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My Reading Choices
Fiction Essay: A Woman Finding her Cultural Identity with "A Pair of Tickets" by Amy Tan
Poetry Essay: Passive Resistance through "The Whipping" by Robert Hayden
Drama Response Paper: "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov
A Woman Finding Her Cultural Identity
Finding and Relating to your Cultural Identity
A Woman Finding Her Cultural Identity: "A Pair of Tickets" (Tan, 263-277)
Who am I? What kind of history did I come from? Those are questions that seem to be prevalent in Jing-mei's story. As a child, it is difficult to understand culture, family values and why and how a person is the way they are. This story is based upon a woman's own psychological conflict with her cultural background. Liu (Liu, 97) describes cultural identification as "the extent to which group members accept the values and norms of a culture". Jing-mei battles with herself and her family, mostly her mother, with identifying with their Chinese culture. This story is about a woman and her family. She and her elder father are on a trip with "A pair of tickets" to China. Her mother has recently died and she wants to meet her extended family. She finds out that she has two step sisters that she has never met. As she is traveling she goes back to times spent with her mother and how her mother had always told her that "Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese" (Tan, 263 par. 2).
In this story the reader would expect some form of adventure or travel. Just going off of the title alone, the reader expects the author to describe some form of a journey. This story is about a woman's journey, but it is not necessarily about the trip alone. This story is about a woman's self-discovery on her trip. One would expect this story to be a sort of tragedy, but in turn it was a story of inspiration of a woman finding herself and identifying with her family's culture through her long lost family.
Jing-mei has never really felt Chinese, being born and raised in the United States of America. She has never really identified with her family's culture. Her mother used to express their families culture to Jing-mei, but Jing-mei never shared an interest in knowing about her family's cultural background. After her mother dies, and only after she begins this adventure does she begin to realize what her mother meant by those words. Her mother seems to know that Jing-mei will one day open her eyes and realize what it truly means to be Chinese.
"A Pair of Tickets" is narrated in first-person narration. The author is writing as an internal narrator. Towards the end of the story though, the author uses first-person plural when referring to her family and their journey together. Jing-mei is the author, writing this story as a memoir or journal writing. She tells her true life story and shares her personal journey of self and discovery in finally understanding her family's culture.
The main character is Jing-mei. She is a dynamic character. She goes through a change of heart when on her journey of self-discovery. Her father is a large part of the story as well. Jing-mei's father would be considered a foil character. Without his help and explanations of different aspects of her family's culture and life story, Jing-mei would have never found her cultural identity. Her family in China would also be consider slight foil characters as well. They all helped her through her journey of understanding what it is meant to be Chinese.
This story originally takes place on a train in China. Jing-mei and her father travel through many different cities in China, visiting family and ultimately looking for long lost sisters. It is a sort of vacation for Jing-mei and her father, but it becomes so much more than a vacation, it becomes a journey that the two of them are able to share together. The two pair of tickets are to Shanghai, "In my hand I'm clutching a pair of tickets to Shanghai" (Tan, 276 par. 135). Shanghai is symbolic to Jing-mei's family because it is the true setting of the foundation of her cultural identity.
The story is written almost as a documentary or a journal. She describes her trials, her frustrations, fears and her happiness in this story. She learns so much from talking with her father about her mother and the decisions that her mother made when she left China many years ago. Her father opens up to her and gives her information that comforts, confuses, saddens and frustrates Jing-mei. She never really felt like an outcast being bi-cultural, but she just never really embraced her Chinese culture. Traveling through China she is able to embrace her second culture and her family's values and traditions. She learns to open up herself to look at herself and her relationships with her mother and her family and hopefully her future family.
This story refers to the strength of a bi-cultural woman and her self-discovery. Jing-mei wants to learn her family's history and what it is meant to be Chinese. Until this trip, she never really understood what her family's culture and beliefs meant. And, even when she begins to realize her different background, she still may not understand a lot of the culture, but she is finally able to open up to learning about it. At the end of the story, it even shows that not only does she begin to learn about it, even better, she is able to just trust her cultural identity. She discovers what her mother meant by being Chinese. "And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood. After all these years, it can finally be let go" (Tan, 276 par. 142). The theme is family and the bond that a family has through sharing the same cultural identity.
In conclusion, Jing-mei goes through internal conflict over her bi-cultural background. She has denied her Chinese culture for most of her life. She understood that she was Chinese, but never really had the opportunity to embrace it. Her parents tried to express their culture to her since she was a child, but she never showed an interest. It took "a pair of tickets" to finally understand and trust in her true culture. She opened up to not only new family members that she never knew, but she was also able to embrace a whole new, culture, that she is able to just trust in, even without knowing the full value of their culture.
Tan, Amy (1952). "A Pair of Tickets." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th Edition. 2013. 263-277.
Liu, P. H. (2006). "A study of the relationship between adjustment behavior of primary indigenous students and their cultural identification, and achievement in self-regulated learning [In Chinese]." Doctoral dissertation, National PingTung University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Picture provided by: theexpathub.com web. 27 April, 2014.


A version of this appears on Diane Ravitch's blog. I may be prejudiced because I was part of the contract committee. I was intent of winning fewer observations, and I was on the evaluation committee, at least for a little while.
As far as that goes, I was pretty happy with what we worked out.
I have opposed several UFT contracts. The 2005 contract created the Absent Teacher Reserve, which dropped many of my brothers and sisters into a limbo from which there frequently seems no escape. The last one made us wait until 2020 to get money FDNY and NYPD had back in 2010. Our new tentative contract is not perfect, but also has some significant gains.
On the Contract Committee, we sat as big shots from the DOE told us they were not remotely interested in improving class sizes for NYC's 1.1 million schoolchildren. I told them what it was like to teach a class of 50 plus. I told them when teachers had oversized classes, their remedy was often to give us one day off from tutoring. Where we needed help, though, was right there in the classroom. I told them the best we could do was use that period to seek therapy to deal with our 50 kids. Via new streamlined processes, this contract should at least shorten the time kids and teachers spend in oversized classes. A similar process has proven very effective with excessive paperwork.
A significant win for teachers is fewer observations. Members have been complaining to me about the frequency of observations ever since the new law came into effect. We all feel the Sword of Damocles hanging above our heads. I don't really know why I do, because I'm fortunate enough to have a supervisor who's Not Insane. I think, though, if we want to maintain her ability to stay Not Insane, we have to stop making her write up 200 observations a year.
Of course, this will not resolve the issue of crazy supervisors, something city teachers have been grappling with for decades. While the city plans to institute a screening process for teachers (and we'll see what that entails) future negotiations need to focus on the issue of self-serving, self-important, foaming-at-the-mouth leaders, likely as not brainwashed by Joel Klein's toxic Leadership Academy. This contract, at least, will create more work for supervisors who use their positions to exercise personal vendettas.
People who can't hack teaching don't want to be responsible for 34 kids at a time. They rise up and become the worst supervisors. They may be lazy, and they may be angry that they have to actually do observations these days rather than simply declaring teachers unsatisfactory. In fact, one principal got caught falsifying observations so as to avoid the effort altogether. Supervisors like that will now have to do additional observations if they rate teachers poorly. They may now think twice now that it can cut into their Me Time. Also, we've got new language to deal with supervisory retaliation.
Our new agreement gives long needed due process to paraprofessionals. I've seen three paraprofessionals summarily suspended by principals. One of them was able to recoup lost pay via a grievance I helped her file. Another said goodbye to me, and ten days later had a stroke. I received a call in my classroom saying one of her relatives needed to know whether or not to place her in an ambulance, since her health insurance had been discontinued. I was at a rare loss for words. The secretary on the other end of the phone wasn't, and told the relative yes, of course, put her in the ambulance, The paraprofessional died later that day.
To me, it's remarkable that paraprofessionals, who spend all day helping the neediest of our students, are not considered pedagogues and therefore ineligible to win tenure. Our new agreement will grant them due process rights they sorely need. No longer will principals be able to suspend them without pay indefinitely based on allegations. There will be rules for when they can be suspended, there will be time limits, and there will be a process, rather than, "Hey you, get lost, and don't come back until I feel like having you back." Paraprofessionals deserve more than what we've won for them, but this, at long last, is a start.
I've read arguments that we should strike, like we've seen in red states. We are very different from teachers in red states, who've been under "right to work" forever, and for whom collective bargaining may be prohibited. We aren't making 30K a year and getting food stamps to make ends meet. We haven't gone a decade without a raise. We aren't paying an extra 5K more each year for health insurance. In fact, unlike much NY State, we aren't paying health premiums at all. With our last two contracts, and with no health premiums, our pay is approaching that of some Long Island districts (without the doctorate some of them need), something I've not seen in my three plus decades as a teacher.
Some people are saying the raises don't keep up with inflation. This may or may not be true, depending on which index you use. I know very well, though, that we are getting the pattern established by DC37. I also know exactly how we beat the pattern, which we did in 2005. We do that via givebacks. I've already mentioned the ATR. 2005 also brought us extended time. We could agree to more extra time, higher class sizes, or more extra classes, and the city would probably pay us for that. I can assure you that every person I know who opposes this contract would be up in arms about them, as would I. Right now we can't afford to give back anything.
Concessions about the ATR were the worst thing about the 2014 contract. Thankfully, they expired and were not renewed. The second worst thing, as I recall, was having to wait ten years for money we'd earned. We could've had an on-time contract if only leadership agreed to sell out the ATR. UFT hung tough and refused. I don't like waiting for money, but agreeing to allow ATR members to lose their jobs after a certain amount of time would've been a disaster. Any crazy principal could target any activist teacher, and we could've been fired at will.
Nonetheless, this contract represents significant improvements for us. Chapter leaders, all of whom are sick of the grueling grievance procedure, will now have alternate means to quickly resolve issues involving class size, safety, curriculum, PD, supplies, and workload. Those of us who represented high schools on the UFT Executive Board pushed for fewer observations as per state law, and we were able to work with leadership to achieve it. Those of us on the UFT Contract Committee agreed that we wanted to improve the lot of 30,000 paraprofessionals, and we were able to move in that direction.
I support this contract, and I will encourage my colleagues to do so as well. This is the best contract we've seen in decades. It will pass by an overwhelming margin.


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Christian Dogmatics
Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic
by: Michael Allen, Scott R. Swain
This one-volume introduction to systematic theology draws deeply on the catholic and Reformed heritage to present the major doctrines of the Christian faith, displaying the power of theological retrieval for the church's renewal. Leading Reformed theologians offer the "state of the question" on standard theological topics and engage in both exegetical and historical retrieval for the sake of theological analysis. Christian Dogmatics represents the exciting new theological trajectory of Reformed catholicity and will serve professors and students in systematic theology or Christian doctrine courses well. It will also be of interest to pastors and church leaders.
Introduction Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain
1. Knowledge of God Michael Allen
2. Holy Scripture Kevin J. Vanhoozer
3. Divine Attributes Michael Allen
4. Divine Trinity Scott R. Swain
5. Covenant of Redemption Scott R. Swain
6. Creation out of Nothing John Webster
7. Providence John Webster
8. Anthropology Kelly M. Kapic
9. Sin Oliver D. Crisp
10. Incarnation Daniel J. Treier
11. The Work of Christ Accomplished Donald Macleod
12. The Work of Christ Applied Richard Gaffin
13. The Law of God and Christian Ethics Paul T. Nimmo
14. The Church Michael Horton
15. Sacraments Todd Billings
16. Kingdom of God Michael Horton
"This book is a significant contribution to Christian doctrinal theology. It covers the main loci concisely and competently in a way that makes it suitable for classroom use. I expect it to have a wide usefulness in the years ahead."
George Hunsinger, Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
"This is an important contribution to the ongoing renewal of Reformed dogmatics in the ecumenical context of our time. It should have a significant impact on current discussion and feed into the systematic reconstruction of Reformed theology that is gradually taking shape before our eyes."
Gerald Bray, research professor of theology, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
"If one imagines that a strong traditional rootage implies looking backward and resting on dead stereotypes, here is the refutation! If one imagines that claiming a clear confessional identity is a mark of timidity and narrow-mindedness, here is the refutation! The twelve authors of Christian Dogmatics--through the diversity of their styles and their abundant use of the fathers as well as medieval and modern masters--demonstrate the 'catholic' relevance of Reformed theology. A scholarly yet readable synthesis that both anchors and vivifies the intelligence of the Christian faith."
Henri A. G. Blocher, Faculté Libre de Théologie Evangélique
"This volume features a stellar lineup of established and emerging Reformed theologians who represent a range of perspectives. The contributors are united, however, in their commitment to strong historical work that leads to fruitful engagement with current debates and to rich ways forward for contemporary dogmatics."
Suzanne McDonald, professor of systematic and historical theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan
"This is a rich feast. In their introduction, the editors assert that 'dogmatics is the disciplined effort to have our eyes and mouths retrained by the gospel.' In Christian Dogmatics, leading theologians address core topics, offering both an important resource for such retraining and a compelling vision of what retrained eyes can see and what retrained mouths will confess. Every chapter repays careful reading and reflection."
Stephen R. Holmes, senior lecturer in theology, University of St. Andrews
"A valuable collection that interprets the central loci of Christian belief from the perspective of the classical Reformed tradition. In providing a set of resources for the wider church, the volume is characterized by lucid, patient, and temperate exposition of key themes. It reflects the dual capacity of Reformed theology to accommodate a measure of diversity while never losing sight of its catholicity."
David Fergusson, professor of divinity and principal of New College, University of Edinburgh
"Behaving for all the world as if we were living in some kind of golden age of vibrant Reformed orthodoxy, the editors have brought together a multiauthor confessional theology, with significant contributions from a range of respected scholars. This is a gift to the entire church: the solidity, maturity, resourcefulness, and sagacity of these chapters provide theologians from all confessions with a statement of Christian doctrine from an identifiably Protestant perspective. I would not have thought such a thing possible in our time, but here it is: further evidence of Reformed catholicity's helpfulness."
Fred Sanders, professor of theology, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University
"An outstanding collection on Reformed dogmatics from some of the sharpest minds in the contemporary business. Insisting upon the centrality of the scriptural gospel of the Triune God for every area of Christian confession, the contributors also demonstrate how the hearing of that gospel in the company of the church catholic and Reformed presents true hope for theological renewal in today's world. This book instructs, challenges, and inspires, abundantly illustrating the privilege and delight as well as demands that attend our ongoing reckoning with the church's historic faith. Why does dogmatic reasoning continue to matter so much, and what must dogmatics seek--in the strength of God--to say if it is to speak the gospel afresh in the church and to the world? Read here, and find out."
Ivor J. Davidson, professor of systematic and historical theology, University of St. Andrews
"With this volume, Michael Allen and Scott Swain continue their promising project of Reformed catholicity. Those of us who identify as confessional Reformed Christians should embrace their call to center our faith and life around the Scriptures yet to do so as participants in an ancient and enduring community of believers who have mined the Scriptures and confessed the faith before us. Christian Dogmatics brings together a diverse group of thoughtful and accomplished theologians who take up the editors' call for retrieval and reflect upon most of the main themes of Christian theology. Their constructive proposals embrace a variety of classical and revisionist ideas, and although no reader will embrace everything proposed herein, no one will fail to be challenged, edified, and spurred on to further study of Scripture with the help of our theological forebears."
David VanDrunen, Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics, Westminster Seminary California
Michael Allen (PhD, Wheaton College) is John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology and associate dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He is the author of several books, including Reformed Catholicity (coauthored with Scott...
Continue reading about Michael Allen
Scott R. Swain
Scott R. Swain (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is president and James Woodrow Hassell Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He is the author of several books, including Reformed Catholicity...
Continue reading about Scott R. Swain
"This volume is welcome from an ecumenical perspective. It will vitalize the ongoing Protestant rapprochement with the catholic tradition. The anthology is also a hopeful sign of the current trend towards a retrieval of metaphysics and speculative, philosophically informed thought within theology in general. . . . Can the sola Scriptura principle coexist with a view of the Church that is truly anchored 'deep in history'? Or does this principle--even in its most sophisticated versions--inevitably undermine the authority of the Church and tradition? Perhaps the greatest merit of the Reformed catholic project is that by making a strong case for the compatibility of a Reformed identity with the catholic tradition, it has highlighted questions like these and provided excellent material for reflecting on them."
Mats Wahlberg,
"This volume is not pertinent only to those within the Reformed tradition, however narrowly or broadly defined. It is, rather, an attempt to see one's own tradition in light of the Christian tradition, and for this reason I believe it is beneficial for the church catholic, no matter the strand. That is a worthy project, for the sake of our edification and the unity of Christ's church. For that reason, I recommend Christian Dogmatics for Christians from all theological persuasions."
Matthew Y. Emerson,
Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
"If Allen and Swain's Reformed Catholicity . . . was the authors' 'manifesto' for pursuing 'catholicity on Protestant principles' as a means towards 'theological and spiritual renewal' . . . then their Christian Dogmatics is a convincing set of worked examples demonstrating--at the very least--that their project has great potential. . . . The content is rich and--for a book that would well suit textbook or introductory use--remarkably comprehensive. Allen and Swain have assembled an impressive line-up of Reformed scholars with a range of approaches, methodologies, and conclusions. . . . Such diversity, within (broadly confessional) bounds, fosters prayerful reflection and further study. There is a warmly devotional aspect to many of the contributions, illustrating the principle that robust academic theology is far from being inimical to spiritual life. . . . It would seem on the evidence of this volume that Reformed catholicity has a bright future, and Christian Dogmatics goes a long way to establishing its intellectual and spiritual potential as what might almost be described as a 'movement.' This book should have a wide readership among students, seminarians, and pastors."
Richard F. Brash,
Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology
"The editors have assembled a team of accomplished theologians. . . . The essays interact with key historic Reformed documents, which helps readers better understand the Reformed tradition. The essays engage a wide array of sources, patristic, medieval, Reformation, post-Reformation, and contemporary. The breadth of learning and knowledge in some of the contributions is impressive. The authors, however, do not merely flex their intellectual brawn but ultimately carry out the overall purpose of the book, which is to promote a Reformed catholicity. . . . The essays engage their subject in a thoughtful and learned manner. I personally benefited from many of the chapters and identified a number of sources for further reading. . . . I encourage elders and pastors to buy a copy of this book, read, and study its contents. There is a wealth of information here that can enrich one's understanding of the key subjects of systematic theology. Allen and Swain continue to produce excellent resources for learning more about biblical doctrine, and this book certainly is a wonderful contribution to this end."
John V. Fesko,
Ordained Servant Online

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"Change Requires More Than Righteous Anger": How Sanders Can Avoid Becoming The Ted Cruz Of The Left
As it becomes increasingly clear that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential nominee, a lot of people are beginning to talk about what Bernie Sanders should do now. The more interesting question is: what happens to the "movement" he has inspired once this election is over. That is what Brian Beutler attempted to address. Here is a summary of his advice:
Sanders must keep the apparatus he's built largely intact, but refocused on lobbying for progressive policies and promoting and financing progressive candidates—and making establishment Democrats fear the price of opposing both.
That sounds like good advice to me, with one caveat: don't become the Ted Cruz of the left.
After the election in November, Bernie Sanders will go back to being the Senator from Vermont. Unless he wants to give up that seat – he will be working from inside the system. As Beutler goes on to point out, if Democrats win control of the Senate, Sanders will be in line to be chair of the Budget Committee. Using that position to advance his progressive agenda means playing the "establishment" game. Unless he wants to become a full-time activist working from outside the system (which would be a viable option), here are some things he could do:
Develop a plan for universal health care coverage that is more than simply throwing numbers at a page that don't add up. In other words, develop a plan that would actually work.
Submit the Rebuild America Act to address this country's infrastructure needs and create jobs.
Work with Senate colleague Sherrod Brown to develop a serious proposal to break up the big banks.
I could go on with other things Sanders has advocated for in this primary, but perhaps you get my drift. As a candidate, Sanders has been good at naming and describing problems. Where he has been weak is in developing serious plans to address them. Energizing his movement to maintain the pressure for more progressive policies means providing the country with actual progressive policies. Sanders could then mobilize the army of his young supporters to take up the cause and fight for them. As President Obama said at Howard University:
You have to go through life with more than just passion for change; you need a strategy. I'll repeat that. I want you to have passion, but you have to have a strategy. Not just awareness, but action. Not just hashtags, but votes.
You see, change requires more than righteous anger. It requires a program, and it requires organizing.
The alternative is to become the Ted Cruz of the left – always disrupting but never offering anything constructive that could actually change things.
By: Nancy LeTourneau, Political Animal Blog, The Washington Monthly, May 10, 2016
May 11, 2016 Posted by raemd95 | Bernie Sanders, Democratic Presidential Nominee, Hillary Clinton	| Big Banks, Democratic Establishment, Progressive Policy, Rebuild America Act, Senate Budget Committee, Sherrod Brown, Ted Cruz, Universal Health Care | Leave a comment
"The Making Of An Ignoramus": Making America Great Again Means Running The Country Like A Failing Casino
Truly, Donald Trump knows nothing. He is more ignorant about policy than you can possibly imagine, even when you take into account the fact that he is more ignorant than you can possibly imagine. But his ignorance isn't as unique as it may seem: In many ways, he's just doing a clumsy job of channeling nonsense widely popular in his party, and to some extent in the chattering classes more generally.
Last week the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — hard to believe, but there it is — finally revealed his plan to make America great again. Basically, it involves running the country like a failing casino: he could, he asserted, "make a deal" with creditors that would reduce the debt burden if his outlandish promises of economic growth don't work out.
The reaction from everyone who knows anything about finance or economics was a mix of amazed horror and horrified amazement. One does not casually suggest throwing away America's carefully cultivated reputation as the world's most scrupulous debtor — a reputation that dates all the way back to Alexander Hamilton.
The Trump solution would, among other things, deprive the world economy of its most crucial safe asset, U.S. debt, at a time when safe assets are already in short supply.
Of course, we can be sure that Mr. Trump knows none of this, and nobody in his entourage is likely to tell him. But before we simply ridicule him — or, actually, at the same time that we're ridiculing him — let's ask where his bad ideas really come from.
First of all, Mr. Trump obviously believes that America could easily find itself facing a debt crisis. But why? After all, investors, who are willing to lend to America at incredibly low interest rates, are evidently not worried by our debt. And there's good reason for their calmness: federal interest payments are only 1.3 percent of G.D.P., or 6 percent of total outlays.
These numbers mean both that the burden of the debt is fairly small and that even complete repudiation of that debt would have only a minor impact on the government's cash flow.
So why is Mr. Trump even talking about this subject? Well, one possible answer is that lots of supposedly serious people have been hyping the alleged threat posed by federal debt for years. For example, Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, has warned repeatedly about a "looming debt crisis." Indeed, until not long ago the whole Beltway elite seemed to be in the grip of BowlesSimpsonism, with its assertion that debt was the greatest threat facing the nation.
A lot of this debt hysteria was really about trying to bully us into cutting Social Security and Medicare, which is why so many self-proclaimed fiscal hawks were also eager to cut taxes on the rich. But Mr. Trump apparently wasn't in on that particular con, and takes the phony debt scare seriously. Sad!
Still, even if he misunderstands the fiscal situation, how can he imagine that it would be O.K. for America to default? One answer is that he's extrapolating from his own business career, in which he has done very well by running up debts, then walking away from them.
But it's also true that much of the Republican Party shares his insouciance about default. Remember, the party's congressional wing deliberately set about extracting concessions from President Obama, using the threat of gratuitous default via a refusal to raise the debt ceiling.
And quite a few Republican lawmakers defended that strategy of extortion by arguing that default wouldn't be that bad, that even with its access to funds cut off the U.S. government could "prioritize" payments, and that the financial disruption would be no big deal.
Given that history, it's not too hard to understand why candidate Trump thinks not paying debts in full makes sense.
The important thing to realize, then, is that when Mr. Trump talks nonsense, he's usually just offering a bombastic version of a position that's widespread in his party. In fact, it's remarkable how many ridiculous Trumpisms were previously espoused by Mitt Romney in 2012, from his claim that the true unemployment rate vastly exceeds official figures to his claim that he can bring prosperity by starting a trade war with China.
None of this should be taken as an excuse for Mr. Trump. He really is frighteningly uninformed; worse, he doesn't appear to know what he doesn't know. The point, instead, is that his blithe lack of knowledge largely follows from the know-nothing attitudes of the party he now leads.
Oh, and just for the record: No, it's not the same on the other side of the aisle. You may dislike Hillary Clinton, you may disagree sharply with her policies, but she and the people around her do know their facts. Nobody has a monopoly on wisdom, but in this election, one party has largely cornered the market in raw ignorance.
By: Paul Krugman, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times, May 9, 2016
May 11, 2016 Posted by raemd95 | Debt Crisis, Donald Trump, Economic Policy	| Bowles-Simpson, Economic Growth, Global Economy, Government Default, Hillary Clinton, Medicare, Paul Ryan, Social Security, Tax cuts | Leave a comment
"A Matter Of Urgent National Interest": Senate Republicans Get Back to Work…Grilling Facebook
Oh, this is rich.
The US Senate Commerce Committee—which has jurisdiction over media issues, consumer protection issues, and internet communication—has sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg requesting answers to questions it has on its trending topics section. The letter comes after Gizmodo on Monday reported on allegations by one former news curator, who worked for Facebook as a contractor, that the curation team routinely suppressed or blacklisted topics of interest to conservatives. That report also included allegations from several former curators that they used an "injection tool" to add or bump stories onto the trending module.
If I was Zuckerberg, I'd be tempted to consider some spicy language with which to suggest what Sen. John Thune and his Republican friends on the Commerce Committee might consider doing with their questions. Either that or tell them that I'd answer the questions as soon as the same ones were posed to Fox News. I certainly wouldn't be able to stop myself from pointing out that it was Republicans who insisted on the revocation of the Fairness Doctrine.
It is truly amazing to watch this Party that constantly extols the virtue of "freedom" and their love of the Constitution (First Amendment anyone?) feign outrage that social media isn't under their control.
A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) slammed Thune for launching the probe.
"The Republican Senate refuses to hold hearings on Judge Garland, refuses to fund the President's request for Zika aid and takes the most days off of any Senate since 1956, but thinks Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest," Adam Jentleson wrote in an email.
"The taxpayers who pay Republican senators' salaries probably want their money back."
In 2014, when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised that he'd get the Senate working harder again, I don't think this is what voters had in mind.
May 11, 2016 Posted by raemd95 | Facebook, John Thune, Senate Republicans	| Conservatives, Fairness Doctrine, Fox News, Gizmodo, Mark Zuckerberg, Mitch McConnell, Republicans, Senate Commerce Committee, Zika Virus | 1 Comment
"Trump Needs Billionaires, And They Know It": Selling The American People To The Highest Bidder
Did you hear the shocking news? Unlikely presidential candidate Donald Trump announced last week that he would be fundraising in a big way to pay for the rest of his campaign.
Trump's new finance committee, chaired by CEO of Dune Capital Management Steven Mnuchin and including, recently, Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital, will work with and reach out to the same hedge fund manager types that Trump used to call "paper pushers" who are "getting away with murder."
Who could have guessed: Trump's claims that he would self-fund his campaign, in order to avoid the corruptive influence of big donors, were complete lies.
Scaramucci, to be fair, is a little more Trump's speed than your average paper pusher: in addition to managing a hedge fund, he hosts a show on Fox Business and wrote the book Goodbye Gordon Gekko: How to Find Your Fortune Without Losing Your Soul, which I assume Trump thought was ironic.
Mnuchin, for his part, is known in Hollywood for quietly taking $50 million out of Relativity, a failing entertainment company, right before it went bankrupt.
Trump deserves credit, at least, for finding fundraisers in his own image.
The campaign also established a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican Party, so that Trump can fundraise for them — he likely won't, given his distaste for helping others — and they can funnel him money from their large network of billionaire donors, all of whom are focused on making sure Donald doesn't repeat the mistake he made on Sunday, when he let slip that rich people should pay more taxes.
By Monday, New Trump had it all figured out: he didn't mean that the rich would pay more — that would be unthinkable for a Republican nominee with his kind of fundraising operation. Rather, he would simply bump the top marginal rate on his own plan up a few points, still a dramatic tax cut.
"Well, sure it's a change. I'm allowed to change," he told George Stephanopolous. "You need flexibility, George, whether it's a tax plan where you're going to — where you know you're going to negotiate. But we're going to come up with something."
Trump's tax plan, which would add trillions upon trillions of dollars to the debt with a huge tax break for the rich, has largely flown under the radar since he proposed it last September, aside from the usual mainstream economists saying it was insane.
But Trump's off-hand comments about the rich were a mistake Mnuchin and Scaramucci likely knew they couldn't let stand, if Trump wanted the support of the billionaires that used to constitute the GOP's ideological base, until he reminded rank-and-file voters that America's trade policies had screwed them.
And we're only talking about taxes, an issue that even the most, ahem, inexperienced presidential nominee can fake. If billionaire pressure can reverse Trump's tax rhetoric in 24 hours, what will billionaire GOP kingmaker Sheldon Adelson's money do to Trump's pledge to be "sort of a neutral guy," in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
Hint: Last Wednesday, Trump announced suddenly that Israelis "have to keep moving forward" building illegal settlements in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, a huge obstacle to any kind of negotiations, if you ask Palestinians.
The next day, Adelson — who Trump had previously accused of trying to "mold" Marco Rubio into "his perfect little puppet" — said Trump would be "good for Israel."
Now, the billionaires are lining up around the block, trying to impress upon Donald the urgency of their pet causes while he's still gullible enough to simply give them what they want.
Who's the puppet now?
This election season's refreshing discussion of money in politics, however coarse it has been, has brought back a saying from the '60s, sometimes attributed to Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn and sometimes to Lyndon Johnson. It's about lobbyists:
"If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, take their money and then vote against them you've got no business being up here."
Bernie Sanders doesn't want big donors' help.
Hillary Clinton — like most candidates for office — does want their help, and claims she can still vote against them.
Donald Trump, building up a fundraising infrastructure on-the-fly, is plainly asking for their help in exchange for his vote.
In fact, if you want a rare glimpse at how money can change politicians' stances on the issues — especially politicians without much experience on the issues — now is a great time to start tracking how and when Trump changes his mind about things.
It won't be pretty. But Donald is desperate: he needs hundreds of millions of dollars, probably more, to become a viable presidential candidate. And for him, this is all one big deal. As long as he comes out on top, he'll sell the American people to the highest bidder.
By: Matt Shuham, The National Memo, May 10, 2016
May 11, 2016 Posted by raemd95 | Campaign Financing, Donald Trump, GOP Campaign Donors	| Anthony Scaramucci, Hedge Fund Managers, Israel, Republicans, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Mnuchin, Tax Cuts for the Rich | 1 Comment
"Can A Party Divided Against Itself Still Stand?": For Trump, Unity Is An Unnecessary Luxury
As Donald Trump made the transition from Republican presidential frontrunner to presumptive Republican presidential nominee, one of the more common words in GOP circles has been "unity." As in, "How in the world will the party achieve anything resembling 'unity' with this nativist demagogue at the top of the Republican ticket?"
For his part, Trump has said, on multiple occasions, that he can and will bring the party together. Yesterday on ABC, however, the Republican candidate, no doubt aware of the broader circumstances, suggested that unifying the party may be an overrated goal.
"Does [the party] have to be unified? I'm very different than everybody else, perhaps, that's ever run for office. I actually don't think so," Trump told George Stephanopoulos in an interview that will air Sunday on ABC News' "This Week." […]
"I think it would be better if it were unified, I think it would be – there would be something good about it. But I don't think it actually has to be unified in the traditional sense," Trump said.
It's an unexpected posture, borne of conditions outside of Trump's control. Less than a week after wrapping up the nomination, the Republican candidate has stopped looking for ways to bring the party together and started looking for ways to justify intra-party strife as a tolerable inconvenience – not because Trump wants to, but because so many in the party are repulsed by his candidacy.
The New York Times added over the weekend, "Since a landslide victory in Indiana made him the presumptive Republican nominee, Mr. Trump has faced a shunning from party leaders that is unprecedented in modern politics. Mr. Trump has struggled to make peace with senior lawmakers and political donors whom he denounced during the Republican primaries, and upon whose largess he must now rely."
In a fitting twist, Republicans are divided over the nature of their divisions. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, for example, became one of the most notable GOP Trump endorsers Friday, despite Trump's condemnation of the Bush/Cheney administration's handling of 9/11 and the war in Iraq.
Cheney probably wasn't thrilled about extending his support, but he's a Republican, Trump's the presumptive Republican nominee, and apparently that's the end of the discussion. For the former vice president, partisan considerations are, for all intents and purposes, the only consideration. (The fact that Trump is a cheerleader for torture probably helped tilt the scales for Cheney.)
But the former vice president's announcement was striking in part because so many other national Republican leaders are moving in the exact opposite direction.
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have both said they will stay out of the 2016 race and withhold their official support from their party's nominee. Jeb Bush, a former Trump rival, signed a pledge last year promising to support the GOP's 2016 candidate, but he's since decided to break that promise and oppose Trump.
I haven't yet seen a comprehensive list of every notable Republican officeholder who has vowed to withhold support for Trump, but as best as I can tell, the list would include at least three sitting governors (Massachusetts' Charlie Baker, Illinois' Bruce Rauner, and Maryland's Larry Hogan), three sitting U.S. senators (South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, Nebraska's Ben Sasse, Nevada's Dean Heller), and 10 or so U.S. House members. If we include former officials, the list grows much longer.
And then, of course, there's 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who's vowed to oppose Trump, and his former running mate, current House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who said Thursday he's not yet ready to decide either way. Many more in the GOP have offered grudging support along the lines of, "I'll back my party's nominee, but let's not call it an 'endorsement,' and for the love of God, please don't make me say his name out loud."
It's tempting to look for some kind of modern parallel for a dynamic like this, but there really isn't one. The only thing that comes close was when far-right Southern "Dixiecrats," outraged by Democratic support for civil rights, broke off in 1948 and 1968, en route to becoming Republicans.
Those examples probably don't offer much of a parallel here – or at least GOP officials have to hope not.
The more immediate question, of course, is whether a party divided against itself can stand. According to Trump, unity is an unnecessary luxury, though if you're thinking this sounds like wishful thinking, you're not alone. Given the presumptive Republican nominee's unpopularity, Trump has very little margin for error, and having a sizable chunk of his party express contempt for his campaign poses an existential electoral risk. Winning primaries in a divided party is vastly easier than what Trump will face in November.
There's a school of thought, of course, that says all of this strife will eventually pass. Emotions are still raw – the last contested primary was less than a week ago – and the argument goes that wayward Republicans will "come home" by the fall.
In a typical election cycle, this model would certainly apply, but this isn't a normal year; Trump isn't a normal candidate; and the scope and scale of the fissures in Republican politics are without modern precedent.
By: Steve Benen, The Maddow Blog, May 9, 2016
May 11, 2016 Posted by raemd95 | Donald Trump, Establishment Republicans, GOP	| Dick Cheney, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, GOP Donors, Iraq War, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Nativism, Paul Ryan | 1 Comment
RT @IlhanMN: Dr. King "was not the cuddly creature we re-invent every King Day to lie to ourselves and our kids." Dr. King's life and deat…-----------	2 hours ago
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There was an odd statement about value capture on the front page of Monday's Australian, in the story about the PM's grand plan for high speed rail. The statement was that value capture, by which a private consortium would get a share of the potential increase in land values from the project, "would minimise the amount of taxpayer dollars needed to get the much-vaunted project off the ground, and ensure that the cost-benefit analysis for the project stacked up." Value capture may well minimise the taxpayer commitment, but it will not necessarily make a cost-benefit analysis stack up.
Broadly speaking, value capture relates to the financing of projects and how its net benefits are distributed, not the overall level of net benefits. It can help with the financing of a project, but it does not necessarily improve a project's economic viability from the community's point of view. Value capture is about project proponents, governments or private investors, capturing benefits that would otherwise accrue to others, such as nearby property owners, and thereby helping their financial business cases for the project get across the line.
But the proceeds earned by value capture are not new additional economic benefits from a project; they are a transfer of benefits from one group to another (e.g. from nearby property owners to a project consortium), so they really do not help the cost-benefit analysis. For example, any uplifts in property values attributable to a project would be the capitalised values of streams of benefits into the future, such as travel-time savings to residents or the higher profitability of local businesses, benefits that would (or should) be estimated as part of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis anyway. If you went and added value-captured revenues to these benefits you would be double counting.
So value capture does not necessarily mean that the overall cost-benefit analysis will reveal a project stacks up from the community's point of view, and that the project is deserving of public subsidy. Clearly, projects such as Cross River Rail and the PM's high speed rail project will require heavy public subsidies, even if there is some value capture involved. For a subsidy to be justified for either project, there would need to be net benefits to the community from the project, as established by a cost-benefit analysis.
For readers interested in the economics of value capture, I thoroughly recommend Joe's submission.
This entry was posted in Infrastructure, Uncategorized and tagged infrastructure, landvalue, smartinfrastructure, valuecapture, valueuplift. Bookmark the permalink.
As was learned the hard way during the GFC, in finance, risk can not be created nor destroyed but just shifted around, often from one party to another. Does value capture just shift risk "off the books" to make projects look more viable today? If so, governments need to know who is now holding that risk. It is lurking there somewhere.
Yes, there is certainly risk there. As Joe suggests in his paper the value capture should be of actual gains that occur, not projected gains. It may be that project proponents capture some gains that property owners never actually realise because the economic benefits of the project were over-estimated. Thanks for the comment, Toby.
A great post. This is the one that should be quoted by the CM.
I suspect there are a few practical problems relating to how you actually 'capture' the value created. Most projects that could be financed in this way provide diffuse benefits (e.g. hundreds of properties benefiting from a new train line), so the transaction costs of collecting more of the benefits could be significant.
And because most of the benefits flow through into enhanced property attributes that are reflected in market prices, isn't a portion of the additional value already being captured by local government rates and state land taxes (both calculated on land values). So if we set up a new financing mechanism based on 'value capture', are we risking some double dipping from government?
Yes, thanks Jim, there is certainly the risk of double dipping from government, which is one of the points Joe makes in his article and which I should have mentioned in my post.


Home›Sports›Proper customization can help your cycling a lot!
Gone are the days when people were not that aware of their fitness. The world has changed a lot since then. We are trying to stay fitter than ever. It is proving to be very good for those who take fitness seriously. As far as the others are concerned, a lot needs to be done in this regard. If you are one of these people who don't spend much time on workouts, you are obviously not doing the right thing. This will hamper your health and will be the primary reason behind the onset of old age. All of these problems can be sorted out if you take cycling on a regular basis with custom cycling wear to help you out.
Some people enquire on the feasibility of the workouts done on cycling. How better can it be? Is there really a necessity? Why isn't there an alternative? All of these questions make things difficult for those looking to take up cycling as an exercise. But these shouldn't come as an obstacle to your success. Cycling can be really beneficial if you have the right kind of custom cycling wear. Cycling helps a lot in shedding stubborn fat as well as calories. Regular workouts on cycles makes a person fitter by the day. Too much of thinking without any work can lead to serious losses while you are at something very important as cycling.
It is very common to see people doing customisations on their bicycles. This makes their ride comfortable as well as easy. The right customisations make sure you are never atloss. The same is possible in the case of cycling wear. You have the option to customise your own cycling garment as per your convenience. This gives you an added advantage if you are in a competition. You will be benefited even if you are cycling just for fun as you will remain in the comfort zone with the right customizations done in your cycling clothes.
If you have decided to customise your cycling garment, you must keep an important thing in mind. It is about the proper customisation. Yes, customising your wear is good but can go against you if done in a wrong fashion. The best option would be to have it done by a professional who has the experience. This will make things work for you!


The Dash – EXPLORE . ADVENTURE . DISCOVER .
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end.
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth… and now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own; the cars…the house…the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile… remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.


text:
Human Rights Defender Bawk Jar Arrested
On 18 July 2013, police arrested Bawk Jar Lum Nyoi, a renowned Burmese human rights defender. The police had no court order and did not explain the reason for the arrest, according to reports. It is not clear if she is charged. The trial starts on 31 July.
What is clear, however, is that her arrest appears to be linked to her peaceful activism and sows fear among the country's human rights defenders. Local rights groups have deemed the arrest illegal and demand her immediate and unconditional release.
Bawk Jar was one of ten Burmese human rights defenders, mostly lawyers, who took part in a two-week study trip with Civil Rights Defenders in Serbia earlier this month. The group met with Serbian peers, who shared their experience of legal aid and legal advocacy as means to strengthen the respect for human rights.
Bawk Jar is a human rights activist in Kachin State who has been advocating for environmental protection, women's and farmers' rights particularly in Kachin state, but also nationwide. At great personal risk, she has been at the forefront of campaigning, including through the courts, to halt large-scale logging and plantations that cause alarming environmental degradation and forced evictions of farmers from their lands. Bawk Jar is known for her activism of women's right too. She was among three leading civil society representatives to be invited and received by former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in 2012.
Similar arrests and intimidations against activists and human rights defenders in Burma are becoming an all too common occurrence, even after the declaration of political reform. It is indicative that Burma has a long way ahead to start a genuine democratic transition and international pressure for better protection of those who fight for human rights remains key.


1 223,07 руб. 1 043,68 руб.
Bagels, Pie Crust, Pizza, and More!
A scrumptious aroma will fill your kitchen as this bread bakes up golden brown! Denser in type, this wholesome "Old World" style bread stays soft for days! Also bake soft, wonderful variety breads, bagels, and pizza crust. Use to make pie crust, cinnamon rolls, delicious cookies, to thicken gravies, and more!
Pamela's Amazing Baking & Bread Mix creates a delicious loaf of soft, wholesome "Old World" style bread that is denser in style.
Settings: Basic White Bread, 2 lb loaf, Medium Crust. Do not use gluten-free setting.
In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, measure 1/3 cup oil, crack in 2 eggs, then fill with warm water up to 2 cups liquid, plus add 2 tbsp additional water. Pour all liquids into bread maker, add bread mix and yeast. Start machine and scrape down sides and corners of pan while dough is mixing. After baking, remove from pan and let cool before slicing. High Altitude: use 2 cups total liquid.
Sorghum flour, tapioca flour, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, natural evaporated cane sugar, inulin, millet flour, molasses & honey, rice bran, sea salt, xanthan gum. Yeast not included.
Pamela's Products have been formulated and produced to be wheat-free and gluten-free. Our products are produced on equipment that also makes products containing tree nuts, soy, eggs, and milk. Manufactured in a GF Certified Facility.


text:
Trending Solar-powered device stops mosquito-spread at its source
MAIN » Politics » Page 7
Rudy Giuliani in hospital with COVID-19
Rudy Giuliani tests positive for COVID-19, and now he is in hospital. The news was announced by Donald Trump himself on Twitter. Rudy Giuliani is in a Washington hospital after suffering mild symp...
Maduro claims sweep of boycotted election in Venezuela
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's political bloc claimed an overwhelming victory Monday in congressional elections boycotted by the opposition politicians, AP reported. Venezuela's elections a...
Israeli, Jordanian top diplomats to discuss some practical matters
Israel and Jordan continue to normalize their relations, according to the foreign ministries of the two countries. In light of agreements between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and Israel's app...
Joe Biden urges Americans to wear face masks
The US President-elect Joe Biden Biden made the remarks as the COVID-19 pandemic is surging across the country. He said on Thursday that he will urge Americans to wear face masks during his first 100...
Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Euro's founding father, dies at 94
Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing has died at age 94 in Paris. He led France from 1974 to 1981 and elaborated the base for the European monetary union in motion, Luxembourg Times repor...
Japan express concern about Russian S-300 missile systems to disputed islands
Japan has lodged a protest after Russia's military deployed a number of its new S-300V4 missile defence systems for combat duty on a disputed chain of islands near Japan, Defence Blog has learned. ...
Biden to attend NATO summit after he takes office
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hopes that the US President-elect will attend the next summit in Brussels, Reuters has learned. NATO chief has invited Joe Biden to a summit in early 2021. ...
Trump's science advisor to leave the White House
Dr Scott Atlas, the science advisor to Donald Trump, resigned at the end of his temporary government assignment. A Stanford University neuroradiologist leaves the White House due to his resisted stro...
Pages:«‹45678910›»


text:
Inaugural Australian Indigenous Basketball National Tournament a resounding success
The 2019 Australian Indigenous Basketball (AIB) National Tournament held at Early Settler Stadium in Cairns across the past week has proven to be an overwhelming success.
Boasting 60 teams from under 14 boys and girls through to open age men's and women's divisions, the event has proven to be a resounding success, with teams from across the country participating.
It was an opportunity to celebrate Australian indigenous culture through sport, and perhaps unearth the next indigenous basketball star such as Patty Mills, an AIB Ambassador.
The event opened in front of more than 1,200 fans at Early Settler Stadium, and throughout the week, the players, coaches, officials and volunteers together helped deliver an amazing event they can be proud of.
The Southern Lightning Koorie Basketball team taking part in the under 14 boys division made it through to the quarter finals against Darwin Top End Crocs despite losing their first game to Townsville by just 2 points. While they ultimately bowed out and did not make the final, Cairns Taipans head coach Mike Kelly invited the team to watch and meet the NBL players, providing a special morning for all the boys.
The opportunity and experience they received, like all teams, will last a lifetime.
Having traveled from Echuca in regional Victoria to take part in the event with the Southern Lighting, Hurricane Hudson spoke of his participation in the event.
"It's feels good to be in the semi finals with limited preparation & so this for our family's (mobs) Cairns Taipans," enthused Hudson. "I liked to watch them train as l learned a lot, [and] it was great to have a photo meet them all as [I] don't get this opportunity as l live in Echuca."
AIB Vice President Ricky Baldwin, a driving force behind facilitating the growing of indigenous basketball, spoke of the tournament's success.
"This past week was a tremendous success with the first national indigenous championships, with so much talent on was hand to watch with 60 teams from around Australia," shared Baldwin. "The exciting thing is that it will only grow bigger the response l have had with people wanting to play in 2020.
"As a very proud Aboriginal man, l was proud to be part of this national tournament and to win the [2019 Australian Indigenous Basketball] outstanding commitment to community award, something l will cherish!"
In the marquee men's open final, a star studded Erub United defeated Cairns Marlins Black in a game boasting former NBL players. Chris Cedar and Michael Cedar were joined by Deba George, Kerry Williams and TJ Diop to come away with the inaugural title. Tad Dufelmeier Jr and Mason Khalu were exceptional for the runner up Marlins Black outfit.
In the open women's division, the Darwin Rebels proved too good for Cairns based side Phoenix, with the Adelaide Lightning's Jasmin Fejo and Rebekah Dallinger of the Sydney Uni Flames leading the way in representing the WNBL talent on display. Phoenix boasted talent of their own too, with Alana Frazer (Logan Thunder) and Naomi Moke (Cairns) who are both current QBL players making an impact throughout the tournament.
With an array of rising stars on show, 2019 promises to be just the start for a wonderful exhibition of Australian indigenous basketball talent.
2019 Championship Winners
Open Men: Erub United (QLD)
Open Women: Darwin Rebels (NT)
U17 Boys: Binar | WA
U17 Girls: Darwin Rebels (NT)
U14 Boys: Binar (WA)
U14 Girls: Kayin Bau (Torres Strait)


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text:
This diagnostic tool monitors UTM traffic in a specified area.  This includes,
when requested, remote ID Identification Service Areas and Subscriptions, and
strategic deconfliction Operations, Constraints, and Subscriptions.  This tool
records data in a way not allowed in a standards-compliant production system, so
should not be run on a production system.

## Building the image
From the [`root folder of this repo`](../..) folder, first build the tracer
image:

```shell script
docker build \
    -f monitoring/tracer/Dockerfile \
    -t interuss/dss/tracer \
    --build-arg version=`scripts/git/commit.sh` \
    monitoring
```

## Polling mode
Polling mode periodically queries the DSS regarding the objects of interest and
notes when they appear, change, or disappear.  The primary advantage to this
mode is that it operates as a client only and does not require routing to
support an externally-accessible server.  One disadvantage is that fast changes
are not detected.  For instance, if an ISA was added and then deleted all within
a single polling period, this tool would not create an record of that ISA.

### Invocation
```shell script
docker run --name tracer_run --rm -v `pwd`/logs:/logs interuss/dss/tracer \
    python python tracer_poll.py \
    --auth=<SPEC> \
    --dss=https://example.com \
    --area=34.1234,-123.4567,34.4567,-123.1234 \
    --output-folder=/logs \
    --rid-isa-poll-interval=15 \
    --scd-operation-poll-interval=15 \
    --scd-constraint-poll-interval=15
```

The auth SPEC defines how to obtain access tokens to access the DSS instances
and USSs in the network. See
[the auth spec documentation](../monitorlib/README.md#Auth_specs) for examples
and more information.

## Subscribe mode
Subscribe mode emplaces Subscriptions in the DSS and listens for incoming
notifications of changes from other USSs.  The two primary advantages to this
mode are that no ongoing polling is necessary and details of Entities are
delivered automatically -- the only outgoing requests happen at initialization
and shutdown.  The disadvantages include requiring an external route to this,
probably with TLS unless the TLS check is disabled in the DSS, and that
information logging is dependent on USSs behaving correctly and sending
notifications upon DSS prompting.

### Invocation
Make a copy of [`run_subscribe.sh`](run_subscribe.sh) and edit the arguments as
appropriate.  Then simply run your copy of that script (`./run_subscribe.sh`).
To stop this container gracefully (so that Subscriptions are removed):
`docker container kill --signal=INT tracer_subscribe`

### External route
One important argument in subscribe mode is `--base-url`.  This should be the
URL at which the tracer container can be reached externally.  Note that this URL
will probably need to use https (to satisfy DSS validation), but the tracer
container only serves via http.  This means a user will need to provide their
own TLS termination for the external endpoint and forward traffic to the tracer
container in order to use tracer in subscribe mode.

### Log viewer
While tracer is running in subscribe mode, visit /logs relative to the base URL
(e.g., https://example.com/logs) to see a list of log entries recorded by tracer
while the current session has been running.


text:
Public dialogue on genome editing in Stockholm
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogue on genome editing which takes place in Stockholm on 8 February. The aim with the public dialogue is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
National Museum of Science and Technology
Museivägen 7
Public dialogues on genome editing in Stockholm
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Stockholm on 23 January and 8 February. The aim with the public dialogues is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Would you like to live forever?
Would you take daily inhalations to stay young? In her work "ÆON. Trajectories of Longevity and CRISPR," the artist Emilia Tikka constructs a poetic scenario of a possible future. The installation is exhibited at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm from 23 January 2020.
IPSOS s. r. o. Slovanský dům, entrance E Na Příkopě 22
110 00 Prague
public dialogues
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Prague on 30 November. The aim with the public dialogue is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Public dialogues on genome editing in Prague
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Prague on 19 and 30 of November. The aim with the public dialogues is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (MDC) Berliner Institut für Medizinische Systembiologi
Hannoversche Straße 28
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Berlin on16 November. The aim with the public dialogue is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Public dialogues on genome editing in Berlin
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Berlin on 6 and 16 November. The aim with the public dialogues is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Public dialogues on genome editing in Cambridge
Michaelhouse Centre St Michael's Church Trinity Street
CB2 1SU
What do the public think about genome editing? That's what we hope to find out through our public dialogues on genome editing which takes place in Cambridge on October 24 and November 2. The aim with the public dialogues is to discuss the risks and opportunities of disruptive technologies and identify any concerns the public might have.
Why should the public be engaged in science?
Do the public wish to be involved in the process of scientific research? If yes – how? These questions were asked in our public survey "Public attitudes to life sciences research in six European countries" and in the German and Swedish Science Barometers as well as in the Wellcome Trust monitor. The results from these studies will be presented at the session "Why should the public be engaged in Science?" at the Forum for Science Communication in Gothenburg on 3 April.
Draken Fokets Hus
Järntorget 15
41304 Gothenburg
Online international symposium - public engagement with genome editing
As part of the GEPES (Genome Editing Public Engagement Synergy) programme the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) in UK is convening an online international symposium focusing on public engagement with genome editing on 21st November. Emma Martinez, project officer for open experiments and co-creation in the ORION project is one of the speakers.
NCCPE
16 Narrow Quay
BS14QA


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We will be closed 12/25/17-12/26/17 for Christmas and also on 1/1/18 for New Years. Hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a New Years celebration!


Tripp Piperi took fourth place in the shot put as UT began competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on Wednesday.
Texas was 15th with seven points through one day. Georgia led with 20 points.
Piperi posted a personal best of 66 feet, 11½ inches.
Fabian Dohmann was seventh in the javelin at 231-7.
Sam Worley, John Rice and John Burt each advanced to the finals in running events. Worley qualified fourth in the 1,500 semifinals with a time of 3 minutes, 47.48 seconds. Rice also qualified fourth at 8:40.22 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Burt ran a 13.46 in the 110-meter hurdles.
Steele Wasik battled through injury in the first four events of the decathlon but withdrew after the high jump.


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The Supreme Court and
it's recent Habeas Corpus ruling
Program length - 7:31
Bush, detainees, dying in detention, Habeas Corpus, Mother Jones, obama, Supreme Court, Young Turks
Related article...
Did the Supreme Court Just Gut Habeas Rights?
By Adam Serwer
In the 2008 case Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court ruled detainees at Gitmo could challenge their detention in US courts. That decision was seen as effectively ending the Bush administration's attempt to carve out a legal black hole for suspected terror detainees. Shortly thereafter, Gitmo detainees began appealing their detentions - and frequently winning in court. But in the years since the decision, conservative judges on the DC Circuit have interpreted the law in a way that assumes many of the government's claims are true and don't have to be proven in court. By not taking any of these cases, the Supreme Court has ensured these stricter rules will prevail. Civil-libertarian groups say that essentially leaves detainees at Gitmo with habeas rights in name only, since the rules make it virtually impossible for detainees to win in court. A Seton Hall University School of Law report from May found that, prior to the DC Circuit's reinterpretation of the rules, detainees won 56 percent of cases. Afterwards, they won 8 percent.
(...) Gitmo detainees have now lost virtually every avenue�other than dying in detention�for leaving the detention camp. Congress has curtailed transfers to other countries by making the restrictions on them nearly impossible to meet. Gitmo detainees can't be brought to the United States for trial in federal court. And the Supreme Court has now effectively blessed legal standards that make success in court almost impossible. There are now 169 detainees left at Gitmo, and like the facility itself, they aren't going anywhere.
For more Judicial corruption: videos, click here


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Hjörleifshöfði
Hjörleifshöfði or the 'Cape of Hjörleifur,' located on the south-western part of Mýrdalssandur outwash plain, close to the Ring Road, about 200 km from Reykjavik, is a palagonite inselberg.
Hjörleifshöfði or the 'Cape of Hjörleifur,' located on the south-western part of Mýrdalssandur outwash plain, close to the Ring Road, about 200 km from Reykjavik, is a palagonite inselberg. According to Landnamabok or the Book of Settlements, it was named after Iceland's first settler Ingulfor Arnarsson's brother-in-law, Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson.
Hjörleifur is believed to be buried in the mound atop the 221-metre-high Tuya Mountain, after he was killed by his slaves. A farm with the same name sprung up by 874 AD and continued to be inhabited until the eruption of Katla in 1721, which destroyed the town. Hjörleifshöfði is said to be formed during the last cold period of the ice age when the eruption took place under the glacier and was perhaps an island earlier which became landlocked during the settlement period with a fjord, Kerlingarfjörður. Hjörleifshöfði is popular for hiking and has two paths – Bæjarstaður, where Hjörleifur is said to have lived and the other up a pass known as Klif.
The designated 7-km path goes past rock columns Arnardrangur and Lásdrangur and provides a spectacular view of the region beyond the cliffs, specially if you go higher towards the west, to see the popular glaciers Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull. Various places of tourist interest are located close to Hjörleifshöfði, which is close to Vik, including Jökulsarlon, Fjállsárlón, Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara, Kvernufoss, Skogafoss etc.
Reykjanes geopark & Geldingadalir eruption
When is the best time to visit Iceland?
The weather in Iceland.


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Investigations, litigation and enforcement actions launched by state attorneys general are becoming increasingly commonplace, and present unique challenges that require a specific skillset to address and resolve.
Companies engaged with state attorneys general (AGs) face formidable challenges and a range of reputational, practical and legal considerations. State AG offices have broad portfolios with which to examine and challenge an organization's conduct, leaving companies to navigate complicated legal, public relations and crisis management hurdles. WilmerHale's State Attorneys General Practice Group, which draws on the firm's strength across the varied areas of state AG enforcement authority coupled with deep-seated crisis management experience, have made WilmerHale a leading firm in the space.
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Representing T-Mobile before state AGs addressing antitrust concerns and related consumer issues regarding the company's proposed merger with Sprint.
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Representing a high-tech company in a successful federal court challenge to a state AG investigation.
Represented a social networking company in connection with a data breach inquiry from the Florida Attorney General.
Successfully represented the Berkshire Museum in multiple appellate proceedings and a wide-ranging investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General in relation to the Museum's art collection, including two paintings by Norman Rockwell.
Represented Oracle in multiple lawsuits brought by the Oregon Attorney General, stemming from the company's work on Oregon's healthcare exchange created under the Affordable Care Act.
Represented a large media company in connection with the New York Attorney General's investigation regarding #MeToo-related allegations.
Represented Chase in connection with the California Attorney General's investigation into the bank's debt collection practices.
Represented a global financial institution in connection with multi-state attorneys general and federal resolution of mortgage related claims arising from the financial crisis.