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Starts With A Bang — October 9, 2019
Advances Vs. Consequences: What Does The 21st Century Have In Store For Humanity?
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Technology holds the promise of a better future, but our footprint on the planet threatens to undo all our dreams and progress.
It's pretty easy to look at the world we live in today and come away feeling either extremely pessimistic or optimistic, depending on which aspects you focus on. Optimistically, you could look at our life expectancy, our technological conveniences, our high standard of living and the scientific breakthroughs we continue to make and pursue. From biotech to space exploration, from robotics to artificial intelligence, the present is incredible and the future looks even brighter.
Of course, there's the flipside: a pessimistic point of view. Even a coarse look at the world shows a growing rejection of science in favor of ideology on issues from climate change to vaccinations to dental health to whether the Earth is flat or humans have landed on the Moon. We are rolling back environmental protections and seeing a rise in bigotry, isolationism, and authoritarianism. Our prospects are simultaneously both bright and dim, and what the 21st century holds will depend largely on our collective actions during the next critical decade.
This 1989 image was taken just one year after a catastrophic wildfire destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of land and burned down countlessly many lodgepole pine trees. However, the very next year, wildflowers littered the burned forest landscape, one of the first major steps in the regrowth and regeneration of this ecosystem. Humans may wreak havoc on the planet, but nature will recover. The question of how resilient human civilization is has not yet been determined. (JIM PEACO / NPS)
When you think about your own dreams for the future of humanity, what does it include? Do you think about the existential, large-scale problems the world is facing today, and how we might improve them? Depending on where you live and what issues plague your local corner of the globe, you might see:
plants and animals struggling to survive in locations where they've previously thrived for millennia,
extinction rates rising,
food and water insecurities,
increases in wildfire, hurricane, drought, and other extreme weather frequency and/or severity,
mass extinctions and deforestation,
all while we burn more fossil fuels and consume more energy, as a planet, than ever before.
The Patagonian glaciers of South America are sadly among the fastest melting in the world, but their beauty is undeniable. This photo was taken by the International Space Station, which completes a full orbit around Earth in approximately 90 minutes. Just minutes earlier, the ISS was flying over a tropical rainforest, showcasing how small our planet truly is and how a huge diversity of ecosystems are threatened by the changes humans have wrought upon our planet. (FYODOR YURCHIKHIN / RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY)
The history of humanity is a history of survival through endurance, tool-making and tool use, and through outsmarting every other form of nature: animal, plant, fungus, and even non-living threats. We have leveraged our acquired knowledge of the natural world  — including the laws and rules that govern how it works  — to rise to prominence and defeat so many of the natural challenges that every other species has been constrained by.
The development of agriculture, first by farming and later through ranching, revolutionized humanity's relationship with food. Sanitation, through infrastructure projects like granaries, sewers, and (more recently) transit systems have enabled our population centers to grow from villages to towns to cities to the modern metropolis. And the industrial revolution, coupled with the rise of electricity, has led humanity to conquer a multitude of inconvenient obstacles, including even the darkness of night itself.
This composite image of the Earth at night shows the effects of artificial lighting on how our planet appears along the portion that isn't illuminated by sunlight. This image was constructed based on 1994/1995 data, and the intervening 25 years have seen approximately a twofold increase in the amount of light humans create at night on Earth. We have conquered the night, but only at a great environmental cost. (CRAIG MAYHEW AND ROBERT SIMMON, NASA GSFC; DATA FROM MARC IMHOFF/NASA GSFC & CHRISTOPHER ELVIDGE/NOAA NGDC)
But our dominance over the environment and our technological progress comes with a cost: as we've gained the ability to transform our planet, we've ended up transforming it in more ways than we imagined. This was true in the 20th century as well, as problems like:
antibiotic-resistant disease,
the dust bowl,
air pollution and skyrocketing asthma and COPD rates,
unsafe drinking water,
acid rain,
and the hole in the ozone layer,
all plagued our society. Each one of these problems, at the time, seemed like an existential threat to our advanced civilization continuing as we know it.
The famed 'dust bowl' of the 1930s occurred in the United States as a combination of sustained drought, winds, and sub-optimal farming practices led to an agricultural disaster. Elsewhere in the world, these conditions, even with better farming practices, are still at risk of arising. Here, young Australian boy Harry Taylor plays on the dust bowl his family farm became during the 2018 drought. This drought was cited by many as the worst in recorded history, rivaling the catastrophe of 1902 that no one who lived through it is still alive to recount. (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
However, for each of these problems, humanity was able to band together and address these obstacles. Improved sanitation practices and new medical therapies help manage or even cure those afflicted with a myriad of infectious diseases and illnesses. Better farming practices have ended the risk of another dust bowl. Air and water regulations make it safe for us to breathe air and drink water.
Even the two most recent problems we faced  — acid rain and the ozone layer  — were able to be solved. Through worldwide agreements on what can and cannot be produced and sold to consumers, we've seen the pH of rain return to normal and the hole in the ozone has not only stopped growing, but has begun to repair itself.
From 1998 to the present, the mid-latitudes of Earth have seen a rise in ozone levels in the upper stratosphere. However, the lower stratosphere indicates an offset of the same magnitude. This is evidence that even as the hole in the ozone repairs itself, we must remain vigilant in ensuring this problem is as thoroughly 'solved' as we think our actions should have rendered it. (W.T. BALL ET AL. (2018), ATMOS. CHEM. PHYS. DISCUSS., DOI.ORG/10.5194/ACP-2017–862)
Of course, the 21st century poses challenges for humanity that we've never faced before. The internet has been a great force for the worldwide spread and access of factual information in places where it had previously never reached, but it's also a great force for the spread of misinformation. We've explored more of our planet than ever, and are realizing that humanity is responsible for a currently ongoing mass extinction that Earth has not witnessed for tens of millions of years.
The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is higher than humans have ever experienced. Global average temperatures continue to rise, as do sea levels, now at an accelerated rate, and will continue to do so for decades. The human population continues to grow, and the past 12 months has seen our species add more CO2 to the atmosphere than any other 12 month span in history.
Although the CO2 emissions produced by the United States this past year is still 13% below the 2005 maximum produced in this country, the world's total emissions have jumped by 23% since that same time. The past few years have seen a continued increase in global greenhouse gas emissions, as energy use has taken off largely due to the rise of new computing practices like Blockchain and Cryptocurrency. (US ENERGY INFORMATION ASSOCIATION / EIA.GOV)
We now live in a time where the actions of a small group of people  — whether through malicious or benign intentions  — are capable of leading to global catastrophe. It's not just climate change or the threat of nuclear war that hangs over us; it's a slew of facts.
It matters that a mass extinction is occurring right now: we're destroying this planet's proverbial "book of life" before we've even read it.
It matters that computers are permeating ever-increasing facets of our life, as humanity's recently rising electricity use (after a plateau earlier this decade) is almost entirely due to new computational uses, like cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
It matters that the population is greater than ever before, as managing and distributing the edible food and drinkable water we produce is a greater challenge than ever before.
This August 2019 photograph shows wheat fields (foreground) and canola fields (towards the horizon) grown for food and oil to be pressed from the plant's seed, respectively. According to the South African government's statistical service, "The agriculture, forestry and fishing industry decreased by 13,2% in (2019's) first quarter. The decrease was mainly because of a drop in the production of field crops and horticultural products". Drought, climate change, economic downturn, security issues in rural areas, and uncertainty about the future of land reform in South Africa all pose difficulties for the food, water, and even the economic security of the country. (RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images)
The big questions facing our species now is how we will tackle these problems, and many of the other existential worries facing humanity today. Can we survive our technological infancy? Can we overcome our greed, our bigotries, and our squabbling nature? Can we band together to find and enact solutions that benefit us all: friend and foe alike?
This Wednesday, October 2, 2019, at 7 PM Eastern Time (4 PM Pacific Time), Sir Martin Rees of Cambridge will deliver a public lecture at Perimeter Institute entitled "Surviving the Century." Martin's latest book, On The Future: Prospects For Humanity, was released in 2018, and his lecture will closely follow much of the ground covered in that tome.
I'm so pleased to be able to live-blog this talk, which you can follow along with in real-time below, or by reading at any time after the conclusion of the lecture. It's always wonderful to get a firsthand perspective on science and society from someone who's concerned with the ever-changing role of a good scientist — who pushes our understanding forward for the betterment of humanity — and their responsibility to society.
After all, as climate scientist Ben Santer eloquently put it:
"[I]f you spend your entire career trying to advance understanding, you can't walk away from that understanding when someone criticizes it or criticizes you. There's no point in being a scientist if you walk away from everything you devoted your life to."
Our understanding of practically everything is more advanced than ever. Maybe, if we listen to that understanding, we can figure out the best way forward.
(The live-blog will begin, below, just before 7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific time. All times are displayed in bold and in Pacific time, and correspond to the actual time the commentary was published.)
The relationship between distance modulus (y-axis, a measure of distance) and redshift (x-axis), along with the quasar data, in yellow and blue, with supernove data in cyan. The red points are averages of the yellow quasar points binned together. While the supernova and quasar data agree with one another where both are present (up to redshift of 1.5 or so), the quasar data goes much farther, indicating a deviation from the constant (solid line) interpretation. Note how quasar redshifts are not quantized in any way. (G. RISALITI AND E. LUSSO, ARXIV:1811.02590)
3:55 PM: Welcome! The public lecture is just a few minutes away, and I realize that many of you might not know who Martin Rees is or why he's such a big deal. Martin is an astrophysicist and cosmologist who's worked on black holes, quasars, the cosmic microwave background, and understanding how cosmic structure forms.
To the older people in physics/astronomy, he's probably best known for using quasar distributions to disprove the idea of the steady-state theory even after the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background. To younger people, he's best known for working on uncovering how the "dark ages" ended (when enough stars had formed that the UV radiation flooding the Universe reionized it), and uncovering the link between black holes and quasars.
The prediction of the Hoyle State and the discovery of the triple-alpha process is perhaps the most stunningly successful use of anthropic reasoning in scientific history. (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS USER BORB)
3:59 PM: More recently, Martin Rees has been more interested in the intersection of science, ethics, and policy/politics, but also in anthropic reasoning: the idea that we can say meaningful things about reality just from the fact that we exist, and therefore the Universe must exist in such a way that makes our existence possible.
If you worry that this treads troublingly close to religion, the short answer is: it can. Let's see how well Martin Rees toes the line tonight!
The signs of the zodiac and horoscopes are common, but the motion of the planets do not affect the lives or dispositions or personalities of humans in any discernible scientific fashion. (GETTY)
4:04 PM: No, Martin Rees will not do your horoscopes. He says that scientists are rotten forecasters, but they're not as bad as economists.
Ha ha.
Let's hope that's the end of "punching down" towards less rigorous disciplines than physics and astronomy.
4:07 PM: Martin Rees is talking about population growth. And yes, it's been fast and enormous recently, but there's not going to be a population explosion that last for infinitely long (or increase exponentially indefinitely). Instead, most models predict that population will plateau at around 10–11 billion humans, and that's it. But yes: 9 billion by mid-century is a big number to feed by mid-century, and it's coming fast.
Agricultural sprinklers giving water by intermission to Leek plants. Conventional farming may not be enough to feed a rising population. (GETTY)
4:09 PM: He's speaking about the need to feed the planet, and talking about Gandhi's famous "there's enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed." He's talking about population projections far into the future, and the big problem of "how do we feed all these people," but there are many reasons to hope.
For one, population levels off as economic prosperity increases. This is happening in Asia already, has already happened in the Americas and Europe, and the biggest uncertainty is when will this happen in Africa. Rees's prediction that "Nigeria alone will have 900 million people" by the end of the century is the most pessimistic one I've heard since Paul Ehrlich's discredited "population bomb" idea.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere can be determined from both ice core measurements, which easily go back hundreds of thousands of years, and by atmospheric monitoring stations, like those atop Mauna Loa. The increase in atmospheric CO2 since the mid-1700s is staggering, and continues unabated. (CIRES & NOAA)
4:13 PM: And yes, of course, CO2 is increasing, the planet is getting warmer, the sea levels are rising, and all of these problems are getting worse, faster, as time goes on.
Rees is also being careful about mentioning uncertainties: in population, in CO2, and in the range of uncertainty of climate models and fossil fuel scenarios.
4:15 PM: This is a good point and one that I normally make in different contexts: world policy is made by the voters (and the incumbents who court those voters for re-election) of first-world countries and what their representatives think will be popular. However, the roadmap to a low-carbon future is challenging, as the benefits will mostly trickle to relatively underdeveloped countries.
That's a hard political sell: do something that makes things more expensive for you, in the short-term, to make the quality of life better for others in the long-term.
A fusion device based on magnetically confined plasma. Hot fusion is scientifically valid, but has not yet been practically achieved to reach the 'breakeven' point. (PPPL MANAGEMENT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, FROM THE FIRE PROJECT)
4:18 PM: So, what are the solutions? For energy, Rees mentions solar, wind, conservation, and new nuclear reactors, as well as research into fusion. This should be a no-brainer option: we need to introduce clean and economical systems of energy generation, because energy use is predicted to continue rising; the only way to reduce our carbon footprint under those conditions is to produce more electricity, and to do it in a greener fashion.
Signs and protesters from the 2013 March Against Monsanto in Vancouver, BC. While there may be legitimate complaints over our modern agricultural system, GMOs are not the evil technology that people make them out to be. (ROSALEE YAGIHARA OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
4:21 PM: "We should be advocates of scientific advances and new technologies, not luddites." (Paraphrase.) You would think this would be a non-controversial statement, but there are a large number of green energy advocates who see a rejection of science and technology as the only path towards a sustainable future.
Well, not if we want to meet the modern challenges that we're actively facing and creating. More nutrient dense food, greater food production, better energy usages, and improved resiliency to financial disasters, natural catastrophes, and food/water/political instability are necessities we should all be investing in.
4:24 PM: This is a problem that Martin Rees is identifying (specific to vaccines, biotech, or particular public health initiatives): how can we regulate the use (and misuse) of these technologies in a responsible way. As Rees put it, "even the global village will have its village idiots."
Balancing freedom, privacy, and security is of paramount importance. It's hard to see how it will be implemented, of course, but my visceral reaction is to look to the locations that got it the most wrong (*cough* Facebook *cough*), and to learn the lessons of opting out/in, the need for curation of factual, truthful information, and responsible actions.
Ed Fredkin joined contract research firm Bolt Beranek & Newman (BBN) in the early 1960s where he wrote a PDP-1 assembler (FRAP) and participated in early projects using the machine. He went on to become a major contributor in the field of artificial intelligence. (COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM, CA. 1960)
4:28 PM: As AI systems become more intrusive, pervasive; as the cloud begins storing information about all our actions, our locations, our emotions, etc.; as our face gets recognized everywhere we go; we lose our privacy. We lose our connection with technologies whenever computers outpace humans. And we lose our connection with each other (something Rees isn't touching on) as we layer technological barrier upon technological barrier between our old-style face-to-face interactions.
Robots can't learn by watching human beings. Common sense and etiquette cannot be learned by a robot (yet). And agility/dexterity of a robot is far below that of a small child. And yes, computers can defeat humans at Go, but only by using about a million times the energy of a human brain.
4:32 PM: I am not a fan of this current Rees proposal: everyone must work and this should be work that cannot be done by computers. He thinks we can re-employ every unskilled laborer doing this. I just don't see the demand being there, but this is not a question that has a scientific answer.
I just don't see it happening; people are better than a well-programmed machine at only a small number of tasks, and what can be automated out of our error-prone ways should be.
Graduate students might love their work and the knowledge they gain from doing it, but they can ill-afford to be the highest-taxed Americans. Here, Michael Hopkins, left, and Bryce Lee, both graduate students at Virginia Tech. are shown demonstrating autonomous robots. (JOHN F. WILLIAMS / US NAVY)
4:35 PM: There are a lot of fears around autonomous robots, and then brings up Kurzweil's immortality fantasies of AI outpacing humanity, becoming more intelligent, and then humans would begin to transcend biology.
I have thought, for a long time, that people who think along these lines need to understand something: you are not your brain. You are not a computer program; you do not reason the way a computer does, and a computer/brain interface is extraordinarily limited.
Instead, you are the electrical signals that propagate through your brain and body. That, after all, is the difference between a living and dead human: the electrical activity in your brain. Kill someone and the activity stops. Copying your brain to a computer would not keep that electrical signal the same; it would cease to be you. Kurzweil's dream, of downloading your intelligence to a computer, is basically doing "copy, paste, and then delete the original."
Therefore, you die. Only if we accept that aspect of reality can we effectively do something meaningfully positive with the lives we have. (At least, that's what I think.)
The curvature of space, as induced by the planets and Sun in our Solar System, must be taken into account for any observations that a spacecraft or other observatory would make. General Relativity's effects, even the subtle ones, cannot be ignored in applications ranging from space exploration to GPS satellites to a light signal passing near the Sun. (NASA/JPL-CALTECH, FOR THE CASSINI MISSION)
4:38 PM: Martin Rees thinks that the Solar System will be filled, in the future, with militarized probes. Yes, Cassini, New Horizons, Juno, Messenger, and other recent planetary/Solar System missions are now outdated and will be superseded by new technologies. We will be better at doing astronomy, science, and understanding our Universe.
But militarized? I don't see it. Martin Rees also thinks that the era of crewed spaceflight is over. And sure, if we're willing to abandon our bodies, of course there's no point in crewed spaceflight.
My recommendation would be twofold: accept our physical reality as it is (i.e., as we understand it to be), and then invest in science, technology, R&D, and forward-looking endeavors that better the future of humanity as a whole as much as possible. But this is a tall order, too.
The very first launch of the Falcon Heavy, on February 6, 2018, was a tremendous success. The rocket reached low-Earth-orbit, deployed its payload successfully, and the main boosters returned to Cape Kennedy, where they landed successfully. The promise of a reusable heavy-lift vehicle is now a reality, and could lower launch costs to ~$1000/pound. Private spaceflight may play a role in our future, but I hope it's not the only one. (JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
4:42 PM: Now I'm disappointed. After all the talk about banding together as a world for the good of humanity, and what's difficult to sell to various countries with various national ideologies and values, Martin Rees sees privatized spaceflight as the only prospect for humans traveling to worlds other than Earth.
Maybe he's right; maybe I'm the one who's unrealistic. But I still hope that the civilization-scale adventures and enterprises we dream of can be accomplished by humanity if we band together as a world in cooperation. It's my hope for the future of space exploration, for the future of our energy needs, for the future of agriculture and food/water production and distribution, and for the future of basic research, particle and low-temperature physics, and so much more.
I am not looking forward to a post-human era. I am looking forward to a pro-human era.
This is an aerial view of a Solar Farm in the Ukraine, which is a carbon-free power plant once fully set up and installed. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
4:47 PM: Here's something you won't get in Martin Rees's talk: what a tremendous tipping point will look like. Right now, sunlight is the most important tool for agriculture: it determines what we grow, where, and in what quantities. But someday, technology will reach a point where it's going to be more efficient to:
gather sunlight with solar panels,
grow crops with special lights designed to optimize plant growth,
and then use the leftover energy to power the world.
We will someday reach the point where this will be better than growing crops with direct sunlight, outdoors. That's quite a dream, but when we reach the tech level, it will transform our civilization.
An artist's rendition of a potentially habitable exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star. When it comes to life beyond Earth, we have yet to discover our first inhabited world, but TESS is bringing us the star systems which will be our most likely, early candidates for discovering it. (NASA AMES / JPL-CALTECH)
4:50 PM: What about life in the Universe? We have detected thousands of exoplanets, and will have the prospect of detecting life beyond our Solar System, from microbial life to intelligent aliens. This will be a tremendous advance that we can expect (and maybe even hope) to start probing this century.
Today on Earth, ocean water only boils, typically, when lava or some other superheated material enters it. But in the far future, the Sun's energy will be enough to do it, and on a global scale. (JENNIFER WILLIAMS / FLICKR)
4:54 PM: Let's remember something important: life on Earth is organic, but organic life won't be possible forever. Rees sees that human intelligence will outpace human intelligence, and will become the dominant force of "intelligence" not only on our planet, but in the Universe.
He thinks that any alien signal we find won't be biological in nature, but electronic.
I must be crazy to be on the pro-biology side… but I can't help but be sentimental about our own lives and existences. Somehow, to me, they have value intrinsic to themselves, that electronic beings, even an electronic intelligence, wouldn't have. There are my biological biases, laid bare for the whole world to see.
An illustration of multiple, independent Universes, causally disconnected from one another in an ever-expanding cosmic ocean, is one depiction of the Multiverse idea. (OZYTIVE / PUBLIC DOMAIN)
4:58 PM: Was there more than one Big Bang, or just one? If there were many, are there varieties in the physical laws and constants that they obey?
If we take inflation as we understand it today, the answers are: many, occurring in forever causally disconnected regions, with the same laws and constants everywhere.
But people do sure love to speculate that there may be more, and if (that's a really big if), as Martin Rees contends, they may have varying laws and constants, then maybe we can use anthropic reasoning (which is a very unappealing substitute for science) to speculate, and then maybe (which I doubt) it will be a question that falls into the realm of physics, not metaphysics.
Ermin Omerovic, a 19-year-old man living in the central town of Jajce, is seen eating pizza using his bionic hand. Ermin had a work accident and lost his right arm. After a surgery, carried out for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans, he reaches his brain-controlled prosthetic hand. But there is a big difference between a technologically augmented human versus a machine that could be considered alive. (Elman Omic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
5:02 PM: "Technology needs to be wisely directed, and directed by a value that science alone cannot decide." Well, at least this should be non-controversial: if we wish to act ethically, we need a code of ethics and morality for humanity, and that code transcends science.
Will that include machine intelligence. (Is Data from Star Trek alive, and am I arguing the opposite position from Captain Picard?)
5:06 PM: What about designer babies? Where do we draw the ethical line?
I have a feeling it will be very much like the early days of any technology: things we're uncomfortable with today will become commonplace tomorrow. Ethics erode quickly with the acceleration of the enabling technology's ubiquity.
Travel the Universe with astrophysicist Ethan Siegel. Subscribers will get the newsletter every Saturday. All aboard!
5:09 PM: Martin Rees is now fielding a question about the anti-science trend, but instead focuses on the optimistic take: people are actually interested in science. Kids love dinosaurs and kids love space: even things that are divorced from their reality and their experience appeals to people. Extreme and ill-informed opinions get more traction, and Rees believes this is what magnifies the rise of populism.
This is astute, to me.
But Rees says it's important that everyone have a feel for science, as most of the decisions that have to be made by politicians involve science (and economics and ethics), and so to be an informed citizen, you need to have some feel for science and for quantitative numbers. And it's a part of our culture, too; it's the only universal culture that straddles all bounds of faith and nationality. (Man, if the rest of this talk was like the answer to this question, I'd be fawning!)
The Future Circular Collider is a proposal to build, for the 2030s, a successor to the LHC with a circumference of up to 100 km: nearly four times the size of the present underground tunnels. This will enable, with current magnet technology, the creation of a lepton collider that can produce ~1⁰⁴ times the number of W, Z, H, and t particles that have been produced by prior and current colliders. (CERN / FCC STUDY)
5:12 PM: If we wish to succeed as a species, we have to band together as a planet, with multi-national bodies that regulate technology, otherwise the potential for abuses will be too great. This includes a worldwide carbon policy, but not a worldwide energy initiative, as new innovations and technologies will have a monetary payback/payoff, so there's an incentive to benefit the entire world on this front.
5:14 PM: The final question is to speculate about alien life, but maybe it's better to speculate about our own future instead.
Will we be able to overcome our prejudices against those who are "different" from us on the surface, and take actions that benefit the whole of humanity even if they don't benefit us personally?
Will we really abandon our flesh-and-blood bodies for the promise of augmented ones, or of entirely cybernetic ones?
Can we band together as a global civilization to address the global problems we've created as a by-product of our species' unprecedented success?
We have this odd combination of intelligence and aggression in our species, but perhaps aggression is unique to us, and will be our demise whereas aliens won't be subject to that.
5:16 PM: And that's a wrap! Thanks for tuning in, and I hope you enjoyed this thought-provoking talk!
Right now is awesome
It's a great time to be an astrobiologist—and for all of us to be asking, "Are we alone?"


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Closing Arguments: Security vs. freedom: A balance kept
John Yoo
Recently, the Justice Department released legal memoranda, written in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, that outlined contingency planning for further attacks on the United States. Civil libertarians are deliberately creating the misimpression that this, along with the Patriot Act and electronic surveillance of terrorist targets, was the product of a Republican administration chafing at the bit to take away civil liberties.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Many lawyers throughout the government, of which I was one, worked on what once had been unthinkable - Mumbai-style terrorist attacks against civilians on U.S. soil - under intense time pressures. Agree or not with its policies, the Bush administration succeeded in preventing another al-Qaeda attack, with any reduction in civil liberties far less than previous U.S. wars.
Certainly, history has to make anyone wary of increased police powers. Yet it is also true that U.S. law and politics have evolved since the days of the Alien and Sedition Acts or the Palmer raids. Abuses that occur today are more likely to be isolated and individual acts, mistakes, rather than wholesale deprivations of civil liberties. Our career government officials are keenly respectful of law and the Bill of Rights - notwithstanding the bad-cop stereotypes and exaggerated partisanship that stirs media excitement.
Critics would have us believe that the government is dragging us into an Orwellian security state. Legal academics, for example, have warned that the Patriot Act endangers civil liberties. What most of this criticism amounts to is the valid point that any increase in national security might potentially infringe on civil liberties.
The rhetoric intensified with the 2004 presidential campaign. Former Vice President Al Gore, calling for the Patriot Act's repeal, accused the Bush administration of using "fear as a political tool to consolidate its power and to escape any accountability for its use." Then-candidate Howard Dean denounced it as "morally wrong." The American Civil Liberties Union persuaded several city councils to pass symbolic resolutions refusing to obey the act and some librarians to file lawsuits against its expanded surveillance powers.
Yet, the Patriot Act itself was a grab bag of commonsense modifications, drafted primarily by career civil servants in the law enforcement and intelligence communities, to update our surveillance laws for a world of e-mail, cell phones, and texting.
It would be a grave mistake to believe that the Patriot Act and like measures represent a great leap forward in our abilities to stop terrorist attacks. We face a new enemy within our borders that is resourceful, adaptable, determined, dangerous, and highly skilled at escaping detection. Its attacks are the products of technologies, ideologies, and global dynamics entirely unknown to the world that existed after World War II and the Cold War.
Just as government can go too far in favor of security, it can also go too far in the other direction. Fear of sharing information between government agencies, for example, undoubtedly contributed to the Sept. 11 attacks.
After President Richard M. Nixon's use of the CIA and National Security Agency to harass his political enemies, Congress passed a law that was read to block almost all sharing of information between the CIA and the NSA, on the one hand, and the FBI on the other.
This "wall" prevented our intelligence and law enforcement agencies from sharing information on terrorism before 9/11. The CIA even had the identities of two of the hijackers who were in the United States, but could not share its find with the FBI. Insufficient attention to security prevented the government from "connecting the dots" to al-Qaeda, and perhaps stopping the 9/11 attacks.
The threat of an out-of-control executive seeking to harry its political enemies is not what looms before us. Legitimate political activities and exercises in speech by U.S. citizens have not been suppressed. There is no lack of lawyers to defend terrorism cases free. In the last two elections, voters have turned out the party in power from Congress and the presidency.
Civil libertarians often take the absolutist position that any wartime reduction of civil liberties will permanently diminish them in peacetime. Others say that panic will always lead government to go too far, or that majorities will always abuse power to oppress minorities.
U.S. history does not bear this out. Civil liberties throughout our history have expanded in peacetime and contracted during emergencies. During the Civil War, the two world wars, and the Cold War, Congress and the president restricted civil liberties, and courts deferred; during peacetime, civil liberties expanded.
Wars in the past led presidents to go far beyond anything the Bush administration did with regard to civil liberties. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus on his own authority, detained up to 14,000 U.S. civilians, and instituted military courts for their trial. FDR interned 100,000 loyal Japanese Americans during World War II.
Wars can lead to social and economic upheavals that end in expansions of individual freedom. The Union liberated the slaves and expanded individual rights against the states during Reconstruction. Civil liberties surged in the decades after World War II.
War no doubt expands executive power. But if we think executive power is an unalloyed negative, then we should reduce the administrative state, too. Oppression of minorities for self-interested gain can occur in wartime and out. Slavery and Jim Crow were the products of peace, not war.
So far, nothing like the infringements on civil liberties of past wars has occurred. Only three U.S. citizens have been detained by the military. Former President George W. Bush established military courts to try terrorists for war crimes, but no citizens were included. America has been solicitous of the Arab American community, repeatedly stating that the war is not against Arabs or Muslims, opposing racial profiling at airport searches, and prosecuting racially motivated assaults on Arab Americans.
Critics have exaggerated the threat to civil liberties today. This is not to say that constraints on the executive branch should not occur. The government's powers have been expanded. Privacy has been slightly reduced, though much more by the sheer march of communications technology than by the government.
The question is not whether some imaginary perfect world of civil liberties has been destroyed, because we do not live in that world. What we should ask of the Bush administration and its successor is whether they struck the right balance between security policies and civil liberties.
John Yoo (jyoo@law.berkeley.edu) is a visiting professor at Chapman Law School in Orange, Calif.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Alissa Hessler: The States Project: Maine	by Ashley Elizabeth CraigMay 27, 2017
©Alissa Hessler
Alissa Hessler and I met at Maine Media one summer day under the tent. She was and still is this super talented, cool, hip woman who has a head for business and a heart the size of the Grand Canyon. Alissa, always cheerful and helpful is one of those friends who just says, "hey come on over, we're going to do arts and crafts!" So I made her the best narwhal I could for her themed birthday party – Under the Sea was the theme!
Alissa and her partner Jake have a magical romance story of meeting at a party and falling madly in love. So much in love that she left Seattle and moved to Maine, yes it is real! They settled into a lovely farmhouse where she co-operates Hessler Creative and co-teaches photography courses throughout the states.
I had the fortune of sitting in on a class that Alissa was co-teaching which opened my eyes to a whole new side of her. She is passionate about photography, about all imagery and teaching. Alissa pushes her students to have that 'Ah Ha' moment. You know, that moment we all have when it finally all makes sense, when the project comes together. I watched as she assisted in identifying specific concepts within others work and then worked diligently to nurture that.
When Alissa told me she was working on a new project I was thrilled. After watching her teach, getting to know her as a person and sharing my own personal work with her I was excited to have the opportunity to see her work. Her project Urban Exodus is an exploration into how many individuals, families and couples are switching gears; moving from the mechanical, routine lives found in most cities to a life of new possibilities and adventures.
I am fortunate to call Alissa my friend and even more privileged to share her work with you.
Alissa Hessler is an art director, photographer and instructor, with over a decade of creative industry experience. She has lead diverse creative teams in the photography, design and film worlds, working as a photo editor, photographer, art director and executive producer. Her clients include industry giants Nordstrom, Microsoft, Boeing, Edelman, Colliers International and Starbucks.
Hessler was a project manager and photography art director at the award-winning design firm Turnstyle Studio in Seattle. At Turnstyle she was responsible for sourcing commercial photographers for projects and developed a keen eye for selecting the best talent for specific jobs. Following Turnstyle, she joined the Global PR team for smartphone giant, HTC. At HTC, she was the creative director and project manager for all product launches, bringing over twenty devices to market at couture press events around the world.
For the last five years, Alissa has been co-teaching photography classes across the country with her husband Jacob Hessler and consulting working photographers wanting to develop a wider-audience for their work. In addition, Alissa co-operates Hessler Creative, a branding and photography agency and shoots for various publications, including Modern Farmer, Bon Appétit, The Guardian and Good Housekeeping. For the last three years she has been shooting and interviewing ex-urbanites across North America for her project, Urban Exodus. Her first book "Ditch the City and Go Country" is releasing in July of 2017, distributed by Macmillan Press.
The rural to urban migration has been steady since the Industrial Revolution. Young people leaving family farms and businesses behind to find success in the city. The Back-to-the-Lander movement of the late 60s and early 70s reversed the trend momentarily, inspiring urbanites to leave city life and build a more self-sufficient and sustainable life in the country.
In a time where graduates are chained to school loan debt, decent paying jobs in urban centers are hard to come by and rents are skyrocketing, more and more people are choosing to leave the rat race and build a life rurally. Urban Exodus gives an intimate glimpse into the spaces and lives of former urbanites who chose to leave the concrete jungle for greener pastures.
In addition to the imagery of farms, working studios and cabins nestled in the woods, are interviews detailing their journey. These interviews highlight the triumphs, struggles and the inspirations they have found since choosing to live a life away from the urban existences they once knew.
Tags: Agriculture, Alissa Hessler
NEXT | Ara Oshagan and Collaborators: Landscape of Memory: Witnesses & Remnants of the Armenian Genocide >
< Arduina Caponigro: The States Project: Maine | PREV
Denis Defibaugh: North by Nuuk, Greenland after KentJuly 15th, 2019
John Sanderson: Carbon CountyJune 24th, 2019
Ira Wagner: Twinhouses of The Great NortheastJune 21st, 2019
Emily Matyas: SOL Y TIERRA / SUN AND EARTHMay 27th, 2019
THe CENTER AWARDS: Editor's Choice 2nd Place Winner: Kitra CahanaMay 23rd, 2019
More in Documentary
Denis Defibaugh: North by Nuuk, Greenland after Kent
John Sanderson: Carbon County
Ira Wagner: Twinhouses of The Great Northeast
Emily Matyas: SOL Y TIERRA / SUN AND EARTH
THe CENTER AWARDS: Editor's Choice 2nd Place Winner: Kitra Cahana
The Center Awards: Director's Choice 3rd Place Winner: Maria Sturm
The Center Awards: Curator's Choice Award 1st Place: Rich Frishman
The CENTER Awards: The Me & Eve Award: Lori Hawkins
The CENTER Awards: Project Launch Grant Winner: Igor Tereshkov
Blue Earth Alliance: Richard Street: Knife Fight City and the Kingdom of Dust


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Us senate vote history books
In the filibusters 200year history, senators have read from telephone books, recipe cards and even deconstructed the constitution to hold the floor and delay a vote. Apr 23, 2002 master of the senate is the third book in caros brilliant biography of lyndon b johnson. The senate and womens fight for the vote learn about the senate s long road to approving the nineteenth amendment. The senate republicans entirely craven, selfserving, undignified, and hypocritical vote to shield their president from any sort of examination is entirely unsurprising, though somehow still. The 240odd years that the united states has existed is a long time in human terms but a.
Featured books include examples of the varied literature produced by and about senators, the senate, congress, and our nations capital. A history of the united states since 1974 julian e. Senate slates tuesday for vote on emergency coronavirus. Dec 27, 2019 the senate became an advisory body that could no longer vote down legislation enacted by the house, and senators were now elected on a regional basis, rather than by individual states. United states senate election, expulsion and censure cases. Us senate acquits trump in historic vote the hindu businessline. Here are some books and games govtrack staff members and users. Robert carlyle byrd was a united states senator from west virginia, and a member and former senate leader of the democratic party. Along with its own exclusive powers, the senate shares many of the same constitutional powers granted to the house of representatives. The united states senate is the upper chamber of the united states congress, which along with the united states house of representativesthe lower chambercomprises the legislative branch of the federal government of the united states. Since 1976, the senate historical office has collected a series of oral history interviews with former senators and retired members of the senate staff. A torrent of books on this theme attributes the rise of demagoguery to decades of contemptuous neglect by democracy.
Feb 05, 2020 american history is a misleading metric by which to measure things. The 240odd years that the united states has existed is a long time in human terms but a relatively short one when measured in. C the composition and powers of the senate are established by article one of the united states. We asked historians and impeachment experts how it will all look in 50 years. Senate confirms first black woman librarian of congress carla hayden becomes 14th librarian in institutions 214year history. A thoroughly researched book by two veteran senate observers. They include material referred to and generated by the many committees, as well as records of the secretary of the senate. These books, written by senators currently serving in the 116th congress 2019 2020, range from public policy to fiction to history. Not necessarily in the time period covered, but in the background detail needed to truly understand johnsons role in the senate and how he transformed it. It was just as beautifully written as the first two volumes, but much larger in scope. The senate chamber is located in the north wing of the capitol building in washington, d. Since 1787, when the framers of the constitution created the united states senate, the institution has played an integral role in the larger narrative of american history. In this image from video, chief justice john roberts arrives for the vote in the impeachment trial against president donald trump in the senate on feb. No senator ever voted to remove a president of his party from.
Jonathan turley is the shapiro professor of public interest law for george washington university and served as the last lead counsel during a senate impeachment trial. No senator ever voted to remove a president of his party. Us history2008 vote wikibooks, open books for an open world. During those years, the senate had to tackle several big issues and dealing with an outsider president.
The senate became an advisory body that could no longer vote down legislation enacted by the house, and senators were now elected on a regional basis, rather than by individual states. The senate voted mostly along party lines to acquit the president, rejecting the abuse of power charge 52 to 48, and the obstruction of congress charge 53 to 47. The senates resolution 150 is a duplicate of the us house of representativess resolution 296, approved overwhelmingly six weeks earlier by. Three senators were absent from the latenight roll call because of the novel coronavirus. I found this book to be an excellent look at the history of the united states senate. The united states senate is the upper chamber of the united states congress, which, along with the united states house of representativesthe lower chamberconstitutes the legislature of the united states. Hearings before the committee on commerce, united states senate, eightyeighth congress, second session on the nomination of laurence k. Why nuclear power beats windmills for americas green energy. The interviews have been both geographical and institutional, including individuals personal recollections of their careers with the senate, and discussions of how congress changed during their tenu. Senate acquits trump, ending historic trial the new york times. The senate has 100 members, 2 from each state, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years. Presented to enlighten, amuse, and inform, our new senate history blog explores the forces, events, and personalities that have shaped the modern senate.
Aug 21, 2018 a filibuster is a political strategy in which a senator speaksor threatens to speakfor hours on end to delay efforts to vote for a bill. The united states senate is the upper chamber of the united states congress, which along with the united states house of representatives the lower chambercomprises the legislative branch of the federal government of the united states. Johnsons fiercest opponents in the senate maneuvered a vote on only 3 of the 11 articles of impeachment, believing those 3 offered the greatest chance to gain conviction. Dec, 2019 the senates resolution 150 is a duplicate of the us house of representativess resolution 296, approved overwhelmingly six weeks earlier by a 40511 vote, as ct reported. Voting and quorum procedures in the senate crs pdf. A torrent of books on this theme attributes the rise of demagoguery to.
Aug 08, 20 many readers call this book one of the finest political biographies of a generation. Mar 25, 2020 the bill was the product of intense bipartisan negotiations among republicans, democrats and the white house. Sensational in every detail, the trial ended in a dramatic fashion. Although the senate voted 56 to 43 to consider censure, it fell short of the. Ground game as attention turns to us senate contests, a bonkers reality sets in. Like its counterpart, the senate was established by the united states constitution and convened for its. The book also covers one of the senate s most notable modernday characteristics.
The secretary shall keep a record of the certificates of election and certificates of appointment of senators by entering in a wellbound book kept for that purpose. Majority leader mitch mcconnell teed up a senate vote on the emergency interim stimulus package for tuesday afternoon. Like its counterpart, the senate was established by the united states constitution and convened for its first meeting on march 4, 1789 at federal hall in new. The senate acquits president clinton the washington post. President trump is impeached in a historic vote by. It wasnt the us senate that saved trump it was the. During the period of the 1960s and 70s, author ira shaprio contends, the united states had a great senate. Donald trump has become the third us president in history to be impeached by the house of representatives, setting up a trial in the senate that will decide whether he remains in. The best books on congress five books expert recommendations. Govtrack user dennis bevan suggests master of the senate by robert a.
Easily one of our most favorite books, plain, honest men tells the story not of the. Senate acquits trump, ending historic trial the new york. Members of congress in washington and at home by alan ehrenhalt, ed. Jan 23, 2020 the senate is presided over by the vice president of the united states, who as president of the senate, is allowed to vote on legislation in the event of a tie vote. This book covers the last four years during that period while jimmy carter was president. Donald trump is impeached and faces trial in the us senate. Senates genocide vote not the only good news for armenian.
Feb 06, 2020 it wasnt the us senate that saved trump it was the founding fathers. The senate of the united states, and other essays and addresses historical and literary. Drurys novel is based on his 16 years as a washington reporter. Senate passes spying bill without search and browsing history. Dec 19, 2019 donald trump has become the third us president in history to be impeached by the house of representatives, setting up a trial in the senate that will decide whether he remains in office. Feb 06, 2020 in this image from video, chief justice john roberts arrives for the vote in the impeachment trial against president donald trump in the senate on feb. Senate passes spying bill without search and browsing history protections updated an amendment protecting search and browsing histories failed in a 5937 vote.
Byrd was a senator from january 3, 1959, until his death, and was the longestserving senator, as well as the longestserving member in congressional history. Walrath, of florida, to be an interstate commerce commissioner for the term of seven years expiring december 31, 1970 reappointment and the nomination of virginia mae brown, of west virginia, to be an interstate commerce. What will the history books say about this impeachment. The history of it is looked at and how the use of it and the cloture rule increased dramatically in the 1970s. Split down the aisle by impeachment, senate still united i. Learn about the senate s long road to approving the nineteenth amendment. Senate include a variety of record types, such as bill files, bound volumes, committee papers, minute and docket books, and petitions and memorials. Senate passes spying bill without search and browsing. American history is a misleading metric by which to measure things. In the third of a fourpart series, awardwinning biographer robert a. A political history of obstruction in the house and senate chicago. It wasnt the us senate that saved trump it was the founding fathers.
Us senate acquits trump in historic vote the hindu. House of representatives make up the two chambers of congress. An insiders history lives up to its title because of the authority with which baker and macneill wrote. A political history of obstruction in the house and. As attention turns to us senate contests, a bonkers. An insiders history macneil, neil, baker, richard a. Many readers call this book one of the finest political biographies of a generation. The following senate chronology highlights many notable dates in senate history. On may 16, 1868, in a dramatic call of the roll, 35 senators voted to convict the president of high. Senate records are divided into browse lists by type of committee. The united states senate is the upper house of the legislative branch of the federal government, with the house of representatives referred to as the lower shows this day in history.
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HomeSermons1 Corinthians
Sermons on 1 Corinthians
Why The Cross 1 Corinthians 1:18,21,23,25 1 Corinthians 2:14 1 Corinthians 3:19
What Do I Tell A Lost Person?
What Do I Tell A Lost Person? 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6; 51-58
Living in a Deaf Culture
Living in a Deaf Culture 1 Corinthians 14:24-25
Be Thankful for Love
Be Thankful for Love 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Everybody is a Somebody
Everybody is a Somebody 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
I Can Handle Anything but Temptation
Watch and Learn 1 Corinthians 10:1-14
Get In The Game 1 Corinthians 9:19-27
Do I Offend You?
Do I Offend You? 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Everybody Has A Purpose
Everybody Has A Purpose 1 Corinthians 7: 17-24


One day there was a scientist named Johnny,who LOVED robots,and one day,he said to himself,"I'm really tired from all this work",so he decided to make a robot to help him with his experiments.He looked amazing.Johnny felt the robot.The material felt like iron,but a lot stronger.But then, one day when he was at home sick and couldn't come to work,the robot was hacked by a member of ISIS and started destroying everything he saw.The robot was crazy and everyone was in grave danger.Johnny tried to stop him but he was unstoppable.Suddenly, a man called Habib blew up the robot and everyone was safe. THE END… OR IS IT??!!
I loved the scientists name of Johnny.
I think this story was very very good.
Now what a fantastic idea that is. If only I had a robot to help me with all my work. I'd be very very happy! I don't like the idea of it getting hacked though. I'm so glad Habib saved the day…. Or did he???
Brilliant story Eoin! Very easy to read and visualise – wonder what happens next? Good idea to leave your readers wondering!
Well done Eoin – I really enjoyed your story.
Thank goodness Habib was able to blow up the robot.
Hopefully everyone will be safe from now on.


Adam Shatz: "[T]he price of war is higher for Israel than it was during Cast Lead, and its room for manoeuvre more limited, because the Jewish state's only real ally, the American government, has to maintain good relations with Egypt and other democratically elected Islamist governments. During the eight days of Pillar of Defence, Israel put on an impressive and deadly fireworks show, as it always does, lighting up the skies of Gaza and putting out menacing tweets straight from The Sopranos. But the killing of entire families and the destruction of government buildings and police stations, far from encouraging Palestinians to submit, will only fortify their resistance, something Israel might have learned by consulting the pages of recent Jewish history. The Palestinians understand that they are no longer facing Israel on their own: Israel, not Hamas, is the region's pariah. The Arab world is changing, but Israel is not. Instead, it has retreated further behind Jabotinsky's 'iron wall', deepening its hold on the Occupied Territories, thumbing its nose at a region that is at last acquiring a taste of its own power, exploding in spasms of high-tech violence that fail to conceal its lack of a political strategy to end the conflict. Iron Dome may shield Israel from Qassam rockets, but it won't shield it from the future".
Daniel Levy: "Hamas has again proven that it can create a degree of mutual deterrence with Israel, that it is taken seriously by Israel, and can bargain effectively with Israel, from securing prisoner releases to securing commitments barring IDF incursions into Palestinian territory, right back to claiming success in having driven Israel from Gaza. Just to rub it in, on the same day that the IDF was committing not to enter Gaza, its troops were busy conducting raids and arrests throughout the West Bank … Fatah and the PLO cannot be dismissed in Palestinian politics, but their longstanding approach of currying American favor, in the hope of delivering Israel absent the creation of Palestinian leverage and assets, has run its course. They appear to have missed the boat in leading a popular campaign of unarmed struggle and the PA's security cooperation with Israel looks distinctly unseemly in the eyes of many Palestinians…As ridiculous as it may have looked to have Secretary Clinton dash to Ramallah to visit with President Abbas in the midst of a negotiation to which he was not a party, it nevertheless provided a perfect snapshot of America's reduced relevance in the changing region. In fact, it was somewhat symbolic that President Obama conducted his telephone diplomacy during this crisis in the midst of a visit to Asia. America is not getting out of the Middle East any time soon—it is too addicted to arms sales to the Gulf, to its peculiar domestic calculations when it comes to Israel, and it is still too far from energy self-sufficiency or being able to fully restrain its interventionist instincts…On this occasion, Washington took something of a test drive in a new Egypt as a partner in problem-solving, and seems to have quite liked what it saw. What is interesting here from an Israel-Palestine perspective is that the three leaders and states emerging as problem solvers that America might have some confidence in working with in the Middle East— Erdogan of Turkey, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar, and President Morsi of Egypt—all of them are closer to Hamas than Abbas, unequivocal in their criticism of Israeli policies, and none currently has a resident ambassador in Israel".
"Those who invoke Israel's right to defend itself are not troubled by this disparity in casualties, because the unspoken corollary is that Palestinians do not have the same right. If they dare to exercise this non-right, they must be taught a lesson. 'We need to flatten entire neighbourhoods in Gaza,' Gilad Sharon wrote in the Jerusalem Post. 'Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn't stop with Hiroshima – the Japanese weren't surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki too.' Israel shouldn't worry about innocent civilians in Gaza, he said, because there are no innocent civilians in Gaza: 'They elected Hamas … they chose this freely, and must live with the consequences.' Such language would be shocking were it not so familiar: in Israel the rhetoric of righteous victimhood has merged with the belligerent rhetoric – and the racism – of the conqueror. Sharon's Tarzan allusion is merely a variation on Barak's description of Israel as a villa in the jungle; his invocation of nuclear war reminds us that in 2008, the deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai proposed 'a bigger holocaust' if Gaza continued to resist".
Daniel Levy: "Hamas is able to be many things including pragmatic and patient; it does, though, remain the Islamic Resistance Movement. It is not about to start sending its fighters on American-run and -financed training courses in Jordan. When its balance of interests calculation reads 'pursue armed struggle', it will do so. And it will continue to attempt to build a capacity to do so, including targeting innocent civilians in violation of international law, as it did all week … The narrative is shifting in ways Israel would be wise to pay attention to. In an increasingly and sadly sectarian Middle East, armed resistance is no longer the exclusive purview of what is perceived as an Iranian Shiite-led axis. We have now witnessed armed insurgencies that are backed by mainstream Sunni Arab states and their Western allies, notably in Libya and Syria. That Hamas is repositioning from a more Iranian axis orbit to a more Sunni axis orbit (Qatar, Turkey and Egypt) reflects this trend. Not to exaggerate or suggest this is around the corner, but more explicit support for the armed component of the Hamas struggle will become more difficult to obfuscate around and untimely deny".
Adam Shatz: "The unravelling of the old Arab order, when Israel could count on the quiet complicity of Arab big men who satisfied their subjects with flamboyant denunciations of Israeli misdeeds but did little to block them, has been painful for Israel, leaving it feeling lonelier than ever … In diplomatic terms, the end of fighting under Egyptian mediation marked the dawn of a new Egypt, keen to reclaim the role that it lost when Sadat signed a separate peace with Israel. 'Egypt is different from yesterday,' Morsi warned Israel on the first day of the war. 'We assure them that the price will be high for continued aggression.' He underscored this point by sending his prime minister, Hesham Kandil, to Gaza the following day. While refraining from incendiary rhetoric, Morsi made it plain that Israel could not depend on Egyptian support for its attack on Gaza, as it had when Mubarak was in power, and would only have itself to blame if the peace treaty were jeopardised. After all, he has to answer to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas's parent organisation, and to the Egyptian people, who are overwhelmingly hostile to Israel. The Obama administration, keen to preserve relations with Egypt, got the message, and so apparently did Israel. Morsi proved that he could negotiate with Israel without 'selling out the resistance', in Meshaal's words. Internationally, it was his finest hour, though Egyptians may remember it as the prelude to his move a day after the ceasefire to award himself far-reaching executive powers that place him above any law. That Netanyahu stopped short of a ground war, and gave in to key demands at the Cairo talks, is an indication not only of Egypt's growing stature, but of Israel's weakened position".
Daniel Levy in The Daily Beast: "Morsi was able to manage the U.S. relationship, the Hamas relationship and to have his security officials broker an arrangement with Israeli counterparts while at the same time expressing unequivocal and distinctly un-Mubarak support for the Palestinian cause, and opposition to Israeli policies, recalling his ambassador from Israel and dispatching his own Prime Minister to appear with Gazan Prime Minster Haniyeh in a show of solidarity with a Gaza from where rockets were being launched at Israel … The past week also represented Egypt's return to the regional stage as a significant and, in this crisis, even decisive player. Especially in the latter Mubarak years, the absence of Egyptian political-diplomatic weight—caused by Egypt being so deep in the U.S.-Israel camp—created a rather gaping regional vacuum … Efforts to resolve the crisis took place during a pre-scheduled bilateral visit by Erdogan to Cairo, which signified the further strengthening of Egyptian-Turkish ties…Both Erdo?an and Morsi can be pragmatic but they cannot be expected to do Israel and America's bidding when it comes to the continued denial of the dignity and freedom of Palestinians under occupation, itself a source of humiliation in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and central to their individual and movement narratives".


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Oil rebounds from drop on China demand concerns
By Rowena Edwards
LONDON – Oil prices rebounded in volatile trading on Tuesday as the market weighed concerns over Russian supply and Chinese demand.
Brent crude futures were up $1.26 cents, or 1.2%, at $103.58 a barrel by 1355 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate contracts were up $1.14 cents, or 1.2%, at $99.68.
Brent and WTI had settled about 4% down on Monday and touched respective lows on Tuesday of $101.08 and $97.06 a barrel, pressured by concerns over demand in China, the world's largest crude oil importer.
Chinese capital Beijing has expanded its COVID-19 mass testing to much of the city of nearly 22 million as the population braces for a lockdown similar to Shanghai's stringent curbs.
But Brent rose by $2/bbl earlier in the session after the People's Bank of China said it will step up monetary policy support to the real economy.
The prospect of supply tightness in the physical market related to the phasing out of Russian oil also added to bullish sentiment.
Germany hopes to replace all deliveries of oil from Russia in a matter of days, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Tuesday.
Analysts said the release of oil from emergency reserves had eased concerns over tight supply to a certain extent.
"Focus has shifted towards the demand side of the equation and worries about prolonged supply disruptions have greatly been mitigated by the release of 240 million bbls of SPR oil by IEA members and by the ostensible, albeit somewhat obscured, dealing in Russian oil," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
In a bearish signal for oil markets, five analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that U.S. crude inventories had increased by 2.2 million barrels in the week to April 22.
The poll was conducted ahead of the release of the inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. The official government Energy Information Administration data is due out on Wednesday.
Separately, the CPC pipeline and Black Sea terminal, which ship about 80% of Kazakh crude exports, returned to full capacity on April 23 after working at half capacity for several weeks owing to storm-damaged mooring points.
(Additional reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman)
Spending drive knocks Spotify shares after Q1 beat
Stocks, commodities prices tumble on hawkish Fed, China worries


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Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah  (Urdu: محمد ذكاءالله ; born 10 January 1958) is a retired admiral in the Pakistan Navy, who was the 15th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. He was later replaced by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.

He is noted for his sportsmanship, having represented Pakistan at the Olympics for a sailing class category, for which he is a recipient of a national honor.

As naval chief, Admiral Zakaullah is noted for revolutionizing the role of the navy, emphasizing the role of the navy in economic corridor with China and took initiatives to strengthened ties with the Turkish Navy. He also played an active role in establishing the very low frequency facility to provide communications with the submarines as well as ensuring the second-strike capability by commissioning the cruise missile system in the strategic command of the Navy.

Biography

Early life and career in Navy
Muhammad Zakaullah was born in Lyalpur (now Faisalabad) in Punjab, Pakistan on 10 January 1958 to a Arain Family. After graduating from the Cadet College Hasan Abdal, he joined the Pakistan Navy in 1975 where he was sent to join the Pakistan Naval Academy, graduating at top of his class and conferred with coveted Sword of Honour and awarded the chief of the naval staff gold medal at his graduation. Sub-Lieutenant Zakaullah gained commissioned in the Operations Branch, and was sent to United Kingdom for his training and education later his career.

He attended and did his military training from the Royal Naval Staff College, and later attended the London University where he gained MA in Defence studies. He also a attended and graduated from the Quaid-e-Azam University, having attained the MSc in War Studies.

Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the faculty of and National Defence University to teach war studies.

War and staff appointments

Zakaullah qualified as a surface officer from the United Kingdom, serving first in the Babur which he later commanded as Commander. He also served as a military attaché at the Pakistan Embassy, Doha in Qatar. Captain Zakaullah served as the Directing Staff at the Pakistan Naval War College before taken as secondment by the President Musharraf.

From 1999 till 2003, Commodore Zakaullah tenured as the Director-General of the National Accountability Bureau, before taking over the command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron. His other command appointments included his role as Chief Inspector of Naval Police and military secretary to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for a short brief of time. Rear-Admiral Zakaullah also commanded the CTF–150 in Arabian Sea to guard off operations on Somalian piracy.

At the Navy NHQ, he was appointed as ACNS (Plans), DCNS (Training and Personnel), and DCNS (Operation).

Vice-Admiral Zakaullah's last war assignment included command of the Pakistan Fleet as its senior commander.

On the height of border escalation with India, he reportedly responded to the incident to media that, Pakistan has ability to answer the disturbance of border.

In an emergency address to the media representatives at the ISPR directorate, he quoted to the media that "Pakistan forces are prepared for any critical situation." Answering the question of Indian Army's further capabilities, Admiral Zakaullah said that Pakistan was not concerned due to New Delhi's ground capability as it had the ability to defend itself against any aggression.

Chief of Naval Staff

In 2014, Vice-Admiral Zakuallah was promoted to four-star rank admiral.

Sportsmanship

He is a keen yachtsman and has represented Pakistan at numerous international events, including 1984 Olympics and Asian Games of 1986 and 1990. He has won Gold medal at the Asian Games twice. He is also a recipient of President's Award for Pride of Performance for outstanding performance in yachting.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

CTF 150 Handover ceremony
Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah conferred US Legion of Merit

1958 births
Living people
People from Faisalabad
Pakistan Naval Academy alumni
Alumni of the University of London
Quaid-i-Azam University alumni
Academic staff of the National Defence University, Pakistan
Academic staff of Pakistan Naval War College
Pakistani sportsmen
Pakistani male sailors (sport)
Olympic sailors of Pakistan
Asian Games medalists in sailing
Sailors at the 1984 Summer Olympics – 470
Sailors at the 1986 Asian Games
Sailors at the 1990 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games
Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan
Pakistan Navy admirals
Cadet College Hasan Abdal alumni
Pakistani military attachés
Chairmen of the National Accountability Bureau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


You are hereHome Decks Cincinnati Homeowners – It's Deck Cleaning and Sealing Time!
Cincinnati Homeowners – It's Deck Cleaning and Sealing Time!
With daylight savings behind us and warm weather ahead, it's time to get excited about finally being outdoors again! There aren't many things I enjoy more than relaxing with my family out on the deck, grilling steaks and having a few beers. With the grilling season upon us, it's time for folks to get out and refinish their decks.
You may wonder what the best deck cleaning and sealing products are or which ones ProMaster uses. There is really no specific answer for that because it depends on factors such as your deck's condition, age, wood type and exposure to the elements (dirt, ice, rain, traffic, wind and sun).
Protection from UltraViolet Light: This causes the wood to turn grey.
Mold and Mildew Reduction: Growth is unsightly and undermines the strength and integrity of the deck wood.
Maximizing Water Protection: Reduces discoloration, warping, wood rot and cracking.
Why Should I Clean and Seal My Deck?
Making sure your deck is properly cleaned and sealed is vital to ensuring the durability and longevity of your deck. It isn't necessary to do it every year, but as a general rule of thumb, you need to refinish a deck at least every 3 years, typically sooner. To check out many of the great products available for this project, check out http://www.bestdeckstains.com/ or visit talk with a deck refinishing professional.
Deck cleaning and sealing can be a pretty physically intensive job, especially if you wait until it is too hot out! Make sure to refinish your deck before the summer sun damages your deck and makes it a more tiring job to accomplish. If you need any assistance cleaning or sealing your deck in the Cincinnati area, call ProMaster at 513-724-0593… we'd love to help!
I want a shiny new deck. Only if Don comes as well though!!
Oh, and some new cabinets.
Enjoyed video on deck maintenance.
Question: What type of weekly, monthly etc mantenance should be done to keep the deck looking well and prolong the newly applied finish?
I have read it is important to keep standing water off, remove leaves etc. Should the deck be swept and cleaned off with a hose weekly, use any detergents etc?
We have cedar and would like to allow it to grey. Any suggestions?


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Q: What does 'coupling' mean? (Laser) I assume this question is so basic that no YT-video or paper I found answers it. But in order to understand I have to know what it refers to.
I'm talking about laser coupling to be exact. I have a 'coupler' device. What does it do with the laser?

A: Coupling is the term used to describe the coupling of laser equipment together in the same way as a  mechanical coupling.
One such laser coupler is the laser to fiber-coupler as can be seen in this youtube video.. The goal in this device is to get the laser output beam coupled as good as possible into the fiber cable.
What it does with the laser beam depends on what you are going to couple it from an to. In the example of the fiber-laser coupler, the beam is adjusted to match the acceptance angle of the fiber, the beam diameter, and to remove internal reflections from the coupling.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Police arrest suspicious individual in UMD class
A 36-year-old Duluth man who later was found to have a 6- to 8-inch wooden stick and a leather whip was removed from a University of Minnesota Duluth lecture hall after concerned students called police this morning.
The man, whose identity is being withheld until a formal charge of disorderly conduct is filed, had moved from seat to seat and eventually sat in an aisle, staring down the assistant professor teaching the class. He is being held in the St. Louis County Jail.
In 2006, the same man was charged with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon but was acquitted because of mental incompetency after a mental health evaluation at the St. Peter state security hospital.
Assistant Professor Pedro Albuquerque was teaching his Principles of Macroeconomics class about 9:15 a.m. when he noticed a man he didn't recognize as a student staring at him in a way that caught his attention.
"Basically, I could not take my eyes off of him," Albuquerque said. The professor said he thought about stepping out of class and calling the police, but he didn't want to trigger any violent behavior.
At least two women of the approximately 130 students in the large, dimly-lit lecture hall were also paying attention to the man, and they called police, according to a UMD campuswide e-mail about the incident.
The women left the lecture hall and went upstairs to an office to call police, said Lt. Anne Peterson, director of UMD campus police.
The man was wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket, dressed mostly in black, said Albuquerque, who requires eyeglasses but was not wearing them at the time of the incident. The man moved around the back of the room and appeared to Albuquerque to sit down at a desk.
"He was someone that, for sure, I've never seen on campus," Albuquerque said, adding "not that I've seen him doing anything wrong."
But acting suspiciously in a college classroom these days is akin to saying the word 'bomb' in an airport.
When police arrested the man, it was "extremely fast. He was surprised. I was surprised," Albuquerque said. The man did not say anything that Albuquerque could hear from the front of the lecture hall, until he was arrested.
The whole episode took about ten minutes.
Peterson said officers believed the man was wearing motorcycle gang colors on his leather jacket. He had a long, curly hair and a beard.
"I think the students were just a little bit concerned, boarding on fearful,'' Peterson said. "... I think it has a lot to do with the recent incident at Northern Illinois [University] and rightly so.''
Peterson said the man had no apparent political message and nothing in particular to say. He was not aggressive toward students, she said.
He became agitated when Peterson and one of her officers and four Duluth city police officers took him into custody. Force was needed to take him to the ground and apply handcuffs.
The man was first taken to St. Luke's hospital for evaluation and then transported to the St. Louis County Jail.
"With the climate on college campuses today, we just can't take any chances,'' Peterson said. "We have to treat it seriously. We appreciate the actions of the students who brought this to our attention. And we are very appreciative of the backup help we received from city police.''


You would think that if your body was constantly attacking itself, it would be pretty obvious and a simple doctor visit would be all it takes to uncover this nasty problem. Turns out it's usually quite mysterious. I called what was happening to me "Zombie-ism." I would have episodes of extreme fatigue, foggy brain, dry burning eyes, blurred vision, dry skin and hair and painful joints. These and other issues seemed unrelated until we discovered I have antibodies for Hashimoto's, or hypothyroidism. What this means is that my body is eating at my thyroid as if it were a foreign body. It is an autoimmune disorder not unlike multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Grave's disease, and many others. I learned that if you have one autoimmune disorder, your weakened immune system makes you more likely to a host of many other sicknesses. So, not surprising that I also have Epstein Barr.
I have known that I have Hashimoto's for about four months (though the symptoms have been there for a few years at least). Despite the clear episodes of Zombie-ism and declining ability to exercise, I still considered myself a very healthy person. I really wanted to believe that because I have stuff to do; I have ambition, I have ideas, I have things to make, I have people to love. Hashimoto's is an inconvenience I really don't want to have. But I also don't want the inevitable medications and hormone replacement my doctor says I'm going to need. So I have a choice: deny it or embrace it?
I am participating in Jeffrey Davis' (of Tracking Wonder) #daretoexcel challenge this month. I had all kinds of ideas of what kind of art and creativity related projects I might do. Then I had a harsh and immediate episode of Zombie-ism over the weekend that left me completely deflated, without creativity, energy and hope. I realized that I needed to take on Hashimoto's above any creative project in order to ensure that I could take on many more creative projects in the future. To be completely honest, I'm not happy about this at all. I would rather focus my attention on other things. But as it so happens, my prerequisite to "other things" is my wellness. So be it. I will go with it. Head on, 100%. I want my wellness, dammit; I want it bad.
So my burning question is: How might I take this lifestyle change and do something others could also benefit from while cementing it as a new way of life for myself? How might I cure myself of Hashimoto's (without meds) and make that cure available to others with autoimmune disorders so that they could know thriving once again? How would I do it so that it's rigorous and complete, but not so daunting that it feels impossible? How could I make it accessible? How could I make it sustainable? How could I do it so that the choice to embrace it head-on feels less painful than denying it? I believe all of this is possible. I feel like it's bigger than me and it's going to be really hard. But I also think that it will be worth it – more than money could buy.
How will I do this? What project could I create with this endeavor? "Curing Zombie-ism" will be a book that helps people choose non-medicated wellness and relief from autoimmune disorders.
As Jeffrey reminds us, genius comes from the Greek idea that there is a force each of us uniquely has that helps us find our way in the world. As young people, that force is how we make our way and what we choose to do when we make our world. So the question is: what was I like when I was 8, 9, or 10 years old that factors into how I will tackle this project?
When I was 8, 9 or 10 years old, I stood on the front steps of our home with my older sister. She had issued a challenge: a race to the blue pole barn. After beating me, she told me that there was no limit to how fast I could move my legs. I believed her and set about in earnest to see if I could prove it. After a few more races I beat her. In my mind that was proof enough. What that experience did for me was to look at myself and my world differently – that limits were movable and even somewhat arbitrary.
The adjectives I would use to describe myself would be: pliable, curious (about what's possible) and dedicated. Dare #3 is to take these qualities and bring them to my project. I will be testing what is possible (how will I push limits? how will I adapt myself to achieve unexpected expectations?). I will need to continue to show up to this challenge over and over again to move my perceived limits. I need these qualities to explore the limits of disease, adapt those limits and move beyond them to create a new condition for myself.
#DareToExcel is designed to get people to step up to do the things they already want to do, to be their better selves. The challenge is to have courage to be yourself, beyond what you'd imagined in day to day life. I love these dares; they're very hard, but very fulfilling on many levels. But this isn't the kind of dare I'm meant to take this time around.
This dare is the double dog dare for me: the dare you issue to someone who is entirely NOT motivated to take the dare. It's the kind of dare meant to challenge your capacity to accomplish something you don't want to do. It also raises the stakes; if I can manage to do this tough thing, others will take on the dare as well. "Curing Zombie-ism" is a double dog dare for me. I don't really want to do it (I'd rather take on a number of creative projects), but I can't not do this. We can't not do this.


The invention disclosure should be submitted if you have invented something relating to your work at Aalto. Innovation Services evaluates the invention. It is crucial to keep the invention secret and confidential after submission.
Go to submit disclosure form. Write the necessary information about title, summary, inventors, background of the invention and planned publication and answer to questions 1 to 10 as well as you can.
Note that if you do not know all the answers when filing, you may complement the disclosure later when discussing with the innovation advisor. The discussions with Innovation Services staff as well as the submitted invention disclosure forms are confidential.
Open research – Invention made by Aalto academic staff, without a funding decision from or an agreement with an external entity.
Collaborative research – Invention made by Aalto academic staff in projects, which has a funding decision from, or an agreement with an external entity, such as companies, Tekes, Finnish Academy, EU.
None of the above situation – Invention made by student or Aalto non-academic staff.
Innovation Services assesses both technical and commercial potential, patentability and team's capabilities which all are needed for proceeding to commercialization. This assessment takes typically 1 – 2 months.
Should you require further instructions regarding the completion of the form, or its processing at the University, please contact our staff.


On Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Rebuilding Together Quad Cities' annual trivia event. While I was just the "geek," the real work was done by volunteers behind the scenes. And this was just one event to raise funds for a fantastic campaign. More than $2,000 was brought in and will go directly back to our community.
I think of "RTQC" very similarly to Habitat for Humanity, which does fantastic things as well. But instead of building new homes, RTQC helps low-income families stay in their homes. It's all-too-common to have families that struggle to find good food for meals, clothes for the kids, and gifts for Christmastime. What's often left on the back burner are the needs of the home. Gutters fall down, sidewalks crack, trees overgrow, and roofs get leaky. For families living month-by-month, it may be impossible to ever get to these big projects.
That's where RTQC comes in. Volunteers participate in events several times per year to help rebuild these homes. And when you think about it, it also helps improve Quad City neighborhoods!
If you would like to volunteer or are someone in need, click here.
Many thanks to Carollyn Gehrke for the invitation to be a part this year. Keep tabs on their website for the next event. I think I can speak for her, we love seeing new faces and the collective effort to "Rebuild Together!"


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text: The Board of Directors may establish a nominating committee consisting of a chairperson, who shall be a member of the Board, and three (3) or more Members or representatives of Members. The nominating committee shall be appointed by the Board not less than thirty (30) days prior to each election to serve a term of one (1) year or until their successors are appointed, and such appointment shall be announced at the election. A nominating committee shall make as many nominations for election to the Board as it shall in its discretion determine, but in no event less than the number of positions to be filled. In making its nominations a nominating committee shall use reasonable efforts to nominate candidates representing the diversity which exists within the pool of potential candidates. You can contact the committee here.


text:
Wellness Sexual Health
Tickle.Life Blogs
Resources for 'World Hepatitis Day' Part 2
Chetana Chaudhury | Jul 28 2020
Want to sit at home and contribute to this eloquent day of Hepatitis?
As we already get to know how to better our health and stay healthy, away from a disease like Hepatitis in Part 1 of this article.
Spread awareness, scroll down to know more about what people having hepatitis go through.
"The acknowledgement of a single possibility can change everything.The essence of warrior traits are demonstrated by : integrity with self, and honesty with others"
Digital kit:
1) Join the conversation on social media. Use the hashtags #WorldHepatitisDay, #HepAware, and #hepatitis to share information on viral hepatitis, local, national, and global events, and World Hepatitis Day.
2) Follow @HHS_ViralHep on Twitter to learn about the Viral Hepatitis Action Plan, federal hepatitis actions and resources.
3) Follow @cdchep on Twitter to receive information from CDC about hepatitis resources, tools, publications, campaign updates, and events.
4) CDC has multiple viral hepatitis posters available for ordering at no cost. Some posters are available in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Learn more about viral hepatitis in these videos from federal partners.
Join in Supporting the National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan
Learn about our National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan to harness available tools and focus the U.S. response to viral hepatitis.
The Action Plan features many opportunities for non federal stakeholders to take action in support of reaching its goals.
To help community efforts to build and strengthen viral hepatitis activities, we developed the Partner Planning Guide. The Guide can help organizations, coalitions, and others to assess local needs and strengths, existing activities, and plan new actions that align with the Action Plan.
Stigma around Hepatitis:
I had a conversation with Dr. Randhir Sudda who specializes in (Gastroenterology), M.B.B.S., M.D. (Gastroenterologist) Doctor for Hepatitis B Treatment in AIIMS, India who discussed the burden of stigma that people bear suffering from hepatitis.
Randhir Sudda - "I was closely connected with a patient who unfortunately lost his life battling with hepatitis C,(a rare case) whose family was not that supportive. He was a brave child, but God's grace couldn't save him.
His own parents were afraid to sit near him. And his fiance left her in between his treatment. Viral hepatitis is not only a silent disease, but also a silencing event."
"People start looking at you from a different point of view in whatever you may do, as if you have committed a crime, I am not justifying the fear which people have in their mind but it's visibly legit that they don't want to get infected in any way.
These intrinsic concepts of social stigma give birth to a sense of rejection, isolation, and frustration.
Social stigma is a simple lack of knowledge among the patients and society. HCV hijacks the liver and hurts the entire body, but feeling shame about having it is its own misery.
The really heartbreaking stories are the emails I receive from people who experience discrimination because of their hepatitis status. Some have even been denied entrance to nursing and medical schools because of their hepatitis status.
Yes, from well-known schools, and yes, recently. Moreover, people's hopes, dreams, and the quality of their lives are at stake.
It's because we share the burden that we need to share the solution. Viral hepatitis is a community problem requiring a community response.
Examine your own perceptions and hidden prejudices. Even though Zero Discrimination Day was on March 1, we still need to recognize the importance of stopping hepatitis discrimination."
Part 1 of this article.
Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash.
The Talk: Telling a Potential Partner You Have HIV
Nikolina Jeric, Nov 26 2020
Best Sex Blogs for 2020 (Updated)
Shakun, Aug 20 2020
LGBTQ and STIs
Rich Mancuso, Oct 14 2020
Endometriosis and Sexual Health
Sexpert.com, Mar 16 2021
10 MOST POPULAR CAUSES OF INFERTILITY IN WOMEN
Health In Vitro, Nov 21 2020
Everything to know about Tampons


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March 12, 2020 March 12, 2020 Laine
Case Update: Trial of Julia Tomlin, Mother of Murdered Toddler Noah Tomlin, Delayed for Mental Competency Evaluation
Noah Tomlin.
(Hampton Police)
In today's "Nice Try, Lady" news, Julia Tomlin's trial, which had been scheduled to start on Monday, March 9, 2020, is on hold pending the result of a mental competency evaluation.
35-year-old Julia has been held in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Virginia since last summer on charges of second-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and child abuse in the death of her two-year-old son, Noah Tomlin, as well as three counts of felony child neglect in relation to Noah and two other children.
Julia has a total of ten children, according to the Daily Press, although Noah, Samuel, and Cheyenne were the only three in her custody at the time of Noah's death.
Julia initially reported Noah missing in June of 2019, which set off a huge search that resulted in Noah's partial remains being located inside a garbage bag in a Huggies box at the Hampton, Virginia steam plant, which doubles as a trash incinerator. She was arrested on June 29, before Noah's remains were located, because of statements she made during an interview with FBI agent Liza Ludovico, telling the agent that Noah had drowned when she left him alone in the bathtub.
The early stages of the search for Noah Tomlin in June of 2019.
(Hampton Police Department)
Brad Bailey.
(WAVY)
According to Brad Bailey, one of 46 witnesses who were subpoenaed to testify at Julia's probable cause hearing in December and also the father of Julia's son, Samuel, Julia asked him repeatedly during the days before Noah's disappearance to bring her heroin, which he did on June 22. Brad is likely the last person besides Julia who saw Noah alive.
At a brief hearing in Hampton Court on Monday, Julia's public defender, Althea Mease, told the court that "for a number of reasons," they didn't want to go to trial without a competency hearing, and since prosecutors did not object, the request was granted.
Anton Bell
(Hampton.gov)
At a bail hearing in late July of 2019, Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Anton Bell said that Julia had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Little Noah's cause of death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head, as well as battered child syndrome.
Julia's competency hearing is scheduled for 9:00 AM on May 20 in Hampton Circuit Court, at which time her new trial date may be set.
Click here for my ongoing coverage of Noah's case.
Julia Tomlin's mug shot.
Julia during an early court hearing.
(WTKR)
Julia at her probable cause hearing in December of 2019.
Sources: WTOP, Daily Press
Noah Tomlin
Previous Case Update: Trial Delayed for Eduardo Posso's Father, Luis, Who is Charged in Boy's Torture Death
Next Case Update: Thomas Valva Update Round-Up (Videos, Proposed Laws, BS from Dad's Lawyer, and Other News)