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Linguistic Diversity, What for?
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What is linguistic diversity? What are its implications and opportunities? How is diversity around the world? How is it experienced, understood and managed in different contexts? What is your knowledge and experience about languages and diversity? In this course we approach linguistic diversity and multilingualism not only from a theoretical point of view, but also from a perspective oriented to help understand and manage various contexts that emerge from diversity in different environments of social interaction. The contents will cover aspects related to the conceptual and legal frameworks and to specific cases of linguistic diversity. You are invited to enrich these contents with your contribution. Through this course, we hope to create a platform of sharing and discussion in order to enrich all participants' knowledge, open perspectives and encourage the defense and promotion of linguistic diversity. You can see the promotional video of the course at this link: https://youtu.be/aVzCKGtuNPY Join us! This course has been designed by Linguapax International, with the support of the Department of Culture and the Department of Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency of the Catalan Government and with the collaboration of the UNESCO Chair in Linguistic and Cultural Diversity of the Institute of Catalan Studies.
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Linguistic Diversity in the World: Introduction and Transversal Perspectives
Contextualization of the notion of 'linguistic diversity': historical evolution, elements that integrate it, geographies (territories and human displacements), transformations in legal, social and educational sensitivity; international framework (legal movements and instruments) and digital environment.
Video Presentation5:59
강사:
Katjuscia Mattu
MOOC Coordinator and Teacher
Enric Serra i Casals
Secretary of Linguapax Board
Mònica Pereña Pérez
President of Linguapax
Carme Arenas Noguera
Translator, writer and publisher
Emili Boix
Eva Pons Parera
Miquel Strubell i Trueta
Specialist in Language Policy and Planning
Mercè Solé Sanosa
Maite Melero
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Welcome to the first week of this massive open online course or MOOC on linguistic diversity. During which we'll be discussing some general issues about the subject. The other members of the lingualpax team have asked me to make this and each week's presentation. Diversity is fascinating, as Monica said. The biological cultural, linguistic, every kind. It's fascinating to know there are 14,500 kinds of butterflies, or a 111 species of pine trees, or 3,600 species of snakes, or 6,909 distinct languages according to the ethnologue catalog. Diversity is an antidote to the single thought, non monolithic vision of reality, to intolerance. A diverse world is undoubtedly better. Can you imagine a world with a single animal species, or single species of tree, or single language? It would, without a doubt, be an unlivable environment. Yet linguistic diversity has not been perceived in the same way throughout history, nor is it perceived today in different parts of the world. For instance, the end of the well known biblical myth of the Tower of Babel was presented to us as a curse. As a divine way of dividing peoples. It's not unusual to find speakers of the most used languages in the world, who from a distance, fail to perceive or consider linguistic diversity as relevant, as worthy of respect. Sometimes it's perceived as a chaotic reality, a noise to get rid of, an uncontrollable annoyance, an unnecessary complication, or something that is impossible to manage. In short a nuisance and a source of conflict. And sometimes diversity is not seen because there are fields in which it does not reach, or it only does so with many hardships. Let's think for example of technology. There are many unwritten languages and cultures and they don't have the technology writing, which has been around for a very long time. This tends to make them less visible. And it usually brings about attitudes of disdain towards other languages do access with a great deal of difficulty, a much more recent technology in which the future of language is going to be decided, that of digital resources. Here too, they risk becoming invisible. It goes without saying, but let's say it anyway, that positive attitudes towards linguistic diversity, with a desire to preserve it and to see it as a right, as an opportunity for peace and for avoidance of conflict, are also well worth underlining. There are some prominent fields in which we humans portray linguistic diversity and take a stance, more or less successfully, on what we want to do about it. Political decisions, language planning, legislation and the law, education. Legal systems for instance, observe linguistic diversity, they target, they define it, they regulate it. And in education too, linguistic diversity is closely observed and important decisions are taken that affect the future of languages. In this first week of the course, we invite you to reflect on all these questions and, above all, to contribute what you find interesting from your knowledge and experience, or what is relevant in your context. In the videos that our guest speakers offer, we launch the themes. But it is essential if we truly want to learn about diversity, for you to make your contribution. Here are some initial questions that may inspire you. Number one, is there legislation in countries you are familiar with that mentions languages? And if so, what might be of interest to explain to your colleagues here? Number two, would you say this or these languages and countries, or even or international organizations, or multinational companies tolerate linguistic diversity, or do they see it as something to be proud of? As an as an asset, as an opportunity? Third question, does the education system in these countries, accommodate linguistic diversity, both intrinsic, based on traditional groups and extrinsic, based on immigrant groups? Are endangered languages used for teaching in schools, or at least taught as subjects? And four, are you familiar with any language that is not used in writing or in technology? Off we go. Don't forget to use all the resources at your disposal and to do all the activities that we planned. We'll meet again at the beginning of next week.
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무료로 참여해 맞춤화된 추천, 업데이트 및 제안을 받아보세요.


"I want to host my own site? Should I go for low cost shared web hosting or I will go for cheap dedicated hosting? What should I do? What hosting should I buy? Shared hosting… or dedicated website hosting services or may be a server of my own? Or should I go for cloud hosting or a virtual private server?…" Every one who runs a website on the internet has gone through these questions. Often beginners make mistakes in deciding. And it is a fact that a good webmaster is one who is an experienced webmaster. You might want to check a horror story at story behind Ihatethiswebhost.com.
Go to Google and search for hosting and you will be flooded with results of website hosting providers. Majority of the hosting service providers provide shared hosting service, many provided dedicated website hosting services/ dedicated servers or virtual private servers. Dedicated web hosting service or dedicate servers are much more expensive compared to shared hosting, but they are many a times worth the money.
Now, for beginners the offers, or rather the promises, made by the shared hosting service companies often sounds too good to be true.
What does it mean? well consider a typical offer below?
Host Multiple Domains – UNLIMITED Disk Storage – UNLIMITED Data Transfer – UNLIMITED Sub Domains – UNLIMITED …. …. …and other mind boggling features.. all for few dollars a month. … with 99.9% uptime promise ( Remember: promises are meant to be broken) Now can you spot the catch above?
You might have guessed it right. It is the word "UNLIMITED". Before going further let us ask ourselves a simple logical question, It is possible for the richest of the rich of the planet to provide unlimited Disk Storage, Unlimited bandwidth for less to any one who buys it for less than $10 a month? The answer is a big no. No, because high speed, always available bandwidth aint cheap.
More over, maintaining datacenters to provide storage space of such scale is exorbitant. So back to the original question, how do these companies survive? Or rather doing well with such business models? This is because the word "unlimited" they use is actually very closely related to "shared unlimited". Which means, they will offer you good infrastructure, good bandwidth but you have to share it with other hundred or may be thousands of customers of theirs.
Now, one might ask, what's wrong with that? After all we are paying less. This is surely right, but only if you know what you are going into. Remember, if 1 of those customers keeps on adding files to the disk and keeps on eating up the bandwidth to extreme levels (There are many webmasters who keep on experimenting, they flood their own websites with fake traffic (many times for Alexa ranking) that is going to affect rest of the customers who are hosted on the same box.
Now in such a scenario, other customers who, unfortunately share the same box, see that their website is taking 10 minutes to load a page or may be the page is not loading at all. An average webmaster can not monitor the website all day long. And then what is your option, contact support.
Yes, you contact them once, twice, trice, 100 times. Your issues gets resolved, but temporarily. Then finally you get frustrated, you think of giving up your great business idea or think of shutting down your website. You certainly cant spend money on bringing traffic to your site as there is huge possibility that the money spent in traffic might get wasted if the site becomes terribly slow 10 times a day.
And other million issues accompany. Now, there are benefits of shared hosting as well. If you are running an experiment. And you do not wish to invest more money in dedicated servers or dedicated hosting. And more importantly you know what you are doing. Even if you are planning to go for shared hosting you should consider investing in a limited package (as opposed to Unlimited packages). This is because, if it is limited for you, it is limited for others as well.
So although you are sharing the hosting infrastructure and bandwidth. It is most likely going to be equally distributed. And the chances of your sites becoming too fast or too slow or completely unpredictable are much less. Low cost web hosting service the purpose sometimes. Cheap dedicated hosting in the form of cloud hosting is another consideration.There are even better alternatives than shared hosting (one end) and dedicated servers (other end). It is called cloud hosting or cloud sites. These are of much better quality and sort of pay as you use. When you go for cloud hosting your sites are placed on infrastructure which are connected in a redundant way to keep your website available at all times from multiple redundant nodes.
Generally cloud hosting are medium priced, the offers are not very lucrative but they are a very good alternative for serious website owners. Also, another concept in cloud hosting is you pay for what you use, like the bandwidth, the disk space, the compute cycle of the cpu etc. This model makes sure, if your business grows you do not have any issues with scalability. So in a way cloud hosting can be termed as cheap dedicated hosting or cheap dedicated website hosting.


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The Tea Party and American Foreign Policy
Excellent article by Walter Russell Mead in this month's issue of Foreign Affairs. You have to log on to read the article, but it is free. Here's an excerpt I found interesting,
The historian Jill Lepore's book The Whites of Their Eyes makes the point that many Tea Party activists have a crude understanding of the politics of the American Revolution. Yet however unsophisticated the Tea Party's reading of the past may be, the movement's appeal to Colonial history makes sense. From Colonial times, resentment of the well-bred, the well-connected, and the well-paid has merged with suspicion about the motives and methods of government insiders to produce populist rebellions against the established political order. This form of American populism is often called "Jacksonianism" after Andrew Jackson, the president who tapped this populist energy in the 1830s to remake the United States' party system and introduce mass electoral politics into the country for good.
Fits well with Maier's description of many of the remote rural colonists who were opposed to the Constitution.
The Gadsden flag is one of the many colonial images the Tea Party has co-opted without any real understanding of the flag's origins.
Posted by James Ferguson at 12:18 PM 2 comments:
Pennsylvania Debates the Constitution
It's great when you can call up primary sources like the Debates in Pennsylvania on the Constitution on the Internet, although probably not complete. Maier mentioned recently published texts that present the debates, news stories and other items pertaining to the ratification process from several of the original states. Here's more on the convention.
The painting is of James Wilson.
Happy Birthday George!
It used to be exclusively his day, but now he has to share it with all the other presidents, no matter how large or small minded. Here is an interesting side note on how his name has become the "blackest name" in America.
Posted by James Ferguson at 9:30 AM 8 comments:
By The People
I found myself watching By The People: The Election of Barack Obama to remind myself why I voted for him. Lately, I have to wonder what the hell is going on in his administration as they appear to be playing games rather than dealing directly with issues, such as this latest little play over and F-35 engine. Meanwhile, Obama has put a lot of domestic cuts in his proposed budget while essentially leaving the defense budget in tact, leaving me to guess who he represents at this point in his administration.
The People Debate the Constitution
As Pauline Maier describes in Ratification, there was no easy road in getting the Constitution ratified. After 10 years of living together as a loosely knit confederation, a few forward thinking men decided that the Articles of Confederation no longer worked and it was time to forge a Constitution. Washington would not go until he could be assured something would come of the convention and that there would be an august body of gentlemen to carry the changes through. But, ultimately Maier describes it was the people who would determine the fate of the new Constitution.
This is a reading group for Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788. The book has been well received by fellow historians like Jack Rakove, among others. Maier has drawn from a wealth of research piecing together a story that tells the arduous battle in getting the Constitution ratified. A battle no less significant than that Americans fought for independence.
Posted by James Ferguson at 7:33 AM 165 comments:
Another Yellowstone Meander
I've been reading Hayden reports lately, and thought I'd share a different view of the Yellowstone River.
Reagan turns 100
I suppose you can't blame the Conservatives for pitching this idea again. They tried once before in 1999. He did get a mountain named after him in New Hampshire.
This year's celebration of St. Ronnie's birthday seems to be more robust than ever as the Gipper would have been a 100 had he not been stricken down by Alzheimer's. Seems the beatification taking place has overlooked virtually all his shortcomings, of which there were many. Not least of all his continued support of the mujahideen in Afghanistan, including hosting a representation at the White House in 1985. It was also interesting reading all the problems he faced at his first midterm, while trying to explain his huge budget shortfall at his 1983 State of the Union address. But, as we have seen in Douglas Brinkley's edited Reagan Diaries, many historians on the left are also paying deference to the president who more aptly should have been called the Artful Dodger.
Perhaps the most interesting tribute is that of young Ron Reagan, although he is not so young anymore. Ron has penned a memoir of sorts, telling of his relationship with his father, which Michiko Kakutani thought deeply felt. Meanwhile, his elder half-brother Michael ripped into him for suggesting Reagan was already suffering from Alzheimer's before he left office. Interesting how the "family" seemed to cleave in half politically as well as biologically, with the children Reagan fathered through Jane Wyman becoming deeply conservative, while Ron and his sister Pat were decidedly more liberal in their views.
Polymmatus blues
Couldn't resist this story about the vindication of Nabokov's theory on the evolution of the Polymmatus blues:
He was the curator of lepidoptera at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and he collected the insects across the United States. He published detailed descriptions of hundreds of species. And in a speculative moment in 1945, he came up with a sweeping hypothesis for the evolution of the butterflies he studied, a group known as the Polyommatus blues. He envisioned them coming to the New World from Asia over millions of years in a series of waves.
Few professional lepidopterists took these ideas seriously during Nabokov's lifetime. But in the years since his death in 1977, his scientific reputation has grown. And over the past 10 years, a team of scientists has been applying gene-sequencing technology to his hypothesis about how Polyommatus blues evolved. Last week in The Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, they reported that Nabokov was absolutely right.
From an article by Carl Zimmer in the NYTimes.
Recording the Blues and so much more ...
Alan Lomax had astounding energy and enthusiasm. He was both an exhaustive and exhausting force in American music for almost 70 years. When he died in 2002, he left behind at least the following, which Mr. Szwed has dauntlessly tackled as source material: 5,000 hours of sound recordings; 400,000 feet of film; 2,450 videotapes; 2,000 books and journals; numerous prints, documents and databases; and more than 120 linear feet of paperwork. It's not hard to see why detractors called Lomax "The People's Republic of Me."
From the review by Janet Maslin on John Szwed's new biography of Alan Lomax in the NYTmes.
That's quite a legacy!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


According to the Washington Post, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused orchestrator of the 9/11 attacks, and four more men did their best to protest their arraignment in military court on May 5. The trial for Mohammed, who is being tried along with Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, is being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but the men would not participate in protest to the torture they reportedly endured while imprisoned.
The normally loquacious Mohammed refused to speak publicly throughout Saturday's hearing, a stance that was largely adopted by all the other defendants, who tend to follow his lead. Mohammed sat at the top defense table in the spacious courtroom, and throughout the hearing he whispered messages to his comrades, and they chatted and joked with one another during a short recess.
During the hearing, Mohammed, a 47-year-old Pakistani, often kept his chin in his chest, and refused to speak to the military judge, Army Col. James Pohl, about whether he wanted to keep his military and civilian counsel or represent himself. The others followed suit.
After their capture, each of the men were held at secret CIA prisons overseas before being transferred in September 2006 to Guantanamo Bay, where they are held at a small, high-security facility known as Camp 7. Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times in the first month after his capture in March 2003, according to government reports.


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Home > Doctor Who News > It's Doctor Who At The Proms Day!
It's Doctor Who At The Proms Day!
It's Doctor Who At The Proms Day
Doctor Who At The Proms
4.00-5.15pm BBC1
When tickets for the Proms season went on sale back in May, the Doctor Who Prom sold out in a matter of minutes. If you weren't lucky enough to secure a ticket, or if you simply want to relive the experience, here's your chance to enjoy some of the highlights from the show.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic and much-loved BBC series, this Bank Holiday television special features Murray Gold's popular music for the show, accompanied by specially edited visual sequences from the Doctor's most recent adventures.
Hosted by the Doctor's friends, Madame Vastra and Strax, the concert also includes a look back at 'classic' Doctor Who series and the music created by the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Featuring special guest appearances by Matt Smith (making one of his final public outings as The Doctor before leaving the title role later in the year); Jenna-Louise Coleman (who plays Clara, Doctor's current companion); Peter Davison (the 5th Doctor) and Carole Ann Ford (the Doctor's first companion and granddaughter Susan Foreman).
Performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the London Philharmonic Choir, with soloists Elin Manahan Thomas, Allan Clayton and Kerry Ingram.
Clarebear
November 6th, 2013 - 11:33pm
We took our 9yr old son for his birthday and it was phenomenal. Yes missed a lot out but which will be shown again/ out on DVD. But son jake very excited when spotted himself in the distance in the Albert hall. Brilliant pressie xxxxxx
Adam is cool
September 27th, 2013 - 11:04pm
still haven't seen it
MasterKasterborous
September 4th, 2013 - 10:39am
It will be on a DVD at some point in the future no doubt; don't worry.
Fez Master
September 1st, 2013 - 10:58am
I was there.. and I just realised PHIL FORD was sitting behind us!
crowy26
i cant belive i missed it and i checked
bbc i player and i couldnt find it just the highlites but sadly my internet was bad and i couldnt even see that and also i dont think it was on the tv it was on radio 1. im so sad that i missed it 🙁
Doctor Whovian
It was really awesome, loved the show, the music. Brilliant, fantastic, geronimo, allons-y!
What are the Silence?


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Types of Speakers throughout History
If we imagine a life without speakers, it would sound so odd (pun intended). Speakers have helped us in numerous ways by aiding in creating mega sounds, large volume output, and assisting in listening. Modern speakers are one of the most sophisticated ones but this hasn't been the case always. The different types of speakers in history have been quite complicated to use and operate.
About a Loudspeaker
By definition, loudspeakers can be referred to as electroacoustic transducers which help in converting the different types of audio signals into the relevant and corresponding sound. Loudspeakers are found in almost everything today. Radios, cellphones, amplifiers, car systems, music systems, theaters, cinemas, and many other applications of loudspeakers are present today.
Dynamic speakers are mostly used for providing the most accurate sound quality as the sound source has been amplified with an audio power amplifier before the signal is sent to a speaker. This leads to a reduced level of distortion as well as improves the rhythmic flow of the sound.
The First Speakers
The first speakers date back to 1861 when Johann Reis installed an electric loudspeaker in his telephone. This was the first speaker which could produce clear tones. Prior to that, there was some work on speakers but was unsuccessful because there was a high distortion that made it very difficult to understand the message. Despite the fact that Johann Reis developed the first loudspeaker, history remembers Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone who patented the first electric loudspeaker.
There were some tweaks compared to the design by Reis as this speaker was capable of reproducing intelligible speech with minimal distortion. Around 1877, Thomas Edison also made some effort towards the development of speakers as he used a system that consisted of compressed air and had an amplifying mechanism allowing for cylinder phonographs. However, Edison realized that the metal horn by the membrane was a much better option.
Compressed Air Loudspeakers
As time passed, there were other developments in speakers and Horace Short finally patented a design in 1898 for a loudspeaker. The unique thing was that it was driven by compressed air which allowed the sound to be more clear. The patent was later on sold to Charles Parsons. This was one of the major developments towards the speakers as many companies started taking an active part in producing record players using compressed-air loudspeakers.
Although these speakers were clearer than the ones that were made in the past, they were still not entirely perfect which is why the industry continued on further development. Compressed-air speakers were also lacking in the way that they could not produce low volume sounds and only the large volume sounds were possible. For example, train horns, public addressing, and space equipment were important applications of the compressed-air speakers.
The Era of Dynamic Speakers
Speakers that we use today are mostly dynamic speakers. These were first invented by Edward Kellogg and Chester Rice in 1925. The two applied for the patents of the design and got it in 1929. The mechanism of a dynamic speaker was different as there was an alternating electrical audio signal applied to a voice coil. A coil of wire is suspended between the gaps in a permanent magnet while this coil is then forced to move back and forth due to the law of induction. As a result, it caused a diaphragm to move back and forth creating sound waves.
This was a major milestone that was achieved during the 1930s. However, the first commercial fixed-magnet loudspeakers were very large and consisted of heavy iron magnets which were impractical for day to day use of a common person. The application of these speakers for individual requirements was very limited and they were mostly used for large processions or political leader movements.
Find out more about the history of earphones here – The Evolution of Headphones.
Shearer Horn System for Theatres
During the 1930s, many companies had been involved in the production and sales of loudspeakers. Manufacturers began to test the loudspeakers by bringing different tweaks to the design and mechanism. Two and three bandpasses were combined so that the frequency response and the sound pressure could be adjusted. In 1937, the loudspeakers were first made available for the theaters. This was known as the Shearer Horn System for Theatres.
This system specifically used 15' low-frequency drivers with a crossover network set of 375 Hz. The single horn with two compression drivers aided it in providing high-frequency sounds. Many of the top actors and theatre artists including Douglas Shearer and John Kenneth played their roles with this system. The system was slightly improved and in 1939, the New York World Fair featured a bigger speaker with 27' low-frequency drivers.
604 Loudspeakers
In 1943, the 604 was developed by Altec Lansing. This offered better clarity at high output levels such as theatres and cinemas making them more useful. The Academy of Motion Picture and Arts then started to use these kinds of speakers and were made as a standard in 1955. Moreover, Edgar Villchur had the acoustic suspension principle design made for the loudspeakers in 1955.
With his improvements, the design offered better control over the bass response of the speakers. It was important because stereo recordings could not control a lot of bass and make high definition songs while with this design, the process got easier. Edgar later created an Acoustic Research company to market speaker systems. It was soon evident that the speaker systems could be used for small-scale individual customers as well.
The earlier speakers were not entirely power controlled while the ones designed in 1964 were the first powered loudspeakers. This meant that any pair of monitor speakers could be converted into self-power with a second speaker that will be generating power from the first one. Studio monitors with an active crossover that had a specific three-way hybrid design along with two amplifier channels were introduced in 1967 by Klein Hummel.
Later developments followed in 1980 when Meyer Sound Laboratories invented the active 2-way system which had active electronics mounted outside along with Meyer's active crossover. The benefit was that this could be connected to third-party customer-specified amplifiers as well. In 1990, Meyer also produced the first powered speaker.
Although nobody wanted Meyer speakers back then, today they are one of the most used ones. Coming with built-in amplifiers, they can be used in a bigger environment such as concerts, large processions, events, and even DJ Parties. Home cinema audio systems also use powered speakers.
Speakers which are highly powered also use a driver called Tweeter. The tweeter produces the highest frequencies in a speaker from 2KHz to 20KHz. The word Tweeter has come from bird sounds that are quite high pitched. Tweeters are found in home stereo systems and compression drivers to have professional sound reinforcement. Ribbon Tweeters have become increasingly popular over the past many years.
On the other hand, woofers are also used which produce low-frequency sounds. They are the exact opposite of a tweeter. The woofers can produce sounds between 50 Hz up to 1000 Hz and are an important part of many modern-day speakers. They have gotten their name from the low-pitched sound of a dog barking (woof).
The first wireless bluetooth speakers were introduced in 1994 which worked on the mechanism of radio signals rather than the Bluetooth ones which we find nowadays. The operation of this speaker was an easy one with a transmitter sending radio signals to a receiver that was in a loudspeaker. The board amplifier powers up the woofer. The broadcast of radio signals allowed the speaker to emit sound.
The concept of the first wireless speakers was not much successful since the radio signals delivered the sound at a slower speed. Possible issues with this speaker included a lower signal strength or blocked antennae. However, with Bluetooth wireless speakers coming in, this problem was resolved. The Bluetooth wireless speakers are one of the most used items today. They have been the invention of the 21st century making the concept of sounds and speakers more active and realistic.
These wireless speakers do not work entirely without power. Either they use cells and batteries for operations or they have to be charged for a certain while prior to their usage. Only the wire that has been connected to the amplifier is eliminated for the case of a wireless speaker. A key advantage of the wireless speakers is that they are designed in a way that they are quite lightweight.
Suggested Reading – A Quick Guide to MP3 – What it Is and How it Changed the Music Industry.
Over the years, there has been some serious advancement to speaker technology. From the ones that had extraordinary distortion and very big size, we have come across and the speakers today can be easily held in hand. Mostly, powered speakers and wireless speakers are used today for individual needs. If you are planning to buy a speaker, it would be our recommendation to go for the wireless ones since they are the latest ones and can be used anywhere. You can also view and download for free the speaker user manuals available at manualsnet.com.
Classic Film Adaptations in the 1950s
How to Choose the Right Marketing Agency


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Home / News / Pan-African News Wire /
Perez Hilton August 27, 2021 News, Pan-African News Wire
Africa: It's Been a Year Since Africa Was Declared Polio Free. but a Threat Remains
Nigeria achieved polio-free status on 18th June, 2020 and was officially declared free of the disease on 25th August 2020.
The Conversation Africa (Johannesburg)
By Melinda Suchard and Wayne Howard
The 25th of August marks the first anniversary of a milestone that took over 30 years to achieve. Africa being free from polio - a disease that has caused death and paralysis throughout recorded history.
Polio is a viral illness that can cause sudden weakness, permanent paralysis, or death in people who were previously healthy and had no risk factors or comorbidities. It usually affects children. The virus is spread by faecally contaminated food and water or close contact.
But the outbreaks of this fearful disease have become a thing of the past, told to us by our grandparents. The reason for the disappearance? Vaccination.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988. In that year, more than 350,000 people were paralysed. Polio cases were reported from at least 125 countries.
The initiative set an original target of the year 2000 for polio eradication. It introduced polio vaccines into health programmes around the globe and ensured birth cohorts of children were routinely vaccinated. This drive reduced the number of polio cases to only 22 in 2017.
Only two cases of polio from paralysed individuals have been recorded so far in 2021. This is the lowest number ever. But an additional 62 detections of polio have been identified in wastewater treatment plants or surface water downstream of large populations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. So the case number may be artificially low due to poor surveillance or weak health systems.
Despite the efforts of health programmes around the world, there is still a threat that polio could spread again. Even one case would constitute an international event.
Africa has had a long history with polio. South Africa used crowd-funding in the 1960s to raise funds for a research facility to develop a polio vaccine, in collaboration with international researchers. The facility originated as the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation and developed into the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, which has more recently played a leading role in the fight against COVID-19, listeria, and other pathogens.
Polio is still a large part of routine childhood vaccinations in South Africa.
No wild polio, that is polio cases caused by the natural 'wild type' form of the virus, has been detected in Africa since 2016. On 25 August 2020, the continent was declared free of wild poliovirus. This leaves only two countries on the globe - Pakistan and Afghanistan - where wild polio is found. A weak healthcare system and vaccine hesitancy have allowed the sustained transmission of polioviruses, and the unfortunate consequence: paralysis or death.
Poliovirus biology and vaccines
Polioviruses occur in three serotypes (types 1, 2 and 3). It is estimated that less than one in 100 infected individuals become paralysed. Others may be asymptomatic or have varying degrees of flu-like illness. Thus, when one paralysed case has been detected, there are likely 99 other asymptomatically infected individuals, making it challenging to control the spread.
There have been two vaccines used since the 1960s to prevent polio: the Salk vaccine, which is an inactivated vaccine, and the Sabin vaccine, which is a live attenuated vaccine. A live vaccine contains a weakened version of the natural 'wild type' virus.
Both vaccines are excellent at preventing paralysis. The two vaccines differ, however, in their ability to control asymptomatic poliovirus transmission.
The inactivated polio vaccine is an injectable vaccine that induces antibodies in the blood that prevent paralysis should the person later come into contact with wild polio. If a person later encounters wild poliovirus, the wild virus may still replicate in the person's gastrointestinal tract and shed in their stool, potentially transmitting asymptomatically to others in the community. The inactivated polio vaccine is excellent for personal protection against paralysis. But it's not effective at controlling outbreaks, as it does not effectively prevent asymptomatic polio transmission.
The Sabin vaccine is a live, orally-administered, weakened vaccine strain given as drops. It produces good intestinal immunity. This means that, should the vaccinated individual come into contact years later with wild poliovirus, the wild poliovirus won't be shed in the person's faeces. Thus, in addition to preventing paralysis, the oral polio vaccine can prevent shedding of wild poliovirus in stool. It is therefore very effective at controlling polio outbreaks. This benefit has been instrumental in decreasing polio transmission and bringing polio to the brink of eradication.
The oral polio vaccine is very effective. But if the population vaccination coverage is low, then people who get the live vaccine can transmit this virus to those who are not immunised. Over weeks to months, this transmission among the community has the benefit of immunising susceptible people. Yet, over a long period of more than six months to years, mutations can arise in the virus genome that can turn it back into a disease-causing virus. This is called a vaccine-derived poliovirus.
Vaccine-derived polio is extremely rare. But it has arisen in multiple countries over the past decades.
To combat this phenomenon, a new live vaccine has just been developed. This vaccine is called the novel oral polio vaccine, serotype 2 (nOPV2). This vaccine received emergency use listing in November 2020, just before the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and has already been used in seven African countries. Novel oral polio vaccines against serotypes 1 and 3 are currently in development.
Maintaining efforts
The development of nOPV2 is a game-changer in the war against polio. The current target for polio eradication has been extended to 2026.
To meet this deadline, three things must happen.
Health systems around the world need to keep vigilant;
vaccination coverage need to be kept high; and
we need to keep developing new vaccines to counteract evolving viruses.
Wayne Howard, Medical Scientist, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Melinda Suchard, Head, Centre for Vaccines and Immunology, National Institute for Communicable Diseases
This article is republished from The Conversation Africa under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Pan-African News Wire


If you have the number 2 anywhere in your numerology chart, here are a few helpful hints to assist you to step into the power of the 2.
The following is particularly important if the #2 shows up as your Life Path, Soul Urge, or Expression number. If you don't know what these are, use our handy numerology calculator to instantly find out.
The following is also relevant if you begin to see the number 2 everywhere you go… on your phone, on license plates, addresses, etc. It may be the Universe trying to send you a message!
Since your key themes are love, patience, relationship, diplomacy, intuition, over-sensitivity and emotional enmeshment, here are some suggested resources that might assist you along the way!
When the number 2 shows up anywhere in your chart, you're being called upon to develop and act with diplomacy and patience. Your job description involves being a peacekeeper and also to mediate win/win outcomes on all fronts. You also need to understand that this is a double-edged sword, because what's needed if you're being called up to use diplomacy and mediation? That's right. Conflict. There's the rub. You'll come up against more than your share of conflict in life because it's your training ground for becoming a master mediator, yet you tend to want to avoid conflict at all cost. Understand that the conflict you encounter is your teacher. It's teaching you to balance your emotional sensitivity with the ability to emotionally detach.
You are an emotional being. It is both a blessing and curse of the 2 that you're highly emotionally attuned, almost too much so. This gift also demands an extraordinary effort to understand, develop, and discipline. You can easily find yourself taking on the emotional debris of other people. You're a pleaser and so a main focus is on giving and receiving love and immersing yourself in relationship. Yet it takes some doing for you to learn about healthy emotional detachment and turn your external need for approval and outside acknowledgement into self-actualization.
One of the ways to hone your amazing emotional sensitivity is to learn your own intuitive language. You're highly sensitive and that translates into high levels of intuition, yet often it takes a while to understand this important aspect of yourself. One of the ways to understand and discipline your emotions is by making a conscious and concerted effort to use your intuition mindfully and to the benefit of both yourself and others. When you can tap into this aspect of yourself you open up to understanding how energy works and how to start clearing your energy and detaching yourself from the energy vampires in your life.
One of the gifts of the 2 is your ability to see all sides of a situation and navigate winning outcomes for the good of the whole. Often the 2 finds a true "home" when involved in group-related activities, whether it's group therapy, a hiking group, a spiritual group or any other activity where you engage and interact with others. You have a deep need for engagement and to feel as though you fit in somewhere and are loved unconditionally. Seek out places where you feel you can serve the greater needs of the group dynamics while also allowing others to give to you as well.
Want a FREE Personalized Numerology Reading?
If you're wondering what the numbers in your life mean for you, we have a great resource for you!
Simply follow the link below to get your free personalized video reading!


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Just like Patrick's other books, Hidden Heir was fast-paced, but maybe a little too fast-paced. I felt it reached its conclusion too soon.
Also, as a nine month pregnant woman who's du I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Also, as a nine month pregnant woman who's due to deliver in two weeks, maybe a trigger warning would have been nice.
We'd love your help. Let us know what's wrong with this preview of Hidden Heir by Amy Patrick.
I wanted to rate this book higher because I really did like the pairing of Culley and Laney. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get past what felt like plot convenience.
Amber is on page 22 of 527 of Crazy Rich Asians: Feeling reminiscent of The Ladies' Paradise; just the sense of opulence already.
Readers who like young Adult Spy books like Alex Rider, Jason Steed, Cherub, Jimmy Coates, Young Bond, Michael Vey and Gallagher Girls.
Amber read 72 books of their goal of 52!
Take a look at Amber's Year in Books. The good, the bad, the long, the short—it's all here.


When you speak of New Balance, it is necessary that the 574 is named. Since 1988 is it the flagship of the running shoe brand, which lovers and New Balance novices thrills. Your off-duty schedule calls for a sneaker with smart, confident style and all-day comfort to help keep you nimble around the clock. The ML574ESA in beige and red delivers a retro silhouette in a lightweight, flexible shoe that stands up to anything your day shows at you. This New Balance vintage running shoe look enhanced with modern technology. Our all-time favorite features a suede and mesh upper for a premium look and an ENCAP midsole for added support.
New Balance M15009CV Made in England "Caviar & Vodka"


text:
Computers & Business Machines
Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers
Book, Office Equipment Catalogue, First Annual Edition
The full title of this catalogue well reflects its content. It is: Office Equipment Catalogue A Compilation of Condensed and Standardized Catalogue Data of Office Appliances and Devices, Furniture and Equipment, Office Supplies, Buisness Systems and Business Services, that contribute directly or indirectly to Office Efficiency, the uses of which are not obvious, with a General Directory of such Equipment, Materials, Systems and Services, Classified and Cross-Indexed, and A Book Section - Cataloguing and briefly describing a list of the Most Important Business Books selected by the Publishers, for the convenient reference of practising [sic] Accountants, Purchasing Agents, Systematizers and Office Executives." This copy of the book is from the Patent Library of the Marchant Calculating Machine Company.
Office Equipment Catalogue, Inc.
nonaccession number
Schematic for the Computer System X-66744, Bell Telephone Laboratories
The computing collection contains several schematics of the computer system X-66744, created by Samuel B. Williams and George Stibitz at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York City. Williams and Stibitz designed a series of six electromechanical relay computers between 1939 and 1949. The X-66744 was fifth in the series of computers, later called Models I through VI, which were deployed in defense efforts, including executing calculations for antiaircraft guns at federal agencies and military research hubs. This computer was one of two duplicate Model V versions created between 1946 and 1947. The Model V computers were sophisticated digital calculating machines that employed about 9,000 telephone relays for switching elements and paper tape for programming. They could perform multiple calculations using floating point numbers and contained a system for self-checking errors. The Model V represented the limits of what was possible with electromechanical relay technology for the time. Even though relays would fail intermittently, the self-checking system and ability to automatically switch to other calculations afforded the machine its reliable reputation and impressive track record for continuous around-the-clock operation.
In 1946, the x-66744 was delivered to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Langley Field, Virginia. Then, in 1958 it was given to Texas Technical College, although according to a 1963 article in The Bell System Technical Journal, the machine suffered extensive damage in that shipment and its parts were salvaged for the other Model V computer that was in operation at Fort Bliss, Texas and later New Mexico State University at Las Cruces before portions of it were acquired by NMAH. The article erroneously mentions that the latter computer was transferred to the University of Arizona rather than New Mexico State University. See the Model V (or Model 5) Control Panel in the NMAH collection (1987.0821.01).
Andrews, E.G. "Telephone Switching and the Early Bell Laboratories Computers." The Bell System
Technical Journal 42:2 March 1963): 341 – 353.
Ceruzzi, Paul. Reckoners: The Prehistory of the Digital Computer from Relays to the Stored Program
Concept, 1935-1945 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 1983).
Kidwell, Peggy and Paul Ceruzzi. Landmarks in Digital Computing (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution Press, 1994).
Millman, Sidney, Ed. A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System: Communications Sciences
1925-1980 (AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1984).
Bell Telephone Laboratories
1983.3018.06.01
Leaflet, IBM System/360 Reference Data
This green cardboard leaflet provides data on the IBM System/360 computer. It was used by the donor, programmer David A. Studebaker. It has form number X20-1. 03-3
Documentation, Program Logic IBM System/360 Conversion Aids: The 1401/1460 Emulator Program for IBM System/360 Model 40
A set of sheets, with punched holes along the left side, printed by IBM in April, 1966, as publication Y27-7103-1.
"Computers & Business Machines"
"New York"
National Museum of American History 223
Computers & Business Machines 223
Mathematics 175
Typewriters 25
Tabulating Equipment 5
Adding Machines 3
Desktop Electronic Calculators 3
Slide Rules 3
Calculating Machines 2
Rule, Calculating 2
COBOL 1
Cash and Credit Registers 1
Electronic games 1
September 11th Attacks 1
Superman 1
Terrorism 1
blue-line print 118
blueprint 37
typewriter; Manual 8
Patents 7
patent model, typewriter 7
typewriter; Portable; Manual 5
sheets, set of 4
card punch 3
patent model, typewriter; typewriter; Standard; Manual 3
typewriter; Standard; Manual 3
patent model, typewriter; typewriter; Manual 2
typewriter; Standard; Electric 2
Calculators 1
Cash registers 1
Groton 5
Endicott 3
Long Island City 2
Queens 2
Armonk 1
Grand Rapids 1
Ilion 1
Ithaca 1
World Trade Center 1
Medicine and Science: Mathematics 180
Work and Industry: Mechanisms 26
Medicine and Science: Computers 16
Science & Mathematics 5
American Enterprise 1
Culture and the Arts: Entertainment 1
Family & Social Life 1


LONDON (Reuters) - British organizations will need to agree new contracts to ensure they can continue to receive personal data about their customers or workers in the European Union if the UK leaves the bloc without a deal next year, the UK government said on Thursday.
"You would need to take action to ensure EU organizations were able to continue to send you personal data," it said in one of a series of technical notices published to help businesses and the public prepare for a no-deal Brexit.
British companies active in the European Union depend on a free flow of personal information, which until now has been unproblematic because as a member, Britain must meet EU standards for personal data protection.
That decision would need to be reviewed once Britain left the bloc, and no timetable has been agreed for a reassessment process, the government said.
Britain has been pinning its hopes on the European Union continuing to judge it "adequate" in the way it protects data.
It hopes it will help its cause by keeping in UK law the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May and is designed to give individuals greater control over how their data are used.
"This is looking increasingly ambitious and falls in sharp relief against the Commission's own advice in July, which intimated that the UK will be a third country under GDPR on exit," said Gita Shivarattan, data protection specialist lawyer at law firm Ashurst.
While it waits for data protection standards to be assessed, the government advised organizations to agree EU-approved standard contractual clauses, which guarantee a level of data protection for the individuals concerned, with their EU partners.
The UK will continue to allow the free flow of personal data into the European Union, it added.
Iain McDonald, managing associate at law firm Lewis Silkin, said EU-focused businesses might now consider setting up data-processing operations in Ireland rather than the UK "on the off-chance that the UK might change its data protection rules at a later date and lose EU equivalency status".
"Until we know what post-Brexit UK-EU relations look like, there will be a degree of uncertainty for business," he added.


The story never quite adds up, but with help from Ustinov and Robert Morley, Dassin conjures up a superior light entertainment.
Ustinov has probably the meatiest part in the film and one that allows him to use many of the unsubtleties in dominating scenes he has at his command.
It's a far cry from his classic American thrillers or his brilliant British noir, Night and the City.
If you like heists and holidays, it's almost foolproof entertainment.
If you don't split something, either laughing or squirming in suspense, we'll be surprised.
The film combines sparkling dialogue with moments of unbearable tension.
Jules Dassin's popular heist comedy-adventure is an enjoyable film, boasting an international cast headed by wife Melina Mercouri and Oscar-winner Peter Ustinov.
It is the performances, however, that have enabled the movie to retain its vitality.
[A] enjoyable, fast-moving tale of a caper pulled by some of the most delightful characters ever assembled on one screen.
Stylish lighthearted comical heist drama of stealing a priceless diamond and emerald-studded dagger from Turkey's world-famous Topkapi Museum.
Classic heist film with breezy direction and top cast.
This is proof that a popcorn movie can still be made as intelligently and as skillfully as any 'classier' project.
A group of thieves recruit a bumbling fool in their quest to steal a dagger from a museum. In the tradition of Ocean's Eleven this is a decently plotted heist film. There are a few plot twists that give the script a clever feel, but it's pretty basic. The best part of the film is Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner Peter Ustinov who makes us both pity and sympathize with Arthur Simpson. Sometimes he's too dumb to know better, and other times he's just clever enough to make him likable. I didn't like the film's style; the opening credit sequence reminded me of an Adam West Batman fight, and Melina Mercoun's performance as Elizabeth Lipp quickly annoyed me; she's the drunk girl in the bar who can go home with anyone else but me. Overall, Topkapi is light and sometimes fun but innocuous.
Arthur Simon Simpson: It's not a question of losing my nerve; I never *had* nerve! A fine heist flick from a man who is pretty much one of the masters of the genre. The film is fairly breezy, taking a plot that would now seem familiar and combining it with the fun of a team consisting of a number of types, all leading up to a great climax involving the heist itself. Professional jewel thief Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) reunites with her former lover and partner Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell) for the score of her life - the theft of an exquisite jeweled dagger from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Also involved is a small-time con-man, Arthur (Peter Ustinov) with passport problems, who gets mixed up with this gang of world-class jewelry thieves. Turkish intelligence, suspecting arms smuggling, become involved, and, under pressure, Arthur rises to heights he'd never dreamed of. The film was directed by Jules Dassin, a filmmaker known for making many noir films during his lifetime, including on of my favorites and a just a fantastic film all around - Rififi. That film was famous for, among other reasons, its fantastically filmed heist sequence. In this film, Dassin once again has a showcase heist sequence that is fantastically well filmed, managing to be plenty tense, wonderfully staged, and fulfilling of all the other requirements this sequence would need. It's also nice to note that not only did this film inspire the original Mission Impossible TV series, but the heist in this film clearly influenced the eventual movie remake. Before getting the the heist sequence, the rest of the film is pretty light and fun. Ustinov is basically our main guy, a man in over his head, working to try and keep his head above water, as he balances his activities with both the investigators and the thieves. The rest of the cast is clearly having fun, as they are all just playing the basic stock heist movie character types. Watching the familiar beats of the team assembling the various aspects of the heist is fine, but it's do to the tone of the film that it all works for the most part. Another great aspect of this film is it's setting. Being set in Turkey, the scenes where we are made very aware that they are on location are great to see. The heist itself takes place at a famous building, but other wide shots and a sequence involving the large scale wrestling matches are a nice site as well. Not as much a classic as other older heist films, this is still one that clearly helped in paving the way for future ones and it is still a solid watch. Maj. Ali Tufan: What made you suspect they are Russian spies? Arthur Simon Simpson: I deduced it, sir. Maj. Ali Tufan: From what? Arthur Simon Simpson: From the cook, sir. Maj. Ali Tufan: What did the cook say? Arthur Simon Simpson: That they were Russian spies. Maj. Ali Tufan: A clever deduction.
I didn't like this movie much. The dagger heist was interesting, and the forerunner of many current heists like the Ocean series. But the rest of the movie seemed pointless, and I found it amazing that Peter Ustinov won an Academy award for this movie.
60s heist movie with charming Mediterranean settings, that doesn't take itself too seriously to the point where it ends up feeling like a camp Carry On film.


The title really says it all. Norton Security does not like this file. Why and what should I do? I'm running Windows 10 and do not have Office 2016. I have Office Professional 2007 (which Windows 10 does not like).
Re: What is hxtsr.exe and why does Norton keep nagging me about it?
Apparently HxTsr.exe is part of Outlook.
Can you show us the file path detected? Maybe a screenshot?
Office 2007 does work with Windows 10. But I highly suggest upgrading. There are several free alternatives to Office also.Sounds like a false positive to me. You can submit false positives here.
1. Restore that exe - before that, I need your confirmation as well: show us the EXACT file path your NS detected. E.G., this one@ C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_17.6568.46271._x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\HxTsr.exe Upload that exe to Virustotal.com here and share that report here.
meantime, did you see any other window like the one below from your NS?
If so, just allow that exe/process to run, as Hxtsr.exe in WindowsApps does not have a valid digital signature at the time of commenting. See more case studies here. One more thing: have you tried updating your NS? And disabled "fast startup"?
Please post back in time this or any other comment solves your problem. Thank you.
Wow. Thanks for the rapid response and suggestions. I believe Hxstr.exe is part of Outlook.exe 2016. Windows 10 apparently installed it on 7/16/16, and, in a different location on 11/14/16 (see WhereIsHxStr.jpg).
I get the Norton exception screen that Phishing Phryer posted, except in English, and the file does not have a valid digital signature, which is the Norton complaint. It lists all of 5 users in the community.
See SecHist.jpg for repeating blocks thrown by Norton, I have no idea if this is part of the problem, I simply let Norton time out on this error (default action, whatever that is).
When MS came out with the Anniversary edition I had to call MS support. They also suggested I upgrade for $$, but I paid a lot of money for my Office 2007 Pro and It is still supported, so I'm a little put-off by that. I've used Office on my computer for a long time, but I'd be interested to hear your suggestions for replacements and your opinions as well.
These days, with so many suppliers having so much access to my computer, I expect the problem to go away, but if not, I'll follow up with false positive. Norton is up-to-date, I'll research fast start and I think I used to load Norton first (before windows) too.
No one needs Microsoft Office. Google Docs is free and all cloud based. OpenOffice, LibreOffice and WPS Office are all free. You can also use Word and Excel web based. Those are also free with a Microsoft account. I do not use anything but Google Docs.
PS. I can't get permission to open C:\Program Files\WindowsApps and really don't want to take posession of this bad boy anyway, otherwise I would have sent it to VirusTotal. Good suggestion though.
Are you the admin on this pc?
Yes, I'm the Administrator, but I notice I'm not "verify[ied]", something else I don't like about Win10.
Windows has a very long history of screwy denial of access and I'm loathe to mess with it.
And thanks for the list of Office replacements. I think these are cloud based and must admit I still have the illusion that my documents are private. I know. But I have health and financial stuff that I'd like to think are private. Anyway I think it's one thing to be victimized and another to volunteer for it. Sorry for philosophizing. It's just me.
Interesting read! I think MS was crazy to release the "Anniversary Update" the same time they changed Outlook.COM back-end to 365 Server. It created a lot of problems with my Outlook.EXE (2007). I guess from the numbers, a lot of others as well.
99% of high schools and colleges use Google Docs. Any cloud document is safer then stored on your pc. Unless you backup your pc daily then everything you are doing will be lost in the event of a hard drive failure or OS failure. Google Docs saves every second as you go along. Plus if you use a stand alone office program you are stuck to just your pc. You can log into any pc in the entire world and poofff. There is your stuff. The other 3 I gave you are not cloud based. FYI.............Norton Security uses the cloud.
The days of using Microsoft Office are long gone. That is exactly why there is Microsoft Office in the cloud. Even my company uses Google Docs. My son does all his school work via Google Docs and shares it with his professors.
I was just perusing WPS Office 2016 Free, and if you say it's not cloud based, I'll verify that.
I do backup daily, but your comment >> Any cloud document is safer then stored on your pc. << may be debatable. I did notice Norton being cloud based, and I trust them more than say a Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. But if you don't think all those are data-mining your files . . . well, they most certainly are.
In Norton's case this might mean transparent updates and fixes loaded to the PC without our knowledge. I still prefer to own my PC and control my privacy.
Thanks for your help. I found that WPS Free saves in .pdf, which is problematic. None of the 3 have an email client (unless you count Thunderbird). LibreOffice's OpenDocument Format (ODF) may be superior if it can be opened with MSWord, and Apache uses .odf as well.
IMHO Microsoft broke my perfectly good and expensive 2007 Office Suite, and I know I'm on my own. Thanks for your help.
UPDATE: Anyway, you may use additional browser add-on to block or hide the truth on the web. Moreover, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are paying (so-called) Adblock Plus huge fees to get their ads unblocked.
Thanks and take care (BE CAREFUL) when it comes to the dark side of the web.
You do not need an email client with Windows 10. It has one. Who is your email provider? Yahoo? Gmail? You are very old school. Make a Google account. It's free and you get 15GB of storage.
I accept your kind characterization. I have Google, Live, and Yahoo accounts.
What is it I like about Outlook.exe?? Hmmmmm . . . all 3 forward to it? A layout I'm used to? It's not totally dependent on my connection? I can back it up locally? It's a center for quickly archiving and searching and using my email and calendar day to day? Well . . . I'm sure you can do all that on your smartphone, but then you are very new school, no?
Google, Live and Yahoo keep the emails in the server. No need to backup. Backing up locally is never a good idea. Backimg up to an external hard drive is fine. Wanna check your Gmail. Go to Gmail.com and there it is. Alomg side Google Docs. Wanna check your Yahoo email. Go to Yahoo.com, it's that easy. Ii am a middle aged guy who repairs and builds computers, removes malware from computers and fixes smart phones. Windows 10 email client will do all you need to do. I keep everything I have in Google. Over 10 years now.
Of course it goes back 10 years. Google contains everything you will ever need. Google Docs does all your office needs. Gmail is your email. While Google Calendar syncs across all devices. Your Google Drive comes with 15GB of online storage. And I never went to college. Learned everything I know by simply playing around. Anyone can anything in this world if you merely read.
Hxtsr is part of windows Mail and Outlook. I switched from WPS to LibreOffice. Much better and no watermarks like the WPS free version (though some don't have watermarks like the older betas and such).


text:
Analytics Night sheds light on Phillies' changing process
By Tim Malcolm
Here's a piece by Liam Schmidt, who attended #CollegeSeries Baseball Analytics Night on April 10 at Citizens Bank Park. He gives his thoughts on the evening while shedding some light on the Phillies' data-gathering process.
With so much discussion on the Phillies' increased reliance on analytics to make managerial decisions, I thought it would be interesting to share a few observations from attending this year's #CollegeSeries Baseball Analytics Night on April 10 at Citizens Bank Park. The program featured an informal networking session and panel discussion for more than 200 college students and associates from schools across the Delaware Valley.
Gregg Murphy moderated the panel discussion, which began with Gary Matthews. Sarge professed an old-school view of analyzing baseball. He brought up the "eye-test" when asked about judging hitters, iterating that you can just tell when some guys have "it." Before giving way to the panel, Sarge gave some final points on hitting; notably, how the scoreboard always dictates strategy. The panel included members of the Phillies Baseball Analytics & Operations team. After introducing themselves and their backgrounds, they took questions from those of us in the audience.
Leading off was Alex Nakahara, a senior quantitative analyst with the Phillies. He talked about his background as an air traffic controller, and said that he never imagined himself working in sports. For the Phillies, he creates analyses and tools for understanding and visualizing data. He fielded questions about the more technical aspects of baseball analytics. He said the team uses many data visualization tools, such as R, Python, JavaScript, ggplot2, and matplotlib, among others, to prepare applications, reports, and slides for players, coaches and fellow analysts. R and Python are programming languages used by data scientists to organize and analyze unstructured data. ggplot2 and matplotlib are data visualization tools for each of these respective languages, used to create easy to understands graphs, scatterplots and other types of data displays. He emphasized that he creates specialized graphics, customized for particular needs and audiences, hence the need for such a variety of tools. One student asked him about how he factors intangibles, such as team chemistry, into his models. He responded that he can add certain variables into the models that were not previously included, but a major part of his role is recognizing what is included and what is not. In these cases, the analytics staff will report to the coaching staff that, "we're not considering this, but you should."
Seated on the other side of the desk and talent evaluation spectrum was Johnny Almaraz. As the director of amateur scouting, Almaraz has nearly three decades of experience in baseball operations. He explained his role as attempting to marry tradition with analytics. At the amateur level, much scouting and analysis is done in person with small sample sizes. As an example of his scouting acumen he brought up Scott Kingery, who he scouted at the University of Arizona. When he locates players of note, he must test to see if this sample size is appropriate, and consider other factors other than what he sees in person. He said that the most dangerous phrase an organization can use is "that's the way it's always been done." He has witnessed the growth of technology and analytics first-hand throughout his many years in the business, and emphasized that teams and front offices must be willing to adapt to maintain a competitive advantage.
In the middle of the Q&A session, Murphy surprised the crowd by introducing starting pitcher Ben Lively. As a major leaguer, he has fully embraced baseball analytics, since "winning is fun, [and] losing sucks." He said that the entire roster, the youngest in the league, feels the same way. He references heat maps and hitters' tendencies on a tablet in the morning before starts and in between innings. When he has a bad game, he wants to know why. He has been able to learn from Jake Arrieta, who brought over techniques that he had been using for years in Chicago.
Seated in between Nakahara and Almaraz were Andy Galdi and Sam Fuld. Galdi is director of baseball research and development, and Fuld has quite a unique role as a player information coordinator. Essentially, Galdi is in charge of the application of analytical research, while Fuld gathers relevant information and implements it; working closely with the front office, coaching staff and players. These two fielded a question about how Gabe Kapler balances instincts and analytics to make daily lineup decisions. They said he uses a combination of both and spends a lot of time analyzing objective reports and considering his own subjective opinions. Fuld talked us through his daily routine, which involves preparing information in the mornings and then interacting with players throughout the afternoon in preparation for a game, acting as a bridge between the analytics staff and players. A former outfielder himself, he started this role in November and believes it to be truly unique for major league baseball.
Some hot topics, such as the strategy behind defensive positioning, the Rays' four-man rotation, the Astros' four-man outfield, exit velocity and the use of other more obscure metrics also came up. All in all, the panel discussion was very interesting and informative from my perspective as a college student studying statistics. The $12 food voucher also proved useful during a Hatfield Dollar Dog Night. And on the chilly sub 40-degree evening, the Phils were able to pull out a 6-1 win against a struggling Cincinnati squad.
Related Items:Analytics, Ben Lively, featured, johnny almaraz
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Nola stops the slide as Phillies shut out Marlins
Gameday 2018: Phillies (17-13) at Nationals (16-16)
Phillies sign Archie Bradley to bolster bullpen, per report
Nationals, J.T. Realmuto's team have had 'early discussions'
Read - Nationals, J.T. Realmuto's team have had 'early discussions' - and more Phillies...


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#### According to
Index Fungorum

#### Published in
in Adams, Wingfield, Common & Roux, Stud. Mycol. 52: 114 (2005)

#### Original name
Cytospora austromontana G.C. Adams & M.J. Wingf.

### Remarks
null

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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A Farmer Ant's Unique Fungal Crop
Home » Future » A Farmer Ant's Unique Fungal Crop
Much like human farmers, fungus-farming ants meticulously maintain their subterranean gardens. They regularly fertilize, weed and tend to their crops.
Now, researchers have discovered that one primitive species cultivates a kind of fungus that is entirely domesticated.
"These ants make their living by being farmers, and they are absolutely dependent on this fungus," said Ted Schultz, an entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution. He and his colleagues will describe their findings in a coming issue of The American Naturalist.
Apterostigma megacephala was first described in 1999, based on four specimens found in Peru and Colombia. Ten years later, researchers discovered its nests in the eastern Amazon region of Brazil and realized that the ants cultivate a type of fungus that grows only in its nests and those of a species of leaf-cutter ants.
The fungus, Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, evolved only two to eight million years ago. DNA sequencing shows that the ant belongs to an ancient lineage that dates back 39 million years.
How and when the species got hold of the fungus remains a mystery, Dr. Schultz said. The leaf-cutter ant that cultivates the fungus evolved more recently, about 12 million years ago.
Other primitive fungus-farming ants cannot digest the fungus without dying, Dr. Schultz said.


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Gymnocalycium rauschii ist eine Pflanzenart in der Gattung Gymnocalycium aus der Familie der Kakteengewächse (Cactaceae). Das Artepitheton rauschii ehrt den österreichischen Kakteenspezialisten Walter Rausch.

Beschreibung
Gymnocalycium rauschii wächst einzeln mit dunkelgrünen bis gräulich grünen, abgeflacht kugelförmigen Trieben und erreicht bei Durchmessern von 10 bis 15 Zentimetern Wuchshöhen von bis zu 5 Zentimeter. Es sind zehn bis 14 Rippen vorhanden. Die sieben bis neun geraden oder leicht gebogenen, gelben Dornen werden im Alter rötlich braun. Sie sind 1,2 bis 1,7 Zentimeter lang.

Die breit trichterförmigen, hellrosafarbenen Blüten erreichen eine Länge von 2,5 bis 3,5 Zentimeter und einen Durchmesser von 2,3 bis 3 Zentimeter. Die eiförmigen Früchte sind nur etwa 7 Millimeter lang.

Verbreitung und Systematik
Gymnocalycium rauschii ist in Uruguay im Departamento Tacuarembó verbreitet.

Die Erstbeschreibung erfolgte 1990 durch Hans und Walter Till.

Nachweise

Literatur

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks

Gymnocalycium (Kakteen)
Rauschii

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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On borrowed time in '25th Hour' / Lee's film is elegy for a shaken city
Arts & Entertainment // Movies & TV
Mick LaSalle
25th Hour: Drama. Starring Edward Norton, Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox. Directed by Spike Lee. (VHS and DVD. R. 134 minutes.)
In "25th Hour" Spike Lee takes the story of a convicted drug dealer's last day of freedom and expands it into a meditation on New York and America in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.
From the opening credits sequence, showing two beams of blue light where the World Trade Center once stood, to the closing moments, which evoke the dream of the wide-open road, Lee takes the spiritual moment and crystallizes it into art. The result is a film of sadness and power, the first great 21st century movie about a 21st century subject.
The key to fully appreciating "25th Hour" is in not dwelling long on the analogy between New York and the movie's protagonist, Monty (Edward Norton), a young man who's about to go up the river for seven years on a drug charge. The parallels are there, but they only go so far: Monty's past was full of money and the delusion of omnipotence, and his future is a question mark. In one scene, Monty's two best friends discuss his prospects, sitting by a window overlooking ground zero. To contemplate Monty's future is to look into an abyss.
But metaphors are easy. Lee's real achievement is in getting that post-Sept.
11 feeling into his movie's structure. Watch "25th Hour" and it's as if everyone in the film has been hit in the head and is just coming to. The pace of scenes is measured, and the characters (not the actors) seem not only uncertain but also in reaction against their uncertainty.
Monty's reaction is anger. The reaction of his schoolteacher friend Jake (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a misguided fixation on a vivacious underage student (Anna Paquin). And his stockbroker pal, Frank (Barry Pepper), reacts with a denial so profound that he even trusts the Environmental Protection Agency when it says the air is safe in his Manhattan neighborhood. His denial has an aggressiveness that threatens to trample everything gentle in his nature.
"25th Hour" takes place over the course of 24 hours, with time out for flashbacks, but for a single exception -- the very first scene. Taking place at an indeterminate time in the recent past, the scene is there for no apparent reason: Monty rescues an abused dog, and that's about all. Yet the scene serves a function, to show an earlier mood, a last gasp of optimism and decisiveness that's nothing like anything or anyone in the rest of the film. Pre-bust and pre-Sept. 11, Monty was living in a kind of happy innocence and didn't know it.
Months later, walking his dog along the harbor on his last day of freedom, he's a different man. His walk is still straight, but it's the walk of someone who knows that all he has left is the dignity of his bearing, a king going to the scaffold. He can't even trust his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson), whom he suspects may have given him up to the cops to save herself.
Like all Lee's best movies, "25th Hour" is both interesting and ungainly -- Lee has so much he wants to say that he needs to break the mold, and he does so in a magnificent set piece early in the movie. Monty goes into a men's room,
and his reflection in the mirror launches into a tirade against all the various peoples of New York: the blacks, the Bensonhurst Italians, the Park Avenue rich, Korean grocers, cabdrivers from India and Yankees fans from the boroughs. Samuel Johnson once said that when a man is tired of London, he's tired of life. Lee is showing that when a man is sick of New York, he's sick of the world and everything in it. This is a love poem. This is Spike Lee's "Rhapsody in Blue," and it's a thing of beauty.
With a slice-of-life film such as "25th Hour," there's always the challenge of how to end it. Lee and screenwriter David Benioff bring the film to a place of poetry, with a fantasy of America and open spaces that's slightly funny and mostly stirring and still very much about New York. . This film contains sexual situations, violence and harsh language.
Reach Mick on
Mick LaSalle is the film critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. He is the author of two books on pre-censorship Hollywood, "Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood" and "Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man." Both were books of the month on Turner Classic Movies and "Complicated Women" formed the basis of a TCM documentary in 2003, narrated by Jane Fonda. He has written introductions for a number of books, including Peter Cowie's "Joan Crawford: The Enduring Star" (2009). He was a panelist at the Berlin Film Festival and has served as a panelist for eight of the last ten years at the Venice Film Festival. His latest book, a study of women in French cinema, is "The Beauty of the Real: What Hollywood Can Learn from Contemporary French Actresses."


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TIGAER-DESIGN.COM_.v5 – Digital Art by Christian Hecker
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The Hobbit – Movie Review
This movie has a long history. It ended when Peter Jackson decided to take the directors seat by himself again. Originally Guillermo Del Toro was a name attached to that seat. And I'm fairly sure he would have done some great things. Ultimately I think the production problems drove him off and Jackson decided to do it. Del Toro nonetheless helped with the writing and I think, in some parts, you can clearly see that. This review is written from the 'did not read the original book', perspective. I usually have no problems when it comes to movies from books. I can understand that some book parts do not translate well on screen. So it's natural and often necessary to compromise.
On a technical note this movie generated a lot of buzz because of a new 48 frames per second projection. Naturally a movie has 24 frames per second. That is basically all information our eye needs to enjoy a movie. 48 frames per second make movements look much more crisp instead of motion blurred. Which gives, especially fast cutted action scenes, a much clearer picture. The downside is that a lot of other parts of the film look very very amateur handycam like. But more about that later. How was the actual movie you might ask? Well. Let's see.
It starts out in the Shire. Bilbo Baggins lives a good life and doesn't want that to change. One day a weird old man appears and recruits Bilbo for an adventure. That old man is Gandalf The Grey. Together with the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield, Gandalf wants to take back their city. They lost it due an attack by the dragon 'Smaug'. Who is still holding the city captured, which happened a long time ago. The dwarven civilization basically lost its home. Thorin wants to reclaim the city as well as the gold and riches burried under the mountain! Not without help. Beside Gandalf there are eleven other dwarven friends who want to go with them. Loyal to the core and willing to fight everything that is crossing their path. And then there is Bilbo. He is not exactly happy when the company of dwarfs marches into his home. Gandalf has a plan though. He wants to have Bilbo with them. As if he knows that Bilbo will play a part on that journey that no one else would be able to play.
After some hesitation Bilbo decides to go with them. That's something I can relate to. I'm a little like Bilbo when it comes to these things. I'm not the adventure guy too… but I know that it'll be fun when you look back and you will also have some stories to share when it's over. I guess that's what Bilbo drove when he decided to join the adventure. From that point on it's Bilbo who kind of works as the point of view for the audience.
From then on we follow the group to their first adventures. The dwarfs have their doubts about the role Bilbo could possibly play. He got no experience with anything… except being a hobbit and liking good food. Bilbo, however, will get his chances to prove himself to the group. Eventually he'll gain their respect and becomes a valuable asset.
Instead of preaching down the whole film, which would be like writing a short story, I want to go to a few things I really liked and don't liked, about the film. It could involve spoilers!
What I liked are the little homages to the characters of the first trilogy. Not necessarily the scenes that involved Frodo and old Bilbo. It was more the use of specific images we know from 'The Fellowship' movie. The behaviour of Bilbo in the beginning, when he tried to get rid of Gandalf. Martin Freeman almost to the splitsecond re-enacts the reaction of Bilbo in 'Fellowship', when unwanted visitors knocked on his door. There were a couple of scenes like that. Again in Bilbo's home, when Gandalf hits the light with his head, for example. That's a little fanservice to the true fans of the first trilogy.
Then there is that one scene in the mountains. Again there were a couple of scenes/camera angles that reminded me of the 'Fellowship' movie. For some reason we have some giant mountain/rock people having a fight. Our band of heroes is trying to move along a cliff when they see that they are part of a giant moving rock. For some reason this rock is having an argument with another giant rock and you have this amazing fight sequence going on. Our heroes, of course, try to get out of there alive. All that while these giant things fight each other, causing immense tremors and falling pieces of rocks. This scene was a lot of fun to watch. I would love to know why these giants were fighting. I guess we'll never know.
Another thing I enjoyed was Radagast. He belongs to Gandalf's people and has quite a knowledge when it comes to magic and especially nature. Even if his whole short plotline feels a litte 'thrown in'… I enjoyed it. It gave a different perspective on things.
One of the highlights, again, was Gollum. From a technical point of view, with all the technical progress since the first trilogy, he now looks even better. The integration into the live action footage looked pretty much seamless and his interaction with Bilbo flawless. Andy Serkis (who plays Gollum as reference in the live action footage) brings out the best again. The animation of Gollum's face, when he's arguing with himself, is just great to watch. He makes Martin Freeman look pale in these scenes. And don't get me wrong, I think Martin Freeman does a great job playing Bilbo.
The movie to me felt very much like a rollercoaster ride. You have these action sequences that work pretty much great all together. Then you have some quiet scenes that, I feel, could have been reduced a little bit. One scene for example is when the dwarfs begin to sing their song in Bilbo's house. While I understand that it's trying to set a mood and tone for that group of people, I also think that this wouldn't have been necessary. You can see that this company of dwarfs is a tight pack of wolves when they're having their meal. No need for that song in my eyes.
Back to that scene between Gollum and Bilbo. I heard that it's accurate to the book and that can't be a wrong thing, right? Well, it felt a little long for my taste. To see Gollum in action was great but somehow I felt that whole segment was a little stretched out. Sometimes it's better to cut down certain things.
At the same time, when Gollum and Bilbo have their standoff, we follow Gandalf and the other guys on their escape from Goblin city. This whole escape sequence also felt a little too long. Don't get me wrong, that chase/escape scene was entertaining and they had some cool ideas with it. Maybe it was because of the 48 frames per second. I literally felt exhausted when this scene was over. I think all the speed and extra detail (that otherwise would get lost in the motion blur of the usual 24 frames per second) was a little too much.
Let's talk about that 48 frames per second issue. I have a mixed opinion about it. On one hand the extra visible detail, in some scenes, really worked nice. Other moments did not look so well. The biggest problem is that it immediately makes you see that the environment is fake. Everything feels unnatural. You immediately know where a matte painting or cg was used. Due to that we lose a lot of magic that the original movies had. Which brings me to the conclusion that the 48fps would be great for animated movies – since it makes the 3d effect work more crisp. Movies that mix live action and cg… no, I don't think that works well.
It's a little funny. The 48 frames per second make the movie having almost a video game aesthetic. On the same note the 48 frames reduce the motion blur to make the picture sharper. While video games nowadays implement an extra motion blur effect, to make the game more feel like a movie and therefor more cinematic. Do movies now want to look like video games while video games want to look like movies for the longest time? Strange development. Which brings me to the visual effects.
And for the visual effects there is not much to say. The 48 frames per second spoiled the experience a bit. The whole film looks very fake. Even scenes with real backgrounds looked fake. Which is a shame. If the movie would have been projected on a usual 2d/24 frames setup… I think it would look just beautiful. A lot of beautiful matte painting work as well as superbly detailed 3d characters.
While they did cut out elements from the first three movies, that made fans go wild, it makes the impression that they're almost desperate to get everything they possibly can, into the new movies. Understandable when you think about the fact that the first trilogie had three massive books on their backs. The new trilogy has only one book to go from.
But enough disection for now. Would I recommend the film? Yes I would. It's one of the better productions these days. Even if it doesn't have as much heart as any of the first trilogy's movies, it still works. It also manages to bring over the charme of Middle-Earth very well. I would also suggest to skip the 48 frames per second as well as the 3d. If you can catch a normal 2d screening, it's probably the best way to enjoy this film.
A solid 7.7 from me. (Rating for the 48fps/3d version)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on IMDb
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 23:50	and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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The Cable: Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian Army Used Nerve Gas, U.S. Spies Say Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian...
Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian Army Used Nerve Gas, U.S. Spies Say
Last Wednesday, in the hours after a horrific chemical attack east of Damascus, an official at the Syrian Ministry of Defense exchanged panicked phone calls with a leader of a chemical weapons unit, demanding answers for a nerve agent strike that killed more than 1,000 people. Those conversations were overheard by U.S. intelligence services, The ...
By Noah Shachtman
| August 27, 2013, 8:54 PM
Last Wednesday, in the hours after a horrific chemical attack east of Damascus, an official at the Syrian Ministry of Defense exchanged panicked phone calls with a leader of a chemical weapons unit, demanding answers for a nerve agent strike that killed more than 1,000 people. Those conversations were overheard by U.S. intelligence services, The Cable has learned. And that is the major reason why American officials now say they're certain that the attacks were the work of the Bashar al-Assad regime — and why the U.S. military is likely to attack that regime in a matter of days.
But the intercept raises questions about culpability for the chemical massacre, even as it answers others: Was the attack on Aug. 21 the work of a Syrian officer overstepping his bounds? Or was the strike explicitly directed by senior members of the Assad regime? "It's unclear where control lies," one U.S. intelligence official told The Cable. "Is there just some sort of general blessing to use these things? Or are there explicit orders for each attack?"
Nor are U.S. analysts sure of the Syrian military's rationale for launching the strike — if it had a rationale at all. Perhaps it was a lone general putting a long-standing battle plan in motion; perhaps it was a miscalculation by the Assad government. Whatever the reason, the attack has triggered worldwide outrage, and put the Obama administration on the brink of launching a strike of its own in Syria. "We don't know exactly why it happened," the intelligence official added. "We just know it was pretty fucking stupid."
American intelligence analysts are certain that chemical weapons were used on Aug. 21 — the captured phone calls, combined with local doctors' accounts and video documentation of the tragedy — are considered proof positive. That is why the U.S. government, from the president on down, has been unequivocal in its declarations that the Syrian military gassed thousands of civilians in the East Ghouta region.
However, U.S. spy services still have not acquired the evidence traditionally considered to be the gold standard in chemical weapons cases: soil, blood, and other environmental samples that test positive for reactions with nerve agent. That's the kind of proof that America and its allies processed from earlier, small-scale attacks that the White House described in equivocal tones, and declined to muster a military response to in retaliation.
There is an ongoing debate within the Obama administration about whether to strike Assad immediately — or whether to allow United Nations inspectors to try and collect that proof before the bombing begins. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called the work of that team "redundant … because it is clearly established already that chemical weapons have been used on a significant scale."
But within the intelligence community, at least, "there's an interest in letting the U.N. piece run its course," the official said. "It puts the period on the end of the sentence."
When news about the Ghouta incident first trickled out, there were questions about whether or not a chemical agent was to blame for the massacre. But when weapons experts and U.S. intelligence analysts began reviewing the dozens of videos and pictures allegedly taken from the scene of the attacks, they quickly concluded that a nerve gas, such as sarin, had been used there. The videos showed young victims who were barely able to breathe and, in some cases, twitching. Close-up photos revealed that their pupils were severely constricted. Doctors and nurses who say they treated the victims reported that they later became short of breath as well. Eyewitnesses talk of young children so confused, they couldn't even indentify their own parents. All of these are classic signs of exposure to a nerve agent like sarin, the Assad regime's chemical weapon of choice.
Making the case even more conclusive were the images of the missiles that supposedly delivered the deadly attacks. If they were carrying conventional warheads, they would have likely been all but destroyed as they detonated. But several missiles in East Ghouta were found largely intact. "Why is there so much rocket left? There shouldn't be so much rocket left," the intelligence official told The Cable. The answer, the official and his colleagues concluded, was that the weapon was filled with nerve agent, not a conventional explosive.
In the days after the attacks, there was a great deal of public discussion about which side in Syria's horrific civil war actually launched the strike. Allies of the Assad regime, like Iran and Russia, pointed the finger at the opposition. The intercepted communications told a different story — one in which the Syrian government was clearly to blame.
The official White House line is that the president is still considering his options for Syria. But all of Washington is talking about a punitive strike on the Assad government in terms of when, not if. Even some congressional doves have said they're now at least open to the possibility of U.S. airstrikes in Syria. Images of dead children, neatly stacked in rows, have a way of changing minds.
"It's horrible, it's stupid," the intelligence official said about the East Ghouta attack by the Syrian military. "Whatever happens in the next few days — they get what they deserve."
Twitter: @NoahShachtman
Tags: Arab World, Covers, Intelligence, Middle East, Syria