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Good luck getting money from the people who wouldn't even buy the Bible Yesterday, we learned that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation—the country's biggest breast cancer charity—is pulling its funding from Planned Parenthood, the country's biggest health care provider for women. That makes sense, right? If women's health is your reason for existence, why would you possibly want to join forces with another organization whose reason for existence is women's health? The excuse, according to the foundation, is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation. Of course, we know that's one hell of a flimsy excuse, since the "investigation" is nothing more than an attempt by House Republicans to put Planned Parenthood out of business. Among the 10 billion reasons this is a stupid decision—starting with the fact that 17 percent of Planned Parenthood's services are cancer screening and prevention—is the fact that Komen is alienating the millions of women who support and depend on Planned Parenthood as their primary source of health care, and instead casting its lot with the crazy, fundamentalist anti-choice crowd who, as we all know, are never, ever satisfied. Exhibit A, via Right Wing Watch: Lou Engle’s Bound4Life, which pushed LifeWay bookstores to stop selling Komen’s “Pink Bible,” commended Komen but like [Family Research Council president Tony] Perkins, asked the group to go even farther to please the far-right by abandoning their support of stem cell research. Translation: It's great that the Komen Foundation now supports women dying of cancer, but we'd really like the Komen Foundation to renounce science altogether. But apparently, the foundation—particularly Karen Handel, its new "staunchly and unequivocally pro-life" senior vice president of public policy—thinks it's better off siding with the nation's extremists, who would rather see women die than receive health care that the little voices in their heads tell them is evil. Good luck with that. Send an email to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and tell them what you think of this decision.

A South Bay community is on edge after 19-year-old Jesus Chuy Ponce was shot to death in cold blood late last night. NBC 7’s Sherene Tagharobi reports. (Published Monday, June 9, 2014) A woman stood outside a convenience store in Chula Vista, waiting to identify her teenage son’s body after a deadly shooting there Monday. Martina Gaxiola identified the victim as her son Jesus Chuy Ponce, 19. Detectives said the shooting could be gang related, but Gaxiola said her son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. “It could’ve been anybody’s kid,” she said. “There’s some cowards coming around trying to show off with a gun in their hand, shooting… don’t even know who they’re affecting. All the families they’re affecting,” she said. Chula Vista Teen's Mother: Shooters Are "Cowards" NBC 7's Sherene Tagharobi spoke with Martina Gaxiola who identified the victim in a deadly shooting as her son Jesus Chuy Ponce, 19. (Published Monday, June 9, 2014) Ponce and two others, including his 20-year-old cousin, were walking to the convenience store on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Main Street to get some snacks and drinks around midnight. The convenience store was just around the corner from the Casa Linda apartments where Ponce lived. Chula Vista police said someone opened fire on the group, shooting Ponce in the chest and his cousin in the foot. A third victim was not shot. Officials later officially identified the 19-year-old as Ponce. Ponce was dragged to the convenience store to get help. That’s were citizens and police performed CPR on him. However, he was pronounced dead at the scene according to police. “It’s a mother’s worst nightmare to get that phone call in the middle of the night,” Gaxiola said. He leaves behind two younger sisters, his mother and father and a large extended family. “I’m hurting right now. His sisters are hurting right now. The whole family’s hurting right now,” she said. She said Ponce was beloved in this community and she doesn't know who would want to hurt him. The victim's cousin was taken to the UCSD Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials. Check back for updates on this developing story.

Best known for his small-screen adaptation of a Coen brothers classic, Noah Hawley is also a bestselling author. Cassie McCullagh talks to the creator of Fargo to see how he works. Your latest novel, Before the Fall, is being made into a feature film. You're its screenwriter. Working across three formats—television, film, books—at the moment, what's distinct for you about TV? A movie, by nature of its length, is a plot delivery device. You have the beginning of the movie to set everything in motion, but by the time you're in the middle of the movie you need to be moving towards the conclusion where every scene is a step along that path. When you make it too easy for a viewer to root for someone, it becomes a little formulaic, I think. Noah Hawley In the 10-hour movie—which is how I think of Fargo—yes, there's a beginning, a middle and an end. But there's room along that way to focus on the details that are smaller or obscure or more character-driven, details that wouldn't fit in a two-hour movie, and can expand the work both thematically and on a character basis. They give you that sense of perspective and multiple points of view, in a way that when the final collision occurs, you've really seen the story from multiple sides and it becomes harder to know exactly what you want to happen. It allows you to be unpredictable. Your television adaptation of the 1996 film Fargo uses the anthology format. Each season covers a different storyline, with different characters and a handful of continuing elements. Does that give you creative freedom? Every year is its own self-contained story, with some unexpected connections to either the movie or another season of the show. This does allow me to say each year: what is this movie that I'm making? Because the second year of Fargo was very different in both scale and composition to the first year. The second year, set in 1979, we used a whole split-screen approach. Cinematically, there were a lot more moving pieces—it was a period epic about a crime family, about the death of the family business and the rise of corporate America. There were so many things that we were doing, the scale of which was much more ambitious than the first year. Did you know TV Club is also a podcast? Subscribe on iTunes, the ABC Radio app or your favourite podcasting app and listen later. Now, looking at the third year the question becomes, 'Well, what does that movie want to be?' It's set in 2010, it's a more intimate story, and I won't know until I'm making it exactly what the real tone and visual style of that version is. But you look at Joel and Ethan Coen's movies—A Serious Man, No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona—each movie is a perfectly executed version of that movie that has very little to do with what they've made before. Here we have a crime story at the heart of it, the region [the American Midwest] makes it connected, but otherwise we really have a lot of leeway. Where are you with the third season of Fargo? We're writing now, and we'll start filming in our winter on the idea that we'd be on the air in the US in the spring, and hopefully in Australia at the same time. You've also got a TV adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel Cat's Cradle. I'm a huge Kurt Vonnegut fan. There's something timeless and universal about his voice, and his approach. He's one of the most inventive stylists of American novelists. He mixes genre from science fiction, he jumps around in time, he mixes tone—his books are very comic, but they're also very morally serious. Because of that two-hour format of movies-as-a-plot-delivery-device, it's very hard to adapt Vonnegut's work for feature film. But it felt to me that this 10- or eight-hour movie is the best possible version because you can take those diversions and digressions. Cat's Cradle is a historical science fiction novel about a guy who's writing a nonfiction book about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. In investigating that, he finds the family of one of the scientists and goes off on this journey that is very odd, and unexpected and comic and also really tragic at the same time. I'm really excited about it. Your latest book, Before the Fall, debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list. It centres around a plane crash with only two survivors. Why? We used to have—or, it used to be—one story. Someone does something heroic and so they're a hero. But now we has two parts: one when we build them up, one when we build them down. It's interesting to look at this idea: here was this man, he was a perfectly innocent guy who was in a plane, and saves a boy. You can't do anything more heroic than save a child. And then questions start to arise. Well, why was he on the plane in the first place? What was his relationship to the other people on the plane? Very quickly, this innocently-heroic act becomes questions in a way that seems very consistent with the way our world acts these days. But it's also a media critique, and an exploration of extreme wealth. I wanted to look at the impact that money has on people's lives, especially once you reach that point where you literally no longer have to spend time with people that don't have hundreds of millions of dollars. People who can travel from their penthouse apartment in a private car, to an office with their own elevator, and then fly privately. You almost without realising it stop living in the world that everyone else stops living in with. You don't write one-dimensional characters. Part of the come-away from Fargo for me is, I am attracted to stories with a large ensemble, with a lot of moving parts, that are all kind of in a collision course. When you make it too easy for a reader or a viewer, to root for someone or against someone else, it becomes a little formulaic, I think. It's much more interesting when you have mixed feelings, and the reality is that other than the great evil psychopaths of our time, most people have their good qualities and their bad qualities, and they have a point of view that's just as valid. When you don't make it easy for people to write something off, the book becomes more interesting. This is an edited extract of an interview that first aired on TV Club. Hear the full interview Wednesday 22 June 2016 Before the Fall is a spine-tingling thriller that demonstrates Noah Hawley's storytelling skills transcend mediums. More This [series episode segment] has image,

Quick Admin Note: On Sunday and Monday, I’m going to be working on launching a new design for the Macheesmo because I’m a perfectionist and don’t like some of the features with the current layout. Because of that, there won’t be a new post on Monday and the site might be down for a bit over those two days. It’s all for the best though. The new layout is slick. I’m sure that I’m not the only person in the world who goes over-board on pumpkin buying. I always imagine making tons of pies and so I buy a huge amount of canned pumpkin at some point in the Fall only to have it sit in my pantry for years. So when Fall actually comes around, I’m always itching to use up some of the pumpkin in my pantry to make room for… more pumpkin. It’s a sick cycle, but one that results in pretty delicious food. MY LATEST VIDEOS Pumpkin and spices mixed in with pumpkin seeds makes for a perfect Fall muffin. Ingredients 2 Cups all-purpose flour 1/2 Cup brown sugar 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 large egg 1 Cup milk 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract 4 Tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 Cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) 1/2 Cup pumpkin seeds, roasted 1 Teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning Pinch of salt Pinch of cinnamon Print Recipe Show Directions Pin Recipe Helpful Equipment Directions 1) Mix milk, egg, vanilla, and pumpkin puree in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. 2) In a separate, larger bowl, mix together the dry ingredients including the pumpkin seeds. 3) Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Then stir in melted butter. 4) Butter 12 muffin tins and divide muffin batter between the tins. 5) Bake the muffins at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes until they are lightly browned and cooked through. 6) Let cool briefly before serving. Serve with pumpkin butter if you can! Making the Batter This is a pretty standard muffin batter that I just mixed in a few add-ins. Instead of normal sugar, I used brown sugar. Plus some pumpkin, seeds, vanilla, and cinnamon and you’re looking at a nice spin on a classic muffin. To get the batter started, mix all the liquid ingredients (milk, egg, and vanilla) with the pumpkin puree. Stir this until it’s an even texture. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients including the pumpkin seeds. If you’re carving pumpkins, feel free to use the seeds in the pumpkin. You just want to make sure that you roast them first. Dry off the seeds, toss them with a teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt, and bake them at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. Roasting them will give the seeds a much better flavor and texture. When your dry ingredients are stirred together, go ahead and mix in the wet stuff. Stir this together until it’s in a rough batter. It’s okay if there are a few lumps. It doesn’t need to be perfect! As a final step, stir in the melted butter and mix everything together really well. Baking the Muffins Besides the butter that you add to the muffins, I also recommend using a small dab of butter to lube up the muffin tins. If you don’t do this, your muffins might stick really badly to the pan which is never fun. You could also use paper wrappers if that’s more your style. Once your tin is buttered lightly, divide the batter evenly among twelve tins. It’s okay to fill them up pretty high. Bake these guys at 375 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. When they come out, let them cool for a minute or two and then you can remove the muffins from the tin. The finished muffins should be a light golden brown color. I like to serve these muffins with butter or, if you can get your hands on some, a good pumpkin butter! I think the pumpkin seeds kind of make this recipe. I love the color and subtle pumpkin flavor that the puree gives the muffins, but the seeds are like these little surprises in the muffins that give it some crunch and saltiness. If you have some leftover pumpkin in the next month or two (and who doesn’t), give these guys a shot!

The president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, has renewed calls for Turkey to release Selahattin Demirtas, the co-leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and other lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish bloc who are being held on a mind-numbing array of thinly supported terror charges. Barzani made the appeal during an hour-long meeting Feb. 25 with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, reported the Iraqi Kurdish Rudaw media organization. Barzani described his talks with Erdogan at the sumptuous Ottoman-era Mabeyn kiosk as “very good.” He said, “We discussed all subjects,” but chose not to elaborate. Coming ahead of a referendum on expanding the powers of the Turkish presidency due to be held on April 16, the Iraqi Kurdish leader’s visit has sparked speculation that Erdogan hopes a halo effect will win him votes from conservative Kurds. Barzani’s close ties with Erdogan remain a matter of controversy in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan alike. Turkish Kurds who identify with imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan resent Barzani’s cooperation with the Turkish government and there is escalating pressure on the HDP and its sister party, the Democratic Regions Party (DPB), since the breakdown of a two-and-a-half-year cease-fire between the PKK and the state in July 2015. At least 11 HDP parliamentarians have been in custody since November and the party says 5,741 of its members and supporters have been detained and 1,482 arrested in recent months. In the past year, 69 DBP mayors, including Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli, the co-mayors of the Kurds’ unofficial capital of Diyarbakir, were arrested and 50 government administrators appointed to their seats. At home, Barzani faces criticism over a major energy deal signed with Turkey in 2013 covering oil pipelines and planned gas sales. Opposition Change Movement leaders accuse Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party of profiting from the deal. But the Kurdistan Regional Government recently agreed to have all its accounts, including proceeds from oil sales made via Turkey, externally audited, making it a lot harder for such charges to stick. Barzani, who is pushing for independence, has to walk a fine line managing relations with Turkey and the Kurdish public opinion. Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan’s sole outlet to the West, gave these plans a big boost when it allowed the Iraqi Kurds to export their oil independently of Baghdad via the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in May 2014. Barzani also sees the presence of several thousand Turkish troops, including near Mosul, as protection against Shiite militias and Iran, which is stiffly opposed to Kurdish statehood. Even so, Barzani has deftly managed to cultivate Ankara without bowing to pressure to fight the PKK as he did during the 1990s, when the Turkish army was dictating Turkish policy from behind the scenes. Instead he helped broker the first-ever direct peace talks between Turkey and the PKK in 2009, but these and subsequent stabs at a deal came to naught. Barzani’s meeting with Ahmet Turk, the DBP mayor of Mardin who was recently released from prison and is seen as the doyen of Kurdish politics in Turkey, sparked fresh rumors that a new round of talks might be in the works. The pro-government Turkish media has been hinting for some time that when endowed with full executive powers, Erdogan will reach out the Kurds again and Barzani may play a part. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Barzani, Turk declared, “President Massoud Barzani is an important actor for the Kurds. President Barzani is a leader of the Kurds and I believe he will do his utmost for the [Kurdish] peace process.” But relations between Barzani and the PKK have gotten trickier since the PKK moved into the mainly Yazidi area of Sinjar in 2014, which is part of the disputed territories that the Iraqi Kurds and the central government each claim as their own. Several hundred PKK fighters remain in Sinjar after helping to rescue thousands of Yazidis facing imminent slaughter by the Islamic State. The PKK has since overseen the establishment of local councils and a Yazidi militia known as the Sinjar Resistance Units. Barzani sees all of this as a direct challenge to his government’s authority and says the PKK needs to go. Turkey feels the same way. The group uses Sinjar to ferry goods and people from Iraqi Kurdistan to the large chunk of northeastern Syria that is controlled by Syrian Kurds, who are loyal to Ocalan and therefore viewed by Turkey as a threat to its national security. Both Barzani and Turkey have threatened to use military force if need be. Baghdad is said to be backing the PKK presence as a counterweight to the Turkish forces dug in around Bashiqa, west of Mosul, whom Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has repeatedly asked to leave. But as things stand, nobody seems to be leaving anytime soon.

Robert Cummings Sr., a retired W. R. Grace employee and the father of U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, died Sunday of a heart attack while on a church-sponsored visit to the Women's Prison in Jessup. He was 74 and lived in Edmondson Village. Mr. Cummings worked as a laborer for 42 years with W. R. Grace before retiring in 1989. The son of sharecroppers, he was born in Manning, S.C., and often worked in the fields as a young man. When farm work needed to be done, he was taken out of school. "My father was a great inspiration to me," said Mr. Cummings, who represents the 7th District. "He taught us nothing was impossible, despite his limited education. He spent his life believing in education and emphasized that we had to be in school every day." Mr. Cummings said his father was also a deeply religious man who often gathered his family around him to say the Lord's Prayer or the 23rd Psalm. After the elder Mr. Cummings moved to Baltimore in the 1940s, he lived with his family in a rowhouse in the 100 block of W. Cross St. in South Baltimore. "In 1960, he told us, 'We're going to move out of this small house and go to Edmondson Village,'" his son said. "We went to the new house, held hands and prayed, and the white folks there thought we were holding some sort of demonstration." The elder Mr. Cummings joined the Mount Moriah Baptist Church and sang in its male chorus. In 1977, he joined the Victory Prayer Chapel and became an elder there. He often visited prisons and other places where he thought he could do some good. In 1945, he married the former Ruth Cochran. Funeral services will he held at 11:30 a.m. today at the Victory of Prayer Chapel, 4848 Reisterstown Road. In addition to his wife and son, he is also survived by three other sons, Robert Cummings Jr. of Baltimore, James Cummings of Woodbridge, Va., and Charnel Cummings of Baltimore; three daughters, Cheretheria Blount and Diane Woodson, both of Baltimore, Yvonne Jennings of Hartford, Conn. ; and three sisters, Bernice Walters of Baltimore and Ida Walker and Alice Martin, both of Manning; 10 grandchildren and two great grandsons.

As promised last weekend, I posted a story this week: I Can Explain! by Titanium Dragon Teen, Sex, Comedy 1,033 words Rarity explains to Sweetie Belle what the Cutie Mark Crusaders saw when they walked in on her and Applejack. It was totally innocent. Really! It is a silly little story, rather raunchy I suppose, but folks seem to find it amusing, which always makes me happy. It is hard to believe that Apple Shampoo was posted 20 stories ago. In any case, seeing as I posted a story, I still owe you all a review set as well. And a review set you shall receive! This set contains two stories by HoofBitingActionOverload who, as noted in my post last weekend, is going to be pulling down his stories from FIMFiction very soon. I’d reviewed a large number of his stories previously, but two of his better stories had never received reviews, having been written a very long time ago. Consequently, I figured I’d rectify that, along with featuring three other strong stories from the times of yore. Today’s stories: You Want Me by HoofBitingActionOverload Wyrmlysan by Chris Ἐλπίς by Bad Horse A Muddy Hole by PoweredByTea Twisting Between the Sheets by HoofBitingActionOverload You Want Me by HoofBitingActionOverload Romance 22,175 words Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been close friends for a long time and, for some reason Rainbow Dash has never been able to understand, it seems as if everyone she knows expects them to get together eventually. To Rainbow Dash's surprise, Applejack abruptly decides that their friends are right and asks her out on a date. To Applejack's surprise, Rainbow Dash immediately turns her down. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, Applejack is nothing if not stubborn, and she declares that she won't give up until Rainbow Dash has agreed to go on a date with her, no matter what it takes. Why I recommend it: A fun writing style and a great internal voice for Rainbow Dash. Also, it is a fun AppleDash story. Review Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s friends always joke about what a good couple the pair would make. Normally, Rainbow Dash can put up with their jokes, but Hearts and Hooves Day is coming up, and Rarity is having fun teasing them about being alone for the holiday. But after Applejack lists out all the things she’s looking for in a girlfriend, she realizes that Rainbow Dash suits them to a T. Too bad that Rainbow Dash doesn’t want to date. Not just not date Applejack, but not date anyone. But Applejack is nothing if not stubborn. She saw the look in Rainbow Dash’s eye, heard the hesitation in her voice. Rainbow Dash wants Applejack. And Applejack isn’t going to take no for an answer. This is a cute story overall. The basic premise – Applejack refusing to give up on asking out Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash saying no – actually only lasts about halfway through the story, beyond which point things change and evolve. This story is not a one-trick pony, and over the course of the story we come to understand why it is that Rainbow Dash said no, no matter how much she wants to say yes deep down inside, as well as why Applejack has no clue about how to go about asking out her friend properly. This story is at times funny and at times sad; Rainbow Dash’s inner voice is full of excellent little asides and internal metaphors. If you’ve read Spring is Dumb, Rainbow Dash’s inner voice is going to sound familiar to you. But this story isn’t Spring is Dumb; while Rainbow Dash is in denial, she also has a good reason for acting the way she does, and shows a great deal of anxiety – an aspect of her character which is often underexplored in stories, even though we’ve seen her get very nervous about things like her performance in the Best Young Flyer’s competition back in Sonic Rainboom. In the end, this is a shipfic where the ship at the end feels earned by the characters; it is a fun ride, with conflict, tension, and the risk of failure looming overhead throughout the piece. The first chapter starts out a bit slow, but once it gets into the thick of things, it really gets fun. Recommendation: Recommended. Wyrmlysan by Chris Tragedy 3,321 words Prophecy is a dangerous game; meanings which are obvious can become obscure in an instant, and fates are laid bare only in hindsight. After the fall of Discord but before the rise of Nightmare Moon, a dragon breaks the peace between its race and ponykind, and Princess Luna flies to mete out justice. Why I recommend it: An interesting glimpse at pre-Nightmare Moon Luna, as well as hints of her fall and redemption. Review A dragon has killed the inhabitants of a town of ponies for some reason. When Luna in all her power and fury flies out to confront it, she finds a dragon who wants to talk and beg for mercy – not for herself, but for her child, for whom she committed her horrible crime. Her egg is resting on a stone plaque which is believed to set fate and prophecy in stone, and she believes that the prophecy in question will redeem dragonkind. This story has a really good feel to it – Luna is suitably imperious, and we already can see ponies drifting away from her, and her struggle to remain relevant in the face of her sister. But she is difficult for ponies to empathize with, and with good reason; she does what she feels is right, but does not seem to care much for feelings in general (or for being soft). The presentation of the egg to Luna, and Luna’s choice about what to do with that egg at the end, as well as the actual text of the prophecy, all are deliciously ironic, and fit nicely into mythology of the series, while adding additional weight to Luna’s fall. I didn’t see the ending coming, but it fit very nicely with Luna’s character here, and the whole thing has a suitably heavy feel to it, befitting Luna’s upcoming fall. If you’re looking for a story about pre-Nightmare Moon Luna with a suitably epic feel, this is a great choice. Recommendation: Highly Recommended. Ἐλπίς by Bad Horse Gore, Adventure, Dark 2,566 words Below her, the remains of the world, and everyone in it, spin slowly, around and around, in a sea of purple goo. But that doesn't mean Celestia's work is done. The Road lies ahead of her, and at its end—the most difficult decision of her life. Again. How long can one pony keep hope alive? Long. Why I recommend it: A mythic – and hopeful – look at the end of the world. Review At the end of all things, after the world has been submerged in purple ooze, Celestia alone flies on over the ripples and waves, unfaltering, unfailing. She refuses to fall into the ooze, and for eons flies onwards, until the ooze is gone and the Road is before her, and The Butler, a strange, too-thin thing which exists independent of the world, as he always has before. The road is covered with lines. And Celestia must drag herself to the end of the road, inch by inch, even as it reduces her to nothing, for she must do something at the end of it. As a story with a Greek title, you might expect this to have a mythic feel to it, and it does. Celestia suffers for the world throughout the piece, suffers for Creation, both Creation past, and Creation yet to come. The Butler offers her rest, the ability to stop the cycle, to not try and put together another world from the ashes of the old one. But Celestia knows better. This story is mostly dark because of Celestia’s suffering; in the end, the story is fundamentally hopeful, and the final few lines show us just why Celestia suffers, what she suffers for, why it matters, and most of all, why she won’t give up. The description of the end of the world has a suitably mythological feel to it, and it seems like it would be fitting as a creation myth – something where your god suffers long and hard for Creation because they know its value. And it not only reflects on Celestia, but also on how people should behave, like all good myths do. Recommendation: Recommended. A Muddy Hole by PoweredByTea Slice of Life 3,750 words Rarity doesn't like dirt, she doesn't like dust. Grime and filth are a big no-no. And when it comes to mud, Rarity is usually seen moving at a full gallop in the opposite direction. So just how did she get herself into that muddy pit during the Sisterhooves Social? Why I recommend it: A fun little look at a moment between Rarity and Applejack. Review Rarity needs to get into the muddy hole so she can do the switcharoo during the Sisterhooves Social race. This is the perfect plan for her to make up to her sister – after all, she hates mud. There’s just one problem – she can’t do it. She simply cannot bring herself to throw herself in. Told from Applejack’s point of view, this is the story of how Applejack helped Rarity get over herself and get into that muddy hole. It is actually a nice little character moment for the two, showing us Applejack’s growth as a person, connecting her actions to events we had previously seen in the show, and lending some extra character to both Applejack and Rarity, and what they appreciate in (and what drives them crazy about) each other. It does a good job of illustrating Applejack’s thought process, as well as Rarity’s own fussiness combined with her determination, stubbornness, and sense of ethics. If it has a flaw, it is that it is a bit slow-paced towards the beginning; it spends a fair bit of time setting up for the events considering what a short story it is, though once it actually gets going it gets stronger. If you like Rarity and Applejack, you’ll likely enjoy this story. Recommendation: Recommended. Twisting Between the Sheets by HoofBitingActionOverload Drama, Romance 24,811 words When Rarity’s friends discover that she has been secretly meeting with an escort, they begin investigating, and soon discover a web of lies and unrequited romances none of them ever could have expected. Why I recommend it: An interesting look at Rarity and unrequited love, plus one of my favorite OCs in a shipfic. Review Rarity is in love with Applejack. Or, at least she thinks she is. But she knows full well that Applejack doesn’t return her feelings. An ordinary pony might get over this… but Rarity can’t. It isn’t fair. She’s beautiful. She should have her perfect fairy tale… But she knows real life isn’t a fairy tale, that Applejack doesn’t love her, that the differences are too great. So she hires an escort, Sugar Sweet, a prostitute escort whose special talent is making herself look like other ponies (well, except for the eyes, anyway). It is messed up and she knows it. But she can’t stop herself, even when it means hiding away from her real friends – even from the real Applejack at times. And Sugar Sweet isn’t just an object, either – she’s a real pony with real feelings. And unlike her other clients, Rarity doesn’t treat her like a piece of meat, or look down on her. She’s falling for Rarity as a result, and wants to make her happy. And then Sugar Sweet gets too curious, talks to Applejack to get a better idea about who the mare she is imitating is… at which point the whole thing falls apart. Applejack hates “filth” like Sugar Sweet, and the idea that Sugar Sweet is friends with Rarity disgusts her. It has to be a lie – Rarity would never spend time around a home-wrecker like Sugar Sweet. So she follows Sugar Sweet to Rarity’s one evening, only to discover exactly what is going on. This story is primarily about Rarity, who is quite the mess in this story. Her obsession with Applejack, combined with her own stubborn insistence not to deal with it properly, leads to this whole mess. Rarity is a very emotional creature here, and the events of the story hit her very hard. She struggles to deal with her obsession with Applejack, as well as her nascent feelings towards Sugar Sweet, feelings transferred from Applejack to the pony she hired to pose as her. Rarity struggles with her friends, not only the traditional six, but also the realization that Sugar Sweet was, on some level, her friend as well, and her actions in tossing her aside to pursue Applejack for real have hurt her deeply. We also get a good look at both Applejack and Sugar Sweet here. Applejack is angry about the whole thing, but is a fundamentally good pony. But she also doesn’t – can’t – love Rarity the way Rarity wants her to, especially not after everything that just happened. But Rarity cannot accept that, and tries to win her over throughout the piece. Meanwhile, poor Sugar Sweet has lost the only pony in Ponyville who really acted friendly towards her. She’s a ditz, but she’s a fundamentally good pony, even if she struggles to really put herself together as a person. Rarity’s other friends do try to comfort her a little and learn more about the pony that Rarity has been spending so much time with in private, but Rarity and Sugar Sweet have to come to terms with the fact that the way they’ve been behaving towards each other has crossed several lines it shouldn’t have. The story, on the whole, is a pretty emotionally complicated piece, and we see ponies do stupid things, break each others’ hearts, and hurt each other intentionally for often petty (and sometimes not-so-petty) reasons. The situation is complicated, and the interplay between Rarity, Applejack, and Sugar Sweet is an interesting one. This isn’t a super heartwarming story. Instead, it is the story of ponies who don’t know what they want, and struggle to figure out what it is that they should do after things have fallen apart. If you like the idea of an emotionally complex story with a lot of emotional drama and pain, this is the story for you. Recommendation: Highly Recommended, and one of the fifteen stories you should read. Summary You Want Me by HoofBitingActionOverload Recommended Wyrmlysan by Chris Highly Recommended Ἐλπίς by Bad Horse Recommended A Muddy Hole by PoweredByTea Recommended Twisting Between the Sheets by HoofBitingActionOverload Highly Recommended If you’re at all interested in those HoofBitingActionOverload stories, I’d recommend reading them sooner rather than later – or downloading them so that you might consume them at your own convenience. Next week, I plan on trying to get another story done and posted, with the goal of posting at least one story a week here on FIMFiction. Until then, I hope that you enjoy these stories. And, of course, I Can Explain!

Children Adolescent boys traumatized by sex laws. Meredith Powell, a drop dead gorgeous, bubbly, friendly, young teacher flirted, kissed, gave blow jobs and maybe even more. Meredith Powell is every boy’s wet dream. Legal System destroys the lives of boys and Meredith Powell An anonymous person, deluded by feminist and religious conservative sex laws, or just jealous, turned their secret public. Now the young men’s private lives are under world wide scrutiny. They feel the guilt of being the cause of their teacher’s arrest. Powell, who has taught in the Tacoma Public Schools district since 2012, was busted after district officials received an anonymous tip. They forwarded the tip to local police. Police say the trysts began after a drunken Powell responded to a text from a former student one night, reports The News Tribune. The student told Powell he was “turned on thinking about her.” The student took the initiative to be "raped". Yes, he wanted to be "raped" and be "traumatized" She replied that “he was hot, too.” That was unwise. But was it terribly traumatizing for the student? See [sexual predator] Meredith Powell Photos Apparently, and not surprisingly, the unnamed student then began making frequent visits to Powell’s classroom—so much so that his girlfriend grew jealous. Here we probably have the anonymous caller. Jealousy. The only hurt person is his girl friend. And she had the power to take revenge and really hurt the rival. And her boy friend, too. On Monday, the math teacher wrote a letter to the girlfriend apologizing for “promiscuous” and “unprofessional” text messages. That, of course, was very dumb. Any admission of guilt. It seems that Meredith Powell just was a naive friendly woman. Unaware that any involvement with an extremely enthusiastic underage boy is RAPE because by some warped logic, he is unable to *consent It’s not clear how the other two male teenagers factor in but, according to the Mail, Powell admitted to engaging in oral sex and other sexual activities with the students at various times in the month of January. Very unwise, indeed. She should have insisted on a lawyer, but probably was unaware of the seriousness of her crime. Her only hope is the "pussy pass", that women generally get much lower punishment then men, for the same sex crime. The boys’ Trauma Dan Voelpel, a spokesman for the Tacoma school district, told KIRO that the district will now offer counseling to any male teenagers who had sex with their 24-year-old female math teacher. “We always reach out to any victims or alleged victims to find out what kinds of services and support they might need,” Voelpel explained. [Daily Caller] The only counseling these guys need is how to overcome the trauma of losing the teacher being told that they suffered terrible trauma and are scarred for life wanting another friendly flirt and fling being the culprit that caused teacher to be punished being in the center of attention their private life being exposed being OBLIGED to testify against their intimate friend In short, these boys are traumatized by sex laws. MRA Men’s Rights Movement conspires to traumatize boys and men And yes, we believe that 16 year old girls also know what they are doing. Even more so, because, as we know, women mature faster then men, and in all of world history, the marriage age for women was lower then for men. And yes, the entire mra men’s rights movement gladly traumatizes the boys, and will demand even more punishment for Meredith Powell. Related

Actor Peter Graves was found dead Sunday at his home in Pacific Palisades, according to law enforcement sources. Graves, who stared in "Mission: Impossible," "Airplane!" and Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17"--apparently died of natural causes, the sources said. Graves was 83, according to a biography on the website IMDB.com. In a Times story late last year, Graves said he initially turned down the role for "Airplane!" because he thought it was in poor taste--until actors Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen signed on to the cast. "They say you are supposed to stretch as an actor, so let's go stretch it," he told The Times' Susan King. A full obituary is coming shortly from The Times. --Andrew Blankstein and Cara Mia DiMassa Photo: Peter Graves, pictured Dec. 8, 2009. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times More photos A new Times database puts readers on the sidewalks of Hollywood, using more than a century of archives to track the lives of the stars, including current Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep.

One of the biggest whoppers Donald Trump has told on the campaign trail is the false anecdote on how he has always been opposed to the Iraq War. This simply is not true. He repeated at the debate on Saturday night and then the following morning he continued the lie. Many journalists have looked into this opposition and the only “evidence” they can find is opposition that came a year after the war started. Steve Eder at the NY Times reported on this back in August of 2015 and yet Trump is still telling the lie: Donald J. Trump took a moment to separate himself from his rivals by declaring that he had gone on the record with his opposition of the Iraq war some 11 years ago — in July 2004. The claim, however, left out the reality that his opposition came well after the war was already underway. The war began in March 2003. It was that next year that Mr. Trump spoke against the war, in interviews with Esquire and Larry King. “I do not believe that we made the right decision going into Iraq, but, you know, hopefully, we’ll be getting out,” Trump said on “Larry King Live” in November 2004. In the most recent of examples, John King of CNN has called Trump out, Politifact has called Trump’s claim false as did The Atlantic. Has that stopped him? Not at all. Just this morning on NBC, Trump continued to repeat the lie. The best part is, when Todd called him out Trump used the excuse that being a brilliant businessman and not a politician, nobody was writing about his opposition. Check it out: But Andrew Kaczynski over at Buzzfeed has called out this crap as well. He found an excerpt from Trump’s book, ‘The America We Deserve’, where he was saying the following about Iraq and Saddam Hussein: Consider Iraq. After each pounding from U.S . warplanes, Iraq has dusted itself off and gone right back to work developing a nuclear arsenal. Six years of tough talk and U.S. fireworks in Baghdad have done little to slow Iraq’s crash program to become a nuclear power. They’ve got missiles capable of flying nine hundred kilometers—more than enough to reach Tel Aviv. They’ve got enriched uranium. All they need is the material for nuclear fission to complete the job, and, according to the Rumsfeld report, we don’t even know for sure if they’ve laid their hands on that yet. That’s what our last aerial assault on Iraq in 1999 was about. Saddam Hussein wouldn’t let UN weapons inspectors examine certain sites where that material might be stored. The result when our bombing was over? We still don’t know what Iraq is up to or whether it has the material to build nuclear weapons. I’m no warmonger. But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don’t, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us. The book was from the year 2000. There is simply no way Donald Trump can credibly say in 2002 (when the debate over the Iraq War started) he was opposed to the war. He’s lying and the media has finally started to call him out.

Posted 6 years ago on April 12, 2012, 6:15 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt Over 10,000 gather at Sir John Guise Stadium in Papua New Guinea In another example of the power of popular resistance, Papua New Guineans this week appear to have successfully stopped the government from delaying elections and implementing a controversial Judicial Conduct Law that would allow the legislature to remove judges. In front of a massive crowd organized by labor unions, churches, social media groups, and civil society organizations, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill promised to hold elections on time. The protests were organized in part by student activists and bloggers affiliated with Occupy Waigani, a group that formed last month to occupy Parliament in protest of the Judicial Conduct Law. Among other efforts, Occupiers in PNG are also working to address the exploitation of local resources by corporate interests and unequal development in the country. #OccupyWallStreet stands in solidarity with Occupiers and dissidents everywhere. (See below for a timeline of events in PNG!) Occupy Wall Street has always been part of a global movement for economic justice and people-powered democracy. In addition to the Arab Spring protests that continue to challenge oppressive regimes from Tunisia to Bahrain, #OWS drew much of our inspiration from the Indignados in Spain and Portugal, the popular assemblies in Greece, the Icelandic Revolution against debt and austerity, the on-going Chilean student protests, and more. Following the Occupation of Liberty Square in New York City, Occupy protests took place on every continent. On the October 15, 2011 global day of action alone, Occupy demonstrations occurred in at least 950 cities in 82 countries. The Occupy movement has taken hold across the world and remains especially active in countries like Australia, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany, and Italy. Last week in Russia, protesters erected tents in Red Square during a protest against government corruption (predictably, they were quickly arrested by Russian police). However, Occupy protests have appeared in all parts of the world, from China to Argentina, and each place has contributed a unique perspective and experience to the Global Revolution to take back our lives from the Global 1%, in whatever form they take. While our causes may appear disparate, we share a common opposition to abusive government and economic inequality. Whether by the greedy removal of vital fuel subsidies for the 99% in Nigeria last year or the imposition of military rule in Egypt, the people everywhere will no longer tolerate elite misrule. Everywhere, we are demanding true self-government and real democracy - not governments run by banksters, autocrats, corporations, and corrupt politicians. And everywhere, our diverse and localized movements share tactics like the peaceful occupation of public space, mass demonstrations, nonviolent resistance, and the use of social media and horizontal consensus-based democracy to organize online and in the world. As activists in all parts of the world borrow ideas and imagery from one another and adapt them to local struggles, we learn from each other's innovations. #OccupyWaigani Last month, a student-led movement opposed to a law that would allow the government to silence dissident judges spawned an Occupy movement in Papua New Guinea. Although international media was completely silent on the events that followed, the protest grew to include broad support when the government voted to suspend elections. Earlier this week, 10,000 people gathered in the capitol of Papua New Guineau and forced the government to reverse their position. Again, beside minor coverage in Australian news, international media has been suspiciously silent. However, the activists themselves have not - using blogs and other social media, protest organizers kept their supporters around the world informed about events as they happened on the ground. As described by one blogger in a post about Occupy Waigani: David Wissink, the spokesman for Morobe Mines Joint Venture [a joint Australian/South African mining company in PNG], asked the question of yesterday’s historic protest: ‘So in reality what was gained?’ Most Papua New Guineans know the answer to this question. But for David’s benefit, let’s spell it out. 1) We showed the government that they are accountable to us. Now the politicians realise we are not going to let them get away with blatant disregard for us and our rights. 2) We showed solidarity. Good things start to happen when ordinary Papua New Guineans stand together and start talking about issues we share as a nation. 3) We showed that we are better than them. They are violent – they let our people be murdered for LNG. They don’t respect our rights – they rushed through an unconstitutional Bill without asking us at all (and now they want us to stop talking about it). They try and divide us and cause conflict between us. WE are peaceful – we marched peacefully, as a nation, and started talking about a better way for all. David, and mining companies like the one he works for, doesn’t like it when Papua New Guineans speak out. It makes him nervous that Papua New Guineans are thinking for themselves. He thinks: “Maybe they will realise they don’t want or need companies like Newcrest telling them what to think. “Maybe they will realise they don’t need to support the corrupt government which makes so much money for the miners.¨ “Maybe they will realise they don’t need mining or foreign companies at all, because they have a better way of making a living (it’s called land).’” So WE say congratulations to the protesters, who love their country and believe foreign corporations like MMJV and the government they corrupt are holding us back from a better way (our way). And don’t let them try and tell you that you are violent trouble-makers. They are the violent ones, stealing your land and your money. You are the peacemakers: and the future. Occupy Waigani and their allies and supporters still need our solidarity to ensure the promise of true democracy is delivered, not only to the people of Papua New Guinea, but to everyone, everywhere. OCCUPY TOGETHER! Students gather at a popular assembly at the University of PNG Timeline March 21 - One day after it is introduced and after virtually no serious consideration, the Judicial Conduct Law passes the legislature with a wide majority. Protesters call it the ¨Shut up the judges¨ bill. - One day after it is introduced and after virtually no serious consideration, the Judicial Conduct Law passes the legislature with a wide majority. Protesters call it the ¨Shut up the judges¨ bill. March 22 - Bloggers and activists call for #OccupyWaigani. (Waigani is the government district of Port Moresby, the capitol.) After a meeting at the University of PNG Forum Square that lasted until 4am, students make and announce plans to ¨occupy the grounds of Parliament¨ in protest of the law, defying police orders not to. The protesters demand that a representative from the government meet with them or they threaten to march directly on the Prime Minister´s office. - Bloggers and activists call for #OccupyWaigani. (Waigani is the government district of Port Moresby, the capitol.) After a meeting at the University of PNG Forum Square that lasted until 4am, students make and announce plans to ¨occupy the grounds of Parliament¨ in protest of the law, defying police orders not to. The protesters demand that a representative from the government meet with them or they threaten to march directly on the Prime Minister´s office. March 23 - 2500 UPNG students and allies march to office of the Prime Minister Peter O´Neill in Waigani. A stand off with police ensues, who eventually allow the protesters to pass with escort. The students deliver an ultimatum to the PM demanding the removal of the Judicial Conduct Law and declare they will wait for response before planning more actions. - 2500 UPNG students and allies march to office of the Prime Minister Peter O´Neill in Waigani. A stand off with police ensues, who eventually allow the protesters to pass with escort. The students deliver an ultimatum to the PM demanding the removal of the Judicial Conduct Law and declare they will wait for response before planning more actions. March 25 - In a televised nationwide address, the PM refuses to remove the law. - In a televised nationwide address, the PM refuses to remove the law. March 26 - The Community Coalition Against Corruption, students from the University of PNG, the PNG Trade Union Congress, and PNG social media networks hold a joint press conference announcing they are considering a national general strike with ¨sit-in protests in urban areas¨ by students at PNG's main universities in Port Moresby, Lae, Goroka, Madang and Rabaul. - The Community Coalition Against Corruption, students from the University of PNG, the PNG Trade Union Congress, and PNG social media networks hold a joint press conference announcing they are considering a national general strike with ¨sit-in protests in urban areas¨ by students at PNG's main universities in Port Moresby, Lae, Goroka, Madang and Rabaul. March 29 - Over 4700 students skip class at the University of PNG. - Over 4700 students skip class at the University of PNG. March 30 - Thousands more students strike at Unitech in Lae, calling it #OccupyTopTown. Some also start using #OccupyPNG now that there are at least two cities participating. - Thousands more students strike at Unitech in Lae, calling it #OccupyTopTown. Some also start using #OccupyPNG now that there are at least two cities participating. April 5 - A student forum meets again to discuss the next course of action. During the assembly, they recieve word that the legislature voted to defer elections by a vote of 63-11. - A student forum meets again to discuss the next course of action. During the assembly, they recieve word that the legislature voted to defer elections by a vote of 63-11. April 6 - Students and Occupiers on social media release the following statement: We the people of Papua New Guinea are now DEMANDING the Government to RESCIND THIS MOTION TO ‘DEFER THE ELECTIONS’ IMMEDIATELY!! We DEMAND that the Elections go ahead at the appointed time. By the 27th of April, the Writs must be issued and due election process allowed to occur. We the people of Papua New Guinea declare that we will NOT RELENT IN OUR PROTEST UNTIL OUR DEMANDS ARE COMPLIED WITH!! A Coalition comprising: Trade Unions, Business Houses, TIPNG. CCAC, Civil Society Organizations, University Students, Churches and Citizens will convene a NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION and MARCH TO PARLIAMENT. [...] WEAR YOUR INDEPENDENCE DAY PNG COLOUR T-SHIRTS. WE WILL MARCH, AND WE WILL PROTEST, AND WE WILL CAMP OUTSIDE THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE UNTIL PARLIAMENT RESCINDS THE MOTION TO DEFER THE ELECTIONS!! - Students and Occupiers on social media release the following statement: April 8 - Via Twitter and other social media, student leaders and activists continue to share links to #OWS, Adbusters, and Take The Square information on how to occupy. - Via Twitter and other social media, student leaders and activists continue to share links to #OWS, Adbusters, and Take The Square information on how to occupy. April 9 - Another student meeting in Forum Square is held. Student leader Nou Vada tells the media: ¨O'Neill has said whatever marches on Tuesday will be illegal... We need to either listen to the lawbreaker's pronouncement of law and obey or act in what is purportedly civil disobedience, as the students did a few weeks back, and negotiate our way through the blockades and the cocked weapons.¨ - Another student meeting in Forum Square is held. Student leader Nou Vada tells the media: April 10 - 10,000 Papua New Guineans converge on Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby to protest the delay of elections and the Judicial Conduct Law. There are several Occupy-inspired signs and banners and it is organized on Twitter using #OccupyWaigani. Student, labor, and religious leaders speak out and the crowd declares ¨We Are Parliament!¨ Most of the city is shut down and there is heavy police presence around the square. Some looting occurs elsewhere, and protesters blame police for only paying attention to the protest. The Prime Minister with heavy escort arrives to address the massive crowd personally and is booed. He then promises to hold elections as planned and remove the Judicial Conduct Law (as long as a controversial judge agrees to step down) and receives cheers. Many still question whether he is trust-worthy and will carry out his promises. - 10,000 Papua New Guineans converge on Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby to protest the delay of elections and the Judicial Conduct Law. There are several Occupy-inspired signs and banners and it is organized on Twitter using #OccupyWaigani. Student, labor, and religious leaders speak out and the crowd declares ¨We Are Parliament!¨ Most of the city is shut down and there is heavy police presence around the square. Some looting occurs elsewhere, and protesters blame police for only paying attention to the protest. The Prime Minister with heavy escort arrives to address the massive crowd personally and is booed. He then promises to hold elections as planned and remove the Judicial Conduct Law (as long as a controversial judge agrees to step down) and receives cheers. Many still question whether he is trust-worthy and will carry out his promises. April 11 - As the legislature has not yet rescinded the plan to delay elections, protesters say they are making contingency plans in the event the Prime Minister and the government do not hold elections as promised. A court has, however, issued an injunction against the Judicial Conduct Law. From Occupy Waigani: WE ARE THE 99%. The Occupy movement is an international protest movement directed towards social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic structure and power relations in society fairer. Different local groups have different foci, but among the prime concerns is the claim that big corporations and the global financial system control the world in an unstable way that disproportionately benefits a minority and is undermining democracy. Occupy Waigani is the first Occupy protest in PNG, the land of the unexpected. FREEDOM FROM DOMINATION AND OPPRESSION Sources: On Twitter: @OccupyWaigani @Tavurvur @Mangiwantok @Ranggum @NouVada @OurPacificWays Blogs: PNG Students Protesting Against Judicial Conduct Law Undeterred by Police Warning Student protesters and civil society look at options after O´neill refusal to back down Occupy Waigani As It Unfolded Social Media Driving New Chapter of PNG Consciousness

The DIY miniature satellites known as CubeSats have a lot going for them. They're cheap, they're easy to program, and they're small. That last benefit also adds a downside, in that the CubeSats are too small to sport any propulsion systems. MIT is looking to change that by creating an ion propulsion system so small that it will take up less than 10 percent of the already tiny Cubes. To help save space, the propulsion system works slightly differently than a regular ion drive. In a conventional ion engine, electricity charges a liquid propellant in a special chamber on board the spacecraft, and then lets loose the propellant. In MIT's engine, the propellant is pre-charged on the ground, and placed in small needles. When an electric charge runs through the needle, it expels the propellant. And since each needle is essentially its own engine, the entire system is completely customizable and modular. For the governments, schools, and companies that use CubeSats, these engines would provide two major benefits. First, it would allow the satellites to change their orbit, and thus the range and area the satellite can survey. Second, it allows the operator to knock the satellite out of orbit and into Earth's atmosphere, thus preventing old satellites from remaining in orbit as dangerous space junk. The MIT scientists believe they can have a working miniature ion propulsion system ready for the CubeSat within three years. Their current schedule calls for a prototype within four to five months, and then testing for another year or two. MIT News

For Boston voters, Question 5 might be the best tax increase voters could support. The ballot question — which would raise property taxes to pay for affordable housing, open space improvements, and historic preservation — might also be the one that has received the least attention, which its proponents don’t consider all bad. Question 5 would add 1 percent to property taxes on both residential and commercial real estate. The city estimates the cost to the average taxpayer at $24 a year. Much of the money it raises — 60 percent — would come from commercial real estate. Advertisement In Boston passage of this is long overdue, and the story of why it’s never happened here is a classic local political tale. Get Metro Headlines in your inbox: The 10 top local news stories from metro Boston and around New England delivered daily. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here The Community Preservation Act was passed by the Legislature in 2000. But it was conceived from the start as a measure that local communities would have to vote to opt in to. It’s been on the ballot in Boston only once, in 2001. Back then, its proponents made some rookie mistakes that annoyed Mayor Thomas M. Menino. First, they didn’t make sure they had secured his approval before they launched their campaign. Second, they didn’t realize that he didn’t want a tax increase on the ballot on a year in which he was seeking his third term. Menino also thought they should have waited until 2004, when a larger, more progressive turnout due to a presidential election would have made it easier to pass. Menino couldn’t kill it, and didn’t want to publicly oppose a measure that could bring money to the city. So he did the next best thing: He endorsed it on the weekend before the election, when it was too late for his support to do any good. (The too-late-to-matter endorsement was a Menino specialty on matters on which he was ambivalent.) It lost, of course, and its resurrection had to wait for another mayor to be elected. Advertisement Since then, the measure has been enjoying considerable success outside Boston. More than 160 cities and towns have approved it, and used the money to improve quality of life. And in Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh has been a full-throated supporter of passage Nov. 8. “We’ve put a lot of money into open space in the past two budgets but we need more, and historical preservation is something we always need more of, given all our city’s history,” Walsh said. Passing this is such an obvious good that it has aroused virtually no organized opposition. The business community, which usually rallies against property tax increases, has been supportive. It doesn’t hurt that Jack Connors and John Fish, probably the two most powerful members of said community, have both been lobbying for support for months. Their message to their fellow executives has been to either support it or remain neutral, and they have. “There’s a psychology to ballot initiatives,” said Joe Kriesberg, president of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, which supports the question. “It’s hard to get a ‘yes’ vote because yes is change, yes is unknown. But this time we have a lot of things working for us.” Advertisement State law requires that housing, open space, and preservation each receive at least 10 percent of the funds raised. Beyond that, there is considerable leeway in how it is spent. Communities that pass it have to create nine-member committees to make recommendations to the local city council, which then votes on the appropriations. When you get right down to it, the Community Preservation Act is a way to circumvent the cap on property taxes imposed by Proposition 2½, allowing cities and towns to raise money by earmarking it for specific, voter-friendly uses. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s a strong argument that Boston should have taken this step years ago. It’s nearly painless, and the city needs the improvements it will pay for. Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist.He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @Adrian_Walker

SQL has many features to protect data, and domain integrity constraints are one of the most fundamental. Put simply, they restrict columns to sensible values and prevent data input errors and other problems. On the surface domain integrity is simpler than other techniques such as referential integrity. Domains usually don’t need to cross-reference values in multiple tables. However in this article we’ll see some advanced tricks to keep data squeaky clean. This guide combines pretty much all material I’ve found online about the topic, adds some of my own, and provides many practical examples. Table of Contents Type, Precision, and Units The most basic kind of domain constraint is a column’s type declaration. For example when a column is declared as text , numeric , or date it immediately rules out certain values and operations. However the built-in PostgreSQL data types can still be too broad for the needs of some applications. That’s why the SQL standard allows us to create our own types using custom domains. Domains are an alias for an underlying type, and optionally include extra restrictions and a default value. Consider gasoline. Gas stations, in their fierce competition, extend psychological pricing beyond the cent. Their prices are advertised in fractional cents. Trying to use the default money type in PostgreSQL cannot cope. For US Dollars, the money type rounds at two digits: select '$4.999' : :money ; -- => $5.00 The precision of money varies per denomination of currency, which PostgreSQL chooses based on the locale string in the lc_monetary configuration variable. What’s more, the database keeps no metadata for this type. A value of “$100” can silently change to another like “£100” when the locale is changed, even though this affects the purchasing power of the money represented. To properly represent fractional-cent gas prices we have to take matters into our own hands and use the numeric type which holds fixed precision decimal values. (Never go near floating-point representation when money is involved!) For gas, numeric(6,3) should be fine, which allows three digits after the decimal, and no more than six digits total. This constrains gas prices to be no greater than $999.999, but we could use a bigger numeric if that seems restrictive. (We may have bigger problems to worry about if that becomes an issue.) We very well could use numeric(6,3) everywhere we want to store or calculate with gas prices, but it’s repetitive and hard to change uniformly. There’s where SQL allows us to define a shortcut: CREATE DOMAIN gasprice AS numeric ( 6 , 3 ); SELECT 4.999 : :gasprice ; -- => 4.999 Whether they have to use fractional cents or not, many well informed people avoid the built-in money type and go straight to numeric. To get the best of both worlds, try a database extension like samv/pg-currency. It provides pretty formatting, plus meaningful cross-currency comparison and conversion. Denominations of currency are a form of unit, and measurement abounds with other types of unit. Mixing units up can have disastrous consequences. NASA lost its $125-million Mars Climate Orbiter because spacecraft engineers failed to convert from English to metric measurements when exchanging vital data before the craft was launched. Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers mistook acceleration readings measured in English units of pound-seconds for a metric measure of force called newton-seconds. Let’s try to avoid their mistake with the postgresql-unit extension. CREATE EXTENSION unit; SELECT '100 lb s' : :unit - '100 N s' : :unit ; /* ERROR: 22000: dimension mismatch in "-" operation: "45.359237 kg*s", "100 m*kg/s" LOCATION: test_same_dimension, unit.h:89 */ The type forbids arithmetic on incompatible units. Database code in development will get a swift wakeup call trying to work with the mismatch, preventing logic problems later. As in the previous example we can create a custom domain with a suggestive name: CREATE DOMAIN acceleration AS unit CHECK ( dimension ( VALUE ) = '1 m*kg/s' ); This domain goes beyond our previous example in that it’s not just a synonym for an existing type, but introduces a constraint. It uses the dimension function provided by the unit extension library to check the alleged acceleration. We can use the new domain in all columns and stored procedure arguments which measure acceleration, to ensure the unit is expressed properly. -- we cannot coerce an un-annotated value SELECT 100 : :acceleration ; /* ERROR: 42846: cannot cast type integer to acceleration LINE 1: select 100::acceleration; LOCATION: transformTypeCast, parse_expr.c:2580 */ -- nor will the wrong unit work SELECT '100 lb s' : :acceleration ; /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain acceleration violates check constraint "acceleration_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: acceleration CONSTRAINT NAME: acceleration_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ The pg-unit extension provides a lot more functionality too, including converting units during calculations when compatible. SELECT '2 MB/min' : :unit * '15 s' : :unit AS usage ; -- => 500 kB Geospatial types also benefit from constraints. The PostGIS geometry type can represent locations using various projections, and to calculate properly it’s important to use the expected type of geometry. For example, we can specify the World Geodetic System ’84 coordinate system, which is what GPS uses: CREATE DOMAIN wgs84 AS geometry CHECK ( -- a 2-dimensional point in our coord system st_ndims( VALUE ) = 2 AND geometrytype( VALUE ) = 'POINT' : :text AND st_srid( VALUE ) = 4326 ); A sloppily-created point that does not declare its coordinate system will fail: SELECT ST_GeomFromText( 'POINT(-71.060316 48.432044)' ): :wgs84 ; /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain wgs84 violates check constraint "wgs84_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: wgs84 CONSTRAINT NAME: wgs84_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ With a little extra care it will work; notice that NULL values bypass the check as well. SELECT ST_GeomFromText( 'POINT(-71.060316 48.432044)' , 4326 ): :wgs84 ; -- => 0101000020E61000003CDBA337DCC351C06D37C1374D374840 SELECT NULL: :wgs84 ; -- => ∅ Common-Sense Checks Another use for domains is to look for and prevent preposterous values, or accidental column mismatches when importing data. Adding common-sense constraints will catch obvious data entry errors. It does require caution: don’t over-specify a domain or field in any way that would prevent users from entering a valid real-life domain value. There are plenty of examples of this use of preventative domain integrity. I’m sure you can think of more, but here is a start. Data about people involves natural constraints. The tallest man in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence is Robert Pershing who grew to 8’11.1“. Granting that there may have been taller unrecorded cases, we can confidently cap a person’s height at ten feet. Using the unit datatype from the previous section, we can make a domain to store height: CREATE DOMAIN human_height AS unit CHECK ( '0 ft' : :unit < VALUE AND VALUE < '10 ft' : :unit ); -- holds a valid height SELECT '74 in' : :human_height ; -- => 1.8796 m -- but rejects an outlandish one SELECT '12 ft' : :human_height ; /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain human_height violates check constraint "human_height_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: human_height CONSTRAINT NAME: human_height_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ Unfortunately constraints apply to human lifespan as well. However enforcing them doesn’t fit single-field domain integrity very well because a lifespan relates two values, not one: a person’s first and last day alive. We might unify the concept of a lifespan into a date range field where the end date is allowed to be unbounded. CREATE DOMAIN human_lifespan AS daterange CHECK ( ( NOT lower_inf( VALUE )) AND ( upper_inf( VALUE ) OR ( upper ( VALUE ) - lower ( VALUE ) < 365 * 130 ) ) ); This allows storing currently living people (an unbounded upper range): SELECT '[1/1/2000,)' : :human_lifespan ; -- => [2000-01-01,) However it protects against obviously bogus data: SELECT '[1/1/1400,1/1/1995]' : :human_lifespan ; /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain human_lifespan violates check constraint "human_lifespan_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: human_lifespan CONSTRAINT NAME: human_lifespan_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ But our topic is quickly turning grim. A more pleasant limit is textual. All text fields have a common-sense size limit. Someone will always test the limit, either maliciously or by accident. For instance, a person’s given name can be long, but it’s never a gigabyte long. It’s sensible to pick an upper limit of fifty Unicode characters. Traditionally people would use the varchar(50) type to represent such a constraint. In fact, in PostgreSQL the performance between varchar and text is the same (same data structure underneath), the only difference is that varchar(n) enforces a maximum length. We could use varchar(50) , or wrap the text type in a domain. For instance: CREATE DOMAIN personal_name AS text CHECK ( -- length between 1 and 50 inclusive length ( VALUE ) <@ int4range( 1 , 50 , '[]' ) ); It’s a little more typing, but does allow greater flexibility such as the enforcement of minimum length. (Names shouldn’t be empty strings.) Also all columns holding a name could be unified with the domain. Most importantly depesz identified that updating the limit in varchar takes more intensive database write-locks than updating the constraints on a domain. So if you’re thinking about modifying the length constraint (more on that in a future section), you’d do best to create a domain. Business Logic and Law “Common-sense” constraints can be a little fuzzy, but other constraints are exacting. In particular, enforcing business rules and the law. I’ll use an abbreviated style for these examples, showing the CHECK constraint for a domain and leaving the rest to your imagination. Prices are non-negative. You don’t want a prankster getting a rebate for buying something of negative price. CHECK (VALUE > 0) Paydays must be a Friday. CHECK (EXTRACT(dow FROM VALUE) = 5) Time is within business hours. CHECK ('8:00 am'::time <= VALUE AND VALUE <= '5:00 pm'::time) Customer is over age twenty-one. CHECK (now() - VALUE > '21 years'::interval) Wage greater than legal minimum. Compound Types and Syntax Checks Some text fields follow totally precise formats, and we can enforce them with regular expressions. The interesting thing is that such regularity, where each of the parts of a specially formatted string has meaning unto itself, is a sign of denormalization. There are often PostgreSQL extensions to both represent such domains and expose helper functions for extracting each meaningful part. URIs For example, consider URIs. The naive way to store them is in a text field. One step better is to add a regex to match URI syntax, and wrap the check in a custom domain as we have done so many times in this article already. The truth of the matter is that a URI is really a serialized representation of multiple data points: a protocol, host address, port, path, params, and anchors. Thinking in relational terms, it seems more like URIs should be stored across multiple columns, possibly in a reference table. However there’s a nice middle ground: a rich type provided by the pguri extension. The type is fairly permissive, it will let you cast any string as uri , but the functions provided by the extension allow us to check that certain parts of the URI exist. The following domain requires at least a protocol and server be specified. CREATE EXTENSION uri; CREATE DOMAIN http_uri AS uri CHECK ( uri_scheme( VALUE ) IS NOT NULL AND uri_scheme( VALUE ) IN ( 'http' , 'https' ) AND uri_host( VALUE ) IS NOT NULL AND uri_host( VALUE ) <> '' ); -- works great SELECT 'https://www.foo.com/bar/baz' : :http_uri ; -- forbidden SELECT 'ftp://www.foo.com/bar/baz' : :http_uri ; While we’re on the topic of the network, don’t forget the built-in inet type to represent IPv4/IPv6 addresses and optionally subnets. It includes a number of useful operators like checking if an address is contained by a CIDR block. Phone Numbers Phone numbers are in a similar situation. They are composed of parts (country code and local part). What’s more, their format isn’t even standardized. No reason to deal with them naively, use another PostgreSQL extension: libphonenumber. It is based on Google’s libphonenumber and can parse all numbers, including international ones. Because the numbers are parsed into an internal representation, the data type can identify duplicate numbers that differ only syntactically, hence the type makes UNIQUE constraints more powerful. -- Careful, this extension is in beta CREATE EXTENSION pg_libphonenumber; SELECT 'weirdly formatted number' : :phone_number ; /* ERROR: 22P02: unable to parse 'weirdly formatted number' as a phone number LINE 1: SELECT 'weirdly formatted number'::phone_number; DETAIL: String does not appear to contain a phone number LOCATION: reportParseError, error_handling.cpp:85 */ SELECT parse_phone_number( '41416375555' , 'CH' ); -- => +41 41 637 55 55 SELECT parse_phone_number( '41416375555' , 'CH' ) = parse_phone_number( '+41-41-637-5555' , 'CH' ); -- => t Semantic Versions Marching down the line of common compound types we come to semantic version numbers. Comparing two versions for recency is slightly tricky because they are typically stored as text, even though characterwise lexicographic comparison can be completely wrong: -- incorrect result SELECT '10.2.0' < '9.1.3' ; -- => t We could store versions as arrays. It works in some cases: -- correct for this case SELECT ARRAY [ 10 , 2 , 0 ] < ARRAY [ 9 , 1 , 3 ]; -- => f However arrays must contain one uniform type of element, whereas versions can mix letters and numbers like 1.2.0b1 . Once again life is easier with an extension, in this case semver. Maybe by now you’re starting to realize why PostgreSQL is sometimes called “the Emacs of databases.” It’s very extensible. CREATE EXTENSION semver; -- regular versions work SELECT '10.2.0' : :semver < '9.1.3' : :semver ; -- => f -- and so do more nuanced ones SELECT '10.2.0-3' : :semver < '10.2.0-4' : :semver ; -- => t Another advantage of this extension are the helper functions it provides for extracting major, minor, and patch versions, aggregating min/max, and validating correctness. Postal Addresses Addresses are the primordial datamonster of compound information. They aren’t really suited for representation as a custom domain. However individual parts like zip codes, or the enumeration of street types, can certainly be constrained. Check out this great article about the challenges of storing international addresses. To extract the pieces-to-be from a raw blob of address data you can use PostgreSQL extension helper functions. PostGIS provides a basic parser, and then there’s the pgsql-postal extension powered by libpostal. The latter is the big gun, but may consume large amounts of RAM during its operation. ISBN/UPC Dealing with ISBNs for books, or with UPC codes? Don’t pretend, extend! ISN has got you covered. It provides data types for product numbering standards: EAN13, UPC, ISBN (books), ISMN (music), and ISSN (serials). CREATE EXTENSION isn; SELECT isbn13( '978-0128007617' ); -- => 978-0-12-800761-7 SELECT isbn(isbn13( '978-0128007617' )); -- => 0-12-800761-3 The extension also allows parsing codes whose check digits are incorrect. It marks the values as “weak,” but is useful for importing barcode data which may have been scanned incorrectly. Email Addresses Email addresses are case insensitive, so it makes sense to represent them that way. Also it’s not a concern of domain integrity per se, but Web applications often add a uniqueness constraint on user emails. That’s because it doesn’t make sense to use the same email address between multiple user accounts. The constraint ought to prevent duplicates including those of case variation. One way to do this is make a unique index on a text expression, like CREATE UNIQUE INDEX users_lower_email_key ON users ( LOWER (email)); Unfortunately it’s touchy. Any queries filtering the users table by email must remember to lowercase the prospective value. It would be better if any comparison between emails was case insensitive so that nobody has to remember to explicitly lowercase the values. This situation is perfect for the citext (aka Case Insensitive Text) extension. It’s a type that stores text verbatim, but compares without regard to case. CREATE EXTENSION citext; SELECT 'HeLlO' : :citext ; -- => HeLlO SELECT 'HeLlO' : :citext = 'HELLO' : :citext ; -- => t We can use this underlying type along with a regex check for well-formed addresses to ensure correctness throughout our schema. Note that citext overrides all regex matching to be case insensitive as well. CREATE DOMAIN email AS citext CHECK ( VALUE ~ '^[a-zA-Z0-9.!#$%& '' *+/=?^_`{|}~-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?(?:\.[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,61}[a-zA-Z0-9])?)*$' ); Email address validity is enormously complex, and there are other regexes to choose from online. The above should be pretty accurate though. Colors Hexadecimal color codes, like email addresses, can be represented as case-insensitive strings. We can specify their formatting to be compatible with CSS rules: allowing either the full (AABBCC) or shorthand (ABC) syntax, with optional “#” prefix and optional trailing opacity byte (00-FF). -- case insensitive text, see the earlier section -- about email addresses for more information CREATE EXTENSION citext; CREATE DOMAIN color AS citext CHECK ( VALUE ~ '^#?([0-9a-f]{3}|[0-9a-f]{6})([0-9a-f]{2})?$' ); Of course what these hexadecimal codes represent is a 32-bit integer with a byte each for red, green, blue and opacity. The integer type would hold this value most efficiently. Ideally there would be an extension to create a color type that is stored efficiently, and could present itself in any number of representations. Might be a good opportunity to learn more about writing extensions… UUID and MD5 PostgreSQL has a special uuid type to hold up to 128-bits of data. This is perfect for storing Universally Unique Identifiers (RFC 4122), or MD5 hashes. For the former, the pgcrypto and uuid-ossp modules contain several functions to randomly generate UUIDs. For the latter, simply cast an MD5 string: SELECT md5( 'hash me' ): :uuid -- => 17b31dce-96b9-d6c6-d0a6-ba95f47796fb The result is displayed with hyphens, but stored compactly as bytes. Semi-Structured Data PostgreSQL supports JSON as a column type and provides functions to read and manipulate arrays and objects. Ordinarily if you know your data it’s better to use a normalized schema and store only simple values in each column. However JSON values are useful in situations such as storing per-user data or preferences of an unknown structure. Even though the data type is flexible, you can still constrain it. For instance, perhaps certain keys are required in the object and others are optional. Here is how to enforce the existence of a string “name” field: CREATE DOMAIN named_object AS jsonb CHECK ( VALUE ? 'name' AND jsonb_typeof(VALUE-> 'name' ) = 'string' ); The check constraint requires the VALUE ? 'name' test in addition to the one involving jsonb_typeof . That’s because jsonb_typeof(NULL) is NULL, and CHECK succeeds on NULL values. The truth table for a AND b with NULLs looks like this: (AND) False True NULL False False False False True False True NULL NULL False NULL NULL Thus a false value for VALUE ? 'name' will override a NULL from the second condition. In general these constraints can use any JSON operator. We can involve more than one key as well, like CHECK ((NOT VALUE ? 'fname') OR (VALUE ? 'lname')) , which asserts that lname is present if fname is. We can also enforce the uniqueness of a key’s values, but not with a domain. It requires adding a unique index: -- first make a gin index on the column for fast key lookup CREATE INDEX my_col_idx ON my_table USING gin(my_col jsonb_path_ops); -- now enforce uniqueness by indexing an expression CREATE UNIQUE INDEX my_col_id_idx ON my_table(my_col->> 'id' ); Enumerations A few RDBMSes (PostgreSQL and MySQL) have a special enum type that ensures a variable or column must be one of a certain list of values. This is also enforcible with custom domains. However the problem is technically best thought of as referential integrity rather than domain integrity, and usually best enforced with foreign keys and a reference table. Putting values in a regular reference table rather than storing them in the schema treats those values as first-class data. Modifying the set of possible values can then be performed with DML (data manipulation language) rather than DDL (data definition language) – more on that in a later section. However when the possible enumerated values are very unlikely to change, then using the enum type provides a few minor advantages. Enums values have human-readable names but internally they are simple integers. They don’t take much storage space. To compete with this efficiency using a reference table would require using an artificial integer key, rather than a natural primary key of the value description. Even then the enum does not require any foreign key validation or join query overhead. Enums and domains are enforced everywhere, even in stored procedure arguments, whereas lookup table values are not. Reference table enumerations are enforced with foreign keys, which apply only to rows in a table. The enum type defines an automatic (but customizable) order relation: CREATE TYPE log_level AS ENUM ( 'notice' , 'warning' , 'error' , 'severe' ); -- allows convenient queries like SELECT * FROM log WHERE level >= 'warning' ; This is the kind of logic you would otherwise have to implement yourself. If you do want to use the enum type, then changing its values requires some special DDL commands. -- append new value greater than the rest ALTER TYPE log_level ADD VALUE 'fatal' ; -- or add a value before another ALTER TYPE log_level ADD VALUE 'debug' BEFORE 'notice' ; -- get list of all SELECT enum_range(NULL: :log_level ); -- => {debug,notice,warning,error,severe,fatal} Unlike a restriction of values enforced by foreign key, there is no way to delete a value from an existing enum type. The only workarounds are messing with system tables or renaming the enum, recreating it with the desired values, then altering tables to use the replacement enum. Not pretty. Assistance from Stored Procedures Normally CHECK conditions in domains have limited complexity. They can’t contain subqueries, or reference other rows. However using stored procedures we can get around these restrictions. Timezones David Wheeler (aka Theory) created a clever domain to validate timezones. It uses a stored procedure to detect timezone validity. CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION is_timezone( tz TEXT ) RETURNS BOOLEAN as $$ BEGIN PERFORM now() AT TIME ZONE tz; RETURN TRUE ; EXCEPTION WHEN invalid_parameter_value THEN RETURN FALSE ; END ; $$ language plpgsql STABLE; CREATE DOMAIN timezone AS citext CHECK ( is_timezone( VALUE ) ); SELECT 'GMT' : :timezone ; -- => GMT Amateur Radio Frequencies Here’s an example that shows how to use a stored procedure to query a table from inside a domain CHECK condition. Our example concerns radio. Amateur – aka “Ham” – radio allows operators to transmit on certain frequency bands. Transmitting outside these bands is illegal. We can add domain integrity to make sure we don’t store an illegal frequency that might be used, for instance, in software-defined radio. -- table to hold valid frequency ranges CREATE TABLE valid_mhz ( freq numrange PRIMARY KEY ); -- the ranges for Amateur Extra licensees INSERT INTO valid_mhz (freq) VALUES ( '(1.800,2.000)' ), ( '(3.500,4.000)' ), ( '[5.332,5.332]' ), ( '[5.348,5.348]' ), ( '[5.3585,5.3585]' ), ( '[5.373,5.373]' ), ( '[5.405,5.405]' ), ( '(7.000,7.300)' ), ( '(10.100,10.150)' ), ( '(14.000,14.350)' ), ( '(18.068,18.168)' ), ( '(21.000,21.450)' ), ( '(24.890,24.990)' ), ( '(28.000,28.700)' ), ( '(50.0,54.0)' ), ( '(144.0,148.0)' ), ( '(222.00,225.00)' ), ( '(420.0,450.0)' ), ( '(902.0,928.0)' ), ( '(1240,1300)' ), ( '(2300,2310)' ), ( '(2390,2450)' ), ( '(3300,3500)' ), ( '(5650,5925)' ), ( '(10000,10500)' ), ( '(24000,24250)' ), ( '(47000,47200)' ), ( '(76000,81000)' ), ( '(122250,123000)' ), ( '(134000,141000)' ), ( '(241000,250000)' ), (numrange( 275000 , NULL , '()' )); -- add index to find whether a frequency is contained in any ranges CREATE INDEX valid_mhz_idx ON valid_mhz USING gist (freq); Next the domain that consults the frequency lookup table: -- is the argument contained in any range in valid_mhz? CREATE FUNCTION is_valid_mhz( numeric ) RETURNS boolean AS 'SELECT EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM valid_mhz WHERE freq @> $1);' LANGUAGE SQL STABLE; -- not immutable since the FCC can change the bands -- our domain delegates to the function CREATE DOMAIN ham_extra_mhz AS numeric ( 10 , 4 ) CHECK ( is_valid_mhz( VALUE ) ); The domain works as desired: -- U.S. national 2m simplex calling frequency SELECT 146.52 : :ham_extra_mhz ; -- => 146.52 -- military airport ground control SELECT 134.100 : :ham_extra_mhz ; /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain ham_extra_mhz violates check constraint "ham_extra_mhz_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: ham_extra_mhz CONSTRAINT NAME: ham_extra_mhz_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ Note that using procedures in CHECK constraints to lookup data in a table can have unpleasant side effects, When restoring a database dump, CHECK constraints (unlike foreign key constraints) are restored before data is. In the example above we have introduced a requirement that valid_mhz be restored before any table with column of type ham_extra_mhz. Credit Card Validation Most credit cards use the Luhn algorithm to validate their numbers. It is a simple checksum that helps detect single digit typos and adjacent digit transposition errors. The logic of the algorithm is too complex to go directly inside a domain CHECK condition, but we can put it into a stored procedure. During validation a credit card number is best thought of as an array of integers rather than a big single number. That’s because the validation checksum operates on digits. Here’s how to validate a credit card: CREATE FUNCTION is_valid_cc( smallint []) RETURNS boolean AS $$ SELECT SUM ( CASE WHEN (pos % 2 = 0 ) THEN 2 *digit - ( CASE WHEN digit < 5 THEN 0 ELSE 9 END ) ELSE digit END ) % 10 = 0 FROM unnest( ARRAY ( -- loop over digit/position SELECT $ 1 [i] -- ... which we read backward FROM generate_subscripts($ 1 , 1 ) AS s(i) ORDER BY i DESC ) ) WITH ordinality AS t (digit, pos) $$ LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE; This function can support a basic domain we can use later for specific card types. CREATE DOMAIN cc_number AS smallint [] CHECK ( is_valid_cc( VALUE ) ); /* alternately, store as text for user friendliness CREATE DOMAIN cc_number AS text CHECK ( is_valid_cc(regexp_split_to_array(VALUE, '')::smallint[]) ); */ Each brand of credit card uses its own characteristic IIN values, as well as number of digits total. See this Wikipedia article for details. A Visa card has these extra constraints: CREATE DOMAIN visa AS cc_number CHECK ( VALUE [ 1 ] = 4 AND array_length( VALUE , 1 ) IN ( 13 , 16 , 19 ) ); Improved Error Messages Sometimes people avoid putting domain constraints in the database and do validation in client code. Developers reason that database constraint violation errors are too cryptic for end users. That or the latency of validating on the server-side is too high compared to client-side checks. One way to improve the first concern (although not the second) is to annotate domains with friendly error messages using PostgreSQL object comments. When a check violation exception happens, we can use the comment as a more friendly error code. For instance, here’s a simple domain and friendly comment: CREATE DOMAIN positive AS numeric CHECK ( VALUE > 0 ); COMMENT ON DOMAIN positive IS 'Number must be positive' ; Server-side code would then check for exceptions when running SQL and make an error using the comment when relevant. How that would look depends on language and PostgreSQL library, but here’s a PL/pgSQL function to demonstrate the concept. CREATE FUNCTION pretty_error( cmd TEXT ) RETURNS unknown AS $$ DECLARE dom text; friendly text; retval unknown; BEGIN -- attempt to run original command EXECUTE cmd INTO retval; RETURN retval; EXCEPTION WHEN check_violation THEN -- extract the relevant data type from the exception GET STACKED DIAGNOSTICS dom = PG_DATATYPE_NAME; -- look for a user comment on that type SELECT pg_catalog.obj_description( oid ) FROM pg_catalog.pg_type WHERE typname = dom INTO friendly; IF friendly IS NULL THEN -- if there is no comment, throw original exception RAISE; ELSE -- otherwise throw a revised exception with better message RAISE check_violation USING message = friendly; END IF ; END ; $$ language plpgsql; This function will execute any command and automatically translate check_violation messages. SELECT pretty_error($$ SELECT 1 : :positive ; $$); -- => 1 SELECT pretty_error($$ SELECT (- 1 ): :positive ; $$); /* ERROR: 23514: Number must be positive CONTEXT: PL/pgSQL function pretty_error(text) line 20 at RAISE LOCATION: exec_stmt_raise, pl_exec.c:3165 */ Updating Constraints PostgreSQL is pretty flexible in allowing alteration of column types and domains. If existing rows comply with the new rules then the alteration happens without a problem. CREATE TABLE shorties ( s text ); INSERT INTO shorties VALUES ( 'hello' ), ( 'world' ), ( 'short' ), ( 'stuff' ); -- converting from text to char(n) is fine ALTER TABLE shorties ALTER COLUMN s TYPE char ( 5 ); -- however it fails if existing rows are too long ALTER TABLE shorties ALTER COLUMN s TYPE char ( 3 ); /* ERROR: 22001: value too long for type character(3) LOCATION: bpchar, varchar.c:308 */ Domains are even more flexible than base types. Let’s start with a very permissive domain, one that prevents only NULLs. Then we’ll add an extra constraint. CREATE DOMAIN gadsby AS text NOT NULL ; CREATE TABLE stories ( content gadsby ); INSERT INTO stories VALUES ( 'what is this?' ), ( 'fate is tricky' ); -- try to get fancy ALTER DOMAIN gadsby ADD CHECK ( VALUE NOT ILIKE '%e%' ); /* ERROR: 23514: column "content" of table "stories" contains values that violate the new constraint SCHEMA NAME: public TABLE NAME: stories COLUMN NAME: content LOCATION: validateDomainConstraint, typecmds.c:2761 */ OK, so this looks no better than attempting to alter a column type. However we can alter a domain while asking for forbearance on existing rows. The new constraint will still apply to new rows: ALTER DOMAIN gadsby ADD CHECK ( VALUE NOT ILIKE '%e%' ) NOT VALID; -- give existing rows a pass -- new rule affects attempted insertion INSERT INTO stories VALUES ( 'eeek!' ); /* ERROR: 23514: value for domain gadsby violates check constraint "gadsby_check" SCHEMA NAME: public DATATYPE NAME: gadsby CONSTRAINT NAME: gadsby_check LOCATION: ExecEvalCoerceToDomain, execQual.c:4087 */ -- this insert works INSERT INTO stories VALUES ($$ If Youth, throughout all history, had had a champion to stand up for it; to show a doubting world that a child can think; and , possibly, do it practically, you wouldn 't constantly run across folks today who claim that "a child don' t know anything. " $$); This buys you time to correct data while keeping new entries under control. After fixing old rows you can try to validate. -- is everything correct? ALTER DOMAIN gadsby VALIDATE CONSTRAINT gadsby_check; /* ERROR: 23514: column "content" of table "stories" contains values that violate the new constraint SCHEMA NAME: public TABLE NAME: stories COLUMN NAME: content LOCATION: validateDomainConstraint, typecmds.c:2761 */ -- oh that's right UPDATE stories SET content = 'fat is tricky' WHERE content = 'fate is tricky' ; -- now we're good ALTER DOMAIN gadsby VALIDATE CONSTRAINT gadsby_check; Related Posts

The 21-year-old supermarket sales clerk who was arrested for stealing a can of corned beef worth P31.50 remains behind bars a week after he confessed to the crime. Asked by the Inquirer on Sunday about the status of his case, Paul Matthew Tanglao admitted being clueless. ADVERTISEMENT As far as he knows, his mother has already posted bail for the charge of qualified theft filed against him by his employer. Pressed for more details, Tanglao pleaded ignorance, saying he and his mother were not exactly on speaking terms due to some misunderstanding. The policeman in charge of his case was not around when the Inquirer talked to Tanglao. “I felt like I’ve been shamed and embarrassed before the world. I’m not saying what I did was right. I know it’s wrong. All I’m saying is I was just really hungry [that day] and I didn’t have money,” he said. Broke and hungry Tanglao had less than P20 in his pocket on Dec. 10 when he reported for duty at the supermarket in Sta. Ana, Manila. He did not even have enough money for the fare home to Pembo, Makati City, he added. He first felt the hunger pangs at 4 p.m. At 5:45 p.m., he could no longer ignore it. He went to the supermarket warehouse and took the can of corned beef. When retrieved, it was used as evidence against him, on top of his confession. He knew he was guilty so Tanglao said he did not resist when the head of the supermarket security team accosted him and brought him to the police station. ADVERTISEMENT “I thought they’d just kicked me out of the workplace. I didn’t expect them to file a criminal complaint against me,” he said. A policeman familiar with Tanglao’s case shook his head while talking to the Inquirer. “Of course, stealing is not right. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even file [a case]. I’d just fire him. Look, the money spent on photocopying the documents needed to file the case in court is more expensive than the price of the corned beef,” he said. Read Next LATEST STORIES MOST READ

In 1927, a physics professor named Thomas Parnell launched an experiment on viscous liquids. 85 years later, we're still waiting for his results. It all began with a funnel, a beaker, and some melted tar pitch. Parnell, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, was hoping to demonstrate that brittle tar pitch actually behaves as a liquid when kept at room temperature. To prove this, he melted some tar pitch, let it cool for three years, and placed it within the funnel, held over the beaker. The first drop rolled down the funnel eight years later. The second came nine years after that. By the time the third rolled around, Parnell had already passed away. Following his death, the experiment was shelved, quite literally, in a closet, before Professor John Mainstone revived it shortly after joining the University of Queensland in 1961. In 1975, Mainstone successfully lobbied the university to put the experiment on display, but he likely could've never imagined how large an audience it would ultimately have. Today, in fact, the experiment is on display 24 hours a day, via a dedicated webcam. It's been hailed as the world's longest running lab experiment, and it's available for gazing at the source link below. Mainstone expects the next drop to come down the pipeline sometime next year, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath. The last drop ran down the funnel in 2000. Unfortunately, it was never recorded on video, due to a very untimely camera malfunction.

Photos by Art Bicnick An East Iceland labour union is going to start cracking down on employers advertising for “volunteers” on foreign websites. East Iceland news service Austurfrétt reports that Sverrir Mar Albertsson, the managing director of the Union of General and Special Workers in East Iceland, told reporters his union will be “coming down hard” on employers advertising on the popular website workaway.info for volunteers to do jobs that, by Icelandic law, must be paid in harmony with the collective bargaining agreements of this country. The jobs being advertised in Iceland include a wide range of professions, from child care and housework to food production, animal care and farm work. They are usually unpaid, although sometimes “pocket money” is offered, as well as room and board. While it is legal to ask for volunteers at a charity or NGO, these jobs have established collective bargaining agreements that guarantee workers a minimum wage, overtime, days off and other common benefits. Sverrir said his union has been monitoring the site, and that employers violating Icelandic labour law will be cracked down on, especially during the summer, the high season of tourism in Iceland. As reported, the site has also attracted the attention of other labour unions, including SGS. “This is one of the most serious examples of underbidding on the labour market,” Drífa Snædal, the managing director of SGS, told Vísir. “There is a big difference between doing volunteer work for a charity or social group, and volunteering at a for-profit company. There is a white area, a gray area and a black area. In the black area are hotels and guesthouses asking for volunteers.” Iceland has very clear labour laws where volunteer work is concerned. Unpaid work at a company that sells things – whether guest accommodation or farm products – is a violation of Icelandic labour law and standing collective bargaining agreements. Under no circumstances should anyone work without pay for a company that sells products or services. As reported, foreign workers are much more likely to be victims of worker exploitation than their Icelandic counterparts. If you work in Iceland and believe you might not know your working rights, the Icelandic Confederation of Labour Unions (ASÍ) has compiled an English summary of your labour rights in Iceland. This information is also available in Polish, as Poles comprise the largest foreign demographic in Iceland.

Share The barrier to commercially operating a drone just got a little lower, but don’t expect companies like Amazon to be any closer to being able to organize drone deliveries. That, in short, seems to be the verdict of 624 pages of new FAA regulations concerning commercial unmanned aircraft systems. In laws that will take effect in August, the FAA’s big new ruling is that commercial drone operators are no longer required to be in possession of a pilot’s license for a regular airplane. Instead of having to require a pilot’s license, commercial drone operators must now demonstrate their knowledge through the award of a “remote pilot certificate,” requiring a basic knowledge test carried out at an FAA-recognized test center. “The barrier to entry is definitely lowered,” Dr. Michael Braasch, a professor of electrical engineering at Ohio University and expert on drone technologies and FAA regulations, tells Digital Trends. “You no longer have to be able to fly a full-size plane in order for pilot a drone for commercial purposes. It’s a significant change.” So why doesn’t this easing-off of FAA rules help companies like Amazon, interested in delivering packages by drones? For one thing, commercial drones may only fly a maximum of 400 feet in the air. More important, however, is the line-of-sight rule, which limits some of the more ambitious drone-based plans. “The rules require that drones cannot be flown further away than the operator can see,” Braasch continues. “Depending on the person, that visual line of sight is going to be in the vicinity of half a mile to one mile. But that’s not going to help with package delivery, since it severely limits how far the delivery drones could be flown.” Still, the new rules do show that the FAA is willing to be a bit more lenient toward commercial drones. And, hey, the organization says its new rules could help bring in upwards of $82 billion to the U.S. economy over the next decade — which is always a positive!

First lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama arrive at a BET event on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington, Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said he’s sad that one of his and the first lady’s favorite traditions, musical night at the White House, ended Friday. Obama and his wife, Michelle, have reserved certain evenings over the past eight years to celebrate music that has helped shape America. They held big blowout concerts spotlighting classic, country, blues, Broadway, gospel, Motown, Latin and jazz either inside the White House or out on the lawn. The tradition ended Friday as Obama kicked off his final musical night, BET’s “Love and Happiness” event in a tent on the South Lawn. He joked that he wouldn’t be singing any Al Green — despite the concert title. When Obama sang the opening lines of Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in January 2012, the video went viral. “We’ve had Bob Dylan and we’ve had Jennifer Hudson. Gloria Estefan and Los Lobos. Aretha, Patti, Smokey,” Obama said to open the show. “I’ve had Paul McCartney singing ‘Michelle’ to Michelle and Stevie singing ‘Happy Birthday.’” “We’ve had Buddy Guy and Mick Jagger getting me to sing ‘Sweet Home Chicago,’” he continued. “So this has been one of our favorite traditions, and it’s with a little bit of bittersweetness that this is our final musical evening as president and first lady.” Jill Scott opened with a booming version of her hit “Run Run Run.” The show was also featuring performances by Usher, The Roots, Bell Biv DeVoe, Janelle Monae, De La Soul, Yolanda Adams, Michelle Williams and Kiki Sheard. Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Williams of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Angela Bassett were also appearing. Terrence J, the former host of BET’s “106 & Park,” and actress-comedian Regina Hall were the presenters. Obama described the ability to summon celebrities as “one of the perks of the job that I will most, along with Air Force One, and Marine One,” the presidential helicopter. “You know, if you can just call up Usher and say, ‘Hey, come on over ...’” Before taking a seat in the front row alongside Mrs. Obama, the president reviewed White House musical history and said live performances have always been a part of life there, dating to 1801 when the U.S. Marine Band played at the first reception hosted by President John and Abigail Adams. President Chester Arthur invited an all-black singing group to perform, and Teddy Roosevelt welcomed ragtime composer Scott Joplin because Roosevelt’s daughter wanted to hear that “new jazz,” Obama said. Guests of President John F. Kennedy even did the “twist” in the East Room, “which may not sound like a big deal to you, but that was sort of the twerking of their time,” Obama told the star-studded audience of several hundred people, seated in an elaborate tent that was used earlier in the week for the Obamas’ final state dinner. “There will be no twerking tonight. At least not by me. I don’t know about Usher.” Obama said the White House is the “People’s House,” so it makes sense that it reflect the diversity, imagination and ingenuity of the American people. He said that, although much of the music being performed at Friday’s taping “is rooted in the African-American experience, it’s not just black music. It’s an essential part of the American experience.” “It’s a mirror to who we are, and a reminder of who we can be,” Obama added. “That’s what American music’s all about.” BET says it will broadcast the show on Nov. 15. ___ Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

"That is the question." And the answer is: little. We need to incorporate economic fundamentals in the legislation on land acquisition as advanced tend to go through this pain methodically. Thus, the embedded economics deserves to be illustrated. Figure 1 describes the in which government has entered with the objective of acquiring some land on behalf of industry - public or private or in combination. S(L) is the supply curve of land which is a summation of distinct supply curves of individual farmers. While each farmer is likely to have a different valuation of his land asset and therefore possess a different price-to-supply relation, overall the market sums up to S(L). Note that S(L) is upward sloping since more land will be offered in the market as a whole only as the price per unit of land increases. On the other hand, the industrialist has a demand curve D(L) for land needed for his proposed project which reveals that he will tend to demand more land as its per unit price diminishes. However, he has a maximum per unit price, OF, above which he will not venture to offer a price for the land he requires. It is important to point this out since governments, in particular some state governments, run to offer land at prices above which they tend to believe industry would not be attracted to invest. If government did not intervene, then equilibrium in the market would occur at C, the demand-supply intersection, at a price of CL' and the land exchanged would be OL'. The problem is that this amount of land is insufficient for the project, the requirement being OL. At this point, AB emerges as the measurement of mismatched prices, the suppliers wanting a price of AL per unit and the buyer offering only to pay BL per unit. So government intervenes to find ways to acquire OL amount of land, and usually at a per unit price of less than AL. The crux of the issue is the apprehension that public transfers do not work this way and invariably affect the farmer's or tribal's position adversely. Government's past economic practice is replete with examples, of which the 2006 (SEZ) Act or currently the 2015 Land Acquisition Act are just two. Figure 2 explains this using a box diagram. The initial points for industry and farmers are corner points A and B respectively. From here both would like to move, through a tatonnement process, towards the inside of the box where both would be better-off. Thus both would prefer to move as close to preference ranking 4 as possible through acquisition or sale of land. For example, at D, both would gain, though industry would gain more than farmers. The proposed 2015 Act fails to ensure that a movement from B to C will be averted since it has set aside the requirement of 70 per cent consent of communities affected by loss of land or associated livelihood as well as the requirement of a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) "in the public interest" related to projects pertaining to national security and defence; rural infrastructure including electrification; affordable housing and housing for the poor; industrial corridors; and infrastructure projects including ones under private-public partnership where ownership of land is with government. Many advanced economies carry out for major projects that India is proposing to eschew. is terribly important so that, based on the for each proposed project, a meaningful compensation plan would be necessarily drawn up and accomplished on a case by case basis. Under the current proposal, it appears that this government-like the previous one's SEZ Act-is giving itself and future governments immense discretion in major policy formulation and action without guaranteed discussion or adequate appraisal of their socio-economic effects. The progressive direction of an advancing economy should be the opposite. One cannot but ask why successive governments should be so keen to push ahead with projects that would proffer disproportionate benefits through increasing returns to the (upper class) owners of capital and (middle class) labour while (indirectly) taxing away those (lower economic groups) who own small parcels of land. This policy, combined with the recently emerging cascade of cases in urban areas irrespective of the political hue, in which certified, fully functioning, and taxpaying households, educational institutions, and other organisations are being subjected to the authorities' hammer, somehow hints at the role of land in fuelling the wheels of Indian democracy. Thus, in the final analysis, one has to raise the following question. Has the political class considered whether prevailing political practices are sustainable in the medium term or, whether they should not be ready to chart a course that would not depend on, or result in, widely reported rent seeking and, instead, bring to fruition the potential positive outcomes from transparency in the functioning of the largest and most vibrant democracy currently prevalent.

New Balance found itself in the middle of social media controversy and threats of boycotts on Wednesday night after a pro-Trump comment from its VP of public affairs went viral. On Thursday morning, the brand reached out to Sole Collector with a statement explaining its position on the president-elect. "As the only major company that still makes athletic shoes in the United States, New Balance has a unique perspective on trade and trade policy in that we want to make more shoes in the United States, not less," the statement reads. "New Balance publicly supported the trade positions of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump prior to election day that focused on American manufacturing job creation and we continue to support them today." As noted by Sole Collector's initial piece on New Balance's pro-Trump comment, the brand is backing him on the topic of trade and has not made any moves suggesting it supports his presidency as a whole. New Balance's VP of public affairs, Matt LeBretton, underlined this in a conversation with Buzzfeed on the matter. "The statement is correct in the context of trade, not talking about large geo-political anything, but in the context of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement," LeBretton said. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade deal that both New Balance and Trump oppose. New Balance's pro-Trump comment sparked plenty of anger on Twitter, with users posting photos of themselves​ trashing their NB sneakers in protest. UPDATE 11/10: New Balance has tweeted a message that, while not directly referencing the controversy around its Trump remarks, appears to allude to them. Read the message below.

The US is no longer a democracy, but Government by Hallucinating Mob. Take heart- tomorrow's Senate will be as relevant as today's House of Lords. The US is no longer a democracy, but Government by Hallucinating Mob,driven mad by television. Little wonder then that this year's election feels like a choice between cancers. Take heart, because by the timewe can elect enough of our own to make a difference,the Net will have changed society so much that the US Senate will seem about as relevant as the House of Lords. By John Perry Barlow Recently, I found myself appearing on a panel called "Presidential Campaigning from 1960-1996: From Televised Debates to the Internet and Beyond." I expected the title to be optimistic, and it was. Not only did we not press boldly on to those unimaginable hustings "beyond the Internet," we didn't quite make it past television. Which was fine, I suppose - neither has politics in America. Whether or not it ever will, at least before the United States of America ceases to be a clearly definable political entity, is the question. But does this matter much to the development of society in Cyberspace? Should the netizen bother to vote? And if so, for whom and on what basis? I was an oddity at the gathering, which was held at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government on the fallen president's birthday. (I sat there imagining the tachometer reading on my buried father, a cowshit-on-his-boots Wyoming politician who, had he ever heard of virtual reality, would surely have thought the Kennedys came from there.) The others on the panel clearly belonged to the first part of its title. There was veteran TV newsman Sander Vanocur, one of the questioners in the Kennedy-Nixon debates; Kiki Moore, a former press secretary for Tipper Gore and now a regular commentator on CNN; Lisa McCormack, who is the publications and "online communications" director for the Republican National Committee and who you could tell with one eye was no nerd. And me. I was the token geek. The program began with long cuts from the Kennedy-Nixon debates, a spectacle I had last watched through 12-year-old eyes and murkily re-remembered subsequently. Seeing them again, I realized that the debates had been important not because they decided the contest for the telegenic young Senator Kennedy - as was pronounced by most observers at the time and has been canonically held since - but because they had fundamentally changed the nature of the office itself. From that point forward, the president became more movie star than leader, more myth than manager, more affect than intellect. From that point forward, it was more important that the candidate not have a five o'clock shadow than that he have ideas that could suffer scrutiny. Not to defend the genuinely vile Nixon nor to defame the genuinely dashing Kennedy, but I was surprised by the clarity and persuasiveness of Nixon's actual content. Kennedy, on the other hand, said some things that were not very thoughtful, such as his assertion that it was more important for a country to have good missile technology than abundant color televisions. But his appearance, the visual semiotics of his virtual self, was as smooth as Nixon's was lumpy. I was looking at the first decisive national instance in which what a politician said was less penetrating and prehensile than his ability to look like he meant it. And I have had my own confirmation of this principle. Thanks to C-Span (which, as it happened, carried the Kennedy School panel live) and PBS specials, my own talking head occasionally floats around Televisionland in repurposed snippets of videotape, so if people tell me they've seen me on TV, I don't know the context. Trying to determine it, I ask what I was talking about. They never remember. Though sometimes they say they thought I was convincing. Of what? I wonder. The most striking realization that came to me as I watched the tapes was that Kennedy was not so much elected president by television as he was elected president of television - that strange projection from which most Americans have since derived their map of reality. He also, in some sense, participated in a process whereby television became president. Since then, this medium has defined the national agenda in ways that were often at odds with what might have been dictated by either sense or experience with unmediated reality, until we are left today with what I call Government by Hallucinating Mob. As I watched the shiny old kinescopes, it seemed the transformation to this malignant new governmental form was taking place before my eyes. During several sequences, it was clear that the most important debater was neither Kennedy nor Nixon but the unnominated Sander Vanocur, as when he sprung on Nixon that his boss, President Eisenhower, had said that he couldn't think of any policy decision in which Nixon had played a deciding role. It was a harder and more damaging shot than any taken by Kennedy. I knew that never before had a mere reporter been able to exercise such power in real time before an entire nation. Afterward, as the line of speakers proceeded till my turn came (the geek speaks last), I heard the bland encomiums that are generally larded upon the Net by meatspace politicos whose knowledge of it, as of other things, descends mostly from what they've learned from traditional media; there were no tales of any real adventures in cyberspace. (Though it must be noted that none of them called it the Information Superhighway.) They talked about the Net as though it were the '90s version of the space program, a wonderful and huge government project that America should undertake for reasons that were not entirely clear. They talked about it as though it might have a role in the upcoming elections similar to that played so decisively by the first televised debates. I don't think so. And neither, I suspect, did they. If any large number of our elected American leaders thought that our virtual precincts could affect an election outcome in their world, they never would have inflicted on us the Communications Decency Act nor most of the Digital Telephony Bill. Nor would they be contemplating other such depredations as the bill currently proceeding through Congress that would abolish fair use of copyrighted material in cyberspace, declaring a licensable copy to be made every time a copyrighted work is written into computer memory. If they thought the hundreds of thousands of angry email messages they've gotten from us over the last few years actually came from bodies likely to walk into a voting booth anywhere in their own districts, they wouldn't still be answering electronic input with such automatic responses as: Dear Friend:Thank you for your recent email message to my office. Please accept this response as acknowledgment that we have received your message and will note your comments. Most of you will also receive an email response that addresses your concern. Given that the postal service may sometimes be the best way to get back to you, please also include a regular mailing address in your email. This is what I received after Senator Edward Kennedy challenged my assertion that no one in Congress was online. "I'm online," he said. "Write me an email and see." In fairness, I'm not sure I want Senator Kennedy - or any other senator - reading and responding directly to his own email. Most of Congress is in profound datashock already. Hardly any of them has an attention span longer than an elevator ride. They are located at a level in the informational ecosystem that has become too rich for reason. Stuart Kauffman at the Santa Fe Institute has studied "complexity catastrophe," in which an organism or natural system is forced by its context to process more information than it can. A frequent symptom of this kind of connection crash is fibrillation - a purposeless, resource-expensive quivering that usually culminates in system collapse. It could easily be said that Congress, indeed the entire government of the United States of America, has already reached this state. But however useless and wasteful I think it has become, there are enough Americans who believe in the comforting myth that their government still works, that its continued institutional existence probably contributes to a calm, however delusionary, among the People. So I'm not sure it would be a good idea to further inflict the riotous informational fertility of cyberspace upon an organism that evolved in the more temperate zones of the late 18th century. Thomas Jefferson was one of the most prolific letter writers of his time, and he generally produced five or six pieces of correspondence a day. He would have considered it mad to attempt 50 or 60, as I often do, or hundreds, as Senator Kennedy would have to. But therein lies the rub, or at least part of it. The political system we've got is too tangled in the parasitic undergrowth of the last two centuries to process or understand what is being created for the century to come. Certainly, the powers that were want to understand cyberspace. They can tell it's important, or at least that it will be, and, as they would like to go on ruling, they have been setting about in various ways - some terrifying, some hilarious - to rule the virtual world as well. But for the present, there are many factors diminishing their acuity on the subject. For one thing, democracy really does work in America. It works in that politicians are extremely sensitive to their market, the people who actually vote. And people who vote have bodies that dwell in precincts. A politician can grab the return addresses from letters he or she receives and give them to canvassing volunteers who will hustle the votes of the senders on their very doorsteps. No one has yet tried to canvass cyberspace. The email a politician receives can understandably seem to appear from the ether. It might have been generated by a machine. It certainly might have been generated by someone who can't actually vote, because he or she doesn't even live on the same continent. Of course, that doesn't mean they're not working on it. Lisa McCormack, the panelist from the Republican National Committee (and a smart operative if, well, a bit of a Stepford wife), talked about how proud they were of Republican Main Street, the virtual village that is www.rnc.org/. McCormack had some reason to be proud. The site is state of the art. From it, you can order GOP golf shirts or grab, in QuickTime, "The Best of GOP-TV Download" and watch memorable moments from the Republican revolution. They even link to MCI's Net Vote '96 site: there, they hope to electronically register Republicans using the Uniform Voter Registration Form that was created, ironically, by Bill Clinton's Motor Voter bill. ("In two to three weeks, your official completed voter registration application card will be sent back to you. Read through it, check for mistakes, SIGN IT, and stick it in the mail. We have already addressed it to your state elections official. We even cover the postage!") But as much as I genuinely admired the work she was describing, I wondered how much good it would do them. Because I'm not at all sure there is a significant cybervote to curry. I think most voters come from a culture that has been created by mass media - a culture quite different from the one now gelling in The Great Conversation that is cyberspace. No one knows much about the civic habits of the wired world. Not everyone even agrees that "we" exist as a society. I do believe, however, that there is a discernible cultural flavor to cyberspace, that whether we're jacking in from Sunnyvale or Uzbekistan, we tend to be libertarian, opinionated, and generally devoted to the free flow of information. Whether or not one comes to cyberspace with any greater mission than emailing one's boss from the road, there is something about this environment that seems to gradually induce a larger sense of purpose. And any large sense of purpose has political implications. It is my perception that much of the online world is already about pursuing those political implications, by constructing new systems of governance better adapted to a global information economy than those of a 19th-century industrial nation-state. I don't think most of us pay much attention to Washington unless Washington is actively trying to attack the Net. And I suspect that, in America, even fewer of us vote than do among the general populace, where suffrage has been in steep decline for years. That subset of Americans who still exercise their franchise - The Market, if you will - tends to be much older, whiter, and more socially conservative than the population in general. They live mostly in the suburbs, shop in malls, work for large organizations, and go to church on Sunday. Creatures of a mass society, living in a culture created by mass media. Genericans. Not a bad lot, really. Decent people, most of them, with good judgment - if that judgment were well informed. And that's the problem. For most of The Market, reality is, as I say, almost entirely based on The World According to Television. This has been the case since the Kennedy-Nixon debates and will continue to be the case for some time. The World According to Television is not a reality that arises from direct experience with events or phenomena. It is a processed world, both eviscerated of context and artificially fortified toward no greater purpose than entrancing the audience. But politics, as practiced, is pretty tedious fare. Not much of it can get through a machine that runs on the sensational. Thus, the political realities of Televisionland are not about monetary policies and tax reform - or, indeed, any of the governmental issues that count - since these are all subjects that diminish the attention of the audience, and selling the attention of the audience to advertisers is all that television does. In the time since the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the organism of television has learned a lot about which elements of the political process keep people locked in even through the ads. It learned a lot during Watergate and has been busily offering up "-gates" of one sort or another ever since. It has also learned that fear, violence, and sex all fertilize attention marvelously, so it continually churns up virtual demons and scandals that not only jolt the audience into paying attention, but completely transform the political debate. Voters are now more concerned with imaginary threats than real ones, and so they elect representatives who will address these "problems" without regard to their existence. It's become a hung loop. Consider the process behind the following familiar example. Looking to raise share and beat back the future, the media raise an imaginary problem, say, a cyber-tsunami of online kiddie porn. Out in Televisionland, parents who have already been driven into a state of omniphobia by TV depictions of kidnappers, child molesters, and Calvin Klein commercials, freak out and call their congressperson. Of course, the congressperson doesn't actually know whether or not there's a flood of kiddie porn online. He (or she) has never been online and isn't about to go there. But he does know that his constituents have seized on An Issue that they are truly passionate about. Under such circumstances, it takes a brave man to do nothing. So he gets together with his colleagues and passes a law that effectively addresses a problem almost no one has ever actually experienced, while issuing forth a whole new set of real ones. This is democracy in the Television Age, working with hideous efficiency. It is, as I say, Government by Hallucinating Mob. A push-me, pull-you that is self-contained and almost completely detached from anything I would call "real." The US government has broken, the victim of television and of connection crash in general. So this is an election year. What's a voter to do? By the time you read these words, San Diego and Chicago will be aswarm with sweating party regulars, blowing plastic horns and driven by the mysterious belief that their efforts will Make a Difference. Might they? Personally, I rather doubt it, at least from the perspective of a netizen. Let's just take a look at the Big Prize here, the presidency. Who would better serve the Net, Dole or Clinton? Apart from the fact that Dole is of a generation to whom the telephone is suspiciously newfangled, he has, to the best of my knowledge, only once given evidence that he even knows the Net exists, and that only recently when he agreed to co-sponsor a bill that would relax the crypto export embargo. I'm not flatly stating that he doesn't know anything about it, but it's important to remember that he comes from the heart of the United States Congress, a powerful reality- distortion field that has left the overwhelming majority of its inhabitants not only clueless about the Net but dynamically anticlueful. There is in Congress a profound cultural resistance to digital awareness. I've spent a lot of time on the Hill over the last five years, and I can count on two hands the number of congresspersons and senators who understand the Net - a much lower percentage than the populace in general. I have a friend in Washington, Kimberly Jenkins, who for two years has been operating an admirable project called Highway 1. The main purpose of this nonprofit, well-funded (by companies like Apple, AT&T, and IBM) and slickly professional outfit is to show cyberspace to Congress. Easy opportunities are afforded for congresspersons to get a Web demo and learn about all that tricky stuff like email. Is it working? Not yet. "They send their staffers, but they can always find a reason not to come themselves, even when it's right down the hall," Jenkins says. Why is this? Because Congress represents Televisionland. That's who elected them. I believe that the fundamentally different media environments of television and the Net create world-views that are naturally inimical to each other. Thus, the intransigent not-getting-it-ness of Congress is actually a cultural immune response to something that might eventually overcome the Generican society they were elected to serve. They don't want to get any of it on them. And you can't blame 'em. Now Clinton. He and especially Al "Information Superhighway" Gore ought to be the candidates to support. They've got some great people working on these issues for them, people like Mike Nelson and Tom Kalil, who clearly do get it. But it doesn't seem to matter. The system is bigger than the people who purportedly run it. Despite knowing better, the Clinton administration has spent the last three and half years talking about how important the Net is while trying hard to kill it with truly terrible policies regarding cryptography, pornography, and copyright. In private conversation, White House staffers will tell you their hands are tied. Regarding crypto, one of them once told me he agreed that the embargo should go, but, "It's like this, John Perry - we're more afraid of the NSA than we are of you." That's a chilling thought up front, but I think it goes deeper than that. Like Senator James Exon, they're really just obeying The Market, even when they know The Market is having a television-induced nightmare. The strongest argument anyone in the White House ever made to me for crypto controls - the one they actually believe - was this from Mike Nelson: "Imagine the reaction of the American public if a terrorist set off a nuclear device in New York after concealing the plot with encryption we couldn't penetrate." In other words, the policy driver here is not the serious damage that insecure data systems are already causing our economy, but the Nuclear Terrorist, a creature that is more media virus than demonstrated threat. The administration's willingness to pander to Generican delusions, even against its own better judgment, also resulted in the president's continued support for the Communications Decency Act, even after it was struck down by a three-judge panel in Philadelphia in early June. Now, I grant that they were backed into a corner. As Mike Nelson said to me in their defense, "Unfortunately, we were not able to get the bill fixed, and now we are having to defend the provisions in court. That's the way the system works - Congress writes the laws and we implement them." True enough, but there are cooler levels of support that could be manifested than Clinton's public statement following the decision: "I remain convinced, as I was when I signed the bill, that our Constitution allows us to help parents by enforcing this Act to prevent children from being exposed to objectionable material transmitted through computer networks...." Unlike the judges, the president didn't bother to look too closely at how the Act actually mocks the Constitution. His people are still in the same cowardly mode that prevented them from engaging in a full-court press to stop the CDA at the many earlier points they might have done so. Since they don't want anyone from The Market to start talking about how they're soft on kiddie porn, they'd sack the future of liberty to prevent it. There you have it. From the netizen's point of view, it comes down to a choice of enemies. In Dole, we have someone who probably doesn't understand us at all and wouldn't like us much if he did. In Clinton, we have someone who understands us in some dimensions but is too cowardly to turn that understanding into a hard policy commitment. I feel funny about blaming them for this. They are, after all, serving the wishes of the electorate. In a democratic society, it's dangerous for elected officials to ignore the body politic. But what if it has been driven mad by television? What if the duties of citizenry have been abandoned by most of those who are still sane? Thomas Jefferson never imagined the conduct of democracy in the thrall of a mass medium. We behold here the opening phase of a deep conflict between two societies. One, still in power, was born not only of television but of the entire Industrial Era. The second, far more heterogeneous in every dimension, is emerging into all the tiny possibility spaces of the virtual world. As a percentage of the whole, the great white Party of the Past has been declining since its golden era under Reagan. It is now a shrinking minority, and its increasingly aggressive impositions - whether the War on Some Drugs or the gathering War on the Net, of which the CDA was only the beginning - are evidence that it knows its own morbidity and is trying to erect a fortress of control while it still has an army to do so with. That which can no longer be held by popular consensus must soon be held by force. But that the society in decline no longer has the numbers doesn't mean that it no longer has the votes. We of the society on the rise don't vote like they do. Even if we did, we are such a fractious lot that we would be like all the splinter parties of Italy trying to form a coalition against the Fascists. Organizing the Party of the Future is the ultimate exercise in cat-herding. The bottom line: We still have to bide our time. By the time we could elect enough of our own to make a difference, the Net will have so completely altered the structure of everything around it that the US Senate will seem about as relevant as the House of Lords. This doesn't mean we should turn our backs on it. I do think we should vote, and, while I wouldn't make this a sole criterion, I will be looking for Net-savvy candidates to vote for. (Since I don't expect to find very many in my neighborhood, I'm donating money to distant others that I can't vote for.) Over the long run I'm deliriously confident, but I certainly don't have my short-term hopes up. I think the best we can do for the next few years is to focus on that pillar of American government that is not so democratically responsive, the judiciary. While it's open to enormous influence from the presidency through the system of judicial appointments, it nevertheless remains our best hope. Look at what happened in Philadelphia. The reason the judges were able to come out with their recent CDA verdict upholding the rights and freedoms of the Internet was that none of them is running for office. It wasn't their job to serve The People. It was only their job to serve the truth.

There will be a new voice of the Los Angeles Chargers when the team takes the field in 2017 as Matt “Money” Smith will handle play-by-play duties for KFI AM-640’s game broadcasts. A fixture in LA, Smith’s newest gig is the latest to an already impressive resume as co-host of the nationally syndicated Petros & Money Show on AM 570 and fantasy football analyst for NFL Network. Still, he considers calling play-by-play for the Bolts a once in a lifetime opportunity. “To say I’m excited is an understatement,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to call a few games a season the past few years, and they’ve always felt like our local team. The fact that I am not only going to be a play-by-play announcer for the Chargers, but also during the first year in which they are moving to Los Angeles is extremely exciting. Some of my earliest NFL memories were with the Chargers. I remember watching Dan Fouts, Charlies Joiner and Kellen Winslow. I went through some of those excruciating losses to the Steelers and Raiders, but also just beating up on the Dolphins in the playoffs. The chance to share those stories during the broadcast helps people know that this is a storied franchise. When it comes to the offensive side of football, you are talking about one of the premiere franchises in NFL history. I couldn’t be more excited.” Prior to joining the Chargers, Smith served as a play-by-play announcer for Compass Media Network’s coverage of NFL games, NCAA football and NCAA basketball. He’s also called games on television for the Pac-12 Network and the NFL on Fox. Over the years, Smith has had the honor of working alongside some of the brightest minds in the game. He considers his new partner, Nick Hardwick, to be cut from the same cloth. Thus, Smith has a particular approach when it comes to calling Chargers games that fans can expect on the airwaves. “I think football is an analyst’s sport,” he explained. “The way I approach calling a game is that I want to do right by the other person I’m calling a game with. I’ve had the great pleasure to work with some really, really good color analysts while doing this. So for me, it’s all about Nick. Nick is the guy who was out there and he can help explain things. It’s such a complicated sport, so I try to make things as simple as possible for people. I want to set up the play and give them a good visual, but then I want to get out so Nick can explain* what* happened and why it happened. I want to give him as much of an opportunity to do that.” However, Smith knows calling a game is more than what goes on between the lines. In addition to painting a picture, he aims to captivate the audience by immersing them in the moment.

A Robot of Your Own At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Mayfield Robotics unveiled what could possibly be the first truly domestic robot. The Bosch-owned company integrated full functionality with a pleasing, approachable design to establish the robot, named Kuri, as a friendly presence in the home. Kuri is designed to fit right into smart homes. According to Kuri’s Blog, the bot has a 1080p camera behind one of its eyes, an array of four microphones, dual speakers, wifi and Bluetooth connectivity, and spatial sensors for navigation. It can be programmed to do various tasks around the house and is capable of connecting to modern smart homes through IFTTT. Kuri is 50.8 centimeters (20 inches) tall and weighs 6.4 kilograms (14 pounds), and when its hours of battery life run out, the bot simply returns to its charging dock to recharge. The fact that Kuri reminds us of certain characters from animated films is not coincidental — Mayfield Robotics intentionally made the robot look that way so that it could easily ingratiate itself to its owners. However, Kuri is more than just a pretty face. “While insanely cute on the outside, Kuri contains serious technologies on the inside that represent the latest developments in smartphones, gaming, and robotics,” said Mayfield Robotics CTO and co-founder Kaijen Hsiao in a press release. “We hope Kuri introduces people — especially kids — to the power of technology and can inspire a new world of possibilities for their future.”

Chester County lawmakers called on Gov. Tom Wolf to immediately halt Sunoco's pipeline drilling, citing threats to public and environmental health. Both State Sen. Andy Dinniman (D-19) and State Sen. John Rafferty (R-44) called the impacts of the pipeline's construction "unacceptable." "In my district alone, pipeline construction has contaminated almost two dozen wells, disrupted businesses, created significant environmental damage, and resulted in the development of an expanding sinkhole that currently threatens at least two private homes and is within 100 feet of Amtrak's Keystone Line," Dinniman wrote in a December 18 letter to Wolf. "I should point out that all of these incidents have occurred in a single Chester County municipality [West Whiteland Township] as a result of pipeline construction." The lawmakers voices join a chorus of community groups, homeowners, environmentalists, and others in touting the dangers of the construction. Drinking water has been impacted, and a recent "frack out" ripped open a sinkhole on private property that is adjacent to SEPTA and Amtrak tracks. Concerns about the safety of Sunoco's operations cross party lines. U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R PA-7) also urged Gov. Wolf to address these issues. "Over the past several months, I have taken numerous meetings with constituents alarmed about the potential safety implications of the construction and operation of the (Mariner East II) pipeline," Meehan said last week. "The nature of the pipeline and its route is such that primary regulatory responsibility for the pipeline rests with the Commonwealth and your administration" Meehan supports the construction of the pipeline, but noted that "the highest priority in pipeline construction must be the safety of the communities and workers involved." Mariner East 2, if completed, would run a pipeline carrying volatile natural gas liquids from the massive Marcellus Shale deposit in western Pennsylvania to Marcus Hook, on the Delaware River. It crosses through significant portions of Chester and Delaware counties on its way. The natural gas will then be shipped overseas, largely for use in creating plastics. Despite the numerous recent Mariner East II accidents, frack outs, and damage to water quality, the Pennsylvania Alliance For Energy describes the existing oversight for pipeline construction as "strict" and urges the state to not halt the process. "These are major infrastructure projects," Kurt Knaus, a spokesman for the organization, said in a statement. "Critics refuse to accept the long-term economic transformation being powered locally by these projects." Dinniman and Rafferty have introduced bipartisan legislation that they hope will better equip counties and municipalities to stay safe. Four bills are currently on the floor of the State Senate, including bills 928, 929, 930, and 931. The bills would establish further regulatory oversight, allow municipalities to collect a fee from pipeline operators to pay for emergency clean up and response, and require safety measures like automatic shutoff valves in important areas. "While Chester County has some of the highest trained and dedicated emergency responders, in the event of a catastrophic release, lives will be lost," Dinniman added. "A natural gas pipeline of this type does not belong in high-consequence communities and other states have implemented commonsense regulations that would prohibit the planned pipeline path. While I have introduced legislation to directly address this issue, action is needed now." Gov. Wolf has not yet responded to requests to order a halt to Sunoco's drilling. Drilling had been underway at 55 locations across Pennsylvania, according to an environmental nonprofit, the Clean Air Council. It has not begun at another 168 locations. AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

How to Bleach Body Hair Naturally. If you have an abundance of dark body hair, but you choose not to deal with the skin irritations and stubble brought on by shaving, consider making the hair less noticeable by bleaching it. However, before you reach for expensive chemical bleaches, try a few safe and natural bleaching methods. Cut about 2 cups of rhubarb into small pieces and place it in a small pot. Cover the rhubarb with 2 cups of water and heat to boiling. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and allow the rhubarb to simmer for 30 or 40 minutes. Allow the water to cool and then pour 1 cup of the rhubarb water into a 16-oz. spray bottle. Add the hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice to the bottle. To add a nice, refreshing scent to your natural body hair bleach, add 10 or 15 drops of lavender essential oil. Shake the spray bottle gently and store it in the refrigerator. Gently mist your body with the natural spray after you have bathed and patted yourself dry. Make sure that all areas with body hair you would like to lighten are evenly covered with the mist; however, do not overdo it either, as you only need a bit. Allow the mist to dry and then dress as normal. It may take up to a week to begin to see results; however, if used regularly, this natural method can successfully bleach your body hair without the expense or danger of over the counter bleaches. Use your mist while sunbathing as well, lightly spritzing your body after applying sunscreen.

Last weekend, while moving furniture at my grandmother in-law’s house (heretofore known as Ossie), I came across one of the great little surprises of the year. First, you should know that we are in Greenville, South Carolina and that Ossie has probably never heard of Michael Jack Schmidt. Before moving the cedar chest, we decided to open it up and look at all of Ossie’s treasure. We found a lot of typical 92 year old grandmother items. Then, lying on top of old family pictures and McDonald’s sugar packets from 1981 was the July 1987 issue of the Christian magazine, Guideposts. This would not normally be a very exciting discovery or all that surprising if the cover were donning anything other than the mug of Mike Schmidt in a 1980’s, maroon pin-striped, zip-up Phillies uniform. I’m fairly certain I shrieked with excitement! The title read, “Mike Schmidt: The Best and Worst Year of His Life.” The discovery would get even better because the cover story was not an interview or something written by a lowly staff writer. No, it was written by the Schmitter himself. The next few pages describe his friendship with Andre Thornton, and his struggles of the 1978 season. “My batting average was an anemic .251. The press got on my back. The ‘boo-birds’ in the stands never let up. The harder I tried, the worse things got.” Shmidt also expresses how success, fame and money were unfulfilling and left him searching for more. The rest of the story is about how he came to faith as a Christian and witnessed the birth of his daughter. He articulates the things in life that truly matter most like faith and family. “In that unforgettable moment I knew for certain that life wasn’t about money or status or cars, or even baseball stardom.” To most of us, our sports heroes are just that, heroes. They aren’t normal, they don’t struggle, and to us, life must be better on top. Sports heroes can’t always be open and honest in the media for fear of backlash. And let’s be honest, there are a lot things we don’t want to know. But in this case, it’s nice to know more about the person and character of my favorite baseball player, and the greatest 3rd baseman of all time. Thanks for saving this little treasure, Ossie. And thanks to you Micheal Jack, for being honest with us about life, even if it was written 25 years ago.

1) Riot is scum for mind ****ing you guys. The psychological aspect of being cheated hurts your play and TSM got a free ride. A complete and easy free ride that they didn't earn or deserve. Seeding is seeding messing with it is in breach of everything competitive systems represent. As FIRST you are ENTITLED to playing against LAST. It's why you even bother going for first. Edit: I'm not saying TSM are bad players, I'm saying the whole thing is on Riot for GIVING you opponents that you didn't earn and you were only fine with it because it benefited you even though it was a HORRIBLE decision for Esports and this game. BUT 2) You guys played like **** and it was clear you guys didn't practice or prepare enough for this. Just watching Kobe play was actually hilarious... he clearly hasn't played this game in a year... cuz he was god awful the entire time... no matter what he played he just blew. You guys didn't go into it with a strong mentality, that's not your fault fully. That's Riots. But you guys have been in the spotlight for a long time... shouldn't be choking this hard.

Mountain of road salt, Toronto. Image: katalogue on flickrMountains of salt are spread on snowy roads in North America every winter, and environmentalists have been complaining about it for years. But studies are piling up that indicate that the cost may be too high. Martin Mittelstaedt reports in the Globe and Mail about a new study of Frenchman's Bay, a lagoon off Lake Ontario by University of Toronto Geologists. The conclusion: "Our findings are pretty dramatic, and the effects are felt year-round," said Nick Eyles, a geology professor at the university and the lead researcher on the project. "We now know that 3,600 tonnes of road salt end up in that small lagoon every winter from direct runoff in creeks and effectively poison it for the rest of the year." In the community of Pickering, east of Toronto, they apply 7,600 tons of salt. Half of it goes into the groundwater, and the other half right into Frenchman's Bay. The salt water "knocks out fish," Dr. Eyles said, adding that in the most contaminated areas, only older fish can survive, while younger ones move to areas of the lagoon closer to Lake Ontario and its fresher water. More in the Globe and Mail. Science Daily A University of Minnesota study recently studied 39 lakes and three major rivers, and found that 70% of the road salt ended up in the watershed. According to Science Daily, "Nobody has asked the question of where the salt ultimately goes after the winter season is over," said research team leader Stefan, a civil engineering professor at the university's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. "Our study has been concerned with that question in particular." Effects of salt include decreases in biodiversity, reduction in fish numbers and types, and higher mortality rates among organisms that rely on marine life for food. Canada.com The ridiculous part of this story is that salt is completely unnecessary. It only works within a few degrees of the freezing point so where it is really cold, people have to learn how to drive properly in winter with properly equipped cars. But for those further south, add more salt, no matter what the cost to the environment. PLANET GREEN: 10 Money-Saving, Eco-Friendly Things You Can Do with Salt Road salt destroys roads, shortens the lives of cars, kills vegetation and now, we know that it is harming our watersheds. Better alternatives would be to reduce speed limits in winter, make snow tires mandatory as they do in Quebec, and provide better public transit and other alternatives to driving, instead of destroying the environment to satisfy a need for speed. 10 Money-Saving, Eco-Friendly Things You Can Do with Salt

George Clooney has been selected as the recipient of the 46th annual AFI Life Achievement Award in a ceremony to be held on June 7, 2018. Clooney , a two time Oscar winner and one of only two people (along with Walt Disney) to be nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories, was selected for his versatility, as well as his star power. “George Clooney is America’s leading man,” said AFI’s Board Of Trustees Chair Howard Stringer. “Director, producer, writer , actor – a modern-day screen icon who combines the glamour of a time gone by with a ferocious passion for ensuring art’s impact echoes beyond the screen. AFI is proud to present him with its 46th Life Achievement Award.” Clooney’s long list of films include his Oscar winning turn in Syriana, and Best Actor nominations for Michael Clayton, Up In The Air, and The Descendants. Other films include the Oceans trilogy, Three Kings, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Out Of Sight, Gravity , Burn After Reading, Solaris , Hail Caesar! as well as a group of films in which he starred as well as directed including Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Good Night And Good Luck, and The Ides Of March. He won a second Academy Award as a producer on 2012 Best Picture winner Argo. His latest directorial achievement Suburbicon premiered at the Venice Film Festival and will open at the end of the month. His breakout role came in the NBC television series ER for which he received two primetime Emmy nominations. The 2017 recipient was Diane Keaton. The 46th Annual AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute special with return for the sixth year to Turner Broadcasting , airing on TNT as well as TCM in encore presentations. Audi and VIZIO are official sponsors of the event. Below is a complete list of all previous winners.

There were at least four arrests on the ground and the whiff of pepper spray in the air Thursday as hundreds of protesters took to the streets near Montreal's stock exchange. Students, unions and women's groups held a joint protest over increasing fees for tuition, healthcare, and other services. They gathered in the area around the local stock exchange, and access to a hotel was cut off. Riot police were called in and things became tense as officers unloaded the contents of some pepper spray cans into the crowd. Some demonstrators were arrested and placed in police vans, which caused other participants to chant for their release while attempting to block the vehicles' path. A cameraman from one TV network was surrounded by protesters who shouted at him. Tens of thousands of university students are also planning strikes in a throwback to the kind of protests in the 1990s that kept the then-Parti Québécois government from raising tuition fees. Student tuition rates have been largely frozen in Quebec, for most of the last 40 years. But the current Liberal government of Jean Charest wants to change that.

SB Nation has its 2015 season preview for Syracuse up, and while certainly there’s still some time for the Orange to improve before the first game kicks off in September, the big takeaway here is: It’s going to be ugly. On the upside, Syracuse returns four starters on the offensive line and has had a very good (albeit underrated) defense in each of the past two seasons. But even those positives come with an asterisk. Syracuse’s best lineman is gone, and virtually every significant starter on D is, too. And regardless of that defensive turnover, so many of the questions still revolve around the offense, as SB Nation notes: Syracuse finished 2012 with one of the hottest offenses in the country and ranked 32nd in Off. S&P+ for the season. It fell to 88th in 2013, then 110th last year. Now, it’s important to remember Syracuse shuffled through quarterbacks and offensive coordinators last season, so it’s no surprise the numbers were bad. But the problem is, the numbers were really bad. And while a healthy Terrel Hunt offers a glimmer of hope, there’s also this: In his career against Power 5 teams with a winning record, Hunt has averaged 5.7 yards-per-attempt with three touchdowns and 12 INTs. Finishing with a winning record this fall looks like an uphill climb for Terrel Hunt and the Orange. Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images Check Athlon’s recent ACC preview or our ACC power rankings, and there’s widespread agreement that Syracuse is at best marginally better than Wake Forest and, at worst, the black hole of the conference. Jockeying for position with rebuilding Wake Forest isn’t exactly a spot anyone wants to be. SB Nation goes into much more detail on the struggles the Orange are likely to endure, and it makes a rather substantive case for a four to five-win campaign. So what are the odds we’re all wrong? Looking at the schedule, it’s tough to see. If Hunt struggles and the defense needs time to rebuild, a 2-10 season seems possible. If all goes right, the offense looks better and the defense doesn’t miss a beat, 7-5 wouldn’t be impossible. But it’s tough to find too much enthusiasm even for the high-water mark. It was just two years ago that Syracuse got to seven wins, but there was a lot of bad football played since then, and many of the most crucial players in that run are gone. That seven wins would even feel like a momentous achievement speaks to the perception of the Orange at the moment. Even compare Syracuse to Wake, and things don’t look great. The Deacons’ defense was pretty good last year, too -- only they return key talents like Ryan Janvion, Brandon Chubb and Marquel Lee. The ugly stats at Wake last year were expected during a rebuild, while Syracuse’s problems presented an image of a program headed in the wrong direction. On the recruiting trail, Wake inked its best class in years, while Syracuse checked in at No. 63 in ESPN’s final rankings. In other words, what Syracuse needs as much as health at quarterback and answers on D is an injection of excitement. Maybe that comes from Hunt or emerging receiver Steve Ishmael or talented defensive end Ron Thompson. Maybe the recruiting brings some long-term prosperity, like the addition of Rex Culpepper this week. Maybe something magical happens and Syracuse pulls an upset over LSU at the Dome in late September, setting off a run of wins we never could've predicted. Maybe. Right now though, it’s tough to find a lot of enthusiasm for the 2015 Orange or to develop a cohesive explanation of why the numbers are all wrong.

Canadian stars Justin Bieber and Celine Dion should be banned from Europe in retaliation for an apparent mix-up that saw Irn Bru pulled from a shop’s shelves, a Scottish politician has suggested. Alyn Smith, an SNP member of the European Parliament, made the unusual demand after reports that a shop in the province of Saskatchewan had its stock confiscated. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) insists that the drink is not banned from sale but that the wrong formulation had been sent from Britain. The reassurance did not stop Mr Smith, who has now written to the agency and the EU trade commissioner. “Scotland and Canada have strong cultural and historical links, I’m sure many ex-pats across the pond will be worried about how to get their daily fix of the bru if this supposed ban remains,” he said. “I think if it does, we need to look into banning Justin Bieber and Celine Dion here in Europe - between them they’ve produced more sugary schmaltz than Irn Bru ever has.” In an online statement, the CFIA said: “Irn Bru and Marmite are not banned for sale in Canada. These products have been available on Canadian store shelves for more than a decade and will continue to be sold in stores across Canada. “Recently, a shipment containing a number of products imported from the UK was detained in the course of regular border activities because it contained meat products that were not accompanied by the required documentation. Appropriate certification of meat products is required to assure food safety and protect animal health in Canada. “The CFIA determined that the rejected shipment also included other products, including Irn Bru and Marmite. “Imported products, including Irn Bru and Marmite, that meet Canadian requirements under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations are and will continue to be available for sale in Canada. “The CFIA will work with the food seller to ensure they are accessing the correct products, destined for Canadian markets.” SEE ALSO • Dani Garavelli: Justin Bieber in meltdown? You better Belieber it • Justin Bieber charged over ‘drag racing’

Audio consumption is at its all-time easiest. The technological capabilities we carry in our pockets daily are truly awesome and, increasingly, companies are looking to put more content in our eyes and ears as conveniently as possible. We’re ready for it too. Apple’s purchase of Beats is a $3 billion investment in the public’s listening habits, as is Amazon’s new streaming service, not to mention Sub Pop and other labels’ embrace of the Drip.fm digital subscription service. The evidence is obvious but to move us from the anecdotal to the factual, Edison Research has released a survey to quantify just how much Americans are listening to music. According to their “Share of Ear” study, most U.S. residents listen to roughly four hours and five minutes of audio each day. That’s divided between broadcast radio (52 percent); owned music such as downloads, vinyl, CDs, and tapes (20 percent); streaming services such as Beats Music, Spotify, and Pandora (12 percent); satellite radio (8 percent); podcasts (2 percent); and whatever else falls into the “other” category, like audiobooks (2 percent). The survey involved nearly 3,000 participants above the age of 13. Each kept a diary tracking her or his listening habits in 15-minute intervals. Larry Rosin of Edison Research told Billboard that the results show audio is “the hottest space in the world of media… It shows why three of the four horsemen of the Internet — Apple, Amazon, and Google — are in the audio space. Who knows if Facebook will follow them?” Analyzing the data a bit, Billboard points out an Arbitron study that says 92 percent of Americans 12 and older listen to broadcast radio. The publication also pointed to a recent study by Edison and Triton Digital that claims 47 percent of Americans in that same age group — or roughly 124 million people — listen to online radio every month. When you narrow that group down to ages 12 to 24, the figure rises to 75 percent.

Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. SYDNEY – Israel is waiting for an explanation from New Zealand regarding why it surprised Jerusalem and sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2334 before there can be any talk of repairing the damaged ties between the two countries, a senior diplomatic official accompanying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Jerusalem Post. The official said Israel was stunned by New Zealand’s sponsorship of December’s anti-settlement resolution, especially because New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully was in Israel just weeks before and did not mention the likelihood of such an initiative. “The foreign minister met for 90 minutes with the prime minister [Netanyahu] and didn’t say a word. Is this how friends act?” the official said.New Zealand was one of four countries, along with Senegal, Venezuela and Malaysia, that sponsored the resolution after Egypt withdrew sponsorship in the waning days of the Obama administration.UN Security Council passes resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement buildingIsrael has no diplomatic ties with Malaysia and Venezuela, and recalled its ambassador to New Zealand and Senegal in protest.The ambassadors have not been sent back, and the official gave no indication this would happen anytime soon.Fourteen of the 15 countries on the Security Council supported the resolution – only the US abstained, though it allowed it to pass by not casting its veto – but the official explained Israel’s particular anger at New Zealand and Senegal by saying there was a substantive difference between sponsoring a resolution and voting for it.Jerusalem believes McCully was the driving force behind the move, and that relations with Wellington will likely improve when he leaves office. New Zealand is scheduled to go to elections in September, and McCully has stated that he will be leaving politics.New Zealand’s Prime Minister Bill English was quoted last week as saying he spoke about the resolution some with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull when they met in Queenstown earlier this month. Turnbull blasted the UN resolution in an op-ed he penned that ran in The Australian newspaper on Wednesday, the day Netanyahu arrived in Australia.“We had some discussion about it. New Zealand was involved with sponsoring the resolution, I think the Australian government probably disagrees with that,” England was quoted as saying on a New Zealand news site called Stuff.“But we want a constructive relationship with Israel, and we intend to work on that relationship. We stand by the resolution, but we also respect the right of Israel to have a strong view, to protect itself and to articulate its views,” English said.He added that Turnbull raised his displeasure during their meeting.While acknowledging that there has not been any diplomatic communication between Israel and New Zealand in recent weeks, English said he expected communication would eventually resume.“We understand the extent to which the resolution upset Israel – they had quite strong views about it – and we’ll be communicating with them about our focus on a positive relationship.”According to the web site, English said there was “no indication” ambassadorial links would be reinstated in the near future, but he did not expect any further diplomatic fallout.English took over as prime minister in early December from John Key, who resigned, less than two weeks before New Zealand sponsored the resolution. Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>

Perfectly Clear’s Version 3 of its iOS app is out and includes a software fix for the purple lens flare problem on the iPhone 5. On its own, the Perfectly Clear app is a great little editing app for the iPhone that gives you solid results from a single click. It’s quite similar to the Awesomize feature in SmugMug’s Camera Awesome app – and for good reason . . . Camera Awesome’s Awesomize is powered by Perfectly Clear’s technology. One of the things that sets Perfectly Clear’s app apart, however, is the one-click De-Purple setting that allows you to remove the oh-so-common purple lens flare from the iPhone 5 images. In practice, it works quite well. It’s just not spot-on every time as you can see in the images below. While “De-Purple” got rid of a lot of the purple color cast, it also introduced a nasty gray spot in the area of the flare, which is further set off by the saturated blue sky. It appears that the De-Purple feature in the app desaturates the purple/magenta in these shots, which you can further see from the color chart comparisons below. In most images, the De-Purple function works quite well; however, there are some scenarios where it falls short of an absolute solution – primarily in situations where the purple lens flare is surrounded by a saturated background (such as a sky) or where there is purple/magenta elsewhere in the image that you would want to preserve. Even without the De-Purple feature, the Perfectly Clear iPhone app is a great photo app for quick and easy editing. Perfectly Clear is $2.99 on the iTunes App Store.

Felix Rosenqvist has had a very successful start to his rookie season as a Formula E driver, as the Swede reviews his season so far and looks ahead to Buenos Aires. During the race in Hong Kong, Rosenqvist made a small error which saw him hit the barrier and lose his rear wing. The 25-year old managed to recover in his second car to score a point for fastest lap, but Rosenqvist left Hong Kong feeling satisfied with his overall performance. “Normally when you end a race in the wall you do not feel that happy travelling back home!” said Rosenqvist speaking exclusively to Formula E Zone. “But considering the whole weekend, I had a very positive feeling being at the front in almost every session. I knew I had more coming in the future races, and I managed to score one point at least for the fastest lap. So in the end, I was still happy with how it went for my first race in Formula E.” Rosenqvist surprised the Formula E world in Marrakesh by placing his Mahindra on pole position. Although, the Swedish driver felt that after Hong Kong, a pole position was in reach. “In Hong Kong, we saw that I had the pace to be on pole, So I had quite high expectations for myself coming to Marrakesh to qualify well. So both yes and no, it was obviously unreal to stand in front of all these great drivers – but if the right feeling is there, there’s no reason to not go for it!” explains Rosenqvist. Despite building a big lead in the first half of the race, a few software coding glitches saw Rosenqvist lose pace to the chasing pack which demoted the rookie from first to third in the second half of the race. The 25-year old and his engineering team have since understood how they can improve for Buenos Aires, so the problem does not happen again. “There were many reasons for the loss of the win in Marrakesh. I cannot explain all of them right here, but for sure I was part of the reason, together with some other things. We have worked hard to not repeat this in the future, and I’m confident that I will continue to have a steep learning curve for the next couple of races onwards.” Buenos Aires is the only track that has featured in all three seasons of Formula E, which means a number of drivers have experience of the circuit compared to Rosenqvist. However, the Swede feels prepared for this weekend’s race and is looking forward to continuing his rookie season. “Since many of the other drivers have raced in Buenos Aires before, we have worked really hard to make sure I can be as prepared as possible before we arrive in Argentina.” “I’m looking forward to getting back into the M3Electro cars and feeling refreshed and confident after a well-needed break. Everyone in the team has contributed to making the most of the time since Marrakesh and we are ready to bring everything together strongly,” says Rosenqvist.

SCOTTISH scientists have developed a solution to rid Cuba of an aggressive alien weed while restoring land for farming and helping to ease the country’s energy crisis. The once affluent Caribbean island fell on hard times when the collapse of the Soviet Union ended beneficial trade agreements and hit its sugar cane industry. Julian Bell, Senior Business Consultant with SAC Consulting (part of SRUC) has been involved with the project from the start. Picture: Contributed Many plantations were abandoned, clearing the way for a fast-growing and virtually indestructible non-native plant to grow out of control. Today tall thickets of thorny marabu, an ornamental shrub originally imported from Africa for its attractive white flowers, have invaded millions of hectares of prime arable land. Its woody roots are as dense as teak with fierce thorns that will pierce a boot. But now, after four years of work in the country, energy and agricultural specialists from Scotland have succeeded in producing green electricity from the invasive weed as well as devising a viable method for clearing the ground and returning it to a condition suitable for planting food crops. Julian Bell, senior business consultant at SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), has been involved in the project since its outset. “Imagine gorse 20ft high with stems as hard as mahogany, growing 6ft a year, and you quickly appreciate why the Cuban farmers armed with hand tools and old Soviet tractors have been overwhelmed,” he said. “We need to harvest it cheaply enough so we can get the land cleared and returned to agriculture for no cost, using the energy value in the marabu to pay for harvesting and transport and things like that.” There have been many challenges to overcome, not least the outdated and underpowered Soviet-era machinery, which was not fit to tackle such tough vegetation. Paul Fotheringham, a forestry mechanisation lecturer at SRUC, said: “The workers are capable and enthusiastic, with some excellent mechanics. What they lack is experience of modern equipment.” Havana Energy (HE) recently signed a £500 million investment deal to build five renewable power plants that will generate more than 300 megawatts, supplying sugar mills and feeding in to the national grid. During harvest time the plants will run on bagasse, the leftover pulp from sugar cane production. The rest of the year they will be fuelled by ­marabu, with all power going into the grid. “It’s a win-win situation, turning a massive problem for Cuba into a valuable asset,” said HE chief executive ­Andrew Macdonald The 15-year project is a joint venture with Cuba’s state sugar monopoly and is part of a move by the communist government to reduce dependence on subsidised oil imported from socialist ally Venezuela. The deal is expected to save around £135 million a year in diesel. But for Cuba this project is not just about alternative energy. The country once held a 35 per cent share of the global sugar market, but this has fallen to 10 per cent. Now there is a new drive to boost production, cashing in on higher prices and a rise in demand from countries like China. Almost a dozen old mills have been reopened and foreign investment has been allowed into the sector for the first time since the 1959 revolution. President Raúl Castro has also begun agrarian reforms to increase food production. FOLLOW US Twitter | Facebook | Google+ ----------------------------------------- Subscribe to our DAILY NEWSLETTER (requires registration) ----------------------------------------- SCOTSMAN TABLET AND MOBILE APPS iPhone | iPad | Android | Kindle

Progressives are blackballing an African-American restaurant owner in stricken Detroit because the chef sold food to local supporters of Donald Trump’s campaign. “They want to not only not support me, but boycott me!” Chef Don Studvent told WXYZ Detroit. “It’s unfair and it’s selfish.” Studvent, a Democrat, sold catering services to a political meeting headlined by Donald Trump Jr. “This is my living,” he said. “And it’s not just my living, my employees as well.” According to WXYZ.com, Studvent, known as Chef Don, has run the 1917 American Bistro on Livernois Avenue for seven years. The self-described Democrat said he didn’t think anything of taking the job, or allowing the candidate’s son to snap a picture with him. “There is personal and there is business, it should always be separate,” said Studvent. “Business-wise I can’t take sides. I just can’t.” While Studvent saw the situation as cut-and-dry, others were up in arms. One Facebook post shared more than 200 times reads, in part: “after seeing the owner spinning and grinning here with Trump Jr. I’ll be eating at Kuzzo’s from now on.” As more people commented, the call came to boycott the restaurant. One Facebook message said “These people are such sellouts! …. pass the word on.” “I don’t deserve this crap,” Studvent told WYYZ.com. Democratic activists fear a low turnout of African-Americans in the city may allow Donald Trump to win the state. read it all here. Watch the video here.

Google has announced the Google PowerMeter, a program that displays real-time information about home energy consumption on your computer The program is in closed beta right now, but Google hopes that it will eventually be distributed to anyone who has a smart meter. From the Google web page: How much does it cost to leave your TV on all day? What about turning your air conditioning 1 degree cooler? Which uses more power every month — your fridge or your dishwasher? Is your household more or less energy efficient than similar homes in your neighborhood? Our lack of knowledge about our own energy usage is a huge problem, but also a huge opportunity for us all to save money and fight global warming by reducing our power usage. Studies show that access to your household’s personal energy information is likely to save you between 5–15% on your monthly bill, and the potential impact of large numbers of people achieving similar efficiencies is even more exciting. For every six households that save 10% on electricity, for instance, we reduce carbon emissions as much as taking one conventional car off the road. Video after the jump

AVAILABLE AS A PRINT ON MY PRINT SHOP >> society6.com/blindbandit/Tenzi… On tumblr >> bbanditt.tumblr.com/post/61270… Watching the Korra premiere made me really emotional about Aang. And I thought about how he must have taken Tenzin around the world, just like Tenzin wanted to take Korra, and shown him all the Air Temples. And I thought about how special that must have been for the both of them. Because Tenzin’s always picked on by his older siblings, but now he gets to spend all this time with his dad, the coolest dad in the world, and he gets to see all this history and bond with his dad more than his other siblings probably ever got to.I can’t think of a single person in the world who would have been more psyched to be a dad than Aang, someone who didn’t get to grow up with his own parents. And I bet he was a great dad. And while he loved all his children beyond belief, I bet he had a special connection to Tenzin. Because Tenzin was the only airbender he got to meet since he was unfrozen. The only one. And he got to teach his youngest son not only airbending, but Air Nomad culture and tradition and I bet they baked fruit pies together just like he used to with Monk Gyatso and I bet they played air ball and raced on air scooters and flew on gliders and I can’t imagine how close they must have been.And now Tenzin wants that with Korra, to teach her everything that Aang taught him on that journey together. Not just because he loves Korra as his own, but because he wants to feel that connection to the dad he must miss desperately. And maybe he feels like he owes Aang for the vital wisdom he passed on and maybe he feels like he can pay him back by passing it on to his reincarnation.I just hope Korra gives him that chance.sorry for the rant enjoy the painting (old aang and young tenzin wooh)More Avatar stuff >> blindbandit5.deviantart.com/ga… Tell me what you think.Characters (c) BrykeArt (c) Me

Getty Images Many have said through the #DeflateGate controversy that a more stringent standard has applied to the Patriots because the Patriots are The Patriots. And there’s some support for that school of thought. As PFT noted back in March, the Panthers and Vikings were caught (literally) red-handed in late November, with ball boys using sideline, jet-engine, gates-of-hell heaters to warm footballs on a cold day in Minnesota. So what happened to the Panthers and Vikings? They and the rest of the league received a reminder that this kind of thing is frowned upon. “You can’t do anything with the footballs in terms of any artificial, whether you’re heating them up, whether it’s a regular game ball or kicking ball, you can’t do anything to the football,” NFL V.P. of officiating Dean Blandino said at the time. “So that was noticed during the game, both teams were made aware of it during the game and we will certainly remind the clubs as we get into more cold weather games that you can’t do anything with the football in terms of heating them up with those sideline heaters.” The Patriots case is different, in part because the text messages between John Jastremski and Jim McNally suggest that the deflation scheme had been in place for a while. There also was an element of skullduggery to the New England situation, with footballs being secretly deflated to make them easier to handle by quarterback Tom Brady. Still, when the NFL became aware of what the Panthers and Vikings were doing, the NFL said, “Stop it.” The NFL didn’t do that with respect to the Patriots, opting to set a trap in lieu of alerting them to the concern and warning them to knock it off as the AFC title game approached.

According to security consultants, kidnappers generally prey on victims more vulnerable than business travelers, who tend to limit time in dicey destinations and keep irregular schedules. But sometimes even the business class gets swept up in this rising international crime wave. Many companies offer help in response, among them international insurance companies, secretive consultants who manage hostage situations and local outfits offering abduction prevention courses. As the Web site of Chartis, a leading underwriter of kidnapping insurance, says: “Kidnapping is not a rare occurrence; it’s big business.” And it’s getting bigger. Kidnapping for ransom is on the rise in many countries. In 2011, the Mexican government reported a more than 300 percent increase in the crime since 2005. The United States State Department Web site, which tracks worldwide crime trends, warns of “alarming increases” in kidnapping in Venezuela, and that abductions in Pakistan “continued to increase dramatically nationwide.” But statistics can be difficult to gather, and the numbers of victims are likely underestimated. Many released hostages refuse to report the crime; some fear attracting copycat criminals, while others distrust corrupt police who moonlight as kidnappers. In Venezuela, for instance, the State Department estimates that roughly four out of five kidnappings are not reported. Insurance companies say business is brisk. “Kidnapping and ransom is a very profitable insurance business,” said Ana Paula Menezes, a former underwriter. Kidnap insurance policies typically include the services of response teams that coach victims’ families on everything from proof-of-life questions to ransom prices, which the policies reimburse. “Generally, the family will have someone in front of them within 24 hours,” said Jeff Green, the director of Griffin Underwriting, which specializes in kidnap and ransom insurance. He explained the kidnapping bargaining process: “It’s a business negotiation, where somebody is trying to sell something — and you know you are going to buy it, you have to buy it. But the advantage you have is that you are the only buyer, because they have no value to anyone else.” Some response consultants deal directly with clients lacking kidnapping coverage. “It’ll cost you at least $3,000 a day, and it’s going to be money up front,” said Christopher T. Voss, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and former lead international kidnapping negotiator at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Several security companies market antikidnapping training. For $650, Risks Incorporated in Miami, for instance, promises to teach students about the “real world of terrorism and kidnap and ransom!” And, yes, there’s an anti-kidnap app. BrickHouse Security, a surveillance emporium, sells Executrac software ($29.95 and a $19.95 monthly subscription), “a powerful, invisible application that turns any BlackBerry or smartphone into a covert GPS tracker with an emergency panic button.” Mr. Voss questions the value of tracking technology. Kidnappers are “more and more aware these days that the phone can be tracked,” he said. He gave some advice to travelers visiting high-risk countries: “Get off the X, No. 1. The X is the spot where the kidnappers try and take you.” Mr. Voss argues that running away from abductors, if possible, can make sense. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Kidnappers generally don’t pursue,” said Mr. Voss. “They’re not runners. And they are not going to shoot at you. It’s a waste of ammunition and they will probably miss anyway.” 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. He said he came to that controversial conclusion when a former Navy Seal trainer, a classmate of his at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, told him: “Let’s be honest, the Navy Seals, when we do renditions” — the spiriting of people from one nation to another — “effectively we’re doing kidnappings. Nobody is better at it than we are. We are the most organized, and not one person, not one of us, was assigned to chase anybody. If we’re not chasers, then the bad guys aren’t chasers.’” Mr. Voss also urges business travelers to vary their routine, even if it means being intentionally late to appointments. “A good businessman is on time and consistent,” said Mr. Voss. “And a lot of businessmen are horrified at the idea of breaking out of consistency. If you vary your schedule by 10 minutes, 15 minutes, one way or the other, you can throw the bad guys off enough that they just might look for someone who is a little more precise.” In a coming book, “International Security: Personal Protection in an Uncertain World,” Orlando Wilson, a security consultant, suggests another common-sense strategy for travelers: “Do not draw attention to yourself. Consider what you wear and drive, don’t be loud and rowdy. And don’t tell strangers too much about yourself.” That can be a challenge in an era of oversharing. Marivel Andreu of the Celedinas Insurance Group in Miami warns against revealing to Facebook friends travel plans — or lunch plans. Her clients, often wealthy families in Latin America, “are sharing all sorts of information, where they’re traveling, where they are, where they’re not, and, unfortunately, the kidnappers are using that information against them.” A report, “Expatriate Risk Management: Kidnapping and Ransom,” by Richard A. Posthuma, professor of management at the University of Texas at El Paso, found that the length of time that Mexican kidnappers conducted surveillance decreased as they deploy “more sophisticated surveillance techniques,” like monitoring social media. Julie Mulligan of Drayton Valley, Alberta, concedes she maintained a high profile while leading a Rotary Club exchange trip to Kaduna, Nigeria, in 2009. She appeared on a local TV show, and soon after kidnappers dragged her out of her host’s car. Held nearly two weeks, hobbling around on the high heels she wore when snatched, Ms. Mulligan “had some really dark moments.” At one point, she contemplated an escape and hid keys to the house where she was held. Her guard discovered the keys and flew into a rage. “He raised his arm to hit me, and he called me ‘woman.’ ” Before that, said Ms. Mulligan, “he had been calling me ‘Auntie,’ a sign of respect for an older woman.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Despite the psychological scars from captivity — “Anybody that’s been kidnapped for more than 24 hours, the life that they knew is gone. It’s over,” said Mr. Voss — Ms. Mulligan says her experience actually enriched her life. “I started writing this list of people who were part of the fabric of my life,” she said. For days, Ms. Mulligan edited the list on a piece of cardboard, stopping at 472 names. “When I got home I found out, realized, that it could have been so much bigger.” While she struggled to survive, eating little but white rice, stung by countless mosquitoes and threatened by guards the age of her children, she was “humbled” to learn that the churches in her town had united for an interdenominational prayer service. “The biggest thing that I have to say that I’ve understood is the goodness, the innate goodness of people,” she said. Mr. de Ronde, the Dutch kidnapping victim, agrees that even brutal kidnappings can prove strangely liberating. “You feel the things that you are not doing right in your life,” he said. Before his trip to South Africa, he and his wife planned to buy a large house in Rotterdam, but after the kidnapping he canceled the contract. “We went on a holiday straight away, and we said, what do we really want to do in life? One of the things was, we can continue working, working, working. As I am married to a Chinese wife, I said I want to experience more of your culture.” Mr. de Ronde and his family moved to China. He did not say where.

I couldn't help myself. First Big Mac actually turns into an alicorn princess and then he ends up in drag? (But do take my using that expression with a grain of salt – I realise these disguises are a common trope in cartoons. ) The Green Day song immediately popped in my head. So... sorry, this is a quick piece with no joke apart from the song reference. You can still laugh at Big Mac in a dress, though, but I'm just wildly curious if anyone actually gets the idea without reading the description. If not, you can always give that hilarious song a try too. Oh, and yeah, that'd be Neon Lights as my choice character. This link and pic from the band's live performance some time back should explain more: King for a Day My works are regularly sponsored by:

Three things we learned 1. We should all applaud Rice-Stanford and Cal State Fullerton-Texas A&M for scheduling what turned out to be great series. 2. The ACC looks to be as deep as any conference in the country and should be a donnybrook to the finish. 3. Apparently Florida and South Carolina wait until they play big-time opponents to play their best. Team of the weekend: UCLA The Bruins' three-game sweep at Georgia, extending their winning streak to 10 games, is about as high-quality a weekend as it gets. Friday ace Adam Plutko threw his second complete-game shutout, striking out 11 and walking none in the 2-0 win. From there, it was the Bruins' bullpen and the bats that came up with enough quality plays to pull out their first nonconference road sweep since pulling the trick at North Carolina State in 2006. The offense, an albatross for the Bruins last year, is hitting .303 so far this season. Off-radar team of the weekend: Wake Forest The Demon Deacons have to be downright giddy about taking three straight games from a highly regarded Maryland team, which seemed to the season's early underdog darling. The best part was that it seemed as if there was a new hero stepping up in each game, including Mark Rhine and Brett Armour hitting their first home runs of the season to pull out a 4-3 win Sunday. Wake is now on a 13-game win streak, its longest streak since 1999. Biggest disappointment: Gonzaga The Zags came into the weekend like Bo Derek -- a perfect 10. But that unbeaten mark took a trio of hits with a stunning weekend sweep at the hands of New Mexico, which came in at 2-9. An injury to Friday ace Marco Gonzales didn't help, though he is expected back soon. Redemption for the Zags could come quickly if they can grab a win at Arkansas during a two-game midweek series. Best series: Rice-Stanford Those poor fingernails on the throngs of fans at Sunken Diamond. This series was a pressure cooker almost all weekend long between two top-five programs with top-flight pitching playing in a great atmosphere. Friday's game was decided in Hollywood fashion, with first-time starter Justin Ringo smashing a two-run home run in the 11th inning to give Stanford a win and setting off a wild celebration. The Cardinal took Game 2 11-6, opening up their notorious offense. Sunday's game was a thing of beauty on the mound, with Jordan Stephens and J.T. Chargois out-dueling the freshman combo of John Hochstatter and David Schmidt for a 1-0 Owls win. I wouldn't be shocked to see these two meet in Omaha. Heating up: Louisiana-Monroe Rice lost two of three games at Stanford over the weekend in one of the best series so far this season. Bob Levey/Getty Images The Warhawks have raced out to an 11-6 start, with a few ups and downs. But they've certainly been on an upswing this past weekend after they took two games from Memphis at midweek and then went to Knoxville and took Tennessee down in two of three games, including a 10-inning thriller that was decided on a go-ahead RBI single from Joey Rapp. Included in their 11 wins, the Hawks have also beaten Tulane, Southern Miss and won a series with Sam Houston State as part of the 32nd-toughest schedule in the country. Cooling down: Boston College OK, we all know how tough it is for any team not named Florida to win in Coral Gables, but the Eagles lost all three games to Miami, continuing their recent skid. After a 6-2 start that included wins over Virginia, Costal Carolina and UCF, the Eagles have now lost seven straight to fall to 6-8. And it could get worse, as they will travel to Clemson next weekend. Raised an eyebrow: Bethune-Cookman's reign is done Nobody has dominated a conference as much as the Wildcats have in MEAC play the last decade or so. You have to go back to 2005 to find the last time the Wildcats lost a weekend series in MEAC play. But this past weekend BCU got dropped in two of three games at Florida A&M, both coming in the Rattlers' final at-bat and both taking place in a Saturday doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 5-4. The last time FAMU swept two games from BCU was in 1999. Coming into this weekend, Bethune had gone 100-4 in its last four MEAC seasons. Of note • Appalachian State: While a lot of attention has been given to the win streaks of UCLA and Wake Forest, the Mountaineers haven't just rested on the laurels of their series win at LSU in late February. They've now won 11 straight, including sweeping Davidson in their Southern Conference opener this past weekend, ASU could be the new favorite to win the SoCon. • Illinois: The Illini could be prepping to give Purdue a run for the Big Ten title, especially after going 3-1 at the Nike Showcase in Eugene, Ore., this weekend. Kevin Johnson threw a complete-game four-hitter to down host Oregon 2-1 for Illinois' second win over a ranked team this season. • The last of the unbeatens: With losses by Gonzaga (10-3) and Cornell (7-1) this weekend, the last perfect records belong to Kentucky (16-0) and UT Pan American (8-0). The Wildcats had a Sunday scare with Canisius, escaping with a comeback win on a ninth-inning game-winning RBI single from Luke Maile. The Broncos were off last week but will play a pair of midweek games at Texas A&M. • Indiana self-destructs: The Hoosiers seemed to have a good trip to Cal State Northridge going, winning the Friday game 7-3. But Saturday's game saw IU walk seven batters and commit seven errors, accounting for eight unearned runs to score in a 12-4 loss. Then on Sunday, three unearned Matadors runs spelled curtains for the Hoosiers in a 5-3 loss. • The best steal of the season: In Monday's 7-4 loss at TCU, Texas Tech had one of the better highlights of the season when the mercurial Barrett Barnes stole home Jackie Robinson-style, easily evading the tag of Horned Frogs catcher Josh Elander. On the season, Barnes is now 9-for-9 on stolen-base attempts and leads the Raiders with a .357 batting average. Without further ado, here are this week's Power Rankings 1. Florida (15-1) Of note: Can we hurry up and get to the Florida-South Carolina series in two weeks? It's tough to keep the Gators at No. 1 when they are barely escaping with wins over the likes of Florida Gulf Coast, which matched them hit-for-hit and kept most everyone not named Mike Zunino handcuffed all weekend. 2. Stanford (13-2) Of note: Stanford found the perfect way to enter a 13-day break for exams, with a series win over a top-five opponent like Rice. The Cardinal had their three weekend starters give up just 15 hits in 22.1 innings in this series against a potent Owls batting order. Friday starter Mark Appel added 14 K's to that. 3. North Carolina (13-2) Of note: The Tar Heels went into the Tiger's Den and came away completely unscathed, downing Clemson in three straight. Just an odd thought here: How may teams over the last 25 to 30 years can say they've swept Clemson at home? 4. South Carolina (13-1) Of note: Things just don't change for the Gamecocks. Sure, this sounds like a broken record, but in the three-game sweep of Princeton, the Gamecocks' arms struck out 35 Tiger batters and gave up just six hits in each game and the defense committed a combined one error. Again wow. 5. Rice (13-4) Of note: Wayne Graham's charges have taken their lumps versus teams from the Golden State, going 15-21 in the last five seasons. But the Owls came inches away from pulling out a Friday 10-inning game and got a great pitching effort from Jordan Stephens for a Sunday 1-0 win. 6. Cal State Fullerton (10-5) Of note: After giving his team a verbal tongue-lashing following a Tuesday loss at USC, telling them to be mentally tougher, Rick Vanderhook's crew took the final two games at Texas A&M on Sunday (one was a completion from Saturday). So whatever works for a coach, right? 7. Florida State (14-1) Of note: Considering their schedule, don't be shocked at the Seminoles' record. But this was certainly a good weekend sweep at Duke, particularly in beating the Devils with Marcus Stroman on the mound Friday. However, Florida, Virginia, Stetson and Wake Forest are on deck. 8. Miami (12-3) Of note: It was a nice rebound weekend for the Canes, coming off last week's sweep at the hands of Florida. Miami vanquishes one early-season upstart (Boston College) and now goes up against another ACC upstart (Duke), who looks to right the ship from this past weekend's beatdown from FSU. 9. UCLA (12-3) Of note: With Georgia ranked at No. 12 in the coaches' poll, it was hard to imagine the Bruins stealing all three games in Athens, Ga., but the Men of Westwood have now won 10 straight. During that stretch, outfielder Jeff Gelalich has hit .571, including a 4-for-4 effort in Friday's 2-0 win. 10. Ole Miss (13-2) Of note: The Rebels played as solidly as they could in three wins over Houston, outscoring the Cougars 28-3 and seeing their pitching staff pull 30 strikeouts and giving up just 17 hits. The Rebels' bats really woke up this week, hitting .364 in four games. 11. Arizona State (10-4) Of note: The Sun Devils were up and down again, losing to Texas Tech and winning a series at Long Beach State. If their hot and cold results continue, this high ranking could be in jeopardy. ASU will go up against UCLA, Cal, Fullerton, Oregon and Oregon State in the next four weeks. 12. Oregon (12-3) Of note: The Ducks lost a pair of one-run games to Illinois and Oklahoma, while also throwing shutouts on West Virginia and UConn. The wins over the Mountaineers and Huskies saw Jeff Gold and Brando Tessar both toss complete-game four-hitters with a combined total of two walks. 13. Texas A&M (13-3) Of note: The Aggies finally had a true test, but couldn't hold three-run leads in the two losses to Fullerton at home. Meanwhile, the offense had a wee bit of trouble figuring out the Titans' bullpen, going just 2-for-19 in the final three innings of those two losses. 14. Purdue (11-1) Of note: Once again, the Boilers swung the steel well, hitting .437 in a weekend sweep of Murray State. Nine-hole hitter Stephen Talbott was 10-for-17 with a pair of triples and a home run. But the pitching and defense did their jobs too, holding the Racers to four runs in three games. 15. Arkansas (14-2) Of note: This is still a mystery team. I mean, really, what can we glean from three wins over Binghamton? The talent level hints that the Razorbacks will be Omaha-caliber this year. But the No. 229-ranked strength of schedule and losses to Valparaiso and Houston tell us to hold our horses for now. 16. California (11-4) Of note: Just like their last trip to the state of Nebraska at the CWS, the Bears lost twice, though this time Dave Esquer's crew split a four-game series with an improving Cornhuskers team. But don't hold it against them too much. Really, who else is willing to travel to Lincoln, Neb., in early March? 17. East Carolina (11-3) Of note: The Pirate ship is starting to sail the high seas again after sweeping Alabama, Oral Roberts and Louisville this weekend. When he hasn't been locking down wins this season (seven saves), Drew Reynolds was the Pirates' stud at the dish, going 7-for-11 on the week. 18. Pepperdine (11-4) Of note: Not going to make any comparisons to the 1992 national title team just yet, but the Waves are living off their pitching (2.59 team ERA) and defense (.983 fielding), as most good Pepperdine teams of the past have. Stay tuned here. Kent State, Texas A&M and Gonzaga are on deck. 19. USC (12-3) Of note: Wins over Fullerton and Bakersfield this week help prove that this program is emerging on the national scene once again under Frank Cruz. The cool nerves of freshman LHP Stephen Tarpley, who threw 10 K's in 8.0 innings versus the Roadrunners, has been a big key. 20. Texas State (11-4) Of note: Even though they lost their shutout streak, the Bobcats added top-five Rice to their list of victims this past week. They are still pounding the strike zone and holding opposing numbers down (.210 average, 1.50 team ERA), keying their 11 wins, all versus top-100 RPI teams. Dropped out: Maryland, Clemson, Gonzaga, Georgia Tech Bubble wrap: Wake Forest, Gonzaga, Appalachian State, Liberty, NC State

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. May 2, 2016, 8:31 PM GMT / Updated May 2, 2016, 8:32 PM GMT By Alex Johnson Even President Barack Obama hasn't seen the secret chapter of Congress' joint 2002 report on Sept. 11 attacks, the White House revealed on Monday. Press secretary Josh Earnest previously hasn't answered when asked whether Obama had read the pages in question. But pressure is growing on the administration to declassify the chapter, which makes up 28 of the report's 838 pages, in light of claims made in a lawsuit that blames Saudi Arabia for the 2001 attacks. "The president obviously reads a lot of material on a day-to-day basis," Earnest said at the daily briefing for the media Monday. "I'm not sure that he felt that it was necessary for him to read those 28 pages." The chapter also never came up for discussion during Obama's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with King Salman, Earnest said. CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that information in the classified pages was preliminary and uncorroborated, and he said it was likely to be "very, very inaccurate" in discussing Saudi Arabia. Many current and former U.S. officials with knowledge of the disputed chapter have told NBC News that they only add detail to events already well known to authorities and to members of the public who read the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Related: What's in the Missing 28 Pages From the 9/11 Inquiry? Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who crashed airliners into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and in a field in Pennsylvania were Saudi. Relatives of many of the 2,996 people killed in the attacks when believe the Saudi government played some role. The Saudi government, which has always denied any involvement, has also called for the 28 pages to be released.

MOSCOW -- A prominent journalist was killed in a car bombing in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, on Wednesday, sending shockwaves through the Ukrainian journalist community that was shaped by the gruesome killing of the publication's founder 16 years ago. The country's top online news website Ukrainska Pravda said its journalist Pavel Sheremet died in an explosion early on Wednesday as he got into his car to drive to work to anchor a talk show on a local radio station. The publication said the car was owned by its editor-in-chief Olena Prytula. Images from the scene showed the charred car stranded in the middle of a cobbled street. Zoryan Shkiryak, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, said in a Facebook post that an improvised explosive device was planted underneath the car. Shkiryak said the device was either a delayed-action bomb or was remotely operated. It's believed to have contained up to the equivalent of 600 grams of TNT. Ukrainian police officers and security services experts examine the charred car of journalist Pavel Sheremet, after he was killed in a car bomb in Kiev, July 20, 2016. Getty Interior Minister Khatiya Dekanoidze said in televised comments at the scene of the crime that she will personally supervise the investigation. "We are looking at all theories," she said, adding that solving the murder is "very important, a matter of honor" for the Kiev police. Russia's Novaya Gazeta quoted several friends and family of Sheremet and his partner Prytula saying that they had complained about being followed. Ukraine's media community was deeply affected by the brutal slaying of Ukrainska Pravda founder Heorhiy Gongadze in 2000. Thirteen years later, an Interior Ministry official was convicted for the killing but the probe never formally determined who ordered it. Rights groups accused Ukraine's then-president of involvement in the murder based on tape recordings made by the president's bodyguard. Current President Petro Poroshenko offered his condolences to Sheremet's friends and family and said he has instructed law-enforcement agencies to conduct "a speedy investigation into this crime." Russian television reporter Pavel Sheremet, a critic of Lukashenko lies at a Minsk hospital after he was found badly beaten, Oct. 18, 2004. Getty The 44-year old Belarusian-born journalist irked officials in Belarus and Russia before he moved to Ukraine, where he said there were fewer hurdles to independent reporting. In 1997, Belarus convicted Sheremet of illegally crossing its border and sentenced him to three years in prison for his investigation on the porous border between Belarus and Lithuania. He served three months in prison before he was released. Sheremet faced threats and harassment in Belarus and was badly beaten in 2004 while covering an election. Several years later he moved to Russia to work in television. In a media landscape sanitized by the authoritarian Belarusian government, Sheremet -- while living abroad -- founded Belaruspartisan.org which went on to become one of the country's leading independent news websites. He moved to Ukraine in 2014 after what he said was pressure from his Russian television bosses over the reporting of ongoing opposition protests in Kiev. Outpourings of grief came Wednesday morning from politicians and journalists in all three countries. In Moscow, prominent journalist Konstantin von Eggert in an obituary posted on the website of the Dozhd TV channel described Sheremet as a "pioneer of investigative reporting." "His famous report about the 'illegal crossing' of the Belarusian border was a major television sensation of the 1990s," Eggert said. "It was the time when a journalist tried a thing out himself and had to pay for it, facing charges in his own country." The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in a statement on Wednesday condemned the killing and called on Ukrainian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice. Sheremet is survived by a son and a daughter who live in Minsk, where Sheremet will be buried.

Aura medical director Associate Professor Graham Barrett said 30 patients had completed a course of injections, with three-quarters achieving a full recovery from depression, while another 35 were currently undergoing treatment. Each ketamine injection costs $150 and a typical treatment involves about 18 injections. Dr Barrett said ketamine was well established as a treatment for depression internationally and had a high rate of success but Australians were suffering while they waited for it to receive regulatory approval. "I think unless you have had depression or unless you know someone who has had depression you can't understand how severe that suffering can be," Dr Barrett said. Aura has links to the controversial chain of impotence clinics run under the name Advanced Medical Institute. The two companies share the same building in Sydney and the listed director and single shareholder of Aura, Michael Tattersall, is operations manager at Australian Custom Pharmaceuticals, which has prepared medications for and with AMI. Mr Tattersall did not return calls and an AMI operator hung up on the Herald when asked about the connection between the companies. Black Dog Institute psychiatrist Professor Colleen Loo, who has conducted the only Australian trial of ketamine as a treatment for depression, said the results were promising but it was too early to introduce it into general clinics. "What we're finding is that a single treatment of ketamine usually given by injection form can cause an amazingly fast improvement in depression but for the majority of people it doesn't last more than a few days," Professor Loo said. Professor Loo said there ketamine was not an approved depression treatment anywhere in the world and there needed to be more research into dosage levels, side effects and how to make positive effects last longer. Sydney University Brain and Mind Research Institute executive director Professor Ian Hickie said the "off label" use of ketamine reflected the demand for more immediate treatment for depression but there were known risks of using the drug. Experts say those potential risks include damaging bladder function, increasing depression, inducing psychotic experiences or addiction, and affecting blood pressure. "Jumping straight out of those experimental situations just because the drug is available and into private clinics is an inappropriate development at this stage," Professor Hickie said. Electrician John Schofield, 57, said he was thankful to have received 21 ketamine injections at Aura's Melbourne clinic. While at first apprehensive that the drug was not approved as a treatment for depression, he said nothing else could alleviate his suffering. "I thought nothing seems to be doing it for me. The antidepressants weren't really doing it, they helped me a little bit but it didn't give me a cure," Mr Schofield said. "I'm happy with the treatment. I think it's done something for me."

Since the Washington Post has seen fit to re-run a modified version of the Heritage Society's blog post about the Bikeshare Transit Act - one that is specifically critical of Capital Bikeshare, I decided to write a more formal response to it than the last one. It's not easy, because the thesis isn't clearly stated until the end, the text above that doesn't really support the thesis and what is written contradicts other points within the rambling attack. In addition many relevant facts are excluded or disguised. Nonetheless, I'll give it a go. Michael Sargent is writing to oppose the proposed Bikeshare Transit Act, which would explicitly allow the federal funding of bikeshare, something that is already going on. He does so because he believes "it is in the clear interest of taxpayers everywhere — and the systems themselves — to keep the funding of bikeshares a local matter." He doesn't really lay out a compelling case for this "clear interest" however. First, let's talk about what the law does, which requires me to get a bit wonky. It does three things It makes bikesharing projects eligible for "associated transit improvement" (ATI) funding, but this does not include operating expenses. The ATI program requires recipients of Urbanized Area Formula Grants in large urbanized areas (>200,000 in population) to spend at least 1% of their Federal transit funds on associated transit improvements which include several options like historic preservation of old train stations, walkways, trash cans, signage and even even bicycle access, including bicycle storage facilities and installing equipment for transporting bicycles on public transportation vehicles. Urbanized area formula grants (UAFG) constitute about $4.4 billion of the Mass Transit Account from the Highway Trust Fund. So we're talking about only 1% of a portion of that $4.8 billion (to large cities) and then only if that recipient chooses to fund bikesharing instead of something else. It makes bikesharing a "Capital Project" eligible for UAFG money on its own. Here again it does not fund operating expenses, but rather "the acquisition or replacement of bicycles and related equipment, including technology and vehicles needed to restock stations, and the construction of bicycle-related facilities to facilitate a bikeshare project.” It makes bikesharing eligible for "Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality" (CMAQ) funding if it "shifts traffic demand to nonpeak hours or other transportation modes, increases vehicle occupancy rates, or otherwise reduces demand for roads." Unlike the previous two, CMAQ funding comes out of the "Highway Account", not the "Mass Transit Account" of the Highway Trust Fund. Sargent does not express objection to any of these programs. He does not call in to question the wisdom of CMAQ or ATI or gasoline taxes or even the Mass Transit account. It is only the addition of bikesharing as eligible for these programs that he is objecting to. But his reasons for objecting don't really make sense and don't have much of anything to do with federal funding. He doesn't explain why bikesharing doesn't fit in these programs. He doesn't even try. Sargent lists four reasons why keeping the funding of bikeshares a local matter is in the interest of taxpayers everywhere. The tax dollars sent to bikeshares would come from gas taxes - Not entirely. Gasoline taxes make up the bulk of the Highway Trust Fund, but other taxes include taxes on tires, truck and trailer sales, large vehicle use and fines and penalties imposed for violation of motor carrier safety requirements. In addition, as Sargent well knows, even these taxes are inadequate to cover the needs and so about $80 billion over the next 6 years would come from other non-gas tax sources. So bikeshares would not be dependent on gas guzzlers since Congress has signaled repeated willingness to fill any shortages with general tax revenue. Nonetheless, it's unclear why this makes funding bikeshare locally better than doing it federally. We fund many programs meant to reduce gasoline use and driving with "gas tax money." In fact, that's the whole point of the CMAQ program. It's called a pigouvian tax. Would a local gas tax solve this "problem." This is an argument against funding it with gas taxes, and one that, itself, doesn't make much sense. Capital bikeshare is an amenity, not a cost-effective means of transportation - That it's a means of transportation is inherent and for users it is certainly cost-effective, or else why are they using it? For government, as he notes, it has a recovery ratio of 70% (expected to go up to 77% in 2016 due to increased fees), higher than both Metrobus (24%) and Metrorail (67%). While I would certainly expect the Heritage Society to oppose all transit funding and think that its all a dud if it can't pay its own way, he praises such funding for buses: "wouldn’t federal money be better spent improving mobility for low-income Americans, who overwhelmingly rely on cars and buses to get to work?" So if cost-effectiveness is relevant, it would seem misplaced to favor buses over bikesharing. But most damning is that Sargent only considers operating costs and revenue to determine cost-effectiveness, like it's a business. But it's a government service, and as such other benefits come in to play. MWCOG determined back in 2010 that bikeshare delivers significant and far-reaching benefits, such as increasing bicycle ridership region-wide, increasing transit accessibility, offering the most affordable transit service, improving public health, reducing emissions of air pollutants, increasing safety for all cyclists, and supporting economic development. These benefits far outweigh the capital and operating costs at a benefit-cost ratio of 1.74 using a 7% discount rate. That seems to make it cost-effective. But even if those projections are wildly optimistic, it's again unclear how turning the funding of this over to local government solves this problem. [Note that Sargent doesn't actually say CaBi isn't cost-effective, he only questions if it is.] Capital Bikeshare loses money, and a free stream of federal money unlinked to local performance would not give bikeshares the incentive to minimize operating costs or expand responsibly. - For starters, the money isn't free. ATI money requires a 5% local match, and Capital Projects and CMAQ require a 20% match. And it's not unlinked to local performance in all cases. CMAQ projects, for example, have to report their results to the Secretary of Transportation where they are assessed for cost-effectiveness. But at least this finally hits on the thesis about how local funding is better - incentives. Of course, this could be said of pretty much everything funded by the Highway Trust Fund. Transit, bikeshare, trash cans, highways, ferries - they all lose money. Q:How are they being incentivized to minimize operating costs or expand responsibly? A: The same way bikeshare is - through local matches and the fact that federal money spent on this comes out of a block grant. If not spent on bikeshare, it could be spent on something else in the area. So bikeshare has to compete with other eligible projects. There's your incentive. Capital Bikeshare members are wealthy, spending federal money improving mobility for low-income Americans would be better - According to a self-reported survey of CaBi members, they are wealthier than the average Washingtonian (though, the poorest members are the least likely to have participated in the survey), but the rest is not necessarily a given. If the cost of subsidizing bikeshare is exceeded by the benefits of it, and it does so by more than other options, then spending money on it is better. Sargent offers no evidence that this isn't the case. He doesn't attempt to quantify the benefit of providing mobility to low-income Americans as opposed to others (and I concede that there surely is a benefit). In fact, he never discusses the benefits of bikeshare at all. If he did, one benefit he'd have to mention is that it DOES improve mobility for low-income Americans, it just isn't used by them as much. It is, nonetheless, used by some low-income residents. In addition, to the extent that it reduces congestion on other transit modes (or on roads that buses use), it aids those who continue to use buses and trains. If the MWCOG analysis doesn't hold now that we have actual data on uses and costs, or if other options can do better, then we should look at funding those other options instead. Though really, we should fund those options and fund bikeshare (if the benefit-cost ratio is still greater than 1). And, to repeat a theme, even if this were true, this is not an argument that it is in the interest of taxpayers to keep funding a local matter. This is an argument against publicly funding bike share at all. Funding it locally doesn't make it benefit low-income Americans any more. If he doesn't think taxpayer money should go to bikeshare at all - and that it should be forced to break even like a business - something he hints at near the end, he should say that. Of course, I'd point him to the MWCOG analysis and ask why clean air, better health, increased safety etc... aren't things government should be trying to provide. Sargent's article on the Heritage website last month was terrible, and it hasn't improved much (at least he got the solar power thing right) over the last month. So it's disappointing to see the Post run it.

Dora has no soft corner for the kid, nor is she interested in accompanying him. Her join with the boy was not more than an act of escapism from the immediate danger. The duo is paired to travel by fate and not by love. Their journey is merely circumstantial. She decides to leave the boy on his own parting from him on the way, making arrangements with a driver of the bus, while the boy is deep in doze. A relieved Dora watches the bus leaving from a motel. But the relief is short lived when she finds Josué sitting few desks from her. While she learns the boy had left his bag, along with her money she retires in despair. Fortunately, a kind hearted truck driver, an evangelist, lends them a helping hand letting them hitchhike. The graffiti at the back of his truck reads, “Strength is in everything, but only God is power” and it reflects his personality perfectly. During the journey, the still-a-spinster Dora is moved by his care and falls for him. But his rejection and departure wraps her in somber. They get to the address after much effort. Before going to meet his father Josué turns excited and makes him up presentable to his dad. The boy waits with brimming anticipation to see his father for the first time in his life. They find the house at last only to learn that his real father has changed his house. The boy’s hope shatters and he leaves in dejection. However the new resident gives the address of Jesus’ new settlements which helps the fading light of hope undying. Left penniless in an unknown pilgrimage town, Dora and Josué, and deeply struck with their own agony and helplessness. Dora curses herself and accuses the boy for their jeopardy. It is at this moment of numbness Josué insists Dora to scribe letters for the pilgrims flooding the town all day. It works magic and they get enough money to move on. They realize the bond between them thickening and take a photograph in memory of their relationship. Soon they reach the new address that they have but find that his father had disappeared months ago. Dora meets Isaías and Moisés and learns that they are Josué’s half-brothers. Their father had married Ana after his first wife died. Before Josué is born Ana leaves her drunken husband and moves to Rio. Dora reads a letter written by Jesus to the brothers. In his letter he talks about the reunion of the family. Dora reads as though he had mentioned about Josué, just to please the kid. Later she decides to leave the boy with his brothers, and decides to take the bus to Rio next dawn. In the morning she keeps the unmailed letter scribed by her for Ana to let the brothers know that she too wished for their reunion. Before the boy wakes up to stop her departure she moves on, with each having the photographs they had taken together as their memoir. Image Courtesy: Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} http://cf2.imgobject.com/t/p/original/yonY3WQiyOcA4tIQ2q8kwikDc2z.jpg http://themovierat.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/313153_large.jpg http://content6.flixster.com/photo/71/08/64/7108640_ori.jpg Advertisements

My Secret Santa must have dug deep into my history to find this one. I remember commenting on a post of a rug like this. When I unwrapped the rug I had a good laugh remembering that post but we were rushing to get out of town for Christmas and didn't have much time. After we got back tonight I looked closer. This rug isn't like the others. Then I found the card they included and realized how special this rug was. They didn't just buy it. They made it just for me. It's awesome! You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Thank you so much! On a related note do you have any idea how hard it is to get 3 dogs to sit still for a picture with a rug?

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg owns a number of enterprises that make money. I don't know if Bloomberg View is one of them, but it certainly presses his pro-immigration views. (He's one of the “Billionaires for Open Borders”—with no apparent feeling for what that would do to America.) Republicans' New Immigration Agenda By The Editors, Bloomberg View, October 28, 2014 It was January 2014, six months after the Senate had overwhelmingly passed immigration reform, when Speaker of the House John Boehner said, "It's time to deal with it." He never did. Come this January, when Boehner will in all likelihood have a stronger majority of his own and a Republican Senate to play with, he will have a chance to right this wrong. It won't be easy. Momentum has shifted from the pro-immigrant camp of Senators John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida to the vitriolic corner of Representative Steve King of Iowa. Nativist fantasies have run wild in some Republican campaigns this fall. In such an environment, comprehensive immigration legislation is unlikely. Still, Republicans may be able to muster support for a couple of measures to ease the immigration mess.[More, links in original.] This is pretty nasty stuff—especially the part about "nativist fantasies", which appears to mean enforcing the law. One commenter—of 421 when I looked just now—puts it this way: Secure the border, then deal with it. That's my "nativist fantasy". What loser at Bloomberg came up with that term?

Update: Shared the Article with a lot of Hashtags on Twitter. ------------- Wow. I can't believe how this has ended. I really hope they come to their senses ASAP. Pulling your App is one (dumb) thing but keeping your Donations is unnecessary, a very childish way to tell you to shut up and shows they have no respect for Developers or People helping to find and fix holes at all. I really hope you get at least your very well deserved Donations quickly. And BlackBerry owes you a public and very big Sorry. I mean you reported the Problems quietly first, before going onwards. You have done the right thing, in the correct order. I really Love the Desktop Version. Thank you for your hard and fantastic work. BTW: As BlackBerry now tries to keep you quiet, the only direction left for you to go, is going onward to get more public awareness. At least that they give you your Donations. I can look to start into an Online Petition if you want? Even if it brings the high risk that BlackBerry will probably black list me for all future OS10 Beta Programs, if they keep behaving like they do now. It's always better to have a 3rd Party start a Petition like that: That raise the psychological pressure by showing them, they have done the wrong thing. Oliver Via CB10 App. STL100-2 @ 10.3.1 Beta Last edited by MeerMusik; 12-21-14 at 08:26 PM .

Story highlights NASA probe gives insight into Mercury's formation The surface has sulfur levels 10 times higher than Earth's The MESSENGER orbiter has been circling Mercury since March 2011 X-ray data from NASA's MESSENGER probe points to high levels of magnesium and sulfur on the surface of the planet Mercury, suggesting its makeup is far different from that of other planets, scientists say. The unmanned orbiter has been beaming back data from the first planet for a year and a half. Readings from its X-ray spectrometer point to a planet whose northern volcanic plains formed through upwellings of rocks more exotic than those often found on the Earth, the Moon or Mars, said Shoshana Weider, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "Before this MESSENGER mission, a lot of people assumed it was very like the Moon -- it's dark, it's grey," Weider said. But while the Moon's surface formed when light materials floated to the top of an ocean of molten rock, the low level of calcium on Mercury indicates that didn't happen there. "This gives us clues to the kind of precursor materials that accreted to form Mercury, in an extremely oxygen-poor environment," Weider said. The concentration of sulfur on the surface is about 10 times that seen on Earth, she said. And while Mercury's iron core "makes up a huge amount of the planet," very little is found at the surface. The northern region of volcanic plains differs significantly from the surrounding portion of Mercury, where the surface -- as dated by the number of craters -- is about a billion years older, Weider said. The results were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Geophysical Union. Weider and her co-authors studied 205 different readings from the spectrometer to produce their results. MESSENGER -- an acronym for the Mercury Surface Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging mission -- has been orbiting Mercury since March 2011. It's only the second spacecraft to reach the planet and the first to circle it. It's about 5% the size of Earth and revolves around the sun every 88 days. It rotates very slowly -- once every 58 Earth days -- and the surface temperature on the day side can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (425 C), according to NASA.

Stephen Barnes/Technology / Alamy Stock Photo Did you hear that? You might not have, but Alexa did. Voice assistants have been successfully hijacked using sounds above the range of human hearing. Once in, hackers were able to make phone calls, post on social media and disconnect wireless services, among other things. Assistants falling for the ploy included Amazon Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Samsung S Voice, Microsoft Cortana and Huawei HiVoice, as well as some voice control systems used in cars. The hack was created by Guoming Zhang, Chen Yan and their team at Zhejiang University in China. Using ultrasound, an inaudible command can be used to wake the assistant, giving the attacker control of the speaker, smartphone or other device, as well as access to any connected systems. Advertisement “If all a voice assistant could do was set an alarm, play some music or tell jokes then, there wouldn’t be much of a security issue,” says Tavish Vaidya, of Georgetown University in Washington DC. But voice assistants are connected to an increasing number of services, ranging from smart thermostats to internet banking, so any security breaches are pretty serious. How does sound affect us? Find out at New Scientist Live in London The attack works by converting the usual wake-up commands – “OK Google” or “Hey Siri” – into high-pitch analogues. When a voice assistant hears these sounds, they still recognise them as legitimate commands, even though they are imperceptible to the human ear. The team was then able to open a malicious website to download malware and start a video or voice call to spy on its surroundings. Additionally, they could send text messages and publish posts online. The attacker would need to be near the target device to hack it – but it may be possible to play the commands via a hidden speaker as they walk past. How close they would need to be varies from 2cm to 175cm, depending on the strength of the microphone and background noise levels. Not all devices were so easily hacked. Taking control of Siri, for example, required an extra step. The owner’s voice had to be surreptitiously recorded for playback as Apple’s system recognises the speaker. “There are a lot of variables for the attack to succeed outside of a controlled environment,” says Vaidya. To secure voice assistants in the future, sounds outside the human voice range could be suppressed or machine learning algorithms could listen out for similar style attacks, Vaidya says. We should focus on protecting against unauthorised commands rather than limiting what assistants can do, he adds. Journal reference: Cryptography and Security, https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.09537

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told "Special Report with Bret Baier" Thursday that "I think the odds are very good" that a second seat on the Supreme Court will fall vacant this year. "If not this summer, next summer," Cruz told Bret Baier. "You know, judges don’t like it when people kind of nudge them out, so they’ll go when they decide to go." Cruz stressed that he had "no inside information" about any possible vacancy, but noted that "that most of my professional career has been as a Supreme Court litigator and I know the Court well." IN RARE CONCESSION, TOP DEM PREDICTS GORSUCH WILL BE CONFIRMED President Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year at the age of 79. Cruz did not specify which justice he believed would retire, but two of the remaining eight justices on the court — liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg and swing vote Anthony Kennedy — are in their 80s. Cruz said the battle over whoever is appointed to fill the forthcoming vacancy would be "Armageddon." "[This] is going to be the opportunity to shift the course of this court [and] put a five-justice majority of Constitutionalists on the court," Cruz said, adding that Republicans "need to be prepared to take the case to the American people." Cruz, who has been put forward as a potential Supreme Court candidate, told Baier that he was "very happy in the Senate." SURVEY: CONTROVERSIAL REP. KEITH ELLISON FRONTRUNNER FOR DNC CHAIR The senator also had harsh words for Washington Democrats, saying that many are "out of their minds." "They’re really angry. They’re angry not at Republicans, not even at Trump. They’re angry at the American people. They’re angry at the voters: ‘How dare you elect a Republican president and Republican majorities in both houses?’" Cruz said. "The Democrats are not in the mode of raising reasonable questions. They’re in the mode of losing their minds, of screaming – it’s not showing respect for the democratic process, it’s not showing respect for the voters. I think that’s unfortunate.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - A southern Michigan school district has reversed its decision to bar students from wearing T-shirts honoring a 12-year-old classmate who died over the weekend following a long battle with cancer. At least a dozen students showed up to Lakeview Middle School in Battle Creek on Monday wearing blue or orange T-shirts to honor sixth-grader Caitlyn Jackson, who died Saturday after fighting leukemia for years, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported. Blue was Caitlyn's favorite color and orange is worn to honor those like her with leukemia, and some of the shirts were from various benefits for Caitlyn over the years. When students arrived at school, administrators asked them to change out of the shirts, turn them inside-out or tape over Caitlyn's name. Caitlyn Jackson passed away on Saturday following a long battle with leukemia. (WWMT) "They said that they really liked the shirts, but that it just triggered too much emotion for someone who was really close to her," 13-year-old student Alyssa Jaynes told the newspaper. Students were allowed to make cards for the family, and students wearing blue and orange shirts without Caitlyn's name on them weren't asked to change, said Amy Jones, the school's finance director. Students who were asked to turn their shirts inside-out were told to keep Caitlyn's name "close to their heart." Caitlyn's mother, Melinda Jackson (right), said she learned about the T-shirt ban while returning from the Ann Arbor hospital where her daughter died. (WWMT) Jones said the district decided Sunday to not allow the T-shirts in keeping with its crisis management plan, which bars permanent memorials on the belief that they can remind students of their grief and make it worse. Parents weren't informed of the decision. "Certainly the intent of our decision was good," Jones said. "Probably the ramifications of our decision caused more disruption than if we had let kids wear the shirts in the first place." Grieving students express their love for Caitlyn. (WWMT) Caitlyn's mother, Melinda Jackson, said she learned about the T-shirt ban while returning from the Ann Arbor hospital where her daughter died. "That hurt me to the point that I didn't think I could be hurt anymore," said Jackson, who works for the district as a childcare provider. After widespread outrage, the school district changed their tune and allowed the shirts. (WWMT) The district changed its stance after students and parents complained. But on Facebook, some parents were calling for the ouster of those who initially decided to ban the shirts. The district superintendent was out of the country when that decision was made. District officials met with Caitlyn's family on Monday and planned to review the policies that led to the initial ban. USING MOBILE? CLICK FOR VIDEO Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing!

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is threatening the integrity and independence of the penal and parole systems by publicly characterizing Omar Khadr as a remorseless, radicalized al-Qaeda terrorist upon his return, according to Canada's criminal lawyers. "When I read the quote I was immediately concerned," said Norm Boxall, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, in an interview. "When the matter is going to be proceeding before a specialized tribunal, public officials should not comment on the outcome, because it can taint the process." On Saturday morning, Mr. Toews – who had insisted two days earlier he was still mulling over whether to permit the Canadian citizen's repatriation – held a news conference announcing that Mr. Khadr had just been transferred from a U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay to Canada's corrections systems. Story continues below advertisement At the time, Mr. Toews said he had had no option but to allow the repatriation of the Canadian citizen. But he also issued a statement saying that several issues about Mr. Khadr had caused him "concern" about whether his correctional officials could manage the case – including that Mr. Khadr still "idealizes" his al-Qaeda-linked father, that Mr. Khadr had had "meetings involving senior al-Qaeda leadership" as a teenager and that the decade Mr. Khadr spent in prison had "radicalized" him. Mr. Toews added in a Sept. 28 statement that Mr. Khadr's "known accomplices" had included al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his No. 2 Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Mr. Khadr's Canadian family lived for a time in a bin Laden compound. In 2001, at age 15, Mr. Khadr was part of an al-Qaeda faction involved in a deadly firefight with U.S. Forces, lobbing a grenade that killed an American soldier before he was shot three times and captured. He was held for the next decade by the Americans as an "illegal enemy combatant." In 2010, he pleaded guilty to war crimes in a plea bargain deal that allowed for him to serve the bulk of an eight-year sentence in Canada, pending government approval. Mr. Toews' remarks are controversial because while he was the government minister tasked with overseeing Mr. Khadr's repatriation, he is also the minister who presides over the Correctional Service of Canada. Mr. Toews also appoints and renews the adjudicators for the National Parole Board – the same patronage appointees who are charged with determining any given individual prisoner's liberties. Now these same officials who must now try to figure out whether to allow Mr. Khadr out of prison and onto parole in coming months, or whether to lock him up until his sentence expires in 2018. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Lawyers for Mr. Khadr wonder whether Mr. Toews' remarks too clearly telegraph to his officials what he would like to have happen. "Frankly that's outrageous that the Minister has said that," says John Norris, one of Mr. Khadr's lawyers, who argues his client is an excellent candidate for rehabilitation. "The only true thing he [the Minister] has said is that this is not supposed to be a political process. The rest of it is an attempt to influence the decision makers in a way that's quite inappropriate," said Mr. Norris. Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated Mr. Khadr had not previously been accused of associating with senior al-Qaeda leaders. In fact, one of the charges Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty to included associating with Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have painted the clearest picture yet of the history of the Kazakhs of the Altai Mountain Range, providing insights into the heritage of a wide swath of people in Central and East Asia. Kazakh hunters wearing national clothes hold golden eagles during the 'Solburun' hunting festival [Credit: Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images] Using genetic techniques, Theodore Schurr and doctoral student Matthew Dulik, both of the Penn Department of Anthropology, worked with Ludmila Osipova from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk. Schurr’s team’s research was published in the open access journal PLoS One. These findings are a continuation of work that Schurr and colleagues have been conducting in the Altai region for a decade. “It’s a key area because it’s been a crossroads and conduit for people for thousands and thousands of years,” Schurr said. “People not only moved out of it to settle much of Siberia and probably did so more than one time, but it is also possibly the ancestral homeland of Native Americans.” Future research by Schurr and his team will attempt to trace the movement of these lineages as they crossed the Bering Strait into North America. While this study examines the paternally inherited Y-chromosomes of self-identified Kazakhs in Russia’s Altai Republic, the researchers previously published a similar study looking at ancestral lineages in the region using mitochondrial DNA, which is maternally inherited. Adding the male dimension to the historical picture of Altai Kazakhs was especially important, however, given the role that the 13th-century expansion of the Mongol Empire played in the formation of ethnic Kazakhs. “The sweep of people coming in from Mongolia was largely male,” Schurr said. “They left their imprint on much of Central Asia, including Kazakh populations, and we’re able to see that more clearly with paternal lineages than maternal ones.” Because women do not have Y-chromosomes, sons receive all of the genetic information contained within them directly from their fathers. These paternal lineages can be used to extrapolate male connections through many generations of fathers and sons. Testing modern populations for certain Y-chromosome markers can determine the paternal lineages to which present-day men belong. Combining that genetic data with archeological, linguistic and climatological findings allowed the researchers to map Kazakh population groups within time and geographic space. While some of these lineages can be traced thousands of years into the past, the most significant influence on both Altai Kazakhs and their countrymen to the west occurred within the last eight centuries, during the Mongol expansion. “There are a couple of lineages associated with the Mongol expansion, including one called C3*, which is specifically associated with Genghis Khan and his male relatives,” Schurr said. “Where we see that lineage, we see the influence of Mongol men and can reconstruct the westward Mongol expansion. We’d expect to see that the newest mutations are the farthest west and the oldest ones are in the Mongol homeland, which they in fact are.” This archeogenetic analysis also allowed the researchers to examine the genetic influence that indigenous Altai populations had on other groups and, as result, inform the kind of nomadic lifestyle they practiced. “We use the same techniques to analyze the Altai lineages themselves and determine whether they were brought in from elsewhere or expanded from their source area into places north, west and east,” Schurr said. “We can see these connections throughout much of Siberia because it’s a very dynamic area, and, even though they live in small groups, they are moving around a great deal.”

During his controversial tenure in the Vatican, Pope Francis has reportedly reduced sanctions against several priests accused of child molestation on the basis that the church must be more merciful toward everyone, including even those who abuse children. One of those priests was Rev. Mauro Inzoli, who was found guilty by the Vatican in 2012 of having abused young boys and was subsequently defrocked. Two years later, however, Pope Francis chose to reduce the child molester’s sentence. Instead of being defrocked, Inzoli’s punishment was reduced to “a lifetime of prayer, prohibiting him from celebrating Mass in public or being near children, barring him from his diocese and ordering five years of psychotherapy,” according to The Associated Press. Not surprisingly, Inzoli has since found himself back in court on new charges of child molestation. Once a child molester, always a child molester, apparently. Thankfully, Francis’ atrocious decision-making did not have an effect on Italy’s secular justice system, which last November sentenced Inzoli to nearly five years in prison. One would think the pope would have learned his lesson from what happened with Inzoli, but one would be quite wrong. According to The Week, sources with direct ties to the Vatican have claimed that Pope Francis is pushing forward with a plan “to undo the reforms that were instituted by his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI in handling the cases of abuser priests.” Because of these reforms, the punishments meted out to child molesters became far harsher, with most perpetrators being rightly defrocked. Apparently Francis wants to undo this. There are many possible explanations for the pope’s bizarre and seemingly pro-child-molester behavior, but the most salient is that he has allowed his heart to be corrupted by a misguided spirit of mercy, as outrageous as that may initially sound. Mercy and compassion are positive expressions that should be offered, but only to the deserving. When, alas, the spirit of mercy becomes corrupted, as has apparently happened in the case of Pope Francis, one loses the ability to discern the deserving from the undeserving. Those who truly deserve mercy — and much more — are the victims of priests like Rev. Mauro Inzoli. As for the priests themselves, they deserve nothing less than to be thrown to the wolves. Pope Francis ought to know that, but clearly he doesn’t. Like us on Facebook – USA Liberty News Please share this story on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what you think about Pope Francis trying to make the church more merciful toward child molesters. What do you think about what Pope Francis is trying to do? Scroll down to comment below! Source: conservativetribune.com H/T The American Conservative

- video encodings still in process - The radical religious right has succeeded in taking over one of America's great political parties. The country is not yet a theocracy but the Republican Party is, and they are driving American politics, using God as a battering ram on almost every issue: crime and punishment, foreign policy, health care, taxation, energy, regulation, social services and so on." -- Bill MoyersSarah Palin's churches are actively involved in a resurgent movement that was declared heretical by the Assemblies of God in 1949. This is the same 'Spiritual Warfare' movement that was featured in the award winning movie, "Jesus Camp," which showed young children being trained to do battle for the Lord. At least three of four of Palin's churches are involved with major organizations and leaders of this movement, which is referred to as The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit or the New Apostolic Reformation. The movement is training a young "Joel's Army" to take dominion over the United States and the world.Along with her entire family, Sarah Palin was re-baptized at twelve at the Wasilla Assembly of God in Wasilla, Alaska and she attended the church from the time she was ten until 2002: over two and 1/2 decades. Sarah Palin's extensive pattern of association with the Wasilla Assembly of God has continued nearly up to the day she was picked by Senator John McCain as a vice-presidential running mate. Palin's dedication to the Wasilla church is indicated by a Saturday, September 7, 2008, McClatchy news service story detailing possibly improper use of state travel funds by Palin for a trip she made to Wasilla, Alaska to attend, on June 8, 2008, both a Wasilla Assembly of God "Masters Commission" graduation ceremony and also a multi-church Wasilla area event known as "One Lord Sunday." At the latter event, Palin and Alaska LT Governor Scott Parnell were publicly blessed, onstage before an estimated crowd of 6,000, through the "laying on of hands" by Wasilla Assembly of God's Head Pastor Ed Kalnins whose sermons espouse such theological concepts as the possession of geographic territories by demonic spirits and the inter-generational transmission of family "curses". Palin has also been blessed, or "anointed," by an African cleric, prominent in the Third Wave movement, who has repeatedly visited the Wasilla Assembly of God and claims to have effected positive, dramatic social change in a Kenyan town by driving out a "spirit of witchcraft."The Wasilla Assembly of God church is deeply involved with both Third Wave activities and theology. Their Master's Commission program is part of an three year post-high school international training program with studies in prophecy, intercessory prayer, Biblical exegesis, authority and leadership. The pastor, Ed Kalnins, and Masters Commission students have traveled to South Carolina to participate in a "prophetic conference" at Morningstar Ministries, one of the major ministries of the Third Wave movement. Becky Fischer was a pastor at Morningstar prior to being featured in the movie "Jesus Camp." The head of prophecy at Morningstar, Steve Thompson, is currently scheduled to do a prophecy seminar at the Wasilla Assembly of God. Other major leaders in the movement have also traveled to Wasilla to visit and speak at the church.

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, which disappeared on an 1840s mission to find the North-west Passage, were found in 2014 and 2016 in the Canadian Arctic Britain has announced it will give Canada the shipwrecks of the British explorer John Franklin, who perished with his crew while trying to chart the North-west Passage through the Arctic in the 1840s. Ship found in Arctic 168 years after doomed Northwest Passage attempt Read more HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were found in 2014 and 2016 about 30 miles (48km) apart near King William Island in the Canadian Arctic, about 1,200 miles north-west of Toronto. Under an agreement between the two countries, the wrecks were the property of Britain although Canada had custody and control of them. The UK Ministry of Defence said on Monday it would transfer the ownership to Parks Canada, but retain a small sample of artefacts. The British defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said the arrangement “will ensure that these wrecks and artefacts are conserved for future generations”. Franklin and 128 hand-picked men set out in 1845 to find the passage – a shortcut to Asia that supposedly ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific by way of the Arctic. All of them died, making the voyage the worst tragedy in the history of Arctic exploration. Historians believe the ships got trapped in thick ice in 1846, and Franklin and some other crew members died in the ensuing months. The survivors apparently abandoned the two ships in April 1848 in a hopeless attempt to reach safety overland. Inuit lore tells of “white men who were starving” in the area as late as the winter of 1850. Dozens of searches by Britain and the US in the 1800s failed to locate the wrecks, and some of those expeditions ended in tragedy, too. Franklin and his doomed voyage inspired songs, poems and novels, and the ships were among the most sought-after prizes in marine archaeology. Canada announced in 2008 that it would look for the ships, and the Canadian government poured millions of dollars into the ultimately successful search. The Terror was discovered last year in 24 metres (26 yards) of water in Terror Bay, west of the community of Gjoa Haven, right where an Inuit hunter said it was. Canada’s government said Monday it recognized the invaluable contributions of Inuit people in helping find the wrecks. The environment minister, Catherine McKenna, said the ships would be co-owned with the local indigenous people. “We will continue to work with our Inuit partners on the protection and presentation of the two wreck sites and artifacts for generations to come,” McKenna said in a statement.

Sometimes, when we don't have the words to express ourselves, we find other ways. Music, maybe. Or painting, or dance... or emoji. So when we discovered a new website that automatically transforms any photo into a mosaic of hearts, winky faces, smiling poop — and all the 800 icons available on the Unicode standard keyboard — well, we felt like this: The tool, simply titled "Emoji Mosaic," was created by Eric Andrew Lewis, a developer for theNew York Times. Lewis tells CBC Arts he decided to build it after seeing an illustration "that looked like a kaleidoscope of emoji." Loving the look, he set upon making a tool that could instantly generate pieces just like it. "There's a bunch of artists working in similar veins with emoji whose work has inspired me," Lewis says, citing Yung Jake... And Alicia Herber... Oh, Drake. You've got our high love and emoji endlessly. Here's the instant, Emoji Mosaic take on the Canadian artist. And here's what it does to Canadian art. Recognize Emily Carr's Indian Church? Norval Morrisseau's Two Gulls? For Paul Peel's The Young Biologist a clump of frog emojis marvellously appeared near the actual frog in the painting. Alex Colville's After Swimming. Tom Thomson's The Jack Pine. Lewis doesn't have any plans to use the Emoji Mosaic as part of a larger project, but he couldn't ignore the appeal of the little icons. "Emoji is an interesting intersection of language, pop culture and technology specification," he says. "For instance, there's no classic smiley face in Apple's emoji implementation. There's a smiley face that has blush on the cheeks, a smiley face with teeth showing, but not the classic "smiley face." It's weird and fascinating." Weird and fascinating — just like everything the Emoji Mosaic churns out. Try it yourself at his website. Share your best pictures with us by tweeting us @CBCArts.

It's very important that we remember that one need not, you know, write or draw or study narrative or learn about art or really know anything at all about formal graphic storytelling in order to create truly awesome comics. Sometimes all you need is a couple of photographs, Photoshop and a great idea. That's all it takes to create something as brilliant as Dog Fort , a Web phenomenon based on two photographs: a cute dog peeking its head out of a fort made of couch cushions and a corgi wearing -- inexplicably -- a lobster costume. Out of a comic book-style combination of those two images emerged what Reddit named Best New Community of 2010 for its ceaseless and almost uniformly hilarious comics about dogs dressed up like soldiers at war with nefarious Bond-villain-esque cats. The "redditors" at Reddit have voted Cat's Cradle: A Dog Fort Epic the single best Dog Fort comic ever made, and it is truly something to behold. The story is just about as long as the average print comic, and tells harrowing story of a group of dog soldiers in one of the fiercest battles in the war. It is shockingly moving, with great characters and twists that will compel you to remain with the story until the end. As we said, it's legitimately epic so we direct you to the official Dog Fort blog to read it. For some shorter Dog Fort comics that demonstrate the brilliance of these anonymous creators, click past the jump. The original [ Via Reddit ]

July 8, 2014 Jason Farbman reports on Israel's escalating violence, with the threat of worse to come--and the furious response of Palestinians fed up with being terrorized. A SUSTAINED wave of violence by Israel in recent days has brought tensions to a boil throughout the West Bank, Gaza and Israel itself. In the early morning hours of July 8, Israel launched a barrage of missile strikes against more than 50 targets in Gaza, which it claimed were designed to punish Hamas. Preliminary reports said 12 Palestinians were injured and four civilian homes destroyed by the bombs. Meanwhile, Palestinians throughout Israel were rising up against heavily armed Israeli forces. In town after town, Palestinian crowds are clashing with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli police in the wake of the grisly murder by six Jewish extremists of Mohammad Abu Khdeir and the savage beating of Tarek Abu Khdeir--the first boy's cousin--by Israeli police. According to a report by the prisoners' rights organization Addameer: Tarek is one of 11 Palestinians who were beaten and arrested in Shofat last night following the brutal murder of 16-year old child Mohammad Abu Khdeir, who was found beaten and burned on the ruins of the Palestinian destroyed village Deir Yassin hours after he was kidnapped in a retribution act. The Israeli government has instated a gag order regarding the circumstances of Mohammad's kidnapping and murder. Mourners march in a funeral procession for a Palestinian killed in Israel's air strikes The July 8 missile strikes on Gaza--dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" by the IDF--could be just the beginning of Israel's state-sanctioned terror. On July 7, the IDF announced it was calling up 1,500 reservists and readying infantry assault units along the Gaza border. "We are ready for an escalation," an anonymous senior military source told the Jerusalem Post. "We're taking steps now...ahead of the possibility that the escalation increases. We're preparing for a gradual increase in the use of force and increasing our rate of attacks." In the three weeks that followed June 12--when three teenaged Israeli settlers were abducted; their bodies were discovered two and a half weeks later--Palestinians endured "the most extensive [wave of incursions] to date since 2002, when the Israeli Army invaded every Palestinian city in the West Bank," according to an early July report released by Swiss-based Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights. Israeli forces carried out more than 2,400 military raids, busting down doors and creating havoc at educational centers, businesses, civil society institutions and homes. Some 600 Palestinians were arrested, 130 were injured, and at least seven killed. According to the report: The raids deliberately vandalized homes, including destruction of furniture--even turning a number of them into military outposts. The homes' inhabitants were frequently abused in the process, suffering kicks and blows from guns. Twenty-three Palestinian civil society institutions also were ransacked, including medical centers, media offices, schools, universities and currency exchanges. ISRAELI MEDIA commentators are openly voicing concern about whether the Palestinian resistance might generalize into another Intifada, or uprising, against Israel's atrocities. The first Intifada began in 1987, and the second in 2000. On July 7, for example, Avi Issacharoff, the Times of Israel's Middle East analyst, wrote: Israel needs to be acutely concerned about several developments over the last few hours...Sunday [July 6] was the third successive night of Arab protests within Israel, and they're getting worse. Carefully timed demonstrations, especially in the south--close to Omer, for example--are starting to look like rather more than spontaneous outbursts... The second area of concern relates to the West Bank. Sunday night saw substantial protests for the first time in there, too--at Al-Arub, near Hebron, at Joseph's Tomb, near Nablus, and close to the industrial area on the outskirts of Tulkarem...East Jerusalem...was inflamed--not just Abu Khdeir's Shuafat neighborhood, but other neighborhoods and villages too. On Sunday night, however, the protests did spread to the West Bank...Third and last, we come to the relentless deterioration of the situation with Gaza... Unlike the raids 12 years ago, Israeli military forces were not satisfied with merely terrorizing and arresting civilians in their homes and businesses. In addition, an astonishing $2.9 million was confiscated during raids--$2.5 million in property, such as computers, furniture and cars, and $370,000 in cash was taken. The military raids were executed on the pretext of a search for three missing Israeli settler boys, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ulterior motive was to drive a wedge between Hamas in Gaza and the Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas based in the West Bank. Worried that events might spin out of control, however, Israeli police were attempting to contain riots in Jerusalem by right-wing Jewish mobs calling for the use of even more force against already besieged Palestinian communities. Over the weekend, the Israeli air force carried out air raids on the Gaza Strip targeting 10 sites in central and northern Gaza, killing seven. Israel insists that its air strikes are a justified response to rocket fire directed at Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza. But even Israel acknowledges that of the 40 rockets launched, 30 fell harmlessly in the desert, and Israel's highly sophisticated air defense systems intercepted 10 others. Meanwhile, Israel's bombardment is carried out with huge missiles that level entire buildings and regularly injure and kill civilians. Debate about how intense Israel's onslaught should be has meanwhile opened up serious fissures in Israel's coalition government. Israeli Foreign Minister--and far-right racist--Avigdor Lieberman announced a dissolution of his Beiteinu party's partnership with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party over outrage that Netanyahu has so far been too restrained in his treatment of Palestinians. THE BACKDROP to the unrest is an Israeli military siege--followed by a further outpouring of violence by Jewish vigilantes--that has indiscriminately targeted Palestinians since the June 12 abduction of three teenaged Israeli settlers in the West Bank. When the settlers' bodies were discovered in a field near where they had gone missing, a nationalist fury was unleashed. The IDF found and arrested a man identified as a suspect and immediately demolished the man's home. But this wasn't enough for a far right current made bolder by the nationalistic racism that the government had legitimized through its relentless use of violence against entire Palestinian communities. On July 2, six Israelis kidnapped Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khudair in retribution for the deaths of the three settler boys. That the Palestinian youth had nothing to do with the Israeli boys' disappearance didn't matter to the kidnappers, who became murderers when they burned the teenager alive. Muhammad's body was 90 percent covered in burns when it was discovered. ElectronicIntifada.net posted a video of "vast numbers of people joining the funeral march to the cemetery where Muhammad was laid to rest." Days later, Muhammed's 15-year-old cousin Tarek--a U.S. citizen from Tampa visiting family in East Jerusalem--was attacked by masked policemen along with other youths. Tarek was beaten until he lost consciousness, after which he was arrested without charge and held for five hours before receiving any medical treatment. Video of the beating circulated online, and public outrage began to build as the beatings were viewed more than a quarter million times. Under pressure, the Israelis released Tarek from prison--and sentenced him to house arrest for the remaining week and a half before his family returned to the U.S. But Israel could not make the story go away. Tarek's bruised and swollen face was pictured on the July 7 front page of the New York Times, and CNN gave the story prominent coverage. The story is "proving to be a landmark moment in coverage of the conflict, as American media are reporting Tarek Abu Khdeir's story in a straightforward manner for once," observed the progressive website Mondoweiss. "Their sympathetic reports are bringing the Palestinian experience back here as never before." But the beatings of these two innocent children were only the most visible examples of a wave of violence directed at Arabs. "Israeli settlers have been ransacking property and, in some areas, attacking Palestinians," according to Ben White. One village near the West Bank town of Ramallah was raided by dozens of Israelis from a nearby illegal settlement. The villagers threw stones and empty bottles in self-defense. "Israeli forces were present at the scene and opened fire at the villagers," according to one report. WHILE ISRAEL mourned the deaths of the three Israeli settlers, Palestinians on the receiving end of Israel's merciless collective punishment wondered aloud how the world could allow such hypocrisy to continue. Many took to Facebook to express their outrage. Fatima Javed angrily pointed out that the killing of children in the land of Palestine didn't begin with the murders of the three Israeli youth. The story, she explains, must begin: with the intentional erasure of 66 years of occupation, of imprisonment, of bombardment, of torture, of murder, of apartheid. Throughout all of this, the victims have been painted as the aggressors, and the terrorism of the occupier has been legitimized. The kidnapping of three Israeli settlers: a crime. The kidnapping of hundreds of Palestinian children: justice. The murder of three Israeli settlers: terrorism. The murder of 1,518 Palestinian children, not even counting the ones killed just now: self-defense, security measures. The world condemned this act of "terrorism" against Israeli colonizers, but has nothing to say about the torture and murder of Palestinian children. There are no words that can describe the cruelty of the disparity between the value placed upon Israeli and Palestinian lives. Nerdeen, a Palestinian-American presently in East Jerusalem, has posted regular updates of life in her neighborhood. Just updating my status because tons of people are asking about me. Alhamdullah, I'm safe, but there's a lot of tension in East Jerusalem. Streets are closed, and the army is everywhere. I'm in the Issawiyeh, and I pass by Shuafat, Wadi Joz and Sheikh Jarrah every day to get to Masjid al-Aqsa or even just the buses to go anywhere else. Today, the bus had to change routes three times due to streets being closed. Palestinians are fed up of being killed one after another for no reason. Masked men fill the streets with stones, starting fires and just breaking objects. Of course, they are no match for Israel's brutality. Over 150 people in an area near mine were injured from Israeli shrapnel and bullets. Israeli settlers are vowing for vengeance. They are holding anti-Arab rallies and promising that there will be Arab blood. The 15-year-old kidnapped, murdered and burned from Shuafat may not be the last from his case. And of course these actions are fully permitted and protected by the IDF. I've never seen such tension in East Jerusalem at all. All I ask is that people continue to share the truth of what is going on and pray for all Palestinians from West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, 48, etc. because at this point anyone with Palestinian "blood" is unsafe. Thank you. In another post, she wrote: Yesterday settlers stormed Issawiyeh and hid in every possible place you could hide in, no one knows why they did it. If they were just watching, planning something, attempting another kidnapping, we don't know. Settlers are scarier than the army here because they kidnap and torture openly. I mean the army does that too, but not as flagrantly as settlers... I don't know how to explain it honestly. There is nothing holding the settlers back, they do what they want without facing any repercussions. WHAT HAS Israeli officials--and their patrons in the U.S.--concerned is that Palestinians are beginning to organize a response to this rising arc of settler violence directed at their neighborhoods. Often, attacks by settlers are condoned by Israeli police, implicitly or explicitly, leaving Palestinians to choose between suffering silently or defending themselves. In the past few days, Palestinians have increasingly taken the latter option, but in huge numbers. On July 6, for example, 400 people took to the streets of Yaffa to stop a settler attack on their homes. Collective defense has increasingly turned to collective protest and even collective action. Broader sections of Palestinian society have come out in self-defense, resulting in protests and actions that are also broader and angrier. Meanwhile, Palestinians aren't the only ones in the streets, as the Israeli far right has grown bolder. At Bar-Ilan Junction in Jerusalem, Israeli police clashed with hundreds of right-wing Israeli protesters, temporarily shutting down the junction. The protesters chanted racist, anti-Arab invective and calls for state violence against all Palestinians to avenge the death of the three settler boys. In central Jerusalem, dozens of right-wing extremists attacked Arabs, causing police to block routes to the Old City. Elsewhere in the city, fascist mobs roamed the streets, chanting "Death to Arabs" and stopping taxis to check for the driver's race. These uprisings--both Palestinians fighting to defend themselves and Israelis calling for more bloodshed--are exactly what Barack Obama had hoped to avoid. "I also urge all parties to refrain from steps that could further destabilize the situation," he said immediately after the settler boys' bodies were found. From Obama's viewpoint, further "instability" would have at least two undesirable consequences. First, Israel would be further exposed as an apartheid regime, indifferent to violence against an innocent and largely defenseless population, thus calling into question once again why Israel enjoys unflagging U.S. support. Second, with violence ongoing in Syria and flaring up in Iraq, further conflict in Israel only complicates an already difficult situation that the U.S. is straining to maintain its grip over. But make no mistake: Obama's concern with "stability" has everything to do with managing the region, and nothing to do with justice. After all, Obama's plea for stability came at the end of a weeks-long Israeli military siege. Furthermore, Obama took great pains to express his condolences to the families of the three dead Israeli boys, saying, "as a father, I cannot imagine the indescribable pain that the parents of these teenage boys are experiencing." But Obama has expressed nothing similar about the regular killing of Palestinian children by Israel. While the entire world heard about the three Israeli youth who were murdered, a Palestinian child has been killed every three days by Israeli military forces for the past 13 years--every three days. Where is Obama's concern for the "indescribable pain" of all of these families? NETANYAHU IS trying to get Israel's lynch-mob atmosphere under control--if for no other reason than to repair Israel's image in the eyes of the world--by pledging to prosecute the Israelis suspected of abducting and burning alive Mohammad Abu Khdeir. Israel's far-right parties are still baying for more bombs, more home demolitions, more detentions and more murders. But however much indignation Netanyahu conjures up at Israeli "extremists" gone too far, the colonial project of Zionism inexorably leads to the kind of brutality that took the life of Mohammad Abu Khdeir. In an article titled "Our wretched Jewish state," Ha'aretz columnist Gideon Levy wrote in blunt terms: The youths of the Jewish state are attacking Palestinians in the streets of Jerusalem, just like gentile youths used to attack Jews in the streets of Europe. The Israelis of the Jewish state are rampaging on social networks, displaying hatred and a lust for revenge, unprecedented in its diabolic scope...These are the children of the nationalistic and racist generation--Netanyahu's offspring. The last two weeks of military siege and collective punishment now morphing into "Operation Protective Edge" are merely the latest atrocities in a long list of atrocities committed by Israel--from the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre, to the killing fields of Sabra and Shatila in 1982, to the 2012 Operation Pillar of Cloud. The Zionist dream has always depended on cleansing Palestine of its indigenous population. But the Palestinian people continue to resist, and it is the responsibility of people of conscience around the world to join them in their struggle to liberate themselves--and by extension, all of us.

Ladder racks are extremely useful tools. They convert a vehicle into a safe, effective ladder transport system. They save interior space and make a place for long and over-sized items. They are useful for businesses or other users who frequently move ladders and other large or long items from place to place, such as roofers, cable system contractors, tree service firms, and window cleaning services. Secured with easy to remove straps or ties, the cargo will rest and ride securely, and lift off for use. One can add extra security on commercial vehicles and ladders that will stay on the truck. Drivers may leave commercial trucks in random locations as dictated by business situations; a few tie-down pieces of heavy gauge metal chain and theft resistant locks add extra security. The effectiveness of ladder racks depends upon safe mounting practices. Truck owners must mount ladders in a balanced position so that when the vehicle moves, the ladders will stay on balance. Secure tie-downs are essential to safety on moving vehicles. Turns, bumps, accelerations and sudden stops all provide forces that could send a poorly balanced or badly tethered ladder in motion. Another frequent concern is driving safety, and red flags and additional tie downs may be appropriate in high winds and high speed driving. Local rules and regulations sometimes require flags and markers and may restrict the permissible overhang. Finding the center of gravity of a ladder is a simple and effective way of distributing load evenly. To locate the center of gravity one will need the ladder, a black felt tip marker, and a roll of black weatherproof tape. Set the ladder on the ground in the exact form one will mount and transport it. For a long ladder that extends by sliding up and down, the ladder should be in the shortest form. Set the ladder on its side, with the rungs in a vertical position. Lift the ladder near the middle and allow it to tilt up or down until still. Then move the hands forward or backwards until the ladder balances in the hand or hands. Mark the balancing spot with the felt marker, and wrap a piece of black tape around the line. If preferred, one can spray paint a line in a visible color like black or orange to mark the middle balance point. Mount the ladder onto the rooftop rack lining-up the tape or paint line over the center of the rack. The idea is to make the ladder sit in balance on the vehicle, with as much in front as behind a center point on the ladder rack. Once one finds the center and places the ladder in a solid position, use the ladder-stops as tie posts to secure the ladder. One must secure the ladder on the front and back bars and to at least two tie posts. The driver can tie the ladder with any combination of nylon wraps, bungees, metal chain, or nylon ropes. When attaching the ladder secure it against up-and-down movement and side-to-side shifts. There should be as little movement as possible when one pushes or pulls to test the security. When carrying more than one ladder, use the same method to mark and mount each. One can make a secure tie-dawn against up and down movement on the front and rear cross bar. To secure against side-to-side movement, one can attach to the side rails. If the side rails are too far, or if there are several ladders, then one should use a pair of ladder-stops to brace the ladders and hold inside ties.

Did you hear the one about the successful brewer? Of course you did. The story goes like this: Once upon a time there was a man who did not like the job that he was doing. He was an (Investment Banker/Accountant/Fry Cook)for a place much like Xero Castle Hill bookkeeping services and all day long, when he wasn’t (underwriting/deducting/flippin’ burgers) he thought that it would be neat to open a brewery. The man didn’t act on the idea of opening his brewery because he didn’t have a lot of faith in his ability. He brewed at home for a while but eventually (Grandpa’s Magic Recipe/Brewing School/Won an Award for Homebrew), which changed everything. He decided that he would take the steps needed to open a brewery. He opens the brewery and he hires people to work with him. These are typically rather eccentric characters who also don’t particularly like the jobs that they are doing (Bearded Lumberjack/Bearded Mighty Pirate/Wookie). With these new employees, production at the brewery increases and all the while the brewer and his associates are faced with problems like (Quality Assurance/Dilapidated Equipment/Nefarious Competitor). At some point the brewer will run into really significant problems and sacrifice nearly everything (Health/Family Solidarity/Any Kind Of Personal Wealth) in order to make his dream work. The gamble pays off and the brewery becomes so successful that it is considered a fierce competitor by all the other breweries around it, large and small. Other breweries lag behind and attempt to emulate and compete with the brewery. Shortly after this point in time the brewer realizes he has gotten old and does not have the drive he once had. Rather than being a young man starting out, he is an elder in the industry. The creation of the brewery has gained the (Adoration/Respect/Money) of the public and the brewer has been transformed by the acquisition of that thing from the callow young (Investment Banker/Accountant/Fry Cook) he started out as. He has achieved mastery. You have heard this story because it is the most popular story there is. It has been defined and categorized by Joseph Campbell as The Hero’s Journey. It’s the single most influential western narrative structure and it covers every story you’ve ever been told from Gilgamesh to Luke Skywalker. You can switch out the gender. You can switch out the setting. You can switch out the profession. You can add episodes and details as you see fit, but the story is always the same when there is success. Every successful brewer tells this story. John Molson, John Labatt, Adolphus Busch, Adolph Coors, Jim Koch, Ken Grossman. Success follows a single narrative arc, while every failure is different. It’s particularly effective in the context of North American capitalism because there is that innate Horatio Alger quality to it: Rags to riches. Even better, it is rags to riches doing something you love doing. Brewing is a business that succeeds primarily during the first generation of ownership. Breweries are either handed off to the next generation (if there is one) or sold. Very few of them survive to a third generation of ownership. In writing about the history of brewing in Ontario this truth crops up again and again. It is the way brewing has worked since before industrialization. This iconoclasm and independence is one of the reasons the Brewers Association is going to have to come up with a better brand than “Craft Beer.” The sooner this happens, the better off we will all be. I don’t like talking about “Craft Beer” because it’s a nonsense. It’s a marketing phrase that means less and less with every year. It is mythmaking that will not survive the first generation of small brewers that it purports to represent. “Craft Beer” is a collectivist myth and in being such it must compete with the underlying myth of the individual that all successful breweries will eventually lay claim to. Collectivist mythmaking starts with a very dicey proposition: That there is an ‘us’ and that we are all on the same side. The only way that works is if you embrace an arbitrary binary division. There must be a party or parties who make up ‘them’. They must be pretty bad if they oppose us. We’re the good guys, after all. This proposition of binary division is a vast simplification of a complicated reality. The beer industry is, if anything, united by the fact that every manufacturer is producing the same product. It is all beer and everyone is in the same business. There are thousands of breweries and there are an astounding number of moving parts and motivations playing out constantly and concurrently. It’s great for propaganda to have an enemy. It rallies the troops and gives you something to hate. This hate was on display the other day when Seattle based Elysian was purchased by AB In-Bev. Let’s look at these examples. That’s not a rational reaction. That’s hatred. “Craft Beer” has conditioned its adherents to launch into a predictable form of hatred when presented with a stimulus. I can certainly think of a collectivist myth in which that behaviour is a central feature. Unfortunately for “Craft Beer”, it’s George Orwell’s 1984. Let’s look at “Us”. “Us” is a disparate group of approximately 3400 brewers who make up 16.1 million barrels of beer production. The thing that they have in common is that they all produce beer. Now, it stands to reason that the market competition that takes place for the kinds of beer they make is predominantly between themselves. The beer market is finite and shrinking. The total volume made by “us” grows while the total volume sold by “them” shrinks. Who exactly is “us” competing with for sales? Here’s a hint: AB In-Bev isn’t making 4000 different kinds of Saison and 15000 different IPAs. The smaller “us” are competing with the larger “us” and the hope is that no one will notice if we hate “them” enough. In 1984, there is also a central bureaucracy that announces statistics we are meant to cheer unthinkingly. They are also about “our” progress, but they do not entertain the possibility of victory. When Elysian sold to AB In-Bev, a number of “Craft Beer” people on social media rushed to pronounce them dead. In 1984, Elysian would have become an unperson. Because they are not deemed ideologically pure, they are erased from the landscape of “Craft Beer.” Realistically, it’s very difficult to claim that ideological purity is uniformly held by “us” because “us” are 3400 disparate companies operating in a capitalist system. They are not 3400 widgets. They are 3400 owners who have dreams and goals and motivations that are not consistent with the 3399 others. Look at what Elysian did. They started from nothing in 1995 with three partners near the tail of the first microbrewery washout. They were among the first to promote pumpkin beer, which makes up a vast percentage of yearly sales for the entire market segment. In twenty years, they grew production from nothing to 50,000 bbls and were slated to increase to 70,000 bbls before the takeover. They brewed 350 different beers during that time and influenced a large number of subsequent breweries and beer drinkers. The reality is that Elysian was a massive success by just about any metric you want to use. It did a massive amount for craft brewing. Rather than focus on the positive effect it had or thanking them for the annual pumpkin beer windfall, they’re pronounced dead to “us” in a second because they’re now “them.” Craft Beer is a revolution that will not allow its heroes to succeed. We have always and must always be at war with AB In-Bev. “Craft Beer” has a problem with ideology. Not entirely unlike the party in 1984, the constituent parts of the ideology are up for grabs. Remember when the size limit was 2 Million barrels and they changed it to 6 Million to allow Sam Adams to stay in? You’re not meant to. That was meant to go down the memory hole. Remember when Yuengling was absolutely not “Craft Beer” and then suddenly it was? You’re not supposed to think about the bump in the statistics that caused in 2013. You’re just meant to look at the statistics and cheer. You’re meant to learn to love “Craft Beer” no matter how it changes from year to year. Sometimes I hear people say “Oh, but Craft Beer means something different to everyone.” That is how effective this propaganda has been: You’re engaging in doublethink. The “Craft Beer” narrative doesn’t work because it conflicts with the capitalist Horatio Alger construct. “Craft Beer” demands of its heroes that they build and build and never sell or retire. “Craft Beer” is a state of perpetual war against an opponent which is at once omnipresent and omniscient and incapable of producing a half decent product. Brewers are going to retire. Brewers are going to hand off their properties to underperforming relatives that do not have the drive to succeed. Brewers are going to sell to whoever will let them monetize their life’s work. Brewers are going to make deals that benefit them. This has always been the case, since the beginning of industrialization. They are human beings and they do not go on forever. The individual narrative is self-contained. Speaking historically, success in the first generation of a brewery is making it to the point where there’s something worth selling. They are incapable of fighting the perpetual war that “Craft Beer” requires of them. They are not betraying anything because they were only ever true to themselves. The irony is that as more brewers succeed and retire or sell, the less powerful the collectivist myth of “Craft Beer” becomes.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A jury of three men and nine women found Kenneth Adkins, a controversial anti-gay pastor, guilty on all eight charges in the sexual molestation of a teenage girl and boy at his church seven years ago. The jury took about an hour to deliberate. Adkins showed no emotion as the jury provided the verdict. He will be sentenced April 25. The four-times married man with 10 children had no family present for the verdict nor any day of the week-long trial. Georgia has strict mandatory minimum sentencing laws and because Adkins has a prior record, there's a possibility he will never be a free man. Adkins is 57. Adkins' attorney said once his client is sentenced, he'll file the paperwork for a new trial. Kevin Gough maintains the state deliberately withheld pertinent evidence that could have drawn into question the mental stability of Adkins' accuser. That accuser's mother left the courtroom in tears Monday. She had attended the waning days of the trial, missing her son's - an Army Specialist from Fort Leavenworth - testimony. Though not wishing to make a formal statement, she said she was relieved that the trial was over and that her son was believed. Throughout the trial Gough tried to poke holes in the state's case by questioning the motive of male accuser. Gough was stunned by the verdict and how quickly the jury came to the unanimous decision. "You never know what 12 people are going to do," Gough said. Adkins is a former drug addict who reinvented himself in Jacksonville when he opened up his public relations firm. Many in North Florida saddled up to him in an attempt to curry the black vote. Adkins, for his part, was fairly successful. He said in multiple phone calls to the Times-Union leading up to his trial that he felt a calling to be a preacher. That's when he landed in Southeast Georgia. It was here that he made an assortment of enemies for failing to make good on financial promises; for his hard-line Republican stances that tended to put him out of sync with other black people; for basically being inflammatory no matter the subject. Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry tapped Adkins to be on a panel discussion regarding the possibility of expanding the city's Human Right Ordinance to include gays, lesbians and transgender people. Adkins told the Times-Union he was picked by multiple pastors to trumpet their anti-gay, anti-expansion stance. He said he was paid for his efforts that included posting lewd and inflamatroy charictures of former Mayor Tommy Hazouri in the restroom. In his one-hour and 20-minute closing statements, Gough on eight ocassions told jurors their dislike for Adkins could not be enough to convict him. "Hypocrisy is not a crime," Gough said. He was convicted of grooming two teens - youths he was supposed to me mentoring - to have sexual intercourse first in front of him so he could judge if they were doing it properly to eventually joining in on the acts himself. Last week the jury saw two photographs of Adkins' penis that he sent his male accuser in 2014. And they saw several electronic messages sent between Adkins and the female. Five of the charges he's guilty of relate to the female who denied anything of the sort happened. She lived with Adkins and his wife until about a month after his arrest. "She's in his clutches," said Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper. "What he has done to that girl is not only criminal, it is deplorable." The male told the jury last week that Adkins watched them have sex so many times that he lost track. He said the sex - in the presence of Adkins occurred in the church office, at the beach and in Adkins' car. The male, according to testimony presented during the trial, initially told an Army investigator that his girlfriend was 16 and he was 15 when the activity first began. On the witness stand, the young man said his then-girlfriend was 15. Sixteen is the age of consent in Georgia. Much of the trial involved conflicting statements leaving many who sat in the courtroom each day to be astonished that the verdict didn't come back as a hung jury. Read this Florida Times-Union story

Abstract Tissue grafting includes applications ranging from plant breeding to animal organ transplantation. Donor and recipient are generally believed to maintain their genetic integrity, in that the grafted tissues are joined but their genetic materials do not mix. We grafted tobacco plants from two transgenic lines carrying different marker and reporter genes in different cellular compartments, the nucleus and the plastid. Analysis of the graft sites revealed the frequent occurrence of cells harboring both antibiotic resistances and both fluorescent reporters. Our data demonstrate that plant grafting can result in the exchange of genetic information via either large DNA pieces or entire plastid genomes. This observation of novel combinations of genetic material has implications for grafting techniques and also provides a possible path for horizontal gene transfer. Grafting is widely used in plant breeding programs in order to modify plant architecture, improve vigor, or increase disease resistance. Grafting also occurs naturally; for example, when the stems or roots of trees contact each other (1). Although the grafted tissues fuse and establish vascular connections, the stock (the lower part of the graft) and scion (the upper part, usually supplying solely aerial parts to the graft) are thought not to exchange their genetic materials (2). To test this assumption, we generated two transgenic tobacco lines carrying different selection markers and reporters. One line, Nuc-kan:yfp, harbors a kanamycin resistance gene (nptII) and the yellow fluorescent protein gene (yfp) in its nuclear genome, whereas the other, Pt-spec:gfp, possesses a spectinomycin resistance gene (aadA) and the green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) in its plastid (chloroplast) genome (Fig. 1A and fig. S1). Fig. 1 Genetic screen for intercellular gene transfer. (A) Maps of the plastid genome in Pt-spec:gfp plants and the transgenic locus in Nuc-kan:yfp plants. P psbA and T psbA , promoter and terminator from the plastid psbA gene; P rrn , promoter from the plastid rRNA operon; T rps16 , terminator from the plastid rps16 gene; P nos and T nos , promoter and terminator from the nopaline synthase gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens; P 35S and T 35S , promoter and terminator from the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S transcript; LB and RB, left and right borders of the T-DNA region; Eco RV and Xho I, restriction sites used for restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (fig. S3). (B) Selection experiments. The grafted stem region was either sectioned (horizontal lines) or directly exposed to selection (bracket). The middle panel shows the arrangement of tissue explants, the right panel a selection plate (right half, stem sections from the graft site; upper left quarter, three stem sections and three leaf explants from Nuc-kan:yfp; lower left quarter, the corresponding explants from Pt-spec:gfp). After 4 weeks on medium with spectinomycin and kanamycin, some explants from the graft site developed growing callus tissue or regenerating shoots (arrows). (C) Expression and subcellular localization of the fluorescent reporters. The wild type, the two grafting partners, and a YG line were assayed for GFP, chlorophyll (Chl), and YFP fluorescence. We performed grafting experiments in which Pt-spec:gfp scions were grafted onto Nuc-kan:yfp stocks and vice versa. After the establishment of a physical connection, the graft site was excised and analyzed for gene flow between scion and stock by testing for the presence of cells that harbor both the kanamycin resistance gene (from Nuc-kan:yfp) and the spectinomycin resistance gene (from Pt-spec:gfp). Exposure of stem sections to double selection for kanamycin and spectinomycin resistance frequently yielded resistant calli (that is, mounds of undifferentiated cells) and regenerating shoots (Fig. 1B). Cell lines isolated from grafts with Pt-spec:gfp as scion and Nuc-kan:yfp as stock are referred to as GY; lines from the reciprocal grafting are referred to as YG. We next assayed GY and YG lines for expression of the fluorescent reporters. All cells in the regenerated plants showed GFP fluorescence in chloroplasts and YFP fluorescence in the cytosol, indicating that the two reporter proteins were present in the same cell (Fig. 1C and fig. S2). It is known that some proteins and RNAs can travel between cells and across graft junctions (3). We therefore performed Northern blot analyses to confirm transcription of all four transgenes in GY and YG lines (Fig. 2A) and also demonstrated the presence of all transgenes at the DNA level (Fig. 2B and fig. S3). Fig. 2 Analysis of transgenes and molecular markers in gene transfer lines. (A) Northern blot analyses of transgene expression. (B) Transgene detection at the DNA level by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). (C) PCR analysis of plastid and nuclear markers to determine the direction of intercellular gene transfer. Pt, assay of a length polymorphism in the plastid genomes of the two grafted varieties PH [Pt-spec:gfp, 125–base pair (bp) product] and SNN (Nuc-kan:yfp, 191-bp product); PH, a PH-specific nuclear marker (189-bp product); SNN, an SNN-specific nuclear marker (1569-bp product). WT, wild type; M, marker (sizes in kilobase pairs); c, buffer control. We recovered doubly resistant lines at high frequency (94 events from 74 grafted plantlets, table S1). The frequency of intercellular gene transfer was independent of the orientation of the graft (table S1). When we subjected leaf explants and distant stem sections to selection, no resistant lines were obtained (table S2), suggesting that gene transfer is confined to the graft site and no long-distance transfer may occur. Whether the gene transfer is strictly dependent on direct cell-to-cell contact remains to be investigated. Experiments in which whole graft sites were subjected to selection (Fig. 1B) also produced resistant cell lines, suggesting that tissue injury (by cross-sectioning) was not involved in the gene transfer process. In contrast, when stock and scion were separated before fusion, no resistant lines were obtained (table S1). Karyotype analyses excluded the possibility that YG and GY plants arose through fusion of Nuc-kan:yfp cells with Pt-spec:gfp cells (fig. S4). Finally, genetic crosses demonstrated stable inheritance of the transferred genes and additionally confirmed the absence of polyploidy (fig. S5). Two directions of gene transfer are possible: movement of plastid genes from Pt-spec:gfp cells into Nuc-kan:yfp cells or transfer of nuclear genes from Nuc-kan:yfp to Pt-spec:gfp cells. To distinguish between these possibilities by tracking molecular markers in the plastid and nuclear genomes, we grafted two different tobacco varieties, Petit Havana (PH; Pt-spec:gfp) and Samsun NN (SNN; Nuc-kan:yfp). Analysis of a polymorphism in the plastid genomes of the two cultivars [>15 kb away from the transgene insertion site (4)] revealed that all GY and YG plants analyzed carried the PH marker (Fig. 2C), indicating that large DNA pieces or even entire plastid genomes are transferred. Polymorphisms in pathogen resistance genes were used as nuclear markers (5). All GY and YG plants tested positive for the SNN-specific marker and negative for the PH-specific marker (Fig. 2C), suggesting that the plastid transgenes moved from PH cells into SNN cells. Plant cells are connected via plasmatic bridges called plasmodesmata, but the passage of large macromolecules requires the action of specific plasmodesmata-widening proteins (3). Whether large DNA pieces or even entire organelles can travel through plasmodesmata requires further investigation. Our discovery of grafting-mediated gene transfer further blurs the boundary between natural gene transfer and genetic engineering and suggests that grafting provides an avenue for genes to cross species barriers. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that DNA can be transferred horizontally between reproductively isolated species (6). We propose that grafting (whether natural or assisted) provides a path for horizontal gene transfer. Finally, although our data demonstrate the exchange of genetic material between grafted plants, they do not lend support to the tenet of Lysenkoism that “graft hybridization” would be analogous to sexual hybridization. Instead, our finding that gene transfer is restricted to the contact zone between scion and stock indicates that the changes can become heritable only via lateral shoot formation from the graft site. However, there is some reported evidence for heritable alterations induced by grafting (7) and, in light of our findings, these cases certainly warrant detailed molecular investigation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under approval from the top echelons of the Department of Justice, ran a secret, extensive phone metadata bulk collection program for over two decades, amassing billions of records, according to a new report published Tuesday in USA Today. This database had previously been revealed to a lesser extent earlier this year, but neither its operational details nor its scope had been revealed until now. The newspaper wrote: For more than two decades, the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed logs of virtually all telephone calls from the USA to as many as 116 countries linked to drug trafficking, current and former officials involved with the operation said. The targeted countries changed over time but included Canada, Mexico and most of Central and South America. Federal investigators used the call records to track drug cartels' distribution networks in the USA, allowing agents to detect previously unknown trafficking rings and money handlers. They also used the records to help rule out foreign ties to the bombing in 1995 of a federal building in Oklahoma City and to identify U.S. suspects in a wide range of other investigations. As Ars reported in January 2015, the DEA had previously revealed some information about this database in a three-page partially-redacted affidavit that the database was authorized under a particular federal drug trafficking statute. The law allows the government to use "administrative subpoenas" to obtain business records and other "tangible things." So, the DEA simply "began ordering telephone companies to turn over lists of all phone calls from the USA to countries where the government determined drug traffickers operated, current and former officials said." This affidavit was filed as part of an ongoing criminal case filed against an Iranian-American man named Shantia Hassanshahi, who is accused of violating the American trade embargo against Iran. His lawyer, Mir Saied Kashani, told Ars earlier this year that the government has clearly abused its authority. This database program appears to be wholly separate from the National Security Agency’s metadata program revealed by Edward Snowden, but it targets similar materials and is collected by a different agency. The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, also reported in January 2015 that this newly-revealed program began in the 1990s and was shut down in August 2013. USA Today also noted that the program began in 1992 during the George H.W. Bush administration, and was "approved by top Justice Department officials in four presidential administrations and detailed in occasional briefings to members of Congress but otherwise had little independent oversight, according to officials involved with running it." DEA agents, the paper added, "gathered the records without court approval, searched them more often in a day than the spy agency does in a year and automatically linked the numbers the agency gathered to large electronic collections of investigative reports, domestic call records accumulated by its agents and intelligence data from overseas." Mir Saied Kashani did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment. USA Today added: "The DEA stopped searching USTO in September 2013. Not long after that, it purged the database." In a statement sent to Ars, Patrick Toomey, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote:

Zach Lowe started out as a cops-and-courts reporter before he found his true calling. Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images The morning after the Oklahoma City Thunder stunned the best team in NBA history, ESPN’s Zach Lowe tried to solve the puzzle of the Western Conference Finals. In a 2,000-word piece sprinkled with illustrative videos, Lowe jotted down everything he saw in Game 1: how the Thunder frustrated the Golden State Warriors by switching screens away from the ball, how Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka struggled to defend the pick and roll, and how Kevin Durant’s late-game swoon had a lot to do with Andre Iguodala’s smothering defense. Lowe telestrated the big picture—the Thunder can’t play small, the Warriors must play fast—and pulled a bunch of fun details out of his notebook: Golden State coach Steve Kerr, for instance, calls his team’s dumb turnovers “plays of insanity.” In one two-sentence aside, he highlighted the key paradox of the series and evoked the frustrating experience of watching Game 1 on television: “Asking the Warriors to be patient goes against their nature; they score lots of points before the TV broadcast has finished its close-up of the opposing player who just hit a basket against them. (Seriously, TNT: This is not the series for those lingering close-ups.)” This piece doesn’t read like a beat writer’s game story, nor does it resemble a die-hard fan’s exultant (or despondent) postgame blog post. His columns are basketball tutorials, articles that draw on stats, video cut-ups, and interviews with players and coaches to teach you how the sport works. Lowe’s prose is clear, but it isn’t dry; his writing crackles with a kind of conspiratorial glee, like he can’t wait to share all the cool stuff he’s just figured out. Lowe’s pieces and podcasts help the rest of us become better basketball consumers, and they make watching the NBA more fun. If you don’t read him and listen to him, you should: Zach Lowe is America’s best sports writer. Lowe started out as a cops-and-courts reporter before he found his true calling, and he has a news writer’s gift for explaining complicated concepts clearly. How do Tom Thibodeau’s teams play such good defense? Read this piece and you’ll know the answer. The key to Lowe’s success is that more and more fans care to know that answer. Bill Simmons, who hired Lowe to work at Grantland in 2012, embodied the fan circa the early 2000s, that long-ago time when team loyalty trumped all else and before analytics had gone totally mainstream. Unlike his former boss, Lowe abandoned his childhood rooting interest in the Boston Celtics. Now more than ever, pro basketball is a national pastime. League Pass allows anyone to watch any game, and all the best highlights stream by on your Twitter feed even when your TV’s turned off. Zach Lowe, then, is a stand-in for a different kind of sports fan, one who’s at once more obsessive and more itinerant. Sports leagues get the fans they deserve. The NFL, which jealously guards its copyright and didn’t make all-22 video available until recently, actively prevents fans from learning about the game, which means sports writers and analysts are under no obligation to be any smarter. (There are obviously exceptions—I see you, Bill Barnwell and Football Outsiders.) Major League Baseball, though not the most-GIF-friendly entity on Earth, has long made all of its games available online. The sport’s foundational preoccupation with data collection, too, has made it possible for fans and professional writers to figure out how the game works, and to pass along that knowledge to anyone who shares their curiosity. MLB’s release of more and better streams of data, including Pitchf/x and Statcast, helped launch a whole new field of research. Brooks Baseball, for one, allows us to slice and dice every pitch thrown by every major-league pitcher, tracking its speed, movement, and outcome. We wouldn’t have this site if the league didn’t want us to have it. As with Major League Baseball, the NBA has created the conditions under which explanatory multimedia journalism can flourish. Like Lowe, NBA Playbook’s Sebastian Pruiti used images and video to offer smart, insidery armchair analysis. The NBA could’ve shut Pruiti down if it wanted, citing copyright violations. Thanks to the leadership of David Stern and Adam Silver, it didn’t. Though NBA Playbook is now defunct—Pruiti ran the site from 2010 to 2011; he later wrote for Grantland and now works for the Oklahoma City Thunder—a bunch of similar projects have bloomed, abetted by the league’s liberal online video policies. Lowe stands out from his peers because he can play every position. In a 2013 interview with Will Leitch, he explained that ESPN’s sabermetrically inclined baseball writer Rob Neyer “changed the way that I thought about sports.” Lowe, who got his start writing for the ESPN-affiliated blog Celtics Hub before moving on to Sports Illustrated and then Grantland, also learned by reading John Hollinger, the inventor of the catchall stat PER—player efficiency rating—and now the vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies. Lowe speaks in points per possession, understands the finer points of flare screens, and knows his way around a GIF. He’s sourced up in the league, and he’s an unrepentant goofball. (“It has been a dark few years for the mascot community,” began one 2015 column.) He is both a wonk and a polyamorist, a hoops fanatic who seems to care deeply about all 30 NBA teams. Like all great writers, Lowe convinces us that his strange obsessions should be our strange obsessions. Last year, he wrote a long feature on Tobias Harris, a 23-year-old power forward who’d never made an All-Star team or played in a playoff game. The piece worked as both a reported character study, explaining why teams couldn’t agree on how to value Harris’ abilities, and as a philosophical rumination on what makes a good basketball player. Lowe talked to Harris about his style of play, and he asked general managers around the league how they evaluate players on bad teams—the Warriors’ Bob Myers said he “focuses on the last six minutes of close games and watches for specific sorts of non-shooting plays.” By the end of the story, I knew more about Tobias Harris than any human outside his extended family will ever need to know, and yet I was glad I knew it. Lowe would’ve been a great sports writer in any era, but he’s particularly well-suited to journalism’s online age. He writes a ton, podcasts even more, and tweets during and after games. Like Simmons and everyone else who writes on the internet, he understands the appeal of a good list. Lowe’s rankings are hyper-obsessive and blessedly abstruse. At Grantland, he scrutinized court designs and team names. His deep dive into the world of NBA logos is way better than it needs to be, a subjective rundown (“I will never understand the Suns’ recent determination to be Team Halloween”) that’s also studded with reporting—the Pistons, you’ll learn, once considered a design that featured “a lug nut atop crisscrossing wrenches, meant to evoke a skull-and-crossbones flag.” Lowe is surprised and delighted by basically anything that happens on or near a basketball court. In one recent dispatch, he noted, “Almost everything about the lottery is objectively funny.” My favorite paragraph from that piece is a bit of weird but revelatory hallway gossip, a tidbit that another reporter might leave in his notebook or never think to jot down in the first place: Some of the more nefarious team executives sequestered in the drawing room wondered before the lottery if the league were aware of smart watches, and if they might be able to sneak in an Apple Watch and communicate the results in real time. Nope. The league specifically warned that all smart watches had to stay outside the room, along with phones and laptops. Lowe’s podcasts have a similarly casual, indiscreet tone. On one recent episode, in the midst of a discussion about the state of the Los Angeles Clippers, he told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck that “the noise that DeAndre [Jordan] and Blake [Griffin] don’t get along with Chris [Paul] just never stops. Ever.” Much of the time, it feels like sports reporters are holding out on us—that they’re not cluing us in to what they really know. Lowe makes us feel like we’re in the room, that we’re hearing everything he hears. In May 2016, it’s not hard to conjure sports media’s dystopian future. It looks something like Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock yelling at each other on an endless loop, with Skip Bayless piping up to say that none of them would have to shout if LeBron James had the “clutch gene.” Lowe’s work is a reminder that all is not lost. He is the sports writer smart fans deserve and a smart league helped create.

Sami PRONUNCIATION: SAH-mee ALTERNATE NAMES: Lapps; Samer LOCATION: Norway; Sweden; Finland; Russia POPULATION: About 50,000 LANGUAGE: Sami language in many dialects; also language of country in which they live RELIGION: Lutheran Church 1 • INTRODUCTION While the Sami, or Lapps (as they were formerly called), are commonly thought of as the inhabitants of Lapland, they have never had a country of their own. They are the original inhabitants of northern Scandinavia and most of Finland. Their neighbors have called them Lapps, but they prefer to be called Samer or Sami , since Lapp means a patch of cloth for mending and was a name imposed on them by the people who settled on their lands. The Sami refer to their land as Sapmi or Same. The Sami first appear in written history in the works of the Roman author Tacitus in about AD 98. Nearly 900 years later, a Norwegian chieftain visiting King Alfred the Great of England spoke of these reindeer herders, who were paying taxes to him in the form of furs, feathers, and whale bones. Over the centuries many armed nations—including the Karelians, Swedes, Danes, Finns, and Russians—demanded their loyalty and taxes. In some cases, the Sami had to pay taxes to two or three governments—as well as fines imposed by one country for paying taxes to another! Today the Sami are citizens of the countries within whose borders they live, with full rights to education, social services, religious freedom, and participation in the political process. Norway, Sweden, and Finland all have Sami parliaments. At the same time, however, the Sami continue to preserve and defend their ethnic identity and traditional cultural values. Until the liberalization instituted by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's government in the late 1980s, the Russian Sami had almost no contact with those in other areas. Sami living in Scandinavia formed the Nordic Sami Council in 1956 to promote cooperation between their populations in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In 1973 the Nordic Sami Institute at Kautokeino, Norway, was founded to promote the study of the Sami language and culture. In 1989, a Sami College was established there as well. The universities of Tromsø in Norway, Umla in Sweden, and Oulu in Finland have Sami departments in which Sami topics are taught, both separately and as part of established disciplines. 2 • LOCATION The Sami live in tundra (arctic or subarctic treeless plain), taiga (subarctic forest), and coastal zones in the far north of Europe, spread out over four different countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola peninsula. They live on coasts and islands warmed by the Gulf Stream, on plateaus dotted by lakes and streams, and on forested mountains. Sami territory lies at latitudes above 62 degrees north, and much of it is above the Arctic Circle, with dark, cold winters and warm, light summers. It is often called the "land of the midnight sun" because depending on the latitude, the sun may be visible for up to seventy days and nights straight in the summer. The far north sees almost three months of continuous daylight. Balancing this out, however, is an equally long period of darkness in the winter, which may last from October to March. Beginning in November, the sun disappears for weeks. Much of the Samis' land is at high altitudes, rising to over 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) above sea level. The highest point is Kebnekajse, at 6,960 feet (2,121 meters). Traditionally, the Sami lived in a community of families called a siida , whose members cooperated in hunting, trapping, and fishing. Officially, the number of Sami is estimated at between 44,000 and 50,000 people. An estimated 30,000 to 35,000 live in Norway, 10,000 in Sweden, 3,000 to 4,000 in Finland, and 1,000 to 2,000 in Russia. However, some think the actual number is considerably higher. For many years, the Sami culture and way of life were criticized by their neighbors, causing many to conceal their true identity. Thus, it is difficult to know how many Sami there actually are (some estimates are as high as 200,000). 3 • LANGUAGE Sami is a Finno-Ugric language that is most closely related to Finnish, Estonian, Livonian, Votic, and several other little-known languages. While it varies from region to region, it does so based on the lifestyle of the Sami people rather than on the national boundaries of the lands in which they live. In fact, the present official definition of a Sami is primarily a linguistic one. Altogether there are fifty dialects, but these fall into three major groups (east, central, and south) which are unintelligible to one another, which is to say that speakers of one dialect sill not understand those of another dialect. Today almost all Sami also speak the language of their native country. Sami is rich in words that describe reindeer, with words for different colors, sizes, antler spreads, and fur textures. Other words indicate how tame a reindeer is or how good it is at pulling sleds. There is actually a separate word describing a male reindeer in each year of his life. A poem by Nordic Council-prizewinning poet Nils-Aslak Valkeapää consists mainly of different Sami words for different kinds of reindeer. There are also hundreds of words that differentiate snow according to its age, depth, density, and hardness. For example, terms exist for powdery snow, snow that fell yesterday, and snow that is soft underneath with a hard crust on top. The availability of schooling in the Sami language has become an important issue to those concerned with the preservation of the Sami culture and way of life. Nowadays Sami may be used as the language of instruction throughout primary and secondary school. Sami is taught and studied at the university level as well. 4 • FOLKLORE Traditionally, the Sami believed that specific spirits were associated with certain places and with the deceased. Many of their myths and legends concern the underworld. Others involve the Stallos, a race of troll-like giants who ate humans or sucked out their strength through an iron pipe. Many tales involve Sami outwitting the Stallos. Another kind of villian in Sami folklore is the stallu, a usually wicked person who can appear in various forms. The Sami creation myth, directly related to their harsh environment, tells the story of a monstrous giant named Biegolmai, the Wind Man. In the beginning of time, Biegolmai created the Sapmi region by taking two huge shovels, one to whip up the wind and the other to drop such huge amounts of snow that no one could live there. One day, however, one of Biegolmai's shovels broke, the wind died down, and the Sami were able to enter Sapmi. Some of the Sami epics trace Sami ancestry to the sun. In the mid-nineteenth century, a Sami minister, Anders Fjellner, recorded epic mythical poems in which the Daughter of the Sun favored the Sami and brought the reindeer to them. In a related myth, the Son of the Sun had three sons who became the ancestors of the Sami. At their deaths they became stars in the heavens, and can be seen today in the belt of the constellation Orion. One of the most famous Sami folktales is the story of "The Pathfinder." In it, a Sami village is attacked by a marauding tribe from the east called the Tjudes. The village fights as best it can, but the Tjudes vastly outnumber the Sami and soon kill all but one—a young boy. The Tjudes then force the young boy to lead them to the next village so they can attack and overtake it as well. The boy reluctantly agrees, leading the Tjudes by night through the mountains. At the top of one mountain, the Tjudes decide to wait until morning, fearing they will lose their way getting down the mountain. The Sami boy, however, urges them to follow him. He says he knows the mountain well and will lead them by torch. He suggests that they all tie themselves together by rope so none of them gets lost. The Tjudes agree, grateful that the Sami boy has become so loyal to them. As they make their way down the mountain, however, the Sami boy leads them to a great cliff, stops at its edge and tosses his torch over the side, yelling, "Follow me!" The Tjudes, tied together, fall over the edge. This story was made into a movie called The Pathfinder. 5 • RELIGION In the traditional Sami religion, both living beings and inanimate objects such as trees were thought to have souls. A priest or shaman, called a noaidi, acted as an intermediary between the spiritual and material worlds. He would consult with the dead while in a trance induced by beating on a magic drum and performing a special kind of chanting called juoigan (yoik) in Sami. Juoigan is the traditional Sami music. Over the course of time, all of the Sami have converted to Christianity, in large part through the efforts of Lars Levi Laestadiusin, a nineteenth-century evangelical Congregationalist. Today most Sami practice the dominant Lutheran religion of the Nordic countries in which they live. 6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS Sami observe the major holidays of the Christian calendar. Every Easter (late March or early April), a big festival is held at Kautokeino in northern Norway, complete with typical Sami entertainments, including sled races and yoik singing. Many couples choose this setting for their weddings. Many Sami observe Finland's "little Christmas" ( Pikkujoulu ) early in December, marking the beginning of festivities that last through December 26. On Christmas Eve (December 24), special "midday trees" are adorned with candles, silver and gold ribbons, and other decorations. After readings from the Gospels, a festive meal is eaten, typically consisting of salmon, ham, vegetables, and rice pudding. Boxing Day on December 26 is marked by sled rides, lasso throwing, and other traditional games. Secular holidays include the large spring celebrations held by the Sami every year, occasions on which they wear their best clothes and gather with friends to mark the end of winter. 7 • RITES OF PASSAGE The Sami held on to their traditional ways longer than most peoples in Europe and have yet to fully abandon traditional life for a modern way of life. Still, the dictates of today's world have forced them to follow rituals that would be easily recognized in the Western world. Most Sami, for instance, participate in the major Lutheran rituals even though they sometimes adapt them to their own use. The ritual of baptism and the way the Sami have both used and avoided it offer an interesting illustration of a traditional culture struggling to maintain itself within the industrialized world. The Scandanavian countries where the Sami live required surnames, and the Lutheran church applied pressure on the Sami to use traditional Christian names for their children. The Sami resisted for years, maintaining their tradition of no surnames and naming their children for recently deceased elders or infants. The Sami reluctantly created a system of surnames similar to the Scandanavian system of adding "son" (sen) or "daughter" (dotter) to the first name of a parent and began using traditional Scandanavian names for baptism. Afterward, however, when the family left the church, they would hold their own baptism ceremony in which the imposed name was "cleaned" away and a "stronger," more traditional name was given to the child. Similar practices have been applied to other areas of traditional Sami life: a concession is made to modernism, while a connection is maintained to traditionalism. 8 • RELATIONSHIPS Sami society is traditionally open and egalitarian, and the Sami are known for their courtesy and hospitality to outsiders. They willingly accept other Sami who may not be full-blooded. A person's attitude toward the treasured Sami language and traditions are considered more important than bloodlines. A knowledge of the Sami language is considered one of the main ways of identifying someone as a Sami. 9 • LIVING CONDITIONS As a seminomadic people, the reindeer-herding Sami traditionally maintained permanent dwellings—sometimes more than one—and spent part of their time living in tents. The permanent homes were either frame buildings or sod huts. The Sami tent, called a lavvo, has a circular framework of poles leaning inward like the teepee or wigwam of Native Americans, and a floor of birch twigs covered with layers of reindeer fur. Both tents and huts are arranged around a central fire. Today most Sami, who are no longer reindeer herders, live in typical Scandinavian houses with central heating and running water. Family life typically centers on the kitchen. The Sami receive the same level of health care as other citizens of the countries in which they live. Like their Scandinavian neighbors, they have a high rate of heart disease. However, Sami are often active and healthy into their eighties. They sometimes supplement Western-style medical care with home remedies or treatment derived from old beliefs in the curing power of the word of the shaman, or medicine man. 10 • FAMILY LIFE Traditionally, the Sami lived in a group of families called a siida. Today, the nuclear family is the basic social unit among the Sami, and families are close-knit with a great deal of attention paid to the children. The Sami language contains an unusually large number of words that refer to family relationships. Traditionally, the males of the family were occupied with herding, hunting, and making boats, sleds, and tools, while the women cooked, made clothing and thread, and cured the meat. Each family had its own mark (and children had their own marks as well). Herding families use these marks to distinguish their reindeer from those of other families. 11 • CLOTHING Some, but not all, Sami still wear the group's brightly colored traditional clothing. It is most easily recognizable by the distinctive bands of bright red and yellow patterns against a deep blue background of wool or felt. These bands appear as decorations on men's tunics (gaktis), as borders on the women's skirts, and on the hats of both sexes. Men's hats vary by region; some are cone-shaped while others have four corners. Women and girls may drape fringed scarves around their shoulders. Warm reindeer-skin coats are worn by both sexes. The Sami wear moccasins of reindeer skin with turned-up toes, fastened with ribbons. However, they wear no socks. Instead, they stuff their moccasins with soft sedge grass to protect their feet against the cold and dampness. Urban Sami dress in modern, Western-style clothing. 12 • FOOD Reindeer meat is a protein-rich dietary staple. Even the reindeer's blood is used, for sausages. Fish caught in the many lakes of the Sami's homelands are eaten boiled, grilled, dried, smoked, or salted. Wild berries are another mainstay of the Sami diet, especially the vitamin C–rich cloudberry. To help them stay warm and alert in their cold environment, the Sami drink coffee throughout the day. Supper is the main (and traditionally, the only hot) meal of the day. 13 • EDUCATION Traditionally, Sami children learned what they would need to know as adults by observing and helping their parents. Today, they generally attend the schools in the countries in which they live. There are several Sami high schools, where most of the subjects are taught in the Sami language. The universities of Tromsø in Norway, Umla in Sweden, and Oulu in Finland have Sami departments in which Sami topics are taught. 14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE The Sami have a rich tradition of storytelling. A Sami musical tradition that has recently been revived is the singing of the light-hearted, unaccompanied song called the juoigan (yoik). It contains improvised words on almost any topic, but the musical element is the main focus. The yoik resembles the Native American practice of "melodizing" a feeling or mood. There are no collections of yoiks because they are so individualized and so private. A person's yoik is only shared within a close circle of friends and family. The yoik has been described by researchers as one of the most ancient musical traditions in Europe. The Sami also invented their own musical instrument, a small reed pipe. There are also Sami theaters, publications, and arts and crafts organizations. In 1991 Nils-Aslak Valkeapää of Finland became the first Sami writer to win the Nordic Council prize for literature. 15 • EMPLOYMENT Young Sami often are faced with the decision of whether to remain working within their traditions or to adapt to modernism, which the governments of Scandinavia make available to them through schooling and programs of adaptation. For many years, there was intense government pressure for the Sami to abandon tradition and assimilate to Scandinavian life. In recent years, many Sami have rejected this pressure and there is now a considerable movement among the Sami to retain their cultural identity. A considerable number of young Sami who have been exposed to the modern, urban lifestyles of Scandinavia have rejected it for a more traditional lifestyle, although they still have modern conveniences unheard of in earlier generations. Still, it is more common to see a Sami driving a Volvo than to see one herding rein-deer—a traditional occupation engaged in by only 10 percent of Sami. Sami in Scandinavia have bright prospects for employment. While there is some discrimination, most Scandinavians are rigidly egalitarian, and virtually all occupations are open to the Sami. 16 • SPORTS The Samis' outdoor recreation is closely linked to the activities that provide their survival. They enjoy competing to see who can throw their reindeer lassos the farthest and with the greatest precision. Reindeer-drawn sled races are popular, especially at the Easter festivals in the heart of Sapmi. 17 • RECREATION Sami entertainment is provided both by expressive activities, including storytelling and yoik singing, and physical contests such as sled racing and lasso throwing. A traditional board game, rarely played anymore, is tablo and involves one character playing the wolf or the fox and the other a hunter. The players maneuver their pieces around a board with the hunter trying to corner the predator before he or she "eats" all the hunter's pieces. 18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES The Sami produce beautiful crafts, carving a variety of objects—such as tools and utensils—from bone, wood, reindeer antlers, and silver, often with geometric motifs. They have also perfected a special kind of ribbon weaving. Their crafts are popular tourist purchases, although the Sami save many of their creations for their own use. Much of their artistic talent goes into the elaborate braided designs of their costumes. 19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS The Sami homelands have been affected by the invasion of mining and logging companies, hydroelectric power projects, communication networks, and tourism, and threatened by pollution. A controversy that received particular attention was the building of the Alta hydroelectric dam in Norway, which flooded reindeer pastures important to the region's Sami herders. A group of Sami protesters traveled to the capital city of Oslo, where they set up lavvos (tents) in front of the Norwegian parliament and began a hunger strike. Their efforts were unsuccessful, but their actions drew worldwide attention. Since 1968, the National Association of Norwegian Sami (NSR) has been working actively for Sami political rights, as well as improvements in cultural, social, and economic conditions. The Sami were also affected by the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl in Ukraine, which contaminated some of their grazing areas, making their reindeer potentially unsafe for them to market or eat themselves. Fish, berries, and drinking water in the affected areas were poisoned as well. Another problem for the Sami has been the increase of tourists from the south, who deplete important Sami resources, such as game birds, fish, and berries, without actually bringing much money into the community. 20 • BIBLIOGRAPHY Beach, Hugh. A Year in Lapland. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1993. Lander, Patricia Slade, and Claudette Charbonneau. The Land and People of Finland. New York: Lippincott, 1990. Paine, Robert. Herds of the Tundra: A Portrait of Saami Reindeer Pastoralism. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1994 Rajanen, Aini. Of Finnish Ways. Minneapolis, Minn.: Dillon Press, 1981. Reynolds, Jan. Far North. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1992. "Saami." Encyclopedia of World Cultures (Europe). Boston: G. K. Hall, 1992. Vitebsky, Piers. The Saami of Lapland. New York: Thomson Learning, 1993.

The South Miami Police detective, who's facing multiple child porn charges, was released from jail on bond on Tuesday. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015) A South Miami Police detective who served as a coordinator for the department's explorer program is facing multiple child pornography charges after allegedly having inappropriate interactions with underage female cadets, authorities said. Det. Joe Mendez, 47, was arrested on eight counts of possession of sexual performance by a child and four counts of selling, giving or serving alcohol to a person under 21, according to release Tuesday from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Mendez was arrested without incident and booked into the Broward County Jail on $42,000 bond. He bonded out on Tuesday evening, skipping extradition to Miami-Dade. Mendez mumbled obscenities as he walked out of jail and said, "I have no comment. Talk to my attorney, Doug Hartman." He then added, "They know who I am. They know I didn't do anything." South Miami Detective Arrested for Child Porn A South Miami Police detective is facing multiple child pornography charges after allegedly having inappropriate interactions with underage females. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015) "We're very proud of the police officers who are out there doing what they're supposed to be doing and a day like this is a sad day because we're such a positive and really great police department," South Miami Police Sgt. Henry Guzman said. "We try to always show professionalism at all times, it's something that we don't condone." The South Miami Police Department requested that FDLE investigate Mendez in June 2014 after a fellow explorer program adviser filed a complaint of misconduct, authorities said. The allegations claimed Mendez had "inappropriate interactions" with multiple underage female cadets and that the interactions "may have been sexual in nature," the release said. Video Miami Beach Police to Require College Degrees for New Officers According to an arrest warrant, Mendez had picked up one of the cadets and told her they were going to play a game called "dare double dare." He dared her to flash him her breast but she said she wasn't comfortable doing that, so Mendez told her she'd have to drink, the report said. Mendez then bought the girl wine and told her to drink a bottle, but she refused, the report said. He asked her to kiss him but she refused again, the report said. On another occasion he bought an alcoholic mud slide drink pouch and gave it to two of the girls, the report said. During one training day in June 2014, Mendez showed one of the cadets a photo of a naked female on his phone, the report said. When officers searched Mendez's phone last month, they found 31 images showing undressed girls under age 18, the report said. Eight of the images showed sexual performances by children, the warrant said. The explorer program gives high school and college students "an insight into a career in law enforcement," according to their website. Students must be between 14 and 20, pass an oral board interview and have "good moral character," the website says. Mendez coordinated the program from 2009-2014. Authorities believe there may be additional victims and they're asking anyone with information to call FDLE at 800-226-3023. "I'm a law-abiding citizen, I worked hard for my city and here I am, based on whatever happened," Mendez said walking out of jail on Tuesday, and then hinted at being setup by other officers who might have a grudge.

Funding icddr,b research is supported by a combination of core support from bilateral donors and grant income. In 2017, the top 10 revenue sources for restricted and unrestricted grants were: 1) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA 2) UKAID: Department for International Development (DFID) 3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA 4) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 5) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria 6) National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA 7) Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh 8) Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) 9) Commission of the European Communities 10) Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Government of Canada icddr,b is grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for its long-term financial support. icddr,b is also grateful to its international core donors, Canada (Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development), Sweden (Sida), and the United Kingdom (DFID). In keeping with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, they provide long-term core funds to support the advancement of icddr,b's strategic plan. Representatives from each of the development agencies meet regularly with icddr,b to monitor progress and discuss emerging research priorities and outputs. Every year, icddr,b reports performance against an agreed log frame and a joint donor report is commissioned to monitor progress.

TL;DR Perl already won once - in the nineties it was the technology that powered the whole web. It got a market share that none of the 'cool' languages will ever be able achieve - be that Python, or Ruby, or Go, or Node, or whatever. Be that backed by Google, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist or Booking.com. PHP is coming close, but it won't achieve it, exactly because of the cool new programming languages, because of the much larger internet market and of the diversity of software developers. I believe the main reason haters gonna hate Perl forever is because their language of choice will never achieve its dominant adoption. Transition to Perl Having those list, scalar, string, or void contexts is pretty confusing when you're first exposed to them. The types of variables are totally different from anything that I've seen that far - scalar, array and hash type. It was also hard to get along with the TIMTOWDI (There Is More Than One Way To do It) principle which is everywhere - should the $customer->orders method return undef when no orders are present, or should it simply return, or should it return an empty array or maybe an empty array ref - this is just one question that I found myself asking over and over again. I came for the money and stayed for the robustness I decided to switch from Progress because there was only one company in Cluj-Napoca that was using it. While you would normally expect, as an extremely specialized technologist, to earn a bigger salary because of the scarcity of experts in a certain field, the opposite was true - I earned a smaller than average salary, exactly because I could do nothing about it (ie I didn't had where to go). Although I wanted to switch to Java, the first opportunity I had was Perl. Given that we had at that time about 5 companies that were doing Perl development in Cluj, and that the salary this company offered, as a junior Perl developer (I wasn't able to even code the 'hello world' without googling it), was bigger than the one I got as a senior Progress developer with a commitment of salary negotiation after one month with the company, signaled me that there had to be something good with the language that I've only heard about it looks the same before and after it is encrypted. While I worked as a Progress developer, I was doing the whatever part time project I wanted to work on using technologies like PHP, Ruby and Python, mostly because of the high costs of running a Progress app (at that time they were charging even for the runtime VM, I don't know if that still applies). I don't have any public project since that time. When I switched to Perl I decided to use it for everything I do - I wanted to see if that's possible, without losing any productivity and in order to become more proficient in the language. The right tool for the right job Since 2010 when I started to develop in Perl, I found out that Perl has everything that I needed, some more and they're all rock solid pieces of software: Want a RoR like framework? go with Catalyst Want a Sinatra like framework? choose between Dancer2 and Mojolicious Want an uber ORM? - go with DBIx::Class (dbic) That's why Perl became my Young but wise the average Perl developer has 12 years of software development experience. What kind of code would you prefer in your business critical, money making software products? one written by people with an average of 12 years experience in the language of choice, or one written in a language that appeared on the radar in the last decade: I think that the average age of a Perl developer is about 35 years (I have no official data for this, my hunch is based on the people I saw at numerous YAPC s I had the opportunity to be present at). Assuming this is true and assuming a dev enters into production at 23 years old, it results thatWhat kind of code would you prefer in your business critical, money making software products? one written by people with an average of 12 years experience in the language of choice, or one written in a language that appeared on the radar in the last decade: Ruby on Rails, the framework that made Ruby popular was launched in late 2005 NodeJS is not yet at version 1, having its first version launched in May 2009 In my imagination a language that is dying does not have frequent releases, nor it has modern frameworks and it doesn't inspire other languages also. A short story I currently work on a project written completely in Perl for a company that sells economic reports - lets call it X, because I don't have their permission to use their name. The project was started around 1998 and for about 8 years there were less than 3 developers who supported the whole online division of the company. The company that I currently work for (an outsourcing one) started to assist the X company with the project around 2008. If I remember correctly, between 2008 and 2012 there were no more than 5 developers assigned to the project from my company at any one time. In late 2012, a new CIO was hired by the X company in order to help with modernizing their so called legacy codebase. It was indeed legacy - the whole website was done entirely with CGI.pm. The new CIO promised to rewrite the whole system in .NET in just one year, because you know, how much functionality can be implemented by an average number of 3-4 developers in a technology that is so old and rusty as CGI, while also maintaining the core, business critical and money generating, functionality? So, in November 2013 they started to lay out the business logic that takes place in the online app in order to be able to start implementing it in early 2013 so it would be done by the end of 2013. It was March 2013 when the CEO decided to stop the idea of rewriting the app in .NET because they weren't able in those 4 months to even define the scope of the project. The CIO was out. My company made the commitment to rewrite the whole app using Modern Perl and to also respect the original schedule, compensating the time lost because of the unsuccessful .NET rewrite attempt. I remember my department manager saying after he came back from company X with the project "I might have made the most stupid commitment ever, but it might also be the best". Long story short - by October 2013 we rewrote 90% of the old application using Catalyst and DBIx::Class on the backend and Bootstrap from Twitter on the front end. By the mid of 2014, the old application, the CGI one, was taken out of production. There was no business interruption because of the rewrite. Conclusion Watch out for whoever says that Perl is an ancient technology, because they're either ignorant and completely clueless about what's really happening in the world of computer programming, or they have hidden agendas. I know, this might be a biased post - I love Perl, but so are the posts that people wright when they say it is irrelevant. Let me ask you a few biased questions: Why do you love Perl? How did Perl helped you in your profession? How did Perl helped your company? How do you intend to use Perl in the next years? As a result, I currently have 2 extra projects that I work on and have real users www.eatfab.com (a food ordering application) and www.prforge.com (a crowd speaking platform).Since 2010 when I started to develop in Perl, I found out that Perl has everything that I needed, some more and they're all rock solid pieces of software:That's why Perl became my golden hammer Regarding youth, Perl's last stable version is 5.20.1, released in 14th of September 2014. The Dancer2 framework had its first release in 2013 and it had 37 more releases since then. Mojolicious reached version 1 in December 2010, now it's at version 5.72 - have a look at the frequency of releases In my imagination a language that is dying does not have frequent releases, nor it has modern frameworks and it doesn't inspire other languages also.Watch out for whoever says that Perl is an ancient technology, becauseand completely clueless about what's really happening in the world of computer programming, orI know, this might be a biased post - I love Perl, but so are the posts that people wright when they say it is irrelevant. Let me ask you a few biased questions: This post is a response to the Yet Another Perl Rant article which appeared on hackernews Without being a special kind of paranoid or conspiracy theory adept, I can't help myself noticing that from time to time an article appears which tries to convince us that Perl is dead and there are no reasons to learn it.I started programming in Perl in 2010, after 4 years of professional software development (in progress ) and after I did some projects in PHP, Ruby and Python.I have to admit, as a programmer it wasn't really easy to start with Perl:

Frequently Asked Questions About Walt Disney World On this page you’ll find answers to dozens of Walt Disney World frequently asked questions, including information about vacation planning, tickets, hotels and more! Jump to: General Planning Jump to: Help! Where do I start? If you have never been on a Walt Disney World vacation (or it has been a long time), it’s understandable why you might feel overwhelmed by all of the information on this site. The best place to start is with the step-by-step planning guide. When are the best (and worst) times of year to go to Walt Disney World? WHEN you choose to visit can make a substantial difference! It’s not as big a difference as it used to be, as Disney has done a lot of work on spreading attendance across the year. They put special events, parties, festivals and promotions to fill up the hotels and parks during the traditional off season, making the slow seasons not as slow as they once were. That said, paying attention to dates is still worth it. Even if you have very limited times you can go, choosing the best possible options for arrival and departure date might reduce the average attendance across your trip by 10% or more if you can just avoid one super busy day, and that’s absolutely worth it. During certain peak times, the parks will be terribly crowded and the hotel rates will be sky-high. Restaurants will be booked up months in advance AND (little known fact) Disney raises meal prices at many of its restaurants during busy times of year! You’ll be able to do about half as much as you expect, and it will cost you — both in money and in precious time. By contrast, if you go at an off-peak time, the parks will be far less crowded and the room rates will be lower. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can do in a day, when you are not fighting huge crowds. How’s the weather when I’m planning to go? You can look up historical weather patterns on Weather Underground’s Travel Planner; enter MCO (the Orlando airport code) and the dates of your planned trip. Will there be any attractions shut down for maintenance or refurbishment while I’m at Walt Disney World? Walt Disney World does have to shut down rides and attractions throughout the year to do inspection, maintenance, and refurbishment. Most rides get shut down for at least a few days each year. When they can, Disney will schedule their refurbishments in the off-season to minimize the number of guests affected. They also avoid scheduling multiple popular attractions for refurbishment at the same time. Generally, during peak seasons (Spring Break, June and July, and Christmas through New Years) Disney will do their best to have every attraction running. To give themselves a little cushion, they actually want everything running before the crowds arrive, so if you visit a week or so before a peak season, chances are most rides will be running. Conversely, right after a peak season is when the largest number of attractions are scheduled for maintenance, so if you visit in early September or January there may be several rides closed. No matter what time of year you go, there is always a chance that they will need to shut down a ride for mechanical or other issues. Sometimes these unscheduled shutdowns last a few minutes, and sometimes the whole day. For example, Test Track at Epcot must be shut down when it rains any harder than a light sprinkle, largely because traveling 60+ miles per hour in an open-top car in the rain is an unpleasant experience for guests. Outdoor shows like Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Village are sometimes cancelled if there is especially bad weather. For the most up-to-date information, check the printed daily park schedule or the tip board when you arrive, or ask at the concierge desk if you’re staying at a Disney hotel. Walt Disney World usually puts rides on their refurbishment schedule about 4-6 months in advance, but this schedule is always subject to change. Occasionally a ride will get added last-minute or shut down with no warning, or a refurbishment will get rescheduled. The folks at TouringPlans.com maintain a FREE regularly-updated chart of planned refurbishment of rides, shows, and other attractions at Walt Disney World. You do not need to have a subscription to TouringPlans.com to use the chart, but TouringPlans.com offers lots of useful information for anyone planning a Walt Disney World vacation, and a subscription is worth every penny. They offer an exclusive discount to MouseSavers readers, so be sure to use our discount link if you choose to subscribe. How can I make our Disney World vacation extra special? While every Disney World vacation should be a blast, if you’re celebrating a special occasion, want to inject a little romance, or just plain want to do something extra, we do have some ideas for you. I am organizing a family reunion at Disney World. Any suggestions? Yes! Read MouseSavers.com founder Mary Waring’s report on organizing a family reunion at Walt Disney World. I saw a website or an “e-book” that says it can save me a ton of money on my vacation — if I pay for it. There are several websites out there that claim they’ll share the secret of saving big money on Disney vacations. The thing is, they want you to pay a monthly or annual fee for the information. We have investigated many of these sites, and at the risk of tooting our own horn, we can honestly say you’ll get more and better information right here on MouseSavers.com — for FREE. Likewise, there are many “e-books” being sold on eBay, claiming to share exclusive secrets about how to save money on your Disney vacation. Many of these “e-books” are selling copyrighted material from MouseSavers.com and other useful (and FREE) websites like Deb Wills’ allearsnet.com. Some of the “e-books” on eBay are literally nothing more than a list of links to various websites. Quite a few of the “e-books” we’ve checked out contained wildly outdated, erroneous or just plain wrong information. We’ve even seen some that advocated fraud, such as acquiring a Florida ID (which is a felony if you aren’t a resident) in order to buy discounted tickets! In short, don’t waste your money. I have a disability or health issue and may need special accommodations. How can I get more information? Here are some great resources for anyone with a disability or special need who plans to visit one of the Disney theme parks: For “live” help, check out the DIS Boards’ disABILITIES forum, where you’ll find many people who have visited the Disney parks multiple times and can provide great insights, tips and tricks on dealing with special needs and disabilities. Teri’s Disney Travelers’ Disability FAQ – a wonderful FREE resource for those with disabilities (and their friends and family) who are planning a trip to Walt Disney World. Lots of great links to additional information, too. Disney’s official information about help for those with disabilities at Walt Disney World. For those with special dietary needs, the Diz-Abled.com website provides menus from virtually all of the Disney World restaurants and provides information about each restaurant’s special needs policies. The owners of this site also publish a guidebook, Walt Disney World with Disabilities, covering disabilities and special needs at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World is making allergy-friendly menus available at more and more of its table-service and quick-service restaurants so that you can see allergen content for each menu item. I need to minimize walking. Any suggestions on where to stay and how to get around? If you have difficulty walking long distances, or you’ll be traveling with someone who does, please consider renting an “Electric Convenience Vehicle” (ECV), also known as an electric wheelchair or “scooter,” even if you don’t normally use one. A day in any of Disney’s theme parks will entail walking at least 5 miles and up to 15 miles. To get around with the least walking outside of the parks, we highly recommend renting a car. Pick a hotel with valet parking for extra convenience. You can retrieve the car and pick up anyone who has difficulty walking right in front of the hotel each day. Parking at three of the four theme parks is easy (see below for exception) and the walk to the parking lot tram from your car is engineered to be fairly short — usually shorter than the walk from the Disney bus stops or Monorail. The parking lot tram will deliver you to the front of the park at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. So driving to the parks is ideal… EXCEPT for Magic Kingdom, where after parking, you take a tram from the parking lot to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then transfer to the Ferry or Monorail to reach the park. For that park specifically, taking a Disney bus from a Disney resort is much better, as it will put you right near the entrance. Note that the Monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Contemporary and Polynesian) as well as Ft. Wilderness resort do not have bus service to Magic Kingdom. If you will have a car, the most step-saving of Disney’s resorts is Wilderness Lodge. All rooms are in the main building and the building’s layout is relatively compact by Disney standards. There is valet parking. You can take a bus to Magic Kingdom to avoid the parking issues. (There is also boat service to Magic Kingdom from Wilderness Lodge, but it requires some walking through the grounds to get out to the dock, and it may be difficult for some people to step into the boat.) If you will have a car and need a less expensive hotel than Wilderness Lodge, pick any non-Disney hotel in the area, such as one of the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels, and drive to the parks each day. You’ll have a little extra walking when you visit the Magic Kingdom, since you won’t have access to a Disney resort bus, but it’s workable. That might be the day to rent an ECV, even if you’re not doing so during the rest of the trip. If you are dead-set on not renting a car, the most convenient hotels are Disney’s Grand Floridian and Contemporary. You’ll want to be in the “main tower building” rooms, which are of course the most expensive: the Monorail stop will be in the same building. From those two hotels you can take the Resort Monorail directly to Magic Kingdom. To get to Epcot you take the Resort Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where you transfer to the Epcot Monorail. You will have to take a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios from those two resorts, however. No rental car and need a less expensive hotel? If you really want to stay at a Disney hotel, you’re on a tight budget and you won’t have a car, your best options are: Pop Century Resort – Shell out the extra money for a “Preferred” room. Preferred rooms will be closer to the resort’s bus stops, but even so, you’ll be doing a lot of walking at the resort itself. Disney’s Art of Animation Resort – The resort’s single bus stop is in the main building (Animation Hall) and the walk from there to the buildings housing the Family Suites is as minimal as you’re going to find at a Value resort. The Finding Nemo suites are closest, followed by The Lion King suites and then the Cars suites. It’s a significantly longer walk to The Little Mermaid standard rooms, however. You should also check out the Holiday Inn Orlando Lake Buena Vista. Rates are some of the lowest you’ll find for a very decent hotel, and it’s very close to Walt Disney World. Scheduled shuttle service (also included in the daily service fee) is available to Walt Disney World’s Ticket & Transportation Center, Universal, SeaWorld, Orlando Premium Outlets, Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores and Orange County Convention Center. The number of destinations served is unusual, and can save you a lot on transportation. Does Disney World ever offer special discounts for Canadians? Not often, but occasionally. In the past, when the exchange rate was much less favorable for Canadians, Disney World occasionally offered “at par” specials on vacation packages, hotel rooms and tickets, particularly in the off-season. You can visit the “Special Offers” section of Walt Disney World Disney’s Canadian website to see any current deals specific to Canadians, but 99% of the time the offers are the same as those distributed in the US. Sometimes the Canadian offer will have a different discount code, but otherwise it will be identical to the US offer. Canadians can book the US offers. The Disney specialist travel agency we recommend, Small World Vacations, gladly works with clients around the globe. They have many clients from Canada. Does Disney World ever offer special discounts for visitors from the UK and Ireland? Yes. Disney sometimes offers special deals for visitors from the UK and Ireland on holiday packages, hotel rooms and tickets for Walt Disney World. Read our information on Walt Disney World offers for visitors from the UK and Ireland. In addition, UK residents can book the US offers. The Disney specialist travel agency we recommend, Small World Vacations, gladly works with clients around the globe. They have many clients from the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately they cannot book UK-specific offers, but sometimes the American offers are a better deal. It’s also worth noting that the US vacation package offers have much more advantageous cancellation and change policies than the UK holiday package offers. General Questions about Accommodations Jump to: Where should I stay? That’s a complicated question that depends on your preferences as far as cost, location, convenience and more. We really can’t make that decision for you, but here is some information that may help: What’s the difference between the Disney resorts, the Swan & Dolphin, the Four Seasons Orlando, the Disney Springs resort area hotels, and other hotels? In addition to the obvious differences in terms of theming, proximity to the theme parks, etc., each of these hotel types has a different level of special privileges. Privileges available when staying at one of the Disney resorts, which include Value resorts, Moderate resorts, Deluxe resorts, Deluxe Villas (aka Disney Vacation Club) and Ft. Wilderness cabins & campsites: Access to Extra Magic Hours Ability to use Disney’s Magical Express (free transportation and luggage transfers to and from the airport) Ability to make up to ten days of Advance Dining Reservations starting 180 days prior to check-in. Advance Dining Reservations starting 180 days prior to check-in. Ability to make advance FastPass+ selections for the entire trip (up to 14 days) starting 60 days prior to check-in. Ability to buy a Disney Dining Plan, with purchase of a vacation package. Unlimited free use of the excellent Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) which connects all of the Disney resorts to the theme parks and Disney Springs, and connects the Disney resorts to each other. (buses, boats and Monorails) which connects all of the Disney resorts to the theme parks and Disney Springs, and connects the Disney resorts to each other. FREE parking at all of the Disney theme parks (they’ll scan your MagicBand at the parking kiosks). Self-parking overnight at the resort incurs a daily charge, however. at all of the Disney theme parks (they’ll scan your MagicBand at the parking kiosks). Self-parking overnight at the resort incurs a daily charge, however. Charging privileges – you can charge most purchases in the Disney resorts and theme parks to your room key. – you can charge most purchases in the Disney resorts and theme parks to your room key. Package delivery – have theme park purchases delivered to your Disney resort. Privileges available when staying at the Swan and Dolphin hotels: Access to Extra Magic Hours Ability to make advance FastPass+ selections for the entire trip (up to 14 days) starting 60 days prior to check-in. Unlimited free use of the excellent Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) which connects all of the Disney resorts to the theme parks and Disney Springs, and connects the Disney resorts to each other. (buses, boats and Monorails) which connects all of the Disney resorts to the theme parks and Disney Springs, and connects the Disney resorts to each other. FREE parking at all of the Disney theme parks (show your room key at the parking gates). at all of the Disney theme parks (show your room key at the parking gates). Package delivery – have theme park purchases delivered to your Disney resort. Privileges available when staying at Shades of Green: Access to Extra Magic Hours Unlimited free use of the excellent Shades of Green bus system that goes to all four theme parks and the Ticket and Transportation Center, and easy connections to the Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) once you are at one of the theme parks or the Ticket and Transportation Center. Privileges available when staying at the Four Seasons Orlando: Access to Extra Magic Hours Unlimited free bus service, which connects the hotel to the theme parks and Disney Springs. You can use the Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) once you are at one of the theme parks, the Ticket and Transportation Center, or Disney Springs. Privileges available when staying at the Disney Springs resort area hotels: Access to Extra Magic Hours Ability to make advance FastPass+ selections for the entire trip (up to 14 days) starting 60 days prior to check-in. Unlimited free use of the very good Disney Springs bus system , which connects the Disney Springs resort area hotels to the theme parks and Disney Springs. Disney Spring buses do not go to the Disney resorts. , which connects the Disney Springs resort area hotels to the theme parks and Disney Springs. Disney Spring buses do not go to the Disney resorts. You can use the Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) once you are at one of the theme parks, the Ticket and Transportation Center, or Disney Springs. (buses, boats and Monorails) once you are at one of the theme parks, the Ticket and Transportation Center, or Disney Springs. Package delivery – have theme park purchases delivered to your resort (note that they will be sent to the Disney Store at the hotel, and you’ll need to pick them up during store hours). Privileges available when staying off the Disney property (all other Walt Disney World-area hotels): Most hotels off the Disney property have “scheduled” transportation to the theme parks — typically 2 departures in the morning and 2 return buses in the evening — and no transportation to Disney Springs or Disney resorts. You can use the Disney transportation system (buses, boats and Monorails) once you are at one of the theme parks, the Ticket and Transportation Center, or Disney Springs. What is a “Good Neighbor” hotel? A “Good Neighbor” hotel usually has a ticket shop in the lobby that sells full price Disney tickets. Other than that, the “Good Neighbor” designation means nothing for the consumer. It does not guarantee quality. Some “Good Neighbor” hotels really aren’t very nice, while others are excellent. Some are close to Disney World, while others are quite far away. Basically, we would advise you to ignore the “Good Neighbor” designation, as it doesn’t guarantee you anything at all. When and how can I get the best deal at one of the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels? The MouseSavers Preferred Hotels are hotels we’ve hand-selected in the Walt Disney World area because they offer outstanding value and excellent quality. All of the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels offer year-round, specially-negotiated room rates and/or extras for MouseSavers.com readers. These ongoing deals can typically be booked up to a year in advance. In addition, some of the hotels will occasionally offer even deeper discounts or other promotions if they have empty rooms to fill. The timing of those offers is highly variable. At some hotels there will be specials when there are no conventions going on, while for others it’s just a seasonal thing. Overall, specials tend to show up 3-6 months in advance. Some of the promotional offers appear on MouseSavers.com, but some discounts are listed only in the MouseSavers Newsletter or the MouseSavers Hot Deals emails. If you haven’t already signed up for those, we recommend doing so. Both publications are FREE. Sign up for the newsletter or the Hot Deals emails. Sometimes the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels promote last-minute discounts and deals through the MouseSavers Facebook page. You can “like” that page and you’ll see any specials that pop up. I have more than four people in my party. How can I find reasonably-priced accommodations? For those who want or need more space than you’ll find in the typical hotel room that accommodates a family of four, there are options in three categories: Disney’s resorts, non-Disney hotels located on Disney property, and off-site hotels. By the way, if you will have a large group, you may want to read MouseSavers.com founder Mary Waring’s reunion tips. Disney’s Resorts A family of 5 or larger can be surprisingly expensive to accommodate at a Walt Disney World resort, because Disney’s hotels aren’t geared toward large families! Ironic for a “family” destination, but true. These are the occupancies of Disney’s standard hotel rooms: Value resort rooms sleep 4. Most Moderate resort rooms also sleep 4, with two exceptions. One is the Alligator Bayou section of Port Orleans Riverside, where you can get rooms with a trundle bed that will sleep a 5th (small) person. The other is Caribbean Beach, where many of the rooms now have a pull-out bunk-size bed that can sleep one child or small adult. Many standard rooms at Disney’s Deluxe resorts sleep 5, except Animal Kingdom Lodge (standard rooms sleep 4 max) and Wilderness Lodge (rooms sleep 4 except for Deluxe Rooms, aka Junior Suites, which sleep 5). One thing to bear in mind: Disney doesn’t count a child under 3 who sleeps in a crib in its room occupancy limits. You can add one baby to the room without additional charge. So if your family includes a baby, you can subtract one person from your count. We are occasionally asked if Disney is “strict” about room limits. The answer is yes. Disney didn’t invent the limits; they are dictated by the Fire Marshal, based on the square footage of the room and the number of beds. The limits are for your own safety and comfort. (Also, if you sneak in extra people, they will not receive room keys, so they won’t be able to access Extra Magic Hours or charge anything to your room account. People not listed on your room roster also don’t get to use the FREE Magical Express transportation to/from the airport and they cannot be added to any Dining Plan you purchase.) If you want to stay on Disney property with a family of 6 or more, you can choose from the following options: Non-Disney Hotels on Disney Property There are a few nice options for families of 5 or more that are on Disney property (in the Disney Springs area), but not operated by Disney: The B Resort and Spa has large tower rooms that sleep 5 comfortably, with a pull-out single chair in addition to two Queen beds. Only one hotel in Disney Springs has reasonably priced 1-bedroom suites that will accommodate 6 people: DoubleTree Suites by Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort, which is one of the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels. These suites also include a mini-fridge and microwave. Off-Site Hotels Outside of Disney property, there are some excellent options: The upscale Caribe Royale Resort and its less-expensive sister property Buena Vista Suites both offer 1-bedroom suites that sleep 6, and you get a mini-fridge and microwave. Buena Vista Suites includes a full hot breakfast buffet in the rate. The Caribe Royale offers fabulous 2-bedroom villas that sleep up to 8 and beat Disney’s prices by a mile. Plus, the 2-bedroom villas all include full kitchens, and an in-suite washer/dryer. Are vacation homes a good bet when visiting Walt Disney World? There are dozens of companies and hundreds of individual homeowners out there on the Internet offering rental vacation homes (sometimes called “villas”) in the Orlando area. We get many questions about this option, which on the surface sounds like an appealing way for families (particularly larger families) to save some money on accommodation. This is a controversial subject and we have received a ton of email from people who have rented vacation homes. Overall, we don’t see much of a pattern: emails regarding vacation homes tend to run 50-50 pro and con. Some people are extremely enthusiastic about their experiences with vacation home rentals and have reported to us that they were very happy with this option. (Sadly, when we’ve followed up on some of the glowing letters we’ve received on the subject, we learned a few were sent by “shills” who own or manage such homes.) We’ve received about an equal number of letters from renters who have been extremely disappointed with the experience. We have decided not to feature rental vacation homes on MouseSavers.com. That’s partly because of the mixed reports we’ve had from readers, but it’s mainly because we have done considerable in-person research on vacation homes. Without identifying ourselves or revealing our connection with MouseSavers.com, we have viewed a lot of homes and had extensive conversations with property managers and individual owners. Some of the homes were much nicer than others. However, we came away from our research feeling uncomfortable with recommending any particular company or individual. A little background: There are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of vacation homes in the Orlando area. In fact, we think it’s safe to say the market is flooded with such properties, which is why the rentals are often relatively cheap. A lot of the owners are residents of the UK, though some Americans also own rental homes. The homeowners typically vacation in Florida for one month per year and let a property management firm rent out the home for the rest of the year. A lot of the property management companies that service vacation home rentals are also real estate agencies that are in the business of selling vacation homes. The majority of vacation homes are located in Kissimmee, a town neighboring Orlando, where you will find rows and rows of tract homes that are mostly used as rentals. While there are significant exceptions, on the whole the Kissimmee homes tend to be cheaply furnished and a little tattered around the edges. Most of them are pretty ordinary and don’t offer much in the way of luxury, other than (usually) a pool. There are some luxury homes in other areas of Orlando, which charge much higher rents. You may end up paying as much per night as you would for a luxury hotel. If you really want extra space, these may be worth looking into. Personally at that price level we would prefer the services of a fine hotel, but others feel differently. Don’t count on the “10 minute” drives to Walt Disney World that all of the vacation home rental companies seem to advertise. The drives are usually more like 20-30 minutes in normal traffic. (You might be able to get to Disney World in 10 minutes from some of the homes in the middle of the night, if you hit all the lights.) While we are sure there are many honorable people who rent out their own homes, renting directly from the homeowners is something you must carefully research. Homeowners are usually not professional property managers and in some cases they are also not local residents. Unfortunately, if anything goes wrong, it can be difficult to get any problems fixed and/or money refunded, particularly if the owner lives out of the area. If you’d like to rent a vacation home, our advice is to proceed with extreme caution and get plenty of references. Be sure to check on whether the home is in foreclosure, which is currently a big problem in Florida. (Homes in Osceola County can be checked through public records on the Osceola tax collector’s website and/or County Clerk’s website.) You may also want to contact the homeowner’s association where the home is located, to make sure the owner is up-to-date on association dues. (If the association maintains a pool, you may not get access to it if the homeowner is behind on dues.) We get many emails from vacation home owners and management companies who want us to promote their properties on MouseSavers.com. We wish you good luck with your rental business, but we are not currently reviewing or featuring rental vacation homes on MouseSavers.com. Note that if you’re looking for extra space and a home-away-from-home experience, Caribe Royale offers lovely 2-bedroom condominium-style units that have room for 8 and a full kitchen and living room, but with all the amenities of a hotel. One or more of these generously-proportioned units is a great solution for large groups who want to feel like they’re not living out of a suitcase. Are there any pet-friendly hotels in Orlando? Four Walt Disney World Resort Hotels (Art of Animation, Port Orleans – Riverside, Yacht Club and The Cabins at Fort Wilderness) allow a maximum of two dogs per guest room in select rooms. There is an extra cleaning charge per night/per room; the amount varies depending on the resort. Each dog-friendly guest room has easy access to outdoor pet walkways for exercise and green spaces with pet relief areas. While dogs will be allowed to stay in guest rooms, they will be expected to be well behaved, leashed in public resort areas and properly vaccinated. Only licensed service animals are allowed in the theme parks and Disney Springs. For more information about Disney’s dog-friendly program, including other restrictions and policies, contact Walt Disney World at 407-W-DISNEY (934-7639). DVC Members should contact Member Services at 800-800-9800. Pets are also allowed in some designated campsites at Disney’s Ft. Wilderness Campground. There is an extra charge per day. There is also a centralized kennel (Best Friends Pet Care) on Disney property near Port Orleans Resort where you can keep your pet when you are in the theme parks. Reservations are strongly recommended, as it frequently sells out. Substantial daily fees apply and you’ll need a car to reach the Pet Care Center. All three of the deluxe hotels at Universal Orlando (Portofino Bay Resort, Hard Rock Hotel and Royal Pacific Resort) are pet-friendly. While they don’t have a size limit on the pets, there is a pet fee and they may limit the number of pets per room and in the hotel overall. It’s best to call in advance and make sure they know you are bringing your pet(s). The Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort does not allow pets. The Caribe Royale Orlando has a limited number of pet friendly suites, and welcomes smaller pets (25 pounds or less). Call the hotel to get more details about pet policies and to see if a pet friendly suite is available for your dates. Pets are welcome at Holiday Inn Resort Orlando – Lake Buena Vista, and most rooms will accommodate small or large pets, for a flat fee. Pets are allowed on property, but are not allowed anywhere in the pool area. Pets must stay in rooms when not accompanied by their owners. Make sure to check with the hotel on any other restrictions. Other Orlando-area hotels that do allow some pets include Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort (dogs up to 85 lbs), Holiday Inn Express Lake Buena Vista (40 lb limit; pet fee applies) and Residence Inn Orlando SeaWorld/International Center (not sure of size limit; pet fee applies). Be sure to call and double-check their policies. TripAdvisor says one of your recommended hotels is terrible! This is actually not a frequent question, but occasionally we do hear from someone who is really worried about staying at one of the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels because of something they read about the hotel on TripAdvisor. We know it’s difficult to make a decision about a hotel, particularly when you are traveling from a distance and not familiar with the area. That’s exactly why we developed the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels program. We only recommend about a dozen hotels in the Orlando area, out of hundreds. Learn more about how the Preferred Hotels are selected. We visit all of the MouseSavers Preferred Hotels regularly, on both announced and unannounced visits. On average we visit them twice a year, and we stay at them on a rotating basis. We also pay attention to the extensive feedback we receive from our readers about the hotels, which is overwhelmingly positive. We sincerely believe you can rely on our recommendations. The problem with TripAdvisor is that absolutely anyone can write a review, including the hotel’s competitors and the hotel’s own staff. (Don’t believe us? Read this article from USA Today or this article on NBC News.) On TripAdvisor we’ve seen multiple reviews that were obviously written by the same person about the same hotel stay (even though this isn’t officially allowed). Naturally that totally messes up the hotel’s rankings. We’ve seen more than one review that was a complete fraud: information in the review was so factually inaccurate that we doubted the reviewer had been within miles of the hotel. Of course there are also some reviews by real guests, but some of them may be completely unreasonable or have an axe to grind. Guests who were unhappy are much more likely to post reviews than those who had a good stay. So while we do look at TripAdvisor sometimes, we take the reviews with several grains of salt. At minimum, we recommend ignoring the very low and very high reviews and looking at those in the middle, as well as the overall ranking. Questions About Disney Resort Accommodations, Vacation Packages & Discounts Jump to: When will new Disney resort discounts become available? (Or, will there be discounts at the time I plan to visit?) We wish we knew! The resort and vacation package discounts are somewhat unpredictable. Only Disney knows when (or if) the next ones will come out. We have no crystal ball — we can’t predict what Disney may decide to do. However, you can get a general idea of the historical trends. To assist you in planning future trips for which discounts have not yet been released, check out our chart of release dates for the deepest discounts (including discount codes, Annual Passholder rates and Florida resident rates). In addition, here are some general observations about future discount availability: When offered, “room only” discounts for the general public, Annual Passholders and Florida residents are usually relatively last-minute. Don’t expect to get a big discount way in advance — typically the discounts are released 2-4 months in advance. Sometimes the discounts are restricted to certain resorts or room types. Vacation package discounts are sometimes released a little earlier, but seldom more than 6 months in advance. Naturally, Disney only offers discounts on its resorts when it has a significant number of rooms to fill. Therefore the most popular dates and resorts are typically not discounted. Some additional observations: We have seldom seen a discount offered for resort check-ins between December 26 and 31 . That is the busiest time of year at Disney World. . That is the busiest time of year at Disney World. Easter week, Thanksgiving week and other major holiday periods are often “blacked out,” meaning most discounts don’t apply at that time. Sometimes AAA discounts have been available at these times. meaning most discounts don’t apply at that time. Sometimes AAA discounts have been available at these times. Suites are not always discounted . Family Suites at Art of Animation and All-Star Music are often included in promotional discounts, but the fancier suites at the Deluxe resorts are not necessarily included, or may be discounted only 5%. . Family Suites at Art of Animation and All-Star Music are often included in promotional discounts, but the fancier suites at the Deluxe resorts are not necessarily included, or may be discounted only 5%. Club Level rooms can sometimes be obtained at a discount, and the 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom villas at the Disney Vacation Club resorts are often included in promotional discounts, especially at at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs resorts. 3-bedroom villas are usually excluded from discount offers. Discount offers must be thought of as a “clearance sale” — if you want the discount, you have to be willing to take what’s left over! It’s important to be flexible with both dates and hotels, and to be persistent in calling back periodically to see if anything has opened up. When will next year’s Disney resort room rates or vacation package prices be released? Only Disney knows for sure, but it’s usually sometime in the summer prior, like July 2014 for 2015 dates. You can get a general idea of the historical trends by checking out the list of past release dates for “rack” (full price) room rates and vacation packages. If you book a “room only” reservation for next year before the official rates are released, your deposit will be based on this year’s Peak Season rates. When the correct rates are released, your reservation will be adjusted to reflect them. Is it possible to use more than one discount for the same Disney resort reservation? No. You may choose only one discount, at least from Disney. If you book a room-only reservation through an online travel agency such as Orbitz, they may have a discount code or special of their own. Since their base rates are typically the same as Disney’s discounted room rates, you get, in a sense, two discounts: one from Disney and one from the online agency. Note that this is not always true: some online travel agencies calculate their discount as a percentage off Disney’s rack rates, so in that case you can choose one discount or the other, but not both. If you are making a “room-only” reservation, you can use ONE discount, be that a discount code for the general public, Annual Passholder rate or Florida resident rate. You may not use the discounts in conjunction with one another. Some “room-only” discounts cannot be used with vacation packages. However, sometimes there is a vacation package that incorporates the same savings that you’d get with a room-only discount, and sometimes there are special discounts on vacation packages. Also, you can now buy special vacation packages that include just the hotel room and dining plan, and the room portion is sometimes discounted. Thanks to Alex B for suggesting this topic. Should I reserve now, or wait until a Disney resort discount comes out? If you will be traveling during a busy period and/or you want a specific resort and/or a particular room type, you should book a “room only” reservation as soon as you know when you’ll be traveling, so that you are sure you have a room at the time you want to travel. If you aren’t super-picky about your resort or room type and you plan to travel in a non-peak season (January, first half of February, May, September, non-holiday periods in November and December), you can probably wait until 2-4 months in advance to make your plans. Disney allows “room only” resort bookings up to 499 days in advance, though exact pricing doesn’t become available until the summer of the year prior. In the meantime, you’ll be charged a deposit based on the highest room rate for the current year. “Room only” reservations can usually be changed later to reflect any discount codes or Annual Passholder discounts, if they become available. However, only a certain number of discounted rooms are released for each code or discount. If those are all taken when you call, you will not be able to switch to the discounted rate, even though you already have a reservation. If a discounted package is released later and you are interested in changing from “room only” to a package, you may have to book the package and then cancel the “room only” reservation. Don’t book a full-price package now if you are planning to look for discounts later. All packages have restrictive rules about cancellations and changes. Also, some of the package elements (especially airfare and insurance) are usually nonrefundable. If you are planning a trip for a time period in which discounts have not yet been announced, we strongly recommend booking your vacation with Small World Vacations. They will make the reservation at regular price and then monitor it. If a discount is released for your travel dates, they will switch your reservation (if possible) to the newly released discount. On the day the discounts are released, they are on the phone the minute the Disney Reservations Center opens, which maximizes your chances of getting the discount. This saves you a lot of work and hassle, and it doesn’t cost you a dime! They will make the reservation at regular price and then monitor it. If a discount is released for your travel dates, they will switch your reservation (if possible) to the newly released discount. On the day the discounts are released, they are on the phone the minute the Disney Reservations Center opens, which maximizes your chances of getting the discount. This saves you a lot of work and hassle, and it doesn’t cost you a dime! If I already have a Disney resort reservation, can I add a new discount? Maybe. If you have made a full-price “room only” reservation and it is more than 5 days before you’re supposed to check in, you should be able to change the reservation to reflect any available discount. However, only a certain number of discounted rooms are released for each code or discount. If those are all taken when you call, you will not be able to switch to the discounted rate, even though you already have a reservation. If you have made a full-price vacation package reservation, it still may be possible to take advantage of a new discount, but it’s much trickier: “Room only” discount codes cannot be applied to packages, so you’re going to have to cancel the package to get those discounts. If you have at least 45 days before you’re supposed to check in, you can probably cancel the package reservation without penalty. After that date you’ll pay a penalty fee. Certain parts of packages are usually not refundable, including trip insurance and airfare. We recommend that you first book a discounted room and then cancel the existing package reservation. If a discounted package becomes available for the same hotel, room type and dates you have already booked, they may be able to switch you to the new package, and you would get either a refund or a credit on your room account. If the hotel, room type and dates you have booked are not available with the discount, but you are willing to be flexible in order to save money, you may be able to switch your package to a different hotel, room type or dates that will qualify. If you have at least 45 days before you’re supposed to check in, you can probably change the package reservation without penalty. After that date, there’s usually a penalty of $50 or more for changing the package. If you booked through a travel agent, the agent must make any changes to your existing reservations. The same general rules given above will usually apply. I need to arrive a day or two before a package discount offer begins. Can I still use the offer? Yes, but it’s a little complicated. Let’s say there’s a vacation package deal that is valid for check-ins starting March 3, but you need to arrive March 2. You’ll have to make two reservations: a room-only reservation for March 2 and then a reservation for the package starting March 3. If you want to stay in the same room, you can request to have the two reservations linked in the system. Also, when you check in, let them know you have two reservations and would prefer to stay in the same room (this isn’t guaranteed, but it’s rare that you will have to move). On the day your package stay begins, you’ll have to officially “check out” for the first reservation by check-out time (11:00 am) and “check in” for the second reservation. You’ll have to go to the front desk and get new room keys, which will have any package benefits, such as your meal plan, coded on them. Your package benefits will be available to you as soon as you get those new room keys, so we advise checking in first thing on the morning your package stay begins. On your “room only” night(s), you would have no package benefits. However, if your theme park tickets are part of the package, you can pick the tickets up and use them, up to 10 days before your package begins. Go to any theme park Guest Relations window or Disney Springs Guest Relations and request Early Ticket Pick-Up. (Major theme parks only: this cannot be done at a water park.) Note that although you can pick up your tickets early, you cannot get access to the Dining Plan or any other benefits of your package until you have actually checked in for the package stay at your resort. Can I get the Dining Plan with a “room-only” Disney resort reservation? No, but there are ways to get the Dining Plan and a room without having to buy tickets: Disney offers the Dining Plan as part of an Annual Passholder package or a ticketless vacation package that does not require you to purchase tickets. This used to be reserved for Annual Passholders, but now anyone can get it. You need to call in or use a travel agent to book this; it’s not available online. If you are a Disney Vacation Club member staying at a DVC resort on points, the Dining Plan is available as an add-on through DVC Member Services, without purchasing tickets. This also works if you are renting DVC points from a member; you can have them add the Dining Plan for you. Note that some promotional packages, such as “Free Dining,” require a minimum 2-Day or 3-Day ticket, and Disney is not flexible about these requirements. It still may be worth booking one of these packages if you already have tickets, since you can hang on to one set of tickets for a future trip; regular Disney World tickets are still good toward a new ticket or annual pass, even if they expire. You can book the minimum ticket length required for the package deal; they can be applied later toward the purchase of a more expensive ticket or annual pass. What’s the deal with “Free Dining”? Since 2005, during select times of year, Disney has offered a free dining plan when you purchase a full-price vacation package that includes hotel room and tickets. Disney has mainly offered this plan in late summer as an incentive to get people to visit Disney World at a time when Southern schools are back in session, which causes the theme parks and hotels to empty out. Additionally, that period is peak hurricane season and extremely hot and humid. Starting in 2008, the dates were extended into the fall and winter (except for holiday periods) because of the faltering US economy, in order to fill empty rooms. In years after that, it was occasionally offered during other seasons as well. However, as the economy has started recovering, free dining has been offered only for dates in September through December (with blackout dates during holidays) since 2013. But then in 2019, free dining was offered during the summer through the end of September. To see exactly when “Free Dining” has been available in past years, and when the offer was released each year, check out our chart of release dates. There is never any guarantee that Disney will continue to offer any particular discount, but this one has been extremely popular, so it will probably continue in the future, as long as Disney has a lot of rooms to fill. Are there discounts at the Ft. Wilderness Campsites? Sometimes, but lately very rarely. If there is a general public, Annual Passholder or Florida resident resort discount available for the time when you want to travel, it may be applicable to campsites. We generally will list exclusions in any Disney discount we list on the site, and if “campsites” is not in the list of exclusions, then campsites are eligible. The Disney resort discount you list isn’t working for me! All of the resort discounts on MouseSavers.com have been checked out carefully and come from legitimate published sources such as Disney newspaper advertisements, emails sent to travel agents by Disney, Disney websites, etc. While we’re not infallible, we can tell you that when someone writes to tell us a discount didn’t work, it almost always turns out to be one of three things: The person who wrote to us is trying to use a discount for dates or resorts for which it is not intended. This is just plain not going to work. There are no rooms at that rate remaining in the system for the particular combination of dates you want at the hotel you want. (Typically Disney holds a limited number of rooms for each discount.) It’s best if you have some flexibility in your travel dates and/or choices of hotel. If you can’t get your first choice, you can always try calling back from time to time, since rooms are released frequently. It might be a problem with the reservations agent. Some of the agents at the Disney Reservations Center are more knowledgeable and helpful than others. If you have double-checked a discount and made sure that it covers the resort and dates you want, but the person who answers the phone is telling you it won’t work or doesn’t exist, politely end the call and try again. There are hundreds of agents, so it’s very unlikely you’ll get the same one twice. If you talk with three different Disney agents and they all agree that the information about a particular discount on MouseSavers.com is wrong, please email us so we can make a correction. Ticket Questions Jump to: What’s the best strategy for getting the cheapest tickets for Disney World? First, take a look at our “Where to Get the Lowest Prices – In a Nutshell” summary of the best sources for various types of tickets. If, like most people, you are planning to buy multi-day (3-Day to 10-Day) tickets, the best prices are almost always through Undercover Tourist. Its prices are all-inclusive (tax included, free shipping). You’ll get a good deal just by purchasing through the regular Undercover Tourist website. However, if you have some time before your trip, you can save a few more dollars. Sign up for the FREE MouseSavers Newsletter and the Hot Deals emails in order to access even better ticket deals from Undercover Tourist. The newsletter contains a private link that offers access to deeper discounts on Undercover Tourist tickets than those available to the general public. If you have lots of time, be aware that Undercover Tourist almost always puts two or three specific Disney World tickets on sale each month and announces this in a Hot Deals email around the end of the month. If the tickets that are on sale aren’t the ones you want, wait and check the next month. We recommend that you wait and watch for a deal on the tickets you want until they go on sale, or until about 9 months after the most recent ticket price increase. If the specific tickets you want don’t go on sale, go ahead and buy at the end of that month through the private newsletter link, because ticket prices tend to go up about every 10-12 months. How can I find out if old tickets are still valid or still have days left on them? For newer tickets, you can link them to MyDisneyExperience (MDE) and count the number of FastPass days you can reserve. Some really old tickets can’t be linked because they’re only listed in older databases, but a surprising number of vintage tickets will work. For the tickets that link, use these steps to find out how many days are left: Create a “fake” person in your MDE account, named Tickety Tickerson or whatever you like. Assign a ticket you’d like to check to the fake person. Make sure they only have that one ticket assigned to them. Reserve FastPasses for the fake person, one day at a time, until the system tells you you don’t have enough valid ticket days. The number of days you could make FastPass reservations for is the number of theme park days remaining on that ticket. If you didn’t keep count, you can go to your “reservations” section of MDE and see how many days are reserved for the fake person. Cancel the FastPasses, reassign the ticket back to whoever you’d like, and repeat starting at step 2 for each additional ticket you’d like to check. If you’d like to find out how many Water Park Fun & More admissions are left on a ticket, or you have a ticket that’s too old to link to MyDisneyExperience, you can email a scan of the front and back of your tickets, plus a scan of the front and back of your photo ID, and email them to [email protected], along with a note saying what you want to find out. You can take pictures with your phone if you like, just make sure the pictures of your tickets and ID are readable. Someone will look up the remaining admissions and email you back. It can take up to 5 days to get the results back, so if you’re in a huge rush, call Walt Disney Ticketing at (407) 560-2544 and they might be able to help you more quickly. And of course, you can take a physical ticket to a Walt Disney World ticket booth or guest services location and they can look up what admissions are still valid on the ticket while you wait. We recommend writing the remaining admission info on the ticket with a sharpie so you’ll know for later. Magic Your Way tickets (issued January 2, 2005 through October 15, 2018) are only good for 14 days after their first use unless you purchased the “No Expiration” option for the tickets. Most tickets issued by Disney on or after February 12, 2017 must have their first use by December 31 of the year after they were purchased. If they are unused by that date, they expire, but can be traded in for a credit toward new tickets. Unused theme park admissions and “plus” features on the old Park Hopper tickets issued prior to January 2, 2005 never expire. Can I share a ticket with another person? No. Disney World tickets are nontransferable. Only one person can use each ticket. Disney uses a biometric finger scan system (which takes a partial fingerprint) that prevents you from selling or sharing a ticket. One exception: the old (pre-2005) Hopper tickets did not use the finger scans originally. As of June 20, 2005 Disney started requiring the scans, even on old tickets. If an old Hopper ticket was last used before that date, it may not have a scan recorded on its magnetic strip, so anyone would be able to use it. But once it is used now, a specific person’s scan is recorded on the mag strip, so no one else will be able to use it in the future. Can I use my ticket for two theme park admissions in one day? Only if you purchase the Park Hopper option. Because of the price structure of regular Disney World tickets, which cost only a little more for extra days, in many cases it would seem to be cheaper if you could just add extra days to a ticket and use up two admissions on one day, instead of paying for the Park Hopper option. (For instance, buy a 6-day ticket and use two admissions per day for 3 days.) But Disney won’t let you do it. The entrance gates are programmed to prevent you from using a ticket without the Park Hopper option at more than one park on the same day. The gate attendant will stop you and instruct you to go to the ticket booths and buy the Park Hopper option if you want to get into the second park. You can enter the same park multiple times on the same day with any ticket, however. Once you have entered any park (including a water park) with a valid ticket, that ticket will remain valid for that park for the rest of the day; you can come and go as you like. Is there such a thing as a half-day ticket or a discounted ticket for those entering the parks late in the day? Not for the general public. Even if you arrive 5 minutes before the parks close, you pay for a full day. However, if you are attending a convention in the area, contact your convention organizers to see if they are offering special discounted convention-only tickets that allow Disney park entrance only after 2:00 pm or after 4:00 pm. When will Walt Disney World ticket prices go up? Only Disney can say for sure, but typically the prices of regular Disney World tickets and Annual Passes tend to go up at least once a year. From 2006-2010, this happened the first week of August each year. In 2011, Disney changed the pattern and raised prices in June. Then, in 2014 and 2015, the prices went up in February! In 2018, ticket prices went up in February and again in October when Walt Disney World switched to seasonally priced multi-day tickets. The overall trend is for the prices to go up about every 10-12 months, with an occasional outlier like the most recent increases. Past dates when prices went up: February 22, 2015; February 28, 2016; February 12, 2017; February 11, 2018; October 16, 2018. Many years we’ve sometimes been able to find out the dates of the ticket price increases at least a day or two in advance, and have announced those increases through a MouseSavers.com Hot Deals email so that our readers could buy their tickets before the prices went up. If you would like to receive those notifications and you are not currently a subscriber to the FREE MouseSavers Newsletter, sign up for our newsletter here and be sure to select the option “I would also like to receive occasional MouseSavers last-minute ‘hot deals’ by email.” If you are already a monthly newsletter subscriber, you can add the Hot Deals announcements to your subscription. The “secret” newsletter prices for Undercover Tourist seem to be the same as their regular prices. No, there really are lower prices from Undercover Tourist if you go through the private MouseSavers Newsletter link that appears in every issue, with the exception of a very few tickets that are not discounted at all and are only available as a convenience, such as the 1 and 2 day Walt Disney World tickets. The most likely reason you’re seeing the same prices is that a “cookie” is set on your computer when you visit through the newsletter link. If you go directly to the Undercover Tourist site in a different tab, or even close the current tab and open a new one, the cookie causes your screen to display the MouseSavers Newsletter rates. However, if you close down your browser completely, or open a completely different browser, and return to the Undercover Tourist site without using the special link, you should see the regular prices for the general public, which are higher. If that doesn’t work, you might have to clear cookies (see the help for your browser to find out how to do this) or reboot to see the higher prices. You can also visit the site directly using a completely different computer, or your phone or a tablet. When you’re on Undercover Tourist’s private page for MouseSavers Newsletter subscribers, you will see a “Welcome MouseSavers” message in a yellow box, which should say that you are seeing Undercover Tourist’s lowest prices. When the general public comes to the Undercover Tourist site, the message and the special prices are not visible. If you’ve tried all the above, and you’re not seeing the special prices and not seeing the yellow “Welcome MouseSavers” box, then possibly something on your computer, most likely an ad-blocker or privacy screener is stripping off the parameters in the link that tell Undercover Tourist to show the special prices. You can try adding Undercover Tourist and/or MouseSavers to a “trusted” list in your privacy software, or just try another computer. You say Undercover Tourist offers lower prices than Disney, but Disney’s prices seem lower. If you’re looking at 1 or 2 day tickets, that’s true. Disney doesn’t sell 1 or 2 day tickets wholesale to discounters, so Undercover Tourist can’t sell them at a lower price. They’re only listed on their site as a convenience for people who are buying other tickets and want to add some 1 or 2 day tickets. For 3-day or longer tickets, it can seem like they’re more expensive than Disney at first glance. The reason is, the prices displayed on the Disney website do not include tax of 6.5%, which must be paid regardless of where you live. The tax is added later in the ordering process. Undercover Tourist prices already include tax and shipping. Once you add the tax, you will always find that 3+ day Disney World tickets are cheaper through Undercover Tourist. I think I found a cheaper price for tickets than Undercover Tourist. It’s very rare to find lower prices than Undercover Tourist, at least on a legitimate, Disney-authorized site that sells to the general public. (Exception: if you are a Florida resident, active or retired military, or work for a large corporation or government agency, check this page for possible options.) People frequently ask us about Disney World ticket prices offered through Travelocity, Orbitz and various ticket broker sites. “They’re offering buy 4 days, get 3 free!” they say. Well, do the math before you get too excited. Offering “days free” on tickets is just a marketing gimmick. They’re really selling a 7-day ticket, no matter what they call it. After the third day on a regular Disney World ticket, the cost of adding extra days (even at full price from Disney) is very low. So ticket vendors sometimes discount a 7-day ticket to around the price of a 4-day ticket and call it a “4 day ticket plus 3 days free” or something similar. So ignore any “days free” language. What you need to figure out is the bottom line price for the ticket you want! Bear in mind that most sites publish prices that do NOT include tax (which is 6.5% regardless of where you buy Disney World tickets) or any site fees or shipping. You typically have to go all the way through the purchase process to see the total price. By contrast, Undercover Tourist prices already include tax and shipping. Some sites say they sell “e-tickets,” “will-call certificates” or “vouchers,” not all of which are the same. Read the fine print carefully; you may need to go to a ticket booth or guest services at Walt Disney World to get the tickets, which takes time you could be spending going on rides. Undercover Tourist sends you actual tickets or e-tickets you can link to your MyDisneyExperience account instantly. If you have a MagicBand (or will be getting one) or have a leftover RFID ticket from a previous trip linked to your account, you don’t need to do anything else. Any ticket or MagicBand (even one from a previous trip) linked to your MyDisneyExperience account has access to all tickets linked to your account. So check out any legitimate open-to-the-public site you want and get the bottom line price. We are confident that you will almost always find Undercover Tourist is cheaper, especially through the private MouseSavers Newsletter link that appears in every issue. Moreover, Undercover Tourist has great customer service and is exceptionally reliable. They routinely bend over backwards to make sure their customers are taken care of. In fact, unlike any other ticket agency we know about, Undercover Tourist actually allows returns of unused tickets! This is unheard-of in the ticket business, where normally all sales are final. That insurance value of being able to return your tickets if something happens and you need to cancel your trip is worth real money, in our opinion. In addition, there are some very sketchy places to buy tickets, which we don’t recommend no matter how low the prices may seem. Can I use FastPass+ if I buy my tickets from Undercover Tourist? Yes. Undercover Tourist sells the newest RFID tickets and e-tickets, identical to what you’d get from Disney, which can be linked to your MyDisneyExperience account and used with FastPass+. Do I have to buy my tickets from Disney to enter the parks during Extra Magic Hours? No. Extra Magic Hours are for guests of any Disney resort, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels, Disney Springs Resort Area hotels or Shades of Green. The Extra Magic Hours benefit has nothing to do with where you purchased your tickets. As long as you have a valid theme park admission ticket and you’re a qualifying resort guest, you’re all set. Are there special tickets for visitors from the UK and Ireland? Yes. See our information about special tickets for visitors from the UK and Ireland.

Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed a bill that would have banned Sharia and other foreign laws from being used in Montana courts, saying Thursday that the measure would “upend our legal system and debase what we stand for as Montanans and Americans.” Bullock is afraid it will increase hate crimes though there is little evidence that is an increasing problem. Montana was one of the 13 states considering legislation seeking to prevent the use of foreign law in state courts. While the bill’s focus was not on Sharia law, some supporters specifically spoke out against the religious law used in some parts of the Islamic world. Some Republicans joined with Democrats against the measure but it still made it to Bullock. “There is absolutely no need for this bill,” Bullock wrote in his veto message, adding that the proposal could add to the “nationwide surge in hate crimes.” Bullock said he was disturbed that the ban, if he had signed it, could have been seen as an “endorsement for anti-Muslim sentiments and activity.” The Constitution should already ban it but some are concerned that liberals and leftists see the Constitution as a “living” document. Sharia courts have been allowed to function in some European countries and it has been recommended by some so-called liberals in the United States. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) argued in a similar Oklahoma case that the measure violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution forbidding the government from favoring one religion over another. That law specifically mentioned Sharia however. Some are concerned about the growing political power of Muslims and the potential for forcing Sharia in at some point. Montana has only a .5% Muslim population, up from .3 in 2010. On the other hand, Muslims in the United States have more DNC delegates than Montana, Utah, and Oklahoma together. That makes their voice more important than the delegates of those three states. Something to think about. CNS News had a piece on it in March. The bill’s sponsor, state Senator Keith Regier (R-Kalispell) insists that his intent is to protect the fundamental liberties of Montana citizens by forbidding the use of foreign laws in state courts. Sandy Montgomery, a constituent of Regier’s, defended the measure, calling it “long overdue.” “We have allowed legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, and now refugees to take advantage of our law and our culture and to take up their own agendas,” she said. “They have no intention to abide by our laws nor are they interested in assimilating into our culture.” Another person, Sandy Bradford of Helena sees Islam as a political ideology. “It is my opinion that Islam is not a peaceful religion,” said Bradford. “In fact Islam is not a religion at all but rather an ideology. Islam in my opinion is an enemy to all. But especially to women.” Perhaps the issue is education, not banning? Some politicians like Maxine Waters, believe the Constitution and Sharia are mutually compatible though of course they can’t be.

Euclid Avenue in Cleveland connects the two largest commercial districts in northeast Ohio: downtown Cleveland and University Circle. A microcosm of the city itself, the corridor has experienced extreme highs and lows throughout its history. At the turn of the 20th century, Euclid was known as Millionaires’ Row and was home to the founders of Standard Oil and General Electric. But by the time the Great Depression ended, the avenue was devastated. During the 1950s, its streetcars were dismantled. By the 2000s, the corridor was depressed, lined with dilapidated buildings and vacant lots and evoking a sense of hopelessness. But Euclid’s role as an essential link between the central business district downtown and University Circle—a hub of world-class medical facilities and arts and culture amenities—rendered the corridor impossible to ignore. Starting in the 1970s, a nearly 30-year debate focused on how to integrate rapid transit along Euclid Avenue. Finally, in 1998 the city set aside prohibitively expensive rail plans and decided to move forward with bus rapid transit (BRT). The resulting $200 million, 6.8-mile (11 km) Euclid Corridor Transportation Project catalyzed a powerful transformation along the avenue. Since the BRT line opened in 2008, the corridor has attracted $5.8 billion in investment—$3.3 billion for new construction and $2.5 billion for building rehab, together totaling more than 110 projects. Disproving naysayers and exceeding the expectations of supporters, the project has generated the economic growth that many thought could only be achieved with rail—and at a fraction of the cost. In 2011, the project won a ULI Award for Excellence. By connecting downtown with University Circle, the BRT service contributes to the unification of Cleveland’s top economic generators across the entire city. The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland—the city’s two biggest employers—purchased naming rights to the BRT line in a 25-year, $6.25 million deal. Dubbing it the HealthLine ties the service to Cleveland’s branding as a hub of medical care and research. By physically linking large hospitals, startups, convention space, and cultural amenities, the corridor is propelling Cleveland’s evolution into a world-class destination for the health care and biotech industries. Implementation was made possible by a complex funding partnership of multiple organizations, including the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) as the project sponsor, the New Starts program of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, the city of Cleveland, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals. Of the $200 million invested in the project, $168.4 million for the transit component was provided by the full funding grant agreement (FFGA) with the FTA. The remaining $31.6 million went toward nontransit improvements, including sidewalks, utilities, and public art. Stations on the HealthLine bus rapid transit line in Cleveland are transparent, constructed of glass and steel, well-lit, and equipped with emergency blue-light phones and closed-circuit security cameras. Although the Euclid corridor project secured funding in 2004, the project still struggled to gain initial widespread support. One major challenge was the notion that a bus line would not attract the professional community, instead driving the area’s social problems along Euclid Avenue further into the downtown and University Circle districts. Developers and community members also questioned the project’s ability to stimulate economic growth significantly. In response, the RTA and the design team—prime consultant Wilbur Smith Associates of Cleveland and planning and landscape architect Sasaki Associates of Boston—adopted a strategy of “thinking rail while using bus.” Dedicated bus lanes free the buses from the interference of other traffic. From downtown to University Circle, buses run along exclusive lanes in the center of the street, which results in greater efficiency. “From Public Square [downtown] to University Circle, we reduced travel time from 30 minutes to 20 minutes,” says Michael J. Schipper, RTA deputy general manager for engineering and project management. Additional features include prominent stations, raised station platforms that match the height of the bus floor to allow same-level boarding, real-time updates of bus arrival times, and off-vehicle fare collection—all of which imbue the HealthLine with the sensibility of an urban rail line. Having fewer stations improves travel times, and platforms in the road median reduce encroachment on the sidewalks. The stations, designed by Robert P. Madison International Inc. of Cleveland, are modern and transparent, constructed of glass and stainless steel, and designed to support the public realm by creating their own identity that reinforces the entire corridor and transit rather than mimicking a certain period or architectural style represented in the neighborhoods the line traverses. They are well-lit and are equipped with emergency blue-light phones and closed-circuit security cameras. The HealthLine operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On weekdays, buses arrive at stations every ten minutes from early morning into the evening. During peak service periods, arrival frequency shrinks to every seven minutes. Such rigorous service levels make the HealthLine a convenient and reliable transit option. A view of Euclid shows the downtown street before (left) and after (right) development of the HealthLine bus rapid transit system. Platforms located in the median reduce interference with sidewalks. The corridor accommodates multiple modes of transit by incorporating exclusive bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and street crossings. The bus-exclusive center lanes allow parking to be integrated back into the street, supporting efforts to revitalize retail storefronts. Providing visual interest are seasonal plantings that provide splashes of color in the medians; colorful and rhythmic pavement striping in the sidewalks that provide human scale; and distinctive lighting elements—a custom light created for downtown medians; small bump lights in the median outside of downtown that cast a low, wide light that illuminates the center of the street; and lighting of trees in wide, planted medians. Public art installations are integrated into street design along the corridor, including pavement patterns in the crosswalks, stone patterns in the street, iron castings for tree grates, and a few stand-alone sculptures illuminated by light-emitting diodes at night. The project required strategic partnerships among diverse interests—public, private, nonprofit, and neighborhood. To determine and satisfy the interests of various stakeholder groups, the RTA held about 2,000 public meetings. One design solution that engendered widespread community support was to address the eight distinct neighborhoods in the corridor individually. Though some design elements, such as the station shelters, lighting, and pavement materials, are consistent along the entire corridor, other elements—shelter size, light configurations, pavement patterns, and tree species—are distinct to identify the different neighborhoods. Lighting and seasonal plantings enliven the medians where HealthLine stations are located along Euclid Avenue. Ridership has increased steadily over the years and now totals about 15,100 people per day. “The bulk of riders are commuters, but we are experiencing a big uptick in midday ridership,” says Schipper. In response, the RTA is extending the service’s peak hours to accommodate more riders. The link between downtown and University Circle provided by the HealthLine fortified the idea for the Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor, an initiative launched in 2010 that spans three miles (5.8 km) and encompasses ten neighborhoods. Created by BioEnterprise, a biosciences business incubator, and Midtown Cleveland, an economic development corporation, the Health-Tech Corridor seeks to attract and support businesses downtown, along Euclid, and in University Circle. Baiju Shah, BioEnterprise president and CEO and a self-described convert regarding the HealthLine, was persuaded by the “well-designed planning process that tied into a compelling business proposition.” Today, Shah considers the HealthLine a force spurring developers to locate projects along the corridor. One of the most visible ventures along Euclid is the $28 million MidTown Tech Park, which opened in summer 2011. MidTown Tech Park has 128,000 square feet (11,900 sq m) of state-of-the-art incubator space located on the former site of a used car dealership in Midtown, once one of the most downtrodden neighborhoods along Euclid. Ravaged by civil rights protests in the 1960s, the area had been largely ignored since. Substantial development in Midtown so soon after completion of the HealthLine was unanticipated, Schipper says. “We wouldn’t have expected this type of thing until five or so years out,” he says. JumpStart, a nonprofit venture development organization, was the first tenant of MidTown Tech Park. “Midtown is increasingly becoming a hub for entrepreneurship—particularly young biomedical companies—and we were excited to be contributing to that energy while adding to the growing vitality of Cleveland’s urban core,” says Ray Leach, JumpStart chief executive officer. “And now many of the incubators, tech companies, higher-education institutions, and world-class health care are connected not just in missions and interests, but by a physical corridor developing around the HealthLine.” Cleveland HeartLab, which makes a biomarker-based heart test, is one of MidTown Tech Park’s newest tenants. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the company has grown from eight to 80 employees over two years and likely would have left the area were it not for the new developments along Euclid. In addition, construction of about 5,100 housing units has augmented the corridor’s revitalization. New developments are also proliferating at either end of the HealthLine. Adjacent to University Circle, the Uptown district is home to the new $27 million Museum of Contemporary Art. Downtown, the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center, targeted to the medical and health care industries, is scheduled for completion in 2013. The HealthLine has not only created employment opportunities, but also has changed the way people think about transportation and job location, says Lillian Kuri, program director for architecture, urban design, and sustainable development at the Cleveland Foundation, a community foundation providing leadership advocacy on strategic initiatives for the city. “It has raised consciousness about making sure jobs are accessible to low-income residents,” she says. Employers are strategically locating to be accessible by public transportation as a way of attracting talent—something commonplace in major urban districts but often ignored in medium-sized, car-centric cities. The HealthLine has precipitated an economic development strategy not just for the corridor, but also for the city. The project has brought about the partnerships necessary for Cleveland to make a transition from an industrial economy to a knowledge-based economy, building on the strength of education, research, health care, and tourism. Euclid Avenue supports the ventures that comprise this new economy, as well as housing, retail businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues. The corridor is vibrant with possibility as a place for people to live, work, and prosper, and serves as an example for similar cities in the United States and around the world. This article is part of the Business on Board series, which explores the shifting role of the private sector in advancing transit. To read other articles in this series, see: Seattle and Suburbs Find Innovative Compromise to Save Transit Utah Business Embrace Light Rail NoMa: The Neighborhood That Transit Built Regional Transit: Regrouping in the Tampa Bay Area

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 1: Daniel Cross of the Demons in action during the 2015 AFL round 18 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Melbourne Demons at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia on August 1, 2015. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media) VETERAN Daniel Cross will play his last match for Melbourne against Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The 32-year-old will play his 249th AFL match in Melbourne’s last home and away match of the season. The club made the decision not to offer Cross a playing contract for next year and he has decided to announce his retirement from the AFL. Cross played 210 games for the Western Bulldogs from 2002-13 and added 38 matches with Melbourne from 2014-15. Manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said Cross had performed his role with aplomb since joining the Demons. “When we first spoke to Crossy, we saw his role at the club as twofold. Firstly, he could play a role on field and just as important he could play a major role off field working with our players, showing them how to prepare as an AFL footballer,” he told melbournefc.com.au. “He has performed both roles extremely well over two years. His performance last weekend highlighted his character and competitiveness, where he only knows one way to play and that is by giving everything you have and never giving up. Right to the end, he wanted to keep playing. “Crossy has been an important person in our club’s rebuild and we hope this continues with a role he has been offered in the football department.” Cross was originally drafted at No.56 in the 2000 AFL Draft. He made his AFL debut for the Bulldogs in round 10, 2002 against Richmond at the MCG. He became a distinguished player for the Bulldogs and was a regular place getter in the club’s best and fairest award. From 2005-11, he notched up 49 Brownlow Medal votes. In 2008, Cross won the best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs. He also finished second in 2005 and three years in a row from 2009-10-11. In 2006, he finished third. Cross was an All-Australian nominee in 2008. In 2010, he represented Australia in the International Rules series. He was also a member of the pre-season premiership team for the Bulldogs in 2010. And in 2004, he was an NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.

The uncertain future of Obamacare isn’t just wreaking havoc for insurers, hospitals and other companies in the health-care ecosystem. It’s paralyzing the lives of millions of regular Americans, too. These are people who have made major, hard-to-reverse life decisions contingent on the health-care system we have today — including a functioning individual insurance market and the subsidies to make those individual insurance plans affordable. I spoke recently with about a dozen Americans from around the country who worry the rug is about to be pulled from under them. Some are old and some young; some quit jobs so they could care for family members; some retired early; others left corporate America to launch their own start-ups. One thing they have in common: They believe politicians don’t appreciate how much anxiety the Obamacare-repeal debate is causing their families. (Bastien Inzaurralde,Sarah Parnass,Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post) This includes Kathy Tomasic, age 57. Last summer Tomasic left her job with the county of San Diego — a job with health insurance — to care for her son, Alec. It’s a decision she says she never could have made without Obamacare. Alec is something of a child prodigy; he enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley last fall at 15 to study physics. He also, however, has a rare autoimmune disorder called mastocytosis, which lands him in hospitals several times a year. Back in San Diego, Alec’s 27-year-old brother, Nelson, helped care for Alec so that Mom could work. When Alec was accepted into college, the family decided it was time to let Nelson live his own life. Tomasic left her job and moved with Alec to Berkeley, which offered her a flexible, part-time position without benefits. The key to this family decision: Tomasic could get insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. She qualifies for subsidies that leave her paying about $300 in monthly premiums, a price that just barely fits into her family’s tight budget. “People shouldn’t have to plan life choices around whether or not they’ll get health care, but that’s the way it is,” she said. Now she’s panicking about what will happen if, as Republicans propose, insurers can jack up premiums for older enrollees. Would she be able to get a job that offers benefits at her age? If she did, could she hold onto it, given the frequency of Alec’s health crises? Tomasic introduced me to her brother-in-law, Christopher Huntley, who says the law changed the course of his life, too. Huntley used to be the director of internal audit for a gambling company, but was laid off in 2014 at 58. “At that age, you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re driving your career,” says Huntley, who lives in Gurnee, Ill. “It’s not that easy to be jumping around in the job market. Companies see people my age as very expensive. They can get a couple of 30-year-olds for much less.” He had some savings, and he decided he would retire early and buy insurance on the exchanges. His premiums have risen a lot since then, from about $350 per month to $881 today. Nonetheless, he’s grateful the law exists and is fearful of what may happen to his premiums under Trumpcare, which would allow insurers to charge people his age more. Now 61 and out of the workforce for three years, he’s even more pessimistic that he’d be able to find a job that offers health benefits. Then there are people like Kamil Choudhury. Choudhury, 32, is on the younger end of the Obamacare enrollees I interviewed. He’s an entrepreneur developing a futures exchange for cloud computing called LevelCompute. He acknowledges he’s not exactly a sob story; he has an electrical-engineering degree from Princeton University, and he worked for a decade at major banks. But with a baby at home when he resigned from his banking job in 2015 — and a second child born this month, he says the ACA was crucial to his ability to launch a new company. “I would never have decided to leave corporate America to work on this full time without the ACA as a backstop, for sure” said Choudhury, who lives in Los Angeles. “There’s no way my family could have taken the risk of a prolonged R&D cycle for a venture like this.” Choudhury is taking the kind of risk that conservative politicians usually celebrate. But he’s also the kind of person who could be tethered to a big, traditional firm in the absence of a law Republicans have demonized. These Americans are wary of losing Obamacare not because they’re lazy or selfish or spend too much money on iPhones. They’re wary because the law gave them the flexibility to make choices in their, and their family’s, best interest — and they’re bracing for what comes next.

Mitanni was a state that existed between the 16th and 13th centuries BC. This state occupied the land of the Hurrians. This area is located in the upper Tigris-Euphrates basin, and corresponds today with northern Iraq, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. At its greatest extent, the territory controlled by Mitanni extended all the way to the Mediterranean coast on its west, and into Assyria / Mesopotamia on its southeast. The strength and influence of Mitanni was so great that at one time, it was part of the ‘Great Power Club’, which included Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and the Kingdom of Hatti. Today, however, this powerful kingdom has been reduced to hardly more than a name and a handful of archaeological and linguistic hypotheses, and few had even heard of this ancient kingdom, hence making it a ‘forgotten empire’. The Rise of Mitanni It has been suggested that the rise of Mitanni occurred during the time when the Old Babylonian Empire was in decline. The weakening of the latter provided an opportunity for the former to expand its borders. Alternatively, some have said that the Hittite destruction of Alep (Aleppo) and its sack of Babylon allowed new states to emerge in the region, including Mitanni. Nonetheless, little is known about the early kings of Mitanni. This is due to the fact that much of Mitanni’s culture and records would later be destroyed by the Assyrians. However, thanks to correspondence with foreign powers, the names of these early Mitanni rulers have been preserved. Map of ancient Mitanni ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Conflicts with Egypt Around the end of the 16th century BC, Mitanni (which was then under the rule of Parattarna) took control of Alep, an important Syrian city located halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River. The presence of Mitanni in Syria would bring it into conflict with another ancient superpower - Egypt, whose pharaohs, most notably Thutmose III, were also interested in controlling this region. In the middle of the 15th century BC (possibly 1457 BC) Mitanni took part in the famous Battle of Megiddo. During this battle, Mitanni sided with the king of Kadesh, and was defeated by the Egyptians, who were led by Thutmose III. Famous Battle of Megiddo. ( Historiarex) Thutmose’s victory at Megiddo allowed the Egyptians to attack Mitanni’s western region. When the Egyptians reached the Euphrates, they built ships, and ravaged towns belonging to Mitanni that were located on the riverbanks from Carchemish to Emar. Whilst the further expansion of Mitanni into Syria was checked for the time being, the Egyptians were not able to gain control of the Syrian interior. Additionally, Thutmose’s campaign did not result in the permanent conquest of this area. Moreover, the power of Mitanni was growing in the east. The Alliance Between Shaushtatar and Thutmose IV Towards the end of the 15th century BC, Shaushtatar, the king of Mitanni, sacked the Assyrian capital of Aššur, and humiliated its inhabitants by sending the doors of the city’s famous temple to Waššukanni, the capital of Mitanni. It was also shortly after this that friendly relations were established between Egypt and Mitanni. An alliance was forged between the king of Mitanni, Artatama I (who succeeded Shaushtatar), and the Egyptian pharaoh, Thutmose IV (Thutmose III’s grandson). Thutmosis IV wearing the khepresh, Musee du Louvre. ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) The Amarna Letters During the middle of the 14th century BC, Mitanni was at its height of power, and friendly relations with Egypt were maintained. These relations can be seen, for instance, in the one of the Amarna Letters sent from the Mitannian king to the Egyptian pharaoh. For example, in EA 17, one can observe that the king of Mitanni, Tushratta, had married his daughter, Tadu-Heba (also called Tadukhipa), to Amenhotep III. Upon Amenhotep’s death, Tadu-Heba married his son, Amenhotep IV, who is better known as Akhenaten. It has been speculated by some that Tadu-Heba and the famed Nefertiti are actually one and the same person. Cuneiform tablet containing a letter from Tushratta of Mitanni to Amenhotep III (of 13 letters of King Tushratta). ( CC-Zero) The End of the Mitanni Kingdom Despite the cordiality between these two powers, the alliance between Mitanni and Egypt would soon disintegrate with a power struggle that broke out in Mitanni during the reign of Tushratta. Whilst Tushratta was supported by the Egyptians, his rival, Artatama II, who was a relative of the previous king, Shuttarna, was backed by the Hittites. With Egyptian support, Tushratta’s victory was assured. The Egyptians, however, became wary of the growing power of the Hittites, and decided to withdraw support for their ally. This allowed the Hittite king, Suppiluliuma to do as he pleased without fear of retribution from Egypt. The Hittites attacked and sacked Waššukanni, whilst Tushratta was assassinated by his own son. The Hittites installed Artatama II as a vassal king, and ruled over Mitanni until its fall to the Assyrians. Mitannian Cylinder Seal with Two Heroes and a Tree. ( Walters Art Museum ) Featured image: Mitanni invaders. Source: John844 By: Ḏḥwty

Bangladeshi student sentenced to 30 years in U.S. prison for trying to blow up the Fed after blaming his childhood stammer and a heartbreak for radicalizing him Quazi Nafis pleaded guilty to terrorism charges The plot was a phony operation engineered by undercover agents Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis (pictured) pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in New York A Bangladeshi student who came to the U.S. intending to commit jihad was sentenced to 30 years in prison today after pleading guilty to terrorism charges for trying to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. The plot was a phony operation engineered by undercover agents. 'I'm ashamed. I'm lost. I tried to do a terrible thing. I alone am responsible for what I've done. Please forgive me,' Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis said before his sentence was handed down in Brooklyn federal court. The 22-year-old begged for leniency and forgiveness, apologizing to the judge, the United States, New York City and his parents and said he no longer believed in radical Islam. 'I'm really grateful that the agents saved me,' he said. Nafis was arrested after he tried to detonate a phony 1,000-pound truck bomb outside the bank in October. He pleaded guilty in February to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida. In sentencing Nafis to the minimum, Judge Carol Bagely Amon said she believed the 22-year-old was remorseful. He faced up to life in prison. 'It does not change the fact he was sentient when he engaged in efforts to destroy the Federal Reserve and the people inside,' Amon said. 'He knew what he was doing.' In a five-paged typed letter, Nafis tried to explain to the judge how he turned to radical Islam, telling her had a stammering problem and no real friends in his native country. Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis sketched in court in New York during a previous hearing in February His lawyer, Heather Cesare, said he was beaten by his parents and kept sheltered. 'For being a very simple guy I fall for people very easily,' Nafis wrote, chronicling how fell in with a group of radical students at his university in Bangladesh. 'I was becoming religious but never realized that I was misguided slowly but surely with the wrong teachings of Islam.' He became despondent over a girl and wanted to commit suicide, which is illegal in Islam, and turned to jihad instead, he said. Nafis came to the United States in January 2012 enrolled at a Missouri college to study cybersecurity. But he was instead intending to do something sinister, prosecutors said. 'When the defendant was packing to come to the United States, he made sure to include his bomb instructions,' Assistant U.S. Attorney James Loonam said. He left the school and came to live with a relative in New York. Authorities say Nafis began using Facebook and other social media to seek support for a terrorist attack. Quazi Mohammad Ahsanullah, the father of Bangladeshi national Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, holds up his son's photo after the incident last year One of his contacts turned out to be a government informant who notified authorities. While under investigation, Nafis spoke of his admiration for Osama bin Laden and talked of writing an article about his plot for an al-Qaida-affiliated magazine, though he was not affiliated with al-Qaida. He also talked about wanting to kill President Barack Obama and cased the New York Stock Exchange before deciding on the bank as a target. As the plot progressed, Nafis selected his target, drove a van loaded with dummy explosives to the door of the bank and tried to set off the bomb from a hotel room using a cellphone he thought had been rigged as a detonator, authorities said. No one was ever actually in danger because the explosives were fakes provided by the government. Loonam said the undercover did not push Nafis. The plot was, 'the defendant's plan, the defendant's target, the defendant's actions.' His parents, who are middle-class professionals living in Dhaka, could not make the trip from Bangladesh. They said they were shocked by the charges and pleaded for mercy in letters to the judge. His mother, Rokeya Siddiqui, described her son as shy, ridiculed and unfocused. He was, she said, 'just a kid. He doesn't have any idea around the world.' Nafis said quietly in court he had broken his parents' hearts.

Image copyright ITV Image caption Bruno Langley is due before magistrates in November Coronation Street star Bruno Langley has been charged with two counts of sexual assault. Police were called to reports that a woman in her 30s had been sexually assaulted at a music venue in Manchester on 1 October. Mr Langley, 34, of Altrincham, who played Todd Grimshaw, is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates' Court on 28 November. The actor left the soap following an internal inquiry, ITV said. A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said the force "received a report that a woman in her 30s had been sexually assaulted at a music venue on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter". In a statement on Sunday, Mr Langley confirmed he had left Coronation Street but denied any claims of wrongdoing. He said: "Sadly, I will no longer be working on Coronation Street. Acting on the show has been the fulfilment of a personal dream. "I will make a further statement in due course, and when I am able to do so." The actor played Todd Grimshaw, the first openly gay character in the soap's 57-year history, after first joining the programme in 2001. He also appeared on two episodes of Doctor Who in 2005. It is understood that Mr Langley's contract with the show ended on 26 October following an inquiry.

Dubai: An American marine captain is preparing a Dh2 million lawsuit against a UAE bank for mental, physical and financial damages he alleges stem from a travel ban wrongfully imposed on him nearly 10 years ago. The ban remains in force, holding him against his will within the UAE. All attempts to settle an outstanding original debt of Dh50,000 on the two credit cards, in addition to efforts to lift the travel ban, have failed, he said, leading to a decade-long string of hardships that have only exacerbated his deteriorating health and financial condition. After managing to stay afloat through odd jobs on the periphery of the marine industry for years, Captain Ray Clevinger, 62, said he has “reached the end of my rope. I have nowhere else to turn”. Broke, unable to pay his bills and with only Dh30 in his pocket, Clevinger said he now awaits eviction from his flat where he spends days without air conditioning and nights without any lighting because his electricity has been cut off. Since the August 25, 2005 filing of the travel ban imposed on him by the bank, Clevinger said he has been unable to return to the United States to renew his captain’s licence and was essentially locked out of lucrative work within the maritime industry. In an interview with Gulf News, Clevinger said his downward slide followed a respected 21-year career in the UAE as a marine captain steering large vessels that helped keep the country’s oil and gas flowing from platforms in the Gulf. On March 9, 2005, Clevinger was struck by a massive heart attack and hospitalised. As he was recovering, Clevinger believed he was safe financially because he had taken out “credit shield” insurance on his credit card which is supposed to cover monthly payments when tragedy strikes. He didn’t make his regular payments because he was counting on his credit shield. Unknown to Clevinger, the bank’s credit shield declined to invoke the “credit shield” insurance coverage. On the credit card’s credit shield policy, Clevinger said it reads “‘for peace of mind’ but believe me, there is none when you find out that the insurance you paid for won’t cover you. No one from the insurance company called to tell me I wasn’t covered.” In July 2005, the Miami native was terminated by his employer at the time on the grounds that he could not be in charge of large ships with a heart condition, Clevinger said. And then, his travel ban was imposed by the bank just as he was about to return to the United States to renew his captain’s licence and return to the UAE to accept a new job he had landed five days after his termination with his old employer. “This is where all of my troubles stem from,” said Clevinger, who noted that if at the time he was allowed to travel, renew his captain’s papers and resume work with a new firm, he would have been able to pay his bills and get on with his life. “If they had just let me go back to work, this would have all been settled and I would still have a normal life,” Clevinger said. Some of the biggest regrets of living under the travel ban isn’t just the lack of freedom, he said. It’s more about the loss of contact with family and friends. He learnt through the mail that his mother died in 2010. “It was very upsetting and I tried to discover when she died and where she died and where she is buried. I still know nothing as I do not have her social insurance number,” he said. The pain continues with news that his former spouse is also terminally ill, according to Clevinger. “My ex-wife of my two sons has Stage 4 cervical cancer and has a short time to live. She would like to see me before she dies. It’s very depressing,” Clevinger said. When contacted by Gulf News on Tuesday, an official with the bank said it would like to help Clevinger. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment on the issue raised by Mr. Ray Clevinger. Kindly note that the Bank agreed to meet with Mr. Clevinger on 22 March 2015 to reach an amicable solution. Unfortunately, the customer did not attend the meeting and instead placed the matter in the hands of his lawyers. The bank has replied to his lawyers but we are yet to hear back,” the bank said. Legal notice: The claim In a legal notice sent to the bank earlier this year, Clevinger’s legal counsel, Al Obaidli & Al Zarooni, advised the bank who imposed the travel ban that their client “suffered severe damages — mentally, physically, financially and in all means as a result of the travel ban for a span of nine years and is entitled as per the law for damages. Our client has approached your esteemed bank several times to sort out the issue but you had not taken any serious attention towards our client’s repeated requests”. The firm claimed that the bank did not file a civil case against Clevinger before or after the travel ban was filed. The bank was advised that it “had not followed the procedures as stipulated by the UAE laws because as per UAE Civil Procedure, the creditor should file a civil case within eight days after the travel ban was passed”.

Eric Zuesse On November 25th, French President Francois Hollande announced that France, which has already missed two deadlines to deliver to Russia two completed Mistral helicopter-carriers to Russia, won’t deliver either ship until Washington has no further complaints about Russia’s support of breakaway rebels in Ukraine’s southeast. Russia had already “mostly paid for” both of these ships, though details of the deal and prepayment have not been made public. Only the delivery is at issue here. Non-delivery by France would also raise a possible charge of theft against France, because, according to Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, one-third of the ship is Russian-made, and, “The stern section of Mistral was made at Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. That is why if they want to keep the ship, we will have to tear away its stern section and get it back to use it in other ships,” and that scenario is out of the question. Yet some in the U.S. Congress are demanding it, and suggest that “NATO could buy or lease them as a shared alliance asset,” though the ships were made according to Russian specifications and don’t meet NATO’s. The Russian Government says that if the matter extends beyond a third deadline at the end of this month, and the first ship is still not delivered, then Russia will activate the non-delivery penalty for that ship, which, according to the BBC, would be around a billion dollars. Hollande has been under terrific pressure from President Obama to renege on the contract, but French shipyard workers and others have held public demonstrations for France to honor the contract, because of the extensive harm to French shipbuilding and other industry that would result from France’s reneging on an international contract: it would hurt all of French industry if the French Government were to prohibit contract-fulfillment over political differences. The French President has, evidently, chosen the American President over his own country, but the penalty lawsuit from Russia will probably drag on for a long time, because Hollande used careful terminology in his renege-statement: he has “indefinitely suspended” delivery, not “cancelled” it. Consequently, the question as to precisely when France would “renege,” and would consequently be in technical default on the deal, would need to be adjudicated. Russia says that they don’t urgently need these ships, and can continue on for a few more years with their existing carrier-set-up while they build their own ships to replace the two made-to-order Mistrals. In that eventuality, France’s penalties on both ships could amount to nearly enough to pay Russia to build their own carriers, so that Russia could end up getting both new ships, of Russia’s own manufacture, at little or no cost. This might be a French gift to Russia, but it would hurt France’s commercial reputation even more than the penalties would be costing France. The U.S. news media have widely condemned France for not having earlier said that they would renege on this deal. For example, a Republican, anti-Obama, columnist for the Washington Post said that “France’s attempt to sell warships to Russia is both a ‘sell the rope to hang themselves’ moment and a comment on U.S. stature these days.” (She didn’t notice that the ships had already been sold and paid-for.) If President Hollande goes through with his stated intention to “indefinitely suspend” delivery, then perhaps he will win some new fans in the United States, but it probably wouldn’t do anything to win President Obama any new Republican friends. Nothing that Obama has done thus far has won him support from Republicans. France’s President isn’t likely to win their support, either; but, like Obama, Hollande seems to be trying hard to win it, no matter what French laborites and industrialists might wish. Obama doesn’t possess much clout among Republicans, but he still has lots of clout among some other world-leaders, for reasons which aren’t entirely clear, but for which France, in particular, could pay dear. ———- Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.

Some West residents expressed disbelief and frustration Thursday after federal investigators announced that the fire that caused the deadly and destructive fertilizer plant explosion in April 2013 was intentionally set. (Photo by Clint Webb) "I know I'll never believe it. I didn't think it was true when I heard it the first time,” longtime resident Coranell Womack said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced the findings during a news conference Wednesday in West. “This fire was a criminal act,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Robert Elder said. The only hypothesis that couldn’t be eliminated through investigation and testing was that the fire in the seed room of the fertilizer plant's building was incendiary, he said. Investigators reached that conclusion after conducting more than 400 interviews and sifting through mounds of evidence and photos. "All viable accidental and natural fire scenarios were hypothesized, tested, and eliminated," Elder said. What investigators don't know is the intent of the person responsible for the fire, officials said. Food Mart clerk Tony Hill said he just shook his head when he heard about the announcement. “I don't buy what they said.” Neither does Charles Jubacak, who was meeting with a number of senior citizens Thursday at the West Community Center. “I don't quite buy that myself,” he said. Elder said the fire investigation, on which about $2 million was spent, was one of the largest in the history of the ATF. “We have never stopped investigating this fire,” he told reporters. No arrests have been made, and the ATF is offering a reward of as much as $50,000 for information leading to the person responsible for the fire. Waco Crime Stoppers added another $2,000 to the reward. Bryan Anderson, who owns and operates The Pizza House, questions whether the three-year fire investigation produced anything concrete. “It almost feels like they're grasping at straws if you spent $2 million and you interviewed 400 people and you still don't have anything," he said Thursday. “If they had anything they wouldn't be here begging for help for somebody to turn somebody in that may not exist," he said. Anderson and his 9-year-old son were in Anderson’s pickup and driving toward the fertilizer plant when the explosion occurred. The force of the blast tossed the truck off the road and onto the lawn of the West Rest Haven nursing home, which the explosion destroyed. “When it happened I couldn't see he couldn't see and we were just grabbing for each other and he was screaming ‘dad are we dead, are we dead’ and there was a short moment, but I told him ‘I don't know son, but if we are we're dead together.’" "It sucked everything in on us and then blew us across the road and it was horrendous there's memories that I would like to erase that we can't." The powerful explosion on April 17, 2013, left 15 dead including 12 first responders, injured more than 200 and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings including a nursing home, a two-story apartment building and three of West’s schools. The blast affected a 37-block area and left a crater 90 feet wide and 12 feet deep. A preliminary investigation completed about a month after the explosion identified three possible causes of the fire, two accidental and the third intentional. In May 2013, investigators said they had determined that the fire was caused either by a battery-powered golf cart that was kept in the fertilizer and seed building in which the fire started, the building’s 120-volt electrical system or by an intentional criminal act. The tragedy unfolded in just 19 minutes. The fire started at 7:29 p.m. on April 17, 2013. West firefighters were dispatched to the plant at 7:32 p.m., arrived at 7:38 p.m. and requested assistance from other departments at 7:41 p.m. The plant exploded at 7:51 p.m. As much as 64 tons of ammonium nitrate was stored in the building, 28 to 34 tons of which exploded. An additional 20 to 30 tons in the building and another 100 tons in a nearby railcar did not explode. By comparison, the amount of ammonium nitrate that exploded on April 17 in West was about 12 times the amount used in the truck bomb that blew the side off of the Albert P. Murrah federal building on April 19, 1995 in Oklahoma City. In January, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board presented its report on its investigation of the deadly explosion, which included 18 safety recommendations aimed at preventing future such disasters. The 265-page report said the town’s fertilizer plant lacked safety features that could have prevented the blast and says first responders weren’t adequately trained on how to respond to the fire that triggered the detonation. The explosion was the result of “poor hazard awareness, regulatory oversight, inadequate emergency planning and the proximity of the facility to schools and neighboring communities," CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said.

The third round of Revelation Online’s closed beta is almost upon us: It opens up tomorrow and runs through February 2nd, complete with a level bump to 69, three new dungeons, three new missions, the new Faerie Funland map, two new events, badges, updates to scour dungeons, and six new PvP modes. Old freebie beta keys won’t get you in, but new ones will. Guess what we’ve got? Yep, courtesy of My.com. Click the Mo button below (and prove you’re not a robot) to grab one of these keys! No keys left! Sorry. To redeem your code, you’ll need to create an account on the official site, log into it, head to your profile page, and enter your key in the “redeem a promo code” area (and make sure your copypasta is free of any extra spaces). While we are not aware of any hard restrictions on the test, do note that the test is for the English-localized, western-focused audience. Do note that if you already own a founder pack on your account, you’re already in the beta and don’t need a freebie key. Standard giveaway notes: If there’s no captcha or Mo button and all it says is “No keys left! Sorry” in big letters, then we’re out of keys. If we get another batch from the studio, we’ll send out a note on social media. Having problems with the captcha not working? Try an alt browser or clear your cache. Keys are locked to IP, so if you’re on a shared IP with other people claiming keys (like in a library or college), you’re probably going to be beaten to the punch. And finally, hang on to your code! If you lose it after all of our keys are given out, we cannot retrieve it for you. If you miss out on a key this round, stay tuned for MJ’s upcoming beta 3 stream — we’ve held a few back for her to hand out to our viewers. Good luck and have fun!

.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... This year marks the 13th U.S. presidential election in which I have voted, and the most discouraging. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two worst presidential candidates in my lifetime. In a Gallup poll from Sept. 23, only 33 percent said that Clinton was “honest and trustworthy,” compared with 35 percent for Trump. Polls have consistently showed that over half of the electorate believes that Clinton should have been indicted by the Department of Justice. Scandals continue to plague both candidates. Either candidate would be a terrible president, although for different reasons. ADVERTISEMENTSkip Trump is inexperienced, incoherent and says dangerous and misguided things; Clinton is experienced but corrupt, and she has done dangerous and misguided things – especially her hawkish foreign policy initiatives. Neoconservatives and the military-industrial complex are eagerly supporting Clinton over Trump in anticipation of a return to the more aggressive foreign policy orientation of George W. Bush. Some say, “Well, we have to vote for the lesser of the two evils.” I myself have voted in this way much of my life. However, although lesser-evil voting seems to make sense in the short run, when one looks at the effect over time, its problems become clear. Repeatedly voting for the perceived lesser evil lowers standards and creates a “race to the bottom.” By voting for candidates who do not share our values just because they seem better than the opposing candidate, we have given carte blanche to party elites to choose the nominee. As a result, both parties have moved to the right in recent decades: the Republicans to the far right and the Democrats to the center right. Both parties are increasingly influenced by corporate donors and the military-industrial complex. I have decided to say “enough is enough” and reject both of the corrupt and undemocratic political parties. I am working with others to build a progressive alternative by supporting the Green Party and their presidential ticket of Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka. The Green Party is an international party with parties in almost 90 countries. Green parties have been particularly influential in Western Europe and Scandinavia, where they work for environmental and social democratic policies. The German Green Party, founded in 1980, has participated in coalition governments for many years. Green parties have been at the forefront of raising environmental concerns and addressing climate change, but they also prioritize social justice, grass-roots democracy and nonviolence/peace. To learn more about Green party politics, you can find its U.S. platform at gp.org/platform. It is a detailed and excellent platform. Whomever you vote for on Nov. 8, I would encourage you to vote based on your values rather than your fears. The more that we vote out of fear, the more fearful our world becomes. The more that we disregard our values, the more corrupt and amoral our society becomes. Vote not for the lesser evil but rather for the greater good. The Green Party ticket will not win this year’s election. However, if it receives 5 percent of the national vote, the Green Party will qualify for millions of dollars in federal matching funds and easier ballot access in future elections, and will become a viable alternative to the two parties that are asking us to make an impossible choice between two unacceptable candidates.

"We estimate that since the beginning of the year, around 45,000 people who have entered [Germany] without permission haven't been processed by the identity service, even though this is laid out in the law on asylum applications," GdP deputy president Jörg Radek said. The law requires authorities to take fingerprints of anyone caught crossing the border from Austria in to Bavaria – a common route for refugees from Africa. the Middle East and especially the Balkans arriving through southern Europe. But Radek said that officers and their obsolete computers were massively overloaded in the Freyung and Passau areas of the Free State. The Interior Ministry rejected the police complaints, with a spokesman saying that it was only at certain times of peak intensity that other authorities had to step in to help. GdP believes that many refugees simply travel onward without allowing themselves to be registered, although between 250 and 300 people are stopped daily in Passau for identity and criminal record checks, with their details not stored on any database. Police send them to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, but there's no check on whether they actually report there, Radek said. Authorities running short of tents Meanwhile, in Hamburg there were complaints that the whole country is running out of tents and containers in which to house refugees. "In the whole country, there is extreme demand," Hamburg's interior senator Michael Neumann told the Hamburger Abendblatt on Monday. Last week, the port city went ahead with setting up tents in an area where local people had protested fiercely against hosting any refugees, with a 3,000-capacity 'container village' planned for the future. Authorities say that between 200 and 300 refugees arrive in Hamburg every day. Berlin, Hamburg 'check refugees' genitals' Hamburg and Berlin remain the only cities in Germany where doctors are asked to estimate refugees' ages based on examining their genitals and breasts. A survey by dpa showed that all the other German states have put a stop to the practice. States including Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate have declared the genital examinations to be insufficiently accurate. "Even the best medical methods have a margin of error of two to three years," a spokesman for the Thuringian youth ministry said. Hamburg's government says the purpose of the exams is to verify whether or not refugees are minors and that the tests are voluntary. Authorities have different responsibilities towards minors than they do towards adult refugees under the law – with minors' more treatment being more expensive. But the president of the city's medical council said that doctors were becoming the "extension of the state,“ and that saving money was no reason to put people through the exams. Berlin's Charité hospital said that genital exams were not obligatory when forensically determining someone's age and that people were allowed to refuse the test. Germany's other federal states rely on appearance and conversations with the young people to determine their age.

Cee Lo Green (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Cee Lo Green pleaded no contest in court today that he gave ecstasy to a woman during a dinner date at a downtown sushi restaurant back in 2012. However, the 39-year-old "Lady Killer" singer (whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway) still maintains his innocence that he didn't slip his 33-year-old date ecstasy in a drink but rather gave her the drug for her to take voluntarily, according to TMZ. The District Attorney filed felony charges against Green for furnishing ecstasy. The woman said that they were dining together sometime between July 13 and July 14, 2012. She claimed that Green had slipped ecstasy in her drink, and that they went to her hotel room. However, prosecutors didn't have sufficient evidence to file rape charges of an intoxicated person. Green's attorney said that the sex was consensual. Green is ordered to perform 360 hours of community service at the MusiCares Foundation of the Recording Academy and go to 52 AA or NA meetings. He also has to register as a controlled-substance offender. He's on three years of probation, but will be allowed to travel for work, according to KABC.

Twitter’s made it apparent for some time that four individuals in the fighting game community have had something hidden up their sleeves as of late. And now, thanks to Andre Butler of Evil Geniuses, the curtain has been raised on Fighting Game TV. Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, Long “Shady K” Tran, Ricky Ortiz, and Eduardo “PR Balrog” Perez have created a player house similar to those found in the Starcraft community to practice and hone their skills. While they plan on streaming training sessions so people can watch their progress, they’ve also set up to have a live feed of their lives 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Through a multiple camera arrangement, all your stalking fantasies have come true! Be sure to follow both of their TwitchTV channels at FGTVLive and FGTVLive2, as well as their Twitter feed at @FGTVLIVE for news and updates, and check out the entire article at Evil Geniuses. Here’s a small portion to get you started. According to the mission statement provided to me by Shady K, the show itself will be named FGTV (Fighting Game TV, tentative title) with the premise of the show to entertain the viewers with high-level gameplay of various titles. Obviously Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition will be the premier titles of their stream, but no doubt they will throw in different games as well from time to time. The goal here is to try and break the current mold of fighting game related streams where viewers are forced to either watch one person play through laggy online matches or against the same opponent over and over. Another goal is to be as interactive with the stream and their viewers as possible. No more “anti-social” behavior between the streamer and the viewers. All 4 roommates will answer questions, make jokes, and overall participate with the viewers in the stream experience. If that alone is not enough to make you want to watch, keep in mind that these aren’t just 4 top players picked at random. Ricky Ortiz, Shady K, PR Balrog, and Filipino Champ have friendships made over years and years of tournaments, competitive play, international travel, and real life experiences. If you’re not familiar with them already, the stream will display all 4 roommates in the genuine personalities- from the brash, outspoken language of Filipino Champ, sarcastic demeanor of Shady K, bold and boastful dialogue from PR Balrog, and the ever so ferocious Ricky Ortiz. Source: Evil Geniuses

UW Researcher Explores Decoding of Complex Neural Circuits Qian-Quan Sun (right), a UW associate professor of zoology and physiology, and Weiguo Yang, a graduate student in the Neuroscience Program, check lasers during an experiment on the brain tissue of mice. (UW Photo) A University of Wyoming faculty member is part of a research team that created a method, using laser, to better decode complex neural circuits in the brain -- a process that eventually may help unlock the mysteries of epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer’s in humans. “This method can open up the possibilities with high resolutions of cells that are located far apart” in the brain, says Qian-Quan Sun, an associate professor in the UW Department of Zoology and Physiology and the Neuroscience Program. “When we shine the (laser) light, we can study the connections. With mice, we’re looking at autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy.” Sun theorizes that, in a diseased state, neuron circuits in the brain are “hijacked and undergo abnormal changes.” But, before his protocol method, there was no way to create high spatial resolution of light stimulation to pinpoint connections of brain tissue located far apart. “My method reduces the resolution to around 10 micrometers, which is less than the size of one single neuron,” he says. “Before, the resolution was more like 5 millimeters. (As an analogy), we can now study the tip of the tree rather than the bottom of the tree.” Sun co-wrote a paper, titled “An Optogenetics and Imaging-Assisted Simultaneous Multiple Patch-Clamp Recording System for Decoding Complex Neural Circuits,” that appeared in this month’s print issue of Nature Protocols and its online version during February. The journal reports laboratory protocols or methodologies that have been developed by and for researchers. Other contributing writers were from the University of Virginia; Bordeaux University in Bordeaux, France; and Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. Julius Zhu, associate professor of pharmacology at the University of Virginia, was the paper’s lead writer. The Nature Protocols paper was the result of its editors showing interest in other papers Sun wrote that previously appeared in The Journal of Physiology and Public Library of Science (PLOS) One. Those papers focused on an optogenetic “laserspritzer,” a piece of equipment that Sun developed in his lab to measure synaptic connections between brain neurons. In 2014, Sun’s lab received three National Institutes of Health grants worth $1.2 million to develop and use the laser technology to unravel the neural circuit properties associated with epilepsy. “The main story in Nature Protocols was to create simultaneous octuple recordings of brain tissue,” Sun says. “Brain tissue slices of mice were used. It can be applied to other model organisms, such as zebra fish and the fruit fly.” Defining neuronal circuitry is central to understanding brain function and dysfunction. Yet, it remains a daunting task. Sun’s lab and research focus on the cerebral cortex, where cognitive behavior in the brain is learned. “Understanding the cortex has been hindered by the fact that the circuitry of the brain is so complex,” Sun says. “The long-range connections, those farthest apart in the brain, are the most complex. Because the neurons are very far apart, there previously was no way to study the connections between the far synaptical neurons.” The laser technology, or “laserspritzer” approach, that Sun developed can be used to selectively activate synaptic connections between specific neurons. A high-resolution circuit diagram provides detailed information at the sub-cellular levels of brain tissue slices. “We can look at a normal mouse and one with epilepsy. We can look at the neural connections,” says Sun, who thinks epilepsy in mice is connected to sleep/wake cycles. “Without these protocols, the connections are like a black box.” Sun is optimistic his protocols will be used by other researchers due, in part, to their low cost. Sun stressed it would not require high start-up costs in equipment. “Once you have a protocol, hopefully more labs will use this protocol to help their research. Other colleagues called me and thanked me that they could now use this,” Sun says. “I see this as the greater contribution than making progress on my own work.”

An information technology staffer left the country the month after U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan’s office fired her after learning she and several family members were under investigation for possible criminal violations of the House of Representatives rules governing IT, acquisition and personnel. The woman is named in a criminal complaint against her husband, who was arrested on a bank fraud charge as he attempted to leave the country for Pakistan last week. An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Imran Awan states there is probable cause to believe that Awan and his wife, Hina Alvi, engaged in a scheme to defraud the Congressional Federal Credit Union based on misrepresentations made to obtain a loan. To read affidavit, click here Alvi was an employee shared between Ryan’s office and other congressional offices who “provided routine IT services — maintaining official computers and blackberries, including repair of equipment, installation of new equipment and software and maintenance of printers and copying equipment,” Michael Zetts, Ryan’s communication director, stated in an email. Alvi was fired from the position in February after the office learned of a Capitol Police investigation into Alvi, Zetts stated. “In February 2017 our office was informed by the House Administration Committee, the House Chief Administrative Officer, the House Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Police that Hina Alvi and other members of her family employed by other offices were under investigation by the Capitol Police for possible criminal violations of the House IT rules, acquisition rules and personnel rules. We terminated Hina Alvi’s employment immediately,” Zetts stated. Ryan, D-Howland, and his office are cooperating with the investigation, Zetts said. In March, federal agents searched Alvi before she and her three children boarded a flight to Doha, Qatar, on their way to Lahore, Pakistan, according to the complaint against Awan. She had more than $12,000, and numerous pieces of luggage, including cardboard boxes filled with household goods and food, the complaint affidavit states. Alvi left the country with the children, who were “abruptly” removed from school in Fairfax County, Virginia, and is not expected to return, though she has a return flight scheduled in September, the affidavit states. Alvi’s husband, Awan of Lorton, Virginia, pleaded not guilty to one count of bank fraud in his first appearance July 25 in federal court. He was released pursuant to a high-intensity supervision program, including the restriction that he not travel beyond a 50-mile radius of his home, according to the court. Awan was fired from his position as an IT staffer for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL, last week after his arrest. The Republican National Committee on Monday raised questions about the security of information Alvi and Awan could have had access to. “We have no reason to believe that any information related to our constituents has been compromised. But those questions are being investigated by the appropriate authorities,” Zetts stated. The RNC alleges Awan and others related to him worked also for two other Ohio U.S. Reps.: Marcia Fudge, D-District 11, and Joyce Beatty, D-District 3. FBI Special Agent Brandon Merriman said in the affidavit that the misrepresentations revolved around written assurances that the home serving as collateral for the loan was a “principal residence.” Merriman said the credit union normally does not provide home equity lines of credit when the home used to secure the loan is a rental. That’s because they are riskier forms of collateral. The investigation, which included physical surveillance and interviews, determined the couple did not reside at the property used to secure the loan. Awan’s attorney, Chris Gowen, said the federal bank fraud count stems from a “modest real estate matter” and is motivated by anti-Muslim bigotry. He noted that Awan is an American citizen and said “this outrageous political prosecution” was forcing his children to live in squalor in Pakistan. He said he’s confident Awan “will soon be able to clear his name and get on with his life.” A preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 21, according to Gowen. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I said we should be prepared to walk away from the negotiations. I didn’t say we should deliberately sandbag them from the outset. The government of Canada has at last revealed its objectives for talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a month after the Trump administration released its own. Of course, the nature of any such exercise is to reveal as much about each side’s perceptions of the other’s negotiating position; it makes no sense to come to the table with demands that haven’t a ghost of a chance of being accepted. From which we must conclude that what Donald Trump wants out of a renegotiated NAFTA, in the Trudeau government’s estimation, is a feminist-aboriginal rights manifesto against global warming. Either that, or Justin Trudeau and his advisers have concluded the talks have no chance of succeeding, and are already preparing for their demise. It is hard, otherwise, to make sense of the government’s apparent belief that the talks, instituted at the behest of a government that is not only the most protectionist U.S. administration in nearly a century, but also the most overtly regressive, offer a golden opportunity to convert NAFTA into a wish list of the most fevered ambitions of liberal progressives, circa this minute. As outlined by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in her University of Ottawa speech Monday morning, they include not only incorporating existing side letters on labour and environmental standards into the core of the agreement, but also “efforts to address climate change.” Also “a new chapter on gender rights.” Not to mention “an Indigenous chapter.” Oh, and we’re also going to keep supply management and every existing exclusion for the cultural industries, thank you, two areas specifically targeted by the Trump administration for elimination. Well, all right: maybe it’s just an opening bargaining position. The first two, what is more, are no more than what the Trump administration has itself proposed, I’m guessing out of a belief that they would primarily disadvantage the Mexicans. But do Trudeau’s people really think the Trumpians could be induced to accept bringing climate change into it? And gender? And Indigenous rights? Even if these are as fantastically meaningless as, for example, the gender chapter lately added to the Canada-Chile free trade agreement (“The Parties acknowledge the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into the promotion of inclusive economic growth” should give you the flavour of it) it is hard to imagine Trump or his advisers accepting the symbolism, or the precedent. On the other hand, having publicly raised these issues, with the uncompromising constituencies attached to each, it is hard to imagine Trudeau’s people signing onto an agreement that does not contain them. Is it inconceivable, then, that the Trudeau government is setting the talks up to fail? It would not be an unreasonable supposition on their part. Of three possible outcomes — a successful conclusion to the negotiations, leading to an agreement between the three countries on a renewed NAFTA; failure, followed by Trump making good on his threat to abrogate the treaty; and failure, unaccompanied by abrogation — the third may well be the most likely. The chances of the first might be rated as slim in light of the several deal-breakers in the lengthy list of negotiating objectives the Trump administration released last month, the effect of any one of which would be to transform NAFTA beyond recognition. These include mandated reductions in the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico; elimination of the Chapter 19 binational dispute resolution panels; some sort of “mechanism” to curb alleged exchange rate manipulation; and so on. Canada and Mexico might be more inclined to accept these, if the alternative were to lose NAFTA altogether. As time has worn on, however, Trump’s threat seems less and less likely to be carried out. It is to be doubted whether he has the legal power to do so unilaterally: trade is a shared jurisdiction between the president and Congress. As trade lawyer Jon Johnson points out in a paper for the C.D. Howe Institute (“The Art of Breaking the Deal: What President Trump Can and Can’t Do About NAFTA”), while Trump could give the required six months’ notice of withdrawal, Congress would have to repeal the implementing legislation. But even if Trump has the legal power, it is very much to be doubted whether he has the political clout to do so — not only because of the many and powerful U.S. interests with a stake in NAFTA’s continuance, whom the Trudeau government has been assiduously courting, but by his own increasing political isolation, not to say impotence. That leaves the third option: the talks fail, followed by … nothing. In which case the existing agreement remains in place. Suppose you were a Trudeau adviser, and you thought that the most likely outcome. Suppose, too, you were obsessed as ever with co-opting union and left-wing support from the NDP and otherwise depriving that party of political oxygen. Would it not make sense, from that perspective, to get your grandstanding demands on the record now, so as to be able to pretend, when the inevitable happens, that you fought the good fight? But as it is: you keep the left happy by seeming to campaign for a more progressive NAFTA, while the centre and right are happy so long as NAFTA remains intact. As they say in the negotiating business, it’s win-win.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett leaves the field following a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett celebrates with defensive end Greg Hardy (76) after Hardy sacked New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hands a signed helmet back to a fan before a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) catches the ball while being covered by Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) in the first quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) throw the ball to running back Darren McFadden (20) in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo along the sideline during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) leaves the field following a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) scrambles from New York Giants defensive end George Selvie (93) in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) along the sidelines during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants running back Orleans Darkwa (26) rushes for a touchdown while being defended by Dallas Cowboys strong safety Barry Church (42) in the first quarter to make the score 6-3 during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) rushes the ball in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys tight end James Hanna (84) is tackled short of a first down on a fourth down and 8-yards to go in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) attempts to pass the ball in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) celebrates with wide receiver Devin Street (15) after Street caught a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) celebrates with wide receiver Devin Street (15) after Street caught a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) is sacked in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) carries the ball while getting a block from tight end Jason Witten (82) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) returns an interception for a touchdown after a caught pass thrown by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler (19) attempts to tackle New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) after Rodgers-Cromartie caught an interception from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) leaves the field after New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) celebrates after he caught an interception from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) celebrates after he caught an interception from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) catches an interception from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) walks off the field after New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) caught an interception from Cassel in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) catches an interception from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the third quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris (17) returns a kick for a touchdown to make the scots 26-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler (19) attempts to tackle New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) after Rodgers-Cromartie caught an interception from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler (19) attempts to tackle New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) after Rodgers-Cromartie caught an interception from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams (83) catches a pass for a first down on a third down and 9-yards to go in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) runs for a first down on a third down with 1-yard to go in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler (19) attempts to tackle New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) after Rodgers-Cromartie caught an interception from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams (83) catches a pass for a first down on a third down and 9-yards to go in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Devin Street (15) celebrates after catching a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Devin Street (15) catches a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) celebrates with wide receiver Devin Street (15) after Cassel threw a pass to Street for a touchdown to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Devin Street (15) catches a pass from quarterback Matt Cassel (16) to make the score 19-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) A Dallas Cowboys fan sits dejected after New York Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris (17) returned a kick for a touchdown to make the scots 26-20 in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Myles White (19) recovers a fumbled punt to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Myles White (19) recovers a fumbled punt to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) leaves the field dejected following a fumbled punt that was recovered by New York Giants wide receiver Myles White (19) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Myles White (19) recovers a fumbled punt to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) in the fourth quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. The Giants beat the Cowboys 27-20. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) preares to snap the ball in the first half during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) is sacked by Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy (76) in the second quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle (21) is tackled by New York Giants defensive end Kerry Wynn (72) on a carry in the first quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (82) makes a reception in the first quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) pitches the ball to wide receiver Lucky Whitehead (13) in the first quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) throws before a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) and outside linebacker Sean Lee (50) tackle New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell (84) after a reception in the first quarter during a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones signs his autograph for fans before a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (82) takes a photograph with fans fans a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys fans David Denning and his daughter, Katie Denning, of Cincinnati, Ohio, waits for player to enter the field before a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden (3) while warming up before a National Football League game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Sunday October 25, 2015. (Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News) Injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) and teammates watch as time runs out in the fourth quarter on the Cowboys in their 27-20 loss during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) walks off the field after the Cowboys' 27-20 loss during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones (31) dives to try and intercept a pass as teammate Dallas Cowboys strong safety Barry Church (42) dives alongside. The officials ruled the pass incomplete upon appeal during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas head coach Jason Garrett argues with an official about the overturning of an interception call in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (82) powers into New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) after catching a long pass in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) breaks free for good yardage on a second quarter run as New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) tries for the tackle during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) stiff arms New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) scrambles away from pressure in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Oct 25, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA;Dallas Cowboys running back Christine Michael (30) gets tackled by New York Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley (28) in the 2nd half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) intercepts a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams (83) in the third quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Lucky Whitehead (13) runs the ball behind a block by quarterback Matt Cassel (16), who takes on New York Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley (28), in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrance Williams (83) catches a long pass in the second quarter as New York Giants free safety Landon Collins (21) pursues during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants' Dwayne Harris (17) returns a kickoff for a touchdown in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants wide receiver Dwayne Harris (17) is all smiles on the Giants bench after returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) throws a pass under pressure from New York Giants defensive end George Selvie (93) in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, left looks towards the field as quarterback Matt Cassel (16) walks to the bench past injured quarterback Tony Romo (9) after Cassel threw an interception in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) reacts during the fourth quarter as New York Giants middle linebacker Jon Beason (52) looks on during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) reacts after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the third quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) reacts after throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the third quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) and guard Zack Martin (70) react after Cassel's second interception, this one in the third quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) is tackled as he tries to evade the pressure from New York Giants defensive tackle Markus Kuhn (78) in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) intercepts a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys receiver Brice Butler (19) in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Cowboys fan Rene Sigala of Dallas (right) can only shrug as time runs out on the Cowboys in their 27-20 loss to the Giants during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (41) intercepts a pass intended for Dallas Cowboys receiver Brice Butler (19) in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Injured Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) cheers on his teammates during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones (31) appears to intercept a tipped second-quarter pass, but official ruled the pass incomplete in a controversial call during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) The Cowboys defense stuffs New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings (23) on a first-quarter run during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (82) fights through a horde of Giants defenders for extra yardage after catching a long pass in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) has a third-down pass deflected as tackle Tyron Smith (77) blocks New York Giants defensive end Kerry Wynn (72) late in the fourth quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel (16) throws a pass behind the block of guard La'el Collins (71) in the second quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Dallas Cowboys running back Darren McFadden (20) rumbles past New York Giants strong safety Brandon Meriweather (22) in the third quarter during the Dallas Cowboys versus the New York Giants NFL football game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, October 25, 2015. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) Oct 25, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA;Dallas Cowboys running back Christine Michael (30) gets tackled by New York Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley (28) in the 2nd half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Cowboys did indeed use running back Christine Michael more Sunday against the Giants, but it certainly wasn't extensive. The Cowboys said all week they planned to have Michael get more touches. Michael had two carries before Sunday and finished with five rushes for 18 yards against the Giants. Michael was used to spell McFadden, who had the bulk of the carries Sunday with starter Joseph Randle leaving the game after two attempts with back spasms. "I thought [Michael] did a good job with his chances," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, "but Darren just played really, really well."

More articles by Posted in mtg Posted on Friday, September 22nd, 2017 by the Good Gamery Judge TeamMore articles by Good Gamery Posted in Judge's Corner Welcome back to the Judge’s Corner. This week we have a special Ixalan edition of Judge’s Corner where we go over some important rules notes and reminders about the new set in preparation for the upcoming prerelease. Q: When I deal damage to my opponent with Gishath, Sun’s Avatar, what I am supposed to reveal about many cards from the top of my library? A: You’re supposed to reveal that many of them are Dinosaurs. Q: Can you explain how explore works? A: Explore is a sorcery that costs one generic mana and one green mana and allows you to play an additional land (sometimes two) that turn and draw a card. You may cast it during the main phase of your turn. Q: I tried to play Torment of Venom on my opponent’s Carnage Tyrant, but he said that Carnage Tyrant’s ability stops that. Is he right? A: Yes, your opponent is correct. Carnage Tyrant can’t be countered. Q: Jace, Cunning Castaway has the type Legendary Planeswalker – Jace. What does this mean? A: No, Jace has the type Planeswalker. Legendary is a supertype and Jace is a subtype. Q: What is the difference between the new Treasure tokens and Gold tokens? A: Treasure tokens are colorless artifact tokens with the ability, “T, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.” Gold tokens are only produced by the card Sword of Dungeons and Dragons from the upcoming Unstable set. Q: I control Admiral Beckett Brass and attack with Angrath’s Marauders. If my opponent doesn’t block, will I be able to gain control of one of his nonland permanents? A: Yes. Note that the name “Angrath’s Marauders” is plural, as you can clearly see three different Pirates in the art. Plus, they deal double damage so that’s already like, six Pirates in all. So you can totally gain control of one of your opponent’s nonland permanents this way! Q: My opponent claims he can Demolish my Hostage Taker, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. What gives? A: Your opponent is right, he can Demolish your Hostage Taker. This is because Hostage Taker was unfortunately printed with a word omitted in its rules text: it has been errata’d to say “When Hostage Taker enters the battlefield, exile another target artifact or creature until Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield.” This means that Hostage Taker is an artifact. Q: What does Tocatli Honor Guard’s ability do? A: Tocatli Honor Guard is the newest of a category of cards we affectionately like to call “rules reminder cards.” Frequently newer or less enfranchised players think that their creatures do whatever they do immediately when they play them. Tocatli Honor Guard is there to remind them that just entering the battlefield isn’t necessarily going to cause their creatures’ abilities to trigger. The ability doesn’t actually do anything. Some examples of older rules reminder cards include Heartbeat of Spring, Kami of the Crescent Moon, Vernal Bloom, Cavalry Master, and Dauthi Slayer. Submit your questions to @goodgamery on Twitter using #judgescorner. Share this: Twitter Facebook Reddit

Almost the entire town it seems, anyway. Afghan War veteran – Steven Hewett – demanded that the city remove the Christian Flag that was raised over the public memorial to veterans like him. They called him a coward, and threatened to beat him up (and the handful of other supporters). They demanded that people like Steven be run out of town so that any pending lawsuit would lose its legal standing. Clearly, they are fueled by the history revisionism of Liars for Jesus like author David Barton. (‘Merica is a Christian nation. Thomas Jefferson ordered the Marine Corps band to play at the Sunday church service in the Capitol Bldg… etc.) Weird little half-truths so brutally distorted that they only convince those who actively want it to be true. A Senator and a NC Representative joined a rally against Hewett’s efforts, on stage. It was pretty damned offensive: http://www.youtube.com/embed/8ucVDpmFz-E#t=941 Please watch the entire film In God We Trust (above – free on YouTube), and ‘like’ the Remove the Christian Flag from King Facebook page created by Steven Hewett. Let this brave hero know that you give a shit! From the film-maker:

Some Random memory testing Since AGESA 1006 is all about memory compatibility I decided to dedicate a page on just that, memory compatibility. Ryzen can be weird, some memory works at brand A, but not on brand B or vice versa. In my experiences DDR4 in general is best supported by MSI and ASRock, followed by Gigabyte and the absolute worst (in my experience) is ASUS. The number of memory issues I had with the Crosshair VI HERO are diverse and plentiful. We test worst case scenario hence for the memory testing I will be reverting to that Crosshair VI HERO motherboard. I have loaded it up with a beta firmware 1401 that has AGESA 1006 (download). I will now take several DIMM kits I have lying around. For each DIMM kit we drain the CMOS, enter BIOS accept default settings and enable XMP (DOCP as ASUS is listing it). If the memory can boot into Windows 10 we'll run an AIDA bandwidth test and check at what frequency the memory is configured at and with what timings. We'll test single rank and thus a dual channel two DIMM setup. Mind you that 3000 MHz kits will always revert to 2933 MHz as there is no memory divider for 3000 MHz. Procedure: Drain CMOS/ BIOS BIOS: reset to defaults BIOS select XMP/ DOCP Standard Save and restart That's it .. no do not perform manual configuration of voltages, timings and frequencies. GEIL EVO X 3200 MHz kit - PASS: 3200 MHz / CL16 Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200 MHz / CL16 - PASS: 3200 MHz / CL16 Teamgroup T-Force RGB NightHawk 3000 MHz / CL16 - PASS: 2933 MHz / CL16 Teamgroup T-Force NightHawk 3000 MHz / CL16 - PASS: 2933 MHz / CL16 G.Skill FLARE 3200 MHz CL14 kit - PASS: 3200 MHz / CL14 We'll continue on the next page.

Gu Bongil is rightly famous for his absurdly long advance lunge, but it’s not his only party trick. He’s also got a vicious point-counterattack which is both devastating and, it seems, infuriating. He seems to particularly enjoy deploying it at the most aggravating possible times, like when he’s on 14 having just fought back from a major deficit. I feel extremely sorry for Wagner in this one: I fall for this sort of thing far too often, and boy does it suck. Gu’s other distinctive characteristic is his habit of trailing in the first half of the bout, sometimes dramatically, before fighting back very aggressively towards the end, with 10-0 runs not unheard of. It remains an open question how much of this is a result of his tactical style, which is very heavily reliant on predicting his opponent’s reactions and always takes a while to set up; and how much is just trolling. He certainly seems to do it a lot less against higher ranked fencers. This could be the result of having fenced them more often and studied them more closely, allowing him to go into the match with a better plan; it could also be the result of him just not wanting to screw around against someone he’s genuinely scared of. The full match against Wagner is available on our YouTube channel, and is a perfect example of Gu’s chasing game. Wagner’s playing a very effective defensive game in the first half, using very powerful parries to neutralise Gu’s attack in the 4m. It takes Gu much longer than it probably should to adapt, switch over to less aggressive tactics and start scoring with counterattacks and counterparries. Here’s the official version: Here’s an unofficial version from CyrusofChaos, from a different angle and with some commentary: As it turns out, this was a bit of a foreshadowing of the team final between Korea and Germany a couple of days later. What is profoundly mysterious to me is why Gu, who learned the hard way in this match that the Germans had a lock on his 4m attacks, seemed to completely forget it a couple of days later and fell into exactly the same traps. He’s got a reputation as a seriously smart tactician, which makes it all the more baffling. If anyone can provide some insight about what’s going on with the Korean tactical game here, please do. Share this: Twitter Facebook

Out of the 266 Popes to have ruled the Catholic Church, ten in particular stand out for their wickedness. This is a list of the ten with a description of their errors and faults. 1. Liberius, reigned 352-66 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Pope Liberius is the first Pope not to be canonised a saint. He reigned during the height of the Arian crisis during which a large majority of the Church believed that Jesus was not God, but merely a man. The Arian heresy was fought against by the Patriarch of Alexandria Saint Athanasius who consecrated Bishops without permission. Pope Liberius, rather than defending Athanasius, signed a document that supported those against him and condemned Athanasius. Nearing the end of his pontificate he recanted his signature and reinstated Athanasius. While the Pope did not embrace the heresy himself, he did not use his power fully to put an end to it. His reign did nothing to stop the confusion spreading throughout the Church. Pope John XII committed incest with his sisters. Pope Formosus had his body dumped in a river after his death. Read more incredible stories in Dark History of the Popes at Amazon.com! 2. Honorius I, reigned 625-638 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Like Liberius, Honorius I was condemned and excommunicated for heresy by the sixth general council in 680. The heresy in question was Montheism in which Jesus is seen as a divine-human, rather than the orthodox belief of physeis that he is both fully God and fully man. Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople wrote to Honorius asking him to decide the question that was causing much division at the time. Instead of clarifying the view of the Church, Honorius did nothing. His lack of action was so scandalous that for 3 centuries, each new Pope had to state at his coronation that he: “smites with eternal anathema the originators of the new heresy, Sergius, etc., together with Honorius, because he assisted the base assertion of the heretics.” The Roman Breviary contained the condemnation of Honorius on the Feast of St Leo II right up until the 18th century. 3. Stephen VI, reigned 896-89 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Pope Stephen VI was consecrated (possibly against his will) by Pope Formosus who, during his reign, was excommunicated for leaving the Papal seat and “conspiring to destroy the papal see”. He was eventually forgiven and returned to Rome. When Stephen VI came the Papal Throne, he had the body of formosus exhumed and put on trial (this is the famous Cadaver Synod). Formosus was accused of transmigrating sees in violation of canon law, of perjury, and of serving as a bishop while actually a layman. Stephen had Formosus’ papal vestments removed and two fingers from his right hand cut off. Formosus’ body was thrown in to the Tiber. After the Synod, public opinion turned against Stephen. He was deposed in an uprising and strangled to death. 4. John XII, reigned 955-964 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Through his mother Alda of Vienne, John XII was a seventh generation descendant of Charlemagne. John was the temporal and spiritual ruler of Rome and during his pontificate he virtually turned it into a whorehouse. Moral corruption in Rome became a major problem. After crowning Otto I Emporer of Germany in order to secure his support in a war against Berengar II of Itlay, he changed his mind and began communicating with Berengar. Otto learnt of John’s treachery and returned to Rome after defeating Berengar. He called a council which deposed John who was hiding in the mountains, and elected Leo VIII in his place. John, with a large group of supporters, returned to Rome to depose Leo VIII before Otto had even left. Otto pledged to assist Leo against John but before the matter went any further, John died. It is rumoured that he was killed by the husband of one of his mistresses. An account of the charges against him in the Patrologia Latina states: They testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father’s concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse. They said that he had gone hunting publicly; that he had blinded his confessor Benedict, and thereafter Benedict had died; that he had killed John, cardinal subdeacon, after castrating him; and that he had set fires, girded on a sword, and put on a helmet and cuirass. 5. Benedict IX, reigned 1032-1048 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Benedict IX was Pope from 1032 to 1044, again in 1045, and finally from 1047 to 1048, the only man to have served as Pope for three discontinuous periods. He was also one of the youngest Popes (reigning from around age 18-20). He reportedly led an extremely dissolute life, and also allegedly had few qualifications for the papacy other than connections with a socially powerful family, although in terms of theology and the ordinary activities of the Church he was entirely orthodox. St. Peter Damian described him as “feasting on immorality” and “a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest” in the Liber Gomorrhianus, a treatise on papal corruption and sex that accused Benedict IX of routine homosexuality and bestiality. He was also accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of “many vile adulteries and murders.” Pope Victor III referred to “his rapes, murders and other unspeakable acts. His life as a Pope so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it.” Benedict gave up his papacy for the first time in exchange for a large sum of money in 1044. He returned in 1045 to depose his replacement and reigned for one month, after which he left again, possibly to marry, and sold the papacy for a second time, to his Godfather (possibly for over 650 kg /1450 lb of gold). Two years later, Benedict retook Rome and reigned for an additional one year, until 1048. Poppo of Brixen (later to become Pope Damascus II) eventually forced him out of Rome. Benedict’s place and date of death are unknown, but some speculate that he made further attempts to regain the Papal Throne. 6. Boniface VIII, reigned 1294-1303 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Due to the King of France (Philip IV) taxing the clergy of the Church to help finance his wars, Boniface VIII released one of the most important papal bulls of Catholic History: Unam Sanctum. It declared that both spiritual and temporal power were under the pope’s jurisdiction, and that kings were subordinate to the power of the Church. “Now, therefore, we declare, say, determine and pronounce that for every human creature it is necessary for salvation to be subject to the authority of the Roman pontiff” (Porro subesse Romano Pontifici omni humanae creaturae declaramus, dicimus, definimus, et pronuntiamus omnino esse de necessitate salutis). This is considered to be an infallible declaration of the Catholic Church. Philip retaliated against the bull by denying the exportation of money from France to Rome, funds that the Church required to operate. Boniface had no choice but to quickly meet the demands of Philip by allowing taxation only “during an emergency.” Philip’s chief minister declared that Boniface was a heretic, and in return, Boniface excommunicated the King. On September 7, 1303 an army led by Nogaret and Sciarra Colonna of the Colonna family surprised Boniface at his retreat in Anagni. The King and the Colonnas demanded that he resign, to which Boniface VIII responded that he would ‘sooner die’. Boniface was beaten badly and nearly executed but was released from captivity after three days. He died a month later, on October 11, 1303. 7. Urban VI, reigned 1378-1389 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Urban VI was the first Pope of the Western Schism (which ultimately lead to three people claiming the Papal throne at the same time). Urban VI was the last Pope to be selected from outside of the College of Cardinals. Once elected, he was prone to outbursts of rage. The cardinals who elected him decided that they had made the wrong decision and they elected a new Pope in his place (he took the name of Clement VII and started a second Papal court in Avignon, France). The second election threw the Church into turmoil. There had been antipopes, rival claimants to the papacy, before, but most of them had been appointed by various rival factions; in this case, the legitimate leaders of the Church themselves had created both popes. The conflict quickly escalated from a church problem to a diplomatic crisis that divided Europe. Secular leaders had to choose which pope they would recognize. The schism was repaired forty years later when all three of the (then) reigning Popes abdicated together and a successor elected in the person of Pope martin V. This list getting you down? Lighten things up with this Hood Pope T-Shirt at Amazon.com! 8. Alexander VI, reigned 1492-1503 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Born Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI is so famous for his debased reign that his surname has become synonymous with the debased standards of the papacy in his era. Alexander’s elevation did not at the time excite much alarm, and at first his reign was marked by a strict administration of justice and an orderly method of government. But it was not long before his passion for endowing his relatives at the church’s and his neighbours’ expense became manifest. To that end he was ready to commit any crime and to plunge all Italy into war. Alexander VI had three sons in addition to his famous daughter Lucrezia. During his pontificate virtually everything he did was to further the position of his children and family in the world. In order to dominate the Sacred College of Cardinals more completely, Alexander, in a move that created much scandal, created twelve new cardinals, among them his own son Cesare, then only eighteen years old, and Alessandro Farnese (later Pope Paul III), the brother of one of the Pope’s mistresses, the beautiful Giulia Farnese. The death of the Pope is well recorded by Burchard: Alexander VI’s stomach became swollen and turned to liquid, while his face became wine-coloured and his skin began to peel off. Finally his stomach and bowels bled profusely. After more than a week of intestinal bleeding and convulsive fevers, and after accepting last rites and making a confession, the despairing Alexander VI expired on 18 August 1503 at the age of 72. It is highly likely that he was poisoned, though others speculate that he may have died of malaria. 9. Leo X, reigned 1513-1521 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Pope Leo X is known primarily for his papal bull against Martin Luther and subsequent failure to stem the Protestant Reformation, which began during his reign when Martin Luther (1483–1546) published the 95 Theses and nailed them to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. When he became Pope, Leo X is reported to have said to his brother Giuliano: “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.” Under his pontificate, Christianity assumed a pagan character, which, passing from art into manners, gives to this epoch a strange complexion. Crimes for the moment disappeared, to give place to vices; but to charming vices, vices in good taste, such as those indulged in by Alcibiades and sung by Catullus.” Alexandre Dumas His extravagance offended not only people like Martin Luther, but also some cardinals, who, led by Alfonso Petrucci of Siena, plotted an assassination attempt. Eventually, Pope Leo found out who these people were, and had them followed. The conspirators died of “food poisoning.” Some people argue that Leo X and his followers simply concocted the assassination charges in a moneymaking scheme to collect fines from the various wealthy cardinals Leo X detested. Not every aspect of his pontificate was bad; he raised the church to a high rank as the friend of whatever seemed to extend knowledge or to refine and embellish life. He made the capital of Christendom the center of culture. The Venetian ambassador (Marino Giorgi) had this to say of the Pope: The pope is a good-natured and extremely free-hearted man, who avoids every difficult situation and above all wants peace; he would not undertake a war himself unless his own personal interests were involved; he loves learning; of canon law and literature he possesses remarkable knowledge; he is, moreover, a very excellent musician. Having fallen ill of malaria, Leo X died on 1 December 1521, so suddenly that the last sacraments could not be administered; but the contemporary suspicions of poison were unfounded. 10. Clement VII, reigned 1523-1524 [Catholic Encyclopaedia] Clement VII (Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici) brought to the Papal throne a high reputation for political ability, and possessed in fact all the accomplishments of a wily diplomat. However, he was considered worldly and indifferent to what went on around him, including the ongoing Protestant reformation. The Pope’s wavering politics also caused the rise of the Imperial party inside the Curia: Pompeo Cardinal Colonna’s soldiers pillaged the Vatican City and gained control of the whole of Rome in his name. The humiliated Pope promised therefore to bring the Papal States to the Imperial side again. Soon he found himself alone in Italy too, as the duke of Ferrara had sided with the Imperial army, permitting to the horde of Landsknechts led by Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, and Georg von Frundsberg, to reach Rome without harm. Charles of Bourbon died during the long siege, and his troops, unpaid and left without a guide, felt free to ravage Rome from May 6, 1527. The innumerable series of murders, rapes and vandalism that followed ended forever the splendours of the Renaissance Rome. Clement was kept as a prisoner in Castel Sant’Angelo for six months. After having bought some Imperial officers, he escaped disguised as a peddler, and took shelter in Orvieto, and then in Viterbo. He came back to a depopulated and devastated Rome only in October 1528. Subsequently the Pope followed a policy of subservience to the Emperor, endeavouring on the one hand to induce him to act with severity against the Lutherans in Germany, and on the other to elude his demands for a general council. Pope Clement VII is remembered for having ordered, just a few days before his death, Michelangelo’s painting of The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. 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