Likewise, weaker winds other times of year provide fewer nutrients, causing slightly less productivity in the waters offshore. “You can basically get fragments of DNA of nearly anything that’s lived there.”ĭuring winter monsoons, he notes, strong winds bring nutrients from the deeper ocean to the surface, feeding a surge in plant and animal life. “The seafloor near the mouth of the Indus is a very low-oxygen environment, so whatever grows and dies in the water is very well preserved in the sediment,” says Giosan. Once he and the team identified the season based on the forams’ fossil remains, they were able to then focus on deeper clues to the region’s climate: paleo-DNA, fragments of ancient genetic material preserved in the sediments. After taking core samples at several sites in the Arabian Sea, he and his group examined the shells of single-celled plankton called foraminifera (or “forams”) that they found in the sediments, helping them understand which ones thrived in the summer, and which in winter. That’s why Giosan and his team focused on sediments from the ocean floor off Pakistan’s coast. ”Įvidence for this shift in seasonal rainfall-and the Harapans’ switch from relying on Indus floods to rains near the Himalaya in order to water crops-is difficult to find in soil samples. Compared to the floods from monsoons that the Harappans were used to seeing in the Indus, it would have been relatively little water, but at least it would have been reliable. “As winter storms from the Mediterranean hit the Himalayas, they created rain on the Pakistan side, and fed little streams there. “Although fickle summer monsoons made agriculture difficult along the Indus, up in the foothills, moisture and rain would come more regularly,” Giosan says. 13, 2018, in the journal Climate of the Past. ![]() If you look at Syria and Africa, the migration out of those areas has some roots in climate change.”īeginning in roughly 2500 BCE, a shift in temperatures and weather patterns over the Indus valley caused summer monsoon rains to gradually dry up, making agriculture difficult or impossible near Harappan cities, says Liviu Giosan, a geologist at WHOI and lead author on the paper that published Nov. ![]() A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found evidence that climate change likely drove the Harappans to resettle far away from the floodplains of the Indus. ![]() Yet by 1800 BCE, this advanced culture had abandoned their cities, moving instead to smaller villages in the Himalayan foothills. More than 4,000 years ago, the Harappa culture thrived in the Indus River Valley of what is now modern Pakistan and northwestern India, where they built sophisticated cities, invented sewage systems that predated ancient Rome’s, and engaged in long-distance trade with settlements in Mesopotamia. Mohenjo-daro is an ancient Indus Valley Civilization city built around 2600 BCE that was abandoned after 1900 BCE.
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![]() That overrepresentation of white males is a problem for the courts that the Infinity Project was created to expose and solve. All but two have been male only one has been a person of color. If confirmed, Stras will be the 63rd judge to serve on the court. That said, we share the lament of the Infinity Project about lack of diversity on the Eighth Circuit bench. He's well-liked by his peers and amply qualified for service on the Eighth Circuit Court. During seven years on Minnesota's high court, Stras won over the skeptics with well-reasoned, nonideological opinions that exhibit respect for written law. It's to Stras' credit that little such muttering ensued Monday when President Trump nominated him when Judge Diana Murphy moved to senior status on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Critics cast him as a right-wing ideologue. Stras was active in the conservative Federalist Society and had been a law clerk for U.S. Tim Pawlenty to the Minnesota Supreme Court at the tender age of 35, liberal eyebrows shot up. ![]() (CN) - A retired Air Force officer’s use of a racial slur toward a Black store clerk did not fall within the “fighting words” exception to free speech protection, the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday.Ī U.S.When Associate Justice David Stras was appointed by then-Gov. Jules Bartow guilty under Virginia’s abusive language statute in a case stemming from a series of rhetorical questions - that included a racial slur - Bartow posed to a store clerk in 2018.Ĭathy Johnson-Felder, a Black sales associate at the Marine Corps Exchange store in Quantico, Virginia, testified that she was involved in a heated exchange with Bartow while he tried on boots. The exchange started off badly, with Johnson-Felder wishing Bartow a good morning. “If I had indigestion, diarrhea, or a headache, would you still address me as good morning?” Bartow said in a raised voice to Johnson-Felder, who froze in shock, according to the opinion written by U.S. Not a female, if I had a vagina, would you still call me sir?” According to the opinion, Bartow gestured and pointed Johnson-Felder then asked Bartow, "Can I help you, sir," to which he replied: "I’m not a sir - I’m not a male, I’m Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, a Bill Clinton appointee. His finger several times at Johnson-Felder, who was a number of steps away from him. The interaction continued to devolve when a Black man in civilian clothing stepped in to explain that Johnson-Felder's use of "sir" is was to be expected when purchasing merchandise on a military installation. “If I called her a nigger, would she still say good morning?” Bartow responded, according to Johnson-Felder's testimony. That led to Bartow's removal from the store by security personnel, who arrested him.Īfter Bartow pleaded not guilty to violating the Virginia speech statute, a magistrate judge concluded he had directed the slur toward the Black man in civilian clothing and fined Bartow $500. Bartow appealed the conviction to the Fourth Circuit.ĭuring oral arguments this past December, U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker - a Barack Obama appointee - said "the presence of the n-word is what makes this case complicated.” But in the end, the panel found that while ugly and racist, the epithet did not rise to the level of "fighting words" under the statute. Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote in a 14-page opinion issued Tuesday.īut Motz noted the government failed to prove or offer evidence “that Bartow’s use of this highly offensive slur tended to cause immediate acts of violence by anyone.” “The ugly racial epithet used by Bartow undoubtedly constituted extremely 'abusive language'” U.S. The Grim Reaper who reaped my Heart is truly a gift from the soft anime. The game’s background music, while charmingly anime, is never distracting and helps significantly in setting the stage for the game’s overall humorous and welcoming tone. Chapter Grim Reaper of the Drifting Moon. ![]() ![]() Oh, the sound design! During the lewd scenes, Vel’s soft moans are accompanied by an excellent range of erotically wet, well-placed sound effects. The sheer quality of the art that is packed into every scene in this game, whether it be its absolutely STUNNING lewd animated scenes, the clean and crisp character sprite design, or even the small touches of animation in many of the scenes where Vel can be seen playing her games, this game will have your eyes rolling back into your head in pure pleasure!Īnd we haven’t even mentioned the sound design yet. Kamuo’s dedication to providing visually rich scenes is what elevates this, his first visual novel, to a level above most. You can only use this effect of Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries once. ![]() The Grim Reaper who reaped my Heart! is an example that all other short adult visual novels (or even just VNs in general) should learn from, when attempting to figure out how they want to handle not only their interface, but their artistic presentation as well. The Grim Reaper who reaped my Heart is truly a gift from the soft anime tiddy gods. Vel has the ability to morph her clothing into whatever shape, or whatever state of undress she wishes! Audio & Visual Production ![]() This trait is particularly evident in the action scenes, starting with the initial one and continuing up to the end of the film. ![]() Along with the impressive special effects that find their apogee in the “thermo-optical camouflage”, the technical team of the anime managed to present a rather impressive spectacle. Editing was performed on an AVID system of Avid Technology, which was chosen because it was more versatile and less limiting than other methods, and worked with the different types of media in a single environment. “Ghost in the Shell” used a novel process called “digitally generated animation” (DGA), which is a combination of cel animation, computer graphics (CG), and audio that is entered as digital data. “Ghost in the Shell”, though, questions this theory through the concept of manufactured cyborgs, since Motoko's thoughts and memories may not even be her own. Can cyborgs have a soul? Do they exist as individuals, since they abide by the specifications of their manufacturer? What does their existence signify? According to Descartes, Motoko exists as an individual since she is able to think and make decisions. At the same time, the concept of Motoko gives rise to a number of classic sci-fi questions. This last aspect is chiefly presented through the character of Motoko, whose ghost is the one dominating her body, to the point that it can act completely individually from it. The most important of these consequences is the loss of identity, and the subsequent dehumanization. The film presents a society where technology has made everything very easy and has allowed humanity to evolve enormously, but at the same time stresses the dangers that could arise from the over-dependence on technology. The most obvious one is the connection between man and technology, and the way it will shape the future. Soon, however, they realize that they have brought themselves into a battle between the two Ministries, and Kusanagi has to decide if she will let Puppet Master to become a human being.Īlthough “Ghost in the Shell” thrives on impressive action scenes, there are a number of meaningful comments hiding underneath the action. ![]() Along with her team of experts, she is on the hunt for the Puppet Master. Major Motoko Kusanagi is a highly evolved cyborg who works for Public Security Section 9, an individual branch of the Ministry of Interior. Eventually, the AI decides that it is an actual life form with its own rights and asks for political asylum, revolting against the people that created it, instigating cyber attacks, and at the same time threatening to reveal its illegal creation to the Ministry of Interior, as it also searches for a host that will give it actual physical hypostasis. This AI was designed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the ultimate anti-espionage weapon, and calls itself “Puppet Master”. The perfect agent of the era is not a human, but an AI capable of traveling freely in the digital ‘boulevards' in order to find and exploit any information it can find. These are considered the most dangerous criminals of all. However, and despite the vast capabilities this technology has brought, crime always finds a way, and currently, hackers are able to infiltrate actual human brains. The persona of the individual (their soul, if you prefer) that is connected on the Internet is called ‘Ghost'. Artificial intelligence has become a significant part of everyday life and humans have already installed implants in their heads that help them communicate with computers directly, and in that fashion, are in constant connection with the Internet. Based on the homonymous manga by Masamune Shirow, the story takes place in 2029, when the world is connected through a vast electronic network that has access to all aspects of life. |