* Please note that this is journal '2014/15 Volume V' in our old numbering system.
Andrews, Thomas: Thomas is a London-based artist, illustrator, and printmaker. He is the co-founder of Done London, an independent print and design studio based in Lewisham, South East London. He has been painting on the streets for over a decade and often frequents abandoned buildings which become his canvases. His work is inspired by and explores the imagination in all its rich diversity. He is currently working on a top secret project.
Keen, Roger: Roger Keen is a writer, filmmaker and film critic with a special interest in surrealism, counterculture and psychedelia. He has contributed to many award-winning programmes for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, and his articles, reviews and short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and webzines, including Threads, Critical Wave, Writer's Monthly, The Third Alternative and The Digital Fix. His memoir The Mad Artist: Psychonautic Adventures in the 1970s was published in 2010 and other narrative works are in progress.
Luke, Dr David: David is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich where he teaches the Psychology of Exceptional Human Experience. He was President of the Parapsychological Association between 2009-2011 and has published more than 100 academic papers on the intersection of transpersonal experiences, anomalous phenomena and altered states of consciousness. He has co-authored/co-edited four books on psychedelics and paranormal experience, directs the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon at the institute of Ecotechnics, and co-founded Breaking Convention.
Oroc, James: James is the author of Tryptamine Palace (2009), 'Who's got the Bomb?' (Short Stories) and The 2nd Psychedelic Revolution (non-fiction) which is due to be published in 2016. Originally from Aotearoa (New Zealand), he now resides in New Orleans (USA) and the Dominican Republic. Author, photographer, public-speaker, experimental mystic, adventure-journalist, entheogenic philosopher, and art-car builder.
Pestana, Jani: Jani studies social and cultural anthropology at the KU Leuven (Catholic University Leuven) and is currently writing an M.A. thesis on the subject of ayahuasca and interconnection in a medicine centre in the Peruvian amazon. Recently spoke at Breaking Convention 2015 with the paper: Psychedelics and the holographic paradigm. General interest regarding psychedelic thinking is how they have influenced and will continue to influence our collective and individual consciousness, and the personal and societal consequences this influence has had and will have. Furthermore, I currently work for Doctors Without Borders, as a student.
St John, Graham: Graham is an Australian anthropologist and scholar of electronic dance music cultures and festivals. He is Executive Editor of the journal Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture (www.dj.dancecult.net). He has held several research positions - a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Queensland's Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, an SSRC Residential Fellowship at the School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and postdoc in Interactive Media and Production at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan. He's written Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural history of DMT (2015), Global Tribe: Technology, Spirituality and Psytrance (Equinox, 2012), Technomad: Global Raving Countercultures (Equinox, 2009) and he has edited several collections.
Vayne, Julian: Julian Vayne is the author of numerous articles and books, and is a practicing occultist. His books include Pharmakon: Drugs and the Imagination and Magick Works as well as co-authored titles such as Now That's What I call Chaos Magick and The Book of Baphomet. His most recent academic articles include an exploration of the entheogenic use of ketamine in the collection Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive Substances: Chemical Paths to Spirituality and God. He is a founding member of the anti-prohibitionist campaigning organization Transform and is a museum educator. He publishes online at theblogofbaphomet.com.


text:
Pregnant whale washed up in Italian tourist spot had 22 kilograms of plastic in its stomach
By Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN
Updated 5:54 AM ET, Mon April 1, 2019
The sperm whale was found washed up on the Italian island of Sardinia.
(CNN) The carcass of a pregnant sperm whale that washed up in Sardinia, Italy, last week had 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of plastic in its stomach, and was carrying a dead fetus, the country's environment minister and a marine life non-profit organization said.
Luca Bittau, president of the SeaMe group, told CNN the beached mammal's remains contained "garbage bags ... fishing nets, lines, tubes, the bag of a washing machine liquid still identifiable, with brand and barcode ... and other objects no longer identifiable."
"She was pregnant and had almost certainly aborted before (she) beached," he said. "The fetus was in an advanced state of composition."
The whale had 22 kilograms (49 pounds) of plastic in its stomach.
The dead animal, which was eight meters (26 feet) long, washed up on a beach in the Sardinian tourist hotspot of Porto Cervo.
Bittau said the cause of death would be known after histological and toxicological examinations carried out by veterinarians in Padua, northern Italy.
Sergio Costa, Italy's environment minister, said in a

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Daily Mail columnist Peter Oborne has recanted his previous support for Brexit in a devastating article. A passionate Brexiter in 2016, Oborne suggests there are many other Leave voters who feel the same way but haven't wanted to speak out.
Not only is it right for Brexiters to change their minds and at the very least support a delay to Brexit, "it's past time we did. We need to acknowledge, too, that we will never be forgiven if and when Brexit goes wrong".
In the most powerful section of his piece, Oborne takes apart the economic case for Brexit. "Investment-led growth has collapsed," he says and lists some of the company decisions that have seen jobs lost since Brexit at Nissan, Sony, Honda and a host of financial businesses. He notes how even British backers of the Leave campaign, like James Dyson and Jim Ratcliffe, have announced they are moving their assets abroad.
He shoots down the claim that the UK would get better trade deals outside the EU and points out that the easy EU trade deal promised in 2016 has never materialised and that few of the 40 trade agreements that Liam Fox vowed to sign by March 2019 have been agreed.
Three things are particularly important about Oborne's article.
First, that it should be such a wide ranging and frankly devastating critique of the key arguments used by Brexit supporters. Such intellectual underpinning as lay beneath the argument for Brexit has been demolished, brick by brick, in Oborne's analysis.
Secondly, it matters because Oborne is a leading conservative (and Conservative) thinker and a writer. Love him or hate him, people who read his column in the Daily Mail take him seriously and his opinions often influence their own. Those who listen to him include many rightwing Conservative MPs.
Thirdly, that he should be so critical of Brexit-supporting MPs. It has been obvious for some time that the tactics used by Brexit supporters have been strikingly inept. Having unexpectedly won in 2016, they have pursued the implementation of that result with a mixture of arrogance and incompetence. Despite this, the Tory press has been reluctant to criticise Brexiter MPs.
Of course Oborne is not the first Leave voter from 2016 to have changed his mind. The Remainer Now movement has been giving a voice since 2017 to the thousands who have changed their minds. Not only has staying in the EU been leading the opinion polls since the spring of last year, in recent months that lead has become decisive as a significant number of former Leave voters have switched to Remain. That trend has been particularly striking amongst women voters, with 56% of them now wanting to stay.
It is a brave for any of us to admit that we have got a big decision wrong; to do so publicly takes particular courage. That is one of the many reasons why we should put the decision back to the people so that in the quiet of the polling booth, away from all sound and fury, people are free to change their minds and stop the disaster of Brexit.
there is nothing "brave" about Peter Oborne. had he truly been up to the ethical standards he holds OTHERS up to, he then should have have resigned from his berth at the Daily Mail and other hard-right media outlets.
I still can not forgive this man of little principles, and even less to boast about, the way he colluded with Jeremy Paxman to humiliate on air the spokeperson for the EU commission by trying to hold him responsible for the decisions taken by heads of states and finance ministers during the Greek crisis.
That bunch of idiots, as they kept hurling insults at a spokeperson. they didn't then had the "courage", the ethics or the professionalism to actually get the ones responsible to answer his questions. no.
cheap, populist self-promotion in a characteristically english arrogance is all that he is about.
I'm trying to resist an ' I told you so ' moment and I'm trying also to feel gracious about Peter Oborne's change of mind but as a UK citizen living in the EU I see nowhere in his article any mention of the apalling way both EU citizens living in Britain and likewise UK citizens n Europe have been treated. We were denied a say in our futures and treated as bargaining chips from the start. Yes the economy is paramount to the health of a nation but so is having a moral mindset and what has been done to 5 million people is immoral.
This is very good news. Peter is a top rate commentator and his damascene article is an excellent read.
Just listened to Peter Oborne from the Daily Mail on Channel 4 News talking with Melissa Kite of the Spectator, which made an interesting contrast. It isn't easy to admit you have been wrong, but Mr Oborne has done this in a very humbling way. Melissa Kite, on the other hand could only give superficial replies, insisting that not one of the 17.4 Million Leave voters had changed their minds. Absurd of course, since she was looking at one.
I have never trusted Conservatives!
The BrexShit Frauds by BrexShitBullShitters-R-Us Fiasco have taught me that a few, a VERY FEW…. CAN be trusted to put the interests of the Country BEFORE that of THEIR own 'career' and their accursed Party of shysters!
Peter Oborne is one such trustworthy Conservative!
The second Conservative, I trust,…. is Dominic Grieve,…. that consistently honourable man, currently subject to the bullying by his recently jackbooted local comnstituency Tory group!!!!
It has taken this character a long time to work out the obvious and overcome what was obviously a deeply held prejudice.
He was on the BBC Today Programme being interviewed by John Humphries and Channel 4 News yesterday, so its a good start.
Re 'few of the 40 Liam Fox trade contracts have been agreed'. Nor could even be legally entered into, let alone agreed, until after March 29….sorry, May 22….sorry, June the something….
What it needs now is for Rupert Murdoch to change his mind.


text:
UW-Purdue scoring summary
Jeff Potrykus
Wisconsin: Jonathan Taylor needed just three plays to find the end zone as he broke up the middle for a 67-yard touchdown run just 1 minute 35 seconds into the game. Rafael Gaglianone added the extra point.
Key play: Taylor gained 6 yards on first down.
The drive: Three plays, 75 yards, 1:25 time of possession. Wisconsin 7, Purdue 0.
Wisconsin: Alex Hornibrook hit wide receiver Quintez Cephus for a 14-yard touchdown with 6:12 left in the quarter. Gaglianone added the extra point.
Key play: Hornibrook found Cephus open for a 22-yard gain to the Purdue 43 on the third play of the drive.
The drive: Nine plays, 73 yards, 5:46. Wisconsin 14, Purdue 0.
Purdue: One play after Purdue failed to convert on third and 15, Spencer Evans hit a 36-yard field goal with 1:14 left in the quarter.
Key play: Quarterback Elijah Sindelar found wide receiver Anthony Mahoungou for 10 yards to the UW 39 on third and three.
The drive: Eleven plays, 56 yards, 4:58. Wisconsin 14, Purdue 3.
Wisconsin: One play after tailback Bradrick Shaw lost a yard on third and 1, Gaglianone drilled a 46-yard field goal with 2:38 left in the half.
Key play: Hornibrook hit wide receiver Danny Davis for 8 yards to the Purdue 36 on third and 4.
The drive: Eight plays, 47 yards, 4:21. Wisconsin 17, Purdue 3.
Purdue: Evans drilled a 49-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Key play: Elijah Sindelar hit tight end Cole Herdman for 7 yards to the UW 35 on fourth and 6 and the officials tacked on another 15 after linebacker T.J. Edwards was called for targeting.
Purdue: One play after Purdue failed to convert on third and 5 from the UW 23, J.D. Dellinger kicked a 40-yard field goal with 4:07 left in the quarter.
Key play: Defensive end Danny Ezechukwu intercepted a pass from Hornibrook and raced 36 yards to the UW 28.
The drive: Four plays, 5 yards, 1:26. Wisconsin 17, Purdue 9.
No scoring.


text:
Hallanger
Norwegian Motor tanker
Photo Courtesy of Library of Contemporary History, Stuttgart
Name Hallanger
Type: Motor tanker
Completed 1928 - Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Mij NV, Amsterdam
Owner A/S Westfal-Larsen & Co, Bergen
Homeport Bergen
Date of attack 30 Mar 1943 Nationality: Norwegian
Fate Sunk by U-596 (Gunter Jahn)
Position 36° 55'N, 1° 39'E - Grid CH 8292
Complement 44 (0 dead and 44 survivors).
Convoy ET-16
Route Algiers - Gibraltar - New York
Cargo Ballast and 1000 tons of fuel oil
History Completed in April 1928. Since 1941 in Admiralty service as Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
At 20.06 hours on 30 March 1943, U-596 attacked convoy ET-16 west of Algiers and reported five hits on two ships, but the Italians reported hits on three ships. The Hallanger and Fort a la Corne were sunk by this attack.
The Hallanger (Master Karl Bjerring Hansen) in station #52 was hit by one torpedo in the #8 tank on the port side, two minutes later by a second in the #6 tank. At 20.17 hours, the U-boat fired a coup de grâce, which struck in the bunkers aft. The vessel sank later in 36°52N/01°47E. The 40 crew members and four gunners abandoned ship in the lifeboat, reached land the next day and were subsequently sent to Algiers.
On board We have details of 41 people who were on board.


text:
NEW PROJECT TO BOOST PEACE AND EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS IN NEWTOWNBUTLER
Getting the ball rolling for the Newtownbutler Together Peace Impact Project are (back row)Greg Burton, US Consul General; Dorothy Clarke, International Fund for Ireland Board Member; and (front) Newtownbutler Together representatives Bert Robinson, Simon Wiggins and Cllr Thomas O' Reilly.
NEWTOWNBUTLER Together has revealed details of a major new initiative aimed at addressing community division, unemployment and limited opportunities for young people in the border area.
The 20-month Peace Impact Project, delivered with Youth Work Ireland Monaghan, received £98,578 from the International Fund for Ireland and will provide new training courses and cross-community events that engage with a range of age groups.
Newtownbutler Together said it would seek to engage the whole village in a range of activities that can build confidence, enhance community interaction training aimed at improving skills and employability.
Set up in 2011, the group has worked to promote respect for all cultures and traditions within the village and has been part of the public discussions on a range of divisive issues including parades and protests.
Speaking at the launch of the Peace Impact Project, International Fund for Ireland Board Member, Dorothy Clarke, said:
"This project is seeking to deal with a number of complex and challenging issues. It will open new pathways for people to overcome divisions linked to our past and provide training opportunities for young people to improve their employability options.
"Newtownbutler Together and Youth Work Ireland Monaghan are already doing a lot of outstanding work and we know this project can have stabilising effect on young people who might otherwise engage in anti-social or unlawful activities.
"Projects like this are critical if we are to generate greater momentum for positive change and deliver stability and prosperity. This project will support communities to develop positive solutions that can resolve difficult local issues."
Bert Robinson and Thomas O'Reilly, the Chair and Vice Chair of Newtownbutler Together, said:
"Our focus is on creating a vibrant community that is prosperous, safe and has the needs of all at its core.
"Division and disaffection are complex issues that continue to affect our communities and young people in particular in this area, but it doesn't have to be this way.
"This project builds on work we have already been doing. It is about encouraging and challenging everyone in the community to raise their expectations for a brighter future and giving them a role in shaping it.
"The project is focused on delivering for all in the village and wider area and we hope everyone will get behind us."
The International Fund for Ireland awarded £98,578 to the Newtownbutler Together in November 2013 through its Peace Impact Programme (PIP) which looks to address some of the most sensitive, complex and challenging issues within areas where there have been low levels of engagement in peace building.
To find out more about the Newtownbutler Together Peace Impact Project contact project staff Charley McAdam or Rita Killian on 028 6773 8963, visit www.facebook.com/NewtownbutlerTogether or call in to the office at First Floor, Credit Union Building, 1B High Street, Newtownbutler, BT92 8JD.
One Response to NEW PROJECT TO BOOST PEACE AND EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTS IN NEWTOWNBUTLER


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text:
Q: Matching Cards -Cards don't show correctly I want to create a matching card game in JavaScript. Firstly,i just want to generate 12 random cards into the body.
When I press Start Game,the container is filled with 12 random images. Doing it multiple times,sometimes I spread those images into the container like this (second picture). Sometimes it works just fine( first picture)

HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>

    <title>Matching Cards Game</title>
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">
    <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Gotu&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

The Card Matching Game

    <button id="start">Start Game</button>

CSS
body {
  background-color: #13060d;
  margin: 0;
  font-family: 'Gotu', sans-serif;
}

#container {
  margin-top: 15%;
  max-width: 1000px;
  margin: 20px auto;
}

img {
  width: 17.5%;
  background: purple;
  float: left;
  margin: 0.5% 3% 0.5%;
  border-radius: 10%;
}

h1 {
  color: white;
  margin-bottom: 0;
}

#start {
  border-style: none;
  font-size: 2rem;
}

JavaScript
nrCards = 12;
var card = document.querySelectorAll(".card");
var cards = generateRandomCard(nrCards);
var startBtn = document.querySelector("#start");

function generateRandomCard(num) {
  var arr = [];
  for (var i = 0; i < num; i++) {
    arr.push(randomCard());
  }
}

function randomCard() {
  var result = '';
  var letters = "CDHS";

  var number = Math.floor((Math.random() * 9) + 2);
  var letter = letters[Math.floor(Math.random() * 4)];
  result += "PNG/" + number + letter + ".png";
  return result;
}

startBtn.addEventListener("click", function() {
  for (var i = 0; i < nrCards; i++) {
    card[i].src = randomCard();
    //card[i].src ="PNG/8S.png";
    console.log(card[i]);

  }
  console.log("----------------------");
})

I would appreciate some help.. Thank you!

A: I would suggest that you use grid layout for such implementation:

nrCards = 12;
var card = document.querySelectorAll(".card");
var cards = generateRandomCard(nrCards);
var startBtn = document.querySelector("#start");

function generateRandomCard(num) {
    var arr = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < num; i++) {
        arr.push(randomCard());
    }
}

function randomCard() {
    var result = '';
    var letters = "CDHS";

    var number = Math.floor((Math.random() * 9) + 2);
    var letter = letters[Math.floor(Math.random() * 4)];
    result += "PNG/" + number + letter + ".png";
    return result;

}

startBtn.addEventListener("click", function () {

    for (var i = 0; i < nrCards; i++) {
        card[i].src = randomCard();
        //card[i].src ="PNG/8S.png";
        //console.log(card[i]);

    }
    //console.log("----------------------");
})
body{
    background-color:#13060d;
    margin:0;
    font-family: 'Gotu', sans-serif;
}
#container{
    margin-top: 15%;
    max-width: 1000px;
    margin:20px 50px;
    display: grid;
    grid-template-columns: auto auto auto auto;
    grid-column-gap: 50px;
    grid-row-gap: 50px;
}

img{
    width:auto;
    background:purple;
    border-radius: 10%;

}
h1{
    color:white;
    margin-bottom:0;
}
#start{
    border-style: none;
    font-size:2rem;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>

        <title>Matching Cards Game</title>
        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">
        <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Gotu&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">

The Card Matching Game

        <button id="start">Start Game</button>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Meunasah Jurong is een bestuurslaag in het regentschap Pidie Jaya van de provincie Atjeh, Indonesië. Meunasah Jurong telt 972 inwoners (volkstelling 2010).

Plaats in Atjeh

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9 out of 10 based on 621 ratings. 4,365 user reviews.
wwwguides›Select Year & ModelSelect any 2011 Sea-Doo/BRP model. A wholly owned subsidiary of Bombardier Recreational Products, Sea-Doo is a Canadian marquee known for their personal watercrafts. In addition to their PWCs, Sea-Doo also produces various sport and speed boats. . . . more (See less) 2011 Note.


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text:
Home World Adeniji: The Transformation of an International Functionary and Diplomatist
Adeniji: The Transformation of an International Functionary and Diplomatist
Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, CON, born on July 22, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State passed on Monday, 27th November, 2017, at the age of 83 years, four months and five days, quietly and peacefully, in London, United Kingdom. His demise reminds of many things in life: fame and human worth, name and integrity, impact and legacy, living and Godliness, particularly in terms of what we are told biblically.
First, the book of Ecclesiastes 1: 4-5, says that 'one generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.' Without any scintilla of doubt, the generation of Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji is gradually passing away as predicted biblically. No one should, therefore, complain about his death. But his death is most painful, particularly to me as a Nigerian by blood descent.
Second, his death reminds me of Elisabeth Barrett Browning, who noted in Aurora Leigh that 'a great man leaves clean work behind him, and requires no sweeper up of the chips.' This statement is interesting because of the definition of a great man. To qualify to be a great man, one's work must have been clean. The cleanliness must be to the extent that there is nothing to clean or sweep in terms of dirt or sweep under the carpet in terms of acts of misdemeanour. This means that greatness is about righteousness and not about national titles, chieftaincy awards, or other societal honours.
When Elisabeth Browning made her observation, did she not have a person like Ambassador Adeniji in mind? I am more than convinced she did, because she must have considered that her own stratum of society could not have been the only one, where the virtue of greatness existed. And true enough, Ambassador Adeniji left a superbly clean record, both as an international functionary and diplomatist. He is a real man in the way Henri Frédéric Amiel defined it: 'great men are the real men: in them nature has succeeded,' (vide Journal, 13 August, 1865). Ambassador Adeniji was truly an epitome of greatness because he left behind clean work and because nature truly succeeded in him.
More important, he is famous for various breakthroughs in many diplomatic negotiations. He was a diplomatic technician and technologist whenever there were political lulls. His fame is more about being calm in attitude, painstaking in execution of duties, soft spoken in discussion, perseverance in the face of challenges, patriotic in the face of competing foreign policy interests, and most significantly, never unassuming in foreign policy and strategic calculations.
In fact the thinking of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, is not different in this case. In his immediate reaction to the demise of Ambassador Adeniji while in China, Obasanjo noted 'his memorable stint in the Nigerian Foreign Service in the decades after Nigeria's attainment of independence, during which he carved a niche for himself in global diplomacy.' And more interestingly, Chief Obasanjo also noted 'Ambassador Adeniji's enormous contributions to the nation, in particular, and the international community, in general, (which) earned him an eminent position in the nation's gallery of unforgettable public servant.'
Even if anyone has any reason to cast an iota of doubt on the life and times of Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, there is no disputing the fact that he commendably served as a Nigerian Foreign Service Officer. He rose not only to become the Permanent Secretary but also the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In fact, he was not simply a career diplomat but also a diplomatist, who combined diplomatic ethics with dints of academia. A diplomatist, for us, is any diplomatic careerist, who is also engaged in intellectual activities. A diplomatist, an old English word, is necessarily a diplomatic thinker.
In Nigeria, there are a few of them: Phillip Asiodu, Tayo Ogunsulire, Olu Sanu, Akporode Clark, Oluyemi Adeniji, L.O. Oladejo Oyelakin, Dapo Fafowora, Oladele, Gbenga Ashiru, Segun Apata, Femi George, Kayode Shinkaiye, Segun Akinsanya, Martins Uhomoibhi, Joe Keshi, Eni Onobu, Ozichi Alimole, Lawrence Olufemi Obishakin, etc. All these diplomatists are not only careerists but have also authored articles or books or papers that have generated scholarly interests.
In the same vein, there are also a few diplomatic scholars in Nigeria: Bolaji Akinyemi, Akinjide Osuntokun, Alaba Ogunsanwo, Ibrahim Gambari, George Obiozor, Raphael O. Olaniyan and Femi Aribisala. Professors Akinyemi and Gambari were former Foreign Ministers. Professors Osuntokun and Ogunsanwo were former ambassadors. Professor Olaniyan served with the African Union for many years. Dr. Aribisala was former Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Akinyemi. So, they are academics with diplomatic experiences.
Even though Professor Obiozor was Special Adviser on International Relations to President Shehu Shagari, and Professor Osuntokun was Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Ike Nwachuhkwu, I want to place on record that I am the luckiest of all of them as a diplomatic scholar: Shehu Shagari was not a diplomat or a diplomatist. Ike Nwachukwu was a soldier, but Oluyemi Adeniji was not only a diplomatic careerist with very sagacious diplomatic alertness, but also a seasoned international functionary. He appointed me his Special Assistant. When he was named Minister of Interior, he again reappointed me as his Special Assistant. When many scholars posit that foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy, I learnt considerably from my appointment as Ambassador Adeniji's Special Assistant.
Perhaps, more noteworthy is the fact that I also served as Special Assistant to Chief Ojo Maduekwe, when he was Foreign Minister. Chief Ojo Maduekwe was an avid reader and a good tactical politician. The attitude of a politician as a Foreign Minister is completely different from that of a diplomatic careerist named as a Foreign Minister. Working with a Foreign Minister politician, Foreign Minister diplomat and Interior Minister necessarily makes me the luckiest diplomatic scholar available in modern day Nigeria, and this is simply because Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji opened the windows and doors of opportunity widely for me.
I seized the opportunity. Virtually all the directors and under-secretaries in the Foreign Ministry gave me the empirical education lacking in the curricula of universities. Without any jot of gainsaying, I became a diplomat in situ in the Ministry. This is why the death of Ambassador Adeniji is very painful, most painful to me as an individual. Whoever wants to evaluate the personality, achievements and contributions of Ambassador Adeniji should simply look at what he did regarding my appointment as his Special Assistant.
Terrible Things versus Righteousness
When Ambassador Adeniji offered me appointment as his Special Assistant, Ambassador Ayo Adigun, then a director in the Office of the Honourable Minister, backed it up with an official letter. On this basis, I applied for permission from the then NIIA Director General, Mrs. Joy Ogwu, for leave of absence or secondment, but the application was never responded to in spite of reminders. Ambassador Adeniji called me to find out whether I wanted to accept the offer and I explained the challenges I had. He was much concerned to the extent that he personally went to discuss the matter with the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Ufot Ekaette.
The details of their discussion I did not know. What I know is that Ambassador Adeniji asked me to report in Abuja which I did. He took me to the Office of the SGF. The relevant aspect of the meeting was that the NIIA was, and still is, a government parastatal, according to the SGF. My appointment as a Special Assistant was considered to be in another government institution, and therefore perfectly in order. The SGF therefore directed that I should go and resume duty and that by the end of my tenure as Special Assistant, the appropriate decision would be taken, especially that the NIIA DG might not be there by then.
Ambassador Adeniji, from the foregoing, was not used to noise-making. He defined his focus and he pursued it doggedly. On that very day of meeting with SGF Ekaette, I learnt the difference between a Special Assistant and a Special Adviser in a Ministry: when one is appointed within the government institutions, one answers Special Assistant, but if the appointee is coming from outside of government institution, one answers a Special Adviser. In this regard, the main responsibility of a Special Adviser is to give an advice or opinion on issues referred to him or her but a Special Assistant is required to assist his boss in whatever he or she does.
With this new education, I developed a very strong determination to assist my boss. My approach was to completely do away with my theoretical education and to begin as a student in the Foreign Ministry. In many areas, theory is completely different from practice. Serious diplomatic activities are generally not reported and hardly do they reflect theories. I learnt fast and quickly polished my views on many issues. This was greatly due to Ambassador Adeniji, who actually became my professional father.
When I returned to the NIIA, Professor Osita Eze had succeeded Professor (Mrs) Joy Ogwu as Director General. I sent a letter informing the Management that I had returned to resume my academic duties. The official reply was that I had absconded and that I was no longer a staff of the NIIA. Where did I abscond to? I went back to Abuja to report to the new SGF, who was then Babagana Kingibe. He looked into the matter and could not see any justification for declaring me unwanted at the NIIA. He directed the then Foreign Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, to ensure my reinstatement with immediate effect and that he did.
For more than nine months of running here and there, I was without salary, simply because I went to serve government but Ambassador Adeniji stood by me like a rock of Gibraltar. I was always drinking from his fountain of knowledge, especially in terms of perseverance in the face of challenges and persecution. Even though the NIIA eventually paid me all my salary entitlements, my professorial assessment was unnecessarily delayed and that largely affected my status and income at the Foreign Ministry.
One other important thing I learnt from Ambassador Adeniji is that one with God is majority and that truly, if God be with you, who can be against you. Imagine! I was the only person since the establishment of the NIIA in 1961, and particularly since 1971, when Government officially took over the NIIA, to have his appointment as Director General advertised. I was then Acting Director General. The practice was for the president to confirm or appoint a Director General straight forwardly. But for various reasons that cannot be discussed here, the advert was set aside and my appointment as a substantive Director General was confirmed on November 16, 2011, exactly 365 days after my appointment on November 16, 2010 as Acting Director General.
The message here is that, for reasons I could not, and that I cannot still, understand, the Nigerian system is always militating against my patriotic disposition. The system is anti-honesty of purpose. However, Ambassador Adeniji always had an answer: there are worse cases than yours. This man from Ijebu Ode, this source of sweet inspiration, is said to have passed on. Has he truly passed on? It cannot be true that he had passed on.
A person, who passes on or away is the one without a clean record behind. It is the people without legacy to talk about. It is precisely the people who gain the whole world but not qualified for entry into the Kingdom of God. Thankfully, Ambassador Adeniji does not fall under any of the foregoing. He lived a simple and honest life. He was an acknowledged international civil servant, with expertise in disarmament issues and diplomatic negotiations. He was the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General at the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 19, 1999 to July 16, 2003. He was also the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in the Central African Republic (MINURCA).
He was an active member of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN). He authored several books, one of which considerably impacted on Africa: The Treaty of Pelindaba on the African Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, which is simply referred to as the Treaty of Pelindaba.
The treaty is named after South Africa's main Nuclear Research Centre, where South Africa's atomic bombs of the 1970s were made and managed by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation.
Twenty-eight ratifications were required for the treaty to enter into force and this was done on 15 July, 2009. There were 40 ratifications as at June 2014. Nigeria, like most other countries, signed the treaty on April 11, 1996, but deposited her instrument of ratification on June 18, 2001. Ambassador Adeniji's deep involvement at the level of the United Nations speaks volumes hence authoring a book on the issue is quite understandable.
At the level of Nigeria, Ambassador Adeniji is on record to have initiated the concept of Africa has Come of Age, with which President Murtala Muhammed was much delighted to read at the OAU summit in Addis Ababa and which President Obasanjo considered he should have been allowed to go to Addis Ababa to read it on behalf of Murtala Muhammed. And perhaps, most significantly, Ambassador Adeniji reviewed Professor Ibrahim Gambari's foreign policy concentricism by introducing the concept of constructive and beneficial concentricism.
Foreign policy concentricism, as defined by Professor Gambari, lays emphasis on dividing the operational areas of Nigeria's foreign policy into four concentric circles: innermost circle, consisting of Nigeria and the immediate neighbours; West Africa; other parts of Africa; and the rest of the world. Arguing that the security of Nigeria was intertwined with that of the immediate neighbours, Professor Gambari included the immediate neighbours as part of Nigeria in the innermost circle.
Ambassador Adeniji did not quarrel with this classification, but raises the need to first articulate the national interests at stake in each concentric circle. Hence, he argued that the pursuit of any Nigerian interest in any given concentric circle must not only be constructive in tactic but particularly made beneficial for the people of Nigeria wherever they may find themselves. This is what he had called constructive and beneficial concentricism.
Thus, Ambassador Adeniji was a beacon of light. He had fame. Dante Alighieri noted in his Divine Comedy: Inferno that 'Chè, seggendo in piuma, in fama non si vien, nè sotto coltre, that is, 'for fame is not won by lying on a feather bed under a canopy.' Explained differently, fame is essentially a resultant of dint of hard work. So is honour worth its name. Consequently, the generation of hard workers, hard thinkers, unrelenting patriots, etc is passing away without much attention being given to it in terms of who is entering into their shoes.
A vacuum has been created with the transformation of Ambassador Adeniji. But who is entering into his diplomatic shoes? Let me say that the current generation of Foreign Service Officers needs divine prayers of God. But meanwhile, May the gentle soul of Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji continue to rest in peace in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. Adieux to a professional diplomatic father!
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text:
El Preludio en sol menor, Op. 23 n.º 5 es una obra compuesta por Sergéi Rajmáninov; la terminó en 1901. Fue incluida en su serie de preludios Opus 23 a pesar de haber sido escrito dos años antes que los otros nueve. Es un epítome del nacionalismo ruso de Rajmáninov, lleno de grandes acordes y evocadoras melodías.

Estructura general
La forma del preludio es similar al tradicional rondó tripartito, consistente en una sección inicial "A" salpicado con acordes de semicorcheas (marcado Alla marcia), una sección "B" más lírica y melancólica con arpegios de tresillos en la mano izquierda (marcado Poco meno mosso), una transición al tempo original y una recapitulación de la marcha inicial. A pesar de la rimbombancia del tema principal, la pieza finaliza con un corto arpegio hasta un sol agudo, marcado como pianissimo.

Aunque el preludio en sol menor no es considerado como muy difícil técnicamente, la velocidad de la sección de la marcha y sus gruesos acordes repetidos requieren tanto fuertes muñecas como un gran control de la dinámica, mientras que la sección central requiere un legato controlado en ambas manos para conseguir que la melodía se proyecte adecuadamente.

Grabaciones
El compositor grabó esta pieza, pero debido a la «flexibilidad» musical de la pieza, pueden encontrarse interpretaciones en una amplia variedad de estilos, muy diferentes a las grabaciones del compositor.

Hay un famoso vídeo en el cual Emil Gilels toca este Preludio en un frente durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en señal de apoyo para las fuerzas militares soviéticas que lucharon en la guerra. El narrador dice (en ruso): "Gilels está tocando en el frente, para recordarnos por lo que merece la pena luchar: ¡la música inmortal!"

Este Preludio es una de las piezas más interpretadas y grabadas de la serie, mostrando el virtuosismo y el genio musical de Rajmáninov.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

 Partitura del Preludio en sol menor, Op. 23

sol menor
Composiciones en sol menor


text:
Why You Can't Shoot Straight: The Basic Science of Shooting
By John Cramer
Beginning with the most basic science, that gravity means you can never shoot straight, this book clearly and carefully explains the physical science behind all aspects of shooting. First it covers the basics of projectile motion, air resistance effects and the impact of rotational. It then moves to advanced and applied science topics like recoil control and optics of sighting and scopes. More
This is a book about the science of shooting guns but it also applies to archery. Beginning with the most basic science, that gravity means you can never shoot straight, it carefully and clearly explains the physical science behind all aspects of shooting. Projectile motion, the effects of air resistance and rotational motion on projectiles, the importance of projectile shapes and materials, the science behind zeroing and many other topics are explained in the basic science section. We then move on to advanced and applied science topics such as the optics of scope sights and laser sights, the impact of moving air and atmospheric disturbances on aiming. Sabot bullets, shooting up and down hill, recoil control, the science behind shooting at moving targets and other subjects are thoroughly covered. Along the way, the author includes historical asides on such topics as Custer's last stand, the Battle of Cowpens and the development of the rifle.
Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
Category: Nonfiction » Sports & outdoor recreation » Hunting
Published: Aug. 13, 2011
Tags: hunting shooting shotgun pistols rifles target shooting zeroing in telescopic sights
About John Cramer
Dr. John A. Cramer is an emeritus Professor of Physics at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia having earned his PhD. Degree from Texas A&M University. He has some forty years of experience teaching undergraduate physics and physical sciences and has authored numerous popular science articles. An avid outdoorsman and shell collector, his science interests extend well beyond physics.
Dr. Cramer's books include: A Brief History of Physical Science, How Alien Would Aliens Be? Why You Can't Shoot Straight: the basic Science of Shooting and Science Activities for K-5. All these are available in ebook formats. A Brief History of Physical Science, and How Alien Would Aliens Be?, are also available in print at most online retailers.
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President Donald Trump on Friday suggested a Justice Department inspector general report that faulted the FBI for its actions during the 2016 campaign shows James B. Comey is not credible as the president tries to sow doubts about the agency's Russia probe.
The report found no evidence that agent or others within the bureau acted out of political bias during the 2016 election cycle, but that is not stopping the president and his aides from using it to their ends — including to ding Comey, the former FBI director Trump fired and who already has spoken to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
Trump tweeted Friday morning that the IG's findings are "a total disaster for Comey, his minions and sadly, the FBI." The president, who admitted in a television interview that the Russia probe was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey. He has since denied that.
"The president was briefed on the IG report earlier today and it reaffirmed the president's suspicions about Comey's conduct and the political bias among some of the members of the FBI," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.
The president's tweet and ongoing attacks on Comey's credibility matter, even if they are — as legal experts say — unlikely to influence Mueller's thinking about whether to bring charges against Trump or some of his closest aides and family members. That's because the attempts to paint Comey as biased and not credible appear aimed at influencing public opinion, which matters greatly since impeachment is a political matter.
The Trump team knows the president continues to poll well in GOP strongholds and even some of the blue-collar areas he won to the shock of the Clinton campaign. If constituents in those places have doubts about Comey, their representatives might not support impeachment proceedings and could be reluctant to buck their voters by voting to impeach the 45th chief executive.
House Democrats on Thursday also used the report and its findings about Comey to push their own narrative, one that runs counter to the Trump's contention that the then-FBI boss was out to get him and stop him from becoming president.


What initially attracted you to traditional Tibetan Art? What is your belief system? How have your studies, specifically of Tantric Buddhism, and exposure to Ramakrishna monks affected your beliefs? How has this exposure shaped your values and how you interact with the world?
My mother was the first person to introduce me to the visual art of South-Asia (circa 1977) and what attracted me most was the wide array of phenomenal symbolism and graphic stylings. From a cosmological/metaphysical perspective my belief system could best be described as Vajrayana Buddhism blended with healthy doses of Kashmiri Shaivism and Bengali Shakta. As far as models for maintaining a personal relationship with the conscious absolute go, I tend to look toward the lives and habits of people like Lalleshwari, Reb Nachman, Ramakrishna, etc. I went to the monastery (circa 1997) mainly to study the cultural material. However, briefly after my arrival, I soon noticed that I was in the presence of certain folks who definitely approached life with an unencumbered and advantageous je-ne sais-quoi. What I mean is, pretty much anyone can learn to convincingly reiterate the tenets of Advaita Vedanta or the poetic narratives of Puranic literature. But, how many of us are willing to take the time to discover how to openly and peaceably face the atrocities of this world as undauntedly as we would a sunset? Or knowingly understand (and subsequently give everything of ourselves to help rectify) the core sufferings of any and all? I can honestly admit that while staying at the monastery I was able to comingle with persons who had undeniably succeeded at developing and sustaining these types of noble character traits. To this day it's mostly been these individuals who have affected and shaped how I aspire to interact with the world.
How did you decide you were ready to begin your formal artist career? Was that always the end goal? How did your experience meditating and working at the monasteries translate into artistic inspiration? What about those experiences inspired you?
For me, the decision to pursue a career as an artist pretty much came about circumstantially. I had just come to that place in my life where there wasn't too much else left that I wanted to do for a living. I'm not sure if setting out on this specific career path was entirely a good decision, but I'm still here and still doing it so I guess that says something. For me, concrete goals are bit difficult to fathom, the same goes for concrete endings. I come to the studio looking to work and explore; depending on who you ask, what's left over is either a benefit or a curse of this combined effort. If I've understood it right, traditionally, meditating is a technique which strives to focus your mind on a singular principal thought in order to elevate your mind beyond all other thoughts, including the primary. However, these techniques can also be used as a way to refine one's ability to navigate the imagination. In this sense, my experiments with mindfulness techniques have definitely translated into artistic inspiration by widening and focusing my inner-vision.
You write about culture, and how it is impossible to not be affected by external factors, that we are no longer a nation where Americana can reflect an insular idea of the West alone. How would you describe the culture of your world? Of your circle of friends and family? What do you need from culture to make you whole? How is that reflected in your art? How would you describe the culture of your art?
Whatever cultural expressions we find ourselves surrounded by, via situations like birth, family and geography, now-a-days one would be hard pressed to suggest that any of these expressions could wholeheartedly function in a vacuum (i.e. the nearly universal technology of the 21st century has naturally forced us to be extremely interconnected). With this in mind, the cultural behavior of my world is most likely the same as everyone else's: dominant innate cultural traits constantly confronted by subordinate accents. If we are indeed fragmented by this situation, then wholeness would best come about through a careful and honest management/melodizing of all the cultural components which speak most clearly to us; cross-cultural hybrids, custom tailored as it were, to the needs of individuals as well as society. According to Hume culture is anything that has the ability to outlive its maker. In this respect it would be premature to assume that what I paint could be described as such. But, if the stuff that comes out of my studio is one day worthy of this distinction, "balanced" is the word I would hope best describes it.
How do you pair your Americana content with your Asian content? How conscious of a decision is it when you choose which elements of each culture to combine? Does everything come together at once? Or do you focus on one cultural aspect of a piece at a time?
This part is always a bit tricky to explain, please bear with me. What I end up painting almost always starts out as a visualization; that is, I internally see it (pretty much in its entirety) before I set out to create it. However, most of what I experience in my mind's eye tends to reflect quite a bit of already established/preexisting imagery. So, I begin sorting through what's genuinely imagined and what's not. By way of my own firsthand memories, photos and notes (or vicariously through those of others) I reference, re-reference and separate all that is recall from all that is made-up. This process of repeated visual crisscross comparisons in turn serve to further galvanize my original vision until I feel proficient enough with it to begin committing everything I'm "seeing" to canvas.
There is a lot going on in each piece, how much do you expect viewers to see? When working with content that is foreign, what can you do to convey the meaning that you are attempting to imbue the work with, the meaning that you as the progenitor access so easily? Do you want to explain your work to people so they can understand? How important is understanding to art?
I'm inclined to agree with those who caution about strapping stuff like dictionaries and nationalities to art. Still, as fickle and subjective as it may be who can say that works of art are absolutely incapable of passing through phases where they do indeed provide us with some sort of deep provincial and universal meaning? Anyhow, when I take a good look at the stuff in my studio, I think we just wanted to make paintings that paired really well with Gingham tablecloths and the whole psych-space rock thing… and have a total blast while doing it. Of course any additional import to this is quite alright with me, sort of like sprinkling a little sugar on Frosted-Flakes.
Your series The Goddesses of Kings Row revolve around Social Pressure and Insight. Why are these issues so important to you? The series focuses on marginalized persons standing up to society, what effect do you hope the series to have? What take away message do you want people to feel when they look at the work?
This particular series focuses on the story of the first manifestation of the Mahavidyas (Sanskrit: maha – great + vidya – wisdoms or realizations, the Mahavidyas are ten aspects of the divine-feminine quality – usually described as Devi – in Tantric mythology). Deific insight is a theme which has been thoroughly discussed when it comes to the story of these Goddesses. However, the fact that they are described as coming about via instances of social pressure is a detail which I feel is often overlooked. As elementary and corny as it may be, the idea for these paintings arose soon after I'd relocated to a place where the inhabitants and I didn't have too much superficially in common. Interestingly, I noticed that the more I honestly and objectively confronted and celebrated my own tastes and idiosyncrasies, as opposed to clumsily trying to hide them and blend in, the better (not the worse) my new socially contrasted peers and I got along. Still, there are always those types who are too pigheaded to coexist with anyone outside their own tiny bubbles. But during this time, I also noticed that these closed-minded kinds exist everywhere and are just as challenging for me to get along with no matter which side of the cultural fence their external preferences may reside. If there is a take away message in these paintings it's really up to you to find it, but those were the predominant ideas that I considered while producing them.
What are you working on at the moment? What's next for you?
I'm currently working on two new series. The first deals with some childhood experiences revolving around nature and human intellect. The second is basically about continuing lines of demarcation in our interpretations of culture and objective correlatives in reverse.
Do you have a favorite place to sit and think?
Yes! Anywhere I'm in the company of good friends.


I'm ashamed to admit that I might have heard this song on an episode of Grey's Anatomy… Behind every man, there's a woman who watches Grey's Anatomy… Heard this one maybe 2 years ago and it is almost the equivalent of an auditory massage. It's a little too wintry for this summer but here you go anyways.
We lost a musical great yesterday. If you didn't get to know the legend, take some time to do so and realize what he did for music. You will be missed MJ, thanks for instilling your phenomenal talent in this world.


text:
Q: Transaction Scope fails with BeginTransaction in Oracle : Connection is already part of a local or a distributed transaction Having this strange behavior while using OracleConnection with TransactionScope.
If i try to use connection.BeginTransaction() in a transaction scope i get simple elegant InvalidOperationException : Connection is already part of a local or a distributed transaction.
here is some code:
var trxOptions = new TransactionOptions();
 trxOptions.IsolationLevel = IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted;
 using (var transaction = new TransactionScope(TransactionScopeOption.Required,trxOptions))
            {

                var c = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["oracle_test"].ConnectionString;
                using (var oracle = new OracleConnection(c))
                {
                    oracle.Open();
                    using (var tr = oracle.BeginTransaction(System.Data.IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted))
                    {
                        var cmd = oracle.CreateCommand();
                        cmd.CommandText = "INSERT INTO simple_user VALUES('a')";

                        cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
                        tr.Commit();
                    }
                }

        // now go to sql server and insert data
       transaction.Complete();

}
If I dont use BeginTransaction everything works. Any ideas to make it work?
PS: I am not having such an issue on Sql Server.
Edit
Thanks for answers i suppose i should add some edit to make my question clear.
First off all, the code i provided above is demonstration of problem. Lets say i have two dll's MyProject.Oracle.dll and MyProject2.MsSql.dll and i want to use methods inside these dll's and they use db.BeginTransaction(). If these dlls had used  TransactionScope my outer transaction wouldnt be a problem. Distrubuted transaction would be handled without any issues. But i cannot change code inside dlls.
And why db.BeginTransaction() works for    SqlServer but not for Oracle?

A: I hit the same question in conjunction with NHibernate.
Other answers indicate not to mix TransactionScope and BeginTransaction. Unfortunately no sources to support that claim where added. Here my research:
As stated on MSDN (search for "mix") and in this discussion, one should not mix both concepts, not even for SQL-Server. Why it seems to work for SQL-Server, for both local and distributed transactions, is still not clear to me.
Some seem to think this is a stupid question but it makes sense when seen in context of NHibernate (see here, here and here).

A: The TransactionScope and DbConnection.BeginTransaction are 2 exclusive ways of transaction management. You use either 1 of them.
The moment you call OracleConnection.Open, the oracle connection is enlisted in the ambient system transaction. All you then need to do is call TransactionScope.Complete(),if you want to commit the transaction or do not call it, in which case the system transaction is rolled back.
In case you do not want to enlist immediately on 'Open', you can set the 'enlist' connection string attribute to 'dynamic' and then enlist explicitly via  a call to 'OracleConnection.EnlistTransaction'

A: The reason it works for SQL/Server and not Oracle is that SQL/Server supports nested transactions and Oracle does not.

A: You should not use the inner Transaction object, TransactionScope creation already does it and the Complete method does the commit, the inner BeginTransaction and Commit method calls are not needed.
How does it work if you follow this way?

A: You should do some more reading on TransactionScope
First of all the enumeration of TransactionScopeOption
Required:

A transaction is required by the scope. It uses an ambient transaction
  if one already exists. Otherwise, it creates a new transaction before
  entering the scope. This is the default value.

So the transaction if not available is created and automatically associated.
The ambient transaction is the transaction within which your code executes. You can obtain a reference to the ambient transaction by calling the static Current property of the Transaction class.


IOCs that were involved in Malspam.
Adylkuzz is a cryptocurrency miner, installed using EternalBlue and DoublePulsar, both utilities leaked from NSA disclosure. EternalBlue is an exploit of a vulnerability in Microsoft's SMB servers. This attack shut down SMB networking to prevent further infections with other malware. It can be detected by symptoms of loss of access to shared Windows resources, as well as degradation of PC and server performance. This campaign is estimated to be larger in scope than the Wannacry worm distribution.
ZeroT is a downloader used to install the PlugX Remote Access Trojan (RAT) and distributed primarily through spear-phishing emails. This malware targets entities in Russia, Belarus and Asia. ZeroT showed up in the summer of 2016, following its use by the Chinese APT group linked with cyber actor TA459.
A vendor, Rainmaker, is offering a Ransomware named "Philadelphia," a version of the Stampado Rainmaker also offering other tools, including RATs.
Machete is a malware targeting intelligence services, military, embassies and government institutions in South America and Russia. It was first detected by Kaspersky in August 2014. It was found to log keystrokes, capture audio from a computer's microphone, capture screenshots, capture geolocation data and take photos from a computer's web camera.
BankBot is a malware targeting android OS, appearing in Google Play in various forms, often impersonating well-known application icons or names. The predecessor of this malware, BankBotAlpha, was first advertised back on December 19, 2016, on a Russian forum as a new initiative to build an Android banker from scratch. This malware achieves device admin privileges from the user and collects information like IMEI, Bank applications present on the device, OS version, presence of root, etc. Communication to the C&C is by SMS and over HTTP protocol.
Artemis malware effects the work of web browsers. Common signs of infection by the Artemis virus include: Change in browser homepage, search engine queries redirected to advertisement pages, and new, opened browser windows with pop-up ads.
Operation Cloud Hopper, uncovered by researchers at BAE Systems and PwC, was a cyber espionage campaign by APT10 (known as Red Apollo and the menuPass Team) that targeted IT MSPs to steal client corporate data. A US-CERT Alert on the subject is available here, with additional info. on our blog here.
DarkTrack backdoor was distributed via spear phishing to CERTs in the military domain, as found by NioGuard in May 2017.
Astrum is an Exploit Kit found to be used in the AdGholas Malvertising campaign, delivering several types of malware, including Dreambot/Gozi and RAMNIT.
Magnitude Exploit Kit is an attack toolkit that infects victims through compromised websites, and uses a variety of exploits to download malware on to the computer. The U.S. is the country with the largest Magnitude EK victims.
Cerber Ransomware. This ransomware debuted in late February 2016 and is one of the most prevalent ransomware variants. This ransomware is typically distributed via emails containing macro-enabled Word documents, Windows Script Files or Rich Text Documents. Cerber uses a strong, presently unbreakable encryption, and has a number of features that, when combined, make it unique in today's ransomware landscape. A new development of this ransomware potentially gives it DDOS capabilities. One recent variant of the ransomware has been spotted quietly sending out huge amounts of network traffic from infected machines. You can read more about it in our blog post here.
DiamondFox malware is capable of information disclosure (specifically Credentials and financial information), also known for point of sale systems attacks for the same purposes.
Anonymous Networks: More resources for anonymous networks were added to the targets, and it was duplicated to appear in both Standard and Expert modes in policy creation.
Tor Exit Nodes: Updated with more sources.
Driveby, Driveby (paranoid), Driveby (super paranoid): Now updated with the Blackhole data.


text:
Q: Getting Error when adding watermark on video in ios objective c Getting this error when exporting file
Error Domain=AVFoundationErrorDomain Code=-11800 "The operation could not be completed" UserInfo={NSUnderlyingError=0x608000642310 {Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-12120 "(null)"}
AVURLAsset* videoAsset = [[AVURLAsset alloc]initWithURL:url options:nil];

AVMutableComposition* miComposition = [AVMutableComposition composition];

AVMutableCompositionTrack *compositionVideoTrack = [miComposition addMutableTrackWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo preferredTrackID:kCMPersistentTrackID_Invalid];
AVAssetTrack *clipVideoTrack = [videoAsset tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo].firstObject;
AVMutableCompositionTrack *compositionAudioTrack = [miComposition addMutableTrackWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeAudio preferredTrackID:kCMPersistentTrackID_Invalid];
AVAssetTrack *clipAudioTrack = [videoAsset tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeAudio].firstObject;
//If you need audio as well add the Asset Track for audio here

[compositionVideoTrack insertTimeRange:CMTimeRangeMake(kCMTimeZero, [videoAsset duration]) ofTrack:clipVideoTrack atTime:kCMTimeZero error:nil];
[compositionAudioTrack insertTimeRange:CMTimeRangeMake(kCMTimeZero, [videoAsset duration]) ofTrack:clipAudioTrack atTime:kCMTimeZero error:nil];

[compositionVideoTrack setPreferredTransform:[[videoAsset tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo].firstObject preferredTransform]];

CGSize sizeOfVideo=[clipVideoTrack naturalSize];

//Image of watermark
UIImage *myImage=[UIImage imageNamed:@"_minutestory.png"];
CALayer *layerCa = [CALayer layer];
layerCa.contents = (id)myImage.CGImage;
layerCa.frame = CGRectMake((sizeOfVideo.width - 100),20 , 100, 100);
layerCa.opacity = 0.6;

CALayer *optionalLayer=[CALayer layer];

optionalLayer.frame=CGRectMake(0, 0, sizeOfVideo.width, sizeOfVideo.height);
[optionalLayer setMasksToBounds:YES];

CALayer *parentLayer=[CALayer layer];
CALayer *videoLayer=[CALayer layer];
parentLayer.frame=CGRectMake(0, 0, sizeOfVideo.width, sizeOfVideo.height);
videoLayer.frame=CGRectMake(0, 0, sizeOfVideo.width, sizeOfVideo.height);
[parentLayer addSublayer:videoLayer];
[parentLayer addSublayer:optionalLayer];
[parentLayer addSublayer:layerCa];

AVMutableVideoComposition *videoComposition=[AVMutableVideoComposition videoComposition] ;
videoComposition.frameDuration=CMTimeMake(1, 30);
videoComposition.renderSize=sizeOfVideo;
videoComposition.animationTool=[AVVideoCompositionCoreAnimationTool videoCompositionCoreAnimationToolWithPostProcessingAsVideoLayer:videoLayer inLayer:parentLayer];

AVMutableVideoCompositionInstruction *instruction = [AVMutableVideoCompositionInstruction videoCompositionInstruction];
instruction.timeRange = CMTimeRangeMake(kCMTimeZero, [miComposition duration]);
AVAssetTrack *vidTrack = [[miComposition tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo] objectAtIndex:0];
AVMutableVideoCompositionLayerInstruction* layerInstruction = [AVMutableVideoCompositionLayerInstruction videoCompositionLayerInstructionWithAssetTrack:vidTrack];
instruction.layerInstructions = [NSArray arrayWithObject:layerInstruction];
videoComposition.instructions = [NSArray arrayWithObject: instruction];

[[NSFileManager defaultManager] removeItemAtPath:url error:NULL];

exporter2 =
[[AVAssetExportSession alloc] initWithAsset:mixComposition presetName:AVAssetExportPresetHighestQuality];
exporter2.videoComposition = videoComposition;

exporter2.outputURL=url;
exporter2.outputFileType = AVFileTypeMPEG4;
exporter2.shouldOptimizeForNetworkUse = YES;

exportProgressBarTimer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:.1 target:self selector:@selector(updateExportDisplay) userInfo:nil repeats:YES];

[exporter2 exportAsynchronouslyWithCompletionHandler:^{
    dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
        [self exportFinish:exporter2];

    });
}];

A: First maybe you should used another url as outputURL for your exporter, the code above use AVURLAsset's source url as exporter's outputURL, and based on you do remove file at url before export(which means you delete source asset used to exported), there's no way you can achieve your goal.
By the way, if you want to remove file based on url. You should use
[[NSFileManager defaultManager] removeItemAtURL:url error:nil];

instead.


text:
namespace mscorlib
{
	namespace System
	{
		namespace Security
		{
			namespace Claims
			{

				//Public Methods
				mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::Claim Claim::Clone()
				{
						MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "Clone", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
						return mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::Claim(__result__);
				}

				mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::Claim Claim::Clone(mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::ClaimsIdentity identity)
				{
						MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
						void *__parameters__[1];
						__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(identity).name());
						__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)identity;
						MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "Clone", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
						return mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::Claim(__result__);
				}

				mscorlib::System::String Claim::ToString()
				{
						MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "ToString", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
						return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				//Get Set Properties Methods
				//	Get/Set:Type
				mscorlib::System::String  Claim::get_Type() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_Type", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_Type(mscorlib::System::String  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_Type", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:Value
				mscorlib::System::String  Claim::get_Value() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_Value", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_Value(mscorlib::System::String  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_Value", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:ValueType
				mscorlib::System::String  Claim::get_ValueType() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_ValueType", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_ValueType(mscorlib::System::String  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_ValueType", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:Issuer
				mscorlib::System::String  Claim::get_Issuer() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_Issuer", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_Issuer(mscorlib::System::String  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_Issuer", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:OriginalIssuer
				mscorlib::System::String  Claim::get_OriginalIssuer() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_OriginalIssuer", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::String(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_OriginalIssuer(mscorlib::System::String  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_OriginalIssuer", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:Subject
				mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::ClaimsIdentity  Claim::get_Subject() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_Subject", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::ClaimsIdentity(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_Subject(mscorlib::System::Security::Claims::ClaimsIdentity  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_Subject", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

				//	Get/Set:Properties
				mscorlib::System::Collections::Generic::IDictionary<mscorlib::System::String,mscorlib::System::String>  Claim::get_Properties() const
				{
					MonoObject *__result__ = Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "get_Properties", __native_object__, 0, NULL, NULL, NULL);
					return mscorlib::System::Collections::Generic::IDictionary<mscorlib::System::String,mscorlib::System::String>(__result__);
				}

				void Claim::set_Properties(mscorlib::System::Collections::Generic::IDictionary<mscorlib::System::String,mscorlib::System::String>  value)
				{
					MonoType *__parameter_types__[1];
					void *__parameters__[1];
					__parameter_types__[0] = Global::GetType(typeid(value).name());
					__parameters__[0] = (MonoObject*)value;
					Global::InvokeMethod("mscorlib", "System.Security.Claims", "Claim", 0, NULL, "set_Properties", __native_object__, 1, __parameter_types__, __parameters__, NULL);
				}

			}
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Posts tagged 'Hooligans'
Broken Countries: Stay or Go #Britain #Turkey
As I awake this Easter Holiday and reflect on Sky News and the day's and previous day's events, I am tempted to recite those famous lyrics of The Clash band 'Should I stay or should I go now?'. Not afraid of being controversial, I put forward a viewpoint that might suggest some undertones and causes of unacceptable behaviour by sporting fans, that may have roots in the turmoil in the indigenous countries. On this occasion, I'm advocating a view of 'Broken Britain' and 'Broken Turkey'.
Well respected sports journalists this week recalled events in Spain surrounding Leicester City's supporters invasion of Madrid in the Champions League. David Conn reported: "Leicester fans in a square in Madrid chanting 'You Spanish bastards. Gibraltar is ours". Oliver Holt: "Last night – Dortmund fans sharing their homes with Monaco fans shouting 'Gibraltar is ours'. Makes you despair". The Gibraltar subject being one of a newsworthy matter of potential #Brexit conflict in negotiations now that article 50 has been evoked.
It's not that freedom of speech should be curtailed vis-a-vis Turkey's President Recep Tayip Erdogan. However, with the 'Foxes" incident, I advocate this mirrors a growing trend among English fans to aggression, racism, hooliganism and isolation. Leicester merely mimics a Country-wide trend, witnessed personally by me following the English national Team.
I still recite the demographics and metrics of the stereotypical 'Brexiteers' as a contract to the 'Remainers'. Of course, one should be wary of tarring all with that same brush, but it has been exposed that poverty, disillusionment and ignorance were common traits of that, slightly more than half of the Country, that voted for us to leave Europe. I feel the same disadvantaged populous are those that are found among these hooligans. I also suggest that this is not just a few, but the way an increasing portion of the British population are moving. The future can only mean more turmoil if such idiotic beliefs and unacceptable behaviour are likely to grow. It this a 'time bomb' waiting to explode? Is this the Country that we want future generations to be brought up in?
Last night, the fans of Besiktas rioted in France. The current documentaries by Simon Reeve on Turkey offers an unbiased reporting of the characteristics and frailty in both economic, cultural and political terms. Here there is a clear hypothesis that by the ruling party allowing more immigration and offering relatively small 'handouts' to the poorer segment of society then what is happening is tantamount to 'buying votes' to further the aims and securing the power of that same AK Parti. The referendum is upon us which could give the biggest boost to that political party and widen the gap between Islamists and the traditional supporters of modern Turkey for which Ataturk was catalyst.
Okay – maybe a tenuous link, but I would promote one theory that hooliganism in football with Turkish fan involvement, may also have roots in the unrest from their homeland (By the way, I have also seen French supporters that are not blameless and witnessing firsthand where such as socio-disadvantage, ethnicity and social-exclusion may have inflamed situations).
In a short blog post, one should be wary of generalisations. Yest, I feel there could be factors much wider than traditional football supporting motivations that are now driving behaviour. Where, I live bus loads of Turks, many of which I know, have travelled to London for advance voting to try and prevent increased influence to Erdogan. In this same area, the majority voted Remain in the EU Referendum. So whilst some comfort in being surrounded by like-minded people, I do worry about the future in both of these two great countries and for the first time actually contemplate 'Go' in search of the best future for my family.
Adrian Stores is CEO at ACROBAT | FCSM. It concentrates on marketing, sponsorship and fundraising – mainly in UK and Turkey. More information: http://www.acrobatfcsm.com
Greek Giants
I watched Olympiakos FC's fans hanging banners and scarves on the main gate at Anfield this Week. Purely, a photograph opportunity before travelling the M62 to the 'Theatre of Dreams" (home to Manchester United FC). It made me wonder if any attention had been given to the fact that both Galatasaray (Turkey) and Olympiakos (Greece) had entered our little Island for European fixtures this same week?
I'm only guessing there must have been some rivalry over the years between these big teams of sometimes opposing Nations. Certainly, in basketball a recent fixture kicked off – after an angry, reaction by a Brit.
Football rivalry abounds worldwide. In Greece, "Olympiakos v Panathinaikos – As well as the political tension between the two sides, Olympiakos are regarded as a working-class club, and Panathinaikos are billed as eternal enemies with feuds existing across Athens as well as on the pitch".
Well I'll need to learn more about any protocol both in Turkey-Greece relations; but also across the City of Athens. I have just been appointed Global Associate for Panathinaikos FC. The role particularly applies to Turkey and United Kingdom where I will be responsible for assisting the Club in strategic marketing and especially securing new sponsorship partnerships with significant corporates. Panathinaikos FC is a Greek Club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, it plays in the Super League Greece and is one of the oldest and most successful teams in Greek football. It has won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups and is the best Greek club in terms of achievements in European competitions.
Tuppeny trouble
It was unfortunate that this Weekend's Manchester Derby between "City" and "United" had all the wrong headlines after a coin thrown from the crowd cut the brow of Manchester United's defender Rio Ferdinand. The incident, naturally regretted by Manchester City, has resulted in continuous debate over the way to avoid any repeats in future English matches.
Some have said disposal of coins before entering stadia (not really practical, when change comes from purchases inside); erection of netting (reduces the visibility for spectators), polymer screens (same problem though dirt or scratching 'blurs' visibility further). In the latter case, surely an opportunity for a scratch proof alternative?
I for one just hope that we don't return to the worst games in our beautiful game when hooligan was rife. There would be no end to the implications and the common-place shields escorting players and officials off the pitch, as in Turkey, could be the next step.
All this in the Week when we consider a reintroduction of standing areas in football stadia.
As to the fact they still search for the culprit I am amazed. After recently seeing the accuracy and clarity of modern-day CCTV in sporting venues as witnessed in a private viewing of Avigilon technology – they can now focus on each fan to detect the smallest detail. I predict whoever launched the two pence will be caught!
Stuff Turkey
A festive anecdote – though associated this time with a less joyous occasion. I had to 'bite my lip' today, when listening to a talkSPORT phone-in on the radio. It surrounded the events last night, when Besiktas defeated Stoke City in Istanbul.
An over reaction and inappropriate characterisation of all Turks as hooligans was apparent, by supporters claiming to be knowledgeable, and others fuelled by media coverage and/or here say. Was it racist that items were hurled onto the pitch around certain players? Or was it merely that these players were in proximity of the opposition's fans when celebrating – thus enticement? My experiences are that racism is not prevalent and indeed certain players like Amokachi and Nouma have been worshipped. The one thing I will say is though, that such activities, which can be construed as hooliganism – are more easily witnessed through the divisions by the respective Turkish followers than their English counterparts. Once again, Turkey has to get its footballing house in order. But what can we expect when one of its leading football clubs still encourages merchandise welcoming teams to 'hell'!


Monday is the day on the blog when I highlight one of my past books, and today I decided to pick This Fragile Life, which was my first women's fiction published with Carina in 2013. I'm working on my third story for Carina, currently titled A Good Neighbour, and it's reminded me a little bit of This Fragile Life.
This Fragile Life is, I must confess, the book I am proudest of. It's also the book that is closest to my heart, and the one that was, perhaps surprisingly, the easiest to write. This book flowed from my fingertips--for the most part--and I never really questioned myself during the writing of it. Really, it was a joy to write, but heartbreaking too, because of the subject matter.
You love your best friend.
But could you give her the most precious gift of all?
Alex knows that Martha can give her child everything that she can't provide. But Martha's world may not be as perfect as it seems, and letting go isn't as easy as Alex expected it to be.
Now they face a decision that could shatter their friendship forever.
I've really enjoyed the reviews of this book, because I took a risk in not having a hint of a major plot point in the story blurb, so it would come as a surprise to the reader (and if you haven't read the book, hopefully I haven't spoiled anything for you!) I didn't want people to assume this is just another 'surrogacy story', because it isn't. And overall, the reviews have been positive about not revealing the surprise, so the reader is able to go on the same journey as the characters.
Now I am working on a similar story, in that it is set in New York City, has a dual narrative, and deals with some tricky and emotive issues--plus it has a 'twist' in the middle of the story. (I'm wary of using the word 'twist' because it seems overdone in fiction these days--so many books are advertised as having a twist you won't see coming, and so you spend the whole book looking for it).
Anyway, if you haven't read This Fragile Life, you can find information and all the buy links here.


text:
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Oct. 19, 2019
tags: tantz_aerine webcomics narrative plot device villains sympathy
So of course the new Joker movie is quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon. Not only because it has made a ton of money already, but because of the spin on the infamous character of Joker.
Through Joachim Phoenix's Joker we get to watch the origin story of a villain. He is the main character. We get to see the reasoning behind everything that leads down the path that, in this iteration, yields the Joker. There are several scenes and situations that we get to see that make us sympathize with Arthur Fleck. In fact, this sympathy the movie inspires in audiences for Arthur Fleck, the person that becomes the Joker, has kicked up a storm regarding whether that makes the movie prone to copycats, and thus dangerous.
Personally, I don't think there's any danger in the movie, at least in terms of anyone being inspired to commit crimes. There's scientific reasoning behind that, but I won't get into it in this article, because what I am interested in talking about is the narrative value.
Because from what I saw so far in the Joker (I have yet to get a chance to see the movie fully, but I've seen enough scenes to write this, I think), while we do get sympathy, it remains clear that what we're watching is a man turn into a devil, so to speak. And there's no sympathy in that. The connection and emotional reaction is taking place in the process, not in the result.
We sympathize with Arthur Fleck as he deals with terrible abuse. We even root for him when he tries to get out of the situations he's in.
But we don't sympathize with the Joker.
And I think that's an interesting duality in the movie that I'm really looking forward to experiencing in full in the theater.
How do you get sympathy for the devil, without actually sympathizing with the devil itself?
I think the secret lies in the lines crossed. We can root for a character committing crimes easily. But some rules need to apply:
1. The character must be in some way defending or self defending against threat
2. The threat has to be malicious
3. The crime must never spill over to innocent third parties.
If any or all of these rules are broken, the sympathy we feel and the rooting we have for the character diminishes exponentially.
And so it seems that this is how it happens with Arthur Fleck in the Joker. I'll go see it soon, so if that is not the case, I will absolutely let you know.
What do you think? How can we get audiences to sympathize with villains without actually identifying or approving of them?
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Abt_Nihil at 4:23AM, Oct. 24, 2019
I think one compelling idea at play in the Joker movie is that each of us can be driven to commit heinous acts, given the circumstances are bad enough (although I believe the "Killing Joke" book handles this topic in a much smarter way than the Joker movie). Hence, going into this discussion thinking you can only sympathize with someone "good" might not be adequate. The idea is that we get a glimpse of what we, ourselves, could be - and (given you're not in similar circumstances) shudder at the thought.
Kou the Mad at 5:41PM, Oct. 19, 2019
For a literal example, the tv show 'Lucifer' does a good job at this.
bravo1102 at 3:46PM, Oct. 19, 2019
When the reasons why the villain acts as they is comprehensible you can sympathize with them. If the "whys" are made clear you can maybe say " but for the grace of God go I" . The Grey Guys and Gals weren't originally supposed to be sympathetic but over time they've grown. I prefer villains who don't see themselves as villains, just as having an opposing interest. In their own eyes they're right whether that's based on mental illness or just a different belief system. Something as simple as being a survivor like Long John Silver. Enlightened self interest if you will can be villainous depending on your point of view. And then there's always rationalizations. That innocent had to suffer for something better. There's that depending on your point of view thing again.
hushicho at 1:17PM, Oct. 19, 2019
It's also worth noting that many villains and antagonists throughout history have been coded gay or queer, as well as plenty of villains simply being "others" or outsiders to the culture casting them as villains. Even as far back as Loki and Set, this was the case; villains are often quite compelling and interesting, as well as their reasons for doing what they do and the story of how they came into their present circumstances. Thanks to a lot of censorship and oppressive attitudes towards expression, it was in effect impossible to make stories where the supposed villain took center stage or even got away with it, except for the occasional genre film which, naturally, would either kill them by the end or end in a way supposed to convey a downbeat tone. There's a fascination with it now mainly because they can...without, to employ the turn of phrase, thinking about if they should.
The Joker film is so problematic in so many ways that I just don't care to go into it all. It's a mess, like most all of the DC movies, and not so much worth much comment. However, I do find the topic you've introduced through it to be an interesting one -- it is difficult to make a villain sympathetic unless they're presented in a compelling way. I think quite honestly the biggest mistake is that people think they must, under no circumstances, approve of what a villain does or explain it, but I don't agree. It must be understandable, even if the audience wouldn't do that thing or go to that extreme. Recently it seems that some communities can't tell the difference, as well, between people writing a fantasy story and people actually in reality recommending that people attempt to approximate that story in reality. The most important thing, perhaps, is that people understand that no matter how compelling the story of the bad person, it's ultimately their choice to do the things they do.
usedbooks at 3:40AM, Oct. 19, 2019
The first villain I ever felt sympathy for was Long John Silver when I was reading Treasure Island as a kid. It was because he seemed to show kindness to Jim. In the end, he was still a hated villain but also a pitied one. His apparent side switching throughout was always simply whatever was self-serving. He didn't have a side. He was like an animal but a cunning animal, simply watching out for "number one." And in a way, it made him a worse villain because he turned on the pirates not because they were bad but because it served his interests to do so. And the sympathy was really pity that he had no friends and never would be able to. He survived at any cost. I often think about old Long John in my character creation process. Because he did gave an impact on my youth in his complexity and simplicity. I even have a character whose motives are similar (and who sometimes seems beneficial to the protagonists).
Andreas_Helixfinger at 3:03AM, Oct. 19, 2019
I watched the movie this wednesday and I was absolutely blown away by how intimate and visceral the movie was in terms of character potrayal and visuals. To me this movie taps into the uncomfortable possibility that all individuals, no matter what sense moral, social status or cognitive state they may hold, are capable and in some level prone to comitting acts of cruelty and are in some form, large or small, accomplices to the misery we see in everyday reality. It is of outmost importance I think that we entertain and explore, without necessarily subscribing to, this possibility in order to fully come to terms with who we are and what we are, coming to terms with whatever "devils" that may or may not lurk within our subconscious mind, thus avoiding the chance that they overtake us. That's my current interpretation of a movie that is ingenously designed to be interpreted in so many, many ways. I LOVE this movie and I hope to see more of this kind of cinematic artistry in the future.