As promised, Rand Paul offered a lesson on the secret history of the Republican Party and black people in a speech to students at Howard University, a historically-black college, on Wednesday. Paul's version of history was not all that different than the one offered last month at CPAC's "Trump the Race Card" panel, a history that goes something like this: Republicans believed in emancipation and abolition and were radically not racist in the 19th century and? let's just skip over the last half of the 20th century. Paul said that Republicans saw a significant drop?in support from black people from the 1960s on, not because of the party's calculation that it could win elections by appealing to the prejudices of racist Southerners, but because Democrats offered a bunch of handouts during the Great Depression. Paul said:
I think what happened during the Great Depression was that African Americans understood that Republicans championed citizenship and voting rights but they became impatient for economic emancipation.
African Americans languished below white Americans in every measure of economic success and the Depression was especially harsh for those at the lowest rung of poverty.
The Democrats promised equalizing outcomes through unlimited federal assistance while Republicans offered something that seemed less tangible-the promise of equalizing opportunity through free markets.
Rand Paul's explanation for how Republicans lost the support of black voters sounds a lot like Mitt Romney's explanation for why he lost the 2012 election ? that Obama won because he offered "gifts," "especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people." Rand Paul's explanation is wrong.?Paul did not mention that the New Deal is why white people voted for Democrats, too. (At left, the electoral college maps for the presidential elections in 1932, 1936, and 1940.) And?Dwight Eisenhower got 39 percent of black voters' support in 1956.?That means there's another explanation.
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Paul only got to it when asked by a student whether he was from the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln or "post-1968 Republican party ? Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan." Paul disagreed that there was any difference between the Lincoln party and the Reagan one. "People perceive those as being completely different parties," Paul said. He explained:
"The argument that I'm trying to make is that we haven't changed. We don't talk about it...?There are some of us who haven't changed, who are part of that party that you liked, who truly believe that Reagan was still part of that. Who don't see an abrupt difference."
There is a difference! Ronald Reagan kicked off his 1980 general election campaign near Philadelphia, Mississippi, a place that is?solely famous for being the site of there civil rights murders. Reagan invented "welfare queens." In the 1990s, Newt Gingrich said he would crack down on crime by building emergency prisons and advertising longer sentences on "MTV and?rap radio." Rand Paul's father Ron Paul made millions of dollars selling newsletters that warned of a looming "race war." This is not disputed history. Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman apologized for the Southern Strategy in 2005.
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It is great that Paul wants to reach out to new voters. It is fantastic that the GOP wants to compete for black voters. These are obviously good things. But voters deserve a little bit of honesty about very recent history. Paul seemed surprised when Howard students were better versed in black GOP history than he was. Paul tried to explain that the first black senator was a Republican ? but stumbled when he was "blanking on his name." The crowd shouted that it was Edward Brooke.?Paul tried another fact. "If I would have said, 'Who do you think the founders of the NAACP were? Do you think they were Republicans or Democrats?' Would everybody in here have known they were all Republicans?"?"Yes!" the crowd shouted. "Alright, alright," Paul admitted, "you know more than I know."
I look around; Ryan Green has already slipped out of the room. I hesitate, then nod. I take my seat at the rickety desk and put on a pair of expensive noise-canceling headphones.
The game is called That Dragon, Cancer. The desk ? I wish we?d had a better desk for them, actually ? is located on the first floor of Unwinnable?s furnished, three-story mansion, which we?ve rented for this year?s Game Developers Conference. Tonight every room is full of developers and their games. We?ve given That Dragon, Cancer its own entire bedroom. It?s the largest bedroom on the first floor; it even has its own couch. I am surprised. I didn?t have much to do with organizing this event (I?m not much of an organizer), so everything surprises me.
More than one colleague has told me to come to this room. One told me to come to this room first, another told me to visit it last. I am about to become very, very surprised.
???
I am searching the screen with my cursor when I remember the demo is supposed to end with the words ?thank you.? And I realize I?ve just heard these words, and I take my hand away from the mouse and squirm out of the expensive noise-canceling headphones, and now I am staring at Josh Larson.
Josh is here ? was he always here? ? with a clipboard and pen. He?s going to take my feedback. I think he?s been taking my feedback.
How long have I been sitting here?
?Okay,? I tell him. I wrack my brain. ?I? don?t think I?ve ever played a videogame that takes place in the ICU before.?
I give Josh Larson my design notes. I am clinical with my thoughts and suggestions. I answer Josh?s questions.
Now Josh has another question for me. ?Did you understand that the game is supposed to be hopeful??
I answer yes, and I am explaining why, and this is when it finally catches up with me. I burst into tears.
S
I don?t think I?ve ever played a videogame that takes place in an ICU before. Actually, do you know, for a few years and right up until six months ago, I spent a lot of meaningful time in the ICU.
And wow, you really got every detail right! I can?t believe it! There?s the armchair. And it is! It is always too small! And rubbery. Here?s the phone right next to it, of course. The bed is over there. The bathroom is a room attached to this one, and then there?s another sink counter way over here, where you religiously wash and sanitize your hands. There?s the salmon-pink, kidney-shaped basin sitting on the counter just to the sink?s left: maybe it?s supposed to be a bedpan, but we always used it for vomit instead. Everything is just right, just the way I remember it.
And then there are those great big windows ? there are always those great big windows ? and if it weren?t for those big picture windows, you?d never know the time of day, since the ICU is always so dark. That moment really struck me, seeing out those windows and realizing it?s still daylight.
Oh. Have you ever heard of something called ?ICU psychosis?? Write that down, look it up later. But okay, it happens to not only the patients themselves, but also to their loved ones. You not only lose track of what time of day it is, but also what day it is, what week it is. Time doesn?t work right anymore. There are audio and visual hallucinations, too, sometimes. You know that whiteboard, where they write down what day it is and the nurses? hours? That isn?t really for the nurses, you know. It?s for you. Oh, that?s something you left out, the whiteboard.
Something else struck me ? sorry, I?m kind of harping on this one moment. Okay. So when I?d click on the windows, the camera would whirl, and suddenly it leaves the first-person vantage, and the camera swoops around outside the window to stare into the building back at me, and I?m standing there looking out the window, and it?s a real Portal moment, you know, where you see yourself for the first time? So when I look in at myself, I see Ryan Green standing there instead ? Ryan, the man who was only just here in the room with us ? and I can see his shape and form and his glasses and his beard.
And then, and only then, I remember I am supposed to be Ryan.
???
Later I was describing that Portal moment to Ryan Green ? this convergence of game and cinema and prose and autobiography ? and just how meaningful that moment really was, and I said something like ?it proves there really are some stories that can only be told through the medium of games.? Then I added, ?I think you?ve really achieved something here,? and I said that last thing out loud and I felt so, so sick.
???
In the game, you click through the ICU, feeling around with your cursor for any sort of narrative relief. Sometimes relief does arrive, in the form of a white scrawl, an almost-handwritten prose-poem scribbling itself against the ICU. Sometimes, though, it seems you?ve finally run out of options.
Your son is crying out in pain. There is nothing you can do.
That Dragon, Cancer positions itself as an adventure game, which by design implies all the flaws and failings built into a point-and-click adventure game. You fall into these cyclic, helpless loops of action, clicking on this hotspot and that one, fumbling for anything to alleviate your, Ryan?s, son?s cries ? cries that start out gut-wrenching, then quickly turn into something more persistently awful, something you?ve got to quell as quickly as possible. It hurts on every level.
To get to all the hotspots on one side of the room, you have to repeatedly seat yourself in the too-small armchair near your ? Ryan?s ? son?s bed. And, ah, that?s how it actually goes. You keep sitting down and surveying the room, looking for just one new thing to try to do. That?s how it really, really went.
And at some point the game stops cold. Now there is only one parser command on the screen.
Pray.
This is how it really, really went.
S
Ryan tells us, in an early in-game voice over, how at first this whole medical odyssey was ?an adventure.? He was, he imagined, ?a hero.? I heard him say that, and I thought how brave it was to just come right out and say that, and my stomach folded in on itself.
The very first time, my mother was supposed to die. She was supposed to die, and we succeeded instead. She survived several times after. For just under a year I was needlessly cavalier. I do remember what it felt like to be the hero. I also remember what it felt like to get so, so tired, which was a long time after I?d stopped being afraid.
Ryan Green told me he?d wanted to include some sort of prose refrain. The game, in many ways, is a hymn, a song of praise, but I told him a refrain might be overkill. I told him players will always fumble at the same couple of objects in the room, and those objects can always respond with the same piece of text, and in a way, that could become the refrain, if you could just anticipate what the player will reach for. No, I told him, you don?t need to artificially include a refrain. Maybe. I don?t know.
I told Ryan I have limited experience with cancer. I told him about my mother, who died of something else, but it, you know, it took a long time. Then Ryan asked me what my favorite thing about my mother was.
?Oh,? I said to him. And then I told him something. It was a pretty big something.
And I concluded, ?I?ve never told anyone that before,? and that was true, and it is still true.
???
Josh Larson is holding a clipboard. He has a question for me. ?Did you? understand that the game itself is supposed to be hopeful??
?Yes,? I tell him reluctantly. ?Yes, because even when you?re trapped on certain narrative circuits ? ?
He?s still alive.
? ? there?s this perpetual forward motion, a momentum, where you aren?t really trapped, there?s always, uh ? ?
He?s still alive.
I tell Josh I tried to make a game once, in Twine, and I only ever showed it to a few people, but in it there is no narrative direction; the player just circles hopelessly. There is no narrative hope.
?But with something like this,? I tell Josh Larson, ?you dedicate years of your life, and the person, ah ? ?
He?s still alive.
I sob.
? ? the person still dies, no matter how long you take, no matter what you do.? I barely manage to work these words out.
This isn?t constructive criticism at all. It is hopelessness, hopelessness in the face of Josh Larson and Ryan Green?s hope.
???
Still, I keep thinking about my favorite thing about my mother ? a weird thing to love, just some human failing, a secret I kept for her ? and I suddenly remember I had two or three extra years with her, and
He?s still alive.
and she?s gone, she?s gone, and now I have all this love and no place to put it.
S
I carefully take the headphones from around my neck and set them in front of me.
?Well,? Josh Larson says to me, sighing deeply but smiling, ?I?m glad we could give you twenty minutes of peace.?
I look at him, and then I stare down at my lap, and I realize he?s right. For twenty minutes I?ve been in another place ? in its own fucked way it was safe there ? and now I?m back. I nod.
???
This is admittedly a pretty audacious effort, to invent an entire game narrative about this one event that ? how can I say this in a gracious way ? hasn?t transpired yet. Yet.
This is an ugly truth, but look. This is probably coming. I?m sorry. This is a game about something that is only inevitably coming.
But it?s coming for all of us.
And that is the loveliest thing about That Dragon, Cancer: we will all meet this thing, or have already met it. Maybe that should be scary, but That Dragon, Cancer is about sustaining the hope and joy of life for just as long as we can.
I like poetry. That Dragon, Cancer is entirely made up of poetry. An old poetry professor of mine is waiting to die of some rare blood cancer. The wonderful thing about his certain-death cancer is, he could die tomorrow, or he could die at ninety. ?Certain death? is incredibly silly that way.
What was it e.e. cummings said? It was some line of poetry. How did it go? It went something like, ?for life?s not a paragraph. And death I think is no parenthesis.? I have no idea what it means; I just like it.
???
I was confused. Wasn?t there anything else to do? I scanned my cursor across the ICU.
I wasn?t sure I?d found the demo?s end, and then I remembered those strange words: ?Thank you.?
I nodded and took the headphones off, and then I looked for Josh.
???
Jenn Frank is Unwinnable's editorial director. Her writing has also appeared at 1UP, Vice Motherboard, GameSetWatch, Jezebel, the New York Times, and in Kill Screen Magazine. She lives with a miniature schnauzer. Follow her on Twitter @Jennatar.
Learn more about That Dragon, Cancer at its development blog.
NEW YORK (AP) ? The bickering parents of Broadway's most expensive show have made up ? in court at least ? and that removes a huge cloud above the future of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."
Producers and fired director Julie Taymor hashed out a settlement that was announced Wednesday, and both sides released statements hoping the superhero show could now soar beyond Broadway.
Taymor, the original "Spider-Man" director and co-book writer, was fired in 2011 after years of delays, accidents and critical backlash to a show whose price tag ballooned to $75 million.
Taymor slapped the producers, led by Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, as well as Glen Berger, her former co-book writer, with a federal copyright infringement lawsuit, alleging they violated her creative rights and hadn't compensated her for the work she put into the show. The producers' filed a counterclaim asserting the copyright claims were baseless.
Though settlement talks had been ongoing, a final deal hadn't been hammered out, and Manhattan federal Judge Katherine Forrest had set a May 27 trial date, which has now been made moot.
The settlement means a legal quagmire has been removed and frees producers to consider options, including a tour or a new home for the show if it ever needs to leave Broadway. No details about the settlement or how it was reached were revealed.
It was clear that prolonged and embarrassing court hearings would further injure the property. Taymor, in a statement, said she had hope "for the continued success of Spider-Man, both on Broadway and beyond." The producers said they looked forward to spreading the show "in new and exciting ways around the world."
The show, which features music by U2's Bono and The Edge, opened in November 2010 but spent months in previews and then retooling before officially opening a few days after the Tony Awards in June 2011. It has become a financial hit at the box office.
Taymor's lawsuit sought half of all profits derived from the sale, license, transfer or lease of any rights in the original "Spider-Man" book along with a permanent ban of the use of her name or likeness in connection with a documentary film that was made of the birth of the musical without her consent.
It also sought a jury trial to determine her share of profits from the unauthorized use of her version of the superhero story, which it said was believed to be in excess of $1 million.
In the run-up to a legal showdown, papers revealed a behind-the-scenes atmosphere that was secretive and slightly paranoid. Taymor alleged that Berger was told to quietly work on changes to the story without Taymor's knowledge ? called "Plan X" ? that in an email Berger complained led him to lead a "double life" working with and against Taymor.
After Taymor left, writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, director Philip William McKinley and choreographer Chase Brock cleaned up a story that had wandered into darker and mythological themes, while Bono and The Edge reworked the songs. More flying stunts were added, and the romance between Peter Parker and Mary Jane returned to center stage.
The use of four comic-book fans who framed the plot and represented Taymor, Bono, The Edge and Berger were cut. The role of a villainous spider-woman named Arachne was scaled back, and the Green Goblin's role was enhanced.
Taymor had alleged that the show hadn't been re-imagined after her firing and that what audiences are seeing at the Foxwoods Theatre is essentially the same show she directed.
On opening night, Taymor received a standing ovation and kisses from cast members, as well as from Bono and The Edge. The three were all smiles and posed for pictures together on the red carpet.
The stunt-heavy show has done brisk business since it opened its doors and most weeks easily grosses more than the $1.2 million the producers have indicated they need to reach to stay viable and pay off debts. But getting rid of a legal headache may open the door for more revenue options.
___
Online: http://www.SpiderManOnBroadway.com
___
Follow Mark Kennedy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Lindsay Lohan greets fans as she heads into a taping of 'The Late Show with David Letterman' in New York
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
"True Blood" star Alexander Skarsgard was spotted out and about in New York City on April 9. He spent time signing autographs for his fans on the street.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Cameron Diaz grabbed an iced tea after a workout at the gym on April 8 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Celebrity Phoos: April 2013
Olivia Wilde took her dog Paco out for a walk with her brother Charlie in New York City, New York on April 8.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Rumor Willis was spotted wearing the U by Kotox Generation Know bracelet while playing with her dog in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 8.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Taylor Swift walked the red carpet at the 2013 Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 6.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Jessica Alba flaunted her amazing bikini body as she hit the beach while on vacation in St. Barts on April 7.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Giuliana Rancic was all smiles at The Naked Grape Wine's `Peel It Off to Give Back` event in Chicago on April 6.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Pregnant Jessica Simpson's curves were on full display in a tight black shirt as she took her family to lunch at King's Fish House In Calabasas, Calif., on April 6.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Chris Hemsworth took his adorable daughter India Rose grocery shopping at the 'Whole Foods' in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 5. Hot dad alert!
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Angelina Jolie attended the Women in the World Summit 2013 on April 4 in New York City.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Jada Pinkett Smith spotted out and about in New York City on April 3.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Emmy Rossum was all smiles in New York while sporting the Henri Bendel Sutton Mini Bag on April 2.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Jon Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt took their dog for a walk in West Hollywood, Calif., on April 2.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Charlize Theron was seen bundled up in a dark pea coat and scarf as she hurried out of her hotel to run some errands around New York City on April 2.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Rihanna performed at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada on April 1. Looking good, RiRi!
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Kate Beckinsale was spotted stocking up on spring fragrances from Jo Malone London in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 1.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Heidi Klum walked on the beach at the North Shore in Oahu, Hawaii on April 1.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Sarah Jessica Parker walked her kids to school on April 1 in New York City. How adorable are those army jackets?
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
A bikini-clad Hayden Panettiere enjoyed a peaceful Easter Sunday on the beach in Miami, Fla., on March 31.
Celebrity Photos: April 2013
Kourtney Kardashian took her kids Mason and Penelope to Church on Easter Sunday, where they were joined by Kendall, Kylie and Kris Jenner in Los Angeles, Calif.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Lily Collins attended Day 2 of WonderCon 2013 at Anaheim Convention Center on March 30 in Anaheim, Calif.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Britney Spears, her two sons Sean and Jayden Federline and her father Jamie were spotted arriving on a flight in New Orleans, La., on March 29.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Diane Kruger posed for pictures outside ABC Studios for an appearance on "Good Morning America" on March 28 in NYC.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Taylor Swift went casual in a black sweater and red pants as she headed out and about in New York City on March 27.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Sandra Bullock gave her son Louis a piggyback ride after picking him up from school in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 26.
Celebrity News: March 2013
Angelina Jolie and the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague visited a rescue camp for women on March 25 in the Democratic Republic of Congo to raise awareness of warzone rape. Jolie, a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner, said the issues need a "worldwide focus."
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Kim Kardashian stepped out in New York City on March 26 after revealing her pregnancy weight is around 140 pounds.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Jamie Lynn Sigler celebrated the news of having a boy with with a Sally Hansen Nail Color Manicure (in blue) in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 25.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Kelly Osbourne attended a photocall to promote her E! show Fashion Police in Amsterdam on March 25.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Anne Hathaway looked all bundled up as she was spotted out and about with husband Adam Shulman in New York on March 25.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Gwen Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale took their sons Kingston and Zuma to a park in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on March 24.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart attended Celebrity Fight Night in Phoenix, Arizona on March 23, where the Moet & Chandon champagne was flowing as celebrities toasted the guest of honor, Muhammad Ali.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Drew Barrymore ran some errands in New York City on March 22. Looking good post-baby!
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Ashley Greene was spotted leaving a gym wearing a pink top in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 20.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Eva Mendes, wearing a brown leopard print dress and brown boots, headed to a taping of "The Late Show with David Letterman" in New York City on March 19.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
"The Bachelor" star Sean Lowe and his fiance Catherine Giudici took a stroll at The Grove in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 19.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
A makeup-free Cameron Diaz sported black spandex pants as she got some exercise while hiking with a friend in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 19.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Emilia Clarke looked incredible at HBO's Season Three premiere of "Game of Thrones" held at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Calif., on March 18.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Selena Gomez showed off her legs in a a short skirt as she arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City to promote her new film "Spring Breakers" on the "Late Show with David Letterman" on March 18.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Lindsay Lohan was seen leaving the court house in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 18 after showing up 45 minutes late.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
"Modern Family" star Sofia Vergara took a taxi to an office building in New York on March 18.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner took their kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel to a park in Brentwood, Calif., on March 17. How adorable are these sweet siblings?
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Taylor Swift rocked short shorts as she headed to a photo shoot in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 16.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
"Jersey Shore" star Pauly D was spotted this past weekend spinning some of today's hottest hits at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana's ORO Nightclub in the Dominican Republic.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Jessica Simpson, who recently confirmed she is expecting a boy, shopped at Bel Bambini Baby Boutique in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 15.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Khloe Kardashian left the One The Thirty restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on March 14. Looking good, Khloe!
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Jennifer Garner struck a pose at the Neutrogena Sun Summit (raising awareness on the changing environment's impact on overall skin health) in in New York City on March 13.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Camila Alves rocked a blue leather jacket, black top and black pants as she set out around New York City on March 13.
Celebrity Photos: March 2013
Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar filmed scenes on the beach in Malibu, Calif., for the TV show "Franklin & Bash" on March 12.
Celebrity PHotos: March 2013
Pregnant reality star Kim Kardashian headed to an office to film scenes for 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 12.
Apr. 8, 2013 ? A new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the way carbon moves from within a planet to the surface plays a big role in the evolution of a planet's atmosphere. If Mars released much of its carbon as methane, for example, it might have been warm enough to support liquid water.
A new study of how carbon is trapped and released by iron-rich volcanic magma offers clues about the early atmospheric evolution on Mars and other terrestrial bodies.
The composition of a planet's atmosphere has roots deep beneath its surface. When mantle material melts to form magma, it traps subsurface carbon. As magma moves upward toward the surface and pressure decreases, that carbon is released as a gas. On Earth, carbon is trapped in magma as carbonate and degassed as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that helps Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun. But how carbon is transferred from underground to the atmosphere in other planets -- and how that might influence greenhouse conditions -- wasn't well understood.
"We know carbon goes from the solid mantle to the liquid magma, from liquid to gas and then out," said Alberto Saal, professor of geological sciences at Brown and one of the study's authors. "We want to understand how the different carbon species that are formed in the conditions that are relevant to the planet affect the transfer."
This latest study, which also included researchers from Northwestern University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, indicated that under conditions like those found in the mantles of Mars, the Moon and other bodies, carbon is trapped in the magmas mainly as a species called iron carbonyl and released as carbon monoxide and methane gas. Both gasses, methane especially, have high greenhouse potential.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that when volcanism was widespread early in Mars' history, it may have released enough methane to keep the planet significantly warmer than it is today.
A key difference between conditions in Earth's mantle and the mantles of other terrestrial bodies is what scientists refer to as oxygen fugacity, the amount of free oxygen available to react with other elements. Earth's mantle today has a relatively high oxygen fugacity, but in bodies like the Moon and early Mars, it is very low. To find out what how that lower oxygen fugacity affects carbon transfer, the researchers set up a series of experiments using volcanic basalt similar to those found on the Moon and Mars.
They melted the volcanic rock at varying pressures, temperature, and oxygen fugacities, using a powerful spectrometer to measure how much carbon was absorbed by the melt and in what form. They found that at low oxygen fugacities, carbon was trapped as iron carbonyl, something previous research hadn't detected. At lower pressures, iron carbonyl degassed as carbon monoxide and methane.
"We found that you can dissolve in the magma more carbon at low oxygen fugacity than what was previously thought," said Diane Wetzel, a Brown graduate student and the study's lead author. "That plays a big role in the degassing of planetary interiors and in how that will then affect the evolution of atmospheres in different planetary bodies."
Early in its history, Mars was home to giant active volcanoes, which means significant amounts of methane would have been released by carbon transfer. Because of methane's greenhouse potential, which is much higher than that of carbon dioxide, the findings suggest that even a thin atmosphere early in Mars' history might have created conditions warm enough for liquid water on the surface.
Other authors on the paper were Malcolm Rutherford from Brown, Steven Jacobson from Northwestern. and Erik Hauri from the Carnegie Institution. The work was supported by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Deep Carbon Observatory.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brown University.
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Journal Reference:
Diane T. Wetzel, Malcolm J. Rutherford, Steven D. Jacobsen, Erik H. Hauri, and Alberto E. Saal. Degassing of reduced carbon from planetary basalts. PNAS, April 8, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219266110
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Nowadays, Yoga is taken up as a fitness, Show off or a social status symbol for ?A class society? any celebrity says he/she practices Yoga and then it becomes a status symbol when a patient is recommended by a family doctor or a specialist to practice Yoga, it becomes a must like that as a prescribed medicine so in most cases the person find a yoga teacher or studio suitable for own needs, requires, thinking or budget Yoga is not a ?weekly? type of practice. It is a way of life, which we have to live in 24 hours and for a lifetime, it requires dedication, commitment and regular exercise. Yoga is not just fitness or fun type recreational activity!
Here I am trying to explain to why simple yoga practice and Yoga therapy is different? Yoga is a practical science, Indian psychology with its ideology and technology: as a holistic system to promote harmony in the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual level. When this balance is disturbed by accident, disease, illness or stress created by a disease: physical or mental. Yoga can help restore it, and help cure or manage the disease. Yoga therapy is an adaptation of yoga practices for people with health problems. Although regular yoga classes can improve overall health and solve mild complaints but they can be ineffective or may be even harmful for serious conditions. In such cases, yoga therapy help people by tailoring the yoga lifestyle to their individual needs, taking into account their health problems, flexibility, capacity, skills, habits, Constitution and circumstances.
Yoga therapy practitioners are qualified yoga teachers with further training in human physiology, Anatomy, and applications of yoga to medical conditions. Yoga therapy uses techniques from India, which dates back thousands of years and is part of traditional Indian health system. Critical research trials shows that yoga therapy practice is among the most effective known method to handle the Psychosomatic diseases and disorders, stress-related conditions, which are so common today. This is because Yoga bridges the gap between mind and body, ranging across the spectrum from physical to mental, from gross to subtle.
In medical science, we all know that there are several medications available on the market. While details are written on drugs that doze and what it contains and compounds? Even pharmacists can help but then why do we go to the doctor? It is the physician who decides and allows you to take the right amount and that is suitable for you as a patient. The doctor know what kind of patient and what can improve conditions through their years of practice and experience. Similarly, yoga practice: poses, Pranayams, kriyas, etc. all are known from ages, there are thousands of books available in the market from ancient texts to the most modern method with CD?s and DVD ?s. With details like that are good for the type of problems? Very few explain their limitations. When you don?t make or exert any special pose or technology in certain conditions Plus the same pose is taught but with different simplified variants and versions. It is the Yoga therapist who know what pose will help for a specific problem and which version or variation should be made by the client who takes special class for any particular problem.
I would like to emphasize that why Yoga therapy is more effective than other therapies. Allopathic science has only two tools with them to fight back with any disease or disorder: medication and surgery. Drugs mask symptoms and surgery removes the problem temporarily but the chance for redevelopment even medical sciences are also non-specific with regard to its effectiveness. After all the men have invented all these Sciences, so it may not be as perfect as nature Yoga is science based on the laws of nature. We accept all the human mind cannot be compared with mother nature. It?s mother nature that makes and creates man, there are always limitations on man?s discovery Yoga offers a variety of tools. They are suitable to individual needs, conditions, capacity and capability. It offers poses, breathing techniques, Mudras, Bandhas, cleansing techniques, relaxation techniques. It provides both physical and mental training through its five major branches: namely classical-Karma yoga, yoga, Bhakti yoga, Astanga yoga, and Jnana yoga. Person can practice in all positions: standing, sitting or laying. It offers everything and a total package that covers human life from ?womb tomb-birth to death.? It treats the root cause of the problem and helps to remove the cause not just symptoms. Some condition is not curable, it helps the patient to deal with the problem and helps to maintain the conditions so that it does not go from bad to worst!
Yoga Therapy begins with a 1: 1 consultations for establishing the present conditions, associated health problems and related lifestyle factors. This is followed by a series of direct talks or specialized group sessions. Yoga Therapy begins with very basic flexibility exercises followed by simplified poses, breathing techniques and relaxation at the end, so that clients can start practicing and benefiting directly, even if they have no previous experience of yoga. Yoga therapy is very safe when taught by a qualified yoga therapist. In addition to helping manage the current condition, it is often other health benefits through knowledge. Yoga Therapy people to take care of their own health, make them independent and thus leads to the patient?s satisfaction and to reduce expenditure on consultations, drugs & medicines. The most important thing is that it helps to protect you from side effects of medicines. Yoga therapy is based on laws of nature so it is completely safe and natural ways to heal. Yoga therapy is thus a part of the treatment, cure and prevention.
Note: encyclopedia of Family Health, published in 1991, with two reprints in 1998 and 2005 editions, authored by Dr. David b. Jacoby from Johns Hopkins School or medicine and Dr. Robert m. Youngson of Royal Society of Medicine-volume 1-18 have cover Yoga during two parts: (1) treatment and cures (2) the prevention and diagnosis of the disease.
This proves that Yoga, the origin of Indian health practice has crossed its borders in the past for authenticity and concrete positive results which have been approved by allopathic practitioners from times and dates.
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Their imaginings are not far removed from the deconstuctionist gobbledygook that has hammerlocked academic film and literary scholarship. But here at least the gobbledygook is entertaining.
[It] may be the surpassingly eccentric-and enormously entertaining-film that Kubrick deserves.
"Room 237" is an act of uncommon devotion to cinema, embracing the notion that movies are best defined by what happens to us as we watch them - how our own beliefs and experiences dictate our interpretation of what we've seen and heard.
This is sure to amuse you if you get a bang out of the claims that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and Dark Side of the Moon was intended as a soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz.
I found most of what's actually put forth in the film interpretively ridiculous. But I'm just one theorist among millions, and the film worked for me anyway.
Listening to fanatics go on and on about their fixations can be kind of fun. For a while, at least.
Confounding, eye-opening, and often hilarious.
I suspect that Ascher's intention was to dynamize an academic exercise, but these constant, sundry inserts render the tone as corny and glib as a VH1 special.
The thrill's in the thinking about little pieces of cinematic language as words contributing to a two-hour essay.
Would it be hypocritical to say that I loved "Room 237," even thought I felt like 75 percent of what was said in it was completely hooey?
a journey down a rabbit hole worth taking, as the film immerses us in alternately fascinating, compelling, absurd, and frightening theories about what, exactly, The Shining is (or might be) about
Room 237 is both an ode to the subversive nature of the movies and a fascinating insight into clashing obsessions in its most lurid form, even when its stylistic choices seek to destroy the experience.
I can't buy into the notion of Stanley Kubrick faking Apollo 11's moon landing but he definitely helped Shelley Duvall fake a movie career.
"Anything you say, Lloyd. Anything you say."
"Room 237" is movie so chunky and sweet you can eat it with a spoon.
This documentary will entertain everyone from film junkies to conspiracy theorists and those who like to debunk them as Ascher spreads his net to include everything from the most provocative ideas to blatant bunkum.
This geek gossip is made even more captivating by the fact that nobody will likely ever know whether any of it is true.
Hilarious, bizarre and provocative. You'll never look at The Shining the same way again
The beauty of Room 237, however, doesn't lie in the validity of any one of the commentators' thoughtful (and occasionally well-informed) speculations, but instead in that mysterious grey zone between an artist's intentions and audience interpretation.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean laborers did not show up for work on Tuesday at a factory complex operated with South Korea, companies with operations there said, effectively shutting down the zone for the first time since it began shipments in 2004.
Pyongyang's decision to halt work at the Kaesong industrial park coincided with speculation it would carry out a missile launch, or even another nuclear test, in what has become one of the worst periods of tension on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
About 475 South Korean workers and factory managers remain in Kaesong, a few kilometers inside the border with North Korea. The South Korean government said 77 would return on Tuesday.
Many South Koreans have been reluctant to leave, worried about the impact on their companies and jobs.
"North Korean workers didn't come to work today, and production has halted in our Kaesong facilities," said a spokeswoman for Shinwon, a women's clothing maker.
A spokesman for textile company Taekwang Industrial and at least two other firms also said North Koreans workers did not show up on Tuesday and that production had stopped.
More than 100 representatives from businesses operating at Kaesong were holding an emergency meeting at the complex that started at about 9 p.m. ET, Reuters witnesses said.
An executive at another South Korean apparel firm running a factory in Kaesong said late on Monday his employees had told him they would stay.
"I don't know what to do, honestly. I can't simply tell my workers to leave or stay," said the executive, who requested anonymity.
Tension has been rising since the United Nations imposed new sanctions on the North for carrying out its third nuclear test in February. Pyongyang has been further angered by weeks of military exercises by South Korean and U.S. forces and threatened both countries with nuclear attack.
"SHOCK THERAPY"
Few experts had expected Pyongyang to jeopardize Kaesong, which accounts for $2 billion in annual trade and employs 50,000 North Koreans making household goods for 123 South Korean firms.
North Korea said on Monday it would suspend operations at the park, its sole remaining major project with the South. No decision had been made on closing Kaesong permanently, it said.
"They're using this as shock therapy because, regardless of what they say, if they close Kaesong the damage they will sustain will not be small," said Moon Seong-mook, a retired South Korean brigadier general who took part in previous military talks with the North.
"This is just another negotiating card they can use with South Korea."
The North's official KCNA news agency said Seoul was trying to "turn the zone into a hotbed of war" against the North. It did not elaborate.
North Korea has also bridled at suggestions from Seoul that it would keep the park open because it needed the cash. The zone generates more than $80 million a year in cash in wages - paid to the state rather than to the workers.
South Korean firms pay between $8 million and $9 million in wages a month for about 53,000 North Korean workers in Kaesong. Any delay in payment of those wages could become another flashpoint because the North could demand payment of interest on the delayed wages, Yonhap reported.
The turmoil has hit South Korean financial markets, which have usually shrugged off the North's rhetoric.
Seoul stocks have fallen nearly 3 percent since Wednesday, when the North first blocked access to the zone amid steep foreign selling. Shares in some firms known to have operations in Kaesong fell sharply on Tuesday.
The won currency has fallen by more than 2 percent against the dollar since access to the park was first barred.
"SUNSHINE POLICY" CLOUDS OVER
The zone is practically the last vestige of the "Sunshine Policy" of rapprochement between the two Koreas and a powerful symbol that the divided country could one day reunify.
South Korean companies are estimated to have invested around $500 million in the park since 2004.
But corporate giants such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, the sort of companies that could sustain losses from the park's closure, do not have operations in Kaesong.
South Koreans had been leaving the park gradually in the past week as raw materials and food run out.
North Korean authorities told embassies in Pyongyang they could not guarantee their safety from Wednesday, after saying conflict was inevitable amid the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end of the month. No diplomats appear to have left the North Korean capital.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Seoul this week and the North holds celebrations, and possibly military demonstrations, next Monday to mark the birth date of its founder, Kim Il-Sung - grandfather of the current leader, 30-year-old Kim Jong-un.
Pyongyang has shown no sign of preparing its 1.2 million-strong army for war, indicating the threats are partly intended for domestic purposes to bolster Kim, the third in his family dynasty to rule North Korea.
But it has moved what appears to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast, according to media reports last week.
U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter urged China - the North's sole financial and diplomatic backer - to use its influence with the North, something he said Moscow wanted Beijing to do as well.
"I think Russia, like others beholding this situation in North Korea, would like to see China exercise more of the influence that it evidently has with North Korea," Carter told a forum in Washington.
China's leaders rebuked North Korea at the weekend but most experts believe Beijing will not push too hard to punish Pyongyang because of concerns its troublesome neighbor could collapse.
Some experts also say China's influence over North Korea has waned over the years.
MIAMI (AP) ? Lilly Pulitzer hosted parties in her bare feet and wasn't afraid to get a little messy ? just as long as she looked good and had fun, too.
In the late 1950s, the Palm Beach socialite had time to spare and a wealthy husband who owned citrus groves, so she opened an orange juice stand just off the island's main shopping street. Pulitzer needed to hide all the juice stains on her clothes, though. Instead of just putting on an apron, she asked her seamstress to make some sleeveless dresses in colorful fruit prints, and a fashion staple was born.
Pulitzer died at her home Sunday, according to Quattlebaum Funeral and Cremation Services. She was 81.
Pulitzer's tropical print dresses became a sensation in the 1960s when then-first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who attended boarding school with Pulitzer, wore one of the sleeveless shifts in a Life magazine photo spread.
The colorful revolution came as fashion shed its reliance on neutrals, and Pulitzer's stuff was almost the housewife version of the more youthful mod look that was migrating from London.
To this day, the Lilly Pulitzer dress remains a popular, if not a necessary, addition to any woman's closet.
"I designed collections around whatever struck my fancy ... fruits, vegetables, politics, or peacocks! I entered in with no business sense. It was a total change of life for me, but it made people happy," Pulitzer, who married into the famous newspaper family, told The Associated Press in March 2009.
Pulitzer's dresses hung behind her juice stand and soon outsold her drinks. A boutique featuring the company's dresses ? developed with the help of partner Laura Robbins, a former fashion editor ? soon replaced the juice stand.
"Today we celebrate all that Lilly meant to us and come together as Lilly lovers to honor a true original who has brought together generations through her bright and happy mark on the world," James B. Bradbeer Jr. and Scott A. Beaumont, who bought the Lilly Pulitzer brand in 1992, said in a statement.
The signature Lilly palette features tongue-in-cheek jungle and floral prints in blues, pinks, light greens, yellow and orange ? the colors of a Florida vacation.
The line of dresses that bore her name was later expanded to swimsuits, country club attire, children's clothing, a home collection and a limited selection of menswear.
"Style isn't just about what you wear, it's about how you live," Pulitzer said in 2004.
"We focus on the best, fun and happy things, and people want that. Being happy never goes out of style," she said.
In 1966, The Washington Post reported that the dresses were "so popular that at the Southampton Lilly shop on Job's Lane they are proudly put in clear plastic bags tied gaily with ribbons so that all the world may see the Lilly of your choice. It's like carrying your own racing colors or flying a yacht flag for identification."
But changing taste brought trouble. Pulitzer closed her original company in the mid-1980s after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The label was revived about a decade later after being acquired by Pennsylvania-based Sugartown Worldwide Inc.; Pulitzer was only marginally involved in the new business but continued reviewing new prints from Florida.
"When Lilly started the business back in the '60s, she targeted a young customer because she was young," Bradbeer told the AP in 2003. "What we have done is target the daughter and granddaughter of that original customer."
Pulitzer herself retired from day-to-day operations in 1993, although she remained a consultant and a muse for the brand.
Sugartown Worldwide was bought by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries in 2010. Sales of the Lilly Pulitzer brand were strong in the earnings period that ended Feb. 2. The brand's revenue increased 26 percent to $29.1 million, according to Oxford Industries' earnings report. The company said last week it planned to add four to six new stores each year for its Lilly Pulitzer brand.
Pulitzer was born Lilly McKim on Nov. 10, 1931, to a wealthy family in Roslyn, N.Y.
In 1952, she married Pete Pulitzer, the grandson of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, whose bequest to Columbia University established the Pulitzer Prize.
Pulitzer had three children in quick succession. After the third was born, she had a nervous breakdown and ended up in a mental hospital that catered to upscale clientele in New York. A doctor there told her that she needed to find a job.
"The doctor there said, 'You're not happy because you're not doing anything,' and I said, 'I don't know how to do anything.' I'd always had everything done for me, always had my nanny and my mummy making up my mind. The doctor said, 'You've got to go out and find something to do,'" Pulitzer told The New Yorker in 2000.
Pulitzer gave the same prescription to her friends. If one of them needed something to do, Pulitzer would open a store in her town.
The Pulitzers divorced in 1969. Pulitzer's second husband, Enrique Rousseau, died in 1993.
"I don't know how to explain what it was like to run my business, the joy of every day," she told Vanity Fair magazine in a story in 2003. "I got a kick every time I went into the shipping department. ... I loved seeing (the dresses) going out the door. I loved them selling in the shop. I liked them on the body. Everything. There's no explaining the fun I had."
During a HuffPostLive interview this past Wednesday, Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons made some controversial remarks when asked about gay marriage, questioning whether it could ultimately lead to a father marrying his son in order to avoid estate taxes.
On his website on Friday, Irons posted a response to the controversy:
I am deeply concerned that from my on line discussion with the Huffington Post, it has been understood that I hold a position that is anti gay. This is as far from the truth of me as to say that I believe the earth is flat.
I was taking part in a short discussion around the practical meaning of Marriage, and how that institution might be altered by it becoming available to same-sex partners. Perhaps rather too flippantly I flew the kite of an example of the legal quagmire that might occur if same sex marriage entered the statute books, by raising the possibility of future marriage between same sex family members for tax reasons, (incest being illegal primarily in order to prevent inbreeding, and therefore an irrelevance in non reproductive relationships). Clearly this was a mischievous argument, but nonetheless valid.
I am clearly aware that many gay relationships are more long term, responsible and even healthier in their role of raising children, than their hetero equivalents, and that love often creates the desire to mark itself in a formal way, as Marriage would do. Clearly society should find a way of doing this.
I had hoped that even on such a subject as this, where passions run high, the internet was a forum where ideas could be freely discussed without descending into name-calling.
I believe that is what it could be, but it depends on all of us behaving, even behind our aliases, in a humane, intelligent and open way.
Following our story yesterday about the claims against TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, and our?request for more information as to what exactly happened,?one of the key people he is accused of assaulting has responded. ?Meghan Asha has provided us with the following statement ..
Author: Melissa Gifford | Total views: 152 Comments: 0 Word Count: 734 Date:
A For Sale by Owner type of real estate transaction has several common misconceptions. If you are looking for a place that talks about the myths and facts associated with this type of house sale, you have come to the right place. We are going to address some of the more common misconceptions and misinformation about this type of transaction and show that it can be a positive experience for all parties involved.
Myth #1: I have to know a lot about real estate in order to sell my house on my own. I should be licensed as a real estate agent or at least take some classes.
Truth: While it can be extremely helpful to know the laws about real estate in your area, you do not have to know it all. Many times you can hire an experience real estate lawyer for much less than the agent's commission and you are legally covered. These lawyers can provide you with the necessary contracts so that the sale is legal and binding. You may benefit from real estate classes or some simple online training but you don't have to be licensed to sell your own property. Legally, any owner can sell their property without having a real estate license.
Myth #2: I need to be great with people to sell my house.
Truth: You shouldn't be scared of people. There are some people who have a natural aversion to people and would consider themselves a hermit. Most people, however, can talk to other human beings on a one-on-one basis. If you are nervous in crowds, you have the ability to limit showings to one person at a time. You never have to host an open house and you can ask to only speak with the actual buyer, not their entire family. If you work and interact with people on a daily basis, limited or not, you can perform the necessary talking that will sell your house.
Myth #3: I'll make a larger profit when I do a FSBO.
Truth: While many sellers do report making a larger profit, many experience the benefit of simply not paying money out of their own pocket. In this current housing market, the competition is plentiful and you may need to lower the asking price to compete in the market. You have to be willing to compromise to have a successful sale. When you lower the price, you may not have the leftover money from the sale to pay an agent and concessions. A FSBO will let you skip that part and lower the price enough to sell but you may not make a substantial gain on the house.
Myth #4: People will call and stop by at all hours of the day and night.
Truth: You will get phone calls, emails, and even drive-bys. Don't think of them as a nuisance, but rather as money in your pocket. These are potential buyers and the faster you can get them to buy, the sooner you can be done with the hassles. It may be a pain to have the showings and distribute the info, but in reality when you use an agent, they don't clean for you, make the decisions for you, or even create a budget for you. Those are all items you will do on your own so why pay an agent to do that.
Myth #5: It will hurt my neighbors and area to have a FSBO instead of a "real" sale.
Fact: When a house sells, the price is recorded. Depending on where you live it can be public information. Regardless of how it sells, the information is recorded. Even if you sell your own house, your area will not be hurt by it. Would your neighborhood benefit from a new person moving in and buying the house or from the house sitting vacant with the ability for squatters and vandalism? You need to sell your house so why not do it while you are in control?
Taking control of your real estate situation means doing what is best for you and your situation. Don't allow others to determine or intimidate you into a decision. Real estate gives you the ability to control the future and you can be in complete control of the transaction.
You can find more information on selling your house by visiting www.fastestwaytosellyourhome.com. Let us help provide you with the knowledge you need to sell your house fast without all of the nonsense and hassle!
Related to: for sale by owner - sell my house - sell your own house - selling your house
1: Jewish Baby Names And Their Meanings ? A Passion For Magnificence
The title of this article, ?Jewish Baby Names and Their Meanings ? A Passion for Magnificence? was inspired by King Solomon He led Israel to brilliance and had a passion for magnificence
2: Gifts vs. Cash -- Wedding Etiquette Q&A
Q: My daughter is getting married in October 2008. Her and her fiance have everything they need for their home. Is it okay to ask for money instead of a gift? If it is okay, how do we word this? st
3: Best Ways To Find People Free Online
With about 50% of the world population able to access the internet, there is now a much better chance to find someone free online This is especially true if the person you are trying to locate lives in a country where internet usage is high
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Original tips for growing any plant organically on the worst possible soil using giant GrowSacks. This clever 'container planting' plan also improves bad soil without extra work or soil amendments.
5: How To Buy High Quality Furniture At Estate Sales
Estate sales and auctions are an excellent place to pick up gently used or even antique furniture at prices considerably less than retail. While it might take patience, it is possible to find reasonable prices on excellent pieces that will last for generations -- saving you money in the long run.
This article was published in partnership with? GlobalPossibilities.org.
Federal officials sent environmental activist Daniel McGowan back to prison Thursday, just months after his release to a halfway house in December. McGowan?s wife, Jenny Synan says officials re-jailed her husband for writing a Huffington Post blog piece critical of a controversial prison program designed to restrict inmates? communication to the outside world.
?Synan told HuffPost that she asked a BOP official why her husband had been re-imprisoned after his release to a halfway house in December,? report HuffPost?s Matt Sledge and Ryan Grimm, ?She said the official told her that the HuffPost article violated a term of his release that restricted him from interacting with the media.?
In 2001, McGowan was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to arson in connection with the animal rights group, Earth Liberation Front. Whilst serving his time, prison officials designated him to a division restricting his outside contact called a ?Communication Management Unit.? McGowan sought to find out why he was quartered off, eventually obtaining memos explaining his CMU designation. It turns out prison officials frowned upon his continued in-prison activism and demonstrated ??support for anarchist and radical environmental terrorist groups.? In a blog post for The Huffington Post, he criticizes the program for segregating prisoners based on their beliefs:
It became quickly obvious to me that many CMU prisoners were there because of their religion or in retaliation for their speech. By my count, around two-thirds of the men are? Muslim, many of whom have been caught up in the so-called? ?war on terror,? others who just spoke out for their rights or allegedly took leadership positions in the? Muslim community?at other facilities.?Some, like me, were prisoners who have political views and perspectives that are?not shared by the Department of Justice.
Three days after McGowan wrote the preceding paragraph, he was rearrested. ?He just posted his thing a few days ago about all this stuff ? about his political beliefs and speech ? and they do something to him because of his post about this. It?s crazy,? Syan said.
Assuming McGowan was rejailed for his blog post the question of whether the BOP acted legally might rest on whether writing for the Huffington Post constitutes as speaking to the media. In a statement to HuffPost, Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Chris Burke said, ?inmates cannot do interviews without permission. So if there?s some sort of a phone interview or a sit-in interview, those have to be pre-approved.?
But HuffPost executive editor Stuart Whatley says a media interview and blog contribution represents a false equivalency.
?The HuffPost blog is a platform for contributors to share opinion, commentary and their thoughts on any topic of their choosing,? Whatley said. ?As our guidelines explicitly state, ?you can write about anything you want. Huffington Post does not select or approve your topics.??
Steven Hsieh is an editorial assistant at AlterNet and writer based in Brooklyn. Follow him on Twitter @stevenjhsieh.
it becomes a status symbol when a patient is recommended by a family doctor or a specialist to practice Yoga, it becomes a must like that as a prescribed medicine so in most cases the person find a yoga teacher or studio suitable for own needs, requires, thinking or budget Yoga is not a ?weekly? type of practice. It is a way of life, which we have to live in 24 hours and for a lifetime, it requires dedication, commitment and regular exercise. Yoga is not just fitness or fun type recreational activity!
During a HuffPostLive interview this past Wednesday, Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons made some controversial remarks when asked about gay marriage, questioning whether it could ultimately lead to a father marrying his son in order to avoid estate taxes.