text:
Businesses brace as England and Scotland ramp up COVID-19 restrictions
Tom Belger and Saleha Riaz
WATCH: Nicola Sturgeon announces new Scotland lockdown
Firms are bracing for more restrictions across the UK, with "tougher measures" looming in England and first minister Nicola Sturgeon placing Scotland back in full-scale lockdown.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson is due to announce new restrictions in England on Monday night, after saying there was "no question" stricter curbs were needed earlier in the day.
A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister would set out "further steps" in a televised address at 8pm. He is reported to be planning a fresh nationwide lockdown. Details are yet to be confirmed, but the move could spell school closures, stricter stay-at-home and shielding orders, and the closure of non-essential retail in areas where they remain open.
Shops in parts of Yorkshire and the Humber, West and East Midlands, and north-west, south-west England that are currently in Tier 3 could be forced to close once more.
Goverment sources told PA the UK threat level would be raised to 5, the highest level, meaning stricter social distancing and a risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed. It is different to the tiers system.
Meanwhile first minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday said Scots would be forced to stay at home by law from Tuesday in areas currently under its highest level of restrictions, which cover most of the nation. Essential shopping, exercise and care are among the exemptions.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Photo: PA
Companies were told to look again at remote working wherever possible, with the Scottish government considering whether more regulations are needed on business.
Scotland's measures, which also include school closures, will apply for at least the whole of January to stop COVID-19 cases surging as they have in London and south-east England.
READ MORE: FTSE 100 surges as Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine rollout begins
Northern Ireland's first minister Arlene Foster said the four UK nations would hold a call at 5pm on their latest measures, and the executive would meet immediately afterwards.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said ahead of the announcements firms needed a "huge amount" of additional support as tier restrictions become "harsher."
"We already have a situation where the development of business support measures is not keeping pace with the intensification of tier restrictions," he told Yahoo Finance UK.
"To get small firms to the point where normality returns, hopefully later this year, we need to see support returning to the levels of last spring.
"That means a significant uprating of cash grants, greater access to emergency finance, support for excluded groups and extension to the VAT deferral and business rate holiday periods."
UK prime minister Boris Johnson plans tougher coronavirus curbs. Photo: REUTERS/John Sibley TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The UK government has been under heavy pressure from scientists, health officials and Britain's political opposition to impose tighter restrictions as cases spiral.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has said the virus is "clearly out of control" and urged Johnson to impose immediate curbs, backing school closures on Monday. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey also demanded a lockdown in England on Monday.
READ MORE: Booming UK factories 'holding breath' over Brexit trade deal repercussions
The latest official figures show hospital patient numbers with COVID-19 surged by a third between Christmas Day and 2 January.
The NHS began to roll out AstraZeneca's and Oxford University's low-cost, easily transportable jab on Monday, but it is likely to be some time before the vaccination programme starts to curb infection rates.
WATCH: Dialysis patient 'really proud' to be first to get Oxford University vaccine


London– Fewer than predicted planets may be capable of harbouring life because their atmospheres keep them too hot, researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist, have revealed.
The study suggests that although they orbit smaller and dimmer stars, many of these planets might still be too hot to be habitable.
When looking for planets that could harbour life, scientists look for planets in the 'habitable zones' around their stars – at the right distance from the stars to allow water to exist in liquid form.
Traditionally, this search has focused on looking for planets orbiting stars like our Sun, in a similar way to Earth.
However, recent research has turned to small planets orbiting very close to stars called M dwarfs or red dwarfs, which are much smaller and dimmer than the Sun., said the team from Imperial College London and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton.
"It was previously assumed that planets with masses similar to Earth would be habitable simply because they were in the 'habitable zone'. However, when you consider how these planets evolve over billions of years this assumption turns out not to be true," said Dr James Owen from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton.
M dwarfs make up around 75 percent of all the stars in our galaxy and recent discoveries have suggested that many of them host planets, pushing the number of potentially habitable planets into the billions.
This month, both the TRAPPIST and Kepler planet-hunting telescopes have announced the discovery of multiple near-Earth-sized planets orbiting M dwarf stars — some within the habitable zones.
"There are hints from recent exoplanet discoveries that relatively puny planets may be even more common around red dwarfs than Earth mass or larger ones, in which case there may indeed be a bonanza of potentially habitable planets whirling around these cool red stars," explained Dr. Subhanjoy Mohanty from Imperial College London.
It was known previously that many of these planets are born with thick atmospheres of hydrogen and helium, making up roughly one percent of the total planetary mass.
In comparison, the Earth's atmosphere makes up only a millionth of its mass.
The new analysis reveals that this is not the case. Instead, detailed computer simulations show that these thick hydrogen and helium envelopes cannot escape the gravity of planets that are similar to or larger in mass than the Earth, meaning that many of them are likely to retain their stifling atmospheres.
However, all is not lost, according to the researchers. While most of the M dwarf planets that are Earth-mass or heavier would retain thick atmospheres, smaller planets, comparable to Venus or Mars, could still lose them to evaporation.


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Review: The Force by Don Winslow
By Thomas Pluck
The Force by Don Winslow is a haunting and heartbreaking story of greed and violence, inequality and race, crime and injustice, retribution and redemption that reveals the seemingly insurmountable tensions between the police and the diverse citizens they serve.
His old priests might have told him that there are sins of commission and sins of omission, that it's not always the things you do, but the things you don't that cost you your soul. That sometimes it's not the spoken lie but the unspoken truth that opens the door to betrayal.
Don Winslow has a unique voice, one that's partly shaped by public transit. He said his chapters were short in the early days because he wrote on the train to and from work: a 21-minute ride. Yet, he persisted.
My first Winslow was The Winter of Frankie Machine, about an old wiseguy who just wants to surf but gets pulled back into the life by a mobster's kid who wants to make a name for himself. No matter if he writes about a silverback mobster, a New York cop, a Mexican journalist, or a woman drug lord who's twice as ruthless to keep the wolves at bay, he inhabits his characters. If you haven't read his thriller Savages, you are missing out on a prime piece of crime fiction built on an astute knowledge of drug cartels and a mastery of character. Ben, Chon, and O are unforgettable. His epic The Cartel brings the horror of the drug war to life like no other work of art.
His latest, The Force, takes aim at the role of a police officer in a country that lives with the hypocrisy of needing and using more drugs and painkillers than the rest of the world combined yet labels it a moral failure instead of a mental health crisis.
Denny Malone is New York's number one cop, an apex predator, and he is dirty as hell. We learn this in the first few breaths, so I am not spoiling anything for you. He armors himself with the usual excuses, but this isn't a book written to bash cops. Over its many fast-paced pages, Winslow takes us on a tour of a corrupt system that is rotten from the top down and presents Denny as a tragic figure who wants to do right.
As someone who's father was fired from a police force for stealing, I don't give dirty cops any sympathy. With great power comes great responsibility. That's from a comic book, and rightly so. Power corrupts, and to avoid viewing addiction as a disease like other countries, we empower our justice system to wink at the Constitution. No-knock warrants. Drug courts with no jury trial. Plea deals and pre-trial intervention for the connected. And in The Force, we see every ugly facet of this fugazi stone we call a diamond, from the feds to the cops to the street dealers to the judges and the D.A. It's like five seasons of The Wire compressed into one thrilling novel.
It's also one of the best New York novels I've read in a long time. Lush Life by Richard Price was the Chandlerian romantic novel of modern Manhattan, and The Force is Hammett's brutal and unforgiving retort.
New York's the world.
Malone's world, anyway.
He'll never leave it.
No reason to.
He tried to explain it to Sheila, but how do you do that without bringing her into a world you don't want to put on her? How do you go from a tenement where the mommy-daddy combo is so fucked up on crack, and you find a baby dead for a week, her feet chewed by rats. and then take your own kids to Chuck E. Cheese's? You supposed to tell her about that? "Share" that? No, the right thing to do is put a smile on your face and talk to the tire salesmen about the Mets or what-the-fuck-ever because no one wants to hear about that and you don't want to talk about it, you just want to forget it, and good luck with that, ace.
That time Phil and Monty and him get an anonymous tip, 90 to this address in Washington Heights and they find this guy tied to a chair, his hands had been cut off for skimming some smack off the top of a shipment and he was still alive because the people who punished him also perfectly cauterized the wounds with a blowtorch. His eyes were bulging out of his skull, his jaw broken from clenching it so hard, and then they had to go back to a cookout and stand around by the grill with the host like guys do and he and Phil looked at each Other over the grill and knew what each other was thinking. You don't talk to other cops about that shit because you don't have to. They already know. They're the only ones who know.
Malone leads "Da Force," a task force at a precinct encompassing projects, brownstones, and foreign-owned luxury towers—a perfect slice of the City. The King of his domain, he's got partners to keep alive, a family in Staten Island he's separated from, a mistress in Harlem who's on and off heroin, and a whiskey and uppers habit of his own. He is a self-destructive male who lost his brother—a fireman when the Towers came down—and he has been self-medicating his PTSD for so long he can barely remember what life was like without it. This is familiar territory for a cop story, but in Winslow's hands, it is never stale or predictable.
With his arm around your shoulders, lemme-take-you-on-a-tour style, the book feels like one long, uncut Scorsese shot with narration, as Malone visits his subjects, clashes with cops and crooks, and flaunts his power to captains of precinct and industry alike. At first, he is hard to like, but as Winslow peels him apart, petal by petal, I began to root for him. As dirty as he is, he holds the line in a corrupt system that puts street soldiers on tours longer than any GI spends in a war zone. One that gives cursory nods to the treatment of mental health but destroys the careers of anyone who asks for help, due to "liability." A system that puts one mission on paper and asks for another through its actions.
That's the bitter, brutal irony about police work.
That's the root of the love-hate relationship cops have with the community and the community with the police.
The cops see it every day and every night.
The hurt, the dead.
People forget that the cops see first the victims and then the perpetrators. From the baby some crack whore dropped into the bathtub to the kid beat into stupefaction by his mother's eighteenth live-in boyfriend, the old lady whose hip gets broken when a purse snatcher knocks her to the sidewalk, the fifteen-year-old wannabe dope slinger gunned down on the corner.
The cops feel for the vics and hate the perps, but they can't feel too much or they can't do their jobs and they can't hate too much or they'll become the perps. So they develop a shell, a "we hate everybody" attitude force field around themselves that everyone can feel from ten feet away.
You gotta have it, Malone knows, or this job kills you, physically or psychologically. Or both.
I realize that up to this point, I've mentioned zero about the plot. Winslow makes it difficult to review because his reveals are so good. Suffice it to say, we know Denny is dirty from Chapter One and is practically beyond redemption. Winslow takes him even lower—to depths of betrayal we never expect—before dragging him out of hell by the scruff like an avenging angel on that long and hard way that leads to the light. Denny is far beyond the light, but he fights and connives and tricks his way to a purgatory he may never escape—and on the way, he tears down one corrupt ring of hell.
Trust me, you'll thank me for my vagueness when you get to read it yourself. If The Power of the Dog showed us how ambition and frustration lead men to break rules they set for themselves, The Force begins with an already corrupted soul in a system that needs him and shows us every blueprint used in its making.
To learn more or order a copy, visit:
Thomas Pluck has slung hash, worked on the docks, trained in martial arts in Japan, and even swept the Guggenheim museum (but not as part of a clever heist). He hails from Nutley, New Jersey, home to criminal masterminds Martha Stewart and Richard Blake, but has so far evaded capture. He is the author of Bad Boy Boogie, his first Jay Desmarteaux crime thriller, and Blade of Dishonor, an action adventure which BookPeople called "the Raiders of the Lost Ark of pulp paperbacks."
Joyce Carol Oates calls him "a lovely kitty man."
Read the First 9 Chapters of LoveMurder by Saul Black
Vote for Your Favorite Masterpiece Mystery Series
Carol Kubala
I'm with you! Don't miss The Force. It's destined to make my best of 2017 list.
My brief thoughts as posted elsewhere:
You tell me. Who are the bad guys, who are the good? Denny Malone, NYPD Detective Sergeant, head of The Manhattan North Special Task Force; all he ever wanted was to be a good cop.
Have you ever dug a hole? That's the only way I can describe [u]The Force[/u]. You dig. The hole gets bigger. The bigger the hole gets it's hard to keep the dirt from seeping back in. If you're not careful you'll find yourself becoming part of that fill.
By Danielle Prielipp
The 2008 Edgar Awards were not exactly a banner year for diversity, with no nominees being women or writers of color, but it was a year of heavy-hitters nevertheless, with John Hart, Benjamin Black (Christine Falls), Ken Bruen (Priest), Reed Farrel Coleman (Soul Patch), and Michael Chabon (The Yiddish Policemen's Union) vying for the honor.…
By Doreen Sheridan
An Incantation of Cats is the second novel in the Witch Cats Of Cambridge Series by Clea Simon, in which Harriet, Laurel, and Clara, three magical cats, must learn to work together to save the person they all love. Becca Colwin has hung out her shingle as a witch detective, to the mixed feelings of…
Book Review: The Companion by Kim Taylor Blakemore
By Chris Wolak
In her debut historical mystery, The Companion, Kim Taylor Blakemore takes readers to New Hampshire in 1855, where Lucy Blunt revisits the events that landed her on death row. I first came across Kim Taylor Blakemore on Instagram. The photos she posts of her research drew me in. Many were in relation to her writing…
Book Review: The Hollows by Jess Montgomery
The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is the second book in the Kinship series, a powerful, big-hearted, and exquisitely written follow-up to her highly acclaimed debut, The Widows. The Hollows is Jess Montgomery's second book in the Kinship historical mystery series set in Southern Ohio. The first book in the series, The Widows, introduced readers to…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At a NAIOP breakfast meeting this morning, a panel looked at the housing boom in Boston. The market is strong there particularly at the high end. With the recent City Council race done here in Cambridge, it's time to look very seriously at a campaign promise that all candidates made (including myself) to create more middle income housing.
According to Steve Faber of the real estate development firm Related Beal at today's NAIOP panel, there is no way to build middle income housing in high rise construction in Boston without some subsidy. I'm going to wager that what is true in Boston is also true here in the People's Republic. So where is the subsidy going to come from?
It can come either as cash in some form, or it can be a subsidy from other market rate units, or it can come in the form of helping on the land costs. This last option is particularly interesting because Cambridge owns some land in Central Square. The parking lots that sit off of Massachusetts Avenue are the city's. It is my belief that the city should hold onto this land, and use it in the same way that MIT uses land -- long-term leases for tenants who can build on it. That way, the city doesn't relinquish the land, which would be near impossible to buy back once it was gone, and it can generate money for the city. Additionally, it will allow the city to pursue policy goals it seeks to outline, such as this middle income housing.
Of course, these are all for the next Council to deliberate. Had I been there, this is what I would be advocating for. I wish them well in their work.


It's them or me, and my money is on me. I'm the one with the opposable thumbs. I have the power to reason through a problem. I have tenacity. I also have osteoporosis. I was diagnosed in the fall of last year. Me with osteoporosis, no way. I've taken calcium religiously for decades. I was devastated when I found out. I've always thought that I was unbreakable. No matter how many times the dogs knocked me down; (and they knocked me down a lot) I would get right back up with nothing more than a few bruise to show for it. Well there was that one time I tripped over the dogs on a walk and tore the cartilage in my knee. Mitch had to walk home get the El Camino then come back and get me sitting on the side of the road. Not now. I have 5% bone loss, which I was told is significant bone loss. So now I'm taking my weekly dose of Fosamax and have realized that I'm quite breakable. I'm now afraid of falling and breaking something. I don't like feeling this way. I don't like fear.
I've not taken the lunging or the yanking the dogs do while walking seriously until now. It's been a source of entertainment and fodder for my stories. But now I've realized that together the three dogs are much bigger and stronger than me. I was five foot two before osteoporosis and losing a half inch, which makes me a great boat anchor dragging behind the leashes, but little more than that if the three choose to charge after the object of their interest.
Basically they're good dogs, fairly well behaved, but tend to feed off of each other's emotions. If one gets excited about seeing someone, the other two join in and I can't hold them back. Not anymore. So now the serious training begins. I know labs are hardheaded and stubborn, Orso especially seems awfully thick at times, brilliant other times. We call him "Box of Rocks". Charlie is just hardheaded and willful. When it comes to a battle of the wills, he will not budge one iota. The thought of violence is often considered with him. AJ is soft and submissive, but when no one expects it, he will instigate trouble then stand back and let the other two get yelled at. Sneaky.
Training three dogs at once is a challenge. One at a time would be easier, but I don't have the time to work with each dog individually. So three at a time is our only option. I've given Mitch the ultimatum, "It's either they get trained to exhibit patience and not lunge or we can't have the dogs". And I have no intention of not having the dogs.
So it's them or me. Bet on me.
I have a plan, not something the Dog Whisper would probably endorse, but I have hope.


text:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars // APRIL 27, 2020
How Star Wars: The Clone Wars Further Explored the Journey of Anakin Skywalker
The animated series told several essential stories about The Chosen One.
Dan Zehr	Teacher and podcaster
A long time ago in a movie theater far, far away, Obi-Wan Kenobi first shared with audiences that he fought in the Clone Wars and was once a Jedi Knight, like Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. And while Star Wars: The Clone Wars brought so much richness to the Star Wars story, it also gave us an expanded picture of Anakin's legacy. The Clone Wars provides many examples of Anakin's loyalty and compassion, as well as the danger brewing beneath the surface.
Anakin and Ahsoka Tano's dynamic as master and Padawan evolved and grew over time and provided so much context for our understanding of the legendary Jedi. Yoda's purpose for giving Anakin a Padawan was so that Anakin could learn to let go of his student as she grew, much like a parent for his or her child, to discourage attachment. While Yoda's intent did not go as planned, the compassion, empathy, and responsibility Anakin discovers within make his fall from grace even more tragic.
Through many adventures, the two mature and evolve in their philosophy, and more famously, both become disillusioned with the Jedi path, which for Anakin, takes on a significantly darker tone. His relationship with Ahsoka makes the second season of Star Wars Rebels even more lamentable, particularly "Twilight of the Apprentice."
For examples of Anakin and Ahsoka's bond, be sure to watch these Clone Wars episodes:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical release (available to stream on Disney+) — Anakin and Ahsoka meet and we see their early interactions, as well as Anakin's reluctance to have a Padawan.
"Padawan Lost" (available to stream on Disney+) and "Wookiee Hunt" (available to stream on Disney+) — Ahsoka is kidnapped by Trandoshan hunters, and the two grow in esteem towards one another.
"The Wrong Jedi" (available to stream on Disney+) — Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order after being framed and then abandoned by the Jedi; her goodbye to Anakin further cements his difficulty with losing those he loves.
Brothers in the Force
The stories of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are legendary, with the duo continually rising to the challenge at hand with style, flair, and unconventional methods. Their battles with Count Dooku and loyalty to one another offer some of the finest moments in the Star Wars mythology. While the two disagree or debate frequently in their early adventures, over time, the mutual respect and admiration they share with one another make their duel on Mustafar much more heart-wrenching.
While it could be argued that Anakin did not have to take the quick and easy path, the following episodes illustrate that is the way of things when it comes to Obi-Wan's long-time apprentice.
"Deception" (available to stream on Disney+) — To uncover a plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, Obi-Wan fakes his death so that he can go undercover as bounty hunter, Rako Hardeen. However, Yoda and the Jedi do not let Anakin in on the deception. His grief is real and his anger shows the intense emotion he feels for the man who is like his brother.
"Dooku Captured" (available to stream on Disney+) — Anakin and Obi-Wan work together to capture Dooku; it is a showcase for their challenges, but also a snapshot into how they use their different styles for a mutual goal.
"The Lost One" (available to stream on Disney+) — Toward the end of the Clone Wars, Anakin and Obi-Wan uncover Sifo-Dyas' lightsaber and discover the extent of Count Dooku's involvement with the clone army. It also demonstrates how far they have come as partners and teammates since the beginning of the war.
The loss of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side is a classic example of the Shakespearean archetype of the tragic hero. Through the medium of television, The Clone Wars presented a number of moments full of dramatic irony that allude to what is to come from the future Sith Lord. Anakin is a Jedi through and through, but these moments of anger, pride, and weakness temporarily pull back the curtain on what we know will be a dark time for the galaxy and the Jedi Order. Knowing the end result makes these moments all the more ominous, but also make for poignant storytelling.
"Ghosts of Mortis" (available to stream on Disney+) — The third episode in the "Mortis" arc gives a vision of what Anakin will become, but also a moment of pathos where the audience realizes that the downfall of Anakin is felt the most profoundly by him. The Jedi are almost extinguished through Palpatine's manipulation of Anakin, but the person who will eventually be inside the black armor is the one who might suffer the most.
"Slaves of the Republic" (available to stream on Disney+) — Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka go undercover on Zygerria to investigate the slavers and bring them to justice. Anakin's feelings on slavery are no surprise given his childhood, which makes his internal conflict in this arc even more intense. His anger boils dangerously to the surface.
"The Rise of Clovis" (available to stream on Disney+) — Nothing brings out more intense anger and emotion than Anakin's feelings for Padmé, which turns into a jealous rage between the Jedi and Rush Clovis, the senator from Scipio. The two fight, but Clovis is overmatched, even when Anakin puts away his lightsaber and does not use the Force. This story reminds us of the damage that will be caused because of Anakin's jealousy…
The Clone Wars explored all the good and bad inside and surrounding Anakin Skywalker. As fans, our understanding of Anakin and Darth Vader is all the richer for it.
Epic Stories. Tons of TV. Live Sports.
Get the Disney Bundle
Watch the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+.
Learn more about Star Wars on Disney+.
Dan Zehr is the host and brand director of Coffee With Kenobi, a podcast that examines the mythology of Star Wars from a place of intelligence and humor. He is also a high school English teacher with an MS in Teaching and Learning.
Site tags: #StarWarsBlog, #TheCloneWars
TAGS: anakin skywalker, star wars the clone wars
The Makers of Star Wars: The High Republic: Claudia Gray on Into the Dark
Teaching with Star Wars: Yoda's Openness to Learning in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Teaching with Star Wars: Leia's Empathy and Acceptance in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Teaching with Star Wars: The Conflict Between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
8 Notable Clone Troopers from Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Thank the Maker for The Clone Wars and Asajj Ventress
Our Favorite Moments from Star Wars: The Clone Wars
20 Outstanding Characters Introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Q: Solution to a T+U = E equation I needed to solve really easy differential equation (in dimensionless units):
$$
\mathcal{T} (\dot{\xi}) + \mathcal{U} (\xi) = \text{const.} \equiv \varepsilon ; \quad T(\dot{\xi}) = \dot{\xi}^2 ; \quad \left( \quad \right)^{\dot{\;}} \equiv \frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d} \tau}
$$
and $\mathcal{U} (\xi)$ is guaranteed to have a local minimum somewhere (possibly more than one).
I wanted to keep it as simple as I could, so the code looks something I would write down at the paper, the only help I needed from Matematica is the one with non-elementary functions:
U[ξ_] := ξ^2; (*1*)

f[ξ_, Subscript[x, 0] _, E_] :=
 NIntegrate[1/Sqrt[E - U[u]], {u, Subscript[x, 0], ξ}]; (*2*)

g[Subscript[ξ, 0], E_, t_] = InverseFunction[f, 1, 3]; (*3*)

Plot[g[1, 2, t], {t, 0, 2}] (*4*)

I've numbered the lines for easier reference. The first line (1) defines our potential energy to be a quadratic potential (however, some more complex one could be chosen, in fact, quadratic potential is the most simple one and solvable in elementary functions). The law of conservation of energy states:
$$
\dot{\xi}^2 + \mathcal{U} (\xi) = \varepsilon \implies \int_{\xi_0}^{\xi} \frac{\mathrm{d} u}{\sqrt{\varepsilon - \mathcal{U} (u)}} = \tau
$$
So, basically, second line (2) defines function $f$:
$$
f(\xi, \xi_0, \varepsilon) \equiv \int_{\xi_0}^{\xi} \frac{\mathrm{d} u}{\sqrt{\varepsilon - \mathcal{U} (u)}}
$$
I thought that for general potential it's impossible to find primitive function, so it's not ever worth a try to write Integrate, so I used NIntegrate instead.
After this step we might have the solution in implicit form, but the explicit form would be more appropriate:
$$
f(\xi, \xi_0, \varepsilon) = \tau \implies \xi = g( \xi_0, \varepsilon, \tau)
$$
That's what I've tried to do in third line (3). The documentation states, that "InverseFunction[f,n,tot] represents the inverse with respect to the $n^{(th)}$ argument when there are $tot$ arguments in all.". Final step is to plot this solution at line (4) for some initial $\xi_0 = 1$, $E = 2$ aaaaand...what a surprise, empty plot!
Now I really love Mathematica, but things like this drives me crazy. What should I do? You know, if I wanted to solve motion in quadratic potential I wouldn't need Mathematica, this is just a test potential, the goal is to obtain solution for some more complex potential (biquadratic, cosine, ...). I have the suspicion, that the whole problem can be solved automatically by the fancy instructions like Solve, DSolve, NDSolve etc., but I don't understand those complex instructions like Plot[f/.solution] or other strange symbols in code (&, $, //, /., /@, #, ...), neither can I find them in the documentation. Especially /. is everywhere (like something /. something else - and this magically does the right thing), but no one ever explains what it does.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A: Your method is perfectly fine in principle, because in one dimension energy conservation leads to a "quadrature" solution (i.e., you formally avoid solving the usual equation of motion). But since inverting the numerical integration is another numerical step it doesn't actually end up making the solution very easy to obtain. For example, you have to think about the range of initial conditions consistent with your chosen energy first.
In more than one dimension, this approach based solely on energy conservation is not sufficient to pin down the solution. So I would suggest a more generalizable approach that starts from the two terms (kinetic and potential energy) and automatically derives the correct equations of motions without directly making use of energy conservation as you do in your question.
One approach that does this is the Lagrangian method. Here is how it can be easily programmed in Mathematica:
Needs["VariationalMethods`"]

ClearAll[ξ, t];
U = ξ[t]^2;
T = D[ξ[t], t]^2;

solution =
  First@NDSolve[
    Flatten[
      {EulerEquations[T - U, ξ[t], t], ξ[0] == 0, ξ'[0] == 1}
     ], ξ[t], {t, 0, 10}];

Plot[ξ[t] /. solution, {t, 0, 10}]

Here I give NDSolve the equations of motion as calculated by EulerEquations, together with a set of initial conditions for the position ξ[0] == 0, and velocity ξ'[0] == 1. What goes into EulerEquations is the Lagrangian T - U, the function ξ[t] describing the trajectory you want to solve for, and the name of the time variable t. The Flatten command is only needed when you generalize to higher dimensions where there will be more equations of motion and more initial conditions. Since NDSolve and similar function in general output a list of lists {{...},...{...}}, I added the command First@NDSolve to select the first sublist which contains a single complete solution. Having the result wrapped in an extra list can sometimes lead to unexpected results in later manipulations.
It's also quite straightforward to implement Hamilton's equations of motion if you want to write the trajectory in terms of position and momenta in phase space. But your question seems to indicate that you are not doing that.
Using InverseFunction
If you want to compare the above to your original approach, I would do it as follows:
U[ξ_] := ξ^2;

Clear[f];
f[ξ_?NumericQ, ξ0_, e_] :=
  NIntegrate[1/Sqrt[e - U[u]], {u, ξ0, ξ}];

Clear[g];
g[pos_, speed_] := InverseFunction[f[#, pos, U[pos] + speed^2] &]

trajectory[.1]

(* ==> 0.0998334 *)

trajectory[1.5]

(* ==> 0.997495 *)

Here, I defined the first integral to be evaluated only when the argument ξ is numerical, so that InverseFunction knows not to try and symbolically extract the inverse (which would fail because the whole function is based on a numerical integration).
In the function g that uses InverseFunction, the two arguments are the initial position and the absolute value of the velocity. They are then used to calculate the appropriate value of the energy e. Notice that I replaced the capital E by e. This is one of the first things you should do:

*

*Don't use capitalized variable names unless you know exactly what you're doing (or you work in marketing and hence don't care what you're doing).

*Don't use Subscript for variable names (same exceptions as above)

The capital E is a reserved symbol. If you do want capitals, enter the E as EscapeEEscape instead.
Now g is itself a function of a single argument, which I test by invoking it with an extra [t] at the end. To make the distinction clearer, I give the result of g[0,1] a name, trajectory, and then call trajectory[t] to get an actual value.
However, this inverse function approach breaks down as soon as you hit the first classical turning point. So if you try to use this method for times larger than the first traversal time to the turning point, it will not work. You see this in the last calculation in the significant slowdown for t=1.5. This is why I suggested an alternate approach earlier.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Breaking News If Jinnah's ambulance had not finished the petrol, then Pakistan would not have been so ruined
If Jinnah's ambulance had not finished the petrol, then Pakistan would not have been so ruined
The evening was at 4.15 pm. A special plane landed at Mauripur airport. The man lying on the stretcher was on his feet when he landed here a year ago. Then thousands of crowds at the airport were waiting for him to watch just one hour. But today this airport was empty. Absolutely silent None of the military officers came to pick him. Whereas the bureau of officials should have been present there by law. The patient was brought out of the plane by laying on the stretcher. Then he was laid in a military ambulance waiting for that. Ambulance sailed for Karachi at a slower pace. Very slowly, so that the VIP patient who is in the inside may not have difficulty with the hiccups. Where to go, that place was just 30 minutes away. Ambulance stopped abruptly after traveling around halfway. On the beach on the beach He knows, his petrol is over.
The patient was on the stretcher, the flies were beating on the mouth
Karachi usually used to be cold. Furious air from the sea flows and the city cools down. The effect of the wind did not feel heat. But that day was probably against everything. Air was missing. Fierce heat and intermittent ambulance on the middle road The poor patient's condition started getting worse. He was already very sick. The heat worsened her. Herds were fluttering over her mouth and her mouth was soaked. But there was not enough strength in the hands to remove the flies. Her sister Fatima and her nurse Dunham, on the face of the fan, continued to hang around. Waiting for the second ambulance, one minute or so, Manind Kachot was in the era. Every passing minute was taking her away from life.
This is the photo of May, 1947. Of Calcutta There was a lot of violence at the time of the split. Getty has written in the original caption of this picture. If there is peace here, then Jinnah and Gandhi will have to visit here together. People will have to appeal to stop bloodshed (Photo: Getty)
What did he say the last thing before he died?
See chance The place where this ambulance was parked, there were hundreds of tents around it all around. The whereabouts of refugees Those who came to the border were saved in some way. Behind his own house, his land and many others had left behind him. They did not even have faith. That he was lying down in the ambulance at some distant distance from him, whose insistence had brought him into this condition. The distribution of the Vatan was made. After the long wait, the second ambulance I. patient was taken to the Governor General's bungalow. The doctors saw him Said, first trip to the plane. Then stay in heat after the ambulance stops. Both of these things did not catch the body of the patient. Because of this, his expectation of living and recovery was greatly reduced. The doctor left the patient with his sister and went to the doctor. The patient was sleeping in deep sleep for two hours. Then the sister saw, she opened her eyes. The head is pointed by a blow. Your close is called close. With great emphasis, there is a voice in the form of whispering through his throat -
Phati, Godh Hafiz .... La ilaha il Allah ... Muhammad ... Rasul ... Allah
As he said this, his head was peeking at the right. Eyes closed. The person who was dead was Jinnah. Full Name, Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India's British rule. Mountbatten's opinion about Jinnah was very bad. In April 1947, sending a report to the British PM, Mountbatten described Jinnah as "psychopathic" and "irresponsible person of the highest rank". In the photograph Mountbatten and his wife Irina are with Jinnah. This is a photo of August 1947 (Photo: Getty)
Jinnah was very afraid of doctors
Jinnah used to drink about 50 cigarettes daily. Kravan A. This was his favorite cigarette brand. Its smoke absorbed their lungs. Man born in Karachi The whole world roamed and came back to Karachi. To Die. Jinnah's death was not a small issue. He left behind all his responsibilities. The people were handed over to the hands of the wrong people. There were many diseases in them. TB Bronchitis The heart was too weak The lung cancer was in their possession. Sister always insisted If that's sick, get treatment. But Jinnah was afraid of doctors. Due to treatment, they were afraid to eat medicines. They often try to prove that Doctor Confucius lives. One tells something. The other says something else. Jinnah used to say That they do not have a doctor at all. That they are afraid of handing themselves over to the doctors.
This is the historic photo taken on 3 June 1947. Mountbatten is with Nehru and Jinnah It was talking about the plan for partition of India. Jinnah did not agree with this plan. But Mountbatten warned them in a way. Apart from accepting this plan, they have no other choice (Photo: Getty)
Still not left a cigarette
The weakening of the disease kept his body repeatedly. Keep answering But Jinnah kept on wearing suits boots and went into functions. Keeping the sick body hidden behind a false smile They also have to struggle to get up from bed All the energy of the body puffed up. But they pretended to be fine. Did not look hungry. Lying on the bed for life, Jinnah, who slept in deep sleep, was passing through the night. But he stuck on his insistence on not being treated. Keep working for fourteen-fourteen hours everyday. Then when he agreed to get treatment, it was too late. The body had reached this stage whether it gave nectar, but would not be okay. Jinnah repeatedly told her sister Fatima There are so many important things that they can not afford to apologize. They


Change is inevitable, and for the retail industry this has never been truer than it is now. Many observers bill the recent turbulence as some sort of meltdown or apocalypse, but in reality it's more like the beginning of a new era – one that may lead major retail companies to shift their strategy in unconventional, seemingly odd ways.
And this week we are seeing more evidence of those retail changes take shape. First, leading fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom and the following day, Apple. Both brands are zeroing in on a key factor that's helped other industries, like travel and restaurants, not only succeed but also grow. That factor is experience, and it's something that smart retailers know needs to be sold much like goods on a shelf.
Apple proved this without a doubt during its latest product release event. While most following the news were focused on the details of the company's next iPhone models, the event kicked off with an update about what's to come for brick-and-mortar store locations, which SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts referred to as Apple's "largest products." She previously referred to Apple Retail as more town hall gathering spaces, and that's exactly what they'll become in many major cities. People can come in to take classes on how to sharpen their photography skills (which is handy since Apple's new iPhone 8 seems to pack a professional-worthy smartphone camera), executives can gather for meetings, or the community can assemble to watch a video or movie on a large projector screen.
Apple has always sold experience – but selling that experience with a brick-and-mortar store requires some adjusting. (So much so that Ahrendts joked may cause people to forget it actually sells products there.) It's just that now, the company is committed to extending the experience its customers have well beyond the purchase of a device – and in doing so building loyalty.
But it's not just Apple who understands this trend. This week Nordstrom also announced plans for a new concept store – Nordstrom Local – that won't stock apparel for casual foot traffic shopping. Instead, the store concept will offer free consultations from style assistants. Customers can choose the clothing they're interested in online, and book an appointment to try them on. Additionally, these concept stores will also have hair stylists and other amenities usually found at a day spa.
Retail's future may seem weird and unconventional at first, but before you realize it you'll wonder how you ever managed to buy anything sifting through racks and browsing shelves with only a vague idea of what you intended to buy – and without the assist of your smartphone.


text:
What I'm Reading: Christina Lauren Romances
I recently read two Christina Lauren romances back to back: her newest, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, and one of her bestsellers, Dating You/Hating You. After reading both, I certainly understand the hype. Lauren's books are fun, breezy, modern romances. I flew through both and really enjoyed them.
I dropped the ball a bit so I don't have photos of the books here. One, because my copy of Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating is an advanced copy I got from the publisher, so I didn't want to take a photo of it. And two, I got Dating You/Hating You from the library and forgot to take a photo before I returned it. So you're left with only my words. I'm not sure if it's the case with all of Lauren's books, but both of these were narrated in the present tense and the first person. I think this style kind of spurred me to read the books even faster and with more urgency than I read other novels because I felt like I was experiencing the story along with the characters, which was fun. On the other hand though, I feel like it's difficult to include a lot of setting and backstory when you're writing in the present tense, so these books were a bit light on that, particularly Dating You/Hating You. But depending on what you're looking for, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
First, into Josh and Hazel. Josh and Hazel knew each other in college then cross paths years later when Hazel becomes best friends with Josh's sister. Shortly after, Hazel decides she will also be Josh's best friend, and the two decide to set each other up on a series of blind double dates. If I had to pick one word to describe this book, it would be sweet. Both Josh and Hazel were incredibly endearing and relatable and I liked them both equally, which is rare for me in a romance. Hazel is a proud oddball, a fact that the reader is told over and over again, but to a good end—the emotional payoff that results is heart-wrenching. Josh is a pretty average guy, but perfectly kind and delightful. Unlike many romance heroes, Lauren didn't force any terrible qualities on Josh, and it was refreshing to not be frustrated reading a hero who was constantly putting himself down. The sex scenes were rather forgettable, I suppose because there was alcohol involved. Personally, I would have enjoyed a little more detail and a little more fun on that front, given Josh and Hazel's unique yet complementary personalities. Overall, this book was delightful. I did have a gripe with one pretty big plot point late in the book; it seemed like Lauren glossed over what should have been a concern for the characters. But it didn't really affect my enjoyment of the book.
Second, Dating You/Hating You. This book came very highly recommended, and I had to wait a little while before it became available at my library. Evie and Carter hit it off at a holiday party and go on a perfect first date—only to discover the next day that their talent agent companies have merged and they might be competing for the same job. Naturally, hi-jinks ensue. I think my favorite part of this book was Carter; I loved how easygoing he was, how willing he was to talk about his emotions and how readily he recognized and admitted his feelings. I actually think we spent more time in Evie's head than Carter's, and I could have used a little more Carter. But don't get me wrong, Evie was a bad-ass. She was strong-willed, confident and great at her job. And Evie and Carter had incredible sexual chemistry; Lauren really perfectly captured the balance of how two people can be so frustrated with each other yet so attracted to each other at the same time, and it was a lot of fun. Where this book did lose me a little though, was with Brad, Evie and Carter's boss and the book's villain. The way he treated his employees was so awful that it made his scenes uncomfortable to read and pulled me out of the action of the book. I wanted the payoff with him to be more satisfying. But this was a fun, sexy romance that I would recommend.
Christina Lauren is a great modern romance writer. She has a great balance of comedy and drama. I'll probably pause from her for a bit, but only because I'm writing my book in the third person past-tense, so I want to read more of that first. She's delightful and her books are a delight to read!
Posted in: Fun | Tagged: book review, christina lauren, contemporary romance, dating you hating you, josh and hazel's guide to not dating, romance, romantic comedy
Broccoli and Mushroom Mini Quiches
Engagement Shoot, Bridesmaids Dresses and More


text:
Shemar Moore TV Roles
An iconic, enduring soap opera, this is the steamer set in Genoa City, where the Newman and Abbott dynasties stir it up in the bedroom and the boardroom. Best known for long-term love triangles, issue-oriented plots, a multi-ethnic cast and slick production values, `Y&R' has been showered with Emmys, launched countless careers and spawned the equally la (more…)An iconic, enduring soap opera, this is the steamer set in Genoa City, where the Newman and Abbott dynasties stir it up in the bedroom and the boardroom. Best known for long-term love triangles, issue-oriented plots, a multi-ethnic cast and slick production values, `Y&R' has been showered with Emmys, launched countless careers and spawned the equally lavish `The Bold and the Beautiful.' Former cast members include Tom Selleck and David Hasselhoff.
07-15-2019 Tuesday Jul 16th, 9:00am
07-16-2019 Tuesday Jul 16th, 12:30pm New
07-16-2019 Wednesday Jul 17th, 9:00am
Chance's New Investigation Lands Him in Dangerous Waters
Patty formulates a plan for revenge; Chloe gets a new job.
Bryton McClure Devon Hamilton


text:
Dow Jones plunges 1,000 points as inflation fears spook investors
Another day of wild swings in the financial markets saw a loss for the day of over 4%
Larry Elliott and Dominic Rushe
Thu 8 Feb 2018 16.12 EST First published on Thu 8 Feb 2018 13.13 EST
Traders work on the floor of the New York stock exchange on Thursday. Photograph: Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
Wall Street was on Thursday heading for its toughest week in more than two years after fears of higher interest rates led to a fresh plunge in New York stocks.
Another day of wild swings in the financial markets saw more than 1,000 points wiped off the Dow Jones industrial average – a loss for the day of over 4%. It was the third drop of more than 500 points for the Dow in the last five days and the Dow is now down 10% from its peak on 26 January, a fall known as a "correction".
The more broadly based measure of US share prices – the S&P 500 – and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index were also sharply lower as traders reacted nervously to concerns about rising inflation in the world's biggest economy.
What are the Dow's biggest points falls?
1,175.21, 5 February 2018
Growing fears of interest rate rises send investors to the exits after markets had recently hit record highs.
Shares fall again as fears grow that rising growth and inflation will force central banks to raise rates more sharply.
777.68, 29 September 2008
The US Congress votes against a bank bailout bill put forward by the Treasury and Federal Reserve.
733.08, 15 October 2008
Concerns continue despite global bank bailout plans unveiled.
Wall Street reopens after 9/11 terrorist attack.
679.95, 1 December 2008
US economy in recession with concerns about how long it will take to recover.
678.92, 9 October 2008
Markets fall at the height of the global financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the subprime mortgage chaos hit other financial institutions.
665.75, 2 February 2018
Strong earnings figures provide more evidence that Federal Reserve could raise US interest rates more times than expected.
634.76, 8 August 2011
Markets plunge as investors react to US losing its coveted AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's.
617.78, 14 April 2000
Technology stocks are sold off amid fears of growing inflation.
610.32, 24 June 2016
Wall Street reacts to the UK voting to leave the EU.
Photograph: Richard Drew/AP
White House spokesman Raj Shah dismissed the fall saying President Donald Trump was more concerned about long-term trends and the economic fundamentals remained "very strong". Earlier this week Trump tweeted that it was a "big mistake" for markets to fall given the strong growth and jobs numbers.
The trigger for the latest sell-off was a jump in the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds – seen as a key indicator of inflationary pressure and the likelihood of higher interest rates.
Ten-year bond yields climbed to almost 2.9%, with markets speculating about whether they would hit 3% over the coming days.
Rising bond yields – coupled with a strong signal from the Bank of England that an interest rate increase was on the way – added to expectations that the world's major central banks were now firmly on course to wind down the emergency stimulus they have pumped through the financial system since 2009, driving an almost decade-long stock market rally.
Stock market sell-off: five factors that explain the global plunge
"Things haven't quietened down. Things are all over the place. The market is trying to find a bottom to this madness," said Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial Group.
"Now we are having acute attention on what happens in the bond markets, so when yields move up there is an unsettling feeling in the equity market."
The market's main gauge of volatility, the Vix index, fell to 29.82 on Thursday, more than twice what it was a week ago but down off a two-and-a-half-year high above 50 points hit on Tuesday.
Wall Street has already factored in an increase in borrowing costs when the Federal Reserve – America's central bank – next meets in March.
But evidence of rising wages contained in the latest report on the state of the US labour market, which was released last Friday, has convinced the financial markets that interest rates will go up faster and to a higher level than they had previously been expecting.
What are Dow's biggest percentage falls?
22.61% – 19 October 1987
Global markets fall amid growing tensions in the Middle East between Iran and the US, with warships attacked.
Wall Street Crash of 1929 which began the previous Thursday continues on Black Monday as the economy starts to worsen.
11.99% – 18 December 1899
The suspension of shares in Produce Exchange Trust Company prompted fears of a market bubble in industrial stocks.
The Wall Street Crash continues on Black Tuesday.
9.92% – 6 November 1929
Shares continue to fall before bottoming out on 13 November.
8.4% – 12 August 1932
Markets weaken as the Great Depression worsens.
8.29% – 14 March 1907
A run on banks amid a recession led to a financial crisis, which was only ended after banker JP Morgan pledged his own money to shore up the system.
8.04% – 26 October 1987
Continuing fallout from the Black Monday turmoil.
As the global financial crisis continues, concerns grow despite global bank bailout plans unveiled.
7.84% – 21 July 1933
Markets continue to fall during the Great Depression.
Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA
The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, said it was "certainly healthier when markets have two-way risk around prices" after an extended period of calm over the course of the past year. "One hesitates to say welcome but it's not an entirely surprising development," he said.
However, the governor said the banking system was better equipped to deal with sharp moves in the financial markets. "We feel quite strongly that the core of the system is in an entirely different place," he added.
"There is not the amplification from the core of the system by volatility, if anything it will dampen it."
Wall Street began the week with a fall of almost 1,200 points in the Dow, which was half recouped by a big jump in share prices on Tuesday. The rollercoaster week continued when a near-400 point rise on Wednesday was wiped out in the last few minutes of trading.
In the City, the FTSE 100 closed down 108.73 points at 7,170.69, a drop of 1.5%. Since the start of the week, the FTSE has fallen almost 4%, wiping £72bn off the value of the UK's leading companies.


text: Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, better known by her stage name M.I.A., is a British recording artist, songwriter, painter and director of Tamil descent. The moniker "M.I.A." is both a play on her own name and a reference to the abbreviation for Missing in Action. Her compositions combine elements of electronic, dance, alternative, hip hop and world music. M.I.A. began her career in 2000 as a visual artist, filmmaker and designer in West London before beginning her recording career in 2002. Since rising to prominence in early 2004 for her singles "Sunshowers" and "Galang", charting in the UK and Canada and reaching number eleven on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales in the US, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards and the Mercury Prize. via


Since 2009, Alfred Hall, the brainchild of Hans Thomas Kiær (guitar) and Bjørn Tveit (vocals), have been serving straight-up indie dream-pop to the masses – combining the lightness of summer sounds and salty sea breeze, with the sylvan dusk of Norwegian frosted forests.
Even after their second gig ever, the rave reviews started coming in, and with their first single "So Bright", the band quickly became the band to watch out for in 2012. "So Bright" was a hit on international tastemaker radio stations and on Norwegian radio, making way for their album, Wilderness, which was released exclusively in Norway in 2013. In 2014 the band made their first release worldwide with "Alfred Hall EP," followed by the single "The King of Cape" in 2015. . Now they're back again with their brand new 1960s-inspired love song "Quite Some Time", which you can stream below exclusively on Aesthetic Magazine.


Republic RecordsDrake couldn't be "feeling" any better — he's just set the all-time weekly streaming record.
The Toronto rapper's "In My Feelings" earned 116 million streams for the week ending July 19, breaking the record of 103 million set in 2013 by "Harlem Shake" by Bauer, according to Billboard.
The success of "In My Feelings" has been boosted by the viral dance challenge created by Instagram star Shiggy, and last week, Drake thanked the comedian in a video shot at a party in Los Angeles.
Drake has now spent a career total of 41 weeks at the top of the chart, tying Rihanna for the most weeks this decade.
His latest album, Scorpion, also remains at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart for a third straight week, selling 260,000 units for the week ending July 19.


text:
Why Ogg's objections shouldn't stop bail reform in Harris County [Editorial]
Opinion // Editorials
The Editorial Board Sep. 1, 2019
Harris County District Attorney Kim K. Ogg announced that her office has charges two officers in the Harding Street Raid Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, in Houston.
Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg's support for bail reform has been clear since she ran for office in 2016, putting the Democrat in opposition to mostly Republican Harris County misdemeanor court judges. Her position was vindicated in 2017, when a federal judge found the county's bail practices unconstitutional because they discriminated against poor defendants.
For years, the system kept people accused of low-level offenses in jail if they could not pay a bond, while those with means were released. While unfair bail practices are an issue nationwide, the situation in Harris County was particularly egregious. As a Chronicle investigation revealed, judges routinely ordered hearing officers to deny no-cost bail to thousands of poor defendants, regardless of the individual's case, and in violation of state law and judicial standards.
So why now, as the lawsuit is on the verge of being settled by a new crop of officials, all Democrats, does the district attorney want to scrap the long-sought agreement and start again?
Ogg filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the federal court, claiming the deal favors the convenience of misdemeanor defendants without regard to the impact on victims, witnesses and other stakeholders.
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"I object to the settlement as creating a brand-new bail system that isn't the legal relief needed to solve the constitutional problem as it existed," she told the Editorial Board. The new system is "bad for the people's public safety interest, institutionalizes delays, ignores the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure; it lacks any funding for anybody other than the defendants."
Criticism that Ogg waited too long to voice concern seems overblown. Her concerns should not be ignored, even if she isn't a party to the civil rights lawsuit. But in many cases the remedies for her objections are already addressed by the proposed settlement. And her most serious charge, that the settlement violates Texas law, was questioned by legal experts we spoke with.
The district attorney worries that new considerations extended to defendants in the scheduling of court appearances will lead to delays, claiming that someone who exploits the system can reset hearings as many times as they want. This seems to be a misreading of the consent decree among parties, which guarantees defendants just two unchallenged opportunities to reschedule a regular appearance. After that, resets are up to the judge, as they are under current law. There are also real consequences for missing court.
The claim that the decree "institutionalizes delay" doesn't mesh with a central mission of proposed reforms: to minimize nonappearances by making sure defendants can understand and navigate the court system. Ogg's position that delays will inconvenience victims and witnesses doesn't add up, since there are timely notifications for rescheduled hearings. Ogg said herself that misdemeanor cases involve six to nine hearings, so it doesn't seem unfair to allow the defendant to initiate, at the most, two.
Some of Ogg's concern seems centered on how new Democratic judges are administering the law, but if they're too lenient, that's an issue addressed by elections, not a settlement. On funding, the DA points out that the settlement only guarantees money to support services for the defendant and the public defender, while her office will be handling more work with the same resources. If so, this disparity should be addressed by county commissioners when they set their budget.
Ogg should have ample data to make her case. Even though she complains there's been scant assessment of whether new policies are bogging down the system or leading to lower appearance rates, the settlement details how data on such issues are to be collected and shared, with transparency paramount.
In fact, the proposed settlement calls for its implementation to be audited periodically to ensure it's achieving its goals: to stop jailing misdemeanor defendants unnecessarily, to get them to show up to court and to ensure public safety.
The district attorney's concern for victims and public safety is well-intended and judges and county commissioners should listen when she talks. But we don't see Ogg's concerns as grounds for a federal judge to reject a settlement that accomplishes the bail reform that Ogg and others have long sought.
The fact that it also seeks to balance a system that for too long has been weighted against poor defendants only makes the agreement stronger.
The Editorial Board is made up of opinion journalists with wide-ranging expertise whose consensus opinions and endorsements represent the voice of the institution – defined as the board members, their editor and the publisher. The board is separate from the newsroom and other sections of the paper.
Editorial: Is America safe for democracy again? It must be.
Editorial: No excuses. Lawmakers have budget to fund education, health care for Texans in need
Editorial: Impeach Trump. His crimes against America cannot stand.
What's your take?
Submit a letter to the editor here.
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text:
Aftab Alam remanded in judicial custody after his formal trial ended on Friday
Rauthat District Court had begun a formal trial on Alam's case on November 7.
Shiva Puri
Mohammad Aftab Alam has been remanded in judicial custody after his formal trial came to an end on Friday. The Nepali Congress lawmaker was in police custody since his arrest in connection with an explosion and the subsequent murder of at least 23 people in Rautahat 12 years ago.
Gunaraj Parajuli, the registrar of the Rautahat District Court, said that the court has sent Alam to prison after the end of the formal trial. "The judge gave a verdict to send accused Alam to prison on the basis of the evidence available with the court," he said.
After the end of the formal trial, Judge Deepak Dhakal had asked victim Shree Narayan Singh and defendant Alam about the incident. Both of them had presented their own voices to the judge.
On Monday, Gauri Shankar Ram Chamar, one of the witnesses in the trial of Alam, had filed a written testimony at the Rautahat District Court, claiming that he was injured when a cooking gas cylinder went off at his home. However, on Tuesday, Chamar, who is currently under police protection, retracted his statement, saying that he had testified under duress.
The District Court had begun a formal trial on Alam's case on November 7. The Rautahat District Attorney's Office had filed a charge sheet against Alam, demanding his life imprisonment.
Alam was arrested on October 13 for his involvement in a bomb blast in Fradahawa, Rajpur, in the district on April 9, 2008. Police had registered 'attempted murder' and 'holding, transporting explosive materials' charges against him, and he faces charges of burning injured people alive in a brick kiln "to destroy evidence".
Alam was elected to the federal parliament from Rautahat-2 in the 2017 elections.
Shiva Puri is the Rautahat correspondent for Kantipur Publications.
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