention in schools." Since the recession depleted local revenue sources, however, school districts have found it increasingly difficult to find the funds needed to cover their total operating expenditures, let alone an extra staff member. A study conducted by the Department of Justice in 2010 found that there were an estimated 13,056 full-time local police officers serving the country's over 98,000 public schools as school resource officers. The study, which did not account for parochial or private schools, found this was at least 1,300 fewer than the number in 2003.
The Department of Justice did not repeat its study after 2010, so the exact number of school resource officers today is unknown. According to a 2015 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, however, only 30 percent of public schools surveyed had at least one full-time or part-time resource officer on campus at least once a week.
The Lexington Herald-Leader first reported on Tuesday that a school district in Pike County, Kentucky, was considering allowing teachers and school employees the ability to carry concealed firearms on school premises. The decision came on the heels of school shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which left 17 dead, and at a western Kentucky high school, which left two dead in January.
Under the proposal being considered, employees of Pike County Schools would be eligible to volunteer to serve as concealed-carry guards. The volunteers would have to clear a background check, drug test, mental evaluation, and pass a rigorous evaluation course led by the local sheriff's office to ensure they are properly trained in firearms safety.
Pike County Schools Superintendent Reed Adkins told the Herald-Leader that the decision to allow teachers to serve as concealed-carry guards was not easy, but it was one he was willing to take to ensure the safety of all the children in his district.
"You hope you're making the right decision for kids, but I know right now something's got to be done," Adkins said. "We may be criticized, but at the end of the day I'll take criticism to protect my students."
A study conducted by the Kentucky Center for School Safety found there were roughly 230 resource officers in over half of the state's counties.
The initiative under consideration in Pike County is similar to measures adopted by the Clarksville Public School District in Arkansas. Clarksville made the decision in 2013 to invest in training district employees to serve as concealed-carry guards after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school.
Clarksville Public Schools Superintendent David Hopkins told the Washington Free Beacon the choice was influenced by needing to balance the everyday economics of running a school district, especially in the face of shrinking revenue sources, with protecting the lives of students and teachers in an increasingly volatile time.
"Part of what drove us to do what we did was the funding and logistical challenges facing school districts across the country," Hopkins said.
"I can hire a school resource officer for $50,000 to $60,000 annually but that's only one person. This program has allowed us to train nearly 20 people for that same price," Hopkins added. "Furthermore, the annual costs to ensure those individuals comply with evolving safety standards are nearly half what it would cost to have one resource officer on staff."
"Given the climate and atmosphere, the only way to prevent another tragedy, like the one that recently occurred in Florida, is to ensure that there are armed guards in schools," Hopkins said. "We're doing that."
Proposals to allow teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons are picking up steam across the country.
On Wednesday, legislation empowering individual school districts to set their own policies on allowing staffers to carry guns on school campuses cleared an initial hurdle in the Tennessee House of Representatives. As the impetus for action, the legislation's sponsors cited the fact that only 40 percent of Tennessee public school students are protected by school resource officers.
The momentum followed the lead of states like Utah and Texas, which have allowed individuals to hold firearms on school premises with a concealed carry permit for years. In Texas alone, there are 172 school districts where teachers are allowed to do so, according to a review conducted by the Texas Association of School Boards.


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Falmouth resident shares lasting turbine troubles
Posted By Wind Watch Highlight On August 29, 2018 @ 12:00 pm In Massachusetts | Comments Disabled
Wind 1 and Wind 2, the two 1.65-megawatt turbines the Town of Falmouth installed on industrial-zoned land between 2009 and 2010, no longer turn or generate electricity.
However, Falmouth residents Neil P. Andersen and Elizabeth L. Andersen said they still feel the aftereffects from the turbines and from their legal fight against them.
At risk today is the couple's house on Blacksmith Shop Road, a home that Mr. Andersen said last Tuesday, August 21, that he built in 1990 and to which he has made multiple additions over two decades.
Mr. Andersen said he and his wife are struggling to afford their mortgage after paying more than $100,000 in legal fees and with the resulting time away from his construction business.
The Town of Falmouth offered to buy the property in 2013, but the Andersens did not accept the offer.
"All I have is my house. I don't own a boat, and we don't take vacations," Mr. Andersen said, pointing to a small pond he created in his front yard in memory of a relative who died from leukemia. "What am I supposed to do with all of this?"
The Andersens, who abut Wind 1 by 1,300 feet, sued the town in September 2012. They claimed the structure's operation disrupted their ability to enjoy their property.
The couple sought damages for physical injury, loss of property value and loss of income.
In April 2017, a Barnstable Superior Court jury found in favor of the Town of Falmouth in a nuisance trial concerning Wind 1 and the Andersen property.
"The jury determined there was no nuisance at the property and awarded no damages," Falmouth town counsel Frank K. Duffy said at the time.
The details of the town's offer to purchase the house nearly four years ago are still confidential, Mr. Andersen said last week.
"Basically, the offer said the town will buy our house for fair market value and we'll get three estimates," he said. "We'll buy your house, we'll give you a rental fee until you move, and in the meantime you have to dismiss all the other lawsuits. You have to file with the registry that the nuisance has been eliminated, and as soon as you sign this agreement, we get to turn the turbines up, to do what we want with them."
Mr. Andersen said that he and his wife "were the only ones holding them back from running the turbines 24 hours a day because of the noise violation on our house."
"We've got other neighbors with almost the same distress as us, but the town didn't care about those [people]; they didn't really care about us," he said. "It shows in the offer. All they really wanted to do was run the turbines."
When Town Manager Julian M. Suso first presented the offer, which the Falmouth Board of Selectmen approved in November 2013, Mr. Andersen said he and his wife "didn't even want to answer because it was so hurtful."
"What about moving expenses, what about everything that we've lost?" he said. "We counter-offered. In general we agreed [to the offer], but we weren't going to sign this. The town came to court with all this paperwork; they figured they've got a deal with us. We said we don't have any deal, we thought we were still negotiating, so we went to court for a hearing for the special permit for Wind 1, and the judge shut the turbines down back to 12 hours [from 14 hours a day] and also shut them off on Sundays."
Soon after, Mr. Andersen said an outside attorney hired by the town and paid for by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center said publicly that there was an agreement and that the Andersens had rejected their own counter-proposal.
In 2015, Mr. Suso called the town's proposed settlement "comprehensive and reasonable."
Since that time, Mr. Andersen said he and his wife have been "attacked" often in the press and occasionally in public by some wind energy advocates in Falmouth.
"A person in line at a store once said to me, 'So you're the guy who's costing me all this extra money on my taxes,'" he said. "We've gotten letters from windies. We've had people throw eggs at our house."
In his basement near his barely used woodshop, he has three large containers packed with legal paperwork, newspaper articles and letters related to the turbines.
Mr. Andersen said there is a general misunderstanding that he is anti-wind.
"In the early '80s, before they had an energy committee, I was the Falmouth representative to what was then called the Barnstable County Energy Task Force," he said. "I started my business back in the '80s putting up solar hot-water systems and building houses, so when I saw the wind turbine coming up, I said, 'This is cool, it goes all along with what I believe in.' I kind of welcomed it, but then when it went up I said, 'Wow, that thing's pretty big and it's pretty close,' and then it started turning. It took me three weeks to notice the effects. My wife and a couple of the neighbors noticed the very first night."
The turbines cause a subaudible, low-frequency pulse that has been measured and confirmed by experts inside and outside the Andersen's house, Mr. Andersen said.
"This is a pounding pulse that you can't hear, but it gets into your chest cavity. It's extremely distressing. It mimics your heartbeat and you cannot sleep; it just drives you nuts," he said.
These "brain-rattling pulses" affected his ability to work and earn a living.
"I was having accidents with my table saw. I was dropping things. I couldn't focus," he said. "I would look at the wind speed and wind direction for the following day, and that would determine my day. We said, 'We'll leave for the day, we'll take off, we can't stay here.' We spent a lot of time away from the house. Luckily, we had a group of neighbors who worked with us to split the costs and split the knowledge. It got us this far. But nobody [else] really believed us. Nobody understood."
Mr. Andersen decided to help educate lawmakers at the Massachusetts State House and in communities as far away as Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
"I spent an awful lot of time, and I know that I helped a lot of other people," he said. "It's not the wind turbines. The problem has to do with size and proximity. That's all it is. They're too big, too close. They're utility-size; they're made to pump out power for the utilities."
Day O. Mount, a Blacksmith Shop Road resident and former US ambassador to Iceland, said Monday, August 27, that the turbines "were certainly a terrible problem" when they were operating and that he did have health impacts because of them.
"I testified to those health effects with the zoning board of appeals and the board of health," he said. "It was an awful time. Sadly, most people in Falmouth couldn't relate to it or didn't believe it, so it was difficult in that way as well. I can't say that I have any ongoing health effects, and that is a blessing. It is wonderful not having to contend with that anymore, to be able to go outside to work."
Of Mr. Andersen, Mr. Mount said, "Neil is a very good neighbor, always trustworthy, and he's helped us out a number of times. He is honest, straightforward and trustworthy. I hold Neil in high regard. He did the right thing fighting the turbines. I also felt we went about it in the right way: we went to the meetings, we did our due diligence and we worked our way up through town government. When the town was not responsive, we had to go to the courts, but we were always open, we didn't make personal attacks. Fortunately, we were successful after a time."
Today, Mr. Andersen said he has ringing in his ears and has lost two teeth due to grinding while sleeping, both of which he attributes to stress from the turbines.
On the financial side, he said he and his wife have traded in all the stock they owned as well as 90 percent of his retirement policy.
"So now I'm 65 and I've got a mortgage I really can't afford for this big house I really don't want at this stage," he said. "There's two of us here. I'm just kind of stuck, you know. So people ask me how I'm doing, and I say I'm not doing good. I just want people to know."
Despite a two-year moratorium on the turbines later on, Mr. Andersen said that before Wind 1 started turning in March 2010, the town had made no outreach to nearby residents.
"There were no noise tests. There was no special permit hearing," he said. "The wind turbine went up, boom. The town said, 'We're going to put it up, period, and see what happens.'"
The Andersens are now painting and fixing up the house to put it on the market for sale eventually.
"Hopefully, there will be enough equity that we can move," Mr. Andersen said, hanging his head. "It'll be out of town, as much as I love Falmouth. Falmouth's a beautiful town. We just don't feel welcome here, to be honest with you. It's taken its toll. I had so many plans for this house."
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/08/29/falmouth-resident-shares-lasting-turbine-troubles/