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Delhi University UG, PG, and Ph.D./M.Phil. Programs Admissions 2019
The University of Delhi is a premier university of the country with a venerable legacy and international acclaim for highest academic standards, diverse educational programmes, distinguished faculty, illustrious alumni, varied co-curricular activities and modern infrastructure. Over the many years of its existence, the University has sustained the highest global standards and best practices in higher education. Its long-term commitment to nation building and unflinching adherence to universal human values are reflected in its motto: 'Nishtha Dhriti Satyam' 'निष्ठा धृति सत्यम्' (Dedication, Steadfastness and Truth).
Established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential University by the Act of the then Central Legislative Assembly, a strong commitment to excellence in teaching, research and social outreach has made the University a role-model and trend setter for other universities. The President of India is the Visitor, the Vice-President is the Chancellor and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India is the Pro-Chancellor of the University. Beginning with three colleges and 750 students, it has grown as one of the largest universities in India with 16 faculties, over 80 academic departments, an equal number of colleges and over seven lakh students. Over 500 programmes offered by the University are approved by Academic and Executive Councils, out of which 209 programmes are being considered for NAAC accreditation purpose. The rest being run in colleges are separately accredited.
Candidates should have passed class XII examination or equivalent from a recognized Board with respective subject with minimum marks as per the university admissions policy.
As per the university, there is no minimum age bar for applicants.
Candidates who have appeared in the qualifying exams and their result is awaited can apply for admission to UG programs in DU.
Start of DU admission application/registration 15th April 2019
Date for Correction in online application 20th April 2019
Last date for filling DU online application 7th May 2019
Starting of ECA and sport fitness trial 20th May 2019
Last date for DU admission To be updated soon
For More Information Refer :https://nvshq.org/admission/du-admission/#Delhi_University_Admissions_2019_8211_UG
Other College Admissions in India
Tags: .Tech. (Information Technology and Mathematical Innovations), and Ph.D./M.Phil. Programs Admissions 2019, B.A (Honours) in Hindustani Music- Vocal/Instrumental (Sitar/Sarod/Guitar/Violin/Santoor), B.A (Honours) in Karnatak Music- Vocal/Instrumental (Veena/ Violin), B.A (Honours) in Percussion Music (Tabla/Pakhawaj), B.A. (Honours) Business Economics, B.A. (Honours) Humanities and Social Sciences, B.A. (Honours) Multimedia and Mass Communication, B.Sc. Physical Education, Bachelor of Business Administration (Financial Investment Analysis), Bachelor of Management Studies, Bachelors of Elementary Education (BEE), Delhi University UG, Health Education & Sports, PG
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Best wishes for 2019! One of the issues that many of you have been looking at for the beginning of this year was already mentioned last year, the release this week of the EAT Lancet report. You should be familiar with several of the issues involved as I have covered them several times in Connect.
This background paper will form the basis of their recommendations. In terms of GRSBs communication on the issue, I personally think we should stick to the positive rather than defensive. GRSB, our roundtable members and our member companies are working on the issues that are identified as being negative impacts of the beef industry.
The reason for the roundtables to be formed was that we knew there were issues that were of concern to consumers, buyers and producers themselves, i.e. social, economic and financial sustainability and the principles and criteria we developed as a framework to respond to those concerns. I will share industry communications I receive in response to the EAT Lancet report as they come in.
The EAT–Lancet Commission Will Launch; a Global Powerful Campaign Against Meat?
EAT is a global, non–profit startup dedicated to transforming our global food system through sound science, impatient disruption and novel partnerships. According with the website, "the EAT–Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health brings together more than 30 world–leading scientists from across the globe to reach a scientific consensus that defines a healthy and sustainable diet".
But the campaign, that will launch in Oslo on January 17th, sounds like a powerful push to shift global diets by discouraging animal products. It is fuelled by large budgets and will be mediatised for a long time to come, scheduling more of 30 events around the world. But a closer look into its background reveals some perturbing elements. The danger is that the overstatement of certain concerns will result in an anti–livestock narrative, create a false impression of scientific consensus, and do more harm than good in a world in need of nutrient–rich meals and sustainable food systems.
EFA News has received this text which we gladly publish to encourage public debate. These crucial issues, in our humble opinion, should be the responsibility of public authorities, rather than private associations that inevitably act as pressure groups.
Fulton Market Group is a consulting organization active in the beef procurement industry. They are located in Chicago, IL. A "Customer First" philosophy ensures they always act with integrity and with the client's best interests. They guarantee commitment to achieving the best outcome at every turn. Fulton Market Group combines superior market intelligence, industry experience and 100% supply chain transparency to respond rapidly to every opportunity providing 24/7 real–time access to inventory, order management, and markets.
From drones monitoring pasture to mobile phone alerts replacing 250 kilometre drives to check water levels, digital technology and the ability to access and share real–time objective information has the potential to change the day–to–day life of livestock producers in big ways.
Holding up the process, however, is inadequate connectivity and that's why red meat industry leaders and progressive operators are planning to shove it firmly in the faces of politicians in the lead-up to next year's federal election.
The Ceres smart tag mentioned in the article below as being ready for a trial at Aileron station represents an interesting evolution in terms of livestock ID, in the sense that it can provide feedback to a livestock keeper on the whereabouts and health of their cattle. The device contains a GPS, thermometer and accelerometer. With the these three sensors and sophisticated algorithms it is possible to gather a lot of data about cattle remotely. Perhaps most interesting is that it will provide whole of life traceability, so that questions of provenance for example, can be addressed simply. Such devices have the potential to provide huge amounts of management data to producers.
AgTech startup Ceres Tag Pty Ltd and the Caason Group will partner to conduct a trial of the Ceres Tag smart ear tag at Caason's Aileron Pastoral Holdings near Alice Springs next year.
The Ceres Tag smart ear tag is designed to enable near real–time geolocation and health monitoring of livestock, with key features including GPS location, temperature and motion monitoring and remote identification of each animal for provenance and health management.
Farmers should be praised for doing such a good job in managing our soils sustainably, given the continuing pressure put on them to produce unending quantities of cheap food.
Every farmer worth his or her salt knows that proper soil management must go to the very heart of their business plans. If they fail to address this core issue, then they have no future. Hard experiences garnered over many centuries have taught farmers this very salutary lesson.
Luxury fashion giant Kering has announced a new collaboration with The Savory Institute — a nonprofit that facilitates large–scale regeneration of the world's grasslands through holistic management — to illustrate the positive impact regenerative agriculture can have in the fashion industry. A first in fashion and luxury, Kering has become a Frontier Founder under Savory's Land to Market™ program — the world's first verified regenerative sourcing solution for meat, dairy, wool and leather — to advocate regenerative sourcing solutions and expand the regenerative agriculture framework in fashion's global supply chains.
I see the article below as being extremely positive for beef production. By far the majority of beef producers are doing a good job. By putting systems in place that can demonstrate that to younger consumers, either directly, directly or using technology, I see the potential to engage much more closely with consumers, understand their concerns, and circumvent the misinformation spread by anti animal agriculture activists.
A recent report by Cargill showed that young people around the world want to connect with farm life. In its latest Feed4Thought survey, Cargill found that twice as many young respondents ages 18 to 34 in the US and China reported knowing a livestock or seafood farmer compared to those over 55 – with similar trends in Mexico and France.
The survey also found that 81 percent of 18–to–34–year–old Chinese participants visited a livestock or seafood farm during their lifetime, compared to 50 percent of their older surveyors.
"We know people increasingly care about animal welfare, the healthfulness of foods and sustainability," said Marina Crocker, head of Cargill Animal Nutrition market insights. "By pairing Cargill's understanding of what our customers need with state–of–the–art analytics about what people want, we can anticipate and serve emerging consumer expectations in the solutions we provide our customers."
Fifty–two percent of younger participants also said they changed their eating habits for sustainability reasons in the past year compared to 19 percent for older US respondents. Eighty percent of young Chinese people surveyed reported changes in their eating habits as well. .
One of the largest developments for the beef industry in 2018 was the announcement that Walmart has forged a business relationship with 44 Farms and will be soon featuring branded–program products in their stores. Because of Walmart's scale, that's a major undertaking to ensure that the supply chain can deliver products on a consistent, regular and timely basis to the store network.
Restaurants source fresh, sustainable, humane meat amid demand for better ingredients.
Hands down, the biggest menu newsmaker of the past year has been the vegetable, which is taking a well–deserved star turn as chefs work their culinary magic to transform produce of all types into appealing side dishes and entrées. As a corollary, vegetable–based meat substitutes have also grabbed headlines as large chains like Carl's Jr. and smaller chains like Fatburger have adopted them as burger options.
Yet despite all the excitement around the subject of plant–based cuisine, Americans remain committed carnivores. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture forecast that consumer consumption would reach a record–breaking 222.2 pounds per capita of red meat and poultry in 2018.
Wendy's and Tyson, two of the biggest beef markets, are making changes to where they get their product. They're taking an extra step to make sure the beef they serve to their customers is high quality. It's a change that could have an effect on the local industry. Beef Quality Assurance, or BQA, is a certification that has been around for over 30 years. It pertains to the way that beef is raised and handled.
BQA Instructor Haley Shoemaker said while it's nothing new to the cattle industry, it's becoming a necessity for farms who want to continue to thrive. Having a Beef Quality Assurance certification lets buyers know that the cattle they're getting was handled well with as little stress possible, she said. "It's another way for us to say we've done our part. You can trust in this product. It's been raised in a respectful manner," Shoemaker said. It's not required, but if you sell to Wendy's or Tyson, it's now becoming necessary to be able to sell your product.
There are increasing numbers of article both condemning and supporting beef. The vociferous anti meat rhetoric makes it increasingly difficult to have reasoned discussions with people at any distance from the industry itself as the general public and increasing numbers of policy makers (in Europe) are now thinking that it is axiomatic that beef production cannot be sustainable.
Maybe the transparency path as outlined by the Cargill research above is the most likely to provide a useful check on this trend. The sustainability facts that we are all dealing with are complicated and the simplification into pro and anti camps is doing no one any good. We need to get better at getting nuances across.
The article by Malcolm Tucker hits some nails on the head, and is certainly a good one for a lay audience who doesn't want a science lecture. However, it's not recommended to anyone who prefers no swearing in their reading material (due warning).
Pride of place among my selection of childish T–shirts featuring things that I find amusing, is one I purchased some years ago from Ben Goldacre's Bad Science blog. It has "I think you'll find it's a little bit more complicated than that." written across the chest.
I bought it because it's a good way to look at life. I'm one of life's natural sceptics, dubious and irritated by much and chief among the things that I am dubious of and irritated by are people who offer apparently simple solutions to obviously complex problems. People who do this tend to fall into two distinct categories, they're either ill–informed or they're dishonest.
"You can smell that meaty char right off the grill," Laura Kliman, a senior flavor scientist and cook for the day at Impossible Foods' Silicon Valley test kitchen, tells C/Net.com. "We are striving to get that total meat experience." "Striving" is the key word there, since Kliman is referring to the Impossible Burger 2.0, otherwise known as the second–generation attempt at creating a plant–based burger that looks, smells and tastes like beef.
It may seem like all press around beef is bad press. However, these recent headlines give beef lovers some hope. The evidence is in — beef is healthful and sustainable! Spread the word!
We can expect to see many more articles in this vein in the coming weeks with the publishing of the EAT Lancet report.
What's the story? We've known for some time that cows reared for beef or dairy products produce a lot of greenhouse gas emissions – and with demand expected to double, this is an increasing concern.
But what hasn't been fully understood until now is that today's levels of beef consumption can also have a detrimental effect on human health. Working with the Oxford Martin School in the UK, we've found that incorporating meat alternatives into diets could reduce diet–related mortality by 5%.
Copyright ©2019 Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. All rights reserved.


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Storm bite on sandy beaches: erosion volume measurement
Aerial mapping
Major storm events can change the coastal landscape dramatically. Drone mapping and photogrammetry can help study our changing world.
Both before and after a major storm event, the School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Center of Integrative Ecology from Deakin University used a drone to survey a stretch of sandy beach on the open-coast shoreline of Victoria, Australia.
Location of the beach in south west Victoria, Australia, where the storm hit.
High-resolution drone imagery was processed with Pix4Dmapper photogrammetry software to produce digital surface models (DSM) of the area. Calculating the difference between the pre-storm DSM and post-storm DSM allowed the team to estimate the volumes of sand movement of the beach face.
Institute Deakin University
Industry Environmental Monitoring
Project Date March to July 2014
Project Members Daniel Ierodiaconou, Alexandre C.G. Schimel, David M. Kennedy
Project Size 22.4 Hectare
Number of Images 348
GSD 2.8 cm
Software Pix4Dmapper
Chasing the storm with drones
The photographs for this project were obtained from a Sony Nex-5R RGB camera equipped with a 16 mm F2.8 lens mounted in a Skywalker X8 flying wing (2.1 m wingspan, 0.8 m overall length). The flying wing also housed off-the-shelf components for automated flying, including an Ardupilot APM 2.6 flight controller, an Ublox 6 GPS sensor and an airspeed sensor.
Skywalker X8 Flying Wing drones are designed specially for 3d mapping.
The two surveys were carried out on the 6th of March and the 2nd of July in 2014. In both surveys, the drone was set to fly at a height of 100 meters above the Australian Height Datum (AHD). Flight paths and automatic camera triggering were set-up to ensure the capture of photographs with a 60% overlap in the along-track and 40% in the across-track direction. The surveys were repeated at 90° to the initial flight paths to ensure high data redundancy and eliminate shadowing during 3D point cloud generation.
Drone mapping is more effective than other methods for monitoring and measuring coastal erosion. Here you can see the mapped area and GCPs.
20 features on solid ground that could be easily identified in the photographs and were unlikely to change between surveys were used as ground control points. They were surveyed using a Topcon GRS-1, implementing a RTK GPS correction using the Vicmap GPSNET network of base stations. The geolocated photographs and the GCP reference data were imported into Pix4Dmapper software to produce a georeferenced orthomosaic and a digital surface model (DSM) at approximately 3-centimeter grid resolution for each survey.
Mapping the changing world
Insights into sand movement between the two surveys were then obtained by computing and analyzing the difference between the two digital surface models in Matlab.
Deposition volumes were estimated by integrating the difference over the area where it is positive and above a minimum height defined from the uncertainty in the elevation difference. Erosion volume was estimated similarly by integrating the difference over the area where it is negative and below the threshold, using fixed-wing drones like in the case of coastal erosion measurement in Planguenoual in Brittany, Northwest France. The net volume change was calculated as the addition of erosion and deposition volumes.
Analysis of sand volumes eroded from the beach. From right to left: Orthomosaics of the first and second survey, digital surface models for the first and second survey and lastly their resulting elevation difference.
When applied on the entire beach face, these calculations provided estimates of the total volumes of sand movement.The same technique was also used for a series of 1-meter wide polygons oriented perpendicular to the 0.5-meter-interval contour (digitized from the second DSM), thereby providing an estimate of volumes of sand eroded per meter length of beach (m3/m) for the study area.
Benefits of drones in erosion volume measurement
The accuracy achieved in this study is comparable to more traditional surveying techniques
The use of drones for low-altitude photography, combined with Pix4Dmapper's algorithms for DSM generation led to coastal topography datasets of very high resolution and accuracy. This allowed for the quantification of even subtle changes in elevation after the storm event, with clear changes observed in vegetation and sand movement at the centimeter scale across tens of hectares. The sub-five centimeter accuracy achieved in this study is comparable, and even greater, in precision to the long term beach profile datasets usually collected using more traditional surveying techniques.
One of the major benefits of drones over satellite or plane platforms is the ability of users to define revisit times that are not hampered by cloud cover or cost-prohibitive mobilization. In this study, both surveys only required a total flying time of approximately 40 min in addition to a small amount of preparation to design the survey plan and conduct the necessary risk assessments (< 1 hr).
In addition, the data density translates into a detailed textured TIN model that allows for an unlimited number of "virtual" oblique views from any user-defined angle or height to investigate coastal processes. Such oblique views offer advantages over the traditional aerial photogrammetric perspective (i.e. straight down) where key parameters such as the degree of notching are not apparent. This is particularly problematic in cliff hazard assessments as the height and depth of notches is often a key parameter in determining cliff stability.
Read the full research paper
Download the paperTry Pix4Dmapper
Is thermal mapping the future of landmine clearance?
Each year 20,000 people are killed or maimed by landmines. A novel application of drone mapping may make landmine removal easier and faster.
[Contest] Map our changing world for a better future
The climate is changing. But in order to do something about it, the change needs to be mapped. Enter the contest now and help the planet.

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Researchers at Oregon State University recently published a case study suggesting that a pet dog may encourage children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) or other disabilities to engage in more daytime physical activity. Taking care of a pet requires care by the owner (i.e. grooming, play, exercise). In this case, the child's efforts to provide the dog's care resulted in more physical activity and improved motor skills. Although this was a case study involving only one child, researchers hope to secure funding to continue these studies and improve CP children's lives.


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Archive by tag: AchievementsReturn
BA Communication students win 2nd runner up in PANAnaw Awards 2019
On November 23, 2019, our team of 4th year and 3rd year BA Communication (BACOM) students bagged the 2nd Runner Up award at the Philippine Association of National Advertisers Foundation (PANAF) PANAnaw Awards 2019, the PANAF Brand Communications Students Competition.
MC High School Scholars win 117 medals and merit awards in USA
Miriam College High School students bagged a total of 117 medals and merit awards from the 2019 World Scholar's Cup Tournament of Champions. It was held on November 6-13, 2019 at Yale University, Connecticut, USA.
Likha, Lathala, Laya: MCHS' Ethos at Tagisan 2019
Last November 9, 2019, two teams from Ethos Club, Miriam College High School's speech club, represented the school as they competed in Tagisan 2019, a quiz bee and set of workshops organized by UP Broadcasters' Guild, which was held in Palma Hall, University of the Philippines - Diliman.
Bravo To BRAVO by Philip Cu-Unjieng | Metro.style
Dr. Rosario O. Lapus was presented the 8 BRAVO Empowered Women Awards. The 8 BRAVO Empowered Women Awards honors Filipinas who have exhibited persevering commitment to leadership and service.
Pinay teen cracks Asia Pacific squad to Jr. NBA Global Games | Manila Bulletin
Camille Nolasco, our student from Middle School, overshot her dreams of representing the country when she was selected to be one of the members for the Asia Pacific girls team for the Jr. NBA Global Championship slated to take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near ...
Alumna Sophia Dianne C. Garcia urges stronger UN action to protect women
"Indeed, we have a long way to go." These were the words of Sophia Dianne C. Garcia (GS 2007, HS 2011, College 2015) in her call to action at the United Nations Security Council meeting in April 2019 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. In her remarks b...
Miriam College is ISO 9001: 2015 certified for the Higher Education Unit and Support Services
Miriam College is delighted to announce that the Higher Education Unit and its Support Services (General Administration) are now ISO 9001:2015 certified by German audit firm TÜV Rheinland.
LS students recognized in esteemed nat'l math competition
Alexi Summer D. Apsay and Ciara Kelzie T. Gudoy received Second Honors in the esteemed national competition, Metrobank-MTAP-DepEd Math Challenge held on January 17, 2019 at Grace Christian College. The said competition is jointly organized by the Metrobank Foundation, Inc., the Mathematics Teachers ...
LS science whiz receives Youth Excellence award from DOST-SEI
Ciara Kelzie T. Gudoy of 3-Langka was awarded the Youth Excellence in Science Medal by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) because of her successful stints in several international mathematics competitions.
LS students bag honorary badges in Eye Level Math competition
Grade 4 students Malin Janna M. Vega (Master) and Jessica Claire R. Caputero (Junior Master), along with Grade 2 student Chloe Gabrielle E. Rivera (Junior Master), received their international honorary badges last February 2019. They earned these prestigious badges from competing in the Eye Level Ma...
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Encantada Resort Kissimmee 3 Bed 2.5 Bath Holiday Rental Townhouse with screened-in swimming pool located in West Kissimmee. Property features open plan Florida style living accommodation, TV in all bedrooms, wifi. Gated resort community with onsite amenities including Clubhouse, pool and much more.


Once upon a time, the NFC East was arguably not the best but definitely the most competitive division in the NFL. The Redskins/Cowboys rivalry was a thing that legends are made of. Last night's MNF semi-clash between the Eagles and Giants got me thinking…meh.
Now don't get me wrong, I love to watch the teams in the NFC East beat up on each other. The only thing I would love more is if they could BOTH take the 'L' home. This particular divisional game bored me. As has every divisional game that's preceded it this season.
Gone are the days of The Hogs, the Troy Aikmans, the postseason Giants and the Eagles…umm…presence? Let's face it, 8-8 could win this division. Sad but true.
What exactly has to be done to restore this once legendary division to its glory? I'm all ears!
Erin Eley volunteered to cover the Alexandria Sportsman's Club for Old Town Post to support a great organization and give back to our community. Erin is passionate about the Redskins and all things sports. She is a freelance writer that covers professional sports. The opinions expressed in this post are that of Erin Eley and not Old Town Post. For more of Erin's sports musings you can follow her at @DblE on Twitter.


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Editorial: 26 Questions For The Wannabe Plantation Owners Of The Wack A$$, Racist A$$ NFL
Posted on May 23, 2018	 - By daviddtss
In case you haven't heard, the NFL's 32 (plantation) owners got together to decide what they would do about those pesky anthem protests – you know the ones where players take a knee during the national anthem to raise awareness for injustices people of color face in America. The owners came to a solution that is good for exactly zero people: players and personnel who don't want to stand for the anthem can wait in the locker rooms like kids in timeout. But if they go out on the field, they have to stand or face penalties. Presumably these penalties will be worse than getting hit in the head for years on end while working for a league that refuses to acknowledge the long-term life-threatening damages of said activities.
I have some initial reactions to the decision *ahemit'sbullsh*tahem*. So here goes: my 26 questions about the NFL's love of white supremacy.
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Why are players and personnel coming out for the National Anthem at all anyway?
Why not just make everyone stay in the their respective locker rooms and come out after the song is over if you absolutely must play it at all?
Does it make the troops happier to see one lonely a$$ middle linebacker on the field for the anthem?
Did the owners even discuss this with ANYone in the military before making this decision?
Are you going to sing the whole anthem since you love the song so much?
You know, the third verse about hunting down slaves and killing them? So we can get the full power of America's favorite song?
When was the last time the NFL was in the news for something awesome happening?
So, isn't the whole reason Kaepernick isn't in the league based on some notion that he's such a controversial figure that he'll divide the locker room?
Based on the idea that somehow anthem protests are divisive for teams?
So the NFL's solution to such an action is to quite literally divide the locker rooms based on players' inclinations to stand up for the anthem or not? Gotcha.
You want to bring up the NBA's policy of making it mandatory for players to stand for the anthem right now, don't you? Well, okay. It's important to mention that the NBA's policy was enacted decades ago in earnest and the NFL's is in place for the sole purpose of telling black people to shut up. There's a difference. Got it?
Hey NFL, do you even Constitution?
Do you know what I said the last time I was at an NFL game and the anthem was playing?
"F***." That's the word I was saying. Why?
Because I was at the Papa John's stand and didn't have enough hands for two Sprites and a pizza. Why?
Because concession stands are goddamn open during the anthem. So people can walk around and make transactions and give exactly zero f****s about the anthem, but you want the black players to be obedient?
Call me crazy, but is this less about the anthem itself and more about making sure you keep black people are kept in their place?
Colin Kaepernick is never playing NFL football again, huh?
Why can't the NFL find it in their hearts to figure out how to make the game safer – something that is actually costing human lives – but want to rally behind this pretty pointless act of patriotism?
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Do the owners realize they are siding with Donald Trump?
When is siding with Donald Trump ever the right answer?
When you're white?
When you're racist?
When you pretend to give a sh** about doing what's right but really you don't care at all about black people or what they stand for?
Let's talk more broadly for a bit: old rich white dudes are going to destroy the world, aren't they?
How long did it take the NFL to come up with a policy for domestic violence?
20 years?
So why did it take only two years to come up with a UNANIMOUSLY VOTED ON penalty for athletes protesting during the anthem?
Ah. No need to answer that one.
Categories: Editorials, News, Originals
David Dennis, Jr. is a writer and editor based out of Atlanta (but it's still WHO DAT all day). His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Smoking Section, Uproxx, Playboy, CNN Money, The Source, Complex.com and wherever people argue about things on the Internet. He's a New Orleans Press Club award recipient and has been cited in Best Music Writing. He's also a proud alum of Davidson College. Twitter @DavidDTSS


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Trump pushes bogus fraud allegations as vote count moves away from him
·Editor
November 5, 2020, 8:07 p.m. ·4 min read
In a White House speech without precedent in American history, President Trump flailed at the media, pollsters, election officials, mail-in voting, judges and Democrat-led U.S. cities Thursday evening, as his rival Joe Biden continued to inch toward a win in the 2020 election.
"If you count the legal votes, I easily win," Trump said, though no state allows the counting of illegally cast votes. "If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us."
Again and again, the president portrayed the counting of legally cast mail-in ballots as improper — an assault on American democracy by the president himself.
"Our numbers started miraculously getting whittled away, in secret," Trump said, again without evidence. "This is a case where they're trying to steal an election. They're trying to rig an election. And we can't let that happen."
There is no evidence to suggest that election fraud has occurred in any statistically significant way, either this year or in past ones. What is different this year is that a record number of Americans cast their ballots early, either via mail or in person, to avoid the crowds that typically show up on Election Day. For months, Trump has downplayed the possible health risks of the worsening coronavirus pandemic, holding large campaign rallies and encouraging his supporters to vote in person on Nov. 3.
Election Day votes were counted first in many crucial states, creating the illusion that Trump was winning.
After staying out of the public eye for the last two days, Trump called what the White House billed as a "press conference," which former counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said would consist of the president describing "the state of the race from his perspective."
Trump then railed against "historic election interference from big media, big money and big tech." He accused pollsters of attempting to suppress the vote by "getting it knowingly wrong" in their surveys.
"We grew our party by 4 million voters, the greatest turnout in Republican Party history," Trump said. While that part was true, he left out that Democrats had also turned out a record number of voters this year and that Trump trails Biden in the popular vote by nearly 4 million.
The president also took aim at the states where votes are still being counted, implying that Democrats there were working to skew the results in Biden's favor.
"There are now only a few states set to be decided in the presidential race. The voting apparatus in those states are run in all cases by Democrats," Trump said, falsely. Vote counting is ongoing in Republican-led Arizona, where Trump hopes to erase Joe Biden's lead. He hasn't demanded a halt in the process there.
Mail-in voting has "destroyed our system," Trump said, although it has been done in many states for decades. He said it "makes people corrupt even if they aren't by nature."
"They want to find out how many votes they need and then they seem to be able to find them," Trump claimed. "They wait and wait and then they find them."
As Trump spoke, Trump's lead was dwindling in Georgia and Pennsylvania. A Biden win in the latter state would make him the next president, as would a victory in Georgia in combination with wins in Arizona or Nevada, states where Trump is behind. Biden is believed on course to overtake Trump late Thursday in both Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Some members of Trump's party sought to distance themselves from the president upon hearing his remarks.
pic.twitter.com/Y5HjSXstUb
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) November 6, 2020
We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation... This is getting insane.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 6, 2020
As a Republican who just won in a Blue district, I am embarrassed and ashamed by what I just heard from POTUS.
— William Cogswell (@CogswellWilliam) November 6, 2020
On CNN, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum called his speech "not factual and incendiary."
But Trump vowed to push ahead with numerous lawsuits — although he has lost almost all those cases so far — and with his attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the outcome.
"We think we will win the election very easily. We think there's going to be a lot of litigation because we have so much evidence, we have so much proof," Trump said without detailing said proof. "It's going to end up, perhaps, at the highest court in the land. We'll see."
Read more from Yahoo News:
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Indian opposition parties called on Monday for an investigation into chat messages from a top TV anchor that they said showed prior knowledge of air strikes carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government against Pakistan in 2019. Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV network, told the head of a TV ratings agency that India would launch a "bigger than a normal strike" on its arch-rival - three days before Indian combat jets struck alleged militant targets on Pakistani soil. "On Pakistan, the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated," a transcript of the messages sent by Goswami said.
Tay council debates who should speak to journalists
Should councillors be talking to the media independently? That was the second time in a week the matter had come up before a North Simcoe council, after it had been discussed at the Penetanguishene council Wednesday night. This time, it was Tay Township's deputy mayor that was asking if it was best for the mayor or chief administrative officer to respond to media requests when representing the municipality. Once again, the media request was a yearend survey sent out to all council members by MidlandToday's Community Editor Andrew Philips. "He didn't email it to council; he emailed it to all of us," said Coun. Jeff Bumstead. "I could see all the recipients. The way I took it is that they were looking for a specific response from all of council. I didn't see any harm in the questions. I didn't see anything specific that was going against the township. It was just the general feel of how I felt as a councillor." He then talked about a MidlandToday reporter reaching out to him for a story he had brought to council's attention (poppy masks being made by a local resident). "She had reached out and I asked the mayor about it," said Bumstead. "She was just looking for an opinion from me on a specific topic. The advice I got was that media is asking a question there's no problem is answering it." "If we want to clamp down and direct media to the mayor and CAO, I don't have a problem with it," he added. "If it's not okay for individual councillors to answer behalf of the township, then we can have it in the code of conduct." Fellow Coun. Paul Raymond also talked about what the integrity commissioner had outlined in the code of conduct policy. "We do have a right to an opinion as long as we make it clear it is our opinion and not the township and council as a whole," he said. "That is when the CAO or mayor come in. It's very important we take great measures to make sure that distinction is made. "As far as the other social media, I'm sure there will be other questions there," added Raymond. "We are allowed to be approached for our opinion but our opinion only." Coun. Mary Warnock said she had sought clarification on the survey, asking if it was to be based on personal opinions or a council view. "I did want to clarify that before I answered it," she said. "If it's a message coming from council or township as a whole, it should come from the CAO or mayor. You want your message to have some control and precision." CAO Lindsay Barron agreed that the councillors had raised some good points about distinguishing between an independent opinion and a township stance. "A clear distinction is if he/she is responding as an individual member of council or on behalf of the township," she said. "In the second case, it should be coming from the mayor or myself." Deputy Mayor Gerard LaChapelle said maybe the next time a reporter reaches out to an individual councillor, he/she can seek direction from the CAO. "I would suggest we should contact the CAO to find out if we can speak to it individually," he said. That didn't sit well with Raymond. "I don't go to the CAO for permission on anything, with all due respect to the CAO," he said. "We are allowed to be individuals. If we're going to go on an endeavour like this, we give a heads-up to the CAO and mayor. If they feel it's not beneficial to the community on the whole, they can let us know. We all want betterment for the township and we all have different ideas of how that can be accomplished." The conversation then turned toward answering questions posed by residents. "A lot of times we get emails from customers/residents, what do we think as council is best direction?" said LaChapelle. Coun. Sandy Talbot shared her process around that. "What I always do is if I get an email, I will forward it to a staff member," she said. "It's worked for me for all these years and that's best practice when it comes to residential inquiries." Raymond said each situation is unique. "There's a lot of different types of communications from residents, sometimes it's a question, sometimes they're in a situation where they're at odds with staff," he said. "They approach us as councillors to try and intervene to get the two parties talking. I think that, also, is our role. At the end of the day, we're the bridge between residents and staff and the services they provide." Barron said she hoped residents would reach out to staff before taking matters to their councillor. "Often times, I get involved when the councillor gets involved," she said. "I'd like to see my position as facilitator before council intervenes. If the resident wants to talk to you after, by all means. As far as being copied on the response, I'd really like to see where we get to a point where a councillor forwards it to staff and lets staff handle it." Raymond said when residents reach out to him, it's after they've reached a dead-end with staff. "When the two parties get talking to each other, I will back out and just need to know it's been resolved," he said, adding he didn't think it was pertinent for councillors to get into the weeds of matters. "When I do talk to residents, they're not aware of the structure of staff," added Raymond. "If we had an opportunity to simplify that structure, to let them know which way to go, maybe that would simplify it." Then councillors discussed behaviour on social media. "It has to do with Facebook use so we don't get ourselves in a situation," said LaChapelle. Mayor Ted Walker said he would definitely like directions around that incorporated in the municipal code of conduct. "I have seen some instances where the line has been crossed," he said without mentioning specifics. "The unfortunate part of that is that those that don't use Facebook don't have a chance to give their opinion or correct any errors. I think discussions of that nature need to be held here and not on Facebook." All councillors agreed that the communications specialist should help prepare some do's and don't's for council surrounding social media use. "All they are is a tool to facilitate you," said Raymond. "We already have standards, a code of conduct, that as councillors we're supposed to follow wherever we are. It's easy when you're on social media to get dragged into a fight. You have to know when to stop." Daryl O'Shea, general manager, corporate services manager of technology services, indicated such an endeavour was already underway and would soon be brought to council's attention. Mehreen Shahid, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, OrilliaMatters.com
New research project aims to explore the challenges of rural firefighting
Lorne Head fell into volunteer firefighting almost by accident. In February 2010, a fire ripped through the fire hall in Baie Verte and destroyed all that was inside, including the department's two pumper trucks. The department got a replacement vehicle from the west coast, but there was a problem. No one in the department had air brake qualifications and there wasn't anyone to drive the vehicle. That's where Head comes in. An employee with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, he could operate a vehicle with air brakes, and he agreed to temporarily come onboard. Head has now spent 11 years on the fire department in Baie Verte, the last six of which have been as the town's fire chief. Lately, he's been thinking about the future of firefighting in the region and the challenges he faces. One of those is numbers. His department is getting older, and in the last year the department has lost members as they moved away. Right now, the Baie Verte department is down to 21 members. With work commitments, there are 10 to 12 firefighters available for fire calls during the workday. "It is a nervous few minutes to see who is going to respond to the call," said Head. The challenges facing rural firefighting and how to best navigate those hindrances will be the subject of an upcoming research project being done through a collaboration between the Marine Institute and the province's fire commissioner's office. It is being funded by a $54,500 grant from the International Grenfell Association, along with contributions from both the Insurance Bureau of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. Both of those contributions are $10,000 each. The two-year project will examine firefighting strategies and equipment used in volunteer firefighting departments, with an eye on declining populations. At the end there will be recommendations forwarded to departments on how they could best deal with issues through new firefighting methods and limiting risk to the community. "Our role is to gather the information," said Elizabeth Sanli, a researcher with the Marine Institute's ocean safety research unit and the project lead. "We're looking for helpful strategies and helpful tools." The project will be broken down into three phases, the first of which will have researchers delving into the subject through journal articles, previous research done by firefighting organizations and other documents relevant to what they're looking to address. They will focus on literature that focuses on challenges faced by other coastal and northern regions with dwindling firefighter numbers. "We want to make (fire departments) effective and as efficient as possible," said Sanli. From there, in the second phase, the group will formulate the strategies and equipment they've identified in the first phase. This could include examining things such as how the number of firefighters and the weather may effect each strategy. The results of the research will be published, and recommendations will be made to communities in the final phase of the project. One strategy Head believes will work is a focus on the regionalization of fire departments to maximize the number of firefighters in any particular region. It also maximizes the equipment necessary and allows the different departments to pursue other complementary goals. Many departments already pledge to help out neighbouring ones, but Head's idea could mean stronger numbers for a singular department. "I think one of the reasons regional fire departments have to start working is that you have to be able to draw from other towns," said Head. "Other towns helping us and we're helping other towns." Guy Oakley, the fire chief with the New-Wes-Valley Volunteer Fire Department, had an idea that could work with any form of regionalization. He says the province could look at forming a paid regional fire chief position in areas that take on regionalization. Oakley's department already works well with other fire departments in Bonavista North, he says, but such a position may help with the organization of that work. "I could see that working and making things better that way," said Oakley. Justice and Public Safety Minister Steve Crocker said he is looking forward to seeing the results of the project. A former firefighter in Heart's Delight-Islington, he was one of the younger members then and knows how some departments struggle with their aging members. He says the research project will prove valuable in providing a roadmap for how the province helps fire departments through any future challenges. "It's a strategy," said Crocker. "It is, how do we provide safety to people in the future." Nicholas Mercer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Central Voice
L'UQAT et la MRC de Témiscamingue s'engagent à développer une agriculture biologique
Dans l'objectif de favoriser le développement de l'agriculture biologique sur le territoire grâce à de nouvelles connaissances scientifiques, l'Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), en collaboration avec la MRC de Témiscamingue, visent de mettre en place une démarche d'envergure visant à favoriser le développement de grandes cultures biologiques dans la région. Un projet significatif pour l'UQAT Pour faire l'annonce de cette initiative, l'UQAT a organisé une conférence de presse afin de présenter ce projet des grandes cultures biologiques, mais aussi de souligner le soutien financier majeur accordé par la MRC de Témiscamingue. « C'est dans l'ADN de l'UQAT d'explorer les possibilités de recherche audacieuses et structurantes dans les territoires où elle est ancrée. L'Abitibi-Témiscamingue doit pouvoir bénéficier des éventuelles retombées humaines et économiques de la filière biologique. Ce nouveau projet est significatif, tant pour le développement de connaissances que celui du secteur agricole en Abitibi-Témiscamingue », soutient la vice-rectrice à l'enseignement, à la recherche et à la création, madame Manon Champagne. Offrir des connaissances de pointe L'UQAT prévoit à ce que le projet se déroulera sur un horizon de 8 ans. « La phase 1, d'une durée de 3 ans, comprend les phases préparatoires. Le potentiel d'affaires en agriculture biologique sur le territoire de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue sera documenté. Un état des lieux sera dressé puis un plan de développement stratégique sera établi. Une programmation de recherche visant à assurer la productivité des grandes cultures biologiques sera aussi élaborée » a indiqué le service des communications et du recrutement de l'UQAT. « Je suis très fière du lancement de cette démarche mobilisatrice, dont la première phase se déroulera au Témiscamingue, mais qui, ultimement, permettra d'offrir des connaissances de pointe directement applicables aux champs à tous les producteurs de la région intéressés par les grandes cultures biologiques », précise la directrice du centre du Témiscamingue de l'UQAT, madame Isabelle Ouellet. Un pôle d'excellence pour la MRCT Le soutien de la MRC de Témiscamingue est très déterminant dans le cadre de ce projet. Or, celle-ci a accordé un appui financier de 390 000 $ pour les trois premières années du projet. L'UQAT souligne qu'un premier montant de 210 000 $, soit 70 000 $ par année pour 2020, 2021 et 2022, provient du Fonds Régions Ruralité - Volet 3. Puis, une enveloppe de 180 000 $, elle aussi répartie sur 3 ans, a été octroyée à partir du Fonds de développement des territoires – volet 2. Lors de la conférence de presse organisée par l'UQAT, la préfète de la MRC de Témiscamingue, Mme Claire Bolduc, a précisé que « Le Témiscamingue a identifié les agricultures innovantes, notamment l'agriculture biologique, comme un de ses pôles d'excellence. En ce sens, mieux connaître et mettre en valeur le remarquable potentiel agronomique de ce territoire nous apparaît essentiel et pour y arriver, nous misons sur notre Université, par le biais du développement du savoir, des expertises et des compétences. L'UQAT est un partenaire majeur pour ce pôle d'excellence ». Moulay Hicham Mouatadid, Initiative de journalisme local, Reflet Témiscamien (Le)
2 days to U.S. president-elect Joe Biden's inauguration
Global News Washington bureau chief Jackson Proskow gives an update on the latest developments surrounding security preparation for President-elect Joe Biden's transition.
Facebook Inc said on Monday it had started the process of appointing a legal entity as a local representative in Turkey in compliance with a new social media law which critics have said will muzzle dissent. The company said its decision did not change its community standards, which outline what is and what is not allowed on Facebook, nor its process for reviewing government requests. "We will withdraw the representative if we face pressure on either," the company said in a statement, adding that it remains committed to maintaining free expression and other human rights in Turkey.
Connor McDavid's relentless drive for self-improvement is gift that keeps on giving
Leon Draisaitl offers his condolences to defencemen on the other six Canadian teams forced to contend with the foot speed of Connor McDavid this shortened NHL season. "It's so hard to defend," Draisaitl says of the Edmonton Oilers captain's burst up ice. "I wouldn't want to be that guy standing at the blue-line with him coming 1,000 miles an hour at me. He just has that gift that no one else has." Whether it be in practice or in games, Draisaitl and the Oilers routinely witness the magic of McDavid's gifts. At six-foot-three, 193 pounds, McDavid skates fast enough to garner speeding tickets in school zones. His drive to the net is relentless. His playmaking abilities sublime. WATCH | Ranking the North division: At age 24, the Richmond Hill, Ont., native is determined improve his game this season, if that's even possible for a player with 164 goals and 474 points in his first 354 NHL appearances. On the eve of training camp, McDavid told reporters that his team must do a better job of keeping the puck out of the Edmonton net. "No one's hiding their head in the sand here," he said at the time. "Everyone understands where we're at." And he plans to lead by example in that regard. "Offensively, I think I check off most of the boxes," he said. "Defensively is where it's at. It's the little things: stopping on pucks, winning battles, hounding pucks on the forecheck. Getting involved in battles and winning faceoffs. "It's just rounding out that game and being solid all over the ice." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada's seven NHL teams are playing only one another during the 56-game campaign. Treating the fans As such, Canadian hockey fans are in for a treat with McDavid on their tablets, smartphones, and televisions all season long — with many of his games in primetime for those in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. "We're all a little bit more careful against McDavid," said Montreal centre Phillip Danault. "We all know the speed he's got, his quick hands, quick edges. "I don't know how he changes directions like that, but that's one of his strengths." McDavid's many strengths took over the game last Thursday in a 5-2 victory for the Edmonton Oilers over the Vancouver Canucks. The captain dominated with a hat trick and four points. "He was exceptional," said Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green. "One of the best players in the world." With a game plan designed to minimize the damage inflicted by No. 97, the Canadiens limited McDavid to a lone assist Saturday night and, not coincidentally, beat the Oilers 5-1. WATCH | Connor McDavid dominates the Canucks: Leading the charge With the Canadiens up 1-0 in the first period, McDavid stripped the puck from Montreal forward Tyler Toffoli and roared up the ice on a breakaway. Montreal goalie Carey Price slammed his pads shut just in time. "You want to play against the best players in the world," Price says. "Connor, in my opinion, is the best player in the world. "He's so talented, and with his speed and his hands and his vision, it's a pleasure to share the ice with him." The question of who shares the ice with McDavid — on the home side — will no doubt dominate workday chats around the virtual water cooler this week in the Alberta capital. On Saturday, McDavid's linemate Zack Kassian missed the game due to the birth of his daughter Olivia. And the Canadiens were the more rested team. Still, Edmonton's depth looked shaky, especially in comparison to Montreal's contributions from all four lines and the back end. "They were definitely quicker than us," McDavid said. "They got the jump on us early and Price was solid all over. "Playing three games in three-and-half-days is a lot coming out the gate. But not making any excuses for ourselves. We have to be better. We have to win more battles." Rest assured; the captain will lead the charge.
Le Téléthon de la Ressource : Un engagement malgré la COVID-19
C'est, sous la présidence d'honneur de monsieur Jean Dion, fondateur du Groupe Dion, que se tient la vingt-quatrième campagne de financement de la Ressource pour personnes handicapées Abitibi-Témiscamingue/Nord-du-Québec. Depuis le début de la campagne, qui porte le thème « Ensemble, cultivons la bienveillance », les organisateurs suivent de près l'évolution des mesures sanitaires et les ordonnances du gouvernement afin de s'y conformer. « Dans les faits, depuis le tout début de la préparation du 24e Téléthon, nous travaillions déjà avec les règles de la santé publique édictés en mars dernier. Ces règles nous apportent un surplus de travail considérable. Mais le Téléthon est nécessaire et c'est pourquoi nous tenons à le réaliser » nous fais savoir le directeur général de la Ressource pour les personnes handicapées en Abitibi-Témiscamingue / Nord du Québec, monsieur Rémy Mailloux. Des artistes régionaux De la programmation au déroulement des activités ainsi que l'engagement du personnel, tout était pensé afin d'accomplir la mission dans les règles de l'art du contexte de la COVID-19. « Nous avons dû repenser complètement le déroulement du Téléthon. Nous nous sommes penchés sur chacune des actions posées durant les 6 heures du Téléthon et cela pour chacun des bénévoles qui le rendent possible » nous explique le directeur général de la Ressource pour les personnes handicapées « Les bénévoles et les artistes sont limités à un nombre minimal. 98 % de la programmation artistique fait appel à des artistes régionaux. Le band musical est presque entièrement composé de musicien régional à l'exception du directeur musical » a-t-il ajouté. Le guide de la CNESST respecté Des nouvelles mesures vont être mises en place à la suite des nouvelles ordonnances des autorités sanitaires et gouvernementales. « Ces règles nous obligent à repenser à toutes nos façons de faire. Il faut respecter la distanciation. Nous devons déplacer chacun des zones de travail et d'accueil que nous avions l'habitude d'aménager à l'intérieur du Théatre du cuivre. Depuis le début de la préparation de ce Téléthon nous travaillons selon le guide de la CNESST et nous avons fait un plan d'action afin de n'oublier aucune mesure à respecter » souligne Rémy Mailloux. Une émission télévisée ! Le Téléthon qui se tiendra sans public, son équipe continue de travailler en étroite collaboration avec les autorités de la santé publique. « Nous travaillons en étroite collaboration avec la santé publique dans le souci d'assurer la sécurité des artisans du Téléthon. Le Téléthon se tiendra sans public. Ça sera traité comme une émission télévisée. Durant le déroulement, toutes les personnes impliquées, les artistes par exemple devront porter le masque pour se rendre sur les lieux de leurs prestations » a déclaré le directeur général de la Ressource pour les personnes handicapées en Abitibi-Témiscamingue / Nord du Québec. Des objectifs déterminés Plusieurs objectifs sont fixés pour cette édition et les membres de la Ressources continuent de développer ses approches et repenser des nouveaux concepts afin d'accomplir sa mission auprès de sa communauté. « Nos objectifs sont de produire le Téléthon malgré toutes les restrictions en place et d'atteindre sinon dépasser le montant espéré soit 450 000 $ » souhaite Rémy Mailloux. « Les membres de la Ressources ont des besoins réels et légitimes. La Ressource veut continuer à répondre aux demandes qui lui sont adressé afin de contribuer au bien-être de ses membres » a-t-il conclu. Moulay Hicham Mouatadid, Initiative de journalisme local, Reflet Témiscamien (Le)
MILAN — Stellantis, the car company combining PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler, was launched Monday on the Milan and Paris stock exchanges, giving life to the fourth-largest auto company in the world. Stellantis shares rallied 7.6% in Milan to 13.53 euros ($16.32). CEO Carlos Tavares said during a virtual bell-ringing ceremony that the merger creates 25 billion euros in shareholder value. "The focus from day one will be on value creation from synergies, which will increase competitiveness vis-a-vis its peers," Tavares said. Stellantis has a new logo and will launch on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, due to the Monday U.S. bank holiday, followed by a press conference with Tavares. Chairman John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family, said that the new company has "the scale, the resources, the diversity and the knowledge to successfully capture the opportunities of this new era in transportation." The technological shift includes electrified powertrains as well as moves toward greater autonomous driving. The merger is aimed at creating 5 billion euros in annual savings. The new company will have the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, behind Volkswagen, Toyota and Renault-Nissan. Fiat Chrysler, which was created from the merger of the Italian and U.S. car companies in 2014, closed Friday down 4.35% at 12.57 euros, having gained in previous days. Its closing market capitalization was under 20 billion euros, far off its 2018 highs of more than 30 billion euros. Colleen Barry, The Associated Press
Biden plans to block Keystone XL pipeline
Global News correspondent Mike Le Couteur is following the developments around U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's plans to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day in office.


text:
Getty makes 35 million images free for sharing
A new tool from Getty will let you embed over 35 million photos from its image library for free into social media or blog posts.
Lexy Savvides
March 5, 2014 3:33 PM PST
Have you ever wanted to share a newsworthy image on a blog or on Facebook, but weren't sure how to credit it?
Licensing issues might not be at the front of your mind when you share a photo, which can lead to inadvertent breaches of copyright. Getty Images is introducing a new feature called Embed that will help end the ambiguity around image sharing for a large portion of its photo catalogue.
As long as it is for a non-commercial purpose, you can share a Getty image on platforms such as a blog, personal website, Facebook or Twitter, with attribution automatically applied. It works like any regular HTML embed code that you may be familiar with, using an iframe integration.
An example of Getty's Embed feature. (Credit: Getty Images)
"What we're trying to do is take a behaviour that already exists and enable it legally, then try to get some benefits back to the photographer primarily through attribution and linkage," said Craig Peters, senior vice president, business development, product and content at Getty Images.
In the past, users have been sharing content through what Peters calls a "right-click and take behaviour", which generally removes the image from its original context if there is no watermark. Through the Embed method, the metadata remains with the image and information is provided for users to click back through to Getty if they want to find out more or to license the image for other purposes.
"I equate this back to when you think about music, back before there was iTunes or Spotify," said Peters, "people were stealing imagery because they didn't have an alternative. Our job here is to provide a better alternative to stealing, not only one that's legal but one that's better. There are no watermarks beyond attribution, and hopefully with the ease of access and the ability to search through our entire archive of imagery, those are things that are actually better off when there's publishers who want to use our content."
At launch there will be in excess of 35 million images available from the most popular areas of Getty's catalogue. "There are certain collections that we don't feel are appropriate for [Embed], but for the majority we come at this saying our imagery is included for Embed. For the most part if it is an image that is available for licensing off of our website, not requiring additional permissions or uses, or not limited in its use cases, we will make that imagery available within the Embed model."
The initial outcome for the Embed model is to help make sharing images easier for the end user, and to maintain attribution for rights holders. But, monetisation is not ruled out in the future.
"Over time there are other monetisation options we can look at," he said. "That could be data options, advertising options. If you look at what YouTube has done with their embed capabilities, they are serving ads in conjunction with those videos that are served around the internet."
Getty's Embed feature is available now at gettyimages.com.
Photography Cameras
Discuss: Getty makes 35 million images free for sharing


Seven grandchildren at time of death. Member of Grove Lodge No. 824, A.F. and A.M. Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Medinah Shrine, and Telephone Pioneers of America.
[S3483] WWI Draft Registration Card of Albert George Oestmann, FamilySearch.org (National Archives & Records Administration).
[S1567] WWII Draft Registration Card of Albert George Oestmann, Ancestry.com (National Archives & Records Administration).


text:
Q: Apache2: PRNG still contains insufficient entropy I have an issue that my website is not served correctly over ssl (only sometimes / by random). When the website is not served I am getting the following record in my apache error log:

[ssl:warn] [pid 1849] AH01990: PRNG still contains insufficient
  entropy!

Do you have any idea where to search for the issue?

A: Ensure you have the /dev/urandom fallback specified:
SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
SSLRandomSeed startup "file:/dev/urandom" 1024
SSLRandomSeed connect builtin
SSLRandomSeed connect "file:/dev/urandom"  1024

And ensure you have a random entropy seeding application like haveged or rng-tools installed.
Apache will then fall back to using /dev/urandom when its builtin has insufficient entropy.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
require 'spec_helper'

RSpec.describe Ci::BuildReportResult do
  let(:build_report_result) { build(:ci_build_report_result, :with_junit_success) }

  describe 'associations' do
    it { is_expected.to belong_to(:build) }
    it { is_expected.to belong_to(:project) }
  end

  describe 'validations' do
    it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of(:project) }
    it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of(:build) }

    context 'when attributes are valid' do
      it 'returns no errors' do
        expect(build_report_result).to be_valid
      end
    end

    context 'when data is invalid' do
      it 'returns errors' do
        build_report_result.data = { invalid: 'data' }

        expect(build_report_result).to be_invalid
        expect(build_report_result.errors.full_messages).to eq(["Data must be a valid json schema"])
      end
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_name' do
    it 'returns the suite name' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_name).to eq("rspec")
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_duration' do
    it 'returns the suite duration' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_duration).to eq(0.42)
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_success' do
    it 'returns the success count' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_success).to eq(2)
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_failed' do
    it 'returns the failed count' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_failed).to eq(0)
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_errored' do
    it 'returns the errored count' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_errored).to eq(0)
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_skipped' do
    it 'returns the skipped count' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_skipped).to eq(0)
    end
  end

  describe '#tests_total' do
    it 'returns the total count' do
      expect(build_report_result.tests_total).to eq(2)
    end
  end
end


text:
-----Become a Flying Nun Community Member! -----Free Shipping in New Zealand/Aotearoa!-----
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Redeem Download Code
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FN147 The Clean - Vehicle (1990)
The Clean
All prices in New Zealand dollars.
Every once in a while a record comes along that it is so perfect it almost defies description.
The Clean's first full-length record Vehicle - falls into that bracket. Released in 1990, it is one of the catchiest, most insistent pop records from the Flying Nun discography. Melody Maker at the time described it as; so joyous, so completely unaffected and unpretentious its absurd. And that pretty much sums it up.
Recorded in London's Black Wing Studios, following the New Zealand trios re-union tour in the late 1980s, Vehicle is The Clean at their brilliant best. Right from the opening Drawing To A Whole to the beautiful Diamond Shine, these 13 tracks show a band coming back together in a celebration of noise.
Now available again on Flying Nun Records on double 12 LP and CD, the re-issue also includes the bonus live EP In-A-Live a recording of the one-off 1989 London gig that led to the reformation.
Drawing To A Whole
I Wait Around
The Blue
Some One
Diamond Shine
Getting To You
Big Soft Punch
FN002 The Clean - Tally Ho/Platypus (1981)
FN 003 The Clean – Boodle, Boodle, Boodle (1981)
GOOD001 The Clean - Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-So Sounds So-So, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten!! (1982)
LAST 1 The Clean - Getting Older (1982)
FN045 Various - Tuatara - A Flying Nun Compilation (1985)
FNANDA 63 The Clean - Compilation (1986)
LDC 001 The Clean - Live Dead Clean (1986)
FN209 Various - Getting Older 1981-1991 (1991)
FN210 Various - Pink Flying Saucers Over The Southern Alps (1991)
FN292 The Clean - Modern Rock (1994)
FN223 The Clean - Odditties (1994)
The Clean - Unknown Country (1996)
FN402 Various - Topless Women Talk About Their Lives (1997)
FN425 Various - Scarfies (1999)
FN459 The Clean - Getaway (2001)
FNCD021 Various - Under The Influence - 21 Years Of Flying Nun Records (2002)
FN466 Various - Miller Genuine Draft (2002)
FN468 The Clean - Anthology (2002)
Various - Speed Of Sound (2003)
© 2021 Flying Nun
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Mr. Saksena has lived and worked in the London area since 2002. He lives in North London with his wife, who is a Consultant Anaesthetist, and their two children.
Mr. Saksena initially trained in Scotland at the University of Dundee. After graduating with honours in 1995, he then went on to complete core surgical training in the UK and Australia. Following this he completed specialist orthopaedic training at the prestigious Royal London Hospital, The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and the Royal Free Hospital and Wellington Knee Unit.
Since 2009, Mr. Saksena has been a consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon, and in the same year also began to expand his work to include medical training. In 2009 he began work as an honorary senior lecturer at the Whittington Hospital, in addition to performing a role as a locum consultant. Currently he is a Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon for the Barnet & Chase Farm Hospitals Trust, and a Director of Medical Education at the Royal Free London NHS Trust.
Mr. Saksena currently serves as a faculty member on three orthopaedic courses, and is a member of the British Orthopaedic Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the British Hip Society, and the AO Alumni. In addition, Mr. Saksena is an author reviewer for several prestigious journals, including the British Medical Journal, the Journal of Case Reports, and The Knee.
Mr. Saksena's main clinical interests include hip and knee replacement, arthroscopic surgery, and knee reconstruction and preservation. He is keenly interested in procedures that help preserve the integrity of the hip and knee joints, particularly in younger patients. He regularly performs total knee replacement, total hip replacement, hip arthroscopy, knee arthroscopy, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, and joint preservation procedures.
Mr. Saksena is also passionate about staying abreast of new innovations in the field of orthopaedics, and regularly attends national and international scientific events. He has been involved in designing and testing several new orthopaedic implants, and has also adopted the use of 3D computer-aided design to improve the service he provides to patients.
In his research, Mr. Saksena's main interests lie in improving the outcomes of surgical procedures, and improving quality of life for people who undergo hip and knee surgery. By developing approaches that improve the patient experience from pre-op to post-op, he hopes to improve surgical outcomes and enhance patient recovery for those who undergo hip and knee procedures.


text:
California Loosens Water Cutbacks In Drought
Published April 22, 2016 at 4:10 AM PDT
The Almaden Reservoir is filled after series of storms in San Jose, March 14, 2016.
Drought: Running Dry In California
California will deliver more water this year than it has for each of the last three, as spring storms have nearly filled the state's major reservoirs, officials said Thursday.
Water districts serving nearly a million acres of farmland and 40 million residents will receive 60 percent of the water they requested, the state Department of Water Resources announced.
March storms soaked Northern California after a mostly dry February, said officials, urging residents to continue conserving because the state remains in drought, and it remains unclear what next winter will bring.
"Conservation is the surest and easiest way to stretch supplies," Mark Cowin, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. "We all need to make the sparing, wise use of water a daily habit."
This is California's fifth consecutive drought year and the fourth such increase in recent months of the allocation, which started in December at 10 percent. In 2014, the agency provided clients as little as 5 percent of what they requested for the year.
Northern California this winter received significantly more wet weather than the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, where reservoirs remain low. Officials say it will take several years for California to recover from the dry spell.
Residents statewide for now remain under orders to use at least 20 percent less water than they did before the drought.
Environment CaliforniaWater


text:
ranger222
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda -- Aggies fall in another big game at Kyle Field
Stop me if we have heard this story before -- big-time match-up coming into Kyle Field. Eyes of the nation on College Station. Texas A&M opens up with a double-digit lead. Game ends with the Texas A&M faithful hanging their heads as they walk out. What went wrong, yet again?
By Ranger222 Oct 20, 2012, 3:32pm CDT
Share All sharing options for: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda -- Aggies fall in another big game at Kyle Field
Let's get to it. You should hear the snap of the rubber gloves your doctor is putting on here. It will be painful.
NO OFFENSIVE CREATIVITY AFTER 12-0 -- Actually, Kliff Kingsbury's playcalling went out the window after the throwback pass to Ben Malena was called back for cut blocking on an LSU defender in space. After that, we had no direction to what we were doing. LSU came into the game with four down lineman and one linebacker playing spy on Manziel. To counter, we went to the edge and it worked, letting us jump out to a 9-0 lead. But then the LSU coaching staff adjusted just like a good coaching staff does. They went to three down lineman, leaving more linebackers up to run sideline to sideline. Once that adjustment was made, we had no answer. Nothing to the inside to counter (or at least that often to make a difference). No power run game. No motions or misdirections to keep the defense off balance and slow them down. No draws. One or two screens. Instead, Kingsbury elected to put the game on the arm and legs of Johnny Manziel. That worked against Arkansas and Louisiana Tech. It didn't work against the speed of LSU. Surprise.
I really thought we would see an expanded playbook today. I found out we really don't have that much of a playbook at all. We have the scramble by Johnny. The short 5 yard pass. The inside run. The throw to the edge for a yard. The "just throw the ball deep and hope something happens". And the "OH GAWD JOHNNY NO, NO, NO....YES YES YES!". That's about it. Disappointing because with 7 games played, we should be doing so much more with the talent we have on offense.
LET'S JUST GIVE THE BALL TO YOU -- Turnovers. Four of them. Let's count:
1) Miscommunication by Manziel and Thomas Johnson on a pass pattern
2) Ben Malena fumble in the two minute drill that gave LSU the lead for good before halftime
3) Mike Evans looking at the open field in front of him instead of making sure he caught the ball leading to a tip and interception.
4) Johnny being Brett Favre on a scramble
I can understand the miscommunication by two freshman. That happens. Ben Malena fumbling and the Evans tip are just inexcusable against a team like LSU at home. Those are the type of bone-headed plays that have cost us. And Johnny will be Johnny at times, especially under pressure to make a play. That's really all there is to say.
We still have to grow up and move out of the diapers. Can't quit shitting ourselves in these contests.
MISSED MOMENTUM -- Yeah, this is where I bring up the missed field goal in the 4th quarter. Being down 17-12 late, Trey Williams' runback inside the twenty gave A&M life it dearly needed. With a dime look, A&M elected to run a QB sneak. It was there; Johnny just decided to run into one of his lineman. A botched snap and a poor pass later, you are faced kicking a chip-shot field goal and missing, sucking all the momentum out of Kyle.
I'm not going to place the blame on Bertolet like some will. In fact, I will put 20-25% on him. Fact is, we should have scored a touchdown with that field position. Have to. But with no substance to the offense, you couldn't covert when you needed it most. That's on the playcalling and execution by the offense.
And the kicking game.....let's get this straight. Bertolet has been reportedly fighting a bum ankle for about a month. If your kicker is in fact hurt, you do have other kickers on your roster, especially for a home game. In fact, if you look at the A&M roster, you see 5 placekickers listed. Davis Plowman was the kicker who competed with Bertolet throughout all of fall camp. Give the young man a chance. Don't be stubborn about it like the previous coaching staff was. That is why they aren't in Aggieland anymore. I can understand not taking another kicker on the road when you have a travel squad of 75 players per NCAA rules and want to use the roster spot for someone else. But at home when everyone suits up? College kickers don't always make 50 yard field goals. But they better make extra points and 30-yarders. I won't say special teams cost us the game and no one should; but it didn't help. And this is disappointing when Brian Polian is, what I consider to be, one of (if not) the top college special teams coaches in the country.
JOHNNY CAN'T ALWAYS BE GOOD -- Offense sputtered against Florida in the second half after adjustments by the defense. This time, it only took the second quarter. Yes, this offense will break SEC records against the Louisiana Techs of the world, but can they beat a good defense like LSU? They had LSU on their heels until the weight of the offense was put squarely on Johnny's shoulders. Some problems manifested once again for Johnny -- there were open receivers in the game against man coverage in the middle of the field once again and he took his eyes off the downfield routes just a tad too quick. But, you can't have your whole offense be Johnny Manziel. You gotta give some of the load to Christine Michael and Ben Malena, especially against a favorable defensive front. Receivers have to step up and get open. And did we use a tight end at all during this game? I realize Kingsbury wanted to spread out the LSU defense, but I would have liked to see more power runs with big sets that were working early (like on the first drive before we trashed them for some reason). More action with motions and fakes in the backfield to slow the LSU rush and linebackers. But we saw none of that! Instead, it was the scramble drill for most of the game or the "throw it deep and hope something happens." That worked at Houston when your receivers could beat Conference USA defenders with straight speed. It won't work in the SEC. Sumlin and Kingsbury better get more people involved or upcoming games against Mississippi State and Alabama will be just as bad.
DEFENSIVE DEPTH SHOWS ITS UGLY ASS FACE -- I won't say anything bad about the defense and Mark Snyder's gameplan. Just like against Florida, they played their asses off. They only were beaten when LSU was given favorable field position thanks to turnovers. However, in the 4th quarter, the LSU attack finally broke them down. But that is what happens when the roster has depth issues at defensive line and linebacker, and only plays 17 players on defense throughout the game. With more talent coming in, hopefully we can go toe-to-toe in upcoming years. But they were great today.
SOAK UP YOUR WOES ON THE ROAD -- Many will point to next Saturday's contest against Auburn as an automatic W. But heed my warning -- it's hard to win on the road in the SEC with a young team in a night contest versus a team that was just beat down in a clobberfest. Auburn lost to Vanderbilt? Who cares. They get to redeem themselves at home next weekend. IT'S A TRAP.


text:
Couple recovering after fishing boat sinks in Shem Creek, prompts fuel spill
by: Riley Benson
Posted: Dec 6, 2021 / 05:49 PM EST / Updated: Dec 10, 2021 / 10:36 AM EST
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – It was a difficult morning for a young couple and after their commercial fishing boat sunk in Shem Creek sometime during the early morning hours, spilling around 100 gallons of fuel into the creek as it went down.
"We woke up this morning, came down to check the boat as normal," said one of the boat's owners. But things were anything but normal. Their source of income was gone.
"It's a livelihood… It was going to put food on our table."
"Got an upset daughter but we're trying to keep our cool and cool minds prevail," said the boat's owner. "Keeping faith in the lord."
"It's a lot of hard work gone but you know what, it's just one more step," says one of the owners. "We just have to keep our composure. It's just a big old bump in the road, one foot in front of the other and keep on going forward. That's just life of a commercial fisherman."
Boaters asked to avoid Shem Creek as Coast Guard, local agencies clean up fuel spill
Officials believe a pump failure could've caused the boat to take on water. Booms were deployed to contain the spilled fuel and officials believe most impacts were mitigated.
The Department of Natural Resources, Coast Guard, Mount Pleasant Fire Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Hazmat, conservancy agencies, and fisherman all lent a hand to help get the boat upright.
As of 5:30 p.m. the Hampton Caroline was raised from the water.
Breeze Airways one day flash sale offers $35 fares from Charleston to 13 destinations


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Home Posts tagged "broadcast stations"
Tag: broadcast stations
"Will Comcast Join the NAB?" Measuring the Merger On The Trade Association Scale
Harold December 3, 2009 - 7:17 pm April 5, 2012 Cable, Tales of the Sausage Factory access provider, association of broadcasters, broadband access, broadcast spectrum, broadcast stations, cable operators, national association of broadcasters
Few rivalries in the media world match those of cable operators and broadcasters. Since the first cable regulation by the FCC to prevent cable operators from importing blacked out sports events and "distant signals" that threatened local broadcast content back in the 1960s, broadcasters and cable operators have constantly sought regulatory advantage over one another. Broadcasters once ruled video as its unchallenged masters. Then came cable, which became the dominant platform for delivery of video. But broadcasting continues to aggregate mass audiences and produce more popular programming. Despite all the yapping about how no one can tell broadcast and cable apart anymore, neither one can survive without the other, but both have radically different interests. As a result, the broadcasters and the cable operators, and therefore their trade associations, are constantly at loggerheads.
The fact that Comcast, after acquiring NBC's broadcast stations, will be eligible to join the National Association of Broadcasters, underscores just how radically and completely the proposed Comcast acquisition of NBC extends Comcast's reach into every sector of communication. In ideological terms, it is rather like Vatican City joining the Arab League. But that's not the only powerful trade association Comcast would now be eligible to join. Comcast will also be able to join the MPAA. Depending on how it develops its broadcast spectrum and other wireless assets, it could join CTIA and other wireless trade associations. These, of course, join the already impressive list of trade associations Comcast already belongs to as the largest broadband access provider, one of the largest residential phone companies, purchasers of telecommunications equipment, etc.
So I propose a new metric for measuring antitrust impact of mergers, the uniquely Washington "Trade Association Scale." How many trade associations will you qualify for after the merger. If the number is too high, that shows you are getting into far too many lines of business to be healthy, because you have too much influence on everybody else's business. And on the Trade Association Scale, the Comcast/NBC merger ranks a 10 out of 10.
More below . . .
This Genuine Commemorative 1993 Petition for Recon Available If You Act Within 30 Days
Harold May 21, 2007 - 9:34 pm July 24, 2012 Life In The Sausage Factory, Media Ownership, Spectrum, Tales of the Sausage Factory broadcast stations, broadcasters, cable act, damn thing, fcc, law school, local community, media access project, petition, s media
Back before I finished law school, my employer Media Access Project was arguing that broadcast stations that did nothing but air program-length commercials (aka the Home Shopping Network and its various clones) did not serve the public interest and therefore did not deserve one of the scarce licenses made available for broadcast television. This being back in the day when there was still some expectation that broadcasters needed to demonstrate that they served the "public interest, convenience and necessity" as required by the statute, you understand. i.e. a long time ago.
As part of the 1992 Cable Act, Congress forced the FCC to have a proceeding to determine if stations that did only home shopping served the public interest. Unsurprisingly, the FCC found that there is a vital public interest need for people who could not otherwise get zirconium diamonds or commemorative collectors plates.
And you wonder why we learned to treat the "public interest" as a joke?
Anyway, my boss, Andy Schwartzman, filed a petition for reconsideration after the FCC issued its decision in 1993. Under the statute, you must file a petition for reconsideration before going to court. So MAP filed, arguing that the Commission had not really done its job when it claimed that Home Shopping Network and other such stations served the local community, and that the Commission had failed to consider other valuable uses of the spectrum.
And there the matter sat — for fourteen bloody years! — with us unable to go to court until the Commission resolved the damn thing. It became something of a joke. Every year, Andy would have a meeting with the Chairman of the FCC, and every year would ask about this petition. Every time someone new got named as head of the FCC's Media Bureau, we'd trundle over with our wish list of outstanding proceedings, and at the top of the list was always Petition for Reconsideration in Docket No. 93-8. And every time, the Chairman or the Chief of the Media Bureau would promise to look into the matter. And the matter sat….and sat…..and sat….
Until Kevin Martin, under pressure from the new Democratic Congress, started putting the squeeze on the FCC staff to get the damn backlog under control. And then — Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles! — the staff decided to address our pending Petition for Recon. Of course, by this time, the record had gotten a tad "stale" (more like "mummified") so the Bureau issued a Public Notice soliciting comment to refresh the record.
Aside from my personal venting, however, why should anyone care? After all, how many home shopping channels are there at this point (not broadcasters who run infomercials from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., I mean broadcasters who only show home shopping)?
Because, as explained below, this proceeding actually provides an important opportunity to make two points. First, that the public interest really does matter. After years of neglect, there is (I hope) a body of very angry people ready to tell the FCC that the Commission cannot get away with treating the statutory requirement to serve the local community as a joke; that endless chances to buy adorable porceline figurines of kittens do not make up for the total absence of local programming and coverage of meaningful local news. Second, that there are plenty of more valuable uses for broadcast spectrum, like say opening it up for unlicensed use.
"Our Viewers Don't Need News! One percent of time is too much already!"
Harold January 7, 2007 - 3:36 pm January 7, 2007 General, Tales of the Sausage Factory association of broadcasters, broadcast stations, media access project, petition, petitions, politicians
In the last week of December, my employer Media Access Project filed Petition to Deny the television license renewals in the Portland-Salem market in Oregon. As detailed in the Pettition to Deny, the broadcast stations spent only 1% of time in October covering local elections. We argue that this amounts to a complete failure under any standard by these stations, individually and collectively, to meet their obligations to their local viewing areas. (We filed similar Petitions, still pending, against stations in Milwaukee and Chicago.)
Bill Johnstone, spokesman for the Oregon Association of Broadcasters did not dispute the findings of the study on which MAP based the Petition to Deny. Instead, Mr. Johnstone asserted that the the one percent was too much. Mr. Johnstone argued that one percent of time devoted to local political news for the people of Oregaon (or at least, the Salem-Portland market) was "more than our fill." Indeed, Mr. Johnstone reckons that folks is generally sick of all that politics and news stuff because (and I am not making this up) "Very few politicians can tell the truth." Mr. Johnstone also opined that it served the puiblic to make broadcast a local-politics free zone because "given everything else that the public has access to — the Internet, the ads they see and hear, the billboards, the unwelcome calls from candidates" the public must be plum sick of news.
This, of course, explains why broadcasters keep dropping the amount of local news available to the public (as documented in places like the Project on Excellence in Journalism). It's a public service to provide viewers with a refuge from all that unwelcome input from reality.
At least they are no longer relying on the obviously false statement that they are only "giving the public what they want" and that "if people wanted to see more 'hard news, we'd broadcast that." As surveys and analysis continue to show audineces fed up with the lack of news fleeing in droves to other media. No, apparently the public is best served by making the broadcast media a "safe haven" from news. And broadcasters are courageously willing to take the hit on audience share to do it!
Now some of you might think that if, as Mr. Johnstone thinks, most politicians can't tell the truth, that actual journalists might have the job of exposing those lies and challenging these politicians. In fact, if local news programs started doing that regularly, politicians might try lying less and telling the truth more.
Silly people! That is no longer what we rely on "journalists" and "news" for. According the the FCC, we now rely on such programs and "Howard Stern," the "Tonight Show," and "Good Morning America." Each of these, the FCC has assured us, is a bona fide news program. And, as the broadasters constantly tell us at the FCC, we have the internet now! "The internet" amazingly gives us all our news. In fact, as Mr. Johnstone explains, the internet and paid political advertising provide so much news that it falls to the brave broadcast media to provide a "safe harbor" where we can insulate ourselves from all this inconvenient news by getting updates every five minutes on the latest celebrity scandal, heartwarming pet trick, or desperate family missing their vacation in Disneyworld due to snow in Denver.
So keep hope, people of Portland and Salem Oregon, you're local broadcasters are looking out for you! If you, like Mr. Johnstone, thought 1% of time covering local politics in 2006 was too much, then sleep easy. We can promise you that, if things keep going as they're going, you'll be even safer from accidental exposure to news in 2008.
Or, if you feel different, you can meet the rest of us down at the National Conference on Media Reform this week and help us plan on how to turn things around.
NAB Turkey of A Report
Harold November 23, 2006 - 10:59 pm February 24, 2013 Tales of the Sausage Factory association of broadcasters, broadcast stations, consumers union, nab, national association of broadcasters, viacom, white spaces
As reported at Consumers Union Hearusnow.org blog The National Association of Broadcasters has done its best to show that owning broadcast stations loses money. Unsurprisingly, they recommend relaxing local ownership rules to allow owners to chase the happy, mythical synergy rainbow that has proven such a winner for Clear Channel, Tribune, Viacom and growing list of companies that absorbed profitable businesses and turned them into failing operations ladden with debt.
We shall leave aside the absurdity of the NAB's arguments for the moment to get to something even sillier, the absurdity of the NAB's math. Not since fictional Fundamentalists supposedly redefined Pi as 3 has ideology so distorted the basic precepts of mathematics. Worse, these are not accidents or "fudging." I count no fewer than two major errors in methodology or presentation per page as well as many major methodological errors that impact the paper overall.
How bad is this paper? It is so bad that you would expect it to appear in the "April Fools" edition of Econometrica. It is so bad that I would expect its author, Theresa J Ottina, to be banned for life from meetings of the American Economic Association. It is so bad that every professor of economics and statistical analysis should download it and give it to their class as a final exam question to see if the class can spot all the errors as a kind of economics "Where's Waldo" of mistakes, gaffes, and deceits. It is such a botched attempt at a lie by statistical analysis that I have half a mind to file a complaint with the FCC requesting they sanction NAB and Ms. Ottina for violating the FCC's requirement that submissions reflect an honest effort to provide true information (a certification NAB made in its filing).
What makes it so bad? And why does the NAB submit such a piece of obvious crap?
See below . . . .


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There's a neat post over at MetaFilter on spy satellites and how they are being used to highlight inefficient housing. A community in London have used thermal imaging to find houses that leak the most heat, then they put the map online.
This is part of an effort to get residents to improve the insulation on their houses in order to cause less environmental damage.