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- Were you looking for the original Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne map Defense of the Ancients?
This article is about a fan created Custom Map designed on Warcraft III with the World Editor. The map contains non-Blizzard information, and events are not official.
It should not be taken as representing official lore!
Defense of the Ancients: Allstars (or simply "DotA Allstars") a variant of the custom map Defense of the Ancients for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne by Blizzard Entertainment. The objective is to destroy the opponent's World Tree if one is affiliated with the Undead Scourge side or to destroy the opponent's Frozen Throne if one is affiliated with the night elf Sentinels using one's hero along with allied heroes and allied "creeps" (AI-controlled fighters).
For further information about the mechanics of the game and its concepts, please refer to Defense of the Ancients.
Defense of the Ancients: Allstars is based on the concept of Aeon of Strife which originated from StarCraft, by Blizzard Entertainment, and is the first of its kind to introduce custom skills.
One of the first AoS style maps in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, The Defense of the Ancients, was done by a map maker named Eul. However, after the release of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the map became unplayable, as it was edited with an mpq editor in order to change the files within the map for custom skills, due to the change of table formatting with the new World Editor that was actually capable of editing skills. In addition to this, Eul's expansion pack version of Defense of the Ancients, DotA 2: Thirst for Gamma, did not successfully take the place of the original Defense of the Ancients. In time, several spin-offs of DotA started circulating on Battle.net (the official multiplayer gaming server network for Warcraft III). Allstars at that time was a compilation of all the "cool" heroes in each spinoff and origin alike, and it quickly became one of the most popular custom games on Battle.Net.
Nevertheless, the person who put together DotA Allstars ended its revisions after releasing a Human vs Orc variant of Allstars. Shortly after, Guinsoo stepped up and became the main programmer for DotA: Allstars spanning multiple versions. Guinsoo, however, left the DotA community to create League of Legends after version 5.84. Icefrog has been the DotA: Allstars editor/main programmer since version 6.
Currently, in most versions of Allstars, the map contains many more heroes and items than does the original DotA, and is updated frequently, which may explain its ongoing popularity. However, this popularity sparked a controversy over who ought to be credited for its fame. For instance, a number of Classic players resent Guinsoo for having 'stolen' their game, especially since he has similarly stolen most of his triggers, spells, heroes and items from other people; Guinsoo, for his part, maintains that the map was created from scratch and based only spiritually on Eul's work - Guinsoo has only admitted to taking the terrain, which was manually copied, and the idea for some heroes: everything else is his own, he claims. Regardless, Allstars remains widely played, and is rumored to be one of the most popular Warcraft 3 custom maps of all time.
The 5.84+ Series
Bugs in version 5 of AllStars prompted many to offer fixes to Guinsoo but the development of the code was opaque and release schedules were discretionary. As such, the map forked in version 5.84c with Guinsoo releasing version 6.
Guinsoo ended the version 5 series with the creation of DotA Allstars 5.84, which added new heroes and a few bug fixes. Still, several errors and imbalances were overlooked in 5.84, such as the 100+ HP regeneration rate bug of Dragon Knight's skill Dragon Blood, causing Guinsoo to release a corrected version immediately, known as 5.84b. A developer named True.Rus (from Russia) developed an unofficial fork named 5.84c. Every version of Allstars released prior to 5.84c had focused on new functionality or heroes. The version created (or rather modified) by True.Rus did not feature any new functionality. Instead:
- It refactored the map tokens to allow for faster loading times (reports from frequent Battle.net players indicate a reduction of almost 1-2 minutes)
- It also fixed some game bugs which were caused by the 1.18 Warcraft 3 patch that affected 8 heroes, for example Chaos Knight, Phantom Assassin, Broodmother, Juggernaut and Vengeful Spirit.
However, this fork introduced a few minor issues such as:
- The hero Black Arachnia (the Broodmother)'s ability Spin Web, which usually gives her extra speed and invisibility in the game, only functions to provide a speed bonus, while the invisibility is non-functional.
- The hero Ursa Warrior's ability Fury Swipes, which gives a stacking damage bonus on every consecutive hit, does not work at all.
The 6+ Series
On February 28th 2005, a new era of Allstars began. Massive changes including new heroes, new items and a new Ashenvale tileset were released in version 6.0, a huge step from 5.84b. The changes were drastic and many people resisted and preferred to stick with 5.84.
The major changes involve:
- Inclusion of more heroes, items, and item recipes.
- Changes to some of the existing items and recipes; this includes the changes of recipe "levels" from 3 levels to 4 levels.
- Changes to the abilities of existing heroes, which require new strategies for gameplay (for example, the Stealth Assassin/Silencer whose abilities have been changed, therefore requiring a new style of play). This was a major factor which caused a number of DotA players to stick to version 5.84.
- Icy terrain and redesign of the map layout (such as the center lane tower positioning and the pathways in the Scourge side of the map).
- Loading screen and map picture
Shortly after the release of 6.01, Guinsoo went missing. During Guinsoo's absence, IceFrog stepped up along with Neichus. IceFrog is now the main programmer for the map, doing anything from implementation and balancing to debugging. With each consecutive version released by the team in the 6 series, bug fixes, new heroes and additional spells have been introduced.
During the 6 series, the terrain has been changed multiple times. In the original 6.0, and about 10 versions after, the tileset was Ashenvale. However, it was soon changed to an Icecrown tileset. Many players complained about this new tileset, claiming it was too bright, and made it hard to play for extended periods of time because of eye strain. It was later changed, around version 6.20, to the Felwood tileset that it is today.
The 6.20+ and Beyond
On October 31st, yet another era of Allstars began. With the newfound endorsement from Blizzard Entertainment themselves and a 'Cyberathlete Amateur League' division dedicated to Defense of the Ancients opening up, the new version took another drastic step forward which included many changes.
The latest change logs of the new versions can be viewed at the Official Changelog. With such changes, reactions have been both positive and negative, but it remains to be seen how the changes affect the game in the long run.
Since version 6.27, development for version 6.3x has begun, with IceFrog promising that new content will arrive "at a steady flow".
Current player trends
Currently, players have shown increasing interest in the 6.xx versions as with each successive version, more bugs are fixed and the map is believed to be more stable and balanced, as compared to the 5.84+ versions. Version 6.59d, the most current official version, is the most frequently played on Battle.net and LAN parties.
Currently, DotA Allstars is popular among many players around the world, as observed on the Battle.net servers and the PvPGN network of private servers. Players of DotA Allstars, particularly in the Asian region, normally go to cybercafés for friendly matches and cash tournaments.
Dota Allstars was also featured in the Malaysia and Singapore World Cyber Games 2005. The latest stable version is currently the official version for league and tournament play.
Blizzard has officially recognized DotA Allstars as its first Spotlight Map entry in the Battle.net Hall of Fame. It was also an independent tournament item at the debut of Blizzard's BlizzCon convention in 2005.
Clan TDA (Team DotA Allstars) of Battle.net's "Azeroth" gateway (serving the East coast of the United States) is the clan charged with arranging DotA Allstars matches.
Players of DotA Allstars (and DotA in general) have developed a list of jargon and terminology that is frequently used during in-game chat sessions and inter-player communication.
Allstars Hero Classifications
Heroes in Allstars are given certain classifications which will influence their method of play. For example, stunners (heroes which can stun enemies) are usually accompanied by assassins or nukers to efficiently kill an enemy hero.
This is an alphabetical listing of common classifications and their characteristics. Do note that some heroes can be given more than one classification (e.g. Lion as a stunner-nuker-disabler).
- AOE Heroes - AOE is short for "Area Of Effect". AOE heroes tend to refer more to heroes with the ability to do massive area damage.
- By definition, AOE spells are spells that are cast by certain heroes, causing devastating amounts of damage or long-duration stuns in a large radius within a short period of time.
- Heroes with AOE spells are almost always used in higher level play and clan matches due to their ability to quickly disable and/or kill the opposing team within a relatively short period of time.
- Examples of AOE Heroes: Sand King (with his Epicenter and Caustic Finale in version 6), Leshrac/Tormented Soul (with all 4 of skills: Chain Lightning/Earthquake/Diabolic Edict/Pulse Nova), Crystal Maiden (with Freezing Field/Frost Nova), and Pit Lord (with Firestorm and Pit of Malice).
- Assassins - Heroes which specialize at killing other heroes quickly.
- These heroes usually deal physical attacks. Queen of Pain and Nerubian Assassin are two examples of those that mainly use spells. All of them have some form of invisibility or sudden ambushing ability. Most assassins are agility-based heroes.
- Any hero with Windwalk, an invisibility skill or partial concealment (Blur), or blink (teleportation) can fall into this category, depending on what build is used and how the hero is played, of course.
- Examples of Assassins: Nerubian Assassin, Stealth Assassin, Phantom Assassin, Bounty Hunter, Bone Fletcher, etc.
- Disablers - Heroes who possess the ability to "disable" other characters, basically forcing them into a disadvantage while they attempt to fight or flee.
- Disabling skills include any that affect the enemy in one or more of the following ways (with examples):
- forced movement (Greater Bash, Berserker's Call, Nether Swap)
- disallowed/slowing of movement (Storm Bolt, Magic Missile, Shadow Strike, Frostbite, Frostmourne, Degen Aura, Grave Chill, Penitence)
- prevention/reduction of physical attack (Heartstopper, Decrepify, Terror)
- prevention of spell-casting (Global-Silence, Silence, Crippling Fear)
- increased damage taken (Decrepify, Terror, Penitence)
- One of the most common forms of disable, "Stun", incorporates the middle three criteria as per the list (refer "Stunners" below). Many other skills, including some of the ones listed above, fit into several categories. Only a few examples are given for each type; this is by no means the complete list.
- Though many spells fall under the above categories, the common definition of a disabling spell is one that can extend an enemy's presence in combat against his or her will, which therefore only includes the first two of the listed effects. It is also possible to buy Eul's Scepter of Divinity (upgradable to Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse) to add another disabling ability to a hero's repertoire.
- Examples of Disablers: Rhasta, Lion and Atropos, all having two main disable skills (Lion has Impale and Voodoo, Rhasta has Shackles and Voodoo [he can also trap via Mass Serpent Wards if targeted properly], and Atropos has Nightmare and Fiends' Grip).
- Disabling skills include any that affect the enemy in one or more of the following ways (with examples):
- Nukers - Heroes who possess the ability to cause a significant amount of damage in a single instant via use of activated abilities in lieu of a physical attack.
- Almost all nukers are intelligence heroes, for the reason that very few others have the mana to cast a concurrent series of spells to significantly do damage to their opponent.
- Examples of heroes which are Nukers: Slayer (with the highest single damage spell in-game, Laguna Blade) Lich (with Frost Nova and Chain Frost), Crystal Maiden (with Frost Nova and Frostbite combined with Freezing Field), Lion (with Impale and Finger of Death).
- Spammers - Heroes who spam, or repeatedly cast offensive spells in an attempt to kill an enemy hero or disrupt the opponents' play.
- This frequently causes enemy heroes to go back to their Fountain of Health to heal, thereby wasting time and causing the enemy hero to lose experience. A "spammer" is typically just a specific kind of nuker, with the ability to repeatedly cast a particular spell efficiently.
- Examples of Spammer heroes: Zeus the Lord of Olympia (with continuous Lightning Arc), Boush the Goblin Tinker (with Heat-Seeking Rockets and Rearm), Leshrac with all the spells, and Krobelus the Death Prophet (with continuous Carrion Swarm, buffed by the Witchcraft skill).
- Almost all nukers are intelligence heroes, for the reason that very few others have the mana to cast a concurrent series of spells to significantly do damage to their opponent.
- Pushers - Heroes which can quickly destroy enemy towers and creep generators due to their ability to summon additional units or deal damage to an area of enemy creeps.
- These heroes often get items like Mekansm and Ring of Basilius to boost the power of their creeps.
- Examples of Pushers: Furion the Prophet (with Force of Nature), Death Prophet (with Carrion Swarm and Exorcism), Keeper of the Light (with Ignus Fatuus), Meepo (with Divided We Stand), and Dirge( with Raise Dead)
- Stunners - Heroes who possess the ability to Stun other characters.
- Some heroes have Stun as an active spell.
- Other heroes have passive skills enabling their attacks to have a chance of stunning. When such heroes are able to keep the enemy constantly stunned it is known informally as permastun (a portmanteau of permanent-stun).
- Such passive stunning heroes are usually equipped with items which increase attack speed and the item Cranium Basher to improve the percentage of hits which can stun an opponent.
- A stunner also belongs in the "disabler" hero classification, but as they are so common, they have a subgroup.
- Examples of Stunners: Centaur Warchief (with Hoof Stomp), King Leoric and Sven the Rogueknight (with Storm Bolt), and Raigor the Earthshaker (with Fissure and Aftershock).
- Support - Heroes whose skills are meant to directly aid the rest of the team.
- Heroes with healing and buffing skills fall into this category. "Pushers" (see above) can also be counted as support, although sometimes they can be used individually instead of working together with the team.
- Mekansm, and to a lesser extent, Ring of Basilius, are often used to heal and boost the armor of teammates (Mekansm's equivalent in version 5.84+ is Nethrezim's Buckler).
- Examples of Support heroes: The Omniknight (with Purification, Repel, and Guardian Angel), and the Treant Protector (with Living Armor, Eyes of the Forest, and Nature's Guise) are good examples of support heroes.
- Tankers - Heroes who can absorb huge amounts of damage with either high health or armor count, usually both.
- Typically used to attract tower fire and bait enemy heroes into wasting nukes or into traps.
- In order to further improve tanking ability, items that boost armor, health, and self HP-regeneration (Heart of Tarrasque) or lifesteal/consumption of creeps (Satanic) are often used.
- e.g. Treant Protector (with Living Armor and the highest base strength in the game), Centaur Warchief (with high base Strength and Great Fortitude), Axe (with Berserker's Call), Pudge the Butcher (with Flesh Heap), and Morphling (with Morph Strength).
Nouns and Miscellaneous Terms
- backdoor - This term is used to indicate a hero that sneaks into an opponent's base to cause damage to buildings WITHOUT pushing the creeps back. It is not considered backdooring if you have fought against the creeps until you reached their base. Backdooring is generally frowned upon by many players. According to the official rules the only form of illegal backdooring is teleporting into enemy base (i.e. Furion) while no creeps are there. Attacking towers/buildings without creeps is considered legal, but highly frowned upon. Other clans and public players may have differing views of what is legal and may ban you if you do so, so be warned.
- BL/Banlist - A free 3rd party program that keeps track of leavers and attempts to prevent them from joining games. It works outside of WarCraft 3 and intercepts packets. In-game, the user can label people as leavers and keep track of them in a database, pinging players to check for latency ("laggers"), detecting players marked in the database, recognizing multiple players with the same IP address (this means they're on LAN), and more. These programs are not as widely used as the game names seem to indicate. Leavers are rampant as ever in the DotA world. These programs are inherently innefficient due to dynamic ips and the ease at which players can create new accounts on battle.net. Third party programs also are against the battle.net terms of use. Refer to the links section for download links.
- bs - refers to one of three terms:
- "backstab", same meaning as "to ambush". Refer "backstab/bs" in the next section for details.
- "bullshit", used to express disbelief at something unexpected, such as a kill steal or being gangbanged.
- The hero Bloodseeker (Scourge).
- cm - refers to either:
- A short form of "clan match". Clan matches are played against other DotA clans. Similar in use to "inhouse".
- The hero Crystal Maiden (Sentinel).
- Captain mode.
- dropper - This is a player who was disconnected and was dropped by the other players from the game. Some players do not distinguish "droppers" from "leavers" and this can result in ban which is somehow unfair because dropping is not done due to the player's will. Also see "leebist".
- feeder - A player letting himself be killed by his opponents over and over again, sometimes due to inexperience but other times intentional, feeding them with experience and gold, creating an advantage for these opponents.
- ff - Stands for the word "Forfeit", used mainly in TDA games and other forms of higher level play as a way for a team to forfeit and withdraw from a game before the Throne/World Tree is destroyed.
- ffs - For fuck's sake. This term is used frequently to give extra importance to orders, for example in "def ffs" - urging the team to defend the base.
- gg - Good game. A term used by players as respect to their opponents, meaning the game was good. It is usually said at the end of the game (though not only in DotA). It is sometimes used sarcastically; since gg usually is said at the end of a game, players saying gg before the game are implying the other team or their own teammates that the outcome has been already decided.
- gj/gw - Good job/Good work. Used to congratulate teammates for scoring a successful kill, especially multiple kills or kills involving teamwork. Similar to 'n1' below
- griefer - Someone who intentionally makes it hard for their team. Examples of "griefing" are relaying what plans your team is making, buying items for the enemy team, stealing/destroying your own team's items, using bug abuses to hinder your team with your hero's skills, blocking, friendly-fire (killing friendly heroes which are near-death, inflicted by Shadowstrike or Doom) even when they wouldn't have died, and feeding.
- imba - Imbalanced. Used to indicate a hero, item or team that is considered inherently to be too strong or weak.
- inhouse - Also known as "ih", a game in which players who join are from a specific channel/clan, usually seen as more of a competitive style of play as opposed to public games, as only a select few may join. Compare: public games.
- ks - Kill Steal. Used to indicate the action of a hero "stealing" what another considers his kill; for example a hero attacks an enemy until near death, and the hero who "ks" delivers the final attack to the enemy, thereby getting a kill point (for any version of DotA). May also be extended to tower kills. Usually this type of action is not encouraged. A player that KSes is called KSer.
- leaver/quitter - This is a player who has intentionally left the game. This is quite a problem for the DotA community, because when a person leaves the game, it creates a favorable position for the opposing team. The "leaver" problem has prompted third parties to create the Banlist program (refer "Banlist").
- mh - Short for "maphack". This acronym is generally used to accuse a player(s) of having an unfair advantage through third-party programs that keep the entire map revealed for the accused player(s).
- n1 - Nice one. Similar to, but slightly less common than, 'gj' (see above).
- noob, newb - may imply either one of the following:
- Simply a short form for "newbie", a person who is new to the game or unskilled in play. Antonym: pro, godlike
- Sometimes used to address a player who doesn't listen to advice, strive to improve, or are rude to other players.
- Insulting another player by comparing him to someone who has just started playing.
- pub - also called "pubbie," a public game, opposite of "inhouse".
- plugger/puller/pp - someone who intentionally disconnects from a game. Either used to annoy the other players in the game by forcing them to wait for the plug puller to drop, or to be able to claim that you did not purposefully leave, so as to avoid being put on a banlist (see above). Name derived from the act of physically pulling the Ethernet cable out from its port, hence the name.
- Roshan - The strongest neutral creep in the map, near the center-most tower on the Scourge side. All players of the team that slays Roshan will receive +200 gold and the player who lands the final blow gets approximately 350 gold extra. In the latest version, 6.44b, Roshan will drop Aegis of the Immortal, an older item that was considered imbalanced. It contains one instant reincarnation charge (reincarnation being a "second" life.).
- rm/rmk - Cue used to request a rematch or a remake.
- sg/my and other country abbreviations or two-letter country codes - a suffix often added to game titles meaning the game host is from a certain area and therefore preferring players in the same country. This is because the geographical closeness of players within the game affects latency. "sg" is sometimes mistaken as "short game".
- Examples of country/region abbreviations: pe/Per for Peru,sg/Sing for Singapore, my/Msia for Malaysia, br/bra for Brazil, ph/pinoy for Philippines, au/Aus for Australia, cali for California,USA, tw for Taiwan, hk for Hong Kong, ca for Canada, eu for Europe, sk/svk for Slovakia, cz for Czech Republic, ee for Estonia, nz for New Zealand, dk for Denmark and bg for Bulgaria.
- OC - A term which was an abbreviation for "over creeps"; meaning there are more creeps than usual in a lane. Happens most of the time when a hero kills more creeps or has a Regeneration aura item such as Headdress of Rejuvenation/Mekansm.
- SS - A term "skill shot", referring to a hero's ultimate skill. Derived from the MMO game Gunbound's "SS Shot" ability. Another term can also screen shot.
- zomg - A phrase that derived from a typo while typing "OMG"(standing for "Oh my God"). This phrase, for some reason, seemed to be catchy and humorous to all the Defense of the Ancients: Allstars players. This phrase is used whenever something happens to a player or a team that they dislike. Sometimes, it may be used just because it is humorous.
- back or b - Used to cue team members to retreat.
- blow/det/boom - Instruction to detonate mines laid by the Goblin Techies hero (Sentinel), to damage enemies.
- bs/backstab - In general, a hero (or a few of them) abandons his lane in an attempt to ambush heroes in another lane, generally by hiding in the woods for extended periods of time and attacking the victim from the back, cutting off easy escape. This term is said as a command for a teammate to stand behind a farming opponent, usually to cut him off as he runs away from an attack or gb/gank. This also refers to a warning to allies of an enemy hero's impending ambush (sometimes in conjunction with a minimap signal to identify the target).
- creep - A creep is a unit that is not controlled by a player. Killing a creep yields gold for the player that killed it. In DotA this refers to the units fighting on the two sides as well as neutral ones. Also used as a verb to refer to killing creeps.
- creep deny/exp. denial - The act of killing one's own friendly creeps who have low Hit Points, thereby denying experience and gold to enemy heroes. A similar method is used to destroy a friendly tower which is about to be demolished by the enemy.
- defend/def - Used to cue team members to defend a tower, barracks, or lane from the opposing team. Mainly used in conjunction with a signal flare to the game map.
- d/c - Abbreviation for "disconnected", used in reference to a player.
- farm - This refers to the strategy of exclusively killing creeps in order to purchase better weapons and gain experience faster. More specifically, farming in the absence of enemy heroes.
- gangbang (gb)/rape - the act of multiple heroes converging on one hero to kill that hero. It is common slang for an 'orgy'
- gank - When a hero is gangbanged from several sides. Either a portmanteau of "gangbang" and "flank" or originating from the term "gang kill".
- (hero name/color) missing - informing friendly heroes that the particular enemy hero has abandoned his lane in an attempt to ambush and kill heroes in another lane, generally by hiding in the woods for extended periods of time.
- Missing in Action (MIA) - The acronym "mia" is also used to warn teammates of a missing enemy hero.
- out - Usually said after a push by multiple heroes. Used mainly to denote that the player is going back to the fountain area.
- pawn/pwn - Generally means 'to kill an enemy hero', usually with the intended meaning that the hero making the kill did a spectacular job in comparison with his or her adversary. Pwn originated from a misspelling of "own", which has a similar meaning in gamer jargon, resulted from the closeness of the P and O keys on a Qwerty keyboard.
- pump/pumping - Refer to first term of stacking.
- push - Pushing is the main objective of DotA. It is accomplished by staying in a lane and advancing on enemy towers to destroy them, literally "pushing" the lines of battle further and further towards the enemy's base.
- rax/racks/barracks - Used to cue teammates to destroy the enemy's barracks building, positioned in the enemy base. Also used (sometimes) to cue destruction of enemy buildings in general; usually accompanied by a map signal to indicate its position. Note: destruction of enemy Barracks will upgrade the team's creep damage and hit points.
- rambo/ramboing - Derived from Sylvester Stallone's portrayal of the "John Rambo" character from his popular movie series. This refers to an aggressive and risky attempt to kill an enemy hero or in some cases a structure in a situation where you clearly do not have the advantage.
- rambo hero - These are heroes who are better suited to the act of "ramboing". e.g. Bloodseeker, Nightstalker, Juggernaut.
- rosh - Used to cue teammates to together destroy the strongest neutral creep on the map, Roshan. Usually used in the late game when heroes are powerful enough to do so.
- team sell - A controversial strategy used to deal with a leaver (person who leaves prior to the end)'s items. All items from the leaver's hero are sold at half price, with the gold distributed evenly to all his teammates. In actuality, the team loses out because only half the gold is returned. It should also be noted that since all players on the leaving hero's side gain control of the leaving hero, arguments often arise as people selfishly struggle for control of the leaver's strongest pieces of equipment, although all the equipment stay in the team.
- stacking - can refer to one of two terms:
- The act of pooling items to a certain hero that can make it particularly more powerful than others. Most notorious stackable characters are Naix, Phantom Assassin, Sven, Magina and others that once get certain items, are almost unbeatable. TDA Rules are against this act due to imbalance issues it brings.
- Stacking also refers to the act of combining multiple Auras, i.e. "Aura-stacking" (Aura examples: Vampiric, Command, Brilliance, Fervor, Protection, Moonbeam etc.). This usage of the term is more common among Warcraft III players, as most of the auras are also found in that game.
- TP - Short for "teleport", a spell used to instantly teleport to a friendly building or creep (e.g. by activation of Scroll of Town Portal, usage of Furion's ability, or by Boots of Travel. TP is also used to signal Chen, a Sentinel hero, to use the Teleport ability, sending a friendly player back to the team's fountain area.
- ult/ulti - Abbreviation for the word "ultimate." Instructs another player to utilize his ultimate spell.
- w/zap/wrath/zeus - Some players, when using Zeus (Sentinel) hero, instruct their teammates to type a phrase or ping in a specific place (such as their fountain) when his ultimate is needed for a kill. These are all examples, although there is no single generic term.
Verbal Acknowledgments
One feature Defense of the Ancients: Allstars (like many other custom maps) has is the use of map sounds and verbal acknowledgments. Those in Allstars are derived from Unreal Tournament, which are played once a player manages to kill 3 or more enemy heroes without being killed himself. These were first imported into the game by Guinsoo to add more excitement into the hero killing aspect of Allstars.
Note that the BlizzCon DotA tournaments used a special edition of the map where there are no acknowledgements. This was done to avoid copyright issues due to the acknowledgements, with the exception of "Fresh Meat", being the property of Epic Games. The special edition was made by IceFrog at Blizzard's request.
For consecutive kills
In DotA AllStars, when a player is able to execute 3 or more consecutive kills on an enemy without dying in the process, all players will receive a verbal acknowledgment as credit for performing this feat. Bonus gold will also be provided to an enemy hero who can stop this killing streak. They are:
- 3 - [Name of Player] is on a Killing Spree (50 bonus gold)
- 4 - [Name of Player] is Dominating (100 bonus)
- 5 - [Name of Player] has a Mega-Kill (150 bonus)
- 6 - [Name of Player] is Unstoppable (200 bonus)
- 7 - [Name of Player] is Wicked Sick (250 bonus)
- 8 - [Name of Player] has a M-m-m-m....Monster Kill (300 bonus)
- 9 - [Name of Player] is Godlike (350 bonus)
- 10+ - [Name of Player] is Beyond Godlike (Somebody kill him!) (400 bonus)
- The displayed text is Beyond Godlike, whereas the game's voice actually says "Holy Shit!".
For special events
These two sounds are version-dependent:
- First blood - in Allstars version 6 and above only: when a player's hero executes the 1st hero kill of the game, he/she will get extra 200 gold and also the "First blood" verbal acknowledgment.
- Combo whore - in Allstars versions before 6 only: when two or more players combined their abilities to kill a single hero the sound "Combo whore" is verbalized.
Other sounds common to all AllStars versions include:
- Double kill - kill 2 Heroes within a short amount of time (11.5 seconds).
- Triple kill - kill 3 Heroes within a short amount of time (11.5 seconds)
- Ultrakill - kill 4 Heroes within a short amount of time (11.5 seconds)
- Rampage - kill 5 Heroes within a short amount of time (11.5 seconds)
- Ownage - when a team gets 5 or more Hero kills in a row without any hero deaths on their side.
- Ahh...Fresh Meat - a sound byte activated when the Scourge hero Pudge activates his Ultimate spell "Dismember". This may be familiar to players of Diablo, another game by Blizzard Entertainment, in which a boss called "The Butcher" utters those same words. This sound byte is hardcoded into the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne World Map Editor.
- Good night! - a sound clip played when the Sentinel hero Squee, Spleen and Spoon (Goblin Techies) achieves a kill with the Remote Mines ability. This sound is played in Warcraft III when the Goblin Sapper unit is given an attack order.
These are allusions present in the Warcraft III custom map Defense of the Ancients: Allstars variant.
- Aegis of the Immortal - A shield carried by Athena, for Zeus the Greek god. Dropped by Roshan.
- Aghanim's Scepter - Refers to Agahnim, the final boss in some of the Zelda games.
- Armlet of Mordiggian - Mordiggian is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Black King Bar - Reference to a weapon in Phantasy Star Online.
- Buriza do Kyanon - is a unique crossbow from Diablo II.
- Cranium Basher - Cranium Basher is a maul from Diablo. It's also in Diablo II.
- Dagon - A Semitic God.
- Eaglehorn - is a bow from Diablo II, originally from Diablo.
- Eul's Scepter of Divinity - A tribute to the creator of the original Defense of the Ancients, which included an item of the same name.
- Eye of Skadi - Skadi is the wife of the Van god Njord in Norse mythology. She was the Goddess of winter, and as a tribute to her the item causes a hero's attack to deal frost damage, slowing opponents.
- Guinsoo's Scythe of Vyse - A tribute to the Guinsoo an editor of Defense of the Ancients: Allstars.
- Hands of Midas - Midas is a character in Greek mythology who turned everything he touched into gold. In Allstars, this item kills and turns an enemy creep into gold.
- Heart of Tarrasque - A nearly immortal creature from Dungeons & Dragons, also mythical creature resembling a dragon, lion and scorpion. Also a small boss from Starcraft, another Blizzard game.
- Khadgar's Pipe of Insight - Named after the Warcraft III item of the same name.
- Lothar's Edge - A tribute to Sir Anduin Lothar, the Champion of Azeroth, during the First War (in Warcraft and Warcraft II.)
- Messerschmidt's Reaver - Messerschmidt's Reaver is an axe from Diablo II, originally from Diablo.
- Monkey King Bar - From the Chinese folk tale Journey to the West, the Monkey King Bar was a staff used by the hero Sun Wukong and could alter its size to his will; the same bar used by the character Son Goku in the Dragon Ball series. The weapon also appears in Phantasy Star Online and may also be another reference to that game.
- Nathrezim Buckler - The Nathrezim or Dreadlords are a race in the Warcraft universe of games.
- Necronomicon - A fictional book invented by the early pulp fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Also the strongest book wielded by Cecilia in the RPG Wild Arms. A book bearing this title also appeared in the movie Army of Darkness.
- Poor Man's Shield - Refers to poor man's copyright.
- Sange - A sword from the game Phantasy Star Online.
- Sange and Yasha - In Phantasy Star Online The Sange and Yasha could be combined to form a formidable dual sword weapon, and thus the same is allowed here.
- Shiva's Guard - Refers to the Hindu deity.
- Stygian Desolator - A weapon from the game Anarchy Online. The name is derived from the river that flows in the Greek underworld, the River Styx (Stygian, meaning to have the properties of Styx). This is however counterintuitive, because the waters of the River Styx was supposed to confer immortality to those who touched it. Achilles was said to have been dipped in the waters of the Styx as a baby.
- Talisman of Evasion - An item from the games Warcraft III and World of Warcraft.
- Yasha - A type of demon in Indian mythology. Also refers to another sword from the game Phantasy Star Online.
- Note: This section only explains the possible allusions that exist in the DotA Allstars heroes and is not meant to be a hero guide/description/spell guide.
- Abaddon, Lord of Avernus - Avernus is Latin for "void" or "abyss". Abaddon (Hebrew for "destruction") is the name of the fallen angel of the abyss from the Book of Revelation, which is the last book of the Bible. Is also a powerful character in the miniature wargame Warhammer 40,000.
- Aggron Stonebreaker, Ogre Magi - It's name is the name of a Pokémon.
- Akasha, Queen of Pain - One of the five elements of Hinduism. Also the name of the Queen of the Damned from a book by Anne Rice. Literally speaking in Hindi, it means "sky."
- Alleria, Windrunner - An elven hero in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
- Anub'arak, Nerubian Assassin - The undead Nerubian crypt lord in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
- Rattrap, Clockwerk Goblin - One of the Maximals on Transformers: The Beast Wars. His beast form was that of a rat.
- Atropos, Bane Elemental - One of the three fates in Greek mythology, who literally "cut the thread of life" according to legend. Also, all of his abilities are named after spells of the elemental type "bane" from Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis and Atropos was the ultimate sword attack from the game.
- Azgalor, Pit Lord - Pit lord found in Battle of Mount Hyjal.
- Azwraith, Phantom Lancer - Uses a character model/icon based on a Final Fantasy character, Kimahri.
- Banehallow, Lycanthrope - Refers to lycanthropy, the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf.
- Barathrum, Spiritbreaker - The name Barathrum is the word for "underworld" in Latin.
- Black Arachnia, Broodmother - The name, "Black Arachnia" is a character in the TV series Beast Wars. In the show, Black Arachnia is a female spider/robot for the Predacons faction.
- Bradwarden, Centaur Warchief - Centaur character from R.A. Salvatore's book The Demon Awakens.
- Cairne Bloodhoof, Tauren Chieftain - Grand Chief of the united tribes of the tauren, chieftain of the Bloodhoof, and leader of Thunder Bluff.
- Furion, Prophet - The leader of the Night Elves, with his command of nature, in Warcraft III.
- Gyrocopter, Aurel Vlaicu - A. Vlaicu was a Romanian pioneer of early flight.
- Daelin Proudmoore, Admiral - Admiral of the naval forces of the Alliance during the Second War.
- Ignis Fatuus - Keeper of the Light's ultimate skill, which is a phenomenal occurrence in marshlands creating a pale light, similar to Will 'o the Wisp.
- Jakiro, Twin-Headed Dragon - Background story based on Níðhöggr, a dragon that gnawed at a World Tree.
- Jin'zakk, Batrider - Named after the Forest troll Warlord of the same name.
- Kael, Invoker - Possibly named after Kael'thas Sunstrider.
- Kel'Thuzad, Lich - The Lich King's disciple in the original Warcraft III.
- King Leoric, Skeleton King - his name comes from a character in Diablo whose son was possessed by the demon.
- Krobelus, Death Prophet - A character (missionary role) in the game Summoner 2.
- Leshrac the Malicious, Tormented Soul - A character from Magic: The Gathering.
- Leviathan, Tidehunter - Strength hero that looks like a sea giant. His name comes from a Biblical sea creature. His name can also be from a unique armor in Diablo II, "The Leviathan" Kraken Shell. One of his skills is called Kraken Shell.
- Lina Inverse, Slayer - Powerful spellcaster, whose name and spells originate from Slayers, a famous manga and anime.
- Lucifer, Doom Bringer - A Doom Guard, referring to the fallen archangel (the Devil) in Christian tradition. (Also from Heroes Might and Magic Series).
- Magnus, Magnataur - A reference to German physicist Heinrich Magnus who described a physical phenomenon called the Magnus effect, that is apt because of Magnus' (the Magnataur's) ultimate Reverse Polarity acting like the Magnus effect.
- Medusa, Gorgon - A monster in Greek mythology whose gaze turned people to stone. This is represented in-game using the skills Purge and Gaze (certain versions only) which greatly slows enemies, however does not turn them into stone.
- Meepo, Geomancer - A kobold character from Dungeons and Dragons.
- Mercurial, Spectre - Having the characteristics of eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, and thievishness attributed to the god Mercury. Also this is the name of the artist of the loading screen for version 6.28 and beyond.
- Mogul Kahn, Axe - The name Mogul refers to a dynasty of Farsi-Mongolians that once controlled the area that is now Afghanistan, Balochistan, and the Indian subcontinent (e.g. Babur, Akbar), while Kahn is a misspelling of "Khan", which means commander, leader or ruler in Persian.
- Morphling, Morphling - A shapeshifter from Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering, which is also adept at switching stats.
- Mortred, Phantom Assassin - Her name possibly derives from the name Mordred. In the legend of King Arthur, Mordred is a traitor that severely wounds King Arthur. This has a hint of similarity to Mortred's story text in the DotA game, which appears as a tooltip during hero selection. Name could also allude to the word mortify, meaning to destroy the strength, vitality, or functioning of. Mortred also helped to test the map when Euls still made it.
- Nevermore, Shadow Fiend- Name is based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven".
- Nortrom, Silencer - His name could have been derived from Nordom, a character in Planescape Torment. This could also possibly be derived from the company Norton, as they are a company developing anti-virus software and Nortrom is an anti-magic hero.
- Puck, Faerie Dragon - Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream featured a faerie named Puck.
- Pudge, Butcher - Named after The Butcher in the game Diablo. When he uses his ultimate spell, he uses a phrase from The Butcher as well.
- Raigor Stonehoof, Earthshaker - Earthshaker is an item from Diablo 2, which can proc fissure, one of Raigor's spells.
- Rexxar, Beastmaster - The well known half-ogre that helped in the foundation of Durotar in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.
- Rhasta, Shadow Shaman - The name is derived from a specific religious group, "Rhastafari," in Jamaica which is where Rhasta's and all the trolls accent places them.
- Rikimaru, Stealth Assassin - A stealth ninja in the game Tenchu: The Stealth Assassins.
- Shendelzare Silkwood, Vengeful Spirit - Her Magic Missile spell derives from the name of a spell in Dungeons and Dragons.
- Slithice, Naga Siren - Derived from Greek Mythology, where sirens (half woman half sea creatures) were enticing men on ships to their island. In the game, her ultimate spell (Song of the Siren) causes all enemies in the surrounding area to sleep for a short period of time.
- Squee, Goblin Techies - Character from Magic: The Gathering; a goblin from the Weatherlight saga.
- Sven, Rogue Knight - Comes from the Swedish Body Builder infamous for using the line "I want to pump *clap* you up!". Alluded to the captions under his ability Toughness Aura and ultimate ability God's Strength.
- Syllabear, Lone Druid - Syllabear is named after Syl-la-ble from Clan TDA who worked with Guinsoo in the development of DotA Allstars. Before leaving, he created this hero as to leave his mark in DotA.
- Tiny, Stone Giant - A sarcastic name by the fact that his last ability is grow to an enormous and powerful mountain Giant.
- Ulfsaar, Ursa Warrior - A Furbolg warrior whose name may spring from the Norse Ulfsark, a warrior in times of need (alluding to his character description) that wore animal skins as a tactic to scare enemies; and similar to Ulfsarks were Berserkers, meaning "Bear strength."
- Venomancer - Uses a model of a character in Starcraft, the Zerg Hydralisk. This model is included in the Warcraft III data files as an easter egg.
- Vol'Jin - A former houngan or famous troll witch doctor of the Darkspear Tribe from Warcraft III and World of Warcraft.
- Yurnero, Juggernaut) - An Orc Blademaster who's ultimate ability, Omnislash, is the derivative of Cloud Strife's omnislash from Final Fantasy. Comes from the Hindi Jagann*th, literally, lord of the world, title of Vishnu, and also defined as a massive inexorable force that crushes all in its path.
- Zeus, Lord of Olympia - Leader of the gods in Greek mythology. Zeus was the god of lightning, and in DotA Allstars the Zeus hero specializes in lightning-based spells.
See also
External links
Download and Resources sites
- maps.w3reforged.com - The official download repository for DotA Allstars


text: I am not a lawyer or a legal scholar or anything close to it but honestly I feels it's bad for the industry. If they would buy T-Mobile what would Sprint have to do to stay in the game? I know they just got the 4s but I don't think that one partnership can carry a huge company.

subset: commoncrawl


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NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is up more than 2 percent Monday on rising optimism that U.S. leaders will be able to reach a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff."
Benchmark crude rose 2.4 percent, to $2.09, to $89 just after 10 a.m.
President Barack Obama met with the top leaders of the House and Senate on Friday to discuss ways to avoid a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in on Jan. 1 in the absence of government action. Lawmakers have said a budget deal before Christmas is possible.
Economists have been warning of dire consequences if no action is taken, including the possibility of another recession.
Overseas, the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas also raised concerns about Middle East crude supplies.
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text:
Why would Google want a 50-person social network ? Because that's what Path is, a mobile social network that consists of only a few dozen people and is touted as "a place to be yourself." Despite the relatively small reach, Google was prepared to pay $100 million for it.
Apparently Google liked the look of Path, its message or was attracted to its founders, all with serious street cred. There's Dave Morin, formerly of Facebook; Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster; and Dustin Mierau, creater of Macster, according to TechCrunch. The founders rejected the deal in December, preferring to instead focus on garnering more funding.
I tried to see what was so darn attractive about it and took a look on the Path website, which seems to continually use the phrases "shared experience" and "closer relationships." From its blog:
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
At Path, we're focused on helping close friends and family deepen their relationships with each other. At the root of happiness in relationships is shared experience.
It was our hope in the beginning that our experiments around more private sharing and more personal network models would enable shared experiences between people that care about each other, and thus form closer relationships. We've focused our features around innovative ways to guarantee shared experience such as "Seen" and "Emotion."
I'm not sure I see the attraction exactly -- probably because you need an iPhone to use it -- but its buzz seems to be catching. It received $8.65 million in funding this week ($11.2 since it started last year) and is valued at $25 million.
But refusing a $100 million offer -- was that really Google's loss or Path's? Time will tell.


text:
Welcome to the personal Web address of Elijah Heiss. Below you will find information on some of his work and where you can contact Eli should you request his services. Thanks for visiting!
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- WordPress ninjutsu skills,
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I strive to make the Web easy for others through HTML5 tooling, CSS3 expertise, and Search Marketing strategies. My goal is to build better brand experience, improve product awareness, and to always look for creative new ways to implement the tools at hand to achieve product demand.


text:
HORNELL � Although she is under a multiple-count felony indictment, accused of stealing some $15,000 from a police headquarters evidence room, Jennifer A. Speed technically remains a city employee, Hornell officials confirmed Thursday.
Speed, however, has not worked in many weeks, is not on the payroll and is not getting a police department pay check, officials stressed.
At the time of her arrest on Dec. 20, Speed was on non-service related disability, officials said. That status, which Speed has been on for �several months,� according to sources, has allowed the city to forgo disciplinary action for now while the criminal proceedings move forward.
�She is not on the payroll, she is off,� Mayor Shawn Hogan said Thursday. �She has been charged, but not convicted.�
Hogan said the city must follow specific administrative procedures to discipline or alter the employment status of a city employee. At this point, there is �no reason� to proceed with that process�prior to Speed�s legal status clarifying, Hogan said, noting�the officer�is not on duty and is not collecting a pay check.
A high ranking city official said police officers are required to follow specific �rules of conduct� as a term of employment.
When there is cause to believe there has been a violation, the matter is brought to the Board of Public Safety. That has not occurred, yet.
Late last month, a Steuben County grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Speed, a former senior evidence custodian with the police department.
Speed was charged with third-degree grand larceny, first-degree tampering with public records, two counts of first-degree falsifying business records and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
Speed, 39, has pleaded innocent to all charges. Defense attorney James L. Riotti said Speed denies involvement in the disappearance of $15,055 in cash � some of it blood stained � confiscated from a suspect in police custody some 22 months ago.
Speed was held at the Livingston County Jail following her arrest, but has been released on bail.
The missing currency in the center of the case was collected from Steven P. Brockway on March 10, 2012, after the Canisteo man was arrested for stabbing Fred Tigner, seriously injuring the Hornell resident.
The evidence was reported missing after Brockway pleaded guilty last June to second-degree burglary and third-degree witness tampering. When police went to look for $15,055, which Brockway had agreed to forfeit as a result of the plea bargain, it could not be found.
New York State Police investigators took on the case at the request of Hornell city officials and the Steuben County District Attorney�s Office.
The grand jury began considering the evidence in October. None of the missing money has been recovered.


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text:
BT hit targets for the first quarter ended 30 June 2008 bringing in revenues of £5.1bn, up three per cent on last year. But the market is distinctly underwhelmed, marking shares down 10 per cent in early trading.
The telco made earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of £1.433bn, up one per cent on the same period a year ago.
The company remains confident it will hit revenue targets for the full year, but warned of margin pressure, partly due to currency changes.
BT saw flat performance from its consumer business where lower call revenues, and cheaper call packages, were offset by increased spending on broadband. The average household paid BT £278 a year (12 month rolling average) an increase of £4 on last quarter.
BT Global Services revenue jumped 13 per cent to £2.052bn, although currency movements accounted for a third of this growth. EBITDA before leaver costs (we assume this means redundancies) was £195m, up ten per cent.
Revenue from the wholesale business fell 12 per cent to £1.156bn, partly due to the effects of price cuts on broadband revenues, and people moving to unbundled services. BT expects more ecline over the next few quarters, as more ISPs interconnect directly. The company reckons about five per cent of the UK population can currently access its next generation broadband products. This should be up to 40 per cent by April 2009.
BT's ISP provider business Openreach saw revenues fall by one per cent to £1.306bn. External revenue was up 11 per cent to £234m but internal business, with other BT divisions, fell three per cent to £1.072bn. EBITDA was £491m, up two per cent. Access faults fell 16 per cent in the period -and BT says it is introducing a pro-active monitoring service to reimburse customers automatically if service levels are missed.
Openreach also made its first deployment of Generic Ethernet Access - fibre to the home - to a pilot site in Kent.
Looking forward BT reckons it will hit targets for the year. The telco expects margins to fall slightly in 2008/2009 but still hopes to achieve 15 per cent EBITDA margin target. Retail should show solid growth over the year while BT Wholesale is likely to continue to decline in the second and third quarter but improve in the fourth quarter. Openreach should put in a stable performance.
More from BT here.
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Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., weighed in March 31 on recent coverage of sex abuse and the church by The New York Times and attorney Jeffrey Anderson's disclosure of documents to the newspaper, mainly concerning the case of Father Lawrence Murphy, the late Wisconsin priest who molested over 200 boys when he ran a school for deaf and hearing-impaired children in Wisconsin during the 1960s and '70s. The bishop points out that the Times coverage was far from thorough and focuses on old complaints about the church while ignoring the wholesale sexual abuse of minors occurring today in government institutions.
Bishop Lori's column appeared originally on the Web site of the Knights of Columbus. It is reposted here with permission.
It is Holy Week, that time out of time, when we remember the most important events of all time: Jesus' suffering, his crucifixion, and his conquest of death. The world, of course, is filled with distractions. In this holy season some, especially the news media, want us to focus instead on the supposed failures of our pope, Benedict XVI. The New York Times is again leading the attack, now accusing the Holy Father himself of being complicit in "the widening sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church." I want to share with you my reflections about this subject.
It appears that the timing of these articles is calculated. The March 25 New York Times story suggesting that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, permitted a known offender to continue in ministry for almost thirty years was based upon documents provided to it by Jeffrey Anderson, an attorney who has received over $100 million suing Catholic institutions and who is now suing the Vatican itself. Mr. Anderson received these documents in discovery in December 2008. Why did he wait until now to hand them over to the Times? Was it to help his suit against the Vatican? Was it to coordinate with claimant groups protesting in the Vatican on the very day of the Times report? Was it to promote legislation friendly to plaintiffs' lawyers such as we are fighting here in Connecticut and elsewhere? Was it to sully the holiness of this week? We don't know. We do know that Mr. Anderson controlled the timing, and the Times helped.
The truth is that there is no widening problem of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, at least not in our country. A comprehensive "Causes and Contents" study conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice showed that, by the early 90s, this problem was largely corrected because many bishops already had in place safe environment programs and zero tolerance policies. In 2002 the U.S. bishops took additional steps to reach out to victims and to ensure the safety of children and young people by issuing their landmark Charter and Norms. For our church serving almost 70 million American Catholics, there were six allegations of childhood sexual abuse by priests occurring in 2009. No other institution working with children gets close to this level of safe environment.
Let us now focus on the stories in the New York Times regarding Father Lawrence C. Murphy, the deceased Milwaukee priest who was accused of molesting young people during the 1960s and 70s when he headed a school for the hearing and sight impaired. To be sure, his heinous behavior was utterly reprehensible and destructive. At the same time, however, the Times' story incorrectly reports that Cardinal Ratzinger was complicit when, "instead of discipline," Father Murphy was "quietly moved" to the Diocese of Superior where he continued "working freely with children in parishes" for 24 years until he died in 1998. The police looked into the allegations regarding Father Murphy in 1974 and apparently found insufficient evidence to take any action. Nevertheless, Father Murphy lost his job as head of the school for the hearing and sight impaired in 1974. The documents the Times itself posts show that his removal was not "quiet" but that the police were informed, that there were protests and leafleteering, and that there was "disclosure and public humiliation in 1974."
Finally, the Times states that Father Murphy was "never disciplined." This simply is not so. The Times does not tell its readers that, shortly after new allegations came his way in 1993, Archbishop Rembert Weakland promptly suspended Father Murphy's faculties and ordered him to cease all public ministry, all unsupervised contact with children, and all contact with persons, places, and situations giving rise to temptations. The Times either hid the fact that Father Murphy was disciplined by suspension of his faculties because it did not comport with the story it wanted to tell, or because Mr. Anderson withheld the documents from the Times that detailed this discipline.
In fact, if the New York Times had bothered to check with Father Thomas Brundage, the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1995-2003, they would have been found that at the time of his death, Father Murphy was still a defendant in a canonical trial (an internal trial conducted by the church) in Milwaukee for the crimes of sexual abuse and solicitation within the confessional. Thus, the New York Times either was less than forthcoming in stating that Murphy suffered no discipline, or Mr. Anderson, through selective document disclosures, played the New York Times like a fiddle. The shameless and reckless assertions by the Times and other media outlets that Cardinal Ratzinger somehow interfered with the trial by the church are categorically false. Father Brundage, who was the presiding judge of the canonical trial, says unequivocally "with regard to the role of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) in this matter, I have no reason to believe that he was involved at all. Placing this matter at his doorstep is a huge leap of logic and information."
Here's what I know about Pope Benedict XVI and sexual abuse. As detailed by John Allen of The National Catholic Reporter, when Cardinal Ratzinger became the Vatican's "point man" on the problem in 2001, he personally reviewed hundreds of files. He then wrote the bishops of the world that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would henceforth handle all sexual abuses cases involving priests. Under his leadership the congregation provided bishops with crucial direction and support in canonically removing offending priests from ministry. In most circumstances, the congregation approved direct administrative actions so that bishops could discipline and remove priests without the delays of full canonical trials.
In 2002, I assisted in writing the Charter and Norms for the Protection of Children and Young People. I was also one of the four U.S. diocesan bishops who went to Rome to secure approval of the Norms. I personally witnessed the pivotal and positive role that Cardinal Ratzinger played in helping the American bishops to respond to the sexual abuse crisis. Thanks to Cardinal Ratzinger, the United States Norms won approval from the Holy See. Together with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the Norms have helped the U.S. bishops to bring about a true culture change in the church. State of the art safe environment programs have been developed. Countless victims have been assisted. Priests who posed a danger to young people are out of ministry. Dioceses cooperate closely with law enforcement officials (contrary to yet another faulty op-ed piece in the New York Times). The congregation also helped bishops of other countries deal with the sexual abuse crisis. When he became pope, Benedict XVI made resolution of the abuse problem a priority. Instead of attacking this pope, we should be thanking him for helping the church confront this crisis in a way that benefits victims, the church, and society.
There is an additional problem with the New York Times report worth mentioning. It states that Father Murphy "also got a pass from the police and prosecutors who ignored reports from his victims." This clause is the entire comment that the Times gives to the failure of the one government entity that had the greatest power to conduct an investigation and remove an alleged sexual perpetrator from being around children. The church has no search warrants or prisons. The police do. When government fails to manage the risk of sexual abuse, the New York Times and other media too often give government a pass. If we really care about protecting children, then the fourth estate needs to focus its spotlight on those institutions with the greatest problems. In January of this year, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that one out of ten young people incarcerated in government-run detention facilities were sexually victimized by their guards during the single year of 2008. This represents 2,370 victims. Where was the Times report? And the number of sexual abuse victims in public schools dwarfs the problem in juvenile detention facilities.
The Times sued the Diocese of Bridgeport to acquire privileged documents from court files so that it could re-publish stories of long settled sexual abuse cases that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. Yet it ignores that since 1992 in Connecticut alone, 112 Connecticut public school teachers and coaches have lost their license to teach because of sexual contact with students; and since 2006, 19 foster parents paid by the State of Connecticut have been disciplined for sexually abusing the children in their care. Where's the outrage and the calls for resignations? Having the pope and the Catholic Church bear the entire blame of childhood sexual abuse may benefit the trial lawyers and serve the agenda of their media partners, but it does nothing to protect children today. Transferring billions from Catholic dioceses, religious orders, and their charitable and educational ministries in a time of economic crisis only creates new victims. It is time that church-bashing give way to responsible reporting and even-handed public policy.


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The view in the first photo above looks southward from a parking area the end of a graded loop road, shown here in Street View. This same loop road is also shown on the second Google Earth image of my fault line post.
We walked uphill to stand on the fault, and were surprised to see a second fault scarp uphill from the main scarp. The photo looks straight down the main scarp, left of center; the second scarp is uphill and to the right.
We then walked SSW along the fault scarp to an area where the scarp cuts through bedrock rather than just cutting alluvial fan material. This is one of the most photographed parts of the fault, simply because it's so close to the loop road. To the left (east) of the east-dipping fault scarp, you can see a little valley overgrown with straw-colored bunch grass. The valley or gully is partly erosional and partly due to a small downdrop east of the main scarp. This downdrop appears to be down-to-the-west, opposite to the down-to-the-east main scarp. A similar downdrop can be seen in the USGS photo below, a photo which at first glance appears to have been taken at the same site (it may not be the same site).
The man is standing in a gully created by the juxtaposition of the main, east-dipping scarp (here it's some 2+ meters high), and a smaller, vertical to west-dipping cut to the left of the man. The USGS picture may show the same section of the fault that I photographed; it may be a different section. I know, for example, that there's a nice exposure visible if you drive (or hike) up a lousy, very steep, two-track road located north of the good, not-so steep loop road. I think the USGS photo shows what looks like a steep, second scarp above and west (right) of the main one; that second high scarp is not seemingly present at the loop-road site, and the trees and bushes don't look quite right to me. (Two Google Earth images at the bottom of this post show the loop road and lousy road.)
This is the view from that southern exposure of the scarp, with MOH for scale, looking back to the NNE, toward the little parking area at the end of the road.
Here's a similar view looking northeast along the sharp, V-shaped valley, which was in part formed by down-dropping along its right (east) edge, similar to the doubly faulted valley in the USGS photo. There may be a technical term for this second, opposing scarp or faulted valley, a term I don't know.
There's a great view to the northeast from the fault scarp (photo enlarges nicely), making the short hike well worthwhile. The Desatoya Mountains are the blue, snow-covered mountains on the right; the Clan Alpine Mountinas are the brownish to bluish mountains in front of them to the left and in the center. On our day's journey, we started near the southernmost visible part of the Clan Alpine Mountains. The EarthScope observatory we saw earlier is in the low hills of that southern, brownish part of the Clan Alpine Mountains.
The loop road. The scarp we walked to is the whitish, slightly bent part of the scarp where it crosses a little, tree-covered hill southwest of the loop. North is to the right.
The barely visible, steep, two-track road that leads to another well exposed scarp can be seen when this Google Earth image is enlarged. This road is not recommended for travel because of turning around problems at its steep upper end.


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While Black Friday used to mean standing out in line at 3 a.m. for the latest game system, toy or marked down television, it has morphed into a tradition that, for some, starts Thanksgiving morning.
While Black Friday used to mean standing out in line at 3 a.m. for the latest game system, toy or marked down television, it has morphed into a tradition that, for some, starts Thanksgiving morning.
Small lines started to form outside of several major department stores, including Target, Sears and Toys R Us, as people readied themselves for the sales to begin at 8 or 9 p.m.
�We do this as a family � for fun,� Jim Eddleman of Richlands said as he stood outside Target at 5 p.m. on Thursday. He had been in front of the store since 6 a.m.
�We go here (Target) and Best Buy. Then we hit Wal-Mart and Dunkin Donuts,� he said.
This is Eddleman�s second year shopping on Thursday instead of Friday for deals. �I have nine kids,� he said. �We�re planning to do Thanksgiving on Saturday.�
Eddleman was first in line last year at Target and wanted to be first this year. He achieved that goal. He, along with his sons, camped out in front of Best Buy overnight and he went over to Target Thursday morning.
His 15-year-old son, Blue Eddleman, had been camped out at Best Buy since Tuesday night. He said he was there for televisions and laptops that were only half price.
�You get to save money and have fun with other people,� he said.
Another group of people were staked out in front of Toys R Us.
Max Gianelloni of Camp Lejeune said she had been in line since noon so she could get free toys.
�They�re giving $30 in free toys to the first 200 people in line,� she said.
Gianelloni, who is part of a military family, said she doesn�t have a lot of family in the area, so no one is inconvenienced by their shopping.
�This is actually our first time shopping on Black Friday,� she said. �We�re usually Dec. 23 shoppers.�
Like so many that came out for the early deals, the Gianelloni�s moved up their Thanksgiving feast to compensate for the time at the sales.
But some shoppers were not happy about stores cutting into Thanksgiving time.
Nicole Mallia, of Jacksonville, started sitting at Sears at 11 a.m. on Thursday to get a 50-inch television for $299 that was regularly $899.
�This year, we didn�t even have Thanksgiving,� she said.
�It stinks. In years past, you could have dinner and then go out,� Mallia said. �I like the excitement at midnight. You got the turkey beforehand, and then you got to work it off.�
She said she doesn�t like that stores are opening so early. �It cuts into family time together. Before, you didn�t have to choose between family time and the sales.�
Germaine Lawson of Jacksonville, who was second in line at Target, agreed with Mallia.
�They should keep Black Friday on Black Friday,� she said. �We shouldn�t have to choose another day to have our holiday.�
Contact Daily News Reporter Tabitha Clark at 910-219-8454 or firstname.lastname@example.com . Follow her on Twitter at @TabithaLClark or friend her on Facebook.


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Harken winches enhance the beauty of any yacht. Choose bronze, chromed bronze, anodized aluminum, or the modern look of mirror-finished stainless steel.
Harken standard winches feature more bearings and wide-diameter center stems to decrease bearing loads for reduced friction. This combined with Italian styling and a durable, beautiful finish make them the first choice on yachts worldwide.
Harken classic winches are reliable, rugged and extremely efficient. They come in a wide variety of sizes and in manual, or with hydraulic and electric drives. Below are answers to questions that are often asked about our Classic winches.
How often should I service my winches? You should service your winches at least once during the pre-season. However, if your boat lives in a salt water environment, where the seasons are longer, servicing your winches twice a season is best. If you race your boat hard, you may want to maintain your winches before every regatta. The more often you service your winches, the faster you become.
What kind of tools do I need?You'll need a straight blade screwdriver to remove the drum. Some of the larger winches require a set of metric Allen wrenches (4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm). You'll also need a thin utility knife or small pocket knife to remove the pawls.
What materials does the Classic line come in? Harken Classic winches are offered in all-chromed bronze, polished bronze, and in stainless steel.
The Radial® winch line is available in aluminum alloy, chrome, or in chrome with white composite accents.
Our racing line of winches features aluminum and carbon fiber construction.
Can I use McLube™ Sailkote™ to grease my winch?McLube™ Sailkote™ is a great product and you can use this dry lubricant to make sails, hulls and rigging more efficient and last longer. But for winches, we recommend Harken Winch Grease, a special all-temperature grease that is very resistant to salt and fresh water.
What parts of a winch get oiled and which get greased?Clean the winch parts with a mild solvent and then lightly grease the gear teeth and roller bearings with Harken winch grease. Don't overdo it. Too much grease can pick up dirt, sand, etc. and damage the gears.
The pawls (they make the clicking noises as the winch rotates) should be lubricated with a SAE 30 weight oil. Don't use grease. This heavy lubricant may make the pawls stick so the winch backwinds.
How do I remove the drum? Remove the screw that sits in the bottom of the winch handle socket. Lift the socket out and then the drum. Remove the drum carefully because sometimes the roller bearing cage sticks in the drum and could drop in the water.
How do I adjust the stripper arm?To adjust the stipper arm on winches from 16ST to 53.2ST, remove the top screw and the winch handle socket from the winch. Lift the stripper arm, turn it to the position you want, and put the socket and screw back in place. For more information, read the appropriate service manual, or call us at Harken (262-691-3320) and we will walk you through the adjustment process.
Will the self-tailing mechanism work with a variety of line sizes? Yes. The upper jaw of the self-tailing device is spring loaded to accommodate different line sizes. For example, the 40.2 self-tailing winch will handle 8 mm to 12 mm line.
Will a Harken winch handle fit other manufacturers' winches?Yes, so long as it isn't a very old bronze Merriman style that takes a unique side handle.
Should I use a 203 mm (8") or 254 mm (10") winch handle?Published power ratios for most winches are based on a 254 mm (10") handle length because it is the most comfortable length for most sailors. 203 mm (8") handles are faster because they swing through a smaller circle. However, power is reduced by 20%. 203 mm (8") handles are ideal for smaller boats and for light air, where speed is needed and power is not.
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GOP: Give $247M surplus to taxpayers
HARTFORD -- Minority Republicans in the General Assembly may have beaten Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to the punch Thursday with the first proposals to return part of the projected $500 million budget surplus to taxpayers.
But Malloy and majority Democrats will be the ones eventually steering the election-year debate when the Legislature's short, budget-adjustment session convenes Feb. 5.
Republicans want to give businesses and taxpayers back at least $247 million from the revenue-fueled surplus. Under the proposal announced by House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. and agreed upon by Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, most of the money would be used to restore the tax exemption on clothing that was eliminated in 2011.
The GOP lawmakers would also eliminate the special assessment businesses pay for unemployment benefits and restore a tax exemption on non-prescription drugs that was also eliminated in 2011.
Cafero, R-Norwalk, said the one-time tax breaks would not have long-term effects on the budget because current budget plans phase out the unemployment assessment and would return the tax-free programs for clothing and drugs during the two-year budget that starts July 1, 2015 .
The current $43.8 billion budget runs through June 30, 2015.
Revenue has been fueled by Wall Street profits and state sales taxes that are exceeding expectations.
"Everything we are proposing completely pays for itself," Cafero told reporters. "It does not add one iota to our debt. What we said is we find ourselves with excess revenue right now. We know that there is going to be great debate on how that money is going to be spent."
He warned that most of the revenue windfall should be put toward paying down long-term debt or putting it into the state's emergency reserves. He expects GOP lawmakers to offer other proposals during the session to lower the costs of government.
McKinney, R-Fairfield, did not attend Cafero's news conference with 13 Republican House members, but offered support.
"Three years ago, Gov. Malloy's budget imposed the largest tax increase in state history and, not surprisingly, his plan has not delivered the economic benefit he predicted," said McKinney, who is running for his party's gubernatorial nomination. "In this upcoming legislative session, we need to change course. We need to look for ways to cut taxes and reduce spending to address our out-year deficits. I support these proposed tax cuts which provide needed help to Connecticut taxpayers, especially seniors, small businesses and the middle class."
But Andrew Doba, Malloy's Capitol spokesman, reminded the Republicans they are in the minority, 98-53 in the House and 22-14 in the Senate.
"Two days ago, Republicans were denying we had a surplus," Doba said in an early afternoon statement. "Today, they're laying out plans on how to spend it. At least they're finally acknowledging that after making some hard choices, Connecticut's budget is in much better shape than it was three years ago. The governor will have more to say about his own proposals in the days ahead."
Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, warned lawmakers to avoid coming up with ways to spend the extra revenue.
"As I've been saying, first and foremost we need to focus on long-term debt reduction to help protect future generations of taxpayers, in particular bonds used to help offset recent deficits," Sharkey said in a statement. "We shouldn't be making promises and throwing out short-term feel-good ideas until we have a firmer grasp of our financial outlook going forward."
Cafero, who is in his fourth two-year term as House GOP leader and has not announced whether he'll seek re-election, acknowledged the political realities of being in the minority.
He said he was eager to work with Malloy and Democrats.
A reporter asked him how many times his phone has rung with someone looking for help during Malloy's term.
"Let me count," Cafero replied, pausing for a second. "None," he said.
email@example.com; 860-549-4670; twitter.com/KenDixonCT; facebook.com/kendixonct.hearst; blog.ctnews.com/dixon


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FIFA.com's latest stats review is dominated by the handing out of silverware, with the crowning of champions in Costa Rica, France, Romania and South Africa featuring alongside cup joy for Napoli and Chelsea's continental conquest.
Costa Rican league titles was the landmark reached by Herediano on Saturday, ending the longest drought in the club's history. The last time El Team Florense claimed their national crown – 19 years ago in season 1992/93 – they were their country's record champions. Since then, they have fallen to third on the all-time list, behind Saprissa (29) and Alajuelense (27), who have won either the Apertura or Clausura 11 and ten times respectively during the intervening period. Indeed, no club in the world has won more national titles and still found itself worse off than two of its rivals historically, with Malta's Valletta (21) and Ujpest of Hungary (20) the closest.
different clubs have now won Ligue 1 after Montpellier swelled the ranks of this exclusive French club on Sunday. The southern outfit – 14th last season – became the first new French champions since Lyon a decade ago, and the fifth in the past 26 years (Paris Saint-Germain 1985/86, Auxerre 1995/96, Lens 1997/98). The final weekend also proved memorable for Eden Hazard, who signed off in French football with the first Ligue 1 hat-trick of his career. Lille's sought-after Belgian star has scored 20 goals and provided 15 assists in the French top flight this season, more combined than any other player. Indeed, across Europe's major leagues, Lionel Messi was the only other player who provided 15 or more goals and assists. Hazard has certainly contributed impressively to a Ligue 1 season that has produced 956 goals - the highest tally for a single campaign since 979 were scored in 1984/85.
successive seasons have now passed since a Bucharest club became Romanian champions, this after CFR Cluj reclaimed the national title. Not since the 1920s, when the now-defunct Chinezul Timisoara topped the table six years in succession, has the championship endured such a long exile from Romania's capital. Cluj have been primarily responsible for the Bucharest clubs' drought, having topped the table in three of the last five years, and in between times there have also been maiden triumphs for Otelul Galati and Unirea Urziceni.
European Cup finals have now been held in Munich, and each has ended with a team winning its maiden title. By beating Bayern Munich on Saturday, Chelsea merely followed in the footsteps of Nottingham Forest (1979), Marseille (1993) and Borussia Dortmund (1997), all of whom won the continental crown for the first time in Bavaria's capital. The Blues are the 22nd club to lift the European Cup, but the first from London, which becomes the sixth capital city - after Madrid (9), Amsterdam (4), Lisbon (2), Bucharest (1) and Belgrade (1) – to produce a winner of UEFA's flagship club competition. Chelsea youngster Ryan Bertrand also became the first player to make his Champions League debut in the final. Bayern, meanwhile, lost on penalties for the first time in European competition after four previous shootout successes, and joined AC Milan and Juventus as the only three clubs to have lost three Champions League finals.
successive Coppa Italia titles with three separate clubs have now been won by Goran Pandev after Napoli lifted the trophy on Sunday. The Macedonian forward's success with the Neapolitans – 2-0 victors over Juventus - follows on from victories with Lazio in 2009 and Inter Milan in 2010 and 2011. Pandev may have grown accustomed to cup success, but this was a notable triumph for Napoli, especially as the trophy had only been taken to the south of Italy on three prior occasions – the last of which was 25 years ago. The achievement was all the more impressive as their opponents went into the match unbeaten in 42 matches, and suffered their first and only defeat of the season in their final competitive outing.
Premier Soccer League title is all that now stands between rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs after the former further reduced the gap on Saturday. A run of nine games without defeat was enough to see the Buccaneers retain their crown on the final day, pipping by just two points a lesser-known Soweto outfit. Moroka Swallows had themselves ended the season on an even more impressive 12-match unbeaten streak, but it came just too late to earn the Dube Birds a first PSL title. Orlando Pirates, on the other hand, have now lifted the trophy nine times since the league's formation in 1971 and start next season aiming to draw level with the Chiefs' record tally of ten.


text:
sponsored by
Utah University probing possible sperm
swap at fertility clinic
Send a link to a friend
[January 11, 2014]
(Reuters) —
The University of Utah
is investigating what it calls "credible information" that a woman at a
Salt Lake City area fertility clinic was artificially inseminated with
sperm, not from her husband, but from a part-time lab employee.
The school released a statement saying no records remained at the
now-closed lab, Reproductive Medical Technologies Inc, to prove the
woman's claim, and that the part-time employee died in 1999.
A University of Utah spokeswoman declined on Friday to comment
beyond the statement, which said the university did not own or
operate the lab, but contracted with it for specimen preparation and
semen analysis.
"Through genetic testing, a woman who received artificial
insemination in 1991 discovered the biological father of her child
was not her husband, as she had assumed," the university statement
said. "She traced the genetics of her child to a man who was a
former employee of a now-defunct medical lab, Reproductive Medical
Technologies Inc."
Three of the clinic's owners were faculty or staff at the University
of Utah, which also owned an adjacent lab, and the employee whose
sperm was involved also worked part-time at the lab between 1988 and
1993, the statement said.
The mother at the center of the possible sperm swap was not
identified by the university, but told local television channel KUTV
in an interview that she discovered the situation through DNA tests
she had conducted on her family.
"When I called my daughter and my husband's DNA up next to one
another, they didn't share any DNA at all and I just thought to
myself, 'Oh my God!'" the woman told KUTV. The station did not
disclose her name.
[to top of second column]
The woman, who was not shown on TV, told the station that she and
her husband went to the lab in the early 1990s after they had
trouble conceiving and that their daughter, who is now 21, was born
in 1992.
The university said it had been unable to determine how the sperm
could have been swapped, but said there was no evidence that any
other couples were affected.
It said it was offering free paternity testing for women who
received artificial insemination at RMTI or at the adjacent
university-owned lab between 1988 and 1993.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Gunna
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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