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Mises Daily Articles
Ten Recurring Economic Fallacies, 1774–2004Tags Free MarketsGlobal EconomyU.S. EconomyU.S. HistoryWorld HistoryPolitical TheoryValue and Exchange
As an American historian who knows something of economic law, having learned from the Austrians, I became intrigued with how the United States had remained prosperous, its economy still so dynamic and productive, given the serious and recurring economic fallacies to which our top leaders (political, corporate, academic) have subscribed and from which they cannot seem to free themselves—and alas, keep passing down to the younger generation.
Let's consider ten.
Myth #1: The Broken Window
One of the most persistent is that of the broken window—one breaks and this is celebrated as a boon to the economy: the window manufacturer gets an order; the hardware store sells a window; a carpenter is hired to install it; money circulates; jobs are created; the GDP goes up. In truth, of course, the economy is no better off at all.
True, there is a sudden burst of activity, and some persons have surely gained, but only at the expense of the proprietor whose window was broken, or his insurance company; and if the latter, the other policyholders who will pay higher premiums to pay for paid-out claims, especially if many have been broken.
The fallacy lies in a failure to grasp what has been foregone by repair and reconstruction—the labor and capital expended, having been lost to new production. This fallacy, seemingly so simple to explain and grasp, although requiring an intellectual effort of some mental abstraction to comprehend, seems to be ineradicable.
After the horrific destruction of the Twin Towers in September 2001, the media quoted academic and corporate economists assuring us that the government's response to the attacks would help bring an end to the recession. What was never mentioned was that resources devoted to repair, security, and war-fighting are resources that cannot be devoted to creating consumer goods, building new infrastructure, or enhancing our civilization. We are worse off because of 9-11.
Myth #2: The Beneficence of War
A second fallacy is the idea of war as an engine of prosperity. Students are taught that World War II ended the Depression; many Americans seem to believe that tax revenues spent on defense contractors (creating jobs) are no loss to the productive economy; and our political leaders continue to believe that expanded government spending is an effective way of bringing an end to a recession and reviving the economy.
The truth is that war, and the preparation for it, is economically wasteful and destructive. Apart from the spoils gained by winning (if it is won) war and defense spending squander labor, resources, and wealth, leaving the country poorer in the end than if these things had been devoted to peaceful endeavors.
During war, the productive powers of a country are diverted to producing weapons and ammunition, transporting armaments and supplies, and supporting the armies in the field.
William Graham Sumner described how the Civil War, which he lived through, had squandered capital and labor: "The mills, forges, and factories were active in working for the government, while the men who ate the grain and wore the clothing were active in destroying, and not in creating capital. This, to be sure, was war. It is what war means, but it cannot bring prosperity."
Nothing is more basic; yet it continues to elude the grasp of our teachers, writers, professors, and politicians. The forty year Cold War drained this country of much of its wealth, squandered capital, and wasted the labor of millions, whose lifetime work, whether as a soldier, sailor, or defense worker, was devoted to policing the empire, fighting its brush wars, and making weapons, instead of building up our civilization with things of utility, comfort, and beauty.
Some might respond that the Cold War was a necessity, but that's not the question—although we now know that the CIA, in yet another massive intelligence failure, grossly overestimated Soviet military capabilities as well as the size of the Soviet economy, estimating it was twice as large and productive as it really was. The point is the wastefulness of war, and the preparation for it; and I see no evidence whatever that the American people or their leaders understand that, or even care to think about it. An awareness and comprehension of these economic realities might lead to more searching scrutiny of the aims and methods that the Bush administration has chosen for the War on Terror.
Only a few days after 9-11, Rumsfeld declared that the war shall last as long as the Cold War (forty plus years), or longer—a claim the administration has repeated every few months since then—without eliciting the slightest notice or questioning from the media, the public, or the opposing party. Would that be the case, if people understand how much a second Cold War, this time with radical Islam, will cost us in lives, treasure, and foregone comfort and leisure?
Myth #3: The Best Way to Finance a War Is by Borrowing
Beginning with the War of Independence and continuing through the War on Terror, Americans have chosen to pay for their wars by borrowing money and inflating the currency. Adam Smith believed that the war should be financed by a levy on capital. This way the people of the country understand how much the war is costing them, and then can better judge whether it is really necessary. While he conceded that borrowing might be necessary in the early part of a war, before the revenue from war taxes began to flow into the treasury, he insisted that borrowing be kept to a minimum as a temporary expedient only.
Borrowing increases the costs of war in the form of interest. Inflating the currency, which often accompanies massive borrowing, as it did during the War of Independence, the War Between the States, and the War in Vietnam (just to name three), is the worst method of war finance, for it drives up prices, increases costs, enlarges debt, spawns malinvestments and speculation, and worsens the redistributive effects of war spending.
In 1861, the Lincoln administration decided that the people of the north would not stand for much taxation, and that it would increase the already considerable opposition to the southern war. According to Sumner, the financial question of the day was "whether we should carry on the war on specie currency, low prices, and small imports, or on paper issues, high prices, and heavy imports?" The latter course was chosen, and the consequences were a national debt that soared from $65 million in 1860 to $27 thousand million ($2.7 billion) in 1865, and a massive redistribution of wealth to federal bondholders.
In 1865, the financial question recurred. It was: "Shall we withdraw the paper, recover our specie [gold and silver coin], reduce prices, lessen imports, reduce debt, and live economically until we have made up the waste and loss of war, or shall we keep the paper as money, export all our specie which had hitherto been held in anticipation of resumption, buy foreign goods with it, and go on as if nothing had happened?"
The easy route was taken again (specie payments were not resumed until 1879, fourteen years later, and almost twenty years after the 1861 suspension) and the consequences were an inflation-driven stock market and railroad boom that culminated in the panic of 1873, the failure of the House of Cook, and the Great Railway Strike of 1877, the first outbreak of large-scale industrial violence in American history.
Myth #4: Deficit Spending Benefits the Economy and Government Debt
Three years ago, when then treasury secretary Paul O'Neill objected to the Bush administration's policy of guns, butter, and tax cuts he was told by the vice president, Dick Cheney, that, "deficits don't matter."
Of course, they don't matter—to him, but they matter to the country. John Maynard Keynes's prescription for curing a recession included tax cuts and increased government spending. "We are all Keynesians now" should be the new motto inscribed on the front of the Treasury building in Washington.
However, Keynes taught that once the recession was over government spending should be reduced, taxes increased, and the deficit eliminated. Current American policy is to continue deficit spending after the recession is over, and to borrow in peace as well as war. One longstanding criticism of such policies is that government borrowing "crowds out" private investment, thus raising interest rates.
In an era when credit creation is so easy, and interest rates remain low despite massive deficits reaching $500 billion per annum, economists no longer take this objection seriously. Another criticism is that an accumulating debt saddles future generations with a heavy burden, which is both unfair and detrimental to future growth. Once again, economists and politicians regard this objection as groundless. They reason that future generations derive benefits from deficit expenditures—greater security, more infrastructure, improved health and welfare—and that since the principal need never be paid, it is not much of a burden anyway.
They are wrong. By avoiding having to increase taxes, borrowing hides the price to be paid for increased government spending (the destructive diversion of capital and labor from private pursuits to government projects), and defuses potential public opposition to new or expanded government initiatives, here and abroad. It is thus both unrepublican and anti-democratic.
Second, depending on how long the redemption of the principal is deferred, accumulating interest payments can double, triple, quadruple, . . . the cost of the initial expenditure (This country has never yet discharged its Civil War debt!) Third, interest payments represent a perpetual income transfer from the working public to the bondholders—a kind of regressive tax that makes the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. Finally, the debt introduces new and wholly artificial forms of uncertainty into financial markets, with everyone left to guess whether the debt will be paid through taxes, inflation, or default.
Myth # 5: Government Policies to Promote Exports Are a Good Idea
The fallacy that government is a better judge of the most profitable modes of directing labor and capital than individuals is well illustrated by exporting policies. In the twentieth century, the federal government has sought to promote exports in various ways. The first was by forcing open foreign markets through a combination of diplomatic and military pressure, all the while keeping our own markets wholly or partially closed. The famous "open door" policy, formulated by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 was never meant to be reciprocal (after all, he served in the McKinley administration, the most archly protectionist in American history), and it often required a gun boat and a contingent of hard charging marines to kick open the door.
A second method was export subsidies, which are still with us. The Export-Import Bank was established by
A third method was dollar devaluation, to cheapen the selling price of American goods abroad. In 1933,
A fourth method, tried by the Reagan administration, was driving down farm prices to boost exports, thereby shrinking the trade deficit. The plan was that
But it got worse: American farmers had to sell larger quantities (at the lower prices) just to break even. Nevertheless, although the total volume of American agricultural exports increased, their real value (in constant dollars) fell—more work, lower profits. Furthermore, farmers had to import more oil and other producer goods to expand their production, which worsened the trade deficit. Then, there were the unforeseen and deleterious side-effects. Expanded cultivation and livestock-raising stressed out and degraded the quality of the soils, polluted watersheds, and lowered the nutritional value of the expanded crop of vegetables, grains, and animal proteins.
Finally, the policy of lower price/higher volume drove many small farmers, here and abroad, off the land, into the cities, and across the border, our border. Here is an economic policy that not only failed in its purpose but worsened the very problem it was intended to alleviate, and caused a nutritional, ecological, and demographic catastrophe.
Myth #6: Commercial Warfare Works
Sumner pointed out that the Americans declared their political independence, they had not entirely freed themselves from the fallacies of mercantilism. Mercantilists believed that government should both regulate and promote certain kinds of economic activity, the economy being neither self-regulating, nor capable of reaching maximum efficiency if left alone. Thus, in their struggle for independence, the Americans turned to two dubious policies: commercial warfare; and inflationary war finance.
I won't rehash the history of the depreciating Continental—which led to the confiscation of property without adequate compensation, defrauded creditors, impoverished soldiers and sailors, price controls, a larger war debt—but I will point out what Sumner so amply demonstrated in his financial history of the Revolutionary War: the commercial war harmed the Americans far more than the British.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, commercial war took the form of boycotts and embargoes. The idea was that by closing our markets to British goods, or by denying them our exports, agriculture and raw materials, we could coerce them, peacefully, into changing their policies. This policy worked only one time, helping to persuade the British to repeal the Stamp Act of 1765; but each time thereafter it was tried it only antagonized them and led to some form of retaliation. In 1774–75, on the eve of war, the Americans stood in desperate need of supplies to prepare for war, and the English offered the best goods at the best prices.
By refusing to trade, hoping to coerce the British into abandoning their own Coercive Acts, the Americans began the war suffering from a supply shortage, which only grew worse; after a few years of war, they found themselves under the necessity of trading with the enemy, which was carried on through the Netherlands and the West Indian islands of Antigua and St. Eustatius. President Jefferson's embargo of 1807–09 was a complete fiasco. Not only did it fail to accomplish its purpose of forcing the British and French to respect our neutral commerce; it devastated the
Myth #7: The Late Nineteenth Century was an Era of Laissez-Faire Capitalism
Certainly, the late nineteenth century was not an era of laissez-faire, despite the stubborn and persistent myth to the contrary. True, there were few government regulations on business, but high tariffs, railroad subsidies, and the national banking system prove that the government was no neutral bystander. Sumner more accurately termed it the era of plutocracy, in which politically organized wealth used the power of the state for selfish advantage.
He also warned, "Nowhere in the world is the danger of plutocracy as formidable as it is here." For these indiscretions, the manufacturing and bond-holding hierarchy tried to get him kicked out of Yale, where they thought he was poisoning the minds of their sons with free trade heresies. Only during two periods since 1776 has the government mostly left the economy alone: during the early years of the federal republic; and in the two decades previous to the Civil War. The political economist Condy Raguet called the first period of economic freedom, from 1783 to1807, "the golden age" of the republic: Trade was free, taxes were low, money was sound, and Americans enjoyed more economic freedom than any other people in the world. Sumner thought the years from 1846 to1860—the era of the independent treasury, falling tariffs, and gold money—was the true "golden age."
(Historians consider the presidents during this last period—Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan—as among the worst we have ever had. Yet, from 1848–1860, the country was at peace, the economy prosperous, taxes low, money hard, and the national debt was shrinking. This tells us how historians define political greatness.
Myth #8: Business Corporations Favor a Policy of Laissez-Faire
Never in the history of our country have corporations, Wall Street financiers, bond holders, and other large capitalists, as a class or interest, favored a policy of economic liberty and nonintervention by government. They have always favored some form of mercantilism. It is surely significant that the second Republican Party, founded in
The merchants and ship-owners of maritime New England put up a good fight for free trade and sound money in the early years of the republic, and the New York City bankers in the nineteenth century were conservative Democrats who supported free trade, low taxes, sound money, and the gold standard. But these were exceptions. Consider the testimony of William Simon, who was Secretary of the Treasury under Nixon:
I watched with incredulity as businessmen ran to the government in every crisis, whining for handouts or protection from the very competition that has made this system so productive. I saw Texas ranchers, hit by drought, demanding government-guaranteed loans; giant milk cooperatives lobbying for higher price supports; major airlines fighting deregulation to preserve their monopoly status; giant companies like Lockheed seeking federal assistance to rescue them from sheer inefficiency; bankers, like David Rockefeller, demanding government bailouts to protect them from their ill-conceived investments; network executives, like William Paley of CBS, fighting to preserve regulatory restrictions and to block the emergence of competitive cable and pay TV.
And always, such gentlemen proclaimed their devotion to free enterprise and their opposition to arbitrary intervention into our economic life by the state. Except, of course, for their own case, which was always unique and which was justified by their immense concern for the public interest.
During the nineteenth century, those who clamored loudest and most effectively for government intervention in the economy were businessmen; of course farmers sometimes did so as well. Businessmen sought promotional policies in the form of protective tariffs, a national bank, and public funding of "internal improvements," such as turnpikes, bridges, and canals. By the 1820s, proponents of this program called it "the American System," with Senator Henry Clay of
The American System was an egregious form of redistributive special-interest politics. It enriched
At the time, Raguet calculated that the average American worked one month a year just to pay the tariff. To his readers, who paid no direct federal taxes at all, nor any excise taxes, this figure was shocking. In 1830, tax-freedom day was the first of February; today it is in June, rendering our tax burden five times greater.
Another income transfer was affected by the vicious banking system of the time, under which incorporated bankers, without capital, charged interest for lending out pieces of paper and deposit credit, which cost them nothing except the cost of printing. Some libertarians have contended that this was the era of free banking. It was nothing of the sort. Bankers were protected under the shield of limited liability and, during financial panics and bank runs, by special laws authorizing the suspension of specie payments—when they refused their contractual obligation to pay specie for their notes.
And their paper was accepted by the federal and state governments; whether one was buying land, paying import duties, purchasing a bond, or buying bank stock, for the government, bank paper was as good as gold. These plutocratic measures thus effected a redistribution of wealth, long before the emergence of socialism. Sumner said that the plutocrats of his own postbellum era (manufacturers, railroad barons, national bankers, and federal bond holders) were "simply trying to do what the generals, nobles, and priests have done in the past—get the power of the State into their hands, so as to bend the rights of others to their own advantage." The plutocrats of today are still at it, even more successfully, with almost no opposition.
Myth #9: Hamilton Was Great
Another myth is that the financial genius and economic statesmanship of Alexander Hamilton saved the credit of the infant
Sumner's concise and devastating biography of that vainglorious popinjay, written over a hundred years ago, remains the best. He closely studied Hamilton's letters and writings, including the big three—his Report on the Public Credit (1790), Report on a National Bank (1790), and Report on Manufactures (1791)—and came to three conclusions: first, the New Yorker had never read Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), the most important economic treatise written in the Anglo-American world in that period; second, he was a mercantilist, who would have been quite at home serving in the ministry of Sir Robert Walpole or Lord North; and third, Hamilton believed many things that are not true—that federal bonds were a form of capital; that a national debt was a national blessing; that the existence of banks increased the capital of the country; that foreign trade drained a country of its wealth, unless it resulted in a trade surplus; and that higher taxes were a spur to industry and necessary because Americans were lazy and enjoyed too much leisure.
The idea here was that if you taxed Americans more, they would have to work harder to maintain their standard of living, thus increasing the gross product of the country and providing the government with more revenue to spend on grand projects and military adventures.
Myth #10: Agrarianism or Industrialism: We Must Choose
Historians teach that Americans in the 1790s and 1800s had two economic choices—Hamilton and the Federalists who believed in sound money, banking, manufacturing, and economic progress, and the Jeffersonians who believed in inflation, agrarianism, and stasis. This is a gross simplification. Not all Federalists were Hamiltonian; many despised him.
Hence, to expand trade, it should fight protectionist powers and hostile trading blocs, acquire more agricultural land through purchase or war, and, after obtaining the requisite amendment, fund the construction of internal improvements to foster the movement of agricultural produce to the seaports.
Thus, Jefferson authored the Louisiana Purchase, the Tripolitan War, the Embargo; and his chosen successor, James Madison, the War of 1812, all designed to fulfill this agrarian vision. As president,
Why Not Freedom?
Besides industrialism and agrarianism, there was a third position—call it liberalism, or laissez-faire—which maintained that the government should promote neither manufacturing nor agriculture, but leave both alone, to prosper or not, expand or recede, according to the unerring guides of profitability, utility, individual choice, and economic law. Inspired by the writings of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, but even more those of the French radical school of Turgot, Say, and de Tracy, whose mottos laissez nous faire (leave the people alone) and ne trop gouverneur (do not govern too much) captured the essence of good government.
Outstanding representatives of this liberal philosophy were the young Daniel Webster, who made his reputation for oratory with fiery speeches on behalf of free trade, hard money, and state rights as a New Hampshire congressman, and the great John Randolph of Virginia, who broke with Jefferson over the embargo and opposed the War of 1812, losing his seat as a consequence, and Condy Raguet, the influential political economist, who was the first American to develop a monetary theory of the business cycle, which he did in response to the panic of 1819. Laissez-faire was the cause of those who opposed plutocracy and supported the people. It represented both the moral high ground and sound economic reasoning.
When he was writing his masterful History of American Currency, Sumner grappled with the question of how
In other words, the country was so productive that the losses engendered by these excesses were quickly made up. He went on: "We often boast of the resources of our country, but we did not make the country. What ground is there for boasting here?
The question for us is: What have we made of it? No one can justly appreciate the natural resources of this country until, by studying the deleterious effects of bad currency and bad taxation, he has formed some conception of how much, since the first settlers came here, has been wasted and lost."
The unseen again. Let us begin with geography and resources, to which Sumner alludes. The lower 48 states are entirely in the temperate zone. Apart from the desert states of the southwest, all receive ample rainfall. Most of the land is fertile, and it is abundant. The country teems with natural resources.
Then there are the people. Until very recently, the United States enjoyed a low density of population, which meant high wages and low land prices. And for centuries, the population has been one of the hardest working in the world, creating an infrastructure to build on. Then there is the culture. Largely because of the influence of Christianity, the debilitating sin of envy has no social standing here, unlike the
Also, for the same reason, there is little bribery, which also impedes growth. Finally, there is the tradition of law, respect for private property, tradition of profit, and contractual freedom. These institutions—and not the fallacious ideas, corrupt institutions, and bad policies named above—form the core of American prosperity.


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PORTLAND, Ore. – Sixteen days before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and nearly 2,900 miles away, an eerily similar incident occurred at the Oregon Capitol when 50 protesters breached the building — where lawmakers were working — and clashed with law enforcement.
Security video shows a Republican lawmaker, Rep. Mike Nearman, had physically opened the Capitol's door — letting protesters gain access to the building. Since then, there have been calls for Nearman, a representative from the small northwest Oregon town of Independence, to resign ahead of the upcoming Legislative session that begins Tuesday.
"Representative Nearman put every person in the Capitol in serious danger," Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek said. "As we tragically saw last week during the insurrection at the United States Capitol, the consequences could have been much worse had law enforcement not stepped in so quickly. I believe he should resign immediately."
The incident occurred during a one-day special session on Dec. 21, as Oregon lawmakers met to discuss and pass four bills mainly related to coronavirus relief. The Capitol was closed to the public because of the pandemic.
Tensions rose outside the building, as more than 100 far-right protesters opposing statewide COVID-19 restrictions gathered. Some toted guns, carried Trump flags, chanted for the arrest of Gov. Kate Brown and assaulted reporters as they tried to force their way into the building by breaking glass doors.
Based on security video, Nearman, 56, walked out of a side door of the Capitol building, where two protesters stood. Nearman pushed the door all the way open and moved out of the way as a protester carrying a flag with stars, stripes and a Punisher logo rushed into the building, catching a second door that also electronically locks.
Another protester held the outside door as both waved for others to follow them. Within 30 seconds, officers rushed into the vestibule, pushed out the protesters and tried to close the door, but they were unsuccessful. As officers and protesters gathered, chemical spray was used by both sides and police officers reported not being able to see clearly before they ceded the area.
The intruders faced officers and chanted "enemies of the state" for an hour before police were able to clear the area, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
"They were focused on disrupting the proceedings, not unlike what happened in our nation's Capitol," Kotek said.
At least five people were arrested, including one man who state police say sprayed bear mace at officers.
The legal consequences that Nearman, one of the chamber's most conservative Republicans, might face are still unfolding as state police investigate his actions and the Legislative Equity Office discusses if they will pursue further disciplinary actions.
"If the investigation finds that actions taken were criminal, legislators are not above the law and will be held responsible," Rep. Christine Drazan, leader of the House Republican Caucus, said in a statement. "As we affirm the need for due process and the right of the public to fully engage in the work of the Legislature, we commit to protect public safety and hold accountable those who would willfully undermine that commitment."
In the meantime Kotek has stripped Nearman of his committee assignments, rescinded his commission appointments and will bill him $2,000 for damage done after he let people inside, according to the news release.
Nearman has agreed to forfeit a badge granting access to the Capitol, give 24-hours notice before arriving there, and not allow "non-authorized personnel" access to the building. Nearman read those terms Monday on the House floor.
Nearman issued a statement Tuesday in which he said that he has received "criticism, attacks at my home and threats" since the incident. In the statement, Nearman did not apologize for his actions.
"After several terms in the legislature, I've grown thick skin -- and while nobody likes to be called names and described in profane language -- I can handle it as part of the job that I do," Nearman said.
The lawmaker went on to say that Kotek had subjected him to "mob justice."
"As the Speaker pretends to know my motivations, I will guess at some of hers," Nearman said. "The fact that she was in possession of a video for sixteen days, and only chose to reveal the video and implicate me on the day after an ugly mob descended on the Capitol in Washington, DC, tells me that her motivations are about politics and not about safety."
Nearman has been a vocal opponent to the statewide COVID-19 restrictions, which have been described as the strictest in the country. As part of that, Nearman has urged Capitol leadership to open the building to the public, which he repeated in his statement.
"I don't condone violence nor participate in it," the statement said.
On Monday, lawmakers gathered at the state Capitol building, under a heavy police presence, to swear in reelected and newly elected legislators. Officers and police stationed on the Capitol mall carefully monitored all vehicles arriving in the area. Inside, state police stood by the entrances and checked the identity of those entering the building.
The Oregon State Police said they were aware of further "rumors that armed groups are considering taking over and/or occupying the State Capitols" and are monitoring "several possible events" ahead of the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20.
Brown has activated the Oregon National Guard because of possible violence at the state Capitol and elsewhere. Oregon State Police said the National Guard would be used as necessary and its deployment locations wouldn't be made public.

subset: commoncrawl


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Beast Quest Review
Harry from Pocket Gamer pulls on a blue jumper, grabs a slightly ineffectual sword, and has a wander through this third-person Infinity Blade-style adventure. But what does he find? He finds some crabs. And a dragon. And then some more crabs. And some fish head people. Cool, right? Eh.…Watch The Video Review
Rail Rush Review
There's something inherently enjoyable about mine cart rides in videogames. From Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to Donkey Kong Country, they remain a memorable part of those titles. Wait, did I say enjoyable? I must have meant hair-tearingly frustrating. Well luckily Rail Rush isn't that psychotic. I mean it eventually becomes that way the longer you play for, but being in the same vain as Temple Run, this sort of exponential difficulty is expected. The formula here is pretty st…Watch The Video Review
Unlock Review
Have you ever sat down in a restaurant or entered a game shop and there were those clumped puzzles sitting there made out of wood or metal that required you to play around, trying to separate the pieces from each other? Unlock by Miniclip is a virtual representation of that concept. Each level has two or more blocks of varying shape melded together, and by rotating the puzzle, it's up to the player to take the pieces apart and free the monster from his cage. Taking the pieces apart is…Watch The Video Review
Extreme Skater Review
I guess there comes a point in any skateboarder's life when all the skate parks, half pipes, ramps, and grind rails just don't shine with the challenge of excitement that once was. One lucky skater was in the forest when a crystallized meteor crashed, not only giving him super powers, but converting the landscape into the extreme skate park of his dreams. Welcome to Extreme Skater. Each level is an obstacle course that ends with your skater reaching a chunk of crystal. The game starts…Watch The Video Review
Hambo Review
Those familiar with Miniclip's earlier titles will be right at home with their latest cartoony puzzler, Hambo. In a way it's an extension of games like Fragger, tasking you with pulling off complicated shots by exploiting simplified physics, but this time the task is a little more personal than a grenade. Not by much though - instead of lobbing an explosive over a wall, you're more often tasked with shooting a bullet directly at your piggy enemies. Velocity isn't necessarily important…Watch The Video Review
Super Cyclone Review
Oops, we seem to have stumbled upon another twin stick shooter. Luckily for us, not only is Super Cyclone well made, but as you would hope of every addition to the genre, it adds a couple neat little things to the standard 'fly around and blast stuff' gameplay. First off, the controls are nice and responsive. The ship has a tight turn to it, but this never leaves you without an evasive escape opportunity when the enemy ships come. The goal of each level is to defend the stargate from…Watch The Video Review
Monster Island Review
One has to wonder when the gameplay concept of flinging a creature across an oddly shaped level in order to destroy other creatures who are minding their own business becomes stale. It doesn't look like that scenario is upon us anytime soon however since Monster Island calls on the inspiration of Miniclip's earlier title Fragger to deliver a fun physics based flinger. So it seems that there are some monsters enjoying the monster-y good life on their monster island. Then some monster t…Watch The Video Review
iStunt 2 - Snowboard Review
Although Winter may be coming to an end, there's no reason to pack in your hopes for enjoying the snow slopes with a bit of snowboarding action thanks to iStunt 2 by Miniclip. Although I should point out that anyone trying to perform the stunts in this game in real life should probably be committed, but hey... what's to stop someone from accidentally inventing a gravity reversing machine in the process. While the early levels of the 42 currently available set a fairly relaxed and mayb…Watch The Video Review
Gravity Guy Review
It's safe to say that we've been here before, what with the running and the gravity flipping and the crazy level designs, but Gravity Guy by Miniclip takes a different approach to the gameplay, opting to challenge players to increasingly insane platforming challenges instead of relying on racing or beating set times to proceed. There are 30 levels in total over three worlds to conquer, however the game's story mode throws out the traditional requirements of jumping back and forth betw…Watch The Video Review
Fragger Review
By popular demand (and because I can't believe AppSpy hasn't reviewed it already), I've finally delved the depths of Fragger by Miniclip and all we can say is that it's better to be late to the party then to never arrive. Fragger takes its own spin on the physics puzzler by challenging players to use their grenades in clever ways to bypass the defenses of their enemies. It's almost scary just how quickly I managed to slip in to and feel comfortable with the game's throwing controls. A…Watch The Video Review


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"This individual showed grievous disregard for wildlife laws, a considerable lack of ethics and he never expressed remorse."
— Lead investigator Bailey Franklin, district wildlife manager in Meeker, about the sentencing of a Meeker man convicted of six Lacey Act felony violations.
A Meeker resident convicted of six felony violations of the Lacey Act was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, 72, owner of D&S Outfitters in Meeker, was sentenced to serve 41 months in federal prison, pay $37,390 in restitution to the state of Colorado, and forfeit two all-terrain vehicles and a trailer used in the commission of his crimes, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife news release.
The sentence was the culmination of a more than eight-year investigation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials.
"This individual showed grievous disregard for wildlife laws, a considerable lack of ethics and he never expressed remorse," said lead investigator Bailey Franklin, district wildlife manager in Meeker, in the release. "It took tremendous resources and man-hours to bring him to justice and we are very satisfied with the sentence."
In September 2012 a federal jury found Rodebaugh guilty of six Lacey Act violations, a federal law that prohibits the transport of illegally taken animals across state lines.
Rodebaugh used salt to bait big game animals to three tree stands in the White River National Forest, where he would take his out-of-town clients. Baiting big game is illegal in Colorado.
In addition to prison and restitution, Rodebaugh was ordered to shut down his outfitting business and pay for the reclamation of approximately 40 sites in the White River National Forest where salt he used caused damage to the environment.
Rodebaugh also has to present himself before a hearing of state wildlife officials, where he could receive a lifetime suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado and 37 cooperating states, according to the release.
"This individual risked the health of wildlife and caused damage to their habitat," said Ron Velarde, northwest regional manager of Parks and Wildlife. "He willfully violated numerous laws and placed his clients in legal jeopardy. Our officers worked very hard to solve this case and we believe justice was served."
But justice wouldn't have been served without the public's help, Velarde said in the release.
To report a possible wildlife violation, contact a local Colorado Parks and Wildlife office or Operation Game Thief at 800-265-6648. Rewards are available for tips that lead to an arrest or citation.
For more information about Operation Game ThiefOperation Game Thief, visit Parks and Wildlife online., visit Parks and Wildlife online.
Operation Game Thief, visit Parks and Wildlife online.
Joe Moylan can be reached at 875-1794 or email@example.com.
Joe Moylan can be reached at 875-1794 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Joe Moylan can be reached at 875-1794 or email@example.com.


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Confirmed: 2016 Nissan Titan Debuts in Detroit -- What to Expect
What Else We Know and Think We Know
Related Video
With the sheets being pulled off the 2015 Ford F-150 at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon also being fully revealed, it's easy to think that all the truck news is out of the bag for the year. For the latter half of its epic decade-long model run, the Nissan Titan has all but fallen off the radar of fullsize truck shoppers and has the sales figures to reflect it. But Nissan hasn't given up on the segment, or the Titan, and is poised to re-enter the market in a major way with the 2016 Nissan Titan. We now have official confirmation from our source on the ground in Nashville that the new Titan will be officially revealed at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Besides its reveal date, we rounded up the latest intel and projections we have for the truck.
Powertrain: The current Titan has just one engine option, the same one it's had since its debut: the 5.6L Endurance V-8 mated to a five-speed automatic. We expect the new Titan to have at least three engine options: an entry-level gas V-6, an updated version of the 5.6L, and the optional 5.0L Cummins V-8 diesel that's been previously announced. Both of the gas engines will probably be mated to a version of the Jatco JR711E 7-speed automatic currently in use in the global Patrol SUV, sold in the U.S. as the Infiniti QX80. One or both of the gas engines may get direct-injection to improve power, torque, and fuel economy. There's a good chance the gas V-8 will be the VK56VD direct-injected V-8 used in the QX80. In that application, it produces 400 hp and 413 lb-ft. Stout numbers that would put it ahead of the current Tundra and ahead of all domestic half-ton V-8s save for GM's 6.2L EcoTec3 at 420 hp and 460 lb-ft.
The new base V-6 will likely be some version of the 4.0L V-6 currently used in the Frontier and Xterra, also possibly with direct-injection. We're projecting output of around 275 hp and 300 lb-ft. The Cummins ISV will likely have a horsepower rating of around 330 hp and torque between 550-600 lb-ft. The transmission for the Cummins is unknown. It could either be a beefed-up version of the JR711E or a licensed model from ZF. The ZF 8HP-series longitudinal transmissions have a torque capacity of up to 738 lb-ft, which should more than accommodate the Cummins' substantial torque.
Configurations: The current Titan is offered in King (extended) and Crew Cabs, with a long-bed option added in 2008 in a mid-cycle refresh, but it has never offered a regular cab. Regular cabs represent a relatively small slice of overall half-ton sales, but the configuration remains popular among fleet buyers looking for a low-cost, bare-bones work truck. Expect three cab configurations and as many as three bed lengths for the new Titan. Naturally, four-wheel drive will be an option, and we expect a properly geared low range, as is the class norm. Expect the normal SV and SL trims, as well as a Nismo trim and the continuation of the popular Pro-4X model.
Styling: The new Nissan Titan will be immediately recognizable for what it is, but expect bold, in-your-face styling to help it stand out among the crowd. The new truck shares a platform with the new NV-series fullsize vans, although it's unknown how much, if any, of the vans' styling will transition to the trucks.
Capability: A maximum towing capacity of 10,000 pounds has become the de-facto expected benchmark in the half-ton segment. The current Titan has a maximum capacity of 9,500 pounds, so a healthy bump above the five-figure mark for the new Titan is a safe bet. Equipped with the Cummins, expect a max towing figure of up to 12,000 pounds or more. The Titan may be the first "tweener" truck on the market that straddles the half and three-quarter ton categories.
Pricing: The Nissan Titan has always been priced competitively, but much of that has stemmed from generous rebates to move the dated model off lots against newer competitors. Pricing will probably be in line with competitors, with the base models starting in the mid-to-high 20s and fully loaded diesel crew cabs going for well into the $50,000+ range.
Sean Holman contributed to this report.


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MONDAY, Oct. 17, 2011 (HealthDay News) -- How well you fare after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery may depend on your blood type, a new study finds.
Patients with AB blood type are 20 percent less likely to die after heart bypass surgery than those with A, B or O blood types, Duke University Medical Center researchers found.
Nearly half the population has type O blood and may be at greater risk for bleeding and blood transfusions after surgery, the researchers said.
The findings from more than 15,000 patients were scheduled for presentation Monday at the American Society of Anesthesiologists' meeting in Chicago.
The reason for the differences in risk could be two proteins in the blood responsible for clotting, the von Willebrand factor (vWF) and Factor VIII (FVIII).
The gene that passes on group O is associated with lower levels of these clotting proteins, explained lead author Dr. Ian J. Welsby and colleagues in a society news release.
A person's blood type is determined by two genes, one from each parent. People with type O blood have two O genes. Some patients have one A or B gene and one O gene (AO and BO), which confer medium levels of the clotting proteins. People with AB blood type have no O genes and the highest level of clotting proteins.
This study found that patients with AB blood have the lowest risk for bleeding after CABG surgery, but further investigation is needed to determine the order of risk for patients with other blood types and whether boosting their vWF levels will improve their outcomes after heart surgery, the researchers said.
Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, experts say.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about coronary artery bypass graft surgery.


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Minors up to age of 17 to be brought in "with dignity and respect" at taxpayer expense
Entitled 'Escort Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children', the solicitation reads;
ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is seeking the services of a responsible vendor that shares the philosophy of treating all UAC with dignity and respect, while adhering to standard operating procedures and policies that allow for an effective, efficient, and incident free transport. The Contractor shall provide unarmed escort staff, including management, supervision, manpower, training, certifications, licenses, drug testing, equipment, and supplies necessary to provide on-demand escort services for non-criminal/non-delinquent unaccompanied alien children ages infant to 17 years of age, seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year. Transport will be required for either category of UAC or individual juveniles, to include both male and female juveniles. There will be approximately 65,000 UAC in total: 25% local ground transport, 25% via ICE charter and 50% via commercial air.
The post does not explain how ICE arrived at the figure of 65,000 children, nor does it clear up why 50% of the illegal minors are arriving via commercial air. The DHS intends to award the chosen vendor(s) 5 year fix priced contracts.
The program to use taxpayer money to escort illegal minors into the United States dovetails with a recent Infowars exclusive concerning how South Texas Church groups are transporting countless illegals into the United States before letting them go "wherever they want to go."
Non-profit groups and churches are chauffeuring illegal immigrants from a bus station in McAllen, Texas before giving them temporary shelter and later releasing them onto the streets.
Infowars reporters witnessed children and their mothers, primarily consisting of illegals from Guatemala, being picked up throughout the day by vans marked TFC (the Family Church), before being driven to nearby facilities.
An employee of the organization admitted to Infowars that once the illegals are taken into temporary care, where they enjoy hot showers, food and a place to sleep, they are subsequently released and allowed to go "wherever they want to go."
It subsequently emerged that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol was paying for bus tickets and vouchers in order to help the illegals be transported into the country.
The revelation arrives in the aftermath of reports that the Rio Grande Valley has experienced an "endless surge" of immigrants attempting to illegally cross the border.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.


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Joule Thief
A little info on the Joule Thief for those of you that have not heard about it. In the article "One Volt LED – A Bright Light" written by Z. Kaparnik from Swindon, Wilts, UK published in the November 1999 issue of the magazine "Everyday Practical Electronics" in the section "Ingenuity Unlimited"; described how to make a "Micro-torch circuit" using a very compact high frequency, high efficiency DC-DC converter design. The circuit consisted of a hand wound micro toroid, a 10K resistor and a ZTX450 transistor. The circuit was designed to run a LED that had a forward voltage drop greater than 1.8VDC from a single cell battery (1.5VDC) and could run as low as 750mV, this meant it could run from nearly dead batteries. This circuit has been propagated, experimented with, and changed at numerous sites and discussion boards and most significantly can now run white LEDs that have forward voltages greater than 3V. Someone nicknamed the circuit "Joule Thief" and it has stuck ever since.
A Joule Thief circuit is a simple three component, low Voltage DC-DC boost converter. The circuit can run on voltages as low as 300-400mV depending on the transistor used and windings on the transformer. The output voltage and current depend on the three components used in the circuit. As a minimum the transistor must have high enough gain and should have a collect-emitter voltage rating that is well above the maximum output peak voltage on the secondary winding ( I like at least a 25% margin ). The resistor is chosen so that it limits the maximum circuit current, by limiting the current to the base of the NPN transistor. The transformer can be wound 1:1 for simple operation or can be wound with more than two coils ( A third winding may be wound to create high voltages for running EL devices, Nixie tubes, neon bulbs, etc… ).
I decided to try and experiment with this circuit myself. I have made many variations of the circuit, some that could run to voltages as low as ~350mV and still produce 12V out (not much current though with such a low input voltage). In making the circuit, I decided it would be nice to have a PCB so that I did not have worry about problems that I was having with the air wired experimental circuits. The air wired circuit had several problems due to wiring shorts or opens, and was not robust enough to carry around. I thought it would be nice to produce some kits for other experimenters so that it would be easy to assemble and not have to worry about wiring problems. Visit the products page or see Joule Thief kits here: http://www.madscientisthut.com/Shopping/agora.cgi?product=Energy%20Harvesting&user4=Joule%20Thief%20Kits
Read the rest of the Joule Thief Blog for circuits, simulations, and experiments.


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SAINT BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Langston Galloway scored 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds as Saint Joseph's put away Saint Bonaventure 83-74 on Saturday.
The Hawks (21-7, 11-3 Atlantic 10) shot 54 percent from the field and hit eight 3-pointers. DeAndre Bembry finished with 18 points and Ronald Roberts Jr. had 15 on 7-of-8 shooting.
Saint Bonaventure (16-13, 6-9) shot 42.6 percent and went 4 of 13 from deep. Matthew Wright paced the Bonnies with 27 points. Marquise Simmons contributed 13 points and Charlon Kloof added 11 with five assists.
Saint Joseph's led by 11 at the midway mark in the first half, but the Bonnies surged back to make it a five-point game at the half and pushed into the lead early in the second half. A 10-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Isaiah Miles put the Hawks back in control, 70-59 with 5:57 remaining.


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If you have ever taken your monitor outside, you know that it is hard to see it clearly with all the light that is bouncing around. And even more so on a sunny day on a sunny location. Of course, you could always buy one of them Monitor Hoods. but it would be so nice to make one of your own. Especially when it only takes a few minutes and costs almost nothing.
In this tutorial, Roger Sacul will show us how to make a quick and simple DIY monitor hood. The one here is used on flat screens, but you can also use it for laptops, or build smaller version for camera hoods.
We use plastic here, which you can score at the local art store (ask for plastic sheet) or home depot (ask for plexi) but you can use foamboard if you want something more. hmm. quicky.
1. First we need to create a scheme. This is a quick and dirty way of doing this, so feel free to use a ruler instead ;) Download a manual for an EIZO CG241W [pdf link] which is approx. the size of a standard monitor. Open up page 33 and rotate the site to the left/right and re-size it to size of your monitors size. Prepare an A3 or 2x A4 sheets and a blunt pencil. Now carefully place the sheet on your monitor and draw the contours of the side panel. Finally cut out the drawn side panel.
2. Now transfer the side panel onto cardboard. Place the sheet on a cardboard and draw the curve of the side panel. Use a ruler to draw the straight lines. (Of course, you can use black foamboard that you have left from previous projects ;) and save a few steps, but if you want the full thing, it does not really matter what you use now.
3. Now cut out the whole thing.
4. Place the cardboard on a material which you want to use. I bought a 100x50cm piece of plastic in at a local home depot. Draw the side lines onto the plastic an cut it out really slowly and carefully using a cutter or/and a jigsaw.
5. Round off the edges with an smooth abrasive paper. Cut an L shape plastic bar to the size of the upper side of the panel and stick them together as shown above
6. Cut a little piece (approx. 2cm) of the L shape plastic bar and stick it to the side panel
7. The top part should be the length of your monitor. If you use a monitor calibrator like a datacolor spyder or colormunki you will need to cut out a hole right in the center of the edge
8. Place 1 or 2 pieces of velcro on the L shaped bar which will be placed as seen in below pictures. Remember if you use a monitor calibrator you can't place the velcro in the center, that's why I used 2 of them
This is how the hood looks when completed, the numbers correspond to the steps above.
Here is how it looks like completed. A very nice and 100% pro looking hood.


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Fall 2013 shoes: Our running gallery of the most covetable styles of the runway season
See our favourite shoes from Fall 2013 »
Forget diamonds, everybody knows that shoes are a girl's best friend. As the Fall 2013 trends begin to emerge, so too do the must-have heels, boots and flats of the season. This round of fashion week has brought with it oodles of new shoe trends to look out for. From strappy suede booties to architectural high heels, the New York, London, Milan and soon-to-be Paris runways are filled with quirky designs that can certainly be the finishing touch on any outfit.
So far, many designers are reinventing old classics and updating them with modern details. Case in point: high-heeled loafers, seen at Mulberry, Rag & Bone and Moschino, which gave a new feminine twist to menswear's most classic shoe by using fresh yellows, and unexpected patterns. Speaking of unexpected combinations, one of the most unusual footwear trends is the emerging sandal-boot. Open-toe booties are nothing new, but this time designers such as Prada have created a boot customized with cutouts around the sides and front of the shoe.
Meanwhile, the standard fall footwear options still remain (knee high at Theyskens Theory, lace-up booties at Rodarte, etc.), but new patterns and shapes make for an interesting new new look for Fall 2013.
Throughout the season, we will be updating this gallery with the best shoes from the runways, so be sure to keep checking back! In the meantime, click through the gorgeous shoes that already have us anticipating the Fall 2013 fashion season.


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Venus transit in Paris, during a EU-HOU training session
During the European Comenius training session for teachers at Univ. Pierre & Marie Curie in Paris (4-8th June 2012), a group of motivated teachers and trainers went observing the transit of Venus at the top floor (24th floor) of the Zamansky tower, in the Jussieu campus. Unfortunately, the weather was not good enough to see the Sun. Nevertheless, watching the Sun rising over Paris was a beautiful moment, and we did have a great time :)
The transit of Venus is the passage of Venus across the Solar disc. It was expected in Paris between 5:50 (hours of sunrise in local time) and 6:40 (time of last contact). To be observable from Earth, the Sun, Venus and Earth should be in a particular configuration, which happens very rarely on the scale of a human life. Indeed, the next transit will not occur again before December 11, 2117.
The team included representatives of France, Italy, Portugal and UK!
The cloudy sky before sunrise, around 5h30 (local time).
5h50 (local time): The Sun rises behind the clouds
All waiting for the sky to clear a bit more....
Finally, we did observe Venus! But on a cell phone via a streaming video uploaded by NASA....


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The kidney is a noble creature, best known for its extremely overactive bladder and strange breeding habits. In fact, the urine of this creature is so strong it is classified as a WMD, and all Kidney breeding grounds and habitats are closely monitored by the CIA, the FBI, and a militant branch of the PETA, founded by Albert Einstein. Kidneys excrete small, round Kidney Beans usually once a week which dissolve if not treated properally. If buried in soft peat and watered with warm Pepsi, the kidney beans will grow into a Kidney Beanstalk, on which baby Kidneys grow.
There are 36 different kinds of Kidneys, ranging from the Blue-breasted Titular Kidney to the Brownnoser Kidney of Locust Grove, Georgia. They are normally distinguished by the differing properties of their urine and the color of a small appendage on the top of their head called the "peenous". For example, the most common type of Kidney, the Pissdrinker, has a red colored peenous and extremely acidic urine (-2 on the pH scale).
Kidneys are present on every continent, and Micronesia (a small island in the middle of the Pacific approximately 10 square feet in size). This island is believed to be, simultaneously, the originating place of the Kidney species, Atlantis, the underground base of Blargoth the Flatulant, and a nuclear weapons testing ground. On any given day at least one of these are true.
There are 4 zoos known to hold a Kidney in captivity. These are the London Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo, the Berlin Zoo, and the Tokyo Zoo. They are often the target of terrorist attacks, and protests by a crazed man with a ballpoint pen called himself Lord Penn. The Center for Disease Control has a few as well, though no one knows why because there is no recorded Kidney that shoots viral urine. In actuality, it's the pet of the lead researcher, who is Bill Cosby in disguise.
A wild Kidney usually eats the feces of any large, mindless mammal, such as Flesh Eating Bovines, elephants, polar bears, and Tom Clancy. Those in captivity have to settle for artificial feces, which is usually made from crushed-up recorded speeches by political candidates. However, they also partake in finer foods, include toxic waste and Rosie O'Donnell's body fat. They also have an intuitive understanding of French cuisine, which they use to make the stuff smell good.


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Free preventive care also provided to 32.5 million in Medicare
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–February 15, 2012. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the Affordable Care Act provided approximately 54 million Americans with at least one new free preventive service in 2011 through their private health insurance plans. Secretary Sebelius also announced that an estimated 32.5 million people with Medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011, including the new Annual Wellness Visit, since the health reform law was enacted.
Together, this means an estimated 86 million Americans were helped by health reform's prevention coverage improvements. The new data were released in two new reports from HHS.
"Americans of all ages can now get the preventive services they need, like mammograms and the new Annual Wellness Visit, free of charge, as a result of the new health care law," Secretary Sebelius said. "With more people taking advantage of these benefits, more lives can be saved, and costly, and often burdensome, diseases can be prevented or caught earlier."
The Affordable Care Act requires many insurance plans to provide coverage without cost sharing to enrollees for a variety of preventive health services, such as colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears and mammograms for women, well-child visits, and flu shots for all children and adults. The law also makes proven preventive services free for most people on Medicare.
The report on private health insurance coverage also examined the expansion of free preventive services in minority populations. The results showed that an estimated 6.1 million Latinos, 5.5 million Blacks, 2.7 million Asian Americans and 300,000 Native Americans with private insurance received expanded preventive benefits coverage in 2011 as a result of the new health care law.
The report discussing Medicare preventive services found that more than 25.7 million Americans in traditional Medicare received free preventive services in 2011. The report also looked at Medicare Advantage plans and found that 9.3 million Americans – 97 percent of those in individual Medicare Advantage plans – were enrolled in a plan that offered free preventive services. Assuming that people in Medicare Advantage plans utilized preventive services at the same rate as those with traditional Medicare, an estimated 32.5 million people benefited from Medicare's coverage of prevention with no cost sharing.
The full report on expanded preventive benefits in private health insurance is available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/PreventiveServices/ib.shtml. The report on expanded preventive benefits in Medicare and other ways that the Affordable Care Act strengthens Medicare is available at http://www.cms.gov/newsroom/.
Source: hhs.gov


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Yi Yuechun, deputy chief engineer of HydroChina, an institution commissioned by the National Energy Administration (NEA) to map China's offshore wind power development, said that even installing the offshore wind projects already approved by the NEA by 2015 looked to be a challenge.
"Even if China could construct the 3.95GW approved by NEA for preliminary preparations by 2015, China is barely able to complete the 5GW goal by that time," Yi said at the Offshore Wind China 2013 conference.
Thwarted ambitions
Despite having a 5GW target for offshore wind in its current five-year plan (2011-2015), by the end of 2012, China had only installed 389.6MW offshore wind capacity, 127MW of which was installed last year. However, even though this is the third largest capacity in the world after the UK and Denmark, it is well short of the 2015 target and a 2030 target of 30GW — and much of it comes from inter-tidal projects rather than real offshore wind farm.
The relatively slow progress, when compared to its huge 71GW onshore capacity, is being blamed on a feed-in tariff (FiT) for offshore that developers say has been set too low.
In September 2010, the NEA organised a public bidding for four offshore wind projects, totalling 1GW, in Yancheng, in east China's Jiangsu province. However, construction of the four projects has not started. These delays have been blamed on rows between political departments over the use of the sea, but also on the level of the FIT.
The bid-winning FITs for the four concession projects in Yancheng range from CNY 0.62 to CNY 0.74 ($0.10-0.12) per kilowatt hour, approaching the highest benchmark FITs for onshore wind projects. But considering the high construction and maintenance costs for offshore projects, believed to be double those for onshore wind projects, wind developers claim they have no way to make profits.
"The bid-winning feed-in tariffs are too low," said Feng Xuepei, deputy general manager of the project development department of Shenhua Guohua Energy Investment.
"We are unsure whether and when to make profits. This partly explains why few companies are eager to develop offshore wind projects after the public tender."
Meanwhile, demonstration offshore wind projects, such as Longyuan Power's 150MW inter-tidal wind farm in Rudong, Jiangsu province, enjoy varying but slightly higher FITs.
In response to developers' concerns, NEA deputy minister Liu Qi said China is accelerating the pace of studying and establishing a benchmark FIT for offshore wind projects. However, he did not give an exact timetable.
Bai Jianhua, deputy chief engineer of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, said the FIT policy should set the tariff at a higher rate to stimulate faster development of offshore wind power in China. It is expected offshore wind developers will need a FIT of at least CNY 1.0/kwh to ensure profits.
Eastern China a priority
While developers await a higher FIT rate, the NEA has mapped scaled development plans of offshore wind power for the future, if the present demonstration offshore projects go well. Priority will be given to the eastern provinces of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hebei and Shandong. The NEA also stipulated that eastern Zhejiang province, south-eastern Fujian province, southern Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces, and northern Liaoning province will also be given powers to speed up offshore wind planning and project construction.
To date, NEA has approved 17 offshore wind projects, totalling 3.95GW in Hebei, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces. In addition, 28 offshore projects are under preparations to win NEA approval, totalling 8.5GW.
Offshore turbines
If these areas can speed up development, aided by a higher FIT rate, then offshore wind represents a potential CNY 100 billion ($16 billion) market for turbine manufacturers.
In China's existing offshore wind farms, turbines — each larger than 2MW — are largely supplied by Sinovel, Goldwind and Siemens. Sinovel and Siemens turbines are mainly installed in offshore projects, while Goldwind turbines are used in inter-tidal projects.
Looking ahead, Sinovel, Guodian United Power, Dongfang Electric, XEMC and CSIC Chongqing Haizhuang have all produced 5MW or 6MW prototypes.
Sinovel has also begun developing a 10MW turbine, which Sinovel chief engineer Chen Danghui said had reached the midway point in its development.


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Thomas Hunter, ex-vet nicknamed Rambo, pleads not guilty in plot to kill DEA agent
A former U.S. solder nicknamed Rambo pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges he plotted with phony Colombian drug traffickers to kill a federal agent for $800,000.
Joseph Hunter, stocky and wearing a wrinkled gray prison jumpsuit, was held after the brief appearance in federal court in Manhattan. His lawyer declined to comment.
An indictment unsealed Friday described the 48-year-old Hunter as a contract killer and leader of a trio of former soldiers who were trained snipers. Hunter, a resident of Thailand, was flown Friday evening to New York after he was expelled from Thailand, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
Hunter was charged with conspiracy, attempting to import cocaine and plotting to kill a law enforcement agent. When asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Frank Haas about his plea, Hunter responded: "Not guilty, sir."
According to the indictment, Hunter served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 2004 before becoming a contract killer who successfully arranged several slayings outside the United States. Authorities didn't give details.
An informant within the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency posed as a drug trafficker and proposed to Hunter and his team that they kill a DEA agent and a boat captain providing information to U.S. law enforcement authorities, claiming it was necessary because there was a leak within the narcotics trafficking organization, according to the indictment.
In an email exchange, according to the indictment, Hunter responded: "My guys will handle it. ... Are you talking about both the captain and agent or just the captain?"
Audio and video recordings captured Hunter talking about "bonus jobs" of contract killings, claiming the men he recruited wanted as much work as possible, and when assassinations of a federal agent and an informant were proposed, Hunter "didn't flinch at the chance," authorities said.
Former U.S. solider Timothy Vamvakias, 42, and Dennis Gogel, 27, a German citizen, were also charged in the assassination plot. Both men pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to charges that carry the potential for life imprisonment and were held without bail.


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The accomplishments of Princeton's students were celebrated with the awarding of four undergraduate prizes at Opening Exercises Sept. 7.
"Among the qualities that matter to us at Princeton, none is more important than intellectual engagement and academic achievement," said Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel. "It is especially fitting that we begin the academic year by honoring a select group of undergraduates for extraordinary accomplishment in their programs of study."
Dan-el Padilla Peralta of New York City received the Freshman First Honor Prize, awarded each year to a sophomore in recognition of exceptional achievement during the freshman year. Peralta is a cum laude graduate of the Collegiate School in New York.
This year's George Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize went to Mihai Manea, a graduate of Colegiul "Vasile Alecsandri" in Galati, Romania. The award is given to a member of the junior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during the sophomore year.
The George Wood Legacy Junior Prize is presented each year to a member of the senior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during the junior year. This year, the prize was shared by Tudor Dimofte and Ruth Tennen. Dimofte is a graduate of Fairview High School in Fairview Park, Ohio, and Tennen is a graduate of Canton High School in Collinsville, Conn.
The recipient of this year's Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award was Andri Botelho Kurs, a graduate of the Lycee Pasteur in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The award is given to the undergraduate who, at the end of the junior year, has achieved the highest academic standing for all preceding college work at the University.
The full story is available in a news release.
Contact: Evelyn Tu (609) 258-3601


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|» Summary
|» License
|A package to interface the http:bl API of ProjectHoneyPot.org.
|The BSD License
|» Current Release
|» Bug Summary
|0.6.0 (beta) was released on 2011-11-01 by till (Changelog)
No open bugs
Report a new bug to Services_ProjectHoneyPot
|» Description
|This package is used to determine if an IP or hostname are a) a search engine, b) suspicious, c) the ip of a harvester or/and d) of a comment spammer.
|» Maintainers
|» More Information


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A new free downloadable lesson about the concept of 'pay it forward', incorporating reading, speaking, video, grammar and writing.
ELT Resourceful – Pay it Forward-Pre-Int level
ELT Resourceful – Pay it Forward-Intermediate
ELT Resourceful – Pay it Forward-Upper Int level
This lesson starts with a short reading text about a recent event at a coffee shop in Canada, where some-one's kindness in paying for the person behind them led to 288 people passing on the favour to the next in line. The lesson then uses the video above (no words, just music) to extend the idea, before focusing on defining relative clauses. There are three different versions, so that you can either choose the most appropriate for your students, or use all three with mixed level classes. The lesson rounds off by asking students to complete a story, imagining their own chain of events.


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The NFL season has officially started, so it's time to finish the impassioned season previews from various writers, bloggers, diehard fans, cooks, TV personalities, and numerous other walks of life whom consider football the only sport worth watching. Clearly, these previews will be running until, oh, the first round of the wild card playoffs based on how quickly they've been coming in. Today: The New York Jets. Your author is Thomas Roberge. Thomas Roberge is a Jets fan, but not a sports writer. He's a book review writer. Close enough.Behold the Pale Horse: The Gunslinger Brett Favre. There, I said it, got it out of the way. Henceforth he shall be referred to as the Gunslinger. When the deal went down, I was utterly confused about how to feel. I like to imagine that if I were in a bar with my whiskey-honey voiced girlfriend and the Gunslinger was sitting at the next table, I'd have this conversation: Me: And you must be Brett Favre. Look, darling, Brett Favre. The deadliest pistoleer since Wild Bill, they say. What do you think, darling? Should I hate him? Girlfriend: You don't even know him. Me: Yes, but there's just something about him. Something around the eyes, I don't know, reminds me of... me. No. I'm sure of it, I hate him. On the one hand, he holds just about every passing record there is to be held (ahem, apart from career passing accuracy, currently held by Stand Up Guy Chad Pennington). On the other hand, he's been around long enough to set just about every passing record there is. He also comes with the kind of baggage (hyperbolic accolades from the likes of Peter King, Chris Berman, and John Madden) that turns a sane fan insane. Instead of losing because Pennington/Clemens couldn't put together a fourth-quarter drive of more than nine yards, we'll lose because the Gunslinger will throw an interception fifty yards downfield. I'm withholding judgment, but I'm not optimistic. And Hell's Coming with Me: The Supporting Cast The Gunslinger's supporting cast is decent, bordering on pretty good. Blocking for him is a revamped line that features a pair of old guys no one else wanted to pay (Faneca and Woody), a pair of young guys who are still finding their footing (D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Mangold), and a man who I can only describe as serviceable (Moore). They could protect him like the Earp brothers protected Wyatt, or they could protect him like Wyatt protected his brothers. And in terms of run production it'd be almost impossible to do worse than the '07 line did (19th in the league). Thomas Jones needs to have a big year. Nothing else to say. Catching the majority of the Gunslinger's heat from his smoke wagon will be Cotchery (coming off of a career year in '07 with 82 recs and 1130 yds) and Coles (who's itching to recreate his '06 output: 91 recs, 1098 yds, and 6 TDs). Watering the horses and ducking behind whores when the shooting starts will be a converted QB with a penchant for dropping balls (Brad Smith) and a second year guy who missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury (Chansi Stuckey). Your guess about the TE situation is as good as mine: no one seems to really like Baker; Bubba Frank is old but might be rejuvenated now that the Gunslinger has rolled into town; and rookie Dustin Keller is, well, a rookie. Overall production will be up: when the Gunslinger comes to town, the local help falls in line. You're No Daisy! You're No Daisy at All: The Defense The Jets spent some serious capital in the off-season in an attempt to improve on their 18th best defense (29th against the run!), bringing in tackle Kris Jenkins and linebacker Calvin Pace, and drafting Ohio State linebacker Vernon Gholston. I'm lukewarm to all three of these potentially (probably) overrated guys, even Gholston, and I'm OSU alum. The backfield is anchored by Justin Miller and safety Kerry Rhodes, the one guy you cannot possibly find fault with if you're a Jets fan. This is a man who would accept a deputy's badge, and all of the responsibility it entails, without hesitation if you suddenly found yourself the sheriff of a small, lawless town flush with silver money and Latin-speaking outlaws. The D will improve, but the question is: how much? I boldly say: maybe enough. I'm Your Huckleberry: The Mangenius I remember thinking, shortly after the Gunslinger rode into town, that this year represents a free pass for Mangini. If the Gunslinger establishes order, it's to the Gunslinger's credit, not Mangini's. And if the Gunslinger can't hit the broad side of Ike's ten-gallon hat, it's the Gunslinger who will get strung up in the North Jersey wasteland. Sure, there will be a billion opportunities for bad coaching to cost the Jets a game, but since Herm left I barely recognize them because Mangini tends to prefer winning to conducting experiments with the notions of fluid time. Nonsense, I Have Not Yet Begun to Defile Myself: This Fan's Hopes A winning season. More TDs than INTs. Frequent utterances of "D'Brickashaw", "creating a hole", and "touchdown Jones" in rapid succession. And to never, ever see fourth-string QB Erik Ainge throw a pass. Thanks for reading (assuming you have), and thanks for the whoever backed out of doing this originally—forcing AJ to email me.
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How running an NFL team is like running a restaurant | Chef Emeril Lagasse


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Exclusive: Islamic State sanctioned organ harvesting in document taken in US raid
Islamic State has sanctioned the harvesting of human organs in a previously undisclosed ruling by the group's Islamic scholars, raising concerns that the violent extremist group may be trafficking in body parts.
The ruling, contained in a January 31, 2015 document reviewed by Reuters, says taking organs from a living captive to save a Muslim's life, even if it is fatal for the captive, is permissible.
For a U.S. government translation of the document, click here here
SEE ALSO: ISIS may be on the verge of a significant defeat
Reuters couldn't independently confirm the authenticity of the document. U.S. officials say it was among a trove of data and other information obtained by U.S. special forces in a raid in eastern Syria in May.
"The apostate's life and organs don't have to be respected and may be taken with impunity," says the document, which is in the form of a fatwa, or religious ruling, from the Islamic State's Research and Fatwa Committee.
"Organs that end the captive's life if removed: The removal of that type is also not prohibited," Fatwa Number 68 says, according to a U.S. government translation.
The document does not offer any proof that Islamic State actually engages in organ harvesting or organ trafficking. But it does provide religious sanction for doing so under the group's harsh interpretation of Islam - which is rejected by most Muslims. Previously, Iraq has accused Islamic State of harvesting human organs and trafficking them for profit.
The document does not define "apostate," though the Islamic State has killed or imprisoned non-Muslims, such as Christians, and Shiite Muslims, as well as Sunni Muslims who don't follow its extremist views.
U.S. officials say the records that were seized have given the U.S. government a deep look into how Islamic State organizes, raises funds and codifies laws for its followers.
Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohamed Ali Alhakim, told Reuters the documents should be examined by the U.N. Security Council as evidence that Islamic State could be trafficking in organs to raise cash.
The May raid in Syria, which resulted in the death of Islamic State top financial official Abu Sayyaf and the capture of his wife, netted seven terabytes of data in the form of computer hard drives, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs and papers, said Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama's Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, in an interview. Abu Sayyaf was a Tunisian militant whose real name was Fathi ben Awn ben Jildi Murad al-Tunisi.
U.S. officials have previously described the Abu Sayyaf raid and some of the documentation seized. But until now, none of the actual documents have been released - aside from materials illustrating Islamic State's trafficking in antiquities, made public at an event at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in September.
The U.S. government has shared some of the documents from the Abu Sayyaf raid with allied governments in an effort to increase their understanding of Islamic State in recent weeks as Washington works to shore up support for countering the group.
The group of documents reviewed by entitled "Lessons Learned From the Abu Sayyaf Raid" - show how the Islamic State has provided a legal justification to its followers for a range of practices.
For instance, "Fatwa Number 64" dated January 29, 2015, provides detailed rules for rape, prescribing when Islamic State men can and cannot have sexual intercourse with female slaves.
The fatwa sanctioning organ harvesting justifies the practice in part by drawing an analogy to cannibalism in extreme circumstances, a practice it says earlier Islamic scholars had allowed. "A group of Islamic scholars have permitted, if necessary, one to kill the apostate in order to eat his flesh, which is part of benefiting from his body," it says.
McGurk said Islamic State's Research and Fatwa Committee reports directly to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The ruling on organ harvesting cites Islamic texts, principles and laws that it says support what it calls "the notion that transplanting healthy organs into a Muslim person's body in order to save the latter's life or replace a damaged organ with it is permissible."
Senior U.S. officials, including McGurk, said they have not been able to ascertain whether the Islamic State had followed through on the fatwa on organ harvesting.
The document provides "a religious justification for harnessing the organs of what they call infidels," he said.
William McCants, a Brookings Institution scholar who is author of the book "The ISIS Apocalypse," said the group's ruling on slavery and human organs don't represent modern Islamic interpretations.
In February, Alhakim, had urged the U.N. Security Council to investigate the deaths of 12 doctors in the Islamic State-held city of Mosul. Alhakim said the doctors were killed after refusing to remove organs.
The U.N. special envoy for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said at the time that he could not confirm the claim, but it would be investigated. The U.N. has not provided an update on that investigation, which Alhakim said he would ask the Security Council to revisit.
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When Arrow returns on Wednesday (8/7c on The CW), it will do so without its hero. In the wake of the Undertaking — in which an earthquake machine leveled half of The Glades — Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) has retreated to his own sanctuary ... and we're not talking about the Foundry. The emerald archer has ditched his hood for the safety of Lian Yu, the island where Oliver was marooned for five years of his life. Exclusive: Arrow boss sets the record straight on Black Canary casting It won't be long, however, before Oliver is pulled back into the world of Starling City, where his family name is now synonymous with mass murder. Will Oliver be able to be the hero that the ravaged city needs? Who might stand in his way? TVGuide.com caught up with executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrews Kreisberg to get the scoop on Season 2:
When Arrowreturns on Wednesday (8/7c on The CW), it will do so without its hero. In the wake of the Undertaking — in which an earthquake machine leveled half of The Glades — Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) has retreated to his own sanctuary ... and we're not talking about the Foundry. The emerald archer has ditched his hood for the safety of Lian Yu, the island where Oliver was marooned for five years of his life.
Exclusive: Arrow boss sets the record straight on Black Canary casting
It won't be long, however, before Oliver is pulled back into the world of Starling City, where his family name is now synonymous with mass murder. Will Oliver be able to be the hero that the ravaged city needs? Who might stand in his way? TVGuide.com caught up with executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Andrews Kreisberg to get the scoop on Season 2:
How is Starling City dealing in the aftermath of the Undertaking?
Kreisberg: Not well. It took it on the chin in the finale. As bad as the city was in Season 1, it's even worse now. That's part of Oliver's journey this season. We always say, "So goes Oliver, so goes the city." He's in a very dark place and he really realizes in the premiere episode that he can't be the vigilante anymore. It's not enough to cross names off the list and target the one percent. That didn't work. He failed last year. This season really needs to be about something else. The city needs a hero. It needs a symbol of hope. That's why we titled Episode 1 "City of Heroes." That's our title for the season in an odd way, because it's really about heroes coming out of the woodwork like Oliver. Even the villains this season are going to view themselves as the hero.
Will Oliver be alone in his quest to save the city in Season 2?
Guggenheim: One of the things that plays a big part in the first few episodes of Season 2 is the idea that when you basically launch into this crusade, you put on an outfit, you're using an exotic weapon and you are taking on the criminal element of the city, there's going to be a response. In fact, there's going to be a series of responses. Like Lance says in the first episode of Season 2, "Before the Hood came to town, we didn't have earthquake machines and Dark Archers." Arrowis basically like this stone has been dropped into this huge pond and the ripple effects are spreading out starting out in the premiere. Some of those ripples are good in the form of positive things — like Roy (Colton Haynes) adopts the Arrow's crusade and is trying to do a job of saving people in the city — but we'll also see the negatives to that, too.
Kreisberg: In the beginning, [the police] are overwhelmed. They're actually targeting the Arrow because there's a feeling amongst some of the characters that all of this insanity began when the Arrow showed up. For some people, he's become the symbol for what's wrong with this city. One of Oliver's missions this year is to change the way the police and the public feel about the vigilante.
Arrow: Kevin Alejandro, Michael Jai White join cast for Season 2
What role will Felicity and Diggle (David Ramsey) play for Oliver this season?
Guggenheim: Their roles on Team Arrow evolve, particularly with respect to Felicity. In Season 1, Felicity was girl Friday where she would do whatever Oliver asked her to do. In Season 2, she's developing — like Diggle — more of a voice in terms of how Oliver goes about his missions. She's definitely coming into scenes with more of a point of view. She's a lot more involved in telling Oliver what's on her mind and that makes her a stronger character.
Will Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) stand trial for her involvement in the Undertaking?
Kreisberg: Yes. There will be some courtroom scenes. Moira behaved very badly last year. Everybody is really dealing with the repercussions of that. This season, for Moira, a lot of it is about redemption. Oliver wasn't the only one who failed last year. Moira really failed. As much as this season is about Oliver stepping into the light, it's about Moira trying to find her way back and how that impacts her children and the company and herself is so much of her journey.
Will Laurel (Katie Cassidy) play into that storyline?
Kreisberg: This season, Laurel is going to be joining the District Attorney's office, so she might have some dealings with that. Part of it is she's trying to stay out of it as much as she can, but as always with these things, bad stuff happens.
What's the state of Oliver and Laurel's relationship this season?
Guggenheim: We said there would be all these different repercussions from Tommy's (Colin Donnell) death and we're being true to that. Every episode invokes Tommy or comes out of what happened in the finale to Tommy in a very specific way. At the core, there's always their love for each other because they are star-crossed lovers. That said, I have to say something to keep myself from getting yelled at by the people who are shipping Oliver and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). The relationship between Oliver and Felicity over the course of Season 2 will evolve and deepen. Their relationship by the end of the season won't be the same as it is at the beginning of the season.
Arrow Exclusive First Look: Who's hunting down Oliver now?
We see in the promos that Laurel is trying to take down Oliver. How will that affect their relationship?
Guggenheim: Obviously it doesn't make it easier. In the season premiere, we deal with the fallout in terms of their relationship from what happened at the end of Season 1, which was that they slept together and then Tommy died. We see the repercussions of both of those things. She has a new mission statement and that is to take down the Arrow. Their relationship gets more complicated in the first two episodes of Season 2 than maybe people are expecting.
How will the introduction of Black Canary (Caity Lotz) push Laurel in a new direction?
Guggenheim: You'll get your first glimpse of Black Canary in the premiere. Laurel needed a bit of a makeover. Last year, as a result of her job at CNRI and her relationship with Tommy, it sometimes felt like she was in a different show. One of our main goals this year was to really bring her into the fold in a way that made her an integral part of the stories we were telling. Black Canary's appearance is going to coincide with Laurel really struggling with a great number of things. We're throwing a lot of things at Laurel this year.
With the introduction of Black Canary, you're really close to Birds of Prey. Any chance of seeing that?
Guggenheim: We have an idea for how to do our version of Birds of Prey. When you think about it, we have a lot of pieces. It's a lot like the Suicide Squad. As we continue to populate our world with new characters and some returning people from last year, you start to go, "We're really close to that!" We saw this awesome bit of production art for a new set that we realized plays into Birds of Prey completely. Our Art Department wasn't even intending that! There's certainly a momentum towards that, but everything has to happen in due time. With respect to Birds of Prey specifically, there's an actress that we particularly need to make that piece work and we need to check on her availability.
Roy seems to be coming into contact with Black Canary.
Kreisberg: Roy has not given up his night job of going out and looking for trouble. He actually connects with the Arrow very early on in the season, who sets him on a new mission. When we find Roy in the first episode, he's floundering a little bit. He's trying to find his way and he really gets his purpose set for him, which is exciting. He and Thea (Willa Holland) are still dating. For everybody who found themselves in a bad place after the events last season, Thea is actually in a really good place. She's running the nightclub. Roy is working as a busboy at the club and she says to him, "I control both your paycheck and your sex life." Thea has really grown up during these five months. No more Catholic School girl outfits for her.
Arrow Exclusive: Spartacus alum tapped to play Amanda Waller
How did the decision to bring the Suicide Squad on come together?
Guggenheim: We introduced A.R.G.U.S. in Season 1. We also introduced Deadshot (Michael Rowe). We're thinking about how to expand the Arrow's Rogues Gallery, and Bronze Tiger (Michael Jai White) felt like he really fit into our world. We took a step back and realized that we were in spitting distance of the Suicide Squad. As with all things, we always have to be really careful not to let our geek selves drive everything. It has to be at the right pace for the show. We've got some really cool ideas for how to bring Deadshot back into the show. You're going to see that around Episode 6. We're hoping to get some new viewers in Season 2, so we want to repopulate our world. The hope is that we're moving in the right direction towards the Suicide Squad.
Kreisberg: Right now, we're taking it on a person-by-person basis. We have Deadshot as the leader of the Suicide Squad. We don't have any definitive plans to bring them all together. But, as always with these things, we see what people like and don't like.
Let's talk about the introduction of Isabel Rochev (Summer Glau), whose name was actually on Oliver's list last season. Did you know then that we'd meet her in Season 2?
Kreisberg: I'm so proud of the things that we thought of in the pilot that we knew we were going to do in the season, like the Deathstroke mask, and in Episode 2, the glyph, we knew all that. But I really cannot say with a good conscience that we knew we would get to Isabel Rochev. We just filled up that first page with names. Now, it's turned into a bit of a happy coincidence because we're so excited to have her on the show. Summer owns the screen. Oliver has a lot of antagonists this year. Last season, Oliver didn't care about being Oliver Queen. This season, since he's taking a leadership position in the company, he's going to find that that's very difficult. As much as he's saving everyone anonymously at night as the Arrow, people are throwing tomatoes at Oliver Queen during the day. A lot of his antagonists, including Sebastian Blood (Kevin Alejandro) and Isabel Rochev, they're really enemies for Oliver to overcome more than the Arrow. That's a brand new dynamic that the show has this season.
Will it be addressed that she was on the list?
Kresiberg: Oh yeah! We're not morons! [Laughs] Sometimes these things happen by accident and they turn out to be the best thing for us. As much as we had planned, some of what happened last year was completely by surprise. None of us had any conception of Felicity before Episode 3 and now you can't imagine the series without her.
Arrow Scoop: Glee's Grant Gustin tapped to play the Flash!
Tell us about the differences between Isabel and Sebastian.
Guggenheim: What's really cool about having Isabel in the show is her character from the comics and the fact that we cast Summer Glau, I think, will form the basis of a lot of speculation as to what role she's playing in the life of the show. With respect to Kevin Alejandro as Sebastian Blood, the thing you'll see with him is he's also this force for both good and bad in the city. His confrontation with Oliver in Episode 2 is very, very pointed and charged. It's probably not the kind of confrontation that you would necessarily expect from Sebastian Blood, but he and Oliver go up against each other with sparks flying right form the jump.
You won't say whether these are the two big bads of the season, but you will still have two, correct?
Guggenheim: Our two big bads of the year, we know what their end game is and we know what their master plan is and the one thing we're committed to doing is we always say every villain is the hero of their own story, so both of the big bads will feel like they are acting from a righteous place. There's a Venn diagram in terms of their goals and in the Venn diagram there is overlap. Part of the fun is playing with the audience's expectations in terms of those motivations and in terms of how they're going to interact.
Will we see Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) off the island in Season 2?
Guggenheim: You'll get a hint as to where we're headed. Our challenge is if and when Slade Wilson shows up in present day, we owe it to the fans to do it in a way that's surprising. Knowing that Slade Wilson becomes Deathstroke, it's the thing everyone's asking because it's semi-obvious, so the trick is to do the obvious thing in a surprising way.
Is there a possibility that Oliver wasn't always on the island?
Guggenheim: Anything is possible. You'll get an answer to that question by the end of Episode 3.
Arrow returns Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW. Will you be watching?
(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS, one of The CW's parent companies.)