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Daryl Gregory January 21st 2008
Confession of an Unbeliever, or: Forgive Me, Yoda
I have to make a confession: I'm a science fiction writer, and I don't believe in aliens.
By "believe" I mean my ability to suspend my disbelief, and by "aliens" I mean the ones that typically show up in SF, and more specifically, the ones that talk. Maybe this marks me as a MundaneSF writer, but when some non-human resident of a star system lands on a page and starts talking about how the foolish humans have caused offense to its queen, I immediately start to lose faith in the story. And if the alien is a point-of-view character I usually can't stay in the book. I'd like to suspend my disbelief, but I can't.
Needless to say, my own stories don't include a lot of aliens. Zero in the published stories, and only one hiding out in a trunk story.
That hidden alien popped up recently when a friend of mine, Andrew Tisbert and I were talking about collaborating on the rewrite of that story. I wrote the first draft years ago when were at Clarion together. In the story a woman is repeatedly visited by a silent, floating, glass-like alien she calls the kite. Its actions are ambiguous and its goals are unknown. Wackiness ensues.
The story never quite worked and I didn't know how to make it work; hence the collaboration (we'll see if Andy comes up with something). But I told Andy that the kite was about as far as I could go in the alien department, and Andy was surprised. So let me explain.
My problem with most aliens is that they just aren't alien enough-biologically, culturally, or psychologically. Especially psychologically, and that's what I'll focus on in this confession.
Most of the SF writers who take their alien-building projects seriously think like evolutionary psychologists. This is a good thing. The biology of the species and the evolutionary environment in which it developed inform what a typical individual's needs and desires might be and how it perceives the world. For example, Niven's paranoid puppeteers and predatory kzinti have species-wide character traits based on their evolution as prey and predator. You see similar determinism in Mary Doria Russell's Sparrow and Children of God, between her two competing species of carnivores and herbivores-the eaters and the eaten.
Once you start thinking along evolutionary lines, it becomes easier to avoid the clichés of the pulps-for example, aliens' inexplicable desire for "our women." (Somewhere in the universe there is a tentacled pulp illustrator drawing a hideous, ape-like hand clutching a luscious, bikini-clad squidling and asking itself, How much am I getting paid for this nonsense?)
However, the seeming paradox of evolutionary psychology-and the reason that it seems unconvincing and certainly insufficient to some when it's applied to humans-is that as humans we see enormous variation in the personalities of our fellow hairless apes. Even pulp writers naturally granted their human characters (at least those of their own race, sex, and class) with a broad range of traits, rendering people who are passive as cows or aggressive as tigers, busy as beavers or lazy as sloth.
Some of this is plain old species-ism. Or species blindness. When humans look at non-humans, we're just not wired to see how many standard deviations from the mean are in play between individuals. A couple years ago I read about a study which found that babies are just as adept at recognizing the faces of individual German Shepherds as those of humans. Only when children get older do they specialize in humans and become blind to the subtleties of dog faces.
Too often in SF, the writer doesn't bother to highlight the differences in that sea of alien faces. Every member of the alien race is portrayed as pretty much the same, with perhaps one outlier per species, like Nessus, Niven's braver-than-usual puppeteer, or the kzinti named Speaker-To-Animals because of his (relative) lack of aggression.
But an SF writer who renders his aliens with all the variation we see in our own species risks making them indistinguishable from humans. If kzinti can be not only fierce warriors but class clowns, naive ingénues, or sly gigolos, why not stick with humans? We're back to actors in rubber masks, although with the advantage of being able to tell the actors apart.
So I want two things in my aliens: more strangeness in the species, and at the same time more diversity among the species' individuals. Tall order, I know. It may not even be possible to deliver this much complexity in a novel and still have time for a narrative. If any of you out there have run across books that pull off this trick, please let me know.
But even if I got both strangeness and complexity, there's still a problem for me when those aliens open their mouths. I believe-and I admit that this is largely an aesthetic opinion-that if we ever meet sentient creatures whose minds were formed by a completely foreign set of environmental conditions, biological processes, and evolutionary pressures, there would probably be few points of conceptual overlap. Do we share the concepts of parent/child relationships, death and birth, time and space? Do they even believe in the concept of a mind?
There are great stories and novels about trying to communicate with aliens who have one or more of these conceptual gaps. For example, Peter Watts' novel Blindsight, currently on the Nebula preliminary ballot, concerns contact with aliens who are intelligent but not conscious. But I've read few novels that tackle more than one of these problems at a time.
All that said, I can't say that all talking aliens are dead to me. I can be charmed into suspending my disbelief. A skilled writer–Iain M. Banks comes to mind–can dazzle and entertain so that I forget to raise my objections. Hell, a talented writer can get me to believe anything.
It also helps if I don't have to take these aliens at face value. I'm perfectly willing to play along if the objective is satire or comedy, or when its clear that the aliens are meant to be taken metaphorically. (Though putting anything into a story–alien, tree, or giant white whale–that is there only for transparently metaphorical reasons is usually a mistake, and it takes a genius to make it work.)
But in the end the sentient ETs that resonate for me are the ones that are so alien that they cannot be fully understood, like the uncommunicative, enigmatic alien in Jonathan Lethem's story "Light and the Sufferer." Or the aliens who try to communicate but can't be comprehended, like the dream and nightmare-inducing planet of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris. Or the aliens who remain completely off stage, like the monolith builders of 2001.
Of course, when the real aliens arrive, they can explain to me why my biases are unfounded — and how I've offended their queen.
Filed under reading, writing process. You can also use to trackback.
1. David Louis Edelman on Jan 21st, 2008 at 2:07 am
Not to play the spoiler here… but I wonder if you're just batting around a straw man here. I can't recall the last time I read a work of serious SF with aliens that conformed to the "we want your women" Mystery Science Theater stereotype. And the ones that do are either written by authors with a postmodern wink, or written that way to make a specific point, or written by authors who are all about the entertainment value, and science/realism/verisimilitude be damned.
2. Peggy on Jan 21st, 2008 at 2:59 am
I agree that most science fiction aliens aren't really alien enough to be believable. I think that if we ever do meet another intelligent non-Earthly species (and recognize their intelligence), communication will be immensely difficult and they are unlikely to look or think like us. Heck, there are enough cultural differences between peoples here on Earth that unspoken assumptions and different backgrounds can impede communication between humans. But I don't think that it's unreasonable to assume that when and if we are able to communicate we will initially see the aliens as a monolithic group. It would simply mirror what happens when we think about other human cultures that are foreign to us – it's easy to find people who talk about the "Mexicans" or the "Chinese" or the "Arabs" as if those groups are uniform. What we learn about aliens in science fiction stories is filtered through the human perspective, so the descriptions will be tainted by that human flaw.
And, of course, science fiction lets us explore the human condition by setting up aliens as archetypes. While the original Star Trek aliens were pretty silly, they could be used to address issues that would have otherwise been taboo on television. Take, for example, : its message was heard by people who would not have been interested in a story featuring black and white Americans.
3. Raul Gonzalez on Jan 21st, 2008 at 10:47 am
I think Peter Watts' Blindsight nailed the concept of a truly alien organism, although it is based on deep sea creatures.
I think it's still on Creative Commons, reading is in order.
4. Kelly McCullough on Jan 21st, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Two things. Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep has some fabulous aliens. And two, doesn't this kind of ignore that the main point of aliens in an awful lot of science fiction isn't to portray aliens at all, but rather to isolate and examine some specific parts of the human condition? Sure, some aliens are really just supposed to be alien, but I think that a significant percentage–quite possibly the majority–are intended to help us look at some facet of human existence in a new way by pulling it out of our own melange of traits and making it more visible for what it is, or what the author believes it to be. If you're looking for alien aliens and that's not actually the primary purpose of aliens in SF then, of course you're going to be disappointed, but maybe that's because that's not the writer's point at all.
5. Daryl Gregory on Jan 21st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
To Dave — the "we want our women" is definitely a straw man. I was just talking about the pulp cliche there. But sometimes I do see aliens "wanting" things that seem awfully human. Is that similarity just laziness, or is intentional?
If intentional it goes to Kelly's point, that maybe aliens seem to want these human things because the writer is trying to reveal some facet of human behavior. That's a perfectly valid thing to do. It's just that as a reader, I'm not as likely to "believe" that those types of aliens are living, breathing creatures — that if aliens arrived, I'm convinced during the course of the book that it could happen just like this — as I am in most human characters. The aliens are there as types, or models. There's an aesthetic distance at work that I have to work harder to overcome.
(And I agree with Kelly that probably most SF operates on this level.)
In this way, SF that includes human-like aliens is like Kabuki theatre, or musicals. Having characters use face paint and stylized gestures, or suddenly breaking into song, has its own artistic purpose, but while I'm watching Johnny Depp I don't think, I bet the real Sweeney Todd sang just like that.
This is all part of the argument about "what SF is FOR." Personally, I think SF is a toolbox that allows a writer to do just about anything. But if a writer is showing me talking aliens, and they are presenting them unironically (saying without a wink that yes, this is exactly how aliens would be in real life), then I have more work to do to suspend my disbelief. (The same when SF movies let us hear explosions in space. Okay, I may still manage to like the movie, but they've just made it harder for me.) Every reader's mileage will vary of course. And I'll repeat, a gifted writer can get me to believe just about anything.
6. Kelly McCullough on Jan 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
The musical or Kabuki analogy is very nice and makes for an interesting parsing of the alien story as a sub-genre. I like it.
7. Mike on Jan 21st, 2008 at 2:32 pm
At the risk of arrogance, I think you should check out my novels Star Dragon and Spider Star. I don't think you'll find my aliens as flawed as those you describe, and a bit more mysterious and interesting, too. At least I hope so. As an astronomer my strength is physical science, but I try to apply some rigor to the aliens, too, and go beyond the simple approaches you suggest.
And I enjoyed Vinge's aliens very much, too. Far better than average in science fiction.
And I'll add too that in science fiction novels the aliens are oh so much more complex than those found in movies, with perhaps a few very rare exceptions.
Hey Mike, we're writers — we're born arrogant! (Arrogant enough to think we're worth listening to, anyway.)
I'll check out your books, Mike. And also Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep. I was hoping that this blog post would point me toward people doing aliens well.
9. S.C. Butler on Jan 22nd, 2008 at 12:20 am
As someone whom the cuddly anthropomorphism of ET sends into a frothing rage, I see your point. Aliens need to be alien.
10. Mack Sim on Jan 22nd, 2008 at 6:49 am
Want bona-fide aliens? Look no further than the works of A & B Strugatsky ("Roadside Picnic" and "Beetle in the Anthill" are among the best examples imho). The idea you're pushing (that true aliens are truly alien) is, in fact, the conceptual basis of almost all their writings.
11. ProfPTJ on Jan 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
For my money, Stephen R. Donaldson's depiction of the Amnion in his "Gap" series is one of the best alien races I've seen for a while. And you already mentioned Banks, who would have been my other suggested author.
I'd also say that you're not quite being fair to Russell. The evolutionary backdrop of the relationship between the races on Rakhat isn't particularly "deterministic" — indeed, the room to maneuver within the strictures imposed by that evolutionary process provides a lot of the drama of the second book. Supaari is an alien individual: unlike other Jana'ata, to be sure, but also definitely not a human. More than a human in a mask, I'd say — although for sure less alien than Donaldson's Amnion.
12. Peggy on Jan 24th, 2008 at 5:13 am
I don't think there is really a good way to portray how truly different aliens are likely to be. Even Lem's alien, one of the strangest in SF, is able to interact with the minds of humans. It would be less interesting, I think, to have an alien that cannot be communicated with on any level. Also, we humans like to anthropomorphize, so I like to imagine that the more human characteristics of SF aliens are simply due to the story being told through the eyes of an unreliable narrator.
13. Daryl Gregory on Jan 24th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I'm embarrassed to say that I've never read the Strugatsky brothers — but I've heard people talk about how good "Picnic" is. I haven't read Donaldson's Gap books either. I think there's a sliding scale of "alienness" and some are more to my liking than others. And that's all I'm talking about — my likes and dislikes.
Peggy, you raise an interesting point — any time there's anthropomorphizing going on, does the author intend that the narrator is unreliable? In most SF I've read the answer is No. (Somebody out there must have a bunch of examples, though.)
But if the author does show an awareness that the human characters are in essence fooling themselves, that's an interesting point to make.
It's kind of like what Tiptree did in SF — before Tiptree (and probably still), so many male writers' attitudes about women were collections of unexamined assumptions — assumptions that were shared by (largely male) sf readers. But some of Tiptree's best stories, like "The Women Men Don't See" and "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" are about male characters who don't realize that they projecting attributes onto women, and don't understand how they've misunderstood the truth of the situation. But Tiptree knows, and the reader often realizes that as he was reading he was making the same mistake as the characters.
By the way, Tiptree's a great example of using aliens for their metaphorical value. Not for a minute do I believe that that's what real aliens would be like, but they're useful as comments on the real world. In the Tiptree bio it mentions that Damon Knight was annoyed at Tiptree because he kept using the hoariest of SF tropes, but Tiptree didn't care.
14. jackd on Jan 24th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I am agreeing with this poast!!!
The non-alien alien is one of my hot buttons, and it ruins a lot of science fiction for me.
It's tempting to push this POV so far as to say that making aliens into characters is a mistake. They should be plot devices. Blindsight is a good example. Watts does a great job of showing how far technology may wind up molding "humanity" into nearly-unrecognizable shapes, and even then he admits that this is a grossly simplified view of their interactions and communication. The aliens provide a backdrop rather than being the guys in rubber masks.
Funny you mention Banks. I recently finished Look to Windward, and a major character is supposed to be a six-limbed sort-of feline. But damned if the Chelgrians (as the race is named) don't have an absolutely human society, and the character's thoughts, motivations, emotions, relationships, et blasted cetera would have been totally unaffected if he'd been an H. sap. I simply don't understand why Banks didn't skip the futzing around with alienhood and make the Chelgrians a bunch of non-Culture humans.
15. Brian Marick on Jan 24th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I thought Patricia Anthony had a nice hand with aliens. If I remember right, Cold Allies was in the Roadside Picnic and Rogue Moon "completely incomprehensible aliens" mold. Brother Termite did a good job with the alien-as-narrator novel.
It was in one of her books that I had an epiphany. She's good with aliens that seem explicable but somehow off, and I realized that real people in contact with real aliens would have the same limitations as writers in contact with imaginary aliens: they would be unable to shake loose from modeling aliens as people, just with green skins. If I'm not just being nostalgic for long-ago sensawonder, part of Anthony's schtick was asking what happens because of that failure of imagination.
16. tinkoo on Jan 26th, 2008 at 2:18 am
I generally seem to have better luck finding ingenious alien designs in short stories rather than novels – because a short can concern itself primarily with alien design. Try some of these (all from Arthur Clarke): "Castaway", "Crusade", "The Possessed".
Patricia Anthony! A great sf writer, lost (temporarily I hope) to Hollywood. I've read every novel of hers, and last year when I wondered why I hadn't seen anything for a long time I googled her and found out she's working on film scripts. Sigh.
Cold Allies is an excellent example of the type of aliens that convince me. It's a stunning book.
But in Brother Termite, a very good novel, Anthony seems to be daring the reader NOT to believe. Her aliens are on the surface wide-eyed Grays straight out of the tabloids, and she includes weird National Enquirer — like asides like psychics that truly seem to be channeling great pianists and presidents. The book works for me anyway, more proof that a gifted writer can get me to buy almost anything for the duration of the book.
And my hero, Iain Banks? _All_ his aliens seem to be led on stage with a wink, and he seems to do as much research on their likely biology as he does for the physics of his FTL spaceships. S'okay with me. Banks is at play in the SF toy shop, and I'm just happy to watch.
Oh, and Tinkoo– Hal Clement was also excellent on alien design, for biology anyway. If anybody gets a chance, read his "Uncommon Sense."
19. ProfPTJ on Jan 26th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
In Look to Windward, the really alien alien race isn't the Chelgrians; it's the Behemothaurs. I buy the Chelgrians as a thinly-veiled analogue for the Muslim world as viewed by Europeans; they're by definition less alien than the real aliens. But note that the Behemothaurs get the last word in the book, and the virtually all-powerful Culture can't come to terms with them . . .
When I asked Banks about this he said I might be reading too much into the Behemothaurs (at least, more than he deliberately put there) but that my reading (in a book chapter on Banks that will be published this year sometime) was plausible.
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Daryl Gregory
Daryl's a science fiction writer who lives in State College, PA. Several of his short stories have appeared in "Year's Best" anthologies, and his first novel, PANDEMONIUM, will appearing in Fall 2008 from Del Rey Books. Visit site.


While AIDS cases are on the decline in many parts of the world, it's still our most pressing global epidemic. Thirty-five million people are affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide. Last month marked the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV in West Hollywood.
In honor of this anniversary, we wanted to highlight MAC Cosmetics who has been doing more than their part to trim the numbers since 1994. With your help, the MAC AIDS FUND has raised $218 million exclusively through the sale of MAC's Viva Glam Lipstick and Lipglass donating 100 percent of the funds to support people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. You can also get involved and spread awareness by going to Vivaglam.com, creating an online profile, and uploading a photo of yourself for a chance to be part of the largest fashion collaboration in history with MAC and Lady Gaga.
We were also inspired to pay tribute to 10 cultural icons who died due to AIDS-related causes. Read on for our roundup.
Whether or not she was the world's first supermodel is a topic that's still up for debate, but one thing is for sure: Gia Carangi — who was famous enough in the fashion world to simply go by her first name — was one of the most in-demand cover girls of her time. But everything changed when her agent died of lung cancer. Gia started using heroin, which led to the decline of her career, and ultimately, to her own death from AIDS-related complications.


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Trending Now in News & Politics
Brutalism
When Will You Be Able to See the National Zoo's New Baby Panda?
Written by Andrew Beaujon
Mei Xiang and her cub. Photograph courtesy Smithsonian's National Zoo.
The giant panda cub born in DC Friday may be the only good news you get in 2020, so it's only natural that you'd want to know when you can visit the little squealing bundle. And, like pretty much everything else this year, the answer is: You'll have to wait awhile.
Smithsonian's National Zoo has reopened with limited visitors every day. If you're arriving by foot, bike, rideshare, or public transportation, you'll need to reserve a free timed entry pass in advance. Coming by car? You'll need a $30 parking pass, and you'll need to get that in advance, too.
A Panda Skeptic's Guide to Panda Birth
But! While the zoo has many wonderful exhibits, you'll have to cool your heels if the cub is all you want to see. (Pandas are an odd fit for Washington because they operate on an extremely non-Type A schedule: The cub's name won't be announced until it's 100 days old, and its sex may not be known for a while, either.) The panda house is currently closed to provide a quiet environment for mother Mei Xiang and her cub.
The zoo's panda cubs have all made their public debuts after they turned three months old, says zoo spokesperson Jennifer Zoon. Amid the pandemic, Zoon says, zoo officials are "evaluating how a cub debut may work with the safety restrictions we have in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19." Bei Bei, the last giant panda cub born in DC, went on public display months after he was born.
For now, there's always Panda Cam.
More: Panda cubPanda-DemicSmithsonian's National Zoo
Andrew Beaujon
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. His book A Bigger Field Awaits Us: The Scottish Soccer Team That Fought the Great War was published in 2018. He lives in Del Ray.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When in doubts and nothing is working, no alternative comes to mind. Can we still find a way out? A famous proverb says that where there is a will there is a way. Very often when we face a problem, we tend to react to it on the basis of our past experiences and hence block our ability to think and create new possibilities. One's ability to broaden his / her perspective towards the problem and life gives the access to higher creativity and sense possibilities beyond the prevailing state of mind.
There is a very interesting way of doing it that has helped me and many others whom I have suggested. In the beginning it may seem very childish and unconvincing, but the psychology behind this method works similar as explained in the first para and the results are sometimes spontaneous. This method can give you an answer to your problem, but to follow that answer will take your own will to solve it and your own guts to face it. But when finding a solution seems bigger than following it, I think this method works great.
Very often we hear that it is very easy to advice others but difficult to follow ourselves. We will use this proverb to solve our dilemmas.
Confused? Bear this confusion for a while. I'll explain how it will work. Why is it so easy to advice others when they are in trouble and are unable to see a solution? The reason is that since we look at the problems of others from outside of its influence and being detached, it becomes easier to develop alternatives. We struggle to find solutions because we are attached to the problem and look at it from beneath that makes the magnitude of the problem bigger and the perspective smaller.
An interesting approach to solve our problems through this learning is – Sit in a quiet place. Take 3 deep breaths with inhaling through nose and exhaling through mouth. Now we have to do a role-play exercise. Think of your problem and all the people associated with it. Now replace all the names by only relationships (for Example … Mr X to father, Ms Y to Mother, Ms Z to sister, Mr A to friend etc…), Also replace yourself with any of your known acquaintance or person. The idea here is that now after replacing these names including yours. You are looking at the problem as not yours but someone else's. This new substituted person (be your friend or acquaintance) has brought this problem to you and you need to advise him / her. I understand that this needs good imaginative power but can still be done with practice. It may seem silly, but you will be amazed with its results.… Now see what advice you give to this person. This is exactly what you need to do yourself.
What we have done here is firstly, by replacing all the names by only relations we have detached ourselves from the problem and then by advising to other, is where we are increasing our perspective to see the problem. The solution that appears may be daunting to follow, but trust me, it will be the most appropriate at that moment….
Try this and see the magic …… It may have varied results from people to people. But why not try when nothing is working…. It's worth it.


Rihanna and Travis Scott were spotted together not one but all of three times this week.
The two have been fueling dating rumors for the last couple of weeks but things started to heat up now. The rapper has been performing to sold out shows at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City and Rihanna attended all three events this week.
On Monday the two were spotted having dinner at the Spotted Pig in the Big Apple before partying together at Griffin nightclub.
"They are definitely together. They were dancing very close and didn't care who could see them," sources told Page Six.
Despite the dating rumors, sources close to the Bajan pop star told Urban Islandz that the two are just friends and are also working on some upcoming music together.
Seems like Travis Scott is just another one of Rihanna's friend zone guys.


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This House would ban the sale of surveillance technology to non-democratic countries
The sophistication of modern surveillance technology has increased by leaps and bounds in the 21st century. Governments have unprecedented power to watch their citizens, to see almost every aspect of their private and public lives. By use of CCTV, internet censorship and infiltration, wire-taps, and a multitude of other systems, governments have enormous power to control the populace.
Undemocratic regimes have become some of the best customers of Western surveillance tech companies and governments, using the technology to develop a firmer grip on their citizens who might seek to challenge the state. They have exploited the desire of democracies' desire for profit and influence in order to make themselves even more unassailable to the forces of dissent. Since the start of the civil war in Syria there has been criticism that there have been sales of surveillance equipment to Bashar Al Assad's regime. France for example has investigated a technology company Qosmos for a project that involved software that allowed the Syrian government to monitor political opponents, often leading to their arrest. Human rights groups allege that this is "complicity in torture", if so executives could face criminal charges.[1]
A debate has emerged regarding the culpability of democracies in the continued oppression of people abroad. Some states already limit their sales of surveillance technology to non-democratic regimes, such as Canada and to a lesser extent the United States, though no universal bans are prevalent. There have been recent attempts in the US Congress to change this by passing a 'Global Online Freedom Act'[2] which would prevent such sales to 'internet restricting countries', in 2011 this failed to pass but has been reintroduced.[3] Should democracies refuse to sell technology that could be used for ill to regimes abroad, or does it have more to gain from treating them as equally valid governments? This question forms the core of this debate, and is explored in the following arguments.
[1] Lévêque, Thierry, "France investigates tech firm accused of aiding Syria", Reuters, 26 July 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/syria-france-qosmos-idUSL6E8IQN9520120726
[2] Rep. Christopher Smith, "H.R. 491: Global Online Freedom Act of 2013", Govtrack.us, 4 February 2013, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr491
[3] Rep. Christopher Smith, "H.R. 3605: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011", Govtrack.us, 8 December 2011, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr3605
POINTS FOR
POINTS AGAINST
Advanced surveillance technology prevents dissidents from being able to organize and sue for freedom
High-tech surveillance technology has given repressive governments and police states a new lease on life. Now more than ever they can intrude into every aspect of people's lives, ensuring that dissent is cowed for fear of the ever present threat of the security services. The vision of Orwell's 1984 has become a living nightmare for people all over the world. Their power has made it extremely difficult for movements for reform, government accountability, and democracy, which have foundered when faced with these sophisticated security apparatuses (Valentino-Devries, 2011).[1] By dominating the flow of information states have the power to keep their people in check and prevent them from ever posing a threat to their repressive status quo. Thus China blocks access to the internet and to other forms of communications in Tibet to "ensure the absolute security of Tibet's ideological and cultural realm". It cuts the Tibetan people off from outside world so as to prevent any rerun of the instability that occurred in 2008, which China blamed on the influence of the Dalai Lama from outside.[2]
Only external help in alleviating this censorship could allow activists to organize effectively and perhaps to one day bring about genuine reform and justice to their societies. The surveillance equipment on which these regimes rely is often only available from firms and governments in the democratic world where, by and large, technology is generally far more advanced than in the non-democratic world. Without access to these technologies, the regimes would be far more hard-pressed to keep rigid tabs on their citizens, allowing for the seeds of dissent to take root. Only then can the forces clamouring for democracy hope to be able to organise networks of activists, and to have their views considered by the state.
[1] Valentino-Devries, J. "US Firm Acknowledges Syria Uses its Gear to Block Web". Wall Street Journal. 29 October 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577001911398596328.html
[2] Human Rights Watch, "China: Attempts to Seal Off Tibet from Outside Information", 13 July 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/13/china-attempts-seal-tibet-outside-information
Security services have managed to watch over and infiltrate the efforts of dissidents all through history. The visibility and tactics is all that has changed. The internet was never going to just be an arena that helps dissidents in authoritarian regimes but as with other technological advances, such as the telephone both increases communication and provides methods of monitoring that communication. If non-democratic states were to lose access to Western technology, they would either procure comparable replacements from other non-democracies, or they would pursue more traditional forms of surveillance, ones that tend to be more invasive and physically threatening.
Democratic states have an obligation to not bolster repression abroad
It is common for Western democracies to make sweeping statements about the universality of certain rights, and that their system of government is the one that should be most sought after in the world, that democracy is the only legitimate form of government. As when Obama in Cairo proclaimed "These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere."[1] They claim to work in the United Nations and other organizations toward the improvement of rights in other countries and clamour about the need for building governments accountability around the world, using their liberal-democratic paradigm as the model. Yet at the same time democratic governments and companies sell technologies to non-democratic allies that are used to systematically abuse the rights of citizens and to entrench the power of those avowedly illegitimate regimes. These hypocrisies read as a litany of shame. A telling example is the Blair government in the United Kingdom selling weapons to an oppressive regime in Indonesia for the sake of political expediency even after proclaiming an 'ethical foreign policy'.[2]
Even if democracies do not feel it is a defensible position to actively seek to subvert all non-democratic states, and that non-democracies should be considered semi-legitimate on the basis of nations' right to self-determination, they should still feel morally obliged not to abet those regimes by providing the very tools of oppression on which they rely.[3] To continue dealing in these technologies serves only to make democratic countries' statements hollow, and the rights they claim to uphold seem less absolute, a risk in itself to freedoms within democracies. Respect for rights begins at home, and actively eroding them elsewhere reduces respect for them by home governments.
[1] Obama, Barack, "Remarks by the President on a new beginning", Office of the Press Secretary, 4 June 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09
[2] Burrows, G. "No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade". New Internationalist. 2002, http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Weapons/Arms_Trade.html
[3] Elgin, B. "House Bill May Ban US Surveillance Gear Sales". Bloomberg. 9 December 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-09/house-bill-would-ban-surveillance-gear-sales-by-american-firms.html
A democracy, like any state, owes its first duty to its citizens, and its national interest is therefore in selling this equipment to help business at home. While it is convenient, perhaps even morally right at times, to stand publicly for the universality of democratic principles, such stands should not be taken at the expense of national security or influence. It should certainly not be considered an obligation. Sweeping policies like this will alienate valuable allies and make it more difficult for democracies to deal with the undemocratic world. With regard to domestic freedoms, states have long held different standards of action when dealing with their own citizens than those of other states, and that has never served to erode domestic freedoms.
The right of Western businesses to sell their services abroad can be curtailed when their actions stand counter to the interests of their home governments
Corporations are private entities that have the right to sell their services and to deal with agents foreign and domestic, including governments. However, this right can be limited when those actions are oppositional to the aims of the home state in which they are incorporated. The sale of surveillance technology to undemocratic regimes stands against the avowed aims of democracies and against their strategic interests in bolstering democracy abroad and maintaining a reputation for fair dealing. For this reason it is perfectly legitimate for governments to ban the corporations within their borders from selling dangerous technologies to foreign governments. Such is already the case with many kinds of strategic technology, especially weapons technology.[1] The EU, for example, bans a range of arms sales to various oppressive states on these grounds,[2] China in particular is an example where it would potentially be very lucrative to overturn the ban.[3] Corporations benefit from the protection of democratic states, as they provide bases of operations that shield their right to property and ensure stability and the rule of law. If corporations wish to benefit from these provisions they must be willing to accept the instructions of the states that house them regarding what can and cannot be sold to foreign powers.
[1] Elgin, B. "House Bill May Ban US Surveillance Gear Sales". Bloomberg. 9 December 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-09/house-bill-would-ban-surveillan...
[2] Banks, M. "Senior MEP Calls for Freeze on Arms Sale to North Africa". The Parliament.com. 7 July 2011. http://www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/senior-mep-calls-for-freeze-on-arms-sale-to-north-africa/
[3] See the debatabase debate 'This House believes the European Union should lift its ban on member states selling arms to China' http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/international-affairs/european-union/house-believes-lift-arms-sales-ban-china
Corporations are bound to obey the laws of the societies in which they are based, but they are not so constrained in their foreign dealings, in which they are bound instead by foreign laws that are often much more lax. The nature of the international landscape, with its many incompatible and overlapping forms of government and regulatory frameworks, demands that corporations be flexible in order to survive. The constraints put upon the manufacturers of surveillance equipment put forward by this policy will make them less competitive in the international market, which is often the primary market for these businesses. Furthermore, if they feel constrained they may pull up stakes and move their operations abroad to a more accommodating jurisdiction. This would serve to harm domestic jobs and undermine the ability of democratic states to maintain their edge over others in essential surveillance technology development.
This ban would have a powerful signalling effect expressing disapproval of non-democracies' system of government
A ban on the sale of surveillance technology to non-democracies serves ultimately as a statement of disapproval. It shows that the undemocratic regimes cannot be trusted with the ability to spy on their people. This signal has several effects. An example of this international shaming affecting is the international bans on the use of landmines. Various states created a framework, the Ottawa Convention,[1] in which their condemnation pressured nearly every other state, including authoritarian regimes, to follow suit.[2] Domestically it serves to bolster people's faith in the system of rights they value highly and enshrine in law. They can point to this ban as an example of their government's desire to make a better world and not to increase repression for the sake of power or profit. In the undemocratic states themselves, the regime leaders will be faced with a significant public relations blow as they come under criticism. This serves to embolden and empower holders of dissenting opinions and to spark pro-democratic discourse. In the international community it makes an emphatic value judgement on the merit of certain systems of government, namely the superiority of democracy and government accountability to the people, principles most non-democracies still pay some form of lip-service to. Overall, this policy boosts the credibility of democracy, while undermining the influence of undemocratic states.
[1] See the debatabase debate 'This House (as the USA) would sign the Ottawa convention banning landmines', http://idebate.org/debatabase/debates/international/house-usa-would-sign-ottawa-convention-banning-landmines
[2] Wexler, L. "The International Deployment of Shame, Second-Best Responses, And Norm Entrepreneurship: The Campaign to Ban Landmine and the landmine Ban Treaty". Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. 2003. http://www.ajicl.org/AJICL2003/vol203/wexlerarticle.pdf
Is a minor ban really a good signal? The chances are the government will ignore it and those who it is meant to encourage will never hear about it. In the event that the regimes it is aimed at do take not far from weakening them, this policy serves only to alienate them. The lack of respect the policy is clearly aimed to show will galvanize the leaderships in undemocratic regimes to cut off various ties with democratic states, limiting the flow of ideas and democratic principles that natural adhere to activities like international trade. The result is non-democracies will be less willing to talk about reform in the international community because they see their very form of government as under threat by foreign agents seeking to discredit them. Ultimately, a boost in Western moral does little to promote democracy and human rights while a negative signal will result in regimes being more suspicious and obstinate.
Presuming democracy is the only legitimate or worthwhile form of government is both inaccurate and unproductive
As much as the more liberal citizenry of many of the world's democracies wish to believe otherwise, democracy as a system of government is not the only game in town. In fact, the growth of the strong-state/state-capitalism approach to government has gained much traction in developing countries that witness the incredible rise of China, which will before long be the world's largest economy, flourish under an undemocratic model.[1] Chinas ruling communist party have legitimacy as a result of its performance and its historical role reunifying the country.[2] Democracies pretending they are the only meaningful or legitimate states only serve to antagonize their non-democratic neighbours. Such antagonism is doubly damaging, considering that all states, democracies included, rely on alliances and deals with other states to guarantee their security and prosperity. This has meant that through history democracies have had to deal with non-democracies as equal partners on the international stage, and this fact is no different today. States cannot always pick and choose their allies, and democracies best serve their citizens by furthering their genuine interests on the world stage. This policy serves as a wedge between democracies and their undemocratic allies that will only weaken their relations to the detriment of both. When the matter comes to surveillance technology, Western states' unwillingness to share an important technology they are willing to use themselves causes tension between these states. Non-democracies have just as much right to security that surveillance technology can provide as the more advanced states that develop those technologies.
[1] Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. "Is State Capitalism Winning?". Project Syndicate. 31 December 2012. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-china-s-growth-model-will-fail-by-daron-acemoglu-and-james-a--robinson
[2] Li, Eric X, "The Life of the Party", Foreign Affairs, January/February 2013, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138476/eric-x-li/the-life-of-the-party?page=4
Real politick is not the only consideration democracies should entertain when they engage in international relations. Indeed, the Western powers have sought since World War II to develop a system of international justice that recognizes the primacy of peoples' rights irrespective of where they are born. This principle is constantly compromised as democracies jockey for influence with undemocratic regimes, bolstering those regimes and their repressive norms in the process. In order to be consistent, and to serve the true interests of justice, democracies must not aid undemocratic governments in the repression of their people.
It is hypocritical for democratic governments to utilize surveillance technology to watch their own people while denying that technology to others
It is a fatal conceit to consider democracies somehow above the influence of using their surveillance technology to curtail the freedoms of their own citizens. The biggest customers of Western surveillance technology companies are wealthy democracies. The United Kingdom, for example, has one of the most-watched populations in the world, with a saturation of CCTV cameras far in excess of any dictatorship.[1] The PATRIOT Act in America, also, has given the federal government enormous scope for domestic spying. These powers are no less simply because the government is composed in part of elected officials. The security establishment is appointed, not elected, and their servicemen are promoted from within. It is base hypocrisy to pretend that the security systems are inherently more just when employed in democratic states than in undemocratic ones. They are used for the same purpose, to ensure that the state is protected and the status quo maintained. Democracies have no moral basis on which to base this policy.
[1] BBC News. "Britain is 'Surveillance Society'". 2 November 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6108496.stm
While Western states are willing to use surveillance technology to restrict their citizens, they do so always with a democratic mandate. That is the key difference. Democracies use surveillance technology to provide their people with the safety and security they demand, a security over which the people always have the veto of the ballot box. The non-democracy is not checked by any such power, and thus its use of surveillance technology faces no constraint.
This ban will alienate non-democracies from discourse and stifle reform efforts
When a state is declared illegitimate in the eyes of a large part of the international community, its natural reaction is one of upset and anger. A ban on the sale of surveillance technology to non-democracies would be seen as a brutal slap in the face to many regimes that consider themselves, and are often considered by their people, to be the legitimate government of their country. The ban will result in further tension between non-democracies and democracies, breaking down communication channels. Democracies are best able to effect change in regimes when they seek to engage them constructively, to galvanize them to make gradual connections to the development of civil society and to loosen restrictions on freedoms, such as reducing domestic spying. The ban makes it clear that the ultimate aim of democracies is to effectively overthrow the existing governments of non-democracies in favour of systems more like their own. The outcome of this conclusion is far less willingness on the part of these regimes to discuss reform, and makes it more likely that they will demonize pro-democracy activists within their borders as agents of foreign powers seeking to subvert and conquer them. This particular narrative has been used to great effect by many regimes throughout history, including North Korea and Zimbabwe, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa for example denounced a travel and arms sales ban as attempting to "undermine the inclusive government".[1] By treating non-democracies as responsible actors democracies do much more in effectively furthering their own aims.
[1] BBC News, "Zimbabwean minister denounces EU", 14 September 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8254367.stm
Banning the sale of surveillance technology does not mean democracies are declaring all undemocratic regimes illegitimate. Rather, they are simply not allowing their technology to aid in the repression of people, which is the only use to which that technology is put in practice. Reform sometimes demands a firm hand, and while some regimes will be riled by what they perceive as an insult, the greater chance for dissidents to develop networks and voices is worth the cost.
The inability to use advanced technologies merely forces non-democracies to utilize more unsavoury methods to achieve their aims
If it is the aim of an undemocratic regime to use advanced surveillance technology to gather intelligence on, and ultimately crush, dissent it will find other means of doing so. Their calculus of survival is not changed, only their available methods. Their first port of call will be the more advanced non-democracies that might be able to supply comparable surveillance equipment. China's military and surveillance technology is fast catching up to that of the West, and makes an appealing alternative source for equipment.[1] The only difference is that the Chinese have no compunction at all about how the technology is used, meaning worse outcomes for pro-democracy groups who run afoul of them. When this strategy fails regimes can turn to the tried and tested models of past decades, using physical force and other less technological modes of coercion to cow dissent. Again, this form of repression is quite effective, but it is also much more painful to those on the receiving end. Given the options, democracies supplying surveillance technology may be the best option for dissidents in undemocratic countries.
[1] Walton, G. "China's Golden Shield: Corporations and the Development of Surveillance Technology in the People's Republic of China". International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. 2001.
Oppressive regimes have turned to the use of advanced surveillance technology in response to activists' learning to evade more conventional methods of surveillance, and by moving their organizations online. Western surveillance technology has filled a niche that was once open for dissidents. By placing this ban, even if the regimes turn back to old methods, they will still be hampered in the crushing of dissent. Furthermore, no regime has the resources or power to have physical surveillance as pervasive as the technology denied them would allow. Electronic surveillance therefore can cast a much broader net that would allow the government to repress many more people who would not be subject to more labour intensive physical surveillance.
How do you feel now, please vote
Acemoglu, D. and Robinson, J. "Is State Capitalism Winning?". Project Syndicate. 31 December 2012. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-china-s-growth-model-will-fail-by-daron-acemoglu-and-james-a--robinson
Banks, M. "Senior MEP Calls for Freeze on Arms Sale to North Africa". The Parliament.com. 7 July 2011. http://www.theparliament.com/latest-news/article/newsarticle/senior-mep-calls-for-freeze-on-arms-sale-to-north-africa/
BBC News. "Britain is 'Surveillance Society'". 2 November 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6108496.stm
BBC News, "Zimbabwean minister denounces EU", 14 September 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8254367.stm
Burrows, G. "No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade". New Internationalist. 2002, http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Weapons/Arms_Trade.html
Elgin, B. "House Bill May Ban US Surveillance Gear Sales". Bloomberg. 9 December 2012. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-09/house-bill-would-ban-surveillance-gear-sales-by-american-firms.html
Elgin, Ben, and Vernon Silver. 2011. "Syria Crackdown Gets Italy Firm's Aid With U.S.-Europe Spy Gear - Bloomberg." Bloomberg. Retrieved December 31, 2011 (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/syria-crackdown-gets-italy-firm-s-aid-with-u-s-europe-spy-gear.html ).
Karr, Timothy, and Clothilde Le Coz. 2011. "Corporations and the Arab Net Crackdown." Foreign Policy in Focus. Retrieved September 24, 2011 (http://www.fpif.org/articles/corporations_and_the_arab_net_crackdown).
Lévêque, Thierry, "France investigates tech firm accused of aiding Syria", Reuters, 26 July 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/syria-france-qosmos-idUSL6E8IQN9520120726
Li, Eric X, "The Life of the Party", Foreign Affairs, January/February 2013, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138476/eric-x-li/the-life-of-the-party?page=4
Michalski, Wenzel, and Ben Wagner. 2013. "Should companies take responsibility for repression?" CNN - Global Public Square. Retrieved May 19, 2013 (http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/13/should-companies-take-responsibility-for-repression/).
Obama, Barack, "Remarks by the President on a new beginning", Office of the Press Secretary, 4 June 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09
Rep. Christopher Smith, "H.R. 491: Global Online Freedom Act of 2013", Govtrack.us, 4 February 2013, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr491
Rep. Christopher Smith, "H.R. 3605: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011", Govtrack.us, 8 December 2011, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr3605
Silver, Vernon, and Ben Elgin. 2011. "Torture in Bahrain Becomes Routine With Help From Nokia Siemens." Bloomberg. Retrieved August 28, 2011 (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-22/torture-in-bahrain-becomes-routine-with-help-from-nokia-siemens-networking.html ).
Valentino-Devries, J. "US Firm Acknowledges Syria Uses its Gear to Block Web". Wall Street Journal. 29 October 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577001911398596328.html
Walton, G. "China's Golden Shield: Corporations and the Development of Surveillance Technology in the People's Republic of China". International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. 2001.
Wagner, Ben. 2012. Exporting Censorship and Surveillance Technology. Den Haag, The Netherlands. http://www.academia.edu/2133607/Exporting_Censorship_and_Surveillance_Technology
Wexler, L. "The International Deployment of Shame, Second-Best Responses, And Norm Entrepreneurship: The Campaign to Ban Landmine and the landmine Ban Treaty". Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. 2003. http://www.ajicl.org/AJICL2003/vol203/wexlerarticle.pdf
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text:
Buffalo Bandits
Calgary Roughnecks
Marcelo Alfonso Sagüez
National Lacrosse League
Calgary Stumbles in Banditland 12/6/21
Posted By Lacrosse is Awesome on December 6, 2021
Logos Property of NLL
Marcelo A. Sagüez, Correspondent Calgary Roughnecks
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Courtesy of Calgary Roughnecks
It seems like a lifetime since we watched pro Lacrosse and last weekend marked the start of 2021 NLL season. The Calgary Roughnecks (0-1) opened the season in "Banditland" at the KeyBank Center home to the Buffalo Bandits (1-0) without the likes of Dane Dobbie and Rhys Duch who were traded in the off season. Many new faces to the Riggers line up after 20 months of little or no time on the floor, rust formed and it'll take a game or two to shake it off. The trades of certain players I consider to have been key members of this Roughneck's team have left vacant spots in leadership roles and it showed in Saturday night's game. Final Score: Bandits 16—Roughnecks 6.
The first half was identical when looking at the stats sheet. Each team scored two in the first and five in the second. The third quarter is when the wheels fell off the Roughnecks offense and it was all Bandits, stealing seven unanswered goals to put the game out of the reach for Calgary.
"You know, we had flashes where we looked really great and then there were other times where we took shots that we shouldn't be taking and that are uncharacteristic of us. We're going out and not sticking to our scheme like we should be. We have a lot of new guys on the team that are still figuring things out. There's lots of room to grow for us." – Jesse King
Developing the winning team dynamic and cohesiveness will be high on the player's lists moving forward. Losing this game 16-9 on the road is not part of the game plan, but a necessary step to correcting errors and development.
"At the start of the game we had some real good looks inside. We had a shooting plan and we didn't really follow the shooting plan early and I thought we gave (Matt) Vinc some confidence early…they were on the power play and we made an error of turning the ball over and it ended up in our net. A couple of breakdowns here and there and the next thing you know they scored four in a row. They went on a seven to nothing run and if you do that, you pretty much put a nail in your own coffin." – Curt Malawsky
Roughneck's major contributors were Jesse King (2g, 4a, 11 shots) and Curtis Dickson (4g, 1a, 12 shots). Rookie Tanner Cook (1g) would also score his first NLL career goal in the contest.
Photo Courtesy of Calgary Roughnecks
The Bandits would see Josh Byrne (4g, 3a); Connor Fields (4g, 1a); Dhane Smith (3g, 6a); and rookie Tehoka Nanticoke (3g) the third-overall pick in the 2021 Draft, score his first NLL career goal.
The seven-time keeper of the year Matt Vinc and the Bandits were out shot 58-49 when it was all said and done.
"We stuck with it. I was proud of the guys that we stuck with it in the fourth quarter. No one quit. But once you put yourself behind the eight ball that bad, it's really hard to climb out of a hole that deep, especially in an opposing rink." – Curt Malawsky
Calgary Roughnecks—58 SOG; 33 Saves; 18-29 FO; 2-5 PP
Buffalo Bandits—49 SOG: 49 Saves; 11-29 FO; 1-5 PP
The Calgary Roughnecks (0-1) will head to the Sasktel Centre on Saturday December 11th, to face the Saskatchewan Rush (0-1). Game time 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will also be an Alterna Cup game. It can be seen on ESPN+ in the USA and TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada.
The Buffalo Bandits (1-0) head over to the Blue Cross Arena on Saturday December 11th to face the Rochester Knighthawks for another battle in New York. Game time 7:00 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on ESPN+ in the USA and TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada.
Posted in Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Lacrosse, Marcelo Alfonso Sagüez, National Lacrosse League, NLL Tagged buffalo bandits, calgary roughnecks, Lacrosse, national lacrosse league, nll
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The moment you have all been waiting for! Our INSIDE OUT family!
We are always proud of our daughter but she really took the cake with this one. She was set on making sure her body language spoke "Sadness." From choosing Sadness as her costume to getting perfectly in character, this girl is a SUPERSTAR.
Yes, my husband and I do not have individual shots, but it took all we had to get those three and the group photo done. 🙂 Plus, we are neither as cute or as good of actors as these kids are.
Let's not forget our dear patient, the pumpkin. How awesome of a job did the hubs do??? We even picked up some blue light sticks for the full effect. By the way, he also shot all of our photos and edited them in one day. Best, most talented husband ever!
HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone! Be safe, have lots of fun and eat tons of candy.
If you missed it, make sure to check out how I made the Joy, Disgust, Fear, Anger and Sadness costumes.
Best post to date!!!! Love, love, love!!!!
THE BEST costumed family ever!


All sports are unpredictable and football is not exempt from that; in fact, football is sometimes more surprising than other disciplines, as everything can happen in the span of 90 minutes. We have witnessed astonishing performances by teams and players either on single games or through a complete season.
These feats have been remarkable, impressive and some of them are very hard to replicate. This time we got to list 10 impressive achievements we have seen in the history of football; things that seem difficult to copy nowadays and that makes them more valuable. This is our list of football feats that shocked the world.
This record is as impressive as upsetting since it was produced as a protest for bad refereeing towards one of the teams involved in the match. Back in October 2002, AS Adema and SO l'Emyrne starred the game with the biggest scoreboard in the history of football. The game was part of a four-team round robin to determine Madagascar national champion.
SO l'Emyrne was disadvantaged by poor judging in prior games and decided to play against AS Adema, but protesting for the bad decisions that left them out of competition for the title. They picked a singular way to show their discontent and as soon as the whistle went, they started to score on goals. In the end, they had made 149 goals, setting a world record; things didn't end good for SO l'Emyrne, as they were banned from the game three years.
It is hard to find a clear answer on this matter, given the fact that hat-tricks are scored often and at different levels. However, if we're speaking about professional football, there is a case that beats the others in a great fashion.
Magnus Arvidsson, a retired Swedish forward has the honor of scoring the quickest hat-trick of all time in professional football. He did so during his days with IFK Hässleholm back in 1995, when he scored a hat-trick in 1 minute and 29 seconds against BolS, breaking Tommy Ross' record of 90 seconds.
Three years ago, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski made sure to be remembered for the rest of history thanks to the numbers of goals he scored in a short span of time. Lewandowski destroyed Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg as a substitute back in September 2015, when he scored five goals in just 9 minutes.
He took his team from losing the game to win it in a great way; he tied the scoreboard at the 51st minute, gave Bayern the lead one minute later, then increased it at the 55th minute before closing the night with two other goals at 57th and 60th minutes of the game, respectively. Lewandowski also scored the fastest Bundesliga hat-trick in history and became the first substitute to score five goals in a match.
Scoring 131 goals throughout a career is something that not much strikers are capable of doing these times. However, we are not talking about strikers in this spot, but about a goalkeeper who defied everything to become the highest-scorer in history for a player who plays far away from the rival's area.
Rogerio Ceni had a marvelous 25-year career, in which he spent 24 with only one club -another record-, São Paulo, racking up big numbers that made him a legend not only in his side but in his country and probably at a world level. He scored 69 goals from the spot, 61 from free-kicks and 1 from open play in 1257 games for Sao Paulo, breaking the previous one held by Jose Luis Chilavert, who scored 67 goals in his career.
Dino Zoff is a total referent when we talk about goalkeepers, as the Italian legend set the examples for several goalies that came after him. Through his career, Zoff managed to set plenty of records that even though were beaten in next years, are still pretty impressive. His nine consecutive Serie A clean sheets record was only broken by Gianluigi Buffon a couple of years ago.
Anyway, that's not why we're here, but for his incredible 1142 minutes without receiving goals at international level. Dino holds the record for the longest stretch of minutes without allowing a single goal in international football; he achieved it between 1972 and 1974 until it was finished by Haitian Mannon Sanon's goal in the 1974 World Cup.
Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, a.k.a. Pele, is known for a bunch of things, considered the best player that has ever played the game in the eye of many thanks to the stuff he did on the pitch. Well, he also managed to get in our list as the player who had scored more goals in the first division.
Perhaps Lionel Messi can break his record very soon, but according to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in the history of football with his 650 goals in 694 League matches. In total, he tallied 1281 goals in 1363 games, including unofficial friendly matches.
Speaking of Lionel Messi, here is the Argentinian star again and this time with his own record. Ever since he exploded as a reliable scorer, Messi hasn't stopped delivering not only for Barcelona but the Argentina national team and back in 2012, Messi showed the biggest example of his scoring capacity.
He managed to score 91 goals in a calendar year with both Barcelona and his country seven years ago; he made 59 goals in the La Liga, 13 in Champions League, five in Copa del Rey and two in the Spanish Super Cup. Plus, he scored another 12 with Argentina shared between friendly matches (7) and the South American World Cup qualifiers (5).
There have been good runs in history when we talk about unbeaten teams, but there is one who surfaces above all and it didn't even happen in Europe. If you're one of those thinking Steaua Bucarest had the best unbeaten run, you were almost right, as the Rumanian team is only four games behind ASEC Mimosas.
A club based in Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire, had a terrific streak of 108 undefeated games through 1989 and 1994 in the Côte D'Ivoire Premier Division. The most impressive thing about this feat is the fact that they had four different bosses and yet were reluctant to lose. This one is a nearly-unbreakable record that will last for several years to come.
Although Pep Guardiola was in Barcelona only four seasons, the Spanish boss and his team made sure to be remembered for eternity. He was successful during all his tenure with the Blaugrana, but his first two seasons in the club can be considered the peak of their production, as they produced the famous sextuple.
The team managed to win six titles in 2009, starting from the La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. These titles gave them the chance to play for the Spanish and European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World cup. They were about to lose the final tournament of the year against Argentinian side Estudiantes, but a couple of late goals took the Catalonians to achieve something nobody except for them has done.
If keeping a good level through one year is hard, imagine what it's like to maintain that good standard over five years. That's exactly what Spanish giants Real Madrid did during the mid-50s and early 60s when they won not one or two or three European Cups, but five of them; incredibly, they won the first five editions of the tournament displaying a very good football and anything but mercy to their rivals.
Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and more led the team to become the best in Europe and arguably in the world, defeating important rivals like Milan or Fiorentina on their way to make history. They were keen to continue his dominance in the continent then in the 60s and would have been another three championships if it wasn't for Benfica and Inter.
Not any team has been capable of doing what Real Madrid during the first five editions of the European Cup and is very plausible that nobody won't even be able to emulate them.


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Review: Constellations, Liverpool Playhouse
Posted by Damon Fairclough | May 27, 2015 | Arts, Blasts from the Furnace, Northern Soul writes..., Theatre
Almost 20 years ago, Pulp released their career-defining album Different Class. Along with the Yanis Varoufakis-approved anthem Common People, it also featured a song called Something Changed. In the song, which is a delicate strum-a-long until some easy-listening strings send it soaring, St Jarvis of Intake ruminates on the temporal singularity around which a relationship was once conjured into existence.
The lyric tells of an ordinary Sheffield evening when he might have stayed in or gone out to the cinema, but in the end did neither of those things. He went to the Leadmill and met the unnamed individual to whom the song is addressed. And thus a seemingly insignificant decision became a moment to be remembered. Or, at least, to be turned into Mercury Prize-winning gold.
When contemplating matters of philosophy, I don't refer to the works of Jarvis Cocker very often, but he does have a habit of whisking the most mundane of thoughts into a head-spinning whirl. It's a quality shared by Nick Payne's twinkling pin-prick of a play, Constellations, currently on tour from London's Royal Court, in which the cosmological concept of the multiverse becomes a clever theatrical conceit. This is the idea that every decision we make spawns an entire new universe in which the alternative course of action – the path we didn't take – actually occurs.
On a pitch-black stage hung with a cumulonimbus of balloons, Marianne and Roland meet at a barbecue. There is flirting and rebuttal. Then there's a crackle and a flash, and the brief scene replays. Except this time it's different. Just a word out of place. Another electrical discharge in the heavens, and the scene runs again. Roland is married; Marianne's flirting falls flat. And again the scene plays through once more, this time seeming to branch off and turn in on itself, heading off in yet another direction like an endlessly spiralling rave-video fractal, and slowly, ever so gradually, a narrative thread begins to unwind.
Except there's never just one thread to this story. It's a yarn that constantly frays and splits, the same scenes playing over and over with ever-shifting cadence and emphasis, the story turning on one altered word, on a fold of the arms or a turn of the head. Sometimes Marianne and Roland are in the throes of gigglesome first love; then the same moment replays and they're nervous and uncertain, apprehensive and wary. In one moment their words seem to mean what they say; in the next, the words sound hollow, undermined by body language and mood.
So, on the surface, Constellations is a love story, one of those Truly Madly Deeply affairs that hurls two middle-class types into a tastefully-furnished tumult of passion and artisan honey. And if that was all it was then I'd be giving it short shrift. Nothing grinds my gears quite like a self-consciously poignant rom-com. But while Constellations has plenty of rom and some brilliant com, its core is an existential conundrum about finding wonder in a purposeless universe. And that's something even I can enjoy.
For all that it often bobs and weaves like a feather on the breeze, it can also seem hurled like a rock; its target is the human habit of projecting patterns onto the cosmos, and at its best it shows up all those fatuous 'everything happens for a reason' Facebook updates for the lies they really are. There's a moment when this theme explodes in glorious fashion as the now terminally ill Marianne lambasts the twee in memoriams and platitudes on an internet forum for the recently bereaved.
"If you put a photo of me on a fucking forum," she bellows at Roland, "I'll haunt the shit out of you."
Yes, that's right, Marianne is terminally ill. But what could become sickly and slippery instead serves as the grit that gives the story its purchase. These are two people potentially weighed down by destiny – 'Why me? Why us? What did we do to deserve this?' – but Constellations steadfastly insists that the universe administers neither pleasure nor punishment. Consequences can accumulate delightfully, but they can also divide and mutate just like cancer. And it's happening all the time, not just when you're paying attention.
This is where Constellations departs from Jarvis Cocker's reading of chance. Because his insight in Something Changed is predicated on the fact that his significant relationship turned on a single momentous choice; that one decision was the fulcrum on which rested his life. Constellations seems to deny the concept of significance; its argument is that every moment carries weight, that potential possibilities constantly diverge, that we have no pre-destined happy-ever-after or tragedy, but rather a series of fractured moments that we must make the best of while we can. We may project significance, but to the universe, all moments are equal.
Sorry Jarvis, but that's how it is.
Watching Constellations is a bit like witnessing an actors' masterclass, a workshop for performers honing their technique. We can imagine the director scribbling notes and calling out from a coffee-ringed rehearsal room desk, 'OK, let's try that again, only this time with more irony/ebullience/rage'.
Louise Brealey as Marianne and Joe Armstrong as Roland are both exceptional, managing to wrench infinities of meaning from identical phrases again and again. The dialogue is delicious, the direction (by Michael Longhurst) is tight, and the disarming simplicity of Tom Scutt's party-shop set conceals a tangle of metaphor. Are they balloons or storm clouds? A brain or some stars? Are they cells, or are they atomised souls?
I enjoyed Constellations very much and if there was a feeling at the end that perhaps it didn't quite deliver the intensity that the subject matter and setting might have led me to expect, it was a minor disappointment. In truth, it's more naturally a studio show than a main house production, and even in a modestly-sized main room like the Liverpool Playhouse, a little of its energy dissipates when you can't see the whites of their eyes. It originated in the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, seating 90, and it would be a treat to see it somewhere so small.
But having enjoyed a West End transfer and a spell on Broadway, its success means it has outgrown those humble roots. And you should still go and see it because it's worth your attention – and besides, there are infinite possible universes in which to stay at home watching TV.
By Damon Fairclough
What: Constellations
Where: Liverpool Playhouse and touring
Tour information: www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/constellations-uk-tour?gclid=CNKc7pOP2cUCFWuWtAodiVsA9A
PreviousReview: The Car Man, The Lowry
NextReview: The Funfair, HOME, Manchester
Damon Fairclough
Damon Fairclough is a freelance writer based in Liverpool (via a long-lost Sheffield of the soul). In a career spanning a shocking number of years, he claims to have written about 'brutal grey music, ultra-brite passions and the dogged persistence of memory'. In practice, this means writing about mix-tapes, cities, theatres, haircuts, concrete, drizzle and bus stops – among other things. You might find his words in publications including Northern Soul, Louder Than War, Bido Lito and Stuplex, or you could well discover them over at his own writing archive, Noise Heat Power. You might also wish to know that he's available for hire as a freelance copywriter and content creator. Find his portfolio at damonfairclough.com, stalk him on twitter by following @noiseheatpower or, failing that, simply whisper rumours about him when he's out of the room.
Painting the North: Colin Jellicoe auction, Capes Dunn, Heaton Mersey
"The whole myth of The La's is crazy." Paul Hemmings talks to Northern Soul
Review: Fiddler on the Roof, Liverpool Everyman
Review: Joy for Ever, The Whitworth, Manchester


What Is One A Day Women's Menopause Formula?
One A Day Women's Menopause Formula is a complete multivitamin that is formulated with natural soy isoflavones to help address symptoms related with the menopausal transition, such as hot flashes and mood swings. It also contributes to heart, skin, and bone health.
One A Day Women's Menopause Formula has a variety of ingredients that work together to relieve menopause symptoms and positively influence overall health. For example, its soy isoflavones, which are potent phytoestrogens, help replenish the body of its lost estrogen, subsequently remedying the hormonal imbalance. Also, the extra added vitamins (such as A and D) supports healthy immune function, skin, bone health, and more.
Vitamin C - necessary for the absorption of iron, a healthy immune system, wound healing, etc.
Calcium Carbonate, Powdered Soybean Isoflavones Extract, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Magnesium Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate; Less than 2% of: Beta-Carotene, Biotin, Cholecalciferol, Chromium Chloride, Croscarmellose Sodium, Cupric Oxide, Cyanocobalamin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, FD&C Blue #2 Lake, FD&C Red #40 Dye, FD&C Red #40 Lake, Folic Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Manganese Sulfate, Niacinamide, Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenite, Stearic Acid, Talc, Thiamine Mononitrate, Titanium Dioxide (color), Vitamin A Acetate, Zinc Oxide.
This product does not contain gluten, wheat, or dairy and claims not to contain any artificial flavors or artificial sweeteners either.
This product is not recommended for women who are pregnant, nursing, or have a history of cancer. If you wish to use it anyways and have the aforementioned conditions, consult with a trusted medical healthcare professional first.
The One A Day site mentions no side effects. Also, the product label has no information about side effects from short-term or long-term use either. However, users on Amazon mention side effects of headaches, dry mouth, increased appetite, and intestinal problems as well as increased occurrences of night sweats and hot flashes.
Positive reviews credit One A Day's product for relieving their menopausal symptoms of irritability, hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, fatigue, and more. They also praise the supplement for being a multivitamin at the same time.
Negative reviews claim that the product simply didn't work and caused side effects of headaches, allergic reactions, and worsened symptoms. Various reviewers also mention health concerns from ambiguous ingredients added into the blend.
No further sources of reviews present on other reputable websites.
Take one tablet daily with food. Keep out of reach of children.
One A Day Women's Menopause Formula can be purchased from Amazon or Walmart. When purchasing from the company website (www.oneaday.com), you will be directed to one of the two aforementioned retailers to complete the transaction. The supplement may be found available for purchase at pharmacies such as CVS and Rite Aid, too.
One A Day® is a registered trademark.


Here at Mr Mattress we have trained bed specialists who can help assess your personal needs and requirements to ensure you make the right choice. A good mattress should be a priority, after all we do spend more than a third of our lives in it. We have been selling mattresses in our high street stores for over 25 years and truly believe by choosing the right mattress you will get better quality sleep, which will leave you feeling refreshed and invigorated in the morning.
Need help choosing a mattress, check out our guide to choosing your mattress.


Iframe device won't refresh picture from ip camera.
I have an ipcam that delivers a rtsp stream and a jpeg snapshot as basic http command.
this cannot be used with the ipcamera plugin since this plugin wants mjpeg. the camera does not (or at least I don't know how) support this.
So I tried using the iframe device to see a snapshot of my camera. this works but the picture only updates once.
and that is when the pi reboots.
after that the iframe device seems to be getting the picture from cache and since only the picture itself changes the iframe device doesn't update with the new picture.
when I use the same url in any browser the picture updates when I refresh the page.
Tried the reload option but it didn't work.
@djmvt Do a search on iframe and refresh on this forum, there is a trick for it.
tried the date trick with the shellsensor but I guess I am iplementing this wrong.
Looked at the iSpy connect site but so far none of the cgi seems to work.
The ip cam is a no brand device with no support at all and my knowledge to get this going is simply not on par with everybody here on the forum.
too bad for me, gonna have to do without the cam then, hope someone will implement rtsp so I can add the camera as ipcam device.
not with the date shellsensor, couldn't get that to work so now I use the sysinfo cpu variable.
thanks @koffienl for pointing me in the right direction.


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Abstracts: Medicaid, Nuclear Tests, and More
Top: Ivy Mike, an atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the U.S. on Enewetak Atoll in 1952, was the world's first successful hydrogen bomb. Visual: Flickr.com/CTBTO
By Maria Temming
• President Trump and House Republicans are aiming to alter Medicaid so that able-bodied beneficiaries are required to hold down jobs. (Washington Post)
Ivy Mike, an atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the U.S. on Enewetak Atoll in 1952, was the world's first successful hydrogen bomb. Visual: Flickr.com/CTBTO
• A team of physicists and archivists collected and digitized film of 210 atmospheric nuclear tests that the U.S. conducted between 1945 and 1962. Because these tests have been outlawed since 1963, the resurfaced footage serves as a powerful reminder of the devastation wrought by nuclear weaponry. (NPR)
• British scientists got the green light to create babies with DNA from three different people. This procedure is intended to prevent mothers from passing along potentially deadly diseases to their children. (TIME)
• Overheated seawater killed hundreds of miles of coral along the Great Barrier Reef last year. Scientists say there's no doubt that human-induced climate change is to blame. (New York Times)
• The hunter-gatherer San people of South Africa have been the subject of scientific scrutiny for over a century. This month, they published a code of ethics that researchers must abide by, if they want to study San culture, genetics, or heritage. (Science)
• A new study shows that tropical bed bugs — found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and recently Florida — easily scale the smooth walls of pitfall traps used to catch common bed bugs in the U.S. (Science News)
• A cholesterol medication has been shown to lower heart disease patients' risk of cardiovascular problems by 15 percent. But brace yourself for the sticker shock, because this drug costs $14,000 per year, and who knows if insurers will cover it. (STAT)
• Forget cockroaches — if anything is surviving the apocalypse, it's water bears. These tough little buggers can survive exceedingly cold temperatures, getting boiled, getting blasted by radiation, and being dehydrated for decades. Now, scientists might have finally identified the protein that allows these creatures to accomplish their incredible feats of endurance. (WIRED)
• And finally, scientists found a frog that's always rave-ready. The South American polka-dot tree frog is the first of its kind known to glow under black lights. (Popular Science)
Of Science, Fear, and Nuclear Radiation
By Mark Wolverton
Viewpoint: The Downwinders' Dilemma
By Aria Alamalhodaei


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Каменков (Каменкова) — фамилия:

 Каменков, Георгий Владимирович (1908—1966) — советский учёный.

 Каменкова, Анна Семёновна (род. 1953) — советская и российская актриса.

См. также
 Каменкович

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Multi-use water displacing and rust preventing lubricant specially formulated for use with electronic and mechanical assemblies.
Multi-use water displacing and rust preventing lubricant specially formulated for use with electronic and mechanical assemblies. Displaces moisture from metal surfaces including: relays, switches,distributors etc. Quickly penetrates rusted and corroded metal parts like nuts and bolts, valves, tools.


The performance of Intuiface very much depends on the type of content you use and the hardware capability of your presentation platform. For example, interactive experiences using high definition videos and other demanding content likely require CPU/GPU/RAM power and significant hard drive speed to ensure smooth performance.
If you have the luxury to build your own Windows system - or at least some budget freedom - the following lists, in descending order of importance (i.e. starts with the more important), improvements you can make to optimize performance.
High performance, CPU-independent GPU (nVidia or AMD).
Finally, regardless of your PC's specs, make sure your computer has been set to a Full Performance power plan. Budget power plans will, by definition, throttle back performance.
These are minimums which apply for experience of medium complexity and on fullHD display. To maximize performance, exceed them as much as your budget will allow.
This does not include the Microsoft Surface Hub which can only run Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications. Intuiface Composer and Player are not UWP applications.
For MacOS, use Boot Camp or virtual machine software like Parallels. NB: with parallels at least 4GB must be assigned to the virtual machine.
Intel® Core i5 4th generation (or an equivalent AMD processor).
Windows RT (also named Windows 8 RT) is not supported.
Keep in mind that some Windows tablets use the ARM-based Windows RT operating system while others use the Intel-based Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 operating system. The latter are supported by Intuiface, the former are not.
32-bit Windows 7, 8.1 and 10 can technically be used but we recommend the 64-bit versions.
Regardless of the model, your iPad should be running iOS 9 or later.
Player performance improves with each iPad version due to improved hardware (CPU) and OS performance. As a result, always use the best equipped iPad at your disposal.
Any device released after the editions listed above, with reservations regarding the iPad Mini - see below.
Avoid using any iPad version inferior to iPad 4th generation as the performance of those older devices is not sufficient to adequately run Intuiface Player.
Running Android Version 5.0 or later. Android Version 4.4 is the minimum supported OS.
With a screen at least 7" in diagonal; this excludes all phones and most "phablets".
Devices based on the Rockchip RK3188 series or below are not supported. If you need to use such devices make sure proper tests of 3D and video rendering are performed before deployment. For the Rockchip line of processors, use the RK3288 series or later.
Take a look at our benchmark tests for more details.
Any Chromebook, Chromebox or Chromebase.
Intuiface Player for Kiosks can run on any Samsung SSP 4.0, SSP 5.0, and SSP 6.0 devices. See SSSP supported hardware for more info.
Player for Kiosks can run on any LG Smart Signage device running webOS Version 3.x and 4.x (i.e. all releases of Version 3 and Version 4). This includes LG's interactive smart signage displays like the IR-based TA3E Series and the PCAP-based TC3D Integrated Digital Board. LG Smart TVs are NOT supported.


is consequently decreasing for the benefit of Islam.
Morocco could be proud on the biggest geographical variety from all states of north Africa. The country has long coastal line at Mediterranean as well as at Atlantic coast. From rest of the continent, it is protected with Atlas Mountain Range in the east, and with Sahara Desert in west direction.
As main environmental problem of Morocco is a fact of excessive grass grazing up and excessive feeling trees. To main reasons of such activities belong disappearing of typical Morocco oaks, cork oaks and arganians. At present, vast programmes of planting out are running, some of them with international support. The other actions, this time under support of planting of several animal sorts, which are in menacing danger (such as. Berberian deer, partrides, etc.) are in development.
The climate in littoral areas is mostly moderate, but, on the other hand, it could be cold and humid, especially in the north. Average temperatures in Tanger and in Casablanca are moving in range from 12°C in winter (since December till March) up to 25° C in summer (since June till September), in inland towns, for instance, in Marrakesh, the temperatures reach in summer even 33° C. The quantity of precipitation is the highest in Rif Mountain Range and in north part of Central Atlas, where dry weather is mostly in summer months only.
From population of 30 millions, 70% persons are younger than 30 years of age, and local population growth makes 2,2%. Half of the inhabitants are living in towns: Most of population is formed with Berbers (approx. 50%) and Arabs, although it is not easy to distinguish it. Nevertheless, Morocco has to solve two internal serious problems, such as: great measure of population who are unable to read and write, and increasing unemployment.


A small business in Boise. File photo.
Small business owners are contending with a calendar problem that becomes a cash flow problem — they're waiting longer to get paid.
Some customers, whether they're consumers or other companies, are taking more time to pay than they did six months ago. That makes it hard for owners to manage cash flow and pay their own bills, and some are now asking for more money up front or requiring credit card payments.
At TSR Hockey in Salem, N.H., the customers include the owners of ice rinks and local sports teams whose orders for uniforms and equipment can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. In the last year, some customers have taken two or three months to pay, compared to a month previously. The company is sympathetic — youth hockey teams, for example, are waiting for parents to pay too, says business manager Susan Frazier.
"If they don't get all their money, we don't get all our money," she says.
But TSR Hockey now asks teams to put 50 percent down when they place an order, with the balance due upon delivery. Some types of merchandise now must be ordered online with a credit card.
Companies' slowdown in paying is reflected in a drop in PAYDEX, an index that tracks how much time small businesses take to pay their own creditors. PAYDEX fell 3 percent during the first half of this year from the last six months of 2015, according to Dun & Bradstreet Corp., which compiles the index. That decline in the index — which means companies are taking longer to settle up — followed a 1 percent increase at the end of last year when compared with the first half of 2015.
The economy likely is one reason, as consumers and companies prioritize which bills will be paid first.
Valerie Allen has seen it at her eponymous public relations company in Sherman Oaks, California.
To ease the crunch, she's now taking credit card and electronic payments, and that helps some clients pay faster. Allen does have to pay a fee for accepting credit card payments, but getting paid faster helps her cash flow.
Slower payments may also be part of some companies' business strategy, a lingering effect of the Great Recession, says Mary Driscoll, a researcher with Houston-based metrics company APQC. Many publicly held companies began paying more slowly to build up their cash reserves and balance sheets, she says.
"They got in the habit of extending payment times as a matter of policy," Driscoll says.
In a study released in October by APQC, two-thirds of the businesses surveyed — most of them small businesses — reported getting slower payments in the previous three years. A 2014 study by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology's Scheller College of Business showed that companies of all sizes are taking longer to pay — 46 days in 2014 versus 35 in 2009, even though the economy was much healthier in 2014.
Some businesses may also use partial payments as leverage to get a better deal, says Robert Pellegrini, an attorney with PK Boston, a law firm based in Massachusetts. A small business that's waiting for its money may not want to retaliate.
"Many small business owners are afraid to collect for fear of upsetting a long-term client, but continuing the work without being paid sets a dangerous precedent that will ensure you will never be paid on time," Pellegrini says.
Instituting or requiring the use of credit cards has helped some like Allen mitigate payment problems. But other small businesses that are often paid by check have to keep after customers.
Logan McNeil, who co-owns a fencing company in Fredericksburg, Va., has found in the past year she must make more phone calls to non-paying customers. Some ask her to accept less than the balance due. Or when they send a check, they shave a little off what they owe, such as paying $5,000 instead of $5,200.
Most of Fredericksburg Fences' customers are homeowners. The company requires 50 percent down when a contract is signed and the rest when the fence is installed. When customers don't pay on time, the company must look toward the next new contract to keep its cash flow strong.
"This is the worst it's been," McNeil says.
A company that changes billing methods may also find its customers may be slow to adapt. When Gerald Aguilar began emailing invoices for his Jupiter, Florida-based company, Pest Control Pro, many homeowners overlooked them. Aguilar sends weekly reminders, then a text that usually gets them to pay. But Aguilar often has about $1,200 in unpaid balances, a significant amount for a small business.
"I have high vehicle gas bills, chemicals, supplies, gear and so forth," he says.
His solution sometimes is to go the old-fashioned route: sending an invoice by U.S. mail.


The acronym GPU short for graphics processing unit sometimes called a visual processing unit (VPU), it is a specific type of circuit that will alter and manipulate memory which creates images into a frame buffer and is displayed. The GPU can be found in all types of electronic devices, including personal computers, mobile phones, game consoles, workstations, and embedded systems.
Today's GPUs are quite good at image processing and computer graphics. Plus, their unique parallel structure makes them better than standard CPUs in terms of algorithms when it comes to processing considerable amounts of data. You can find GPUs on video cards, but also in many motherboards and CPUs. Over the decades, the GPU has evolved with new technology to create better, stronger images.
The first GPU was developed in the 1970s as part of the arcade graphics chips of many early video games. During this time, video chips were used because the RAM buffers were too expensive. The result was that video chips put the data together and presented it on a display. However, the actual term graphics processing unit was not coined until 1999 when Nvidia marketed their GeForce 256 as the "world's first GPU".
The GPU was a single-chip processor that offered integrated lighting, triangle setup, clipping, and transformation abilities that made it possible to process at least 10 million polygons per second. In 2002, ATI Technologies coined the term VPU or visual processing unit which was arguably the same thing. Today, the GPU is still evolving and is still the mainstay of many video games and electronic devices.
What is GPU in computer?
What does GPU stands for?
What is Graphic processing unit?


Yarden brand Israeli Kosher for Passover wines are definitely available in Metro Halifax for the Holidays.
The Port, Bayers Lake, Portland Street, Mill Cove, Larry Uteck, Fall River, and Tantallon. Also in Antigonish, New Minas and Bridgewater.
These quality Israeli white and red wines add to the enjoyment of both traditional and modern Passover dishes. They are also available year round from the same outlets for family dinners, simchas, social events, gifting and all occasions enhanced by good wine.