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Why American Christians Love Satan
Just like their historical forbears, American believers like to blame bad things on the devil. But what if he's just a convenient way to hide from the truth?
Matthew Paul Turner
Dave Martin/AP
In America, much like God, Satan works in mysterious ways. Just how mysterious depends on who you talk to.
For instance, a good number of Christians became convinced that Satan made an appearance at last month's Grammy Awards. While Christians detecting Satan's presence at large music gatherings is hardly novel, the fact that Satan showed up right smack in the middle of a performance by Katy Perry and Juicy J. caused this particular sighting to be deemed more buzzworthy than most. Some evangelicals even speculated about whether or not Perry, while singing "Dark Horse," had enacted an ancient satanic ritual, one that had actually summoned the Prince of Darkness to join her on the Grammy stage.
So, did Perry & Co. really usher in forces of demonic destruction? Nobody knows for certain. The presence of Satan is difficult to confirm. Besides, among most Satan-fearing Christians, things like confirmation and proof are overrated.
That said, not only did Perry's alleged invite to Satan cause a gnashing of tweets, but the spectacle was demonic enough to send one well-known Christian artist in attendance darting for the exit, tweeting to her fan base as she bolted. One religious broadcaster called the performance satanic and then blamed the Beatles. Jesus-loving conspiracy theorist, Mark Dice, called Perry a "Babylonian bimbo" and then went on to declare her a "slithering servant of Satan."
In 2013, a poll conducted by YouGov found that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe in a literal Devil. It's no surprise that, of those surveyed, believing in Satan was most popular among those who identified as Protestant, Catholic, or Christian. Eighty-six percent of the participants who identified as the latter answered "yes" to believing in Satan. But much like belief in God is weaved throughout our country's history, so to is our national history intertwined with a strong belief in the Devil.
In 1638, according to John Winthrop, mysterious ways meant that the Prince of Darkness caused several "rebellious" Puritan women to give birth to stillborn monsters, babies Winthrop described in his diary as having "horns, hard and sharp," a "back full of sharp pricks and scales" and "on each foot three claws, like a young fowl."
To Jonathan Edwards, the man that many call America's greatest theologian, Lucifer was an almighty "counterfeit," one who could mimic even the "graces of the Spirit of God" with miraculous precision. A mouthful, even for a Calvinist.
Billy Sunday, America's favorite preacher in the early 1900s, used Satan as a comedic device. Sunday's most famous sermon—a fundamentalist ditty called "Fighting the Devil" —was an almighty one-two punch of hardcore preaching and aw-shucks sensibilities. Nonetheless, Sunday's message not only convinced thousands of people to become very afraid of the devil; the action-packed boxing match with Satan that Sunday performed in the middle of that sermon also entertained them, often concluding to thunderous applause.
In the 1950s, as popularized by a wide range of American preachers and evangelists, Satan became the mastermind of popular culture, especially music. Not only was the Great Tempter deceitful, dangerous, and hoping to help us reserve our spots in hell, the devil was also extraordinarily creative. And quite connected, too. From Elvis to the Beatles to even Pat Boone, according to one preacher or another, Satan was using most popular singers and musicians to coax us into sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, recreational drug use, and dancing. In the late 1970s, a Louisiana preacher named Jacob Aranza proclaimed that Satan had began hiding devilish messages on some of Rock & Roll's most popular albums. According to Aranza, the subconsciouses of America's youth were being controlled—or at best negatively affected—by short Satan-laced messages that bands were "backwards masking" into their songs. For instance, Aranza believed that Satan had hidden the message "Satan move in our voices" in the song "Snowblind" by Styxx.
But who is Satan among today's American Christians? W. Scott Poole, a professor of history at the College of Charleston and author of Satan in America: The Devil We Know, told me, "In the United States over the last forty to fifty years, a composite image of Satan has emerged that borrows from both popular culture and theological sources." Most of America's Christians, according to Poole, don't or can't "separate what they know from the movies from what they know from various ecclesiastical and theological traditions."
Poole is right: today's Christians do seem to have a wide and varied understanding of who Satan is and what role he plays in people's lives. According to today's believers, Satan can be anything from an evil spirit who gets called up from hell by Katy Perry to one that dwells in the heart of President Obama to one that is warring against men via feminism to one who possesses the bodies of Beyonce, Oprah, Denzel Washington, and Nicki Minaj to one that leads American media in revolt against Russian policies. Faith-based prophet Bob Larson made a mighty good living casting out Satan and demons from the bodies of the possessed—sometimes via Skype. Even John Piper, one of Reformed theology's chief American cheerleaders, seems to possess an entire theology about Satan, a spiritual thinking that makes Satan not only a scholar of the Bible but positions the Evil One as basically God's fall guy, the force that gets bad things done.
"Our culture turns to [Satan] for language of evil because he's much more fun than real-world social problems," Poole writes. Rather than becoming weighted down by real issues, most Christians would rather "read about Lucifer in all his lurid majesty instead."
If that's true, then what, pray tell, are we supposed to do with Latoya Ammons's encounter with Satan, a "true story" that sounds more like something I've watched on the CW than what I've read in the Bible? The way Latoya tells it, shortly after she and her family moved into a rental home in Gary, Indiana, Satan started harassing them, scaring them with ghostly shadows, unexplained noises, muddy footprints, and horseflies. But then, she says that Satan began inhabiting her children's bodies, causing them to turn uncharacteristically mean and violent, giving them seizures, stomach aches, bruises, and causing them to bleed from their noses, ears, and gums. On a couple of occasions, Satan took full control of her kids's beings, levitating one child above her bed during a birthday party and causing another to walk backwards up the side of an emergency room wall and perform a backflip overtop of his grandmother's head. "[Satan] picked up my oldest boy and threw him off the porch," Latoya said, "[and] flipped him over…"
And that's just the beginning of Latoya's battle with the Devil. Her encounter with Satan has not only accumulated nearly 800 pages of official documentation—a report that includes testimonies from medics, police officers, social workers, and priests—but she also lost custody of her children for several months.
Despite all the supernatural horror in Latoya's story, the part that is perhaps the most revealing about American Christianity's relationship with Satan came when she explained her reason for going public with her unbelievable narrative: "I want this message to go out to non-believers because if you have witnessed the demon you have to know there is a Higher Power…"
Is that the true lure of Satan, the real reason that so many of America's Christians are seemingly in love with "seeing" and "encountering" Satan? Sure, the average Christian's encounter with Lucifer is child's play compared to horseflies and levitating kids. Still, the human need to prove our way of life might explain why so many Christians are a bit Satan-happy, seemingly ready to turn any event that we deem evil, frustrating, overwhelming, or contrary to our moral codes into credentials of the Unholy One. For many of us, finding the devil in the details of our everyday lives is to offer proof, to others and perhaps even ourselves, that God and Jesus are real and to bring greater weight and relevance to the practices of church and ministry.
Do we Christians need Satan? Can our God and faith exist without demons and devils? According to Poole, "there have been a number of Christian thinkers (Reinhold Niebuhr most prominently in American thought) who have not only not needed the idea of the demonic, but that actually find it as a kind of shell game, a very gothic and theatrical way to talk (or not talk) about the problem of evil."
But for many of us, whether we would admit it or not, Satan is as important to our American Christianity as is God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Is there any other group of people in America more fascinated and intoxicated with Satan than those of us who believe in Satan, fear Satan, proclaim Satan, speak for Satan, and bring Satan the most publicity?
For John Winthrop, Satan became little more than a name that he dropped whenever somebody dared to disagree with his perspectives about God, morality, and the way forward. Living constantly in fear of change, Winthrop often wrote in his journal statements like "the devil would never cease to disturb our peace." As much as he feared Satan, he also needed Satan. Because as much as he believed that Satan wanted to disrupt his peace, he also used Satan to vilify his enemies or those he deemed enemies to bring himself peace of mind.
Today, many of us Christians do the same. Satan is an easy go-to device for making villains out of people with whom we disagree. Satan is a name we drop when we are afraid of change. Satan is a big scary demon that we see when our logic fails to explain what's in front of us. Satan is an excuse we use when we aren't willing to face our own demons.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Sailsquare connects people who love sea and nature to people who organizes this sailing or adventure holidays. Through a "peer-to-peer" platform, travelers can join amazing experiences listed directly by local skippers and professionals.
Sailsquare is an easy way for professionals and travelers to meet with a secure and reliable system, but does not deal directly with the organization of the experiences that you can find on the platform. It lets users get in touch before booking a holiday so that they can virtually meet; in this way a dynamic social network is created.
By registering at the platform, it is possible to apply as a skipper or as tour leader. Every skipper/tour leader has to go through a selection process run by Sailsquare and after that he can list his own holiday proposals.
Other users can browse through the proposals with a search engine and then book the one they selected.
There are hundreds of listings anywhere in the world: every proposal is completed by various information concerning the holiday's organization. In addition, it is possible to see the profile of the people who have already joined the crew and the profile of the skipper/tour leader who organizes the experience, along with the feedbacks he received from other users who have already travelled with him.
Users can get in touch with the skipper/tour leader through the instant messaging service, they can ask him further information and then join the holiday by paying their participation fee online.
Sailsquare ensures the safety of the transactions by collecting participants money and then giving it to the organizer of the holiday when the experience starts; Sailsquare retains a fee on it.
By registering into Sailsquare platform you will join a community that gets bigger every day, made up of sea and nature lovers who want to share these wonderful experiences with people like you.


Here is a quick overview on several key elements to look out for when developing using the Razer Chroma SDK.
The Razer Laptop can be supported by simply using an API that is further explained in (2).
To ensure that your codes are future proof and supports any new Razer Chroma product, you are advised to develop using the generic matrix for our major product lines such as keyboards, mouse, mousemats, keypads and headsets. By using this way, you do not have to constantly update your code within the game/application to support new Razer Chroma products that Razer releases.
An API was developed to use the BlackWidow Chroma keyboard as a baseline to accurately map and support various regional language layouts and the Razer Blades.
This is due to our keyboard is featured in various layouts such as German, UK, French and even our laptops.
You can also test how your effects will appear on the Razer Blade line by downloading the emulator.
CHROMA_CUSTOM acts like a drawing canvas while CHROMA_CUSTOM_KEY gives you the canvas plus key effects regardless of physical or region layout.
This new API allows developers to create effects on keyboard without having to worry about the location of the physical keys. The data structure contains 2 x 2D array with one represents a canvas and the other key effects.
For an example, when an animated effect (wave) with blinking W, A, S, D effect runs on a BW Chroma with US layout, you will see the wave effect as the background and blinking W, A, S, D overlaying on top. Running this on a Blade will see the exact result despite the Blade having a different physical key layout compared to a BW Chroma. Running this effect on a French layout BW Chroma will yield the same result even though the localized key layout is different.
The difference between CHROMA_CUSTOM_KEY and CHROMA_CUSTOM is with CHROMA_CUSTOM, the effect will appear at the location as it is. Hence, different keyboard layouts will result in the effect appearing differently. With CHROMA_CUSTOM_KEY, the developer is guaranteed that effect appears the same for all keyboard layouts.
Why Code for Chroma Link?
Razer has an ever expanding 3rd Party Lighting ecosystem. Some examples: PC Cases, Home Lighting, Monitors and Chair/Desks.
From Chroma SDK 2.1.3 onwards, we have introduced a new API that allows developers to code for 5 virtual LEDs which will then be mapped to our growing 3rd Party Chroma ecosystem of products.
The Best Practices document will set a framework on what type of effects should be shown on each LED and it is key for developers to use it as a guide to ensure the best experience for the user.
Our growing ecosystem of partner products includes brands such as Lenovo (Monitors and Desktops), NZXT (PC Cases) and Lian Li (Desks). Having support will allow you to leverage off their immense following and marketing activities.
We have a wide range of developer tools that help makes the integration process as seamless as possible.
The application will allow you to try out the effects for each of our SDK supported devices. You are also able to view the source code to better understand how the code works.
Should you lack a particular device, the emulator will be able to simulate the Chroma effects for certain products. This will be the best way to test how your ChromaLink effects appear on the Philips Hue system.
We have a comprehensive set of tools from various game engine support (Unreal/Unity) to Chroma Effect Editors that can help make the integration process even simpler.
Enclose your application with the XML file to ensure that your app details are shown accurately within Razer Synapse.
Go through the Chroma Lighting Practices document so you'll have the know-how on designing the best possible Razer Chroma effects.
Check out the Chroma Workshop—the repository for all Razer Chroma supported games, apps and profiles. You can also share your game as well as application, and it could just become the next big thing.
You can reach out to our team for co-marketing opportunities at our Contact Us page.


ProQuest 5000 is one of the most comprehensive digital databases in the world. It includes in-depth coverage of more than 7,400 publications, and millions of complete articles are available online in various formats. The most wide-ranging database of its kind, ProQuest 5000 gives researchers access to combined information from several leading online databases: ABI/INFORM, Global, Pharmaceutical News Index, ProQuest Accounting, Tax Database, ProQuest Asian Business, ProQuest Banking Information Source, ProQuest Career, Technical Education, ProQuest Computing, ProQuest Education Journals, ProQuest European Business, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest Religion, ProQuest Telecommunications, and ProQuest Research Library. These are some of the most popular information resources in academic, government, and public research environments worldwide. Researchers turn to the databases for in-depth information from thousands of journals, newspapers, newsletters, and other leading publications.


If you liked Revelation Space you might like these books.
Dr. Dan Sylveste, an archaeologist who has for years been fascinated with the long-dead alien race the Amarantin, is about to discover something that could change the course of mankind. But before he can act on anything his wife is killed and he is captured when a coup sweeps across the planet Resurgam. Meanwhile, an astonishing ship bearing a crew of militaristic cyborgs and a kidnapped Gunnery Officer is bearing down on Resurgam, crossing light years of space to enlist Sylveste's help to save their metamorphosing Captain. Only Sylveste, or, more accurately, the software programme containing his father's knowledge that he carries in his mind, can save the Captain. None of them can anticipate the cataclysm that will result when they meet, a cataclysm that will sweep through space and could determine the ultimate fate of humanity.
Sylveste sood on the edge of the excavation and wondered if any of his labours would survive the night. The archeological dig was an array of deep square shafts separated by baulks of sheer-sided soil: the classical Wheeler box-grid. The shafts went down tens of metres, walled by transparent cofferdams spun from hyperdiamond. A million years of stratified geological history pressed against the sheets. But it would take only one good dustfall one good razorstorm to fill the shafts almost to the surface.
"Confirmation, sir," said one of his team, emerging from the crouched form of the first crawler. The man's voice was muffled behind his breather mask. "Cuvier's just issued a severe weather advisory for the whole North Nekhebet landmass. They're advising all surface teams to return to the nearest base."
"You're saying we should pack up and drive back to Mantell?"
"It's going to be a hard one, sir." The man fidgeted, drawing the collar of his jacket tighter around his neck. "Shall I issue the general evacuation order?"
Sylveste looked down at the excavation grid, the sides of each shaft brightly lit by the banks of floodlights arrayed around the area. Pavonis never got high enough at these latitudes to provide much useful illumination; now, sinking towards the horizon and clotted by great cauls of dust, it was little more than a rusty-red smear, hard for his eyes to focus on. Soon dust devils would come, scurrying across the Ptero Steppes like so many overwound toy gyroscopes. Then the main thrust of the storm, rising like a black anvil.
"No," he said. "There's no need for us to leave. We're well sheltered here there's hardly any erosion pattering on those boulders, in case you hadn't noticed. If the storm becomes too harsh, we'll shelter in the crawlers."
The man looked at the rocks, shaking his head as if doubting the evidence of his ears. "Sir, Cuvier only issue an advisory of this severity once every year or two it's an order of magnitude above anything we've experienced before."
"Speak for yourself," Sylveste said, noticing the way the man's gaze snapped involuntarily to his eyes and then off again, embarrassed. "Listen to me. We cannot afford to abandon this dig. Do you understand?"
The man looked back at the grid. "We can protect what we've uncovered with sheeting, sir. Then bury transponders. Even if the dust covers every shaft, we'll be able to find the site again and get back to where we are now." Behind his dust goggles, the man's eyes were wild, beseeching. "When we return, we can put a dome over the whole grid. Wouldn't that be the best, sir, rather than risk people and equipment out here?"
Sylveste took at step closer to the man, forcing him to step back towards the grid's closest shaft. "You're to do the following. Inform all dig teams that they carry on working until I say otherwise, and that there is to be no talk of retreating to Mantell. Meanwhile, I want only the most sensitive instruments taken aboard the crawlers. Is that understood?"
"But what about people, sir?"
"People are to do what they came out here to do. Dig."
Sylveste stared reproachfully at the man, almost inviting him to question the order, but after a long moment of hesitation the man turned on his heels and scurried across the grid, navigating the tops of the baulks with practiced ease. Spaced around the grid like down-pointed cannon, the delicate imaging gravitometers swayed slightly as the wind began to increase.
Sylveste waited, then followed a similar path, deviating when he was a few boxes into the grid. Near the centre of the excavation, four boxes had been enlarged into one single slab-sided pit, thirty metres from side to side and nearly as deep. Sylveste stepped onto the ladder which led into the pit and moved quickly down the side. He had made the journey up and down this ladder so many times in the last few weeks that the lack of vertigo was almost more disturbing than the thing itself. Moving down the cofferdam's side, he descended through layers of geological time. Nine hundred thousand years had passed since the Event. Most of that stratification was permafrost typical in Resurgam's subpolar latitudes; permanent frost-soil which never thawed. Deeper down close to the Event itself was a layer of regolith laid down in the impacts which had followed. The Event itself was a single, hair-fine black demarcation the ash of burning forests.
The floor of the pit was not level, but followed narrowing steps down to a final depth of forty metres below the surface. Extra floods had been brought down to shine light into the gloom. The cramped area was a fantastical hive of activity, and within the shelter of the pit there was no trace of the wind. The dig team was working in near-silence, kneeling on the ground on mats, working away at something with tools so precise they might have served for surgery in another era. Three were young students from Cuvier born on Resurgam. A servitor skulked beside them awaiting orders. Though machines had their uses during a dig's early phases, the final work could never be entirely trusted to them. Next to the party a woman sat with a compad balanced on her lap, displaying a cladistic map of Amarantin skulls. She saw Sylveste for the first time he had climbed quietly and stood up with a start, snapping shut the compad. She wore a greatcoat, her black hair cut in a geometric fringe across her brow.
"Well, you were right," she said. "Whatever it is, it's big. And it looks amazingly well-preserved, too."
"That's where you come in, isn't it? I'm just here to offer commentary." Pascale Dubois was a young journalist from Cuvier. She had been covering the dig since its inception, often dirtying her fingers with the real archeaologists, learning their cant. "The bodies are gruesome, though, aren't they? Even though they're alien, it's almost as if you can feel their pain."
To one side of the pit, just before the floor stepped down, they had unearthed two stone-lined burial chambers. Despite being buried for nine hundred thousand years at the very least the chambers were almost intact, with the bones inside still assuming a rough anatomical relationship to one another. They were typical Amarantin skeletons. At first glance to anyone who happened not to be a trained anthropologist they could have passed as human remains, for the creatures had been four-limbed bipeds of roughly human size, with a superficially similar bone-structure. Skull volume was comparable, and the organs of sense, breathing and communication were situated in analogous positions. But the skulls of both Amarantin were elongated and birdlike, with a prominent cranial ridge which extended forwards between the voluminous eye-sockets, down to the tip of the beaklike upper jaw. The bones were covered here and there by a skein of tanned, desiccated tissue which had served to contort the bodies, drawing them or so it seemed into agonised postures. They were not fossils in the usual sense: no mineralisation had taken place, and the burial chambers had remained empty except for the bones and the handful of technomic artefacts with which they had been buried.
"Perhaps," Sylveste said, reaching down and touching one of the skulls, "we were meant to think that."
"No," Pascale said. "As the tissue dried, it distorted them."
"Unless they were buried like this."
Feeling the skull through his gloves they transmitted tactile data to his fingertips he was reminded of a yellow room high in Chasm City, with aquatints of methane icescapes on the walls. There had been liveried servitors moving through the guests with sweetmeats and liqueurs; drapes of coloured crepe spanning the belvedered ceiling; the air bright with sicky entoptics in the current vogue: seraphim, cherubim, hummingbirds, faeries. He remembered guests: most of them associates of the family; people he either barely recognized or detested, for his friends had been few in number. His father had been late as usual; the party already winding down by the time Calvin deigned to show up. This was normal then; the time of Calvin's last and greatest project, and the realisation of it was in itself a slow death; no less so than the suicide he would bring upon himself at the project's culmination.
He remembered his father producing a box, its sides bearing a marquetry of entwined ribonucleic strands.
"Open it," Calvin had said.
He remembered taking it; feeling its lightness. He had snatched top off to reveal bird's nest of fibrous packing material. Within was a speckled brown dome the same colour as the box. It was the upper part of a skull, obviously human, with the jaw missing.
He remembered a silence falling across the room.
"Is that all?" Sylveste had said, just loud enough so that everyone in the room heard it. "An old bone? Well, thanks, Dad. I'm humbled."
"As well you should be," Calvin said.
And the trouble was, as Sylveste had realised almost immediately, Calvin was right. The skull was incredibly valuable; two hundred thousand years old a woman from Atapuerca, Spain, he soon learned. Her time of death had been obvious enough from the context in which she was buried, but the scientists who had unearthed her had refined the estimate using the best techniques of their day: potassium-argon dating of the rocks in the cave where she'd been buried, uranium-series dating of travertine deposits on the walls, fission-track dating of volcanic glasses, thermoluminescence dating of burnt flint fragments. They were techniques which with improvements in calibration and application remained in use among the dig teams on Resurgam. Physics allowed only so many methods to date objects. Sylveste should have seen all that in an instant and recognised the skull for what it was: the oldest human object on Yellowstone, carried to the Epsilon Eridani system centuries earlier, and then lost during the colony's upheavals. Calvin's unearthing of it was a small miracle in itself.
Yet the flush of shame he felt stemmed less from ingratitude than from the way he had allowed his ignorance to unmask itself, when it could have been so easily concealed. It was a weakness he would never allow himself again. Years later, the skull had travelled with him to Resurgam, to remind him always of that vow.
He could not fail now.
"If what you're implying is the case," Pascale said, "then they must have been buried like that for a reason."
"Maybe as a warning," Sylveste said, and stepped down towards the three students.
"I was afraid you might say something like that," Pascale said, following him. "And what exactly might this terrible warning have concerned?"
"The Event happened to the Amarantin," Pascale said. "It wasn't anything they had any say in. And it happened quickly, too. They didn't have time to go about burying bodies in dire warning, even if they'd had any idea about what was happening to them.""They angered the gods," Sylveste said.
"Yes," Pascale said. "I think we all agree that they would have interpreted the Event as evidence of theistic displeasure, within the contraints of their belief system but there wouldn't have been time to express that belief in any permanent form before they all died, much less bury bodies for the benefit of future archeologists from a different species." She lifted her hood over her head and tightened the drawstring fine plumes of dust were starting to settle down into the pit, and the air was no longer as still as it had been a few minutes earlier. "But you don't think so, do you?" Without waiting for an answer, she fixed a large pair of bulky goggles over her eyes, momentarily disturbing the edge of her fringe, and looked down at the object which was slowly being uncovered.
Pascale's goggles accessed data from the imaging gravitometers stationed around the Wheeler grid, overlaying the stereoscopic picture of buried masses on the normal view. Sylveste had only to instruct his eyes to do likewise. The gound on which they were standing turned glassly, insubstantial a smoky matrix in which something huge lay entombed. It was an obelisk a single huge block of shaped rock, itself encased in a series of stone sarcophagi. The obelisk was twenty metres tall. The dig had exposed only a few centimetres of the top. There was evidence of writing down one side, in one of the standard late-phase Amarantin graphicforms. But the imaging gravitometres lacked the spatial resolution to reveal the text. The obelisk would have to be dug out before they could learn anything.
Sylveste told his eyes to return to normal vision. "Work faster," he told his students. "I don't care if you incur minor abrasions to the surface. I want at least a metre of it visible by the end of tonight."
One of the students turned to him, still kneeling. "Sir, we heard the dig would have to be abandoned."
"Why on earth would I abandon a dig?"
"Damn the storm." He was turning away when Pascale took his arm, a little too roughly.
"They're right to be worried, Dan." She spoke quietly, for his benefit alone. "I heard about that advisory, too. We should be heading back toward Mantell."
"We might never find it, even if we bury a transponder." He knew he was right: the position of the dig was uncertain and maps of this area were not particularly detailed; compiled quickly when the Lorean had made orbit from Yellowstone forty years earlier. Ever since the comsat girdle had been destroyed in the mutiny, twenty years later when half the colonists elected to steal the ship and return home there had been no accurate way of determining position on Resurgam. And many a transponder had simply failed in a razorstorm.
"It's still not worth risking human lives for," Pascale said.
"It might be worth much more than that." He snapped a finger at the students. "Faster. Use the servitor if you must. I want to see the top of that obelisk by dawn."
Sluka, his senior research student, muttered a word under her breath.
"Something to contribute?" Sylveste asked.
Sluke stood for what must have been the first time in hours. He could see the tension in her eyes. The little spatula she had been using dropped on the ground, beside the mukluks she wore on her feet. She snatched the mask away from her face, breathing Resurgam air for a few seconds while she spoke. "We need to talk."
"About what, Sluka?"Sluka gulped down air from the mask before speaking again. "You're pushing your luck, Dr. Sylveste."
"You've just pushed yours over the precipice."
She seemed not to have heard him. "We care about your work, you know. We share your beliefs. That's why we're here, breaking our backs for you. But you shouldn't take us for granted." Her eyes flashed white arcs, glancing towards Pascale. "Right now you need all the allies you can find, Dr. Sylveste."
"That's a threat, is it?"
"A statement of fact. If you paid more attention to what was going on elsewhere in the colony, you'd know that Girardieau's planning to move against you. The word is that move's a hell of a lot closer than you think."
The back of his neck prickled. "What are you talking about?"
"What else? A coup." Sluka pushed past him to ascend the ladder up the side of the pit. When she had a foot on the first rung, she turned back and addressed the other two students, both minding their own business, heads down in concentration as they worked to reveal the obelisk. "Work for as long as you want, but don't say no one warned you. And if you've any doubts as to what being caught in a razorstorm is like, take a look at Sylveste."
One of the students looked up, timidly. "Where are you going, Sluka?"
"To speak to the other dig teams. Not everyone may know about that advisory. When they hear, I don't think many of them will be in any hurry to stay."
She started climbing, but Sylveste reached up and grabbed the heal of her mukluk. Sluke looked down at him. She was wearing the mask now, but Sylveste could still see the contempt in her expression. "You're finished, Sluka."
"No," she said, climbing. "I've just begun. It's you I'd worry about."
Sylveste examined his own state of mind and found it was the last thing he had expected total calm. But it was like the calm that existed on the metallic hydrogen oceans of the gas giant planets further out from Pavonis only maintained by crushing pressures from above and below.
"There's someone I need to talk to," Sylveste said.


¥ The NII may fail to provide universal access.
on its design and operation.
¥ There is a danger that carriers will control content on the NII.
¥ NII services may emphasize commerce at the expense of communication.
¥ Public access to government information may be restricted.
¥ The NII may fail to provide a vital public space.
¥ The NII may fail to protect individual privacy.
¥ Global communication using the NII may be restricted.
¥ Consider the social impact of NII development.
¥ Guarantee equitable and universal access to network services.
¥ Promote widespread economic benefits.
¥ Promote diversity in content markets.
¥ Provide access to government services over the Nll.
¥ Protect the public spaces necessary to foster community development.
¥ Encourage democratic participation in the design and development of the NII.
¥ Think globally rather than nationally.
be designed to meet the needs of all.
potential as a source of public information.
participation in the political process and civic life has eroded considerably.
the need for local doctors.
will be unable to communicate freely.
constraints on what the software can achieve.
people to effectively exercise their fundamental right to communicate.
ensure competition among ideas andinformation providers.
of work and to promote equity in the workplace.
6. Privacy. Privacy should be carefully protected and extended.
policy-making for the information infrastructure.
versatile, well- documented, stable, reliable, and extensible.
Part 3 of this report elaborates on these eight principles.
market and to ensure that the public-interest goals are met.
companies are allowed to control both carrier and content.
information age into everyone's reach.
addresses more technical aspects of the NII.
that the Administration seek to establish the following general policies.
ensure that it continues to serve the public interest.
regulation. taxation. and direct subsidies.
market is both fair and open.
government services a central aspect of the NII design.
from controlling the design of the NII and the operational "rules of the game."
countries become part of the global information infrastructure.
be supported in the NII design.
allow for the broadest possible participation in the process.
encourage the same sort of experimentation and evolutionary development.
already exist in the United States today.
pay with a credit card.
useful model for the NII.
Internet, which serves as background for the recommendations in Part 3.
itself or permit other networks to connect easily into the ARPANET framework.
...to be a part of the CPSR Experts List.
others who call for information about CPSR related issues.
Draper at 415-322- 3778 or send email to drape@cpsr.org.
mailed bulk rate and the postal service will not forward bulk mail.
that shares this common protocol.
gateways were developed as needed and operated with mixed results.
known collectively as the Internet.
the NSFNET backbone doubles every year.
keeping the network running that they perform much of the management themselves.
Even so, a certain amount of additional coordination is required.
access to the mid-level networks on an ability-to-pay basis.
generally pay a flat monthly or annual fee based on the speed of the connection.
Internet through their university or company.
The pricing strategy has a profound effect on the Internet.
much of its development in the past.
the network can only increase.
of allowing widespread participation in the process of running the network.
network services that provide space for public discussion.
problems, send email to ftp-admin@cpsr.org.
years illustrates the advantages of evolutionary standards.
trouble areas are already under investigation.
¥ The Internet is not connected with enough services of general interest.
compare move favorably with telephone or cable TV service.
often requires a high level of sophistication that many people do not have.
specific piece of information and represents a significant barrier to new users.
¥ The Internet offers no adequate mechanism for controlling antisocial behavior.
¥ The Internet lacks sufficient mechanisms to guarantee privacy and security.
underscores the failure of current network security policies.
for a large global system.
program is still in development and may be subject to change.
influence the development of the NII for the common good.
current and future access to public communication.
of these factors as we rework our informational infrastructure.
CPSR Members, $50; Non-CPSR members, $75; Low Income and Student $25.
Media Education, MIT Communication Forum.
Brown regarding the NII program.
The Information Infrastructure Task Force Advisory Council was named in January.
Graphics CEO Ed McCracken and National Public Radio President Delano Lewis.
the IITF gopher is located at IITF.doc.gov.
certain to skew the final recommendations. Isn't the Cold War over?
in detail in the CPSR report, Serving the Community).
Law School, 315 South Plymouth Court, Chicago IL 60604 for more information.
Sourcebook on Cryptography Policy. by Dave Banisar & Marc Rotenberg.
Controls, and new innovations in cryptographic technology. June 1993, 450 page .
21st Century Project Report. by Gary Chapman & Joel Yudkin.
technology policy. July 1993, 195 pages. $ 15.00.
everyday lives and work. December 1992, 312 pages,paperback book. $29.95.
Sarah Kuhn, Judith A. Meskill, & Michael M. Muller.
on Participatory Design. November 1992, 198 pages. $20.00.
Conference. Edited by Douglas Schuler.
Terry Winograd & Batya Friedman.
computers in education. 1990, 143 pages. $15.00.
pressing social needs. October 1992, 30 pages. $4.00.
again. The Alert covers the latest news from the Washington office.
CPU can also be found via anonymous ftp from cpsr.org in /cpsr/work.
interested in this position, please contact your chapter officers.
submits a statement of candidacy, as outlined below.
CA 94302. Our email address is cpsr@cpsr.org.
sessions and work groups over the two-day weekend.
interactive experience. The printed word cannot do justice to being there!
Policy. The first message he conveyed was "Government is here to help' .
is being shaped, and 4. opportunities.
which takes advantage of the technology?"
¥ How to implement electronic government given this economy and budget limits.
courtesy of Frank Brown, CPSR/Seattle.
disseminate the information - since improving access costs money.
controlling the way it is going to be built? How about the architecture problem?
representatives from industry, users, and politicians.
massive approach to NII organization.
information?" People worry about the absence of political and social power.
libraries can play a role to level the playing field when it comes to access.
Internet access to the public.
consider the potential impact of creating such a network.
of information in a community network to that of a television network news show.
COMPUTERS AND DEMOCRACY - WHAT'S THE CONNECTION?
Project), Laura Powers (Libraries for the Future).
trying to identify speech as property.
libraries are open, we are really losing out."
(Executive Director, Foundation for Healthcare Quality).
what some of the challenges the medical information field is facing today.
other countries that he suggested the United States should adopt.
of the 1993 Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility.
environmental and human rights topic.
Nicaragua, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, South Africa, and Argentina.
organizational recipient of this prestigious award.
providing such access ever since it was founded in 1986."
behalf of IGC at CPSR's annual meeting banquet in Seattle, Washington.
an integral part of his presentation.
of scientists in developing more powerful weapons shortly after Hiroshima.
U.C. Berkeley reentry program for women and minorities in computer science.
or send email to <sarah @igc.apc.org="">.
turned out to be, and all the problems are not yet resolved.
the NII is to respond to evolving needs.
possible using a less cooperative approach.
boards, and programs to mediate on-line conversations.
the formation of many such distributed communities.
centralized, oppressive viewpoint that further stratifies and polarizes society.
developing communities, and nurture true democracy.
and recommendations, highlighting their interrelationship.
have a profound effect on the future of democracy in America.
¥ Simple training in the effective use of these tools must be available.
supported by the NII must be available to all.
is increasingly met through electronic communication.
to determine their own operating policies, and domains available for public use.
distance between citizens and their government as nothing else can.
public spaces continue to exist in the NII, just as they do in today's Internet.
corner and speak one's mind.
for people to choose classes of messages they do and do not wish to receive.
reduce the distance between citizens and their government as nothing else can.
legislation, not merely to appeal it or vote on it.
should be accessible through this medium.
need to be informed citizens.
run, and which databases to scan.
that economies of scale prohibit.
commercial products can only improve both.
United States today are more directly affected by computing technology at work.
such jobs in the national economy.
may reduce the need for workers who now provide those services locally.
foresight, such changes can have a negative effect on total productivity.
of personal investment in the process.
when workers participate actively in the design process.
communications services that facilitate wire surveillance.
1. The confidentiality of electronic communications should be protected.
and regulation of telecommunication services.
limited to the extent necessary to provide the service.
their data collection practices to service users.
5. Users should not be required to pay for routine privacy protection.
needs with a minimum of infringement.
as it is to government.
complex systems that can be understood and used only by the technical elite.
work practices that have the potential of improving their work lives.
expertise of those involved in its development.
maintenance and redesign, and settings in the developing world.
possible, we urge you to draw on your own experience from concrete situations.
Submission requirements: Paper submissions should be no longer than 6000 words.
and background; list of potential panelists with a brief sketch of each.
Chair, Faculty of Library Information Science, University of Toronto, 140 St.
dinner and thus will not overlap with the papers/panels/workshops tracks.
proceedings distributed to conference participants.
We look forward to seeing you in North Carolina in the fall of 1994.
sacrificing the technical advantages of consistency and elegance of design.
antiquated. Infrastructure must be there when you need it.
economic priorities. It costs a lot of money to design a highly reliable system.
under which we wish to live. For all of its problems, government is essential.
challenge ourselves to do our best.
provide service to the marginal users.
economically and politically, by universal service.
way to offer access to everyone at an affordable, perhaps subsidized, price.
the NII, it is clear that they intend it to benefit all sectors of the U.S.
7 8 9 : ; < = > ?
noncommercial software to a wide audience.
affecting the public's use of the NII must be made openly and democratically.
large, have input into its design.
privacy and global communication will be enhanced.
Similar issues exist in the areas of security, censorship, and tariffs.
to favor individual companies rather than the public good. For example.
that citizens have access to public information.
is an issue of public policy as well as of design.
reducing the complexity of using the network.
NII must be easier to use than a VCR, possibly as simple as the telephone.
sectors. Moreover, the goal of universal connection will not happen overnight.
design the NII itself on that basis.
home delivery. Concentrating on high-volume services is more cost-effective.
full-function, residential service a priority in the NII design.
to generate new information and to publish that information through the network.
implications for the design of both the hardware and software for the NII.
must be heard on the NII, just as they are on the Internet today.
the NII itself and provide new value-added services.
that system make privacy a fundamental goal of the initial design.
At one time in U.S. history, different railroads used tracks of different sizes.
community to create new tools based on the open standard.
equipment and protocols will be even greater than it is today.
concentration, which would work against both competition and diversity.
technologies and changing patterns of use.
and to serve reliably when needed.
not an initial design goal.
Commonwealth. New York: Basic Books, 1988.
Bogart, Leo. "Shaping a New Media Policy." The Nation, July 12, 1993.
Public Interest Opportunity." CPSR Newsletter, Summer 1993.
Societal Goals. Carnegie Commission, 1992.
Electronic Frontier. Mapping the Terrain. 1991.
Information Infrastructure. CSPP's Vision and Recommendations for Action.
Internet." The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 26, 1993.
EDUCOM. "Bill of Rights and Responsibilities." EDUCOM Review, May/June 1993.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Books, 1984.
Gore, Albert. Information Infrastructure and Technology Act. U.S. Congress.
a Democratic Society." Third conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy.
Infrastructure Project, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, John F.
Kennedy School of Government, 1993.
Jeffersonian Information Policy." Wired, July/August 1993.
Krumenaker, Larry. "Virtual libraries, complete with journals, get real."
viewpoint." Government Publications Review, 1993.
National Information Infrastructure." cpsr.org: Taxpayers Assets Project, 1993.
Science and Technology, Fall 1993.
WI and London: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1988.
Communication Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1991.
Information Infrastructure: Agends for Action." Department of Commerce, 1993.
NSFNET. "Acceptable Use Policies." NSFNET, 1992.
Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress. Informing the Nation.
Federal Information Dissemination in an Electronic Age. 1988.
Schickle, Sandra. "The Economic Case for Public Subsidy of the Internet."
Schiller, Herbert. "Public Way or Private Road." The Nation, July 12, 1993.
York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Distribution of Power. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Sussman, Power. The Press &` The Technology of Freedom: The Coming of ISDN.
London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992.
are available at the CPSR FTP site cpsr.org.


The concerted action taken against him meant that Boycott was unable to hire anyone to harvest the crops in his charge. Eventually 50 Orangemen from Cavan and Monaghan volunteered to do the work. They were escorted to and from Claremorris by one thousand policemen and soldiers, despite the fact that the local Land League leaders had said that there would be no violence from them, and in fact no violence materialized. This protection ended up costing far more than the harvest was worth. After the harvest, the "boycott" was successfully continued. Within weeks Boycott's name was everywhere. It was used by The Times in November 1880 as a term for organized isolation. According to an account in the book "The Fall of Feudalism in Ireland" by Michael Davitt, the term was promoted by Fr. John O'Malley of County Mayo to "signify ostracism applied to a landlord or agent like Boycott". The Times first reported on November 20, 1880: "The people of New Pallas have resolved to 'boycott' them and refused to supply them with food or drink." The Daily News wrote on December 13, 1880: "Already the stoutest-hearted are yielding on every side to the dread of being 'Boycotted'." By January of the following year, the word was being used figuratively: "Dame Nature arose.... She 'Boycotted' London from Kew to Mile End" (The Spectator, January 22, 1881).
Girlcott is a neologism that combines "girl" and "boycott" to focus on strictly female boycotts. The term was coined in 1968 by American track star Lacey O'Neal during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, in the context of protests by male African American athletes. Speaking for black women athletes, she advised that the group would not "girlcott" the Olympic Games, because female athletes were still focused on being recognized. It also appeared in Time magazine in 1970, and was later used by retired tennis player Billie Jean King in reference to Wimbledon, to emphasize her argument regarding equal play for women players.
The term girlcott was revived in 2005 by a group of young women in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania protesting what they deemed sexist and degrading T-shirt slogans on Abercrombie & Fitch merchandise.


text:
Pakistan: Telecom License Fees
The cost of the spectrum must go up substantially since the last license 15 years ago. Pakistan's leading analyst Ikram Sehgal argues that the spectrum prices are generally higher when the economies are in high sovereign debt and limited access to financial markets.
By Ikram Sehgal | Via ViewsWeek
(Photo by panumas nikhomkhai, CC license)
The license of Telenor Pakistan and Jazz are due to expire later this month on 25 May 2019. Three days ago Jazz approached the Islamabad High Court asking for "clarity" on the terms of its license renewal that it says should be done "in an equitable, fair and transparent way." By saying this they mean that in their reading the license stipulates that the telecom operator is entitled to renew it at the same dollar price at which it was acquired. One of the problems with this would be that of deterioration of rupee value as against dollar as well as the change of the dollar value after 15 years. Another complaint of Jazz is that the renewal policy should have been announced by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) long time ago as the renewal application process should have started about 27 months ago. Given the time needed for such an exercise, their complaint is justified, three weeks before expiration of the license there is hardly any time to act. Another demand of Jazz is that they want the price for the renewal of their license fixed at the amount that Ufone has paid in 2014. Ufone renewed their license for $291 million after the expiry of 15 year period. This complaint is certainly not justified.
Formed by the merger of Mobilink and Warid in 2015, Jazz is the largest mobile network in Pakistan. It is owned by VimpelCom (now named VEON) a multinational telecommunication services company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. "With a reputation", VimpelCom predominantly operates services in the regions of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. It is majority-owned by Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia's wealthiest businessmen, and Telenor, which is majority-owned by the Norwegian government. In fact while they act independently in Pakistan, for all practical purposes they are a monopoly.
Fridman was born in 1964 in Lviv, Ukraine, (than USSR), where he spent his youth of Jewish origin, he is now not an Ukrainian national but holds both Russian and Israeli citizenship. Graduating from high school in Lviv in 1980 during university days he led a group of students who would queue for tickets at popular Moscow plays, and then use the tickets as hard currency to barter for rare goods and favors. in January 1991 Fridman co-founded Alfa-Bank which became largest bank of Russia. During an interview by the Financial Times Boris Berezovskij named Fridman and Aven as among the seven businessman and bankers who used to control most of the economy and media in Russia and who had helped bankroll Boris Yeltsin's 1996 re-election campaign. Fridman and Aven sold off most of their Russian government securities in early August 1998, prior to the ruble crisis of 17 August 1998, and emerged relatively unhurt from the 1998 Russian financial crisis
On 3 March 2015, L1 Energy acquired international oil and gas company DEA, from the German utility RWE, for $7 billion (€5.1 billion). Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany with extensive assets in the British North Sea, Fridman's LetterOne fund invested $200 million in Uber in Feb 2016. Acting as a holding company for the 48 percent stake in VimpelCom owned by Fridman and his partners, L1 Technology Fund also has a 13.2% share in the Turkish telecom company Turkcell, which since 2005 has been hampered by a long-running feud between its three largest shareholders: Cukurova owned by Turkcell founder Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, Fridman's LetterOne via Alfa Telecom/Altimo, and Sweden's Telia Company.
VimpelCom was accused of paying more US$ 114.5 million (the papers filed in the US say that it was US$ 350 million) to a "relative" of Karimov between 2006 and 2012 for mobile phone licenses and frequencies. This was detected in March 2014 when VimpelCom Company Headquarters in Amsterdam were raided by the Dutch authorities, including the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, Openbaar Ministerie (OM), obtaining documents about the companies illegal operations in Uzbekistan, they informed VimpelCom it was under investigation for dishonest conduct and paying bribes allegedly to Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbek president Islam Karimov. The business advantage obtained amounted to US$ 2.5 billion revenue generation in Uzbekistan, a country with a population of only slightly over 32 million (one-seventh of Pakistan's 200 million plus) according to World Bank (2017).
On 18 February 2016, VimpelCom announced its settlements with the US and Dutch authorities. Under the terms of its resolution with the SEC, VimpelCom agreed to a total of USD 375 million in disgorgement of profits and prejudgment interests, to be divided between the SEC and OM and agreed to pay the OM a criminal penalty of USD 230,163.199.20 for a total criminal penalty of USD 460,326,398.40, and a total resolution amount of more than USD 835 million. The DOJ agreed to credit the criminal penalty paid to the OM as part of its agreement with VimpelCom and the SEC agreed to credit the forfeiture paid to the DOJ as part of its agreement with VimpelCom. As result, VimpelCom will pay fines and disgorgements to the US and Dutch authorities in an aggregated amount of USD 795 million. In addition, VimpelCom agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for at least three years. This scandal besmirched their reputation in the corporate world which was not conducive to their brand name and business. To disconnect their name from the corruption case in 2017, the company was renamed VEON.
VimpelCom (VEON) group owns Jazz which is requiring the renewal of the Jazz license in Pakistan that is due later this month. The license had been issued for Rs16.8 billion ($ 291 million) in 2004 and is now worth Rs41.4 billion ($ 291 million). An article in Dawn two days ago mentioned that the amount that the PTA is thinking about demanding for the renewal, though the demand has not been officially communicated to Jazz, is USD 450 million. That should be a much less than the price that should be asked given the fact that VimpelCom/Veon was willing to pay around US$ 350 dollars in only bribes alone in Uzbekistan (that much could be established with more undetected) – a market that is seven times the size of Pakistan population-wise. Another argument could be that since then Jazz has incorporated Warid in 2015 and their customers. Ufone alone paid 291 million dollars and that was five years ago!
The cost of the spectrum must go up substantially since the last license 15 years ago and (1) total population of Pakistan has increased by 50 million (2) target coverage which was 1/20th of country and it is now 100% covered (3) telecom industry had mere 5 million subscribers, and now it has over 140+ million customers (4) Spectrum prices are generally higher when the economies are in high sovereign debt and limited access to financial markets. High proceeds from spectrum assignments increase public funds to help ease short–term public sector fiscal pressures (5) Spectrum assignments are often seen as a simpler way to raise additional revenues than introducing or raising taxes (6) Given that spectrum prices are unlikely to determine government debt, the more plausible interpretation is that governments in developing countries experiencing financial challenges are using spectrum assignments to increase public sector revenues.
Both Jazz and Telenor in Pakistan have almost 100% Pakistanis in their rank and file. This is a very competent and talented lot who have locally made good profits for their parent foreign companies. That is at it should be! After all their companies have made good investment on Pakistan based on tremendous risks, especially given the law and order at that time. However if push comes to shove, than the inherent patriotism in them should not allow their foreign owners to put their commercial interests over that of the national interests of Pakistan.
Because the matter is in the court this might delay and complicate things more. Time is running out and if Jazz is unable to uphold its service after 25 May it will lose money, customers and image in Pakistan, Veon is traded on the stock exchange as well and shareholders have to be informed beforehand when a slump in profits is anticipated. It should be in Jazz's best interest to settle the matter fast, why should money be a hinderance to them? Unless off course some Pakistani "Gulnara" is being difficult in coming to terms for the amount to be paid as a bribe?
The writer is a defense and security analyst.
Afghanistan Jazz Pakistan PTA TELENOR Ufone VimpelCom Warid 2019-05-12
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Seoul is the heart of Korea's culture, history and is its finance and commercial hub. It is a world-class city with numerous amenities and shopping districts such as Myeong-dong and Apgujeong which offer seemingly endless opportunities for visitors seeking quality goods at bargain prices. The city is well serviced by a modern and convenient subway system that allows visitors to navigate the city with relative ease. Visitors can also try many different kinds of Korean cuisine at very affordable prices.


What Credit Score Do You Need To Buy A House? | LendingTree – For example, you may be able to get an FHA loan with a down payment of just 3.5 percent if your credit score is 580 or above. But say your score lands best mortgage rates in dallas somewhere between 500 and 579. You may, in fact, still be able to get an FHA loan (if you can find a lender that'll approve you), but you may need at least 10 percent for a down payment.
What Credit Score Do I Need for a Home Loan? – To sum it up, you don't need a great credit score to obtain a home loan. Otherwise well-qualified buyers can get a conventional mortgage with a FICO Score of 620, while a FHA mortgage can be.
Consumer-friendly options open doors for US home buyers – Or you have a "thin" credit file that lenders find tough to score and accept. higher than 43 percent, and they need FICO credit scores of 660 or higher. FHA, by contrast, goes as low as FICO 580 on.
Important: When Buying A Home With A 580 credit score – If you have a 580 credit score. for approved FHA loans, your down payment and DTI should probably be better than average to get approved. While mortgage lenders are allowed to approved loans for.


text:
Teams qualified for the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 16
Home Teams qualified for the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 16
September 26, 2018 September 28, 2018 , News, UWCL
Teams qualified for the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 16.
VfL Wolfsburg, FC Barcelona and Chelsea are among the successful teams to advance to the 2018/19 UEFA Women's Champions League Round of 16.
UWCL Round of 16 teams:
Linköping (SWE)
Barcelona (ESP)
Wolfsburg (GER)
Brøndby (DEN)
Ajax (NED)
Bayern München (GER)
FC Rosengård (SWE)
Fiorentina (ITA)
Atlético Madrid (ESP)
Chelsea (ENG)
Lyon (FRA)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
FC Zürich (SUI)
Glasgow City (SCO)
LSK Kvinner (NOR)
Round of 32 fixtures continue tomorrow…
There were 10 UWCL Round of 32 second leg matches in action on Wednesday 26 September, with the winning teams on aggregate booking themselves into the next round.
Germany have two clubs through as VfL Wolfsburg beat Thór/KA of Iceland 3-0 on aggregate and Bayern Munich thrashed Serbian side ŽFK Spartak 11-0 on aggregate!
Continue reading and support the upkeep of the WSU website…
Get Access All Areas now (just £14.99 per year – £1.25 per month)
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USA Draws Germany, Brazil and China PR in 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
March 2, 2014 March 2, 2014 , News, U20WWC
The U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team will face Germany, Brazil and China PR in Group B at the 2014...


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NC-02: Ellmers THE ONLY NCGOPer to back welfare for illegal immigrants
Posted on June 13, 2014 June 13, 2014 by Brant Clifton
Renee Ellmers is the luckiest broad in the Milky Way galaxy. She would be little more than a political footnote if not for this video. In 2012, redistricting lagged for so long that she avoided a substantial primary opponent. In 2014, a deep pocketed potential challenger backed out at the last minute due to family concerns. She was left with a primary foe who was basically damaged goods before the campaign got going.
Ellmers' 2014 challenger made amnesty for illegal aliens a central focus of his campaign. But, he had little money to trumpet his support for securing the borders and point out Ellmers' blatant support for amnesty. Despite this blow-up on national radio and this testy meeting with constituents that went viral, Ellmers won renomination with 59 percent of the vote.
Her buddy, House Majority leader Eric Cantor, lost his primary this week — thanks largely to Tea Party outrage over Cantor's amnesty advocacy. His little-known opponent was aided by news reports about an illegal alien surge at the Arizona border. Ellmers may have met a fate similar to Cantor's if the North Carolina primary had been held THIS month.
Safely past the primary, and with Clay Aiken her only obstacle to another two years in DC, Ellmers is back to her inside-the-beltway sycophancy:
Many Republican supporters of loose borders, along with quite a few Democrats, vehemently deny that they support amnesty. They contend that merely asking illegal aliens to pay a fine and back-taxes in return for legal status is not amnesty. Fox News's Brit Hume passionately denounced those who refer to some of the immigration proposals in Congress as amnesty.
But amnesty means "an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole." What else would you call granting legal status, let alone the privilege of full blown citizenship, to millions of people who came to the U.S. illegally?
Even beyond amnesty itself, Congress seems to trip over itself providing benefits to people who came to the U.S. illegally. Just look at the inability of the GOP-controlled House to deny aliens welfare and benefits even before they are granted legal status.
On Tuesday, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) offered an amendment to the FY 2015 Transportation-HUD appropriations bill (H.R. 4745) to cut off Section 8 housing for those here in the country illegally. Gohmert cited a 2009 HUD study which showed that 0.4% of spending for housing programs go towards subsidizing illegal immigrants. His amendment would have cut the Public Housing Capital Fund by $7.1 Million and the Public Housing Operating Fund by $17.6 million, which is commensurate to the 0.4% share of the overall budget steered towards housing subsidies for illegal aliens.
"In a time when some American citizens can't get the housing they need it is unacceptable that those ineligible are stealing from them. This amendment would help encourage HUD to look into this problem and make corrections in their oversight and enforcement of the laws that should govern the way they run the federal housing assistance programs," said Gohmert.
Amazingly, 70 Republican House members joined with almost every Democrat to defeat Gohmert's amendment. Among those who voted to keep the subsidies for illegals were Eric Cantor and Renee Ellmers, two Republicans who were challenged on their support for amnesty. Ironically, Cantor was defeated in a stunning upset on that very day by Dave Brat who criticized Cantor for promoting policies that have attracted more illegal immigration.
Check out the roll call vote. Ellmers was THE ONLY Republican from North Carolina to oppose this no-brainer of an amendment. Seriously, folks. AT WHAT POINT do we tell this woman that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
Democrats and establishment Republicans will continue to vociferously deny their support for amnesty, but their refusal to take legalization and welfare benefits off the table even before securing the border speaks for itself. Call it amnesty, lawlessness, open borders, a convoluted version of immigration reform, or just plain doubling down on failure, but one thing is clear: it is wrong for America. It places the interests of foreign citizens over those of native Americans and legal immigrants. If the continued border surge (engendered by the magnets of endless subsidies and care), coupled with Cantor's defeat, do not serve as a wake-up call, some of these politicians might have to learn the hard way.
campaign 2014, Congress, Media, Moore County, NCGOP, Politics
amnesty, campaign 2014, Congress, North Carolina, Renee Ellmers
GOP hasn't learned ONE THING from Cantor primary loss
NC-06's Berger: Being Effective = Backing Boehner?
14 thoughts on "NC-02: Ellmers THE ONLY NCGOPer to back welfare for illegal immigrants"
Observant Debate Watcher says:
This sucks, but I have a different question for you.
This site always attacks Renee. I assume that this site is also part of a Tea party network, if that is a correct way of referring to it.
Are you sure that the Tea Party is opposed to amnesty for illegals? I ask for 2 reasons.
1) A tea party US Rep, Labrador, has decided to challenge Kevin McCarthy to replace Cantor. But Labrador is a bigger supported of amnesty than Cantor is? I was hoping for Pete Sessioms, but that didn't materialize.
2) Our local tea party group has endorsed Mark Walker for congress. I have lots of friends supporting both candidates but whenever I ask the ones that support Walker why they support him even though he refuses to pledge to repeal Obamacare and he even CAMPAIGNED on establishing a pathway to CITIZENSHIP for illegals and had it on his website (saw it with my own eyes before he took it down), their response is usually some variation of "Well, he is my friend". Big ffing deal.
It the tea party supports people like Labrador and Walker, they owe every establishment GOPer an apology.
Labrador may fool some, but you are absolutely right. He supports amnesty/legalization/path to citizenship. But, he's smart and has figured out how to finesse the topic better than most…..certainly better than amnesty-bot Ellmers. I have a close friend in Idaho who has been very active writing letters to the editor 'outing' Labrador on his statements and positions on immigration since he came into office. He backed away from the House gang that was crafting an amnesty bill last year when it got too hot. From the get-go, he was supported by such lobbying groups as the Dairyman's Association, a big proponent of amnesty and unlimited cheap foreign labor.
It's not my district, but I wouldnt be crying any if Aiken wins.
Yes, he'd suck, but that's already a given with that seat already, and nothing is really going to change that. Might as well also attempt to send another message to the GOP leadership – at least we could salvage "some" good from the train wreck that is Ellmers and that office. 🙂
Elmers is not only stupid, but she is also dishonest. It is a travesty that she represents the conservative Second District. We would be better off with Aiken. In 2016 we need to run a solid conservative and get rid of this GOP flake for good. People have no idea had really bad this woman is.
I will gladly vote for Aiken over Ellmers. He is not yet a proven liar, nor is he conniving and actively working behind the scenes to help leadership pass some form of amnesty. As far as I know, he has not yet voted to hand taxpayer dollars over to illegal aliens.
These idiots need not only to be watching what happened to Cantor, but also what happened to lots of tradtional political parties across Europe in their recent elections. The grassroots on both sides of the pond are sick and tired of the politicians who are soft on immigration.
R Matthews says:
Ellmers will work with Tillis to tax the worker bees to death to pay for the fair distribution of Obama's refugees. The Tea Party is not a political party. We need to form a Constitutional Conservative party.
Renee Ellmers is a serious embarrassment to the Republican brand. She needs to GO.
ArtyS says:
Renee Ellmers quickly showed the only person she really represents in Renee Ellmers. It will catch up with her.
The question is – how much damage will she do to this country before she is ousted?
I see my rep in NC07 Mike McIntyre crossed the "border" to vote for continuing benefits for illegals. He claims to be against ANY form of amnesty. Guess he thought no one would notice this vote. He is wrong. He is retiring in November. Guess his true colors are showing now.
Watch out for that guy that Cantor came to your district and campaigned for it the primary. He is a former K Street lobbyist who once lobbied in favor of illegal immigration. Why does our party keep coming up with these duds?
You must mean Rouzer? We are onto his positions on immigration don't worry. Doubt he'll listen to us though even though we were able to get him on record denying he will support amnesty. He's won. He won't care what we the people have to say on the issue. Same as Tillis. WTP forced him to comment on the issue saying he is against amnesty. Words have no meaning to a politician running for offfice.
Watch out for these undocumented Democrat types. They speak in an Orwellian language. To them amnesty is not amnesty. For example they say it is not amnesty if they have to pay a small fine. What crap.
It is better to get them on record using the language of the left. Are they or are they not for "a pathway to citizenship" for illegal aliens? Do they or do they not support any preferences whatsoever for illegal aliens now in the country over those who have applied legally and been denied. Allowing them to stay in the country under any circumstances is such a preference.


text:
Q: `cin >> variable` doesn't wait for input #include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include "Friend.h"
#include "Address.h"

using namespace std;

int main() {
    string name = "";
    string street = "";
    string city = "";
    string state = "";
    long phone_number = 0000000000;
    int zip_code = 00000;
    int feet = 0;
    int inches = 0;

    cout << "What is your friends name: ";
    cin >> name;

    cout << "What street does he live on: ";
    cin >> street;

    cout << "What city does he live in: ";
    cin >> city;

    cout << "What state does he live in: ";
    cin >> state;

    cout << "What is his 10 digit phone number: ";
    cin >> phone_number;

    cout << "What is his zip code: ";
    cin >> zip_code;

    cout << "How tall is he in feet: ";
    cin >> feet;
    cout << "And how many inches: ";
    cin >> inches;

    return 0;
}

This is my code. The problem here is: after I enter my phone number, it just doesn't wait for an input any more. It will output the cout << statements that follow automatically and then terminate it self. I am not sure why this happens.
Could someone help me please?

A: The variable phone_number is of type long, which is the same as long int. This means that you can only enter numbers as input for phone_number.
The best guess why it doesn't work for you is that you enter the phone number as: XXX-XXXXXXX (with the dash). The "-" splits the input, and the numbers after the dash are passed on to the next input variable zip_code.
If you try input for phone number as: 1234567890, then it works fine. If you want to use the dash, then consider changing phone_number to type string.
As an aside, take input for your string-type variables using getline() instead of cin << so that the compiler will continue reading all input until the ENTER key is hit.

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In April of last year, the FCC mandated that all cable boxes must come with a FireWire port if requested by the consumer. The ruling came based on an interpretation of Section 304 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The ruling is also affected by another FCC mandate, in which all electronic devices capable of recording content must recognize and respect a broadcast bit that determines how the content can be shared across multiple devices.
FireWire ports are now on most cable boxes.
With this capability on modern day cable boxes, you would think that it would be fairly easy to record content, including HD content, on your computer using a simple FireWire cable. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Despite the fact that support has been around for almost a year now, software to take advantage of the FCC mandated FireWire ports on cable boxes is still in a very infant stage. What is even more interesting is that an interface to FireWire enabled cable boxes is actually provided by Apple through their FireWire SDK. And although PCs have more recently been given a similar type of application, the support was first given to Macs.
The application included in Apple's FireWire SDK is called Virtual D-VHS, which as the name implies, allows your Mac to act as a Virtual D-VHS recorder fully capable of recording both standard and High Definition content over your cable box's FireWire port.
Before we get to the details of implementation, the first thing that must be noted and understood is that the Virtual D-VHS application is not a full-blown DVR nor was it designed to be. As a part of the FireWire SDK, the Virtual D-VHS application is more of a proof of concept or an enabling tool for developers to go out and make something interesting out of it - not to use as a turnkey DVR solution.
In many ways, this article isn't about using the Mac mini as a HTPC, but rather, its viability of being used as one if certain elements fall into place. At this point, your best bet for a polished HTPC with DVR functionality is something running Windows XP Media Center Edition. But for those who are interested in using the Mac mini as a HTPC, here's what can be done today.
The installation and setup of your cable box is extremely simple. We had a Motorola 6200 unit at our disposal, which made things even easier as you'll soon see. All you need is a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable, plug one end into the cable box and the other end into your Mac mini and you're done.
The Motorola 6200 cable box is recognized automatically. The same applies to most cable boxes with FireWire ports.
The next step is to fire up the Virtual D-VHS application and here you have a couple of options. You can use the Virtual D-VHS application provided in Apple's FireWire SDK, but there are some alternatives. The first alternative is Patrick Edson's AV/C Browser Enhanced, a modified version of the AV/C browser that also comes with Apple's FireWire SDK. The AV/C browser is necessary to connect to some cable boxes, but Patrick's modified version eliminates the need to have two applications - it integrates the functionality of Virtual D-VHS (recording and channel tuning) into the AV/C application.
Patrick's AV/C Browser Enhanced will let you change the channels on your cable box over FireWire, so you can do away with your remote. The only requirement is that you have to connect to your cable box first, which involves nothing more than setting your cable box (using your remote) to a channel below 63 (0 or 1 are the easiest) and doing the same in the AV/C application, then telling it to connect.
Then you can use the AV/C Browser to tune to whatever channel you want, hit record and it will start recording. Now, what you're recording is effectively a MPEG-2 transport stream. As such, the file size is quite large - most HD content recorded off of cable is between 15 and 19Mbps, translating into 6-9GB of storage required for each hour of recorded content. Standard definition content is a little more manageable, at 3 - 13Mbps (1 - 6GB/hr).
While there are many limitations of the AV/C Browser, some of them are solved through another program by Patrick Edson called iRecord.
The iRecord program is interesting as it takes the functionality of the AV/C Browser, but puts it in a much simpler interface with one clear purpose - scheduled recording of shows.
To add a show, simply click the + button and fill out the necessary information, including the channel from which you want to record. An unfortunate limitation here is that you can't set the name of the file to which it records, regardless of what you input as the title of the recording in iRecord.
At the time of publication, the latest version of iRecord was 0.2.6 and the program still has a long way to go before it is anything that can be used without frustrating crashes or missing shows. Currently, iRecord only supports changing channels on the Motorola 6200, which works well for us, since that was our test platform, but not so well for others who will then be left with either changing the channel manually on their cable box or with AV/C Browser.
Recording the State of the Union address in 720p proved to be a success using iRecord.
When it does work, however, it works quite well. We had no problems using it (or the AV/C Browser Enhanced) to record both SD and HD channels. To playback the MPEG-2 transport streams, you'll need a program that can obviously read the streams. For that, we used the OS X port of VLC.