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Frank Kern - Inner Circle | 98 GB https://frankkern.com/kern-inner-circle/ Link Download Frank Kern’s Inner CircleYour official membership portal for all of our Facebook Friday, Tech Tuesday and Bi-weekly call recordings. Also bonus content and Mindset Mondays with Frank Kern!{%1%}As well as a bonus index with descriptions, event information, and more!!!Frank Kern is a seriously successful business guy because he is mad talented in marketing. He’s using principles of sales that have worked for a long time but applied to the modern era of internet marketing.Some of the key things you learned inside the Inner Circle are:1.) Frank’s interesting way to compound the power of any offer, he’s calling it the Close-Stacking. Those that follow Frank may recognize what this might be, how he reveals things at the end of the sale to make his offers almost irresistible.2.) The Ultimate Offer Formula which is the “Pitch anything to anyone” formula. Frank is definitely great at pitching.3.) The 6 steps to go big online (magic steps)4.) Power Positioning: Establishing yourself as trustworthy, credible premiere brand online (become an author)You also get some courses about mindset.All of this delivered to you as your initial training, to be part of the inner circle there are few different price points of $500, $750, or $1000 per month.These are very good quality training by Frank.I love the interview he did with Karl, whom he helped scale his coaching business right above $5 million.He’s someone that knows what he’s doing in internet marketing if you’ve been part of any of his email marketing or went through any of his funnels, you would see that he knows how to maximize traffic by implementing various things that incorporate the 4 principles above.Such as including a webinar in his funnel sequence to increase credibility & authority. Or how Frank uses certain copy to boaster his click-through rates.He goes deep into the psychology of why his sales tactics work time & time again.These are skills that can be applied in any & all industries.I’m a big fan of sales mentors like Grant Cardone & Jordan Belfort, Frank Kern is of that caliber but with all the bells and whistles of the modern era. How to apply sales strategies effectively to the modern day of funnels & email marketing.The inner circle gives you an opportunity to be in the know with the marketing Giant Frank Kern.HOmepage:The content is divided into 14 folders. I’ve archived them separately so you have the option to download only those folders you are interested.Extract files with WinRar 5 or Latest !

I have so much clothing that my dresser drawer won't close all the way 147 shares

Given that the leadership of Syriza has accepted the T.I.N.A. (There Is No Alternative) dogma which has been used since 2010 as the reason for the acceptance of all the bail-out programs and memoranda; those of us who consider that dogma completely fallacious (as well as its continuation for the sixth year destructive for the country and the society) are left with the following choices: The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), The Popular Unity (LAE), or parties which have no hope in entering the parliament".

Rockstar Games has confirmed on its support page that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is getting an Xbox 360 release with upgraded visuals and achievements. The re-release will be available digitally through the Xbox 360 Games on Demand service starting October 26th. This will replace the Xbox Originals version which is no longer available. “GTA: San Andreas on the Xbox Marketplace will be available again for purchase beginning October 26th, 2014, through Games on Demand,” reads the post by Rockstar, in pat. “This version features 720p resolution, enhanced draw distance, and Achievement support.” “The Games on Demand version of San Andreas is not compatible with the Xbox Originals version. Save files will not transfer from Xbox Originals. Owners of the Xbox Originals version will still have access to the old version on their consoles and through their download history, with the option to purchase the new version to experience the added features on a new save file.” (via CVG)

Where do these 'Jet Engine PS3' comments come from? I have a 40gig phat and It is practically silent (the one exception being The Last of Us. Until that game I didn't even know the PS3 had a louder/higher fan speed) Then again I was using the 360 waaaay more over the years, so maybe I have been spoiled by the true Jet-Engine noises from that beast OT, awesome news about how quiet it is, even if it is just the menu. Perfect for blurays, I found volume was menu levels when watching blurays on the PS3

Sen. Ben Cardin Benjamin (Ben) Louis CardinPPP application window closes after coronavirus talks deadlock Congress eyes tighter restrictions on next round of small business help Senate passes extension of application deadline for PPP small-business loans MORE (D-Md.) says Congress is taking a more active role in foreign policy as it reviews the president's authority over nuclear weapons. “We have been more prescriptive on the responsibilities of the president on foreign policy, and that’s Congress’s prerogative, and we’ve done that under President Trump. So, yes, we are taking a more active role,” Cardin told Politico. He added that “we could now have a more deliberative process under the presidential command for the use of nuclear weapons, and I think Congress is looking for a way to assert itself in that regard.” The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Cardin is the ranking Democrat, held a hearing earlier this month over the president’s authority to use nuclear weapons. The discussion came after President Trump made comments that North Korea could face “fire and fury” if it continues to advance its nuclear program. ADVERTISEMENT North Korea is only one of the foreign policy issues where Congress is taking a more active role. Cardin and other senators have also urged Trump to enforce tougher sanctions on Russia. Cardin believes there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on that issue. He noted lawmakers' concern over Trump’s recent statement that he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that he did not interfere in the 2016 election. “We’re watching very carefully to make sure they, in fact, impose the mandatory sanctions on the due dates, but we do know there is a reluctance on the behalf of the Trump administration,” Cardin said.

For the second straight year on NCAA.com, Andy Katz revealed his top 25 players entering the new college basketball season. Here is his full list for 2019-20: 25. Isaiah Stewart, Fr., C, Washington: Stewart has a chance to be a dominant player in Mike Hopkins’ zone. 24. Andrew Nembhard, So., G, Florida: Nembhard has become a big-shot maker for the Gators. 23. Ashton Hagans, So., G, Kentucky: The Wildcats have the experience at the most important position to make a Final Four run. POWER 36: Michigan State comes in at No. 1 in Katz's post-NBA Draft power rankings | Video breakdown 22. Ayo Dosunmu, So., G, Illinois: He’s easily one of the most underrated players in the country, but is a rising star. 21. Killian Tillie, Sr., F, Gonzaga: Tillie came back to play a healthy season and hopes to lead the Zags on a deep March Madness run once again. Andy Katz breaks down Nos. 21-25 of his top players for the 2019-2020 season 20. Xavier Tillman, Jr., F, Michigan State: Tillman will be the rock inside the Spartans will need to propel them to another Final Four. 19. Trevion Williams, So., F, Purdue: Williams was sensational for Team USA in winning a gold medal in Greece. Look for him to do the same for the Boilers. 18. Jalen Smith, So., F, Maryland: Smith played well alongside Bruno Fernando but is ready to be a standout on his own. 17. Tristan Clark, Jr., F, Baylor: Remember his name. He was hurt for half of last year. He’ll be a dominant player again. MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS BY CONFERENCE: AAC | ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC 16. Sam Merrill, Sr., G, Utah State: Nevada is rebuilding and Utah State is only getting stronger with Merrill likely becoming a two-time Mountain West player of the year. Andy Katz breaks down Nos. 16-20 of his top players for the 2019-2020 NCAA men's basketball season 15. Kaleb Wesson, Jr., C, Ohio State: Wesson is the reason the Buckeyes made the NCAA tournament last season and he’ll be the answer for why they do it again. 14. Udoka Azubuike, Sr., C, Kansas: Azubuike is healthy and that means he can go back to anchoring the Jayhawks for a possible Final Four run. 13. Jarron Cumberland, Sr., G, Cincinnati: Cumberland returned to help John Brennan continue the tradition of the Bearcats in the NCAA tournament. 12. Devon Dotson, So., G, Kansas: Dotson is Bill Self’s latest guard who could compete for Big 12 player of the year. PODCAST: Listen to the latest episodes of March Madness 365, featuring Andy Katz 11. Anthony Edwards, Fr., G, Georgia: Tom Crean has coached a superstar before, but this one may need to produce a bit quicker. And he can. Top college basketball players: Ranking Nos. 15-11 for 2019-20 season 10. Lamar Stevens, Sr., F, Penn State: Stevens is one of the more unheralded studs in college basketball and should give the Nittany Lions a shot at a bid. 9. Anthony Cowan Jr., Sr., Maryland: Cowan is pumped for the chance to get the Terps to the Sweet 16 and beyond after Maryland's last possession loss in the second round in the 2018 NCAA tournament. PRESEASON: Ranking the best non-conference tournaments for the upcoming season 8. Tre Jones, So., G, Duke: Jones returns to lead the latest set of elite Duke freshmen toward a run at an ACC title. 7. Kerry Blackshear Jr., Sr., Florida: Blackshear’s arrival via transfer means the Gators could be Final Four bound. 6. Jordan Nwora, Jr., F, Louisville: Nwora is the the likely preseason ACC player of the year. Top college basketball players: Ranking Nos. 10-6 for 2019-20 season 5. Cole Anthony, Fr., G, North Carolina: Few players are as important to their teams as the Tar Heels' freshman point guard/lead guard. 4. James Wiseman, Fr., C, Memphis: The top big man and potential 2020 No. 1 pick leads a hype-filled roster in Memphis. 3. Myles Powell, Sr., G, Seton Hall: Powell never shies away from taking the big shot. He’s also the reason why the Pirates have as much hype as they’ve had in decades. 2. Markus Howard, Sr., G, Marquette: Howard is the one player in the country who can go for 50 on any given night. 1. Cassius Winston, Sr., G, Michigan State: Winston is the preseason player of the year here, not because he’s the most talented, but because he’s the best leader on the top team. Honorable mention: McKinley Wright IV, Jr., G, Colorado; Yoeli Childs, Sr., F, BYU; Kamar Baldwin, Sr., G, Butler; Anthony Lamb, Sr., F, Vermont; Nathan Knight, Sr., C, William & Mary; Zavier Simpson, Sr., G, Michigan; Markell Johnson, Sr., G, NC State; Nico Mannion, Fr., G, Arizona; Davide Moretti, Jr., G, Texas Tech; Jordan Ford, Sr., G, Saint Mary’s; Tres Tinkle, Sr., F, Oregon State; Payton Pritchard, Sr., G, Oregon; Mamadi Diakite, Jr., Virginia; Xavier Sneed, Sr., Kansas State; Joe Wieskamp, Iowa.

Richard Painter, a former Republican who switched parties out of opposition to President Donald Trump, said he’ll support the Sanders bill or whatever prominent single-payer legislation exists in the Senate. He said that single payer, under which the federal government would provide health care, is a necessity because of the costs being imposed on small businesses of the current employer-based health insurance system. The contenders in the Democratic primary for the Minnesota Senate seat are split on whether they’ll sponsor a single-payer bill if elected.f The bill now has 16 sponsors — far from the 60 votes needed to overcome a Senate filibuster and the simple majority needed to pass legislation — so every senator’s support matters. When Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., resigned from the Senate in January, Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’s landmark single-payer health care legislation, the Medicare for All Act, lost a sponsor. “The problem we’ve got is that when we tie health care costs to the employment relationship, it makes the employer pay a significant portion of the health care costs,” Painter told The Intercept. “And also makes the employer go find plans for the employees. That’s the American system. It’s not used in most other industrialized countries. … The problem with this system is that the small-business owner is severely disadvantaged compared with the big companies.” Tina Smith, the former Minnesota lieutenant governor who was appointed to replace Franken, is also running in the August primary ahead of the November special election. She has not yet co-sponsored the Sanders legislation, and is unsure she will do so in the future. “Right now, she’s talking with Minnesotans and gathering information about all the health care bills in the Senate,” said Smith’s spokesperson, Michael Dale-Stein. “Will make sure to let you know when we have more info on specific proposals.” Painter thinks the answer about what plan to support should be obvious. “There’s only so much talking and deciding,” he said. “We’ve talked to a lot of people about health care for a long time. We have a lot of information. We’ve gotta solve a problem.” As lieutenant governor, Smith last year touted a “public option” that would allow Minnesotans to voluntarily buy into MinnesotaCare, which is run by the state. Democratic state Sen. John Marty, on the other hand, proposed a Minnesota-wide single-payer health care plan called the Minnesota Health Plan. Under that plan, all basic health care would be paid for by the state and financed by a system under which people would pay their premiums to the state instead of a private health insurance company. Franken’s successor will most likely be a Democrat, given that the midterm climate is not favorable to Republicans, but GOP state Sen. Karin Housley is another prominent candidate in the U.S. Senate race. She prefers to repeal the Affordable Care Act, saying last year that the “government got in the way and made it more expensive, when all we needed to do was some small fixes, but instead we just turned it upside down and made life a lot harder for a lot of people.” Correction: May 18, 2018, 2:57 p.m. An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Tina Smith as the former Minnesota attorney general. She is the former lieutenant governor.

If you like your stuff to be ultra exclusive and ultra expensive, then LG has the phone for you. The LG Signature Edition has a shell made of Zirconium Ceramic, which the company claims won’t scratch (but will it shatter?) even over time. Those able to get their hands on one can have their names engraved on the back. The phone is limited to 300 handsets to be sold exclusively in South Korea at a price of 2 million won (around $1,800), which is a lot more than that other very expensive phone, the iPhone X, which costs 1.42 million won locally. But what you’re actually getting here is a ceramic LG V30 running Android Oreo (8.0) with only a modicum of system tweaks. The Signature Edition features the same 6-inch OLED display, Qi wireless charging, and a main camera with f/1.6 aperture, only with a bit more RAM (6GB instead of 4GB), and internal memory (256GB). It also ships with a wired and wireless pair of B&O headphones, but is all that really worth $1,000 more than an $800 V30? I guess you really can put a price on luxury.

A United Nations inquiry has found Syrian government forces responsible for another toxic gas attack, this time in Syria's Idlib province in March 2015. It is the third gas attack so far that the inquiry by the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the global chemical weapons watchdog, has blamed on President Bashar al Assad's forces. In a confidential report, submitted to the UN Security Council, the inquiry said military helicopters were used to drop barrel bombs on Idlib, which released toxic chlorine gas. The use of chlorine as a weapon is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013. If inhaled, chlorine gas can kill by burning the victim's lungs and drowning them in the resulting body fluids. :: Russia extends 'humanitarian pause' in attacks on rebel-held Aleppo The finding sets the stage for a showdown in the UN Security Council between Russia and western council members over how to respond. US and UK consider sanctions against Syria and Russia The report said the names of the individuals who had command and control of the helicopter squadrons at the time could not be confirmed, but said those responsible "must be held accountable". In an earlier report by the inquiry, President Assad's forces were blamed for chlorine attacks in Talmenes on 21 April, 2014 and in Sarmin on 16 March, 2015. It also said Islamic State militants had used mustard gas. Responding to the report, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "The use of chemical weapons is horrific, and a breach of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. "It is crucial to hold those responsible to account." Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington in 2013. Footage of RAF strike against IS in Syria The deal was backed by the UN Security Council, which passed a resolution saying that in the event of non-compliance, "including unauthorised transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone" in Syria, it would impose measures under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. This section deals with sanctions and the authorisation of military force by the Security Council. However, the Council would need to pass another resolution to impose any sanctions on people or entities found to be linked to the attacks.

In waiting for asylum claims to be processed on both sides of the span, 15,000 migrants wait in Mexico for weeks and sometimes months in crowded conditions before border agents call them back into the U.S. to process their asylum claims, El Paso’s KVIA-TV reported. The children in U.S government custody are treated “worse than animals” Seitz said.

Hot Hot Hollywood: Tim Cook And Malala Yousafzai Were Spotting Together Dragging Their New Bunk Bed Down The Santa Monica Freeway If you’re anything like us, you simply can’t stop getting enough of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood where the stars never set! And this latest round of news out of Tinseltown is going to have you swooning and loving celebrities: Tim Cook and Malala Yousafzai were just spotted together dragging their new bunk bed down the Santa Monica Freeway! You heard that right! The tech whiz CEO from Apple and the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Apple have gone halvsies on a double-decker bed and are dragging it along the freeway towards the beach! Yes ma’am! Yes sir! Yes ma’am and sir! Starry-eyed sources have confirmed the hot goss: Tim Cook and Malala Yousafzai are the hot new duo of friends as they slowly and with great effort drag their glitzy new bunk bed down the highway in rush-hour traffic. Yep, it’s getting bright here in Hollywood town because the paparazzi are flashing their cameras to see Malala screaming at Mr. Cook to please drag the bunk bed over to the side of the road for a second because a trucker just threw his cigarette out the window and she wants her friend Tim to take a drag on it to toughen him up for the remaining 11-mile trip! Sources on the scene say the glamour is coming in caps lock today because our favorite Apple CEO and favorite Apple women’s rights activist have reportedly gotten their bunk bed stuck in a pothole and Malala is now sitting at their bed’s attached desk writing down possible solutions to their problem to send to Congress while Tim Cook kneels on the top bunk and says a prayer of only obscenities to God for help. It’s all in the town that calls Hollywood its name, baby! And it looks like Tim’s glamorous prayer has been answered because his mom has pulled up next to the bed-dragging pair and has offered to drive her expensive car into the bunk bed at full speed to knock it out of the pothole! Call the Olsen Twins and tell them “leave” because there’s officially a new Hollywood Dream Team in town and it’s Malala and Tim and their scraped-up bunkbed! That’s the hot news from hot hot Hollywood: the town where celebrities live and murder each other! And if you want to catch a glimpse of this boiling celebrity pie you better get on the Santa Monica Freeway now because Tim Cook has just fallen over and is now lying on the top bunk while Malala (Yousafzai) drags it all by herself! Only in Hollywood and always in Hollywood! Sources say Malala (Yousafzai) is dragging the bed at 35 MPH now that Apple’s brightest Tim Cook isn’t slowing her down and she’ll be to the beach very soon where she and Tim will bury it. And thus sets the sun on another glamorous day in the swanky land of hot hot Hollywood. You better love it!

Mercredi, sept députés du Bloc québécois ont démissionné du parti. Ils reprochaient à Mme Ouellet son attitude intransigeante et sa vision dogmatique de la défense de la souveraineté. Le bureau national du Bloc québécois, réuni samedi à Montréal, a réitéré sa confiance en leur chef, Martine Ouellet, en dépit de la démission en bloc de 70% des députés, cette semaine. «Il a été resolu unanimement par le bureau national que la chef a été élue démocratiquement et qu'elle restera en fonction», a déclaré Benoît Lemieux, conseiller en tant que président de région du Bureau national du Bloc québécois, samedi après-midi. «Je peux vous dire que je suis très fière de la rencontre et du niveau de discussions qu'on a eu aujourd'hui», a déclaré la principale intéressée. «Je veux juste répéter qu'il n'a jamais été question d'exclusion. Les députés démissionnaires peuvent revenir s'ils le souhaitent [...] il n'a jamais été question d'exclure les députés du Bloc québécois», a-t-elle répété. Le bureau national du Bloc québécois était réuni, aujourd'hui, à Montréal. Le bureau national, qui est présidé par le député Mario Beaulieu - un fidèle allié de Martine Ouellet - devait déterminer si les sept députés en question pourraient être exclus ou non du parti. C'était la première apparition publique de Mme Ouellet depuis qu'une vingtaine d'ex-députés bloquistes lui ont montré le chemin de la sortie dans une lettre ouverte publiée dans les pages du Devoir, vendredi. Les conseils exécutifs de deux circonscriptions ont aussi réclamé son départ pour faire passer «avant toute chose le bien supérieur du mouvement indépendantiste». En ce qui concerne les multiples demandes de démission de la chef, formulées notamment par d'anciens députés et l'ancien chef Gilles Duceppe, Martine Ouellet s'est contentée de répondre que «c'est leur opinion». Elle assure n'avoir jamais envisagé cette option. Elle soutient avoir été victime «d'une grosse dose d'attaques personnelles», la semaine dernière, et elle estime qu'«avant d'attaquer, les gens devraient regarder eux-mêmes comment ils travaillent». Martine Ouellet reconnaît qu'elle «peut toujours s'améliorer» en ce qui concerne sa personnalité et son style de gestion. Toutefois, la chef considère que le processus qu'elle a mis en place est «beaucoup plus souple» que de son prédécesseur (Rhéal Fortin) et même «beaucoup, beaucoup plus souple» que du temps de l'ancien chef Gilles Duceppe. Au sujet du discours mettant constamment de l'avant la promotion de l'indépendance du Québec, Martine Ouellet insiste que c'est le mandat qui lui a été confié par les membres du parti. L'impasse perdure À la suite de la conférence de presse du bureau national et de la chef Martine Ouellet, les sept députés dissidents ont constaté que «l'impasse perdure». «Rien n'a changé depuis mercredi dernier. Nous nous rencontrerons dans les prochains jours de voir comment nous pourrons continuer à servir les Québécoises et les Québécois au meilleur de nos capacités», ont-ils réagi par voie de communiqué. Plus tôt samedi, le groupe des sept avait déclaré que si le Bureau national les excluait, il aurait «contribué à la mort du Bloc québécois». Dans une lettre ouverte publiée dans Le Journal de Montréal, ils ont accusé Martine Ouellet d'avoir «exigé leur soumission» depuis son arrivée à la tête du parti. Ils répètent que le leadership, les orientations et la vision de la chef, centrés uniquement sur l'indépendance, ne servent pas les intérêts du Québec. Ils rappellent que les décisions sur l'avenir du Québec se prendront à Québec et non à Ottawa, et qu'entre-temps, le Bloc québécois «a la responsabilité de protéger le Québec des effets néfastes du carcan fédéral». «Une chef qui utilise son premier conseil général pour s'en prendre à ses propres députés, est-ce que ça sert le Québec ? Une chef qui siège à Québec quand son parti est à Ottawa, est-ce que ça sert le Québec ?», ont-ils écrit. Mercredi, sept députés du Bloc québécois ont démissionné du parti. Les sept députés dissidents sont Michel Boudrias, Rhéal Fortin, Simon Marcil, Monique Pauzé, Louis Plamondon, Gabriel Ste-Marie et Luc Thériault. Ils reprochaient à Mme Ouellet son attitude intransigeante et sa vision dogmatique de la défense de la souveraineté. Ceux-ci souhaitaient plutôt défendre divers dossiers du Québec à Ottawa, dans le but de convaincre les Québécois du bien-fondé de la souveraineté. - Avec La Presse canadienne

By CCN.com: Bitcoin Cash ABC opened Wednesday in positive territory, rising more than 7.5% against the US Dollar on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. At 1130 GMT, the BCH/USD pair was trading at $129.83 according to aggregated data provided by CoinGecko.com. The total market cap, at the same time, was close to $2.282 billion, Bitcoin Cash’s best since January 15, 2019, while its 24-hour adjusted volume was above $256.244 million. In comparison, other top cryptocurrencies underperformed. While Bitcoin’s valued surged by a modest 2%, XRP and Ethereum also jumped 1.6% and 2.2% on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. Only EOS and Tron came closer to Bitcoin Cash concerning substantial gains. Both the blockchain assets appreciated more than 5% against the dollar. No Solid Fundamentals The Bitcoin Cash market could not provide any evidence that could support their impressive rally. Roger Ver, the man behind the Bitcoin Cash project, had recently announced that they would update their Bitcoin.com wallet. On January 21, peer-to-peer marketplace Bitquick had added BCH support to its platform. But the rally did not start anytime before January 22. On the contrary, Bitcoin Cash faced survival threats throughout the time since its hard fork in November 2018. Its closest ally Bitmain closed down global operations, fired 80% of its staff, and replaced its two CEOs in what it called an adjustment. Cobra, the co-owner of bitcoin.org and bitcointalk.org, said in a controversial tweet that Bitcoin Cash is dead. Bitcoin Cash is dead. Needs new leadership and direction/purpose otherwise it'll be worth $0 in a few years. — Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) January 18, 2019 The absence of solid fundamentals left technical indicators to do the explanation. As visible in the Coinbase chart above, the Bitcoin Cash surge took place merely around its current support area near $119.64. Similarly, an active resistance area to the upside capped the rally from maturing further – as it did in four different occasions since January 17. It explains that Bitcoin Cash – at best – must be consolidating within a strict trading channel while awaiting breakout. Analysts Watch According to Moon Overlord, a cryptocurrency trader with 38.8k followers on Twitter, Bitcoin Cash is breaking out of a sizeable descending trend line. $BCH seemingly breaking out here after a small bear trap / stop raid. pic.twitter.com/HZA5kxzw1F — moon is tweeting (@MoonOverlord) January 22, 2019 Nico, another Bitcoin Cash analyst, found the coin breaking out of a falling wedge pattern. Traditionally, such a move is bullish for assets. “MACD and RSI rising, Buy Signal from the UCTS at the 6h chart,” wrote Nico. “EMA50-100 & 200 between here and potential target at 0.04sats so pay attention for any pullback in the road.” Update on $BCH, Falling Wedge Breaking up (finally). MACD and RSI rising, Buy Signal from the UCTS at the 6h chart. EMA50-100 & 200 between here and potential target at 0.04sats so pay attention for any pullback in the road,#bchabc #BCH pic.twitter.com/QU9p4pwDht — Nico (@CryptoNTez) January 22, 2019 Click here for a real-time bitcoin cash price chart. Price Charts from TradingView.

Wenn das seltsame Brummen nicht wäre, wäre es in Steinhöring sehr idyllisch Anzeige Der alte Bauernhof von Ludwig Linner ist wunderschön gelegen, von der kleinen Anhöhe geht der Blick weit übers Land bis hin zu den Bergen. Zaißing, ein Ortsteil von Steinhöring in Oberbayern, 50 Kilometer östlich von München, besteht nur aus wenigen Häusern. Eigentlich Idylle pur. Wäre da nicht dieses seltsame Brummen. „Ich sag’ nix mehr dazu“, sagt Linner. Der 77-Jährige steht in der Tür seines Bauernhauses, hinter ihm seine Frau, rechts wacht „Gustl“, ein sehr großer Bernhardiner. Die Familie wird in ihrem Haus seit Längerem durch einen tiefen Ton geplagt. Die Ehefrau von Linner kann nachts oft nicht schlafen wegen dieses Brummens, sie wacht davon auf. Tagsüber wird er durch die Alltagsgeräusche übertönt, wenn etwa der Traktor über den Hof rumpelt. Auch die erwachsene Tochter fühlt sich durch die tiefen Frequenzen gestört. Rund 100 Steinhöringer leiden wie die Linners. Andere Dorfbewohner nehmen das Geräusch nicht wahr. Das führt nun zu Streit. Anwohner beklagen sich über seltsamen tiefen Ton Anzeige In der Metzgerei Fischer zum Beispiel brummt nur das Geschäft. 12,99 Euro kostet das Kilo Schwarzgeräuchertes, für 1,50 Euro gibt’s 100 Gramm hausgemachte Salami. Außer den Kunden lärmt nichts im Haus, meint die Chefin hinter der Ladentheke. Gut 150 Meter weiter sitzt Bürgermeister Alois Hofstetter (CSU) im Rathaus an seinem Schreibtisch und sagt: „Wir hoffen alle, dass die Ursache für dieses Brummen bald gefunden wird.“ Und dass dann endlich Ruhe herrsche in der oberbayerischen Gemeinde mit ihren knapp 4000 Einwohnern. Rund fünf Jahre ist es her, dass sich Anwohner über diesen seltsamen tiefen Ton beklagten, der sie nachts wach hält. Woher dieses Geräusch kommt, ist bis heute unbekannt. Ein Ingenieurbüro soll nun Messungen anstellen und endlich Klarheit schaffen; das Gutachten wird rund 90.000 Euro kosten. Davon sollen die vom Brummton Betroffenen 22.500 Euro aus eigener Tasche zahlen, das hat der Gemeinderat jüngst entschieden. Und damit für Zwist gesorgt. Dass da irgendwas nicht stimmt, daran besteht kein Zweifel. Das hat ein erstes Gutachten erbracht, welches die Gemeinde in Zusammenarbeit mit dem zuständigen Landratsamt im nahen Ebersberg erstellen ließ. Begonnen hatte alles 2010, als die ersten Beschwerden laut wurden. Da die Gemeinde mit ihren Möglichkeiten rasch an ihre Grenzen kam, wandte sie sich an den Landrat, der ein offenes Ohr für die Klagen der betroffenen Bürger hatte. In manchen Häusern brummt es und in anderen nicht Anzeige Man beauftragte ein Ingenieurbüro, Messungen durchzuführen. So rückten im Juni 2014 die Spezialisten mit ihren Instrumenten an und bauten in drei Wohnhäusern, darunter im Bauernhof von Ludwig Linner, ihre Geräte auf. Im Schlafzimmer wurden Luft- und Körperschallsensoren angebracht, die Messdaten mit dem achtkanaligen Messsystem „Swing“ erfasst. Im Herbst wurde dann erneut gemessen. Um dem Geräusch auf die Spur zu kommen, schalteten die Ingenieure nach und nach alle Stromquellen im Haus ab, darunter zwei Neonröhren über der Küchenzeile, die beiden Kühlschränke sowie ein Netzteil für Elektrogeräte. Doch auch bei abgeschalteter Haustechnik war „nach Einschätzung der Bewohnerin“ das Brummen weiterhin „subjektiv wahrnehmbar“, so das Gutachten des Ingenieurbüros. Das Fazit der Experten: „Es verbleiben Schwingungen und tieffrequente Geräusche, von denen das Gesamtanwesen Zaißing betroffen ist.“ Franz Neudecker ist beim Landratsamt Ebersberg zuständig für Emissionen; er hat mit einer Fragebogenaktion versucht, dem Brummen auf die Spur zu kommen. Die Betroffenen sollten über vier Wochen hinweg aufzeichnen, wann und wie intensiv sie das Brummen hören. „Doch“, so Neudecker, „wir haben kein Muster erkennen können.“ Anzeige Immerhin ist klar, dass die betroffenen Anwesen sich wie auf einer Perlenschnur aufgereiht quer durch das Gemeindegebiet ziehen und das Geräusch vor allem nachts wahrgenommen wird. Und dass es sich um Schwingungen im Boden handelt, die in den Gebäuden als tiefes Brummen wahrgenommen wird. Und dass es in manchen Häusern brummt und in anderen nicht, das könne auch von der Bausubstanz abhängen, ähnlich wie bei den Resonanzkörpern von Geigen, die auch unterschiedlich klingen. Zum Brummen kommt noch ein Grummeln Da die Ursache für das Brummen bisher unbekannt ist, wird mittlerweile schon spekuliert, ob es sich bei dem Geräusch womöglich um den „Ur-Ton“ handele, den die Erde bei ihrer Entstehung erzeugt habe und der in vielen Teilen der Welt auch heute noch zu hören sei. Der riesige Öltank gehört zum Tanklager des Mineralölkonzerns OMV. Die Ölpumpen, so glauben etliche Steinhöringer, sind die Ursache für das Brummen Quelle: Rudolf Stumberger Im Ort selbst hat man näherliegendere Quellen im Auge. So ist von der Zaißinger Anhöhe aus im Osten in knapp einem Kilometer Entfernung ein riesiger Öltank zu sehen. Er gehört zum Tanklager des Mineralölkonzerns OMV, und dort verläuft auch die Ölpipeline der Transalpinen Ölleitung GmbH (TAL). Seit fast 50 Jahren pumpt das Unternehmen den zähflüssigen Rohstoff vom italienischen Triest nach Karlsruhe. In beiden Unternehmen sind große Pumpen im Einsatz. Und diese Pumpen, so glauben etliche Steinhöringer, sind die Ursache für ihre Leiden. Doch sowohl OMV als auch TAL weisen das zurück, die beiden Unternehmen haben eigene Messungen durchgeführt und nichts gefunden. Jetzt warten alle auf die Ergebnisse der bevorstehenden Untersuchung. Landratsamt und Gemeinde sind bereit, für den größten Teil der entstehenden Kosten aufzukommen. Eine Verpflichtung der Behörden dazu besteht allerdings nicht, da kein Grenzwert überschritten wird. „Wir machen es, weil wir uns um die Bürger kümmern“, sagt Bürgermeister Hofstetter. Doch dass die Betroffenen einen Eigenanteil zahlen sollen, empört viele Brumm-Geschädigte. Sie finden, der Verursacher solle zahlen. Wegen dieses Zanks ist derzeit noch völlig offen, ob das neue Gutachten überhaupt erstellt wird. Klar ist nur, dass zum mysteriösen Brummen jetzt noch ein lokalpolitisches Grummeln kommt.

Your music. Your mix. Create. Discover. Jam out. Momixa builds custom playlists from two songs of your choice. Try different combinations to find your groove. Just pick two songs below and Momixa will use them to build a playlist just for you. Review the results and download it directly to your Spotify account (free or premium).

民進党の衆参両院の法務委員会所属議員は２１日昼、いわゆる「共謀罪」法案（組織犯罪処罰法改正案）が閣議決定されたのを受け、国会内で記者会見を開いた。衆院側は逢坂誠二筆頭理事、井出庸生理事、階猛、山尾志桜里両議員が、参院側は真山勇一筆頭理事、有田芳生議員（ネクスト法務大臣）が記者会見に臨んだ。 冒頭で有田ネクスト大臣は「私たちが『天下の悪法』として追及してきた共謀罪の法案が閣議決定され、新しい局面に入った」と述べ、今後の対応に関して報告する考えを語った。 逢坂議員は、今国会での提出法案について「テロ等準備罪、今までの共謀罪とはまったく違うもので一般の方は処罰の対象にならない」とする１月の菅官房長官の記者会見発言を受け、これまでの質疑で見えてきた問題点を、下記の通り列挙した。 菅官房長をはじめ政府の説明では「一般の人は処罰の対象にならない」とのことだが、審議ではこの点の根拠がまったく明らかになっていない。 これまでの共謀罪の法案とまったく違うという説明を政府は繰り返すが、閣議決定後の２１日の質疑でも「今日の段階では答えられない」との答弁が金田法務大臣から示された。 今回のいわゆる「共謀罪」が必要な理由、立法事実について政府は（１）ハイジャック（２）コンピュータウィルス（３）薬物――等の事案への対応が従来の法整備では不充分なためと説明することがあったが、それらは結局、立法事実とはなりえないことが質疑から明らかになった。しかも、閣議決定以後の本日段階でも、新たな立法事実があるかについて金田法務大臣は「今日の段階では答えられない」旨を答弁した。 立法事実として政府は東京オリンピック開催に向けてＴＯＣ条約締結のためにいわゆる共謀罪が必要だと説明するが、ＴＯＣ条約が求めるものは必ずしもテロ対策ではない。また、日本では重大な犯罪を中心に、未遂、予備（準備）、共謀（陰謀）を処罰する罪を定め、判例によって共謀共同正犯の処罰も認められているため、ＴＯＣ条約の担保法に関する立法ガイドに照らせば、条約の趣旨は十分に満たしていると考えられるので、現行の刑事法体系をもって、ＴＯＣ条約締結の手続きを進めるべき。 逢坂議員は「単に東京オリンピックに必要であるかのような発言をして、イメージ戦略をしていることについて、われわれはこれまで厳しく言ってきたが、これからも厳しく追及していく」と語った。 階議員は、法案ができていないことを理由に答弁を避けてきた金田大臣に対し、法案閣議決定を受け「一般市民が対象になるか」に関して「組織的犯罪集団」に該当するかどうかの判断基準を質問したと説明。これまでの質疑では「テロ組織、暴力団、薬物密売組織に限られる」とする答弁もあったが、本日の質疑を通じてはその答弁は例示にすぎなかったことが明らかになり、「組織的犯罪集団」の判定基準があいまいである点を階議員はあらためて問題視した。 また、「組織的犯罪集団に一般組織も該当しうる恐れ」について２月２日の段階で金田法務大臣は「犯罪行為を反復・継続していることが条件になる」旨を答弁していたが、その後の山尾議員の質問主意書への答弁書では「反復・継続」の条件はなくなり、また同日閣議決定された法文の文言でも「反復・継続」の文言は抜け落ちていた点を階議員は説明。「反復・継続性ということがなければ後付けで組織的犯罪集団を認定できるようになる。ある重大犯罪について共謀という事実があったということになった場合、その人たちがある会社の社員だったとき、共謀という事実をもってして、犯罪を目的とした集団だということで『組織的犯罪集団』ということで認定されかねない」との認識を示し、同日の委員会質疑で金田大臣もその指摘を否定しなかったと階議員は説明した。 逢坂誠二議員配布資料 階猛議員配布資料

Officials identify man shot and killed by police A video of Joseph Santos being shot was posted on Facebook. A man who was shot and killed by a police officer in Pennsylvania on Saturday has been identified as 44-year-old Joseph Santos. A video of Santos being shot while across the street from Dorney Park was posted on Facebook over the weekend. The video shows Santos, a resident of New Jersey, walking toward a police officer in an SUV, who orders him to get on the ground. He then appears to put his hands in the air. As Santos continues to move toward the officer, five gun shots are fired and Santos can be seen falling to the ground. Santos was declared dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital, according to authorities. An autopsy will be performed on his body on Tuesday, police said. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin told reporters that Santos was interfering with traffic and damaging cars, adding that the officer “unfortunately” had to use his weapon on Santos.

Don Scardino was born on February 17, 1949 in New York City, New York, USA as Donald Joseph Scardino. He is a director and producer, known for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), 30 Rock (2006) and 2 Broke Girls (2011). He has been married to Dana L. Williams since 1995. They have one child. He was previously married to Pamela Blair

jackson_hurley said: ) I talked about the slap scene for weeks! My money on a switch to Guts crew. Now the question is : one last episode on the sea with Elfhelm on the horizon at the end or more likely Elfhelm in the middle and a punch at the end? (That is if we have a switch to Guts) Either scenario, I'm just glad to have my favorite series back! Well this is an interesting news! And hopefully the monthly resuming will come. My girlfriend ain't excited though (still haven't succeed in converting her) I talked about the slap scene for weeks! My money on a switch to Guts crew. Now the question is : one last episode on the sea with Elfhelm on the horizon at the end or more likely Elfhelm in the middle and a punch at the end? (That is if we have a switch to Guts)Either scenario, I'm just glad to have my favorite series back! Click to expand... I've gone back and forth on it for a few months now, but I think it'll be focused on Guts' side of the story.While it would seem natural to ease into the Skellig sighting, I wonder what the major action would be for this coming episode. We've already had a kind of summary episode in 331, reviewing the current circumstances of each character, and alluding to the coming changes. So then for me, that leaves whatever getting close to Skellig will involve. Perhaps they'll start noticing strange things in the sea, sky, etc. leading to comments from Schierke, leading to the inevitable and long-awaited LAND HO. Miura has accomplished feats like that in a matter of pages though. So I wonder... (as always).But of course, let's not get too excited about that possibility if we get another Falconia episode insteadI've long been the guy trumpeting how interesting it would be to learn a little more about the circumstances behind the scenes at Falconia -- particularly about those guards who were found unconscious, and of course the aftermath of Rickert's slap on those closest to Griffith.

The Sony RX1 Digital Camera Review Part 1: 1st Thoughts, 1st Samples, Auto Focus, and JPEG’s Welcome to Part 1 of my Sony RX1 Real World Review. This will be the “Meat & Potatoes” of the review with the next installment (part 2) touching on performance aspects as well as the pros and cons of real world use. By the end of the final part in this review you will have all of the info you need as well as loads of samples from JPEG, RAW, crops, ISO tests, crop mode shots, full size samples as well as my thoughts on durability, lack of an EVF, cost, accesory reviews and much more. But any way you look at it this camera is special. It is REVOLUTIONARY instead of EVOLUTIONARY. I will go over it’s amazing abilities as well as areas where it fails. So hold on, sit back and enjoy part 1 which is going to cover the main aspects of the Sony RX1 with some JPEG samples and my thoughts on what Sony did right and did wrong with the design. Enjoy. Part 2 will be up in 1-2 weeks with full size RAW samples and more high ISO across the entire range from 50-25,600 and EVF/OVF thoughts and images. PART 2 of the review is HERE The whole shebang..the RX1 means business. What is the Sony RX1? It’s a natural-light image-taking motivating and surprisingly sweet MONSTER! Seriously though, for those that do not know what the Sony RX1 is, well, it is the 1st of its kind and no, Canon or Nikon did not pull it off, Sony did. To make a long story short it is a full frame 35mm sensor compact camera with a stellar FIXED 35mm Zeiss lens attached. This has its pros and cons but I like to find the pros for a fixed lens camera and with the RX1 there are loads of them. This camera has a pro build, pro feel and the performance is astonishing. About as good as it gets in 35mm. [ad#Adsense Blog Sq Embed Image] I will say this right now. Personally, I’d take an RX1 over a Nikon D4 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK (due to size and weight). Regardless of cost. Yea, the image quality is THAT good and the size..well the RX1 can fit in my coat pocket. I had a D4 here for a month and between the size and weight and large lenses I was let down. The RX1 is giving me better results and images than I got with the D4 only because the RX1 would go with me EVERYWHERE. I mean..EVERYWHERE. Please notice the key word in my statement “I’d” – as in ME. I would take an RX1 over a D4. I do not need an elaborate flash system, super wide angle lenses, 400mm telephoto lenses or the things a DSLR brings to the table. This is not what the Sony RX1 is all about. Instead, it is about portability and super high image quality that has almost no compromise when it comes to that image quality. Throw it in your coat pocket, small bag or purse and GO. This is a camera that no one else has dared make, probably to avoid hurting their DSLR sales. Sony who grew some big balls with the NEX-7 just grew them bigger with the RX-1. Waiting for a Home – Sony RX1 – f/2 – *from RAW* – click for larger Sony’s own words on the RX1: “Settling for nothing less than the best possible image quality, Sony aligned the bright 35mm Carl Zeiss lens and 35mm full frame image sensor with a precision beyond anything possible in interchangeable lens cameras. The performance of the lens, sensor and imaging engine were also fine tuned to perfectly complement each other to acheieve image quality never seen before in a compact user friendly camera”. What would a part 1 review be without the basic Specs of the RX1? Full Frame 24MP CMOS Sensor – and it is one hell of a sensor! JPEG, 14-bit RAW Image Capture – Nice. 35mm f/2.0 Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* Lens – Carl Zeiss. Nuff said. Xtra Fine 3″ LCD Display – Can see it in bright light as well. Full HD 1080p Video at 24 or 60fps High Speed AF – AF is fast but not blazing Dedicated Focus, Iris and Macro Rings – Love this feature Full Frame 24MP Bursts at up to 5fps Hot Shoe for External Flash, Viewfinder Auto HDR Protects Highlight and Shadow So while this all looks amazing on paper what is missing is the built in EVF..but more on that in a bit… The Sony RX-1 – JPEG – ISO 640 – f/2 – Intro: My 1st thoughts on the full production RX1 When Sony slipped me the information that they were releasing a full frame compact fixed lens camera with a Carl Zeiss 35 f/2 lens and they claimed it would have a sensor that would be any 35mm format camera on the market my very 1st thoughts were…disappointment. Like many of you I was secretly hoping for the full frame NEX camera knowing full well that if they did this they would need a whole new lens mount and lenses. The current NEX E mount lenses are NOT full frame lenses. They work much like the Nikon DX lenses do for the APS-C Nikon camera bodies, so yea, they would have needed all new lenses made for a full frame imaging sensor. I was also disappointed in the fact that this new groundbreaking full frame compact camera did NOT have a built in EVF of any kind. But as of today, after trying out the camera for a solid week a few weeks ago and now having a full on production sample in my hands for a while I have changed my thoughts a little bit. No longer am I upset that they did not release the rumored full frame NEX system camera. In fact, I am pleased that they didn’t do this. It would have been a big fat mess with lack of lenses just like we all went through with the 1st year and a half of the standard E mount lenses. There would have also been a question of lens quality. If there were a full frame NEX the lenses would have probably been in the $500 range and very good but not having a true “WOW” factor. Some would complain of lens softness, slow AF speed, soft corners, etc. The camera would have been bigger and thicker than a NEX-7 and it would have taken away what the whole NEX system is about. Size. So instead of going that route Sony decided to do what no other camera company has even come close to doing. That was to create the all new RX1 which is a compact, solidly built fixed lens full frame digital camera. So why is the RX1 so special and SO expensive? Coming in at $2799 for the camera without any accessories is sort of a bold move on Sony’s part..but then again, I think they knew what they had in this little guy that is hard for many of us to understand. Recently Sony released the amazing RX100, which I dubbed the best compact camera EVER. That little pocket rocket was a quite astonishing little teeny thing that pumped out superb image quality. You can read my review of that one HERE. When they emailed me last week saying “we are sending you a production and final RX1 for review” I was jumping for joy as this is a camera I was waiting for and had high hopes for. I was excited about reviewing this one just because I know what it is all about and it also MOTIVATES. Yea, it is one of those. A motivator. Much like Leica…the RX1 can motivate you to go out and shoot and even try things you would not normally try just due to the no compromise design and performance. My 1st thoughts when I opened the packaged RX1 was “Ahhhh..there she is..and she feels better than before..more solid“. The camera instantly excited and motivated me..much more so than the NEX5R and 6 that were laying besides it mainly because like I said, the RX1 is revolutionary while the NEX series is now all about “evolution” – more of the same with improvements here and there. The RX1 has the gorgeous full frame sensor which means no more compromising on Depth Of Field. No more having to spend $7000 on a Leica to achieve these results. No more having to lug a huge DSLR and lenses around to get the creaminess of a Zeiss 35mm f/2. We now have a choice and while we are limited to a 35 f/2 with the RX1, it is quite the versatile machine. My very 1st impressions out of the box were VERY positive but still, not having a built in EVF was bugging me a little. I mean, if it were included, even if it meant making the camera a little larger…it would have been a super grand slam hit. Without the built in EVF it is still a bonafide home run, and with the IQ that comes from this little magic box I can almost forgive the EVF issue, especially since Sony has a pretty damn amazing one available to add on to the camera (though at an extra cost). The Sony RX-1 – JPEG – ISO 6400 in VERY low light The RX1 Build…yea, it’s impressive. When I tried this camera for the week in California at the big Sony shindig I was thrilled with the cameras performance. After getting a full production model I am beyond thrilled. Sony has improved the feel somehow and I cant figure out what it is that they did. It feels even more solid and tank like though not heavy. It makes any Fuji X feel like a toy in comparison in the build department. For example, the Fuji X-Pro 1 is large and hollow feeling. The RX1 feels like it is machined from a brick of metal with pieces carved out for the controls. In other words, the build is about as good as you can get in a camera like this. It feels on par with Leica in the build department which is good because it seems Sony was on a mission with this camera. That mission? To deliver what the enthusiasts have been wanting and waiting for (well, almost)…a full frame no compromise image quality monster that also is made to withstand some daily abuse . Even the lens cap has a metal heft to it with screws in the back of it! In fact, I will put out a spoiler here right now..and it is a bold statement. Remember, I get to use every camera that is made if I desire. I have had all of the big guns in this house..Nikon D4, D800, Leica M9, Leica Monochrom, etc. You name it I have tried it. Even if you do not see reviews for some cameras on this site that does not mean I have not tried them. So what I am about to say is bold but here it goes…I have never had a 35mm format camera in my hands that...wait..why I am saying this now? No, I will wait 🙂 Back on track…. Sony may have left out a couple of things that I really wish were here but after using this camera more and more I realize how special it is and even if it does not have a built in EVF, I have never gotten results like this so easily with any other camera…ever. RX1 – JPEG – f/2 It’s all about results and creating YOUR vision Speaking of getting good results with ease. This comes when you do not have to fight a camera to get the results you envision in your head. Much like when you buy a new guitar..some cheap guitars play like garbage..and you have to fight the damn thing to get it to do what you want it to do. Premium guitars play with much more ease and can actually make you sound and play better. The Sony RX1 is sort of like this. It seems that no matter what light situation I was in, no matter what aperture I shot at, no matter what I snapped…it pumped out results I envisioned in my head. In other words, it was expressing what I wanted it to. For example, that Butterfly shot above? Exactly what I envisioned before taking the shot. The RX1 spit it out and said “Is that all you got”? Harsh light, low light, flat light..the dynamic range of this sensor continually pumped out pleasing to the eye results. I could not do a shot like the butterfly shot above with my Leica because it doesn’t focus as close. I could not get this shot with my Olympus OM-D because I did not have the right lens with me. The D-Lux 6 would have never rendered this scene with this kind of look. A Fuji X-Pro 1 would have been fighting with me to actually focus on what I wanted and by the time it finished the Butterfly would have been gone. With the RX1, the mix of high Dynamic Range, Crazy Detail and Beautiful Bokeh make this shot. This is one of those cases where the camera DID help the photographer. I snapped many shots of this with the Olympus OM-D and 60 Macro and even my Leica Monochrom with a 50 but none looked like the one from the RX1 which has a mix of beauty, magic and something special that makes for a “WOW” image. I can say the same for the “EYES” shot at the top of the page. The ability for this camera to focus as close as .2 meters makes it very useful. You can shoot close for some cool effects. Add this with the insane detail and sharpness of the sensor and you have a recipe for some magic. Keep in mind that EVERY single image in this part 1 review besides the very 1st one of the dog was shot as a JPEG which will lead me to this statement that I stand by 100%: I have never had a 35mm format camera in my hands that delivered such beautiful out of camera results. In other words, in my opinion…The Sony RX1 is the best JPEG camera I have ever shot with. Period. Sony RX1 – f/2 Sony RX1 JPEG output – The best JPEG camera EVER? I have to say that I have never seen JPEG output from a camera that is so rich, so sharp and so nice. At this point I have not even looked at any RAW files yet because the only software that supports it is from Sony, and the software sucks. I have downloaded it though and will be processing RAW files for part 2 of the review and I expect the RAW files to blow me away. With JPEGs this good the RAW files have to be phenomenal. So back to the JPEGS I am raving about…they are very hardy files themselves and I would not hesitate to shoot JPEG every day for my family shots and casual snaps. Let us take a look at a JPEG file from the RX1 and the possibilities. For this example I am using an image I shot in “High Contrast B&W Mode”. This will give you an idea of the sharpness, ISO capability, and Dynamic Range of an RX1 file, even with in camera processing applied to make this a deep black contrasty shot. It will also give you an idea of what to expect from this in camera filter. CLICK images for larger…The out of camera JPEG – contrasty, deep blacks..just as the mode implies. ISO 1600 – with some highlight recovery – and a crop from this ISO 1600 JPEG NOTE: The camera, even inside this very low light restaurant never failed to focus but did hunt a few times. It still locked and gave me sharp results from an OOC JPEG using an in camera B&W filter and has enough DR to pull out plenty of detail. I could have went farther but pulling out too much will cause an HDR effect, which I am not a fan of. In part 2 I will do this with a standard RAW file to see what we get but I am VERY impressed with the out of camera JPEG files. – The RX1 Auto Focus – PASS or FAIL? Happily, the Auto Focus speed has also been improved since I last used the RX1. Gone is the constant lens shifting and moving which Sony told me before was intentional to speed up AF. It was a concern of mine then because I felt it could drain the battery. The good news is that this is gone and the lens is still and silent and no longer shifts and moves trying to focus even when you are not using it. It seems Sony tweaked the firmware and the camera now focuses even faster than it did during that trial week with the camera. If I had to guess I would say it is on par with the NEX-6, NEX-5R and almost OM-D. Once the light gets low though the AF does indeed hunt. But I am talking low light…no contrast light. But have no fear there either..the manual focus implementation is good. Very good. It easily beats the Fuji X line with manual focus. I only use center point focus and that is how I shoot ALL cameras. I do not think that the Sony would be a good camera for tracking fast action but for 90% of photography it seems to work well. This camera would make a GREAT street camera, even using manual focus. You can set your distance (roughly) on the LCD and fire away. Setting the ISO high, black and white..could be interesting. – ISO 8000 – ISO 25,600 The lens on the camera has the aperture dial and a focus dial. The Aperture dial is nice and firm and the clicks come in with Authority and they stay locked in. It feels like a high quality lens should feel. The focus ring is also smooth and buttery. If you have focus assist turned on in the camera then you will get an exploded view of your scene for easy manual focus and this is when you can use focus peaking as well if you desire. Video showing the size of the RX1 with a quick AF speed sample – FOCUS PEAKING..yes it is here but only when using manual focus assistance (magnification) For some reason you can only use Focus Peaking when you use Manual Focus Assist. Not sure why this is but if you turn on focus peaking and set the front dial to MF (Manual Focus) the camera will not “PEAK”. You also have to turn on the manual focus assist for this to work which means you will have an expanded exploded view when using manual focus. This also works and ensures you nail the focus. I have tested it and found it to work just fine but wish that Sony would have added peaking in the normal framing view as well. So Auto Focus Speed? Very Good but could be faster in super low light. Manual Focus? Easy and implemented nicely – smooth focus ring. One other thing I noticed is that shooting the RX1 has not given me any false positives..meaning when the camera has locked, it is really in focus. I used to have issues with the NEX-7 in particular where it would say it is in focus but it really was not. So far the hit rate with the RX1 is 100% in regards to accuracy. I will report if that changes as I use the camera more and more. RX1 – JPEG – f/2 – The 35mm f/2 Zeiss – THIS one has that Zeiss Character, and I love it! When Sony released the Zeiss 24 1.8 for the NEX system I applauded this choice because it gives a 35mm equivalent with a quality lens and aperture. BUT when I shot with it I did not get that “Zeiss” feeling like I do when I shoot Zeiss ZM lenses on my Leica M. The RX1 Zeiss 35 f/2 DOES give me that Zeiss pop and color I expect from a great Zeiss lens. I was thrilled when I saw the color, the details and the 3D pop from the lens and sensor combo. It seems the colors coming out of the RX1 are very Zeiss like instead of very Sony like. This is a good thing. The lens protrudes a bit from the body but what many may not know is that the lens is actually almost all the way INSIDE of the RX1 body as well. This is one more thing that makes the camera special and give such amazing performance. The Sensor is matched to the Lens perfectly and therefore will give amazing results every single time. No guessing if the lens is soft, has soft corners or has issues. The RX1 gets it right every time, every snap every press of that shutter button. You never have to worry which lens to bring or if that lens will give you what you need. QUICK LENS TIP: When you get the RX1 be sure to go into the settings and turn ON the Lens Distortion Correction. For some odd reason it is shipped with it set to off and with it set to off you will get some barrel distortion. Turn it on and all out of camera JPEGS will be corrected. When shooting one camera/one lens you grow as a photographer. You learn to see in that focal length and it is a good thing. Also, do not let anyone tell you that a 35mm focal length is no good for portraits or people because it certainly can be. Maybe not head shots but full length works out just fine. The Zeiss 35 f/2, just going by the JPEGs for now, is incredibly sharp but at the same time very creamy and smooth. It is NEVER harsh of rough and the bokeh, in my opinion, is about as good as it can be from a lens like this. I have NO COMPLAINTS at all from the lens. If I had to say something negative about it then I could say..well, it makes the camera larger, but then again, this camera is TINY when you think about what it can do! It’s the same size as a OM-D, slight larger than a Leica D-Lux 6 yet it has one of the best full frame, if not the best full frame sensor currently made. So the lens is actually not large at all. Also, as stated in my “lens tip” above, this lens does have some distortion so it is VITAL that if shooting JPEG that you turn on the Distortion Correction in the menu. If you do not (and for some reason the default is OFF, which is crazy) then you will get some barrel distortion that is noticeable. All of the images posted here were shot with it ON. Bottom line? This is a great lens for this camera and Sony knew what they were doing when they matched it up. I have no doubt that doing this (matched built in lens to the body/sensor) is what makes the IQ so good. Yes, the image quality is superb and the build of the lens is solid with the aperture clicks and focus feel and the image quality is ALL ZEISS. Color, POP, Detail and Feel. Usability Factor. Can the RX1 deliver in this oh so important area? This is huge because as good as a camera is in delivering the IQ it doesn’t mean squat if it is a pain to use. I spoke earlier about not having to fight with a camera to get great results. Some cameras do just that…they fight with you. They have slow twitchy focus, rattly lenses or they mis focus when the camera tells you it has locked. These cameras usually feel like prototypes and I have come across quite a few cameras like this in the last 10 years. The Sony RX1, so far, seems pretty polished. From it’s build and speed to it’s usability. If it had a built in EVF it would be better and more joyful to use for sure. As it is, I found the external EVF to be pretty fantastic. It makes the camera larger and taller but it is an exceptional quality electronic viewfinder. The user interface and menus are also easy to use and once your camera is set up you can have direct access one button press to any feature you like. Aperture is controlled on the lens and shutter speed is controlled by a dial on the back. Any button on the camera can be customized to perform whatever task you like so for this reason I can say the camera, once set up to your liking, will be a joy to use. The LCD on the back is huge, crisp and clear. It also is viewable in daylight so it is not like you can not see what you are doing. Yes you can frame your shot though you will look like an amateur with a sexy point and shoot. Again, an EVF built in would have been amazing and I know many who are skipping this camera just because of this missing feature. It is a shame because the RX1 is one hell of a camera and without a doubt would have had many more buyers with a built in EVF. BUT, even how it is right now, without a built in EVF…for ME: it is my #1 pick for camera of the year 2012. Yes, my #1 pick for Camera of the Year for 2012. The RX1 is easy to use. It is quick and delivers stunning photographs. It is a camera that will not fight you and it will deliver results better than you expect. It will allow you to be creative and deliver on what you envision. Would it be better with the built in EVF? YES YES YES but for me it is not a deal breaker without one because the external ROCKS and works well. This is a world’s 1st to have a full frame 35mm sensor in such a compact body but it is more than that really..the camera as a whole was made to deliver a no compromise experience. The sensor and lens combo are perfectly matched. “Weekend Rider” – RX1 – JPEG – f/5.6 – 1/160s By request: The Sony RX1 vs Leica Monochrom and 35 Summilux FLE Many have asked me to do a shootout between the Leica Monochrom and Sony RX1. It is not really a “Crazy” comparison but actually a very valid one. Full frame vs Full frame. How can the Sony RX1 do with an OOC B&W vs the Leica MM which is specially made to do just that? Again, these are JPEG files (RAW’s will be coming in a future installment). The Sony comes in at 24 Megapixels with the latest sensor tech. The Monochrom is 18 Megapixels using the same sensor as the M9 with the color filters removed. I can already state one thing, that at F/2 on each camera the Mono/LUX combo is sharper out of the camera as long as you nail focus. Take a look at the quick comparison shot below: Click image for larger and full 100% crop. The 1st shot is the $2799 RX1 at f/2. Straight from camera JPEG with crop embedded. – Below is the $13,000 combo from Leica, again, direct from camera JPEG. So there ya go. Can the RX1 compete with the $13,000 combo from Leica? Sure, but you do lose out on the whole rangefinder experience while doing so and still, in this JPEG test the Leica is indeed sharper. With an over $10,000 difference between the two setups one has to ask themselves if they are really that much into the Leica experience. Some of you are indeed, and what can I say..I own the Monochrom as well and love it to pieces and I feel a rangefinder is just my kind of camera to shoot with. But being honest 100%, the RX1 is a giant killer..literally. It can compete and win against camera like the Nikon D800, Canon 5DIII, and even Sony’s A99 at a lower cost and without the need to worry about lens expense and choice, lens problems, focus issues, etc. It’s simplicity is its biggest plus. It just works. Bokehlicious… Just as it says above. Many enthusiasts love to see what a lens can do in regards to Bokeh..well, the 35 Zeiss on this Sony is pretty nice IMO. Below are a few samples at f/2 to show Bokeh qualities. Again, click them for larger views. What I see is a molten creamy melting dreamy Zeiss signature all the way. Be sure to click the images for larger!! The CROP Mode..what is it and what can it do for you? The Sony RX1 has a unique feature. Since the lens is a fixed (but gorgeous) 35mm f/2 many are saying “if it only had a 50”! Well, Sony has sort of made an odd but cool feature that will allow you to crop to 50mm or 75mm in camera. With a press of the “C” button on top (which is totally programmable to whatever you want it to be) I can go from 35mm view to 50mm view to 75mm view. Now, there are some major drawbacks to using this mode. 1st of all, you can only use this feature when in JPEG only mode and 2nd, you lose resolution and image size. The full frame 35mm file size is 6000X4000. In 50mm crop the image size is 3936X2624 and in 75mm crop the size is 2640X1760. Sony also had the RX1 apply some trickery to the files in the crop mode so you do not lose IQ or sharpness. To get an idea of what each mode looks like from the same position you can see the three images below, all of which were shot at ISO 1600 indoor. Basically it is like taking the image and cropping it but the RX1 can do this in camera with the press of a button. – Wrapping up Part 1 and what is to come in Part 2 – HIGH ISO TEST, RAW CONVERSIONS, FULL SIZE SAMPLES, HD VIDEO, ACCESSORIES, FLASH and more! So I will wrap this up because it is getting a little long for a part one review! Almost 5600 words and I still have to talk about high ISO, full size samples, RAW, HD video, lack of EVF and if it hurts the usability at all, accessories such as the EVF and OVF (which I have on the way) and all of the other good stuff like pros and cons, etc! So I hope you enjoyed part 1 and my thoughts on the camera from my limited use. There will be MUCH more to come on the RX1 and part two should be posted in 1-2 weeks. It is an exiting camera and so far so good. UPDATE: New street shots in high ISO B&W – all OOC JPEG So just some of what will be in PART 2: Using the camera with and without AN EVF Full ISO samples – low (50) to high (25,600) Comparisons HD Video Quality and Samples RAW Files and Detail, Lens Sharpness, etc Pros and Cons Bottom Line Conclusion The Sony RX1 EVF, available for order separately at Amazon WHERE TO BUY the RX1 and Accessories Those who pre-ordered the RX1 should be getting them in the next 2 weeks or so. If you have not yet pre-ordered I am guessing Sony will have many of them at launch but it is indeed selling very well so you never know. You can pre-order/order the RX1 at Amazon HERE or B&H Photo HERE if this is something that floats your boat. You can now pre-order the Electronic ViewFinder at Amazon HERE. The Optical Viewfinder is HERE. The RX1 magic lies in the fact that it is small, solid, hassle free and creates images that you expect it to. No muss no fuss. No messing or 2nd guessing with lenses, No worries and results you can count on. Add in that special Zeiss magic and the RX1 gives images that will soon be known having as “That RX1 Look”. Thanks to all for reading! PART 2 of the review is HERE Steve HELP ME TO KEEP THIS SITE GOING AND GROWING!! IT’S EASY TO HELP OUT & I CAN USE ALL THE HELP I CAN GET! PLEASE Remember, anytime you follow my links here and buy from B&H or AMAZON, this helps to keep my site going. If it was not for these links, there would be no way to fund this site (and the cost these days to keep it going is pretty damn high), so I thank you in advance if you visit these links. I thank you more if you make a purchase! I have nifty search bars at the upper right of each page so you easily search for something at either store! I currently spend 10-14 hours a day working on this site and the only way that I can pay for it is with your help, so thank you! Currently my traffic has been increasing but my funds to pay for the site has been decreasing, so any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Even if you buy baby food, napkins or toothpicks at Amazon it helps this site, and you do not pay anything extra by using the links here. Again, you pay nothing extra by using my links, it is just a way to help support this site, so again, I thank you in advance More info is here on how you can help even if you are NOT in the USA as I have Amazon links to Germany, United Kingdom and Canada as well! If you enjoyed this article/review, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page and also be sure to join me on twitter, my facebook fan page and now GOOGLE +! Also, you can subscribe to my feed at my subscribe page HERE and read these posts in your browser or news reader!

Luxury Rideau Canal Boat Cruises Launches In Ontario We were so excited to hear news that a new luxury canal cruising experience is coming to Canada. This is something that I absolutely loved doing in Europe. I never thought I’d see the day when Le Boat launched here in Canada! The Rideau Canal offers cruisers a unique way to see Ontario at their own pace. There’s so much to see and do along the way, especially for those who love to cook and eat because the farms out here are incredible. The cruise starts from smith falls and offers two different routes to choose from – 74km up to Long Island or take the 91km route down to Kingston for a perfect finish. The canal journey offers a whole host of activities and experiences including fishing, bike rides and picnics away from the crowds. You’ll explore 24 Lockstations and 47 Locks along the Rideau throughout your journey. Frankly, we cannot wait to try this out ourselves! Le Boat will be bringing their Horizon Cruisers out for the journey and they’re the perfect vessels for the job. They sleep up to 9 ensuring the trip can be family friendly and great for small groups that just want to getaway in style. The bow cabins are roomy and comfortable with ensuite bathrooms, USB plugins and great beds. There are also two other rooms perfect for the kids or non-couples. The upstairs saloon and kitchen area is really well laid out with plenty of room and incredible views afforded by the large windows. Last but not least, the top sun-deck is where you’ll likely spend a lot of time soaking in the sun and views. Photo Credit: Le Boat May 19th marked the launch of the Le Boat tours on the Rideau Canal and we want to send you on an adventure with them. Come give us a call or visit the Le Boat website and talk with their team if you’re interested in this canal experience. We’re wishing them incredible success in the coming travel season and we hope people reading this consider adding this to their summer travel list. We also wanted to point out their brochure which gives you all a bit more detail about the overall trip.

What the ever fun-so-loving HELL, New York Times?! So Michael Kinsley via The New York Times would like readers to email him some GOOD things Donald Trump. And Kinsley points out that this is "not another forum for debating the issues. It is a place to point out positive things Mr. Trump has said or done from the viewpoint of The New York Times and its readers." What a way for the Paper of Record to normalize this so-called president who is taking away health insurance from 24 million people and holding a bad beer bash to celebrate it. Also playing around with the idea of nuclear war with North Korea. Also being Donald Trump. Paste Magazine: "..how will NYT readers ever know about Trump the family man, or Trump the four-dimensional chess player who constantly wins every political battle?" Jezebel: It would be very hard for him to get all of us killed. And if he did, that might be for the best. Has the @nytimes been taken over by pod people? They're launching a "Say something nice about Trump" column. Disgraceful & embarrassing. — Chris Dashiell (@cdashiell) May 9, 2017 #saysomethingnice Even Trump knew better than to hire Bret Stephens @nytimes — 🦏 (@jaytay777) May 9, 2017 Can you do better? Let us know in comments.

Last week, 50 prominent Republican national security leaders penned a letter warning that Donald Trump lacks the character and judgment to be president. Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort dismissed their dire warning, accusing members of the group of having ties to the scandal-ridden Clinton Foundation during a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on Sunday. “A lot of them have connections to the Clinton Foundation and have gotten contracts over the last several years to do work for the Clinton Foundation or some of its subsidiaries,” Manafort said. “So it is far from an objective group; it is far from a Republican group; and it is part of the establishment that Donald Trump is running against.” The Clinton Foundation was in the news last week after a new crop of Hillary Clinton emails suggested some of the "charity's" donors were seeking favors from the State Department while Clinton was serving as secretary of state. Manafort has plenty of other targets, however. In addition to the 50 national security officials who voiced their opposition to Trump, over 70 Republicans asked the Republican National Committee last week to stop funding Trump's campaign. The loyal campaign manager has also critiqued the media for being obsessed with everything Trump says when they should be more interested in Clinton's many scandals.

William Swartz / Getty Images If having work-life balance is important to you, then don’t become a doctor. That was Dr. Karen Sibert’s advice to students considering careers in medicine, in a controversial New York Times op-ed last summer. “You can’t have it all,” Sibert wrote, exhorting students — women mostly — to remember that “medical education is a privilege, not an entitlement, and it confers a real moral obligation to serve.” If you want to work and be a mother, then you can find a job in journalism or professional cooking or law. But “if you want to be a doctor, be a doctor,” wrote Sibert, an anesthesiologist, concluding: “Patients need doctors to take care of them. Medicine shouldn’t be a part-time interest to be set aside if it becomes inconvenient; it deserves to be a life’s work.” Sibert’s piece likely sparked countless conversations — and moments of doubt — at medical schools around the country. Ours was no exception. In the wake of Sibert’s column, Gina Siddiqui, a medical student at University of Pennsylvania, where I teach, and I launched our own conversation about being a doctor-in-training and how doctors ultimately fit into the future of health care in the U.S. We recruited other students to participate, including second-years Alexandra Charrow, Derek Mazique and Ofole Mgbako. What follows are excerpts of that roundtable conversation. Driving the debate was the question of whether being a doctor is in some way exceptional, more important to society than any other profession. I started the ball rolling thusly: “What do you guys think is your duty to society, and how do you feel it is different from that of your peers going into other fields? Should all doctors have to work full-time?” The students’ responses: Alexandra Charrow: Implicit in what you’re asking is the question of whether doctors are “special,” so special that we should be required to work additional hours and so integral to society that we have additional duties. For the 60 or so years that physicians have been able to actually cure people there has been an increasing fetishization of the field. Numerous TV shows and movies romanticize the occupation, feeding into a belief that medicine is the grandest and noblest of professions. Medicine is not the only profession with the power and duty to save lives — air traffic controllers save lives every day. Yet how many shows are there about air traffic controllers? We are not alone in our unwavering responsibility, our duties, and our power. Derek Mazique: The complexity of medicine, the physician shortage, and the rise of managed care almost guarantee that physicians are no longer the only decision-makers in the room. So now, I think physicians are decidedly “less special.” Are they skilled and necessary for the average consumer? Yes, but so is their accountant. Ofole Mgbako: Through my experiences with people living with HIV, I realized that the way people readily share the most intimate details of their lives and entrust their bodies with physicians is unlike any other profession. Each interaction with a patient is based on an unspoken covenant, a belief that the doctor not only will do no harm, but also will try to relieve suffering. I believe this basic, universal interaction between patient and physician engenders a greater responsibility on the part of physicians. It is difficult to speak to how much this dynamic sets us apart from the teachers, the lawyers, the scientists, the politicians. However, this dynamic does set us apart to some degree. Regardless of how much more “exceptional” doctors may be — indeed, Sibert’s original argument was that doctors not only play a special role in society, but also that there are necessarily too few of them to justify any of us choosing to be a part-time doctor — our student moderator, Gina Siddiqui, concluded that forcing physicians to work longer isn’t necessarily the right answer. “I don’t know if it’s feeling special or a strong sense of duty or what, but on balance, I think most doctors will choose to work more, and coercing more hours out of those that don’t is unlikely to do much good for patients,” Siddiqui says. “For the record, I think everyone should think his or her job is special, just like every mom should think her kid is special.” Given the students’ debate, I wondered further whether their views on the exceptionalism of doctors — and on the importance of work-life balance — were affecting their choice of specialty, particularly in light of the deepening primary care physician shortage. I asked them: “Do salary and lifestyle play a role?” Their responses: D.M.: Both my parents are in primary care, and seeing them practice has been a powerful example of how the field has changed. Perhaps most telling for me is how the current primary care situation is a perfect storm of low reimbursement and doctor burnout. Both of my parents have had to increase the number of patients they see — for my mother who is in private practice, that’s the only way she can keep the lights on. I didn’t go into medicine in order to emerge as a strictly lifestyle physician … but I did go into medicine expecting to forge meaningful relationships with my patients and to perform my intellectual craft to the utmost. Primary care in its current iteration makes these goals seem even more difficult. Of course, money is a factor, but these expectations of a personally fulfilling medical career also steer my decision-making process. A.C.: Personally, I recognize the pressure and fear … that either my family values or career choices will have to change. I often meet physicians who tell me it’s possible to have both a family and a career, but for the most part, they are men with wives who have made the tough decision to work part-time for them. The women I have met have painted a more pragmatic picture — you can have what you want, just not all of it. D.M.: All of us have been fixated on the profession, the role of lifestyle when picking a specialty, and our own particular experiences as medical students. But at the end of the day, our concern for the patient should be paramount, and it’s also worth exploring the effects that these choices will have on them. If a surgeon spends less time in the operating room, will he or she show a greater error rate and will more patients be harmed? If doctors work shorter shifts and hand off patients more, will discontinuity of care lead to a spike in adverse drug events and complications? A.C.: This reminds me of the arguments hashed out concerning reduced residency work hours. Certainly there are many who still claim an 80-hour max workweek has reduced quality of care. However, others would argue that extra sleep, spending time with family, and eating regularly make up for reduced hours. I imagine that at some number of hours of experience, the quality of care reaches a plateau. With people working well into their 60s, 70s, and 80s, perhaps it is better to allow physicians to slow the rate at which they accumulate expertise in order to make their lifelong commitments to their specialty more sustainable. If doctors are able to fulfill other life obligations early in their career, they might be willing to stay in the profession longer, allowing society many years to benefit from a skilled physician’s services. O.M.: What’s interesting to me is the tension between being a balanced, content physician who explores his or her interests outside of medicine and being an extremely driven workaholic who gives up family time and other hobbies in order to be engrossed by work. Thus, in addition to the monetary concerns Derek brought up, I think more medical students will be drawn to specialties that allow them the flexibility to explore other aspects of themselves in addition to medicine: in addition to [being] future doctors, my peers are journalists, writers, musicians, entrepreneurs and engineers. As a teacher of medicine, I was inspired and not a little bit relieved that the students in our program had given so much thought to their training and the way their own values were shaping their decisions as up-and-coming physicians. But the question remained, How does the role of the individual doctor fit into the greater context of American health? Our student moderator concluded with another shrewd observation about the state of our country’s health: that our well-being is bound largely to our environment, and not only to the quality or quantity of the health care we receive. “Looking back on our discussion, I am struck by how the increasing sophistication of medicine hasn’t made a single one of us feel a greater sense of control over health outcomes,” Siddiqui says. “The more we learn about the causes of disease, the more interrelated we realize our work is with farmers, urban planners and school counselors. In this environment, our aspirations to heal are bound less to our office hours and more to the communities we cannot afford to be strangers to.” I am not surprised that the students pushed back against Sibert’s essay. This discussion could have easily become about self-determination and the right to determine the shape of one’s own career. But, instead, these students challenged Sibert by using humility and introspection — which bodes well for their future patients. Dr. Meisel is a practicing emergency physician and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is medical editor of the LDI Health Economist from the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Follow him on Twitter at @zacharymeisel.

An inspiration A colleague of mine, who happens to be my ̶b̶o̶s̶s̶ ̶ leader wrote a really cool compiler. It’s not a cool CRUD app or complicated animation. IT’S A COMPILER. Used in the production environment. And it’s not backed up by a community or a big company. I think that’s pretty cool…I would like to code cool stuff...So I decided I’m going to write a compiler! So I did…because I could do following Learn more about the magic of compilers Learn something else than a new JavaScript framework Achieve one of my goals. Code something different. Understand the codebase more in-depth How? Foundation of my compiler is built on top of Irony. It’s a .NET Language Implementation Kit. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of info or tutorials online. Even with the little amount of online documentation, I was able to define language grammar, so I can parse the input. I’m using Irony’s NonTerminal and Terminal classes to define my markdown. Grammar Now it’s time to define Grammar rules. Grammar is defined using Backus-Naur form. Irony overloads C# operators and makes it really easy to define grammar. It’s so easy to read. Let’s dive in. Bold text has to start with a star * followed by a Text ending with a star *. Text can be StyledText or PlainText. But StyledText can Bold, Italics or U͟n͟d͟e͟r͟s͟c͟o͟r͟e͟. Do you see the little hack? Now Bold text can also be underscore and italics! Same thing with Header. Underscore header? No problem, since it fits our grammar rules. It’s not THAT complicated. If you notice the definition of NonTerminals and Terminals you will see the second parameter is a type of Ast node. This way I could map my parse tree to AST. It was really a pain to achieve this. I searched StackOverflow, second page of google results…no luck. My solution might not be the best in the world but it works. It’s a function which creates an instance of the type you provide it with. It’s much easier to work with AST than parse tree :) That’s why you do it. From Abstract Syntax Tree to HTML Grammar is defined, AST looks good. Now I had to do a thing which I’ve been successfully avoiding for like 5 years. I had to learn the visitor pattern. It makes much more sense now, than in a university few years ago. Accurate description of visitor pattern This is how Irony accepts Visitor when traversing the tree. And this is how I wrote my HTML visitor. Before you visit a node write you tag, after that he will visit every child. When you encounter PlainTextAst, output the text we parsed And now just visit the root Voilà! From this #"H1 Heading" #_"H1 undescore heading"_ ##"H2 Heading" *"This is bold text"* "and this is regular text" "Following three items should be in a list, this is plaintext" - "Plaintext list item" - *"Bold List item"* - _*"Underscore bold list item"*_ - _"Underscore list item"_ #"This is heading again" To this <div> <h1>H1 Heading</h1> <h1> <u>H1 undescore heading</u> </h1> <h2>H2 Heading</h2> <b>This is bold text</b> <p>and this is regular text</p> <p>Following three items should be in a list, this is plaintext</p> <ul> <li>Plaintext list item</li> <li> <b>Bold List item</b> </li> <li> <u> <b>Underscore bold list item</b> </u> </li> <li> <u>Underscore list item</u> </li> </ul> <h1>This is heading again</h1> </div> It works! Conclusion I wanted to write a compiler from my markdown to HTML. I picked up great available tools to achieve it and did it. You don’t have to start in assembly to write your own parser, compiler, language, operating system… Try it. Do it. Solve it.

In the past, the Sun was surrounded by many myths and legends. The Greeks believed that the Sun was carried by a golden chariot driven by the god Helios. Some civilizations believed that lunar eclipses occurred when the sun was being eaten by a dragon, while others believed they occurred when the sun and moon were fighting and the sun had been knocked out. With modern astronomy, we can now solve many of the mysteries surrounding the sun. A (Safe) Look At The Sun The Sun by the Numbers Average Distance from Earth: 1 AU (1.495979 X 10^8 km) 1 AU (1.495979 X 10^8 km) Average Angular Diameter: 0.53 degrees (32 minutes of arc) 0.53 degrees (32 minutes of arc) Period of rotation: Varies by latitude. 25.38 days at equator. Varies by latitude. 25.38 days at equator. Apparent visual magnitude: -26.74 -26.74 Absolute magnitude: 4.83 4.83 Spectral type: G2 V G2 V Central temperature: 15 X 10^6 K 15 X 10^6 K Surface temperature: 5800 K 5800 K Luminosity: 3.826 X 10^26 J/s 3.826 X 10^26 J/s Escape velocity at surface: 617.7 km/s 617.7 km/s Average density: 1.409 grams per cubic centimeter 1.409 grams per cubic centimeter Mass: 1.989 X 10^30 kg 1.989 X 10^30 kg Radius: 6.9599 X 10^5 km Formation Of Our Sun The Sun formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas known as the solar nebula. This nebula was spinning rapidly and flattened into a disk. Through a gradual process fueled by gravity, the dust and gas began to gather into clumps. The largest clump at the center of the future solar system received 99.8% of the material in the nebula and, when it became heavy and dense enough, the pressure triggered nuclear reactions in the core. This large ball of gas became our sun. The Sun’s Place in the Cosmos For a long time, humans believed that Earth was the center of the cosmos and the Sun, Moon, stars and planets were held in spheres that revolved around it. Astronomers worked out equations to predict the positions of celestial objects, but they proved inaccurate over long periods of time. In the 16th century, Copernicus introduced a revolutionary new model in which the Sun, not Earth, was the center of the universe. The new model was inaccurate, with perfectly circular orbits, but helped explain why planets sometimes appeared to reverse course in the sky. Like many controversial new ideas, this one took time to be widely accepted. While studying Mars, an astronomer named Johannes Kepler realized that Copernicus’ model, while an improvement, didn’t quite fit with Mars’ motion across the sky. He helped make the model more accurate when he introduced the concept that the planets’ orbits were elliptical. Within a century of Copernicus’ introduction of his original model, the idea that the sun is the center of the solar system came to be widely accepted by the scientific community. As telescopes improved and astronomers made new discoveries, the sun was pushed from the center of the cosmos. It is located about 26,000 light years from the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, in the Orion arm. Sunspots Galileo Galilei was the first to record observations of dark blotches on the sun. The idea that the sun didn’t have a perfectly uniform surface was nearly as controversial as the idea that it was the center of the solar system and many of his associates refused to look through his telescope in the fear that they might be fooled. These blotches came to be called “sunspots.” These sunspots are darker, cooler places on the sun caused by its magnetic field. They typically come in pairs in places where the magnetic field protrude from its surface. “Cooler” is, of course, relative. Sunspots have a temperature of 4240 K and emit enough radiation to outshine a full moon. The number of sunspots rise and fall in a cycle lasting about 11 years. The maximum and minimum number of sunspots can vary from cycle to cycle. One historic low is known as the Maunder minimum, a period of 1645 to 1715 when very few sunspots were observed. This minimum coincides with the “Little Ice Age,” a period of unusually cool weather lasting from 1500 to 1850. Ongoing observations suggest a link between solar activity, sun spots and climate on Earth. The Solar Constant The Solar Constant is a measurement of the amount of solar energy that falls on one square meter of Earth’s surface every second. Astronomers correct for absorption of certain wavelengths by the atmosphere and count all wavelengths from X-rays to radio waves. The solar constant can vary and large variations over long periods of time can lead to changes in Earth’s climate. Solar Flares Solar astronomer Richard Carrington was the first to observe a solar flare on September 1, 1859. He was recording sunspots when two bright flares of light in the middle of the group of sunspots suddenly appeared on his screen. He called for a friend, but they faded quickly. Solar flares are eruptions of magnetic energy that have built up in the solar atmosphere. They emit energy through the entire electromagnetic spectrum. An average flare emits 10^27 ergs per second. A large flare can emit up to 10^32 ergs. By comparison, one Calorie is equal to 4.2 X 10^10 ergs. Flares extend out into the Corona and can heat the gas to between 10 million Kelvin and 100 million Kelvin, depending on the size of the flare. A solar flare has three stages. The first stage is known as the precursor stage, in which the magnetic energy is triggered. This can be detected in the soft X-ray range, as in the picture above. The second stage is known as the impulsive stage. Protons and electrons are accelerated to 1 million electric volts, or 1 MeV. The flare emits hard X-rays, radio waves and gamma rays. During the third stage, known as the decay stage, the flare is dying off and soft x-rays are again detected as they build up and decay. Each stage can last for as little as a few seconds or as long as an hour. NASA’s Orbiting Solar Observatory recently discovered evidence of a fourth “aftershock” phase called the Late Phase Flare that may be be more powerful than the initial flare by a factor of four. Like sunspots, the frequency of solar flares occurs on an 11-year cycle. Special equipment is required to observe a solar flare. They can damage electronics in Earth orbit and on the ground, but only if they are aimed in our direction. Nuclear Fusion in the Sun The sun’s power is produced by nuclear fusion at its core. The gas in the core is made up of ionized hydrogen and helium atoms and electrons that are not attached to atomic nuclei. In all atoms, the nuclei are made up of protons and, sometimes, neutrons bound together by the strong force, a very short-range but powerful force of nature. Its counterpart, the weak force, is primarily associated with radioactive decay. Hydrogen atoms contains one proton in their nuclei and helium atoms have two protons. Nuclear fusion in the sun works by fusing hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. The commonsense, ordinary mathematical approach would suggest that it takes two hydrogen atoms to make a helium atom. In reality, it takes four hydrogen atoms to make one helium atom using hydrogen fusion. The process is called a proton-proton chain and consists of three steps: 1H + 1H –> 2H + e + v Two hydrogen nuclei combine to form a heavy hydrogen nucleus called deuterium. This reaction also emits a small, positively charged particle called a positron, and a particle with a very low mass and a velocity that is almost the speed of light known as a neutrino. 2H + 1H –> 3He + y The deuterium collides with another proton to produce a lightweight helium nucleus and a burst of gamma radiation. 3He + 3He –> 4He + 1H + 1H Two light helium nuclei collide to form the nucleus of a normal helium atom and two hydrogen atoms. As you may have noticed, the end result has lost a little mass in the form of neutrinos and positrons and a little energy in the form of gamma radiation. The difference looks a little like this: 4 hydrogen nuclei: 6.693 X 10^-27 kg minus 1 Helium nucleus: 6.645 X 10^27 kg equals 0.048 X 10^27 Kg The entire process of converting four hydrogen nuclei into one helium nucleus produces 0.43 X 10^-11 Joules of energy. This is a very small amount and the sun needs 10^38 such reactions per second just to remain stable as a huge ball of glowing hot plasma. Will Our Sun Run Out Of Fuel? Inevitably, the sun will run out of hydrogen to convert into helium. This is estimated to happen in approximately 5 billion years. At that point, it is expected to swell up into a red giant star, engulfing Mercury, Venus and possibly Earth. Earth will certainly be scorched to the point that life will be impossible. It will then start converting helium into carbon. When that runs out, it will then shed its outer layers and shrink to an Earth-sized white dwarf that, some scientists now say, will be a crystal white dwarf containing high levels of carbon and oxygen in its core. The white dwarf will still glow and emit heat for a long time, possibly as long as a few billion years, but will no longer be producing energy with fusion. It will gradually cool and become a black dwarf. Learn More About The Sun

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees, but said he regretted the confusion caused by its implementation. “The president has a responsibility to the security of this country,” Ryan told reporters. “It’s regrettable that there was confusion on the rollout of this. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this.” The Wisconsin Republican said he spoke at length with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and was “confident that he is, on a going forward basis, going to make sure that things are done correctly.”

Forced marriage: Leeds parents jailed over Bangladesh wedding Published duration 30 July 2018 image copyright PA image caption The woman, who is from Leeds and is now 20, has had to assume a new identity A husband and wife have been jailed for tricking their daughter into travelling to Bangladesh in order to force her into marriage. The couple were described as "monsters" by their daughter who they had threatened to kill if she did not go ahead with the arrangement. The father was jailed for four-and-a-half years and the mother for three-and-a-half years at Leeds Crown Court. None of those involved in the case can be named. The then 18-year-old daughter had to be rescued from a remote village in an operation by the British High Commission involving armed police, the judge heard, The woman, who is from Leeds and is now aged 20, described in a victim impact statement how she had assumed a new identity and lived in fear of her family. She said: "I know I will always have to remain cautious but, knowing those monsters are going to be in prison, I feel the uttermost freedom in my heart. "I want other girls to know that forcing someone to marry is wrong." 'Chop her up' The woman was taken to Bangladesh with other family members for what they had been told was a holiday. But the parents had made extensive plans for her wedding to a first cousin. She reacted against the plan and her father hit her, with her mother's encouragement, the court heard. Her father said he would "chop her up in 18 seconds" if she continued to reject the proposed marriage, the judge was told. The woman managed to alert the police through her boyfriend in the UK and the court was played some of the messages she left on his phone. Judge Simon Phillips QC said of the recordings: "Her terror and distress is palpable." 'Betrayed' Judge Phillips heard how the woman escaped with only the clothes she was wearing and a Leeds bus pass. The woman said: "I was betrayed by the two people who are supposed to protect, love and keep you safe." She was born in the UK, lived a Westernised-lifestyle and was hoping to go to university, the court heard. Dafydd Enoch QC, defending her father, told the court: "These events are not borne out of malice, hate, greed or prejudice. They were borne of deep-seated culture." The pair were found guilty of forced marriage and a count of using violence, threats or coercion to force their daughter into marriage, following a three-week trial earlier this year. Peter Mann, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said "This successful prosecution and the custodial sentences imposed send a clear message that forced marriage is a very serious crime and those responsible will be prosecuted." It is thought to be only the second case of its kind. A woman was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court after forcing her daughter to marry in Pakistan in the first successful prosecution.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Palins married in 1988 The husband of former US vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, has filed for divorce, according to US media. Papers filed in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday identified the couple by initials - but birth and wedding dates match those of the Palins. The paperwork, reportedly filed by Todd Palin, cited an "incompatibility of temperament" as the reason for divorce. The Palins, both 55, married in 1988 and have five children together. The documents mention "an incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife". They include the initials rather than full names of the two parties - SLP for Sarah Louise Palin and TMP for Todd Mitchell Palin - but identify the couple's marriage date and the birth date of their only child who is a minor, Trig Palin. They are asking for joint custody of the child, according to the papers. The paperwork was submitted on 6 September, eight days after the couple's 31st wedding anniversary. Sarah Palin was governor of Alaska from 2006 until she resigned in 2009. She shot to prominence when she became Republican Senator John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A "cartoonish figure"? Nick Bryant explain Sarah Palin's rise to the top (almost) She and Mr McCain lost the election to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Since then, she has - along with Mr Palin, a commercial fisherman and oil field worker - appeared in several reality TV shows; she also has a lucrative career as a public speaker and has published two best-selling books. She championed the grassroots Republican Tea Party movement, and was also a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. During her time as Alaska governor, Mr Palin was dubbed the "First Dude" by supporters. He has mostly eschewed the media since Mrs Palin's failed vice-presidential bid. In 2016, Mr Palin was severely injured in a snowmobile accident. The couple's children have also made headlines. Last year, eldest son Track Palin was sentenced to a year in custody after he refused to let a female friend leave his home in Wasilla, and took away her phone and hit her in the head. In 2017, Track was accused of breaking into his parents' home and leaving his father bleeding from cuts to the head. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a military veterans court. Daughter Bristol Palin briefly starred in MTV's Teen Mom programme after giving birth to her son at the age of 17.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday slammed unhinged Democrats using Mueller’s report to attack President Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr. McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, defended Trump from rabid Democrats using Mueller’s report to smear and attack the President and said, “case closed!” “What we’ve seen is a melt down — an absolute melt down! An inability to accept the bottom line conclusion on Russian interference from the special counsel’s report which said, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” McConnell said speaking about the Democrats and their media sycophants. McConnell accused Dems and “TV talking heads” of peddling Russian collusion conspiracy theories. TRENDING: OUTRAGEOUS! Ohio State University President Sends Ignorant Text Message to Students Following Breonna Taylor Decision -- And a Crazy-Ass Video! “The special counsel’s finding is clear — case closed! Case closed,” McConnell said. McConnell accused Democrats of publicly working through the 5 stages of grief (TDS) — “First stage is denial,” he said. “Totally baseless speculation that perhaps Attorney General Barr hadn’t quoted the report properly,” McConnell added. McConnell said the Democrats are “angry that the legal system won’t magically undo the 2016 election for them and they’ve opted to channel all of their partisan anger onto the attorney general.” WATCH: .@SenateMajLdr’s response to Dems in denial of the Mueller Report findings: “Case closed.” pic.twitter.com/LblGAdV07k — GOP (@GOP) May 7, 2019 Fake Indian and 2020 Dem hopeful Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday called for impeachment proceedings against President Trump from the Senate floor. The Massachusetts Senator cited Mueller’s report and argued the information provided by the special counsel “clearly constitutes adequate information to begin an impeachment proceeding in the House of Representatives.” McConnell, who refers to himself as the “grim reaper” and vowed to stop the left’s Socialist agenda, will not move forward with impeachment so the Democrats are just screaming at the sky.

Produced by Spanish Diego The SaveMoney schizo, Sterling, slides on Stan Sono for his new single “Schizophrenia” soundtracked by Spanish. Say that three times fast. For this jazzy, horn-heavy, slow-roller, Sterling Hayes gets down with crooner Stan Sono to give us one of his best releases to date — just months after Sterling and Diego landed a large commercial placement with adidas. This one is oozing with vibes. Feels. All of that. It’s the schizo music. Hear him bleed from his soul below. He has a lot to say on this one. Feel it.

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. The opinions and information provided on this site are original editorial content of Sneaker News. The doors to the vault continue to crack open ajar a little bit more as Nike officially reveals plans to re-issue the 2001 classic – the Dunk Low co.jp “Plum”. As one of three colorful suede Dunks exclusive to Japan called the “Ugly Duckling” or “Ugly Dunkling” Pack, the Plums were known for its two-toned purple with red accents on the swoosh, laces, logos, and soles. Over time, the suede aged with alarming grace as the regal palette faded to a finish more akin to bordeaux red. Furthermore, the shoes were so beloved that Nike SB actually released them as Highs with fat tongues back in 2011. Revealed through some “vintage” style Japanese shopping catalogs, the Dunk Low co.jp “Plum” is confirmed to drop on February 7th for $110. This leaves the door wide open for not only the other two of the Ugly Duckling Dunks – the “Veneer” and the “Ceramic” – as well as other Dunk Low Pro, Pro B, and other non-SB gems of that era. What other Dunks would you like to see return to stores in fully restored form? Nike Dunk Low co.jp Release Date: February 7th, 2020 $110 Make sure to follow @kicksfinder for live tweets during the release date.

The more than three-and-a-half hour New York stock exchange shutdown on Wednesday was caused by engineers loading the wrong software on to the system, the NYSE admitted on Thursday. The NYSE said the shutdown, which sent some traders into panic about a possible cyber terrorist attack, was sparked by its systems being “not loaded with the proper configuration compatible” with new a software upgrade. “On Tuesday evening, the NYSE began the rollout of a software release in preparation for the 11 July industry test of the upcoming SIP (Securities Information Processor) timestamp requirement,” the NYSE said in a blogpost. “As customers began connecting after 7am on Wednesday, there were communication issues between customer gateways and the trading unit with the new release. It was determined that the NYSE and NYSE MKT customer gateways were not loaded with the proper configuration compatible with the new release.” The exchange said it took measures to update the system with “the correct version of software” before the markets opened but carrying out the further upgrade “caused additional communication issues between the gateways and trading units, which began to manifest themselves mid-morning”. “At 11.32am, because NYSE and NYSE MKT were actively trading but customers were still reporting unusual system behavior, the decision was made to suspend trading on NYSE and NYSE MKT.” Trading remained suspended until 3.10pm, just 50 minutes before the markets closed as normal. The closure was the seventh since the founding of a predecessor exchange in 1817. The other closures were due to major world events, including the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the September 11 attacks in 2001 and hurricane Sandy in 2012. Tom Farley, president of NYSE, admitted on Wednesday that “it’s not a good day”, and said an investigation would be carried out. The shutdown became a major issue. President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation by Department of Homeland Security, which ruled out a cyber terrorism attack the prospect of which has long worried politicians, regulators and traders.

For decades, William Jellett danced at gigs and festivals, and told people he was the Son of God. Then, it seemed, he disappeared. Jellett at the Reading Festival, 1974 (Source: Vin Miles, UK Rock Festivals) It was a Saturday evening, St Valentine’s Day 1970, when William Jellett first thought he might be Jesus. He was on the London Underground, travelling back from work, and noticed the headline of the newspaper unfurled opposite him: “Cambridge riots — two policemen beaten up”. There had been student protests the night before, on Friday the 13th. Feeling “hurt for my brothers,” he later told 19 magazine, he put his head in his hands. He had the sense that everyone was his brother or sister, and that the music and freedom he had found over the last few years were slipping away, with this rising violence. The lights flickered between stations, catching the dull livery. He was only 21, but violence had always bothered him; back in the children’s home, back at school, back with the mods and rockers on the beaches. It seemed to be all around him now. The music press talked about Manson and Altamont and Kent State, and sometimes there were photographs of crowds at gigs too, in which he could see himself dancing, conspicuously. Music was getting heavier too, at the gigs he went to nearly every night: Black Sabbath had released their first album the day before, The Who recorded “Live at Leeds” that night. As the train rumbled forward, Jellett looked into his hands. They were less smooth than they had been, he saw. He had not been able to hold down regular work for a while, leaving the job he had found when he first moved to London, at the tea importer, then the job in the storeroom at the BBC, where he had spent much of his time scrawling designs in biro on cardboard. He now sometimes told people he “worked in an office”, if they asked, between songs, or in queues. He did, really. Travelling around the city, he cleaned flats and houses, and offices. His hands were hardening with the work. He had never noticed the lines in his palms before. Jellett at Bath Blues Festival, 1969 (Source: Lawrence Impey, UK Rock Festivals) For the first time, Jellett saw that the lines crossed in the centre of each hand. The cross, he would say, in the “idle of my palm”. He was well-attuned to religious symbolism, and divine calling. His parents had been in the Salvation Army, and he had felt something of this significance over the last couple of years, in the music he listened to. Now, the logic overcame him. He thought about reincarnation, and about universality and interconnectedness. If we are all one, he thought, he could be anyone. People had been calling him “Jesus” for a while, and he had adopted the nickname, but now it made sense. If he had been reincarnated, he thought, “there would be no permissive society, no underground, just people wanting to be themselves and live their lives the way they wanted to before”. The crosses were stigmata, he thought.

Tästä on kyse Farmakogeneettisillä testeillä tarkoitetaan geenitestejä, joilla voidaan selvittää, miten lääkkeet eri ihmisiin tehoavat Tällä hetkellä on mahdollista testata noin 150 lääkeainetta Kaikkien lääkkeiden tehoon perimä ei vaikuta Farmakogeneettisiä testejä on tehty vasta muutamille tuhansille suomalaisille Anne istuu kotisohvallaan ja näyttää hänelle tehdyn geenitestin tuloksia. Kyseessä on farmakogeneettinen testi, joka kertoo, miten eri lääkeaineet vaikuttavat häneen. Anne on syönyt kaksi vuotta mielialalääkkeitä. Testin tuloksesta selviää, että kyse on ollut lääkkeistä, jotka eivät toimi hänelle samalla annostuksella kuin suurimmalle osalle muista ihmisistä. Anne on kiertänyt testituloksen kanssa usean lääkärin luona. Joka kerta hänelle on määrätty lääkkeitä, jotka on jo aikaisemmin todettu hänelle sopimattomiksi. Pettymys ja turhautuminen on käsinkosketeltavaa. Testitulos huojensi Palataan hetkeksi vuoteen 2016. Anne sairastuu työuupumuksen aiheuttamaan masennukseen. Hän on väsynyt, mieliala on huono. Olisi löydettävä sopiva mielialalääke, joka nopeuttaisi toipumista ja työhön palaamista. Kuluu kaksi vuotta, eikä sopivaa lääkettä ole vieläkään löytynyt. Anne on kokeillut useita eri lääkkeitä, mutta mikään ei ole tuonut apua. Sivuvaikutuksia on tullut sitäkin enemmän: muun muassa nivelsärkyä, päänsärkyä, ummetusta, käsien tärinää, hiustenlähtöä ja pahoinvointia. – Suurimman osan ihmisistä on hankala edes ajatella, että he alkaisivat käyttää mielialalääkettä. Niihin suhtaudutaan negatiivisesti. Jatkuvat tehottomat lääkekokeilut ja sivuvaikutukset lisäävät kielteistä suhtautumista ja nostavat kynnystä uusien lääkkeiden kokeiluun, Anne sanoo. Lukuisten epäonnistuneiden lääkekokeilujen jälkeen työterveyslääkäri suosittelee Annelle farmakogeneettistä testiä. Sillä voidaan selvittää, miten mikäkin lääke vaikuttaa potilaaseen ja kuinka nopeasti lääke poistuu kehosta. Testin perusteella voidaan ennakoida, kenelle lääkkeestä on apua ja kuka saa sivuvaikutuksia. Jatkuvat tehottomat lääkekokeilut ja sivuvaikutukset lisäävät kielteistä suhtautumista mielialalääkkeisiin. Anne Anne käy antamassa verinäytteen laboratoriossa. Kun tulokset tulevat, olo on huojentunut. Annen geenitestissä tarkasteltiin 19 eri geeniä. Kuudessa niistä oli poikkeamia, jotka saattoivat vaikuttaa lääkeaineiden tehoon. Kolme näistä kuudesta geenistä oli sellaisia, joilla oli yhteys Annen aikaisemmin kokeilemiin mielialalääkkeisiin. Syy lääkkeiden tehottomuudelle löytyi. Samalla saatiin selitys moneen muuhunkin asiaan, muun muassa siihen, miten migreeniin määrätty kodeiini aiheutti Annelle aina pahoinvointia. Perimä vaikuttaa joka viidenteen lääkkeeseen Farmakogeneettiset testit ovat Suomessa vielä melko harvinaisia: niitä on tehty muutamille tuhansille ihmisille. Testeillä voidaan toistaiseksi mitata noin 150 lääkeaineen sopivuutta eri potilaille. Geenitestien lausuntopalveluita laboratorioille tuottavan Abomics Oy:n toimitusjohtaja, sisätautien erikoislääkäri Jari Forström kertoo, että noin seitsemän prosenttia ihmiskäytössä olevista lääkeaineista on sellaisia, joissa genetiikalla on merkitystä. Nämä lääkeaineet ovat hyvin yleisiä lääkkeitä, joten Forströmin arvion mukaan kaikista ihmisille määrätyistä resepteistä 18 prosenttia on sellaisia, joihin genetiikka vaikuttaa. Psykiatria on yksi tärkeimmistä erikoisalueista, jolla geenitestejä voidaan hyödyntää. Muun muassa psykoosi- ja depressiolääkkeiden kohdalla geneettiset yksilölliset vaihtelut ovat suuria. Helsingin yliopistossa on tutkittu yhtä yleisimmin käytetyistä masennuslääkkeistä, sitalopraamia. Tutkimusten perusteella lääkeaine ei tehoa perimästä johtuen riittävällä tavalla joka viidenteen potilaaseen. Masennuslääkkeiden lisäksi geenitestit antavat tietoa myös kivunhoitoon liittyvien lääkeaineiden, esimerkiksi kodeiinin ja tramadolin, sopivuudesta. Kolmas tärkeä ryhmä ovat verenkiertolääkkeet. Abomicsin toimitusjohtaja Jari Forström uskoo, että testaamista vähentää se, etteivät lääkärit välttämättä tiedä asiasta. Paula Collin / Yle Jatkuvia pettymyksiä Kun Anne sai käsiinsä farmakogeneettisen testin tulokset, hän uskoi vihdoin löytävänsä sopivan mielialalääkkeen. Toisin kävi. Annen työterveyslääkäri sanoi suoraan, ettei osaa hyödyntää tuloksia tarpeeksi hyvin. Hän suositteli toista lääkäriä, jonka piti olla perehtynyt aiheeseen. Vierailu vastaanotolla tuotti kuitenkin pettymyksen. Lääkäri ei ollut kiinnostunut Annelle tehdystä geenitestistä vaan määräsi samaa lääkettä, jota Anne oli aiemminkin syönyt. Tämä käynti ei jäänyt Annen ainoaksi tuloksettomaksi lääkärikäynniksi. Hän varasi aikoja myös muille lääkäreille, mutta kaikki heistä määräsivät Annelle samoja lääkkeitä, joita hän oli kokeillut aiemminkin. Nämä kaikki lääkkeet olivat farmakogeneettisen testin perusteella sellaisia, jotka eivät normaaliannostuksella Annelle sovi. Eikö potilas olekaan lääkärille tärkein? Anne Suurin osa lääkäreistä ei edes vilkaissut Annen geenitestituloksia. Yksi lääkäreistä luki tulokset, mutta päätyi silti käyttämään edellisen lääkärin määräämää lääkettä. – Olen yrittänyt pehmeästi ja kohteliaasti tuoda esille, että minulla on tällainen geenitesti. Yksi lääkäri totesi, että on helpompi jatkaa samalla lääkkeellä kuin alkaa kokeilla uutta. Toinen sanoi, että ihmisessä on niin paljon geenejä, että ei tiedetä, kuinka paljon ne masennuslääkkeiden käytössä vaikuttavat. Vastaanotot ovat paitsi olleet kalliita, myös aiheuttaneet jatkuvia pettymyksiä. – Se turhauttaa. Kukaan lääkäreistä ei ole kunnolla osannut perustella vastahakoisuuttaan. Herää kysymys, kuinka paljon lääkäri antaa painoarvoa sille, tuleeko lääkkeestä sivuvaikutuksia ja miten se vaikuttaa potilaaseen. Eikö potilas olekaan lääkärille tärkein? Vai onko niin, että kun on kokeiltu useita lääkkeitä, potilas saa hankalan potilaan leiman, ja sitten ei enää haluta auttaa? Asenteet ja tietämys kaipaavat muutosta Abomicsin Jari Forström pitää Annen kohtaamaa tilannetta valitettavana. Ongelmat liittyvät asenteisiin, mutta myös tietämykseen. – Jos potilaalle on aikaisemmin määrätty tiettyä lääkettä, on lääkärin vaikea ymmärtää, miksi jostain päivästä lähtien ei saisikaan toimia vanhaan malliin. Kun tieto lisääntyy, vanhoista käytännöistä tulee hoitovirheitä, Forström sanoo. Myös dosentti Petri Vainio Turun yliopistosta pitää ikävänä sitä, että farmakogeneettisen testin tuloksiin suhtaudutaan vähättelevästi. Hän työskentelee Turun yliopiston ylläpitämässä kliinisen farmakologian konsultaatiopalvelussa. Sieltä lääkärit saavat neuvoja lääkehoitoon liittyvissä kysymyksissä. Kysymyksiä farmakogenetiikkaan liittyen tulee jonkin verran. Huomattavasti vähemmän tulee riskejä ja ennen kaikkea epäonnistumisia, kun lähdetään valitsemaan lääkehoitoa tiedon perusteella. Petri Vainio – Testit hankitaan usein kotimaiselta toimittajalta, ja ohessa tulee testituloksen tulkintaohje. Jos se ei riitä, autamme mielellämme. Tärkeintä on, että testitieto saadaan käytettyä potilaan parhaaksi, Vainio sanoo. Entä jos lääkäri ei halua hyödyntää farmakogeneettistä testiä, vaan hän uskoo pystyvänsä löytämään sopivan lääkkeen ilmankin testiä? Dosentti Petri Vainion mukaan tämä on se tilanne, jossa elettiin ennen kuin geenitestit tulivat käyttöön. Silloin valittiin joku lääkeannos ja mietittiin sen jälkeen, pitääkö annosta suurentaa tai pienentää vai lähdetäänkö hakemaan vaihtoehtoista lääkettä. – Niinkin voi lähestyä, mutta huomattavasti vähemmän tulee riskejä ja ennen kaikkea epäonnistumisia, kun lähdetään valitsemaan lääkehoitoa tiedon perusteella, Vainio sanoo. Dosentti Petri Vainio muistuttaa, että käytössä on myös paljon sellaisia lääkkeitä, joiden vaikutukseen perimällä ei ole merkitystä. Paula Collin / Yle Toistaiseksi suurin osa farmakogeneettisistä testeistä tehdään Suomessa silloin, kun huomataan, että lääkehoito ei tehoa ja tiedetään, että taustalla voi olla jonkin geenin vaikutus. Petri Vainion mukaan testejä kannattaisi näissä tapauksissa tehdä hyvin matalalla kynnyksellä. Vainio kuitenkin muistuttaa, että käytössä on myös paljon sellaisia lääkkeitä, joiden vaikutukseen perimällä ei ole merkitystä. Abomicsin Jari Forström uskoo, että testaamista vähentää se, etteivät lääkärit välttämättä tiedä asiasta. – Jos lääkärikoulutuksesta on kymmenen vuotta aikaa, eivät lääkärit ole saaneet asiasta oppia. Aika harvoin lääkäri pystyy työssään oppimaan uusia asioita tehokkaasti, Forström sanoo. Hän nostaa esiin myös sen, että lääkehoidon koulutuksesta vastaa varsinkin työssäkäyvien lääkärien osalta hyvin vahvasti lääketeollisuus. Ei sen intressinä ole puhua lääkkeiden haittavaikutuksista, Forström sanoo. Osaava lääkäri tekee testin, mutta seuraava ei osaa hyödyntää sitä. Jari Forström Jari Forström suuntaa sanansa erityisesti sairaanhoitopiireille, päättäjille ja lääkelaitokselle. – Farmakogeneettiset testit vaativat ohjeistusta ja Käypä hoito -suositusta. Jos asia on yksittäisen lääkärin mielenkiinnon kohteena, käy juuri näin, että osaava lääkäri tekee testin, mutta seuraava ei osaa hyödyntää sitä. Sen pitäisi mennä niin, että sairaanhoitopiirit sekä ministeriö ja Lääkelaitos laativat Käypä hoito -ohjeen, jossa kerrotaan, missä tilanteessa testiä pitää käyttää. Jari Forström kertoo, että geenitestien hinnat ovat laskeneet merkittävästi kymmenessä vuodessa. Farmakogeneettinen testi maksaa parisataa euroa. Se on hinta, jonka työssäkäyvä pystyy usein maksamaan. Hinta kuitenkin jarruttaa testauksen yleistymistä, ja koko väestön testaaminen on katsottu nykytilanteessa kannattamattomaksi. Tulevaisuudessa mennään kuitenkin todennäköisesti siihen, että testejä aletaan tehdä entistä enemmän jo ennen lääkityksen aloittamista. Potilaalla keinot vähissä Palataan vielä Annen luo. Jokaisen epäonnistuneen lääkekokeilun jälkeen tulee pettymys. Menee aikaa, että potilas saa kerättyä itsensä kasaan ja päättää, riittääkö voimia vielä uuteen kokeiluun. – Jos lääke ei osu kohdalleen, käy pahimmassa tapauksessa niin, että aikaa kuluu ja masennus ehtii pahentua. Jos henkilö on vielä työelämässä, sairasloma pitenee. Se on huono asia sekä potilaalle että työnantajalle. Anne itsekin on sairaslomalla eikä töihin paluusta ole vielä tietoa. – Jos ei löydy sopivaa lääkettä eikä psykoterapia auta, onko viimeinen vaihtoehto sairaseläke? Se on aika pelottava ajatus, Anne sanoo. AOP Yli 400 000 suomalaista käytti vuonna 2017 masennuslääkkeitä, kertovat Kelan tilastot (siirryt toiseen palveluun). Anne miettii, miten moni heistä mahtaa syödä tehotonta lääkettä, kokea jatkuvia pettymyksiä ja kerryttää kustannuksia sekä itselleen että yhteiskunnalle. Hän uskoo, että jos geenitestien hinnat vielä nykyisestä laskevat, alkavat monet maksaa testejä itselleen. Jo nyt testin pystyy ostamaan apteekista ja lähettämään itse analysoitavaksi. Tällöin näyte otetaan verikokeen sijaan pumpulipuikolla posken limakalvolta. – Ehkä sitä kautta tulee lääkäreille painetta, Anne arvelee. Hän tietää, että jossain vaiheessa keinot loppuvat. Vielä Anne ei ole antanut periksi. Hän suunnittelee varaavansa ajan ainakin vielä yhdeltä lääkäriltä. – Haluan oikeasti löytää sopivan lääkkeen ja ratkaisun terveystilanteeseeni. Siksi toivon, että lääkärikin tekisi kaikkensa. Juttua päivitetty kello 11.16: Poistettu yksi Annen sitaatti, jossa hän kertoi, mitä geenitestin tulokset kertoivat hänen aineenvaihduntansa toiminnasta liittyen kodeiiniin ja morfiiniin. Lue myös: Paljon käytetty masennuslääke ei sovi kaikille suomalaisille – geenit sanelevat, millaiset seuraukset lääkkeestä voi tulla

A model has shared a close-up photo of the back of her legs to tell women everywhere that cellulite is nothing to feel embarrassed about. British model Charli Howard posted the image on Tuesday to make a stand against the unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by some of the media. “They say do something each day that scares you, so re-posting this is mine for the day. Despite the fact I speed walk everywhere, squat, run and occasionally do Pure Barre, I’m still left with cellulite,” she said. “I went to an all-girls’ boarding school and really used to envy the girls in my class who seemingly had none, and whose bodies looked, to me, nothing less than perfect. “Whenever I opened magazines, the models and celebrities I saw didn’t have cellulite either - and if they did, they were shamed in the tabloids because of it, or knocked off their perch by nasty journalists who probably have it themselves.”

Sydney’s eastern suburbs have emerged as the weakest market in the city with house prices falling 6 per cent in the three months to September, new data shows. In fact, all but two regions recorded price falls over the September, with the south-west the next worst performer (-4 per cent), followed by the once-red hot inner west, which fell 3.9 per cent, according to the Domain Group State of the Market report. The most resilient markets were the northern beaches, where the median house price increased 0.4 per cent to $1,907,000, and the south – with no price change at $1.3 million. Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson said the results showed the downturn was widespread across Sydney, with affordability starting to bite even in the higher-priced city and east where the median was $2.17 million. “More than $2 million is expensive in anyone’s language – clearly buyers are thinking twice,” Dr Wilson said. Good Deeds buyer’s agency principal Veronica Morgan, who actively buys eastern suburbs real estate, wasn’t convinced the market had slowed across the board. “We have noticed a softening but it’s sporadic,” Ms Morgan said. She’d also noticed more substandard homes coming onto the market, which she described as a market in transition. Brad Caldwell-Eyles, managing director of 1st City, said there had been a “slight cooling in enthusiasm and a decrease in that sense of urgency for existing residential property” in the city and eastern areas. But he said it was likely a softer period due to the increase in homes for sale over spring. “Bottom line, recent history shows that we can expect this spring cooling in established residential enthusiasm however come Australia Day, that fire will be stoked back into life.” Richard Baini director of Richard Matthews Real Estate, located in Strathfield, was not convinced the inner west had moved into a downturn, despite the data showing a 3.9 per cent decline for houses and an even steeper 4.9 per cent drop for apartments. Instead, he described it as an “adjustment quarter” with more realistic pricing from vendors and reasonable expectations across the board. He put the softness in the apartment market down to a decline in off-the-plan sales that had the effect of changing the mix of properties on the market to secondhand stock, which is typically more affordable, thus skewing the median price. Apartment prices fell in all areas except the south west, west, Central Coast and northern beaches. But the worst performer for apartments, outside of the Blue Mountains, was the lower north where prices had declined 6.7 per cent over the quarter to a median of $900,000. They were up 0.1 per cent over the year. House prices in the lower north fell 2.6 per cent over the quarter to $2.41 million, but were up 2 per cent over the year. Richardson & Wrench Mosman director Robert Simeon said this was an inevitable outcome after such a run in the market. “At the moment the market is fatiguing and we’re going to see a self-correction and then a line-ball market,” Mr Simeon said. He said without “significant economic bad news like another GFC” it would be unlikely prices would drop significantly. “There are fewer and fewer buyers at auction, but this is what happens after a boom.” The western suburbs had also been seeing signs of a slowdown, Raine & Horne Blacktown’s Edwin Almeida said. “We’re in for a rude shock and the cracks are starting to show,” Mr Almeida said. He’d already seen some homes selling for less than they would have achieved six months ago. Starr Partners chief executive Doug Driscoll said it was “simple economics” that the market was slowing down. “For a long time, we were seeing an influx of investors from across Sydney looking to buy in the west and south-west and this volume applied extra pressure on the market,” Mr Driscoll said. “External influences we wouldn’t normally experience in these parts of Sydney meant prices grew at an exaggerated rate. “Now that there are fewer investors, and lenders are becoming increasingly prudent, I think it’s a case of the market now starting to find its natural level.”

“Una piedra, otra piedra, otra piedra, otra, otra, otra... ¡Ahí va, un muro!” Esta broma típica entre arqueólogos dice mucho de lo lento que puede ser el trabajo en una excavación y de que los descubrimientos espectaculares no son frecuentes, hay que tener en cuenta que pequeños restos pueden estar llenos de significado. Pero la exposición que se inaugura este martes en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional (Madrid), El poder del pasado, celebra, como dice su subtítulo, 150 años de arqueología en España y para ello ha reunido piezas excepcionales procedentes de unos setenta museos de todo el país. Una muestra que se puede recorrer como una selección de 150 joyas o como un paseo por el desarrollo de la arqueología. Desde el solitario anticuario que iba con un equipo poco profesional y decía “picad aquí o picad allí”, a las sofisticadas tecnologías de prospección y de excavación actuales. La evolución del “mucho campo, poco estudio”, al “mucho estudio, poco campo”. Es decir, antes primaba la acumulación de objetos y actualmente el tiempo de trabajo en los yacimientos es muy inferior al que los profesionales pasan estudiando y documentando lo encontrado. Esta doble lectura la ha tenido en cuenta Juan Pablo Rodríguez Frade, el arquitecto que ha diseñado la muestra y en manos de quien estuvo la renovación del museo para su reapertura en 2014, que ha querido dar entidad a las piezas en sí mismas, pero sin que eso las desconecte del discurso. Un hilo conductor que se ha dividido en tres momentos: los pioneros (desde mediados del siglo XIX a 1912, cuando surge la primera ley de excavaciones); la de consolidación (1912-1960, en estos años ya está consolidada esta materia tanto en museos como en universidades) y, por último, la configuración de la arqueología contemporánea. El comisario, Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero, tiene claro que la exposición está hecha desde un punto de vista sesgado, el suyo. Cualquier otro profesional hubiera elegido otra manera y otras piezas y aunque hubieran podido elegir el doble siempre faltarían. Carmen Marcos, subdirectora del museo, explicó que se quedaron con 150 por el simbolismo del número en este año en que se cumple siglo y medio desde que Isabel II firmara el real decreto de fundación del Arqueológico, el 20 de marzo de 1867, una ley que va más allá de esta institución, ya que fue el germen de la creación de la red de museos públicos y de la formación del cuerpo de museos que los “atienden”. Ruiz Zapatero quiere que el visitante tenga una experiencia del pasado. En el catálogo escribe que lo pretérito “refleja el presente” y eso tan manido, pero cierto, de que para construir el futuro hay que conocer lo que ha ocurrido en épocas anteriores. Ayer sostuvo que las piezas son conectores de experiencias, a través de ellas —ya sean fósiles, obras de arte, leyes, objetos de la vida cotidiana o tesoros de personajes importantes— se entiende la historia, las civilizaciones construidas gracias a la diversidad y la mezcla de factores. Qué mejor vivencia de la Hispania romana que encontrarse al entrar en la exposición con una imponente y colosal estatua de Trajano en actitud heroica. Esta pieza fue descubierta en 1788 en Itálica, lugar natal del emperador, y es el hallazgo más antiguo de los que se exponen. Evidentemente, no es la pieza más antigua, esa puede ser el pie Prometeo, encontrado en Atapuerca y que data de 500.000 años antes de Cristo, unos restos insólitos ya que reconstruyen casi al completo el pie de un homo heidelbergensis y ofrece datos sobre la anatomía y la forma de caminar de esta especie. ampliar foto Ídolo de Tara, pieza emblemática del arte aborigen canario. Museo Canario De este calibre son las piezas que se pueden ver en El poder del pasado. “Trozos de historia que nos pertenecen a todos”, dice de manera coloquial el comisario. Una oportunidad única por la calidad de las obras y porque difícilmente se podrá volver a juntar ese conjunto. Excepcional es que se vean dos piezas de oro del tesoro del Carambolo, un collar y un pectoral tartésicos del Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla, donde no se expone por motivos de seguridad. Tales son los rigurosísimos requerimientos que se han solicitado para estas piezas que se ha firmado un contrato de préstamo diferente del resto de las obras, debido a la cantidad de especificaciones. Significativa es la escultura que cierra el recorrido: una figura mutilada del siglo XII, hallada el pasado año en la torre Sur de la fachada del Obradoiro de la catedral de Santiago de Compostela, usada hasta su descubrimiento como material de relleno de la edificación. Es la primera vez que se expone y es un elemento clave que muestra que la arqueología no es un asunto del pasado, si no que tiene futuro y que aún hay muchos hallazgos que esperan ver la luz.

A 20-year-old University of Minnesota student clearing snow off her car near campus was ambushed from behind and raped in a parking lot late at night, authorities said. The suspect remains at large. The attack occurred in a residential lot about 12:45 a.m. Monday near 8th Street and 13th Avenue SE., about two blocks northwest of various university athletic buildings and facilities, according to campus police. As the woman was clearing her car of freshly fallen snow, a man sneaked up from behind and sprayed a chemical irritant in her face, university police said in a campus crime alert sent to students, staff members and others. The man then forced the woman to the ground and raped her before fleeing down an alley, U police added. The woman was treated at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to the Minneapolis Police Department, which is handling the investigation. The alert said an image of the suspect was caught on university surveillance video. Campus police released a description of the suspect that included few specifics.

President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Emmanuel Macron of France. Both leaders strongly condemned the horrific chemical weapons attacks in Syria and agreed that the Assad regime must be held accountable for its continued human rights abuses. They agreed to exchange information on the nature of the attacks and coordinate a strong, joint response.

The issue of gay marriage has, of course, prompted vociferous debate about what this most fundamental of institutions is, and what it isn’t. But to a greater or lesser degree, marriage in some aspects has been quietly, even unconsciously, renegotiated by many of us in the West. A modern marriage, with its notion of equality of the sexes, and of being all things to each other, is a different beast from the marriages of our grandparents or great-grandparents. Did their clear gender hierarchy (antipathetic as it may be to 21st-century minds), plus the reciprocal practical requirements of men and, above all, women, make our forebears more clear-sighted about married life? Are we asking too much of it? Do we need to rethink?

Masha, a heartbroken dog, has been looking for her late master every day since he died in a Siberian hospital last year. When he was living on a ward in the Novosibirsk District Hospital, Masha was his only visitor. Now that he’s gone, his loyal dog refuses to leave. Staff at the hospital hope somebody will give her a new home. “She’s waiting for him, she’s not going anywhere,” said nurse Anna Vorontsova. “Some girls tried taking her into their home, and she runs away. She doesn’t want to live anywhere. Look, just last Friday a local took her in, and she came running back here at three o’clock the next morning.” Masha has become well-known and much loved by workers at the hospital, where she’s guaranteed food to eat and a warm place to sleep.

(Title Image: nurseryworld.co.uk) At a Glance Guide Childcare Finance Bill at introduction (summary) Stage 1 report (summary) The Bill: Provides the legal necessities to introduce the Welsh Government’s free childcare scheme, which will provide 30 hours a week of free childcare (for eligible 3-and-4-year olds) for 48 weeks a year. Sets the eligibility criteria. In practice, this means the 3-and-4-year-olds of (a) working parent(s) earning at least 16 hours a week at minimum wage or living wage. No parent can earn more than £100,000 a year. Sets out the sanctions and appeal mechanisms – parents can be fined up to £3,000 for providing false information and can appeal to a tribunal to challenge any decisions. Major Changes at Stage 2 Stage 2 proceedings were undertaken by the Education & Young People Committee and the member in charge – Minister for Children & Social Care, Huw Irranca-Davies (Lab, Ogmore). Most of the amendments were changes to the wording and provided a bit more clarity on the eligibility criteria for children. The wording has also changed so the free childcare offer can be extended to children under the age of 3 in the future. There has been some controversy over the eligibility criteria, with the Children & Young People Committee recommending the scheme be extended to cover all 3-and-4-year olds . Amendments to that effect were rejected at Stage 2, but re-appear below. The Key Amendments at Stage 3 Amendment 2– Minister for Children & Social Services, Huw Irranca-Davies The Welsh Government will have to report on the effect of the Act five years after it becomes law. Vote: Approved – 32 for, 11 against Amendment 8– Sian Gwenllian AM (Plaid, Arfon) Expands the childcare scheme to include all children, not just those of working parents. Vote: Rejected -18 for, 25 against Reason for Rejection: There are a number of different Welsh Government programmes aimed at helping non-working parents or those in training/education, such as Flying Start and extra funding for student parents. Amendment 11– Janet Finch-Saunders AM (Con, Aberconwy) Expands the eligibility criteria to include children of parents who are undertaking at least 16 hours a week of education or training. Vote: Rejected – 18 for, 25 against Reason for Rejection: Same as Amendment 8. Amendment 13 – Janet Finch-Saunders AM No charge may be levied by childcare providers for children who would otherwise be eligible for free school meals if they were of school age. Vote: Rejected – 18 for, 25 against Reason for Rejection: There are already measures in place to stop “unreasonable charges”. Amendment 31– Janet Finch-Saunders AM Places a duty on the Welsh Government to properly promote awareness of the scheme. Vote: Rejected – 18 for, 25 against Reason for Rejection: The Minister made a commitment to launch a national awareness campaign. Amendment 35– Janet Finch-Saunders AM Inserts a “sunset clause” where the Act is automatically repealed in September 2023 unless the Senedd approves for it to continue (via regulations). Vote: Rejected – 18 for, 25 against Reason for Rejection: It would send the wrong message to parents and care providers about the Welsh Government’s commitment to the scheme. A vote on the final version of the Bill has been scheduled for next week.

The woman is identified as Khushi Parihar, a resident of Nagpur, and the accused as Ashraf Sheikh. A 19-year-old aspiring model was killed allegedly by her boyfriend on suspicion of her "character" in Maharashtra's Nagpur district, police said on Sunday, adding that the accused has been arrested. The woman is identified as Khushi Parihar, a resident of Nagpur, and the accused as Ashraf Sheikh. A Nagpur police official said they received information on Saturday morning about the body of a woman with her face crushed lying along Pandhurna-Nagpur highway. Police identified her through social media, he said, adding that Khushi Parihar used to participate in local fashion shows and was aspiring to become a model. Ashraf Sheikh was later arrested, he said. According to the official, Ashraf Sheikh has "confessed" that he killed Khushi Parihar because he suspected her so-called character and closeness with some men. It appears that Ashraf Sheikh travelled with Khushi Parihar in his car on July 12 and later allegedly killed her by crushing her head at Savli Fata near Pandhurna-Nagpur highway, the official said. A case of murder has been registered by Nagpur (Rural) police and further investigation is underway.

How do you prepare and could you survive a doomsday disaster? Are you ready for when the SHTF.? Most Popular Equipment Review Articles: Welcome to my website: UK Preppers Guide is a website dedicated to all things Bushcraft, Survival and Prepping. I like to think that prepping is something that encompasses all factors of survival and bushcraft skills. You'll find there are hundreds of pages on many different topics, some with video's as well, although I do have a separate YouTube Channel where you'll find over 100 videos. You will find articles from self defence and the law, to skinning a rabbit. From dealing with hypothermia to how to make survival bread. Over 500 different articles covering all aspects of keeping yourself and your loved ones safe. Happy Prepping Folks, Steve

President Ram Nath Kovind will not hear carol singers on the eve of Christmas as has been the tradition with former presidents. Choirs and carol singers who had expected to perform for India’s first citizen have not been given time. The spokesperson of Rashtrapati Bhavan says a decision has been taken to have no religious ceremonies inside the building as India is a “secular state”. One may ask if carols (or even qawwalis) can be boxed under religion or is there not a cultural dimension to them? Apparently, the President did not do anything special for Diwali inside his majestic home either, although ANI reported that Rashtrapati Bhavan was lit up this year with a special multi-coloured light display on the eve of Diwali. US president Donald Trump meanwhile celebrated Diwali inside the White House (although he cancelled the Eid dinner that predecessor Barack Obama would host besides lighting lamps inside the White House on Diwali). The idea of genuine secularism should not be used as a cover for snubbing minorities, in this case, the tiny Christian community, just 2.3% of India’s population. At a time when a new “Hindu” identity is being forged, both politically and culturally, traditions linked to minorities apparently cannot be accommodated without discomfort and unease. The spectre of the Muslim may be used to create a particular national consciousness, but it is with Christians (who are seen as actively promoting conversions) that the cadre of the RSS and its frontal organisations really have a bone to pick at the ground level. 2017 has been one of the worst years for anti-Christian violence in India and apparently, there is to be no comfort or let-up. An influential global charity that monitors the treatment of Christians worldwide to produce a list of the 50 most difficult countries for them to live in (carried by all western media), writes that in the first six months of 2017 Indian Christians were harassed or attacked in as many incidents as in the whole of 2016. Forget the year, just look at this December. On December 15, a mob-linked to extremist Hindu groups attacked Catholic carol singers in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district and set a priest’s car ablaze. Instead of taking action against the attackers, the police detained the singers on suspicion that they were carrying out conversions. On December 17, Christian schools in Aligarh, UP, were issued a warning by right-wing groups not to celebrate Christmas in schools as it would “lure” students into the faith. On December 19, bail was given to seven people in Mathura district, UP, after they too were picked up for “forced conversion” two weeks ago. In judicial custody, their ordeal was exacerbated as they were threatened by the local bar associations that demanded inquiries into their funding and intent. Communalised and unruly lawyers’ associations have been characteristic of UP for some time now, pre-dating the ascension of Yogi Adityanath to the chief ministerial chair. But an organisation founded by him, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, has always been at the forefront of viewing Christian activity with suspicion and using tactics of intimidation. Still, it’s not as if the BJP cannot live with Christians. The regime in Goa manages to do so quite successfully and the BJP has been expanding its footprint in the northeastern states with substantial Christian populations, even making concessions to eating beef in such places. Still, there’s no denying that there is a shift in the larger mindset over the years, culminating in draconian anti-conversion laws in several states that impinge on free choice. In Madhya Pradesh, for instance, I would have to take the state’s permission to convert. If I were a Christian (or a Muslim) seeking to become a Hindu, permission would be given; were it the other way round, the extremist cadre would work on me, socially boycott the family, (maybe burn down my home) and in the end, the permission is unlikely to be given. In no part of India would state and police become active if any Muslim or Christian were to declare themselves Hindu. But a conversion out of Hinduism is currently viewed as a highly suspicious activity by innocents who were “lured” or “forced”. It cannot be free choice such as that exercised by Dr B R Ambedkar, who wilfully converted to Buddhism in 1956 with lakhs of followers. The founder of the Indian Constitution could be booked for promoting conversion today. Some of us who have been educated at the many fine Christian institutions across India would know that a church sermon always stresses that the only way to heaven is through accepting Jesus Christ. We used to just say amen and move on. Now even a carol can apparently contaminate us with the desire to convert.

Chrome: Google's chat feature is useful for sending quick IMs and starting video chat sessions, but you can only view it when you're on a Google page like Gmail. Google has released an official Chrome extension that detaches it from your browser, allowing you to view it no matter what web page you're viewing. This extension has actually been out for awhile, but was Chrome OS only. Now, you can grab it for Chrome on other platforms, letting you carry on chats, make voice calls, and even start Google Hangouts right from your desktop (my personal favorite feature). It doesn't have support for phone calls with Google Voice, which is kind of a bummer—that would take this from "cool" to "fantastic"—but it's helpful all the same, especially if you're tired of switching back to your Gmail tab to chat. Hit the link to check it out. Chat for Google is a free download, works wherever Google Chrome does. Of course, if you want more than just Google Talk on your desktop, you can always install a multi-protocol instant messaging client like these instead. Chat for Google | Chrome Web Store via #tips

Nearly 90 percent of students who attend a top-ranked university earn a bachelor’s degree in four years. While these undergraduates may well be among the best and brightest, they also get kid-gloves treatment. If they run into trouble, an army of helpmates stands at the ready. “From moving day as a freshman through graduation and beyond,” Harvard assures its students, “our advisers are here to help and support you at every step.” The situation is entirely different for most undergraduates, especially poor and minority students. All too often they’re steered to schools where they receive little if any support in mastering tough courses, decoding arcane requirements for a major, sorting out life problems or navigating the maze of institutional requirements. Graduation rates at these so-called dropout factories, especially those in urban areas that largely serve low-income, underprepared minority populations, are as abysmal as 5 percent. Where a student goes makes all the difference. Consider a Chicago public high school graduate with a grade-point average of 3.5. If she enrolls at Chicago State University, a Washington Monthly investigation shows, the odds against her finishing are high — the school’s six-year graduation rate hovers at 20 percent. Her chances measurably improve if she attends the University of Illinois at Chicago, where the completion rate is 57 percent. And if she goes to Northwestern, just a few miles away, 93 percent of her classmates will graduate. Six years ago, CUNY decided to confront the high dropout rate at its community colleges with the ASAP initiative. The results are stunning: 56 percent of the first two cohorts of more than 1,500 students have graduated, compared with just 23 percent of a comparable group that didn’t have the same experience. What’s more, most of those graduates are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree. The program for community-college students addresses money issues, which are typically students’ top concern, by covering tuition that’s not paid for by federal and state grants, as well as paying for public transit and giving students free use of textbooks, saving them upward of $900 a year. To help balance the demands of college with work, life and family obligations, students take their classes in a consolidated course schedule (morning, afternoon or evening).

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A Malaysian Instagram influencer, Sara Anna, caused a ruckus online after she filmed herself saying that she will not date Malaysian men anymore after too many disappointing first dates at hawker stalls. A repost of her Instagram story video was uploaded onto Twitter on Nov. 17, and it went viral. https://twitter.com/yourstrulydonnv/status/1196086057185370112 As of the time of writing, the video has garnered over 800,000 views. If you can't see the video, here it is: [video width="592" height="1280" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2019/11/1botcfIHcsM9JEtz.mp4"][/video] Works too hard for hawker stalls In the video, Sara said that most of the Malaysian men she has dated would bring her to a hawker stall on their first date. "I don't like it. Sorry, I'm not being choosy, but I don't work hard just to sit and chill at hawker stalls. So I don't like it." Sara has over 260,000 followers on Instagram and at only 25 years old, she is the founder of the Sara Anna Beauty Parlour. She also has her own clothing lines called Goldsky by Sara Anna and Posh by Sara Anna. Prefers fine dining restaurants In the video, Sara added that she prefers going to a fine dining restaurant instead of a hawker stall. "Maybe after we've been a couple for a while, it would make sense to bring me to a hawker stall. But for the first 10 dates, I want fine dining." Her ideal man would be someone who always compliments her and gives her flowers and gifts. She admitted that she is very clingy, which most Malay men can't stand. Bad experiences with Malay men The Malay men she dated had also taken advantage of her status as an influencer, she explained in an interview with mStar. Once, she went on a date with a Malay man at a hawker stall but when it was time to pay the bill, he acted clueless. She ended up paying for their meals. "I'm honestly tired of Malay men because I've had too many bad first date experiences with them." Different views The online reactions to Sara's video have been polarising. Some netizens were on her side, stating that there's nothing wrong about expressing one's own personal preferences. Translation: "She works hard to get loads of money, it's her choice to prefer what kind of men. It's up to her what she likes and what she doesn't. Most of you are just sour grapes." Translation: "At least this girl is honest. She states her preference clearly. There's no hidden meaning. May she find someone compatible." On the other hand, there are some who found her standards unreasonable. Translation: "Who wants you? Hahaha." Translation: "You're too high maintenance." Translation: "Just say you're a gold digger next time. It'll be easier for us to understand." Yikes. Top photos via Sara Anna/Instagram. Content that keeps Mothership.sg going ?? This event teaches you how to be your own farmer in the comfort of your own home. ?❤️ This company is offering a 50% discount to help single parents in Singapore. ? Do lower-calorie versions of hawker food taste as good?

Premier League sponsors Barclays will not renew their £40million-a-year deal when the current agreement expires at the end of the 2015-16 season. The bank agreed a £120m three-year deal in 2012 for the present rights - an increase of almost 50 per cent on their previous £82m contract. But with Sky and BT Sport paying a record £5.1billion for TV rights from the start of the 2016 season, Barclays fear the cost of the next sponsorship will also rise considerably. Barclays have sponsored the Premier League since 2001 but the 2015-16 season is set to be their last The Premier League's new £5.1billion TV rights deal is set to increase the cost of sponsorship Barclays advertising hoardings and ribbons adorn Manchester United's trophy lift at Old Trafford in May, 2013 Barclays have sponsored the Premier League since 2001 when they first used the sponsorship to promote their Barclaycard brand. As well as the cost of the sponsorship, they must also consider the costs of promoting it through advertising, public relations and social media. The popularity of the Premier League abroad is seen as a major factor behind the bank's decision to continue with their sponsorship for almost 15 years. With games broadcast into 650 million homes in 175 countries, Barclays have used their agreements to promote themselves throughout the world, particularly in Africa and Asia. Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy in 2002 after Barclays' first season as sponsors of the division

Picking the right college football coach isn't easy. In the SEC, that was evident during this offseason as five coaches assumed new head roles in the conference. Coaching success can be a tricky proposition at the college level. There are many moving parts, and multiple factors, beyond the x's and o's, have to run smoothly for sustained success to be achieved. That fact is even more pronounced in the uber-competitive place like the SEC, where you're being compared to some of the best coaches the country has to offer. Still, it is up to each program's athletic director to find the right person for the job. Because if that doesn't happen, firings often follow. There are many cautionary tales of coach hirings gone wrong in the SEC, but what are some of the biggest failures we've ever seen? Here are the least successful coaches, by winning percentage, in the history of current SEC teams. Interim coaches and those with less than 12 games on their records were excluded.

El gobernador de Río Negro, Carlos Ernesto Soria, murió esta madrugada tras sufrir un disparo en la cabeza, luego de un confuso episodio ocurrido después de los festejos por la llegada del nuevo año en su chacra ubicada en las afueras de General Roca. Herido, Soria fue trasladado a un hospital de la zona con vida, pero falleció pocos minutos después. Fuentes de la Jefatura Policial de Viedma confirmaron que el hecho ocurrió a las 4.47 en su chacra, situada a unos 6 kilómetros de la ruta 22, en la zona de Alto Valle. El juez a cargo de la investigación, Emilio Stadler, informó esta noche que el gobernador de Río Negro murió por "un disparo de arma de fuego en la cabeza" mientras se encontraba con su esposa en la habitación de su chacra ubicada en las afueras de General Roca. "El disparo se habría producido con un arma de fuego propiedad del Dr. Carlos Soria, que fue encontrada y secuestrada en la escena del hecho", sostiene el comunicado difundido por la justicia provincial. Al momento de recibir el disparo Soria se encontraba en su cuarto con su esposa. En la vivienda también se encontraban una de las hijas del gobernador y su novio. Por su parte, la Gobernación informó que la muerte de Soria "se produjo presumiblemente producto de un accidente doméstico, debido a la manipulación de un arma de fuego", pero no informó la detención de ninguna persona. Así lo confirmó el vicegobernador Alberto Weretilnek, uno de los primeros en acercarse al lugar del hecho. Afirmó que la muerte fue causada por "un accidente doméstico", mientras se encontraba con Susana Freydos, su mujer. Según Weretilnek, en el momento del hecho, "no había nadie más" que Soria y su esposa en la chacra. Los restos del mandatario fueron trasladados desde la morgue local hacia una sala velatoria privada para realizar una ceremonia íntima entre familiares y allegados, previo a ser depositados en el cementerio Parque de General Roca. Los dirigentes políticos rionegrinos integrantes del Gobierno provincial, municipales y legisladores oficialistas y de la oposición llegan a General Roca para acompañar a la familia, al igual que el secretario general de la Presidencia, Oscar Parrilli que arribó a esa ciudad minutos después del mediodía. Su vice completará el mandato Respecto a la sucesión del gobierno provincial, la Constitución de Río Negro en su artículo 180 establece que el vicegobernador Weretilneck, dirigente del Frente Grande, debe continuar el mandato hasta 2015. Weretilneck en declaraciones a la prensa aseguró que se mantendrán "conversaciones" con el Partido Justicialista y el Gobierno nacional para definir la situación sin descartar la posibilidad de convocar a elecciones. La Constitución provincial señala que "en caso de fallecimiento, destitución, renuncia o inhabilidad definitiva del gobernador antes o después de su asunción lo reemplaza el vicegobernador hasta la finalización de su mandato". Sólo se debería convocar a elecciones, en el lapso de 60 días, si murieran, fueran destituidos, renunciaran o estuvieran inhabilitados en forma simultánea el gobernador y el vice; siempre que esta contingencia se produjera cuando faltaren más de dos años para completar el mandato. Una de sus últimas apariciones públicas públicas, en televisión. La zona de la chacra Sucesión y duelo. El Gobierno provincial confirmó este mediodía que el vicegobernador Alberto Weretilneck asumirá el martes la gobernación de Río Negro en cumplimiento de la Constitución Provincial. Además, anunciaron un encuentro previo a su asunción al que asistirán dirigentes del Frente para la Victoria de toda la provincia entre ellos legisladores e intendentes se reunirán en Viedma para analizar la continuidad institucional. Weretilneck, un dirigente del Frente Grande de Cipolletti, llegó el 10 de diciembre pasado al Gobierno tras compartir la fórmula gubernamental con Soria en las elecciones del 25 de septiembre. Además, luego de la muerte del gobernador, el municipio de General Roca decretó asueto para el 2 de enero y duelo hasta el 6 de enero inclusive. Con la colaboración de Soledad Maradona Debido a la sensibilidad del tema esta nota está cerrada a comentarios

Tyler, 7, sports a self-styled mohawk as he plays at his home in a Maryland suburb near Washington. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) He knew it at 2 years old. His parents suspected it at 4 and knew it at 5. And now, as he turns 7, the courts know it, too. The child born into a girl’s body with the middle name Kathryn, who insisted from toddlerhood that “I am a boy,” had a legal name change this year. Tyler is now his official middle name. (The Post is not using his first and last names to protect his privacy.) It’s another milestone in the long and gut-wrenching path for an otherwise average Maryland family that decided to ignore conventional wisdom and let their child be who he says he is. Two years ago, I wrote a profile of their struggle called “Transgender at Five” that shocked some readers and inspired others. Since then, Tyler’s parents, Jean and Stephen, have seen a massive change in the world around them. Tyler swings in a hammock at his home. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) Earlier this year, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) directed health insurance companies to cover treatment — including gender-reassignment surgery — for city residents with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Last week, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) signed a measure prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in ­cases of housing, employment, credit and the use of public bathrooms. Also last week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he was open to reviewing the Pentagon’s prohibition on transgender people in the military. And this month, Oxford University Press launched “Trans Bodies, Trans Selves,” an exhaustive, nearly 700-page health book for the transgender community. “It’s already a different world, and it’s becoming a better world for my child,” said Tyler’s mother. The one thing that hasn’t changed much? Tyler. “Yes, he’s still a boy. It’s not a phase,” she said, weary, but patient with the constant inquiries — “So, how is it going?” The family agreed to interviews because they know that their child is not alone and want to advocate on behalf of other children whose belief that they were born into the wrong gender — the clinical term for that is gender dysphoria — may be difficult to live with in a society that insists on rigid gender roles. Most of their friends and neighbors and their children’s classmates know that Tyler was born as Kathryn, and the family doesn’t hesitate to discuss it with anyone who asks. Tyler used to issue a blanket statement to friends about being transgender. But lately, he doesn’t want to talk much about it. Almost as if he’s forgotten that he’s different. He may change his mind about being a boy when puberty hits, according to doctors who specialize in children with gender-identity issues. Or he may ask to get hormone injections to begin growing the biological characteristics of the opposite sex when he is 15 or 16 and fully transition with gender-reassignment surgery once he is an adult. When Jean and her husband first began to educate themselves about transgender children, the support groups they found were mostly made up of adults or teenagers. They felt alone until they found one other family with a young transgender child. Then another. And another. Now, they have more than a dozen families who meet at their home once a month to talk about schools, bathrooms, siblings and legal battles. “And we hear from at least one new family every month,” Jean said. They are comfortable enough with ­changes in Maryland that they will enroll their child in a public school next year. That was unimaginable two years ago, so they went into deep debt paying for a private school that was gentle and understanding. Since then, they’ve seen ­changes in school training, policy and the public conversation. One of their biggest legal hurdles this year was the name change. Tyler’s birth certificate, insurance card and everything else had the girl name. This became a problem when they visited a doctor, traveled or had any interactions with the official world. But to change a name legally, the county courts require that a public notice about the name change be published in the local newspaper. That would create the paper trail they’ve been trying to avoid. So they went to court in February, ready for a fight. “I was so anxious for everything to go smoothly with the judge that I couldn’t eat,” said Tyler’s dad, Stephen. But the judge remembered reading about Tyler in The Post. Tyler charmed everyone in court and the change was made under a sealed document. Transgender at 7? Not too different from raising any other 7-year-old boy. Twitter: @petulad To read previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/dvorak.

Go in for a drug raid, come out with stolen golf cart parts? That appears to be the story in a bizarre case in The Villages, a Florida retirement community of more than 150,000 people (and famous for its abundance of golf courses). Local deputies raided Wednesday a home in The Villages after numerous neighbor complaints about alleged drug sales from the residence, per the Orlando Sentinel. Deputies found the suspected drugs in the raid, but that was not all. The raid also uncovered golf-cart parts – windshields, seat cushions and tires – making the home the site of an apparent illegal golf-cart chop shop as well. “There have been some golf carts stolen in the neighborhood in The Villages here, and we’re trying to tie some of the parts to some of the stolen vehicles,” Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Robert Siemer said. WFTV Channel 9 added that some of the five suspects arrested were indeed also suspects in these recent golf cart thefts. As WFTV Channel 9 also notes, 43 golf carts in nearby counties have been stolen in the last few months. As of Thursday morning, investigators had not connected these golf cart parts to any recent thefts in the area. The raided home belongs to an elderly man who did not appear to have any knowledge of the alleged drug and golf-cart chop shop operations going on in his home. The man’s niece, Kathleen Unrath, moved in, claiming to do so to take care of him, but allegedly ran both operations without his awareness. Unrath was one of the five arrested Wednesday. “It is sad that family would take advantage of the elderly like that,” neighbor Evelyn Feighner told WFTV Channel 9.

BlackRock has set up a working group to investigate ways the world’s largest asset manager can take advantage of the fast-growing cryptocurrency market despite its chief executive lambasting the bitcoin sector. The $6.3tn investment powerhouse has created a team from different parts of the business to investigate cryptocurrencies and their underlying infrastructure, blockchain, according to two people familiar with the matter. The...

TSN released their annual Trade Bait List ahead of the March 1st deadline and three Jets players cracked the top 15. To no one’s surprise, pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Ondrej Pavelec comes in at number nine along with pending unrestricted winger Drew Stafford showing up at 15. Not only are those two likely candidates to be moved, some will argue they both should be moved, if there are any takers. A somewhat surprising inclusion on the list and extra surprising in his placement is Mathieu Perreault, who shows up at number four. But should it be surprising? Back in July, the Jets signed Perreault to a four-year extension at an average annual value of $4.125 million. “Mathieu has found his place, found his home,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice at the time. “He’s played the best hockey of his career here. He’s excited he fits and he’s become a really versatile player for us on the wings and at center ice. I think style of game too – when fans come and watch, and the players on the bench really appreciate his tenacity. For not a big guy, he plays with a big heart. We’re really fortunate, really pleased that he picked us again.” His numbers had dipped last year, with only 9 goals in 71 games after have scored 18 in each of the previous two seasons. And now his production seems to have slipped even further, posting just four goals and nine assists in 33 games this season. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below With the supposed forward depth that the Jets have amongst their youngsters, perhaps now is the time to move Perreault. There are many moving parts in all of this, but removing Perreault from the equation might give the Jets some room to maneuver as the expansion draft approaches. Perreault has all day to tie the game. Rough start for the Petry-Beaulieu pairing. pic.twitter.com/c6ZgYq7v6r — Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 12, 2017 Now, there’s no doubt that ‘Matty P’ has value on the roster, even when he’s not producing at the highest levels, but in the current ‘draft and develop’ climate, Nic Petan is wasting away on the fourth line alongside Andrew Copp and Chris Thorburn. Looking onward, Petan could slide in nicely in Perreault’s role. Alike Perreault, Petan can play both wing or center and Petan has also shown a lot of promise on the half wall of the power play. When on his game, Mathieu Perreault is a very likeable player. He’s versatile, energetic, and not afraid to speak his mind (see his comments from earlier in the season on Jacob Trouba’s holdout). His drop in production as of late can be traced back to the hit he took from Daniel Carcillo of the Blackhawks in January of 2015 (a hit for which Carcillo was suspended 6 games). Since that point, his production has been on the decline. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below TSN’s ‘Trade Bait’ lists aren’t put together in a vacuum; Mathieu Perreault doesn’t show up at number four based on a hunch. It’s safe to assume that these guys have some sort of insider information, perhaps that the Jets are shopping him or perhaps other teams are making inquiries. Whatever the case is, with Petan needing ice time to develop, the Jets needing to make expansion draft decisions, and Perreault looking at a raise and a decline in production along with his increased propensity for injury, maybe now is the time to let him go. If there was a way for the Jets to get some young defensive talent in return, Perreault may be a good piece to move.

Article content A Saskatoon construction company has been fined $70,000 after an employee was injured when a scissor lift overturned. Wright Construction Western Inc. pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 in Saskatoon provincial court to one count under the Occupational Health and Safety regulations for failing to ensure safe working conditions. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Wright Construction Western Inc. fined after employee injured Back to video The employee sustained a serious hip injury on Jan. 30, 2017, “after the scissor lift the worker was unloading from a flatbed trailer drove off the ramp and overturned,” according to a Saskatchewan government news release. The company was fined $50,000 plus a surcharge of $20,000.

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The 2012 season brought a STAR WARS Day that was memorable to say the least! Darth Vader and Storm Troopers filled the seats at...

The Tor Project confirmed today that one of its prominent developers, Jacob Appelbaum, stepped down in response to what it called “public allegations of sexual mistreatment.” The Tor Project, which develops the Tor browser and network, had previously only acknowledged Appelbaum’s departure in a one-sentence statement Thursday afternoon, but went into further detail about his resignation after rumors of assault emerged online. Tor is free software that channels internet traffic through a series of relays to anonymize its users. In addition to his security research at the Tor Project, Appelbaum is a journalist who worked on WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden disclosures. Rolling Stone called him the “public face of the Tor Project” in a 2010 profile that detailed his involvement with Tor and WikiLeaks. Before joining Tor, Appelbaum worked on security for Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network. Tor Project executive director Shari Steele said in today’s statement that allegations of sexual assault had followed Appelbaum for quite some time. “These types of allegations were not entirely new to everybody at Tor; they were consistent with rumors some of us had been hearing for some time. That said, the most recent allegations are much more serious and concrete than anything we had heard previously,” Steele wrote. Steele added that The Tor Project had heard allegations from several victims about Appelbaum’s behavior towards them. The Tor Project has hired a legal firm to investigate the statements, but Steele said she did not expect that the results of the investigation would be made public. Steele initially announced Appelbaum’s resignation in a simple statement on Thursday: “Long time digital advocate, security researcher, and developer Jacob Appelbaum stepped down from his position at The Tor Project on May 25, 2016,” she wrote. Despite the terse announcement, the backstory of Appelbaum’s resignation quickly emerged online. Andrea Shepard, a Tor developer, tweeted the decoded version of a message she’d originally posted on May 24, one day before Appelbaum stepped down. “It seems one rapist is one rapist too many,” she wrote. (SHA-256 references the hash used to encode the original message.) Precommitment revealed: sha256("It seems one rapist is one rapist too manyn") (https://t.co/gUpiPKI0st) — Andreⓐ (@puellavulnerata) June 3, 2016 Alison Macrina, the founder of The Library Freedom Project, also referenced the allegations on Twitter, saying she had spoken to several victims. The Library Freedom Project is an organization that educates librarians about privacy and collaborates with the Tor Project to establish Tor exit nodes in libraries. “no more open secrets, no more missing stairs. you’re not alone. you were never alone. and I’m pretty sure things are just getting started,” Macrina tweeted. Several anonymous accounts of assaults allegedly committed by Appelbaum were also posted on a website bearing his name, but TechCrunch has not yet been able to verify them. Steele said the Tor Project would work to foster a safer environment. “Going forward, we want the Tor community to be a place where all participants can feel safe and supported in their work. We are committed to doing better in the future. To that end, we will be working earnestly going forward to develop policies designed to set up best practices and to strengthen the health of the Tor community,” Steele wrote. Update 6/6: Appelbaum posted a response to the allegations against him on Twitter, saying they are part of a “calculated and targeted attack” intended to undermine his advocacy work. “I want to be clear: the accusations of criminal sexual misconduct against me are entirely false,” Appelbaum wrote. “Though the damage to my reputation caused by these allegations alone is impossible to undo, I nonetheless take the concerns of the Tor community seriously.” Appelbaum suggested that he would sue his accusers if necessary to clear his name, calling the allegations libelous. His full statement is here.

A chef de cozinha e apresentadora do GNT, Bela Gil declarou neste 8 de março uma receita infalível para se presentear as mulheres no dia internacional delas: “você pode substituir rosas por respeito, por exemplo” Na internet, alguns homens estão oferecendo pedido de desculpas no lugar do tradicional parabéns pelo dia internacional da mulher. “Desculpas em nome do nosso gênero, alguns de nós estamos trabalhando todos os dias para melhorar”, declarou um homem em seu Facebook.

Article content continued Thursday’s report, which looked at cannabis spending in Canada from 1961 through 2017, aimed to “present a before and after picture of the cannabis sector,” said Tony Peluso, Statistics Canada’s director of international accounts and trade. He said that more than 90 per cent of cannabis use last year came from non-legal providers and the rest from licensed producers for medical purposes. Statistic Canada says the price of pot peaked in 1989 and has been declining since 1990. A gram of pot costs about $7.50 according to today’s report. The government is using web-based crowd sourcing to get current costs of pot by consumers in Canada. Consumers can anonymously fill out a form on a Statistic Canada website and answer questions about the cannabis purchase price, quantity, quality and the city along with the purpose (medicinal or recreational). Since 2000, an average of 18 per cent of pot purchases were made by 15-17 year-olds, and 33 per cent of pot purchases were by 18-24 year olds. Those aged 25-44, meanwhile, made up 40 per cent of pot purchasers. But the demographics are changing. Boomers and those aged 45-64 have become larger consumers of the drug, making up 23 per cent of the overall share of consumers in 2017. That’s up from 4 per cent in 1975. Baby Boomers are “bringing cannabis use with them,” Peluso noted. Provinces and territories will set the price of cannabis, while the federal and provincial governments are working to determine taxes on cannabis products.

It’s been a few weeks since WCS Austin. Even though the finals were awesome, especially with Neeb winning in America, there are still a lot of problems I would like to address. This is not specific to the event, but more to WCS in general. The WCS 2017 announcement was received quite well. The commitment from Blizzard for the next 2 years was great to hear. Despite downsizing in number of events, there would still be 4 throughout the year. I expected them to be similar to majors in Dota & CSGO. This meant longer events, lots of content & promotion. Basically, less events would make it possible for each of them to really mean something. After IEM Katowice I was expecting an event on, or close to, the same level. IEM Katowice was a really refreshing event with high production value, minimal downtime due to jumping into games played offstream and a lot of broadcast days. Not everything was cramped up into 3 days. Sadly, WCS Austin felt very lackluster after Katowice. Promotion ahead of event WCS Challenger is perfect to build storylines and should be heavily promoted. The promotion of the event seemed to be limited to twitter tweets. There were no official write-ups or interviews. The fight for the ladder qualifier is amazing to watch, seeing the ladder points go up and down and wondering who will eventually qualify, but no effort was put into making something to follow it in the final hours. During the main event, it would have been fun to see how each player qualified. Maybe review a bit of their journey. Some graphics on who the player had to beat in the qualifiers, or how many games a ladder player had to play to qualify. There are lots of community sites that already offer very detailed statistics, working with them would be excellent. The main event had no real promotion other than twitter either. The event just started. No trailer, no player spotlights. Nothing. The promotion was basically: Player announcement, Talent announcement, survival guide. This was disappointing considering the amazing WCS Signature Series leading up to BlizzCon. I was expecting this level of promotion prior to WCS 2017, but sadly it does not appear to be the case. The Signature series is probably far out of budget, but flying the players in a few days earlier to shoot some promotional material would have already helped. A good example from nation wars: https://gfycat.com/DimpledDeliciousAmericancrocodile Of course not all promotion can be forced, part of it is up to the community. But Blizzard should do their part properly. Maybe even work with community members to get the word out there. Mainstream content & the format There were 3 days of offline content. This is 25% of all the offline foreign WCS content we will see this year. A lot of the content was covered by online streams. I do not think this should be done, or only limited amounts. Why not cover group stage 1 when you finally have all the players in the same spot? It might as well have been played online. For the players, exposure is important. When you go to an offline event and your game might have been casted on an online stream, it’s not much different from playing in an online cup. This is no disrespect to any of the online casters, but if you qualify for the event, fly out and play in the group stage while having none of your games casted/just an online stream this can’t be right. You get next to no exposure. The format also lend no help in building any storylines. The event went from 96 players to 16 in one day. One of the main stories the first day was GAMETIME taking out uThermal and going to group stage 2. He also went through to group stage 3, but this wasn’t even enough to make it to a second day. The coverage on the mainstream was lackluster. Out of the 160 bo3s played on the first day, the main stream covered 6. The total live broadcast time, including all downtime/half an hour countdown lasted 7 hours on the first day. The second day was much more of a marathon, with 12 bo5s planned on the main stream. There wasn’t even enough time, and one of the bo5s had to be moved to a different stream. The total broadcast time was 13 hours. Then the third day there were only 4 players left, so 2 bo5s and 1 bo7. A total broadcast time of 6 hours. The days were incredibly uneven. Dreamhack has lost its identity Dreamhack SC2 events used to be the ones to watch. Marathon casts with incredible amount of games, downtime filled with funny songs and lots of fun filler content. Players doing the Macarena, iNcontroL trolling in interviews. It would cumulate into a top 8 show on the final day with the hyped up intro video, crowd pans and player introductions. This has changed so much in the last 2 years where they went to a very streamlined show. All the events would blend together and most resources were going into other games. I was hoping to see some of it back this year. Sadly it was not the case. I doubt we will see any improvements this year, but with a bit of luck we will see something next year. Unfortunately all this might come down to tightening of resources by Blizzard. However, even with fewer resources, there are problems that can be solved with minimal investment. There are still many passionate fans out there, and not all hope is lost. But the path WCS is going it will keep on declining.

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio -- David Kaman of Bay Village may be one of Cedar Point's biggest enthusiasts, and he has a Cedar Point memorabilia-stuffed room in his home to prove it. Kaman has a collection of more than 1,000 Cedar Point post cards dating back to the early 1900s. The post cards, neatly tucked into individual plastic slips and bound in photo albums, are scrawled with messages that recall blissful, contented days at the amusement park through the park's history. On the towering bookcase in Kaman's Cedar Point room - so tall that it has an attached rolling ladder to reach the top shelves - is a gold-colored sand pail with matching shovel that dates back to the early days of the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point. "This pail is from the early 1900s," says Kaman, pointing to a pail engraved with 'The finest bathing beach in the world' and matching shovel he found at an estate sale in Findlay about 25 years ago. Kaman is a season passholder who has been among the first to ride the park's most wicked roller coasters, including the Raptor, the Mantis, and this year's 223-foot, 75-mile-an-hour Valravn coaster. His home, which feels like a cross between museum and a gift shop, includes a top-shelf assortment of wood carvings that include animals, a totem pole, a boat and other figures. He says every year a wood carver at the Frontier Trail at Cedar Point makes about a dozen of one item. "It takes him all summer," says Kaman. "Every year the first one he makes he sells to me. It's just a friendship that we developed. Tucked on the highest shelves of the bookcase in Kaman's home are five wood miniature replicas of riverboats that once floated in the Cedar Point lagoon. In an amazingly orderly arrangement, the 15-foot-high or so bookcase is further brimming with newer and historic Cedar Point-themed plates, drinking glasses, mugs, bottles, buttons, photos, coupons for rides dating back to the 1960s, Halloween memorabilia and much more. Kaman has a sign for the Blue Streak roller coast at Cedar Point. Large Cedar Point banners and smaller pennants decorate the walls, along with colorful park maps dating back to 1960. What ignited Kaman's fascination with Cedar Point? He grew up in Sandusky and got a job at the theme park in 1973, when he was 18. "I was hired to change light bulbs. I worked from eleven thirty at night until eight in the morning changing bulbs. I got to see a completely different side of the park because I saw it at night," he says. "And I felt like I was the first person in Ohio to see the sun come up. At the crack of dawn it was so still." His family spent many delightful days at Cedar Point, says Kaman, an attorney with three grown sons. Of all the memories in his collection, his favorite is a picture of his mother on a carousel horse taken in 1931. "Since I was 7 years old we went there every year," he says. Want to nominate a Cool Space? Kaman's father collected Cedar Point postcards, but Kaman has taken it way beyond his dad's level of enthusiasm. Over the years, the younger Kaman has combed estate and postcard sales with the purpose of snaring Cedar Point souvenirs. "These postcards and other things represent hundreds and hundreds of hours riding around with my three sons to garage sales and postcards shows," he says. "We'd be on like a scavenger hunt for Cedar Point things. Sometimes I'm just at the right place at the right time." But he also had an inside advantage for acquiring Cedar Point goodies. "When I worked at Cedar Point a lot of my co-workers ended up going into management positions," he says. "They would call me up and say, 'Hey David we're getting rid of some old signs. Do you want one?' This past year they took down lights posts from the 1900s. I'm hoping to get one. They're very ornate." For the most part, Kaman's collection is neatly contained to his Cedar Point Room, but 400 mugs are stored in his garage. Lots of people have asked why he doesn't hunt for Cedar Point items on eBay, but what's the fun in that? "To me that takes the fun out of it," he says. "I like to interact with people when I'm looking for things." Kaman says even today, visiting Cedar Point brings the same thrill that he felt as a child. "I just fell in love with the park, and the people," he says, adding no matter what problems you have, "you don't think about them when you're on a roller coaster."

Semantic Segmentation Introduction Semantic Segmentation of an image is to assign each pixel in the input image a semantic class in order to get a pixel-wise dense classification. While semantic segmentation / scene parsing has been a part of the computer vision community since 2007, but much like other areas in computer vision, major breakthrough came when fully convolutional neural networks were first used by 2014 Long et. al. to perform end-to-end segmentation of natural images. Figure : Example of semantic segmentation (Left) generated by FCN-8s ( trained using pytorch-semseg repository) overlayed on the input image (Right) The FCN-8s architecture put forth achieved a 20% relative improvement to 62.2% mean IU on Pascal VOC 2012 dataset. This architecture was in my opinion a baseline for semantic segmentation on top of which several newer and better architectures were developed. Fully Convolutional Networks (FCNs) are being used for semantic segmentation of natural images, for multi-modal medical image analysis and multispectral satellite image segmentation. Very similar to deep classification networks like AlexNet, VGG, ResNet etc. there is also a large variety of deep architectures that perform semantic segmentation. I summarize networks like FCN, SegNet, U-Net, FC-Densenet E-Net & Link-Net, RefineNet, PSPNet, Mask-RCNN, and some semi-supervised approaches like DecoupledNet and GAN-SS here and provide reference PyTorch and Keras (in progress) implementations for a number of them. In the last part of the post I summarize some popular datasets and visualize a few results with the trained networks. Network Architectures A general semantic segmentation architecture can be broadly thought of as an encoder network followed by a decoder network. The encoder is usually is a pre-trained classification network like VGG/ResNet followed by a decoder network. The decoder network/mechanism is mostly where these architectures differ. The task of the decoder is to semantically project the discriminative features (lower resolution) learnt by the encoder onto the pixel space (higher resolution) to get a dense classification. Unlike classification where the end result of the very deep network ( i.e. the class presence probability) is the only important thing, semantic segmentation not only requires discrimination at pixel level but also a mechanism to project the discriminative features learnt at different stages of the encoder onto the pixel space. Different architectures employ different mechanisms (skip connections, pyramid pooling etc) as a part of the decoding mechanism. A number of above architectures and loaders for datasets is available in PyTorch at: A more formal summarization of semantic segmentation ( including recurrent style networks ) can also be found here Fully Convolution Networks (FCNs) CVPR 2015 Fully Convolutional Networks for Semantic Segmentation Arxiv We adapt contemporary classification networks (AlexNet, the VGG net, and GoogLeNet) into fully convolutional networks and transfer their learned representations by fine-tuning to the segmentation task. We then define a novel architecture that combines semantic information from a deep, coarse layer with appearance information from a shallow, fine layer to produce accurate and detailed segmentations. Our fully convolutional network achieves state-of-the-art segmentation of PASCAL VOC (20% relative improvement to 62.2% mean IU on 2012), NYUDv2, and SIFT Flow, while inference takes one third of a second for a typical image. Figure : The FCN end-to-end dense prediction pipeline. A few key features of networks of this type are: The features are merged from different stages in the encoder which vary in coarseness of semantic information . . The upsampling of learned low resolution semantic feature maps is done using deconvolutions which are initialized with billinear interpolation filters . . Excellent example for knowledge transfer from modern classifier networks like VGG16, Alexnet to perform semantic segmentation Figure : Transforming fully connected layers into convolutions enables a classification network to output a class heatmap. The fully connected layers ( fc6 , fc7 ) of classification networks like VGG16 were converted to fully convolutional layers and as shown in the figure above, it produces a class presence heatmap in low resolution, which then is upsampled using billinearly initialized deconvolutions and at each stage of upsampling further refined by fusing (simple addition) features from coarser but higher resolution feature maps from lower layers in the VGG 16 ( conv4 and conv3 ) . A more detailed netscope-style visualization of the network can be found in at here In conventional classification CNNs, pooling is used to increase the field of view and at the same time reduce the feature map resolution. While this works best for classification as the end goal is to just find the presence of a particular class, while the spatial location of the object is not of relevance. Thus pooling is introduced after each convolution block, to enable the succeeding block to extract more abstract, class-sailent features from the pooled features. Figure : The FCN-32s Architecture On the other hand any sort of operation - pooling or strided convolutions is deterimental to for semantic segmentation as spatial information is lost. Most of the architectures listed below mainly differ in the mechanism employed by them in the decoder to recover the information lost while reducing the resolution in the encoder. As seen above, FCN-8s fused features from different coarseness ( conv3 , conv4 and fc7 ) to refine the segmentation using spatial information from different resolutions at different stages from the encoder. Figure : Gradients at conv layers when training FCNs Source The first conv layers captures low level geometric information and since this entrirely dataset dependent you notice the gradients adjusting the first layer weights to accustom the model to the dataset. Deeper conv layers from VGG have very small gradients flowing as the higher level semantic concepts captured here are good enough for segmentation. This is what amazes me about how well transfer learning works. Left : Deconvolution (Transposed Convolution) and Right : Dilated (Atrous) Convolution Source Other important aspect for a semantic segmentation architecture is the mechanism used for feature upsampling the low-resolution segmentation maps to input image resolution using learned deconvolutions or partially avoid the reduction of resolution altogether in the encoder using dilated convolutions at the cost of computation. Dilated convolutions are very expensive, even on modern GPUs. This post on distill.pub explains in a much more detail about deconvolutions. SegNet 2015 SegNet: A Deep Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Architecture for Image Segmentation Arxiv The novelty of SegNet lies is in the manner in which the decoder upsamples its lower resolution input feature map(s). Specifically, the decoder uses pooling indices computed in the max-pooling step of the corresponding encoder to perform non-linear upsampling. This eliminates the need for learning to upsample. The upsampled maps are sparse and are then convolved with trainable filters to produce dense feature maps. We compare our proposed architecture with the widely adopted FCN and also with the well known DeepLab-LargeFOV, DeconvNet architectures. This comparison reveals the memory versus accuracy trade-off involved in achieving good segmentation performance. Figure : The SegNet Architecture A few key features of networks of this type are: SegNet uses unpooling to upsample feature maps in decoder to use and keep high frequency details intact in the segmentation. to upsample feature maps in decoder to use and keep high frequency details intact in the segmentation. This encoder doesn’t use the fully connected layers (by convolutionizing them as FCN) and hence is lightweight network lesser parameters. Figure : Max Unpooling As shown in the above image, the indices at each max-pooling layer in encoder are stored and later used to upsample the correspoing feature map in the decoder by unpooling it using those stored indices. While this helps keep the high-frequency information intact, it also misses neighbouring information when unpooling from low-resolution feature maps. U-Net MICCAI 2015 U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation Arxiv The architecture consists of a contracting path to capture context and a symmetric expanding path that enables precise localization. We show that such a network can be trained end-to-end from very few images and outperforms the prior best method (a sliding-window convolutional network) on the ISBI challenge for segmentation of neuronal structures in electron microscopic stacks. Using the same network trained on transmitted light microscopy images (phase contrast and DIC) we won the ISBI cell tracking challenge 2015 in these categories by a large margin. Moreover, the network is fast. Segmentation of a 512x512 image takes less than a second on a recent GPU Figure : The U-Net Architecture U-Net simply concatenates the encoder feature maps to upsampled feature maps from the decoder at every stage to form a ladder like structure. The network quite resembles Ladder Networks type architecture. feature maps to upsampled feature maps from the at every stage to form a ladder like structure. The network quite resembles Ladder Networks type architecture. The architecture by its skip concatenation connections allows the decoder at each stage to learn back relevant features that are lost when pooled in the encoder. U-Net achieved state-of-art results on EM Stacks dataset which contained only 30 densely annoted medical images and other medical image datasets and was later extended to a 3D version 3D-U-Net. While U-Net was initally published for bio-medical segmentation, the utility of the network and its capacity to learn from very little data, it has found use in several other fields satellite image segmentation and also has been part of winning solutions of many kaggle contests on medical image segmentation. Fully Convolutional DenseNet 2016 The One Hundred Layers Tiramisu: Fully Convolutional DenseNets for Semantic Segmentation Arxiv In this paper, we extend DenseNets to deal with the problem of semantic segmentation. We achieve state-of-the-art results on urban scene benchmark datasets such as CamVid and Gatech, without any further post-processing module nor pretraining. Moreover, due to smart construction of the model, our approach has much less parameters than currently published best entries for these datasets. Figure : The Fully Convolutional DenseNet Architecture Fully Convolutional DenseNet uses a DenseNet as it’s base encoder and also in a fashion similar to U-Net concatenates features from encoder and decoder at each rung. E-Net and Link-Net 2016 ENet: A Deep Neural Network Architecture for Real-Time Semantic Segmentation Arxiv 2017 LinkNet: Feature Forwarding: Exploiting Encoder Representations for Efficient Semantic Segmentation Blog In this paper, we propose a novel deep neural network architecture named ENet (efficient neural network), created specifically for tasks requiring low latency operation. ENet is up to 18× faster, requires 75× less FLOPs, has 79× less parameters, and provides similar or better accuracy to existing models. We have tested it on CamVid, Cityscapes and SUN datasets and report on comparisons with existing state-of-the-art methods, and the trade-offs between accuracy and processing time of a network LinkNet can process an input image of resolution 1280x720 on TX1 and Titan X at a rate of 2 fps and 19 fps respectively Left : The LinkNet Architecture Right : The encoder and decoder blocks used in LinkNet The LinkNet Architecture resembles a ladder network architecture where feature maps from the encoder (laterals) are summed with the upsampled feature maps from the decoder (verticals). Also note that the decoder block consists of considerable less parameters due to it’s channel reduction scheme. A feature map with shape [H, W, n_channels] is first convolved with a 1*1 kernel to get a feature map with shape [H, W, n_channels / 4 ] and then a deconvolution takes it to [2*H, 2*W, n_channels / 4 ] a final 1*1 kernel convolution to take it to [2*H, 2*W, n_channels / 2 ] . Thus the decoder block fewer parameters due to this channel reduction scheme. These networks, while being considerably close to state-the-art accuracy, can perform segmentation in real-time on embedded GPUs. Mask R-CNN 2017 Mask R-CNN Arxiv The method, called Mask R-CNN, extends Faster R-CNN by adding a branch for predicting an object mask in parallel with the existing branch for bounding box recognition. Mask R-CNN is simple to train and adds only a small overhead to Faster R-CNN, running at 5 fps. Moreover, Mask R-CNN is easy to generalize to other tasks, e.g., allowing us to estimate human poses in the same framework. We show top results in all three tracks of the COCO suite of challenges, including instance segmentation, bounding-box object detection, and person keypoint detection. Without tricks, Mask R-CNN outperforms all existing, single-model entries on every task, including the COCO 2016 challenge winners. Top : The Mask R-CNN Segmentation Pipeline Bottom : The auxillary segmentation branch in addition to original Faster-RCNN architecture The Mask R-CNN architecture is fairly simple, it an extension of popular Faster R-CNN architecture with requisite changes made to perform semantic segmentation. Some Key features of this architecture are: Faster R-CNN with an auxillary branch to perform semantic segmentation. The RoIPool operation used for attending to each instance, has been modified to RoIAlign which avoids spatial quantization for feature extraction since keeping spatial-features intact in the highest resolution possible is important for semantic segmentation. operation used for attending to each instance, has been modified to which avoids spatial quantization for feature extraction since keeping spatial-features intact in the highest resolution possible is important for semantic segmentation. Mask R-CNN was combined with Feature Pyramid Networks (which performs pyramid pooling of features in a style similar to PSPNet ) achieves state-of-the-art results on MS COCO dataset. There is no working implementation of Mask R-CNN available online as of 01-06-2017 and it has not been benchmarked on Pascal VOC, but the segmentation masks as shown the paper look very close to ground truth. PSPNet CVPR 2017 PSPNet: Pyramid Scene Parsing Network Arxiv In this paper, we exploit the capability of global context information by different-regionbased context aggregation through our pyramid pooling module together with the proposed pyramid scene parsing network (PSPNet). Our global prior representation is effective to produce good quality results on the scene parsing task, while PSPNet provides a superior framework for pixellevel prediction. The proposed approach achieves state-ofthe-art performance on various datasets. It came first in ImageNet scene parsing challenge 2016, PASCAL VOC 2012 benchmark and Cityscapes benchmark. Top : The PSPNet Architecture Bottom : The Spatial Pyramid Pooling in visualized in detail using netscope Some Key features of this architecture are: PSPNet modifies the base ResNet architecture by incorporating dilated convolutions and the features, after the inital pooling, is processed at the same resolution ( 1/4th of the original image input) throughout the encoder network until it reaches the spatial pooling module. and the features, after the inital pooling, is processed at the same resolution ( of the original image input) throughout the encoder network until it reaches the spatial pooling module. Introcution of auxillary loss at intermediate layers of the ResNet to optimize learning overall learning. at intermediate layers of the ResNet to optimize learning overall learning. Spatial Pyramid Pooling at the top of the modified ResNet encoder to aggregate global context. Figure : An illustration to showcase the importance of global spatial context for semantic segmentation. It shows the relationship between receptive field and size across layers. In this case, the larger and more discriminative receptive (blue) maybe of importance in refining the representation carried by an earlier layer (orange) to resolve ambiguity. The PSPNet architecture is currently the state-of-the-art in CityScapes, ADE20K and Pascal VOC 2012 (without MS COCO training data unlike most other methods). A full visualisation of the network in netscope can be found here. RefineNet CVPR 2017 RefineNet: Multi-Path Refinement Networks for High-Resolution Semantic Segmentation Arxiv Here, we present RefineNet, a generic multi-path refinement network that explicitly exploits all the information available along the down-sampling process to enable high-resolution prediction using long-range residual connections. In this way, the deeper layers that capture high-level semantic features can be directly refined using fine-grained features from earlier convolutions. The individual components of RefineNet employ residual connections following the identity mapping mindset, which allows for effective end-to-end training. Top : The RefineNet Architecture Bottom : Building Blocks of RefineNet - Residual Conv Units, Multiresolution Fusion and Chained Residual Pooling. RefineNet approaches the problem of spatial resolution reduction in conventional convnets in a manner very different to PSPNet (which uses computationally expensive dilated convolutions). The proposed achitecture iteratively pools features increasing resolutions using special RefineNet blocks for several ranges of resolutions and finally produces a high resolution segmentation map. Some features of this architecture are: Uses inputs at multiple resolutions , fuses the extracted features and passes them to the next stage. , fuses the extracted features and passes them to the next stage. Introduces Chained Residual Pooling which is able to capture background context from a large image region. It does so by efficiently pooling features with multiple window sizes and fusing them together with residual connections and learnable weights which is able to capture background context from a large image region. It does so by efficiently pooling features with multiple window sizes and fusing them together with residual connections and learnable weights All feature fusion is done using sum (ResNet style) to allow end-to-end training. (ResNet style) to allow end-to-end training. Uses vanilla ResNet style residual layers without expensive dilated convolutions G-FRNet CVPR 2017 G-FRNet: Gated Feedback Refinement Network for Dense Image Labeling Arxiv In this paper we propose Gated Feedback Refinement Network (G-FRNet), an end-to-end deep learning framework for dense labeling tasks that addresses this limitation of existing methods. Initially, GFRNet makes a coarse prediction and then it progressively refines the details by efficiently integrating local and global contextual information during the refinement stages. We introduce gate units that control the information passed forward in order to filter out ambiguity. Top : The G-FRNet Architecture Bottom : The Gated Refinement Unit Most architectures above rely on simple feature passing from encoder to decoder using concatenation , unpooling or simple sum . However, The information that flows from higher resolution ( less discrimnative ) layers in the encoder to the corresponding upsampled feature maps in the decoder may or may not be of utility for segmentation. Gating the information flow from the encoder to the decoder at each stage using Gated Refinement Feedback Units can assist the decoder in resolving ambiguities and forming more relevant gated spatial context. On a side note - The experiments in this paper reveal that ResNet is a far superior encoder base than VGG16 for semantic segmentation tasks. Something which I wasn’t able to find in any of the previous papers. Semi-Supervised Semantic Segmentation DecoupledNet NIPS 2015 Decoupled Deep Neural Network for Semi-supervised Semantic Segmentation Arxiv Contrary to existing approaches posing semantic segmentation as a single task of region-based classifi- cation, our algorithm decouples classification and segmentation, and learns a separate network for each task. In this architecture, labels associated with an image are identified by classification network, and binary segmentation is subsequently performed for each identified label in segmentation network. It facilitates to reduce search space for segmentation effectively by exploiting class-specific activation maps obtained from bridging layers. Figure : The DecoupledNet Architecture This was perhaps the first semi-supervised approach for semantic segmentation using fully convolutional networks. Some sailent features of this approach are: Decouples the classification and the segmentation tasks , thus enabling pre-trained classification networks to be plugged and played. , thus enabling pre-trained classification networks to be plugged and played. Bridge Layers between the classification and segmentation networks produces class-sailent feature map (for class k ) which are then used by the segmentation network to produce a binary segmentation map (for class k ) between the classification and segmentation networks produces class-sailent feature map (for class ) which are then used by the segmentation network to produce a binary segmentation map (for class ) This method however needs k passes to segment k classes in an image. GAN Based Approaches 2017 Semi and Weakly Supervised Semantic Segmentation Using Generative Adversarial Network Arxiv In particular, we propose a semi-supervised framework ,based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which consists of a generator network to provide extra training examples to a multi-class classifier, acting as discriminator in the GAN framework, that assigns sample a label y from the K possible classes or marks it as a fake sample (extra class). To ensure higher quality of generated images for GANs with consequent improved pixel classification, we extend the above framework by adding weakly annotated data, i.e., we provide class level information to the generator. Figure : Weekly Supervised (Class level labels) GAN Figure : Semi-Supervised GAN Datasets Dataset Training Testing #Classes CamVid 468 233 11 PascalVOC 2012 9963 1447 20 NYUDv2 795 645 40 Cityscapes 2975 500 19 Sun-RGBD 10355 2860 37 MS COCO ‘15 80000 40000 80 ADE20K 20210 2000 150 Results Figure : Sample semantic segmentation maps generated by FCN-8s ( trained using pytorch-semseg repository) overlayed on the input images from Pascal VOC validation set Figure: The boat and myself segmented, Alongside Neva River Debugging In case this doesn’t work for you, or if there is a mistake/typo, open up an issue in the repo or feel free to shoot a mail at meetshah1995@ee.iitb.ac.in

As the agency’s chief prosecutor, Griffin can only work with the complaints that cross his desk. It was either luck or fate, then, that a series of new cases would give him the opportunity to help fundamentally reshape the rules that govern companies that increasingly rely on subcontractors, temporary workers, franchise employees and the like. AD Many of those complaints arose from McDonalds workers who say franchisees retaliated against them for protesting over wages. Griffin, in bringing their case, asserts that McDonalds headquarters has enough control over its franchisees’ operations to be equally responsible for their missteps. AD A key test of that theory begins Thursday, when McDonald’s lawyers will face off against Griffin’s in a New York City courtroom. From the workers’ perspective, their complaint targets a problem that’s gotten much worse in recent years: The company that calls the shots is not actually the one who signs their paycheck. That case, and another decided last year called Browning Ferris Industries, has alarmed a host of industries that have come to rely on franchising and other arms-length relationships to shed responsibility for the people who do their work. Trade associations say they saw such attacks coming, and that is why they resisted Griffin’s appointment from the get-go; they said he would tilt the agency in favor of labor. AD “Have I fulfilled their expectations?” Griffin chuckles, wryly, upon being told of such predictions. AD From the angry language of industry leaders and conservative groups, the attempts to get the NLRB’s actions rolled back legislatively, and pronouncements by politicians — including Jeb Bush, who had a whole anti-NLRB plank in his now-defunct presidential campaign platform — of the need to rein in the “unaccountable” agency, it seems the answer is yes. “If you’re a management person, you’re going to say Mr. Griffin’s term is one of the most dramatic activist terms of any general counsel in history,” said Michael Lotito, co-chair of the Workplace Policy Institute at the management-side law firm Littler Mendelson. A dynamic duo Griffin is actually one of two Obama appointees who, in their separate legal domains, have taken on the project of ensuring that bargaining rights and wage protections are upheld by the companies that ultimately govern the terms and conditions of their employment. AD AD The other is David Weil, a rumpled professor who had spent a career studying the enforcement of labor laws in an outsourced world when Obama plucked him from Boston University three years ago to serve as wage and hour administrator at the Department of Labor. Weil’s confirmation hearing was nearly as rough as Griffin’s. The position had been empty for nearly a decade, with two nominations already having been withdrawn in the face of GOP objections. And Weil had just published the most powerful book of his career: “The Fissured Workplace,” a tour through the ways in which he argues industries remade themselves for maximum efficiency and minimum responsibility for workers. Ultimately, in early 2014, he was voted through. With no time to waste, Weil set about remaking the Labor Department’s enforcement strategy to reflect his understanding of how businesses had changed. AD AD All too often, Weil says, they have misclassified employees as independent contractors to avoid paying benefits like minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance and workers compensation, or brought in temporary staffing agencies that can be swapped out as soon as they get too expensive. So with a beefed up inspection staff, the department has done extensive market research to target investigations in industries like construction and light manufacturing, where abuses are most common. “We’re trying to understand the way the world is structured in order to maximize our impact,” explained Weil, in a January interview. Weil’s diagnosis of the problem has had far-reaching influence within the administration — including upon Griffin. The general counsel cited Weil’s research in a brief in the Browning-Ferris case that laid out how the labor relations board should expand its definition of an employer to include not just a company that exerted direct control over workers, but also those who simply reserve the right to do so — reflecting the “economic reality” of their business practices. In its decision, the board adopted Griffin’s recommendation nearly in full. AD AD Their harmonious approaches have raised suspicions on Capitol Hill that Griffin and Weil are mounting a coordinated assault on businesses that depend on all forms of subcontracting, a push that has now surfaced at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee demanded to see any correspondence between the two, which they said would be “inappropriate.” And indeed, some evidence of communication between the two agencies was produced, although the Department of Labor says that's entirely above board. "Federal agencies can foster a more efficient and effective government by working together to learn best practices and to broaden understanding of topical developments in relevant legal issues," said a spokesman for the department. Nevertheless, Griffin and Weil say they didn’t know each other well before going into public service, and have since only seen each other at the occasional event. And Griffin has been around in the labor movement long enough to understand the changing economic realities facing workers himself. AD AD Mike Fanning, who served as general counsel of the union before Griffin took over and calls him "one of the brightest, hardest working, and sweetest guys you’ll ever meet,” recalls a case before the NLRB that had been appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. In order to write a brief, they needed evidence from their members in large hospitals. Griffin, who grew up in Buffalo as the child of Catholic civil rights activists, was assigned to collect it. "He was the kind of guy who would walk into any boiler room in America and sit down with the guys and say ‘I’m sorry I’m interrupting, I know it’s your lunchtime, but this is what I’ve got to do.’" — Former IUOE General Counsel Mike Fanning “He basically got on an airplane for six weeks, and was in the basements of hospitals, interviewing engineers, putting together the history,” Fanning recalls. “He was the kind of guy who would walk into any boiler room in America and sit down with the guys and say ‘I’m sorry I’m interrupting, I know it’s your lunchtime, but this is what I’ve got to do.’ He found guys to testify, but they wouldn’t trust me, they would only trust Dick.” Although never working directly for a union, Weil hasn’t lived his life in an ivory tower either. According to a 2014 Boston Globe profile, he dropped out of high school and spent a year doing manual labor in California before going to college. That kind of experience — along with extensive academic research — helped him understand something that’s been evident to the labor movement for a long time. AD AD “The reason it’s important and edifying for advocates who work with low-wage workers is that these people in the administration are starting to call attention to the problem,” says Cathy Ruckelshaus, general counsel for the liberal National Employment Law Project. "That makes a huge difference, because they know it in their bones." Franchise fury Weil and Griffin’s actions have prompted yelps of protest from a broad range of industries that rely on “fissuring,” as a broad range of contracted work has come to be known. But none has resisted as loudly as the franchise industry, through its trade group the International Franchise Association, which sees the action around joint employment as simply an indication that the administration is following organized labor’s agenda. AD “When you have an administration that is pro-union, and appoints people who are pro-union, and you have unions spending a tremendous amount of money, it provides a fertile environment for unions and employment-related causes to take on high visibility,” says Stuart Hershman, a longtime franchise lawyer who advises the IFA. AD The problem, Hershman says, is that franchisors don’t know what kinds of assistance they can provide to franchisees without becoming a joint employer. Franchisors are already spending more on lawyers to try to adapt to the new rules, he says, but they fear it won’t be enough. According to Ruckelshaus, of NELP, the number of cases being filed against companies as joint employers is rising as well. In response, the association has built a grassroots lobbying network to try to push Congress to stop the Department of Labor and NLRB from pursuing franchisors as joint employers of their franchisees’ workers.The trade group has also recently advocated for laws adopted in a handful of states that formally state a franchisor can’t be held responsible for the actions of its employees — that doesn’t protect them from federal law enforcement, but it’s something. As a result of the uproar, Griffin and Weil have engaged in an unusual amount of dialogue with trade groups, appearing at conferences and taking private meetings to explain their approach. Just a few weeks ago, Griffin flew down to San Antonio on a Saturday to answer questions at the IFA’s board meeting, in hopes of providing more clarity. People in attendance say they appreciated the gesture, but they were not put at ease. "He said, 'I don’t understand why you guys are so upset about this,’” recalls IFA President Robert Cresanti, of Griffin’s presentation. “I think when I walked away from this thing, in my head the phrase that kept ringing was, 'this guy is really well intentioned, but we can’t afford to live in a world where intentions matter more than results.' And the result here is the destruction of the franchise industry. And it is slow, and it is not seismic, it’s just piece by piece by piece."

'I jumped on his head myself!': Pregnant woman is jailed for organising gang beating of innocent man who was wrongly named as a paedophile on vigilante website Rachel Ashworth, 28, led the vicious attack on vulnerable epileptic victim Antonio Cressoti, 39, was punched, kicked and beaten in his own home He had been falsely branded a paedophile on website 'Predator Watch' Fraudulent website put details on and demanded money to remove them Ashworth, of Colne, Lancashire, bragged about the assault on Facebook Pregnant Ashworth admitted assault and was jailed for 16 months Jailed: Mother-to-be Rachel Ashworth, 28, pictured, was sentenced to 16 months in prison A mother-to-be led a savage assault on a man wrongly identified as a paedophile. Rachel Ashworth and two accomplices burst into the home of Antonio Cressoti and beat him so badly he was left unconscious. They kicked and punched him to the floor before smashing an ornament over his head. Ashworth, 28, later boasted of the attack on Facebook, saying: ‘I even jumped on his head myself. Any paedophile deserves hanging.’ But Mr Cressoti, 39, had never committed a sex offence, Burnley Crown Court heard yesterday. Ashworth, who is studying beauty therapy, had seen his name on Predators Watch, a Facebook site identifying suspected paedophiles. She recruited two other people and went to Mr Cressoti’s home early on the morning of Sunday, June 16, and started banging on the door. When Mr Cressoti opened it Ashworth, who he had known for around a month, shouted: ‘You are a paedophile b*****d’ before the assault began. Kimberley Obrusik, prosecuting, told the court: ‘The victim must have become unconscious as the next thing he was aware of was hearing a car speeding away. He called the police and ambulance and was kept in hospital for 24 hours.’ Mr Cressoti suffered a broken rib and severe cuts and bruising. ‘The complainant has no antecedents for any sexual offences in any way,’ Miss Obrusik added. ‘He suffers from epilepsy and was vulnerable. Since the assault, there have been significant complications.’ After her arrest, Ashworth, from Colne in Lancashire, told detectives that Mr Cressoti was a paedophile and it was ‘all over the internet’. On Facebook she had also written that she had ‘defo found the right one’ and bragged that her victim’s face would be a mess. The court heard that Predators Watch had identified innocent people and then demanded money for these names to be removed. The site has since been closed down. Ashworth, a first time offender who is 15 weeks pregnant with her first child, admitted causing actual bodily harm but refused to name her two accomplices. Kristian Cavanagh, defending, said the defendant knew it was a serious offence. ‘She recognises it was a stupid thing to do, including the entry on Facebook,’ she added. ‘She took it off within an hour and has since left Facebook.’ Sentencing Ashworth to 16 months in prison, Judge Beverley Lunt said: ‘This was vigilantism, wrongly. Sentencing at Burnley Crown Court, pictured, Judge Beverley Lunt told Ashworth: 'You identified this entirely innocent man and he's now seeking help with mental issues, suffers panic attacks' 'You identified this entirely innocent man and he’s now seeking help with mental issues, suffers panic attacks, his epilepsy has been made worse and he’s moved out of the area because he was afraid to stay where he was.’ He said the Facebook entries were ‘disgraceful’. ‘You are 15 weeks pregnant, but that cannot be used as a shield to stop an appropriate sentence being imposed.’ In May, Gary Cleary hanged himself in Leicestershire after he was confronted by members of the now defunct vigilante group Letzgohunting. The group claimed to have posed as a 14-year-old girl in an online chatroom to make contact with the 29-year-old engineer, who had a girlfriend. He was found dead in his garage four days later.

President Obama’s recent talk of an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy is no doubt partially motivated by election year politics. That said, there is an important kernel of truth underlying it: no one approach can solve our nation’s future energy needs. While some renewable energy advocates want the industry to be the White Knight, the reality is that meeting our energy needs will require fossil fuels and renewables not merely to co-exist, but to co-develop. This co-existence is particularly critical for two sectors of the industry: solar and natural gas. Why these two? Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has fundamentally shifted energy production and consumption in the past ten years. For example, Germany recently set a record by producing 50 percent of the nation’s midday electricity needs from solar. Solar is also cheaper than ever before thanks to massive cost reductions. Solar has earned a place at the mainstream energy table. It is also clear that the development of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) technology shares the spotlight with solar PV as the greatest revolution in energy in the last 50 years. In just a few short years, our domestic outlook has changed from one of resource shortage to one of abundance. Many unanswered questions remain around fracking’s impact on health and the environment, but the fact remains that just like solar, it has radically increased our energy options. Many current debates seem to pose the question as to which technology will win. The reality is that it’s a false dilemma -- both must (and can) win if we are to be successful in our transition to a responsible clean energy future in which cheap solar, wind, and natural gas displace coal as our primary fossil fuel for electricity production. Neither of the extreme scenarios makes sense. It won’t be a natural gas 'too cheap to meter' scenario that some appear ready to embrace, nor will it be the 'renewable-only future' that others are advocating. The truth is far more nuanced. Those who understand the industry are far better positioned to see past the short-term chaos of solar and the euphoria of natural gas to the long-term balance that will shape the energy industry’s future. And both technologies fit into a compelling vision of a future grid in which renewables generate a large portion of our energy supply, while natural gas provides grid and price stability. The current politically charged discussion that pits natural gas against solar and vice versa benefits no one, and obscures a tremendous opportunity for collaboration. As someone with 13 years in the energy business (both natural gas and solar), I think it is time for these two sectors of the energy industry to set aside differences, and work to achieve what’s best for our economy, our people and our environment. Here are three suggestions for getting to a constructive dialog: Stop beating on each other. Personally, I remain an environmentalist and hope to see fracking carefully regulated as with all industrial impacts. Professionally, it is time for the renewable energy industry, including solar, to stop seeing their success in fracking’s demise. We have to begin to articulate a common vision for energy policy with a big enough tent to sell it politically. It is time that solar trade associations and lobbyists joined more closely with those of other players in the power industry. Push regulators, ratepayers, politicians and others to be 'long-term greedy.' It is tempting to make investment decisions based on today’s short-sighted views on gas prices and solar power. As I set out below, those short-sighted views have some serious flaws, and due to the capital intensiveness of the power industry, it is hard to adjust policy quickly without disrupting markets. We must keep decision makers away from the temptation of a less balanced energy plan based on short-run cost advantages. Create a comprehensive U.S. National Energy Policy. This list would be incomplete without the mythical holy grail of next steps: a unifying, environmentally responsible and economically plausible national energy policy. If we can make progress on the first two items, maybe we will have the beginnings of a consensus that not only has a reasonable plan for a national energy policy, but a political base broad enough to make it happen. As mentioned, there is a lot of speculation about how the huge decline in estimates for long-run natural gas prices will spell the demise of solar and other renewables. The reality is that this is a world ideally suited for solar, for the following reasons: Most importantly, solar can fill in for natural gas' greatest weakness: price volatility. Solar’s cost is known upfront, whereas a gas-fired generator is stuck with long-run natural gas prices as they go up and down throughout the 20- to 40-year life of the power plant. With solar, you know what the price is for 20-plus years into the future. The installed price of solar has plummeted and continues to fall. Assuming a long-run natural gas price in the $5 to $7/Million Metric British Thermal Units (MMBTU) range, solar can be competitive with gas-fired wholesale electricity in the next two to five years. Solar generation tends to peak when electricity demand peaks, given the correlation between hot sunny days and air conditioning use. In this way, solar is a good hedge to short-term spikes in the need for power that might otherwise cause volatility in the natural gas market if that power were supplied by gas-fired generators. It’s true that the forecasted $2.00 drop in long-run natural gas prices could eat up almost all of the benefit of declining solar costs. But familiar flaws in our industry’s ability to estimate long-run gas prices and the uniquely complementary relationship of solar and gas are likely to yield a more balanced ending to this story. Natural gas prices have always fluctuated wildly (in a range of $2.50 to $14 per MMBTU). Expectations that long-run prices will do anything different in the future are difficult to believe. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Long-term gas contracts (more than 3 years) are priced around $5/MMBTU, so even industry participants anticipate the likelihood of doubling today’s spot prices. Just as liquefied natural gas-importing terminals were meant to provide an equilibrium long-run price of gas around $6 to $7/MMBTU in the late 1990s and early 2000s (something that did not occur), today's projections look similar. The dirt-cheap price of producing highly subsidized, massively overbuilt shale gas is simply escalated at inflation and offered up as a projection for the long-run price of natural gas. Having heard this story before, I am incredulous, and here’s why: We know that gas supply is plentiful right now and that there's a lot more down there than we thought. But we don't really know how much of it there is at each price point of extraction or what this new resource looks like in terms of long-term production. Short-run demand for natural gas can be volatile, while supply can be hard to adjust. A hot summer day with some pipeline constraints or greater-than-expected seasonal demand and we could be looking at a nice, frothy gas market again. Demand for natural gas tracks the economic cycle. We are still in a period of low capacity in U.S. manufacturing, power generation and almost all other uses of North American natural gas. The hype around cheap, plentiful gas and the push to kill coal are likely to result in significant substitution, changes in the fundamentals of natural gas demand and a much stronger recovery in demand than is currently priced into today's forward curve. This could result in much higher long-run prices than most are predicting. None of this is to question the fundamental shift in our energy options that fracking has introduced, but a radical increase in the total long-run supply of gas may not alter the problematic elements of short-run gas supply and gas demand. Moreover, structural changes in response to this increase in the long-run supply of gas may fundamentally change demand for gas, leaving the long-run impact of “fracking” on gas prices very uncertain. So the likely outcome of the above analysis is a world with long-run gas prices of $5 to $7/MMBTU and the equivalent price for solar. I can find nothing to complain about in that scenario -- with solar, wind, and natural gas at all-time-low rates, it means we can deliver a stable, robust, and cleaner generating fleet with almost no long-term cost impact over the current regime. It’s time to embrace that future and work together to make it a reality. *** Sheldon Kimber is the Chief Operating Officer at Recurrent Energy and leads all North American project development, expansion, and origination activities for the firm. In this role, Sheldon drove the expansion of the company’s development strategy from a small-scale rooftop developer with a less than 100-megawatt pipeline to a leading utility-scale PV developer with hundreds of megawatts of contracted projects and a pipeline of more than two gigawatts. Formerly Recurrent Energy’s vice president of finance, Sheldon was instrumental in developing and negotiating the company’s first projects, fundraising efforts, and joint venture agreements.

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The Today Show type TV Show After revealing himself to be HIV positive in November 2015, Charlie Sheen returned to Today Tuesday morning, sharing an update on his life with the disease, reflecting on past regrets, and speaking out against a controversial treatment he sought in Mexico earlier this year. During an interview with Today‘s Matt Lauer, Sheen revealed his biggest regrets concerning his life, career, and behavior. “I regret not using a condom one or two times when this whole thing happened,” he said. “I regret ruining Two and a Half Men. I regret not being more involved in my children’s lives growing up… But, we can only move forward from today, and they wouldn’t call it the past if it wasn’t.” He further elaborated on the alternative treatment method he sought south of the border, one that made headlines for its unusual methodology. “That didn’t go so well. That man is a criminal; he’s a charlatan,” the 50-year old said, revealing that, while under Dr. Sam Chachoua’s care, the virus count in his bloodstream jumped from 0 to 7,000. “He’s hurting a lot of good and decent people.” In January, Sheen visited The Dr. Oz Show to give an update on his health, revealing he was off his HIV medications ahead of traveling to Mexico for the alternative treatment which, according to the doctor, involved spending several months injecting himself with Sheen’s blood and using goat’s milk to help cure the actor’s HIV. Sheen previously noted their time together amounted to little more than a day, and denounced the doctor’s approach to curing him on Twitter. Currently undergoing treatment as part of an FDA trial, which allowed the actor to declare himself “undetectable,” Sheen described his current healthcare routine as “one shot per week, as opposed to pills everyday,” noting the change is “not just physical, but it’s psychological… This is the future of treatment what I’m doing now.” On his previous Today appearance, Sheen said he was diagnosed with HIV more than four years prior. “It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life,” the actor said, admitting he’d spent more than $10 million to keep the condition secret as he endured various “shakedowns” over the years regarding his health. “What people forget is that that’s money they’re taking from my children… I trusted them and they were deep in my inner circle, and I thought they could be helpful. My trust turned to their treason.” Sheen rose to prominence in the late 1980s, after roles in films like Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), and Major League (1989). He later made waves in 2011 after a public meltdown that resulted in his firing from the hit CBS series Two and a Half Men. The 50-year old later returned to TV on the FX sitcom Anger Management, which ran for 100 episodes between 2012 and 2014. Though it notched the most-watched premiere for a series in the network’s history, the show made headlines for the alleged on-set conflict between Sheen and costar Selma Blair, who left the series into its second season after reportedly clashing with the actor during production. The actor will next appear alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the indie drama Nine Eleven, which will revolve around five people trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Center on Sept 11., 2001. Watch Sheen’s full interview on Today in the video below.

Rescued baby elephant reunited with wild mother The rescued calf drinks from her mother's breast after a tense reunion on Thursday afternoon. The young animal was rescued after falling down a mountainside on the night of Feb 24 in Thung Tako district, Chumphon. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee) CHUMPHON: A baby elephant rescued after falling down a mountainside in Thung Tako district has been reunited with her mother and accepted back into the herd, after three weeks apart. The dramatic yet heartwarming reunion was witnessed by a team of delighted forestry officials, vets and volunteers. The baby elephant, given the name Phang Boonmak, was seen happily drinking milk from its mother’s breast, surrounded by members of the herd after initial fears she may be rejected after so long apart. Tranquilizer darts were ready in case they attacked. The calf was believed to be less than 10 days old when rescued, but still weighed a respectable 200 kilogrammes. Phang Boonmak fell down a mountainside in Thung Tako late at night on Feb 24. Ngao Waterfall National Park rangers and volunteers came to the rescue in the morning after hearing the herd making loud noises in the area overnight. They found and took the calf to an animal care unit for treatment. On Thursday, the once-again healthy youngster was taken to a forested area in tambon Khao Khai of Sawi district, Chumphon. A team of forest rangers hazed the calf's mother and herd down from a mountain and into the area. Phang Boonmak was waiting, alone inside a loosely made rope fence. Around 4.30pm seven wild elephants walked towards her. For the next hour there was a lot of trumpeting and rumbling, and the team members became anxious the reunion might fail. The herd gradually calmed down and the baby was reunited with her mother. She drank milk from her mother’s breast for the first time since they were parted, and the team members sighed with relief and joy. The herd drifted back into the forest. It normally roams in Lang Suan, Thung Tako and Sawi districts. Phang Boonmak reunites with her wild mother and the herd in Chumphon on Thursday. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee) The team was armed with tranquiliser darts, just in case. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee) The calf after her rescue from a mountainside in Chumphon on Feb 25. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee) Separated from her mother, a youngster still has to feed. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee)

A transgender woman took her own life by setting herself on fire in Portland last week, and according to reports, she might have done it to protest mental health challenges and online bullying. Chloe Sagal, a 31-year-old game developer, self-immolated last Thursday, and though nearby witnesses managed to put out the fire, she later died at a hospital, according to the Oregonian. Her friends said the cyberbullying she had been experiencing for the past several years had led to her mental decline and instability. In 2013, Sagal reportedly became the target for Kiwi Farms, a message board that describes itself as a “community dedicated to discussing eccentric people who voluntarily make fools of themselves” but which has also been described as a haven for cyberstalkers who bully and harass. As New York magazine wrote in 2016, Kiwi Farms, which got its start on 4chan, “specializes in harassing people they perceive as being mentally ill or sexually deviant in some way.” Sagal came to Kiwi Farms members’ attention after she was discovered to have attempted to crowdfund her gender surgery despite her originally saying on Indiegogo that she needed money for a life-saving operation to remove metal shrapnel from her body. After Eurogamer reported about the $30,000 that had been raised on Indiegogo for Sagal’s campaign, Kiwi Farms members reportedly began to harass her on multiple online platforms. Her friends told the Oregonian that she constantly thought about suicide, and one friend told the newspaper, “One factor that made it much harder for her to get help was that whenever she talked about suicide, [Kiwi Farms members] would report her Facebook page and get it locked down. This had happened multiple times in the month prior to her death.” On the Kiwi Farms thread that linked to news of her death, Sagal is misgendered over and over again and she’s mocked for her death and for the way she committed suicide. After one commenter wrote that Kiwi Farms shouldn’t be blamed for her death because an old post about Sagal hadn’t been active for six months, another wrote, “I mean, that isn’t really an indication that we didn’t do it—it’s not like something in (sic) she read in the thread a year or two ago couldn’t have lead (sic) to this. Not that it matters, or anything. Someone who really wants to kill themselves is going to do it eventually, nothing you can really do about it.” Another commenter wrote on a different thread, “I do hope they blame us for literally murdering another troon. Dibs on credit.” One trans activist, though, has accused Sagal of harassment. In 2016, Zinnia Jones said Sagal, who created the indie game Homesick, threatened to kill her. I feel like when I get a death threat it's probably a good idea to save it for the record. Here's one from just now. pic.twitter.com/ft289KZS5i — Zinnia, adult demon female (@ZJemptv) August 22, 2016 I do. Chloe Sagal literally threatened to find me and kill me. She's a known harasser of trans people and everyone's aware of her. Sad that you have to dig this deep to maintain your own relevance. https://t.co/WsWnWZ6JK4 — Zinnia, adult demon female (@ZJemptv) June 22, 2018 A few days before her death, police were informed that Sagal wanted to hurt herself, and after finding her with a machete, they took her into custody and sent her to a mental health crisis center. She was released, and a few days later, she was dead. In a note she reportedly wrote to friends the week of her death and that was obtained by the newspaper, she said, “My death cannot be silent. It has to be loud and political. My entire life, my experience, my education has led up to this moment. I can only expect trauma and death from my existence.” For more information about suicide prevention or to speak with someone confidentially, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.) or Samaritans (U.K.). If you need to speak to counselors with experience dealing with transgender issues, contact Trans Lifeline at (877) 565-8860 (U.S.) or (877) 330-6366 (Canada).

The BBC has defended new CBBC transgender drama Just a Girl against criticisms that it is unsuitable for young children. Cat Lewis, chief executive of Nine Lives Production Company which made a documentary called I am Leo, about a boy born as a girl called Lily, says the drama promotes awareness and understanding of transgender issues. She discusses the programme with Laura Perrins, co-editor of The Conservative Woman website, who argues: "It's not the job of the BBC to encourage children to change their gender." (Image: Just a Girl, credit: BBC)

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news, latest-news ACT laws requiring drivers to maintain a safe distance when passing cyclists are barely being enforced, with police issuing just 12 infringements or cautions to drivers since the start of 2016. During the same period, 179 complaints have been made about ACTION bus drivers over incidents involving cyclists. The new statistics have prompted calls for stronger enforcement and more awareness of the requirement for vehicles to remain at least one metre away from cyclists when overtaking at speeds below 60km/h, and at least 1.5 metres away when going faster. ACT Greens transport spokeswoman Caroline Le Couteur, who asked questions in the Legislative Assembly that led to the statistics being released, said the deaths of two Canberra cyclists this year showed how important it was to increase enforcement and awareness of the laws. A memorial service will be held at Nara Park at 9am on Saturday in memory of Teresa Foce, who died in April following a crash with a vehicle in Conder, and Kathy Ho, a Canberran who was killed in June after a crash with a van just outside the ACT. A 37-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and negligent driving causing death after the crash that killed Ms Ho on Tarago Road, in NSW. "We have legislation which says one metre matters, and you should leave a metre between your vehicle and the cyclist if you’re passing, but we know that’s not enforced," Ms Le Couteur said. "... It is worthwhile diverting resources to protect the lives of Canberra cyclists. They are important." Weston Creek cyclist Leonie Doyle, who rides about 30 kilometres to and from work, said her experiences in the eight years she had commuted by bike had been overwhelmingly positive. Ms Doyle said while dangerous incidents were rare, there were aggressive and inattentive drivers who created close calls for cyclists. "I think less experienced cyclists would probably ride more, and they might take up the opportunity to ride to work like I do [if the laws were more strongly enforced]," she said. "I think that, in particular, younger people, older people and females are more intimidated about riding on the roads." The Canberra Times asked ACT Policing if it was concerned about the apparent lack of enforcement. In response, the officer in charge of traffic operations, Station Sergeant David Wills, provided an emailed statement that did not address that question, but did answer one about whether police intended to focus more on the safety of cyclists. The statement said ACT Policing planned to campaign around the safety of vulnerable road users - cyclists, children, pedestrians and motorcyclists - next month. Ms Le Couteur also called on Transport Canberra to better educate ACTION bus drivers after revelations of the 179 complaints relating to incidents involving cyclists since the start of 2016. In response to questions, Transport Canberra emailed The Canberra Times a statement that said safety on ACT roads was its highest priority. Transport Canberra said it was committed to educating all road users, including bus drivers and cyclists, about how to stay safe. https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/87d1956a-740b-4b09-81b8-46bc18b61e9e/r0_105_3733_2214_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

On Oct. 10, Korean boy group Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) released their second full-length album Wings, which debuted at No. 1 on iTunes’ Top Albums chart for all categories in the United States and 14 other countries, and currently sits above Beyonce’s Lemonade (No. 30) and Frank Ocean’s Blonde (No. 33), at No. 26 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. America prides itself on having an ear for the next big thing in music but tunes out most non-English music. Daft Punk is French, Shakira is Colombian and Avicii is Swedish, but they all sing in English. Our monolinguistic tendencies make it nearly impossible for foreign acts to become popular with songs in their native tongue. Here we have BTS, a Korean pop (K-pop) group that doesn’t sing in English, did not promote their album in the U.S. and didn’t have a viral music video like Psy’s 2012 hit, “Gangnam Style.” It is fitting that BTS, which is breaking norms in South Korea, is also breaking the U.S.’s conventional monolingualism in music. K-pop groups are formed by entertainment companies that select individuals through auditions and scouting processes based on their singing and/or dancing abilities or sometimes just based on their looks. Selected individuals train to become idols until their company is ready for them to debut, which can take months or years from when they enter the company. K-pop music is designed to have universal appeal. Idols are overworked, underpaid, have little to no say in what they do and are held to a standard of perfection. Their music is created by entertainment companies to be catchy but most idols have minimal creative license. BTS has dance routines with some of the hardest choreography in K-pop. The choreography for their songs “Fire” and “Save Me” from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever exemplify this, and they have worn outfits ranging from schoolboy to bad boy. Still, the group is breaking K-pop stereotypes and receiving global recognition for it. BTS debuted in 2013 as a seven-member group formed by Big Hit Entertainment consisting of three rappers (J-Hope, Suga and Rap Monster) and four vocalists (Jimin, Jin, Jungkook and V) ranging in age from 15 to 20. Suga and Rap Monster were active in Korea’s underground hip-hop scene before becoming idols, which heavily influenced BTS’ style and image. BTS debuted with the song “No More Dream” off of their mini album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, a song with a music video that included them dressed in chains and bandanas while aggressively rapping about wanting “a big house, a big car and big rings” and how nothing, including school, should get in the way of your dreams. What sets BTS apart from other groups are their lyrics and the fact that BTS writes them independently, which is atypical of the carefully curated and managed K-pop groups. Over time, BTS’ sound gradually morphed from aggressive, underground hip-hop to a more mainstream sound with balance and depth, while still maintaining their musical roots. Wings preserves BTS’ bombastic style, as seen in “21st Century Girls” and “Am I Wrong,” but also displays their versatility and individual personalities as each member has a solo song on the 15-track album. Wings contains songs ranging from Sam Smith-esque ballads (“Lie”) to aggressive raps (“Intro: Boy Meets Evil” and “Cypher Part 4”) to moombahton trap songs (“Blood, Sweat and Tears”) that give Major Lazer and Justin Bieber a run for their money. In their 2015 song “Dope” from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1, they sing “our youth rots in the studio / because of it we’re closer to success.” They are well aware of their deviation from the standard K-pop formula; they are willing to work as hard as they need to make it and they do it their own way. BTS contrasts South Korea’s conservative society — Psy’s “Gentleman” music video was banned because he kicked a traffic cone, an abuse of public property. Most K-pop focuses on safe topics like love, heartbreak and partying. BTS does not play it so safely. In their song “Silver Spoon” from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2, they directly criticize South Korean society. The song title references the metaphor that equates wealth and social class to spoons. In “Silver Spoon,” the septet labels themselves as “try-hards” and describe how hard they must work because they were born without silver spoons in their mouths. While BTS has some songs that fit the cliché K-pop stereotype like “Just One Day” from Skool Luv Affair, they also discuss important topics, even though they may land the band in trouble: bullying, depression, struggles of youth, pursuit of happiness, forsaking society’s ideals and temptation. A refreshing shift from generic upbeat pop songs, BTS’ songs are aurally seductive and resonate with common experiences. Just as K-pop has a tendency to revolve around the same few topics, American music also falls prey to having too many songs about love, sex and partying. BTS’ music provides a different and innovative story told over hypnotising melodies, hardcore raps and club-worthy dance tracks. Behind the heavy bass, coordinated outfits, perfectly disheveled hair and practiced smirks is music with meaning. Their lyrics and the emotions they try to convey feel more genuine than songs about getting wasted or living the dream. BTS isn’t selling songs about how the rich live and party; they are telling relatable stories with authenticity and passion — something that has been desperately missing from mainstream American music. In “Cypher Part 3: Killer” from their first full-length album, Dark and Wild, J-Hope raps, “Yeah, I’m from Korea so all you bastards who try to rap in English look and see who’s on top of you right now.” BTS doesn’t need to sing in English to be successful, and they knew it years ago. With the success of Wings, an album with a diverse mix of tracks that showcases unique sounds and struggles, BTS has been vindicated for breaking the K-pop mold with their innovative sound and sincere lyrics. BTS has something to say, and they won’t allow a language barrier to prevent them from saying it to the world.

“I’ve been famous for more than half my life,” Chopra shrugs, as her makeup artist glams her up mid-sentence, and two assistants hover nearby. “I don’t know anything else anymore. This is my normal.” She recalls her origins as if they were a lifetime ago. Even before she was an inter-continental star, cultural division was a defining factor of Chopra’s life. At 13, she left her family in India to study in the United States, living with her aunt and uncle in Newton, Mass. But being a gawky teenager and the only Indian girl at school wasn’t without its challenges, namely, xenophobic encounters that proved too suffocating and dispiriting to endure. “I was bullied by a freshman named Jeanine,” she tells me, emphasizing the added shame of being picked on by a younger girl. “She was black, and supremely racist. Jeanine used to say, ‘Brownie, go back to your country, you smell of curry,’ or ‘Do you smell curry coming?’ You know when you’re a kid, and you’re made to feel bad about where your roots are, or what you look like? You don’t understand it, you just feel bad about who you are.” The bullying tested her resolve and broke it. “I told my mom, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’” She returned to India defeated, her mind set on becoming an engineer despite her burgeoning movie-star looks. Then, when she applied for a scholarship, her mother sent professionally shot photos to the Miss India pageant without telling her. To her surprise, she won. “The thing is,” she tells me while recalling the start of her career, “I don’t like losing, in anything I do, whatever it might be. I felt I could always go back to college. But this was something I wanted to try so that I didn’t have a ‘what-if’ for the rest of my life.” Now she’s got close to six-dozen films under her belt and counting. She’s based her career on an in-born, screen-queen magnetism, the wildly unattainable beauty wedded to the girl next door. I can feel it as I sit next to her in her trailer, and later on set between takes. As she speaks to her assistants, her husky voice seamlessly oscillating between alluring and respectfully commanding, she pushes her thick, wavy brown hair to the side while her lips part into a beaming wide smile. “It is that superstar quality,” Safran told me later. “That Julia Roberts quality, that Meg Ryan quality, that thing of Sandra Bullock. You feel like you could actually know them, but you also know that you could never know them. She’s living on two different levels at once. That’s what I like so much about her. She’s not untouchable in any way even though she looks like a goddess. I think that’s really rare. It’s like lightning in a bottle.” Even rarer is how she manages to distill that A-list aura into a tangible relatability, something she’s been doubling down on with each public appearance. Like, for example, pitching a hot wing face-off to Jimmy Fallon for her appearance on The Tonight Show—and bodying him. That sense of approachability readily translates in real life. But to what end? Is she riding the wave, or playing a larger game? For the past several months, she’s been filming Quantico during the week, and flying back to Mumbai on weekends to continue dominating Hindi cinema, or more recently, down south to film Baywatch. Once an outcast, she’s now on her way to becoming America’s next sweetheart, and she didn’t even trade in her cinematic citizenship. This isn’t her “crossing over” to America, an assumption she’s somewhat offended by. After all, ABC came to her, offering their full slate of scripts in development to choose from. Not the other way around. Instead what she’s doing is more like multi-lane road hogging, and that’s without even factoring in her music career. She has 45 songs on her laptop, all of varying genre and sound, recorded with people like Pitbull and will.i.am. She’s even got a rain check for a studio session with Pharrell—she just hasn’t found the time in between an Indian movie, American television, and an American movie to call in the favor. “Nineties music has influenced me tremendously. Movies became my profession, but music was always my heart, in a way, my passion.” Which explains why she specifically requested a 2Pac playlist during the photo shoot for this story. (She walked out to “Ambitionz Az a Ridah”—another incidentally perfect moment.) “I was supposed to be Mrs. Shakur. Then he died. Yeah, I wore black to school for 30 days.”

ORLANDO, Fla. (August 30, 2017) - In its first home game in two weeks, Orlando City B (8-6-11, 35 points) hosts Bethlehem Steel FC (10-11-3, 33 points) on Thursday, Aug. 31. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium. The match will be streamed at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/LIVE. “It’s going to be a tough game. [Bethlehem] is a very athletic team, they’ve got power and pace. The tricky thing with Bethlehem is probably what a lot of teams play us encounter is that trying to predict their lineup is going to be difficult," OCB head coach Anthony Pulis said. “The full focus as always will be on us and making sure our level of performance is good.” OCB is coming off a 3-0 victory at first-place Louisville City FC to extend its Club record unbeaten streak to 11 games. Michael Cox started the scoring in the 15th minute and doubled the lead in the 27th minute when he finished a through ball from Jordan Schweitzer. Timbó added to his game-winning assist with the third goal of the game and his second of the season in the 53rd minute. Goalkeeper Jake Fenlason earned his second start of the season and made eight saves to earn his first professional shutout and USL Team of the Week honors, along with Cox. Hadji Barry leads the team with eight goals and has four in his last three appearances. Pierre Da Silva leads the Lions with seven assists. OCB has allowed three goals in its last seven matches. Bethlehem enters the match on a three-game losing streak, most recently dropping a 3-2 match to Pittsburgh. Steel FC previously lost to Louisville City and Charlotte. Seku Conneh leads Bethlehem with seven goals in 19 appearances. OCB enters the match in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind fifth-place Rochester and two points ahead of eighth-place Bethlehem. This is the second meeting and final of the season between these teams. Richie Laryea scored his first two goals of the season to earn a 2-0 win at Goodman Stadium on April 23. The Lions next host the Richmond Kickers at the Orlando City Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

There are more than a million Canadians who work minimum wage jobs — they make up 8 per cent of the country's salaried employees. The hourly rate they earn varies across the country, from a low of $10.85 in Nova Scotia, to Alberta where the minimum wage is set to increase to $15 in October 2018. The rate in Ontario rose to $14 on Jan. 1. Numbers and statistics aside, one of the best ways to understand the issues around minimum wage is to talk to the people who earn it. The National's Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja went to St. Francis Table in Toronto, a restaurant for the poor where meals cost $1. The restaurant is run by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars of Central Canada and has served more than a million meals since it opened in 1987. The homeless, people on social assistance and seniors have traditionally been the main customers, but the Friars are increasingly seeing people on minimum wage frequenting St. Francis Table. Here are three of them, talking about the realities of working hard and trying to live on minimum wage. Kevin Johnson, 37, temp agency worker Nick Purdon: You don't live nearby. Tell me why you come to St. Francis Table to eat. Kevin: I come here just to save a little money, so I can keep a roof over my head first of all and to keep my gym membership. Because without my gym membership I would get very depressed, so I wanna keep that going. Purdon: What's the temp job you are doing? Johnson: I work in a plant and it's overnight. It's like a factory that makes boxes. You put the cardboard in this big machine and it makes boxes and they get shipped to whoever the client is. It's a very boring, very repetitive job. I am thinking, 'I took a travel and tourism course, why am I having to do this? Is this all that life has in store for me? Am I always gonna be working these crappy jobs?' I want something better. Purdon: What do you think people across the country don't understand about people who work a minimum wage job? Johnson: What they don't understand is how tough it is, and how it is so difficult to budget your money. And not knowing if you are gonna eat. I have hardly been eating, too. I can't even afford food right now, I am so broke. A couple of days last week I didn't eat at all. I just went to work, drank lots of water and didn't eat, because I am waiting for my next paycheque to come in. Purdon: What are some of the choices you have to make? Johnson: I need a warmer jacket. This jacket is OK for milder winter days. But when it gets really cold — like when we had that cold snap, I was freezing in this thing and I was thinking, well, I can't afford to buy another jacket. And the problem is that with this job that I have, I'm taking the night bus as far west as I can and then I'm having to walk for an hour in the freezing cold, because I cannot afford to take a cab to come home. Purdon: What's it like to say that? You have a full time job, you work hard ... Johnson: And I have nothing to show for it. I feel terrible. It makes me feel awful, like I have no purpose in life. I hate that, because I see other people and I get jealous. Sometimes I go for little walks on Friday or Saturday nights downtown and I see other people, and they are going out to restaurants or bars, having a nice dinner. I'm looking at that — why can't I have that? What am I doing wrong? There's got to be something I am doing wrong that these people are doing right. Watch excerpts from the interview: Kevin Johnson 1:18 Yusdel Amaro, 35, cook and part-time City of Toronto worker Nick Purdon: How do you get by? Yusdel Amaro: Well, for years and years and years I worked seven days a week. It was like that up until recently, then I just decided that for [the sake of] $100 or $200 on a paycheque I needed a day off. So I decided to take Sundays off. And I just can't wait for Sundays, after working almost 15 years in a row seven days a week. It's tough. It's tough ... just paying bills. Purdon: What are the hard choices you make based on how much money you make? Amaro: Hard choices? There are plenty. But the tough one for me would be not being able to just support my family in Cuba. Purdon: What do you think about Ontario raising the minimum wage to $14 an hour? Amaro: I just wish I was getting paid more. Now that they are going to make it $14, I think that is an improvement, but I don't think it's going to solve any major problems in anybody's life, especially with prices going up. Purdon: It's been very hard to get people to talk to us about living on minimum wage. Why do you think that is? Amaro: Society thinks if you make minimum wage, you are less. So people might have that sentiment of guarding their pride. Purdon: How about you? Amaro: Me, it's just reality. It is what it is. Nobody else is paying my bills. Watch excerpts from the interview: Yusdel Amaro 1:01 Peter Jecchinis, 51, temp agency worker Nick Purdon: What can you tell me about making minimum wage? Peter Jecchinis: Well, you can exist, but you can't necessarily "live," I would say. That's the best way to describe it. You need a little more to get by. It's tough. You have to really skimp on everything. Clothes. Food. Purdon: You said you "exist" but you don't "live." What do you mean? Jecchinis: You can exist. You can get by. You can find ways to get by. But you don't have extra things, and a man does not live by bread alone. You need recreation. You need entertainment. You need a little extra, other than just paying your bills. Why not go to a movie once in a while, why not go to a ballgame once in a while? Is that too much to ask for someone who is putting in [full time] hours, no matter what they are doing for a living? Purdon: What's something you'd love to buy that you can't afford? Jecchinis: I'm more a kind of guy who would get some nice clothes. I'm not that materialistic. Maybe a better phone. Yeah, maybe a better phone. Simple things like that. I'd maybe go see a ball game once in a while. Once a year — something like that. Watch excerpts from the interview:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is joining striking auto workers and teachers on the campaign trail next week, his campaign announced Friday. The Sanders campaign announced the Vermont socialist’s intention of joining striking teachers in Chicago next week, followed by a visit with striking auto workers in Detroit– moves his campaign likely hopes will advance his reputation as a candidate who backs workers: New: The @BernieSanders campaign announces he will join striking @UAW workers at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant next Wednesday. — Adam Kelsey (@adamkelsey) September 20, 2019 “Throughout the campaign, Sanders has stood on multiple picket lines with workers and has used his email and text lists to urge his supporters to stand with striking workers across the country,” his campaign stated. “In August, he released his Workplace Democracy Plan, which would double union membership during his term and give workers unprecedented protections in the workplace,” it continued. However, one of Sanders’ visits will occur Wednesday, days after presidential rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) visit with the striking auto workers. She is expected to join the United Auto Workers “on the picket line outside GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant on Sunday,” according to Reuters. Sanders, for his part, has told GM to “end the greed, sit down with the UAW and work out an agreement that treats your workers with the respect and the dignity they deserve,” Reuters reports. Warren and Sanders have been attempting to assert themselves as the most pro-worker candidates. Both contenders have made time for protesting workers on the campaign trail, joining food workers in a minimum wage protest at Reagan National Airport over the summer: Warren delivered a strong pro-union message on Labor Day, declaring that unions will “rebuild the middle class.” “Unions built the middle class—and unions will rebuild the middle class,” Warren wrote. “If we want more good American jobs, then we need stronger unions and more power in the hands of the people”: Unions built the middle class—and unions will rebuild the middle class. If we want more good American jobs, then we need stronger unions and more power in the hands of the people. I’m proud to be fighting alongside our unions. #LaborDay pic.twitter.com/uoAqIq9tH2 — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 2, 2019 I’m in this fight for America’s workers every step of the way. #LaborDay pic.twitter.com/NDK8iohEOp — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 30, 2019 Happy #LaborDay! Today we say loud & clear: unions built America’s middle class, & unions will rebuild America’s middle class. pic.twitter.com/GbzfDsa914 — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 2, 2019 Sanders’ campaign has also pushed the socialist senator’s pro-union position, particularly in recent days: Bernie Sanders has understood union power for decades. https://t.co/GDojT92WPI — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) September 18, 2019 BERNIE SANDERS TALKS ABOUT UNION POWER 😭😭😭😭😭😭 #workers2020 pic.twitter.com/8WnRgxeGXn — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) September 17, 2019 I stand with the members of @CWAUnion rallying today in California to to ensure that @FrontierCorp values their workers. Frontier must keep their promises and uphold union contracts. https://t.co/5sujNqJxxw — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 20, 2019 Sanders faced a stumbling block last month after proclaiming that his Medicare for All plan would “absolutely” erase union-negotiated health benefits: The Washington Post followed up with a piece indicating that the Sanders campaign modified positions by noting that unions would continue to hold some capacity of negotiating powers via the National Labor Relations Board. However, the Sanders campaign was livid, with members of his campaign calling the report “100 percent wrong” and “bullshit”: This headline from the Wash Post is 100% wrong – know how I know? Medicare for All is a Senate bill with exact text and co-sponsors. The text hasn’t changed. Today Bernie introduces a labor proposal that provides additional value to worker contracts. https://t.co/xAh0su43Pn — Josh Orton (@joshorton) August 22, 2019 Medicare for All Senate bill stays same Bernie releases an aggressively pro-union platform that includes sectoral bargaining (!!) a right for federal workers to strike, and a provision to direct employer health savings to benefit worker contracts. WaPo: M4A changed. https://t.co/gWQS1VgTq8 — Josh Orton (@joshorton) August 22, 2019 .@washingtonpost: You asked for an on-the-record comment on this bogus headline. Well, here it goes: Bullshit. Bernie wrote the damn bill & didn't amend it. We're proud of the union support for #MedicareForAll. When it passes they will receive higher wages and benefits – period. pic.twitter.com/ueeAxXFDFB — Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) August 22, 2019 Nonetheless, the debate over union health benefits remains a point of contention and a political talking point frontrunner Joe Biden (D) has tried to use to his advantage:

ALBIA, IOWA – Focus on Rural America’s latest poll went into the field following the very first Democratic debate of the year. The findings provide exciting shakeups for the horserace and steady support for rural America. “I’m excited to see Iowans closely followed the first debate and will continue to work with the candidates to ensure they are engaging rural Americans in a meaningful way,” said Focus on Rural America Chair Lt. Governor Patty Judge. “Our poll shows that Iowans are paying attention and that they are prioritizing someone who can win rural America, because that’s what it will take to beat President Trump.” The Focus on Rural America poll shows the current top candidates are in a virtual three-way tie. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris are on top with 20% and 18% respectively while Vice President Biden holds 17%. Next in line is Senator Bernie Sanders at 12%, Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 10% and Senator Amy Klobuchar at 4%. The two nights of debate made for a crowded stage and had a huge impact on voters. 63% saw some or more of the debate while 83% followed the debate’s media coverage. 26% of voters said the debates had a big impact their opinions, in addition to the 37% who were persuaded by the debates at least somewhat. The head-to-head polling above reflects the takeaway voters had on the debate winners. Most voters said, based on debate performance, they were won over by Harris (34%), Warren (16%), Buttigieg (11%), Biden (7%) Castro (6%) and Sanders (6%). Having more than 20 candidates to choose from shook up the debates and left a few of them off the stage, but this year voter participation will see some changes as well. In Iowa the caucuses will expand by including a virtual option for voters to participate online. 20% of Iowan’s we polled reported they planned to caucus virtually but we weighted their choice to only 10% to accurately reflect the rules established for a virtual caucus. The good news for rural America? Exciting debates and virtual caucuses don’t change everything. 83% of Iowans support expanding production of renewable biofuels and 64% think President Trump’s waivers for oil and gas companies hurt rural economies. In addition, our latest poll maintains the steady report from Iowans on how to beat President Trump. 62% said Democrats should stick to the center, as opposed to the left, and 51% believe they need to prioritize engaging rural voters. Focus on Rural America is polling Iowans quarterly and will have our next poll in the field this September.

An obscure, faint comet is finally entering the limelight. Known as C/2011 L4 (Pan-STARRS), the cosmic body is poised to light up northern skies starting tonight. Brightening a millionfold since its discovery in June 2011, the icy interloper has already become easily visible by the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere as a distinct tail of gas and dust. (Related: "New Comet Found; May Be Visible From Earth in 2013.") Astronomers originally stumbled upon the comet nearly two years ago while searching for potentially hazardous asteroids. Using one of the world's largest digital cameras, on Hawaii's Pan-STARRS telescope—the comet's namesake—the team snagged a faint image of the comet while it was still more than 700 million miles (1.1 billion kilometers) away, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. What gave it away was its fuzzy appearance, which is caused by the melting ice and released gases forming a hazy shell around the comet's nucleus. In the past few weeks the comet has made its way into the inner solar system, and it will reach perihelion—its closest approach to the sun—at a distance of 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) from the sun on March 10. (Video: Sun 101.) There's no chance of collision with Earth however, as the body has already gotten as close it will get to our planet, at about 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) away. When are the best viewing times? Soon after reaching perihelion, the comet may become visible to the naked eye for Northern Hemisphere sky-watchers low in the western horizon just after sunset on March 7, weather permitting, said Raminder Singh Samra, a resident astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada. "When viewers look for Pan-STARRS, they should have a clear unobstructed view of the western horizon, as the comet is visible for only a few minutes each night in mid-March," Samra said. "For best results a clear view of the horizon and dark skies are recommended, and having binoculars will greatly enhance the view for observers in large, bright cities." (Also see "New Comet Discovered—May Become 'One of Brightest in History.'") About a half-hour to an hour after sunset on the 12th and 13th will be the easiest time to spot the comet, thanks to a young crescent moon. The moon will act as a convenient guidepost in helping to track down Pan-STARRS. On the 12th, look for the comet to the moon's upper left. On the 13th, the comet will appear to be hanging lower right of the moon. How is it best seen? It's essential to have a very clear, unobstructed view toward the western horizon at twilight. Being close to the horizon and the glare of the sun might make spotting Pan-STARRS with the unaided eye a bit challenging, so scanning the lower sky with binoculars will help the hunt tremendously. If predictions hold true, the comet may become at least as bright as the stars that form the Big Dipper pattern in the constellation Ursa Major, or the Great Bear. Binoculars and small telescopes will help tease out the details in the head and tail of the comet. (Explore an interactive solar system.) What should we look for? Comet Pan-STARRS should appear as a hazy smudge of light in the twilight sky with possibly a growing tail. Starting from the 12th, look for the comet to glide across the background of stars appearing to move night to night from the low west to the higher north until it parks itself in the constellation Cassiopeia by the end of March.

As Republicans prepare to wreak havoc on all three branches of federal government, human rights activists and lawyers are bracing themselves for what they expect to be an all out assault on LGBTQ rights. In 2016, more than 200 discriminatory “religious freedom” bills were introduced by conservative lawmakers across the country, and lawyers at the ACLU say that was likely just a warm up act for 2017. “We expect the volume to continue to rise in 2017,”ACLU Advocacy and Policy Counsel Eunice Rho recently told CNN, “both because we have more conservative state governments than in the past, and also since our side defeated an overwhelming majority of bills in 2016.” Rho expects trans rights to be the hardest hit. “In addition to these bills, we also anticipate an increase in volume of bills targeting transgender people,” she said. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which operates as the public policy arm for the Southern Baptist Convention, said that, yeah, Rho is absolutely right, he and his henchman are planning to do everything in their power to promote as many religious freedom bills as possible. “2017 probably will result in many religious liberty bills,” he confirmed to CNN. “That’s because of the erosion of religious freedom protections in recent years. Without adequate protection, freedom of conscience is left up courts they are often hostile to the most basic protections of the First Amendment.” Moore insisted, however, that the bills aren’t intended to discriminate against LGBTQ people, but rather to save religious freedom from the “tremendous stress” it’s currently under (caused, of course, by LGBTQ people). But before you start freaking out too much, James Esseks, director of the ACLU LGBT Project, says to take a take deep breath. “It’s clear that Mike Pence as VP will be able to push for greater religious exemption measures at the federal level, following up on his pro-exemption and anti-LGBT, anti-woman record in Indiana,” he said, “but there’s no reason to think that the public, business leaders, performers, or sports leagues will be any more receptive to anti-LGBT measures in 2017 than they have been in the past.” He cautioned: “Vice President-elect Pence should think long and hard before he tries to nationalize this discriminatory, divisive strategy.”

A DRIVER sped through a checkpoint at an RAF air base as security opened fire before coming to a halt just inches from a plane. Shots were fired at the 44-year-old suspect as the US Air Force (USAF) base in Suffolk was placed on lockdown with the Ministry of Defence declaring a "significant security incident". 8 Base security vehicles were seen surrounding the plane at RAF Mildenhall after an intruder tried to ram a checkpoint Dramatic footage has emerged showing USAF security troops surrounding a swivel-rotor Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft as Brit cops and the MoD rushed to the scene. Vehicles with flashing lights rushed to the state-of-the-art military "heli-plane" - also used by the SAS. A British man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass as Suffolk Police launch an investigation assisted by "other law enforcement agencies". Cops have said the incident is not being treated as terrorism. The suspect was apprehended with "cuts and bruises" after locals reported hearing gunshots at about 1.40pm today. It has not been revealed how far into the base the intruder had reached. 8 Emergency crews joined security on the airbase's runway Credit: Universal News & Sport (Europe) 8 Armed military personnel fired shots as the suspect tried to ram his way on to the military base Credit: GEOFF ROBINSON. 8 RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk was put on lockdown after a man tried ramming the gates Credit: SWNS:South West News Service Police respond to reports of a 'significant incident' at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk 8 A man tried ramming the gates to the US air base in Suffolk at around 1pm Credit: PA:Press Association 8 Cops aren't looking for anyone else in connection with the incident Credit: SWNS:South West News Service A Suffolk Police spokesman said: "Suffolk Police were contacted at approximately 1.40pm today ( Monday 18 December) to reports of a disturbance at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk. "The base was put into lockdown and units responded immediately. "Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody. "No other people have been injured as a result of the incident." 8 The man arrested was left with 'cuts and bruises' Credit: PA:Press Association 8 RAF Mildenhall RAF Mildenhall, together with its sister base RAF Lakenheath, has the largest US Air Force (USAF) presence in the UK. The site was first built for the Royal Air Force in 1933 and taken over by the US military in 1950. It is the home of the 100th Air Refuelling Wing. In January last year, the Ministry of Defence announced the site will be sold. The US Department of Defense announced operations would be relocated to Germany and elsewhere in the UK. It has been reported that the USAF will stay at RAF Mildenhall until 2024. Both Mildenhall and Lakenheath have been targeted by protesters in the past. Around 150 peace campaigners from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament demanded the removal of around 100 nuclear bombs at Lakenheath in 2006. In the same year, activists camped outside Mildenhall in protest at US flights refuelling there on the way to Isreal, reported the BBC. Five years ago RAF Mildenhall welcomed the then US First Lady Michelle Obama who met American military families based there. They have warned members of the public to avoid the area. A British defence source said a car tried forcing its way past a checkpoint into the military base, home to a USAF refuelling wing. The MOD said: "We are aware of incident at the entry point of RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk police have primacy; all questions should be referred to them." RAF Mildenhall, along with its sister base RAF Lakenheath, have the largest United States Air Force presence in the UK. Mildenhall is home to 3,100 US military personnel and 3,000 of their family members. MOST READ IN NEWS Breaking furlough 2.0 Rishi announces furlough replacement scheme to top up wages through winter STORE TOT SNATCH Family's horror as 'kidnap gang try to rip girl, 1, from pram' in TK Maxx TECH A CHANCE How to download the new NHS Covid-19 track and trace app HAPPY MEAL McDonald’s worker pays customer’s bill after he calls mum to ask for her order CLUB FURY Footballer who beat girlfriend & forced her to eat paint signs to new club EAT IN OR TAKE OUT? Chaos & confusion over whether cafes will HAVE to offer table service Last year, an ISIS supporter was caged for life after planning a terror attack on five US Air Force bases in the UK - including RAF Mildenhall. Delivery driver Junead Khan, 25, from Luton, used his job with a pharmaceutical company as cover to scout the bases. In November last year the then Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said RAF Mildenhall was one of 56 Ministry of Defence sites earmarked for closure. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.'

(CNN) Was the decision to strike against terrorists in Afghanistan "wrong" in 2001 or should the US now just declare victory and leave? These are two ideas floated by members of Congress about the war, now nearly 18 years long and counting, after it cost more than 2,400 American lives and wounded more than 20,000 US service members while causing exponentially more pain to Afghans without eliminating the Taliban Both Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky dislike the open-ended Authorization for Use of Military Force, known as the AUMF, that was approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But while Ocasio-Cortez argued Tuesday that the fight in Afghanistan itself was a "wrong war," Paul and Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, a Democrat, want to declare victory and pay new bonuses to people who fought in it. The divide is the latest sign that no one in American politics seems to know exactly how to move on from Afghanistan. Which makes this an issue that could become part of the 2020 discussion, especially as the US grapples with how to deal with its continued presence in Syria, where President Donald Trump said he would remove troops, and in Afghanistan, where Barack Obama once said he was drawing down combat troops, where Trump has said he will draw down troops. The freshman New York congresswoman tweeted Tuesday in defense of fellow Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who is under fire over critical comments about congressional support for Israel, by noting that it was considered "unacceptable" to question US military engagements after 9/11. "I remember a time when it was 'unacceptable' to question the Iraq War. All of Congress was wrong, including both GOP & Dem Party, and led my generation into a disastrous + wrong war that virtually all would come to regret, except for the one member who stood up: Barbara Lee." Lee was the one vote in Congress against striking Afghanistan in the days after the terror attacks. Ocasio-Cortez later clarified in a tweet that she meant Afghanistan was the "disastrous + wrong war." But she said she feels that way about the Iraq War too. These are two very different conflicts. A lot of Americans do think it was wrong to go into Iraq, which occurred after an attempt to build an international coalition based on flawed evidence delivered at the United Nations, and after a vote by a divided Congress. Questioning the American war in Afghanistan is a much more controversial idea, however, especially for a lawmaker representing boroughs of New York City, where thousands of Americans died when planes struck the World Trade Center. It was seven days after that event -- when the wreckage in lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania was still smoldering -- that lawmakers voted to respond to the terror attacks by striking at al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. They could not have known that almost 18 years later, the US government would still be using the same vote to fight the same war. The unintended consequences of that vote are pretty clear. And the inability of Congress to debate and vote on subsequent military actions is something voters have had ample opportunities to consider. What should Congress have done instead? Ocasio-Cortez responded to CNN's Jake Tapper on Twitter: "I think that our decision to enter unlimited engagement in Afghanistan, particularly through the AUMF + Congress' abdication of power + decision-making w/ passage of the AUMF, was a mistake." I think that our decision to enter unlimited engagement in Afghanistan, particularly through the AUMF + Congress' abdication of power + decision-making w/ passage of the AUMF, was a mistake. Other options: targeting the network itself, limited engagement, non-intervention. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 5, 2019 Other options she offered: targeting the network itself, limited engagement, nonintervention. The idea that after the 9/11 attacks, the US would have embarked upon a diplomatic or nonintervention strategy that didn't involve military force certainly ignores the spirit of that moment. It was, after all, the one time NATO forces have ever rallied to protect an attacked member. Even Lee wasn't exactly saying the war was wrong when she bravely went to the House floor before her lone vote. "Our country is in a state of mourning. Some of us must say let's step back for a moment," she said. "Let's just pause, just for a minute and think through the implications of our actions today so that this does not spiral out of control." Lee argued at the time -- prophetically, it turned out -- that the war vote was open-ended and could lead to unlimited military engagements. She later quoted a clergyman at the 9/11 memorial when she said, "As we act, let us not become the evil we deplore." Presidents from both parties have relied on the AUMF to justify military actions not only in Afghanistan, but in other countries, including Syria. While Trump campaigned on withdrawing troops from both theaters, he's found delivering on the promise to be difficult. His first defense secretary, James Mattis, resigned rather than pull troops from Syria . His administration has outright opposed debating a new version of the AUMF. So the AUMF remains in place and the years tick on. It's been used to justify at least 37 actions in at least 15 countries That creep is certainly up for debate and as the war has dragged on, approval has sagged. In 2006, as the war in Iraq was going very badly, 69% said the use of military force in Afghanistan was the "right decision," according to a Pew poll. Just 45% said using military force in Afghanistan was the "right decision" in September of 2018. Lee has consistently tried to repeal the AUMF, a task that started as very lonely but for which she now has growing company, in Congress and the public at large. With help from some Republicans, Lee was nearly able to force a debate on replacing the AUMF in 2017, but Republican House leaders quashed it. It's likely House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will face a similar bipartisan effort now. Pelosi supports an update to the AUMF, but not simply ending it. Pelosi, who voted against an earlier Lee effort to repeal the AUMF when Obama was still President, has said she wants to have a debate on the issue, particularly as it relates to Syria. But even among many of those who want to repeal the AUMF, there is hesitance in Congress to say the initial action was wrong. One of the most fervent anti-war senators is Paul, with his libertarian bent and his opposition to nation-building. Paul has announced a bipartisan bill to end the Afghanistan War and force a debate over the AUMF. Paul and Udall would pay a onetime bonus of $2,500 to every US service member who served in the global war on terror -- more than 3 million of them -- declare victory in Afghanistan since al Qaeda, they say, is no longer capable of attacking the US, and repeal the AUMF. But even after all these years, Paul says he does not think fighting in Afghanistan, specifically, was the wrong thing to do. This week, I am introducing legislation to end a war that should have ended long ago, the war in Afghanistan. The United States has been fighting the War on Terror since October of 2001 and it has cost 6 trillion dollars. pic.twitter.com/UBxeq0NsQe — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 5, 2019 "I supported going to war in Afghanistan in 2001, attacking those who harbored the 9/11 terrorists or helped to organize the attack on 9/11 and going after al Qaeda," Paul said in a video announcing his new legislation Tuesday. "But we are many, many years past that mission. We have turned to nation-building at a cost of over $50 billion a year spent in Afghanistan. It's important to know when to declare victory and leave a war. I think that time is long past." Support for the initial decision to strike in Afghanistan has not been at the top of the American political conversation even among Democrats, although support for the war has waned and the AUMF has been stretched far beyond its initial intent. When Obama was elected, it was by juxtaposing the "bad war" in Iraq with what he implied was the "good war" in Afghanistan . He was going to end the bad war and fix the good war. US troops, all these years later, are still in both places. Trump has tried to argue he opposed the Iraq War, but he never said that about Afghanistan. Obama, under pressure, suggested a new AUMF to fight ISIS, but Congress did not take action. More recently, a bipartisan group of senators led by Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee (since retired) wanted to debate a new AUMF in 2018 and give the President more clearly delineated authority, but the debate never took place . An earlier effort by Paul to end the AUMF in the Senate failed. Those issues will be up for debate again in 2020. Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, an Iraq War veteran, has built her campaign around opposition to international entanglements. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who is running for President, said recently on MSNBC that there should be a new AUMF. "I think we should be drawing down our troops, not only in Afghanistan but the remainder in Iraq and Syria, and then give Congress the opportunity that if they believe we should be in combat missions in any of these countries that we actually file a new authorization for the use of military force," she said. The underlying issue there, though, is whether presidents should come to Congress to authorize new strikes rather than relying on a vote made, nearly unanimously, almost a generation ago, to strike back after an attack. Not whether that vote itself was right or wrong. If that Pew poll and Ocasio-Cortez's tweet suggest the public or the left regret that initial action, it would require a full and very painful re-examination of 18 years of American foreign policy.

|< < Prev Next > >| Modified Bayes' Theorem Title text: Don't forget to add another term for "probability that the Modified Bayes' Theorem is correct." Explanation [ edit ] Bayes' Theorem is an equation in statistics that gives the probability of a given hypothesis accounting not only for a single experiment or observation but also for your existing knowledge about the hypothesis, i.e. its prior probability. Randall's modified form of the equation also purports to account for the probability that you are indeed applying Bayes' Theorem itself correctly by including that as a term in the equation. Bayes' theorem is: P(H | X) is the probability that H , the hypothesis, is true given observation X . This is called the posterior probability . is the probability that , the hypothesis, is true given observation . This is called the . P(X | H) is the probability that observation X will appear given the truth of hypothesis H . This term is often called the likelihood . is the probability that observation will appear given the truth of hypothesis . This term is often called the . P(H) is the probability that hypothesis H is true before any observations. This is called the prior , or belief . is the probability that hypothesis is true before any observations. This is called the , or . P(X) is the probability of the observation X regardless of any hypothesis might have produced it. This term is called the marginal likelihood. The purpose of Bayesian inference is to discover something we want to know (how likely is it that our explanation is correct given the evidence we've seen) by mathematically expressing it in terms of things we can find out: how likely are our observations, how likely is our hypothesis a priori, and how likely are we to see the observations we've seen assuming our hypothesis is true. A Bayesian learning system will iterate over available observations, each time using the likelihood of new observations to update its priors (beliefs) with the hope that, after seeing enough data points, the prior and posterior will converge to a single model. The probability always has a value between zero and one, the latter value represents a 100% probability. Both extremes would be: If P(C)=1 the modified theorem reverts to the original Bayes' theorem (which makes sense, as a probability one would mean certainty that you are using Bayes' theorem correctly). the modified theorem reverts to the original Bayes' theorem (which makes sense, as a probability one would mean certainty that you are using Bayes' theorem correctly). If P(C)=0 the modified theorem becomes P(H | X) = P(H), which says that the belief in your hypothesis is not affected by the result of the observation. It is a linear-interpolated weighted average of the belief from before the calculation and the belief after applying the theorem correctly. This goes smoothly from not believing the calculation at all up to be fully convinced to it. Bayesian statistics is often contrasted with "frequentist" statistics. For a frequentist, probability is defined as the limit of the relative frequency after a large number of trials. So to a frequentist the notion of "Probability that you are using Bayesian Statistics correctly" is meaningless: One cannot do repeated trials, even in principle. A Bayesian considers probability to be a quantification of personal belief, and so concepts such as "Probability that you are using Bayesian Statistics correctly" is meaningful. However since the value of such subjective prior probablities cannot be independently determined, the value of P(H|X) cannot be objectively found. The title text suggests that an additional term should be added for the probability that the Modified Bayes Theorem is correct. But that's this equation, so it would make the formula self-referential, unless we call the result the Modified Modified Bayes Theorem. It could also result in an infinite regress -- needing another term for the probability that the version with the probability added is correct, and another term for that version, and so on. If the modifications have a limit, then a Modifiedω Bayes Theorem would be the result, but then another term for whether it's correct is needed, leading to the Modifiedω+1 Bayes Theorem, and so on through every ordinal number. Modified theories are often suggested in science when the measurements doesn't fit the original theory. An example is the Modified Newtonian dynamics theory, among many others, in which some physicists try to explain dark matter with not much success. Transcript [ edit ] [The comic shows a formula with a header in gray on top:] Modified Bayes' theorem: [The formula:] P(H|X) = P(H) × (1 + P(C) × ( P(X|H)/P(X) - 1 )) [Variables and functions are described also in gray:] H: Hypothesis X: Observation P(H): Prior probability that H is true P(X): Prior probability of observing X P(C): Probability that you're using Bayesian statistics correctly Discussion

Aufstellung Kirsten - J. Müller , Erdmann , Hefele , Vrzogic - Moll , Mar. Hartmann , Eilers , Dürholtz , Tekerci - Fetsch Einwechslungen: 35. Wiegers für Kirsten 57. Fiel für Moll 90. +3Baumann für Dürholtz Reservebank: Sabah, Fluß, Comvalius, Zeldenrust Trainer: Böger Ke. Müller - Kaufmann , Mimbala , Möhrle , Szarka - Zeitz , Perdedaj , Holz , Mattuschka , Michel - Pospech Einwechslungen: 76. Hebler für Pospech 86. Pawela für Holz Reservebank: Renno (Tor), R. Berger, Chato, Elsner, Makarenko Trainer: Krämer

IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman is coming back to India tomorrow, and Twitter got together to say Welcome Back Abhinandan Emotions run high in India as Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan today said that Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman will be sent back home tomorrow. Abhinandan was captured by the Pakistani Army after the MiG-21 Bison jet that he was flying was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force. Abhinandan was kept in Pakistan custody as pressure from all over the world mounted on the neighbouring country to release the pilot. Soon after the news of Abhinandan's release broke, Twitter users took to the micro-blogging platform to say Welcome Back Abhinandan. Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu was one of the first celebrities to react to the news. The Naam Shabana actress wrote, "Now this really brought smile to my face !!! Waiting for tomorrow ..... with bated breath... This is heartening. THIS is worth celebrating." Musician Vishal Dadlani wrote, "Bahut khoob, @ImranKhanPTI Saab! Dil se shukriya. #SayNoToWar #WelcomeBackAbhinandan" Twitter user Zeeshan Khan wrote, "#PeaceAmbassadorImranKhan thank you @ImranKhanPTI "Actions speak louder than words" you proved it before and done it again now by giving peace another chance. War won't bring anything but a great loss on both side of the border. Bless you! #WelcomeBackAbhinandan" "We can't wait to welcome the braveheart.. #WelcomeBackAbhinandan" wrote Barun Mahapatro. Rajeshwari Prasad wrote, "Thanks for giving our people strength & showing us what a Real Hero is made of. We celebrate your existence,your bravery & You. #WelcomeBackAbhinandan #AbhinandanVartaman #AbhinandanMyHero" India and Pakistan had been on edge after the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes on February 26 on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camos in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. After the IAF's airstrikes, which were in retaliation to terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed's February 14 suicide bombing on a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, tensions between India and Pakistan were at an all-time high. On February 27, the Pakistani Air Force shot down an IAF MiG-21 Bison jet and took Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in custody. Netizens from India and Pakistan took to Twitter and social media platforms to trend #SayNoToWar, #BringBackAbhinandan and #BringHimHome all through Wednesday. ALSO READ: IAF pilot Abhinandan's father was consultant for Kaatru Veliyidai where Pakistan captures hero Karthi ALSO READ: Kaatru Veliyidai Movie Review ALSO READ: India and Pakistan trend Say No To War after IAF MiG pilot missing in action ALSO READ | Surgical Strike 2: 40 best memes, jokes and reactions from India ALSO READ | Pak Twitter says sleep tight, PAF is awake. Jaag ke kya ukhaad lia, asks India ALSO READ | Ghar mein ghuske maarenge: Surgical Strike 2 brings Uri dialogues back on WhatsApp ALSO READ | India strikes back after Pulwama LIVE: IAF destroys terror camps across LoC, Rahul Gandhi salutes pilots ALSO READ | 1000 kg bombs, Mirage 2000 jets: India attacks Pakistan, what we know so far

Next on the review list are the Etude House lip tints, which I received in both pink (shade PK001) and red (shade RD301). So first thing I noticed is that the colours are very bright; the colour was almost impossible to capture in a way that does it justice. The colours are very vibrant. The second thing was the scent. These tints are very strongly scented with a sugary sweet fake cherry scent. If you are sensitive to scents then I would be very cautious with these as the scent made me feel slightly nauseous. Swatches: The swatches are done in natural light. You can see better here how bright the colours are. The tints also stain very fast. I had applied the tints, snapped the picture and wiped them off all in less than a minute and these are the resulting stains: The stains in this image are harder to see but this picture was taken 6 hours later, after I worked a shift. Not impressed? I work at a pool and taught swimming lessons for 2 hours then showered. Yeah, the stains survived all that! Wear Tests: These are my bare lips: First tint up is the red! This is just after applying. Since this stains so fast I found it easier to use a q-tip to apply as it allows for more precision as well as means that I don’t look like my fingers have been attacked by a paint pot. After about an hour: 3 hours after application: 5 hours after application: Pink tint time! So the first image is immediately after application and you can see that it is pretty bright although the camera was unable to capture the depth of the colour. This is very bright colour! After about an hour: This colour wore out a lot faster than the red tint did. This is 3 hours after application: And finally after 5 hours of application: The Nitty Gritty: As you can see, since it is a stain and not a lipstick or gloss there is no redistribution of colour when you smush your lips (you know, that thing you do after you put on lipstick?) and so it wears unevenly. This made it look like I was wearing lipliner but had forgotten to fill in the rest of the lip. I also found the tints to be very drying and had to use lip balm throughout the day (more than I normally do) in order to hydrate the desert that had moved onto my lips. As I mentioned earlier, these tints are very strongly scented and anyone sensitive to strong scents should tread lightly with these products. They were not flavoured and in this case that is a good thing as that would encourage licking of the lips, which would cause more wear. As they already wear unevenly this would make that worse. All in all, these weren’t my favourite. The colours were a bit too bright for my taste but they would be good for someone who likes strong, vibrant colours. The way they wore throughout the day makes reapplication a requirement and I found them to be very drying. The scent and the messy application sealed the deal for me on these and this is not a product that I would buy in the full size. (All reviews and statements are my honest opinions, and all products are purchased by me unless otherwise explicitly stated.)

Landets embedsmænd skal i fremtiden tåle at blive indkaldt og konfronteret ansigt til ansigt af politikerne på Christiansborg. Det mener Folketingets formand, Pia Kjærsgaard (DF). Hun sætter nu alle sejl til for at udskifte langvarige og milliondyre kommissioner med såkaldte parlamentariske høringer, hvor politikerne som noget nyt får lov at afhøre både ministre og embedsmænd. Det skriver Politiken lørdag. - I mange tilfælde tager en undersøgelseskommission så lang tid, at når den er færdig, kan ingen huske, hvorfor den blev nedsat, siger Kjærsgaard til Politiken. - Samtidig er de meget bekostelige. I dag mangler vi et organ imellem et åbent samråd og en undersøgelseskommission. Venter bred opbakning Hun understreger, at undersøgelseskommissioner fortsat bør nedsættes i meget alvorlige sager. Men generelt har kommissioner og advokatundersøgelser taget overhånd. Pia Kjærsgaard siger, at hun venter en bred opbakning til en ny kontrolinstans i Folketingets Præsidium, og at hun vil måles og vejes på, om det er lykkedes at indføre et nyt system, den dag hun ikke længere er formand for tinget.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s latest hit, “Downtown,” and its accompanying video raise a few questions: Are mopeds cool? Is the future of pop a line of slick, “Uptown Funk”–esque throwbacks? Is Ken Griffey Jr. an ageless being? Where have Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, and Kool Moe Dee been all these years? And who the hell is that mustached weirdo who steals the show at the chorus? The answers: never, let’s hope not, definitely, keeping it old-school, and Eric Nally, best known as the leader of Ohio rockers Foxy Shazam. Though Foxy Shazam started as a post-hard-core affair in 2004 — think the Blood Brothers performing West Side Story and you’re in the right ballpark — Foxy slowly evolved into more of a rock-radio act with a wild (and wildly offensive) minor hit about “the biggest black ass,” 2012’s “I Like It.” By that point, Nally had earned a reputation as the kind of front man who, for better or worse, decreasingly exists in rock and roll; with a soaring voice, he was trying to be Freddie Mercury, only more theatrical, if you can believe it. As for the band’s reputation as a whole, Foxy Shazam had a track record of total reinvention from album to album. They equally benefited from the production of the Darkness’s Justin Hawkins (Guitar overdubs! Lots of falsetto! Glam!), who helmed 2012’s The Church of Rock and Roll and “I Like It,” as they did from Steve Albini (Live-tracked! Honest! Punk!), who produced 2014’s aptly titled Gonzo. But their constant need for reinvention eventually led to the group’s hiatus last year. “Everybody in Foxy Shazam kind of felt like we had gotten to a point where, if we were to step into something right away, it wouldn’t be what it needed to be in terms of changing it up and just being as good as we wanted it to be,” Nally says. “The whole agreement was we were just going to take a break until that time was ready.” The time apart has given Nally time to spread his wings — and to get over an odd habit: At Foxy shows, Nally would constantly swallow lit cigarettes onstage. “It’s really been tough not to want a cigarette since Foxy stopped touring,” Nally says. “I don’t smoke, but I was getting a hit of nicotine when I ate the cigarettes every night onstage. It got to the point of, ‘Hm, I should stop doing this. This is gonna kill me. Quite literally.’” That freak-out performance style is actually what led to Nally’s collaboration with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis: It turns out Lewis is a big fan of Foxy Shazam and their antics. When the rap duo had the idea for “Downtown” but needed someone to tie it all together in the chorus, Nally’s discordant style came to mind. “They called me and asked me to do the song based on them being fans of my work and me being a fan of them,” Nally says. “We shared a trumpet player [Josh “Budo” Karp], who knew we’d get along. I wouldn’t have gone for something I didn’t feel good about. This just was right. My favorite part is when they came to me, they said, ‘We want you to be you, we want you to do your thing. We don’t want you to do something we have in mind. What you can bring to the table is what we want.’ That really encouraged me.” The man who strolls in on a motorcycle chariot in the music video — “Ryan texted me, ‘Have you ever driven stick before, a manual?’ I said yeah, thinking it’s gonna be a car” — previously co-wrote songs for Meat Loaf with Hawkins, where, in true Foxy fashion, he got the ‘70s rocker to belt lines like, “I can barely fit my dick in my pants.” When he’s not getting rockers his parents’ age to say outlandish things, Nally is raising two sons with his longtime wife; several days after the VMAs, when I call him, he’s back in Cincinnati mowing his lawn. He dubs himself a “lunatarian” — meaning he eats meat when it’s a full moon, and is otherwise a vegetarian. With a couple recent performances (the VMAs, The Tonight Show, no big deal), “Downtown” charged up a few charts last week and currently sits at No. 22 on the Hot 100; so it doesn’t look like the song — or Nally — is slowing down soon. He’s working on a solo album, has heard a few other new Macklemore songs (“I’m very excited for the world to hear what’s coming, it’s different but it’s great”), and is already plotting Foxy Shazam’s eventual reunion. “I’m working on spreading my wings as a solo artist,” he says. “I have a lot of different things planned with that, but I like to keep a mysterious vibe. Coming back to Foxy after that’s done, it’ll be a whole new ballpark. We could go even farther than we did with the last record.”

When did the New Haven colonial charter/patent and the Third Flag Act happen in this TL?

In the depths of winter, the vegetables at the market tend to be various hues of emerald green, burnt umber, and beige or brown. Right around now, however, a punk-pink renegade breaks the mould and brings its celebratory fluorescence to the table. Forced rhubarb is tricked into an early harvest by being grown in warmed barns in an area of west Yorkshire known as the Rhubarb Triangle. The excitement of a new seasonal ingredient often leads me to over-buy, and rhubarb is no exception. This leaves me with a glut, and a need for new recipes and ideas to turn it into something edible before it starts to brown, bruise and liquefy into something undesirable. Luckily, rhubarb can be used in a huge range of dishes, both sweet and sour. Fresh, raw forced rhubarb, finely diced, is a lovely addition to chopped salads, bringing acidity and colour. As it ages, however, it is best cooked. My last book, The Natural Cook, features a recipe for pork and rhubarb tagine that is always well received. To make it, follow any pork tagine recipe and swap the dried fruit for rhubarb. But my go-to sweet for excess rhubarb is, of course, a crumble, and if I’m short of time, I’ll turn to this vibrant granita. Rhubarb granita Make the most of the bright-pink colour of forced rhubarb with this quick and easy pudding. Granita is refreshing and light, so it’s perfect for the end of any large, celebratory meal. Please note that, unlike most other vegetables that I would encourage eating in their entirety from root to fruit, rhubarb leaves are poisonous and should never be eaten, so put them straight on the compost heap instead. Incidentally, this recipe works well with any fruit or vegetable that needs using up, so experiment with other ingredients when you have them surplus. Makes 6-8 portions 200g rhubarb 60g maple syrup, or other unrefined sugar In a covered saucepan, heat the roughly chopped rhubarb stalks with 150ml water for three minutes, or until soft. Blend in the maple syrup or sugar, then pour the mix into a shallow container and leave to cool. Transfer to the freezer and, once the mix has frozen, either grate the ice or scratch it into flakes using a fork, and serve immediately.

This is not a good sign for the Buttigieg campaign. The day after South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was on stage for the Democratic primary debate in Detroit, the FBI raided the South Bend Housing Authority on Wednesday in a law enforcement action that could raise plenty of questions about Buttigieg and his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Federal and local authorities aren’t talking about what led to the action, but residents told local news outlets it didn’t come as a shock: That favoritism is common at the authority and that it’s poorly managed. Check out the WSBT report here: Police and FBI are moving in and out of the South Bend Housing Authority offices. @KConninTV is trying to find out more. pic.twitter.com/bvuJL7UdrT — WSBT (@WSBT) July 31, 2019 TRENDING: Pelosi Makes No Sense: Trump 'Is Trying To Have the Constitution of the United States Swallow Clorox' In response to the raid, according to The South Bend Tribune, Buttigieg released a statement through his spokesman that attempted to distance the mayor from the authority’s operation. “Earlier today the Mayor’s Office became aware through local media reports of today’s law enforcement action at the Housing Authority. While the Housing Authority is not part of the City administration, the Mayor is concerned and will be closely following the situation. “The Mayor is in touch with the Board of Commissioners and has asked that they keep him informed on what they learn from federal officials. In the meantime, he has offered the City’s assistance to help ensure residents are not negatively impacted by this situation. He has been advised that normal operations will continue.” @PeteButtigieg released this statement shortly before 6:00 this evening: pic.twitter.com/1tCpw3muUX — Katlin Connin (@KConninTV) July 31, 2019 One problem with Buttigieg’s statement, though, is that while it states the housing authority is “not part of the city administration,” it doesn’t acknowledge that the South Bend mayor appoints the housing authority’s board. In fact, according to the Tribune, Buttigieg replaced the authority’s entire board in 2015 after years of mismanagement. To be fair, Buttigieg himself has clashed with the current board. Do you think this raid will hurt Buttigieg's campaign for the Democratic nomination? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use You're logged in to Facebook. Click here to log out. 86% (2872 Votes) 14% (460 Votes) RELATED: Pelosi Claims Police 'Murdered' Breonna Taylor, Laments That No One Held Accountable As the Tribune reported: “In fall 2018, Buttigieg appeared at a meeting of the agency’s board and criticized the housing authority for financial problems, unaddressed safety issues and poor communication. Some board members said they were disappointed the mayor did not speak with them about his concerns before raising the issues publicly.” However, the mayor of a mid-sized city trying to leap-frog into the presidency isn’t getting any help from video and headlines that show the FBI raiding the offices of an authority he’s responsible for appointing. The South Bend Housing Authority offices were abruptly closed Wednesday, as FBI agents appeared and went through the office for unknown reasons. https://t.co/3sdegxqEjm — Christian Sheckler (@jcsheckler) July 31, 2019 Buttigieg has already taken a black eye over his handling of a police shooting in South Bend in June that has led to withering criticism from city cops. Another brush with law enforcement – this time from the FBI – wouldn’t be a good sign for any mayor, but especially not one running for president. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Unfortunately for Hillary, her earlier coughing fit was not a lone wolf attack. Right in the middle of her "Russia-Trump Conspiracy" lecture to reporters aboard her plan, she was forced to cut short her story by another "seasonal allergy" attack (odd aboard was is likely a heavily filtered air cabin), retreating to the safety of the front seats withe the reappearance of her African American 'handler' once again. Upon her return she explained that "we went back and checked and this happens to me every Labor day." Which seems odd... one assumes that any ill-timed meeting of world-leaders will have to take place in a hermetically-sealed room from now on... * * * As we detailed earlier... It's probably nothing, or maybe it isn't? As Hillary Clinton began her speech at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio this afternoon, the democratic presidential candidate suffered what MSNBC anchor Ari Melber described as "one of the worst coughing fits I have ever seen." She coughed and cleared her throat through over 4 minutes of almost incoherent babble before MSNBC cut away, joking that hillary had quipped "every time I think about Trump I get allergic." I'm shocked she'd allow herself to be seen in this condition...#HillarysHealth pic.twitter.com/w49SXPgbeX — Stefan Molyneux (@StefanMolyneux) September 5, 2016 We are not so sure she can just blame this away on Trump however. Should we be worried about this 69-year-old woman? And just as she started another unprecedented coughing fit again, MSNBC cuts away to spare the public (around 4:45) Is it such a conspiracy theorist comment to question just how her health is? Has anyone got an EpiPen?

Leaders of the banned IRPT party deny any involvement, saying officials are using incident for political purposes. Tajikistan‘s government has accused a banned opposition party of being behind the deadly attack that left four tourists dead on Sunday after an earlier claim by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). In a statement on Tuesday, the interior ministry blamed the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) for the attack. The party’s exiled leaders denied any link to the attack and said the authorities were using the incident for political purposes. The four tourists were killed when a car ploughed into them as they cycled on a rural road. After the crash, the attackers also stabbed their victims, Tajikistan’s interior minister and the US embassy said on Monday. Security forces killed four suspected attackers on Monday and detained one. On Tuesday, the interior ministry said police had detained four other suspects. Citing what it said was the confession of a detained suspect, the ministry said the attackers’ leader had been trained in Iran and the group planned to flee to Afghanistan after the attack. ‘We completely deny the illogical allegation’ The IRPT denied the allegation in a statement to Reuters news agency. “We completely deny the illogical allegation by the interior ministry and condemn this terrorist act,” IRPT leader-in-exile Muhiddin Kabiri told Reuters by telephone. “This [statement] draws the attention away from the real criminals.” On Monday, IRPT issued a statement expressing its condolences to the families and countries of the victims. The statement added that they hope an investigation into the “accident” would “refute rumours and assumptions” as well as restore trust in Tajikistan for its people and tourists. The allegation comes after ISIL, on Monday, claimed a “detachment from the soldiers of the Caliphate” carried out the attack against “citizens of Crusader coalition countries” without offering details or evidence of their involvement. The New York Times reported that the choice of wording in the ISIL statement suggests the organisation believes the attack was inspired by their propaganda, but did not directly deploy the attackers. The IRPT was banned in Tajikistan in 2015 and was accused of “extremism” and plotting a failed coup. Exiled party leaders have denied such allegations and said they were aimed at strengthening President Emomali Rahmon’s grip on power. Mirzorahim Kuzov, a senior member of the party, told Al Jazeera in late 2017 that “everything Tajikistan’s government says about the IRPT or about me is a lie, slander.”

It's that this best is still from the Naruto franchise, and the adult naruto is from Boruto that's why

This past week, a couple of volunteers at Zion National Park, in Utah, came upon a drone, equipped with its very own onboard camera, buzzing over a herd of bighorn. The sheep bounded away and, in the ensuing mayhem, several lambs were separated from their mothers. The volunteer spotted the offending filmmakers nearby and shooed them away. The park issued a statement reminding visitors that the use of unmanned aerial vehicles is strictly prohibited and punishable by a jail sentence of up to five months and/or a five-thousand-dollar fine. Zion is not alone in its protest of drones. Just days before Zion’s declaration, Yosemite National Park, in California, had reminded visitors that drones of any type were unwelcome. Photo hobbyists have flocked to Yosemite and turned the park’s most popular vistas into buzzy air shows, much to the irritation of the park’s keepers. Last fall, the multimedia artist Jim Bowers—who owns four photography drones, and holds the Guinness World Record for building the world’s largest working timepiece—travelled to Yosemite with his DJI Phantom to do a little of what he calls “hit and run filming.” He flew a drone above the park’s Half Dome, Yosemite Village, Mariposa Grove, El Capitan Meadow, and Bridalveil Fall, and collected enough footage for an eight-minute video. Shot in a style reminiscent of “The Endless Summer,” it follows the Phantom as it swoops over trees, skims along crystalline waters, and, in one particularly daring shot, slips under a bridge. In 2008, I worked as an interpretive park ranger in Acadia National Park, in Maine. The iPhone had just had its first birthday, and those of us in the Park Service were trying to figure out whether to install cell-phone towers to support the new technology. The debate split along the expected lines: those who championed convenience and efficiency versus those who prioritized the “spirit” of the parks. Could a park simultaneously let one connect and disconnect? Cell-phone towers could allow hikers in distress to call for help, for example, but they could also spoil the beautiful vistas that made the climb worthwhile in the first place. There was also an access issue: Should nature be brought to the masses through gadgets like webcams or shareable cell-phone photography, or should parks cater to the rugged individualist who spurns those things? For Scott Gediman, a veteran ranger at Yosemite, that question is somewhat absurd. Why would he, upon admiring a herd of sheep or bison, tweet the finding so that everybody would come stampeding for a view? As we spoke over the phone, he recalled a passage in Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire,” a paean to the West’s wide, open vistas: “What can I tell them? Sealed in their metallic shells like molluscs on wheels, how can I pry the people free? The auto as tin can, the park ranger as opener.” For park rangers, conservationists, and nature enthusiasts prone to outlandish metaphor, the drone is today’s tin can. There have been countless others: loop roads, scenic overlooks, paved parking lots, off-roading, motorboats, and helicopters, to name a few. The national park is the strangest of conceits—a corralled wilderness unique, until recently, to the United States. In preserving in perpetuity our most photogenic landscapes, and decreeing that humans do not belong, the parks have become places to visit and exit. And the tin can has become woven into the ethos of the park, the ranger its ever wary warden. Sheridan Steele, the superintendent of Acadia National Park, saw his first drone last month, when a professor at a nearby college flew one around the park headquarters to demonstrate its capabilities. As he watched the thing buzz around, Steele was struck by two thoughts in quick succession: first, that the gadget would make an excellent search-and-rescue vehicle, much cheaper than a helicopter; and, second, that he needed to squelch any drone population growth. Steele spends a lot of time thinking about how to keep the park relevant—to younger audiences, to people of color, to visitors with disabilities. These days, he’s considering installing a video billboard that provides visitors with stock nature scenes as they idle in traffic along the park’s congested loop road. These sorts of compromises happen in all parks, as rangers and administrators balance the practical with the aesthetic or the spiritual. But Steele, like the staff of Zion and Yosemite before him, draws the line at drones. “I think that’s not the kind of experience people want,” he said. The national parks have had their share of follies, like the culling of Yellowstone’s then unpopular gray-wolf population in the early twentieth century. They’ve also sometimes given in to modern luxuries. (The well-heeled residents of Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia, successfully banned automobiles from the isle until finally caving to the siren call of the Ford Model T.) But a technology, once unleashed, is like an invasive species: good at procreating and hard to snuff out. Steele says that the vision of drones swarming around Cadillac Mountain, Acadia’s signature attraction, makes him queasy. Even he understands that there will most likely come a time when drones are seen as a necessary nuisance, but he’d at least like to require the next generation of Ansel Adamses to get a permit. _ Above: Yosemite Falls. Photograph by Richard Price/Getty.