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3.7 Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems (A-level only)
The theory of evolution underpins modern Biology. All new species arise from an existing species. This results in different species sharing a common ancestry, as represented in phylogenetic classification. Common ancestry can explain the similarities between all living organisms, such as common chemistry (eg all proteins made from the same 20 or so amino acids), physiological pathways (eg anaerobic respiration), cell structure, DNA as the genetic material and a 'universal' genetic code.
The individuals of a species share the same genes but (usually) different combinations of alleles of these genes. An individual inherits alleles from their parent or parents.
A species exists as one or more populations. There is variation in the phenotypes of organisms in a population, due to genetic and environmental factors. Two forces affect genetic variation in populations: genetic drift and natural selection. Genetic drift can cause changes in allele frequency in small populations. Natural selection occurs when alleles that enhance the fitness of the individuals that carry them rise in frequency. A change in the allele frequency of a population is evolution.
If a population becomes isolated from other populations of the same species, there will be no gene flow between the isolated population and the others. This may lead to the accumulation of genetic differences in the isolated population, compared with the other populations. These differences may ultimately lead to organisms in the isolated population becoming unable to breed and produce fertile offspring with organisms from the other populations. This reproductive isolation means that a new species has evolved.
Populations of different species live in communities. Competition occurs within and between these populations for the means of survival. Within a single community, one population is affected by other populations, the biotic factors, in its environment. Populations within communities are also affected by, and in turn affect, the abiotic (physicochemical) factors in an ecosystem.
Inheritance (A-level only)
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Opportunities for skills development |
The genotype is the genetic constitution of an organism. The phenotype is the expression of this genetic constitution and its interaction with the environment. There may be many alleles of a single gene. Alleles may be dominant, recessive or codominant. In a diploid organism, the alleles at a specific locus may be either homozygous or heterozygous. The use of fully labelled genetic diagrams to interpret, or predict, the results of:
Use of the chi-squared ( ) test to compare the goodness of fit of observed phenotypic ratios with expected ratios. |
AT h Students could investigate genetic ratios using crosses of Drosophila or Fast Plant® MS 0.3 Students could use information to represent phenotypic ratios in monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. MS 1.4 Students could show understanding of the probability associated with inheritance. MS 1.9 Students could use the test to investigate the significance of differences between expected and observed phenotypic ratios. |
Populations (A-level only)
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Opportunities for skills development |
Species exist as one or more populations. A population as a group of organisms of the same species occupying a particular space at a particular time that can potentially interbreed. The concepts of gene pool and allele frequency. The Hardy–Weinberg principle provides a mathematical model, which predicts that allele frequencies will not change from generation to generation. The conditions under which the principle applies. The frequency of alleles, genotypes and phenotypes in a population can be calculated using the Hardy–Weinberg equation: where is the frequency of one (usually the dominant) allele and is the frequency of the other (usually recessive) allele of the gene. |
AT k Students could collect data about the frequency of observable phenotypes within a single population. MS 2.4 Students could calculate allele, genotype and phenotype frequencies from appropriate data using the Hardy–Weinberg equation. |
Evolution may lead to speciation (A-level only)
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Opportunities for skills development |
Individuals within a population of a species may show a wide range of variation in phenotype. This is due to genetic and environmental factors. The primary source of genetic variation is mutation. Meiosis and the random fertilisation of gametes during sexual reproduction produce further genetic variation. Predation, disease and competition for the means of survival result in differential survival and reproduction, ie natural selection. Those organisms with phenotypes providing selective advantages are likely to produce more offspring and pass on their favourable alleles to the next generation. The effect of this differential reproductive success on the allele frequencies within a gene pool. The effects of stabilising, directional and disruptive selection. Evolution as a change in the allele frequencies in a population. Reproductive separation of two populations can result in the accumulation of difference in their gene pools. New species arise when these genetic differences lead to an inability of members of the populations to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. In this way, new species arise from existing species. Allopatric and sympatric speciation. The importance of genetic drift in causing changes in allele frequency in small populations.Students should be able to:
MS 1.5 Students could apply their knowledge of sampling to the concept of genetic drift. PS 1.2 Students could devise an investigation to mimic the effects of random sampling on allele frequencies in a population. AT l Students could use computer programs to model the effects of natural selection and of genetic drift. |
Populations in ecosystems (A-level only)
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Opportunities for skills development |
Populations of different species form a community. A community and the non-living components of its environment together form an ecosystem. Ecosystems can range in size from the very small to the very large. Within a habitat, a species occupies a niche governed by adaptation to both abiotic and biotic conditions. An ecosystem supports a certain size of population of a species, called the carrying capacity. This population size can vary as a result of:
The size of a population can be estimated using:
Ecosystems are dynamic systems. Primary succession, from colonisation by pioneer species to climax community. At each stage in succession, certain species may be recognised which change the environment so that it becomes more suitable for other species with different adaptations. The new species may change the environment in such a way that it becomes less suitable for the previous species. Changes that organisms produce in their abiotic environment can result in a less hostile environment and change biodiversity. Conservation of habitats frequently involves management of succession. Students should be able to:
AT k Students could:
AT h Students could use the mark-release-recapture method to investigate the abundance of a motile species. AT i Students could use turbidity measurements to investigate the growth rate of a broth culture of microorganisms. MS 2.5 Students could use a logarithmic scale in representing the growth of a population of microorganisms. |
Required practical 12: Investigation into the effect of a named environmental factor on the distribution of a given species. |
AT a and k |


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Mellieha and Msida St. Joseph joined Siggiewi, Kalkara United, Zurrieq and Birzebbuga St. Peter's in the quarter-finals of the National Amateur Cup as they both registered wins in matches from the Round of 16 at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday.
Mellieha found no difficulty in defeating Gozitan side Munxar Falcons 7-2.
Michael Micallef put Mellieha on the 6th minute and Cleiton Jose Hinrichs doubled the score on the 17th. Justin Zammit made it 3-0 on the 31st and eight minutes later, Jonathan Cutajar scored a fourth goal. Michael Micallef made it 5-0 three minutes from the end of the first half. Three minutes in the second half, Micallef completed his hat-trick. Munxar reduced the gap on the 64th minute thanks to Aron Buttigieg but Simon Cutajar scored a seventh goal on the 85th minute. The Falcons scored another goal three minutes from time thanks to an own goal.
Meanwhile, Msida St. Joseph defeated Gharghur 2-0 thanks to goals by Lian Xuereb on the 66th and Timothy Thomas on the 96th.

subset: commoncrawl


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Back when I was young, foolish and incredibly good looking I made many dispensing errors. There you go. I've said it.
Pharmacy needs to be safer. And yes that might mean robots. Until then we need to work out if pharmacies are as safe as they can be, under current conditions.
If you have ever worked as a pharmacist you will know the weight of responsibility that comes with signing into the responsible pharmacist register. Just because I'm old and have basically seen it all this feeling never goes away. Step over the threshold each morning and it is your registration on the line. It was always thus for me. No pharmacist ever intends to do a bad job or make an error.
There is no greater feeling of professional vulnerability than when certain aspects of the environment within which you are working are below the standard required to conduct your professional duties safely. If you are the responsible pharmacist in community pharmacy then you are ultimately responsible for the safe and effective running of the community pharmacy on that day. If these factors are outwith your control this can make you feel the pressure acutely.
So is community pharmacy safe enough?
I have over the years been placed in many positions when self-checking was the only realistic option. The tricky thing here for community pharmacists is the relentless focus on hitting the numbers. Self-checking is quick and therefore tempting if the speed of service is being closely tracked. The various emanations of the pharmacy contract has made things tight. And it is definitely getting worse. Very tight staffing levels or errors in planning a rota can lead to occasions whereas the pharmacist you are left with the decision of either causing considerable disruption to the running of the business or just carefully self-check a prescription. In my early years as a pharmacist a million years ago, I am ashamed to say that earlier in my career I bowed to the pressure and fell into this trap, luckily with no negative consequences as a result. The balance of power sits with the employer in this example and unfortunately, they and others are waiting for the employed pharmacist to trip up and make a bad decision perhaps in haste or under pressure.
The PDA position on adequate self-checking is as follows;
"Where pharmacists are directly involved in dispensing, or other processes requiring a high degree of accuracy, a suitably trained and competent member of staff will be readily available in the pharmacy at all times to provide an independent accuracy check. An independent second check improves patient safety by preventing errors."
I agree with this statement.
Safe staffing
Throughout my career as a pharmacist in community pharmacy staffing was nearly always a concern to me. Juggling budgets and being innovative with making those precious hours stretch beyond what I initially thought possible used to occupy most of my days and nights. Again as an employee, you are not in complete control and no political messaging, usually branded as 'leadership', from above about how robustly the investment is distributed can ease this pressure. There may well be community pharmacies out there that are over-resourced and have hours free to carry out important patient-facing activities but I never found them. I have had responsibility for staffing budgets with which to run the pharmacy and 'hit the numbers'. This was always tricky. There are various models used by a number of companies to share out the investment on staffing in a fair way based basically on how busy your business was. I am no expert in these things but as a user, I always found that the model would rarely fit the locality within which it was deployed. The cliched term is of course 'one size does not fit all'.
The great crime that happened in the 'good times' in community pharmacy over the years was the chronic lack of investment in employee development. The resource invested in medical colleagues, for example, is of a completely different order of magnitude to the investment in community pharmacists and community pharmacy team members. We are now reaping this missed opportunity as times get tough.
The PDA position on adequate safe staffing is as follows;
"Staffing levels will be sufficient to allow all legal, contractual and regulatory obligations to be met; to meet the workload involved in following standard operating procedures and to carry out other work in accordance with the organisation's expectations. All staff must be suitably trained and competent to carry out the pharmacy work they are involved in. Providing enough suitably trained staff improves patient safety, quality of care and service."
I agree with this statement.
Access to the pharmacist
The boom years for community pharmacy are long gone. Times are tough and as every day passes our paymasters cripple our network further. In recent years the community pharmacist has taken up much of the slack in the system. Quietly and cheaply seeing many millions of patients on a daily basis. Sign-posting, treating and generally greasing the healthcare system right at the coal face. Access is critical and is most certainly the unique selling point of community pharmacy these days. Out of hours care both medicinal and otherwise is another tremendous opportunity for community pharmacy which they are certainly capitalising on in Scotland.
Patients get scared and many are fearful about their health. This fear is driven by the unknown. As social cohesion in wider society breaks down people need reassurance more than ever and community pharmacists have become one answer to this need. Explaining to a patient that a symptom is to expected or that a side effect of a drug is actually really common are two very simple examples of the vital work community pharmacists do on a daily basis.
In an ideal world, a pharmacist should be physically present but I fear we cannot hold back the tide of progress forever. In the meantime, the statement below is acceptable to me.
The PDA position on adequate rest is as follows;
"A pharmacist is traditionally one of the few healthcare professionals accessible to patients without an appointment. A pharmacist must be available wherever patients expect immediate access to face-to-face expert advice on any medicines-related matters. The pharmacy owner or employer will meet this expectation by ensuring a pharmacist is available to patients and present in the pharmacy throughout its hours of operation. Pharmacists are the experts in medicines and must be present to ensure that medicines provided to patients are safe and appropriate."
I agree with this statement.
Adequate rest
Break? What's a break? Lunch? Don't think so.
I always feel under constant pressure working in a community pharmacy. The direct day to day result of this was that I felt guilty about taking a break basically because I was completely bought into the ethos of the various companies I worked for over the years and didn't want to let the employer or my family down.
I would rarely have lunch and I can remember vividly that feeling of ravenous hunger that used to hit at around 3 pm in the afternoon after frequently missed lunchtimes. This feeling I think can be traced directly back to that feeling of having to chase the targets. Rest is so important, I see that now but again in my early years as a pharmacist I did everything I could to hit the numbers and one such thing was missing lunch and rarely taking breaks.
The PDA position on adequate rest is as follows;
"Pharmacists must be able to take at least their statutory and contractual breaks and rest periods, and additional breaks as required to meet their professional obligations. Pharmacists will be enabled to take these without interruption and will not be placed under any direct or indirect pressure to forfeit. To keep patients safe, pharmacists must be alert at work."
I agree with this statement.
Respecting professional judgement
The nub of this issue is the fact that if you step outside a standard operating procedure the employer could easily wash their hands of you. Indeed there have been notable examples in the pharmacy press over the years where the employer has pushed the blame on to the responsible pharmacist because they did not follow the standard operating procedures blindly. In community pharmacy, you are often isolated and often working at the weekend when other services may be shut so professional judgement comes into play relatively frequently. So if as the responsible pharmacist you decide to step outside the standard operating procedure it is open season. Especially I would argue if 'your face doesn't fit'.
The PDA position on professional judgement is as follows;
"Pharmacists will be enabled and encouraged to exercise professional decision-making in the workplace, so that patient safety and professional standards can be placed above any commercial or other operational considerations. Organisational and other targets must not inhibit professional autonomy. As health professionals, pharmacists put patients."
I agree with this statement.
Raising concerns
If you want to commit career suicide then start raising concerns.
"Pharmacists will be able to raise concerns without reprisal or fear. This will be facilitated by a supportive, open and receptive organisational culture. Issues identified will be promptly addressed and robust and enduring solutions implemented without delay. Concerns at work which could impact on patient safety need to be raised and resolved without delay."
I agree with this statement.
Physically safe
This one speaks for itself.
"Pharmacists will not have to work in the pharmacy alone and will have access to the necessary support at all times to perform their roles. Risks will be assessed and preventive measures put in place so that patients and staff are safe – and can feel safe. A zero-tolerance approach will be taken to violence or abuse of pharmacists and other pharmacy staff."
I agree with this statement.
The PDA safer pharmacies charter
I think the charter is a really positive idea. I find it very difficult to argue against supporting any of the points raised within the charter. I feel I need to support and endorse this positive work. It's tough out there and as the cuts keep coming each of the points in the charter will come into ever more stark focus and will result in increased pressure on community pharmacists at the 'coal-face'.
The Grouchy pharmacist is old and grouchy but does have a big heart and most certainly cares deeply about our great profession of pharmacy.


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As the internet continues to obsess over 'The Untamed' (and us too), we just want to remember the other great BL dramas out there to enjoy.
If you haven't fallen down the boy love drama hole yet, we have the perfect show for you to start with. Here's the basics on '2gether: The Series'.
All you have to do is watch 'TharnType', the Thai romantic drama that will melt your heart. Here are all the best 'TharnType' quotes.
So, why will Thai series 'Endless Love' from 2019 have you head over heels? Here's why 'Endless Love' needs to be on your watchlist.
'The Ugly Duckling' Thai drama series is a fun take on the fables & fairytales that taught us beauty is only skin deep. Here are other Thai romance
'Oh My Ghost' is a miniseries with a complicated plotline. There are two different versions with the same plotline. Let's find out which to watch.
Why R U? The Series may be a hot mess, but the couples are cute and shippable. So let's introduce you to your new favorite Thai drama.


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Garrett Hobbs
Garrett serves as a technology support specialist for CHASS IT, specializing in applications software support. Garrett graduated from NC State in 2002 with a B.S. in Computer Science and a strong background in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He originally joined CHASS IT in 2002 as a Network Computing Technician.


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We were invited to a screening of Battle for Brooklyn, a documentary on Atlantic Yards, eminent domain abuse and the man at the center of it all, Daniel Goldstein. Here now, our favorite moments.
5.) Love and babies! Though the story is, at its heart, about a guy losing his house, there's also that whole silver lining thing. There was definitely a collective "aw" in the theater whenever there are shots of Daniel and his Develop Don't Destroy partner/wife Shabnam's adorable newborn. Alleged eminent domain abuse's cutest outcome!
4.) During the hearings to determine if the land seized by eminent domain is blighted, a lawyer for the ESDC gets completely and painfully butchered by a judge. The judge can't comprehend that a section Pacific Street is indeed blighted and proceeds to skewer the lawyer. The result is a painfully awkward Elmer Fudd moment.
3.) In the way only he could, Marty Markowitz analogizes Brooklyn to a Cheesecake from Junior's. His take on Atlantic Yards? It's the strawberries on top of the cake. Also, pretty much every Markowitz moment is gold.
2.) At one point Dan Goldstein's wife Shabnam Merchant points to a woman laughing blissfully in a pamphlet distributed by Forest City Ratner to promote Atlantic Yards. She mentions that when taking the stock photo the woman assumed the worst that could happen was that it would be used in a Herpes treatment ad. Apparently, she thought Atlantic Yards was worse.
1.) Freddy's bar co-owner Donald O'Finn being a badass.
Our Impressions: Going into it, it's obvious that this movie is told from one particular side of the Atlantic Yards argument. Would we go as far as the Brooklyn Paper in calling it "Docu-Ganda"? No, in fact that label comes off over-the-top. Would we recommend it? Yeah. Is it going to change anyone's mind one way or another? Probably not, but that's not what it's trying to do. It premieres this Friday.
· Battle for Brooklyn Official Site
· Atlantic Yards Coverage [Curbed]


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This workshop focused on the important relationship between water and land use planning. Presenters informed participants on how they can prepare for the increasing scarcity of water in New Mexico.
The workshop was comprised of the following presentations:
>> View the recording>> Download the presentation (PDF)
This workshop focused on how the legalization of cannabis can impact a community's land use and zoning policies. The workshop included an overview and panel discussion by:


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Today's Insight - August 28, 2013
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- Published Aug 26, 2013
Because of Who God Is
by Charles R. Swindoll
Having called the whole world to join him in song, the psalmist declares the reason God deserves universal thanksgiving and praise. His rationale for worldwide celebration is based on three facts concerning the Lord's character.
Reasons for the Commands
Fact 1: He is good. Psalm 100:3 told us "He is God," the one and only Creator and Sovereign of the universe; this final verse 5 tells us "He is good." Verse 3 states His position and role; verse 5 describes the quality of His character. The Hebrew term, tōv, means "pleasant, agreeable, delightful, good." How different from the present-day concept many people have of God. He is not an irritated tyrant pacing the floors of heaven looking for reasons to smash our lives or squelch our happiness—like some celestial bully with a club in His hand. No! He is good. And His commands are for our good. Love motivates His every word and deed.
Fact 2: His lovingkindness is everlasting. "Lovingkindness" is the best English word to translate the Hebrew term chesed, but it is woefully inadequate. Chesed is perhaps the most important word in the entire Old Testament because it effectively sums up the character of God. That colorful word is so steeped in Hebrew culture and theology that it has no equivalent in other languages. That explains why chesed has been rendered by different translations as "mercy," "kindness," "lovingkindness," "goodness," and others. It describes God's covenant love for His people—a passionate, merciful, pursuing, unrelenting kindness that overlooks their inability to repay Him or even return His love.
The Bible is filled with wonderful, moving stories that show chesed in action. I think of Ruth's extraordinary loyalty for her mother-in-law, Naomi (Ruth 1:16–17). I think of Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and how he extended extraordinary friendship to David despite the enormous personal cost: the right to succeed Saul as king (1 Samuel 18:1). And when David eventually became king, he extended extraordinary mercy to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan (2 Samuel 9:7). Of course, we have no greater example of kindness than God Himself, who demonstrated His love in becoming a human in the person of Jesus Christ.
God loves and accepts us as we are, knowing that we have no way of repaying the debt of extraordinary kindness. His unqualified love and acceptance are behind His every command. Moreover, nothing will cancel or compromise His chesed love for us; it lasts forever.
Fact 3: He is faithful to all generations. The Lord is not partial. The God who commands is fair and faithful to all generations. He didn't make a limited-time offer to one generation only to rescind it from the next. He doesn't play favorites. His commands and promises apply to all people throughout all time because God never changes. He remains consistently faithful.
Note the psalmist didn't call for this joyous response to God as merely our part of a transaction. We don't praise and worship the Lord because of what we get in return. He calls for worship as a natural response to our firsthand experience of God's character. Of course, that's based on the presumption that we actually have firsthand experience of God's character!
- See more at: http://www.insight.org/resources/devotionals/because-of-who-god-is.html#sthash.OPFqx73c.dpuf
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Listen to today's broadcast of Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll at OnePlace.com.
Visit the Bible-teaching ministry of Chuck Swindoll at www.insight.org.


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David Orrick, Director of Industry Relations at Merkur Gaming, discusses some key highlights from the company's G2E presentation, which will see the company demonstrate a range of new bonus enabled games, along with its new linked progressive jackpot Treasure Link and the Rapid Thunder jackpot feature.
Casino Review: As a show, what does G2E Las Vegas offer Merkur Gaming?
David Orrick: G2E is, like ICE in London, a 'global' event. Of course, it is the show for all of the Americas but its reach goes far beyond that; worldwide in fact. The reasons for this are many but primarily and since its inception back in 2001 G2E has always had what we might call 'the location factor'. Las Vegas is the spiritual home of modern day gaming, the city has the many attractions of 'things to see and do' and it is a destination that all the world wants to come and see. London has the same attraction and add to that the sheer scale and depth, in terms of booth space, exhibitors and visitors, of both G2E and ICE and what that creates is a certainty that these are the two events in each year that are a 'must visit' for the global gaming community.
For Merkur Gaming and for the whole Gauselmann Group, G2E is an opportunity to meet our customers and business partners from around the world and to demonstrate to them our latest and best product innovations and, most significantly, to do real business.
CR: Bonuses are set to be a key theme for Merkur this year with the launch of your new linked progressive jackpot Treasure Link, while the Rapid Thunder jackpot feature will also be making its G2E debut. Could you tell us some more about them?
DO: Today's casino players are becoming ever more sophisticated and knowledgeable and they rightly demand ever more entertainment from their play. Our intention is to cater directly to that demand and the results of our great new games range will do just that.
At G2E we will show a big range of new bonus enabled games; starting with Treasure Link and its five scintillating new game titles, African Glory, Dragon Marbles, Golden Silk, Joker Buffalo and Temple of the Nile. Then comes Rapid Thunder that is a bonus feature innovation included as an inbuilt add-on to the already successful Taco Tuesday, Land of Charms, the Asian themed Immortal Emperor, Immortal Princess and Baozang as well as the Egyptian inspired Amulet of the Pharaoh games. Jewels of the Nile has a fixed top Jackpot of $12,500, as has the African inspired Runnin' Wild, while Striking Fortunes and Big Deal wheel are familiar game titles that have now both been turbocharged with multiple Bonus features and big prizes. This is a major reveal of a fantastic new game range that is certain to attract, enthuse and engage operators and players alike. We look forward with great excitement to the reactions that we are certain we will receive.
CR: Alongside these, which other product segments will you be highlighting this year?
DO: One very good reason that the Merkur Gaming stand is so impressive is that it represents the entire Gauselmann Group's diversity and its success built up over the past 62 years. The 'name on the door' is Merkur Gaming but we will also be joined by teams from cash handling experts GeWeTe and significantly, given the huge importance of the rapidly increasing sports betting environment, by our sports betting innovators Cashpoint.
CR: Looking at the North American market, in your view, where is it heading in terms of consumer trends and what are players and operators looking for?
DO: As already stated, players want ever more entertainment and that is the current 'buzz theme' on slot floors. The combination of big bonus games and linked progressive jackpots are top of the slots right now, and this is a trend that will certainly continue to grow in importance throughout the industry.
Operators, particularly those in the US – in both the commercial and tribal government gaming sectors – have proved themselves to be ready and willing to embrace new manufacturers as vendors as they continue to seek out the new games that their players want to enjoy. Attraction is the name of the game and Merkur Gaming will demonstrate at G2E that is exactly what our new Bonus games have to offer.
CR: Merkur's subsidiaries from across South America will also be on-hand at the show. How significant are the Latam markets for you and what will be some of your key highlights for the region at this year's G2E?
DO: Merkur Gaming has built a high reputation across Latin American markets that is based on the excellence of our 'made in Germany' products, the success of our games, the sales and after sales service that our teams provide and, importantly, the strength of our brand. Latin America is a region where the famous Gauselmann laughing sun symbol shines brightly and we have a total commitment to continuing to build on the success that has been already achieved and to expand and develop further in the future.
Earlier, we spoke about Las Vegas being a 'must visit' destination and that is particularly true throughout Latin America. At G2E we will have teams from our subsidiaries in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and we expect high visitor volumes from not just those countries but also Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and further afield. G2E is sometimes described as 'the show for all the Americas' and we look forward to meeting our Latin American customers and business partners and opening new opportunities throughout the show.


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Bus driver and child standing beside cab of lorry signed W H BRIDGE, Haulage Contractor, Heywood fold, Austerlands, Oldham. Sign on wall behind – David Allen & Son Ltd. The bus crews are friends of Robert Grieves when he worked for bus companies in Paisley, names unknown
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Uber has had its equal share of successes and losses. When Uber came onto the scene in 2009, it revolutionized the modern ride-hailing industry. In fact, Uber was such an innovative idea that it completely altered the way consumers and businesses operated in the taxi industry.
As of 2020, Uber recorded annual revenue of over $11 billion with a market capitalization of 74 billion. These are awe-inspiring numbers. However, the journey for the company has not been without controversy, missteps, and disappointments.
Over the last decade, there have been several challenges that Uber had faced, most notably when the CEO and founder stepped down in 2017 and when it went public in 2019. Uber had the biggest first-day dollar loss in IPO history, making it one of the most anti-climatic listings in the world of start-ups.
Uber's business model has caused significant issues for the ride-hailing giant. Claims of toxic work environments, labor issues, and lawsuits have plagued the company, leading to undesirable results.
Their cutthroat and sometimes questionable business practices have raised eyebrows and led to a terrible public image that they are still trying to clean up. But, their way of doing business has also been their most significant asset in turning an online app into a money-making machine.
Let's delve into the history of Uber to see how this innovative tech company turned an app into one of the most profitable businesses in the 21st century. We will also look at how they sometimes lost the plot.
2007-2009: The birth of Uber
2007: The Conception
Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp were successful start-up owners. Kalanick sold Red Swoosh to Akamai Technologies for $19 million, and Camp sold StumbleUpon to eBay for $75 million in 2007.
After racking in the millions, Camp began experiencing a new level of frustration with the taxi industry in San Francisco. Because of his hectic lifestyle, he was always on the go and so had constant friction with the state of the modern transportation industry, especially taxis.
The taxis weren't reliable and the ride was unpleasant. Sometimes they even wouldn't pick you up.
He tried to find solutions such as; calling several taxis out simultaneously, keeping the business cards of gypsy cabs, and renting cars for the night. Nothing was giving him the efficiency and independence he wanted to have without owning a car.
2008-2009: The Inception
In December 2008, during one snowy night in Paris, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp attended the LeWeb annual tech conference. The two gentlemen failed to get a cab, and that's how the idea of Uber (launched as UberCab) was born.
When the two men left the conference, Camp returned to San Francisco and bought the domain name UberCab.com. Though he was still working as CEO of StumbleUpon, he began developing an UberCab prototype.
Within six months, the idea had morphed into something concrete. The early prototype relied on SMS dispatch. By June 2009, he had convinced Kalanick to join him as UberCab Chief Incubator. Kalanick argued that to minimize risk, they should make the app available to drivers who own cars instead of purchasing vehicles themselves.
Initially, the idea was to offer a limousine service that could be ordered using an app. The pair aimed to appeal to the upscale customer, who would be willing to pay extra for the convenience of a black car. Interestingly, Camp drew inspiration for the idea from a James Bond movie where the actor tracks a vehicle coming to his location using a phone.
He called it Uber because its meaning translates to "above all the rest" in German. The name has since proved to be prophetic.
2010: UberCab launch
A few key things happened in the year 2010 that contributed to the growth of Uber.
On the 5th of January, Kalanick sent out a now-famous tweet where he posts Uber's first job opening. Ryan Graves responds. Kalanick's use of social media would become one of Uber's core channels for selling their product, communication, and customer engagement.
That tweet turned out to be a billion-dollar tweet. Ryan Graves became the first employee when Uber hired him as the first CEO a few months later. He was a key resource during the early stages of Uber's development.
Uber launched a beta service in New York in the early months of 2010. They tested the efficiency of their service using three cars before they officially launched in San Francisco in June. The launch was successful, despite it being 1.5 times more expensive than the standard taxi fee.
Uber's Early Value Proposition: What made it so appealing
How did Uber manage this? It found a solution to a real-world problem. San Francisco had a major taxi problem, but it was not unique. All big cities have large populations and a public and private transportation system that can't cope with the demand. It is what made Uber appealing. Uber connected immediately with the city's urban professionals that were hungry for a solution to their lack of car ownership and unreliable public transport.
From the onset, Uber realized that there was an untapped market in the industry. There was an overlooked customer segment they zoned in on. They aimed to appeal to wealthy urban professionals who led busy lives and had no time to hail a cab. Moreover, they were offering a hybrid taxi-chauffeur service that guaranteed a pickup. It gave them a significant competitive advantage over the taxi industry, where it was pretty common to order or hail a cab that never arrived.
Aside from the lack of supply, the cab experience was a nightmare. Often customers would have to brave all manner of elements just to get around the city. And, if they did manage to hail a cab, the ride was anything but pleasant.
There was no requirement for the taxi driver to be pleasant. Fumbling with cash and change issues once you reached your destination was a common occurrence. Uber resolved all these issues by making the ride enjoyable and the whole experience seamless.
They removed the need to use cash by offering card paying options. They hired professional black car drivers who were required to treat the customers well, and you could order a car in the comfort of your own home. Uber's offer was too good to pass up, and their initial customer base was willing to pay extra for the service.
They were offering something that the taxi industry could not provide:
- a custom ride (pick up and drop off exactly where the customer wanted to go.)
- increased mobility (no transit or unscheduled stops.)
- shorter waiting time (customers could monitor the driver on the screen to estimate arrival time.)
- high level of service (driver rating system that increased accountability and helped with quality control.)
- safety (driver information available and real-time GPS tracking)
No one could beat that. Eventually, Uber evolved and started offering the service to a broader audience. They still kept their high-end service but ventured into ride-sharing and lower prices by introducing UberX in 2012.
Uber Drivers: Early Key Partners
Uber had to solve the chicken and the egg problem. Neither can exist without the other, but which comes first? For Uber, both the drivers and the riders were key partners. But for the business to be successful, they had to figure out who to concentrate on first.
At this stage of the business, there was a low entry threshold for drivers. Uber utilized the existing supply of professional black car drivers. They partnered with limousine companies and other black car driving establishments to act as an intermediary between the riders and the drivers. The drivers were not full-time employees. Uber considered them independent contractors.
For the drivers who are Uber's key partners, the ability to set your own working hours, work independently without a boss and track your earnings was the appeal. While this business model worked in the beginning, it would cause problems for Uber later. Drivers would eventually fight to be considered as employees instead of independent contractors.
2010: Challenges
Lack of investor confidence
Investors felt that Uber's business model would not work for one reason. It was a two-sided marketplace that depended on its two key partners; drivers and riders. If the drivers refused to take up the opportunity, then the riders would not use the service. If riders did not find it, then drivers would have to wait long for riders.
When the app went live in iOS in June 2010, it got rejected by most investors, including some on the AngelList. Despite this, Uber raised $1.25 million and secured a valuation of $5.3 million.
War with the taxi industry
There is always someone waiting to rain on your parade. Uber discovered this unpleasant truth quite early on. It seems they hadn't expected just how disruptive their service would be to the taxi industry.
Uber faced some resistance. There were calls to shut down the company for a myriad of reasons. The San Francisco's Metro Transit Authority sent a cease and desist letter in October 2010 to Uber, claiming that it was running a taxi service without licensing. They also objected to using the "cab" phrase, claiming that it was misleading to the customers.
The company changed its name to curb the backlash, dropping "cab" and keeping "Uber." However, that is how far Uber was willing to go to appease the city authorities. The company refused to bow down to the rest of its demands. Eventually, the government officials agreed to accept Uber's claim that it was not a cab, but instead, it was an intermediary between drivers and riders.
We will see this problem rear its head time and time again as Uber expands into other markets. There were several instances where the legislatures introduced new laws to stall the growth potential of the company. Uber always bounced back from these attempts, so in a way, the bad press helped to put Uber on the raider.
2011: Expansion, Heavy Resistance & Surge Pricing
2011 was a big year for Uber. After a successful run in San Francisco, Uber expanded into Seattle and New York. New York was another metropolitan city with a notoriously terrible taxi service and a bustling downtown area. There was heavy resistance from the city's well-established taxi industry.
Kalanick didn't care and continued to operate despite the resistance, although he eventually conceded in October and registered the service in New York. It is at this expansion stage that we see the problems in Kalanick's approach. He was determined to succeed, regardless of who or what stood in his way.
He forgot that the city officials were key partners he needed to work with well. This "bulldozer" approach was the double-edged sword that eventually led to Uber becoming a hotbed of controversy-which we will discuss later on.
Roping in more investors
Towards the end of September, Uber recorded $9 million in revenue from fares. They get $1.8 million of that as commission. At this point, 9000 customers were using the app, most of them in San Francisco.
Uber realizes it needs more money to keep expanding. Kalanick eventually settles for Shervin Pishevar, who injects $25 million into the company. Pishevar was well connected and brought in celebrity investors like Britney Spears, Jay Z, and Ashton Kutcher.
Uber's Early Channels
For the expansion to work as well as it did, Uber employed a variety of strategies. The first was how and where they recruited the drivers. They used online platforms such as Yelp and social media. They were also good at using word-of-mouth by going out and speaking to people at the airport to recruit drivers.
In New York, they failed to find drivers to meet demand, so they broke up the city into areas and sent drivers there. The purpose of this exercise was to flood the areas that had the highest need manually. It took care of the supply issue and safeguarded Uber against negative reviews. Their goal was to always ensure a great user experience.
By this time, Uber was receiving 3.5 ride requests per user every month. The data also showed that each user was introducing the service to at least 7 friends. We will see Uber using these channels quite often throughout their journey.
Surge Pricing
Part of Uber's business model was to increase the ride price when demand exceeded availability. According to Uber,
Surge pricing automatically goes into effect when there are more riders in a given area than available drivers. This encourages more drivers to serve the busy area over time and shifts rider demand, to maintain reliability and restore balance.
They launched the automated surge pricing algorithm at the end of 2011 in New York. Prices increased 7 times the standard rate in New York and San Francisco. The backlash was instant, but it would not be the last that we see of it. Surge pricing continues to be one of Uber's greatest controversies to this day.
2012: Legal Trouble, Industry Rivalry, UberX & UberSUV
By now, Uber is operating in several cities and has over 50 employees, including drivers. Uber is once again declared illegal by the city of Washington DC. The officials make a show of it by ordering an Uber then proceeding to fine and impound the car during a press conference. This does not go well with Kalanick.
Despite this attack, the service continues to expand in the city, growing by 30-40% every month. In Boston, General Manager Michal Pao reveals that surge pricing motivated drivers to stay online longer when demand is high. This reduced unfulfilled requests by 60%. This data pushed Kalanick to make surge pricing a permanent and universal method.
Hailo arrived on the scene from across the pond. This British company was founded in 2011 and matched taxi drivers and passengers through its app. Hailo raised $17 million and announced its plan to launch the service in New York, Boston, and Chicago. The competition had arrived for Uber.
Unlike Uber, Hailo aimed to create a community with the existing iconic yellow cab drivers and address the issues that plagued the taxi industry. Their aim was to introduce an app that would link taxi drivers and riders. The app would function more or less like the Uber app. It spelled trouble for Uber because it would lose its competitive advantage over the 13,000 plus yellow taxi cabs in the city.
If the taxis managed to get online and offer the seamless service that Uber provided at a lower price, then Uber was doomed.
Up to this point, Uber had been operating as an upscale service provider. But the arrival of Hailo spun the company into action. Despite some misgivings about diluting the brand by introducing taxis, Uber went ahead and launched UberTaxi 5 months before Hailo's planned launch. Uber Taxi was meant to compete directly with Hailo by connecting yellow cab drivers with riders.
UberX & Uber SUV
Hailo's arrival also prompted Uber to release an economy version of the service called UberX. Riders could request a ride at a lower price than taxis. UberX drivers would typically use sedans. They also expanded their service by introducing Uber SUV, which offered high-end luxury SUV rides for more than four passengers.
This innovative move gave Uber an early mover advantage over Hailo.
Legal Trouble
While UberX & UberSUV solved one problem, they created another. Uber could no longer claim they were intermediaries between the drivers and the riders. By employing drivers with taxi licenses, they were fully operating as a taxi service.
This gave them an unfair advantage over the regular taxis because they were not paying the expensive license fees and were constantly bypassing the city laws. The city of Washington DC proposed a compromise with the ride-hailing company. They would allow Uber to operate but would add a floor price that would increase Uber's fare.
Uber rejected this, claiming it would give Hailo an advantage over them. Their solution? Start an online assault using loyal Uber customers. This is one of the many times that Kalanick's ideas raise eyebrows across the board. Nevertheless, the strategy worked.
They successfully mobilized their customer base using social media. Accusing the city officials of price-fixing and corruption. Kalanick published the personal details of the council members, who were then bombarded by thousands of emails and tweets. Within a day, the council members had reversed their decision.
2013-2017: Market Dominance and Bad Business Practices, the thread unravels
The year 2013 is very significant in the history of Uber. On the one hand, Uber had just launched one of its major successes; the UberX service. The holes in the plot began to appear.
The year 2013 began with Uber raising $3.5 billion in funding. This capital injection allowed them to expand globally and establish themselves in international markets. The UberX service was a resounding success and gained popularity because its fares were 25% less expensive than regular taxis.
In California, the state issued an agreement with ride-hailing companies Lyft and Sidecar that required them to pass specific safety requirements. The agreement put an obligation on the companies to have driver's insurance and to do background checks. Uber signed the same deal for UberX, which then became a ride-sharing service.
Class Action: Drivers versus Uber
One of Uber's major legal issues began on the 16th of August, 2013. The business model of hiring people that owned cars was flawed in several ways. This approach exposed Uber to several risks and loopholes that criminals could use.
The case of O'Connor v. Uber Technologies, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, cut right into the core of Uber's business model. Uber did not classify all drivers that were hired as employees. Instead, they were independent contractors. The lawsuit claimed that this designation was wrong and left the drivers exposed. They wanted employee benefits and mileage, and tip reimbursement. The case dragged on for several years.
December 2013: Surge pricing & Uber's first fatal accident
Surge pricing created an outrage in New York during a snowstorm. This problem continued to deal blows on Uber's customer relationships.
The first death also occurred that same month when an Uber driver hit a family in San Francisco, killing a 6-year-old girl and injuring the brother and the mother. The family filed a lawsuit, but Uber claimed the driver had no ongoing trips and was waiting to book a ride. This meant that he was technically not working for Uber back then, and the driver was therefore not covered by Uber's insurance.
This argument left a sour taste in people's mouths and raised questions concerning how Uber and other ride-hailing companies should be held responsible. Pressure mounted on Uber to revamp its insurance policies. California passes a law that tries to clear the ambiguity.
2014: UberEats, Bad Business Practices & More Protests
It seems the ball dropped for Uber in 2014. The consequences of its back door tactics soon caught up with them. Despite launching UberEats, one of its most successful ideas to date, the year 2014 was not a good year for Uber.
In June 2014, taxi drivers in London, Paris, Madrid, and Berlin staged large protests against Uber. They complained that the company was benefiting from not paying license fees and bypassing local laws. This resulted in Uber losing its license to operate in London in 2016.
In August, Uber's competitor, Lyft, reported that 177 Uber employees were sabotaging their company by ordering and canceling rides since October 2013. They found evidence linking Uber to these canceled rides. Uber denied and stated that the recruiters, though related to them, were independent parties.
Gett also discovered that Uber was doing the same thing. Uber issued an apology in January 2014 after documents leaked showing Uber's involvement.
Greyball software scandal
People accused Uber of using Greyball to avoid certain people from ordering rides. The app created an alternate reality that showed fake drivers to these groups of people. The report showed that Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to law enforcement officers in areas where it knew it was operating illegally.
This was all Kalanick's doing because he firmly believed in what he called "principled confrontation." It was a blatant disregard of local laws and regulations. When faced with this challenge, he believed in using one of Uber's main channels; social media. He would call for public support via Twitter to push the regulators to change the laws and accommodate Uber.
While this initially gave Uber massive traction, it eventually returned to bite Uber and Kalanick.
Data breaches & The "Dig up dirt dinner."
In February 2015, Uber admitted that someone had hacked them, and the personal information of over 50,000 drivers had been taken. They discovered this leak five months before they notified the affected individuals.
Senior Vice President Emil Michael was heard stating that Uber should hire a team of journalists and investigators to "dig up dirt" on popular figures who criticized or reported negatively about Uber. When the story leaked, Michael apologized but only left the company in 2017 after Kalanick left.
2017: The Axe Comes Down
From 2011 Travis Kalanick had been the CEO after taking over from Ryan Graves. He led the company to great successes, but his personal beliefs and methods of conducting business were slowly chipping away at the company.
The disregard for state and city laws, the surge charging backlash, and the business model of treating drivers as independent contractors came back to bite Uber. Uber eventually admitted that it used Greyball to blacklist city and government officials from using the service in March 2017. This resulted in a criminal investigation being opened by the United States Department of Justice.
The driver's issue was central to the growth and the stalling of Uber's growth. While the model kept operating costs low for Uber, it created too many loopholes, and they lost control of one of their key partners; the drivers. Lack of proper background checks resulted in constant lawsuits for accidents, assault, rape, and murder.
The list of issues kept mounting up in 2017 for Uber. In January, the #DeleteUber hashtag gained traction after customers noticed Uber was planning on benefiting from the taxi strike protesting Donald Trump's immigration ban in New York.
Accusations of a misogynistic corporate culture resulted in former US attorney Eric Holder being brought in to investigate Uber's culture. It forced a senior executive to resign after failing to disclose a sexual allegation filed against him. A tape of Kalanick mistreating an Uber driver surfaced.
Eventually, Kalanick was forced to resign by investors in June 2017 after releasing the Eric Holder report.
2018-Now: Recovery
Uber was in big trouble. Though its value proposition was still very much intact, it was failing in so many vital areas. Its relationships with customers and key partners were hanging by a thread. In addition, it was failing dismally to improve one of its key value propositions; driver vetting and safety.
After Kalanick's departure, the company went on a campaign to correct all these issues. Financially, it was still going strong. Acquiring a food delivery app (Postmates) in 2018 as well as investing in Lime (an electric scooter rental company) and pouring resources into Uber self-driving cars.
But the scandals and the bullish business practices that it engaged in from its inception smothered its success. This culminated in the biggest first-day dollar loss in IPO history in the United States when Uber went public in 2019. Uber's valuation took a big hit.
As of 2020, the ride-hailing giant struggles to find its feet, especially after rides declined because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the company stays afloat due to diversifying its business investments in industries such as food delivery and many more.
The Bottom Line
Uber started off well. Its business plan was concrete up to a certain point. They failed to notice or ignored the errors and loopholes in their business model. The arrogance towards the authorities and questionable business practices resulted in significant losses for them. Time will tell whether they will regroup and thrive once again.


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In Which I Highlight Concrete Words Posts and Give You the Best 'Round the Net
A few weekend links of some of the best of what I've read 'round the 'ol net {and some to make you laugh too--hope you enjoy! ~
Kelly Chripczuk-- Spring Snow (Remain here, Stay)
Emily Freeman--Why I Want to Subscribe to Your Blog (And Why I Hope You'll Subscribe to Mine)
Tara Pohlkotte--Reflection
Kelli Woodford--The Morning After
Ann Voskamp--How Hurting Women Can Help One Another Heal
The Actual Pastor--To Parents of Small Children--Let me be the one who says it out loud
Kid Snippets: Math Class (Imagined by kids)
Beth Moore: The Hairbrush Story
Dove Experiment Aims to change the Way You See Yourself --This. This! A thousand times this--if you watch or read nothing else this week--this one here!!
Next week, our Concrete Words prompt is the Sink. I will be out of town at the Jumping Tandem Retreat--the lovely Kimberly Coyle will be hosting for me. Please watch her blog for a #concretewords post! {Something new--I'll still be highlighting a beautiful post on Friday (and announce it on social media), so come back here to see whose post is highlighted and encourage them!}
Now for #concretewords highlight of the week! The writer(s) I'm highlighting this week for #concretewords are:
Ruth Povey, at learning {one day at a time} for her piece, Worship.
Kelly Chripczuk at A Field of Wild Flowers for her piece, Making Straight the Crooked
I'm off to the Jumping Tandem Retreat, y'all! Pray for this introverted country girl? First time flying alone, and I'm so excited/terrified/giddy/ nervous about this amazing writer's retreat, the people I'll meet and the refreshing encouragement and courage I'll come back with!!
Linking with...
and Sandra for Still Saturday...
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Although the standard Disney Plus catalog is included in the standard price of a subscription, Disney occasionally offers early access to some of the films that are currently showing in theaters for a $30 charge. This is referred to as "Premier Access."
One of the first Disney Plus Premier Access movie was "Mulan," released in September 2020. Disneyplus.com/Begin then followed it up with "Raya and the Last Dragon,"" "Cruella," Marvel's "Black Widow,"" along with "Jungle Cruise" through Premier Access during 2021. The films were later released to Disney Plus' Disney Plus catalog after about three months of Premier Access.
Disney Now vs Disney Plus: General overview
Disney Plus has been a long-awaited and coveted streaming service from Disney that launched at the end of the year. It's what Disney enthusiasts needed, particularly for the broadcast of classic Disney films like Snow White. The service began with some great movies such as The Mandalorian that kept the viewers returning to watch more. Disney Plus isn't a small streaming service, even though it's just 2 years old. It offers a lot of content that is suitable for children and adults. In reality, it's streaming service that's been rubbing shoulders with rivals like Netflix.
There is a third Disney streaming service that fans have welcomed into their homes over the past couple of years. Disney Now was launched in the year 2017 and has become the preferred choice for Disney fans , as well as parents with small children. Disney Plus is certainly the most downloaded app from the company streaming video currently, but it's certainly not the only method to stream Disney content on mobile device. There's Disney right now and the great part is that it's free alternative, in contrast to its rival.
However, Disney Plus is a streaming platform created to appeal to children and adults alike. It provides a range of shows and movies from multiple brands like Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic and Disney.
Contrary to Disney Plus, Disney Now isn't designed to be a streaming service that is a standard platform. To use this app you need to have a cable subscription as well as a login. Disney Plus is essentially more suitable for those who are looking to swap cable subscriptions and instead use online streaming services.
Disney Plus subscription price is for free from Amazon for six months
It's not possible to affirm of Disney Plus is the best streaming service available at the moment. It's just too subjective. The only thing we can say definitively, however, is the fact that Disney Plus has the highest quantity of high-quality content. Also, The Disney Plus subscription price is an unbelievable value because you will get a lot of value for your money.
Consider the number of times Netflix fails to deliver compared to every film that gets. For instance, a movie that's not good, but it makes it onto the Netflix Top 10. Think about the number of horrible shows and films Hulu released prior to our arrival to Nomadland. (Of to note that Dopesick as well as Only Murders in the Building are both excellent shows that were recently made available on Hulu).
Furthermore, you'll discover amazing Pixar films that have a quality that is unparalleled. There are everything you need to know about you need to know about the Star Wars movies you want and endless hours of National Geographic content. And, on top of that the new content is always arriving in on the Disney Plus catalog.
Let's not forget it is the case that Disney Plus is home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We cannot even imagine living without those amazing Avengers films. And, of course it's a shame in the event that you missed Loki. It was fantastic! Now, a plethora of Marvel shows are out and there's a lot more MCU content coming soon. Take a look at these incredible Marvel new titles that are coming in the near future.
What's included in the normal monthly cost?
- Free streaming of thousands of Disney television and movies including original films as well as series and documentaries only available to Disney Plus
- Playback up to 4K featuring HDR, Dolby Vision, and IMAX-enhanced playback on selected titles.
- Unlimited downloads
- Ability to stream across four devices simultaneously
- Possibility to add as many profiles as you like.
- A GroupWatch feature allows you to sync playback with family and friends.
Try Disneyand get it for free for 7 days
Disney+ will be the only new home to your most-loved television and movies including Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic. Get started today by signing up for seven days of free trial.
The advantages of having a Disney+ subscription include:
- Unlimited access to classic films and seasons from your most loved show.
- Unique new Original film and series by the storytellers at Disney.
- Disney+ offers something for everyone in the family for all ages.
- Stream to up to four different devices simultaneously.
- Get Disney+ on the go with unlimited downloads for more than 10 gadgets.
Check out your experience with the Disney+ service across your devices - and all at no cost for the next seven days once you sign up for a free trial.
Does Disney Plus worth getting?
Like a lot of other things Disney does including Rise of Skywalker to Avengers: Endgame to Galaxy's Edge the streaming service is a cult. Disney Plus launched in November 2019 and by March, it had over 100 million users -an impressive achievement for a brand new streaming service.
The most important question to ask is: is it worth it for you? If you're a cord cutter or have children and children, the Disney Plus is likely a essential purchase. With just a handful of notable variations, Netflix is losing a lot of Disneyplus.com login/Begin content to the new service. This means that your youngsters want to stream Moana for instance you'll require to have a Disney Plus membership.
If it lets you eliminate Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime Video is contingent on your spending and preferences. However, one thing is for certain: Disney Plus already belongs at the top of streaming services, offering an extensive catalog of top television shows and films that you won't find elsewhere with a sleek and well-designed application, as well as affordable pricing without having you pay for advertisements. This is why it's worthy of the Editors' Choice Award from CNET.


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Back in July of 2005, I was fortunate to have been in Singapore when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convened in the Lion City to decide on the host for the 2012 Olympic Games. As we now know, Moscow, Paris, Madrid and New York lost to one city who'll host the Games from July 27 to August 12.
London. Yes. Is there a place more cosmopolitan, diverse and sports-crazy? Exactly 64 days from today, London will become the only city in history to host the Olympics thrice (they also did in 1908 and 1948).
Wanting to get a first-hand look at the Olympics, I asked a long-time resident for his thoughts…
Jack Biantan was SunStar Cebu's former Sports Editor. A giant both in size and in his love for sports, Jack has resided in London for 11 years now.
"Everyone here is excited," said Jack, in our e-mail exchange last week. "But not the entire London has benefitted from this Olympics. Only the West part of London where the Olympic Village and the infrastructures are.
"Our only concern in North London specially we Tottenham Hotspurs fans is the Olympic stadium. Shall we get the stadium after the Olympics or shall we remain in the congested White Heart Lane stadium.
"As you can see John, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspurs are contesting in courts right now on who will be right full tenants in the Olympic stadium. The London Olympics organising committee has given the rights to West Ham because of the Hammers proposal to keep the track oval after the games.
"Tottenham however want to get rid of the oval and convert the entire stadium into a football specific stadium just like what Manchester City FC did to the Manchester stadium after the Commonwealth games fews years back. The Hammers have all the advantage also because West Ham is based only very near to the stadium while the Spurs are based some kilometres away.
"But in my opinion the Spurs are just using the Olympic stadium as leverage to their negotiations with the Haringey council (Tottenham is located in the Haringey borough) for the extension of the White Heart Lane stadium. The Spurs management has brought all the properties around their stadium and are waiting for their permit to construct to be approved. The Spurs stadium has only 36,000 capacity and I have been waiting for the past 11 years to get a season ticket. They are planning to extend the stadium to 60,000 once the council approves the permit.
"The London Olympic committee is also facing another problem in court as Leyton Orient FC the club nearest to the Olympic stadium has also sued and claimed their own right to the tenancy to the stadium. The games have not even started yet but the battle in courts have already been busy."
Jack planned to watch the games in person but was appalled by the exorbitant ticket prices. "The tickets are astronomical for ordinary salaried people like us OFWs from the Philippines," said Jack. "I have a daughter in college in Cebu and a six-year-old son who is in an Opus Dei School in CDO. I also have to pay high rental to the flat I rent here."
Based on my internet research, a ticket to, say, an Olympic basketball game can cost anywhere from 40 Pounds (about P2,700) to, in the Final game, a whopping 425 Pounds (P29,000). Tennis in Wimbledon? The final can be as expensive as 225 pounds (P15,000).
Worse, the tickets are not only expensive—they're also nearly impossible to get. "Most are sold out and been snatched by the black market peddlers," said Jack, driving the prices further upwards.
"I planned to buy tickets for boxing where there is only one Filipino athlete competing. But since he is alone, and the odds for him to win a medal is very slim, I might as well stay at home and watch TV," said Jack.
Joking, he adds: "Unless we are lucky to win the ticket lottery the Olympic committee has organised, then we would be more excited."
This has not stopped Jack, though, from visiting a few sites. He's toured the outside area of the Olympic Stadium and has explored the Westfield Mall in Stratford City.
The London Games will be the 30th Olympics. And since Roman Numerals are often used, you know what these games will be? The triple-X Games. Or the Games of the XXX Olympiad.
When the battle starts on July 27, an estimated 10,000-plus athletes representing 204 countries will compete. There are only 26 sports but a total of 302 events.
Like us here in Cebu, Mr. Biantan will be watching the flat screen.
"BBC is covering the games for free so we would just contend ourselves in watching the games on TV," he said. "Our only problem is that the BBC coverage will be concentrated only to British athletes. But the Filipino community is excited to watch Olympic basketball games live this time because there is a British team competing in it. Unlike the previous games where only the finals were aired."
I asked Jack, who's resided in the United Kingdom capital since 2001, if he plans to reside there for good and he says no.
"Once our mortgage in CDO is finished in five years time and my daughter finishes her college education I will be back in the Philippines to take care of my young son. That, if I stay healthy during those times. I am getting old now John and I want to enjoy my life a little bit before I go to another world. Life here is hard and there is too much stress. I had a great time in Cebu when I was there. I lost my hair and gotten sick of diabetes in 11 years of stay here."
Finally, I asked the football aficionado if he meets with other Cebuanos. His reply: All the time! "Most of my colleagues in the hospital where I work are Filipinos, so I still have not perfected my British accent because we often speak Ilonggo, Cebuano or Tagalog."
Good to hear that London Jack is still Bisaya.


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By Hathairat Phaholtap
Since at least 2010, the term khwai daeng [red buffalo] has been frequently used pejoratively in the political discourse to discredit members of the Red Shirt movement, supporters of the Pheu Thai Party or former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But in recent years, villagers and pro-democracy activists have reclaimed the slur, partly shifting its derogatory usage.
The Isaan Record's Hathairat Phaholtap sat down with Saowanee T. Alexander, a linguist and assistant professor at Ubon Ratchathani University's Faculty of Liberal Arts, to talk about the use and evolution of the term.
"Calling someone a buffalo is to say that they're stupid [and] has been around in the Thai language for a very long time," Saowanee says.
But the choice of wording is also a reflection of society's inequalities and class divisions. Calling someone a buffalo is like holding someone as less than human, and easily led around. "It's dehumanization," Saowanee adds.
Both a red buffalo and a human being
In collaboration with Thai studies scholar Duncan McCargo, Saowanee conducted a study on the use of the term. They found an interesting development of how the use of khwai daeng has shifted.
"There are some people who say, 'Red buffalo. Yeah, that's me. You got a problem with that?''" Saowanee says in giving an example of some Isaan respondents in her research. "Most rural villagers already have the sense that they're considered low-class people in society. They are used to it, so their typical response is to ask the question, 'So what? I'm a citizen just like you, though, aren't I?'"
She adds that in actual usage, the term 'red buffalo' does not just mean "stupid" but its meaning has snowballed into a catch-all term for "stupid, evil and no-good." It can also be understood as an antonym to "good people," which itself has seen in long service as an unironic term of self-congratulation by those who align themselves with the powers that be.
Quelling the red buffaloes
The frequency of the use of the term "red buffaloes" reached its peak just before orders were given for the military to disperse the Red Shirt protests in Bangkok in May 2010. A look at the mainstream media and social media content of the time reveals a sustained and concerted effort to paint the protests in an unfavorable light.
"Much of the mainstream media seemed to have a uniform editorial playbook: that was to paint the Red Shirts, or 'red buffaloes,' as too stupid to fully comprehend what they were doing. They were being led by the nose, so it went," Saowanee summarizes the analysis of the mainstream media's messaging in her research on the period.
"Across the board, the editorial tone assumed a tone of pity and concern for ordinary rural folk. They portrayed the Red Shirts not as victims of the government or the military, but as victims of their own dumb stupidity as buffaloes," Saowanee says. "It was beyond patronizing; by painting the Red Shirts as clueless and gullible, the mainstream media simply drove a wagon through the question of whether the protesters had a point that deserved to be addressed."
For Saowanee, one of the most disturbing findings of her research was that a large number of people in society supported the use of violence against the protesters. These people argued that since the "red buffaloes" had retaliated to violence with violence themselves, they could hardly cry at the use of lethal force against them.
"Seeing people get killed, without any due process whatsoever, and feeling some sense of satisfaction from that–that's scary. There were also those who displayed a view to the effect that [the 'red buffaloes'] probably shouldn't have been killed, but they did ask for it.'" Saowanee finds this to be quite chilling because "they're admitting to supporting the massacre of people."
After the bloody events of May 19, 2010, images of Bangkokians coming out for a "Big Cleaning Day"–the clearing of various protest sites around Bangkok–became prevalent in the mainstream and social media. According to Saowanee, this was not only to drive home the point that people in the capital did not agree with the protests, but it also rubbed salt in the wounds of the Red Shirts.
"We saw images of young, well-to-do Bangkokians coming out to 'clean up,' looking like they were performing a public service: it was a beautiful image. But when you look at the implications of what they were actually doing–hang on, they literally just swept away all the forensic evidence of the killings!" Saowanee says. "Why the rush to make it all disappear, wash it all away, and forget? Even if they are just stupid 'red buffaloes,' don't they still deserve some due process [as citizens]?"
The culture of impunity
At least 94 people were killed in the clashes of April-May 2010. But no one in any position of responsibility has been brought to justice for the violence. Saowanee regards this as a clear embodiment of Thailand's culture of impunity; impunity from responsibility and investigation for those in power.
For her, there is a clear connection between this culture of impunity and the discourse of the "red buffaloes."
"When the language already paints rural villagers as sub-human, as stupid, or whatever, it paves the way for them to be considered as sub-par citizens. You might not even view them as valid citizens," Saowanee says. "When you're in this mode of thinking, it's easier to be indifferent when they're massacred, even though they're human beings just like you. They have families, mothers, fathers, children, people they love and who love them. They did what they did under the supposition that it was just in a democracy."
Saowanee believes that Thai society still has to draw lessons from the events of 2010.
"Perhaps we're a society that doesn't want to learn anything. Throughout history, we've never questioned those in power. Regardless of what happens, they're never in the wrong. That's what happens, instead of finding out the facts, making everything clear, and calling a spade a spade. In other words, it's still a society with oppression from the top down," she says.
The violence in Bangkok was also mirrored to a lesser extent in the provinces. In Ubon Ratchathani province, the provincial hall was set on fire, resulting in 60 politically motivated arrests on the pretext of the arson. Eventually, all but 21 were acquitted. Saowanee and some fellow academics fundraised to provide financial aid for the families of the 21 facing legal action, leading to the establishment of the Redfam Fund in November 2011.
This made Saowanee stick out like a sore thumb. In the period after the events of 2010, few academics dared to stand up and be counted as a Red Shirt supporter or sympathizer.
Asked whether she was ever concerned about being labeled as a "Red Shirt academic" or even a "red buffalo" herself, she says: "At some point, you have to get off the fence, and choose a side to land on. After thinking carefully, I no longer cared what people would think of me. I didn't do that as an academic, but did it as a human being, as a member of society. This is not some far-away thing. It surrounds and concerns all of us."


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Many people suffer from one kind of addiction problem or another during their lifetimes. Some of them can be seen as relatively harmless – an addiction to buying shoes, for example, which while damaging to your finances, is not so damaging to your physical wellbeing – while other addictions, such as those related to alcohol or drug abuse, can be life-threatening.
When talking about addiction in this article, we are mainly referring to those addictions that are detrimental to your health, such as the aforementioned drugs and alcohol. However, the points raised may also be helpful for any other kind of addiction too. This article will hopefully be useful to you, not only if you have an addiction problem yourself, but if you are somebody supporting a loved one with addiction too.
#1: You are not alone
According to these statistics, there are over 20 million people suffering from an addiction problem in the US. If you felt alone with your addiction, then know that this clearly isn't the case. There are other people in your situation, so if you feel guilty or stupid about falling into the trap of addiction, don't! It's a common occurrence, and you are but one of many who have fallen prey to the disease.
#2: You haven't failed in life
Partly due to guilt, many addicts think of themselves as failures. They beat themselves up about falling prey to a habit that has taken over their lives. And they feel guilty because they think they have let others down. Should you have these failings of failure, then please try to put them aside. Addiction is a disease, so you shouldn't bear the brunt of responsibility for what you are going through. Instead, you should focus on getting better, as by following the next step, your life will start to improve.
#3: You need help
According to research, one in ten Americans suffer from addiction at some point in their life, but many don't get the help they need. Some people resign themselves to the problem, and others attempt to help themselves, but with limited success. Therefore, don't be afraid to ask for help, as by doing so, you will get yourself onto the road to recovery. Speak to your loved ones and admit your problem to them. Visit your doctor and let them know your situation. If you are advised to enter rehab, then do so. And when you are on the road to recovery, continue to get support, from both friends and family, and any available support groups for addiction recovery. There is no shame in asking for help, especially when that one act could save your life.
#4: Your life will get better
It's about taking things one step at a time. When an addiction, life can seem hopeless, with little way out of the situation. But by asking for help, you are taking that first step in turning your life around. Little by little you will start to feel better, on both a physical and mental level. And while life will continue to be tough for a while after rehab, you will get through it with the continued support of self-help groups and loved ones, and by making lifestyle changes to lead you away from the self-destructive behavior that trapped you in the first place. It takes courage to take that first step, but think about the life-damaging alternatives if you don't.
We hope this article was useful to you, but let us know your thoughts, and any words of wisdom if you have any.
Take care, and thanks for reading.


text: There's a sports fever in the air of the homeland of the DuetsBlog team. The World Cup final is Sunday and, from my office window, I have seen an ever-growing number of soccer fans on the rooftop lawn of Brit's Pub to watch the matches. I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I am


text:
community package and should be considered for multi-transport operations.NServiceBus.
is a universal component that connects parts of an NServiceBus-based solution that otherwise could not talk to each other (e.g. because they use different transports or transport settings).
The router is transparent to the publishing and replying endpoint. That is:
- The endpoint that replies to a message does not have to know if the initiating message came through a router. The reply will be routed automatically to the correct router and then forwarded to the initiating endpoint.
- The endpoint that publishes events does not have to know if the subscribers are behind the router.
Connecting to the router
Regular endpoints connect to the router using connectors that allow them to configure the routing
var endpointConfiguration = new EndpointConfiguration("MyEndpoint");
var transport = endpointConfiguration.UseTransport<MsmqTransport>();
var routing = transport.Routing();
var bridge = routing.ConnectToRouter("MyRouter");
bridge.RouteToEndpoint(typeof(MyMessage), "Receiver");
bridge.RegisterPublisher(typeof(MyEvent), "Publisher");
The snippet above tells the endpoint that a designated router listens on queue MyRouter
and that messages of type MyMessage
should be sent to the endpoint Receiver
via the router. It also tells the subscription infrastructure that the event MyEvent
is published by the endpoint Publisher
that is hosted behind the router.
Router configuration
NServiceBus.Router is packaged as a host-agnostic library. It can be hosted e.g. inside a console application or a Windows service. It can also be co-hosted with regular NServiceBus endpoints in the same process.
The following snippet shows a simple MSMQ-to-RabbitMQ router configuration
var routerConfig = new RouterConfiguration("MyRouter");
customization: transportExtensions => { });
customization: transportExtensions =>
The router has a simple life cycle:
var router = Router.Create(routerConfig);
await router.Start().ConfigureAwait(false);
await router.Stop().ConfigureAwait(false);
The router can be configured to create all required queues on startup:
routerConfig.AutoCreateQueues(identity: "Bob");
Error handling
The router has a built-in retry strategy for error handling. It retries forwarding each message a number of times (immediate retries) and then moves it to the back of the input queue incrementing a delayed retry counter. If that counter reaches the maximum configured value, the message is moved to the poison message queue. The following snippet shows how it can be configured:
routerConfig.CircuitBreakerThreshold = 20;
routerConfig.DelayedRetries = 10;
routerConfig.ImmediateRetries = 10;
In addition to immediate and delayed retries, the router has built-in outage detection through a circuit breaker. After a number of consecutive failures, the circuit breaker is triggered which causes the interface to enter the throttled mode. In this mode, the interface processes a single message at a time and pauses after each processing attempt. The interface goes back to the normal mode after the first successful processing attempt. When in the throttled mode, the router does not increment the delayed retries counter to prevent messages being sent to the poison message queue due to infrastructure outages.
A router consists of multiple NServiceBus.Raw endpoints, called interfaces, and a routing protocol that controls how messages should be forwarded between them. This design is very flexible and allows for various topologies to be implemented. Here are some sample topologies:
Scaling out
The router can be scaled out, just like regular NServiceBus endpoint, through the competing consumers approach. Multiple copies of the router executable can be deployed to separate hosts and run in parallel attached to the same set of queues and they are going to automatically share the load.
One limitation to this approach is the MSMQ transport where queues are only available locally so deployment to multiple hosts is not possible. Fortunately MSMQ has a relatively high throughput so router is likely not going to become a bottleneck.


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Draco (Novel)
Draco is a novel by Ian Watson. It was originally published in 1990 under the title Inquisitor.
Cover Description
Forty thousand years in the future, the human Imperium struggles for survival against its relentless enemies. Inquisitor Jaq Draco uncovers a plot that threatens the psychic future of mankind. Can he unravel the trail of conspiracy before he himself is destroyed by its deadly clutches? Dazzling and frenetic, Ian Watson's Inquisition War presents a unique vision of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Draco is the first novel in Black Library's Inquisition War omnibus. This 234-page novel presents the first part of a story featuring an Inquisitor of the Imperium by the name of Jaq Draco. Jaq's companions are few; he travels with a female Assassin Meh'Lindi, a young Squat Grimm and Navigator Googol. Draco is a secret Inquisitor; as he's a part of the Inquisition's Inner Order, his missions often involve issues of internal affairs. Such is the premise under which this story begins.
The story is retold from the recorded account (Liber Secretorum) of one claiming to be an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, Jaq Draco. The record is being scrutinized by a master librarian who is unable to verify many of its claims.
As the story opens, our heroes are in a hotel on the hive world of Stalinvast. Inquisitor Jaq Draco of the Ordo Malleus is joined by his retinue: Callidus Assassin Meh'Lindi, Navigator Googol, and Squat engineer Grimm. In most of the planet's hive cities, a rebellion borne of Genestealer infestation threatens to destroy human Imperial rule. Another Inquistor, Harq Obispal, leads the planetary garrison in a purge against the rebels. Jaq's assignment, given to him by his Proctor Baal Firenze, is to oversee the performance of Obispal another Inquisitor leading the purge of the planet's Genestealers. During the Genestealer uprising, Meh'Lindi injects herself with polymorphine in order to take on the guise of a Genestealer, as she is followed into battle by Grimm, with both being followed by Draco with tiny spy-fly cameras. Meh'Lindi rescues Inquisitor Obispal as his position is nearly overrun by Genestealers. Grimm is near falls in a human stampede and crush of those fleeing the war, but is also rescued by Meh'Lindi.
After the Genestealers are purged, Inquisitor Obispal leaves with much fanfare. However, Draco suspects the mass casualties caused by the war may allowed warp beings to emerge upon Stalinvast. Draco consults the Emperor's Tarot to find answers, but is disturbed to find his cards have been psychically penetrated by the Harlequin Man Zephro Carnelian, who mentions the have hydra business together. Carnelian leads Draco, Meh'Lindi, and Grimm down to the underhive of Stalinvast, where they encounter a strange octopus-like warp entity with Carnelian behind it. As they attempt to battle it, they find themselves suddenly succumbing to psychic attacks upon their pain and pleasure centers, before they all break out of their trance. They fail to destroy the Hydra and fail to capture Cornelian, only catching his tricorn hat showing a naked infant seated upon a stylized cloud against a starry background. Upon returning to their hotel, they find and untie Googol, who was likely subdued so that his warp eye could not be used by Draco.
Understanding the seriousness of the threat the Hydra poses, Draco eventually and regretfully resolves to declare Exterminatus upon Stalinvast. Draco travels to the Imperial Governor's palace in order to make use of his personal Astropath, who would be the most experienced and reliable in communicating the decree of exterminatus. Draco discovers that governor Voronox-Vaux, and his family, possess a mutation that allows them to see primarily in the red and infrared spectrum, which is also accompanied by occasional physical deformities. Voronox-Vaux reveals he had primarily agreed to Inquisitor Obispal's catastrophic approach to the Genestealer purge in order to for his family's mutations to be overlooked. Draco is then brought before the governor's personal Astropath, Moma Parsheen, who laments her decades of confinement within the palace, despite being able to see and hear far beyond the stars.
Draco communicates to her the coded command she is to send to the Fortress-Monastery of the Imperial Ravager chapter of Space Marines. However, Draco cancels his order when Moma Parsheen reveals she senses multiple warp portals opening across the planet, and the Hydra leaving through them. Carnelian then once against reveals himself through hologram and goads Draco to follow him. Moma Parsheen places a psychic beacon upon Carnelian, allowing Draco and his retinue to give chase through the warp. However, as they transverse the warp, Moma Parsheen reveals she sent the Exterminatus command anyway, out of spite for her confinement within the Imperial Palace. With Moma Parsheen unwilling to send a message within the warp (if even willing), Draco unwilling to bring the risk of daemons torturing an Astropath in the warp would surely bring, they continue trailing Carnelian.
They eventually track Carnelian to a Space Hulk within the warp, and begrudgingly the group bring Moma Parsheen along in order to track the psychic beacon within the massive Space Hulk. As they near their destination, they are seized by tendrils of the Hydra and stripped of their armour and weapons. Draco is then presented with a banquet by Carnelian, attended by a group revealing itself the Ordo Hydra. Draco sees Inquisitor Obispal, and much to his surprise Proctor Firenze. They explain that the Ordo Malleus is a hidden Ordo within the Imperial Inquisition, and within this order is an inner order composed of the Hidden Masters, of which Draco is already a member. However, within the inner order of the Hidden Masters is the Ordo Hydra, whose goal is to control humanity using the Hydra warp entity. The Hydra, they claim, was created in a covert theological lab on some frozen fringe of unclaimed territory, and that each tendril of the Hydra was part of the whole. Tendrils of the Hydra are to be sent from world to world, its spores infecting humans across the galaxy until most if not all of humanity is united by the Hydra, which is controlled by the Ordo Hydra. Once this goal is achieved, the Hydra will be used to expel all daemons and xenos from the galaxy, leaving only a united mankind to rule the galaxy. Draco is then inducted into the Ordo Hydra and marked with an octopus tattoo on his head to mark his membership. Draco later mentions that the astropath had sent the exterminatus order of her own accord, which seems to trouble Carnelian, who then kills Moma Parsheen with a shot through her eye. Draco is later given his own sealed container holding a tendril of the hydra to be transported to another world.
Even after induction Draco remains skeptical, doubting the supposed origin of the Hydra, and intents behind the yet unknown Hidden Masters of the Ordo Hydra, whether the Emperor truly intended this outcome, and whether the Ordo Hydra can be trusted with controlling humanity. Draco also begins to wonder if Carnelian may in fact be a double-agent working against the Ordo Hydra. Meh'Lindi also notes that the servitors being used by the order bear some marking similar to those of the Traitor Legions. Based on these suspicions, Draco and his retinue travel to the Eye of Terror. Guided by the Emperor's Tarot, they land upon a Slaanesh-corrupted world, where they successfully capture the hedonist leader of the daemon world. Before she can reveal much about the Hydra, Carnelian appears and kills her before fleeing.
Having little recourse, Draco travels to Terra itself to commune with the Emperor on this matter. Using an Inquisitorial Black Ship's psychic shields to hide himself from Carnelian, Draco and his retinue sneak themselves within Terra's palace within stasis containers used for food. Draco's tarot cards then begin physically leading the retinue through the maze of the Imperial Palace for weeks, driven by an unseen force. As they approach the Eternity Gate, time freezes as the Emperor personally grants Draco and his retinue audience. The Emperor reviews Draco's memory, but cannot definitively confirm whether he, or one of sub-minds knew about the Hydra. The Emperor also states that a reflection of his goodness was thrust from himself. Left with a series of contradictory answers, time begins to move again, and the Draco and his retinue flee the palace.
In the epilogue, upon scanning the Liber Secretorum, the master librarian confirms to a hooded Ordo Malleus Inquisitor that the recording was delivered soon after Draco was declared a renegade for ordering exterminatus upon Stalinvast. The existence of Meh'Linda was confirmed by the Director of the Callidus Assassins, but her they would not confirm her abilities to transform into a Genestealer. The Navis Nobilite is unwilling to disclose whether Vitali Googol existed, preferring to remain fully independent of investigations. Grimm is a common name amongst Squats and cannot be tracked to a single one. Few other details could also be confirmed. As the librarian asked the Inquisitor permission to admire his tattoo, the Inquisitor who is revealed to be Carnelian, kills the Librarian and states the Inquisition War has begun.
- Draco and His Retinue
- Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Jaq Draco - An Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, psyker, and main character of the series
- Callidus Assassin Meh'Lindi - A Callidus Assassin with the ability to solely morph into the facsimile of a Genestealer. Background: The Alien Beast Within (Short Story)
- Navis Nobilite Navigator Vitali Googol - The Navigator of Draco's ship, the Tormentum Malorum, who also assists Draco with the use of his Warp Eye
- Squat Grimm - Draco's abhuman engineer
- Ordo Hydra
- Harlequin Man Zephro Carnelian - An eccentric member of the Ordo Hydra and primary antagonist
- Inquisitor Harq Obispal - Directed the purging of Genestealers on Stalinvast
- Ordo Malleus Inquisitor Baal Firenze - Jaq Draco's Proctor, who was responsible for initially sending Draco to Stalinvast
- Stalinvast
- Planetary Governor Voronox-Vaux - Planetary governor of Stalinvast
- Astropath Moma Parsheen - The planetary governor's personal astropath