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Mysterious wave of death strikes the Bahamas’ famous swimming pigs – Washington Post

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

A mysterious wave of deaths recently struckBig Major Cay, theuninhabited Bahamas islandfamous for its tourist-friendly swimming pigs.

Up tohalf of the pig colony died and the bodies were tossed into the sea, according to reports from over the weekend. Early investigationscould not identify an explicit cause of death.

Wayde Nixon, a Bahamas man who brought the pigs to the island decades ago, suggestedthat tourists killed the animals with a lethal diet. Withunrestricted access to the pigs, visitors had been seen giving the animals junk food as well as booze.

We had the government vet in there [and] examined them all thoroughly, Nixon told the Nassau Guardian.Seven or eight pigs died, he said, leaving about 15 alive. The ones that survived appeared to be healthy.

Kim Aranha, president of the Bahamas Humane Society, indicated to the Nassau-based newspaper Tribune 242 that there were fewer pigs remaining on the island than initially reported.

I understand there are seven or eight pigs still alive, Aranha said, though she said this was about equal to the number of deaths.Veterinarians collected samples of the dead pigs,but it was unclear how long a laboratory analysis would take.

Its really a mystery as to what killed these beautiful animals. I believe most of the carcasses were in the ocean, Aranha told the Tribune. It could just be a horrible accident where they ate something poisonous. It could be malicious but I dont really see why someone would go out of their way to hurt those lovely animals.

She added that there were silly sailors who were known to try to get the pigs drunk. But tour operators out of Nassau treated the animals with respect, she said.

Part of the Exuma island chain, Big Major Cay, also known as Pig Beach, isin theCaribbean Sea to the southeast of Nassau. Until the deaths, the cay had been billed as a sort of porcine paradise. The pigs dog-paddled through the crystal sea, drank from the islandsspring of fresh water and got fat on a steady supply of food brought by tourists, who visited the island by the boatload.

But selfie-happy tourists were not the only indignitiesthat the four-legged residents survived in recent years. The pig colony endured an invasion of bikini-clad reality show contestants during an episode of The Bachelor. The pigs had a brief cameoin the 2013music video for Timber, the Pitbull dance-pop number featuring Ke$ha. Fueled by celebrity visits, a featureon NBCsToday show and a beach made for Instagram, the pigs popularity expanded.

So, too, did their origin stories. Ancient mariners had left the pigs behind on the island, some said. The cache of would-be pork was forgotten, then rediscovered. Or perhaps the beasts were the only living remainder of a crashed pirate ship.That foreigners had accidentally released pigs into the Bahamian wilds was not an alien narrative. Feral boarson the Great Inagua Island, to the south of Pig Beach, were descendants of pigs housed ina mid-1700sFrench garrison.

The truth, according to the Today show, was that the swimming pigs were the result of a more recent fable. When fears about thecataclysmic Y2Kmillennium bugreached a fever pitch in the late 1990s,two farmers, fearing that food supplies would crash along with computers,bought the pigs and raised them on the island.

After the pigs were discovered dead over the weekend, Nixon, oneof the two farmers, lamented that the Pig Beach phenomenon had spiraled out of control.

Right now its blowing out of proportion with people, anybody bringing food there, anybody doing whatthey [want to] do, he toldthe Nassau Guardian.We have people coming there giving the pigs beer, rum, riding on top of them, all kind of stuff.

The Bahamas government hasnow barred tourists from feeding the pigs. Nixon sought support from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism to restrict visitors from getting too close to the pigs. Establishing a safe viewing distance would still allow tourists to photograph the famous swimming pigs, he said, while protecting theanimals that remain.

US Agents Raid Caterpillar Over Offshore Tax Practices – New York Times

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

New York Times

US Agents Raid Caterpillar Over Offshore Tax Practices
New York Times
Federal agents raided three Caterpillar buildings near its Illinois headquarters on Thursday, company and law enforcement officials said, in an escalation of an inquiry into the heavy equipment manufacturer's offshore tax practices. Caterpillar has ...
Caterpillar Offshore Tax Practices Illegal, FBI Raids Chicago, Illinois HeadquartersiMotorTimes.com

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US Agents Raid Caterpillar Over Offshore Tax Practices - New York Times

KPMG offshore tax dodge: Trudeau vows to do ‘better job’ with tax avoiders – CBC.ca

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Reacting to a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation into offshore tax dodges, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to do a "better job of getting tax avoiders and tax frauders."

The fifth estate, in a joint investigation with Radio-Canada's Enqute, revealed the names of several wealthy Canadians who appear to be linked to shell companies set up by KPMG in the tiny tax haven of the Isle of Man.

Canadians who bought into the tax scheme declared they were "gifting" their money to an offshore jurisdiction. The money would be invested and any returns would be "gifted" back. Because these returns were so-called gifts, it would all be tax-free.

KPMG has consistently insisted that this "Offshore Company Structure," as they called it, complied with Canadian laws

Documents obtained by the fifth estate and Enqute show 21 "high net worth" Canadian families signed up for the massive tax dodge from 1999 until 2012 when it was first detected by CRA auditors.

During an event in Vancouver on Friday, Trudeau was asked if he would reopen a parliamentary finance committee's inquiry into the KPMG scheme "inlight of these new allegations."

The prime minister avoided referencing KPMG directly, saying "it is absolutely unacceptable that there be people not paying their fair share of taxes."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shown in Vancouver on Friday, says his government has put $440 million into the Canada Revenue Agency to 'to ensure we are doing a better job of going out and getting tax avoiders and tax frauders.' (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press)

Trudeau said his government has put $440 million into the Canada Revenue Agency to "to ensure we are doing a better job of going out and getting tax avoiders and tax frauders."

"That's something we're going to continue to do," he said. "We know that there is always more work to do, but it's something we continue to take very, very seriously.

"We know Canadians want to make sure that people are paying their fair share of taxes."

Meanwhile, the NDP is calling for an investigation to uncover the full extent of the KPMG affair.

"The Liberal government must conduct a thorough investigation into this scheme and commit to ending these secret, penalty-free amnesty deals for tax evaders," said Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the party's revenue and finance critic.

The KPMG tax dodge first stirred controversy last spring when CBC revealed that the CRA offered a secret sweetheart deal in effect, an amnesty to the accounting firm's clients who had been caught using the scheme.

The offer granted KPMG clients "no penalties" provided they paid back taxes and modest interest.

But Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier insisted Friday that legal proceedings have not been abandoned against any clients who used the KPMG scheme, which the CRA has described as a "sham."

"I insist there was no amnesty and there will not be an amnesty," she said.

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KPMG offshore tax dodge: Trudeau vows to do 'better job' with tax avoiders - CBC.ca

Offshore tax loophole to be closed – Otago Daily Times

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

The New Zealand Government is moving to close loopholes preventing large multinationals from claiming tax breaks which costs the country about $300million a year.

At the International Fiscal Association Conference in Queenstown yesterday, Revenue Minister Judith Collins announced the release of three base erosion and profit-sharing (BEPS) consultation documents, aimed at strengthening New Zealands rules for taxing large offshore companies with a presence in New Zealand.

BEPS is a tax avoidance strategy used by multinationals, where profits are shifted from jurisdictions with high taxes, for example the United States, to jurisdictions which had low taxes, or so-called tax havens.

Mrs Collins told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the new measures were about fairness.

"One of the things that happens is that if youre an offshore company with an office in New Zealand ... they load on to the New Zealand company a lot of the cost of head office or ... they charge the New Zealand office for things, like very high interest rates," she said.

"They put a lot on the business in New Zealand.

"Profits they make in New Zealand are significantly reduced for tax purposes [and] profit is shifted offshore.

"Certainly, an amount of manipulation is allowed [but] were closing that loophole. Its just about fairness.Salary earners dont get a chance to do that, so why should anyone else?"

Included in the proposals was a new anti-avoidance rule to apply to large multinationals which structured to avoid having a permanent taxable, presence in New Zealand.

A large multinational is considered a company with a global turnover of more than 750million ($NZ1.21billion).

There were also plans to update existing transfer pricing legislation to align with OECDs new guidelines and Australias rules, as well as several administrative measures aimed at helping Inland Revenue (IRD) assess and collect the right amount of tax.

Those measures would generally only apply to large multinationals which refused to co-operate with the IRD and would make it possible for IRD to assess the companies based on the information the department has at the time.

That would also require tax to be paid earlier in the disputes process and allow IRD to collect relevant information held offshore.

"The proposed measures will also contain remedies for Inland Revenue where the non-resident does not co-operate, such as increased penalties and a power to allocate income to New Zealand in the absence of information to the contrary," Mrs Collins said.

"If the IRD does its job properly, we have money for hospitals ... schools ... the things people expect [the] Government to provide."

New Zealand was not trying to be a world leader with the "quite strong, but measured" proposals.

"Were a very open economy, we rely on exports to survive, we need foreign capital as well.

"We need to not send out a message [that] we dont want multinationals.

"Were happy to have you as long as you pay your fair share of New Zealand-earned tax.

"Just because were nice, friendly little Kiwis, were not stupid."

She expected legislation to be shored up and coming to parliament by mid-year once it became law it would be much more difficult for multinationals to find loopholes.

"Whatever measures we put in place there will be some very clever people in the world who will be hell-bent to get around this."

tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz

Three consultation papers proposing new measures to strengthen New Zealands rules for taxing large multinationals were released yesterday.

They contain proposals for:

Tackling concerns about multinationals booking profits from their New Zealand sales offshore, even though their sales are driven by New Zealand staff.

Preventing multinationals using interest payments to shift profits offshore.

Implementing New Zealands entrance into an international convention for aligning our double tax agreements with OECD recommendations.

Submissions on the implementing the international convention are open until April 7, and submissions on the other two documents are open until April 18. Ministers will consider final proposals later this year.

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Offshore tax loophole to be closed - Otago Daily Times

Repsol receives consent for exploration drilling offshore Norway – WorldOil (subscription)

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

3/3/2017

STAVANGER, Norway -- Repsol Norge AS is the operator for production license 705 in the Norwegian Sea.

The Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) has given Repsol consent to drill exploration well 6705/7-1 in a prospect named Stordal.

The well's geographical coordinates will be:

67 15' 05.14" N 05 10' 29.12" E

The drilling site is in the deep-water section of the Norwegian Sea, around 395 km west of Bod. Water depth at the site is 1,410 m.

Drilling is scheduled to start in early March and to last 33 days, or 48 days if a discovery is made.

The well is to be drilled by Transocean Spitsbergen, which is a semisubmersible drilling facility of the Aker H-6e type, owned and operated by Transocean Offshore Ltd. It was built at the Aker Stord yard in 2009, is registered in the Marshall Islands and classified by DNV GL. Transocean Spitsbergen received a new Acknowledgement of Compliance from the PSA in November 2012 following a change of ownership.

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Repsol receives consent for exploration drilling offshore Norway - WorldOil (subscription)

You Can’t Have Offshore Wind Power Without Oil – Forbes

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Forbes

You Can't Have Offshore Wind Power Without Oil
Forbes
The Block Island Wind farm's launch late last year signified the United States' official entry into the offshore wind industry. And while European countries have been generating electricity by spinning turbines offshore since 1991, the US is eager to ...
OC offshore meteorological tower step toward wind farmDelmarva Daily Times
Regulators Updated on 1st US Offshore Wind Farm OperationsU.S. News & World Report

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You Can't Have Offshore Wind Power Without Oil - Forbes

Industry 4.0 on the High Seas – MarineLink

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Werner von Siemens (SIEMENS.NS) mission to lay 50,000 nautical miles of transatlantic cables might not have been destined to fail but at least one business rival tried to make sure that it would. It wasnt enough to merely execute a risky project that had never been done before. The crew aboard the Faraday, the ship that Siemens and his brothers commissioned, also had to move faster than saboteurs who planted false reports in the press and even broke cables. And it was in this pressure-filled environment that Siemens turned to another recent invention of his to enable his crew to work around the clock: a electrical generator, placed on the deck, to light up the night skies.

This spirit of deploying new technology and innovation on the high seas is just as relevant 143 years later even if the challenges are much different, which thousands of leaders from the maritime industry, including naval architects, shipbuilders and owner/operators talked about recently at the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans. Today the marine industry is working towards solutions for propulsion, environmental regulations, safety standards, and global trade by embracing the technological advancements currently reshaping the industrial world: what we call Industry 4.0.

And it had zero emissions. Batteries are charged on each side of the fjord with electricity, provide from a mix of the countrys renewable resources such as hydro and wind power.

Another Industry 4.0 development is using one common platform to collect and consolidate operational ship data from different system suppliers and in common data formats in order to supply applications via a simple and standardized interface. The applications can help optimize ship operation and performance. For example, software is used to transmit vast amounts of ship or event fleet operational data, back to an onshore control center for analysis and optimization. Monitoring systems at sea allows for quick response to issues, thus increasing reliability and uptime, while reducing costs. We also see Industry 4.0 influences in the port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, location of the Discovery Channels popular reality television series, Deadliest Catch. The recently commissioned Blue North commercial fishing vessel is now operating out of Dutch Harbor and is now one of the worlds most highly automated ships, able to catch, process and package fresh cod on-board in a Industry 4.0-like factory on the seas.

Finally, product lifecycle software (PLM) is being used to design the most highly complex ships. Performance and build-time is sped through the collaboration of designers, engineers, production specialists, partners and suppliers, so shipyards can optimize performance. While on the seas, operators are using advanced software to integrate all operational equipment through seamless and controlled data acquisition.

The Author

David Grucza is Director, Siemens Drilling & Marine, U.S.

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Industry 4.0 on the High Seas - MarineLink

Survival on the high seas (From The Northern Echo) – The Northern Echo (registration)

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Recreating one of the greatest survival feats in naval history the Mutiny on the Bounty is no easy ask, so could Channel 4s modern-day crew pull it off? Gemma Dunn finds out more

If truth be told, the modern-day man is often considered a mere shadow of his esteemed ancestors. There's no denying many of today's chaps - accepting of the 'metrosexual tag' or not - are more likely to be caught crafting a meticulous appearance, than pledging blood, sweat and tears on a life-or-death voyage. His band of merry men are a group of friends in a swanky bar; his compass reading skills peak at Google Maps.

But excluding the likes of survivalists Bear Grylls and Ray Mears, would our contemporary menfolk - if presented with the opportunity - jump at the chance to achieve the same extraordinary feats as their hardened predecessors? It turns out, yes, they would - or at least in the case of Channel 4's new series, Mutiny.

Trialling the age-old nautical saying, 'When ships were made of wood, men were made of steel', the fact-based series follows a group of nine 21st-century contemporaries who attempt to relive one of the greatest survival feats in naval history. But how did they fare pitted against a fleet of 18th-century seaman?

The tale begins 230 years ago, when British navy ship HMS Bounty was sailing from Tahiti to the West Indies. During its 17-month voyage, a poisonous rift meant Captain William Bligh and his loyal crewmen were cast adrift in the Pacific Ocean and left for dead.

In a remarkable act of seamanship, Bligh - forced into a tiny open boat and left to die - led his crew to safety across 4,000 miles of ocean from Tonga to Timor. It would go down in history as the Mutiny on the Bounty.

To replicate the same gruelling journey for the Channel 4 show, nine men would follow the same route on a replica 23ft open wooden boat, with similar equipment, the same food and water rations and the same basic clothing that Bligh's men had.

They'll also use the 225-year-old diary kept by Bligh during the voyage as a survival handbook, to help them uncover the secrets of the seas in such unpredictable, often brutal, environments.

SAS veteran-turned-TV star Ant Middleton leads the expedition, assuming the role of Captain Bligh. It's a role he refers to as "psychologically and leadership-wise, the hardest task I've done. In my military career, everyone had been through that process," explains the 36-year-old, who made his name as the lead instructor of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins.

"Everyone knew how to behave, the discipline was there, the structure was there," he elaborates. "This was a team of strangers that came together having gone through no process, so for me it was probably my toughest leadership task I've had to date, because I had to tailor to each and every one of their needs."

The rest of the eclectic crew, aged from 23-43, is made up of builder/handyman Ben Gotsell; sailor/adventurer Chris Jacks; professional sailor Conrad Humphreys; skipper Freddy Benjafield; doctor Luke Kane; brand ambassador Rishi Ravalia, and embedded cameramen Dan Etheridge and Sam Brown.

Staying true to form, Mutiny's producers cast a crew that would mirror that of Bligh's - with Gotsell recruited as ship carpenter and odd-jobs man, and Kane taking on the role of surgeon. Any expertise was put to good use.

"The worst bit was when everyone's skin basically disintegrated," recalls Kane, who is in his final year of GP training. "The cold, wet period was quite long, and essentially our skin's outer layer broke down, which let all these bugs come in. Everyone was riddled with ulcers and boils. It was really difficult to manage it, because the only way to deal with it was to dry off and we just couldn't do it. Sam's hands were the worst, he didn't have fingerprints for ages."

Indeed, cameraman Brown recalls: "There was a very 21st-century moment when I came off the boat; my iPhone didn't recognise me because I had no fingerprints. Like most of my jobs, I probably went into it a bit complacent. Somebody told me it was dry season, so I thought, 'Get a nice tan, nice cruise'. It was grim."

While health and safety protocols had to be put in place, Middleton was adamant the group would be self-sufficient, and that a call for the 'safety boat' would be for absolute final resorts only. "I said from the beginning, 'I won't be involved in anything that's not as authentic'. I didn't want it to be a Big Brother boat, these guys knew that if they called that safety boat in, then they're off. It's as black and white as that," he states.

As for conflict, there's no denying there was bickering on board - but any disputes were quickly put to bed. "It's bigger than any individual, this trip. The magnitude, the size of it and the seriousness of it, we had to stick together as a team.

"Back in the day, they say 'when ships were made of wood, men were made of steel', but trust me, to this day, men are still made of steel and I wanted to get that message across," Middleton adds. "That was my primary thought process, to let the modern-day man know we've still got it."

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Campbell River Sea Cadet off to England to hit the high seas – Campbell River Mirror

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

RCSCC Admiral DeWolf PO2 Emily Castro will deploy on the tall ship Royalist off the coast of England next month.

image credit: Contributed

A Campbell River cadet is hitting the high seas in a tall ship next month.

Petty Officer 2 (PO2) Emily Castro, a member of 54 Royal Canadian Sea Corps (RCSCC) Admiral DeWolf located in Campbell River, has been selected to participate in a tall ship training deployment on board TS (Training Ship) Royalist in the United Kingdom (UK). PO2 Castro is one of 12 Sea Cadets from Canada who will train with 12 Sea Cadets from the U.K.

From April 24 to May 14, six female and six male Royal Canadian Sea Cadets will sail aboard TS Royalist, which is a square rig brig owned and operated by the Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC) of the United Kingdom.

TS Royalist deployment takes place aboard a square-rigged sailing ship 32 meters in length. The ship is under the command of a qualified captain, with a permanent crew who instruct, year round, the embarked cadets on a weekly basis. The ship will sail off the south coast (English Channel) of the United Kingdom for a period of 12 days. During this deployment, cadets are involved in every part of ship board operations (helm, lookout, husbandry, cookery, seamanship, safety, etc.) and sailing evolutions (hoisting, lowering, furling and unfurling sails, on deck and aloft in the rigging, etc.) in a 24/7 watch system. Cadets will also be climbing masts using harness type safety gear. Accommodation and messing is basic and based on an open mess deck plan where Cadets sleep in individual racks with sleeping bags and have extremely limited storage space.

Selection for these deployments are a great honour, says 54 RCSCC Commanding Officer Lt(N) Dan Richard. Only top rated cadets from across Canada have been chosen, and it means extra work as there will be time away from school. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet program is a youth program for Canadians aged 12 to 18. Jointly sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the Navy League of Canada, the aims of the program are:

To develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship and leadership; to promote physical fitness,and to stimulate interest in the sea element of the Canadian Forces and civilian maritime affairs.

The national Sea Cadet Training Program provides a wide range of course instruction and supporting activities to meet the interests of cadets.

New recruits begin their training with Drill and General Cadet Knowledge, giving them an introduction to the origin and development of the cadet movement; an understanding of the military/cadet rank structure; and an appreciation for the wear and care of the uniform. Cadets then move on to subjects such as Citizenship, Physical Fitness, Sensible Living, Drill, Seamanship, Maritime Identification, Marksmanship and Range/Shooting.

All cadets are required to participate in community service activities, fundraising, field exercises, sports, and citizenship activities throughout the year.

In addition to mandatory training activities, cadets are encouraged to participate in optional programs of interest to them. These can include:

Cadets also have the opportunity to experience both powered and sail boat familiarization training. Annually there are two weekends of Sail Training at the North Island Nautical Site located in Comox.

Sailing is considered part of the mandatory training program and the cadet must attend at least one sailing session per year to complete his/her training level. Dates are scheduled during the spring and fall of each training year to accommodate this requirement.

Although we are training Cadets, fun has to be part of the program, says Lt(N) Richard, if we arent having a good time doing this, why are we here?

And we are always open to young people who want to join and take part in a dynamic program. We meet on Thursday nights from 6:30 through to 9:15 p.m. at the Navy League Hall located at 911-13th Avenue in Campbell River.

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Campbell River Sea Cadet off to England to hit the high seas - Campbell River Mirror

Renting land to highest bidder stumbling block for young people looking to start in agriculture – INFORUM

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Jim Kopriva believes the migration of youth away from rural areas isn't just a lack of career opportunity. It's a lack of habitat.

"What we see around here is land rented to the top bidder," Kopriva said. "Next thing you know, somebody from several hundred miles away is buying land right next door. The whole idea of renting for top dollar becomes like driving 40 miles to get gas for a penny cheaper."

For young people desiring to get started in agriculture, the concept of handing out land to the highest bidder becomes a challenging stumbling block.

And on the heels of a short window when high crop prices turned marginal land into farm ground, many old homesteads that could have been handed over to young farming hopefuls are now gone.

Kopriva, who farms and ranches northwest of Raymond, initially began raising livestock on a small acreage while he held a daytime job in town. Without the chance to fix a rundown acreage as payment for a place to live, he might not have had the chance to pursue his ultimate passion of raising livestock. He believes that encouraging individuals to start small by making land available for them will bring young people back into agriculture.

"They need an opportunity to try and an opportunity to get their hands on some land resources," Kopriva said. "How nice would it be if land owners would prefer to rent to young people that are beginning farmers or just trying to get themselves established in agriculture?"

Living in the country provides families opportunities to become involved in agriculture even if it's not their primary occupation. Some of the most valuable ethics can be taught on a farm, and in Kopriva's mind those lessons are best taught through stewardship of livestock.

Responsibility and commitment are quickly learned when those principles live right outside the back door for families that live in the country.

"Young people need livestock," Kopriva said. "If they don't go out and feed their bicycle nothing bad will happen the next day, but if they ignore their livestock, livestock teaches kids something they can't learn any other way."

Kopriva also sees benefits for the older generations that rent to younger families instead of holding out for the highest bidder. Younger individuals with families can tackle odd jobs to help out older neighbors while building a sense of community in the country.

"When that land owner needs a ride to town or needs snow removed from driveways, who's going to help them?" Kopriva asked. "I think it pays in a lot of ways."

The 2011 Center for Rural Affairs Census Report supports Kopriva's observation that fewer opportunities are available for young people to become rooted in small farming operations. However, South Dakota State University Extension community development specialist Peggy Schlechter notes that South Dakota communities as a whole are growing.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Dakota's population swelled by 7.9 percent from 2000 to 2010. While this population boost bodes well for larger South Dakota towns and cities, it masks the 4.4 percent drop in the rural countryside and small towns seen over the past decade.

Schlechter notes that rural communities need to change how they develop opportunities for young people. Instead of providing scholarships for youth to move away and pursue an education, communities need to build more incentives that will draw back former residents, especially those who already desire to return but require economic or entrepreneurial encouragement.

Schlechter has seen interest in young people wanting to move back to their home areas. The issue becomes creating a viable habitat for young people to work and raise families in.

Schlechter believes that rural areas offer prime potential for people to play a significant role in communities. Rural communities require involvement from everyone in order for roles to be fulfilled. These communities need to become more intentional in promoting themselves as well as ensuring that everyone in the community has the chance to play a part, Schlechter said.

"In rural areas you really have an opportunity as a leader to make an impact on people's lives and make a difference dramatically."

Both Kopriva and Schlechter agree that proactive steps need to be taken for rural communities to thrive.

"How many people die with money in their account that they never used, but it crowded young people off the land?" Kopriva asked. "It's worth more to rent locally and keep people in the country than it is to seek the top dollar. To me, that's habitat."

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Renting land to highest bidder stumbling block for young people looking to start in agriculture - INFORUM

Watch: ‘Black Holes’ A Satirical Comedy About Space Travel From Sundance 2017 – Konbini US

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

"How embarrassing to be human" the tagline ofBlack Holes informs viewers of its tone from the get-go.

The film tells the story of Dave the Astronaut, who in a near future is set to be on NASA's first mission to Mars. Grappling with the financial, geopolitical and emotional challenges, Black Holes has a sharp wit and social awareness which is incredibly refreshing. And the main sidekick is an "intelligent melon." You'll have to watch to find out what that means.

The fast-paced, satirical and visually slick animation fromNoodles, a Paris and L.A. based collective of award-winning artists, has just come back from this year's Sundance Film Festival, and is on Vimeo for your viewing pleasure.

Black Holes from NOODLES on Vimeo.

Black Holesis described as "a satirical animated series aboutspace conquest, the meaning of life and proctology"on its Kickstarter page.

The film was selected in the short film competition at Sundance 2017, and shows just a teaser of what could be, as it actually represents a concept prototype for the series of 10 x 22-minute episodes that the team is working to develop.

Brothers David and Laurent Nicolasare co-writers and directors ofBlack Holes, and Ed Banger Records artists SebastiAnand Quentin Dupieux (Mr Oizo) have contributed to the project.

(Screenshot: Noodles)

The Kickstarter campaign forBlack Holes has already raised over $60,000 towards the $100,000 target, which will allow the production of the first episode of the series. Full of stories, drawings and further information, you can donate to theBlack Holesproject here.

With the success ofSouth Park andBojack Horseman, loved by older audiences around the world, there's clearly strong demand for animation for all ages. Maybe we won't get to go into space until 2018 at the earliest, but with a bit more helpBlack Holescould be shooting onto screens pretty soon.

Read More ->5 Empowering Movies To Celebrate Women's History Month

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Watch: 'Black Holes' A Satirical Comedy About Space Travel From Sundance 2017 - Konbini US

Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I’m 5-Years-Old – Futurism – Futurism

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

In BriefTrying to get children to understand artificial intelligenceis a feat in its own right. Explaining how it could one day becomesmarter than us is an entirely different challenge. Supercomputers to Superintelligence

Heres an experiment that fits all ages: approach your mother and father (if theyre asleep, use caution). Ask them gently about that time before you were born, and whether they dared think at that time that one day everybody will post and share their images on a social network called Facebook. Or that they will receive answers to every question from a mysterious entity called Google. Or enjoy the services of a digital adviser called Waze that guides you everywhere on the road. If they say they figured all of the above will happen, kindly refer those people to me. Were always in need of good futurists.

The truth is that very few thought, in those olden days of yore, that technologies like supercomputers, wireless network or artificial intelligence will make their way to the general public in the future. Even those who figured that these technologies will become cheaper and more widespread, failed in imagining the uses they will be put to, and how they will change society. And here we are today, when youre posting your naked pictures on Facebook. Thanks again, technology.

History is full of cases in which a new and groundbreaking technology, or a collection of such technologies, completely changes peoples lives. The change is often so dramatic that people whove lived before the technological leap have a very hard time understanding how the subsequent generations think. To the people before the change, the new generation may as well be aliens in their way of thinking and seeing the world.

These kinds of dramatic shifts in thinking are called Singularity a phrase that is originally derived from mathematics and describes a point which we are incapable of deciphering its exact properties. Its that place where the equations basically go nuts and make no sense any longer.

The singularity has risen to fame in the last two decades largely because of two thinkers. The first is the scientist and science fiction writer Vernor Vinge, who wrote in 1993 that

Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.

The other prominent prophet of the Singularity is Ray Kurzweil. In his book The Singularity is Near, Kurzweil basically agrees with Vinge but believes the later has been too optimistic in his view of technological progress. Kurzweil believes that by the year 2045 we will experience the greatest technological singularity in the history of mankind: the kind that could, in just a few years, overturn the institutes and pillars of society and completely change the way we view ourselves as human beings. Just like Vinge, Kurzweil believes that well get to the Singularity by creating a super-human artificial intelligence (AI). An AI of that level could conceive of ideas that no human being has thought about in the past, and will invent technological tools that will be more sophisticated and advanced than anything we have today.

Since one of the roles of this AI would be to improve itself and perform better, it seems pretty obvious that once we have a super-intelligent AI, it will be able to create a better version of itself. And guess what the new generation of AI would then do? Thats right improve itself even further. This kind of a race would lead to an intelligence explosion and will leave old poor us simple, biological machines that we are far behind.

If this notion scares you, youre in good company. A few of the most widely regarded scientists, thinkers and inventors, like Steven Hawking and Elon Musk, have already expressed their concerns that super-intelligent AI could escape our control and move against us. Others focus on the great opportunities that such a singularity holds for us. They believe that a super-intelligent AI, if kept on a tight leash, could analyze and expose many of the wonders of the world for us. Einstein, after all, was a remarkable genius who has revolutionized our understanding of physics. Well, how would the world change if we enjoyed tens, hundreds and millions Einsteins that couldve analyzed every problem and find a solution for it?

Similarly, how would things look like if each of us could enjoy his very own Doctor House, that constantly analyzed his medical state and provided ongoing recommendations? And which new ideas and revelations would those super-intelligences come up with, when they go over humanitys history and holy books?

Already we see how AI is starting to change the ways in which we think about ourselves. The computer Deep Blue managed to beat Gary Kasparov in chess in 1997. Today, after nearly twenty years of further development, human chess masters can no longer beat on their own even an AI running on a laptop computer. But after his defeat, Kasparov has created a new kind of chess contests: ones in which humanoid and computerized players collaborate, and together reach greater successes and accomplishments than each wouldve gotten on their own. In this sort of a collaboration, the computer provides rapid computations of possible moves, and suggests several to the human player. Its human compatriot needs to pick the best option, to understand their opponents and to throw them off balance.

Together, the two create a centaur: a mythical creature that combines the best traits of two different species. We see, then that AI has already forced chess players to reconsider their humanity and their game.

In the next few decades we can expect a similar singularity to occur in many other games, professions and other fields that were previously conserved for human beings only. Some humans will struggle against the AI. Others will ignore it. Both these approaches will prove disastrous, since when the AI will become capable than human beings, both the strugglers and the ignorant will remain behind. Others will realize that the only way to success lies in collaboration with the computers. They will help computers learn and will direct their growth and learning. Those people will be the centaurs of the future. And this realization that man can no longer rely only on himself and his brain, but instead must collaborate and unite with sophisticated computers to beat tomorrows challenges well, isnt that a singularity all by itself?

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Singularity: Explain It to Me Like I'm 5-Years-Old - Futurism - Futurism

Things Are Super Weird Right Now, but It’s Not a Glitch in the Matrix, Says Harvard Physicist – ScienceAlert

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

If the past 12 months have you feeling like you're stuck in the beta version of some giant, buggy simulation, we're right there with you, what with the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Oscars, and depending on which side of the fence you sit, the US and UK elections.

But despite what Elon Musk says, the barrage of weirdness we've been experiencing lately is just the way of the Universe, says Harvard theoretical physicist Lisa Randall, who once described the probability that we're living in a giant video game of the future as "effectively zero".

If you're unfamiliar with the simulation hypothesis, it's based in a 2003 paper by Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom from the University of Oxford, who argued that at least one of the following propositions must be true:

That 'posthuman' stage Bostrom is talking about refers to the probability that at some point in the future, our technology would be so advanced, a single computer could simulate the entire mental history of humankind, using less than one-millionth of its processing power for 1 second.

Now imagine that a posthuman civilisation in the distant future manages to build a massive network of these 'ancestor-simulations', into which we could upload replicas of the minds of our ancestors to play out their lives in a giant computer program.

Assuming these minds had a 'consciousness' - something that scientists have been considering recently - they would realistically demand something akin to human rights so they weren't some kind of robotic slave race. But that's starting to sound a whole lot like us...

In a nutshell,Bostrom proposedthat humans will either almost certainly die out before any of this even happens (thanks, climate change); no advanced civilisations in the history of the Universe contained individuals with the means to build ancestor-simulations; or we almost certainly live in a simulation.

Last year, Elon Musk revealed that he's a big believer in the simulation hypothesises, arguing that "the odds that we're in base reality is one in billions".

And hell, it makes sense when you're going through weird times like these that something other than "base reality" is at play:

But Lisa Randall is here to ruin all our fun, because when Corinne Purtill from Quartz asked her if the recent Oscars mix-up has her rethinking her anti-simulation stance, the answer is not even a little bit.

"At this point, we cannot prove that we do or don't live in a simulation. More to the point, there is no reason to believe that we do," she said.

"However, we can pretty much be sure that people will do amazing things and they will also mess up in spectacular ways."

At a public debate last yearmoderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Randall seized on Musk's probability argument as one of the biggest reasons for why the simulation hypotheses doesn't make sense.

"Part of the problem is that probabilities have to have a well-defined meaning, or are only useful when they have a well-defined meaning. So, among all possible scenarios we can actually say which one is more or less likely," she said.

"When we run into infinities ... it stops making sense. I mean, I could say really by probability I'm very likely to be Chinese, because there's a lot more Chinese than Americans. But I'm clearly not Chinese. So, probabilities are tricky, and you have to be careful what you mean when you're saying them."

Randall added that it's incredibly egotistical for us to assume that some highly advanced civilisation would build simulations that look just like us, and the probability argument only works if countless alien civilisations saw the human species as something worth simulating.

"It's just not based on well-defined probabilities. The argument says you'd have lots of things that want to simulate us. I actually have a problem with that," she said.

"We mostly are interested in ourselves. I don't know why this higher species would want to simulate us."

Case closed? Randall thinks so, but there are still some in the simulation corner, including cosmologist Max Tegmark from MIT,who argued, "If I were a character in a computer game, I would also discover eventually that the rules seemed completely rigid and mathematical."

And that sounds an awful lot like laws of physics, asJames Gates, a theoretical physicist at the University of Maryland, pointed out:

"In my research I found this very strange thing.I was driven to error-correcting codes - they're what make browsers work. So why were they in the equations I was studying about quarks and electrons and supersymmetry? This brought me to the stark realisation that I could no longer say people like Max are crazy."

It would be nice to blame all of the recent weirdness on a glitchy simulation, but Randall sayswe're better off coming up with more realistic explanations for the mysteries of the world, rather than blaming it all on a giant computer program.

And that sounds a whole lot more scientific to us.

You can watch the whole debate below, and read the transcript here:

Excerpt from:

Things Are Super Weird Right Now, but It's Not a Glitch in the Matrix, Says Harvard Physicist - ScienceAlert

Ascension officials visit Washington DC, want piece of Trump infrastructure pie – The Advocate

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

DONALDSONVILLE In the days leading up to President Donald Trump's first address to Congress, a large contingent from Ascension Parish government that included Parish President Kenny Matassa, seven of 11 Parish Council members and handful of staffers came to Washington hat in hand.

Specifically, they are seeking a slice of the $1 trillion in infrastructure spending that Trump said he'll be asking Congress to supply.

Council Chairman Bill Dawson said Thursday that parish officials believe Ascension's important role in the nation's energy sector should give it a priority for some of those dollars and made that case to new U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R- La., and others in Congress.

"If the Trump administration has an infrastructure bill, we think we should get some priorities because we're carrying the load for the energy in the United States," Dawson said during a council meeting in Donaldsonville. "We have a large section of industrial development here. We don't have the roads, the exit roads. We don't have the supply roads that we need to supply those industries."

Trump hasn't yet offered a lot details about where the $1 trillion will come from or how much will go toward traditional public works projects.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Republican Pennsylvania Congressman Bill Shuster said billions of that investment could come in the form of planned private sector investment, like pipelines, that is being held up by federal agencies.

Shuster chairs the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In late January, Congressional Democrats proposed their own $1 trillion, 10-year infrastructure plan with a focus on major public infrastructure projects but left unclear how it would be paid for as well.

Ascension Council Chairman Dawsonmade the announcement as he and other parish officials recapped the large parish delegation's visit to Washington, D.C., over the Mardi Gras weekend and through the middle of the week. They made the stops on Capitol Hill after a weekend National Association of Counties conference in Washington.

He said the visit with Kennedy was among several with federal agencies that affect the parish and other members of the parish's congressional delegation, including U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, and aides to U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans.

The group also met with U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, who was sworn in to his first term in January.

Matassa said he was able to deliver a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that was signed by him and the presidents of four other parishes in the region. In the letter, they indicate their support for construction of the Comite River Diversion Canal, extension of the proposed West Shore hurricane protection levee so it protects St. James and Ascension parishes, and the dredging of Bayou Manchac.

Matassa also pressed for Ascension to get a greater share of federal disaster recovery dollars for the March and August 2016 floods in the next round of funding that state officials are pursuing.

"We would like to see some of those funds come directly to the parish, so we can get going and do what we need to do," Matassa said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has asked for nearly $4 billion to recover from the floods, but Congress has approved about $1.7 billion. In the first batch of funding, nearly $438 million, Ascension has been projected to receive just a small fraction due to restrictions on the money.

Parish officials also used the D.C. visit to air a few grievances, from the slow pace of permitting by the Corps on major drainage projects to how ozone attainment is enforced in the parish.

Dawson also noted that parish officials aired their complaints with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over their response to the August flood and, in particular, the speed with which residents are receiving their insurance payouts under the National Flood Insurance Program.

"People pay their premiums on time. People pay their taxes on time, but they didn't receive their payments on time," Dawson said.

Follow David J. Mitchell on Twitter, @NewsieDave.

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Ascension officials visit Washington DC, want piece of Trump infrastructure pie - The Advocate

Ascension Medical appoints new president – St. Louis Business Journal

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

St. Louis Business Journal

Ascension Medical appoints new president
St. Louis Business Journal
Ascension Medical Group, the national provider organization for St. Louis-based Ascension, has named Dr. Joseph Cacchione as its new president. Cacchione joins Ascension from the Cleveland Clinic, where he has served as chairman of operations and ...

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Ascension Medical appoints new president - St. Louis Business Journal

Blessed Sacrament Huguenot baseball looking to continue VCC ascension – Richmond.com

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Last season, the Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Knights finished runner-up in the Virginia Colonial Conference (VCC) and qualified for the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) state tournament for the 12th time in the last 16 seasons as the number seven seed.

The season before that, the Knights finished fourth in the VCC.

Every year, weve improved, Blessed Sacrament Huguenot baseball coach James Poore said. Now, its just a matter of putting it all together. Weve got a lot of guys coming back. Weve got some good baseball players.

Coming into the 2017 season, the Knights lost just two seniors from last years team. Tanner Dobrucky, a second team All-VCC selection also departed for Douglas Freeman.

Among the returning players are Carter Davis, who was a first team All-VISAA selection last season, as well as Coleman Smith and James Heldmann, just to name a few.

James Heldmann had a fantastic year pitching, Poore said. He threw a ton of strikes and didnt walk a lot of people. He pitched really good baseball. Hitting wise, you had Coleman do extremely well. Behind the plate, Carter did extremely well. We hit the ball really well.

As a team, Poore said that they hit at over a .300 average last season.

But, he does want to work on the defense side of the ball.

I think we struggled a bit defensively, he said. Were going to work on that a lot, thats something I really want to focus on.

As far as new faces go, Chris Gupton is one player that Poore feels can make an impact this season for the Knights.

He played basketball and football for us, Poore said. (Gupton) played at Hermitage last year. He played the outfield for them. I havent seen him play much, but watching him play other sports, hes a really good athlete and a really good teammate. I think hell be a perfect fit for the team.

Just like last year, the Knights will face some of the best teams in the area when it comes to private school baseball.

Collegiate, the defending Division-I state champions, Steward School and Trinity Episcopal are just some of the teams that Blessed Sacrament Huguenot will face this year.

Were going to play some good people, Poore said. The reason we do that is because I believe that I have some good kids, some good ballplayers. I think it pays dividends at the end of the year when youre facing tougher teams like that.

As far as what Poore would like to see from his team throughout the season, his mantra is simple.

Ive already told the guys this, but theyre goal should be to win every pitch, to win every inning and do that for seven innings, he said. Everything else will take care of itself.

The Knights begin the year on Mar. 15 against Walsingham Academy at 4:30 p.m.

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Blessed Sacrament Huguenot baseball looking to continue VCC ascension - Richmond.com

Ascension serves a slice of faith – Forest Lake Lowdown

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

STILLWATER When Stillwater said arrivederci to downtown restaurant Luna Rossa last year, Ascension Episcopal Church said buon giorno to the businesss wood-fired pizza oven.

The church hopes to set up a food and social ministry by installing the oven at the church office site on Fourth Street in downtown Stillwater.

Reverend Buff Grace said that the church is in the midst of putting a team together to lead the charge to install the oven. There will most likely be a few hurdles to overcome, such as acquiring the proper building permits and making sure the building and oven are in compliance with health codes.

Grace explained that the idea for a pizza oven ministry was inspired by his brother-in-law, Jim Schmitt.

He installed a pizza oven back in the 90s, Grace said. Its been a lot of fun; every time I go over he fires up the pizza oven. He has a flagpole, and whenever the oven is on, he runs a flag up the pole and neighbors know they can bring whatever they want ... Since then weve had a dream of putting a pizza oven in here, and having that space for our congregation and anyone who wants to come in and join us.

It was also through Schmitt that the opportunity presented itself. Schmitt is a collector of antique architecture items, and had arranged to take sconces from the restaurant interior after it closed. He noticed that the pizza oven was still on the site, and learned it might be available.

We talked with the owner and were able to work out a deal, Grace said. It had to be out within a couple of days. We scrambled to get a team to move it out and move it to the church. It was somewhat of a windfall; we didnt have a (project) team together right away, so we wanted to wait until beginning of the new year (to begin planning for the ovens use).

Luckily for Ascension, one of the congregations most recent members is former pastor Bryce Johnson, who spearheaded the installation of a bread oven at United Methodist Church in White Bear Lake.

He has a lot of skills and capacity with this, Grace said. The work that he did was mainly along the lines of bread making. He had done some study in Europe for bread making, so this would be slightly different than what were doing.

Grace said that there has been a large amount of interest from people within the parish.

You say, lets gather a meeting to talk about some of the usual things you would expect in a church, but you say wood-fired oven and people come out of the woodwork, he joked. It stirred up a bunch of interest.

The group discussed the many options for the oven ministry and at this point, plans on an adult fellowship-type of ministry, not that it wouldnt be available for youth and kids, he said. Were seeing that theres a lot of ways to get connected with the church community, and Sunday morning is not necessarily the best avenue for everybody. We think that Christian community is really important, and it doesnt have to be on Sunday morning. This turned out to be a brilliant way to do that.

Grace estimated that the oven might be in use by the end of next summer. He doesnt expect the oven will move far from its current garage location, but hed like to see improvements to the driveway and garage area before everything is complete.

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Ascension serves a slice of faith - Forest Lake Lowdown

Two Ascension schools to move from host locations following flood – WBRZ

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

ST. AMANT Two Ascension schools will move from their host sites since the August flood to temporary facilities on Mar. 6.

Lake Elementary will move from host sites Duplessis Primary, Prarieville Middle and the old RPCC campus to temporary buildings on its home campus. St. Amant Primary will move its PreK through second grades from G.W. Carver Primary to the old RPCC campus so the entireschool is on a single site.

Both schools have been at their respective host sites since the August flood. Teachers will move their classroom materials over the weekend in preparationfor the start of school on Monday. According to Ascension Public Schools, parents will receive information about schedules, bus and car drop-off/pick-up and classroom locations.

"This is yet another significant step toward our flood recovery, and we are very appreciative of all the hard work of internal and externalpartners that have madethis happen," said Ascension Public Schools Superintendent David Alexander.

St. Amant High School returned to its campus on Feb. 13 and Galvez Primary returned on Mar. 2 After Lake Elementary and St. Amant Primary's move, the last flooded school to leave a host site will be Galvez Middle.

For more flood recovery updates, visit http://www.apsb.org.

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Two Ascension schools to move from host locations following flood - WBRZ

Series of wrecks near high school in Ascension Thursday – WBRZ

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

DUTCHTOWN A series of wrecks injured at least two people in Ascension Parish around lunchtime Thursday.

The wrecks were along Highway 73 near Dutchtown High and the parish library. Specific information about what happened has not been released.

A WBRZ viewer shared video on his Facebook page of the wreck and recorded video of a medical ambulance landing at the high school.

Check back for important updates.

There were a series of major wrecks across the region Thursday. A teenager died after being hit walking to school in Livingston Parish. Click HERE to read more. Also, a major crash closed Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge. Two people had to be cut from two different vehicles involved and one person died. Click HERE to read more.

EDITOR's NOTE: A previous update to this story reported the crash as being deadly, but no one has died at this crash; another crash on Highway 73 left at least one person dead Thursday.

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Series of wrecks near high school in Ascension Thursday - WBRZ

Horst Simon to Present Supercomputers and Superintelligence at PASC17 in Lugano – insideHPC

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Danzig

Horst Simon, Berkeley Lab Deputy Director

Today PASC17 announced that Horst Simon will present a public lecture entitled Supercomputers and Superintelligence at the conference. PASC17 takes place June 26-28 in Lugano Switzerland.

In recent years the idea of emerging superintelligence has been discussed widely by popular media, and many experts voiced grave warnings about its possible consequences. This talk will use an analysis of progress in supercomputer performance to examine the gap between current technology and reaching the capabilities of the human brain. In spite of good progress in high performance computing and techniques such as machine learning, this gap is still very large. The presentation will then explore two related topics through a discussion of recent examples: what can we learn from the brain and apply to HPC, e.g., through recent efforts in neuromorphic computing? And how much progress have we made in modeling brain function? The talk will be concluded with a perspective on the true dangers of superintelligence, and on our ability to ever build self-aware or sentient computers.

Horst Simon is an internationally recognized expert in the development of parallel computational methods for the solution of scientific problems of scale. His research interests are in the development of sparse matrix algorithms, algorithms for large-scale eigenvalue problems, and domain decomposition algorithms. His recursive spectral bisection algorithm is a breakthrough in parallel algorithms. Honored twice with the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize, most recently in 2009 for the development of innovative techniques that produce new levels of performance on a real application (in collaboration with IBM researchers) and in 1988 in recognition of superior effort in parallel processing research (with others from Cray and Boeing).

Horst Simon is Deputy Laboratory Director and Chief Research Officer (CRO) of Berkeley Labs. The Deputy Director is responsible for the overall integration of the scientific goals and objectives, consistent with the Laboratorys mission. Simon has been with Berkeley Lab since 1996, having served previously as Associate Laboratory Director for Computing Sciences, and Director of NERSC. His career includes positions at Stony Brook University, Boeing, NASA, and SGI. He received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley, and a Diplom (M.A.) from TU Berlin, Germany. Simon is a SIAM Fellow and member of SIAM, ACM, and IEEE Computer Society.

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