We'll give you three guesses on who this bewigged superstar is. If you guessed Moe Howard, you've only got two stabs left.

According to Retronaut, the Kodak moment was snapped in 1964 while the "Psycho" director was donning a Beatles-style mop 'do. We're not sure why, but the mystery and Hitchcock's uncanny resemblance to a particular Stooge makes this our photo of the day.

Alfred Hitchcock Fell Victim To Beatlemania Just Like The Rest Of Us

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A photo of Alfred Hitchcock in a Beatles wig from 1964 (2)


What Archaeologists Discovered on This 1,500-Year-Old Mummy’s Feet Is Blowing People’s Minds

Finding a well-preserved 1,500-year-old mummy buried in the middle of nowhere would generally already be considered a major success. But in this case, rather than the discovery itself, it’s what the corpse was found with on its feet that’s really getting people flushed with excitement.

Interestingly, this mummy would never have been discovered if it hadn’t been for the help of local herders. When the herdsmen ran across a strange burial site in the mountains of western Mongolia, they alerted a museum in the nearby town of Khovd.

As a result, a team of archaeologists went to investigate. The burial site is located at 9,200 feet in elevation along the Altai Mountains of Central Asia – among the most sparsely populated regions in the world.

Inside the ancient 10-foot-deep grave, the archaeologists found a well-preserved mummy alongside a number of items, including a saddle, a wooden bowl, a clay vase, an iron kettle and traditional Mongolian clothing. The grave even contained the remains of a horse.

The archaeologists also uncovered wool, from both sheep and camels, in the grave. And thanks to all the extra items, the specialists were able to date the corpse to approximately the 6th century CE, making it just about 1,500 years old.

Because they did not find a bow or any arrows in the grave, the archaeologists assume that the mummified remains are those of a woman. The body itself is tightly wrapped in felt cloth.

Judging from her possessions, she was likely "not from the elite" of her tribe, said B.Sukhbaatar, one of the museum’s researchers. That said, she was Turkic, and her grave is, furthermore, the first complete Turkic burial site ever discovered in Mongolia.

The Turkic people first emerged in the Altai region thousands of years ago before migrating out to many other places, including modern-day Turkey. Ancient 6th-century Chinese texts describe the Turkic people as strong and powerful nomads, skilled in archery and horseback riding.

Indeed, the individual in the grave was clearly part of a group of people who relied almost entirely on livestock to support their way of life. Other discovered items that confirm this idea include sheep and goat bones and leather – parts of grazing animals, which the nomads would have had accompany them on their travels.

The amazing find may also be the first complete Turkic grave unearthed not just in Mongolia but all of Central Asia. And, interestingly, the archaeologists credit the body’s preservation to the cold temperatures of the mountainous region.

Similar findings of Turkic warrior graves have been made in the Altai region in recent years. However, this is the first such site to contain so many personal possessions.

But despite the incredible find, there’s more that has the internet buzzing. The most interesting aspect of the mummy is its strange footwear, which instantly generated a heated discussion when the photos first appeared on the popular video sharing website LiveLeak on April 10, 2016.

The mummy’s shoes feature colored stripes which, as many commenters pointed out, look strangely similar to the Adidas logo. Others on Twitter and Facebook took the theory a step further by suggesting that the woman was a time traveler – and we’d have to add that she must have been one with a great sense of sporty footwear fashion.

Another person quipped, "I wish my adidas shoes last 1500 years I’m lucky if I get 3 months out of them." But, naturally, this was all meant to be tongue-in-cheek

as another commenter pointed out, the shoes actually had some clear differences from typical Adidas footwear.

For one thing, the shoes feature four visible stripes, whereas Adidas has only three. And of course their owner probably fashioned the shoes herself – rather than having them made in Vietnam. Others chimed in that the stripes were more likely bands used to hold the shoes in place.

In any case, the fact that the archaeologists have not responded to the footwear debate suggests that they don’t take it very seriously, unfortunately. To them, the find holds much more value as a window into the life of 6th-century Central Asian nomads.

Mr. Sukhbaatar said the discovery is a "very rare phenomenon," adding, "These finds show us the beliefs and rituals of Turkiks." He suggests that the horse in the grave was likely sacrificed to continue serving its master in the afterlife.

In similar fashion to the Ancient Egyptians, these Turkic people believed that physical items could be used in the afterlife. This explains why the woman was buried together with her possessions and especially her horse.

But more importantly, the sophisticated items found in the grave "show us that these people were very skilled craftsmen," Sukhbaatar added. "Given that this was the grave of a simple person, we understand that craft skills were rather well developed."

The archaeological specialists hope to gain further insights once the mummy has been unwrapped and properly examined. At the very least, they will be able to give a better final determination on the mummy’s gender. A sense of mystery certainly surrounds this ancient discovery, but it’s perhaps less to do with footwear than some folks would like to imagine.


Rap star reveals what it's REALLY like to work with Jay and Justin

Over a year since the release of his sixth No. 1 album, "Life Is Good," Nasir "Nas" Jones is still living the good life as hip hop’s distinguished Don.

Following its release, the veteran New York lyricist, who celebrated his 40th birthday last month, has remained active touring across the globe, recording, and investing into business ventures to add to his ever-evolving portfolio.

During a recent interview with The Huffington Post, God’s Son opened up on being the brand ambassador for Hennessy’s "Wild Rabbit" campaign, in addition to details on his forthcoming 2014 as-yet-untitled opus, and plans on etching his imprint into the fashion industry.

What attracted you to work with the Hennessy brand and their "Wild Rabbit" campaign?

They called me and it was just great timing. I’ve been on the Henny for so long. That’s everybody’s original drink. So over the years I tried a lot of different things, from tequila, to whatever. And I’ve been away from Henny for a while. And it was ironic, when I got the call from them is when I got back into Hennessy. It was like magic.

What has been the most interesting thing that you discovered since working with the brand?

That Cognac was a place in France, and that’s where they make the product. There’s barrels of this stuff that’s centuries old, stored in old stone warehouses. And it’s a serious process that goes into making each bottle. And it comes from grapes, I had no idea. I never thought about where cognac came from. I assumed just sparkling wine and red wine, all of that was grapes. I never took the time to think, "wow, this thing comes from grapes too." And there’s a real place called Cognac, France. Which is a cool country side.

Next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of the release of "Illmatic." Are there any special plans underway to commemorate the milestone?

We’re putting together a concert. And I think we’re going to do something with the album and repackage it with special stuff. I think that’s in the works.

Earlier this year you initially planned to unveil the title to your next album. What has been the cause of the delay?

I got a little busy, and I wasn’t sure it was really a real fit for the record. It felt like I came up with it too easy. And I like that because "Life Is Good" came up on its own. It just popped in my head. So the next title came up in a similar way, but it was probably too early.

Thus far, how is the album shaping up in terms of its direction?

With "Life Is Good" it felt like hip hop needed an album to help steer the direction of the sound and the rest of the albums that were coming out that year. Or to re-encourage the ones that were working to say, "It’s ok to make a hip hop album." And that was my goal with that. And I think I accomplished that. I think after that I saw a nice sharp turn for the better in rap albums. So that mission is completed.

With this record, ah man ... It’s the next chapter in myself as a writer. I’m really excited about every new leaf I turn. Every new endeavor. I’m excited about that and all the potential that comes with everything new that I do. And all my ideas can come to fruition. And that excites me, because there’s no limits to what I can do, in terms of trying to be an inspiration. I just want to do well for the listeners out there. Do well for the whole genre. So I’m excited.

One particular track off the album that has piqued fans' interest is, "Sinatra In The Sands," featuring Justin Timberlake and Jay Z. What was the recording process like?

Excitement... Excitement to work and be in the place that we’re all are at, musically. Those are the guys who lasted the test of time, and those guys are at the top of their game. They’re just great company to be in. So that’s the whole vibe of that. And of course the title says it all.

Lyrically, where are you taking fans on the track?

More like from a musician’s stand point, someone who’ve been around. Because Sinatra has been around and he has a long, long standing with the stage and the audience for years. And he evolved. His talent got better just like wine. And I think that’s something a lot of people want to achieve. So that’s what this song is really about. Striving to be the best you, like Sinatra had become.

In recent weeks you’ve been photographed in the studio with Mariah Carey and Jermaine Dupri. Will the collaboration appear on your album?

That’s on her album, and it’s a banger! I was excited to get back in the studio with her. She’s one of the greatest voices of our generation. She’s on another level. Just working with an artist that big really shows me how much further I can go. I’ve been inspired just sitting there talking to her. She’s very smart and extremely talented. And I’m just happy to work with her again.

In the past you two remade Keith Sweat’s timeless classic, "Make It Last Forever." If you guys could hypothetically go back and remake another classic hit, what would it be?

Wow! I think me and her would be Marvin [Gaye] and Tammi Terrell in a way. Their track, "Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing," or something like that.

Aside from the Hennessy campaign and music you’ve also launched your new clothing line, HSTRY. How much input do you have in each design?

Total input on everything. From picking out fabric to the designs. It’s a collaborative effort between me and Grungy Gentleman. So what you’ve been seeing from HSTRY is not 100 percent HSTRY. It’s half HSTRY, half Grungy Gentleman. That was the way we launched it on that level. But the Spring collection is the next thing. We’re going to have some cool pieces this Winter. But next Spring is where my head is at, which will be 100 percent HSTRY.

How has your experience working with the Willie Esco brand better prepared you for HSTRY?

I saw the future of Esco being a $200 - $300 million company, but they didn’t. Those guys didn’t foresee the Sean John and Rocawear thing. They didn’t foresee it because they just weren’t in that head space. They didn’t believe in it, so I left because I didn’t believe in the direction. And through the years I’ve been wanting to do something here and there, but I didn’t have the time. I knew it would come later down the road at some point. So I just waited till it felt like it was the right time.

Where do you envision your style in the fashion industry?

Just a great look, comfort, and quality. My thing spans from my 90s wear, where it’s all military, it’s all fatigue-style stuff, but just make it higher end and current. And also, the athletic styles of that time. Without revealing all my secrets, I have a wide range of ideas for HSTRY. It’s just unstoppable with all the directions I have for this thing. I’m excited to get that off the ground, and we’re just starting. It looks like 2014 is going to be another big year for me.

Nas Reveals New Album Details, Business Ventures & More

Over a year since the release of his sixth No...

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Nestled into the La Jolla coastline and stretching across 2,000 acres of protected land, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a true breath of fresh air for those looking to escape from the doldrums of a depleted interior life. Crowned as a national natural landmark in 1977, Torrey Pines is home to the elusive and eponymous Torrey Pine tree, the rarest pine to grace American land. But alas—it wasn't always that way. Historic attempts—some more successful than others—have been made to protect the precious tree since its discovery in the 19th century. It was everything from signs that promised a $100 reward for the apprehension of cowardly vandals to the area's designation as a national reserve—one of the strictest federal protections enacted specifically to shelter endangered flora and fauna.

Tree groves are a fairly uncommon sight along the southern California coast, so when early Spanish explorers stumbled upon Mother Nature's magical pines, the area was dubbed Punto de Los Arboles, which literally translates to "Point of Trees." Today, Torrey Pines is home to a web of hikes just remote enough to make you feel like the only troubadour hitting the trails. Or, if you're poetic, take a nice long walk along the beach—just remember to check the tides! High tides can leave little room between the ocean swell and the cliffs.

And in the warmer months when the Santa Ana winds blow hot and dry, and Joan Didion might warn that all the dogs will bark in synchronicity and to keep an eye out for trouble—in reality, you have nothing to worry about. The magic of southern California's Torrey Pines is nearly palpable with all those good vibes swirling around. Take a hike to the top of the cliffs for a chance sighting of migratory whales or rabbits cotton-tailing through the native chaparral.

So what are you waiting for? The inside of your office isn't going to get more beautiful any time soon—because the wilderness is calling.

As a proud member of the local community, Arrowhead® Brand 100% Mountain Spring Water celebrates all the natural beauty California has to offer. The Arrowhead brand began in California 121 years ago, and today continues to be focused on caring for its mountain spring sources and conservation efforts at their facilities—another way Arrowhead respects Mother Nature.

This post is a sponsored collaboration between Arrowhead and Gothamist staff. To learn more about Arrowhead® and the brand's commitment to California, visit the Arrowhead website for more details. Naturally Different.TMThis post is a sponsored collaboration between Arrowhead and Gothamist staff.

If you're reading this right now, chances are you've got your nose in a screen—or maybe you're inside where those flickering fluorescents that just won't quit. Riddle us this—do you remember the great outdoors? You know, that thing outside? Can you recall it well enough to describe exactly how it feels to have the salted wind whip through your hair as sunbeams dart through the clouds? Do you remember what it's like to feel air not blasted from an air conditioner? If you're scratching your head right now in fear that you might be turning paler by the minute and in desperate need of some Vitamin D—fear not. A solution to your troubles is a road trip away.

What's The Literal "Point Of Trees?" It's Not What You Think: LAist

Its a place on the southern coast of California


Here's the real money-maker for the Internet of Things

Why hasn’t the Internet of Things become a thing?

Trust me—the name isn’t helping. What does "the Internet of Things" even mean? Our household objects do not have their own internet. There’s no little Twitter for thermostats, or Facebook for waffle irons.

Oh, there’s an infinitude of networkable "smart" products available—lights, thermostats, coffee makers, security cameras, door locks, sprinklers, robot vacuums, smoke detectors, microwaves, pool cleaners, baby monitors, bike locks, shower heads, crockpots, coffee mugs, soccer balls and basketballs, bathroom scales, bikes, and rolling luggage. All of it networked, all of it connected to apps on your phone.

There is not, however, a corresponding rush of people buying this smart stuff.

Sure, some early-adopter techies have installed smart thermostats and light bulbs. The Nest thermostat, for example, programs itself by observing what time you come and go, and the Honeywell Lyric uses your phone’s GPS to know when you’re approaching the house, and get it heated or cooled in advance. You can also adjust your home’s temperature and lighting from a phone app.

But mass adoption of IoT? Nope, not yet. I can count the number of people I know who own, say, an internet-connected mattress on zero fingers.

The industry’s rush to Thing-ize every ever-loving household object, no matter how silly, isn’t helping much with the category’s reputation. The following are actual products:

Upon discovering that a remote control came with our new TV in 1979, my mom said, as I recall: "Why does anyone need this? Is it so hard to walk six feet to change the channel?"

That seems to be the public’s response to IoT devices: "Why do I need this thing?"

And also: "Am I really going to open an app to turn my lights on?"

And also: "What about security? The more entry points I offer to hackers on the internet, the easier I am to hack!"

You may recall that last month’s massive internet outage—of Twitter (TWTR), Reddit, Netflix (NFLX), Airbnb, and Spotify—was made possible by a weakness in IoT webcams made by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology.

But here’s the thing: Most people (and most reporters) who use the term "Internet of Things" are talking about consumer products. And sure enough: IoT adoption in consumer products isn’t what you’d call white hot.

There is, however, a second IoT universe where these technologies make a lot more sense: Industrial and commercial uses.

A typical corporate building is made up of systems: security systems, fire/smoke/water-alarm systems, heating/cooling systems, lighting systems. If they can be made to communicate intelligently, both with each other and with building managers, they can provide a huge boost in convenience, savings, safety, and environmental payoff.

At this very moment, gas companies are installing sensors on remote pumping stations in Alaska, so that their engineers can monitor the machinery’s health with an app instead of driving out there for inspection. Tire companies are embedding sensors into their tires, and sharing the collected data to trucking companies to save fuel and money. Sensors in municipal water utilities can predict when machines will fail, so they can be fixed before disaster strikes. Predictive maintenance, it’s called.

Some people call this realm IIoT, the Industrial Internet of Things. In business, it’s not about not getting up off the couch to flip a light switch. It’s about efficiency, data, interconnectedness of systems—and big, big money. According to Accenture, corporations will be spending $500 billion a year on these technologies by 2020.

Usually, new technologies seep into the corporate world through the back door, when employees bring their personal technologies and devices into the workplace (see: smartphones, social media). But in the case of the Internet of Things, it looks like industry will lead the way.

You may not be completely sure why anyone needs to build sensors into, write an app for, and generate data from a waffle iron.

But in the commercial world, when the "things" in question are big, expensive, dangerous, and mission-critical pieces of equipment, the "why" of sensors, data, and apps is screamingly clear.


Have Allergies? Avoid This City At All Costs

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s annual list of the spring allergy capitals has been released and for the second year in a row, Jackson, Mississippi, ranks first.

"Jackson is a beautiful city with a wide variety of trees and other pollen-producing plants that create higher than average pollen scores when compared to other municipalities around the country," Alex Burgess, spokesperson for AAFA, told weather.com. "This also results in higher than average medication usage by their citizens."

Though the number one spot may have stayed the same from last year, the rest of the top 10 saw a shakeup. Syracuse, New York, climbed to third place on this year’s list after . Providence, Rhode Island, and Buffalo, New York, also make appearances in this year’s top 10. ranking 20th in 2015 . Providence, Rhode Island, and Buffalo, New York, also make appearances in this year’s top 10.

"We were surprised by Syracuse and Buffalo jumping into the top 10," Burgess said. "Spring pollen levels in both cities were much higher than those recorded in other major U.S. metropolitan areas, but Buffalo experienced a significant reduction in the number of certified allergists compared to last year, which may have influenced lower than expected medication utilization.

Dr. Clifford Bassett, medical director of and an ambassador for AAFA, told weather.com that the presence of El Niño this winter and the wet, mild winter weather much of the country saw can result in a stronger allergy season. Although there has been a trend over the last few decades of the spring allergy season inching up on the calendar, Allergy and Asthma Care of New York and an ambassador for AAFA, told weather.com that the presence of El Niño this winter and the wet, mild winter weather much of the country saw can result in a stronger allergy season.

"In any year with an El Niño phenomenon, we expect certain areas of the country, particularly in the South, to be plagued by lots of rainfall and precipitation," Dr. Clifford Bassett said. "Each year it’s different. If you look at the aerobiology, you have a lot of different pollen areas. There’s a lot of cities [in the South] that are hit hard each year during the spring allergy season."

And Burgess agrees. "Certain parts of the country appear to be experiencing higher than average pollen counts while others have shown lower counts," which could be thanks to the presence of El Niño, he said. "Generally speaking, the United States has experienced a warmer than typical winter coupled with late winter precipitation that has created an earlier pollen season than typically seen. Pollen counts are on the rise around the country and individuals who experience seasonal allergies need to be proactive and meet with their allergists to prepare a plan to address their symptoms."

The AFAA compiles the annual city rankings using data on metro-area pollen counts, the availability of board-certified allergists in the region and rates of allergy medication use. The complete list and more information about the ranking are available at AllergyCapitals.com.

Which City Is the Worst for Spring Allergies?

Some of the cities in the top 10 may surprise you.


This String Cheese Packaging Is Oddly Sexist

Some days you can’t even enjoy a string cheese without sexism getting you down. Someone wrote in to Jezebel this week with an irritating observation about Galbani string cheese. "The 3 types of full fat cheese each have a different 'boy' string cheese cartoon character, but the low fat cheese character has been drawn as a girl," the anonymous tipster wrote. "Wouldn’t have noticed it at all except my 5yo daughter excitedly pointed it out and asked if we could get the ‘girl cheese.’" The tipster provided a photo, which matches up with the images of the cheese on the Galbani website -- all their string cheese and "snack cheese" products have a stereotypically male-looking cheese character, while the reduced-fat versions have a lady cheese person.

"Reduced fat" should not make a food more feminine.

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The anthropomorphic string cheese on the packaging is male on the regular package and female on the reduced fat version.


Scientists just discovered where HIV began

Diseases, while disastrous, often come and go in the public eye. We hear about ebola, but then another one quickly grabs national monitors and TV screens for its fifteen minutes.

However, one condition that seems to not fit into his norm is the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The spread of HIV is a story that would have most television dramas pale in comparison - combining elements of intrigue, suspense, and mystery into one cohesive nightmare that has blanketed the globe since the 1920s.

It all began in Kinshasha, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, in the 1920s, it was better known as the Belgian colony of Leopoldville.

A high profile location for young men to sojourn to in hopes of making a fortune, as it was the capital of Belgian Congo. Therefore, with them came railroads and sex workers. Two forms of transportation that respectively spread people and infection. With a flourishing location, HIV found many opportunities to grow into the pandemic it is today.

The irony of it all is that HIV-1 group M, the type of HIV that originated in the colony, is responsible for about 90 percent of all infections, while HIV-1 group O, another type of HIV originating nearby is still quietly confined to West Africa. Thereby suggesting it may have been the opportunities, and not the function, of that disease that enabled it to roar globally.

"Ecological rather than evolutionary factors drove its rapid spread," says Nuno Faria at the University of Oxford in the UK, in an interview with the BBC.

Faria and his colleagues were able to make this determination after they built a family tree of HIV by looking at a host of HIV genomes collected from about 800 infected people from central Africa.

Notably, by comparing two genome sequences and counting the differences in them, the team was able to figure out when the two last shared a common ancestor.

Ultimately, Faria determined that the HIV genomes all shared a common ancestor... one that existed no more than 100 years ago. To that end, they assert that it all likely began around 1920.

And with this information, they were able to place the virus to a specific city of origin - Kinshasa, which is now the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

All in all, the genetic assays that helped us localise the origin of the disease are still underway to help us identify points of public health intervention that may help us reduce the spread of the infection. Because, although we may know where it came from, we have yet to figure out where it will end.

This article was originally published by Futurism. Read the original article.

Scientists Just Discovered Where HIV Began

The birthplace of the disease that won't die.

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Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. #StopClickBait


The drab free port zone near the Geneva city center, a compound of blocky gray and vanilla warehouses surrounded by train tracks, roads and a barbed-wire fence, looks like the kind of place where beauty goes to die. But within its walls, crated or sealed cheek by jowl in cramped storage vaults, are more than a million of some of the most exquisite artworks ever made.

Treasures from the glory days of ancient Rome. Museum-quality paintings by old masters. An estimated 1,000 works by Picasso.

As the price of art has skyrocketed, perhaps nothing illustrates the art-as-bullion approach to contemporary collecting habits more than the proliferation of warehouses like this one, where masterpieces are increasingly being tucked away by owners more interested in seeing them appreciate than hanging on walls.

With their controlled climates, confidential record keeping and enormous potential for tax savings, free ports have become the parking lot of choice for high-net-worth buyers looking to round out investment portfolios with art.

"For some collectors, art is being treated as a capital asset in their portfolio," said Evan Beard, who advises clients on art and finance at U.S. Trust. "They are becoming more financially savvy, and free ports have become a pillar of all of this."

From left, a Etruscan sarcophagus that was locked in a free port for decades under a shell company’s name and returned to Italy earlier this year along with other antiquities stolen from burial sites

Picasso’s "Petit Pierrot aux Fleurs," a portrait of his son Paolo in a harlequin costume, one of about 4,500 works the Nahmad family of London art dealers is said to have tucked away in the Geneva Free Port

and Leonardo da Vinci’s oil-on-panel "Christ as Salvator Mundi," which emerged publicly for the first time in 2004 and was consigned to a free port when it was purchased in 2013.

The trend is prompting concerns about the use of these storage spaces for illegal activities. It is also causing worries within the art world about the effect such wholesale storage has on art itself. "Treating art as a commodity and just hiding it in storage is something that to me is not really moral," said Eli Broad, a major contemporary art collector who last year opened his own Los Angeles museum.

Free ports originated in the 19th century for the temporary storage of goods like grain, tea and industrial goods. In the last few decades, however, a handful of them — including Geneva’s — have increasingly come to operate as storage lockers for the superrich. Located in tax-friendly countries and cities, free ports offer savings and security that collectors and dealers find almost irresistible. (Someone who buys a $50 million painting at auction in New York, for example, is staring at a $4.4 million sales tax bill. Ship it to a free port, and the bill disappears, at least until you decide to bring it back to New York.)

At least four major free ports in Switzerland specialize in storing art and other luxury goods like wine and jewelry, and there are four more — most newly minted — around the world: Singapore (2010)

Concerned by the rapid growth of these private storage spaces and worried that they could become havens for contraband and money laundering, Swiss officials initiated an audit in 2012, the results of which were published two years ago. The results revealed a huge increase in the value of goods stored in some warehouses since 2007, led by an increase in high-value goods like art. Though the audit did not specifically measure the increase in stored artworks, it estimated that there were more than 1.2 million pieces of art in the Geneva Free Port alone, some of which had not left the buildings in decades.

Many masterpieces have long lived outside of public view, buried in the basements of museums or tucked away in the private villas of the rich.

But the free ports are drawing more criticism and concern, namely: Are they bad for art? Does the boxing up of millions of valuable works pervert the very essence of what art is supposed to do?

Containers stacked at the Geneva Free Port zone, one of several that have become popular destinations for locking up art treasures out of reach of taxes.

Yes, say many in the art world. "Works of art are created to be viewed," said the director of the Louvre, Jean-Luc Martinez, who described free ports as the greatest museums no one can see.

Some see even higher stakes for contemporary works, as they can be whisked off, their paint hardly dry, before ever entering the public’s consciousness. Storage puts the art "intellectually almost in a coma," said Joanne Heyler, the director of the Broad Museum.

Not everyone agrees, pointing out that there is plenty of art in the world for people to see and that much art was created as private property. "Paintings are not a public good," said David Nash, a New York gallery owner.

Even so, some collectors whose businesses have come to depend on free port storage are a bit sheepish. "It is a shame," Helly Nahmad, a London dealer whose family is said to store 4,500 works in the Geneva Free Port, told The Art Newspaper in 2011. "It is like a composer making a piece of music, and no one listens to it."

So just what works are locked away? Because most art is tucked into storage spaces quietly, it is difficult to know what is where at any given moment.

But assorted legal disputes, investigations and periodic exhibitions featuring stored works have provided glimpses of specific pieces lost from view.

There are the rare Etruscan sarcophagi discovered in Geneva by the Italian police two years ago, found among 45 crates of looted antiquities, some still wrapped in Italian newspapers from the 1970s.

And the $2 billion collection of the Russian billionaire Dmitry M. Rybolovlev, which includes a Rothko, a van Gogh, a Renoir, Klimt’s "Water Serpents II," El Greco’s "Saint Sebastian," Picasso’s "Les Noces de Pierrette" and Leonardo da Vinci’s "Christ as Salvator Mundi."

(Mr. Rybolovlev is suing his former art adviser, a major free port operator in Geneva, and has since shifted his collection from Geneva to storage in Cyprus, according to court papers filed last year.)

Some 19 works by Pierre Bonnard, a master of Post-Impressionism, are owned by the Wildenstein family, one of the great art-dealing families of the 20th century, according to the former lawyer for the widow of the patriarch, Daniel Wildenstein.

And there is a portrait of Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline, by the artist, along with 78 of his other works, shipped by his stepdaughter, Catherine Hutin, to the Geneva Free Port in 2012, according to legal papers.

"If Jacqueline was alive and knew that her paintings were in the free ports, she would just be devastated," said Pepita Dupont, author of a book about Jacqueline Picasso.

Picasso’s "Garçon à La Pipe" ("Boy With a Pipe") disappeared after it was sold to an unknown buyer at a Sotheby’s auction in 2004 for $104 million. Dealers suspect a free port is its likely new home.

Despite enhanced Swiss efforts to track inventory and ownership, the free ports there remain an opaque preserve (though more transparent these days than counterparts in places like Singapore), filled with objects whose ownership can be confoundingly convoluted.

Case in point: $28 million worth of works by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Joan Miró and others now stored in the Geneva Free Port. Equalia, a company registered by Mossack Fonseca (the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers controversy about how the wealthy conceal their riches), stored the works on behalf of a diamond broker, Erez Daleyot, in 2009. Once in storage, the art was used as collateral for debts Mr. Daleyot owed to a Belgian bank, according to court papers. Now a man named Leon Templesman, president of a New York diamond manufacturing company, Lazare Kaplan International, is trying to seize the art as part of a dispute with Mr. Daleyot and the bank.

Mr. Templesman said the free port’s embrace of confidentiality made such seizures more complicated. The bank, KBC, said it had kept the art in the free port "out of precaution" and that it could not comment further on a matter involving one of its clients.

David Hiler, president of the Geneva Free Port, said that as a result of the audit, the Swiss were working to address concerns about lack of transparency. Come September, he said, all storage contracts will require that clients allow additional inspections of any archaeological artifacts they want stored there.

Collectors and dealers choose to store art in the free ports for more pedestrian reasons than tax avoidance. Some simply have no more room in their homes, said Georgina Hepburne Scott, who advises collectors. And in a free port, their property is protected in climate-controlled environments, often under video surveillance and behind fire-resistant walls.

"When it is brought to light, the work is preserved

it’s not been hanging above a smoky fireplace," she said.

Van Gogh’s "The Olive Pickers" was once owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Lawyers for a Greek shipping heiress are trying to trace it and a trove of other paintings, which they say was last seen in a warehouse in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Some warehouses also have viewing rooms where collectors can review their art and show it to potential buyers. This year, after voters in Geneva rejected a plan to expand the major art museum, a Swiss lawyer, Christophe Germann, wrote a newspaper column advocating wholesale sharing, arguing that free ports be forced to open their doors to let people see public displays of the private collections, a worthy trade-off for the tax benefits collectors receive.

For many living artists, meanwhile, the fact that their work might be stored away in a climate-controlled bunker has become part of the reality of doing business.

"Ideally, I would like my work to be on display rather than in storage," said Julia Wachtel, a contemporary artist who knows that some of her collectors occasionally store art.

At their worst, Ms. Wachtel said, free ports represent a financial system in which investors have no connection to the art they buy. But she also recognizes that storage warehouses allow responsible collectors to manage their works and their limited wall space.

"People buying art is what keeps artists alive," she said.

And at the end of the day, dealers say that most artworks eventually surface.

"Even if it stays there for the lifetime of the collector," said a New York dealer, Ezra Chowaiki, "it’s not going to be there forever. It will come out."

One of the World’s Greatest Art Collections Hides Behind This Fence -...

The superrich have stashed millions of works in tax-free storage. So what does that mean for the art?

Art,Collectors and Collections,freeports,Geneva (Switzerland),Broad  Eli,Nahmad  Helly


State hands down another controversial homeless feeding ban

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Groups that volunteer to feed homeless people in Pennsylvania's state capital are being banned from lots near the county courthouse and administration building because of complaints about public urination, defecation and other problems.

Dauphin County officials have told the volunteers to move on, Pennlive.com (http://bit.ly/18jG6CM) reported Sunday.

Deputy Chief Clerk Scott Burford said Citizens Bank, which rents space from the county, has complained about its ATM kiosk being turned into a "Port-A-John" and said bank workers have been harassed and heckled by homeless people.

"We have a duty to react," said Burford, who denied claims by some homeless advocates that the ban is meant to prompt arrests of homeless people.

It’s possible that the ban may face some backlash, though.

Last August, a federal judge blocked Mayor Michael Nutter’s rule to ban feeding the homeless in Philadelphia, Philly.com reported.

"It hardly needs to be said that plaintiffs' food-sharing programs benefit the public interest," District Judge William H. Yohn Jr., wrote in his 56-page opinion. "Despite [the city's] considerable efforts, many Philadelphians remain homeless and hungry."

Liesa Burwell-Perry, who directs outreach ministries for Glad Tidings Assembly of God, said the church has been serving food to the homeless behind the county building for three years. She said it's well-lit, centrally located and that the problems encountered aren't likely to change if the charities are forced to set up shop elsewhere.

"They're kind of entrapping us because they don't have a solution and we don't know what to do," Burwell-Perry said.

Burford said the county isn't looking to lock up the homeless, and said new "no loitering" signs won't just target the homeless. The signs also are meant to deter patrons of nearby bars who park in the lots, or stop there to relieve themselves before heading home.

"I don't know that arrests are a good solution for us. We've asked for the least invasive measures and that's asking them to move on," Burford said. "We don't want to see anybody put in jail."

Pennsylvania Hands Down Another Controversial Homeless Feeding Ban

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Groups that volunteer to feed homeless people in Pennsylvania's state capital are being banned from lots near the county courthouse an...

homeless,homeless pennsylvania,homeless feeding ban,homelessness,homeless feeding ban pennsylvania,pennsylvania homeless


@kelly_clarkson reveals the sex of her baby

Congrats go out to Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock!

The singer revealed that the newlyweds are expecting a baby girl in a message on Twitter Monday (Jan. 20).

We just found out we're having a girl officially! I knew it! Only a girl could cause this much drama with all this vomiting ha! — Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) January 20, 2014

Clarkson, 31, who announced her baby news in November 2013, has been suffering from morning sickness throughout the first four months of her pregnancy.

"I vomit a good dozen times a day. It's, like, bad. I vomited before coming out here and I had a peppermint so you didn't [know]," Clarkson told Ellen DeGeneres in December. "I'm not even kidding, it's so bad. It's so bad. I know it's like so gross. And that's the thing, too -- you're not attractive when you're pregnant. Everybody tells you [that] you glow and your hair is pretty and your nails are pretty. That's total crap. My nails are short, my hair still falls out like it's not all lush and beautiful and I have no glow. Unless it's, like, something left over from a bad throw up. It's horrible."

Still, Clarkson had a feeling she was expecting a girl, telling Parade, "I'm totally gonna have a girl. I'm manifesting it! And when I have a girl, you're gonna be like, 'That chick knew it!'"

Kelly Clarkson Expecting A Baby Girl With Husband Brandon Blackstock

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Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor who ensures one visit London every year, is again chilling in the UK.

The fashionista is accompanying her husband Saif Ali Khan who is currently shooting for his upcoming film, Chef. Chef is a remake of the English film of the same name. Kareena was spotted at the Mumbai airport leaving for London without her son Taimur.

While Saifu is shooting, Bebo is catching up with all her friends. She reunited with her old designer friend Faraz Manan and Sandeep Khosla.

Kareena also met Rhea Kapoor, who was in town to celebrate her mom's Sunita's birthday.

We like how perfectly Bebo is balancing her motherhood, work and life.

Kareena Lets Her Hair Down In London Without Son Taimur, Chills With Her Designer Friends

We like how perfectly she is balancing her motherhood, work and life.

Rhea Kapoor, Kareena kapoor, bollywood, chef, saif ali khan, movies, london, vacation


Thanks to Kanye West, @TIDALHiFi was the most popular free app for Apple this weekend.

Kanye West gave Tidal a big boost this weekend by releasing his latest album "The Life of Pablo" exclusively on the Jay Z-owned streaming service. And after first promising a limited exclusive, West doubled down on Tidal Monday, announcing that the album won’t be available anywhere else in the foreseeable future.

West released his long-awaited seventh studio album on Tidal Sunday, telling his fans on Twitter: "I decided not to sell my album for another week. Please subscribe to Tidal."

Just one day later, West struck a different tone, announcing on Twitter that the album "will never ever be on Apple." And it looks like we won’t be seeing it anywhere else either: "And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal."

All of this promotion seems to have had a significant impact on Tidal’s usage: The service’s iOS became the most popular free app on Apple’s App Store this weekend, handily beating competitors like Pandora and Spotify.

This isn’t the first high-profile exclusive for Tidal. Last week, West streamed his fashion show and album premiere exclusively on the service. And last month, Rihanna gave Tidal a short exclusive window for the release of her latest album Anti, which prompted one million sign-ups for the service in half a day.

Kanye West Gives Tidal Big Boost With Exclusive Album

Kanye West's latest album will only be available on Tidal... which is giving the music service a big boost.


This was the case for BlackBerry's last launch anyway, as the all-touch DTEK50 was more or less a repurposed Alcatel device manufactured by TCL. Furthermore, the company announced in today's financials that it's already licensed its name to an Indonesian firm that'll build and sell BlackBerry-branded devices in the region.

While BlackBerry still makes the best keyboards in the business, some of its last highly security-conscious enterprise customers are starting to move on -- not to mention that the security of consumer devices has been called into question. In the past few months, BlackBerry has lost several high-profile patrons, including the US Senate and President Obama.

BlackBerry's core business remains software, but gone are the days when secure, enterprise email solutions were all the company had to talk about. Much of its famed productivity software is now available on Android, BBM is still very much a thing, and the QNX platform is being expanded to power self-driving cars. BlackBerry has also started shipping Radar, a hardware and software combo that offers shipping companies and the like real-time tracking. And while BB10 OS may be all but retired, a renewed focus on software appears to be paying off.

"We are reaching an inflection point with our strategy. Our financial foundation is strong, and our pivot to software is taking hold," said Chen. "In Q2, we more than doubled our software revenue year over year and delivered the highest gross margin in the company's history." Cut through the corporate speak and the general takeaway is: BlackBerry is doing alright, hardware is expendable.

In BlackBerry's latest quarterly financials released today, the company revealed it's getting out of the hardware business once and for all, choosing instead to...


If your password made this list, it's time to change it:

For the sixth year in a row, password management security company SplashData has scraped password dumps and scoured through the data to find the world's most common passwords. This year's compilation was drawn from over 5 million leaked emails. The passwords were mostly held by users in North America and Western Europe.

SplashData estimates that just over 10 percent of people use at least one of the 25 passwords from this year's list, up from three percent in 2014. A whopping 4 percent use the worst password, 123456, and the list also includes multiple variations of 'password,' meaning that John Podesta wasn't alone.

'123456' and 'password' top the list, just as they did in 2014 and 2015.

All but one of the numeric patterns were in last year's top 25 oft-repeated passwords, including '12345,' '12345678,' '1234567890,' '1234567,' and '1234.' New this year was '121212.'

This year's list included 'Password' and variations 'passw0rd' and the new but predicatble 'password1.' It also had some pretty obvious words: 'qwerty,' 'login,' 'welcome,' and 'admin,' another new one this year. Old favorites include 'football,' 'princess,' 'solo,' 'abc123,' 'dragon,' and 'master.'

Other new words this year: 'hottie,' 'loveme,' 'sunshine,' and 'flower.' Oh, and 'zaq1zaq1,' which is what you get when you type up on the left column on a standard keyboard. (Yes, other people can figure that out.)

The new passwords replaced 2015's '123456789,' 'baseball,' '111111,' '1qaz2wsx,' 'monkey,' 'letmein,' 'qwertyuiop,' and 'starwars.'

Many people wrongly assume that adding a '0' instead of an 'O' will make their password more secure, but SplashData CEO Morgan Slain says that's not the case. Making minor modifications to an easily guessable password does not make it secure, and hackers will take advantage of these tendencies, he wrote in a press release. Our hope is that by researching and putting out this list each year, people will realize how risky it is to use these common logins, and they will take steps to strengthen their passwords and use different passwords for different websites.

It's unclear whether folks are adding these variations in a misguided attempt to be more secure, or because they're being forced to. A 2015 study from researchers at Concordia University that I discussed last year showed that strength measurements on password strength meters on popular websites and password managers were highly inconsistent and may even lead users astray, since they relied on length, variety of characters, and sometimes common words or weak patterns, but failed to identify other weak patterns and did not account for Leet transformations (where the letter O could be replaced with the number 0, for example), even though anyone trying to crack a password certainly would.

In our large-scale empirical analysis, it is evident that the commonly-used meters are highly inconsistent, fail to provide coherent feedback, and sometimes provide strength measurements that are blatantly misleading, the study read.

Your best bet is the same as ever: create complex password phrases, and use a unique password for every account. That's because reusing passwords on multiple accounts leaves all of your accounts vulnerable if just one gets hacked and the passwords get dumped. To make things easier, store your passwords in a password manager.

If you're going to ignore password best practices, one way to be a little more secure is to set up two-factor authentication, at least on your email account. Two-factor authentication is a way to keep you safe from someone nefariously trying to reset your password. It adds an extra layer of security by asking for a second factor, in addition to your username and password, to prove your identity. This might be a numeric code sent to you via text message, a code generated on a phone app like Google Authenticator, or a Yubikey, a small hardware device that can be used to secure passwords on some sites or accounts. (Gmail allows users to print out one-time codes, in case you lose your phone or have it turned off because you're on an airplane.)

If someone tries to reset your password and you have 2FA enabled, it'll be much harder for them to gain access to your account. And if you have 2FA on your email account, this would at least stop a malicious actor from being able to reset all of your other passwords unless they can crack them, that is.

2016's Worst Passwords Are Just As Bad As 2015's (So Please Tell Me Yours Is Not On The List)

'Password' and '123456' topped the list.


Sweden has invented a new word for female masturbation

Jacking off, jerking the turkey, bashing the bishop: there are plenty of colourful phrases men can use for "masturbation", but as we've already learned, women just don't have the same options.

To redress this balance, the good people of Sweden have invented a new word which uniquely describes the experience of female self-stimulation: "klittra".

Last November, the Swedish Association for Sexual Education (RFSU) launched a competition asking members of the public to come up with a new phrase to help promote an "open, positive view of sex and relationship issues".

Historically, women's sexuality and not least female masturbation has been taboo. Women are not expected to have desires and be turned on in the same way as men, which is reflected in the lack of words [for masturbation].

After receiving almost 200 entries, a shortlist of 40 was distilled and posted on RFSU's website for a public vote.

The highly popular "klittra", which is reportedly a combination of "clitoris" and "glitter" was officially adopted by the RFSU at its congress earlier this week - narrowly edging out "pulla" and "runka".

More: Eight women discuss masturbation, still don't know what to call it


This seagull fell into a vat of chicken tikka masala. I think I can explain why.

Chicken tikka masala is undoubtedly delicious. But this is not the reason a seagull loitering at a food factory in Gloucestershire, England, fell into a vat of it this past Monday.

Perhaps you've seen photos of the bird, colored orange from his dip. (Turmeric, a key ingredient in curry, contains a potent orange pigment.) It looks like he’s trying to cosplay as an Angry Bird.

"The thing that shocked us the most was the smell," Lucy Kells, a nurse at the Veterinary hospital that cared for the tikka'd gull, told the Guardian. "He smelled amazing, he really smelled good."

What's not shocking is that the gull’s mishap occurred in pursuit of human food.

"Seagulls are notorious thieves," the blog Living Alongside Wildlife explains. "They tend to steal from anything that has food."

Here's one gull stealing a sandwich from a closed backpack.

Here's one that was caught casually shoplifting.

Here's a gull mistaking a GoPro camera for food and flying away with it.

And here's one stealing a piece of fish right out of a person's mouth!

Seagulls are what biologists call kleptoparasites, animals that rob the food of other species. And the birds can be damn cunning about it.

According to Seabirds: Feeding Ecology and Role in Marine Ecosystems, kleptoparasitism is a survival strategy that minimizes the energy expenditure needed to obtain food. Basically, the gulls have realized, why search for your own food when there's some perfectly good food in another animal's possession? They need to be clever to do so. Birds that are kleptoparasites tend to have bigger brains than birds that live the straight and narrow.

For it to be considered kleptoparasitism, the biologist Erika Iyengar explains, the parasite has to steal food from the host, and the host has to suffer as consequence. (The people who were not able to eat that delicious spiced chicken because, gross, a bird was in it, definitely suffered.)

And it's not just human food. Gulls and some other birds will steal food right from the clutches of other birds, mid-flight.

Seabirds breaks down the percentage of which species of seabirds get their food from robbing. There are some, like the Arctic skua (a.k.a. the parasitic jaeger), that feast primarily on the food of others.

Gulls are what's known as "opportunistic kleptoparasites," meaning they don't derive 100 percent of their diets from heist but rather just steal when the opportunity arises. And a big vat of tikka masala is an opportunity no gull can afford to miss.

Seagulls are "opportunistic kleptoparasites" (they steal food when the opportunity arises)


Anybody who has ever tried to catch a rat, without new-age tools, understands the complexity of the process. Some of us had heard stories of a certain tribe in South India that not only excelled in catching rats but also feasted on them. Was this a legend or were these people still around?

The idea was so intriguing that Mirror went on a hunt recently for these famous 'rat catchers'.

A little bit of research prior to the 'field work' revealed that some of these people from the Irula tribe stayed in the forests near Denakani-kottai (Tamil Nadu) but could speak well in Kannada. There began our quest.

Recently, two men from the same Irula tribe were flown to Florida, US, to help the American state catch the Burmese pythons, which were rapidly breeding and feeding on native species, driving them to near-extinction. When their local efforts failed to show results, the two tribesmen from Tamil Nadu were called in for the job, along with two translators. Together, they managed to capture 13 snakes in less than two weeks, according to a report in the Washington Post.

So, it was this famous tribe that we had our sights on. We headed out for the reserve forests near Denakanikottai (around 80 km from Bengaluru) and met Tamil Nadu's forest staff. When we asked them about the people we were looking for, they forwarded us to a few tribals who, they said, would be able to help us get to our rat catchers.

We were taken to meet two Irula tribals (who were working as support staffers). Speaking in Kannada, these men said that they were from a different 'sub-caste' and didn't know anything about rats themselves, but knew some others who did. But tracking them down might be a tough job, we were warned.

As we moved ahead, the forest department staff warned us about a herd of elephant that was spotted nearby a while ago. Sure enough, we soon found fresh elephant droppings all along the road as well as a newly trampled path through the thick bamboos grooves.

After travelling nearly 10 km through dense jungle, we reached a place called Tattikarai, which was up a hill and seemed untouched and pristine.

A middle-aged guy on a two-wheeler said he could show us some colonies of tribals, and rest was for us to discover. As we went into this Irula colony, we found only children there. The elders had gone out into the fields for work. We asked the children if one of them could accompany us on our quest, but were readily informed that they were not free - they were left in charge of their younger siblings, who stood cutely gaping at us.

We spotted a middle-aged woman in a house nearby, looking not too happy with our snooping around. She curtly informed us that people here were respectable and into farming and would never go around catching rats. According to her, we were obviously on a wild goose chase and were better off headed back home.

The overcast sky threatened to send us scampering for cover, but after all this effort, the mission could not be aborted. So, we went back to a village called Kamagiri.

As we approached Kamagere village, we could see around a hundred people assembled at a spot. Curious about it, we approached them, cameras out, but were quickly told to put our shutters away - this was a sacred village meet and clicking photos would cause offence. Apparently, two village groups had clashed and they had called a meeting to resolve the issue. The elders were obviously held in high regard and their word was the final on any major issue.

While still enquiring, an elderly man seemed sympathetic towards our mission. He told us that there were many rat catchers, years ago, but most of these people had now migrated to big cities like Bengaluru in search of jobs. Before we had time to be disheartened, he told us there was still a lone man left (he is not an Irula). Of course, he lived on top of a hill... deep inside the forests... inaccessible by vehicles. This was turning out to be quite the adventure from a thriller novel.

We asked this kindly old man if he could accompany us to our "last-surviving" rat catcher. "I'm too frail to walk so much," he informed us. No amount of coaxing would change his mind. Moved by our determination, he eventually found a youngster who agreed to be our guide.

The young man introduced himself as Shiva Kumar, who works as a driver in Bengaluru. And so, we set out on our final trek to the mountain top to meet our elusive rat catcher. As we walked through the thickets, for long, we couldn't find a single house. After several arduous climbs and scenic meadows, we spotted a house made of tiles and mud. An old lady sat cleaning ragi — our rat catcher's wife. The husband was not at home. He had gone to the nearby town for some personal work.

It occurred to us then that perhaps catching a rat would have been easier than finding the catcher himself. While we mulled turning back empty-handed, the woman threw us a carrot: we could try our luck at the only bus-stop nearby. Her husband might be back in the next ride. Shiva Kumar, our trusted guide, knew the way to the stop.

It was 1.50 pm and a cool breeze had dropped the temperature at his hill-top to a pleasant 24 degrees. We stood waiting at the stop while locals were curious to know why we had come all this way.

About an hour later, some exclaimed that they could hear a bus coming. Thankfully, the Tamil Nadu state government bus was bang on time (3 pm). Around 10 passengers got down, the last one was Eranna - the man of the hour.

Finally, after the introductions and some coaxing, he started talking to us about the 'lost art'. He said: "I learnt to catch rats from my father and grandfather who would take me hunting. As soon as I see a burrow, I know what kind of rat it is. If there are white rats, I would take a few well-built men along with me and close all the burrows except for one. Then, we would bring a pot with tiny holes made at the bottom. We would bring coconut shells and manure and try to burn it and keep it on one of the burrows and close it. We know just when to start digging. About 10-15 rats would have died in there. I take these rats back home and give them to my wife who makes the best delicacies out of them."

He talked about rat meat with so much enthusiasm that we remembered the episode with the former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a big advocate of rat meat. So much so that he wanted restaurants in his state to have it on the menu.

But Eranna, aged about 60, had a word of caution. "Not all rats are good to eat. There are a few large ones that are so poisonous that they can kill. But, there are a few rats which are found in the fields. I get a lot of calls from farmers to save the harvest. So I head there to catch these rats. It not only makes the farmer happy, but even me, because these are very tasty," he says.

Eranna, who never went to school, says he has caught thousands of rats in his lifetime and is the only one left in hundreds of villages nearby. But while he knows that with him, the unique skill will be gone too, he does not feel the need to teach the younger generation. He wants them to work well. All his five children work in Bengaluru.

SB Sidde Gowda, a man who once lived in a village nearby, said the rat catchers used to come to the villages soon after the harvest. They never caught any rats inside the village but only in the paddy and ragi fields.

Their reward was not only the rats caught, but also the grains stolen and stored underground by the rodents. No one objected to this.

The catchers were called "toda idiyoru" (toda catchers). Toda was a type of rat. The other common kind of rat was the "moog ili" (literally means 'nose rat', because of its longer nose). It was the 'toda' that stored grains underground. These rodents were found in groups of 20-30 and it was quite a sport to watch these skilled men at work. It wasn't uncommon for the village children to catch the 'holamalada ili' (field rat, literally) and eat it while out shepherding. No one ate the village rat, though.

Considering how skilled the job is, we asked Eranna if he would make a living out of it in the city, given an opportunity. But Eranna clarified that he doesn't work for money, even though he knows very well that his skills would be of great use in pest control.

He understands that a unique skill will be gone when he is. It's the problem with the current generation, he says, philosophically. There is little space or need for techniques of the past.

Originally published in Bangalore Mirror

As Indian Rat Catchers Get Jobs In Florida, This Is The Story Of South India's Last Rat Catcher

After India's Rat Catchers Get Jobs In Florida, This Is The Story Of South India's Last Rat Catcher


What happened when a bike company started putting TVs on the sides of its delivery packages

A cycling company that was seeing a high number of its bikes getting damaged during deliveries has seemingly solved the problem by making a simple change: printing a flatscreen television screen on the boxes.

By masking its bikes as TVs, VanMoof, a Dutch manufacturer that exports bikes to customers overseas, has seen the damages reduced by 70-80 per cent.

genius idea alert: @vanmoof bikes had problem with shipping damage. So it put flat TVs on its boxes. Problem solved. pic.twitter.com/dsomNATUoY — Jason Gay (@jasongay) September 4, 2016

Taco Carlier, the co-founder of VanMoof, told The Independent: "We came up by the idea because we had lots of damage, especially with shipments in the USA.

"In the end our whole store in Brooklyn was filled up with refurbished bikes that were damaged on shipments and we had to sell them with a discount.

"Our team sat together and we imagined that couriers would be more careful with packages if they knew even more precious goods were in them. As our boxes are exactly the size of a huge flatscreen television, we decided to print a television on them. It works great. In the USA damaged goods were even reduced by 70 to 80 per cent."

Creative director of the company, Bex Rad, revealed the solution in a blog post titled "Our secret’s out", in which she said the company had to take action to reduce the damages in order to meet an ambitious target to increase online sales.

Delivery men caught throwing Christmas presents into a lorry

Ms Rad wrote: "Since we started shipping bikes eight years ago, we’ve struggled to find shipping partners that give our bikes the same obsessive love and care that we do. Yet no matter who was doing the shipping, too many of our bikes arrived looking like they’d been through a metal-munching combine harvester. It was getting expensive for us, and bloody annoying for our customers.

"With a big hairy goal to sell 90 per cent of our bikes online by 2020, we had to find a fix."

While VanMoof had initially hoped to keep the solution a secret, it announced it publicly in a Facebook post after it was leaked on Twitter. In the post the company wrote: "Here at VanMoof HQ we’re all about making tiny hacks that have a huge impact."

The news provoked a positive reaction online, with people describing the idea as "brilliant" and "insanely clever".

Cycling, delivery service, Europe, World, News

Delivery damages have reduced by 70 to 80 per cent since VanMoof started masking them as flatscreen teleivisons


Veteran New York Times TV reporter takes buyout

NEW YORK –- Bill Carter, who has covered the television industry at The New York Times for more than 25 years and remains one of the best known writers in the industry, is taking a voluntary buyout.

Carter told The Huffington Post that leaving the paper was a "really wrenching and agonizing decision."

The Times is seeking 100 employees to take buyouts by 5 p.m. on Monday, with layoffs possible if that number isn’t reached. The buyout package is particularly attractive for veteran staffers, with non-management employees receiving three weeks' salary for every year worked at the paper. Those who have worked there for at least 20 years are also eligible to receive an additional 35 percent of the total severance.

"I went through a long process, but I couldn’t square passing up what amounts to the best kind of severance at a newspaper job," Carter said.

Carter joined The Times as media reporter in 1989, after spending fourteen years as television critic for the Baltimore Sun.

Beyond his Times coverage, Carter is perhaps best known for his 1994 book, The Late Shift. The bestseller, which depicted the late-night battle between David Letterman and Jay Leno, was the basis for an HBO film of the same name. Carter wrote The War for Late Night in 2011 following the Leno-Conan O'Brien debacle at NBC.

Carter told HuffPost that he has a contract for another book on late-night television and is looking for a new job.

"I love this job and I love the Times," Carter said. "I would never do this under other circumstances. I feel the economic pressure to do this."

Capital New York, which has reported that several other Times veterans have already accepted the buyout, is keeping a running tally of departures.

David Carr, a colleague of Carter's on the media desk, wrote in a Monday column that "it seems clear that we will be losing people with many decades of professional experience, journalists with deep sources and remarkable levels of productivity."

"We need to adapt quickly to new protocols, but we can’t lose the core, the journalism that makes The Times The Times," Carr added.

The current round of buyouts is the fourth since 2008. The Times has consistently increased newsroom staff following previous rounds -- the headcount was 1,332 when the current round was announced, two people more than in early 2008 -- and it will keep hiring after this one as well.

In October, a Times spokeswoman told The Huffington Post that the paper is "continuing to invest in areas where we see future growth potential and that includes hiring." Those areas include digital, video, mobile and audience engagement.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that employees taking buyouts would receive one week's salary for every year worked at the paper. They will receive three weeks' salary.

Bill Carter, Veteran New York Times TV Reporter, Taking Buyout

NEW YORK –- Bill Carter, who has covered the television industry at The New York Times for more than 25 years and remains one of the best known writers i...

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These two cities account for more than 1/3 of all electric car sales in the country

When it comes to symbols of green innovation, San Francisco and Los Angeles can't get enough. New data shows that the two cities account for over a third of the market of electric vehicle purchases in the country.

San Francisco and Los Angeles make up 35 percent of the country's electric vehicle sales, according to data collected by R.L. Polk and released by the Detroit News. Seattle, New York and Atlanta follow closely behind, according to Green Car Reports.

While the numbers could be a testament to California's perceived eco-obsession and enthusiasm for new technology, it may more likely be a reflection of statewide measures and incentives enacted to protect the environment. Starting in 2012, the state mandated that automakers sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles.

"California’s zero-emission vehicle requirement says that 15.4 percent of automakers’ vehicles sold in the state be powered by electric, hybrid or fuel cells by 2025 or they will face penalties," the Detroit News reports.

Additionally, California is home to an impressive 1,387 charging stations of the nation's total 6,444, the U.S. Department of Energy reports.

San Francisco And Los Angeles Account For 35 Percent Of Nation's Electric Vehicle Sales, Data Finds

When it comes to symbols of green innovation, San Francisco and Los Angeles can't get enough. New data shows that the two cities account for over a third...

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Can You Pick The McDonald's Sauce With The Most Salt

You got: You picked the sauce with the most salt!

One package of Spicy Buffalo sauce has 540 mg of sodium, which is the equivalent to 1371 mg of salt. That's a little over a teaspoon.

Can You Pick Which McDonald’s Sauce Has The Most Salt?

The answer may McSuprise you. (Sorry.)..


You won’t believe what this Turkish policeman did to a Military rebel...

TURKEY (Web Desk) – In the midst of Turkey’s attempted coup, one police officer braved the wrath of angry citizens to defend a pro-coup soldier during the overnight chaos aimed to topple the government.

According to the details, the citizens of different cities took to streets to resist the military coup. Amid revolt, citizens pelted stones at the military vehicles.

An incident of same nature was recorded where a military cop was seen stuck in a tank surrounded by angry mob. After realizing the fact that he was helpless, he raised his hands as a sign of surrender and was finally rescued by a Police official.

The footage of the interesting incident was uploaded as well.

TURKEY (Web Desk) - In the midst of Turkey’s attempted coup, one police officer braved the wrath of angry citizens to defend a pro-coup soldier during the overnight chaos aimed to topple the gover

Rescued him from a mob when he surrendered


The Critics Have Spoken...And This Is What They Think The Worst Movie Ever Is

Entertainment was pretty great in 2002. We had singer Jennifer Lopez, footballer David Beckham, pop girl group Las Ketchup, young Brad Pitt. But perhaps it ought to be remembered for a big flop, headlined by familiar blockbuster stars Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) might be the worst movie ever made, according to critics.

100 percent of the experts on Rotten Tomatoes rated Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever as "rotten."

That’s right: 115 out of 115 critics — let’s be honest, a pretty huge sample size — would take back the 90 minutes stolen from them, rating the film a green splat rather than a well-rounded tomato. Critics, when asked to rate it out of 10, gave it a measly 2.6, and general audiences gave it an even lower 2.2. "Sometimes it’s surprising how stupid moviemakers think we are," John Wilson, founder of the Razzie Awards, which celebrates the worst movies every year, says. Representatives of Ballistic’s director, Wych Kaosayananda, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lucky for Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, it has some company in the zero-percent club. There’s Orgy of the Dead, Return to the Blue Lagoon and National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers. But these other movies have far fewer critics weighing in, so the criticism of Ballistic has more oomph ... more than any of its explosions. Full reviews skewered it more specifically: for plot holes, trying unsuccessfully to be like The Matrix, incoherent writing, clichéd tropes and difficult-to-follow storytelling. "It was one bad surprise after another," critic Nell Minow says, looking back. Personally, we couldn’t hold it together every time the intense background music started up in a fight scene.

Today we live in a kind of golden age for cult movies, where ironic love of cinematic failures from the past can bring people to late-night movie screenings and yield book deals years later to rehash the disastrous experience on set. Bad-movies aficionado Emer Prevost, who runs the YouTube channel "Reaction & Review," says that Ballistic won’t cut it, though, as a cult movie. It takes a special kind of bad to also be entertaining. "I took the DVD down to a local shop the next day. They said they could give me 60 cents for it. I said, ‘Good. Take it,’" Prevost says.

Of course, Ballistic probably won’t get to keep its place in bad movie history forever. Every year, the Razzies choose new terrible movies. Look back through time and the epitome of worst movie has changed as consistently as Ballistic’s characters’ motivations. Tastes differ on what’s not just bad but horrendous: Some say The Room is the worst; others, Plan 9 From Outer Space. And in all fairness, not everyone despises it. Critic Michelle Alexandria says, "I don’t watch action films for story or even acting. A good action film only has to deliver on the action for me." So maybe make that 115 out of 116 critics. Ballistic: Alexandria vs. Critics.

It takes a special kind of bad for 115 out of 115 critics to hate your movie.

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. #StopClickBait


This is Mentoring Moments a series of stories about triumphs and skids from successful women. Mentoring Moments is now a podcast.

I met Bronwyn Cosgrave as I was staring at a red bomber jacket. I just finished my Saturday morning Pilates class and decided to run over to Barneys in NYC for a quick look at the 60% off sale. That's when I spotted the red jacket   I loved the color, but something about it wasn't quite right. I never ask strangers for clothing advice, but for some strange reason, I started talking to Cosgrave and asked her, What do you think about this jacket? We talked briefly and then I understood why I wanted her advice.

Cosgrave is the former features editor of British Vogue and a contributing editor to Vogue India. She's the co-curator of Designing 007, Fifty Years of Bond Style, an exhibition that broke box office records when it debuted in London in 2012 and is now on it's way from Dubai to Portugal. In addition to Vogue, she has written on design, fashion and film for Architectural Digest, The New York Times, Vanity Fair and every important British newspaper you can think of. And what I heard loud and clear is that she has an ability to transform ideas into important grand scale projects. That's a real talent.

I didn't buy that jacket (my gut and Cosgrave said no!), but that strange encounter led us to my kitchen table and a Mentoring Moments podcast. Here are five more tips I learned from Cosgrave, taken from our podcast in her words, edited and condensed:

In this instant culture where you get text messages and emails, it's really vital to take a step back. It's particularly vital when you're getting feedback about something   take a step back and think, Is that true? It could take a week or a walk around the block, but it definitely requires contemplation.

An idea doesn't have to be the right idea, it just has to be a good idea that could lead to the right idea.

When I feel like I'm lost, I write things down. I keep a lot of notebooks. I write out my tasks, my goals, things I want to achieve and things I wish I hadn't done. I always try to tell the truth so if I make a mistake, I own up to it. I don't lie. I think that's really important. I try to live my life that way. I think it makes your life easier in the end.

You have to value what's around you. It's important to not take anything for granted in this life. It can be taken away from you in an instant. And to value what you've done. And to think when needed, I want to do better next time.

I'm done with negativity. What's it going to bring you? But it takes work to be positive. At one point in my life, I found this knack to flick on the positive switch. That's really important because it changes your demeanor. It changes the way you visualize the world. But it's tough to do.

To hear more tips from Cosgrave including the stories behind the following quotes, check out our podcast.

You just have to keep moving forward and really challenge yourself, because what else are you going to do?I'm done with wasting time with people who aren't bringing joy to my life.Professional jealousy any kind of jealousy is really destructive.If you want to make a new life, you need to be dedicated to it.Things don't go as planned. It's impossible because you just don't know. Gut instinct is important.I try to look pulled together and not have a lot of moving parts in my outfits.I've got something to learn from someone and that person can be 22 or 89. I'm open to that.Dump your baggage. Move on, don't' get stuck. It's vital to stay fresh. You just have to shake it up.

Are you going too fast? Think your idea has to be the "right" idea? Wasting time with people who don't bring you joy? Bronwyn Cosgrave, former features editor for British Vogue and co-curator of "Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style," shares her tips.

3. Get Unlost When I feel like I'm lost, I write things down.

4. Value It You have to value what's around you.

5. I'm Done With... I'm done with negativity.


If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for a great travel deal – especially around the holidays. So when these travelers booked their flights with WestJet, they knew they were getting discounted air fares.

But they never expected to get a sweet surprise during their Christmas flight. See what it is in the video below!

Not only is WestJet known for their affordable rates, they also pull off some exceptional holiday stunts too.

Some lucky passengers were asked to sit down and talk with Santa Claus before boarding their plane to Calgary.

One boy asked Santa for a "choo-choo train" while his mom and dad wanted a big-screen TV. A technology-crazed child asked for a tablet while a more practical adult requested some new socks and underwear.

If you talked with Santa, what would you ask for this Christmas?

The adults were happy for Santa’s visit because they knew that it would make the ride to follow more joyous.What kid doesn’t like telling Santa what presents they want?

But little did these lucky passengers know, a huge surprise would be awaiting them when they landed this Christmas.

While up in the air, WestJet employees went shopping for the travelers. These real-life elves checked items off the list and certainly checked it twice to make sure every passenger got what he or she wished for.

You’ve got to see the reactions of the family members when they land in Calgary in the video below!

SHARE what your reaction would be if you got your Christmas gift!

It Looks Like Any Ordinary Flight. Now Watch What Happens Just Moments After Landing. UNFATHOMABLE..


All that glitters is not gold. Especially when another, even more precious, metal is trading at a historical discount to gold.

Many investors are familiar with the Many investors are familiar with the gold/silver ratio , or that recently that ratio was saying it was time to buy silver. But platinum, the "rich man's gold," has also seen its price fall relative to gold's. In fact, platinum is now cheaper than gold -- something that has only happened a few times in the past 100 years.

What this means is that platinum prices are probably going to move up over the next few months.

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Platinum is the world's third-most traded metal, and there is a lot less of it than either gold or silver. It's so rare that it's been somewhat seriously suggested that asteroids be mined to find more.

Platinum is also arguably more useful than gold. It is used for everything from jewelry to LCD monitors to dental equipment. The biggest source of demand for platinum is the auto industry. It uses 40% of the global supply, mostly to make catalytic converters.

Platinum prices fell 26% in 2015. They're up 11% so far this year, but that's behind the performance of gold (up 21%) and silver (up 25%).

Platinum normally costs more per ounce than gold. For the past decade, it was on average 34% more expensive -- sometimes even double the price of gold.

Forget About Gold -- This Is the Precious Metal to Buy Right Now - Th...

Here's a precious metal that has its prices at historic lows relative to gold. Right now could be the time to buy it.

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What costs $1500 in #Colombia $12000-16000 in #Mexico and $77000 in #Britain?

ROBERTO SAVIANO’S first book, "Gomorrah", put him in grave danger. An exposé of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, it sold over 10m copies. But it also struck a nerve with its subject, and death threats soon followed. Mr Saviano, an Italian journalist, now moves between safe houses under 24-hour police protection. He dedicates his new book "to all my Carabinieri bodyguards. To the fifty-one thousand hours we’ve spent together and to those still ahead."

His movement may have been curtailed, but not his anger or ambition. His latest book, "Zero Zero Zero", is an exploration of the global cocaine trade, from the foothills of the Andes to the nightclubs of Europe. It is a well-trodden trail, but the book provides a useful overview of the industry, explaining the incongruous mix of co-operation and cruelty in each link of the supply chain.

Cocaine-trafficking is risky but enormously profitable. As Mr Saviano points out, a kilo of the drug costing $1,500 in Colombia fetches $12,000-$16,000 in Mexico and $77,000 if it makes it to Britain. According to the accountant of Colombia’s Medellín drug mob, the group was trafficking 15 tonnes of cocaine into America every day in the 1980s. Thirty years later, the figures are still staggering. In Italy the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta has now overtaken the Sicilian Cosa Nostra as the country’s most powerful mafia group. It turns over an estimated €53 billion ($59 billion) a year, almost half of which comes from drug-trafficking.

The book does a fine job of tracing the international co-operation required to get the drug to market. In Colombia, producers struck distribution deals with their Mexican counterparts after American authorities grew adept at intercepting their cocaine shipments. In exchange for a large chunk of the profits, the Mexicans agreed to move the drugs across the border. Alliances have also been formed with groups from further away. The Russian mafia supplies Latin American gangs with Soviet-era weapons. West African government officials store drug shipments off the coast.

In an often grisly series of passages, Mr Saviano details some of the murderous national rivalries that occasionally make the front pages. In 2006 Mexico was plunged into violence when the president, Felipe Calderón, declared war on the drug gangs by sending 6,500 troops to the troubled state of Michoacán. Over 47,000 people were killed by violence associated with organised crime between 2006 and 2011, says the government. In the first six years of the drug war 31 Mexican mayors were killed, 13 of them in 2010 alone.

The most vivid sections are those describing the industry’s countless victims: the young man from Guinea-Bissau who spends a flight to Lisbon praying that the 60 capsules of cocaine in his stomach will not burst; the Colombian beauty queen whose husband has disappeared; the American undercover agent who is tortured to death when his cover is blown, his body dumped beside a Mexican road.

Structurally, the book is a bit of a mess. Lacking a coherent narrative, it is more a collection of articles, lurching from one topic to another. The effect is often disorientating and sometimes offputting. A chapter on Los Zetas, a ferocious group of Mexican traffickers composed of former soldiers, is followed, inexplicably, by a syrupy poem about cocaine. Better editing would have made for an easier read.

Despite its shortcomings, the book lands a resounding thump to the solar plexus. Taken as a whole, it is an angry rebuke to all those—traffickers and politicians alike—who perpetuate the violence. "I want to scream this loud enough so that people will know," writes Mr Saviano. His rage, both at his own predicament and that of other victims, is palpable. "As terrible as it may seem, total legalisation may be the only answer," he concludes. By reminding readers of the senseless suffering wrought by the cocaine trade, this book makes a powerful case for a new approach.

Zero Zero Zero. By Roberto Saviano. Translated by Virginia Jewiss. Penguin Press; 416 pages; $29.95. Allen Lane; £20.
ROBERTO SAVIANO’S first book, "Gomorrah", put him in grave danger. An exposé of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, it sold over 10m copies. But it also struck a nerve with its subject, and death threats soon followed.


Faculty and students challenge university over "many missteps" handling sexual assaults

NEW YORK -- Alyssa Palazzo loved that Susan Herbst was appointed president of the University of Connecticut. Palazzo, a 2013 graduate, admired the work Herbst had done in improving the aesthetics of the campus, and was proud to see the first woman in charge of UConn.

Those positive feelings faded, however, after Palazzo and six other current and former students filed a federal complaint against UConn in October, accusing the school of failing to properly handle reports of sexual harassment and assaults.

Herbst initially responded to the complaint on Oct. 23, saying that the suggestion the university showed a "deliberate indifference" to sexual assault victims was "demonstrably untrue." She added, "No president or police chief will prevent" all sexual assaults "and should never, ever be so naïve to think so."

Four of the women involved in the complaint later filed a lawsuit, and last week Herbst shifted her tone in a statement to trustees. "For all of us at UConn, as long as there is a single sexual assault on any of our campuses, our work is not complete," Herbst said.

But Palazzo said she feels let down. "I so loved Susan Herbst, and for her as a woman to let us down like this is shocking, because she must've had so much to overcome to be where she is now," Palazzo said.

In a hearing last week before a committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, Palazzo's fellow complainants, among them UConn senior Erica Daniels, testified that they too were dismayed by the administration's response. "To not be taken seriously by the university was most upsetting," Daniels testified.

Herbst declined interview requests by The Huffington Post.

The defensive tone struck by UConn administrators reminded Annie Clark of how some officials at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill initially reacted to similar federal complaints she and four other women filed in January. A 2011 UNC graduate and sexual assault survivor advocate, Clark helped launch the Know Your IX and End Rape On Campus networks.

The day after Clark and her co-complainants filed their claims against UNC, university counsel Leslie Strohm publicly called one of those allegations "false," "untrue" and "just plain wrong."

"I understand the immediate desire to defend, however, when you have multiple students who are brave enough to stand up and say they were sexually assaulted and their cases were thereafter mishandled. As a university president, you have got to take that seriously," Clark said. "To attack victims the way Herbst did originally sends a strong message to students to stay silent."

UConn finds itself in a tricky situation, compared to other universities that currently face sexual assault investigations, since the institution has also been named in a federal lawsuit.

Usually when a school is faced with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the most expedient remedy is to admit to shortcomings as a way to conclude the investigation quickly. The department would then propose a voluntary resolution, often involving policy changes, to which the university could agree.

But faced with a lawsuit, a university might prefer not to admit fault in order to avoid a large settlement. "If there's two tracks going on, it makes it challenging for the university to respond," said Carmon Harvey, an attorney who advises higher education institutions on Title IX compliance.

Harvey would advise an institution facing these sorts of accusations to show it is making an effort to "get to the bottom of the problem, so you know whether there is a larger problem other than the complaint."

Elizabeth Conklin, associate vice president of UConn's Office of Diversity and Equity, told lawmakers earlier this month that the school had "rolled out a series of trainings and policies designed" to increase sexual misconduct reporting.

But Brittnie Carrier, a UConn junior in the campus IX Coalition, is unhappy that Herbst's Task Force on Civility and Campus Culture now appears to be taking up the issue of sexual misconduct at UConn in the context of "civility," as if on par with people loitering on sidewalks.

"The way we're talking about sexual violence, it seems like it shouldn't be talked about in terms of civility," Carrier said. "Why would you want to be civil with a rapist? They are attacking your body!"

Carrier also was displeased that the issue of sexual violence was not mentioned in campus-wide invitations sent this month to a so-called Open Forum intended to "Promot[e] Positive Change in Campus," at which students could question the task force.

"While the Title IX complaint and sexual assaults on campus are certainly on everyone's minds, they are not the totality of what the task force is charged with," said Nancy Naples, a member of the task force and the director of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies at UConn. The forum did end up focusing largely on sexual violence, nonetheless, Naples said.

Naples said there has been significant movement to address students' concerns around sexual misconduct in the past year, but more needs to be done.

"As an individual faculty member, I can say that I do think there have been many missteps regarding the handling of sexual harassment and sexual violence on campus," Naples said, "both in terms of coordination of responses and insensitivity of first responders."

Naples said the WGSS faculty's efforts to address on sexual violence pre-date the complaint and lawsuit, and vowed they will continue after the legal grievances are resolved.

"I still feel like they don't want to say it's a problem here, and they don't want to talk about it," Carrier said. She conceded the university is taking steps to address students' concerns, but in her opinion, "not things that are actually helpful."

UConn Walks Fine Line In Wake Of Sexual Assault Complaints And Lawsuit

NEW YORK -- Alyssa Palazzo loved that Susan Herbst was appointed president of the University of Connecticut. Palazzo, a 2013 graduate, admired the work H...

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