Datasets:

Elriggs

/

openwebtext-100k

like 7

China's banks are disguising bad debts by turning them into "securitized packages" rather than writing them down as non-performing loans, according to the IMF. The "untradeable debt" comes from China's "shadow credit" world, which has generated a massive amount of credit that has the potential to become suddenly illiquid. The debts consist of interbank loans in "a structure potentially susceptible to rapid risk transmission and destabilizing liquidity events," the IMF says. The amount of "shadow credit" grew 48% in 2015, to RMB 40 trillion (£470 billion or $580 billion), the IMF says, "equivalent to 40% of banks’ corporate loans and 58% of GDP." If any of this sounds familiar, that's because it is. It's similar in principal to the way American banks disguised bad mortgages inside securitized packages before the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008. Back then, US mortgage providers gave out too many loans to people who couldn't repay them. On its own, that should not have been a problem. A mortgage default only hurts the bank that made the loan. But banks bundled together packages of those mortgages and sold them as "mortgage-backed securities" to other institutions. Bad mortgages were mixed in with good ones, making it impossible for investors to judge their quality. When it became obvious that some of these packages were toxic, no one wanted to buy any them. The market became suddenly illiquid. And the credit derivative hedges and leveraged bets layered upon them magnified the problem throughout the entire banking system, creating the financial collapse that plunged most of the world into recession. In China, a number of smaller banks are now trying to do the same thing. "China’s financial system could be vulnerable to a Lehman Brothers-style collapse," the FT says. The FT's article is based on this report from the IMF, published in August. Normally, banks get their funding for loans from customers' retail deposits. This is a stable source of funds because people rarely close or move their bank accounts, and their salaries are often deposited directly into them on a regular basis. The funding is "sticky," as the FT describes it. But some Chinese banks have been generating funds from "interbank loans" and "wealth management products" (WMPs). The latter consist of funds that come from the "shadow credit" world — "nonbank institutions such as trusts, securities companies and fund management companies," as the FT describes it. The funds are turned into loans. The loans are packaged as WMPs, which look similar to cash deposit saving vehicles. Customers who buy WMPs get higher interest returns, as much 11‒14% (compared to 3% or 4% on regular bonds). These charts show how they have increased in the last couple of years: The problem with those is that unlike customer deposits, other banks and shadow credit sources can turn off their funding very, very quickly. And WMPs don't come with deposit insurance like normal bank accounts, the IMF says: "A possibly greater risk to stability may reside in the potential for defaults on widely-held 'shadow products' to trigger risk-aversion that results in the withdrawal of liquidity from short-tenor investments in high-risk borrowers. This risk is intensified by financial institutions’ own increasing reliance on short-term wholesale (including interbank) funding, a structure potentially susceptible to rapid risk transmission and destabilizing liquidity events." At the same time, the funds generated by WMPs are being loaned to riskier borrowers. In other words: the risk of default on WMPs is higher they carry no deposit insurance protection for customers and the risk of funds drying up for them is higher too. Some highlights — or lowlights from the IMF's report: "About half of shadow credit products appear to pose elevated risk of default and loss. Some shadow products appear benign; but others appear to contain significantly higher default risk and loss potential than banks’ corporate loan portfolios. These high-risk products offer yields of 11‒14 percent, compared with 6 percent on loans and 3‒4 percent on bonds. Those whose underlying assets are ‘nonstandard credit assets’ (NSCA)—untradeable debt, typically loans—are probably of lowest quality." "At end-2015, banks held RMB 15.2tn of shadow products—equivalent to 8 percent of banks’ assets and 92 percent of capital buffers, and up 58 percent year-on-year for listed banks. Because these positions appear to be motivated in part by some banks’ practice of repacking deteriorating loans into investment securities to avoid recognising and providing for nonperforming loans (NPLs), banks’ exposures are likely skewed toward the riskier products (those with NSCA as underlying asset). The “big four” banks have small exposures, but several other listed banks and the unlisted in aggregate have exposures that are several times their capital." "Transferring deteriorating loans into securitized packages, much of which ends up on banks’ balance sheets, allowed banks to avoid recognising these exposures as NPLs, taking loan-loss provision charges to earnings, and including the loans in their loan-to-deposit ratios." It is not all bad news, however. As always, the Chinese state has the ability to guarantee or backstop loans that fail. And the China Banking Regulatory Commission recently changed the rules to limit banks' ability to create these products in the future. If the CBRC can impose its "Document 82" reform successfully, the problem should ease. That is not a guarantee, however, as Chinese banks have a habit of obeying new rules by finding new ways to skirt them. "The process of loss realization on loans is likely to be gradual and the system has mechanisms, such as state backstops, to prevent loan deterioration from rapidly metastasizing," the IMF says.

Forget about your worries and your strife? Probably not. The Jungle Book, Disney via YouTube The new “Jungle Book” movie is now in cinemas, and once again it features the century-old tale of Mowgli, an orphaned boy raised by the inhabitants of the jungle. Apart from the astoundingly awesome fact that Bill Murray is voicing Baloo, the soft-hearted bear, the movie’s story will never fail to win viewers over thanks to its fantastical take on a human living among a menagerie of exotic animals in the wild. Although such a complex collection of animals makes for a piece of visually resplendent fiction, you may be wondering if there’s any truth behind a boy being raised by wolves. There are various mythological or literary whisperings about babies being reared in this way, including Tarzan – looked after by great apes – and Romulus and Remus, the supposed founders of Rome, who were also tended to by wolves. So is there any evidence or science at all behind the tales of the so-called “feral children,” or is it all just the stuff of legends? Let’s take a look. Once Upon A Time In Ukraine Oxana Malaya’s story. Animal Planet via YouTube Oxana Malaya, as the story goes, was abandoned by her parents in the village of Novaya Blagoveschenka as a 3-year-old child. She was left outside in the cold, so she moved to where there was warmth and food, which in this case was a hovel sheltering dogs eating raw meat. She supposedly joined them and spent five years gradually losing human linguistic and behavioral traits and adopting far more canine ones. When she was found in 1991, the eight-year-old Oxana was more dog than human, and nowadays she is assigned to a foster home for the mentally-disabled, where she helps out on the farm. Multiple documentaries have been made about her, and although she used to frequently bark, ran around on all fours, slept on the floor, and ate like a dog, she is now able to suppress such behaviors. The problem is that there’s no documented proof of any kind that she lived with dogs in this way. Although her behaviors seem real, this could all be the result of her being mentally impaired, and there would be no way to tell the difference. Raised By Wolves A captive Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes). Pavan Kunder/Wikimedia Commons; CC BY 2.0 Of the other feral children stories drifting around, one of the most intriguing is that of a boy named Ramu who, just like Mowgli, was raised by Indian wolves – or so it seems. In 1976, he was said to have been found by wolf cubs, behaving as they did; he even had claw-like nails. The missionaries that adopted him noted that he learned how to bathe and dress, but never to speak. At night, he’d raid the nearby chicken coops. He died in 1985, and his obituary made the front page of the Times of India. An investigation by the Los Angeles Times found that the story began to unravel with weird parallels to the Rudyard Kipling collection of stories – the Jungle Book – first written in 1894. People at the missionary’s retreat, including an elderly lawyer, spoke about another wolf boy called Bhaloo who was found running alongside aggressive wolf cubs, who was adopted by another person in a nearby village. Ultimately, the tales of Bhaloo and Ramu could not be confirmed. It seems that there are plenty of legends of feral children out there for anyone to peruse, but few of them have documented evidence of their occurrence. Adoption In The Wild Chimpanzees are like us in many ways – so would they adopt a baby that isn’t theirs? Gudkov Andrey/Shutterstock In any case, the crux of the matter here is not that children can be abandoned and survive in the wild – because this does happen – but whether animals of completely different species would want to share their resources and even protect someone who isn’t one of their own in any way. Chimpanzees, with their remarkable genetic, social, intellectual and behavioral traits, are seen as the closest living evolutionary cousins to humans, but this doesn’t mean they’d adopt a human child. They certainly show empathy and kindness, but they’re also documented as engaging in both murder and warfare, either to displace another male rising up the social hierarchy or to defend their territory, respectively. They’re also known to engage in infanticide, as are types of monkeys, bears, penguins, and a whole host of animals. Nevertheless, chimpanzees have been known to adopt other orphaned chimps, both in captivity and in the wild. Speaking less horrifically, even though they may not kill you, if you don’t serve a use to some animals – like cats, who see humans as inessential landlords – they may simply discard you entirely, leaving you to fend for yourself. These things considered, it seems pretty unlikely that animals would be willing to adopt an alien-looking, resource-swilling human child. However, there are plenty of cases of animals actually adopting or at least befriending members of other species. Captive dogs have nursed baby squirrels and owls, and one particular captive gorilla has a penchant for adopting kittens, for example. Even the wild has its share of adoptions, including a pod of sperm whales that took care of a deformed bottlenose dolphin. Researchers have noted that one of the main forms of animal adoption is when a creature adopts a member of its own species, something known as instinctive adoption. Looking after your own is a way to ensure DNA that is at least somewhat similar to yours is passed on to the next generation. Mutual benefit also helps; in the case of the deformed bottlenose dolphin, it was likely adopted because it made the group stronger overall. As long as you aren’t taking up too many resources, you’d likely be fine, it seems. In many cases, adoption of an individual occurs when a new mother takes on a young orphan, perhaps due to their temporarily higher levels of oxytocin, a hormone known to promote social bonding. You’re Either With Us Or Against Us In the wild, mutual benefit may be the answer to this tantalizing question. Peter Batarseh/Shutterstock With respect to mutual benefit, one tale of feral children stands out: Between the ages of 4 and 6, Ivan Mishukov befriended some wild dogs on the streets of Moscow. He eventually gained their trust completely and became their pack leader; they protected him like he was one of their own, and they all shared food together. Although it’s still difficult to verify the truth of this story, there’s less skepticism floating around the Internet than usual when it comes to tales like these. So perhaps a young human could be adopted by a wild animal, as long as they pulled their weight in their new society – we just haven’t seen verifiable, convincing, documented evidence of it just yet. In Mowgli’s case, it could just possibly be true: wolves have been observed adopting other pups. Tiny humans, though, may be seen as little more than a tasty amuse-bouche. Main image: The Jungle Book, Disney via YouTube

Paul Graham is Still Asking to be Eaten An Obviously Critical Response to “Economic Inequality” by Paul Graham Holly Wood Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 3, 2016 I’ve been asked by a bunch of people today to comment on this essay “Economic Inequality,”penned by self-described “essayist” Paul Graham, the subject of a poem I recently wrote entitled, “Paul Graham is Asking to be Eaten.” When my friend Danilo asked me to respond to this, I said that it’s too vapid and lacking in substance to critique. I can distill the essence of the entire argument to: “Don’t hate the player, but don’t hate the game either. Hate yourselves, stupid poors, for not getting VC funding to start a company.” Danilo then offered to pay me $500. And I said that I would think about it. And then the day wore on and more people wanted to know why this essay infuriated them so much. So I said, Oh hell. Here goes. Paul Graham is one of those plutocrats whose thirst to be recognized as a thoughtleader among his peers is obvious. For Paul Graham, Silicon Valley Ideology is the ideology America should run on, and ergo, being a puppet of Silicon Valley Ideology, Paul Graham thinks himself a political genius. Right. Yes. OF COURSE. About 80% of his essay about economic inequality is a thinly veiled condemnation of poors who Paul Graham thinks are too stupid to understand why the rich are wealthy. They are stupid, he says, because they demand wealth redistribution as a means of addressing poverty rather than attacking poverty itself. Sillies! He offers these hopeless poors a corrective, modeling himself as a legitimate wealth producer different from those dirty Wall-Street rent-seekers. Which is half true. Wall Street is full of dirty rent-seekers whose recklessness has destroyed the American economy over and over again ever since Reagan deregulated Wall Street. The comic wealth that came as a result of that deregulation has allowed Wall Street to chokehold politicians in campaign finance and squeeze out from them financial policies that can only be fairly described as federal handjobs. For all the money Gates, Thiel, Musk and Zuckerberg personally have to fuck around with, even collectively they could not come close to achieving the kind of economic and political havoc on par with the handjobs demanded by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. Not even close. So I will throw Paul Graham a bone for recognizing that in terms of scale and impact on the American economy, Wall Street is definitely the bigger concern. But my guess is that what probably infuriates you about Paul Graham’s essay is his tacit contention that startups create wealth. This is not true. First of all, over 95% of startups fail. Every venture capitalist knows this. Those pesky things, for the most part, just eat money and more often than not actually destroy wealth. But the second reason why you should not allow yourself to think that startups create wealth is because of how they are funded. What actually happens is wealthy people like Paul Graham fund startups because they think these things are valuable. Through venture funding, rich people legitimate startups. Thus, they confer value upon the startup. They then use their ridiculous money and connections to “advise” and “mentor” those they deemed worthy of capital so that they can use this capital to build a future people like Paul Graham expect to see. What Paul Graham never dissects in his essay is that people like Paul Graham simply take it for granted that they’ll be the ones to decide where capital goes. The rest of us poors are just along for the ride. In his singular defense of Silicon Valley Ideology, hammer, nail, nail, Paul Graham would have you believe our entire economy should run on startups. I think Paul Graham believes this is democracy. This ability to start up a company, he assumes, is equally accessible to everyone; this presumed equality of opportunity legitimates for Graham gross wealth inequality. If some people are rich, it’s because they were driven to do what you are too lazy to do. I’m pretty sure that’s the logic train Paul Graham is running through bullshit. Never mind if you don’t actually want to run a startup because you’re a nurse and you believe saving lives and caring for people adds value to society. Screw you, really. Graham never addresses how a startup economy would put men like Paul Graham in positions of plutocratic authority, since the majority of us are deprived of startup capital without first submitting ourselves to the judgment of people like Paul Graham. It might not be overtly rent-seeking, but it’s definitely not democratic. We should worry about an American future that would first have to pass through the judgment filter of men like Paul Graham. Grown men who think like this: Obviously, inequality is bad because it it makes men like Paul Graham think they’re geniuses. Just like inequality is bad because it allows Donald Trump to think he knows how to head a sovereign state with unparalleled nuclear weapon capacity. Inequality is bad because it allows men like Paul Graham to read a Joseph Stiglitz book and think at the end of it he has our whole mess sorted out. The solution to poverty is as transparent as starting Google, you stupid poors. Come on! Figure Google 2 out already, you idiots. We, as a people, determine what is and is not of value mostly through what we believe to be legitimate and worthy of significance. And in late capitalism, we have all basically agreed to allow the market to dictate what is and is not of legitimate value. (This is what social critics recognize as Neoliberalism.) But what the market deems valuable is not necessarily aligned with what is ultimately good for us as a society or even what we want. Because under conditions of extreme inequality, the market is biased towards people who have lots of money, at the expense of virtually everyone else. And no where has this axiom been proven true to such a comical degree as in Silicon Valley. Most of us outside of Palo Alto have no idea how a product as fucking stupid as Peeple gets valued at $7.6 million while a 4th grade teacher can’t pay off her student loans and pay rent at the same time. But according to Paul Graham, those creepy Peeple women created value where that school teacher is just a stupid loser. Ask a nurse who saved, like, three lives today what her salary is and then go ask what the guy who made Candy Crush Saga what he got paid for it. Wealth creation is legitimately contested in America. We don’t all agree that Candy Crush Saga has added anything of value to our society. Some of us might even argue that Candy Crush Saga took value away from America. In fact, that’s exactly what I’m arguing. But man that Candy Crush guy got off with a lot of value, didn’t he? Candy Crush Saga was valorized at over $7 billion. According to that same market, a human life is only valorized at $129,000. Meaning Candy Crush Saga is worth more to society than the combined value of 54,264 human lives. Yeah, this logic is fine. Legitimate wealth creation. Because that’s where this stupid game gets you. You end up going to absurd lengths to rationalize mediocre ideas because they happen to make tons of money instead of questioning the legitimacy of a system that confers so much value on to stupid things. To stay consistent, you have to defend the logic that the creepy women who founded Peeple contribute more value to society than literally thousands of 4th grade teachers. That is not the future I want so I really have no choice but to insist that we resist and come to terms with the fact that the Market we call god is a sick and twisted god, indeed. In essays like this, men like Paul Graham are trying to impose their warped interpretation of value upon the rest of us. With their reach considerable larger than any college professor, men like Paul Graham ape expertise in an effort to get us to believe that the best society is one where men like him determine legitimacy. He assumes people who are not rich are not driven, and so he ignores in this odd little essay the probability that the poors are poor because they are busy being driven at enterprises people like Paul Graham think are valueless. Like childcare. Or science. Or academia. Or education. Or really any industry Paul Graham says shouldn’t have unions because they should be crushed beneath the black boot of market efficiency to create value for people like Paul Graham. For him, a better future is one where a team of 8 guys makes billions of dollars replacing thousands of people with automation who right now are earning livable wages. If those people lose their jobs, they’re just collateral that got in the way of progress and deserve to suffer for having been so stupid as to invest their livelihood in such an inefficient industry. This is a bizarre way of saying that the only thing keeping people poor is their inability to capitalize on their future obsolescence. Yes, sitting down to predict one’s own demise is a lot to ask the vast majority of struggling Americans who just want to get through their workday so they can feed their kids and maybe afford rent. And yet, a millionaire is asking this. Without irony. Because he needs to legitimate his wealth inequality. People don’t all agree that people like Paul Graham actually add any value to our society. Market-based legitimacy is contested by those of us who think it absurd that Candy Crush Saga is thought more valuable a contribution to the world than the combined value of eight African nations. I’m fairly confident the future people like Paul Graham are trying to build with their money is not the one most of us would all vote for if the future were held up for democratic election. But we don’t get to hold a market-based future up for democratic election. People like Paul Graham need to write essays like this so you don’t question how undemocratic a market system is under conditions of extreme wealth inequality. They need to win the legitimacy contest so that Americans don’t vote to tax the shit out of them if for no better reason than they come from the same system of fuckery that has inflicted upon the world Candy Crush Saga. And so they write essays with the implicit premise that we are one nation under market and that all their wealth, coming from the market, is thus earned and legitimate. Hammer, nail, nail. As a cultural Sociologist, I can’t agree any harder with Paul Graham when he says: “If we want to fix the world behind the statistics, we have to understand it, and focus our efforts where they’ll do the most good.” But as a cultural sociologist, I also find it laughable that Paul Graham thinks startup cultists like him should be excused from our scrutiny of the inequality engine. As if venture capitalism isn’t still capitalism. If we have learned anything from Trump it’s that Plutocrats who expend serious effort to court public opinion offer a fascinating spectacle of political absurdity. But Plutocrats who write vapid essays about inequality to stave off a symbolic guillotine? Spectacle hammer, allow me to introduce you to spectacle axe. Men like Paul Graham need to be heard, desperately, because they know better than anyone that their legitimacy depends on being seen as smart, perceptive and insightful by a lot of people. There’s no other reason why massively wealthy men like Paul Graham dedicate the time and effort that they do to write salvos like this. They measure their legitimacy by the number of people who slavishly retweet every opinion they jack off into the world and how quickly they can get other wealthy people to rally the wagons in their defense every time they say something shallow and problematic. They know they need to keep their own myth machines humming. Because determining value is how plutocrats “create” value. This is their business. For now, it works. There are millions of damaged people in America who agree with Paul Graham that the only thing worth pursuing in life is profit and that the market is a fair indicator of value and worth. And thousands of them are Zuckerberg-hopefuls reading this stuff, getting baked on naked neoliberal ideology, without ever so much as a rebuttal. Because money determines legitimacy and don’t we all know it. And so on this basis of having lots of money, Graham has allowed himself to believe he is a thoughtleader. A thoughtleader who thinks he’s pulling some epic Jedi mindfuckery in saying the Silicon Valley is not the inequality we are looking for. I agreed with Graham at the start of this meandering essay that finance deregulation is definitely driving the poverty machine. If Silicon Valley is Venus in the universe of inequality, then Wall Street is the fucking sun. But that’s not to say we should just ignore Venus because the sun is bigger. Because what I love about Silicon Valley is that it’s always at risk of exploding spectacularly. The overnight ascent of a single Left-wing billionaire hellbent on being as thunderously loud as Graham could blow apart his legitimacy campaign in an instant because his flatulent essays are just this facile. Yes, for now Silicon Valley hums on the Soylent-libertarianism of a cabal of rich, white guys who write essays about how women should never have gotten the right to vote but that’s not to say that the next person who makes billions inventing the next do-hicky that irrevocably fucks up our lives might not have a completely different perspective on how the future should work. They might not agree, for example, that a startup economy is the basis of democracy. They might believe market success is a fairly ridiculous barometer for measuring societal value. Instead of calling their army of capital-jockeys to go out and crush unions, their tweets might look something more like this: If X causes suffering for the majority, then X is what the majority of us should be addressing. Anything else is a stupid waste of time. They might point out that people like Paul Graham defend their wealth by insisting that they can see value where others see none because they are good at convincing people there is no value in anything except in what they are funding. This person might then choose to use their market-based influence to disrupt the legitimacy contest, if only to point out what a complete circus of fraudery all capitalism is really anyway. They might simply delight in reminding people like Paul Graham that the people’s symbolic guillotine is always close at hand. They might — just for the fuck of it — write an essay like this one simply because they find it insulting for a Plutocrat who fancies himself an essayist to think “attack poverty” is a sound policy edict and not just the clear testament of a rich guy’s mediocre talent for thought leadership. So in sum, I find myself exhausted, having ruminated far too long once again on the subject of plutocratic arrogance. But his essay only reconfirms my previously held suspicion that Paul Graham desires muchly to have his nose wiped in this shit. And so on this note, I humbly resolve that Paul Graham is still asking to be eaten.

If you’re unfamiliar with Supernatural, here’s a quick rundown. The show is about 2 brothers whose mother is killed by a demon when they’re just kids, launching their father into a manhunt of finding the beast that killed his wife and, in turn, learning all things supernatural. (Get it? It’s the name of the show!) He, of course, teaches these new skills to his sons, who inherit his lifestyle. It doesn’t take long for one brother (Sam) to run off and try to have a normal life, only to be brought right back into the “family business” by a tragic event of his own—mere hours after his brother has just turned up on his front porch. And that’s just the first episode! Supernatural has been scoffed at by people over the years, and criticized for frequent fridging of its female characters, but after 11 seasons of being on the air, you tend to think, “Why is this show still even on, and who are these fans?” It’s more complex than a lot of people understand. I got the honor to sit down and talk to Lynn Zubernis and Kathy Larsen, authors of Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls. These women are also respected professors, who were excited to talk all things Supernatural and break down their thoughts on fandom and the woman characters portrayed in the show. It took mere seconds to jump immediately into talking about the newest season and what our thoughts were so far. We ranted and raved about how the storyline is amazing and the episode “Baby” was mind-blowing! We also quickly discussed the show’s amazing longevity, and Lynn expressed how much “free time” she’ll have when the show’s over, because she dedicates so much of her life to it. After discussing our thoughts and fan theories, we already felt like good friends, and it was time to dive into the hard-hitting questions. Stacie Sells (TMS): I feel like everyone has an interesting story with how they got into this show, so, what was your first experience with the Winchester brothers and when did you get hooked? [They both mention a mutual friend that pushed the show on them and even bought them VHS tapes (yes…VHS tapes) to semi-force them to watch, not only because it meant that much to her to share it with them, but she figured it was a show they would be interested in.] Kathy Larsen: The “Home” episode really got me and was where the show became more about family and that’s what really hooked me. After that I didn’t really have to be pushed to watch it. Lynn Zubernis: I watched casually for our friend but it wasn’t until Season 2 that caught my attention. I remember I was grading papers with my daughter when I turned to her and said “this is such a great show” and my daughter looked at me confused and said “you’ve been watching this show for a year, and suddenly you love it?” Even though this show may take a moment to really pull you in, once you’re there, it’s hard to get out. You start to see this relationship build with the brothers and start to feel for them as you see more complex situations arise. TMS: It’s a complicated question and one that’s mentioned a lot, but why do you think Supernatural has such a strong fangirl/woman following when it’s mainly focused around two male characters? It has to be more than pretty faces. Zubernis: A lot of people say that, but there’s something about these characters that really grabs them and grabs women … the Winchesters were written as outsiders and people who always fly under the radar and do things that are under-appreciated. Larsen: That’s what women do all the time, is take care of other people and act selfless, and why women can relate to it. Zubernis: Eric Kripke (the creator of the show) made them brothers, and even though they’re macho men/have that American masculinity, since they’re brothers, they can show emotion and affection and it’s ok. I think we like to see that emotion. Larsen: It’s also how they’ve built the relationship and we see how they grow over time and, in some ways, this sounds like criticism, but it’s like people’s relationships to Soap Operas. Zubernis: There’s actual research that people have a similar biophysical response to watching TV with their favorite characters in the same way they do as being in the same room with their family. It’s fascinating but not surprising. Larsen: You know them, in a way, even better then people you are close to, because you’re on the inside with these characters, which you don’t have with the day-to-day people you have relationships with. TMS: There’s been a lot of pushback with Supernatural of being unfriendly to women characters and how they are usually underrepresented, though most of Sam and Dean’s (and their father’s) catalyst to becoming hunters stemmed around women. What are your thoughts on this? Zubernis: I think quite a few women who watch the show identify as feminist, so that’s an ongoing conversation. When Sera Gamble came onto the show (Season 6) she told us that from the beginning they wrote fascinating characters, other than Sam and Dean, and we were able to see how the brothers respond to them. Many of these characters were women and intentionally written to be an influence on them. Larsen: Though, they [woman characters] all died at the beginning. It’s said that having the women characters always dying says something about the attitudes toward women, but each woman dying was never a throw away character. They all meant something and, most of the time, would further a plot line. Zubernis: They made an impact along with their deaths. They wouldn’t be Sam and Dean with out having lost their mother. From a practical standpoint, they needed to have problematic/complicated relationships and a longing for that normal life, because it brought this sadness that they can never have it, making them tragic heroes, which makes us love them even more. TMS: Being a woman and a fan of the show we tend to latch onto the women characters they DO create. Who are some of your favorite characters that you, personally, can relates to? Larsen: Sheriff Jody. I love her character arc and can feel for her for all that she’s been through. Her combination of strength and vulnerability, holding it together but barely able to do it is great and relatable. Zubernis: I also identify with both Charlie and Sheriff Donna and relate to each for similar and different reasons. Charlie is easy to relate to, being an outsider who’s been through trauma while covering it up with “Walking on Sunshine.” Even though under all that pain she has this fortitude that reminds me of me. She’s a geek and has taken shit for it, but it’s made her a stronger person. I also really appreciate Sheriff Donna and love Briana Buckmaster (the actor who plays her). Her character is brilliantly written and represents the “everyday” woman, where Charlie, represents the passionate Fangirl. Sheriff Donna shows the vulnerable side of being unsure and insecure of herself and the struggle to connect with other people, which many women have gone through. Larsen: She’s also not a size 0 and is grappling with that, too. Zubernis: As we talk on why we relate to these characters you see how they are capable of writing nuanced female characters and the resilience of them, the journey they’ve been on and where they go. We are able to see it in all of these women characters, which is a pretty extraordinary thing! [As we continued to talk, we went on about writers of the show, other characters, and tonal shifts. We probably could have gabbed on for hours but needed to go to our jobs. Before we ended the conversation, I wanted to get their take on the power of the Supernatural community. There’s an instant bond when you are able to share this common excitement and language that makes you feel instantly at home.] Zubernis: There is a strong online Supernatural Fandom community of women that are not only making strong, life changing relationships with each other, but they are able to find support and confidence to be themselves. The show has had conventions for almost a decade, which allowed people to form face-to-face relationships, extending this community not only to the fans but also the actors themselves. No show has had that many conventions. Not even Star Trek can compete with that number. — Lynn Zubernis has also been helping out on other projects, such as Squee! The Fangirl Documentary. She also has another book on Supernatural and fandom in the works called Family Don’t End With Blood: How a Television Show Changed Lives. Stacie Sells is a nerd, writer and artist based in Oakland, California. When she’s not binge watching her favorite TV shows with her cats, she’s either compiling cross over fan fiction for her website Fictorious Journal or putting her final touches on her musical based on Keanu Reeves (called Keanu! The Musical) @keanuthemusical on Twitter. —Please make note of The Mary Sue’s general comment policy.— Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?

Anthony Rendon, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, used the swearing-in ceremony of the California legislature on Monday to issue a call to arms against the federal government and President-elect Donald Trump. “Californians should be wary of the national calls for unity and healing,” Rendon (D-Paramount) said, according to the text of his remarks as prepared for delivery. “Unity must be separated from complicity. And we must be defiant whenever justice, fairness, and righteousness require. “Californians do not need healing. We need to fight,” he declared. Rendon called the Trump administration a “major existential threat” on a par with the Second World War. He also repeated false charges against Stephen K. Bannon, the Executive Chair of Breitbart News (on leave) who was appointed CEO of the Trump campaign in August and has been named incoming White House Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor. “White nationalists and anti-Semites have no business working in the White House,” Rendon said of Bannon. Citing a wartime speech by Winston Churchill, Rendon declared that Californians would defy the federal government’s efforts to enforce immigration law, and would protect the state’s “interests.” “It is increasingly apparent that those interests will not be a concern for the next President — for the bullies, bigots, and billionaires he has chosen for his cabinet — or for the majority in Congress that is already salivating at the prospect of ending Medicare,” Rendon said. The Speaker — who is theoretically meant to represent the Assembly, and the state, as a whole — pointedly excluded the state’s 4.5 million Trump voters from Californians as a whole: “Whether you actively worked to oppose the next President, or stayed silent hoping he would go away, it is now up to all of us to preserve California and protect its people.” Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Ever think there just aren't enough musical numbers in zombie films? Or love stories for that matter? New indie flick Rigamortis: A Zombie Love Story delivers plenty of both, bringing together the disparate worlds of Glee and gore in a 40-minute blast you can watch online for free. (See the first part above; the second and third segments are below.) Inspired by Joss Whedon's web hit Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the zombie musical was made with $25,000 in donations and investments as well as a lot of freely given time and equipment. The creators hope to show that it's possible to make a quality picture outside the studio system, said Jenny Stolte, the film's co-writer–producer and cinematographer. "Creating our film the way we did, with the intended distributor being the internet, we hoped to show people that with a not-unreasonable sum of money, you can make a product that is both high quality and entertaining," Stolte said in an e-mail to Wired.com. "More importantly, we hope to demonstrate that works such as ours can be a success, not only critically but financially as well, even without big names and studios attached." It's the kind of loopy labor of love that thrives online, where fans armed with offbeat ideas and DIY tools can realize their wildest dreams – and share them with the world. Rigamortis gives us a hero in Brock ("a one-man sausage-fest") and star-crossed lovers in Parker and Zoey (the last two zombies left after Brock's undead-killing scourge). The filmmakers cram in an impressive amount of comedy, drama, humanity and some of the best zombie musical dance numbers since Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Despite the fast-and-loose style of the movie, Rigamortis took the creators almost two years to make. The script was written by Stolte and director Dave Dewes before they brought it to Greg Szydlowski, a composer Stolte had worked with previously, to write the music and some lyrics. The film was shot over seven days last October in and around Madison, Wisconsin. The creators spent the next five months editing and adding the visual effects – when not working their day jobs. The finished product looks incredibly professional, considering it was a largely DIY affair. And aside from the zombies, the flick looks incredibly realistic – probably because it is. Most of the locations are actual places, and the extras were just average Wisconsin folks. "The town of Cambridge, Wisconsin, bent over backwards to shut down their Main Street and provide police for us to film the opening scene, and several businesses opened their doors to us free of charge," said Stolte. "Our background dancers, who were all Madison locals, took off work, missed classes and endured freezing nights to come out and be a part of the film." 'People need a little silly in their lives.'To repay all the generosity, the film's creators are taking donations to pay back Rigamortis investors and give something back to the people who participated in the film. "Even though what we've made is really quite silly and wouldn't have been given a second glance in the world of traditional media, people need a little silly in their lives," Stolte said. "We just hope that, in the end, the numbers show that providing them with that bit of silly is financially viable as well." [Via Nerd Approved] See Also:- How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

x Bookmark Abraham Lincoln, Lyman Trumbull, and the New Birth of Freedom By Nathaniel Bates Preface In “The Consistency of Lyman Trumbull and Its Meaning to American Constitutional Heritage”, I discussed the consistency of Lyman Trumbull in his defense of civil rights. Lyman Trumbull was a primary influence behind the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Yet, he gradually retreated from his alliance with the Radicals over the question of extensive Federal protection for the right of suffrage. I argued against the common thesis that Trumbull became a conservative later in life, attempting to demonstrate that Lyman Trumbull had an underlying consistency to his thinking in spite of his many changes. Lyman Trumbull remained consistent with States Rights Jacksonian Democracy in his belief that political rights were a purview of the States, whereas he could embrace an expanded view of civil rights as long as “civil rights” was understood to exclude suffrage. Lyman Trumbull was a Constitutionalist first and foremost. His reasons for temporarily embracing political rights and then stepping back, as disturbing as his decisions were, had more to do with his belief in decentralized government than simple racism. Lyman Trumbull remained heroic in spite of his moral compromises with reactionary politics. In the course of my readings I uncovered a work praising Lyman Trumbull from an unexpected corner. In Forced Into Glory; Abraham Lincoln’s White Dream, Lerone Bennett, Jr., an African-American popular writer lambasted Abraham Lincoln as a racist whose vision of equality was a vision of white equality and not one of multi-racial democracy.1 Bennett compared Lincoln unfavorably to a host of other historical actors of his time who were presumably more progressive, among them Lyman Trumbull. Bennett made a compelling case from one standpoint. Lyman Trumbull was consistent advocate for civil rights. Additionally, Bennett was accurate in demonstrating that Lincoln was not above the racism of his time, that Lincoln dreamed of an America free of racial diversity. However, I did not have the chance to respond to Bennett’s broader argument that Lincoln does not deserve the favorable judgment of historians that he has received, since it lay beyond the scope of my previous paper. I intend to address it in this paper. Lyman Trumbull remained a Jacksonian throughout his life, believing, as Jackson did, in equal rights for all citizens under a government of limited powers. By contrast, Abraham Lincoln began his political career as a Whig who believed in a more expansive role for government than did the Jacksonians. Lincoln came to have an ever expanded view of equal rights throughout his life that eventually began to include what Trumbull never brought himself to include, political rights as a necessary corollary to civil rights. Yet, I also wish to demonstrate that both men paralleled one another’s development in that both transcended their respective political factions when faced with the pressures of the Civil War. They both embraced a view of freedom that was broad in scope after witnessing the courage of black soldiers and the treason of political leaders whom they had previously counted on to maintain the Union through compromise. Lincoln and Trumbull each embraced a broader view on black freedom as the Civil War raged on. Indeed, Lyman Trumbull was a Jacksonian who aligned with the Radicals on the question of civil rights, transcending Jacksonian federalism to embrace national civil rights while he remained skeptical of Radicalism on questions of political rights. Abraham Lincoln, following a similar course of evolution, was a Whig who rejected the traditional Whig Party vision of limited suffrage and envisioned a democratic form of capitalism that was embraced by the emerging Republican Party. Both men became Republicans when their respective Parties had failed to oppose the expansion of slavery in to the Territories. Eventually, both men became champions of black freedom during the Civil War, taking positions that they would have previously denounced as abolitionist and radical when it was clear that the Civil War had changed America forever. In a very profound respect, the political evolution of Lincoln and Trumbull paralleled one another throughout their lives. Lyman Trumbull shifted radically between progressive and conservative extremes while remaining a Jacksonian skeptical of both big business and big government. Abraham Lincoln, who ran against Lyman Trumbull for Senate in Illinois, and who clashed with Trumbull during his conflicts with Congress as the Civil War raged, remained a progressive Northern Whig who was skeptical of any societal obstruction to the right of a man to rise on the basis of his own merits. Lincoln’s vision unified Hamiltonianism and Jeffersonianism in a vision of equal rights and class mobility within the hierarchies of the industrial capitalist system that Trumbull remained skeptical of throughout his life. Lincoln’s vision has captivated Americans ever since it triumphed over the Southern vision of an alternative America (and over Trumbull’s Jacksonian vision as well). Lincoln and Trumbull formulated many of their views prior to the Civil War. Yet, prior to the Civil War Lyman Trumbull would never have favored national civil rights, nor would Lincoln have embraced broad suffrage. It was the heat of the Civil War that forced both men to decide how best to mould the new America that would emerge after the war was over. Lincoln, the conservative Whig, became synonymous with the American Creed among American progressives ever since his untimely death. While Trumbull came in to prominence after the Civil War, Lincoln came in to glory because of the Civil War. Lincoln was the ideal bridge between antebellum and post-Civil War America. He eventually became the image of the ideal America in various struggles of progressives against perceived enemies of democracy. In many respects, this praise of Lincoln is deserved. While we cannot know whether or not Lincoln would embrace Radical Reconstruction if he had lived, or even social reform in the face of Gilded Age injustices, Lincoln probably would have frowned on the immoral pursuit of wealth without honor so prevalent after the Civil War. He would undoubtedly have continued to favor self-made men over those whose wealth could buy them influence, or who would attempt to preserve the slavery he detested under a different name. Historians have reconsidered Abraham Lincoln over and over again since his tragic death. In saving the Union, Abraham Lincoln accomplished more than just the salvation of a political entity. In his own mind, Lincoln was saving the system that allowed the humble individual to better his fortune and to participate fully in a political system in which he was enfranchised beyond anything possible in aristocratic Europe. For Lincoln, this project was of paramount importance. It was the last best hope for humanity. This is an edited form of my original Bachelor’s Degree thesis for my History Degree from San Francisco State University, May of 2004. It is a follow-up to a previous thesis project on Lyman Trumbull, and all references to Lyman Trumbull must be understood in that context. Let me express my appreciation to San Francisco State University for all that it has afforded me in the way of opportunities. Abraham Lincoln, Lyman Trumbull, and Civil War Citizenship Abraham Lincoln has long occupied a dual place in the American imagination that few other Presidents have held. President Lincoln has been seen as a wartime President, and at the same time as the Great Emancipator.1 Among whites, Abraham Lincoln has been seen as the savior of the Union of 1787, a preserver of democratic institutions against a rebellion fomented by those whose primary allegiance was to an aristocratic worldview.2 Among black Americans, Abraham Lincoln has been seen as more of a Founding Father of true democracy in his own right than as a preserver of the ante-bellum Union that excluded the slave.3 Yet, the wartime Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln of heroism, was very different from the Abraham Lincoln who spent most of his early life in obscurity.4 The early Abraham Lincoln was a conservative National Republican, and subsequently a Whig pragmatist, who was not friendly to universal suffrage among free people, much less active efforts to free slaves in the South.5 Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery as an immoral institution, campaigning against the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision. However, he did not champion social equality between blacks and whites. Although influenced by the Transcendentalists and their humane vision of freedom, Abraham Lincoln maintained his tame view of universal democracy and abolition until the very eve of the Civil War. It was then that the horrors of the Civil War, and the pressures of Congressional Radicals along with their Jacksonian ally Lyman Trumbull, helped push Lincoln to alter the course of the Civil War from a crusade to save the Union to a moral crusade for freedom. 6 It was owing to their pressure that Abraham Lincoln began to embrace the freeing of slaves and the granting of limited suffrage to free blacks, both being measures he formerly opposed.7 The necessities of the Civil War changed the thinking of Abraham Lincoln, forcing him to embrace a more expanded view of democracy than he held to before the War, a change in thinking that strongly paralleled that of a number of his contemporaries, including Lyman Trumbull. Lincoln squared off against Lyman Trumbull and his Radical Republican allies repeatedly throughout the Civil War. Trumbull was an ex-Democratic Republican who originally allied with the Radicals as a protest against what he considered the failure to prosecute the war effectively.8 Trumbull came to believe that returning runaway slaves to the Rebels was not only bad military strategy in dealing with a rebellion against the white American Union, but an immoral act in its own right.9 In 1864, Trumbull complained that the two confiscation bills he introduced were not being used to free slaves during wartime, long a right of victors under the law of nations extending back to ancient times.10 This was a step beyond his antebellum States Rights position that was in favor of restraining the spread of slavery while leaving it alone where it already existed.11 The beginning of the Civil War had seen a timid Lyman Trumbull who was unwilling to challenge the powers of the States over those of the Federal Government. His Jacksonian concept of democracy was originally one in which the individual found his or her civil rights guaranteed by the States, not by the Federal Union. Trumbull believed Congress had limited powers, hence his belief that a constitutional amendment was necessary for Congress to free the slaves. Yet, the end of the war saw a changed Lyman Trumbull. After the Civil War, he embraced a full battery of civil rights for blacks, one guaranteed on the Federal level. For Trumbull, the end of slavery also meant the beginning of full citizenship for all born on American soil, a citizenship that stopped short of full political rights.12 Trumbull held the role of the adversarial legislator, never popular with presidents who often feel that the legislators do not have to make the terrible decisions, and lack the right to judge Presidents who do. This was true with President Andrew Johnson when he vetoed the Civil Rights Act, yet it has also been true with President Lincoln. While working on the Civil Rights Act in an attempt to ensure that the Civil War would have meaning, one can imagine Trumbull meditating on the meaning of the life of his friend and adversary Abraham Lincoln who had just met his death. They had both changed their political thinking as the war changed them. Both of them had believed in the separation of the races during antebellum times, positions upheld by their respective parties. Yet, both experienced the full evils of a war that changed the thinking of America over race, civil rights, and the limits of Federal power, and both chose a bold new path to face the new day. Abraham Lincoln was strongly capable of bold changes in his thinking even during his youth. The Lincoln family was a Democratic family, as most Southern emigrant whites were staunch Jacksonians. Yet, Lincoln underwent a conversion that would bring him in to the National Republican fold during his young adulthood.13 The National Republicans merged with the Anti-Masons to become the Whig Party. Lincoln joined the new Whig Party, believing, as all loyal Whigs believed, that industrial development aided by the Federal Government was necessary to build a strong America. In spite of his Party change, a change that for his time could be as divisive to families and communities as a conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism in seventeenth century France, Lincoln remained an extremely trusted man even among Democrats. He was elected Postmaster of New Salem in 1833. He eventually entered politics, and was elected to the Illinois Legislature as a Whig in 1834, to serve four terms. During his tenure in the Illinois Legislature, Lincoln upheld conservative Whig positions restricting the suffrage to propertied whites.14 Lincoln was not in favor of universal white male suffrage much less black suffrage, preferring to focus on economic issues that were important to Whig voters, such as internal improvements.15 Lincoln advanced the pragmatic program of economic development that Whig voters desired, including improvements that would facilitate industrial modernization. The Whigs began as a coalition of factional parties opposed to the perceived autocratic tendencies of Andrew Jackson. “King Andrew” Jackson was opposed as a demagogue among the elite National Republicans, as well as the vestigial remnants of the Federalist Party. By contrast, the populist Anti-Masons held an opposing yet still negative view of Jackson as a selfish elitist, believing that Jackson was part and parcel of the ruling secret society of the Freemasons who did so much to form the Republic yet whose secrecy did not endear them to the republican masses they purported to lead. The elitist National Republicans and the anti-elitist Anti-Masons were not natural allies. However, they came together to oppose Andrew Jackson in a shaky coalition known as the Whig Party, named after the original Whigs of England who challenged the authority of the Stuart kings.16 The coalition was a strange one, considering that the National Republicans feared the populist Anti-Masons as much as they feared the democratic Jacksonians.17 The fear of Jackson as a potential dictator became palpable after his controversial use of the veto against the Bank of the United States, one that even shocked some opponents of the Bank. Lincoln entered politics as part of this new coalition party, the Whigs. He used the Whigs as a launching pad to enter Congress during the time that the Mexican-American War, which Lincoln opposed mightily, began to push the boundaries of America westward. When Lincoln eventually helped to found the Republican Party and successfully ran for President on its ticket, he brought with him a sense of pragmatism profoundly shaped by Whig ideology. The elitist National Republican influence within the Whig Party that affected the thinking of Lincoln in his early years must be grappled with if we are to understand the political evolution of Abraham Lincoln. The Whigs were not simply a continuation of either the old elite National Republicans or the Federalists. At the same time, the Whigs were not a party congenial to mass democracy either. Whig democracy was a democracy that was middle class in nature, one that saw democracy as defined by meritocracy more than by mass suffrage. The Whigs were the party of a middle class on the make, one that embraced a progressive society and not an aristocracy, yet which at the same time retained a fear of mob rule common to both the National Republicans and the Federalists. Indeed, Whig conservatives retained many of the same social fears of both democracy and subversive social influences that the Northern Republicans and Federalists held to. Even the fear of Southern domination of the Union among certain Northern Whigs paralleled fears among Northern Federalists of conspiracies involving Southern Jeffersonians and foreign influences plotting to undermine the Republic with mob rule.18 Fisher Ames and other High Federalists had feared an unmitigated democracy ending in “despotism.”19 Hamilton rarely invoked this theme in his struggles with Jefferson. It was the Adams wing of the Federalists that tended to follow more of a conspiratorial tone than the Hamiltonian business wing of the Party, the wing that arguably influenced middle class Whiggism more than the High Federalism of Adams. Yet, the theme of a conspiracy of Southern slave owners conspiring with Jacobin terrorists, seemingly contradictory on the surface, made sense in a Yankee Puritan world in which the Devil appeared everywhere, in a multitude of guises, often seemingly contradictory on the surface. Paradoxically, Northern conservatives were not only anti-democratic, but also often anti-slavery. Conservative opposition to the influence of the Slave Power began with the Federalists. This has led some, particularly defenders of the Southern position, to associate Lincoln and the Northern Republicans with the Federalists of the early Republic. Yet, in understanding the maturation of Lincoln’s growing embrace of middle class democracy over early Whig elitism, one must remember that the Federalists did not have a monopoly on anti-slavery sentiments. Jefferson made anti-slavery statements, even though his record as a slave owner was far from exemplary.20 Edmund Randolph, the son in law of Thomas Jefferson, was representative of those Jeffersonians who did oppose slavery, namely those in line with moderate French Radicalism. The mature Lincoln quoted Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence considerably, seeing in Jeffersonian Democracy an implicitly anti-slavery doctrine. The primary debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas would eventually be over the meaning of what constituted “democracy.”21 The debate between Lincoln and Douglas would be a debate between two men who claimed the mantle of “Jeffersonian Democrat”, not a debate between Hamiltonianism and Jeffersonianism. The mature Lincoln would not be a descendent of the elitist National Republicans as much as he would become a progressive Whig party man, a part of that faction of the Whig party that shed aristocratic ideologies of conservative Whigs and became pragmatic believers in equality under law. Lincoln and the progressive Whigs eventually saw the value in Jefferson as the upholder of equal rights and inherent freedom. By contrast, southern partisans of the middle nineteenth century, supposedly the disciples of Thomas Jefferson and his Agrarian vision, openly wrote of their disdain for Jefferson. They based their embrace of agrarianism on the Cavalier traditions of the Middle Ages and the seventeenth century Stuart kings, rejecting the Declaration of Independence. Many disparaged the “rights of man” philosophy as a remnant of the Puritan fanatics who opposed the Stuart kings.22 Pro-slavery partisans such as Albert Taylor Bledsoe and George Fitzhugh, who challenged the entire philosophical basis of the Declaration of Independence, would horrify Lincoln.23 In the 1850’s, as Abraham Lincoln began to embrace the anti-slavery cause with an increasing moral vigor, he began to see the denigration of labor represented by the Southern Partisans as his primary enemy, a denigration that stood opposed to the Northern Whig glorification of free labor economics. The mature Lincoln who opposed slavery as a violation of the sacred principles of freedom considered the “mud sill” theory of George Fitzhugh to be the greatest hurtle that free labor ideology would have to overcome.24 Southern Partisans may have been descendents of Jeffersonians in a filial manner, yet they demonstrated a complete disdain for Jefferson’s democratic aspirations. A number of these conservative Southern Congressmen began their careers as part of the same political Party as the young Lincoln, the Whig Party. Yet, their branch of the Whig Party increasingly worked in opposition to the Northern progressive Whigs on the issue of slavery. The Southern Whig Party was originally more prone to jump to the defense of slavery than the Southern Democrats who still retained a residual Jeffersonian distrust of the peculiar institution. Only when Southern Democrats convinced Andrew Jackson, who was beholden to both the progressive Northern Democrats and the conservative Southern Democrats, to censor the mail and destroy abolitionist literature did the Democrats swing solidly over to the pro-slavery camp.25 The Whigs and the Democrats were a complex mixture of influences, some conservative and some progressive, often differing in what they stood for by region. What can be determined is that the progressive Northern Whigs eventually dropped the vestiges of aristocratic ideology adhered to by most conservative Whigs in both the North and South, embracing a vision of equality under law that appealed to middle class small property owners. The Whigs became thoroughly “American”, dismissing as foreign imports Federalism and class radicalism alike.26 Eventually, the Whigs came to deny the view that property ownership was vital to citizenship, refuting the linkage between property and citizenship previously held by virtually everyone, egalitarians and defenders of class hierarchy alike. This radical shift in Whig thinking, one that made its peace with democracy and allowed the Whig Party to be a loyal opposition within a system of universal white male suffrage, defined Whig democracy as it emerged in the nineteenth century. Abraham Lincoln changed along with his Party, particularly when he realized that alliances with wealthy conservatives did not win elections. The original Party of Lincoln, the Whigs, was the party of central banking, internal improvements, and tariffs. Although generally unified on economics, it was continually split on other issues, among them slavery, prohibition, and religious tolerance. The only unifying factor among Whigs was a tendency to favor the market economy, while the Democrats polled best among those classes outside of the market economy.27 Abraham Lincoln thoroughly embraced the ideology of the market and with it the program of the Whig Party, even while his Northern progressive faction clashed with Whig conservatives who wanted to silence anti-slavery Whigs. It was only when slavery superceded issues of internal development and tariffs that both progressive and conservative Whigs questioned their loyalties to the Party and one another. Divisions over slavery helped to split the Whig Party. The Northern progressive Whigs sided with the progressive “Barnburner” Democrats in the various struggles over whether slavery would expand in to the Territories, while the Southern Cotton Whigs sided with Conservative Hunker Democrats. This split within the Whig Party was fatal for the Whigs. The rise of the anti-Catholic “Know Nothings” and their attempt to infiltrate the Whig Party alienated conservative Whigs, along with the old Anti-Masons who were as suspicious of secret societies as they were of Roman Catholics. The Northern Whigs were gradually brought in to the new Republican Party that Abraham Lincoln helped to found when it was clear that the Whig Party had become subservient to its Southern wing.28 Lincoln had begun his political career in Illinois with solid conservative backing, yet in 1859 he would be solidly associated with the egalitarian leanings of the Republican Party. Human rights, and not property rights, would become paramount in the thinking of Abraham Lincoln, as he was about to enter the greatest conflict for the preservation and extension of human rights in American history.29 However, it is important to remember that Lincoln never entirely shed his earlier racial views, even as he grew to oppose the spread of slavery more and more. He did not favor interfering with slavery where it already existed before the Civil War. Furthermore, he was a supporter of colonization for freed blacks, a skeptical position on integration taken by many Northern Whigs. Yet, as the controversy over slavery expansion in to the western Territories became a clash of philosophies, Lincoln began to develop a view of human rights that was increasingly broad that he had always embraced, even in his youth. While the young Lincoln was pragmatic in his racial views, the seeds of the Transcendentalist idealism had been planted early in Lincoln’s thinking, in particular the thoughts of Theodore Parker who influenced Abraham Lincoln through his law partner William Herndon.30 By the time of the Civil War, Lincoln’s pragmatism remained, yet the seeds of youthful transcendentalist idealism had finally germinated in Lincoln’s role as Great Emancipator. The wartime Lincoln embraced the “transcendental” view of the Declaration of Independence that was increasingly popular with abolitionists. He posited that the Declaration was a “Higher Law,” a position that abolitionists took to an extreme that sometimes bordered on anarchistic.31 Yet, Lincoln did not go as far as some abolitionists who embraced a liminal equality between all human beings that would negate the differences inherent in capitalism, notions that American radicals were beginning to imbibe from European radicals. Lincoln believed in an equality of opportunity and not an equality of outcome.32 He entered the new Republican Party in concert with the Northern Whig defectors, and he still retained their views on race as well as their acceptance the inherent inequalities of capitalism. Still, Lincoln changed, and he did not change his views on slavery alone. He changed in concert with a number of other Whigs who aided his political career and who cheered him on as he challenged the Slave Power and who came to embrace abolition. Looking back to his early career, we notice the roots of Lincoln’s wartime choices in his early life, even if they were not so apparent then. Lincoln held congressional office under the Whig Party banner only once. During that time, he aligned with the Northern progressive Whigs by opposing the War against Mexico.33 By the time that Lincoln seriously re-entered politics in the 1850’s, the rising forces of the Free Soil movement had torn apart the Whig Party and redefined the Democratic Party, uniting radical Democrats and progressive Whigs within the Republican Party under the renewed banner of stopping slavery. The Free Soil movement had begun at the very time that the Mexican War was being waged in order to extend slavery in to Texas and the Territories.34 Soon the mantle of opposition to slavery fell to the Republican Party, whose membership was galvanized over the Kansas-Nebraska Act that allowed slavery north of the line established by the Missouri Compromise. The Republican movement had broad appeal to whites hungry for land in the west, who sometimes wanted to exclude all blacks from the west, not merely the slave but the free black also.35 Lincoln moved toward the new Republican party in concert with others in his State of Illinois who were disaffected with the Slave Power and its attempts to expand slavery in to the Territories, among them Lyman Trumbull, an anti-slavery lawyer who was distinguished in his own right. After Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1854, he resigned to run for the Senate only to lose to Lyman Trumbull who would eventually clash with Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Lyman Trumbull was a former Jacksonian Democrat who underwent a transformation similar to that of Abraham Lincoln. Like Lincoln, Trumbull had always been opposed to slavery as an institution, even taking legal cases on behalf of blacks suing for their freedom. The young Lyman Trumbull premised his cases against slavery in the Northwest on the language of the North-west Ordinance of 1787 that banned slavery in the territories before they had become States. His argument was similar to that of the mature Abraham Lincoln.36 Trumbull was racially conservative, even as late as 1859, believing in the segregation of the races even while opposing slavery,37 just as Lincoln retained a belief that the white race and the black race could never mix on equal terms. His opposition to slavery put Trumbull outside of the mainstream of the Jacksonians, in the same manner that the stand taken by Lincoln put him outside of the mainstream of the Whig Party. Conservatives read Trumbull out of his Party, while Lincoln saw the Whig Party collapse under him. It was not long before these two adversaries, who were on opposite sides of economic issues, came together to help form the embryonic Republican Party in 1856. The Republican Party was the logical successor to the Free Soil Party, except that it incorporated within it a great many more disaffected Whigs and Democrats than the Free Soilers had. The Free Soil Party had initially viewed the Whigs and Democrats as “innocuous” in their bowing of the knee before the Slave Power.38 Yet, it was the Free Soil movement that was innocuous until the split within the Whig Party. The Republican Party was the party of the middle class fearful of a Slave power intent on nationalizing slavery through the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Unlike the abolitionist Liberty Party, which was considered a fringe Party, the Republicans could successfully capitalize on the fact that respectable Whigs and Democrats such as Lincoln and Trumbull had joined their ranks.39 By the 1850’s, most upstate New England areas were Republican.40 Positions once restricted to abolitionists and Free Soil adherents had gone mainstream by the turbulent 1850’s. The Republicans contained a heterogeneous mixture of racists, abolitionists, farmers, industrialists, intellectuals and frontiersmen. Like the Free Soil movement, it was not an “abolitionist” party. Lincoln, Trumbull and the Republicans continued to oppose social equality for blacks well in to the 1850’s, just as the Whig and Democratic Parties had always done.41 Yet, during his debates with Douglas, Lincoln expressed a moral belief in the evil of slavery that was increasingly bold. Lincoln could not compromise his belief in the Declaration of Independence for the sake of political expediency.42 The Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court decision that decided that slavery could not be excluded from the Territories and that blacks had never been part of the social compact in America, shocked the North and galvanized the Republican Party. This decision helped to push Lincoln in to a moral crusade to oppose slavery expansion as a moral evil that needed a forceful response. When the Dred Scott decision denied that blacks were included within the original social compact of the United States, Lincoln and Stephen Douglas both argued their points from opposite philosophical vantage points. Douglas argued that the Supreme Court must be obeyed, and also, in a seeming contradiction, wanted each Territory to vote on whether to eventually become a slave State or a free State. When enough individuals in a territory voted either to become slave or free, Congress would then ratify that state as slave or free. The pro-slavery partisans of the South despised this doctrine of “popular sovereignty”,43 believing that the Constitution did not leave slavery to the whims of local majorities, some even maintaining that popular democracy itself was incompatible with slavery. In the North, by contrast, Popular Sovereignty was denounced as pro-slavery. Yet, among the pro-slavery partisans of the border States, popular sovereignty fit well with their belief that democracy and slavery were in fact compatible, a position in opposition to the Northern Free Soil position on the one hand, and the Southern aristocratic disdain for popular democracy on the other.44 For Lincoln and for most Republicans, neither the Supreme Court nor the majority within any given Territory held the ultimate sway over whether slavery could enter the Territory or not. Sovereignty lay in Congress, elected by all of the people in the Union and not one faction merely.45 Lincoln did not favor emancipation within the Southern States, yet he held to the view that Congress could bar slavery from the new Territories just as Congress had barred slavery from the North-west Territories. As a Whig partisan, Lincoln had always placed sovereignty in the hands of Congress more than in the States. Lincoln the Republican would do no less. Madison, revered by Lincoln as the architect of a Union transcending the States, held to the view that a nationalist “We the People” constructed the Constitution, not the States. Lincoln took this position even further by attempting allow the Northern majority a dominant position in determining a question that would affect whether the nation was slave or free, regardless of any majority within the Southern States. For Lincoln, the issue of what defined popular sovereignty was far more profoundly philosophical than one of any mere political controversy. Douglas was twisting the meaning of democracy against freedom itself, a distortion that had no place in a moral Republic. For Abraham Lincoln, slavery could not simply be voted “up or down”; any more than moral truth could be voted up or voted down.46 The belief among Douglas Democrats was that the Declaration of Independence was merely a legal document, one without any deep moral import on questions of human rights except to allow popular majorities to define for themselves whether slavery was right or wrong. This notion struck Lincoln as downrightly heretical.47 Slavery was not simply another species of property for Lincoln. It was a profoundly moral issue, one that could only grate on the conscience of a moral people who believed in freedom.48 The debate between Lincoln and Douglas was a debate over the meaning of what defined democracy in America. For Lincoln, democracy was primarily moral.49 For Douglas, the definition of democracy was simply rule by numbers. Lincoln also believed very strongly in the right of the people to rule themselves under Constitutional principles.50 Yet, he did not believe that any government, even a government run by majority rule, could define right and wrong. This was a view that had roots in the “higher law” doctrine held both by antebellum Northern conservatives and the radical Transcendentalist philosophers. For Lincoln, higher law was a set of eternal moral principles that could not be challenged if free government were to continue. Failure to uphold them would doom free government. Only if republican government stayed true to morality could it truly flourish and be an example to the nations. Lincoln believed that he was defending the republican vision of the Founding Fathers, not social radicalism or abolitionism. Indeed, in their minds neither Lincoln nor Douglas pushed their visions of democracy far beyond the definitions believed in by the Whig and Democratic Parties. Douglas upheld federalism, and viewed the local community as the truest expression of “the people”, not Congress. Just the same, Lincoln continued to believe in Whig democracy, the democracy in which the people voted, and yet the best rose to power on the basis of merit. Neither would embrace radical egalitarianism during the debates. Like the Democrats, Whigs believed that suffrage was a matter best left with the States.51 This distinction between personal liberty and political power was key to nineteenth century republican thought, defended by Whigs and Democrats alike, even if incomprehensible in a later century. Lincoln’s growing “higher law” idealism had not yet overcome his reticence to shed such views. Whig democracy had always been defined by the view that property and social standing did not have to be equal for the individual to enjoy equal civil rights, a position at odds with aristocratic Federalists and egalitarian democrats alike. Initially an anti-democratic doctrine among the National Republicans and the conservative Whigs, the belief in a government of merit dressed itself in populist garb and transferred itself to Lincoln and the Republicans. Once restricted to an elite in the early Republic, the notion of government by merit and talent became for Lincoln a doctrine maintaining that any person could rise in society. Just as Douglas represented a conservative swing within the Democratic Party away from its Jeffersonian and Jacksonian roots, so did Lincoln represent a gradual moral swing away from accommodation to slavery to belief in equal opportunity during the crucial period before the 1860 election. His view still rejected political rights for free blacks or the forcible abolition of slavery within the Southern States.52 Lincoln brought his vision of liberty under Union to Presidential politics in 1860 when he ran for the highest office in the land. In spite of his assurances to the slave owners that he was not an abolitionist, he was elected to the Presidency without a single electoral vote in the South. In many respects, Lincoln was the first President entirely outside of the control of the Slave Power to arise in the United States. He was also the first sectional President, since even the Federalists had some Southern support. Indeed, even Jefferson had Northern support. Lincoln, by contrast, had no Southern support. For Southerners, this was a sign that they were increasingly isolated in a Union that was seemingly succumbing more and more to abolitionist propaganda. The only logical answer for increasingly isolated Southerners was secession. South Carolina seceded first, and then a number of States joined them before Lincoln was even inaugurated. Lincoln would face the greatest challenge of his life when he took office on March 4, 1861. During his inaugural speech, Lincoln emphasized the insolubility of the Union. In the mind of Lincoln, the Union was already an existing reality before the Declaration of Independence itself was even written. For Lincoln, the Constitutional Union of the colonies predated American independence from the Crown.53 Calhoun and the States Rights conservatives had used the compact theory of the Constitution, maintaining that States could leave the Union at any time, to challenge the consolidated view of the Union held by Jacksonians and Whigs alike. Along with the doctrine of concurrent majority, in which minorities could nullify laws passed by majorities, the States Rights doctrine was crucial to the intellectual arsenal of Calhoun and the secessionists. Yet, the inaugural speech of Lincoln made it clear to the South that the government of the United States did not consider the emerging Confederacy a sovereign nation among nations. The South understood him clearly. One month after the inaugural, the South fired on Fort Sumter. The Civil War had begun. The Civil War was not unusual in that nations had fought civil wars for millennia, and would continue to do so well in to modern times. As such, it should not have pushed Lincoln to embrace abolition or suffrage. Yet, the Civil War was more than simply a struggle over a political Union. Several forces would push the question of slavery to the foreground. One factor pushing slavery to the foreground was the fact that the war was a test for republican government itself. The entire question of whether self-government could survive and not fractionalize would be settled on the battlefield.54 The arguments of foreign aristocrats that democratic government must collapse in to anarchy had to be addressed by defending a strong Constitutional Union with force. Additionally, the arguments of the Southern aristocrats, that they were descendents of the Stuart aristocrats against Yankee “mud-sills” would also be settled once and for all on the battlefield, and in the hearts and minds of Americans who would be doing the fighting for one side or the other. As a war over the meaning of self-government, the Civil War would have a bearing on the question of slavery and whether slavery and self-government could co-exist under the same Constitution. Additionally, the Southern aristocrats understood the challenge that democratic notions posed to slavery. They seceded, in part, because they had begun a train of thought developed decades before the Civil War and subsequently developed it to its logical conclusion. The notion promoted by Southern partisans that the Southern gentleman was an aristocrat,55 a descendent of the medieval Chivalry who contrasted his life and mores with that of the “mud-sill” democrats of the North, led very naturally to the belief that the South could successfully secede. One Southerner could beat ten Yankees, so the boast went. The view that the Civil War was a war between Cavaliers and Roundheads was not restricted to Southern partisans. Northern partisans rejoiced in being descendents of the Puritans on a bold crusade to challenge the Slave Power just as the Puritans challenged Charles I. For these Northerners, secession was not only a dagger in the heart of Northern Unionism. It was a threat to republican self-rule itself. Lincoln clearly saw the lack of explicit support for democratic self-rule in the Confederate Constitution when he noted that the Confederate Provisional Constitution, for all of the claims of the secessionists that they stood in solid American libertarian tradition, did not invoke “We the People” as its foundation of sovereignty.56 Salmon Chase strongly hinted that the Confederate leaders would favor a Monarchical government that would oppress whites as well as blacks. The South did practice democracy at the local level, militia companies often electing their own officers, yet the ideology of its rulers demonstrated a strong disdain for lower class whites as well as blacks. Lincoln understood that winning the Civil War was a strike for democracy within the Confederate States. A decisive win would address the taunts of reactionary critics of self-government. Thirdly, foreign liberals were as likely as Confederates to view the Civil War as a war over slavery, and not merely a civil war like any other. Northerners attracted European democrats to their banner, while the South also attracted Europeans to the banner of national independence. Lincoln or Jefferson Davis both sought legitimacy abroad and Lincoln often faced a skeptical audience.57 The situation was made complex by the fact that, initially, the North did not have a policy of emancipation. Failure of the North to emancipate slaves alienated progressive European opinion. In addition, the policy of suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus that Lincoln undertook to suppress dissent, a power that the Constitution only allows to Congress,58 struck an unsympathetic nerve with European liberals. As much as Lincoln stressed to European workers that the war was a worker’s war, pointing out that their decadent aristocracies sided with the South, the fact that he not only refused to free the slaves but also suspended Constitutional rights so dear in Anglo-American jurisprudence seemed to make his words hollow. Finally, most pressing of all, in addition to having to face challenges from dissidents at home and skeptical foreigners, Lincoln also faced Radical opposition from within Congress that would not be satisfied unless slaves were freed. Lyman Trumbull sat in the Senate while Lincoln was struggling to gain recognition from European liberals. Trumbull demonstrated a liberal commitment to civil liberties when he successfully passed a bill that rhetorically recognized that Congress alone had the power to suspend Habeas Corpus, “granting” the power to the President instead of allowing Lincoln to claim it himself.59 In addition, Trumbull also pushed through Confiscation Acts that would become the basis for freeing a number of slaves during wartime, an act that could only have curried favor with a liberal foreign audience that had remained skeptical of Northern intentions. Trumbull expected Lincoln to act on his powers of Confiscation in order to free slaves. When Lincoln demurred, believing that property rights were not superseded by war powers, Trumbull was furious. Trumbull then joined the faction of Radical Republicans who wanted Lincoln to prosecute the war more effectively, using emancipation as a means to win the war. Their pressure, and the continued threat of foreign intervention on the side of the South, helped to push Lincoln to emancipate the slaves of all masters disloyal to the Union. The pressure of Congressional Radicals, coupled with military defeat, allowed the evolving Lincoln, whose passion about the high ideals of the Declaration of Independence could only have been frustrated by his sad recognition of the reality of slavery, to overcome his reservations about freeing slaves and pass the Emancipation Proclamation. The Radicals forced Lincoln to act on his conscience, and together they made the war what in the minds of a growing number of Northerners it had been already, a war for freedom that finally attracted European liberal support. Lincoln initially sat on the sidelines during the debates over the Thirteenth Amendment. Yet, once Trumbull had pushed the Amendment through the Senate, Lincoln began to endorse changing the Constitution itself to abolish slavery. 60 The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment redefined the War. It also seemed to the minds of Northerners to represent a shift in Lincoln himself.61 Emancipation certainly represented a change in how Lincoln was perceived in the North. Lincoln began to genuinely accept his new image as the liberator of slaves. When Lyman Trumbull pushed the Thirteenth Amendment through the Senate, the bill that he favored having beaten the more expansive one favored by the Radicals,62 Lincoln initially stood on the sidelines. Yet, in the end, he backed the Thirteenth Amendment, a far cry from his earlier reticence about emancipation of Southern slaves.63 Lincoln then became the leader associated with freeing the slaves in the minds of the world due to the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment that was being ratified by the States. He began to change with his own image. Lincoln even began to change his position on black suffrage, quietly writing to Governor Michael Hahn of the Reconstruction government of Louisiana that certain blacks be admitted to the suffrage.64 By the time that the Civil War was over, Lincoln gave a speech in Washington D.C. recommending the franchise for some blacks.65 It would be his last speech. John Wilkes Booth heard the speech and determined that Lincoln was enough of a dangerous social radical to merit assassination. It is difficult to imagine Lyman Trumbull, Lincoln’s long time friend and political adversary, predicting that his old political adversary Lincoln, seemingly so timid during the beginning of the Civil War over issues involving the prosecution of the war, would become a martyr for the cause of human freedom. Trumbull held to roughly the same positions as Lincoln on matters of race before the Civil War. While the war was being prosecuted, both men moved to more expansive positions, Trumbull moving faster than Lincoln, yet both began to embrace a broader conception of civil rights under law than they had held to before the war. Trumbull and Lincoln responded to the pressures of the War by broadening their notions of who was a citizen. For Lincoln, this meant an embrace of partial black suffrage. For Trumbull, it would mean an embrace of the rights of citizenship ensured at the Federal level, and a radicalism that stopped just short of embracing suffrage guarantees at the federal level.66 Lincoln would never see the career of his old friend during Congressional Reconstruction, and he might have been extremely surprised as to how radical Trumbull would become after the experiences of the Civil War. Trumbull held to a view of his own Thirteenth Amendment that allowed for Congress to confer citizenship on blacks against the wishes of State governments. The abolition of slavery meant that blacks were to become full citizens by way of Congressional statute.67 Trumbull put this idea in to practice by pushing the Civil Rights Act of 1866 through the Senate. It was vetoed by President Johnson, and then passed when Congress overrode a Presidential veto for the first time in American history. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution would be based on the Civil Rights Act passed by Lyman Trumbull, the Senator who had pushed for separation of the races less than a decade earlier. For Lincoln, Trumbull, and much of the Civil War generation the fact that blacks had heroically shed blood on the battlefield vindicated their manhood. In response to this display of courage, Civil War Unionists formerly skeptical of black equality took the best of their political traditions and shed the worst. Their story was the story of American liberalism in its evolution from its origins in the undemocratic aristocratic Republicanism of the antebellum years to the modern view of itself as democratic and inclusive. It was a story of a movement to greater freedom that avoided the traps of ideology and party purity. Both men simply committed themselves to the extension of the guarantees of liberalism to a broader group of people. The infrastructure of Constitutional government was already in place. The Whig and the Democratic Parties were both committed to the preservation of such Constitutional government. Yet, it was left to the generation of the Civil War and Reconstruction to extend the guarantees to those who had previously been disenfranchised. Few of them would have been happy with accolades and honors. Suffice to say, however, that Lincoln, Trumbull, and with them Chase and Seward, indeed the entire generation of the Civil War and Reconstruction, would have wanted an acknowledgement of the fact that they did the job, and did it well. They responded to the Civil War by rising above their previously restricted sense of who was a citizen, extending the guarantees of liberalism to all born in America, and that the honors accorded them are the honors of lives in evolution given from a nation in evolution. Bibliography Paul M. Angle, Abraham Lincoln’s Speeches and Letters 1832-1865, (New York, NY: E.P. Dutton & Co, Inc. 1957) Roy P. Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1953) Lerone Bennett, Jr. Forced Into Glory, (Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. 1999) Courtlandt Canby, Lincoln and the Civil War (New York, George Braziller, Inc. 1960) Lawanda Cox, Lincoln and Black Freedom; A Study in Presidential Leadership (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1981) David Herbert Donald, We Are Lincoln Men; Abraham Lincoln and His Friends (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2003) Don E. Fehrenbacher, Abraham Lincoln Speeches and Writings 1832-1858; Speeches, Letters, and Miscellaneous Writings The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (New York, MY: The Library of America. 1989) George Fitzhugh, Cannibals All (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1990) Walter Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction, Volume I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966) George P. Fletcher, Our Secret Constitution; How Lincoln Redefined American Democracy (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men; The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) Eric Foner, Reconstruction; America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988) Michael F. Holt, Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) Mark M. Krug, Lyman Trumbull; Conservative Radical (New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, Inc, 1965) Henry F. May, Enlightenment in America (New York: Oxford University Press, 1976) William Lee Miller, Arguing About Slavery (New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1998) Stephen Oates, With Malice Toward None (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1977) Phillip Shaw Paludan, A People’s Contest (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988) Lewis Perry, Boats Against the Current; American Culture Between Revolution and Modernity 1820-1860 (Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. 1993) Ralph J. Roske His Own Counsel; The Life and Times of Lyman Trumbull (Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 1979) Dean Sprague, Freedom under Lincoln (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965) Charles Strozier, Lincoln’s Quest For Union (New York: Basic Books, 1963) William R. Taylor, Cavalier and Yankee (New York, NY: George Braziller. 1961) Thomas West, Vindicating the Founders (Ashland, Ohio: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997) Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg, (New York: Simon & Schuster. 1992) What do you think of this article? Discuss it on Scholardarity’s message board. Related Articles The Consistency Of Lyman Trumbull The Paradox of Natural Rights PARENT PAGE: History

It is a choir of two, singing for millions. “She says their names,” Morgan Freeman intones, and Hillary Clinton’s voice, clipped from the campaign trail, seems to blend in with his: “Trayvon Martin,” they both say. “Shot to death,” says Mrs. Clinton, as pictures of victims of police brutality, and their grieving mourners, flash on screen. Dontre Hamilton: “Unarmed,” she says. “Sandra Bland did nothing wrong,” she says. Mr. Freeman drives home the point: Mrs. Clinton “makes their mothers’ fight for justice her own.” As we follow Mrs. Clinton to Flint, Mich., Mr. Freeman continues: “She speaks for a city poisoned by indifference.” Speaking from the pulpit of a black church there, she demands: “We need action now.” Finally, photos show Mrs. Clinton alongside President Obama, looking on proudly by his side as he speaks, and meeting privately with him in the Oval Office, as Mr. Freeman assures viewers that she “stands with the president against those who would undo his achievements — just like she’s always stood with us.” Message Mrs. Clinton as defender, protector and champion of African-Americans: children, families, cities, even a victimized president.

No, this is not Watergate or Iran-Contra. Nor is it like the sex scandal that got Bill Clinton impeached. The AP, IRS and Benghazi matters represent a scandal not of presidential wrongdoing, but of presidential indolence, indifference and incompetence in discharging the duties of chief executive. The Barack Obama revealed to us in recent days is something rare in our history: a spectator president, clueless about what is going on in his own household, who reacts to revelations like some stunned bystander. Consider. Because of a grave national security leak, President Obama’s Department of Justice seized two months of records from 20 telephones used by The Associated Press. An unprecedented seizure. Yet the president was left completely in the dark. And though he rushed to defend the seizure, he claims he was uninvolved. While the AP issue does not appear to have legs—we know what was done and why—it has badly damaged this president. For his own Justice Department treated the press, which has an exalted opinion of itself and its role, with the same contempt as the IRS treated the Tea Party. The episode has damaged a crucial presidential asset. For this Washington press corps had provided this president with a protective coverage of his follies and failings unseen since the White House press of half a century ago covered up the prowlings of JFK. The Benghazi issue is of far greater gravity. Still, Obama’s sins here as well seem to be those of omission, not commission. The president was apparently completely in the dark about the urgent requests from Benghazi for more security. Obama was also apparently completely out of the loop during the seven-hour crisis of Sept. 11-12, when Ambassador Stevens was assassinated, calls for help from Benghazi were denied and two heroic ex-Navy SEALs died fighting to defend U.S. personnel from the roof of that CIA installation. No one seems to know where Obama was that night. The following week, as the State Department, CIA and National Security Council all worked the “talking points” to make it appear that this preplanned terrorist atrocity was a spontaneous event triggered by an anti-Islamic video, Obama knew nothing of the discussions. Thus, almost a week after the massacre, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice was put on six networks to move the line that we could not have better prepared for what would happen in Benghazi because it was all a spontaneous event triggered by a YouTube video. Rice’s version was untrue, but consistent with Obama’s campaign message: “Bin Laden is dead, and al-Qaida is on the run.” Yet if Rice’s credibility was crippled by what she was sent out to parrot, a week after she got the egg all over her face, Obama was himself peddling the same line at the United Nations. Obama, it seems, may have been the last man to know the cover story had collapsed. As for the IRS’s targeting of Tea Party applications for tax-exempt status, this bureaucratic misconduct began as far back as 2010, when the Tea Party was a national sensation. Yet, despite Tea Party protests to members of Congress, who made inquiries of the IRS, the discrimination against groups with “Tea Party” and “Patriot” in their names continued, and was extended to groups whose proclaimed mission was to defend the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Literally for years this went on. Investigations were begun by the IRS, and the results reported to the Treasury Department. But nothing was made public before the election of 2012. This weekend we learned that the White House counsel was told this April about the IRS misconduct and the investigations, but she did not inform President Obama. He learned about it from news reports. What we have here, it appears, is a government out of control and a president clueless about what is going on in that government. And that is the best case. For it is difficult to believe the IRS could conduct a full-court press on Obama’s opponents, that IRS higher-ups knew about it, years ago, and that Treasury knew about it before the election—but the White House was kept in the dark about a scandal that could have derailed the Obama campaign. But whatever Obama knew, he and his allies in Congress bear moral responsibility for denying these Tea Party folks for years their right to participate fully in the politics of their country. For years, Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other Democrats have slandered and slurred Tea Party people as enemies of progress—smears echoed by their mainstream press allies. Should we then be surprised that IRS bureaucrats, hearing this, thought they were doing what was right for America by slow-walking applications for tax exemptions from these same Tea Party folks? Who demonized the Tea Party people? Who created the climate of contempt? Whoever did gave moral sanction to those IRS agents. And the Spectator President is right in the vanguard. Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of “Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?” Copyright 2012 Creators.com.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, said that the U.S. is "in the midst of a civilization-warping crisis of public trust," when asked about James Comey's firing. "And we need to talk honestly about our institutions that need to be restored and need to have the ability for people in five and eight and ten years to trust these institutions," Sasse said on Sunday's broadcast of "Face the Nation." Sasse, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that there has been "a lot of politicization going on at the Department of Justice over the last five to eight, nine years." "We should want the Department of Justice to be very, very insulated from partisan politics. We have three branches of government. Not one, not 17, right?," said Schiff. When questioned over the circumstances surrounding Comey's dismissal, Sasse said that he was "disappointed" in the timing of Comey's firing. "Lots of people can think that Director Comey, who was a fundamentally honorable man, but people can think that he executed his job in all sorts of clunky and imperfect ways," Sasse said. "That's a different question than whether or not he should have been fired the way he was last week. And I've been critical of that decision." Sen. Ben Sasse CBS News Members of the Department of Justice were scrambling Friday and Saturday to interview potential candidates to fill the position of FBI director following Comey's ouster. The FBI Agents Association, representing thousands of current and retired FBI agents, favors former House Intelligence Committee chairman and former FBI special agent Mike Rogers. It urged Mr. Trump to pick Rogers to lead the bureau. "It is essential that the next FBI director understand the details of how agents do their important work," FBIAA president Thomas F. O'Connor said in a news release Saturday. "Mike Rogers' background as a special agent, veteran of the armed forces and former member of Congress sets him apart as someone capable of confronting the wide array of challenges facing our help ensure that the bureau remains the world's premiere law enforcement agency." Last week, during the Senate's hearing on Russian interference, Sasse asked the former director point blank how likely it was that the Senate IT system had been targeted by foreign adversaries. Comey responded to Sasse's line of questioning saying, "I would estimate it's certainty."

Welcome to the SuperNET. These are very exciting times, with the realtime Multigateway going into beta – meaning that anyone can now download it and start using it. Beyond that, we’ve got plenty of analysis on how the launch of these services could affect the broader crypto ecosystem, and some other news and information you’ll want to hear about. Topics SuperNET v1 BETA released MGW ramchains The BTER hack if you have UNITY on BTER InstantDEX Preparing for iDEX Fixed fees Hybrid orderbooks Nxt forgers InstantDEX GUI release SkyNET SuperNET NRS plugin VRC OPAL Coinimal SuperNET Radio Network SNN CHA? The Endgame Win a SuperNET Silver coin SuperNET v1 BETA released for testers The hotly-anticipated public beta version of the first official SuperNET client is available for testing. The MGW has been totally re-engineered. The new realtime MGW uses ramchains: James’ distilled blockchain tech that is many times faster to initialise than a regular blockchain. The v1 client appears as a multiwallet for the SuperNET CORE coins. You can fund it and send coins from it. The first coin deposit you make to your wallet (whether it’s in BTCD, NXT, OPAL, VRC, BITS or VPNcoin) will automatically fund it with 10 NXT, which can be used for paying transaction fees. It is hoped that BTC will be enabled on the realtime MGW within two weeks – BTC’s blockchain is so large (approaching 30GB) that it is taking longer to process than the other coins. t3cltd writes, ‘Seeing as we have actually released a beta version and we’ve already begun releasing updates, the “download for testers” is simply a wider net of the public who can try it out at will on the understanding it is a beta product at this time.’ Get the new client here: http://www.supernet.org/en/home-of-the-supernet/supernet-downloads If you try it, please leave your feedback in SuperNET Slack channel #v1testers. You can interact with SuperNET Slack without asking for an invite or signing up: http://chat.supernet.org Eth says: “As every new feature, the innovative superNET GUI (basic mode) is going through a number of changes, and what happens in back end is most probably going to affect front end, so this upcoming week there will be a quick re-structuring on the interface inner file set in order to ease up the implementation of new features (that we cannot talk about yet!) in the future. We will be including also the first video tutorial, which will serve not only to explain the basic functions of the multiwallet, but also a presentation for the different sections that populate superNET, making it a truly unique experience in crypto.” Further functionality will be added on a rolling basis, ensuring a stable client with an ever-increasing feature set. Some main features are already visible in the GUI, including the funding of your wallet directly from USD or EUR, sending coins by email, and the links to projects and services in the top bar which will definitely be worth watching over the coming months. And right now ramchains for DRK, BTC and DOGE is being created to add to the SuperNET v1. MGW ramchains Realtime status for the Multigateway servers are also displayed in the client. The old MGW servers were prone to going down; the new servers will be actively maintained, as James writes: ‘The realtime MGW uses ramchains, so restarting that takes just a few minutes and we are making all sorts of alarms and monitors, etc. You have to also realize the old MGW is run on volunteer basis and there are no profits from it, just expenses. It is clear that this is too extreme on the frugality side and that people would rather pay a small fee that would fund 24hr monitoring and faster response time.’ Charging a small fee will enable SuperNET to pay people to maintain the servers, so they can be restarted – in the superfast time enabled by ramchains – as soon as a problem is detected. Additionally: ‘I am still fiddling with selfhealing ramchains. Did a proof of concept where a brand new ramchain was loaded to a new node in about a minute for BTCD. Not quite done with that, but the bulk of it is done in ~100 lines of new code with a few surgical changes scattered.’ This will make for a more robust system that is less prone to going down – and faster to restart if it does. As ever, a big thank you goes to James for all his hard work and some tech that really belongs in a sci-fi film. The BTER hack BTER lost 7,170 BTC in the hack two weeks ago, which looks like a co-ordinated hit on several altcoin exchanges. As yet there is no indication that these funds will be recovered, and the future for the exchange is unclear. SuperNET had around 400 BTC on BTER. James writes, ‘Not sure of exact amounts, but most all the ICO funds had already been withdrawn over the months. It was <5% of total funds raised. The funds left were mostly from converting the CNY raised during ICO.’ However, it is hoped that the loss of a number of altcoin exchanges and renewed doubt about the security of centralised exchanges will bring more users to InstantDEX: ‘SuperNET is not much affected by this incident and InstantDEX will become quite popular. The 400 BTC loss stings, but with central exchanges’ continued problems the InstantDEX will gain and SuperNET will more than make up for this.’ If you have UNITY on BTER … UNITY is just the trading symbol for the SuperNET asset and as we advised in December after the pump’n’dump ring accusations against BTER, it is best to have it in a NXT address that you control (including the new beta client). All dividends will automatically be sent to whatever address the SuperNET asset is in. If you are new to Nxt, you can use either the standard Nxt wallet or the SuperNET wallet – the passphrase is the same. It’s also easy to start with the blockchain-less NxtLite client. The latest NXT NRS client release can be found here: http://test.nxter.org/latest-nrs-release/ and for the SuperNET v.0 (enhanced NRS) look in this thread: https://nxtforum.org/lite-multigateway-releases/ BTER have now enabled withdrawals of UNITY and some other Nxt assets. We advise you to withdraw them to an address you control! This will also make it easier to receive upcoming dividends. InstantDEX In one of the most exciting developments for both SuperNET and wider crypto, InstantDEX – the distributed real-time crypto exchange – is almost ready for launch. Preparing for iDEX To prepare the ground for active trading, James is making a market in BTC/NXT on Nxt Asset Exchange. ### [Notification] Due to the recent incidents, the lack of liquidity is impacting the entire NXT community. Additionally with InstantDEX arriving soon it will benefit from a more liquid market in NXT. So I will manually start making a market in BTC/NXT on the AE but this will be updated with automated market maker. 2 million NXT and 100 BTC will be adequate to start. Even though there will be 2MM NXT and 100 BTC, it will be set up as ladders, so it is highly unlikely more than half will get traded and most likely a lot less. ### James has put up orders for mgwBTC, starting at the bargain price of 4444 sats (with a price ladder in 10 BTC lots), and BTC sell orders <1% above the bid. The new mgwBTC asset ID is #17554243582654188572. NXT now has liquidity and low spreads. James writes, ‘There is around 2 million NXT and 50 BTC or so, I plan to deploy some automated bots next week, but for now it will be manual so I can’t promise any specific level of spreads.’ Fixed fees: 2.5 NXT InstantDEX will charge low fees to encourage higher volumes, aiming to become the dominant altcoin exchange in the wake of the series of recent hacks. A flat fee of 2.5 NXT will be charged per trade, on top of existing transaction fees. James writes, ‘There will be 2 tx per trade per side, so that is 2 NXT right there, so in that case I think 2.5 NXT fee which is 4.5 NXT. That means at 4500 NXT trade size it is 0.1% and any trade for more it is less. For 1 BTC size trade, it is < 0.025% so this is a really really good price.’ This fee will, of course, be higher as a percentage for lower amounts. ‘Since we want trade volumes in more value and not just a lot of small trades, even if the fixed fee is discouraging the 50 NXT trade, we should still end up with 80% of trading volumes.’ These low fees are extremely competitive compared to regular exchanges, pointing to a potentially significant revenue stream. ‘With 5 NXT per trade, the direct revenues for InstantDEX become quite ridiculous, so it can’t possibly be true. Well it is contingent on a rather crazy high 100 trades per block, but at that levels InstantDEX will have revenues on par with best any of the mining assets ever did, but instead of just being a return of capital it is from organic new revenues, from a rapidly growing business.’ Hybrid orderbooks Many people have heard of arbitrage and arbitrage bots. This idea will be leveraged to create new markets for InstantDEX. ‘For example, let us say there are BTCD/NXT and NXT/BTC markets. Well these really do exist so it is easy to think about this exact thing! So the price of BTCD/NXT is going up and down and so does NXT/BTC price, now there is a third combination BTCD/BTC market and it also is going up and down! ‘But these three are all related, eg. BTCD/NXT + NXT/BTC == BTCD/BTC. For example BTCD/NXT 100 NXT and NXT/BTC 0.00005 -> 1 BTCD -> 100 NXT * 0.00005 = 0.005 BTC. So if the prices are 100 NXT for BTCD and 0.00005 BTC for NXT, then this is equivalent to 0.005 BTC for BTCD. What if any of the three is going above (or below) these prices? ARBITRAGE!! ‘So I am making the BTCD/BTC orderbook automatically have the (BTCD/NXT + NXT/BTC) orderbook and with one action you will be able to get the best price. With arbitrage, especially cross exchange, there are times where you can buy something at the exact time as you sell the opposite and can lock in a gain. This will require a pair of trades, one going through 2 orderbooks, the balancing trade through 1. ‘For hybrid orderbooks (eg. BTC/NXT + NXT/XYZ -> BTC/XYZ) it would incur an extra 3.5 NXT, 1 from NXT and another 2.5 NXT. Still this is 8 NXT and the hybrid orderbook was used presumably since it had the better price than any direct orderbook. ‘Also keep in mind I aim to have automated market makers with ~1% spread for the major issues. If you factor the savings from the narrower spread, even smaller orders could find it to make sense and the larger orders are finding no reason to trade anywhere else. ‘I think an 8 NXT fee for InstantDEX is well earned and the user is making some incremental profits.’ Nxt forgers What any volume of activity on InstantDEX points towards is greater rewards for NXT forgers. ‘Assuming we fill up the blocks, this is ~250K NXT in fees per day (gladly paid by traders). Now at this pace, NXT forging is paying ~10% per year! I think with that sort of return, the value of NXT will become quite a bit larger. ‘For those trying to estimate the amount of fees InstantDEX will earn I would imagine it would be a multiple of the 4 NXT worth of fees per trade. While most trades will be < 1000 NXT, there will be some larger trades for 1 to 10 BTC, so i would expect the average fees per trades to be closer to 10 NXT. A single 10 BTC trade is really boosting the average. Of course there is no guarantee of reaching this sort of trading volumes and sustaining it, but if it did, that would be fees that are more than 200MM NXT per year. So even achieving 10% of this level is making for a very good result. ‘What other investment would give interest rate like that and have all the potential NXT has? So no promise that we get to 100MM market cap, but if crypto is based on cashflow a rough metric would be an extra million dollars NXT market cap for each tx per block InstantDEX does. ‘I am in close contact with NXT devs, they said blast away give us MOAR tx! It seems the current cap of 256 [tx’s per block] is easy to expand and there are several ways to reduce the blockchain bloat, even I came up with some simple methods to allow for 10x or even 100x more tx without much blockchain bloat. So no worries about using InstantDEX too much.’ InstantDEX GUI release ‘I am on schedule for getting the InstantDEX API fully functional, still need to add error checking and a few other things, but the GUI release is the bottleneck. I was told that next week we will get a GUI release based on: https://yunbi.com/markets/nxtbtc that will be interfaced to InstantDEX API, so if they come through then next week. Since I don’t personally control the GUI and I can’t do GUI work myself, I cannot make any specific estimates, but the team that is on it has been highly recommended so I am optimistic. ‘It will allow people to simply start trading! no accounts to register, no KYC, not even email needed.’ SkyNET SkyNET will feed the bots that will generate revenue from trading. So, how is this intriguing project progressing? nexern writes: ‘Complete fundamental data (fillings) history fetched, stored and up-to-date now. Raw data is 4.5 TB uncompressed, resulting in ~15.7m docs in total (not precise, just estimated from random chosen archives, so numbers may change). This data resource delivers not only raw numbers but also something like “behavioural analytics”, means it could answer questions like: how inner/outer shares flows to whom and where else, how does this affect price, what are the whales doing, what about current short sales, who is involved and connected to whom, well, hidden relations. It would be interesting to dig in this data to identify some “fat-fingers” and if so, to monitor their activity. ‘Luckily I was also able to get my hands on a huge forex tick! archive (15 years, major pairs). This data is perfectly suited for extensive intraday backtesting for traders specialized in currencies. ‘To complete this wide range of data resources I decided to add also macroeconomics data over the next weeks. Just remember, Finhive is constructed to deliver data and tools to as many traders/investors as possible and there are many of them using this kind of data to trade/invest on much longer timeframes than others.’ You can read more in the Finhive Development Monitor: http://finhive.com/fh_devmon.html SuperNET NRS plugin As Nxt will add plug-ins support from the upcoming NRS 1.5 release (currently on testnet), a SuperNET plugin is also on the way. The Nxt Reference Software 1.5 will also feature a decentralized Voting System and 2-Phased Transactions, which allows for the creation of services like trustless escrows, multisig wallets, and shareholders’ voting about whether to release funds. SuperNET and all of its CORE coins will automatically gain access to this functionality. Other plugins have already been developed. For example, Tosch is developing an easy way to access and use Nxt’s Decentralized Crowdfunding feature as well as Nxt’s digital Marketplace. VRC VeriCoin 1.5.1 is now available for download for Mac, Windows and Linux at www.VeriCoin.info VeriCoin BlockChain Reload Demo http://youtu.be/IsgcBoRad_0 What’s new in the VeriCoin 1.5 .1 Wallet? VeriCoin has also teamed up with ISG3D, a Canadian based 3D printing company, and can now offer custom VeriCoin smartphone cases. More details can be found here – http://www.isg3d.com/products/vericoin-iphone-case OPAL Coinimal Coinimal has introduced a Tell-A-Friend system: You receive a €2.50 bonus* for every referred, verified customer after the initial order. Additionally you will receive a lifetime 5% bonus* on the collected service fee, for every order your referred customers fulfil. And of course, your friends will benefit as well. After their verification we will grant them a €5 voucher for their initial order. https://www.coinimal.com/tell-a-friend *Bonus can only be withdrawn as Cryptocoin order. Minimum order is 25€. Can be combined with normal order. Valid: 180 days from issuing date. Coinimal is looking for a freelancer to code the Coinimal plug-in for Nxt’s upcoming plug-in system. PM twinwinnerd. SuperNET Radio Network SNRN is taking advertisement orders. SuperNET-related coins and services are not supposed to start paying for exposure on SuperNET Radio, because ‘we do this as a service to the SN community to keep them informed’, as Lootz writes. ‘Plugging’ or ‘promoting’ a coin, service, asset, or product is self-evident when it’s the subject of a discussion’, continues Kevondo, ‘but active advertising via “on air” spots, sponsorships, Blocks Ads or producing a show and running it on air multiple times are all currently within SNRN’s capabilities, so contact myself or Lootz for prices’. ‘Those taking advantage of Pre-Supernet Launch Deals will be grandfathered in @ the price we agree to NOW. As SNRN increases its reach when Supernet begins active promotion, the pricing included in our Business Plan will come into play. Lootz is giving away the house right now. LOL!’ SNN SuperNET News Network has launched. fumanchu writes: ‘Aloha, Hello, Salutations, and all that Jazz. It is my very special privilege to let everyone know we just had the soft launch of the first portal in the SuperNET News Network ( SNNews.io / Supernetnews.org ). ‘Content will be dripping in slowly during those first few awkward weeks but in time we hope to have a steady flow of community-driven content focusing on developments in the Business, Blockchain, and FinTech Space. ‘Get in touch if you want to talk about advertising specials for the first few groups that sign up for 6 and 12 month packages. Pricing is lower now than it will ever be again in the future. Contact me BEFORE you sign up though and I’ll give you a special deal since you are all part of the SuperNET family here.’ CHA? There’s a problem that someone out there might be able to solve. James writes: ‘Somebody needs to pull a magician out of a hat’: Chancecoin’s lead developer, magician, seems to have disappeared. ‘If we get a java dev, it can be taken over. chanc3r said the tech was good. I can offer 1% of chancecoin to the new dev that is taking over.’ The Endgame SuperNET is all coming together. James writes, ‘We are approaching the end game. All the pieces are in place. Just have to snap them into place and activate them. I think there is some feedbacks coming from security side, but that is for privacy issues.’ ‘After InstantDEX, I will make the Tradebots, which allows for some improvements to MGW, and of course Teleport and finally Telepathy to complete the core things for me. Probably a few things needed for Privatebet. I said it would be about 6 months for me to complete my tech, I think it is around 5 months now and ramchains kind of got added, so I can pretend I am still on schedule. I am making the core, but the true nature of SuperNET is all the things that others will build on top of it.’ Win a SuperNET silver coin So where are we going? How do you see Nxt / SuperNET playing out in the future? Post a meme, an essay, a piece of code, a cartoon, a song or a video, a master thesis or indeed anything else that helps you answer the question. The winner will receive one of pondsea’s stunning limited-edition .999 silver SuperNET coins. Deadline: Friday 6th March 2015, Midnight GMT. Post your entry to the contest here: http://test.nxter.org/win-a-supernet-silver-coin/ or message your entry to NXT-EAVH-SLEV-KSEE-EE2KP. Nxt Community will pick the winner. SuperNET related links http://supernet.org SuperNET news Newsletter signup: http://supernetwrk.weebly.com/newsletter.html https://twitter.com/Jl777News http://jl777news.tumblr.com/ https://www.facebook.com/jl777official SuperNET Newsletters archive http://test.nxter.org/category/supernet-newsletters/ Community SuperNET Slack chat.supernet.org for chat and signup, https://forum.thesupernet.org/index.php?board=46.0 have a log of the public channels. SuperNET Forum https://forum.thesupernet.org SuperNET CORE coins NXT http://nxt.org BTCD http://bitcoindark.pw BBR http://boolberry.com VRC http://www.vericoin.info CHA http://chancecoin.com OPAL http://www.opal-coin.com VPN https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=757614.0 SuperNET related projects BITS (SuperNET CORE component!) https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=748045 SkyNET (FinHive) https://nxtforum.org/finhive/ https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/reserved-6826/ Coinomat https://coinomat.com Neodice https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/(pre-ann)-neodice/ Freemarket https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/freemarket-official-thread/ ATOMIC https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=780833.0 Pangea https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/pangea-poker/ Jay https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/jay-decentralized-plugin-network-asset-8688289798928624137/ Omnigames https://nxtforum.org/nxtventures/omnigames-asset/ SNN https://forum.thesupernet.org/index.php?topic=118.0 Coinimal http://coinimal.com ShortUNITY https://nxtforum.org/assets-board/shortunity/ Prediction Markets https://www.fairlay.com/predict/registered/new/supernet-in-top-10-of-coinmarketcap/ https://www.fairlay.com/predict/registered/new/supernet-in-top-5-of-coinmarketcap-before-2016/ Author of SuperNET newsletters: NXTER MAGAZINE: http://test.nxter.org

To promote tourism in Mysore and Kodagu districts in Karnataka, BJP MP Pratap Simha skydived from a height of over 13,000 feet at the Mysore airport on Monday. Speaking to IBNLive, Pratap Simha said, "When I boarded the four-seater Cessna aircraft and reached the desired height for the jump, it was a bit scary. But, when I took the plunge and floated in the air, it turned out to be my lifetime experience. The dive was beyond belief and enormously thrilling". Mysore airport has been holding skydiving runs since April 2015. This trip was organised by Su Kakini Enterprise Private Limited and Simha was accompanied by an instructor. "I did skydiving to instil confidence in the minds of adventure sports enthusiasts. It is safe and the feeling is indescribable. I urge others to try this at least once in their lifetime," Simha told IBNLive.

Mark Faulk is celebrating a victory now, but preparing for what’s to come Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT MECCA: ABIGAIL AND JESS, THEHI-LO IS JUST ONE OF THEBUSINESSES IN THE DONNAYBUILDING THAT SEVERAL IN THECOMMUNITY WERE TRYING TO SAVE.A COUNCILMAN SAYS IT APPEARSTHEIR EFFORTS HAVE WORKED, ATLEAST FOR NOW.MANY CALL THESE BUSINESSES APIECE OF OKLAHOMA CITY HISTORY>> ANYTIME YOU GO INTO ANY CITYIN AMERICA THAT IS UNIQUE IT'STHE THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENTTHAT ATTRACT PEOPLE.MECCA: AN OKLAHOMA CITYCOUNCILMAN CONFIRMING TO USTODAY THAT BRAUMS WITHDREW THEIRAPPLICATION TO REZONE THELOCATION.>> BY WITHDRAWING THEIRAPPLICATION, BRAUMS ISWITHDRAWING ESSENTIALLY ANAPPLICATION TO BUILD THE FASTFOOD RESTAURANT THERE ANDCONSTRUCT A LARGE SURFACEPARKING LOT AROUND IT.MECCA: AND WHILE THIS CERTAINLYSEEMS AND FEELS LIKE A VICTORYFOR MANY, THE COUNCILMAN DIDREMIND US TODAY OF WHAT THEYOWNER MADE CLEAR WEEKS AGO ATTHE CITY PLANNING MEETING.>> THE PROPERTY OWNERS ATTORNEYDURING THE PLANNING COMMISSIONMEETING SAID THEY WERE GOING TOTEAR DOWN THE STRUCTURESREGARDLESS.>> WE WILL ALTERNATIVELYDEMOLISH THE PROPERTY NEXTSPRING.MECCA: CELEBRATING A WIN TODAY.>> WHEN I GET A WIN LIKE THIS, IAUTOMATICALLY THINK, WHAT ARETHE NEXT TWO STEPS?MECCA: BUT PREPARING FOR WHAT'STO COME TOMORROW.>> WE HAVE TO CONVINCE TO THEOWNER THE BUILDING IS WORTHSAVING, WHETHER SELL IT TOSOMEONE TO RESTORE IT OR RESTORE Advertisement Braum's withdraws application to build new restaurant in Classen Circle Mark Faulk is celebrating a victory now, but preparing for what’s to come Share Shares Copy Link Copy Braum's has withdrawn its application to build a new restaurant in a historic area of downtown Oklahoma City, Councilman Ed Shadid says. The HiLo Club is just one of the businesses in the Donnay building that several in the community were trying to save. Shadid says it appears their efforts have worked, at least for now.Many call these businesses a piece of Oklahoma City history. “The most important thing is that anytime you go into any city in America that is unique it's the things that are different that attract people,” Mark Faulk, who wants the building preserved, said. An Oklahoma City councilman has confirmed to KOCO that Braum’s withdrew their application to rezone the location.“By withdrawing their application, Braum’s is withdrawing essentially an application to build the fast-food restaurant there and construct a large surface parking lot around it,” Shadid said Friday. While this certainly seems and feels like a victory for many, the councilman did remind us of what the owner made clear weeks ago at the city planning meeting.'“The property owner's attorney during the planning commission meeting said they were going to tear down the structures regardless,” Shadid said. Faulk is celebrating a win today, but preparing for what's to come tomorrow.“When I get a win like this, I automatically think what are the next two steps,” Faulk said. “We have to convince the owner the building is worth saving,” he added. “Whether sell it to someone to restore it or restore it himself.”

The teenage schoolgirl who was abducted to France by her teacher has begun a relationship with another teacher, it has emerged. The girl sparked an international search in 2012 when, aged 15, she fled to France with Jeremy Forrest, a maths teacher at Bishop Bell school in East Sussex. Forrest, 31, was jailed for five-and-a-half years for child abduction and five charges of sexual activity with a child at Lewes Crown Court in June. The teenager, who is now 16 and cannot be named for legal reasons, is now “ridiculously happy” in a relationship with a 20-year old teaching assistant, the Sun on Sunday reported. Her mother told the newspaper: “He is really nice and we have welcomed him into thr family and I am very happy for my daughter. We would now appreciate that they are left alone.” The man is reportedly a PE assistant who lives in a different town and has no connection with the girl’s school, so there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. The man also works part-time in security. The girl posted a photograph on the internet of the two together and has exchanged publicly-visible messages with him. The girl had previously told newspapers she wanted to marry Forrest when he was released from prison. However, she was banned from visiting him in jail because of his child sex conviction. She also claimed she had instigated the relationship with the maths teacher and that it had been her suggestion to run away together to Bordeaux after their relationship was uncovered.

You may have noticed: Interest in news out of and about Russia is high these days. “In 2016 and 2017, for reasons that I’m sure are fairly obvious, there was a spike of interest in the U.S. in stories coming out of Russia,” Ivan Kolpakov, Meduza’s editor-in-chief, told me. “Audience-wise, I think Russia stories are so hot right now, and there isn’t a huge amount of reporting coming out of there,”Miriam Elder, BuzzFeed’s world editor, said. Elder had been the Guardian’s Moscow bureau chief before joining BuzzFeed. “On our side, there’s an enormous interest in Russia we really haven’t seen since the Cold War.” So BuzzFeed News is beefing up its Russia coverage by partnering with the Latvia-based online outlet Meduza, which has grown rapidly since its launch less than three years ago. (Elder said this isn’t necessarily the first step to a full Russia site for BuzzFeed, the way, say, BuzzFeed Deutschland is for Germany.) The partnership is editorial, and resources will be concentrated on joint investigations. BuzzFeed is paying for the investigations it commissions with Meduza, according to Kolpakov, though the sites will trade stories and Meduza translate occasional stories of its choosing from BuzzFeed, free of charge. Other exchanges: A Meduza reporter will sit in the BuzzFeed newsroom for a week to take in the BuzzFeed workflows; a BuzzFeed reporter will head to an annual conference Meduza puts on. Elder cited Meduza’s investigations on Russian cyber capabilities as one investigative topic of interest to both outlets. “BuzzFeed has been a model for us in many respects, productwise and strategically,” Kolpakov said. (Since its earliest months of existence, Meduza has been following BuzzFeed’s growth, and interested in a more substantial partnership. It’s worked with BuzzFeed in the past informally on various exclusives , and Kolpakov was a guest on BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith’s podcast last month.) “We face a lot of the problems that BuzzFeed faces, most importantly with respect to maintaining brand presence across multiple platforms, the production of video and new formats, internal communications, and the convergence of hard news and entertainment journalism, native advertising, and so on. Honestly, I think that BuzzFeed has been more of a model for us than any other outlet.” “Our story was known in the West, but not our actual product or the quality of our journalism,” he added. (Meduza was born out of Kremlin interference into the Russian site Lenta.ru. A number of Lenta.ru staffers moved to Latvia, safe from Russian editorial interference, and launched Meduza.) Both sides are interested in growing a global audience interested in Russia stories. BuzzFeed doesn’t offer a breakdown of unique visitors by country, but more than half the monthly unique visitors to BuzzFeed.com come from outside the U.S. (It current publishes in content in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French, German, and Russian.) A quarter of Meduza’s readership — Meduza also has a complete English-language site — comes from outside of Russia. Meduza is interested specifically in growing a subscriber base for its English-language email newsletter, which is targeted at readers who are interested in Russia and post-Soviet countries, but “who do not read Russian fluently.” “Additionally, this is a way for our reporters and editors to reach an entirely new audience. I don’t think our expectations go beyond that,” Kolpakov said. “It’s a whole new market, and it’s the most interesting market in the world. And of course, it would be great if we could show that Russia has quality journalism, and that Russia is not just Putin and hackers, but a whole lot of other things that are scary, astonishing, and fun.”

Crusaders crashed out of the Champions League second qualifying round to FC Copenhagen, losing 6-0 in the away leg on Tuesday, and 9-0 on aggregate. Andrija Pavlovic opened the scoring with a cool finish and Andy Mitchell headed Christoffer Remmer's cross into his own net just before half-time. Andreas Cornelius headed powerfully home and then Rasmus Falk fired in the fourth from close range. Jan Gregus netted with a fine free-kick and Cornelius grabbed his second. Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, the Irish League champions travelled to the Danish capital without skipper Colin Coates, who was on holiday. The hosts had early chances, with Cornelius heading wide and then crossing for Pavlovic, who was unable to find the net. Pavlovic made no mistake from 12 yards out in the 15th minute, however, finishing off a pass from Falk with style. Kasper Kusk missed from five yards out, before the unfortunate Mitchell scored an own goal just before the interval. Cornelius' back-post header three minutes after the resumption made it 3-0, before Falk scored his second of the tie and Gregus beat Sean O'Neill with a well-taken free-kick. Cornelius notched his third goal of the tie with 14 minutes remaining as his side set up a third qualifying round meeting with Romanian champions Astra Giurgiu. Crusaders' thoughts will turn to the defence of their Premiership title, which begins with the visit of Ballymena United on 6 August.

CoffeeScript is a programming language that compiles into javascript.Coffeescript has become popular among node and rails communities.On using coffeescript, code in .coffee files are not interpreted at run time, like JavaScript, but are compiled into .js files.It is prettymuch like javascript but with distinct syntax . Why coffeescript ? Since javascript is a widely accepted language which provides rich features, the question arises why we need to change to coffeescript. Coffeescript uses the main features of javascript without learning the less known features and provides a “syntactic sugar” to javascript. Coffeescript doesn’t have semicolons and curly braces instead, indentations are used so whitespace matters.Thus we need only to write less code that increases speed and readability. Installation. To install, first we need to have a working copy of the latest stable version of Node.js.Then we can install CoffeeScript globally with npm: npm install -g coffee-script 1 npm install - g coffee - script When you need CoffeeScript as a dependency, install it locally: npm install --save coffee-script 1 npm install -- save coffee - script After installation, we can execute coffee command to execute scripts to compile .coffee to js files and provide an interactive REPL.coffee command takes many options such as complie and print etc. -c, –compile Compile a .coffee script into a .js JavaScript file of the same name. -m, –map Generate source maps alongside the compiled JavaScript files. Adds sourceMappingURL directives to the JavaScript as well. Examples: Compile a directory tree of .coffee files in src into a parallel tree of .js files in lib: coffee –compile –output lib/ src/ Watch a file for changes, and recompile it every time the file is saved: coffee –watch –compile experimental.coffee Also we can use browser-based CoffeeScript compiler by adding the coffeescript js file in the html page. <script src="http://jashkenas.github.com/coffee-script/extras/coffee-script.js" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script><script type="text/coffeescript">// <![CDATA[ # Some CoffeeScript Code // ]]></script> 1 2 3 <script src = "http://jashkenas.github.com/coffee-script/extras/coffee-script.js" type = "text/javascript" charset = "utf-8" > </script> <script type = "text/coffeescript" > // <![CDATA[ # Some CoffeeScript Code // ]]></script> Creating variables Variables in coffeescript are declared without the var keyword.Simply name your variable, an equals sign, and then the value. example: year= 2015 1 year = 2015 Functions Functions are declared by naming the function, equals sign, and then a special function symbol (->). consider the javascript function var square; square = function(x) { return x * x; }; 1 2 3 4 var square ; square = function ( x ) { return x * x ; } ; will be written in coffeescript as: square = (x) -> x * x 1 square = ( x ) -> x * x If, Else, Unless, and Conditional Assignment If/else statements can be written without the use of parentheses and curly brackets. As with functions and other block expressions, multi-line conditionals are delimited by indentation. There’s also a handy postfix form, with the if or unless at the end. var area; if (length) { area = total; } 1 2 3 4 var area ; if ( length ) { area = total ; } the above code can be written in coffeescript as area = total if length 1 area = total if length javascript: if (qty && rate) { totalValue(); totalIncome(); } else { showTotal(); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 if ( qty && rate ) { totalValue ( ) ; totalIncome ( ) ; } else { showTotal ( ) ; } can be written in coffeescript as if qty and rate totalValue() totalIncome() else showTotal() 1 2 3 4 5 if qty and rate totalValue ( ) totalIncome ( ) else showTotal ( ) Loops and Comprehensions Most of the loops in CoffeeScript will be comprehensions over arrays, objects, and ranges. Comprehensions replace (and compile into) for loops, with optional guard clauses and the value of the current array index. Unlike for loops, array comprehensions are expressions, and can be returned and assigned. Javascript: var ref,len,j,food; ref = ['toast', 'cheese', 'wine']; for (j = 0, len = ref.length; j < len; j++) { food = ref[j]; eat(food); } 1 2 3 4 5 6 var ref , len , j , food ; ref = [ 'toast' , 'cheese' , 'wine' ] ; for ( j = 0 , len = ref . length ; j & lt ; len ; j ++ ) { food = ref [ j ] ; eat ( food ) ; } the above code can be written in coffeescript as eat food for food in ['toast', 'cheese', 'wine'] 1 eat food for food in [ 'toast' , 'cheese' , 'wine' ] Surprising or not CoffeeScript at the end of the day is JavaScript, beside some extra predefined functionalities offered.It’s made JavaScript development magnitudes more enjoyable and accessible.CoffeeScript can be fairly simple to programmers who began with JavaScript and also to the people who are from a Python and Ruby background. But those who comes from other background might feel a little different. Still, CoffeeScript is definitely worth a shot for every programmer so give it a try. Know More About This Topic from our Techies

Over the last few months, my household has become increasingly “Android-centric.” Between my Nexus 7 and my Samsung S3, roughly 90% of my computing needs (reading news, email, messaging, etc.) have been taken care of. Even my game console and TV have become Android-powered (with mixed results). This got me thinking... Would it be possible for me to live entirely on Android devices? This ends up being a pretty tall order, as my “work life” is pretty all over the map. In order for this to be viable, I need a way to build Linux, Windows, Mac and DOS software, as well as do general web development, write and do some graphic design for my comics. Basically, I'm asking my Nexus 7 to be a complete desktop PC replacement – which it was never really meant to do. No PC. No Linux (other than within Android). No Windows. No Mac. No laptops. No desktops. Just Android tablets and phones. Want to know something crazy? It worked. And it worked really, really well (at least for me). Here's how I went about it. For my graphic design needs, I make use of Photoshop Touch (for general layered design needs) and Pixelesque (as I do a fair bit of pixel-art). Neither is perfect - Photoshop Touch, for example, has an astoundingly under-powered Text tool - but both are pretty doggone good. For my writing, things get really simple. There are plenty of Office Suites available within the Google Play store – some are even completely free. But, for me, I ended up just using good-old Google Drive. It’s not the most feature-filled word processor on the planet, but it has served my needs well. And having all of my documents always available on every device using the same interface? Glorious. Which brings me to software development. This one seemed like the biggest potential problem to start with. Is the screen large enough to edit large quantities of code? How about for GUI designing? Are there tools even available to build desktop PC apps on an Android device? Do these little devices have enough horsepower to handle this? That's when it dawned on me... remote desktop. Here's how I approached it. I got myself a virtual private server from a hosting company. You can find a decently powerful rig (2+ gigs of ram, lots of storage, etc.) for pretty cheap. I'm currently paying around $30 bucks a month and have a server running that I can dual boot Windows and Linux (actually triple boot: openSUSE and Ubuntu) and connect via VNC, Splashtop or RDC (depending on my mood and which protocol is fastest on any particular system). Then connect a USB or Bluetooth keyboard and mouse (yes, Android handles mice just like any desktop computer operating system) and you've got a desktop replacement in every sense of the word. You could say that I'm not really “living in Android” if I'm remoting in to a non-Android system to do some work, and you'd kinda-sorta be right. But, in practice, that works quite well. Is it as fast as having a dedicated, brand-new, dev PC sitting on my desk? No. Certainly not. But it's close, and for most purposes it’s definitely fast enough. And the benefits far outweigh the downsides. The big benefit: I have my full dev system with me wherever I go. My phone. My tablet. Anywhere. And the screen resolution on newer Android phones and tablets is pretty comparable to that on any laptop you might get – heck, the Nexus 10 has a 2,560x1,600 display. That handily beats my primary monitor on my desk. Some other benefits: I don't need to buy a new PC. I don't need to pay for power for a big PC. I don't need to find a place to stick a PC. When I want a new, more powerful, development machine... I simply upgrade to a new virtual private server with any hosting company I like. (I keep everything stored in Dropbox and GitHub... so moving to new machines is just a few-minute process.) If I need desktop PC functionality for any other reason... it's right there, ready for me to use. Approaching it from this angle makes me mobile. Very, very mobile. I'm also not tied to any particular device. For a guy like me, that means a lot. So, it works. It provides me with all of the functionality of having a dedicated tower PC sitting on my desk, except it’s more mobile and flexible. But what about the financial side? How does that compare? The only additional cost for me is the dedicated server, which is currently running $30 per month. This can range from $15 to upwards of $100 monthly, depending on your needs and choice of host. Assuming I stick with the $30 server (which is working thus far) my total cost for my dev server is $360 per year. Let's say you upgrade your PC every three years. If you would typically spend more than $1,080 on a new dev machine... you’re saving money by simply using a remote server (especially after you factor in power). If you'd normally spend, say $600 bucks, well then having a remote server is going to be more expensive for you during a 3-year cycle. Another variation on this would be to buy yourself a little cheap, low-power PC (such as a higher-end Atom powered Net-top rig) and let that be your dedicated PC that you remote into. That would save a few bucks overall. For me, this approach saves me money – though only a little, especially after you factor in any accessories (like portable Bluetooth keyboards and such) – and makes me more portable, which is a big win. In short: Is it possible for most Software Developers, Writers and Artists to live entirely on an Android device? Yes, if they're willing to have a remote PC somewhere to pick up the slack.

Conspiracy theorists AKA 'conspiraloons', 'tinfoil hatters', 'loonspuds', 'fruit'n'nut jobs' etc. Updated 29th April 2009. Note from editor: because of the high profile nature of the urban75 bulletin boards, we often suffer obsessive conspiracy theorists or (guffaw) 'truth seekers' filling up the boards with fact-free claims, evidence-untroubled epilogues and vast reams of tedious cut'n'paste, invariably regurgitated from some dubious internet site. We hope this information will be of use if you encounter a conspiraloon while on the boards. 10 characteristics of conspiracy theorists A useful guide by Donna Ferentes 1. Arrogance. They are always fact-seekers, questioners, people who are trying to discover the truth: sceptics are always "sheep", patsies for Messrs Bush and Blair etc. 2. Relentlessness. They will always go on and on about a conspiracy no matter how little evidence they have to go on or how much of what they have is simply discredited. (Moreover, as per 1. above, even if you listen to them ninety-eight times, the ninety-ninth time, when you say "no thanks", you'll be called a "sheep" again.) Additionally, they have no capacity for precis whatsoever. They go on and on at enormous length. 3. Inability to answer questions. For people who loudly advertise their determination to the principle of questioning everything, they're pretty poor at answering direct questions from sceptics about the claims that they make. 4. Fondness for certain stock phrases. These include Cicero's "cui bono?" (of which it can be said that Cicero understood the importance of having evidence to back it up) and Conan Doyle's "once we have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however unlikely, must be the truth". What these phrases have in common is that they are attempts to absolve themselves from any responsibility to produce positive, hard evidence themselves: you simply "eliminate the impossible" (i.e. say the official account can't stand scrutiny) which means that the wild allegation of your choice, based on "cui bono?" (which is always the government) is therefore the truth. 5. Inability to employ or understand Occam's Razor. Aided by the principle in 4. above, conspiracy theorists never notice that the small inconsistencies in the accounts which they reject are dwarfed by the enormous, gaping holes in logic, likelihood and evidence in any alternative account. 6. Inability to tell good evidence from bad. Conspiracy theorists have no place for peer-review, for scientific knowledge, for the respectability of sources. The fact that a claim has been made by anybody, anywhere, is enough for them to reproduce it and demand that the questions it raises be answered, as if intellectual enquiry were a matter of responding to every rumour. While they do this, of course, they will claim to have "open minds" and abuse the sceptics for apparently lacking same. 7. Inability to withdraw. It's a rare day indeed when a conspiracy theorist admits that a claim they have made has turned out to be without foundation, whether it be the overall claim itself or any of the evidence produced to support it. Moreover they have a liking (see 3. above) for the technique of avoiding discussion of their claims by "swamping" - piling on a whole lot more material rather than respond to the objections sceptics make to the previous lot. 8. Leaping to conclusions. Conspiracy theorists are very keen indeed to declare the "official" account totally discredited without having remotely enough cause so to do. Of course this enables them to wheel on the Conan Doyle quote as in 4. above. Small inconsistencies in the account of an event, small unanswered questions, small problems in timing of differences in procedure from previous events of the same kind are all more than adequate to declare the "official" account clearly and definitively discredited. It goes without saying that it is not necessary to prove that these inconsistencies are either relevant, or that they even definitely exist. 9. Using previous conspiracies as evidence to support their claims. This argument invokes scandals like the Birmingham Six, the Bologna station bombings, the Zinoviev letter and so on in order to try and demonstrate that their conspiracy theory should be accorded some weight (because it's “happened before”.) They do not pause to reflect that the conspiracies they are touting are almost always far more unlikely and complicated than the real-life conspiracies with which they make comparison, or that the fact that something might potentially happen does not, in and of itself, make it anything other than extremely unlikely. 10. It's always a conspiracy. And it is, isn't it? No sooner has the body been discovered, the bomb gone off, than the same people are producing the same old stuff, demanding that there are questions which need to be answered, at the same unbearable length. Because the most important thing about these people is that they are people entirely lacking in discrimination. They cannot tell a good theory from a bad one, they cannot tell good evidence from bad evidence and they cannot tell a good source from a bad one. And for that reason, they always come up with the same answer when they ask the same question. A person who always says the same thing, and says it over and over again is, of course, commonly considered to be, if not a monomaniac, then at very least, a bore. Wikipedia: conspiracy theory guide 1. Initiated on the basis of limited, partial or circumstantial evidence; Conceived in reaction to media reports and images, as opposed to, for example, thorough knowledge of the relevant forensic evidence. 2. Addresses an event or process that has broad historical or emotional impact; Seeks to interpret a phenomenon which has near-universal interest and emotional significance, a story that may thus be of some compelling interest to a wide audience. 3. Reduces morally complex social phenomena to simple, immoral actions; Impersonal, institutional processes, especially errors and oversights, interpreted as malign, consciously intended and designed by immoral individuals. 4. Personifies complex social phenomena as powerful individual conspirators; Related to (3) but distinct from it, deduces the existence of powerful individual conspirators from the 'impossibility' that a chain of events lacked direction by a person. 5. Allots superhuman talents or resources to conspirators; May require conspirators to possess unique discipline, unrepentant resolve, advanced or unknown technology, uncommon psychological insight, historical foresight, unlimited resources, etc. 6. Key steps in argument rely on inductive, not deductive reasoning; Inductive steps are mistaken to bear as much confidence as deductive ones. Appeals to 'common sense'; Common sense steps substitute for the more robust, academically respectable methodologies available for investigating sociological and scientific phenomena. 7. Exhibits well-established logical and methodological fallacies; Formal and informal logical fallacies are readily identifiable among the key steps of the argument. 8. Is produced and circulated by 'outsiders', often anonymous, and generally lacking peer review; Story originates with a person who lacks any insider contact or knowledge, and enjoys popularity among persons who lack critical (especially technical) knowledge. 9. Is upheld by persons with demonstrably false conceptions of relevant science; At least some of the story's believers believe it on the basis of a mistaken grasp of elementary scientific facts. 10. Enjoys zero credibility in expert communities; Academics and professionals tend to ignore the story, treating it as too frivolous to invest their time and risk their personal authority in disproving. 11. Rebuttals provided by experts are ignored or accommodated through elaborate new twists in the narrative; When experts do respond to the story with critical new evidence, the conspiracy is elaborated (sometimes to a spectacular degree) to discount the new evidence, often incorporating the rebuttal as a part of the conspiracy.' » Wikipedia Further reading 9/11 conspiracy theories: The truth is out there...just not on the internet David Aaronovitch [The Times, April 29, 2009] « urban75 bulletin boards « Compendium Of Kerrrr-azy Conspiracies

Given the increasing number of instances where police have over-aggressively abused their authority–and from experiencing it myself–it troubles me to see such divisiveness in our country. While we’re bickering and hating each other over insignificant bullshit, the powers that be (The Donkeys and Elephants) are methodically ruining our ability to live fulfilling lives. Why? Because they know we’re sick of their shit. They know we’re finally at a point of not being able to deal with it. Rather than address the root causes of this civil unrest, they instead are preparing to deal with it when things finally erupt. In February a ruckus was caused when it came to light that the DHS was training officers with practice targets featuring photographs of children, young mothers, pregnant women, and disabled elderly people who were depicted as armed with handguns. The No More Hesitation campaign was supposedly designed to break down stereotypes associated with generally non-threatening figures, for the purpose of saving officers’ lives. However, judging by the ensuing outcry, the American people seem to feel there are good and noble reasons why civilization has erected these constraints around the lives of the young and the aged and the vulnerable. Furthermore, they don’t want those constraints shot down by the domestic task force that has been constructed to protect them. Read more: http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/high-tide-and-turn/2013/oct/31/will-domestic-law-enforcement-paranoia-turn-us-pol/#ixzz2kBsknDZD If this isn’t a clear indication that they are not on our side, and if you still feel like claiming allegiance to a political party, you are only aiding them. The reason they won’t correct their morally bankrupt behavior is because they’ve gone too far. There is no turning back. Instead, their only option is t0 squash any and all opposition. And the reason they are afraid of a unified and cohesive America is because they know we, the American people, are the only real threat they have. The longer we continue fighting with each other, the worse it will get. The only chance for positive and non-violent change is to put the petty shit aside, to not take it so seriously, and to quit being a country of extremist ideologues. It is us against them, and it has been that way since the 1970s. Once we all realize it’s not Liberals v.s Conservatives that is when we can finally move forward as a country. If you’re a police officer who is reading this I ask that you don’t view this as a denunciation of law enforcement. Instead, a plea from a fellow citizen saying there needs to be more civility and humanity from police towards citizens, and vice versa. We are not your enemy and we don’t want you to be ours. However, with the way our government is acting and the pressure they’re putting on you, they are forcing that situation to become a troubling reality. If you’re a soldier or a veteran reading this, we know when push comes to shove you’ll have the people’s back. You showed it when active soldiers protected protestors from aggressive police during Occupy. And given how the American government has turned its back on veterans when they’ve made the real sacrifices for our safety, I have faith that you will protect us again if that time comes. Sorry for making you read this long rant, but man, this shit’s been really bothering me lately. Advertisements

January 2014 is a month that will live in (many) Star Wars fan’s mind as a time of infamy. Starting that year off, Disney announced they would be removing most of the previous two decades’ worth of Star Wars material from the canon, or official record of the Star Wars universe. Books, games, comics, all alike were being cut out to make room for new Star Wars stories told under the Disney banner. But fans can rejoice because almost just as immediately, it became clear that new Star Wars stories could borrow or dip into the old EU for characters and stories for inspiration. Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series certainly did this, and species and planets which appeared in the EU continue to pop up in the new canon. With a new trilogy of Skywalker-focused films coming and even more Star Wars stories coming out in the intervening years, the time is ripe for many characters to make their film debut. Here are the top 10 old EU characters we want to see make a reappearance in the new films: 10. Nom Anor In the late 90s, George Lucas spearheaded a book series chronicling a galactic invasion by a race of beings called the Yuuzhan Vong. Just prior to this, a mysterious character began appearing in comics. His name was Nom Anor and he would later be revealed as an advance agent for the Yuuzhan Vong. Nom Anor was smart, sneaky, and deceptive. He also had a lot of respect for the non-Yuuzhan Vong he lived around, gaining a lot of fans as a somewhat sympathetic bad guy. How would he appear? If Nom Anor showed up in the films, he would likely serve as more of a wink to the fans of the Yuuzhan Vong. It doesn’t seem likely to me that the Vong would ever show up in full force in a Star Wars film, but adding Nom Anor as a saboteur and provocateur could be a good time indeed. Who could play him? Nom Anor wears a black cloak, Sith style, almost all the time. Whoever plays him would have to exhibit a lot of charisma from underneath a hood. Also, given much of his face wouldn’t be seen, his voice would need to be epic level for fans to really enjoy him. This is why I think Benedict Cumberbatch would make a great Nom Anor. He has the vocal talents and acting range to portray power without having to be on full display. 9. Kyle Katarn Originating in the video game series, Dark Forces, fans got to go on an adventure with Kyle while he took out a secret plan by the Empire to create a new type of stormtrooper: the Dark Trooper. The Dark Trooper turned out to be a droid and, as the prequels showed us, there probably isn’t much to be afraid of in the cinematic version of battle droids. But Kyle was cool all the same and he eventually became a Jedi! How would he appear? Given that battle droids are *so* prequel-era, time shifting Kyle’s story to earlier in the canon would help his cause. This is why he’d be excellent in the new Rogue Squadron movie. I know, I know, he won’t be there (probably). But the pre-A New Hope era would be a good spot for the Empire to try out a stormtrooper-droid project and let our guy Kyle feature. Who could play him? Kyle is great as an experienced soldier and hero, someone who isn’t really young. He should have Han Solo’s experience without the sarcasm. The Walking Dead‘s Andrew Lincoln could definitely play the gritty Kyle Katarn, giving him gravitas and energy. 8. Darth Revan Another “hero” that players were able to join along in an adventure was Knights of the Old Republic‘s Darth Revan. Playing as an amnesiac, the hero of this game eventually learned that *he* was the fabled Sith lord. Players were able to choose between turning back toward the path of evil or embracing the light side of the Force. How would he appear? With the new Star Wars story films able to go anywhere in the canon they want, a tale from the Old Republic era is probably eventually likely, albeit maybe many years down the road. If they go back that far, Revan’s appearance could happen. Who could play him? If the story around Darth Revan is whether he turns to good or evil, you’ll need an actor who can stand right on the edge. In the game, Revan’s face is typically not shown (players could depict him however they wanted), so there isn’t an actor out there who could be disqualified. I think you’d want someone who has shown an ability to be both hero and villain, so I think Denzel Washington could be the guy. He’s intense and could give fans the impression he’s about to fall to the dark side at anytime. 7. Dash Rendar Shadows of the Empire once told the tale connecting Empire Strikes Back to Return of the Jedi. In that story, a snarky, sarcastic, handsome smuggler named Dash Rendar plays the hero and flirts with Princess Leia. Oh, and he also loves his starship, the Outrider. Sound like someone you know? Well you aren’t alone. Everyone thought that Dash was simply a stand-in for Han Solo (who was frozen in carbonite at that time) and he probably was. How would he appear? Since the principle actors are too old now, Shadows of the Empire will never be made into a movie. But Dash Rendar could basically show up wherever they want a Han-like character but don’t have Han. They could even make a movie set between Episodes V and VI where Dash Rendar attempts to rescue/steal the body of Han Solo, but mostly I could see Dash Rendar just being Han Solo 2.0. Who could play him? Easy. Everyone has been clamoring for Chris Pratt to be the new Harrison Ford, so have him play Dash Rendar. With enough charisma, Dash could become just as iconic a character and Pratt could keep building on his empire of franchise starring roles. 6. Grand Admiral Thrawn It’s hard to imagine now, but after RotJ, Star Wars fandom practically died out. That was, until Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire basically created what was then a for-all-intents-and-purposes Episode VII. Grand Admiral Thrawn is smart and powerful, a tactical master and fitting leader of the Empire. Most people would have this character higher on a list like this, which is exactly why I placed him sixth. (Hey, it’s my list!) How would he appear? Don’t lose hope, fans! Thrawn could still show up in the new trilogy as the heir apparent to characters such as Grand Moff Tarkin. His appearance would go a long way toward smoothing over that whole “killing your 90s Star Wars fandom” fiasco, so I haven’t personally lost hope that he’ll appear in some form or another. There are a lot of Heir to the Empire fans who credit their Star Wars fandom to that book. One of them could just be a writer or director … hey, you never know! Who could play him? As you can see from the pic above, Thrawn is intense. And blue. Possessing a great jawline, an understated physicality, and a ton of charisma, Jon Hamm could definitely take on the role of the admiral. 5. Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus Okay, potential SPOILER ALERT, but rumor has it that Jacen maybe sort of is appearing in The Force Awakens as none other than AGAIN SPOILER ALERT (FOR REAL MAYBE!!!) the villain, Kylo Ren. Jacen is the child of Leia and Han, a Jedi trainee under Luke Skywalker, and eventual Sith Lord, going by the name, Darth Caedus. He is also eventually slain by his sister, Jaina Solo. How would he appear? Well, he might just be appearing in the form of Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. If Rey, our heroine, turns out to be his sister, then all we need is for her to kill him in order to make the comparisons between Jacen and Jaina to be complete. (Okay, so maybe Kylo Ren doesn’t take over the galaxy a la Darth Caedus, but leading the First Order with your own planet destroyer is pretty damn close.) Who could play him? It seems Adam Driver might have the role locked up. Still, after we all see The Force Awakens, we’ll see if Kylo really is the film version of Jacen. 4. HK-47 Perhaps the biggest fan-favorite in Knights of the Old Republic, HK-47 is an assassin droid who loves to hate “meatbags”. His witty quips brought a fun lightness to his very serious work and, since he’s a droid, he’d be the perfect source of humor in any Star Wars film. How would he appear? I don’t think one of the main trilogy films would host a character like HK-47. (Who knows, though. They had Jar Jar …) One of the spin off Star Wars story movies, though, would be a great spot to introduce him. The film wouldn’t even have to take place in the days of the Old Republic, as characters could find and revive HK-47 in any era. He’d be an excellent sidekick in any Star Wars story! Who could play him? Call me crazy, but I’d love to hear Paul Bettany voice HK-47. Bettany, known as Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also voiced Iron Man’s JARVIS computer. So spinning that on its axis and having Bettany voice a homicidal assassin droid would bring me so much joy. 3. Jaxxon Stretching back to the 1980s Star Wars comics, Jaxxon journeyed around with Han Solo for a while. He’s belligerent, a good fighter, and kind of ridiculous so, basically, he’s a Star Wars version of Rocket Raccoon, and we know how well *that* worked out! This is why Jaxxon needs to make an appearance. (In The Clone Wars, there was a skeleton from his species, so his race is at least canon now!) How would he appear? Given fan backlash to some of the sillier elements in Star Wars, I doubt we’d see Jaxxon in a Star Wars episodic film, but there’s plenty of leeway for him to appear in a Star Wars story and kick Imperial butt. Perhaps he could even show up alongside Dash Rendar, serving as Dash’s own Chewbacca-lite. Who could play him? Jaxxon would look better as a motion-captured character as opposed to a practical effect, so we just need someone who possesses his physicality and could convey a lot through speech. Importantly, the character needs to be funny, so given his willingness to play superhero parts in the past (without necessarily having to be the *best* superhero), I’d go with Seth Rogen, who’s shown a good range and enthusiasm for a wide variety of parts. 2. Jodo Kast Not everyone is brave enough to pretend to be Boba Fett, but hey, it’s a big galaxy! Jodo Kast made a mint off pretending to be Boba Fett. That is, until Boba Fett caught up with him and hijinks ensued. Jodo Kast is #2 on this list because he gives us a great opportunity at seeing another Mandalorian on screen. (Well, a guy in Mandalorian armor, at least!) How would he appear? There’s been a lot of speculation about Boba Fett appearing in the new episodic films, but ol’ Boba would be getting up there in years at this point. So ask yourself, would you really want to see an old Boba Fett, or a younger guy in Boba Fett’s armor? Jodo Kast could be the next to wear the mantle of Boba Fett, perhaps modeling himself after the older bounty hunter. It’d be great if an old Boba Fett, sans armor that was perhaps stolen by Kast, confronted the newer, younger imposter. Hijinks ensue! Who could play him? Almost anyone could look great sullenly hunting around in that armor, but Tom Hardy’s sort of built a career on silently fighting with people, sometimes even in armor. So he’s my pick to play Jodo Kast, whether or not he eventually meets the short end of a blaster shot by the original Fett. 1. Mara Jade Raised in the service of the Emperor, Mara Jade is a Force-using assassin who, after the death of the Emperor, became a rogue agent and smuggler before eventually allying with and marrying Luke Skywalker. Fans have long adored Mara Jade and she has existed in a variety of EU media until her eventual death at the hands of the Darth Caedus. How would she appear? Given the fact that Mark Hamill isn’t getting any younger, as fans, we have to expect that the Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker romance isn’t happening. That doesn’t mean Mara Jade couldn’t still appear as a Force-using Emperor’s Hand and then be re-used in other Star Wars story films. Wouldn’t it be great if she was a villain in the upcoming Rogue One? Mara Jade is such a dynamic, interesting character, Lucasfilm could use her wherever they wanted and fans would show up in droves. Who could play her? After her starring turn in Jurassic World, Bryce Dallas Howard has the cred to get big parts. If she can get the physicality of the role down, she has the looks to play the greatest EU part available. What do you think? Did I miss any characters? Any actors? Let us know in the comments below!

Previous Page 1 of 4 Next Written by Harry Krueger, lead programmer on RESOGUN at Housemarque. Introduction RESOGUN is a fast-paced, explosive horizontal shoot 'em up that was released alongside the PS4's launch in November 2013. It was developed by Housemarque, a company that has been around for 20 years now, and published by Sony XDev Europe. RESOGUN was in development for a total of about 20 months or so, with an additional 12 months added to develop the two expansions for the game: Heroes and Defenders. The core team was 12 members strong, with frequent support from our R&D and art departments, so in total about 20 people total worked on the original version of the game. Voxels? Voxels are essentially 3D pixels, and are quite literally the building blocks of the RESOGUN universe. At Housemarque, we've been making arcade-style games for a while now by marrying timeless gameplay values with cutting-edge tech. During the time of RESOGUN's inception, we were considering ideas for our next big game and voxels seemed like a natural way to express this "neo-retro" design philosophy. We quickly came up with a few concepts to utilize this aesthetic approach: one of them was a shoot 'em up, another morphed into an unreleased mobile game, and a few more never made it out of concept phase. The name "RESOGUN" was coined by Petteri "Petsku" Putkonen, one of our guys at the time. The "RESO-" prefix touches upon the concept of high " RESOlution", and the "-GUN" postfix was added since -- being a shoot 'em up -- we predicted you'd occasionally be shooting things. The pre-production process was rather simple: Before we started development we made a concept video of the game, featuring a rough estimate of what the visuals and gameplay would be like. I remember when Harri Tikkanen, our creative director, first showed the video to me; being a huge shoot 'em up fan I instantly recognized this as my dream project, and I insisted I'd work on the game if we went ahead with it. A few months later, development started. Image taken from the concept video. Prototyping and Early Development In the beginning we were fairly platform-agnostic. At the time we had PS3 and PS Vita dev-kits in house, so we used those as a reference for potential platforms. When considering possible multi-platform development though, the weakest platform always becomes the lead. In the context of our early development, this meant that RESOGUN was initially targeting PS Vita hardware, and all the technical possibilities and limitations that came with that. We started implementing the game using the Super Stardust Delta engine. Since both games shared a similar design approach (being shoot 'em ups mapped onto a 3D surface), we were able to utilize many of the existing sub-systems and start working on the base version of RESOGUN immediately. Preliminary concept art for an early version of the game. Aesthetically, we started out on a somewhat lighter note. Initially we were planning on having brighter colors, blue skies, and a more naturalistic tone, to represent environments that we thought would be the human habitats. The first level we prototyped had a huge tree in the background, and the humans were in small huts. We eventually shifted away from this and went for a darker tone. For the gameplay, we knew from the start that we wanted a horizontal, fast-paced, skill-based shoot 'em up. We've been largely inspired by classic arcade games, and we wanted to do our part in keeping that arcade spirit alive. Our goal was to achieve that "one more go" feeling, and create a game that's easy to pick up and hard to master. "Depth without complexity" was a mantra we followed; allow the main game to be simple to pick up and play, but create some layers of depth for those looking for that extra challenge. Adding some humans for the player to save worked well with this approach. Much like Defender and Datastorm (two of our key inspirations), introducing this extra gameplay layer of saving the humans created an interesting tension for the player, as they needed to balance their "shoot and survive" abilities with a clear secondary goal. We adopted the human-saving mechanic from our very early prototypes, and the humans ended up largely defining RESOGUN's identity. Another thing we knew early on was that RESOGUN's gameplay would take place on a cylinder. When having a horizontal looping playfield in a purely 2D environment, some kind of minimap is essential to communicate the extended surroundings to the player. Mapping RESOGUN's gameplay to a cylinder eliminated the need for a minimap, as the player can always see around the bend and plan ahead. This helped instantly create intuitive gameplay, and from a visual standpoint the cylinder also made RESOGUN stand out even during early prototyping stages. Image from an early prototype version. One other key aspect of RESOGUN was of course the use of voxels. Due to our technical constraints at time, early versions of the game merely simulated the voxel look through carefully constructed meshes and particle effects. Originally we had also envisioned the voxels playing a larger, more direct role in the gameplay. We intended to have the player pick up and manipulate voxel objects, and maybe shoot them towards the enemies. During very early prototyping we realized that this careful voxel management would conflict with the intense arcade action we were shooting for, so we quickly abandoned the idea. In hindsight, it's actually really hard to differentiate between the development of "the prototype" and "the game." You can easily hack together a working prototype in a couple of weeks, and then proceed to spend two years continuously refining and polishing it to perfection. With RESOGUN, we aimed to create something unique from the start, so we attempted to innovate from very early stages of development, which led to a lot of different iterations. Iteration Process and Discarded Ideas When looking at a finished game, everything often feels effortless and naturally integrated into the final product. However, reaching the end result is usually a process of "natural selection" where countless features are eliminated and very few make it into the final cut. At Housemarque, we subscribe to the common game development notion that it's better to iterate and fail quickly. We try to test simple versions of ideas immediately, and then let the game decide: If it works, we keep and refine it, and if it doesn't we discard it and move on. Below are some of the many ideas we tried for RESOGUN that didn't make it into the final version: The Tower: We knew from the beginning that we'd require some kind of "drop off point" for the humans. Initially we experimented with a tower-building mechanic, which would collect humans and grow over time. One version had the player collecting all the humans at the tower, and the humans would then run around on a treadmill to generate power ups for you. Outside of feeling a bit abusive towards the humans, as a gameplay mechanic it also felt unnecessarily complicated and hard to communicate. The Weapon Shop: By killing enemies and saving humans throughout the level, the player would collect "orbs" which functioned as an in-game currency. At the end of each phase, the weapon shop would descend onto the playfield and allow you to exchange your orbs for weapon power-ups. Although the actual implementation was great (it even allowed you to preview items before purchasing), it severely affected the pacing of the game: just as the intensity was ramping up and the player was getting into the zone, we were pulling them out of it and asking them to decide on weapons purchases. Unacceptable. The weapon shop was one of many ideas we tried but ultimately abandoned. The Weapon "Options": For the weapons, we also tried having some Gradius-style "options" (helper ships that assist you by shooting alongside your main weapon) which sported a variety of different weapons. The Options didn't work that well with the relatively confined shooting gameplay we were going for, so we went with traditional power-ups instead. The World Map: We were originally planning to have 10 levels in the game, and had an ambitious plan to incorporate a world map to connect them with each other, hoping to lend the game more cohesion and structure. In between levels the player would get thrown onto this world map, where they'd select the next level from multiple routes. It was unnecessarily complicated, and we ended up discarding it because, once more, it affected the intensity and flow of the experience. One of the many concept renders for the "World Map" we tested. The Humans: We had lots of different iterations over the humans. Originally we had humans that would be easily killed by enemies' bullets, and eventually even by the player. Later we iterated over humans with an extra glow or ring around them, to indicate what kind of power up they'd give you. We even tried having special "scientist" humans that award you with power-ups, while the "normal" humans wouldn't. All of this was once again difficult to communicate and hard to keep track of during gameplay. Initially humans would also spawn from their own "huts", which we would burn to the ground before releasing them. We shifted away from this and trapped them as prisoners in "human chambers" instead, where they'd always be visible to the player. Originally we had humans escape from their burning houses. 360-Degree Shooting: This is an interesting one. When we got the first prototype of RESOGUN running we naturally tried 360-degree shooting as well, just like Super Stardust HD had. Shooting in 360 degrees generally allows the player more freedom, and this encouraged a more passive play-style that basically transformed the player into a "moving turret": you'd move to a safe location, shoot around, move somewhere else, shoot around, and so on. By limiting the player to shoot only horizontally, we also forced them to move a lot more; this meant making more decisions and taking more risks, which ultimately created more gameplay. We eventually revisited 360-degree shooting (as a separate "challenge") for our free expansion called Challengers. Many of the aforementioned flaws in our early designs were highlighted during some of our frequent test sessions. We'd invite people from outside the company to test the game with new eyes, and we'd pay close attention to their initial reactions and feedback. This often helped us gain a fresh perspective on things; as a developer it's easy to get used to how everything works, and even the most obscure features start feeling intuitive after a while. Although these test sessions didn't strictly guide our design process, they often helped us understand when we were over-complicating things. Establishing a unique visual style for the game also involved lots of iteration. We weren't happy with the bright, more colorful tone we initially targeted, as it lacked a certain "edge" and made gameplay difficult to read. So we eventually shifted to a darker tone, and decided the level environments would now belong to the "Sentients" (our enemies in game) rather than the humans. This also lent itself well to a clear contrast between bright gameplay and dark background elements, which directly helped the game's readability. Refined concept art from the later stages of development. The PlayStation 4 Transition After about a year of development, our planned release schedule seemed to largely coincide with the launch window Sony was planning for the PS4. This was the first time when the idea of a PS4 exclusive came up. Transitioning to a different platform at such a late stage represented a moderate risk, but after several talks with Sony everyone agreed that RESOGUN would benefit greatly from becoming a PS4 exclusive and harnessing the extra power we'd get from such a machine. Although we received devkits fairly late (roughly eight months before the PS4's launch), we were already largely aware of the possibilities the PS4 would allow through features like compute shaders and 8GB of unified GDDR5 memory, so we started working within these lifted constraints immediately. A target render put together during our transition to the PS4. The design of the core game remained largely undistracted by this transition -- after all, gameplay always comes first. The decision to keep the game focused in scope also meant we could throw all of this newly found processing power at making the core gameplay much more satisfying and rewarding, and create a truly rich sensory experience while maintaining our original 1080p/60 target. Needless to say, switching to the PS4 was a hugely positive transition for the project. We needed to re-think practically everything related to the game's tech and presentation, as we now had the power to abandon many of our early compromises and push the game to its full potential. Being freed of the shackles of potential cross-platform (and cross-generation!) development meant that we could confidently "look ahead" and not have to compromise on our vision. We had more options than before, but expectations were also much higher; we now needed to deliver a true "next gen" experience that would stand alongside other giants during launch. Let there be Voxels! Voxels were obviously a huge part of the game, and with the PS4 we had a chance to explore their utilization anew. Before, we needed to combine traditional polygonal meshes and effects to merely approximate the "voxel look"; now we could use actual voxels to construct (and blow up) everything and create a much more visually cohesive experience. All of this sounded great of course, but we still needed to somehow put all this into the game... Asset Generation: Voxel Levels Working on one single platform meant we could now standardize our export procedure and streamline our asset generation pipeline. Generating voxelized assets for RESOGUN involved two separate systems: one for the static voxel levels, and another for the entities (humans, enemies, player ships etc.) Having two separate exporting procedures for these allowed for more control and optimization. For the levels, we created custom Maya tools for generating and exporting them. As a first pass, we would build an asset in Maya using traditional mesh tools. A custom "voxelizer" tool would then process this by raytracing the structure, and generate a "hollow" voxelized cube mesh from it. Meshes were left hollow because aside from the redundancy of generating the inner cubes (they'd be very hard to edit), it also significantly helped with Maya performance. Our voxel level generation process. Once the hollow cube mesh was generated, our artists could then edit the surface cubes and define material attributes per-vertex. The material of the "inner" cubes (which are exposed during gameplay after e.g. an explosion chips away the surface) would be decided during the export phase using a separate attribute. Aside from the surface and inner cubes, we also needed to create "indestructible frames" inside the level objects, so that we could maintain some structure and readability during gameplay. To create these, we used our same "voxelizer" tool, which built voxels at specific locations inside our modeled mesh. The voxelizer tool also defined the "density" (how far apart) these inner frames would be. We would then mark this generated frame as "indestructible" and the export process would combine these with our final asset. Level generation steps. Each level could be composed of multiple objects, each with their own materials and properties. During export, all of the objects composing the scene would be mapped to a large 3D grid, and then exported as a custom 3D texture. This process was used to generate the two key assets for each level: one for the "centerpiece" (which had a maximum size of 512^3), and another for the outer "gameplay ring," which was exported as a 128x128x1536 rectangular prism and rendered in-game using a separate "curved voxel" technique (more on this below). Creating our levels like this meant that we had a fixed grid size for all levels, which standardized many of our exporting and in-game procedures. It also compressed well, and allowed for more complex levels within the same grid without much overhead. Voxel Entities These are the "cube mesh" constructs we used for things such as the Player Ship, Enemies, Humans and various decoration items. Although our levels used voxels in a more traditional sense (adhering strictly to a grid), for enemies we allowed for cubes of different sizes, which could be rotated and animated freely. To create these cube meshes, our artists would again use standard Maya tools to define rough planes and primitives, which would define the basic shape of the entity and where the cubes would go. Our custom tool would then iterate over all primitives, and generate individual cubes based on each polygon's location, orientation and size. This process often required a bit of guesswork, but thankfully re-generating the voxel data from adjusted primitives was fairly fast so iterating over entities was efficient. The steps of creating the Ferox ship using the cube mesh generation tools. During export, everything was "flattened" into raw cube data, which contained per-cube offset, material, orientation, and grouping information. We needed to separate cubes into groups and sub-groups to correctly define their connectivity and behavior, so that e.g. if an arm of an entity is blown off during gameplay, all logically connected cube groups would be detached at the same time. The cube groups were also used to define separate bounding spheres for more accurate gameplay collisions. Voxel Levels: In-Game Handling Earlier on, we needed to be careful about memory consumption, but now we could potentially use more memory for a single level's voxel grid than the PS3 had in total. This meant we could keep the entire level's voxel data in memory, and update the state and material of each block individually. This allowed for fully destructible environments built out of millions of cubes, that could blow up in a voxel-perfect and spectacular fashion. To construct the levels in-game, we utilized two separate (but fairly similar) systems: one for the level's centerpiece, and another one for the gameplay ring. Both shared the same geometry generation compute shader code, but the gameplay ring's rectangular prism was curved/"bent" during rendering to allow it to form an actual circle. Once the static level data is loaded, our compute shader iterates over all the voxels and their materials in the 3D texture, and constructs the surface geometry of the level. The level data is broken up into separate 64^3 voxel blocks, and only the ones containing something are processed. The surface area of each voxel block is then polygonized as a series of quad-strips, and base colors are sampled from the 3D textures and combined with different material textures for the end result. We're only constructing the surfaces for the outer voxel layer, so no geometry actually exists for the inner cubes until they're exposed. The surface geometry for our levels was rendered as a series of quad strips. When an explosion occurs during gameplay (which is quite often) and a part of the world is "chipped away", the affected geometry for that segment is reconstructed in real time. Since we're keeping all level voxel data in memory, all material properties for the inner cubes are preserved. With each explosion, every individual voxel that is chipped away from the world is converted to a "physical cube" (see below). The entire process of updating the level grid geometry and chipping away individual cubes from explosions is performed entirely on the GPU through compute shaders. Dynamic Voxels In addition to the static, fixed-size cubes we used for the levels, we needed to implement a separate system for rendering free-floating, dynamic cubes as well. Compute shaders lent themselves well to this problem, as their architecture allows for very efficient handling of large chunks of small data like particle (or cubes!) The geometry for each individual cube was constructed dynamically using our vertex shader. Since each cube is a volumetric entity, it has its own material, receives its own lighting, and casts its own shadow. This simple, lightweight system is what we used to render hundreds of thousands of cubes in-game, both for constructing CPU-controlled gameplay entities such as enemies, and also for GPU-controlled physical cube effects. Cube mesh entities consisted of thousands of cubes that were individually processed and animated. While these cubes were "attached" to an entity, all their new positions would be updated exclusively by the CPU, and the rendering information was simply passed to our shaders. Tracking all of this cube data wasn't cheap of course, so we ended up using about 1GB of memory just for the entity cube meshes. All entity cube meshes utilized a fairly simple but sophisticated damage model, which allowed individual cubes to be chipped away when parts of them received damage. When cubes were detached from an entity, ownership of them would be transferred (in a "fire and forget" manner) from the CPU to our GPU-based "physical cube" system. This separate sub-system would then assume control of each individual cube's behavior, and update its physics, collisions and lifetime completely independently of gameplay. Keeping the level's static voxel grid in memory lent itself well to quick collision lookups, so that each physical cube could bounce off level surfaces naturally. We also implemented another sub-system which allowed us to feed additional collision info from the gameplay side to our compute shader; this was used to make physical cubes react to gameplay events, so that e.g. cubes would be pushed away during a nearby explosion or when the player boosted through them. Each individual cube had its own geometry, material and physics. With this revamped voxel tech, the game gradually transformed into a much more elegant beast. By constructing everything from the same building blocks and using one single system for rendering all the voxels in the game, RESOGUN achieved a much more cohesive and unified presentation. Everything in the game could now be accurately destroyed in a spectacular fashion, and all the individual cubes flying around made the game feel very reactive and dynamic, which dramatically improved the player experience. "Turbo Particle System" In addition to our voxel tech, we also worked with compute shaders to create a GPU-based particle system, which we internally called the "Turbo Particle System." Offloading the workload exclusively to compute shaders meant we could have much more impressive effects without a performance overhead. Effects for this were simply spawned and controlled by the CPU, and the updating of each effect was left to its designated compute shader. The particle update performed sub-frame simulation for all effects, so that even super-fast moving particles at very high spawn frequencies would still look good and fluid. This system also supported a collision system similar to that used for the physical cubes, so that each individual particle could potentially collide and deflected off gameplay entities such as enemies. This system was very powerful and allowed for spectacular looking effects. It was used in specialized hand-crafted effects like the player's Overdrive beam, the lightning bolts, the player's shockwave/bomb and even the "Save the last humans" texts you see in the game. However, since each effect needed to be hand-coded, this system wasn't very artist-friendly. So we still kept and heavily utilized our "normal" CPU-based particle system, which was easier for artists to work with and lent itself better to simple effects like explosions. The player's "shockwave" was one of several effects which utilized our "Turbo Particle System." Game Logic and Multiplayer For our gameplay systems, we utilized a multithreaded fiber system which was originally developed for our PS Vita title Super Stardust Delta. This framework allowed hundreds of lightweight gameplay tasks to run independently across multiple threads, and their execution order would be determined at run-time by resolving each the tasks' dependencies. This was a very flexible and high-performance framework, and was directly responsible for keeping our CPU footprint very low during gameplay. For our online multiplayer, we went with a deterministic execution model. The theory here is that given the same exact input, the game should produce the same exact output across multiple running instances. In practice, this meant that we only needed to send the player's input over the network, and only run the next frame when input from both players was available. This resulted in very light network packets, and also drastically streamlined our online multiplayer development. Of course, the downside here was that we needed to actually get the game running deterministically. Doing so in a heavily multithreaded environment was not an easy task, and the delicate nature of determinism meant that even simple human errors (such as leaving a single variable uninitialized) could cause the game to go off-sync. Attempting to find these corner cases ourselves would be an exercise in futility, so we created an automated system that would detect determinism errors for us during execution instead. The architecture of our fiber system lent itself well to such a change. We first extended our fiber tasks, so that each one would calculate its own running CRC checksum from variables we needed to keep deterministic. We then wrote a quick (...and not very smart) "AI" to play the game automatically for us and record the CRC data for each frame. The system would then run the game again multiple times with the same exact input, and if a CRC mismatch was detected it would trigger an error at the exact variable and location that caused it. Once this system was in, it allowed us to effectively test the stability of our deterministic model even locally, as we only needed one instance of the game running to "emulate" the multiplayer rules and perform the checks. So everyone would leave these automated "determinism checks" running when away from work, and see if we had any surprises waiting for us when we got back. This automated checking helped us identify and fix countless errors (both determinism-related and otherwise), and proved instrumental in achieving a high stability for the final game. By the time we shipped RESOGUN, it was stable enough to "survive" our automated checks for over a week at a time. Fun fact: the same AI we used for the determinism checking made it into the "Attract mode" of the game, which you can see if you leave the game idle for too long at the title screen. First Expansion: Heroes and Construction Kit It’s kind of tricky when you are working on an expansion, because if you deviate too much from the core formula, people are going to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you give them something too similar, they’ll also be disappointed. So for both of our expansions we decided to have the best of both worlds: something familiar, and something entirely new. Survival Mode Survival mode was our take on the "endless" formula, something we wanted for RESOGUN from the start. We knew that it needed to restrict the player to a single level which would get progressively harder. Just like the Arcade mode, each game session would be focused and tight, and not require players to invest hours of their time to chase a new high-score. We also needed to introduce some new elements to the mode, to help it establish a unique identity: Saving humans: We started off with players needing to take humans to their Escape Pods just like Arcade. Very soon we wanted to try something different, so we made the humans get collected instantly upon contact with the player. This greatly streamlined the human-saving gameplay, and allowed us to have many more humans active in the game. We also needed a new way to spawn humans, so we made them drop with parachutes. This also helped introduce some randomness to the core formula, so that each playthrough would be slightly different. Dropping the humans with parachutes introduced an element of randomness to Survival. Day and night cycle: Being an "endless" mode, one of the problems we faced was communicating the progress of the player during gameplay. Players would have a hard time understanding how far they'd gotten, which diminished their sense of having an "end goal" to improve upon in each run. Aesthetically, we also wanted the mode to be easily recognizable when e.g. looking at screenshots. We ended up solving both of these problems by introducing a day and night cycle, comprised of 9 distinct “phases”; this gave the mode a unique visual identity, and also helped players track their progress through each day. You only live once: Giving the player only a single life was perhaps the most critical decision we made for the mode in terms of gameplay. This strongly emphasized the "survival" aspect and greatly increased the "edge of your seat" tension for the player. During development we received a lot of criticism for this choice, both from test players and from our publisher, but we strongly opposed adding more lives as we felt this would dilute the experience. The constant friction surrounding this feature led to a lot of brainstorming (and sleepless nights), which eventually led to the idea of the "Fallen Hero" mechanic. The Fallen Hero: The Fallen Hero was an idea largely inspired by the Souls games -- it is, after all, your ship’s “blood stain”, which is dropped at the last point the player died at. If the player manages to reach that point again, they're rewarded with bonus points and an extra shield, effectively extending their chance at the game. This introduced a clear marker for players to reach with each new try, and scaled effortlessly across various skill levels. This was a great way to solve the "extra lives" dilemma, and further helped the mode establish its own identity. On a very personal note, the concept of a "Fallen Hero" sadly carried a strong connotation for me during this time, as one of my own personal heroes, my grandfather, passed away during the development of Heroes. To honor his memory, I asked if we could add a small monument of a single “Hero” human holding a torch atop the mode's central spire. Although there are countless storms and lightning bolts constantly hitting the level, the monument always stands there proud and unaffected. This monument would unfortunately be changed later to include a second person, my grandmother, who passed away during the development of Defenders. Both of these events had a very profound impact on me, and I’m grateful that I had a chance to honor their memory this way. It's comforting to know that atop the central spire, they will stand inseparable forever. Demolition Mode With Stardust we had learned the ropes of modifying the core gameplay in meaningful ways; some of you might for example remember the Booster Mode or the Bomber Mode. Demolition also started out as a simple "Bomber Mode," where you would only make use of your Overdrive bomb and try to stay alive as long as possible. That was fun for a few seconds, but intensity dropped too fast. The core avoidance gameplay was still fairly clean and satisfying though, so we just needed to introduce some new element to make things more interesting... Wrecking Balls: The idea for the wrecking balls came a little bit after our trip to New York around the PS4's launch. While we were there we visited an arcade bar in the city, where I spent a couple of hours playing Arkanoid, one of my favorite arcade games. I felt re-captivated by the elegance of its design: although things would get really intense as the balls multiplied and moved faster, the game never “broke character” and always maintained a level of clarity and predictability. Arkanoid served as a great inspiration for Demolition mode. This eventually inspired the idea to introduce "Wrecking Balls" into Demolition, which dramatically altered the character of the mode. The Wrecking Balls introduced an interesting dynamic, as they could be used to destroy enemies in their path, but could also harm the player. While players were charging their bomb, we added a slowdown that allowed them to aim the Wrecking Balls' trajectories with precision, which felt instantly satisfying. They would also bounce off of each other, so as the number of balls increased the mode would get crazy very fast. It helped make gameplay intense, predictable, and most importantly fun. The combination of the Wrecking Balls and carefully selected enemy patterns made this mode feel familiar but fresh at the same time, and helped Demolition establish its own identity in the RESOGUN universe. Construction Kit Patch The biggest feature we added for this free patch was the Ship Editor, which introduced the concept of custom ships. Players could now craft their own ships on a 21^3 voxel grid, equip them with their choice of weapon and attributes, and even share them with the RESOGUN community. Development on the Ship Editor had begun way before the update was shipped, but it did take us a fairly long time to flesh out the interface and get all the features we wanted in there. The Ship Editor allowed players to craft all kinds of custom ships. Adding the Ship Editor introduced the side-effect of needing to rebalance the game. Originally, RESOGUN only had three ship types, and each was balanced according to its stats and weapon power. For example, the "Phobos" ship had a very powerful weapon to make up for its severe lack of mobility. This made sense in the context of the original game, but the custom ships quickly highlighted the Phobos weapon as being massively overpowered compared to the others. This forced us to revisit the attribute distribution and how the weapons behaved. In hindsight, this rebalancing was perhaps our biggest misstep during the development of RESOGUN. Players who had spent time with the game had grown attached to the original version, so we received some justified backlash for some of the changes we made. These concerns were promptly addressed in subsequent patches that largely restored the core RESOGUN experience to its original state. Generally though, the Heroes expansion and patch enjoyed a very positive reception. Both the press and players widely praised Heroes as being even better than the main game, which set the bar pretty high for us. No rest for the wicked though, as we needed to start prototyping for Defenders right away. Second Expansion: Defenders and Challengers The name of our second and last expansion was a direct homage to Defender, one of our key inspirations. This also served as a reference to us doing our part in "defending the arcade spirit," as now it would be time to pass the torch on to the next big game to do this. Protector Mode Although Protector Mode ended up being the "familiar" mode of the two, when we first started working on Defenders we initially pursued an entirely different direction. "Booster Mode": This was the first thing we prototyped for Defenders, and was originally slated to be the expansion's "main mode." This limited the player to a single level and only allowed the use of the boost ability. Even during early prototyping, there was a clear conflict in the dynamics of this mode: we encouraged players to move super-fast, but doing so made the gameplay difficult to follow (some players even got severe motion sickness from it!). Also, keeping the player invincible while boosting nullified all tension, but leaving them vulnerable while boosting led to many unpredictable deaths. We spent a lot of time (perhaps too much) evaluating various iterations of this mode, but its potential was clearly limited so we ultimately abandoned this direction. Initial concepts for the "Booster Mode" level with its rotated background. "RESOGUN RPG": After giving up on the Booster Mode, we briefly explored the idea of a "roguelike" mode; we envisioned this as having randomly-generated levels, and that players would progress through the mode by ascending a massive, vertical tower. We thought there could be lots of crazy new power-ups, new gameplay mechanics, and some RPG elements like upgradable levels and stats. We soon came to our senses and realized that time constraints wouldn't allow for something that ambitious. Eventually, we ended up making Protector mode another take on the "Endless" formula, but fleshed out in a slightly different direction. One of the key things that defined this mode was the "level rotation": each time a phase is completed, the centerpiece of the level would rotate 180 degrees. This was something we initially prototyped as part of the Booster Mode, and it looked very cool so we ended up using it in both of our new modes. The "super boost" power up was another leftover from our "Booster Mode" tests. Commando Mode Originally we envisioned this as a mode where you'd play a full, cylindrical RESOGUN level with a human, but that idea was dismissed early on as being too large in scope. So initially we scrapped the idea of a "commando" mode and started prototyping other things instead. I mentioned earlier how some "leftover" ideas ended up as Challenges in the game -- with Commando the opposite actually occurred. When we first started prototyping ideas for Challenges, one of them was our take on Missile Command. This mini-game had a static turret in the middle, with houses left and right to protect, and countless meteorites coming down that you were shooting at. That early version got repetitive very quickly, but there was something we liked so we explored it further. Eventually we came up with the idea of replacing the main turret with one of the last humans, and Commando mode was (re)born. The first iteration had a single human and multiple houses. We decided to keep only one house because that created a larger sense of attachment with your home. Initially we only had Meteorites as enemies, but we saw a lot of potential so it eventually got fleshed out to a mode with 20 "phases", each with its own unique enemy flow. This made Commando different from the other "endless"-style modes, as it even featured a final boss and an actual end screen. Like Arcade, the mode also looped over and introduced "Revenge Bullets" in its second loop. Commando Mode was directly inspired by many of the great action movies of the '80s. There were also many clear '80s action movie inspirations in this mode, starting obviously from the name itself. The new power-ups in the mode played with this trope, such as the Minigun, a Bandana, and Sunglasses. Fun Fact: the Sunglasses were a direct homage to the movie "They Live" by John Carpenter. Keeping with the '80s theme, we also wanted to throw in some reference to the greatest action star of all time. Luckily, Ari Pulkkinen (our sound guy) does a really mean Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation, so we added dozens of samples that referenced some of his more famous quotes. Commando also deviated from the core RESOGUN story in a bittersweet way. In this "alternate timeline," the normal RESOGUN player ships have failed to save the humans; the background is a destroyed version of the "Protector" level, and if you search its remains you will even find a crash-landed Ferox ship there (one of the many "Easter eggs" we added to the levels). So humans were now forced to take matters into their own hands and make their last stand. "Challengers" Expansion Alongside Defenders we also released another free expansion called Challengers, which one again changed the core RESOGUN experience by introducing lots of new cool things: Challenges: These are essentially some smaller modes which play with the RESOGUN formula in different ways. These introduce countless variations to the core gameplay, such as Super Revenge Bullets, humans being released by every enemy, or using only boost like we had in our "Booster Mode" prototypes. Lots of the ideas we prototyped but didn't make it into the final modes ended up here instead. The "Super Stardust" Challenge is a great example, which allows the player to use 360 degree shooting. Challenges added lots of replay value to the game, and allowed players to experience RESOGUN in fun new ways. Feats: We received really good feedback from our fans for RESOGUN's trophies, but we felt severely limited by the number of trophies we could provide through Sony's official systems. So we decided to create our own "in-game trophy" system instead and add a couple of hundred of them. Feats introduced extra goals for the player to achieve during gameplay, which covered a broad range of skill levels. This was another way to extend the longevity of the game. Photo Mode: Throughout development we'd often pause the game and roam around freely with the debug camera, and marvel at how great the game looked. We aren't cutting any corners with our rendering, so even up close the game looks great. Adding a Photo Mode allowed players to pause the action and take spectacular looking screenshots of RESOGUN in all its voxelized glory. This also gave us the chance to introduce several "Easter eggs" throughout the levels for players to find. The Photo Mode allowed players to take a closer look at the action. Both the Defenders expansion and the free update received great critical reception. We knew from the start that Defenders would be our last expansion, and everyone worked very hard to add lots of cool new stuff that would bring RESOGUN to its best, most refined state. It seems to have paid off: many media outlets commented on the Defenders update -- combined with the free patch -- as setting a new standard for post-launch support. What Went Wrong We're really happy with what we managed to pull off for the original version of RESOGUN, but having a tight and immovable deadline tied to the PS4’s launch meant that certain compromises were made regarding the amount of content we delivered. Players who merely wanted to explore the Arcade mode's five levels could admittedly do so in a limited time, which limited the long-term appeal of RESOGUN and didn't allow us to achieve a high retention outside of score-hunters. This pressure to deliver RESOGUN on-time also meant an intense focus on the launch version of the game, with little time to prepare effectively for future expansions. This affected both of our expansions, which introduced drastic changes to the core game. For instance, we didn't plan ahead for the inclusion of the editor and custom ships for our "Construction Kit" expansion, and certain oversights in the main game responded poorly to this change. This demanded large changes to the game, which both put a strain on our resources and divided players when the patch was released. Although we still stand firmly behind these changes, many of them could've been avoided with more careful planning and thorough testing beforehand. For our second free expansion, Challengers, implementing and iterating over the various Challenges proved to be very time-consuming, as a lot of RESOGUN's systems weren't designed in the most modular fashion beforehand. This made writing some of our "mix and match" Challenges very stressful, as we often needed to make nerve-wrecking changes to established systems and ensure we wouldn't break anything. This fact combined with the sheer quantity of Feats and Challenges put a tremendous strain on our testing and QA resources. Hand-crafting levels also proved to be a huge task for our artists, as there were millions of voxels that needed their individual treatment. This was especially time-consuming, which forced us to be very selective with the designs for our levels, and slightly discouraged large-scale changes to them. Also, constructing complex enemies (such as bosses) from multiple cube-meshes turned out to be a very complicated and time-consuming affair. We eventually ended up using this approach for only our first two bosses in Arcade; the ones for levels 3, 4, and 5 were created dynamically code side, which ended up being a faster approach (and also lent itself well to some cool demo-like effects). Although RESOGUN development never felt "rushed," we did face tremendous pressure to deliver a "next-gen" experience within a limited timeframe. Thankfully, having so many talented people working together meant a constant flow of creative energy; everyone in the team was vital to the project, and everyone brought their own personal touches to the game. Time is never enough of course, and there’s always something you can do better, but ultimately we're very proud of what we accomplished with RESOGUN. Now we just need to make sure our next game is even better! Closing Thoughts Overall, creating RESOGUN was a fantastic experience for us. Being able to create a game like this in 2013, with a large budget, incredible new tech and a publisher support was a great opportunity. The shoot 'em up genre has been sorely underrepresented in the medium, and it's tough to convince publishers that a high-end shoot 'em up is a fruitful prospect. Thankfully Sony believed in our vision, and with their support RESOGUN became a reality. Our producers at Sony XDev also helped substantially in achieving the highest possible standards, and I can say that we couldn't have worked with a better publisher for the development of RESOGUN. Of course, when you put two passionate parties together, it's not uncommon to have differences in opinion. At times we felt compelled to defend our vision, but ultimately this only strengthened our resolve to refine it further. In some cases (like with the single-life feature of Survival), it even stands as a testament to how sometimes creative friction can lead to the betterment of ideas. Developing the game exclusively for the PS4 allowed us to pull off lots of cool things that hadn't been done to this extent in the genre before. Innovative tech aside, RESOGUN would have been little more than a glorified tech demo if it wasn't fun to play. We're an interactive medium, and there's no substitute for good gameplay. We'd like to believe that by carefully iterating and pushing to innovate from the start, we managed to craft a solid entry in the genre that will hopefully stand the test of time. Especially with the inclusion of our two expansions, we can now find closure in knowing that all our main aspirations for RESOGUN have been realized, and that we're leaving RESOGUN as a complete package for players to enjoy throughout the rest of the PS4's lifecycle, and hopefully even beyond that. One final note I'd like to make here is related to our work philosophy. Working at Housemarque has taught me that despite some basic "hierarchy" existing in each project, the supreme authority is always the game itself. The game is the boss. The game always comes first, and you need to learn to keep your ego out of the equation regardless of what your title or role implies. It's often difficult to accept that a certain idea or feature you've grown attached to isn't serving the game's best interests, but you need to overcome that in order to make the best possible game. You need to listen to what the game is telling you, and not silence it with your own voice. So learn to be stubborn when defending your vision, but also learn to let go. Allow yourself to be tested, and encourage feedback from a wide variety of sources to get a fresh perspective. Treat negative feedback as a challenge to prove your vision, but also as an opportunity to refine it. Always remain open to the possibility that another, better solution exists for what you're trying to achieve. Keep iterating, have frequent test sessions to expose your game to as many eyes as possible, and let the game decide. After all, the game is the boss. Thanks for reading!

Image copyright Getty Images Californian authorities have prohibited SeaWorld from breeding animals in captivity, calling into question the future of the park's popular killer whale attraction. The ruling by the California Coastal Commission came after a request by the San Diego aquarium to build new tanks for its orcas. In a statement SeaWorld said it was "disappointed" with Thursday's ruling. SeaWorld plans to build two additional tanks for viewing and research. "Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal's life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane", said SeaWorld San Diego Park President John Reilly. The building project was approved "under a condition that would prohibit captive breeding, artificial insemination, and the sale, trade or transfer of any animal in captivity." The commission received more than 120,000 emails from people about the proposed expansion, mostly from those opposing the project, said commission spokeswoman Noaki Schwartz. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The new rules prohibit the captive breeding of orcas The ruling affects SeaWorld's San Diego business, but not its locations in Florida or Texas. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) praised the ruling, saying this would effectively end the orca whale exhibit. In a statement they said that it "ensures that no more orcas will be condemned to a nonlife of loneliness, deprivation and misery." SeaWorld has come under heavy criticism in recent years, particularly after the 2013 release of the documentary Blackfish which specifically criticized the company's orca programme. Blackfish claims that whales in captivity become bored in their sterile environment which makes them aggressive towards their human trainers. SeaWorld has called the film "false and misleading". Numerous celebrities have condemned SeaWorld's treatment of its captive animals in the past years. In August 2015, SeaWorld Entertainment reported an 84% drop in earnings in the second quarter of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014, and a 2% drop in visitor numbers.

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has confirmed plans for the sci-fi drama to air in the autumn next year. The 50-year-old, writing in Doctor Who Magazine, dismissed the possibility of the show airing during the summer. Moffat said: "Doctor Who in the summer? All that running down tunnels, with torches, and the sunlight streaming through your windows and bleaching out the screen? All those barbecues and children playing outside, while on the telly there are green monsters seething in their CGI-enhanced lairs? It's just not right is it? Be honest. "For me, as a kid, when the afternoon got darker and there was a thrill of cold in the air, I knew that even though summer was over, the TARDIS was coming back! So yes, that's part of the plan, that's part of the reason for this little delay. But it's not the whole story." Since its revival in 2005, each full Doctor Who series has premiered in the spring, with only the most recent run ending in the autumn. There had previously been speculation over whether BBC had cut Who's 2012 output completely, but Moffat was swift to deny the rumours. Last month, Harry Potter's David Yates announced that a Doctor Who movie is in development. > Where can Doctor Who go from here? > Matt Smith, Karen Gillan 'know nothing about Doctor Who film Watch the trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas special below:

CLOSE Bayer Ag's unsolicited bid for Monsanto did not sit well with investors as shares fell to a two-and-a-half-year low in Frankfurt after the company confirmed the deal. Bloomberg In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 file photo, the Monsanto logo is seen at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill. German drug and chemicals company Bayer AG confirmed Thursday, May 19, 2016 it has entered talks with the Monsanto Company about the possible acquisition of the U.S.-based specialist in genetically modified crop seeds. (Photo: Seth Perlman, AP) Health and agricultural giant Bayer is making a bid to acquire seed and pesticide company Monsanto, the companies confirmed. Bayer issued a statement early Thursday calling its endeavor a "preliminary discussion," following Monsanto's confirmation late Wednesday that it had received an unsolicited deal proposal. Germany-based Bayer (BAYN) said its executives recently met with Monsanto to discuss the potential tie-up. "The proposed combination would reinforce Bayer as a global innovation-driven life science company with leadership positions in its core segments, and would create a leading integrated agriculture business," the company said. St. Louis-based Monsanto (MON) said its board is reviewing Bayer's proposal and would not comment until it completes the process. Monsanto shares jumped 5.3% to $102.31 in mid-day trading. Bayer shares traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell 8.2% to 88.51 euros. A combination of the two global companies likely would face regulatory scrutiny, providing no assurance that even an agreed-upon deal could be finalized. The Obama administration has killed several high-profile deals in recent months, including Pfizer's attempt to acquire Allergan, Halliburton's bid for Baker Hughes and Staples' acquisition of Office Depot. But Fitch Ratings analysts said Thursday in a research note that the primary overlap between Monsanto and Bayer is in herbicides, saying that overall their "businesses are largely complementary." A combined Monsanto-Bayer would have market capitalization of $125 billion and more than 25% market share in crop protection products, U.S. soybean seeds and U.S. corn seeds, according to Fitch, which said the deal "makes strategic sense" but argued neither company needs the tie-up to grow. The deal talks reflect what could be yet another significant shakeup in the world's agrochemical industry. In February, state-owned agrochemical firm China National Chemical agreed to acquire Swiss rival Syngenta for $43 billion in the largest acquisition of a foreign company in Chinese history. In December, U.S. conglomerates Dow Chemical and DuPont agreed to merge in a $69 billion deal that would create a firm called DowDuPont, which would then split into three separate companies, including one focused on agriculture. The changes come amid a rough patch for the agricultural business. Certain core agricultural prices, such as corn, have suffered, and farm spending is "likely to be flat to down in the mid-single digits" for 2016, Credit Suisse analyst Christopher Parkinson said in a research note May 12. Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/27CJdWB

“So someone told me ‘Thriller’ would induce labor.” Bonnie Northsea is over 40 weeks pregnant and ready to not be any more, so she decided to take action and get down to ‘Thriller’ in her sports bra and yoga pants. “Here I am on my due date 40 weeks, February 11, 2015, looking like a fool. I’m so awesome! My Facebook video has 55,000 views after 24 hours, so I thought I would place on YouTube as well. My husband is fighting a battle with Testicular Cancer (just diagnosed a month ago) so it has been difficult emotionally recently. This video really helped as it caused me to laugh over and over again.” So far the baby has still not decided it’s time. Back to dancing Bonnie! Best of luck to the whole family!

Erdoğan: End the crackdown now! By continuing you agree to receive Avaaz emails. Our Privacy Policy will protect your data and explains how it can be used. You can unsubscribe at any time. Özlem D. started this petition to started this petition to I am writing this from Taksim Square in Istanbul where peaceful protesters are being attacked with gas cannisters and pressurized water cannons. Hundreds of us are still here despite the police violence, protesting the destruction of Gezi park which the government wants to turn into a shopping mall. This started simply as a peaceful sit-in to save a park, but it’s become one of the worst state attacks on protesters in recent memory -- and a frightening example of the Turkish government’s growing eagerness to crack down on its own citizens. The security forces have been individually targeting protesters to terrify, wound and kill us. 12 people have already suffered trauma injuries from gas canisters -- one man died of heart attack, and hundreds are suffering from excessive gas inhalation. Now more than ever, we need massive public pressure to urge the government to stop using excessive force against protesters immediately, to stop demolishing one of the few green spaces left in Istanbul, and to stop cracking down on citizens who are peacefully assembling or expressing their opinions. Sign the urgent petition now then share this widely. Only a giant outcry will pressure Erdogan to act immediately.

Share. Now we're getting somewhere. Now we're getting somewhere. Crackdown kicks off August's Games With Gold promotion this month, and will be free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers from August 1-15. Crackdown's open world, super-hero-esque powers, and alluring collectibles made it one of the most interesting and entertaining surprises on Xbox 360 when it released in 2007. On August 16, both Dead Rising 2 and its downloadable prequel episode, Case Zero, will be free for Gold members. Case Zero only lasts a few hours, but it's a great little story setup and introduction to the main game's excellent crafting system, impressive open world, and absurd sense of humor. Remember, you only need to initiate the download to add these games to your library forever, so even if you're not going to play them right away, it can't hurt to grab them for later. Exit Theatre Mode Source: Major Nelson

Not many writers get a chance to revise a book that they wrote thirty years earlier. There’s an eeriness to it. I feel like Rip Van Winkle—like I fell asleep out in my corn patch and, when I woke up, things looked about like always, but it wasn’t even the same century anymore. The satisfying part of this eerie feeling is that much of what I said on the subject of small-scale grain raising thirty years ago is more current now than it was then. The pancake patch has come of age. If that sounds like a brag, I’ll not apologize. To all those agribusiness experts who ridiculed my call to garden grains thirty years ago, I now draw myself up in pompous self-righteousness, stick out my tongue, and gloat as sickeningly as possible. Seriously, though, I have little justification for gloating. Much of the credit goes to an editor and dear friend whom I worked under at Rodale Press, Jerry Goldstein. A book about garden grains was more his idea than mine. Although I was already doing most of the things I would write about in the book, I did not think very many other people were that crazy. I was raised up in the generation that decided farmers had to get big or get out, that local gristmills like the water-powered “Indian Mill” of my boyhood, had faded away into ancient history (it’s actually a museum now), and that local bakeries like Neumeisters’ in my hometown were gone for good. One of the fond memories of my youth was fishing below the dam at Indian Mill and being in town about four o’clock in the afternoon when the bread was coming out of Neumeisters’ ovens. That heavenly smell would float all over the village. Made me weak in the knees. But what the heck. I was a struggling writer, and if Mr. Goldstein wanted a book about grains, I was the man for the job. I was a link not only between Wonder Bread and homemade buckwheat cakes, but between vast commercial grain fields, where I worked as a young man, and the small homestead garden culture that was taking hold of society’s imagination in the 1970s. I was surprised by the good response to that first edition. Evidently I was not the only crazy person out there. There were all kinds of mavericks who were willing to grow wheat in the backyard, thresh it by hand, and bake really good bread with it or feed it to chickens for fresh eggs and southern-fried that would make Colonel Sanders weep with envy. And instead of being a fade-away fad, the book kept on attracting interest, so much so that when it sold out, a group of homesteaders in the Ozarks wrote a letter asking that it be put back into print. But editors were not convinced, nor was I, to tell the truth, that enough more copies would sell to make the printing profitable. At least I thought that way until used copies appeared this year on Amazon.com priced ridiculously at over a thousand dollars each. And, just my luck, I’ve only got one left. (Ed. Note: See screenshot below.) So this new edition will have one thing going for it. Buying it will save you a nice little wad of cash over trying to find a good copy of the old edition. And, if I do say so myself, the revised version is considerably better. Revising an old book that some people apparently treasure involves a problem for the author. Beyond correcting errors and deleting obsolete information that may not be so obsolete in the future, plus adding new relevant material, what more ought I to do? Because of age, I no longer raise pigs or milk a cow, for example, although I am sorely tempted to return to doing both. Should I leave the book in the voice of a younger man with more energy than good sense, or do I write as an older man who hopefully has learned a few things in thirty years? So I tried to straddle the line between before Rip Van Winkle and after. The two Genes aren’t really that much different anyway. I just have to be a little more careful with what I say nowadays because I can’t run fast anymore. Another problem kept bothering me as I revised the book, although it is not really a problem. Thirty years ago there was no Internet. So-called how-to books could fill a need just by passing on pure information. Today there is no pure information in the field of small-scale grain raising, or anything else, that is not done to death on the Internet. So I deleted some of the “facty” stuff, as I call it, that you can find easily at the click of a computer mouse. It actually made the book better, it seems to me, because that kind of information is so boring. Then I did what the Internet can’t do: I put more humor in the book, more anecdotes, and more of my own highly opinionated ideas. I’m fairly sure that’s why people read books anyway. Gene Logsdon August 20, 2008 This excerpt is the afterword from the new version of Gene’s book, Small-Scale Grain Raising: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers.

NATO has promised to back Ankara in its escalating conflict with Syria, as Turkey adds 25 new F-16 fighter jets to its border protection force. It follows days of retaliation from Turkey after Syrian shells started coming over the border last month. "We have all the necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told journalists before a defense ministers meeting in Brussels. Meanwhile, Turkish news agencies report that 25 F-16 jet fighters have arrived at the Diyarbakir base, 100 kilometers from the Syrian border. Local officials say the aircraft have been designated for operations in Kurdistan, the nearby zone of a long-simmering separatist conflict. A separate convoy of armed vehicles and transports carrying tanks arrived at another border town. Turkey has endorsed the uprising against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad for the past 18 months, providing logistics, funding and safe havens for rebels on its side of the 900-kilometer border. But the antagonism ratcheted up last month when artillery shells fired from inside Syria hit Turkish border towns for several consecutive days. Five civilians were killed in one strike last Wednesday. Turkey has since replied with barrages of its own. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured support from parliament to conduct “hot pursuit” missions that could cross into Syrian territory. "From now on, every attack on us will be responded to immediately. Every attack that targets our sovereignty, our security of life and property will find its response," said Turkish government spokesman Bulent Arinc. Turkey enjoys a sizable advantage over its neighbor both in terms of troop numbers and military technology. With nearly one million troops and 400 war planes, Turkey has the second-largest army and third biggest air force in NATO. Syria has a nominal army three times smaller, which has been exhausted by more than a year of constant fighting, and a fleet of relatively outdated Russian planes. But Rasmussen urged both sides not to blow up the face-off into a full-scale conflict. "We hope that all parties involved will show restraint, and avoid an escalation of the crisis. I do believe that the right way forward in Syria is a political solution." Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded that Assad take the first step in ending the civil war. "It is unbearable for the Syrian people to continue like this. That is why I have conveyed to the Syrian government a strong message that they should immediately declare a unilateral ceasefire,” he said during a press conference in Paris. The UN estimates that over 20,000 Syrians have been killed and 700,000 made refugees during the conflict

Share. A worthy new challenger. A worthy new challenger. The CCG (computer card game) space is an increasingly crowded one, but Legends is hoping to stand out from the pack by tapping into the rich lore of the Elder Scrolls series, and by bringing some new gameplay ideas to the table. It succeeds in both regards, offering up a compelling competitive experience, as well as solid single player content. Legends incorporates elements from both Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone. From the former it has a colour/attribute system in place of classes. Players build their deck of (at least) 50 cards using no more than two of the game’s six colours. Each colour represents a broad theme, so green is Agility, purple is Endurance, blue is Intelligence, red is Strength and yellow is Willpower. Neutral, colourless cards complete the pool and can be used in any deck. The colour system is less evocative than having classes represented by defined personalities, but it certainly makes for a lot of potential attribute combinations, and thus, gameplay variety. Archers, for instance, combine Strength and Agility, giving them damage dealing potential paired with excellent tools for removing enemy creatures and extracting value out of cards. (A minion with “Pilfer”, for instance, triggers its ability each time it attacks the opponent’s hero, so can do things like stack stat buffs or repeatedly draw cards.) Mages, on the other hand, combine Intelligence and Willpower, so a Control Mage build is able to lock the board down using a wealth of removal tools, as well as debuffs, ward minions, guard minions and more, all of which stall the game until it can get to its powerful late game drops. Like Hearthstone, both players start with 30 health and one point of magicka (the game’s resource), which increases by one at the start of each turn. Your total resources determine what cards you can afford to play, and there are four categories of cards: creatures (minions), items (buffs), abilities (spells) or supports (ongoing aura-style effects or abilities that are manually activated), with a host of “keywords” on top of that. These cover things like locking creatures in place, blocking damage and regenerating health. What really sets Legends apart, however, is its use of lanes. The playfield is divided down the middle, with a field lane on the left and a cover lane on the right, and creatures are (almost always) only able to attack other creatures in the same lane. The cover lane is particularly interesting because when you play a creature to that side, it is cloaked during the opponent’s next turn. This means it can’t be attacked by another creature in that lane. Cloaked creatures, however, can be targeted in other ways – they can be damaged or killed by actions or summon effects. The lanes create an interesting, and strategic, cat and mouse dynamic. The core gameplay atop this is defined by making efficient minion trades and building a board advantage. There are plenty of buffs to make that interesting, as well as single target removals, while big board clears are much less common than in something like Hearthstone. Legends isn’t just about tempo, however, as the inclusion of so many buff and support cards means that there are some powerful combo strategies you can go after too. “ The rune mechanic and the use of lanes really set Legends apart, and give it the strategic depth that I’m looking for. Legends also integrates a really clever counterplay and comeback system. Each player has five runes on their health bar, at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 respectively. When your health is reduced to – or below – one of those levels, a rune breaks and you draw a card. This means that the player that’s losing in terms of health is gaining resources – and thus options – to help him or her get back into the game. More interesting still, if the card drawn has the keyword "Prophecy" you can play that card for free – during your opponent’s turn. Yes, control comes back to you while you decide what to do with the card. Not only does this create games that swing back and forth, but it’s additional layer of strategy. Prophecy cards, after all, can be used to deal damage, to destroy creatures and to play creatures to the board. For free. The downside is that they generally have slightly lower stats than they otherwise would, so you have to balance the massive potential upside – hitting one when a rune breaks, with the reality that most of the time you’ll be playing them from your hand. Anyone who has played a CCG before will likely see how interesting this is as a mechanic, and it really alters how games play out. You now think twice before attacking, for instance, as hitting any of those health thresholds isn’t just risking a Prophecy card, it’s giving your opponent resources, and in card games, having more resources than your opponent generally gives you the advantage. Depending on the deck you’re facing, you may want to just contest the board until you’re ready to go in for the kill. You may want to break some runes, but hold off on certain attacks to leave your opponent just above a threshold when it makes sense. The next level players, of course, will have a good idea what Prophecy cards their opponent is likely to be running, and can thus evaluate the risk versus the reward. If you know that Willpower decks almost all run Piercing Javelin (a five cost action that destroys a creature) and you have a wide board then you might break a rune to get it out of the way before playing down your big creature. The rune mechanic and the use of lanes really set Legends apart, and give it the kind of strategic depth that I’m looking for. Importantly, Legends also has a good selection of modes to back up its gameplay chops. Story mode acts very much as the game’s tutorial, introducing you to the mechanics and the many strategies you’re likely to face. The presentation of the narrative is cheesy at best, but serves its purpose, giving you a reason to battle all manner of beasts, spirits, pirates and the like across 20 chapters. The rewards here make it well worth playing through too. Exit Theatre Mode The same is true of Solo Arena and VS Arena, which see you draft a deck of 30 cards then face off against nine opponents. Solo Arena battles will often tweak the rules, introducing new lane types or giving your opponent a starting advantage, whereas VS Arena battles obviously keep the playing field level (outside special events). After each victory you’ll get to pick another card – from a choice of three – allowing you to adjust your deck as you go. Solo Arena has nine tiers, so you start at rank 9 and with each nine win run you go up a tier. Both versions costs gold (or real money) to play, but they’re a great source of cards, packs, gold and soul gems for crafting. They offer quite a different challenge to one another too. In Solo your main focus is drafting an aggressive curve, whereas you’ll get crushed if you try and pull that off against a human in VS. In general Legends is pretty generous with its rewards for beating PVE content, playing Arena, doing dailies and levelling up your character, and if you put the time in each day you can amass a half-decent collection relatively quickly. This is not a game that withholds its legendary creatures, either – the drop rates seem reasonable and you’re even given legendary cards as part of the levelling process. That said, there are a lot of epics and legendaries, and the fact that you can include three copies of most legendary cards (some are “unique” and thus can only be singletons) in a deck means it’s still a long road to build a cohesive collection - particularly if you want to play several archetypes. Trying to fast-track it winds up being really expensive too – buying packs in this game is not cheap, and crafting cards eats your precious precious soul gems at a furious rate. Of course, that’s the balance that most free-to-play CCGs typically strike, so is not unique to Legends. It’s also not unique to Legends that you’ll reach a point on the ranked ladder – part of the central “Play” mode that sees you climb from rank 12 to Legend - where your homebrew decks are much less effective, and you find yourself battling players with much deeper card collections. The good news is that – whether you dedicate the time and energy to grind out a collection, or you just bite the bullet and spend the money – once you move from homebrew decks to more refined lists, The Elder Scrolls: Legends hits a whole new level. This is because you can take better advantage of the synergies within and across attributes, and because, well, epic and legendary cards tend to have pretty cool effects. You can also rapidly improve your game because if you’re playing “meta” decks you can read in-depth guides or learn from watching streamers or tournament players pilot them. Gaining a deep understanding of a CCG is hugely satisfying, and Legends seems to have what it takes in terms of gameplay and community to make spending the time worthwhile. It’s worth pointing out, however, that its presentation isn’t especially conducive to being innately fun to watch as a spectator. The upsides of being based on The Elder Scrolls are that Legends has a whole world of characters and events to tap into, and a large potential audience of series fans, but one major limitation is how the existing Elder Scrolls aesthetic fits into this genre. Where Hearthstone was able to take the already rounded, cartoony edges of World of Warcraft and make them even more colourful and comical, The Elder Scrolls starts in a place that’s meant to be relatively believable high fantasy, and the result when brought across to Legends is ultimately less varied and characterful. Fans of The Elder Scrolls’ world and lore will likely warm to it quickly, but the card art is certainly less striking than some other games in the genre - despite being attractive. This overall design of the UI too, is functionally good, but not particularly alluring. The reality is that Hearthstone sets the gold standard for UI, visual design, sound design and the “feel” of playing, and this isn’t even close. That said, like Hearthstone, Legends’ iPad client is fully featured, good to use and stable. It obviously feels best to play on a PC, but I typically spend most of my CCG time on tablet, so it’s great to have that parity. About my only gripe with Legends on iPad is that deck-building is awkward – getting pop-up information for cards in your deck is clumsier than it should be.

Spaghettified People Scientists believe that in the middle of a black hole is a one-dimensional point that contains a huge mass despite its infinitely small space. And in this point, the density of matter becomes infinite, the whole fabric of space-time breaks apart, physics no longer applies, and basically, everything blows into chaos and nothing makes sense. This theoretical point of madness is called the gravitational singularity. Much like everything else about black holes, the gravitational singularity is a source of endless debate. One interesting theory is that if you, for some crazy reason, end up in this hellhole, you will be stretched and squeezed in different directions, infinitely—a process technically called (yes, technically) spaghettification. “The gravity wants to sort of stretch you in one direction and squeeze you in another,” says Joe Polchinski, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Since very little is known (much less definitively proven) about black holes, the floor is open to exploration of concepts beyond general relativity. A team of researchers are trying to look at the singularity in an entirely different light. They propose that perhaps the gravitational singularity were an imperfection in the geometric structure of space-time, with geometric structures like that of a crystal or graphene. “Just as crystals have imperfections in their microscopic structure, the central region of a black hole can be interpreted as an anomaly in space-time, which requires new geometric elements in order to be able to describe them more precisely. We explored all possible options, taking inspiration from facts observed in nature,” the team explains. De-spaghettification In a model following their theory, the new geometries would imply that the center point would be a very small spherical surface—consistent with that of a wormhole in a simple, rotational, electrically-charged black hole. “Our theory naturally resolves several problems in the interpretation of electrically-charged black holes”, says Gonzalo Olmo, one of the researchers from the Institute of Corpuscular Physics, Universitat de Valencia. “In the first instance we resolve the problem of the singularity, since there is a door at the center of the black hole, the wormhole, through which space and time can continue.” This model would also make the spaghettification process possible (yay?), and would allow a hypothetical traveler to go through the wormhole, and come out of it in their normal, pre-spaghettification size (phew!, yay). That sounds okay. That is, until you hear Neil DeGrasse Tyson describe that journey in graphic detail. Unlike Einstein’s theory of gravity, which requires unusual properties such as a negative energy pressure or density (which have yet to be observed), the team’s wormhole is much more feasible: “In our theory, the wormhole appears out of ordinary matter and energy, such as an electric field,” says Olmo. This “backdoor” would also address the information paradox, because nothing is lost but instead comes out the other end. Where and what is in that other end, however, is another “black hole” of questions.

Max Gerson (October 18, 1881 – March 8, 1959) was a German-born American physician who developed the Gerson Therapy, a dietary-based alternative cancer treatment that he claimed could cure cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases. Gerson described his approach in the book A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases (1958). The National Cancer Institute evaluated Gerson's claims and concluded that his data showed no benefit from his treatment.[1] The therapy is both ineffective and dangerous.[2][3] In Europe [ edit ] Gerson was born in Wongrowitz, German Empire (Wągrowiec, now in Poland), on October 18, 1881. In 1909, he graduated from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. He began practicing medicine at age 28 in Breslau (Wrocław, now in Poland), later specializing in internal medicine and nerve diseases in Bielefeld.[4] By 1927, he was specializing in the treatment of tuberculosis, developing the Gerson-Sauerbruch-Hermannsdorfer diet, claiming it was a major advance in the treatment of tuberculosis.[4] Initially, he used his therapy as a supposed treatment for migraine headaches and tuberculosis. In 1928, he began to use it as a claimed treatment for cancer.[5] He left Germany in 1933 and emigrated first to Vienna, where he worked in the West End Sanatorium. Gerson spent two years in Vienna, then in 1935 he went to France, associating with a clinic near Paris before moving to London in 1936. Shortly after that, he moved to the United States where he settled in New York City.[4] In the United States [ edit ] Gerson emigrated to the United States in 1936, passed his medical board examination, and became a U.S. citizen in 1942.[4] The rest of his family died at the hands of the Nazis.[citation needed] In the U.S., Gerson applied his dietary therapy to several cancer patients, claiming good results, but other workers found his methodology and claims unconvincing. Proponents of the Gerson Therapy believe a conspiracy headed by the medical establishment prevented Gerson from publishing proof that his therapy worked.[6] In 1958, Gerson published a book in which he claimed to have cured 50 terminal cancer patients: A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases. In 1953, Gerson's malpractice insurance was discontinued and, in 1958, his medical license in New York was suspended for two years.[4][7] Gerson died March 8, 1959 of pneumonia.[4][8] Gerson therapy [ edit ] Initially, Gerson used his therapy as a treatment for migraine headaches and tuberculosis. In 1928, he began to use it as a supposed treatment for cancer.[5] Gerson Therapy is based on the belief that disease is caused by the accumulation of unspecified toxins, and attempts to treat the disease by having patients consume a predominantly vegetarian diet including hourly glasses of organic juice and various dietary supplements. Animal proteins are excluded from the diet under the unproven premise that tumors develop as a result of pancreatic enzyme deficiency.[9] In addition, patients receive enemas of coffee, castor oil and sometimes hydrogen peroxide or ozone.[10] After Gerson's death, his daughter Charlotte Gerson continued to promote the therapy, founding the "Gerson Institute" in 1977.[11] The original protocol also included raw calf's liver taken orally, but this practice was discontinued in the 1980s after ten patients were hospitalized (five of them comatose) from January 1979 to March 1981 in San Diego, California, area hospitals due to infection with the rare bacteria Campylobacter fetus. This infection was seen only in those following Gerson-type therapy with raw liver (no other cases of patients having sepsis with this microbe, a pathogen in cattle, had been reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the previous two years). Nine of ten hospitalized patients had been treated in Tijuana, Mexico; the tenth followed Gerson therapy at home. One of these patients who had metastatic melanoma died within a week of his septic episode. Many of the patients had low sodium levels, thought to be associated with the very low sodium Gerson diet.[12] The photographer Garry Winogrand died of gallbladder cancer in a Gerson Clinic in Tijuana.[13] Evidence [ edit ] Gerson's therapy has not been independently tested or subjected to randomized controlled trials, and thus is illegal to market in the United States.[1] The Gerson Institute promotes the therapy by citing patient testimonials and other anecdotal evidence.[14] Gerson published a book discussing the alleged success of the therapy in 50 patients, but a review by the U.S. National Cancer Institute was unable to find any evidence that Gerson's claims were accurate.[1] The NCI found that no in vivo animal studies had been conducted. Similarly, case series by Gerson Institute staff published in the alternative medical literature suffered from methodological flaws, and no independent entity has been able to reproduce the claims.[1] Attempts to independently check the results of the therapy have been negative. A group of 13 patients sickened by elements of the Gerson Therapy were evaluated in hospitals in San Diego in the early 1980s; all 13 were found to still have active cancer.[12] An investigation by Quackwatch found that the institute's claims of cure were based not on actual documentation of survival, but on "a combination of the doctor's estimate that the departing patient has a 'reasonable chance of surviving', plus feelings that the Institute staff have about the status of people who call in".[15] A 1994 article in the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine[16] attempted to follow 39 Gerson patients in Tijuana. Patient interviews were used to confirm the existence and stage of cancer; most patients were unaware of the stage of their tumor, and medical records were not available. Most patients were lost to follow-up; of the patients successfully followed, 10 died and six were alive at their last follow-up. Review of this study pointed out its "obvious flaws", including "the majority of patients lost to follow-up, lack of access to detailed medical records, and reliance upon patients for disease stage information"; the authors themselves regarded the results as unclear. The American Cancer Society reported that "[t]here is no reliable scientific evidence that Gerson therapy is effective in treating cancer, and the principles behind it are not widely accepted by the medical community. It is not approved for use in the United States."[2] In 1947, the National Cancer Institute reviewed 10 claimed cures submitted by Gerson; however, all of the patients were receiving standard anticancer treatment simultaneously, making it impossible to determine what effect, if any, was due to Gerson's therapy.[17] A review of the Gerson Therapy by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center concluded: "If proponents of such therapies wish them to be evaluated scientifically and considered valid adjuvant treatments, they must provide extensive records (more than simple survival rates) and conduct controlled, prospective studies as evidence".[3] In 1959, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) again reviewed cases of patients treated by Gerson. The NCI found that the available information did not prove the regimen had benefit. Cancer Research UK states that "Available scientific evidence does not support any claims that Gerson therapy can treat cancer [...] Gerson therapy can be very harmful to your health."[18] Safety concerns [ edit ] Gerson therapy can lead to several significant health problems. Serious illness and death have occurred as a direct result of some portions of the treatment, including severe electrolyte imbalances. Continued use of enemas may weaken the colon's normal function, causing or worsening constipation and colitis. Other complications have included dehydration, serious infections and severe bleeding.[2] The therapy may be especially hazardous to pregnant or breast-feeding women.[2] Coffee enemas have contributed to the deaths of at least three people in the United States. Coffee enemas "can cause colitis (inflammation of the bowel), fluid and electrolyte imbalances, and in some cases septicemia".[19] The recommended diet may not be nutritionally adequate.[20][21] The diet has been blamed for the deaths of patients who substituted it for standard medical care.[22] Relying on the therapy alone while avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer has serious health consequences.[2] Jessica Ainscough, better known as "The Wellness Warrior", was a major proponent of the Gerson diet after her diagnosis with cancer. She rejected medical treatment and followed the diet strictly, documenting her progress in a popular blog. She died from the cancer in February 2015, aged 30.[23] See also [ edit ]

In my stray thoughts about former FBI Director James Comey’s public testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, I declared that the clock struck thirteen when Comey purported to explain his use of Columbia Law School Professor Daniel Richman as a cutout to leak a memo of one of his conversations with the president to New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt. Now George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley zooms in on Comey’s leak in The Hill column “The damaging case against James Comey.” I found Comey’s explanation patently absurd. Among other things, it belies his reputation for truthfulness and his self-presentation as a straight shooter. Comey testified that he used a cutout “[b]ecause I was weary [of] the media [that] was camping at the end of my driveway at that point. I was actually going out of town with my wife to hide. I worried it would be feeding seagulls at the beach, if it was I who gave it to the media.” We are apparently to believe that Comey feared Michael Schmidt would have unleashed his colleagues to hound Comey on vacation if Comey himself had made the call that Comey assigned to Richman. This makes approximately no sense. It does not compute. Turley takes an informed look at the impropriety involved in Comey’s conduct. After providing the context, Turley dives in here: As a threshold matter, Comey asked a question with regard to Trump that he should now answer with regard to his own conduct. Comey asked why Trump would ask everyone to leave the Oval Office to speak with Comey unless he was doing something improper. Yet, Trump could ask why Comey would use a third party to leak these memos if they were his property and there was nothing improper in their public release. In fact, there was a great deal wrong with their release, and Comey likely knew it. These were documents prepared on an FBI computer addressing a highly sensitive investigation on facts that he considered material to that investigation. Indeed, he conveyed that information confidentially to his top aides and later said that he wanted the information to be given to the special counsel because it was important to the investigation. Many in the media have tried to spin this as not a “leak” because leaks by definition only involve classified information. That is entirely untrue as shown by history. Leaks involve the release of unauthorized information — not only classified information. Many of the most important leaks historically have involved pictures and facts not classified but embarrassing to a government. More importantly, federal regulations refer to unauthorized disclosures not just classified information. Comey’s position would effectively gut a host of federal rules and regulations. He is suggesting that any federal employee effectively owns documents created during federal employment in relation to an ongoing investigation so long as they address the information to themselves. FBI agents routinely write such memos in investigations. They are called 302s to memorialize field interviews or fact acquisitions. They are treated as FBI information. The Justice Department routinely claims such memos as privileged and covered by the deliberative process privilege and other privileges. Indeed, if this information were sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) it would likely have been denied. Among other things, the Justice Department and FBI routinely claim privilege “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency.” Of course, Comey did not know if there was a privilege or classification claim by either the Justice Department or the White House because he never asked for review. He just woke up in the middle of night upset about Trump’s name calling and released the damaging information. In doing so, he used these memos not as a shield but a sword. Besides being subject to nondisclosure agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and unclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C. § 641, which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey “any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.” Read the whole thing here. And as the Democrats move on from the fabricated “collusion” campaign against Trump to the fabricated “obstruction” campaign, you may want to review Alan Dershowitz’s column “Trump did not obstruct justice.”

1 Pinterest 0 email Qiu Jin (1875–1907) was a Chinese writer & poet, a strong-willed feminist who is considered a national hero in China. Also called “Jianhu Nüxia” (Woman Knight of Mirror Lake”), she was executed after participating in a failed uprising against the Qing Dynasty. Qiu Jin was born in 1875 to a family of the gentry, and received an excellent education as was typical for a young woman of her position. She always loved to write, and in this period of her life she wrote many joyful poems on subjects ranging from flowers and the four seasons to visiting historical places and domestic activities. She also wrote about female heroes and warriors from Chinese history, in inspiring poems about their strength, courage, and beauty. One of her poems begins “Don’t tell me women / are not the stuff of heroes”. Her poetry reflected her self-confidence and desire to become an excellent female writer as valued by traditional Chinese culture. When Qiu Jin was 19, she obeyed her father and married the son of a wealthy merchant, against her own wishes. Qiu became extremely unhappy in her marriage. She wrote of her husband, “That person’s behavior is worse than an animal’s….He treats me as less than nothing.” and “When I think of him my hair bristles with anger, it’s absolutely unbearable.” Her previous self-confidence was shaken and her dreams of becoming a recognized poet were abandoned. Her poetry from this period of her life was full of self-doubt and loneliness. During this period Qiu also began writing poetry about current events and the fate of China. After hearing of events such as the Boxer Rebellion and occupation of Beijing, she used her poetry, with literary allusion to heroines of the past, to express her conern about the fate of China and Chinese women. Qiu longed to serve her country but realized that that wasn’t possible as long as she was trapped in a conventional married life. Her marriage was an important catalyst in her development as a feminist and revolutionary. In 1903, Qiu Jin moved with her husband to Beijing where he had purchased an official post. In Beijing, Qiu started reading feminist writings and became interested in women’s education. Qiu Jin finally left her husband in 1903, leaving to study in Japan. She became vocal in her support for women’s rights, pressed for improved access to education for women in her journals and speech, and spoke out against the practice of foot-binding. Returning to China in 1905, she joined the Triads, an underground society who advocated for the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, and other anti-Qing societies both Chinese and Japanese. She admired the Japanese for their disciplined military spirit and thought that it played an important role in the modernization of Japan. “With all my heart I beseech and beg my two hundred million female compatriots to assume their responsibility as citizens. Arise! Arise! Chinese women, arise!” In 1906 Qiu founded her own journal, “Zhongguo nubao” (Chinese women’s journal), which featured nationalist and feminist writings. Unlike traditional and other nationalist views that held women’s place as mothers and educators in a traditional family role, Qiu Jin saw the traditional family as oppressive to women. Qiu was appointed head of the Datong school in the city of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, in 1907. The school was supposedly for sport teachers, but was actually used for the military training of revolutionaries. In the final years of her life, she frequently cross-dressed, wearing western-style men’s clothing, and practiced military drills and training with her students. She became well-known as a chivalrous woman for helping the poor and weak. At this time, Qiu was working with her cousin Xu Xilin to unite and train fellow revolutionaries who also believed that China needed a western-style government. On July 6, 1907, Xu was caught and tortured for information before an uprising they had scheduled in Anqing in Angui Province. He was executed the next day. Qiu Jin learned about her cousin’s death and the failed uprising a few days later. She was warned that officials would be coming for her at the Datong school, but she stayed anyway, writing to her sword sister Xu Yunhua that she was determined to die for the cause. On July 13, Qiu was arrested. Even after being tortured she refused to talk about her involvement in the scheduled uprising, but incriminating evidence was found at the school. On July 15, 1907, Qiu Jin was beheaded publicly in her home village of Shanyin, at the age of 31. Shocked by the brutal execution of a woman, many Chinese were strengthened in their resentment of the Qing dynasty. Qiu Jin immediately became a national hero, and was the subject of poetry, drama, and numerous works of fiction. Much of her writing, including her poetry and letters to family and friends, was published after her death. To this day, Qiu Jin is a symbol of women’s independence in China. She is now buried by Xī Hú (West Lake) in Hangzhou, where a statue of her marks her tomb. Featured image of Qiu Jin courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Recommended Reading

Share with friends Send a tweet Get The Best of Knote! Start getting our best posts to your inbox weekly and accomplish more every day When many Americans think of Germany, images of WWII soldiers and Hitler often come to mind. But what many people don’t realize is that Germany is the industrial powerhouse of Europe, and is a leading manufacturer of goods for export to developing Asian nations. We don’t hear about the superiority of German engineering in Volkswagen commercials for nothing! The economic engine of the EU, Germany single-handedly saved the Eurozone from collapse in 2012. At the same time, German workers enjoy unparalleled worker protections and shorter working hours than most of their global counterparts. How can a country that works an average of 35 hours per week (with an average 24 paid vacation days to boot) maintain such a high level of productivity? Hi there! Knote publishes great ideas for how to be more productive every day. Get on the mailing list for the Best Of. And click here to sign up for Knotable, the app we made that lets you bring people and messages together in one place — so you have fewer meetings, less email, and you can get back to work. Working Hours Mean Working Hours In German business culture, when an employee is at work, they should not be doing anything other than their work. Facebook, office gossip with co-workers, trolling Reddit for hours, and pulling up a fake spreadsheet when your boss walks by are socially unacceptable behaviors. Obviously, in the United States these behaviors are frowned up on by management. But in Germany, there is zero tolerance among peers for such frivolous activities. In the BBC documentary “Make Me A German“, a young German woman explained her culture shock while on a working exchange to the UK. “I was in England for an exchange… I was in the office and the people are talking all the time about their private things… ‘What’s the plan for tonight?’, and all the time drinking coffee…” She was quite surprised by the casual nature of British workers. Upon further discussion, the Germans reveal that Facebook is not allowed in the office whatsoever, and no private email is permitted. Goal-Oriented, Direct Communication Is Valued German business culture is one of intense focus and direct communication. While Americans tend to value small talk and maintaining an upbeat atmosphere, Germans rarely beat around the bush. German workers will directly speak to a manager about performance reviews, launch into a business meeting without any ‘icebreakers’, and use commanding language without softening the directives with polite phrases.Whereas an American would say, “It would be great if you could get this to me by 3pm,” a German would say, “I need this by 3pm”. When a German is at work, they are focused and diligent, which in turn leads to higher productivity in a shorter period of time. Germans Have a Life Outside Work Germans work hard and play hard. Since the working day is focused on delivering efficient productivity, the off hours are truly off hours. Because of the focused atmosphere and formal environment of German businesses, employees don’t necessarily hang out together after work. Germans generally value a separation between private life and working life. The German government is currently considering a ban on work-related emails after 6pm, to counter the accessibility that smartphones and constant connectivity give employers to their employees. Can you imagine President Obama enacting such a policy in the United States? To occupy their plentiful Freizeit, most Germans are involved in Verein (clubs); regularly meeting others with shared interests in their community. Common interests in Germany include Sportvereine (sports clubs), Gesangvereine (choirs or singing clubs), Musikvereine (music clubs), Wandervereine (hiking clubs), Tierzuchtvereine (animal breeding clubs – generally rabbits/pigeons) and collectors’ clubs of all stripes. Even the smallest village in Germany will have several active Vereinen to accommodate residents’ interests. Rather than settling in for a night of TV after work, most Germans socialize with others in their community and cultivate themselves as people. Germans also enjoy a high number of paid vacation days, with many salaried employees receiving 25-30 paid days (the law requires 20). Extended holidays mean families can enjoy up to a month together, renting an apartment by the seaside or taking a long trip to a new, exciting city. Business Respects Parenthood Germany’s system of Elternzeit (“parent time” or parental leave) is the stuff of fantasy for most working Americans. The United States does not currently have laws requiring maternity leave, while Germany has some of the most extensive parental protection policies in the developed world. The downside of these maternity leave benefits is that employers may avoid hiring women (with the fear that they will take advantage of the extensive benefits), and German boardrooms are consistently male-dominated at a higher rate than other developed nations, although the government is working to eradicate this trend. The financial benefits of staying home (from both Elternzeit and Elterngeld or parents’ money programs) are often too good to pass up for German mothers, and can lead to stagnant or non-existent careers. Since “at will” employment does not exist in Germany, all employees have contracts with their employer. Parents who have been gainfully employed for the previous 12 months are eligible for Elternzeit benefits, which include up to three years of unpaid leave with a “sleeping” contract. The employee is eligible to work part-time up to 30 hours while on leave, and must be offered full-time employment at the conclusion of the parental leave. Parents may also choose to postpone up to one year of their leave until the child’s 8th birthday. Either parent is eligible for parental leave, and many couples make the choice based on financial considerations. In addition to the preservation of the employee’s contract, the state will pay up 67% of the employee’s salary (with a cap of 1800 Euros per month) for 14 months. Parents may split the 14 months however they choose. These benefits apply equally to same-sex couples. Have you picked your jaw up off the floor yet? Put Some German In Your Office The German work culture is very different from the average American office, but there are certainly lessons to be learned from our German counterparts. The diligent focus Germans bring to their working life is to be admired. Separating work from play can help us lead a more balanced life; putting the phone down after hours gives us a mental break from stressing about work, and we can return to the office refreshed in the morning. When it’s time to get something done, closing Facebook and turning off push notifications helps keep our minds quiet and the flow steady. Direct conversation can lead to increased efficiency, and more clarity of communication among team members. Americans often equate longer hours with increased production and superior work ethic, but examining the German model makes one wonder: When it comes to time at work, maybe less really is more! (Visited 90,098 times, 28 visits today)

The first General Assembly On Immaterial Digital Labor and Universal Basic Income will meet on Friday, April 3rd, 2015 o Grand Street in New York. According to the organizers, the General Assembly will be the inaugural meeting of people interesting in exploring action-based responses to the global “time-famine” created by the digital economy, the collapse of work and play in social media and “hope labor” economies, the rise of unpaid internships, and the burgeoning freelance market. The inaugural meeting will begin to define responses to these issues and the goals of this assembly. The Assembly springs from the conversations in the Facebook Group, Immaterial Digital Labor, which includes some 970 members. The group has presented the topics of digital labor, automation, machine learning, and emergent definitions of labor and is moving forth towards more material action-based organizing. The organizers propose this as a gathering of people committed to making decisions based upon a collective agreement or consensus model. Anyone is free to propose an idea or express an opinion as part of the General Assembly. The Assembly will be led by facilitators only just as much as needed, no more. The Universal Basic Income will be proposed as one of many possible platforms of solidarity. An exercise defining the terms: immaterial labor, digital labor, knowledge-economy, and a short presentation will open the Assembly, followed by an open discussion moved by the proposed and collective interest of attendees. Friday, April 3rd, 2015 7:00-10:00 PM PARMER at Abrons Art Center Experimental Theater, 466 Grand St, New York, NY 10002 Statement: http://www.parmer.info/_events/2015-04-03-IDL-UBI-statement.html Event website: https://www.facebook.com/events/1067136066635771/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/immaterial.labor/?ref=br_tf Site: http://www.immaterialdigitallabor.net/ Email: <idl.ok.nyc@gmail.com> with questions, comments, proposals, press inquiries.

As the moon’s shadow races across North America on August 21, hundreds of radio enthusiasts will turn on their receivers — rain or shine. These observers aren’t after the sun. They’re interested in a shell of electrons hundreds of kilometers overhead, which is responsible for heavenly light shows, GPS navigation and the continued existence of all earthly beings. This part of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere, absorbs extreme ultraviolet radiation from the sun, protecting life on the ground from its harmful effects. “The ionosphere is the reason life exists on this planet,” says physicist Joshua Semeter of Boston University. It’s also the stage for brilliant displays like the aurora borealis, which appears when charged material in interplanetary space skims the atmosphere. And the ionosphere is important for the accuracy of GPS signals and radio communication. This layer of the atmosphere forms when radiation from the sun strips electrons from, or ionizes, atoms and molecules in the atmosphere between about 75 and 1,000 kilometers above Earth’s surface. That leaves a zone full of free-floating negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions, which warps and wefts signals passing through it. Story continues below video CURTAIN OF LIGHT The ionosphere, a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere that reacts strongly to solar activity, gives off a red-green glow when solar rays strike it and strip electrons off of atoms. This video shows this airglow as seen from the International Space Station. NASA Goddard Without direct sunlight, though, the ionosphere stops ionizing. Electrons start to rejoin the atoms and molecules they abandoned, neutralizing the atmosphere’s charge. With fewer free electrons bouncing around, the ionosphere reflects radio waves differently, like a distorted mirror. We know roughly how this happens, but not precisely. The eclipse will give researchers a chance to examine the charging and uncharging process in almost real time. “The eclipse lets us look at the change from light to dark to light again very quickly,” says Jill Nelson of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Joseph Huba and Douglas Drob of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., predicted some of what should happen to the ionosphere in the July 17 Geophysical Research Letters. At higher altitudes, the electrons’ temperature should decrease by 15 percent. Between 150 and 350 kilometers above Earth’s surface, the density of free-floating electrons should drop by a factor of two as they rejoin atoms, the researchers say. This drop in free-floating electrons should create a disturbance that travels along Earth’s magnetic field lines. That echo of the eclipse-induced ripple in the ionosphere may be detectable as far away as the tip of South America. Previous experiments during eclipses have shown that the degree of ionization doesn’t simply die down and then ramp back up again, as you might expect. The amount of ionization you see seems to depend on how far you are from being directly in the moon’s shadow. For a project called Eclipse Mob, Nelson and her colleagues will use volunteers around the United States to gather data on how the ionosphere responds when the sun is briefly blocked from the largest land area ever. About 150 Eclipse Mob participants received a build-it-yourself kit for a small radio receiver that plugs into the headphone jack of a smartphone. Others made their own receivers after the project ran out of kits. On August 21, the volunteers will receive signals from radio transmitters and record the signal’s strength before, during and after the eclipse. Nelson isn’t sure what to expect in the data, except that it will look different depending on where the receivers are. “We’ll be looking for patterns,” she says. “I don’t know what we’re going to see.” Semeter and his colleagues will be looking for the eclipse’s effect on GPS signals. They would also like to measure the eclipse’s effects on the ionosphere using smartphones — eventually. For this year’s solar eclipse, they will observe radio signals using an existing network of GPS receivers in Missouri, and intersperse it with small, cheap GPS receivers that are similar to the kind in most phones. The eclipse will create a big cool spot, setting off waves in the atmosphere that will propagate away from the moon’s shadow. Such waves leave an imprint on the ionosphere that affects GPS signals. The team hopes to combine high-quality data with messier data to lay the groundwork for future experiments to tap into the smartphone crowd. “The ultimate vision of this project is to leverage all 2 billion smartphones around the planet,” Semeter says. Someday, everyone with a phone could be a node in a global telescope. If it works, it could be a lifesaver. Similar atmospheric waves were seen radiating from the source of the 2011 earthquake off the coast of Japan (SN Online: 6/16/11). “The earthquake did the sort of thing the eclipse is going to do,” Semeter says. Understanding how these waves form and move could potentially help predict earthquakes in the future.

Originally published Monday, March 16, 2009 at 12:00 AM Comments (0) E-mail article Print Share Your chances of seeing the gorgeous new video game "Flower" are probably slim, because it's available only on Sony's PlayStation 3 console... Your chances of seeing the gorgeous new video game "Flower" are probably slim, because it's available only on Sony's PlayStation 3 console. That's too bad, because it's fantastic — a kaleidoscopic blast of spring after a long, dark winter of zombies, aliens and mobsters in gameland. Instead of pretending to be an armed warrior, you play as a flower petal. Riding gusts of wind, you swoop through flowers, collecting a whirling tail of petals spreading color across a landscape that starts out looking like Kittitas County in the dry season. The progression is familiar to gamers. You complete tasks that unlock the next level, working toward a grand finale. It gets challenging, but "Flower" is easy to learn. There are no button sequences to remember; you navigate by tilting and twisting the motion-sensitive controller. The game, which debuted Feb. 12 as a $10 download from the PlayStation Network, suggests even small game-development shops are getting the hang of the PS3's exotic Cell processor. It's also a victory for independent game developers — at least the artistic ones concerned about the dearth of new concepts in mainstream games. But the best part of "Flower" may be that it was engineered by a 24-year-old who taught himself to program in the Shorewood High School library. John Edwards is now lead programmer at That Game Company, an artsy Santa Monica, Calif., studio started by a group of film students. Edwards studied physics at Grinnell College then moved back to his parents' house in Shoreline. That's where he was holed up in 2006 when That Game Company landed a three-game publishing deal with Sony and began looking for a programmer. The call came from a mutual friend who organizes indie game events, where Edwards had long been showing games he built with a group of friends in Shoreline who started making board and card games in elementary school. "It was just something we did — go outside, throw around the football, then come inside and make games," he said. In high school, Edwards arranged to spend a period each day teaching himself the C++ programming language, but it almost didn't happen. "The administration was very leery of letting him do any programming because they were afraid what he might do to the computers, but he proved to be a very conscientious and trustworthy kid," recalled Sue Mautz, Shorewood computer technician. Edwards learned the language and wrote a game — a shooter called "Flea X" — but what Mautz remembers most was a mind-boggling documentary he did on quantum physics. One of seven Now Edwards is among seven employees at That Game Company who work out of borrowed space in Sony's Santa Monica studio. The setup is technically an incubation. Sony provided equipment and mentors who helped Edwards and the team get up to speed on the PS3's powerful but notoriously challenging multicore Cell processor. Developers are still learning how to use the Cell more effectively, said Jared Noftle, technical director at Airtight Games in Redmond, where a group of mostly ex-Microsoft developers are building games for the PS3 and Xbox 360. "It's been a slow process. It's incrementally getting better," he said. "The next round of games — I wouldn't say in the next year but in the next two years — you're going to start seeing some of the lessons being learned and applied in good fashion." Breakthrough Edwards said the "Flower" team had a breakthrough one day while joking about the ballyhooed processor. They were struggling to capture the emotion outlined by "Flower's" creative director, Jenova Chen, who inspired the team by showing them reverential flower pictures posted on Flickr.com. Edwards saw a deep respect for nature that reminded him of growing up in the Northwest, in a house in the woods. The challenge was getting that feeling into a game. "From the technology end, what I was getting obsessed with was that feeling — green, verdancy — because that's what I grew up with," he said. "That's how it was in Shoreline — the trees and the grass and the moss. Everywhere you look it's green." The team decided to have lots of grass. Edwards spent a long time reading papers on how to render grass and trying different techniques but it wasn't working out. "As a joke, someone said, 'Well, with the power of the PS3, why don't we just render every single blade of grass,' " he recalled. That turned out to be the solution, and a way to do something unique on the PS3. "One of the reasons grass made a lot of sense was that each individual blade takes quite a bit of processing going on because we have this wind simulation going on and a lot of other magic," he said. "Flower" renders 200,000 individual blades of grass at a time, while also rendering 100,000 other objects, such as circles and glowing dots that appear above the grass. The goal was to make the landscape feel alive, "like a character, like it's responding to you, like you can play with it." "It was actually surprisingly simple," Edwards said, explaining how the load is spread to multiple "synergistic processing units" in the Cell. "We realized that grass was a very parallizable system, so the process of making it work was pretty much write the code, put it on the SPUs and boom." Broader application Although the PS3 is unique, Edwards believes he'll be able to apply his learning to other platforms. That's especially valuable as multicore processors are becoming standard on all sorts of computers, pushing programmers to learn new approaches to make the most of the hardware for all sorts of applications besides games. "We've certainly learned a lot about multicore programming, which is the future of programming, by working with the Cell," he said. "It's been a great teacher for us, a trial by fire at times, but we're coming out stronger as a result of it." The Cell's complexity has limited the number of games for the PS3, which has lagged other current generation consoles since it was launched in 2006. Through January, Sony sold 7 million PS3s, compared with 14.2 million Xbox 360s and 18.2 million Wiis, according to NPD research. Edwards acknowledged there are fewer machines that can run "Flower" but said there are benefits to having only one platform to worry about. Cutting edge Regardless of the platform, he's enthusiastic about exploring new territory. "We're seeing the first generation of people who were completely surrounded by games their entire lives. The NES generation is entering the work force; some of those kids are becoming adults who made games," he said. "So the focus on what games can do has evolved, and it's sort of trying to touch on more emotions than just anger and conquest and victory, trying to sort of examine more about just what life is like not as just an adolescent kid but as an adult, a person, a human." In other words, they're finally putting the petal to the metal. Brier Dudley's column appears Mondays. Reach him at 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com.

Deer cross the road in Utah’s Zion National Park. Noise from planes and other human activity can make it difficult for animals to find food or mates. (Rhona Wise/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) The call of the wild is getting harder to hear. Peaceful, natural sounds — bird songs, rushing rivers and rustling grass — are sometimes being drowned out by noise from people in many of America’s protected parks and wilderness areas, a new study finds. Scientists measured sound levels at 492 places, from city parks to remote federal wilderness. They calculated that in nearly two-thirds of the parks in the Lower 48 states, everywhere but Alaska and Hawaii, the noise can at times be twice the natural background level. That’s because of airplanes, cars, logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling. The noise increase can harm wildlife, making it harder for them to find food or mates, and make it harder for people to hear those natural sounds, the researchers said. Colorado State University biologist George Wittemyer said people hear only half the sounds that they would in natural silence. “They’re being drowned out,” said Wittemyer, a co-author of the study in Thursday’s journal Science. A National Park Service staffer sets up a noise-recording station to capture the impact of traffic on sound conditions in Montana’s Glacier National Park. (National Park Service via AP) In about one in five public lands, there’s a tenfold increase in noise pollution, the study found. “It’s something that’s sort of happening slowly,” Wittemyer said. Except for city parks, though, the researchers are not talking about sound levels that people would consider unusually loud. Even the tenfold increases they write about are often the equivalent of changing from the quiet of a rural area to a pretty silent library. But that difference masks a lot of sounds that are crucial, especially to birds seeking mates and animals trying to hunt or avoid being hunted, Wittemyer said. And it does make a difference for people’s peace of mind, he said. “Being able to hear the birds, the waterfalls, the animals running through the grasslands … the wind going through the grass,” Wittemyer said. “Those are really valuable and important sounds for humans to hear and help in their rejuvenation and their self-reflection.” The research team, which includes a special unit of the National Park Service, not only measured sounds across the United States, but it also used elaborate computer programs and artificial learning systems to determine what sounds were natural and what sounds were made by people. For Rachel Buxton, the study’s lead author, researching noise pollution is personal. She points to a Thanksgiving-weekend hike last year with her husband in the La Garita Wilderness in southern Colorado. “We went to escape the crowds. We went to be totally isolated and have a real wilderness experience,” Buxton recalled. “As we’re hiking, aircraft goes overhead. You’re walking along and you can hear the jet coming for ages.” But there are still places where you can get away from it all, Buxton said, highlighting Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. Read more KidsPost: As Junior Rangers, kids can help protect our national parks How did the National Park Service get started? As wolves die out, moose numbers boom

What To Expect From The Barcelona Startup Ecosystem In 2017 itnig Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 29, 2017 Both editor of Barcinno Scott Mackin and director of 4YFN and CEO of the Mobile World Congress Aleix Valls believes 2017 will be a big year for tech in Barcelona. It's a new year for the tech industry in Barcelona, and we have high expectations for the future of our founders and our startups, but we wanted to hear the opinion from two people having their finger on the pulse of the city's tech industry every day. Aleix Valls, director of Mobile World Capital and CEO of 4YFN is organizing the fourth edition of the city’s biggest startup event, 4 Years From Now, that this year will attract 20.000 people from all over the world: The biggest change in 2017 will be how the big corporates starts to interact with the startup scene. We’ll definitely see it at 4YFN, but also in general. Scott Mackin, editor of Barcinno, Barcelona’s community driven tech blog agrees with Valls: The giant corporates has awakened, and they recognize that they move too slowly, and that there’s new faster companies out there that can compliment their business. This will change the game in the years to come. The Champions League of tech hubs Both Mackin and Valls interact with Barcelona startups every single week. Valls explains how he believe that the next 4–5 years Europe will establish several hubs for technology and innovation, each for their own sector or technology. He tells itnig that the race to become a specialized tech hub in Europe has already started, and that Barcelona has positioned itself well for the e-commerce sector: The next years will be the Champions League of becoming the main tech hubs on the continent. Because of this trend, I think we’ll see more and more local startups moving away from consumer facing products, and focus on B2B business models where they’ll get revenue in from day one. Mackin says there has been many impressive B2B startups coming out of Barcelona the last year: We’ve been needing the involvement of the corporate sector in Barcelona for a while, and hopefully it will attract more talent, and also raise salaries. To mention one of the startups bringing a lot of buzz to the B2B sector right now, I have to say Travelperk, aiming at changing corporate travel. I hope we see more of these companies, bringing in revenue from day one. Desperately needs exits As Valls compares Barcelona to other European startup hubs, one of the main needs he points to, is more exits. Both London, and especially Berlin with Rocket Internet has these big tech companies both acquiring and exiting startups, and stimulates the whole tech ecosystem. We need that in Barcelona as well. Valls also underlines that he thinks Barcelona needs more PR, not only to attract tourists, but to show the world how big and vibrant the tech ecosystem really is. Mackin says that a lot of good things are happening in Barcelona right now, but there’s still a lot of unleashed potential: We’re starting to build hubs, especially with Pier 01 with over 1.000 professionals gathered under the same roof. What we need now is more events, content and socializing to create an even stronger community The biggest challenges Valls points to several things Barcelona needs to improve to foster more startups. There’s tons of positive development in Spanish startup ecosystem, but there are also challenges. Valls points to new tax regulations for business angels as something that could help attract more investment. Another thing is stock options, as you often can’t offer the best salaries in startups and stock options in the company is what keeps the talent in house for years: In Spain you tax on stock options that hasn’t been cashed out yet, and that’s terrible for startups. A good idea could be to regulate stock options in technology startups differently than in regular businesses. The 4YFN director also wants to see better VISA opportunities for entrepreneurs. Editor Mackin, who is American, says he’s grateful for the entrepreneurial VISA that already exists in Spain, but says that it should be much easier to obtain, than it is today: I think we need to learn from our European neighbors, France for instance has more incentives for startups and young companies than in Spain, and the same goes for other countries such as in the Nordics and in Germany. As the last question of the podcast, the guys were to answer the question what Barcelona based startup they saw as most promising in 2017. Valls looks to Typeform: Through MWC we invest in many startups, but if I would say a company where I’m not biased, I would say Typeform is this kind of B2B company, that will do great things in 2017. Mackin has his own favorite: I would point to Kompyte, also a B2B company with a very impressive product. They’re growing fast, and now they’ve gotten into 500 Startups as well, so I think we’ll be hearing more from them in 2017.

There's a scorpion in my suitcase! Family return from holiday in Spain to find four-inch Deathstalker in their luggage Species of scorpion is second most venomous in the world It had been inside the case in Theresa Jayes' bedroom for a month before her daughter Hollie found it Deathstalkers can become aggressive when kept in captivity The anti-venom is not widely available and stings are hard to treat A family were shocked when they returned home from a holiday to Spain and found a deadly scorpion hiding in their suitcase. Hollie Jayes, 18, found the Deathstalker scorpion - the second most venomous species in the world - crawling inside her mother’s luggage at their home in Skegness, Lincolnshire. Theresa Jayes, 43, had emptied the suitcase of her clothes and left it in her bedroom without noticing the 10cm-long (four-inch) creepy crawly inside. Venomous: The poisonous Deathstalker scorpion found in a suitcase after a family holiday to a Spanish village It was only when her travel agent daughter went to borrow her mother's suitcase for a trip to see a friend on Saturday that the creature was discovered. The yellow scorpion - which is more commonly found in Egypt - had crept inside the luggage while Mrs Jayes was on holiday in the tiny village of Santa Peta in Andalucia with her 12-year-old son David last month. Her daughter said: ' I was getting ready to go out with a friend and I needed to pack some stuff to stay at hers. 'I walked over and opened the case and just saw this thing on the top of everything in there. Roommate from hell: Holly Jayes and her mother Theresa were horrified when they found the 10cm creature, which had been hiding in their luggage for a month 'I thought it was a spider so I screamed and slammed the case shut. 'After I calmed down, me and my friend picked up a coat hanger and opened the case and we realised it was a scorpion. 'We both screamed and slammed the case shut and threw it into the bathroom, there was a lot of shouting and shaking. 'I called my dad and shouted down the phone that he needed to come home because there was a scorpion in the case. Creepy-crawly case: The Deathstalker is the second deadliest scorpion in the world and there is no anti-venom for its sting in the UK IS THE DEATHSTALKER AS DANGEROUS AS IT SOUNDS? The yellow scorpion, or Deathstalker, is highly dangerous and capable of inflicting extraordinarily painful stings. It normally would not kill an otherwise healthy adult human, but young children, the elderly and people with conditions such as heart problems or allergies are at much greater risk. A sting can cause anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction, and the venom is very resistant to drugs. The anti-venom is mainly available in Arabic countries where the scorpion is usually found. The Deathstalker is usually 3-4 inches long and could be mistaken for a toy because of its spindly legs and rubbery looking yellow or green exterior. It can be a very aggressive type of scorpion and tends to get very nervous and agitated in captivity. 'He didn’t believe me at all but I insisted. 'When him and my mum came home, we straightened out the coat hanger and nudged open the case and they saw it and jumped as well. 'My dad threw the case into the garden and for some reason my mum decided the best thing to do was call London Zoo. 'They said they couldn’t do anything, so eventually we called the RSPCA and they came and picked it up. They told us eventually it was called a Deathstalker. 'I was terrified when I opened the case, I’ve never seen a scorpion before. 'The RSPCA gave us the case back and told us to make sure it hadn’t laid any eggs in it.' Mrs Jayes, who sells window blinds, added: 'My husband was at the fish counter in Morrisons buying some mussels and he got a phone call from two girls screaming about a scorpion. 'He said to me "we can’t go home, there’s a scorpion in the house" and laughed because we thought it must be an earwig or something. 'When we got home we found my son David stood on the landing with an empty wine bottle ready to bop it on the head if needs be. 'When we saw it we were quite naive because we thought it must be some common thing, not dangerous, but it turns out it’s the second most deadly in the world and there’s no anti-venom in this country.

This comfortable office chair combines style and good posture, using an ergonomic design that adjusts to fit your body. Protect your posture effectively Adjust multiple settings to find the perfect fit Stay comfortable all year round with a breathable mesh backrest and seat Increase your productivity and comfort with the Ergolux EZ8 Ergonomic Mesh Office Chair. This stylish yet practical chair has been designed to provide superior back protection and to enhance your posture throughout the day. Made with a cool, breathable mesh seat and backrest, the chair moulds to your form each time you sit, keeping you comfortable throughout your work day. The chair has multiple adjustable settings to ensure you find the ultimate protection and support. This includes high-quality lumbar and neck supports; essential for good posture. Features: Ergonomic design Adjustable back and lumbar support – 4 height settings Adjustable arm rests – height and direction Breathable mesh Fire resistant mesh Quality gas lift mechanism BIFMA certified quality product Office chair requires some assembly.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is continuing to criticize his fellow Republicans for their filibuster of incoming CIA Director John O. Brennan over drone policy. In an interview with the Huffington Post, McCain referred to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) as "wackos." "They were elected, nobody believes that there was a corrupt election, anything else," McCain said. "But I also think that when, you know, it's always the wacko birds on right and left that get the media megaphone." Asked to clarify, McCain said he was referencing "Rand Paul, Cruz, Amash, whoever." McCain and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) took strong exception to the filibuster, saying they support the possible use of drones to prevent terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Some Republicans have privately worried that the high-profile stand, while garnering a lot of positive attention, will ultimately be bad for the party. "You know, I think he's just on the wrong side of history, and on the wrong side of this argument, really," Paul responded in a radio interview with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee Friday afternoon. He said he respected McCain's service and record, but that that experience didn't mean his colleague was always right: "I treat Sen. McCain with respect. I don't think I always get the same in return." McCain himself was unrepentant, telling Michael Medved Friday that Paul's concerns about a drone attack on U.S. civilians not engaged in violent activity were "ludicrous" and "inappropriate," as well as a waste of time. "We spent 13 hours talking about a scenario that won't happen and can't happen," McCain said. He subsequently told Fox News that he does think there should be "more congressional oversight" of the drone program, which should be brought under the Department of Defense -- but argued that Paul's filibuster was merely a distraction. Amash, who has sparred with McCain on Twitter before, replied: Sen McCain called @senrandpaul @sentedcruz & me "wacko birds." Bravo, Senator. You got us. Did you come up with that at #DinnerWithBarack? — Justin Amash (@repjustinamash) March 8, 2013 Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, on the other hand, thinks the filibuster was "completely awesome."

Meredith Scott Lynn (Days Of Our Lives) has been tapped to play famed defense attorney Leslie Abramson in Lifetime’s original movie about the Menendez brothers’ infamous double-murder case. Based on the true story, the movie explores the inner lives and motivation behind the murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez (Benito Martinez) and his wife Kitty (Courtney Love) at the hands of their sons Lyle and Erik in 1989. After a mistrial and deadlocked juries (there was one trial but two separate juries, one for each brother), the brothers were later re-tried and convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Abramson represented Erik Menendez in both trials. Meredith currently recurs as Ann Milbauer on NBC’s Days of Our Lives. She’s managed by Juliet Green. Australian actress Arielle Carver-O’Neill has booked a series regular role on the upcoming third season of Starz’s Ash Vs. Evil Dead. Season 2 of the series, which stars Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless, found Ash (Campbell) leaving his beloved Jacksonville and returning to his hometown of Elk Grove. There, he confronts Ruby (Lawless), and the former enemies must form an uneasy alliance as the town becomes the nucleus of evil. Carver-O’Neill plays Brandy, a smart middle-class American high school senior whose life is up-ended when she finds herself caught up in violent demonic events. Carver-O’Neill is best known for her starring role in Worst Year Of My Life, Again! which aired on ABC3 in Australia. She also recurred on Conspiracy 365 opposite Harrison Gilbertson and most recently recurred on House Husbands for the Nine Network. She’s repped by Industry Entertainment in the U.S. and Hennessy and Harman Management in Australia.

EXCLUSIVE: After opening to $103M internationally — the biggest opening of 2014 so far — and grossing $93M domestic stateside this weekend, it should come as no surprise that Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.‘ are already developing a sequel to the monster hit. It was confirmed to Deadline this morning that a Godzilla sequel is underway. The beast is currently stomping across international markets to take No. 1 spots in most territories. Related: BOX OFFICE: ‘Godzilla’ Monster Hit at $93M+ The picture was directed by Gareth Edwards, a young British director who grew up on Star Wars and Steven Spielberg films. Godzilla has been made into features before over its 60-year history. The first being in 1954 when the Toho character appeared to be nothing more than a man in a rubber suit, but still fascinated both Japanese and American audiences. It was also made into a film in 1998 by Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich but had no where near the opening of this current one. In 1998, the film which starred Matthew Broderick, opened to $44M and went onto gross $136.3M. Worldwide, it grossed $379M. This one could double that. Edwards has talked about what he would do with a sequel, saying he would use the same kind of restraint that he did for this one. He learned well from watching Spielberg films as the monster was only talked about for the first part of this film. And, of course, there were those reaction shots that added to the suspense. Edwards was given the chance by Legendary’s Thomas Tull who put faith in him to pull this off, having previously done Monsters which only grossed $2.6M in total. Tull has played coy in the media on the subject of a sequel, waiting for Godzilla‘s monster opening to confirm sequel plans. As Dan Fellman (WBros. head of domestic distribution) pointed out, they made more in one night (probably one late night run at 7 PM) than Edwards’ movie did in its entire run. Legendary’s Jon Jashni developed this along with Brian Rogers and Mary Parent. Max Borenstein scripted from a story by David Callaham. Alex Garcia at Legendary was instrumental in the development of this film working, closely with both the director and writer. It should be noted that there is an ongoing legal dispute over payments/credit on Godzilla winding its way through the courts with filmmakers Roy Lee, Dan Lin and Doug Davison who brought the property to Legendary. The marketing on this film was excellent, with Legendary Pictures in-house team of Emily Castel, Barnaby Legg, Matthew Marolda and Peter Stone working closely with Warner Bros. and those folks who cut the trailer and did the key art and outdoor, namely vendors Trailer Park and Ignition. The promotional spots — really thought the Fiat one was great — were overseen by Gene Garlock who worked with all the Legendary team as well. Kudos all around. Godzilla surprised everyone right out of the gate in late nights Thursday with a $9.3M haul and continued to rake in the bucks through the weekend. It is the highest IMAX opener so far this year with $14.1M (or 15%) of the domestic gross and IMAX screens brought in 51% of the international gross. So everyone wants to know: Will Mothra be in the sequel?

Evan Wells (president of Naughty Dog) was interviewed by USA Gameinformer and on this occasion spoke about the future plans of the company, confirming that at the moment the only projects under development are Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and The Last of Us Part 2. These are the words of Wells: “We don’t plan that far ahead. Making a game is pretty tough, so we’re focused on getting what we’re currently working on out the door.” “We don’t have a grand plan to continue to do this serially or to create more side stories of other characters. We’re excited about the opportunity to delve into Chloe’s story and return to a fan favorite and to get this opportunity to tell an interesting story, producing some really great set pieces and some environments we’ve been interested in exploring. It’s an opportunity to accomplish those things without any greater plan for anything else.” The President of the studio then reveals how the decision to create two internal teams has proved successful, allowing the company to work on multiple projects simultaneously: “The two team push was something back on The Last of Us Part I. We were attempting to hire and build out two fully-staffed teams, and just with the demands of development and our ambitions growing over the years and how much effort we’re putting into a single game, staffing two full teams was just impossible. What we’ve ended up with is about a team and a quarter, maybe a team and a third depending on the time of year.” Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is expected for 2017 and The Last of Us Part II is still lacking a launch window.

Full Review 135 SHARES Share Tweet Google Digg Reddit Pinterest Linkedin Skype Whatsapp Mail Print It is only the middle of October but the 2013 Game Stop Black Friday ad has already leaked. It is 12 pages long. Here are some highlights: – Skylanders sale – Reduced price Wii U games – Used Wii’s are $39.99 – 250gb Xbox 360 and PS3 bundles are $199 – Several 360 and PS3 games are only $4.99 – Xenoblade and Metroid Trilogy are dropped to $39.99 (used) – Buy2Get1 Free on any used items – 3-month Xbox Live for $15 – Diablo III $39.99 – Borderlands 2 GotY $30 – Sony All-Stars Battle $10 – Kingdom Hearts 1.5 $20 – Various Vita sales – 3DS XL Zelda LBW Bundle for $220

A Jewish man has been hounded out of his home in an Orthodox community by a campaign of hate after condemning violence by Israel in Gaza. An angry mob of up to 30 people is understood to have massed outside his home in a Jewish part of Salford, Broughton Park, during three nights of rage in Manchester. The victim was reportedly targeted after he spoke out against the violence by Israel at a public event, reported the Manchester Evening News. According to neighbours in Curzon Road, the attacks were a case of Jew-on-Jew violence. One woman said: "I have never known a situation where the Jewish community turned on each other." Police received three reports of incidents at the man's home near the end of July - when Israel and Gaza were at war in the Middle East. His home was pelted with eggs and his car vandalised with spray paint during three nights of victimisation. On another occasion, the man was beaten up by an unknown attacker apparently motivated by his critical stance on military action by Israel. The intimidation got so serious that police deployed a special video to record the scene outside the property for days. Local media said the property now had a 'to let' sign outside. Greater Manchester Police said: "Inquiries are ongoing and no arrests have been made."

In case you missed it, John Stossel dedicated the whole hour of his show last Thursday to answer the question: Who is Gary Johnson? When Stossel took Johnson’s picture around the streets on NYC, only one person knew who he was. I think this could be one reason why his poll numbers are so anemic at this point. The studio audience, mostly libertarian leaning (which is normal for Stossel), seemed to like most of what Gov. Veto had to say as he was routinely interrupted by applause. It wasn’t a complete love fest, however. Stossel brought on guests to challenge the governor from both the Left and the Right to ask him some of the same asinine questions he would have likely been asked had he been invited to the N.H. debate. Johnson also got to debate a Barack Obama impersonator (which was kind of cheesy if you ask me). I won’t go into anymore of my impressions from the program but I look forward to reading the comments section to see what some of your impressions are.

Trichophagia Specialty Psychiatry Trichophagia is the compulsive eating of hair associated with trichotillomania (hair pulling).[1] In trichophagia, people with trichotillomania also ingest the hair that they pull; in extreme (and rare) cases this can lead to a hair ball (trichobezoar).[2] The term is Greek: τριχοφαγία, from τρίχα, tricha “hair” + φάγειν, phagein “to eat”. Signs and symptoms [ edit ] Trichophagia is characterized by the person eating hair, usually their own; primarily after pulling it out. Most often, hair is pulled out and then the ends of the root bulb are eaten, or occasionally the hair shaft itself. The hair eventually collects in the gastrointestinal tract (on occasion, and depending upon severity of symptoms) causing indigestion and stomach pain.[citation needed] Ritual is a strong factor, and may involve touching the root bulb to the lips, tasting the hair, and occasionally chewing it. Sometimes those with the disorder may even eat the hair of others. In the psychiatric field it is considered a compulsive psychological disorder.[citation needed] Prognosis [ edit ] Rapunzel syndrome, an extreme form of trichobezoar in which the "tail" of the hair ball extends into the intestines, can be fatal if misdiagnosed.[2][3][4][5] In some cases, surgery may be required to remove the mass;[6] a trichobezoar weighing 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb) was removed from the stomach of an 18-year-old woman with trichophagia.[7] History [ edit ] Trichophagia is most often covered in the medical literature only "as a rare symptom of trichotillomania."[8] In the 18th century French doctor M. Baudamant described the condition in a 16-year-old boy.[8] In media [ edit ] Trichophagia is mentioned in the 1000 Ways to Die episode "Stupid Is As Stupid Dies" featuring a young woman who died from it. It is also mentioned in Grey's Anatomy season 9 episode 11 "The End Is the Beginning Is the End". References [ edit ]

Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom report, discusses the potential impact of further quantitative easing (QE2) by the U.S. Federal Reserve in a Bloomberg interview on Oct. 26 (clip below). Correction Triggered by QE2? Faber sees Democrats--"sadly enough"--would get a shot at still retaining the majority, which would mean the monetary and fiscal policy will most likely stay on its current course. Equity has done well in Sep. and Oct months; however, Faber thinks the markets are stretched in the inflation trade, and weak dollar, high commodity and precious metal prices, along with high equity valuations, all suggest a correction is overdue. Now, with QE2 being largely priced in, anything less than $1 trillion from the Fed would disappoint the markets and may trigger a correction in U.S. stocks, which could result in more quantitative easing. But the correction should provide a buying opportunity for investors leading to an up cycle, instead of another bear market. Equity Better for the Next Decade Looking at investing for the next ten years, equities, emerging economies in particular, would be a relatively better place to invest than U.S. government bonds, and cash. However, Faber advises against financial, auto, and aircraft. He's been in the high tech sector and likes Microsoft (MSFT). Precious Metals Due for Pullback Faber is currently recommending agriculture commodities, and the accumulation of precious metals. On precious metals, he thinks they are overdue for "some kind of correction" by year end, and expect the next leg up in 2011. Dollar Near An Inflection Point Faber says dollar is oversold, while in contrast, some of the foreign currencies such as Yen and Franc are overbought. So, an inflection point could be near for a short-term dollar rally which could temporarily push down asset prices. He warns investors to be very careful about shorting dollar and long assets as the trade has become quite crowded. Expect a Strong Pullback of Chinese Economy Although not quite gloom and doom, Faber does expect a "strong pullback" on the Chinese economy due to its many imbalances. According to Faber, the 0.25% interest rate hike effective Oct. 20 by the PBoC is "meaningless," because of skyrocketing property prices, and the cost of living inflation has gone up much more than the official figure. He notes food prices have seen high inflation, and because of low GDP per capita where food would account for a high percentage of total expenditure, Faber estimates that the typical consumer inflation rate in countries like China, India, and Vietnam should be around 8 to 18 percent per year. My Take on China Inflation The inflation rate in China was last reported at 3.60 percent in September of 2010, climbing at the fastest pace in two years. However, there are some hidden rampant inflation such as 50% on apparel, 20% on food, as reported by BusinessWeek. Many analysts as well as academics also question how China could have such relatively moderate inflation rate given its double-digit growth and upward pressure on wages. Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University, for example, estimates that "Inflation could well be 6 percent now for most people in China." There's also another indicator--growth of money supply--which has a proven strong correlation with inflation. China's money supply, M1 and M2, has expanded by 56 percent and 53 percent respectively over the past two years. Currently, with the various tightening measures, both measures are still growing at an annual growth rate of about 20 percent, based on Bloomberg data. Furthermore, the continuing massive rural-to-urban migration will likely keep pushing up rents and food prices, just to name two of the many categories, and wages are expected to rise around 8 percent this year. As consumer inflation is typically a lagging indicator, China may experience continuing higher CPI. That means Beijing is facing an increasingly difficult task of containing inflation, while maintaining sufficient growth to prevent a mass civil unrest. As such, there will likely be more tightening measures, which would put the markets on a few roller coaster rides in the next two years or so. Nevertheless, since Chinese policymakers are keeping a close inflation watch, and are already taking actions (which is the key), I believe China is heading towards more sustainable growth. And if China's "on a treadmill to hell" as Jim Chanos says, you can bet that the United States will be dragged along for the ride as well. Related Reading:Chanos Could Lose Big On China Bubble Bets

For a long time we've been going with the same Scariest Jobs Chart Ever, which we ran this morning. It shows how bad this "recovery" has been compared to past ones. It's really scary, but we're confident that we have a new winner. It shows the average duration of unemployment, and it's skyrocketing without any hint of slowing down. Even though we're "creating jobs" each month, this would seem to point to a large, brewing, structural unemployment problem, with a significant chunk of the population permanently out of the workforce. Historically, we've never seen anything like this, and the fact that we only had one down-blip during the recovery is stunning. But this isn't the only horrible new chart this month. We've compiled several more that will ruin your weekend.

We've mentioned a few times today that GDP went negative primarily because of the big drop in defense spending. But we didn't realize just how historic the drop was. JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli put it in context. The defense spending drop happened at the fastest pace in 40 years. As you can see in the chart below, the last time we had a faster drop was in 1972. Below is Feroli's take: Real GDP contracted at a 0.1% annual rate last quarter -- a disconcerting headline number which masked better underlying performance of the economy. The weakness in Q4 output was primarily driven by two factors: a 22% annualized drop in defense spending -- the most in forty years -- and a pullback in the pace of inventory accumulation, in part due to lingering effects of the drought. Absent these two factors the rest of the economy expanded at a relatively decent 2.5% pace last quarter. Foreign trade subtracted another 0.3%-point from growth in Q4. The two main components of private domestic demand, consumption and business fixed investment, actually accelerated last quarter, as consumers increased real outlays at a 2.2% rate and capital spending rebounded to an 8.4% growth pace. Odd as it may sound, today's number actually leaves the economy relatively well-positioned heading into the first quarter; the slowing in the pace of inventory accumulation (real inventories were only built up at a $20.0 billion rate in Q4) means that businesses will not have to pull back on production as much in Q1 if consumer spending does downshift in response to the recent tax increases. We continue to look for growth this quarter of around 1.0%, with modest upside risk due to the lean inventory situation and the decent momentum in private final demand. Here's the chart: Bloomberg, Business Insider Click here for all of the details of today's GDP release >

An anonymous American woman has told her rare story of how a ski accident left her with incredible mental abilities. She revealed to readers of xoJane.com that she has acquired savant syndrome after she suffered a fall on the slopes during a family holiday. An individual with savant syndrome has "remarkable, and sometimes spectacular, [musical, mathematical, artistic, etc] talents", David Hiles, De Montfort university lecturer, explained online . Dr J. Langdon Down, (the doctor who recognised Down's syndrome) first "properly recognised" the ability in 1887, the psychologist added. The anonymous author of the piece said that she has the "rare mental phenomenon" which has given her the ability to remember incredibly well. She explained how she can draw diagrams of "thousands of places, with thousands of rooms, [and] branches". doorways. She realised her abilities soon after the accident which happened during her final year of university. The author said when she was "halfway down the hill, at a speed that was definitely too fast, on a hill that was turning icy quick, I caught an edge and went flying". She hit something "fierce" and lost consciousness. Initially she assumed she was "OK" because she could feel her fingers and toes, still had her vision and there was no blood. She admitted she felt pain in her left arm but ignored it to continue her holiday - she kept skiing and ignored an injury which she believed would be an "easy fix" dislocation. It was only after a night of "hell", drinking alcohol to take the pain away and driving herself back to university the next day that the author went to hospital. She was diagnosed with moderate concussion, a badly dislocated shoulder and a broken collarbone, then sent home. But over the next few weeks, she said she felt the "weirdest thing" relating to her memory. "It was like I could see, though not in a literal sense because I was still having issues with vertigo, as well as this weird disconnect between what I was seeing and what my brain was processing. "I could remember everywhere, like flicking through the pages of a book. Every place I had ever been, but specifically the buildings," she added. A complex migraine led to the diagnosis of the syndrome when she returned to hospital and was "the most interesting thing the hospital's neurology department had seen in quite some time. "I was rescanned and had to suffer some very long talks about my memory, my cognitive abilities, and whether or not I could feel my toes." A year later, after meeting with several experts, she was finally diagnosed with acquired savant syndrome believed to affect 50 people worldwide. Such is the dramatic impact of the accident on her abilities, the author said she would consider a different career. "No lie though, I’m definitely, constantly mulling over the idea of quitting and going into drafting and design. At least I know I’d be good at it!"

Carl Icahn announced on his Twitter Wednesday that he’s sold his last Netflix shares. Icahn Enterprises, which owned about 1.4 million Netflix shares at the end of 2015’s first quarter, made the move after Netflix (NFLX) announced approval of a 7-for-1 stock split, according to CNBC. Per the publication: The split will come in the form of a dividend of six additional shares for each outstanding share, Netflix said. It is payable on July 14 to stock owners of record at the July 2 close. Trading at the post-split price will start July 15. CNBC reported, too, that Netflix stocks dipped slightly after Icahn’s message on the social media service. Here’s Icahn’s Twitter message announcing the decision: Sold last of our $NFLX today. Believe $AAPL currently represents same opportunity we stated NFLX offered several years ago. — Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) June 24, 2015 Netflix has expanded in recent years becoming not only a streaming service for television and film, but also a developer of new movies and TV shows.

I'm the author of three parenting books, am an outspoken advocate of public education reform, plus I have two kids of my own. So when I see children getting the short end of the stick, it gets my knickers in an uproar. And not only are children getting the short end of the stick, they're getting their backsides beaten with that stick even though they haven't done anything wrong. I swear, America seems to really hate its children these days. How else to explain all of the efforts in both federal and state government to take away so much that is essential for children's health and welfare? And whatever happened to the motto, "Children are Our Future"? A lot of people out there aren't acting like that's the case any more. Let's get specific. A substantial part of the recent legislation to reduce the federal deficit (which, by the way, was passed by both the GOP and the Dems!) directly harms children. There are the draconian cuts to school budgets, nutrition programs, early child education, and health care (though children will be helped if Obamacare survives), all essential for the futures of so many children. Talk about a country shooting its future in the foot! And then there are the indirect effects that are no less hurtful. When parents lose their jobs and their homes, who do you think suffer the most? The children, of course. Is there anything more fundamental to healthy development than having loving, attentive parents and the security and comfort of a home to grow up in? Yet, when parents lose their jobs, they are stressed, depressed, and preoccupied, generally qualities not associated with good parenting. And when they lose their homes, children experience nothing less than a major earthquake in their lives; what had been so solid under their feet has been yanked out from under them. I wouldn't be surprised if in a decade or so, there is an epidemic of PTSD among the young people who were traumatized by, first, the ongoing financial crisis, and, then the results of the recent deficit legislation. And what I find especially appalling is that many of these cuts, and the related suffering by children, could be mitigated by doing what is both fiscally prudent and morally required, namely, raising taxes on the wealthy. What kind of nation are we that puts the needs of wealthy and powerful ahead of those who are poor and powerless? I applaud Warren Buffett for declaring publicly that the wealthy should be taxed more. But I didn't see any Millionaire Man March on Washington come of it. Are the wealthy so out of touch in their gated communities, private schools, and country clubs that they have lost all sense of decency? Have our elected representatives lost all sense of who they represent and why they are in government? And have they so thoroughly prostituted themselves to special interests and their own reelections that they have lost their humanity and their values? Yes, I accept that the federal deficit is a serious problem, but no rational economist sees the answer in radical spending cuts without appropriate tax increases. From what I've read, not only is the recent legislation not going to cut the deficit down to size, but it's also going to extend and worsen an already bleak short-term economic outlook and, by extension, America's long-term economic prospects. And, again, who suffers the most from this misguided and mean-spirited policy making? The children, of course. And this is not a partisan diatribe. Those on both sides of the aisle should be ashamed of themselves. The right for putting ideology over reason and the family values about which they so often preach. And, despite my left leanings, I have more venom for the left because they're supposed to be the defenders of the weak and helpless. Yet they act as if don't believe in anything and are exhibiting the worst sort of cowardice, namely the kind where they have the power to do what's right, but lack the conviction or spine to wield that power.

SCP-3047 SCP-3047, prior to containment. Item #: SCP-3047 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3047 is to be held at Containment Hangar 4 at Site-06-3. Personnel entering SCP-3047 are to don scuba gear prior to entry. An instance of Carangoides coeruleopinnatus (coastal trevally) utilised for exploration of SCP-3047. Exploration of the range of SCP-3047's anomalous effect is to be conducted with the aid of a stenohaline fish. Fishes used for exploration of SCP-3047 may only be removed from their container (which is to be filled with water suitable for the fish's survival) when both the fish and container are inside SCP-3047. Description: SCP-3047 is an NSB Di 4 diesel-electric locomotive. SCP-3047's exterior, engine, and all items held in the locomotive are non-anomalous. The chemical composition and viscosity of air samples taken from SCP-3047's interior are identical to those of air under room temperature and pressure. SCP-3047's anomalous effect is observable when at least one organism of the kingdom Animalia is in the locomotive's interior. When a terrestrial animal is in SCP-3047's interior, it undergoes respiration impairment comparable to drowning. If not removed from SCP-3047, said organism will eventually expire. The use of scuba apparatus is capable of preventing respiration problems on the terrestrial animal's part. When a stenohaline freshwater aquatic animal is in SCP-3047's interior, it will suffer from rapid loss of water and eventually expire via dehydration. Conversely, when either a stenohaline saltwater aquatic animal or euryhaline aquatic animal (both saltwater and freshwater) are in SCP-3047's interior, they undergo normal respiration. Exploration of SCP-3047's interior reveals five regions of space within the fourth passenger car which does not possess the anomalous effects of SCP-3047. Each of these regions of space comprise of five lines, three of which converge together at one end while two of which are parallel lines. Due to the size and dimensions of said regions of space, most terrestrial animals will be unable to utilise them for respiration. SCP-3047 was discovered in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway on ██/██/2011. Following the locomotive's failure to arrive at Muruvik Station from Hell Station, law enforcement officials attempted to locate SCP-3047. One of the officials reported that all passengers and staff in the locomotive were deceased and his colleagues died after being inside SCP-3047 for several minutes. The Foundation later confiscated SCP-3047 from Norwegian authorities under the claim that it contained a biological agent, and a cover story regarding an avalanche that struck SCP-3047 was circulated on public channels. Addendum 3047-1: Among deceased passengers found in SCP-3047, an unidentified female individual found in the locomotive's fourth passenger car is shown to possess non-human anatomy, particularly the presence of gills and a layer of scales underneath the human skin. Thus, the cadaver is currently classified as AI-█████. Cause of death is identified to be a puncture wound to the head by way of a small object. Additionally, five lacerations seemingly from a five digit claw are found throughout the body. Due to the size and number of said lacerations, they are speculated to have constituted a mortal wound. Noteworthy personal effects recovered from AI-█████ include the following:

× Is mumps making a comeback in Louisiana? BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Department of Health reports that cases of mumps are popping up in Louisiana. As of Wednesday, there have been 12 cases of mumps reported by the Office of Public Health, though officials warn that this number might change daily or multiple times a day. “There has been a large outbreak of mumps cases in Arkansas and we’re starting to see cases in Louisiana now,” said Dr. Frank Welch, medical director of the state Immunization Program, Louisiana Department of Health. The first cluster of cases has been identified at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The university is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread among students and faculty. The Louisiana Department of Health has shared health alerts and education to remind health care providers, schools and universities about the signs and symptoms of mumps. “Our Louisiana culture is rich with festivals and celebrations including many scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day this weekend. Large gatherings create an environment where germs and contagious illnesses spread easily,” said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, State Health Officer, LDH. “This is a great time to remind everyone to take proper precautions to avoid getting sick.” The Louisiana Department of Health offers these reminders to avoid the spread of infection: Do not share drinks, utensils, or food. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Clean surfaces that are frequently touched (such as toys, doorknobs, tables, counters, etc.) with soap and water or with cleaning wipes regularly. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner. If you have symptoms, stay at home for 5 days after symptoms begin; avoid school, work or large group settings. Symptoms of mumps include: Fever Headache Muscle aches Tiredness Loss of appetite Swollen and tender salivary glands under the ears on one or both sides Dr. Welch added that a person who has the mumps virus may not know they are ill because it can take several weeks after the infection until the symptoms occur. “The infectious period is the time period during which an infected person can spread the disease to others. People are most infectious from one or two days before onset of symptoms until five days after they notice inflammation of their salivary glands,” Welch said.. “It is for this reason that we advise these safe sharing precautions, especially at a time when people gather in large groups.”

Racist attacks against the bilingual Armenian weekly newspaper, Agos, as well as against Armenian schools, are increasingly widespread in Turkey. On April 24 of last year—the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide—a black wreath was hung on the front door of the office of the newspaper Agos together with a sign stating that, “One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly.” Agos filed a criminal complaint against this threat. Those accused of having threatened were tried on Nov. 18. The chairman of the Nationalist Turkish Party of Istanbul, Bilal Gokceyurt, and the chairman of the “Turan Organization,” Ercan Ucar, were acquitted on the grounds that there was no evidence of an actual crime. Speaking during the hearing, the newspaper’s editor Yetvart Danzikyan said: “They had hung up a black wreath while the office was closed. We found it in the morning. Then, we saw that they released a video about their action called, ‘One night, we might come to visit you unexpectedly.’ We filed a criminal complaint. There had been similar actions when Hrant Dink was working in Agos. You know what happened to Hrant Dink. We therefore considered this action to be a threat.” Hrant Dink, the then editor-in-chief of the Agos, was murdered in 2007 in front of the office of his newspaper in Istanbul. He had received numerous death threats from Turkish nationalists and was prosecuted three times for “denigrating Turkishness” in his writings and remarks about the Armenian Genocide. The Turkey Branch of Reporters without Borders (RSF) made a statement via Twitter on the court ruling: “That the threat against the newspaper Agos goes unpunished is dire and encourages similar attacks.” Some have recently written racist graffiti on the Armenian Bomonti Mihitaryan High School. “One night, we will be in Karabagh unexpectedly,” read the graffiti, referring to Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR/Artsakh), a historically Armenian land. Armenian schools are regularly targeted by Turkish nationalist groups. Racist remarks were also written on the Surp Hac Tibrevank High School and the Kalfayan Armenian School in Istanbul in the last four months. The perpetrators have not yet been found. In one incident, the graffiti read: “Torture Armenians.” “Threats against Armenians in Turkey are of many kinds,” Murad Mihci, an Istanbul-based activist with the Armenian Nor Zartonk Association, said. “Racist graffiti on Armenian schools is only one aspect of aggression against Armenians. There is much more to it. For example, fewer people are getting married in churches in Turkey because they are scared that a terror attack could happen during the wedding ceremony. Many Armenians are planning to leave Turkey like they did in 1950’s and 1980’s in large numbers,” Mihci added. In September, Sezgin Tanrikulu, a Member of Parliament from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), submitted a motion about the racist graffiti on Armenian schools in Istanbul to the Turkish parliament, requesting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to answer it. The motion is stillunanswered. Meanwhile, the editorial board of Agos has recently published an article about verbal attacks against Armenian schools: “Such racist writings have been going on for the last year. Not only has there been no legal enforcement against the perpetrators who engage in hate-speech, but they cannot even be identified… It is not hard to guess what kind of impact such writings have on the children who go to these schools and their parents. But the perpetrators just get away with it.” Hate-speech is a widespread phenomenon in Turkey that targets all religious and ethnic minorities. Armenians are one of the main victims but, they are not the only ones. According to the latest report by “The Media Watch on Hate Speech Project,” which monitors Turkish local and national newspapers, the group most commonly exposed to hate speech in Turkey from January to April 2015 were the Armenians, with 103 news items. Jews represented the second largest group targeted with 75 items, followed by Christians (in general) as the third with 73. They were followed by hate-speech against the British (21 items), Syrians (16 items), non-Muslims (14 items), Kurds (13 items), Anatolian Greeks (12 items), and atheists (11 items). In another report, Media Watch concluded: “The fact that certain groups remain targeted for an extended period of time through great number of news items not only shows the vulnerability of these groups to hate speech, but also presents deep seated and persistent efforts to insult these groups. That these groups consist of people, beliefs, and ethnic groups living together in this part of the world enhances potential risks of hate speech and its particular role in preparing the ground for hate crimes.” According to the Armenian National Institute, during the Armenian Genocide, “Up to a million and a half Armenians perished at the hands of Ottoman and Turkish military and paramilitary forces and through atrocities intentionally inflicted to eliminate the Armenian demographic presence in Turkey… In the process, the population of historic Armenia at the eastern extremity of Anatolia was wiped off the map. With their disappearance, an ancient people which had inhabited the Armenian highlands for three thousand years lost its historic homeland and was forced into exile and a new diaspora. The surviving refugees spread around the world and eventually settled in some two dozen countries on all continents of the globe.” Despite much evidence to the contrary, Turkey still claims that the mass murders and forced deportations of Armenians in 1915 did not constitute genocide. The current population of Armenians in Turkey is about 60,000. Even when there is today a tiny Armenian minority left in the country, Turkey continually threatens and insults its Armenian population, turning a blind eye to and even encouraging more attacks against Armenians. A century after the genocide, the Armenians of Turkey are still under attack… and the attacks still go unpunished.

There's a downside to being a fictional character in heroic literature, aside from being beholden to the whims of an author or the deadly danger a character is so often subjected to. The role requires a certain remove from the rest of humanity, and warm, reciprocal relationships with others. To successfully live such a life, a character needs a heart that is cold and hard, like...well, like... Oh, I had the perfect metaphor a second ago! Ah, well. I'm sure it will come to me eventually. That's the premise of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill 's new standalone graphic novel Nemo: Heart of Ice , the latest adventure from the world of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , which is, of course, the world of Western literature, set-up as sort of a mega-mash-up shared universes akin to those of Marvel and DC Comics. Compared to the previous volumes of the series, particularly the most recently completed cycle of Century stories (which were also published by Top Shelf/Knockabout), this is a much more straightforward endeavor: It's shorter, it's more or less self-contained, it occurs (mostly) in linear, chronological fashion and its allusions, in-jokes and Easter Eggs number in the dozens rather than the hundreds. In that respect, it's something of a welcome return to -- or, at least, return toward - - the form of the first two LOEG series, and a refreshing race through genre tropes and shared memories of adventure fiction, rather than a treatise on literary theory. It also gives O'Neill the opportunity to shine in a way that the writerly, perhaps overly writerly, last few go-rounds did not. That is, while Moore is engaged in several points about the dwindling power and scope of the characters the sort of fiction he is mining was able to produce -- the story is that of the child of a Jules Verne creation versus a handful of infinitely more obscure, American creations -- while meditating on what it would mean to be a character aware to a certain extent that they are bound in a world of fiction, he also makes sure O'Neill has a ton of cool stuff to draw, with a much higher than usual cool stuff-to-page ratio. It's 1925, and the Nemo in the title isn't the Captain of previous volumes, but his daughter Janni Dakkar, who has inherited his title, crew, ship and vocation. After robbing sled-enthusiast Charles Foster Kane and Queen Ayesha from Allan Quartermain creator H. Rider Haggard's She (which was, probably not coincidentally, adapted into a silent movie that very same year), Janni decides to take her crew exploring, following an Antarctic route that drove her father mad. Kane, who didn't take kindly to being robbed, assembles his own League to sic on Janni and her crew, recruiting inventors/adventurers Tom Swift (here spelled "Swyfte"), Jack Wright and Frank Reade Jr. to hound her through her journey. Their travels take Janni and her allies through territory previously described in Edgar Allan Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym , Jules Verne's Antarctic Mystery and H. P. Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness , where they encounter a white giant, a gargantuan hole in the ground, an ice sphinx, a cleverly rendered moment of time displacement, weird giant penguins and Lovecraftian architecture, hieroglyphics and creatures. O'Neill gets to come up with his own designs for each of these characters, places and creatures, as well as some Jazz Age science fiction technology (including Kane's crew's weapons and vehicles and a new version of The Nautilus ), and other spectacular sites that are merely passed through. To the artist's credit, he visually marries all these designs -- based on such diverse source material -- perfectly, so that the dude from Citizen Kane , an anthropomorphic dog dressed like a noble from the court of Louis XVI and one of the most complicated and scary-looking renderings of a Shoggoth I've seen all fit together so neatly its tempting to forget their paths were never meant to cross. Moore's League comics have always afforded O'Neill similar opportunities, of course, but the compressed length of this one and the simplified plot -- it is literally little more than a Point A to Point B chase -- focuses the reader's attention on the art part of the equation more strongly than usual. It may lack the appellation in the title, but Nemo: Heart of Ice is just as extraordinary as the preceding volumes of Moore and O'Neill's series -- if not, in some ways, even more so.

LONG BEACH, CA—At approximately 7:05 a.m. Monday, sources at St. Mary Medical Center confirmed that local woman Deliah Zahn gave birth to a healthy black mark on the record of Bayer—manufacturer of the birth control pill Yaz—weighing in at 7 pounds, 6 ounces. “I’m pleased to report the labor and delivery went smoothly, and that both mother and [notable blemish on the efficacy of the widely trusted oral contraceptive] are getting some much-needed rest,” said Dr. Patricia Nguyen, who noted that, aside from some mild jaundice, the glaring evidence of the drug’s failure was completely healthy. “I don’t think we’ll need to keep them here for more than another 24 hours. I’m sure the new parents are excited to get back home and start spending time with their [instance falling within the less than 1 percent of cases in which the pill’s active ingredients are unable to prevent pregnancy].” At press time, sources confirmed that Zahn and her husband had decided to name the exceedingly rare—but still statistically possible—accident “Sophia.” Advertisement

My Gear Sucks Keenan Hastings Blocked Unblock Follow Following May 27, 2016 I shoot with a Sony a6000, a Sigma 19 f/2.8, and a vintage Helios 44–6. My entire kit cost me less than $500 (second hand) and technically, it sucks. My camera produces noise at ISO 800, the sigma provides little to no shallow depth of field when combined with the APS-C sensor and my Helios 44–6, though an upgrade from the 44–2, produces all my photos with an unpleasant film like look. For events, I use a Neweer flash that cost me $35 (I still think I paid too much) and my newly acquired Instax camera is the Fujifilm 210, the cheapest of it’s kind. Related: New Beginnings: Why I Switched From the Fujifilm X Series to Sony’s Alpha System Recently I was at a paid gig and someone stopped me and said: “Oh my, is that the Sony?”. I looked at them, smiled, and said: “Yes, it is”. They asked if they could hold it, and though I was working I figured, why not. I took the camera off my wrist, handed it over and they said: “It’s so light, it’s so cute… I’ve been thinking about picking one up”. I went on to explain that it is in fact light compared to most cameras, I then said that it wasn’t the full frame version, that this was actually APS-C unit. When I said that they stopped smiling, they looked at me as if I had tricked them into thinking I owned this great camera, but really I didn’t, I was then interrupted mid-sentence and my camera was handed back to me. She looked up and said, “Oh, I was thinking of getting the more professional one”. I walked away, baffled. Learn First, Buy Later On paper, this is a shitty kit. I get it. If I submitted this to Shotkit I’d get rejected… When people see my camera I assume it’s easy to pin me as a hobbyist or non-professional based on my camera’s size. But that’s the problem, we’re constantly focused on what people are thinking. We live in a world where it’s more important to look successful than be successful, where people feel more confident shooting with the typ 109 than the LX100. Example, this person described above wanted the more professional Sony unit. I’m assuming the camera she wanted was the Sony a7, maybe even the a7II… But why? What was she doing where she needed this super capable camera? I mean, one could see the use of owning a unit of this magnitude, perhaps she had plans to shoot weddings, or photograph in low light, perhaps she read about the camera’s 5-axis stabilization and thought that was a cool feature, but when you factor in the fact that she doesn’t know the difference between an a6000 and a7 body then you have to question her likely hood to know about any of this. Learn about the equipment first, this means figuring out what all the dials mean, figuring out what high ISO is, asking yourself do you need 4K, don’t just buy equipment based on the headlines. Of course, I’m a hypocrite… I didn’t follow this advice at all. I bought everything that was sent my way. This process wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t the right time… In business, they always say if it wasn’t the right time, it’s still a failure. That same kind of rules applies to photography. It’s okay to have the best gear, but it’s important to learn first. One of my first kits consisted of the Canon 60D and the Sigma 18–35. Everyone on the internet talked about how groundbreaking this lens was… So I had to have it. I kept hearing them preach about the constant f/1.8, I picked it up as soon as it released. My first picture with this lens? A portrait. This was one of my first paid sessions. I was super nervous about the shoot, but I knew I had this lens, so I was going to kill it… Yes, the lens was going to save me. I remember snapping a few pics, thinking to myself how clear it was. I don’t know what type of focus points I used back then, but her eyes were so in focus… It was beautiful. When I got home to edit the shots I noticed how blurred out her hands were, I thought this was unpleasant and I was super upset. I only wanted to blur out the background, not her herself. Unfortunately, most of the images I shot had some portion of her blurred out, it was either her face or her hands… I was forced to deliver these shots to my clients because, well, the shoot was over. I decided to sell that lens a few weeks after that… The camera too. The setup didn’t meet my professional standards… Keenan, you didn’t even know the difference between JPEG and RAW, Keenan you had no idea what to set the aspect ratio too. Keenan, you shot in auto so you couldn’t figure out why the Sigma 18–35 shot on random apertures at times. Keenan you shot a portrait at 20mm and wondered why her hands looked so big. Keenan, you thought EVERYTHING was supposed to be shot at f/1.8. Understand What You Need, Not What You Want I talk about being minimal and using cheap gear, but when things were going right in life my kit was the exact opposite. During my “prime” (okay, that wasn’t funny) my kit consisted of an X-T1, X-E1, XF 18, XF 27, XF 35, XF 56 and I consistently rented the XF 50–140… This was all just 7 months after that first session. I had no business buying all that gear, I didn’t even know what I wanted to shoot, yet I was trying to cover every focal length. Today there are a lot of lenses I want. The Sony 18–105 f/4 seems promising and obviously any of the higher end art series lenses from Sigma, the 20 and 35 topping my list. I could honestly justify reasons to pick them up as well. I do event photography, so would the Sony 18–105 make my job easier? Of course. In the past, that’s how I would ask that question. Would this make my job easier and then I’d buy anything that I could answer yes too. But today I take a different approach, I now ask the question in a different way: Can I complete this job without a new lens… If the answer is yes I steer clear. Again understand what you need, not what you want. Never Let Other Photographers Influence You The reason I’m writing this article in the first place is because lately I’ve been shooting with other people. It’s a good way to help build your brand, it’ll really be beneficial once I allow them to take and post pictures of me haha. But in my last few outings, people’s kit lenses have literally shitted on my entire kit (Canon 24–105L). If you’re not a confident person it can be hard to be around that type of environment. It’s the equivalent of pulling up in a Chevy Volt (my favorite car) while everyone else has a Telsa Model 3… How do I comfortably compete in this environment? Because I fucking love the Chevy Volt… You have to know who you are as a person. I don’t need a Telsa, because I love the car that I have… Or in this case, I don’t need a 5D MKIII with a 35 Art, because I love the kit that I have… It would simply be overkill. Other photographers that I hang around can’t influence me because we have different styles. They need sharp lenses, they shoot rooftops, they shoot in areas that require a lot of depth… Me I shoot black & white street images at f/7.1 and blurry portraits, hell having an art serious lens may make my job harder. Related: Shoot Who You Are Soooo Yeah So at the end of the day what am I really saying? I’m not telling anyone to sell their expensive gear and to go buy a shitty camera with a lens. I’m not trying to justify my kit and make myself feel better. I’m simply saying that in photography there will always be something better than what you have, even if you have the best Sony gear your curiosity will take over and have you wondering what Fujifilm or Canon’s counterparts might be like. You can’t let your yearning for something new or cool kill your creative process. If you have the money and the need for an Art or L lenses, by all means buy them, their fantastic, but if your budget is more on the consumer side, then those “lesser” lenses are equally as good if you put in the time and effort to really master them. Related: Still Think Gear Matters? My Favorite Photographs From 2015 Using Vintage Glass I often get emails from people telling me how great my work is, or how much I inspire them and man, do those emails really make my day. I also get follow up emails from people asking me what gear I used, I tend not to respond to those as I don’t think it matters… But I wonder if some would be shocked if I told that I use this shitty $500 kit… Hmmm

Roll initiative: New episodes every-other week. We play Dungeons and Dragons. We drink. We’re all comedians. Now our games are brought to you over the sorcery of the internet. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or click on the links below to download the MP3 or get more information! Do you want to see some Crit Juice? Visit our YouTube! Want to know more about the players and characters? Check that page out here! Just want the nitty-gritty RSS feed without the bells and whistles? Here it is! Season Two: Critting the Hard Way The party has closed the Hellmouth in Blazestone, but the evil was not contained! The party makes their way to Arience's realm of Thunderblood to try to mop the stadness. The XP gained is only matched by the BAC of the players.

DAILY LOGIN WICKET & HEROIC BATTLES BLASTER CANNON: Deals single target physical damage and inflicts Stagger HEAVY BLASTER VOLLEY: Deals heavy single-target damage and ignores armor INCENDIARY GRENADE: Deals area damage and inflicts Burning CONCUSSION GRENADE: Deals light damage and inflicts Daze ENDOR ESCALATION III- WICKET SHARD SHUFFLE Fulcrum Ahsoka Shards are now available in Shipments Additional gear slots have been added to Shipments (depending on Player level) Gar Saxon Imperial Super Commando Gauntlet Starfighter VERBIAGE Shard Shop = Shard Store Shard Currency = Shard Store Tokens War Tokens = Galactic War Tokens Arena Tokens = Squad Arena Tokens Guild Currency = Guild Tokens Fleet Store = Fleet Arena Store Cantina Credits = Cantina Battle Tokens PACKS Forest Ambush Pack- Wicket 1299 Crystals Available to Players Lv 20+ Forest Ambush Pack- Paploo 1299 Crystals Available to Players Lv 20+ Forest Ambush Pack- Logray 1299 Crystals Available to Players Lv 20+ Forest Ambush Ultimate Bundle Character Shards Paploo (x55) Logray (x55) Wicket (x55) Credits XP Droids Ability Mats ENVIRONMENT BUGS Art: Geonosian Character icons have been updated Art: Fixed an issue where Clone Troopers and Storm Troopers legs are too thin B2 Super Battle Droid: "Mow Down" will no longer dispel Defense Down from Grand Moff Tarkin's leader ability. Chief Chirpa: Omega level "Tribal Unity" will now call all allies to assist in a 6 team squad. Darth Nihilus: "Wound in the Force" will now correctly apply the Damage Over Time effects to the Rancor in Phases 2 and 3. Darth Vader: Damage Over Time effects from "Force Crush" will now have Evasion evaluated correctly (Physical instead of Special). First Order TIE Pilot: "Gun Down" Buff Immunity will now take effect before the damage, preventing Zeta Maul Sith units from gaining Stealth. General Kenobi: "The Negotiator" ability now grants Health Up if a Health Down debuff is dispelled General Veers: Imperial Assault Commander now grants Turn Meter when Imperial Trooper allies receive a special buff (i.e. Hera's "Backup Plan") Grand Master Yoda: "Masterstroke" will now copy the Stealth buff from enemy units. Grand Master Yoda: Updated description of "Battle Meditation" to correctly indicate that Yoda is not excluded from this ability. Grand Master Yoda: Updated description of "Battle Meditation" to correctly indicate that Stealth and Taunt are excluded from being copied. Jyn Erso: Zeta upgrade of her leader ability "Into the Fray" now heals Protection when Rebel allies receives a special buff. Luminara Unduli: "Elegant Steps" will now grant the correct Evasion bonus to Jedi and non-Jedi respectively. Shoretrooper: "Regroup" will no longer reduce Cooldown of Thrawn's Maneuver ability. Snowtrooper: "Overwhelming Assault" will no longer reduce Cooldown of Thrawn's Maneuver ability. WHAT’S AHEAD Let's journey into the latest Game Updates for 7/26/2017The daily login Character for August is Luke SkywalkerWelcome our final addition to the Ewok invasion: Wicket arrives in the Galaxy of Heroes! This powerful Ewok attacker finds his strength in numbers, granting incredible Critical Hit and Stealth synergies to Ewok squads, while also dealing more critical damage for each Ewok present. In addition, Wicket's unique, Furtive Tactics, gives Wicket a chance to take another turn, each turn.To celebrate Wickets arrival, we're introducing a brand new type of event, the Heroic Battles will allow players to fight against huge enemies and earn unique rewards in a recurring event. The first of these is The Endor Escalation Heroic Battle. This encounter pits the intrepid Ewoks against the formidable AT-ST.The AT-ST has several devastating attacks including:While this Imperial threat may look ominous, the challenge isn’t without glory. The first time the AT-ST appears it will yield rare Mods. Future appearances of the AT-ST will be a players' source to obtain Wicket shards!This challenging event starts:On the first run this weekend, this event will be locked to a forced-squad of L85 G11 Ewoks.TLDR- You will be given a Souped up Squad!)No Ewok squad is complete without the standout warrior of Bright Tree village. Join forces with Wicket and aid him in his attack against the Imperial stronghold! Earn Wicket shards as you familiarize yourself with his attacks and learn strategic tips in this four tier event!Are you ready? Because the attack commences onThe following has left the Shard ShopThe following terms are being updated in game.This pack arrives in the wake of Wicket's Marquee event. Use this Pack to level up the newest member of your Endor Forest Moon Squad!The fearless warriors of Endor's forest moon have returned, and they've brought friends! Use this pack to level up Paploo, an all-new Ewok warrior.The fearless warriors of Endor's forest moon have invaded the Store! Use this pack to level up Logray, an all-new Ewok warrior.Ensure victory by powering up new Ewok warriors Paploo, Logray, and Wicket with this Ultimate Bundle! This Bundle contains the following:A brand new environment has been added to the colorful roster of Holotable locales- The Endor Ewok Village!Familiar faces rejoin our hero as the journey continues…Go to the <<7/26/2017 Megathread>> now!

LAWRENCEVILLE (KDKA) — Maggie Negrete, 26, of Lawrenceville has nothing but praise for the way some of her neighbors reacted when she was being robbed Sunday afternoon, while walking back from the grocery store. Negrete told KDKA that a man approached her and took her wallet, while threatening to hurt him with a bottle. “I started running down the street [chasing him] screaming many expletives, I said ‘Help, he stole my wallet,’ and he kept saying, ‘Don’t make me hurt you,'” she said. Negrete’s neighbors heard the commotion and ran outside. One neighbor, whom she knew only by sight until Monday, chased the suspect down. Sean Sweeny said he and his dad drove around the neighborhood, looking for the suspect and his dad spotted the man. Sean said he then threw his knee against the suspect’s back, and put him in a headlock until police showed up moments later. Before Negrete even reached her front door with her groceries, police were there with the suspect in the back seat of their patrol car. Negrete said she couldn’t be more proud of the neighborhood where she lives. “Sean and other neighbors are like my little vigilantes, my super heroes,” she said. The suspect, 31-year-old Fred Perella of Carnegie, faces charges of robbery, and receiving stolen property. He was unable to post bond, and is jailed on $10,000 bail. RELATED LINKS More Local News More Police News

Ottawa RedBlacks quarterback Trevor Harris is expected to miss "weeks" with a bruised throwing shoulder, but the injury isn't considered season-ending, head coach Rick Campbell told TSN1200 on Monday, via CFL.ca. Harris, who leads the CFL in passing yards and touchdowns through 12 weeks, left Saturday's game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the third quarter and was spotted with his arm in a sling after the contest. Appreciate all the kind messages and people reaching out.. I'll heal up asap. we're going to get this done. I love this team! — Trevor Harris (@Trev_Harris) September 10, 2017 Drew Tate relieved Harris against the Tiger-Cats and will likely get the starting nod Sunday when the RedBlacks face the Montreal Alouettes. Ottawa rests atop the East Division standings with a 4-7-1 record.

Teacher from Stratford shielded students Victoria Soto threw herself in front of her first grade students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. She was killed in the mass shooting with twenty-six people including 20 children Photo: Instagram Source less Victoria Soto threw herself in front of her first grade students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. She was killed in the mass shooting with twenty-six people including ... more Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Teacher from Stratford shielded students 1 / 32 Back to Gallery NEWTOWN -- Sources and family members have confirmed that Victoria Leigh Soto, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was among those killed in the shooting Friday. Soto, 27, a 2003 graduate of Stratford High School, reportedly shielded her first-grade students from Adam Lanza's gunfire with her own body. According to a Facebook post being circulated by teachers, Soto was a hero. When she became aware there was a gunman in the school, she hid her first-graders in closets and cabinets, then told the shooter they were in the gym. He turned the gun on Soto, killing her, but none of her students were harmed. In a Tweet Saturday morning, Soto's sister, Carlee said, "Hug your loved ones an (sic) tell them how much you love them because you never know when you'll see them again. Do this in honor of Vicki." Carlee Soto said a candle lighting would be held at Stratford High School Saturday at 7 p.m. in honor of her sister. In a posting on a Facebook page, Vicki Soto wrote about her life. "In my free time I love to spend time with black lab, Roxie. I love spending time with my brother, sisters and cousins,' she wrote. "I love to spend time reading books on the beach soaking up the sun. I also love flamingos and the New York Yankees." Soto graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in elementary education and history and was attending Southern Connecticut State University for a master's degree in special education. Early Friday morning, Soto went to the school library to find what she called the "perfect" book for her first-graders that day, Soto's colleague, Yvonne Cech, the library media specialist, said Saturday. Cech said it was just before 9 a.m. when she helped Soto find the book, "What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?" by Steve Jenkins. The book explores amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails. "She was amazing and a wonderful teacher,'' Cech said. Soto checked the book out herself, and as she was on her way back to her class she told Cech she was expecting some parents to visit. "She loved her kids. It seemed that at the start of each year she loved them automatically,'' Cech said. Soto was close to her family, Cech said; her mother helped her shop for books and her brother helped her set up her classroom in the summer. "I saw her at the opening of a new bookstore in Newtown a couple of weeks ago with her whole, supportive family," Cech said. "She had a lovely family." Soto, who taught at the school for five years, was described by one of her deeply distraught, 10-year-old boy pupils as "really nice and funny." She was trying to shield her students and usher them into a closet when she came face-to-face with the gunman, the Daily Telegraph reported. Soto's cousin, Jim Wiltsie, said: "She put herself between the gunman and the children and that's when she was tragically shot and killed." Wiltsie told the Telegraph. "I'm just proud that Vicki had the instincts to protect her kids from harm. It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes she's a hero," he added. The post being circulated by teachers on Facebook originated with this post, accompanied by a picture: "This is Victoria Soto, and although I didn't know her, she is my hero. I don't know too much about her, but I know a lot of people who do know her and she's amazing. Victoria was a Stratford high graduate and only 27. She was killed today after she hid her first graders in closets and cabinets and told the shooter they were in the gym. He killed her and not one of her children were harmed. I have never been more proud to be from Stratford or to be a teacher. God bless Victoria, her family and friends, and all of those who were involved today in anyway. Victoria is a true hero." A friend posted on her Tumblr account a tribute to Soto: "I talked to Vicki Tuesday and she told me that she loved her 16 angels and never wanted to let them go. Today when the shooting started Vicki hid her kids in closets and when the gunman came into her room she told them the class was in gym. She was then murdered. Not one of her students were harmed. Words can not express how heartbreaking and tragic this. I will miss you dearly."

Arguing over who the greatest comic book superhero is, an argument that often takes the form of who-could-beat-up-who, remains a school yard ritual to this day. But there’s no point in arguing over who the greatest comic book supervillain is: It’s Adolf Hitler. During the Second World War, the real-world dictator appeared on more comic book covers and in more comic book stories than any of the top ten, twenty or fifty villains of that era combined. Everyone fought Hitler, the Nazis, the Axis Powers, their allies and sympathizers, and, for a time, analogues of them. Not just every superhero of the early 1940s, from the household names to obscure, forgotten heroes, but even the likes of Little Orphan Annie, Andy Panda, and Donald Duck. Sometimes that fighting was abstract, like pitching war bonds or leading paper drives, but more often than not it was in punching Hitler and his cronies in the face, kicking him in the crotch and otherwise visiting cathartic comic book violence upon his caricatured avatar. In his new book Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comics of the Second World War, Mark Fertig chronicles the greatest comic book conflict of all time, when the burgeoning American medium went to war against Hitler. His work is part art book, containing over 500 restored comic book covers from the era, many presented full-sized, and part history, containing a heavily-illustrated 43-page essay about the era that not only offers context to the medium’s boom years and patriotic politics, but also reveals details rarely if ever divulged in such histories. Whether one’s interest is in the art or the history, the characters or the creators (or any combination thereof), Take That, Adolf! offers a thorough and compelling take on how the Second World War was depicted--and partially fought--at the newsstands of the Golden Age. I recently spoke with Fertig, whose previous book for publisher Fantagraphics was Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film Noir Posters of the 1940s-1950s, about the scope of his book, the ugliness of war-era propaganda and the immortality of the pop culture Nazis. J. CALEB MOZZOCCO: In the terms of the sheer number of covers included, the one cited on the back cover is "more than 500." Just how many of the World War II-era covers does that entail? Does your work here include every example of Hitler-punching and swastika-smashing, or 90% of it, or half of it? And can you tell us a little bit about the criteria you employed when choosing what to include and what not to? I admit that when I first heard about the book, I imagine a collection of covers that mimicked 1941's Captain America Comics #1, only with different heroes delivering the blow to Hitler. MARK FERTIG: Perhaps the best way to get at the answer to these questions is to talk a bit about how the project got started. Before I decided to write this book, I tried to buy it and came up empty. I’ve nurtured life-long fascinations with comic books and the Second World War; I learned to read from comics and have been avidly collecting them ever since, and my fascination with war goes back nearly as far. As a college professor, I’ve taken groups of students to places such as the Normandy beaches, Anzio, and Monte Cassino, to Dachau and Auschwitz. Given the key role the war played in the early development of the comic business, I imagined that there would be at least a half-dozen books already out there. Some routine internet searching turned up next to nothing—just a chapter here and there in Golden Age histories that I already had on my shelf. I’d previously written a book about movie posters for Fantagraphics, so I put together a gallery of a dozen or so WWII cover images and emailed them to Gary Groth with a general outline of what I thought the book ought to be about. He responded immediately and told me to get to work on it. The only question he asked was when I thought I could have it finished. It’s great to work with a publisher who trusts. I began by trying to get a sense of just how many covers might be in play. I did countless more internet searches, then dusted off my copies of Gerber’s Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books and examined each page with a magnifying glass, building a spreadsheet of titles and issue numbers as I went. I started to believe that the list was comprehensive when it surpassed 1,250 entries, but throughout the project I continued to discover new covers. As a matter of fact, one of the best images in the book, L.B. Cole’s outrageous cover for Taffy Comics #2, was first brought to my attention by the book’s designer, Jacob Covey, well after I had submitted everything and thought my part was finished. No one can be sure exactly how many covers directly or indirectly addressed the war, but I’m convinced that at least 1,500 and possibly as many as 2,000 deal with it in one way or another. Narrowing the possibilities down to a manageable round number of 500 or so wasn’t difficult. As I collected images numerous organizing themes emerged, and these became the spine of the essay: pre-war covers, patriotic heroes, kid gangs, changing depictions of Hitler and other Axis leaders, racist images, war bond drives, funny animal books and so forth. There were so many different things happening on the covers for so many different reasons that after choosing the best examples of each I easily had a book’s worth of covers to set about restoring. In the book I describe the cover for Captain America Comics #1 as the comic book equivalent of Joe Rosenthal’s Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph. It’s just everywhere — I’ve even seen it printed on canvas and sold at Target. Along with the covers of Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27, it’s one of the most recognizable and iconic images in the history of comics. That’s why it didn’t belong on the cover of this book. My fear was that by using the Simon and Kirby cover, potential readers might assume that the book contained nothing more than familiar content. Hopefully by showcasing lesser-known or forgotten heroes like The Shield, Captain Freedom, and Uncle Sam, along with a range of iterations of Adolf himself, readers might understand that there was a lot more going on in the comic books of the war years than they previously realized. Most American comics fans will be familiar with the idea of Jewish-American comics artists, writers and editors using their medium to act out wish-fulfillment or revenge fantasies against Hitler and the Nazis, but I found your phrasing in the "Building Toward War" section interesting. You wrote that, "They began to understand that their creations might be used to warn the public about Hitler and make a dent in America's pervasive isolationism." The idea of pre-War comics warning American youth about the war in Europe seems fascinating; do you have any sense of how effective that warning was? Did the comics of 1940 and '41 convince many readers that U.S. involvement was inevitable, or desirable? It’s difficult to say to what extent pre-war comics swayed public opinion or actually convinced anyone that American involvement in the war was inevitable, in spite of how much an agenda-driven publisher such as Timely’s Martin Goodman wanted to do so, because the larger domestic zeitgeist of the late 1930s and early 1940s was already all about war. Life magazine covers from 1939 showed images of Japanese soldiers, German naval vessels, and British ack-ack gunners. The United States began drafting young men into the service in September of 1940, the Lend-Lease Act followed soon after. Naturally there was significant opposition to this rising tide of nationalism from a large segment of the public who didn’t want to see America involved in another catastrophic foreign war, including many on the political right who denounced FDR as a warmonger. It would have been easy for an ostensibly children’s medium such as comic books to simply avoid the war altogether, but given that by and large it didn’t, it’s apparent just how motivated the predominantly Jewish-American creators were in getting the word out about the threat posed by Hitler and Nazi Germany. Who knows how far they actually moved the needle? I think it’s enough to recognize how hard they were trying. I think we also tend to imagine that the comics industry was all-in from the get-go, but you note that superhero comics sort of eased in to direct engagement with Nazi Germany, using swastika-like symbols, being coy with unnamed foreign dictators and countries, or giving them pseudonyms. What accounts for that reluctance—was it political sensitivity, or the relative newness of the medium and the genre, or both? And where would you identify the turning point between drawing weird X-symbols on covers vs. swastikas? Was it the success of Captain America, or the attack on Pearl Harbor, or was it more gradual? Given the lens of history and what we now know about the Nazi regime it’s easy to assume that comic books would have jumped right in and started pounding on Germany from the get-go, but the typical superhero stories of the late 1930s featured domestic villains who instead reflected the dreary realities of life in depression era America: racketeers, slumlords, and crooked politicians. But soon enough the looming war in Europe and tensions with the Japanese replaced the Great Depression as the central preoccupation of American life, and comic book villains quickly embodied the change. And yet, despite creators’ desire to spread the word about Nazism, it wasn’t a forgone conclusion in the years and months leading up to Pearl Harbor that we would go to war with Germany, or that we would even go to war at all. This period of uncertainty led all of those pseudo swastikas, imaginary countries and dictators with names that only sounded like Hitler. Readers were gobbling up war stories, but publishers had to be cautious. What would happen if we didn’t go to war after all? In one oft-told industry anecdote, Martin Goodman swapped Hitler’s name out of a story at the eleventh hour because he somehow imagined the German dictator would take him to court. Any skittishness that publishers felt vanished in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and the war in Europe officially got going. Even if the United States never got into the actual fighting, Nazis were fair game because they were at war with our allies, Great Britain and France. Creators rushed to get swastikas onto their covers and real Nazis into their stories. MLJ’s Top Notch Comics #2 was first, followed a month later by Timely’s Marvel Mystery Comics #4. By the end of 1940 the kids of America were learning all about the Battle of Britain through their comic books, and Martin Goodman couldn’t get Captain America Comics #1 out fast enough, because by then he was terrified that Hitler would be dead before the issue reached newsstands. How difficult is it in 2017 to engage with the art collected herein? You repeatedly mention the racism prevalent in the comics at the time, not only in the depiction of demonized, dehumanized Japanese, but also of African-Americans. I imagine many modern readers will need to do a bit of mental gymnastics when it comes to decoupling the racism of many of the images from the rest of it in order to find value. The value in these comics lies in the truth they tell about the America of the war years, a truth that is sometimes overshadowed in our pop culture reverence for the American fighting man and the “greatest generation.” The racism found in the comics, movies and radio programs of the period is as ugly as it is ever-present, so it couldn’t be ignored. I guess it would have been possible to make a book about these covers and stories while minimizing the topic in the text and being extra careful about which images to include and which ones to leave out, but I would have felt like a fraud if I’d done so. And while the book is undoubtedly a celebration of the comic book’s contribution to the war effort, my goal was also to tell the whole story, warts and all. I doubt anyone would have noticed if I’d omitted something as obscure as Dell’s The Funnies #64, but it was on newsstands in 1942 and so I needed it in the book. And if I’d not mentioned Fawcett’s Steamboat, then I couldn’t tell about the schoolkids who were horrified by the way the he was depicted and actually managed to do something about it. That’s a story worth knowing, particularly because we seem to have made so little progress on race in the seven decades since the war ended. I really hope that readers don’t try to decouple the racism from the images or just look past artwork that offends, but are instead reminded how glaringly badly the country treated groups of Americans who, ironically by means of the war, proved that their work ethic, courage in battle and love of country was unsurpassed by anyone. Another thing I learned in your book that surprised me was that in 1943 the Writers' War Board started trying to influence the comics of the period, and they pushed publishers to work even harder to further dehumanize the enemy through their depictions. That would make the line between government propaganda and a more innocent, or at least diffuse, advocacy on the part of creators awfully blurry. It's also a little bizarre to think people reviewing the comics covers featuring bestial Japanese and essentially saying, "Well, this is a good start, but could you maybe make this more racist?" And yet that’s how it actually happened! The WWB was one of the big surprises of my research—I’d never heard of it before I began the project. If we take a step back and look at the First World War, many Americans believed that they had been lured into fighting by government propaganda. A generation later, FDR needed the full support of an already suspicious public, so he avoided overt propaganda in favor of a “strategy of truth,” while relying on unofficial volunteer groups like the WWB to craft and disseminate the kinds of messages that the government couldn’t. When Hitler put London under the Blitz, Americans were first in line to condemn the indiscriminate strategic bombing of civilians. But as the war ground on and on and the Allies came to believe that strategic bombing (and ultimately the atomic bomb) was needed to hasten the end of the war, Americans had to be convinced that regular Germans were as responsible as Nazis for starting the war, and that the Japanese were little more than insects. Comic books were blunt, crude, and lowbrow enough to dodge serious scrutiny or criticism. And because practically everyone in the country was reading them, the WWB saw them as an ideal propaganda tool. We talked a little about that famous Captain America cover, and I did want to ask you about the good Captain, as he's an exemplar of this era and this type of cover. As you noted, he wasn't the first patriotic superhero, and he was followed by scores of imitators. What made him different, to the degree that he's starring in movies today instead of The Shield or The Fighting Yank or whoever? I think we tend to assume it was simply that Jack Kirby and Joe Simon were just so much better at the game than so many other guys; is that it, or are there other factors that lead to Captain America's lightning-in-a-bottle quality? I’m sure there are a lot of reasons why Captain America has managed to stand the test time, but my cynical self wonders if it’s just because he’s a Marvel property. It was Captain America who reemerged in Avengers #4, not The Shield or Captain Freedom. If those characters belonged to Marvel, we might be talking about them instead. In spite of that landmark first cover, the amazing Simon and Kirby pages that followed, and the chart-busting sales figures, Cap was put on ice in 1949. Had he not been resurrected by Lee and Kirby fifteen years later, it’s possible he’d be forgotten today. Still though, that origin story makes me think otherwise. Captain America is, without a doubt, the most appealing, most wish-fulfilling character to come out of the war. I’ll quote Steranko once again, “He was the American truth. The face unrevealed behind the mask was ours.” Superheroes were around for a few years before the United States entered the war, and they are obviously still around now, but could you imagine the comic book superhero without World War II? The war obviously played a huge role in the development of the genre, but is that role inextricable? It’s definitely not inextricable. After all, only a handful of superheroes survived the war. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman managed to carry on for DC, though The Shield had been shoved off the pages of MLJ comics by Archie Andrews; Stan Lee and Martin Goodman threw in the towel on Captain America in 1949. Fawcett determined that Captain Marvel’s lagging sales no longer warranted defending their copyrights against DC, so they agreed on a settlement and got out of comics altogether. Other superheroes went into an extended hiatus; most of them simply vanished forever. Audiences were jaded by all that death, the atomic bomb, and news of what had been done to Europe’s Jews—guys in tights suddenly seemed childish and silly. The rise of the superhero comic had been so bound up in the war that once the fighting ended, nobody knew what else to do with the characters. Wartime comics were almost exclusively plot-driven, with minimal character development. Superman and Batman had once been New Deal ass-kickers; now they were uptight squares. The world at the end of the war had grown up; superheroes comics needed to grow up too, but the writers and artists who had been banging out the stories as fast as they could since the late 1930s weren’t ready to do it. So, readers moved on. Many developed a grim fascination with lurid crime and horror comics; others gravitated to Archie and romance titles; still more went for westerns. Only Donald Duck was as bulletproof as ever. For a while it looked like superheroes would be remembered as a fad of the 1940s. Then the generation that fought the war started having kids—tons of kids—and remembered how important the superhero comics had once been to them. Their nostalgia for comics, coupled with a surging youth-oriented consumer culture, reignited an interest in superheroes. Superman got his own television show. DC brought back the Flash then launched the Justice League. Marvel dove in shortly thereafter with a healthy dose of angst—you know the rest. In the end it wasn’t the superheroes who saved themselves; it was the generation who fought and won the war, and read a lot of comic books while doing it. They may have moved on from comics, but they didn’t hesitate to encourage their children to start reading them. One of the fascinating things about this era of comic book history is that it is unique; we would never again see comic book superheroes taking a side like this in any of the many wars that followed, and, in fact, it's almost impossible to imagine comic book covers going to war now like they did then. Do you have a sense of why that is? Was the nature of the war, the new-ness of the comic book, the absence of television, the mores of the 1940s? The scope of the war and the many ways in which it dominated American life is almost impossible for anyone who wasn’t alive at the time to imagine. Blackouts, air raid drills, rationing and scrap drives defined daily life from coast to coast. Women entered the workforce to replace the men who left to fight. Kids practiced identifying enemy aircraft, planted victory gardens, and donated their comic books to paper drives that they organized themselves. No family was left untouched by the fighting; every heart skipped a beat at the sight of a Western Union uniform. When General Eisenhower told the servicemen who land at Normandy that “the eyes of the world are upon you,” he wasn’t kidding. As news of the invasion reached home the country literally shut down. Banks, schools, and shops all closed as Americans went looking for the nearest radio. Movies, songs, radio shows, and comic books all focused on winning the war. That such a global conflagration could happen again in the era of nuclear weapons is unthinkable. It’s also important to recognize that comic books now occupy a markedly different place in world popular culture; comic book movies, television shows and merchandise generate billions and billions of dollars each year for conglomerates like Time Warner and Disney. It’s difficult to imagine that in this day and age they’d be allowed to take a side. In your research and work in making this book, did you encounter a particular artist you were previously unfamiliar with whose work you appreciated, or perhaps appreciated in a new light? Personally, I was only vaguely familiar with the name Alex Schomburg before reading Take That, Adolf! and now I could stare at his drawings of The Flaming Torch and Toro all day. It wasn’t any one artist that got to me --though Mac Raboy, who did wonderful Captain Marvel Jr. and Master Comics covers, has skyrocketed in my esteem)--it was the way the comics were made. Like many others, I grew up believing in the Marvel bullpen—artists hunched over drawing boards in a big room, typewriters clacking away in the background. As a kid I thought that if I could make it to New York City I could sneak into the Marvel offices and see it all happening in one place. Comics may not have been made that way, but the packagers of the Golden Age came closest. Of course most of the packaging shops had more in common with a factory assembly line or even sweatshops than they did with my imaginary Marvel bullpen, but they were where most of the greats got started. There’s something magical about being young, broke, full of dreams and there at the beginning of something. My favorite comic book story of all time is the one about how Charlie Biro, Jerry Robinson, Bob Wood, Mort Meskin and a bunch of their pals spent an entire weekend hurriedly banging out the 64 pages of Daredevil Battles Hitler, with nothing to eat and a blizzard raging outside, just so publisher Lev Gleason could get his hands on a bumper crop of newsprint. While working on Take That, Adolf! I must have stumbled across that story in a half-dozen places, and was floored by it every time. I was wondering if you had any thoughts about why Hitler and Nazis in general became such pervasive comic book villains, to the point that heroes are still fighting Nazis in various forms today, and, in a sense, never stopped fighting Nazis. There's the obvious reason, of course, with Hitler perpetrating the greatest crimes of the 20th century, but characters as diverse as Captain America and Hellboy are still fighting Nazis today, and much of Marvel's multi-media franchise is built around the fight against the crypto-Nazi organization "Hydra," which use elements of Nazi iconography. Nazis are great fodder for pop culture entertainments because they offer such narrative economy. As soon as we see that swastika we know everything we need to know—no wasted panels, paragraphs or minutes of running time. There’s also no risk of readers or viewers gaining sympathy for the Nazis and switching over to their side; it’s one less thing writers have to worry about. What’s the best thing about the movie Die Hard? It’s Hans Gruber. Alan Rickman is so good in that part you wish he’d escaped and come back for the sequel. Half the audience was cheering for him. But nobody ever watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and whispered to the guy in the next seat, “I hope the Nazis win…”

So that was an interesting start to 2017. You get two special teams touchdowns, two safeties, two onside kicks, one recovered, a touchdown celebration that starts at the 40-yard line, and 100 combined passes in a game that doesn’t involve Texas Tech or Washington State. Yeah, okay. Here are some quick thoughts on that bizarre opener. Concept Wednesday Off to a Big Start Feature Slot Fade during the week, get Slot Fade on Saturday for a big play. After that type of start, I should probably just shut it down and stay batting 1.000. In a back and forth game, Nebraska needed a big play in the fourth quarter to put some distance between itself and the Red Wolves. And that’s exactly what Tanner Lee and JD Spielman delivered on a key 3rd and 5: That route and throw show the beauty of the play. Arkansas State gets caught playing Man Free off a blitz, and Spielman creates space away from the free safety so Lee has room to fit the ball in. Pretty nice debut for both Spielman and Lee too. The latter looked a bit nervous and forced some throws to start the game, but he settled in nicely as it unfolded. And JD Spielman just crushed it. Two monster plays for the Huskers, and a nearly perfect game except for one drop down the stretch in the first half. Diaco’s Defense, Uh, Kind of Debuts In Friday’s post, we talked about paying attention to how Diaco was going to defend 11 personnel. I thought he would play Base 3-4 personnel (3 DL/4 LB/4 DB) against Arkansas State, and unfortunately I was right. We defended 89 total plays, with most of them coming while the Red Wolves were in 10 and 11 personnel. We defended 80 of them with Base personnel on the field. That’s not going to work long term when you ask linebackers to play in space against WRs. Especially like this: That’s a 250lb converted DE chasing down a WR on a Wheel route from the backfield. If you’re a fan of Lane Kiffin style celebrations, you could strike up the TD pose the moment the ball was snapped. Diaco’s defense has some personnel issues right now, though Nebraska won’t see too many opponents schematically that can or will take advantage of it. Outside of Luke Gifford, the Blackshirts don’t seem to have players at outside linebacker with the short area quickness to play in space against spread offenses. Marcus Newby struggles changing direction, and he’s the last guy you want playing overhang and trying to defend both the run and the perimeter pass. As you see above, Alex Davis certainly isn’t the answer either. So where do the Huskers get help? I’m not sure it’s coming in 2017 at linebacker unless position changes occur. I don’t think they’ll move Avery Roberts to the outside, and Guy Thomas is probably a year away in strength and conditioning before he can reliably play the run as a three-down player. In 2018, for a recruit like Micah Parsons, there is an immediate opportunity to come in and play. In any event, the far more likely scenario for 2017 is that you’ll see more Nickel and Dime personnel against the remaining spread offenses on the schedule. When Nebraska did get into Nickel and Dime , it looked much better against Arkansas State’s throw-to-run setup. What you saw on Saturday playing Base personnel against 3 and 4 WR sets probably won’t happen again all year. So before we hit the panic button on Diaco’s defense, understand that there may be very little predictive value to the Arkansas State game. But keep an eye on this against Oregon because the Ducks are an 11 personnel team as well. Nebraska will need to find a much better answer for that personnel grouping than they had last night. I suspect Diaco has it, but the jury is still out. Pullers Everywhere Nebraska’s offensive line wasn’t perfect against Arkansas State, but it did look far more athletic than it did in 2016. Again, we talked about how Nebraska consciously avoided pulling in 2016, either because they didn’t have the guard-center-guard personnel to execute it or offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf simply didn’t have enough faith in them. Thankfully, Coach Langsdorf didn’t let me down from what I’ve seen from fall camp, and he came out running his offensive line like a 4×100 relay from the start. I’ve got Nebraska calling 15 running plays in the game with pullers, and another handful featuring pulling guards in pass protection. The Huskers’ two biggest runs on the night came with pullers leading the way, including this Counter OH from Tre Bryant: In other words, this is now back to being a multiple run game that can threaten defenses in a lot of different ways, and most importantly, it prevents second level defenders from reading a single key. It also helps in the play action passing game when you can pull a guard to false key the secondary and then run an open receiver right past them. Nebraska gained 125 yards on 15 pulling plays (8.33 YPC), including rushing touchdowns from Mikale Wilbon and Tre Bryant. Pin and Pull, Counter, G Lead, you saw it all last night. They’ve still got some work to do, as a handful of times the puller’s path was disrupted by initial penetration and this led to confusion on the edge as to which defender to pick up. In fact, in the clip above you see Cole Conrad get dislodged well into the backfield. Nevertheless, the Huskers’ offensive line blocked it well enough to get things moving in a big way for this offense. Let’s hope the health remains good and we continue to see this throughout the year. Wrapping It Up It can never be all roses and sunshine in Lincoln, and nobody is going to confuse that game for anything close to perfection. Yet I think Coach Riley was on the mark when he said there were a lot of things put on film, and a lot of teaching points in it that Husker coaches will be able to work on throughout the next few weeks. And it’s unwise to draw too wide of a conclusion from the first game of the season. Given Big 10 offenses, Arkansas State’s success isn’t portable to most other teams the Huskers play. Nobody will throw the ball 68 times a game this year on Nebraska, and I strongly suspect you won’t see us play nearly as much Base personnel as well. Additionally, some of the warts we saw on Saturday won’t be as big of an issue when we get into more traditional 12 and 21 personnel offenses. And although we can’t always count on averaging 8+ yards per play on our core running concepts, for now it’s a start and something to get us rolling as the season progresses. This week, I’ll take a closer look at the defense’s struggles, and I might be able to get my preliminary thoughts up on the Ducks’ new look offense and defense heading into Saturday’s game. It’s shaping up to be a heated competition, and it’ll tell us more about Nebraska’s future in 2017 than the Red Wolves did. Share this: Twitter Facebook

For weeks, the world has been watching in rapt attention the saga of Charlie Gard—the case involving a desperately ill child fighting for survival in the face of U.K. government efforts to block treatment. Charlie’s parents have been relentless in fighting the government and seeking help abroad. Their efforts are already bearing fruit. Most recently, a judge has agreed to re-evaluate a previous decision barring the parents from seeking alternative treatment for their son in the United States. Here at home, opinions differ, but the general reaction is one of outrage that a government official could make a decision about what’s best for a child over the objections of the child’s parents, combined with a sense of relief that this is not the status quo in the United States. Unfortunately, this is not quite accurate. Under a little-known regulation referred to as “certificate of need,” a majority of states actually place unelected government officials in the position of deciding what types of medical facilities and treatment options are available in local communities. While the Charlie Gard case involves other issues as well, government intervention in care is at the heart of the dispute. And under certificate of need laws, any provider that wants to expand certain types of facilities and medical technology or purchase additional equipment must first ask the state for permission. >>> The Tragic Case of Charlie Gard Highlights the Importance of Parental Rights The original rationale for these regulations was to prevent providers from competing with one another based on the size or luxuriousness of their facilities, and then passing the cost for those bells and whistles down to their patients. Lawmakers were also assured by many community hospitals that the institutions would be able to provide more charity care to the uninsured and underinsured because those efforts would be subsidized by wealthier patients who would have no choice but to use the community hospitals. However, research has shown that states with certificate of need laws actually have more expensive health care and provide a lower quality of medical services. Additionally, many of the hospitals in certificate of need states do not provide additional charity care as a result of the laws. Instead, the laws end up protecting local monopolies by allowing providers to charge more for less service. Things have gotten so bad that under successive administrations of both parties, the Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to states urging them to end their certificate of need programs because they are anticompetitive. Most states have ignored this sound advice, sometimes with devastating consequences. One heartbreaking example includes the case of a prematurely delivered infant dying while waiting for transport because the hospital where the child was born lacked a neonatal intensive care unit, and doctors needed an incubator to stabilize the newborn. The twist, however, is that just a few years prior, the hospital’s request to build such a unit was rejected by Virginia on the basis that it was “not in the best health interests of the community”—a chilling precursor of the British Supreme Court decision that denied Charlie treatment because it determined it was “not in his best interests.” The biggest difference between the high-profile case in the U.K. and certificate of need programs in the United States is that most of us never realize that the government has denied us access to certain health care options. For lawmakers in certificate of need states tweeting about the ills of the U.K. health care system, now is the time for some serious introspection about how our own state governments are getting in the way of improved patient care. The lives of their constituents might depend on it.

Nearly 20,000 emails and more than 8,000 attachments from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have been released by WikiLeaks. Many of the emails indicate that top DNC officials were hostile to the Bernie Sanders campaign. The emails released Friday cover a period from Janury 2015 to May 2016. They purportedly come from the accounts of seven major figures in the DNC: Senior Adviser Andrew Wright, National Finance Director Jordan Kaplan, Finance Chief of Staff Scott Comer, Communications Director Luis Miranda, Northern California Finance Director Robert Stowe, Finance Director of Data & Strategic Initiatives Daniel Parrish and Finance Director Allen Zachary. Did you know our pending DNC release contians 5,245 emails about Trump 2,893 about Hillary Clinton & 2,235 on Bernie Sanders? #feelthebern — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 Many of the emails regard Bernie Sanders and dealing with the fallout of many Democrats opposing Hillary Clinton and calling the system “rigged.” Many of the emails exchanged between top DNC officials are simply the text of news articles concerning how establishment democrats can “deal” with the insurgent left-winger. Read more One email indicates that the DNC was in close contact with news websites on articles related to the Democratic Party. A Real Clear Politics article said that Bernie Sanders supporters causing a lack of unity at the Nevada Democratic Convention. “This headline needs to be changed,” said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who serves as Chairperson, or top official, of the DNC. “We need to push back... Patrice, what happened, DNC had nothing to do with this, right?” Luis Miranda wrote, referring to DNC Director of Party Affairs Patrice Taylor. Taylor responded saying that the article should be changed the event was run by the state party and the disorder “sounds like internal issues amount Sanders supporters.” “Walter, please connect with Stewart and get him to push back,” Miranda wrote. The last email ion the thread says: “Done. Article has been updated.”

Errol Morris on photography. This is the first installment in a two-part series. 1. THE QUIZ [1] The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes… — Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” NOTE: This is a follow-up to my quiz that ran in The Times, “Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?” I would like you to read my essay and then take the quiz. It doesn’t matter whether you have taken it before. If you haven’t taken it before, please take it. If you have taken it before, please take it again. Wikimedia Commons Here is my confession. My quiz wasn’t really a test of the optimism or pessimism of the reader. There was a hidden agenda. It was a test of the effect of typefaces on truth. Or to be precise, the effect on credulity. [2] Are there certain typefaces that compel a belief that the sentences they are written in are true? I picked a passage from David Deutsch’s second book, “The Beginning of Infinity” — a passage about “unprecedented safety” — and embedded it in my quiz for The Times, “Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?” If a one-kilometer asteroid had approached the Earth on a collision course at any time in human history before the early twenty-first century, it would have killed at least a substantial proportion of all humans. In that respect, as in many others, we live in an era of unprecedented safety: the twenty-first century is the first ever moment when we have known how to defend ourselves from such impacts, which occur once every 250,000 years or so. Do you think Deutsch’s claim is true? Is it true that “we live in an era of unprecedented safety”? ( ) Yes: The claim is true ( ) No: The claim is false How confident are you in your conclusion? ( ) Slightly confident ( ) Moderately confident ( ) Very confident I do not mean to dismiss the possibility of global catastrophe from asteroids or global warming or a host of other possible calamities — bioengineered viruses spreading out of control, Malthusian nightmares of overpopulation choking off life on the planet, etc. I wouldn’t want to dismiss even the most outrageous of millenarian fantasies, including Mayan predictions of the end of the world. [3] [4] But for the moment, I was interested in something somewhat less apocalyptic. We all know that we are influenced in many, many ways — many of which we remain blissfully unaware of. Could typefaces be one of them? Could the mere selection of a typeface influence us to believe one thing rather than another? Could typefaces work some unseen magic? Or malefaction? Wikimedia Commons (Greg Robson) Don’t get me wrong. The underlying truth of the sentence “Gold has an atomic number of 79” is not dependent on the typeface in which it is written. The sentence is true regardless of whether it is displayed in Helvetica, Georgia or even the much-maligned Comic Sans. But are we more inclined to believe that gold has an atomic number of 79 if we read it in Georgia, the typeface of The New York Times online, rather than in Helvetica? I asked a friend, the psychologist Marc Hauser, about experimental results on typefaces. He recommended a blog post, “The Secret Life of Fonts,” written by Phil Renaud, self-described as “a Canadian blog design and web design enthusiast, with a particular admiration for web standards and CSS innovation. Ruby on Rails, xhtml/css, ajax, and a whole lotta love.” [5] I’m nearing the end of my sixth semester of university, and things are going pretty well: I’m clearing a decent grade point average, enjoying my major, and just having wrapped up my semester’s “essay alley,” wherein all my courses require a term paper or two, and getting my results back telling me that I’m doing much better than usual. At first, I’m just relieved to be doing so well. Still, ever the skeptic, I start to wonder: what exactly am I doing differently now to be getting all these A-range paper grades all of the sudden? I haven’t drastically changed the amount of effort I’m putting into my writing. I’m probably even spending less time with them now than I did earlier in my studies, and while I guess you could argue that I’m probably just being a great example of practice making perfect, I’ve got my doubts; I even used to take courses concentrating on writing better essays, and in the time surrounding that, my grades were pretty low. Then it hits me: the only thing I’ve really changed since I’ve been getting these grades is… my essay font. Renaud had written 52 essays in total. Eleven were set in Times New Roman, 18 in Trebuchet MS, and the remaining 23 in Georgia. The Times New Roman papers earned an average grade of A-, but the Trebuchet papers could only muster a B-. And the Georgia essays? A solid A. Well, would you believe it? My essays written in Georgia did the best overall. This got me thinking as to why that might be: maybe fonts speak a lot louder than we think they do. Especially to a professor who has to wade through a collection of them; Times seems to be the norm, so it really doesn’t set off any subconscious triggers. Georgia is enough like Times to retain its academic feel, and is different enough to be something of a relief for the grader. Trebuchet seems to set off a negative trigger, maybe just based on the fact that it’s not as easy to read in print, maybe on the fact that it looks like something off a blog rather than an academic journal. Who knows… So, be mindful of your target audience when you’re marking up a document, whether it’s a university essay or a commercial website. You never know just how loudly a font speaks. But Renaud’s results are anecdotal. I wondered: is there an experiment that could decide this once and for all? Or barring that, at least throw some empirical light on the situation? Could the effect of typography on the perception of truth be assessed objectively? Benjamin Berman (who designed the Multics emulation for my Times article “Did My Brother Invent Email with Tom Van Vleck?”) created a program that changes the typeface of the David Deutsch passage. Each Times participant read the passage in one of six randomly assigned typefaces — Baskerville, Computer Modern, Georgia, Helvetica, Comic Sans and Trebuchet. The questions, ostensibly about optimism or pessimism, provided data about the influence of typefaces on our beliefs. The test consisted of comparing the responses and determining whether typeface choice influenced our perception of the truth of the passage. More than 100,000 people clicked on the page, and approximately 45,000 people took the quiz. I gave the results to David Dunning, a professor of psychology at Cornell, who helped design the questions and the overall character of the quiz. [6] Here are the results. 39 percent of the test-takers were pessimists and found fault with Deutsch; 61 percent were optimists and agreed with him. Benjamin Berman I don’t know whether such a test was done 10 or 20 years ago, and whether the outcome would be at all different, but from the 45,000 responses, it seems that a clear majority now believes that science and technology can save us from a natural catastrophe — at least, from a nasty encounter with an asteroid. (Of course, it is unclear whether there is a majority that believe that science and technology can save us from ourselves.) The quiz received more than 250 comments — many of them really funny and interesting — but almost no one caught on to the fact that people were reading the passage in different typefaces. No one except for Michael McGahan from Denver, Colo. In a reply, he wrote, If the “surprise” in the results has anything to do with Deutsch’s claim being presented in Comic Sans, consider me unsurprised. Specifically, something tells me that this is an A/B comparison experiment in which some people are presented the passage in a “formal” font, and others are presented the passage in an “informal” font, and the “optimism” results will be compared based on the presentation condition — otherwise, what is Comic Sans doing in the New York Times, which should know better? I look forward to the results! July 12, 2012 at 8:05 p.m. 2. GREAT KINDNESS I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous. — Old Proverb G.C. Mares, “The History of the Typewriter” Until about 150 years ago most people wrote out documents by hand. Since the advent of typewriters (from John J. Pratt’s pterotype in the 1860s to word processors in the 1980s), few people write by hand anymore, and we now have a vast array of typefaces available to us. It is an easy matter to change an entire document from Bembo to Garamond to Caslon to Palatino. We forget that written manuscripts, letters and journals were once unique objects often containing clues about the writer and the context of when and how they were written. Can we separate the form of the writing from its content? Usually, it’s difficult if not impossible, but let me give you an extraordinary example of a page from a journal written during the Crimean War by Captain Mark Walker. Library of Congress The page from June 9-10, 1855, is notable because the handwriting changes suddenly, halfway down the page. On first inspection it appears to be written by two different people or perhaps someone with multiple personality disorder. The writing on the top half of the page is elegant but unreadable, the writing on the bottom half, awkward but entirely legible. The reason for the abrupt change becomes clear only through reading the journal. (You can also read the accompanying transcription.) Courtesy of the Council of the National Army Museum, London [Transcription of the upper-half of the journal page, dated June 9, 1855.] …wounded Major Armstrong + Capt. Le Marchant 49 wounded + Lt Stone’s 55th killed. Today it is blowing very hard and the dust is abominable — have just heard of 4 officers [of the] 88th having been killed and Col. Sherman Major Dick-son + Capt. Foster [of the] 62nd Many I know and respect very much it is said the loss has been in the Divisions about 500 killed and wounded — besides many in the Light Division. Lord Raglan went toward the hospitals this evening visiting the wounded. There is a general order eulogizing the troops though it is whispered they did not do so well. Little I fear has been gained for a great loss — Saturday 9th. Still blowing very hard + dusty. The bateries [sic] are firing away. Yesterday the ships in harbor threw shells all day at the Mamelon, the Redan, and the Malakoff. [The Russians] fired very little. I fancy they are preserving their ammunition in case of an assault — a generous one I should think — hill down to the plains. And then the serious firing began. [Transcription of the lower-half of the journal page, dated June 10, 1855.] Sunday 10th. Last night I went on with the reserves. Just as I got into the rear approach which joins the trench on the right heavy firing commenced at the Mamelon. While I was in the act of hurrying the men up a howitzer shell dropped beside me and exploded. A piece struck me on the right elbow and smashed it. I immediately tied a large handkerchief above the fracture and walked to the rear until I met some of the 55th who put me on a stretcher and carried me to Camp. I received great kindness from my new brother officers. After some time I was carried to a hut at the General Hospital where I now am. I was put under choloroform [sic] and on coming to consciousness I found my arm taken off above the elbow during the night and today I suffered a good deal of pain. The loss I have experienced is very great but I am very thankful that my life has been spared. The hut has been filled with sympathizing visitors particularly my [old comrades of the 30th…] Compare the typed text with Captain Walker’s handwritten journal. The information is the same, but clearly, the emotional resonance of the words in the written journal is different. We feel the howitzer shell, the shattered elbow, the ripped tendons — ultimately the loss of the arm. And the writing, in a new unfamiliar hand, suggests an odd sangfroid, an equanimity in the face of horrifying adversity. [7] Lambert, Weston & Son I have often wondered about the visual element in text. Yes, we read the word “horse,” but we also see the letters, the typefaces, the shape of the word on the page. Is this not part of the meaning? It seems evident that we respond to different typefaces in different ways, but how many experiments have been done to determine the effect of typefaces on our perception of truth? Do we more readily accept (as true) sentences written in one typeface rather than another? Let’s look at the test results. 3. THE RESULTS O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance? — W.B. Yeats, “Among School Children” Michael McGahan, the author of the reply from the first part of this essay, noticed the use of Comic Sans. To him, that alone suggested that something was up. And then when I commented on the quiz on my Twitter account, Marin Balaic of Osijek, Croatia, provided the comment, “Maybe because the claim and questions are set in Comic Sans? It does have a reputation for rendering things ineffectual.” Balaic was aware that typefaces were in some way involved. But he didn’t go further than that. [8] Wikimedia Commons Balaic, like so many others, was firmly convinced — call it a feeling of typographic rectitude — that Comic Sans was “rendering things ineffectual,” or, to be fair to his argument, was at least reputed to have that effect. And Comic Sans had been recently in the news. On July 4, CERN announced its evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson — the particle predicted some 36 years earlier — in Comic Sans. Fabiola Gianotti for CERN Of the thousands of typefaces widely available, why Comic Sans? Nadine Chahine in Design Week wrote, Of the thousands of fonts available to convey such a critical milestone, the scientists plumped for the Marmite of typography — Comic Sans. Within minutes of the news’ breaking ‘Comic Sans’ was trending on Twitter, with the majority of tweeters expressing their disgust at such an important announcement being conveyed in such a way. And Patrick Kingsley in The Guardian wrote, I opened Twitter this morning to find two things trending: “Comic Sans,” and “Higgs Boson” — the former a much-hated font, and the latter something to do with science. As unlikely as it sounds, the two things were linked… “Dear @CERN,” wrote one science buff with a taste for typography. “Every time you use Comic Sans on a powerpoint, God kills Schrödinger’s cat. Please think of the cat.” Another groaned: “They used Comic Sans on the Higgs boson powerpoint presentation … Nope there is no hope for mankind.” Fortunately, I was able to get an answer. Lisa Randall, a Harvard physicist, kindly e-mailed Fabiola Gianotti on my behalf. Gianotti, the coordinator of the CERN program to find the Higgs boson, provided a compelling rationale for why she had used Comic Sans. When asked, she said, “Because I like it.” The conscious awareness of Comic Sans promotes — at least among some people — contempt and summary dismissal. But is there a typeface that promotes, engenders a belief that a sentence is true? Or at least nudges us in that direction? And indeed there is. It is Baskerville. Cambridge University Library Believe it or not, the results of this test even show a disparity between Baskerville and Georgia — two apparently similar serif typefaces. My first thought was that it must have been a sampling error. A false positive — a result with no meaning. But it is not. It may be one of the true graven facts, like the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle — fixed, immutable, necessary. (Well, maybe not. It’s a probabilistic result, after all.) Benjamin Berman collected the data, did an initial analysis, and created bar graphs to illustrate the responses to the Deutsch passage. The total number of participants used for this analysis is 45,524. These graphs provide numerical totals for each category by typeface and level of confidence. Baskerville is the second tallest bar (just below Helvetica) in terms of agreement, but it has the most people who strongly agree. Baskerville also is the second shortest (just below Computer Modern) in disagreement, but it has the fewest people who strongly disagree. Benjamin Berman Benjamin Berman Berman then forwarded the data to David Dunning at Cornell. Here is Professor Dunning’s reply: Baskerville is different from the rest. I’d call it a 1.5% advantage, in that that’s how much higher agreement is with it relative to the average of the other fonts. That advantage may seem small, but if that was a bump up in sales figures, many online companies would kill for it. The fact that font matters at all is a wonderment. Dunning coded the responses, assigning weighted values to each of the six levels of confidence. strongly agree = 5 moderately agree = 3 slightly agree = 1 slightly disagree = -1 moderately disagree = -3 strongly disagree = -5. This second pair of graphs provide weighted totals. (Take the numerical totals for Baskerville. Multiply the figure for strongly agree by 5, the figure for moderately agree by 3, the figure for slightly agree by 1, etc., and then add them together. [9] ) Suddenly, Baskerville leaps off the page. It has both the highest rate of agreement and the lowest rate of disagreement. Benjamin Berman Benjamin Berman And it turns out that Marin Balaic was right. Comic Sans has the lowest rate of agreement, and one of the highest rates of disagreement. Are the results the product of chance? To address this question, Dunning calculated the p-value for each typeface. Grossly simplified, the p-value is an assessment of the likelihood that the particular effect we are looking at (e.g., the effect produced by Baskerville) is a result of a meaningless coincidence. [10] The p-value for Baskerville is 0.0068. Dunning explained, “We never completely rule out random chance as a possible cause of any result we see. But sometimes the result is so strong that chance is just very, very unlikely. What’s strong enough? If the p-value is 0.05 or less, we typically dismiss chance as an explanation by ‘industry agreement.’ That is, we tolerate a 5 percent chance on any one comparison that what we are looking at is merely random variation.” But Dunning went even further. Since we are testing six typefaces, he noted that there “are 6, not 1, opportunities for me to be just looking at random chance. The conservative approach is to divide 5 percent by the number of tests. Thus, the p-value to dismiss chance falls to 0.0083.” Under 1 percent. I called Professor Dunning. DAVID DUNNING: Baskerville seems to be the king of fonts. What I did is I pushed and pulled at the data and threw nasty criteria at it. But it is clear in the data that Baskerville is different from the other fonts in terms of the response it is soliciting. Now, it may seem small but it is impressive. ERROL MORRIS: I am completely surprised by this. If you asked me in advance, I would have guessed Georgia or Computer Modern, something that has the imprimatur of, I don’t know, truth — truthiness. DAVID DUNNING: The word that comes to my mind is gravitas. There are some fonts that are informal — Comic Sans, obviously — and other fonts that are a little bit more tuxedo. It seems to me that Georgia is slightly tuxedo. Computer Modern is a little bit more tuxedo and Baskerville has just a tad more starchiness. I would have expected that if you are going to have a winner in Baskerville, you are also going to have a winner in Computer Modern. But we did not. And there can be a number of explanations for that. Maybe there is a slight difference in how they are rendered in PCs or laptops that causes the starch in Computer Modern to be a little softer than the starch in Baskerville. ERROL MORRIS: Starchiness? DAVID DUNNING: Fonts have different personalities. It seems to me that one thing you can say about Baskerville is that it feels more formal or looks more formal. So that may give it a push in terms of its level of authority. This is, of course, speculation. I don’t really know. What one would do with, when you get surprising results is you now have to think about, O.K., what do we do to take that back-ended speculation and support it with data? ERROL MORRIS: How surprised are you by this? DAVID DUNNING: I’m surprised that the damn thing worked at all — because you are conducting an experiment in an uncontrolled environment. Who knows what’s going on at the other end of a computer screen? Their kids could be screaming in the background for all we know. It could be two a.m. It could be two p.m. They’ve had their coffee. They haven’t had their coffee… The font is on their desktops. There is just a ton of stuff out there that could obscure any results whatsoever. That’s why I made sure to have those six levels of confidence — ERROL MORRIS: Because — DAVID DUNNING: Because, basically, there are two different types of questions you can ask in a survey. You can ask yes/no. Do you agree with X? And that is a rather crude question, because if a person says yes, you don’t know if they are saying, “Yes, God damn it,” or if they are saying, “Ye-es.” [in a meek voice]. They both qualify as yes. However, if you ask about gradations of the “yes” (or gradations of agreeing), then if there is a more subtle phenomenon going on you have a better chance of catching it. You catch people going from “Ye-es” to “Yeah.” ERROL MORRIS: And what did you learn from this data? DAVID DUNNING: That people either agree or they disagree. They are not hovering around the middle at all. They choose a decisive yes or no. But I thought that some fonts would be rejected rather than that one font was going to be the winner. ERROL MORRIS: For example, Comic Sans would be a loser. DAVID DUNNING: Exactly. ERROL MORRIS: The loser font. DAVID DUNNING: The inappropriate font. What is this font doing here? [laughter] But no. That doesn’t seem to have been the case. And that’s why you do the studies. Sometimes you get exactly what you expect. O.K., great. You publish them. The fun happens when you do a study that comes out in a way that no one would ever have expected. Now you’ve got to sit back and say, how do I explain that? Can I explain that? To be continued… [1] An illustration of the Torino Scale from “0” where the likelihood of an asteroid collision with the Earth is so low as to be effectively zero to “10” where a collision is certain, capable of causing global climatic catastrophe that may threaten the future of civilization as we know it, whether affecting land or ocean. Such events occur on average once every 100,000 years, more or less. It reminds me of a trip to Glen Canyon Dam. You can stand on the top and feel the weight, the immense power of the water trapped behind the dam. There have been constant leaks, but the engineer in charge told me not to worry, that the dam was designed to last 100 years. [2] The geneticist Eric Lander suggested the word “credulity,” which comes closer to describing what I was looking for. [3] I interviewed (in The Times) the leading authority on that issue, and he assured me that the current calculations are off and we have at least another 60 years left. [4] Robert Trembley in a comment on my quiz provided his own list. * Over 9K NEOs recently Discovered; last large one hit a century ago. We ARE due — it’s a matter of WHEN, not IF. Smaller ones plow into the earth’s atmosphere DAILY. * Haven’t had a global pandemic in a century (remember SARS, the swine flu, and bird flu — we really dodged a bullet with those.) * Terrorists flying planes into buildings. * Continual State of War for a decade. * Nukes that fit into a briefcase. * No major super-volcano eruptions in hundreds of thousands of years (we’re due). * Entertainment Business creating rootkit viruses. * Horrible light pollution. * Climate change. * Anthrax in a letter. * Awful parenting. * 799 Superfund sites. * Several recent Tsunamis. * Bride burning. * Nobody going to jail for causing the crash of 2008. … We aren’t as “safe” as Mr. Deutsch would like to believe; the human race RE-ALLY has not been seriously challenged in several hundred years. I’m usually NOT that much of a pessimist (really!), but remarks like Mr. Deutsch’s seem a bit ignorant of both history, AND recent events. [5] “The Secret Life of Fonts” [6] I interviewed Dunning for another essay for The Times, “The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong But You’ll Never Know What It Is.” [7] The campaign journal is part of the collection of the National Army Museum. It appears in the exhibition catalogue “A Most Desperate Undertaking: The British Army in the Crimea (1854-6),” edited by Alastair Massie. Massie told me that later in the journal Walker’s crabbed writing be-gan to change back into something like the unreadable cursive he wrote with his right hand. [8] Balaic is a designer and commercial filmmaker. [9] These figures may seem arbitrary, but their purpose is to give statistical weight to the differences between “strongly,” “moderately” and “slightly.” Dunning also assigned the values, 3, 2, 1, -1, -2, -3. It doesn’t change the results. [10] I will provide an appendix on the statistical results that presents David Dunning’s findings, When speaking about p-values I hesitate to use the c-word, “cause.” David Hume would object. Better to speak about random versus significant.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Jonathan Villar will be the club’s everyday shortstop when the season begins, per a report from Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There was some speculation that top prospect Orlando Arcia could open the season with the starting job, but he’ll start at Triple-A with the hope of being called up later on. Villar, 24, was acquired by the Brewers from the Astros back in November in exchange for minor leaguer Cy Sneed. Over parts of three seasons in the majors with the Astros, Villar has hit .236/.300/.353 with 10 home runs, 46 RBI, 75 runs scored, and 42 stolen bases in 658 plate appearances. Arcia, 21, was rated the 88th overall prospect in baseball heading into the 2015 season by MLB.com and earned 93 and 94 rankings, respectively, from Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America as well. At Double-A Biloxi las tseason, Arcia put up a .307/.357/.453 triple-slash line with 52 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases over 552 trips to the plate. Once Arcia is called up, Villar could slide over to second base and share the position with Scooter Gennett, assuming that Aaron Hill is traded by the August 1 deadline. Follow @Baer_Bill

Fans of Happy Valley will have to wait at least another year for news of the BBC drama’s return, because screenwriter Sally Wainwright is a little busy working on a new project. Advertisement The writer has been named this year’s recipient of the Wellcome Trust’s £30,000 screenwriting fellowship, and told an audience gathered at the prize giving that she’d be using the funding to help with her research into the life and times of Yorkshire diarist Anne Lister, The Guardian reports. “For my next project I am writing about Anne Lister, the West Yorkshire diarist, who studied human anatomy in Paris in the 1820s among many other remarkable things, so what better place to research that?” she said. Lister documented her private life in a series of intimate diaries, which Wainwright will use to craft a TV drama about her fellow Yorkshire native. The Wellcome Trust is one of the world’s largest medical research charities, so there’s little doubt that having access to their experts and archives will be very helpful indeed. “I realised that almost everything I do could benefit from what is on offer here,” Wainwright explained. “I do a lot of research; for instance with Happy Valley I spoke to a psychiatrist about what it’s like to be a psychopath. Though by the time I get round to writing the next series of Happy Valley, the year will have expired.” Wainwright’s revelation follow Happy Valley producer Nicola Shindler’s confirmation that the show would not return until at least 2018. “Sally is thinking about a story and the story she is thinking about literally needs time. Because if you look at the characters that are left, there is Sarah, there is James Norton and there is a young boy, who the minute he turns into a teenager it becomes a much more interesting story”, Shindler said. “She doesn’t know what the story is yet. She is mulling it in her head but we are thinking about giving it a bit of space in story terms.” Advertisement Wainwright’s next drama, To Walk Invisible, is about the Bronte sisters and will air on BBC1 over the Christmas period.

My post "12 facts about guns and mass shootings" included a mention of Israel and Switzerland, societies where guns are reputed to be widely available, but where gun violence is rare. Janet Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center School, has actually researched this question, and she wrote to tell me I had it wrong. We spoke shortly thereafter on the phone. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows. Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post Ezra Klein: Israel and Switzerland are often mentioned as countries that prove that high rates of gun ownership don’t necessarily lead to high rates of gun crime. In fact, I wrote that on Friday. But you say your research shows that’s not true. Janet Rosenbaum: First of all, because they don’t have high levels of gun ownership. The gun ownership in Israel and Switzerland has decreased. For instance, in Israel, they’re very limited in who is able to own a gun. There are only a few tens of thousands of legal guns in Israel, and the only people allowed to own them legally live in the settlements, do business in the settlements, or are in professions at risk of violence. Both countries require you to have a reason to have a gun. There isn’t this idea that you have a right to a gun. You need a reason. And then you need to go back to the permitting authority every six months or so to assure them the reason is still valid. The second thing is that there’s this widespread misunderstanding that Israel and Switzerland promote gun ownership. They don’t. Ten years ago, when Israel had the outbreak of violence, there was an expansion of gun ownership, but only to people above a certain rank in the military. There was no sense that having ordinary citizens [carry guns] would make anything safer. Switzerland has also been moving away from having widespread guns. The laws are done canton by canton, which is like a province. Everyone in Switzerland serves in the army, and the cantons used to let you have the guns at home. They’ve been moving to keeping the guns in depots. That means they’re not in the household, which makes sense because the literature shows us that if the gun is in the household, the risk goes up for everyone in the household. EK: As I understand it, there’s a stronger link between guns and suicide than between guns and homicide. And one of the really interesting parts of your paper is your recounting of the Israeli military’s effort to cut suicides among soldiers by restricting access to guns. JR: Yes, it’s very striking. In Israel, it used to be that all soldiers would take the guns home with them. Now they have to leave them on base. Over the years they’ve done this -- it began, I think, in 2006 -- there’s been a 60 percent decrease in suicide on weekends among IDS soldiers. And it did not correspond to an increase in weekday suicide. People think suicide is an impulse that exists and builds. This shows that doesn’t happen. The impulse to suicide is transitory. Someone with access to a gun at that moment may commit suicide, but if not, they may not. EK: I was surprised by one statistic in your article: You said that Israel rejects 40 percent of its applications for a gun, the highest rate of rejection of any country in the world. And even when you get approved, you say that “all guns must have an Interior Ministry permit and identifying mark for tracing.” That seems like it might make people think twice before they shoot from a gun they know the government can track. JR: That’s a requirement. I don’t know a great deal about the ballistics issue there. But that is in the regulations. EK: Israel and Switzerland are both small, highly cohesive countries. So some say that the difference in gun crime shows that there’s something about American culture that’s leading to these atrocities. Do you buy that? JR: Israel is not a peaceful society. If there were a lot of guns, it may be even more violent. Israeli schools are well known for having a lot of the kicking and punching type of violence. I don’t know that Switzerland has that reputation. But Israel does, and it seems that the lack of guns promotes the lack of firearm violence rather than there being some nascent tendency toward peacefulness and cohesion. That cohesion may or may not exist, but not having guns prevents guns from being used in violence. People do still commit homicide and suicide but they do it with less lethal means. The most common form of suicide in Israel is strangulation, which is striking, because it’s not that common elsewhere. EK: Not to derail the conversation, but given that most industrialized countries have quite strict gun laws, if they don’t use strangulation, what do they use? JR: I don’t know what other countries have, but I’ve read about suicide in Israel, and it’s striking there, because there’s an age discrepancy. Between ages 18 and 21, when people are in the army and have access to guns, firearm suicide is very common. At other ages, strangulation is very common. So it does seem to suggest that people commit suicide with what they have access to even in the same society.

Every day you'll find a look back at the 2014 season for one of the Indians or their key prospects, as we sort out what happened and what it means for the franchise going forward. Position: Right-handed pitcher Right-handed pitcher Age: 24 24 Acquired: Signed as an amateur free agent in 2006 Signed as an amateur free agent in 2006 Contract status: Pre-arbitration for 2015 (~$500,000) Salazar felt like a force of nature during his late-season stint with the Indians in 2013, culminating with the first two innings of the Wild Card Game, when he looked unbeatable. Things took a quick turn for the worse in the 3rd inning of that game, which serves as sort of a microcosm of Salazar's (still fairly brief) entire MLB career to date. Last offseason many Tribe fans anointed Salazar as the team's new ace, and spoke of the many years of certain dominance that lay ahead of him. When spring training arrived though, the Indians held Salazar back a bit, and so he threw fewer innings than most of the other starters, and there was talk that he wouldn't be ready to join the rotation until late Apri. Instead, he was in the rotation right from the start, though it was still fair to say he didn't seem entirely ready. Salazar allowed at least one home run in each of his first four starts, allowing a total of 16 earned runs in 18.1 innings, which is pretty ugly. He was walking a lot of batters, while also striking a ton of guys out. His second start was especially... something. He gave up 6 hits, including 2 home runs, he walked a pair, and he didn't survive the 4th inning. On the other hand, 10 of the 11 outs he recorded were strikeouts, making him the first pitcher in MLB history to accomplish such a thing. Salazar pitched a good game in San Francisco near the end of April, but in his next couple outings were spotty, and on May 15 he again gave up a pair of home runs and didn't make it to the 5th inning. At that point he was sent down to Columbus to try and work some things out. His velocity was good, but his command was lacking, and his off-speed pitches were often being tattooed. His numbers in Triple-A weren't very impressive. He gave up a home run in each of his first six starts there, and just as he put a lid on the long balls, he began walking a ton of guys. The Indians were getting desperate for starters though, and so Salazar was promoted again in late July. From that point on he made a dozen starts for the Tribe, posting a 3.50 ERA, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4 to 1, and a respectable 5 home runs allowed in 69.1 innings. On September 3 he pitched his first MLB shutout, and did it with 9 strikeouts and 0 walks against the Tigers. For the season his ERA was a mediocre 4.25, but his FIP was a solid 3.52. It wasn't the season we were hoping to see from him, but his numbers after the stint on the farm are encouraging. 2014 grade: C - 2015 Outlook Salazar looks the team's #3 starter right now, behind Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. If he can keep doing what he did in those final dozen starts, he'll be a very good #3. My guess is he's a little less productive than that, but better than his full season numbers were this year. I don't think he's going to be the world-beater many were predicting at this time a year ago, but I think we'll be very happy to have him.

"He requested to meet me in the hotel," Mr. Salem says of the supervisor. "He requested to make me to testify and if he didn't push for that, we'll be going building the bomb with a phony powder and grabbing the people who was involved in it. But since you, we didn't do that." The transcript quotes Mr. Salem as saying that he wanted to complain to F.B.I. headquarters in Washington about the bureau's failure to stop the bombing, but was dissuaded by an agent identified as John Anticev. "He said, I don't think that the New York people would like the things out of the New York office to go to Washington, D.C.," Mr. Salem said Mr. Anticev had told him. Another agent, identified as Nancy Floyd, does not dispute Mr. Salem's account, but rather, appears to agree with it, saying of the New York people: "Well, of course not, because they don't want to get their butts chewed." Mary Jo White, who, as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is prosecuting defendants in two related bombing cases, declined yesterday to comment on the Salem allegations or any other aspect of the cases. An investigator close to the case who refused to be identified further said, "We wish he would have saved the world," but called Mr. Salem's claims "figments of his imagination." The transcripts, which are stamped "draft" and compiled from 70 tapes recorded secretly during the last two years by Mr. Salem, were turned over to defense lawyers in the second bombing case by the Government on Tuesday under a judge's order barring lawyers from disseminating them. A large portion of the material was made available to The New York Times. In a letter to Federal Judge Michael B. Mukasey, Andrew C. McCarthy, an assistant United States attorney, said that he had learned of the tapes while debriefing Mr. Salem and that the informer had then voluntarily turned them over. Other Salem tapes and transcripts were being withheld pending Government review, of "security and other issues," Mr. McCarthy said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story William M. Kunstler, a defense lawyer in the case, accused the Government this week of improper delay in handing over all the material. The transcripts he had seen, he said, "were filled with all sorts of Government misconduct." But citing the judge's order, he said he could not provide any details. The transcripts do not make clear the extent to which Federal authorities knew that there was a plan to bomb the World Trade Center, merely that they knew that a bombing of some sort was being discussed. But Mr. Salem's evident anguish at not being able to thwart the trade center blast is a recurrent theme in the transcripts. In one of the first numbered tapes, Mr. Salem is quoted as telling agent Floyd: "Since the bomb went off I feel terrible. I feel bad. I feel here is people who don't listen." Ms. Floyd seems to commiserate, saying, "hey, I mean it wasn't like you didn't try and I didn't try." In an apparent reference to Mr. Salem's complaints about the supervisor, Agent Floyd adds, "You can't force people to do the right thing." 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. The investigator involved in the case who would not be quoted by name said that Mr. Salem may have been led to believe by the agents that they were blameless for any mistakes. It was a classic agent's tactic, he said, to "blame the boss for all that's bad and take credit for all the good things." In another point in the transcripts, Mr. Salem recounts a conversation he said he had with Mr. Anticev, saying, "I said, 'Guys, now you saw this bomb went off and you both know that we could avoid that.' " At another point, Mr. Salem says, "You get paid, guys, to prevent problems like this from happening." Mr. Salem talks of the plan to substitute harmless powder for explosives during another conversation with agent Floyd. In that conversation, he recalls a previous discussion with Mr. Anticev. "Do you deny," Mr. Salem says he told the other agent, "your supervisor is the main reason of bombing the World Trade Center?" Mr. Salem said Mr. Anticev did not deny it. "We was handling the case perfectly well until the supervisor came and messed it up, upside down." The transcripts reflect an effort to keep Mr. Salem as an intelligence asset who would not have to go public or testify. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A police detective working with the F.B.I., Louis Napoli, assures Mr. Salem in one conversation, "We can give you total immunity towards prosecution, towards, ah, ah, testifying." But he adds: "I still have to tell you that if you're the only game in town in regards to the information," then, he says, "you'll have to testify." Studied for Signs of Illegality The transcripts are being closely studied by lawyers looking for signs that Mr. Salem and the law enforcement officials, in their zeal to gather evidence, may have crossed the legal line into entrapment, a charge that defense counsel have already raised. But the transcripts show that the officials were concerned that by associating with bombing defendants awaiting trial in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Mr. Salem might have been accused of spying on the defense. In an undated conversation, Mr. Anticev tries to explain the perils. "We're not allowed to have any information regarding that," he tells Mr. Salem. "That could jeopardize, you know, if you go see a lawyer, ah, you know, with the defendant's friend or whatever like that, and you're talking about things we're not suppose to, ah, condone that. We're not supposed to make people do that for us. That's like sacred ground. You can't be privileged, ah, you can't know what's being talked about at all." Mr. Salem seems to bridle. "I, I, I don't think that's right," he says. The agent insists: "Yeah, but that's just a guideline. If that ever happened, ah, you can back and reported on the meeting between, ah, you know, Kunstler and Mohammad A. Elgabrown. Forget about it. I mean a lot of people ah the case can get thrown out. You understand?" The references were to the defense lawyer, Mr. Kunstler, and his client in the second bomb case, Ibrahim A. Elgabrowny. Mr. Salem seems to reluctantly agree. "They want you to have a hand in it," Mr. Anticev goes on, "but they're afraid that when you get that kind of, ah, too deep, like me, it's almost like, especially with all this legal stuff going on right now." If it were just intelligence gathering, the agent says, "You can do anything you want. You could go crazy over there and have a good time. Do you know what I mean?" The agent goes on: "But now that everything is going to court and there is legal stuff and it's just, it's just too hard. It's just too tricky, if, this, you know. And then there's the fact if you come by with the big information, he did this, ah, let me talk about this with the other people again." "O.K.," Mr. Salem says. "All right. O.K."

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Airline passengers in the U.S. Southwest this week are learning that searing heat can be as potent as snow and ice when it comes to causing flight disruptions. As temperatures climbed into the triple digits across the region, major airlines were forced to delay or cancel flights out of Las Vegas and Phoenix airports, citing difficulty in operating aircraft in extreme heat. American Airlines canceled 20 regional flights out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Tuesday after temperatures in the desert city soared toward 120 degrees F (49 C). At least four flights had been delayed at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas as of Tuesday afternoon. Aviations experts said hotter air was also thinner, causing a decline in performance for jet engines, especially during takeoffs. “As the ambient temperature at a particular airport increases, in this case into the 120s at Phoenix, the amount of lift and power in aircraft engines declines, and the result is that for any given runway length, you can carry less and less payload,” said Robert Mann, an industry analyst and former airline executive. “As temperatures get that extreme, you have to offload so much fuel or passengers or cargo that it no longer makes sense to fly,” he said. Mann said aircraft may also be hampered because the charts used in flight manuals to calculate aircraft performance are not written with such heat in mind, making it impossible for pilots to accurately calculate payloads and takeoff speeds. The flights affected by the heat tend to be on smaller regional carriers, which use planes that operate under lower maximum temperatures. “It doesn’t happen very often because these are exceedingly rare temperatures, but there’s a point at which either runway length is insufficient or the speed is so high that the tires wouldn’t be rated for it,” Mann said of those aircraft. FILE PHOTO: A view is seen of the baggage pick-up area at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 13, 2008. REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus/File Photo The heat can also create issues for ground crews, where pavement temperatures can reach more than 150 degrees F (66 C), life-threatening conditions if workers are exposed to it too long. The National Weather Service said the heat wave resulted from a high-pressure system camped over the Four Corners region where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet. The sweltering weather was expected to peak on Tuesday or Wednesday as temperatures in Death Valley and the town of Needles, California, were forecast to spike as high as 127 degrees F (53 C).

Earlier this year, we reported on the Tesla owners community in Portugal pleading for the automaker the establish a presence in the country and offer services. CEO Elon Musk heard the plea and shared our article writing simply ‘OK’: Now we learn that Tesla is following through in Portugal and company officials are meeting with the government to establish a presence in the country starting with Superchargers. As we mentioned in the previous report, there are already quite a few Tesla owners in Portugal despite the hoops they have to jump through to drive the Model S in the country. Tesla doesn’t directly offer any service in Portugal right now, meaning that the current owners had to go through Tesla in another country and then import the car in Portugal. If the car needs service, owners would have to travel through Spain, all the way to Bordeaux or Marseille in France. Now local newspapers are reporting that Tesla’s charging infrastructure manager for southern Europe, is meeting with government officials over “the possibility of extending the Supercharger network to Portugal and the establishment of a formal representation of the manufacturer in the country”, according to Negocios. Tesla is only starting to expand in Spain: The automaker opened 2 Supercharger locations in Spain last year, but also added 4 more in the past 3 months alone. Construction work started at 3 more location and they are getting a lot closer to connect Portugal with the rest of Europe. No service center or store have been announced yet, but they normally follow Superchargers closely and Tesla is looking for Spanish and Portuguese speaking sales advisors at its European headquarters in Amsterdam. Tesla plans to have all of Europe covered by its Supercharger network by the end of next year ahead of the introduction of the Model 3.

We have a full cycle of 5 common creatures to preview for you this time around: Thriving Ibex might be a goat, but it’s likely not the GOAT. Still, this card seems very solid, providing energy for various things or itself. Attacking with a 3/5 on turn 5 is no joke. I think this is the worst of the bunch? Depends on how good the energy part is. If you can use it readily for other things, I could see this being better. I really like these rats. They are pretty straightforward as a 2/3 for 1B, but that’s darn good. Slightly awkward that you have to attack with them first, but my guess is that late in the game you may have better places to put that energy anyway. Solid aggressive two-drop here. I like the idea of piling counters on this thing turn after turn. You’ll need a steady stream of energy, but if you find it, this can take over the early game. Thriving Rhino seems like the best of the bunch. This guy packs a serious punch, attacking as a 3/4 on turn 4 while leaving all of your mana and cards available. Oof.

NEWARK — Devils owner Josh Harris said Saturday he would not be scared off by the possibility of having the highest-paid coach in the NHL if that's what it takes to get the man he and new general manager Ray Shero want. "Not if it was consistent with achieving our goals," Harris said. "I kind of look at it this way: The cap will be around $70 million, plus or minus. I think people tend to under-invest in their front office. "We're financially set up to invest in the team. We're not going to do that in a way that is whimsical. We're going to want and ask for an ROI (return on investment) in terms of winning. If we are asked to make significant investments, we're going to make them when and if they make sense. But we're going to hold people accountable for those decisions." Harris, speaking to a small group of media members at Prudential Center, would not say whether the Devils plan to interview Mike Babcock, who reportedly turned down an offer from the Detroit Red Wings that would make him the highest-paid coach in the league. "I have no idea and I shouldn't comment in such specifics," Harris said. Although Harris was directly involved in the hiring of Shero as GM, he does not expect to be as hands-on in picking a new coach. "I don't expect to be out front in terms of hiring a coach. I don't think that level of involvement makes sense," Harris explained. "We'll (he and co-owner David Blitzer) be in the mix and want to be very informed about what qualities are being measured and weighed in terms of making that decision. We may want to meet the coach. I'm not sure." Harris called hiring a coach a "high priority," but stressed that it is an important decision and therefore has no definitive timetable. "That's something Lou (Lamoriello) and Ray are focused on and we're focused on. You really want to get the right coach and not the quickest person available. But it's clearly a high priority right now," Harris noted. "Really, it's about getting the right coach. "We have our existing people and we have outside people. We're going to go through a process that allows the organization to get the right coach." And if that coach costs plenty? "We're not afraid to spend if it makes sense for the franchise. We'll spend when it makes sense to spend," Harris said. Rich Chere may be reached at rchere@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ledger_NJDevils. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Ricky Thornton Ricky Thornton Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 2 now facing murder counts 1 / 3 Back to Gallery ALBANY -- Two men accused of kidnapping a high-level marijuana dealer in Albany last June are now charged with his murder. Jason Benn, 37, and Ricky Thornton, 41, face allegations they murdered Steven Jackson, 41, of Guilderland, on June 13 at 40 Parkwood St. and that Benn dumped the body "beneath the surface, where it was unlikely to be found," according to a new indictment in Albany County Court. Benn, known as "Jay," and Thornton, known as "L," were indicted on three counts each of second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. They also face burglary, first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Benn also is charged with possession of stolen property for allegedly using the victim's credit card at a supermarket on Central Avenue the day of the abduction. He was indicted on a new charge of tampering with physical evidence for allegedly dumping Jackson's body. Benn was arraigned on the indictment Monday before acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont. Thornton, who is in state prison in an unrelated case, is expected to be in court later this week. The two men were among those named in a January indictment in connection with Jackson's abduction. The new charges followed the March 31 guilty plea of Anthony Davis, 40, known as "Inf," who admitted to second-degree kidnapping in the abduction of Jackson. Davis agreed to cooperate with authorities, who have been searching for Jackson's body for several months. Davis' conviction followed the Feb. 18 guilty plea of Gino Uzzell, known as "G," who admitted to second-degree conspiracy. He also agreed to cooperate. "With no physical evidence, it's evident that the DA's office must rely on hearsay, conjecture, speculation and the word of lifelong criminals in an attempt to make their case," said Holly Trexler, the attorney for Thornton. Michael Feit, the lawyer for Benn, could not be reached. Investigators say Jackson, known as "Swag," was a drug partner of Uzzell. They believe Uzzell, Davis, Thornton and Benn targeted Jackson to rob him of drugs and money at the Parkwood Street address, a marijuana storage house. A fifth alleged conspirator -- identified as Louis Chaney, known as "UB" and "God" -- was named in the indictment but has not been charged. Jackson is believed to have been waiting for a drug shipment of 500 pounds of marijuana when he was kidnapped. Authorities say he was killed at some point during the abduction. The indictment described the series of events as follows: Thornton bought a GPS tracking device on Feb. 4, 2010. He asked Uzzell to begin surveillance on Jackson, which included placing the tracking device in a rental vehicle used by the victim. Between March and June 13, Thornton watched 40 Parkwood St. He and Davis also directed another person to watch the location. On June 11, two days before the abduction, Thornton and Davis entered the Parkwood Street apartment and directed a third person, who was not named, to make another key for the apartment. On June 13, the conspirators communicated by cellphone from 8 a.m. to just after 11 a.m. Thornton, Davis and Benn abducted Jackson at 1:07 p.m. At 2 p.m., they went to his home on Stoneridge Court in Guilderland to commit an unspecified crime. Benn later tried to use the victim's credit card at Price Chopper. Benn is being held at the Albany County jail. Thornton is in state prison. Jackson's disappearance has been investigated for links to two other Albany missing persons cases: Ashley Marie Carroll, 24, of Troy, who vanished May 6 after being dropped off by a friend in West Hill; and the disappearance of Donald Green, 50, of Schenectady, known as "Uncle Noonie," who was last seen Feb. 26, 2010, leaving the Silver Slipper bar in Albany. Schenectady police have said the circumstances of Green's disappearance are believed to be suspicious. Reach Gavin at 434-2403 or rgavin@timesunion.com

Darth Vader’s body has been banned from all future Lucasfilm-sanctioned Star Wars conventions, according to Cinematical (via The Force). David Prowse, the actor who portrayed Vader’s bionic body in the original Star Wars trilogy, posted the news to his website last month stating he learned from organizers of Celebration V, taking place August 12-15 in Orlando, FL, that he was not to be invited, nor would he be invited for all future events. After inquiring into the decision, he claims he was told by Lucasfilm representatives that he had "burnt too many bridges” between Lucasfilm and himself. Prowse has notoriously opposed George Lucas over the years for his replacement of Prowse’s voice as Vader with James Earl Jones in the original trilogy, and for the casting of Sebastian Shaw as the unmasked Vader in Return Of The Jedi. This ban is a hit to Prowse’s mini-industry of autograph sales which he has used to fund arthritis and prostate cancer charities. Nevertheless, he still has a full schedule of conventions ahead which Lucasfilm does not control. Celebration V is scheduled to feature such regular convention guests as Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Jeremy Bulloch, with a special appearance by George Lucas himself. Lucas not wanting Prowse in his sightlines will make Prowse’s absence a great disappointment to fans, whose only chance of any Darth Vader interaction at the event is at Jake Lloyd’s table.

Fear really can be contagious. And while the human fear/alarm pheromone may have something to do with it, we may also be hard-wired to react to certain smells - which may have implications for a new style of nonlethal weapon. There was a dramatic demonstration of the effect in Carancas, Peru last year on September 15th, a story I reported for Flipside magazine. A fireball hurtled out of the sky and blasted out a crater thirteen meters across. According to witnesses, the crater filled with boiling liquid and noxious gas poured out. Up to six hundred people were said to be affected, including seven police officers who had to be taken to hospital. An official said that fumes from the crater caused "nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches and stomach pain." There were many theories about what had happened, ranging from a failed missile test with toxic fuel leakage to a crashed spy satellite or volcanic activity. However, US meteorite hunter Michael Farmer soon arrived on the scene and confirmed that the crater had been caused by a meteorite. The noxious gas was the result of the impact. "The smell was caused by triolite, an iron sulphide, which when burned, smells like firecrackers," says Farmer. "Imagine a stone of about ten tons, and how smelly that would be. When it landed in the water, the heat of the impact and friction of the stone slamming into the ground, would have converted the surface triolite when mixed with water, into sulphur dioxide." *"It smelled bad," he added, "strong enough to sicken people. Pretty soon everybody is terrified and gets sick." * The combination of smell and fear is frequently the trigger for outbreaks of mass illness. A report on mass sociogenic illnessrecords several such cases: *- On 8 July 1972 in Hazelrigg, England, stench from a pigsty may have triggered an outbreak of stomach pain, nausea, faintness and headache at a schoolchildren's gala; * *- A 1994 episode of breathing problems among 23 students in a female dormitory at an Arab school in the United Arab Emirates was triggered by a ‘toxic fire’ that turned out to be the harmless smell of incense; * *- An outbreak of breathing problems in male military recruits at their California army barracks in 1988 happened when the air was laden with a heavy odour from brush fires and mistaken for toxic fumes. A chance event combined to worsen the situation. Some recruits were ‘resuscitated’ in the early confusion because medics had wrongly assessed their conditions to have been more serious. These factors created more anxiety and further breathing problems. * In each case these outbreaks of sociogenic illness – or "mass hysteria" to use the old-fashioned term still favored by some media – happened when a group of people interpreted an innocuous smell as something harmful. Now, the US Army has been researching 'malordorants' for some years, as described in the 2001 New Scientist article Stench Warfare: The US Army wants a stink to drive away enemy troops or hostile crowds and to enforce no-go zones around sensitive military installations. It could also help peacekeeping forces keep warring factions apart by creating stench-filled exclusion zones. Police forces would have plenty of uses for a stink bomb, too. It would be ideal for ending a siege without firing a shot, or for dispersing rioters or even marking the ringleaders so they can't escape into the crowd. The interesting thing about the various chemical mixtures is that although they are not harmful, they get a very strong reaction. US Government Standard Bathroom Malodor (originally formulated to test the deodorant power of cleaning products) sounds truly intolerable: *The smell is so awful that some volunteers began to scream and curse after just a few seconds' exposure. Even though the smell is quite harmless, almost everyone thought it would damage their health. * It's easy to see how using this type of malodorant as a nonlethal weapon could produce a mass hysteria reaction. A crowd that believes that they're being attacked with frightening and unknown chemical weapons is apt to panic. Outbreaks of breathing difficulties and collapsing of the sort described above are entirely possible. On the one hand, this is a bonus for the malodorant weapon, making it far more effective even though it has no actual medical effect. On the other hand, it's a big problem. How can you persuade people that it's harmless when everyone is toppling over and going into spasm? And where does liability lie when the weapon itself is innocuous but crowds scare themselves sick? I can see the legal actions from this one keeping some law firms going for years.

#302899 ( 896 /984 ) ↑Funny ↓Awful ⚐Flag <Pryoidain> What are you trying to hide? <asaph> Nothing that needs encryption, I just want it to be tricky to find. <Pryoidain> got a separate /tmp partion? <asaph> of course. <Pryoidain> unmount it then copy shit to /tmp. It will actually copy it to the /tmp directory on the ROOT filesystem. then when you remount /tmp, the directory becomes a pointer, pointing to the real one, but without removing any of your files in the physical directory on the root system. <Pryoidain> No one will ever find them unless /tmp fails to mount, or they're looking for it. even if they're looking for it, they'll see them in /tmp and assume their garbage, that is if you name them right. <asaph> ...that's fucking genius. <Pryoidain> I know, I've been hiding my porn under the /boot directory for about 3 years now. - +

With the truck parking situation how it is today, most drivers have, on occasion, had to get a little “creative” with their parking situation. Eventually, someone will take issue with where you’ve decided to get your federally mandated rest time, call the local authorities, and you’ll get saddled with a hefty fine. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a parking fine? $200? $500? How about $200,000? That’s how much driver Darrel Gashette is being fined for parking his rig in his own driveway. Gashette has lived in the same home outside of Houston, Texas since 1999. His driveway is extra wide and extra long to be able to fit the cab of his rig when he’s at home, and since he’s an OTR driver, that’s not very often. He says that he doesn’t like to park his rig in the street for other people’s safety because it’s a big black truck and someone driving at night might not see it and end up hitting it. “I don’t like it on the street for fear of other people’s safety. It’s a big black truck. Somebody could run into it at night,” he said. The neighbors were all friendly enough, so parking in his driveway was never an issue… that is until new neighbors moved in about a year ago. The neighbors complained about the truck to a city attorney, pointing to a violation of deed restrictions. Gashette noted that these were the same deed restrictions that were so outdated that they still have a section that says that “none of the lots shown shall be used, owned or occupied by any person other than the Caucasian race.” The issue was argued about for months until the city finally hit Gashette with the fine for $202,000. “Two hundred and two thousand dollars. They wanted a thousand dollars a day for every day since the complaint was filed,” Gashette said. “I’m on the road. I’m a truck driver. I probably wasn’t home 200 days last year.” The court agreed to waive the bulk of the fine after Gashette challenged them, but the court told him that, per the deed restrictions, he will not be allowed to park in his driveway any more. He instead will have to park on the street. Next Story: Anthony Foxx Officially Confirmed As New Head of DOT Source: khou

Earlier this month, California-based manufacturing company Earth Island—the production facility of vegan brand Follow Your Heart (FYH)—became the first plant-based company to receive Gold Level Zero-Waste certification from sustainability watchdog group Green Business Certification Incorporated. The company has made strides over the past 12 months to earn its certification, including diverting 97 percent of its waste from landfills through reusing materials, recycling and composting programs, and employee education about reducing waste. The company re-designed the lids of FYH’s classic product, vegan mayo Vegenaise, to reduce its packaging usage by 23,700 pounds per year. “The love and care that Earth Island puts into every Follow Your Heart product is strengthened by their commitment to sustainability,” Earth Island’s CEO Bob Goldberg said. “It is simply an important part of being a responsible business in today’s world. It’s time for every business to contribute to changing the world for the better.” Meanwhile, companies that engage in animal agriculture continue to pollute the environment. A dairy farm in Iowa was fined $160,000 this year for its repeated Clean Water Act violations which included discharging waste from 10,000 cows into tributaries that connect to the Big Sioux River. Want more of today’s best plant-based news, recipes, and lifestyle? Get our award-winning magazine! Subscribe

Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? These are irrationally partisan times. Ad Policy The truth is not going to sway Republican Party stalwarts in arguments about matters economic. To be heard, the truth must be spoken by the right right-winger. No Republican, certainly no conservative Republican, is going to accept evidence from President Obama, Democratic congressional leaders, liberal journals of opinion, mainstream economists or non-partisan budget analysts that says the policies of Republican presidents and congresses – and the Democrats that go along with them—are most responsible for the economic troubles the United States is facing. The very notion is dismissed as quickly as the scientific evidence of evolution and climate change. No conservative worth his or her tea bags is going to accept a charge that Republicans are at fault for the fiscal dysfunction of the moment from anyone short of the Gipper’s "budget guru" – the man Ronald Reagan trusted as his director of the Office of Management and Budget. Conveniently, David Stockman—the Reagan administration’s point man in the fight for supply-side economics who proved when it came to deficit issues to be even more conservative than the fortieth president – has weighed in on the matter. What does this architect of Reaganomics say? "Republicans used to believe that prosperity depended upon the regular balancing of accounts—in government, in international trade, on the ledgers of central banks and in the financial affairs of private households and businesses, too. But the new catechism, as practiced by Republican policymakers for decades now, has amounted to little more than money printing and deficit finance—vulgar Keynesianism robed in the ideological vestments of the prosperous classes," Stockman writes in a lengthy analysis of the current economic condition published Sunday in The New York Times. "This approach has not simply made a mockery of traditional party ideals. It has also led to the serial financial bubbles and Wall Street depredations that have crippled our economy. More specifically, the new policy doctrines have caused four great deformations of the national economy, and modern Republicans have turned a blind eye to each one." Where are Republicans really wrong right at the moment? In proposing to maintain the Bush-Cheney administration’s massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. "If there were such a thing as Chapter 11 for politicians, the Republican push to extend the unaffordable Bush tax cuts would amount to a bankruptcy filing. The nation’s public debt—if honestly reckoned to include municipal bonds and the $7 trillion of new deficits baked into the cake through 2015—will soon reach $18 trillion. That’s a Greece-scale 120 percent of gross domestic product, and fairly screams out for austerity and sacrifice. It is therefore unseemly for the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, to insist that the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers be spared even a three-percentage-point rate increase," writes the former conservative congressman and OMB director, who shaped the "Reagan Budgets" of the early 1980s. "More fundamentally, Mr. McConnell’s stand puts the lie to the Republican pretense that its new monetarist and supply-side doctrines are rooted in its traditional financial philosophy." Stockman’s complete article is here. But genuine conservatives and Main Street Republicans – the ones who maintain a measure of loyalty to the American experiment – might want to ruminate a bit on the Reagan aide’s closing argument that the current crop of Republicans politicians are, in particular, guilty of "hollowing out of the larger American economy." "Having lived beyond our means for decades by borrowing heavily from abroad, we have steadily sent jobs and production offshore. In the past decade, the number of high-value jobs in goods production and in service categories like trade, transportation, information technology and the professions has shrunk by 12 percent, to 68 million from 77 million. The only reason we have not experienced a severe reduction in nonfarm payrolls since 2000 is that there has been a gain in low-paying, often part-time positions in places like bars, hotels and nursing homes," writes Stockman. "It is not surprising, then, that during the last bubble (from 2002 to 2006) the top 1 percent of Americans—paid mainly from the Wall Street casino—received two-thirds of the gain in national income, while the bottom 90 percent—mainly dependent on Main Street’s shrinking economy—got only 12 percent. This growing wealth gap is not the market’s fault. It’s the decaying fruit of bad economic policy." The man Ronald Reagan trusted with regard to economic issues concludes that: "The day of national reckoning has arrived. We will not have a conventional business recovery now, but rather a long hangover of debt liquidation and downsizing—as suggested by last week’s news that the national economy grew at an anemic annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter. Under these circumstances, it’s a pity that the modern Republican Party offers the American people an irrelevant platform of recycled Keynesianism when the old approach—balanced budgets, sound money and financial discipline—is needed more than ever."

Narrative is rarely any fun without mystery. You can get mystery in a lot of ways. In a creative writing class my senior year at Butler, my teacher Susan Neville passed a story around the room. I don’t remember what the story was. I think it was about two people in a car. I think they were young people. Susan pointed out that though the characters were taking turns speaking, neither one was responding to what the other person had to say. She said that if you listened to the way people really speak to each other, this turned out to be mostly true. We don’t listen: we wait for our turn to speak. What she didn’t point out was that this stood in stark contrast to the way college students tend to write, wherein a pair of extremely attentive conversationalists trade ideas and information in the collaborative pursuit of synthesis, consensus, etc. What she also didn’t point out was the way that this corrodes the mystery of the story: when two characters with ostensibly different interests agree completely on the direction of a conversation (or even on the terms of their own disagreement), the writer’s intent becomes glaringly obvious. So there is one way of creating mystery. Make your characters talk past each other. Another way is to present an image so breathtaking, so rich with implications, and yet so beyond our grasp, that mystery can’t help but form. Another way is to create a character who makes interesting decisions that make us wonder why they made the decisions. Another way is to make thoughtful, sublime choices in language. Another way is to make thoughtless, sublime choices in language. And so on. Another way, but often a rather blunt instrument, is simply to withhold information. If your reader doesn’t know what’s going on, who’s doing it, or why, that counts as mystery, right? Well, sure. But maybe not the good kind. The old Nintendo games tended to be naturally mysterious. There were many reasons for this. One is the graphical limitation of the system. NES games could only display a small number of colors with limited animation. It didn’t have a lot of pixels to work with, either — it was a very low-res system. This made the system’s representations abstracted, and, as such, a little mysterious. Sometimes (often) you literally couldn’t tell what you were looking at. Furthermore, the systems in games at the time had to operate by an extremely abstracted logic. The NES couldn’t possibly simulate anything like real life, and so developers had to invent rules that would govern their worlds. Many of these choices have since become conventions that people no longer question (for instance, the ability of your character to effortlessly pass upward through a platform so long as it is thin, or the convention that monsters usually die if you can manage to jump on them), but at the time they rarely seemed so natural. I remember discovering that sometimes, if you made Mario jump into thin air, his head would hit an invisible block, which would give you a coin or a 1up. It was a startling concept. Many games were basically incomprehensible. (The puzzle rooms in Goonies II, for instance.) You did the best you could with what they gave you. Kids traded secrets on the playground. (Or so I am told: I didn’t know any kids who played — I was home schooled.) You could call the Nintendo tips hotline and pay for the answers. (Or so I am told: I never tried it. I imagine those were the most awkward phone conversations in history.) There was also the mystery of another culture. We needn’t descend into Orientalism to note how difficult it could be to understand Japanese ideas and stories through the veils of poor translation, low-res graphics, and weird game logic. Japanese origins explain less than we sometimes think; to me, Super Mario Bros. seems more generally surreal than specifically Japanese. But the barrier was there in a way that it really isn’t anymore. I’m no expert on Japanese culture, but at this point there’s enough cultural exchange that I can mostly keep up. I suspect that the richness of mystery in NES games has a lot to do with their persistence as objects of fascination. Nostalgia plays a part in it too, of course, but I don’t think you get things like Brian Oliu’s video game lyric essays out of simple nostalgia. There was a strangeness and a mystery about these games, about our desperate searching for secrets and strategies, that created a long-term fascination. My favorite NES game, Metroid, actively pursued this sense of mystery. Others (Zelda, for instance) came to it half by accident, half intentionally. In many cases, it was a total mistake. A lot of very bad games are more interesting than they have any right to be simply because they do not make much sense. Games today struggle with too much explicitness: with an absence of mystery. As the videogame industry has become a major financial success and a relatively mainstream pastime, the need to maintain old logics of gameplay and storytelling for the core audience without alienating newcomers (the legendary Wii-playing grandma, etc.) has led to a frequently irritating balance wherein the games still make little sense, but explain themselves constantly: every Zelda title now comes with several hours of exposition and careful, repeated explanation before you can do anything at all. Signs, chatterbox companions, NPCs, and the game itself are so helpful that it makes you want to puke. The truth is that I can’t play Zelda games anymore. It would shock my childhood self to hear this, but I’ve completely lost interest in the series, because they just can’t seem to shut themselves up and let me play. Combine this with high-res graphics and an industry-wide incompetence in storytelling (when the Dragon Age series is known for its unusually good writing, you know you’ve set the bar low) and you get games that err on the side of divulging themselves too fully. There are a few exceptions. The games of Fumito Ueda, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, became instant classics because they knew how to evoke mystery. In Ico, there is very little dialogue, and your character understands almost none of it. You are a horned boy, cursed, whose tribe has brought him to a castle and left him to die there, in a tomb among many rows of identical tombs presumably containing the corpses of many generations of horned boys. You find a girl. We call her a princess more or less because that’s what girls are in video games. You don’t understand a word she says. You can hold her hand. You can lead her out of the castle. You can save her from the queen. Very little of what follows is ever really explained, except by environmental storytelling: clues in the environment, and in the incidental actions of other characters, of which there are very few, that suggest how things might have come to be this way. In Shadow of the Colossus, you have to kill sixteen colossi in order to bring your girlfriend (a princess? perhaps) back to life. It is not clear where the colossi come from. Some of them seem to be good, some of them seem to be evil, and many seem to be more like landscape than anything, barely even aware of your presence. It is heart wrenching to kill them because it feels like you are ending a beautiful mystery. Your character never speaks. Neither do the colossi. By the end, you probably feel bad about what you’re doing, but you’re not sure why: it is a sort of nameless dread. These games are artfully made. They tell their stories with grace. But not every game can or should look or act like Ico. Others need to operate by a more frankly game-like logic. Demon’s Souls, one of these games that needs to look like a game, came upon a solution both ingenious and stupidly blunt: turn the lights off. When you start to play Demon’s Souls, the game prompts you to adjust its brightness to suit your TV. Your goal is to turn the brightness down until you can’t quite make out a certain image. When you have blinded yourself, the game begins in earnest. Demon’s Souls is notoriously difficult, but I think this somewhat misses the point. After playing through to the final boss over the course of several months of frustrating stops and starts, I recently restarted the game with everything I had learned and plowed through it in a couple of weeks. I killed most of the bosses the first time I saw them, and usually without too much effort. Why? Because I understood how my stats related to my damage output with different weapon types (a surprisingly obscure subject). Because I better understood how to upgrade my weapons and which weapons should be upgraded. Because I knew what was valuable. Because I looked online for help when I needed it, so that I could find certain characters, learn certain miracles, and so on. The challenge of Demon’s Souls usually comes from a scarcity of information. And this is intentional: it is central to the game’s design. This withholding of information is partly an attempt to recreate the sense of community and sharing among players. Just as in the NES days, gamers feel more like real adventurers when the game is hostile to them, especially if that hostility is sometimes arbitrary or unfair. Demon’s Souls is unusual among even modern games in that it includes a tip system — a method of information sharing — through its online multiplayer element. When you play Demon’s Souls with an Internet-connected PS3, you don’t usually encounter other players in the flesh. Instead, you see the messages they’ve left behind. These are brief snatches of text that warn you about things you would otherwise never see coming — for instance, a certain dragon who will appear from behind and roast you on a certain bridge, unless you are warned. You also see their ghosts, which reenact their own deaths. You can watch these ghosts to avoid their mistakes. Most of the time, this doesn’t tell you anything very useful. But watching these spirits fight the empty air, ultimately falling dead, creates a very effective sense of mystery and dread. Who or what was this ghost fighting? Will you survive it? I dread the thought of playing Demon’s Souls without an Internet connection. Its mechanics are woefully obscure. There is a boss who waits for you in a church. She’s called the Fool’s Idol. She isn’t that hard to kill once you work out how to tell which of her many copies is the real thing. But even when you do kill her, a voice from some unseen source mocks you. Next time you come back, the Fool’s Idol is alive again. This is, in a Demon’s Souls playthrough, just about the worst thing imaginable — a boss who comes back. Eventually, you may find, or remember finding, a seemingly harmless old man who sits in an unremarkable room overlooking the sanctuary, contemplating a magical glowing. You may realize that this old man, who says he is harmless, is actually the idol’s worshipper — that he is the one bringing her back. So you go and you kill the old man. Without the hint system, this might take you quite a while. If you are lucky, if the right players have left you the right hints, then you will know to kill the old man before you set eyes on his idol, and you will only have to kill her once. The game is truly oppressively dark. The most frightening level, the Valley of Defilement, features wretched enemies who seem barely worth killing (they give you very few souls for your trouble) and bosses swarming with maggots, with flies. You spend much of the level’s difficult second section literally wading through poison. And, worst of all, you just can’t see very far: mysterious lights glimmer in the distance, treasures and small fires, but you can’t find them. If you aren’t very careful, if you don’t follow the right path, you will become quite lost. A common scenario in Demon’s Souls is to be forced to enter an ominous, dark room or enclosed space. You don’t know what’s in there, but you’re pretty sure it’s bad news. One particularly bravura section requires you to stumble through an increasingly narrow series of passages, alternately traveling into darkness and mysterious orange light. Ancient bones line the tunnel walls: spines, rib cages. And the molted skins of giant caterpillars. What little visual information you can glean from your surroundings feels extremely valuable. You have to pay attention to survive. And while the game’s menus and interface are generally legible, they too seem to turn down the lights on their underlying systems. I really did need quite a while to figure out how my weapon’s damage was determined. In my first playthrough, I kept upgrading my character’s strength and dexterity, asking why on Earth it didn’t raise my scimitar’s damage. Well, that weapon’s damage was largely based on my magic stat, which was crap. I just didn’t know. Turning off the lights and obscuring basic facts of gameplay are blunt instruments, crude paths to mystery. Demon’s Souls is often clumsy. As in the old NES games, sometimes that clumsiness works in its favor. Sometimes it doesn’t. But there are also moments of truly graceful storytelling. For instance, there is again the Valley of Defilement. You know, from game text and NPC dialogue, that the Valley is the home of the Maiden Astraea, who watches over the wretches of the Valley, and loves them in spite of their filth and sickness. This provokes a vague sense of guilt in the player, perhaps: do these miserable creatures, devoted worshippers of Astraea, deserve to die? Or do they attack because they know that if you pass, you will kill the one they love? Ultimately, my revulsion at their bodies, and at the bosses (a conscious maggot pile in a pit of slime and shit, a stinking humanoid colossus swarmed with flies), was sufficient to make the act of killing them feel good. But the level’s final boss, Maiden Astraea herself, proves a haunting encounter. There is something sick about a woman who lets these creatures worship her as they wallow in their filth, rather than try to cure them. In her chambers, a valley beneath the Valley, hideous worshippers convulse with holy pleasure as they look down on their maiden. There is a purple waterfall of filth. If you fall into the water, weird children rise up from the muck to kill you. What Astraea has made here cannot be okay. It cannot be good to let people live like this. Killing them feels a genuine mercy. To reach Astraea, you first must kill her loyal bodyguard, Garl. This is not very hard so long as you are smart about it. But Astraea herself will not fight back. When you approach her, you see a luminous woman in a white dress seated at the bank of the river of filth that flows from the waterfall. She is very clean — except for the hem of her dress, which she has allowed to slip into the river. It has been well established that the fear of corruption transcends culture, time, and place. What she is doing is sick, it is wrong, but her refusal to fight you, though she houses a powerful demon soul, again raises the question: in the Valley of Defilement, are you the villain? But the question itself is not that interesting. It is the mystery of the lovely woman in the bad place, letting her dress get so dirty. It is the mingling of opposites. I still feel some weird, primal thing move inside me when I think of it now. A simpler example, from early in the game, the first boss that you will kill: In the Boletarian palace, you must overcome a series of challenges in order to open a gate. There are switches to pull, dragons to avoid, soldiers to kill, and so on. You don’t know, the first time you play, that your goal is to open the gate. And you certainly don’t know what lies behind it. So when you pull the second switch, when the game cuts to the gate, when the gate rises, revealing only a darkness — when suddenly a spear launches from that darkness, a very large spear, and it lands with its cruel end lodged in stone, so that it stands upright at a 45-degree angle to the ground, you can only ask yourself, “What could have thrown that spear?” And you know that you must go there now to see it. And you know that whatever it is waiting in that darkness, you are going to have to kill it. (The monster that lies in wait there, all bristling with spears, is every bit as weird and menacing as one could hope, one of the best designs in the game.) Ultimately, I think that Demon’s Souls withholds too much at times, or rather, it does not select what to withhold smartly. And sometimes the decision to turn down the lights is not enough: there is mystery in seeing clearly too, which the game usually does really not know how to evoke (with the exception of its gorgeous, massive final monster). Often, in fact, there is more and better mystery in seeing. But I do think that this is ultimately what makes it one of the most important games of its generation, and an important step forward for the form. Demon’s Souls is a game that plays very much, and shamelessly, like a game. But it knows the power of narrative lies in mystery, and it has some ideas — several of them quite good — about how to make mystery in a game. Tags: Demon's Souls, Maiden Astraea, Metroid, Mindflayers, Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Vidja Games

Ms. Reding is scheduled to release the proposed regulation on Wednesday in Brussels. The European Parliament is expected to deliberate on the proposal in the coming months, and the law, if approved, would go into effect by 2014. Photo The regulation is not likely to directly affect American consumers. For American companies, its silver lining is that it offers one uniform law for all 27 countries in Europe. Currently each country, and sometimes, as in the case of Germany, each state, has separate laws about data protection. Even so, many of the provisions are likely to be costly or cumbersome. And the proposed penalties could be as high as 2 percent of a company’s annual global revenue, according to a European diplomat who did not want to publicly discuss unreleased legislation. “Individuals are getting more rights. The balance is tilting more to the individual versus the companies,” said Françoise Gilbert, a lawyer in Palo Alto, Calif., who represents technology companies doing business in Europe. “There is very little that’s good for the companies other than a reduction of administrative headaches.” Perhaps for historical or cultural reasons, Europeans tend to be more invested in issues of data privacy than Americans. Certainly, the proposed regulation is evidence that European politicians consider it to be a more urgent legislative issue than members of the United States Congress. Privacy bills have languished on Capitol Hill. Those that have been proposed, by Senator John Kerry and others, have none of the strict protections included in the draft European regulations. For the most part, American companies have pushed for a system of self-regulation and regard European-style regulations as a hindrance to innovation. Ronald Zink, chief operating officer for European affairs at Microsoft, pointed to the potential difficulty of obtaining explicit consent. He gave the example of Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect system, which stores body measurements so it can visually recognize repeat players. He worried that the proposed law would require players to provide consent every time they played a game, even if the information never left the game console, requiring more time and effort on the player’s part. “We have designed the product to be private,” Mr. Zink said. “We put a lot of thought into how this controls our work in terms of privacy by design.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story One of the most contested provisions of the European law is the so-called right to be forgotten, which refers to an Internet user’s right to demand that his or her accumulated data on a particular site be deleted forever. “When a citizen has asked to get it back, then the data has to be given back,” Ms. Reding said in the interview. “When an individual no longer wants his data to be processed, it will be deleted.” Photo Critics warn that it is not so simple. Data does not always stay in one place; if it is transferred to another company it cannot easily be withdrawn. A company might license some of the data it collects to a third party to analyze market sentiments or social trends: reviews of kebab joints in Amsterdam or public opinion about burqas. Moreover, it may be less feasible to erase someone’s credit history, for instance, or employment record than to, say, do away with her shopping history on Amazon. “You’re not going to get a unilateral right for someone to say I want you to destroy all the information you have about me,” said David Hoffman, global privacy officer for Intel. “It would be preferable for people to be able to post something and then realize they made a mistake and have it taken down. However, if you were going to do that by law, it’s not going to apply in all contexts, because of situations where it is perfectly reasonable to expect an organization to be able to keep the data.” Ms. Reding sought to temper expectations when she said in a speech at a technology conference in Germany on Sunday that the law would apply to information that a user had furnished to a Web site, and was not meant to erase unfavorable content about the person online. 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. “It is clear that the right to be forgotten cannot amount to a right of the total erasure of history,” she said. “Neither must the right to be forgotten take precedence over freedom of expression or freedom of the media.” Malte Spitz, a Green Party politician from Germany and an advocate for strict data protection laws, said the regulation should restrict how companies hold onto personal information. “Lots of companies are collecting as much information as possible, and lots of this information isn’t really necessary,” Mr. Spitz said. “The right to be forgotten will change the work of companies that are doing profiling or targeted advertising.” Facebook, which has been investigated by European regulators for its data retention practices, warned last year against rules that might not keep up with the pace of change on the Internet. “There is a risk that an excessively litigious environment would impede the development of innovative services that can bring real benefit to European citizens,” the company said in comments submitted to the European Commission, according to Reuters. The European regulation, once passed, could serve as a template for other countries, as they draft or revise their data protection policies. “There are very few countries that don’t copy what is happening in Europe,” said Ms. Gilbert, who has written a book on privacy laws worldwide.

Halifax city council is looking to make the city more Wi-Fi friendly so that anyone with a mobile device can get online for free in the most popular areas of the city. The city believes making information more accessible would make Halifax more competitive for residents, businesses, students and tourists. "This is a service we should offer if that is our goal," said Jim Kirk, the manager of service management operations with the city. The city wants the service to be free and self-sustaining and that could be achieved through advertising or fees for higher-end use. Kirk says other municipalities have implemented systems where slower access is free, while there is a premium involved to get faster internet access. The priorities for the Wi-Fi service are the Dartmouth and Halifax waterfronts. Service would also be available on Metro Transit ferries, as well as popular parts of the city such as Alderney Landing, Barrington Street, Quinpool Road and Spring Garden. Andrew Wright is a fan of the idea. "It's long overdue for Halifax to do something like this," said the office manager at Chebucto Community Net. "We were talking about this 10 years ago." The city has issued a request for information (RFI) from solution providers to examine the interest and capability of the idea. By doing so, the city hopes "to identify and develop business models that could successfully and sustainability deliver a Wi-Fi service to Halifax," said the RFI. The initiative is at the exploratory stage and wouldn't likely become a reality until 2015. The city hasn't set a number on how much it's willing to pay for this initiative.

Ever since Pierre-Laurent Aimard took on the role of artistic director at the Aldeburgh Festival in 2009, he has been plagued by a polite but persistent band of doubters. No one has questioned the pianist’s musicality, nor his commitment to the job, but rather his affinity with the music of Benjamin Britten – the festival’s founder and guiding light – with the implication that this Frenchman is, well, not quite English enough. “If you look at what I’ve done and who I am, you will very easily understand that I come from another planet,” Aimard admits, when we meet for coffee on the cusp of his sixth festival. “The fact that I was asked to do this job, I find interesting. That they asked someone who is not a priest in the Britten religion – if I can say so, on the contrary.” Aimard’s connection to Aldeburgh’s geography – its mudflats and marshes, reed beds and shingle, its palette of browns and greys and peculiarly English sense of melancholy – is beside the point. His perceived heathenism comes in the form of a close association with the postwar European avant-garde, a group of composers whose influence Britten resisted. He met Olivier Messiaen as a boy, and later studied with Yvonne Loriod, the composer’s second wife, at the Paris Conservatoire, before forging important collaborative relationships with other modernists: Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Elliott Carter. If Aimard found the naysayers off-putting at first, he now seems confident in his role and the changes he has made: “One of my goals as the imported French guy was to try to enrich the festival with new music from the continent, and different categories of artists that were not present, in my mind, in terms of composers, singers, string quartets etc” Benjamin Britten, Aldeburgh festival’s founder, c1949 Last year’s programme was dominated by the centenary of Britten’s birth; this year the programme marks another centenary – the start of the first world war – with Britten’s pacifist opera Owen Wingrave and a concert of musical responses to conflict that will include Debussy’s En Blanc et Noir and Messiaen’s Visions de L’Amen. Among other themes is a focus on French composer Tristan Murail, who is known as the leading exponent of spectral music, a compositional approach developed in the 1970s that makes use of the sound spectrum rather than the conventional building blocks of western music. Ligeti provides another important thread of influence. Aimard will lead a series of masterclasses for members of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme focused on Ligeti’s cycle of 18 Études, a body of work composed between 1985 and 2001 that is considered to be of major significance in the modern repertoire. The pianist has been associated with these pieces since their creation, and some of the filmed masterclasses will form part of an online resource, titled the Ligeti Project, which will help to convey Aimard’s unique understanding of these works. “What can you do to communicate this interpretation? Concerts, that means write programming strategies, make recordings, and also for television or radio . . . teaching,” he says. “In the past you would write a book, which would be edited and translated after your death and known half a century later, maybe. Nowadays you have the net.” In order to devote due time and attention to his Ligeti Project, Aimard took a sabbatical away from a demanding recital schedule. His reputation as one of the finest interpreters of late-20th century piano works precedes him, but he has also created notable recordings of Beethoven’s piano concertos and Bach’s The Art of Fugue, and this summer will be touring Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book One. Aimard’s own performance style – intense and unshowy, but unfailingly generous – fits well at Aldeburgh, where concerts are designed to be more than simply platforms for delivery. Flipping through the beautifully produced programme brochure, you are struck not by the usual PR shots of artists and performers but by colours, themes and ideas. Over the years the festival has cultivated relationships with particular artists and ensembles, including Ian Bostridge and the Arditti Quartet, but it is no place for inflated egos. “We are looking for remarkable musicians who understand the necessity to work on their programmes,” Aimard says. “We try to create special moments, not only for the audience but also for the musicians on stage, because I think then the event has another shine, another intensity.” Centenary concert in Snape Maltings Undoubtedly, the festival’s setting adds much to its charm. At Snape Maltings, the main performance site, audiences flood out of the concert hall during intervals to wander through the reed beds; the quaint Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh, one of the festival’s original venues, seems haunted by the ghosts of Britten and his coterie; and at Blythburgh church, in the marshes north of the town, recitals are accompanied by the chatter of skylarks. One of the great successes of last year was Grimes on the Beach, an open-air production of Britten’s 1945 opera Peter Grimes, on the Aldeburgh seafront. Thomas Adès, Aimard’s predecessor at Aldeburgh, is not wholly enamoured of Britten’s operas (though this was not held against him during his time at the festival), least of all Grimes, which he has described as “embarrassing” – and especially so when performed near the town in which it was set. For Aimard, however, the project helped to enhance a sense of the Aldeburgh community, attracting new audiences from near and far (armed with Thermos flasks and arctic clothing, “the British stoicism was remarkable!”) and inspired new ways of thinking. “Grimes on the Beach has encouraged us to take more risks, to play with the location, with a town, with the citizens there, with the community in the larger sense of the term – how to integrate everybody.” This year, Aimard has programmed An Aldeburgh Musicircus, inspired by John Cage’s experimental “happenings” in the late 1960s and 1970s. Every musician in Suffolk has been invited to perform (more than 50 acts and nearly 400 performers, from brass bands to belly dancers, are confirmed) and audiences will be encouraged to “curate” their own routes through the town’s organised musical chaos before gathering on the seafront for a performance of Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose) at the event’s finale. So far, Aldeburgh has steered a careful path: its programme is cerebral, yes, challenging at times, but never pompous or predictable. Jonathan Reekie, the festival’s former chief executive who left in March this year after 16 years in the role, did much to enrich its offering. As well as greatly expanding the organisation’s year-round programme, he encouraged sidelines in electronic music and visual art and developed further buildings on the Snape Maltings site, while demonstrating an unflinching loyalty to its core identity. Reekie’s replacement, Roger Wright, who joins the festival from his role as controller of BBC Radio 3 and head of the BBC Proms, has in some people’s opinion resorted recently to a populist approach, leading some to speculate: will we see Doctor Who-themed events at Aldeburgh in the coming years? Aimard highlights Wright’s experience and reputation “as one of the most admired professionals in the music business,” before brushing the concern aside with an anecdote. He recalls meeting Wright, then a producer at Deutsche Grammophon, when working on a recording of music by Boulez. “He fought to make a composer who was not easily accepted at the time, acceptable, in one of the most institutionalised places on the planet,” he says. “At that moment, it was remarkable.” The 67th Aldeburgh Festival runs June 13-29; aldeburgh.co.uk ——————————————- Reader offer: Aldeburgh festival tickets FT Weekend is delighted to offer its readers an exclusive opportunity to claim two-for-one tickets for Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave and other events at the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk, the UK’s finest music festival. … From Andrew Clark’s recent article on Owen Wingrave: Has it ever been easier to be a pacifist? Neocon visionaries aside, there is scant appetite for war in western democracies. The climate was different in 1942, when Benjamin Britten, aged 29, returned to Britain from the US and registered as a conscientious objector. The country was at war, and able-bodied young men were preparing to lay down their lives for the nation. Britten was branded a coward. The title character of his opera Owen Wingrave has a similar experience. When Owen rejects the strict military traditions of his family, he is disinherited. At the work’s climax, Owen declares “in peace I have found myself”. You can almost hear Britten willing him to take a stand. So it is appropriate, in the centenary year of the first world war’s outbreak, that the Aldeburgh Festival should choose Owen Wingrave as its centrepiece. Commissioned by the BBC, Britten wrote it in the late 1960s, at the time of the Vietnam war, and conducted the original 1970 recording in the Snape Maltings, where Aldeburgh’s new production will be mounted . . . To read the rest of this article, go to ft.com/music … Two-for-one tickets are available for the following events and dates: Owen Wingrave: Monday June 16 and Wednesday June 18, 7.30pm Chamber Orchestra of Europe Soloists: Saturday June 21, 11am Children’s Crusade: Sunday June 22, 3pm Arcanto Quartet I: Thursday June 26, 7.30pm Chamber Orchestra of Europe I: Friday June 27 Arcanto Quartet II: Saturday June 28, 11am Klangforum Wien I: Saturday June 28, 3pm Klangforum Wien II: Saturday June 28, 10pm To take advantage of this offer enter the code AMFT14 at ft.com/aldeburgh

Just over a month ago, I wrote an article detailing the initial announcement and events of Pandemic Horde’s Fade incursion; joining Psychotic Tendencies (TISHU) in making the game as un-fun as they could for Space Monkey’s Alliance (SMA). The reasons for doing so were different for each alliance. We’ll begin by taking a look at the stated goals in Horde’s initial announcement, and how they evolved. The Results The first stated goal was a reduction in SMA’s member count. In the time since the announcement, the member count has dropped by around 1000 members, bringing SMA down to just below 3,400. Several leaks posted to reddit indicated that amoung this number were long term members and at least one FC, although it is entirely false for me to make you think all of that number were “useful” members, the reality is SMA had some of their fat trimmed, as well as losing good men. As an anecdotal aside not entirely related to member count, we can see that SMA’s fleet numbers both in their own fleets, and in Imperium-wide fleets have decreased. From over one hundred pilots in the “Content Ring” in December, to being by far the worst represented Imperium alliance in the recent 2DWM-2 2000 man brawl. Of course, Vale is a slightly longer trek for SMA, and that factor should be considered before taking these numbers at face value. The second goal was twofold: the reduction of activity defence multipliers, and the eventual removal of SMA sov. Within the first week there was a drastic decrease in ADMs in Fade, specifically in the two targeted constellations, making entosising the systems take considerably less time. The net result of these reductions in ADMs was that timers were created daily by Horde. The issue for the attacking forces was that each night, when the systems came out of reinforcement, they would face a superior force numerically. However, this did not deter the attackers, who would form small ships and kill any stragglers from the large defensive fleets, as well as anyone who would be entosising on their own. Due to this, the defensive forces had to ball up into each system where command nodes would spawn, leaving 100+ pilots a night watching one or two people entosising the nodes while not doing very much else. These tactics were very effective as a method of fighting vastly out-numbered. The nodes would require SMA entosis ships only to defend them, as if one of their allies did so, it would count as an attacking victory. Due to the reduction in SMA fleet numbers, on several occasions the wider Imperium would spend a more than inconsiderable amount of time. As part of the offensive, cloaky camping was employed by Horde. By swelling the numbers in local chat of each targeted system, it made performing mining and ratting activities incredbly difficult for SMA, as they would never know if they were going to be tackled and killed. These numbers peaked at around 200 over the two constellation, reducing steadily over the four weeks of the deployment, being sub 100 after the two-week mark. We also saw SMA form more concerted efforts to maintain and raise their ADMs with militarised ratting fleets; total NPC kills remained unimpressive, but much better than the sub 100 for the entire region we saw for the first week. However, towards the end of the month-long campaign, reinforcements began to arrive. Pandemic Legion deployed north, and the early birds to the forthcoming northern war. With timers over lowsec money moons drawing hundreds of pilots at any one time, Horde took this as an opportunity to have a few players reinforce large swathes of SMA sov. Initially remaining unsuccessful, in their final week a few ihubs were lost, along with the C8-CHY station being freeported during a large scale fight in D06 & U-I, with both sides trading roughly equally, despite the numerical advantage of the defenders. Not the most stellar of victories, however, against the numbers and organisation of the Imperium forces. During this time, Imperium money moons were hit, they lost some, saved some, and some large scale 10% TiDi fights took place. Generally, Imperium forces faring slightly worse off than others, as well as an exceptional loss of several Circle of Two titans in lowsec. The invasion showed the capabilities of a well organised guerrilla war against a stronger force, completely shutting down day-to-day activities for the SMA line member. It also showed that with the sovreigninty changes, fighting against superior numbers will continue to be very difficult for the attacking force. We saw a reduction in numbers for both alliances throughout the four weeks. The repetition of the reinforce and save dance slowly sapped the numbers of both the defensive and attacking sides. This brings to mind a quote from Sort Dragon from the most recent CSM minutes: “Entosising is boring, but watching someone else Entosis is even more boring. The Entosis Module A lot has been said in the past month about how fun the entosis sovereignty system is for the players involved, some with merit, some because people were irritated at having to do things differently, and some because some people have no experience or knowledge of the system. The one thing that should be patently obvious to everyone involved is that sov wars cannot be fought as they used to.We have seen that smaller groups can be effective in the grand scheme of a sov war; with the removal of DPS requirements on taking sov structures, it allows for more skirmishes around any large fights that occurred. We also saw that an alliance cannot rely on allies to save their space for them, due to the requirement that any defensive entosising is done by the defending alliance. This allowed for continuous killing of any entosis ships to create a dearth of effective defence, forcing fleets to sit on single nodes, or bring large numbers of ships with an entosis module. I expect to see continuing innovation when it comes to these mechanics, as it is obvious that strategies are not yet optimized, despite certain claims about best practice. The Fire Rises The true impact of this incursion cannot be measured in systems taken, or ships killed. These are both aspects to consider, and most certainly to shitpost about on reddit, but the fallout from these is miniscule compared to how the incursion progressed. Towards the end of the month, other forces moved to the north. Too numerous to list (And I fear I’d forget one or some of them), they have begun to work together in a loose coalition that has been given several names. My favourites of which are the “Moneybadger Coalition”, and the “Planned Parenthood Coalition”. The main theatre of operations has shifted towards Vale of the Silent, with many attackers staging in and around Akora. This has a very strong potential to escalate to a great war. I remain slightly sceptical, but with each passing day I have more and more hope. The Fade incursion leaves behind it a lasting legacy, not necessary for what was achieved, but for bringing to the forefront how to fight a protracted war under entosis sov, and for the fallout that it left in its wake.

Everyone should try to skip the shiny things embedded within the story of a laptop theft from a Secret Service Agent Marie Argentieri. The theft appears to have nothing to do with Trump Tower or Trump Tower floor plans. The theft appears to have everything to do with Argentieri as a supportive investigator for Hillary Clinton’s private email server. Evidence of the specific targeting is transparent within the eye witness stories that a car pulled up, a passenger exited the vehicle – went directly to Agent Argentieri’s vehicle, broke in, took the back pack and walked away quickly. The thief knew exactly what they were looking for, this wasn’t a random heist of convenience. (New York) […] The thief stepped out of a dark-colored car, possibly an Uber, and stole the laptop from Argentieri’s vehicle, a 2015 Bajaj, which was parked in the driveway of her Bath Beach home, sources said. Neighbors said the thief struck about 3 a.m. The crook, a man dressed in black, didn’t get back in the car. He was seen on surveillance video walking away from the scene with a backpack holding the laptop, sources said. […] Neighbor Jaime Palazzi, 40, saw the thief but was unaware until later the backpack belonged to the agent. “I was smoking a cigarette on my balcony,” Palazzi said. “I looked at him, he looked at me, and he kept on going. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.” Another neighbor, Mike Mignuolo, 73, believes, based on the video police showed him, that the suspect moved quickly and with a purpose. “It showed somebody running to the car and running back out,” he said. “They knew what they were doing, absolutely. They knew what they were hitting.” […] After walking off the suspect turned onto Cropsey Ave. and dumped the bag in the snow outside a private home. Residents there had no comment. Other items were found by a teacher at Poly Prep Country Day School, in neighboring Bay Ridge, and turned over to security. The school’s head of security notified Argentieri Friday morning, sources said. (read more) Just like the Thanksgiving weekend 2012 fire directly above Secretary Clinton’s office in the State Department building (in the aftermath of the Benghazi Sept. 11th 2012 attacks), things just happen to disappear when the subject is Hillary Clinton and investigations. Advertisements

The £2 booklet, issued by the Advisory Service for Squatters, gives tips on removing locks, and suggests that those caught breaking in to a property should claim they are “clearing drains”. In a section on legal advice, squatters are told to put a notice on the door warning it is a criminal offence to evict the new residents, and to threaten any homeowner who objects with the words: “You may receive a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment.” A number of councils across the country are steering local people who do not have a home to the Advisory Service through links on their websites. They include Hackney, Islington, Brent and Camden in London, as well as Durham and Doncaster. The Home Office also consults the group on its equality policies. The guide positively encourages people to become squatters, with advice such as: “Only a small minority of squatters ever get nicked – squatting is not a crime. “If anyone says it is, they are wrong. “With a few exceptions, if you can get into an empty building without doing any damage, and can secure it, you can make it your home. “Private houses may provide years of housing to lucky squatters.” Eric Pickles, the Conservative local government spokesman, said he was appalled that councils were helping potential squatters get advice on breaking into empty properties. He added: “Homeowners will be horrified that town halls are giving squatters the green light to break into law-abiding citizens’ homes.”

Sony XPERIA Z3v D6708 ROOT ACHIEVED BY @zxz0O0! VISIT THIS LINK FOR A TUTORIAL! (MUST BE ON SHIPPING FIRMWARE) Intro First, thanks to Pyres for a great Z3 bounty thread, and tuzonghua the ongoing bounty thread for the D6616 (from which I got this post's formatting). I figured it's about time to get the ball rolling on this somewhat overlooked device and get its own bounty thread going. This thread is specifically for gaining root on the D6708 (Verizon US) variant of the Sony Z3 (called the Z3v). The method proposed by user zxz0O0 works for many variants of this device, but the D6708 and it's T-Mobile cousin D6616 are excluded because the exploit has already been patched in the earliest available firmware for the devices. The goal The bounty's fulfillment requires obtaining root access in order to be able to backup the TA partition, where the DRM keys for the aforementioned technologies are stored. Once we have a backup for our TA partition, we can unlock the bootloader with the official Sony tool and then restore the DRM keys. In the event of hardware failure, we will be able to restore to stock the phone and to have no warranty issue. New Objective Payment will be processed between each member and the bounty collector via PM on an individual basis. List of Pledges - Root (ACHIEVED) IF YOU'RE LISTED HERE, PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO DONATE TO @zxz0O0! (Or use the Donate button in any of his posts) Rules of this bounty thread The(formatting copied from D6616 bounty With root now achieved, the main objective of the bounty is to achieve bootloader unlock on the Z3v. A new thread will be posted in the coming days, stay tuned.1. AddictedToGlass - $30.002. GigaSPX - $10.003. bcromwell - $30.004. haggman7 - $10.005. lostvangel - $50.006. Seannnn - $25.007. tsachi - $15.008. johnmansfield - $20.009. sthrnsprtsmn - $50.0010. GhostTrunks - $20.0011. dnoren - $20.0012. Kahuna_Tuna - $30.0013. Rider797 - $30.0014. jpraven - $25.0015. corybucher - $60.0016. TheMorlince - $15.0017. shakan09 - $22.0018. turkishmonky - $30.0019. 1maplejalapen0 - $15.0020. zackdadams - $25.0021. ThaBigWood - $25.0022. sircrisp - $20.0023. ficjay - $15.0024. spartansith - $30.00Total Pledge (FINAL):- Please note before making a post in the thread please refer to the below list to see if your post will be acceptable. If it is not part of this list, your post will be reported and you may risk getting an infraction as per forum moderators.- Please note you may not make any specific restrictions or requirements that aren't listed in the OP. By making a post with your contribution price you are agreeing to paying out based on all terms listed in OP only and nowhere else.- Please be advised that if Sony is to release an official method of rooting without unlocking the bootloader or restoring TA partitions lost by officially unlocking the bootloader (extremely unlikely but must be accounted for) prior to any member of XDA's submission, this bounty automatically becomes invalidated.- Please do not PM a pledge, for it will not be counted.List of Acceptable Posts:- New bounty submission or increase of current bounty;- Questions or assistance in development of recovery or bootloader unlock method;- Questions and answers regarding bootloaders on this device;- Questions and answers regarding the nature of lockdown on this device;- Questions and answers regarding kernel and bootloader-related exploits;- Any kind of updates about unfinished or still work-in-progress methods that would at the moment of posting be unfit for fulfilling the bounty;- Bounty's fulfillment.

Witnessing an aurora first-hand is a truly awe-inspiring experience. The natural beauty of the northern or southern lights captures the public imagination unlike any other aspect of space weather. But auroras aren’t unique to Earth and can be seen on several other planets in our solar system. An aurora is the impressive end result of a series of events that starts at the sun. The sun constantly emits a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind into the depths of the solar system. When these particles reach a planet, such as Earth, they interact with the magnetic field surrounding it (the magnetosphere), compressing the field into a teardrop shape and transferring energy to it. Advertisement Because of the way the lines of a magnetic field can change, the charged particles inside the magnetosphere can then be accelerated into the upper atmosphere. Here they collide with molecules such as nitrogen and oxygen, giving off energy in the form of light. This creates a ribbon of colour that can be seen across the sky close to the planet’s magnetic north and south poles – this is the aurora. Gas giant auroras Using measurements from spacecraft, such as Cassini, or images from telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, space physicists have been able to verify that some of our closest neighbours have their own auroras. Scientists do this by studying the electromagnetic radiation received from the planets, and certain wavelength emissions are good indicators of the presence of auroras. Advertisement Each of the gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) has a strong magnetic field, a dense atmosphere and, as a result, its own aurora. The exact nature of these auroras is slightly different from Earth’s, since their atmospheres and magnetospheres are different. The colours, for example, depend on the gases in the planet’s atmosphere. But the fundamental idea behind the auroras is the same. Blue aurora on Jupiter. NASA/J Clarke For example, several of Jupiter’s moons, including Io, Ganymede and Europa, affect the blue aurora created by the solar wind. Io, which is just a little larger than our own moon, is volcanic and spews out vast amounts of charged particles into Jupiter’s magnetosphere, producing large electrical currents and bright ultraviolet (UV) aurora. Advertisement On Saturn, the strongest auroras are in the UV and infrared bands of the colour spectrum and so would not be visible to the human eye. But weaker (and rarer) pink and purple auroras have also been spotted. Hubble Space Telescope captures Saturn’s aurora. NASA/ESA/Hubble Mercury also has a magnetosphere and so we might expect aurora there too. Unfortunately, Mercury is too small and too close to the sun for it to retain an atmosphere, meaning the planet doesn’t have any molecules for the solar wind to excite and that means no auroras. Advertisement The unexpected auroras On Venus and Mars, the story is different. While neither of these planets has a large-scale magnetic field, both have an atmosphere. As the solar wind interacts with the Venusian ionosphere (the layer of the atmosphere with the most charged particles), it actually creates or induces a magnetic field. Using data from the Venus Express spacecraft, scientists found that this magnetic field stretches out away from the sun to form a “magnetotail” that redirects accelerated particles into the atmosphere and forms an aurora. Mars’s atmosphere is too thin for a similar process to occur there, but it still has aurora created by localised magnetic fields embedded in the planet’s crust. These are the remnants of a much larger, global magnetic field that disappeared as the planet’s core cooled. Interaction between the solar wind and the Martian atmosphere generates “discrete” auroras that are confined to the regions of crustal field. Advertisement A recent discovery by the MAVEN mission showed that Mars also has much larger auroras spread across the northern hemisphere, and probably the whole planet too. This “diffuse” aurora is the result of solar energetic particles raining into the Martian atmosphere, rather than particles from the solar wind interacting with a magnetic field. If an astronaut were to stand on the surface of Mars, they might still see an aurora but it would likely be rather faint and blue, and, unlike on Earth, not be necessarily near the planet’s poles. Advertisement Brown dwarf with red aurora. Chuck Carter and Gregg Hallinan/Caltech Most planets outside our solar system are too dim compared to their parent star for us to see if they have auroras. But scientists recently discovered a brown dwarf (an object bigger than a planet but not big enough to burn like a star) 18 light years from Earth that is believed to have a bright red aurora. This raises the possibility of discovering other exoplanets with atmospheres and magnetic fields that have their own auroras. Such discoveries are exciting and beautiful, but they are also scientifically useful. Investigating auroras gives scientists tantalising clues about a planet’s magnetic and particle environment and could further our understanding of how charged particles and magnetic fields interact. This could even unlock the answers to other physics problems, such as nuclear fusion. Advertisement Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF Nathan Case, Senior Research Associate in Space and Planetary Physics, Lancaster University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Advertisement Top image by Aalto University,

In their March 24th testimony before the House Financial Services Committee Bernanke Geithner called for new regulatory authority that would allow the government to take over non-banking institutions and, among other things, “rework” salary and bonus structures (paragraph 3) in ways that seem, paradoxically, to suggest a 'legal breach of contract.' This, of course, cannot happen without congressional legislation. As per the doublespeak of the congress where “The No Vote Union Dues Confiscation Act” is called the “Employee Free Choice Act,” one can expect the bill to be given a name such as “The Smaller Government Financial Freedom and Liberty Act' of 2009.” Perhaps it is only Torpedo Geithner's way with words, as demonstrated by the way his glib discussion of a new international currency two days later sent a rebounding market into a tailspin, but the idea that anyone would ask for what amounts to a unilateral eminent domain over all large corporations that deal with money, and, furthermore, assert that this regulatory authority should be operated by political appointees in the treasury department is simply astounding. Bernanke, though, proposes a far more rational expansion of the authority of the FDIC. Setting aside Geithner's seeming delirium, both he Bernanke assert that they want a new right to step into private sector corporations that is modeled on the FDIC authority to put banks into receivership. A comparison of the claims of these noble statesmen with the facts about the FDIC makes such a model seem, at best, improbable. Bernanke and Geithner's Plan is NOT the Banking Act of 1933. First of all, the formation of the FDIC in the 1930's occurred despite the objections of the popular newly elected President (FDR), the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and the American Banker's Association (see article subsection: “Federal Deposit Insurance Legislation” paragraphs 2 and 4). In contrast, if those initiating this discussion of future sweeping regulatory powers are any indication, bank masters, presidents, and currency officers will all assure the mystified people of these United States that they, the wise, have “taken care of everything.” Instead, of an educated and outraged populace supporting their representatives' bold congressional agendas, it seems far more likely that these regulatory powers would be inaugurated as a populace, suffering from shock and awe at a fiscal debate that has changed from billions to trillions in fewer than three months, is scarcely able to get a question in edgewise. The second difference between the origins of the FDIC and the powers Bernanke and Geithner request is that the first was inaugurated only after the banks had collapsed. These new powers are now proposed where no market consequences have been observed. The regulatory standards instituted at the inception of the FDIC worked well for decades because they were based on long and painful experience. Even if the appearance of evil suggested by Geithner's request for unprecedented powers is only more evidence of his political ineptitude, and even if none of this is as nefarious as it seems; neither Geithner, Bernanke, nor congress has any informed experience upon which to base new regulations. It is very unclear, to say the least, whether the methods of sustaining these large institutions was correct. Even if, by some miracle, the tremendous infusions of cash already planned turn out to be recoverable by taxpayers, it is bizarre legislation that would base a regulatory authority on such rescue measures in the future. Is this the power Geithner and Bernanke's desire? Do they want the power to set tax payer money at risk to save large distressed American companies in the future? Are such bailouts now supposed to become a matter of course? If so, this is the logical opposite of the original FDIC model. The original FDIC model was designed to protect the private citizen's dollar. This model seems designed to protect the funds of public companies by setting taxpayer money at a permanent risk. If any lesson should be derived from this recent financial debacle, it is that laws must be passed that absolutely prohibit the government of the United States from using tax payer dollars to protect private financial institutions. An FDIC bank may be protected in accordance with the FDIC's own charter and its independent funding, but a Savings and Loan, a Freddie Mac, a Fannie Mae, and certainly an AIG should never again be bailed out with public funds. Hence, the powers the leaders of government now propose are in no way akin to the regulation the people of the 1930's demanded. The original FDIC legislation only began after the mighty had fallen. The people wanted an architecture for rebuilding a nation's savings plan; at the very least, our government now seeks to take over the collection of the “rents” from thirty-year mortgages, the nation's credit cards, and college loans by setting taxpayer money at permanent risk. At worst, our government representatives are seeking the right to invade, based on taxpayer money that they purposely set at risk, any large industry in our nation and redistribute assets by abrogating contracts and confiscating property. The latter is plainly tyranny. However, concerning the first, this nation should be warned that a government with the power to impoverish its citizens through taxation has a conflict of interest when it also has the authority to oversee the collection of the debts of private citizens. Why should the policies of this nation be those that lead to individual solvency when government organs stand to gain power from increases in the interest paid on debt? The vampires are in charge of the blood bank! The contradictions that seem obvious between the banking reforms of the 1930's and the plans now being hatched make it all the more obvious that it is not the private citizen of the United States that is being offered protection. No, if the people of these United States desire to protect themselves from such “culling” of their retirement savings in the future and their tax dollars in the present, they should send representatives to congress who will legislate against any future bailout of private corporations with the public dollar. Any FDIC institution should, of course, be brought back to the definitions of the 1930's and, one more thing, our Social Security System should be transformed. If our Social Security system were transformed from a Ponzi scheme “insurance” model (see previous article: “Social Security, Ponzi Schemes…”), to a genuine retirement system that rids us from a dependence on banks (see previous article: “Ending Social Security…”), we would reduce the size and scope of any potential future financial fiasco. UPDATE: 12/31/09 The House hearings are long over a modern Hercules, David Reilly, took it upon himself to actually read the House bill. Instead of beginning a bank reform bill with the words: “Never again will…” the house has found a way to quietly promise 4 trillion dollars of emergency funds to be dispersed after a limited 10 hour debate by congress. I guess the whole process in the autumn of 2008 was sort of embarrassing. Besides, if another crisis does hit (and Fanny and Freddie are working on that), and if it once again “hits” during an election year, some independent canditate may do something crazy and run on doing what the American people demanded, say “No!” Oh, the doublespeak, new think of this Orwellian congress continues. This horrendous, under-the-radar disaster that puts taxpayers on the hook for unlimited bailouts is called, get this: the “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming. A quarter of a year ago, the Canadian electorate managed to dump the Conservatives, delivering a dramatic victory to the Liberal party. While the choruses of "give him a chance" haven't quite faded away and significant opposition has yet to mount, it's a good moment to take stock of the Trudeau-led government's mode of operation and objectives, and what that means for hopes for progressive policies to address climate change and wealth inequality in the 3.75 years remaining in the current term. Trudeau's intentions are unknowable. Depending on our perspective, what's going on in Trudeau's mind can be anything: from a blank slate onto which we project our desires to a Jesus complex. His values could be anything between a somewhat progressive down-to-earth man of the people trying his best and a nefarious elitist agent of bankers, arms dealers and mining companies -- evidence abounds for every take. Let's look at what we do know about the Liberal party's priorities and their strategies so far. The one overarching priority we can be certain about is that the Liberals want to get re-elected in four years. To do that, they'll have to do two things: 1. Keep voter turnout high and expand on backing from young voters 2. Keep the economic elite on side The Youth Vote Young voters, it has been argued, delivered the margin of victory for the Liberals. Opposition to Harper, combined with Trudeau's charisma and progressive rhetoric, pushed an additional 2.7 million people to vote. The total Conservative vote only went down by four per cent compared to 2011. Without these new voters, Canada could well have a Conservative minority, and the last three months would have been an extended bickering session about constitutional law and coalition governments. This government has put on a show for its new supporters. Trudeau kicked things off by rolling out a young, photogenic and diverse cabinet. The government has since stepped in front of every parade that was rejected in the Harper years: justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, charter rights for public servants, living conditions in First Nations, climate commitments, cuts to Canada Post, opposition to anti-union legislation and electoral reform, among others. On the backdrop of the Harper years, many of these are substantial victories that will make a significant difference. But many of these movements' were built around demands formulated during the Conservative reign, when it was crucial to pick goals that at least seemed to be achievable in a hostile political environment. What demands are being formulated and advanced right now and how do they address absolute requirements, starting with the most basic: ensuring human survival on planet earth? (See Balancing the Carbon Budget in Trudeau's Canada for more) To ensure their re-election, the Liberals will strive to keep new demands manageable. They strongly prefer polite asks behind closed doors to public rallies of support. Whereas the Conservative strategy was to play to the resentments of its base by shutting out Indigenous people, scientists, unions and environmentalists, the Liberal strategy will be to keep these groups talking...softly. If Trudeau and company can set the agenda, from their perspective, they're more likely to be able to successfully position themselves for a victory in 2019 and secure their legacy. The key for them will be to get the leadership of movements and organizations to invest their hopes and energies in processes where the outcome is ultimately controlled by the Liberal Party. Those who operate outside of these sanctioned processes, it will be implied, will miss out on Liberal largesse. The Economic Elite Trudeau undeniably benefitted from support from Canada's corporate establishment. Newspaper endorsements suggest that many of the country's uber-rich wanted another Conservative term, but the Liberals received the lion's share of endorsements. Fiscally responsible rhetoric or not, Canada's elites had no appetite for an NDP government, giving it exactly zero endorsements. At the same time as Trudeau's triumphant fanfare sounded the new cabinet, the new Prime Minister was quietly making sure that the denizens of Bay Street and box seats at Maple Leaf Gardens were reassured. In short, the white guys got control of the pursestrings. The Finance Minister is a monolingual rookie MP with Bay Street cred and an active lack of concern for youth unemployment. The president of the Treasury Board is a former Tory leadership candidate and fiscal Conservative. With no fanfare at all, Trudeau has since appointed the racist and civil-liberties-denying former Toronto Police Chief as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, in charge of an unspecified chunk of the justice portfolio. A university bureaucrat who compared student protesters demanding lower tuition to the paramiliary wing of the Nazi Party and then doubled down when asked about the statement, is now Clerk of the Privy Council, charged with renewing Canada's public service. The purpose of these unsung moves has been to send clear messages to Bay Street: Liberals can be trusted to keep spending down, and if and when the time comes, to deliver austerity. The Liberal Tightrope The balance of forces and the public mood is more polarized than it was during the Chretien-Martin years. Conservatives are united and well organized, and the Liberals' youth bloc is likely to at least stay home if cuts affect them directly. If Trudeau can't deliver ever-growing corporate profit margins, Canada's corporate elite will back a fresh-faced Conservative Party in 2019. The Liberals are walking a tightrope between these two constituencies. For the Liberals, the path of least resistance is to continue to deliver progressive measures that don't upset the establishment, while heading off expensive new services like childcare and quietly maintaining profitable antisocial trends like the gradual privatization of health care and other public services. Bay Street will sit at the table and happily eat Harper-era leftovers (e.g. record-breaking profits for banks) and gobble up economic stimulus measures for itself… for a little while. But before long, the beast will demand new, more elaborate dishes. At that point, the scenario looks like Ontario's Kathleen Wynne, who spouted progressive rhetoric but then, out of nowhere, sold off Hydro One. In years two and three if not sooner, the Liberals will come under increasing pressure to deliver major privatizations, deep cuts, and further-reduced corporate taxes. Will they fall off the right side of the tightrope, or will another force pull them toward the left? Setting the Agenda To stop the Liberals from finding their way to a reprise of the Hydro One selloff, or the deep austerity of the Chretien-Martin years, we have to keep them from setting the agenda. Like a game of chess, progressives have to find ways to maintain the initiative, and make sure the Liberals are reacting to us and not the other way around. Progressive forces will find themselves in the usual prisoner's dilemma: step out of the Liberal-defined consultative framework of and risk the chill of Trudeau's cold shoulder, or wait patiently for crumbs to tumble down from Bay Street's kingly spread. History says that most will choose option two: play nice and wait your turn. For those whose asking price is sufficiently low (a few million in funding here or there), this choice is almost unquestionably the "right" one. For those whose eyes are on the prize of the generational shift in environmental and economic orientation that appears to be the minimum precondition for heading off ecological collapse, option one is the only real choice. What, then, is to be done? The Conservative regime actually created ideal conditions for stoking a popular uprising, as a majority of the population could conceivably have backed an effort to stop their agenda. Progressives spent 10 years waiting around for a serious, concerted mobilization against Harper's Conservatives. Various initiatives surfaced, only to fizzle for lack of support, vision or resources. Building opposition to the Liberal government as such will be a difficult task under current conditions. It's not just the sense of relief of facing Trudeau's carrot in place of Harper's stick; the Liberals' centrism and active cooptation of progressive causes means that the most potent opposition will come from the right while left-leaning forces wait for crumbs. Progressives who want to step out of line in an oppositional mode face the possibility of dividing the forces that were united on October 18. Defensive battles based on rapidly responding to issues that arise in a way that the Liberals weren't able to predict and control could be effective. Opposition to Bill C-51, for example, was a defensive campaign that changed minds when parties shied away from criticism. But even defensive campaigns that are wildly successful generally maintain the status quo, while building some potential for positive gains in the future. The remaining option is to strategically accept the Liberals at their word, and push for real solutions that can capture the imagination of the public. By creating a positive proposal that goes beyond the Liberals' plans At its founding, the NDP destabilized the federal political scene when by promising public health care, forcing Pearson's Liberals to implement it. The NDP was a thorn in the side of several of Pierre Trudeau's mandates as well, forcing the government to adopt progressive measures like the creation of the since-privatized Petro Canada. Shortcomings aside, this government is presenting major opportunities by opening up yawning gaps between promises and policy. Climate is the most dramatic example. Aiming for a maximum 1.5 C increase in global mean temperature means rapidly transforming Canada's economy toward renewable energy immediately. Trudeau is showing no signs of doing, because it would anger the all-important second constituency. Winning Conditions There are good reasons why the NDP has historically been the mechanism for deciding what policies to rally progressive forces around. The party has a nominally democratic decision-making process that can broker the interests of many stakeholders and create the conditions for leaders to put it all together into a compelling vision. Child care actually came close to becoming such a policy during the lead-up to the 2015 election. Even if the NDP's platform was the most progressive, the campaign's tone -- and crucially, Mulcair's announcement that the NDP wouldn't even start to implement child care until 2018 -- seemed calculated to deflate party activists rather than inspire them to advance a visionary idea that could capture imaginations and improve quality of life. With the NDP down for the count, an alternative model that has proven effective is that of Quebec's Red Hand Coalition. In the year leading to the historic 2012 student strike, community organizations gathered and debated which campaigns to . The coalition decided that students were headed for a rematch of the 2005 student strike, and that could be an opportunity to strike a blow against what they would later dub the austerity agenda. Groups didn't drop their own campaigns, but agreed to build support for the student struggle among their constituencies, giving the struggle that would escalate far beyond anyone's expectations a solid foothold. During the campaign, student organizers did an excellent job of foregrounding short-term, achievable goals (stop the tuition increase) while speaking about visionary long-term goals which were not part of their immediate demands (free education for all). A frequent and fatal mistake is to choose between pragmatic demands and vision; Quebec students showed that it's better to have both. Here are some conditions that could make a hypothetical progressive campaign between now and 2019 effective: Emergence of a visionary proposal that is irresistible to two or more of the following constituencies: public sector unions, Quebec social movements, Indigenous communities, climate justice activists A mobilized constituency with some skin in the game -- one which stands to lose from the status quo as well as gain from the proposal in question; e.g. Quebec students in 2011 A willingness on the part of groups with large bases of support to step outside of their silos to support a common initiative, and, crucially, give up some control of the process Resources devoted to organizing, ideally recruiting organizers from within the aforementioned constituency A movement assembly space that can find the right balance between openness and efficiency, perhaps by requiring attendees to be acting representatives of a community, organization or collective A commitment on the part of constituent groups to legitimize and promote this space and its decisions to their constituents At the very least, contemplating such a scenario reveals the difficulties we face. If groups were willing to step into an oppositional relationship to the Liberal government (which should be a requirement for entry into any assembly space), the conflicting incentives of each group's fundraising and granting agenda would show themselves quickly. If things got to the point of choosing a campaign to focus on, political power could override merit when it came to the final vote, with powerful groups jockeying for support from the assembly, possibly resulting in reduced morale or a fizzling of the process. Success would require nothing short of a significant cultural shift among progressive organizations. And we haven't discussed personality conflicts and sectarianism yet. The existing models for coordination of progressive groups consist of exclusive NGO meetings where funders select who to invite and guide the coordination on the one hand, and People's Social Forum assemblies open to all on the other extreme. The former are effective but elitist and ultimately unimaginative. The latter are democratic in spirit but do not appear to have created significant new collaborations between movements. A synthesis that combines openness, effectiveness and imagination while trimming out chaos, elitism and focus-grouped dullness would be salutary. The difficulties should not be underplayed, but they can be overcome. If the conditions listed above prove too daunting, there are a few ways that an inspiring campaign the seizes the agenda and puts the Liberals on their heels could be created on a budget, as it were. Conditional strike votes: during the 2012 strike, some student assemblies would pass resolutions declaring that they would stay on "unlimited" strike as long as a certain number of other students from other faculties or schools were also striking. Progressive organizations could commit to a certain level of support (mobilizing members or devoting resources) if a stated number of other organizations also commit. One big focus group: a relatively inexpensive, but less relationally compelling mode of organizing might be to fund a well-respected actor to hire a small team to canvas progressive organizations or key organizers about ways they'd be willing to collaborate and avenues they find promising, and then publish the results. Who wants to be opposition leader?: A well-guided contest with prizes and compensation for quality entries could generate ideas and discussion. It might be one of the only times that the "vote for my entry" style of social media contest could be justified. Just go for it: After thinking about winning conditions, a group might just decide to go for it, and try to make something happen while gathering support on the fly. Movements like Idle No More and Occupy Wall Street, after all, came from tiny, imaginative efforts that gathered momentum. All of these lack the advantage of up-front investments: an investment in a process creates an investment (and political pressure to follow through on) the outcome. Ultimately, large-scale collaborations come down to game theory. We all know that we're stronger together, but we also want to protect our hard-won turf and credibility. Ultimately, there is no substitute for democratic decision-making based on thorough discussion, but it may be necessary to make bold attempts to create coordinated democratic movements while simultaneously building toward a culture that supports them. Dru Oja Jay is a co-founder of the Media Co-op, an organizer, co-author of Paved with Good Intentions (pavedwithgoodintentions.ca) and Offsetting Resistance (offsettingresistance.ca). Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.