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Revisiting the Earth Charter
[Prefatory Note: The following essay will appear as a chapter in Peter Burden & Klaus Bosselmann, eds., The Future of Global Ethics(Edward Elgar, 2018), with the title ]
Revisiting the Earth Charter 20 Years Later: A Response to Ron Engel
Ron Engel has articulated an insider review of the Earth Charter so thoughtfully, urbanely, and persuasively that my initial temptation was to restrict my response to a single word: 'Amen!'
Yet I am familiar enough with the academic ways of gathering diverse voices to explore a topic or to evaluate the scholarship of a distinguished author, as to discard my one-word option. At the same time, it would be misleading if I didn't praise Ron Engel for putting so many elusive issues before us in such a lucid and compelling manner as to make my efforts at dialogue feel a bit forced, given the high level of agreement.
This endorsement of Engel's call to action for the realization of the ambitious goals of the Earth Charter does not strike me as particularly dialogic, but rather as expressive of the importance of transnational consensus-building at this stage among the likeminded constutency of ecological worried on the crucial transformative challenges that lie at the heart of the making the Earth Charter into a Plan of Action, or at the very least, a manifesto. In effect, if the Earth Charter presents the vision, a manifesto could implore implementation by identifying what needs to be done, and by whom.
Can we amid the complexities and contradictions of the historical present identify agents of change or social forces comparable to the manner in which Marx and Engels interpreted the role of the working classes in mid-19thcentury Europe? Without differing from Ron Engel except in choice of words, I am wondering how to achieve political traction for a transformative political movement that agrees with him that the most formidable obstacles lying on the path leading toward planetary peace and justice are ideologies and practices associated with neoliberal capitalism and its strong linkages of mutual dependence with militarized governmental bureaucracies.
In recent years this toxic set of institutional/ideological linkages has been able to divert the peoples of the world and most governing elites from the challenge of restoring pre-industrial ecological integrity to such issues as the threats to civilizational coherence posed either by transcivilizational migratory flows that expose the fragility of democratic values and practices, climate change, various forms of globalization that reinforce inequalities and enrage those feeling themselves left behind. In reaction, many populated and affluent societies of the world have perversely placed their trust, and their future, in demagogic leaders and ultra-nationalist political parties who proclaim anti-ecological agendas in spirit and substance.
In light of this, it does seem rather utopian to situate current hopes on the ecological radicalization of democracy in ways that insist on the implementation of equality across the spectrum of human concerns and even extend the boundaries of ethical sensitivity to encompass non-human species. Can we, in other words, really rely on the peoples of the world to form a movement powerful enough to bring the Second Axial Age into being, especially at a time when the transcendent values of the First Axial Age are being so widely betrayed? At least, we need some exploration of why such a belief in the reinvigoration of democracy is not a mere exercise in wishful thinking, and needs to be put aside if we are to contemplate the future with an open mind.
I admit that if a skeptical eye is turned toward the present potentialities of democracy, we need to ask, 'what then?' to escape from falling into a dark pit of despair. Certainly, none of the now competing secular ideologies, or their religious analogues, seem capable of taking on such a mission. It could be that we are experiencing nothing more than a democratic pause, and that there will be a dialectical renewal of democracy in reaction to the dominant autocratic/populist political trajectories that now seem to be moving the world toward ecological crisis, if not catastrophe.
We need to remember that the best Athenian minds, including Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, all lost faith in democracy due to the capacity of demagogues to turn the citizenry of their city into a frenzied warmongering mob that made Athens succumb to its own hubris. This surrender has often been misunderstood and misapplied by the power-mad realists shaping global governance in its present hybrid mixture of statism and geopolitics, the chaos of interacting sovereign states 'disciplined' by the grand strategies of the dominant states. The Melian Dialogue in Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, is often cited by writers on international relations to show that in the foreign encounters of states, power counts, and that's it, with reliance place on Thucydides' often invoked arresting words: ""those who have power do what they like, those who do not, do what they must."[1]A more careful reading of Thucydides' whole history shows that this first great historian of warfare was using this apparent whitewash of cruelty and opportunism in war as indicative of Athenian decline, and not as a comment on the way the world works. It was suggesting to attentive readers that those who do not respect universal morality in dealing with their weaker adversaries will themselves perish before long. This is a message our militarist political elites refuse to heed or even receive, and are aided in doing so, by think-tank realists and power hungry academics who wrap themselves in the false flag of 'realism.'
Perhaps, the most startling claim in Engel's essay is that the Earth Charter is actually illuminating the ontological essence of human reality. Such a bold assertion sets the agenda of the Second Axial Age as above all tasked with converting this sense of humanity as ecological beings into a living historical reality. By invoking ontology Engel is claiming that Earth Charter perspectives depict "the essential structure of reality" that definitively establishes the moral boundaries of human endeavor and grounds hope for a relevant global movement for self-government as necessarily responsive to this understanding.
I share the view of Engel that we must keep focused on what is necessaryand desirable, and not let our views of the future get hijacked by the self-interested entrepreneurs of what is feasibleand reasonable who continue to exert near monopoly control over the exercise of political and economic power.Among the most insidious of these entrepreneurs are the corporatized media giants that feed our minds with a false confidence in the normalcy of our times, thereby distracting us from an appreciation of the urgent priorities that stem from its unprecedented systemic abnormality. This media spin on the contemporary world obstructs most efforts to achieve a relevant critical awareness. Without such an awareness, the needed emergent consensus on who we are and how we should behave is situated on a terrain that is out of human reach. Instead of an ecologically driven focus, the mainstream media is leading the worthy fight in so many places to protect freedom of expression from statist and corporate encroachments, thereby offering a better understanding of the abuses attributable to autocratic forms of governance operating at the level of the state.
While this struggle is truly significant, and must be waged, it is not as central as is the struggle to recover am ecological sense of our beingness-in-the-world, a sense that came naturally to many native peoples around the world whose existence was not only suppressed and exploited, but their wisdom discarded by reductionist and hegemonic versions of how human society interacts with its natural surroundings. At the very time when we need to be conditioned by the ecological imperatives of a new global ethics, most societies are in the grips of these earlier struggles to avoid slipping into 21stcentury versions of the dark ages or at best making themselves content with being 'entertained' while the fires of ecological disarray move ever closer. In this sense, the political struggles being waged are tinkering with the modalities of how human society manipulates nature for its benefit instead of recovering modalities of mutuality and reciprocity that can produce structuralchanges as well as fight policy battles within anachronistic ontological frameworks.
What is possible and necessary, and follows from the coherence of the Earth Charter, and our recognition of the truthfulness of its presentation of reality, is altering the sense of citizenship and political participation, at least for those of us that endorse the vision. I find that the call for global citizenship, which Engel affirms, to be somewhat misleading. Citizenship presupposes community, and what is lacking at present is any meaningful sense of global political community. For the overwhelming multitude of people the boundaries of territorial sovereign states exhaust the content of political community. Moving toward an ecological civilization will require the emergence and construction of a genuine and robust global community, but that is a project for the future rather than presenting an existing alternative. It is a task for the future, and needs to be identified as such to avoid a purely nominal claim of globalcitizenship in a global setting shaped by nationalist ideologies that inhibit in the name of traditional patriotism, any real engagement with either species or ecological wellbeing, especially when these normative strivings are seen to place burdens on the pursuit of nationalist priorities. For this reason, I prefer the language of 'citizen pilgrim' as self-identifying those of us seeking to construct a global community that is organized around global ethics of the sort that flows from an acceptance of the worldview embedded in the Earth Charter. In my imaginary, the citizen pilgrim is embarked on such a journey equipped with maps that locate no fixed destination, but dwell upon the idea, at once spiritual and material, of establishing a global community by stages as opportunities arise.
In the background of such musing, is a problematic sense that the United Nations, as the institutional center of the international legal order, was supposed to prefigure such a global community. From a reading of the Preamble to the UN Charter it was clear that the new organization was expected to promote humaninterests rather than provide an additional vehicle for realization of nationalinterests. Such an idealistic perception of the UN was always doubtful, and at most expressed a vague expectation to be fulfilled at some distant time in the future. The constitutional makeup of the UN reflected the anarchic workings of existing world order, giving priority to the equality of sovereign states as against the claims of either people or nature and allowing the dominant states to use their right of veto so as to opt out of their obligations to comply with the UN Charter, as well as their geopolitical entitlement to view international law as discretionary for themselves while being mandatory for the others.
In light of this background, it should have been anticipated that the UN would become over time primarily an instrumentcombining statecraft and geopolitics, and only rarely a crucial venue for global policy making. As the UN has matured, it has not developed as its most ardent supporters had hoped, but on the contrary has lost much of its earlier relevance to the resolution of international conflicts, and seems more marginal than ever on the major challenges of our time. Such a generalization is not meant to withhold credit from the UN, especially from its specialized organs dealing with health, children, culture, human rights, and environment in ways that improve lives and the habitat, but within frames of thought and action that are almost totally pre-ecological.
At the very outset of his essay Engel delimits the overriding goal and challenge facing humanity to be one of achieving what he calls 'a new era of global governance.' It never becomes evident what that would entail by way of institutional and normative renovation. The realization of the Earth Charter vision would seem to depend upon the existence of institutions having as their primary mandate a mission to serve peace and justice for all peoples of the world, not by implementing the outlook of a growth-oriented developmental economy, but by reference to an ecologically infused global ethics. This undertaking is quite revolutionary in its call for reordering the values and practices that have prevailed throughoutmodern human history, it is further extended, by a fundamental ecological pedagogy insisting that we as a species can only expect to live in a sustainable manner if we also enlarge our moral and political imagination to take into account the wellbeing of non-human species.
What that means concretely needs to be worked out in ways that acknowledge the contradictions that exist when it comes to mediating inter-species relations on the basis of some measure of mutuality. Does it, for instance, require the adoption of a dramatic dietary embrace of vegetarianism by the entire human species, or is it sufficient to treat animals decently and killing only for subsistence as native peoples clearly did? Who is there to identify the demographic limits that meet the standards set by an ecologically grounded global ethics, and how will such limits be set and implemented? Engel regards non-violence as integral to the dynamics of the transformation expected to result from the Second Axial Age, but does that mean that security for communities can dispense with weapons and count on the disappearance of violent crime? Such questions are illustrative only.
I was struck by a recent report that a year ago in a penguin colony in Antarctica only two penguins survived from a birth cohort of 18,000 due to the diminished ecological conditions prevailing in their customary habitat.[2]Among the causes of such a doleful incident is industrial fishing that has greatly diminished the supply of krill on which not only penguins, but giant squid, the blue whale, and seals depend upon for sustenance. From the perspective of humane ecology, there arise a series of questions about balancing the needs and desires of the human species against the wellbeing of other species, including whether certain market driven activities should not be prohibited or severely restricted, as well as the question of who decides when the issue concerns life support in the global commons.
Given the gross disparities that exist in material circumstances and resource endowments in the world as we know it, is it plausible utopianism to insist on equalityas the measure of a just society, or is it more credible to settle for equity, fairness, and material needs(as already posited as human rights in Articles 25 and 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). There are many more relevant issues if the design of ecologically oriented global governance is to become, whether by stages or through a revolutionary surge, the signature achievement of the Second Axial Age. One such overarching issue is whether a kind of minimalism could fashion early effort to make the Earth Charter assume the status of being a political project, and more maximalist views being held in abeyance.
There is also the question of time, and the related urgency of meeting challenges that cannot await for the usual rhythms of historical change to work their way into human experience. The pace of technological innovation shortens time horizons in ways that societies seem unable to absorb, and so deny to varying extents. This seems true whether it is the advent of nuclear weaponry or digital life styles. It would seem that we are living with unrealistic calmness in the midst of a consuming global emergency. We cannot hope to achieve the vision of the Earth Charter by waiting for it to happen, and the value of Ron Engel's essay is to impart such feelings of urgency with respect to moving from vision to action. In my terms, can a band of citizen pilgrims be the Paul Revere's of this age, sounding alarm bells that awaken the slumbering masses before it is too late?
I know that some respected commentators on the global situation insist that we are already too late, have crossed vital ecological and biodiversity thresholds of no return. I resist such pessimism, or its twin, optimism, for the simple reason that the future is unknowable. If unknowable, then we share the responsibility and opportunity to work toward a preferred future. We are living in a period when the only politics that meets our needs as a species and our planet as an ecological entity is 'a politics of impossibility,' which is another way of saying that mastering the art of the possible has no chance of embodying the vision and values of the Earth Charter, along with Engel's gloss, in the realities of the human future.
[1]Thucydides, The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War (Free Press, translated by Richard Crawley, 1998) 588.
[2]See article by John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, in The Guardian, Oct. 13, 2017 under the title "Penguins starving to death is a sign that something's very wrong in the Antarctic."
Tags: citizen pilgrim, democratic legitimacy, Earth Charter, ecology, ontology, Penguins, Second Axial Age
Categories Animal Rights, Commentary, Earth Charter, Global Governance, Reflections, Second Axial Age


* One separate config file that has attributes specific to each environment (dev, stage, prod).
* Specify the target environment in my gulp command (ie, gulp –env dev).
* Simple string replace mechanism. I've noticed the convention of using '@@varName' which I will use here.
* Keep the variables in my ES6 js files and compile to my build directory.
In this case, 'babel' is copying over my ES6 to my build directory along with the environment variables, when that is done, my 'replace' task is parsing my environment-config.json and reading the environment variables. I'm then targeting my build files (in this case, I'm only targeting app.js which is where most configuration should go for an Angular project), running my replace, and then performing a workaround that allows me to build to the same destination as my source file. Most of the tutorials I've seen has neglected to account for modularization of gulp tasks and assume that the source will compile to the destination and you're done. By compiling to the same file, you're not interfering with the other asynchronous gulp tasks that may alter the same file. Other tutorials have also asked to create a file for each environment which I think is kind of silly and overkill.
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Anthropology Students Take Advantage of Fieldwork Opportunities
Author: Lisa Walenceus
Whether they work with hospice patients in Uganda or study stone artifacts in Illinois, anthropology students like Elise Alonzi and Hanna O'Brien who pursue fieldwork can gain valuable experience and discover their personal passions within the discipline.
"It's important for students to get involved in research, service, and experiential learning both on and off campus," says Deb Rotman, director of undergraduate studies for Notre Dame's Department of Anthropology. "The skills and knowledge that are developed in research are critical not only to a dynamic undergraduate education or senior thesis, but these kinds of active engagement make students incredibly compelling candidates for graduate school, professional school, or post-baccalaureate employment."
Digging into History
"Fieldwork isn't for everybody," says Alonzi, a junior majoring in environmental science and anthropology. "But, my first-year advisor really encouraged me to explore my options, to try new things. So, I thought I'd try a summer dig."
Alonzi spent two months in the summer after her freshman year studying Paleo-Indian stone artifacts at two sites in Illinois. "The site near Moline focused on surveying and plotting a field where some 9,000-year-old 'lithics' [stone tools] were found," she says. "Things were broken and burned, and there was a lot of surface scatter.
"The second site, near Dekalb, was a 'retouching site' where tools were made or repaired," Alonzi says. "It was an old site, so there weren't any features to plot. The work was all about sifting for rock chips as small as one square centimeter."
Now aiming for a career in archeology, Alonzi says it was that first summer experience that got her hooked on fieldwork. She has since done more Paleo-Indian work in Department Chair and Professor Mark Schurr's field program and spent last summer working on an excavation of a medieval abbey near Dublin, Ireland, under Associate Professor Meredith Chesson.
"The anthropology department has so many opportunities for fieldwork and CUSE [Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement] has resources that help you get there," Alonzi says.
Exploring Cultures
Embracing new opportunities in her first year helped Hanna O'Brien find her path, too. "I didn't get all the classes that I thought I wanted for the fall of my first year," she says. "So, I registered for Introduction to Anthropology with Professor [Ian] Kuijt—and I fell in love with anthropology. In the second semester, I 'went out on a limb' again, taking a University Seminar called Phenomena of Iranian Cinema with Professor [Jill] Godmilow. … Both of these experiences made me realize that my passion is studying the world's many cultures."
Now a junior majoring in pre-professional studies and anthropology, O'Brien is focused on a future in medical anthropology. She spent last summer in Uganda working on a self-designed field project on hospice and palliative care with the Palliative Care Association of Uganda under the mentorship of Vania Smith-Oka, the Nancy O'Neill Assistant Professor of Anthropology.
"Experiencing Ugandan palliative care helped me gain an understanding of the relationship between Western medicine and African culture," O'Brien explains. "The cultural understanding of death that a patient and the patient's family have is really important in palliative care."
O'Brien worked at Hospice Africa Uganda, Hospice Jinja, and the Cancer Institute Children's Ward in Kampala Mulago, and visited a traditional healing school, Prometra Uganda, in the Buyijja Forest. When she returns from her semester abroad in London, she will begin work with the Kellogg Institute for International Studies to establish and promote her field project as a permanent internship for Notre Dame students.
"It was a lot of hard work to put together my field project and apply for the Kellogg Experiencing the World Fellowship, but it was all worth it," she says. "Notre Dame has incredible resources to support student research interests."
Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
The First Year of Studies
Categories: Internationalism, Centers and Institutes, Research, Undergraduate News, and General News

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Attention: Product may form lumps when stored. Material is highly hygroskopic! Storage at 2°-8°C under inert gas! Open only under inert gas!
Dithiothreitol (DTT) is, like β-mercaptoethanol, a reducing reagent for proteins and protects the cysteine residues against oxidation. It may substitute for β-mercaptoethanol in almost all experiments at three to four fold lower concentrations. DTT is less toxic, its odor is less intensive and it doesn't form mixed disulfides like β-mercaptoethanol. DTT is water-soluble and stock solutions are prepared at 1 M. Store the solution aliquoted at -20°C and protect from heat during the experiment. Do not choose a to low concentration for the experiment, because it is readily oxidized by air. The working concentration ranges from 0.1 to 1 mM, but the preparation of plant extracts ( 5 mM; ref. 4) or for the 'large scale in situ isolation' of proteins after fermentation (10 mM; ref. 5) require higher concentrations. For the complete reduction of disulfides, the concentration might be significantly higher (3).A more stable and odorless alternative to DTT is Tris(2-carboxy)ethylphosphine (A2233).
(1)Cleland, W.W. (1964) Biochemistry 3, 480-482Dithiothreitol, a new protective reagent for SH groups. (2)Zahler, W.L. & Cleland, W.W. (1968) J. Biol. Chem. 243, 716-719A specific and sensitive assay for disulfides. (3)Jocelyn, P.C. (1987) Methods Enzymol. 143, 246-256Chemical reduction of disulfides. (4)Gegenheimer, P. (1990) Methods Enzymol. 182, 174-193Preparation of plant extracts. (5)Hart, R.A. et al. (1994) Bio/Technology 12, 1113-1117'Large scale in situ isolation' o periplasmatic IGF-I from E. coli.


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Silver city is ready for historic Baliyatra
Edited By Odishatv Bureau Published By Odishatv Bureau On Nov 6, 2011 - 5:32 PM
Cuttack: After setting up a filigree pavilion for the first time at the Baliyatra grounds here last year, the district administration is unsure about the same this time and claims that the city filigree traders are not cooperating with the endeavour.
After mounting demands, the organisers set up an AC pavilion with 21 stalls last year to showcase the impeccable fine artistic dexterity of local filigree artisans. "Since the traders are engaged in internal bickering, we are not sure whether the filigree pavilion would come this year or not," district collector Girish S N said.
Briefing mediapersons about the preparations for the historic mega event of the city this year, Girish said in case the traders reach an amicable settlement among themselves, the pavilion would come up. "We are prepared to extend all cooperation. The Baliyatra this year would start from November 10 and officially continue till November 16," he said.
The administration has earmarked three grounds measuring a total of 37.103 acres for the mega festival, including two at Killa Maidan in front of the majestic Barabati fort. The adjacent riverbed close to the ancient river port of Mahanadi at Gadagadia Ghat would also come alive for the festival which would draw curtains to the six-month long puja festivities in the city.
More than 1300 stalls, including 350 stalls of ORMAS and 150 stalls of Gandhi Shilpa Bazar would be set up this year which nearly 900 stalls more than last year. The district administration is likely to generate revenue of Rs 60 lakh towards the land cess and other collections from the stall owners and vendors during the festival.
The entire festival has been insured for a whopping Rs four crore, which includes Rs one crore for the Ormas stalls, sources said adding that all the stalls on the festival ground are insured. Stalls stacked with household ethnic items, `Meena Bazars` with merry-go-round, `maut ka kuan`; giant wheels have all come up at the venues ready to make brisk business. Lakhs of visitors throng the festive site particularly in the evening hours and make wide-range of purchases till late into the night.
The district council of culture is also planning in a big way to stage cultural nights on all days of the festival on a massive open-air stage. "At least 52 local troupes, including a troupe from Bangladesh will perform during this festival," council member Prof Kartik Rath said.


Robert Kerr, right, who tragically died after a crash in Spain. Right, the procession of cyclists pictured on Peaks Parkway as they made their way to the funeral service at Grimsby Crematorium.
The circumstances of a road traffic collision in Spain which killed a devoted Grimsby father have been revealed during an inquest into his death.
Robert Kerr tragically passed away at the age of 63 after he was involved in a crash with a vehicle while riding his bicycle in Benidorm.
He spent several days in hospital in an induced coma but sadly passed away on March 23, 2015, with both of his daughters at his side.
An inquest into his death, held at Cleethorpes Town Hall, heard how Mr Kerr, known affectionately as Bob, had planned to spend 20 days at his holiday home in Spain.
Coroner Paul Kelly explained that on the first day of his trip, Mr Kerr headed out on the road on his bicycle.
He approached a junction with the intention of going straight on when a vehicle struck him.
"The vehicle approached the same junction from the opposite side and turned left. The driver did not acknowledge the presence of Mr Kerr, who had right of way," Mr Kelly said.
"Police in Spain also believe that to be the case."
Mr Kelly said during the inquest that the driver of the vehicle had been prosecuted and fined.
Mr Kerr, who was a keen cyclist and respected former businessman in Grimsby, suffered multiple injuries in the collision.
He was taken to the hospital IMED Levante where he spent ten days in an induced coma but sadly he never recovered from his injuries.
Mr Kerr, of Old Paddock Court, Humberston, was a well-respected businessman in the Grimsby area who set up his own company, Central Insulations, alongside his ex-wife Lesley Kerr in 1984.
He was also an extremely keen sportsman, who had enjoyed long distance running, cycling and windsurfing.
He spent many weeks of the year at his Spanish home with both his daughters, sons-in-law and all his grandchildren, regularly hiring a second villa to accommodate them all as the family grew.
A celebration of Mr Kerr's life took place at the Grimsby Crematorium on Thursday, April 9, 2015.
A large procession of cyclists followed the funeral cortège to the crematorium, while many others in attendance wore colourful clothing.
Coroner Mr Kelly explained the inquest had taken more than two years to come to Cleethorpes Town Hall because of the "quality of information received from Spain" and the amount of time it had taken to translate statements.
Mr Kelly concluded that Mr Kerr's death was a result of a road traffic accident, which led to multiple injuries.


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SoulTerror
Rather surprised we do not have a thread for this yet. Comes out on Tuesday. I already have my deluxe digital copy ready to go on my Xbox one? I'm looking forward to the Hero vs Villains mode and Fighter Squadron. SoulTerror08 is my GT.
badmin
I'll be ready to go!
FreeRadikal
Last seen: 1 year 2 weeks ago
Soul Terror I'll be playing it.
I just placed my order, so it should be here this weekend.
$50 off eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301798477746?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPage...
#5 Tue, 11/17/2015 - 16:29 (Reply to #4)
How is that $50 off?
#6 Wed, 11/18/2015 - 07:29 (Reply to #5)
SoulTerror wrote:
Perhaps I phrased it wrong.
You can buy it off eBay for $50 using that link.
Played for a few hours last night, game is great! Air Squadron is a lot of fun. It's a mixture of AI and human players so there everyone can get kills. One round I had 16 AI kills, no human and was in third place for points from shooting up the Millennium Falcon. That thing is a tank!
Loving the Fighter Squadron. It's a good way to rank up and earn weapons for the other modes. XB GT Dr Risk 2006
Plus one on the dogfights!
#10 Fri, 11/20/2015 - 10:30
My copy is supposed to arrive today, so I'll be hunting some rebel scum tonight!
Hammerdrake
Can anyone tell me if there is a way to create the standard game modes against only AI? Not the single player/coop missions, but the actual MP modes?
I would like to be able to play these modes with just my son and I, full of bots, no other humans. Is that possible?
I have no idea. I think you are suppose to be able to.
#13 Tue, 11/24/2015 - 07:31
There is a mode where you can play split screen vs the AI. It's just a first to 100 coins thing and the matches only last about 5 minutes. No vehicles though. That's under missions. I didn't do much other exploring but I'm pretty sure that's the only mode you can play against just the AI.
In missions you can have two people play.
I think Survival and Battle modes allow for split-screen, but I'm not 100% sure.
Battle mode is the shorter mission that Soul mentioned and Survival are the longer missions that can take 25-30 minutes just doing Solo on Normal.
Battle mode also has a Hero mode that allows you to play as one of the Hero or Villain characters.
#16 Wed, 12/09/2015 - 15:59
Some rumors the next DLC will be Clone Wars and will have Yoda as a hero.
#17 Sun, 12/13/2015 - 15:43
CiaranORian
So how is it? I've been waiting for it for a year and then when it arrived I couldn't be bothered buying it.
#18 Mon, 12/14/2015 - 07:26
It's fun, but it does get old. Would be a lot of fun with friends but I usually end up playing with randoms.
I would like to create a clan on FB for a Star Wars: Battlefront clan. I would like to call it 2OLD4StarWars:Battlefront. Is this ok?
Greg Beck
xbox gamertag: dragon0520#6085


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tv BBC World News BBC America October 6, 2014 6:00am-7:01am EDT
this is bbc america, and now, live from london, "bbc world news." >> hello, i'm geeta guru-murthy with "bbc world news." our top stories. the battle for kobane, kurdish fighters hold back an advance by islamic state near the syrian border with turkey. after a week of protests, the number of pro-democracy protests on the streets of hong kong falls sharply. it's round two for brazil's president after dilma rousseff failed to secure enough votes to be re-elected outright. a british man accused of arranging the murder of his wife whilst on honeymoon goes on trial in south africa.
hello. a fierce battle is taking place around a syrian town near the border with turkey. kurdish fighters backed by u.s.-led air strikes are trying to hold back an advance by islamic state militants near kobane. the town has been besieged for weeks, forcing tens of thousands of kurds to flee the area. while these are the pictures live from the turkish-syrian border, there is some movement of turkish tanks lined up. let's speak to the bbc persian service. just tell us what is the latest picture first of all with control of kobane and where the
i.s. militants are. >> we can see kobane, looking to kobane right now. in my left, there is pounding. they are pushing back. just a few minutes ago, i talked to one of the soldiers in tanks, ask whether there is any reas reason -- to kobane for attacks. he said that right now --
[ inaudible ] some houses there. no action right now. >> okay, thanks very much indeed. sorry about the quality on that line, it is quite difficult to make out that, but hopefully you got some sort of gist there. mark lowen, our correspondent, is in instan bustanbul for us. can you tell us about why it is so strategically important? >> well, it is very important because it stands very close to the turkish border. it is just on the other side of the border fence, so if islamic state was to take that town, they would be at the border of a vital nato member, a country which has the second-largest army in the alliance. and also, it is a block to
islamic state's control of that part of northern syria. so that is why the fighting is so fierce around that town. i was down there for about ten days and saw much of what your correspondent there was talking about. the shelling continues of the town. we understand that islamic state are one or two kilometers away, trying to control the town from a hill to the south of it. but kurdish fighters are holding out. we have heard reports that a kurdish female fighter blew herself up last night next to islamic state positions and having to try to push them back. meanwhile, the u.s.-led air strikes try to push back i.s. fighters from a town that are not really succeeding, partly because i.s. are still vastly greater -- still have vastly greater weapons than the kurdish fighters there. >> so why are the turkish military not crossing the border to defend this town given parliament sanctioned military action last week?
>> it's a complicated issue for turkey. turkey gave parliamentary approval last thursday to, in theory, taking part in the coalition. but turkey fears retaliation along its long and porous border. it does not particularly want to help the kurds on the other side of the border. bear in mind, the long-standing hostility between the turkish government and the kurds in turkey who fought a civil war until recently. so turkey is weighing up its options, but there is a lot of pressure on turkey to get involved. the leader of the kurds here in turkey who's in prison saying that if kobane falls to islamic state, that would be the end of the peace process between the turks and the kurds. meanwhile, speculation continues here as to why 46 turkish citizens were released from being held hostage by islamic state in iraq since last you know. they were released about two and a half weeks ago.
a report today in a british newspaper saying that they were released as part of a prisoner exchange with islamic state in which up to 180 jihadis, foreign jihadis who were planning to fight with islamic state were released to the group. and we understand -- the report saying that ten of those 180 were e.u. citizens, two of them brits. the bbc has spoken to the foreign office in britain which says the reports of a prisoner exchange are credible. we are trying to get a confirmation from the turkish government, but bear in mind, it's the eid muslim holiday and we're not yet getting a response from the turkish government, but there were reports of an exchange and that is what cleared the way for the hostages to be released and the parliamentary vote to take place last week. >> mark, thanks very much for that update. speak to you soon. later in the program, we will report on the plight of iraqi christians. thousands are refugees after their homes were captured by the
so-called islamic state fighters. the number of pro-democracy activists on the streets of hong kong has fallen sharply, but student leaders have told the bbc it's a tactical retreat while they arrange talks with government officials. schools have reopened, as life in some parts of the territory returns to normal after more than a week of demonstrations. small groups of protesters are still defiant and demanding the right to elect candidates for election in 2017. babita sharma has more. >> reporter: i'm just outside one of the main government buildings in hong kong. the barricades have been completely move. there is no sign that the demonstrators are stopping the hundreds of government employees that are coming into this building here this morning. if anything, it is the media that have gathered there that are restricting their access into that building. but the protesters remain defiant. they're low in numbers this morning, but they say they're going to stay despite that government ultimatum for them to
clear the streets by this morning, monday morning. they're exhausted, tired, but no plans to leave any time soon. >> babita sharma there. julianna liewe julianna lieu -- >> they say the ball is in the government court. the two sides met last night briefly to try to hammer out a framework for the future possible talks. they also want a commitment from the government that they will implement or execute whatever it is that they decide at the end. a political settlement, political agreement, promises from the hong kong government to talk to beijing, perhaps to get the chinese government to change
their minds to what they've already announced at the end of august. the students say that they're hoping to meet either later today or tomorrow at the very latest. they say if the talks don't happen by tomorrow, the government may indeed not have been sincere in wanting to speak. >> juliana lui there. brazil's presidential race will go to a second round after the incumbent dilma rousseff fell short of outright victory. 142 million people were eligible to vote and turnout was around 80%. voting is mandatory in brazil for those between 18 and 70, so dilma rousseff failed to get enough votes to avoid a second round runoff getting 41% of the poll. the pro-business candidate got 34%, guaranteeing his place in the runoff. but the environmentalist marina
silva obtained only 21% of the vote and has now been eliminated. roy davis reports. >> reporter: celebrating victory, but dilma rousseff fell short of the 50% she needed to stay in power for another four years. she may dismiss her rivals as ghosts from the past, but this election is far from over. brazilians take their civic duty seriously. this was only the seventh time people here have voted in a democratic election since the end of military rule. for the last 12 years, they've been given by the leftist party. it's also been accused of driving the economy towards recession. did you think it's the economy, violence? what are the main issues? >> the main issues are economic right now. i think the security issue is always an issue in brazil, but the economic issue right now,
it's what's moving the election. >> i guess corruption. we are talking about -- actually, forget about that. just corruption. >> reporter: and this is who many brazilians have turned to, nevez, who came within ten percentage points of beating dilma in the first round. but for every winner, a loser. a month ago, marina silva was favorite to become brazil's next president. but without a big party structure, that support fell away. brazilians are already looking to who marina will back in the second round as possible king maker. >> marina, it surpasses the number of votes that dilma obtained in the first round. so clearly the majority of the society is in favor of the change. >> brazilians are now winding
down after what's been a very intense and at times surprising election campaign. and of course, they'll have to go through it all again in three weeks time to find out who will be the next leader of the world's seventh largest economy. bbc news, rio de janeiro. the underwater search for the missing malaysia airlines flight mh370 has resumed in the southern indian ocean seven months after it disappeared. a ship equipped with sonar technology has arrived in a remote stretch of ocean where the plane is thought to have ended its flight. typhoon phanfone has landed in japan. at least one person has died and three others are missing. thousands of households have lost power and japan's two largest airlines have suspended many flights.
the world's longest reigning monarch underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder. he took the throne in 1986 and has stepped in repeatedly to unify the country. tens of thousands of villages have fled their homes in kashmir, as indian and pakistani troops bombarded each other with gunfire and mortar shells. the two sides exchanged fire over the border. at least nine people, including three children, were killed. each country accuses the other of firing first. and police in indian controlled kashmir have fired tear gas at protesters who are angry over the response of last month's devastating floods. the government has failed to provide proper relief to tens of thousands of flood victims. at least 100,000 homes were destroyed in early september. a curfew has been imposed in the
central business district to stop further protests. stay with us on "bbc world news." much more to come. have you ever felt the need to zone out at work? we tell you how one woman's tragedy inspired her to design a hat that can help you do just that. to always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. that redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. after all, you can't turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. ♪
this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest headlines. the battle continues for the syrian town of kobane. kurdish fighters try to hold back an advance by islamic state militants. following a week of protests, there's a sharp fall in the number of pro-democracy campaigners on the streets of hong kong. now, a british businessman accused of masterminding the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in south africa has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in capetown. he denies plotting to kill his wife annie in november 2010.
three men have already been jailed for their part in her murder. let's talk now to our correspondent who is in capetown. milton, tell us what's happened today. we've heard quite a lot of evidence outlined already, haven't we? >> reporter: very much so, geeta. today we heard through a statement by mr. dewani that he considered himself to be bisexual, and he said that in his attempt to cure himself of this, annie, his wife, was supportive of his hormonal treatment. we also have the counts that were read to him. he had five counts. he's facing five counts, which were read to him, which include murder, kidnapping, robbery, and defeating the ends of justice. but things have moved along since then. we've heard the first state witness, a pathologist, dr. jeanette fester.
she's been explaining what she thought was the cause of death for annie. she said it was a single gunshot wound to the neck, and she said the gun was fired at close range, between ten and 25 centimeters from her neck. so that's what we've been hearing in court today. and mr. dewani, through his statement, has explained what happened on the night and how he withdrew money, how he changed a thousand pounds to try and prepare for this private surprise helicopter ride to watch the sunrise over capetown. >> milton, we have to leave it there. back to you soon for more. thanks very much for now. a catholic church leader in iraq has said that western air strikes haven't done enough to protect the country's christians. the archbishop of erbil says more force needs to be used to keep christians safe. tens of thousands fled their
villages and towns near mosul in early august. from erbil in northern iraq, quentin somerville. >> reporter: the peace and quiet of st. joseph's cathedral in erbil is no more. the chapel gardens have become a crowded sanctuary for iraqi christians. most arrived here with only the clothes on their backs. when the islamic state overran their towns and villages. this was in june. catholic church bells ringing out in defiance of i.s. in nearby mosul. a congregation refusing to flee. >> we will fight and we will stay here. we are not leaving actually. >> reporter: three months on, we find it again, and discover that like every other christian, she
did flee. you fled in the middle of the night? >> yes. >> reporter: and she has little expectation of returning home soon. >> first we need them to -- our lands to be under control, the government or the peshmerga or anything. and then we need protection actually from the surrounding, because they are the people who attacked us, who betrayed us. >> reporter: a kurdish soldier looks down on i.s.-controlled territory. from mosul outwards through sunni muslim villages, the islamic state spread. christians have live mid this part of iraq for centuries, but as the islamic state swept across this plain, their abandoned their towns and villages and now none are left. the church says it will only be safe for them to return when mosul has been liberated and the islamic state defeated. the archbishop of erbil says air strikes so far have done nothing to help iraq's christians.
>> it's strange for a catholic bishop to say that please, we need more of wars, but it's self-defense really. i could see that my people are really dying, dying in a way that is terrifying, it's painful. we have to defend ourselves. >> reporter: even if the islamic state is forced back, christian and sunni neighbors won't easily trust each other again. there's little faith left here. quentin somerville, bbc news in northern iraq. we're going to go back to brazil now. aaron? >> we are indeed. all about the economy. that election about the economy. thanks, geeta. hello there. certainly as you've been hearing, dilma rousseff won the most votes in sunday's election, but she will need to take part in that runoff at the end of the
month. after growing more than 4% a year during a commodities fuel boom last decade, brazil's economy has averaged less than 2% growth under rousseff, and there are many on wall street that have made no secret of their desire for more market-friendly policies. we're going to go live to our business reporter in brazil on "gmt" coming up in just over an hour's time. also this one. greece has released earlier today its draft budget for 2015 and after many very bleak years, it would seem that the country's economy is kind of turning a coroner. because the plan outlines the greece hopes to exit. its $240 million euro bailout package a year ahead of scheduled. it expects to report a budget surplus. when have we heard that? a budget surplus of 2.9% of its gdp next year, that would be just shy of the 3% target set by
its international lenders, which is the eu and the imf bailout. big problems for disney, in particular euro disney. the theme park complex on the outskirts of paris has agreed to a $1.25 billion debt restructuring deal backed by its biggest shareholder walt disney. walt disney actually owns 40% of the parisian theme park. as part of the deal, euro disney will offer new shares to current shareholders at a discount on the current price. the news certainly sent shares lower. they were down this morning. today, monday, down some 14%. and that is it with the business. more on "gmt" in just over an hour's time. and you can tweet me @bbcaaron. that's it with the business. >> if disney doesn't alleviate your stress, how about this? a helmet designed by one japanese designer.
have a look. >> a speaker on the top. microphone here. actually, it's based on my personal story. when my dad passed away, he committed suicide when i was 11 because of work stress. we work very hard. the work stress has the effect to desire through the reality. my ideas are inspired by a comic book character. japanese cultures are always in work stress, so that's why we
have among the cultures, quite obsessed about how to escape reality for myself. i'm always thinking about him, why this happened. initially my idea was from my brother. because he's really shy. they start to sing really loud. the game i made with the helmets are for workers to have a competition together. office worker can release their negative energy, and let go of their stress. after my father's death, i had a really hard time for a while.
want to get into the japanese subculture. >> that's it from us. bye-bye. see you soon. we are going to be back, in fact, in about five minutes. stay with us. ♪ ted what are you doing? i was trying to get these skittles, but i got stuck. [ crickets chirping ] maybe i should try. [ spider ] i say go for it. [ crickets chirping ] trap the rainbow! taste the rainbow!
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hello, i'm geeta guru-murthy with "bbc world news." our top stories. the battle for kobane, kurdish fighters hold back an advance by islamic state near the syrian border with turkey. following a week of protests, the number of pro-democracy activists on the streets of hong kong falls. in her bid to retain office, the brazilian president dilma rousseff is to face a second round runoff. and a british man accused of arranging the murder of his wife whilst on honeymoon is on trial in south africa.
hello. a fierce battle is taking place around a syrian town near the border with turkey. kurdish fighters backed by u.s.-led air strikes are trying to hold back an advance by islamic state militants at kobane. the town has been besieged for three weeks now, forcing tens of thousands of kurds to flee the area. let's have a look at some of the live shots coming into us now from the turkish-syrian border. there's some movement of turkish tanks lined up, and we have seen smoke coming from some of the buildings in the last few minutes in kobane on the syrian side. the bbc's mark lowen is in istanbul. he told me more about the situation there and the strategic importance of kobane. >> reporter: well, it is very important because it stands very
close to the turkish border. it is just on the other side of the border fence. so if islamic state were to take that town, they would be at the border of a vital nato member, a country which has the second-largest army in the alliance. and also, it is a block to islamic state's control of that part of northern syria. so that is why the fighting is so fierce around that town. i was down there for about ten days and saw much of what your correspondent there was talking about. the shelling continues of the town. we understand that islamic state are one or two kilometers away, trying to control the town from a hill to the south of it. but kurdish fighters are holding out. we have heard reports that a kurdish female fighter blew herself up last night next to islamic state positions in an attempt to try to push them back. meanwhile, the u.s.-led air strikes try to push back i.s. fighters from the town that are not really succeeding, partly
because i.s. are still vastly greater, vastly greater array of weapons than the kurdish fighters there. >> so why are the turkish military not crossing the border to defend this town given parliament sanctioned military action last week? >> it's a complicated issue for turkey. turkey gave parliamentary approval last thursday to in theory taking part in the coalition, but turkey fears retaliation along its long and porous border. it does not particularly want to help the kurds on the other side of the border. bear in mind, the long-standing hostility between the turkish government and the kurds in turkey who fought a civil war until recently. so turkey is weigh up its option, but there is a lot of pressure on turkey to get involved. the leader of the kurds here in turkey, who is prison, saying if kobane falls to islamic state, that would be the end of the peace process between the turks
and the kurds. meanwhile, speculation continues here as to why 46 turkish citizens were released from being held hostage by islamic state in iraq since last you know. they were released about two and a half weeks ago. a report today in a british newspaper saying they were released as part of a prisoner exchange with islamic state, in which up to 180 jihadis, were released to the group. and we understand -- the report saying that ten of those were eu citizens, two of them brits. the bbc has spoken to the foreign office in britain, which says that the reports of a prisoner exchange are credible. we are trying to get a confirmation from the turkish government, but bear in mind, it's the eid muslim holiday here, and government offices are closed and we're not yet getting a response from the turkish government. but there were reports of a prisoner exchange and perhaps that is what cleared the way for
those hostages to be released and finally for that parliamentary vote to take place last week. >> mark lowen on that in istanbul. let's go to hong kong, because the number of pro-democracy protesters has fallen sharply. but student leaders have told the bbc it's a tactical retreat. schools have reopened, as life in some parts of the territory returns to normal. after more than a week of demonstrations, small groups of protesters still are defiant. they're demanding a right to nominate candidates for election in 2017. babita sharma has more. >> reporter: i'm just outside one of the main government buildings in hong kong. the barricades have been completely moved. there is no sign that the demonstrators are stopping the hundreds of government employees that are coming into this building here this morning. if anything, it is the media that have gather there had that are restricting their access into that building. but the protesters remain defiant. they're low in numbers this morning, but they say they're
going to stay despite that government ultimatum for them to clear the streets by this morning, monday morning. they're exhausted. they're tired. no plans to leave any time soon. >> juliana lui has been speaking to protesters to find out their next move. >> reporter: they are waiting to hear back from the hong kong government. the two sides met last night briefly to try to hammer out a framework for the future possible talks. they couldn't come to an agreement. the students are insisting that the talks take place over several rounds, not just once. they also want a commitment from the government that they will implement or execute whatever it is they decide to use this as an opportunity to press for a political settlement, political agreement, promises from the hong kong government to talk to
beijing, perhaps to get the chinese goth to change their minds to alter what they've announced at the end of august. students are hoping to meet either later today or tomorrow at the very latest. they say if the talks don't happen by tomorrow, that the government may indeed not have been sincere in wanting to speak. >> juliana lui there. brazil's presidential race will go to a second round after the incumbent dilma rousseff fell short of an outright victory in yesterday's election. more than 142 million people can vote and turnout was around 80%. voting is mandatory in brazil for those aged between 18 and 70. the brazilian president dilma rousseff didn't get enough votes to avoid a runoff. she got 41% of the vote. neves got 34% of the vote, which gives him a place in the runoff. but the environmentalist marina
silva, who was expected to make it through, managed to secure only 21% of the vote. she has now been eliminated. >> reporter: celebrating victory, but dilma rousseff fell somewhere short of the 50% she needed to stay in power for another four years. she may dismiss her rivals as ghosts from the past, but this election is far from over. brazilians take their civic duty seriously. this was only the seventh time people here have voted in a democratic election since the end of military rule. the last 12 years, they've been given by the leftist record party. it has a strong record on generous welfare policies but has also been accused of driving the chi towareconomy towards vi. do you think it's the economy? violence? >> security issue is always an issue in brazil, but the
economic issue right now, it's moving the elections. >> i guess corruption. we are talking about the -- no, actually, forget about that. just corruption. >> reporter: and this is who many brazilians have turned to, neves, the business-friendly former state governor who came within ten percentage points of beating dilma in the first round. but for every winner, a loser. a month ago, marina silva was favorite to become brazil's next president. but attacked for policy inconsistencies and without a big party structure, that support fell away. brazilians are already looking to who marina will back in the second round as potential king maker. >> to sum up, in marina, it surpasses the number of votes that dilma obtained in the first round, so clearly the majority of the society is in favor of
the change. >> reporter: brazilians are winding down after what's been an intense and at times surprising election campaign, and of course they'll have to go through it all again in three weeks time to find out who will be the next leader of the world's seventh largest economy. bbc news, rio de janeiro. stay with us, there's much more to come. shunned because of ebola. the sad truth behind the virus, which has left some children without anyone or anywhere to go. ced by hp's cyber security team are constantly monitored for threats. outside and in. that's why hp reports and helps neutralize more intrusions than anyone... in the world. if hp security solutions can help keep the world's largest organizations safe, they can keep yours safe, too. make it matter.
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this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest headlines. the battle continues for the syrian town of kobane. kurdish fighters try to hold back an advance by islamic state militants. after a week of protests, there's a sharp fall in the number of pro-democracy campaigners on the streets of
hong kong. a british businessman accused of masterminding the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in south africa has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial in capetown. mr. dewani denies plotting to kill his wife annie in november 2010. three men have already been jailed for their part in her murder. the bbc is at the trial with this update. >> reporter: today we heard through a statement by mr. dewani that he said he considered himself to be bisexual and he said that in his attempt to cure himself of this, annie, his wife, was supportive of his hormonal treatment. we also have the counts that were read to him. he had five counts, he's facing five counts, which were read to him, which include murder, kidnapping, robbery, and defeating the ends of justice.
but things have moved along since then. we've heard the first state witness, a pathologist, dr. jeanette fester. she's been explaining what she thought was the cause of death for annie. she said it was a single gunshot wound to the neck and she said the gun was fired at close range between 10 and 25 centimeters from her neck. so that's what we've been hearing in court today, and mr. dewani through his statement has explained what happened on the night and how he withdrew money, how he changed a thousand pounds to try and prepare for this private surprise helicopter ride to watch the sunrise over capetown. a catholic church leader in iraq has said that western air strikes haven't done enough to protect the country's christians. the archbishop of erbil says
more force needs to be used to keep christians safe. tens of thousands fled in august as islamic state militants advance through the area. from erbil in northern iraq, quentin somerville reports. >> reporter: the peace and quiet of st. joseph's cathedral in erbil is no more. the chapel gardens have become a crowded sanctuary for iraqi christians. most arrived here with only the clothes on their backs. when the islamic state overran their towns and villages. this was in june. catholic church bells ringing out in defiance of i.s. in nearby mosul. a congregation refusing to flee. >> this is our land. we will fight for this land and we will stay here. we are not leaving actually. >> reporter: but three months on, we find her again and discover that like every other
christian, she did flee. you fled in the middle of the night? >> yes. >> reporter: and she has little expectation of returning home soon. >> first, we need them to -- our lands to be under control. government or the peshmerga or anything. and then we need protection, actually, from the surrounding, because they are the people who attacked us, who betrayed us. >> reporter: a kurdish soldier looks down on i.s.-controlled territory. from mosul outwards through sunni muslim villages, the islamic state spread. christians have lived in this part of iraq for centuries, but as the islamic state swept across this town, they abandoned their towns and villages and none have left. the church says it will only be safe for them to return when mosul has been liberated. the archbishop of erbil says air strikes so far have done nothing
to help iraq's christians. >> it's strange for a catholic bishop to say that, please, we need more of wars, but it's self-defense really. i could see that my people are really dying, dying in a way that is terrifying, it's painful, and we have to defend ourselves. >> reporter: even if the islamic state is forced back, christian and sunni neighbors won't easily trust each other again. there's little faith left here. quentin somerville, bbc news in northern iraq. the united states' top public health agency has warned that the experimental ebola drug zmapp is not going to be available any time soon. the first ebola patient diagnosed in the u.s. is still fighting for his life. thomas duncan, who caught the virus in liberia, is being
treated in an isolation ward at a hospital in dallas. nora westbrook reports. >> reporter: unconscious and heavily sedated, thomas duncan is on a ventilator unable to breathe on his own. mr. duncan caught the ebola voi rus in his native liberia. he is being treated here at a hospital in dallas. >> we understand that his situation has taken a turn for the worse. we know that ebola is a very serious disease. and we're hoping for his recovery. >> reporter: his family remain under close watch, but they are symptom-free. they are among 50 people who require daily monitoring for 21 days. mr. duncan won't be treated with the experimental drug zmapp. it's viewed by many experts as the most promising drug for treating people infected with ebola, but doses have run out and it won't be available until next year. more than 3,400 people have been killed by the ebola virus, with
guinea, sierra leone, and liberia the hardest hit countries. more than 7,400 people have been infected worldwide, but the real figure could be much higher, as cases are being underreported. the u.n. says the virus has orphaned 4,000 children and this number may double in the coming weeks. this is jojo. he was quarantined in hospital for three weeks. when he was released, he had no one and nowhere to go. he's one of many orphans here at this humanitarian center in sierra leone. not only have these children lost their loved ones, some have been shunned. >> some of their friends withdraw from them. and the family members as well. >> reporter: the w.h.o. says the outbreak can and will be brought under control. but the effects of this silent killer will be felt for years to come. laura westbrook, bbc news.
in other news today, the underwater search for the missing malaysia airlines flight mh370 has started again in the southern indian ocean, seven months after it disappeared. a ship equipped with specialized sonar technology has arrived in a remote stretch of ocean where the plane is thought to have ended its flight. 239 people were onboard the plane from kuala lumpur. typhoon phanfone brought heavy rain to japan before moving on to the capital tokyo. at least one person has died and three others are missing. thousands of households have lost power and japan's two largest airlines have suspended many flights. the world's longest reigning monarch has had surgery to remove his gallbladder. doctors say the 86-year-old's procedure went well. thais hold the king in great affection. he has stepped in repeatedly
over the years to unify the country. it's been two decades since the end of white minority rule in south africa. but the end of apartheid and the emergence of a rainbow nation hasn't gone down well with everyone. some africanas feel they've been given a raw deal, so they set up their own whites only town. around a thousand people live there. our reporter paid it a visit. >> reporter: this is a small south african town where only white people live. the south african constitution allows for cultural groups. there are only about a thousand africana groups here, mostly working on farms and in construction. but the town is slowly growing. this couple have just made the move from johannesburg with their two young children.
>> the quietness and the peace, that's what i've expected and that's what i get here. yeah, that's how i feel. and i think because in the city, you just become a number. but in a small community like this, somebody will -- just sneeze, the whole town knows. but if you sneeze in the city, nobody cares. >> reporter: as i walk around town, i struggle to tell whether i'm welcomed here. there's no other black face in sight, except mine. all i get are a few stares and occasional hand waves from passing motorists. for many people, it's even surprising that a town like this exists. a place where only white people live. and what's interesting is that more and more people are moving in, and to find out why, i'm going to meet the grandson of this man, a man considered the
architect of apartheid. >> the formation became a real political program. black economic empowerment. it made africanas think about alternatives. >> so why do you feel the need to accept out a separate oriana in modern day south africa? >> we could just lose ourselves as a cultural community unless we take certain steps, we may rightfully fear that we could lose our very existence. >> reporter: right now, oriana is a quaint, harmless cultural oddity. an experiment. but it is hoped that in time they will not be just a thousand, or a million, or even two million africanas living here in racial segregation. the creators of the rainbow nation may have other ideas,
though. bbc news, oriana, south africa. the nobel prize in medicine has been jointly won by three neuroscientists. john o'keefe is based here in london and his co-winners are a husband and wife. the prize committee said the work helped explain how our brains help create a map of the space surrounding us, helping us to navigate our way through a complex environment. if you're a film buff, then the chances are that you're a fan of one of the most influential cinematographers of mexico's golden age of cinema, whose work has just gone on display at the mexican cultural institute in washington. he died in 1997, but his son has been talking to us about his father's work and legacy. >> he wanted to make the mexican
landscape more visually important. and he started experimenting with different filters to darken the sky so that the clouds would pop up, and that was more or less a signature of what's called figueroa skies. my name is gabrielle figueroa flores and i'm the son of the cinematographer. i inherited his estate and i've been restore and promoting his work ever since. gabrielle figaro was one of the best cinematographers in the '40s and '50s. he worked with john huston, john ford. he was a pioneer of the golden era of mexican cinema in black and white. this epic and romantic stories were told in a very dramatic
way. i saw him work many times, and his style of lighting was very particular. he would put main lights first, and then start breaking out the light and put a lot of shadows in the scene. so in that sense, he was lighting with shadows. figueroa and other people in the industry in mexico created the image of a country that is fiction, but the society still recognizes themselves in those films as mexicans. so the mexican essence is there in those films. and i think it's a classic work, because it's a work that doesn't pass, it's always present. it's always recognized as
something valuable, historically, aesthetically. and i think that's his legacy. >> gabriel figueroa remembered by his son. we're back tomorrow. do join us then. see you soon. with a little something extra. mmm deliciousness. cookies or almonds. yumminess. hershey's is mine, yours, our chocolate.
revolutionary by every standard. and that became our passion. to always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. that redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. after all, you can't turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. ♪
so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are24/7branches? it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates.
hello. you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. our top stories, the battle for a crucial town on the border with syria and turkey appears to be intensifying. these are live pictures of kobane, which islamic state militants are trying to seize. our correspondents there say a ferocious gun battle has engulfed the eastern edge of the town. we're going to take you live to the border for the very latest. did turkey secure the release last month of dozens of its hostages from islamic state by handing back militant fighters in exchange? one week on,
BBC America October 6, 2014 6:00am-7:01am EDT
News. Reporting on the day's international news from London and from BBC correspondents around the world.
Brazil 12, Turkey 10, South Africa 7, Annie 6, Bbc News 6, Geeta 6, Capetown 5, Mosul 5, Mr. Dewani 5, Northern Iraq 4, Quentin Somerville 4, Marina Silva 4, Kobane 3, Dilma Rousseff 3, Babita Sharma 3, Hong Kong 3, Liberia 3, Mexico 2, Jihadis 2, Hp 2
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I am very pleased to let you know that the Steam Packet and its people have done an amazing job of raising money for our troops and their welfare. The money-making has been greatly helped by the Auction of Promises night organised largely by Jimmy and Lorna Wright; from this £2500 was sent direct to 40 Commando Royal Marines. A grand total of £5400 was raised jointly by Babs, Mike, Jim and Lorna. £950 has been sent to the Dart Lifeboat. The meat draw raised £800 . Well done all, and let's only hope that your efforts will soon not be needed. Some hope at the moment!
Last June, as part of the Britannia Royal Naval College Outreach Programme, 20 officer cadets spent a day helping Kingswear Primary School to create a garden from scratch in a field. On Saturday, February 5th, more than 30 officer cadets crossed the river to help the school again and finish the project started last year.The village primary school is developing an outdoor learning space in the corner of a field at the top of the village, generously donated by the owners of Fountain Violet Farm, Edward and Emma Jones. As well as a school garden, the site will boast a circular 'living' classroom woven from willow, a tepee and a fire-pit. It is hoped the children will be able to cook and eat some of the garden produce grown this year. On the last visit the officer cadets of Vanguard Division fenced and rabbit-proofed a 20 by 8 metre area and built 5 raised beds. The school decided to name the fledgling garden the VANGUARDEN in return ! This time it was the turn of Ambush Division, who built the remaining 5 raised beds, the compost bays and a garden shed. They also built the fire-pit area, added some low benches for the children and dug a large circular trench in preparation for the planting of the willow classroom. The new shed is now to be known affectionately as the AMBUSH HUT !!
The school again provided the tools and materials as well as food donated by parents and helpers. A camp fire, sausages, cakes, and hot drinks were served up by the Headteacher, Mark Oakshot, and several governors and their families. Ambush Division, led by Sub-Lieutenant Michael Johnson, was joined by a large group of international cadets from countries as far afield as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and a number from the Marine School in Germany.
The Outreach Programme helps to build links with the local community, encourages team-building and prepares cadets for tasks such as disaster relief work. All the cadets were very enthusiastic, capable and well-motivated, not to mention extremely polite. It was another very enjoyable and productive day for all involved and Kingswear Primary School would like to say an enormous thank you to the Royal Navy for making it possible.
They've done it again, those talented ladies of the WI. Fed us all splendidly, with people clamouring at the door to be let in (get your act together and buy your tickets earlier next year!). Saturday February 5th saw a packed village hall filled with goodies; quizzes were done, sausage and mash and peas were consumed in industrial quantities and then there were the puddings, ah, the puddings! Grown men were seen to almost cry with happiness and one young Japanese boy will go back to Japan with an amazing view of the eccentric English and their eating and drinking habits. I think he was mightily impressed. Well done indeed ladies, it was a superb evening and we'll look forward to next year.
Kingswear resident, Richard Malone has recently become the new Junior Captain at Churston Golf Club (from 1/1/11). Richard has lived in Kingswear for nearly 17 years and attends Churston Ferrers Grammar School studying for his A Levels. He previously attended Kingswear Primary school. He has been a junior member of Churston Golf Club since June 2006.
At the traditional Captain's drive-in, Richard raised a total of £130 for his chosen charity Cancer Research UK. Following his drive-in, there was a Greensomes Stableford competition, for existing and ex junior members, played with four clubs and a putter. Fittingly, Richard went on to win with playing partner Alex Booth carding 38 points.


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Apple downplays processor flaws across all Mac, iOS, and tvOS devices (Updated)
Jeremy Horwitz@horwitz	 January 5, 2018 8:03 AM
Above: Apple "pooped" the stage this week.
Image Credit: UploadVR
While Intel, Google, ARM, and Microsoft rushed to issue both public statements and patches addressing the Meltdown and Spectre processor security exploits, Apple took the opposite tack, waiting more than a day to quietly downplay the gigantic story using a tech support document, without a corresponding press release or public statement. In short, the number of affected Apple products is huge, and the company doesn't yet have fixes ready for all of them, but it's working on them — there's no need to worry.
The particularly bad news for Apple and its users: "All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected," according to the support document. This stunningly broad admission erases any ambiguity as to whether Apple's custom-designed A-series chips and more recent products were protected — they were not. Worse: tvOS devices* running on Apple-designed chips also appear to be affected, though with varied vulnerabilities.
On the other hand, Apple was ahead of its rivals in saying that "there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time." Apple has already patched its iOS, macOS, and tvOS operating systems against Meltdown, which means that any device running iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, or tvOS 11.2 was partially protected before most people knew there were issues worthy of concern. Additionally, Apple plans to patch its Safari browser "in the coming days" to address Spectre, suggesting complete fixes for current macOS and iOS devices aren't far off.
Unfortunately, there are tens if not hundreds of millions of older Apple devices in the marketplace that can't run Apple's latest operating systems and browsers, and it's unclear what Apple will do to secure them. Intel drew a clear line in its announcement, providing timetables for protection of processors five years old or newer; ARM offered patches across Cortex processors regardless of age. Apple's silence on this question isn't exactly reassuring — will older Apple products receive security patches?
Additionally, the risk to tvOS devices remains somewhat ambiguous. Since Apple is addressing Spectre with Safari patches on macOS and iOS, but Apple TVs don't have a Safari app, the solution there isn't clear. It appears Apple will patch tvOS itself to address Spectre.
If there's any silver lining in Apple's announcement, it's that performance impacts to Macs and iOS devices are said to be non-existent or small. Apple notes that benchmarks show "no measurable reduction" in macOS or iOS performance after the Meltdown patch and that upcoming Safari patches will have either "no measurable impact" or "an impact of less than 2.5 percent," depending on the benchmark. But again, nothing is said about the Apple Watch and Apple TV, both of which historically suffered from sluggish performance before receiving processor upgrades.
Like other OS vendors, Apple promises to release "further mitigations for these issues" in future iOS, macOS, and tvOS updates. Hopefully, the initial Spectre patches will fare as well as the Meltdown ones and Apple will announce solutions for older and less common devices, as well.
Update at 10:48 a.m. Pacific: Apple changed its announcement on January 5 to note that Apple Watches are not affected by either Meltdown or Spectre, after saying on January 4 only that Watches were unaffected by Meltdown. We've updated this article to reflect the change.


NewTek Discussions > LightWave 3D User Community > LW - Community > AutoCAD to Lightwave: best file format path?
View Full Version : AutoCAD to Lightwave: best file format path?
Related to my other post about fluids, I might need to work with some assets modeled in AutoCAD. At first blush it seems the best path would be to have them saved out as .dxf and then import that into LW? Can anyone suggest a better path?
I would think that .obj would be your best bet.
Thanks; I didn't see that as one of the output formats AC supports. I'd be asking someone else to export their models so I don't have any control over whether they have special plugins.
In my opinion FBX is the best solution.
That's the way we're going on a current CAD to LW project. The STP file retains the vertex normal data, so smoothing is nice. In my experience, once you start hacking and slashing any geometry from a CAD package, it can be nasty as you mess up that vertex normal data.
Obj format should retain the vertex normal data as well.
Unsure of the latest AutoCAD versions but the ones that I have don't have OBJ as an output/export format. A plugin is needed for that capability.
Ditto, STEP > POLYTRANS >LWO.
I can vouch for this as well, but instead of using LWO export, I use OBJ to retain vertex normal (smoothing) data.
My most recent project I had to actually cut the imported STP files in half for cutaway renders and MOI worked out well. Another thing I learned about MOI was scale inside MOI when you do any surface edits or boolean operations. I found that if I scaled the model up to a bigger size and then executed the boolean it worked as expected.
On a related note. We deal with only 2d floorplans sent to us once in a while, so an AutoCAD licence just for converting clients files to LW was not a wise choice. Thankfully we found DraftSight, pretty much a free clone of autocad. Once we delete the fluff and "explode" to the last level, floorplans import well into Lightwave as ASCI DXF.
Thanks guys, this is all great stuff. One other option I was just looking into was subscribing to Fusion360. That would, for a very low buy-in, allow me to accept the native .dwg files and then tweak/export them myself instead of relying on the client to supply the import format. From what I've read I can't assume they can output .stp files since that seems to be limited to some versions of AutoCAD.


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Open for Nominations: 2012 GreenGov Presidential Awards
April 19, 2012 at 10:18 AM ET by Nancy Sutley
The awards celebrate extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of President Obama's challenge to Federal agencies to help grow clean energy jobs and reduce pollution in our communities.
In 2009, President Obama signed an Executive Order that challenged Federal agencies to lead by example in sustainable operations. He asked agencies to save energy and money, reduce their waste and water use, and use the Federal Government's purchasing power as the largest energy consumer in the U.S. economy to help grow clean energy jobs and reduce pollution in our communities.
Each year, the GreenGov Presidential Awards celebrate extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of President Obama's challenge, honoring the best and most innovative sustainability efforts and practices among leaders in the Federal workforce. For example, just a few of the 2011 winners include:
A team from the U.S. Department of the Interior that helped neighboring rural communities to responsibly dispose of electronic and hazardous waste in the Grand Canyon National Park and surrounding areas. Through partnerships with other community organizations and local governments, the employees helped divert more than 6 tons of waste from local community landfills, and created a model for other Federal facilities that are located away from densely populated areas where conventional recycling efforts are not feasible.
A team from Naval Base San Diego that incorporated new ideas and equipment in its operations to reduce waste and pollutants across its facility. Naval Base San Diego now saves $834,000 annually thanks to its energy, water and renewable energy projects.
The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab, which designed a net-zero energy data center that creates as much energy as it consumes by using the climate as a natural coolant, capturing waste heat to ventilate in the cooler months, and employing advanced equipment to minimize energy use. The data center consumes 81 percent less energy than its predecessor, and is expected to save $200,000 annually in electricity costs and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 5,000,000 pounds per year.
Nominations are now open for the 2012 GreenGov Presidential Awards here. I look forward to learning about and sharing the outstanding, innovative sustainability efforts of Federal leaders across the country.
Nancy Sutley is Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality


The Almost post "Little Drummer Boy"
The Almost have posted a song from their upcoming Christmas-themed EP for streaming. You can check out "Little Drummer Boy" on their MySpace page.
The EP, No Gift To Bring, is scheduled for a November 25th release on Tooth & Nail. They last released Southern Weather in 2007.
Previous articleWilliam Control posts video for "Beautiful Loser"


CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand: A Maori lament echoed across Christchurch Friday as a survivor of the New Zealand mosque attacks told a national remembrance service he had forgiven the gunman responsible for the racist massacre that shocked the world.
Thousands attended the service in the grieving southern city, standing silently with heads bowed while the names of 50 people killed by a self-avowed white supremacist gunman were read out.
Speakers honored the dead and those who survived the March 15 attacks, including 22 people who remain in hospital, among them a critically injured four-year-old girl.
Wearing a traditional Maori cloak, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by representatives from nearly 60 nations, including her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.
"Racism exists, but it is not welcome here," she said.
The hastily organized service was held amid tight security, with Police Commissioner Mike Bush confirming armed police from Australia were on site to assist their New Zealand counterparts.
But the most moving speech came from Farid Ahmed, whose wife Husna was killed as she rushed back into a mosque trying to rescue her disabled husband.
Sitting in his wheelchair before the assembled crowd, Ahmed said he forgave the accused gunman, Australian Brenton Tarrant.
"People ask me, 'why do you forgive someone who has killed your beloved wife?'" he said.
Echoing Ardern's theme that extremism should not be allowed to breed extremism, Ahmed received a standing ovation when he said he chose peace over anger.
"I don't want a heavy heart boiling like a volcano with anger, fury and rage — it burns itself and burns its surroundings," he said.
"I want a heart full of love, care and mercy. This heart does not want any more lives to be lost, any other human to go through the pain I've gone through.
Among the crowd, Azra Chida traveled from Auckland to attend the service, saying she lost two close friends in the attack.
"I have come to see their families and pay respect and visit the patients in the hospital," she told AFP shortly before the ceremony began.
Local man Bobby Turner said: "I'm here for solidarity. To show that we care.