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Buy Photo Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli and Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren address the media at City Hall on Sept. 19, 2014 about the video that was posted on social media of a police arrest, the same incident where an unidentified person struck an officer with a broom. (Photo: TINA MACINTYRE-YEE @tyee23/staff photographer)Buy Photo Mayor Lovely Warren and Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli Friday morning asked anyone who witnessed or filmed an encounter between a city police officer and a city resident this week to step forward. The request followed the surface of a 77-second video posted on YouTube and social media showing a city police officer striking a man several times during an arrest. A sergeant was at 369 Genesee Street about 1:30 p.m. Thursday to take Clem J. Long, 36, into custody in connection with alleged illegal drug activity in the area. Long allegedly started to resist arrest, said Rochester police investigator Frank Camp. Another person allegedly repeatedly struck the sergeant with a metal broom handle prior to the arrest shown on the video. Warren and Ciminelli said the posted video, which is now being reviewed by police as evidence, shows the final minute of the encounter on the front porch of the Genesee Street home. The alleged attack on the officer was not pictured in the posted video. Video: Arrest on Genesee Street Warren said she learned of the video from concerned city residents. "When videos rise, we take them very, very seriously," Warren said. "But we also need the community's help. This (video) tells a part of the story, but we want to be able to hear the whole story. We want a clear understanding of what actually happened." Specifically, city and police officials are asking anyone who witnessed or recorded the first part of the encounter, or the entire exchange, to come forward. While some other departments around the country have outfitted police officers with cameras on their person or in their patrol cars, Warren said Rochester officials and officers must first learn more about the technology before considering installing them locally. Clem Long (Photo: Provided photo) Long, a Columbia Avenue resident, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree assault, both felonies, resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. Court documents allege Long had 16 bags of cocaine and some marijuana on him Thursday afternoon. Ciminelli said the sergeant on Thursday was addressing numerous complaints of drug activity on Genesee Street when the incident occurred. When Long allegedly resisted arrest and tussled with the sergeant, at least one more person joined the confrontation, Ciminelli said. Police are looking for the person accused of hitting the sergeant with a broom handle over his head and on his back. The injured sergeant was treated at an area hospital and will remain off duty for several days to recover from his injuries. Long pleaded not guilty on those charges and was remanded to the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail. He is slated to return to City Court for a preliminary hearing next week. [email protected] Twitter.com/vfreile Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/1sayT65

Fahad Khan said either family or police confiscated Butt’s passport to prevent him travelling to Syria two years ago London Bridge killer Khuram Butt supported Islamic State and tried to travel to Syria but was stopped by family members, a relative has said. Fahad Khan, whose cousin Zarah Rahman was married to Butt, said he believed either family or police had confiscated Butt’s passport to prevent him from travelling to the conflict-torn country about two years ago. Khan, 36, from Upney, east London, said Butt had “fundamentalist views” that drove him to back Islamic State and would watch hate preachers online. He said: “I’ve heard from my family members that he wanted to leave her [his wife] as he had plans to go to Syria. I’ve heard that his family have stopped him and his passport might [have been] taken by his mother, father or police.” Butt had “fundamentalist views”, Khan said, which had led him to support Isis. “I know he was inspired by one of the preachers who are giving lectures on YouTube. He was of the opinion that what is doing in Isis, in the name of God, is quite justified.” Asked whether he had ever felt that he should have reported Butt to police, Khan said: “Police already know these things and he had already been given a warning.” Khan was speaking outside the Ummah Fitness Centre, a gym in Ilford attended by Butt, which was searched on Thursday by police officers. CCTV recordings obtained by the Times show Butt meeting outside the gym with fellow attackers Rachid Redouane and Youseff Zaghba at midnight on 29 May, five days before they launched their attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. The images show Redouane placing his phone on the floor, before the men move down the road for 10 minutes and then return. Butt enters the gym, which is understood to open until 3am during Ramadan to accommodate fasting Muslims. Khan said: “The last time I saw Khuram [was] the day before he did this thing.” They had bumped into each other at the gym, where Butt was praying. Khan said he joined him for a prayer, at the end of which Butt had left. Khan said: “My whole family’s life has dramatically and significantly changed. Everywhere we will go, regardless of whether we are the victims or not, we have to answer the question.” A cordon was put in place around the gym on Thursday and later removed. Management left a typed notice to the press outside denying reports that it was a Muslim-only gym. “At least half of our regular attendees are not Muslim. We are open and welcoming to all people,” it read. “In addition we at UFC gym are shocked and deeply saddened by the events that occurred at London Bridge and Borough on Saturday night. There is never any justification for indiscriminately killing civilians. “We have hundreds of people training at UFC each week. We are a welcoming and open part of the community. While Mr Butt did occasionally train here at UFC gym we do not know him well nor did we see anything of concern, we will of course help the police in any way we can. “In these challenging times it is important we all stand united, we must avoid scapegoating any part of the community.” Three men were arrested in Ilford in the early hours of Thursday as the investigation continued into the assault on London’s nightlife that claimed the lives of eight people and resulted in dozens of injuries. A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism from a residential property in Wingate Road, just metres away from the Ummah Fitness Centre. Two others were arrested on the street, one on suspicion of preparation for acts of terrorism, the other on drugs offences. Fazal Mahmoud, 57, who lives opposite the raided house in Wingate Road, said the family there consisted of a mother, her three sons and the wife of the eldest son and their children. Another neighbour said he had witnessed the raid: “They [police] blocked both ends with an unmarked vehicle in the middle of the street. I heard people shouting ‘armed police’, waking up all the neighbourhood, then they take everybody out of this house. The neighbour said he saw two men being detained. “I saw them on the street, lying on the street when they put their handcuffs on – typical procedure for police,” he said. “I think there was around one or two teams of anti-terror squad.” The Met police said the police cordon around the scene of the attack was likely to stay in place until Sunday evening at the earliest as the continued the investigation. • The headline of this article was updated to reflect the developing nature of the story. A separate article about the police officer who was stabbed in the attack has been published here.

Today I started my day with a nice bong rip. I don’t always begin my days in such a fashion, but the sun was shining and I had a long bus ride to work so I wanted to have a pleasant journey. About halfway through my ride, two young men (17-20ish, I’d say-they all look like babies after you hit a certain age) hopped on the bus and sat down just behind me. These boys were most definitely cannabis fans, it was blatantly obvious. Blood-shot eyes, pot-leaf images festooned all over their clothing and backpacks, one even wore a hat that said “faded” on it. As if that wasn’t enough, they were talking (very loudly) about the sheer amount of weed they had smoked just this morning. I found myself strangely offended by these two chaps. Fundamentally, of course, I don’t think they were being cruel or insensitive and (clearly) I do not take issue with consuming cannabis. These kids were talking about how much weed they’d smoked, then went on to have an in-depth discussion about which of their friends were responsible for the various graffitti we passed along the way. The guy with the “faded” hat pointed out one such “tag” and said, “This here was done by that little white boy from down south.” Mr. Faded is, himself, a diminutive Caucasian with delusions of ebonicized street cred. When he exited the bus, I noticed he was walking like he just got off a horse because he was sagging his sweatpants down to his knees and they would have fallen off if he walked like any other bipedal mammal. What bothered me is that this type of pot smoker, albeit influenced by their youthful ignorance, becomes the mascot of the prohibitionist, the poster-child for why marijuana should be illegal. These boys and I created an interesting contrast. We both smoked weed prior to boarding the bus and that’s about the extent of similarity. I smoked, took my shower and had breakfast. I kissed my wife and son goodbye and headed off to work. These kids got high and went off to pretend they were thugs while bragging about how much grass they smoked. As a disclaimer, I may live in Seattle now, but I lived in California during the haydays of the Blood/Crip gangland emergence. I have seen real bangers and it bothered me that these little wannabes think sagging your sweats, spray-painting signs, and smoking weed makes you a thug. These are the fools that make Kevin Sabet and Patrick Kennedy salivate. They are perfect exemplars of why legal weed is a bad idea. Furthermore, these people are the loudest and proudest potheads around. I don’t want to hear on a public bus how fucked up you were last night, I don’t want the uninformed out there to see your white-boy dreads and hear your “ode to my bong” poems and think that this behavior is a direct result of smoking weed. I think professional stoners, those who get high but still positively contribute to their world, tend to be more discreet. That may be because those of us who smoked before it was legal have a Pavlovian response geared toward discretion, but I think it has more to do with not making getting high the only thing that matters. Honestly, I’d be just as put off if I was listening to these kids rave on about how much booze they had. As a father, I don’t want my boys to follow the path of these two mental giants. If they decide when they are of age that cannabis is right for them, I’ll support that choice as long as they don’t forget that they still need to be functioning, responsible people. We’ve been so focused on spreading word that cannabis is not dangerous and has a plethora of medical application (a cause that matters significantly) that we’ve lost sight of another front on which we need to put our best foot forward: combating the stigma that cannabis makes you a dumbass. Weed will not make you a dumbass. I think if you’re a dumbass already and you get high, your natural proclivity toward idiocy increases. Bill Cosby, in one of his stand-up specials, was talking about cocaine and he impersonated someone who liked coke saying “it heightens your personality.” To which, Bill (as himself again) responds, “yes, but what if you’re an asshole?” I’m reminded of some Outkast lyrics: “Pull up your pants, ladies and gents. Please, act like you got some sense.” I understand that I’m just bitching a bit and that a small snapshot of these two kids on a bus is hardly enough to paint them into a box and claim I know who they are. But, based of the information they provided to me (and anyone else within 20 feet) I do not believe my assessment is too far off point. I know Alcohol has been around for a long time and there are plenty of people who can use it without going all troglodyte. The same, I suppose, is true of cannabis. I just wish there were more constructive pot-enthusiasts willing to declare as such. Cannabis legalization is still in its infancy, let’s not let the morons in our ranks be the only ones with the loudspeaker. Love cannabis, be intelligent.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have developed a polyurethane coating that heals its own scratches when exposed to sunlight, offering the promise of scratch-free cars and other products, researchers said on Thursday. “We developed a polymeric material that is able to repair itself by exposure to the sun,” said Marek Urban of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, whose study appears in the journal Science. “In essence, you create a scratch and that scratch will disappear upon exposure to the sun,” Urban said in an interview on the Science website. The self-healing coating uses chitosan, a substance found in the shells of crabs and shrimp. This is incorporated into traditional polymer materials, such as those used in coatings on cars to protect paint. When a scratch damages the chemical structure, the chitosan responds to ultraviolet light by forming chemical chains that begin bonding with other materials in the substance, eventually smoothing the scratch. The process can take less than an hour. Urban said the new coating uses readily available materials, offering an advantage over other self-repairing coatings, which he said were “fairly elaborate and economically unfeasible.” The team tested the compound’s properties using a razor-blade-thin scratch. “We haven’t done any of the tests to show how wide it can be,” Urban said in a telephone interview. He said the polymer can only repair itself in the same spot once, and would not work after repeated scratches. “Obviously, this is one of the drawbacks,” he said, adding that the chances are low of having two scratches in exactly the same spot. Howell Edwards, who leads the chemical and forensic sciences division of the University of Bradford in Britain, said the findings were novel. “Clearly, there are future applications of this work in the repair of automotive components, which extensively use polyurethane polymers, that have suffered minor damage,” Edwards said in a statement. Urban said the coating could be used in packaging or furniture or anything that requires a high-performance type of coating. “You can dream up anything you desire,” he said. Urban said his team has patents pending on the material and is considering commercialization.

I turned 31 a few months ago, and a month later I moved out of Brooklyn and back into my childhood bedroom in my parents' house in Oakland, Calif. At that point, my latest bout of unemployment had lasted about nine months, and the looming end of my Emergency Unemployment Benefits at the year's end prompted the begrudging decision to, at least temporarily, give up my independent life. I graduated from Vassar College 10 years ago with a BA in Film and dived into life in New York City full of optimism and excitement for my future. I imagined that I'd be "rich and successful" by the time I was 25. After failing to secure a job in my field immediately after college I turned to retail. It was fairly easy work to get, and once I ascended into the world of high-end luxury designer sales, it afforded me just enough money to live a fairly comfortable -- if still a paycheck to paycheck -- existence while I pursued my creative passions. A couple-year interlude working as a production assistant on films and television shows offered some brief hope that I may actually make it into the business, but life as a freelancer was hard and I spent months on and off unemployment waiting for new projects to materialize. The desire for something stable sent me back to retail, where I remained until I was laid off a few years later. In retrospect I probably could have been more aggressive in securing a career, but in a city like New York you either work or you starve, and jobs became harder and harder to come by as the years wore on and the economy crashed, so the motivation to take what you could get and not give it up was strong. Being poor anywhere sucks, but there's perhaps a particular kind of soul crushing that one experiences being poor in New York City. The cost of living is so high, and the constant inundation from all around you of experiences you could be having, things you could be buying, luxury apartments where you could be living, if only you had the finances, slowly break you down inside. Various people have asked about "savings" over the years; I think at one point I might have had two or three hundred dollars in a savings account, but honestly, I don't know how anyone who lives in New York City could have savings unless they make six figures. My "affordable" rent in Park Slope, Brooklyn was never less than $900 a month, and it never stopped going up, unlike my income. On average, after rent and bills, I probably had less than three hundred dollars per month to put toward food, other expenses and social activities. As the years wore on, and my employment became less and less steady, I relocated to a cheaper building in a less glamorous neighborhood, but since I wasn't making as much money, that did little to ease the stress of supporting myself. Sometimes after rent and bills I had nothing leftover, and the only reason my rent checks didn't bounce was because of my credit line with my bank. Sometimes I really didn't have the money to eat three full meals a day. I would splurge on a 10 dollar lunch to keep me going through the work day, and then I'd eat nuts, cheese and fruit for dinner, or a can of tuna, or a bowl of plain rice, and drink a cheap beer because I knew it would fill up my stomach. It always seemed like every time I could almost catch a break something would go wrong to keep my head under water. My bank would randomly seize a couple hundred dollars from my account because I had stopped making credit payments when I needed to pay rent, or a bedbug infestation in my building required me to wash everything I owned and buy a new mattress, or even though I had received taxed unemployment benefits somehow I still ended up owing the government money when I filed my taxes and risked having my wages garnished if I didn't come up with the money. Even having a steady full time job in the last few years didn't end up making that much of a difference. The last job that I had was in retail sales for a high-end subsidiary brand of a major global sportswear corporation. The type of company where they have clauses in your employment like caps on the hourly rate an employee can earn in a given position, regardless of performance or how long they've been with the company, as well as an "at will" agreement which basically means they can legally fire you without notice or reason at any time, which is what eventually happened to me. By that time the emotional anguish of trying and trying for so many years to succeed and continually feeling like I'd continually failed had taken its toll. I experienced panic attacks for the first time in my life in the last couple years I spent there. Living off credit cards in between jobs and subsequently maxing them out when work didn't come fast enough or didn't pay me enough to afford basic necessities and minimum payments decimated my credit, leading to regular harassment by creditors, who would ask me how much of my unemployment benefits I could put toward my debt, or if I had any family or friends who could pay off my debts for me. It's pretty brutal what happens to your morale after years of struggle and failure. You hope for the best but expect the worst. You learn to let go of desires and hopes for your future. My dreams of one day buying an apartment or a house or even a new car evaporated years ago. So far in the eight weeks I've been living in Oakland I've been rejected from eight low wage customer service jobs, from start ups to department stores to banks to cellular phone retailers, perhaps because they think that I'm overqualified for them, or not qualified enough, or perhaps because my ability to fake enthusiasm for them has waned. I just don't know anymore. Corporate or administrative positions don't even bother to send me rejection notices. At this point where I went to school doesn't mean much. My resume is 10 years of customer service and assistant work, and no one wants to give me a chance to prove I can do anything else. I want to go back to school, or get some kind of certification, but I need a job in order to pay for supplementary education. My friends, who are mostly settled in their careers, starting families and taking group vacations, tell me how "smart" I am, how they "don't understand why someone wouldn't hire me," and how I just have to "keep trying and not give up." It makes me sad to think about how much I became a ghost in my circle of friends in the last few years. Group dinners, vacations, brunches, shopping trips, nights out at bars and clubs just became less and less a part of my existence until most of the time nobody really bothered to try to include me. I never blamed any of my friends for that; you can only decline invitations because you're literally too poor to participate for so long until people just stop asking. I'm lucky, or perhaps unlucky enough depending on how you look at it, to have some incredibly successful friends who worked really hard and put in the effort to become very well paid in their respective jobs. It's not so much that you envy your friends' success or are jealous of them, it's more that being around people who you consider your peers who all managed to "make it" when you yourself continually stumble and fall makes you question whether you really even belong with that crowd. Being the only fuck up in the room becomes a pretty dark cloud that you'd rather not expose anyone to after a while. In comparison to many, I'm considerably lucky. I got to live this amazing life surrounded by amazing people for so long, even if most of it was living beyond my means, and even now that I've come to point where it's basically all disappeared, I still am fortunate enough to have family who's willing to give me a place to stay and feed me. But now, sometimes I honestly don't know what would've been worse, having experienced for so long a life of relative privilege only to have it all fall apart, or never having had the chance in the first place. I grew up actually believing in the stereotypical American Dream that I could be anything I wanted to be. And I had a good reason; I was afforded more opportunities and privileges than countless others. And I still blew it. So now I wake up some mornings optimistic and motivated that if I just keep trying something will change and I'll finally have the chance to prove I can be a successful person and restore the self-worth that has slowly been drained from me over the last 10 years. This morning, however, I just want to go back to sleep because it seems like no one will ever give me that chance. Christian's story is part of a Huffington Post series profiling Americans who work hard and yet still struggle to make ends meet. Learn more about other individuals' experiences here.

Truckies want changes after another fatal truck crash on the South Eastern Freeway. Courtesy: Network Ten SPEED limits on the South Eastern Freeway will be slashed for all trucks in the wake of the horror crash which left two people dead and two others fighting for their lives. From September 1, the maximum speed limit for light vehicles (cars) between the Stirling interchange and the lower arrester bed will be reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h. The electronic speed signs will display these changes. For all trucks and buses, the maximum speed limit from the Crafers Interchange until the bottom of the freeway will be 60km/h and all trucks and buses will be required to move into the left hand lane. Police Minister Tony Piccolo made the announcement this afternoon alongside Deputy Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. “This week I’ve had discussion with both SAPOL and officers from the Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure in regards to how we can make our roads safer and in particular the South Eastern Freeway,” Mr Piccolo said. “In light of those discussions I’m announcing today that, from September, we are introducing two new measures to improve road safety along that stretch of road. “The first measure is to extend to the current conditions of 60km/h which apply to trucks with five axles or more to any truck which has a gross mass of more than 4.5 tonnes. “Additionally we are going to extend the 90km/h speed restrictions to east of Crafers — from 100 km/h down to 90 km/h. “We are doing so to provide a safer, calmer traffic environment and as a result reduce the risk of any fatal accidents on that stretch of road.” Police said they will be conducting an operation to ensure motorists follow the new restrictions from next month. Mr Piccolo’s announcement came just hours after an inquest heard the truck that killed two people in Monday’s horror freeway crash was travelling at more than 150km/h seconds before ploughing into three cars. Deputy State Coroner Anthony Schapel on Friday began his inquest into the deaths of Thomas Spiess, 56, and Jacqueline Byrne, 41. Mr Spiess and Ms Byrne died as a result of injuries they sustained in Monday’s horrific road crash at the base of the South Eastern Freeway. The truck’s driver, 29, and a Hahndorf woman, 49, who was in a third car, remain in a critical condition in Royal Adelaide Hospital. SA Police experts told Mr Schapel that the Transpacific truck, believed to be fully laden with 8000 litres of sewerage, increased in velocity from 77km/h to 151.9km/h as it travelled “out of control, lurching to the left” down the freeway. Brevet Sergeant Peter Light, from the Major Crash investigation section, said CCTV footage of the minutes leading up to the crash showed the truck travelling the final 190 metres of the freeway before the Cross Rd intersection in just 4.5 seconds. “As the truck comes into view (on the footage) and negotiates the bend, it appears it’s out of control, that the truck lurches to the left,” he said. “It appears to move from side to side.” Sgt Light told the coroner it was still being investigated whether the driver had lost control of the truck. It is understood the driver had only been in the job for a week prior to the crash. The incident prompted trucking company Transpacific to ground its national fleet of 2800 trucks — which halted rubbish collection in some areas of Adelaide — over safety concerns. Yesterday Mr Spiess’ wife, Jan, expressed gratitude for emergency services staff who had helped her family during their ordeal and asked for privacy while they grieved. The inquest is the second time Mr Schapel has investigated a death on the SE Freeway. Six months ago, he handed down preliminary findings into the October 2010 death of John Posnakidis, 42, who was hit by a truck as he waited at a bus stop. At that time, Mr Schapel said there was “an air of inevitability” that another driver would not use the freeway’s arrester beds and “there will be a repeat” of the incident “or worse”. Brevet Sergeant Light said discussions with the driver’s co-worker had revealed the trucks were not originally intended to travel into the city that day. Instead, the co-workers were to drive two trucks — one carrying 12,000L of sewerage, the other 8000L — to a depot at Heathfield. They headed toward the city instead after discovering that the Heathfield depot was closed. Brevet Sergeant Light tendered two DVDs of CCTV footage to the court, comprising vision from five cameras along the length of the freeway’s down-track. The Advertiser applied for access to reproduce the footage, however Mr Schapel said he would not be releasing the images at this point in the inquest. The first video clip shows the truck leaving the Heysen Tunnels at an estimated speed of 75.3km/h, well below the posted speed limit of 100km/h. In the second clip, its speed has increased to 77km/h. Brevet Sergeant Light said the third clip depicted the truck approaching the “last chance” arrester bed — at which time “you see the brake lights illuminate” briefly. He said the truck’s estimated speed at that time was 93km/h. In clip four the truck travels the distance between the arrester bed and the bus stop at which Mr Posnakidis died but, in the fifth clip, the nature of its driving changes. “As the truck comes into view (on the footage) and negotiates the bend, it appears it’s out of control, that the truck lurches to the left,” Brevet Sergeant Light said. “It appears to move from side to side.” He said that point was 630m from the Urrbrae intersection and the truck’s estimated speed, at that moment, was 109.4km/h — the speed limit for that section was 60km/h. The final clip shows the truck move past the toll gate and into the down-track’s left-hand slip lane, where it collides with a white car before travelling into the intersection. “The distance from the toll gate to the (point of) impact was 350m,” Brevet Sergeant Light said. “The truck travelled that distance in 8.5 seconds ... its estimated average speed was 148.2km/h. “It travelled the final 190m (to the point of impact) in 4.5 seconds with an estimated speed of 151.9km/h.” He said the white car was propelled “in a straight line” across the intersection and struck the decorative wall sculpture on the Glen Osmond Rd. The truck continued on and collided with the passenger side of Mr Spiess’ car, which had crossed the intersection from Portrush Rd and continued along Cross Rd. That impact caused the truck to rotate clockwise and it then “sandwiched” Ms Byrne’s car, which was waiting at the Cross Rd traffic lights. Having heard the evidence, and knowing further investigation was to come, Mr Schapel made a preliminary recommendation. “This court has power to make recommendations ... in an appropriate case, that power might be exercised sooner rather than later,” he said. “If the evidence suggests (ways) to prevent a repeat of an incident, should (recommendations) be implemented that can be achieved simply or expeditiously, it would perhaps be idle for the court to sit on that knowledge.” Mr Schapel recommended all trucks, regardless of size or number of axles, be limited to travelling at 60km/h on the freeway’s downhill track below Crafers. He called for the low gearing section of the freeway to be extended from Crafers to the Urrbrae intersection where the crash occurred. Mr Schapel said the State Government should make a public announcement that drivers were legally obligated to traverse that section in a low gear. He said that, under the Australian Road Rules, that gear had to be low enough that the driver was not required to use his or her vehicle’s primary brake to slow down. “It’s not a good idea or an optional extra to be adhered to in a perfect world — reliance on the primary brake is an offence,” he said. “Everybody knows, or at least should know, that riding the brakes down the freeway is an intrinsically dangerous practice.” Mr Schapel adjourned the inquest to a later date. Mr Spiess’ wife, Jan, attended the hearing but declined to comment outside court.

Geist of Saint Traft Medium undead, lawful good Armor Class 16 (natural armor) 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 85 (10d8 + 40) 85 (10d8 + 40) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 13 (+1) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) Saving Throws Wis +8 Wis +8 Skills Insight +8, Perception +12, Stealth +7 Insight +8, Perception +12, Stealth +7 Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities necrotic, poison, radiant necrotic, poison, radiant Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22 darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22 Languages Common, Celestial Common, Celestial Challenge 8 (3,900 XP) Ethereal Sight. Traft can see 60 feet into the ethereal plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa. Hexproof. Traft can't be affected by spells or effects that target only one creature unless it wishes to be. Magic Weapons. Traft’s weapon attacks are magical. Actions Multiattack. Traft makes two greatsword attacks and then uses Summon Angel. Etherealness. Traft enters the ethereal plane from the material plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the material plane while it is in the border ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can’t affect or be affected by anything on the other plane. Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. Summon Angel. An angelic figure appears next to Traft and takes one action. The angel has the same stats as a Deva (Monster Manual p.16) but has a translucent appearance and doesn't talk or interact with any creature. It disapears immediately after taking its action.

Members of the Anabaptist Christian Bruderhof Communities live, eat, work and worship communally. An intentional community is a planned residential community designed from the start to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They typically share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include collective households, cohousing communities, coliving, ecovillages, monasteries, communes, survivalist retreats, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. New members of an intentional community are generally selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned collectively by the community). Characteristics [ edit ] Purpose [ edit ] The purposes of intentional communities vary in different communities. They may include sharing resources, creating family-oriented neighborhoods, and living ecologically sustainable lifestyles, such as in ecovillages.[citation needed] Types of communities [ edit ] Some communities are secular while others have a spiritual basis.[citation needed] One common practice, particularly in spiritual communities, is communal meals.[citation needed] Typically, there is a focus on egalitarian values.[citation needed] Other themes are voluntary simplicity, interpersonal growth, and self-sufficiency.[citation needed][citation needed][citation needed] Some communities provide services to disadvantaged populations. These include, but are not limited to, war refugees, homeless people, or people with developmental disabilities.[citation needed] Some communities operate learning and/or health centers.[citation needed] Other communities, such as Castanea of Nashville, Tennessee, offer a safe neighborhood for those exiting rehab programs to live in.[citation needed] Some communities also act as a mixed-income neighborhood to alleviate the damages of one demographic assigned to one area.[citation needed] Many intentional communities attempt to alleviate social injustices that are being practiced within the area of residence.[citation needed] Some intentional communities are also micronations, such as Freetown Christiania.[1] Types of memberships [ edit ] Many communities have different types or levels of membership.[citation needed] Typically, intentional communities have a selection process which starts with someone interested in the community coming for a visit. Often prospective community members are interviewed by a selection committee of the community or in some cases by everyone in the community. Many communities have a "provisional membership" period. After a visitor has been accepted, a new member is "provisional" until they have stayed for some period (often six months or a year) and then the community re-evaluates their membership. Generally, after the provisional member has been accepted, they become a full member. In many communities, the voting privileges or community benefits for provisional members are less than those for full members.[citation needed] Christian intentional communities are usually composed of those wanting to emulate the practices of the earliest believers. Using the biblical book of Acts (and, often, the Sermon on the Mount) as a model, members of these communities strive for a practical working out of their individual faith in a corporate context.[2] These Christian intentional communities try to live out the teachings of the New Testament and practice lives of compassion and hospitality.[3] Communities such as the Simple Way, the Bruderhof[4] and Rutba House would fall into this category. These communities, despite strict membership criteria, are open to visitors and not reclusive in the way that certain intentional communities are.[5] A survey in the 1995 edition of the "Communities Directory", published by Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC), reported that 54 percent of the communities choosing to list themselves were rural, 28 percent were urban, 10 percent had both rural and urban sites, and 8 percent did not specify.[6] Type of governance [ edit ] The most common form of governance in intentional communities is democratic (64 percent), with decisions made by some form of consensus decision-making or voting. A hierarchical or authoritarian structure governs 9 percent of communities, 11 percent are a combination of democratic and hierarchical structure, and 16 percent do not specify.[6] Many communities which were initially led by an individual or small group have changed in recent years to a more democratic form of governance.[citation needed] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] Further reading [ edit ]

A graphic every editor should tape to her laptop Bill Kovarik, professor of communications at Radford University in Virginia, found that the four U.S. newspapers with the largest circulation—The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times and the Washington Post—published 1,770 stories on climate change last year. That was about 10 percent higher than in 2011. But it was 11 percent below what the four papers published on the topic in 2010. And it was still far from what could be considered adequate. The best of the lot was The New York Times: Glenn Kramon, assistant managing editor of the Times attributed last year's uptick in the paper's coverage to the fruition of a 4-year-old effort to group top reporters on a separate environment desk. The paper has six reporters in the cluster, plus others covering the subject from other desks, as well as several editors—in particular the environment editor, Sandy Keenan – who all are "very comfortable" with the topic, he said. Ironically, just a few days after Kramon was quoted in the matter in January, the Times dumped its environment desk and eliminated the position of environment editor and deputy environment editor, and reassigned all the staffers on the environment team to other desks. The paper's assistant managing editor said the move would not reduce coverage of climate change. Perhaps. But that has certainly not been the experience in the past. In 1990, when the 20th anniversary of Earth Day revived that project in the wake of the publication of Bill McKibben's The End of Nature, scores of newspapers across the United States and in some foreign nations added reporters, editors, pages and sometimes entire weekly sections dedicated to environmental coverage. But over the next decade, nearly all of them retreated. Eco-coverage fell off sharply. If you look for it, you can find plenty of climate-change coverage for the layman on the internet. Good, original reporting like that of Pulitzer prize-winning InsideClimateChange, ClimateProgress is plentiful. There are aggregators like The Daily Climate and Climate Debate Daily. Blogs like DeSmogBlog and more technically oriented sites like RealClimate also cover the field. But most people don't get their news from those sites, even the ones with relatively high traffic. They get it from television or, in ever smaller numbers, from newspapers. Increasing coverage in those venues, by petitioning or other pressure, is a worthy project. Two problems, however. First, much of that coverage is tainted by 20 years of fossil-fueled lies and smears promoted by deniers and "skeptics." So it's not just a matter of increasing the coverage, but vastly improving it. Second, given its penchant for disaster coverage of any kind, much of any increased climate change coverage can be expected to focus on news that generate despair because the impacts are so great and accelerating. As we know too well, despair creates apathy, and apathy kills activism. Thus, pressure for increased coverage needs to be combined with pressure for solutions-based coverage. There's plenty of news to fulfill that need, but media ownership blocks much of it from getting regular attention. Making inroads against that requires ramping up action well beyond petition drives.

After a transgender woman was allegedly kicked out of a Giant store bathroom, News4's Mark Segraves reports local transgender discrimination laws. (Published Thursday, May 19, 2016) Where Does the DMV Stand on Transgender Discrimination? Gender identity discrimination laws in the D.C. area are receiving renewed attention after a security guard was charged Wednesday with assaulting a transgender woman who was using the women's bathroom at a Giant grocery store. Ebony Belcher, 32, said she was trying to use the bathroom at the Giant on H Street NE when a security guard grabbed her and threw her out of the restroom. "The restroom door came open. All I heard was, 'I know you are a man,'" Belcher said. The guard, identified in court documents as Francine Bernice Jones, was charged with simple assault. Jones plead not guilty on Thursday. According to the DC Office of Human Rights, the alleged assault violates the District's Human Rights Act. "Individuals have the right to use the bathroom based on their gender identity they feel comfortable using," Monica Palacio, director of the DC Office of Human Rights. Since October 2015, Palacio said the office has received 16 complaints from transgender persons who say they were denied use of a bathroom. "They can be victims of violence they can be harassed they can be kicked out of places," Palacio said. How the laws differ in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. In D.C., it's against the law to deny someone access to a bathroom based on their gender identity and the District requires that single-user bathrooms be gender neutral. "A business can only turn away someone if they’re not patronizing the business," Palacio said. The DC Office of Human Rights has had 300 complaints of public restrooms not complying with the gender neutral requirement since 2014, Palacio said. Seventeen states, including Maryland, have similar anti-discrimination laws that specifically protect transgender people. Virginia, however, does not have a gender identity discrimination law. Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently signed an executive order protecting state employees from gender identity discrimination. The role of federal law U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects people from discrimination in all 50 states. North Carolina is currently in a battle with the Justice Department over the interpretation of Title VII after passing a law that says transgender people must use public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. The Civil Rights Act does not specifically mention transgender people. Palacio said it's important for states to have their own laws. "A local law provides much more immediate relief," Palacio said. "Fighting a claim with the federal government for Title 7 could take years for any type of resolution or relief." Palacio said local laws may also help to inform local businesses who may not be aware of the federal law.

Rep. Ted Yoho tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he is not concerned about reports that Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting in June 2016 with a reporter who turned out to be Russian. The New York Times reported this weekend that Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort met with a Russian lawyer for about 20 minutes on the hope that she could provide information about the Clinton campaign. "Do I think it is appropriate? I think I probably would have done the same thing," he said. "Anybody who has been in an election -- you're always trying to get information... And keep in mind she wasn't an agent for the Russian government, she was just a Russia lawyer, and if someone comes and says they have information about an opponent -- that is a good thing to do," he said.

by The brave, non-violent Syrian challenge to a brutal dictatorship emerged as part of the Arab risings across the region. But that short Syrian spring of 2011 has long since morphed into an escalation of militarization and death. The International Committee of the Red Cross acknowledged what many already recognized: Syria is immersed in full-scale civil war. As is true in every civil war, civilian casualties are horrific and rising. Certainly the regime has carried out brutal acts against civilians, including war crimes. The armed opposition is also responsible for attacks leading to the deaths of civilians. Indications are growing of outside terrorist forces operating in Syria as well. Of course the normal human reaction is “we’ve got to do something!” But however dire the situation facing Syrian civilians, the likelihood that any outside military attacks would actually help the situation is very remote. Despite defections, Syria’s military, especially its air force, remains one of the strongest in the Arab world, and direct outside military involvement, especially by the United States, NATO, or other longstanding opponents of Syria would inevitably mean even greater carnage. U.S./NATO military intervention didn’t bring stability, democracy, or security to Libya, and it certainly is not going to do so in Syria. Syria’s war is erupting in a region still seething in the aftermath of the U.S. war in Iraq and the sectarian legacies it left behind. The fighting is also now taking on an increasingly sectarian form – and the danger is rising of Syria becoming the center of an expanded regional war pitting Sunni regimes in Saudi Arabia and Qatar against Shi’a-dominated governments in Iran and Iraq. Iran is the most important reason for U.S. interest in Syria. With continuing U.S.-EU sanctions on Iran, and Israeli threats of military attack, Syria remains a tempting proxy target. Damascus’s longstanding economic, political, and military ties with Tehran mean that efforts to undermine Syria are widely understood to be at least partly aimed at undermining Iran. Certainly the United States, the EU, and the U.S.-backed Arab monarchies would prefer a more anti-Iranian, less resistance-oriented government in Syria, which borders key countries of U.S. interest including Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey. They would also prefer a less repressive government, since brutality brings protesters out into the streets, threatening instability. But as has virtually always been the case, a U.S. decision to send fighter-jets or bombers or even ground troops to Syria, won’t be because Washington is suddenly worried about Syrian civilians. The Assad regime has brutalized civilians for years, but it has been way too useful for Washington to worry about such things. Damascus accepted U.S. detainees for interrogation and torture in the so-called “global war on terror,” it sent warplanes to join the U.S. Gulf War coalition attacking Iraq in 1991, it kept the occupied Golan Heights and the Israeli border largely pacified… and human rights violations were never a problem for the United States. As State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland admitted, “we are not always consistent.” Whatever our humanitarian concerns might be, real decisions about direct military intervention will be made with little regard for Syrian civilians, Syrian civil society, or Syria’s national survival – all of which will suffer consequences that could last a generation or more. A U.S./NATO air war against Syria would likely not end like Libya’s – with no western casualties and a quick exit. Given Syria’s military, especially air capacity, it will look far more like Iraq than Libya. Diplomacy is the only way this war will be ended. Accountability for war crimes, whether in national or international jurisdictions, is crucial – but stopping the current escalation of war must come first. The UN may be able to facilitate that process. The UN observer mission has been a political football, with the United States demanding the Security Council vote under Chapter VII, setting the stage for military intervention. Russia, determined to protect its naval base on the Syrian coast, rejected Chapter VII. A compromise allowed a 30-day extension, but the real goal should be expansion of both the deployment and its mandate, from observation alone to attempts at political negotiation. The head of the UN observer mission, Norwegian General Robert Mood, described his team’s success in some areas “to facilitate local dialogues between the parties as they seek to find a step by step way to build confidence and stop the negative spiral of violence. …We observe a significant reduction of violence and growing confidence in a possible step by step approach to stop the violence….[T]he political dialogue has to be brought inside Syria …Through that dialogue, and lifting it to the national level, we will then achieve a cessation of violence.” That kind of bottom-up ceasefire effort, moving from the local to the national level, may offer the best chance to re-engage the non-violent core of the Syrian uprising and those opposition forces inside who are prepared to negotiate, bringing some hope that the UN team on the ground may be able to bring about what the Security Council has so far failed to achieve – a real ceasefire. Then the work to achieve the Syrian Spring’s goals of democracy and human rights may have a chance. Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies and author of Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer. This column is distributed by Other Words.

The Atlanta Braves farm system, which has been the talk of the town the past few seasons, was in the news for all the wrong reasons this winter. Because of that, the Braves have a new look to their prospect rankings. Our own John Sickels began his Top 20 Preseason rankings, and named Ronald Acuña (surprise, surprise) the No. 1 overall prospect and Luiz Gohara the No. 2 — and top pitching prospect -- in a system loaded with young and exciting arms. With trade of Matt Kemp, the expectations are the Acuña will be in the Opening Day outfield somewhere, most likely left field if the current roster stays as is. While Luiz Gohara wasn’t at his best in his MLB debut, the 21-year-old southpaw successfully climbed three levels all the way to SunTrust Park. He could very well land a spot in the Opening Day rotation. So, if the top hitting and pitching prospects on the Braves’ farm could very well be full-fledged graduates come May, who would be the Braves top prospect on the bump and at the plate? MIKE SOROKA, RHP Most will tell you the Kyle Wright and Kolby Allard have higher ceilings, and they just may. But Soroka has done nothing but prove himself for the past two seasons. He was one of the Big 5 in the 2016 Rome Braves championship rotation, and was one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues last season. All of the minor leagues. As a 19 year old for most of the season. Skipping over High A and pitching the entire season in Double-A. The numbers speak volumes. Soroka pitched to a 2.75 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. While names like Wright and Allard and Anderson may pump out higher velocities and strikeout numbers before it’s all said and done, Soroka’s command is second to none. He followed up a 2.01 walks-per-nine campaign as an 18 year old with a 1.99 walks-per-nine as a 19 year old. Soroka’s mechanics are just fine, and he has shown an uptick in velocity here and there, especially in his curve. He doesn’t allow a lot of home runs, and that’s thanks to a usually high ground ball rate (46.2 percent in 2017) and a little sink he gets on his fastball, a fastball that he can manipulate almost as two different offerings. In this era of big strikeout numbers and mind-boggling radar gun numbers, Soroka may be a bit behind. But if you want a guy that has done nothing but prove he can control a game — and go deep into those games regularly — than Soroka is your guy. That’s precisely why he is mine. AUSTIN RILEY, 3B People still don’t believe in Austin Riley. The 20-year-old, hulking righty has his flaws. But he’s also improved on almost all of them over the past two seasons. Riley could be the best straight up power bat in the system, especially with Kevin Maitan no longer a Brave. He was also arguably the worst disciplined hitter in the 2016 Rome Braves lineup in the first half of the season. That’s when he learned — as a teenager mind you — that the days of waiting dead red were gone and he had to improve his approach and recognition of breaking balls. Is he there yet? Not completely, but as he did in 2016, Riley showed tremendous adjustments in the second half of 2017. Riley struggled with the Florida Fire Frogs to start the season. He actually lowered his strikeout rate from the season prior while keeping the walk rate relatively the same. The contact, and thus the power, took a bit to come along, but by midseason Riley was rolling once again. Pair it with a .289 BABIP in the Florida State League and it all kind of makes sense. He finished the season in Double-A. Once he got there, he found his stroke, slashing .315/.389/.511 in 48 games. He walked at the highest rate (9.9 percent of the time) against the most advanced pitching he had ever faced. The power returned as well as he raked eight home runs and nine doubles in just 178 at bats. There were question marks about his defense, and they were deservedly so. But he has even shown the range required of the hot corner, and he always had the rifle, a pitcher in his past life in high school. He just had to put it together consistently. He seemed to do that in Florida, but struggled again in Mississippi. Riley isn’t the perfect prospect, but he has continually shown the ability to make the adjustments asked of him. There’s no reason to not expect to see him in Gwinnett next season. The Braves are in desperate need of an everyday third baseman. If they can be patient, Riley could very well be just that.

The Justice Department is looking into whether a deal between Google, the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers represents a potential antitrust case. As reported by The New York Times, Justice Department attorneys have been chatting over the past few weeks with Google and other parties involved in the Google Book Search settlement, which gave Google the right to scan copyrighted books for online use and potential sale in exchange for, among other concessions, creating a nonprofit Book Rights Registry to handle digital rights issues. The questioning of Google, the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers, however, does not necessarily mean that the Justice Department will attempt to scuttle the deal over antitrust issues. No public comment has been forthcoming from Google or the Justice Department over the matter, which is still ongoing. Earlier in April 2009, a nonprofit watchdog group called on the Department of Justice to investigate Google's plan to scan "orphan books" into a database of digital text. "Orphan" books are out-of-print volumes that remain under copyright, but whose rights-holders cannot be found. An advocate for Consumer Watchdog, John Simpson, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking for government intervention in Google's settlement with the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers, arguing that it should have been reviewed to see if it met "the interests of consumers." Critics of the deal argued that Google had effectively been given a monopoly over digitized books by preventing Microsoft, Yahoo or other competitors from offering better deals to authors in the future. The settlement stated that Google would have the same terms in negotiating as any future competitor. "The proposed settlement protects Google from such potentially damaging exposure, but provides no protection for others," Simpson argued in his letter. "This effectively is a barrier for competitors to enter the digital book business." Google's entrance into the digitized-book arena, which has become increasingly competitive, has been much publicized. In March 2009, the search-engine giant paired with Sony to announce that its free public-domain eBooks would be available for the Sony Reader. It marked the first time that Google's scanned books were available for an eReader in an ePub format. By doing so, Sony increased the library of books available on its eReader to 600,000, eclipsing the 245,000 volumes on offer through Amazon's much-publicized Kindle library. In May 2008, despite having digitized 750,000 books and indexed 80 million journal articles, Microsoft shut down its Live Search Books and Live Search Academic projects due to construction and maintenance costs, leaving Google to run relatively unopposed in the online digital library space.

Syrian opposition members who travelled to Moscow thanked Russia for vetoing the UN sanctions resolution [Reuters] Russia has told both the Syrian government and the opposition that real actions are needed to solve the internal crisis in Syria, according to the Russian upper house of parliament's foreign-affairs chief. Following a meeting in Moscow with representatives of the Syrian opposition, Mikhail Margelov said on Monday the conflict sides should urgently start a broad and comprehensive national dialogue. "The Russian veto at the UN Security Council on the Syria draft resolution is no way a carte blanche for the current ruling Syrian regime to do everything they want," he said. "We are indulging neither the regime nor the opposition, no way, it is actually the last bell. "With our veto at the UN Security Council we have used up the whole tool kit which international law offers us. This is the last appeal to the authorities and the opposition to take their places around the table and to start a national dialogue." Margelov's appeal followed Russian President Dmitri Medvedev's statement last week that Syria's leaders should step down if they cannot enact reforms, but warned the West not to try to push President Bashar al-Assad from power. Towards compromise Medvedev's remarks appeared aimed to push Assad towards compromise and to patch up Russia's image after it blocked a Security Council draft resolution that would have condemned Syria's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. He also made clear that Russia opposes change in Syria on terms set by the West. For their part, the visiting Syrian opposition members praised the Russian efforts. "We, the representatives of the internal opposition, have come from Syria to say 'thank you for the veto' to the Russian Federation," Qadri Jamil, secretary-general of the National Committee for Unity of Syrian Communists, said on Monday. "Why? Because of the fact that it made it possible to prevent external interference in Syrian affairs, and opens the way for dialogue. "Preventing external interference [in Syria's affairs] provides safety guarantees for the civilians in Syria." Russia had said it will oppose almost any resolution condemning Assad, making Syria a red line for Moscow after it had allowed NATO air raids in Libya by refraining from using its veto in a Security Council vote in March. Russia said the draft UN resolution could have led to military intervention. Russia has repeatedly urged Syria's government to implement promised reforms, but has differed starkly with Western nations by saying Assad needs more time to do so, and has said his opponents share the blame for months of bloodshed. Russia has accused the West of betraying its trust, charging that NATO overstepped its mandate to protect civilians and used the UN resolution to depose Muammar Gaddafi by force. Medvedev suggested the latest draft resolution on Syria had a similar aim and said other Security Council nations had refused to include language ruling out military intervention. West warned On the domestic front, Syria's highest Sunni Muslim religious leader has given warning to Western countries against military intervention and also threatened to retaliate with suicide bombings in the US and Europe if Syria comes under attack. "I say to all of Europe, I say to America, we will set up suicide bombers who are now in your countries, if you bomb Syria or Lebanon," Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun said in a speech late on Sunday evening. "From now on, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Hassoun spoke to a delegation of Lebanese women who came to offer their condolences for his son's death by unknown assailants earlier this month. "Don't come near our country, I beg you." Hassoun's comments follow another warning by Walid Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, who told the international community not to recognise the new umbrella council formed by the opposition, threatening "tough measures" against any country that does so.

PlanetSolar’s TRANOR is currently on its way to becoming the first solar-powered boat to circumnavigate the globe. Driven by a silent, pollution-free electrical engine that is powered exclusively by solar energy, the PlanetSolar team has two goals in mind. The first objective is to show that current technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency are reliable and effective. The second is to advance scientific research in the field of renewable energy. The world’s largest solar-powered boat has already been to Miami, Cancun, Brisbane, Hong Kong and just made its way to Vietnam. Measuring around 101 feet long and 49 feet wide, the $26 million TRANOR can comfortably transport 50 passengers. The Swiss-designed, German-built ship is powered by over 5,380 square feet of solar paneling. The panels power two electric motors, which can reach 15 miles per hour. The panels can also soak up enough stored energy to power the boat in cloudy weather for three days. The excess energy is stored in a giant lithium-ion battery. And, in case you were wondering how PlanetSolar came up the ship’s name, TRANOR is derived from the “Lord of the Rings” saga by J.R.R. Tolkien and translates to: “the power of the sun” and “victory.” PlanetSolar’s website

The Dow Jones Index had its best week since 2011, when it rose approximately 5.4 percent after President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory. “The Republican sweep across Washington should pave the way for tax reform at both the individual and corporate level. America’s largest multinational companies will almost assuredly have the opportunity to repatriate some of its foreign cash holdings for a modest penalty,” Jeremy Klein, chief market strategist at FBN Securities, told CNBC. Stocks skyrocketed after Trump’s upset victory over Hillary Clinton, as investors considered the potential benefits of increased government spending and less regulation of financial markets. The Dow closed at an all-time high Thursday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were close to reaching record highs for Friday. Financial markets, as well as many pollsters, political analysts, and the media, had expected Clinton to win the presidency.

“I am excited that the region – home to a staggering number of species including some of the most charismatic fauna – continues to surprise the world with the nature and pace of species discovery.” Conserving Biodiversity One of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, the Eastern Himalayas—spanning Bhutan, north-east India, Nepal, north Myanmar and the southern parts of Tibet—are also under grave threat. Due to development, only 25% of the original habitats in the region remain intact and hundreds of species that live in the Eastern Himalayas are considered globally threatened. Climate change is by far the most serious threat to the region but population growth, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, the wildlife trade, mining, pollution and hydropower development have all contributed to the pressures its fragile ecosystems. “The challenge is to preserve our threatened ecosystems before these species, and others yet unknown are lost,” said Sami Tornikoski leader of the WWF Living Himalayas Initiative. ““The Eastern Himalayas is at a crossroads. Governments can decide whether to follow the current path towards fragile economies that do not fully account for environmental impacts, or take an alternative path towards greener, more sustainable economic development.” WWF is actively involved in supporting the countries of the Eastern Himalayas’ progress towards green economies that value ecosystems and the services they provide to the millions of people in the region. Located in one of the most ecologically fragile regions on Earth, the WWF Living Himalayas Initiative urges a strong regional collaboration to ensure that people in this region, live within the ecological means and remain within the boundaries of one planet. And through the USAID-funded Asia High Mountains project, WWF is working with communities on the edge of the region’s snow leopard range, where the many impacts of climate change and unsustainable development are already being felt. We are also influencing policy, which governs natural resource management across snow leopard range, and contributing to a future where both people and biodiversity can thrive. Together we can secure a brighter future for the region’s people and biodiversity, including its rich array of species – those that we already know and those still waiting to be discovered.

CCP announced today that, effective November 8th, all gambling involving EVE assets will be considered a breach of the EULA. While we remain supportive of actions CCP takes to address violations of the EULA, we are concerned that the scope of this action, and particularly the broad expansion of the EULA’s scope going forward, will negatively impact numerous community-driven enterprises. Crossing Zebras is fortunate. We have an established brand, stable leadership and have been able to plan for the future. We will adapt and find new ways forward. In this case, however, change is inevitable as a direct result of this update to the EULA. We believe that our staff’s hard work should be rewarded, and will do everything possible to make sure that our writers and podcasters continue getting paid for what they bring to you. That will be harder now, though. Without our sponsors, we must seek new ways to compensate our writers, editors, IT staff, administrators, video makers, and podcasters for the hard work they put in to bring you content. CZ isn’t a site that runs on goodwill, or pays its writers based on real-world revenues. We value our independence from ingame political entities. You probably won’t see much change out of Crossing Zebras, at least not at first. We’ll be fine, at least for a while. The Crossing Zebras content you enjoy will continue to be available free of charge, regardless of changes we make to our funding model. Our true concern today is for those in the community without the stability we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to establish. Valuable community resources like Crossing Zebras, Eve News 24, EVE_NT, along with a considerable number of other sites, podcasters, streamers, contests, in-game events, meetups, content creators, E-sports, and other entities in the EVE community, will need to reinvent themselves. Creative voices who can afford to take time to tell stories because they’re paid in ISK for their work may find less incentive to speak. Fewer stories from fewer voices may be shared by the community. We can assure you, as longtime participants in the EVE media world, that no one gets into this business to get rich, but it certainly makes it easier to devote some of your gaming time to creative pursuits if you know you’ll be paid for your work. As already stated, we’ll be fine here at Crossing Zebras, but we and our staff value so many other voices, events, and groups within the community who may not be so lucky, and we are saddened that CCP is taking actions that sweep them, and longtime partners like EVE-Bet, up alongside those few bad eggs in the gambling community We are concerned that a major part of what we broadly call the EVE media will be severely diminished because of the actions of a few individuals. We fear that these changes may prevent the next generation of voices from sharing their views, displaying their talents, or devoting their time to fleshing out the EVE universe and contributing to its community. We hope CCP will consider the substantial secondary effects brought about by today’s actions as they move forward. – The CZ Management Team

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — It defies public-trust expectations, but there are rogue officers at the Transportation Security Administration who think nothing of stealing your stuff. Consider these reports: In June, a former supervisor at Newark Liberty International Airport was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for accepting bribes and kickbacks from a co-worker accused of stealing money. The supervisor admitted that he looked the other way when the co-worker stole from $10,000 to $30,000 in cash over a 13-month period. Since late May, there have been two separate instances reported at Los Angeles International Airport and a sting operation at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston that led to arrests and suspensions. In April, a lead TSA officer at Kona Airport in Hawaii pleaded guilty in federal court to misdemeanor theft charges after a sting operation caught her with two $100 marked bills stuffed into a pants pocket and other crumpled bills in shirt pockets. She allegedly had been stealing cash from Japanese travelers passing through her lane, according to reports. Overall, these and other arrests and allegations represent a small percentage of the more than 50,000 TSA officers at more than 450 U.S. airports. TSA says it inspects the baggage of some 2 million passengers daily. The TSA also estimates that for every TSA employee who touches a bag, some six to 10 airline or airport employees and contractors also have — mostly out of view of the passenger. The TSA has consistently stated that it has “a zero tolerance for theft” and its internal investigations and stings underscore that it is aggressive in rooting out the bad guys and women. To find them, it relies on security cameras, partnerships with local law enforcement and its own people. The Kona sting, for example, came amid complaints from fellow employees as well as customers. “We do not tolerate, condone, cover up or minimize theft by our officers by any stretch of the imagination and in most cases, it is fellow employees uncovering the theft and the organization pushing hard for prosecution of those (who) would abuse their authority,” the TSA Blog states. Tips to keep your property safe There are steps you can take to keep your things out of thieves’ hands: As much as possible, keep a watchful eye on your belongings. “You are responsible for your property as it proceeds through the screening process,” according to the TSA. Do not pack jewelry, cash, laptops, electronics or any fragile items in your baggage. Leave anything that you can’t live without at home. Skip the trays that the airport provides for jewelry, watches and wallets, and belts — using them invites theft. Take off those items before you get to the security line and put them in the pocket of a carry-on. If you have a lost or missing item from a security checkpoint, check the airport’s lost and found first. The TSA has a list of all the phone numbers at every airport. If you think your property was stolen, or damaged, during the screening process you can file a claim online. Remember, too, that not all airports contract security through TSA. There are 16 of them — seven of which are in Montana — that have private contractors. Be prepared. The claims form requires a lot of detail about when, where and what was taken as well as how much the item may be worth. “The more accurate and detailed the description, the faster an investigation and determination will be made,” according to the form. “Be sure to remembers names, places and events. Avoid assumptions, they can actually hinder the investigation and may delay your claim.” Be patient. The investigation process can take fewer than 60 days to as long as six months. If the claims management branch determines your claim is legitimate, you are entitled to a full or partial reimbursement — courtesy of your fellow U.S. taxpayers.

In the near future, Americans who own or want guns likely will be subject to rafts of new questions from social scientists, medical researchers and law enforcement officials intent to discover just what guns they own, why they own them and what they intend to use them for — not to mention where and how they keep them. They will also likely have more researchers poring over such issues as whether childhood education programs against gun violence actually work; whether there actually is any relationship between violence in the media and in real life; and whether the safety plans that were drawn up by schools, colleges and communities in the wake of highly publicized mass shootings actually are effective. Those and many other gun-related questions are the thrust of a new social science research agenda that the Obama administration hopes will keep the push for gun control alive for years to come. The research agenda is intended to produce mammoth amounts of raw data on American gun owners, users and their circumstances, meaning that violence resulting from firearms use will be studied for “its causes, approaches to interventions that could prevent it, and strategies to minimize its health burden.” CLICK HERE FOR THE STUDY This includes, for example, such things as “the potential health risks and benefits (e.g., suicide rates, personal protection) of having a firearm in the home under a variety of circumstances (including storage practices) and settings.” The agenda, which aims to sidestep Second Amendment political and constitutional issues of gun ownership through its public health focus, was released earlier this month in a 124-page report titled, “Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearms Related Violence.” It was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) with financial support from private foundations. [pullquote] The major impetus came from the White House, which mandated the study as one among 23 executive actions President Obama ordered last January, just weeks after the December 14, 2012, massacre of 20 schoolchildren and six teachers and staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., by disturbed killer Adam Lanza, who subsequently committed suicide. The horror of the crime, and the mental state of Lanza, contributed to the perspective on the sweeping design of the study, as well as its urgency. According to the chairperson of the group, Alan Leshner, its goal is to encourage “productive, useful answers” to some of the most divisive questions in American politics within the next three to five years -- more or less within the next major political cycle. Moreover, it is intended to be value-neutral: “We are fact people,” said Leshner, a psychologist who is CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “I’m a basic scientist,” he added. “I was asked to chair because I’m neutral.” So far, the study has drawn plaudits from liberal sponsoring foundations, and a cautious level of support from the National Rifle Association, which took part, according to NRA Director of Research and Information John Frazer, “because some of the research that is already out there is due for an update.” Among other things, the NRA argued, the steep drop in American violent crime —about a 46 percent decline between 1994 and 2011— deserves study in the context of the spread of “right-to carry” laws permitting citizens to bear firearms in public. The NRA would also like to see more research work on the deterrent effect of firearms on crime, and the benefits of firearm ownership, including “socialization into lawful gun use.” Other groups argued for more monitoring of international efforts to reduce gun violence, the study of best “state and international policy approaches to gun safety technology,” and the extent to which childhood education programs actually reduce firearm violence among children at an early age or later in life. The research study has also drawn skeptics, who wonder whether the amount of data that the CDC study suggests collecting might not amount to a gun registry—opposed by many on Second Amendment grounds -- by backdoor means. That is something Leshner emphatically denies. Others have a skeptical attitude. “There is nothing in there directly about a gun registry, but there is obviously plenty that could be used toward that end if one wanted to,” says Ted Bromund, an arms trade expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “I don’t see how one can regret the lack of a single database on gun owners, as the study does, without seeing the possibility of making the case that we need a national gun registry.” Bromund also pointed to references in the study document to “gender-based violence” as indications that research might intersect with the terms of the controversial U.N.-sponsored international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which opened for signature on June 7, and which the Obama administration has declared it will sign, though congressional ratification is far less likely. The research area of optimal conditions for firearms storage and safety, Bromund points out, also “could tie in fairly easily to the ATT.” Given the spectrum of concerns that it covers, the report represents something of a rocket-propelled event for American social science. It was mostly hammered out in a few days of closed-door sessions last April by a select group of 14 academics and public health experts, assisted by eight staffers from the National Research Council and Institutes of Medicine. The secret sessions were preceded by a single “town hall” day for public input, which Leshner says was “successful in getting the views of as diverse a group as one would want.” The hammering out of the priority document was followed by a “couple of weeks of back-and-forth,” in Leshner’s phrase, among the committee members and staffers. Most research outlines of similar ambition can take months or even years of committee study before they appear. The crash schedule and high-speed publication was intended to break through what Leshner described to Fox News as a 17-year congressional ban on such CDC research, but it was also clearly intended to promote near-term action by “people who want answers in a systematic, rapid way.” Much will depend on whether the money flows to make sure that the high-priority research actually gets under way. In hailing the study, the CDC told Fox News that it “does not currently have dedicated funding to conduct this research.” For its part, the Obama administration has called for Congress to approve $10 million to get the research ball rolling. Whether that will happen is open to question. That may leave private foundations -- a number of which have prominently supported gun control research efforts in the past -- to carry the burden -- which in turn may affect which priorities get satisfied first. George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News and can be found on Twitter @GeorgeRussell Click here for more stories by George Russell.

Valve has used the original Source engine since the days of Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2, but the company used this year's GDC as a platform to announce the successor, Source 2. The announcement isn't exactly a surprise; years ago, Valve's Gabe Newell confirmed that company was working a new version of the engine. However, the formal announcement means that we have a better idea what the engine can accomplish. "With Source 2, our focus is increasing creator productivity. Given how important user generated content is becoming, Source 2 is designed not for just the professional developer, but enabling gamers themselves to participate in the creation and development of their favorite games," says Valve's Jay Stelly in a press release. Valve also revealed a product called Steam Link, which is a unit that allows you to stream Steam content from your PC or Steam Machine to other devices on the same network. The basic unit will cost $50, but comes with a Steam Controller for an additional $50. Steam Link supports 1080p, and will be available in November. For more on Valve's GDC news, see these stories about SteamVR and Steam Machines. Our Take I'm sure that we will see the Source 2 announcement bear fruit in the future, but the reveal of a new engine falls a little flat without a new game to demonstrate the capabilities alongside it. I know that legions of gamers hoping to play Half-Life 3 are thinking the same thing.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Duncan Kennedy: "Ms Gillard was grabbed by her bodyguard, literally racing her along the ground" Indigenous leaders in Australia have condemned "disrespect" shown to Prime Minister Julia Gillard at a protest. She and opposition leader Tony Abbott had to be rescued by riot police after angry protesters surrounded them at a restaurant in Canberra on Thursday. Ms Gillard, dragged by her bodyguard, stumbled and lost a shoe in a dramatic rush to her car. Supporters of the city's Aboriginal Tent Embassy were apparently angered by comments Mr Abbott had made earlier. He had questioned the relevance of the camp in a TV interview, in light of current plans to recognise indigenous people in the country's constitution. The protesters saw the remarks as suggesting that it was time for the camp to come down. On Friday, a group of more than 200 activists marched on Parliament House, blocking a main road in the capital, chanting "always has been always will be Aboriginal land", Australian media reports. Police retreated as the protesters approached and stopped outside the front door. Some in the group burnt the Australian flag to loud cheers. They marched away after about an hour. Comments 'misinterpreted' Indigenous leaders expressed shock at the incident on Thursday and ''disrespect'' shown to the prime minister. Image caption Opposition leader Tony Abbott says his comments have been "misinterpreted" "While we need to acknowledge that there's a real anger, frustration and hurt that exists in some indigenous communities around Australia, we must not give in to aggressive and disrespectful actions ourselves," Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda told ABC radio. Another indigenous leader, Warren Mundine, called for those responsible to ''feel the full force of the law''. "No human being, let alone the prime minister of this country, should be treated in such a way," said the former president of the Australian Labor Party. On Friday, Mr Abbott defended his comments as "perfectly reasonable" and said they were misinterpreted - he did not say the camp should be taken down. ''I never said that and I don't think that," he said. "I ask you please, I ask you very respectfully, judge me by what I said.'' The tent embassy was established in 1972 by four men as a protest against the prime minister of the time's refusal to acknowledge indigenous land rights. Supporters had gathered for a three-day Corroborree for Sovereignty to mark the 40th anniversary. About 200 angry protesters surrounded the Lobby restaurant, banging on the glass and chanting ''racist'' and ''shame''. Riot police were called to escort Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott out. Speaking at an Australia Day function at her official residence after the incident, Ms Gillard said she was fine. "I am made of pretty tough stuff and the police did a great job." On Friday, Tent Embassy spokesman Mark McMurtrie hit out at police on ABC News Breakfast. "The only violence you can see came from the police, so don't say it was a violent protest, it was a violent reaction to the protest," he said. "We went there to ask her [the prime minister] and Mr Abbott to come down and speak to us, that's all we went there for. We went there [peacefully].'' An indigenous leader, Chris Graham of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, told ABC that ''an offer has also been made for the prime minister to come to the embassy to collect her shoe''.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Scenes from fatal Mumbai building collapse At least 21 people have died and 21 others have been rescued after a building collapse in Mumbai. Rescuers say they will keep looking for survivors through the night. A six-storey building toppled over in India's financial capital on Thursday. The building in the densely populated Bhendi Bazaar area was believed to be about 100 years old. Ambulances, fire engines and members of the disaster relief force are still working at the site. Mumbai is recovering from heavy rains and flooding. The residential building gave way around 08:40 India time [03:10 GMT], reports said. Image caption Ambulances, fire engines and members of the disaster relief force are working at the site 'High quality housing in short supply' Suranjana Tewari, BBC News Mumbai This is the third building collapse in Mumbai in less than a month. Police suspect that Tuesday's torrential rain weakened the structure of the building that collapsed. Whether that's proven or not, questions are likely to be asked about why so many residents of this growing city are allowed to go on living in old and dilapidated properties. Property prices and rent in Mumbai are among the highest in Asia. High quality housing is in short supply and so people have no choice but to live in sub-standard and crowded buildings. This particular building was slated for redevelopment but people were clearly still living inside it even though it was about 100 years old. Municipal authorities say they have stepped up efforts to evacuate dangerous buildings and demolish them. Clearly that isn't happening fast enough. Building accidents are not uncommon in India, particularly during the monsoon season. Poor construction standards and dilapidation are often to blame. Every year, dozens of people are killed in building collapses across India. There have been three in Mumbai in the past month. In July, 17 people were killed when a four-storey building collapsed in the suburb of Ghatkopar. Are you in the area? Share your pictures, video and eyewitness stories by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

At confirmation hearings, Mike Pompeo and James Mattis both sounded warnings over Russia’s growing global ambitions in light of the leaked dossier Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency sided with intelligence officials who accuse Moscow of attempting to skew the US election on Thursday, as the rift between Trump and his spy chiefs intensified barely a week before the president-elect takes office. Mike Pompeo’s comments to the Senate intelligence committee came amid an increasingly bitter row between Trump and the American spying agencies, which he has accused of leaking a dossier of salacious allegations against him. Donald Trump's truce with spy agencies breaks down over Russia dossier Read more Relations between the president-elect and the country’s 17 intelligence agencies reached a new low on Wednesday when he accused them of behaving like Nazis after the leak of the report which alleged that Moscow had personally compromising material on Trump. As Trump’s ties with Russia continue to overshadow the build up to his inauguration: A senior member of the House intelligence committee called for a full congressional hearing to investigate Russian attempts to disrupt the US election. The justice department’s watchdog announced it would investigate the FBI’s handling of a probe into Hillary Clinton’s personal email server during her tenure as secretary of state – an issue that Democrats believe swung the election in Trump’s favour Republican senator Lindsay Graham rebuked Trump for questioning the competency of the intelligence agencies. At confirmation hearings on Thursday, Pompeo and Trump’s nominee to head the Pentagon both sounded warnings over Russia’s growing global ambitions. Pompeo stated unequivocally that he accepted the intelligence community’s conclusions that Moscow had sought to influence the election. “It’s pretty clear about what took place here about Russia involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on American democracy,” Pompeo said. “This was an aggressive action taken by the senior leaders inside Russia.” The Kansas Republican congressman and former army officer was asked by Senator Angus King to comment on Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. “I share your view that these are unsubstantiated media reports,” Pompeo said, but he pledged to investigate the allegations and “pursue the facts where ever they take us”. Russia is trying to smash Nato, James Mattis says in confirmation hearing Read more In his Senate hearing, James Mattis, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, told the Senate armed services committee that Russia has “chosen to be a strategic competitor, an adversary in key areas”. While Mattis said he was “all for engagement” with the Russians, he warned of “increasing number of areas in which we will have to confront Russia”. Separately, Representative Eric Swalwell, the ranking member of the CIA Subcommittee of the House permanent select committee on intelligence, called for an independent bipartisan commission to investigate Russian attempts to disrupt the US election. Writing for the Guardian, Representative Eric Swalwell said that the commission was needed “to set the record straight on what happened, and to recommend how best to protect ourselves from now on”. Swalwell wrote: “The dire need for an independent commission is brought into even sharper focus by the president-elect’s ongoing and baseless accusations of bias against the 17 US intelligence agencies”. Democratic politicians have voiced growing concern over the outbreak of open warfare between Trump and his intelligence chiefs barely a week before the president-elect takes office. “It is really very damaging, in my view, to our standing in the world for a president to take one of the crown jewels of our national defense and denigrate it,” said outgoing vice-president Joe Biden on Thursday. “It plays into, particularly now, the Russian narrative that America doesn’t know what it’s doing.” Barely a week before Trump enters the White House, US intelligence chiefs have made it clear they are still investigating the material authored by a former British counter-intelligence official, Christopher Steele, originally as opposition research during the election campaign. The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, issued a statement on Wednesday, saying he had talked to Trump that evening, expressing dismay about continuing leaks on the issue, and informing him that the US intelligence community “had not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable, and we did not rely upon it in any way for our conclusions”. “However, part of our obligation is to ensure that policymakers are provided with the fullest possible picture of any matters that might affect national security,” Clapper added. By Thursday morning, Trump tweeted a distinctly different account of their conversation: “James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts. Too bad!” At his press conference on Wednesday, Trump simultaneously accepted and diminished the intelligence assessment that Russia was responsible for the Democratic National Committee hack, saying “I think it was Russia” and later adding the caveat: “You know what? It could be others also.” On Sunday, aide Reince Priebus insisted that Trump “is not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular hacking campaign”. The BBC has reported that there may be more compromising material about Trump in Russian hands that previously reported. We need an independent commission on Russia hacking now | Rep Eric Swalwell Read more Correspondent Paul Wood said he had heard from serving CIA officers that there was “more than one tape”, “audio and video”, on “more than one date”, in “more than one place” – in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow and also in St Petersburg – and that the material was “of a sexual nature”. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee and a consistent critic of spycraft excesses, told the Guardian it was “profoundly dangerous” for Trump to continue his feud with the agencies. “The president is responsible for vital decisions about national security, including decisions about whether to go to war, which depend on the broad collection activities and reasoned analysis of the intelligence community. A scenario in which the president dismisses the intelligence community, or worse, accuses it of treachery, is profoundly dangerous,” Wyden said. Vicki Divoll, a former attorney for the CIA and the Senate intelligence panel, saw little chance for a rapprochement between the intelligence agencies and Trump. “After disparaging and demeaning the hardworking officers of the intelligence community, then grudgingly accepting their conclusions about Russian election hacking, Mr Trump is now hurling the worst epithet out there – comparisons to Nazi Germany – against them, without basis and on the eve of taking office,” Divoll said. “We are at our peril to be entering an era in which there is such open, irrational and hysterical hostility by a president against a community of 17 agencies whose mandate is to keep us safe.”

The death of Nelson Mandela reminds us that often the first step towards the resolution of a conflict is the release from prison of a national leader who has the authority to unite, negotiate and resolve. Marwan Barghouti has been in jail since 15 April 2002 when Israeli security agents, posing as ambulance workers, seized him in broad daylight and took him to Israel. In 2004 he was convicted by an Israeli court of involvement in five murders, which he denies. Despite nearly 12 years behind bars, Barghouti remains the most popular politician in Palestine, capable, according to recent polls, of beating either President Mahmoud Abbas or his Hamas rival Ismail Haniyeh for the presidency. Many believe he could come out of prison, stand for election, win the presidency, unite the Palestinian factions, negotiate a settlement, put it to his people, win their support and then preside over a process of "truth and reconciliation" in a newly independent country. With the final prisoner release linked to peace talks due to take place on Saturday, and the end of the talks themselves due a month later (on 29 April), this might just be the dramatic gesture that could save the negotiations from ending in total failure. Abbas has offered to prolong them a little, but only if Barghouti and 12 other MPs are released. Even Shimon Peres, when he was running for the presidency of Israel, declared he would sign a pardon for Barghouti. In the event, the Knesset never approved his pardon because of the vehement opposition of ministers such as Silvan Shalom, who said: "It is out of the question to free an assassin who has blood on his hands and was duly sentenced by a court." Photograph: Eitan Hess-Ashkenazi/AP But if peace is ever to come, Israel will have to acknowledge that Barghouti was a political and not a military leader, that he never carried arms and that he always opposed actions targeting Israeli civilians, even while defending the right of Palestinians to resist. An international campaign has been launched to free Barghouti and the 4,227 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails. It is supported by every party in the Palestinian parliament, with Fatah and Hamas united for once, and by the overwhelming majority of Palestinians. The campaign was launched in Mandela's old prison cell by the veteran South African politician Ahmed Kathrada, who started the first Release Mandela campaign back in the 1960s and was then jailed himself and spent 18 years on Robben Island with Mandela. He will be in London next week to urge British MPs to sign the "Robben Island declaration" in support of Palestinian prisoners, alongside Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Taoiseach John Bruton, Nobel peace prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire, political activist Angela Davis and many others. For British politicians it should be easy to grasp the essential argument for his release. It is not on the basis that he is innocent (though he may be), or that his arrest was illegal (it almost certainly was), but because he is uniquely well placed to negotiate a peace agreement. Britain jailed Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1942, but they released Nehru in 1944 and two years later he was negotiating Indian independence. He became the first prime minister of an independent India in 1947. In Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta was put in prison by the British in 1952 and released in 1961. One year later the British were negotiating independence with him and in 1963 he became prime minister of an independent Kenya. In South Africa, Mandela was released from jail in 1990 and within months was negotiating independence with his captors. It took just four years from prison cell to president's palace and the hope is that Barghouti, now 54, can do the same. Between August 2013, a month after the talks started, and February this year, 34 Palestinians have been killed and 1,535 injured (in the same period there have been three Israeli deaths and 53 injuries). Meanwhile, 10,509 housing units on illegal settlements have been approved by the Israeli authorities. Is there any wonder the Palestinians don't want to continue the "peace" talks? As the 29 April deadline approaches, it would take a really bold initiative by the Israelis to prove they are interested in peace. If they release Barghouti the world will recognise that they are serious. If they refuse, many will conclude they are not.

The attack at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim north of the country, came just as Friday prayers had started. The mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II, Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric, who last week urged civilians to take up arms against Boko Haram. The blasts came after a bomb attack was foiled against a mosque in the northeastern city of Maiduguri earlier on Friday, five days after two female suicide bombers killed over 45 people in the city. The Emir of Kano last week told worshippers at the same mosque that northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram, which has been fighting for a hardline Islamic state since 2009. National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said the bombers blew themselves up in quick succession then "gunmen opened fire on those who were trying to escape". Ojukwu said he did not know whether the suicide bombers were male or female, after a spate of attacks by women in recent months, and did not give an exact figure on the number of gunmen. But he said an angry mob killed four of the shooters in the chaotic aftermath. Witnesses in the city said they were set on fire. An AFP reporter at the Murtala Mohammed specialist Hospital morgue counted 92 bodies, most of them men and boys with blast injuries and severe burns. As night fell, hundreds of people were desperately trying to use the lights on their mobile phones to identify loved ones. But a senior rescue official said later that there were at least 120 dead and 270 wounded. Emergency workers were still trying to visit all hospitals, he added. The Emir of Kano last week told worshippers at the same mosque that northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram, which has been fighting for a hardline Islamic state since 2009. Boko Haram have a record of attacking prominent clerics. In July 2012 a suicide bomber killed five people leaving Friday prayers at the home of the Shehu of Borno in Maiduguri. Boko Haram attacks in recent months have ranged from the far northeast of Nigeria, across the wider north and northwest, using hit-and-run tactics, suicide bombings and car bombs. Authorities in Cameroon, Chad and Niger have all expressed concern about Boko Haram's ability to conduct cross-border strikes, particularly as the dry season approaches.

Lloyd Blankfein, whose bank employs more than 6,000 in London, says it has ‘contingency plans’ to move staff out of UK The chief executive of Goldman Sachs has warned that London’s financial centre will “stall” due to the turmoil of the Brexit process. Lloyd Blankfein, who runs the world’s second-largest investment bank, said a three-decade expansion that has turned London’s financial services sector into a world leader could grind to a halt. “It will stall, it might backtrack a bit, it just depends on a lot of things about which we are uncertain, and I know there isn’t certainty at the moment,” Blankfein said in an interview with the BBC. “I don’t think it will totally reverse.” JP Morgan to move hundreds of jobs out of UK due to Brexit Read more Blankfein also said there would need to be an implementation period of at least a “couple of years” after the Brexit deal had been agreed in early 2019 to allow companies to adjust. “We are talking about the long-term stability of huge economies with hundreds of millions of people and livelihoods at stake, and huge gross domestic product,” he said. “So, if it takes a little while, I’d rather get it right than do things quickly.” If not enough time were factored in, banks such as Goldman would have to act “prematurely” and possibly move some of their operations and jobs. A Conservative party spokesman said: “The City is the world’s leading financial centre and only Theresa May and the Conservatives have a plan to make sure it stays that way.” Catherine McGuinness, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “What Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs has said about the City is the same as a number of other leading international financial institutions. It is entirely right that firms plan for all negotiation scenarios and assess what impact this might have on jobs in the UK. Some of these may relocate to other global financial sectors and the City might not grow as quickly as it otherwise would have done. But this is entirely down to what sort of deal we get. “That is why our sector has a key role in communicating our priorities: access to international talent, a transitional agreement and a bespoke deal that enables two-way access from the EU27 to the UK. “My goal in taking up office is a vibrant, thriving City contributing to the prosperity and wellbeing of the capital and the country.” In March, it emerged that Goldman had started to transfer hundreds of staff out of London ahead of a Brexit agreement as part of “contingency plans”. The bank employs more than 6,000 people in the UK. On Friday, Blankfein said he hoped not to trigger a large-scale move out of the UK. “We don’t have big plans now. We are looking; we are trying to avoid,” he said. However, he added that the bank had held discussions with a number of cities across Europe, understood to include Frankfurt and Dublin. “Obviously, a lot of people elect to have their European business concentrated in a single place, and the easiest place, certainly, for the biggest economy in the world [the US] to concentrate would be the UK – the culture, the language, the special relationship – and we are an example of that,” he said. “If you cannot benefit from access to the EU from the UK, and nobody knows what those rules and determinations will be, then the risk is there will be some adjustment that will cause some people to have a smaller footprint in the UK.” Richard Gnodde, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, said in March that the bank was to take extra office space in Frankfurt and Paris, and planned to upgrade its facilities in several cities on the continent over the next 18 months. “We’ll be taking extra space in a number of them and be increasing our headcount and infrastructure around those facilities,” he said. “What our eventual footprint will look like will depend on the outcome of [the Brexit] negotiations and what we are obliged to do because of them.” Goldman has about 200 staff in Frankfurt and 100 in Paris. In January, the bank was the subject of speculation that it could shift half of its workforce out of London, with 1,000 of the jobs relocated to Frankfurt.

The Arizona Republic made waves yesterday when it reported that Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers would be filing a Open Meeting Law (OML) complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office. In particular, one passage set many a Coyotes fan's heart aflutter: Media attorney David Bodney, who represents The Republic, said the deliberations by the four council members who voted for the Coyotes deal were not held in a public meeting and "would be a likely violation of the Open Meeting Law." The council approval of the Coyotes deal would be voided if it is determined that the Open Meeting Law was violated, he said. So let's take a look at the information provided by the Republic, and existing Arizona law, to figure out how serious these allegations are and whether or not they pose a threat to the Jobing.com Arena lease agreement. The Open Meeting Law Open Meeting Laws in Arizona are codified under A.R.S. § 38-431. A "meeting" is defined by the law as: the gathering, in person or through technological devices, of a quorum of members of a public body at which they discuss, propose or take legal action, including any deliberations by a quorum with respect to such action. In the City of Glendale's case, a quorum is four members of the seven member city council. The allegations set forth by the mayor relate to a meeting between Renaissance Sports & Entertainment attorney Nick Woods and councilmembers Yvonne Knaack, Sam Chivara, and Gary Sherwood. By itself, there is no OML violation here because there are only three councilmembers present, which isn't a quorum. But the story doesn't end here. What's in an Email? The event in question that potentially results in an OML violation is an email sent by CM Sherwood to CM Manny Martinez, during which he discusses the product of the conversation with Woods: In the e-mail from Sherwood to Councilman Manny Martinez, Sherwood wrote that he and Knaack "spent over an hour with Nick Woods last night." Woods is an attorney representing IceArizona, the entity that owns the Coyotes. He went on to write that, "Sammy (Chavira) is already on board as he was with us last night" and closed the e-mail by writing "Manny, please delete this email after you've read it." So it seems apparent that CM Sherwood engaged in some conversation with CM Martinez via email (though to be fair, CM Sherwood maintains that CM Chavira was not actually present during the conversation with Woods, but more on this in a little bit). The problem here is that CM Sherwood's email exchange with CM Martinez falls under the definition of "meeting" established above. The fact that the events did not happen simultaneously does not matter either. Arizona Attorney General's Opinion I05-004 (2005) established that The OML does not specifically address whether all members of the body must participate simultaneously to constitute a "gathering" or meeting. However, the requirement that the OML be construed in favor of open and public meetings leads to the conclusion that simultaneous interaction is not required for a "meeting" or "gathering" within the OML. So even though the conversation between CMs Sherwood and Martinez was not in person and did not occur during or immediately after the conversation with Woods, the fact that the subject matter was the same means that the OML still applies. And this makes sense because it would be easy to circumvent the OML if such serial communications were allowed to happen. The Consequences of Disobedience State law empowers the Attorney General's Office to investigate violations of the OML. While there are civil penalties for public officers who are found to have violated the OML, Coyotes fans are undoubtedly concerned about A.R.S. § 38-431.05, which says that: All legal action transacted by any public body during a meeting held in violation of any provision of this article is null and void Therefore, it is possible for a court to decide that the Jobing.com Arena lease agreement was a product of legal action that occurred during the OML violation, and therefore is no longer valid. The City Council would have the ability, under Subsection B of the same statute, to re-vote on the Arena lease agreement within thirty days after the discovery of the OML violation, but if there are changes to the composition of the City Council in the interim, then it is possible the re-vote doesn't happen or turns against the lease agreement. Unless the process doesn't get that far. Hopeful Outcomes There are two ways that the OML investigation could have zero impact on the agreement between the City of Glendale and Jobing.com Arena. The first, and most straightforward, is if the Attorney General's Office agrees with CM Sherwood's assertion that CM Chavira was not in fact present during the meeting with Woods. If that was the case, then even with Martinez's involvement only three councilmembers discussed the agreement, which is still not an OML violation. This is speculation on my part so it should not be interpreted as CM Sherwood's argument, but it is conceivable that Sherwood meant by "he was with us last night" as Chavira was on board with supporting the arena lease agreement. This seems like a stretch, but if there is no evidence to the contrary, the AAG's Office may not have enough evidence to rule an OML violation actually occurred. The stronger argument has to do with existing Arizona caselaw. The Arizona Court of Appeals addressed the issue of what extent OML violations nullify the previous actions in the 1980 case Cooper v. Arizona Western College District Governing Board (125 Ariz. 463, 610 Pd.2 465). The Court said that: We find no provision in the Arizona statutes relating to public meetings which precludes a public body from adopting at a subsequent public meeting action which was legally ineffective from a previous meeting of the public body. In other words, actions that occurred during an OML violation are not necessary nullified if they were subsequently enacted in a meeting that did comply with the OML. The Court of Appeals again in Valencia v. Cota (126 Ariz. 555, 617 P.2d 63) determined that: Even though plaintiffs have properly alleged a violation of the open meeting law, plaintiffs' complaint also alleges that the prior action was subsequently ratified at a meeting complying with the law. Under these circumstances the trial court properly concluded that plaintiffs' complaint failed to state a cause of action. Two separate appellate cases in the same year concluded that an Open Meeting Law violation does not negate the legal action taken if the final action occurred in a normal meeting. Since the final vote on the Coyotes lease agreement occurred in public, with proper public notice posted beforehand, the agreement could still be found valid if the AAG's office concluded that an OML violation did occur. Conclusion All of the above analysis would inevitably have to be litigated, should the AAG's Office find an OML violation did take place. The presence of existing caselaw does not preclude the court from taking a different stance now. But if nothing else, Coyotes fans should breathe a little easier knowing there is law that supports keeping the arena lease agreement in place.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (NBC News 10) – Philadelphia police accused a volunteer soccer coach illegally in the United States of fathering a child with a teenager who came to him for a job. Philadelphia police announced statutory rape charges Thursday against Francisco Prado-Contreras of South Street. DHS alert police to the report of a 15-year-old girl with a 7-month-old child who could belong to Prado-Contreras, police said. Prado-Contreras was a family friend of the girl’s and volunteered to coach her soccer team at the popular Capitolo Playground in South Philly, police said. She came to him in September 2015 asking for a job helping him clean houses, investigators said. Instead of offering the girl a job, Prado-Contreras had sex with the girl on five occasions, giving the girl money each time, police said. The girl learned of her pregnancy about a month later, police said. Prado-Contreras remained jailed in Philadelphia Police custody Friday on $750,000 bail. Court records listed no attorney who could comment on the accusations. ICE officials told NBC10’s Lauren Mayk that Prado-Contreras, a Mexican citizen, is illegally living in the United States. He was apprehended in August of 2001 upon re-entering the United States and voluntarily returns to Mexico but at some point after re-entered the U.S. The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department said Prado-Contreras had no affiliation with the organization.

4.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Tumblr Digg Linkedin Stumbleupon Mail Print The blockquoted text was posted to Craigslist and sent to CopBlock.org via the submission tab. So check it out… I hope you all read this, and teach your kids this, and maybe even spread the word to everyone you know. I am a current sworn police officer, and for the first time in my life I am going to take to the internet and social media to spread one simple tip… Listen to what a police officer tells you to do and everyone will be fine. All too often I have a suspect tell me, “I know my rights.” in the course of my daily business in dealing with people. Let’s face it, you may have Googled your rights, you may have read a book or a newspaper article, you may have had a friend of a friend of a friend tell you your “rights” but you do not know them. Google does not automatically turn you into an expert in law and Constitutional rights. Police officers have a hard enough job, and we do not need so called Google law experts telling us what we can or cannot do as we try and conduct our business. Here is a perfect example of what I dealt with last night as I am one of three officers responding to a domestic. The conversation went like this: Me: “Sir, please do me a favor and sit down, take a few breaths, calm down, and I’ll be right with you.” Subject: “Are you detaining me?” Me: “No, I am not. I have to make sense of what is going on here so just sit down, calm down, and I said I’ll be right with you.” Subject: “Am I under arrest? If so, for what?” Me: “No, you are not under arrest. I’m going to ask you one more time, everyone is angry and I get it. Just sit down, take a breath, calm down, and I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Subject: “Well if I’m not under arrest I don’t have to do what you say so I’m going in my house.” Me: “Now, you are under arrest for failure to comply with a peace officer’s orders.” If this gentleman would have just listened to me he would not have an arrest on his record like he does now. This is the case for every police shooting that has happened in recent times. Ferguson, South Carolina, Baltimore…and most likely all the other shootings we don’t hear about. Teach your kids, and your friends, and your family…you DON’T know your rights. Just listen to a police officer’s very simple commands and 95% of the time you will go home with maybe a ticket – at most. If not a misdemeanor arrest that will probably get thrown out in court. Us police officers really don’t want to go hands on with anyone let alone escalate force on someone. You, the citizen, puts us in a position to do so. Us police officers DO NOT get out of our police car and say to ourselves, “I want to shoot this person today.” You, the citizen put us in a position to do so. Just listen to us and everyone and everything will be just fine. I promise you that. Well that was enlightening, ok, I’m joking it wasn’t enlightening at all. Unless you take it from the perspective of the cop and how they expect – or desire – you to simply do whatever they demand. Like in the example above. Legally the ‘subject’ didn’t have to follow the officers ‘order’ because it was an unlawful one. If the subject was being detained, arrested or even investigated than he MAY have had to listen to the officer. Yet, since the officer clearly stated he was not being detained or arrested, he had no LEGAL obligation to follow his order, which isn’t an order but merely a request at that time. Even without the hole in his example this is still horrible advice. To do whatever a cop tells you seems logical to some people, yet, the reason why isn’t as clear. The reason people advocate doing everything an officer says is because the police are known to escalate a situation to the point where they use force, sometimes deadly force, on a person. People fear being ticketed, arrested, beat up or killed by the police, and rightfully so, but instead of combating this people merely become complacent. This is what has allowed the police state to grow to epic proportions. From regular checkpoints, stop and frisk and victimless crimes arrest the police are becoming more intrusive, aggressive and armed by the day! If you don’t believe me just spend 2 hours on this website (and feel free to check out PoliceOne.com for their perspective too). Since the police are so heavily armed, tasked with enforcing laws they don’t even know (or understand) and demand obedience the best thing to do is to FILM THE POLICE during every single encounter. I highly doubt the ‘subject’ above would have been charged with a crime had he asked those questions with a video camera rolling. So forget the rights the government claims you have, they don’t mean shit to them – cops or government – anyways, and grab your camera! 4.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Tumblr Digg Linkedin Stumbleupon Mail Print EPN 3600 Grams Natural Emerald Cluster Specimen @ Swat, Pakistan $9999.0 Hanna Barbera Swat Kats Production Background Mega Kat Skyline $3550.0 Hanna Barbera Swat Kats Production Background Mega Kat Harbor $3350.0 141-cts-emerald-aaa-grade-beautiful-natural-jemmy-quality-crystals-lot-from-swat $2500.0 173 Ct. Full D/t Transparent Top Green Emerald Crystals Cluster,matrix@ Swat Pk $1999.99

Penn State Scandal: Trustees' Support For Paterno Said To Be 'Eroding' Enlarge this image toggle caption Matt Rourke/AP Matt Rourke/AP Catching up on some of the latest developments in the scandal at Penn State University — where former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing young boys, two university officials have been charged with lying to a grand jury and not alerting police, and there have been calls for legendary coach Joe Paterno to step down because of concern that he didn't do enough to alert authorities to what was allegedly happening: -- Paterno's Fate: Support for the 84-year-old Paterno and school President Graham Spanier is "eroding" among the university's board of trustees, the Harrisburg-based Patriot-News reports, citing "sources close to the board." Related NPR Stories Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide And Timeline That follows yesterday's story by The New York Times that "Paterno's tenure as the coach of the Penn State football team will soon be over, perhaps within days or weeks, in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal that has implicated university officials, according to two people briefed on conversations among the university's top officials." Paterno, according to a grand jury report, told the school's athletic director in 2002 that a graduate assistant had reported seeing Sandusky engaging in a sex act with a young boy in the football team's shower. But the report went on to say that no one from the school, including Paterno, told police about the allegation and that Sandusky allegedly went on to abuse other boys. Paterno has not been charged with any crime. -- Trustees To Launch Investigation: Late last night the trustees issued a statement that says, in part, that they are "outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury Report" concerning Sandusky's alleged actions. (Sandusky says he's innocent, as do the two university officials swept up in the case.) The statement also says that on Friday: "The Board will appoint a Special Committee, members of which are currently being identified, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the Grand Jury Report. This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable." -- Students Show Support For Paterno: Last night on campus, "an endless stream of more than 1,000 students" marched, according to the student-run Daily Collegian. Most expressed anger at Spanier and support for Paterno. " 'We are ... Penn State' and 'Hell no, Joe won't go' chants echoed through the night." Police in riot gear, The Patriot-News says, eventually cleared the street. At one point, "several hundred students converged" on Paterno's home, the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. And, it adds: "An upbeat Paterno said he appreciated the support. In response to chants of 'We want Joe!,' Paterno, wearing his trademark Coke-bottle glasses and sporting a gray sweatshirt, shouted, 'And I want you guys!' " " 'It's hard for me to tell you how much this means to me,' Paterno said amid the mob of students, reporters, and photographers. 'I've lived for this place. I've lived for people like you guys and girls. And I'm just so happy that you can feel so strongly about us and about your school.' " There's a "guide and timeline" on the scandal posted here.

Campaign coverage often gets bogged down in trivia—inconsequential polling data, the latest “off message” comment by an associate, and so on. But then there are the “gaffes,” when politicians say something that we’re told means a lot more than it might seem. Barack Obama’s 2008 comment about small-town voters clinging to their guns and religion was one. In 2000, Al Gore was a Media Gaffe Machine: Love Canal, internet inventing, etc. Most of them didn’t check out, but that’s not what matters. Gaffes are elevated when reporters think they reinforce something about a politician. In 2000, NPR‘s Cokie Roberts said it best when she explained why certain stories matter more to journalists: “The story line is Bush isn’t smart enough and Gore isn’t straight enough.” Thus, anything that could feed that story line got more attention. The 2012 campaign season is just getting started (ugh), but it’s not too early for media to spot a Very Important Gaffe. Barack Obama, in fact, delivered one on Friday when he said this: The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we’ve created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine. Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government—oftentimes, cuts initiated by governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in. This is mostly accurate, and made perfect sense in a conversation about private sector employment and public sector jobs. But obviously saying any part of the economy is “doing fine” is bound to attract criticism. The Romney campaign pounced, and the comment became an official “gaffe.” From the Boston Globe came the all-encompassing headline, “President Obama’s ‘Private Sector’ Gaffe a Possible Window to Soul Like Other Recent Gaffes.” Later in the day Obama tried to send out a second, clarifying message, and surrogates were dispatched to try and clean things up. The comment was still part of the conversation when the Sunday shows rolled around. The point is gaffes don’t just “happen.” A political rival takes note, sure; but a gaffe is a gaffe when reporters say so. This one, according to Washington Post reporter Dan Balz, was “a major gaffe.” In a sense that’s true—because journalists decided it was. But some reporters prefer to believe they’re observers of—and not active participants in—a political campaign. The media attention to this event started to attract some criticism—which inspired Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza to write a piece (6/11/12) titled “Why Obama’s ‘Private Sector’ Gaffe isn’t Going Away.” Cillizza opened by stating his “unpopular opinion: Political gaffes matter.” Well, that settles it. As Cillizza sees it, Obama’s defenders are saying, among other things, that this was a “single out-of-context statement.” He responds this is “true, but “missing the point.” As he explains, we live in a media world where even the smallest comment can be amplified into a national headline in minutes. Is there anyone paying even passing attention to politics who hasn’t seen the Obama clip five times at this point—which, by the way, is less than 96 hours after he said it? Answer: no. To hear Cillizza tell it, this is a big deal because Obama’s political rival thinks so. “You can be sure that the Romney campaign isn’t finished making political hay from Obama’s gaffe.” And that hay-making “can be amplified.” The question is: Who amplifies all this hay? Cillizza writes somewhat passively about a media system that can make a headline in minutes, but someone decides it’s headline-worthy. In many cases, it’s the very same people who decide that a White House’s drone kill list is of little importance. But elite media choose which gaffes are gaffes. (Also: George W. Bush told reporters on two different occasions that the Iraq War happened in part because Saddam Hussein was not allowing weapons inspectors into the country–even though Hussein had let weapons inspectors back in and their inspections were major news every day in the weeks before the war. This was not a “gaffe” of any sort.) Instead of honestly acknowledging the media’s role in defining gaffes, Cillizza actually downplays what journalism can do with this aside: (Yes, any claims that Romney makes in ads will—and should—be factchecked by the media. But if you think that media fact-checks sway people more than scores of TV ads, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.) So journalists are the powerless figures in the corner, churning out their inconsequential fact checks. For Cillizza, this particular gaffe fuels a narrative: The problem for Obama is that his remark plays directly into the story that Republicans are trying to tell about him—that he is a big-government liberal who thinks the answer to all problems is expanding the federal bureaucracy and who lacks even a basic understanding of how the private sector works. This narrative doesn’t much resemble Obama’s tenure, which has seen declines in the public sector workforce, the rejection of a public option in the healthcare law, and so on. It is, nonetheless, the story that Republicans are telling. If only there were someone around to do a factcheck.

Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. We asked a range of authors and creative types to name books that bring solace or understanding in this age of rancor. More than two dozen responded. Here are picks from the prolific author and McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers, who recently co-wrote and co-directed (with James Ponsoldt) the movie version of his 2013 dystopian novel, The Circle. Latest book: Heroes of the Frontier Also known for: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Recommended reading: Over the holidays I read It Can’t Happen Here, and that was a helpful bit of fascist prophecy. But the book I’m going back to now is one a friend of mine, Flagg Taylor, edited a few years ago, called The Great Lie. The book collects essays by a wide range of writers who lived under tyranny, and the results are richly rewarding and surprisingly accessible. Taylor is a professor at Skidmore College and the book is about 800 pages, and yet it’s eminently approachable by anyone interested in seeing the parallels between our current flirtations with truthless fascism and those societies that were truly crushed by totalitarianism. Everyone you could think of is in there—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Václav Havel, Hannah Arendt—and some lesser-known essayists like Aurel Kolnai and Waldemar Gurian get their due, too. The title, of course, references the sort of lie told by authoritarian governments that’s so outrageous and unbelievable that citizens feel it must be true. In our age of alternative facts, this collection is timely and deeply unsettling. _______ The complete series: Daniel Alarcón, Kwame Alexander, Margaret Atwood, W. Kamau Bell, Ana Castillo, Jeff Chang, T Cooper, Michael Eric Dyson, Dave Eggers, Reza Farazmand, William Gibson, Mohsin Hamid, Piper Kerman, Phil Klay, Alex Kotlowitz, Bill McKibben, Rabbi Jack Moline, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Peggy Orenstein, Wendy C. Ortiz, Darryl Pinckney, Joe Romm, Karen Russell, George Saunders, Tracy K. Smith, Ayelet Waldman, Jesmyn Ward, and Gene Luen Yang.

George Takei is walking back questionable comments he made about grabbing men to “persuade” them to have sex in the wake of a sexual assault allegation against him. Days after former model Scott R. Brunton said Takei groped him without his consent 36 years ago in the actor’s home, a month-old interview between the “Star Trek” star and radio host Howard Stern resurfaced that certainly didn’t do him any favors. In the conversation, Takei jokes about touching men against their will back in his “Star Trek” heyday, seemingly admitting to some inappropriate behavior, while still maintaining that everything was consensual. On Monday, the actor apologized for the comments he made on-air, explaining that he was playing a “naughty gay grandpa” caricature, something he now regrets. “Many have raised concern over a back-and-forth between Howard Stern and myself, where we joked about me touching men during my Star Trek days fifty years ago,” Takei wrote on Facebook. “Out of context, I agree that the joke was distasteful, and I’m very sorry he and I made fun out of a serious matter.” “I want to be clear: I have never forced myself upon someone during a date. Sometimes my dates were the initiators, and sometimes I was,” he continued. “It was always by mutual consent. I see now that that it has come across poorly in the awkward sketch, and I apologize for playing along with Howard’s insinuation.” He then reiterated that non-consensual acts go against everything he believes in and that he would never engage in this kind of behavior. Well, at least he’s not blaming Russian bots for this scandal anymore.

Three juveniles in custody following fights w/ Students & PPD , 1 officer injured , taken to hospital, poss rib injury @6abc pic.twitter.com/YF8LVP6PU1 — Annie McCormick (@6abcAnnie) May 22, 2017 EMBED >More News Videos 3 arrested, officer injured in fight near Philadelphia train station. Annie McCormick reports during Action News at 5 p.m. on May 22, 2017. Three students are under arrest and one police officer is injured after a large group gathered near a SEPTA station in the Juniata Park section of Philadelphia.It happened around 3:30 p.m. Monday near Erie and Torresdale avenues.Philadelphia police called in extra officers to assist breaking up the group.Action News is told students from three area schools were involved in the incident.SEPTA officials say there was a social media post calling for the large group to gather at the Erie/Torresdale Station on the Market-Frankford Line.Police were able to stop the apparent flash mob from impacting service."Some got off of the El, came down here, and were fighting with some of the students who were trying to get up onto the El. They had a fight out here. There was an officer who got injured in the melee. There were two juveniles arrested for that. There was another fight around the corner. Another juvenile was arrested for that," Philadelphia Police Inspector Ray Convery said.Action News is told the hospitalized officer injured his rib after he was knocked down by students.In the second fight, police say students actually stole an officer's baton; the officer was able to get it back.----------

Perhaps mindful of such criticism, Benedict told reporters on his flight from Rome that the church’s “first interest is the victims” of abuse, and that the church needed to ask, “How can we repair, what can we do to help them to overcome the trauma, to refind their lives?” Responding in Italian to reporters’ questions submitted in advance and relayed to him by Vatican officials, the pope’s words marked an evolution in the Vatican’s response. In the heat of the crisis last spring, top Vatican officials at first blamed the news media for stirring it up. Critics quickly pounced on the statement, calling it evasive and out of touch. In a statement, the United States-based group Bishopaccountability.org, which tracks abuse cases, said the pontiff’s words “ring hollow,” adding that he had said similar things for years with little action. “In researching this crisis for seven years, we have not found one documented instance before 2002 of a top church official contacting civil authorities to report an allegation of sexual abuse,” the group said. Benedict’s visit to Britain comes as part of his sustained effort to counter a perceived loss of religious belief in Europe and to urge a new struggle against secularism. Photo Benedict’s is the first state visit to Britain by a pope in which he is meeting the queen and political establishment as a fellow head of state. In 1982, John Paul II paid a pastoral visit to Britain, but did not meet Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and was received by the queen privately. The pope’s first appointment on Thursday was with Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, a medieval castle in Edinburgh that is the queen’s official residence in Scotland and a place that figures large in the history of the schisms within Christianity that marked Britain’s evolution as a nation. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was at Holyroodhouse that Mary Queen of Scots lived during her brief reign as the Catholic queen of Scotland, only to be executed in 1587 by Henry VIII’s daughter Queen Elizabeth I of England. Henry had broken with Rome earlier in the 16th century, provoking centuries of anti-Catholic passions that linger still in parts of Britain. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Benedict said he was eager to visit a society often critical of the church. “Naturally, Great Britain has had a history of anti-Catholicism as we all know, but also a history of great tolerance,” he told reporters. In Scotland, crowds were not as tumultuous as those that had greeted John Paul — British news reports said many tickets for papal events during Benedict’s visit remained unclaimed — but the mood for the pope’s arrival was upbeat. People lined the streets in Edinburgh as the papal motorcade passed, many of them waving the Scottish flag and cheering. Inside his vehicle, with a blue-and-green Scottish tartan scarf draped over his white papal robes, the pope smiled broadly as he made the sign of the cross. Benedict used his visit with the queen — the formal head of the Church of England, a church whose relationship with Roman Catholicism remains uneasy — to evoke what he depicted as Britain’s drift from Christianity, saying the country should “not obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms.” “Even in our own lifetime, we can recall how Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi regime that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live,” the pope said in English, speaking as Britons mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a turning point of World War II. He also cited the “Nazi tyranny” as an example of “the sobering lessons of atheist extremism in the 20th century,” prompting an angry response from the British Humanist Association, one of the country’s leading atheist organizations. “The notion that it was the atheism of the Nazis that led to their extremist and hateful views, or that it somehow fuels intolerance in Britain today, is a terrible libel against those who do not believe in God,” the group said in a statement. Last year, the Vatican upset many Anglicans when it announced a fast-track conversion to Catholicism aimed at Anglican traditionalists uncomfortable with that church’s acceptance of female priests and openly gay bishops. (So far, it seems, few Anglicans have accepted the offer.) On Friday, Benedict is expected to meet with the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the two are to participate in a rare ecumenical service in Westminster Abbey, where the pope is expected to deliver the central speech of his visit.

It's HOTSHOTS GOLF ON THE GO!! Let me start off by saying that this is one of those games that tests one patience level. If your like me who can put up with the high level of BS that this game will throw at you from time to time, then you should be fine. BUT if your not me and don't have a high patience level then you might want to stay away from this game bcos you most likely will end up breaking your PS Vita or something else near you. There Training mode where you can practice and Stroke mode where you can play freely at one maps 9 in, 9 out, and 18 holes and then Online mode where you can compete among hunderds of players in a map for bragging rights on the map leaderboards. But Challenge mode is where the focus point of this game is. This mode is very easy at the beginning, then it is a little hard half way through, but when you get up to sliver rank, it becomes a game where ONE mistake will send you from 1st place to 10th in a blinke of an eye. Sure there is easy mode for beginners, but in truth, it really doesn't help much. This game would REALLY benifite from having mulligans espically in challenge mode bcos if you made a bad mistake you should have a chance to retry that hole instead of having to redo the ENTIRE round. Pro - Unique characters, club and ball customization, lots of unlockables to buy, can customize lobby characters and golfer, online is enjoyable, maps are unique even if often difficult, graphics are above average for a launch game. Cons - No choice of automatic impact (Mario Golf Toadstool Tour), no mulligans in challenge mode, cannot tell windspeed, advanced maps are impossible to navigate through, unforgiving and frustrating gameplay, putting is nearly impossible outside 10ft, some gold crown requirements are ridicolous. This game by all means is a GOOD game, but if you aren't able to see through the constant BS this game will throw at you, your better off staying away.

Yes, we live in a sexist culture, in which women have no good choices when it comes to our bodies. We live in a sexist culture in which women are valued primarily as sexual objects, and at the same time are shamed for our sexuality. It seems to me that we have two choices as to how to respond to this. We can try to navigate the narrow, essentially impossible shoals of these contradictory expectations, and try to find that perfect, socially acceptable line between slut and prude. Or we can say, “Fuck it. There is no way I can win — so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want. I’m going to wear overalls, or I’m going to wear high heels. I’m going to have sex with twenty strangers in a night, or I’m not going to have sex with anyone. I’m going to dress conservatively and professionally in public at all times, or I’m going to sell naked pictures of myself on the Internet if I bloody well feel like it.” And in saying, “I can’t win, so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want to do,” we can create the beginnings of a victory. We can create the beginnings of a world where we really can win. We can create the beginnings of a world where we’re a little more free than the women who came before us… and where the women who come after us are a little more free than we are. We probably can’t create a perfect world, where women’s bodies aren’t commodified in the slightest (not in this generation, anyway). But we can create a better world: a world where women’s bodies and minds belong less to the patriarchy, and more to ourselves.

Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico | Holy smoking Jesus, America is losing its middle class! "We're taxing the middle class out of existence," charge the conservatives. "The middle class is being hollowed out," wail the liberals, pouring forth great mock turtle tears (although one wonders how such a vacuum, as middle class life in America could be further hollowed). For both political camps, high dudgeon over "the vanishing middle class" is supposed to represent some sort of "new populism." Not that the populace disagrees with them, mainly because the populace, if we are referring to the genuine America populace, hasn't the slightest notion of the definition of populism. But the word sounds like it has to do with popularity, the highest virtue in the American mind, and can even lead to the celestial heights called celebrity. So what the hell, they're willing to run with it. In any case, much overwrought political theater is being dedicated to the subject of the middle class' demise. If demise is the right word for losing its ability to engorge on commodities at obscene levels. A month or so ago I watched news footage of some fat guy being interviewed inside his the three car garage of his $300,000 cardboard house. The poor fellow was about to lose his bass boat, and maybe his home too. From the looks of it, I'd say the bass boat was a Ranger X520. Now these babies start at $45K, not to mention the $30K for the four wheel drive usually seen pulling. Looked like it was sitting on a 20-plus foot Hurricane boat trailer, another $4K or $5K. My wife, who was watching the show with me, turned and said, "What class is this man supposed to be in?" "I don't know, they say middle class." "Hmmm. Whatever it is, we've never been members." George Jones and Tammy Wynette said it all when they sang: No we're not the jet set We're the old Chevrolet set Our steak and martinis Is draft beer with weenies Indeed, we are witnessing the death of the American lifestyle, bass boats and all. Unless of course, the Chinese banksters will keep on loaning us enough dough for one more fix, one more snort of crank to keep the American lifestyle from going into withdrawal. Yeah, sure. That does not keep both political parties from assuring us that "the great American middle class lifestyle is not negotiable," then proceeding to negotiate the hell out of it. God save the middle class! Whatever the middle class is, they have the assurances of every administration of its eternal preservation. When asked exactly what constitutes being middle class, most typical Americans, which is to say working class Americans, talk in terms of income. Better educated and more erudite Americans mumble some vague litany about college and home ownership, etc., then attach an annual income number about twice as high as the average working mook's. Neither of them ever comes close to a real definition. Nevertheless some 300 million Americans fancy themselves as middle class, chiefly because they: (A) own microwaves and a car with plastic bumpers; and (B) live in perpetual hock to MasterCard and Visa. Debt, stress and insecurity being the only observable characteristics of middle class America, they rally round those things in a show of class solidarity. "Hell no! Our pointless stressful lifestyle is NOT NEGOTIABLE! No goddamned socialist is gonna take away my constitutional right to medical bankruptcy. God bless the middle class!" In essence, preservation of the American middle class is an assertion we are entitled to waste as least as much of the earth's limited vital resources as their fathers and grandfathers did, preferably more. Political assurances of the sanctity of the middle class come down to promising that the six percent of the world's population called Americans may continue to rip through 36 percent of the earth's resources in its endless pursuit of obesity and carcinogenic intake. Not to mention taking everybody else out with us in the process through ecocide. Nobody but an unmitigated psychopath would even make such a case, much less hawk it to the American people as being in their best interests. In their best interests to wipe out our dwindling planetary sustenance and to piss off the rest of the world enough that a significant number are willing to strap on explosives and buy a plane ticket for the States. Unfortunately, the psychopaths are in charge. And they are charging over the rest of us like rutting bull elephants on Jimson weed. There doesn't seem to be enough Thorazine on earth to take 'em down. Consequently, their delusion have escalated to the point where believe they are exempt from planetary catastrophe. Assumedly this is due to their wealth and authority. Which in America are the same thing. However, you can never rule out that they may believe they are gods. Which comes down to being bullet proof to the afflictions of common mortals, the shit that makes ordinary life miserable and in many cases, snuffs it right out -- lifetime debt, lack of health insurance or the chain smoking that so often comes with such stress chew through your health. Let's get real here folks. Do you think Barack Obama or Rahm Emanuel worry about ever being homeless or having a credit card company haul them into court and garnish their wages? Or that they will develop lung disease from living in or near Camden, New Jersey? Of course not. Because, in fact, they really are exempt. But when the planet's condition, which, despite Republican claims otherwise, affects human beings, gets bad enough (and that appears to be sometime next week) their children may not be exempt. This of course, matters not a twit to a psycho. Especially if the psycho is rich, powerful, and saluted by media networks wherever he/she goes, and has not the faintest clue that he/she is a psycho to begin with. The "or she" refers to Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin or any of the other power crazed warped out bitches who've slit enough throats to make made it into that gladiatorial arena inside the beltway. White males by no means have a franchise on naked political blood lust. America's constellation of psychos occupying the real estate up there on Mount Olympus includes just about everybody with a few hundred million or a billion bucks behind their hallucinations -- from Oprah Winfrey, who, despite her own delusions, is not responsible for the nation's moral, spiritual and financial well being, to Ben Bernanke, who actually holds a great deal of responsibility for the latter, but is convinced the world begins and ends along the length of Wall Street and consists entirely of derivatives brokers and the money printing crew at the Fed. Such people presume their anointment to rule, if they are willing to play the game hard enough. And why shouldn't they? They've experienced nothing but success through gaming the system and the rest of humanity -- dicking the proles in the ear and running the nation and its institutions for their own benefit as elites. Needless to say, they do not see things that way. To them it's just the natural order of the universe. Raw personal power has a way of justifying itself as having been inevitable. Over my 35 years as a journalist, I have met and/or interviewed many, and I have met only a couple who showed real humility or attributed their national influence, or fame and social status and national influence to simple good fortune. Paul Newman was one. Kurt Vonnegut was another. When you are pissing down on the world from the balcony of your suite on the 44th floor, it's hard to be humble, or concerned about the pissant swarm on the streets below. Even if you are not the kind of psycho our political system attracts and legitimizes, it isn't easy. At the same time, for a person like, say, Hillary Clinton or Joe Lieberman, there is always the worry that one of your vengeful peers may have moved in on the 45th floor and is waiting on their balcony for you to come out. Even for princes and ladies of the royal court, our system holds its fears and frights. Ah, the system! Hallowed legacy of Jefferson and the port besotted founding elites. Our system, owing to the magic of its "checks and balances," holds all possible solutions. So we must "work within the system" for any desired change. Be an active factor within the rules. These rules are sanctioned by big shots, a big shot being defined as anyone whose bullshit is beyond questioning because he has made his fortune by bullshitting millions of typical Americans. Which is not difficult because as both Goering and Hitler pointed out, then proved, if the bullshit is huge enough, normal people will not believe that anyone would have the balls to tell such a lie, and accept it as the truth. And so The Big Lie is sold. Next, the big political players, Republican and Democrat, determine some minute variations on the most current lies being sold. These slight variations are proclaimed as profound differences between the parties, because both parties' role on the political stage is to act as opponents. So cosmetic differences are netted out and then savagely contested in the theater state as life or death issues for the American people. That's how we got such massive public agitation and incitation regarding just how hundreds of billions more will continue to be delivered to health insurance companies. Yes, dear, they are unnecessary. But they are players. They are sitting at the national poker table because they have the muscle get into the most important backroom game in town -- the one where the people's wealth is divvied up before the people ever see it. ----- If you have watched any old mob movies, you know that any racket needs a front. In America the front is called democracy. Like the term populism, the people have no idea what democracy really is, but has something to do with the free market capitalism that issues forth such things as bass boats. And it certainly it has to do with every citizen having a small piece in the determination of national matters. Clearly untrue as that is, nevertheless it is one helluva a sales point, revered by the proles and not to be fucked with if you are to maintain the illusion of the consent of the people among the people. The front. So the people are given such narrow electoral choices as not to even be real choices, but packaged in somewhat different wrappers -- such as skin color. Or if a president and Congress can see a clear path in rolling over the dimwits out there, the dimwits are given no choice at all. Such as going to war against Iraq. Still, there are always those citizens who will not settle for simply voting based on what they have been fed. They detect the odor of swill, but cannot quite name the ingredients. So they feel they must test democracy, exercise their uncontrolled "freedom of choice," as fully as possible through activism. So they turn to one of the two controlling political parties to put them to work. After all, anyone who doesn't is considered a kook. Right? In a marvelous bit of Mobius strip logic, the activists end up working toward the success of some minute difference in national policy that serves the purposes of the established power cartels. The main difference is in the degree of profitability for the corporate state. More profit or a helluva lot more profit. In the end the activists find themselves working for the election of someone who, by the very nature of being selected as a candidate by the system, has been vetted by his or her own elite peers as one who will -- ta ta! -- preserve the system from change. ----- Nevertheless, the activists have their issues by god and by golly, and cling to them every step of the way. The issues come prepackaged to fit their established belief systems. No great trick really, given that the corporate people at the top own all the media and information distribution and make the first cut. And there's something for everybody's political stocking. When the issue is not wrapped up in religion or blood-in-the-face patriotism by corporate managed conservative elves, it is packaged as a moral or social justice issue for liberals. And so, charged up on emotion, activist proponents of both minute differences attack one another at every turn, both sides convinced they are fighting the good fight in one or another "important issue of our times." Gay marriage, gun laws, abortion, animal rights, you name it. It's small stuff in the big picture. None of these mean anything in the monotonic gray life under the emerging corporate totalist state. So you both have the same plumbing and are married. So what? What is that worth if you spend your life chained to a headset in one of the corporate gulags' cubicles punching out digits for the overlords so you can keep your health insurance? Terrified of losing your job or insurance, or being forced to join the Army and go to Iraq to put bread on the table? Freedom is freedom, and you have it across the board or you do not. It does not come piecemeal and is not defined by any single freedom. Human freedom is holistic -- full spectrum. It covers everything because, well, it's freedom. In a free country none of the above pseudo issues would be being debated. Bottom line on freedom: You have the right to fuck any other adult you want to by mutual consent. You can marry anyone you choose regardless of sex or race or religion. Even a member of the US Senate if you have the stomach for it. Your body is your own to do with as you see fit, not governable by state laws or for profitable abuse by pharmaceutical corporations or the medical industry. ----- The 24/7 deluge of falsely manufactured issues has done more than detract from comprehension of the real and life or death issues at hand. Over a couple of generations, it has rendered us incapable of ever grasping the real ones and what is at stake. The ability to do so dies out, as each subsequent generation is conditioned by the reality (or state induced non-reality), it comes up in. Important as they look and feel because we have lived our entire lives amid these so-called national debates, they have nothing to do with our freedom. Freedom itself was always, and will always be The Issue. The only issue. Everything else follows. The Big Lie is that it does not. Lies for the sake of generating emotion enough to destroy reason have been a mainstay of American politics from the beginning. Jefferson spread lies about Madison. Madison returned the favor. The lies served the purposes of two ambitious individuals. Now they serve the purposes only of those forces who can afford to buy politicians. Nor are they the simple sort of lies told by fallible human beings such as Jefferson or Madison, but rather the lies of massive faceless, deathless entities subject to no man, only the accounting regimen of postindustrial capitalism. They have not become pathogenic; they are pathogenic by nature and from the outset to society. To the world too, given what our nation is doing and willing to further do not just to ourselves, but also to the world. It is increasingly said, and not unreasonably, that the United States has reached the same level as those malevolencies" that poisoned Nazi Germany. You may not believe folks who say that. The Germans did not believe it was happening to them either. Can we change? Or is it too late? Most days I feel it is too late. Well hold on now, Jake! Didn't we just see change? Didn't we just throw out the sickest regime in US political history? Remember all those people and all that conviction and activism that delivered us from heaven only knows what Cheney and Sparky Bush might have done? How can you say conviction and activism, especially liberal activism, is useless?" No arguing that activism is considered absolute proof of conviction by most liberal political lights. Activism is the unarguable stigmata, the nail hole in the palm as proof. Yessir, when it comes to putting your money where your mouth is, when it comes to "put up or shut up," when it comes to "lead, follow or get out of the way," political activism answers any and all charges of faintness of heart. It requires tremendous amounts of time and energy and has only one small flaw. It doesn't work. Not for liberals. Tea partiers armed with baseball bats and megaphones get results. But liberal activism is sort of like sending a rabbit to sell wolves on the benefits of veganism. Liberal activism requires convincing the pissed off and scared citizenry that your guy is different, better, more kind and possessive of the higher moral ground than his opponent, and will govern accordingly. This is hard stuff to peddle in a nation that has, for quite understandable reasons, grown meaner, more distrustful and more ideological over the past 30 years, not to mention demonstrably more stupid, and more ideological (which comes along with becoming more stupid) over the past thirty years. Hell, even liberals are becoming mean ideologues these days. Many want a candidate who will break some GOP knees on their behalf. I cannot say I blame them. Murder, mayhem and global warfare are by no means out of the question in achieving any goal. Just listen to the political chatter at any cocktail party. When Code Pinkers declare that the bloody killing of men, women and children in Afghanistan is justified -- because the war may one day enable Muslim women to go braless and tell their husbands, "Go go to hell, Buster, I'll drive if I want to" -- well, you gotta call that some hardened liberal ideology. ----- I never subscribe to email or organizational mailings. Well, almost never -- I get truthout.com and Patrice Greanville's Cyrano. I'm not really an Internet denizen or a liberal blog freak. So I notice when there is a sudden unsolicited surge in my personal account with aim.com (yeah, I know it's a piece of AOL shit, but now I'm stuck with it). Anyway, there has been a surge lately in heated liberal calls to action, mostly pleas for money. Nearly all of them are from some tentacle of the Democratic Party. With Obama safely in office, three years to go before next election, and no sign of George W. Bush, not even an empty malt liquor can, it seems a bit early for raising cries demanding more liberal activism. It that's what they are, the calls for "a renewed effort at changing American hearts and minds" toward "social justice" and "a more humane human society" [sic]. In typical Dem fashion, you seldom get specifics, just noble words like "justice" and stuff nobody can disagree with, like being humane to humans. I reckon though, that by next election enough disappointed Obama-ites will have recovered from their current depression to resupply the Dems with ground troops. The party will have plenty of sincere liberals out on the streets again. Partly because Obama will be spearheading the effort, and partly because the Republicans have an endless supply of embalmed brain dead geezers, any of whom could be slipped into a good suit and a red white and blue tie and dollied onstage. Not much legwork involved for Goppers, really. They just yell 'TEAAAAA PARTY!" and throngs of trained simians come running.The Dems have no equivalent liberal mating call, except possibly "Free Argentinean Malbec." The saddest part is that you could put every sincere liberal in America on the streets knocking on doors and I dare say damned little, if anything, would ever change (although there is rumor of possibly limiting handgun owners to 60 weapons per person and 100,000 rounds of ammo. Most of my family in Virginia is dead agin it!). About the most that can happen is what happened the last time liberals effectively mobilized in force: We will reelect Barack Obama, yet another pure product of the system, yet another candidate who has deeply interiorized the processes, values and folly of a spent and exhausted hyper capitalist state. OK, so I will drop the "exhausted hyper capitalist state" stuff, though it's true. No matter whom we elect, he is not going to beat the odds against eco-collapse and resource depletion. Throw in the current human overpopulation -- which our free market capitalists assure us are, oh joy of joys, an "expanding customer base" -- and you have a guaranteed disastrous outcome for, oh, let's see now, human civilization for openers. Maybe even our species, if Big Energy and da miltury industrul cumplex has any say so in it. Which they do. You do not need a PhD in physics to figure out that a geometrically expanding hydrocarbon based civilization fueling itself at unsustainable levels of consumption, waste and toxicity on a finite resource is bound to hit the wall at some point. "Earth to Congress, we have a problem. My wife just sprouted an extra row of teeth; my heating bill is $6,000 a month and my 12-year-old weighs in at 250 pounds and is stuck in a booth at the food court." I am no political genius, which I prove regularly by writing these columns and essays. But I dare say leftish activist energies could be better spent than by selling the latest political greaseball to one's neighbors and/or perfect strangers willing to answer the door. One option would be to expend that effort in destroying the genuine common enemy of the people, all the people: Capitalism and its brutal commoditization of our very lives and breath. Which would make one a socialist. True, socialism has not a chance in hell in the USA. So there is no use in even discussing our little problem of thug capitalism and rogue nation warfare in that context. Forget that democratic socialism by its very nature (along with a few buckets of hot tar and thumbscrews judiciously applied on Wall Street) is the solution to the most brutal material aspects of our degenerative capitalist disease, now nearing its full-blown outcome. If you haven't noticed, the rich and the mean have prevailed. Only a fool would believe that having prevailed, they are going to mellow out, become kinder and more compassionate. However, if there is a God in heaven, or even of there ain't, then the traditional cruelty of the unleashed rich could work in the people's favor for a change. Even by the monkeys and typewriters rule, at least some portion of "the people" must eventually wise up. There are hopeful signs that a significant number of Americans are sick of watching the cash laden cargo planes pass overhead on their way to gated CEO compounds in Zurich and Dubai. And they have a gnawing suspicion that somehow in the big picture, somewhere backstage, something or someone has been relentlessly working to fuck them at every turn. Not that most Americans can see the big picture. They were blinded at birth, so as not to view the monstrous system that has taken on a life of its own. One that rules their lives through the small elite class it created and governs. Blame it on water fluoridation, lousy education or degraded breeding stock, but not one in a hundred Americans can grasp that monolithic ideo-economic systems can become intelligent entities of their own sort (although capitalist state indoctrination has conditioned Americans to readily accept that Soviet Communism did just that). Nurtured on the national mythology of freedom and American individualism, we cannot imagine anything larger than the citizenry itself affecting the nation's direction. We find no contradiction in 300 million totally unique, ruggedly individual Americans, a people blessed with free choice in life, swarming the same mall stores coast to coast -- and living under the same hard edged capitalist philosophy and ever tightening laws. Obviously they all made exactly the same choices as to their destinies -- to live their lives as debt ridden shoppers and television addicts. I admit though, I cannot say for sure. They may have all taken a vote at some convention behind my back. Given such belief in the individual, Americans tend to believe that some individual or group of individuals elsewhere is in control of the state of the union (though apparently not in Washington, where nobody seems in charge of anything, so near as we can tell). Therefore, some individual or group of them can be blamed for their increasingly bleak situation. And by that same logic, some other individual or individuals can set things right. Now of course there are a few assumptions in this postulation: That the magic fix candidate can raise a few hundred million campaign dollars to get onto the game. Run the gauntlet of a stacked electoral college. Tap dance through gerrymandered voting districts. Pole vault over black box voting fraud. Circumvent nine glory whores on the Supreme Court who will throw up their skirts for whichever party bought them their robes. Despite their mounting insecurity and fears, that is what most of the American people still believe is the best of all possible political systems now and forever more. They believe it enough to bomb other people into accepting its graces and benefits. The fact that it does not work worth a damn and that the system is as crooked as a dog's hind leg does not interfere with our reverence and obedience to it. Because the alternative, socialism, as we have been so indoctrinated to believe, is "too terrible to contemplate." By now you have figured out there never was theme or thesis to this screed. So let's put it out of its misery and bring it on home. Besides, who wants to contemplate anything on a good Tuesday night when Sarah Palin is gonna shake it on the Fox Network, not to mention the Conan vs Leno title fight for the hearts and minds of the nation. Later. --- Postscript: It is all well and good for me to sit here at a safe distance and criticize the folly of my native country. But Mexicanos in my working class neighborhood in Ajijic are burning candles and offering prayers for their Haitian brothers. We should all do the same. _______ About author Joe Bageant is author of the book, Deer Hunting With Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (Random House Crown), about working class America. A complete archive of Joe's essays can be found at Joe Bageant is author of the book,(Random House Crown), about working class America. A complete archive of Joe's essays can be found at http://www.joebageant.com

I type this with icy white fingers. It's August - normally king of the summer months - and yet here I am, very seriously considering digging out some gloves. Serves me right for living in the north of England, I suspect. But all is well, for in these disappointingly chilly times I've managed to locate six more fabulous free games. Read on for the best of the bunch from August. The Journey Down - Chapter One: Over The Edge Theodore Waern. Grab it at Big Blue Cup . Adventure Game Studio might spawn countless games which look like they've been drawn with a mouse in Microsoft Paint, but every now and then someone uses it to create something really special. Theodore Waern has spend the last five years - five! - honing this first chapter of his point-and-click epic, The Journey Down , and that dedication shows. This is supremely professional for a solo effort, and brings back all the right memories of the '90s. It's about as traditional as adventure games get, but if that's your bag, you won't find many better free ones than this. It's just a shame Chapter Two isn't due until some time next year, especially since the story ends so abruptly. By The Numbers AJA. Get it from Big Blue Cup . Another title created in Adventure Game Studio, By The Numbers is unusual for featuring full voice acting. It's especially unusual - across gaming generally - for featuring quite good voice acting. However, it's also intriguing in a couple of other, more fundamental ways. This is a one-room point-and-click adventure game in which you interrogate an eyewitness of a kidnapping. The game never moves beyond this one room (and another one beyond a two-way mirror), and focuses purely on dialogue. It's also fully motion-captured, with the resulting 3D animations converted to 2D animations in the engine. Well-written and neatly produced, it's a genuinely interesting experiment. Morplee Ninjadoodle. P lay it on Newgrounds . Morplee is a frantic and unusual browser game, part Space Invaders -esque shooter and part collection of mini-games. You've to shoot the baddies down as they attack, lest they begin to eat worryingly quickly at your health (as above), while at the same time increasing your score by completing as many mini-games as possible within a one-minute time limit. It's that time limit, combined with the ever-present threat of alien invasion, that makes Morplee so brilliant. You wouldn't expect such a bizarre mashup of a title to work well at all, but in fact it's a minute-long thrill ride, as you desperately try to multitask through your panic. A simple but inspired idea. Alchemia Springtail Studio . P lay (some of) it on the website . Okay, this one's slightly out of the ordinary to place on a free games list, because it's not actually free. It's $7. But! There is a delightfully sizeable chunk of the game available to play for free online. So I'm going to awkwardly shoehorn it in here, mainly because I absolutely love games like this, and I want you to play it immediately. As a sort of tactile point-and-click adventure, there's no escaping the fact that it's a lot like Amanita Design's adventure games, especially Samorost. It's also not quite in the same league. However, it captures that same sense of exploratory magic, and it's absolutely, staggeringly beautiful to look at. Give it a go. And then pay $7 to finish it off. Go on. The Curfew Littleloud / Channel 4. Play it at Channel 4 . Channel 4 are getting in on the games scene at the moment. Technically developed for educational purposes, the best thing about their output this month has been the fact that they're enjoyable educational games. That's an all too rare breed. The first, The Curfew , was written by Kieron Gillen - a name you might recognise if you're on the British side of the PC Gamer pond. It's an FMV-centric adventure game set in a future where second-class citizens aren't allowed out at night. Think a British City 17 in vibe. It's your job to decide which of four people to trust with some secret data, which you're told absolutely cannot get into the wrong hands. Well-written and with mostly decent acting, it's well worth playing, despite the occasional bug. Privates Zombie Cow / Channel 4 . Download it from Channel 4 . Bottoms, and vaginas, and lots of sperm. Yes, it's Channel 4's other educational game! Just, y'know, one that's a little less grown-up. But no less wonderful. Privates is aimed at teenage boys, and attempts to teach them about STIs and condoms and things like that. It's approximately four hundred billion times funnier and more fabulous than any sex education lesson I ever sat through in school. We used to laugh at those classes for the wrong reasons, but this side-scrolling shooter from Time Gentlemen, Please! developers Zombie Cow gets you laughing in the very best way. If you're a young 'un, just promise you'll remember to learn something.

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta has appointed a new president — one the organization believes will push unity with the Wildrose Party forward. Len Thom was appointed to the position at a board meeting Saturday. He most recently ran for the federal Conservatives in the 2015 election in Edmonton Strathcona, but lost to NDP MP Linda Duncan. "I'm honoured to receive the support of the board and I look forward to working closely with our leader, Jason Kenney," Thom said in a news release. Thom fills the spot left vacant by Katherine O'Neill, who stepped down last month, just three weeks after Kenney was elected PC leader. Katherine O'Neill stepped down from the PC Party in April. (Laurent Pirot/Radio-Canada ) Thom said with Kenney, they are looking forward to executing "the will of our members to create a single, free-enterprise party before the next election." "Party members voted overwhelmingly for unity, and I commend our board for its clear respect for the democratic will of members," Kenney said in the release. But Kenney says just because both are focused on unity, that doesn't mean they won't explore other options if necessary. "If we cannot reach a principled agreement with the Wildrose Party, or if the members of either party reject such an agreement, that I will do everything I can to build the PC party as the alternative to this disastrous NDP government." The six-week deadline the group gave itself to reach a deal passed on Friday, but Kenney said a deal is close.

ArtStyle: 'DTS was a wild and exhilarating ride.' After his shocking departure from Na`Vi, users were polled on GosuGamers on whether they felt Na`Vi could bounce back from such a loss. Indeed, it was a relevant concern, seeing as someone of Artstyle's talent became the backbone for DTS and Na`Vi throughout their illustrious journey in the world of DotA and later, Dota 2. In an extensive interview with the legendary captain, Artstyle reveals much about his personal life, his opinions on Dota 2, and last but not the least, his views about the Russian DotA community. One of our GosuGamers users, Anton "Desolator" Kolyago, contributed extensively to the translation of this interview and its concise and accurate publication could not have been possible without his help. Enjoy! Let's start with the question that is on everyone's mind right now - are you returning to the competitive Dota 2 scene? -"Yup, I will be back. It has been on my mind for some time as well and if things go according to plan, I am sure that I'll come out with my strongest team to date. Up Close and Personal... DTS at Asus Spring 2011 Are you currently working or studying? What are your plans for the future? -"I'm literally nowhere at the moment and I don't have a job. I'm not sure what lies ahead but at the moment, I plan to just play and do some streaming until the next Dota 2 tournament." How about poker? Do you plan to make a career out of it, or just play it for fun? -"Well, I have not considered poker so I certainly have not earned money from it - if anything, poker has taken my money away *laughs*. Although I did initially consider poker as my career - seeing that there was a 200,000 prize pool event - I later changed my mind because it wasn't worth it and I could still earn money without playing poker." Do you have a girlfriend right now? -"I'll just say this - right now, my life is pretty much straightened out. I think you need not know any more." What do you do in your spare time? -"At the moment, I'm spending my time playing Dota 2, and getting to know more about her (Dota 2) *smiles*. Before that, I was taking a break." Are you an athlete of any sort? Do you play sports? -"*laughs* Yeah, I was previously an avid fan of football, but then I started playing DotA. It's not something I follow now since all my idols have aged and are no longer playing." With how quickly Dota 2 is developing right now, do you think it has the potential to be a major, full-fledged eSports title in the future? -"It's hard to say, really. Of course, I wish it it would be the case, but things are hard to predict at the moment." Are you involved in anything to help Dota 2 on that path? -"I'm not trying to make eSports into real sports or anything - I can see that it has developed into a growing industry and it will continue to prosper. Gaming will eventually become a huge social network and until then, I will be trying to open the game up to more and more people." Have you thought about going to start your career in China given the atmosphere there - decent salaries, broadcasting on TV, the huge crowds? -"Yes, I have thought about it. I would actually like to work with iG but I have no ties with anyone there and cannot speak the language. I won't be able to communicate with the team or the captain, so I guess that's out of bounds for me." You were awarded with a medal and a diploma by the Kharkiv City Council a few months ago (see]see). How do you feel about this honor? -"Indeed, I did receive a medal and a diploma. I was quite proud of myself although a dash of luck was involved (I earned it before I won the million dollars at Gamescom). In fact, I'm not sure whether I actually deserved it. What are your plans for the future? Do you plan on working or earning more money through events like The International until you've earned enough, and then retire? -"Money is never enough *laughs* so I will have to make plans about my future. I'm a gamer! I'm not sure if I can hold a normal job, and sit around doing boring things for a fixed salary - it's just not for me." Have you heard PGG's rap song? -"Yup, I have. I hope they don't do one about me because I'm normally quite shy and quiet myself." What music do you listen to? -"Oh, I listen to basically everything. Recently, I developed a taste for Leps but then again, I'm fine with anything. The only thing I can't appreciate would be rap music." Would you like to be immortalized in 'the history books'? What kind of a legacy would you like to leave behind? -"Yes, I would like that, but I certainly do not want to be remembered for DotA. I hope I will leave behind a meaningful legacy that people will remember." DotA - the big picture... Artstlye (right) with NS I have read over a dozen of your interviews, but you have never spoken about the origin of your nickname, Artstyle. How did it come about? -"It has been my nickname for a very long time now. It began when I was watching Maykera streaming Warcraft 3, and it was showing Happy playing. During an interview with Happy's opponent, he described the former's actions as being 'ArtStyle'. Since then, I began to adopt that nickname." There were rumors that you had been playing DotA on a regular basis. Is this true? What do you think is the difference between the two games? -"Yeah, it's true that I have returned to DotA although I switched to Dota 2 about a week ago. I love both games so it's hard for me to compare them but I would say this - with fewer and few tournaments in DotA, I don't think I will be playing both of them anymore. I'll just stick to Dota 2 from now on." You mentioned that you play Dota 2 for at least 15 hours a day. Is this because you are trying to get back on form? -"I am trying to study the game and pick up stuff like learning how to estimate damage output and cooldowns, as well as familiarizing myself with the attack animations. Yesterday, I saw something in Death Prophet that was missing from the hero in DotA. Her spirits will fly up into the sky before coming down to attack. It was such an unpleasant surprise!" Have you played 6.73 of DotA? What are your thoughts about it? -"If I had to sum it up, I would say that Legion Commander is way too overpowered. I was playing Pudge with 4,500 hitpoints and 20 armor and he was still able to take me down in five seconds. It was also the first time I saw so many critical hits on a hero. Usually, hero effects go away, but Legion Commander's damage gain stays permanently." 6.73 changes have been ported over to Dota 2. How do you feel about that? -"Honestly, I have not played the new version but even if I did, I would play the tournament version where the changes have not been applied. The new item, Tranquil Boots, is pretty imba and I call it the equivalent of a Vanguard for weak intelligence heroes. It's definitely a must-buy item for support heroes, considering how cheap it is." Do you play with Legacy hero keys or do you set your own keys? -"I currently play with Legacy keys but I'm starting to adapt to the new hotkey system." Many people call you Ivan Balanar because of how well you played the hero Night Stalker at The International. Could you share with us some tips on how to play the hero? -"For Night Stalker, I normally go for Urn of Shadows, Power Treads, Magic Stick, Vanguard and then Aghanims. If the game is going really well or late, then I will consider getting a Scythe of Vyse of a Skull Basher later on." Do you think an Aghanims is a must-buy for Night Stalker in any given situation? -"Of course! This is how I win games. You can see the entire battlefield while your enemy cannot. Furthermore, if you are getting ganked and chased, you will be able to plan your escape route." During a previous interview with Synderen, he mentioned that Night Stalker was also his favorite hero and later hesitantly accepted our hypothetical offer of a 1v1 between the two of you. Would you have also accepted the challenge? -"What happened that day was that I was chatting with a couple of teammates on Skype when it was brought to my attention. After skimming the interview, I related my surprised to my teammates because I felt the fact that Synderen, being a person who has actually not won anything except for some minor leagues, could actually accept such a challenge was incomprehensible." What are your thoughts on the league system in Dota 2? Which leagues would you play in? -"I'm not playing in any league currently so I don't have anything to say about them - I'm sticking with public games for now." When will you start streaming? Are you still working closely with Darer? -"I will start streaming very soon and yes, I am still in close collaboration with Darer. The owner of this project is actually one of the most trustworthy guys you will find on the Internet. In fact, I have a feeling you will be hearing alot from them soon." You mentioned once that 2010 was the best year in your career as a professional DotA player and that you had already achieved everything you wanted then. Looking back, how would you describe your career in 2011? -"I was playing for Na`Vi the whole time during 2011. I guess it was a good year in terms of achievements and how the team developed but it was also a good year for DotA and its evolution as an eSport in general." About competitive DotA... Na`Vi at Gamescom - Dendi, Light, XBOCT, Puppey, McDee, ArtStyle When and how did you assume the role of a captain? -"It all started when I was at DTS and our team was going through a rough patch - in fact, we were even on the verge of disbandment. I can't remember who was the captain then but someone suggested that I take the position. At that time, V1lat was looking for Light to assume that role but as it turned out, I was taking charge and leading the team. I should point out that NS was a great help while I was at DTS as he advised me on how I moved around the map. Dendi also helped out a lot with learning our opponents while we were at DTS. So yeah, I should say that everyone contributed equally to the team and it was not just about me." As the captain, did you make all key decisions yourself or did you listen to what your teammates have to say? -"I take into consideration what everyone on the team has to say, since I believe that there are no horrible decisions. It's hard to understand what your teammates are doing all the time, but once you step back and think about it, I guess they all make sense when you look at it from their point of view. For example, if your teammate insists that you gank a six-slotted Medusa with just a support Crystal Maiden, you have to understand that Crystal Maiden would play a key role in that gank even if she just prevents Medusa from teleporting away. At the worst situation, you would end up trading a support hero for a carry hero. This shows that there's a lot more to DotA and people than you think; somehow people are contented with sitting back and letting your main carry (i.e. the Spectre) farm a full build and then win." How about drafting? Did you consider what your teammates had to say? -"Always. I make sure everyone's voice is heard and that they do not feel left out of the conversation. We try our best to accommodate everyone's suggestions, though I must point out an exception in Dread - no one will ever understand his ideas, not even after ten years." You mentioned once that there was no such thing as an 'outpick' and it was possible to win with literally any lineup. Does that still hold true for you today or have you ever foreseen the outcome of a game just from the picks? -"Yeah, I still think so. You can't 'outpick' people; you win games by outplaying them. All you have to do is give certain heroes to a great player and you have yourself a strong combination. For example, if you give a Furion to someone who can play the hero well and pair him up with a couple of good heroes, your team can be guaranteed to control the game 100% the whole time." Do you still have the habit of coming up with innovative strategies? If so, do you consider other's ideas or stick to what you have in mind? -"Well, since I'm inactive now, I haven't been thinking about new strategies at all. It's a misnomer to call them 'strategies' actually - all you have to do is pair heroes with great potential and execute them well. I don't know what to say about my teammates ideas affecting the drafting stage; it's actually simpler than what people think it to be." Are you an adaptive player? Do you have your whole game planned out for you before the game or do you change it as the game progresses? -"Of course, things will change as we move along in picks. However, it is really all about the player the minute the game starts. If they can perform at their best, then there is not much I have to do - they already know what to do in that situation." I know that you dislike the idea of a 'push strategy' but let's just treat it as such. There are many ways of countering such strategies, so the question is - how would you counter the 'counter-push' strategy if you had already chosen a push lineup? -"Push and counter-push? Those terms sound funny to me. It's really hard to give you a proper answer, because a counter-push lineup, by definition, would counter a push lineup. At the end of the day, it really depends on the players themselves and how they react - you can always trick your opponents into winning the game for you. For example, you can go for a 'suicide barracks' attempt which will force them to defend while you have just taken out a large chunk of their raxes and used Necromonicons to push all three lanes." So there isn't any real way to counter a 'counter-push lineup' with a push lineup? -"Basically, engage your enemies outside of their base and while you are fighting them, have someone go for one of their important building structures." Seeing as how the Chinese metagame has become more aggressive and fast-paced with many games ending between 20 to 30 minutes, do you feel like you deserve some credit for this change? -"Maybe, but you will have to credit DTS and Na`Vi as well for that. I guess a bigger factor for this change would be the Chinese players themselves - they always play at such a high level and very smartly at that. Two years ago, I had already noticed that they could end games at 20 minutes but back then, their playstyles were very strange to me." Comparing DTS 2010 with Na`Vi 2011... An early 2011 picture of Na`Vi Tell us about the first Dota 2 team you originally joined. -"Actually, it was cool playing with Axypa and Goblak in the first Na`Vi roster. We played really well, losing only to GGnet and we opened the scene to a lot of push strategies. While it was fun playing with them, we did not have the performance that I saw in DTS 2010. In DTS, we could easily kill off five carries with five support heroes." How about the time you spent in Na`Vi following the arrival of Light and Puppey? How did that compare to your time in DTS 2010? -"Let's start from the beginning. In DTS, it so happened that even if we did not get the heroes we wanted (our supports were non-standard, Dendi did not play the solo-mid hero, etc) we still had a role to play and we played it well. After we had this settled, it was pretty easy picking at official games, because we had so much fun experimenting during training. I am saying this a lot, but we really had a ton of fun. We dived in for ganks without creep support, we stopped farming and just went around forcing teamfights 50 times in a row (later many would come to interpret this as our 'push strategy' which we already saw too much of). In general, DTS 2010 was just a wild and exhilirating ride. In Na`Vi, everything was simpler. Our approach was much more serious; we each had specific goals in mind and studied our opponents extensively. The only thing that affected us was our lack of training - yes, even before The International. Just imagine the four of us playing Warcraft 3 fun maps before the tournament, even though we had been issued Dota 2 beta keys longer before. By the way, we were one of the first teams to get our keys, but we still made sure we had fun. I guess that's one of the reasons why we won at Gamescom - we were incredibly united. In fact, before all the 'fun' we had and the times we shared, we hardly knew each other at all. About the players, Puppey and XBOCT replacing NS and Dread: obviously, they have different roles in the game, but I was closer to Dread and NS because of how much we clicked in personalities. After the latter pair's departure from Na`Vi, our team missed the two pranksters (or at least only one of them was successful). *smiles* If you compare them as players, there's not much to weigh in on since they are all great players. Dread's role within the team dynamic and also the roster as the carry and aggressive player was later on replaced by XBOCT in Na`Vi. If you want to talk about the skill difference, then I guess I don't have much to say." What about your departure? Was it a serious blow to Na`Vi or were they able to cope with it normally? -"In terms of team morale, I guess they were devastated. As for their performance, they still managed to keep a high level of play going because that's what they have going on within Na`Vi - excellence. I guess my retirement from Dota 2 was at least better than me transferring to another team." Have your already spent or invested your prize money from The International? You seemed to really want a nice car." -"*laughs*" In an interview conducted after your Gamescom victory, you remarked that you lost the motivation to play Dota 2. How is that possible after winning one million dollars off a game and later on not feel like playing anymore? -"Well, my sudden lack of motivation was unpredictable and, to me, incomprehensible. I don't know how others would have acted in my place, but before that, I would have been given it my all for $400 anyway. *smiles* I realize now that the essence of DotA lies not in the cash money but in the heat of the moment (the moment being the game, and the heat being the experience of playing your heart out with four other guys). Don't worry - I am as motivated and full of energy now as I was at Gamescom and I am ready to take anyone and everyone down." Did you still follow the progress of Na`Vi after you left? Did you see their performance at their last championship and what did you think about them then? -"To be honest, I did not follow them much before but I did watch them at the offline finals of the World DotA Championships (WDC). Though I wasn't looking out for them, I did enjoy the games they played. It would indeed be interesting to play with DK; it certainly would have been a great fight. *smiles*" What happens now and in the future... Na`Vi with the million dollar check What went wrong at the Intel Challenge Super Cup? Why did your team perform so badly? -"Actually, I disagree. Considering that we first met Na`Vi and beat M5 and Monkey (even though it was the group stages), whereby the latter two later went on to place top 1 and top 2, I don't think we did too badly." Tell us about your departure from the DTS roster. Aren't you ashamed that you disappeared once again after failing at a single tournament? -"I believe I spoke about this earlier, so I don't have anything more to add." What have you been doing after that? Did you watch the Dota 2 Star Championships - what did you think about the results? -"Well, I've been floating around.. As for the tournament, I was looking out for PGG's team. I liked the way Goblak and Blowa played and so I was pleased to find out that they won." What is your relationship with XPEH (DTS manager)? Will you play for DTS in the future? -"Our relationship is not very good at the moment. As for DTS - I don't really know." Tell our readers what you can about the team you will be playing for, and the competitions you plan to participate in. -"I can't reveal anything at the moment, though I do hope that it will be legendary and I will do my best to make sure our plans come to fruition." In a recent interview, you mentioned that your return to Na`Vi was impossible. Has anything changed in that respect, given that time heals all wounds? Have you made up with ZeroGravity? -"If we are to be completely honest, we actually got along and did not argue - our problem was that we did not understand each other. But as for returning to Na`Vi - absolutely not!" Will you be bootcamping soon? And if you do, will you be going to another country, or will the mountain move to Mohammad? -"Yeah, I will have to go to another country for bootcamp, though I don't know which country that will be. *shows tongue*" Will we see new push strategies by ArtStyle? -"Like I said, they are not push strategies and they are not 'ArtStyle's', but our enemies' towers will definitely be hit hard!" Are you stronger emotionally now than you were last year? After The International, you said that you had a couple of 'mini heart attacks' during the games. -"Hmm, that's an interesting question. I think everything will be okay at the next Gamescom, but we can only see then..." In the past, you used to make many decisions along with Dendi and Puppey, and your advice have gone a long way. Will someone take the charge this time or will you once again carry the burden of being a captain yourself? -"Yes, I will pitch in and help out my high-skilled teammates. *smiles*" One reason for your departure from Na`Vi was your reluctance to sign a contract. What about the new team? Most organizations have contracts as a prerequisite. -"Contracts create strife... Yes, we will have contracts but the ones I will sign are much better than what I proposed originally." Will we see you coach a team in the future? -"No, right now I have a strong desire to play competitively." In an earlier interview, you said: 'DTS is all for me!' Is this still the case with your new team? -"I hope that my experience with my new team will be better than what I had at DTS. I hope we will not just be teammates, but also good friends. At the very least, I'll make sure that we get off on the right foot." ArtStyle on the Dota 2 scene... Ivan "ArtStyle" Antonov You were almost sure with your prediction of the fate of team M5 with PGG in a previous interview, saying: 'I immediately thought of how hard it will be for them, but I don't know why. They are all strong players individually, but something in me just felt that it was going to be a failure.' Could you now predict the fate of the current DTS (ex-TR)? -"I will not give an accurate prediction for this one. If at any point in that interview, I felt that the M5 players were going to work with PGG for nothing less than 100%, then I guess maybe they would have succeeded." What is your opinion about the presence of six players in DTS? -"Six players is definitely a problem, but I hope that Blowa and Goblak will be part of the main roster. I really liked how they played at the Dota 2 Star Championships." What are your impressions of the top two Dota 2 teams in Ukraine at the moment - Na`Vi and eSahara? -"Let's not talk about Na`Vi; you'll know what I think about them when we meet in the finals of a tournament. *smiles* As for eSahara, they are great guys and I actually know some of the players for eight years now. I wish them all the best <3." What do you think is missing from the current lineup of M5 (ex-Garaj) with Klif and KyKy which is preventing them from winning tournaments? -"Someone or something is not up to par, that's all. It's probably the same couple of gankers who finished the game 0-10 on Dazzle and Alchemist." You previously singled out the team OSI as one of the potential top teams of the CIS. What do you know about those guys? -"Same as what I know about the team iG from China - nothing." Briefly describe the top Dota 2 teams at the moment, such as SK, Fnatic, mTw, Mousesports, etc. What European teams stand out to you and why? -"SK, the second best Dota 2 team to come out of Denmark. The first has alwayas been MYM, but they lost track of their Danish heritage. Fnatic, if I'm not mistaken, are the Serbs who, at Asus, lost seven games out of eight. I have no comments. mTw - oh sure, I guess that they are the elite of competitive Dota 2 now that they won DreamHack. *reveals shocked expression sarcastically* Mousesports are like a bunch of HoN players. I only know of one who happens to be a HoN player and that is Blowa. I should also give a special shoutout to EG. They are very good players individually, and even though they have failed in DotA many times before, I still feel they have the potential to demolish any team out there." Members of our forum are interested in what you think about organisations such as LLL, infused, SGC, and others who have recently signed up not-too-well-know rosters as their Dota 2 teams. -"Oh, they're great guys, and they all have a great future ahead in Dota 2. I even know all of them personally! *remarks sarcastically*" Not too long ago, Australian team Natural 9 defeated another strong team, Na`Vi, in under 20 minutes. Have you heard about them, or maybe even played with them? -"I actually heard about them a couple of years ago in DotA, when they managed to beat the top of Europe on bad ping connecting from Australia. I can still remember the nickname 'xMusica'. After a while, they fell out of the scene, and I guess were just sitting at the background. They're good players and their results show from the team play they exhibit." What do you think about Asian (particularly Chinese) teams in Dota 2? -"While China is still China, I feel the level of Dota 2 in Europe has grown a lot. I do not think that the history of Dota 2 will be another era of domination for the Chinese. It is possible that they win individual championships and fight on equal terms with everyone, but we definitely will not see total domination." A word about the Russians... ArtStyle with Na`Vi's earliest incarnation Are you still in contact with any professional DotA players? -"Of course - I would now like to give a shoutout to Eclipse. He is one of the few professional players who still talk to me. Everyone else just hates me because of what happened in the past." Can you describe Puppey and PGG as captains? -"They all have clear styles of play, but they still have their bad qualities." What do you think about Na`Vi's fifth player, Smile? Was God or someone else a better replacement? -"You know, I have many friends coming up to me and ask: 'Why Sergei? Why Smile?' And I reply to all of them that there cannot be a better replacement than Smile! This man is not only suited as a player for the role that Na`Vi lacks, but furthermore, he's a good friend that you can trust." Recently, there's a rumor on the forums that BabyKnight was returning to Dota 2. Is this true, and if so, do you think he can return to his former level of play? -"I have actually not heard anything about this at all, but if it is true, I believe this guy will be able to get back on form soon enough. Personally, I feel Dota 2 is his calling. He'll be able to find a professional team in no time and become the best player out there." Talk about Plet. You said he was almost like a second ArtStyle. Where is he now and will we see you on the same team as him? -"Hmm. No, unfortunately, my team will not include Plet. At a tournament in Kiev, he was unable to perform to expectations because he was not getting enough support. In general, he is aggressive; he is constantly running around the map, killing people all the time and very skilled in micro. Unfortunately, he's alone now and I do hope he finds a team." Just a few months ago, you made a serious claim that just_Error was the most promising player in Russia. What do you think about this and why is he not playing with DTS? -"It's because DTS is not ready to be the best team in Russia. *smiles* Seriously speaking, he is a good solo player who can really think on his feet. Somehow, he's nowhere to be seen now." As you went inactive, did you feel sorry for the DotA community? -"It was truly a pity to leave DotA then, while I may be indifferent to some people, the community really started to mean something to me. Yes, I did not like it, but I had no other choice..." Couldn't you bend over for the sake of the community and all yours fans? -"I could, but not at that moment - I just had to leave!" Do most of the bad mannered players in Dota 2 Europe come from Russia? Do you think they need a separate server from the Russian players? -"Nope, DotA scumbags are everywhere and they come in huge numbers. As for a separate server, I suggest moving them to HoN." Thank you for this extensive and interesting interview. The last word is yours. -"I just want to say hello to my friends and fans. Continue cheering for me, and do not leave me. Thank you for your support!"

(CNN) When John Haygood, a 10-year-old boy with autism, was arrested last week at a school in Florida, he kept repeating that he didn't know what was happening, as seen in shaky cellphone video taken by his mother . "I don't know what's going on. I don't understand," he cried out. In the video, his hands are cuffed as two officers escort him to the back seat of a police car. His mother, Luanne Haygood, followed behind them while recording the incident on her phone. In the video, John appears distraught, and yells some profanities. Luanne is heard in the video speaking to the officers, "Excuse me, do you have any paperwork or anything you can say to me?" John, a student at Okeechobee Achievement Academy in Okeechobee, Florida, was arrested at the school lastweekfor felony battery against a paraprofessional in anOctober incident, allegedly punching and kicking his paraprofessional, which left scratches and marks, according to an incident report from the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office The incident occurred after John was being disruptive in class, throwing paper balls around the classroom and hitting other students, the report said. His paraprofessional asked him to go to time out. When John refused, the paraprofessional attempted to remove him, and that's when John attacked, the report said. The report also noted that John had allegedly made threats to kill the paraprofessional in a previous incident. On November 1, the paraprofessional requested to pursue criminal charges since John "had been given plenty of opportunities to change his behavior and has not," the report said. JUST WATCHED From the archives: What it feels like to be autistic Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH From the archives: What it feels like to be autistic 02:10 In October, John was expelled from the Academy and has been completing his schoolwork from home since then, according to CNN affiliate WPBF . Last Wednesday, he returned to the Academy to take a standardized test, but "was not being compliant and refused to test," the incident report said. After John was given time to test, the arresting officer notified Luanne that John had an active warrant and had to be placed under arrest, the incident report said. The arresting officer asked John if he would be willing to walk to the patrol car, and John replied, "Don't touch me. I don't like to be touched," according to the incident report. He can be heard making similar comments in the video. John was then handcuffed and transported to a juvenile detention center, where he spent the night. scheduled to appear in court again on May 11, WPBF reported. The next day, John appeared in court on charges of assaulting his paraprofessional , was then released, and is nowscheduled to appear in court again on May 11, WPBF reported. Luanne said she was never warned of any warrants for his arrest or imminent problems with law enforcement. "When it happened I was angry, like really? He's been out of school for six months; he could have been arrested at any time," Luanne said. "The school could have let me know, the police officers could have let me know. And then try to act like he's dangerous and you got to get him off this campus and he has an arrest warrant and I had to make sure it was real." Luanne said police "were gentle with him," but expressed dismay that a child with autism could be taken into custody. "They're being treated as criminals rather than children with special needs," she said. On Tuesday, Luanne posted to her Facebook page that she obtained copies of police records for John. The incident report noted that Luanne thought the charges against her son were dropped. Additionally, the school district sent a statement to CNN on Friday indicating that the paraprofessional requested to drop the charges. "I pressed charges in order to get the ball rolling to get his mother to realize he needs additional help. I think it is now understood the additional help is needed," the paraprofessional wrote about John in a copy of the request to drop charges Yet, state prosecutor Ashley Albright said that the charges have not been dropped. Once the paraprofessional filed to press charges, the legal process was set into motion. "In any criminal case, it's the state of Florida versus whoever is being charged," said Albright, who met Wednesday with the paraprofessional who pressed the charges. Albright added that instead of pursuing any criminal charges, this case will be approached "nonjudicially." "In this case, we are not seeking to give him a criminal record or anything of that nature," Albright said about John. "The goal is to get the Department of Juvenile Justice and the state of Florida to provide some additional assistance and counseling for him." The school district sent the following statement to CNN in response to John's arrest: "It has been district procedure to invite students in to take the Florida Standards Assessment. The district would not invite someone to one of our campuses for the sole purpose to arrest. The district routinely assists students by providing services from our board certified behavioral analyst, licensed mental health counselors, school social workers, and psychologists. "As a team, these individuals develop interventions, conduct assessments, and offer support both at school and in the home in order to assist students and families. "The district is unable to provide specific information as to both current and past incidents regarding this or any other student due to educational laws and rules. It is our hope that we can continue to work with all families to help their students improve both behaviorally and academically." Ann Abramowitz, a professor of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, with no firsthand knowledge of the situation, said the sequence of events didn't provide her with enough information to comment on John's incident. However, various students with autism tend to benefit from certain types of carefully planned disciplinary strategies, compared to other types of discipline. Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. Those strategies include maintaining a calm and orderly environment, maintaining a schedule for the student, and preventing any outbursts of distress, anger or aggression, she said. "Keep kids engaged to prevent outbursts, because once outbursts occur, they can be very challenging to manage and can lead to situations where it exceeds the school's capacity to manage the behavior," Abramowitz said, adding that "I can't really think where being put in handcuffs would be helpful to a child, and of course it just seems intuitively obvious that it could be traumatic."

And he was right. In Islam, women are essentially chattel slaves. But the feminists remain mum. They have shown that for them, Islam trumps everything, even their raison d’etre, their supposed concern for women’s rights. “Man who made horrendous “rape-video” of wife told police Islam consented,” Cumbria Crack, August 15, 2017: A 35-year-old man has been jailed for ten years for a sexual assault after his victim, who is also his wife, refused to give evidence against him. In what is believed to be one of the first cases of its kind Northumbria Police proceeded with a prosecution after mobile phone footage of the assault was found on the man’s phone…. The man was initially arrested after his wife reported to police that she had been raped at their home address and handed police her mobile phone. The two minute video was described as disturbing and showed the victim, who had been largely naked and in a drug/alcohol induced state, being abused. The video showed the distressed victim crying and begging the man to stop. Although initially co-operative with the police, within a couple of months the victim refused to go to court, saying she wanted her husband released from custody and giving a retraction statement. The man said he needed to prove she drank alcohol and slept around and had made the video for divorce proceedings. The court heard that despite accusations of the woman having an affair he had no evidence to prove this and police secured a statement from an Imam to negate this saying he would not have required this evidence for a divorce. On a number of occasions the man gave differing accounts in court saying the couple often videoed each other and Islam consented to everything that was on the video…. Inspector Paul Young of the Rape Investigation Team, said: “Throughout this case this man showed little regard for women and thought he could do what he wanted to his wife. “This sentence sends out a message to people who think they are outside the law with behaviour which cannot be excused by any community or religion and we will, where we can, take forward a prosecution without a victim to protect that person and the wider community in which these people live.”

Book Review Book Review Poem Strip A- Book Review Poem Strip A- A- Poem Strip Author Dino Buzzati Publisher NYRB Classics Based on the Greek mythological story of Orpheus and Eurudice, Dino Buzzati’s pioneering graphic novel Poem Strip was originally published in Italy in 1969 (as Poema A Fumetti), and it’s surprising that it’s taken four decades to see print in the U.S.—Marina Harss’ English translation is its first. Comics have been described as movies on paper, and this one reads like a rock ’n’ roll-sexploitation-fantasy-occult midnight cult favorite. Poem Strip is mostly an excuse for Buzzati to reimagine Milan as a phantasmagoria as alluring as any of the artists he liberally borrows from: His plot centers on a guitar-carrying young male singer who pines for the love of his life, the spectral Eura, and literally goes to hell and back to find her. (Buzzati’s prefatory note cites a number of painters, filmmakers, and photographers—including Salvador Dali, Irving Klaw, F.W. Murnau, Hans Bellmer, and Federico Fellini—for “their valuable input” to specific pages.) Buzzati’s linework is wonderfully loose, but always concise. One agent of the underworld looks to be modeled on James Dean, then the young Ronald Reagan, though his green coloring keeps him identifiable; even Buzzati’s super-long-shot stick figures have a wiggly, wriggling life. Advertisement This being Italy in the swinging late ’60s, there’s a lot of sexuality on display: Buzzati clearly reveled in drawing nude women, setting one passage in a brothel (whose host, humorously, is an uninhabited, anthropomorphic overcoat) and crafting several of his more disturbing images around sexual torture, as with his simultaneously gauzy and hellish rendering, largely in dots, of a nude woman in the shape of a rubber duck. (Eura seems to have left her clothes behind in the afterworld as well.) Buzzati intersperses these with several outright classical images, such as the classical Greek profile, times seven, of our hero asking to see Eura, as well as more modernist touches like the buildings of Milan’s Via Saterna collapsing into each other after he knocks on the door Eura has entered. The writing itself can be windy—surrealism doesn’t always translate well. But Buzzati’s eye-stopping linework makes up for that.

Former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi greets his lawyers and people from behind bars at a court wearing the red uniform of a prisoner sentenced to death, during his court appearance with Muslim Brotherhood members on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, June 21, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced ousted president Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood to 25 years in prison in a final ruling over a case accusing him of spying for Qatar, judicial sources said. Mursi, democratically elected after Egypt’s 2011 revolution, was overthrown in mid-2013 by then-general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the president, following mass protests against his rule. He was immediately arrested. Egypt’s Court of Cassation reduced Mursi’s sentence in the Qatar case to 25 years in its final ruling, from an original 40 years. Mursi is already serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted for the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012. Since toppling Mursi, Sisi has clamped down on dissent. Mass trials have been held for thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, and hundreds have received death sentences or lengthy prison terms. In 2014, Egypt charged Mursi and nine others with endangering national security by leaking state secrets and sensitive documents to Qatar. Egypt’s relations with Doha were already troubled by Qatar’s backing of Mursi. Egypt is one of four Arab nations in a Saudi-led bloc that cut relations with the Gulf state on June 5, accusing it of backing militant groups and cooperating with their arch-foe Iran, allegations Doha denies.

Cultural appropriation is, at least in part, an accusation about authenticity. When Katy Perry aspires to hip hop dance moves, she's picking up something which isn't hers and (perhaps more importantly) getting paid a lot for it. She looks awkward, out of place, ridiculous. She looks fake. One person who’d no doubt be eager to weigh in on Katy Perry's fakeness, or on anyone's fakeness, is Baby Boomer critic Robert Christgau. Christgau is something of a legend. He's been called the Dean of American Rock Critics, and he was the chief rock critic at the Village Voice for decades, when that was a big deal. He's known as a contrarian—but that only makes him more representative of rock critics generally. He's not unique, but his work is convenient shorthand for a certain critical consensus. That consensus centers in particular around race. Like many white rock critics of his age, Christgau is obsessed with black authenticity. He has policed the borders of real black expression, praising those who are truly black, and casting scorn upon the mere poseurs. Early in Christgau's career, those inauthentic poseurs included Jimi Hendrix. These days Hendrix is seen as the quintessence of realness; he's a rock touchstone, the foundational artist who confirms rocks essential blackness. Back in 1967, though, when Hendrix performed at Monterey, white critics like Christgau were turned off by Hendrix's flamboyant performance style and, especially, by his appeal to a white audience. Christgau infamously called Hendrix "a psychedelic Uncle Tom," though editors changed it to "just another Uncle Tom" under the misapprehension that that was somehow less offensive. Christgau also approvingly quoted another critic who said that Hendrix had a "beautiful Spade routine." Jack Hamilton, in his recent book Just Around Midnight, argues that Christgau has been unjustly pilloried for his comments, which Hamilton argues were more a dig at the audience than at Hendrix. Rereading Christgau's original dispatch, though, Hamilton is too generous. Christgau uses "spade" throughout the article to refer to other black performers. His description of Hendrix's music is both voyeuristic and contemptuous. He says Hendrix's performance was "terrible" and accuses him of catering to sexual stereotypes when he straddles his guitar and lights it on fire. The crowd loves it, as crowds loved the sexual gyrations of Elvis and Ma Rainey. But Christgau is more sophisticated; Hendrix isn't really black. "[Hendrix] had tailored a caricature to their mythic standards and apparently didn't even overdo it a shade," Christgau sneers. The use of the racially-tinged "shade" has to be intentional. Christgau's racist assessment of Hendrix was an early low, but it wasn't uncharacteristic. A decade later, in 1978, he accused Nina Simone of not being authentic enough. "[H]er penchant for the mundane renders her intensity as bogus as her mannered melismas and pronunciation (move over, Inspector Clouseau) and the rote flatting of her vocal improvisations." He then chastises her for skipping the lyric "bitch" in "Rich Girl." Black women who don't say "bitch" aren't real. White men know. Christgau doesn't just sit in judgment on black artists; he’s also eager to kick white artists for not being black enough. In a 1976 review of an ABBA album he says, "their disinclination to sing like Negroes reassures the Europopuli." That "Negroes" is meant as an insider sneer; Christgau is parodying the European distaste for black people, supposedly. The actual effect, though, is to cosign the idea that black people sing, and should sing, a certain way. Moreover, ABBA is as influenced by disco as Eric Clapton is by blues. Why is one unconscionably white while the other gets praised as "honest"? Who is Christgau to rule on what's really black, anyway? The answer is as inevitable as it is depressing. Christgau gets to rule on what is black because he's white. White critics have always abrogated to themselves the right to decide which black people are really black and which aren't black because they have a white audience or don't have a white audience, because they're too sexual or not sexual enough, because of no reason or any reason. Just last week Carrie Battan at the New Yorker declared that Nicki Minaj is plagued by "a lack of substance" and that her focus on chart success is "grasping for a kind of relevance that she is struggling to tap into organically." Surely all pop stars are driven by chart success—that's what being a pop star is. But Battan claims to see to a deeper lack. Like Jimi Hendrix and Nina Simone, Nicki Minaj is a fraud. White people say so. You could say that arguing about cultural appropriation is counter-productive. White critics use the idea of authentic blackness against black people all the time. Black performers who don't conform to white stereotypes about what black people should be are denigrated and called Uncle Toms and sell-outs. Maybe it's best to get rid of the idea of authenticity altogether, as poptimists argue. But cultural appropriation perfectly captures what Robert Christgau has done throughout his career. Say what you will of Katy Perry, dancing away; at least she’s working with and paying some black artists. Christgau's lifelong dabbling with blackface is substantially more presumptuous. What does it mean when Christgau says ABBA, Jimi Hendrix and Nina Simone aren’t black enough? What it means is "I, Robert Christgau, am the single, solitary, authentic black person on earth." Blackness is treated as a mystical truth, detachable from black people who, Christgau suggests, often don't really appreciate it anyway. Over the decades it's been an article of faith with white rock critics that the truest black people are white rock critics. That's how cultural appropriation works.

Amongst one of the many books that has come highly recommended to me, especially from my fellow graduate students, was Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. Published in 1974, Haldeman's book is an interesting one, tying together a stiff criticism for the Vietnam War, in which he was a participant and recipient of the Army's Purple Heart, a look at the future of humanity and a romp through futuristic military battlefields. The book is scattered, to say the least, through these three larger themes, and while the book as a whole is a pretty strong one, reading it brought up some larger issues that I have with the whole of the military science fiction subgenre. Branching off from the 1980s, humanity has taken to the stars fairly early in its history, travelling the galaxy via collapstars, which fires off a ship around the galaxy. During the course of humanity's exploration, they come into contact with a race of aliens known as the Taurans, and inevitably, war breaks out. The story's protagonist, William Mandella, is conscripted into the military, where he's trained and sent off to the distant front lines to fight, eventually becoming part of the first engagement against the Taurans. With that battle completed, he is shipped home, along with his lover, Marygay Potter, to an Earth that they hardly recognize. After a short period of time, they leave again, rejoin the military and rejoin the fight. Over the next several hundred years (only a couple for them, subjectively), they are retrained, and eventually separated, before one last battle brings Mandella back home, where he is eventually reunited with Marygay. The book is ultimately lackluster as a military science fiction novel: the action scenes are nothing new, and anyone reading Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers or John Scalzi's Old Man's War will recognize the basics when it comes to this sort of novel - there are powered suits, the requisite training portion and rise of the protagonist, not to mention the action. Taken at face value, it's a bit of a miss for me. The biggest saving grace is Haldeman's conceptualization of space warfare, where tactics take days, weeks, even months to carry out, over hundreds of millions of kilometers. This gives the book a bit of a realistic edge that does make it stand apart from other military Science Fiction novels, something that I greatly appreciated. However, where the book succeeds the most is in Haldeman's look to the future. As Mandela lives out his life through the military actions that he takes, long stretches of his life are relatively slowed down while travelling through space, allowing for jumps in time as he comes back into contact with Earth and sees just how society has changed over time. Upon his first return, humanity has united on Earth, under a largely repressive, Children of Men style world where human civilization has faced enormous hardship under the interstellar war. Leaving the world as it has changed too much for his liking, William and Marygay return to space, to find several major changes as they continue to jump around space. Eventually, the world as they know it has changed completely - humanity has gone from a recognizable society to one where homosexuality is the norm (as a form of population control) to a world where humanity has essentially merged into one asexual entity, with each generation cloned from the last. Elements of this remind me heavily of another book that I've been recently reading, Olaf Stapledon's The First and Last Men, published in the 1930s, and dealing with much the same thing: looking at how humanity as a species and culture will change in the future. Mandela's vantage point in the military is an interesting story element that allows Haldeman to not only tell an interesting story, but present a compelling future for humanity. Another book that I read last year, George Friedman's The Next 100 Years, noted that society and cultural norms can change vastly over even the period of just one hundred years, and to an extent, that lends Haldeman's and Stapleton's ideas some reality: what will happen to humanity over the next thousand years, with technological and societal advances altering what is normal? It is here that The Forever War is especially interesting. Another major element of The Forever War is Haldeman's pointed look at the Vietnam War, no doubt inspired by his own experiences with the US Army. The book is considered a reaction to Starship Troopers, in that it takes a largely anti-military stance throughout most of the book. Mandella is a reluctant soldier, at best, often delegating his responsibilities away to subordinates and avoiding killing when he can help it. But throughout the book, there are examples of Vietnam, as humanity faces an enemy that is largely unknown, never knowing exactly what they are fighting for. More so, it is alluded to in the book that the war was fought simply because it was desired, something that was the main focus of a documentary, Why We Fight, that looked to that central theme in regards to American foreign policy. However, the core focus of this book isn't the Vietnam War itself, but the soldiers who fight there. Soldiers returning from Vietnam found themselves back home in a strange place, not as heroes of the war, but as murderers and criminals, something horribly unjust, considering that many were conscripted. This is a prime example of how science fiction should function: acting as allegory for current events, pulled out of context. Mandella returns home after hundreds and hundreds of years away from Earth; vast changes occurred while he was away. The Vietnam comparison, however, is something that bothers me, and helps to underscore a larger issue that I have with military science fiction as a whole, something that I brought up with my review for Old Man's War: while there is a lot of discussion about the nature of war, there's very little discussion towards the institution of warfare. Tactics are almost always something out of the Second World War, with plenty of hand to hand combat scenes and all that, but there is very little on the overall impact of warfare. Sometimes, it's on the soldiers, other times, on society, but there's very little to bridge the gap. The Forever War does this in part. Part of my issue comes from my training as a historian, and particularly, in military history. Amongst all of the theorists out there, a number of historians have come up with a number of theories on how warfare works - Clausewitz, Jomini, among others, who have both conflicting and interesting views on the nature of war. I particularly like Clausewitz's analogy that warfare is simply a duel on a larger scale, and that war is an extension of foreign policy. It makes little sense to me that humanity would simply go to war against an alien race, something fairly common in science fiction. Humanity seems to drop everything and take to the stars with lasers and rockets, but the goals of warfare are never clearly stated? Is it, as Clausewitz suggests, an effort to completely bend an enemy to one's will, something incredibly difficult when attacking someone profoundly alien and unknown to humanity, or is it something deeper, such as perceived competition for living space, ensuring that humanity will have space to grow? To date, I've never found a good military science fiction book that's really covered that territory, and at times, the genre makes me want to throw things, simply because warfare doesn't work like that. Similarly, while powered robotic suits are very cool, the other problem that I have is tactical. Robotic powered armor laden down with guns simply doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, especially when the authors talk much about dropping soldiers onto the planet from orbit in a glorified Omaha Beach scenario, where these soldiers are not only placed into hostile territory, but usually without support: it reminds me very much of airborne doctrine during the Second World War, where highly mobile forces were used to secure areas and wait for heavier things, such as artillery and armor to arrive. It's a good concept, to be sure, but it's deeply flawed in that these soldiers are usually out matched by the occupying force. Science Fiction takes many similar themes, but fails to follow up these sort of tactical options in any way that makes sense. Thus far, the best thing that I've seen was here, The Physics of Space Battles, which talks much about orbits and how that aspect would work, on a tactical level. Haldeman gets some points for interesting scenes and more science to the battles than most, but still misses part of the mark. Part of that reason might be that The Forever War isn't really a military science fiction book, despite some of the content. In that instance, the book works wonderfully, hitting all of the marks of a fantastic science fiction novel. Still, I enjoy a good romp with powered armor and shooting, so it works fairly well when it comes to that, but not as much as I'd like.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption This photo shows Turing (right) and colleagues working on the Ferranti Mark I Computer in 1951 The earliest known recording of music produced by a computer - a machine operated by Alan Turing, no less - has finally been made to sound exactly as it did 65 years ago. It's hardly chart-topping material. The performance is halting and the tone reedy. It starts with a few bars of the national anthem, then a burst of Baa Baa Black Sheep, followed by a truncated rendition of Glenn Miller's swing hit In The Mood. ("The machine's obviously not in the mood," an engineer can be heard remarking when it stops mid-way.) But the rudimentary audio track is a landmark - the first time that music played on a computer is known to have been recorded. It was captured by the BBC in the Autumn of 1951 during a visit to the University of Manchester, where the Ferranti Mark 1 - the world's first commercially available general purpose computer - was based. Image copyright British Library Image caption Jack Copeland (l) and Jason Long (r) have restored the recording to how it would have sounded in 1951 The recording was captured on a 12-inch (30.5cm) acetate disc. But when Professor Jack Copeland of University of Canterbury in Christchurch and composer Jason Long examined the disc, they found the audio had been distorted. It "gave at best only a rough impression of how the computer sounded", Copeland and Long wrote in a blog for the British Library. But now they say they have restored it to how it actually would have sounded in 1951. The Ferranti Mark 1 may not have been the first computer to have played music - that distinction, it's been widely claimed, went to an Australian machine called CSIRAC that played The Colonel Bogey March some months before. But no recording has ever surfaced. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The world's first computer music The music program was written by a maths master at Harrow called Christopher Strachey, a friend of computing pioneer Alan Turing, who had written the Ferranti Mark 1's instruction manual in his role as deputy director of Manchester University's Computing Machine Laboratory. The Ferranti had the capacity to produce an instruction called a "hoot", which produced short burst of sound lasting a fraction of a second. Turing realised this could be used to produce musical notes. He intended that this would be used to issue alerts when a job was finished and so on, but Strachey saw the potential to perform proper melodies. Image copyright Bodleian Library and Camphill Village Trust Image caption Christopher Strachey said working at the huge computer felt like being at the controls of a battleship As well as being fascinated by computer programming - he would go on to become one of the UK's foremost computer scientists - Strachey was a skilled pianist. Turing trusted Strachey enough to leave him alone with the computer for a night. "I sat in front of this enormous machine," Strachey later recalled, "with four or five rows of 20 switches and things, in a room that felt like the control room of a battleship." There's some dispute about what he did next. Chris Burton of the Computer Conservation Society (CCS) says Strachey wrote a program for playing draughts on the machine, and when the program terminated it played God Save the King. Others say Strachey's program was purely for playing music. Find out more Prof Jack Copeland spoke to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday 1 October shortly after 08:50 BST Listen here or get the Today podcast The result was crude at best. The machine could only approximate the pitch of many notes. "It was fairly imprecise," says Burton. But word spread that a computer was capable of performing music and a BBC outside-broadcast team arrived later in the year to record a segment for Children's Hour. Image copyright Chris Burton Image caption The original acetate disc was saved by an engineer at Manchester University It's not clear who programmed the three pieces of music they recorded. A number of technicians had begun programming melodies into the machine and even Strachey's version of God Save The King may have been amended. After the recording, a university engineer called Frank Cooper asked the BBC team for a copy. They cut him a version of the original, and this was eventually passed to the CCS and the unrestored version was made public in 2008. By analysing the recording, Copeland and Long realised it was playing at the wrong speed, possibly as a result of the recorder's turntable running too quickly as the acetate was cut. As they knew the notes the computer was actually capable of playing, the pair were able to calculate exactly by how much the recording needed to be speeded up in order to exactly match the sound made by the Ferranti Mark 1. They also removed extraneous noise from the recording - though not the engineer's voice. "It was a beautiful moment when we first heard the true sound of Turing's computer," Copeland and Long wrote. Now anyone can hear it in all its somewhat ramshackle glory. Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter

Spaghetti Squash Hash Browns I’ve concluded that this is the year of squash. At least in my kitchen. There has certainly not been a year in which I consumed more squash than I have in 2014. This is apparent from the (almost) weekly posts during the summer featuring zucchini and now my new obsession with all the winter squashes. I first tried making these hash browns in a waffle iron. I had this grand idea in my head of waffle iron spaghetti squash hash browns. But, the universe did not agree with this idea and I’m still trying to pick bits of spaghetti squash off of my waffle iron. You win some, you lose some. The idea for spaghetti squash hash browns arose from the constant need to do something with leftover spaghetti squash. I always buy them, eat half, and then let the other half sit in the fridge for too long. Does this happen to anyone else? Enter breakfast spaghetti squash hash browns! MY LATEST VIDEOS MY LATEST VIDEOS I wanted to keep these super simple and (most importantly) EASY. I love the idea of being able to throw this together quickly in the morning to eat before work. I baked a spaghetti squash one night recently, prepared half of it for dinner and then placed the other half in the fridge. That “other half” is what we’re going to make this dish with. The spaghetti squash is removed from the skin and placed in a large bowl. Taking handfuls of the squash in your hands, SQUEEZE the heck out of it to remove excess water. This is important so don’t skip this step!! Once squeezed, place the squash back in the bowl. Add some garlic powder and chopped chives for flavor. And then one egg to hold it all together. Add a touch of S&P, mix thoroughly, and it’s ready to cook! Simply cook the squash over medium heat in a lightly greased skillet. I used ~teaspoon of coconut oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, continuing to stir, until the “hash browns” have a nice golden brown color to them. The squash is already cooked so it’s not really possible to under cook this dish. If you don’t cook it long enough, however, they simply won’t have any crunch to them at all (and you want a little bit of crunch!). Once plated, immediately top with some cheddar cheese (or not if you have more self control than me) and enjoy immediately. I thought these were perfect paired with a fried egg. See How to Make the Hash Browns here:

Does the Constitution still matter? When it was written, Ben Franklin said the Founders gave us a republic, �if you can keep it.� Few people thought the republic would last another 227 years, but it has. The Constitution�s limits on government power helped create the most free and prosperous country on Earth. But now some Americans, right and left, give up on the Constitution whenever it gets in the way of policies they like. Some on the right defend anti-obscenity laws or want more mingling of church and state, while those on the left want endless economic regulation. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., asked President Barack Obama�s Supreme Court pick, Elena Kagan, �If I wanted to sponsor a bill and it said, �Americans, you have to eat three vegetables and three fruits every day,� does that violate the Commerce Clause?� Amazingly, Kagan wouldn�t say, �Yes, of course!� She dodged the question. Once on the court, Kagan was part of the 5-4 majority who concluded the government can force us to buy something much more expensive than fruit and veggies: Obamacare can force us to buy health insurance. Progressives have no problems with that. On my TV show, Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress.com said government making you buy vegetables isn�t so strange: �I don�t know how to tell you this, but government already makes you buy things like broccoli. What do you think food stamps are? What do you think school lunches are? The government has the power to tax you and buy things with it.� Even creepier than wanting government to have so much power is the way progressives shift their arguments to get policy outcomes they want. In 2009, Obama said while Obamacare imposes a penalty on anyone who doesn�t buy health insurance, �Nobody considers that a tax.� The next year, when it appeared the Supreme Court would allow a tax but not a penalty, The New York Times reported, �Administration, Changing Stance, Now Defends Insurance Mandate as a Tax.� How effective is the Constitution if the Supreme Court itself is willing to help the president and Congress weasel their way around the constraints on federal power that the document was intended to impose? Millhiser said Congress has broad power to regulate commerce, to control things like hiring and firing, but can�t pass laws against rape and murder. I�m glad Millhiser recognizes some limits, although he seems to suggest that the feds can do whatever they want except pass laws that might actually protect people. Tim Sandefur of the Pacific Legal Foundation came on my show to rebut Millhiser, saying the Founders didn�t expect government to control everything that goes on in the economic realm any more than they expected it to control speech. �The Constitution is a promise about how government power is going to be used. It�s a promise written by people who had experienced life under tyrannical government,� says Sandefur. �The lesson they learned from that and from their knowledge of previous tyrannies was that the most important issue is to wall off government power from our private lives and to make sure that nobody � not elected officials, not a king, not a dictator � gets to dictate how we live our lives.� The Constitution doesn�t get the respect it deserves, but it still can slow the growth of government. In 1895, Congress passed an income tax, but the Supremes said �no,� the Constitution does not give you that power � and the income tax was struck down. America at least avoided a national income tax for the next 18 years, until Congress and state legislatures approved an actual constitutional amendment. The Constitution also has limited the power of politicians to ban handguns and political campaign contributions. Each time the Supremes say �no,� that might make the next crop of politicians a bit humbler. The Constitution reversed President Harry Truman�s nationalization of the steel industry. Maybe that deterred Presidents George W. Bush and Obama from nationalizing America�s banks after the collapse of the housing bubble. Maybe. We benefit from the Constitution�s existence nearly every time it stymies politicians� ambition to control us.

Gardaí falsely inflated their figures for roadside breath tests - including by accidentally adding "zeros" to the results being inputted to the force's computer system. Gardaí falsely inflated their figures for roadside breath tests - including by accidentally adding "zeros" to the results being inputted to the force's computer system. This was one of the factors uncovered by an internal Garda investigation into the figures being exaggerated by around 1.5 million tests over seven years. There will be no criminal inquiries arising out of the findings of the investigations. But it is expected that a number of gardaí around the country will face disciplinary probes, which could result in fines or other sanctions. The investigation led by Assistant Commissioner Michael O'Sullivan has resulted in a report to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. A separate report has been compiled by Mr O'Sullivan on his examination of the wrongful prosecution of 14,700 people for road traffic offences. His investigation into the breath tests is understood to have found the figures were grossly exaggerated. It came about by a combination of carelessness when putting the statistics into the Garda Pulse computer, IT glitches in the system, and inflated numbers being filed as a result of administrative errors or incomplete records not properly stored. The report also established a lack of consistency in the proper application of procedures for breath test recording across divisions and districts. The Wexford division was found to have recorded the least number of wrong figures, while Dublin West was the worst. Senior Garda officers are to review the results of the two investigations this week after the return to work of Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan. Mr Flanagan is also expected to brief Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Copies of the report have also been sent to the Policing Authority, which has commissioned financial auditors Crowe Horwath to carry out a review of the findings. Mr Flanagan has promised that the Garda report will be published - but it is not yet clear if this will be before or after the auditors have completed their review. The report also revealed problems with the inputting of figures at the Garda information services centre in Castlebar, Co Mayo. The report did not include pointing the finger of blame at individual gardaí, but where instances of figures being falsified have been highlighted these will be examined by senior officers and disciplinary inquiries may be initiated. Separate disciplinary inquiries are already underway into the wrongful recording of figures in counties Cork and Galway, but these are all related to alleged cases, which pre-dated the O'Sullivan report, launched last March. Irish Independent

Tim Agaba will play for the Bulls in this year's Currie Cup, while four players have signed two-year extensions with the union. Agaba will join the Bulls in June and return to the sevens side after the domestic tournament. In more good news, former Junior Boks Hanro Liebenberg, Ivan van Zyl, Travis Ismaiel and Dries Swanepoel have all commited their immediate futures to the Bulls. 'The extensions of these squad members show that high quality players still want to continue their career and fulfill their dreams at the Bulls,' high performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg said. 'They are among the best in their positions in the country, and it is a huge vote of confidence on our management and structures that they see their future with us. Their decision to extend their careers with us is also driven by a desire to play for South Africa in future and it is great that they see the Bulls as the vehicle to take them there.' Meanwhile, Janse van Rensburg confirmed that flyhalf Tian Schoeman will be leaving for French club Bordeaux at the end of the season. Photo: Anne Laing/HM Images

More good news for network security: It turns out that the tools attackers use to control compromised computers are themselves full of security holes. A couple of undergrads interning for Matasano Security have reverse-engineered the Remote Access Tools (RATs) that attackers use to gain control of compromised machines. According to Dark Reading, Jesse Hertz and Shawn Denbow found numerous flaws in commonly used RATs, including SQL injection, arbitrary file reading, and weak encryption. “This shows that it is possible, and that it’s not hard, to pick apart attacker tools and come up with proactive defenses against them,” says John Villamil, senior security consultant with Matasano, who served as Denbow and Hertz’s adviser for the project. “If nothing else, it can help forensics companies analyzing traffic from compromises … and help build tools that analyze these Trojans, and provide signatures [to detect them].” Vulnerability research into attacker tools is rare, but not unheard of. “It’s very rare to see this type of research,” Villamil says. RATs, which typically conduct keylogging, screen and camera capture, file management, code execution, and password-sniffing, for example, basically give the attacker a foothold in the infected machine as well as the targeted organization. This is great news for cybersecurity. It opens new opportunities for attribution of computer attacks, along lines I’ve suggested before: “The same human flaws that expose our networks to attack will compromise our attackers’ anonymity.” In this case, the flaws identified by Hertz and Denbow could allow defenders to decrypt stolen documents and even to break into the attacker’s command and control link – while the attacker is still on line. That opens up the possibility of a true counterhack, in which the defender exploits a flawed attack to gain control of the attacker’s machine. It’s only a matter of time before counterhacks become possible. The real question is whether they’ll ever become legal. Both the reporter and the security researcher agree that, “legally, organizations obviously can’t hack back at the attacker.” I think they’re wrong on the law, but first let’s explore the policy question. Should victims be able to poison attackers’ RATs and then use the compromised RAT against their attacker? We’ll start with the obvious. Somebody should be able to do this. And, indeed, it seems nearly certain that somebody in the U.S. government — using some combination of law enforcement, intelligence, counterintelligence, and covert action authorities — can do this. (I note in passing, though, that there may be no one below the President who has all these authorities, so that as a practical matter RAT poisoning may not happen without years of delay and a convulsive turf fight. That’s embarrassing, but beside the point, at least today.) Asking government to do the job has some drawbacks, though. Counterhacking is likely to work best if the attacker is actually on line, when the defenders can stake out the victim’s system, ready to give the attacker bad files, to monitor the command and control machine, and to copy, corrupt, or modify exfiltrated material. Defenders may have swing into action with little warning. Who is going to do this? Put aside the turf fight. Does anyone think that NSA or the FBI or the CIA have enough technically savvy counterhackers to stake out the networks of the Fortune 500, waiting for the bad guys to show up? And even if they do, who wants them there? Privacy campaigners will hate the idea of giving the government that kind of access to private networks, even networks that are under attack. For that matter, businesses holding sensitive data won’t much like the stark choice of either letting foreign governments steal it all or giving the US government wide access to their networks. From a policy point of view, surely everyone would be happier if businesses could hire their own network defenders to do battle with attackers. Hiring defenders would greatly reinforce the thin ranks of government investigators. It would make wide-ranging government access to private networks less necessary. And busting the government monopoly on active defense would probably increase the diversity, imagination, and effectiveness of the counterhacking community. But, you ask, what about vigilantism, that tired bugaboo of the Justice Department’s Old Guard? First, as I’ve suggested elsewhere, allowing private counterhacking doesn’t mean reverting to a Hobbesian war of all against all. Government can set rules and discipline violators, just as it does with other privatized forms of law enforcement, from the securities industry’s FINRA to private investigators. Second, the “vigilatism” claim depends heavily on sleight of hand. People who hate this idea invariably call it “hacking back,” with the heavy implication that the defenders will blindly fire malware at whoever touches their network, laying indiscriminate waste to large swaths of the Internet. For the record, I’m against that kind of hacking back too. But RAT poison makes possible a kind of counterhacking that is far more tailored and prudent. Indeed, with such a tool, trashing the attacker’s system is dumb; it is far more valuable as an intelligence tool than for any other purpose. Of course, even if they aren’t trashing machines, the defenders will be collecting information. And gathering information from someone else’s computer certainly raises moral and legal questions. So let’s look at the computers that RAT poisoning might allow investigators to access. First, and most exciting, this research could allow us to short-circuit some of the cutouts that attackers use to protect themselves. I grant that I’m beyond my technical capabilities in saying this, but it seems highly unlikely to me that an attacker can use a RAT effectively without a real-time connection from his machine to the compromised network. Sure, the attacker can run his commands through onion routers and cutout controllers. But at the end of all the hops, the attacker is still typing here and causing changes there. If the software he’s using can be compromised, then it may be possible to reverse the flow of code inject arbitrary code into his machine and thus compromise both ends of the attacker’s communications. That’s the Holy Grail of attribution, of course. Is there a policy problem with allowing private investigators to compromise the attacker’s machine for the purpose of gathering attribution information? Give me a break. Surely not even today’s ACLU could muster more than a flicker of concern for a thief’s right to keep his victim from recovering stolen data. The harder question comes when the attacker is using a cutout — an intermediate command and control computer that actually belongs to someone else. In theory, gathering information on the intermediate computer intrudes on the privacy of the true owner. But, assuming that he’s not a party to the crime, he has already lost control of his computer and his privacy, since the attacker is already using it freely. What additional harm does the owner suffer if the victim gathers information on his already-compromised machine about the person who attacked them both? Indeed, an intermediate command and control machine is likely to hold evidence about hundreds of other compromised networks. Most of those victims don’t know they’ve been compromised, but their records are easy to recover from the intermediate machine once it has been accessed. Surely the social value of identifying and alerting all those victims outweighs the already attenuated privacy interest of the true owner. In short, there’s a strong policy case for letting victims of cybercrime use tools like this to counterhack their attackers. If the law forbids it, then to paraphrase Mr. Bumble, “the law is a ass, a idiot,” and Congress should change it. But I don’t think the law really does prohibit counterhacking of this kind, for reasons I’ll offer in a later post. PHOTO: iStockPhoto UPDATE: I modified a phrase that turned out to be more colorful than helpful to literal-minded readers.

The parallelization of numerical algorithms is constrained by overheads of communication and load imbalance, which are manifestations of the computation’s dependency structure and the parallel schedule itself. Therefore, accurate design of parallel algorithms requires modeling the communication and synchronization costs along any execution path in the schedule rather than solely considering the computational complexity. I will give a high-level introduction to a few parallel algorithmic techniques for avoiding communication and synchronization in dense numerical linear algebra and sparse iterative methods. Additionally, I will present lower bounds on communication costs, which demonstrate the optimality of the aforementioned parallelization strategies for computations with certain regular dependency structures. The theoretical analysis of these algorithms will be justified with performance results for dense matrix computations on massively parallel architectures. Lastly, I will overview Cyclops Tensor Framework, a library abstraction capable of mapping, decomposition, and redistribution of multidimensional data sets that facilitates communication-efficient algorithms in the context of scientific applications, in particular, high-accuracy electronic structure methods.

To be clear, what you are looking at is not Dave Bermingham's glove right after fellow adult league hockey player Zung Nguyen defecated in it following a fight. What you are looking at is Dave Bermingham's glove a week later, still pregnant with feces. Bermingham took this photo on his phone and shared it with teammates, one of whom shared it with us. "We played the following Friday in the same rink and got the same bench, and lo-and-behold, the glove was still there. The ref had tossed it in the trash barrel during our game, but you can imagine what happened…'Hey, there's a new-looking glove in the trash! That can't be right! Let me just grab this…ugh!' I can imagine that it must have happened multiple times during the week." In the past few days, we've heard from multiple people who have played with and against Nguyen, and every single one stresses what a nice guy he is and how shocked they are that he'd do something like this. In other circumstances, it might have even been funny. (Sure, when 16-year-old Nyjer Morgan creatively poops at hockey camp, he's a prankster, but when a 37-year-old man does it, he's banned for life.) So we're more than willing to chalk this up to a moment of foolishness and feculence.

Media playback is not supported on this device Highlights: Ghana 1-2 USA John Brooks headed a late winner for USA in a dramatic finale to their opening Group G game against Ghana. Clint Dempsey put USA ahead on 29 seconds with the fifth-fastest goal in World Cup history, cutting inside John Boye before sweeping home. Ghana upped the tempo and equalised when Andre Ayew latched on to Asamoah Gyan's backheel to fire in a leveller. Analysis "One of the moments of the World Cup for me was the reaction of John Brooks for the winning goal. That was priceless. That is what the World Cup is all about. "The way Ghana conceded the corner kick that led to the USA winner was poor. In these games, you can't do that. They are in trouble. They still have to play the big dogs in the group." USA looked tired but Brooks nodded in from six yards following a corner to give his side a winning start. Centre-back Brooks reacted with a mixture of disbelief and delight, the Germany-born 21-year-old marking his Fifa World Cup debut and fifth cap in style. The victory also gave USA a measure of revenge for being knocked out of the past two World Cups by Ghana. They had looked to be tiring, and a winner seemed unlikely as Ghana dominated the second half and pulled themselves level. But their tenacity was rewarded to leave the Black Stars precariously placed, with both teams having to face Germany and Portugal. Ghana exited the World Cup four years ago in tears, when Gyan's missed penalty in the last minute of extra-time against Uruguay denied them the chance to become the first African side to reach the semi-finals. Media playback is not supported on this device USA score after 29 seconds If they were still nursing that pain, they did not show it as they sang and danced their way into the dressing room at the Estadio das Dunas. But they fell behind within the first minute. Dempsey collected a Jermaine Jones pass on the left wing, cut inside right-back Boye and shot into the far corner. Ghana struggled to mount a response as the USA consolidated their lead with a work-rate and organisation that kept their rivals at bay. Indeed, Jurgen Klinsmann's side could, and maybe should, have extended their lead. Striker Jozy Altidore controlled a low, right-wing cross but his shot from 10 yards was blocked by Boye. That was Altidore's last major act of the game, a hamstring injury seeing him replaced by Aron Johannsson. Key facts Hertha Berlin's John Brooks was left out of a match against Bayer Leverkusen in April after a newly-inked tattoo caused him to miss training. Clint Dempsey has scored in three successive World Cups, with two of his three goals coming against Ghana. Ghana had 21 shots, a joint-high in the World Cup so far (along with Ivory Coast) but only three were on target. USA scored more than once for only the third time in their past 12 World Cup games. USA centre-back Matt Besler also left the field injured, and his exit, combined with Ghana increasing the pace of their play, resulted in the Black Stars piling the pressure on Tim Howard's goal. Most of the chances fell to Gyan, but he nodded high from 10 yards when unmarked before having another header tipped wide by Howard. Gyan may not have scored, but he set up his side's equaliser as his lovely backheel teed up Ayew to shoot home with the outside of his right foot. It seemed Ghana might have enough time to engineer a winner, but Hertha Berlin defender Brooks had other ideas, and his first international goal following Graham Zusi's corner proved decisive. Klinsmann has a 100% record in opening World Cup games United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann: "I said to the bench a few minutes before our winner, 'We are going to get some chances - we need to push and grind it out.' We trained over and over on set-pieces and it was well deserved. "We have a great spirit and fight until the last minute. It was a grind but it was a wonderful one at the end of the day. "There is stuff we need to improve. We had problems with keeping the ball." Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah: "What I can say is that it was a very tough game. Playing at this high level, any little mistake can cost you dearly. "We didn't deserve the first goal against us and we did create a lot of chances. "Unfortunately we could not take our chances and the US took theirs. "Any loss of concentration can cost the team big time. I believe the first goal unsettled us a little bit but I never expected it to end this way." Dempsey has scored in three successive World Cups Altidore could be out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury Andre Ayew and brother Jordan both play for Marseille

MIT postdoc Emile Bruneau has long been drawn to conflict — not as a participant, but an observer. In 1994, while doing volunteer work in South Africa, he witnessed firsthand the turmoil surrounding the fall of apartheid; during a 2001 trip to visit friends in Sri Lanka, he found himself in the midst of the violent conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan military. Those chance experiences got Bruneau, who taught high school science for several years, interested in the psychology of human conflict. While teaching, he also volunteered as counselor for a conflict-resolution camp in Ireland that brought Catholic and Protestant children together. At MIT, Bruneau is now working with associate professor of cognitive neuroscience Rebecca Saxe to figure out why empathy — the ability to feel compassion for another person’s suffering — often fails between members of opposing conflict groups. “What are the psychological barriers that are put up between us in these contexts of intergroup conflict, and then, critically, what can we do to get past them?” Bruneau asks. Bruneau and Saxe are also trying to locate patterns of brain activity that correlate with empathy, in hopes of eventually using such measures to determine how well people respond to reconciliation programs aimed at boosting empathy between groups in conflict. “We’re interested in how people think about their enemies, and whether there are brain measures that are reliable readouts of that,” says Saxe, who is an associate member of MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research. “This is a huge vision, of which we are at the very beginning.” Before researchers can use tools such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate whether conflict-resolution programs are having any effect, they need to identify brain regions that respond to other people’s emotional suffering. In a study published Dec. 1 in Neuropsychologia, Saxe and Bruneau scanned people’s brains as they read stories in which the protagonist experienced either physical or emotional pain. The brain regions that responded uniquely to emotional suffering overlapped with areas known to be involved in the ability to perceive what another person is thinking or feeling. Failures of empathy Hoping to see a correlation between empathy levels and amount of activity in those brain regions, the researchers then recruited Israelis and Arabs for a study in which subjects read stories about the suffering of members of their own groups or that of conflict-group members. The study participants also read stories about a distant, neutral group — South Americans. As expected, Israelis and Arabs reported feeling much more compassion in response to the suffering of their own group members than that of members of the conflict group. However, the brain scans revealed something surprising: Brain activity in the areas that respond to emotional pain was identical when reading about suffering by one’s own group or the conflict group. Also, those activity levels were lower when Arabs or Israelis read about the suffering of South Americans, even though Arabs and Israelis expressed more compassion for South Americans’ suffering than for that of the conflict group. Those findings, published Jan. 23 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, suggest that those brain regions are sensitive to the importance of the opposing group, not whether or not you like them. Joan Chiao, an assistant professor of psychology at Northwestern University, says those brain regions may be acting as a “thermometer” for conflict. “It’s a really fascinating study because it’s the first to examine the neural basis of people’s behavior in longstanding conflicts, as opposed to groups that are distant and don’t have a long history of intergroup strife,” says Chiao, who was not involved in the research. However, because the study did not reveal any correlation between the expression of empathy and the amount of brain activity, more study is needed before MRI can be used as a reliable measure of empathy levels, Saxe says. “We thought there might be brain regions where the amount of activity was just a simple function of the amount of empathy that you experience,” Saxe says. “Since that’s not what we found, we don’t know what the amount of activity in these brain regions really means yet. This is basically a first baby step, and one of the things it tells us is that we don’t know enough about these brain regions to use them in the ways that we want to.” Bruneau is now testing whether these brain regions send messages to different parts of the brain depending on whether the person is feeling empathy or not. He hypothesizes that when someone reads about the suffering of an in-group member, the brain regions identified in this study send information to areas that process unpleasant emotions, while stories about suffering of a conflict-group member activate an area called the ventral striatum, which has been implicated in schadenfreude — taking pleasure in the suffering of others.

ALHAMBRA (CBSLA.com) — Alhambra High School officials have dismissed the institution’s football coaching staff after it emerged players had been given nutritional supplement Creatine to enhance their performance on the field. Head coach Chuck Leonardis told the Pasadena Star News seven players had been given the organic acid by his staff after the students had asked about it. Athletic director Jerry DeSantis confirmed the school was “in the process of a coaching change”. Leonardis denied doing anything wrong. He said players were given “extremely low dosages” of Creatine, which is naturally synthesized in the human body for muscle use. He also said he asked students to alert their parents. “We were very up front and did not recommend it. We had the kids talk to their parents. It’s a legal over-the-counter supplement and we did not break any school rules,” Leonardis said. Principal Duane Russell announced the decision after a parent who was not notified complained, according to the Star News. The outlet reports Leonardis had been appointed to the position in December after his predecessor, Joe Kanach, was fired mid-season for alleged misconduct. The school’s football season is scheduled to kick off August 30. Officials expect to announce Leonardis’ replacement before that time.

“What I’m hoping, quite frankly, is that Sen. Tester moves rapidly to the middle,” Rep. Ryan Zinke said of the two-term incumbent he is considering taking on. “His votes have not been consistent with Montana.” | AP Photo 2018 showdown looms: House Republicans vs. Democratic senators Reps. Ryan Zinke and Kevin Cramer eye Senate bids in friendly territory represented by Democrats. As Democratic senators weigh when to fight and when to compromise with Donald Trump, Republicans on the other side of the Capitol are watching — with 2018 in mind. Several of the 10 Democrats up for reelection in states that Trump won are likely to face off against members of the House Republican Conference. And on Thursday, one of those potential Senate hopefuls, Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, fired a warning shot at his possible rival, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. Story Continued Below “What I’m hoping, quite frankly, is that Sen. Tester moves rapidly to the middle,” Zinke said of the two-term incumbent he is considering taking on. “His votes have not been consistent with Montana.” Zinke said he’s preparing “to get a lot of pressure” to run against Tester, who chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during a disappointing 2016 election cycle for his party. The two-term congressman has met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) about a possible bid. Tester would be “a formidable opponent, should I run,” Zinke added. “I’m in no hurry to make a decision.” Democrats had hoped to defeat Zinke this year to kill off the Senate prospects of the affable former Navy SEAL. But despite Tester’s personal attention to the campaign of Democrat Denise Juneau, who challenged Zinke for Montana’s at-large House seat, the Republican coasted to an 18-point victory. Tester said Thursday he’d bet a steak dinner that Zinke will run against him. No matter what, the Democrat is girding for a fight. “They’re going to get someone tough,” Tester said Thursday. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who was elected in 2014 in the increasingly red state, said it was “too soon” to say definitively how much trouble Tester might be in. “Every election has a different dynamic,” Daines said. "You saw what happened last cycle. It was assumed we were going to lose the majority." Beyond Montana, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) could face a strong challenger in Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). Like Zinke, Cramer was an early backer of Trump’s presidential bid even as the Republican establishment chafed at the New York developer. Cramer often appears on short lists to lead Trump’s Department of Energy, though one source working on the president-elect’s transition said the two-term Republican is expected to take on Heitkamp rather than join the administration. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), the former House member chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee for 2018, praised Cramer as a “tireless advocate.” “He puts the people of North Dakota before everything else, and that’s what people want in their elected member of the Senate,” Gardner said. “And obviously, in the 2018 election cycle, we just have to plan on winning every race. And of course, he’d be very good at it.” Heitkamp has long made clear that she expects a bruising reelection battle and plans to remind voters of her work with the GOP. “My whole purpose in being here is trying to bridge some of these partisan divides and try and get things done,” Heitkamp said. “I don’t care what their label is. When I agree with them, we’re going to do business. When I disagree with them, we’re going to have a conversation.” Democrats are expecting a challenge to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) from either Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) or state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Manchin is hoping for a repeat performance of this year's election, when his state installed a Democratic governor at the same time it overwhelmingly voted for Trump. “It’s a very good sign. Basically people look at the individual,” Manchin said. Voters "know who I am.” Still, Manchin acknowledged that his next campaign is “going to be more challenging.” He joined an expanded Senate Democratic leadership slate on Wednesday, giving him a chance to make his case for making deals with Trump — but also potentially allowing Republicans to directly tie Manchin to any Democratic obstructionism. Given how quickly his state has gone from blue to red, it’s unclear how effective Manchin's earlier campaign strategies for governor and senator might be. “I’ve been in office since 2001, the state has dramatically changed its politics,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who added: “Every election’s a challenge and he knows that, I think. He’s up for the challenge. He’s a very intuitive politician.” In Missouri, which Trump carried by 19 points, several GOP House members are seen as potential challengers to Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill: Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Ann Wagner, or Billy Long. Incumbent GOP Sen. Roy Blunt just survived a nimble challenge in the state by Democrat Jason Kander. In Indiana, meanwhile, Republican Rep. Luke Messer could end up squaring off against Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. Trump won the Hoosier State by a staggering 28 points. Historically the party in power has lost ground during the first midterm election under a new president. In 2010, Democrats lost the House and relinquished six Senate seats as voters recoiled at some of Barack Obama's early initiatives, especially his health care law. The 2018 Senate map gives the GOP a buffer to weather that trend. But if the country doesn't like what the next two years out of Washington brings, Republicans won't be able to shirk the blame. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he and other Republicans who were elected to the Senate in 2014 ran as outsiders vowing to shatter the status quo. Asked if Republicans will have to retool that message after they take the wheel in Washington, he said, "That depends on whether or not we actually deliver on what we said we were going to do. So the first 100 days with the new president are going to be critical.”

Conclusions A protective effect of living in areas of higher own-group ethnic density was present for common mental disorders for some minority groups. People living in areas of higher own-group density may report improved social support and less discrimination, but these associations did not fully account for density effects. Results Although the most ethnically dense areas were also the poorest, for each 10 percentage point increase in own-group ethnic density, there was evidence of a decreased risk of common mental disorders, for the full ethnic minority sample (odds ratio 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.99); P=0.02, trend), for the Irish group (odds ratio 0.21 (0.06 to 0.74); P=0.01, trend), and for the Bangladeshi group (odds ratio 0.75 (0.62 to 0.91); P=0.005, trend), after adjusting for a priori confounders. For some groups, living in areas of higher own-group density was associated with a reduction in the reporting of discrimination and with improved social support and improved social networks. However, none of these factors mediated ethnic density effects. Objectives To determine if living in areas where higher proportions of people of the same ethnicity reside is protective for common mental disorders, and associated with a reduced exposure to discrimination and improved social support. Finally, to determine if any protective ethnic density effects are mediated by reduced exposure to racism and improved social support. We conducted a multi-level analysis of cross sectional survey data to address whether living in areas of higher own-group density would be associated with a reduced risk of common mental disorders, after adjusting for a number of a priori confounders. These effects were examined for five of the main ethnic minority groups living in England—Irish, black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi people—as well as a white British group. We hypothesised that the odds of reporting discrimination would decline with rising own-group ethnic density, and that the odds of reporting improved social support and more extensive social networks would increase with increasing own-group ethnic density. Finally we assessed whether discrimination, improved social support, and more extensive social networks might mediate any observed ethnic density effects. There is a dearth of research into factors that might account for varying rates of common mental disorders among ethnic minority groups living in Britain. Compared with white British people, the prevalence of common mental disorders may be reduced among Bangladeshi people, increased among Irish people, and similar among black Caribbean, Pakistani, and Indian people. 1 The ethnic density hypothesis suggests that living in areas of higher own-group density may be protective for mental health. 2 3 Protective ethnic density effects may operate through a buffering effect for residents living in high own-group ethnic density areas through improved social support and social networks, or by reducing the frequency of adverse experiences such as racism. 4 5 6 However, empirical research on these mechanisms remains scant. Each of these conditions had to be met for mediation to be considered present. 15 We also checked for interactions between each mediating variable and each ethnic density variable. 16 4. The effect of ethnic density on common mental disorders was assessed after the addition of each of the mediators and then all of the mediators added together, to check for a sizeable shrinkage in the association. To account for intra-cluster correlation, and to enable the modelling of variance at both area level and individual level, we performed a multi-level analysis of unweighted data, with the middle layer super output area specified as the grouping variable and individuals nested within these areas. Two-level multi-level models with random intercepts and fixed effects for each predictor variable were specified. Each model assumed that common mental disorders varied by neighbourhood, and the models were run separately for each ethnic minority group. All analyses were performed in STATA 10. 14 Age, social class, educational level, sex, marital status, and area-level deprivation were analysed as a priori confounders. Interpersonal racism, social support, and social networks were analysed as potential mediators in the association between ethnic density and common mental disorders. For analyses not involving area-level measures, data were weighted and took into account survey structure, and we used the design based Wald test to assess the strength of associations. A structured validated diagnostic tool, the clinical interview schedule-revised (CIS-R) was used to assess common mental disorders (anxiety and depression). 13 Initial filter questions focus on symptoms experienced in the previous month, with more detailed questions asking about the previous week. We considered common mental disorder to be present if the CIS-R total score was >11. 13 Tests for trend and departure from linear trend were performed with likelihood ratio tests. We retained the categorisations as described above of the ethnic density variables when statistical tests did not suggest a straightforward linear relationship between ethnic density and dependent variable. When tests for trend or departure from linear trend suggested that the relationship of ethnic density with outcome variables was linear, we divided the original density variable by 10 so that we could estimate the association with common mental disorders for every 10 percentage point increase in own-group density. To determine cut points, we examined the total range for each ethnic density variable and divided it into equal widths along its measurement scale. The “random noise” added to each variable resulted in density ranges which were at times less than 0 (for example, for the Bangladeshi group the resultant range was from −1.87% to 61.54%). With this approach, the resultant cut points for each of the ethnic density variables were: Bangladeshi 14%, 30%, 46%; black Caribbean 5%, 11%, 18% (range −1.63% to 24.09%); Indian 15%, 33%, 51% (range: −2.71% to 68.53%); Pakistani 16%, 35%, 53% (range −3.07% to 72.20%). For Irish ethnic density (range −0.33% to 14.14%) and white British population density (range 7.35% to 107.24%), the extreme positive and negative skew of the two distributions respectively, led us to take a pragmatic approach whereby we used cut points at 1%, 2%, and 5% for Irish ethnic density and at 75%, 90%, and 95% for white British population density. We used the Index of Multiple Deprivation from 2000, in fifths, as a measure of area-level deprivation, matched to MSOA level. 12 Ethnic density was defined as the percentage of ethnic minority people living within each MSOA and was supplied by the National Centre for Social Research as a continuous variable with “random noise” added per case, in order to protect confidentiality of respondents. This meant that the correlation between the true ethnic density value and the values provided were 0.975. All area level measures were provided by the National Centre for Social Research and matched to anonymised participant records. In order to protect the confidentiality of respondents, the lowest geographical area at which measures were available was at the level of middle layer super output area (MSOA). 11 Such areas have a minimum population of 5000, and a mean population of about 7200 people. 11 Two measures from the Close Person’s Questionnaire were used to assess social support. 10 Respondents were also asked to report how many people they felt close to, and were asked to nominate the person who they felt closest to. 10 Respondents were asked to rate how far their nominated closest person provided them with practical support and confiding or emotional support. 10 Respondents were asked about any experiences of workplace based discrimination: “Have you yourself ever been refused a job for reasons which you think were to do with your race, colour, or religious or ethnic background?” and “Have you yourself ever been treated unfairly at work with regard to promotion or a move to a better position for reasons which you think were to do with your religious or ethnic background (I don’t mean when applying for a new job)?” All respondents were asked if, within the past 12 months, they had been physically attacked or had experienced deliberate damage to property which belonged to them. If they responded in the affirmative, they were asked: “Do you think you were attacked for reasons to do with your ethnicity?” or “Do you think any of these attacks on your property were for reasons to do with your ethnicity?” Respondents were also asked: “In the last 12 months, has anyone insulted you for reasons to do with your ethnicity? By insulted, I mean verbally abused, threatened, or been a nuisance to you?” Ethnicity for all people, except for Irish respondents, was defined according to self report criteria as used in previous UK censuses. 9 Irish ethnicity was determined according to country of parents’ birth. 7 Social class was determined according to the Registrar General’s Social Class, and was classified into I/II (professional or managerial); III (skilled non-manual or skilled manual); IV (semi-skilled manual); V (unskilled manual); full time student or never worked. Respondents were asked about their highest educational qualification, these were classified into four groups: higher education (degree or equivalent), secondary (A level, GCSE, or equivalent), foreign qualifications, or none. Respondents were also asked their age, sex, and marital status (in four groups: married or cohabiting, divorced or separated, widowed, and single or never married). Structured interviews were conducted in individuals’ homes, with a trained lay interviewer matched wherever possible to the respondent’s sex. 7 When survey respondents could not complete the interview in English an interviewer who was fluent in their mother tongue was provided. 7 Surveys were translated into Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, and Urdu by a professional interpreter service. 7 We used regression models based on data from the Health Survey for England to derive non-response weights. 8 Wherever possible, we have retained these survey weights for non-response in our analyses, as well as any weights to account for differing probabilities of selection in the original surveys. 8 Further details on the survey are available in the main report. 7 8 Of the 7009 individuals who took part in the original surveys and were contacted for follow-up interview in 2000, 738 (10.5%) had died, were older than 75 years, or had moved out of the survey area. 8 Of the 6271 respondents from the original survey who were eligible for re-interview, 1473 (23%) refused and 517 (8%) could not be contacted. 8 This resulted in 4281 achieved interviews (68.2% of those eligible for re-interview), which comprised the dataset for our present analysis. 8 For this analysis, we used data from the Ethnic Minorities Psychiatric Illness Rates in the Community Survey (EMPIRIC), a cross sectional, nationally representative survey of adults (aged 16–74) undertaken in England in 2000. 7 The survey was a follow-up of two representative, community based surveys conducted in England (the Health Survey for England 1998 and 1999). 8 Weights were used in the Health Survey for England 1999 to account for the differing probability of selection—by postcode sector, for households within sectors, and for the selection of adults from within households. 8 When each of the variables for interpersonal racism, social support, and social networks were individually added into final models and then added in together, none of the effects for ethnic density on common mental disorders risk were attenuated, suggesting that these variables were not on the causal pathway between ethnic density and common mental disorders (model 3 in table 3 ⇑ and web extra tables). There were no interactions noted between any of the mediating variables and own-group ethnic density. Across all of the groups except the black Caribbean group, each quintile increase in area-level deprivation was associated with an increased odds of common mental disorders (see web extra tables). Also, across all of the groups, experiences of racism and discrimination were associated with a roughly twofold increase in common mental disorders (see web extra tables). After adjusting for all a priori confounders, there was evidence of an association between a 10 percentage point increase in own-group density and reduced risk of common mental disorders for all ethnic minority groups combined (odds ratio 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.89 to 0.99); P=0.02), for Bangladeshi people (odds ratio 0.75 (0.62 to 0.91); P=0.005), and for Irish people (odds ratio 0.21 (0.06 to 0.74); P=0.01) (see web extra tables 1, 3, and 5). For all of the other groups except the white British group, there seemed to be a protective effect of living in areas of higher own-group density, but the evidence was very weak. Table 3 ⇓ shows the association of increasing own-group ethnic density with common mental disorders for each of the groups in the study. (Web extra tables 1–7 on bmj.com show the associations by individual a priori confounders and potential mediators). Likelihood ratio tests did not support a departure from a linear trend for either ethnic density or index of multiple deprivation variables for any of the groups analysed in the association with common mental disorders. We therefore present the models in table 3 (and the web extra tables) with these as continuous variables. Table 2 ⇑ shows the association of own-group density with social support measures. Living in areas of higher own-group density was associated with greater practical support from the nominated closest person for the Bangladeshi group and for the combined ethnic minority sample. Also, higher ethnic density was associated with reporting being close to three or more people for the Bangladeshi group. In total, 2035 respondents (48%) reported that their nominated closest person provided high levels of practical support, 1399 (33%) reported that their closest person provided high levels of emotional or confiding support, and 3325 (78%) reported that they felt close to three or more people. Table 2 ⇓ displays the associations between own-group ethnic density and the odds of reporting workplace based discrimination or interpersonal racism. With each unit increase in own-group density, the data suggested a reduction in the reporting of interpersonal experiences of racism over the previous year for all groups except the Irish and black Caribbean group. Per unit increase in own-group density, the risk of reporting lifetime workplace based discrimination seemed to decrease in the white British group, with weaker effects for the Bangladeshi group. For the black Caribbean group, the trend for this association was reversed (table 2 ⇓ ). In all, 450 respondents (10%) reported interpersonal racism within the previous year, and 649 (15%) reported lifetime experiences of workplace based discrimination. The black Caribbean group reported the highest prevalence of interpersonal racism, at 13% (compared with white British and Irish groups at 6%, Indians and Pakistanis at 10%, and Bangladeshis at 7%). The black Caribbean group also reported the highest prevalence of lifetime workplace based discrimination at 36% (versus white British 4%, Irish 7%, Bangladeshis 8%, Indians 19%, and Pakistanis 16%). Table 1 ⇓ shows key demographic features for the sample. In general, Irish people in the sample had a similar demographic profile to the white British group on age, social class, education, and marital status. Other ethnic minority groups were more likely to be of lower social class than the white British group and tended to be younger; this was especially stark for the Bangladeshi group. The Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups also had the highest proportion of people reporting no educational qualifications. Discussion Principal findings Despite the fact that areas densely populated by ethnic minority groups are also the most deprived, our findings suggest that, for some ethnic minority groups (in particular Irish and Bangladeshi people), living in areas of higher own-group density may be associated with a reduced odds of common mental disorders. The Bangladeshi group seemed to show the most consistent associations between increasing own-group ethnic density and reports of decreased discrimination, higher practical support, and better social networks. Although there was good evidence to suggest protective ethnic density effects for the Irish group, the data did not support a mediational association between increasing Irish ethnic density and any of the measures for racism, social support, or social networks. The latter finding highlights that “ethnic density” mechanisms are likely to be heterogeneous and may not operate in the same way across groups. Our analyses did not confirm our hypothesis that the protective effects of ethnic density for common mental disorders might be mediated by reduced exposure to racism or improved exposure to social support or social networks, although increase in ethnic density was associated with a decrease in the frequency of racist experiences and improved social support for some groups. Limitations of study The findings of this analysis relate to a dataset which was collected in 2000. The landscape of migration in England and the settlement of ethnic minority communities has changed over this time,17 and it is possible that the effects reported here may no longer be relevant to the groups included in this study, or to some of the more recent migrant groups to England. Previous research has indicated that the measure used in this analysis for individual-level socioeconomic position (Registrar General’s Social Class) may not truly capture equivalent levels of deprivation in ethnic minority groups compared with white British people.18 The measure for area-level deprivation may have also inadequately assessed poverty for ethnically dense neighbourhoods. It is possible that the residual confounding effects of socioeconomic position or area-level deprivation may have masked or minimised potential ethnic density effects. Related to this was the assumption underlying our analysis that there were no other unmeasured confounding variables in the association between ethnic density and any of the mediating variables (racism and social support), or between mediating variables and common mental disorders.16 19 Although we have attempted to adjust for confounders, any residual confounding effects may have biased estimates of mediation.19 As this was a secondary analysis of an English dataset in a relatively novel area where effect sizes are not established, it was not possible to determine study power before analysis. Insufficient power may have accounted for the apparent lack of an effect for some of the ethnic groups. This is supported by the observation that effect estimates for all the ethnic minority groups tended to suggest a protective effect on the odds of common mental disorders among people living in areas of higher own-group density, and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were in some cases wide. Other weaknesses of this study relate to the cross sectional design. Reverse causality could have accounted for findings; it is plausible that people with common mental disorders may choose to isolate themselves and move away from their communities. Recall bias is also a concern, as people with common mental disorders may be more likely to recall negative events such as racism or negative aspects of relationships. Finally, aspects of this study highlight some of the challenges to understanding health effects among ethnic minorities. The psychometric properties of the questions around racism are not established, and it is possible that some of the groups may have under-reported experiences of discrimination as this was a sensitive area of inquiry. Nonetheless, measures such as these have been used in other studies exploring the impact of racism on health.20 21 22 Although the questions around social support have been validated, this was in a British population of civil servants,10 and they may have been less valid for the ethnic minority groups surveyed in our study. Previous research has suggested that people may derive support outside of their immediate locale which may include support through culturally specific organisations not based in the same neighbourhood.5 We included a measure to assess for social networks, but we were not able to assess the nature of these networks. It is therefore possible that the measures used in this analysis did not fully assess important support derived through other sources. Strengths of study To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the association of ethnic density with common mental disorders as determined through structured, validated instruments and using appropriate statistical methods to account for geographical clustering and non-independence of observations. By using multi-level models in analysis, we avoided the problem of ecological fallacy (where erroneous conclusions are made about individuals on the basis of area-level data) as we were able to model random effects simultaneously at both individual and area levels. A further advantage of the current study was in the use of data from a nationally representative survey of England, which we believe would make the findings highly generalisable to the experiences of ethnic minority groups living throughout England, albeit with the caveat that this dataset was representative of population composition in 2000. Finally, much previous research examining ethnic density associations has tended to use service contact data to determine rates of severe mental disorders.23 24 25 26 Our study avoided the selection biases inherent in such approaches by systematically assessing mental health outcomes using structured clinical assessments on population-level data. Implications and comparison with other studies In keeping with previous research,27 we found, for most groups, at least a twofold increase in the odds of common mental disorders among people who reported experiencing racism in the previous year or discrimination at work. Conversely, living in areas of higher own-group density was associated with a reduction in the reporting of racist and discriminatory experiences for some groups. One other study has suggested that ethnic density may buffer against interpersonal racism among ethnic minority groups living in England,4 which has been further supported through qualitative work.5 These findings, alongside the observation that for some groups living in areas of higher own-group density was associated with improved social support, serve to underline the potential “psychic shelter”5 function of ethnically dense neighbourhoods, although these specific factors did not translate into the mechanism by which the beneficial mental health effects of ethnic density were mediated, in our analyses. The measure we used to assess ethnicity (self ascribed descriptors based on the UK census in 2000) helps comparability with other research but has limitations.28 People may not define themselves as being in the same ethnic group over time,29 so self ascribed ethnicity should be viewed as a proxy for how people view their membership of an ethnic grouping28 30 and does not necessarily tap into notions of “cultural identity.”28 Recent research has, for example, suggested that cultural practices associated with cultural identity could be associated with mental health benefits31 and could “govern forms of social support, gender disadvantage and access to employment”28; therefore future research could examine how far cultural identity may mediate ethnic density effects, although attempting to assess “identity” may present additional challenges. Our finding of an ethnic density effect in some of the groups should not obscure the converse finding that area-level deprivation was associated with common mental disorders for most of the groups, and areas densely populated by ethnic minority groups were also the poorest. The association of neighbourhood-level poverty with common mental disorders has been broadly confirmed in one recent systematic review,32 although described as less consistent in another.33 An ecological study of antidepressant prescribing in primary care suggested that in areas of higher ethnic density, prescribing for some minority groups was reduced.34 The findings from the present study may support the assertion that such differences are a result of geographical differences in the prevalence of common mental disorders (as opposed to health seeking differences per se), although it is likely that area-level associations with common mental disorders will be complex, given associations with area-level deprivation. We did not have the necessary data to assess “social capital.” Previous research has suggested that social capital effects on mental health are complex,35 not always consistent,35 and may have interactional effects with area-level and individual-level poverty36 or play a lesser role in patterning geographical mental health variations than compositional factors.37 However, it has also been suggested that people living in areas of lower own-group density may feel marginalised as a result “of a high degree of cohesion among the majority group”38 and this could result in adverse mental health. The role of social capital and cohesion in accounting for ethnic density effects could be examined in future research. Related to this, we asked about discrete episodes of racism and discrimination, but we were unable to assess aspects of “everyday racism”39 or the effect of belonging to a stigmatised group living in areas of lower own-group density.40 This may be a more potent mechanism for accounting for group density effects than the effects examined here, and could be explored in future research. To our knowledge, no other research has examined the effect of ethnic density on mental health in Irish people. Irish people living in Britain have a longer history of migration, and so the levels of ethnic density reached for this group were not as high as for some other ethnic minority groups. It is therefore noteworthy that protective density effects were still seen for this group. Given previous findings that Irish people living in Britain experience a higher prevalence of common mental disorders,1 41 future research should aim to uncover factors at the contextual level associated with living in areas of higher own-group density which could be protective for this (as well as for other) groups’ mental health. There were also a few unexpected findings. For example, we noted that even the white British group reported less discrimination if they lived in areas of higher own-group density. The discrimination measure covered forms of discrimination other than race, such as discrimination due to religious beliefs, which may still be an issue for this group. For the black Caribbean group, ethnic density effects were also not as expected. Compared with the other groups, the black Caribbean group reported the highest prevalence of discrimination. However, black Caribbean people living in areas of higher own-group density reported more employment related discrimination than those living in areas of lower own-group density. We did not have information on the participants’ location of employment, which may not have been the same as place of residence. It is also possible that experiences of discrimination at work for the black Caribbean group may have been high even if workplaces were located in ethnically dense areas if employment involved contact with people outside of their community. Our findings around work related discrimination are consistent with another study conducted in east London, which suggested a higher prevalence of work related racial discrimination among black African-Caribbean people, which was associated with higher levels of psychological distress among female respondents.42 In addition, our findings are consistent with another analysis also using community-level data, which suggested that living in areas of higher own-group density was associated with a number of poorer health and social outcomes among black Caribbean people.6 Unanswered questions and future research There were no neat conclusions from our analyses: ethnic density effects were present for some of the ethnic minority groups, but—despite attempting to examine the role of racism, social support, or social networks in mediating these effects—we were not able to definitively unpack the meaning of ethnic density. Future research could focus on factors that we did not address, such as interactional effects with poverty, social capital, cultural identity, and acculturation, and the role of social support not limited to immediate personal relationships. Use of a longitudinal design in future research may deal with the issue of reverse causality and recall bias. In addition, future work may benefit from qualitative approaches to aid understanding of the role of “community” and “neighbourhood” in protecting health, from the point of view of residents.

Residents of the Falkland Islands voted almost unanimously to stay under British rule in a referendum aimed at winning global sympathy as Argentina intensifies its sovereignty claim. The official count on Monday showed 99.8 percent of islanders voted in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory in the two-day poll, which was rejected by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt. There only three "no" votes out of about 1,500 cast. "Surely this must be the strongest message we can get out to the world," said Roger Edwards, one of the Falklands' assembly's eight elected members. "That we are content, that we wish to retain the status quo ... with the right to determine our own future and not become a colony of Argentina." Pro-British feeling is running high in the barren and blustery islands that lie off the tip of Patagonia, at the southern end of South America. Turnout was 92 percent among the 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents registered to vote. Three decades after hundreds died when Argentina and Britain went to war over the far-flung South Atlantic archipelago, islanders have been perturbed by Argentina's increasingly vocal claim over the Malvinas - as the islands are called in Spanish. Local politicians hope the resounding "yes" vote will help them lobby support abroad, for example in the United States, which has a neutral position on the sovereignty issue. "We're never going to change Argentina's claim and point of view, but I believe there are an awful lot of countries out there that are sitting on the fence ... this is going to show them quite clearly what the people think," Edwards said. The mood was festive as islanders lined up in the cold to vote in the low-key island capital of Stanley, some wearing novelty outfits made from the red, white and blue British Union Jack flag. "We are British and that's the way we want to stay," said Barry Nielsen, who wore a Union Jack hat to cast his ballot at the town hall polling station in Stanley, where most of the roughly 2,500 islanders live. Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez, has piled pressure on Britain to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands, something London refuses to do unless the islanders request talks. Most Latin American countries and many other developing nations have voiced support for Argentina, which has stepped up its demands since London-listed companies started drilling for oil and natural gas off the Falklands' craggy coastline. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the referendum clearly showed the islanders wanted to remain a British overseas territory. "All countries should accept the results of this referendum and support the Falkland Islanders as they continue to develop their home and their economy," he said in a statement. "We have always been clear that we believe in the rights of the Falklands people to determine their own futures and to decide on the path they wish to take. It is only right that, in the 21st century, these rights are respected." However, officials in Buenos Aires questioned the referendum's legitimacy. They say the sovereignty dispute must be resolved between Britain and Argentina and cite U.N. resolutions calling on London to sit down for talks. "This (referendum) is a ploy that has no legal value," said Alicia Castro, Argentina's ambassador to London. "Negotiations are in the islanders' best interest. We don't want to deny them their identity. They're British, we respect their identity and their way of life and that they want to continue to be British. But the territory they occupy is not British," she told an Argentine radio station. Argentina has claimed the islands since 1833, saying it inherited them from the Spanish on independence and that Britain expelled an Argentine population. The 1982 war, which killed about 650 Argentines and 255 Britons and ended when Argentina surrendered, is widely remembered in Argentina as a humiliating mistake by the discredited and brutal dictatorship in power at the time. But most Argentines think the islands rightfully belong to the South American country and they remain a potent national symbol that unites political foes. Falkland islanders, who are enjoying an economic boom thanks partly to the sale of oil and natural gas exploration licences, say they do not expect Monday's result to sway Argentina. "Argentina's stance on the Falklands will stay the same," said Stanley resident Craig Paice, wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Our Islands, Our Decision" as he waited to vote on Monday. "But hopefully the world will now listen and know the people of the Falkland Islands have a voice." Reuters

Leonard Cohen penned a poignant final letter to his dying muse Marianne Ihlen, a longtime friend of hers revealed on Canadian radio. Ihlen, whom Cohen wrote about in So Long, Marianne and Bird on a Wire, died in Norway on 29th July, aged 81. Cohen met her on the Greek island Hydra in the 1960s and they became lovers. So Long, Marianne appeared on his 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen. Her close friend Jan Christian Mollestad got in touch with Cohen to tell him Ihlen was dying. “It took only two hours and in came this beautiful letter from Leonard to Marianne. We brought it to her the next day and she was fully conscious and she was so happy that he had already written something for her,” Mollestad said. Mollestad, a documentary maker, read Cohen’s letter to her before she died. “It said well Marianne it’s come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. “And you know that I’ve always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don’t need to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road.” Mollestad told CBC that when he read the line “stretch out your hand,” Ihlen stretched out her hand. “Only two days later she lost consciousness and slipped into death. I wrote a letter back to Leonard saying in her final moments I hummed Bird on a Wire because that was the song she felt closest to. And then I kissed her on the head and left the room, and said “so long, Marianne.” Leonard Cohen’s Facebook page also marked Ihlen’s death. “The death last week of Marianne Ihlen, the woman immortalised in So Long, Marianne, has evoked an overwhelming response from those who knew Marianne well, those who knew her only as Leonard Cohen’s muse, and even those who previously didn’t know there was a real Marianne,” a post said. Ihlen’s funeral was held in Oslo on Friday. Guardian Service

How to tell your significant other? We can consider ourselves lucky about this as we’ve discovered nudism together and we both enjoyed it equally. (if you want to know how, see here and here But what if you’re already a nudist and your significant other isn’t? Or you’ve been wanting to give it a shot but you don’t know how to tell him/her? The key to failure You know the saying “Throwing a kid into the water is the best way to make him swim”? Well, we don’t know how it works out for those kids, but we can assure you that it’s a bad idea when it comes to nudism. Seriously, surprising someone into nudism is really NOT done. “We arrived at our holiday resort baby. Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you before but it’s clothing prohibited so please take off all your clothes” Really, we can’t stress this enough, NOT done! Going naked for the first time in front of others is a big deal and takes you way out of your comfort zone, so everything else should be as comfortable as possible. Having a husband or wife who suddenly pronounces to be a nudist doesn’t add to the comfort at all. So we’ll say it again: NOT done! A variation to this is to be naked when your husband or wife comes home. Then you have already an ice breaker for saying that you’re actually a nudist and love being naked around the house. This may sound like a good idea, and it is way better than the previous one. However, there is a big chance that when your partner comes home and sees you naked, he/she will link this immediately to sex. Because for many people who don’t know about nudism nudity equals (at least a desire for) sex. And you will have serious troubles removing that link again. The key to success If you only remember one word of this article we want it to be “conversation”. Now say that out loud! “CONVERSATION”. Conversation, conversation, conversation! In our relationship everything can be talked about as long as there’s no pressure, but things like this do need a bit of preparation. A good way to test the water is by asking if your partner has ever gone skinny dipping. Many people have done that at least once in their life. If so, you can talk a bit about that before announcing that you would like to try it again. If not, at least the ice is broken and you can tell about your experiences. Even before you’re actually saying that you’re a nudist you’ll get an idea of how they stand against it. Once the ice is broken, you’ll need to address many questions, so be prepared for that. But lucky you, you can find most of the answers on this site! It all depends on who your partner is. If you know that he/she is not very happy with their body shape, you can tell them that there will be people of any shape and that naturist places are the only places in the world where literally nobody cares. If he/she has been raised up conservatively, you can talk about how nudity has no direct link with sex. And so on, we’re sure you can find this out by yourself. She said yes! Congratulations! He or she wants to give it a shot! What do you do now? A good way to start is by being naked around the house. Don’t be afraid by making some kind of event of it, pick a date when you both have nothing to do and agree to spend the day naked in and around the house together. Or just take off all of your clothes right after the conversation if you both feel like it. It doesn’t really matter. The next step will be public nudity. A good way to start with this is by going to a clothing optional (not clothing prohibited) beach, campground or resort. In this way your partner can first adjust to the nudity around you and then decide when he/she is ready to take off some clothes. He said no! Unfortunately there is also a chance that your partner really doesn’t want to try nudism. Or did give it a shot but didn’t enjoy it. If they don’t feel comfortable being seen naked by others, you could agree on only visiting clothing optional places where you can go naked but your partner can remain clothed. If, on the other hand, your partner doesn’t want YOU to be seen naked by other men or women you will have to ask about their concerns and try to address them. Did you ever have this talk? How did it work out for you? Picture credit: The photos in this post are coming from Google and Twitter. If you find one of yourself and you don’t want it to be on our blog, let us know and we’ll remove it.

If Mexico fails to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1990, it would be a costly failure for the country's national soccer federation, the players and numerous sponsors and businesses. According to the U.S. business and technology website Business Insider, Mexico sitting out next summer's tournament in Brazil could result in $600 million in lost TV, merchandise and sponsorship revenue -- not to mention lost prestige for Mexican soccer. Mexico, fourth in the regional World Cup qualifying standings, needs only a draw Tuesday night in Costa Rica to hold on to that spot and advance to a two-leg playoff next month with New Zealand. The winner of the series would earn one of the final World Cup berths. But if Mexico loses and Panama beats a depleted U.S. squad Tuesday, then Mexico would be out and Panama would play New Zealand. Mexican sports marketing expert Rogelia Roa says if that happens, TV broadcasters would take a hit on ad revenue, and not just in Mexico, where Televisa and TV Azteca paid a reported $100 million for rights to the tournament. Univision paid $325 million to broadcast the 2010 and 2014 World Cups in Spanish in the U.S. And while ESPN has been breaking World Cup qualifying ratings records with its broadcasts of U.S. men's national team games, its audience still lags behind its Spanish-language counterparts.

The failure of John Carter started a feeding frenzy in the press (realistically the feeding frenzy began months in advance), yet the failure of Battleship has been largely ignored. As the LA Times points out this is interesting because the two failures are kind of comparable: Their overall numbers aren’t all that different. Disney’s “John Carter” did a paltry $72 million in the United States and an additional $210 million overseas; “Universal’s “Battleship” is on track to do even less in America than “John Carter” while so far making $232 million overseas. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Universal could lose $150 million on “Battleship,” while Disney took a $200-million write-down on “John Carter." The article lists some valid reasons why John Carter became such an icon of flops, including the simple fact that it was first and the first story is always the bigger story. But the reasons the LA Times gives don't add up to the whole story. Battleship has been given a complete free pass for one simple reason: Hollywood hates creatives. That may sound like an oxymoron or counterintuitive, but it's the fundamental basis of much of this business. Hollywood is run by money men in suits, and these guys often hate the unpredictable, sometimes uncontrollable, creative types who are necessary to keep the industry going. The suits want product, but they haven't figured out a way to cut the human element - writers, directors, FILMMAKERS - out of the process of creating that product. I always suspect that it's jealousy, that the lowliest screenwriter can do things that the president of a studio can't - come up with new worlds, bring characters to life, share imagination. It's probably also just a simple irritation at the fact that creatives have demands and they fight against the wisdom of marketing and they try to make good movies instead of saleable movies. The world would be easier for the suits if the creatives were all like Dennis Dugan and Brian Robbins, but that isn't the way of Hollywood. So knowing that the suits hate the creatives, you can begin to see why John Carter got roasted. It was the work of a singular creative vision, that of Andrew Stanton. Battleship was a packaged deal put together in boardrooms and legal documents, with creatives only being needed to do the messy work of actually getting the product onto screen. Before you say that we're talking about the press obliterating John Carter, not the suits, you have to understand that 90% of the industry reporters in this town take their stories directly from marketing and executives. Disney was especially active in throwing Stanton under every single available bus. And members of the media like a good juicy story of the fall that comes after perceived pride - how dare Stanton, two time Oscar winner, think that he could make a live action movie and spend this much? Hollywood industry reporting always, always, always sides with the executives because numbers are quantifiable - the Times can declare a movie a winner or a loser based on box office - while art is much harder to nail down. Most of the industry reporters don't know jack shit about what makes a movie good in the first place, and I'm convinced most don't actually care. The real tragedy of this, in my opinion, is that John Carter isn't a bad movie. It has problems, but it's not bad. But the stink of death that the mainstream media has put on the film means it's going to be languishing for years and years as an untouchable film. Maybe cable broadcast will help people see that it's not a bad movie after all, but I believe that it's going to be five or ten years before people actually bother reevaluating the film and figuring out that it's well made and didn't deserve all the hate.

THE Israeli ambassador to Australia has been rebuked for reportedly referring to Asians as "the yellow race" with "slanted eyes". Naftali Tamir was reported to have made the comments during an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper, in which he made his case for greater co-operation between his country and Australia. "Israel and Australia are like sisters in Asia," Mr Tamir was quoted as saying. "We are in Asia without the characteristics of Asians. We don't have yellow skin and slanted eyes. Asia is basically the yellow race. Australia and Israel are not - we are basically the white race." Speaking in Jerusalem last night, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ilana Ravid said officials were checking whether the ambassador had been quoted accurately. "If they are accurate, these are grave and inappropriate expressions that the Foreign Ministry will not allow to pass without a response," she said. Ministry officials said Mr Tamir was on a flight to Australia and had not yet been reached for clarification. According to Haaretz, the ministry said it would not return to business as usual if an internal examination confirmed that Mr Tamir made the comments attributed to him. Mr Tamir met Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during the week, emphasising the potential for developing trade and other links in Asia through Australia. Mr Tamir told Haaretz he did not raise the subject of reopening the Israeli consulate in Sydney during the meeting. The consulate's closure after budget cuts four years ago was fiercely protested by Australia's Jewish community, which offered to finance its operations to keep it open. "I am very much in support of reopening the consulate," Mr Tamir told the newspaper. "But at the present time, due to budgetary limitations - which are even greater than they were before - it's simply not feasible." A career diplomat who served in Tokyo, Washington, Strasbourg and as ambassador in Finland, Mr Tamir is also Israel's non-resident ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Zealand. AP

AFP via Getty Images An Indian tuberculosis patient rests while a stray dog drinks water from his mug underneath his bed at the Rajan Babu Tuberculosis Hospital in New Delhi on March 24, 2014. India must stop its doctors prescribing 'irrational' treatments to cure tuberculosis, medical humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres said March 22, warning the practice is increasing drug-resistant strains of the disease. AFP PHOTO/Chandan KHANNA (Photo credit should read Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images) March 24 was World Tuberculosis Day. Not a day for celebrations in India if we consider that we have the highest TB burden globally with a million "missing" cases that remain undiagnosed, untreated and possibly undocumented. What's worse is that India's TB crisis -- the result of years of bureaucratic neglect and private sector disease mismanagement-- is now creating an epidemic of drug resistant (DR) TB with nearly a 100,000 DR TB cases. These are difficult to diagnose and treat, with less than 50% chance of recovery. World TB Day then, if anything, is a reminder of the crisis ahead. India wasn't always the global problem of TB control. A decade ago, it was considered a leader and its TB programme cited as a successful example of infectious disease management. A combination of poor management, apathy towards the private sector and its patients and the continued resistance to addressing the problem of DR TB created what is nothing short of a public health crisis and an epidemic. Of these, perhaps the most critical factor has been a continued apathy towards private sector patients. By some estimates close to 70% of all TB patients first seek care in India's vast, heterogeneous and unregulated private sector where there is extensive misuse of diagnostics and appropriate treatment is rarely available. From quacks, compounders to Ayush doctors -- anyone may treat TB without being checked or appropriately trained. Even if accurate diagnosis is available, appropriate treatment is rarely assured. "The government's inability to view TB in a broader public health framework and its failure to effectively engage the private sector as a partner in controlling TB continues to cost India thousands of lives." Despite widespread knowledge of this, the government over the last few decades did little to curb or change these practices. Ethically, this is the equivalent of deliberate negligence. Unfortunately, the government's inability to view TB in a broader public health framework and its failure to effectively engage the private sector as a partner in controlling TB continues to cost India thousands of lives. A decade of neglect has now resulted in an epidemic of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) with close to 100,000 cases. A single case of MDR-TB can infect another 10-20 cases a year unless the patient is started promptly on effective treatment. In many of India's urban centres the MDR-TB case burden is significant with some strains resistant to all available drugs as was reported in Mumbai in 2012. Yet there seem to be no alarm in the government. Despite its extensive human costs, TB gets little or no political attention. Most politicians continued to remain uninformed about the epidemic and its magnitude. This continued apathy has led to budget cuts in a tuberculosis control programme that needs more resources and personnel - it is often barely able to pay its workers on time. Meanwhile, India's poorest and most vulnerable have few options -- if they go to the public health system they are faced with endless waiting, mistreatment, poor diagnostics and frequent drug stock outs. In the private sector, there is poor quality of care and the cost of diagnosing and treating TB is prohibitive, pushing families into debt and poverty. In the end, many give up and disappear becoming one of the missing million in India. "A decade of neglect has now resulted in an epidemic of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) with close to 100,000 cases. A single case of MDR-TB can infect another 10-20 cases a year unless the patient is started promptly on effective treatment." A recent open letter put together by some experts and endorsed by leading citizens (including Aamir Khan, Adi Godrej, Aruna Roy and MS Swaminathan among others) puts together some suggestions on TB management to the Prime Minister's office. These could be useful in determining how we need to address TB in India. These recommendations are available here. If India wants to address its TB epidemic it must begin by looking at these recommendations and finding and treating these missing million patients. It essential India begin by providing free and accurate diagnosis to every single patient whether in the public or the private sector. The government also needs to provide all TB patients with an upfront Drug Susceptibility Test, to rapidly identify MDR and more severe forms of DR-TB. Instead of giving a standardised regimen we need to individualise treatment regimens, choosing only drugs to which we know the TB bacteria to be sensitive to. The government must also consider introducing, under controlled conditions, new drugs that have the potential for curing the most resistant TB strains. Simultaneously, we must recognise that we have failed on issues of prevention, community engagement and empowerment. This can be remedied through comprehensive multi-media campaigns to ensure awareness of TB, community engagement and empowerment programmes to help fight stigma. Most critically, the government must give up its ambivalence and actively and effectively engage the private sector. That is where India's real crisis of TB exists. TB in India will never be controlled without participation from the private sector. We must learn from experiments currently underway in India where local city governments have transformed how TB is diagnosed and treated ,addressing the crisis upfront. Finally, the programme must recognise the economic and social dimensions of TB. TB often afflicts those between the ages of 15-44 leading to poverty and a loss in income. The government needs to provide nutrition supplements for all TB patients with low body weight and those below the poverty line. It should also create economic support programmes for TB patients and their families during the treatment period, to avoid further impoverishment. Yet none of this will be possible until sufficient political attention and resources are combined with innovative thinking and deep focus on the patient to address this imminent crisis. Until then, TB will continue to remains India's silent killer and the missing million will remain missing.

THE failure of police to conduct a proper investigation into the 2004 death of Palm Islander Mulrunji Doomadgee at the hand of a veteran policeman will not lead to disciplinary charges, with Queensland's anti-corruption watchdog powerless to take court action against any of the officers involved. Crime and Misconduct commissioner Martin Moynihan QC will today announce he is unable to challenge a decision by the Queensland Police Service to reject the watchdog's recommendation for disciplinary action against six officers involved in the now discredited investigations. The decision of police Deputy Commissioner Kathy Rynders to reject the CMC's recommendations and instead find that the officers face only "managerial guidance" is understood to have created a legal loophole that prevents a court appeal. Read Next The CMC can seek to overturn the decision only if it is in the formal police disciplinary process. Civil liberties lawyers last night called for an independent review of the police disciplinary process in Queensland. "The police complaints system has broken down," Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said. "The need is exemplified by the fact that it has taken six years and still it is unresolved as to whether the circumstances of Mr Doomadgee's death was properly investigated." Mr Moynihan last year warned charges would be filed directly in Queensland's Civil and Administrative Tribunal against the six officers if he was unsatisfied with the response of Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson to a CMC report into the watchhouse death. The damning report echoed the findings of Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements in slamming the initial investigation as lacking "transparency, objectivity and independence". The CMC said Mr Atkinson needed to take responsibility for a "corrosive culture" that led to the "seriously flawed" Doomadgee investigation, and several other high-profile misconduct cases. It recommended four officers -- who led the investigation -- face disciplinary action for alleged misconduct, with the two senior officers -- handpicked by Mr Atkinson to review the initial investigation -- also face disciplinary action. After a series of court challenges about the report, Ms Rynders reported to the CMC in January rejecting the disciplinary recommendations and finding that the officers should only receive "managerial guidance". That decision cannot be challenged. Doomadgee's violent death, within an hour of being arrested for public nuisance by Palm Island police boss Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, sparked riots during which the police station servicing the Aboriginal community off Townsville was burnt down. Sergeant Hurley was acquitted in 2007 of Doomadgee's manslaughter.

On Nikita Kucherov and the Tampa Bay Lightning … Bob McKenzie: The Lightning and RFA Nikita Kucherov’s situation is complex because of their salary cap situation. Bob McKenzie: Most high-end offensive forwards that are looking at their second contracts get close to the standard six-years, $6 million per year – Filip Forsberg, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle etc. Bob McKenzie: The Flames gave Sean Monahan six years and $6.375 million. The Predators bought only one year of Filip Forsberg’s unrestricted years. Bob McKenzie: A six-year deal for Kucherov would buy two unrestricted years, so he could be worth well more than $6 million a season. Bob McKenzie: Don’t think the Lightning could do that right now given their cap situation without moving a contract. If they do a two-year bridge deal, it would be really hard to determine a value. Bob McKenzie: Not sure if Kucherov is the player that would do a bridge deal, but the Lightning may not have a choice. Bob McKenzie: Being able to sign both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman to hometown discounts was a good start. The Lightning will also have to deal with Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson as RFAs next offseason. Bob McKenzie: Ben Bishop will get moved at some point, but he’s expected to start the season with the Lightning. Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie was on TSN 690 talking about Tampa Bay Lightning RFA Nikita Kucherov. “If you’re going to give Nikita Kucherov a long-term contract – five, six, seven years, or whatever the case may be – at a number that makes sense for Kucherov, Steve Yzerman will have to trade a player and clear some cap space in order to do that,” said McKenzie. “If you’re going to do a bridge deal, then you probably could do that. But again, if you’re Kucherov – this is not the type of player that should be bridged.” Filip Forsberg received a six-year deal at $6 million a season coming out of his entry-level deal. Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also got the same deal. Jeff Skinner and John Tavares got less. The Predators bought one UFA year in Forsberg’s deal. The Lightning would be buying two years of unrestricted free agency if they signed Kucherov to a six-year deal. Six-years at $6 million a season likely isn’t enough for Kucherov. The Lightning can’t fit that in without trading someone. Would a bridge deal, two or three years at $4 or $5 million? “So if ever there were a golden opportunity for somebody to come in with an offer sheet, this would be it. If you really wanted Nikita Kucherov. Because if the Lightning are going to match the offer sheet – boy, does it cause them enormous heartache. And Steve Yzerman is going through this all again next year. Jonathan Drouin. Ondrej Palat. Tyler Johnson. Welcome to my nightmare.” The Lightning will need salary cap room at some point. Moving a goaltender is the logical choice, but there is not much of goalie market right now. With the expansion draft coming, many teams might be looking to move a goalie. Ben Bishop is better than a lot of guys that might become available.

Jorgensen has played every game for Huddersfield this season since joining from Copenhagen in the summer Defender Mathias Jorgensen has offered to buy every Huddersfield Town fan who travels away to Southampton on Saturday a Christmas drink as thanks for their "amazing" support this season. The gesture could cost the Denmark international more than £8,000. The Terriers have a 472-mile round trip to Southampton as they look to build on last weekend's 4-1 victory at Watford. Jorgensen, 27, who is known as Zanka, wrote on Twitter: "I hope you like the gift. Zanka Claus is coming to Town!" In a video message, he added: "Your support this year has been truly amazing, so I thought I would think up something special for those of you travelling to Southampton this weekend." The club said away fans will be presented with a voucher when they enter St Mary's Stadium for the Southampton game, and can redeem for a drink at Huddersfield's next home match on Boxing Day against Stoke. They have been given an allocation of 2,596 tickets for the match at St Mary's. Huddersfield charge around £3.20 for a pint of beer - and if they sell out at Southampton and all of the fans take up the free drink offer, it would cost Jorgensen £8,300. The club are playing in the top flight this season for the first time since 1971-72 after winning the Championship play-off final in May and are in 11th place.

The mainstream media seems to have slept on this story, and it does us all a great disservice, but I’m hoping to correct that. Last month, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics invited sixteen lesser-known candidates for president, including nine republicans and seven democrats, to a forum, where they could outline their views and engage in lively debate. It was there that Rockport Massachusetts’s ‘Vermin Supreme,’ (seen at right sprinkling glitter dust over West Virginia’s Randall Terry) won the official endorsement of FilmDrunk.com. While we certainly can’t overlook the importance of his awesome hat, it was his positions on the issues that matter to us that ultimately won him this coveted endorsement. Vermin Supreme, the perennial satirical candidate who runs on a platform of zombie preparedness and a pony for each American, came wearing about seven neckties and a giant boot over his head. [unionleader] Stronger zombie defense and universal pony access are exactly the kind of common sense platforms we need in these tough economic times. The head boot and glitter bombs, that’s just good showmanship. And if, in the spirit of bipartisanship, Supreme chose as his running mate The Rent is Too Damn High Party’s Jimmy MacMillan, I think MacMillan’s karate expertise could give this ticket the shot in the arm it needs. As a side note, Vermin Supreme is exactly how I always imagined Quentin Tarantino’s cocaine wizard. [hat tip: TheDailyWhat]

Is there a No. 1 tight end on Indiana's roster? Is Anthony Corsaro (88) the best of Indiana's tight ends? (Photo: Mike Dickbernd) If Indiana's wide receiver two-deep is fraught with uncertainty, then its positional neighbor, tight end, can empathize. IU hasn't been able to find a clear-cut No. 1 tight end since Ted Bolser's departure in 2013. While replicating Bolser's record-setting career probably isn't realistic, finding a legitimate blocking/receiving threat here would be a significant boost. Kevin Wilson should not want for options. Whether open competition breeds improved production remains to be seen. NAMES TO KNOW Michael Cooper, 6-5, 257 pounds, R-Sr. Anthony Corsaro, 6-3, 250, Sr. Sean Damaska, 6-7, 250, R-Jr. Danny Friend, 6-5, 261, R-So. Jordan Fuchs, 6-6, 233, So. Austin Dorris, 6-5, 225, Fr. IS THERE A FRONTRUNNER? First, it's worth mentioning that Tevin Coleman probably doesn't rush for 2,000-plus yards in 2014 without good tight end play. So it's not like Indiana is starting from scratch. The question is whether one of the aforementioned six players -- and that's every tight end on Indiana's roster at present -- can couple consistent blocking with some receiving threat. Last season, three players (Corsaro, Fuchs and Cooper) combined for 10 catches, 95 yards and one touchdown (Fuchs). That encompasses the entire receiving output of the position group in 2014. Indiana's limitations in the passing game certainly extended beyond tight end, but improvement here would bolster the Hoosiers' options through the air, perhaps significantly. Seniority and experience could give Corsaro the early edge. His contributions as a blocker last season are noted in his official team biography. Fuchs' athleticism makes him an attractive choice, invoking some comparisons to Bolser's style of play at the position. But, just as with Indiana's receiver corps, there are no guarantees anywhere on the roster right now. FINAL WORD NEWSLETTERS Get the IndyStar Motor Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong The latest news in IndyCar and the world of motor sports. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-357-7827. Delivery: Sun - Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for IndyStar Motor Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Bolser was a crucial piece of an offense that led the conference in passing two seasons consecutively. His absence last season was equally impactful. Again, this group deserves praise for helping build a record-setting rushing attack for Coleman last fall. And there's potential at numerous spots. But with Nate Sudfeld healthy and back for one more season, Indiana's passing game must carve the path offensively if IU wants to play into the postseason. So we return to the question: Is there a No. 1 tight end on Indiana's roster? If so, how quickly will he show himself? OTHER POSITION PREVIEWS Quarterback Running back Wide receiver Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman. Read or Share this story: http://indy.st/1I7fB6E

Getty Images The time for restricted free agents to sign deals with new teams passed quite a while ago, but there was still one player who had not signed his tender offer at the start of business on Wednesday. That won’t be the case come Thursday morning. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Broncos kicker Brandon McManus has signed his tender, which sets him up to make $2.746 million after the Broncos tendered him at the second round level. Schefter adds that a long-term deal is still a possibility for McManus, who has been Denver’s kicker for the last three seasons. McManus has made 68-of-82 field goals and 108-of-110 extra points over that span. He’s also been effective on kickoffs, which explains why the Broncos made the cost of signing him away prohibitive for any prospective suitors.

Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Is piracy of digital information (music, videos, ebooks, etc.) the same as stealing? Matt Yglesias says no: The two acts have almost nothing in common besides being illegal. If I email you a copy of the new Fountains of Wayne album, then nobody has less stuff than they had pre-emailing. By contrast, if I break into Adam Schlesinger’s house, take his shoes, and then give the shoes to you, the upshot is that Schlesinger has less shoes than he had before. I’ve always been bothered by this argument. Let’s take a closer look at it. First, what’s the effect of stealing Adam Schlesinger’s shoes? Saying that he has “less shoes” than before is correct, but in a money economy, if you want to compare two different things you really want to convert them into dollar values first. So what is Schlesinger’s financial loss here? Is it the retail price of the shoes? That’s one way of looking at it. But in the real world, we usually make some adjustments. If Schlesinger bought the shoes at a discount store, they’re worth less to him. If the shoes are old, they’re worth less still. If Schlesinger never liked the shoes in the first place and doesn’t wear them anymore, maybe they’re worth almost nothing. Who knows? Basically, though, what you can say is that his financial loss is the retail price of the shoes modified by some factor that depends on circumstances. Now, what if we steal a copy of his new album? What’s his financial loss? Is it the retail cost of the album? Again, that’s one way of looking at it. But in the real world we make adjustments. If the album is normally sold at a discount, it’s worth less. If we only care about Schlesinger, and not the rest of the production chain, then his loss is the royalty payment he won’t get on the album you didn’t buy. On the other hand, if you just downloaded the album on a lark and never would have paid real money for it in the first place, his loss is almost nothing. Who knows? But again, what you can say is that that his financial loss is the retail price of the album modified by some factor that depends on circumstances. Economically, this is all that matters. In both cases, you’re causing Adam Schlesinger to take a financial loss. Maybe it’s big, maybe it’s small, but it’s theoretically quantifiable. That makes these cases very similar. Now, it’s true that there are lots of ways of causing people to take a financial loss, and not all of them come under the rubric of stealing. So at first glance, it might seem fair to object to the word in a digital context. But in actual operation, this objection rarely strikes me as arising out of sophisticated arguments about nonrival goods. Rather, it mostly seems to be a way of avoiding the very real fact that you’ve caused someone a financial loss by appropriating something you haven’t paid for. In that sense, “stealing” is a whole lot more descriptive than “copyright infringement” or “illegal downloading.” None of this is meant to take sides on the broader questions of appropriate copyright policy or intellectual property law in general. For the most part, I tend to agree with the pro-reform camp on these issues, and I think that lots of corporate abuse of current IP law is both foolish and blinkered. Still, no matter what kind of IP rules you favor, if you break those rules I think that calling it stealing is pretty close to the mark. Matt finishes with this: In some ways I think the decision of the pro-copying community to try to appropriate the language of “sharing” as an alternative to the language of “piracy” simply served to obscure how genuinely different digital copying is. Even if you and I “share” a physical object, there are still limits. If I borrow my girlfriend’s car to drive somewhere, I haven’t stolen it from her, but it’s genuinely the case that she can’t use it until I bring it back. If she copies a file I own, then we both have it. True enough. But if he had a draft magazine article stored on his hard drive, and his girlfriend copied it and sold it somewhere without his knowledge, I’ll bet he’d consider it stolen — possibly with the word emphasized by hurled crockery and intemperate language. He’d consider it stolen even though, technically, he still has a copy too. And he’d be right to. Before the theft, he had the potential to earn a certain amount of money by selling the publishing rights to his work. Afterward, he didn’t. That potential may not be a tangible physical object, but that doesn’t make it a nonrival good. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

On 3 October 2017, a Facebook user shared a photograph of a racist letter that he said was sent anonymously to a daycare center with which his family is affiliated: Hello I am writing this as a concerned parent and friend! So most of us noticed you have a black girl working for the daycare. Our problem is she’s too dark most of the kids is scared of her. I am only telling you this because some of us are planning to pull our kid form the daycare shes an eye sore. I see you’re trying to touch all of the nationalities but maybe hire a light skinned black she would blend more and not look like a “NANNY”. She’s not the first thing a child nor the parents want to see soon as they walk in the daycare. So the choice is yours! Choose wisely remember WE THE PARENTS PAY YOUR MORTAGE. I hope you make her aware shes not wanted. I’m sending her a copy as well. However if she needs a job Mcdonalds is always hiring her kind. So work your magic and make it disappear!!! P.S. Just trying “TO MAKE YOUR DAYCARE GREAT AGAIN” Although it is not uncommon for nasty letters and other controversies to be faked by social media users for attention or viral fame, this appears to be genuine — at least to the extent that we reached out to the daycare center, who averred that they received the letter but didn’t know who sent it or why. Sarah Wojcik, a reporter for the local Morning Call, told us that that police were also aware of the letter:

Last year, Glenda Freeman, of Robert O. Freeman Funeral Services Inc. on H Street NE, received a special request—a client needed help finding a casket large enough to hold a plus-size relative. A standard casket interior is 23 inches wide and 79 inches long, but she was in need of something substantially larger. “I had to get it made—it was 38 inches [wide],” she says. “Then I had to go get a cargo van, because after a certain size, you can’t get in a hearse.” The funeral-home owner says she is trying hard to keep up with the demands of burying city residents who have dimensions much larger than the average pine box. “Locally, they don’t carry anything over 33 inches—you have to call a casket company,” she says. “I don’t know why there aren’t more choices. Americans are more obese.” Freeman and many others in the burial business say that the cost associated with burying an obese person in the District can be comparable to putting a down payment on a house. Funeral costs for a person of average build can range from a thrifty $2,000 to an opulent $10,000. Burying someone significantly larger—no matter how humble or extravagant the service—can tack on thousands of additional dollars. When Sandy Brady’s 38-year-old son, Fredrick Brady, died in May of last year, the Springdale, Md., resident says he might have spent as much as $9,000 to bury his 5-foot, 600-pound son, had Freeman not given him a reduced rate. “After everything, it was about $4,500,” Brady says. “But it could have been a lot more expensive.” Brady says his son needed not only an oversize casket and a special vault that the cemetery charged $600 for, but also extra money for grave opening and closing because Fredrick required two plots. “I already had two burial plots,” says Brady. “If you’re not prepared...” Funeral-home and cemetery owners say they are encountering more and more such cases. Randolph Horton, of Petworth’s R.N. Horton Co. Morticians Inc., says he sees about one case every other month that requires an oversize casket, and that obesity and poverty seem to go hand-in-hand. “In most cases, it’s also a hardship case—they have no insurance, and they’re struggling as it is,” he says. Under the District’s Burial Assistance Program, run by the D.C. Department of Human Services’ Income Maintenance Administration, qualifying low-income residents using one of seven participating funeral homes can receive $800 in relief for burial costs, or $450 toward cremation, in cases where funeral expenses don’t exceed $2,000. In 2000, the program increased that limit for obese decedents, so that families requiring oversize caskets can spend up to $3,000 and still qualify for assistance. The amount of aid remains the same. Still, the cap is hardly high enough to account for costs. “If you’re talking about a 28-inch casket, that’s probably your $3,000 right there,” Freeman says. “Then you have 30-inch, 33-inch, 36-inch—then you have to get one handmade.” Mike Fortune, owner of the Bowie-based Precious Memories Casket Co., says that people weighing up to 250 pounds can fit in a standard casket, but he has been receiving requests for much larger coffins. Fortune can commission a metal casket as large as 40 inches that can hold a body weighing from 350 to 600 pounds. Anything beyond that, he has crafted from wood. “Beyond 40 inches, it’s too heavy, in metal, to lift,” Fortune says. “If you have a 300-pound casket with a 350-pound person in it, you need about 12 people to lift it.” Kate Jesberg, an administrator at the Income Maintenance Administration, says she is unsure how many people have taken advantage of the Burial Assistance Program’s plus-size provision, but she imagines the number of takers has been negligible. “We don’t maintain any formal statistics on that,” she says. “Still, the program staff says that the issue rarely arises.” Large-size funeral costs don’t come up, in part, because some of the funeral-home operators who work with the assistance program haven’t heard of the allowance for the oversized. The regulations weren’t published until last month, says Human Services spokesperson Debra Daniels. “I didn’t know that,” says Julia Marshall, proprietor of the Marshall’s Funeral Homes in both Petworth and Suitland, Md. “That would’ve been helpful. I’ve had a couple of families that could have used that.” Joseph B. Jenkins, owner of the Johnson and Jenkins Funeral Home, was also in the dark about the provision. “It was told to me that for a burial, you receive $800 for a service no more than $2,000—and direct cremation is $450,” he says. Jenkins said that he would have “certainly” put the clause to use had he been aware of it—he estimates that 10 percent of his business involves plus-size burials. Funeral homes that are not on the burial-assistance provider list say that they have to try that much harder to provide affordable burials for their largest clients. Horton says that most of the extra costs come in at the cemetery—things such as grave and vault opening and closing are much more expensive where a large person is concerned. But the only extra cost he passes on to his clients is that of the larger casket. “If $867.50 is the standard, and an oversize is $1,200, I’d charge them the difference. We’ll go ahead with the service with no additional service charges—that’s just me,” Horton says. Horton says that he is well-equipped to handle the needs of the overweight. If he receives a large-size corpse, he often has to make special arrangements for transport and holds services for the departed in his own chapel, to avoid having to move an extremely heavy oversize casket from place to place. “I’ve heard of funeral homes that had to rent a U-Haul,” Horton says. “I’ve heard of a case where a person died and they had to take him out of a window—had to have the fire department help get him out....We will do anything within reason.” Fortune also says that catering to the widening of Washington is just a part of his job description. “People are getting bigger,” Fortune says. “And when they die, they’re not losing too much more weight.” CP

The city of Vancouver has the most pampered pets in Canada, according to data released by Amazon.ca. Amazon’s fifth annual pampered pets list was compiled using sales data for pet related items from Amazon.ca from August 2016 to August 2017 on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents. Sales data was collected from products for dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and small animals. Along with Vancouver at No. 1, three other Lower Mainland centres — Burnaby (5), Richmond (13) and Surrey (17) — cracked Amazon’s list of top 20 most pampered pets cities in Canada. According to Amazon, Vancouver has the most mollycoddled mutts. “The city of Vancouver was top dog in the pooches’ category, purchasing the most accessories, grooming products, toys and treats,” Amazon said in a release. Burnaby, meanwhile, has the most pampered cats in the country. “Not only did Burnaby make its return to the top 20 this year after falling out last year, but residents ranked the highest in purchases for cat products. From beds to grooming to litter, they were all about the cattitude this year,” the release said. Vancouver also ranked first in the small animals category as well, which includes products for everything from guinea pigs to hamsters. The top 20 most pampered pets cities in Canada are:

Red Dead Redemption players, you've done some very bad things. Just pretending, of course! GameSpy has been collecting data from players of Rockstar Games' hit Western and the results are amazing. 12.6 million characters trampled by horses. 5,600 cumulative years spent in virtual jail. And that's just in two weeks! Earlier this week, we posted a snapshot of stats involving animal-hunting in Red Dead Redemption. At the time, we believed those stats, pulled from gamers networked to Rockstar's website, showed the full rankings of animals slayed by RDR players. Turns out that was just a tiny slice. The data we have for you today, via GameSpy, shows a whole lot more: Advertisement (Click the graphic to enlarge it) The huge graphic here shows a much bigger haul — numbers pulled by stat-tracking service GameSpy from almost three-million Red Dead Redemption players, from all of those who played the game on an online-connected Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 in the game's first two weeks of release. The GameSpy team told Kotaku today that the numbers pulled from Red Dead have continued to skyrocket. As of this past Tuesday, gamers have logged 3.6 billion minutes in the game. GameSpy works with Red Dead's creators at Rockstar Games to track more than 1000 statistics from each of the game's players. The companies use the statistics not just to wow gamers with nice infographics but to track playing patterns and learn how their games — and the elements within them — are being experienced by players. Ideally, this will lead to better games. Some of those stats can be seen on the Rockstar Social Club, the game maker's free site for all of its recent games.

After a miscarriage in July I gained 180 to 192..I became anemic, took medications for it and finally feeling good. So I have not worked out for 3 months with all the sad things going on. Decided to start workout but since I gained pounds I started off with walking for 2 hrs which will come to 5 to 6 miles. Also watched my food intake cut back on white rice and including salads for meals. The lowest I saw in the past month was 187 otherwise I just see 189 or 190 which is discouraging. I know weight loss is not magic but am too frustrated with scale not moving. I started feeling like walking does not help me and may be I have to start a diff activity. Just venting here and please give your support and advice that will give me a boost. Thanks in advance!! 0

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Donald Trump says “you don’t learn that much from tax returns,” a dubious assertion that has renewed attention on his refusal to release documents that could shed light on his tax rate, charitable giving and foreign business ties. Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, was happy to seize on the issue, questioning in the first presidential debate what Trump is trying to hide by bucking decades of campaign tradition in keeping his 1040s private. She referred to the several years in which it is known that Trump paid nothing in federal taxes. “So if he’s paid zero, that means zero for troops, zero for vets, zero for schools or health,” Clinton said. Republican Trump responded by saying avoiding taxes “makes me smart,” adding whatever money he did pay “would be squandered” anyway. Trump told CNN after the Monday night debate that “of course” he’s paid federal taxes in other years, but Democrats pounced just the same. “So what does that make the rest of us? Suckers, unintelligent, dumb?” asked Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada. Since 1976, all major party nominees for president have released their tax returns. Clinton has disclosed nearly 40 years’ worth. Both of the candidates for vice president, Democrat Tim Kaine and Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, have released theirs, too. A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found that 45 percent of likely but undecided voters said it was very or extremely important for candidates to release their tax returns. But voters are divided along party lines. While more than six in 10 Democrats said it was very or extremely important, fewer than three in 10 Republicans said the same. The billionaire New Yorker has said for months that because his tax returns are under a “routine audit” and have been for nearly 15 years, he is following the advice of his attorneys by keeping them private. Former IRS officials have expressed skepticism that anyone would be audited so frequently, and they and other tax experts say there’s no prohibition on Trump releasing his returns even if he is. Trump’s son, Donald Jr., recently told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the audits weren’t the real issue. Releasing the documents, he said, would lead to “every person in the country asking questions that would distract” from his father’s “main message.” Indeed, tax experts say the documents could provide significant insight about the Republican nominee, including an assessment of whether Trump has overstated — or understated — his income. The documents would also reveal how Trump has used various deductions, write-offs and loopholes in his stated effort to pay “as little” in taxes “as possible.” The returns would also shed light on the extent to which Trump is an “ardent philanthropist,” as his company’s website once claimed. Trump’s charitable giving has come into question during the campaign. He has made no personal contributions to his foundation since 2008, and The Washington Post has found instances where he may have used the charity to pay off expenses incurred by his businesses. Trump told the AP early in the campaign that he does most of his giving in his own name, rather than through his foundation. The only way to verify that would be through the itemized charitable donations listed on his tax returns, which would also reveal details about Trump’s foreign business dealings and offshore bank accounts. The 2012 GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, wrote in a Facebook post in May: “While not a likely circumstance, the potential for hidden inappropriate associations with foreign entities, criminal organizations, or other unsavory groups is simply too great a risk to ignore for someone who is seeking to become commander in chief.” Romney resisted releasing his own tax returns before relenting during his campaign, and Trump has suggested that decision was a mistake. He told The Washington Post in August that Romney had been “treated very unfairly” after releasing his returns “because people don’t understand returns that are complicated and complex.” “Mitt had perfect returns, they did absolutely nothing wrong,” yet critics “took a couple of lines” to make him look bad, Trump said. “And his returns are very much smaller than my returns.” Trump added a wrinkle during the debate, saying he’d be willing to ignore his lawyers’ advice to keep the returns private if Clinton released 33,000 deleted emails from the private system she used as secretary of state. “As soon as she releases them, I will release,” Trump said. ___ AP Polling Editor Emily Swanson and AP writers Chad Day and Erica Werner contributed to this report from Washington. ___ Follow Jill Colvin on Twitter on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/colvinj

SAN DIEGO Cocaine valued at about $765 million seized in international waters off Central and South America was unloaded Thursday from a Coast Guard cutter in San Diego. The cocaine weighed a total of about 25 tons, Coast Guard officials said. Five Coast Guard cutters and a Canadian naval vessel that had a Coast Guard law-enforcement team onboard made the seizures in the eastern Pacific Ocean between late July and early November. Most of the seizures were made from boats that were intercepted. Nearly 8 tons were seized from a semi-submersible, and two abandoned bales were recovered from the water, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Joel Guzman. The drugs were turned over to federal law-enforcement officials for evidence in prosecutions. The cocaine was unloaded at the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal from the Cutter Bertholf, which was involved in about half of the interdictions. During fiscal year 2015, U.S. Coast Guard personnel have seized more than 158,000 pounds of cocaine in drug trafficking zones in the Eastern Pacific, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The interdictions were made by crews on Coast Guard cutters, U.S. Navy vessels and ships from international allies. That fiscal year 2015 total surpasses the total cocaine seizures in that region from fiscal years 2012 through 2014, federal officials said. During the drug-interdiction operations off Central and South America, suspected vessels are tracked by military or law enforcement vessels. The ships are boarded and searched by Coast Guard crews.

Today was going just fine, I woke up, took a shower, and was heading down to get clean fresh clothes. I notice me sister in the kitchen looking for something, I say to her "What's poppin jimbo" and she goes nuts, calling me names telling me to get the fuck away from here, so I do. I start to head down to the stairs and she gets in my face, I tell her to hit me, I dare her, she backs off. So I go down and get fresh clothes and once I come up she tells me to leave her alone, despite the fact I didn't do anything to her. I tell her to stop talking to me if she wants me to go away, she gets mad, I tell her if she has a problem she can go somewhere else. At this point am I pissed at her feminist equality bullshit, as I am walking away I call her a trigger cunt, she can't take that and goes nuts, getting in my face about to do something. She tells me to call her that again so I do, she slaps me in my arm, I call her a trigger cunt again and as I am about to go away I can tell she is going to hit me soon. She keeps calling me stuff and I can't take it, I hit her straight in the jaw, she is shocked I hit her back, she goes in to kick me, I raise my leg up to block her and I then push her to the ground. She calls the cops and said something along the lines of "I am dangerous I am on meds and I can't control myself". I come up from putting clothes away and I talk to the cops that are now in my house, I am calm and tell them what they want to know, explaining the laws here and how she attacked me first, the cop says I am a man and I shouldn't do that blah blah blah and tells my sister she can get charges pressed if she wants to. You guys wanted your pussypass content well here it is, sorry for the wall of text.

Donald Trump (Screenshot/ABC News) GOP nominee Donald Trump said in an interview on Saturday with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he got a letter from the National Football League saying they were unhappy that upcoming presidential debates conflicted with scheduled game broadcasts — but the NFL has denied sending Trump any such letter. Trump was responding to Stephanopoulos’ question on Saturday about whether he’d accept the three-debate schedule proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates. “Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like,” Trump responded. “It’s against two NFL games. I got a letter from the NFL saying, ‘this is ridiculous, why are the debates against — because the NFL doesn’t want to go against the debates because the debates are gonna be pretty massive, from what I understand, OK. And I don’t think we should be against the NFL. I don’t know how the dates were picked.” Stephanopoulos asked if he were against the dates picked. “Hillary Clinton wants to be against the NFL,” Trump said. “Maybe like she did with Bernie Sanders where they were on Saturday nights when nobody’s home.” A spokesman for the NFL told CNN’s Brian Stelter that the organization had not sent a letter to Trump. “While we’d obviously wish the debate commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Trump,” Stelter quoted the spokesman saying. Watch Trump’s comments, as posted by ABC News, here: ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

Five people have been shot and injured at a Black Lives Matter protest in Minnesota in an attack that activists claim was racially motivated. The Minneapolis police department said officers responded to reports of a shooting at 10.30pm on Monday evening where a protest against the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a policeman last year was taking place. While police confirmed on Tuesday that they were looking for three white males in connection with the attack, a Black Lives Matter spokeswoman claimed that the men were white supremacists. In a month which has been punctuated by fear-mongering from right-wing politicians over the threat posed by refugees following the attack in Paris, many in the US have pointed out that perhaps the country needs to have a re-think over who poses the bigger threat. Which, as many have pointed out on social media, does sound quite similar to the events in Paris: Subsequently, the use of the word "terrorist" has been noticeable in social media coverage: Which has led many to question how we define the term: Following Monday night's attack, the family of Jamar Clark, the black man shot last year, called for the protest to be cancelled "out of imminent concern for the safety of the occupiers".

During the 2002 season, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning finished first and second in the NFL in passing touchdowns. While both were already established NFL quarterbacks, 2002 was the first time both spent a full season as starters, giving NFL fans a glimpse of an epic quarterback duo that would go on to dominate the AFC for years and define a generation. From 2002 to 2014, Brady and Manning combined for 23 playoff appearances, 21 division titles, 12 conference title games, seven Super Bowl appearances and 793 touchdown passes. But this season Manning- - now 39 years old -- has battled through multiple injuries, as well as some of the worst performances of his career. Brady is still going strong at age 38, but this is his 16th season in the NFL. During the last month, two quarterbacks who are more than a decade younger than Brady and Manning have risen to elite levels. Are Wilson and Newton poised to dominate the NFC the way that Manning and Brady dominated the AFC? Over the past four weeks, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton rank first and second respectively in Total QBR. The Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers have gone a combined 8-0 in that span, outscoring their opponents by more than 21 points per game. Russell Wilson & Cam Newton QB ranks since Week 11 Wilson Newton Pass TD 1st 2nd TD pct 1st 2nd Total QBR 1st 2nd Wilson has thrown 16 touchdowns without an interception during the past four weeks. According to Elias, he is one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for at least 16 touchdowns and no interceptions in a four-game span in a single season. The other two quarterbacks are Brady and Manning, who accomplished the feat during the same seasons in which they broke the single-season passing touchdown record. Wilson’s Total QBR of 95 is the best of the three during their respective four-game stretches. Newton has also been on a serious hot streak with 13 passing touchdowns in his past four games. Elias Sports Bureau research notes Newton’s 13 touchdown passes are tied for second-most in any four-game span in Panthers history. Newton has thrown a touchdown on slightly less than 11 percent of his pass attempts in his past four games, nearly doubling his touchdown percentage from his first nine games. During the past month, Newton and Wilson have each thrown for five touchdown passes in a game on two occasions. According to Elias, this marks the third season in NFL history in which multiple quarterbacks have had multiple games with five passing touchdowns. The other two seasons where that happened were 2011 (Drew Brees and Matthew Stafford) and 2004 (Manning and Daunte Culpepper). Stretching the field One of the biggest reasons for their success has been their improved downfield passing in the past month. Entering Week 11, Wilson was completing 48 percent of his passes that traveled 15 yards or more downfield and Newton was completing 38 percent of such throws. In the past four weeks, Wilson ranks first (65 percent) and Newton ranks fourth (56 percent) in the NFL in completion percentage of throws of 15 or more yards. They have combined for 12 touchdowns and no interceptions on those passes. Pocket passing Wilson leads the NFL in Total QBR from inside the pocket over the past four weeks at 98.5. Newton ranks second during that span at 93.3 inside the pocket. Wilson has 15 touchdowns from inside the pocket since the start of Week 11, the same number he had all last season from inside the pocket in 16 games. He has been the most accurate quarterback on passes from within the pocket over the past four weeks. Wilson has been off-target on 9 percent of his pocket passes, three percentage points lower than the next quarterback. Newton has 26 passing touchdowns from inside the pocket this season, more than he had in a full season from inside and outside the pocket combined during his first four seasons in the NFL.

A robot surgeon has been taught to perform a delicate procedure—stitching soft tissue together with a needle and thread—more precisely and reliably than even the best human doctor. The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), developed by researchers at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., uses an advanced 3-D imaging system and very precise force sensing to apply stitches with submillimeter precision. The system was designed to copy state-of-the art surgical practice, but in tests involving living pigs, it proved capable of outperforming its teachers. Currently, most surgical robots are controlled remotely, and no automated surgical system has been used to manipulate soft tissue. So the work, described today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, shows the potential for automated surgical tools to improve patient outcomes. More than 45 million soft-tissue surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year. Examples include hernia operations and repairs of torn muscles. “Imagine that you need a surgery, or your loved one needs a surgery,” says Peter Kim, a pediatric surgeon at Children’s National, who led the work. “Wouldn’t it be critical to have the best surgeon and the best surgical techniques available?” An autonomous robot that can perform surgery, shown here sewing pig intestinal tissue. Kim does not see the technology replacing human surgeons. He explains that a surgeon still oversees the robot’s work and will take over in an emergency, such as unexpected bleeding. “Even though we take pride in our craft of doing surgical procedures, to have a machine or tool that works with us in ensuring better outcome safety and reducing complications—[there] would be a tremendous benefit,” Kim says. The new system is an impressive example of a robot performing delicate manipulation. If robots can master human-level dexterity, they could conceivably take on many more tasks and jobs. STAR consists of an industrial robot equipped with several custom-made components. The researchers developed a force-sensitive device for suturing and, most important, a near-infrared camera capable of imaging soft tissue in detail when fluorescent markers are injected. “It’s an important result,” says Ken Goldberg, a professor at UC Berkeley who is also developing robotic surgical systems. “The innovation in 3-D sensing is particularly interesting.” Goldberg’s team is developed surgical robots that could be more flexible than STAR because instead of being manually programmed, they can learn automatically by observing expert surgeons. “Copying the skill of experts is really the next step here,” he says.

More people are eating local and organic foods and plan to consume less meat and bottled water. However, most also believe they lack enough information and influence to become more environmentally sustainable consumers, a new National Geographic survey has found. This year's report, the fifth since 2008, focused on food. It found noticeable improvements in eating habits even as environmentally sustainable behavior when it came to housing, transportation, and consumer goods appeared stuck or had worsened. Consumers in 11 countries, including South Korea, Hungary, Australia, and Canada, had higher food scores compared with their scores in the previous survey, in 2012. (Read "The Next Green Revolution" in National Geographic magazine.) View Images India, which has ranked first in food sustainability in every Greendex, came out far ahead again, thanks to its culturally dictated eating habits. Nearly one in four Indians is a vegetarian, and those who aren't tend to avoid beef, the most environmentally damaging meat. Indians have reduced the amount of imported food they eat and increased their consumption of locally produced, homegrown, and organic foods. Sprawling Countries Eat the Most Locally More than half of consumers surveyed frequently eat locally grown food. Russians are the biggest locavores—77 percent consume local food daily or several times a week—followed by Indians and Chinese. Russians, along with Hungarians, Swedes and Germans, also are eating more organic food and natural foods, now more and more part of mainstream diets. Better informed consumers are more likely to pay attention to food ingredients, believe meat is bad for the environment, and be willing to pay more for organic and local foods. Despite the move toward more sustainable habits, just 34 percent of consumers think they know enough about the quality, origin, and safety of the meals on their plates, and 43 percent believe they have little influence over how their food is produced. Consumers in every country are more concerned about food safety than in 2012, with the Chinese worrying the most, after a recent series of tainted-food scares in their country. "Consumers feel somewhat alienated from the food system," says Eric Whan of GlobeScan. "They don't feel particularly empowered to affect how food is produced." Food as Culture Majorities in every country except Sweden said that food is an essential part of their culture. Indian, Chinese, Spanish, and Mexican consumers were most attached to their national foods. Some comfort foods, though, pose cultural barriers to more sustainable behavior. Mexicans ranked last in the Greendex measure of food due to a diet heavy in beef and chicken. The Japanese, who eat more fish and seafood than anyone, ate the next least-green diet. Swedish and Spanish consumers saw the biggest drops in their food scores since 2012, thanks to bigger appetites for fish and seafood in both countries and for chicken in Spain. Meanwhile America's junk food culture means its consumers eat the most processed and packaged foods and the fewest fruits and vegetables. And not surprisingly for island nations, the British and Japanese eat far more imported food than homegrown. When told certain foods were less harmful to the environment, consumers in every country said they planned to eat more grains and beans and to buy more locally produced or natural food. They also vowed to cut down on meat, bottled water, and packaged foods. Yet consumers in most English-speaking countries and in Sweden were less interested in how their food was produced than people elsewhere. Globally, more consumers reject than accept the idea that eating meat is bad for the environment. Those who plan to eat less meat in the future cite health or cost more than the environment as their prime motivator. Nicole Darnall, a researcher at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, is not surprised by the slow-as-molasses rate of change, especially in the United States. "We haven't seen broad, sweeping laws that would radically change how consumers interact with food," she said in an interview. "We subsidize traditional food production in a way we don't subsidize natural and organic foods." Not Our Problem British, German, Australian, American, and Canadian consumers showed little interest in changing their consumption habits to diminish their environmental footprints—even though theirs were among the biggest. The most stubborn consumers lived in Japan, which last week announced it will resume whale hunting and where nearly half eat pork several times a week. "Something's going on in Japan—talk about entrenched," says Susan Frazier, research manager at NGS. "There's not much there that's changing for the positive." Despite the industrial world's relative resistance to change, the Greendex offers reason for hope. Consumers in five countries with a total of 1.8 billion people—Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, China, and India—all have a keen appetite and a great potential for change. Many consumers in those countries, when given information about how their habits affect the environment, indicated that they were open to altering their behavior in ways that would contribute to a more sustainable planet.

Join renowned economist Michael Hudson as he discusses his new book, J is for Junk Economics: A Guide to Reality in an Age of Deception at Busboys & Poets (1025 5th St NW location) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21. In this follow-on to his Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroyed the Global Economy (2015), Hudson discusses how mainstream economic vocabulary has been contorted to obscure the manner in which financial giants extract wealth from rest of the economy. This A-Z user's guide will serve as critical reading for those seeking to understand the broader economic system during this new "post-fact" era. A former Wall Street analyst, government adviser, and fierce critic of neoliberal economic order, Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and Professor of Economics at Peking University in China. He gives speeches, lectures and presentations all over the world for diverse academic, economic and political audiences. He is the author of many books on the global economy, with a focus on financial history, debt, land tenure and related economic institutions from antiquity to the present. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so please register here. Hudson will be signing copies of J is for Junk Economics, which will be available for purchase at the event. You can learn more about Michael Hudson here.

Expanded Base Building for ICONS Helps Build a Better Foundation for Your Base Expanded Base Building provides additional content for adding features to your super-heroes' (or villains') base in your ICONS game. This product presents over 40 new base features to consider. Expanded Base Building for ICONS has New Base Features The new features range from the Amplifier, which enhances some powers used within the base, to Intelligent so your base can think for itself, to something more mundane like Workshop or extraordinary like the base having its own Weather System. Expanded Base Building for ICONS has New Base Trouble to Worry About In addition to all these great new base features, Expanded Base Building also more than a dozen examples of ways to cause trouble for the base. Examples of base trouble range from having Accessible Bowels intruders can sneak through in the form tunnels, ducts, and the like, to Haunted or Weak Defenses. Both a color and print-friendly version of the product are included. ICONS and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Steve Kenson and Ad Infinitum Adventures, and are used under license. Click on an image to check out other Misfit Studios ICONS RPG products Rules and Miscellaneous Supplement ICONS RPG Products Iconic Archetypes ICONS RPG Products Your World No Longer Scenario ICONS RPG Products Do-Gooders & Daredevils ICONS RPG Products Misfits & Menaces ICONS RPG Products The Manual of Mutants and Monsters ICONS RPG Products Click on an image to check out our Misfit Studios / Eden Studios Unisystem Products Armageddon the End Times Rules and Accessories Odyssey Prime Rules and Accessories Click on an image to check out our Misfit Studios Fiction Products Click on an image to check out other Steven Trustrum Marketing products Steven Trustrum Marketing Products -- Helping You Sell More Keep checking back for more Steven Trustrum Marketing products

Eminem is the epitome of a dual diagnosis. Several years ago, the rapper, who is now 40 years old, spoke out about the depression that took hold of his life. In his book, The Way I Am, Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, described his emotional reaction to the 2006 murder of Proof, a member of Eminem’s group, D12. “I have never felt so much pain in my life,’ Marshall told Now Magazine, ‘It was tough for me to even get out of bed and I had days when I couldn’t walk, let alone write a rhyme.” The effects of Proof’s death were leading Eminem to gain an unhealthy amount of weight, and to increase his drug use. MENTAL ILLNESS Depression is one of the most prevalent mental illnesses, but as a society, we don’t always take it seriously. 15% of our population will experience the symptoms of depression at some point in their lifetime; that’s 47 million people. If it’s not you, it is certainly someone close to you who is feeling hopeless, worthless, and disinterested in life. Like Eminem expressed, the feelings of seemingly chronic sadness are debilitating. Not wanting to get out of bed becomes an inability to do almost anything. Activities you once enjoyed and relationships you once valued are now meaningless, and there appears no reason to engage in any form of self-care. SUBSTANCE ABUSE In many cases, someone with the symptoms of depression attempt to self-medicate. Alcohol offers a (temporary) way to escape from the pain and despair, but depression is also an effect of drinking. Treating depression with alcohol makes the symptoms of depression worse, which makes you want to drink again, which makes you depressed, and so on, and so forth. Heroin and prescription painkillers (opiates like Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin) take away all pain. Eminem found out firsthand just how much opiates can make you feel like grief has been erased. When heroin use, or one of its pharmaceutical look likes, stops, all of the pain that was numbed comes rushing back. What could have been managed by processing the pain each day has essentially been put away in a closet whose door has been flung wide open and now feels overwhelming and almost paralyzing to face. The solution to unwanted pain? More alcohol, heroin, or painkillers. The cycle continues: depression paired with a substance abuse disorder. DUAL DIAGNOSIS Eminem is the perfect example of dual diagnosis, or two disorders co-occurring. He was addicted to Vicodin (and other substances) and suffering from clinically-diagnosable depression. Like Marshall Mathers, millions of people are diagnosed with a mental illness and a substance abuse or dependence disorder, and do not get help. When each diagnosis is not understood, and the combination is not addressed, addicts with depression, overdose, get arrested, or end up dead. Eminem completed rehab and immediately relapsed when a friend gave him a handful of blue pills. Later, after nearly dying from an opiate overdose, the rapper was told that the pills were methadone and that he ingested the equivalent of shooting 4 bags of heroin. The almost fatal incident did not change Eminem’s ways. Addiction is powerful, and in an effort to keep depression “treated”, in his mind, he needed to continue abusing prescription drugs. THE HOLLYWOOD WAY In the documentary, How to Make Money Selling Drugs, writer and director Matthew Cooke presents the business of drugs, with the true risks and inevitable consequences of selling and using. The “War on Drugs” has been fighting against illegal street drugs for decades. The documentary alerts its viewers to the legal drug game the pharmaceutical industry and the government has created, through a Chris Rock standup clip. Our country sends the message: don’t use marijuana, cocaine, or heroin, but drink alcohol at every occasion, give your kids Adderall, and keep popping a few Vicodin or OxyContin for that pain you had months ago. Eminem shares his introduction to the drug that lead to his addiction: “When I took my first Vicodin, it was like this feeling of ‘Ahhh.’ Like everything was not only mellow, but didn’t feel any pain. It just kinda numbed things. I don’t know exactly when it became a problem, I just remember liking it more and more.” Drugs are created that hook the user (i.e. a long-term customer.) Marshall is one of the 1 in 10 people who become addicted when using any drug. From all his prescription drug use, Marshall’s organs started shutting down. He nearly died; doctors told him had he gone to the hospital just hours later, he would not still be here. There is no other way around addiction, you must be professionally treated. Addicts cannot control their own use and will not make changes until completely clean and sober. Eminem knew he was going to die if he did not stop. Depression and drug abuse, or dual diagnosis, was ruining his life. He is now clean and trying to set a good example for his kids. Marshall’s words to other addicts: “It does get better. Ya know. It just, it does.” Learn more about Sovereign Health Group’s dual diagnosis treatment program by watching this video:

If you've ever released a pet goldfish into the wild, you probably didn't expect it may get as big as a football. But researchers from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, have tracked these huge fish travelling hundreds of kilometres in just a year. Goldfish are native to eastern Asia but are now a common pet around the world and considered one of the worst invasive aquatic species. Once released, they can have a big impact on local ecosystems. Dr Beatty says the team found many goldfish which weighed in at over a kilogram, while the biggest was measured at 1.9kg (4lb). "Our research discovered the fish displayed a significant seasonal shift in habitats during breeding season, with one fish moving over 230km (142 miles) during the year," says Dr Stephen Beatty, from the Centre of Fish and Fisheries. This study should help with species control in the future, he adds. Goldfish are supposed to have a four-second memory, but I'm sure Tish recognised me Hilda Hand Record-breaking goldfish owner "Once established, self-sustaining populations of alien freshwater fishes often thrive and can spread into new regions, which is having a fundamental ecological impact and are major drivers of the decline of aquatic fauna." Goldfish like this can also harm water quality, introduce disease, disturb habitats and compete with native species, threatening their survival. The RSPCA says a "common misconception" about goldfish, which are a member of the carp family, is that they live for five years and grow to 12cm (4.7in) in length. "The fact is they're known to live for up to 25 years and some can reach over 40cm (15.7in)," the charity says. Tish, the record-breaking goldfish from Thirsk, North Yorkshire, died in 1999 at the age of 43. Owner Hilda Hand, 72, said she buried him in a yoghurt pot in her garden. "Goldfish are supposed to have a four-second memory, but I'm sure Tish recognised me," she said. Goldfish can enter waterways when the contents of an aquarium is dumped, so the advice is not to empty tanks with live animals in them. The RSPCA advises contacting the place where you got the pet from in the first place, if you are no longer able to care for your goldfish. If they are unable to help, then look for a charity which specialises in rehoming fish. Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat

A pair of photographs are stirring the folklore pot in the Northwest Territories — or perhaps more accurately, leaving a big impression. Both photos, sent to CBC North, show lakes that resemble gigantic footprints. "Godzilla exist!" Eric James wrote on CBC North's Facebook page, under the photo of a lake with the unmistakeable shape of three-toed foot. The photo was sent in by Kailie Letendre, who snapped it on on her way up to Inuvik. Another, shared more than 250 times, shows another foot-like lake formation — with islands and trees at the top forming the toes. The aerial shot was taken by Andrew Paul Beaverho between Whati and Yellowknife. "It's Yamoria's footprint from when he fought the giant beavers!" Keith Shergold commented on CBC North's Facebook page. Kailie Letendre snapped this shot from the window of a plane on her way to Inuvik. (Kailie Letendre) While many comments are made for amusement, they are steeped in lore that goes back millennia and form the rich culture of the land's first inhabitants. "A lot of this is still revered and adhered to. People use these stories and legends to guide their lives," said Alestine Andre, heritage researcher with the Gwich'in Tribal Council. "Some are very serious, but some of them are for entertainment as well. It's a very rich description of how things used to be and an explanation for how our land was shaped." The Northwest Territories is nearly 1.2 million square kilometres with a topography of Precambrian volcanic rock heaved into mountains and carved into valleys, along with untold lakes, rivers, turbulent waterfalls, islands and a tapestry of trees. The Nahanni Valley, west of Yellowknife, is many worlds unto itself. Despite the harsh conditions in winter, the valley contains tropic areas with hot springs, lush plants and sweltering whirpools in an area known as Hell's Gate. Then there's Great Slave Lake, which is too deep to know what really lurks at its dark base. The official estimate is that the deepest lake in North America — the sixth deepest on Earth — goes down 614 metres but a University of California researcher claims there are trenches that reach even farther down. For all of its breadth, the N.W.T. is populated by just 41,462 people, according to the most recent Census. That leaves an extensive reach of uninhabited space — and room for plenty of legends. The earliest of days was a time when people and animals were equals and giant creatures wandered, and it was during these days that many features of the modern landscape were created, according to Andre, ​co-author of the book, Gwichya Gwich'in Googwandak: The History and Stories of the Gwichya Gwich'in, As Told by The Elders of Tsiigehtshik .​ "These marks and tracks show that the animals who made them must have been of enormous size. Mostly these were animals that everybody knew — beaver, fish, or wolverine — but they were bigger than any that the people had ever seen, and they lived much longer," the book states. "These giant spirit animals, chijuudiee, have inhabited the land since the earliest days." A still image from a video about the legend of Yamoria and the giant wolverine. The animation is based on paintings by Archie Beaulieu. (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre/Cogent/Benger Productions) Ch'ii choo's thunderous steps One of the greatest legends is that of a great traveller and warrior known by many names, depending on the region and tribe. The the Gwich'in call him Atachuukaii, while he is Yamoria for the Dene of North Slavey and Zhamba Deja for the Dene of South Slavey. The Chipewyan call him Hachoghe while the Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene have named him Yamozha. By all, he is known as a hero. The Gwichya Gwich'in Googwandak says Atachuukaii encountered the man-eating giant Ch'ii choo near present-day Fort Yukon. The giant chased Atachuukaii across the land and all the way up the Mackenzie River. The chase lasted a long time and Ch'ii choo's thunderous steps made indentations in the ground, creating six big lakes between Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. Giant beavers, wolverines According to the Dene, their ancient land Denendeh, was terrorized by giant beavers that would attack people. Yamoria chased them to the northwest corner of present-day Saskatchewan, where during the struggle, one beaver kicked away all the trees, creating the Athabasca sand dunes. After killing another, Yamoria tossed part of the empty dam into the Athabasca River, where it is now an island. Yamoria also saved people from two giant wolverines, who used a medicine power to control their minds and entrap them before devouring them. Yamoria tricked the adult wolverines in order to get close, then killed them. He then squeezed the young wolverines, shrinking them to the size the animals are today — an animal small in body but with the power of a giant. Some other legends from the Gwichya Gwich'in Googwandak include: Gyuu dazhoo A giant hairy worm, or snake, that came out of the ocean and travelled up the Mackenzie River and into the Peel River. He wanted to go up into the mountains, so he swallowed big rocks as he moved along, burrowing out the shape that is now the Snake River. Gyuu dazhoo still lives in the area, but it has not been sighted for so long now that nobody is quite sure whether it actually lives in the mountains near the headwater of the Snake River, or in a lake beside the river. Nehtruh tshì' This is the name of an area on the bank of Tsiigehnjik, just downstream from Martin zheh, which is very distinct from its surroundings. The land here looks as if it has been torn apart. It is said to be the work of a giant wolverine that came out of a nearby lake. He broke up the hills and big boulders while heading underground. Chijuudiee Nobody knows what these giants looked like or who they were, but the marks they left were so large and unusual that they could not have been made by a normal-sized being. One such chijuudiee must once have come out of a little lake southwest of K'eeghee chuudlaii, where it created a wide trench through the trees. More beasts whose stories persist in the Northwest Territories include: Nàhgą The Tlicho sasquatch known for stealing people from bush camps. It is said to have powerful magic that helps it lure people who are then never seen again. Waheela Described as a creature resembling a wolf or wolf-bear hybrid. It is said to stand four to five feet tall at the shoulders, with a wide head, enormous body, and blazing white fur. Various legends describe it as an evil spirit with supernatural powers and a penchant for removing people's heads. It is said to reside in the Nahanni Valley, which has earned the nicknames Valley of Headless Men, Deadmen Valley, and Headless Range. The decapitated bodies of prospecting brothers Willie and Frank McLeod were found along the Nahanni River in 1909, while Swiss prospector Martin Jorgenson was found in the same condition in 1917, followed in 1945 by a miner from Ontario, who was headless and still in his sleeping bag. 'Tip of the iceberg' These stories are "just touching the tip of the iceberg because there's just so much," said Andre. "And this is just on the land — we also have stories about the sky. "People are still very respectful of the teaching of our ancestors so we still have a great deal of respect for these stories and the information. And I'm only talking about the Gwich'in area — you go into the Sahtu, you go into Behchoko and all that area, and also south of [Great Slave] lake and around there. "Aboriginal culture is just so rich." So is there still a chance some of those legendary beings still exist, somewhere in the vast hinterland of the Northwest Territories? "You could think that, yeah," said Andre.

Every day on Roblox, millions of people are imagining, creating, and playing together across a myriad of devices ranging from smartphones to high-end computers and virtual reality headsets. While some gaming companies might design their games with one or two control schemes in mind, Roblox is unique in that we’ve built a flexible core code that allows creators to ensure their games will work right out of the box, regardless of device. As part of our ongoing mission to continually fine-tune the character and camera controls so they’re best-in-class on every device, Roblox is excited to launch our all-new “Comfort Cam” innovation for VR headsets. Comfort Cam Shortly after we shipped Roblox on Oculus Rift last year, our engineering team faced an interesting challenge: How can we design a better, more sophisticated camera and control system that would (a) provide players with a comfortable gameplay experience and (b) prevent giving VR players any advantages over players on other devices? Although teleport-to-move is a common tactic for (a), it’s not ideal in a multiplayer environment. The VR player would travel a lot faster than players on non-VR devices, giving them a competitive edge. To account for both these conditions, we’ve developed an innovative solution—our patent pending Comfort Cam. In order to provide the most comfortable experience in VR, we’ve made it so that the in-game camera will now remain stationary instead of following the player’s avatar as he or she moves around. As soon as the player stops moving, the camera automatically teleports to a new position. We found that by eliminating the potential for fast accelerations, we greatly reduced the level of discomfort a player might experience in VR. You can still control your avatar using the d-pad or analog stick, and if you prefer, you can also manually reset the camera position while you’re still moving with the Left Trigger. What’s great about this control scheme is that it allows players to enjoy a comfortable VR experience with the widest set of possible hardware and it doesn’t require developers to custom build their own VR controls. The Comfort Cam already works well with nearly every game or experience available on Roblox. To see the configurations for all the different control schemes available in VR, scroll down to the bottom of the blog post. Radial Menu We’ve also added a few new highly requested features to make playing in VR even more accessible for everyone. First, you can now easily access all the important system settings by using the new VR Radial Menu. Just tap the Menu button to bring it up, then select one of the options using the laser pointer. Here, you can access the system menu which includes (starting from the top, going clockwise): System Menu Player List Recenter Camera Notifications Exit Game Backpack 2D UI Toggle VR Toggle You’ll also now be able to toggle VR Mode on or off while you have a Rift or Vive headset connected to your computer. If you want to switch between your computer monitor and the VR headset, launch a game and bring up the system menu (press ESC or click the hamburger menu button), then use the VR option to turn VR on or off. We’d love to hear your feedback about the Comfort Cam as we continue to iterate and ensure that everyone has the best Roblox experience possible in VR. Let us know what you think on the Developer Forum or by tweeting at us using @Roblox! VR Controls

The Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed that the Senegal midfielder Sadio Mané has been successful in obtaining a work permit and will join up with his team-mates on Friday. Mané is still awaiting his Saints debut after joining the club from Red Bull Salzburg in an £11.8m deal, but will not feature against Swansea City on Saturday. Koeman said: “Yesterday I got the message everything is done. The work permission is OK. He is flying back today and he will arrive tomorrow. It’s too close for Saturday.” Koeman will assess 22-year-old Mané’s physical state before determining if the winger can feature against Arsenal in the Capital One Cup next Tuesday night. “The last 10 days I don’t know what he did,” Koeman added. “It will be a good chance for him to be part of the squad for next Tuesday, for the League Cup game against Arsenal.” Saints have no injury concerns after striker Shane Long overcame a head injury. “Shane is OK,” Koeman added. “He’s [been]doing training sessions for three days. He’s no problem for this Saturday. No injuries. Only the case of Mané.” Mané’s type of transfer may not occur if the Football Association succeeds in tightening rules over non-European Union imports. Koeman, though, defended Southampton’s impressive record of nurturing native English talent. “I’m positive to try in the country to do the maximum for the English players,” the Dutchman added. “I think we do that in Southampton. If you look at the team, our squad, it’s a lot of English players, a lot of young players, maybe it’s more and more than the rest of the clubs.”

When a naked, growling stranger moving with "super human" strength went after his little sister, Tony Grein did what he says any brother would do: He fought back. For his bravery, the 18-year-old was bitten all over his face, his attacker's teeth leaving marks in his skin and his ear. Grein was the last of three people attacked during a bizarre rampage Tuesday that ended when deputies shot Anesson Joseph, 28, outside a West Delray neighborhood. An eyewitness to the shooting said deputies did the "right thing." "I look at the deputies as heroes," said Robert Friskney, 50, who was headed to his home in The Colony at the time of the standoff and watched the shooting in shock from his car. The bullets ended Joseph's wild spree, which Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw speculated may have been drug-fueled. Authorities have not said what drugs Joseph may have been on. But Bradshaw said Joseph, who was 6-foot, 3-inches tall and weighed 250 pounds, could have done a lot more damage. The sheriff said deputies "probably stopped a lot of other people from getting hurt really bad tonight." The deputy who fired the shots has been put on administrative leave, standard procedure in such cases. The savage sequence of events unfolded around 8:30 p.m. on South Military Trail north of Lake Ida Road. Beside Grein, deputies say Joseph attacked 66-year-old Douglas Kozlik, a retired New York City cop, and an unidentified 10-year-old boy, who tried to scramble under a fence to escape. All were injured and hospitalized, but are expected to survive. Grein's family joined Friskney in supporting what the deputies did. "He was running around like an animal – no shoes, nothing – just like a wild animal in for the kill and trying to cannibalize my nephew," said Gigi Grein, 53. "This is kind of like something you see out of a zombie movie," said Tony Grein's dad, Mario. "They had no choice. They had to take him down." The attack on Tony Grein was reminiscent of an infamous May 2012 "zombie" attack on Miami's MacArthur Causeway, in which a naked man savaged a homeless man, chewing off most of his face. The attacker in that case, 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, was also shot and killed by police. Tony Grein said he thought of the "Causeway Cannibal" assault as Joseph, who he said was "built like a rock," bit down on him. "There's a lot of things that go through your head when you think you're about to die," the teen recalled. "I was honestly panicking, scared he was going to rip off my face because of what happened in Miami. But then – after Grein pulled out a boxcutter and his dad came running to help – his attacker took off, tearing down the street. Authorities have not said what led up to, or sparked, Joseph's behavior. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said detectives believe he may have stripped off a striped polo, dark shorts and flip flops near the intersection of Canal View Drive and Pine Tree Drive. The clothing was still missing Wednesday. Joseph's family and friends could not be reached for comment, despite calls. State records show he had no criminal record in Florida. He was involved in a West Palm Beach entertainment company called Nightlife University Parties and Events, LLC. His Facebook page says he attended Forest Hill Community High School and previously worked at Starbucks. Deputies say Joseph appeared to be "in a state of psychosis" when they encountered him at the gates of The Colony. They tried to reason with him, but he took a "fighting stance" and charged one of the deputies, according to Barbera. She said a Taser was useless against Joseph, so one of the deputies fired shots, hitting him once in the torso and twice in his lower body. Joseph fell to the ground, but still flailed around and tried to get back to his feet. He continued fighting when paramedics arrived to treat him, but was finally subdued and taken to Delray Medical Center, where he later died. Bradshaw said Tuesday authorities don't know whether the cause of death was the shooting, drugs or something else. Friskney said he was shocked by what unfolded in front of him. "Honestly, it was like watching a movie," he said. "It was so surreal. I just couldn't believe what I was watching. And of course, after the incident, the only thing I could think about was getting home to make sure my wife and kids were safe and to make sure they knew I was safe." Tony Grein was released from the hospital early Wednesday morning. The scars on his face and ear are expected to heal, and he said he would do it all over again to protect his sister. His dad said he's happy things didn't turn out worse. But he's nagged by all the unanswered questions. "Why would he do that?" Mario Grein said. "I wish I had some answers as to why he would do that, how this all started." Staff Writer Brett Clarkson and researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this story [email protected], 561-243-6531 or Twitter @britsham

One of President Donald Trump's friends said Monday he believes the President is considering dismissing special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to lead the FBI investigation into Russia's potential ties to the 2016 election. "I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel," Christopher Ruddy -- who was at the White House Monday -- told PBS' Judy Woodruff on "PBS NewsHour." "I think he's weighing that option." A source close to the President said Trump is being counseled to steer clear of such a dramatic move like firing the special counsel. "He is being advised by many people not to do it," the source said. Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media, based his Mueller comment on a television interview with one of Trump's lawyers. When asked about the interview by CNN, Ruddy said: "My quote is accurate." He told Woodruff he thinks firing Mueller "would be a very significant mistake, even though I don't think there's a justification ... for a special counsel." "Chris speaks for himself," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, deputy White House press secretary. Mueller, who was appointed by the Justice Department in May to replace ousted FBI Director James Comey, has built a team of formidable legal minds who've worked on everything from Watergate to Enron. Mueller has long been widely respected by many in Washington from both sides of the aisle, with many lawmakers praising Deputy Rob Rosenstein's appointment of the former FBI director. Still not everyone is a fan. Earlier this week, Newt Gingrich reportedly told radio host John Catsimatidis that Congress should "abolish the independent counsel." "I think Congress should now intervene and they should abolish the independent counsel," the former House speaker said. "Because Comey makes so clear that it's the poison fruit of a deliberate manipulation by the FBI director leaking to The New York Times, deliberately set up this particular situation. It's very sick." Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, disputed that report. "I don't think Newt said that," Gingrich told reporters. "I think it'd be a disaster. There's no reason to fire Mueller. What had he done to be fired?" After news of Ruddy's interview surfaced on the web, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, echoed that sentiment on Twitter. "If President fired Bob Mueller, Congress would immediately re-establish independent counsel and appoint Bob Mueller," the California lawmaker tweeted. "Don't waste our time."s

The Serious Fraud Office has charged Barclays PLC and four individuals, including the bank's ex-chief executive John Varley, with conspiracy to commit fraud and for providing unlawful financial assistance during the financial crisis. Since August 2012, the SFO had been investigating commercial agreements between Barclays and Qatari investors struck during the financial crisis and the suggestion that the bank might have illegally bailed itself out with its own lending. Qatar Holding, which is part of the Qatar Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, and Challenger, an investment vehicle owned by a former Qatari prime minister, invested more than £5bn in Barclays between June and October 2008. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 $0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. Without the Qatar bailout, Barclays – which was sitting on many billions of pounds of bad loans – is likely to have needed public funds to avoid a collapse, like the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. That was something the bank’s executives at the time were desperate to avoid. The SFO had been examining whether payments from Barclays to Qatar made at the same time, including around £322m in “advisory services agreements” (ASA), alongside a $3bn loan made to Qatar in November 2008, were honest and properly disclosed. Under the 1985 Companies Act it is unlawful for a company to lend itself money, a practice known as financial assistance. On Tuesday, the SFO said that it had charged Barclays PLC and Mr Varley, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation. Barclays PLC, Mr Varley and Mr Jenkins are also charged with unlawful financial assistance. The defendants will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 3 July. Mr Varley is the former chief executive officer of Barclays. Mr Jenkins was executive chairman for the investment banking and investment management divisions of the bank in the Middle East and North Africa. Mr Kalaris oversaw Barclays Wealth and Investment Management and Mr Boath was the European head of the bank’s financial institutions group. The charges against Mr Varley, who left Barclays in 2010, mark the first time the head of any major bank has faced criminal charges since the 2008 financial crisis. In a statement, Barclays said that it was “considering its position in relation to these developments”. “Barclays awaits further details of the charges from the SFO,” it said. The Financial Conduct Authority, the City’s regulator, had previously investigated the Qatar deal and said in 2013 that it intended to fine the bank for failing to disclose information about the arrangement. But the FCA suspended its case when the SFO opened its criminal investigation. The FCA on Tuesday said: “We are pleased that this matter, which led to the stay of our own case, is now in the public domain. We welcome a fair and transparent hearing on the basis of the charges set out today by the SFO. We work closely with the SFO across a range of matters, in pursuit of our distinct objectives.” Barclays also faces the prospect of civil legal action from shareholders who subscribed to its June 2008 capital raising. "Shareholders who subscribed for shares and suffered losses as a result of any deliberately misleading information or omissions deserve redress," said Simon Hart at the law firm RPC. Challenger was the investment vehicle of Qatar’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani. As money markets began to seize up in 2007 and 2008 and the solvency of many large banks came under deep suspicion, Barclays announced a £4.5bn public share issue in June 2008 to boost its capital. This was underwritten by Qatar Holding, Challenger and Temasek of Singapore among others. In October 2008, after the catastrophic fall of Lehman Brothers, Barclays announced that it had raised an additional £7.3bn from Qatar Holding, Challenger and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. The following month Barclays agreed a $3bn loan facility with the state of Qatar. Barclays has denied that the two transactions were connected. The Middle Eastern investors in Barclays are not accused of any wrongdoing. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. At The Independent, no one tells us what to write. That’s why, in an era of political lies and Brexit bias, more readers are turning to an independent source. Subscribe from just 15p a day for extra exclusives, events and ebooks – all with no ads. Subscribe now

If you’re in the e-learning industry, you’ve heard the term by now: gamification. Sounds fun, right? But there’s a more deliberate aspect to gamification than throwing together some badges and leaderboard. E-learning gamification is the application of game elements and gaming techniques to non-game elements, such as online learning content, in an effort to make it fun and engaging. In other words, it’s the use of game mechanics to encourage learners to explore and learn as they move toward an end goal. What are some of these gamification techniques, and how can you apply them to e-learning? Here are some ideas to try: Narrative A key part of many games is the narrative, or the story, behind them. These stories often incorporate a protagonist (a relatable character), the antagonist (the challenge the character faces) and a plot (a sequence of events). How to incorporate this game element? Creating a scenario is a great way to add a narrative element to your course. Scenarios involve characters that follow a simple plot or sequence of events. Rules Rules are a critical part of any game to set expectations and parameters. They let players know what they can and cannot do. How to incorporate this game element? Use specific and concise instructions for the learners to communicate the rules for your scenario. Clearly communicate what you expect learners to do at all steps of the course, and make sure they’re never left guessing what to do. Player Control Having control over the journey and the outcome is a common element of many games. Players love to feel in control of their potential for success. How to incorporate this game element? One way to give learners control is to let them choose an avatar or character that appears in the course. Another way is to open up navigation to give learners control over how they progress through the content. Let learners access content from a main menu with several possible choices, instead of forcing them down a linear path. Discovery Games often encourage discovery and exploration; for example, people love to “hunt” for a hidden treasure. How to incorporate this game element? Include a little “Easter egg,” such as a hidden nugget of extra information or the ability to score some extra points. Just remember that while looking for extra information is a fun add-on, never make a learner hunt for critical information that they need to know. You should also make sure you provide learners with clear instructions on what they are looking for. There’s nothing worse than clicking aimlessly without knowing why or where to look. Interactivity How many games have you played that required you to do nothing? None! Games are all about stimulation and engagement, whether mental or physical, and you should be doing something as part of the process. How to incorporate this game element? Think about how you can make the content more interactive. This doesn’t simply mean making the user “click” more often, but instead crafting meaningful interactions that require a learner to think and make decisions. Instead of telling them the information outright, make them select the correct choice from a list and drag it into place. Instead of presenting them the steps of a linear process, get them to order the steps themselves. Feedback Feedback is a key part of gaming. It lets the user know that their action has been registered or recognized, and it provides a cue to the player about how they are progressing. Feedback doesn’t have to be text. “Unlocking” new features, for example, is a type of feedback that lets players know they’re doing well. How to incorporate this game element? Badges or even just checkpoints are a way to show feedback and achievement. Using progress bars is also a great way to provide ongoing feedback and to let learners know how they’re doing. Time Constraints Games use time constraints to create a sense of urgency, which pressures the gamer to think and act quickly. How to incorporate this game element? To simulate a real-life constraint, consider using a countdown or a timer on your quiz. For example, if your call center expects calls to be completed in less than five minutes, give your scenario a time limit of five minutes for the learner to pass. Loss Aversion Loss aversion refers to the tendency of humans to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Studies have demonstrated that a loss is twice as powerful as a gain, and this mental propensity is used by many game developers. How to incorporate this game element? Use a points system in your course to let learners know where they stand, and let them know points can be taken away for incorrect answers. You could also use a visual progress meter, such as a map with checkpoints, that shows learner whether they are moving forwards or backwards as they progress through the content. Continuous Play Continuous play is the ability for a gamer to pick up where he left off and continue the game. This means even if the gamer “loses” the game, they can start over and try again as many times as they want. How to incorporate this game element? Let learners keep going! It’s a great sign when learners want to retry or revisit content. It means they are interested and intrigued. Remember: you want to encourage and compel your viewers to learn, so if they want to revisit course content, why not let them? One way to incorporate continuous play into your courses is to allow learners to retake a quiz or assessment if they have failed. Another way is to give them a second chance if they answer a question incorrectly. Rewards Bonus points or rewards make people feel good, and are used extensively in many different games. How to incorporate this game element? Consider giving “bonus points” to learners for more difficult questions, or by providing them with an ability to earn extra rewards based on good choices. Levels Achieving different levels, goals, or challenges is a common theme among games. How to incorporate this game element? One idea: instead of having chapters or modules, organize your content into “levels” and “unlock” the levels when learners answer choices correctly or hit a certain number of points. Competition Leaderboards are one of the most popular ways to encourage competition in the gaming world. Leaderboards rank players and their scores, and people love them because they like to get recognition for their skills and effort. How to incorporate this game element? Use a corporate intranet page or your LMS to let learners see how their coworkers are progressing. Be mindful of the information you share; low scores made public could be embarrassing for learners. Remember: in order to properly and effectively add gamification to your courses, the game elements need to be thoroughly thought out and well designed. Interested in finding out more about gamification? Take a peek at these related links: Related Tutorials, Articles, and Community Discussions: I’d love to hear from you in the comments: which of these gamification techniques have you incorporated in your courses? Are there any gaming techniques I forgot to mention? Please share your experience and insights in the comments below. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.