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Obama has stepped in it big time, and we have Elizabeth Warren to thank. Obama gave voice to his political creed in the form of parroting Warren’s famous rant about factory owners: Here’s Obama’s rendition (and a Romney response): Watch More News Videos at ABC2012 Presidential ElectionEntertainment & Celebrity News Let’s cut to the very quotable few seconds which should and likely will be on every television in every swing state a thousand times between now and the election: This collectivist view of our economic system is alien to the vast majority of Americans. It is beyond class warfare, which is the envy of others who are more successful. Obama has attacked success, not just the successful. The anti-success dog will not hunt outside of Massachusetts (and maybe not even there) and a few other states. And now Elizabeth Warren’s collectivist dog is Obama’s dog. Warren is backing up Obama on the theme: Warren said during a campaign stop in Dorchester yesterday, “I think the basic notion is right. Nobody got rich on their own. Nobody. People worked hard, they build a business, God bless, but they moved their goods on roads the rest of us helped build, they hired employees the rest of us helped educate, they plugged into a power grid the rest of us helped build,” she said. Obama has hitched his wagon to an alien ideology touted by a tainted candidate who might be too liberal even for Massachusetts. I don’t think this is going away. It is a theme handed to Romney on a silver platter, a silver platter built, of course, on roads the rest of us paid for. It is a game changer. And we have Elizabeth Warren to thank for it. Update: Paul Mirengoff quotes Pat Sajak as follows: It’s as if President Obama climbed into a tank, put on his helmet, talked about how his foray into Cambodia was seared in his memory, looked at his watch, misspelled “potato” and pardoned Richard Nixon all in the same day. And via Althouse, Obama is running an ad denying he said what he said and accusing Romney of misquoting him. But of course, Obama did say what he said. This is a sign that the Obama campaign knows how toxic Obama’s embrace of Warren’s argument has become.

Introducing the Mapbox CLI Mapbox Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 25, 2016 By Matthew Perry We’d like to introduce you to the Mapbox CLI, the command line interface to Mapbox web services. It’s for users who want to automate their use of Mapbox APIs without committing to writing a full application with our SDKs. The command line is a powerful tool for technical users and allows you to quickly prototype ideas, script them and compose them with a rich set of existing command line applications. For example, if you want to geocode a single place name and map the results using geojson.io: mapbox geocoding "Portland" | geojsonio Or you may have a GeoJSON file that you want to upload as a new tileset to your Mapbox Studio account: mapbox upload perrygeo.ballparks --name "Ballparks" ballparks.geojson The Mapbox CLI allows you to compose data pipelines backed by our APIs, with a concise syntax that can be fully scripted and automated. Beyond geocoding and uploads, here’s a small taste of some other interesting use cases:

GOP’s weak political position on the sequester… Just look at the polls, the lack of compromise, and the message… That said, Democrats have their own sequester problems, too… Rick Scott accepts Medicaid expansion… Look who’s coming to CPAC -- almost everybody… And when it comes to politicians, almost nothing surprises us anymore. See the Pete Domenici story. Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, addresses the media following a Republican Conference meeting on Feb. 5, 2013 at the Capitol. From left are: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., Conference Vice Chairman Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Rep. Susan Brooks, R-In., and Conference Chairman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. *** GOP’s weak position on the sequester: Yesterday we asked this question about the political back-and-forth regarding the looming automatic budget cuts that are set to take place on March 1: What if the sky doesn’t fall? But here’s the opposite question: What if it does? And if that’s the case, Republicans stand to pay the steepest political price. It’s not even close right now. For starters, look at the numbers from the first two national polls taken after the State of the Union. The new USA Today/Pew poll: “President Obama starts his second term with a clear upper hand over GOP leaders on issues from guns to immigration that are likely to dominate the year… On the legislation rated most urgent — cutting the budget deficit — even a majority of Republican voters endorse Obama's approach of seeking tax hikes as well as spending cuts.” Also in this poll, the president’s approval rating is at 51%, while the approval for congressional GOPers is at 25%. And here’s Bloomberg’s poll: “… Obama enters the latest budget showdown with Congress with his highest job- approval rating in three years [55%] and public support for his economic message, while his Republican opponents’ popularity stands at a record low [35%].” So these are the numbers when the White House’s P.R. campaign to avert the sequester has only begun and before the expected layoffs and furloughs. *** Where’s the compromise? Besides the polling numbers, Republicans find themselves in a weak position -- politically -- because they’ve yet to propose ANY kind of compromise that recognizes they don’t control the White House or the U.S. Senate. By contrast, Obama has offered up entitlement cuts (chained CPI for Social Security is apparently still on the table), and he has indicated a willingness to make additional cuts to Medicare (he said so in the State of the Union). But Republicans are refusing to budge on any tax revenues (via closing loopholes, etc.), even though House Speaker John Boehner offered them up during the fiscal-cliff debate. “House Republicans, shrugging off rising pressure from President Obama, are resolutely opposing new tax increases to head off $85 billion in across-the-board spending reductions, all but ensuring the cuts will go into force March 1 and probably remain in place for months, if not longer,” the New York Times says. Interestingly, Karl Rove has proposed a sort of compromise for House Republicans to offer: “pass a continuing resolution next week to fund the government for the balance of the fiscal year at the lower level dictated by the sequester—with language granting the executive branch the flexibility to move funds from less vital activities to more important ones.” In other words, force the Obama administration to choose which programs and entities get funded. Of course, this comes with political risk as many Republicans will fear that the Obama administration will essentially fund what he wants at the expense of programs or projects important to Republicans. *** A muddled message: In addition to the GOP’s poll numbers and its inability to propose a compromise, a third Republican shortcoming in this sequester debate is the message. Conservative writer Byron York sums the problem of House Speaker John Boehner describing the looming cuts as a policy “that threatens U.S. national security, thousands of jobs and more,” but isn’t earnestly trying to avoid it. “Could the GOP message on the sequester be any more self-defeating?” York asks. “Boehner could argue that the sequester cuts are necessary as a first — and somewhat modest — step toward controlling the deficits that threaten the economy. Instead, he describes them as a threat to national security and jobs that he nevertheless supports. It’s not an argument that is likely to persuade millions of Americans.” As we’ve pointed out in the past, if a party’s opinion writers -- like York and Rove -- are arguing that the party isn’t pursuing a wise course, you’re typically losing the debate. *** Democrats have their own sequester problems: Of course, none of this is to say that Obama and the Democrats have handled the sequester politics swimmingly. The same polls that show Obama’s approval rating above 50% could easily fall during this latest fiscal standoff. What’s more, the public isn’t engaged in this battle like it has been in previous ones. (Per that USA Today/Pew poll, “barely a quarter have heard a lot about the scheduled cuts, while about as many have heard nothing at all.) And as the New York Times notes, senior Senate Democratic aides complained that the Obama White House should have demanded a better way to handle the sequester during the fiscal-cliff negotiations. “In late December, as the White House and Senate Republicans closed in on a deal to head off a far larger wave of automatic tax increases, Senate Democrats had urged the president and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to hold out for a better deal on the automatic spending cuts.” But if the sequester sky does fall, Republicans hold the weaker hand. And Democrats -- this DCCC video targeting House Republicans is an example -- are on the offensive. *** Rick Scott accepts Medicaid expansion: Beyond the upcoming sequester, the other big political story today is Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) saying that his state will accept Medicaid expansion under the federal health-care law. While other GOP governors have refused the expansion (like Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday), Scott’s decision is significant because -- as Politico writes -- he’s “the biggest symbol of grudging Republican acceptance that Obamacare is the law of the land.” More from that article: “Scott had campaigned against the health legislation even before he began running for office, and Florida led the 26 states that fought it in court.” So Scott, who’s facing a VERY difficult race for re-election next year, isn’t just simply a conservative governor of a swing state; he’s the guy who spent MILLIONS of dollars to stop the health-care law. There’s an interesting pattern developing, and one that isn’t that surprising: Just about any Republican governor in a blue or purple state that Obama carried (or nearly carried) seems to finding a way to compromise on health care, either in setting up exchanges or on Medicaid. The lone exception is McDonnell, but he’s NOT running for re-election and the next election he faces may be with Republican primary voters in 2016. *** Look who’s coming to CPAC: Yesterday, we also learned -- via NBC’s Sarah B. Boxer -- that Mitt Romney will be addressing CPAC next month, which will be his first public (and political) speech since his concession to Obama on Election Night. And Romney’s participation begs this question: Just who isn’t coming to CPAC? Not only will potential 2016ers (like Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan) be addressing the conservative confab, but so will folks many Republicans have moved on from (like Romney and Sarah Palin). The only prominent Republican we can see who won’t be addressing CPAC appears to be New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. This is all a recognition of how mainstream CPAC, which used to be considered the anti-establishment wing of the party, has become. *** Nothing surprises us anymore about politicians: Lastly, we mention this story because it’s proof that NOTHING -- and absolutely nothing -- surprises us about politicians anymore. “Former New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici told the Journal on Tuesday he fathered a son outside of his marriage over 30 years ago, revealing a secret kept for decades. Statements given to the Journal by Domenici and the son’s mother, Michelle Laxalt of Alexandria, Va., identified the son as Adam Paul Laxalt, a Nevada lawyer. Michelle Laxalt formerly was a prominent government relations consultant and television political commentator in Washington, D.C. She is a daughter of former U.S. senator and Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt,” who served with Domenici in the U.S. Senate. A little history lesson on Laxalt for our younger readers: He was essentially Ronald Reagan’s best friend in the U.S. Senate (almost on the ticket if you believe some reports back in 1980). And Domenici was a real possibility to be Bush 41’s VP in 1988. Click here to sign up for First Read emails. Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone. Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter. Follow us @chucktodd, @mmurraypolitics, @DomenicoNBC, @brookebrower

We discussed Transhumanism, the irony of using technology to spread the word about Primitivism, some of the contentions between the two world views, civilization & its discontents, the motivation and the viability of Primitivism. After reading a vice article where John Zerzan discussed (amongst other things) transhumanism I sought his attemtion. http://www.vice.com/read/john-zerzan-wants-us-to-give-up-all-of-our-technology - Would humans be happier if we were to revert back to a primitivist state? - Disregard all technology and embrace our primitive roots? - Was art, advanced forms of language and tool making an original sin which led us out of Eden to a less desirable technological dystopia? - In a reversion to a 'neolithic paradise', how would we preserve the philosophies we value? Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, alienation, and population growth. Anarcho-primitivists advocate a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale organization technologies. Many traditional anarchists reject the critique of civilization while some, such as Wolfi Landstreicher, endorse the critique but do not consider themselves anarcho-primitivists. Anarcho-primitivists are often distinguished by their focus on the praxis of achieving a feral state of being through "rewilding". Notes Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, alienation, and population growth. Anarcho-primitivists advocate a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale organization technologies. Many traditional anarchists reject the critique of civilization while some, such as Wolfi Landstreicher, endorse the critique but do not consider themselves anarcho-primitivists. Anarcho-primitivists are often distinguished by their focus on the praxis of achieving a feral state of being through "rewilding". Identifier JohnZerzanDiscussionAboutPrmitivismAndTranshumanismAdamFord Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.5.2 Taped by Adam ford

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting on the situation in Mali, January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer PARIS (Reuters) - France will not negotiate with gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram who have taken a French family of seven hostage, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday. The three adults and four children were seized in Cameroon’s far north near the Nigerian border last week. In a video posted online on Monday, the gunmen threatened to kill them unless authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon released Muslim militants held there. “We do not negotiate on that kind of basis, with these kind of groups,” Le Drian told RTL radio. “We will use all (other) possible means to ensure that these and other (French) hostages are freed.” “We do not play this bidding game because that’s terrorism,” he said, deploring the fact that children were involved. The kidnapping has brought to 15 the number of French citizens being held in the region, with the risk heightened since Paris sent thousands of troops into Mali last month to help the country oust Islamists operating in the north. Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people in an attempt to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson at Thursday’s GOP debate in Orlando ORLANDO, Fla.—Gary Johnson was one of the very last people to get the news about Gary Johnson. On Tuesday night, Howard Kurtz reported that the former governor of New Mexico would get a podium at the Fox News/Google presidential debate. Other journalists tried to confirm the story with the Johnson campaign. No dice. They called the Florida GOP. Same deal. Not until Wednesday morning, when the governor was in a plane headed to Florida, could the campaign start popping bottles. He started strategizing on Wednesday night. “Everybody that I’ve met in my life prior to today emailed me, I think,” Johnson said. “Everybody had a suggestion for what I was supposed to do.” The mission: Get taken seriously for once. Johnson was supposed to be the Next Ron Paul of Republican politics. Ron Paul realized that he had gotten pretty good at that job. Johnson impressed nobody at a May debate in South Carolina. He had not debated a political foe since 1998, which led to word-salad answers like this one: “I’m in the camp that believes that we as individuals, we need a bit of help, so government helps out but at the point at which it runs out, that’s when we really deal with the problems that we have and as individuals that’s when we deal with those problems.” Candidates who poll around 1 percent are rewarded if they make debates more exciting. Johnson was punished. He missed the cut for every other debate, flunking the ad hoc tests of polling strength, becoming a nonperson. In his last finance report, he had around $6,000 to campaign with. The one Republican who backed legal marijuana, opposed the death penalty, and wanted to cut 43 percent from the military budget had become invisible. Libertarians have more intellectual sway in the Republican Party right now than they’ve had in … well, give me a couple hours, and I’ll think of another time. Johnson’s vanishing act annoyed them. On Wednesday, before I got to Florida, a libertarian friend who owns a comic book store (no jokes!) asked me why Gary Johnson kept getting stiffed in the debates. For the first time, I could say that he wasn’t being stiffed. Thursday, as Republican delegates and legislators and hangers-on kibitzed, I ran into FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe. “Gary Johnson’s going to come out swinging,” he predicted. Then I ran into State Senate President Mike Haridopolos, a mainline conservative Republican, and asked him if he was ready for Johnson. “What was his name?” said Haridopolos. “God bless him for showing up.” Johnson took his place on stage before 9 p.m., ready to swing. When the cameras came to him (thank you, Fox News, for sparing us the action bios and forced introductory quips of the CNN debates), Johnson fed off the energy of an audience packed tight with Ron Paul lovers. He waved to the crowd with a look that said, “That’s right. I made it. I have enough money left in my campaign account to buy a 30-second ad in the 2 a.m. block on this channel—maybe. But I made it.” Over two hours, Johnson would get four questions. This was better than he expected; when he previewed his non-strategy to me, he guessed he’d get “two and a half.” Every question got the same answer, with a series of lines rearranged like parsley on a plate. “I think I vetoed more bills than any governor in the country.” (True.) “I will submit a balanced budget for 2013.” (We may never know.) “I think the biggest threat to our national security is that we’re bankrupt.” (We’re not, technically, but this a nice line to co-opt from the Tea Party.) One hour and 44 minutes in, Johnson got his fourth question. It was obviously going to be his last—maybe his last question in this format ever. He deployed a zinger. “My next door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than this president.” The candidate who had been kept out of polite society had just told a poop joke on the same stage as the next Republican presidential nominee. It killed. Johnson didn’t even try to contain his screw-you grin. When the debate ended, his rivals told him he’d had the best line of the night. Him! The guy who had probably inspired late-night calculus sessions of debate promoters to find a formula that included struggling Jon Huntsman but excluded him. Fox wrapped its live shot and went to instant commentary from Charles Krauthammer. “That was the best line of the night,” said Krauthammer, “and had he said it early on, he might now be a top tier candidate.” Johnson could walk into the spin room as a winner, kind of. Andrew Breitbart was already in there, doing more interviews than half of the candidates’ strategists, praising the guy who had barely made it in. “In my gut I’d vote for Johnson or Cain, because they made me laugh,” said Breitbart. “That’s the shallow, Hollywood perspective for you.” The governor sat for a TV interview, then confronted a first for the Johnson campaign: a crowd of reporters. The first bites came from foreign press, for whom any presidential candidate’s quotes are precious. “You want to balance the budget, you said,” offered a Japanese reporter. “Do you risk becoming a single-issue candidate?” This was the best problem Johnson had faced in months. The question implied that he was actually a candidate. He answered it. He got a question about momentum, and answered it: “What if I’m supposed to not even show up in New Hampshire, and I come in fifth?” He got a question about the death penalty. “Innocent people have probably been put to death in Texas!” he said. “I changed my mind on this issue based on the evidence.” He told the story of a wrongful conviction in New Mexico that spun him around, getting more and more emotive. He offered up more differences with the front-runners. “I’m glad the military supported ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” he said. “I’m not a social conservative. I don’t want to build a fence on the border.” It was all friendly—who wants to grind a 1 percent candidate down with details?—until a hawkish reporter from a foreign policy pressure group pointed a bulky HD camera at Johnson. “Sir, the federal government has listed CAIR as a Muslim Brotherhood front group.” “You know,” said Johnson, “this is the first I’ve heard of it. I probably should have heard of it.” “Are you familiar with CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations?” “No, I’m not.” Johnson looks perplexed: Why is he being asked this? His interrogator, unsure just how to quiz someone who doesn’t know about this, sweats and sputters. “Uh, OK. Have you heard of the Holy Land Foundation trial, sir? “No, I have not. I’ve been to Israel. I’ve met with Netanyahu. I feel like I have a sense of what’s happening there.” The interrogator, sort of desperate, started raising his vocal pitch at the end of his questions. “The Holy Land Foundation trial is the largest anti-terrorism trial in the United States? They designated 254 groups as unindicted co-conspirators, and are tied to the Muslim Brotherhood?” Johnson shrugged. “Based on what you’re saying, this is a bad situation.” “We’d be happy to send you some information,” said the interrogator, giving up. “Good! That’d be great.” A Fox News radio reporter tried to bring the conversation back, to humanize Johnson. How did it feel to be excluded from the rest of these cattle calls? “Do you take it personally?” the reporter asked. “Does it hurt you?” Johnson leaned toward the microphone, left leg forward, as if he were winding up for a pitch. “If you were in my shoes, you would be hurt,” he said. “You would ask, what’s going on? Is this the American system? Is this fair? Is this the media? I mean, really?” Johnson’s happy campaign team started applauding. “I’m in this race because I think I can win. Now, that might sound terribly outrageous.”

All In The Family Did you know that the dog's name was "Barfy?" Call me a snob, but I feel like every single-panel comic about the lives of a suburban family has been so derivative of B. Keane's original masterwork. Yes, "sing-pan-fam" is a legitimate genre unto itself now, with myriad authors, collections, and even conventions spanning the comicsphere. But it's hard to see a comic with a young girl asking her mommy, "How do chickens make chicken salad?" without thinking of Dolly. In some sense, this is the fate for all new genres and forms. How long after "Don Quixote" did it take for novelists to be seen as anything but blatant thieves? So I give sing-pan-fam authors some slack, but I wish they would try harder to expand the universe beyond the legacy left by Mr. Keane. For instance, does every character name have to end with a "ie" or "y"? I know it's a small quibble, but when I open up a new sing-pan-fam collection and see that the characters are all fat, stupid kids named "Alfie" or "Suzy" I have a hard time taking it seriously. Aren't we ready to move out from the Master's shadow? Can't we explore the banal non-humor of outmoded nuclear family lifestyles in new ways? Wear this shirt: and you'll be the Belle of the Premiere. Don't wear this shirt: while wearing The Ring or nobody will see how KEWL you are. This shirt tells the world: "I'm going there, but I'll be back again." We call this color: We must away ere break of day / To seek the pale enchanted silver Back to top

The standout pitcher on the day was 22-year-old right-hander Victor Diaz . Diaz’s numbers with Greenville this year—a 3.88 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with 25 walks to 63 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings—do not really stand out, particularly considering his age. But even though he is already 22, he is relatively new to pro ball having only signed when he was 20 years old. Looking further into his season, however, reveals bad performances in the first half of the season leading to a 6.59 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in his first 28 2/3 innings with 12 walks and 23 strikeouts. But in the second half, Diaz put up a 1.42 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 31 2/3 innings with 40 strikeouts and 13 walks. Furthermore, to end the year, Diaz did not allow a run in 16 2/3 innings over August and September, striking out 25 hitters and allowing only 8 hits and 9 walks.In his inning of work, Diaz struck out the side, showing off not only his impressive fastball but improved secondary stuff and the ability to locate when he is locked in. Diaz is listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, but looks heavier than that. He is filled out and has a sturdy pitcher’s frame with minimal projection remaining. Because of his size, he does have effort in his delivery and a lot of moving parts. As a result, Diaz has struggled in the past to lock into his three-quarters arm slot at times, but in this outing, he was repeating his delivery well. Diaz works exclusively from the stretch and sat at 99 mph for every fastball he threw. The pitch has late life and showed bat-missing ability, eliciting two swing-and-misses against right-handers. If he can harness his command and stay within himself like he did in this outing, the pitch has elite potential and is easily one of the best fastballs in the system. The more encouraging aspect of this outing was that his secondary pitches both flashed at least average, with his slider flashing above-average-to-plus. When he feels his slider like he did in this outing it is brutal on hitters, coming in 91-93 mph with 10-to-4 break and short, hard bite. He got two swing-and-misses with the pitch and two strikeouts, showing the ability to both bury the pitch down and away from right-handers and throw it for a strike and freeze the hitter. Diaz also threw a few 90-92 mph changeups. The change is behind his slider, and he slightly slowed his arm down on some, but the pitch did show drop and elicited two swing-and-misses as well.Diaz is one of the more intriguing bullpen arms in the Red Sox system. His stuff has always been electric, but he seems to have made significant strides this season and the confidence he gained from his late-season success carried over to this outing. Given his shaky command profile, he will likely always be susceptible to a blow-up outing, but having shown the ability to keep the ball in the park (only two home runs allowed in his career, spanning 93 innings) and on the ground (posting a 2.57 groundball to fly ball ratio this year), he may be able to minimize the damage from any command lapses. There is definitely still risk, but the upside is there for a potential late-inning reliever.-----Left-hander Robby Sexton , the club’s 14th-round pick this June, got the start, throwing two innings and striking out five. In six starts in the Gulf Coast League, the left-hander was dominant—as one might hope a college draftee would be in the GCL—allowing just 4 runs over 20 innings in six starts, striking out 23 while walking just one.Sexton has a sturdy, filled-out pitcher’s frame, listed at 6-foot-0, 225 pounds and showing minimal projection. He starts on the first base side of the rubber and throws from a three-quarters arm slot, utilizing a high leg kick and slight trunk twist before coming forward. His fastball sat 88-90 mph, topping out at 91 mph, with natural cut. The pitch jumped on hitters thanks to deception in his delivery from keeping the ball behind his body. He did a good job locating the pitch, as one might expect from his numbers, and had hitters fooled, getting four strikeouts with it, three looking. With his command and movement, the pitch has average potential and could be especially effective against left-handed hitters.Sexton complimented his fastball with a changeup and breaking ball. His changeup is more advanced at this point. He has advanced feel for the pitch, throwing it with deceptive arm speed, the same as his fastball. He threw it 82-83 mph, and the pitch showed drop when he turned it over down in the zone. His breaking ball was on the slurvy side at 76-80 mph. The pitch had two-plane break, but tended to roll to the plate at lower velocities. At the upper end of that velocity range, it showed some bite and looked more like a slider. The pitch needs some refinement, but if he can consistently throw the harder version, it has the potential to be a decent alternative to his other two pitches to give hitters another look.Long term, Sexton’s future lies in the bullpen. Given the demand for left-handed relievers, especially those who excel against hitters on the same side, he is someone that bears watching next season as he makes his first foray into full season ball.-----Another reliever on the first day was the Red Sox 25th-round pick in June out of Allen County Community College, right-hander Francisco Lopez-Soto . Lopez-Soto who signed for just a $40,000 bonus, had a nondescript professional debut, allowing 9 runs on 12 hits and 8 walks in 12 innings over nine appearances while notching six strikeouts. Listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Lopez-Soto has a solid pitcher’s frame and some projection remaining. He throws from a low three-quarters arm slot and has a jerky delivery with an inconsistent release. He came across his body at times and struggled to repeat his delivery. While his mechanics and arm slot will be tough on right-handers, left-handers get a very good look at the ball. His fastball sat 92-94 mph and he mixed in a long, loopy 11-to-5 curveball at 72-75 mph, a horizontal slider at 84 mph, and a firm changeup at 84 mph. All of his secondary offerings need refinement, and given his arm slot, focusing on the slider would make the most sense, but he did not show much feel for it in this outing.-----Drafted as a catcher, Jordan Weems never showed enough ability offensively to stick, even after a move to first base to start this season. After hitting .119 in 22 games for Portland to start his age 23 season, Weems was sent back to extended spring training to convert to pitching. Weems showed some ability in eight Gulf Coast League appearances, allowing just 6 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batter over 17 innings, only giving up 2 runs but striking out just 10. After a promotion to Short-Season A Lowell, the strikeouts went up, as he tallied 20 in 15 2/3 innings, but he also allowed 19 hits and 8 walks as 12 runners crossed the plate.In his outing on Friday, Weems showed off a strong arm, but also that he has a long way to go. Weems has an athletic pitcher’s frame and a quick, live arm. He has a short arm action with some effort, including a head whack in his delivery. His fastball sat 92-94 mph, but it is on the straight side and is hittable as a result. He throws his changeup 80-83 mph with deceptive arm speed. It will flash fade down and away from a left-handed hitter, and he has some feel for it, but it is inconsistent. He throws his curveball 71-73 mph with long 12-to-6 break, but he does not snap that pitch off consistently either.

Around this time last spring, the NPR Music staff sat around talking about bands we wanted to book for our daytime party at South by Southwest 2010. Those discussions get fairly heated: We're all pulling for our favorites, so coming to a consensus about a band can be as difficult as agreeing on a pizza topping. One band we all got behind pretty quickly was Local Natives. Since the group's set at SXSW, it's been fun watching Local Natives flourish from a little-known opening act to one of the breakout artists of 2010. The band's well-deserved rise culminated in headlining shows, a prominent gig at Bonnaroo and an album, Gorilla Manor, that found its way onto many best-of-the-year lists. We caught up with Local Natives again late last year, near the end of a tour, and invited the group to the NPR Music offices for a stirring acoustic set behind the Tiny Desk. The L.A.-based quintet — Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayers, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm and Matt Frazier — plays buoyant, infectious songs that brim with sunny melodies and three-part harmonies sung with gentle grace. Local Natives' joyful mix of inventive indie-rock arrangements, clattering Afrobeat rhythms and euphoric chamber-pop harmonies may be what invites listeners in, but the lyrics contain just as much depth and nuance. The band's yearning set-closer, the soaring "Airplanes," is dedicated to Ayers' deceased pilot grandfather, and the song practically bursts with evocative images — a desk, a set of chopsticks from Japan, a worn encyclopedia — that help listeners piece together what the man was like. When performed in such an intimate and unadorned performance space, that catchy and contemplative song highlights the strength of Local Natives' songwriting and musicianship. It also points to a promising future. Set List "Wide Eyes" "Cards & Quarters" "Airplanes" Credits Michael Katzif and Bob Boilen (cameras); edited by Michael Katzif; photo by Abby Verbosky

Buy Photo A site for possible expansion of Wilmington University at the intersection of U.S. 202, Beaver Valley Road, and Ramsey Road. (Photo: ROBERT CRAIG/THE NEWS JOURNAL )Buy Photo Story Highlights Wilmington University is buying 41 acres of undeveloped land on U.S. 202 in Brandywine Hundred. Plans for the property call for three classroom buildings on 29 acres. Work on the first 50,000-square-foot building is expected to begin in about 18 months. School ranked as the fourth fastest-growing nonprofit university in the nation from 2002 to 2012. Wilmington University, a private career-oriented institution near New Castle, is embarking on the largest capital improvement program in its 46-year history with the purchase of 41 acres of undeveloped land on U.S. 202 and Beaver Valley Road in Brandywine Hundred. Plans for the property, owned for decades by Woodlawn Trustees Inc. of Wilmington, call for three classroom buildings on 29 acres with work on the first 50,000-square-foot building expected to begin in about 18 months. University President Jack Varsalona said the expansion will set the course for the university for the next 10 years. To Irenee du Pont Jr., a member of the board of trustees and former board chairman, it's an amazing advance for an institution that began in an abandoned motel and gas station on U.S. 13 near Basin Road. When the school ran into financial difficulties in the 1970s, a du Pont family trust gave money to help turn the institution around. "We're departing from past procedure of being a modest institution. Now, we're becoming a real university," said the du Pont family patriarch. The project north of Wilmington is necessary because of the school's rapid growth, with student population growing at 7 percent a year for the past six years, Varsalona said. Today, enrollment stands at 19,116. Nationwide, the institution ranked as the fourth fastest-growing nonprofit university from 2002 to 2012, according to The Almanac of The Chronicle of Higher Education. What's more, the demand is high among students for classes to be taught in Brandywine Hundred, Varsalona said. About 45 percent of the students live in North Wilmington zip codes, Varsalona said. For four years, the school has rented space for classrooms in Concord Plaza off Silverside Road and those are always the first to fill up, he said. "It's at the point where it's burgeoning," said Laurie Bick, Wilmington University director of public relations. When completed, the new campus could employ more than 150 people, including faculty and support staff. It would also generate jobs during the construction process. Varsalona declined to put a dollar estimate on the expansion, which calls for a maximum of three buildings of 50,000 square feet. Neither would he give the cost of the land, which is under contract with settlement pending any land use approvals. But Varsalona said the deal is only possible because of the "goodwill" of Woodlawn Trustees, which took into consideration the value to the community of a university on the site in determining the price. The school had been looking to expand along the U.S. 202 corridor for five years, but was unable to find any suitable real estate. "Whatever opened up, I went to look at it," Varsalona said. 'When I saw the (Woodlawn) land, I was never as happy. It was a miracle." Vernon Green, chief operating officer of Woodlawn Trustees, said they were able to work with Wilmington University on price because it's part of the company's mission to undertake projects that benefit the community. Proceeds from development are used to fund the company's land preservation and affordable housing mission, Green said. "We feel that it is the most appropriate use for that land in today's market," Green said. New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon, who is a graduate of the school, said based on preliminary plans, the development fits with the county's plan to upgrade the U.S. 202 corridor in appearance. "They're committed to high-quality architecture," Gordon said. "It's going to look like a college campus. We want a beautiful campus that will be the first thing you see when you come into Delaware. The university will launch a small capital campaign to pay for the project, Varsalona said. Buy Photo Dr. Jack Varsalona (left), president of Wilmington University, and Vernon Green, chief operating office of Woodlawn Trustees. (Photo: ROBERT CRAIG/THE NEWS JOURNAL ) "The university believes this to be a very important project for our students and the community," said former U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnan Jr., chairman of the board of trustees. Varsalona and others declined to say if the Brandywine Hundred campus would become the main campus in the future. "I think they're very proud of the gas station and the abandoned motel," du Pont said. "It's like being born in a log cabin in Illinois." Varsalona said he will not tear down the original motel office and gas station that serve as administrative offices now. "It's important to remember where we came from," Varsalona said. "We have a philosophy of opportunity and those buildings remind us of how we must continue that philosophy." Land use issues Although the land is in the high-traffic corridor along U.S. 202, some believe it will meet with less community opposition than a previous plan for the tract which called for a shopping center and residences. The university expects to file plans with New Castle County land use department within the next few months, Varsalona said. The land is already properly zoned for university use. Eileen Fogarty, New Castle County general manager, said the plan would need approval for a major land development plan. "We've only seen (plans) once and it was very, very conceptual. We would want to look at the plan, review and hear from the community," Fogarty said. "But in theory something like a university could be a good transition from the commercial development to the scenic and residential areas." Robert Valihura, president of Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred, said considering previous plans for the site, the Wilmington University project is a "tremendous opportunity for the community." In 2008, Stoltz Real Estate Partners, a real estate organization based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., submitted an $80 million plan for the land that called for 264,000 square feet of retail and offices and 36 residences. The year before, Woodlawn said Whole Foods Market Inc., a natural and organic foods supermarket, had expressed serious interest in leasing a more than 62,000-square-foot free-standing store in the center. By 2010, Stoltz decided not to pursue the plan, but did not give a reason. "The community as a whole would prefer to see it remain as a corn field," Valihura said. "But the community has understood that the land has been the focus of a sale by Woodlawn to pay for its low-cost housing in Wilmington. As between housing or university campus, the university campus makes sense in a number of ways." Woodlawn Trustees was created in 1901 by Quaker philanthropist William P. Bancroft to preserve land along the Brandywine and develop land farther back from the creek as well-planned residential communities. Woodlawn communities on the west side of U.S. 202 include Alapocas, Woodbook, Sharpley, Edenridge and Tavistock. Land also was made available to community organizations, schools and churches. It has also been involved in commercial development along U.S. 202. Since the 1970s, Woodlawn Trustees has been a tax-paying Delaware corporation whose proceeds from development are used to fund its preservation and affordable housing mission, Green said. Two years ago, Woodlawn transferred 1,100 acres, which had been used for a wildlife preserve and public park, to the Rockford Woodlawn Fund, another Bancroft organization dedicated to land preservation, land enhancement (such as trails) and fighting urban blight. The Rockford Woodlawn Fund, in turn, sold the land to The Conservation Fund. The purchase price of a little more than $20 million was made possible by a donation from the Mount Cuba Center. In 2013, the land was donated to the National Park Service to become part of the First State National Monument, a new monument that includes the Dover Green, the New Castle Court House complex, and former Woodlawn property in the Brandywine Valley. On U.S. 202 and surrounding roads, Valihura said the traffic generated by a university would better fit with the neighborhood traffic patterns than would housing. And classes typically start after rush hour, he noted. "I think the campus has a chance to be a bright beacon for the community," Valihura said. New Castle County Councilman Bob Weiner, whose district includes the Woodlawn land, said the university campus is "much better use than a shopping center." "Having said that, the land use department is going to carefully consider the wishes of the community and the councilman of the district. And I'm going to listen carefully to the community. The community will be at the table." Traffic is an issue, as are hours of operation, architecture, lighting and setbacks, Weiner said. "The devil is in the details." Early plans Under the current proposal, the buildings will be located at least 100 feet back from both U.S. 202 and Beaver Valley Road, with the entrance off Beaver Valley Road. The three-story buildings will face an existing pond. However, because the ground slopes down, only the top floors will be visible from the highway, Varsalona said. "The objective is to remain in keeping with the beauty of the area," said university spokeswoman Bick. Of the 41 acres, roughly 29 will be developed with buildings and parking. Twelve acres will remain open space with woods and trails, Bick said. An existing historic school house on the property will be restored to a one-room school house and preserved for educational purposes, perhaps as a museum. Homsey Architects of Wilmington, which has designed the buildings for Wilmington University at the DuPont Highway campus in New Castle and in Dover, is handling the architecture. Eldon Homsey said the firm's earlier buildings were Colonial Revival in style, but preliminary drawings for the Beaver Valley Road campus are more contemporary. "It's respecting the area – trees," and natural areas, Homsey said. Varsalona said: "It will not look like another office building." Along the U.S. 202 front, plans are underway to build a high-quality architectural element made of Brandywine blue granite with the school's name that will be in keeping with the surrounding area. "It will be dramatic and beautiful," Varsalona said. Dramatic rise For those who remember the original Wilmington College on DuPont Highway near New Castle, the Brandywine Hundred project is a remarkable achievement. The college, which began at the site of a converted motel and gas station in 1968 with less than 200 students, was long considered an upstart institution for C students in a state dominated by the University of Delaware. In the 1970s, financial difficulties threatened to shut down the school. It was then that the Crystal Trust set up by Irenee du Pont, the late head of the DuPont Co. and father to the university trustee, came to the rescue with a $3 million gift. With the money, the school was able to pay off debts and bring in Audrey Doberstein as president. "She cleaned house with a good stiff broom," du Pont said. Doberstein brought in Varsalona as second-in-command in 1987. He had been education advisor to former Gov. Pierre S. du Pont IV, development director at the University of Delaware and principal of Ursuline Academy. Varsalona became university president in 2005 and is one of the highest paid presidents of a private, nonprofit institution. His 2011-12 compensation was more than $1 million, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Varsalona credits Irenee du Pont with creating a winning culture at Wilmington University. MAP (Photo: DAN GARROW) "His philosophy permeates the university," Varsalona said. "He taught everybody about inclusion, opportunity and, financially, the way you run a business. You don't rely on gifts or state or federal money. You rely on an exceptional product and keep the tuition affordable. That's him." Today, the school, which has a $66 million endowment, has carved out a unique niche catering to career-oriented students. Roughly 65 percent of students are adult learners. Approximately 85 percent of existing students are already working. It became a university in 2007 and now offers doctoral programs in business administration, education and nursing practice. It has master's degree programs in business, cybersecurity, computer network security and criminal justice, among others. The largest enrollment is in the College of Business, followed by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. It does not take state or federal money, but is 98 percent driven by tuition. The rest comes from the book store, Varsalona said. From the DuPont Highway campus, it has expanded to New Castle Corporate Commons and has classrooms in Middletown and Brandywine Hundred. "Our goal is that you can get to us in 20 minutes from anywhere in New Castle County," Varsalona said. It also has a campus in Dover and classrooms in Georgetown. Varsalona says the university's rapid growth stems from its ability to offer a quality education at an affordable price, as well as flexible learning. Based on a study by the school, the $4,056 cost for 12 credits for both in-state and out-of-state students is less than the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, Goldey-Beacom College, Wesley College and Delaware College of Art & Design. To Varsalona, the expansion is the perfect next step in the university's progress. "Brandywine Hundred is a unique community. And it needs an institution that offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees," he said. "We are convinced we can do this." Contact Maureen Milford at (302) 324-2881 or mmilford@delawareonline.com. Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/1wPemmt

Taking a cue from the Gujarat pattern of common water grid for ensuring water supply to the thirsty and drought-prone Kutch region, Maharashtra government will follow the Gujarat Grid model for providing water to Marathwada region. The state Cabinet in principle gave its nod for an ambitious grid plan which would be functional in the next 3 to 4 years after spending Rs2000 to Rs3000 crore, informed minister for sanitation Babanrao Lonikar. Lonikar said that he along with finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and 22 government officers paid a visit to Gujarat to see the Gujarat Grid model. A detailed presentation was made for the entire Cabinet for about one hour after which chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked Lonikar to go ahead with the project. The Cabinet has asked the chief engineers concerned, superintending engineers and technical advisors to submit a report in the next 15 days about details of pipelines, storage tanks and other details about Marathwada. Lonikar informed that there are various water supply schemes which are run by the state government and local bodies which will now be clubbed and all the eight districts of Marathwada will be supplied water through one separate grid for Marathwada. He said that Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh are also following the Gujarat Grid model and eventually other states will also have to follow the same. He added that there are 4,002 tankers deployed in Marathwada while Nashik division has 1,127 water tankers deployed. He also informed that while Pune division has deployed 489 tankers, Konkan has deployed 120, Amravati and Nagpur divisions 353 and 26 tankers respectively. He informed that out of a total 6,118 tankers deployed in the state, Marathwada is supplied water with 4,002 tankers. Lonikar on revenue dept post When asked whether he will be replacing Eknath Khadse and get the charge of revenue department, Lonikar said: "I am happy with sanitation and water supply, which is a department close to prime minister Narendra Modi's heart. Maharashtra is the number one state when it comes to open defecation-free villages and I would like to carry on this work."

The Volkswagen Group may be putting a huge investment into plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies across a number of its brands, but it remains simply a “bridging” technology on the path towards longer-range pure electric vehicles, according to its global drivetrain chief. Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Volkswagen board member and head of Group powertrain development, recently told CarAdvice that the future for green vehicles remained EV, and that PHEVs and fuel-cell vehicles were essentially a patch. “This [PHEV] is completely a bridging technology. We have two bridging technologies, on one hand is a plug-in hybrid technology and the other one is fuel cells, because both enlarge your operating range of the car when you have no recharging system available,” Neusser said. “When you have a recharging system, the easiest way is to plug-in the car, recharge the battery and drive it electric.” The Volkswagen Group currently offers a number of PHEVs (similar in conception to a Holden Volt) including the Golf GTE and Audi A3 e-tron, and has also produced a small number of XL1s. At last week’s Paris motor show it previewed two more, the petrol-electric Passat GTE and the Lamborghini Asterion concept. It has previously shown PHEV concepts such as the Cross Coupe. But pure EV remains the ultimate end point for the Group, which aims to be a world leader in vehicle electrification before the end of the decade. Its MQB architecture that will underpin the majority of its small-medium cars and SUVs is geared up for just this eventuality. This will be facilitated by VW internal battery development that will continue to bring significant improvements in the driving range of EVs, provided through greater energy density in the cells rather than the addition of larger and weightier battery packs. “Batteries make the biggest steps in very short time frames,” said Neusser. “In 2015/16 comes the next step, meaning we come from 25 to 28 Ampere-hours to 36-37Ah, then we are actually working on the next step, up to 60Ah. With research will come a completely new electro-chemical chemistry inside the batteries, and this will come at the beginning of the next decade. “If you look to the e-Golf we have an operating range of 190km, and I expect that the next-generation in 2016/17 will increase to 300km and the following step will be around 500-600km.” In other words, a battery of similar size could triple in capacity to around 80kWh, about the same as the larger and pricier (than an e-Golf) Tesla Model S flagship offering, which currently offers up to 500km of range. Speculation suggests a lithium-air unit could be the project. However, just because a mainstream EV like an e-Golf, next-generation BMW i3 or the forthcoming more mainstream Tesla Model 3 are expected to offer greatly increased range in a short time frame, it doesn’t mean bridging technologies such as PHEV won’t be needed for a few years at least. This is because greater battery density requires greater recharging capability, and the charging infrastructure in many world markets — Australia certainly included — dictates that PHEVs with their supplementary petrol/diesel power remain a necessity. “It’s depending on the different markets, different countries and that all the infrastructure is there,” said Neusser. “Because when you have such a high load and energy inside the batteries, you need a very powerful recharger — you can’t recharge with 3.6kW, it takes too long. “You need at least 50, to 80 or perhaps 90kW recharging power and these are water-cooler recharging systems, very high-performance rechargers. But people are working on this and I expect that it will come, but will take a little bit of time until it’s there.” The technology is, in fact, extant, with Tesla for example rolling out its 120kW Supercharger bases across the US, Asia and Europe. “We are free with the plug-in technologies to bridge over that each country has time enough to bring their infrastructure this way,” Neusser said. Meanwhile, the projected increase in vehicle electrification need not overburden the global power grid.

Two Silver Spring men are charged with a hate crime after they accosted and assaulted a couple of transgender women outside a 7-Eleven, Montgomery County police say. WASHINGTON — Two Silver Spring, Maryland, men are charged with a hate crime after they accosted and assaulted a couple of transgender women outside a 7-Eleven, Montgomery County police say. It was around 2:30 a.m. Monday when Edras Vasquez and Carlos Hernandez-Sanez were leaving the store on Amherst Avenue in Wheaton, Maryland. Walking into the store were two transgender women. “The men began using very disparaging, sexually oriented-based epithets,” said Lucille Baur, with the county police. When one of the women began recording the altercation with her phone, the argument turned physical, Baur said. “The suspects threw a Cup-O-Noodles on one of the victims, and then proceeded to kick and punch the victim to the extent that one of the victims, the 36-year-old, was thrown against the store’s front glass window,” Baur said. The window cracked and both women have minor injuries, Baur said. The men ran away; the women went inside the store to call police. When responding officers put out a detailed description of the men over the radio, Baur said, Vasquez and Hernandez-Sanez were arrested within minutes. Both the men face multiple charges, including robbery, assault and a hate crime for harassing the women based on their sexual orientation. “Montgomery County Police Department recognizes that no person should be victimized, especially targeted by hate, and certainly we thoroughly investigate any crime that is believed to be based on an individual’s race, religion or sexual orientation,” Baur said. Both the men are expected in court later this month. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and like us on Facebook. © 2016 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.

Sen. Orrin Hatch got angry last week when Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio had the temerity to suggest the Republican tax bill was a giveaway to the rich that eventually would hurt the poor and middle class. “I come from poor people,” the Utah Republican blustered. “And I’ve been here working my whole stinkin’ career for people who don’t have a chance. And I really resent anybody saying that I’m just doing this for the rich. Give me a break.” The exchange came during a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which Hatch heads, on a Senate tax bill that would do exactly what Brown said it would. My Salt Lake Tribune colleague Robert Gehrke offered a detailed analysis of the GOP proposal in a column last week that shows how the plan is a massive giveaway to the superwealthy and corporations while saddling the middle class with a tax increase by doing away with several deductions enjoyed by meager wage earners because the offsetting benefits to that class currently in the bill would expire in a few years. The temporary benefits to the middle class, Gehrke points out, would eventually expire so Republicans can show the tax cut to the rich wouldn’t add more than $1.5 trillion to the national debt. Under Senate budget rules, such a significant jump essentially would require 60 votes to pass the measure. If, by clever accounting and eventually raising taxes for the less privileged, the debt goes up below that amount, Hatch needs only 50 votes for the bill. The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent wrote that Hatch blew up at Brown because the Ohio Democrat noted how disingenuous the Republicans’ assertion is that big tax cuts for the rich and corporations would grow wages for the working class. Brown did so because GOP senators had rejected an amendment by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would undo the tax cuts on corporations if wages did not grow. Brown was calling the Republicans’ bluff, and Hatch didn’t like it. But let’s examine Hatch’s insistence that he’s worked for the little guy his “whole stinkin’ career” and determine just how genuine his words are — and have been. It’s true that Hatch co-sponsored with the late liberal icon Ted Kennedy the Children’s Health Insurance Program that provides subsidized health insurance for low-income children and has been largely successful, although the number of uninsured children continued going up. Hatch also teamed with then-Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to make it easier for seniors to access generic drugs, helping millions of Americans. But those efforts pale in comparison to what the Utah senator has done for the big guys, namely the pharmaceutical industry and dietary supplement makers. Article continues below Along with his continued efforts to fight regulations on supplements — which has become a multibillion-dollar industry — Hatch was a strong supporter of the $400 billion Medicare Prescription Drug Modernization Act in 2003 that critics have called a massive giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. Prescription drugs in the United States are the most expensive of anywhere in the world, partly because Medicare cannot negotiate prices with the drugmakers like other countries do. So much for helping the little guy. Hatch’s political campaign fund has received $587,909 from the pharmaceutical industry, along with $592,312 from the securities and investment sector in the past five years, according to OpenSecrets.org. The Washington Times reported in 2011 that five pharmaceutical companies and the industry’s main lobbying group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), gave a combined $172,500 to the Utah Families Foundation, a charity Hatch helped found. And PhRMA in 2011 donated $750,000 to Freedom Path, a pro-Hatch super political action committee formed during his most recent run for re-election. Hatch also lambasted Brown in the committee hearing for not trying to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans. Really? Hatch could have been looking in the mirror when he said that. Remember when Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., questioned Hatch during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last June about the secrecy surrounding the GOP bill to repeal and replace Obamacare? “We have no idea what’s being proposed,” McCaskill said. “There’s a group of guys in a back room somewhere that are making these decisions.” Hatch responded with a deer-in-the-headlights kind of a look. So much for working together. When Democrats controlled the Senate in 2013 and Republicans had used the filibuster to block President Barack Obama’s appointments with unprecedented frequency, Hatch voted against Democratic rules reforms, which eliminated the use of the filibuster on executive branch nominees and judicial picks other than to the Supreme Court. But after Republicans gained Senate control in the 2014 election, Hatch argued against restoring the filibuster, a tool that then would have been available to the Democratic minority. Just this year, the Republicans did away with the 60-vote rule for Supreme Court nominees so Donald Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch, could be confirmed with a majority vote. That, of course, was after the GOP majority refused even to hold a hearing on Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. If all that seems disingenuous, remember the statement candidate Hatch made in 1976, when he was running against Democratic incumbent Frank Moss: “What do you call a senator who has been in Washington for 18 years? You call him home.”

The Not In My Name campaigners, who organised the nation-wide protests against lynchings and communal violence on June 28, will hold a vigil in Jantar Mantar on Tuesday evening, this time to mourn the deaths of the seven Hindu pilgrims who were killed by militants on their way to Amarnath on Monday. In a statement on Facebook, organisers called the attackers “enemies of humanity” and said that they as citizens wanted to “take a firm stand against political violence no matter who the perpetrator.” “All lives matter and dead bodies should not become part of a politics that divides people on the basis of religion,” the post said. “The seven dead did not deserve to die and it is only when we stand up and demand an end to this politics of hatred that we can prevent the deaths of innocents going on a pilgrimage or returning from Eid shopping.” The Eid incident refers to the stabbing of 15-year-old Junaid Khan on a train to Mathura on June 22. The vigil has been scheduled for 7 pm and the organisers have asked participants to carry posters bearing #NotInMyName to show solidarity with the families of those killed. Bharatiya Janata Party National Spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao on Monday had questioned what he claimed was the selectivity of the Not In My Name campaigners. “On Amarnath killings, is “Not In My Name” gang protesting or are protests only for Akhlaqs, Junaids, Pehlu Khans and Not for Lord Shiva devotees?” Rao had said on Twitter. The organiser of the vigil, filmmaker Saba Dewan said Tuesday’s event was being held to protest all forms of violence and hatred. “We are not organising the vigil to respond to the BJP,” Dewan told Scroll.in. “We are against any nature of violence, including the excesses on the people of Kashmir.” On Monday, militants first opened fire at a bullet-proof police bunker in Botengoo village in in Kashmir’s Anantnag district. When security forces retaliated, the militants fled and then attacked a police picket near Khannabal. After this, a bus carrying pilgrims from Gujarat came under attack, leaving seven dead. The bus was not registered with the Amarnath Shrine Board, nor was it a part of a pilgrim convoy, the Central Reserve Police Force said. The attack, which the government believes was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, was condemned by senior government officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On June 28, the Not In My Name protestors had gathered in at least 10 cities in solidarity against communal and caste-based violence in the country. The demonstrations were held after documentary filmmaker Saba Dewan called for an agitation in Delhi and created a Facebook event. On Amarnath killings, is "Not In My Name" gang protesting or are protests only for Akhlaqs, Junaids, Pehlu Khans & Not4Lord Shiva devotees? — GVL Narasimha Rao (@GVLNRAO) July 10, 2017

One of the biggest losers from the U.S presidential election of Donald Trump is the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority depended on the election of Hillary Clinton so that they could unleash a diplomatic blitz against Israel in the halls of the United Nations. “Civil society” organizations were specifically designed for the task of expelling the State of Israel from the United Nations and replacing it with Palestine. The brazen demand that Israel “return” the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Palestinians is part of the Palestinian strategy to erase Israel and inherit its Jewish heritage, much in the same vein as the PA scheme of pushing a “Palestinian Jesus.” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, the architect of the diplomatic blitz against Israel, was the first to comment on the meaning of Trump’s election. In the first Palestinian public remark on the election, Malki said that he “was concerned” because Trump represented an absolute supporter of Israel. With Trump’s election, he warned, global stability is threatened. One of the aspects of the French Middle East peace initiative that worried Israel was the intention that NGOs (non-governmental organizations) would play a leading role in that international conference. These organizations, based in Ramallah, lead the campaign of hatred against Israel. Riyad al-Malki and Mustafa Barghouti, the heroes of the anti-Israel Durban Conference, stand out as clear leaders of these organizations, and from them, the BDS movement sprang. The Palestinian Authority has totally invested itself – in energy and finances – in the campaign against Israel. Malki, for example, recently sought an additional budget increase in order to leverage their success at UNESCO even more for “endeavors” against both Israel and Jordan. Jordan, the representative of Jerusalem’s holy sites, operated with a more moderate and careful hand until the Palestinians charged in like a bull in a china shop. This additional funding did arrive, by the way, despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority has no money to pay salaries, pay off debts, or pay for economic development. Now, with Trump’s election, the entire delegitimization campaign is down the drain – and the Palestinian Authority has no other agenda.

Kevin Durant explains why he decided to join the USA basketball roster to play in the Olympics, as well as his thoughts on getting ready for free agency. (1:18) Welcome to one of the great accidents in sports history -- a one-time mega-leap in the salary cap that will unleash an orgy of confused spending. This is Year 2 of a three-year earthquake during which the NBA's salary cap will nearly double from $63 million to around $110 million, with almost half of that bump coming in this single outlier free-agency period. Teams still aren't quite sure what will happen or how they might exploit the chaos. A year ago, with most of the jump still looming, they could at least be sure almost every long-term contract would soon look like a bargain. That might no longer be the case; the league projects a smaller increase next summer (from $94 million to $107 million, though most expect it to go higher) before the cap flattens in 2018 and beyond -- pending a potential lockout in 2017, that could upend parts of the collective bargaining agreement.. A bad long-term deal signed this summer could still look bad two years from now. Teams have to be more choosy even as conditions require they spend boatloads to reach the minimum payroll of $85 million. The boom will have some predictable consequences, but the tremors will shake the NBA landscape in ways we can't anticipate. Here are five things to watch as we enter the free-agency Thunderdome. 1. Timing, and the Marvin Williams/Dwight Howard conundrum In the past three years, the Pistons and Blazers have beaten the market with aggressive deals for Jodie Meeks and Al-Farouq Aminu right after the midnight opening bells. Given the glut of cap space, team executives expect more insta-deals for second- and third-tier free agents. Every capable rotation player will choose among rich offers. If you like, say, Solomon Hill or Mirza Teletovic, you might as well unload a dump truck of cash on them right out of the gate while a half-dozen teams are waiting on Kevin Durant. The length of deals might end up being more interesting than the money. The stars are going to get whatever they want -- at least four years for Nicolas Batum, Al Horford and Mike Conley, plus whichever path Durant chooses between long-term security and the one-year option that would maximize his salary. For the middle class, we might have reached a point at which factors push both teams and some players toward shorter-term deals. Beyond 2017, teams see a flattening cap, glitzy free-agent classes and a potential work stoppage -- though I'd still consider it unlikely that a lockout costs any part of the 2017-18 season. They have incentive to keep their powder dry. At the same time, they have tens of millions to burn before even reaching the salary floor. They might approach an intriguing player with some gargantuan one- or two-year deal and hope the money is so eye-popping that the player takes it. Normally teams don't get much upside from one-year deals; the Kings purchased six months of stat-hoggery from Rajon Rondo, and can now either let him walk or overpay him based on inflated numbers. It's like choosing between cauliflower and lima beans. You don't even get a player's Bird rights, meaning that once he hits free agency again, you don't have the right to go over the cap in re-signing him; you have to use precious cap room instead. But teams can make one- and two-year deals work for them. If the salary is hefty enough, the limited version of Bird rights you do get is usually enough to cover whatever raise the player might seek the following season -- meaning the team can fill its cap space on other dudes, and then re-sign its guy. For players, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A lot was made last summer of how most players opted for long-term security over one- and two-year deals. But a bunch of guys chose the short-term route: Greg Monroe, Jeremy Lin, Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, Paul Millsap, Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams, Bismack Biyombo, Teletovic, Rondo and a couple of others all bet on themselves to varying degrees. Boston's deal for Johnson still generates lots of chatter: The Celtics paid Johnson an annual salary -- $12 million -- well above what he would have received on average over a longer contract, and in exchange, he signed a one-year deal with a fully non-guaranteed second season. Johnson is now a trade asset with a relatively low cap number, and he'll get to test the market again during another cap spike. Teams could offer these sorts of deals both at tipoff, as well as when free agency dies down in mid-July, when GMs with leftover cash are looking for that last-call hookup. The players' union is even encouraging guys to sign contracts that decline over time so they get as much cash up front as possible, sources say. But older players are risk-averse, and if they are staring at rival one- or two-year deals, a lot of them will leverage the bidding into an extra year. That third season could become the breaking point. Take Marvin Williams: He's 30, coming off a career year, and he brings a positional versatility that could help any team. It would not be preposterous for someone to offer him a two-year, $38 million deal. (Seriously, get ready, everyone.) But if Williams hungers for more guaranteed cash, which team will bend and offer something like (gulp) three years and $50 million? The answer should be: a good team that views Williams as the player who takes it into the 55-win range. The third (or fourth) year might hurt, but it's the cost you pay to enter the contender's circle. A middling team or a bad one should pass, and sift for gems on shorter contracts. Dwight Howard might be the thorniest test of willpower. Teams are turning up their noses at even a two-year guaranteed deal for Howard anywhere near his max. But progress, real and imagined, can make teams do funny things. The Blazers have a gazillion in cap room, and they want to hold the line in a Western Conference that will be better almost across the board. They could use a defensive anchor at center, and they will absolutely look at Howard, per several league sources. Boston has a Dwight meeting on the books already -- stock up on candy, guys! -- and could use a rim protector. Will these teams have the discipline to fold when the bidding gets heated? Signing Howard introduces a wild card into a team's culture, and for the Blazers, it would change the way they play. Howard isn't as nimble as Mason Plumlee, and not nearly as comfortable a passer in space; could he punish teams that trap Damian Lillard the way Plumlee does with artful drive-and-kick plays? Someone is going to cave on these guys. 2. Who slides back? After years of Tankapalooza, the NBA has reached a point at which almost every team -- and maybe literally every team -- wants to win more basketball games. What a concept! The NBA is a zero-sum game. A team that wants to win will fail, and by failing, net a prize in a loaded draft lottery. The path from the playoffs to the top half of the lottery is clear. Some swing teams to monitor: The Hawks are reluctant to offer Horford the fifth year only they can dangle, and if they hold firm, they are at grave risk of losing him for nothing, per league sources. (Watch out for the Pistons on Horford; with Wednesday's trade of Meeks, they are one tiny move away from being able to fit his max. They are working to schedule a meeting with Horford over the first 48 hours of free agency, sources say. Horford's fit alongside Andre Drummond is another question entirely.) Atlanta already traded Jeff Teague for a rookie. Kent Bazemore will have suitors everywhere, including in Milwaukee, Memphis and Brooklyn, sources say. If Bazemore and Horford walk, the Hawks will be at a fork in the road: rush to fill the gaps with high-priced talent or trade Millsap and race to the bottom? Seriously: How many teams are worse than a Hawks team without Horford, Bazemore and Millsap? Three or four, if that? Mike Budenholzer's role as as both coach and GM is the wild card; coaches vomit at rebuilds, but his title also provides the job security to survive one. Dallas dreams of luring both Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside on max deals, per ESPN BlackBerry maven Marc Stein, but absent a series of salary-sloughing trades, the Mavericks can't open up the requisite $49 million in room with Chandler Parsons' cap hold sitting on the books. Rumors have already burbled that the Mavs don't want to offer Parsons a max after his knee issues, and that Parsons could seek his payday elsewhere. The Mavs have whiffed on every big-name free agent since they let Tyson Chandler walk, and they will have a ton of competition for Whiteside and Conley; the Grizzlies are almost as confident about re-signing Conley as they were with Marc Gasol last offseason. The Mavericks can keep Parsons' Bird rights as they negotiate with bigger fish to hedge against the nightmare scenario of losing out on everyone, though Parsons can torpedo that by signing someplace else right away. Teams are terrified about Parsons' knees and crow they will hold firm at a number below his max. But Parsons is eligible only for the lowest-tier max deal, starting at about $22 million, and a GM on thin ice with chambered cash might bite that bullet -- especially if he can persuade Parsons to take a shorter deal. Parsons might want to lock in as much moola as possible now; he knows his knees better than anyone, and the uncertainty of a revised collective bargaining deal looms. Regardless: Dallas again faces serious downside on the treadmill of mediocrity. Dirk Nowitzki doesn't want to leave, but he's also tired of losing in the first round. Houston should have no trouble hanging in the 40-plus-win range as long as it surrounds James Harden with a few guys who fit, but ownership has championship expectations. It's unclear how the Rockets approach that level again. They are not getting a meeting with Kevin Durant. They offered both Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley before the draft in hopes of snagging one or two first-round picks, though sources insist they also wanted a veteran back in any such deal. Those two are snug fits next to Harden. If you're dealing them and missing on Durant, what exactly is the path back into the West's upper echelon next season? Knowing Houston, it will involve pitching every big-time free agent who might listen; Stein reported on my podcast the Rockets have some interest in Conley, continuing their quixotic quest to flank Harden with a ball-on-a-string point guard, and Daryl Morey, the team's GM, has always erred on the side of chasing top talent and figuring the rest out later. What happens if Houston misses on Horford, Conley, Batum, Whiteside and others? Remember: Morey let Parsons walk two years ago because he didn't want to tie up max money on a third option. Given the pressure to win, will he pass on someone like Ryan Anderson for the same reason? Power forward is a giant question mark given Houston's free agents there spent last season either pooping the bed (Terrence Jones) or in street clothes (Donatas Motiejunas). Philadelphia and Brooklyn will be bad, but early indications are that both will go hard after young-ish free agents with untapped upside. They have enough cap space to make it rain with offer sheets, and at worst, they will drive up both prices and the pace of business in restricted free agency -- bad news for a team like the Warriors, who might need to wait out Durant before making a choice on Harrison Barnes. (This might not matter; teams can't lavish offer sheets until the moratorium ends July 7, and incumbent teams have three more days to match. Durant will likely have made up his mind by then). Brooklyn has strong interest in adding some character veterans, including Jared Dudley, sources say. Philly might kick the tires on glossier moves, including Barnes and the East Coast relocation of Waiters Island -- though reports of the Sixers' interest in Dion Waiters during former GM Sam Hinkie's administration were always bogus, per several league sources. Teams are worried Brooklyn will jump the market on unrestricted free agents with ties to new coach Kenny Atkinson (Lin, Bazemore), and some under-the-radar young guys. 3. Will we get any big trades? A few months ago, it seemed as though the cap-space flood might grease the wheels for starry trades involving Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler and a few others. That market has cooled. The Cavs are content, and Chicago has swatted away Butler inquiries since the draft (though Minnesota and especially Boston will still try). Clippers coach Doc Rivers has talked publicly about keeping the gang together in Los Angeles, and even the much-discussed Griffin-Durant sign-and-trade is unwieldy; any player acquired in a sign-and-trade must sign for at least three seasons, meaning Durant would forfeit the one-year-deal route in agreeing to that arrangement. The Kings are capable of untold horrors. Monroe is available, but Milwaukee can't wring anything good for a guy who could bolt in a year -- in part because this free-agency class market is packed with centers. The Pelicans have explored a Monroe-Anthony Davis partnership before, but they are hopeful Omer Asik will rebound after a dreadful season; they are in no rush to waive him via the stretch provision, allowing them to spread his remaining guaranteed money, sources say. Still: they will watch the market for centers, including Monroe. The Wolves will likely waive Nikola Pekovic at some point, but they don't appear to be a Monroe destination. Portland, Atlanta and Washington have all shown interest in Monroe before, but none is eager to surrender a real asset -- not even a protected first-round pick. One type of deal that could happen: teams getting off long-term contracts signed over the past two years. We've already seen that sort of deal with Tobias Harris, Robin Lopez and Thaddeus Young. In theory, teams shouldn't be eager to trade guys locked into affordable deals signed under the old cap regime, but someone will need to shed money in a roster pinch. Across the table, suitors should be willing to give up real stuff for guys on affordable long-term deals. The Raptors will need to move at least one big deal to have any hope of retaining both DeMar DeRozan and Biyombo, and teams will call about DeMarre Carroll. Toronto has already approached Philly about a deal sending out a rotation player -- perhaps Terrence Ross, and other goodies -- in exchange for Nerlens Noel, who could then assume Biyombo's backup center role, according to league sources. The talks haven't gained much traction yet. Phoenix seems ripe for a deal, though Chandler's contract is a bit of an albatross. The Pacers would probably like to dump Monta Ellis. Alec Burks will be expendable at some point soon for Utah. John Henson signed a four-year, $45 million extension last fall and barely played; if you're Boston, would you rather sign Howard to some monster one-year deal or flip a pick and a prospect for Henson? 4. How will restricted free agency go? Good restricted free agents almost never change teams. Teams wield matching rights as a deterrent against suitors and can sometimes leverage a lack of interest into a bit of savings. Perhaps not this season. There are a ton of teams with oodles of cap room and very little to lose. Tying up space for three days as the incumbent waits to match might cost you a player, but some teams have so much space that they could extend a max-level offer sheet and still chase targets. Reaching for Barnes, Evan Fournier or Allen Crabbe isn't a disaster; they're young, you get them through their primes, and if they just follow an average development curve, they'll be movable down the line. In the worst case, you make their incumbent teams pay the full boat. Sometimes you just have to be mean. By the way: Orlando's acquisition of Meeks should have no bearing on its approach with Fournier. No one knows whether Meeks is healthy; the Magic need Fournier, badly. Hell, even after a wasted season, someone should still throw eight figures at Jones just to see if he can sustain the flashes of canny all-around play he showed in Houston. The market will be chillier on most midtier guys, which increases the likelihood their teams will match; Meyers Leonard stands as perhaps the only realistic candidate to sign the one-year qualifying offer and enter unrestricted free agency next season. Watch out for the so-called "Gilbert Arenas" restricted free agents with only one or two years spent in the league, especially Langston Galloway, Tyler Johnson and Jordan Clarkson. Rival teams can offer them only the midlevel exception (about $5.6 million) in the first year and a small raise in Year 2, but they can leap all the way up to the player's max salary in Years 3 and 4. (These are the trickster offers Houston used to pry away Lin and Asik four years ago.) The bigger numbers should come into play only for Clarkson, though a team might offer a backloaded three-year deal to Galloway or Johnson. 5. Will we see more creative contract extensions? Yes! Here's the deal: If teams have cap room, they can use it on raises for guys who signed their current contracts at least three years ago -- and tack more years onto the end of those deals. Denver did this last season with Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, and both the Jazz and Pacers seem like good candidates to try with George Hill and Teague -- provided they have the requisite space leftover. If they play their cards right, the Pacers and Kings could start this process with Paul George and Cousins, respectively, in September. Derrick Favors becomes eligible a month later. The Wizards could engage with John Wall on the last day of July -- the third anniversary of the day he signed his extension. Some of these talks won't materialize; teams will use most or all of their cap space to sign new players. But teams have spent the past few years lamenting the death of extensions for stars. The cap boom has resurrected them. Any time you get a shot to lock up a cornerstone for more years, you have to at least think about it.

With Halloween celebrations becoming more popular in Japan, the Metropolitan Police Department will introduce a multilingual system this year to guide the costumed mobs through Tokyo’s Shibuya district, the most congested venue. Starting Oct. 27, the police will provide automated voice guidance using speakers until Oct. 31, authorities said Friday. The system is also designed to give instructions in emergencies. In addition, English-speaking officers will be deployed around the tourist-magnet neighborhood, which is becoming the most popular Halloween destination in Tokyo. Some of the streets near Shibuya Station will be partially closed to traffic during the period. Last year, to avoid turmoil near the station, the MPD for the first time dedicated two nearby streets to pedestrians from Friday through Monday. Roughly 90 events were held in Shibuya on Halloween night last year. Halloween in Japan is mostly an excuse for people to dress in costumes and party, while giving companies much-needed seasonal marketing opportunities to hawk Halloween-themed merchandise. Public relations officers for the riot squad have also become a fixture at the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station in recent years. Nicknamed “DJ Cops,” the officers are praised for using humor to keep the masses under control.

Misty Snow of Utah, and a huge Bernie Sanders supporter, made history this week when voters chose her as the Democratic Senate nominee. Snow is the first transgender nominee from a major party to run for a U.S. Senate seat and one of the first to run for Congress. She will challenge Senator Mike Lee come November voting. Early primary results put Snow at nearly 60% to 40% against her rival Jonathan Swinton. Snow had many alternating views to Swinton, including her stance on abortion rights which Swinton wanted to limit. The 30-year-old resident of Salt Lake City used a progressive platform to run, openly criticizing Senator Lee, whom she describes as “loathsome.” Snow, a cashier at Harmons grocery, says “A lot of people have told me whether I win or lose, I’m already making a difference just by running.” Some of the issues Snow discussed during her campaign included calling for a $15 her hour minimum wage, paid family leave, legalized marijuana, criminal-justice reform, and free or reduced tuition for higher education. Every one of these topics has been pushed heavily by Bernie Sanders during his presidential campaign. Snow was heavily influenced by Senator Sanders and his progressive ideals. Snow believes that after having worked as a cashier and raised in a lower income family, she can relate deeply to “the needs of working people and their families.” She also cares about the LGBT community and how income inequality effects them specifically.

If you've ever gone full Indiana Jones while staring at a huge collection of videogames – by which I mean being driven to exclaim "That belongs in a museum!" – you'll be pleased to hear that a museum is now where you can find one of the world's biggest collections of Japanese games. Today, WIRED can exclusively reveal that the Strong, an institution in Rochester, New York that encompasses the National Museum of Play and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games among other divisions, has acquired a massive collection of complete sets of games for classic Japanese consoles. And when they say complete, they really mean it: Spanning over 7,000 games, the collection features the entire libraries of games for 18 different platforms, including the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System), Sega Mega Drive (Genesis), Nintendo 64 and many more. It's an exhaustive, painstakingly assembled collection that should have any admirer of classic videogames going green with envy. __What's In the Collection?__The Strong's recent acquisition of over 7,000 Japanese videogames includes the complete libraries of the following game platforms: Famicom (NES) Super Famicom (SNES) Famicom Disk System Nintendo 64 Virtual Boy Nintendo 64DD Nintendo GameCube (sealed) Sega Master System (also including European, US and Brazilian releases) Game Gear Mega Drive (Genesis) Super 32X Mega CD (Sega CD) Sega Saturn Sega Dreamcast (sealed) PC Engine (sealed) SuperGrafx (sealed) PC-FX (sealed) Pioneer Laseractive (sealed) And now as part of the National Museum of Play, it will be accessible to the public. In the video above, I go deep into the basement archives of the Strong to look at the collection while it's still in the process of being cataloged by the museum's staff. If this collection sounds at all familiar to you, that's because it made headline news last year. It was the life's work of a French game enthusiast known simply as Andre, who went by the handle "Adol" on various gaming collector forums over the years. Last July, he attempted to sell the whole shebang on eBay for the exorbitant price of $1.2 million. This news was crazy enough that it broke out of the gaming media and spilled over into mainstream outlets from the Los Angeles Times to the Huffington Post. That was where the story left off in the national media. Thing is, the buyer never paid up. Enter the National Museum of Play, which struck a deal with Andre to acquire the collection. (It won't say how much it paid, but noted that the amount was significantly lower than $1.2 million.) Thanks to the museum, one man's private hoard is now a publicly accessible resource. No, that doesn't mean that anyone can walk in off the street and go pawing through all the rare Virtual Boy games. Researchers can access anything in the collection by contacting the museum, setting up an appointment and letting them know what they'd need to access and why. The Strong isn't just putting these games on a shelf to collect dust. While I was at the museum, they showed me some of the preservation activities they work on each day. Assistants in the lab spend hours capturing video footage directly from each game running on a genuine system, to have an alternate means of preserving the game content. And each game is entered into a searchable online database, so you can confirm that the Strong does indeed have a copy of Wonder Dog. The Andre collection is just the latest addition to the Strong's already extensive archives. Over the next month, WIRED will release more videos of my adventure at the National Museum of Play, taking a look at what's inside the rest of the museum's archives.

AMSTERDAM — The silliest time of all has rolled around again, with all warned to keep arms and legs inside Europe's summer transfer window roller coaster at all times. We're here to make sure you get to the other end of the ride with a good grip on the various situations involving US internationals employed overseas. Then, foolishly, we'll let those hands fly high with every coaster drop to hazard an educated (or wild) guess at where each player might land. Michael Bradley The Chievo midfield generale (right) is a current case study of how one shouldn't believe everything they read in the foreign tabloids. He's being relentlessly linked to AS Roma these days. While the 24-year-old is in fact highly rated by technical director Walter Sabatini, Italian sources tell MLSsoccer.com the American-owned club won't be chasing any players until they name a new manager. He's also been mentioned as an Anderlecht crush, which may well be true. Either way, it seems quite reasonable to assume that even Champions League action would not be enough to make Bradley leave Serie A for Belgium. His transfer value perhaps doubled this season, so unless Bayern Munich suddenly call, rumors of returns to Germany or the Netherlands are probably also fluff. One recent rumor you can believe is Italian paper L'Arena's assertion this week that old admirers Palermo have entered talks for Bradley. On Wednesday, a source confirmed some discussions have taken place between the Sicilians and Chievo. And let's not forget that The Armchair Analyst previously reported Inter Milan were weighing a summer offer for the midfielder, so they remain in frame. Destination unknown: It might be a great time to break into Inter and Palermo are far better than they showed last season. Still, the gut says he stays another six months with Chievo to spark major demand. Terrence Boyd The Borussia Dortmund II goal shark could seal a move as early as this weekend, MLSsoccer.com has learned. Also, loan offers are out and he will definitely be leaving soon. Braunschweig have dropped out of the race, but Europa League entrants Rapid Vienna remain in, along with at least a pair of 2.Bundesliga sides. Sources have indicated that Rapid — an option suggested by USMNT coach Andrea Herzog — lead the race, but the club declined comment on Wednesday. Destination unknown: Let's not over-think it. Rapid have a solid record of coaching attackers. Ricardo Clark Stabaek loan midfielder Ricardo Clark's stint ends along with June, and a source indicated to that the veteran is unlikely to remain with the Blue Ones. Expect Clark (right) to go looking for a new employer upon his return to Eintracht Frankfurt. Heading back to MLS could become a great option, but another interesting door could open; sources say Gregg Berhalter might try to lure his old Western Conference rival to Hammarby to add experience for their promotion drive. Destination unknown: Much too soon to call, at least until Clark is no longer out on loan. He will move this summer, though. Clint Dempsey As with Bradley, don't believe everything that goes around. Last year, hot links AS Roma and Liverpool were actually nowhere near the Fulham star, while other clubs were. Seeing Liverpool and Tottenham reports is great, but those teams and others don't have the Champions League berth Dempsey openly desires. Arsenal have one, a Clint crush and the need. At various times, English rags have linked him to Chelsea and the Manchester clubs, all of whom have the magic ticket. MLSsoccer.com has learned that a few clubs in Italy and Spain that pass the requirement are still monitoring the situation. All in all, this saga should last a while. Destination unknown: Why not move and stay home at the same time? Deep down, Arsene Wenger knows he needs to get straight-shooter Texas Deuce to Arsenal for some true grit. Mikkel Diskerud With his loan spell from Stabaek loan expiring, Gent appear set to decide on their buy option. If it's a no, other admirers will come out of the woodwork. Destination unknown: Despite a few Belgian tabloid reports to the contrary, the guess here is Mix may join Gent permanently. Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya and Carlos Bocanegra Until Rangers find a buyer, there isn't much to earnestly discuss with any of the Rangers trio. All three have potential suitors in Europe if administrators rule them sale items. Destinations unknown: Side variables make guessing a real stab in the dark ... so let's proceed in just that manner. Odds suggest one of the three may have to go and the smart money says it's Edu eventually off to England or France. Bryan Gerzicich The freshly crowned Israeli champion, Bryan Gerzicich recently told MLSsoccer.com that he had an extension offer from Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona, but no agreement. It's likely the defensive midfielder will test the free agent waters, with domestic reports claiming interest from Tel Aviv sides Hapoel and Maccabi. Destination unknown: Hapoel Tel Aviv have the Europa League berth, so let's go with them. Brad Guzan Set to run out of contract at Aston Villa, the US No. 2 (right) has had plenty of interest, split fairly evenly between EPL and Championship outfits. Old loan employers Hull seem to be out now and QPR found other targets, but there's still a decent crowd to pick from. Destination unknown: The scene has been all hush-hush, so this is a tough call. How does joining old boss Martin O'Neill at Sunderland sound? Stuart Holden Last week, a Turkish outlet breathlessly reported that Fenerbahçe were eager to land the recovering Bolton ace. Destination known: The entertaining midfielder told his Twitter followers these silly season rumors were nothing more than that. Holden stays a Wanderer next season. Sacha Kljestan Anderlecht's Sacha Kljestan has been scouted by some fairly heady clubs in recent months, including former admirers FC Twente and Fulham. Destination known: It's all for naught, at least for now. MLSsoccer.com has learned that the midfielder is close to agreeing to an improved Anderlecht deal. His pact is set to be extended by two years, tying him to the Belgian champs until the summer of 2016. Zak Whitbread It's likely that the defender's injury history facilitated his free agent release from Norwich City. The 28-year-old played well enough in 18 EPL games this season to have the likes of promoted Reading and Sunderland among several clubs in the top two flights ringing him up of late. Destination unknown: For no great reason, let's send him to Reading.

UCL students march during the rent strike, which won after a months-long battle. Photo: UCL Cut the Rent Winning a rent strike is straightforward. Landlords want hassle-free rent; if enough people say ‘You won’t get your rent until you give in to our demands’, what are the chances they’ll recoup their profits? Something has to give. This spring students at University College London (UCL) demonstrated how it’s done, forcing managers to slash rip-off rents by an average of six per cent. We hit the landlord’s weakest point, concentrating our forces on one objective, on conditions and terrain of our choosing: organising the social and economic power of unpaid rent and united tenants. If you defend this position from landlords’ attempts to clamp down, strength in numbers wins. So how did we do it in practice? We made a plan. Months before the campaign we calculated how much door-stepping we’d have to do to talk to everybody who’d be up for starting a strike. The fundamental question to overcome was ‘Won’t they just evict me if I don’t pay my rent?’ A good organiser’s reply helps zoom out to the collective mind-set: ‘What if one hundred people in the block withhold rent?’ The answer to this is consistently: ‘Ah, yes, they can’t evict all of us’ – renters realise the power they hold when united. People who come to this conclusion for themselves will believe in their ability to act. So began the winter of discon-rent. We talked to people. Hundreds of people. These conversations were crucial, and being specific about strength in numbers made it clear that nobody would be withholding rent alone. Before the strike in January we ensured there were over a hundred people pledging to take action, in the firm knowledge that 99 others would do the same. There was a party and a residents’ assembly for rent strikers to find each other and realise their power. The strike date was set for the day the rent was due; invitations to negotiate were sent to management and the strike was on. Way more than 100 people withheld payment. Keeping confident We kept it social. Once rent is withheld, one of the biggest battles has already been overcome. Next it’s vital to remain confident when the landlords inevitably start bullying you. At UCL they said renters would be served a ‘notice to quit’. Facilitating open meetings and staging debates with management, the campaign brought strikers together to ensure everybody felt supported by their peers. Simultaneously, a relentless, coordinated barrage of bad press and demonstrations hit management. By March confident students marched under the banner of ‘evict management’ as posters ridiculing directors and their empty threats appeared around the university, making clear we would not be moved. We stuck to our turf and psyched the opponent. The landlords backed off. Their threats were never implemented; the strikers stayed on, rent-free. Now, the strike had a clear sprint to the finishing line, but we knew we had to escalate our power for the final showdown. As word of the strike’s initial success spread on doorsteps, in leaflets around campus and on social media, another 600 renters decided to withhold rent. By May we’d made sure management had utterly lost control of the situation – the ultimate manifestation of our power. A few more raids – pickets and flash occupations at the landlords’ offices – broke the camel’s back. They agreed to talk. We stuck to what we’d promised: ‘Cut the rent and everybody pays, with the added bonus we’ll cancel our next demonstration.’ Result: they cut the rent. Our strategy of escalation proved social networks are stronger than management hierarchies. It took several months’ work from dozens of activists, but we had many advantages, from seizing the initiative and constantly setting the agenda to standing on a social terrain where mutual trust and support overcame eviction threats. When the landlords realised they were surrounded and it was physically impossible to evict or bully hundreds of people, we’d won. And if we could do it here, why not everywhere?

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below The fourth-generation Volkswagen Jetta was a handsome, unassuming little car. Throw the ‘unassuming’ part out for this particular example—some maniacal shade-tree mechanics have cranked the dial on their Jetta to 11 (or, say, 14) by installing another engine in the car’s ass end. Unlike your typical dual-engine car—we know, yawn, right?—this Jetta started life as a front-drive VR6 model. As you can see from the video, to this our hero mechanics have added a period VW W-8 engine, presumably from a Passat W-8, to power the rear wheels. The sprinkles on top of this wicked cupcake are the separate manual (VR6) and automatic (W-8) transmissions for each engine, as well as a turbocharger for the W-8. Because a W-8 in a Jetta that already has an engine isn’t powerful enough already. The video is worth watching for the incredible sound of the two engines working in concert—well, sort of in concert. It really looks like the W-8–powered rear axle simply pushes the car around without much help from the front. Also, the off-kilter shifts-between-shifts from the two separate transmissions is pretty epic, as well. Less epic? The lack of a firewall between the driver and the W-8, what appears to be a front-seat-mounted plastic fuel canister filling in for the fuel tank, and the general cloudiness of the interior from wayward exhaust fumes. But whatever—this thing rules, and it rules hard.

At debate-watching parties in the nation’s capital on Monday, young voters said they know just how important this election is — they just don’t agree on why. About 350 college Republicans and Democrats came together at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, to watch the first presidential debate. Graduate student Anthony Gill, 22, plans to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, because she says both Clinton and Trump don't pay enough attention to climate change and the collapse of the middle class. Gill is from Washington state and says Clinton is projected to win there, so he’s voting third party to send a message. “If your vote won’t substantially alter the dynamics of the race, there’s real value of sending a signal” that the winning candidate doesn’t have a mandate, said Gill. If he were voting in a different state, though, he says his choice might be different. “There are so many things that millennials care about that Trump does not care about, so if you’re voting third party in a swing state, you risk Trump.” Another third-party convert is student Arian Ghashghai, 21, who will vote for Gary Johnson as a mix of two-party protest and support for the Libertarian Party. He called Trump and Clinton out of touch with issues concerning millennials. “I just don’t connect with either of them,” he said. Some older millennials, who voted in the Obama 2008 election, like 27-year-old LGBTQ activist Rebby Kern, are taking a practical view this time around. “Clinton wasn’t my first reaction,” said Kern. “It took a lot of convincing, but I was also motivated by my distaste for Trump. And I think Hillary is the best candidate for millennials, for LGBT rights, women’s rights, and black rights.” Kern watched the debate with more than 150 young professionals at a party co-hosted by the Latino Victory Project, the Environmental Defense Action Fund, and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Martin Diego Garcia, 30, was an avid supporter of Obama in the 2008 election, but says he learned from the past eight years that he would rather see candidates make realistic promises. “Immigration was something [Obama] promised, and he’s at the end of his second term and nothing has changed about it,” said Garcia, director of campaigns for the Latino Victory Project. “I don’t want [Clinton] to overpromise and then not fulfill it. She has been saying, ‘Here’s what I can accomplish in one to two terms.’” Immigration reform — an issue cited by many millennials as important — wasn’t mentioned in the first debate. Jess Torres, the 26-year-old Latino Victory Project deputy communications director, was disappointed that issues that sit at the intersections of the immigration debate like education, health care and women’s rights also weren’t addressed. However, Torres was pleased by the debate over criminal justice reform, “an issue that has become so big, in large part because of the work millennials have done,” she said. Young voter turnout increased from 40 percent in 2000 to 45 percent in 2012, according to the Harvard University Institute of Politics, but still lags way behind the voting rates of older adults. Millennials now have roughly the same potential voting power as the boomer generation — each have 69 million registered voters. If millennials voted at the same rate as boomers — 68 percent in 2012 — they could have a huge impact on this election. Some people are tempted to group the collective mass of 18-34 year-olds into a neat, liberal cohort, but many argue there’s real diversity of opinion among young adults. Colombian immigrant Milton Sanchez, 34, is an example of that. Sanchez said he felt awkward “seeing so many Democrats in the room cheering on what Hillary was saying and not what Trump had to say.” Sanchez will vote for Trump because he feels current immigration policy is “irresponsible” and has taken away opportunities for talented Latinos to enter the country. Trump’s promise to restrict immigration will make the country stronger, Sanchez argued. As a mental health physician, Sanchez said working with “the most vulnerable parts of society” — immigrants, African Americans, Hispanics and low-income people — has made him suspicious of how people could abuse the system to get government services for free. Sanchez, who is proud of his Latino culture, said the “image of Latinos that don’t know anything and need help from the government makes me sick.” Leon Agee, 18, is still undecided but wants to vote for a candidate who will promise the best future for his four younger siblings and later generations. The Atlanta native feels every millennial vote counts, whether for a major party or third party candidate. “Millennials are the group that are still trying to find ourselves, so we could vote either way. I feel like the younger people are actually trying to listen to [the candidates] to see where they stand, not just where our parents stand.” Editor’s Note: This story was produced by Washington Program reporters from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Lauren Bally, Michelle Kim, and Eunice Lee.

Eighty per cent of the world's bets on sport are illegally carried out, according to researchers from Paris's Sorbonne University and the Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). Criminals launder 100 billion euros every year in gambling, according to figures released on Thursday by Sorbonne University just a month before the football World Cup starts. "Betting threatens all countries and regions, with football and cricket the sports most under siege," the report says. Estimated wagers are worth between 200 billion and 500 billion euros. As France on Thursday authorised two new online sport betting operators, Zeturf and Winamax, the researchers estimate about 8,000 legal operators are operating in offshore tax havens and say that it is impossible to control illegal gambling operations. "Current international instruments are insufficient and there is a desperate need for well designed criminal laws specific to the manipulation of sport," said Laurent Vidal chair of the Sorbonne-ICSS programme. "It won't help to reinforce the law in France, if nothing is done elsewhere. Gamblers will carry on betting in others countries," he added. According to the Sorbonne report, sports gambling represents about two per cent of world GDP. Because of "the rapid evolution of the global sports betting market", there is "an increased risk of infiltration by organised crime and money-laundering," said ICSS director Chris Eaton. Europe represents 49 per cent of the legal and illegal market and Asia accounts for 53 per cent of illegal sports betting.

No. 15 Auburn (2-1, 0-0) at Missouri (1-2, 0-1) 6:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (ESPNU) Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri 1 Team is ranked in the top 12 nationally in the four major defensive categories - scoring, total, rushing and passing. Auburn ranks second in total defense, yielding an average of 201.7 yards per game; ninth in passing defense, yielding an average of 113.0 yards per game; 11th in scoring defense, yielding an average of 10.3 points per game; and 12th in rushing defense, yielding an average of 88.7 yards per game. Auburn's opponents have totaled 605 yards, the fewest the Tigers have given up in their first three games since 1974, when Louisville, Chattanooga and Tennessee managed only 380 yards and three points. 2 Previous games have been played between Auburn and Missouri. Missouri defeated Auburn 34-17 in the 1973 Sun Bowl, and Auburn defeated Missouri 59-42 in the 2013 SEC championship game. Saturday's game will be the first SEC regular-season contest between the schools, and it also will be the first football game played in Missouri by Auburn. 4 Straight homes games are being played by Missouri to open the 2017 season, the first time the Tigers have started a campaign with four home contests. Missouri has played Missouri State, South Carolina and Purdue before winding up the homestand against Auburn. Missouri has an open date next week, so the Tigers don't play their first road game until Oct. 7, when they visit Kentucky. 5 Victories and five losses in regular-season games against SEC West opponents for Missouri since the Tigers joined the league in 2012. Auburn has a 42-27-1 regular-season record against SEC East opponents since the conference divided into divisions in 1992. 6 Fumbles have been lost by Auburn this season. Only one team in the nation has lost more - Oregon State, which has lost eight. Auburn has fumbled 10 times. Nevada and San Jose State have fumbled the most in the nation this season with 11 apiece. 27 Tackles have been made behind the line of scrimmage by Auburn's defense this season, tied for the sixth-most in the nation. Missouri's offense has allowed eight tackles for loss this season, tied for the sixth-fewest in the nation. 34 Rushing attempts were made by Auburn RB Kamryn Pettway against Mercer last week. That's the most carries in a game by an SEC player this season. Pettway ran for 128 yards - his eighth 100-yard performance in his past 11 games. 36 Years since Auburn lost its first SEC game in three consecutive seasons. In 1979, 1980 and 1981, the Tigers opened their conference schedule by losing to Tennessee. In 2015, Auburn lost its SEC opener 45-21 to LSU. In 2016, Auburn lost its SEC opener 29-16 to Texas A&M. 44 Years since the previous time that Missouri opened its conference schedule with two home games. In 1974, the Tigers started their Big Eight schedule by beating Nebraska and Oklahoma State in back-to-back home games. Missouri opened its 2017 SEC schedule with a 31-13 loss to South Carolina in Columbia on Sept. 9. 120 Previous games have been played against another team of Tigers for Auburn. Missouri is one of the six teams that shares Auburn's nickname that has been played by Auburn, which has a 63-52-5 record against Clemson, LSU, Memphis, Missouri, Pacific and Sewanee. 149 Consecutive extra-point attempts have been made by Auburn PK Daniel Carlson, the third-longest streak in SEC history. Tennessee's John Becksvoort set the conference record by making 161 straight PATs from 1991 through 1994. South Carolina's Elliott Fry had a 155-PAT streak from 2013 through 2016. 377 Points have been scored by Auburn PK Daniel Carlson, good for fifth place on the SEC's career scoring list. Carlson is 35 points behind Blair Walsh, who set the conference record of 412 points while kicking for Georgia from 2008 through 2011. FOR MORE OF AL.COM'S COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

The Port of Melbourne sale could run into strife in the Victorian upper house amid concerns Labor has scotched the possibility of a second major container port in Victoria to maximise the short-term price. On Wednesday morning, Treasurer Tim Pallas said the plan to offer a 50-year lease on the public asset would conservatively net up to $6 billion to plow back into productivity-boosting transport infrastructure. But in apparent attempt to make the deal as attractive as possible, any future government introducing added competition by building a second container port – potentially either at Hastings or on the other side of the bay near Werribee – could be forced to pay compensation to the new operator. The proceeds of the port's sale will be used to fund the government's two-term commitment to remove 50 level crossings, among other transport promises. Mr Pallas said the returns from the lease transaction offered an opportunity to significantly boost productivity by putting the proceeds back into transport infrastructure.

Share. The DC supernatural team pic aka Dark Universe. The DC supernatural team pic aka Dark Universe. During Saturday's panel for Pacific Rim at WonderCon, director Guillermo del Toro said that John Constantine -- a blond one, he emphasized -- will be the main protagonist in his planned Justice League Dark movie tentatively titled Dark Universe. Constantine will be the central figure who rounds up the gang. The director revealed that the film won't be an origin movie per se, with each character already established but elements of their backstory coming into play during the course of the story. For example, Swamp Thing is now at peace with who he is, but Deadman will still be in search of the man who murdered him. In addition to Constantine, Deadman and Swamp Thing, del Toro said the team's members will include Etrigan the Demon and Jason Blood, whose past with Merlin's Knights will be mentioned. (Zatanna and the Spectre have also been previously mentioned as members.) Del Toro said they have finished the bible for the movie and hope to start the screenplay soon with a writer whose identity he still can't reveal. Dark Universe will not be del Toro's next film, though, as the helmer said he expects to shoot Crimson Peak after Pacific Rim is done.

The American rapper Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson has become the first big-name celebrity to get in on the new gTLD game, announcing today that he’s launching a fan site on a .club domain. He’ll launch 50inda.club at a .CLUB Domains launch event in New York on May 22, the registry has just announced. ‘In Da Club’ was the name of his breakthrough single in 2003. A quote in a press release, attributed to Jackson, said: As I prepare to launch `Animal Ambition’ on June 3 and my new drama `Power’ on Starz, the timing was right to give my fans a central web location to stay on top of all my latest news and social updates. I like to stay on the cutting edge, and 50inda.club represents the new wave of Internet names that actually mean something to me and my fans. Fiddy has 7.41 million Twitter followers. That’s the kind of social media exposure not many other — probably no other — new gTLD operators have managed to achieve to date. This, in my view, is a huge coup and is exactly the kind of thing new gTLDs need to be doing to get the word out about new gTLDs. Tweet

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The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group of people living in parts of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. Over the past thirty-five years they have been persecuted by Saddam Hussein and the Turkish government – who saw the Kurds as threats to Arab and Turkish nationalism – and have more recently fought against Islamic State and Assad’s Syria. The Kurds have long sought independence, but their more powerful neighbors, especially Turkey, fear that the establishment of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq will encourage their own Kurdish population (15-20%) to formally separate. Since 2005, the Kurds in northern Iraq have governed themselves in a semi-autonomous fashion, run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). In a bold step, the KRG recently announced on that September 25, 2017 the government will hold a referendum on Kurdish independence, essentially taking for itself the opportunity to create its own declaration of independence. Right now, the KRG has autonomy in the northern areas of Iraq where the population of Iraqi Kurds is greatest, even though that area is technically part of Iraq. The potential future Kurdish state, however, would include some areas claimed by the Iraqi government in Baghdad, in addition to the territory regularly considered under the control of the Kurdish government in Erbil. Some of the cities that would be in a new Kurdish state include Kirkuk, Khanqin, Sinjar and Makhmor – all of which are currently occupied by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the ongoing fight against Islamic State. This vote could redraw the map of the Middle East , which, despite decades of conflict, has basically remained unchanged since it was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922. The U.N. will not be involved in this referendum in any way. It would bring a host of political and diplomatic issues, especially with neighboring Turkey and Syria. A Kurdish state could also significantly alter the shape of the global oil market. The KRG is supposed to control only 6% of Iraq’s oil resources, according to its formal agreement with Baghdad. However, since the KRG currently holds Kirkuk and the surrounding oil fields, it has expanded to 20% of Iraq’s oil resources. According to OPEC data, Iraq’s oil reserves total 142.5 billion barrels. An independent Kurdistan, within the borders specified by the referendum, would own approximately 28.5 billion barrels of oil, putting it among the top oil producers in the world – just above Nigeria . Petroleum resources of this magnitude could also help the Kurdish people in their pursuit of national self-determination. With experienced troops holding the line against Islamic State, impressive oil resources and a potentially vibrant democratic government, the Kurdish claim for independence could be difficult for the world to ignore, even if neighbors like Turkey, Iran and Syria object. OPEC could very well offer early recognition to an independent Kurdistan, because OPEC would not want to lose control over that amount of oil. Control by the Kurdish government would also be preferable to allowing paramilitary organizations like the Badr Organization or Islamic State to smuggle oil out of Iraq. This would enhance the Kurds’ claim for national self-determination. It would also be the least disruptive option for the global oil market. On the other hand, an independent Kurdistan could become a rogue player in an already volatile oil market. The KRG has been creative in its exploitation of Iraqi oil resources, employing multiple different trading organizations to sell oil that Iraq believes it owns. It has furtively shipped that oil out of ports in Israel (which Arab countries will not do) and transferred it to tankers in Malta to avoid tracking by Iraq’s central government. If a young, capital hungry Kurdish state decides to produce more oil, use unconventional sales avenues, and sell at below-market prices, the global oil market could face further destabilization. The Kurdish people have much difficult work before they have a viable, defensible and independent state. They will have to convince their neighbors—through arms or diplomacy—to accept them. They will need to transition from a people constantly fighting for their own defense and liberty to a people building a new state. They will need to consolidate their currently fragmented political system to create a sustainable governmental. They will need an economy, and oil will play a very large role in that.

A Kentucky Republican State Senator is sponsoring a bill that would entitle students who find transgender individuals in the bathrooms of their chosen gender to collect $2,500 in damages from the school, US News reports. Sen. C.B. Embry’s bill would “require students born male to use only those facilities designated to be used by males and students born female to use only those facilities designated to be used by females.” Students who caught transgender peers in facilities designated for the opposite sex would be eligible to sue the school for $2,500 worth of damages relating to psychological and emotional harm. He said that he has no problem with transgender students per se, noting that “they’re certainly welcome to live their lives as they choose, if they want to dress as the opposite sex and the school is OK with that, that’s fine.” However, he is concerned that transgender students using the facilities of their choice may “make members of the opposite biological sex uncomfortable.” “I don’t think we can create a situation where no one is ever offended or uncomfortable,” he said — but that should be the goal. Sen. Embry insisted that he is not a bigot. “I have a friend, and we can all say these things, who is a homosexual and she agrees that she doesn’t want men in her bathroom,” he told US News. He added that he also supports anti-bullying legislation, saying that “I am very much in favor of strong anti-bullying laws that protect students no matter what the reason for bullying may be — fat or short, don’t speak plain, sexual orientation, whatever.”

Radiohead, who titled their ninth studio album A Moon Shaped Pool, have a unique grasp on how easily profundity can slip into banality. Their music is obsessed with the point where great truths harden into platitudes, where pure signal meets wretched noise. In the past, Thom Yorke has sharply peppered his lyrics with everyday cliches to suggest a mind consumed by meaningless data, but on the new album, he largely moves beyond cynicism. He is now considering simpler truths in a heretofore-unexplored register: wonder and amazement. “This goes beyond me, beyond you,” he sings on “Daydreaming.” “We are just happy to serve you.” There is no concealed razor under Yorke’s tongue as he offers this thought, or in the pearly music that surrounds him. It sounds for all the world like the most cloistered and isolated soul in modern rock music opening up and admitting a helplessness far more personal than he’s ever dared. Yorke has flirted with surrender before, and on A Moon Shaped Pool, that submission feels nearly complete. The album is framed by two older pieces of music that act as gateways to the darker, unfamiliar waters within. Opener “Burn the Witch” has been floating around, in some form or another, since Kid A. “This is a low-flying panic attack,” Yorke announces, explicitly linking to the bad old days of air crashes, iron lungs, and wolves at doors. (In fact, several of the song’s lyrics—“avoid all eye contact,” “cheer at the gallows”—first appeared in the album art to 2003’s anti-Bush polemic Hail to the Thief.) Meanwhile, Jonny Greenwood’s brittle modernist string arrangement reinforces the angst, turning the orchestra into a giant pair of gnashing teeth. It’s a vintage splash of Radiohead stomach acid, a cloud of gnats unleashed in your cranial nerves. It also feels like an exorcism for what follows: a plunge into something scarier than the military industrial complex, or the insidious nature of propaganda, or human nature’s disturbing tendency towards unquestioning obedience. Yorke separated from his partner of 23 years and the mother to his two children last August, and on “Identikit,” he sings “Broken hearts make it rain” and “When I see you messin’ me around, I don’t want to know.” That isn’t to say that this is necessarily a “break-up album.” Separations (particularly those involving children) take place in the harsh light of day, with lawyers’ appointments and checklists and logistical arrangements. Radiohead albums are the stuff of dreams and nightmares, and the band retains a healthy resistance to clarity; their music is a maze of signs you can peer into any way you like. Even so, the impact of trauma, a sort of car crash of the soul, is palpable. The music here feels loose and unknotted, broken open in the way you can only be after a tragedy. “There’s a spacecraft blocking out the sky,” Yorke observes on “Decks Dark,” as choral voices pass overhead. The scene is straight from 1997’s “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” but here Yorke doesn’t sound “uptight.” He sounds utterly drained, as if impending invasion doesn’t concern him at all. A song title like “Glass Eyes” hints at many of the band’s longstanding morbid preoccupations—the semblance of humanity in something cold and dead, or the violation of the biological body by foreign objects—but the song is a bloodflow of strings straight into the heart. “Hey it’s me, I just got off the train,” Yorke sings, and it’s a strikingly ordinary image: the Paranoid Android himself, picking up the phone and calling someone to tell them he’s just arrived. “I feel this love turn cold,” he confesses as the ballad draws to a close, the phrasing an echo, subconscious or not, of his Kid A sign-off “I’ll see you in the next life.” A throbbing cello appears like a lump in the throat; the song fades away. Throughout the album, Yorke’s everyday enlightenment is backed by music of expanse and abandon. The guitars sound like pianos, the pianos sound like guitars, and the mixes breathe with pastoral calm. “The Numbers,” a song about the impending apocalypse brought on by climate change, meanders along, its groove as wide as an ocean. Even the malevolent synth wave that passes through “Ful Stop” sounds like a visitor, a momentary darkness rather than a caged spirit. As the song builds, the band works up a coursing groove that will feel familiar to longtime fans, with its interlocking guitars and an arterial bustle of rhythms serving to launch Yorke’s wordless moan. It’s a sound that Radiohead has spent the last decade honing, but the payoff here is deeper and more gratifying than it has been in a while. The added dimension comes from Yorke, who pumps fresh oxygen into these songs, many of which have existed in sketch-like forms for years. On the lonely folk hymn “Desert Island Disk,” he sings of an epiphanic experience: “The wind rushing ‘round my open heart/An open ravine/In my spirit white.” As a vision of transformation, it feels like the inverse to *Amnesiac’*s “Pyramid Song,” where his only companions were the dead; here, he is “totally alive.” And then there’s “True Love Waits.” It’s an old song, one that has been around in various forms for over two decades, but unlike “Burn the Witch” or the other teased sketches and scraps that Radiohead diehards pick apart on forums, it’s long been a part of their canon. It appeared on the 2001 live album I Might Be Wrong and, dragged into 2016, feels like a relic from a different geological era. “I’ll drown my beliefs,” Yorke sings, “just don’t leave.” It is the message they leave us with, this very open-hearted song that has always felt like an open wound in their discography, a geyser of feeling erupting out of scorched earth. Its very inclusion is a striking moment of transparency. The version here is just Yorke and a piano, so reverberant and echo-drenched that it feels like we’ve stuck our heads inside it. Yorke croons tenderly, never opening up into his chest voice. It’s sung to one person this time, not crowds. In its mundane visions of “lollipops and crisps,” the lyrics purposefully skirt doggerel, an acknowledgment that cliches can be, in fact, where all the action is. “I’m not living/I’m just killing time,” the 47-year-old admits. You can write a line like that and set it to music; you can perform it for years in front of adoring millions; you can carry the idea around in your heart and mind. But it might take a lifetime for it to strike, as it does here, with a newfound power. The truth, as always, lies in plain sight, right there in the kicking and the squealing, the panic and the vomit. Some truths just take longer to see than others.

It’s that time of the year again – the latest edition of the js13kGames competition opened yesterday, on Sunday, August 13th. Just like last year, and going back to 2012 when I started this competition. Every year the contest has a new theme, but this time there’s another new twist that’s a little bit different – a brand new A-Frame VR category just in time for the arrival of WebVR to Firefox 55 and a desktop browser near you. Js13kGames is an online competition for HTML5 game developers where the fun part is that the size limit is set to 13 kilobytes. Unlike a 48-hour game jam, you have a whole month to come up with your best idea, create it, polish as much as you can, and submit – deadline is September 13th. A brief history of js13kgames It started five years ago from the pure need of having a competition for JavaScript game developers like me – I couldn’t find anything interesting, so I created one myself. Somehow it was cool enough for people to participate, and from what I heard they really enjoyed it, so I kept it going over the years even though managing everything on my own is exhausting and time-consuming. There have been many great games created since the beginning – you can check GitHub’s recent blog post for a quick recap of some of my personal favourites. Two of the best entries from 2016 ended up on Steam in their post-competition versions: Evil Glitch and Glitch Buster, and keys for both of them are available as prizes in the competition this year. A-Frame category The big news this year that I’m really proud of: Virtual Reality has arrived with the new A-Frame category. Be sure to check it out the A-Frame landing page for the rules and details. You can reference the minified version of the A-Frame library and you are not required to count its size as part of the 13 kilobytes size limit that defines this contest. Since the A-Frame library itself was announced I have been really excited trying it out. I believe it’s a real game changer (pun intended) for the WebVR world. With just a few lines of HTML markup you can set up a simple scene with VR mode, controls, lights. Prototyping is extremely easy, and you can build really cool experiments within minutes. There are many useful components in the Registry that can help you out too, so you don’t have to write everything yourself. A-Frame is very powerful, yet so easy to use – I really can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with this year. Resources If WebVR is all brand new to you and you have no idea where to start, read Chris Mills’ recent article “WebVR Essentials”. Then be sure to check out the A-Frame website for useful docs and demos, and a lively community of WebVR creators: I realize the 13K size limit is very constraining, but these limitations spawn creativity. There have been many cool and inspiring games created over the years, and all their source code is available on GitHub in a readable form for everyone to learn from. There are plenty of A-Frame tutorials out there, so feel free to look for the specific solutions to your ideas. I’m sure you’ll find something useful. Feedback Many developers who’ve participated in this competition in previous years have mentioned expert feedback as a key benefit from the competition. This year’s judges for the A-Frame category will focus their full attention to on WebVR games only, in order to be able to offer constructive feedback on your entry. The A-Frame judges include: Fernando Serrano Garcia (WebVR and WebGL developer), Diego Marcos (A-Frame co creator, API designer and maintainer), Ada Rose Edwards (Senior Engineer and WebVR advocate at Samsung) and Matthew ‘Potch’ Claypotch (Developer Advocate at Mozilla). Prizes This year, we’ll be offering custom-made VR cardboards to all participants in the js13kGames competition. These will be shipped for every complete submission, along with the traditional annual t-shirt, and a bunch of cool stickers. In addition to the physical package that’s shipped for free to your doorstep, there’s a whole bunch of digital prizes you can win – software licenses, engines, editors and other tools, as well as subscription plans for various services and online courses, games and game assets, ebooks, and vouchers. Prizes for the A-Frame category include PlayCanvas licenses, WebVR video courses, and WebStorm licenses. There are other ways to win more prizes too: Community Awards and Social Specials. You can find all the details and rules about how to enter on the competition website. A look back I’m happy to see this competition become more and more popular. I’ve started many projects, and many have failed. Yet this one is still alive and kicking, even though HTML5 game deveopment itself is a niche, and the size constraint in this contest means you have to mind the size of every resource you want to use. It is indeed a tough competition and not every developer makes it to the finish, but the feeling of submitting an entry minutes before the deadline is priceless. I’m a programmer, and my wife Ewa is a graphic designer on all our projects, including js13kGames. I guess that makes Enclave Games a family business! With our little baby daughter Kasia born last year, it’s an ongoing challenge to balance work, family and game development. It’s not easy, but if you believe in something you have to try and make it work. Start your engines Anyway, the new category in the competition is a great opportunity to learn A-Frame if you haven’t tried it yet, or improve your skills. After all you have a full month, and there’s guaranteed swag for every entry. The theme this year is “lost” – I hope it will help you find a good idea for the game. Visit js13kGames website for all the details, see the A-Frame category landing page, and follow @js13kgames on Twitter or on Facebook for announcements. The friendly js13kGames community can help you with any problems or issues you’ll face; they can be found on our js13kgames Slack channel. Good luck and have fun!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday ordered an immediate 60-day review of federal cyber security efforts and named Melissa Hathaway, a top U.S. intelligence official, to oversee the effort, according to a White House statement. Hathaway, who served as a top cyber security adviser to Mike McConnell, the former director of national intelligence, will conduct the review for the White House National Security and Homeland Security Councils. The review, which will examine what the federal government already is doing to protect vital U.S. computer networks, underscores mounting concerns about the risks of cyber attacks, and points to a growing market for U.S. contractors. Northrop Grumman Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, the Pentagon’s biggest contractors, already are working on a variety of cyber security projects for the U.S. government, many of which are classified. Industry executives say the sector will be one of their fastest-growing markets in coming years, and analysts say it could generate over $10 billion in contracts by 2013. Hathaway, who had been coordinating cyber security efforts for the intelligence community, will serve as acting senior director for cyber space during the review period, according to the White House statement, which was released late on Monday. Obama highlighted the importance of safeguarding the nation’s vital computer networks against enemy attacks during his campaign, and has promised to appoint a national cyber adviser to coordinate federal agency efforts and develop a national cyber policy. Just before he left office last month, McConnell told reporters that the Internet had introduced an unprecedented level of vulnerability. “If you get in our systems and you’re trying to destroy banking records or electric power distribution or transportation, it could have a debilitating effect on the country,” he said. The Senate last month confirmed Adm. Dennis Blair to be the new director of national intelligence, replacing McConnell. Immediately upon taking office, the Obama administration underscored the importance of protecting U.S. information networks in a posting on the White House website. It pledged to work with industry, researchers, and citizens to “build a trustworthy and accountable cyber infrastructure that is resilient, protects America’s competitive advantage, and advances our national and homeland security.” The White House also said it would initiate a drive to develop next-generation secure computers and networking for national security applications; establish tough new standards for cyber security and physical resilience; battle corporate cyber espionage and target criminal activity on the Internet.

The ever-changing set of 'Good Morning America' got a redesigned anchor desk a few weeks back, with two wide panels added to the front side of the set piece. That addition resulted in viewers no longer being able to see the legs of the ABC morning show's hosts, which was exactly the point according to one source. An insider tells Page Six that the panels were added so that George Stephanopoulos' legs would be less prominent, adding that as the shortest of the three main hosts he looked 'awkward' at times. 'He's 5ft 7in and is dwarfed by human trees Robin Roberts (5ft-10) and Michael Strahan (6ft-5),' said the insider. 'GMA initially thought using an anchor desk with elevated chairs would help the problem. Still awkward, George's little-boyish mini-legs were seen dangling.' Sleek new look: The anchor desk used on the set of Good Morning America was redesigned last month to include two wide panels across the front (desk above on Thursday with Amy Robach, George Stephanopoulos and Sara Haines ) Allegation: An insider claims the redesign was for George Stephanopoulos in order to cover up his 'dangling' legs while sitting on his stool (l to r: Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, Stephanopoulos and Lara Spencer in March) Not hiding: Despite that claim, Stephanopoulos' legs are still clearly visible in two of the five anchor set-ups used on the morning show (above with Megyn Kelly last November) There are currently five different set-ups that are done on the show though, and two of those continue to show the hosts' legs while three do not. In addition to this new set-up, the main anchor desk that is featured at the top of the show and the desk used for the big board segment both keep the hosts' legs hidden away. The hosts' legs are visible however in the set-up where they all sit in elevated folding chairs behind no desk, and the one-on-one interviews which occur early in the program with politicians and other newsmakers. Stephanopoulos conducts many of those interviews, sitting at a two-top table in the studio on an elevated stool with his legs and feet out for all to see on the TV. Stephanopoulos' height falls square in the middle of the show's five main hosts, as he is shorter than both Strahan and Roberts, but taller than Lara Spencer and Amy Robach. He is also the exact same height as his wife, writer, actress and comedian Ali Wentworth. Stephanopoulos has laughed off these claims in the past, including a report back in 2010 that claimed he had to be given a booster seat so as to appear the same height as Roberts in his anchor chair. 'I would have been happy with phone books, but I’m glad they found a solution,' said Stephanopoulos to Pop Eater when asked about the report. Not daunted: Despite the report, Stephanopoulos happily greeted former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal on set Thursday (above) Options: There are currently five different set-ups that are done on the show (the main anchor desk seen in the ground floor studio above) Covered: The anchor desk used during the Big Board segment also keeps the hosts' legs covered Evening out: Stephanopoulos is the same height as his wife Ali Wentworth (pair above) Stephanopoulos, 56, shot up the ranks in the Bill Clinton administration after helping the Arkansas governor on the campaign trail when he first ran for president. He started off as the White House Director of Communications and soon became a senior adviser to the president. Stephanopoulos exited the White House after Clinton's first term and got a job as a political analyst at ABC News, shooting up the ranks there as well until in 2009 he took over for Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. He has remained there ever since, while also hosting This Week and serving as the network's chief anchor. Stephanopoulos meanwhile seemed unfazed by the insider's claim on Thursday, welcoming the very tall Shaquille O'Neal with a hug when he appeared on set.

If you have raced with us before and would like to get on the Racers page, please send an email with a picture of you on the track along with a breif description of your race scoot(s) and/or moped(s) to angus@pacificscooterracing.com. John Golden #101 Home town: Hillsboro, OR Scooter: Stock – P200 with modified JL Right Hand Pipe Brian Noji #68 Home town: Tacoma,WA via Honolulu,HI Scooter: Automatic – ’87 Honda Elite 50, JDM Dio conversion disc brake and motor, Malossi MHR rep 72cc kit, 24mil OKO carb, MSP Taiwan race exhaust Angus Muir #13 Home town: White Rock, BC, Canada Scooter: Mod Under 190 – Largeframe Vespa chop-job, custom drop bars, shortened fork stem, disc brake w/ remote master, Bitubos front & rear, 30mil OKO carb, VForce 3 reed, long stroke crank, Vespatronic ignition & flywheel, Malossi 166 cylinder, ScootRS pipe, TT92’s Scooter: Mod Over 190 – Vespa Allstate, custom drop bars, disc brakes front & rear, 30mil Delorto carb, Malossi reed, HP4 flywheel, long stroke crank, Malossi 210 cylinder, Vintage 226 Hotwing pipe Scooter: Automatic – Liquid cooled Derbi Predator, 65cc Metrakit cylinder, 24mil Mikuni carb, Malossi variator, Malossi CDI, Hebo Clutch, Ecologic pipe, Moped: Jawa 210 with a bitchin’ custom copper reed manifold, CR80 reed, Delorto 20/20 downdraft carb from a PX125, custom pipe, CDI made from TV parts Patrick Fitzgibbons #16 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – Vespa ’77 50 Special, Cylinder inducted (ported) Malossi 140 – GS piston, matched MMW head w/ a 39mm Keihin PWK carburetor, Tassinari v-force3 reeds on a custom manifold, Ludwig & Scherer ’55 race exhaust, Numerous different clutches out of necessity(ended up with a 5plate). 54mm stroke/105mm rod crank, Vespatronic ignition. Bob Hansen #808 Home town: Portland, OR Moped: 1996 Puch Korado with Polini 64cc reed valve & Techno Estoril expansion chamber J.J. Herzog #22 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – Vespa smallframe 50 special, 135 cc Parmakit cylinder, 34 tmx mikuni, vforce reeds, vsp race pipe, pk fork with disc brake, clauss studios urethane swingarm bushings. Scooter: Mod under 190 -Vespa smallframe 50 special, AF1 polini rotax water cooled cylinder, 54/105 mm full circle crank. (154 cc.) Mikuni tmx 38mm, vforce reeds, custom pipe, PK fork, disc brake, SIP shocks, Moped: 1979 motobecane. Av10 polini race cases, polini 70cc cylinder, 4 petal reed, Mikuni 24mm carb, doppler pipe, doppler variator, mykitech clutch pulley, Honda mb5 fork and wheels. Moped: Batavus Grand prix frame and bodywork, Derbi Variant Revolution flat reed engine, metrakit 70 cc cylinder, Motomatic pipe, Mikuni 28mm carb, vforce 8 petal reeds, Malossi variator, Selettra ignition, EBR forks, disc brake.JJJ Jamie Raupp #74 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – 2003 Stella, DR 177 kit, ScootRS JL copy Dayn Longlade #76 Home town: Vancouver BC, Canada Scooter: Mod under 190 – Veapa Blue Badge ss90 Rep., Cylinder: FALC 51/60, Crank: Mazz 54mm, Carb: Keihin 36mm, Exhaust: Hammerzombie, Clutch: DaynSpeed 14 spring system, 4 Polini Plates, DRT Top plate, Gearing: Stock 4 speed, Pinasco 24/72 Aluminum Primary, Ignition: Vespatronic, Other: EGT controlled Power Jet in carb, DaynSpeed seat, throttle and Gear pulleys, Bar and frame sliders. Drat Diestler #58 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Stock – Vespa P200, Vintage 226 Hotwing pipe Brad Coates #66 Home town: Nanimo, BC via Puallyup, WA via Vancouver, BC Scooter: Mod over 190 – Lambretta with lots of goodies and bells and whistles and tricks and gimmicks (description to be submitted by owner) Jen Smith #79 Home town: Vancouver, BC, Canada Scoot: Stock – Vespa P200, ScootRS Pipe Sean Gareau #X Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – P200 frame of unknown vintage, heavily modified VNB engine w/ Malossi 166 kit, Prima pipe, JB Weld, Gorilla tape, Safety wire, hope, etc.. Josh G. #08 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – 1980 Vespa Primavera ET3, PK VMX engine w’ stuff & other stuff (still building) Moped: 1980 Vespa Si, 65cc Polini, Custom intake, Tillotson HL360, Simonini Especiale Eric Sabatino #04 Home town: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod under 190 – Vespa 90 w/ Malossi kit, custom reed intake, 26mm PHVL carb, Parmakit ignition, Leovince wheelie popper exhaust. Terrible front suspension. Moped: Peugeot 103 w/ experimental 1977mopeds 80cc cyl, doppler exhaust, reed intake, malossi multivar, 21mm phbg carb, peug stock cdi ignition. Jordi Rabassa #41 Home town: Vancouver, BC Canada Scooter: Mod under 190 – Vespa small frame (description from owner to be submitted) Ali Yea #70 Home town: Vancouver, BC Canada Scooter: Super Stock – Vespa P200 (description from owner to be submitted) Glenn Daigle #171 Home town: Vancouver, BC Canada Scooter: Mod under 190 – 100 sport smalframe. Skipper disk brake and fork. Bitubo shocks, Cylinder inducted (ported) Malossi 136 with 25mm dellorto PHB carburetor. Some twisty pipe. Original clutch! 12 volt electroni stator w/ HP4 flywheel. Josh Ilott #12 Home town: Nanimo, BC Canada Scooter: Mod under 190 – Crazy Italjet dragster (description from owner to be submitted) Philip Patrie #117 Home town: Portland, OR Moped: Various (description from owner to be submitted) Jason Bailly #777 Hometown: Portland, OR Scooter: Mod Under 190 – 1970 Vespa Primavera (Smallframe). Early 50S 4-speed case. Malossi 136. Cylinder inducted reed valve from Parmakit w/ rigged manifold. Keihin PWK35 carb. VSP race pipe. Some clutch mods. PK fork with Bitubo shock, full hydro disk, master cylinder mounted on drop bars. Machined down P200 stator with HP4 flywheel.

by Jim W. Dean, VT Editor …with Press TV, Tehran The Iranians were very angry with the return by the US to its former Iran-bashing language of “the military option is still on the table”. Both SecDef Ashton Carter and John Kerry had used the term in a broad context, which of course had a whiff of preemptive strike invisible ink included in the message. I thought it was poorly handled at such a critical time. Obama finally added the context of using military force only as a “last resort” to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. This was very important as the “let’s attack Iran now crowd” prefers a definition of their “having the capacity to have one”, which in itself is subject to all kinds of self-serving definitions. Many countries have the capacity to have nuclear weapons with never a word mentioned about sanctioning, much less an attack. The list includes Israel, India, Pakistan, Brazil, and a few others who have purchased them on the world market. In addition to Obama’s statement above, he also surprised everyone with his warning that if Israel were to attack Iran in the future there would be “severe consequences.” Western media seems to have brushed that historical comment under the rug, but that was more of a threat to Israel than the inferred one to the Iranians. Forgive me if I can’t ever remember an American president warning Israel of “severe consequences”. The foundation of the NeoCon-Israeli lobby attack strategy to vote the agreement down in Congress is that it will assure the Iranians having a bomb. The inference is that they will be sneaky enough to fool the inspectors. But that is baloney, as Iran has a perfect IAEA compliance record to date of never having one gram of diverted nuclear material. That is not something that Israel can claim, or the US for that matter, as Israeli espionage and American traitors have helped to pilfer our own retired weapons stocks. We have our VT science advisor, Jeff Smith, an ex-IAEA inspector who has worked trying to hunt these down while on the Able Danger New York team. His last posting was tracking the Israeli art students and the moving companies shuffling stolen nuke material around. The Washington, DC Able Danger team all died at the Pentagon on 9-11, where they had been called in for an emergency meeting that morning. The general who called the meeting, he never showed up. So Obama was making these public statements of “military action” to undercut the opposition’s self-serving but ridiculous claims of the P5+1 having negotiated for two years just to let Iran have a bomb. So far it is Israel and the Republican Congress against the deal, and against the rest of the world. Maybe we should now sanction both of them for the threat they represent to all the rest of us. Boycotting Israel is not enough. It should be sanctioned as a WMD threat and a human rights serial violator. This is not a complicated issue. It is payback time. Let’s get on with it. ____________________________ – First aired … July 25, 2015 – In this edition of The Debate, Press TV has conducted an interview with Jim W. Dean, the managing editor at Veterans Today from Atlanta, and Kenneth Katzman, a senior analyst at the Congressional Research Service from Washington, to discuss the recent wave of anti-Iran rhetoric just days after the conclusion of talks over Iran’s nuclear program in Vienna. You also can watch the program on the PressTV Debate Show home page here.

Buy me a coffee. Thanks! Hi there! Today, I’m very proud to offer this pack of 96 icons that can be used to customize your hard drives. You will also find icons for your USB, FireWire, ThunderBolt or Time Machine drives and online storage services such as Dropbox, Bitcasa, Box … Unfortunately, I can not include all cloud services in the pack, but I have good news for you: you can create your own with the PSD file included in the ZIP file. Each icon is available in png format in 21 different sizes, from 16×16 px to 512×512. I hope you like this pack of icons and you will find it useful to customize your desktop. Terms of use : This resource file is free for personal and commercial use. You are allowed to use it in your projects, change it and adapt for your purposes. We do not require that you give us credits. Still, all references to our site, a particular author or a particular article are always highly appreciated. You are not allowed to just copy and sell the resource files. You are not allowed to re-share them without mentioning our authorship and a link to pepsized.com. If you mention this post somewhere else, please don’t just copy the entire article. You are not allowed to link directly to our .zip files, always link to this article.

By now, you may have sampled much of what the Destiny Beta has to offer. Old Russia is no longer an uncharted, desolate wasteland, rather it’s your own personal stomping ground in the never-ending quest to find the best loot that the game has to offer. You’ve killed Riksis the Devil Archon, Sepiks Prime and the Devil Walker several times over, whilst dancing over their defeated corpses without hesitation. You’ve been killed after driving a Shrike off a cliff, been vaporised by an Ogre’s face-blast and even torn asunder by a Hallowed Knight, and inevitably, you’ve been left wanting more. Shooting and looting my way through Old Russia again has been great, but with my desire to play the full game having already been affirmed by the Alpha, the Destiny Beta has only sought to help me familiarize myself with the games core mechanics once more. And yet with so many smaller details falling by the wayside as I hone my knowledge of skill-trees, The Crucible and the lore of the land, I thought that it would be helpful to compile a list of ten such details, all of which have helped me immensely on my journey. So here they are, my ten tricks of the trade for turning a good Guardian, into a great one. May they guide you towards the light, forevermore. 1. A Greater Challenge In the Destiny Alpha, you had the choice of playing a story mission on ‘hard’ mode should you desire a greater challenge. In the Beta, you still have this option, however it seems that the extra difficulty is directly proportional to your current level. For example, as a level 8 Hunter, I can play the final story mission on either ‘Normal level 5’ or ‘Normal level 7’ difficulty. Whether or not Bungie will reinstate fixed mission difficulties remains to be seen, but for now, you can change mission difficulty by selecting it prior to launching your ship into orbit.* 2. Improving the Cryptarch The more Encoded Engrams that you ask The Cryptarch to decode, the more he will advance in level. Eventually, levelling-up The Cryptarch will become a necessity anyway, with him only being able to decode rarer Engrams at a higher level. Although decoding Engrams is largely based on the luck of the draw, the consensus is that the higher your Cryptarch level, the more likely you are to gain a rare item following a decoding. Remember, the more Engrams he decodes, the higher level he will be, so don’t stop farming those Engrams if you want your Cryptarch to be as exceptional as possible.** 3. Your Vault & You The Vault is located inside a large strut at the very front of The Tower. In it, you’re given plenty of room to store a large amount of items you may not need right now. Not only that, but The Vault allows you to switch items between characters, meaning that a gun your Hunter might not be able to make use of could still be utilized by your Titan. And of course, with Bungie having yet failed to confirm whether or not the Beta level cap will be increased, it’s also the perfect place to store over-levelled gear that may be of use later on. 4. On the Importance of Impact A common misconception with The Crucible is that the higher damage stat your weapon has, the better it will perform. This isn’t entirely true, with your weapons raw damage in The Crucible being determined largely by the ‘Impact’ stat. There is a mode where the overall damage stat does come into play, however. In ‘Iron Banner’, your complete defense rating and weapon stats are factored in, with the cumulative strength of your gear playing a large part in how well you perform. 5. A Closer Look The Tower is littered with vendors trying to peddle obscenely high-level items that are, as of yet, completely unobtainable. Don’t let that stop you from having a closer look, though. Vendor weapons, like all weapons in the game, can be closely scrutinized by pressing the ‘Details’ button, which then lets you to analyse its overall usefulness. This also comes in handy for taking a look at the skill-tree of a weapon before you buy it, allowing you to make doubly sure that it’s worth shelling out the Glimmer for. 6. Emblems of Triumph Each class has its own set of three emblems to choose from that alter the appearance of your player-card. Should you find the present options a little stale however, then there are a few ways of getting a new one. Firstly, you can pay a visit to the Guardian Outfitter, located on the left side of The Tower. Here, she will have several uncommon emblems for sale all at prices ranging from 500 Glimmer and above. Your other option is to head over to Saladin during the Iron Banner events. With Saladin, you can find a rare emblem available for 1,000 Glimmer, as well as a few uncommon class items. 7. Mark of the Unbroken The Mark of the Unbroken is a bounty that goes by the name of ‘The Undying’. The bounty asks that you play a full match of The Crucible, scoring a minimum of seven kills and not dying. Although I haven’t achieved this with the bounty active, I have earned the Mark of the Unbroken twice, so I thought I’d share a few tips towards attaining it. The first time I earned it was on First Light, utilizing an Interceptor to take a seven-kill swing, before outlasting the match in my own base. I earned my second Unbroken medal on Blind Watch, using the Scout Rifle to pin down anyone trying to take C-point. Although I came close to dying a few times, sticking to high ground whilst keeping a firm eye on my radar helped me run down the clock and successfully meet the requirements of the medal once again. 8. Keeping an Eye Out This may sound completely obvious, but you’d be surprised to see how little certain Crucible players actively look at their radar. Remember, a solid red segment means that an enemy is close to you and on your level, whilst a hollow one means that they’re close to you, but either above or below you. And as an added tip, keep in mind that crouching, as well as slightly improving your accuracy, also reduces the ‘ping’ of your radar emission, which is useful if you’re trying to stay completely incognito for a few moments.*** 9. Killing from Cover In both The Crucible and regular PvE modes, taking cover behind something and then aiming down the sights of your weapon will allow you to peer over cover and shoot. Especially helpful for when your pinned down by a mass of enemies, this tactic is great for when you’re shields are low but you need to still dish out some suppressive fire. 10. The Bounty Boost And finally, if you’re looking to quickly improve your uncommon items, then you’ll want to bear the following in mind. As you know, the only items that you can upgrade are ones categorized as uncommon or higher. In order to do this, you need to simply use your items in the field, with their stats gradually increasing the more you do. However, if you’re looking to quickly improve several uncommon items at once, then all you need to do is cash in a bounty or two. After you’ve completed the constraints of a bounty, don your Guardian in as much uncommon loot as possible. Then, as you turn the bounty in, several items should level up together, the bounty having given your Guardian a powerful push in the right direction. *Thanks to /u/Zachsfunk49 on /r/DestinyTheGame for the research regarding ‘The Postmaster’. **Thanks to /u/POKEYCLYDE on /r/DestinyTheGame for unraveling the Engram mystery. ***Lastly, thanks to /u/Derringer on /r/DestinyTheGame for the heads up.

“Before this film is over … 22 people in America will be shot.” That’s how Under the Gun, the powerful new documentary about gun violence produced by Katie Couric and directed by Stephanie Soechtig, begins. Eight of those people, they caution, will die within the two-hour run time. It’s a grim opening for a film that explores the gun control debate across both political aisles, anchored by vignettes of interviews with grieving parents who’ve lost sons and daughters from both highly publicized mass slayings like Newtown and the still unsolved shootings that claim Chicago’s children every night. “As heartbreaking as all the individual stories are, I think the common thread is that they are all very active … and they are so committed to trying to do something about this problem,” Couric tells PEOPLE. “I think that’s so commendable to see these people go through so much personal anguish and turn it into a movement.” Both women – who previously collaborated on the 2014 childhood obesity documentary Fed Up – say America isn’t as split on the issue National Rifle Association would have people believe. Couric says the lobbying group “co-opted the conversation” to silence gun owners who actually do support reasonable restrictions. “You can say people are pro-gun, and none of these measures would take anyone’s gun away, but I don’t think anybody can be pro-gun violence,” the veteran journalist says. “No one can support the taking of innocent lives because they support gun rights.” “The NRA has been driving the narrative on this story up until now, and they’ve really written it to their advantage,” Soechtig adds. “The truth of what’s going on in this country is quite different. … We’ve all been a bit hoodwinked, definitely since Newtown, by the narrative that nothing’s changed. It’s definitely not accurate. But it’s really fascinating to see how misled the country’s been and how a very small, small group – the NRA only represents five percent of gun owners – and how that small minority has really been driving this narrative.” Check out Under the Gun‘s website for the latest list of screenings, and read more of PEOPLE’s talk with Couric and Soechtig below. Congratulations on your Sundance premiere. How did it feel to get standing ovations? Katie Couric: It was very moving. I think people became so invested in these people we profiled, I think to see them walk on the stage, I think they wanted to express support and compassion for these people who are willing to tell their stories and understand the impact of these events on our lives. What surprised you the most about what you learned during the process of talking to people with different viewpoints on gun control? Stephanie Soechtig: What surprised me most actually was less from the people with different points of view as much as our main characters. I couldn’t believe the resilience and dedication to stopping gun violence. If this happened to me, I feel like I would crawl into a hole. I don’t think I would be able to be out there advocating for other people. All of them said to us separately, “We’re doing this so that you don’t have to be in our shoes.” And that sort of compassion and dedication, I just found it incredibly moving and powerful. KC: From a policy point of view, I think one of the most surprising things was that there’s so many people who are in the NRA whose views are not represented by the NRA’s leadership, and it made me very optimistic that there’s a lot of common ground that we don’t hear about in the debate, that we really rarely hear about in the current debate. So that made me believe that there could be some solution and that many people in this country, even though we think of it as such a polarizing issue, that the majority of people in this country really agree that there are measures that could be implemented that will reduce gun violence in this country. So I found that surprising and a reason to be hopeful. VIDEO: President Obama Reveals Plans For Executive Orders on Gun Control Is there a particular person or family affected by gun violence who you think will strike a chord most with viewers? KC: I think all the families are so incredibly compelling, but I think, for me, two families represent the facets of this conversation: Lonnie and Sandy Phillips, members of the NRA, Republican, gun owners. Watching their evolution and watching as they go through this process having lost their daughter Jessie in the Aurora theater massacre is very compelling, because I think they had a lot of preconceived notions, and they really do through a transformation in terms of their views. I think their story was really important. And then the story of Pam and Tommie Bosley in Chicago. Mass shootings get so much attention that we often forget that there are daily shootings on the streets of many of our cities across the country. Pam and Tommy, I think, epitomize that story that is often untold, and one thing that I thought is so important is that we often categorize that – and the media say – as quote-unquote ‘gang-related.’ It was very important for us to show that these are families who are doing the right thing. Their kids are in school. They’re great families, they’re in tact families, and more often than not this isn’t gang-related. It may that they’re sort of caught in the crosshairs of urban violence, but the kids are good kids. So for me, those two stories I think were particularly important to include. SS: Early on, we were playing with the idea of juxtaposing the Bosleys of Chicago with the Bardens from Sandy Hook, because they’re both parents who both had three children, who both lost a son, and the response from the country to the two families was so very different, and it left all of us going, why? They both lost a son, why is the country galvanizing for one but not for the other? And so I think that’s really interesting. But to your original question, you can’t really pick favorites. The personal details of each of them, the little things that they do, how Rich Martino drives his son’s car, or how Mark Barden still tries to find hairs of Daniel at his home that he keeps or smells his jacket. They were so gracious about opening up their lives and sharing it with us. All of them are so compelling. The NRA declined to be interviewed for your film. The 54 senators who opposed expanded background checks declined to be interviewed. Why do you think they don’t want to even discuss the topic on the record? SS: I think it goes back to out Katie said it, that they’re co-opted the discussion until now, and so engaging in a more meaningful and substantive conversation will sort of disrupt this narrative that they’ve written. There’s also this NRA mythology that if you go against the NRA, you won’t be elected again. We have a former gun lobbyist who says NRA stands for Never Reelected Again. So there’s this perceived fear, but as we show in this film, in many ways it’s unsubstantiated that the NRA is as powerful as we have been led to believe. Stephanie, to what extent did other documentaries on mass shootings affect your filmmaking process? People are already comparing Under the Gun to another Sundance hit, Bowling for Columbine, and how it could make a similar impact. SS: That would be great. I think we’re very different filmmakers than Michael Moore is, nonetheless I think we started a conversation, but unfortunately not much as changed. I think the country is reaching a tipping point, and I think what are film offers that’s different perhaps than other films is hope and solutions. We really show you what needs to happen if people really want to stem the tide of gun violence. Katie is so accurate in saying I think we can all agree that we are all against gun violence. Nobody’s going to say, “I like gun violence,” it’s just not going to happen. WATCH: Katie Couric Explains Why Victims of Inner-City Gun Violence Deserve Better Get push notifications with news, features and more. What do you think about how the presidential hopefuls have been addressing – or maybe not addressing – gun control? KC: I think it’s been part of the political discourse for the first time in a long time because of an increase of attention, because of the shootings we’ve witnessed in the past couple of years. I think at the beginning of the campaign, nobody was really discussing it, and now, there’s Republicans and Democrats who it seems to be on the front burner of what we’re hearing on the campaign trail. I think that’s a good thing. Just going back to the last question, I think what we’re seeing what’s different right now is better organization of people who support sensible gun laws. Before, a lot of people felt that way, and that was reflected in the polling, but it wasn’t really an organized effort. And now, thanks to people like Mark and Gaby Giffords who have their organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, they want to represent reasonable gun owners. And then there’s Everytown, which Mayor Bloomberg is behind, that is very organized. And then you have people who are behind ballot initiatives. So I think what has changed is there’s much more organization of people who may disagree with the NRA, and I think that’s helping to galvanize other people. I talked to a guy from Austin, Texas, the night of the premiere, and his son was one of the editors, and he said, “You know, Katie, the people who are so adamantly opposed to anything, any kind of regulation or anything happening, is such a small minority.” And I said, “Well, then why do you think they’re so powerful?” Because they’re single-issue voters, which is something we talk about in the film. And for other people who may disagree, it may be the fourth, fifth or sixth thing that they consider when casting their vote. I think it’s now moving up and people are making it a much higher priority and understanding that they have to make their feelings heard on election day. One thing that I think is also very heartening is we’re seeing so much activity on a grassroots level, and I think that is also galvanized through social media, and that’s something that I’ve noticed that’s happened for a variety of causes. And I think this one is no exception. SS: I think we’re forgotten in this country that democracy is a participatory sport. We hear all the outrage after a mass shooting, and everyone is up in arms about how could this happen, how could this keep happening, but how many of us doing something after it? I didn’t, before this film. I was just as outraged about Newtown and even Columbine prior to that, but I didn’t do anything. At the end of the film, one of the mothers says she doesn’t want our prayers, she doesn’t want our sorrys, she wants our action. What is something tangible that an everyday American can do? KC: I think they can obviously vote, that’s really important. They can consider where a candidate stands on this issue. They can get involved with Moms Demand Action. They can call their congressman or senator and tell them how they feel about this issue. They can associate with any member of advocacy groups. They can encourage a conversation with people from all different points of view. My main goal in doing this documentary was to understand the issue better, and I think a better understanding leads to more intelligent conversation. I think if they can talk about it and engage in the debate at a higher level in terms of their understanding of the issue, they can find out what’s going on in their own communities. They can see if there are bad-apple gun dealers. They can unite with like-minded people. I think they can do all of those things. SS: The reason why the NRA is so powerful is not necessarily financial. It’s because their members pick up the phone day after day, and they call their congressperson and they say, “You better vote on this.” It speaks to what Katie said about being a single-issue voter. I haven’t picked up my phone to call my congressperson. Katie was telling the story about how Mark Kelly said that the first thing Gaby did when she went in was said, “Who’s calling? What are they talking about?” That has so much more power than I think any of us have really realize, making yourself known to say, “Hey, this is really a priority to me.” I think that’s a really easy thing to do, to call your elected official and say, “How are you going to vote? It’s going to matter to me next election cycle.” We have a great quote in the film from a former NRA lobbyist. He says, “Money matters, but money doesn’t vote,” and I think that is great. Right? People vote. We need to remember that our elected officials work for us, and we need to hold them accountable. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Diana Ross was already getting a star-studded celebration of her legacy receiving the lifetime achievement award at the 2017 American Music Awards on Sunday night (Nov. 19) in Los Angeles, but some kind words from Barack and Michelle Obama really were the icing on the cake. Following a sweet surprise message from Taylor Swift earlier in the show, the Obamas made a video appearance just before Ross took the stage to sing a medley of her biggest hits. Sitting together in a 30-second tribute clip, the Obamas gushed over their love for Diana and her music. “People from the ages of 8 to 80 know every word to Diana Ross’ songs and her artistry resonates with folks of every race, background and walk of life,” Michelle said. "And today her voice is still as pure, her beauty is undeniable and her showmanship is on point as back when she was a Supreme.” Barack added that they still listen to Diana around the house, which is why he gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year. “But, this is a big deal too,” he said with a smile. “Diana Ross, congratulations,” Michelle concluded, "and we love you." Watch the Obamas’ message for Ross below.

Lightning Dogs: The Official Paw’dcast :: Episode 18 :: Playing Catch-Up Posted by NerdyShow on April 2, 2017 Ride with The Lightning Dogs: canines from another world; stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth. It’s a crazy idea fueled by our favorite 80s pop culture and we’ve been recording our development of it since the moment lightning struck. Join us on our quest to build this world and launch it as an animated series. Doing a large scale project in your free time is hard, and in this episode we feel the burn. Join Doug and Cap for some perspective on where exactly we thought Lightning Dogs was heading at this point in the timeline. It had been a year since we’d taken the series behind closed doors and we were getting anxious. Hear us share our foolhardy plans to relaunch Lightning Dogs as an audio drama and other discussions not so much about building The Lightning Dogs’ world, but Lightning Dogs as a project. We explore new influences, discuss inter-dog relationship dynamics, and lay some significant groundwork for one of our most criminally underdeveloped main characters. Track: Lightning Dogs: The Official Paw’dcast Theme :: Level 99 Lightning Dogs Links: Social Links: Reference Links:

A half-naked British man was found dead at a Spanish airport with a slice of ham on each buttock and his genitals in a can of tuna – a death authorities mused may have involved “foul play.” Steven Allford, 51, was discovered face-down on a bench outside Malaga’s airport, with his hands and feet bound by cables and his pants pulled down, the Mirror of the UK reported. Preliminary tests indicated he died of asphyxiation when he choked on his vomit after drinking booze, the paper reported. “There were no obvious signs of violence on his body but the position he was found in suggested foul play,” a source told The Daily Mail. “It is not known if what happened was done after or before death.” Detectives were trying to find out if the ham was placed on his exposed derrière as a sick prank after he had died. Police also said he may have been taunted or sexually assaulted. Authorities were reviewing surveillance video to search for clues in the bizarre case. Allford — who had suffered from schizophrenia and alcoholism — had regularly begged for money in the area, which is frequented by the homeless, Spanish media reported. He also may have been the victim of hobophobia, a fear or hostility toward the homeless, according to the Hatento Observatory, which investigates prejudice against vagrants. His body reeked of booze and several empty bottles of alcohol were found nearby, the Mirror reported. A cart near his body contained documents that helped cops identify him. It was not known where in the UK Allford was originally from and police were trying to establish whether he had missed a flight home. Malaga Airport, Spain’s fourth-biggest, serves 14 million passengers a year.

For Disney’s “TRON: Legacy,” Bradley Munkowitz, better known as GMUNK, was the lead animated graphics artist. He assembled and led a team of GFX all-stars who conceived, designed and animated approximately 10 minutes of UI sequences and holograms at Digital Domain for director Joseph Kosinski and visual effects supervisor Eric Barba. I was so happy that he agreed to do this interview about his involvement in that film. Q: Can you talk a little about your background? I was born and raised in Minneapolis and moved out to California when I was 18. I attended Humboldt State University up in Arcata and I studied Fine Arts and Filmmaking there for 6 years while cultivating some extra dendrites in my brain. Upon graduation I moved to London to work in interactive. I worked on interfaces, web design and interactive media, doing a lot of Flash work for about 3 years after college, and that’s where I got a reputation for building interactive experiences through my site gmunk.com. I finally ended up in LA, and got into motion graphics and commercial directing through working hard and knowing the right people to make it happen. Q: It’s an interesting transition to move from interactive to motion graphics… Yeah, I was sick of the limitations of the interactive medium, like having to deal with making file sizes really small so people could download it, and of course the slow playback issues trying to push too much data through. I wanted to make pieces without that concern, focusing purely on the creative, knowing I’d be creating something that people could just watch and would play flawlessly. However, I’m finally veering towards getting back into interactive, now that I’ve seen it mature into things like installation art and concert visuals, which is the coolest shit right now. Holographic projections, interactive art, data visualization, the maturation of the mobile platforms… I think all that stuff has come of age, so that now you can mix the desires of motion graphics and a reliable experience with the interactive facets and not have to worry about the delivery medium anymore… Give it 5 more years and it’s all gonna be completely immersive 3D and almost real-time transfers. Q: How did you get involved in “TRON: Legacy?” I knew [director] Joe Kosinski through a mutual friend from New York, back in 2001, who had worked for him at KD Labs. But I didn’t actually work with him until a few years later when I did an animated UI for a Hummer commercial that he was directing. That was the first time that I really worked with him, and we had a lot of fun together. It was a natural fit, our two minds — mine completely hyperactive and on permanent ffwd, and his wickedly brilliant and under control. For the TRON gig, he hit me up a year before my actual start date, as originally we were talking about me doing the on-set graphics for the shoots. In the end, that got outsourced to a different company. But a year later he brings me in and shows me a video clip that I’ll never forget. It was called “hologram_REF.mov,” and it was all this previs of the hologram sequences for the movie that we were being asked to do; it was like 8 minutes of content… And I’m all, “we’re gonna need to build a GFX black-ops swat team for this…” Q: What was the scope of the project? It started as about 8 minutes of content and our original booking was for three or four months. Eight minutes became 12 minutes, and the GFX team started to inform Digital Domain’s (DD) Houdini team on some sequences as well, like the fireworks and portal climax. And then they ask, “Can you do the graphic portion of the opening titles?” Insane! Of course there was never the word ‘No’ in any of these conversations, so it ended up being a year and a couple months for the entire booking, me going the full duration and a couple team-members on rotation. We were so inspired and so up for anything they threw at us – it was such a great gig. Q How many people were involved in the project? What was your role? I don’t think we were ever bigger than five at one time, but our team, in total, was seven on rotation. They was me, functioning as the point-man for Joe / DD and I guess Creative Director of the team… Jake Sargeant was another lead designer and my right-hand for a majority of the gig — we worked in close tandem as much as possible to define the design and animation directions for specific sequences. . The multi-talented David Lewandowski, “dlew,” was the lead animator on a majority of our sequences and was deep deeep in the trenches with me all the way til the end. Others included the wicked-awesome Houdini artist Adam Swaab; Joseph Chan, a designer / animator and a helpful hand; and our core mojo, the genius code-artist Josh Nimoy, who built us all sorts of little graphic applications to use in both the conceptual stages and during production. Of course, a lot of us functioned in multiple roles… for instance the Solar Sailor sequence would have all of us credited as designers, as there was so much to design and execute. Q: What was the working process like? How did the designs evolve? It was a really nice organic creative process working with such high-level creatives as Joe and visual effects supervisor Eric Barba. We definitely came away from it feeling like no idea was compromised too much. In the commercial world, you’ll throw up all sorts of ideas during the pitch — but often ad agencies have a very set vision of what they or the client wants, so they won’t let you flex those ideas and explore as much during the initial phases. Whereas with Joe, he supported every idea we threw at him, and wanted us to develop them further. He pushed our creative in the right direction. Early on we would get a bit more time with Joe. He would come and sit down at our computers and we would show him stuff, talk, and sketch in our sketchbooks with him. Joe was very accessible during that process and it really helped bring the graphics ‘to their maximum potential.’ Towards the end of the gig, when he was getting a lot busier with the sound design and finishing the movie, we would post dailies and look at it together with Joe and all the creative leads from DD. So of course, then everyone started to chime in. We called it “the firing squad” — it wasn’t as awesome. Q: Can you talk about some of the different interfaces in the film… Quorra Hologram Sequence This sequence was definitely the most conceptually challenging for us and the one I’m most proud of. It started with a very loose brief from Joe — he wanted the representation of Quorra’s DNA to be “beautiful, like a flower” and something that has ‘never been seen before.’ We were told Flynn was to identify the ‘damaged code’ in her DNA and then extract it, healing her data with a blow, allowing her arm to grow back… Because she’s an ISO — she’s one of a kind — we wanted to take her DNA and make it super-unique, resembling something from nature, yet still remaining very graphic and obviously holographic. We asked ourselves, “What would the DNA of an otherworldly being look like?” And “how the hell does Flynn traverse the layers of her data foundation to access it?” For design references we looked at a lot of Ernst Haeckel, the German Biologist who rendered these really amazing organisms that were like graphic prismic coral, for lack of a better explanation. He was one of our primary inspirations because we wanted all of our designs to look and behave like they could be living organisms, like flowers, while retaining some graphic structural rules. We also researched infinite fractals, hexagonal mesh cages and studied data visualizations of voronoi noise algorithms and isometric surfaces. In the end, all of this research informed the designs used for the container that held her DNA. We presented to Joe a bunch of different design examples and a sequence. The presentation was like a little science presentation. I’ll never forget that night, late after dailies, and all the DD producers were anxious to see what the hell they’d been paying so much for, haha… Thankfully, after asking me what I’d been smoking, Joe ate it up and it was blue-light forward. The sequence started with opening up the data through navigating a hexagonal outer mesh, or the ‘HexSphere’ as we coined it… We wanted to align with the hexagon metaphor used throughout the film, so the initial layer needed to have the most commonality with its surrounding world. Once Flynn breaks through the outer layers of the HexSphere, he reaches the IsoSurface — which we called the ‘Contour Heart.’ It was a Nimoy creation, with our direction, and quite amazing. Too bad it’s only on screen for like 5 seconds. The IsoSurface holds Quorra’s DNA, so to break through the IsoSurface, Flynn uses a Voronoi noise algorithm, wading through a web-like interface to break open the DNA. Then the DNA forms (with some amazing sound design — thank you Joe and Co.), Flynn ultimately finds the damaged code, and, as he releases it into the wind, it flutters away. (Joe insisted that the damaged code have wings that fluttered like a butterfly — TRON world has it all, man.) Looking back on the sequence, I mean, the design could have been the most complicated thing you’d ever seen. It could have been hundreds of layers all at the same time pushing through — like “Iron Man 2” craziness. But instead we chose to make it more slow moving and elegant, with each element carrying a heavy and substantial feeling. Every single detail that we put into it had a purpose — just say no to greeble. (Although, I still think the IM2 motion graphics are the sickest ever done to date.) Rectifier Extraction Another prominent graphics task was the Disc Rectifier extraction scene. Clu gets his dirty hands on Flynn’s disc and he puts it into the rectifier to extract all its data. Our task was to represent that data, first as a chaotic assemblage, then organizing it into concentric rings of decoded data… We primarily studied disc defragmentation diagrams and sought to modernize that aesthetic, because for Flynn, creator of the TRON universe, his disc defrag diagram had to look like an other-worldly disc defrag data representation. We came up with a visual language that felt more natural and insanely detailed. dlew flexed his moGraph muscles to the max, and we worked with compositing supervisor Sonja Burchard to bloom the graphics with a gorgeous shallow depth of field, making it feel even more extraordinary and natural, even though the core structure is informed by the disc defrag diagram. Opening Title Sequence The most challenging in terms of pressure, by far, was the opening title sequence. The original TRON title sequence is probably still one of my favorite graphic title sequences ever made. It’s beautiful — really simple but graphically dense, especially for the time period it’s from. So, of course, our first inclination was to pump insane amounts of detail into our portion of the OT sequence, making it the most epic city build ever put to screen. We hired another code artist named Karsten Schmidt to help us previs how the city builds, giving us sliders to control their behaviors, and how the lines interact with the buildings… In animation phase, we pushed that high-level of detail even further, filling the streets with interesting grid-based design patterns and allowing the blocks to gradually form from these initial patterns. And for the buildings, we were basically drawing every single window as the buildings were forming… Lead animator dlew animated the whole thing by hand, in Cinema 4D, carefully weighting each keyframe to follow the VO and punctuate key phrases… We were set to execute a really impressive display of detail. But then the sequence got more and more simplified – to a very tasteful, almost minimal aesthetic… Joe loves his minimalism, and looking back, it was definitely a safer execution that won’t date as much. Q: Were there any design references from the original “TRON” that you brought into Legacy? A few, sure. In the original film, at the end when they defeat Master Control and the world comes alive with light — they show the mountains and the lines with light points on them cleansing the world and making all those beautiful geometric patterns and shapes. It’s like a Syd Mead moment. We referenced that over and over because, aesthetically, we thought they were the nicest lookn’ frames from the original. There was some nice animation they did with the Disc game courts – how they animated on and off – that we referenced for the Disc Game scoreboard and in our concept art for the Portal Climax… We referenced the graphics on the wall in Zark’s main ship for its amazing design and density. And we used the supplied Encom font for a lot of our interfaces… But for the majority of our sequences, we stayed away from the original in our design references — just so the graphics in this film could be their own thing. Q: How did you approach designing interfaces in the TRON world, a world that’s inside the computer? What does it even mean to have an interface inside a digital world? Do these interfaces need to hold-up in the real world? Oooh really good question… You know, I gotta be honest, we never had a briefing where the rules of the world were defined.. Nobody ever told us exactly what can and can’t go down in TRONland, so we just made up our own rules regarding holographic design and interfaces, which were: they are very hi-res projections that can be controlled, interacted with, spun, flicked, plucked etc; they give off a lot of pure light and come from a natural technological foundation; and Flynn, since he was the creator, could call up these interfaces wherever and whenever, on surfaces, in the air, on peoples discs, etc. During the Solar Sailer sequence, we got to really push the design language because he doesn’t really need to use an interface, he created everything… He knows exactly where he needs to go, so the interface is basically around his hand as it moves and he directs the interface with simple gestural commands — everything directly at his fingertips. He can move and touch and tap anything in space and an interface immediately comes to him. We did that for the elevator, too: when he stops the elevator and he throws his hand at the screen, we just put an interface in his hand… Of course there were a lot of tasks that were by-the-book graphic design, for tablets, projection screens, glass panels etc… The aesthetic we used for those interfaces was a very clean, grid-based UI — like all the other stuff you see out there. Q: Were there any special challenges as you worked? Yes, many. First and foremost were the growing pains of integrating a bunch of motion graphics artists into DD’s high-end vfx pipeline. The key nemesis was getting depth of field (DOF) and motion blur into our renders. Because some of our sequences were shot with large apertures, everything had exaggerated DOF so it was tough for us to get it looking right, especially getting approval through “master blaster” Eric Barba, the vfx supervisor. We had to change our renderer from Cinema 4D to V-Ray, and port all our openFrameworks apps to Houdini. We even had to bring in our own Houdini master to design and render the DNA out of Quorra to save on all sorts of sabotage etc… We never saw anything with sound design or music, so we couldn’t really animate anything to a specified beat or audio hits… I’m a really big audio guy, I have been editing and animating to pre-design tracks for over a decade, so to not have that audio direction from the get-go proved challenging. To compensate, we put in a bunch of animation cues assuming that they’d nail the sound design later on… And hearing the sound design that they came up with for some of our sequences was such a treat, it completely changed some of our stuff from where we were taking it… For instance, when Clu takes Sam’s disc and he looks through the clips from Sam’s past, the sound design that they did for that was suuper awesome — what a treat. Thank you, Skywalker Sound. A big challenge for us was choreographing the actor’s hand performances when they interact with the graphics, as they did the hand filming way before we got involved. I feel like the graphics could have been considered a little bit more when they shot the hands, especially Flynn’s during the Solar Sailor sequence and the EC Elevator shot… Like I said before, a lot of sequences were captured with large apertures, so, on some of our shots the focus wasn’t on the graphics during key story point moments… In addition, characters’ eye lines were different from shot to shot and sometimes hand gestures were very lackadaisical, which we had to match the graphics animation to… All in all, we worked with what we were given and it was all good, just challenging to say the least… And lastly, doing the stereoscopic renders for graphics was hard, especially for all the particle heads and simulations we were doing. For stereoscopic renders, everything has to match perfectly in both eyes so nothing becomes fuzzy or soft. Some of it was just doing graphics on cards that would then go through the DD stereo pipeline, which was easy. But in some scenes we were rendering both eyes, even supplying stereo pre-comps of the elements, so we had to test things over and over, adjusting frame by frame certain particles or bits of data. It was tricky for sure, but well worth it… DD offered a lot of help to get the tools we needed to integrate into the pipeline, assigning mega geniuses Jonathan Gerber (digital effects supervisor) and Douglas K. Wilkinson (lighting artist) to get us up to speed with V-Ray and integration into the pipeline. Without those two, it wouldn’t have been possible. They were our superheroes. Q: Other than the custom programming, what other software tools did you use? We used the Adobe design tools, Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects, etc. We also used Cinema 4D, a 3D package aimed more towards the motion graphics industry, with its insane MoGraph plugin suite… We used it heavily, and also rendered a bunch of key graphics out of c4d V-Ray for proper DOF and motion blur, dlew was in control. We also used Maya for some pipeline enhancements, and Houdini for the DNA and as a host for Nimoy’s openFrameworks applications, which were ported over to Houdini by “The King,” effects animator Andy King. It was definitely the way forward, getting our stuff deep into the visual effects pipeline. That’s how we did the fireworks during the light cycle sequence. We first wrote an openFrameworks app with Nimoy, creating the design and behaviors of the fireworks, as well as the shape and all the other attributes. We then perfected the app with feedback from Joe; I’d create slider presets of the key design settings that we then ported to Houdini, which ran them exactly the same once the app was ported over. Being able to re-create the designs exactly, we rendered them out of Houdini through the DD pipeline and off to comp it went. Pretty solid design process for sure… Q: Anything you’d like to re-do, or do differently? There were a couple tasks that I didn’t feel we nailed… Definitely, the scoreboard, the first graphic task we had. I felt we could have made it more natural and ethereal, like our later designs. The final result was just too much simple graphic design and not much else, although we did put a lot of time and effort making sure it was functional and that it properly simulated the bracket behaviors of match play… But overall, I would love to keep working on the scoreboard. For the opening titles, I wanted to pump more detail into our graphic portion. I think it came out too simple for what it could have been. We had a really sick design for the linework that got pushed in a different direction. Conceptually, it was a better direction, but the design suffered… I mean, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback on our part of the sequence, but we definitely would’ve pushed it further if we got another shot at it … 🙂 Q: Any interesting Easter eggs in the graphics? Yes indeed. We put a bunch of our personal icons in the UI’s, and our names all over the boardroom scene, on the projection, the light table, and when Marv shuts down, which won the award for outstanding achievement… Mr. dlew, our lead animator, got his name in a frame that’s legitimately visible and beyond, os12dlew forever and ever… Q: Thank you for your time to do this interview. My pleasure David, hopefully I made some sense of it all. TRON: Legacy was an amazing experience and we’re excited to share our design process with the community… Want more GMUNK? He’s going to be speaking at FITC Toronto 2011 — May 2-4, 2011 in Toronto, ON, Canada. And the cool people at FITC are offering a 10% discount to Inventing Interactive readers. To get it, use the discount code “inventinginteractive”. (They also gave away a pair of Festival Tickets to one lucky Inventing Interactive reader. But that raffle has ended.) Share this post: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Pocket Reddit Email More Pinterest Tumblr Google

Graphic design is a lot like architecture: The finished product is defined by a series of constraints and available space. So it makes sense that Natasha Jen, a graphic designer and partner at New York's Pentagram office, loves working with architects. She created the graphic identity of the US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and also for New Practices New York, which showcases work by new and innovative design firms. For her latest work, Jen's team created a dynamic typeface for the American Institute of Architecture's annual Heritage Ball. She calls the blueprint-blue typeface Herita-Geo. It stretches horizontally like a rubber band, then snaps back into place. When she and her team started brainstorming ideas for the event, held earlier this month, they knew right away they didn't want a pictorial identity. “We didn’t want to draw champagne bottles and all that,” she says. “We wanted to convey a vibrance through typography.” Jen wanted to translate the practice of architecture—making a building fit into a pre-set space—into typographic form. “Architecture is about transforming how we experience space,” she says. “So we thought, how can we express that through typography?” The goal was to create a typeface that would scale and stretch from edge to edge without losing the inherent shape of the letters. It needed to be dynamic, but rational as well. The designers began by focusing on how the typeface should behave. “We didn’t want it to be random because architecture is an incredibly disciplined practice,” she says. They decided the typeface would stretch only horizontally, which Jen says works better on a screens. To ensure each letter can be pulled without deforming, the team designed a 90-degree horizontal bar into the extended version of individual letters. The extended letterforms feel slightly reminiscent of Paula Scher's recent revamp of the New School identity, but Jen's solution has an entirely different feel. It smartly pulls visual double-duty by giving the dual-lined letters a clean, geometric feel, which means that while it looks great on paper, it really shines when you see it move.

WACO, Texas -- Matt Rhule was sitting in Nobu Fifty Seven, his favorite restaurant in New York City, just three weeks ago. What he and his wife, Julie, ordered that Monday night he cannot recall. He'll remember only the two phones in his hands that didn't stop ringing. Two schools needed an answer. Rhule had interviewed with Baylor in Philadelphia that morning. He says he met with "some other folks" -- widely reported to be Oregon -- later that day in New York. It was time to decide. Matt Rhule reportedly chose the Baylor job over Oregon. Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune Herald via AP "I couldn't even tell you one thing I ate," Rhule said. "It was a phone call with one school and then the other, back and forth and back and forth. So I asked my wife, 'What do you want to do?' She wanted to go to Baylor. I said, 'Me too.' "Her and I both looked at each other and said, 'I want to go to Baylor.' And that was it. I knew that if I didn't, I would always second-guess it. In my heart, I knew this is where we wanted to be." Rhule recognizes that he is taking a serious risk by becoming the next head coach at Baylor. He truly accepted the position sight unseen. He had never been to Waco. He has never coached in the state of Texas. He admits that he did not have time to do much research on the more than yearlong sexual assault scandal that has engulfed his new school. The significant fallout there isn't over. There are still at least four unresolved Title IX lawsuits against the university. The U.S. Department of Education is still investigating Baylor's handling of Title IX cases. The possibility of sanctions from the NCAA and the Big 12 still lingers. The risk in taking over this football program is real. Why did Rhule still choose Baylor? He can't explain his decision without acknowledging that he got where he is today by embracing the unexpected. The 41-year-old's career is a testament to his self-assuredness. He has always made the move that feels right in his gut, tried to make the best of it and trusted that whatever's meant to be will be. "As things have come open, it's never been about pros and cons," he said. "I just sort of go wherever it feels like in my heart I'm supposed to be, where my purpose is best fulfilled. It's a leap of faith, but everything we've ever done in coaching, it's all been leaps of faith." Back in 2000, Rhule was a 25-year-old assistant searching for work after a two-year stint at Buffalo. He had an offer to be the defensive coordinator at Wilkes University, a Division III college in Pennsylvania. It was a safe choice, a close-to-home gig for the former Penn State linebacker, and it offered a decent paycheck. "I'll never forget sitting there with my wife," Rhule recalled, "and her saying, 'You know what? This isn't what you want to do. If you want to be a small school coach later, that's fine. But you've always wanted to be a Division I coach. Let's go do it.'" So Rhule took a graduate assistant job at UCLA. The Rhules packed up all their stuff and moved across the country. He made $780 a month. The rent was $1,400 a month. They went for walks together in their spare time, Rhule joked, because that's all they could afford. The defensive coordinator for whom he fetched coffee and prepared practice scripts that year? Phil Snow, who went on to be Rhule's DC at Temple and now at Baylor. It all worked out. He got his next job at Western Carolina, thanks to defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who is now succeeding Rhule as Temple's head coach. After three years of coaching linebackers, in 2015, Rhule made another curious move. Western Carolina head coach Kent Briggs was battling head and neck cancer that summer. To help, Rhule switched sides of the ball and took on the role of offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Learning both sides of the game paid off for him as an assistant at Temple. He oversaw the defensive line in 2006. He coached quarterbacks in 2007. He became the recruiting coordinator. Then he was the offensive coordinator. Those varied roles made Rhule a wiser and more well-rounded head coach today. It all worked out. He took another leap by leaving Temple after the 2011 season, giving up his offensive coordinator duties for a one-year stint as the assistant offensive line coach of the New York Giants. He says he got his Ph.D. in head coaching there, under former Giants coach Tom Coughlin. Rhule had a 26-23 record at Temple and won the 2016 AAC championship. Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports "The most impressive thing to me was the guy is a sponge," Coughlin said. "He's very, very smart. He's very perceptive. He has a very unique talent, in my opinion, and that is sincerity. When he's talking to you, it's like he's talking to you and only you. The players very much sense that. He's really a people person, a relationship-builder." After all that, Rhule was ready to be the head coach at Temple. After he completed a successful worst-to-first rebuild with an American Athletic Conference championship on Dec. 3, his phone kept ringing. He called the people he trusts. He leaned on Coughlin for advice. He talked over his thinking with Snow. Ultimately, he went with his gut, and he trusted first-year Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades. Rhoades felt Rhule was the man he needed to hire in the first 30 minutes of their interview. They shared an instant connection. Rhule liked the way Rhoades operates. They had traded texts and chatted at conference meetings in the past, but Rhoades really won Rhule over a year ago, when Rhoades, then the AD at Missouri, visited the Rhules' home to interview Matt for that job. "I think from a professional perspective, we have the same mentality. Our thought processes are the same," Rhule said. "He'd ask cool questions -- everything from what sets are you going to run to recruiting to, 'Do you know the names of the custodians in your building?' Those are the things that are important to me. When he asks me that, I understand, 'Hey, this guy gets it.'" Added Rhoades: "You talk about that 'it' factor, and I just felt like he has that 'it' factor." Rhule also has the benefit of coming into this job with the outsider factor. Baylor gets to wipe the slate clean from a coaching standpoint, with a new staff that had no involvement in the program's past procedural failures. As Baylor interim coach Jim Grobe said last week, "I told him basically for the last six months, I've taken all the bullets, and they're out of ammunition, so now all he's gotta do is go coach football." Rhule recognizes that his rebuilding efforts at Baylor will take time. He acknowledged that it might take two or even three years to get back to having 85 scholarship players. He's starting from scratch in recruiting. This is going to be a long process, hence the reportedly seven-year deal he received. As he reflects on all the risks he is glad he took during his rise through the coaching ranks, Rhule is confident he has once again ended up where he is supposed to be. He might not fully understand how difficult a job this will be, considering all that has gone on at Baylor and all that must still be resolved. But as he always has, Rhule trusts that this is going to work out. "There was a problem at Baylor," Rhule said. "Maybe I can be part of the solution and be part of the people that came here and fixed it and moved forward."

Hasso Plattner, the Sharks owner, is the NHL’s international man of mystery. He makes infrequent public comments. He lives in his native Germany much of the year. He has a Bay Area place where he stays occasionally. He shows up for Sharks games sporadically. But we do know this: Plattner was at Saturday night’s outdoor game. We know this, too: The game was very big for him. Plattner’s software company, SAP, has its name slapped across the Levi’s Stadium rim as one of the building’s significant corporate sponsors. Across the street, a portion of the 49ers’ training facility is known as the “SAP Performance Center.” You can surmise, then, that Plattner was excited about entertaining friends and clients at Saturday’s game and enthused about the prospect of his hockey team defeating the rival Los Angeles Kings in front of 70,205 people. You can also surmise that Plattner was disappointed and upset when the final score turned out to be Kings 2, Sharks 1. But would Plattner be disappointed and upset enough to do something drastic and shake up the front office or coaching staff? Right now? Just because of this one loss? On a night when the spectacle itself was so impressive and demonstrated how much the Sharks have succeeded in boosting Northern California hockey? That sounds crazy. But crazier things have happened, especially in the NHL. There are always many rumors and gossip gurgles floating around teams. The job security of Sharks coach Todd McLellan — and to a lesser extent, of general manager Doug Wilson — has been one of those gurgles over the past month as the team has been slowly losing its grip on postseason possibilities. After the weekend’s games, in fact, the Sharks’ grip is nonexistent. They are tied with Calgary with 68 points, one point behind Minnesota for the Western Conference’s final wild-card playoff spot. However, the Flames and Wild both have played two fewer games. And Los Angeles, also with 68 points, has played three fewer games than the Sharks, which puts the Kings third in the Pacific Division, bumping the Sharks and Flames into wild-card consideration. With only 21 games remaining for our beloved Los Tiburones, that isn’t good. They are in trouble, even if they can’t publicly say they are in trouble. When would they ever concede they are actually in trouble? “If there are zero games left and we have zero chance of being in the playoffs,” Sharks forward Logan Couture said. “I believe we will continue to fight to the very end of the season.” The truth is, the Sharks actually played one of their better games in recent weeks against the Kings under unusual circumstances. Of course, it would be difficult not to get amped up and go hard when 70,000 people are screaming their support. But the ice conditions ranged from slurpy to slushy to just plain yucky. But both teams sucked it up, adjusted as best they could and managed to unfurl a competitive game. Ultimately, the Kings won because (A) they dominated zone time at the right times and (B) their goalie, Jonathan Quick, was better in the third period than Sharks goalie Antti Niemi, who allowed a soft goal to Marian Gaborik after a turnover by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns. All the rest was piffle and distraction, although the sight of hockey in a packed football stadium is one damn amazing sight to witness. “I thought we played really hard tonight,” said Sharks forward Tommy Wingels, which was true and an upgrade over some other recent games. “But you have to judge yourself on winning and losing, not playing hard. Playoff spots are won in these games, games 63 through 70, not just in the last five or six games of the season.” When a big hockey event happens and so many voices from around the league gather, you hear so many things. You hear that Plattner, like Sharks fans, is peeved because of the team’s underperformance on too many nights. You hear that Plattner is unhappy with the coach. You hear that Plattner is unhappy with certain players, likes others. You hear that Plattner listens to Wilson’s personnel game plan with alternating approval and skepticism. You hear that Plattner, as an uber-rich guy, is satisfied as long as the Sharks keep drawing fans and putting on a good show while making the playoffs each season. Or not. In the end, Plattner’s actions will speak. So what actions might occur after Saturday? Any? Plattner saw his favorite hockey team blow a golden opportunity to send its most loyal fans home in a great mood after a victory. Taking the big-picture view, losing to the Kings affirmed that Los Angeles is the better team, which is nothing new. Nevertheless, you could make one interesting observation. The Sharks coaching staff had told the players that with the ice so iffy, they needed to simplify their game right out of the gate and avoid cute or complicated passes. In the first 10 minutes, that advice was ignored, and the Sharks were on their heels for much of the time. The final 50 minutes, the advice was heeded. Results were better. But what if the advice had been followed from the start? Maybe there would have been a Sharks goal or two early. The game could have been different. So. Is it the coaching staff’s fault for coming up with the right plan that was not initially followed? Or is it the players’ fault for not following it? Or is it McLellan’s fault for not persuading the players to follow it? Eddie Olczyk, the NBC hockey analyst and former Pittsburgh coach, implied Saturday that deciding to dis-employ McLellan would be folly. Olczyk said McLellan and his assistants are not the issue for the Sharks. “This team is as prepared and well-coached as any team in hockey,” Olczyk said. “It comes down to execution. I think they certainly have the ability and physical parts of the game and the right strengths. To me, the question is, is the team and the leadership core strong enough to endure the pressure and the obstacles you face to win a championship? It’s always easy to blame the coaches and general managers, to question moves. But you look at their team … it’s about getting a big save and getting the goaltending, or getting a power-play goal when you need one.” These final weeks of the season are going to be interesting. McLellan has been a good soldier as Wilson has attempted to do a roster makeover in slow motion, sending a message that the Sharks are a “tomorrow team” while also holding expectations to reach the postseason. Makes you wonder. No matter how professional the players are, is the “tomorrow team” phrase making it easier for them to shrug off too many defeats on too many nights? Plattner saw the whole show himself Saturday night. If he left the stadium angry, you never know what might happen soon. Or perhaps he left angry, will cool down and allow the season to play out, with the Sharks finding a way back into the playoffs. But if Saturday’s big Levi’s Stadium showcase turns out to be a turning point in the owner’s mind … well, that would be quite the coincidence. The last main-stage sports attraction in the building was the 49ers-Seahawks game on Thanksgiving Day. In the aftermath, 49ers owner Jed York pumped out his famous “apology” tweet that more or less signaled the imminent departure of coach Jim Harbaugh. As far as we know, Plattner doesn’t tweet. But maybe we should check to make certain. Read Mark Purdy’s blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/purdy. Contact him at mpurdy@mercurynews.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercpurdy.

Does anything strike you as strange in the following letters? “Dear Miss Manners: The son of a friend got married somewhat hastily last year. A few weeks later, there was a small party at their home, and I brought a gift. Now, they are planning a real wedding of the elegant sort. I am in a quandary about whether another gift is in order.” “Dear Miss Manners: My sister and her husband are wanting to renew their vows for their 10-year anniversary. They never had a “wedding,” so I wanted to know if it is proper for them to have a real wedding with the dress, cake, bridesmaids and all?” “Dear Miss Manners: My oldest son just got married by the justice of the peace. They were planning a wedding next year, but they are now expecting and needed my daughter-in-law to have insurance. She wanted a real wedding, but my mother said it isn’t proper to have a ceremony after the baby is born. If it isn’t, then so be it — she and the baby are more important. Please advise me in this very important decision in my life.” What struck Miss Manners was the apparent understanding, in this and similar letters she has received, of what constitutes a “real wedding.” That big white dresses and bridesmaids are associated with weddings is not surprising, although these are not essential. Many a bride has had a real and charming wedding wearing something more to her own taste, and not everyone chooses to be attended by a bevy of female friends. But apparently the act of getting married is no longer considered an essential part of a “real wedding.” In such letters, the couple has already been married in a ceremony that, although legal, did not meet their definition of being real. A real wedding need be only a re-enactment of the actual ceremony, provided it is done lavishly. We are not talking about a civil ceremony followed, in short order, by a ceremonial religious blessing. Rather, these Gentle Readers are making a distinction between the act of contracting marriage and that of putting on a showy entertainment, with the idea that the first is not the real thing unless accompanied by the second. Now, Miss Manners has no wish to be an old meanie who disapproves of celebrating marriages and anniversaries, however lavishly one wants and can afford. Parties in honor of a newly married couple can be held practically up until the time they start celebrating anniversaries. But for a married couple to pretend that they are getting married? And possibly to play with the feelings of their guests, who thought that they were witnessing people actually being married? Even that doesn’t bother Miss Manners as much as the sad realization that “real,” in regard to something as important as marriage, has come to mean extravagant and fake. Dear Miss Manners: Is it bad etiquette for you to hear women wearing sandals or flip-flops flipping and flopping as they walk? You seem to be asking whether it is impolite to cock an ear toward summer footwear? Well, yes, although Miss Manners must say that this has never come up before. But perhaps you are asking whether wearing — rather than listening to — sandals and flip-flops is impolite. It depends on where. To the White House, yes (and it has been done). On the boardwalk, no. Visit Miss Manners at her Web site,www.missmanners.com, where you can send her your questions. 2011, by Judith Martin Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

replacement ⇆ US$ 205.99 add to cart or save for later New Nintendo 3DS LL (Metallic Blue) Nintendo NTSC J In stock, usually ships within 24hrs NintendoNTSC J New Nintendo 3DS XL (Metallic Blue) Nintendo Rated By Our Customers NTSC sold Out of print / Out of stock . Compatible with NTSC U/C titles only.Get informed when this item is in stock by using our Personal Agent from the right. Manufacturer Nintendo Version NTSC Get informed when this item is in stock by using our Personal Agent from the right. sold Out of print / Out of stock save for later Track it down! This item is currently unavailable. If you are interested in buying it, we can try to track it down for you.To have us tracking down your wanted items, we need you to This item is currently unavailable. If you are interested in buying it, we can try to track it down for you.To have us tracking down your wanted items, we need you to login or create an account New Nintendo 3DS XL (Metallic Blue) Click on a thumbnail to see more pictures for featured review whereuwan2be (1) on 19, Aug. 2015 11:42 (HKT) Color we should of got in the first place So when I saw this I didn't know how they had the new 3ds xl (metallic blue) for the USA. since Nintendo hasn't said we were getting it but I bought it here and have to say it works great works with US games. features Face-tracking 3D - Games leap to life with super-stable 3D. The face-tracking feature uses the system’s inner cameras to adjust images based on your viewing angle, so you can enjoy total immersion in your games New controls - The C stick brings new control possibilities (like intuitive camera control) to compatible games. And, new ZL and ZR buttons give you more options than ever Built-in amiibo support - Tap an amiibo™ figure to the near-field communication (NFC) reader on the lower screen to enjoy amiibo features in compatible games. Get bonus items and content, customize your character, and more when you use amiibo figures (like Mario!) with amiibo-compatible games More power - Improved CPU performance means faster loading times, so you spend more time playing. Many games will look and play better than ever—and several upcoming games will be built from the ground up to take advantage of this power boost Play even more games - You can still play all Nintendo 3DS games and nearly all games from previous systems such as Nintendo DS and DSi. And, some future titles will be exclusively playable on the New Nintendo 3DS XL Easy data sharing - You can transfer your photos, music, and other files between a PC and your system’s microSDHC card via a wireless network. No need to remove the microSDHC card! Better browsing - The new-and-improved Internet browser lets you watch videos and surf the Web with ease. You can even use the ZL/ZR buttons to switch tabs or zoom in with the C stick Improved camera - Enjoy better results when you take photos in low-light situations description The New Nintendo 3DS features a better CPU than previous models allowing for faster eShop browsing and downloading. It comes with a built-in NFC on the bottom touchscreen for the amiibo NFC models. The device is based on a custom Pica200 graphics processor from a Japanese start-up Digital Media Professionals (DMP). It has two screens; the top screen is a 4.88 in 5:3 3D screen with a resolution of 800x240 pixels (400x240 pixels per eye, WQVGA) that is able to produce a stereoscopic three-dimensional effect without 3D glasses, while the bottom screen is a 4.18 in 4:3 non-3D touch panel with a resolution of 320x240 pixels (QVGA). The 3DS weighs approximately 8 oz. and, when closed, is 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, and 0.8 inches tall. The system features several additions to the design of the original DS, including a slider on the side of the device that adjusts the intensity of the 3D effect, a round nub analog input called the "Slide Pad", an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. In addition, there is an infra-red communicator port situated on the top of the unit. The 3DS has two cameras on the outside of the device, capable of taking 3D photos and capturing 3D video, as well as a camera positioned above the top screen that faces the player; both cameras have a resolution of 640x480 pixels (0.3 Megapixel). The system also has 3D movie playback capability. Compatible with both Nintendo DS and DSi games, and a new generation of 3DS games. Please note: Nintendo 3DS AC Adapter is NOT included. AC Adapters from Nintendo 3DS/ 3DS XL/ DSi/ DSi XL are compatible with the New Nintendo 3DS/3DS XL consoles. Disclaimer warranty: All consoles & portable game system's operating systems / system firmware are excluded from warranty, we recommend customer to update their system's firemware to the most recent one to avoid issue. further info Official Release Date Aug 07, 2015 Version US PAX-Code PAX0007118784 Catalog No. RED-S-BAAA Item Code 0045496781842 Box contents New Nintendo 3DS XL system x 1 New Nintendo 3DS XL stylus x 1 microSDHC memory card (4 GB) AR Cards Recommended for you

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Hyogo Prefecture, attracted the biggest number of visitors among the nation’s historical castles in fiscal 2015, it emerged this week. Himeji Castle attracted 2,867,051 visitors, taking the No. 1 spot for the first time. Among them, overseas visitors surpassed a record-high 300,000. The surge in popularity is largely attributed to its reopening in March 2015 after a 5½-year major refurbishment. The previous record for visitors to Himeji Castle was about 1.74 million in fiscal 1964. In fiscal 2015, Osaka Castle came in second with 2,337,000 visitors, Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, was third with 1,875,000, Nijo Castle in the city of Kyoto fourth with 1,776,000, and Kumamoto Castle in the city of Kumamoto fifth with 1,775,000. “We will work hard to continue to attract a lot of visitors this year,” an official at the Himeji Castle management office said.

Of many amazing aspects related to Salman Khan’s popularity, his marriage is of a greater concern to his fans and followers. It has always been a mystery that who would be the lady to enter Sallu’s life as her wife. Salman Khan is called as the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood, which definitely makes sense. The magical personality and sensational performances of Salman since his very beginning of the career has left him at that place now where millions of his fans watch him with their hearts in their hands and their breathes held. Her die hard female fans in particular are always curious to find out what comes as lady love in her life.Salman Khan has been in limelight for his love affairs with many of female celebrities of Bollywood but the love life of Khan doesn’t seem to be sound. He has been heart-broken after being in a relationship with Aishwariya Rai, then was an intense relationship with Katrina Kaif and rumors were about Jaqueline Fernandez in the recent past. But the latest and the most talked-about alleged affair that he has now become a part of is with the Romanian beauty Lulia Vantur. Although Salman has not given any clear statement regarding his relationship and future plans with Lulia but everything seems quite obvious. Lulia was spotted on Salman’s 50th birthday with her and it could easily be seen that what would be the intensity of their relation.As of February 2016, the most exciting news that got revealed was Salman’s vacation tour to dubai with none other than Lulia. It was the trigger point for all those looking to get some updates regarding his love life. Moreover, Salman was found shopping jewelery in Dubai, more specifically a ring for Lulia. There is no point in not taking it as an engagement ring. After all Salman’s got all the right to make her love happy by any means. Then again, it was on Dubai airport, while exiting, when Salman and Lulia were found kissing and were captured by a passerby. The photo had been viral in a very less time speaking a lot about the intense or we can say intimate relationship between them.What about the wedding plans? This must be the question after all these happenings. Did they get married yet? Or the suspense is still not over? Well, its still there. Salman would certainly break the ice in his Dabbang style. Fans and followers are awaited to hear from the alleged couple who just had a fun trip together at Dubai. For now, an unconfirmed news is that Salman and Lulia are going to appear in a reality show together, named as “The Farm”. Lets wait and watch if they get together in real life as well breaking the hearts of thousands of ladies who are crazy for Salman for his being one of the hottest bachelor of the Bollywood.

3 Reasons Why LG G5 Is The Most Underrated Smartphone In 2016 Close The LG G5 is one of the most incredible smartphones of 2016, thanks to incredible specs and features that made this mobile device into something out of this world. Although its quality is undeniable, this smartphone has been characterized not only by its awesome details but also for being a product that didn't earn an attention that corresponded to its greatness. Given this fact, here are three reasons why the LG G5 was the most underrated flagship this year. The LG G5 Had Great Specs And Features There´s not a single smartphone that could be underrated if it doesn't have outstanding specs and features, and the LG G5 is not exactly the exception in this case, given the fact that we´re talking about a mobile device that offers a great performance, a nice camera of 16 MP and the possibility of removing its battery. This can easily be considered as an innovative feature, considering that almost every single smartphone in the market lacks a removable power back. The screen size of the LG G5 is 5.3-inch with 2560 x 1440 resolution, with 4GB RAM and 32 GB Storage. It also applies the Android Marshmallow as its operating system and a front camera of 8MP. One of the most controversial details of this smartphone is its design, considering that its dimensions are 149.4 x 73.9 x 77mm. Nevertheless, these specs and features are more than enough to make the LG G5 a more important and famous product. The LG G5 Didn't Win The Media Attention This year is one of the most important periods of smartphone´s history since we watch the release of the almighty iPhone 7 and the fall of Samsung because of the Galaxy Note 7 recall. Naturally, both events gained the entire media attention, which had a particular consequence to the products that weren't famous in the public eyes like in the case of LG G5. Boasting excellent specs and features to become one of the most relevant products of 2016, media attention was mainly focused on Apple´s latest flagship and the Note 7 fiasco, which pushed the LG G5 to an irrelevant position in which a huge amount of customers didn't know anything about this smartphone. This is one of the most important reasons why the LG G5 is the most underrated mobile device to date since its details were more than enough to achieve a success in the market. Samsung´s Rivalry Was Really Damaging In addition to the lack of media attention, its rivalry with Samsung was extremely damaging for the LG G5, and not because its competitor had exactly an amazing year. Considering what happened with the Note 7, the most common consequence was that the LG G5 achieve an incredible amount of sales in the world. Although this smartphone sold a lot of units, the number wasn't exactly great, considering that the Note 7 situation was so incredible that the media was entirely focused on Samsung. The delicate detail about this issue is that this company is more famous in the U.S. than LG, so it would have been even better that Samsung didn't experience that problem with its flagship. Sign Up for the ITECHPOST Newsletter Get the Most Popular iTechPost Stories in a Weekly Newsletter © 2019 ITECHPOST, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

But for the 42nd president, so long the irrepressible Big Dog of the political scene, the moment must have offered some deeper catharsis. He’s spent the better part of a year holding himself in check while Hillary Clinton has disavowed much of his record, piece by piece. The Democratic Party she seeks to lead is rediscovering lefty instincts he banished a generation ago as the young tribune of an ascendant centrism, and she is adjusting accordingly. President Clinton is out there campaigning for Mrs. Clinton. However, he is also finding out that this is a very different party from the one he moved to the center in the 1990s. I found this article by Tory Newmyer rather interesting: Candidate Hillary now talks up the need for criminal justice reform to undo the 1994 crime bill her husband championed; decries the wages on American workers of NAFTA and subsequent free-trade deals he ushered in; and calls for cracking down on a financial sector he helped deregulate. Her evolution appears aimed at least in part at keeping faith with younger Democrats, a bloc that’s nevertheless rejecting her, en masse, in favor of a septuagenerian with a ‘60s vintage message. (In Wisconsin on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders won a whopping 82% of voters under 30.) So Bill could be forgiven if he’s feeling a bit lost in the party he once defined. I would add that this tilt to the left, or rejection of the Clinton presidency, really began in 2000, when 4 million voted for Ralph Nader. It continued in 2008, when candidate Senator Obama decried NAFTA and then-senator Clinton was forced to dance around the agreement. It has come full circle with Senator Sanders's supporters, who did not get the memo about Mrs. Clinton's coronation. It must be tough for the narcissist Bill Clinton. He's been thrown under the bus, in much the same way that he threw the left under the bus back in 1996. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.

The whole issue of slavery is one fraught with a legacy of pain, trauma and, yes, white guilt, and this country didn’t even apologize for this mass tragedy until 2009. If you think I found out that little stat from a history book, nope—I learned it from the season premiere of ABC’s Black-ish, which produced one of the black-est episodes of prime-time TV in a long time. In it, Dre (Anthony Anderson), the patriarch of the family of now seven, attends a school play starring his twins on the subject of Christopher Columbus (first, the straight way, and then the “woke” way—where Columbus is called a slavery pioneer and massacres Native Americans). During the show, Dre starts grumbling to his dad (Laurence Fishburne) about the b.s. of the notion that Columbus “discovered” America, before he gets up and rants about how racist and historically incorrect the play was. As usual, there is biting sarcasm woven into the Black-ish storyline, with the teacher of the class saying that she had “bused in minority students after the last incident,” to which Dre responds, “Honestly, if I wanted my kids around this many minorities, I would have taken them to a Tyler Perry play and shamelessly enjoyed it.” Dre then asks the teacher why no “black holidays” are celebrated, and then lies about celebrating Juneteenth, the holiday many black Americans observe on June 19 to mark the end of slavery. Mulling it over, Dre then takes the issue of Juneteenth to his job at the ad agency, where they’ve brought in singer Aloe Blacc (playing himself) to help them with some new jingles. Blacc then sets up the scene for the most heartwarming part of a most creative episode, a video done by the Roots on how Juneteenth began, a send-up of Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill”: Advertisement With the episode featuring more musical numbers set during slavery and lines like, “We celebrate the Fourth of July, but not the day all Americans were free,” Kenya Barris and his Black-ish writing team prove that they are some of the most deft comedic writers on the scene today, with the ability to handle thorny, black-ass topics while managing to be honest and funny AF. In its last three seasons, Black-ish has taken on the subjects of “black names” (the Johnsons’ new baby is named Devonte—yes, like dude from Jodeci); HBCUs vs. predominantly white institutions; and biracial identity, all with depth and humor. Advertisement Barris told EW that he was really “proud” of the episode and that it forced him to examine his own scorn for “black holidays”: “Yeah, the episode talks about how talking about slavery makes white people uncomfortable, I get that. At the same time, it’s not indicting of anything contemporary. It really is more indicting, if anything, of black culture and being afraid of making other people uncomfortable, and thus disregarding our own past.” I may be prone to hyperbole sometimes, but I say that this just may be one of the best TV episodes of all time. It took some of the best of black culture—music and comedy—and explicated a deep, dark reality with historical accuracy, authenticity and, yes, black love. It was for us, by us, but white folks might learn a thing or two, too.

The area is diverse, featuring sex shops , as well as an adult cinema and sexual health clinic. The Birmingham Gay Village is an LGBT district or "gaybourhood" next to the Chinese Quarter in Birmingham city centre, centred along Hurst Street, which hosts many LGBT-friendly businesses.[1] The village is visited by thousands of people every week and has a thriving night life featuring clubs, sports bars, cocktail bars, cabaret bars and shops, with most featuring live entertainment including music, dancing and drag queens.[2] The area expanded from just the Nightingale Club and Windmill bar in the 1970s, to multiple bars and venues in the surrounding streets, with the area first curtained off from the rest of the city by the Smallbrook Queensway section of the Inner Ring Road. This took place in the 1950s, when the area was a little warehouse district with a few small businesses. The area was expanded in the 1980s when land to the east of Hurst Street was cleared for the building of the Arcadian Centre, with the only surviving building being that of the Missing Bar. The Gay Village finally took its form in the 1990s after the number of venues increased and gave the area more of a boundary, while the increasing number of bars resulted from an increasing number of customers and amount of diversity offered.[3] The starting point for unhindered growth of the gay village was the partial decriminalisation of gay sex between males with the Sexual Offences Act 1967. A victory for gay rights and a reflection of attitudes changing towards gay people, the act became a springboard for a gay liberation movement in Birmingham and countless lesbian and gay organizations were created over the following decades to challenge attitudes.[4] The 2009 gay and lesbian population of Birmingham was estimated to be around 6 percent or 60,000[4] of the estimated 1.03 million residents.[5] At the end of May 2009, Birmingham City Council approved plans for a £530,000 environmental improvement scheme at the heart of the city's Gay Village area. The changes included extending the avenue of street trees to the full length of Hurst Street and parts of Kent Street; widening pavements to create space for café bars to provide outdoor seating and brighter street lighting with decorative lanterns.[6] Village events [ edit ] Birmingham Pride [ edit ] Annually over the Spring bank holiday weekend upwards of 70,000 people[7] flock to the area for Birmingham Pride. Birmingham Pride was the largest free Pride event in the UK before 2013, when an entry fee was introduced for entry to the Gay Village.[8][9][10] Usually there are entertainment acts, market stalls, fairground attractions and a parade, and until 2012 it was completely free. In 2012, for the first time, charges were introduced for access to the entertainment marquees, tents and certain areas of some bars. In 2013, the charge was expanded to include entrance to the Gay Village.[11] Gay and Lesbian Pride Ball [ edit ] The Gay and Lesbian Pride Ball takes place every spring at the International Convention Centre with an average audience of 1000 plus attendees. It is organized by Midland Zone Magazine and features an opening act to begin with, the Midlands Zone Readers' Awards, a three-course meal, a live entertainment event, a disco, and then an after-party in the Gay Village.[11][12] The first Pride Ball took place in 1998 at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and was the idea of Graham Brogden, who was a committee member for Birmingham Pride at the time. At inception, the idea was for the Pride Ball to fund Birmingham Pride, although Midland Zone Magazine had issues with this and took control of Pride Ball in 2001 to separate it from Birmingham Pride. They also moved the venue to the International Convention Centre, where they managed to get 540 participants for their first event. Rising to almost 800 by 2008, and being used to fund local LGBT organisations and HIV and AIDS charities.[13] In March 2012 the Pride ball raised £21,236 for AIDS and HIV charities. And organizations to gain funding were presented with their cheque in the Nightingale Club by Louie Spence of Pineapple Dance Studios.[14][15] Christmas Ball [ edit ] On 8 November 2012 the first Christmas Ball and charity fundraiser created for the Birmingham gay community was announced. It took place in the Penthouse above the Loft Lounge on 18 December 2012. The event included a meal and local drag acts: Miss Marty, Miss Penny, Pam Catz, Stacey Donohoe, Charlotte the Harlotte, Ricky Finlan, Lee Edward and Pam-la Motown.[16] Buildings and history [ edit ] Back to Backs [ edit ] Glamorous Bar [ edit ] Glamorous Bar Location(s) 31 Hurst Street, Birmingham, B5 4BD Website Glamorous Bar Website Originally known as The Windmill, then Partners Bar, XL’s, TRISHA’s, Now known as Glamorous Bar, it is a late-night venue located on Hurst Street next to the Hippodrome, it has seen many changes over the years and is now a late-night venue. Bar Jester [ edit ] Bar Jester Location(s) 42 Holloway Circus, Birmingham, B1 1EG Built 1964 [17] Website Bar Jester Website Previously known as The Court Jester, the building was put up in 1964, when the Inner Ring Road was undergoing development. It became popular in the 1970s with the LGBT community, and this intensified until the late 1990s, when its popularity had fallen due to competition from newer bars in the village, but staying in business until 2006. The bar reopened in 2010 after renovations and a rename to Bar Jester, with the addition of a marble Jester engraving at the entrance.[18] Recently refurbished[when?] by owner and former Mr Gay UK Richard Carr,[19] it is now a karaoke and live cabaret bar open every night of the week.[20] Boltz Club [ edit ] Boltz is a members only cruising club for men. The club has theme nights and features dark rooms, an indoor cinema, and a "piss room" for watersports to members. For these reasons they do not allow photography indoors.[21] Missing Bar [ edit ] Missing Bar Location(s) 48 Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham, B5 6NU Built 1897 Website Missing Website The building is of Victorian design and dates back to 1897. It has a history as a public house and was previously known as the Australian Bar, with a restaurant on the first floor, known as Alexander's. It was renamed the Missing Bar. It was taken over in January 2010 by 7 Carat Ltd and refurbished soon after. Once known as a cabaret bar, the management instead attempted to make Missing a "party bar"[clarification needed], since they felt the Birmingham gay scene was lacking one.[citation needed] Loft Lounge [ edit ] Equator Bar [ edit ] Equator opened in 2002[clarification needed] after taking the place of a solarium tanning centre and converting the building into a bar. Its 10th birthday was celebrated on 28 April 2012 with a buffet and Elvis tribute act. Equator is also the home of the Transgender social group Outskirts, providing a meeting space for people in the Trans community on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. Kent Street Baths [ edit ] Kent House. Kent Street Baths, while an empty building under the name of The Kent Street Baths were designed by D. R. Hill, with construction starting on 29 October 1849.[23] The baths were opened on 12 May 1851,[23][24] although, construction was not completed until 1852. The baths were the first to be opened by the Birmingham Baths Committee.[25] In 1930, the main buildings, with the exception of the women's bath on Gooch Street, were demolished[23] and new facilities were built in a more modern art deco style. It was opened on 29 May 1933 and renamed Kent House.[26] Designed by Hurley Robinson,[25] The baths and surrounding buildings suffered heavy damage during World War II to a heavy night raid on 3 December 1940, with repairs made after the war ended. The baths were historically significant to the gay history of the area, being popular with gay men in the 1950s as a safe meeting place.[27] In September 2009, after lying empty for years, the baths were demolished by Benacre Property, the landowner, provoking a local outcry.[28] Despite being Grade B locally listed, Birmingham City Council were unable to save the building and the site became a surface car park. Sidewalk [ edit ] Sidewalk Location(s) 125-127 Hurst Street, Birmingham, B5 6SE Built 1931 History Laurie's International Club 1996-? Angels Cafe Bar ?-2010 The Angel 2010–2012 Sidewalk 2012–present Website Sidewalk Website Originally a car showroom in the 1930s, entrepreneur Laurie Williams transformed the premises into a private members gay bar in 1996 under the name Laurie's International Club and opened it in time for the first Birmingham Pride in 1997. It had wide windows all around, opening it up to views from the street, a first in the gay village and a protest to attitudes of the period that gay people were deviants or perverted. "Angels opened, with plate-glass windows – I was amazed to see gay people in the open – I had thought gay people in Birmingham must be vampires!"[29] It was later sold to Gareth Scratchard,[when?] who renamed it Angels Cafe Bar.[30] It closed down and was bought by Birmingham Mardi Gras Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nightingale Club in January 2010 before undergoing a four-month refurbishment at a reported cost exceeding £400,000[31] and reopening in September 2010.[32][clarification needed] It later became a restaurant called The Angel and then after closing for refurbishment again, reopening in 2012.[clarification needed] Now called Sidewalk, it is marketed as a bar and restaurant and has been refurbished to have a "San Francisco warehouse" decor. It has a ground floor and a basement, ideal for "private hire and small conferencing".[33] Sidewalk was the host of a fundraising event for the armed forces on 1 December 2012, specifically for the Mercian Regiment Charity.[34] Queer Street [ edit ] Previously known as Purple Bar & Lounge, it opened on 27 September 2010 and closed on 18 August 2012 after a take-over by GB Holdings, the owner of the Nightingale.[35] It reopened later[36] on 27 September 2012 as Queer Street after it was refurbished. Queer Street is to operate as a "feeder" bar for the Nightingale, attracting and entertaining customers which the Nightingale wouldn't until later in the night when it opens its doors.[37] In March 2013, Queer Street announced it was being sued by Nigel Martin-Smith, the former manager of Take That, on behalf of his bar, QUEER, in Manchester. Smith claims ownership of the word "queer", its usage nationally, and that his brand is being "tarnished and diluted" by the deceptively named Queer Street. Andrew Norris, representing Queer Street, countered: "The only element common to the name and logo of both bars is the word Queer...Queer is commonly and colloquially understood as describing someone who is gay, thus Queer in these circumstances has a descriptive meaning."[38] The Village Inn [ edit ] One of the oldest hostelries in the gay village. Came under new management in April 2008 and was refurbished immediately with the work completed by 22 May 2008.[39] In December 2009, "The Underground" opened its doors to the public. This is a bar underneath the main bar with a capacity of around 100.[citation needed] Eden Bar [ edit ] Previously known as the White Swan Pub,[39] it was refurbished and renamed in 2008 and became Eden Bar.[40] The Eden Bar hosts an annual karaoke competition Sing Star Superstar with a DJ and cash prize.[41] Eden Bar also host Lip Gloss, a monthly event in aid of the transgender community. The first event in February 2012 was attended by hundreds[citation needed] of members of the transgender community from different parts of the country and was formally launched by popular television personalities.[who?] The events include entertainment, a buffet, raffle, and the crowning of the new Miss Lip Gloss Queen.[citation needed] Eden Bar closed for a 5th birthday refurbishment between 17–22 March 2013.[42] The Core [ edit ] The Fox [ edit ] The Fox is the only venue in the Gay Village to market itself exclusively to a lesbian audience. The official website for The Fox lists the club as a straight bar established in 1901 and taken over in 1997 by Andy Duncan King, later restyled as a lesbian bar in 2001.[43] The Nightingale [ edit ] After first opening as a members-only club in 1969, the Nightingale, often known simply as "The Gale", is the oldest gay nightclub in Birmingham, at over 50 years old.[44][45] When it first opened homosexuality was still illegal, and visitors to the Nightingale Club had to be members, or signed in by members, as police raids could take place at any time. The members had the responsibility to elect a committee to run the club in their interests at this time, although at some point the Nightingale dropped the members and visitors only policy to become "Incorporated". The board of directors is still responsible for representing the interests of the members.[46] As of 2012, and after more than 40 years open, and many redesigns, the Nightingale has occupied three locations in Birmingham; 50 Camp Hill (1969–1975), Witton Lane (1975–1981),[29] Thorp Street behind the Hippodrome (1981–1994), and the current location at Essex House,[47] which has three floors, an outdoor smoking area and bar, a restaurant, a stage and dance platforms, two more indoor bars, a balcony, and a games area. the Nightingale club and UK charity music festival, Oxjam raised £2,571.66 to fight "extreme poverty and hardship" between February and March 2010.[48] The Nightingale regularly offers special nights and books famous musicians to play, as well as entertainers, including fire breathers and stilt-walkers.[49][50][51] In November 2011 the Nightingale Club went into administration,[why?] and was taken over by GB Holdings Ltd, with the new owner Lawrence Barton pledging a £1,000,000 investment for three years. Afterwards, the Nightingale began regularly announcing celebrity and big name stars to appear at the club for events. On 27 September 2012 it was reported by Midlands Zone that visitors had increased by 25% since the takeover, leading to more than 1,000 clubbers visiting on most Saturdays.[52] Beginning in May 2012, the Nightingale played host to each of the ten contestants voted off BBC show The Voice every Saturday, until 7 July when the winning act was announced and appeared at the club.[53] On 20 October 2012 the Nightingale Club organised The Midlands Big Gay Night Out, which was a yearly event before the recession. Attendees who bought "The Big Gay Travel Pass" received a coach ride to and from the Club and free entry to the UV party – spread over all three floors. The event attracted hundreds of visitors to the Nightingale from across the Midlands.[54] DV8 [ edit ] After first opening in 1999,[55] and after 10 years trading, DV8 closed down in January 2011, with the intention of finding a new buyer. the management cited a tough economy for the decision.[56] DV8 was born from an ambitious but failed plan by Bill Gavan to merge the premises of DV8 and the Nightingale Club, situated across the road, with the intention to create a gay leisure complex dwarfing every other venue in the area.[47][55] By comparison, the Nightingale was then, in 1998, and still is, the biggest venue in the village without the merger. Previously known as i-Host, the bar reopened on 30 June 2012 as DV8[clarification needed] with an event night called "Filthy Monkey", offering "a new and unique style of clubbing, that's designed to bring the fun back into going out", as well as fire-breathers, stilt-walkers, a bouncing castle, twister, and prizes.[57] DV8 was raided by police on the morning of 12 November 2012 and 28 people were arrested for supplying and cultivating what was believed to be ecstasy and Class A drugs. Ten of the arrested were found to be illegal immigrants and were detained by the UK Border Agency. Sergeant David Sproson of the West Midlands Police was quoted as saying "This action is the culmination of background and intelligence work stretching back several months which looked at the venue and people frequenting a party night popular with the Vietnamese community." They released a statement later in the day claiming they were talking to the venue owner about "licensing issues".[58] The Fountain Inn [ edit ] Opened as The Fountain in 1991. The bar established a reputation as a leather bar popular with men.[59] It renamed to The Fountain Inn later.[when?][citation needed] The Wellington [ edit ] Affectionately known as "The Welly" by locals, the Wellington Hotel is alleged to have held the first gay marriages in all of Birmingham, and many years before the Civil Partnership Act of 2005 was enacted. Folklore of the Wellington tells of how a local priest would bless the wedding couple by sneaking into the building via the subway on Bristol Street.[29] The Queen Elizabeth [ edit ] Previously known as "The Queens Tavern", the bar was taken over on 1 December 2012 and renamed to The Queen Elizabeth. The bar is expected to be refurbished, with a VIP lounge added and a new menu.[60] Club Chic [ edit ] Club Chic celebrated its 8th birthday on 24 November 2012 with a UV party and a face painter. They also gave away free CDs to customers on the night.[61] Club Chic was previously known as Kudos bar, which opened in 2001.[62] Route 66 [ edit ] Route 66 was a straight bar in the early 1990s under the name Rockwells. Bass Breweries changed this by renovating the club and renamed it Route 66. It was the first gay bar in the region to be managed by a brewery. Popular drag act Miss Billie drew crowds to the club, and was responsible for the picket and protest outside Jo Joes bar in 1996 for fair access for the LGBT community, after personally being refused entry.[63] It was known as Route 2 before closing down, with a capacity for 460 people.[64] It closed down.[when?][citation needed] The Coffee Room[11] – previously known as The Green Room.[ citation needed ] The Village and surrounding places Artwork [ edit ] The Birmingham Gay Village rhinoceros installed on the roof of the Urban Kitchen, officially known as Wynner House The 'Shout for Village Pride' mural was commissioned for the Shout Festival in 2009 and given a "life expectancy" of 5 years after funding was granted by Big City Planning. It was painted on the exterior wall of the City Centre South car park on Hurst Street, directly opposite The Village Bar. In early 2012 the new owners of the car park, Gallan Properties covered the mural by painting the building black. In early 2012 a new piece of public art to replace the mural was commissioned and funded by Southside BID, GB Training Ltd, the Birmingham LGBT and a £10,000 grant from Birmingham City Council for the improvement of the city centre. The winning entry was sculpture was for a £15,000 rhinestone encrusted statue of a rhinoceros now located on Wynner House "as a mascot for the city's gay village".[65] The Rhinoceros is intended to reflect the strength and original symbol of the gay rights movement in the United States and the rhinestones refer to the jewellery production history of Birmingham. It was installed shortly before Birmingham Pride 2012, which took place over the Diamond Jubilee weekend at the beginning of July, and contains a heart, "filled with memories, stories, photos and videos submitted by local people".[11][66][67] In the surrounding area [ edit ] See also [ edit ]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will continue to investigate the relationship between the boards of Apple Inc and Google Inc, after Google’s chief quit Apple’s board on Monday. Google CEO Eric Schmidt talks to a reporter at the Sun Valley Inn in Sun Valley, Idaho July 9, 2009. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Richard Feinstein, director of the FTC’s bureau of competition, commended both companies for recognizing that sharing directors raises competitive issues, in light of the resignation of Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt from Apple’s board. Feinstein said regulators have been investigating the Google-Apple tie for “some time,” even as the two companies increasingly compete with each other in markets such as smartphones and operating systems. “We will continue to investigate remaining interlocking directorates between the companies,” Feinstein said. Antitrust experts say, typically, a resignation like Schmidt’s would have closed the FTC investigation. But because one other person still sat on the boards of both companies, the agency was not likely to close its investigation down yet. Former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson remains a director of both companies. “Generally it would have shut down the investigation because they (regulators) achieved what they wanted to achieve,” said Gary Reback at the law firm of Carr & Ferrell. A consumer rights group criticized Schmidt for taking too long to leave Apple’s board and called on Levinson to choose either Apple or Google. “Nonetheless, we’re glad Schmidt finally did the right thing,” Consumer Watchdog said in a statement. “We call on Levinson to act responsibly and choose one company or the other.” David Turetsky, a former deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust under the Clinton administration, said Levinson’s dual position could be why the FTC is leaving the probe open. “As the convergence of their two businesses happens, it is no doubt hard to have overlapping directors,” said Turetsky, co-chair of the antitrust practice at Dewey & LeBoeuf. “Schmidt did the right thing.” Experts said an end to the FTC investigation would have done little to reduce the regulatory spotlight on Google in Washington mainly because of the company’s market share. Google, the No. 1 Internet search engine and provider of text-based search ads, has been praised for being a successful American company, but that success comes with increasing scrutiny from regulators. In another investigation, the Justice Department is looking at Google’s settlement with the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers that would allow it to create a massive, online digital library. “Google is in the sights of regulators,” said a former FTC antitrust attorney under the Clinton administration, who declined to be named. “This is just the first of many instances where they are going to encounter regulatory scrutiny.” Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission sent letters to Apple, Google and AT&T Inc seeking information about why Apple rejected Google’s voice application for the iPhone. AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the Apple’s popular iPhone in the United States. “Asking questions can’t hurt,” FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said in an interview with Reuters on Monday. “Responses to the letters could be helpful.” The FCC’s inquiries come at a time when its chairman, Julius Genachowski, is looking into the ability of consumers to choose their mobile handsets and how these arrangements also affect competition and innovation.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler on Thursday offered rules that would require pay-television providers such as Comcast or DirecTV to build free applications through which customers could stream live programming on different devices. In doing so, Wheeler backed away from an initial proposal to open up the market for television set-top boxes to third-party manufacturers that triggered a tireless lobbying campaign by industry opponents. ADVERTISEMENT Though the proposal, if approved later this month, will not open up the marketplace to third-party manufacturers, Wheeler said it nonetheless would be a win for consumers because it would allow them to stop spending money every month renting a set-top box. “The choice is yours,” he said in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. “No longer will you be forced to rent set-top boxes from your pay-TV provider.” Wheeler’s circulation of the item on Thursday followed a months-long debate over his initial proposal. Under the plan he rolled out earlier this year, pay-television companies would have opened their feeds to third-party manufacturers. He argued that making it easier for companies — TiVo or Google, for example — to manufacturer boxes that accessed live programming would lead to more and better choices for consumers while driving down prices. The industry, which makes billions each year renting boxes to its customers, launched a counteroffensive built on arguments that Wheeler’s proposal would endanger consumer privacy, copyright protections and minority programmers. Lawmakers — including Senate leaders from both parties and several prominent House members — were rallied to batter the commission with letters expressing worry about the plan. An industry coalition proposed its own alternative to Wheeler’s plan. Instead of having video providers open up their feeds to the manufacturer of a new box, the big players would instead create applications for smart televisions and other devices, it proposed. The proposal had a tagline meant to take a shot at Wheeler’s “Unlock the Box” branding: “Ditch the Box.” That proposal clearly influenced the plan Wheeler introduced on Thursday. Under the proposed rules, providers would have to create applications for devices such as smart televisions, tablets and video game consoles. Users will be able to search across programming options using the apps, allowing them to easily access both live television and streaming services like Netflix. The commission said that its plan would protect copyrights. It will require a standard license to govern relationships between the pay-television providers and the companies that make the devices hosting their applications. The license would be developed by a body created by pay-TV providers and programmers, according to a senior FCC official. The senior official said the FCC would have the ability to modify the license if it felt it was going to inhibit competition. That is likely to frustrate industry representatives who have said that giving the FCC a role in developing the agreements between providers and device manufacturers would be illegal. In a statement issued through an industry coalition, Victor Cerda, a senior vice president of the Latino-owned network called Vme TV, said that the "licensing scheme also clearly exceeds the agency’s jurisdiction." The senior official said the commission believed that the proposed oversight of the licensing body’s work was squarely within its authority. While the industry plan would have resulted in apps primarily built using the HTML5 standard, the FCC said that a range of standards could be used and that the applications would be required to be made “available on all widely deployed platforms.” If approved, large providers, which the FCC says cover 95 percent of subscribers, would have to create the apps within two years, and medium-sized companies would have to comply within four years. The commission is slated to vote on whether to adopt the new rules on Sept. 29. Both Republican commissioners have remained resistant to Wheeler’s initial proposal, so it is likely that he will need to secure the vote of Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who said that his initial plan had “real flaws.” Early reaction from those who backed Wheeler’s original plan was positive. The revised proposal was praised by Sen. Ed Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeyOvernight Energy: Climate protesters storm McConnell’s office | Center-right group says Green New Deal could cost trillion | Dire warnings from new climate studies Center-right group: Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal could cost trillion Dozens of climate protesters storm McConnell’s office over Green New Deal MORE (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), both of whom supported the original plan. “The modified approach the Chairman has described today addresses the legitimate concerns raised by these parties while preserving the benefits to the public, and fulfilling the Congressional directive that requires the FCC to ensure that viewers do not need to rent set-top boxes from their providers,” said John Bergmayer, senior counsel at consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, in a statement.

BY: How bad is Hillary Clinton’s image? This bad: Fifty-six percent of Americans view her unfavorably, according to the Huffington Post pollster trend. One-third of New York Democratic primary voters say she is neither honest nor trustworthy. Her image, writes Dan Balz, "is at or near record lows among major demographic groups." Like, all of them. Among men, she is at minus 40. Among women, she is at minus 9. Among whites, she is at minus 39. Among white women, she is at minus 25. Among white men, she is 17 positive, 72 negative. Her favorability among whites at this point in the election cycle is worse than President Obama’s ever has been … Among African Americans nationally the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll shows her with a net positive of 51 points. But that’s down 13 points from her first-quarter average and is about at her lowest ever. Among Latinos, her net positive is just two points, down from plus 21 points during the first quarter. Emphasis mine. No doubt some of this degradation is related to a primary that has turned out to be much more competitive than Clinton imagined. But it’s also worth asking why that campaign has lasted so much longer than we assumed. A lot of the reason is Clinton: her tin ear, her aloofness, her phony eagerness to please, her suspicion of the press and of outsiders, her let us say complicated relationship with the truth, the blithe way in which she dissembles and deceives. Over the course of three decades in public life Hillary Clinton has misspoke and misled the public and mismanaged herself and her team to such a degree that voters cannot help noticing. Yes, many of her falsehoods are white lies. But white lies accumulate. They matter. Not only do they harm the truth. They are turning Clinton into one of the least popular candidates in history. Since 1998 Clinton has blamed her poor reputation on the vast right-wing conspiracy. Whitewater, Travel Gate, File Gate, the health care disaster—it was all the fault of the Republicans. What’s forgotten is that Clinton has been lying in the service of her ambitions—most notably by protecting her husband from the truth of his infidelities—since long before Bill ran for president. Nor can she blame conservatives for her failure to win the Democratic nomination eight years ago. Hillary can’t help being secretive and deceptive. It’s her nature. Think of the transcripts of the speeches she gave to Wall Street audiences. Bernie Sanders would like Clinton to release them. She refuses. Why? "When everybody agrees to do that, I will as well, because I think it’s important we all abide by the same standards." What baloney. Democratic primary voters see the obvious: Hillary is hiding behind a standard she invented. What the other candidates have said to bankers isn’t the issue. No one expects Donald Trump to have been anything other than fulsome in his praise of Wall Street. He probably spoke mainly about himself anyway. What Sanders wants to know is if Clinton said one thing to the financial services industry and another to the public. Fair question. Especially considering the lady we’re talking about. It’s also a question that Clinton could settle rather easily in her favor. Other than the most committed of Bernie Bros, does anyone really think Clinton offered to sell her soul to Lloyd Blankfein, at least on stage? The transcripts won’t contain bombshells but platitudes—thank you so much for having me, it’s great to be here, Bill and I really appreciate the socially conscious investment and work you’re doing for young people around the world, diversity, inclusion, hot sauce, Chelsea built a clinic in Haiti, climate change, I’m a grandma, blah, blah, blah. You won’t be shocked by what she said. You’ll be bored. The act of concealment transforms the banal into the insidious. I sometimes wonder if Clinton does this just to give her rather humdrum and lackluster public life a frisson of excitement and danger, or to goad her enemies into overreaction. Take the emails. She built the private server to shield her privacy. But the public learned of the server nonetheless. The public always finds out. A judge ordered the emails released. Thus the result of Clinton's actions was the very opposite of her intent. It remains to be seen whether the FBI will indict her for compromising national security, though I rather doubt that will happen. There is no smoking gun. The emails themselves show Clinton to be a tech ignoramus, a workaholic, harried by the pace of events, self-interested, paranoid, dependent on a few close advisers. Nothing we didn’t already know. But that didn’t stop Clinton from lying about it. Never does. "The secrecy and the closed nature of her dealings generate problems of their own, which in turn prompt efforts to restrict information and draw even more tightly inside a group of intimates," wrote Sarah Ellison last year in Vanity Fair. "It is a vicious circle." And the person responsible for keeping the circle going is none other than the candidate herself: circumspect, wary, so damaged by her years in the public eye that she trusts no one. And receives no trust in return.

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is proud to present its 22nd annual departmental symposium and poster session in conjunction with the Petersheim Academic Exposition on Tuesday evening April 18, 2017. The symposium will include a lecture in the Rose Mercadante Seminar Series by Dr. Melissa G. Trainer of the Robert Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration entitled "Chemistry on Mars: The Search for Habitable Environments with Curiosity" at 5:45 PM in the Helen Lerner Amphitheater, McNulty Hall, Science and Technology Center, Seton Hall University. Following the lecture, a poster session featuring the research of 50 undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry will be held at 7:00 PM in the Mary Ann and Pat Murray Atrium in McNulty Hall. All members of the University Community and friends of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry are welcome to attend the lecture and poster session. Following on decades of exploration of Mars, our knowledge of our neighboring planet has advanced well beyond observations of canals to the comprehensive characterization of surface topology and regional mineralogy. There are clear lines of evidence for past liquid water and a complex climate history. Yet some of the fundamental questions remain: Was there ever life on Mars? Could there have been life on Mars? The Curiosity rover carries the most advanced analytical laboratory sent to another planet, and over the past four and half years the mission has performed a detailed in situ investigation of Gale Crater. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite in particular has quantified geochemical indicators that demonstrate the environment could have supported life, and has achieved detection of the first organic molecules on Mars. Atmospheric measurements by SAM have identified signatures of planetary change over billions of years and monitored modern activity. This presentation will recount the most important findings on the chemistry of Mars to date, and will discuss the implications for our understanding of whether the red planet was ever habitable. Dr. Trainer is a Research Space Scientist in the Planetary Environments Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, with research interests in the composition of planetary atmospheres and the production of organic organic molecules and aerosols via atmospheric synthesis. Dr. Trainer has spent more than a decade characterizing the properties of Titan and early Earth aerosol analogs. Her publications on this topic include chemical, optical, and isotopic characterizations of these analogs produced via electric discharge and photochemical irradiation, with recent emphasis on the elemental composition, nitrogen activation, and the influence of trace species such as benzene. Dr. Trainer is a science team member on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment aboard the Mars Science Laboratory Mission's Curiosity Rover, with a focus on the compositional measurements of the Mars atmosphere. She has led the campaign to conduct the first in situ multi-year study of the seasonal variations of the composition of the Mars atmosphere through surface mass spectrometry measurements. She also worked with the SAM team to make the first measurements of the full suite of xenon isotopes in the Mars atmosphere as well as the inventory of other noble gases. The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry offers BS, MS and PhD degrees with specializations in all areas of chemistry. Our unique research environment, including traditional full-time students and part-time students is designed to foster collaborations with industry and colleagues in other disciplines. The Rose Mercadante Seminar Series is named for Rose Mercadante, the departmental secretary for over 40 years, in honor of our alumni, her "boys and girls". For more info: click here

October 15, 2017 | 2:23pm WASHINGTON – President Trump is spending his Sunday golfing – again – at one of his Trump-branded properties. Clad in a USA hat and white polo shirt, Trump left the White House in his presidential motorcade shortly after 10 am to hit the links at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va. The president’s golfing partner Sunday is Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who was a thorn in the side of Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last month by opposing their last-ditch attempt to pass Obamacare replacement legislation in the Senate. Despite their tussles in the GOP primary and during the presidency, the political odd couple have kept the lines of ​communication​ ​open. Paul joined Trump at the White House this week to support a new executive order to roll back parts of Obamacare, calling it the “biggest free market health reform of a generation.” It’s the second day in a row Trump has golfed with a former political opponent. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) joined him Saturday. “I played golf with the president yesterday,” Graham said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He is not a man under siege. He beat me again, like a drum. We had a good time.” It’s the 73rd day of his presidency spent at a golf club and 93rd day at a Trump property, according to an MSNBC tally. Per pool, Trump has arrived at Trump Nat'l Golf Club in VA. This is his 73rd day at a golf club, 93rd day at a Trump property as president. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 15, 2017 Since taking office Trump has taken executive action to undo parts of President Obama’s legacy but left it up to Congress to fix them. The GOP-led Congress is now charged with restoring Obamacare payments to insurance companies, reinstating deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants and strengthening sanctions policy on the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has a slim majority 52-seat majority in the Senate and can’t afford defections, despite having public fueds with several members of his party — most recently Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee.

WolframCore running in Unity "When you start programming, you know what you want to do, but half an hour into it you're solving a totally different problem that has been created through the process of you trying to do something that should have been simple in the first place." "That's the goal of the language, to make computation available to everybody. It's a democratization of programming." When Stephen Wolfram released the first proper video demonstration for his Wolfram Language last month -- a programming language that has been in the works for around three decades -- heads were well and truly turned.But for those game developers who questioned what this new language could do for them, the next piece of the puzzle is here. The Wolfram Language will soon be integrated directly into the widely-used Unity engine, allowing game devs to implement the language in their projects.The Wolfram Language will be implemented through Wolfram's Mathematica program, provided as a transparent object in the Unity editor called "WolframCore." This object will have a script, and an extra Wolfram engine will appear in your task list, capable of implementing a wide range of computations and calculations.Whether you're in the editor or in-game, Unity will have access to all of the Wolfram Language libraries, and you'll be able to build dynamic, interactive controls with just one or two lines of code, to create complex objects in the scene.Wolfram Alpha executive director Luc Barthelet, previously studio head at Electronic Arts and general manager of Maxis (where he was a driving force behind franchises likeand), talked to Gamasutra about what the Wolfram Language will mean for video games when it is released in the coming weeks."When I showed this to the guys at Unity, they were very interested," he says. "Nobody has any kind of interface like this. Everything is just too complex, but with the Wolfram Language we can do a ton of things, and barely have to worry about the interactive -- it's extremely simplistic.""Most languages -- take Java or Python or anything -- people like to define them in a minimalist way," he continues. "They want the language to have the minimum best set of instructions. It's like games -- the language needs to do just what it needs to do, and nothing else. The Wolfram Language is very different, because the goal is that every time you need to do something, it's only going to be a line or two of code."It's all about allowing for the largest number of quick applications as possible, he notes, such that someone who isn't a mathematician or computer science genius will be able to implement Wolfram Language into their games.Another problem with currently languages, adds Barthelet, is that, "You also have to be able to understand what libraries are compatible with others. You end up with a lot of unrelated problems which have nothing to do with what you are trying to do at he beginning.""When you start programming, you know what you want to do, but half an hour into it you're solving a totally different problem that has been created through the process of you trying to do something that should have been simple in the first place."Since almost everything in Wolfram can be done in one or two lines of code, this isn't a worry anymore. "It's programming for the people who are not computer scientists," he says. "You have to be somewhat smart, but not a PhD student or hacker.""Anyone who is at least interested in the subject should quickly be able to figure it out," Barthelet adds. "That's the goal of the language, to make computation available to everybody. It's a democratization of programming. That's the motivation."I asked Barthelet whether games were always planned as a core focus of the Wolfram Language, or whether this move into video games has simply come as a natural progression of the language's development."It's definitely something that has naturally progressed," he answers. "The number one market for Wolfram is education. It has been for 25 years. Education is colliding with gaming, because of the interactivity, and the fact that when you teach something to someone, getting them engaged is a critical thing.""It's a collision course that is unavoidable in terms of motivation and interactivity," he adds. "One of the big challenge in games, and bringing games in education, has been the cost."But with the Wolfram Language, and with Unity too, says Barthelet, it's now far cheaper to integrate games into educational curriculums and beyond."I think in the next 10 years, we're going to see a real revolution in education, where everything builds up through a much more motivational environment," he continues. "It's not that we are concentrating on games -- the penetration of the Wolfram Language in the game market at this stage is pretty much nil -- but it's a collision course that is almost happening by accident, because we are designing an interesting language that has a lot of capabilities, and usually game makers will try to leverage everything that is possible to make a difference."One area in which the industry veteran believes that video games can benefit greatly from the Wolfram Language is when it comes to AI and simulation, rather than graphics."If you look at the evolution of games over the last 25 years, as soon as it was clear that most games would be 3D, we've spent all our time working on the polygon count and the realism of the graphics," he muses. "The realism and simulation at the moment is pathetic."He adds, "People try, but really the quality of the simulations -- everything is very orchestrated. If you compare the processing power supplied to the graphics, with the processing power supplied to simulation and AI, it's a big joke. And we're going to continue to crank up on the graphics more and more, because people are learning, and we're still differentiating games on the quality of the graphics."When it comes to solving the architectural issues of simulation in video games, Barthelet believes that it's all about gaining more real-life data, and utilizing it better in games. This is where Wolfram comes in.An example: "It turns out that in real life, steel and aluminum don't have the same behavior. At some point in the future, in the simulation environment, you'll take that into consideration. We have capabilities that ask, how are you going to start to model and keep track of all this?"Another example: It's currently rather difficult to implement real-life, real-time weather data into, say, a racing game. The Wolfram Language helps to take the next step in making that easier to implement. Barthelet also mentions how game devs may be able to finally, properly integrate social media into games, injecting data that will have meaningful effects to the gameplay."Games are trying to be different and fantastic and liberating, but they also try to have a set of limitations," he notes. "I think for simulation, we'll start injecting more real-world data into games to make them interesting.""When we did, clearly we had to create models that were very artificial, because they were purely based on our interpretation of basic systems, and how to simplify them," he continues. "The problem we had was to simplify them. Nowadays, people don't want to work with overly simplistic models - they want to slowly build more and more complex models, because their capability to understand those models is increasing dramatically, and they get bored by the overly simplistic ones."When can we expect Wolfram for Unity to land, then? Barthelet tells me, "It's a question of weeks, maybe a couple of months I would say." He also notes that the Wolfram Language is coming to Raspberry Pi, the Intel Edison and the Intel Arduino Galileo, through various partnerships, with more devices on the way.

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A 22-year-old man has been found dead in a tent at the V festival. Police said security staff at Weston Park, Staffordshire, were called to the tent at about 1am on Sunday where they discovered the man in an unresponsive state. He was given first aid but was later pronounced dead. He was later named as Timothy Brockhurst, aged 22, from Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton. Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious. Essex police were investigating the death of a 39-year-old in a house near the festival's second venue in Chelmsford. Ten men were arrested on suspicion of murder. In Staffordshire, the area where Brockhurst was found was sealed off for forensic examination and detailed statements were taken from his friends. Chief Inspector Carl Ratcliffe, from Staffordshire police, said: "We are very saddened by the tragic death of this young man and we are working to establish the full facts and build a picture of his actions in the few hours before his death. "We will be preparing a report for Her Majesty's coroner who has already been informed about this incident and we are working to support those affected by this incident." A spokesman for the V festival added: "We are all very saddened by this tragic incident, and we want to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of this young man. Our team worked throughout the night to support those affected at the festival site and we want to thank everyone for their co-operation and support during the incident." Essex police said the ambulance service called officers just after midnight when the 39-year-old man was found in the rear garden of a house in Chelmsford, opposite Hylands Park, the festival venue. A spokesman said: "Detectives from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate need to speak to everyone who attended what police believe was a private party at the property during the late hours of Saturday and early hours of this morning." Anyone with any information is asked to contact Essex police urgently on 101 and leave their contact details.

MENDHAM — Nicole McDonough, the 32-year-old teacher at West Morris Mendham High School accused of having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student, has been suspended from her job, according to the school superintendent. "Ms. McDonough is on leave (suspended) until further notice," Mackey Pendergrast, superintendent of the West Morris Regional High School District, said in an email Wednesday to NJ Advance Media. He declined further comment. McDonough, of Mount Olive, posted bail and was released shortly after her arrest on Tuesday, according to court records. She posted the $75,000 bail at 5:26 p.m. The bail figure, which required cash or bond in the amount of $75,000, was set by Mendham Borough Municipal Court Judge William Bowkley. McDonough was arrested on a single, second-degree charge of official misconduct. Court records do not yet list an attorney for her. McDonough has not yet responded to phone and email messages sent Tuesday and Wednesday. The acts in question allegedly occurred in May and June of 2014. A statement issued Tuesday by the Morris County prosector and Mendham Borough police chief announcing the arrest did not identify the sex of the student or give any more details of what occurred. It said only that "Law enforcement received information that ... McDonough engaged in a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student while she was employed as a teacher at West Morris Mendham High School." McDonough is listed at the school's website as an English teacher and a member of the faculty at Mendham High. McDonough holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the College of St. Elizabeth in Morris Township, according to the website. She had been teaching honors and International Baccalaureate-level English courses at the high school, according to information that was removed from the website on Wednesday. On the website, McDonough had said she is in her seventh year as a teacher, all in the West Morris Regional High School District. She said she taught at West Morris Central High from 2007 to 2011 and left before returning to the district in April 2013 to teach at West Morris Mendham. McDonough's arrest followed an investigation conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor's sex crimes/child endangerment unit and the Mendham Borough Police Department, according to Morris Prosecutor Fredric Knapp. The prosecutor urged anyone with information relating to these charges or "any similar conduct by this defendant" to contact Detective Bruce LaFera of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office at 973-285-8407. Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

As utilities companies funnel millions of dollars into a last-ditch effort to convince Florida voters to pass an anti-solar initiative, the latest polling data shows support for the measure falling. "We are in a pitted battle to stop the utilities from choking off citizen-owned solar." —Dr. Stephen Smith, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Florida's Amendment 1 is "deceptive," environmentalists argue, as it is written in pro-solar language but would in actuality block widespread adoption of solar power in the Sunshine State. The measure is backed by a political committee formed by utilities companies, which has so far raised more than $26 million to fund the campaign. "As we like to say, 'it's a monopoly wolf in solar sheep's clothing,'" Dr. Stephen Smith, executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and a founding member of Floridians for Solar Choice, told the Sierra Club's Sierra magazine. "We are in a pitted battle to stop the utilities from choking off citizen-owned solar." The initiative would "write people's right to own or lease solar panels and other equipment into the state constitution," InsideClimate News explains. "But it would also make it unconstitutional to require a utility's non-solar customers to subsidize those who do go solar. Those subsidies have helped make home solar affordable and are the best incentive to push the fast-growing energy source to widespread use." Support for the measure fell markedly after an audio recording leaked to the public last month in which a lobbyist working for electric companies bragged about the measure to industry insiders. The Miami Herald/Times, which released the recording, reported: SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts Sal Nuzzo, a vice president at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, [...] called the amendment, which has received more than $21 million in utility industry financing, "an incredibly savvy maneuver" that "would completely negate anything they [pro-solar interests] would try to do either legislatively or constitutionally down the road," according to an audio recording of the event supplied to the Herald/Times. He offered others a recommendation: "As you guys look at policy in your state, or constitutional ballot initiatives in your state, remember this: Solar polls very well," he said. "To the degree that we can use a little bit of political jiu-jitsu and take what they're kind of pinning us on and use it to our benefit either in policy, in legislation or in constitutional referendums—if that’s the direction you want to take—use the language of promoting solar, and kind of, kind of put in these protections for consumers that choose not to install rooftop." Proponents of Amendment 1 suffered another blow Tuesday when Bob Graham, a former U.S. senator for Florida, slammed the measure in a conference call with reporters. "I'm discouraged as a citizen how far we have slipped and see Amendment 1 as a means of accelerating that decline in solar in Florida," Graham said, according to the Miami Herald. And Graham's far from the only prominent voice to condemn the measure: "Former Vice President Al Gore, speaking at a rally for Hillary Clinton, described the amendment as 'phony baloney.' Carl Hiassen, Florida’s best-known opinion journalist, has called the proposal a 'slick, oily fraud,' and even the usually apolitical Jimmy Buffett has urged a no vote," noted Ciara Torres-Spelliscy of the Brennan Center for Justice. Such statements from opponents of the initiative have gone far to quell support, according to a new poll released Monday by the local Saint Leo University Polling Institute. In September, 84 percent of respondents supported Amendment 1, while the latest numbers show support at 59 percent—below the 60 percent threshold required to pass a ballot measure in Florida. But the latest condemnations and revelations have come too late for some Florida voters who support renewable energy, because early voting has been underway in the state since October 24 in many counties. One of those voters was "Barbara Waks, a retiree who had already mailed in her early-voting ballot when the Herald story appeared. She said that she thought she was supporting renewable energy," the New York Times reported last week. "I felt so stupid," she told the Times. "I'm familiar with the political arena and the garbage that exists, but this is beyond the pale."

Security company RSA was paid $10 million to use the flawed Dual_EC_DRBG pseudorandom number generating algorithm as the default algorithm in its BSafe crypto library, according to sources speaking to Reuters. The Dual_EC_DRBG algorithm is included in the NIST-approved crypto standard SP 800-90 and has been viewed with suspicion since shortly after its inclusion in the 2006 specification. In 2007, researchers from Microsoft showed that the algorithm could be backdoored: if certain relationships between numbers included within the algorithm were known to an attacker, then that attacker could predict all the numbers generated by the algorithm. These suspicions of backdooring seemed to be confirmed this September with the news that the National Security Agency had worked to undermine crypto standards The impact of this backdooring seemed low. The 2007 research, combined with Dual_EC_DRBG's poor performance, meant that the algorithm was largely ignored. Most software didn't implement it, and the software that did generally didn't use it. One exception to this was RSA's BSafe library of cryptographic functions. With so much suspicion about Dual_EC_DRBG, RSA quickly recommended that BSafe users switch away from the use of Dual_EC_DRBG in favor of other pseduorandom number generation algorithms that its software supported. This raised the question of why RSA had taken the unusual decision to use the algorithm in the first place given the already widespread distrust surrounding it. RSA said that it didn't enable backdoors in its software and that the choice of Dual_EC_DRBG was essentially down to fashion: at the time that the algorithm was picked in 2004 (predating the NIST specification), RSA says that elliptic curves (the underlying mathematics on which Dual_EC_DRBG is built) had become "the rage" and were felt to "have advantages over other algorithms." Reuters' report suggests that RSA wasn't merely following the trends when it picked the algorithm and that contrary to its previous claims, the company has inserted presumed backdoors at the behest of the spy agency. The $10 million that the agency is said to have been paid was more than a third of the annual revenue earned for the crypto library. Other sources speaking to Reuters said that the government did not let on that it had backdoored the algorithm, presenting it instead as a technical advance.

Thailand's prime minister announced Monday she will dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call elections in an attempt to calm the country's deepening political crisis. The surprise move came as 100,000 protesters vowing to overthrow her government marched through the streets of Bangkok for a "final showdown." Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's appeared emotional and her voice shook as she spoke in a nationally televised address Monday morning. "After listening to opinions from all sides, I have decided to request a royal decree to dissolve Parliament," Yingluck said, breaking into regular programming. "There will be new elections according to the democratic system." She said the Election Commission would set a date "as soon as possible." Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, seen here addressing the media in Bangkok in November, has announced the dissolution of the lower house of parliament on Monday and called for elections in an attempt to calm the country's deepening political crisis. (Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty) It was unclear whether the move would ease the country's political standoff, which deepened Sunday after the main opposition party resigned from the legislature en masse. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has repeatedly said that calling fresh elections would not be enough to end the conflict, and he made no immediate comment on Yingluck's announcement. Police estimated that about 100,000 protesters were out on the streets of the Thai capital. Thailand has been plagued by political turmoil since the army toppled Yingluck's brother Thaksin in a 2006 coup. In broad terms, the conflict pits the Thai elite and the educated middle-class against Thaksin's power base in the countryside, which benefited from populist policies designed to win over the rural poor. 5 dead, 289 injured during unrest "We will rise up. We will walk on every street in the country. We will not be going home again," Suthep said Sunday. His supporters have occupied the Finance Ministry and part of a vast government complex for more than a week. "The people who will be going home empty-handed are those in the Thaksin regime." The people who will be going home empty-handed are those in the Thaksin regime. - Suthep Thaugsuban, protest leader Many feared the day could end violently when demonstrators converge from nine locations on Yingluck's office at Government House. More than 60 Thai and international schools in Bangkok have closed as a precaution. As Yingluck spoke, long columns of protesters paralyzed traffic on major Bangkok boulevards. They filled a major four-lane road in the city's central business district, waving flags, blowing whistles and holding a huge banner that said, "Get Out Shinawatra." Since the latest unrest began last month, at least five people have been killed and at least 289 injured. Violence ended suddenly last week as both sides paused to celebrate the birthday of the nation's revered king, who turned 86 Thursday. Amnesty bill sparked political crisis The crisis boiled over after Yingluck's ruling party tried to ram a controversial amnesty bill through the legislature. Critics say it was designed mainly to bring back Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated. The prime minister has never showed any responsibility or conscience. - Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat party Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat party and a former premier, said Yingluck's government had become "illegitimate" since then, and his party had no choice but to pull out of the lower house. The Democrats held 153 of the 500 seats in the legislative body, according to the latest figures on their website. Abhisit said the resignations were effective immediately. "The solution to our current problems needs to start with the showing of responsibility," Abhisit said. "The prime minister has never showed any responsibility or conscience." Protesters demand rule by non-elected council The minority Democrats — who are closely allied with the protesters — have not won an election since 1992, and some of their leaders appear to have given up on electoral politics as a result. The protesters are demanding a non-elected "people's council" lead the country instead. Thailand's opposition leader and former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva addresses the media at the Democrat Party headquarters in Bangkok on Sunday. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters) ​Yingluck's government, by contrast, came to power in a landslide vote in 2011 that observers said was free and fair. In a speech Sunday, Yingluck said again that she was not trying to cling to power and would be "happy to resign" and dissolve Parliament if that could ease the crisis. But she said those things could only happen if new elections are organized within 60 days and all parties accept the outcome. Suthep has repeatedly rejected those initiatives and refused to negotiate. Yingluck also reiterated an offer to set up a national forum to find a way out of the crisis. She said if there was still no resolution, a national referendum could be held, but she did not specify on what. Any "government that comes to power without elections would significantly affect our image and confidence in the country," Yingluck said, referring to Suthep's demand for a specially appointed people's council to rule.

Representatives of city governments across Europe signed a pact in Amsterdam on Monday (30.05.2016) pledging to take action on air pollution, as national governments are poised to water down European Union quality rules. Ministers in charge of urban affairs and city governments issued the "Pact of Amsterdam," a direct partnership between city governments that seeks to bypass slow movement by national governments and the EU. In addition to air pollution, the pact will tackle housing, integration of migrants and urban poverty. The initiative is part of a push for more "bottom-up" solutions in the European Union, where city governments are empowered to take more direct action. "There is a reason we have chosen the word 'pact,'" said Ronald Plasterk, the Dutch interior minister, announcing the signature. "It's not just Europe that decides that this is what's going to happen, it's not member states collectively - it's all these stakeholders together." EU interior ministers met in Amsterdam to sign the pact Cities pressure national governments The declaration comes just four days before national governments are set to water down proposed EU caps on air pollution at a meeting in Brussels. Authorities from European cities most affected by air pollution have been putting pressure on national governments to change course. But proposed stricter EU pollution limits are set to be blocked by the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland and a handful of other EU countries in a vote on Friday. The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, proposed the tighter air pollution limits last year, and the European Parliament have approved these. But national governments have the final say. On the same day of the pact's signature, mayors of the French and British capitals published a joint letter to national governments asking them to stick with the more ambitious proposal. "Estimations by the European Commission suggest that weaker national emissions ceilings would lead to about 16,000 extra deaths in the EU every year," says the letter, signed by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and the new London mayor Sadiq Khan. "This is not acceptable and we require our governments to follow the bold lead taken by our cities in tackling this issue." Expensive fines However, national governments have said some of the existing targets, called national emissions ceilings, are already impossible to meet for some cities, and are resulting in the countries having to pay hefty fines for noncompliance. They want flexibility that would allow countries to exceed limits during dry summers or cold winters - as long as they meet an average over three years. They also want lower limits than those proposed by the commission, and for some pollutants - such as methane - to be completely exempted. Air pollution remains a significant problem in European cities Can cities fill the void? Environmental campaign group EEB says the watered-down limits would be a step backward for the EU. Louise Duprez, a campaigner with EEB, says that while she welcomes the Amsterdam Pact initiative, she does not think cities can tackle air pollution on their own. "Air pollution doesn't respect borders," Duprez says. "European action is essential to stop citizens dying prematurely and contracting serious diseases." "The fact that mayors representing over 20 million citizens have understood this is great news - we hope that national government are listening," Duprez added. Eurocities, an association of governments from 39 European countries, says that in the absence of action by national governments, there is a lot cities can do to fill the void. "Adopting the Pact of Amsterdam is just a start," says Johanna Rolland, president of Eurocities and mayor of the French city of Nantes. "What matters now is how we all put our urban agenda into practice." That includes commitment from the European Commission, she added. The Pact of Amsterdam is part of the "EU Urban Agenda," a project spearheaded by the Netherlands, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. The Dutch, who live in the most urbanized country in the EU, are implementing their own "Dutch Urban Agenda" at the national level.

Not that we’re advising you to do any such artery-clogging, time-consuming thing, of course. But you could, technically. And oh, what an epic, Homer Simpson-esque escapade that would be! The first Friday of June has come to be celebrated as National Donut Day, when purveyors around the country hand out freebies to all customers. The rules at each donut establishment are different, with some (but not all) requiring some purchase before any free pastries trade hands. Krispy Kreme is the best-known national brand handing out donuts, no strings attached. Guests take their pick of any variety totally for free, no purchase necessary. If you seek only one free handout on National Doughnut Day—the preferred spelling at KK is Doughnut, not Donut—Krispy Kreme is probably the easiest, most convenient, and most rewarding option. (And what’s the deal with indulging in only one free donut? You’re making the rest of us gluttons look bad!) (MORE: Epic Donut Fails: The Flavors You Won’t See on National Donut Day — Or Probably Ever) Shipley Do-Nuts (yes, hyphen included), which has more than 300 locations, clustered mainly in the corridor between Texas and Tennessee, is doing Krispy Kreme one better by giving each customer one free donut (sorry, do-nut) as well as one free small coffee. There are a couple caveats, though: The only variety handed out free is glazed, and the offer is valid only at participating locations from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. Lamar’s Donuts, a Kansas City-based chain with a couple dozen locations in six states, is also offering straightup freebies on Friday, with a complimentary policy on “any donut with a hole, no purchase necessary.” The company is, however, encouraging to people to make donations to the Salvation Army, which actually started the Donut Day tradition, which dates back to World War I. Dunkin’ Donuts promises each customer a free donut on Friday with the purchase of any beverage, while also noting the freebies are available “while supplies last.” It would be pretty embarrassing if a national chain with “Donuts” in the name ran out of donuts, but crazier things have happened. Tim Hortons, the Canadian favorite with 870 locations in the U.S., is celebrating National Donut Day on Friday by handing out one free donut per guest, with any purchase made—and with the official rule that customers must also say, “Happy National Donut Day.” Cumberland Farms, a minimart chain with more than 500 locations, mainly along the East Coast, is handing out one free donut per customer buying a coffee (hot or iced) or a “Chill Zone” beverage, such as a Slushie, all day on Friday. Come to think of it, that’s probably how Homer Simpson would put the exclamation point on a half-dozen-donut bender—with a Slushie to wash it all down. Assuming, that is, there was no Duff Beer handy.

This is the 10th round-up already and React has come quite far since it was open sourced. Almost all new web projects at Khan Academy, Facebook, and Instagram are being developed using React. React has been deployed in a variety of contexts: a Chrome extension, a Windows 8 application, mobile websites, and desktop websites supporting Internet Explorer 8! Language-wise, React is not only being used within JavaScript but also CoffeeScript and ClojureScript. The best part is that no drastic changes have been required to support all those use cases. Most of the efforts were targeted at polishing edge cases, performance improvements, and documentation. Khan Academy - Officially moving to React Joel Burget announced at Hack Reactor that new front-end code at Khan Academy should be written in React! How did we get the rest of the team to adopt React? Using interns as an attack vector! Most full-time devs had already been working on their existing projects for a while and weren’t looking to try something new at the time, but our class of summer interns was just arriving. For whatever reason, a lot of them decided to try React for their projects. Then mentors became exposed through code reviews or otherwise touching the new code. In this way React knowledge diffused to almost the whole team over the summer. Since the first React checkin on June 5, we’ve somehow managed to accumulate 23500 lines of jsx (React-flavored js) code. Which is terrifying in a way - that’s a lot of code - but also really exciting that it was picked up so quickly. We held three meetings about how we should proceed with React. At the first two we decided to continue experimenting with React and deferred a final decision on whether to adopt it. At the third we adopted the policy that new code should be written in React. I’m excited that we were able to start nudging code quality forward. However, we still have a lot of work to do! One of the selling points of this transition is adopting a uniform frontend style. We’re trying to upgrade all the code from (really old) pure jQuery and (regular old) Backbone views / Handlebars to shiny React. At the moment all we’ve done is introduce more fragmentation. We won’t be gratuitously updating working code (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), but are seeking out parts of the codebase where we can shoot two birds with one stone by rewriting in React while fixing bugs or adding functionality. Read the full article React: Rethinking best practices Pete Hunt’s talk at JSConf EU 2013 is now available in video. Server-side React with PHP Stoyan Stefanov’s series of articles on React has two new entries on how to execute React on the server to generate the initial page load. This post is an initial hack to have React components render server-side in PHP. Problem: Build web UIs Solution: React Problem: UI built in JS is anti-SEO (assuming search engines are still noscript) and bad for perceived performance (blank page till JS arrives) Solution: React page to render the first view Problem: Can’t host node.js apps / I have tons of PHP code Solution: Use PHP then! Read part 1 … Read part 2 … Rendered markup on the server: TodoMVC Benchmarks Webkit has a TodoMVC Benchmark that compares different frameworks. They recently included React and here are the results (average of 10 runs in Chrome 30): AngularJS: 4043ms 4043ms AngularJSPerf: 3227ms 3227ms BackboneJS: 1874ms 1874ms EmberJS: 6822ms 6822ms jQuery: 14628ms 14628ms React: 2864ms 2864ms VanillaJS: 5567ms Try it yourself! Please don’t take those numbers too seriously, they only reflect one very specific use case and are testing code that wasn’t written with performance in mind. Even though React scores as one of the fastest frameworks in the benchmark, the React code is simple and idiomatic. The only performance tweak used is the following function: shouldComponentUpdate : function ( nextProps , nextState ) { return ( nextProps . todo . id !== this . props . todo . id || nextProps . todo !== this . props . todo || nextProps . editing !== this . props . editing || nextState . editText !== this . state . editText ) ; } , By default, React “re-renders” all the components when anything changes. This is usually fast enough that you don’t need to care. However, you can provide a function that can tell whether there will be any change based on the previous and next states and props. If it is faster than re-rendering the component, then you get a performance improvement. The fact that you can control when components are rendered is a very important characteristic of React as it gives you control over its performance. We are going to talk more about performance in the future, stay tuned. Guess the filter Connor McSheffrey implemented a small game using React. The goal is to guess which filter has been used to create the Instagram photo. React vs FruitMachine Andrew Betts, director of the Financial Times Labs, posted an article comparing FruitMachine and React. Eerily similar, no? Maybe Facebook was inspired by Fruit Machine (after all, we got there first), but more likely, it just shows that this is a pretty decent way to solve the problem, and great minds think alike. We’re graduating to a third phase in the evolution of web best practice - from intermingling of markup, style and behaviour, through a phase in which those concerns became ever more separated and encapsulated, and finally to a model where we can do that separation at a component level. Developments like Web Components show the direction the web community is moving, and frameworks like React and Fruit Machine are in fact not a lot more than polyfills for that promised behaviour to come. Read the full article… Even though we weren’t inspired by FruitMachine (React has been used in production since before FruitMachine was open sourced), it’s great to see similar technologies emerging and becoming popular. React Brunch Matthew McCray implemented react-brunch, a JSX compilation step for Brunch. Adds React support to brunch by automatically compiling *.jsx files. You can configure react-brunch to automatically insert a react header ( /** @jsx React.DOM */ ) into all *.jsx files. Disabled by default. Install the plugin via npm with npm install --save react-brunch . Read more… Random Tweet I’m going to start adding a tweet at the end of each round-up. We’ll start with this one:

A MAN allegedly punched a horse in the face as well as kicked and abused it as it was tethered in residential area. Residents in Kendal Avenue, Millbrook, have grown to love the horse, known as Mare, which has been seen tethered in the area every summer. But on Sunday night, one neighbour rang the police after she said she saw the horse's owner punching and shouting at the horse which left a wound on her head. Krystal Paterson, who lives in Kendal Avenue, said: "I heard outside really bad language and shouting, I looked out and saw a man was tripping over himself and had hold of the horse. "He was punching the horse in the face, smacking and kicking her - his wife was trying to pull him off but he was bigger and she couldn't do it." The Slimming World consultant and mother-of-three added: "We have been here nearly three years and Mare has been here every summer. "She is a very gentle and loving horse and me and my children go down with apples and carrots for her. "It was horrific, I felt sick and I was frightened. "I haven't slept for two nights because of this." A spokesperson for Hampshire police said: "We were called at 11pm on July 31 regarding an allegation of animal cruelty towards a horse. "Officers attended the scene in Kendal Avenue and spoke with the owner of the horse. "Investigations are ongoing." Mrs Paterson took to social media expressing her concern for Mare, writing a post which has been shared more than 1,000 times and attracted the attention of Romsey and Southampton North MP Caroline Nokes. Writing on the post, Ms Nokes asked them to send her more details and told the Daily Echo: "As a trustee at World Horse Welfare I am always anxious to see equestrian animals are being looked after and always happy to pass on details to the charity to see what action they can take." Southampton City Councillor Jacqui Rayment, who also commented on the post, said: "I have put it through to my open spaces team who deal with horse issues. "We take animal welfare issues very seriously and work with other organisations to eradicate abuse of any animal."

With much of the decline of F1’s viewing figures being put down to the transition to pay TV channels, the sport faces a dilemma in how best to keep interest high while enjoying the lucrative financial offerings from big networks. When asked by Motorsport.com about how to balance the money on offer from Pay TV against the smaller audiences, Bratches said: “I think it a dynamic that many sporting organisations are looking at – more so than not, organisations are finding themselves on pay [TV] because that is where the money is. “But I think you cannot look at it with a broad stroke, you have to look at it on a territory by territory basis. There are some marketplaces where the pay to free-to-air penetration is extremely high. The economic benefits are there, and it makes it a little bit easier to make that move. “There are also some markets where the pay television penetration is low relative to free to air, which makes those a little bit more difficult. We are working through those.” He added: “I think there are ways to have an opportunity to create a free-to-air package that acts as a barker for the sport to create a brand awareness to a broad population “The revenue on the pay side is difficult to ignore, but at the same time we are in a position in F1 where we are trying to build our brand and increase the number of sponsors who are investing in our brand, our belief and our vision. "To have a combination of both is an appropriate mix going forward. We will make that decision on a territory by territory basis.” Asked specifically about plans for the UK market with Sky holding exclusive rights from 2019, Bratches hinted at digital platforms being used as an alternative for fans. “There are going to be a number of consumer touchpoints going forward that we are going to be very proactive around, and one of them is going to be digital,” he said. “We are in the process right now of re-imagining our entire portfolio of digital assets from web, Apps, to social, to OTT – and we really look at that as an opportunity to engage with fans on a very broad basis and really navigate fans around our eco system, in and outside a grand prix weekend. “We are not looking at fan engagement from any one specific platform, we are looking at it holistically. And with the advent of digital and broadband and interconnectivity, and the adoption of digital, we think that is a big opportunity to complement and augment markets where we do tend to go a little bit more in the pay direction.”

GFS model simulates snow falling overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, but then the storm rapidly pulls off. (WeatherBell.com) A tricky winter storm is likely to sweep through the region early next week, but nailing down specifics is proving difficult. What can we say with some confidence: Precipitation is likely to occur between Monday afternoon and late Tuesday. Precipitation could start as rain, especially near and east of I-95, but should change to snow in most areas, for at least a time. Temperatures will be marginal for supporting accumulating snow in the immediate D.C. area and east unless the storm really cranks up and pulls down a good deal of cold air. Heaviest snow accumulations are very likely to occur west and north of the District and especially into the mountains, where temperatures will be colder. Next chance of accumulating snow: February 8-9 Chance of at least one inch (in immediate D.C. area): 35 percent This storm is not at all like the Blizzard of 2016, aka Snowzilla, as this storm system is less cohesive, more complex, and model forecasts are not nearly as unified. Several issues still need to be resolved before we have a good idea about accumulations. 1) How cold will it be when the bulk of the precipitation falls? In the far western suburbs temperatures may fall below freezing fairly quickly but in the east they may not fall below freezing through the entire storm if some of the warmer model solutions are correct. 2) How intensely will the snow fall during the storm? An extended period of light snow at temperature a little above freezing, as some models forecast, probably will not accumulate much. But intense precipitation at 32 degrees will. 3) How quickly and how close to the coast will the low develop? The quicker it develops, the better our chances of getting plastered by a heavy, wet snow. The slower and farther off the coast the low develops, the more likely we are brushed by light snow that may not fall heavily enough to support much accumulations. The models may not resolve these issues and questions for another couple of days. Detailed model discussion The models have converged towards solutions that re-develop an area of low pressure to our south. The GFS, which predicted the low would form farther north yesterday, caved to the idea of the European and Canadian models last night. By itself, the fact that models agree the coastal system will form to our south should increase our confidence of accumulating snow. But it’s not that simple. Last night’s models varied on how quickly the low would develop and whether a heavy band of snow would form somewhere over our area. The GFS was the most aggressive and suggested the potential for a fairly significant snowstorm over the mountains and our far north and west suburbs with lighter – still measurable amounts – near the city. The Canadian showed a similar heavy snow band, suggesting someone might get at least several inches of snow. The European simulated an extended period of light precipitation with the temperature staying above freezing for the city and points east. If that latter scenario played out, getting accumulating snow in the city would be tough to achieve. Today’s GFS has backed off on its snowy look though it would still offer some accumulations for our far western suburbs. The forecast valid at 1 a.m. Tuesday (below) shows some of the problems that make this a difficult forecast. Last night’s GFS had the low a little farther south and deepened it a little more than this morning’s run. The location of the low is not far enough south to really pull in the cold air. The temperature in the city is still in the mid to upper 30s in this simulation, suggesting precipitation might begin as rain before changing to snow later at night (see top image in this post). However, there is colder air just to our north in Pennsylvania. GFS model simulation of precipitation and type between 7 p.m. Monday night and 1 a.m. Tuesday (WeatherBell.com) On this GFS run, the low quickly shifts eastward before really getting its act together. That’s a possibility, as the trough is deep but broad. The latter characteristic is usually not conducive to a low rapidly strengthening. More often than not, the low just squeezes out to the east and only gives us light precipitation. Today’s European model (see below) has a stronger upper disturbance and is snowier compared to last night’s. I’ve chosen the wettest 6 hour period to highlight below but, even after, the model forecasts light snow to continue for an extended duration (we think the duration may be overdone). The model suggests there is potential for a moderate snowstorm for locations west of the city and somewhat lighter accumulations in and around the city. European model shows accumulated liquid equivalent precipitation between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday, and freezing line cutting through D.C. (StormVistaWxModels.com) You can get a feel for how much uncertainty remains concerning getting accumulating snow from looking at last night’s European ensemble members. The figure below shows the percentage of the 50 European ensemble members that predicted an inch or more of snow in the 24 hours ending at 7 p.m. February 9. Probability of at least one inch between Monday night and Tuesday night from European model ensemble. (WeatherBell.com) Away from the mountains the probability ranges from around 40 percent in the east to around 60 percent north and west of the city. A similar product showing the likely of at least three inches indicates 10 to 20 percent in the city and points and around 30 percent north and west of the city. However, snow lovers can hang their hopes on the fact a few members predicted over 6 inches for the city.

Today in the legislature I introduced Bill M202 – Property Law Amendment Act, 2017. I had previously introduced this Bill in February, 2017 during the 6th sesison of the 40th parliament. Its purpose is to ensure that farmland in British Columbia is safeguarded from real estate speculation using foreign capital. In addition, it is important to ensure that British Columbia’s future food security is protected. Below I reproduce the text and video of the introduction along with our accompanying media release. Text of Introduction A. Weaver: I move that a bill intituled the Property Law Amendment Act, 2017, of which notice has been given, be introduced and read a first time now. Mr. Speaker: Please proceed. A. Weaver: I’m pleased to introduce a bill intituled the Property Law Amendment Act, 2017. This bill amends the existing Property Law Act to ensure that land held within the agricultural land reserve is protected from international real estate speculation. If passed, this bill would prohibit foreign entities from purchasing ALR land over five acres without prior permission from the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. At UBCM last week, I met with communities in northern British Columbia. They emphasized the impact that the foreign purchase of ALR lands is having on local farmers, their local economies and our food security. For example, in Cariboo North, 42,000 acres have been bought by two foreign entities, with a total of 22,239 acres being removed from local agricultural production. This is affecting the local price of hay and pricing farmers out of the market. Many other provinces regulate and restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land in this way, including Alberta, Saskatchewan Manitoba, Quebec and PEI. Our agricultural land reserve should have the same protection. Mr. Speaker: The question is the first reading of the bill. Motion approved. A. Weaver: Now I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today. Motion approved. Video of Introduction Media Release Andrew Weaver introduces bill to ban foreign ownership on Agricultural Land Reserve land over five acres For immediate release October 5, 2017 VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, reintroduced a bill that would ban foreign ownership on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) land over five acres. Weaver first introduced the bill in February 2016. “B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve is vital for promoting our province’s food security and growing our agricultural sector,” said Weaver. “Today I am reintroducing a bill that would prohibit foreign entities from purchasing ALR land over five acres. “B.C. currently imports 70% of its vegetables from the United States, with half of that coming from California. With these regions increasingly experiencing extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, it is more important than ever that B.C. take the future of our food security seriously. Moreover, agriculture presents a significant economic opportunity for B.C. Our thriving wine industry alone has a $2.8 billion economic impact, generating 12,000 jobs throughout the province. “One of the key reasons why young people are unable to pursue farming is due to the cost of land. By allowing ALR land to be subject to international real estate speculation, we are limiting their opportunities to get into this vital, sustainable industry. “Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and PEI have all passed similar legislation to protect their agricultural land. This leaves B.C. as the only western province without such a law. It’s time we took action on this important issue so that we can ensure that ALR land is used as it is intended – to offer opportunities to local communities across the province and to promote the overall food security of our province.” -30- Media contact Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary +1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca

Following the arrest of Aldo Milani, national coordinator for base union SiCobas, by police in Modena, strikes have started in the logistics warehouses of Emilia Romagna and Milan, awaiting the spreading of the mobilisation to other regions. Updates to follow… This evening (26th January 2017) Modena police have arrested Aldo Milani In the late afternoon today, 26th January 2016, our national coordinator Aldo Milani was taken away by the police, arrested and transferred to jail in Modena and, even now [in the early hours of January 27th - Ed.], his legal defence has not been enabled to contact him. It’s clear that we find ourselves in front of an unprecedented repressive escalation: the bosses’ state, unable to stop the struggle with sackings, threats, hundreds of charges, expulsion orders, baton attacks and tear gas that in recent years has blown the lid off the cesspool of exploitation in logistics and the deep system of collusion and complicity between bosses, institutions and cooperative systems, now seeks to stop anyone who has dared disturb the those driving that system. After the laws killing workers’ rights, after the reduction of wages to misery, what workers had won up to now with their blood, sweat and tears is being put in the sights of an immediate repression that seeks to strike whoever dares rebel and, above all, dares practice a political action that goes within the tradition of liberation from wage slavery. The repressive plan wants to divert attention from the situation of exploitation experienced by the world of work and the logistics sector in particular: against this barbarism a movement of struggles has risen that, in recent years, has no equal in the toughness of the forms of struggle nor for results achieved. The substance is simple: with the arrest of Aldo Milani they want to outlaw the right to strike! If the class enemy deludes itself that it’s able to free itself of SI Cobas, the managing class are mistaken big time! To this full-frontal political attack we will respond immediately with the only weapon that workers have at their disposition: self-organisation and struggle. From now we are calling a mobilisation in all workplaces, and we call the networks of sympathisers to mobilise for the initiatives that will be called by SI Cobas in the coming hours against repression and for the immediate release of Aldo. Other statements will follow as soon as we have updates. 26/01/2016 SI Cobas Translated from Infoaut.

Oct. 6, 2017, 4:10 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 6, 2017, 4:10 PM GMT By Kristi Eaton Taiwan is hosting what is being touted as the first-ever LGBTQ art exhibition at a government-run museum in Asia. "Spectrosynthesis ─ Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now" is a joint project between the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA) and Sunpride Foundation, an LGBTQ art organization. The show, which debuted Sept. 9 and runs until Nov. 5, features 51 works created by 22 artists from Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Ethnic Chinese artists based in the U.S. and Canada will also be represented. Artwork by Tseng Kwong Chi on display at the "Spectrosynthesis ─ Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA). Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei "'Spectrosynthesis' features works of art that span a period of nearly half a century, rendering itself essentially a slice of art history concerning the life stories and related issues of the post-war Chinese LGBTQ community,” Heather Chan, a spokesperson for MOCA, told NBC News. While exhibitions celebrating LGBTQ art are nothing new in the West, Chan noted that such projects have been absent from the Asian art scene, and “government-run museums in Asia have been especially reluctant and reticent about addressing LGBTQ issues.” "The Room at the Top of the Stairs" by Ku Fu-Sheng on display at the "Spectrosynthesis ─ Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA). Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei It is especially noteworthy, she added, that "Spectrosynthesis" is taking place in Taiwan, which in 2017 became the first Asian government to legalize same-sex marriage. “Looking back on the history of the LGBTQ movement in Taiwan — since the pioneer of Taiwanese LGBTQ movement, Chi Chia-Wei, came out publicly (in 1986) and spoke up for Taiwanese LGBTQ community —Taiwan has witnessed the lifting of martial law, the shock of the first AIDS patient, the first gay and lesbian publication, the first LGBTQ radio show, the first LGBTQ bookstore, the first Taiwan LGBT Pride, the making of anti-discrimination laws, the first same-sex marriage of an openly gay couple, the first LGBT Civil Rights Movement organized by Taipei City Government and the establishment of the first national LGBTQ organization,” Chan said. Patrick Sun, founder of Sunpride Foundation Sunpride Foundation “Throughout the past three decades, this path to equality and human rights is paved with the youth, sweat and blood of countless pioneers and predecessors as they have fought, resisted, communicated with conservative mainstream values and pushed for legislation," she added. Patrick Sun, founder of the Sunpride Foundation, said he feels a great sense of achievement for having put together such a groundbreaking show. “In the Western world it would be very common place to have a gay-themed show,” he said. “But in Asia, this is the first time a large-scale show of this theme has been presented in a government-run institution. It’s very important to show how forward-thinking the Taiwan government is.” Artwork by Ho Tam on display at the "Spectrosynthesis ─ Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA). Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei ( Ho Tam, one of the 22 artists featured in the exhibition, created a series of periodicals called "Hotam," which examines different issues of daily life, pop culture, media and politics. He said he uses his work to give voice to the voiceless and neglected. "Hotam," he explained, is about creating his own media against the mainstream and finding an alternative way to express ideas. “Putting something very private out to the public realm, I am interested in exploring the possibilities (of) how a personal voice and stories could make any effects to the large audience,” he added. Since the start of the show, Sun has returned to witness and observe the visitors to the exhibition. He said he is especially touched by the mothers bringing in their young children and explaining parts of the show that they might not understand. "Rainbow in the Darkness" by Chuang Chih-Wei on display at the "Spectrosynthesis ─ Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MOCA). Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei “That to me is what represents the spirit of the show,” he said. “We’re trying to open dialogue with the public, and I think it has achieved that purpose to a certain extent.” For the LGBTQ community, Sun said he hopes the exhibition will help them feel more proud and confident in themselves and not feel so isolated. And he hopes the exhibition helps the general public have a better understanding and acceptance of the gay community. FOLLOW NBC OUT ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM

Indiana State Excise Police officers made a record 235 arrests on 285 charges during the Little 500 events in Bloomington Saturday. That’s 29 more than last year. Officers also issued 25 warning tickets this year. Most of the arrests were for alcohol consumption or drug possession. Other offenses include resisting law enforcement, indecent exposure and public intoxication. Police say while the number of arrests was at an all time high, the number of dangerously high blood concentration levels actually went down this year. One person was taken to a hospital with a .29% BAC. The suspect was taken in after he mistook a police car for a cab and tried to hitch a ride. “Excise officers again focused their attention on Bloomington this weekend, when alcohol violations are historically high as a result of Indiana University’s Little 500,” Superintendent Matt Strittmatter said. “Their primary aim this weekend was to keep students, residents and visitors to Bloomington safe by enforcing Indiana law.” Those cited by excise officers this weekend appeared in Monroe Circuit Court Sunday morning at 8:30. Most of them are spending today in alcohol awareness class and doing community service.

Batmanology is usually the domain of Lord Christopher J. Sims, but hopefully he won't mind if I step on his toes a little. This week, the 12-part Batman storyline City of Crime was released digitally (in the individual issues of Detective Comics 800-808 and 811-814 ) and there's a solid chance that you missed this story the first time around. Written by David Lapham, drawn by Ramon Bachs, and colored by Jason Wright, City of Crime brought the horror back to Batman comics . Let's take a quick trip down memory lane for this edition of Digital ComicsAlliance and look at one of my favorite Batman tales. David Lapham made his name with Stray Bullets , a series that is only rivaled by Naoki Urasawa's Monster for the ability to leave you tense and scared at the end of each issue. Lapham is a master at making the mundane horrific; he opened Stray Bullets .with an as-yet unidentified body in someone's trunk, a mystery that became becomes more and more troubling with each issue, and ended on a cliffhanger for the ages. Lapham knows how to scare you, is what I'm saying. He can put the fear of God into you when he really wants to. He bent those powers toward Batman for C ity of Crime , which opens with a three-panel summary of Batman's origin and then it's off to the races. Lapham's Batman is meaner, scarier, and more of a spectre than Batman tends to be these days. Batman barely appears in the first half of the first chapter, but his presence is definitely felt. Ramon Bachs draws the edges of Batman's cape or the shadows of his gloves over the course of those pages, showing the Dark Knight through his actions without showing the man himself, before finally pulling out to a wide shot of Batman in his city. It's an inspired choice on the part of the creative team, and it sets the stage for the rest of the arc. Batman is as much a part of his city as crime and supervillains, and he's inescapable. He does what he wants, and you just better pray that you're on the right side of the law. City of Crime is similar in tone to Frank Miller's hard-edged take in Dark Knight Returns , but there's a wry humor present, too. Robin and Jim Gordon are present throughout the series, and Robin's approach to heroism is drastically different from Batman's. Robin feels like a kid sidekick, rather than a hyper-competent nerd, and it's a great take. When he gets in over his head, he calls for help, rather than trying to tough it out. When Batman spends too long inside a burning building, Robin grins, because he knows his boss knows what he's doing... until Batman spends way too long inside a burning building, when finally gets worried about his boss, only to be proven wrong to worry in the very next panel. The Robin and Batman relationship is fun, and Robin actually feels like the brightness in Batman's life, rather than just another soldier. So what's this series about? It's about a lot of things. It's about what happens when Batman gets obsessed. It's about the little people of Gotham who get caught in the crossfire or start fires of their own. It's about motherhood. It's about innocence. It's about free will. It's about two heroes trying to stem the coming tide of evil by any means necessary. It's about all the things that all good cape comics are about, and Lapham and Bachs slather the proceedings in terror. Criminals are proven to be superstitious and cowardly. Heroes are overwhelmed and forced up against the wall. Innocents can't escape from fates they don't deserve. It's a dark read, but never a dreary one. The horror is thrilling, like good horror should be. But the hands-down best parts of City of Crime are when Batman is interacting with thugs and villains. He faces down hordes of villains to make a statement about his prowess. He cows Mr Freeze into giving up his plans. He brutalizes his way through Gotham's underworld, and all of that ugliness is a joy to read. It's Batman as mythic entity, someone who is bigger than his physical body and can strike terror like no one else. Frank Miller perfectly explained what Batman is when he had him kick his legs back on a dashboard, cross his fingers behind his head, and say "Striking terror. Best part of the job." Lapham's Batman knows how to strike terror, and he does it in a way that not only makes you grin, but makes you think that he's grinning on the inside, too. He's too good at his job not to enjoy it. The panels spread throughout this post are all from the first chapter of City of Crime . They're part of just one of several scenes throughout the series where Batman is at his Batmannest. When you reach that point where Batman tells the thug "I'll give you a pass. Because that's what I do. Give passes" and the guy panics, you'll know whether or not you're in for this series. If that doesn't do it, Batman emptying out a bar between a barkeep telling a joke and catching a breath will do it. For my money, this is one of the best Batman tales ever. Reading: - Detective Comics 800 , featuring a short story written and drawn by David Lapham - Detective Comics 801-808, 811-814 , the entire City of Crime arc

Orange County’s local law-enforcement agencies—the district attorney’s office (OCDA) and the sheriff’s department (OCSD)—spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars annually to sell stories of their heroism to the public or, as in the case of the ongoing jailhouse-informant scandal, spread disinformation. Despite reams of evidence to the contrary, the DA and sheriff adamantly deny their offices cheated to win convictions. The county’s grand jury this month accused superior court judges, the California Court of Appeal and courthouse journalists of fabricating the existence of tainted snitch operations. For context exposing the absurdity of the grand jury’s claim, we’ve produced a non-exhaustive summary timeline of events. 1985 June 9: Los Angeles Times questions the use of jailhouse informants in “more than 100 major cases in Orange County,” specifically naming deputy district attorneys Tony Rackauckas and John D. Conley for employing notoriously discredited snitch James Dean Cochrum in unconstitutional plots to save weak cases by allegedly obtaining confessions from government targets in exchange for hidden benefits. 1999 Jan. 4: Rackauckas becomes DA. June 16: David Druliner, chief assistant California Attorney General, advises Rackauckas that his agency has been unethically defying court orders and hiding critical informant evidence in a death penalty case. The DA ignores the problem. 2001 Jan. 8: Conley takes the oath as judge and will defend the DA in a future snitch scandal. 2002 June: Orange County Grand Jury blasts Rackauckas for improperly protecting friends from prosecution and requiring deputy DA loyalty to himself, not the pursuit of justice. 2006 Jan. 30: DA wins murder conviction against Henry Rodriguez after concealing records showing the government’s key informant, Mike Garrity, committed perjury by denying prosecutors promised secret benefits for his testimony. A decade later, forced production of that evidence overturns the conviction. 2007 March 29: OCSD management brags that jail deputies possess “excellent expertise in the cultivation and management of informants. This expertise is recognized by the Orange County district attorney’s office.” Sept. 19: Landon Horning of Newport Beach testifies as OCDA’s star witness in People v. Ricardo Salas, and prosecutors win a conviction after failing to surrender deputies’ TRED records and OCDA’s Informant Index showing the informant’s serious mental health condition and his secret deal for government benefits. 2008 Feb. 28: OCSD internal memo celebrates deputies’ “cultivation of hundreds of confidential informants” in the jails. 2009 Feb. 17: With OCSD help, Santa Ana cops David Rondou and Chuck Flynn meet with serial killer Oscar Moriel, who promises he can work as a jail informant producing needed memories “and make it seem like yesterday” if officials reduce his pending life-in-prison punishment. Moriel testifies for OCDA in three cases; juries are kept clueless about the deal. 2010 Oct. 21: Though he is a clandestine informant working for the government, inmate Arthur Palacios is summoned to the witness stand by prosecutor Ebrahim Baytieh to say he accidentally overheard OCDA target Paul Smith confess to a murder. Jurors also would not be told that deputies had placed two additional snitches around Smith’s cell to extract alleged self-incriminating statements. Dec. 2: Forced to concede it withheld powerful exculpatory informant evidence from arrested 14-year-old Luis Vega, OCDA drops two-year-old murder charges without apology. 2011 Aug. 18: Jail deputy Seth Tunstall testifies for Baytieh in People v. Gullien, the case involving the gruesome jailhouse murder of John Derek Chamberlain, that he routinely cultivates informants. Oct. 12: Scott Dekraai kills eight people at a Seal Beach salon. Oct. 13: Rackauckas seeks state execution of Dekraai, who’d admitted guilt upon arrest. Oct. 15: To ensure the death penalty, OCSD concocts scam to trick Dekraai, who has been charged and is represented by an attorney, into making more self-incriminating statements—a violation of the 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Massiah v. United States. Deputies place him in a cell next to prolific informant Fernando Perez. Oct. 16: A sheriff’s lieutenant allows inmates around Dekraai to read a Los Angeles Times article on the salon massacre before jail deputy Bill Grover secretly meets with Perez, a fact Rackauckas will later ignore to declare the government played no role in the snitch’s work. Oct. 18: Perez, a Mexican Mafia boss, tells deputy Ben Garcia, Grover’s partner, that he has lulled Dekraai into talking about his case. Garcia then relays to Bob Erickson, the DA investigator for Dekraai prosecutor Dan Wagner, that Perez is a “reliable informant.”. Oct. 19: Deputies launch seven-day recording operation after placing a hidden device in Dekraai’s cell to capture his conversations with Perez, who calls his “job” of questioning the government’s target “Operation Daylight” in hopes that it allows him to avoid a life in prison sentence. 2012 July 26: Deputy DA Howard Gundy calls veteran jailhouse informant Mark Cleveland to testify in People v. Timothy Hurtado without telling grand jurors that the OCDA’s Informant Index labeled Cleveland “a problem informant” and included notations that he “cannot be trusted.” Five years later, Rackauckas tells CBS’s 60 Minutes Cleveland is a liar, but doesn’t explain why he’d personally used Cleveland to win cases without telling jurors of his opinion. 2013 Jan. 11: Dekraai attorney Scott Sanders argues what will be a winning motion for Perez-related discovery that should, but doesn’t, result in the surrender of TRED records and the Special Handling Log, both secret OCSD databases that contain evidence of illegal snitch operations. Jan. 18: Wagner files brief declaring that Perez isn’t seeking government benefits for his jail work, though, according to OCDA emails, he knows the snitch is facing Three Strikes punishment for his own crimes, is attempting to win confessions in at least nine separate cases and has worked tireless as an informant in the Orange County Jail (OCJ). Jan. 22: Wagner tips Tunstall, who is under Sergeant Raymond Wert’s supervision in the jail’s Special Handling Unit, that Dekraai judge Thomas M. Goethals might order OCSD to surrender informant evidence. Jan. 23: Wert suddenly terminates the Special Handling Unit’s Log containing informant program evidence and, according to documents that would surface three years later, deputies rename the Log “a document of important information sharing only” as a plausible deniability ruse to guarantee future court orders won’t specifically seek the entries. Jan. 25: Over Wagner’s strenuous objections, Goethals rules the law requires OCSD to surrender informant evidence. May 13: Santa Ana police detective Gonzalo Gallardo reminds Wagner that jail informants had been used to capture illegal confessions “under the direction of a district attorney,” a quote the DA’s office will later claim didn’t actually mean what it clearly states. Aug. 15: Deputy Seth Tunstall files an affidavit in People v. David Zorich that states his duties include “cultivating, managing and supervising” jail informants. Oct. 10: With Sanders on the verge of unraveling the illegal government efforts against his client as well the entire snitch scandal, OCDA Chief of Staff Susan Kang Schroeder attempts to generate public pressure for a quick resolution of the case by claiming he’s stalling without reason. 2014 Jan. 31: In a 500-page brief loaded with facts, Sanders details systemic criminal-justice-system fraud by deputies who’ve helped prosecutors win cases with corrupt informant activities and hidden evidence. Feb. 28: On KPCC, Schroeder repeats her claim that Sanders is performing a cheap defense attorney stunt to stall the case and can’t prove his allegations. March 24: Wagner, who heads OCDA’s homicide unit, claims he conducted an intensive agency-wide probe into Sanders’ allegations but testifies under oath that none of his investigators took a single note or made a single interview recording. April 10: Gundy tells Goethals that Sanders’ allegations of informant program abuses are “vile and outrageous.” April 22: Sanders’ evidence forces Gundy to admit law enforcement cheated against Dekraai and that illegally obtained statements should be suppressed. May 6: Deputy Ben Garcia testifies under oath, “We don’t have informants” and an angry Gundy declares government wrongdoing in Dekraai was only “negligence” and not intentional corruption. May 21: Deputy William Grover says he spent “less than zero” time handling snitches. June 30: Prompted by a supervisor, Grover advises a Riverside County deputy, “OC has been in the media recently for its inmate informants. OCJ no longer labels these inmates ‘informants.’ We now call them ‘sources of information’ or ‘SOI,'” a ruse to bypass court orders. Aug. 5: Goethals rejects law enforcement’s contemptuous stance against Sanders, ruling deputies were “credibility challenged.” But he refuses to remove the death penalty potential from Dekraai. Aug. 27: Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ aide Brent Benson swears to Goethals under penalty of perjury, “There is no jailhouse-informant program” inside OCSD. Sept. 5: Sanders learns of the existence of TRED records. Unamused he’d been lied to by deputies and that the DA and sheriff refuse to punish the offenders, Goethals will reopen hearings. Sept. 23: Assistant DA Marc Rozenberg states he wants to avoid another round of embarrassing snitch hearings and will allow killer Isaac Palacios to walk free in 2017, escaping a life-in-prison sentence for two murders. Early December: Hutchens tells the Orange County Register there is “no deliberate effort” to hide evidence and blames poor training as the reason deputies, whose government pay pay package are $200,000 annually, didn’t know they must testify honestly after swearing “to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” while standing in front of Goethals. 2015 Feb. 9: Tunstall claims he never used jail informants, but after Sanders confronts him with his 2013 affidavit, the deputy sheepishly replies, “I guess I put the wrong words in there.” Feb. 17: Garcia swears he was ordered to conceal informant use and TRED records. Feb. 17: Amending his 2014 testimony, Grover echoes Garcia’s story. Feb. 17: Deputy Jonathan Larson testifies about jail-informant tanks and admits deputies cultivated informants. March 15: Goethals, a former high-ranking prosecutor, rules deputies lied about snitch activities and, stating he can’t trust Rackauckas’ team to ensure basic ethics, recuses the DA and his entire office from Dekraai. The DA’s allies begin a behind-the-scenes effort to smear the judge as an evil Machiavellian character. July 24: At a county supervisors’ special meeting, Hutchens, a politician who campaigned on possessing squeaky clean ethics, insists there is “no scandal” at OCSD, while Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Irvine School of Law’s dean, says the scandal is direly serious because constitutional rights have been trampled and an independent watchdog over the department is needed. Sept. 30: The New York Times reports on a multi-decade Orange County law enforcement “scheme” by “prosecutors and the county sheriff’s department” to win convictions with “illegal jailhouse confessions.” Oct. 22: A sweating Hutchens tells Los Angeles’ KABC-TV reporter Marc Brown and producer Lisa Bartley there is no informant program in her jails and that Rackauckas’ prosecutors, who up to this point have been pretending not to know about TRED records, are fully aware of the database. Nov. 18: More than three dozen ex-prosecutors and legal scholars nationwide announce that “compelling evidence of pervasive police and prosecutorial misconduct in Orange County has caused us great concern,” and call for an independent federal investigation. 2016 Early Jan.: Rackauckas’ hand-picked “outside independent” review committee issues 24-page report noting informant program “deficiencies” and the existence of a “win-at-all-costs mentality” in OCDA. The DA responds by appearing on KFI radio to declare his operation is near perfect. Feb. 29: Posing as offended at a community forum, Rackauckas and Hutchens portray the snitch scandal as a nutty conspiracy theory because there is no jailhouse informant program. March 4: Despite Wagner’s previous claim that Perez hadn’t been seeking benefits for his snitching, the career criminal avoids a life sentence in Judge Gregory Prickett’s court after OCDA failed to note their informant had committed perjury in his own case. April 29: Portions of the Log emerge in a separate case, leading Goethals to learn of a second long-hidden OCSD database. June 9: OCDA officials claim shock to learn of buried records and a jailhouse-informant program, though they’ve benefitted from the ploys for decades. July: OC Grand Jury opens probe by first hearing denials of wrongdoing by government officials, and will wait six months to seek and then swiftly discard Sanders’ input. Revealingly, the panel never even bother to interview two other prominent defense attorneys whose clients were cheated by tainted informant testimony: Jim Crawford and Rudy Loewenstein. July 26: Baytieh, whom Rackauckas picked as his frontman in the PR campaign against the scandal, tells a UC Irvine School of Law audience, “I can look you in the eye” and claim there’s no evidence of systemic law enforcement cheating with informants. Aug. 18: Lieutenant Mark Stichter, Hutchens’ media flack, assures the Huffington Post, “There is no jail informant program in the jail.” Sept. 13: Rackauckas and Hutchens propose law changes that would limit the ability of death penalty case defendants to discover law enforcement cheating. Nov. 22: A unanimous California Court of Appeal backs Goethals’ DA recusal as legally sound, praises his special hearings a “search for the truth,” and observes there’s overwhelming evidence prosecutors and deputies ran a systemically contaminated informant program. Dec. 10: Numerous relatives of the Seal Beach victims hold a press conference feet away from the Pacific Ocean to announce disgust that OC law enforcement wrecked an easy case and to call for an end to the mess by giving Dekraai eight consecutive life-in-prison without parole terms. 2017 Feb. 10: Tired of Hutchens brazen defiance of his lawfully-issued court orders, Goethals announces a third round of special evidentiary hearings to determine the likelihood of the sheriff ever submitting to the rule of law. April 28: Moriel, the government snitch who admitted to murdering at least six people, has his own attempted murder case continued for the 40th time as Rackauckas tries to wait out the “myth” that is the informant scandal before handing the killer a sweetheart deal that could put him back on the streets. May 31: With a sheriff’s monitor watching, OCSD Lieutenant David Johnson testifies jail deputies never managed informants, even though he wrote a 2009 memo stating that deputies under his control “handle and maintain confidential informants.” An incredulous Goethals shakes his head and smiles. June 5: Wert offers an innocent explanation for why he ended the Log in 2013: Without ever having looked at the records, he decided they were worthless. He claims his decision was aboveboard, as evidenced by him advising his boss at the time, Lieutenant Catherine Irons, who will drop three bombshells when she testifies. June 5: Commander Jon Briggs becomes the first OCSD supervisor to concede “it’s obvious” the Log proved an active snitch program. Evening of June 5: The 74-year-old Rackauckas tells a wealthy Turnip Rose crowd at a Costa Mesa fundraiser for his planned upcoming fifth-term in office that he’s been working “tirelessly” to “ensure the administration of justice in our county.” Peaceful protesters outside the event claim one of event attendees ran a vehicle into the crowd and fled. Police are investigating. June 8: OCSD Lieutenant Lane Lagaret, now Hutchens’ media flack, testifies he never saw a memo addressed to him that states Special Handling Unit jail deputies were to “cultivate/manage confidential informants,” though the document had been prominently posted on the office wall for at least months. June 11: Having received an advance copy of the upcoming grand jury report, Rackauckas grabs a guest editorial in the OC Register and hails Conley, his colleague in the 1985 snitch scandal and now a judge, for calling Sanders reckless. June 13: Grand jury foreperson Carrie Carmody claims the panel found “no evidence” of a jailhouse-informant program during a yearlong probe that relied mostly on secret input from deputies and prosecutors. Carmody, who struggles to answer reporters’ questions, slams Goethals, Sanders and the news media for conducting “a witch-hunt.” She advises the judge to end his hearings. June 13: Lagaret retakes the stand hours after the grand jury press conference and states he knew deputies falsely testified about informant use at 2014 and 2015 Dekraai hearings but remained mum. June 14: Now retired, Irons breaks the witch-hunt wide open by testifying that, despite Hutchens’ plan to blame the scandal on a couple of “rogue” deputies such as Tunstall, Garcia and Grover, she saw the Log in 2013 and that during 2014 Dekraai hearings, OCSD management purposefully hid TRED records from courts. She also contradicts Wert’s testimony about ending the Log, stating she never authorized the action. June 15: Paul Wilson, husband of one of Dekraai’s victims, ridicules the grand jury for labeling the scandal a “myth,” says the panel’s report is shameful and encourages Goethals to continue his “pursuit of the truth.”

Tensions are simmering in the Napthine government after Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh unexpectedly declared the Coalition would go to the election with a policy for no new national parks. In a move that caught many of his colleagues by surprise, the Nationals deputy leader made the announcement at a recent forestry industry dinner, putting the government on a collision course with community groups, who had been assured a proposal for a new park in the state's north-east was being considered. Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh. Credit:Eddie Jim Environmentalists have been pushing for the creation of a proposed Great Forest National Park stretching between Kinglake, Baw Baw and Eildon in a bid to protect the Leadbeater's possum after the 2009 bushfires destroyed 45 per cent of its habitat. The idea was being examined by a National Parks Advisory Council that reports to Environment Minister Ryan Smith. However, Mr Smith's office was not aware of Mr Walsh's announcement when contacted by The Sunday Age last week and had to take advice before confirming that, "as the Minister indicated, the Coalition has no plans to announce new national parks during the campaign".

Gustav, also known as NPS.42.31066, was a pigeon of the RAF pigeon service. He was awarded the Dickin Medal, also known as the animals' Victoria Cross, for bringing the first report of the Normandy landings to the British mainland during the Second World War. Military service [ edit ] Gustav was a grizzle colored cock pigeon trained by Frederick Jackson of Cosham, Hampshire.[1] In his military service, he was also known by his service number NPS.42.31066.[2] His early missions saw him carrying messages out of occupied Belgium for the resistance.[3] On 6 June 1944 Gustav was on–board an Allied Landing Ship Tank (LST),[4] having become one of six pigeons given by the RAF to Reuters news correspondent Montague Taylor.[1] Following the Normandy landings, Gustav was released by Taylor to send news back to the UK with the message, "We are just 20 miles or so off the beaches. First assault troops landed 0750. Signal says no interference from enemy gunfire on beach... Steaming steadily in formation. Lightnings, Typhoons, Fortresses crossing since 0545. No enemy aircraft seen."[5] Gustav traveled the 150 miles (240 km) to his loft at RAF Thorney Island in five hours and sixteen minutes, while facing a headwind of up to 30 mph (48 km/h),[5] where his handler Sgt Harry Halsey received him.[1] Gustav's message was the first word of the invasion to reach the British mainland, due to the fleet undergoing radio silence at the time.[5][6] Later that day, fellow pigeon Paddy became the first pigeon released to return to the British mainland with news of success of the landings.[4] For this act, he was awarded the Dickin Medal for bravery, considered to be the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.[1] He was presented with his medal on 27 November 1944, by Mrs A. V. Alexander, the wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty.[7] The citation for his Dickin Medal read, "For delivering the first message from the Normandy beaches from a ship off the beachhead while serving with the RAF on June 6 1944."[5] He was one of thirty two pigeons awarded the medal who carried messages during the Second World War.[1] Death and legacy [ edit ] Gustav died after the war in an accident, when someone cleaning his pigeon loft accidentally stepped on him.[5] The story of wartime messenger pigeons such as Gustav were made into the 2005 animated film Valiant,[1] the same year that Gustav's Dickin Medal went on display at the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, Hampshire.[1]

TL;DR What: Team-based Battleships turned up to 11 Players: 2 – 8 (we recommend 6-8) Time: 45 minutes People: Best with two teams of friends who like to get their adrenaline pumping (with a board game) Available: Get it on Amazon here and support Best Play at the same time! The Gist Why we recommend it We also talked about Captain Sonar on our podcast over here. I want to you to think about what your worst board game memory was – that sickening defeat that made you not want to touch a dice again. You might remember your dad making you bankrupt in Monopoly and your mother leaving the room in tears. Maybe when your brother destroyed your army at Risk. What if I asked you what your most excited and joyous board gaming moment was; the most brilliant triumph. You might say it was the first time you set off the mouse trap contraption. Maybe something more modern, like getting five words in Codenames or something similar. Well I lost a game which made me hate it. It made me never want to play it ever again, so upsetting and deflating was the loss. I once won a round of that very same game that made me feel on top of the world, like I was a genius and so were my team mates. There was hugging, cheers and just general jubilation as the adrenaline flowed. It’s probably very bloody obvious given the title of this recommendation that the game that elicited both of those reactions is Captain Sonar. Captain Sonar is best described as team battleships. Other than in many ways, it’s nothing like battleships. It’s a game for eight people in two teams of four (although you can make it work with less) in which you are both driving submarines whilst trying to blow the other one up. The specific role you play determines exactly what you’ll be doing. You might be choosing the direction of your sub, or you might be controlling the weapons and sonar to help find the other vessel. You might be a desperate engineer trying to keep the whole thing from falling apart or the radio operator intently listening to the opposition, writing down their every move with the hope of narrowing it to one square of the map. The real thing that gets the adrenaline pumping and will leave you either jubilant and victorious or exhausted and deflated is that all of this happens in real time. There are no turns here. The faster you can co-operate with you team mates and track them down, the further ahead you’ll get. The game often starts pensively, as both players are trying to feel the other out. You’ll be slowly making your way around the board, readying your weapons and conducting tests with your sonar. You might even just stop for a while, let the other team do all the rushing around, and helping you narrow their position whilst you give minimal information back. By the end though, the game has changed entirely. In battleships at some point you strike your target. B3 methodically becomes B4, the next turn is B5 and then B6 and so on, until you reach the slow step-by-step destruction. In Captain Sonar when you get that first hit everyone pauses for a moment. “They’ve found us”. You have mere seconds as a team to either retaliate or run before they ready another. Torpedo at your exact co-ordinates. Every space you move being perfectly tracked unless you can give them the slip with your silence. These are the moments where everything escalates, the adrenaline is pumping and the outcome will define whether you loved the game and want to go again or hate it and hope no one ever opens the box in your lifetime. Don’t let that put you off though, because those moments of triumph with your heart pumping are rare and precious moments in the world of board games, and all you have to risk is mind-crushing, soul-destroying devastation. Get yourself a copy of Captain Sonar and support Best Play at the same time by buying it here from Amazon

“It’s not the will to win that matters. … It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.” — Paul “Bear” Bryant HOUSTON — People here at Ted Cruz’s campaign headquarters are meticulously preparing to win a contested convention, if there is one. Because Donald Trump is a low-energy fellow, Cruz will be positioned to trounce him in Cleveland, where Trump’s slide toward earned oblivion would accelerate during a second ballot. Wisconsin has propelled Trump, a virtuoso of contempt, toward joining those he most despises: “losers.” In the 1992 general election, Ross Perot, a Trump precursor, won 21.5 percent of Wisconsin’s vote, above his 18.9 national average. Wisconsin’s populist tradition is persistent and indiscriminate enough to encompass Robert La Follette and Joseph McCarthy. And evangelical Christians are less important in Wisconsin than in contiguous Iowa. Nevertheless, temperate Wisconsin rejected Trump, partly for the reason that one of his weakest performances so far was in the reddest state, Utah, where conservative Mormons flinched from his luridness. His act — ignorance slathered with a congealed gravy of arrogance — has become stale. If, as seemed probable a month ago, Trump had won Wisconsin, he would have been well-positioned to win a first-ballot convention victory. Now he is up against things to which he is averse: facts. For months Cruz’s national operation has been courting all convention delegates, including Trump’s. Cruz aims to make a third ballot decisive, or unnecessary. On the eve of Wisconsin’s primary, the analytics people here knew how many undecided voters were choosing between Cruz and Trump (32,000) and how many between Cruz and John Kasich (72,000), and where they lived. Walls here are covered with notes outlining every step of each state’s multistage delegate selection process. (Cruz’s campaign was active in Michigan when the process of selecting persons eligible to be delegates began in August.) Cruz’s campaign is nurturing relationships with delegates now committed to Trump and others. In Louisiana’s primary, 58.6 percent of voters favored someone other than Trump; Cruz’s campaign knows which issues are particularly important to which Trump delegates, and Cruz people with similar values are talking to them. Trump, whose scant regard for (other people’s) property rights is writ large in his adoration of eminent domain abuses, mutters darkly about people “stealing” delegates that are his property. But most are only contingently his, until one or more ballots are completed. Usually, more than 40 percent of delegates to Republican conventions are seasoned activists who have attended prior conventions. A large majority of all delegates are officeholders — county commissioners, city council members, sheriffs, etc. — and state party officials. They tend to favor presidential aspirants who have been Republicans for longer than since last Friday. Trump is a world-class complainer (he is never being treated “fairly”) but a bush league preparer. A nomination contest poses policy and process tests, and he is flunking both. Regarding policy, he is flummoxed by predictable abortion questions because he has been pro-life for only 15 minutes, and because he has lived almost seven decades without giving a scintilla of thought to any serious policy question. Regarding process, Trump, who recently took a week-long vacation from campaigning, has surfed a wave of free media to the mistaken conclusion that winning a nomination involves no more forethought than he gives to policy. He thinks he can fly in, stroke a crowd’s ideological erogenous zones, then fly away. He knows nothing about the art of the political deal. The nomination process, says Jeff Roe, Cruz’s campaign manager, “is a multilevel Rubik’s Cube. Trump thought it was a golf ball — you just had to whack it.” Roe says the Cruz campaign’s engagement with the granular details of delegate maintenance is producing a situation where “the guy who is trying to hijack the party runs into a guy with a machine gun.” Trump, the perpetually whining “winner,” last won something on March 22, in Arizona. Trump, says Roe, is now “bound by his brand rather than propelled by his brand.” If Trump comes to Cleveland, say, 38 delegates short of 1,237, he will lose. Cruz probably will be proportionally closer to Trump than Lincoln (102 delegates) was to William Seward (173.5) who was 60 delegates short of victory on the first of three ballots at the 1860 convention. Cruz’s detractors say he has been lucky in this campaign’s unpredictable political caroms that thinned the competition. But as Branch Rickey — like Coach Bryant, a sportsman-aphorist — said: “Luck is the residue of design.” George F. Will is a Washington Post columnist.

With the conflict and curfews of the 1990s now behind it, Colombia's capital is bursting with creativity, clubs and great cuisine "This is not a hairdressers," says a sign on the wall of a place called La Peluquería (The Hairdressers). "OK," I think, trying to overlook the fact that a woman is most definitely holding clippers to a client's head, as she stands in front of a retro dryer. "This is not a cultural centre, or a museum, or a gallery, or a cafe," it continues. I look around to find customers sipping coffee at a counter covered in work by local artists. So what is it? This, it seems, is what modern Bogotá is doing best: making artistic ventures work by combining them with other activities. La Peluquería (lapeluqueriabogota.com) is certainly not a conventional hairdressers, with its graffitied walls and reclaimed mannequins. The stylists are all visual artists rather than trained hairdressers; on Wednesdays haircuts are free, provided you let them do as they please; and if you'd rather not take a radical Colombian hairdo home as a souvenir, you can also amuse yourself in the design shop or bar. This is the first of many new hybrid venues I find as I explore the capital that for many years remained off travellers' radars. A little way to the north of the centre, an area called Parkway in La Soledad neighbourhood doesn't strike me as obviously creative – the "park" is a thin strip of grass down the middle of the main road, Carrera 24 – but I'm assured that good stuff goes on behind the doors of the 1940s buildings that run up its length. Apparently, this was once a hangout for the city's most artistic residents and is now in the midst of a major regeneration. At number 37, bar La Trementina has recently expanded to include a bookshop-cum-gallery-cum-café, with space for live music and poetry readings (trementinacultural.com). A little further down, at number 41, is art-deco theatre Casa Ensamble (casaensamble.com) which also hosts art exhibitions and has a retro bar with occasional cabaret. Hiding just behind it on Carrera 25, the struggling Arlequín theatre has turned half its premises into a branch of a trendy burger diner, La Hamburguesería (lahamburgueseria.com). Bogotá's landscape is changing rapidly. People who abandoned its centre for safer, outlying neighbourhoods at the height of the internal conflict in the 1990s are coming back. Meanwhile, tourism is moving beyond La Candelaria, the old colonial quarter, and is even making inroads into the city centre, which is where you'll find La Peluquería (on Carrera 3) and a new vegetarian restaurant, Reverdeser (Calle 17, 2-46). Cafe society in La Candelaria district of Bogotá. Photograph: Alamy Magdalena Barón already had a successful vegetarian restaurant in La Candelaria (Quinua y Amaranto), when she opened Reverdeser in April. "This part of town was the epicentre of the violence, so it had been abandoned," she says. "But now foreigners are buying property here and people aren't just using it as place to work. What we're trying to do [by opening here] is give importance back to the centre." As Magdalena tells me this, I'm in her kitchen, washing vegetables. I've taken advantage of a £12 cookery course that allows customers to learn macrobiotic recipes while making their own lunch. Magdalena's not proprietorial about her recipes – which include quinoa empanadas – because her priority is spreading the word about Colombian cuisine: "The Spanish prohibited a lot of our indigenous foods, so now we are reclaiming them." Following a similar principle is Mini Mal, a restaurant (combined with a design shop, of course) in another emerging area, Chapinero Alto in northern Bogotá, which is also known as Gay Hills (Carrera 4a, 57-52, +57 1 3475464, mini-mal.org). The name Mini Mal is a play on Spanish phrase, "menos mal" (least bad) in a nod to their aim to do minimal damage to the environment, while recognising that no business is footprint-free. "We wanted to make Colombian food more sophisticated, but then we realised our work was already done," says owner Manuel, as I tuck into king prawns dyed with seeds that Colombian Indians traditionally use as face paint. Manuel informs me that Colombia is the second most biodiverse country on the planet, pointing out that juice menus in Bogotá – featuring fruit from the Amazon, the Caribbean and the Pacific – often run to a full page. With such a range of ingredients, the city's culinary scene has come on hugely in recent years. There are some great, middle-ground places which combine tradition and innovation at good-value prices. One example is La Esquina in La Macarena neighbourhood (Carrera 4A, No 26A-04, +57 1 283 8685, cevicherialaesquina.com). The chef trained with Gordon Ramsay, but decided to specialise in affordable food that can be shared among friends, such as crab claws for under £6. Home to a mix of actors, artists and students, La Macarena is a good area to stick around in after dinner. Bars range from old-school Vásquez y Cebollas (Calle 26, 4-68) to industrial minimalism at En Obra (Carrera 4A, 26A-37). Later, you can hop over to the more established nightlife areas around the pedestrianised Zona T, which is packed with people looking for a rumba (party). Two new places to try are El Coq (Calle 84, 14-02), a very popular DJ bar nearby with a tree growing through its middle, and La Destilería (Calle 85, 12-91), a martini lounge with drinks that come with champagne chasers and a garnish of edible ants, should you so desire. Bogotá's historic downtown. Photograph: Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery Safety in Bogotá is now much like in any other South American city. The same rules apply: don't flash expensive cameras, avoid carrying valuables on the streets, and order radio taxis after dark. Bogotá, and Colombia in general, still has some no-go areas, so refer to a guidebook, tour operator or trusted local – most are very protective of foreigners. On the whole, the tourist board's campaign ("The only risk is wanting to stay") seems to be working: the number of foreign tourists visiting Colombia rose by 16% in the first five months of this year. Before leaving the city, I make a stop at what has become one of Bogotá's most famous sights, aside from the Gold Museum and the Plaza de Bolivar. Part steakhouse, part nightclub, Andrés Carne de Res (+57 1 863 7880, andrescarnederes.com) is a local institution that is hard to put into words. Try imagining one of those houses where the owners almost bankrupt themselves by putting up excessive Christmas lights. Next combine that with a quirky little trattoria where every inch has been covered in surreal memorabilia. Now times that by a hundred. With a capacity of 2,500, Andrés Carne de Res really is a spectacle and it's well worth driving the 45 minutes out of town to its original site in the town of Chía, now a suburb. (The newer version in the city centre is a bit TGI Fridays.) Opened almost 30 years ago, it really took off in the mid 1990s during the city's crime-fighting curfew, known popularly as la hora zanahoria (nerds' hour). When normal bars closed at 1am, the parties shifted here. Now, even though the curfew days are over, it remains hugely popular, so be sure to make a reservation, and expect to pay around £16 for a steak. Insanely decorated steakhouses aside, the most interesting places in Bogotá almost all hide behind modest exteriors. Perhaps that's the thing about this city: it hasn't got a longstanding tradition of tourism, so it doesn't feel the need to play up to it and signpost its assets. Whatever the reasons, the standout places are well worth seeking out and that's surely the best part of visiting any emerging destination. • Air France (airfrance.co.uk) flies from Heathrow to Bogotá via Paris from £544 return. Hotel Casa de la Botica, in the historic La Candelaria district, has rooms from £59 (+57 1 745 0800, hotelcasadelabotica.com). Alma de Bogotá is a gay-friendly, converted mansion in Chapinero that charges from £90 for a double (+57 1 212 1800, hotelboutiquealma.com). Note that many hotels in Bogotá offer cheaper rates at weekends. More information from colombia.travel This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. The links are powered by Skimlinks. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that Skimlinks cookies will be set. More information.

western sydney wanderers, nikolai topor-stanley, wsw, captain, leaving, overseas NEWCASTLE Jets have bolstered their defence with the addition of Nikolai Topor-Stanley on a two-year deal. A towering stopper, Topor-Stanley kippered Western Sydney Wanderers to their 2014 AFC Champions League title and re-joins the Jets having played last season in the UAE Gulf League with Hatta Club. The 32-year-old established himself in the A-League during a four-year stint in Newcastle from 2009 and was the club’s player of the year in 2010-11. The former Socceroo and former Australian youth international played 81 games for the Jets before linking with Wanderers for their inaugural campaign. At Wanderers Topor-Stanley he helped steer the red-and-blacks not only to continental glory but also three A-League Grand Final appearances (2013, 2014 & 2016) and the competition’s Premiership in 2013. The three-time PFA (Professional Footballers Australia) Team of the Season inductee said that it feels great to be returning to Newcastle to represent a region he knows cares deeply about football. “I have had a good history of playing football in this region and I know the passion that the people have for their team,” Topor-Stanley said. “I know that the people are very proud people here and the fact that they haven’t had that much success recently means it will be even sweeter when we do reach that.” “There is a long road ahead and I am really looking forward to getting out on the training track. Hopefully I can add my experience of what I have learnt both here and abroad to help bring winning times.” Topor-Stanley’s signature follows that of Dimi Petratos on Tuesday and leaves the Jets with two visa places to fill. https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/iKQx4aiD4Q7fvCgDvFeGgz/0f3f97ff-bb7b-40a6-a136-2572ef29fc05.jpg/r0_203_533_504_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

In the battle to dominate Europe’s cloud computing market, American tech giants are spending big to build up their local credibility. Amazon Web Services, the largest player, announced last week that it would soon open multiple data centers in France and Britain. Google, which already has sites in countries like Finland and Belgium, is expected to finish a new multimillion-dollar data complex in the Netherlands by the end of the year. And Microsoft, by some measures the second-largest cloud computing provider in Europe, said on Monday that it had spent $1 billion in the last 12 months to expand its offerings, taking its total investment in European-based cloud services to $3 billion since 2005. “We’re building our global cloud infrastructure in Europe so it can be trusted by the multiple constituents,” Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said in an interview. “We can meet the data residency needs of our European customers.”

The year is 2012, and pretty much everyone in the world has just gotten their minds blown by Marvel’s The Avengers. As audiences walked out of the theaters, they all began to wonder when they were going to see Spider-Man or Wolverine show up in the next Avengers movie. This was really the first time the public began to understand just how complicated a custody agreement with Marvel and their characters could be. From the 1970s to the mid-1990s, Marvel Entertainment Group sold the rights of various characters, since they weren’t yet in the business of making their own movies. One of these deals was sending the X-Men, Daredevil, and the Fantastic Four over to 20th Century Fox. Spider-Man headed to Sony, Blade went to New Line Cinema, Ghost Rider to Columbia, Punisher to Lionsgate, and the Hulk went to Universal. However, Marvel soon began slowly re-securing some of these rights, and by late 2013, the Punisher, Daredevil, Hulk, Blade, and Ghost Rider were all back at Marvel Studios. (Note: Universal still has some of the rights of Hulk, which is why we won’t see a solo movie anytime soon). Sony finally released their death grip on Spider-Man ever so slightly in 2015, when they worked out a “shared custody” agreement with the Marvel. 20th Century Fox, however, has kept their hands on the X-Men and Fantastic Four. The thing is, when Fox bought the X-Men and Fantastic Four IPs, they got a lot more than just that. Fox currently owns not only the X-Men, but the entire concept of being a mutant — even if they aren’t traditionally an X-Men. Meanwhile, owning the Fantastic Four means a lot of the more cosmic people of the Marvel Universe, like the Silver Surfer or Galactus, are also in Fox’s hands. This made things complicated — but it was worse than we thought, as we discovered several years later. It appears that there are some characters that fall into a “grey area” where both companies hold the rights. The most prominent examples are Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. While technically the children of Magneto are mutants, they also fall under the Avengers banner, so both companies hold the rights. That’s why we got two versions of Quicksilver. And rumor has it that this was the reason Quicksiver was killed off in Avengers: Age of Ultron — to kind of split the difference. Fox gets to keep Quicksilver while Marvel keeps Scarlet Witch, despite them being siblings and their relationship being a very important part of both of those characters developments. To back up a little bit, one of the main reasons that Fox made a Fantastic Four movie two years ago is because they were about to lose the rights to the characters. The studios have to keep the lights on in these various departments or Marvel can ask for their toys back. This is essentially what ended up happening with Daredevil; they went too long without using the character. While Fantastic Four is certain the most egregious example in terms of quality, Fox also made X-Men: First Class for the same reason, and it turned out fantastic. It’s the same reason why Sony rebooted Spider-Man. It’s moviemaking as dictated by contract lawyers and not creatives, which is why it so rarely works out. That horrible Fantastic Four movie led a lot of people to think Fox would just sell the rights back to Marvel. The franchise and name were basically dead in the water, and a third reboot just seems like a terrible idea. There were a lot of rumors that got even louder when James Gunn had to arrange a switch with 20th Century Fox to gain the rights to use Ego the Living Planet. Kurt Russell[’s Ego, the Living Planet] in the new Guardians movie was the character that Fox swapped with Marvel to [change] Negasonic Teenage Warhead powers. – via The Playlist Things have been quiet for the last several months, with Fox even saying that they aren’t completely ruling out a sequel to Fantastic Four. In a brief sequence and in the final after-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we got a look at characters that were once thought to be owned by Fox, which led to speculation running rampant all over again. This is minor spoilers for the movie that doesn’t reveal any plot points and is really more of an Easter egg: In one of the scenes we get a look at the Watchers. The Watchers are an ancient alien race who decided it was their duty to help the lesser evolved members of the galaxy. However, when their first attempt resulted in tragedy, they vowed to take a more anthropological stance and never interact with other races again — hence the name “Watchers”. They are characters that first appeared in the Fantastic Four, so everyone always assumed that they belonged to Fox. When they appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a lot of people thought that Marvel had gotten the rights to the first family of comics back. In an interview with Kevin Feige over at /Film, they asked him directly about this: And that’s also a question I had, the Watchers, aren’t they Fantastic Four owned by Fox? Has there been a deal made? No. There’s joint custody with a number of things. There are certain characters that they have, but races that we share. If that makes sense? So apparently that joint custody agreement has more than just the Maximoff twins in it. It apparently also includes the Watchers, and judging by the way Feige worded it, perhaps there are more in there as well. Namor, the Sub-Mariner, is often considered part of the Fantastic Four group and is referred to as a mutant; but he debuted in his own World War II-era book. So perhaps he’s under that umbrella, and we might be able to see Namor’s grumpy face in the MCU. There’s still no word as to whether or not Marvel is trying to get the rights back to Fantastic Four, or if Fox is even opening to selling — but what was once a blood feud seems like it might be toning down. Marvel and Fox worked together on the fantastic Legion, and that worked out great for all involved. If the deal for Spider-Man ends up working in Sony’s favor, then perhaps the doors will be open for more cooperation. Or maybe both of the studios will look up someday and see the dump truck of money they could make if they did an Avengers vs. X-Men movie. Related Posts About Kaitlyn Booth Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. She loves movies, television, comics, and political satire. She's a member of the UFCA and the GALECA. Feminist. Writer. Nerd. Follow her on twitter @katiesmovies and @safaiagem on instagram. She's also a co-host at The Nerd Dome Podcast. Listen to it at http://www.nerddomepodcast.com (Last Updated ) Related Posts

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer on Friday announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at warning aspiring actors and entertainers of scams in which managers and agents seek upfront payments and other fees for representation. Feuer also announced that charges had been filed against a talent manager, Debra Baum, for allegedly charging more than $100,000 to a 19-year-old aspiring singer, Reed Isaac, and her sister, Veronica, an aspiring actress, for management fees and other expenses like vocal training, stylists and recordings. According to Feuer, Baum allegedly solicited the 19-year-old singer in a hair salon and she signed a $10,000 per month contract to handle her career. Her sister paid $40,000 in management fees as well. An attorney for Baum did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Baum is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 5 and is charged with four counts of violating the Talent Scam Prevention Act, passed in 2010 and authored by then-Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, now a Los Angeles city councilman. It explicitly prohibits agents and managers from taking advance fees, and talent training and counseling firms from requiring customers to buy photo head shots or websites as a condition for using their service. Related Longtime SAG Member Ada Lynn Dies at 90 Talent Manager Sentenced to Probation for Charging Upfront Fees Feuer and Krekorian, along with other officials, including the Screen Actors Guild’s Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and the BizParentz Foundation co-founder Paula Dorn, appeared at a press conference to announce a crackdown on talent scams as well as a social media campaign to alert parents and aspiring performers to be aware of potential representatives who seek them out and demand fees with the promise of auditions or other enticements. Krekorian even recalled that his wife was once approached at a mall by a person who offered to represent their two-year-old son. “Legitimate representatives for talent do not use this business model,” he said. Feuer said that they were “reinvigorating our effort” to enforce the law, after it had waned because of a lack of resources, and that they hope the new education campaign will boost awareness of aspiring entertainers to be more wary of such contracts and upfront payments. He said his office is coordinating with the Los Angeles County Office of Consumer Affairs and industry groups like SAG. Dorn said that some of the cases are “tragic,” in that potential representatives will prey on parents for thousands of dollars. If the parents refuse, some reps have said, in front of the aspiring child performers, “Oh, you don’t believe in your kids?” Dorn said. She also said that potential representatives will charge parents for their kids to participate in showcases, in places such at hotels near Walt Disney World, where they are promised an audience of agents from around the country. But she said, the agents are paid to be there, and “the reality is it is absolutely nothing.”

Islam Times - The Russian Foreign Ministry has revealed new details about the expulsion of Israeli Defense Attaché Colonel Vadim Leiderman. Islam Times reports from AFP: Leiderman was arrested on May 12 trying to obtain details about Russia's arms trade with the Arab world, the ministry said on Friday, quoting the country's Federal Security Service (FSB).The Soviet-born Israeli Air Force Colonel was "caught red-handed" doing the deal, the FSB statement issued on Friday.Leiderman had approached "a number of Russian state workers for secret information about Russia's military and technological cooperation with -- and assistance for -- a number of Arab nations," the statement said.It added that Russia had decided to keep the expulsion secret as a "gesture of goodwill."But the Israeli media leak left it "seriously perplexed," the FSB said.RBC television channel later aired footage of Leiderman being approached by several men while he was dining with another man in a Moscow restaurant.The TV also showed the Israeli official being interrogated, with his various accreditation and bank cards being laid out on a table for the camera.Leiderman was deported last week.Israel said the brief detention, investigation and expulsion appeared to have breached his diplomatic immunity.

WHEN it struck a deal to swap asylum-seekers arriving in Australia by boat for refugees from camps in Malaysia, Julia Gillard's government hoped it had at long last found a way to defuse one of Australia's loudest political rows. But on August 31st, in a crushing blow to the government, Australia's High Court ruled the deal unlawful. It ordered the government not to send any asylum-seekers to Malaysia. On July 25th the government had announced that Australia would send the next 800 seaborne asylum-seekers to join about 90,000 others who have been waiting in Malaysia to have their refugee claims heard there. In return, Australia would take from Malaysia 4,000 people who had been approved as refugees there and were awaiting resettlement in a third country with policies for taking such refugees. That side of the deal, at least, is working: they have already started arriving. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. At the other end, the number of Australia's boat people is in fact relatively small. Over twice as many asylum-seekers come in by air. Last year 134 boats carrying 6,535 asylum-seekers sailed into northern Australian waters. Yet by August 22nd this year only 36 boats carrying 2,183 people had arrived. Most of them are held at Christmas Island, an Australian territory off the north-west coast. Yet a campaign about “border protection” by the conservative Liberal-National opposition, backed by radio “shock jocks” and tabloid journalists, had scored points in suburban Australia. Ms Gillard claimed the Malaysia deal was designed to thwart people-smugglers, and to deter people from dangerous sea voyages. But it was also about sending a signal to voters that the government was getting tough. On August 7th, just as the first boat people were about to be sent to Malaysia, the High Court, Australia's final appeal court, issued a temporary injunction against the deal. Lawyers argued that because Chris Bowen, Australia's immigration minister, could not guarantee their protection, he had no power under Australia's Migration Act to send them to Malaysia. Unlike Australia, it is not a party to the United Nations Refugee Convention. In striking the deal down, the High Court agreed that the minister had no power to remove from Australia asylum-seekers whose claims for protection had not yet been determined. The verdict came ten years after the former coalition government introduced a harsh boat-people regime dubbed the “Pacific Solution”. It sent asylum-seekers to languish in Australian-built camps on Nauru and on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Critics claim Ms Gillard's Malaysia Solution is the Pacific Solution in new clothes. On August 19th the government signed a memorandum of understanding with Papua New Guinea to reopen an assessment centre on Manus Island. The court's decision has stunned the government. Some legal experts believe it may now rule out using Nauru and Papua New Guinea as well. But the political assumptions behind the Malaysia Solution seem questionable. It has not made the Gillard government more popular. And an opinion poll on August 16th found that 53% of Australians believed asylum-seekers arriving by boat should be allowed to land and be processed in Australia; only 28% wanted them deported.

A tiny new open source drone kit made by Bitcraze is buzzing its way to market this spring, targeted at hackers and modders who want to explore droning indoors as well as out. Marcus Eliasson, Arnaud Taffanel, and Tobias Antonsson are the engineers behind the Swedish startup now accepting pre-orders for a palm-sized quadcopter called the Crazyflie Nano. (Not to be confused with the Norwegian-made nano-copter used by British troops in Afghanistan.) The trio used only open source material for the project, from mechanics to hardware and code. Not only was it a nod to the open source mantra, it saved them a ton of time; all three have day jobs and have spent the last three years working evenings on the Crazyflie Nano. "We used what is common knowledge from other open source projects, so we kind of used the same building blocks that have been tested by us and by other open source projects," says Eliasson. Though it looks like barely more than four propellers, a battery, and a control board, the team packed multiple sensors and an antenna onto the tiny frame, in an effort to give developers and hackers more to play with. "At least we hope that people will use it for that," says Antonsson. "It’s extremely fun to play with as well, just fly around. Our hope is that they will develop on it." They have already gotten suggestions for modifications, and hacked the copter to carry a video camera, LEDs, and even an inductive charger. The $149 device is controlled by a PC through a 2.4 GHz radio, and an on-board gyroscope and accelerometer keep it steady. (A more advanced, $173 version, with a magnetometer and altimeter will also be available.) The Crazyflie Nano is available on Seeed, an "open hardware facilitator" that also takes pre-orders, somewhat like Kickstarter but with less publicity and no goals to reach. In fact, the team considered crowdfunding the Crazyflie. "We wanted to keep it fun," says Taffanel. "We didn’t want to say that we were forced to deliver something quickly." At less than four inches across and 19 grams, the device is small enough to fly under tables and chairs, and through enclosed spaces. "It won't kill you if you do something wrong with it," says Antonsson. "That's a big benefit if you've been playing with the bigger ones. They can be pretty harmful."

Everyone hates CAPTCHAs, those garbled text images that you must retype to prove you're a human being. At best they're an annoyance, but often they are downright incomprehensible. And the worst part is that attackers are getting around them fairly easily. Today Leap Marketing Technologies announces NuCaptcha, a CAPTCHA that uses a video instead of a still image. Users are instructed to type a few of the moving characters on the screen. Try it yourself, after the jump. NuCaptcha Demo Leap claims that humans are good at making such distinctions, but that automating the reading of such images would be very difficult. In fact, while there have been many attempts to automate the reading of CAPTCHAs, Leap says this isn't how it's done in the real world. A New York Times article from April claims that CAPTCHA reading sweat shops in India, Bangladesh and China have become popular with spammers and this is where the action is. But the economics of such outsourcing depend on the workers being able to solve a certain minimum number of CAPTCHAs, NuCaptcha can mess with these economics by increasing the time of the video before it can be solved if the system detects signs of a CAPTCHA factory. All these settings are controllable by the site administrators. NuCaptcha is not alone in trying to defeat such systems, but if they really can increase the time to solve in such cases and not affect normal users too much with it, then they could make CAPTCHA factories unprofitable.

MOSUL — The Islamic State (IS) main finance directorate was set on fire on Tuesday, resulting in a serious damage to the facility and whatever was inside. A source from Nineveh provincial council stated on Tuesday that the IS Finance Department which was in a three-floor building in the center of Mosul caught fire, inflicting serious financial damages to the extremist group. The IS treats the fire as arson and has so far arrested the director of the department and five of his assistants, however the perpetrators of the act remain unidentified. According to local sources, the fire has spread to a weapon cache next to the finance building leading to a huge explosion inside the cache. After Islamic State (IS) lost a large portion of land at the hands of the Iraqi forces and Peshmerga, particularly the district of Qayyara in southern Mosul, the group has been undergoing a dire condition of lack of morale and trust in its members. Following the fall of Mosul to the IS militants in mid-2014 due to the collapse of the Iraqi army in northern Iraq, the city became the group's main bastion in the country which it has been keeping hold of it ever since.

Green-and-black game hardware maker Razer announced today that it's acquired Nextbit, a California-based startup responsible for the "Robin" (pictured) Android-powered smartphone. This is a notable purchase for Razer, which in recent years has snapped up both THX and Ouya as it launched first an Android-powered micro-console and then its own VR headset. While the terms of the deal have not been disclosed, game makers should be aware that the folks at Nextbit intend to cease selling their Robin smartphone and work as an independent division within Razer. "Nextbit will operate as an independent division inside Razer, focused on unique mobile design and experiences," reads a Nextbit blog post attributed to company chief Tom Moss. "To put it simply, we’ll be doing exactly what we’ve been doing all along, only bigger and better." What they've been doing all along is designing and supporting the Robin, a crowdfunded smartphone that was sold as a "cloud phone" which could intelligently shuffle apps and data back and forth between the device and remote storage as necessary, via Nextbit's Android-based Nextbit OS. Nextbit is ceasing sales of the Robin but intends to continue supporting it through next February.

Shirtless, hair flowing, legs pumping, Dr. Theodore Houk is a familiar sight running along North Charles Street on his twice-daily, 5.5-mile trek between his Lutherville home and his job at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. "You always see him out there," said Kathleen Wrona, who has seen Houk, an internal medicine specialist, often during her commute. On Thursday, she saw him again, witnessing as the vehicle in front of her struck Houk, critically injuring him and sending him to Maryland Shock Trauma Center via helicopter. The accident occurred about 8:12 a.m. near North Charles Street and Chestnut Avenue, said Cpl. John Wachter, a Baltimore County police spokesman. Police said a 65-year-old woman operating a 2005 Toyota RAV4, was headed north on Charles when Houk jogged into the lane and was struck. She has not been charged or identified. Wrona described the scene as horrific. "That's all I can say. Horrific," she said. "He was running and strayed into the right-hand lane. Maybe he tripped, maybe he was distracted. It's not clear." Wrona said Houk struck the windshield of the sport utility vehicle, then hit the ground. The driver of the RAV4 stopped, police said, and stayed until authorities arrived. Wrona said others stopped to offer aid. "I would want his family to know he wasn't alone on the side of the road," she said. "He was attended to. It's just sad. "There was nothing the driver — and I told her this — could have done," said Wrona, a Mount Washington area resident. "It was the definition of an accident." As of Friday morning, police had not released details of Houk's injuries, and a spokeswoman at Shock Trauma said he remained in critical condition. In his Kurtz Avenue neighborhood in Lutherville where he lives with wife Pamela Jenkins and their family, Houk is known as a friendly man with a wide range of hobbies — including raising chickens in the backyard, tending the garden and practicing the bagpipes. "We would hear him out on the front porch playing. We really enjoyed it," said neighbor Ralph Welsh. Once, when he was entertaining guests in his yard, he asked Houk to come and play for them. He did. "They've been really welcoming," said neighbor Jim D'Antonio of the Houk family. D'Antonio moved next door with his wife, Lisa, in November. When they first looked at the house, they were greeted by Houk. Since then, Houk has helped identify plants in the couple's yard and even gave them a jar of the family's homemade jam. No one answered the door at the Houk's home Thursday. A well-wisher had left a sack of groceries by the front door. Houk practices on York Road in Towson and has been on GBMC's staff since 1992, according to the hospital. "Here he's a part of our family," said GBMC Chaplain J. Joseph Hart. "We're all feeling a great sense of angst over what is unfolding." "His devotion to his patients is well known," said Dr. Neal M. Friedlander, chairman of GBMC's department of medicine. He described Houk as "a very pleasant and caring person," and said he maintained an avid devotion to exercise and diet. Houk commutes to work by running with a pack in hand, full of clothes and other items. He told the Towson Times for a 2008 article that he's gotten his fair share of honks and yells. "This is me, no shirt, long hair, running down the road, saving gas and being healthy," Houk told the Times. "A lot of people say I'm their hero. I'm happy about that. But I'd rather people get out there themselves instead of admiring me." He runs regardless of the weather. "I ran the day Tropical Storm Isabel arrived, and I'm out there when it first starts to snow," he told the Times. "You can either be sweaty or wet." The article noted his routine of eating raw oats for breakfast and 41/2 cups of vegetables each day. Houk also told the Times he ran because it's safer than bicycling. A fellow runner, Friedlander said Thursday that when he first heard of the accident, he thought about the risks of running alongside cars in city streets. "For those of us who run in the city, was there a day when a driver wasn't paying attention, or I wasn't paying attention?... When I do run on Charles Street, you have to be careful," he said. "It's important to be aware." jkanderson@baltsun.com

President Donald Trump in the final month of last year raised $9.6 million for his 2020 presidential bid, fueled largely by small donors as his campaign continued to send regular email solicitations for contributions. Trump entered 2017 with $7.6 million in the bank and no debt, according to the disclosure his campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission late Tuesday. Since the election, his campaign — which filed an official statement of candidacy for 2020 on Inauguration Day — has continued to send rapid-fire fundraising emails, selling Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats and urging supporters to help the president “fight back” against the media. An expanded version of this story is available at WSJ.com. Popular on WSJ.com: Senate panel approves Betsy DeVos as education nominee McCain, again the maverick, challenges Trump

When Triumph first unveiled the new Bonneville Bobber, it was met with strong reactions from people around the globe. Some enthusiasts took huge issue with an OEM creating a production bike that imitated the style of things only available to the custom market, while others, including nonriders, were drawn to the aesthetics like mosquitoes to the light. I've spent a lot of time thinking about both sides; the validity of those who ride this style of bike enjoying the fact that it's only attainable through the work of their hands, but also the everyday person having one more opportunity to have a bike he truly loves and connects with. But we'll get to that later. Triumph says that, when it started designing the Bobber three years ago, it gave its design teams a couple of required deliverables: The bike had to be based on the Bonneville T120 and have its DNA; it had to have premium finishes and detailing that rivaled anything else in the Triumph line; it had to have an exciting power delivery and exhaust note; it had to be a good blend of ergonomics and riding characteristics; and it had to be a platform for customization. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph Normally, these sorts of claims are followed by mood boards and discussions of brand history and other qualifiers that explain how the product they've brought to market can, sort of, if you squint real hard, meet those massive dreams. (Cue a certain brand who put the term "street food" as part of their inspiration, and then claimed that its new, entry level motorcycle was great for beginners because it had similar tech to the bike it emulated, ignoring that the tech was now completely outdated and terrible). Fortunately, such was not the case with the Triumph Bonneville Bobber. I'd be lying if I said I didn't show up a skeptic, but will be honest and say that I'm leaving a fan—and a really big one at that. Because boy oh boy did Triumph deliver, nailing each of those principles. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph The Specs That Matter The Bonneville Bobber is based on the Bonneville T120 in that it uses the same "high torque" variant of Triumph's new 1200cc motor. Both are eight valve, liquid-cooled, single overhead cam parallel-twins with a 270-degree crankshaft, and both are mated to the same six-speed gearbox. The Bobber has a new, twin airbox system with different intake and exhaust system and its own tune, which bumps horsepower and torque figures in the lower rev range. More specifically, the Bobber makes 77 horsepower at 6,100 rpm, with the biggest gains around 4,500 rpm, where it has a 10 percent bump over the T120. Similarly, peak torque comes in at 78.2 pound-feet at 4,000, also 10 percent more than the T120 makes (peak torque is only 2 percent more). The Bobber’s ride-by-wire throttle offers two riding modes (road and rain, both of which access the bike's full power but deliver it differently), and fuel economy is said to be 57 mpg. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph To achieve the bobber look, the bike sports a floating aluminum single seat, which can be adjusted to an "up and forward" and "down and back" position. Similarly, the speedometer is angle adjustable, allowing its face to be tipped up and pointed more directly at the rider or to lay more flat in line with the bike. Triumph achieved the hardtail look by pairing a classic "cage" swingarm with an underseat shock with linkage. Triumph's development team said one of the biggest debates they had was with the amount of suspension travel at the rear, with some members of the team pushing for authentic looks while others pushed for modern capabilities. The resulting unit offers 3.0 inches of travel, with an actually really nice ride all things considered. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph Another area where Triumph worked hard to attain a "chop everything you don't need" appearance was by adopting a claimed "clean line" packaging that hides almost every possible trace of the bike’s ABS, traction control, ECU, and immobilizer. Yes, I agree it should be called everyone's "every bike" package as well. Triumph also did a really nice job of hiding the catalytic converter required in the exhaust system. Its new "slash cut" brushed, stainless steel peashooters appear to run straight from the heads with no diversions (though there’s an under-engine cat and muffler), and they're both shorter and lighter than those on the T120. They also look pretty cool, in my opinion. Finally, Triumph has given the Bobber a large number of unique styling and detail bits. The tank is new and smaller than the T120’s, and while it does have Triumph's signature knee pad recesses, it gets its own badging. The fenders are both minimal and steel, the wheels strung with spokes, and the battery box screams of heritage in the most subtle of ways. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph Triumph has always been sneaky with a little fake vintage, and on the Bobber it's added to the fake carbs with a rear "drum inspired" brake hub. The ignition has been moved to under the bend of your right leg, and the new side panel and sprocket cover now has a removable inspection cap. The Bobber is packed with premium finishes. The tank badges are beautiful, as as are the bronze badges on the seat, engine, and speedometer. The engine covers are brushed, the handlebars satin and graphite, and the instruments have machined detailing. Nowhere on this bike looks as if it was overlooked. The Triumph Bonneville Bobber has a 27-inch seat height, 2.4-gallon fuel tank, 503-pound dry weight, will be available in Jet Black, Ironstone (gray), Morellow Red, and Competition Green and Frozen Silver, and starts at $11,900 for basic black. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph We Rode The Thing I left my house yesterday at 5:30 am to get on a plane to Madrid. I landed at 8:45 this morning (after watching Bad Moms, IT, Shallows, Bourne, and a documentary on the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers), got to the hotel around 9:30, and got on the bike at 10:30. We then spent the better part of the afternoon riding around the Spanish countryside, completing about 130 or so miles before coming back to the hotel around 5:30. Then came the press briefing and then dinner, and it's now about 11:30 pm local time. I used to own a Bonneville (2010 mag wheel), I thought the new Thruxton R rode great but had grown into something more expensive and different than the old Thruxton. I’d hoped that the T120 would be the best mix until I rode it and thought it seemed indecisive on corner entry and needed too much encouragement on tip in, and then was a little uneasy at lean. The TL;DR version is that I was not super excited to get on a bike this morning, especially one that seemed to be even more about style over substance. I tell you all this because I want to be transparent about my mindset in writing this, with the hopes that you can take more away from taking the time to read this than if you did so in a vacuum. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph So...the result? This thing is freaking cool. Visually, the Bobber is a really pretty motorcycle. To my incredibly skeptical eye, it looks different from multiple angles, as the shape of the seat pan for some reason reminds me of a Ducati Diavel while the front view looks like a Harley-Davidson Roadster. Fortunately, the rest of the bike looks classic Triumph only stripped down, something most of us can agree is really pretty. The finishes are stunning. This may be where my hipster sensibilities get the better of me, but I'm a sucker for brushed aluminum and bronze things. They catch my eye and my attention like old wartime generator engines do for Hoyer (he has a Hercules flat-twin!) and make me all giddy inside. Triumph didn't go overboard, and the overall aesthetic feels minimal with just a few touches to up the value. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph As you fire it up, the exhaust note burbles to life with a soft but meaty chug, and a quick twist of the throttle sends throaty cries not normally found in stock kits. Unlike Harley-Davidson with the Roadster, Triumph nails the foot position, putting it just slightly forward so you can put your feet down unobstructed when stopped. The seat is hard, but shaped well enough that it doesn't create hot spots, and the torque assist clutch makes clutch pull light. Fueling is nearly perfect as you pull away, and it's only seconds before you realize that they've sort of undersold the changes to the engine. Pushing the power lower really enhances the ride, giving the bike a more cruiser-like engine characteristic that's fun to blip and punch around town. Gearing is quite wide, and, because of the engine character and feel, I still don't believe it's the same as in the T120, as I was told. A cruising speed of 85 mph saw revs hovering at around the 3,450 rpm, whereas more legal speeds saw it drop below 3,000. I did have some difficulty in some slower sections around town, where I found myself wanting to be somewhere between first and second, but a little feathering of the clutch fixed the problem. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph Triumph didn't have figures on cornering clearance, but it ranges somewhere between a little more than you think and "oh crap, I keep hitting it." Though, to be fair, part of that is because the handling is so neutral that you tend to forget you're on a bobber cruiser thing when you see tail lights around the bend and chase down the poor Spanish sucker on his sport tourer playing in the twisties, because you can. During the bike's launch, every stop led to the same discussion between me and our riding pals about how easy it was to forget we were on a bike that wasn't supposed to handle this good. The Bobber loves to lean over and it loves to stay there, as long as you're okay with the grating footpegs. The only thing it loves more is getting on the gas on corner exit, where this new tune does a great job at putting power down. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph What We'd Change That doesn't mean, however, that Triumph's new Bobber is perfect. I came expecting to hate the suspension, but it’s actually done a really nice job given the travel limitations necessitated by the desired aesthetics. The ride is firm, but not jarring. My problem with the Bobber comes from its binders. The single, 310mm disc and two piston Nissin floating calipers require a full four-finger grasp to access their full stopping power, which left a two-finger guy like me wondering if I was going to make out with a guard rail as I tried to keep up with Neeves. The stopping power is there, but the bite isn't nearly strong enough given the speed of traffic in any metropolitan area and the stock brakes wouldn't last a month if this thing found its way into my collection. (Buy 310mm disc here!) Additionally, the Bobber flirts with the same issue I had with the Thruxton. The riding position is sportier than what I would want this bike for. Yes, I did just go on and on about how good it handles, but that's also considering its place in the motorcycle universe. Triumph have a catalog of 150 or so accessories and, if this bike were mine, some higher bars that provided a more relaxed riding position and attitude would be in order. It would still be fun to hustle should the mood arise, but that single mod would make it the best cruiser available on the market today (at least until you got into $25,000 baggers). 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph You Wanted To Know "Is one of the accessory options a passenger pad/seat?" - Sadly no, this thing is a solo only ride. "With the acknowledgement that every arse is different, how long can you ride it w/o discomfort?" - My butt is tiny and gets sore easily (there's gotta be a better way to say that), but I actually had no problems with the seat after a day on it. It's stiff, but well supportive and doesn't create any hot spots. "The adjustable seat looks interesting, how effective is the adjustment range in changing the comfort/fit of the seating position?" - It moves about two inches or so along a slide it's attached to. The interesting thing is that they had ours in the "up and forward" position and the reach still felt fairly long to the bars. I think shorter riders may struggle, despite the low seat height. "Is there a tach readout?" - One of the options in the digital readout on the speedo. "Is there any way to put saddlebags on it?" - Triumph actually has three different options in its accessories catalog, two of which don't suck even a little bit. "If I buy one, should I start making grumpy cruiser faces?" - Sadly yes, I'm calling this Bonneville a cruiser, which means #cruiserface is a must. However, it also means you can wear cruiser helmets, like my rad Simpson. "I'm curious if the seat gets less ugly." - After staring at the back of one all day, I admit that the underside of the seat bums me out. It looks Italian or too sculpted in a way that it shouldn't. Fortunately, they have some really nice options in the accessories catalog. "Who do you see actually buying these things?" - This is actually a really interesting question, further compounded by the fact that so many of the questions I've received have been from people considering this or something else completely different. Triumph says that it envisions the competition as the Harley 48, Indian Scout, Yamaha Bolt, etc (I think the HD Roadster is likely closer). 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph Why You Should Care That last question brings me back to the point I brought up in the intro, about "bobber" guys not liking the idea of someone buying a bobber without working for it versus Joe off the street being able to buy the bike he's going to love the most. The Bonneville Bobber is doing something that I've only seen Ducati's Scrambler do, and that's bring a lot of attention from non motorcycle enthusiasts. Love or hate the Ducati, it got people who'd never considered a motorcycle excited about these machines we love. I got calls and texts from friends and family all over who knew "I was into bikes or something" because they wanted to know more about that bike, and the same is happening with the Bobber. 2017 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Courtesy of Triumph I once wrote an article called "There's No Right Or Wrong Way To Be A Motorcyclist," which basically said that we should stop criticizing people for their version of motorcycling, because that only divided or discouraged growth. That acceptance, while being willing to show people new avenues, was the way to grow the sport and industry we all love so much. So, while I appreciate that having a bobber used to mean you put some serious blood, sweat, and time (or just tons and tons of cash) into a bike build, I'm okay with the fact that my uncle can go buy a Triumph Bobber. Because it's a really great motorcycle that he will love and because it will make him one of us. Triumph doesn't call the bike a cruiser, and I sort of get why. Unlike the Octane/Scout we love so much it wasn't built to compete with anything, just be the bike Triumph thought would be really cool. I think if you add some higher bars it's the best cruiser on the market but, add the clip-ons and it could be a cafe racer, or leave it as is for that pure bobber aesthetic. No matter which direction you take it, you're going to be happy with what's surprisingly my favorite of Triumph's modern classic line. Oh, and here's a look at some awesome "inspiration kits" Triumph has for the Bonneville Bobber, just to get you a little more excited: Triumph's "Old School Bobber" Inspiration Kit Courtesy of Triumph Triumph's "Quarter Mile Bobber" Inspiration Kit Courtesy of Triumph

Neural networks’ powers of prediction have fueled the recent AI boom, but it can be hard to explain how they reach their decisions. A new technique aimed at uncovering the inner workings of language processing networks is just the latest effort to shed some light on these “black boxes.” It’s probably not surprising that we find neural networks so inscrutable, seeing as they are broadly based on the human brain, which we’re also struggling to decipher. The models they learn are not neatly stored as sequences of bits in a database like a conventional computer program, but in the weight of the connections between their thousands of virtual neurons. These weights are not set by a human programmer; instead, the neural network essentially programs itself by looking for patterns in reams of data. So while you can test how well a neural network detects cats in a photo, it’s tricky to tell what visual patterns it uses to determine their presence or absence. “When it comes to cat detection it’s not a major problem, but this technology is creeping into fields where being able to explain decisions could be important.” When it comes to cat detection it’s not a major problem, but this technology is creeping into fields where being able to explain decisions could be important, like financial trading and disease diagnosis. That has led to a growing body of research that’s trying to make the decisions of these algorithms more explainable. Earlier this month, MIT engineers unveiled a technique that promises to provide insight into any natural language processing network regardless of the underlying software. That’s because it works by simply varying the input into the algorithm and measuring the impact on the output. The group used their own neural network that compresses and decompresses natural sentences to come up with lists of closely-related sentences that can then be fed into the neural network being interrogated. By analyzing how slight variation in the input changed the output, the researchers are able to discover how the network reacts to particular words and phrases. One of the tests they conducted was on a translation service provided as part of Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. French has different forms of each noun depending on the gender of the subject. For instance, a male dancer is a “danseur” and female one is a “danseuse.” They found the model tended to show a preference for the masculine form in sentences containing occupations such as doctor or professor or adjectives such as smart or talented, while it chose the feminine form for charming, compassionate subjects who are dancers or nurses. This kind of gender bias would be hard to detect by simply scouring the architecture of the translation service’s neural network, but the effects could be insidious. Being able to detect this kind of prejudice is a key driver for efforts to make neural networks more accountable, but it could also help researchers improve their performance by weeding out assumptions that lead to error. The MIT research follows similar work from the University of Washington, which also used variations in the input to see how a model’s predictions behave. It dealt with the simpler problem of classification algorithms but was able to work on image-processing algorithms too by highlighting what sections of the image led it to make its predictions. NVIDIA has come up with what it claims is a simpler way to achieve the same result when dealing with the video used by its PilotNet system designed to steer a self-driving car. By taking the output of the network’s higher layers and superimposing them on the layers below them they are able to create a “visualization mask” that highlights the features in the live video feed that the network thinks are important. Going a step further, some researchers are trying to create AI able to explain its decisions to lay people, not just experts. Researchers from the US and Germany recently unveiled an algorithm that can not only analyze pictures to answer questions like “which sport is being played” but also justify an answer like “baseball” with phrases like “the player is holding a bat”. Mark Riedl, director of the Entertainment Intelligence Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, got humans to play the computer game Frogger and explain their tactics as they went. He recorded this data alongside code describing the game state at that time and then trained a neural network on both. When he wired this network to another designed to play the game, he created an AI that could rationalize its actions as it played the game. While research into explainable AI is still in its infancy, a recent directive from the EU may give the field an added sense of urgency. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), due to take effect next year, will effectively create a “right to explanation,” which will allow citizens to demand the reasoning behind an algorithmic decision made about them. As Accenture analysts note in a blog post, there is debate about the extent of this new right, but they still recommend that companies embrace explainable AI to future-proof their businesses against regulators. There’s also likely to be big money in the field. Finance giant Capital One is conducting research into how to get machine learning algorithms to explain their decisions, and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding 13 different research groups working on the problem. That includes a group from Oregon State University that plans to analyze neural networks with a second neural net to identify what neural activity influences particular decisions. But Google’s director of research, Peter Norvig, recently questioned how useful these approaches could ultimately be. He said that even with humans, cognitive psychologists have found that when you ask someone to explain their decision they often make sense of their actions after the fact in ways that may or may not be linked to the actual decision-making process. “So we might end up being in the same place with machine learning where we train one system to get an answer and then we train another system to say, given the input of this first system, now it’s your job to generate an explanation,” he said at an event in Sydney. Instead, he said, it may be more useful to look at the output of these algorithms over time to identify bias and error. The question, then, is whose responsibility that would be: overstretched public bodies and academics or companies with a vested interest in protecting the reputation of their AI capabilities. In reality, it will probably require a combination of the two. AI developers will need to find ways to explain the decisions made by their creations, but we can’t just take their word for it. There will also need to be careful monitoring of how those decisions impact people’s lives. Stock Media provided by chrisroll / Pond5

IT MAY have invented trust-busting, but for decades America has tolerated an insidious cartel. Unlike most price-fixers, who seek to inflate their products’ value, this one acts as a monopsony—using market power to obtain cheaper inputs—to squeeze its vulnerable employees. The name of this syndicate is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for American college sports. Uniquely among major team sports, the top leagues in basketball (the NBA) and American football (the NFL) do not recruit from lower professional circuits. Instead, they delegate training to universities: the NFL requires new players to finish three seasons in college, and the NBA’s minimum age is 19. This has helped turn the schools into entertainment juggernauts. At $10.5 billion a year, college sports revenues—mainly from TV, attendance and merchandise—exceed those of any single pro league. Even this understates the profitability of college sports, because the NCAA maintains an amateurism policy that caps athletes’ compensation at the cost of their education. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. Trading labour for a degree sounds fair. But the income elite players produce far exceeds the price of their scholarships—which colleges are free not to renew in case of injury or violations of the NCAA’s stringent rules on gifts. Many of the excess profits, or “rents”, are captured by administrators. In 39 of the 50 states, the highest-paid public official is a college coach. Moreover, the value of the education athletes receive is dubious. They are recruited with little regard for grades, spend too much time on sports to attend class, and often depend on school-sponsored academic fraud to retain eligibility to compete. Just 44% of male basketball players at leading programmes graduate within six years. And sports are dangerous: the brutal collisions in American football have been shown to cause brain damage. After three years in college, many of these unpaid gladiators are too debilitated to reach the NFL. Such exploitation would be unacceptable in any context. But the fact that it is broadcast on national TV, and that the victims are mostly black and often poor, makes it particularly galling. Recently criticism of the NCAA has grown far more strident, and numerous players have challenged the cartel in the courts. A turning point may have been reached last week, when a federal judge ruled that the NCAA’s ban on paying athletes for the use of their name or image violated antitrust law (see article). If upheld on appeal, the decision should pave the way for players to get a piece of the pie they create at last. Unfortunately, retro-fitting a commercial payment scheme onto an amateur system will not be easy. Would all players earn the same amount, or would compensation vary by sport, skill or university revenue? The former would still be unfair, while the latter could run afoul of colleges’ legal obligation to devote similar resources to men’s and women’s sports. Moreover, as self-serving as the NCAA’s lofty rhetoric about amateurism is, the main distinction between college and pro sports is the myth that student-athletes are normal kids playing for the love of the game. If the NCAA’s commercialism were made transparent, it might lose some of its appeal. The ultimate culprits Rather than turning college sports into professional minor leagues, a better approach would be to go after the cartel’s silent partners: the NBA and NFL. At present, young athletes have no choice but to take a raw deal from colleges, because pro teams refuse to sign them. If players could go pro straight from high school, those with truly valuable talent could earn a fair market wage. For the rest, attending university for free would be reasonable compensation—so long as the NCAA instituted reforms to make the “student-athlete” slogan a reality. Those could include increasing financial aid to cover the full cost of attendance, guaranteeing scholarships for as long as players need to graduate, paying for all sports-related medical expenses and letting athletes sign their own marketing deals. The power to implement this solution lies with the professional players’ unions, who collectively bargain league-entry rules. So far, they have been all too willing to sell future members down the river in exchange for concessions that benefit current ones. That can change. Activists could aim their public-relations campaign at the unions as well as the NCAA, and amateur players could try to sue them for undermining their interests. Professional players are already rich. It is high time for their representatives to demand that younger athletes win the same right to be paid for their labour as every other worker.