A few days ago, before the air became too cold and the wind to fast, we gathered in a garden for a day-long Creative Retreat. I had the honor of co-hosting this beautiful Willow Gathering event with my studio-mate, Julie Dodds (a super talented floral designer and travel enthusiast).
Our vision for this retreat (and every other retreat or workshop we host) is to create an environment that is restful and nourishing; full of nature, art, peace, and time to rejuvenate.
Something intangible and transformative happens when you allow your mind a moment of space to create – and the freedom to try something new. With that quiet goal tucked in our minds, we spent the day learning new artistic kills, lingering over a French-inspired handmade-dinner, and enjoying refreshing drinks and each other's company as the light faded over the garden and the warm bonfire took its place.
During the afternoon Julie taught a workshop of floral arranging with a natural, modern aesthetic and I offered instruction in watercolor painting; merging art and nature within monochromatic organic paintings.
The comradery that was formed within the group was so much fun to be a part of. While each participant learned something new and created something of beauty, the real treasure from the day happened in our minds and hearts. We each left feeling light and inspired, enabled, and encouraged to live beautiful and creative lives.
Visit the Willow Gathering website to learn more about upcoming events. The Spring Retreat is going to be held in France! May 9-13th, at a historic 1600's Chateau just south of Paris.
Additional thanks to Beth Ables, Sonya Ables, Daniel Jeffords, Eric Dodds, and each of our lovely workshop participants! You made this beautiful for all of us.
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text:
AMONG THE JANEITES
Book Club Guide
Buy / Share the Book
Other People's Children
ABOUT JANE AUSTEN
Her Life
Her Work
Such art as hers
By Deborah Yaffe, Jul 13 2017 01:00PM
For visitors to Jane Austen's House Museum -- aka Chawton cottage -- where Austen spent the last eight years of her life and wrote or revised all her finished novels, the memorial plaque that hangs beside the building's original front door is a touching testimonial to Janeite devotion.
"Jane Austen lived here from 1809-1817 and hence all her works were sent into the world," the lettering reads. "Her admirers in this country and in America have united to erect this tablet. Such art as hers can never grow old."
As we prepare to commemorate next Tuesday's bicentennial of Austen's death, turns out that this plaque is marking its own important anniversary: It was erected exactly one hundred years ago, on the centennial of Austen's death.
I learned this fact, along with other interesting details about the plaque's design, from a post included earlier this year in the "Jane Austen in 41 Objects" series that Jane Austen's House Museum is running this year. Blog readers will recall that this exhibition, which began in March and continues until December 15, highlights a different item each week, with a blog post explaining its significance in Austen's life or the museum's collection.
The memorial plaque -- whose final line is a quotation from G.H. Lewes, the Victorian literary critic best known today as George Eliot's common-law husband -- is #12 in the series (the latest entry, an Austen letter, is #18). According to the museum's post, the tablet had become somewhat the worse for wear after enduring a century of British weather. To mark this year's important occasion, the Jane Austen Society of North America provided funding for a restoration – proof that Janeite devotion has survived the past one hundred years with far less damage.
Filed under: Jane Austen Society of North America, Austen, Jane, Jane Austen's House Museum, Chawton cottage

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, & the Issues Being Discussed
The political football of the moment is the case of Trayvon Martin having been followed/stalked, shot and killed by George Zimmerman. So, let me punt.
The issues surrounding the case interest me. The case itself less so. But if not for the case, these surrounding issues would unlikely see the light of day in the MSM. This is a rare opportunity for public discussion when nearly the entire nation is paying attention, not that the issues suddenly are any more important than they are at any other time.
It's hard to know how to talk about this subject. There are so many angles one can consider.
I'll focus on the angle that has been my focus lately in general: race, ethnicity, culture, regionalism, clannishness, violence, culture of honor, North vs South, etc. Well, it is the focus that has been on my mind for these past few years.
What has come up in the internet chatter and the talking head babble is a constellation of factors with varying degrees of relevance or irrelvance to the case at hand (depending on one's perspective and emphasis): neighborhood watch groups, self-defense pleas, stand your ground laws, castle doctrine, vigilante justice, gun ownership rights, concealed carry, gun violence rates, crime, legally-sanctioned vs non-legally-sanctioned violence/homicides, racial profiling, gated communities, and I'm sure many other things as well.
From what I understand, the police inform neighborhood watch groups to not carry guns. Police also tell them not to follow and confront people. George Zimmerman basically did everything he shouldn't have been doing from a genuine self-defense perspective, although following random strangers around at night while carrying a concealed weapon isn't illegal however inadvisable the behavior and however questionable the intentions/ethics. Well, killing defenseless and innocent minors is generally frowned upon in our society.
Zimmerman was some combination of overzealous and paranoid, whether or not one sees this as justified (by whether one shares such a overzealous, paranoid worldview). He might have genuine reasons for his fears (everyone has reasons for everything they do, morally worthy reasons or not), but that is true for people with fears that don't lead them to shooting and killing people. Fear and homicide don't inevitably go hand in hand. In this case, it was more than just fear. Zimmerman was frustrated and angry as well.
He had been upset because he didn't think the police were doing their job, but he felt better when the police helped him out with the neighborhood watch group. His original criticism of the police was so strong because of the tension in the local community with crime. As he explained to the police dispatcher shortly before shooting Trayvon, "These assholes they always get away." And there are multiple witnesses to there being racist sentiments in his family which is evidence for how we should interpret statements like this combined with his having a history of calling the police to report suspicious people who were mostly black. Anyway, he made sure Trayvon didn't get away, even when all Trayvon was trying to do was get back home to his family.
Stalking and killing innocent people in your neighborhood is hardly an effective method of making your community safer. Just speaking for myself, I'd feel less safe knowing a gun-carrying homocidal paranoiac like Zimmerman was living in my neighborhood freely walking about with a concealed weapon ready to shoot anyone he meets based on his subjective feelings of fear… but that is just me.
This is an obvious case of vigilante justice. When put in those terms, most people immediately think of it as a moral judgment. I, however, simply am using it as a description. Almost anyone could envision a scenario where they would deem vigilante justice to be justifiable, morally even if not legally; assassinating Hitler as a straightforward example; a wife shooting her life-threatening abusive husband is another example that most people could accept or at least understand. Those who support Zimmerman see his seeking vigilante justice as perfectly reasonable and even admirable, although among his supporters not all are completely willing to get on full board with the overzealousness of his application of vigilante justice.
Many gun rights proponents often argue that there would be less crime if there were more people with guns. So, in this case, if both Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman had guns, then they could have had a stand-your-ground shootout which would have been the ultimate form of justice; may the fastest draw win. From what I've recently read, it sounds like the stand your ground laws have many unintended consequences. They've been successfully used as a self-defense plea by gangsters involved in gang fights and by those who left the scene of a confrontation only to later return with a gun to kill the person.
I was also recently once again looking at violence rates and murder rates in the states which fits the typical North/South divide. I would point out that an act of violence that leads to death isn't technically murder when it is legally sanctioned or doesn't lead to criminal prosecution. I'm sure police violence isn't even included in the stats on violence rates. Only if the police were brought to trial and prosecuted would that particular incident of police violence be included with all the rest of the violence. This is significant as particular places are known for having more violent police forces than other places.
Also, vigilante justice and violence in general is more condoned and more common in the South (whether the condoning makes it common or the commonness leads to it being condoned). As explained by Sheldon Hackney, "In the South, there's just more folks who need killing." I came across an example of this. Someone was explaining how, in Texas a half century ago, a standard argument for a defense lawyer wasn't to claim that his client didn't kill the person but that the murder victim was of low character and had it coming to them. This argument apparently was convincing to juries at the time and led to many innocent verdicts. Such a legal defense is based on a cultural expectation that vigilante justice should be upheld by the court of law.
One sees an echo of this older Southern legal tradition in how the Zimmerman case proceeded and concluded.
I see examples of this kind of thinking in my own family.
My mother quickly went to the defense of Zimmerman. Her family is of typical Appalachian stock.
My maternal uncle Bob owns and carries guns. The last time I saw him, he told of a situation where his gun came in handy. He lives out in the country and someone knocked on his door late at night asking for car help. He went out to help the guy, but made sure to bring along his gun concealed from view. He was met by a bunch of young guys who threatened to rob him and so he pulled out his gun. They left quickly. Even though he is a hardcore Christian, he openly admits that he wouldn't think twice about killing someone who had it coming. The important point is that he is a hardcore Christian of the Southern fundamentalist variety.
Violence as a way of maintaining order was more normal for my mother's family. Her father would beat her and her brother to punish them. My mother and uncles lived in fear of their father, but it did maintain order in an authoritarian paternalistic kind of way.
I don't know what my father thinks of the Zimmerman case. His view might be similar to that of my mother, but his family is a more mixed background which is demonstrated by another incident.
My paternal grandmother was born and raised in the South and her family have been in the Deep South for centuries. She moved to the Midwest when she married my paternal grandfather who was a Northerner, born in New Jersey but raised on an estate on Long Island Sound in Connecticut. My father's parents were arguing once when he was a child and my paternal grandmother ended up shooting a gun into a chair. My paternal grandfather could get angry and moody, but he never turned to violence. That is Southern meets Northern in a nutshell.
My father takes more after his own father and his father's Northern attitude. My dad has considered buying a gun. My dad has some right-wing tendencies such as in fearing the breakdown in society. He realizes that if society were to breakdown there would be riots and looting. One might want to have a gun in this kind of situation, but then his Northern Christian sensibility kicks in. He realizes that he wouldn't want to be responsible for killing his own neighbors merely to protect some food. It seems unChristian to him, but killing people is perfectly Christian to the Southern fundamentalist worldview.
Read or watch some of the End Times apocalyptic entertainment put out by fundies. I have and it is a scary world as seen through their eyes. If I saw the world that way, I'd carry a gun too.
My worldview leans toward pacifism which makes sense as I born in and lived most of my life in the Quaker-founded culture of the Midlands. It's a live-and-let-live community-minded semi-libertarianism. Like the rural South, the rural Midwest has a majority white population that is religious, supportive of gun rights and do indeed own lots of guns. Unlike the rural South, the rural Midwest has low rates of gun violence in particular and violence in general. The rural South has the highest rate of violence in the entire country. It also has higher rates of suicides, 'accidental' deaths, wife beatings, child abuse, etc. The South is just a dangerous place all around, whether you wish to ascribe that to a culture of honor or to clannish genetics.
Here in Iowa, I have coworkers with guns, some for hunting and some for self-defense. I have one coworker who is in the National Guard and carries a gun with him. That doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'm a liberal-minded gun rights proponent, but like a good Midwesterner I also advocate for a peaceful, safe and orderly society. The high rate of violence in the South is a foreign mentality to me. I just don't get it.
The problem isn't necessarily the laws themselves for the laws merely are an expression of a culture. You could have a stand your ground law in Iowa and it probably wouldn't lead to more violence as it seems to have in Southern states. So, maybe laws like this throw gas on the fire, but they didn't start the fire.
What this recent case brings to public attention is how different the South is from the rest of the country. For a non-Southerner visiting the South, it is truly like visiting a foreign land. It isn't dissimilar to visiting Mexico. In both cases, there is a higher chance you might get killed, even if you're just walking down the street minding your own business.
Related to the North/South divide is the race issue.
Black culture is stigmatized as being inherently violent. This is the justification for racial profiling, as argued by those on the right. However, since white rural Southerners are the single most violent regional demographic in the US, why don't they get profiled? If gangsta rap music is judged to promote violence, why don't we judge redneck country music the same way? Country music is often about immoral behavior: extramarital affairs, drunkenness, fighting, etc. The older country music and mountain music can be extremely dark. So, why this racial double standard?
I was walking to my parents' home the other night, not unlike what Trayvon Martin had been doing. It was getting a bit dark and I'm typically a bit scruffy looking. It's an upper class neighborhood that has had some crime. The scenario was quite similar to what led to the Trayon killing, but the difference is that I'm white and I live in relatively peaceful Iowa. As a white person, I felt as safe as if I were sitting at home behind a locked door. I walked past kids and adults, none of whom knew me nor did I know them, yet no one looked at me suspiciously, followed me in a car or stalked me on foot.
Even in liberal Iowa City, racism takes its toll – as I've written about before: John Bior Deng: R.I.P. and John Bior Deng: Racism, Classism.
Obviously, it isn't just about the Florida case. It is about the Southern culture that promotes vigilante justice and makes unjust violence inevitable. Maybe even more importantly, it's about this country's unresolved race issues which go hand in hand with this country's unresolved regional issues. Even if the law was properly applied in this particular case, we obviously need to fix our legal system to ensure that it is a justice system. An unjust law fairly applied doesn't a just society make.
We as a society still have a lot of soul-searching to do, if there is ever to be justice in this country. A truly just society isn't defined by those who have it coming getting punished with death but rather is defined by the innocent not living in fear of those who think they have it coming.
In researching this case and the issues involved, here are the interesting things I found:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/trayvons-death-proves-race-still-a-factor-in-us-life-29429202.html
As it is, and in spite of his acquittal, George Zimmerman's life has been changed for ever. He is in hiding, a marked man now a target for a hothead's vigilante justice – what he was accused of meting out to Trayvon Martin.
http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/video-john-oliver-daily-show-rip-george-zimmerman-decision-1200563378/
"That we can get a verdict like this, not because the system has broken down, but the system worked exactly as it was designed," Oliver said. "How does 2013 Florida have a law that seems cut and pasted from 1881 Tombstone? Because – let's be clear here – according to current Florida law, you can get a gun, follow an unarmed minor, call the police, have them explicitly tell you to stop following him, then choose to ignore that, keep following the minor, get into a confrontation with him and if at any point during that process you get scared, you can shoot the minor to death and the state of Florida will say, 'Well, look, you did what you could.'"
http://www.theonion.com/articles/in-our-defense-these-were-some-pretty-fuckedup-law,33126/
But thanks to these dumb-as-dog-shit laws, while the defense had to introduce some evidence that George Zimmerman acted in self-defense, they didn't actually have to completely convince us of it. All they had to do, according to the undoubtedly moronic but explicitly written Florida statutes, was create a "reasonable doubt" as to whether he acted in self-defense.
Does that make sense to me? Absolutely not. But I was put in the position to decide whether the prosecution was able to present a case that proved that George Zimmerman was not acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. And based on the guidelines, which all of us thought were pretty ludicrous and sort of made us question the entire U.S. justice system, the prosecution didn't do it.
I know it's easier for all of you who are enraged at us to look past the details. After all, putting yourselves in our position would force you to try to understand how brutally complex, and legitimately dysfunctional, the legal system truly is. And why do that when you can just call us unsympathetic monsters?
Look, I'm not an idiot. I know George Zimmerman shot an unarmed teenager to death—he admitted to it, for Christ's sake. Zimmerman followed an innocent 17-year-old (we couldn't take into consideration whether or not Martin was racially profiled, by the way, which was yet another little legal gem that was handed our way), called 911, was told by the operator not to pursue him, but instead began a physical altercation that ended in the young man's death. And the state of Florida stipulated that, from a strict legal standpoint, George Zimmerman did nothing wrong.
Pretty fucking dumb, right? Trust me, we tried looking at this thing from every angle while we were in deliberation for 16 hours. There's no way around it.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2013/07/16/the-broader-lesson-of-the-zimmerman-verdict/#comment-255328
The "Zimmerman mindset," as Alexander calls it, is composed of more parts than mere racism. Another part of it — equally dangerous, if not more so — is the paranoid, self-important vigilante mindset that drove Zimmerman to completely ignore the advice of authorities, forget the local cops even existed, and go off on his own tear and get himself into a lot of totally unnecessary trouble, just because everyone has told him, and he's told himself, that a man has to "stand his ground" and "retreat" of any sort is bad, even when basic common sense demands it and there's really nothing to gain by fighting.
This wan't just a triumph of racism, it was a triumph of juvenile libertarianism over sensible use of state power, brittle macho belligerence over prudent choice of where to make a stand and when to step back for safety's sake. It was a triumph of childish, selfish emotion over any sort of adult reason or responsibility.
Funny how you don't hear the Second Amendment fetishists saying that this tragedy could have been averted if only Martin had been armed and able to defend himself!
http://newtrajectory.blogspot.com/2012/03/dangers-of-vigilante-justice.html
By now, if you're even slightly in tune with issues of guns and gun violence, you also have heard a lot about the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year old boy who was innocently walking through his gated neighborhood when a self-appointed neighborhood watch man, George Zimmerman, armed with a concealed weapon and feeling empowered by Florida's "shoot first" law, took it upon himself to trail and then accost Trayvon, against the advice of 911. When the boy put up a fight, armed with nothing more than a can of tea and a bag of Skittles, Zimmerman shot Trayvon dead.
There are so many red flags with this case that it boggles the mind, such as the fact that Zimmerman had a violent past but was allowed to carry a concealed weapon anyway, the way Zimmerman ignored the 911 operator and felt obliged to get into an armed confrontation with the boy despite the fact that police were on their way, the assumption by the police of Zimmerman's innocence, the assumption by the police of Trayvon's guilt, the apparent stereotypes that Zimmerman had of Trayvon based on the boy's clothing and skin color, and the lack of an arrest of the shooter.
But at least as disturbing to me as any of those things is the root of the issue, the one thing that led to the confrontation in the first place: the desire by a man with a concealed weapon to play "Wyatt Earp" and be a freelance policeman. People carry concealed handguns for two main reasons: fear of others, and a sense of self-empowerment. Fear of others can quickly become paranoia, and a feeling of self-empowerment can sometimes push people over the edge into irrational behavior in a crisis situation. Both of these things likely happened in Trayvon's situation. Add to this the recent study that people who hold guns are more likely to imagine others being armed with guns. This, too, apparently happened in Trayvon's shooting, where Zimmerman is heard on the 911 call saying that he thought Trayvon was holding something suspicious, like a gun.
There is an irrefutable fact: the average citizen with a conceal carry license is not even remotely trained like a policeman. They aren't as versed in the laws, they haven't been trained in crisis intervention, negotiation tactics, or how to remain rational or steady in a shootout, and they likely haven't had as much practice with their weapon. Training requirements are little to none nearly anywhere in America for them, and they are less accountable to anyone for their potentially lethal decisions than law enforcement professionals. So the pro-gun daydream of saving the day with their guns is a potentially lethal one, not just for the criminal or the gun owner, but also for anyone who happens to be around them when the shootout happens.
I can understand the frustration felt by the citizens of Dorena. They just want to feel safe. Sadly, bond measures intended to fund law enforcement in this area almost always fail, and they are particularly voted against by rural voters like those in Dorena. If they want to improve their safety, arming everyone around and forming posses to come to the rescue of a victim isn't the answer, as Trayvon's family can now attest. The answer is better funding to improve the number of deputy patrols, as well as the many non-armed options to hardening their homes against invaders.
There are very good reasons why we have police forces instead of relying on vigilantes to protect our communities.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/21/1225435/-The-Racism-of-the-Zimmerman-Family
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2013/05/28/george-zimmermans-relevant-past/
But thanks to Florida's incredible sunshine laws, we know a few relevant things about Zimmerman.
In July 2005, he was arrested for "resisting officer with violence." The neighborhood watch volunteer who wanted to be a cop got into a scuffle with cops who were questioning a friend for alleged underage drinking. The charges were reduced and then waived after he entered an alcohol education program. Then in August 2005, Zimmerman's former fiance sought a restraining order against him because of domestic violence. Zimmerman sought a restraining order against her in return. Both were granted. Meanwhile, over the course of eight years, Zimmerman made at least 46 calls to the Sanford (Fla.) Police Department reporting suspicious activity involving black males.
We also know that Witness No. 9 accused Zimmerman of molesting her when they were children. The relative's revelation is appalling but irrelevant. What most folks don't know is that Witness No. 9 made an explosive allegation against her cousin. "I know George. And I know that he does not like black people," she told a Sanford police officer during a telephone call in which she pleaded for anonymity. "He would start something. He's a very confrontational person. It's in his blood. Let's just say that. I don't want this poor kid and his family to just be overlooked." At the end of the call, Witness No. 9 urged the officer to "get character reports from other people and see if he's ever said anything about black people, about being racist or anything like that because I guarantee you there's somebody out there who will say it."
That phone call was significant because it was placed two days after Zimmerman killed Trayvon and a couple of weeks before the case drew national attention. Witness No. 9 wasn't seeking attention. "I'm a mom," she told police. "I can't stand seeing that some kid got shot and killed over a stupid fight, especially one that my [redacted] … because I know who he is."
George Zimmerman is the one who stands accused of second-degree murder. He, not Trayvon Martin, is the one on trial starting June 10. And who Zimmerman is more relevant to the proceedings than who Trayvon was.
http://www.chicagodefender.com/index.php/culture/21008-killing-in-self-defense
A 2012 study by PBS's Frontline is getting a second look post-Zimmerman's exoneration, and it reveals that if you're going to kill in self-defense in America, you'd better be white. By analyzing data from a study by John Roman, senior analyst at the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center, Frontline found that in "Stand your ground" states, white people who kill black people are 354 percent more likely to be found justified in their killings. And it doesn't get much better in non-"Stand your ground" states, where that number goes down only to 250 percent.
But even when it comes to black-on-black crime or black-on-white crime, a black defendant is unlikely to get a self-defense ruling in his or her favor, whether or not the state has "Stand your ground" laws on the books
http://themonkeycage.org/2012/06/27/stand-your-ground-laws-and-homicides/
Our results indicate that Stand Your Ground laws are associated with a significant increase in the number of homicides among whites, especially white males.According to our estimates, between 4.4 and 7.4 additional white males are killed each month as a result of these laws.We find no evidence to suggest that these laws increase homicides among blacks.
http://themonkeycage.org/2012/06/27/stand-your-ground-laws-and-homicides/#comment-29074
What's more striking in these data than the pre-/post-comparison is the sharp contrast between SYG and non-SYG states. Could it be that the SYG states are more inclined to pass such laws because they're inured to a relatively high level of violence already?
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/florida-stand-your-ground-law-yields-some-shocking-outcomes-depending-on/1233133
• Those who invoke "stand your ground" to avoid prosecution have been extremely successful. Nearly 70 percent have gone free.
• Defendants claiming "stand your ground" are more likely to prevail if the victim is black. Seventy-three percent of those who killed a black person faced no penalty compared to 59 percent of those who killed a white.
• The number of cases is increasing, largely because defense attorneys are using "stand your ground" in ways state legislators never envisioned. The defense has been invoked in dozens of cases with minor or no injuries. It has also been used by a self-described "vampire" in Pinellas County, a Miami man arrested with a single marijuana cigarette, a Fort Myers homeowner who shot a bear and a West Palm Beach jogger who beat a Jack Russell terrier.
• People often go free under "stand your ground" in cases that seem to make a mockery of what lawmakers intended. One man killed two unarmed people and walked out of jail. Another shot a man as he lay on the ground. Others went free after shooting their victims in the back. In nearly a third of the cases the Times analyzed, defendants initiated the fight, shot an unarmed person or pursued their victim — and still went free.
• Similar cases can have opposite outcomes. Depending on who decided their cases, some drug dealers claiming self-defense have gone to prison while others have been set free. The same holds true for killers who left a fight, only to arm themselves and return. Shoot someone from your doorway? Fire on a fleeing burglar? Your case can swing on different interpretations of the law by prosecutors, judge or jury.
• A comprehensive analysis of "stand your ground" decisions is all but impossible. When police and prosecutors decide not to press charges, they don't always keep records showing how they reached their decisions. And no one keeps track of how many "stand your ground" motions have been filed or their outcomes.
Comments Section – InsiderMyself wrote:
AH BUT THIS JUROR DOES ADMIT STAND YOUR GROUND WAS FACTOR:
"Because of the heat of the moment and stand your ground, he had a right to defend himself."
Look what happened. Even the Times is now writing "stories" about how this law was not used here. "It's not about stand your ground". Bullhockey! The judges instructions to the jury are based on the LAW. And a juror said it did matter.
So why is the Times saying otherwise?
http://www.ibtimes.com/george-zimmerman-stand-your-ground-authors-say-trayvon-martins-shooter-has-no-protection-under-law
Former Sen. Durell Peaden and Rep. Dennis Baxley, two of the authors of Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law, are arguing that George Zimmerman lost the right to claim protection by way of self-defense the moment he went after Trayvon Martin, and insist that the legislation itself isn't to blame for Martin's death.
He has no protection under my law, Peaden told the Miami Herald.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/14/it-is-about-race-study-finds-significant-racial-bias-in-stand-your-ground-laws/
Clarification: The PBS/Frontline study referenced above was conducted over a year ago; at the time, lawyers for George Zimmerman were relying on SYG for their defense, hence, John Roman's quote above. By the time of the trial, the defense strategy had been changed to the standard "self-defense." However… as stated in the article linked below on the issue of race and SYG:
George Zimmerman killed a 17-year-old boy he'd stalked for being 'suspicious' (a black teenager in a neighborhood where there'd been some problems… also known as "racial profiling"), provoked an altercation, shot the boy to death and then got off scott-free based on the parameters of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Yes, Zimmerman's lawyer dropped that particular defense and went with plain old "self defense" instead (getting out of your car and following someone is, by definition, not "standing" your ground) but the very existence of the law pollutes the way people view murder "unavoidable" shootings. Particularly when a black person is the victim.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/five-years-since-florida-enacted-stand-your-ground-law-justifiable/1128317
The Times searched major Florida newspapers and found at least 93 cases in the past five years in which the new law was a factor. Those are just the confrontations that made the papers.
In 57 of them, those who used force were either not charged with a crime or the charges were dropped by prosecutors or dismissed by a judge before trial. Seven other defendants were acquitted.
Some people fought off intruders in their homes or businesses, which would have been allowed even before the "stand your ground" law.
The use of force resulted in 65 deaths.
Did the law empower the users of force to shoot? Could the tables have been turned on the shooters? If not for the law, would any of those 65 people still be alive?
How can anyone know?
What is known: Reports of justifiable homicides in Florida have spiked.
For the first half of this decade, the state counted an average of 34 justifiable homicides a year, as few as 31 and as many as 43.
That continued in 2006, the law's first full year.
But the next three years brought these numbers:
2007: 102.
2008: 93.
The first six months of 2010: 44.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/floridas-stand-your-ground-law-was-born-of-2004-case-but-story-has-been/1225164
They still wonder. What was wrong with Rodney that evening? Why was he acting out of character? The autopsy showed that his skull was fractured. Had he been beaten? Did he run into the trailer in fear for his life?
"It came close to killing my parents," said Cox's sister, Terri Cox Lavery, 44, who still combs through the police reports seven years later, looking for answers. "My mom, just this year, has gotten some of herself back."
Her family, many of them former military, owns guns. Her husband has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. They believe in the right to bear arms and to protect your property.
"But if someone seems disoriented," she said, "I'd like to think that we would, at a distance, first attempt to give some kind of aid and set some boundaries and call for help."
They all agree that it's especially insulting and hurtful that Rodney's death is used by politicians as an example.
"The people who used this incident to pass that law, they're not even on course," said Autry, Cox's uncle. "They're not even close."
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/19/3460399/fred-grimm-vigilante-justice-its.html
Yet his lawyer could argue, invoking Stand Your Ground, that his client, outside the home, in the dark, waiting in ambush, "had the absolute right to defend himself inside his own home." Before 2005, such an inside-out defense would have been dismissed as absurd. No longer.
Of course, this was just some a petty criminal, shot and killed in the act. An ex-con on probation working his way to his next conviction. Not a very sympathetic victim. But there was a time when one measure of a civil society had to do with the value it assigned to the life of even a common thief. When civil society restricted the use of deadly force to extreme, fearful, unavoidable circumstances.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/19/3460399/fred-grimm-vigilante-justice-its.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/02/1184177/-Guns-Its-a-Guy-Thing-and-a-Southern-Guy-Thing-especially#
However, where the results get really interesting is when we look at the male population of gun owners. Here's the results that should interest you about the rate of gun ownership among me. The two highest rated sub-populations regarding gun ownership are:
Married southern men : 64%
Non-Hispanic southern white men: 61%
By contrast:
Non-southern married men: 48%
Non-Hispanic, non-southern white men: 45%
Further more, no other region of the country comes close to the South in terms of guns ownerhip. Here are the rates of gun ownership, which combine both male and female gun owners, among the various regions of the country:
Southern residents: 38%
Midwestern residents: 29%
Western residents: 27%
Eastern residents: 21%
That's a big difference. It may reflect a cultural difference among the various regions, or it might reflect that many states outside the South have stricter gun laws. There's no way to know, unfortunately, just based on Gallup's raw data. However, Gallup's data does show that women, married or not are more likely to own guns if they reside in the South versus other regions of the country.
http://kasamaproject.org/en/race-liberation/3936-68profiling-in-america-the-suspicious-face-of-trayvon-martin#kmt-40847
I've driven through Sanford a number of times, when I was living in Jacksonville, FL. Don't know much about it, specifically. I had a friend who lived in the town just to the north, Deltona. This part of Florida is called North Florida, and snarky comments from the rest of the South aside, it is very much part of the old South.
I have gone to the beach on the Fourth of July and seen Confederate battle flags. I have seen them on people's trucks in Orlando, the urban center which is near Sanford. Driving North on 75 towards the Georgia border is the largest flag I've ever seen, fluttering over the freeway. Another Confederate flag (the first time I saw it, it froze my blood and my wife asked me where I'd taken her–she's Black).
This is a part of Florida where, about a decade ago, a farmer was convicted of driving in to Jacksonville and offering jobs to homeless men, then keeping them imprisoned on his farm, charging them more for room and board than he paid them, and not letting them leave until their debts were paid.
In Florida, we have a "stand your ground" law. That is, you are not required to attempt to escape before you use deadly force against another. The Sanford police are attempting to say it applies, though Zimmerman is the pursuer, not the pursuee. He was the one with the gun. And I have little doubt that if it had been me walking through that neighborhood, not only would I still be alive, Zimmerman wouldn't have bothered with me nor called the police.
But the murder of Black men by white authorities is not a crime in Florida. Not even in South Florida, the supposedly liberal part. Not even when, like 'BG' Beaugris, they are executed while lying on the ground.
http://thegloomyhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/03/first-shots-of-civil-war.html
Dumb kids are gonna be dumb kids no matter where or when, but does being a dumbass warrant a death sentence by private individuals, "just because?" Zimmerman, Martin's murderer, hasn't exactly won much public support. But "the homeowner" who gunned down Morrisson in the middle of the night for being on his porch? Holy Moly has there been an outpouring of support for him. A simple smell test can tell you a lot about what these murders were about. Imagine it was a white kid gunned down on a black homeowner's porch. Perhaps some of the emminantly reasonable objections to this scenario would go like this: "Did the homeowner really have to kill this kid?" "This is not what the castle doctrine was intended for?" "Couldn't the homeowner have retreated inside his house behind a locked door and called the cops?" Unfortunately, this is not what happened.
http://socialistworker.org/2012/04/05/the-many-other-trayvons
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/opinion/sunday/a-native-caste-society.html
A study released in 2006 by Duke University on attitudes on race in Durham, N.C., a city with one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the country, found that an overwhelming majority of Latinos — 78 percent — felt they had the most in common with whites, while 53 percent of them felt they had the least in common with blacks. So it would make sense for those respondents to act with the same assumptions about blacks that they perceive are held by native whites. In fact the Latino respondents, many of them immigrants from Mexico and Central America, actually reported higher negative feelings toward blacks than most native-born whites. Nearly 60 percent reported feeling that few or almost no blacks were hard-working or could be trusted, while only 10 percent of whites held that view.
On the other hand, almost three-quarters of blacks felt that Latinos were hard-working or could be trusted. Black Americans appear to view Latinos as more like themselves. "Blacks are not as negative toward Latinos as Latinos are toward blacks because blacks see them as another nonwhite group that will be treated as they have been," said Paula D. McClain, the lead author on the study. Even as blacks worry about losing jobs to new immigrants, they are less supportive of harsh anti-immigration laws, she said, "because they know what laws have done to them."
[ . . . ]
In this atmosphere, blacks are the target of the highest number of hate crimes in the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation — higher by a wide margin than any another group of Americans by race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or disability. While blacks make up 12.6 percent of the country's population, they were 70 percent of the victims of racial hate crimes in 2010.
WHATEVER role caste may have played in the Trayvon Martin case is unknowable, and it is far too early to tell whether Mr. Zimmerman will be arrested, tried or convicted. But that encounter unfolded in Seminole County, where Latinos have overtaken African-Americans as the dominant minority group, rising to 17 percent from 11 percent in the last decade. Blacks now make up 11 percent and whites, 66 percent. The area had a history of vigilante justice long before the new arrivals, dating back to 1920, when blacks in the nearby town of Ocoee were burned out of their homes after two black men tried to vote.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/jul/17/andre-canty-i-was-trayvon-martin-2002/
The murder and the verdict proved that Black males were born suspicious. Black masculinity is what some fear the most. Fear is why we have to go way out our way to be as approachable and as safe as possible. A flawed society and system are reasons why I have to appear safe. Black masculinity is why there are systems in place to bring us down, which is why Trayvon was doomed before he was born.
There always has to be some reason why a Black male dies at a young age. If a Black male dies, you often see gangs or drugs as the main factors to their demise as if he provoked his own death. The same has been said against Trayvon. By his appearance alone, he was destined to die? He only defended himself against a man stalking him, but since Trayvon chose to fight, he somehow chose his fate.
If you take a look at his supposed drug use, remember that the last three of our U.S. Presidents smoked weed AND cocaine. President George W. Bush was arrested for a DUI. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger smoked weed. Using drugs is not a factor; it's a Black male using drugs that's the problem. Even with Trayvon's not so squeaky clean record in school, it was impossible for Zimmerman to be aware of that on that day. What Zimmerman perceived is what many perceived: a walking monster.
The fact is that teenagers often do dumb things. We've all done it; however, those dumb things should not be cause for murder. Teenagers do dumb things, and then they grow up, and start to do less dumb things.
Trayvon did what you're taught to do and that was self-defense. The case also proves that Black males cannot engage in self-defense because it will always be their fault.
A Black death is always arguable. Thus is why there are so many reasons as to why he and many like him should've died. It is why I know that if I were killed in the same manner some would believe that it was my destiny because of the body I'm in and where I come from. When Emmitt Till's killers were acquitted, one of the jurors said "If we hadn't stopped to drink pop, it wouldn't have taken that long." There isn't much difference with Emmitt and Trayvon. No matter how Black males strive to be a productive member in society, that same society will strive to condemn you, so what can we possibly do to not seem like a threat?
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-psychogeography-of-gun-violence/69353/
The classic study of the subject is by Richard Nisbett, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan. In his paper "Violence and Regional Culture," published in the American Psychologist in 1993, Nisbett examined the higher rate of violence in the U.S. south, which he notes has been established since the time of revolution. After considering possible explanations having to do with poverty, slavery, and even the region's hotter climate, he found a different answer in a cultural vestige of pastoralism: a deep "culture of honor" in which residents place an extraordinary value on personal reputation, family, and property. Threats to these things provoke aggressive reactions, leading to higher rates of murder and domestic violence. Here is how Nisbett himself explains it:
Southerners do not endorse violence in the abstract more than do Northerners, nor do they endorse violence in all specific forms of circumstances. Rather, they are more likely to endorse violence as an appropriate response to insults, as a means of self protection, and as a socialization tool in training children. This is the characteristic cultural pattern of herding societies the world over. Consistent with the culture-of-honor interpretation, it is argument-related and not felony-related homicide that is more common in the South…
There is another sense in which the culture of honor might turn out to be self-sustaining or even capable of expanding into mainstream culture. The culture is a variant of warrior culture the world over, and its independent invention countless times (Gilmore, 1990), combined with the regularities in its themes having to do with glorification of masculine attributes, suggests that it may be a particularly alluring stance that may be capable of becoming functionally autonomous. Many observers (e.g., Naipaul, 1989; Shattuck, 1989) have noted that contemporary Southern backcountry culture, including music, dress, and social stance, is spreading beyond its original geographical confines and becoming a part of the fabric of rural, and even urban, working-class America.
Perhaps for the young males who adopt it, this culture provides a romantic veneer to everyday existence. If so, it is distinctly possible that the violence characteristic of this culture is also spreading beyond its confines. An understanding of the culture and its darker side would thus remain important for the foreseeable future.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/23/1225851/-The-One-Simple-Graphic-that-Sums-Up-the-Whole-Problem-with-the-Trayvon-Martin-Case
July 24, 2013 Benjamin David Steele	castle doctrine, culture of honor, Florida, George Zimmerman, racism, self-defense, South, stand your ground, Trayvon Martin, vigilante justice
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The Friends of Vernon Center, chaired by Arthur Miller of the Miller Farm, needs more residents to serve on its board. They meet quarterly, and meetings are open to the public. To participate or learn more, contact Martin Langeveld at newsafternewspapers@gmail.com.
VERNON—With the hiring of Burlington-based planning consultants, the SE Group, Vernon moves closer to establishing what local officials describe as a "21st century New England village."
The town, with acres of farmland, a town forest, a shuttered nuclear power plant, and 2,206 residents (as of the 2010 census), has no central business and residential district.
"A lot of places have historic downtown villages," said Martin Langeveld, member of the Vernon Planning and Economic Development Commission, "but it's not common to build a village from the ground up."
Last year, the Commission, town officials, and the nonprofit group Friends of Vernon began working to create such a place for their town.
They chose a triangular area near the intersection of Fort Bridgman and Governor Hunt roads. It includes the Town Office building, the elementary school, the Governor Hunt House, residential properties, and some undeveloped land.
In September 2017, the town received a letter from Department of Housing and Community Development Commissioner Katie Buckley, notifying them they meet the statutory requirements for a village center designation.
This allows Vernon to receive tax credits for upgrades and code improvements to historic buildings, including credits for ADA modifications, technology, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC, installations.
The designation also will give the village priority consideration for a variety of state grants, including municipal planning money.
The town recently received $20,000 in grants from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development to create a conceptual master plan for the new district, which will include a detailed action plan to bring new businesses, homes, and activity to the village.
To meet the total project cost of $26,000, the Friends contributed $4,000 and the Planning Commission applied $2,000 from their budget, according to an article in the July, 2018 issue of the Vernon Community News.
With funding secured, the Planning Commission issued a request for quotes for planning consultants to help create the new Vernon village center. They received seven replies and interviewed representatives from four firms.
Langeveld, who also serves as vice-president of the Friends nonprofit, told The Commons, "Since the grant to pay for this was to the town, it's a town contract, and SE Group was selected by the Planning Commission but with participation from the Friends in the interviews."
Consultants with the SE Group have already begun working. They have started gathering baseline map data with members of the Windham Regional Commission, and they interviewed stakeholders on July 11.
The process will offer many other opportunities for residents to share their ideas on which types of development the plans should incorporate, including "charette" meetings later in the summer.
Originally published in The Commons issue #468 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018). This story appeared on page A4.


text:
Q: How to use the Modx Revolution API I have a client who is looking at having some other company develop an iPad application that will pull resources out of their existing modx instance. [no - I don't know why it needs to be an app.... ]
They are looking to use the Modx API, which from what I can tell so far needs to have a connector or something written as it does not "just work" correct?
So basically I need to write a connector that will handle the authentication [API key type idea] and pass all the data back and forth? Looking here: http://rtfm.modx.com/display/revolution20/Loading+MODx+Externally I see two methods of connecting/using modx - what is the advantage of "loading modx externally" over "Loading modx in api mode"
I found the API documentation easily enough but pretty much ZERO on actually using it.
So:

*

*are there API usage docs anywhere?

*what is the advantages/pro/cons of the load external vs. load as api methods

*are all my assumptions above correct, or did I miss something really basic?

A: Documentation that you have found enough to use API modx. Once you connect mode API ( http://rtfm.modx.com/display/revolution20/Loading+MODx+Externally - The third example I like best ) You can use modx processors to do whatever is necessary, as example authenticate the user:
if(isset($_POST) && count($_POST)){
    $c = array(
        'username' => $_POST['username'],
        'password' => $_POST['password']
    );
    $response = $modx->runProcessor('security/login',$c);
    if($response->response['success'] == 1){
        $user['id'] = $modx->user->get('id');
                $profile = $modx->user->getOne('Profile');
        $user['fullname'] = $profile->get('fullname');
        $user['email'] = $profile->get('email');
        echo json_encode($user);
    }else{
        echo json_encode($response->response);
    }
}

simple getting resources:
if ($res = $modx->getObject('modResource', 1)) {
    print_r($res->toArray());
}

or advanced getting:
$response = $modx->runProcessor('resource/get', array('id' => 1));
if (!$response->isError()) {
    print_r($response->response['object']);
}
else {
    $modx->log(modX::LOG_LEVEL_ERROR, $response->getMessage());
}

A: ModX documentation hasn't been its forte over the years, but here are few links.
First, understand how ModX works and was architected so you can develop with/for it.
ModX's API reference is at http://api.modx.com. There you will find all the methods available, its properties and parameters. It's not a guide but a reference so don't expect too much literature.
Since version 2.3 you can build your own API on top of ModX. Very useful for customizing RESTful endpoints but unless you have some experience working/building API's this might be challenging.
Finally, if you're looking for a more in-depth documentation check out the books.
For example this is how you'd make the ModX object available from outside:
<?php
require_once '/absolute/path/to/modx/config.core.php';
require_once MODX_CORE_PATH.'model/modx/modx.class.php';
$modx = new modX();
$modx->initialize('web');
$modx->getService('error', 'error.modError');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Kasey here, as we continue on our journey of healthy eating I am always trying to come up with new recipes that my family will love. I made Apricot Chicken with broccoli and asparagus and it was amazing!! This recipe was inspired by Olive Garden's Venetian Apricot Chicken, however I have made several adjustments to the recipe to make it easier to prepare.
This recipe is AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge friendly. If you are limiting your carb intake then you'll want to omit the potatoes.
Brown chicken in olive oil in skillet on high heat.
In a separate bowl combine chicken broth, jelly, and seasoning.
Add tomatoes and potatoes on top of chicken, then pour the sauce mixture on top.
Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to low and cook covered for 25 minutes.
Remove cover and cook to reduce liquid for 5-10 minutes.
In a separate pot, steam broccoli and asparagus together.


text:
Q: Issue with simplexml_load_string() I am trying to use an API . In this regard I am facing an issue with simplexml_load_string(). My Code is as like below
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH, CURLAUTH_BASIC);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_USERPWD, $this->_apikey . ":" . $this->_password);
    $additionalHeaders ='';
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array('Content-Type: application/xml', $additionalHeaders));
    curl_setopt($curl,CURLOPT_HTTPGET, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
    curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
    $output = curl_exec($curl);
    curl_close($curl);
    return $xml = simplexml_load_string($output);

My Error is as like below
ErrorException (E_UNKNOWN)
simplexml_load_string(): Entity: line 2: parser error : Extra content at the end of the document

Could anyone help me in this regard?? Thanks


text:
The Overnight (DVD/VoD Review)
Starring: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche
Director: Patrick Brice
Release Date: October 26th 2015 (UK)
Sometimes when it comes to indie film darlings it's difficult to see what all the fuss was about. With The Overnight that's not too much of an issue, as while it might not quite deserve some of the raves it received following its first festival screenings, it's still a good movie.
Alex (Adam Scott) and Emily (Taylor Schilling) are a 30-something couple with a kid, who are newly arrived in California. It's not been an easy move, with stay-at-home dad Alex feeling slightly dislocated and friendless. He randomly meets Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) in the park, who invites Alex and Emily over to his house for the evening.
Once there they meet Kurt's French wife Charlotte (Judith Godrèche), and Alex and Emily can't help but feel they may have found some firm friends in the arty, free-thinking, bohemian and seemingly cool couple. As the evening goes on the straitlaced Emily and Alex begin to loosen up – thanks to some liquor and pot – but while Alex feels increasingly free and with his inhibitions falling away, Emily begins to wonder whether Kurt and Charlotte are a bit too freethinking and strange. [Read more…]
Krampus Trailer – Christmas gets ghoulish for Adam Scott & Toni Collette
September 9, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
You may never have heard of Krampus, but in some traditions he is essentially the anti-Santa Claus, a slightly demonic figure who punishes bad children while Santa rewards the good. Now he's getting his own movie, which will be coming to creep us out (and hopefully make us laugh) at the end of the year.
Here's the synopsis: 'Legendary Pictures' Krampus, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday.
'When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
'All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family's home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive.
'The horror-comedy also stars Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Stefania Lavie Owen and Krista Stadler. Krampus and his mischievous underlings have been created by the combined efforts of Weta Workshop and Weta Digital, both renowned for their epic work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and King Kong, among many others.' [Read more…]
ACTORS: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner
Fresh Black Mass Trailer – Johnny Depp is a major mobster
Three-time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "Finding Neverland," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films) stars as notorious mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in the drama "Black Mass," directed by Scott Cooper ("Crazy Heart").
The film also stars Joel Edgerton ("The Great Gatsby," "Zero Dark Thirty") as FBI Agent John Connolly; Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Imitation Game") as Whitey's brother, powerful State Senator Billy Bulger; Rory Cochrane ("Argo") as Steve Flemmi, Whitey's closest partner in crime; Jesse Plemons (TV's "Fargo") as Whitey's main henchman, Kevin Weeks; and Kevin Bacon ("Crazy, Stupid, Love." TV's "The Following") as FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles McGuire.
In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster Jimmy Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI in order to eliminate their common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement while consolidating his power and becoming one of the most ruthless and dangerous gangsters in Boston history.
Cooper directed "Black Mass" from a screenplay by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. It's due out in the UK in November. [Read more…]
ACTORS: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Scott, Dakota Johnson, Corey Stoll DIRECTORS: Scott Cooper FILMS: Black Mass
New Black Mass Trailer – Johnny Depp gets involved in organised crime
Synopsis: Black Mass stars Oscar® nominee Johnny Depp ("Public Enemies", "Donnie Brasco", the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films) as Whitey Bulger and Joel Edgerton ("The Great Gatsby," "Zero Dark Thirty") as FBI Agent John Connolly. Filming began in Boston under the direction of Scott Cooper ("Out of the Furnace," "Crazy Heart").
#The film also stars Benedict Cumberbatch ("Twelve Years a Slave") as Whitey's brother, Billy Bulger, who is a Massachusetts State Senator; Jesse Plemons (AMC's "Breaking Bad") as Whitey's longtime partner in crime, Kevin Weeks; Dakota Johnson ("Fifty Shades of Grey") as Lindsey Cyr, Whitey's former girlfriend and mother of his only child; Rory Cochrane ("Argo") as Steve Flemmi, another member of the Irish mob; Julianne Nicholson ("August: Osage County") as John Connolly's wife, Marianne; and Adam Scott (ABC's "Parks and Recreation") as FBI Agent Robert Fitzpatrick. Rounding out the main cast are David Harbour ("End of Watch"), Jeremy Strong ("Zero Dark Thirty"), Brad Carter (HBO's "True Detective"), W. Earl Brown ("Draft Day") and Corey Stoll ("The Bourne Legacy").
'In 1970s South Boston, FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) persuades Irish mobster James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. The drama tells the true story of this unholy alliance, which spiraled out of control, allowing Whitey to evade law enforcement, consolidate power, and become one of the most ruthless and powerful gangsters in Boston history.'
The movie is due out in November. [Read more…]
New Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Trailer – Adam Scott, Craig Robinson and co. head for the future
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 is making an early bid for least called for sequel of 2015 (no one really wanted the first film all that much), but on the evidence of this trailer, it may actually be better than the first film.
While the first film took the characters back to the 80s in the titular hot tub time machine, this time they'll be going to the future. As this allows them to know about the future, it means they were able to change their lives – not always for the better. They also meet Adam Scott's Adam, who's the son of John Cusack's character.
A February 20th US release is set, with the movie arriving in the UK two days before that. Take a look at the trailer below, and the new poster above. [Read more…]
ACTORS: Adam Scott, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke DIRECTORS: Steve Pink FILMS: Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Benedict Cumberbatch & Adam Scott Join Johnny Depp In Black Mass
Benedict Cumberbatch is the new Guy Pearce, or at least he is in Black Mass, as THR reports that he's taking over from the Aussie actor in the Whitey Bulger biopic.
He will play Whitey Bulger's brother Billy, the former President of the Massachusetts State Senate.
James 'Whitey' Bulger (Johnny Depp) was a Boston criminal who ended up becoming an FBI informant, with the help of his longtime friend and FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) and his brother (Cumberbatch). However Whitey didn't completely turn good guy, as his tips to the feds were mainly about getting rid of his mob competition.
When Connolly tipped Bulger off that the feds were planning on double-crossing him, the criminal went into hiding for more than a decade, rising to the top of the FBI's Most Wanted list before he was eventually caught in 2011 while hiding out in Santa Monica, California.
Billy was never implicated in Whitey's criminal activities, but his political opponents inevitably tried to use his brother's reputation against him.
Adam Scott has also signed on to be FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick
Cumberbatch is a bit of a last-minute replacement as shooting is currently under way in Boston.
ACTORS: Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Scott, Johnny Depp FILMS: Black Mass
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Cinema)
Starring: Ben Stiller, Adam Scott, Shirley Maclaine, Sean Penn, Kristen Wiig
Director: Ben Stiller
Release Date: December 26th 2013
There's one thing to be said of Ben Stiller's reimagining of famous daydreamer Mitty – he certainly captures the mood of the times. Mitty works at Life magazine, which is going digital, and most of the staff are being laid off. The 'digital takeover' is being handled by Ted (a gloriously oily Adam Scott) and there are many scenes of upset worker carrying brown boxes containing their meagre possessions out of the building, security guard in tow. [Read more…]
A.C.O.D. Trailer – Adam Scott tries to deal with his parents' divorce all over again
There's a sense that Hollywood thinks it's only a matter of time until Parks and Recreation star Adam Scott breaks it big in the movies, and with some great notices from festival screenings, perhaps A.C.O.D. is the film to do it.
He plays Carter, a seemingly well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce (the A.C.O.D. of the title). Having survived the madness of his parents' divorce, Carter now has a successful career and supportive girlfriend. But when his younger brother gets engaged, Carter is forced to reunite his bitterly divorced parents and their new spouses for the wedding, causing the chaos of his childhood to return, including his wacky therapist.
The great cast also includes Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Clark Duke, Jessica Alba, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jane Lynch. It'll be out later this year.
ACTORS: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Clark Duke, jessica Alba, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jane Lynch FILMS: A.C.O.D.
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty Trailer – The Ben Stiller movie is looking gorgeous
After it had been in development for years, it's fair to say that no one was holding out too much hope for The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty. However it finally went into production with Ben Stiller directing and starring. Then a few weeks ago the interest went through the roof when a lucky few were treated to a few scenes from the movie, which met a truly rapturous response and even had people talking about Oscars.
Now we can get a look ourselves with the first trailer, which does look absolutely gorgeous.
Here's the synopsis: 'Ben Stiller directs and stars in THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY, James Thurber's classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.'
It'll be in cinemas this Christmas. [Read more…]
ACTORS: Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott FILMS: The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty
Adam Scott Up To Replace John Cusack In Hot Tub Time Machine 2
May 8, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment
For a while now a sequel to Hot Tub Time Machine has been in the works, but it's now been revealed that John Cusack definitely won't be returning, Instead TheWrap reports that Parks and Recreation's Adam Scott is in talks to take the lead in Hot Tub Time Machine 2. However, he won't be playing the same character Cusack played in the first movie.
Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Duke are all finalizing deals to reprise their roles in the comedy sequel, with Steve Pink returning to direct. It isn't clear who will provide the screenplay, but earlier reports suggested Steve Pink and Rob Corddry could provide the script.
Hot Tub Time Machine followed four friends who are transported back to one fateful night during their teenage years in 1986. The comedy grossed over $50 million in the United States, and became a hit on Blu-ray and DVD as well. No production schedule has been confirmed, but Craig Robinson revealed in March that they plan to shoot this summer.
ACTORS: Adam Scott, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke DIRECTORS: Steve Pink FILMS: Hot Tub Time Machine 2


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Undocumented Immigrant Not Guilty of Steinle Murder, Will Be Deported
Category: Immigration Crimes
The undocumented immigrant charged with shooting and killing Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015 was recently acquitted of murder, although he will be deported to Mexico on other felony charges.
Even before this controversial jury verdict, the Steinle case has triggered a political firestorm across the nation's political spectrum, fueling the debate about the legal and practical issues surrounding sanctuary cities should.
This past summer, a bill called Kate's Law was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The law would allow enhanced prison sentencing for immigrants who have repeat incidents of illegally entering the U.S. The bill, however, has stalled in the Senate, and the potential for its revival is uncertain.
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate's not guilty verdict has generated a renewed political uproar.
President Donald Trump tweeted that the decision was "disgraceful," and ICE's Deputy Director Tom Homan called San Francisco's sanctuary city status "a blatant threat to public safety."
Steinle's family was not present when the verdict was read.
What exactly happened to cause uproar?
The Tragic Tale of Kate Steinle and Jose Ines Garcia Zarate
On July 1, 2015, 32-year-old Kate Steinle was walking with her father on Pier 14 in San Francisco. Suddenly, a bullet from a Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun shot through her back and pierced her aorta. Two hours later, Steinle died in a local hospital. Mexican citizen Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, a man who has had a long-standing problem with non-violent crimes, was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon, and other violations in connection with Steinle's death.
Known by several aliases, Garcia Zarate had been released from jail about 10 weeks before the killing, where he had been held on drug charges. San Francisco authorities did not report his release to the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which reportedly had been trying to deport Garcia Zarate but had neglected to present a detainer warrant to local authorities.
At the time of the shooting, Garcia Zarate was homeless and wandering around the area. Video at Pier 14 showed Garcia Zarate running away from the scene. His hand was covered with gunshot residue, which was discovered upon his arrest.
Garcia Zarate's attorney said that his client found the cloth-wrapped gun at the pier and it discharged by accident when he unwrapped it. However, when Garcia Zarate was questioned by police, he admitted to aiming the gun at a seal. He said the gun fired when he stepped on it. After the gun discharged, he threw it into the San Francisco Bay. The gun had been stolen four days earlier from a Bureau of Land Management ranger vehicle parked near the pier.
Throughout the month-long trial, Garcia Zarate's attorney maintained that the firing was an accident and that the bullet ricocheted 80 feet before reaching Steinle. The details surrounding the shooting were intensely debated by both sides, and the jury deliberated six days before reaching their final decision.
On Nov. 30 Garcia Zarate was acquitted of all the charges relating to Steinle death but was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a three-year prison sentence.
Federal officials will report him back to Mexico. This deportation will be Garcia Zarate's sixth from the U.S.
What the Steinle Case Says about the State of Illegal Immigration and Sanctuary Cities
This case sparked a national discussion because San Francisco is known as a "sanctuary city" for undocumented immigrants like Garcia Zarate. That means local law enforcement officers have decided they do not have a responsibility to enforce immigration laws, which they consider to be under ICE's jurisdiction.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has stated that the city of San Francisco bears the blame for the Steinle killing because of its status as a sanctuary city.
Other political conservatives have joined this politicized clamor by charging that Steinle's death would not have occurred if the San Francisco police had turned Garcia Zarate over to ICE rather than releasing him from jail.
For their part, Kate Steinle's parents filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco and its sheriff in 2016, but it was dismissed earlier this year. Now they have filed a wrongful death suit against both San Francisco and the federal government.
Despite these accusations and potential legal concerns, the recently deceased San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee released a statement affirming San Francisco as a sanctuary city. However, the city has agreed to cooperate with future detention requests from ICE if the offender has a felony conviction for serious or violent crimes within the past seven years.
Something that should be noted: even if that policy had been in place at the time of the killing, it would not have held Garcia Zarate in jail any longer because he did not have a history of violence.
Immigration law is changing rapidly in the current political climate. If you are facing charges for alleged immigration crimes, enlist the help of an experienced attorney who keeps up with the latest happenings and has a track record of success dealing with these types of offenses. Reach out now for your confidential case review.


a faint line is still a positive. congrats.
Tia! Are you still here?? Get to a doctor, girl!!
Tia- Take the test in 3 days and that second line should be clearer. Good luck but it sounds like you are pregnant to me.
Tia, The test does say.........both lines do not need to be the same color, one line may be lighter than the other. I also took about 5 first response hpt's and all came back positive with faint lines.......waiting or Drs. appt. Fri. Good luck to you!!!!!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL !!!!!
You are most definately in "the family way"!!! Congrats!
The majority of time when you see a faint line, it turns out that you are preggo.... :) i would go see your doctor and get a blood test done or wait a few days and take a different test. But most likely i say, yes your having a baby.
I had a faint second line, and I have a beautiful baby girl... you are preg. Congrats!
Oh yeah a faint line means its positive!


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Violence flares again in Tehran
NEW: Khamenei: Islamic establishment "will never give in to coercive demands"
NEW: Iran's ambassador to Mexico says protesters want to "impose a dictatorship"
"They were waiting for us," one protester says of security forces
Troops beat demonstrators in Tehran square, sources say
Next Article in World »
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons beat back hundreds of would-be demonstrators who had flocked to a square in the capital on Wednesday to continue protests against an election they have denounced as fraudulent, witnesses told CNN.
Hard-line Iranian students mock British, U.S. and Israeli flags outside the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday.
"They were waiting for us," one source said. "They all have guns and riot uniforms. It was like a mouse trap."
Another witness told CNN that hundreds of people were chased by security forces and clubbed about a mile from the square.
They were among the more than half a dozen witnesses who told CNN that security forces outnumbering protesters used overwhelming force to crush a planned demonstration in Baharestan Square, in front of the parliament building. The witnesses said police charged against the demonstrators, striking them with batons, beating women and old men and firing weapons into the air in order to disperse them.
The melee extended beyond the square, according to one woman, who told CNN that she was traveling toward Baharestan with her friends as evening approached "to express our opposition to these killings these days and demanding freedom.
"But the black-clad police, they stopped everyone. They emptied buses that were taking people there and let the private cars go on ... and then, all of a sudden, some 500 people with clubs of wood, they came out of the Hedayat Mosque and they poured into the streets and they started beating everyone."
People were heard yelling "Death to the Dictatorship, Death to Ahmadinejad, Death to Khamanei and Death to Basiji," she said.
Government-run Press TV gave a starkly different account, saying only about 200 protesters had gathered in front of the parliament and 50 others in a nearby square -- all were dispersed by security forces.
"A heavy presence of police prevented violence in the area," Press TV said. Watch an Ahmadinejad supporter describe the protests »
At the nearby Bank of Melli hospital, a person who answered the phone said no one had been admitted as a result of any clashes.
The number of demonstrators who ventured into the streets of Tehran appeared to have fallen since Sunday, said CNN's Reza Sayah, who flew Wednesday to the United States from Tehran.
He said exhaustion after eight consecutive days of massive protests may have combined with fear of government reprisals to limit the number of protesters.
The key to what happens next, he said, depends on what role is assumed by Mir Hossein Moussavi, whose supporters say was robbed of a victory in the June 12 elections.
Wednesday's protests came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met in Tehran with a delegation from Belarus in his first official meeting since the disputed June 12 election triggered widespread unrest. The official results of the election gave the incumbent president a landslide victory, but his challengers have declared it was rigged and are seeking a new vote.
Ahmadinejad's claim of victory got renewed support from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, who endorsed the results and reiterated Wednesday that the government will not back down. Demonstrators must follow the law, he said.
According to official figures, 17 people have been killed in clashes with government forces over the past 11 days. Anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets in at least four cities outside Tehran.
U.S. woman on Tehran ordeal: 'I was terrified'
Report: Iran to review UK relations as tensions mount
Slain woman an unlikely martyr
Complete coverage of Iran fallout
But CNN has received unconfirmed reports of as many as 150 deaths related to the popular uprising. The government's response to it appears to have hardened in recent days. CNN has received numerous accounts of night-time roundups by government forces of opposition activists and international journalists from their homes.
Some Tehran residents said they were too afraid to talk about the political crisis over the phone to anyone in the United States or Europe. Many protesters debated whether to venture into the streets.
"I am not going outside my house at all," a 21-year-old college student from Tehran said. "The streets are too dangerous, and just so very busy with police. Ahhhh, when will our lives get back to normal?"
Worried the government was monitoring their phone conversations, some residents said the Internet was the best way to transmit information. However, the spotty connection made it difficult to rely on the Web.
"It's beyond fear," said a woman who arrived at a U.S. airport from Iran, but still did not want her name used for fear for her safety. "The situation is more like terror." Watch arrivals describe the situation »
Khamenei urged parliamentarians Wednesday to tolerate the voices of the opposition, government-run Press TV reported.
Khamenei made the remarks to a group of lawmakers in Tehran, Press TV said.
But Khamenei added that the Islamic establishment and people "will never give in to coercive demands with regards to Iran's presidential elections," Press TV said.
The newscast added that a spokesman for the Guardian Council, which oversees elections, had declared that "no major irregularities took place" in the elections.
Though "minor irregularities" were found, they were not significant enough to change the results, the council spokesman said, according to Press TV.
Iran's ambassador to Mexico defended his country's actions, saying Wednesday that the anti-government protesters represent but a small minority of the nation.
"The minority can't impose their opinion on the majority," Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri told CNN en Español. "They can't impose a dictatorship saying that the majority is not going to govern."
There are acceptable ways of addressing electoral fraud, if any occurred, he said. "But they go out on the street, they attack buses, they attack banks; that affects the security of the country."
Asked why the government has made it impossible for nearly all international journalists to report from Iran, he accused the media of not accurately reporting events. "In Tehran, there were much bigger demonstrations in favor of the government that you didn't report about," he said.
Asked about the shooting of 26-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan, whose death, captured on video, has become emblematic of the crackdown on protesters, he said, "It is not clear who killed whom."
"Terrorists" were among the demonstrators, he said. "Some armed people have attacked police. ... Naturally, we have to respond."
"We do not beat up our people and we do not kill them," he said in a separate interview with CNN International.
Iran said the Agha-Soltan might have been shot by "mistake," the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday.
The report said the investigation into the death of Agha-Soltan is continuing, "but according to the evidence so far, it could be said that she was killed by mistake. The marksmen had mistaken her for the sister of one of the Monafeghin who had been executed in the Province of Mazandaran some time ago."
Monafeghin refers to the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, which promotes a Marxist government for Iran and has waged a campaign against the fundamentalist Islamic Tehran government -- including bombings that killed politicians, judges and cabinet members.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities said they have arrested several foreign nationals, some with British passports, in connection with the country's post-election unrest.
Intelligence Minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ezhei told reporters that some people with links to the West and Israel had planned a series of bombings in Iran ahead of the June 12 election, the government-funded Press TV reported Wednesday.
"England is among the countries that fan the flames with their heavy propaganda, which is against all diplomatic norms," Mohseni-Ezhei was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. "And the BBC Farsi has also played a major role. Also, a number of people carrying British passports have played a role in the recent disturbances." Watch a report on Iran's history with the West »
The British Foreign Office said it was looking into the claims.
Earlier Wednesday, Press TV said police raided a building in central Tehran used as a "headquarters" to foment post-election unrest.
The television station, citing unnamed sources, said the building was used by campaign staffers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi. And evidence indicated that "foreign elements" were behind the planning, Press TV said.
The Iranian government has long blamed other countries, especially Britain, for "meddling" in its affairs but has offered no proof.
Tehran said Wednesday it was temporarily recalling its ambassador from London, another move in escalating tit-for-tat gestures between the governments. On Tuesday, Britain expelled two Iranian diplomats. A day earlier, Iran told two British diplomats to leave.
The difficulty in getting information has been compounded by a government clampdown on representatives of the international news media, who have been banned from covering protests. That has led some news outlets including CNN to rely on information from people who are disseminating information via social networking Web sites.
According to Reporters Without Borders, 36 journalists have been arrested, 26 of them Iranian, since the election and "many others" are missing.
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Is tonight a good time to order take out? Not according to Quebec's language watchdog
Published Tuesday, December 1, 2020 5:20PM EST Last Updated Tuesday, December 1, 2020 5:30PM EST
People carry take-out food in Toronto's Chinatown, on Saturday, March 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
MONTREAL -- It's cold outside and there's a pandemic on. What a great night to order a meal à emporter.
That's what Quebec's language watchdog would like you to be saying, as the Office québécois de la langue française took to Twitter to urge Quebecers to avoid using the words "take out" when referring to ordering in dinner.
"Why choose to 'take out' when you could order, in French, votre plat a emporter prefere? It's better in French!"
Pourquoi opter pour du «take-out» quand vous pouvez commander, en français, votre plat à emporter préféré?
C'est bien meilleur en français!https://t.co/t7rtq5BfMe pic.twitter.com/1ch2a90YwE
— OQLF (@OQLF) November 30, 2020
The tweet included a link to an OQLF dictionary entry where it's noted that "take out" is "generally absent from Quebec and European reference works" and "is not acceptable, because it's made up of two English words" and "does not integrate naturally into the language."
But plat a emporter, they note, "has officially been recommended by the French Language Enrichment Commission" since 2005.
The OQLF did not specify whether ordering your meal "for pickup" was acceptable.


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Miguel Ferrer (born March 28, 1987) is a Cuban footballer who last played for the Wichita Wings in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Career

College
Ferrer grew up in Miami, Florida, played college soccer at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he received all-conference, all-region, and all-American honors as a junior, and all-conference and all-region honors as a senior. In 2008 Ferrer studied in Germany and played a half season for the semi-pro soccer club SG Oppenweiler.

Professional
Undrafted by Major League Soccer out of college, Ferrer signed with Charlotte Eagles on March 8, 2010, after a good showing at their invitational-only tryout. He made his professional debut on May 1, 2010 in Charlotte's 2-1 loss against rival Charleston Battery at Charleston's Blackbaud Stadium.

In October 2011, Ferrer joined MISL side Norfolk SharX for the indoor season and he moved to Wichita Wings the following season.

References

External links
 Charlotte Eagles bio

1987 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Cuban footballers
Charlotte Eagles players
USL Second Division players
USL Championship players
UNC Pembroke Braves men's soccer players
Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players
Wichita Wings (2011–2013 MISL) players
Association football midfielders
Soccer players from Miami
Expatriate footballers in Germany

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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English Soccer
Sportswoman of the Year
Anti-doping chief in scathing attack on British Cycling and Team Sky
Nicole Sapstead highlights fact that no records were kept over medical package
Wed, Mar 1, 2017, 16:51 Updated: Thu, Mar 2, 2017, 08:43
Bradley Wiggins celebrates his win at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images
British Cycling and Team Sky have no records at all to prove what was in a medical package carried to France for Bradley Wiggins at the end of the Critérium du Dauphiné race in 2011, the head of the UK's anti-doping agency has told a committee of British MPs.
In hugely damaging evidence for the two closely linked organisations, Nicole Sapstead said the team doctor who received the mystery jiffy bag at the race failed to upload computer records as required, and later reported his laptop had been stolen on holiday.
Sapstead, the chief executive of UK Anti-Doping (Ukad), said Dr Richard Freeman could potentially face investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) for his poor record-keeping.
She told the culture, media and sport committee that Freeman was the only person who claimed to know what was in the bag taken by a British Cycling coach, Simon Cope, from Manchester to France in June 2011.
While Freeman said it was Fluimucil, a non-proscribed decongestant, Sapstead said there were no records of British Cycling ever purchasing the drug in the UK. It can be bought at pharmacies in France without a prescription.
In contrast, she told the MPs, the organisation had purchased significant amounts of triamcinolone, a corticosteroid only allowed under anti-doping rules by specific medical exemption, which Wiggins is known to have used in other cases.
Sapstead said Ukad had "met with a degree of resistance" in its investigation into potential doping at the Dauphiné, with British Cycling seeking to invoke the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship. "That's incredibly frustrating for us as an organisation when we are trying to investigate something," she said.
She agreed that the evidence her team had uncovered dealt a blow to the self-declared mission of Sky – which won the Tour de France in 2012 via Wiggins and has taken three more since with Chris Froome – to be demonstrably clean.
"It strikes me as odd, too, yes," she said. "I would expect, particularly for a professional road cycling team that was founded on the premise of exhibiting that road racing could be conducted cleanly, to have records that would be able to demonstrate any inferences to the contrary."
Freeman had also been due to give evidence to the committee, which is carrying out a wider investigation into doping in sport, but said he could not attend as he was ill.
Sapstead said Freeman was the only witness among 34 interviewed by Ukad in connection with the Dauphiné jiffy bag who said he knew what was inside it. Even the British Cycling physiotherapist who put the package together said he did not know.
In contravention of Sky policies, Freeman failed to upload medical records from the race to a communal database, Sapstead said. "He did not do that, for one reason or another, and in 2014 we have been told, his laptop was stolen on holiday in Greece," she said. Such was Freeman's poor record-keeping, the GMC would possibly want to investigate, she added.
Sapstead said Freeman's dual role, with British Cycling and Sky, made keeping track of medical interventions all the harder. "It's very clear from our investigation that there is no audit trail of what is going in and out of a comprehensive supply of medical products," she said.
The two organisations even had different policies on keeping records of drugs, she said, with British Cycling appearing not to have any guidelines at all. "We haven't had an excuse from them," Sapstead said of the lack of drugs information. "There's just an acknowledgement that there was no policy and no records. That's it. Team Sky did have a policy. It's just that not everybody was adhering to it."
Wiggins himself told the Ukad investigation he had been treated with Fluimucil via a nebuliser on June 12th, the day the mystery package arrived in France, but did not know whether it had been inside the bag, Sapstead said.
While there was, she told the MPs, no evidence of any deliberate cover-up, there was equally "no record at all about what went into that package", meaning British Cycling could not back up its assertions.
Team Sky said in a statement they had "co-operated fully with Ukad's investigation and we will continue to do so. As we have said throughout, we are confident there has been no wrongdoing. Our commitment to anti-doping has been one of the founding principles of the team . . . We have worked hard to put the right governance structures in place."
Separate revelations have shown Wiggins received three therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) on other occasions to have injections of triamcinolone to combat allergies. Sapstead said records showed British Cycling and Sky ordered "far more" triamcinolone than would be needed for one rider but that it was impossible to know how and when it was used.
Earlier in the session, Cope said he did not ask what was in the package he carried to France as he trusted his employers and wanted to keep his job. Cope said in retrospect he should have asked what was in the jiffy bag. "Why would I ask? I didn't think anything was untoward," he told the MPs. "It's a national governing body – why would I question the integrity of our governing body?"
He told MPs he had been full-time coach for the British Cycling women's academy until the end of 2010, but his role had shrunk and he ended up acting as a part-time "gap filler".
He described being asked by Shane Sutton, who was technical director for British Cycling, to take a package from the organisation's Manchester office on a flight to Geneva, after which he was to drive to the end point of the Dauphiné race. Cope – who said he had been due to travel to France anyway to collect Sutton and some team bikes – said it was "not at all" unusual to run such errands. "It is normal in our world, yes," he said. "If you understand the sport we're in, people do unusual things like flying detergent to a race because one rider is allergic."
Asked if he was "the most overqualified delivery boy in history", Cope said he had been trying to secure a permanent job. "I could well be," he said. "But as I said earlier, I had a role in 2010 that was a full-time role, and I moved into a role which I could see, a few months down the line – which did happen – getting made redundant, as it wasn't a full time job. So I was doing everything possible to keep people happy, to try and keep my job."
He added: "I probably should have asked what was in the package. But as I said, at the time, I didn't think it was untoward."
(Guardian service)
Nicole Sapstead
Phil Burt
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Shane Sutton
Simon Cope
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Gerry Thornley: Ireland need to get in line and open turnstiles for Six Nations
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Monday – Sunday, January 17th – 23rd
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1 Gerry Thornley: Ireland need to get in line and open turnstiles for Six Nations
2 Owen Doyle: Champions Cup format needs a rethink
3 Ken Early: Manchester City's dominance a reminder the rich always get their way
4 Owen Farrell retained as England captain for the Six Nations
5 ECB to investigate England and Australia's post-Ashes drinking session
Collin Morikawa still has eyes on world number one spot 12:33
Owen Farrell retained as England captain for the Six Nations 11:09
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T.Michael Stavres will review and discuss, Who's Your City? How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life by Richard Florida. Two copies of the book will be raffled at the end of the program. See the full series schedule.