We visit an old episode where Christian interviews his best friend Taylor Allen, and Jayne is on the show for her second appearance. It's an oldy, but a goody! In this episode, the Spoutcast Crew interviews Taylor Allen about his podcast The Movie Argument. They also discuss their favorite comedies, and Jayne Fossett fills in to chat about Mike's sermon on God providing "just enough." Also Dave Johnson drops by to discuss some news with the team, and they talk Spoutcast T-Shirts. Please email thespoutpodcast@gmail.com or call/text 559.321.SPOUT [7768] with any stories of things you are learning from the The Well, or send in your 1&Y. This week's 1&Y is your most visited website besides Facebook. Like The Well - Spoutcast on Facebook, or find us on Twitter: @thespoutcast. Check back in with the Spoutcast each week for a new episode or search Spoutcast in iTunes to subscribe to this podcast. This week's music is from Hanson. Speaker: The Spoutcast Team

The Lookout by Sally Caldwell Fisher is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to pcs

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Anduril Industries this week said its Lattice operating system was used to integrate multiple third-party sensors into a single dashboard during a recent exercise to provide a common operating picture […]

Secretariat

RFP/SEC/10/2016

Request for Proposal (RFP)

balazs.fule@osce.org

Wed, 2016-07-13 (All day)

23 September 2016

Western Europe and North America

The main objective of this OSCE project is to create evidence including in the context of conflict/crisis  to be used in the long term for improved programming and policy-making.

The contractor will be expected to undertake all aspects of work relating to the survey and additional qualitative research, including:

• pre-test/pilot study of the new conflict module;
• development of country/area specific research tools;
• qualitative key expert interviews and focus group discussions;
• interviewer selection (female interviewers only);
• interviewer training;
• random selection of respondents;
• questionnaire finalisation and translation of fieldwork and interviewer training materials;
• all fieldwork/data collection;
• data entry and processing;
• data analysis and drafting several thematic and regional reports.

The data will be collected through the use of structured, quantitative survey interviews and additional key expert interviews and focus group discussions. The survey interviews will be carried out face-to-face in each country/area by female interviewers who have completed in-depth, in-person training dedicated to the topic of the survey.

The interviews will be conducted using a standardised questionnaire already developed. Part of the contract will be testing revisions on this questionnaire and finalizing it.

The required net sample size is a minimum of 1500 women per country/area using a strict random (probability) sample.

The Contractor will be responsible for ensuring the quality, consistency and timeliness of work carried out in each country/area selected to take part in the study. The consistency of the methods and procedures applied in the various countries/areas and strict compliance with the detailed methodology of the survey needs to be ensured by the Contractor. The foreseen total duration of the assignment is 15 months.

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OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 26 July 2016 – Some 25 athletes and sport trainers today discussed gender-based violence at an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion attended by a world amateur boxing champion (1986) and former member of parliament, Orzubek Nazarov.

At the event organized by the Ensan-Diamond NGO with support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, participants discussed how violent behaviour at training venues might impact social relationships further in life. Gender equality, gender-based stereotypes and promoting positive images of masculinity without resorting to violence, were among the main topics of the discussion.

“Preventing gender based-violence and promoting gender equality is at the centre of OSCE human rights commitments and comprehensive approach to security,” said Anete Erdmane, OSCE Human Dimension Officer at the Osh Field Office. “The initiative aims at supporting Kyrgyzstan in achieving positive change through dialogue and engagement with men.”

Jamilya Kaparova, director of Ensan-Diamond, said: “The nature of sports training and overall culture of masculinity can contribute to an increased aggression among athletes. Such behaviour can result in gender-based violence and negatively affect family and community members. To reach out to this important audience and promote positive role models, we have invited Mr. Nazarov who has been an outspoken advocate for gender equality.”

The roundtable discussion follows a similar event which also took place in Osh in November 2015.

The initiative was held in line with the OSCE’s efforts to assist Kyrgyzstan in implementing its National Action Plan for 2015-2017 on gender equality. The National Action Plan foresees developing a culture of aversion to gender discrimination and violence against women and men at all levels of society.

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BAKU, 29 December 2014 – The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku announced today the results of a contest aiming to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence in Azerbaijan. Prizes were awarded to the best media reports on the issue written in 2014.

The evaluation committee, comprising representatives from the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku and the State Committee for Women, Family and Children Affairs, reviewed some 20 articles submitted by journalists from various print and online media outlets in Azerbaijan and selected three winners:

-          Jeyhun Musaoghlu, from Aznews.az, won first place. In his article, Musaoghlu looked into the role of media in raising awareness about domestic violence and the protection of victims, as well as the importance of ensuring gender equality to reduce domestic violence;

-          Aynur Elgunesh, from Var.az, won second place. She investigated current challenges in implementing the law on the prevention of domestic violence and highlighted the importance of co-operation between government agencies and civil society organizations in the operation of shelters for victims of domestic violence;

-          The third place winner is Fuad Huseynzade, from Interfax-Azerbaijan. He investigated the main reasons that lead to domestic violence and analysed socio-economic and psychological aspects of this phenomenon in Azerbaijan. 

The winners of the competition received monetary rewards as follows: first place: – 1500 AZN (approx. 1430 Euros), second place – 1200 AZN (approx. 1150 Euros) and third place – 1000 AZN (approx. 955 Euros). They will also receive certificates from Ambassador Alexis Chahtahtinsky, OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku.

This contest was part of a project supporting the implementation of the law on the prevention of domestic violence in Azerbaijan.

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BISHKEK, 22 July 2016 – Three public discussions on the regulatory legal acts regarding the use of natural resources and environmental protection are being organized from 19 July to 27 July 2016 by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the local Aarhus Centre in the districts of Toktogul, Aksy and Kadamjay in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The discussions are gathering representatives of environmental services, the local authorities, village- and district-level state administrations, local council deputies and public organizations, to exchange ideas on environmental problems and discuss how to address them through active public scrutiny.

“Local stakeholders should be aware of the environmental legislation upfront. This will help them to prevent conflict arising from the use of natural resources,” said Dmitry Prudtskikh, Environmental Officer at the OSCE Centre. “I am glad to see that the Aarhus Centre in Osh has established a platform for communication between governmental, public and private structures, with the support of the OSCE.”

Kanybek Isabaev, Director of the Aarhus Centre in Osh, said: “For several years, we have been disseminating information to the public and our partners on the legislation regarding environmental protection, the rational use of natural resources, and subsoil and environmental safety in our country. It is very significant that citizens can participate in decision-making in the area of ecology, a sphere that is becoming increasingly important in Kyrgyzstan.”

During the discussions, participants will gain knowledge on issues of environmental protection, public access to environmental information, the normative legal acts of the Kyrgyz Republic on ecology and the basic principles of the Aarhus Convention.

The event was organized as part of the OSCE Centre's project on promoting environmental security through dialogue and enhanced disaster risk reduction.

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 26 July 2016 – Some 25 athletes and sport trainers today discussed gender-based violence at an OSCE-supported roundtable discussion attended by a world amateur boxing champion (1986) and former member of parliament, Orzubek Nazarov.

At the event organized by the Ensan-Diamond NGO with support of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, participants discussed how violent behaviour at training venues might impact social relationships further in life. Gender equality, gender-based stereotypes and promoting positive images of masculinity without resorting to violence, were among the main topics of the discussion.

“Preventing gender based-violence and promoting gender equality is at the centre of OSCE human rights commitments and comprehensive approach to security,” said Anete Erdmane, OSCE Human Dimension Officer at the Osh Field Office. “The initiative aims at supporting Kyrgyzstan in achieving positive change through dialogue and engagement with men.”

Jamilya Kaparova, director of Ensan-Diamond, said: “The nature of sports training and overall culture of masculinity can contribute to an increased aggression among athletes. Such behaviour can result in gender-based violence and negatively affect family and community members. To reach out to this important audience and promote positive role models, we have invited Mr. Nazarov who has been an outspoken advocate for gender equality.”

The roundtable discussion follows a similar event which also took place in Osh in November 2015.

The initiative was held in line with the OSCE’s efforts to assist Kyrgyzstan in implementing its National Action Plan for 2015-2017 on gender equality. The National Action Plan foresees developing a culture of aversion to gender discrimination and violence against women and men at all levels of society.

GENEVA / VIENNA, 28 July 2016 – Two top holders of media freedom mandates of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) today condemned the ongoing crackdown on journalists and the media launched by Turkish Government in the wake of the attempted coup.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, expressed alarm at recent measures adopted by the Turkish authorities. Dozens of journalists have been reportedly arrested and a large number of media outlets closed in the past twenty-four hours.

“The simultaneous arrests of independent journalists and shutdowns of print and broadcast media strike a major blow against public debate and government accountability,” the experts warned. “We strongly urge the Turkish authorities to reconsider these decisions and confirm their obligations to media freedom.”

Reports indicate that the Government ordered the closure of three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio channels, 45 papers and 15 magazines. Since the attempted coup, authorities have issued arrest warrants against 89 journalists and have already arrested several of them, blocked access to more than 20 news websites, revoked the licenses of 29 publishing houses, and cancelled a number of press accreditations.

Numerous academic institutions, schools, civil society organizations were also ordered to close down by decrees issued after the adoption of the “Statutory Decree Regarding Measures to be Taken Within Scope of State of Emergency and Regulation of Certain Institutes and Institutions” on 23 July.

“It is quite clear that this wave of restrictions against media groups does not meet the basic international standards concerning restrictive measures even in times of emergency,” Mijatović said. “The disregard for any assurance of due process is flagrant and only contributes to the extreme levels of insecurity affecting all those working to inform people of the ongoing crisis in the country.”

“The attempted coup cannot justify such a broad attack against almost all voices, not just critical ones but analytic and journalistic,” Kaye said. “The widespread and abrupt nature of the measures, lacking even the basic elements of due process, is shocking and unprecedented in recent times in Turkey.”

“The Government’s purging of personnel and institutions of what it perceives as being dissenting and critical voices, solely on the basis of allegations of membership in the Gülen movement, clearly violates standards of international human rights law,” he noted.

Both experts expressed their continued willingness to discuss their concerns with Turkish authorities. UN Special Rapporteur Kaye will be visiting Turkey on an official visit in November, at the invitation of the Government. OSCE Representative Mijatović reiterated her Office’s assistance in improving media freedom, including a visit to the country. 

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.  

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TIRANA, 9 May 2016 - The OSCE Presence in Albania today launched a sports-based youth development programme in co-operation with Tirana Rugby Club, with the aim of promoting teamwork, sport ethics, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging among youth, helping them understand that there are always positive alternatives to anti-social behaviour and criminality.

The Presence’s youth development programme will build on the Tirana Rugby Club’s success, helping to increase participation of youth in rugby and promoting both the cross-community and cross-border aspects of sport, bringing together young people from across Albania and the region for training events and tournaments.

Currently there are very few opportunities for youth to take part in interactive activities such as sports outside schools. Tirana Rugby Club, on the other hand, has engaged with youth, including the most vulnerable such as unemployed and/or school dropouts in its activities. Despite funding challenges, the Club has supported events where teams from Albania and the region compete regularly.

“While the development of rugby as a sport in Albania is relatively new, the interest and commitment of so many in such a short period of time, is not,” said Head of the OSCE Presence Florian Raunig. “As a result, building one team has led to creating a second one. Therefore today we present both Tirana Rugby Club and the Ilirians Rugby Club, wearing their new club colours.”

The sports kits were provided by the OSCE Presence and will be on show over the next few months, as these two teams meet in Korça, Elbasan and Durrës to play a series of exhibition games, which will increase the visibility of and interest in the sport.

The Presence will support local authorities, including police, social services and the regional education directorate, to directly involve youth in the activities. The activities will be planned and co-ordinated to allow young women and girls to be equally involved.

Albanian Rugby Development Officer Adam Vernon said: “We thank the OSCE Presence for its support and are excited about the opportunity this initiative has afforded us. We have many positive examples of youth engagement outcomes in Albania and hope that we can further encourage the development of the sport in many local communities over the next few months. The future of the sport in Albania is bright. We will wear our new kit with pride, in support of the game we all love.”

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SHKODRA, Albania, 25 May 2016 – The OSCE Presence in Albania, USAID and the Austrian Development Co-operation launched a new phase of the ‘Justice without delays’ initiative today in Shkodra, Albania, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of court proceedings by reducing unnecessary hold ups.

Judges and support staff, with guidance from the Presence, USAID and local partners, will analyse the root causes for delays in their court and commit to improved planning and administration of cases by strengthening co-operation with trial participants, including state institutions. This will give the courts the benefit of active case management techniques and provide citizens with better access to justice.

“The courts have made remarkable progress in reducing the number of hearings and the overall length of trial proceedings, with no changes to legislation and no additional budgetary resources,” emphasized Florian Raunig, Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania. “This achievement not only benefited court users in those districts, but has become an important step toward improving the quality of justice throughout Albania. It shows the clear potential for all Albanians to have efficient justice in all first instance courts throughout the country.”

Ambassador Johann Sattler of Austria stated that, “the nationwide roll-out of the ‘Justice without delays’ project ultimately aims to increase citizen’s trust in the judiciary.”

The initiative is implemented by the OSCE Presence and USAID’s Project Justice for All, with funding from the Austrian Development Co-operation. It was developed by the Presence and USAID after a study conducted by the Presence showed that almost half of the sessions in Albanian courts were non-productive – no argument was put forward, no documents circulated, no evidence taken and no requests made.

‘Justice without delays’ first started as a pilot project in Kruja court in February 2014, and was quickly embraced by courts in Korça, Puka and Tropoja. Building on the programme’s success in these four initial courts, and with the strong support of the High Council of Justice and the Ministry of Justice, over the next three years the ‘Justice without delays’ initiative will be extended successively to all 18 district courts in Albania.

 

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WARSAW, 30 June 2016 – Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed his concern following the rise in hate incidents reported to the police in the United Kingdom following the 23 June referendum vote to leave the European Union.

"These manifestations of hate and intolerance have a negative impact on the whole of British society, undermining the security of minority and immigrant communities. The current political climate in the United Kingdom provides absolutely no justification for racism and xenophobia," said Director Link.

He also commended the strong national response by Prime Minister David Cameron and other national leaders. "By publicly denouncing these incidents, the authorities have sent a strong message that bias motivated attacks have no place in the United Kingdom. I add my voice to those calling for the swift identification and prosecution of the perpetrators."

The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported a 57 per cent increase in reporting to True Vision, the online hate crime reporting site run by the police, between 24 and 27 June, compared to the same time in May 2016. ODIHR has also received reports of hate crimes and expressions of concern about the safety of people living in the United Kingdom.

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Building capacities of Ukrainian gender equality advisors was the focus of the workshop Mainstreaming Gender into Communication, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Equal Opportunities Caucus of the Parliament of Ukraine in Lviv, western Ukraine, on 24 June 2016.

Twenty-five participants from government and civil society, representing seven regions of Ukraine, had the opportunity to learn about effective ways to include a gender perspective into their internal and external communication.

Oksana Yurynets, a Member of Ukrainian Parliament and the Equal Opportunities Caucus, said: "The workshop focused on enhancing the abilities of regional state-administration gender advisors to communicate clear, strong messages to general public. Such communication helps to create an environment where dialogue about gender equality is possible. Working on these issues is very important for Ukraine as a country where equality remains a strategic target."

Kateryna Ryabiko, Project Co-ordinator at ODIHR, said that in accordance with the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, ODIHR is tasked to promote equality between women and men throughout the OSCE area, including through education in gender awareness. "Promoting gender mainstreaming is essential to recognizing gender equality as a vital element of democratization of society."

Participants also discussed findings of the recent report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that urged Ukraine to intensify its efforts to overcome persistent stereotypes that are discriminatory against women and to improve national capacity for promoting gender equality.

The event was organized as part of ODIHR’s project on “Strengthening dialogue among civil society and with key government stakeholders in Ukraine on human dimension issues”. It was launched in April 2015 with the aim of enhancing effective mechanisms for dialogue to address key human rights issues in Ukraine, in line with OSCE commitments and international standards.

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ALMATY, 5 July 2016 – The annual OSCE Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) forum and seminar began today in Almaty.

The three-day event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana for some 35 university students and CAYN alumni from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. Representatives of the OSCE and expert speakers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway and the Russian Federation are also taking part.

The topic of this year’s forum “Renewing dialogue, rebuilding trust, restoring security” was selected to reflect the priorities of Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship. The participants will discuss the key challenges for comprehensive security in Central Asia and beyond, and explore ways to address them in their communities and together with co-operation from neighbouring countries. They will also address the issue of civil society’s role in promoting fundamental freedoms and human rights, and re-examine co-operation in Central Asia on its way to integration with a special emphasis on connectivity and multilateral co-operation.

“Through CAYN we hope that when you begin to take responsibility for your communities and your countries you can say with confidence that you have learned about key security challenges in the region,” said Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana György Szabó. “Moreover, you have heard perspectives from some of the best minds in the region and experts from around the world on how to address them.”

Renate Schimkoreit, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany to Almaty presented the priorities of the German OSCE Chairmanship. Pal Dunay, Director of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek and Milena Stošić, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office on Youth and Security, will focus on engaging youth in promoting OSCE values and principles and in addressing security challenges and threats in the wider region. Special attention will be paid to youth involvement in the OSCE's 'United in Countering Violent Extremism' campaign.

The forum will be followed by training workshops focused on using technology for governance, civil society development, networking and data utilization. The event will culminate with an outdoor exercise to promote team building.

Nurlan Dulatbekov, a Member of Kazakhstan’s Parliament spoke about the role of promoting social security as part of national and regional security as well as initiatives to counter violent extremism through engaging youth at the grassroots level.

The event is part of the Office’s efforts to enhance young people’s understanding of contemporary security threats and challenges and to explain the OSCE’s role in addressing them.

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Cheapest I believe by a long way. Similar price to the xe75 set

"He's going too far." It's never enough for athletes! Always more, more, more. Paramount has revealed an official trailer for a fascinating sports documentary called Freediver, from director Michael John Warren. While this come across as a one-of-a-kind creation, this whole film seems like a response to the exceptional doc The Deepest Breath about two other famous freedivers - mainly a young Italian woman named Alessia Zecchini who was also setting records. Anyway... After geopolitics forced him into exile, one of the greatest living freedivers, Alexey Molchanov, fights to reclaim his athletic glory and honor his iconic mother's towering legacy by attempting a record setting season in the history of this deadly sport. His near-suicidal quest to set five world records in under four months brings him to the farthest reaches of the globe and his mind, forcing him to reevaluate the very skills on which he has built his entire life. Intense! This is such a scary yet beautiful sport only a few people in the world can really compete in – don't try this at home, folks. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Michael John Warren's doc Freediver, direct from YouTube: After geopolitics forced him into exile, […]

SET-listed developer AP Thailand has launched a new condo brand for the lower-priced segment, featuring fully-furnished units aimed at capturing both real demand and investors seeking rental opportunities, despite a slowdown in this market.

New releases that hit cinemas in Thailand this week. 

Ever looked at your smartphone charging port and thought: "Hey, that'd make a great mouthpiece for a digital flute of some kind?" Well, an Italian company has done one better by creating a USB-C-powered MIDI controller with a mouthpiece users can blow into. When paired with a companion app, your mobile device turns into pretty much any popular

At what point does the refresh rate of a gaming monitor reach diminishing returns, or otherwise become inconsequential? Ask any monitor maker and they'll tell you, 'Get out of here with such silly questions, gaming peasant!'. Okay, they probably wouldn't be as crass in their answer, but the latest evidence that monitor makers have no intention

Maxwell: Central Florida leaders spend more time berating Lynx than supporting the bus system. And state officials come clean on license status for school connected to Carolina Amesty

Homebuilding sector analysts at Raymond James and Associates see mortgage rates remaining “higher for longer,” given the outcome of the election.

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Tracking what youve accomplished, not just whats next.

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Amsterdam-based startup Sympower has secured €21mn as it looks to scale its grid-balancing technology. Sympower partners with businesses that use a large amount of electricity. It gains access to some of their energy assets and can turn them on and off when the grid requires balancing — a process called demand response. Sympower’s software platform uses AI to analyse data and optimise when and how much power businesses can sell at any given time, making energy use adjustments more effective and profitable for all parties.  Grid operators pay Sympower to stabilise the energy supply. The company passes most of that…

This story continues at The Next Web

Una de las principales agencias de márketing de EEUU trasvasará 250 millones de su presupuesto para televisión a Internet. Y como socio no ha escogido a ninguna televisión tradicional, sino a YouTube. Un test importante para los emisores de vídeo en la Red.

As a Latina mother and marketer, raising bilingual children in today's media landscape is both a joy and a challenge. Growing up, shows like Dora the Explorer didn't just entertain me--they helped me navigate a complex world between two languages. While English wasn't my first language, those shows gave me a sense of belonging in...

The pharmaceutical industry is preparing for an accelerated pace of consolidation, with the number of mergers up 39 per cent since 2017¹. This year has already witnessed its first ‘super merger’ between two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Bristol-Myers and Celgene, valued at $74 billion.²

Stephen Colbert spent the majority of his opening monologue on Wednesday night’s “Late Show” talking about President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices so far, including Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. “Almost eight years ago, we all saw [Trump] saunter down those Capitol steps, put his […]

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The Stranger's morning news round-up. by Nathalie Graham

Windy in Washington: High winds swept across the Olympic Peninsula overnight. The gustiest gales reached nearly 70 miles per hour in Hoquiam. Winds remain higher than normal and Washington State Ferries says it could impact ferry rides today. If anything, the ferry rides will be bumpier than normal.

Rain, rain, rain: Soggy conditions continue to saturate Seattle. Don't think about when you will see a clear day again—it's not worth it. 

Moderate to heavy rain will continue to move into the region this morning as a strong system moves across W WA. Have a morning commute? Best to slow down and give yourself a little extra time to get to your destination. Rain will transition to showers through the day. #wawx pic.twitter.com/k2PrlLJE5Z

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) November 13, 2024

Ashley's got some news you can use.

We’ll miss you, Dow: King County Executive Dow Constantine announced last night he would not seek a fifth term in 2025. It’s the end of an era for the county, which Constantine has helmed since 2010. During that time he’s championed funding transit, early childhood education, and housing. He also promised to end youth detention and close the child jail, which he’s kind of skipping out on. But all in all, Constantine pushed for pretty progressive policies and deserves a solid pat on the back for consistency and knowing that when you have power, you can just do stuff and make people accept the results. And you can get lots of haircuts. That’s cool, Constantine. Grab drinks with me and Hannah soon. 

But, onward: King County Council Member Claudia Balducci announced Wednesday she planned to run for Constantine’s seat. I rode around with Balducci ahead of her announcement on a little tour of everything she’s done for the Eastside, from her years as a Bellevue City Council Member to her time as Mayor and finally to her time on the King County Council. Balducci, a transit buff, plans to ride a train straight through King County’s glass ceiling and become the first woman to earn the title of King County Executive.

Thanks, Ashley! Back to the rest of the news.

Low voter turnout: Washington state had the lowest voter turnout this election since 2000. According to the Seattle Times, fewer than 78% of the state's registered voters cast a ballot. That's down significantly from the 84% of people who voted in 2020.

Kum & Go? More like Kum & Gone: The midwestern gas station chain is changing its name after 49 years of cum jokes.

Oh, we are so cooked: President-elect Donald Trump is in the midst of hand-picking his cabinet in a process that feels like the Avengers assembling except instead of superheroes these Avengers are the worst people you've ever heard of. On that list now is our new defense secretary. The person Trump picked to lead the world's biggest and most powerful military is, you guessed it, Fox News host Pete Hegseth. The move stunned the Pentagon. The Fox & Friends Weekend co-host is a National Guard officer. He is against "woke" diversity and inclusion programs, is skeptical about women in combat, and has spoken about pardoning war crimes. 

Trump apparently just named Fox News host Pete Hegseth his secretary of defense?

[image or embed]

— Parker Molloy (@parkermolloy.com) November 12, 2024 at 4:11 PM

Dog killer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who infamously shot her dog instead of training it after it misbehaved, to lead the DHS. The role should be important in an administration that wants to conduct mass deportations and clamp down on border security. 

The Department of Government Efficiency: Trump announced the creation of a new government office designed to "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies." Elon Musk and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the office. During his campaign, Ramaswamy said he wanted to cut down on government spending and discussed eliminating the FBI, the Department of Education, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to do that. Musk, meanwhile, wants to just meme about it all. The acronym for the department is DOGE, Musk's favorite meme. Will the two be able to keep the posts despite clear conflicts of interest? We'll see. Please, someone stop the edge lords. 

wait why does the dept of government efficiency have two co-chairs

— Caitlin Gilbert (@caitlingilbert.bsky.social) November 12, 2024 at 6:15 PM

So much for justice: Special counsel Jack Smith, the guy in charge of the Justice Department cases against Trump, announced he will resign before the beginning of Trump's term. During his campaign, Trump promised to fire Smith within “two seconds” of taking office. Smith has two outstanding cases against Trump, and he plans to write a final report on both before stepping down.  

Hell is empty and the devils are here: A Michigan community theater put on a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Several Nazis gathered outside waving swastika flags and shouting racist and antisemitic slurs.  

Something to listen to: A friend recently turned me onto this radio drama about a space mission. I've barely scratched the surface of the series, but so far it's a nice escape. 

Most images of an Old West saloon are barroom brawls and gunfire, with scantily clad “soiled doves” hanging around…

Wrangler has expanded its retail footprint in India with the inauguration of six new stores. Located in Ujjain, Goa, Indore, Bilaspur, Katihar, and Bareilly, these additions bring Wrangler's total store count to 58 across India.

The company reported a loss for the first half of its financial year and announced a 40 million pound ($51 million) cost savings programme, as new CEO Joshua Schulman laid out his turnaround plan.

UK rapper/songwriter/educator BREIS (pronounced breeze) returns with a new informative and enlightening single, "Gimme Dat" that breaks down the dynamics of the music industry. Backed by producer Soliheen's plucky synths…

Content Warning: Incredibly ugly upcoming U.S. Politics. Stephen Miller and Donald Trump's public promise for a "bloody story" - plans for sweeping raids and mass deportations of 10 to 20 million people living in America are expected to start when Trump assumes office and begins on day one.

People living all across the United States, from farm camps in the backwaters of Florida to the ethnically diverse neighborhoods of major cities will likely be greviously impacted. Currently it is expected that the combined utilization of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), National Guard, local police, trained and armed civilians and possibly even the US Military will take part in the raids to capture legal and illegal immigrants. Sympathetic police departments will have their funding slashed if they don't participate in the raids. Surprisingly, some research suggests a majority of Americans support mass deportations and concentration camps, which was reflected in the election results. Whether the popular support continues after it begins depends on the effectiveness of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security's indoctrination and propaganda programs that they have already been preparing for this moment, as well as the mass media's whitewashing of the proceedings as an "affordable housing program," among other things. So the question is, what can we realistically expect? ICE's "Citizens Academy" program offers up some clues...

The academy trains civilians to operate multiple firearms, use lethal force, perform surveillance on immigrants, and conduct raids while also acting as a public relations initiative to try and sway public opinion about ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the HSI unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "We ran Border Patrol Citizen Academies back when I was an agent as well," Jenn Budd, former Senior Border Patrol Agent, whistleblower, and author of Against the Wall told Unicorn Riot. "The entire goal is to indoctrinate locals into why it's okay for us to violate people's rights." The training materials that show where to strike people with batons to subdue them are but the tip of the iceberg in terms of violence. While the ICE presentation on using force contains the "Monadnock Baton Chart" (presumably named after baton manufacturer Monadnock) showing the degrees of damage inflicted on a suspect based on where they're struck with a baton, the majority of this part of Citizens Academy training covers when to use deadly force.

What could happen to the people swept up? The program is generally portrayed as mass deportations, but already it has become clear that many countries (even Mexico) are expected not to welcome the tidal wave of migrants. Instead, the prison-industrial complex which is being flooded with investment money is gearing up to build large scale prisons and camps to house them. Many of these migrants can be expected to be kept there for years on end, with the Supreme Court supporting indefinite detetion of immigrants, an affirmation of long standing U.S. policy. Slavery in America is still legal in the prison system (even California voter's just reaffirmed) and many companies could stand to make a lot of money off of the cheap workforce. The prior Trump administration focused on breaking families up, but this time they promise to include everyone in the family, no matter the immigration status, even denaturalization of American citizens. How will it be payed for? The operation is projected to cost upwards of $300 billion or much more and this has frequently been cited as a major reason that the invisioned plans will falter. If Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) plans for freeing up $2 trillion of the yearly federal budget succeeds, there appears to be plenty of money to reallocate. Even without these slush funds, Trump has already declared that the operation has "no price tag." Some recent and historical parallels In China, many Uyghurs have been put into forced labor prison camps for decades now, and the Xinjiang region has long been at the technological vanguard of state of the art large scale surveillance and population control research and development. American and Western tech companies can take what they have learned in Xinjiang and finally bring it home for wide spread use domestically. During the Holocaust, many "good Germans" helped to report their neighbors, and already Americans are arguing whether it is ethical to call in ICE on theirs. America has a long history of anti-immigrant campaigns and attacking ethnic communities, including Operation Wetback in 1953-54, the Japanese Internment Camps during WWII and tracing back to events like the Trail of Tears and traditional American slavery, to name a few. Hoping for the best While the years of preparation for Project 2025, combined with the GOP's complete control of all of the branches of the federal government suggests things are going to be harder to stop. It is good to remember that for all intents and purposes this will be an unimaginable kakistocracy and the revolving door of grifters is likely to spin even faster than it did during the first Trump administration. Major logistical questions remain - how fast can they actually scale up, for example, or deal with the massively inflated costs, bribes and outright theft chipping away at the budget. The chaos caused by replacing 50,000 federal employees with largely incompetent hacks while gutting government agencies left and right alone will likely slow down any plans significantly due to the complex and tightly coupled systems that make up the US government. Fortunately the ACLU and many other organizations and Democratic state governments vow to legally fight back against the upcoming operations. And lastly, it is likely that there will be large scale public action. Whether it is in the form of protests, strikes or imaginative work arounds for whatever crackdowns that are coming, there many Americans who will push back.

My desktop computer accesses the internet via cable connection. Years ago, my son connected a router to my desktop computer so that I could use my laptop via the router. My laptop will no longer connect to the internet via the router. The router seems to have died from old age (everything is blinking and it looks okay ... it's like the lights are on but nobody's home), and so I've decided to disconnect it, but I don't know what steps I need to take to do so.


I clicked around on my laptop and encountered a diagram that shows the laptop is active, and the diagram has an arrow that points to a router icon and shows that the router is active, and there is an arrow that points to a globe icon and shows that the worldwide web is NOT active.

I assume that I should assume that the router has died, and so I want to disconnect the router to get it out of the way. How do I do this?

Is it a matter of just unplugging the router and all of the connections? If I do this, will my desktop that is connected to the internet via cable still be able to access the internet without the router, or do I need to somehow tell my desktop that the router is gone and that it needs to start using the cable, instead, now?

I'm usually quite successful finding answers via YouTube tutorials, but I have had not luck with this so far.

How can I redirect a task at work that I do not possess the skills to complete and cannot learn how to do in a timely manner? Sometimes I know it immediately, and sometimes it takes me a bit to find out. I usually say, "Hey, I don't think I'm going to be able to address this in a timely manner because it's not part of my wheelhouse. Could we delegate it to someone else on the team?" when I am working with a manager. Is this the right route?

Example scenario: I have been asked to address accessibility issues on a marketing website. This task requires an understanding of accessibility requirements, code overrides, and the website host (Framer) in general. I've already gotten two tasks totally wrong because despite my best efforts to learn as I go, I'm a visual designer, not a front-end developer!

I initially asked a developer colleague I don't know very well for guidance, but today I admitted to him that I am out of my depth and asked if he could please address the failed tickets instead of me so they're done correctly. I cannot tell if this is diva behavior. Is it okay to essentially say "I'm not the right person to do this," when asked to do something? Should I be trying harder?

I slept poorly last night because I hate inefficiency but dislike being viewed as incompetent even more.

I could listen to peace-builder and story-teller Kiran Singh Sirah all day. Not because he’s a gifted and generous story-teller — he most certainly is — but because his world […]

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