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March 7, 2016 August 4, 2019 sarahnicho
New tracks in 2016 …
AUSSIE travellers are always enthusiastic about going off the beaten track but a lack of transport, absence of accommodation, or scant supply of tours often make it hard to plan a holiday.
However, new air routes, hotels, ferry services and guided tours mean some quiet corners of the planet – as far-flung as the Arctic Circle and as near as across the Tasman – will be easier to see this year.
When British Airways added Iceland to its route map in October, with flights between London Heathrow and Reykjavik (below), it became a cinch to make a side trip to the Nordic nation during a visit to the UK.
"Reykjavik's downtown is small enough to cover in less than a day, and visiting most landmarks is free," says Butterfield & Robinson's Iceland trip designer Orsolya Kaka.
"There are walking tours of the city available where you only pay a tip to the guide, the sculpture garden of Asmundur Sveinsson is open to the public because he wished children be allowed to play on his statues, and there are many free concerts in small squares downtown during summer.
"Cafe Mokka at Skolavordustigur is a local classic, one of the oldest cafes in Iceland, and famous for its delicious oversized waffles and hot chocolate with cream.
"A great resource is the abundance of geothermal water, allowing for outdoor swimming pools in most neighbourhoods, and Icelanders made an artificial beach at Nautholsvik with imported golden sand and hot water pumped into the sea so it reaches a comfortable temperature for bathing.''
The Borders Railway, launched in September to shuttle commuters between Edinburgh and southern towns such as Tweedbank and Melrose, is a hit with visitors riding the rails to savour some remarkable Scottish landscapes.
"The Borders Railway is the first built in the UK for more than 100 years and promises to be one of the most scenic rail journeys in Europe while allowing opportunity to explore towns that are jewels in the Scottish borders' crown," Visit Scotland PR manager Sarah Drummond says.
"The journey takes an hour to the end of the line so visitors can travel by train from Edinburgh or make a base in the Borders with Abbotsford House (below) – the home of Sir Walter Scott."
A stay in Kenya's Loisaba Conservancy – the 22,600ha wildlife reserve in Laikipia County that's home to more than 700 elephants – will become a retreat when the Elewana Collection's Loisaba Tented Camp (below) opens this month.
"Loisaba is located in the heart of Kenya with a rare selection of animals including reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, oryx and greater kudu," Elewana Collection founder Karim Wissanji says.
"The view across the Laikipia landscape greets guests arriving at Loisaba Tented Camp and a selection of activities – including wilderness adventures with mountain bikes and quad bikes available – go beyond standard game drives.
"The ideal way to experience Kenya is to begin at Meru National Park with a three-night stay at Elsa's Kopje, to Loisaba Tented Camp for three nights, and then the Maasai Mara for three nights."
It's been a long road to recovery since the 2011 earthquake but an energised Christchurch (below) is bursting to welcome travellers at the restaurants, cafes, bars, craft breweries, art galleries, markets, and hotels launching every week.
"Christchurch has come a long way in five years and I'm excited about the cultural and hospitality developments," says Marcia Butterfield who created the Neat Places guide.
"The city is now known for its creative and transitional spaces – everywhere you turn you see activation in empty spaces like Gap Filler, Life in Vacant Spaces, Greening the Rubble as well as excellent food trucks and coffee carts – and art has taken over with the recent reopening of the Christchurch Art Gallery and Centre of Contemporary Art.
When a new passenger ferry starts darting between "downtown" locations in Vancouver and Victoria (below) this northern summer it will make the city of Victoria, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, much more accessible to travellers without wheels.
"Victoria is home to 350,000 people but it has the atmosphere of a smaller town and we're surrounded by islands, which are beautiful and packed with sea life, from seals to sea lions and whales, that can be seen from the shore or by boat," says John Espley, director of communications at Hotel Zed in Victoria.
"We have more restaurants per capita than any other Canadian city, we're deemed the cycling capital of Canada thanks to our incredible bike routes, including the waterfront and Galloping Goose Trail, the outskirts boast great wineries, and flowers bloom nine months of the year in hanging baskets and places like Butchart Gardens (below).
"Summer is nice but my favourite time is spring and fall."
Seven more ways to explore …
If that's not enough, here are more spots that will be a doddle to do in 2016 …
• Canada's Rocky Mountaineer (below) now ventures into America with the Coastal Passage route — traversing Washington and using Seattle's historic King Street Station — ready to complement a rail trek through the Canadian Rockies.
• Australians can now fly Air New Zealand to Argentina with the airline, which serves eight Australian airports, launching direct flights between Auckland and Buenos Aires in December.
• Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection expands in 2016 to include India, with the new all-suite vessel Ganges Voyager II at the heart of a 13-day itinerary called India's Golden Triangle & Sacred Ganges.
• Italy's Veneto — the northeast corner famous for sparkling wine — is the setting for UTracks new Prosecco Cycling Tour. Based in Treviso, travellers pedal gentle wine trails for seven days.
• Those keen to see Myanmar from the Irrawaddy (below) have more choice in 2016 with both APT and Scenic launching luxury riverboats that take in dreamy destinations such as Mandalay and Bagan.
• Travellers now have another option for discovering Botswana's Okavango Delta with Belmond's Eagle Creek Lodge recently reopening after a rebuild that saw the addition of luxurious "tented" rooms.
• Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia will soon be served by Topdeck Travel with the company catering to young travellers moving into Asia in April.
… posted March 7, 2016
Previous Aussie dining in La La Land…
Next To market for LA eats…


To meet the new training requirements, TRANSAS, in cooperation with ABB, has developed a real hardware high voltage generator breaker cabinet. The breaker is interfaced to our other simulators (Navigational, Engine Control Room) so that the High Voltage training can be conducted in realistic environment.
A complete safe removal and replacement procedure may be conducted for training and assessment. These include the isolation of both mechanical and electrical isolation of generator system prior to the start of work. All tools, test equipment and personal protective equipment required to carry out the operation are supplied with the breaker, which includes the breaker cart as well.
For safety reasons high voltages are not used within the training breaker. The presence of high voltages is simulated using low powered radio signals. A specially adapted high voltage probe signals the presence of voltage on the bus bars using a specially adapted test probe.
High Voltage personal protective equipment (PPE) is supplied and available as a part of the training breakers equipment.


The rise in all things Whimsical Wear has seen the inner femininity of all women lately, truly blossom. From lace, to playful and dainty patterns, we are surrounded by delicate and dreamy fashion ensembles.
Welcome the Whimsical Wear trend to your wardrobe this 2019. You will feel like a graceful goddess, wearing some of Harry and Gretel's newest pieces, detailed below.
Bec & Bridge and Finder's Keepers is onto this dreamy trend, with their playfully feminine new arrivals. Take a look below!
The Aranciata Wrap Dress is effortless and playful. Perfect for the Australian heat, this wrap style mini dress, is on trend with a few of the best 2019 in-styles. The puffed sleeve, fun pattern and whimsical fit, will keep your look feeling fashion-forward and most importantly, comfortable.
Made from a light-weight linen blend, the Aranciata Wrap Dress is breathable and falls beautifully on the body. The hem along with the puffed sleeve, details slight frilling and the top features a lined bodice.
Shop your new Bec & Bridge Aranciata Wrap Dress now at Harry & Gretel.
The Le Follies Midi Skirt is of upmost elegance. With an easy and ready-to-wear fit, this midi skirt will quickly become your 2019 go-to number. The camellia floral print is feminine and alludes to warm, childhood picnics under the sun.
Its fixed and high-rise waist is flattering and the skirt details an invisible zipper for entry.
Shop your Le Follies Midi Skirt now at Harry & Gretel.
Finally, for the perfect whimsical statement, you won't want to be seen in absolutely anything else.
Talk about effortless and made for the dainty – cool girl. The Frenchie Jumpsuit is made from a comfortable and lightweight cotton. With a bodice top and thick straps alongside its statement full-length wide-leg. You can't really go wrong with such a stand-out number.
Like always, we love an outfit you can dress up or down dependant on the occasion. So, there is no question as to why we are so obsessed with the Frenchie Jumpsuit by Bec & Bridge.
Shop your Frenchie Jumpsuit by Bec & Bridge now at Harry & Gretel.
© Harry & Gretel 2017. All Rights Reserved.


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Racial Disparities in Deaths After Heart Surgery Tied to Hospital Quality
Nonwhites have less access than whites to high-quality hospitals, researchers say
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Racial disparities in patients' death risk after heart bypass surgery are affected by the quality of the hospital in which the surgery is performed, a large new study suggests.
Racial disparities in death rates after bypass surgery are well documented, but less was known about how hospital quality might contribute to these disparities, the researchers said.
They analyzed data from more than 170,000 Medicare patients who had heart bypass surgery. Of those patients, about 9 percent were nonwhite. The researchers found that nonwhite patients had a 33 percent higher death rate after bypass surgery than white patients.
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In hospitals with the highest rates of nonwhite patients (more than 17.7 percent), the death rate was 4.8 percent for nonwhite patients and 3.8 percent for white patients, according to the study, which was published online Jan. 8 in the journal JAMA Surgery.
Hospital quality, socioeconomic status and patient factors accounted for 53 percent of the disparity between nonwhite and white patients. The reasons for a large portion of the disparity, however, remain unknown, said study author Dr. Govind Rangrass and colleagues at the University of Michigan.
Having less access to high-quality hospitals with low death rates explains a large portion of racial disparities in death rates following heart bypass surgery, the researchers said. Other factors might include regional variations in hospital quality, how close patients live to high-quality hospitals and race-based referral decisions.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about heart bypass surgery.
SOURCE: JAMA Surgery, news release, Jan. 8, 2014
Last Updated: Jan 8, 2014

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What's New in Kitchen and Bath Design Trends for 2016?
There are a wide range of styles available in home design, and which one you select may vary depending on your location, personal choice, and overall home style. There are a few style trends that have become increasingly popular and do not appear to be going away time soon.
Transitional style is one of the most popular choices for both kitchen and bathroom projects. This is in large part because this style combines the comforting appeal of more traditional designs with the clean lines of contemporary styles.
At the same time, contemporary designs have become more popular as many people seek to simplify and de-clutter their homes. The contemporary design still has hints of traditional comforts but with a sleek, stream-lined appearance, like the designs shown here.
Eclectic styles and integrated designs are becoming more prevalent, particularly as spaces like the kitchen and even the bathroom are viewed as an extension of living spaces in the home. Kitchens are open to living areas and may contain office or homework space, and bathrooms are frequently seen as a place to relax and unwind. These rooms are seeing the inclusion of furniture like pieces, and a more eclectic approach to design like the ones shown here, borrowing features from different design styles to suit the individual needs and tastes of the household.
White is still a common neutral for kitchen and bath design, but gray continues to rise in popularity and shows no sign of disappearing. Equally popular for both kitchens and bathrooms, gray is a sleek neutral that can be found in a range of shades and tones to suit any design. It also complements a variety of other colors, making it easy to pair up with almost any natural material, trim color, or bold accent color.
While neutrals will always feature strongly, more designs are opting to mix in bold colors with the neutrals. Color can be injected into your room in a variety of ways like colorful island cabinetry, appliances, or even sinks. If you want to add color without committing to a large investment, consider including something more easily changed such as colorful barstools, like the ones pictured here.
The multi-purpose spaces that are today's kitchens and bathrooms require custom accessories and specialized storage, to maximize the functionality and keep the room clutter free. Customized storage like these have become increasingly popular, with accessories available to keep every cabinet and drawer organized in your kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity.
The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) has reported that pet areas like the one shown here have begun to feature more heavily in the kitchen. This allows family pets to have a space in the kitchen that does not require you to trip over food and water bowls, and perhaps even offers a neat place to store pet food and other supplies.
Specialized kitchen appliances are becoming more popular, and often serve to make life more convenient and to save space. Steam ovens, warming drawers, and induction cooktops are among the appliances that feature strongly in today's kitchen designs.
Technology is an integral feature in the modern home, and is used in every room. To accommodate this, many kitchens now include a designated place for technology, including storage and charging stations.
Design trends are the perfect way to find inspiration as you begin investigating a new kitchen or bathroom. Look for trends that reflect your personal style and will suit your home for many years to come. Visit our kitchen design or bathroom design galleries here to see more ideas or contact us to get started with a renovation.


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Seattle Shooter Owned 6 Guns
Updated Apr. 21, 2017 4:58PM ET / Published May. 31, 2012 8:12PM ET
Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
Ian L. Stawicki, the man police say is responsible for killing five in two separate shootings before turning the gun on himself in Seattle Wednesday, owned at least six guns and had a concealed weapons permit that was valid through 2015. Stawicki purchased a .45-caliber handgun in 2008, just after he was cleared of domestic violence charges. It's not clear whether any of those weapons were used in the shooting. Stawicki's family has said he was mentally ill.
Read it at The Seattle Times


A ruthless arms billionaire and a disgraced history professor share a terrible secret At 1a.m. in a deserted Pennsylvania library, Nat Turnbull's cell phone rings. His former mentor Professor Gordon Wolfe has been arrested by the FBI for stealing top secret archive documents dating back to the Second World War. Coerced by the FBI into examining the archives, Nat finds intriguing references both to Wolfe's activities in an Allied intelligence office during the war, and to a mysterious student resistance group in Berlin known as the White Rose. Following Wolfe's cryptic clues to Europe, Nat uncovers a wartime story of love and betrayal which is reaching out from the past to destroy the present. Now Nat is in a desperate race to unlock the truth.
Duration 13 Hrs. 59 Mins.


One issue that commonly arises is whether a couple are in a de facto relationship.
The reason why this is so important, is that the equal sharing rules of relationship property law apply to de facto relationships of 3 years or more.
Relationship property law may also apply to de facto relationships under 3 years, where there is a child of the relationship and other factors are met. In this situation, the share of each de facto partner in the relationship property will be determined in accordance with each partner's contributions to the relationship.
A de facto relationship is defined as a relationship between two people who are over the age of 18 and live together as a couple.
Whether you are considered to "live together as a couple" depends on an assessment of your circumstances. You do not have to actually be living together to qualify.
Money is shared or used to support one another or if you are financially independent from one another. For example, do you have a joint bank account?
You hold yourself out as a couple. What is your Facebook status? How do your friends and family view you?
Not all of these factors need to be met for you to be in a de facto relationship.
Once a couple has been in a de facto relationship for three years or more, then any relationship property will be shared equally, should the couple separate or if one of them dies.
If you are in a de facto relationship, or about to enter into one, but do not want the equal sharing rules to apply after three years, you may wish to enter into a contracting out agreement (also known as a pre-nuptial or relationship property agreement).
One or both people have their own business.
You can enter into a contracting out agreement at any time, even if you have crossed the three-year threshold or have had children together. However, people often find it easier to discuss and finalise agreements earlier on in their relationship.
Contracting out agreements can be reviewed and updated as a relationship endures or as circumstances change.
If you would like to receive a free information pack about your situation, with no obligations, follow the link 'Find Out Where You Stand'.
Otherwise, if you would like to discuss these issues further, please contact Stephanie Ambler, Helen Radinovich or Emma Graddon.


Meet the volunteers at a food bank that fights waste and distributes leftover food to the poor.
Ali and Rozh from Iraq volunteer at a food bank that distributes leftover food to the poor.
On a chilly morning on an industrial estate in Vienna, Ali and Rozh are picking through boxes of donated vegetables. The two asylum-seekers, both from Iraq, are not homeless or hungry themselves. They are volunteering at a food bank that fights waste and distributes leftover food to the poor.
While Ali and his friend, Rozh Ali, 39, a former marketing manager from Baghdad, wait for their asylum applications to be processed, they volunteer at Wiener Tafel ('Vienna Table'), Austria's oldest food bank. Here, a small group of staff and 400 volunteers collect food that would otherwise be thrown away and deliver it to nearly 20,000 people in shelters and homes run by 120 different charities.
"We are happy to use our time for good."
For the refugee volunteers, Karl-Anton says it is a "nice give and take", as they improve their German, help out and take part in cooking workshops alongside Austrians.
For hygiene reasons, Wiener Tafel does not take cooked food from restaurants but only packaged or fresh food from supermarkets and markets. Today, some huge pumpkins have come in from the Großgrünmarkt (wholesale vegetable market), so the volunteers are slicing them up and covering the chunks in cling film.
The charities, which care for the homeless, single mothers and drug addicts, as well as some asylum-seekers, always want plenty of potatoes but are also grateful for luxuries like chocolate. Foil-wrapped Santa Clauses are still within their sell-by dates.
As the day progresses at the Wiener Tafel warehouse, Ali sorts cherry tomatoes while Rozh carries crates to a lorry parked outside. The friends arrived separately in Austria in 2015 and met in Vienna. Ali has a wife and four-month-old daughter, while divorcee Rozh is here alone. Back in Iraq, both men suffered sectarian violence.
Wiener Tafel is a lifeline for organizations like Ute Bock House, a private shelter for asylum-seekers in Vienna. "We're hoping for some sweets for the children but we'll take anything we can get," says Natia Karkadze, a manager at the shelter. At the warehouse, she loads up a white van, helped by Maximilian Scheiblhofer, 19, who instead of doing military service is doing social service for a year.
Later, at Ute Bock House, most of the food is put away in a larder, to be shared when all of the residents are home. For lunch, some bread rolls, radishes, sweet peppers and mushrooms are laid out on a bench from which residents can help themselves.
They may not know it but all are enjoying flavor and nourishment that has come from a bigger table – Wiener Tafel, proud to call itself "the food bank that makes good sense".


Overall LinenSource has a 4.7 star rating based on 3 user reviews.
Read these LinenSource reviews from real customers. BestOnlineCoupons.com allows our users to submit real ratings and reviews of the best online stores and Internet services. You can do it too.
Ordered quilt and it was exactly as pictured and was of very good quality. The price was better than a dept. store and free shipping. If you are looking to decorate this is the place.
It's time for me to buy from Linen Source once again...my daughter is going to college and needs sheets, blankets and many other things.
Linen Source is always my first choice. I've never been disappointed with the quality. I've never been disappointed with the service and I love the prices on everything.
I honestly cannot say that about many other companies.
Many smiles from a happy customer.
I ordered several items at the same time. Some came directly from the company and others from the distributor- all at different times and separately. Some items came very quickly and others took quite a while but the quality appears good. I am not as certain that the prices, although advertised as on sale and far below retail, were the lowest available but I am satisfied with my purchase. The ability to spread out payments without interest if you purchase over a certain amount is helpful. They did not immediately credit my uPromise account the 3% indicated; however, were responsive when I filed a request for it.


The theme for this year's White House Christmas is "Time-Honoured Traditions", which we think is a pretty classy and understated theme.
"The President, Barron, and I are very excited for our first Christmas in the White House," the First Lady said in a statement.
According to the White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Melania Trump "personally selected and was involved in every detail." We can't argue with the fact that, from what we can see, the White House is decorated rather exquisitely.
A statement from the White House clarifies that some of the decorations include a tree tribute to Gold Star military families, President Ronald Reagan's china, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1866 edition of A Christmas Carol, and an official White House Christmas tree adorned with glass ornaments emblazoned with the seal of each state and territory.
The White House will hold more than 100 open houses in December, and host more than 25,000 visitors on public tours.
What do you think of the White House decorations?


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O Tour Carpe Diem é um arranha-céu de escritórios em Courbevoie, em La Défense, o distrito comercial da área metropolitana de Paris.

O arquiteto deste projeto é Robert A.M. Stern, que ultrapassa Jacques Ferrier e Norman Foster na competição.

A ênfase está nos aspectos ecológicos, estéticos e práticos que conectam a rua para torná-la um local animado e comercial. O edifício, localizado no centro histórico do distrito comercial de La Défense, atrás do calçadão e na periferia do edifício da cidade, consiste em um edifício de 166 metros de comprimento (altura da avenida circular) para uso de escritórios com 47100 m2 de área útil, incluindo empresa de catering de 310 m2 Pode acomodar mais de 3000 pessoas.

Arranha-céus de Paris
Arranha-céus entre 150 e 199 metros
Altos do Sena

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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/ 437823 jurgen klopp pre season a chance to impress and being stronger
NEXT ARTICLE 'I'm training with the world's best set of defenders - it's great for me'
Klopp Q&A: Pre-season, a chance to impress and being stronger
Jürgen Klopp detailed his positive mood ahead of 2021-22 as he outlined Liverpool's objectives and plans for their training camp in Austria.
The Reds manager was counting down the days for his squad to reconvene and begin their preparations for the next campaign, which they did on Monday as they arrived at Salzburg.
Klopp, his staff and the players will now remain together for an extended period over the coming weeks as they lay the foundations for the 10 months of competitive football to come.
Their stay in Austria includes four confirmed friendly fixtures: 30-minute mini-games against FC Wacker Innsbruck and VfB Stuttgart on July 20, an hour-long clash with FSV Mainz 05 three days later, and then a full 90 versus Hertha BSC.
Watch Liverpool's pre-season fixtures in Austria live and exclusive on LFCTV GO – plus training access, interviews and all the latest news. Get the first month FREE with code 2122GOFREE. Find out more at www.liverpoolfc.com/watch. T&Cs apply.
We caught up with the boss for the first time this summer on Tuesday for a chat in which he provided an update on four players returning from injury and discussed the addition of defender Ibrahima Konate.
Read the rest of the interview – on the work to be carried out in Austria, the chance for players to make an impression, and the prospect of fans being back in stadiums – below…
It's a slightly different pre-season and there will be three shorter games out here…
The planning of the pre-season was incredibly difficult. When we left after the last game [of 2020-21] against Crystal Palace pretty much everything for us was kind of settled: we knew what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go and when we wanted to play. And then during the summer break everything changed, every now and then it was really tricky. The job Ray Haughan [general manager – first team operations] did in that time was absolutely incredible, I have to say. We tried to work really close together with the Austrian government here that we can come in, we make sure that we get allowed to come in. That was really important and, thanks to them, we are here. But then was the problem, what can we do when we are here? Where can we go from here? That was not clear. So we had other options in Spain, which is not perfect because of the weather, it's maybe a little bit too hot.
So we stay now for around about four weeks away and this is really, really strange. I never did that before. It's different when you play a tournament; for example, some players did that obviously, like Euros or World Cups or African Cups or whatever. It's clear they have a similar situation but it's a preparation after a season for a short period. We prepare after a long break for a long season. So the training will be really intense from a specific point of view. It's now already intense for the situation they are in. So we have to be creative and everybody is responsible for keeping the mood up. I never experienced a situation like that – 28 days is really long. But it's good as well.
We have enough time to train, we have enough time to talk and when the players from the Euros or the Copa [America] come back we are hopefully able to bring them in without quarantine and these kinds of things. That was all important. That we can be together in the bubble, fly as a bubble together to England [so] that we don't have to get quarantined there and all these things. It's a tricky situation, but that's the reason why we are away for quite a while.
How important are characters in that process, because people can get bored can't they? Having good people around you for four weeks is really important in that process…
Yeah, I am pretty sure for around four, five or six hours a day when the boys train they are not bored, they are just exhausted probably! Then when you have these kind of things, you just want to sleep in the afternoon – that's how it is and it is a good thing to do. But then, yes, there are moments when the boys are not entertained by us, let me say it like this, and yes, then you need characters. They all need to step up, I told the boys this morning they are all responsible. Not only the old ones, not only the experienced ones – everybody is responsible for a good mood here. And if there is any issue then come to me, we can talk about it, sort it and then we carry on from there.
It's special and we will try everything, but then again the pandemic is still around so we cannot just say, 'OK, go out there for a while' and stuff like this, do this and that – we have to stay pretty much in a bubble all the time and these kind of things. It is still not perfect, but it's the best we could get and I am really happy about it. I am really happy to be here, we got great support to do that and now we try to behave as good as possible and train as often as possible to bring ourselves into the best possible shape.
You talked about the intensity, can we talk about rest as well because there are 10 players that will come back from tournaments. How important is it for them – and also the likes of Mo and Sadio, who have played almost non-stop football for three years – that they have got that break away from football for maybe seven weeks during the summer?
Mo had seven weeks, Sadio didn't because he played for Senegal, so I think he had around about five weeks. But it is incredibly long – they are used to two-and-a-half weeks in the summer. Which, [and] I said it plenty of times, is not enough. But now the guys from the Euros and the guys from the Copa have around about three weeks. They have three weeks, that's what we can give them and that's what we will. Then they have not a long pre-season but they didn't have a long break, so that's absolutely OK. So they get as long as we could; we squeezed everything out again for them that they can really have the proper rest they need.
But, in the end, it's about getting a rest, using the rest and coming back and starting again with all you can because the next season is around the corner and, to be honest, the last season there's not a lot of good things to say. But we went through a really tough, tough period and we got through it so that made us, obviously, 100 per cent stronger. A brilliant season is great if you play that and have some success and all these kinds of things, but to deal with it is maybe a challenge and these kinds of things. After the season we had, to get through and finish third was incredible. Now we are all really looking forward to the next season because we are more experienced now – and this experience we should better use.
It's a big number of players you're working with at this stage. You're always very relaxed about that and never in a rush to make decisions on players that you have, but would you expect some of them to move out on loans or maybe permanent moves, some of the players we see at the moment?
I don't know. With a few of the younger ones, maybe we have to think about going out on loan, stuff like this, is it the right moment? There's no final decision yet. These first few days, it's not the time to think about that because that's the moment when they all can show up. I prefer to get positively surprised of some of the boys where I think, 'Oh my God, I didn't expect him being that close already.' We have so [much] movement in the squad if you want, there's so many players who could step up – for different reasons, the last season was maybe not theirs but that doesn't mean from now on it will always go backwards.
No, there's a chance to make the right steps in the right direction. They were close to the first team but didn't play often enough. So, the door is open. A lot of midfielders not here, so come on, take the chance and play the best football you are able to do and then we immediately get options – it's always like having new signings. I'm really not in a rush about that. If somebody wants to leave, he can come to me and can tell me and then I think about it. Nobody came so far, so obviously no rush from the players' side as well. The market anyway is a really calm one in the moment, I think. There was [Jadon] Sancho and maybe somebody else, OK, Konate we did that early, but it's a really calm window. Let's see what happens and all of these things, but in the moment, everybody has the chance to impress me and I hope they do.
Just finally, are you a bit like us in your thoughts drifting already to Anfield next season and seeing everybody back there?
Absolutely. Honestly, my last impression was one of the best I ever got in my life. The 10,000 against Crystal Palace felt like 150,000, so thank you again for that – whoever was there, well done.
Yes, I can't wait to have this. That was the best thing I saw around the Euros. We can talk about the football at the Euros, about a lot of things, but seeing the people in the stadium, it was really great. When you hear now about some changes and stuff like this, opening up here and there, I just hope we as a society are thoughtful and maybe sensible enough to deal with that freedom in the right manner. If we do that, I think we have a good chance to get through this period and not only to get stadiums full again, but other venues as well – like concerts and stuff like this. I heard Elton John is at Anfield next year – I'm probably not there then but I hope it will be a fully-booked, sold-out Anfield and that would be really great, like theatres, cinemas, pubs, all this stuff. We all want that, we all need that but I think we still have to be quite disciplined and then we will get there.
Klopp on Brentford win, confidence, Minamino form and more
Jürgen Klopp on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injury
Jürgen Klopp's LFC squad fitness update ahead of Brentford
Jürgen Klopp on Arsenal stalemate, second-leg aims and more
Jürgen Klopp on Arsenal challenge, Kaide Gordon development and more


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Moscow's 'smart city' program is going global. Russian activists say it targets political opponents
Peter Pomerantsev on information wars, Trump, Putin, and regulations
At a tech conference in Armenia, Moscow pushes its smart city solutions
By Katia Patin
Isobel Cockerell and I reported this week from the World Congress on Information and Technology where the City of Moscow dominated the exhibition floor at one of the tech industry's largest global gatherings. A sponsor of the conference, its booth was the first thing you saw when you walked in. Interactive screens built into its sweeping lipstick-red structure showed off some of the smart city technology that earned the capital city a top spot in the UN's international survey of best e-governance.
Kudos to Moscow for using algorithms to tackle its notorious traffic jams but it's the implementation this year of facial recognition technology in 40% of the city's 162,000 cameras that has privacy experts and protestors concerned. During a break in the conference, I called Alena Popova who leads the Ethics and Technology think tank in Moscow to talk to her about a lawsuit she filed against the municipal government after they used facial recognition to identify and fine her for a one-woman protest.
She was pretty unequivocal about what this technology in Moscow is leading to: "I'm certain we're moving towards total surveillance," Popova said. "In reality this is technology that is being used to hunt down political opponents."
Needless to say the Moscow delegation wasn't pleased when Isobel and I sent them the published story (you can read the piece here). Their spokesperson said that the piece was full of "cold war and political activism stereotypes" and that we could have written the article while "staying at home on the sofa in NY."
On one hand I can understand his frustration. In a keynote address, Russia's Federal Tax Commissioner presented impressive innovations in filing digital returns and the co-founder of a Russian education start-up stood out with her forward-thinking plans for integrating tech with schooling. Maybe 90% of the technology on display from Moscow had nothing to do with surveillance.
But as the Moscow government continues a global tour of its smart city technology they should find some better answers about data collection, privacy and the ethics behind facial recognition. The CEO of Moscow's Agency of Innovations seemed baffled when I asked him whether the agency had anyone overseeing ethical concerns, answering that he didn't think there was such a thing as a professional in the field of ethics. Whether it's Mosocw, Beijing, New Delhi or London, it's hard to get excited about electric scooter rollout or city-wide wifi when it coincides with the unchecked introduction of city-wide facial recognition systems.
Repeatedly at the three-day conference, entrepreneurs and researchers lumped together Russia with China. Author Jamie Metzl made it clear he thought Russian scientist's move to produce genetically modified children was irresponsible. Other panelists did the same, prompting one journalist to ask a Moscow representative at a press lunch organized by the delegation how it felt to be a trope for going "too far." Her reply: "We're pioneers. We always have been."
Speaking of Cold War stereotypes
A few weeks ago I wrote about the politicians and pundits who can't stop resurrecting unhelpful Cold War metaphors as they try to find the right words for the technology age. At this tech gathering, I jotted down a couple more helpful metaphors used by speakers on panels that I think helps demystify some of the conversation around technology and regulation. The main theme is that the tools for taming tech and moderating regulation already exist. We're by no means at an impasse.
"Do I own digital Olga? Who owns digital Olga?" asked Olga Mack during a panel digitizing civil administration. As CEO of an online contract management company, Parley Pro, Mack is 100% dependent on social networks, like LinkedIn, for her work, and like many of us, she's a prisoner to their terms and conditions. Unlike with a bank or accounting service, she can't pack up her records and leave if she's unhappy with its services. Her profile on the platform is also so much more than bank details, so close to her "real" self that it becomes a digital copy of her habits, likes, and relationships. In other words, a true "digital twin." "So who owns Olga?" If we think of the data social networks collect as a "digital twin" the question of legal rights and legal justice seems much more clear. Why can't we pack up our data in a "digital suitcase" and take it elsewhere?
Standard-gauge railway
"I'm glad you brought up trains," began Dr. Chrisopher Markou, from Cambridge, during a panel about government administration and tech. If you can dig back far enough into middle school history class you may remember talk of 19th century gauge wars. "The initial conditions of a technology can determine how that technology diffuses such that we still use the standard width of railroad track that was used back in the 1880s. How we establish the initial conditions for technology to develop, have knock on effects that are intergenerational," Markou explained.
It would be amiss to leave you without a few choice quotations from the conference's headliner Kim Kardashian West, the real reason behind Coda's deployment to the conference. I take my hat off to her work ethic and talent in business management, but you would think after basically being created by the media she'd have more curated answers to the questions from her interviewer, the author Magdalena Yesil:
Yesil: "The one business that you wish you could have done out there. The one that got away. Sometimes you look at a company and think that's such a great idea…I wish I had done it."
Kim: "I mean there's so many. I mean inventing the computer, everything, I don't know."
To be fair, the other panelists also struggled: the founder of Giphy gave the postal service as an answer and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian said the 2018 Armenian revolution (the conference this year was held in Yerevan, the Armenian capital).
Russia is far from the only country sparking concern over facial recognition systems. Buzzfeed reporter Pranav Dixit looks at India's rollout of technology so advanced that "even plastic surgery may not be a dramatic enough remedy to avoid surveillance."
The Verge reports on just how much Apple is bending to pressure from China by removing apps from its store that violate guidelines and "local laws." In one schizophrenic case, Apple rejected a crowdsourced mapping app popular among Hong Kong protestors from its store, then approved the app and then re-rejected it again a few days ago. In a similar case also reported by the Verge, one of my favorite news outlets Quartz had their mobile app removed from the Chinese App Store following its ongoing coverage of the Honk Kong protests.
Katia Patin is Coda's multimedia editor.
@katia_patin


In 2017 my 9 year old daughter Chels, and I, had to move far away from friends and family and being separated from her older sisters traumatised Chels. She has asked for a pet ever since arriving and our landlord has finally agreed to us having a dog on the conditions we pay £600 deposit - to cover any damages plus £100 admin fee. We were already having to save up to cover the adoption fees for the rescue centre as well as other essential costs.
I have promised her a dog as I believe it will help with her emotional recovery and feeling of safety - not forgetting all of the other benefits a pet dog brings -plus it will be a perfect addition to our little family.
If we can raise enough money we can pay the landlord his £700; pay the rescue centre their fees of between £100-200; buy the doggy essentials necessary for home so that the dog feels welcome and loved as soon as it arrives and, if there's enough left over, pay towards pet insurance so that our monthly installments are lower during the first year.


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End Text: Nice, you did the job fast enough.


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MT Joins Climate Alliance, Commits to Paris Agreement
Keeling Curve Prize Winners Hope to Clear the Air
Is Cap-and-Trade Bill's Death a Chance for Stronger Climate Action?
NM's Udall Leads Challenge to Trump Methane Rule Rollback
Maine Hosts Opioid Response Summit to Address Ongoing Crisis
NY Cities Join Worldwide Vigils to Spotlight Trump Immigration Policies
MD Volunteers Take Out the Trash from Chesapeake Bay
PA Businesses Condemn Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord
Renewable energy is generating jobs at five times the rate of overall U.S. job growth. (dfbphotos/Flickr)
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Some Pennsylvania business owners say President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement to combat global climate change will damage, not help, the U.S. economy. Trump said the Paris accord would drain billions from the U.S. economy and cost American jobs.
But according to James Spencer, president and chief executive of Everpower, a Pittsburgh-based onshore wind-energy development company, renewable energy, not fossil fuels such as coal, is where current and future economic growth and jobs will be found.
"Job growth in the renewable-energy sector is at least a multiple of five times greater than annual job growth in the United States," he says.
In contrast to Trump administration energy plans, China will be investing $360 billion in renewable energy by 2020, creating an estimated 13 million jobs.
Kjerstin Klein, the owner of Willi's Ski Shop in Pittsburgh, says the effects of climate change already are being felt. For most of her business' 40 years, they could rely on certain weather benchmarks to predict what they needed to order for the coming season.
"That has literally just absolutely been thrown out the window the last couple of years," she says. "We can't rely on any of the numbers, any of the figures, any of the forecasting tools we used to use."
Spencer believes that in withdrawing from the Paris agreement, the United States as a nation is abdicating a leadership role in renewable energy. However, he is optimistic that the states will take the lead.
"There's a recognition in many 'red states' that high job growth is coming from the renewable-energy sector, both in terms of wind energy, solar energy, demand-side management - and I expect that to continue," he explains.
Since Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris accord, the governors of 12 states and Puerto Rico have committed to upholding the terms and goals of that agreement.
Andrea Sears, Public News Service - PA


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The legislature threw in some conciliatory language about preserving the sanctity of contracts, but did it in a way that dooms the freedom of gay couples to determine their own living arrangements via contract. Let's follow the train of logic.
The first part of the first sentence limits domestic legal unions to marriage. The hidden, but logically necessary, corollary upon any plain reading of the sentence precludes civil union and domestic partnership as a venue for gay couples. This makes the first clause of the next sentence about private contracts moot, should said contract concern a civil union or or domestic partnership.
The second clause of the second sentence is semantically meaningless, because it preserves a right to adjudicate private contracts immediately after limiting every judge in the state to a single interpretation of every contract involving civil union or domestic partnership contracts. Gee thanks.
Now, whatever their beliefs about homosexuality may be, one thing every conservative considers vital to the health of a free country is freedom of contract and freedom of association (that may be the one sentence in this essay that 100% of the readers will agree on). And here we have not just a law, but a constitutional mandate, that decimates both.
Another thing I know conservatives are fond of is the slippery slope argument. Take about 60 seconds of quiet reflection, my conservative friends, and imagine the possible unintended consequences of this ballot measure when it is your contracts and your associations that are out-of-favor.
Throw in a bit of Adam Smith-ian enlightened self interest, a dash of Christian charity, and a smattering of good sense. You are now a ready to get out there and defeat this amendment, like a good conservative should.


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Who is widely regarded to be the first superhero?
His was portrayed in a 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve.
His alter ego, Clark Kent, works as a reporter for the Daily Planet.
He is a champion of "truth, justice, and the American way."
He is an alien from the planet Krypton.
Superman is widely regarded as the first superhero. That's not entirely true: The Shadow, the Phantom, Doc Savage, the Spider, and a handful of others preceded him in the mid-1930s. Those costumed or superpowered crime fighters may have beaten Superman out of the gate, but not to the punch. This "Man of Steel" and his astounding abilities caught an unsuspecting readership by surprise in 1938. Generations later, Superman has become indelibly etched into the annals of American folklore. Today, most historians call Superman the first superhero because he defined a distinct hero type, clearly breaking away from the masked adventurers who preceded him.
Superman's origin is nearly as recognizable as the hero himself. Moments before the planet Krypton explodes, its chief scientist rockets his infant son to safety. The baby's spaceship lands on Earth and is discovered by the Kents, a childless couple that adopt the tiny extraterrestrial. The boy exhibits astonishing powers, and the Kents teach the lad, whom they name Clark, to use his abilities to "assist humanity." Upon adulthood (and the death of his Earth parents), Clark Kent dons a caped uniform as Superman, "champion of the oppressed."
This tale was first revealed in Action Comics #1 (June 1938), published while the United States was in the stranglehold of the Great Depression. In his earliest outings, Superman was enormously brazen as he caved in walls, slapped dictators, and spanked sharp-tongued heiresses. By stark contrast, his alter ego, the bespectacled Kent, was outrageously diffident, and on this dichotomy hinged the hero's audience appeal: Kent was the downtrodden "everyman," while Superman personified physical power. Superman was an unabashed intimidator you could cheer for, a figure of hope when many Americans felt hopeless. Readers found in Superman a hero who represented "truth, justice, and the American way," and his colorful escapades, told in the vibrant new medium of comic books, captured their imaginations. Superman not only initiated his own career with Action #1, but single-handedly launched a new industry--comic book publishers sprouted instantly, and scores of new superheroes followed, truly exemplifying the "American way" (capitalism).
And to think, Superman started on the wrong side of the law. Throughout the early 1930s, his creators, author Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster, high school chums from Cleveland, Ohio, were habitually rejected by professional publishers. So they started their own mimeographed fanzine, Science Fiction, in which they printed Siegel's prose story "The Reign of the Superman," about a misshapen human who acquires superpowers and turns evil. Siegel and Shuster later modified the concept into a proposal for a newspaper strip, featuring a caped Superman with an "S" on his massive chest, who uses his powers--augmented strength and stamina, bulletproof skin, and the ability to leap an eighth of a mile--for good. They ambitiously marketed their creation as "The Smash Hit Strip of 1936," but the syndicates balked. Maintaining unwavering faith in their concept, the persevering pair submitted their Superman idea to comic book publisher Detective Comics, Inc. (DC), who took a chance on the property for their start-up title, Action. Siegel and Shuster sold DC the rights to Superman for a reported pittance of $130, but they didn't mind--it was a gig, and, most importantly, their hero was in print.
Action Comics starring Superman sold phenomenally well, and DC Comics wasted no time in exploiting the character. In January 1939, Siegel and Shuster realized their earlier dream by producing a Superman syndicated newspaper strip. Distributed by the McClure Syndicate, the feature ran successfully through the 1940s. Siegel and Shuster (before turning the reigns over to writer/artist Wayne Boring in 1940) expanded the hero's origin by giving the baby a Kryptonian name (Kal-L, later Kal-El), and by naming his biological parents (Jor-L and Lora, later Jor-El and Lara). The Man of Steel was awarded his own title with Superman #1 (Summer 1939), and soon began appearing in World's Best Comics (later World's Finest). .In a few short years, Superman rocketed into ubiquity. DC introduced a "Supermen of America" fan club and licensed the character's likeness to manufacturers of toys, puzzles, novels, coloring books, bubble gum--almost every product imaginable. The Man of Steel burst into radio in 1940, in the long-running The Adventures of Superman program, with actor Bud Collyer lending voice to the hero, and into movie theaters in 1941, in a celebrated series of seventeen animated shorts from the Fleischer Studios. Superman became big business. Some joked that the "S" emblazoned across his chest should be changed to a "$."
Superman's superpowers grew with his acclaim: Soon he was flying instead of leaping, he became invulnerable, and supersenses like X-ray vision and superhearing were added. Of course, every hero needs a weakness, and Superman's was kryptonite, radioactive meteorites from his homeworld, a story element that first appeared on his radio program. He quickly developed a rogues' gallery including Lex Luthor, the Ultra-Humanite, and the Prankster. Upon the advent of World War II, Superman was anointed as DC Comics' standard-bearer of patriotism, and on several occasions even took on the Axis forces.
Superman's Kent identity was Siegel and Shuster's in-joke. As a reporter for the Daily Planet (originally the Daily Star) in the city of Metropolis, Kent frequently winked at his readers to acknowledge that they were in on the gag (the first comic book hero to do this, by the way): that the people around him couldn't see through his flimsy disguise of eyeglasses and a business suit. His spunky colleague Lois Lane wasn't fooled for long, however. Suspicious over Kent's disappearances during Superman's feats, she spent decades unsuccessfully trying to prove that Kent and Superman were one and the same. Kent's association with the newspaper placed him on the ground floor of breaking events in which Superman's presence might be required--and often that meant rescuing the daring Lane from danger. Kent's boss in the earliest tales was George Taylor, who soon morphed into crusty managing editor Perry White, a cigar-chomping, old-school newshound, often agitated by the antics of his staff. Jimmy Olsen, a copy boy (and later "cub reporter") whose enthusiasm frequently got him into trouble, became famous as Superman's pal.
Most superheroes withered from view after World War II, but the Man of Steel kept going strong. In 1945, DC amended its continuity with the creation of Superboy, in "The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy." His wholesome adventures took place in Smallville, a geographical slice of America's heartland, where young Kent lived with his parents, Jonathan and Martha. Neighbor Lana Lang was introduced as the teenage equivalent of Lois Lane. Meanwhile actor Kirk Alyn brought Superboy's adult counterpart to life in a pair of live-action movie serials, Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Superman (1950), the latter of which adapted Luthor to the big screen. During this period of super-profit, Siegel and Shuster lost a legal battle to regain the rights to their creation.
In the 1950s, as Americans enjoyed postwar prosperity and pride, Superman was redefined from the burly bully of comics' Golden Age (1938-1954) into a helpful scoutmaster, instilling virtues into the childish Lane and Olsen--and the readers. Actor George Reeves, who portrayed the Man of Steel in the live-action theatrical release Superman and the Mole Men (1951), starred in the movie's syndicated television spinoff The Adventures of Superman (1953-1957). Reeves became beloved in the role: He pitched Kellogg's Corn Flakes as Superman and appeared on I Love Lucy as the Man of Steel. (Who could forget the episode in which he flies in to save Lucy from her high-rise widow-ledge shenanigans?). A Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen comics title was launched in 1954, followed by Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane in 1958, and Superman and Batman formed a regular partnership in World's Finest. Superman was also developing a family--enter the family superdog, Krypto--another survivor of the hero's homeworld. The Man of Steel was DC Comics' best-selling and flagship character, so important to the publisher that it changed its company logo to "Superman-DC Comics." As the decade closed, the atomic age zapped science fiction into a place of prominence in Superman's comics: Luthor flourished high-tech weapons against the Man of Steel; new villains like the android Brainiac were established; the time-traveling Legion of Super-Heroes joined the supporting cast; and Superman's cousin, Supergirl, showed up in a Kryptonian spaceship.
The 1960s were a turbulent decade of escalating global tension, civil unrest, a bloody and unpopular war, and social disorder, but for much of the decade, Superman turned a blind eye to it all (tough to do with his super-vision). Mort Weisinger, editor of the Superman comics, continued to expand the Man of Steel's family: Joining the already cumbersome cast were mermaid Lori Lemaris; loopy inventor Professor Potter; superpets Beppo the Supermonkey, Streaky the Supercat, and Comet the Superhorse; Superman's biological parents Jor-El and Lara (via frequent flashbacks and time-travel tales); Kryptonian survivors in the Phantom Zone and in the miniaturized Bottle City of Kandor; and a whole world of wacky Superman mutates called Bizarros. Traces of the real world occasionally crept into his comics--President John F. Kennedy's assassination was too big for even Weisinger's Super-sanitized Man of Steel to ignore--but mostly, the Superman titles offered an escape from, not an exploration of, political issues. And no one seemed to mind: Superman's fame reached global status, as translations of his comic books were being gobbled up in numerous countries.
By the mid-1960s, Curt Swan's crisp penciling style helped him emerge from a pack of talented illustrators as "the" Superman artist, a title Swan held until the 1980s. Superman's comics may have looked good, but they didn't read well: The burgeoning ensemble of superpeople and superanimals was neutering the hero's individuality. Weisinger and his writers were running out of ideas, resorting to gimmicks rather than characterization for Superman's adventures. "Imaginary" stories--tales appearing outside of the regular continuity--became commonplace, allowing Superman to die, to marry, and to have offspring, but return to the status quo with the next adventure. His superpowers intensified to a ridiculous level: Superman gained microscopic vision, heat vision (previously he had melted objects with the heat from his X-ray vision), and even superventriloquism! As Superman's faculties increased, his enemies simply could not pose a credible threat, and his stories lost dramatic intensity. Only the energy-siphoning Parasite, the creation of writer Jim Shooter, gave Superman a run for his money, but he surfaced too late to stop the hero who was "more powerful than a locomotive" from derailing. By the end of the decade, Superman's adventures had grown stale and his titles' readership had dwindled. Similarly, the Superman newspaper strip was canceled in 1967.
Carmine Infantino, former artist of The Flash and Batman, had recently been appointed DC's editorial director and was revitalizing the company's line. The Man of Steel was slated for an overhaul, with editor Julius Schwartz, who had successfully resuscitated the Batman titles from near-cancellation in 1964, assigned to helm the revisions. In 1970, DC house ads trumpeted an impending change: "There's a New Kind of Superman Coming!" Superman #233 (January 1971) was where it began: Kent, now bolder and hipper, became a television news reporter, kryptonite was eliminated, and Superman's powers were weakened. Pioneering young writers like Denny O'Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, and Cary Bates invigorated the tales with realism and new villains. None of this mattered to the world at large, however, where Superman's status was now iconic: His "S" insignia was appropriated by the lead character (a Christ allegory) in the rock opera Godspell (1971); singer Jim Croce immortalized the Man of Steel as a tough guy in his 1973 hit, "You Don't Mess around with Jim" (with the recurring line, "You don't tug on Superman's cape"); and Superman was featured as one of television's animated Super Friends (1973).
Halfway through the 1970s, two major events occurred: DC joined forces with competitor Marvel Comics to co-publish a best-selling crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man; and film producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind signed a deal to produce a big-budget movie (and a sequel) starring the Man of Steel. The impending film and its promise of profit inspired Neal Adams, superstar illustrator and advocate for artists' rights, to lobby DC to provide financial restitution to Superman's architects, Siegel and Shuster, both of whom teetered on the brink of destitution. DC and parent company Warner Bros. obliged, bowing to media pressure; they established pensions for both and inserted their names into all Superman comics as the creators of the character. In 1977, as part of a promotional campaign for the upcoming motion picture, the Superman newspaper strip was revived, beginning a sixteen-year run. The Salkinds' Superman: The Movie was the blockbuster film of 1978: It made actor Christopher Reeve a megastar and raised the special effects bar by several notches.
As with any successful film, sequels followed, and the first half of the 1980s for Superman was demarcated by Reeve's interpretation of the hero--the Man of Steel as a "friend," a sincere Boy Scout who never told a lie, earning his merit badge by saving the world. Editor Schwartz's Superman comics suffered during this period. The radical changes he implemented in the early and mid-1970s had been jettisoned, and the resulting stories were reminiscent of the material he'd been hired to eliminate. Superman needed a shot in the arm.
As DC Comics reinvented itself in the mid-1980s with its continuity-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths series (in which Supergirl died valiantly), Marvel Comics writer/artist John Byrne was hired to recreate the hero. Byrne's opening volley was The Man of Steel (1986), a six-issue, biweekly miniseries that cleaned the slate for the character, while preserving the best aspects from previous incarnations (mostly the movies). Superboy was no more, Krypton was antiseptic, and Luthor became the 1980s version of evil incarnate--a corporate CEO. Byrne's Reeve-like Superman would kick ass when necessary. There were also significant changes involving Kent's personal life, perhaps the biggest being that his parents, Jonathan and Martha, were now still alive, lending compassionate support to their adult super-son.
Since Superman's 1986 reintroduction, an army of writers, artists, and editors have expanded upon the revised mythology, reintroducing classic concepts and characters (with new twists) and introducing potentially lethal menaces to imperil the Man of Steel, usually in lengthy and sometimes inaccessible story arcs. Three highly publicized events affected the character in the 1990s: his January 1993 death (at the hands of a brutish behemoth appropriately called Doomsday) in Superman #75 and subsequent resurrection (surprise!); his controversial transformation into a pure energy being with a different costume than the bankable classic (another headline-grabbing but short-lived innovation); and Kent's 1996 marriage to Lois Lane in Superman: The Wedding Album #1.
Since The Man of Steel, Superman has maintained a consistent television presence: in two animated Superman cartoons (in 1988 and 1996), and on the Cartoon Network's Justice League (2001-2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006); in the live-action programs Superboy (1988-1992), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997), and the teen-oriented Smallville (2001-2011); and as a regular topic of discussion among the characters of the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld. His movie prospects haven't fared as well since the failure of Reeve's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). The revival of the Superman movie franchise has passed through multiple hands.
In recent years, DC Comics has repeatedly revisited, retold, and presented a variety of revised or alternative versions of Superman's origin and early career, including Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Superman for All Seasons (1998), and Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu's Superman: Birthright (2003-2004). Writers Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, and Gepff Johns collaborated on a new canonical origin story in Action Comics #850 (2007); Johns and artist Gary Frank then did the more elaborate Superman: Secret Origin (2009-2010). This was followed by J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis's alternative history in Superman: Earth One (2010). Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely created the acclaimed series All Star Superman (2005-2008), an alternative to the official continuity: not only were Clark and Lois not married, but Morrison devised contemporary variations on various concepts from Mort Weisinger's Silver Age Superman stories.
Superman has also been regularly appearing in direct-to-video animated films, including Superman: Doomsday (2007), based on the "Death of Superman" saga; Justice League: The New Frontier (2008), based on Darwyn Cooke's acclaimed comics; Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009); Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010); and All-Star Superman (2011), based on Grant Morrison's series. Bryan Singer, director of the first two X-Men movies, directed the 2008 film, appropriately titled, Superman Returns. It was intended as a sequel to Richard Donner's Superman and Superman II, and starred newcomer Brandon Routh as Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, and Kevin Spacey (from Singer's film The Usual Suspects) as Lex Luthor. The movie did not perform commercially up to Warner Bros.' expectations, and the studio canceled its plans for Singer to direct a sequel. Instead, Warner Bros. turned to Christopher Nolan, the director of the extraordinarily successful relaunch of the Batman film franchise with Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). The result is that Nolan produced the film The Man of Steel, directed by Zack Snyder (who directed the 2009 Watchmen movie), which reboots the Superman saga on film, with an expected release of late 2013.
In September 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comics, including starting Action Comics and Superman over with issue 1. The new Superman series was initially written by George Perez, with art by Perez and Jesus Merino, and the new Action was launched by writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales. The early issues of the new Action provide yet another reworking of Superman's early career. This may be significant in light of a recent legal decision.
In 1999, a legal ruling granted the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel fifty percent of the Superman copyright. Then in 2009, another court ruling decreed that the Siegel estate had recaptured rights to the Superman material in the original Action Comics #1 (1938), including the first version of his origin. The estate of Joe Shuster (he has no heirs) will legally recapture their share of the rights to the same material in 2013. At that point, the Siegel and Shuster estates will own the entire copyright to the Superman story in the original Action Comics #1, and could license and publish their own version of Superman. The long-range effects of this decision on the future of Superman, in comics and other media, remain to be seen.


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How to submit a letter
Readers React: Fine, there's tribalism on both sides — but the right is far more damaging than the left
Supporters of Donald Trump cheer before the president takes the stage at a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 29, 2017.
(Alex Wong / Getty Images)
Feb. 10, 2018 4 AM PT
To the editor: Jonah Goldberg talks about tribalism, but not all tribes are created equal. ("Three reasons for the cult of Trump," Opinion, Feb. 6)
Republicans excuse their own bad behavior, claiming they're no worse than Democrats. That's false. In Pennsylvania, Republicans gerrymandered districts to claim 75% of legislative seats with about 50% of the vote, and Democrats are fighting for redistricting that results in proportionate representation.
If that's "tribalism," then it's the tribalism of Darth Vader versus Luke Skywalker.
American democracy depends on bipartisan decision-making. President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have broken that cornerstone in order to win but also make sure others lose — a zero-sum game. They see "winning" as accumulating more wealth for the wealthy rather than serving the common good.
Limitless greed is driving asymmetric tribalism, and it's the Republicans' fault.
Linda Kranen, Carlsbad
To the editor: Goldberg posits that Trump, like President Obama during his tenure, finds credulous support in an adoring cult. Goldberg overlooks a stark difference.
Trump's cult will exist only for so long as he plays the crucial role of distracting the public from the profound, long-range harm his GOP-dominated Congress is doing to the country. When the Democrats regain a congressional majority, Trump's cult will fade into oblivion.
Not so with Obama's "cult." His admirers will forever venerate a man who demonstrated the intellect, composure and equanimity that provides an enviable standard for American presidents.
Robin Groves, Pacific Palisades
To the editor: Really, Jonah Goldberg? The best you can do to explain the Trump cult is to spend more than half your column pointing your finger at Democrats?
Meanwhile, the rest of us are still wondering if the entire GOP drank the Kool-Aid or is just going along to get along.
I hope your MAGA hat isn't too tight — it's going to be hard to get it off post-Trump.
Debra Kaufman, Venice
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By Mark Dugdale on	 March 13, 2020 Injury, Insurance, Legal, News
A man has been sentenced to community service after CCTV caught him purposely banging his knee five times on a paving stone in order to make a fake injury claim.
Cwrt Tarrell was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 6 March. He received a two-year community order and 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
He'd originally pleaded not guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and a trial was scheduled, but he later changed his plea to guilty. If his claim had been successful, he would have fraudulently gained £6,680.
Detective constable Joanne Farrell, who led the investigation for the City of London Police's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said: "Even after being shown the CCTV footage several times in interview, which clearly showed his claim was fraudulent, Harrison initially denied any wrongdoing, dishonestly telling police they were misinterpreting the footage. He then entered a not guilty plea at court, meaning the matter would have proceeded to trial at Crown Court."
"Eventually he saw sense and pleaded guilty before his trial began, and has been rightfully punished for trying to steal several thousand pounds from the insurer."
The IFED launched a criminal investigation into Harrison after a referral from the National Insurance and Guarantee Corporation (NIG).
Harrison had submitted an injury claim to NIG, stating that a paving stone had cracked underfoot as he jogged back to his block of flats, causing him to fall over and injure his knee.
The housing association for the block of flats provided CCTV footage to NIG, which clearly showed that this is not what happened. In reality, the initial crack in the paving stone didn't cause any injury to Harrison when he jogged over it.
The CCTV shows him step on it to break it further and proceed to deliberately bang his knee five times on a nearby paving stone. Harrison then spots the CCTV camera, and at this point, he starts to hop on one leg to try and show that he's injured.
NIG sent a letter to Harrison, informing him that they were rejecting his claim and he was also provided with the CCTV footage. Despite this, Harrison disputed its decision and continued to stand by his claim, until he eventually faced trial and pleaded guilty.
Rob Smart, head of claims at NIG, said: "Tackling insurance fraud remains a priority for the industry and we hope that today's sentencing sends out a strong message to others who may be thinking of committing fraud in the future. It's very sad to see the lengths that some people will go to make a false claim but we will continue to work closely with the police to ensure these types of claims are exposed. Insurance fraud increases the premiums for honest customers and costs the industry millions of pounds a year."


Viana, I., J. A. Peixoto, L. Xavier, and C. de Souza. "APPLYING LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT TO ANALYSE RESOURCE CONSUMPTIONS AND WASTE GENERATION IN A LABORATORY ANIMALS PRODUCTION". Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 13, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 472-81, doi:https://doi.org/10.14488/BJOPM.2016.v13.n4.a7.


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Sex Q&A: Fear of Change Means She's Out in the Cold
By Psychic Liam ext. 9290
Cathryn asks:
Dear Liam,
I would be very grateful for your insight and advice. At the beginning of the year an older, married co-worker realized that I was no longer married and, having apparently been very aware of me for a few years, invited me for a coffee. We quickly catapulted into a passionate relationship which deepened both inside and outside the bedroom. He recognized a sexual side to me that had lain dormant and seemed to know instinctively what new things I would enjoy. He said that with me he had no inhibitions. He made many suggestions of things he wanted to share with me intellectually, socially, and sexually.
His wife overheard a conversation he had with a friend about his feelings towards his marriage. He requested that our relationship became platonic, so that if his marriage deteriorated further he could honestly say it was not because of anyone else. I also know he has a fear of emotional chaos, and he was scared as he felt he was falling in love with me.
We still see each other regularly. He confides many of his concerns to me, and the physical attraction is still strong. He says his decision was, and remains, a very difficult one. I feel as if a whole side of me has just been woken up, shown these wonderful possibilities, and has now been put on ice. Every time I think I should try to move on, he does or says something that reels me straight back in. Are we ever going to get to a place where we can explore and develop our relationship again, or should I give up on this man? I am reluctant to do this as I have never felt such a powerful connection with anyone, and have never before met someone with whom I feel confident in just being myself. I'm confused!
Liam's Response:
Greetings, Cathryn. The pure beauty and erotic tone of your situation resonates like a virtual symphony of haunting vibration. You have been very blessed, being offered the opportunity to enter the perilous forest. Being a true traveler of the wilds, you allowed yourself the delight and tragedy of love and all its stinging bites. The archetype you have become through this experience is all too clear. You're the muse who rocked a poet's world. You say this man feared falling in love with you. It's too late. He fell in love with you the moment he saw you, and those feelings haven't changed. Unfortunately, life doesn't work the way novelists and script writers like to make us think. Nor does love follow a mandate based on the know-it-all advice of your girlfriends. Real life is complicated. A bloody and emotional business, where the fatal mistake of falling in love serves as courtroom fodder for a jealous spouse out for vengeance.
Your lover fears change and pain. This is no great failing on his part. None of us likes having to face ugliness and strife. He knows divorcing his wife will cause hardships beyond belief. He also knows that the two of you aren't really ready to come together in a conventional form. Many couples in your situation are never ready for the trials and tribulations of an everyday partnership, and disaster results from people in wild love rushing to play a conventional game. In this case, I advise you to respect your lover's wishes and continue being his friend.
This man knows his wife. He knows she is capable of all sorts of things. What he's really doing by backing away from you right now is protecting the woman he loves from a tyrant he's known for years. In his mind, he must deal with slaying the dragon before he can go on to win the lady fair. If he had no regard for you – if he only meant to string you along – he would not have sacrificed the pleasure of your bed to protect you. Stay calm and remain his confidant. Let this drama play out, and when the coast is clear, he will come back. When he does welcome him with open arms for this man is indeed a gentleman.
Do you have a question for Liam? Ask Liam your question now.
What's ahead for your love life? Try a psychic reading. Call 1.800.573.4830 or choose your psychic now.
Love & Relationships, Psychic Questions
chaos, confidant, confused, demon, divorce, dragon, drama, emotions, explore, fall in love, falling in love, fear, friend, inhibitions, intellect, intellectually, jealous, just friends, lady, long-term relationship, lover, married, married man, muse, partner, poet, psychics, relationship, relationship advice, romantic interest, Sex, sexually, spouse, vengence, wife
Brings clarity to sexuality and relationships.
Skills: Empath, Dream analyst, Clairsentient
Tools: Tarot, Astrology
Specialities: Love & relationships, Money & finance, Career & work, Destiny & life path, Past lives
Psychic Liam ext. 9290 Psychic Liam ext. 9290
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3 thoughts on "Sex Q&A: Fear of Change Means She's Out in the Cold"
sbsteinb1 December 19, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I agree sometimes patience is the deciding factor in forming relationships. It is so easy to get addicted to the pleasurable sides of life and to forget that within the chaos of love no matter how sincere, is structure. Structure that determines its surival. and I just must say that novelist and screenwriters don't give people their fantsies, they bring them to the surface and exploit them for the sake of a logical plot. People's fantasies are from a much deeper place. But its better to live life than believe that a fantasy is living. Don't shoot the messenger, rather reject the message.:) and if enough people do that the messengers will have to find new messages. happy holidays.
Sylvia Serna Sanchez December 19, 2010 at 11:41 am
i need help i have a friend but he is leaveing with someone and has two daughter but i was his lover for 4 years till i moved from there but still he would go looking for me i have him on my mind all the time and say his name to my friend no i call her by his name and she get mad i tell her it just come out of my mouth i can do none about it i ever call my kids and grandkids by his name sometime dont know what to do help me please i have a boyfriend but does not call me at all because he say all i do is take care of my grandkids so now i am by my self wait for mr right thank you for reading my letter and god bless you my friend.
tray December 19, 2010 at 3:53 am
Sorry, Cathryn, as a man who has been single for a long time and seen quite a lot I've got a slightly different take on your situation.
Here's the short version: Mr. Married Older Guy (we'll call him "MOG") is a pro and, no offense dear, you're a novice. Run now and don't look back. Now, please allow me to interpret his behavior and "player speak" for you. Thanks.
"At the beginning of the year an older, married co-worker realized that I was no longer married and, having apparently been very aware of me for a few years, invited me for a coffee." …. Translation: MOG saw you coming a mile away. He's a seasoned player. The absence of your wedding ring, or your demeanor, or office chat, or all of those things clearly told him you were vulnerable and ripe for picking, dear. Inviting you for coffee was a scouting mission for him. He was probing for possibilities.
"He recognized a sexual side to me that had lain dormant" …. Translation: He knew that most divorced women have built-up sexual tension and a certain level of commensurate frustration, which makes them sitting duck targets. Many have that even during marriage, due to their husbands being sexually functionary but not romantic. Body language is a dead giveaway about such things and he knew how to read all the signs.
" …. and seemed to know instinctively what new things I would enjoy." …. Translation: MOG recognized that your sex life with your ex-husband was limited in scope and therefore anything new and different would be enjoyed by you as long as he did them with tenderness and as if he cared about you.
"He said that with me he had no inhibitions." …. Translation: that's a fail-safe statement intended to open closed doors. Ask him to three-way with you and another man, or put on a show with another man for you, and watch how fast he gets "inhibitions".
"His wife overheard a conversation he had with a friend about his feelings towards his marriage." …. Translation: There was no such conversation. It's simply that his wife knows him well and is smelling a rat (or another rat).
" He requested that our relationship became platonic, so that if his marriage deteriorated further he could honestly say it was not because of anyone else." …. Translation: "We'd better cool it for a while because my wife smells a rat. Besides, I've already gotten the goods from you." He's trying to ease you out of the picture, dear.
"I also know he has a fear of emotional chaos, and he was scared as he felt he was falling in love with me." …. Translation: "I wanted the casual sex but not a commitment, so will you fall for my 'fear of love' scam?"
"He confides many of his concerns to me, and the physical attraction is still strong. He says his decision was, and remains, a very difficult one." …. Translation: It was so "difficult" that it took all of three, maybe four, minutes to come up with but he still wants you available for an occasional romp once he's sure his wife is off the scent. Anything MOG tells you is just a training exercise, nothing more.
"Are we ever going to get to a place where we can explore and develop our relationship again, or should I give up on this man?" …. Cathryn, give up now! He is using you and playing you. You will never have him. If you push him to commit to you then his wife will suddenly develop a "terrible illness" and he will "have to stay with her out of loyalty or guilt". Or stay "because of the kids", or because "it would cost him too much to get divorced", etc. You seem like an open, sincere, caring person and there are plenty of NOT married men who would appreciate that. Leave that sex scammer before things get messy and you lose your job over it. Find a single man who will appreciate you for yourself an not jerk you around like MOG. Good luck, dear.
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Daring Hull man hopes to become first to swim across River Humber - and back
A record-breaking Hull swimmer aims to become the first person to swim solo across the length of the Humber Bridge and back.
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An Irvine woman is taking on one of the most gruelling and iconic swimming challenges later this summer.
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SCI-TECHWORLD
Meta now lets users bundle Insta, FB account settings
Meta has announced that it is rolling out a new Accounts Center that will allow users to manage their preferences across all their Meta accounts, like Instagram, Facebook and Messenger, from a centralised hub.
This will be helpful for users who use more than one of the company's applications, Meta said in a blogpost on Thursday.
"Things like Personal details, Passwords and security, and Ad preferences will now live in a centralised place, so it'll be easier for people who use multiple apps to manage their settings."
For instance, users can now easily make their ad topic preferences consistent for Facebook and Instagram accounts by adding those accounts to the same Accounts Center.
However, users who want to keep their accounts in separate Accounts Centers, can do so, as adding more than one account to the same Accounts Center is optional.
Moreover, the company is also making improvements to some of the ad settings controls.
"We know people want more control over the ads they see, which is why we're exploring new ways to give people the ability to see more ads about the things that interest them, in addition to the existing option of seeing fewer ads about things that don't interest them," the company said.
"These changes will begin to go into effect today, and will gradually roll out to everyone on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram in the coming months," it added.
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