text:
Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira
Pesq. agropec. bras. vol.54 Brasília 2019 Epub May 16, 2019
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1678-3921.pab2019.v54.00283
PHYTOPATHOLOGY
Yield losses in off-season corn crop due to stalk rot disease
Perdas na produtividade de milho safrinha em razão de podridões da base do colmo
Rodrigo Véras da Costa(1) *
Jones Simon(2)
Luciano Viana Cota(1)
Dagma Dionísia da Silva(1)
Rodrigo Estevam Munhoz de Almeida(2)
Fabrício Eustáquio Lanza(1)
Bruno Cocco Lago(3)
Alan Alves Pereira(2)
Leonardo José Motta Campos(4)
José Edson Fontes Figueiredo(1)
(1) Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, Laboratório de Fitopatologia, Rodovia MG-424, Km 65, Caixa Postal 151, CEP 35701-970 Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil. E-mail: rodrigo.veras@embrapa.br, luciano.cota@embrapa.br, dagma.silva@embrapa.br, briciolanza@gmail.com, jose.edson@embrapa.br
(2) Embrapa Pesca e Aquicultura, Prolongamento da Avenida NS 10, cruzamento com a Avenida LO 18, sentido Norte, loteamento Água Fria, CEP 77008-900 Palmas, TO, Brazil. E-mail: jones.simon@embrapa.br, rodrigo.almeida@embrapa.br, alanalvesp@gmail.com
(3) Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Avenida Pádua Dias, no 11, Caixa Postal 9, CEP 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. E-mail: bruno.cl@hotmail.com
(4) Embrapa Soja, Rodovia Carlos João Strass, s/no, Acesso Orlando Amaral, Distrito de Warta, Caixa Postal 231, CEP 86001-970 Londrina, PR, Brazil. E-mail: leonardo.campos@embrapa.br
The objective of this work was to assess yield losses due to stalk rot in corn (Zea mays) hybrids, as well as to identify the main pathogenic fungi responsible for the disease during the off-season, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Two field experiments were carried out, one with five hybrids, in 2015, and another with four, in 2016. Ears of healthy and stalk rot-infected plants were collected from each plot, at harvest. Ear size, grain and ear weights, and grain moisture content were measured. From each diseased plant, a stalk piece with two to three nodes was removed for pathogen identification and quantification. The most common pathogens were: Fusarium graminearum, Stenocarpella maydis, and Macrophomina phaseolina. All yield parameters were significantly lower in stalk rot-infected plants, with average losses of 30.6%, in 2015, and of 34.3% in 2016. The highest yield losses are observed in hybrids with the highest grain/ear weight ratio.
Index terms: Fusarium graminearum; Zea mays; lodging; stalk breakage; stem disease
O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as perdas causadas pelas podridões da base do colmo em híbridos de milho (Zea mays), bem como identificar os principais patógenos causadores da doença, durante a safrinha, no Estado do Tocantins, Brasil. Foram realizados dois ensaios, um com cinco híbridos, em 2015, e outro com quatro, em 2016. Espigas de plantas sadias e doentes foram colhidas em cada parcela, por ocasião da colheita. Foram medidos tamanho de espigas, peso de grãos e espigas, e umidade dos grãos. De cada planta doente, foi retirado um fragmento do colmo com dois a três entrenós, utilizado para identificação e quantificação dos patógenos. Os patógenos mais comuns foram: Fusarium graminearum, Stenocarpella maydis e Macrophomina phaseolina. Todas as variáveis de produtividade foram significativamente menores nas plantas doentes, com perdas médias de 30,6%, em 2015, e de 34,3% em 2016. As maiores perdas são observadas em híbridos com maior relação entre pesos de grãos e espigas.
Termos para indexação: Fusarium graminearum; Zea mays; acamamento; quebramento do colmo; doenças de colmo
Stalk rot is one of the most important diseases of corn (Zea mays L.) worldwide (Gatch et al., 2002; Costa et al., 2008, 2010; Cota et al., 2012). It can be caused by many fungi and bacteria, which primarily infect senescing, injured, or stressed plants (Jackson-Ziems et al., 2014). Yield losses caused by stalk rot depend on the aggressiveness of the pathogens and the development stage of the plant (Scott & Griffiths, 1980). Some pathogens, such as Fusarium spp., Colletotrichum graminicola, and Macrophomina phaseolina can colonize the stalk tissues of apparently healthy plants during the vegetative stage, causing reduced grain weight and severe yield losses (Casela et al., 2006; Costa et al., 2008). However, at the end of the reproductive cycle, after physiological maturity, stalk rot usually does not result in significant losses (Jackson-Ziems et al., 2014).
The main cause of yield losses due to stalk rot are the colonization and degradation of stalk vascular tissues by pathogens, hindering the translocation of water and nutrients to the plants (Christensen & Wilcoxson, 1966; Denti & Reis, 2003). Therefore, the premature death of plants, stalk breakage, and lodging are common in areas with a severe occurrence of the disease (Munkvold & White, 1999; Reis et al., 2004).
Several studies have quantified the yield losses caused by stalk rot in corn planted in summer, i.e., in the first-season crop, under natural or artificial inoculation conditions. In Brazil, in the state of Paraná, yield losses from 12 to 40% (Nazareno, 1989) and of 27.3% in the state of Minas Gerais (Cota et al., 2012). However, there is no known information on yield losses due to stalk rot in corn hybrids grown in the off-season.
In the country, corn has been traditionally cultivated in summer, with sowing from October to November; therefore, researches have focused on this growing environment. However, in the last decades, there has been a marked growth of the corn crop cultivated in the off-season, between February and March. Currently, off-season corn corresponds to 69% of the cultivated area and to 68% of the total corn produced in Brazil (Acompanhamento…, 2018). In this context, studies have been carried out to identify better strategies and production systems for the off-season production environment, as well as potential for losses and more efficient measures for the management of pests, diseases, and weeds.
At present, it is well known that stalk rot is closely related to the occurrence of different types of stress during the crop cycle (Darrah et al., 2003). Certain stresses reduce the photosynthetic activity of plants, leading to changes in the translocation of photoassimilates, which reflects directly in grain filling (Dodd, 1980b). These stresses may result in early senescence and in the reduction of sugar transport to roots and stalks, which predisposes plants to fungal infections (Dodd, 1977).
Under the Brazilian climate, the risk of abiotic stresses occurring in the corn crop is greater during the off-season than in the first season. Indeed, the yield potential of corn grown in the off-season is strongly affected by several types of biotic and abiotic stresses, such as frost, drought, nutritional deficiency, and incidence and severity of pests and diseases (Cardoso et al., 2004; Arakaki & Minuzzi, 2016). Therefore, further studies are necessary to assess the potentially greater yield losses caused by stalk rot diseases in the off-season crop.
The objective of this work was to assess yield losses due to stalk rot in corn hybrids, as well as to identify the main pathogenic fungi responsible for the disease during the off-season, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil.
In order to evaluate corn yield losses and the fungi associated with stalk rot during the off-season, field experiments were carried out in 2015 and 2016 in the experimental field of Brejinho farm, located in the municipality of Pedro Afonso, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. According to Köppen-Geiger, the climate of the region is characterized by a rainy summer and a dry winter (Alvares et al., 2013). The average temperature is 32°C in the dry season, from April to September, and 26°C in the rainy season from October to March. The soil is classified as a Latossolo Vermelho distrófico (Santos et al., 2013), i.e., a Typic Haplustox. Sowing was carried out during the second season, under a no-tillage system, on straw from soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] grown in summer. The experimental area was being used for agriculture for more than 15 years.
The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates. In 2015 and 2016, treatments were arranged in a 5x2 and 4x2 factorial arrangement (hybrid x stalk rot), respectively. In 2015, the following hybrids were used: DKB 350 PRO, DKB 390 PRO, LG 6038 PRO, LG 6036 PRO, and Status VIP; sowing was carried out on 2/24/2015. In 2016, the used hybrids were: AG 8690 VT PRO 3, DKB 310 VT PRO 2, P30S31YH, and P3779H; sowing occurred on 2/25/2016. In both years, the areas were previously cultivated with soybean in summer.
The plots were 10 m wide and 20 m long (200 m2), with a 0.5-m distance between rows and a planting rate of three seeds per meter. Base fertilization and nitrogen were applied according to the soil chemical analysis. At harvest, healthy and stalk rot-infected plants were selected in each plot.
The identification of diseased plants consisted in removing the leaves from the stalk base, visually observing external symptoms (discolorations), and pressing the stalk with the thumb and index finger to determine the rigidity of the stalk tissues, as described by Casa et al. (2007). The identification and quantification of the pathogenic fungi species were carried out in the phytopathology laboratory of Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, in the municipality of Sete Lagoas, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. For each hybrid, evaluations were performed in both healthy plants and in those infected with stalk rot.
For the morphological identification of Fusarium species, isolates were grown in BDA medium and incubated at 25°C, under a 12-hour photoperiod, for 14 days. Colony characteristics were analyzed with the support of a stereo and a compound microscope. The morphology of microconidia, macroconidia, conidiogenous cells (phallus), and chlamydospores was observed for each isolate, and the species were identified according to the criteria proposed by Leslie & Summerell (2006). In Stenocarpella spp. and M. phaseolina, identification was done based on the morphological characteristics of conidia and conidiogenous cells, according to Sutton (1980).
Ears of seven stalk rot-infected and of seven healthy plants were collected from each plot and weighed separately. For each sample, the following were determined: ear length, in centimeters; grain weight per ear, in grams; and grain moisture, in percentage. Two or three internode segments of each diseased plant were used to identify and quantify the fungi species causing stalk rot. Small fragments from inside the stalk were aseptically removed, plated on oatmeal (Avena sativa L.) medium (Dhingra & Sinclair, 1995), and incubated under continuous light at 25°C, for three to four days prior to the identification of the pathogens. Incidence data of the fungi species in the samples were expressed as percentage. Data on grain weight per ear (GWear) and ear length (EL) were used to calculate losses regarding both of these traits in healthy and stalk rot-infected plants. A final population of 55,000 plants per hectare and an ear index equal to one were used to estimate the yield potential of the evaluated corn hybrids.
Potential yield, final yield, and yield losses were obtained using the following formulas: potential yield (kg ha-1) = GWear x final plant population x ear index; final yield (kg ha-1) = (GWear of healthy plants x number of healthy plants per hectare, NHP) + (GWear of diseased plants x number of diseased plants per hectare, NDP). The NDP was determined using an estimative of 30% plants affected by the disease per hectare; therefore: 55,000 x 0.3 (incidence of stalk rot) = 16,500 plants per hectare. The NHP was estimated from the NDP: 55,000 - 16,500 = 38,500 plants per hectare. Yield losses were obtained by subtracting the final yield from the potential yield.
Agronomic variables, productivity data, and incidence of stalk rot fungi were subjected to the analysis of variance, applied separately for each year, and means were compared by the Scott-Knott test, at 5% probability, when necessary.
For both years, water balance was calculated for the off-season corn crop, according to Rolim et al. (1998). The climatic data were obtained from a meteorological station belonging to Embrapa, installed in the experimental area.
In both experimental years, for the GWear variable, there was a significant interaction between hybrids and sanity. In addition, all yield variables were significantly lower in stalk rot-infected plants, compared with the healthy ones.
In 2015, temperature and rainfall conditions resulted in a positive water balance, with surplus soil moisture during great part of the corn growing season (Figure 1 A). This allowed for the development of plants without the occurrence of water stress during the critical phases of the crop. In the 2016 off-season, rainfall volume was above the historical average in January, but scarce in the subsequent months. Therefore, unlike in the previous year, temperature and rainfall conditions resulted in a negative impact on water balance, causing water deficit in the soil from February until the end of the corn growing season (Figure 1 B). Consequently, the corn plants were subjected to long-term drought stress during crucial periods of plant development, primarily during the flowering stage.
Figure 1. Soil water balance evaluated every 5 days from January to July, in 2015 (A) and 2016 (B), for corn (Zea mays) cultivated as an off-season crop in the experimental area in the municipality of Pedro Afonso, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil.
A high incidence of stalk rot disease was also observed in both years, in most of the hybrids. The magnitude of the quantified losses evidences the importance of this disease as a limiting factor for the off-season corn crop. It should be noted that none of the hybrids showed resistance to stalk rot fungi under the studied conditions.
All productivity variables evaluated were reduced by disease incidence. GWear averages in healthy and diseased plants, respectively, were 204.5 and 141.2 g, in 2015, and 184.9 and 121.3 g in 2016 (Table 1). Therefore, average losses in GWear were 30.6 and 34.3% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Average ear size was reduced in approximately 17% in stalk rot-infected plants. These results were not compared with those of the literature since, up to date, there is no known information on losses due to the disease in the off-season, although losses in variables caused by stalk rot in the summer crop have been reported.
Table 1. Grain weight per ear (GWear), ear length (EL), grain moisture (GM) content, and GWear and EL losses of healthy and stalk rot-infected corn plants (Zea mays), in the 2015 and 2016 off-seasons(1).
Treatment GWear (g) Ear length
(cm) Grain moisture
(%) Losses (%)
Healthy plants Infected plants GWear EL
2015 off-season
LG 6036 PRO 231.0Ca 146.7Bb 13.8b 21.1a 36.5c 21.4a
LG 6038 PRO 207.2Ba 143.3Bb 14.2b 20.4a 30.8b 19.8a
DKB 390 PRO 205.0Ba 142.5Bb 15.4c 21.9a 30.5b 21.5a
Status VIP 203.0Ba 145.0Bb 14.7c 23.6b 28.5a 18.9a
DKB 350 PRO 176.2Aa 128.8Ab 12.6a 21.5a 26.9a 20.4a
Healthy plants - - 15.6b 23.1b
Infected plants - - 12.7a 20.2a - -
Coefficient of variation (%) 9.2 5.7 4.5 9.1 6.3
AG 8690 VT PRO 3 202.9Ca 125.7Ab 19.6b 13.2b 38.0c 17.4b
DKB 310 VT PRO 2 183.9Ba 120.1Ab 16.4a 13.7b 34.7b 12.6a
P30S31YH 177.7Aa 116.7Ab 20.0b 14.3a 34.3b 18.2b
P3779H 175.3Aa 122.9Ab 19.3b 14.4a 30.0a 17.9b
(1)Means followed by equal letters, uppercase in the columns and lowercase in the rows, do not differ by the Scott-Knott test, at 5% probability.
According to Denti & Reis (2003), the incidence of stalk rot in corn in Southern Brazil varied from 40 to 45% between the 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 summer crop seasons, with average damages of 678 and 1,151 kg ha1, respectively. According to these authors, the greatest damages were observed in areas of corn monoculture, which allowed a fast increase in the inoculum potential of stalk rot fungi. Also in the Southern region of the country, Nazareno (1989) recorded stalk rot incidence ranging from 15 to 85%, with yield losses from 12 to 40%. In experiments with inoculation of C. graminicola on stalks of different corn hybrids, also in Brazil, Cota et al. (2012) verified an average reduction of 25.6 to 27.8% in grain weight.
In his classic work, White et al. (1979), after summarizing the results of several experiments, concluded that the magnitude of the losses due to stalk rot in corn yield are highly dependent on genotype and environmental conditions, as also verified in the present work. In 2015, the GWear average of LG 6036 PRO was significantly superior to that of the other hybrids (Table 1). The lowest GWear value was found for the DKB 350 hybrid, while the other ones did not differ significantly. The highest loss of 36.5% was verified for LG 6036 PRO, which differed significantly from the other hybrids (Table 1); and the lowest losses of 28.5 and 26.9% were obtained for Status VIP and DKB 350 PRO.
Up to now, efforts have been applied in the search for resistance to different fungi separately, including, for example, C. graminicola (Carson & Hooker, 1981; Toman Jr. & White, 1993; Nicoli et al., 2016), Gibberella zeae (Yang et al., 2010), Diplodia zeae (Kappelman & Thompson, 1966), M. phaseolina (Diourte et al., 1995), and Pythium inflatum (Yang et al., 2005). However, the use of genetic resistance for the management of stalk rot is greatly hampered by the involvement of several fungi species and their concomitant occurrence in the field.
Furthermore, several studies have reported variability in the response of corn hybrids to the disease. According to Jackson-Ziems et al. (2014) and Vincelli & Hershman (1985), stalk rot is more common and severe in more productive hybrids, which produce larger and heavier ears. During periods with reduced leaf area due to disease or water stress, heavier ears tend to "cannibalize" stalk carbohydrates, weakening tissues and predisposing them to stalk rot fungi. The results obtained in the present work are in alignment with those of the cited authors. In both experimental years, the greatest losses were observed in hybrids that presented the greatest productive potential, i.e., the greatest GWear. In 2015, the LG 6036 PRO hybrid, with the greatest GWear of 231 g, had the greatest loss of 36.5% (Table 1). The lowest absolute GWear of 176.2g was recorded for DKB 350 PRO, whose loss was also low, of 26.9%. In 2016, the AG 8690 VT PRO 3 hybrid reached the highest GWear average of 202.9 g, with a loss of 38%. The P3779H hybrid had the lowest GWear mean of 175.3 and the lowest loss of 30%.
There was no significant interaction between hybrids and sanity for the EL variable in any of the experimental years. The average reduction in ear size in stalk rot-infected plants was 18.6 and 15.4%, in 2015 and 2016, respectively (Table 1). No correlation was observed between reduction in GWear and EL, since, in some hybrids, the heaviest ears were not the largest. According to Vincelli & Hershman (1985), losses caused by stalk rot occur due to the premature death of plants, which results in lower grain filling and, consequently, in lighter grains. The results obtained in the present study are in agreement with these findings. This was the case for LG 6036 PRO, which had heavier but smaller ears, and for DKB 390 PRO, which had larger but lighter ears.
The greatest losses, therefore, were associated with hybrids that developed heavier ears, not larger ones. This fact was also evident when potential and final yield means were analyzed. The highest yield potential of 12,707 kg ha-1 (Table 2) was achieved by the LG 6036 PRO hybrid, and the lowest of 9.692 kg ha-1 by DKB 350 PRO. The other hybrids did not differ significantly. The same ranking was observed for final yield and yield loss. Therefore, losses were greater in hybrids that showed the greatest productive potential. These results are related to how stalk rot acts on plants, reducing grain filling and their cycle, which explains the more pronounced effect of stalk rot on hybrids with a greater productive potential.
Table 2. Potential yield, final yield, and yield losses of corn (Zea mays) hybrids due to stalk rot in experiments conducted in the 2015 and 2016 off-seasons(1).
Treatment Potential yield Final yield Yield loss
------------------------(kg ha1)------------------------
DKB 350 PRO 9,692a 8,909a 782a
DKB 390 PRO 11,278b 10,247b 1,031b
LG 6038 PRO 11,399b 10,345b 1,054b
Status VIP 11,169b 10,211b 957b
LG 6036 PRO 12,707c 11,317c 1,390c
Mean 11,249 10,206 1,043
P3779H 9,641a 8,674a 863a
P30S31YH 9,776a 8,776a 1,007b
DKB 310 VT PRO 2 10,114a 9,061a 1,052b
AG 8690 VT PRO 3 11,159a 9,884b 1,272c
Mean 10,173 9,100 1,049
(1)Means followed by equal letters do not differ by the Scott-Knott test, at 5% probability.
According to Dodd (1980a), a greater number of grains or heavier ears represents an increase in drain size, resulting in a greater translocation of carbohydrates to ears in detriment of stalks and roots, predisposing the plants to stalk rot fungi. These fungi degrade vascular tissues, compromising the translocation of water and nutrients from soil to the shoot of plants, causing their premature death and decreases in their yield potential and grain quality (Casa et al., 2007; Khokhar et al., 2014). In the present study, the lower moisture content of the grains of infected plants (Table 1) indicates early senescence due to stalk rot fungi; on average, grain moisture content was reduced in 10% in infected plants.
The high productive potential and final yields observed in the present work exceed the values usually obtained in the off-season crops in the region. However, it should be pointed out that, for the purpose of this study, other causes of losses that normally occur in the off-season, such as those due to climatic stresses, pests, foliar disease, and nutritional deficiencies, were not considered.
In normal conditions, the main risk in off-season cultivation in the Brazilian Cerrado is related to water deficit, since the rainy season ends during the flowering and grain-filling stages. In these cases, water deficiency is detected from the end of April to the beginning of May, as observed in the water balance for 2015 (Figure 1 A). This explains the need to sow corn as soon as possible after harvesting of the summer crop, in order to avoid drought in the reproductive phases. It should be highlighted that the period and magnitude of water deficiency were greater in 2016 due to the rainfall volumes that were above average only in January, followed by dry months. This can be explained by the occurrence of a strong "El Niño" in 2016, which reduced precipitation volume and caused higher temperatures in those months, leading to greater stalk rot losses during the year.
When comparing two cultivars with similar productive potential during both experimental years, i.e., DKB 350 PRO in 2015 and P30S31 YH in 2016 (Table 2), greater losses were observed in the latter, 26.9 vs. 34.3%, respectively (Table 1). This agrees with the concept that photosynthetic stress/translocation balance predisposes corn to stalk rot (Dodd, 1977), since, under stress condition, there is a marked reduction in plant photosynthetic capacity, which changes the translocation balance of photoassimilates, removing sugars from the stalk and directing them to the grains. Therefore, the greatest losses observed in 2016 are probably related to the occurrence of water stress, which predisposed the plants to pathogen infections. According to Leopold (1961), in areas where corn nutritional demand is adequately supplied and the demand and supply of carbohydrates to stalks and ears is balanced, there is a reduction in stalk rot incidence or a delay in the appearance of symptoms on plants.
In addition to water deficiency, other stress factors are common during the off-season, such as high nocturnal temperatures and the occurrence of cloudy days during the growing season, which may be responsible for the high incidence of stalk rot in the off-season crop.
The major fungal pathogens isolated from the stalk rot sampled in 2015 were F. graminearum, Stenocarpella maydis (Syn. Diplodia maydis), and M. phaseolina, with average frequencies of 65.6, 48.9, and 10%, respectively (Figure 2). The LG 6036 PRO, DKB 350 PRO, and DKB 390 PRO hybrids showed a high prevalence of F. graminearum, with an average incidence of 94, 67, and 67%, respectively. However, in the LG 6038 PRO and Status VIP hybrids, the prevalent fungus was S. maydis, with incidences of 71 and 60%, respectively. In 2016, the predominant species were M. phaseolina and F. graminearum (Figure 2). In all hybrids, the frequency of M. phaseolina was significantly higher than that of F. graminearum; the fungus S. maydis, however, was not detected. These results agree with the literature, showing the importance of these fungi species as causing agents of corn stalk rot in Brazil. The main fungi species detected in a survey of stalk rot fungi in the Southern region of the country were C. graminicola and F. graminearum (Denti & Reis, 2003). Moreover, other species, such as D. maydis, Diplodia macrospora, Fusarium moniliforme, and Fusarium subglutinans, were also identified. Similar results were obtained in other studies (Fontoura et al., 2006; Mir et al., 2018).
Figure 2. Incidence of stalk rot fungi in corn (Zea mays) hybrids cultivated in the off-season in 2015 and 2016. Bars followed by equal letters do not differ by the Scott-Knott test, at 5% probability. Capital letters compare fungi incidence in each hybrid, and lowercase letters, incidence between hybrids.
The predominance of stalk rot fungi is directly related to the plant genotype and to prevailing climatic conditions. Therefore, the prevalence of M. phaseolina in 2016 is probably due to the prolonged periods of drought and high temperatures recorded during most of the corn cycle. According to Kendig et al. (2000), the occurrence of M. phaseolina is strongly related to dry and hot periods during the growing cycle of the crop. Bandara et al. (2015) pointed out that prolonged exposure to drought stress and high temperatures during the grain-filling stage increase the incidence of stalk rot by M. phaseolina. However, stalk rot by Fusarium spp. is typically more severe when those stresses are followed by moisture conditions and mild temperatures near physiological maturation (Zummo, 1980). In 2015, with climatic conditions closer to the normality for the region, i.e., higher humidity and milder temperatures than in 2016, F. graminearum and S. maydis predominated.
Stalk rot is an important factor limiting the yield of the off-season corn (Zea mays) crop.
Corn hybrids with greater yield potentials suffer the greatest yield losses, probably due to the greater drain force of their ears.
The occurrence of water stress favors the incidence of the disease, causing greater yield losses.
The main stalk rot fungi identified in the off-season of corn cultivated in the state of Tocantins, Brazil, are: Fusarium graminearum, Stenocarpella maydis, and Macrophomina phaseolina.
To Embrapa Aquicultura e Pesca and to Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, for financial support.
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DENTI, E.A.; REIS, E.M. Levantamento de fungos associados às podridões do colmo e quantificação de danos em lavouras de milho do Planalto Médio Gaúcho e Campos Gerais do Paraná. Fitopatologia Brasileira, v.28, p.585-590, 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-41582003000600001. [ Links ]
DHINGRA, O.D.; SINCLAIR, J.B. Basic plant pathology methods. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1995. 434p. [ Links ]
DIOURTE, M.; STARR, J.L.; JEGER, M.J.; STACK, J.P.; ROSENOW, D.T. Charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) resistance and the effects of water stress on disease development in sorghum. Plant Pathology, v.44, p.196-202, 1995. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3059.1995.tb02729.x. [ Links ]
DODD, J.L. A photosynthetic stress-translocation balance concept of corn stalk rot. ANNUAL CORN AND SORGHUM RESEARCH CONFERENCE, 32., 1977, Chicago. Proceedings. Washington: American Seed Trade Association, 1977. p.122-130. [ Links ]
DODD, J.L. Grain sink size and predisposition of Zea mays to stalk rot. Phytopathology, v.70, p.534-535, 1980a. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-70-534. [ Links ]
DODD, J.L. The role of plant stresses in development of corn stalk rots. Plant Disease, v.64, p.533-537, 1980b. [ Links ]
GATCH, E.W.; HELLMICH, R.L.; MUNKVOLD, G.P. A comparison of maize stalk rot occurrence in Bt and non-Bt hybrids. Plant Disease, v.86, p.1149-1155, 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.2002.86.10.1149. [ Links ]
FONTOURA, D. da; STANGARLIN, J.R.; TRAUTMANN, R.R.; SCHIRMER, R.; SCHWANTES, D.O.; ANDREOTTI, M. Influência da população de plantas na incidência de doenças de colmo em híbridos de milho na safrinha. Acta Scientiarum. Agronomy, v.28, p.545-551, 2006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4025/actasciagron.v28i4.896. [ Links ]
JACKSON-ZIEMS, T.A.; REES, J.M.; HARVESON, R.M. Common stalk rot diseases of corn. Lincoln: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, 2014. 8p. EC1898. [ Links ]
KENDIG, S.R.; RUPE, J.C.; SCOTT, H.D. Effect of irrigation and soil water stress on densities of Macrophomina phaseolina in soil and roots of two soybean cultivars. Plant Disease, v.84, p.895-900, 2000. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.2000.84.8.895. [ Links ]
KAPPELMAN, A.J.; THOMPSON, D.L. Inheritance of resistance to Diplodia stalk-rot in corn. Crop Science, v.6, p.288-290, 1966. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci1966.0011183X000600030022x. [ Links ]
KHOKHAR, M.K.; HOODA, K.S.; SHARMA, S.S.; SINGH, V. Post flowering stalk rot complex of maize - present status and future prospects. Maydica, v.59, p.226-242, 2014. [ Links ]
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LESLIE, J.F.; SUMMERELL, B.A. The Fusarium laboratory manual. Ames: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 388p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470278376. [ Links ]
MIR, Z.R.; SINGH, P.K.; ZAIDI, P.H.; VINAYAN, M.T.; SHARMA, S.S.; KRISHNA, M.K.; VEMULA, A.K.; RATHORE, A.; NAIR, S.K. Genetic analysis of resistance to post flowering stalk rot in tropical germplasm of maize (Zea mays L.). Crop Protection, v.106, p.42-49, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2017.12.004. [ Links ]
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NICOLI, A.; ZAMBOLIM, L.; COSTA, R.V. da; GUIMARÃES, L.J.M.; LANZA, F.E.; SILVA, D.D. da; COTA, L.V. Identification of sources of resistance to anthracnose stalk rot in maize. Ciência Rural, v.46, p.1885-1890, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20151052. [ Links ]
REIS, E.M.; CASA, R.T.; BRESOLIN, A.C.R. Manual de diagnose e controle de doenças do milho. Lages: Graphel, 2004. 141p. [ Links ]
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SANTOS, H.G. dos; JACOMINE, P.K.T.; ANJOS, L.H.C. dos; OLIVEIRA, V.A. de; LUMBRERAS, J.F.; COELHO, M.R.; ALMEIDA, J.A. de; CUNHA, T.J.F.; OLIVEIRA, J.B. de. Sistema brasileiro de classificação de solos. 3.ed. rev. e ampl. Brasília: Embrapa, 2013. 353p. [ Links ]
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TOMAN JR., J.; WHITE, D.G. Inheritance of resistance to anthracnose stalk rot of corn. Phytopathology, v.83, p.981-986, 1993. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-83-981. [ Links ]
VINCELLI, P.; HERSHMAN, D.E. Corn stalk rots. Kentucky: University of Kentucky, 1985. 5p. (Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications, 42). [ Links ]
MUNKVOLD, G.P.; WHITE, D.G. (Ed.). Compendium of corn diseases. 3rd ed. St Paul: APS Press, 1999. 78p. [ Links ]
WHITE, D.G., YANNEY, J.; NATTI, T.A. Anthracnose stalk rot. In: ANNUAL CORN AND SORGHUM RESEARCH CONFERENCE, 34., 1979, Chicago. [Washington]: American Seed Trade Association, 1979. p.1-15. [ Links ]
YANG, Q.; YIN, G.; GUO, Y.; ZHANG, D.; CHEN, S.; XU, M. A major QTL for resistance to Gibberella stalk rot in maize. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, v.121, p.673-687, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-010-1339-0. [ Links ]
YANG, D.E.; JIN, D.M.; WANG, B.; ZHANG, D.S.; NGUYEN, H.-T.; ZHANG, C.L.; CHEN, S.J. Characterization and mapping of Rpi1, a gene that confers dominant resistance to stalk rot in maize. Molecular Genetics and Genomics, v.274, p.229-234, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-005-0016-5. [ Links ]
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Received: November 03, 2017; Accepted: April 26, 2018
*Corresponding author: rodrigo.veras@embrapa.br
Caixa Postal 040315
70770-901 Brasília DF Brazil
pab@embrapa.br


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text:
Razee Wear
Razee-TV
Verbal Hotel Rooms
dia-BLOG-ical
All Day, All Night, All Razee
Razee Ink on Twitter
Artwanted
Razee
dia-BLOGs
Lewiston Laughingstock and Other Works
Lewiston Laughingstock
Lewiston Library
after visiting Trinity Church
for lunch
and the cop shop
looking for a referral
for a bed at Saint Martin's.
I really need to get back into
Hope Haven Gospel Mission
after being evicted from
Hebron again
by the psycho schoolteacher
with the daughter who cuts herself.
Hitched back into town
along Highway 119
seven times running
a ride been provided.
This morning, it was in a dump truck
who dropped me off at Home Depot
in Auburn, two miles down the road.
Strolling into Kennedy Park,
after walking into Lewiston,
I find Tim working his community service
picking up huge wood chunks
in a day-glow vest.
At Trinity Church,
there is Joey
slouching on a couch
next to the television,
where I have some coffee
and chocolate chip muffins.
There is Vicky
the kind woman who gave me
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
that first day in the park.
Off on another day and adventure
after she kicked me to the highway again
I really need to stop playing this game
and let her just die in her beer can.
As the Other staggers
drunkenly into the aisles
of the Academy,
strips off her clothes
and passes out on the floor.
In the darkness,
me, myself and eye
steal and identify
secrets, whispers
and lost promises.
Immense pile of filth,
says the Green Pope
if you make bombs
you are not Christian
but probably a capitalist.
always and never
the right thing
but it is always something.
Stop Reminding Me That I Hate You
The day that my spirit animal left me
she disconnected
stopped saying anything
terror came home and made herself comfortable
The signs say go home and be miserable
and you are already home.
There are no more promises to keep
I think you told me about my serving
an ultimate and intimate resolution.
I never said that I couldn't be there for you
I never said that I would be there for you.
All of these promises never kept
this year has been a lie and a worry
about pregnancy and hypocrisy.
Nightmares never leave, they just gain character.
I hate you for loving me this much
I wish you had let go
a long time ago.
Anyway, I thought that I would call
scream a few times out of the window.
I always remind me of everything that makes you.
Be well, all covered in skin and promises
I never lied because you are never old enough.
Tears drip sand promises never kept
if there is anything that I wish
I did not have to show you
I know that there is one thing-
another kiss could have been a promise.
Bubblegum promises fed on corn and a bigger city
calamity is not so difficult to speel
if you are a bee or a cast
spell maker.
No absolutes that I could mean
get any better
you be you
and I love you more.
The mourning bells are singing worldwide
today, there is nothing better to do than die.
I will never do anything bad again.
Promises promises and all you keep are letters
left behind in the carry-on compartment
of your heart and other emotional baggage.
Spitwads are not free speech.
Say you love me like you mean it.
I hate you anyway.
The adventure has become bothersome,
with the cannibalization and pontification
of sorrow and the loss
that comes with destroying the love of your life.
She will participate in a couple Take Back the Night parades,
and he will write a few poems.
Everything will go back to where it was
before and after the events look like each other.
Passion stopped being worth the discourse
about 100 broken hearts ago.
you like it, you bastard
You thrive on it.
Stop reminding me that I hate you.
There are no promises about sex. I told you that!
Scrubbing out the museum of lost love lives, we realized that you were the pinball queen acid wizard. Our promise is spelled out like this: Teethmark Clever Envy, and a slice of pie, oven baked, once a week. A Circus has no Chains. Sleeping in the hammock of your cobweb-haired Dragqueen Cowboy, you find yourself secure, locked in the safe behind the painting, hanging in the library.
The porn star and the political satirist meet for drinks in a dark bar with Grateful Dead posters and photographs of hippies on the wall. They order Sancho's Broken Arrow Amber Ale, because they are two-for-one during Happy Hour, 4:20 to 6 in the evening. 420 is the police code for marijuana possession. The date today is four-twenty. Earth Day. Save the planet day, and smoke-out day. How leftist is that? Smoke some grass and pick up a pile of trash. The cat has their tongues.
It started out as a nighttime picnic and ended with her handcuffed to the hood of a 1965 Ford Mustang named Buttercup. Budget Rent-a-Car should have reimbursed her for polishing the hood with her ass. The news is belching full with mass graves named Jenin, and the marches upon the Disunited Estates of ShameriKKKa federal government buildings in protest of the wars. Revolution is dancing in the streets of Kabul, Caracas, and the District of Columbia, today.
Father Phil U. Rupp is a Catholic priest who is also a part-time pedophile. He fits right into the middle of The Root of All Evil. What are the chances that Chad Dangling and Dwight Twilight are the same person? The mystery deepens. How is the text a feminist treatise on women and pornography? What makes the story a politically charged satire of the world-at-large? His pussy runs frantically around the small room, while he begins to take charge of his thoughts. He thinks about the packages that left his hands on Thursday, and wonders about the backlash that will follow. Will he be ignored? No comment. Will anyone have anything critical to say? Who will be the first one to shoot him down from his high of independent publishing, today?
It is called nonviolent civil disobedience. You must not fight back. Turn the other cheek. Father Phil knows all about turning the other cheek for the ecstasy in the Rectory. XTC is a drug that should not be allowed in the hands of children, pedophile priests, or other madmen. I baptize thee in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen. If you masturbate, God will kill a kitty!
Touch it, baby. Break down my promises. Prep me for your punch it in. Stroke me slowly on your words, embroidered on your training bra. What is the definition of right and wrong? I am too embarrassed, but not too nervous to deal with it. Do you ever remember what you mean when you are saying things from the beyond? I hate you. I love you. You are not perfect unless I say so. You hate me more that I could ever love you. How does it feel? Suck. Suck. Suck. The gears of the machine are chasing you, telling you that there is no escape. Give up and stop fighting it. Resistance is fertile.
The procession walks slowly through the rain, their wooden burden slacking the pace up the hill. There is little regard for the pallbearers. Death visits your home and you are left wondering if there is something else left to be said. Tomorrow, I will not be happy that you are dead. Don't disturb us any more. Alice, have you come to ease my pain? Am I worthy of your bath? I don't know, but I guess so. I am looking for a moment's interruption in the new direction. The Northwest Flying Typewriters are coming to a city near you! Pull up on the highway of Lies for a little powwow, right in the middle of the interstate avenue.
She has sugarcoated lips, which are so sweet to kiss. I can be your backdoor man, baby. Just place me on the pedestal and I promise to stay. If you could see yourself now, baby, your secret life hiding your possessions. Pseudo Romeo mourns the death of Alice in Chains, while the rest of us know that Alive means more than Alice. Bury your burning cross in somebody else's yard, Cowboy. I used to get punked and bullied on my block, until I cut a kid's head off, and stuck it in his mailbox.
"Today's religion is tomorrow's superstition" she says with a wicked smile on her face. "It is only a matter of time before we catch you."
Unable to have children, Razmania's extended family joins a traveling freakshow act, which keeps the world mildly entertained for years.
Standing by the window watching Daddy go off to ruin the world, after putting eyeglasses on for the first time a clown zombie…
"Power to the people," chant the protesters. "The whole world is watching." Meanwhile, back at the Last Chance Hotel, Razmania worries.
Ten minutes after the last transmission, the FBI kicked in the door and arrested Mr. Coyote. Torture ensued. Nightsticks were used liberally.
"I am running out of heroes, Razmania. You are in short supply around here, you know?" Nobody returns his phone calls but he is still proud.
"Whatever twists your knot, Peaches." Razmania is looking hysterical. "I will perfume my sheets for you, and make enchiladas!"
"We can hire another producer to edit your show," Mr. Coyote says. "It might be complicated but you are still expendable." Note the lawsuit.
"What camera are you using?" Razmania appears to be drunk. "I hate when I share something beautiful with you, and all you do is stare at me."
Addiction is more complicated than originally believed. Now we just know better. We are in the nicotine delivery business. Note burning car.
Williams Burroughs and Kathy Acker are making love underneath a palm tree in the backstreets of the Dominican Repubic. Yes, Repubic.
"What is the definition of the postmodern dislocative narrative?" She is not really asking, but it looks that way, to the untrained eye.
INTERIOR Basement of the Last Chance Hotel, Mr. Coyote and Razmania are sitting on the couch, eating Girl Shout cookies, and drinking beer.
If you are writing a story on Twitter, how do you write it in reverse, so it is linearly cognizant? There is a line forming outside.
"Freedom? What would you know about freedom? You have never known freedom." She is amping up for a full blown temper tantrum. Hide the guns.
The Screenplay
The end of the world, 23 December 2012
Last Chance Hotel, Toxic City, Distopia in the Razee Universe
Countess Razes/Razmania,
PimpDaddy Longlegs,
Betty Bukowski/Firestarter,
Mr. Coyote-Prankster-Trickster-
The definition of violence, war, battles, competition,
Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, advocacy and human rights, crisis support,
A play within a play
globalization/environmentalism
the role of biased media in our current society
You have to play the game to know why you play you play the game.
What they don't know, they don't want
1. INCITING INCIDENT
Often called the point of attack, the inciting incident is the first premonition of impending trouble, dilemma, or circumstance that will create the main tension of the story. It usually falls at the end of the first sequence. But it can sometimes appear in the first few minutes of a film.
2. LOCK IN
The protagonist is locked into the predicament that is central to the story, which occurs at the end of Act One, This lock in, therefore, propels the protagonist into a new direction in order to accomplish his/her new objective throughout the second act.
3. FIRST CULMINATION
The first culmination generally occurs around the midpoint of the second act and is a pivotal moment in the story but not as critical as the Lock In or Main Culmination. Consider the first culmination as the second highest or second lowest point in Act Two, the second highest hurdle to be faced.
4. MAIN CULMINATION
The final culmination occurs at the end of the second act and brings the main tension to a close while simultaneously helping to create a new tension for Act Three.
5. THIRD ACT TWIST
The twist is an unexpected turn of events in the third act. Without a twist, the third act can seem too linear and predictable. It can also be the last test of the hero.
Try stating your story in one sentence.
It is the end of the world, and superheroes are limping home from a long day at the office.
In this madcap comedy, a merry band of superheroes find love in the afterlife.
Act One:
Scene One:
INT. DEATH CHAMBER IN STATE PRISON
MR. COYOTE IS STRAPPED TO TABLE, FACING AUDIENCE, RESEMBLES CRUCIFICTION.
Do you have any last words, my son? It is never too late to beg for forgiveness.
MR. COYOTE
Just fucking stick the needles into me, and let's get this over with. I have places to be, and people to see.
I'm not worried about ghosts in general, she said. Just the ones that are related to me.
Do you care to share some last thoughts on the subject of redemption?
Every time that I see someone holding up a sign that says "The end is near," I get sad in my heart and wish that I could believe them. Well, Father, that time has come. I can actually believe them.
Scene Two:
Merica was born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, deep in the belly of a penal ship heading to the New World. Her daddy fell overboard on the third day, and on the fifth day, her mama jumped over to join him. Orphaned by the seas, she took to prostitution like a dog to a bone. By the time that she turned 20, she ruled the world.
Scene Three:
I pledge allegiance to the fags
of these Disunited Estates
of ShameriKKKa
and to the shaved pubic
for which we can't stand
one nation invisible
with library cards
and sippy cups for all.
Act Two:
Amazing Disgrace
Dear America,
it is too late for apologies,
but we forgive you anyway,
not for you, but for us.
You are raping all of our women,
the bowl-cut terrorist screamed,
just before he opened fire.
You do not have to do this
was the preacher's response,
but it was too late.
the hurting,
the beatings,
lynchings and murder,
the master's midnight rapes,
the prison sentences,
and the profiling.
Take down the flag,
not because you have to,
but because it is the right thing to do.
It is all about dignity,
and it is never too late.
Act Three:
This postmodern transmedia narrative chronicles the misadventures of PimpDaddy Longlegs, and Betty Bukowski, two love-struck abusive drunks on a path of destruction in Toxic City, in the Disunited Estates of Shamerica.
Narrative is the structure, story is the form.
Standing by the window, watching his father go off to ruin the world, after putting eyeglasses on for the first time, a zombie clown sets out to write a new national anthem.
The Invisible Museum stands naked, attacked by Grandfather Dustbunny and then there was the hired killer, taking no hostages, while Zen butlerhood goes viral and a commercial plays "I told you so." After the heart attack, a talking cigarette falls head over heels in love with a zombie clown named Kerosene.
Transmedia Junkets
Daddy Longlegs Takes a Walk
Betty Bukowski is Dead
An Evening at the Circus Chapters 1-4
Deadend Avenue
Across the street from Kitty's Cathouse is Ugly Bob's Burgers, home of the sloppiest slice of Heaven on this side of the Elysian Fields.
Mask (:45)
Selfish (:45)
Visual Orphans
Electronic Quiver
BlogTV
Spreecast
Razee Radio
Isla del Razes
Pimp Daddy LongEnough on playlist.com
Boot Hill Jihad and the Hangman's Noose
Imagine Truth to be a precious princess, surrounded by bodyguards of Lies. She is suffering from teen-age angst, feeling cock-hungry and arrogant in her white gowns. The thought-police are watching and investigating, waiting for the right moment to strike back. History 'lies agreed upon by the victors.'
Doublethink is the national anthem. Our anti-heroic outlaw is a real estate agent dealing in intellectual properties. What is mankind going to do when God wakes up, one day, and decides to be an atheist?
If Anybody had taken a moment to investigate the murder of Nobody, Somebody would have realized that Anybody could be a suspect in this crime of passion. Of course, Somebody grew paranoid and began looking over their shoulder for Anybody to sneak up on them. Nobody takes a restful nap in the city morgue. The murder weapon turns up in a bridal gown, in the back of a pawnshop. Anybody's fingerprints were all over the weapon of mass destruction. Define the hypocrisy of why Americans has bombs, but no one else is allowed pharmaceuticals. Somebody has come between Nobody and Anybody.
"Be my friend, or I will scare you."
"You are not only a political bully, but also emotionally incorrect. You have a severe case of mind-madness."
"You can make up all the stories that you want, and name our daughters Jenin, you princess-queen of the pathological liar."
"Welcome to Cold Facts Avenue," she says. "My pimp is Mister Crack."
"To be a pimp, you have to be a burgler of psychology," he says. "You have to break into a bitch's head and steal her mind. It's a damn shame, but sometimes you just have to trunk a bitch."
"The overt commodification of sex is less disturbing to the courts than the covert sexualization of art," says the Whore. "The collective fictionalizing of individual identity creates a kind of carnival of passion, a festive space, at once, real and imaginary. I am just another prop in the masquerade."
"Fiction is not an easy way out of anything. Violence is in the mind of the actor. It may not be assumed from the broken glass."
The execution of the Deathrow Kitten is complete. Thieves of identity have kidnapped Truth from her protectors, holding her hostage for a large ransom. Her virginity is a political agenda of property. Intoxicated by passion, she markets herself as a compassionate person, full of hope and love. Her bodyguards of lies protected her for as long as the sedatives were in place, but once that she was out on her own, there was little that could be done to protect the world from her evil experiments. She becomes a Playboy bunny, a playmate in the sexual playground, a pawn in the institution of beauty. Continuing to be emotionally impotent is her job, her name, and her very identity.
"I am paving the Internet Superhighway with my pussy," she says. "I am going to turn your name over to every information gathering agency in my Rolodex, you evil bastard!"
"It was back in '02, when the times were hard, Stagger Lee."
The screaming coming from your room was a bit unnerving, to say the least. We were worried that maybe you had killed someone in there.
Jester's Faux-Pas
The Outlaw and the shellshocked Bombmom hold hands in the church, ignoring the others, even if there is a wedding going on, that of her best friend, who they screwed together, back when they were sixteen. Twenty years later, there are more virgins to be taken, and more screaming that they are the wounded Daddy's Little Victim. He is the arm-twister of Justice, and the hairpuller of Truth.
"My head is above water, but the house is on fire," he says. "I am weeping to keep us from burning."
"You want like Time makes a clock envy," she replies. "You have a relentless bedtime, curfew with the tease-police. This howl is the ranter's revenge, the jester's faux-pas, just waiting to happen. There will be no screaming in the black box, no matter what color that you make it."
"We promise to tear down the fourth wall with explosives, next time," he says. "You think that I am kidding. Look into my eyes, do I look like I am kidding?"
Protect your kittymonkey from the demons crawling out from the petting zoo. There are closet midgets lurking around our ankles, waiting for the perfect Money moment to strike. It feels like Monday, all the time.
It is a photo session for underwhere.
"My ex used to practically ask me to move out, if I went to the grocery store."
Snakeoil Recipe Merchant
The meaning to the meaning of life is mental dishealth warfare and the offers of war for those without mass destruction, but plenty of weapons. We are playing hide and seek with the ghosts and goblins of our imagination. Everybody is wearing masks and neckties, so if they happen to catch themselves about to be beheaded, maybe by the grace of god, they will be spared losing their heads.
"I have been known to lose my head, a time or two," Texorcist says.
"That is what makes you a hothead," Jane Malady, the ideological prostitute, replies. "And a secular humanist. You have lost God's pager number, my man."
"The erotic silence of the snakeoil recipe merchant reminds me of Chrysanthemums thrown from a tinker man's wagon, discovered on the ride to the boxing matches."
"Remind me to have your name added to the international database of Bad News."
"My name means Tangle Candy Flying Southbound in Arabic, didn't you know?" Texorcist says, while absently staring out the window. "You all are making my life into a big publicity stunt, but you can't scare me. I have been hit so many times that war seems friendly. Do I need to remind you that a short path is not through the truth? Have you read my head, Doctor?"
"I was just wondering about that. True anti-socials wouldn't hide, because the remorse wouldn't be there. My ex sounds like Bundy."
"I should not tell you stories before you go to sleep."
"I went to sleep, and the FBI was trying to find me. All because I was framed for narcing on a murder that I was framed for. It was so weird. I was shaking when I woke up."
"Maybe we should make naked pizza, together," Texorcist says. "Sounds like fun, doesn't it?"
"This is a story about a 24-year-old artist that gets sick of society, and proclaims that her home is an independent nation. She declares herself the Queen, establishes a government and imposes laws. Nevertheless, the Pirate is her man, only because he thought she was a slut. He enticed my hormones, awakened my fantasies, and now we are sleeping together," Jane says.
Monday sunrise
time to chase my tail again
after the casino
cutting fruit for six hours with Maria
and walking outside,
the mountain side
exploding in fireworks
and cheering tourists.
Three hours on the bus
up that mountain
high hopes and anticipation
smiles dealt out like gift cards
the chance to win millions
While the drunks pile back on
(one seizes up
like an old engine
and spasmodically
slumps into the aisle)
dead promises and lost hope
crawl back down that mountain
at midnight like Cinderella
carrying her broken ass heel
and her mascara drooling scary.
répondez, s'il vous plaît
razeeink@yahoo.com says:
From: Razee
razee.com
razeeink.com
razeeink@gmail.com
Sent from the Viking
Screaming Circus Midgets of Doom
From Alice's Final Wish Comes True

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Trahison Des Professeurs: The Critical Law of Armed Conflict Academy as an Islamist Fifth Column
3 National Security Law Journal __ (2015 Forthcoming)
95 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2015
See all articles by William C. Bradford
William C. Bradford
Chiricahua Apache Nation
Islamist extremists allege law of war violations against the U.S. to undermine American legitimacy, convince Americans that the U.S. is an evil regime fighting an illegal and immoral war against Islam, and destroy the political will of the American people. Yet Islamists' own capacity to substantiate these claims is inferior to a critical cadre of American law of armed conflict academics whose scholarship and advocacy constitute information warfare that tilts the battlefield against U.S. forces by arguing — against evidence and reason — that the Islamist jihadis a response to valid grievances against U.S. foreign policy, that civilian casualties and Abu Ghraib prove the injustice of the U.S. cause, that military action is an aggressive over-reaction, and that the U.S. is engaged in war crimes that breed terrorists, threaten the rule-of-law, and make us less safe. Rather than lending their prodigious talents to the service of their nation, these legal academics, for reasons ranging from the benign to the malignant, have mustered into the Islamist order of battle to direct their legal expertise against American military forces and American political will. This psychological warfare by American elites against their own people is celebrated by Islamists as a portent of U.S. weakness and the coming triumph of Islamism over the West.
This Article defends these claims and then calls for a paradigmatic shift in our thoughts about the objects and purposes of the law of armed conflict and about the duties that law professors bear in conjunction with the rights they claim under academic freedom. It then examines the consequences of suffering this trahison des professeurs to exist and sketches key recommendations to attenuate its influence of this, shore up American political will, and achieve victory over ISIS and Islamist extremism more broadly.
Keywords: law of armed conflict, legal academy, Islamism, ISIS, terrorism
Bradford, William C., Trahison Des Professeurs: The Critical Law of Armed Conflict Academy as an Islamist Fifth Column (April 23, 2015). 3 National Security Law Journal __ (2015 Forthcoming). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2597971
William C. Bradford (Contact Author)
Chiricahua Apache Nation ( email )
703 517 5719 (Phone)
HOME PAGE: http://williamcbradford.com


text:
Exposure to pollution in Hong Kong is worst in the home, study reveals
It's not just on the city's streets where we are at risk from dangerous PM2.5 particulates – three-quarters of daily personal exposure is indoors
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2097540/exposure-pollution-hong-kong-worst-home-study
Your home may be your refuge in Hong Kong, but not from air pollution. It's probably worse.
Exposure to PM2.5 particulates small enough to lodge deep in the lungs and most harmful to human health have been found to be just as high – or higher – inside people's homes as they are outdoors or during the commute to work on an average weekday.
A two-year study by think tank Civic Exchange and City University, funded by investment bank Morgan Stanley, found that most urban dwellers are exposed to concentrations of PM2.5 during their daily commute that are almost always above average limits set by the World Health Organisation, and generally above readings at the nearest air quality monitoring station.
Breathe easier, Hong Kong is on course to hit global air pollution target
While the Environmental Protection Department's 16 stations can monitor and assess ambient and roadside air quality across districts, the study fills a relatively wide gap in statistics on individual-level exposure to pollution in different "micro-environments".
Co-author Dr Zhi Ning reported finding that people were exposed to air pollution risks not just outdoors but also indoors at home or the office.
"Your 24 hours are spent in different environments," the City University air pollution expert said. "You may think that even if its very polluted outside, you are more safe inside. But it really depends on what that indoor environment is like."
The researchers employed 73 volunteers who carried lunchbox-sized "personal exposure kits" fitted with sensors and GPS, 24 hours a day for a year around the city.
They found that most spent more than 85 per cent of each weekday indoors, which broke down to 42 per cent of the day at home, 34 per cent in the office, 4 per cent commuting and 11 per cent outdoors or in other indoor areas.
Homes were found to contribute 52 per cent of an individual's personal exposure to PM2.5 compared with 13 per cent for offices, 4 per cent while commuting, 18 per cent outdoors and 14 per cent in other indoor areas.
The average PM2.5 concentration measured in homes – 42.5 micrograms per cubic metre – was three to four times lower than outdoors but slightly higher than while commuting and three times higher than in the office.
Factors for the PM2.5 build up in homes, Ning surmised, could range from cooking and the type of gas used to proximity to a construction site or smoking tobacco. And this was exacerbated by poor ventilation and dirty air filters. Offices tended to have better ventilation systems. Flats on lower floors were also exposed to more pollution.
But Ning found little correlation between personal exposure and district pollution. A person who spent more time in better ventilated indoor areas in heavily polluted Sham Shui Po, for example, could have a lower exposure to PM2.5 than the station reading and vice versa.
"Right now we only rely on [the department's] data but they only provide a general, ballpark figure," Civic Exchange research fellow and co-author Simon Ng Ka-wing said.
"It is important to know how much air pollution we are exposed to on a personal level. This would allow us to make better decisions as to when to go or not to go somewhere."
The study recommended the government do more to promote better indoor air quality in homes and implement a comprehensive management programme.
A government spokesman said: "The EPD has been conducting promotional and educational activities, including exhibitions and seminars, to promote practices to achieve good indoor air quality."
Additional reporting by Brian Wong
300 million children breathe heavily toxic air: UNICEF
Some 300 million children live with outdoor air so polluted it can cause serious physical damage, including harming their developing brains, the United Nations said in a study released Monday.
Nearly one child in seven around the globe breathes outdoor air that is at least six times dirtier than international guidelines, according to the study by the UN Children's Fund, which called air pollution a leading factor in child mortality.
UNICEF published the study, "Clear the Air for Children," a week before the annual UN climate-change talks, with the upcoming round to be hosted by Morocco on November 7-18.
The agency, which promotes the rights and well-being of children, is pushing for world leaders to take urgent action to reduce air pollution in their countries.
"Air pollution is a major contributing factor in the deaths of around 600,000 children under five every year, and it threatens the lives and futures of millions more every day," said Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF.
"Pollutants don't only harm children's developing lungs. They can actually cross the blood-brain barrier and permanently damage their developing brains and, thus, their futures. No society can afford to ignore air pollution," Lake said.
Toxic air is a drag on economies and societies, and already costs as much as 0.3 percent of global gross domestic product, the broad measure of economic activity, UNICEF said.
Those costs are expected to increase to about one percent of GDP by 2060, it said, as air pollution in many parts of the world worsens.
UNICEF points to satellite imagery which it says confirms that about two billion children live in areas where outdoor air pollution exceeds minimum air-quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization.
The air is poisoned by vehicle emissions, fossil fuels, dust, burning waste and other airborne pollutants, it said.
South Asia has the largest number of children living in such areas at about 620 million, followed by Africa with 520 million and the East Asia and Pacific region with 450 million.
The study also looked at indoor air pollution, typically caused by burning coal and wood for cooking and heating.
Together, outdoor and indoor air pollution are directly linked to pneumonia and other respiratory diseases that account for almost one death in 10 in children under the age of five, or nearly 600,000 children, making air pollution a leading danger to children's health, UNICEF said.
The agency noted that children are more susceptible than adults to indoor and outdoor air pollution because their lungs, brains and immune systems are still developing and their respiratory tracts are more permeable.
Children breathe twice as quickly as adults and take in more air relative to their body weight.
The most vulnerable to illnesses caused by air pollution are children living in poverty, who tend to have poorer health and little access to health services.
– Better protect children –
To combat these noxious effects, UNICEF will call on the world's leaders at the UN's 22nd meeting on climate change in Marrakesh, known as COP22, to take urgent action to better protect children.
"Reducing air pollution is one of the most important things we can do for children," UNICEF said in its report.
At the government level, UNICEF said steps should be taken to reduce fossil-fuel emissions and increase investments in sustainable energy and low-carbon development.
The agency, noting that air quality can fluctuate rapidly, also called for better monitoring of air pollution to help people minimize their exposure.
Children's access to good-quality healthcare needs to be improved and breastfeeding in the child's first six months should be encouraged to help prevent pneumonia.
Policymakers should "develop and build consensus on children's environmental health indicators," the report urged.
js/bur-vs/jm
Hidden danger: keeping your house clean can harm your kids' health, Hong Kong study finds
Researchers suggest limiting frequent exposure to chemicals to avoid rhinitis
Blocked noses, headaches, sneezing and other allergic symptoms among children in Hong Kong could be caused by household cleaning products, an alarming news study
has found.
Research by Chinese University of Hong Kong – the first to examine such products' health effects on children in Asia – found that frequent use of the chemicals at home could increase the risk of children having rhinitis, or inflammation of the lining of the nose, by between 29 and 97 per cent.
The condition affecting up to 50 per cent of local primary school students could impair their quality of life as well as their scholastic performance, the researchers warned.
How living near a landfill can be harmful to health, especially for children ( Dr Xiangqian Lao, an assistant professor at Chinese University's school of public health and primary care, said the findings suggested it was "necessary to develop healthier cleaning products".
"Parents are also recommended to prevent triggering rhinitis in children by reducing their exposure to chemical cleaning products at home," he said.
The three-year study surveyed over 2,299 students from 21 local primary schools on the use of 14 cleaning products at home.
It found the youngsters were most often exposed to kitchencleaning products, followed by floor-cleaning and bathroomcleaning products.
Children with the highest level of exposure to cleaning products – tallying more than 3.2 hours per week – had a 29 per cent higher risk of experiencing occasional rhinitis, a 97 per cent higher risk of frequent rhinitis, and a 67 per cent higher risk of persistent rhinitis.
Every additional hour of exposure was associated with a 2.1 per cent higher risk of occasional rhinitis, a 3.6 per cent higher risk of frequent rhinitis, and a 1.2 per cent higher risk of persistent rhinitis.
The results suggested the ensuing health effect could be due to one's total exposure to an array of cleaning products rather than to just a single type of product.
But no such associations were observed regarding the use of clean water for daily household cleaning.
Hong Kong children wait more than a year for mental health treatment as list increases to 27,000 (The researchers suggested that common household cleaning products contained harmful chemicals, including propylene glycol, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or EDTA, and volatile organic compounds.
They said their study was in line with others noting the adverse effect of cleaning products, especially relating to various respiratory health outcomes like infections and
wheezing.
The study was published this month in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
According to the World Health Organisation, allergies affect up to 40 per cent of the world's population, and the rate is rising, with allergic rhinitis being the most common.
Hong Kong indoor air pollution so bad it could be making you chronically ill, tests show
Pollutant levels up to 1,250 per cent higher indoors than outdoors, and PM2.5 fine-particle pollution worse than beside some of the city's busiest roads, shock research by Baptist University finds
http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1935398/hong-kong-indoor-air-pollution-so-bad-it-could-be-making-you
The air pollution inside some Hong Kong homes is worse than beside some of the city's busiest roads, tests show. And it could be making the homes' occupants chronically ill, worried scientists say.
Levels of small-particle pollution, known as PM2.5, that can lodge deep in people's lungs were on average nearly 10 per cent higher indoors than the highest level found outdoors.
Levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – carbon-based chemicals that easily evaporate at room temperature – were, on average, over 1,250 per cent higher in kitchens than outdoors. And the median level of VOCs in 27 of 32 homes tested exceeded the recommended maximum level for Hong Kong offices.
One of the researchers said indoor air pollution – from perfumes, cleaning products and cooking fumes – turned the average Hong Kong home into a "mini chemical warehouse".
Studies in other countries have also found indoor air pollution is higher than that outdoors. The situation in Hong Kong could be aggravated by factors such as high-rise living, subdivided flats, a lack of windows and ventilation in some rooms, and restaurants occupying ground-floor premises in residential buildings, one of the researchers said.
The research was conducted by Baptist University's biology department and household appliances manufacturer Dyson. Air quality was tested in 32 homes, with samples taken in their living rooms and kitchens, and directly outside these rooms.
The tests showed the median level of indoor VOCs in most of the homes tested was 345 parts per billion (ppb) compared with 95.5ppb outside the flats. Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department says VOCs should not exceed 200ppb in offices. Kitchen VOC levels were far higher.
"VOCs are consistently higher indoors than outdoors. Even so, the research found that the kitchen VOCs are on average 1,258 per cent higher than outdoors," said Baptist University's Dr Lai Ka-man, who led the research in March.
The researchers' report, citing the US US Environmental Protection Agency, says: "Toxic fumes released from cleaning solvents, deodorants and scented candles are some of the most common indoor air pollutants. Other major indoor air pollutants include gases from cooking, mould, pet hair, pollen and allergens."
The scientists tested for two classes of particulate matter (PM), fine particles resulting from combustion such as that by vehicle engines and power stations. In the home, particulate matter can be produced by cooking and by smoking tobacco. Exposure to excessive levels can lead to allergic reactions of the lower respiratory tract, such as asthma, and to strokes and heart attacks, according to health professionals.
Readings were also taken at seven outdoor locations around the city.
The tests found micro-particle pollution, or PM0.1, was on average 68.5 per cent higher inside homes than outside. (PM0.1 is one-thousandth the diameter of a human hair, and can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream.)
"The highest outdoor PM0.1 was 94 million particles per litre (ppl), recorded at the junction near the Sogo department store in Causeway Bay. The highest indoor sample was a worrying 46.8 per cent higher, at 138 million ppl [recorded in a Tai Wo flat in the New Territories]", Lai said.
Hong Kong has no guidelines on recommended levels of indoor particulate matter, but it is indicative that outdoor readings in busy roadside areas often reach dangerous levels on the air pollution index – levels that, ironically, trigger warnings to residents with respiratory problems to stay in their homes.
Surprisingly, Lai said, indoor levels of PM2.5 were higher than outdoors. Indoor readings were on average 9 per cent higher than the highest reading recorded outdoors, of 369 ppl, outside Sogo in Causeway Bay; the PM2.5 reading in Nathan Road, Mong Kok, one of the city's busiest urban roads, was 363ppl.
Science Daily: Air Pollution Puts the Health of School Children at Risk
from Science Daily:
A recently completed study by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 310 children in 12 schools across the territory found the air pollution level along the traveling routes from home to schools and particulate levels outside school both at a very high level, and most of the school children have lung function weaker than the predicted levels.
The study was done by Dr Hung Wing-tat, Professor Frank Lee Shun-cheng and Ms Lee Sin-hang of the University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. They found that children in only two out of twelve surveyed schools have lung function better than predicted levels, whilst children in the remaining ten schools have lung function weaker than the predicted levels.
The study also found that carbon dioxide levels inside five of the twelve school classrooms are found to be higher than the stipulated good class level of HK Indoor Air Quality (HKIAQ), probably due to the presence of full class of students within the monitoring period.
PolyU researchers also collected information about the traveling patterns of these 310 school children and then monitored the air pollution level along the traveling routes of the subjects. About 48% of school children go to school on foot, the second most popular choice is the school bus (24%). They found that both PM10 and PM2.5 levels in various transportation modes are high.
It is worth noting that PM2.5 levels far exceed the stipulated health levels of WHO safety level of 75 µg/m3 (24 hours average) and the situation in school buses is worst. The total volatile organic compound (TVOC) levels in all transportation modes far exceed the good class level of HKIAQ and the situation in school buses is worst.
The study also found that allergic rhinitis is very common among local school children (ranging from 13% to 59.3% in schools). Allergic rhinitis is found to be related to tobacco smoking household, incense burning at home and molds at home. However, molds and mildews are common (25.9% to 62.5%) in household because of the humid weather.
Children in tobacco smoking households also have significantly poorer lung function. The study found high percentages of smokers in the households, ranging from 25.0% to 69.6%. One of the key findings is that Lung function of school children, FVC and FEV1 are found to be negatively co-related with PM10 levels in classrooms at 0.05 significant levels. It is critical to suppress the level of PM10 in classroom to protect the health of school children.
Pulmonary function tests were conducted on surveyed school pupils to assess their lung function, which was measured by a spirometer in this study.
The above story is based on materials provided by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Lung health in Europe – Facts & Figures
Indoor Air Pollution and Health
Bad atmosphere
Mar 22nd, 2010
by AdminCTA.
Source: South China Morning Post
Life has not been the same since my meeting on Friday with indoor air consultant George Woo. I had always thought of air pollution in terms of grey skies, cross-harbour visibility and diesel fumes. The roadside readings are bad today, so I must stay off the streets as much as possible, my subconscious would tell me. Horror of horrors: I just learned that sitting at an office desk – what most of us do for our working day – can be as bad, perhaps worse, for our health.
Woo has been campaigning for five years to get people to think about pollution in this way. I phoned him after a friend, just diagnosed with allergic bronchitis, wondered whether his cough and itchy eyes could have something to do with the quality of air in his office on Hong Kong Island. The irritations seemed to be worse at peak traffic times. Then my friend smuggled the specialist, his assistant and two pieces of hand-held equipment into the building at 6.30pm for an hour of tests.
Bus Air Con Unhealthy, Say Greens
Joyce Ng – Updated on Mar 09, 2009 – SCMP
A green group has called for the return of buses without air conditioning to improve ventilation after finding the air inside some air-conditioned buses had carbon dioxide concentrations four to eight times higher than that in average outdoor air.
The higher concentrations inside buses could encourage the spread of illnesses such as influenza among passengers, Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-pong said.
His group in December conducted half-hour measurements on eight KMB buses and one New World First bus, which were all air-conditioned. The tests found carbon dioxide concentrations ranging from 824 to 3,144 parts per million (ppm), the average being 1,643ppm. The highest was recorded on a KMB route 15 bus running from Lam Tin to Hung Hom.
None of the readings exceeded the Environmental Protection Department's air quality guideline for air-conditioned buses, which regards an hourly average below 2,500ppm to be good and anything below 3,500ppm not harmful to health.
However, Mr Tam and Medical Association vice-president Alvin Chan Yee-shing said the guideline was too loose. Outdoor air normally had a concentration of 400ppm to 500ppm, Mr Tam said. "The higher the concentration, the poorer the ventilation inside the bus. It makes passengers feel tired and dizzy."
Air-conditioned buses also wasted 5 to 10 per cent of their fuel driving the air-conditioning system, he said.
Dr Chan said the result was "alarming", especially in the flu season; viruses would linger in stagnant air and spread among passengers.
A survey of 517 passengers by the group found 65 per cent supported use of non-air-con buses in winter.
KMB principal engineer Kane Shum Suet-hung said more than half the company's fleet had electronic air cleaners to filter out contaminants. He said the opening and closing of doors brought in, on average, 8,000 cubic metres of fresh air per hour.
Updated on Mar 05, 2009 – SCMP
Some things will need to change as Hong Kong people demand a more healthy living environment. The sooner our government and politicians respond to this, the sooner their popularity will rise. Even during tough economic times, people still want to protect their health. Inaction on this issue cannot be excused simply because "it costs more".
A headline in the Sunday Morning Post sounded a warning: "Parents question decision to build MTR air vent next to school". Parents of students attending Bonham Road Government Primary School are fighting the railway operator's plan to site a ventilation shaft next to the school. The company and government say the shaft acts like a window to improve air exchange and will not spew out pollution.
What is interesting is the concern of parents. A few years ago, such a protest would probably not have happened. Today, people are far more concerned about public health. They are asking questions and demanding answers.
Parents should focus on how far away schools are from major roads; vehicle emissions are a health hazard for everyone, but especially children.
In the US, a school sited within 400 metres of a highway is considered within an air-pollution danger zone. If we were to apply this standard to Hong Kong, many of our schools situated right by busy roads with very high daytime pollution levels would not pass muster. Equally threatening to health is the undesirable "street canyon effect" that traps pollution between tall buildings.
Planners and officials might protest that it is impossible to ensure schools in Hong Kong are sited further away from busy roads because of the high urban density, but this assumption should not be taken at face value. We should at least ask how, in a city like ours, we can protect public health, especially of youngsters whose physical development can be impaired by pollution.
Children are not just miniature adults: they eat, drink and breathe at much higher rates; their growing bodies more readily absorb contaminants; and their developing immune systems make them more prone to diseases and disorders caused by exposure to toxins. Polluting emissions near schools, where children spend many hours a day, pose a huge threat to students' health. Although the science is clear, we have not yet taken public health into account when planning our city.
Turning on air filter systems indoors will help, to a point. But, if the overall air quality is poor, all of us suffer.
In such a dense and built-up city, shouldn't the attitude be "we need to work harder to minimise health risks" rather than "we can't do much about it"? The political will of our leaders is paramount. Very little will change from a "business-as-usual" approach. Much more can be done if they adopt the Hong Kong "can-do" attitude our officials so loudly crow about when it comes to business matters.
For Hong Kong to have a chance to be a healthier city, the Development Bureau (which is in charge of urban planning), the Transport and Housing Bureau and the Environment Bureau first need to work together, rather than stay in their own bunkers. The heads of these policy bodies need to know, through legislation, what Hong Kong's priorities are.
Laws such as the Air Pollution Control Ordinance need to be overhauled so that public health becomes the clear driver for planning and emissions control. Air quality standards must also be drastically tightened to make them at least consistent with modern health standards in science.
The government will argue that it is "reviewing the standards" but, if the whole of the government is not given a unifying vision and mission to make health a top priority through strong policy and laws, it won't be enough.
Parents arise! We owe nothing less to our children.
Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange. cloh@civic-exchange.org


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text:
Jussie Smollett Sentence Date Now Set for March 10
Though Smollett has yet to comment on his guilty conviction, his defense attorney has confirmed plans to appeal.
Shanelle Genai
Jussie Smollett leaves the Leighton Courthouse after his court appearance on March 26, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo: Nuccio DiNuzzo (Getty Images)
It appears sentencing for Empire star Jussie Smollett may have to wait just a little while longer.
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According to ABC News, on Thursday, a judge ordered Smollett to return back to the Chicago courtroom on March 10, though he was originally expected to receive sentencing on that day. Smollett received the news via Zoom as he was currently in New York at the time of Thursday's hearing.
It's been nearly two months since the actor and director was convicted of lying to the police about a staged hate crime that allegedly transpired back in 2019. As previously reported by The Root, jurors found Smollett guilty of five out of six felony counts of disorderly conduct which could result in him receiving a maximum sentence of three years in prison. However, most legal experts expect him to get the minimum of probation and/or a fine plus community service considering the low-level of the crime. Smollett's defense attorney Nenye Uche has also confirmed that they would likely appealing the conviction at a later time.
"We are confident in our appellate system, we're confident in our Illinois Supreme Court," Uche explained at the time per CBS 2 Chicago. "We feel 100 percent confident that this case will be won on appeal."
In addition to his sentencing, Smollett and his time also have the City of Chicago to contend with. As we also told you, the city is currently seeking $130,000 from the actor and musician in an attempt to recoup the expenses related to "resources used [while] investigating allegations that have now been ruled to be false." The filing also requests that Smollett be ordered to pay for "any arising legal bills Chicago would incur in lawsuits against him," as reported by Newsweek.
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The Level 3A Ballsitic Face Mask has been designed to maximize comfort while proviing total front facial protection.
WARNING:This Bulletproof Visor Mask is not intended to protect the users from rifle fire!
Buyer represents that at least 18 years old or the age of majority in the State or Territory in which resides.
Buyer is not a convicted felon at the time of purchase.
We will not sell body armor to any citizen or resident of the State of Connecticut.
Buyer is legally allowed to purchase, possess, and/or use the purchased item(s) in buyer's State/Territory, County/Parish, and municipality, and affirms that such purchase does not violate any federal, state, or local laws.
We make no representations to buyer about the legality of any Purchase of body armor. We makes no representations about the consequences to buyer in the event Buyer buys the body armor in contravention of any applicable federal, state, or local law. Buyer is encouraged to seek qualified legal counsel in jurisdiction if Buyer has any questions concerning about federal, state, or local laws.
We are not responsible for Buyer violation of any federal, state, or local law concerning the Buyer's purchase, use, re-sale, other distribution of any body armor obtained from our shop. This disclaimer applies to any re-distribution within or outside of the United States.
We will cooperate with any federal, state, or local law enforcement agency investigating the purchase or use of body armor by the Buyer.
Buyer is not buying the body armor on behalf of another person in an effort to avoid compliance with these Terms and Conditions or to circumvent any applicable federal, state, or local law.
we will ship out from Hong Kong in international market. International Buyer please confirms that is legally to purchase, use and other condition. And cooperate with customs to customs clearance. Buyer not cooperates with the customs to provide documents or do not pay the customs duties cause can not be delivery, we will not related responsibility.
Although our body armor is tested to withstand bullets, the armor is bullet resistant and not bulletproof. Body armor will not protect someone from injury or death in all circumstances. Body armor will not provide any protection for the parts not covered by the armor. Buyer acknowledges that there is always a risk of injury, including serious injury or death, if struck by a bullet while wearing body armor.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Buyer and heirs, assigns, successors, and agents agree that we are not liable for any injury, including serious injury or death that may occur during the use of our body armor. To that end, Buyer and heirs, assigns, successors, and agents, release, discharge, indemnify, and hold harmless us for any liability from the purchase, possession, or use of the body armor. Buyer and heirs, assigns successors, and agents specifically disclaim any right to any damages from Seller, including compensatory damages, incidental damages, consequential damages, punitive damages, costs, and attorney's fees.
Any statements, images, or descriptions of body gear herein, including all photographic and video depictions, are for informational purposes only, and do not constitute a warranty of the products in any way.
We specifically disavow and disclaim any representation, implied or express warranty, or liability related to the condition or use of the items sold. Every item is sold AS IS and WITH ALL FAULTS. BUYER ASSUMES ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT.
The Terms and Conditions are effective as to the Purchaser on the date of the purchase of the body armor and supersede all prior oral or written Terms and Conditions between Purchaser and Seller. These Terms and Conditions may be updated, revised, or changed without prior notice.