Here?s the latest news on hirings, promotions and departures among environmental leaders.
CBRE: The commercial real estate firm has appointed Rebecca Pearce as head of sustainability for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Pearce was previously head of client sustainability services at CBRE?s Pacific business and before that, she was with the Sustainability Advisory Group.
EnSafe: The environmental services firm has appointed Don Bradford as president and CEO. Bradford, a 20-year EnSafe veteran, previously directed the firm?s environmental compliance services.
Outreach Strategies: The sustainability communications firm hired Alison Omens as vice president. Omens was previously media outreach director with the AFL-CIO.
Wilo USA: The pumps and pump services provider has promoted Harold Adams to national sales manager for water management. Adams was previously regional sales manager for the company?s northeast region.
RF Biocidics: The food safety company has hired Charley Phillips as vice president of sales. Phillips was previously vice president of sales at Atlas World Food and Agriculture. The company hired a new CEO, Craig Powell, two months ago.
The Governance & Accountability Institute: The research and monitoring organization appointed Linda M. Lowson as a fellow at the institute. Lowson will continue as CEO and chief counsel of CSR Insight and Global ESG Regulatory Academy.
Earth911: The recycling and waste management database services firm has appointed Preston Read to its advisory board. Read was formerly senior vice president of government affairs at Recyclebank.
Solid Waste Authorityof Central Ohio:? Ron Mills, executive director, resigned as landfill chief The Columbus Dispatch reports, and accepted a severance package after sending a derogatory email about the county commissioner to him by mistake.
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SAN FRANCISCO ? You?d be correct to say that Tim Lincecum is marginally better than he was last year.
It is not the most encouraging of margins, however.
Last year, Lincecum?s 5.18 ERA was the highest among all qualified NL starting pitchers. His ERA now stands at 5.12 after he littered the field with mistakes in a 9-6 loss to the A?s Wednesday night.
You remember last year. The fall was so sudden and so stunning for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, it was easier to pretend you weren?t really seeing it. The Giants managed to withstand it only because the rest of the rotation pumped out quality starts on the other four days.
Here is the hard truth: The Giants cannot absorb a bad Lincecum anymore. And nobody can be blind to it.
Lincecum was an emblem, but not the whole story as the Giants committed three errors while losing to the A?s for the third consecutive day.
This, in short, is bad, bad baseball. The Giants have received two quality starts in 15 games. They keep combining physical mistakes with mental ones. Their 25 errors in May are the most in the major leagues. And for a third consecutive night, their offense couldn?t do enough in the early innings against an A?s pitcher who entered with an ERA over 5.
It has to get better, and fast, if the Giants are to keep from imploding before Independence Day. After finishing up with the A?s on Thursday, they?ll play 22 of 31 games on the road ? and 19 of those will come against clubs with winning records.
Starting pitching report
Lincecum (3-5) has to battle harder than ever to work clean innings. The last thing he needs is to be his own enemy, to lose focus, to make avoidable mistakes like forgetting to cover first base.
That happened in a messy fifth inning that he did not escape.
But Lincecum?s struggles began much earlier. He issued a leadoff walk to Coco Crisp in the first inning ? never a good way to begin ? and then he appeared to chuckle to himself after Yoenis Cespedes took a huge cut at a 3-1 fastball and fouled it back to the screen.
The last thing you?d expect is for Lincecum to throw another fastball, especially after Cespedes almost cleared the McDowell Mountains with two home runs off Lincecum this spring.
But after resetting the signs with catcher Buster Posey, a fastball is exactly what followed. Cespedes drove it to dead center for a triple. Then the A?s went ahead 2-0 when second baseman Marco Scutaro and right fielder Hunter Pence converged on Josh Donaldson?s blooper. Scutaro dropped it for an error, but Pence might have been just as blameworthy for not calling off the infielder.
Lincecum had to pitch out of trouble in the fourth when Seth Smith legged out a double on a ground ball that snuck past Scutaro?s diving attempt. It would have been a highlight play if Scutaro had made it, but even an average second baseman normally keeps that ball on the infield.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy made a rare mound visit before Lincecum got a strikeout, issued an intentional walk to load the bases, then retired pitcher Tommy Milone on a fly ball.
But the A?s pestered Lincecum again in the fifth, and all the limp body language that accompanied so many of his starts last year appeared to resurface. Crisp singled and Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double before Lincecum rallied long enough to throw four quality offspeed pitches to strike out Cespedes.
Then Donaldson followed with a hard grounder to the right side. First baseman Brett Pill knocked it down and might have had a play, but Lincecum never made a move to cover the bag as the A?s loaded the bases. John Jason followed with a line single to left field to knock Lincecum from the game.
Linccum left the bases loaded and two of his runners scored. He was charged with six runs (five earned) on seven hits and four walks (one intentional). He struck out four while managing to record just 13 outs on a whopping 101 pitches.
Bullpen report
The Giants needed lefty specialist Javier Lopez to bail them out in the third inning Tuesday night. This time, they went to him in the fifth.
Raise your hand if you see a problem here.
No, this is not the way it?s supposed to work. But with the rotation continuing to weigh down the club, that?s the way manager Bruce Bochy has been forced to operate.
Lopez?s tourniquet wasn?t as tight this time, as the A?s got the matchup advantage by pinch hitting a right-handed batter, Nate Freiman, who hit a two-run single to give the A?s a 6-1 lead.
But other than that, the Giants bullpen continued to pitch well under the circumstances.
For all that?s gone wrong with the Giants in recent weeks, the bullpen has been nothing short of outstanding. Despite a heavy workload, they entered with a 2.76 ERA, the second lowest in the major leagues.
Ramon Ramirez made his first appearance with the Giants since the 2011 trade that sent him to the Mets along with Andres Torres for Angel Pagan. He mostly gave his new/old team what it needed, holding the A?s to a run on a sacrifice fly in two innings.
Jean Machi struggled in the ninth and didn?t get much help from his defense while allowing two critical runs before Jeremy Affeldt stemmed the rally.
At the plate
Dan Straily had a 5.73 ERA. Jarrod Parker had a 5.76 ERA. Milone entered with a 5.19 ERA.
All three emerged as winning pitchers as the A?s have dominated this Bay Bridge series.
But no matter how badly the Giants slog through the early innings, they usually manage to get the tying run to the plate at home.
Pence and Pill hit solo home runs in the second and sixth innings, respectively, and the Giants continued to ratchet up the pressure on the A?s bullpen.
Andres Torres? double capped the three-run rally in the sixth. Marco Scutaro hit an RBI double in the eighth as Gregor Blanco was allowed to score from first base, oddly enough, despite fan interference. Then Scutaro scored on Pablo Sandoval?s single as the Giants made it a one-run game.
But those two runs in the top of the ninth crushed thoughts of another walk-off.
At least Torres reached base in four of five plate appearances and has 12 hits in his last 25 at-bats. He?s made a strong case to continue as the leadoff hitter in Angel Pagan?s absence.
In field
On another checkered night with the glove, Scutaro mixed in his best defensive play of the season.
He broke toward second base with the runner going in the second inning, which helped him reach Milone?s grounder up the middle. Then Scutaro flipped with his glove to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who turned the terrific double play.
But Scutaro?s error in the first inning was his ninth of the season, the most among major league second basemen.
Third baseman Pablo Sandoval made a throwing error in the sixth and Torres made the most embarrassing gaffe in the ninth, when he let Donaldson?s base hit get past him in left field to allow a run to score.
Attendance
The Giants announced 41,512 paid. It was even an off night for some of the fans, and not just the clueless dude who interfered with Scutaro?s double in the eighth.
One fan screamed ?Let?s go Bochy!? as pitching coach Dave Righetti walked to the mound in the ninth.
Up next
The Giants finish their two-game homestand and their four-game Bay Bridge series with the A?s on Thursday. Barry Zito (3-3, 4.13) takes the ball against right-hander A.J. Griffin (5-3, 3.84). First pitch is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. PDT.
CINCINNATI (AP) ? A Republican senator and a congressman from Ohio said Wednesday night that the key question about the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status is who in the Obama administration was involved.
Sen. Rob Portman and Rep. Steve Chabot spoke to a hundreds-strong gathering of tea party activists in near Cincinnati, which has been a focus, or "ground zero," as one tea party leader called it, of the IRS probe following disclosures that agency employees there subjected conservative groups for additional, often burdensome scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
"The question is, 'How high up did it go?'" Chabot said, adding: "And what's going to be done about it?"
The Obama administration has said no senior officials were involved in targeting.
Chabot said investigations are still unfolding, and it's important to follow the facts and not to overreach in drawing conclusions. Portman linked the IRS scandal to the Benghazi attack investigation, and both he and Chabot said the Obama administration must be more forthcoming.
Portman said he finds it hard to believe that a couple of "rogue agents" in Cincinnati were responsible for the conservative targeting and that it was done as an efficiency measure to handle a large number of applications, as was initially suggested. IRS employees in Cincinnati have declined requests for comment, but some former workers in the office have said it was nonpolitical and that they doubt there were any partisan motivations.
Portman said he hoped whistle-blowers would come forward to let people know what happened.
He reiterated that a special prosecutor could be needed to investigate the IRS case, although he's not calling for it yet. He said the possibility of a criminal investigation should at least be used as leverage to push for answers from the Obama administration.
Otherwise, Portman said, "We're going to have to go up to the next level."
GOP U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a doctor, said the IRS targeting raises troubling questions about how the Obama health care law changes will be carried out, saying people's access might be affected by their political or religious beliefs.
Tea party speakers recounted their experiences with the IRS in a meeting carried live on a website. Cincinnati leader George Brunemann said he and his wife were audited after she became a tea party group treasurer.
Former Ohio Liberty Coalition leader Tom Zawistowski of Kent said the IRS should be abolished, and he urged activists to tell their friends and neighbors that the IRS probe is important to all of them.
"We're all tea partiers now, aren't we?" Zawistowski said.
Russell Hudson, 69, a retired steelworker who came to the meeting from Trenton, about an hour's drive away, said he was concerned about the IRS' conduct.
"It's crazy. It defies imagination," he said.
___
Contact the reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service must be tougher on employees who abuse government-paid travel cards, a watchdog said on Wednesday, the latest bad news for an agency reeling from a scandal over its scrutiny of Tea Party groups.
The U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that although delinquency rates are low, the tax agency should beef up the penalties against IRS workers who misuse individually billed travel cards.
"As its mission includes requiring taxpayers to pay taxes owed on time and voluntarily, the IRS should take further steps to address employees who do not voluntarily pay their travel card bills on time," said J. Russell George, the inspector general. "Identified misuse should be met with appropriate disciplinary action."
Under federal law, misuse of government-issued credit cards to pay for travel includes using the card for personal expenses, purchase from an unauthorized merchant, and failure to pay the bill on time, among other infractions.
It said the IRS identified about 1,000 cardholders who "misused" their travel cards in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, but they didn't detail the misuse. In all, the IRS travel card program had about 52,000 individual billed accounts with $121 million in charges for fiscal year 2011, the report said.
The agency has about 90,000 employees.
The inspector general's audit this month detailing a "be on the lookout" list for conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status has fueled a furor in Washington, with congressional hearings and an FBI probe. The fracas led President Barack Obama to force the acting IRS commissioner to resign, with another IRS official retiring early and a third put on administrative leave.
The travel card report said that when the IRS disciplines employees for card misuse, they generally impose less severe penalties than their internal guidelines suggest.
It said the delinquency rate was low at less than 1 percent but current processes "do not include any steps designed to detect inappropriate or personal use while employees are on official travel."
The report said "hundreds of cardholders" with evidence of significant financial problems, were not referred to re-evaluation for national security clearance or background checks.
The IRS said in its response it was already implementing the recommendations to correct the problems.
(Reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Howard Goller and Doina Chiacu)
All Critics (136) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (134) | Rotten (2)
There is an enchanted-fairy-tale aspect to Mud, but its bright, calm surface only barely disguises a strong, churning undercurrent.
A modern fairy tale, steeped in the sleepy Mississippi lore of Twain and similar American writers, and with a heart as big as the river is wide.
Nichols has a strong feeling for the tactility of natural elements-water, wood, terrain, weather.
Nichols takes his time with the story, dwelling on how the boy is shaped by the killer's tragic sense of romance, yet the suspense holds.
"Mud" isn't just a movie. It's the firm confirmation of a career.
"Mud" unfolds at its own pace, revealing its story in slivers. The performances are outstanding, especially from Sheridan, who plays tough, sweet, vulnerable and confused with equal conviction.
This is American cinema at its very best as Huckleberry Finn meets Stand By Me.The two boys are terrific and McConaughey is sensational as Mud, dazzlingly frazzled as the hunted and haunted man on the run.
Up till just past the three-quarter mark, Mud is one heck of a nifty psychological fable.
The Southern-fried drama "Mud" is an electrifying example of what happens when you merge a crackerjack yarn with a very specific setting, and then pour on the heat with riveting performances.
McConaughey and Sheridan 's acting skills, as well as those of the entire supporting cast, make this movie better than it ought to be.
It gets under our skin because Nichols gives us time to come to know Mud's island like the places we knew as children.
As Mud might say, it's a hell of a thing.
The boys are so skillfully played that Mud also plays like cinema verite. Nichols' fluid camerawork suggests a documentary-style approach. That helps these young lads transform into flesh-and-blood characters who get our attention and support.
Sheridan, who played the Terrence Malick surrogate in The Tree Of Life, is terrific at conveying adolescent confusion with tiny squints and frowns, and McConaughey plays off him masterfully.
Carefully crafting films that fly just below the political radar, director-writer Jeff Nichols is slowly, but surely, reweaving the fabric of the American dream.
It's totally worth it to pay good money to see a good, little film nestled between theaters showing 'Iron Man 3' and 'The Great Gatsby.' (Complete Content Details for Parents also available)
This is a junior adventure story echoing Huckleberry Finn and Stand By Me, a tale which is in no hurry to unfold, but beautifully done, exquisitely performed, and filled with terror and wonder.
Beautifully acted, intellectually engaging, and dramatically satisfying, Mud deserves to rocket to the top of your must-see list.
Nichols is a gifted writer-director who knows how to get into the heads of his characters. And this film has superior actors who create people who are intriguing and hugely involving.
'Mud' is a standout film in this 'coming of age' genre mainly because of its central character, one tough, warm-hearted, stubborn little kid who believes in the power of love, above all else.
Other than pacing problems that needlessly stretch the film past the two-hour mark, 'Mud' slings the dirt and sweat with the best of them, as it both mourns and celebrates a way of life that's all but disappeared.
A sublime coming-of-age film, 'Mud' would be the offspring if 'Stand By Me' and 'Cape Fear' reproduced.
Mud is a movie of striking performances and memorable images and of people who seem to belong in rather than being imposed upon their environment.
A brilliant metaphor for how a child deals with divorce.
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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Officials say what appears to be dry ice in a plastic bottle caused a small explosion at Disneyland, bringing evacuations but no reports of injuries.
Anaheim police spokesman Sgt. Bob Dunn says the blast was reported at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Disneyland's Toontown area, which was evacuated as a precaution.
Police are investigating and an Orange County sheriff's bomb squad was headed to the scene.
Park visitor Allen Wolf says he was about 20 feet from the blast, near Toontown's City Hall. He said the sound was similar to a gunshot, but louder.
Wolf says the park's music never stopped playing as security surrounded the trash cans where the bang came from and told visitors they were evacuating.
Disneyland officials did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.
BEIJING (AP) ? A Chinese teenager who defaced an ancient temple in Egypt with graffiti has come under fire at home where his vandalism prompted public fretting about how to cultivate a good image overseas as more newly affluent Chinese travel abroad.
The teen scratched "Ding Jinhao visited here" in Chinese on a temple wall in the ancient city Luxor, and the incident came to light when another Chinese tourist posted a photo of it on a popular microblog with the comment: "My saddest moment in Egypt. Ashamed and unable to show my face."
The photo quickly caught the attention of the Chinese public, attracting thousands of comments, and someone was able to identify the person responsible for the graffiti as 15-year-old Ding Jinhao from the eastern city of Nanjing. Many criticized Ding's act as an embarrassment to the country.
"Why there are so many citizens who go abroad and humiliate us? How many generations will it take to change this kind of behavior?" Xuan Kejiong, a prominent journalist with Shanghai Television, wrote on his microblog.
The sentiment was echoed by the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, the People's Daily newspaper.
"Nowadays, people in China no longer want for food and clothing, and even in the luxury shops abroad, there are advertisement posters in Chinese," the paper wrote in a commentary. "But many people also feel as though their 'hands are full but hearts are empty.' In the process of modernization, how have the people come to lack modern manners and consciousness?"
The outcry prompted Ding's parents to publicly apologize. In an interview with a Nanjing newspaper, Ding's father said "the child has committed a mistake and the main responsibility falls on the adults. It was because we did not supervise him well, and have not taught him well."
The soul searching comes as Chinese tourism overseas has seen an explosion in growth over the past decade, fueled by rising incomes and the relaxation of government restrictions on citizens' ability to travel abroad.
China has been the fastest-growing source of international tourists in the world for the past 10 years, the World Tourism Organization, a U.N. agency, said in April. The organization said the volume of international trips by Chinese tourists has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012 ? accompanied by a nearly eightfold increase in spending.
Last year, China surpassed Germany to become the largest spender in international tourism, with tourists' expenditure amounting to a record $102 billion, the organization said.
But Chinese travelers, many of whom join tour groups, are frequently criticized for rude behavior. Deputy Premier Wang Yang earlier this month during the passage of a tourism law urged Chinese travelers to mind their manners.
"They make a racket in public places, carve words at scenic spots, cross the road when the light is red, spit, and do other uncivilized things," Wang was quoted as saying. "This is detrimental to the image of the country's people and leaves a bad impression."
___
Associated Press researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report from Shanghai.
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Ok, I know how much people hate these questions, the whole "Shader runs slow" or "Code runs slow.." But I seriously do not know what to say about this. I'm making point lighting with, well, multiple lights that will blend. I have no trouble uploading the data, and it draws, at about 70 fps. Here's the code that runs, but if you follow the logic, you will see that only the last light is drawn whereas the other lights are drawn over. I know why, it makes sense, but anything i try to include the other lights causes the fps to go below 20 fps. Keep in mind, this is for a game. Here it is:
Vertex Shader:
void main() { gl_TexCoord[0] = gl_MultiTexCoord0; gl_FrontColor = gl_Color; // Set the position of the current vertex gl_Position = gl_ModelViewProjectionMatrix * gl_Vertex; }
Fragment Shader where only one light is drawn:
void light(const float loc, const float redDiff, const float greenDiff, const float blueDiff, const float redDist, const float greenDist, const float blueDist) { //the size of the light const float lightSize = loc; //the color of the fragment lowp vec4 value = {0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0}; float locX; float locY; //this is actually the distance x and y components locX = loc - gl_FragCoord.x; locY = loc - gl_FragCoord.y; //the value of a^2 + b^2. value.r = (locX * locX) + (locY * locY); //the hypotenuse of the triangle value.r = sqrt(value.r); float distance = value.r; //then the light value, depending on how big the distance away from the light it is float lightRed = (lightSize - abs(distance * redDist)) / lightSize; float lightGreen = (lightSize - abs(distance * greenDist)) / lightSize; float lightBlue = (lightSize - abs(distance * blueDist)) / lightSize; red = ((lightRed) * redDiff); green = ((lightGreen) * greenDiff); blue = (lightBlue) * blueDiff; } void main() { //how many lights there are, currently 64. i can change that, but this isn't where the problem lies for(int i = 0; i < 64; i++) { light(i * 16, 1, 0.5, 0.0, 1, 1.125, 0.0); } gl_FragColor = vec4(red, green, blue, 1) * texture2D(color_texture, gl_TexCoord[0].st); }
The above code runs at about 70 fps, which is fine. But only one light is drawn. Now, any attempts at adding more lights drops the fps badly, to about 20. The lights all blend well, but 20 fps is bad. A few things i tried was if gates, to see if the new light is brighter than the old value, and if so, the color changes to the new light value. I also tried to find the difference between the new and old, and add it if its positive, but so far that hasn't worked either. So, if anyone could point in the right direction how i can allow blending while keeping 70 fps, that would be appreciated.
Also, something weird is, take:
red = ((lightRed) * redDiff); green = ((lightGreen) * greenDiff); blue = (lightBlue) * blueDiff;
And make it this:
red += ((lightRed) * redDiff); green += ((lightGreen) * greenDiff); blue += (lightBlue) * blueDiff;
and frameRate drops considerably. That makes no sense why it does that, and it doesn't draw the lights either. However, if only the blue is changed from = to +=, then no frame drop occurs. What could be going on? Anyone know?
Is This A Good Question/Topic? 0
Replies To: Shader Running really slowly for some reason?
#2 ButchDean ?
Reputation: 879
Posts:3,355
Joined:26-November 10
Re: Shader Running really slowly for some reason?
Posted Today, 07:29 PM
Before I put any thought into this are you running the shader routines in debug or release mode?
#3 zehawk ?
Reputation: 3
Posts:212
Joined:23-February 12
Re: Shader Running really slowly for some reason?
Posted Today, 07:47 PM
I'm just loading the shaders into the program normally, not using a debugger. How would i know the difference? I'm new to glsl, sorry...
#4 ButchDean ?
Reputation: 879
Posts:3,355
Joined:26-November 10
Re: Shader Running really slowly for some reason?
Posted 4 minutes ago
It would depend on what you are debugging. It's a very long story.
If you knew how to used the tools of your chosen IDE and a shader debugging tool you would most likely nail the bottleneck.
Mopping up after malicious software can land you in a browser quagmire full of sketchy search engines, toolbars or worse. Google's latest version of its open-source Chromium browser now has a remedy for much of that thanks to a 'reset profile' setting discovered by code tinkerer François Beaufort. You can revert the defaults for search, homepage, content settings and cookies all in one go, while also disabling extensions. Since Chromium features often pop up later in Chrome, that means your life may soon be easier after your, ahem, friend has a brush with the dark side of the internet.
Americans gathered at cemeteries, memorials and monuments nationwide to honor fallen military service members on Memorial Day, at a time when combat in Afghanistan approaches 12 years and the ranks of World War II veterans dwindles.
President Barack Obama laid a wreath Monday at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington.
"Let us not forget as we gather here today that our nation is still at war," Obama said.
"When they give their lives, they are still being laid to rest in cemeteries in quiet corners across our country, including here in Arlington," he said. He told the stories of three soldiers who had died. Each had been devoted to their mission and were praised by others for saving lives.
Earlier in the morning, he and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a breakfast at the White House with "Gold Star" families of service members who have been killed.
Another wreath-laying ceremony was planned at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City. The park is a tribute to President Roosevelt's famous speech calling for all people to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
At the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, about 20 bicyclists clustered around World War II veteran and museum volunteer Tom Blakey, a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division who jumped at Normandy on D-Day ? June 6, 1944 ? and in May 1945 helped liberate the work camp at Wobbelin in northwest Germany.
"Most of us wondered why we were there, killing people and being killed," he said. "We didn't do anything to deserve it. When we got to that camp and saw what was there, the lights came on."
The cycling group makes regular weekend training runs, and on Monday started a Memorial Day ride about seven miles away at the national cemetery in Chalmette, where the Battle of New Orleans ? the last in the War of 1812 ? was fought.
"I'm glad I took this ride to hear a personal story," Scott Gumina, 41, said. "Hearing one man's account of his personal experience was pretty impressive to me."
Across much of New England, several days of heavy rain gave way to sunny skies for parades in towns large and small.
In Portland, Maine, kids and even pets displayed the Stars and Stripes as veterans, youth groups law enforcement officials and civic organizations paraded to Monument Square to the tunes of a marching band, sirens from a police car and the rumble of motorcycles.
"It's a very important day, not only for the Veteran of Foreign Wars but every veteran organization, every branch of the service, and every patriot in general ? every American. This day is hugely significant and should never be forgotten," said David Olson, 66, of Portland, the VFW's state senior vice commander.
He said he was pleased to see a large turnout of youngsters, both in the parade and along the parade route. "As they get older, they'll realize exactly why we do this," he said.
For some veterans, it was a somber event.
Richard Traiser, a Marine injured when his tank came under attack in Vietnam, helped deliver a three-volley salute with the Marine Corps League.
Memorial Day gives those who served an opportunity to get together and remember friends who didn't make it.
"I think about them a lot, especially the people I lost in my platoon," Traiser said. "A couple of kids were 19 years old. I don't dwell on it in a morbid way, but it's on your mind."
In Connecticut, a Waterford man who was killed in the Vietnam War was honored with a hometown park area named for him. Arnold E. Holm Jr., nicknamed "Dusty," was killed when his helicopter was shot down on June 11, 1972. A group of at least 100 dedicated the park this weekend.
In suburban Boston, veterans gathered in a park to mark Memorial Day this year rather than hold a parade because of failing health and dwindling numbers. The city of Beverly called off its parade because so few veterans would be able to march. The parade has been a fixture in the town since the Civil War.
In Atlanta, a dedication of the History Center's redone Veterans Park was scheduled for early evening. Soil from major battlefields will be scattered by veterans around the park's flagpole.
The holiday weekend also marked the traditional start of the U.S. vacation season. AAA, one of the nation's largest leisure travel agencies, expected 31.2 million Americans to hit the road over the weekend, virtually the same number as last year. Gas prices were about the same as last year, up 1 cent to a national average of $3.65 a gallon Friday.
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Associated Press writers David Sharp in Portland, Maine; Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans; and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
Angelina Jolie’s aunt, Debbie Martin, has lost her battle with breast cancer just weeks after the actress chose to have a preventative double mastectomy. Martin, the younger sister of Jolie’s mother Marcheline Bertrand, passed away at the age of 61 on Sunday. Debbie Martin’s husband, Ronald Martin, said of the actress, “Angelina has been in ...
TOKYO (AP) ? An outspoken Japanese politician apologized Monday for saying U.S. troops should patronize adult entertainment businesses as a way to reduce rapes, but defended another controversial remark about Japan's use of sex slaves during World War II.
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who is also the co-head of an emerging nationalistic party, said his remarks two weeks ago rose from a "sense of crisis" about cases of sexual assaults by U.S. military personnel on Japanese civilians in Okinawa, where a large number of U.S. troops are based.
"I understand that my remark could be construed as an insult to the U.S. forces and to the American people" and was inappropriate, he said at a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Tokyo.
Hashimoto had created an uproar with comments to journalists two weeks ago about Japan's wartime and modern sexual services. They added to recent anger in neighboring countries that suffered from Japan's wartime aggression and have complained about the lack of atonement for atrocities committed during that time.
Hashimoto said on May 13 that on a recent visit to the southern island of Okinawa, he suggested to the U.S. commander there that the troops there "to make better use" of the legal sex industry. "If you don't make use of those places you cannot control the sexual energy of those tough guys," he said.
He also said that Japan's wartime practice of forcing Asian women, mostly from South Korea and China, to work in front-line brothels was necessary to maintain discipline and provide relaxation for soldiers.
He didn't apologize for those comments, but he did call the use of so-called comfort women an "inexcusable act that violated the dignity and human rights of the women, in which large numbers of Korean and Japanese were included."
Still, he claimed he had been quoted out of context to say that he personally believed that the use of a "comfort women" system was necessary. He was trying to say that armed forces of nations around the world "seem to have needed women" in past wars and also violated women's human rights during wartime.
Singling out Japan was wrong, as this issue also existed in the armed forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the former Soviet Union during World War II, he alleged.
"Based on the premise that Japan must remorsefully face its past offenses and must never justify the offenses, I intended to argue that other nations in the world must not attempt to conclude the matter by blaming only Japan and by associating Japan alone with the simple phrase of 'sex slaves' or 'sex slavery,'" Hashimoto said in the statement.
Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean Peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels. While some other World War II armies had military brothels, Japan is the only country accused of such widespread, organized sexual slavery.
Hashimoto, 43, has become well-known in recent years for his outspokenness. Last year, he formed a conservative party, the Japan Restoration Party, with former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, a strident nationalist. The party is now an opposition party in the parliament.
Before taking office in December Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had advocated revising a 1993 statement by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono acknowledging and expressing remorse for the suffering caused to the sex slaves. Abe has said recently he stands by that statement and won't revise it.
In a casual conversation in what was meant to welcome me to my new city, a white neighbor uncomfortably reminded of me the racial challenges that remain very much intact in the South between white folk and people of color, when he candidly referenced the degree of crime in the city as being the province of the ignorant, uneducated and low income ?blacks? in the neighborhood.?
No code words were necessary. He expressed concern regarding the racial ?other? moving into the white-dominated communities, causing a shifting of geography (white flight) within the city and surrounding areas of Memphis. (Amazingly, he openly discussed these issues with me, as he conveyed that I was an ?exception? to other blacks he encounters on a day-to-day basis.)
Dr. Darron Smith, writing over at the Grio, has a nice piece on race and crime as experienced in Memphis, Tennessee that is worth reading.
I appreciate the sincerity of his argument and concerns about black youth violence.
Inspired by Cornel West's essay some years ago, I have written about the problem of black nihilism and its toxic impact on young people several times. I am no closer to a solution or any particularly brilliant insight on the matter.
Perhaps, there is no easy answer to a problem that was centuries in the making. However, I have come to one qualifier in my thinking on these matters: the nihilism of the ghetto youthocracy and their Chief Keef heroes that kill dozens (if not hundreds) of other black people every week across the country are a symptom of a larger crisis in American cultural values.
The United States has one of the highest rates of inter-personal violence in the world. Americans worship the gun and donate their children to its cult of death. The United States is an imperialist power that kills abroad at will. The United States is a society typified by consumerism, media spectacle, Facebook narcissism, a reality TV show culture that promises that anyone can be famous for doing nothing, and gross wealth and wage inequality. Together those elements (and others) have created a national crisis of meaning wherein human life is equated with ability to buy things and hurt others without consequence.
The nihilism of many black ghetto underclass youth is a function of a debased type of biopolitics that reflects the values of the neo liberal national security corporate democratic surveillance State.
A question. How do we take the macro-level and institutional analysis of these dynamics as described by Darron below and apply it to actionable interventions on the day-to-day?
Memphis is ranked as the tenth deadliest city in the nation. Since I arrived here, not a week has gone by when a young black male under the age of 25 has not been injured or killed as a result of interpersonal conflict within predominately black spaces and, subsequently, reported on the nightly news. The face of crime is young, black and male, and those young men are typecast as angry, overly violent, aggressive and a general menace to society.?
That image pervades our thinking, informing our manufactured understanding that all black men are to be feared and are, thus, potential suspects in a police lineup. Inequality in society makes crime more likely as populations must find ways to cope with despair. Having few socially acceptable coping skills, black men often lash out, defending what little they may possess in the form of manhood and pride.
What my neighbor failed to realize, like most white Americans, is that these circumstances are realities that create the conditions that give rise to crime and deviance and can fuel society?s perceptions of crime that lead to unjust characterizations.
I am left confused and spent by these conversations about how institutions intersect with personal behavior and choices. My response is as follows: all of what Dr. Smith may have written here is true. But, so what?
BEIRUT (AP) ? Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad shelled a strategic western town on Saturday in their heaviest barrage of a week-long battle to dislodge rebels from the opposition stronghold, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 22 people including 18 rebels were killed and dozens wounded in the fighting in Qusair.
Pro-Assad troops, including fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, have been trying to push rebels out of Qusair. Syrian state media has said government forces steadily gained ground, including on Saturday. Local activists have denied regime gains and said rebel fighters are defending positions.
Qusair is important to Assad because it sits on a land corridor linking two of his strongholds, the capital of Damascus and towns on the Mediterranean coast. For the rebels, holding Qusair means protecting a supply line to Lebanon, 10 kilometers (six miles) away.
Saturday's barrage of rockets, mortar rounds and tank shells began after daybreak, said Qusair activist Hadi Abdullah and the pro-opposition Observatory. Both said it was the most intense shelling since the regime launched its offensive there a week ago. They also reported heavy gunfire.
The intense shelling could be heard in Lebanon's border areas and in the Syrian city of Homs, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) away.
The fighting over Qusair has highlighted the growing role of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Syria's civil war. The militia initially tried to play down its involvement, but could no longer do so after several dozen of its fighters were killed in Qusair and buried in large funerals in Lebanon.
In Turkey, the acting president of Syria's main opposition group harshly criticized Hezbollah for its role in Qusair. "Some Lebanese are being sent to Syria as invaders in order to return back home in coffins draped with shame," said George Sabra of the Syrian National Coalition.
"Oh Syrians, come and rescue Qusair, Maadamiyeh, Daraya and eastern Ghouta so that Syria remains, as it is today, a graveyard for invaders," Sabra said, referring also to suburbs of the capital Damascus where Syrian troops have been on the offensive in recent weeks.
In an indication that the rebel's weeklong stand is also becoming a symbol outside Syria, Mohammed al-Zawahiri ? a prominent jihadi figure in Egypt and the brother of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ? issued a statement alongside 19 other ultraconservative Islamists and former militants calling on all Muslims to "help our people in Qusair."
"It is the duty of each Muslim to repel this aggression and stop the injustice, first by jihad with arms," the statement carried by a militant website said.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood criticized what it called Iranian intervention in Syria through Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese militant group has "burned" some of the good faith people had for it as well as its credibility by fueling sectarianism in Syria. The Brotherhood said Hezbollah lost the hearts of Arabs and Muslims, which it had won when it faced the "Zionist enemy," a reference to Israel.
Saturday's push comes ahead of a speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, his first since the offensive began. The speech Saturday afternoon is to mark the anniversary of Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, commemorated each year by Hezbollah as a major military victory.
However, this year's anniversary comes at a time when Hezbollah is facing growing criticism in Lebanon for its involvement in the Syrian war.
The Syrian fighting has repeatedly spilled over into Lebanon, whose sectarian divide mirrors that of Syria. Assad opponents and supporters have been clashing for the past week in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, using mortars, grenades and machine guns to attack densely populated areas.
Four people were killed by sniper fire Saturday, bringing the week's death toll to 29 including three Lebanese soldiers, said a Lebanese official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. More than 200 people have been wounded.
The fighting pits the predominantly Sunni Muslim district of Bab al-Tabbaneh against Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam, in the adjacent Jabal Mohsen area. Assad's Syrian regime is dominated by the president's Alawite sect, while most rebels are Sunnis.
Hezbollah is also facing repercussions in Europe over its support for the Syrian military.
Earlier this week, France and Germany joined a push by Britain to have the EU declare Hezbollah's military wing a terrorist organization. Such a move, long sought by the U.S., would hamper Hezbollah operations in Europe.
Late Friday, Hezbollah's deputy chief, Sheikh Naim Kassem told the Lebanese TV station Al-Mayadeen that the EU would make a "big mistake," but that such warnings don't concern the group. He did not elaborate.
In the northern province of Aleppo, the Observatory and the pro-opposition Aleppo Media Center reported clashes between rebels and members of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD. The Observatory said the fighting was triggered by a rebel attack on a PYD checkpoint near the predominantly Kurdish village of Ziyara.
Meanwhile, Syria's fractured political opposition was meeting for a third day in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday to elect new leaders, try to widen its base and forge a unified position ahead of possible peace talks with the regime.
The U.S. and Russia want to bring together representatives of the opposition and the Syrian government at an international conference in Geneva for talks on a possible transition government. Much remains up in the air, including the date, the agenda and the list of participants.
On Friday, Syria ally Russia said the Assad regime has accepted in principle to attend talks in Geneva, though there has been no official statement from Damascus.
The opposition is deeply suspicious about Assad's intention to hold serious peace talks, and senior opposition figures have ruled out attendance unless Assad's departure tops the agenda of such negotiations.
Louay Safi, a senior member of the Syrian National Coalition, the main opposition bloc, dismissed the Moscow's statement on Syrian attendance. "This announcement has to be made by the Syrian government, not the Russians," he said Saturday by phone from Istanbul.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, whose country has been a strong backer of the opposition, said Saturday that Assad and "people close to him whose hands were tainted with the blood of the Syrian people, cannot have any role in the future of Syria."
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Associated Press writer Yasmine Saker in Beirut and Maamoun Youssef and Aya Batrawy in Cairo contributed reporting.
Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson was hit in the hand by Rays reliever Cesar Ramos in the fifth inning of tonight?s game against the Rays. He stayed in the game to run the bases, scoring on a bases loaded walk by Jayson Nix, but exited before the top of the sixth. Ichiro Suzuki took his place in right field.
Granderson missed his team?s first 38 games of the season recovering from a fractured right forearm suffered early in spring training. Losing Granderson, who hit 43 home runs last year, even for 15 days would be a crushing blow to the Yankees, already besieged by injuries to key players.
Update: It?s a broken left pinky knuckle, per Buster Olney.
It?s a chore, keeping up with the latest important information, current events, and mission-critical news out there on the Web. So why bother trying? While away the hours before quitting time with these entertaining distractions instead.
Critique Deemed Unhelpful: A YouTube video of an art class critiquing a student?s painting doesn?t sound all that interesting ? but it comes to an incredibly satisfying (and profanity-laced) conclusion that will be thoroughly appreciated by anybody who?s ever endured a ?crit? session. Some of the comments on Hyperallergic suspect it was staged. Either way, I say it?s art.
Angry Boids: ?Boids is an artificial life program,? says Wikipedia, that ?simulates the flocking behavior of birds.? Presumably you know that Angry Birds is a popular mobile game. Evan Roth combines these concepts in this very weird and hypnotic interactive art thingy.
Advice For Google Glass Owners: A Mashable video explains how to avoid turning into ?a Glasshole.?
Looking At Noises: Aguasonic Acoustics converts animal sounds into beautiful quasi-photographic abstractions.
Plug and (Don?t) Play: Design firm Skrekk?gle offers a prototype radio that substitutes a big cork for the on/off switch. Putting a cork in it, as it were, is a more satisfyingway of shutting off the device ?when you hear an opinion you don?t like,? suggests PSFK.
Unknown Pleasure, Indeed: Joy Division fans may be amused, or perhaps vaguely saddened, at this T-shirt depicting one of the band?s most iconic album-cover images, and the phrase: ? What is this? I?ve seen it on Tumblr .? (Additional note to Joy Division fans: Do not miss the interview with Peter Hook on recent Sound Opinions.)
Reliable Sources: Speaking of Tumblr, we?ve been discussing how Yahoo News should cover all the recent Yahoo news. Maybe we should just follow BuzzFeed?s example and interview dogs?
Meanwhile, in Japan: Making a creepy 3D doll version of oneself is, reportedly, ?hot.?
Old News Is Good News: To close out on a more high-minded note, here?s a remarkable nine-minute film from 1935: Symphony in Black offers a ?one of the earliest cinematic explorations of African-American culture for a mass audience,? with Duke Ellington and his orchestra, plus BillieHoliday?s ?first filmed performance.? Via BoingBoing?s Google Group.
The latest City of Irving Operations Update lists several recent events in Irving that highlight the city?s commitment to offer cultural, recreational and educational environments for its residents. Here?s a recap:
?Books Matter @ Your Library ? In observance of Dia de los Ninos/Libros, more than 200 people joined East Branch staff for the ?Books Matter @ Your Library? kick-off celebration. ?Books Matter @ Your Library? events will be held at East Branch Library on Tuesdays and select Wednesdays throughout the summer. Call 972-721-3722.
?Cinco de Mayo Celebrations ? West Irving Library hosted a Cinco de Mayo program for 101 attendees featuring music, magic, dancing and puppets. Nimitz High School?s Ballet Folkl?rico performed traditional Mexican dances at the Central Library?s Many Voices program for 60 audience members. The Cinco de Mayo Festival at Senter Park Recreation Center hosted more than 3,000 spectators in a celebration of Hispanic culture. Visitors were able to browse through cultural material, educational information, and arts and crafts from more than 70 vendors. Also, 10 local Zumba instructors promoted the importance of health and wellness by offering a ?Zumba-thon,? a three-hour showcase of the popular fitness craze.
?New Database ? Irving Public Library launched TumbleBooks, a new eBook service for children. TumbleBooks is an online collection of animated, talking picture books that teach children the joy of reading in a fun, interactive environment from their home computer or at the library. TumbleBooks is available through the library?s website and accessible with a valid Irving Public Library card.
?Irving Marathon ? An estimated 1,580 runners from five countries participated in and another 2,500 spectators watched the Irving Marathon that wound through the Campi?n Trail system. Event organizers donated $7,600 to Our Children?s House at Baylor Hospital-Irving.
?Pooch Fest ? Heritage Senior Center brought its annual dog contest and pooch-friendly event back to downtown Irving. There were approximately 50 canines, along with 250 human spectators, participating. The Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs, the Dog Training Club of Dallas and the Dallas Dog Disc Club also attended.
?And a Bike Fest at Lively Pointe Youth Center and Skate Park drew about 500 people who learned lots about bicycling. The event featured a Kids Safety Rodeo, pedal-powered smoothies sponsored by Bike DFW and a new feature ? hourly BMX stunt shows by Big Time Actionsports. The Texas Medical Association, with the support of Bike DFW and local residents, donated approximately 100 bicycle helmets. In addition, about 25 individuals participated in a 30-mile group ride.
May 23, 2013 ? In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.
Writing online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a group led by University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Helen Blackwell describes agents that effectively interfere with the "quorum sensing" behavior of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium at the root of a host of human infections ranging from acne to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia, toxic shock syndrome and sepsis.
"It's a whole new world for us," says Blackwell, whose group identified peptide-based signaling molecules that effectively outcompete the native molecules the bacterium uses to communicate and activate the genes that cause disease.
Bacteria use quorum sensing to assess their population density and coordinate certain behaviors. They do so through the use of pheromone-like chemicals, which bind to receptors either in the bacterial cell or on its surface and tell it if there are enough companion bacteria around to switch on genes that perform certain functions. In the case of Staphylococcus aureus, quorum sensing activates toxin production, manifesting disease in the host.
Interfering with bacterial quorum sensing to stymie disease is considered a promising new antibiotic strategy, says Blackwell. Staph, she adds, is an excellent target as the bacterium is not only a prevalent pathogen, but some strains, notably methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, have developed resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as penicillin and its derivatives.
These assays were used to assess the effects of new agents to disrupt communication among pathogenic staph bacteria. Research shows promise for a new approach to thwarting staph infections, which are increasingly resistant to conventional antibiotics.
The new compounds synthesized by Blackwell and her colleagues are peptides that work at very low concentrations by blocking the chemical receptors the bacterium uses to regulate quorum sensing. The new agents devised by Blackwell and her group work on the four subtypes of staph, all of which use different quorum sensing signals and are found in different infection types.
"We had not worked much in this area because the (signaling molecules) are somewhat challenging to synthesize," explains Blackwell. "We now have developed methods to make these molecules and analogs much more efficiently, which helped fuel this new study."
For now, the compounds devised by the Wisconsin team will have their greatest impact in the lab as research probes to further study the role of quorum sensing in Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the gritty details of how these synthetic agents work in the cell need to be determined in order to optimize their potential use in both the lab and clinic. Such studies are ongoing.
"The impact of these new peptides could be significant because staph is an important and increasingly scary pathogen. There is plenty of scope," notes Blackwell.
The new research was conducted with support from the Office of Naval Research, the Burroughs Welcome Fund and the Kimberly-Clark Corp.
Angelina Jolie’s aunt, Debbie Martin, has lost her battle with breast cancer just weeks after the actress chose to have a preventative double mastectomy. Martin, the younger sister of Jolie’s mother Marcheline Bertrand, passed away at the age of 61 on Sunday. Debbie Martin’s husband, Ronald Martin, said of the actress, “Angelina has been in ...