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Posted on 09/13/2018 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling aren’t the only authors whose titles change when they move across the Atlantic, apparently.

Terena Bell examines several instances of name changes among the American and British versions of books in a recent post.

Some of the alterations have solid reasoning behind them; others literally have none at all.

See what Bell found on The Guardian.

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Symetra Oracle

Shape your Fate with a brand new oracle system that uses 60 unique element, emotion & energy cards!
SYMETRA is an original oracle system based on the different elements, emotions and energies in the Cosmos. SYMETRA symmetrically balances aspects from many traditions of spirituality, divination and philosophy on multiple levels. This creates great breadth and depth of subjective and objective connection and exploration.

The booklet includes information on the principles of divination (regardless of system), many card spreads, the steps of doing a reading, detailed interpretation, meditation instructions, learning methods, a solitaire game mode, and a healing visualization using the Symetra cards.

Symetra is also available as a strategy card game: Symetra [].

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Why buy this?

  • Original divination system with 60 unique hexagonal cards!
  • Book includes instructions for divination and meditation!
  • Includes a solitaire playing mode!

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Publish Date November 28, 2013
Edition Beta
Department Tarot and Oracles
Genre Abstract
Setting Alternate Future
Primary Mechanic Pattern Matching
More Info Symetra Oracle web site

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Own It Played It Fun Priced Well High Replay Value Well Written Rules Nice Artwork

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COMEDY GOLD! Jon Stewart Laughs in Pelosi’s Face After She Can’t Explain Why O-Care Website Failed So Miserably (Video)

Comedy Central–
Last night House minority leader Nancy Pelosi told Jon Stewart that she doesn’t know why the Obamacare website failed so massively. He laughed in her face. Pelosi then said “somebody needs to do something” about it.

And, this was her hallmark accomplishment?

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: 'I decided to call myself a Happy Feminist'

In her hit TED talk, the award-winning novelist set out her dreams for a fairer world: this is an extract from the published version

Read Jacqueline Rose's article 'We need a bold, scandalous feminism' here
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
'If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture' …Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Photograph: Victor Ehikhamenor

In 2003, I wrote a novel called Purple Hibiscus, about a man who, among other things, beats his wife, and whose story doesn't end too well. While I was promoting the novel in Nigeria, a journalist, a nice, well-meaning man, told me he wanted to advise me. (Nigerians, as you might know, are very quick to give unsolicited advice.) He told me that people were saying my novel was feminist, and his advice to me – he was shaking his head sadly as he spoke – was that I should never call myself a feminist, since feminists are women who are unhappy because they cannot find husbands.

So I decided to call myself a Happy Feminist.

Then an academic, a Nigerian woman, told me that feminism was not our culture, that feminism was un-African and I was only calling myself a feminist because I had been influenced by western books. (Which amused me, because much of my early reading was decidedly unfeminist: I must have read every single Mills & Boon romance published before I was 16. And each time I try to read those books called "classic feminist texts", I get bored, and I struggle to finish them.)

Anyway, since feminism was un-African, I decided I would now call myself a Happy African Feminist. Then a dear friend told me that calling myself a feminist meant that I hated men. So I decided I would now be a Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men. At some point I was a Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men And Who Likes To Wear Lip Gloss And High Heels For Herself And Not For Men.

Gender matters everywhere in the world. But it is time we should begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves.

Gender is not an easy conversation to have. It makes people uncomfortable, sometimes even irritable. Both men and women are resistant to talk about gender, or are quick to dismiss the problems of gender. Because thinking of changing the status quo is always uncomfortable.

Some people ask, "Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?" Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general – but to choose to use the vague expression human rights is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded. It would be a way of denying that the problem of gender targets women. That the problem was not about being human, but specifically about being a female human. For centuries, the world divided human beings into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem should acknowledge that.

Some men feel threatened by the idea of feminism. This comes, I think, from the insecurity triggered by how boys are brought up, how their sense of self-worth is diminished if they are not "naturally" in charge as men.

Other men might respond by saying, "Okay, this is interesting, but I don't think like that. I don't even think about gender."

Maybe not.

And that is part of the problem. That many men do not actively think about gender or notice gender. That many men say that things might have been bad in the past but everything is fine now. And that many men do nothing to change it. If you are a man and you walk into a restaurant and the waiter greets just you, does it occur to you to ask the waiter, "Why have you not greeted her?" Men need to speak out in all of these ostensibly small situations.

Because gender can be uncomfortable, there are easy ways to close this conversation. Some people will bring up evolutionary biology and apes, how female apes bow to male apes – that sort of thing. But the point is this: we are not apes. Apes also live in trees and eat earthworms. We do not. Some people will say, "Well, poor men also have a hard time." And they do.

But that is not what this conversation is about. Gender and class are different. Poor men still have the privileges of being men, even if they do not have the privileges of being wealthy. I learned a lot about systems of oppression and how they can be blind to one another by talking to black men. I was once talking about gender and a man said to me, "Why does it have to be you as a woman? Why not you as a human being?" This type of question is a way of silencing a person's specific experiences. Of course I am a human being, but there are particular things that happen to me in the world because I am a woman. This same man, by the way, would often talk about his experience as a black man. (To which I should probably have responded, "Why not your experiences as a man or as a human being? Why a black man?")

So, no, this conversation is about gender. Some people will say, "Oh, but women have the real power: bottom power." (This is a Nigerian expression for a woman who uses her sexuality to get things from men.) But bottom power is not power at all, because the woman with bottom power is actually not powerful; she just has a good route to tap another person's power. And then what happens if the man is in a bad mood or sick or temporarily impotent?

Some people will say a woman is subordinate to men because it's our culture. But culture is constantly changing. I have beautiful twin nieces who are 15. If they had been born a hundred years ago, they would have been taken away and killed. Because a hundred years ago, Igbo culture considered the birth of twins to be an evil omen. Today that practice is unimaginable to all Igbo people.

What is the point of culture? Culture functions ultimately to ensure the preservation and continuity of a people. In my family, I am the child who is most interested in the story of who we are, in ancestral lands, in our tradition. My brothers are not as interested as I am. But I cannot participate, because Igbo culture privileges men, and only the male members of the extended family can attend the meetings where major family decisions are taken. So although I am the one who is most interested in these things, I cannot attend the meeting. I cannot have a formal say. Because I am female.

Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.

My great-grandmother, from stories I've heard, was a feminist. She ran away from the house of the man she did not want to marry and married the man of her choice. She refused, protested, spoke up whenever she felt she was being deprived of land and access because she was female. She did not know that word feminist. But it doesn't mean she wasn't one. More of us should reclaim that word. My own definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, "Yes, there's a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better."

All of us, women and men, must do better.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's essay "We Should All Be Feminists", is published by 4th Estate this month.


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Haunted by the past: the man behind 1979 Revolution

Navid Khonsari is revisiting his roots with 1979 Revolution, a first-person immersive video game exploring the tumultuous Iranian events of that time

The making of 1979 Revolution.

During the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, Navid Khonsari was on the way to Canada with his family, escaping the Iranian Revolution. But it never stopped haunting him.

Khonsari, the founder of Ink Stories in Brooklyn, is the picture of the successful American entrepreneur. Khonsari has worked on some of the world’s most popular video games, including Grand Theft Auto, one of the most popular – and controversial – video games of all time. His corner desk overlooks the open Ink Stories office, a multimedia production company he co-founded with his wife Vassiliki Khonsari. Bits of gold and diamond glint on Khonsari’s fingers, wrists and neck. He sports the look of a lot of Brooklyn creatives: interesting eyeglasses, turquoise pants, a crisp oxford shirt and bulky headphones.

But Khonsari can’t get out of his mind what it would have been like to stay in Iran. His new video game, 1979 Revolution, is based on a protagonist named Reza who stayed behind in Iran long after Khonsari’s own family left.

Reza who lives in 1970s Tehran, as did Khonsari, is “swept away by the passion that he sees in the streets.” Khonsari recalls his own excitement as a kid to see tanks rolling down the street and a sea of protestors. Despite Khonsari’s young age at the time, the power of the people was palpable.

Their paths diverse there. The fictional Reza remains in Iran throughout the revolution and its aftermath. His path is a complicated one. Khonsari describes Reza’s trajectory from politically impartial observer, to revolutionary hero, to public enemy number one.

Reza’s life is being assembled and planned in a buzzing office in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood – a once industrial area that is now filled with lofts commanding astonishing views of the Manhattan skyline and the pricey mortgages to match. A handful of young Ink Stories employees buzz around the office in service to the fictional Reza. They answer phones and prepare walls for future whiteboards and the Ink Stories logo, a boy with a hat that looks like a fez. A smattering of Persian rugs warm up the polished cement floor and a grid of storyboard illustrations are taped to a wall. 1979 Revolution is slated for release by spring 2015, playable on PCs, consoles and tablets.

But can the complexities of the Iranian revolution and its vast diaspora, be captured in a video game?

Khonsari has no doubts. “Absolutely,” he says. “You’ll get a good understanding of the entire eco-system of political philosophies.”

An Iranian woman walks past a mural showing a gun painted with an interpretation of the American flag on the wall of the former US embassy in Tehran. Photograph: ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

What makes it work is the player’s viewpoint1979 Revolution is not a traditional first-person shooter game like Grand Theft Auto.

Instead, the player embodies Reza, a photojournalist, and makes his decisions during the chaos of the revolution. How should he stay stealth and avoid detection? Should he turn to violence? Which injured friend should he help, leaving the other to die?

“They’ll be forced to make these morally ambiguous choices,” Vassiliki Khonsari says, “that’s sort of the fun in the game.” Each decision creates a different storyline so the two-hour game can be played repeatedly.

The Khonsaris coined the term “Vérité Games” to describe 1979 Revolution and their future projects, which could potentially explode into a new gaming genre. It’s a form of interactive storytelling that combines advanced video game technology with elements from documentary film, and a flexible fictionalized narrative.

1979 Revolution is the natural evolution of the Khonsaris’ combined work experiences; he’s worked on blockbuster video games like Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne among others; she has a documentary background. One of her films is about the Kamakia lovers in Greece – men who seduced female tourists – where she’s spent summers with her extended Greek family.

With these creative influences, experts say that 1979 Revolution defies categorization.

“The way it positions history and experiential game play is pretty unique,” says video game analyst Billy Pidgeon after looking at a 1979 Revolution sample clip.

It delights Pidgeon that the game evades easy labels: it is visually sophisticated, edgy, and based on a framework of facts – yet not didactic.

From afar 1979 Revolution might have a whiff of the educational, but Khonsari is adamant that the game is first and foremost entertainment. “I think if you go about this heavy handed,” says Khonsari, “you kind of have one foot in the grave.”

Pidgeon believes the misogyny that’s been unleashed during the recent GamerGate movement, which he calls “rancid,” is a symptom of the growing popularity of non-traditional video games, some of which are created by women. “There’s more to life than first person shooters,” Pidgeon says of the stereotypical GamerGate gamer, “and they hate it.”

‘I think if you go about this heavy handed,’ says Khonsari, ‘you kind of have one foot in the grave.’ Photograph: Nina Roberts

The Khonsari family moved to Canada on December 22, 1979. It was “kind of sad and happy all mixed in one,” Khonsari describes slowly. Through connections his father made a decade earlier when completing his medical residency in Montreal, the family settled in a rural farming town north of Toronto. They started their new life with the items they could take on the airplane. “We left behind a life,” states Khonsari.

Khonsari’s family felt they had to leave Iran. His father was considered “western affiliated” simply because he made a good income as a urologist, according to Khonsari. When Ayatollah Khomeini came to power prior to their departure, Khonsari remembers a sense of heaviness. Conversations swirling around his extended family shifted from “When are you coming back?” to “Where are you going?”

Khonsari was called a “motherfucking Iranian” on his first day of school in early January; the Iranian hostage crisis was underway, broadcast on the nightly news. He now speaks in a North American accent with no trace of his first language, Farsi; Khonsari chuckles at his limited English at the time. He understood “mother” and “Iranian,” and once he figured out “fucking,” fists went flying. “Donny” as Khonsari remembers him, was suspended by the principal and Khonsari was told to return to class. The principal’s actions made a huge impression on Khonsari, who at that moment thought that maybe Canada would turn out to be okay.

Khonsari has a friendly face accented with angular metal-framed glasses. His demeanor is sunny, enthusiastic and positive. Every job he reflects on was “a great learning experience.” Even his action feature The Contract that earned online reviews like “acting is below atrocious” and “credibility-straining plot turns” he considers a triumph, he sold it one year after film school. Peddling dog food at dog shows across Canada? “For somebody who wants to be a storyteller, the characters were aplenty,” beams Khonsari.

In 2000 Khonsari moved to New York City, and the sense of ambition he found was addictive; “You want to be around it if you are ambitious.”

New York City reminded him of Tehran: huge, sprawling, established, an essential city in the world. First Khonsari worked under the table at a dot com, and then at Rockstar Games after meeting the director of development at a party Khonsari weaseled into for the free food. After years of “nonstop learning” at Rockstar, he left in 2006 to strike out on his own.

Under the easygoing exterior, Khonsari possesses a shrewd understanding of business and a creative project’s commercial success. “You have to be an entrepreneur in order to be able to get your stories distributed and financed and supported,” says Khonsari.

With a smile, he says the better word for entrepreneur might be “hustler.”

Iranian female students wave flags during a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran, Iran in 2010. Photograph: ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA

Critics might say it’s in bad taste to make entertainment based on the bloody Iranian Revolution. Revolution, including Iran’s, is not sacred says author Hooman Majd, though he concedes those who had family members die during the revolution could be offended by the game.

“Revolution as entertainment? What about Les Misérables?” asks author Hooman Majd rhetorically. Majd, who writes frequently about Iran, adds as an aside that it happens to be the Supreme Leader’s favorite book.

“As an artist you can’t worry about that too much,” says Majd of the potential sensitivities. He is a fierce defender of artists’ rights: “you just have to worry about being honest.”

Majd notes most Iranian authorities are very wary of western depictions of Iran. “A lot of people in power in Iran believe very much the US is after a soft development revolution to slowly undermine the Iranian regime so they fall,” explains Majd. So far, Khonsari has only received one article via Facebook alleging that he’s making American propaganda.

According to Khonsari, accuracy in 1979 Revolution is “nailed down.” Ink Stories has been conducting ongoing interviews with people who lived through the revolution and have consulted with Iranian academics and experts like Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment. As Khonsari puts it, “we just want to make sure we can silence out critics.”


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Perhaps, the best destination in India for the beach tourism, unfettered by traditions and that’s why too popular among the young people all over the world and across the India. It’s a place to enjoy sun & fun! Tender coconut beaches will give you relax and pleasure during the day, but numerous night clubs will never make you sleep!“ Goa is the heart of Portuguese colonization in the past, till nowadays preserved the special atmosphere & European

look with many famous Christian churches, the best ones in Old Goa included in UNESCO world heritage sites… Cuisine – one of Goa highlights! Goan cuisine is the mixture of India’ masalas and European style of cooking, it’s a gastronomical paradise of India with numerous & delicious dishes, including sea food, Tibetian, Italian, Israel, Russian & south and north Indian cuisines …. Don’t miss you delicious candle dinner on the seashore!


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Merdeka Celebration for New Malaysia

This year’s Merdeka and Malaysia Day brought a special meaning for Malaysians

A citizens’ initiative Malaysians for Malaysia (M4M), Johor had brought fellow Malaysians in Johor Bahru from all walks of life together to celebrate national unity, harmony and diversity, held recently in conjunction with Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day. It was a joyous atmosphere for those who attended the event that took place at Dewan Sangkar Kristal, Golf Club, Pelangi, Johor Bahru. Among the guests of honours at the event were Tuan Sheikh Umar Baghrib, Johor State Exco, Hassan Karim, MP of Pasir Gudang, and Hishamudin Rais, a veteran political blogger Tukar Tiub. A similar event was also carried out in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Perak.

The coordinator of M4M Johor, Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar during her welcoming speech

Over 500 people of all ethnicities in cross cultural attires attended the meaningful celebration in a truly Malaysian spirit with a renewed hope in a new Malaysia that is harmonious and united as one nation.

The coordinator of M4M Johor, Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar in her welcoming speech said that she had only 2 weeks to organise the event and she was amazed and encouraged by the support she received from the public that they literally just sprang into action, and in a very short period of time the tables were overbooked!

“This is really a celebration about us, regardless of colour, creed, gender and sexual orientation,” said Dr Sharifah.

Malaysians for Malaysia, is a people movement under the leadership of Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.

The event also had several multi-cultural performances and at the finale of the event, the audiences were led by Jenny Liew, a representative of Malaysians for Malaysia, Penang, sang along together the song “Kami Anak Malaysia” where the lyrics were written by her.

“Other activities of Malaysians for Malaysia include “Puasa4Malaysia” and a “Walk in the Park” event where fellow Malaysians can have a picnic together in a park”, explained Dr Sharifah.


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The frustration of many voters over the way presidential candidates are selected has come to a head with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the presumptive nominees of their respective parties.

If this is the best we can do, maybe we should consider a better way.

As of May 3, according to, while some states have seen a surge in primary voters over previous years, nationwide primary turnout remains low: “At this point in the process, 30.14 percent — less than one-third of eligible voters — have participated in a primary contest. The last time both parties had competitive presidential nomination races was 2008, which saw 30.82 percent voter turnout after all states had participated.”

There is nothing about primaries or nominating conventions in the Constitution, so the process could be changed without causing additional damage to that great document. Most of what current election cycles produce is the result of rules established by each political party.

We can’t say we weren’t warned by some of our Founders about the consequences of extreme partisanship. They may not have had the Internet, but they knew history and understood human nature in ways many of us seem to have forgotten.

In Federalist Papers 9 and 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, warned of the dangers of political factions. Thus, in the elections of 1789 and 1792, which selected George Washington, the Electoral College took care of the nominations and elections.

Hamilton and Madison didn’t hold on to their high-minded method of selecting presidents for long. Both quickly embraced partisanship, with Hamilton becoming the leader of the Federalist Party and Madison teaming up with Thomas Jefferson to form the Democratic-Republican Party.

Beginning with the 1796 election, presidential candidates were selected by their respective congressional parties, or a party caucus convened by state legislatures. Before 1820, Democratic-Republican members of Congress nominated a single candidate from their party, but by 1824 that system collapsed and since 1832, the national convention has been the preferred mechanism for nominating presidential candidates.

It wasn’t until 1901 that Florida became the first state to conduct a presidential primary, with voters allowed to select delegates pledged to the candidate of their choice. Other states soon followed with either primaries or, in a few cases, caucuses.

The chaotic 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago changed everything. Though he didn’t win a single primary under his own name, Vice President Hubert Humphrey won his party’s nomination. Subsequently, a panel commissioned by the Democratic National Committee and led by Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.) recommended that states adopt new rules to assure wider voter participation. Most opted for presidential primaries, and the Republicans soon followed. By 1992, Democrats had primaries in 40 states and Republicans in 39.

In the current election cycle, there were a number of intelligent, experienced and articulate candidates who did not carry the heavy baggage of the two who emerged as frontrunners. The result makes the old smoke-filled-room approach of selecting candidates seem appealing.

Perhaps a coalition of historians, former presidents and former members of Congress, who are not known for extreme partisanship, could get together and design a new system by which we choose the nominees. It might be an idea that entices more people to turn out and vote during primary season, or it could eliminate the current system entirely and replace it with one that gives us better options.

Clearly the process we have now is not working. We should be able to do better.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at

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The most immediate difference is how wilfully uncommercial this album is, especially since their previous two albums AAAV and 2013’s excellent The New Life were full of shiny indie pop nuggets. Granted, this band never released Taylor Swift-esque bangers exactly, but they did have a knack for a catchy track, albeit ones which were underpinned by dark, oppressive and thoroughly miserable themes.

For SOS they delve deeper into the history of post-punk, opening track "25" desolate two-minute opener and skeletal guitar riffs are worthy of a comparison with post-punk’s finest underachievers The Sound, while the cheapo pre-programmed drum machines, slurred vocal delivery and disconnected synthesisers are a track by a pre-ecstasy A Certain Ratio.

Tracks like "The Process" scream of a "fuck it" approach to the album; dank, beyond intense and messy, it sprawls along without achieving much and is a thrill because of it. "The Impaled Mystique" is the only track here with a recognisable chorus, and gives a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse at their past material's love of a hook. Yet it’s so messily composed, built upon a barely tuned acoustic guitar, synths too high in the mix, and a general sound of teetering on the edge of wholly crumbling at any second; the clever key change halfway through is the only glimmer of light on the whole album and even this sounds bummed out.

The general "fuck this shit" attitude of the album does of course prevent it from being an album which is going to be visited for multiple plays, and at times it sounds like a bunch of demos, especially when you consider the enormity of previous tracks such as "Zero Tryptic", but the fact they’ve decided to do what the hell they want is refreshing. We’re not talking Timberlake going country, or clever-clever left turns like Arctic Monkeys' Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino, but with the odds against them Stains on Silence is a valiant effort.


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Michel Platini has explained his position on the Europa League after speculation that he intended to scrap it in favour of an enlarged Champions League.

An interview in a French newspaper seems to have had Platini lost in translation as he claims he never said he had any intention of scrapping the Europa League.

“I said there’s reflection going on to figure out what shape the European competitions will take between 2015/18.

We are discussing it and we’ll take a decision in 2014, nothing has been decided for the time being and that is what I said.

Then I read in the papers that there was a war that was going to stop the Europa League, I said nothing of the sort”.

In response to criticism of the Europa League, especially from England, Platini said;

“I can’t speak for one or two countries, I have to speak for fifty three. It is a competition for top clubs all over Europe and each has a chance to win it. It’s open to everyone and a very popular competition, we have to see what we can do to improve it and this is an ongoing discussion”.

It has been reported that one of the measure seriously talked about to improve the Europa League is to give the winners a place in the following season’s Champions League and maybe even also to the losing finalist.

Without doubt this would tick a lot of boxes in terms of making the Europa League more attractive and the endless Thursday/Sunday matches that little bit easier to bear.

Send in your letters/articles to [email protected]

The new Christmas issue of The Mag available now in all Tyneside newsagents, or buy a single copy and subscriptions in our online shop, or get a Gift Subscription with free personalised letter for the person you love (or ask for one for yourself!).


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Abu Dhabi, UAETuesday 20 November 2018

The Middle East Framed - regional photography for August 7, 2018

Each day we bring you the best pictures from the Middle East and North Africa

Every day The National's photo editors select the best images from our part of the world.

More galleries from The National

World in focus - best photos for August 6, 2018

An Australian rodeo

Indonesia earthquake: Destruction and chaos on Lombok


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Racist And White Nationalist NYCFC Fans Decry, "Online Bullies," As Being, "Nazis, But Not The Kind We Love"

NEW YORK - Racist, white nationalist New York City FC (NYCFC) fans reportedly were very upset that their cover was blown and their information distributed online as they called out the so-called, “online bullies,” as being, “Nazis, but not the kind we love.”

 from http://nycfootballsolidarity.org/TRUEBLUES.pdf

from http://nycfootballsolidarity.org/TRUEBLUES.pdf

“We love Nazi’s like Goebbels, Richard Spencer and Iowa politician Steve King, but this kind of Nazi persecution is absolutely bullshit,” stated one racist dickhead man. “I don’t understand why a person who hates immigrants, Jews, Muslims, women, and pretty much everyone else can’t attend a soccer game in peace. I don’t understand why a person who wants to create a white ethnostate and makes Nazi salutes in the stands can’t attend a soccer game in peace. I just want to go to the game, throw out Nazi salutes and tell other fans about why they should hate all the immigrants that surround them in the supporters group and then, after the game, beat up other fans, supporters and random people in the street. WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?”

According to insider sources, NYCFC decided to ignore the attendance of these bigoted people in the stadium and among their travelling fans despite the repeated entreaties of other NYCFC fans as the club stated, “We believe in the rights of all fans to attend our games regardless of whether they want hot dogs with ketchup, Mix Diskerud back on the team, or whether they call for an extermination all Muslims and Jewish people globally in order to create a homogeneous culture of pure hatred and extremism.”

Groups of NYCFC fans reportedly resorted to banners, public shaming, a social media campaign, and reaching out to their NYCFC representatives in order to prevent the racists from attending NYCFC games.

“We were able to prove that some of these people marched with the KKK in Charlottesville and attacked people in the streets in New York City,” stated one anonymous NYCFC fan. “These people engage in violent extremism and the club just continues to do nothing.”

The Nutmeg News spoke to NYCFC about the situation and they again stated that their hands were tied.

“What are we supposed to do,” stated NYCFC president Jon Patricof. “It’s like the fans expect the organization to keep them safe or something. Look, it’s just a few in stadium Nazi salutes and white power stickers by our fans. Whats the big deal?”

The Nutmeg News will have more on this as NYCFC continues to do nothing.


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Daily Archives: January 31, 2007

A Liberal’s Welcome To DUmmie World

It's hard to believe, folks, but there are actually rational DUmmies out there. They tend to stay away from the loonier posts at the DU, and chat amongst themselves. One DUmmie, LOZoccolo, thought he could actually have a legit, adult, factual, non-BDS discussion. Silly DUmmie. It would probably be better if PJ over at DUMMIE […]

Global Warming On The Hill

We have Islamofacists who want to kill us and destroy our way of life. We have an out of control judiciary, which legislates from the bench and gives pedophiles rediculously low sentences. We have our troops fighting in Iraq. Yet, the Dumbocrats want to deal with a fake issue, Global Warming As Caused By Man […]

Pimpin’ a Friends Sports Blog

A good friend and fellow coworker of mine has started a sports blog. Check it out, and let him know what you think of Tar Heel Sports Though, he probably won't talk about the NJ Devils much! Heh!

Man Who Beheaded Daughter Was “Mentally Ill”

Or, at least, so says the sister A man accused of decapitating his 4-year-old daughter battled paranoid schizophrenia a decade before the killing, his sister said. John Patrick Violette, 37, of Clayton, has been charged with murder for the Jan. 12 death of his daughter, Katlin. Denise Violette said her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia […]

Rare Frilled Shark

Now, this is pretty cool Video: Rare Shark From CNN: A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is about 2,000 feet under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week. Marine park staff caught the 5 foot (1.6 meter) long creature, which they identified […]

WTW: UK Police Stop Terror Plot, Massive Use of Quotation Marks

Morning, y'all, Jebediah Murphy here. Kudos to the British (from the BBC) Police raids target 'terror plot' (this was the headline) Eight people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in Birmingham after a "significant" operation involving police and security service MI5. A number of addresses in the city have been sealed off after morning […]

Bad Behavior has blocked 5723 access attempts in the last 7 days.


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February 22, 2016

"What, you thought this was a wig?” WATCH Bernard, Canada's favourite roughneck, on Rig 45

Rebel Staff

We’ve already posted a small clip of our follow-up interview with Bernard where he told us that a number of viewers had accused him of being an actor!

To prove he’s the real thing, Bernard filmed this short clip of himself hard at work on an oil rig with more words of encouragement for those who are hurting from “Prime Minister Zoolander’s” policies.

For more Bernard go to "www.BernardTheRoughneck.ca”.

You must be logged in to comment. Click here to log in.
commented 2016-02-24 11:58:32 -0500
Good for you Bernard!!! They De-industrialized Ontario, now they are working on the rest of Canada. A lot of people are conned by the Socialism Lie that is being perpetrated on them, but many are awakening to the reality that it is a Totalitarian scam designed to weaken and enslave the masses. Unfortunately we are at war.
Sun Tsu
“Supreme excellence in warfare lies in the destruction of your enemy’s will to resist in advance of perceptible hostilities.”
Phycological warfare, running a good bluff.
commented 2016-02-23 23:02:19 -0500
Liberals hate people like this. Someone that works hard and pays taxes
commented 2016-02-23 22:23:39 -0500
Way to go Bernard……..you rock
commented 2016-02-23 20:05:51 -0500
Long hair represents freedom! Give ’em shit Bernard!
commented 2016-02-23 17:13:04 -0500
Thumbs up to you Bernard. Good on you.
commented 2016-02-23 16:35:05 -0500
How about Jism Tadpole
commented 2016-02-23 16:35:02 -0500
Robert Dick. — that’s ok —make it a chocolate crow from the candy store
commented 2016-02-23 16:07:13 -0500
As a fellow oil guy a millwright, thanks Bernard I got your back as well. go rebel go
commented 2016-02-23 15:29:07 -0500
i like this guy, he has cool weird Al Yankovich hair.
commented 2016-02-23 14:10:55 -0500
I would love to see Trudeau try that and spin around until he is dizzier than he already is(with Butts trying to hold onto his legs). Maybe the CBC would produce it. It might get some ratings!?
commented 2016-02-23 07:54:22 -0500
Bernard – you are the MAN! I am so friggin’ happy you are the real deal. I hereby eat crow as I was a doubter. I even posted as much here on The Rebel but I did temper my doubt with hope … and I have been duly schooled! Respect brother.
commented 2016-02-23 02:32:49 -0500
Fan-F’n-tastic!! Go Bernie, Go Rebel

- this commercial should come with a warning for SJWs – it would put a petro hater into a dead faint.
commented 2016-02-22 23:28:10 -0500
Keep it up Bernard – we love your commitment!!
TruDope would piss his pants just going through the “orientation” process – and sure as hell wouldn’t pass the piss test!! …know this – I wouldn’t hire TruDope to walk my dog – never mind work with me on a rig or Construction site!!
That is what the regulators need to do – is piss & hair test ALL public servants including leaders!! I’m sure very few would pass.
commented 2016-02-22 22:56:23 -0500
Tell us what you are doing in that picture Bernard. What does a day in the life look like. Give us a tour of the camp.
commented 2016-02-22 22:42:36 -0500
I have to join in and say that I like this guy! I admire these kind of people. Always have and I hope I always will. Maybe that’s a fundamental difference between those that support the Canadian nerdy industry and those that don’t. People who want to see the energy industry thrive, value the jobs and people who work on the rigs, in the field, and at the plants. Maybe those who want to see the energy industry diminish and die also don’t value guys like Bernard and don’t like these kind of jobs.
commented 2016-02-22 22:32:12 -0500
Congrats Bernard you’re on the job. I laugh when I hear lefttards talk how hard they’re working for Canadians. Like they know anything about work.
commented 2016-02-22 22:07:23 -0500
I am just flabergasted that the leftards (the unfortunate aflicted of some as yet not properly diagnosed form of encephilitis) think that Bernard is a sock puppet construct…..and that Justin Trudeau is “the real deal”…..their perceptions of reality are just so …..oh never mind.
commented 2016-02-22 21:35:59 -0500
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this guy!
commented 2016-02-22 21:25:35 -0500
Always hold your smartphone video camera sideways!
commented 2016-02-22 20:40:10 -0500
Bet Notley will love that video.
commented 2016-02-22 20:28:26 -0500
Imagine PM Junior Kardashian Sonnywayze Zoolander going at ’er hammer and tongs like Bernard.

Turdo would pee his lace panties within 15 minutes. :-[]

commented 2016-02-22 20:06:04 -0500
Bernard, you are a Canadian hero!! Keep the Bernard comin’ Rebel!!! Time for T-shirts, bumper stickers, and more Bernard ads! Rick Mercer and Rex Murphy might want to promote this guy too!!!
commented 2016-02-22 19:53:29 -0500
Great! Keep Bernard coming our way.
commented 2016-02-22 19:47:26 -0500
You go Bernard! REAL Canadians are cheering for you!
commented 2016-02-22 19:47:25 -0500
You go Bernard! REAL Canadians are cheering for you!
commented 2016-02-22 19:21:36 -0500
February 22, 2016
Dear Diary;
I’d better pay attention to this one. There’s a move afoot in Alberta to oust my loyal left-wing anti-oil lieutenant Rachel in a coup d’etat. It’s being called a kudatah but, because I reed and rite fonetically, they’re not clever enough to pull the wool over my eyes. It looks like some upstart called George Clark is behind it. Now, I’ve no idea what “Albertans First” is supposed to mean but I’ve heard he’s also involved in that too.
Apparently an NDP membership can be bought for as little as $1, so their plan is for lots and lots of Albertans to sign up and then wield power from within, maybe even to overthrow her. I think it’s a really dirty trick to play on such a nice lady, after all it’s not like she’s ever done anything nasty or mean spirited to anyone, especially to honest, hard-working Albertans.
My dear readers are probably wondering why I suddenly seem so concerned about someone else’s welfare, especially Westerners. Ah, my zombies are a canny lot. But of course I don’t care. You see, being an insightful visionary, I know that it’s important for me to learn from this. When the word gets out to the common people that my 21,000 voters, oops, I mean immigrants, oops, I mean refugees, are almost all fakes who have been living peacefully, renting houses and apartments, in towns and cities like Beirut and Amman for years, things could get a little awkward for me. It’s one thing to use a few lies to pin the deaths of refugees on Stevie and Chris and make them look bad, but it’s something else if the truth makes me look bad, especially when I’ve been playing on the compassion and generosity of all the Canadians I’ve duped and playing them for fools to benefit myself.
Anyway, I’ll be watching Rachel to see how she deals with her revolting people. Will she placate them by throwing a couple of cabinet members under the bus? Will she hire more big thugs to bully some more press reporters? Maybe she’ll take a leaf out of my book and just make up a lot of new rules to block the progress of anything she might not like.
Meanwhile I might be coming into a bit of a quandary over something called, err, ah, um, BDS, em, what’s that Gerald? No, not now, I’m in the middle of something. Wait until later.
commented 2016-02-22 19:16:19 -0500
Hey I use to do that —-pinepoint n w t —only water wells —Cominco. __in the late 60s
commented 2016-02-22 19:14:22 -0500
Peter. When you consider they can end up like Venezuela and STILL be making excuses, I’m sure they’ll have an easy time of this one!
commented 2016-02-22 19:13:37 -0500
I like that, advertising for the REBEL


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Dell swings axe at five per cent of EMEA staff

The lucky ones will be 'redeployed'

Computer giant Dell is axing up to five per cent of its 17,500-strong EMEA workforce in a cost-cutting exercise.

The firm told staff today that it has been forced to scale back its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to ensure its “future success and competitiveness”.

Earlier this month it announced a massive ten per cent slim-down of its global workforce to reduce expenses by at least $3bn annually by 2011.

Dell told staff in a memo today that it will “be removing a number of roles in EMEA as well as redeploying people into customer-facing roles.

“It also means we will be reducing our total staff numbers across the region. While we are still confirming the detail of these changes in consultation with employees and their representatives, we anticipate making reductions in our staffing levels across EMEA over the year of between four and five per cent from a workforce of 17,500. These changes will vary by country and by department.”

In an official statement, Dell said its latest round of job cuts were necessary to “deliver long-term profitable growth”.

It also took the opportunity to boast that it has delivered “the strongest portfolio of products and services in the company’s history” over the past year.

Despite that claim, Dell has been struggling in recent months to regain ground it has lost to a robust Hewlett-Packard, which last year grabbed the number one spot from its arch rival in total worldwide PC shipments.

The firm has also been rejigging its biz model in a painful restructuring exercise that saw Dell finally climb into bed with the channel after years of shunning the resellers – favoured by so many other computer vendors – in favour of selling its boxes direct to customers.

It seems that much of that shift in strategy is now directly affecting Dell staff, with roles becoming largely redundant following the firm’s change of stance on how it should punt its kit. ®

Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2018


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Can you survive without support?

Windows Server 2003 will pass out of Microsoft support on July 14, 2015. Different organisations report different numbers, but all agree that there are millions of Server 2003 servers still running in the wild.

Microsoft says there are 11 million Server 2003 servers still running. Gartner says eight million. Several internet searches bring up various other numbers, but I think it is safe to say somewhere between five and 15 million Server 2003 servers are still out there.

My hunch is that Gartner is under-estimating here. The analyst focuses on enterprises and on the whole wouldn’t care if small businesses were all to get flushed into the sun. A Spiceworks poll of workplaces reports that 57 per cent of respondents have at least one Server 2003 instance still running.

One study looking at un-migrated numbers specific to the UK finds 400,000 units yet to receive TLC there. I have as yet been unable to find numbers for my own country, Canada, but my straw polls say it will be a lot more than people think.

Another poll from late last year says one fifth of businesses will miss the mark.

Among my own client base there are probably 40 or so units left in the wild, and only about 20 of those can be migrated. Once upon a time Server 2003 was the last gasp for applications that should have been ported when Windows NT met its maker. Now, years later, the time has come again for some of my clients, and despite repeated warnings they are not ready.

There are a number of reasons why people don't want to migrate: familiarity with the older operating system; money; and in many cases the complexity of the workloads running on those Server 2003 instances.

Many of those servers probably have not had much attention paid to them in years aside from periodic patching. Administrators responsible for the workloads running on them may well have moved on, and their replacements may be theoretically aware of how to migrate data and settings but have have never had the time to practice doing it.

Tales of the unexpected

Of course, if you don't migrate you have two options: choose to run your operating system without security patches, or cough up for emergency support.

The cost of support for Server 2003 will be higher than it was for dragging instances of XP past their due date. Think $600 per server for the first year, and rising for every year after that, though you an probably bank a discount if you are a big customer.

Weird things can happen during migrations. Take this domain controller bug. Even if things are mostly straightforward, there is really no substitute for experience.

Over the past several years many sysadmins have done Server 2003 migrations. Unfortunately, there are not that many of us who can legitimately say we have done hundreds or even thousands of them. This has led to fear in the channel that one of the things holding migrations back is simply a lack of systems administrators with the skills and experience to do the job.

Fortunately the internet is full of practical guides to migration, so if you end up having to do this on your own you won't be left out in the cold.

To July and beyond

Microsoft's official Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ is here. If you need to talk to Microsoft about extending support past the Server 2003 deadline, that's the place to start.

When planning your migration away from Server 2003 it is worth bearing in mind the end of support dates for its successor operating systems.

Windows Server 2003 in most flavours meets its end on July 14, 2015. Windows Server 2008 support ends January 14, 2020, while Windows Server 2012 support ends January 10, 2023.

Windows Server 2016 is coming out soon, presumably in 2016. It will come with a new nano version. For some it is rather frustrating to have this new version coming out next year and yet have Windows Server 2003 expiring this year. So close, and yet so far.

For those who want to hop on Server 2016 as soon as it lands, Microsoft has Software Assurance as an option. Pay more, buy into the whole subscription concept for licensing and get access to upgrades as soon as they appear.

Bad vibrations

What everyone needs to remember is that Server 2003 doesn't suddenly stop working when support expires. It will continue doing its thing – but there will be an increased risk of security incidents past that date.

Every bad guy who has been sitting on hidden vulnerabilities is going to pull them out and go to town. Unlike Windows XP Server 2003 won’t cling around, zombie-like, at high numbers for years.

Companies will upgrade their servers. Those that don't will lock them down behind so many defences that nobody outside those organisations will ever know that a Server 2003 unit exists.

Right after support ends there will be a surge of attack attempts, malware and other trouble. This will last only so long and then it will simply taper off as the bad guys move on to more lucrative targets.

But let’s not get too doom-laden. Contrary to what you will be told by those with a vested interest in selling you new severs, it is entirely possible to defend an out-of-support operating system.

There is no path by which you save money by not upgrading your Server 2003 box and yet remain secure

What you need to know before you even consider trying to do so is that if you do it properly you will spend a heck of a lot more defending the operating system than you would on the cost of a new licence.

There is no path by which you save money by not upgrading your Server 2003 box and yet remain secure. If you think you can defend such a box with free tools you are deluding yourself and anyone who listens to you.

Of course, the other thing to consider is that in many cases the cost of migration is more than simply the cost of a new server and new operating system licence. Where the workload in question is on the complex side, administrators probably don't know how to migrate it or as migrations delve deep into the inner workings of Windows additional costs will appear.

These can be as simple as the cost of calling the application developer's support line and paying it to help you migrate. It can also evolve into multi-vendor support fiascos that can really run the meter, or require bringing in outside consultants charging some quite exorbitant fees.

Most migrations away from Server 2003 will be easy. Some will be hard. A few simply won't be possible at all.

Cry for help

If you are a small business needing help migrating away from Server 2003 IT network Spiceworks is perhaps the best place to find a local service provider. It has a list which will help you to find a provider operating in your area – one that charges you rates you can afford.

It is a place to start, but it covers anyone who chooses to list themselves as a service provider and there is no vetting of any kind. But although that may sound like a dire warning, there are great companies to be found on the Spiceworks IT providers list.

I strongly recommend cross checking these companies against the Microsoft partner list. This will give you a decent idea of how much a company is committed to the Microsoft ecosystem. A search on Spiceworks will also give you a good idea of the competence (and personality traits) of the people who work there.

My local managed provider of choice, Optrics, is on both lists. And no, this is not just a plug for my mates; these folks have certainly done well by me, but even skilled and experienced systems administrators need help from time to time.

There are plenty of aspects of IT that I don't have the experience to handle, or the time to learn. None of us can do it all, and none of us should be afraid to seek help if we feel our Server 2003 migrations involve a little more than we can handle.

Larger companies are not likely to find what they need in the Spiceworks or Microsoft partner lists. The bigger you get the more you need to start engaging name brand managed providers.

Before hitting Google I recommend having a conversation with your application's developers first. Most problems in migrating away from Server 2003 are related to specific workload incompatibilities. Your application developer may know of a company with experience of handling migrations of its software. If there is such a team out there, go with the pros.

If what you need is help migrating the more in-depth Windows features and coping with esoteric issues, then any old managed IT service provider will not do. What you want is a Microsoft MVP.

July 14 is coming up fast. Will you be ready in time?

Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2018


text:
Democrats go on the offensive over fake FCC net neut'y cyberattack

But efforts to target boss Ajit Pai are misguided partisanship

Analysis The debacle surrounding a false cyberattack on US federal regulator the FCC is heading to Congress, with politicians accusing its chairman of a "dereliction of duty."

Four Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter [PDF] to Ajit Pai in advance of a hearing this Thursday demanding to know what he knew about the claimed attack and when he knew it.

A report by the FCC's Inspector General this month confirmed what most already suspected: that the collapse of the FCC's public comment system over the controversial net neutrality reversal wasn't a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack – as the regulator claimed - but the result of a wave of people directed to the website by a TV program that was critical of the proposal.

Despite the official report [PDF] placing the blame for the false claims at the door of the FCC's former CIO and CISO, in the hyper-partisan world of Washington DC, lawmakers have decided to try to turn it into an attack on the Republican chair, Ajit Pai.

"We are deeply disturbed by the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Inspector General's Report of Investigation into the alleged distributed denial-of-service attacks," the letter to Pai reads.

"Given the significant media, public, and Congressional attention this alleged cyberattack received for over a year, it is hard to believe that the release of the IO's Report was the first time that you and your staff realized that no cyberattack occurred."

It then goes on to attack Pai personally, stating: "Such ignorance would signify a dereliction of your duty as the head of the FCC, particularly due to the severity of the allegations and the blatant lack of evidence."

Others have gone further, with net neutrality advocacy group Fight for the Future calling Pai "an embarrassment", accusing him of lying, demanding his resignation and arguing that the false accounts should cause Congress to "act immediately to overrule Ajit Pai's corrupt gutting of net neutrality."

While such aggressive tactics are not entirely surprising given Pai's own aggressive rhetoric against Democrats, and Fight for the Future in particular, they are nevertheless misguided.

While Pai has pushed through numerous questionable changes at the FCC, most controversially a series of changes seemingly designed to help media giant Sinclair Broadcasting, and although his actions on net neutrality have fallen far below what you would expect from the head of a federal regulator, in this case, Pai acted pretty much how you would hope and expect him to.

The FCC Inspector General report was unsparing in its criticism of the regulator, noting that despite repeated claims to the contrary there was no evidence that the FCC's IT team had properly analyzed the flood of requests to the comment filing system before concluding that it had been subject to a cyberattack.

The obvious cause of the system falling over was the result of a cable show – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – actively encouraging viewers to visit the FCC site and lodge their views.

Logs of the FCC's systems showed a clear spike in traffic the moment that the show urged viewers to contact the FCC through a redirected domain name (, and other related spikes when the show reiterated its call over social media.

Regardless, Chief Information Officer (CIO) David Bray told FCC management that it had fallen over because "some external folks attempted to send high traffic in an attempt to tie-up the server from responding to others."

In fact Bray misread the situation entirely and decided that 4Chan - "which is a group affiliated with Anonymous and the hacking community" - was behind a denial of service attack based on the logic that "normal folks cannot manually file a comment in less than a millisecond over and over and over again, so this was definitely high traffic targeting." He had in fact misunderstood his own systems and was misreading the logs.

You sure?

Ajit Pai's chief of staff David Berry was not convinced of this explanation, and asked for an assurance that it was an actual attack. "Are you confident it wasn't a bunch of John Oliver viewers?" he asked Bray directly in an email. Bray told him in response: "Yes, we’re 99.9 per cent confident this was external folks deliberately trying to tie-up the server."

As a result, faced with demands to explain why its system had fallen over, the FCC put out a statement the next day based on its CIO's conclusions. Despite Bray's assurances, the FCC release noted explicitly that its statement came from him and not the organization or the chair.

"Federal Communications Commission Chief Information Officer Dr. David Bray issued the following statement today regarding the cause of delays experienced by consumers recently trying to file comments on the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS)," it started, before quoting him: "Beginning on Sunday night at midnight, our analysis reveals that the FCC was subject to multiple distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDos)…"

Bray was of course wrong. But the report notes that one factor in the confusion may have been the fact that the FCC did not inform him that the TV show had actually warned the FCC ahead of time that it would be running a segment and that they might experience significant traffic that same day.

"During our interview with Tony Summerlin, Summerlin said: 'Bray was furious that he had not been informed about the John Oliver episode'," the report notes.

There was confusion over the exact time that the "attack" started – Bray became convinced it started earlier than the TV show when it fact it directly coincided. And then there was the fact that Bray continued to insist his team had carried out an "analysis" of the traffic but the inspector general's report noted there wasn't one.

"We expected to obtain and review the analysis referenced by Bray in the press release and to obtain and review logs and supporting documents for that and subsequent analyses," the report notes. "However, we learned very quickly that there was no analysis supporting the conclusion in the press release, there were no subsequent analyses performed, and logs and other material were not readily available."

Back-up failure

This problem – where the organization's IT team was assuring management it had carried out an analysis and reached the correct conclusion – was continued in subsequent discussions and meetings. Even during the inspector general's investigations, FCC chief information security officer Leo Wong continued to insist that the conclusions were right, particularly when it came to the timing of the "attack."

The report also criticized Wong for misrepresenting a meeting between the FCC's IT staff and the FBI – which had been called into to discuss whether the attack warranted their attention.

There is a lot more detail in the report but the upshot is that, as big a debacle as it was, neither FCC chair Ajit Pai nor his immediate team, were responsible for the mess. They were in fact doing a professional job in difficult circumstances. They had:

  • Sought an immediate explanation for the system falling over from the person in charge of the system.
  • Double-checked that explanation before putting out a statement as soon as possible.
  • Put out a statement specifically from the CIO rather than the organization itself of the chair – indicating a level of continued uncertainty
  • Asked the FBI to talk to the FCC's IT team to see if they should get involved.
  • Responded to lawmaker's requests for information by directing communications staff to talk directly to IT staff – and then allowed that information to go out without interfering with it.
  • Held back from noting their own skepticism despite a critical roasting in the press and Congress, relying on the word of their own staff.

Although chair Pai was almost certainly informed about what was happening in general terms, the inspector general report appears to show that he did not micro-manage or over-involve himself in the process but instead trusted his IT and communications staff to handle what was a pretty embarrassing incident for the organization.

It appears as though Pai and his team were also open and compliant with the subsequent investigation by its inspector general (IG) – there doesn't appear to be any coded wording in the report that suggests otherwise – and it looks as though the IG was given all the assistance he needed to get to the bottom of things.

And then, when it emerged that Bray had clearly misled FCC management about the cause but more importantly about the fact that he had carried out a detailed analysis when he had not, he was replaced as CIO with no fuss and at the same time as there was a series of other changes at the organization. In other words, Pai didn’t hang him out to dry over a mistake.

All of which points to the sort of executive behavior that you would expect from an official in a powerful position. In fact, it may be the most professional that Pai has actually been since taking over the role. As obnoxious and puerile as he frequently is at public meetings and talks, Pai may be a good crisis leader, calm when others are losing their minds.

Denial of denial-of-service served: There was NO DDoS on FCC net neutrality comments

The same crisis leadership was demonstrated when the question over approval of the Sinclair-Tribune merger reached his desk. Rather than push ahead and tie the regulator up in an unnecessary controversy, Pai took the decision to refer it to an independent administrative court – a decision that cost him political points, particular with the White House.

Of course once the crisis was over and the inspector general report on the "DDoS attack" was imminent, Pai reverted back to type, slamming Bray in a statement put out before the actual report was released.

"I am deeply disappointed that the FCC’s former Chief Information Officer (CIO), who was hired by the prior Administration and is no longer with the Commission, provided inaccurate information about this incident to me, my office, Congress, and the American people," ranted.

"This is completely unacceptable. I’m also disappointed that some working under the former CIO apparently either disagreed with the information that he was presenting or had questions about it, yet didn’t feel comfortable communicating their concerns to me or my office."

He went on: "On the other hand, I’m pleased that this report debunks the conspiracy theory that my office or I had any knowledge that the information provided by the former CIO was inaccurate and was allowing that inaccurate information to be disseminated for political purposes."

Partisan BS

Now the Democrats and net neutrality advocates are trying to make hay out of this situation – where a federal regulator was completely wrong about the cause of an embarrassing failure of its own systems.

And the FCC should be embarrassed. Particularly over the fact that FCC leadership consciously ignored a clear majority of comments that were opposed to its plan because it wasn't in their interests to do so.

That is a shameful failure of an organization that is supposed to be doing serious policy work in support of the American people rather than push through ideological positions or support the interest of large corporations.

But when it comes to the DDoS fake attack, it would be far better for critics to recognize that in this case the FCC chair and his team did what was right, even though it proved to be a disaster. ®

Biting the hand that feeds IT © 1998–2018


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Running Reading List

My (current) favorite books about running

*Required disclosure: this post includes affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my links I get a small (at no cost to you!) commission or discount. I promise to only link products that I'd recommend and use myself. I strongly encourage you to first consider shopping small and locally, even if it means I don't get the referral commission. Otherwise I really appreciate your support: blogs are expensive to run and maintain and I'd like to get out of the red one of these days, thanks!

If you love running and you love reading there's a good chance that eventually you'll end up reading books about running. There is so much to say about running - from the poetic to the scientific to the sometimes dry litany of training tips - and it's no surprise that running literature, while not a huge niche, at least has a deep bench. I started reading books about running by way of audiobooks. There's not much that will hype you up more about running on mile 8 of a long run than listening to all the benefits of running or all the love elite runners have for the sport.

Books I Recommend

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seenby Christopher McDougall

I started with Christopher McDougall's best-seller Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen*. Amazing endurance races, scientific evidence that humans evolved as a species because of running, and brushing up against running greats during the dig for knowledge into the mysteries of running? Yes please! The book was highly engaging and even inspirational (and I'm not one to use that word lightly). And with that, my interest in more books about running was piqued.

Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Enduranceby Christopher McDougall

I followed up with McDougall's other book Natural Born Heroes: How a Daring Band of Misfits Mastered the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance*. While this book feels a bit heavier with more historical anecdotes (including one on-going anecdote of how a band of Cretan guerrillas kidnapped a Nazi general) it was still overall an interesting book that sparked a few fun ideas in my mind about my own running and fitness.

A person! They're running! OMG! Did you know there are books about running too?! OMG! (I should probably go to bed instead of try to write clever captions)

Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatnessby Scott Jurek

Most recently during a marathon session of editing photos I listened to Scott Jurek's Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness*. It's funny - I vividly remember having the chance to go to a book signing event at a local book store for this, but I turned it down. In 2012 when this book came out I liked running, but I was completely isolated from the running community and so I had no idea how special it was that Scott Jurek was coming to town to sign his book at an indie bookstore and lead a group run afterwards. Maybe I figured I couldn't keep up with an elite runner during a group run, or maybe I figured I just didn't love running that much so I wouldn't miss anything, but looking back I really wish I'd gone. That was one of the first times I'd heard of Scott Jurek, and I heard about him again in 2015 when he set the FTK (fastest known time) supported on the Appalachian Trail at 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes, and so finally reading his book - exploring his personal and running life as well as some of his life philosophies and his vegan diet - felt like finally meeting someone properly after you keep bumping into them in all your favorite spots.

Run Fast East Slow* by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky

I read most of Run Fast East Slow* - if reading a cookbook counts as reading a book - after the event at Fleet Feet Carrboro with Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky. The cookbook has some great tips on eating whole foods and fueling an athlete's body as well as the intermittent anecdote tucked away among the recipes.

Books I Want to Read

Of course there are plenty more books about running that I'd love to read - I'm just getting started! Check out the next books on my list:

Have you read any of these books, or would you be interested in reading books about running? Let me know in the comments!

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Paul Bongiorno
is a columnist for The Saturday Paper and a regular commentator on ABC Radio National Breakfast.

By this author

Opinion April 18, 2015

Unfriendly fire as Costello blasts Abbott government

“Peter Costello’s ‘look at me’ moment had invited closer scrutiny of his contribution. Labor couldn't believe its luck.”

Opinion April 11, 2015

Big business, economic reforms and fair taxation

“Who would have thought that a joint statement from nine of Australia’s peak business groups would attack a political leader for an “almost continuing focus on budget fairness”?”

Opinion April 04, 2015

Abbott undermines Hockey’s Re:think on tax

“Abbott says there can be no GST change unless Shorten wants it – either a white flag or a de facto admission he hasn’t got the political clout to pressure the senate to support a change.”

Opinion March 28, 2015

Liberals clutch at straw polls in the wind

“There is still a nagging suspicion that Abbott has not completely killed off the option of a double dissolution election if his budget repositioning works. ”

Opinion March 21, 2015

Christopher Pyne’s Holy Grail of education reform

“For a government desperate to re-establish its credibility, Pyne’s performance is a major setback … His education changes are a template for what not to do. ”

Opinion March 14, 2015

Abbott running short of spares

“Everything that is happening with the government is through the prism of leadership. The opinion polls are the pulse of the PM’s grip on his political life.”

Opinion March 07, 2015

Joe Hockey, the wily old fortune-seller

“Why on earth would anyone think they have any idea what our economy will look like in 40 or 100 years? The only credible prediction is there will be an economy.”

Opinion February 28, 2015

Higginson leak targets Abbott, Credlin and Loughnane

“The whole episode illustrates that for Abbott little has changed. He is more comfortable attacking and creating enemies than in reaching out and making friends.”

Opinion February 21, 2015

Tony Abbott’s foul-mouthed fury at whip Philip Ruddock

“Some months ago there was an ugly confrontation between Philip Ruddock and the PM. It ended in acrimony, with a prime ministerial “get fucked” adding colour.”


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There was a time that I thought looks were everything. And how I wanted to look was not what I saw in the mirror. But I wanted more than just a pretty face. When people looked at me, I wanted them to see stunning physical beauty. When I spoke, I wanted them to think my dialogue was simply intoxicating, not to mention my impressive wit. I craved, but still lacked, that “It” factor. I wanted not just to be popular, but perfect.  I wanted to be something I was not. I secretly wished my last name were Jones so people would want to keep up with me for a change.

I was a shy, timid kid who was more geeky than glamorous, more textbookish than titillating. I spent most of the time with my nose to the grind or buried in a book. I wrote silly lovesick poetry that rhymed, even if it meant stretching the cadence or context. I was a fashion disaster with nary a style of my own, unless you count 1983 Geek as a style.

I went on to improve in this way and that. I steered my gaze up from the linoleum floors and started to make some friends. I was invited to parties and hosted my own. But that inner hunger to be someone still gnawed away at my fibers. Simply being me was not (good) enough. Insecurity hung like a veil, shrouding me from feeling the sense of confidence that seemingly oozed so easily from the other girls I knew.

That was during the angst riddled years of middle and high school.

I thought motherhood would be different.

Those teenage pangs of insecurity creep into my skeleton and squeeze my muscles into sailor knots. I feel the physical twisting and grinding. I find myself constant comparing myself, my kids, my stuff. Is my diaper bag cool enough even though it’s not an It bag? Do I even know what the latest It bag is? Are my kids going to the “right” camp, school, play date? Does my muffin top seep over my jeans worse than the other moms? Am I disciplining my kids too much or too little? Did I pack a healthy snack? Will they scoff at my house and its consignment store steals? Am I doing this right? Did I offend anyone? Have I planned for enough time? Is the store-bought cake a faux pas? Is that too much milk? Should I invite them over for a play date? How do I handle that gluten allergy? Will I say something stupid? Will they hate me because my labor and deliveries were painfully easy? Will they hate me because I didn’t breastfeed? Is my skirt too tight? Are my boobs sagging in this sweater? Can I keep up in that boot camp? How can I hide my unmanicured nails? Will they notice my swimsuit is from last summer’s sale rack? Is my car too messy? Do I have more gray hair? Am I the oldest mom here? Will they laugh at me when they go home?

And the insecurities swell. I bat them away one by one with a virtual fly swatter. I shrug them off. I flick them like flies ruining a perfectly good spring picnic. I mumble my personal mantra over and over to myself until I start believing it. “Everything is fine. You rock. It doesn’t matter what people say.” Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Here’s the thing, I actually believe it. All that insecurity nonsense simply plays on the overwhelming responsibility of motherhood. We weigh ourselves down with baggage of our own childhood, angst of fitting in to a foreign world, while we are treading lightly among new company and trying to be the very bastion of motherhood that fuels these insecurities in the first place. We pressure ourselves to do what’s right while forgetting that we’re the very people who define right. Those thoughts are fleeting, a gush of nerves storming my psyche. They beat like the cadence of action movie gunfire in my mind and are lost almost as quickly as they crashed.

Deep breaths. Scan. Posture straightened. Reality check. Smile.

I realize now that the bag I carry isn’t nearly as important as the woman I’ve become. The woman who proudly brings her own jute handled bags to the grocery store.

Ilina Ewen
Ilina Ewen

Ilina is mom to 2 sons & works as Chief of Staff to NC's First Lady. She daydreams about food, travel, and shoes.


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11-20-2018  5:36 am      •
The perimeter fence sits in front of the White House fence on the North Lawn along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington,Sept 22,2014. Their reputations at risk, a coterie of President Donald Trump’s associates caught up in the swirling debate about Trump and Russia are turning to a similar if unusual playbook: volunteering to testify to Congress, before even being asked. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Published: 03 April 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — Their reputations at risk, a coterie of President Donald Trump's associates caught up in the swirling debate about Trump and Russia are turning to a similar if unusual playbook: volunteering to testify to Congress, before even being asked.

They are eager to come forward despite not having been compelled by subpoena to appear before the two committees investigating Russian meddling in the U.S. election and potential Trump campaign collusion. But testifying on such matter is an exercise most people would typically avoid, especially if there's a chance they're being scrutinized in a parallel FBI investigation.

So what gives?

"There's only one way: Tell it early, tell it all, tell it yourself," said Lanny Davis, who was special counsel to President Bill Clinton during his impeachment hearings.

Davis, who frequently advises political figures on crisis management, said it's wise for those whose names have emerged publicly as part of the investigations to seek proactively to clear their names.

After all, Washington has seen more than its share of once-powerful people who failed to learn the lesson that the cover-up is often worse than the original sin.

"These questions are going to ultimately get answered," Davis said. "You ought to answer them yourself."

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, told the Senate intelligence panel this week he'd gladly answer questions about his meetings with the Russian ambassador and others.

Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman who features prominently in the Russia scandal, made a similar offer to the House committee investigating.

So did former Trump adviser Carter Page and associate Roger Stone.

Those aides haven't publicly asked for any protections from prosecution to testimony. But former national security adviser Michael Flynn is in talks with congressional committees to receive immunity in exchange for being questioned, according to his lawyer.

On Friday, the top Democrats on the House intelligence panel said it was too early to consider an immunity deal for Flynn.

In case a formal letter wasn't flashy enough, Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska took out quarter-page ads in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal to publicize his willingness to "take part in any hearings conducted in the US Congress on this subject in order to defend my reputation and name."

That move followed an Associated Press report that Manafort in 2005 had written Deripaska, an aluminum magnate close to Russian President Vladimir

Putin, proposing he do work for Deripaska that would "benefit the Putin Government."

The rush to volunteer to testify even extended to a convicted Ponzi schemer whose name had not previously been associated with the Russia investigations.

Steven Hoffenberg, a Trump supporter and onetime New York Post owner, phoned the AP unsolicited to announce he'd volunteered to testify to offer "evidence that is very serious."

"I decided on my own after watching the circus of false stories," Hoffenberg said, adding that given his criminal history the FBI likely tapped his communications, including those with people in Trump Tower during the summer of 2016.

"There's no privacy for me as a citizen."

So far, none of the above has testified before Congress. Nor has former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who agreed to testify before House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes canceled the hearing.

The openness to testify publicly, in the absence of at least a public demand for immunity, is in stark contrast to how last year's Capitol Hill investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server unfolded.

In that case, multiple witnesses — including the IT staffer who set up Clinton's server — asserted their constitutional rights against self-incrimination and either did not appear at a hearing or refused to answer questions.

Rob Walker, a Washington lawyer at the Wiley Rein law firm who represents clients in congressional investigations, said the willingness to testify struck him as "contrary to the norm of what one would expect" in such a probe.

He said he was not sure a witness had anything to gain from appearing before Congress during an FBI investigation.

"As a general matter," he added, "I would advise a client to follow a different path."

Though witnesses may look like they have something to hide if they refuse to testify before Congress, it's also clear they open themselves to criminal prosecution in the event government officials believe they're lying.

The Justice Department, for instance, prosecuted retired baseball star Roger Clemens for perjury after he denied steroid use to Congress, though he was later acquitted of all charges.

It's unlikely the FBI is as enthusiastic as those volunteering to talk.

Testifying before Congress can complicate a criminal investigation if a witness is granted immunity, given restrictions on the Justice Department's ability to use those statements in any subsequent prosecution.

"It's not just that you're not allowed to use the testimony, said Josh Chafetz, a Cornell University law professor and expert in congressional investigations. "You're not allowed to use any leads you got from the testimony."

Associated Press writer Jake Pearson in New York contributed to this report.

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Adagio Access Le Havre Les Docks

Located in Le Havre, this property is 2 minutes from Docks Oceane Shopping Centre and 10 minutes from the town centre. It offers apartments with free WiFi access.

Each apartment comes with a desk, a private shower room and a kitchen with microwave and refrigerator. Breakfast is served daily in the communal lounge. Several bars and restaurants can be found 2 minutes from the property. Private parking is also available.

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This property is located in the heart of the Les Docks, near the main railway station.
Various Cathedrals, museums and Churches are within a 30-minute walk radius. Deauville Airport is also situated just a 30-minute drive away.

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Yeoman Dartmoor Balanced Flue Stove

Yeoman Dartmoor Single Door Gas Stove
  • Yeoman Dartmoor Single Door Gas Stove
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Modern technology is combined with traditional charm in the Yeoman Dartmoor gas stove. Providing 5.3kw of adjustable heat. Full description

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  • 2.5 - 5.3kw Variable Heat Output
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The Dartmoor gas stove is only available with a log effect fuel bed but has other styling options so you can tailor the look of the stove to suit your room.

The heat and flames can be controlled with the easy to use manual controls or you can upgrade to one of the remote control options available.

Chimney Type Balanced Flue
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Peru is becoming world renown for its culinary scene. In fact, in 2012 it claimed the "Worlds Leading Culinary Destination" at the World Travel Awards. Peru's rich culinary escapades are related to its rich landscapes. On my trip I traveled through deserts, climbed high altitudes, drove around volcanoes and great lakes and traipsed through jungles. This means that Peru has a great variety of ingredients from all these different climates. Peruvian dishes are also considered to be a unique combination of their native ingredients as well as a reflection of the colonial and migrant history of the country. No matter the ingredients and influences, Peru presents an exciting and delicious culinary adventure for everyone, especially the avid foodie. Experiencing as much food as possible was one of my missions for my trip. I was lucky enough to be able to eat everything that I had on my Peruvian foodie bucket list.

 Ceviche at La Mar in Peru

After a couple hours of researching online, I had my heart set on visiting one of Lima's most popular restaurants: Cebicheria La Mar. Deservedly ranked on Trip Adviser as the second best restaurant (the first was way too expensive for my budget), La Mar is famous for its ceviche and la causa, which happened to be exactly what I had been eying through my Peruvian food research. There are also many La Mar restaurants opened around the world, including New York and Miami. The restaurant is an extremely popular and cosmopolitan luncheon spot, and I was smart to arrive early, about 30 mins after the restaurant opened it's doors. By 1 pm, there was a line of over 30 people waiting for tables outside. Above is their classic ceviche. If you haven't heard of this dish or haven't tried it, I can promise you that you are missing out and you should immediately look for a Peruvian or South American restaurant near you. Ceviche is essentially fresh raw fish, cured in different citrus and lime juices, with onions, spices, cilantro and chilli. It usually is served with potato and large Andean corn called mote. It is absolutely fantastic and really a treat for your taste buds.

 La causa at La Mar in Peru
 What to eat in Peru: La Causa

La causa is a light meal that is made of a kind of mashed or pureed potato and usually comes with a variety of other ingredients, such as tuna, chicken mayonnaise, shrimp avocado etc. I'm not a hundred percent sure what all of mine were, as it was a sampler, but I know that one of them was a chicken mayonnaise causa, and one of them was extremely fishy, and another had shrimp. Different, but delicious!

 What to Drink in Peru: Chica Morada and Pisco Sour

The national drinks of Peru are the Chica Morada (left) and the Pisco Sour (right). The Chica Morada is made from purple corn, and is a staple for many Peruvians. The drink has been around since before the Incans. I tried many, many Pisco Sours on my trip, possibly too many, and they ranged from pretty darn good to extremely strong and designed to knock me off my light-weight drinking feet. The one's that were not too strong sour-wise and not too potent-alcoholic wise were the best for me!

 What to eat in Arequipa:  rocoto relleno

The rocoto relleno (stuffed roasted pepper) was very high on my bucket list of Peruvian food. I had seen a lot of pictures of this dish before so I thought it looked really interesting and tasty. I was lucky enough to snag one of these beauties when my group went for lunch at El Tio Dario in Arequipa. There were not enough for all of us, which I only realized later, so I was very grateful that I was able to try one. It was spicy and superb and definitely something you should try while in Peru. Arequipa had some of the best food, so if you're a foodie, add it to your list!

 What to drink in Peru: coca tea
 Coffee at Puku Puku, Lima, Peru

Some more drinks of Peru. Coca tea is used to ward off altitude sickness, but is also a treat. Peruvians are also known for their coffee. I had a cappuccino at the Puku Puku Cafe in Lima, an extremely popular little hideaway. Their coffee is all organic and is beautiful.

 Zig Zag, Arequipa, Peru
 Alpaca steak in Peru

One of my favorite restuarnts in Peru was the Zig Zag restaurant in Arequipa. The restaurant itself is beautiful and actually the perfect venue for a romantic dinner. Our group spoilt that atmosphere somewhat, as we were very loud, and had a lot of wine. Oops. They have a large menu, but the majority of us opted for the volcanic rock alpaca steak. I was somewhat hesitant about trying alpaca, as they look a lot like llamas and I was kind of a big fan of llamas... But when in Peru. The steak was divine, and so was the overall presentation of our meals. I also ordered a chocolate truffle (which only cost me a dollar), as I kept hearing  how amazing Arequipa's chocolate is. It was amazing! Only very small. I didn't take a picture of it as a result, as my group and the waitress were all laughing at me with a coin sized truffle on a plate. Still, it was pretty amazing!

 Empanada in Peru

I tried empanadas for the first time in a little town in the Sacred Valley. There was a group of six of us girls who ordered them, and the poor guy didn't know what to do with himself with having so many orders.

 Tirimisu, Cusco, Peru

Besides Lima and Arequipa, Cusco is also a great town for a foodie. Basically, all the larger towns in Peru are great for foodies! The above is an Italian place we went to in Cusco, and for the life of me I cannot remember it's name! It was really great and the tiramisu was divine. Cusco really had some amazing places to eat, I unfortunately was so focused on my food I forgot to take pictures - foodie fail! Papachos is an incredible burger place. The servings are massive and the burger was really tasty. On my last night in Peru, our tour manager took us to Fallen Angel - probably my favorite restaurant of the entire trip. It is a little more pricey than most places, but it is so worth it. The ambiance of the restaurant is incredibly unique and different - one of our tables was a sheet of glass over a filled bath tub that had fish swimming in it! We had balloon hats, and dined under disco balls. I ordered a Thai pasta, as it was recommended by our incredible guide Gabi, and as always, it did not disappoint. We were all blown away by our meals! Again, the biggest foodie fail ever to not get a picture to Instagram annoy everyone with!

WARNING: If you have a guinea pig or are a big fan of them (or have a sensitive disposition) Look away!

Cuy, better know known as our pets the guinea pig to Westerners, is a delicacy in Peru. And of course, when in Peru... This is my tour manager with the guinea pig that her mom made for us. It's kind of hard to find any meat to try, but it's super gamey. Not sure if I was a fan or not, but that was because on both days we tried cuy, I felt pretty ill with motion sickness from being on the bus all day. Always fun to try something different though!

 eating Cuy guinea pig in Peru with Contiki

eating Cuy guinea pig in Peru with Contiki

 Cuy in Peru

And there you have it! How I ate my way through Peru! The only reason I didn't put on a 100 kg on this trip was because I got sick in the middle of the trip and couldn't stomach any delicious food (I paid 27 soles for a plate of rice at a buffet one day, most expensive plate of rice I've ever had). Just means I have to go back and gorge myself to make up for it!


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Let Them Eat Cake Mug 15oz

Whether you're drinking your morning coffee, your evening tea, or something in between – this mug's for you! It's sturdy and glossy with a vivid print that'll withstand the microwave and dishwasher.

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