Thursday, April 20, 2017
Bruce Springsteen: anti-Trump protest song hitting out at ‘conman and his crooks’
I had this song, and Bruce and I had been talking,’ Grushecky said, talking to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
‘I sent it to him and he liked it. I said, “What do you think about singing on it?”
‘He gave it the Bruce treatment.’
The scathing lyrics touch on immigration, and saves his most harsh criticism for a verse in which he sings: ‘And don’t you brag to me that you never read a book. I never put my faith in a con man and his crooks.’
The chorus is slightly more upbeat, stating: ‘It’s up to me and you. Love can conquer hate. I know this to be true. That’s what makes us great.’
Source: Bruce Springsteen releases anti-Trump protest song | Daily Mail Online
Renault unveil radical 2027 #F1 concept car
Unveiled at the Shanghai motor show to demonstrate Renault’s long-term commitment to Formula 1, the R.S.2027 concept was designed to showcase how F1 cars could look in 10 years’ time.
Renault’s philosophy for the project was to design a machine that puts the driver ‘back at the heart of the sport’ whilst also highlighting the path where technology transfers from racing to road cars.
To that end, the 600kg car would be powered by a small internal combustion engine – but boosted by a battery system almost five times as powerful as those currently used in F1, it would produce around 1,340bhp for a hitherto unheard of power-to-weight ratio.
In addition to four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, the R.S.2027 would also feature a range of ‘active’ elements, including active aerodynamics (to reduce energy waste due to drag at high speeds), active LED lighting (incorporated into the wheels to display a range of information, including the driver’s position), and active suspension (which would replace more complex system and could be used to recover lost energy).
On the safety front, the polycarbonate closed canopy would provide protection whilst allowing the driver to be visible to fans, while two titanium ‘pop-up’ roll-over bars would emerge from their unobtrusive locations in milliseconds should the car overturn.
A number of autonomous functions, such as the driver relinquishing control under safety car conditions, have also been built in for safety.
Renault are by no means the first team to unveil a futuristic F1 concept car. In 2015 McLaren released images of the MP4-X, while in 2010 Red Bull showcased the Adrian Newey-designed, F1-inspired X1 prototype.
Source: Renault unveil radical 2027 F1 concept car
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Sean Spicer: Ossoff’s victory over Republican opponent in Georgia ‘big loss’
In what many observers viewed as a major blow to Donald Trump and the Republicans, Democrat Jon Ossoff secured 48 per cent in an election for Georgia’s sixth congressional district, a seat that had previously been occupied by Tom Price, now the president’s health secretary.
Had Mr Ossoff managed to get more than 50 per cent of the total, he would have won outright. As it is, he will go forward for a run-off on June 20th against Republican Karen Handel.
UK Debenhams to axe 10 shops? As it closes 11 warehouses
The new boss of Debenhams has unveiled plans to close 11 warehouses and potentially axe up to 10 stores in a move impacting at least 220 jobs.
Sergio Bucher, who took over as chief executive last October, outlined an overhaul that will see the department store chain shut one of its three distribution centres run by DHL and 10 smaller in-house warehouses.
He also said up to 10 of the company’s 176 stores were under review, with closure a possibility over the next five years.
The DHL warehouse employs 220 staff and will shut in two years’ time, but Debenhams hopes to be able to redeploy many staff affected by the smaller warehouse closures.
Details of his plans came as the group announced a 6.4 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £87.8million for the six months to March 4.
Source: Debenhams says 10 shops at risk as it closes 11 warehouses | Daily Mail Online
Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 U.S. election – documents
A Russian government think tank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters’ faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former U.S. officials told Reuters.
They described two confidential documents from the think tank as providing the framework and rationale for what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the Nov. 8 election. U.S. intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies [en.riss.ru/], after the election.
The institute is run by retired senior Russian foreign intelligence officials appointed by Putin’s office.
The first Russian institute document was a strategy paper written last June that circulated at the highest levels of the Russian government but was not addressed to any specific individuals.
It recommended the Kremlin launch a propaganda campaign on social media and Russian state-backed global news outlets to encourage U.S. voters to elect a president who would take a softer line toward Russia than the administration of then-President Barack Obama, the seven officials said.
Source: Exclusive: Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 U.S. election – documents | Reuters
Can’t blame El Nino as global temps spike in March – full degree Celsius
In what scientists call a clear sign of a warming world, Earth’s temperatures in March were the most above normal on record without an El Nino spiking temperatures.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculated that the average global temperature in March was 56.8 degrees Fahrenheit (13.8 Celsius), only behind last year’s El Nino-goosed record.
France, Germany and other parts of Europe saw record heat while most of the Arctic — except Alaska and Canada — was unusually warm, NOAA climate scientist Ahira Sanchez-Lugo said Wednesday.
It’s the first time the Earth was more than 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal without an El Nino. Sanchez-Lugo said it looks like the planet is getting to the point where it’ll likely be that much warmer than the 20th century average.
El Nino is a natural warming of the Pacific that alters weather worldwide. Both 2015 and 2016 set repeated warmth records during an El Nino. Earth is in a neutral condition in the Pacific.
“It’s quite impressive; it’s just climate change” not natural variability like El Nino, Sanchez-Lugo said. “We typically expect the next year after El Nino to be slightly cooler.”
The first three months of 2017 are almost a full degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, making it the second hottest start of a year.
Source: Report: Can’t blame El Nino as global temps spike in March – ABC News
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
African and Pacific Islander youth ‘angriest’ in Victoria
African and Pacific Islander youths are part of the angriest group of criminals Victoria has ever seen, police have said.
Teenagers of African and Pacific Islander descent were on Wednesday identified among a violent group of the state’s 200 most ‘hardcore’ youths- who on average commit 47 crimes a year each, The Australian reported.
During an inquiry into youth justice centres Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Stephen Leane said these groups felt ‘locked out’ of society.
They were committing violent crimes such as carjackings or aggravated robbery as a first offence, rather than progressing from a minor offence, Mr Leane said.
‘You have got young men who are angry and who have the capacity to actually play out their anger,’ Mr Leane said.
‘We are seeing a different cohort of new offender arrive on the scene in the Victorian community and that new cohort is different and distinct from the cohort we have had for the all of the time I have been in policing, and that is 35 years.’
Source: African and Pacific Islander youth ‘angriest’ in Victoria | Daily Mail Online
2 survive as light plane crashes into paddock near Camden Airport
The single-engine aircraft, with a man and a woman, understood to be in their early 20s, on board, came down not far from a residential street.
Both survived the crash.
NSW Ambulance paramedics are treating the man, who is understood to be the pilot, for facial and head injuries, and the woman for an injured ankle.
Their injuries are not life-threatening, paramedics said.
Police and Fire & Rescue NSW firefighters are at the crash scene.
The cause of the crash is not yet known.
Source: Two survive as light plane crashes into paddock at Cobbitty, near Camden Airport
Bafta-nominated The Durrells, Spooks and The Missing: Keeley Hawes
Bafta-nominated The Durrells, Spooks and The Missing
Amidst all the hoo-ha about The Night Manager, The Missing and Line of Duty being largely ignored in this year’s Bafta award nominations, one mighty feat has been overlooked – that an ITV Sunday evening family show – ostensibly a cosily escapist costume drama – should find itself on the shortlist for best TV drama.
The Durrells is loosely based on naturalist Gerald Durrell’s best-selling memoires of his family’s four-year stint on pre-war Corfu, My Family and Other Animals – his widowed mother Louisa having upped sticks from genteel Bournemouth, taking her daughter and three wayward sons to the Greek island.
And it’s Louisa, rather than her more famous offspring, Gerald and author Lawrence Durrell, who is the central protagonist of the ITV drama – juggling her eternally squabbling children and their quixotic interests (animals, guns, novel-writing) along with the need to grub a living from this beautiful but peasant-poor corner of the Mediterranean.
The part of Louisa was a god-send for actress Keeley Hawes, coming off the back of a run of emotionally draining roles – as the demented DI Lindsay Denton in two series of Line of Duty, a murder victim in The Tunnel, and in the latest harrowing series of The Missing, as a grief-stricken mother.
The Durrells’ returns to ITV at 8pm on Sunday 23 April
Better Call Saul s3 ep2 ‘Witness’: Gus Fring return ratchets up the tension
As the credits rolled on the second episode of Better Call Saul season 3, Netflix suggested I watch Breaking Bad next. This stood out to me because, by this point, you couldn’t really enjoy Better Call Saul without having seen Breaking Bad. While the first two seasons established new characters and narratives, the third is increasingly reliant on old ones and cashing in on reveals of major returns. I’m in two minds when it comes to criticising this though, as it’s hard not to enjoy it.
Mike’s plot thread in ‘Witness’ was twined around him tracking his tracker, the trail carrying over from episode one and leading him to Breaking Bad‘s iconic lair, Los Pollos Hermanos. It was a thrill to see the restaurant again (an functioning Mexican eatery in Albuquerque I visited a few years back), in all its unsettlingly-clean-for-a-fast-food-burrito-joint glory, and the return of its proprietor unravelled with cinematic precision. Bringing to mind the closing scene of The Sopranos, Jimmy, brought in by Mike to get the measure of his stalker, nervously looked around the restaurant as he monitored a mysterious satchel, and slowly you became aware that a figure out of focus in the background was none other than Gustavo Fring. His impeccable politeness and serenity when on restaurant manager duty is always chilling and his homicidal tendencies really up the stakes moving forward in the series. He caught Jimmy red-handed going through his trash for clues but only realised it later – a sinister look crossing his face – and I look forward to his redemptive strike. It’s fun watching Mike and Gus attempt to outwit each other (if a little too reminiscent of Walt vs. Gus in Breaking Bad) and will be interesting to see what caused a man as brave as Mike to ultimately advise Walt to give Gus a wide berth…
Genius’ Geoffrey Rush on playing Einstein: ‘Before celebrities were called celebrities…
The physicist has inspired pop songs (the aforementioned “Einstein a Go-Go” and “E=MC2”), plays (Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian), operas (Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach) and films (Insignificance and IQ). Yoda’s eyes on Star Wars are even modelled on Einstein’s.
He has become a global icon. Not bad for a theoretical physicist whose most celebrated discovery – the Theory of Relativity – is properly understood by only a handful of fellow Nobel Prize winners.
Serena Williams’s Pregnancy Is Confirmed After Day of Speculation
Serena Williams appeared to inadvertently reveal on social media on Wednesday that she is pregnant. A photograph on her Snapchat story showed Williams posing sideways in a yellow bathing suit with a protruding stomach. The image, which appeared to be taken into a mirror, was captioned “20 weeks.”
The photo was later deleted, but a spokeswoman for Williams, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. “I’m happy to confirm that Serena is expecting a baby this fall,” Novak said in a statement. She added that Williams will not play again this year but was looking forward to doing so in 2018.
