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Home Body What's your STI-Q? Everything you want to know about STIs
Chances are you've heard some sketchy information on the subject of sexually transmitted infections. Rumors and myths about STIs are common. We don't all have access to reliable sex education, and even accurate information can become outdated. But maybe, most of all, talking about STIs can feel icky.
1. What's the difference between an STI and an STD?
STIs (sexually transmitted infections) and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are essentially different terms for the same thing: the bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other organisms that can infect people through oral, vaginal, and anal sex. STIs can be spread through bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal fluid, and blood, and via skin-to-skin contact.
Technically, "disease" implies that symptoms are present—which is often not the case with STIs. "Disease" may also feel more stigmatizing. Most sexual health educators say "STIs."
True trivia
Previously, STIs were called venereal diseases. They were named for Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
More about terminology
2. Which STI gets around the most? And how can I fend it off?
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the most common STIs across all age groups in the US. In the US, 79 million people have HPV, and more than 14 million people become infected every year, according to the CDC. Most of the people who are infected are in their late teens and early 20s.
Nearly all sexually active men and women become infected with HPV at some point in their lives. Many strains of HPV do not usually cause harm, but some strains of HPV can cause genital warts and cancers of the cervix, anus, penis, vulva, mouth, and throat.
How to reduce your risk of becoming infected with an STI
There's a vaccine that protects against some strains of HPV—you can get it up to the age of 26 for women and 21 for men. You can also be vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Talk to your parent or healthcare provider about getting vaccinated.
Research shows the HPV vaccine is helping to reduce the rates of genital warts and other strains of HPV among teens, according to the CDC. You can also be vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Schedule a visit with your health care provider to get vaccinated. In some states, you may be able to get the vaccine without parental consent.
Use a condom and/or dental dam every time. These do not guarantee protection but do reduce your risk.
If you're sexually active, get tested once a year or with every new sexual partner. Discuss the availability and accuracy of tests with your health care provider.
Get comfortable talking about sex and STI prevention. This means:
Feeling empowered to talk about what you want or don't want
Becoming comfortable with getting tested and asking partners to get tested as well
Discussing the use of condoms (internal and external), lubrication, and dental dams (oral dams) to reduce exposure to STIs
Discussing what feels good to both of you
Discussing methods of birth control to prevent pregnancy
How not to get HPV (CDC)
3. Am I more likely to accidentally get pregnant or get an STI?
You're more likely to get an STI than you are to get accidentally pregnant.
Rates of unintended teen pregnancy are declining, but still, approximately 456,000 teens become pregnant every year. About three quarters of those pregnancies are unintended. Meanwhile, about 10 million new STI cases are diagnosed each year in people 15 to 24, according to the CDC.
By age 25, most US adults have acquired at least one STI.
4. Is HPV another name for herpes—or what?
What. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is often confused with herpes (herpes simplex virus, or HSV). These are two different viruses. They are both transmitted through skin-to-skin contact.
HPV can cause genital warts and cancers of the cervix, anus, penis, vulva, mouth, and throat. Many strains of HPV do not usually cause harm, however. Men up to age 21 and women up to age 26 can get a vaccine that protects against some strains of HPV. Talk to your health care provider.
Herpes can cause sores at the point of infection, which may be in the genital area or on the mouth (e.g., cold sores). Many people who have been infected with herpes experience no symptoms or have mild symptoms that they attribute to other conditions. Treatment can help minimize the symptoms and lower the chance of transmission.
5. Which STIs should I get tested for?
Getting tested for STIs is a gateway to treatment and helps you protect yourself and your partner(s). Most tests are noninvasive and simple. Get tested for these conditions once a year or whenever you have a new sexual partner. Discuss with your health care provider whether to get tested for other STIs as well.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea
Medication can help minimize outbreaks but cannot cure herpes.
What's the test like?
Testing usually involves a health care provider taking a swab of the affected area and/or a blood test.
These can be present without symptoms and can cause fertility problems in men and women if left untreated. Both are curable with antibiotics.
What are the tests like?
Usually a health care provider will ask for a urine sample or take a swab of the genital area.
One in six people in the US who have HIV don't know it. If you're at high risk of HIV, check out pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP. This medication can help reduce your risk.
A swab can be taken from the inside of the mouth or a health care provider will take a blood sample.
Can cause severe complications such as brain damage or blindness if left untreated (usually after many years). It can be cured with antibiotics, but antibiotics can't reverse any permanent damage caused by the disease. New cases are most common in men who have sex with men.
It usually involves a blood test or a sample taken from a sore.
Where can I get tested for STIs?
6. How likely am I to get a STI?
By age 25, most US adults have acquired at least one STI. Teens and young adults are the most at-risk demographic for STIs. Nearly half of the 20 million new STI diagnoses each year are in people aged 15 to 24, according to the CDC.
Are STIs your fate?
No. To minimize your risk of becoming infected:
Use a condom or dental dam every time.
Get tested with every new sexual partner or once a year if you have the same partner.
Get comfortable talking about sex and STI prevention.
Why are teens and young adults at greater risk of STIs?
Behavior: e.g., not using safer sex methods, having multiple sexual partners, and not getting tested. You can control behavioral risks.
Culture: e.g., discomfort talking about sex and STI prevention, pressure to have sex, and expectations associated with gender roles. Being aware of these influences can help you address them.
Biology: The physical development of young adults can make you more susceptible to STI infection. For example, in young women, the surface of the cervix is more exposed to some sexually transmitted organisms (e.g., HPV) than in older women.
7. What does an infection look like?
Often, an STI infection doesn't look like anything. Most STIs don't have visible symptoms. People who look perfectly healthy can be infected with STIs.
If you've ever looked at pictures of STI symptoms, be warned: In real life, symptoms often don't look like those images. And most symptoms aren't visible anyway.
Want to know if you or your partner has an infection? STI testing is the only way.
8. How can I talk to my partner about STIs?
What gives STIs their big advantage? Awkwardness. "Embrace the awkward. It's awkward no matter how old you are to talk about STIs," says Lizzy Appleby, a youth program manager and sexuality educator in Illinois.
Don't wait until you're caught up in the moment—talk about it ahead of time. "Think about what you want to say in advance," says Appleby. There's no one right way to say it—use whichever communication style feels most authentic to you, she says. "Do you like using humor? Use humor. Are you a very direct person? Be direct."
Make the first move—a conversational move. Don't wait for them to initiate the STI talk.
Explain that this is not about trust and it's not about cheating.
If you're anxious, acknowledge it: "OK, so this is awkward, but I'm pretty sure we can handle awkward. It's important to me that we go get tested together."
If a partner tells you they have an STI, respect their honesty and maturity and their consideration for you and your needs. Protect their confidentiality.
If you discuss this sensitively and yet your partner doesn't want to get tested, be cautious. "Communicating about anything related to sex is about communicating about boundaries," says Appleby. Healthy relationships require mutual respect and responsibility. If someone doesn't respect your boundaries, that's a red flag.
If you hear something you weren't prepared for, remember you can always come back to the conversation later, says Appleby. "Say, 'let me think about this and get back to you." You don't always have to have an answer right away."
Talk to your partner: It's Your Sex Life and MTV
How to talk about sexual health and birth control: American Sexual Health Association
9. Does size matter? And other questions about condoms and dental dams (like: What is a dental dam?)
Are students using condoms frequently?
Yes. About 60 percent of sexually active students reported using a condom for birth control the last time they had sex, according to the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey.
Can any other method help prevent both STIs and pregnancy?
No—only condoms (internal and external versions). Latex and latex-free (e.g., polyurethane) condoms are available and are proven to reduce the risk of transmitting STIs. For oral sex involving a penis, you can use a dry, lubricated, or flavored condom. Putting lubrication inside the condom increases sensitivity for both partners and makes the condom easier to put on.
Does condom size matter?
Yes. The condom may stretch, but is it comfortable and pleasurable? Too tight, and the elastic base could cut off blood flow or cause discomfort. Too loose, and it could come off during sex. Condoms are available in varying shapes and sizes, so explore the best fit.
Here's how to find the right condom size
What's a dental dam?
Dental dams (oral dams) probably lower your risk of STIs (but not pregnancy). A dental dam is a thin cover placed over the vulva or anus for oral sex. You can cut a condom or medical glove into a dental dam, or substitute plastic wrap. The effectiveness of dental dams (including plastic wrap) in preventing STI transmission has not been adequately studied; nevertheless, the use of dental dams is recommended by many sexual health professionals.
How can I get some?
Dental dams are available in some specialty stores, such as condom stores, or online, for about $1.50 each.
The earliest known image of a condom is in a painting created 12,000–15,000 years ago in what is now France.
10. Which is more common: having a cat or having herpes?
It depends on which type of herpes we're talking about. In the US, about 36 million people have a cat, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (2012).
More people have a cat than have herpes type 2.
Herpes type 2 (HSV2) is traditionally known as genital herpes. In the US, 1 in 6 people aged 14–49 have genital herpes (CDC) and 776,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
More people have herpes type 1 than have a cat.
Herpes type 1 (HSV1) causes cold sores and genital sores. In the US, Johns Hopkins University estimates that anywhere between 50–90 percent of adults have oral herpes. Although we think of HSV1 as causing cold sores, this strain of the virus can be transmitted through oral sex and is responsible for more cases of genital sores than HSV2 is.
Herpes is very common.
To reduce your risk of acquiring or passing on a herpes infection, use a condom or dental dam every time you're sexually active.
GET HELP OR FIND OUT MORE
GYT (Get Yourself Tested) and other info: It's your sex life by MTV
STIs/STDs: American Sexual Health Association
Sexually transmitted diseases: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Sexually transmitted infections: Planned Parenthood
Christine Sturgeon, community educator in sexual and reproductive health at the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre, Alberta.
Lizzy Appleby, M.S.W., youth program manager at Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook in Illinois
American College Health Association. (2015). American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) Reference Group Report, Spring 2015. Retrieved from https://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/NCHA-II_WEB_SPRING_2015_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf
American Sexual Health Association. (2013). I wanna know. Retrieved from https://www.iwannaknow.org/teens/index.html
American Sexual Health Association. (n.d.). Get tested. Retrieved from https://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/get-tested/
American Sexual Health Association. (2018). Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.ashasexualhealth.org/stdsstis/statistics/
American Veterinary Medical Association. (2012). U.S. pet ownership statistics. Retrieved from https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-US-pet-ownership.aspx
Bryant, K. D. (2009). Contraceptive use and attitudes among female college students. ABNF Journal, 20(1), 12–6.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013, February). Incidence, prevalence, and cost and sexually transmitted infections in the US. [PDF] Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/sti-estimates-fact-sheet-feb-2013.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, July 18). Sexual risk behaviors: HIV, STD, & teen pregnancy prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). HPV vaccine information for clinicians. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/hcp/need-to-know.pdf
Finer, L. B., & Zolner, M.R. (2016). Declines in unintended pregnancy in the United States 2008-2011. New England Journal of Medicine. 374, 843-852. doi: 0.1056/NEJMsa1506575
It's your sex life. (n.d.). MTV. [Website] Retrieved from https://www.itsyoursexlife.com/
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Oral herpes. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/adult/infectious_diseases/Oral_Herpes_22,OralHerpes
Kost, K., Maddow-Zimet, I., & Arpaia, A. (2017, September). Pregnancies, births and abortions among adolescents and young women in the United States, 2013: National and state trends by age, race and ethnicity. Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved from https://www.guttmacher.org/report/us-adolescent-pregnancy-trends-2013
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (2018, June 15). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2017/ss6708.pdf
Satterwhite, C. L., Torrone, E., Meites, E., Dunne, E. F., et al. (2013). Sexually transmitted infections among US men and women: Prevalence and incidence estimates, 2008. Sexually Transmitted Disease, 40(3), 187–193.
Tampa, M., Sarbu, I., Matei, C., Benea, V., et al. (2014). Brief history of syphilis. Journal of Medicine and Life, 7(1), 4–10.
Joleen Nevers
Joleen M. Nevers, MAEd, CHES, AASECT, is a certified sexuality educator and the health education coordinator at the University of Connecticut.
Ask the health educator: "How can you deal with competition in a relationship?"
Ask the health educator: "How do you reject someone who likes you?"
Know how to protect yourself from getting sick? Take the quiz


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Food/Health
2022 LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH LPI 800-4 VERSUS THE ORIGINAL: RETRO AT ITS BRUTAL BEST?
by Somnath Chatterjee | Aug 23, 2022 | Cars, Motor
Love the Lamborghini Countach 2022? One can accuse Lamborghini of cashing out an iconic name by hastily remaking an Aventador (Sian) and selling it for a lot more money as a limited-edition car. The new Lamborghini Countach for many is the definitive supercar shape. Even today it holds a firm place in the enthusiast's heart.
The Lamborghini Countach 2022
Being billed as a replacement for the Miura, the Countach changed the automotive world for the better. The wedge-shaped classic remains a master class in automotive design. Later versions were festooned with spoilers and scoops along with being made better to drive. But its appeal being doused in the excess of the 80s is well known.
The new Lamborghini Countach: Jaw-dropping presence
However, the new Countach of today (the 2022 Lamborghini Countach) is different and is a limited-edition collector car with a sole intention of being locked away in a temperature-controlled garage. And it has a price-tag which stretches to multiple numbers.
It is quite easy to be cynical about the new Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 and even the original designer isn't exactly a fan. When viewed through the prism of the original model, the new one is too safe and not a shock that the earlier one was. That said, the 2022 Countach front-end bears the highest resemblance with the long, low rectangular grille and headlights along with the hexagonal theme for the arches. The rest of the car is too much Lamborghini Sian and not so much Countach lPI 800-4.
The three-unit tail-lamp design fits in perfectly with the character of the car and the four tail-pipes are the icing on a delectable cake.
Somnath Chatterjee
Automotive writer
769 HP 6.5-liter V-12 engine
However, when viewed in isolation, the new Lambo Countach is a stunner with jaw dropping presence. It is a typical Lamborghini silhouette being an artist's canvas to provide a shelter for that epic V12 powertrain nestled beneath. The massive Countach wedge shaped body lines are seen better in the flesh and the gaping air intakes are also a nod to the original.
The rear marks a passing resemblance to the original. But lets go of the temptation of over-styling it with numerous spoilers and what not. The three-unit tail-lamp design fits in perfectly with the character of the car and the four tail-pipes are the icing on a delectable cake.
2023 LAMBORGHINI HURACAN STERRATO IS A FITTING GOODBYE TO THE V10 ENGINE
HYPERCAR MARKET TO GROW BY 43% IN 2022; ONTARIO IGAMING OFF TO A FAST START; FERRARI AUCTION
FERRARI SP48 UNICA IS A BESPOKE ONE-OFF SUPERCAR BASED ON THE F8 TRIBUTO
KOENIGSEGG CC850 IS A HYPERCAR FOR THE COMMITTED DRIVER
THE CZINGER 21C: THE MOST EXTREME HYPERCAR EVER?
With a dry weight of 1595 kg, the new Countach LPI 800-4 is light. Most of it has to do with carbon fibre being used everywhere along with 3d printed interior trim. The Lamborghini Countach interior has a heady aroma of an old-school supercar with bright leather along with a square motif. Peer closer and you can see geometric stitching as well.
Compared to the original Countach, ergonomics has thankfully moved to the modern age. There's Apple CarPlay via centre touchscreen.
The 2022 Lamborghini Countach: Worthy successor?
A 769 hp 6.5-liter V-12 engine comes with the new Countach and the same seven-speed automated manual gearbox is there too. However, there is also some electrical assistance in form of a mild hybrid system with a 33hp electric motor. The electric motor is not here to increase efficiency but is there for an even more potent rush of power. Hence, a 0-60 mph time of 2.6 seconds is something the original Countach would have been proud of.
The question remains whether the new Countach is a worthy successor or just a remake to make the bean counters happy. But owners have snapped up this new Lamborghini Countach priced at $2.5 million and that is all that matters.
While not being a series production car and not exactly being a new model are accusations that can be levelled at the new Countach, the truth is that it is indeed a knee-trembling shape that we would guess makes the automotive world a prettier place.
Find more guides on luxury cars like the Lamborghini Countach 2022 on our website!
Shweta Gandhi
EXOTIC SPORTS CARS FOR THE EXPERIENCED DRIVER
by Anthony Harrison | Jan 26, 2023
If you're an automotive enthusiast, there's nothing quite like a high-end exotic sports car. They offer the ultimate speed and performance, turning heads with their sleek designs and advanced features. Sure, these models come at a hefty price tag. But if you've got...
5 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN BUYING A CAR WHILE SERVING IN THE MILITARY OVERSEAS
by Miles Crawford | Jan 23, 2023
When deployed in a station far from home – whether it's temporarily or indefinitely – you may want a way to get around. However, buying a car while serving overseas can be a rather daunting task. There are many factors to consider, and it's essential to do your...
MOTOR NEWS: CHEVROLET HINTS AT ELECTRIC FUTURE WITH THE NEW CORVETTE; HERE COMES HARLEY DAVIDSON
by Mark Keast | Jan 18, 2023
Corvette has been in the news lately (Google "Corvette" and "Joe Biden") so hopefully Chevrolet's rollout of the 2024 version of their long-established brand didn't get diminished by all the comedy going on with the current U.S. administration. Related: Mild to wild:...
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Class Catalog 2019-2020
Performance Group
Dance Foundry's mission is to instill with consistency and accountability an exemplary dance foundation with in a safe and friendly environment. In addition, we will provide creative performing opportunities for our aspiring young dancers, encouraging artistic growth and a comprehensive dance education.
Kelly Oakes Dent has had over 30 years of experience as an artistic director, choreographer, and dance instructor with students of all levels and ages. She has been a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance, an internationally recognized accredited teaching organization, since 1991.
Jennilee Garcia is originally from Puerto Rico where she started her dance training at an early age. She has been dancing ever since and has an undergrad degree in Advertising and is certified in Ballet Teaching Studies for the Royal Academy of Dance, London. With over 10 years of dance teaching experience, Jennilee is looking forward to having her own company in Atlanta.
Help build Dance Foundry
Dance Foundry opens to the public at the end of August and we need help from you to build our dream.
Our brand new dance studio, across the street from the Dekalb Farmer's Market.
2977 East Ponce de Leon Ave., Suite C
info@dancefoundry.com
© 2016-2017 Dance Foundry. All Rights Reserved.


English painter John Webber was the official artist aboard Captain James Cook's HMS Resolution, which sailed throughout the Pacific Ocean in search of the North-West Passage between 1776-79. Webber had been enlisted by the British Admiralty to record their discoveries in works to be included in the publication A voyage to the Pacific Ocean 1784. Cook's momentous third voyage led to the European discovery of Hawaii in 1778 and culminated in his death shortly afterwards in 1779.
'A view in Otaheite Peha' was painted in England eight years after the Resolution landed in Tahiti in August 1777, probably using drawings or watercolours made during the expedition as a reference. It is one of two known paintings created by Webber depicting the same idyllic scene of villagers taking in the vista of mountainous Oheitepeha Bay. Its duplication can probably be attributed to there being a strong market for new-world subjects during this period of exploration and discovery.
The conservation treatment of this painting and frame was funded by Conservation Benefactors.
Signed and dated upper c. verso on canvas, black oil ".../ John Webber ... 1785.".
Art Gallery of New South Wales catalogue of British paintings , Sydney, 1987, 209 (illus.).


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Q: How one can capture string that contain one or more forward slash in django urls my code look like this
urls.py:
from django.urls import path
from. import views
app_name ='graduates'
urlpatterns = [
    .
    .
    path('status_detail/<str:id>/', views.status_detail, name='status_detail'),

            ]

views.py:
def status_detail(request, id):

    return HttpResponse(id)

then I wanna use it like this somewhere in my code

And it works fine for strings those don't contain forward slash.
But I want to pass id of student to urls that look like this
A/ur4040/09, A/ur5253/09 and etc
Please help me how could I do this

A: We can use  default Path converters available in django
path('status_detail/<path:id>/', views.status_detail, name='status_detail'),

path - Matches any non-empty string, including the path separator, '/'.

A: Try changing your url into a regex:
url(r'^status_detail/(?P<str:id>\w+)/', views.status_detail, name='status_detail')

If url doesn't work because you have urls with same structure, use re_path:
re_path(r'^status_detail/(?P<str:id>\w+)/', views.status_detail, name='status_detail')

Don't forget to import re_path:
from django.urls import path, re_path, include

I hope this solves your problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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@interface QN_PlayVideoVC : BaseVC<UITextFieldDelegate>

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *playBtn;
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *previewBtn;
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIImageView * uploadImage;
@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UITextField *fillURL;

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


And science backs this up- venting just breeds more anger and frustration.
Relying on Anger and lashing out as a way to reduce negative feelings only teaches your that lashing out is a way to feel better.
Now, there are caveats about how you vent. For example "venting" by hitting a bunch of golf balls or chopping some wood or whatever is probably beneficial. Venting by insulting entire ethnicities online, probably not.
And we can just use our anecdotal evidence- Look at the haters, do they seem like a cheerful bunch? Has their ranting and venting made things easier or better for them? Seems like they just get angrier and angrier and write more and more angry threads and posts.
I DO NOT CONDONE, nor do I insult Korean people, they're individuals. I have my opinions about their culture, which I believe, for the most part, is no longer relevant and completely opposed to the Economic and Political model that South Koreans themselves chose to adopt. Still, cultures naturally bend and mold to suit the environment it just takes time, it's best not to force it.
As you say, venting can be done via a physical outlet like exercise, but, it can also be done via a creative or emotional outlet such as playing music, talking and writing. What people are doing here is venting using the medium of writing.
You are the one who chooses to interpret writing which is critical of Korean culture and norms as insulting ethnicities simply because it aligns with your agenda. The irony is that while you believe that venting makes one more miserable, you certainly sound like the most miserable of all.
Just let it go, dog. It's just a lame website.
So early this morning I was out and about walking my wieners, and was meandering through the little park/playground beside my apartment complex when lo and behold I saw a used hypodermic needle lying on the ground, with a little bit of yellow crap still in the syringe. Just lying there. In the playground.
Whoa. That's seriously f'd up. Also really bizarre. Like, I wonder what it was even used for. But seriously, that's super messed up.
My main middle school has a handball team, and the players are allowed to choose nicknames to be printed on their jerseys. That's a cool and fun thing for them to do, but I was taken aback today by the sight of a student with the N-word in all-caps emblazoned across his back.
Obviously, a very confused student found himself being taken to the English office, where the KETs and I explained to him that it was not okay. I do realize that kids here most likely just don't really understand how strong and offensive that word can be, so I made sure he understood that he wasn't in trouble and I wasn't angry with him, but we definitely tried to impress it upon him that it's not acceptable. Hopefully it sunk in.
The teachers then tried to see if the letters could be peeled off, and when the students who tagged along to see their friend get in trouble confirmed that it was possible, I suggested just peeling off the N and replacing it with a T. Everybody likes Tigger!
You can also switch out the first 'G' with the 'N'.
All the students and some teachers came back with 3 hours left in the school day. My office somehow became the hub for prepping all the food that the students would eat (everything microwaved: ramen, rice, you name it). There has been no less than 8 people in this small space at a time since they've all returned. I had hoped this last day before Chuseok would go in peace, but that was apparently asking too much.
Do you really think it's just Korea? Anyone who was in Japan during it's heyday will remember Gaijinpot. That place was worse than all the Korea ones combined.
I lived in Italy and the expat forums there were just as bad too. People complaining about Italian incompetence, bragging about banging the locals, shitting on the food (yes there are people who didn't like authentic Italian food), corruption etc.
Yeah I haven't used those non-korea but country-related forums, so I guess I wouldn't know. My new question would then be why are expats so toxic online? I'm part of lots of non-country related forums that aren't nearly as toxic as these seem to be (and I agree this place is pretty mild compared to r/korea and oink, but still).
I'm just curious why people are singling out expats in being toxic. Aren't most online forums toxic? Seriously, isn't that what many people with anonymity do? The second you don't have to say something to someone's face, people become instant keyboard warriors. It's not just Korea. It's everything. People like to shitpost and vent online because they are bored and/or isolated. Let's be honest. Many of us don't even look at the waygook threads with the intention of posting... we just want to read all of the stupid comments that people are making to argue back and forth over things that don't really matter once you walk away from the computer. Myself included. That's why I only have a few posts. Why is it necessary to make it into a race war? People here that aren't just trolls or asses don't have their families to come home and vent to so they do it in the only similarly minded community that they really know. It seems pretty simple to me.
Someone might've used it for giving their pet a vaccination or something.
Or alternately for some hobby or craft, like applying glue? But that looks like a straight up hypodermic needle, not like a general use syringe.
Maybe for a pet, but owners generally don't do that themselves. Hard to see, but there was a bit of blood still in the needle bit. Whoever tossed it there was good enough to put the cover back on the pointy end though, so I guess props to him/her for that at least.
Meth, too. I really don't think a lot of people understand just how prevalent that drug is getting here in Korea.
Honestly, meth was the first thing I thought of when I saw that syringe post.
Are you teaching only elementary and middle Oglop? By this stage now, I wouldn't still be here teaching e/m, if I were, I'd have gone mental. I did a middle school night class last semester and they were awful, but I finished the semester and declined to work again this semester. Good money, but I wasn't teaching them, as I spent most of the time trying to control three boys. Not worth it. After 11 years in the public school, I'm thinking like you, and that the initial 'Wow!' may be dimming. It's not affecting my teaching or my relationship with my own students, it's just that feeling inside.
you gonna stick it out a while loner or look to do something else?
i know what you mean. sometimes i get back at 8.30-9pm and have to wake up at 6am. it's not ideal. finishing late and working weekends is why i ended up turning down the BC job, even though that was, really, the only negative thing about it.
how would you move back to Scandinavia with Brexit looming?
Just renewed my visa. It's a great thing that you reserve an appointment and your number comes up at almost exactly that time. Everything went smooth and it was done in 3 minutes.
BUT I had to wait 40 minutes to get my ARC back. Why the hell does it take 40 minutes to stamp a new date on a plastic card?!
Still about the immigration... the way some people (don't) take care of themselves is just shocking. The waiting area smelled like a homeless shelter. I never been to one but I imagine they smell something like that. Massive BO from some dudes, enough to linger like 6-8 feet away easily. It wasn't even hot and it was only 10am.
And some other folks clearly haven't showered and/or changed clothes for several days. WTF!?
I had to wait outside in the lobby because I couldn't put up with it. And I even have a cold so my smelling is not that great.
If you go somewhere public, just please take a damn shower, put on some clean clothes and if you have BO issues, use some freakin deodorant!
The 40 minutes is because every file is checked again. I had a supervisor come out and ask me a few more questions one time.
Not all migrant workers have regular access to showers! Some do live in conditions much like homeless shelters.
Lol same. I just renewed mine today as well and agree with everything you said.
Also f*ck immi for not letting me know I had to report that I got a new passport. 40,000 won fine. Good thing is I got 2 years renewal on my F6 instead of 1 year like the previous two times. So glad I won't have to deal with this next year!
Last Friday, I called my co-teacher at my travel school to let him know I was sick and couldn't come in - I was legitimately sick, I don't drink alcohol or anything, so no reason to pull a sickie, and was sick for half of chuseok - and he even agreed that I sounded sick and should stay home.
Get to my main school today, to find out, that my travel school contacted my main school, and basically said, I just didn't show up and didn't contact anyone to say I wouldn't be there.
Screen shot your phone log and call BS.


My little boy's big, dark eyes as he quietly takes in the world around him.
Kissing his head. Also his nose and his little mouth, his hands, his super soft feet and that sweet spot in the folds of his neck. And his cheeks- those, too.
His coos– and something that sounds either like a small bird or possibly a dolphin. I can't decide.
His sweet, milky baby breath.
His love of baths. I've been taking the no-fuss approach of just getting in the bath with him. I wouldn't trade that time for the fanciest baby tub.
The smell of calendula on his skin.
The way he burrows into my chest, sound asleep in his wrap.
How ridiculous he looks in his cloth diapers. He'll grow into them eventually…. Too quickly, really.
When he lets out a giant, back-arching, limbs-stretching yawn, then smacks his lips. Nyup, nyup, nyup.
I can't believe Daniel has been here nearly a month already. I'm surprised by how normal our new life feels, yet I still find myself astonished that this is our son. Half of each of us. We've determined that he definitely has my mouth and chin; we're waiting to see more of John's baby photos before we make any further judgments.
I am amazed by our Creator's design, in wonder that this child was formed in my body for nine months, from a few cells at conception to a fully formed, beautiful baby with fingers and toes and crazy long eyelashes. I am in awe that through the miraculous, challenging, messy business of childbirth, I actually pushed this baby out of my body. And if that weren't enough already, I'm grateful for the ability to continue to feed and sustain this little person now curled up in my arms.
Early on in my pregnancy, these verses hit me with a force I hadn't felt before. I was incredibly, incredibly thankful for an easy pregnancy. Aside from being pretty tired during the first trimester, I felt great. So initially, at least, the pregnancy seemed surreal. Day to day life seemed normal. I was going about my routine as usual. And yet what God was creating in me during even those earliest weeks is indescribable.
Even with everything we know from science today, we can't really explain all the complex, miraculous processes involved in the creation of a human being. The Psalmist's language portrays these processes as the intentional, involved, creative work of God. It is a physical, yet mysterious process- Daniel was created, knit together, made in the secret place, woven—intimately known by the Almighty God.
Thinking about pregnancy in these terms, I am all the more devastated by abortion. It is the deliberate destruction of God's masterpiece, one created in His very image. It is a crime not only against the vulnerable unborn, but against the Giver of Life. God sees their unformed bodies; it doesn't matter if we're talking about the moment of conception or eight weeks or twenty weeks or a full-term, "viable" baby. The point is that long before a pregnancy test reads positive, regardless of how that result came to be, God has a purpose and a plan for the unborn child. I am reminded again that it's not enough to be passively pro-life, if there really is such a thing. If we truly value all life as given by God, we have no choice but to see abortion, the killing of the vulnerable unborn, as a most grievous sin. How will we respond? With prayer and support for mothers and children, with counseling and loving and awareness-spreading, yes. But more specifically? It's something worth thinking and praying about.
Fearfully and wonderfully made. We know this full well.
Well said my dear…well said!


External Corporate Communications Manager - Uponor - Big Shoes Network, Inc.
As an integral part of the Corporate Communications team, the External Corporate Communications Manager is responsible for delivering a variety of strategic public relations, executive, and crisis/issues management communications and programs designed to help achieve Uponor North America's aspirations, strategic priorities and business goals.
This individual supports a range of external communications activities that purposefully integrate the company's voice, brand standards and industry leadership position to drive knowledge, connection and behavior that builds business and Uponor's customer-centric, values-based culture.
Specific work includes supporting the development of enterprise messaging, managing relationships and workload of agency partners, fostering relationships with key members of the local and trade media, serving as a communications partner in enterprise-level projects, and developing communication materials for media relations, external executive speaking engagements, and in support of crisis/issues management initiatives.
The External Corporate Communications Manager often works cross-functionally, but on a daily basis with Internal Communications, Brand/CSR, Integrated Marketing Communications and segment Marketing teams.


BERLIN (Reuters) - Audi (NSUG.DE) said on Tuesday that no cars in the United States were affected by its latest emissions software issues.
Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) main luxury division said it contacted Germany's KBA automotive watchdog of its own volition about the problem and stopped deliveries of the affected models.
About 60,000 diesel-engined A6/A7 models have been detected with previously unknown emissions software issues, Audi said.


text:
The Model of the Rumba Woman
Idza Luhumyo
No one really warns you about the Rumba Woman. And maybe nobody even thinks that they have to, figuring that some things are so obvious. Surely, you are not so daft: no one has to tell you that such a woman is not the kind you are supposed to look up to. No one has to tell you that being the woman who spends all day hanging around other women's husbands as they hang around the Wines & Spirits in the quarter is not something you should aspire to become. And yet, you do look up to her, in spite of yourself. You do it so quietly and so secretly that you do not come to know it until later, when, needing a model for the writer's life on which you are setting out, you remember the Rumba Women of your childhood.
You recall that whenever they'd speak about a Rumba Woman, the people in the quarter, they'd refer to her as the cigarette woman, or the drunk woman, or the philandering woman, identifying her through these most manly of vices. But it was the smoking that got to most people. In those days, it was mostly men who smoked in public. Sportsman, SM, Safari, Rooster. By contrast, the women, furtive to the bone, both by necessity and design, would satisfy their urges by inserting bits of tobacco into their nose and sneezing. And then laughing. But there they were, the Rumba Women, the brazen exceptions that proved the rules, dangling actual cigarettes from the tips of their lips. And they did this not in the shadows, not while hiding behind the houses, not even in the small spaces that were left between the Swahili houses in the quarter, but right there in the open, sitting open-legged on the stoops of the quarter's houses, as if daring anyone to challenge them. But no one ever had the courage to challenge them. And perhaps this was the first lesson that a Rumba Woman taught: there was a kind of audacity which, if inhabited well enough, would not, could not, be challenged.
As a child, it is strange what you feel when you see a Rumba Woman walking around in the quarter: you admire her and pity her in equal measure. Such a woman is bound always to look dishevelled, with that faraway look on her face, the kind that says two things are always being weighed against each other in the mind. She is always plotting. Her hair looks like it really needs someone to pay it some attention. Maybe a comb. Fingers passed through it. Or just water. She looks like she has not seen water in days. She looks both in control of herself, and yet, out of control. You see her and immediately feel that she has fallen hard against life. There's the sinewy frame, no fat, all tough muscles and bones. There's the old nail varnish on her toenails. There's the graceless graze in her voice, as if someone has passed a razor along her vocal cords, making it sound like she is always on the verge of the smoker's cough.
You remember that seeing this woman would stir something in you, prompting the feeling of an affinity that you could not explain. It was as if you belonged to the same tribe. As if you were made out of the same material, same stock. Still, adult as you are now, you struggle to wrap your mind around Rumba Women. There's something about them that escapes you. Which is to say: there's something about you that escapes you. So you do what you typically do to things you don't understand: you write.
You are working on your first book. It is an elusive little thing—not a collection of short stories, not a novella, not a novel. You christen it liminal. You are self-congratulatory about its supposed liminality, feeling as if you have done something clever with the thing. You name the first Rumba Woman you write about Bi Kizee. The name is a nod to Bi Kidude, that most illustrious of Zanzibari Taarab artists.
From the attic of your mind comes the memory of a Rumba Woman. Memory is a strange thing: of all the people you think you'd have forgotten, you hadn't imagined that it would be her. You decide to model your character, Bi Kizee, on this Rumba Woman.
You remember that this Rumba Woman, your favorite of them all, was different. First, she was old—older than the Rumba Women you were used to seeing. She would wrap her scarf around her shoulders and make her way slowly through the streets of the quarter, at once sticking out and blending in. She had caramel skin. Hers was not so much a walk as a sashay. She had a haughtiness that settled at the tip of her nose, seeming always to be on the verge of a sneer. She was the complete antithesis of what you expected of a proper old woman. She was the epitome of the Rumba Woman: She smoked. She cursed. Her laugh started in her belly, startled you, and then swept you away in it. It was said that she had come to the quarter to die. One look at her was enough to tell you that she had pulled the very marrow out of the bone of her life, that she had been everywhere, seen everything. And she had black lips, always the first giveaway.
Now, you remember how you'd loved her as a child, adored her, lived for the moments when she would walk up to you as you and your friends played on the stoop of your parents' house and hand you money to fetch something from the shop for her. What joy. You would run to the shop, run back, and find her seated on the stoop, already on her third story, a little crowd of women surrounding her. Her audience was always women. She was the sort of person who only had to say good morning to a person to hold her hostage for hours. She wanted to hear it all: what someone had eaten for breakfast, what she was planning to cook for lunch, how the husband and children were doing, how the previous year's Ramadan had been, and from which shop in Marikiti someone had bought her dress. And you, little girl that you were, it was enough to hear that drawl of her voice—frequently interrupted by that cough that just never went away—going on and on and on, and setting your mind ablaze.
When you finally commit her to the page, this older Rumba Woman, she becomes something different. She falls right into the world you are building. Like that woman in that most famous of Rumi's poems, Bi Kizee is a woman who loves to wander and loves to leave. In the book you are writing, she comes into the quarter as if out of nowhere. And Tatu, the narrator of your book, says this about her:
No one knew where she had come from. And to further solidify her mystery, not once did she speak of her beginnings to us, so that, storyteller that she was, she herself became the subject of many of Mtaa wa Saba's stories. Some of our mothers had heard it somewhere: Bi Kizee had been a background singer in one of those Congolese bands whose songs were always playing at Mtaa wa Saba's Wines & Spirits. Others whispered that she had spent her youth touring with Samba Mapangala's band, but others shook their heads and said mhn-mhn, no, it was not with Mapangala that she toured, but with Mbaraka Mwaruka, for I-don't-know-whose husband had once travelled to Nairobi and seen someone like Bi Kizee on the stage of a seedy downtown tavern, one of those female background voices whose quiet harmonizing reins in the screaming voice of the male soloist.
Bi Kizee is a storyteller. And every Thursday evening, after the mwadhini has sent out the call for prayer, a throng of little girls surround her and listen to her tales of magic. She has dreadlocks, long, and they make the women of the quarter scared of her. They whisper: she is half-sea and half-woman. They forbid their children from going to her storytelling sessions. But Thursday after Thursday, the children return to her, enraptured by the story that never ends, risking the anger of their mothers. The children, just like the little girl you used to be, cannot resist the wonderful magic of this Rumba Woman. In the book you are writing, Tatu narrates:
It was of no use—the anger of our mothers, and the kikotos they wielded, and the nails that would dig into our pliant skin: we were all held in thrall of Bi Kizee's stories. But how were we not to be enthralled, when Bi Kizee enchanted us with tales of men who wrapped kikois around their waists and went from house to house selling rare things—things like joy and wisdom, justice and contentment, forgiveness and forgetfulness. How were we not to be taken in by the colorful women in Bi Kizee's stories, when these women grew gardens of bougainvillea on their bodies and had diamonds for teeth? Ah, you should have seen us, little girls that we were, with our mouths open and our tiny hands cupping our chins, completely lost in Bi Kizee's luscious voice as she told us about that place we liked to hear about so much: a place where on full-moon nights, the girls would get pecked by songbirds in their sleep and wake up to find that they could not stop singing; wake up to find that they could not stop filling their quarters with song harmony after song harmony.
It is inevitable: as you write about Bi Kizee, you start to fall in love with her. And in writing about her, you are also writing about yourself, about who you want to be. Bi Kizee is something like yourself: she has the spirit of Scheherazade and the spirit of a Rumba Woman. Her territory is East Africa and she spends her years wandering it on foot, only settling down in certain places to tell of the places she has been and the things she has seen.
But as you write about Bi Kizee, prodding into her character, you realize that there is a certain unhappiness about her, which is the unhappiness that hovered about the Rumba Women of your childhood. Perhaps it is regret at the sister-lives she has abandoned, the roads not taken. She, too, you imagine, once longed to put down roots somewhere. She, too, must have longed to call one or two people home. And because it is the condition of the heart to long for a base, a center, a place from which to set out, she always kept returning to one person, one place, one idea. This was her one weakness. It could be a married man she simply couldn't let go of, or an old love who probably rejected her by blowing hot and cold, hating himself for even wanting her in the first place. Hers was the sad plight of Toni Morrison's Sula, a woman who is never loved the whole way through, a woman who, perhaps, stirs a man's mind but not his body. This was the private tragedy of the Rumba Women.
And then there is the criticism with which the Rumba Woman has to contend. She has to learn to handle those who she offends by simply existing, by living her life as she has chosen. In your book, Bi Kizee's unconventional way of living earns her the scorn of the other women in the quarter.
They sneered at her ways, and told elaborate tales about her, when deep down, she simply reminded them of the desires that they themselves had had to bury deep within them. They looked at Bi Kizee's finger that was unburdened by a ring, then looked at her nose that was bare of a kipini, and then looked at her stomach that had obviously never carried a child and remembered this: there was a time, once upon a time, when they too had had desires—desires that had now been swamped down by marriage, and children, and the endless domesticity that would be their lot until death came calling.
At the heart of the derision that is aimed at the Rumba Woman by the other women in the quarter is a frustrating contradiction. The women who do not approve of her feel superior to her. And yet, at the same time, they wish they could muster the audacity Bi Kizee has, the audacity shared by all Rumba Women, which is the audacity to be oneself.
Idza Luhumyo has training in screenwriting and a background in law. Overall, her artistic practice interrogates the intersections between art, law, and power. She is building a body of work which attempts to capture a specific Kenyan Coastal vernacular.


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Home Columns THE THIRD SENTENCE
THE THIRD SENTENCE
By Haddon Libby
Most of us have heard the 1887 words of British politician Lord John Acton, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The third sentence is seldom remembered, "Great men are almost always bad men."
While there are many great people who are not bad people (e.g. Warren Buffett or Bill Gates), it would be hard to call the ex-Chairman of Nissan and current CEO of Renault, Carlos Ghosn anything but bad. He has been held in a Tokyo jail since November on charges of falsifying financial reports so that he could underreport his income by $88 million over eight years. Because of powers granted to him by the Board of Directors (and with the help of Board member Gene Kelly who is also jailed), Ghosn was able to conceal his actions from others at Nissan. Additionally, Ghosn transferred personal investment losses to Nissan in 2008 and engaged in other financial malfeasance for personal gain.
Ghosn incarceration while awaiting trial shows an interesting difference between the U.S. and Japanese systems of justice. In Japan, suspects typically stay in jail until their trial date with minimal contact to family and attorneys.
Ghosn is not the first auto executive jailed in the last year. Rupert Stadler, the CEO of Audi and board member of Volkswagen was jailed for his part in the 2015 diesel-emissions scandal where German carmakers conspired to cheat exhaust measuring systems in the United States and around the world.
Moving from jailed auto executives to fallen Kings, the "Bond King" and billionaire, Bill Gross, is having his share of trouble these days. Investors in his Janus Henderson Global Unconstrained Bond Fund are leaving in droves. The fund that once held over $2.2 billion dropped under $1 billion at year-end as 80% of all similar bond funds have done better. Gross who turns 75 in April, co-founded PIMCO in the 1970s and left in 2014 amongst a management shake-up. With a personal net worth of $1.7 billion, Gross has been distracted of late as he is in an ugly divorce from his wife of thirty-two years, Sue Frank. Following court orders to surrender the Malibu beachfront house to his wife, Gross put a dead fish and fart spray in the air vents. Part of Gross' ire may relate to the $37 million Picasso that he states that his wife stole and replaced it with a replica. With a net worth of $1.7 billion, did Gross' personal life impact his performance? It is hard to know but investors are following Sue Frank out the door.
Sometimes success brings out the demon within. Take the case of Henry Nicholas III, billionaire and co-founder of semiconductor company Broadcom. Nicholas was arrested in Las Vegas in August on suspicion of drug trafficking as he was found with heroin, cocaine, meth and ecstasy in his hotel suite. Nicholas escaped a prison sentence ten years earlier when he was found not guilty on two dozen counts including stock fraud and drug distribution. At that time, he checked into substance abuse treatment centers including Betty Ford. Vanity Fair calls Nicholas, "Dr. Nicholas and Mr. Hyde," for his split personality between entrepreneur and philanthropist and his sex-addled, drug-crazed alter-ego.
While all of these men showed bad character, it is doubtful any can be characterized as great.
Great people like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates use their financial might and influence to help those who cannot help themselves without an assist from a benevolent hand.
Lord Acton seems wrong as great men can indeed be good men and it is hopefully the case more often than not despite daily headlines that would lead us to thinking the contrary. That is probably why Acton's oft-repeated phrase never references his third sentence.
Haddon Libby is the Founder and Managing Partner of Winslow Drake Investment Management and can be reached at HLibby@WinslowDrake.com. For more information, please visit www.WinslowDrake.com.
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Located at the gateway to Waikiki, this hotel is in walking distance to theaters and fine dining. The long white sand beach and gentle surf of Waikiki, world class shopping at the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the brand new convention center and the colorful and exciting Polynesian nightlife are all just steps away. Distance to Honolulu Airport is 14. 5 km.


Welcome! I'm Rob – For the past 9 years of my life I've been self taught when it comes to web design & marketing. I am using this site as my personal log and to share my experience, knowledge, and expertise. You can find out more about me in my first post.
Web/Graphic Design – PHP/mySQL, Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Maya, SEO, Marketing, Content Management Systems, Advertising and Affiliate Tactics.
Money doesn't grow on trees – It grows in servers!
I try to post at least once every 2-4 days, however if I rarley miss that mark its usually because I'm working on a script/tool that will likely be mentioned or is part of a free release in a following post.
I generally make scripts for my own use to fulfill a need project that I'm currently working on, but I will always try to tweak it in some way to make it available to the public as well. You'll see any/all of my releases posted on this site first!
If you're interested in exchanging links, guest posting, advertising ect. please use the contact form and let me know. If you have a post that relates to something I posted on either link to me or send me a trackback/pingback. Drop me a message on my contact form and let me know about it. As long as your site relates to my content I'm sure I'll be able to mention you in a future post. I keep a list of people that have linked to me, and when the opportunity rises, they're the first ones I look through to return the favor. Just make sure you've sent me a message via my content form so its brought to my attention.


text:
Mendaza kan syfta på följande platser:

Spanien

 Mendaza (ort), Navarra, Provincia de Navarra,
 Mendaza (kommun), Navarra, Provincia de Navarra,

Robotskapade Spanienförgreningar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
President Donald Trump was on a tear Thursday over the recent flurry of leaks, using Twitter to denounce "low-life leakers." | AP Photo
Trump anti-leak drive could prompt prosecutions
The legal consequences could be severe for leakers decried by the president.
By JOSH GERSTEIN and BRYAN BENDER
Updated 02/17/2017 07:42 AM EST
President Donald Trump's threats of criminal prosecution over the flood of leaks that has plagued the early weeks of his administration may turn out to be far from empty talk.
By far, the most potentially serious disclosures in the view of attorneys who've handled such cases are the leaks of details about phone calls the U.S. government intercepted between Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and just-fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.
"If somebody disclosed the contents of intercepted phone conversations to a reporter, I could see a prosecution, for sure," said Ed MacMahon, a northern Virginia defense attorney. "That is plainly a felony."
Leaks of intelligence-related intercepts are typically treated more seriously than disclosures of other classified information, experts say. There's also a criminal statute directly aimed at that issue, imposing a potential prison term of up to ten years for each violation.
The idea of jailing someone who leaks transcripts of conversations intercepted at foreign embassies is not theoretical. In 2009, a Hebrew contract translator for the FBI, Shamai Leibowitz, was charged with disclosing classified communications intelligence to a blogger.
Leibowitz was sentenced to 20 months in prison at a somewhat bizarre proceeding where the Maryland-based federal judge said he was "in the dark" about just what was disclosed and the defendant said he acted because he thought some things he saw were illegal.
Trump threatens 'low-life leakers' will be caught
By LOUIS NELSON
The blogger involved, Richard Silverstein, later confirmed that the records he received from Leibowitz were about 200 pages of transcripts of conversations involving Israeli embassy officials. Silverstein told the New York Times he burned the records in his backyard after Leibowitz came under investigation.
Trump was on a tear Thursday over the recent flurry of leaks, using Twitter to denounce "low-life leakers."
"They will be caught!" Trump vowed. Later, at a press conference, he said he'd asked the Justice Department and other agencies to investigate.
"I've gone to all of the folks in charge of the various agencies ... I've actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks. Those are criminal leaks," Trump said, repeatedly calling the leaks illegal and blaming some of them on partisan supporters of former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment on whether any leak investigations were ongoing, but Trump indicated they were.
"We are looking into that very seriously," he said.
Intelligence officials said little about the leaks, but moved aggressively to knock down reports that distrust of Trump and his team was so intense that analysts and briefers were holding back details from the White House.
"It is CIA's mission to provide the President with the best intelligence possible and to explain the basis for that intelligence," CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in a blunt statement Thursday evening calling one prominent report to the contrary "dead wrong."
Trump fumes over leaks at private meeting with Republicans
By KYLE CHENEY and RACHAEL BADE
"The CIA does not, has not, and will never hide intelligence from the President, period ... We are not aware of any instance when that has occurred," Pompeo added.
Several former officials called the Flynn-related leaks illegal and deplorable, although there were differences about how unusual the current wave of disclosures really is.
Many veterans of Washington and the secret intelligence world doubt that the current trend is abnormal by Washington standards, given the leakage of highly classified information on eavesdropping programs, intelligence in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and many other examples.
"I don't have reason to believe there is a peculiarity here that indicates something exceptional," said retired Army Lt. Gen. Patrick Hughes, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency who also served as assistant secretary of Homeland Security for information analysis. "The circumstantial timing is suspect. We just had this contentious election and we have a new president trying to get his feet under him, which makes it seem like it may be something different. But in totality this problem has been going on for many, many years in Washington."
"I deplore it," said retired Adm. James Stavridis, a former NATO commander who was vetted as a possible vice presidential running mate by Clinton and interviewed by Trump to be secretary of state. "It is illegal."
But Stavridis, too, who served six tours in Washington during his military career, said so far nothing in the content of the information shared with the media strikes him as out of the historical norm.
For example, he said when he was the military assistant to then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld the content of private phone calls was routinely leaked to the press.
The dizzying, mesmerizing Trump show
By TODD S. PURDUM
"I don't see an unusual level of leaks," he said. "I have yet to see anything that really shocks me."
What would be jarring, in his view, would be leaks that divulged the ways the intelligence was collected. "As far as I can tell no sources and methods, no cryptographic tools have been revealed."
"Snowden was shocking," he added, in reference to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who in 2013 leaked hundreds of thousands of documents that included details of how intelligence agencies gathered sensitive information.
A former senior CIA official who served during multiple administrations said the series of leaks "has to be disturbing to everyone."
The former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, theorized that in the wake of the Snowden disclosures some who have security clearances may be de-sensitized to how serious it is for closely held national security information to be so widely and egregiously shared.
"Maybe it is because of Snowden," he said.
But the former official also believes it is "too early to say whether it is ahistorical or that this leaking is out of the ordinary."
Some Democratic lawmakers said Trump appeared to be using the leak issue to divert attention from more serious questions about contacts with the Russians by Flynn and other Trump aides.
All the things Trump covered at his epic news conference
By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL and LOUIS NELSON
"It's very Trump-esque that he loved leaks during the campaign and now he thinks leaks are the problem," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) "Certainly, we don't want anyone leaking sensitive information. On the other hand, if everyone would have just focused on 'Deep Throat' in Watergate, I'm not sure we ever would have gotten to the bottom of Watergate. I think the same analogy would hold here. We need to look at the underlying behavior -- not just the fact that we found out about it."
"Having the [Defense Intelligence Agency] take away [Flynn's] security clearance is not the result of some media leak. It is frankly remarkable that anyone even would make that claim. We need to see the transcript of that conversation," said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
But Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) decried the leaks.
"If the intelligence agency employees are leaking classified information, that is a serious issue and it will have to be dealt with," Rounds said. "There is no reason why anybody in the intelligence agencies should be leaking information … It doesn't matter what the classified information is. It's not their responsibility to make a decision that, 'I will release this.'"
In his epic press conference Thursday, Trump acknowledged that not all leaks are equal. He told reporters Thursday that he was not as troubled by the substance of leaks about his conversations with leaders of Mexico and Australia as by the possibility more sensitive diplomatic talks might be publicly disclosed in the future.
"I said that's terrible that it was leaked, but it wasn't that important. But then I said to myself: what happens when I'm dealing with the problem of North Korea?" Trump said. "What happens when I'm dealing with the problems in the Middle East? Are you folks going to be reporting all of that very, very confidential information … I mean at the highest level? Are you going to be reporting about that too?"
Trump asks black journalist to help set up meeting with Congressional Black Caucus
Experts said it was not clear that the leaks of details on Trump's calls with the Mexican president or the Australian prime minister violated federal felony statutes, like the Espionage Act. The main anti-leak provisions in that statute cover not all classified information, but solely that related to the "national defense."
Disclosure of a broader category of classified information is covered by a misdemeanor statute, but that is rarely invoked except in plea deals where prosecutors believe they could pursue a more serious charge.
"There'll be no prosecution over any of that stuff," MacMahon said, referring to the awkward Trump talks with the Mexican and Australian leaders.
Still, any individuals determined to have leaked classified information about Trump's calls could be fired and stripped of their security clearances.
"They are risking their career, their livelihood and their future employment," said Steven Aftergood, who studies government secrecy policy for the Federation of American Scientists."I doubt they're risking jail, but they are almost certainly putting their own career in jeopardy."
Even if Trump and others are convinced crimes were committed, there are many potential obstacles to any prosecution, including finding sufficient evidence to finger the leakers.
In that respect, a policy change President Barack Obama ordered just before leaving office could complicate investigators' work in the Flynn case or other cases.
Transcripts of intercepted calls have historically been "minimized" to remove the identities of U.S. citizens and residents before those transcripts are passed to other agencies. However, Obama's directive late last year allowed more raw intercepts to be passed to more people at more agencies.
One of the key questions agencies reporting leaks to the Justice Department must answer is; "What is the extent of official circulation of the information?" If information was distributed widely within the government, even if considered "Top Secret," extended investigations are rare and prosecutions even rarer.
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"By saying unminimized records can circulate more broadly, you're creating a new hurdle for investigators to locate the leaks," Aftergood said.
Prosecutors also tend to take some account of a leaker's motivations in considering whether to file charges. Judges have refused to allow defendants to argue that their conduct should be excused because the disclosures were in the public interest.
Former Justice Department lawyer Thomas Tamm appeared on the cover of Newsweek in 2008, confirming that he was a source for the New York Times in its disclosure of President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. Tamm was never charged, although the decision to drop the matter came under the Obama administration, which also viewed Bush's effort as legally suspect.
In prosecuting leakers, the Trump administration could cite the aggressive treatment of leakers under Obama. Such cases were a rarity in prior years, with only three filed in the course of nearly a century. However, at least eight were brought during Obama's time in office, leading to criticism from First Amendment and whistleblower advocates.
Still, there is the question of whether a jury — likely in Washington or northern Virginia —would convict someone who appeared to be motivated by genuine concern that Trump aides were too close to Russian government officials.
"You could try a jury nullification defense, but you're never going to get a judge to formally allow it," MacMahon said. "Leak prosecutions just depend on whose ox is being gored … The government can destroy somebody's life in one of these cases. It just comes down to whether the government wants to prosecute the case."
Austin Wright and Josh Meyer contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: This post has been updated to correctly identify blogger Richard Silverstein.
National Security Adviser
Mike Rounds
Mike Flynn