Monday, September 15, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
When did America get so politically correct? It’s when we refuse to mock a group that we truly act like bullies
http://time.com
Would you make fun of a burn victim? Well, we did. Sort of …
We’re comics. In the most recent season of our TV show, in a sketch titled “Insult Comic,” a traditional stand-up comedian professes that he is “going to get everybody” in his set (the guy toward the front with big ears, the fat guy, the woman with comically large breasts). That’s the phrase, isn’t it, when a critic wants to praise a comedian for the fearless nature of his or her comedy? That he or she “gets everybody”? That “nobody is safe”? One of the club patrons in our sketch, however, is a wheelchair-bound burn victim. “You skipped me,” he calls from the audience, with a robotic-sounding artificial larynx. “Go for it,” he says, “I can take it.”
But can we, as a society, take it anymore?
Today it seems that we live in a world of extremes. On one end of the spectrum, we have anonymous Internet trolls looking for opportunities to dole out cruelty with impunity. But in mainstream culture, it often seems we’re drowning in a sea of political correctness that lapped up on our shores a couple of decades ago and has yet to recede.
It’s amazing to think how popular television shows like All in the Family and Good Times might fare today in a Hollywood pitch meeting. Films like Blazing Saddles and Silver Streak wouldn’t make it past the development stage at a studio. Too edgy.
Somewhere along the line, we’ve forgotten the true purpose of humor: to help people cope with the fears and horrors of the world.
Sure, sometimes at Key & Peele, we swim in the shallow waters of pratfalls, airplane observations and simple old-school punnery. But what we strive for–and what we think more people should strive for–is deeper: to make fun of everything.
It can be scary. We don’t want to lose our audience. Can we make them laugh at a sketch about slavery? Terrorism? The Holocaust?
At the same time, though, it’s our duty. To not make fun of something is, we believe, itself a form of bullying. When a humorist makes the conscious decision to exclude a group from derision, isn’t he or she implying that the members of that group are not capable of self-reflection? Or don’t possess the mental faculties to recognize the nuances of satire? A group that’s excluded never gets the opportunity to join in the greater human conversation.
Luckily, a lot of people get this–at least when it comes to their own cultures. Like the burn victim in our sketch, they plead, “You skipped me! Do me!”
There was the half-Hispanic, half–Native American man who told Keegan recently just how much gold there was to be mined from his hybrid culture. A young Arab man told us how much he loves Karim and Jahar (a couple of sexually repressed Arab characters we play). “You gotta do more of them!” he begged. Gay and lesbian couples tell us to “keep going … There’s plenty to make fun of … Trust us!”
Where a lot of people get nervous, however, is when it comes to laughing at other people’s culture or perceived weaknesses. That’s when we worry that we’re being insensitive–that we’re being mean.
But ask yourself again what’s worse: making fun of people or assuming that they’re too weak to take it?
The white whale of comedy is still out there. The day we can make fun of a black lesbian dwarf with Down syndrome who’s in a wheelchair, and someone who isn’t a black lesbian dwarf with Down syndrome is able to laugh–instead of trying to protect the dwarf’s feelings–we can pack up our artificial larynxes and retire.
Key and Peele are the creators of their namesake television sketch-comedy show on Comedy Central
Would you make fun of a burn victim? Well, we did. Sort of …
We’re comics. In the most recent season of our TV show, in a sketch titled “Insult Comic,” a traditional stand-up comedian professes that he is “going to get everybody” in his set (the guy toward the front with big ears, the fat guy, the woman with comically large breasts). That’s the phrase, isn’t it, when a critic wants to praise a comedian for the fearless nature of his or her comedy? That he or she “gets everybody”? That “nobody is safe”? One of the club patrons in our sketch, however, is a wheelchair-bound burn victim. “You skipped me,” he calls from the audience, with a robotic-sounding artificial larynx. “Go for it,” he says, “I can take it.”
But can we, as a society, take it anymore?
Today it seems that we live in a world of extremes. On one end of the spectrum, we have anonymous Internet trolls looking for opportunities to dole out cruelty with impunity. But in mainstream culture, it often seems we’re drowning in a sea of political correctness that lapped up on our shores a couple of decades ago and has yet to recede.
It’s amazing to think how popular television shows like All in the Family and Good Times might fare today in a Hollywood pitch meeting. Films like Blazing Saddles and Silver Streak wouldn’t make it past the development stage at a studio. Too edgy.
Somewhere along the line, we’ve forgotten the true purpose of humor: to help people cope with the fears and horrors of the world.
Sure, sometimes at Key & Peele, we swim in the shallow waters of pratfalls, airplane observations and simple old-school punnery. But what we strive for–and what we think more people should strive for–is deeper: to make fun of everything.
It can be scary. We don’t want to lose our audience. Can we make them laugh at a sketch about slavery? Terrorism? The Holocaust?
At the same time, though, it’s our duty. To not make fun of something is, we believe, itself a form of bullying. When a humorist makes the conscious decision to exclude a group from derision, isn’t he or she implying that the members of that group are not capable of self-reflection? Or don’t possess the mental faculties to recognize the nuances of satire? A group that’s excluded never gets the opportunity to join in the greater human conversation.
Luckily, a lot of people get this–at least when it comes to their own cultures. Like the burn victim in our sketch, they plead, “You skipped me! Do me!”
There was the half-Hispanic, half–Native American man who told Keegan recently just how much gold there was to be mined from his hybrid culture. A young Arab man told us how much he loves Karim and Jahar (a couple of sexually repressed Arab characters we play). “You gotta do more of them!” he begged. Gay and lesbian couples tell us to “keep going … There’s plenty to make fun of … Trust us!”
Where a lot of people get nervous, however, is when it comes to laughing at other people’s culture or perceived weaknesses. That’s when we worry that we’re being insensitive–that we’re being mean.
But ask yourself again what’s worse: making fun of people or assuming that they’re too weak to take it?
The white whale of comedy is still out there. The day we can make fun of a black lesbian dwarf with Down syndrome who’s in a wheelchair, and someone who isn’t a black lesbian dwarf with Down syndrome is able to laugh–instead of trying to protect the dwarf’s feelings–we can pack up our artificial larynxes and retire.
Key and Peele are the creators of their namesake television sketch-comedy show on Comedy Central
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Why Bilinguals are Smarter
Why Bilinguals are Smarter
http://www.howlifeworks.com/lifestyle/Why_Being_Bilingual_Can_Actually_Make_You_Smarter_229
What if you were told there was a way you may avoid dementia,
strengthen your cognitive skills, and heighten your intelligence, and
all you had to do was learn another language?It probably sounds great, because if you’re like most you would love to be able to speak a second language. But then, you recall your experience in high school foreign language – boring rote memorization and long hours with little progress – and perhaps it doesn’t sound so good any more.
But, what if you were told it would take only 10 days to be on your way to becoming bilingual? Most people recognize the many benefits of learning a foreign language: You can travel to foreign countries and feel comfortable, be a more productive and enticing employee in today’s competitive job market, and immerse yourself in the vast cultures that surround you.
But now, the collective evidence from a number of recent studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems, and performing various other mentally demanding tasks.*
These processes include the ability to ignore distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another, and holding information in the mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.
Even better, new approaches to learning mean you can learn a new language without the endless repetition, homework, and memorization. One of the most powerful, The Pimsleur Approach, actually trains people to start speaking a new language in as little as 10 days! In fact, it’s so powerful, even the FBI has purchased it!
What is the Pimsleur Approach?
The Pimsleur Approach aims each lesson at teaching you to use the core vocabulary of the language, so you can speak the most in the least amount of time. It's not how many words you know, but rather, which words you can use.
Each Pimsleur Approach lesson has been scientifically sequenced to rapidly lock language material into your brain after just one listen. Let the audio guide you; the program is based on what language learning should be: Quick, fun, and easy. You'll absorb your new language without any reading, writing, or computer use.
The Pimsleur Approach has a 100 percent guarantee: Speak in 10 days or you don't pay.
And, if that doesn’t tempt you, the benefits to learning a new language just keep adding up. In addition to keeping your mind sharp and your reflexes quick, it also may ward off the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
For those looking to get smarter in just 10 days, the company is offering new customers a special offer of half off the language of your choice including free shipping. The programs (which normally cost $29.95) are now available for just $9.95.
Better yet, they are also offering a full 30-day money-back guarantee (so, if you find you are not learning as fast as you want, simply return it for a full refund).
Click here to take advantage of this special offer and start speaking in 10 days. You’ll be smarter for it!
How You Can Start Speaking a New Language in 10 Days
How You Can Start Speaking a New Language in 10 Days
http://www.howlifeworks.com/lifestyle/How_You_Can_Learn_a_Language_in_only_10_Days_283
Most people recognize the many benefits of speaking a foreign
language: You can travel to foreign countries and feel comfortable, be a
more productive and enticing employee in today’s competitive job
market, and immerse yourself in the vast cultures that surround you.
Scientific studies have even shown that learning a new language helps to
keep memories sharp and naturally enhances overall brain function.But did you know that you can speak a new language in as little as 10 days? The Pimsleur Approach to speaking new languages helps users pick up new languages quickly. Even the FBI has purchased the Pimsleur Approach.”
Your brain is already wired to start speaking a language in 10 days. You just need to activate it.
Dr. Pimsleur, a Ph.D. and specialist in the field of applied linguistics, devoted his life and career to learning languages and understanding the psychology of language acquisition. He recognized through extensive research that effective communication in any language depends on mastery of a relatively limited number of words. And, trying to learn too many words at first can actually slow the language retention process. However, once this “core vocabulary” is mastered and used consistently, it provides a framework for accelerated language learning. The Pimsleur Approach aims each lesson at teaching you to use the core vocabulary of the language, so you can speak the most in the least amount of time. It's not how many words you know, but rather, which words you can use.
Each Pimsleur Approach lesson has been scientifically sequenced to rapidly lock language material into your brain after just one listen. Just sit back, listen, and start wiring your brain to pick up a new language today.
The Pimsleur Language Programs
The entire Pimsleur Approach is what language learning should be: quick, fun and easy. You'll absorb your new language without any reading, writing or computer use. The Pimsleur Approach has a 100 percent guarantee: Amaze yourself in 10 days or you don’t pay!
Who is Dr. Pimsleur?
Dr. Pimsleur was a language educator for more than 20 years. He noticed that children have an amazing ability to learn new languages quickly. He spent his life developing this course to let you, as an adult, speak a new language as easily as a child would. You might not realize it, but you've already learned one language using the Pimsleur Approach. Your first language.
Best Pimsleur Offer Ever! Incredible Value
The company is currently offering new customers a special offer of half off the language of your choice including free shipping.
The programs is now available for just $9.95. Better yet, they are also offering a full 30-day money-back guarantee (so if you find you are not speaking as fast as you want, simply return it for a full refund).
Click here to take advantage of this special offer and start speaking in 10 days. They guarantee it!
To Save Big, Nix the Lunch Breaks with Co-Workers
To Save Big, Nix the Lunch Breaks with Co-Workers
You probably know the scenario. The office clock says noon and the guys and gals decide where to go for lunch. In many towns, the drive time to a restaurant eats up most of the lunch hour, not to mention the gas.
It's hard to find lunch for less than ten bucks plus tip. You gobble down your food, share a few laughs with your co-workers and rush back to the office wishing you had time for a nap.
As you walk to your desk, you notice this guy putting away his brown bag. He appears calm, happy and ready to get back to work, some of which he did while eating his lunch. He's thinking how delicious it was, how much money he saved and the hassle avoided.
Is it worth it to prepare and bring your lunch to work each day? Well, looking at some basic examples let's say the cost to fix your own lunch costs about $3 a day. It's probably much cheaper.
That's $15 for a five day week. Eating out at approximately $10 a day comes to $50 for the week. You saved at least $35 not including drive time and gas. That's more than $1,800 a year saved. Interested?
Here are some brown bag tips. Prepare it the night before so you're not rushed in the morning. Keep it simple but be creative and think healthy. Sandwiches on wholesome bread are fine but include nuts, fruit or yogurt. Also, put in a little treat for yourself that you can look forward to, perhaps a health bar or your favorite cookie.
Plan ahead and buy in bulk with lunches in mind. Buy large chips and put them in smaller plastic bags instead of buying small individual bags. Don't pay more for convenience.
Cook a big dinner and save some for lunch the next day or the entire week. If it's home cooked you know it's good, healthy and cleaner. Put it in individual containers that night so you can grab and go in the morning.
If you're running late there's nothing wrong with occasionally taking a can of soup or vegetable chili. Most offices have ovens or microwaves you can use for heating.
Bring your drink too. You can probably get a 12-pack of soda for $2.99 and that comes to about 25 cents a can. Compare that with expensive vending machine drinks or coffee and you've saved even more.
It's up to you of course, but you can continue to work while you eat, catch up on your emails or other relaxing reading. It just might impress the boss and if you have to take off early, you don't feel as guilty. Don't be surprised if others ask you for tips on brown bagging.
There's a lot to be said for brown bagging your lunch. You eat better, save time, money and you're more productive. Now all you have to do is figure out where to invest all that money you saved.
Jony Ive Named One Of Time's 100 Most Influential People
Sir Jonathan “Jony” Ive has been named one of Time’s “100 most influential people in the world.”
The list features profiles of figures as diverse as Jay Z, Kate Middleton, and President Barack Obama. Time’s entry on Jony Ive was penned by U2′s Bono, who has collaborated with Apple numerous times over the years and is even said to have inspired the “Artists” tab’s silhouette image in the iOS Music app.
Bono writes of Ive:
Jony Ive is himself classic Apple. Brushed steel, polished glass hardware, complicated software honed to simplicity. His genius is not just his ability to see what others cannot but also how he applies it. To watch him with his workmates in the holy of holies, Apple’s design lab, or on a night out is to observe a very rare esprit de corps. They love their boss, and he loves them.For the full entry on Ive, along with profiles of the 99 other influential people hand picked by Time, click this link.
Our most recent articles on Apple’s Jony Ive include: Jony Ive Leaves His Mark As Skeuomorphism Concept Vanishes From One App, Jony Ive: Apple’s Attention To Detail Extends To The Naming Of New Products, and Apple’s Tim Cook Discusses Jony Ive, Apple’s Future And Even Prozac At Conference.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Blogger: Using Video on Your Blog
http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/videoonyourwebsite/p/Blogger-Using-Video-On-Your-Blog.htm
Blogger is a helpful blogging tool powered by Google. If you already have a Gmail account, chances are you've spotted blogger in the toolbar before, and, you won't even need to make a new account to get started. Simply log in with your existing Gmail account to start publishing.
Blogger is a helpful blogging tool powered by Google. If you already have a Gmail account, chances are you've spotted blogger in the toolbar before, and, you won't even need to make a new account to get started. Simply log in with your existing Gmail account to start publishing.
File Formats and Sizes:
Blogger
isn't upfront about the file formats it supports, or the file size
limits it allows for video uploads. While this helps to keep the user
interface friendly and simple, from a video maker's perspective, this is
information you need to know. After a bit of testing, It seems that
Blogger tops out at 100 MB, so don't try uploading video files any
larger than this. In addition, Blogger accepts all of the common video
formats like .mp4, .wmv, and .mov. Last but certainly not least, Blogger
doesn't monitor its users' usage at this time, so you can upload as
many videos as you want. This differs from sites like Tumblr, Blog.com,
Jux, Wordpress, and Weebly, which have storage limits.
Preparing to Upload Your Video:
To
prepare your video to be posted to Blogger, you'll need to compress it
so that you achieve the highest quality with the smallest file size
possible. I recommend using the H.264
codec with your original file format, and if the file is still too big,
switching file formats to .mp4. In addition, if you shot your video in
full HD, you can lower your file size by changing the aspect ratio to
1280 x 720. If you've already posted the video to another video hosting
site, you can skip these steps and embed the video directly into
Blogger, which I'll talk about later.
Posting Video with Blogger:
To
post your video to Blogger, simply log in to your Google account and
hit the 'post' button, which looks like an orange marker. Blogger's user
interface consists of actual pages, so the screen in front of you will
resemble a blank word document. Go to the icon that looks like a
clapboard to post your first video.
There are several options for putting video on your Blogger site. The file format and size specifications I mentioned above are only relevant if you choose to upload a video directly from your hard drive to the Blogger site. Doing so will mean that Blogger, or Google, is hosting your video, or storing it on their servers.
If you've already posted a video to YouTube, you can post the video to Blogger by embedding it on your blog. In the 'Select a File' dialogue, Blogger includes a search bar that lets you search YouTube for your desired video, and also has a personalized section of all the videos you've posted to YouTube using your linked account. Blogger doesn't support Vimeo at this time, so using an embed code on your Blogger page will only display a link rather than a video player.
Once you're satisfied with your Blogger page, simply click 'Publish', and the video will appear on your site within the format of your Blogger theme.
There are several options for putting video on your Blogger site. The file format and size specifications I mentioned above are only relevant if you choose to upload a video directly from your hard drive to the Blogger site. Doing so will mean that Blogger, or Google, is hosting your video, or storing it on their servers.
If you've already posted a video to YouTube, you can post the video to Blogger by embedding it on your blog. In the 'Select a File' dialogue, Blogger includes a search bar that lets you search YouTube for your desired video, and also has a personalized section of all the videos you've posted to YouTube using your linked account. Blogger doesn't support Vimeo at this time, so using an embed code on your Blogger page will only display a link rather than a video player.
Once you're satisfied with your Blogger page, simply click 'Publish', and the video will appear on your site within the format of your Blogger theme.
Posting Videos With Android and iPhone:
By
downloading the Google+ app for your Android of iPhone, you can post
videos from your mobile device to your blog. When you're in the G+ app,
you'll need to enable "Instant Upload". This will make it so that every
time you take video on your cell phone, it will be uploaded to a queue
that you can then see through the "Upload" dialogue on the Blogger site.
All of your videos in the queue are private, and chooses to publish
them on your blog will make them public.
Blogger offers a simple layout and flexible settings for posting video. If you're already a Google or YouTube user, Blogger will be well-suited to your needs.
Blogger offers a simple layout and flexible settings for posting video. If you're already a Google or YouTube user, Blogger will be well-suited to your needs.
Apps for children in 2014: looking for the mobile generation
Use of tablets among five to 15-year-olds in the UK tripled between 2012 and 2013, but they’re just getting started
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/apps-children-2014-mobile-generation
The idea of tablets as devices for children didn’t come from the manufacturers: it came from parents. Apple’s first iPad in 2010, and the first wave of Android tablets that followed, were aimed at adults.
Hand your powerful multimedia computing device with its breakable touchscreen over to a jammy-fingered toddler? Not likely. And yet that’s what parents proceeded to do in their millions, creating a strong demand for children’s apps in the process.
Fast forward to the start of 2014, and that kid-apps market is bustling, with established children’s brands and fledgling startups alike competing to offer educational, creative and/or playful apps for children of all ages.
We’ve also seen dedicated children’s tablets from manufacturers including Samsung, Kurio and LeapFrog, with others – notably Amazon’s Kindle Fire range and Tesco’s Hudl – benefiting from a clear appeal to parents, even if they’re still pitched as general-purpose devices.
The children’s apps market has also seen its fair share of controversy and debate, too. There is concern about the rise of “free-to-play” games, with some high-profile cases of children spending four-figure sums on virtual items without their parents’ permission – even if these often involve games that aren’t intended for children.
There has been debate about privacy – what information developers could and should collect from children’s apps, even if their intention is simply to use the data to improve their products – and most recently an outlandish online hoax about one of the most popular children’s apps, Talking Angela being a front for paedophiles.
On a more serious note, schools around the world, from independent colleges in the UK to Indian village schools, are getting to grips with tablets and apps as educational tools, encouraged by a mixture of technology companies, governments, charities and individuals.
In the UK, the shifts in children’s media usage are already becoming clear. Communications regulator Ofcom reported last October that the use of tablets among 5-15 year-olds had tripled from 14% in 2012 to 42% halfway through 2013. It also found 28% of 3-4 year-olds using a tablet at home.
This is causing concern in some quarters, particularly among parents, teachers and publishers who worry about the possible impact on reading. A survey of 2,000 British children and parents in June 2013 suggested that the percentage of children reading books for pleasure dropped by eight points between 2012 and 2013, as use of app and games rose, for example.
Perhaps it will be increasingly relevant to ask questions about whether children are reading something for pleasure rather than “books” – there are plenty of storybook apps designed to encourage a love of reading, for example. Other apps, with Minecraft being the most prominent example, are stimulating other kinds of creative skills for kids.
Top children’s app developers have pushed back at suggestions that apps are replacing physical toys and books, or indeed parents. “People are very concerned about the idea of an iPad as a device that becomes a full-time babysitter for their kids. Well, not if you don’t use it like that!” Bjorn Jeffery, CEO of Toca Boca, told The Guardian last year.
“As an app developer, our intention is never to replace the parent, and I’ve never met a developer who tries to replace physical play with digital toys. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, and they can even be combined.”
There are hundreds of developers making apps for kids, as well as the biggest brands in children’s entertainment – from Mattel and Disney to Moshi Monsters, CBeebies and Nickelodeon. But companies big and small can find it tough to make money from children’s apps. That’s because many parents prefer to download free apps, yet don’t trust those with advertising or in-app purchases.
“The tough thing is that a lot of people expect everything for nothing, or at least for very little. At the moment, it’s hard to say that the price these apps are commanding is a reflection for the effort, expertise and thought that goes into them,” Kate Wilson, managing director of publisher Nosy Crow, told The Guardian earlier this year.
That’s a challenge that remains to be solved in 2014, although as more parents buy tablets – to share within the family or specifically for their children – so it may become easier for developers of the best apps to find their audiences.
Why is that important? Because what children read, play and create with is important, whether physical or digital. Apps are no different to books and toys in that regard: the more people discover the good ones, the better. Not to mention the fact that some industry observers think today’s apps are sparking something even bigger for the future.
“It’s such an interesting time: you’re seeing the great transition as kids move from laptops and fixed devices to mobile. It’s one of the biggest transitions you are going to see probably over the next 20 years,” SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins told The Guardian last year.
“They’re growing up with devices and internet connectivity that we never had, but the notion that they are going to fold into the same old patterns is a mistake. They are going to create their own new patterns, and the old content, information and media companies are completely unprepared for this.”
• Now read: 30 best Android apps for kids in 2014
• Now read: 30 best iPhone and iPad apps for kids in 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/10/apps-children-2014-mobile-generation
The idea of tablets as devices for children didn’t come from the manufacturers: it came from parents. Apple’s first iPad in 2010, and the first wave of Android tablets that followed, were aimed at adults.
Hand your powerful multimedia computing device with its breakable touchscreen over to a jammy-fingered toddler? Not likely. And yet that’s what parents proceeded to do in their millions, creating a strong demand for children’s apps in the process.
Fast forward to the start of 2014, and that kid-apps market is bustling, with established children’s brands and fledgling startups alike competing to offer educational, creative and/or playful apps for children of all ages.
We’ve also seen dedicated children’s tablets from manufacturers including Samsung, Kurio and LeapFrog, with others – notably Amazon’s Kindle Fire range and Tesco’s Hudl – benefiting from a clear appeal to parents, even if they’re still pitched as general-purpose devices.
The children’s apps market has also seen its fair share of controversy and debate, too. There is concern about the rise of “free-to-play” games, with some high-profile cases of children spending four-figure sums on virtual items without their parents’ permission – even if these often involve games that aren’t intended for children.
There has been debate about privacy – what information developers could and should collect from children’s apps, even if their intention is simply to use the data to improve their products – and most recently an outlandish online hoax about one of the most popular children’s apps, Talking Angela being a front for paedophiles.
On a more serious note, schools around the world, from independent colleges in the UK to Indian village schools, are getting to grips with tablets and apps as educational tools, encouraged by a mixture of technology companies, governments, charities and individuals.
In the UK, the shifts in children’s media usage are already becoming clear. Communications regulator Ofcom reported last October that the use of tablets among 5-15 year-olds had tripled from 14% in 2012 to 42% halfway through 2013. It also found 28% of 3-4 year-olds using a tablet at home.
This is causing concern in some quarters, particularly among parents, teachers and publishers who worry about the possible impact on reading. A survey of 2,000 British children and parents in June 2013 suggested that the percentage of children reading books for pleasure dropped by eight points between 2012 and 2013, as use of app and games rose, for example.
Perhaps it will be increasingly relevant to ask questions about whether children are reading something for pleasure rather than “books” – there are plenty of storybook apps designed to encourage a love of reading, for example. Other apps, with Minecraft being the most prominent example, are stimulating other kinds of creative skills for kids.
Top children’s app developers have pushed back at suggestions that apps are replacing physical toys and books, or indeed parents. “People are very concerned about the idea of an iPad as a device that becomes a full-time babysitter for their kids. Well, not if you don’t use it like that!” Bjorn Jeffery, CEO of Toca Boca, told The Guardian last year.
“As an app developer, our intention is never to replace the parent, and I’ve never met a developer who tries to replace physical play with digital toys. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, and they can even be combined.”
There are hundreds of developers making apps for kids, as well as the biggest brands in children’s entertainment – from Mattel and Disney to Moshi Monsters, CBeebies and Nickelodeon. But companies big and small can find it tough to make money from children’s apps. That’s because many parents prefer to download free apps, yet don’t trust those with advertising or in-app purchases.
“The tough thing is that a lot of people expect everything for nothing, or at least for very little. At the moment, it’s hard to say that the price these apps are commanding is a reflection for the effort, expertise and thought that goes into them,” Kate Wilson, managing director of publisher Nosy Crow, told The Guardian earlier this year.
That’s a challenge that remains to be solved in 2014, although as more parents buy tablets – to share within the family or specifically for their children – so it may become easier for developers of the best apps to find their audiences.
Why is that important? Because what children read, play and create with is important, whether physical or digital. Apps are no different to books and toys in that regard: the more people discover the good ones, the better. Not to mention the fact that some industry observers think today’s apps are sparking something even bigger for the future.
“It’s such an interesting time: you’re seeing the great transition as kids move from laptops and fixed devices to mobile. It’s one of the biggest transitions you are going to see probably over the next 20 years,” SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins told The Guardian last year.
“They’re growing up with devices and internet connectivity that we never had, but the notion that they are going to fold into the same old patterns is a mistake. They are going to create their own new patterns, and the old content, information and media companies are completely unprepared for this.”
• Now read: 30 best Android apps for kids in 2014
• Now read: 30 best iPhone and iPad apps for kids in 2014
Taliban threaten to attack Afghan presidential elections
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/10/taliban-threaten-attack-afghan-presidential-elections
The Taliban have threatened to attack Afghanistan's crucial presidential election next month, warning that anyone who goes near "electoral offices, voting booths, rallies and campaigns" is putting their life in danger.
Afghanistan is preparing for a poll that if successful will prepare the way for the country's first ever peaceful, democratic transfer of power. Security and fraud are seen as the two largest, and interconnected threats.
Some of the worst vote-rigging in the 2009 poll occurred in "ghost" polling stations, vote centres that were opened in violent areas where few or no locals were willing to risk defying the Taliban to cast a genuine vote but hundreds of ballots were registered.
The Taliban had earlier called the election a waste of time, but the English-language statement posted on Monday was more explicit in threatening violence against anyone associated with it.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan encourages all its countrymen to avoid becoming victims of the enemy conspiracies in the upcoming elections process; reject it wholly and do not put yourselves in danger," the statement said. "If anyone still persists on participating then they are solely responsible of any loss in the future."
There have already been several attacks against election workers. Last year, insurgent gunmen in northern Kunduz province assassinated the provincial head of the Independent Election Commission, the government body organising the logistics of the vote.
More recently, in western Herat province two men from the team of the leading candidate Abdullah Abdullah were gunned down the day before campaigning officially began, although that attack was not claimed by insurgents.
Repeating earlier allegations that the election is a rigged sham, the Taliban said the vote would continue US dominance of the country, even after foreign troops left, by selecting a head of state who was in effect a puppet.
"It [the US] will install a head of state who appears to be an Afghan but will have American mentality, vision, deeds, creed and ideals while openly being in conflict with the clear teachings of the sacred religion of Islam," the statement said.
The US has strenuously denied any meddling in this election, although the former defence secretary Robert Gates in his memoirs described efforts in 2009 to ensure Karzai was defeated, manoeuvring he described as a "clumsy and failed putsch".
The Taliban have threatened to attack Afghanistan's crucial presidential election next month, warning that anyone who goes near "electoral offices, voting booths, rallies and campaigns" is putting their life in danger.
Afghanistan is preparing for a poll that if successful will prepare the way for the country's first ever peaceful, democratic transfer of power. Security and fraud are seen as the two largest, and interconnected threats.
Some of the worst vote-rigging in the 2009 poll occurred in "ghost" polling stations, vote centres that were opened in violent areas where few or no locals were willing to risk defying the Taliban to cast a genuine vote but hundreds of ballots were registered.
The Taliban had earlier called the election a waste of time, but the English-language statement posted on Monday was more explicit in threatening violence against anyone associated with it.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan encourages all its countrymen to avoid becoming victims of the enemy conspiracies in the upcoming elections process; reject it wholly and do not put yourselves in danger," the statement said. "If anyone still persists on participating then they are solely responsible of any loss in the future."
There have already been several attacks against election workers. Last year, insurgent gunmen in northern Kunduz province assassinated the provincial head of the Independent Election Commission, the government body organising the logistics of the vote.
More recently, in western Herat province two men from the team of the leading candidate Abdullah Abdullah were gunned down the day before campaigning officially began, although that attack was not claimed by insurgents.
Repeating earlier allegations that the election is a rigged sham, the Taliban said the vote would continue US dominance of the country, even after foreign troops left, by selecting a head of state who was in effect a puppet.
"It [the US] will install a head of state who appears to be an Afghan but will have American mentality, vision, deeds, creed and ideals while openly being in conflict with the clear teachings of the sacred religion of Islam," the statement said.
The US has strenuously denied any meddling in this election, although the former defence secretary Robert Gates in his memoirs described efforts in 2009 to ensure Karzai was defeated, manoeuvring he described as a "clumsy and failed putsch".
The Pentagon’s Battle Against Sexual Assault Rages On
The Senate will vote on a scaled-back military reform measure after Sen. Gillibrand's bid fell short of the 60 votes it needed to beat a filibuster
http://time.com/17536/pentagon-military-sexual-assault/
The Pentagon kept running into bad sexual-assault news last week: the Army’s top sex-crimes prosecutor was suspended from his post following a female subordinate’s claim that Lieut. Colonel Joseph Morse groped her at a sexual-assault conference. Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair pleaded guilty to adultery and possessing pornography on the eve of his trial on sexual-assault charges. Army Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon pleaded guilty in a case accusing him of videotaping female West Point cadets in showers and locker rooms, and was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment.But none of this seemed to matter across the Potomac River. On Thursday, the Senate derailed a push to reform military justice by stripping commanders of the responsibility for prosecuting sexual assaults and other crimes, and giving it to military lawyers to prosecute. On Monday, the Senate is expected to pass milder reforms.
So what gives? Opponents of last week’s proposal — including the Pentagon and powerful members of the Armed Services Committee — said the change, championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, would take too much clout away from commanders in their never-ending effort to promote good order and discipline in their ranks. “Too many of the members of the Senate have turned their back on these victims and survivors,” she said after the vote. She has pledged to try again, perhaps next year after the midterm elections change the Senate’s makeup.
The Senate is expected to approve lesser changes — among them making retaliation against an alleged victim a criminal act and barring commanders from reversing jury convictions — involving sexual assaults in the military. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, led the charge for the Victims Protection Act with backing from Democratic Michigan Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and the Pentagon brass. “This debate has been about one thing: getting the policy right to best protect and empower victims, and boost prosecutions of predators,” McCaskill said. “I believe we’re on the cusp of achieving that goal.”
But it’s worth noting that Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act lost while garnering 55 Senate votes (including 17 of 20 female Senators) — a majority. That’s because it needed 60 votes to thwart a filibuster. “The American people know that a majority of 100 is 51,” says Eugene Fidell, a lecturer on military law at Yale Law School and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice. He argues that the Pentagon and key lawmakers opposed Gillibrand’s measure because it called for wholesale change in the Pentagon’s legal system, not just those pertaining to sexual assaults. “The military wasn’t worked up when this was about sexual assault,” he says. “The military only got worked up when it was about the role of command.”
One female Army veteran doesn’t think taking decisions whether or not to prosecute from the chain of command is necessarily the answer. “The controversy over sexual assault in the Army will not go away, to my chagrin and those of my fellow soldiers,” says Elspeth Ritchie, who left the service in 2010 as a colonel after 24 years in uniform. “However, the problem will not be solved simply by changing the decision on who prosecutes.” Ritchie, a psychiatrist, believes there is no one-size-fits-all answer. “If we look at sexual assault as an occupational hazard, we see that different strategies are needed for prevention in the varying scenarios.” Alcohol consumption is often a trigger and needs to be curbed, she says. And predators in the ranks need to be rooted out while keeping young soldiers out of situations where predators can strike.
Last year, the Pentagon reported a 35% jump from 2010 to 2012 in reported sexual assaults. Using anonymous surveys, the department estimated that the total number of “unwanted sexual contacts” had risen from 19,300 in 2010 to 26,000 two years later. The persistence of sexual abuse in the U.S. military is a stain that decades of effort have failed to stop or even reduce. It’s a problem that crops up time and again, often unexpectedly, when skimming Pentagon reports.
In 2010, for example, a special Defense Department task force completed a yearlong study into the causes of suicide among members of the military. It dedicated its efforts to those who had killed themselves, and offered several vignettes of what led them to take their lives. One told the tale of an unnamed Army private, the daughter of an Army chaplain:
During her initial advanced individual training, she was raped by a fellow soldier. She told her father that she was afraid to tell anyone about the sexual assault for fear that she would be “judged.” She graduated from training and was transferred to another installation for her first duty assignment. A month after arriving, she was deployed to Iraq … Seven days before she died, a female friend (also a sexual-assault victim) died by suicide in Iraq. The Private did not leave a suicide note, but her journal was discovered lying open to an entry describing the torment, pain and impact of her rape. She died by gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq.
Study: Syria’s Children Suffering ‘Barbaric’ Lack Of Medical Care
A new report by Save the Children New warns that children in Syria are dying from treatable or preventable diseases that have metastasized in the country during the civil war, which is about to enter its fourth year
http://time.com/18020/study-syrias-children-suffering-barbaric-lack-of-medical-care/
As Syria’s civil war enters its fourth year, a new report from global children’s advocacy group Save The Children has detailed how 10,000 children have died not just as a result of the fighting, but also from treatable or preventable diseases that have metastasized in the country.Save the Children, in its report “A Devastating Toll” published on Sunday, details the consequences of Syria’s collapsed health care system. Among the revelations are that children are having limbs amputated because clinics don’t have the right equipment for treatment, newborn babies are dying in incubators during power cuts and patients are being knocked out with metal bars because of the lack of anesthesia.
“Children inside are enduring barbaric conditions,” says Save the Children’s regional director, Roger Hearn. “The desperate measures to which medical personnel are resorting to to keep children alive are increasingly harrowing.”
The report notes the reemergence of deadly and previously easily treatable diseases such as polio and diarrhea that are now silently spreading across the country, where 60% of hospitals are either damaged or destroyed. Some 200,000 Syrians have died of treatable chronic diseases like diabetes—double the estimated numbers of those killed by violence.
The group, which drew its findings from data issued by organizations such as the United Nations and World Health Organization, says over 5 million Syrian children are in need of basics such as food and adequate health care.
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