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lvl1: cyberdrama

Janet Murray originated the term cyberdrama to describe the interface between active participation and passive reading that is a product of storytelling in computer media, and this section focuses on the relationships (and tensions) between gameplay and story.

The first article in this section, Murray’s “From Game-Story to Cyberdrama,” explores the experience of story in games and the relationship of story to gameplay. She argues that the high level of ambiguity and solipsistic qualities of postmodern world make life more and more like a game, and computers are a natural environment to explore this because of they allow for constant flux, conflict, and variation. Her article anchors one end of the narrative-versus-mechanics debate that has gripped studies of computer games, and Murray notes that, for her, “story comes first” (3). An accompanying response from Aarseth (author of Cybertext), counters that the sequential nature of narrative makes it a poor lens through which to understand games, and terms like cyberdrama are euphemisms that will fall by the wayside as games achieve their own status as texts alongside traditional media such as novels (10).

Similarly, Ken Perlin’s entry, “Can There Be a Form between a Game and a Story?,” places traditional narratives and interactive games in a dialectic relationship, arguing that characters become less believable as they lose agency to player choice (15). His argument is similar to Manovich’s notion of open and closed interactivity; the more closed the interactivity, the more likely that the narrative and characters will be seen as separate from the player (40). Because of this continuum, it may be difficult to achieve high levels of interactivity and a rich story. In response, Michael Mateas argues that the tension between player agency and narrative exists only because we’re not quite sure how to accomplish the balance yet. Mateas attempts to bridge this gap by developing a neo-Aristotelian theory of dramatic interactivity allows for a perception of player agency and a feeling of “dramatic necessity” (27).


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Jupiter, you beautiful enigma.

7 MAR 2018

We already knew that Jupiter's gravitational field is asymmetrical for some reason. Iess's team studied all components of the field, both symmetric and asymmetric.

Because Juno is in polar orbit, it can examine both poles separately, which is what the team did - and they found that part of Jupiter's gravitational field does not have north-south symmetry.

Since the majority of the field is symmetrical, caused by the planet's fast rotation, the team discovered that Jupiter's internal flows were causing the asymmetry.

"Winds on Earth are caused by pressure gradients between areas of lows and highs. Lows and highs are associated to different atmospheric densities. The same mechanism is at play at Jupiter," Iess told ScienceAlert.

"Winds are associated to density variations in the atmosphere. In turn, density variations have a gravitational signature. By measuring the magnitude of the gravity due to the winds, one has information about their depth."

It also points towards the next areas to study. Iess's team is set to study the Jovian tides raised by Io and other moons. Kaspi hopes to take more measurements of the Great Red Spot using similar methods. And Guillot will be working on a detailed analysis of the planet's interior composition, and the mass of its central core.

The three papers can be found in Nature here, here, and here, and you can find the editorial here.

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Applied Economics Workshop

There is a popular belief that Chinese imports have devastated US and European manufacturing and contributed to rising inequality. Somewhat paradoxically, the consensus amongst empirical economists is that trade has not been a major cause of rising wage inequality (although this is largely based on datasets predating China’s rise). We argue that both views… (More)

8 Figures and Tables


Composing An Animal Farm Essay: Tips From Snowball

Animal Farm is one of the most popular literature books. Snowball is one of the characters who have some strong & logical ideas sticking to the animalism principles despite the fact that he also agrees that pigs are superior. However, he also helps the rest of the animals to understand how to read, comes up with the idea of creating the windmill, to ensure that the farm is not only self sufficient but also to avoid violence. While the book depicts Orwell in a way that is more positive, it is clear that he looks down on the rest of the animals and would attempt to get more powers throughout the rest of the book. When writing an essay on animal farm essay, there are several questions that you can seek to answer.

Snowball and Napoleon

A good idea that you can consider when writing this kind of paper is to compare Snowball and Napoleon. At first, these are the two pigs that lead the leaders of the revolution to oust Mr. Jones, just like Trotsky and Stalin led the revolution against Lenin in Russia. At last, Trotsky is exiled as Stalin using force in the same way that Snowball is driven out y Napoleon.

How the work would have been different if Napoleon was driven by Snowball

This is a question that can be approached in two ways. Definitely, Snowball and Napoleon had some few differences. For instance, Napolean resorted to violence faster as compared to Snowball. He was also greedier and manipulative. While Snowball is more logical and bent on pleasing the animals, he is also a believer that the pigs are more superior. He doesn’t act to prevent the unequal resource distribution. Since the farms idea requires that all animals should play a role in decision making, it wouldn’t be more serene to have a reader like Snowball as compared to Napoleon.

Pigs decide to spread the message by Old Major and this is where we meet Snowball. As compared to Napoleon, he is a vivacious pig. He is also more inventive and faster in speech but is considered to have similar depth of character. This means that animals are fooled by the appearance of Snowball as he is lively and friendly. Here we learn that the fact that Snowball is friendly and blonde does not meant that she is more interesting than the emo poet.

After Snowball is chased off by Napoleon’s dog, you can end up feeling a bit sorry for the pig and even view him as a noble and great hero. However, this is not the case. While Snowball played a major role in the rebellion and even helped in setting up the 7 commandments, he also was responsible in reducing the commandments into a simple line, “4 legs are good, 2 are bad”.

While this commandment could be easily remembered, it is also somehow meaningless and sheep are trained to bleat over it as Snowball gives his speeches. This is on top of the fact that when animals complain that pigs are taking all the milk, it is Snowball who answers that they need it for their brainwork. While Snowball is not around when animal farm is turned in to a dictatorship, he plays a role in the first step prior to his expulsion. You can guess what would have happened if he had stayed around for a longer period of time. Probably he would be the one who would be drinking the whiskey for Mr Jones.

We can also see that Snowball is good in public speaking and he was able to win the majority through his brilliant speeches. For more tips from snowball, visit this link.


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Rare earth hypothesis debunked

rare earth hypothesis debunked

Refer to Graph 1 to answer the following questions:. .
What fraction of all main sequence stars can support complex life? .
Student #3: I disagree, if L is too high then the lifetime of the star is too short for complex life to develop on the star.How did you decide which should it be?In other words we want to know: What fraction of the stars in the sky are right for complex life?Label this point Tmin. .Find the location of visible radiation on the stellar radiation frequency axis of Graph. .If you knew how many stars exist for each value of stellar mass, could you better answer the previous question? .Predict whether you think there are more stars, fewer stars or the same amount of stars in our galaxy that lie in the range between Mmin and M or between M and Mmax.
What star is represented by the intersection of the two curves?
In the previous question (B you made an estimate for Lmax2 and marked it on Graph. .They apply this information to graphs representing stellar mass, luminosity, main-sequence lifetime, and stellar abundance in order to approximate how many other planets there may be harboring Earth-like complex life in our galaxy. .Mark the position on the stellar mass axis where the Sun lies. .Mark the position on the main sequence lifetime axis where the Sun lies. .Jupiter protects the Earth from bombardment by comets no hot Jupiter: the solar system is unlike any of the 117 known planetary systems.Thus, only in Hollywood can we expect to encounter a Star Trek universe, populated by diverse races cyberlink media suite 9 ultra keygen of erect bipeds that reproduce sexually.The height of the bar in each bin represents how many stars exist within a specific range of stellar masses. .In this case, each bin represents a range.1M stellar masses. .


Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava (USV) is one of the fastest rising universities in the Eastern European region providing higher education of high quality standards at a relatively low cost. It is one of the very few universities in this region with a comprehensive curriculum including more than 100 programs at undergraduate, master, doctoral and post-doctoral level from all five faculty areas (Arts & Humanities,Engineering & IT, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences). A unique educational outpost that goes back nearly half a century, USV’s transnational platform is aimed at discovering, preserving and disseminating knowledge while promoting basic European principles, such as unity through diversity, in an area where the credibility and identity of the European Union needs to be strengthened and further increased.

What also stands out is USV’s ability to sustain regional development at national level within the North-Eastern area, as well as at transnational level through Ukraine and Republic of Moldova close partnerships.

USV is a Romanian institution of higher education situated at the confluence of important European cultures and civilizations. Its mission is to preserve and foster cultural diversity, to strengthen the relations with the Romanians across the border by encouraging new bilateral agreements and partnerships with universities from the European Union, as well as with non-EU institutions of higher education from Eastern Europe.

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I am quite sure that cakes would surely be the choice of every man’s palate. Cakes are the most frequently served desert during special occasions–birthdays, weddings, christening, graduation, valentine’s, thanksgiving, Christmas or just even during ordinary days.

In the U.S., I guess the most common home made pie is the apple pie. I haven’t tried apple pie yet, so I really do not have any idea how it tastes like. Perhaps, it tastes like apple…huh?! Just kidding! Of course, obviously it tastes like apple lest it wouldn’t be called an apple pie if it tastes like mango or pineapple.


How can teachers inspire solid literacy habits in young students?

How can teachers inspire solid literacy habits in young students?

While literacy rates across Australia are generally improving, they are still trailing behind other countries. Literacy - the ability to read and write in order to learn, communicate and understand thoughts and ideas - is an essential basis for continued development and learning throughout life.

So once a child is attending school, how can teachers promote student literacy habits and inspire students to continue their learning both inside and outside the classroom? This has been a challenge facing the education sector for a number of years, but here are some ideas for improving literacy skills.

Interactive reading

When reading one-to-one with students, encourage them to think about the story, the characters and the message of the book. This will determine how well the students comprehend and deconstruct what they are reading. When it is story-time in the classroom, set aside some time at the end of reading to discuss and ask questions about the characters, how they might be feeling or what they might do next. Spark their creativity by asking students to write their own short stories that feature these characters, to truly envelop children in the wonders of fiction.

Design day-to-day reading and writing tasks

Design and plan lessons that students can effortlessly use and apply to life outside the classroom. This could be based around a range of activities, such as identifying food and creating shopping lists, writing greetings cards for birthdays or Christmas, or creating and reading recipes. Parents can then further encourage and support this learning at home as well as get a helping hand with their housework!

Knowledge as an enabler

Ask any adult, and they’ll likely say that as they’ve become older, their thirst for knowledge and information has increased since their school days. Use your own experience of this to enhance the quest for knowledge in students and ask them to create presentations on a certain topic. The great thing about this is that it can be used for any subject, but still encompasses key literacy skills. Plus, with the amount of information now available online, you can set this style of task for both class-based work and homework and encourage research and reading skills outside of the classroom with support from parents.

Are you passionate about the continued development of young people, and preparing students for the best possible future? Are you looking to become a leader in education and make an impact on the learning environment? By studying an online Master of Education with Excelsia College, you can advance your career in education and really make a difference. Call 1300 917 916 to speak to one of our dedicated Student Enrolment Advisors about how studying online could work for you.


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Answer on Inorganic Chemistry Question for Kailey

Question #21730
In a particular reaction between copper metal and silver nitrate, 12.7 g Cu produced 38.1 g Ag. What is the percent yield of silver in this reaction?
Expert's answer

In this problem formula is:

actual/theoretical *100

so you have to find the theoretical :

moles of CU = grams/RMM = 12.7/63.55 = 0.200

moles of Ag = 0.200x2 (because the stiochemstry equations shows a 2:1ratio)= 0.4moles

grams = moles x Rmm = 0.4 x 107.9 = 43.16grams

so that's how we find the theoretical .. using the top equation

=(38.1/43.16)x100 = 88.39%

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Dominance Dilemma

Konnichiwa, dog aficionados. I am sitting here in a hotel room in warm and sunny downtown Tokyo contemplating some talks I am due to give between now and June 1st. The first is on canine aggression and when it comes to owner-directed aggression, the type of aggression formerly known as dominance aggression, I often find myself somewhat stuck for words. A recent article by Sophia Yin in the Huffington Post explains current thinking on the matter and gives some pointers (not German short-haired ones though).  The gist of the article is correct, that physical punishment in dog training is passé and, whatever TV made lead you to believe, is counterproductive.

I agree with most of what Sophia says and agree wholeheartedly with the anti-violent approach but cannot for the life of me come to grips with the idea that dominance no longer exists in the canine psyche. After all, that’s how cohesion is maintained in a group setting (I daren’t say “pack” because that is no longer fashionable parlance). A formal hierarchy obviates the need for constant squabbles.

What most people seem to be missing in these discussions is that dominance and aggression are not synonymous. In fact, they often move in opposite directions. True alphas, of the canine or human kind, are rarely aggressive. So that begs the question “why would a dog in a domestic setting be aggressive to his owners?” Is it because he is alpha? Not likely. Is it because he is fearful of his owners? No way. It seems to occur when – okay, the pack – is unstable. In that case, there is lack of understanding between the various elements of the group, unclear communication, no set rules, and so on. In this situation, a canine “wanna-be” may try it on, when the mood takes him, in an attempt to have things go his way.

This type of aggression, called “instrumental” aggression in one classification, occurs in reasonably well defined circumstances, involving resource guarding, invasion of personal space, and general willfulness. Affected dogs may be totally unperturbed by strangers and enjoy their owners’ company. They are often described as the most wonderful dogs, ones who seek their owners’ petting and attention, except for 2 percent of time when they “grow horns” and adopt their Mr.Hyde mode. Between times they do not appear to be overly anxious or fearful though they may have some foibles. Aggression, in the form of growls, lip lifts, snarls, snaps, and bites, is brief and to the point. It is only intended to send a message – though the message can sometimes be overly severe.

If this condition was purely driven by fear and anxiety, as opposed to a mix-up over who’s who in the household, why would it be more common in males? Why would it be reduced by castration? Why would affected dogs sometimes engage in humping? Why would affected dogs show confident territoriality and pick occasional fights with other willful dogs? Why would bites be directed more toward children and easy going adults? Why would bites be directed toward hands and faces (muzzles) than the rear attack sites (“cheap shots”) of fearful dogs?  Why would the likelihood of aggression increase in the evening hours and when the dog is tired?

I think there are two components operating in most cases of owner-directed aggression. One is willfulness (“dominance”) and the other is uncertainty over the owners' actions (and general role in the household). No dominance means no aggression. No uncertainty (over the owners’ role) also eliminates aggression. One thing’s for sure, avoiding unnecessary encounters (“conflicts”) and having the dog understand who controls all valued assets – what I call a Leadership Program – resolves most of the issues in 90 percent of dogs in a period of two months. A rose like this by any other name by any other name should smell this sweet. Okay, now that’s out of my system I will head on out to the first talk and just hope my ideas translate well.

Editor's Note: If you'd like to hear more from Dr. Dodman but can't get to Japan, he'll be speaking in the U.S. in June with Dr. Ian Dunbar and again in November in Boston.


Polyodon spathula

Spadefish, Paddlefish, American paddlefish, Spoonbill catfish, Spoonbillcatfish, Spoonbill cat, Mississippi paddlefish, Duckbill Cat
Catalogue of Life
Animalia, Chordata, Actinopterygii, Acipenseriformes, Polyodontidae, Polyodon, Polyodon spathula


Some of Johannes Kepler's inventions are the refracting telescope, eyeglass lenses, Rudolphine tables, log books and the discovery of a supernova. His works and ideas guided many famous scientists like Isaac Newton to de... More » History Inventions

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Overwatch Officially Announces Doomfist

By Gabriel Kreulen, 8 months ago
After his first 'appearance' in the form of his gauntlet, an attack on the Numbani airport leading to the creation of Orisa and the news about his breakout by Reaper, Doomfist has finally been officially announced by Blizzard.

Imprisoned by Overwatch before its downfall and freed by Reaper, Doomfist believes that the only way humanity can grow stronger is through conflict.

Doomfist is an Offense hero designed for close quarters combat and his abilities are naturally designed around that notion.

The focus of Doomfist is to get into close quarters engagements where he can use his abilities to maximum potential. His cn_RT is a automatically reloading hand cannon which deals moderate damage up close. His alternate fire is a rocket-powered punch with his gauntlet, which can be charged up with cn_LT for maximum damage.

cn_LB - Seismic Slam - Doomfist jumps forward and slams his gauntlet on the ground, knocking enemies to him.

cn_RB - Rising Uppercut - Doomfist punches enemies in front of him up in the air.

Passive - The Best Defense - Doomfist generates temporary shields when dealing ability damage.

cn_Y - Meteor Strike - Doomfist leaps into the sky and then slams onto the ground, dealing heavy damage in a moderate radius.
As is customary, there is also a new developer update where game director Jeff Kaplan goes into more detail about his design.

Currently there is no slated release date for Doomfist, but he is currently available for testing on the PTR. As for the inevitable achievements, these are as of writing still unknown.
Gabriel Kreulen
Written by Gabriel Kreulen


Paper: Generating A Specific Class Of Metaphors

ACL ID P92-1051
Title Generating A Specific Class Of Metaphors
Venue Annual Meeting of the Association of Computational Linguistics
Session Main Conference
Year 1992

Such behavior generally yields more natural and understandable text. This explains why expressions like, "grasping an idea" are common. Second, it is natural to talk about things in the light of basic building blocks of thought that are commonly shared by a community. Therefore, describing a stock transaction as putting a token in a container may be more intuitive to the audience. 3.2 Focus of Attention The traditional view of focus of attention is that it is something that is accomplished syntactically, such as by making the desired focus the subject of the sentence (as can be done with a passive construction). However, further inspection reveals that there is a relationship between semantic types and level of focus. Jones and McCoy (1992) show evidence for the intuitive proposition that ...


Cancer - Mechanisms/Disease Processes

Specifics relating to the development of cancer and disease mechanisms

Untold nutrition.

Nutrition is generally investigated, and findings interpreted, in reference to the activities of individual nutrients. Nutrient composition of foods, food labeling, food fortification, and nutrient recommendations are mostly founded on this assumption, a practice commonly known as reductionism. While such information on specifics is important and occasionally useful in practice, it ignores the coordinated, integrated and virtually symphonic nutrient activity (wholism) that occurs in vivo.

Occasionally, but not often, positive things happen in the field of cancer prevention science to popular, good-tasting foods. Cruciferous vegetables have been the subject of intense study, but these foods might be—to modify the expression—an easy pill but a hard food for the public to swallow. By contrast, tomatoes (scientifically classified as a fruit) have overcome their earlier reputation as an inedible and possibly toxic food to become one of the most heavily consumed fruits or vegetables in the Western diet—mostly in the form of pizza, salsa, chili, pasta sauce, and ketchup.

Antioxidant activity of fresh apples.

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Josef Šmajs – Declaration of dependence

Declaration of Dependence

Josef Šmajs et al.1

1. The biosphere in its totality is the smallest relatively autonomous system capable of long-term development over time. All of its subsystems, individuals, populations, biocenoses and culture are temporary and conditional, and are existentially dependent on the creativeness and prosperity of the biotic whole. Even the harmonious upbringing of our children presupposes the presence of an impersonal mother nature alongside their biological mother.

2. Nature is contained not only in our external environment but also in every one of us. We are one of many species of the planet Earth which are of evolutionary origin and which are in harmony with the biosphere. However, we also know that we are an exceptional species, the only one that has ever created a culture, because, in harmony with our genome, we have ignited another evolution, the oppositional cultural evolution.

3. The once inconspicuous cultural evolution now threatens the future of mankind due to its predatory orientation, masked behind affluence and the expansion of consumer technology.This is because culture is neither a cultivation of nature nor a continuation of its evolution by other means. It is an artificial physical system with its own internal information; this information is not, however, genetic information, but a human intellectual culture.

4. This spiritual culture, the imagined genome of the cultural system, is not as wonderful and exalted as it once seemed. Since it is rooted in the human genome and since its partial components are still liable to the predatory philosophical foundations of ancient cultures, it is species-selfish, limited and short-sighted.It helps to expand a cultural system that ravages the planet irreparably.

5. In the last three hundred years in particular we have succumbed to the temptation to give preference to developing those human abilities and powers – cool symbolic communication, partial scientific rationality and economic calculation – that result in a growth of material riches and secular power over both humans and nature. The end result of this is a global technosphere unadjusted to natural reproduction.

6. In a comparatively short period of time we have ravaged easily accessible natural assets, such as forests, ores and liquid fossil fuels. The planetary expansion of a technically developed culture has been achieved only at the cost of occupying the Earth ourselves and damaging it for other living systems. Through our contemporary culture we are the only cause of the mass extinction of biological species that is now underway. And we, too, are a species endangered by our own culture.

7. Since the laws of conservation of mass and energy apply to the whole universe, cultural existence can originate only by destroying the older natural existence. The expansion of an artificial cultural existence brings about a dangerous retreat of natural existence and the disappearance of the Earth’s original natural order .It is with this natural order that evolution has also harmonized the human organism. Cultural existence does not originate through positive destruction of nature but through negative technical destruction, and is dependent and transient; it is not harmonized in evolutionary terms with mankind. Nature can neither integrate it nor support its evolution without mankind.

8. The predatory spiritual foundation of culture (the predatory paradigm) disseminated by contemporary science, education and politics must be replaced by respect and reverence for nature, by a biophile spiritual paradigm. The never-ending political arguments about the correctness of either right or leftwing orientation hide the seriousness of the conflict between culture and the Earth, human biological invariability and dependence on nature. It prevents a change in direction of culture to the benefit of cooperation with nature from gaining ground.

9. Natural evolution also evidently pilots the success of the human biological evolutionary construction. This test is, however, an indirect one; it is performed by means of human creations, i.e. the compatibility of the functions and body of culture with the biosphere. A cultural system that exceeds a notional limit of stress exerted on the Earth, and which is over-extensive and anti-natural, will inevitably cease to exist, and mankind along with it, irrespectively of its technical and informational level.

10. The Earth’s host system may tolerate and feed the allochtonous cultural system in the long term only if the inanimate culture system achieves maturity over time – if it grows, like the biosphere, in qualitative terms only. And this means intentionally bringing contemporary culture’s metabolism, which is un-adapted to nature, nearer to that of living systems. Otherwise we will exhaust natural raw materials and fuels unnecessarily rapidly and infest the planet with waste and products of culture that are incompatible with nature.

11. In a situation where it is impossible to demonstrate either somatic or mental improvement of humans through culture, the purpose of culture cannot consist merely of growth of manufacturing and consumption, in a notional utility that we cannot even define. It cannot consist of dubious profit which we cannot equitably distribute. It must comprise the health and welfare of humans inside a healthy biosphere. Even though we have a natural right to live and realize our potential as appropriate, i.e. to create and develop culture, we must abandon its current aggressive strategy. For the near and remote future alike we need a healthy and habitable Earth.

We therefore invite the public to reconsider the relationship between nature and culture, and to be cautious about the wider and more remote consequences of mankind’s creations. Anti-natural culture is nowadays expanding at an ever faster rate. It brings previously unknown affluence to the technically developed part of mankind, but it doesn’t remove poverty, war, violence and inequality. As a whole it functions as the largest destructive power on Earth. The more we cooperate globally, the greater the harm we do to nature. Since culture destroys things which are not of our creation, it can also destroy everything we have created ourselves. Contemporary culture can be adapted to the Earth and to the human biological essence only if we approach it as an artificial, non-biological structure with inadequate internal information. The biophile reconstruction of culture which awaits us therefore represents a challenge to all responsible people on this planet – scientists, politicians and laypersons alike. They will need to think, act and make decisions while bearing in mind that the Earth is the only inhabited planet in the universe as we know it today, and that it is a precious, original piece of this universe, which transcends both us and culture and which we have no right to devastate. It is high time we returnthe Earth to its sanctity, its long-overlooked evolutionary and informational value, its subjectivity that is superior to humans. We may have created huge technical systems and developed information networks, but the natural order of both inanimate and animate forms which we have lost cannot be re-created, even by natural evolution. If we want to survive on the Earth, we have to be wise and give way to nature. The age of the symbiosis of culture and nature still lies ahead of us.

With every breath, every sip of water, and every bite of food we take, we depend on the healthy, unpolluted Earth.

Reference: Šmajs, J. Filosofie – obrat k Zemi. Praha: Academia 2008; Šmajs, J. Evolutionary Ontology. Amsterdam-New York: Rodopi 2008; Šmajs, J. Ohrožená kultura. Brno: Host 2011; Šmajs, J. The Threatened Culture. Prešov: Slovacontact 1998; Šmajs, J. Kultura pod ugrozoj. Novosibirsk: Akademija Nauk 2011; Šmajs, J. Potřebujeme filosofii přežití? Brno: Doplněk 2011.

1 The following people participated in the shaping of this text: Antonín Bajaja; Bohuslav Binka; Petr Blahut; Etela Farkašová; Milena Fucimanová; František Houdek; Vladimír Choluj; Petr Jemelka; Ivan Klíma; Aleš Máchal; Vratislav Moudr; Gustav Rosa; Jiří Sedlák; Zuzana Škorpíková; Jan Šmarda; Gerlinda Šmausová; Pavel Trpák; Marek Timko; Emil Višňovský.


sport News

In 2015 the MLS will see the inclusion of New York City FC into the league. With the New York team already beginning their pre-season training under the watchful eye of their parent club Manchester City, it seems an opportunity to look at how the NYCFC might affect the way soccer is supported, and the rivalries that already exist within the MLS.

Naturally sporting rivals already exist in the MLS, although they may not be as infamous as what was once the Old Firm derby, there are defined ‘local’ rivalries (or local given the size of the USA). Matches involving Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders have seen a growing rivalry since their first meeting in 1975. Sadly 2014 saw the death of the only true local MLS Derby between LA Galaxy and Chivas USA with the devolving of Chivas. The rise of NYCFC will of course see the L.A. derby replacement with the creation of a New York rivalry between the City and the Bulls; yet it is not the prospect of this rivalry that is the most interesting. Rather the possibility of developing the MLS’s first major regional rivalry.

In recent decades the English Premier League has seen an increased North-South rivalry in the fixtures of Manchester United and Arsenal. This is an eagerly anticipate clash between the north and south giants. Equally Spain awaits the El Classico between FC Barcelona of Catalonia and Real Madrid of Madrid. What we could see developing within the MLS’s franchise is the first real pinpointed East Coast vs West Coast standoff. As the MLS is split into a Western as Eastern Conference, teams of each coast rarely play each other until the Post Season Playoffs. Yet even when a Coastal rivalry is brought to forefront in the final, it is largely overlooked. With NYCFC we may well see a shift that highlights the clash of regional intensity building into these finals.
On paper Galaxy have the potential financial backing and likelihood to compete against the impending dominance of NYCFC. While the signing of big footballing names at Galaxy is nothing new, with Beckham and Keane being amongst them, the investment made in bringing Steven Gerrard to LA has signalled the beginning of the fight back, against the danger that NYCFC pose in this new MLS era. What can be seen is the start of two teams that are building to become the dominate force in their respective leagues. If the riches and intentions of NYCFC pay off and in turn Galaxy’s response in order to maintain their historical MLS supremacy, their substantiated dominance now comes to lie upon the anticipation of going head to head in the final to claim US soccer supremacy. What we will see is two big coastal clubs looking to distinguish themselves as not just New York vs L.A., but the strength of the West vs that of the East in an newly manufactured American Classico.

Any rivalry in its purist sporting form must be built upon history, tradition and a lot of drama. The earlier reference Manchester United vs Arsenal a perfect example of how an intensifying fight for dominance during the 90’s and early 2000’s, saw this winner takes all fixture becoming more than just a traditional Monday morning bragging rights. United vs Arsenal has seen the expansion of two giants at separate ends of a country, and a clash were the geography of North and South and with it the pride of its fans very much in focus. Even in the current season the clash between United vs Arsenal is arguably more eagerly anticipated as a fixture, than that of Chelsea vs Manchester City due to the history and drama that has encompassed this fixture for traditional regional control.
Although the NYCFC vs Galaxy match does not have that yet, this will only be achieved when the teams have met a number of times. The 2015 season will see the build up towards what the MLS can call a defined regional rivalry. These two teams will be playing the regular season, hoping to win their respective leagues in the anticipation of this one match; a match that if NYCFC reach, they can pit their new rising Eastern force against the established dominance of LA in the West.

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Shantelle Pattie

Foot Pain On Side Of Foot

Bunions Causes Signs Or Symptoms And Treatment Procedures

Bunions Knowing how bunions develop is helpful in selecting the appropriate bunion treatment. In general, most bunion deformities are a result of foot structure and function which are genetic. As the heel strikes the ground when walking, the joints of the foot unlock and absorb impact. Referred to as pronation, the arch collapses causing the feet to flatten. This flattening causes excessive tension of the tendon in the upper mid-foot that enables the big toe to bend upward. The tendon contracts which then forces the big toe to be pulled laterally toward the second toe. It can take many years for a bunion to develop, and especially to the point of pain. One can have a bunion but not yet experience any bunion pain. Conversely, one can suffer from bunion pain without having a severe deformity.

What causes bunions? This question is often answered by blaming shoes. But in fact, shoes only play a small role in developing bunions. Yes, shoes, especially high heels cause abnormal squeezing of your forefoot. This in turn to help promote a bunion. But if everyone who wore high heels shoes had a bunion, there would be a lot more then the 15% prevalence we see in the general population. As you can see from the flow chart, genetics plays the major role in development of bunion deformities. Genetics determines the way your foot functions. Are you flatfooted? Are your joints flexible or stiff? Do you have a high arch? Do you have tight muscles? These traits are determined by your genetic code. These characteristics then govern how your bones and joints move when you walk. As an example, if your joints are very flexible, this can cause an abnormal amount of instability in your forefoot when you walk. Over time, this abnormal motion will cause the a bunion to develop by allowing your first metatarsal to "drift" towards the mid-line of your body.

Non Surgical Treatment

Surgical Treatment


19 January 2008

Sorry for my recent lack of blogging! As I may have mentioned before, my evil workplace has banned all personal internet use even in lunch hours, and when I get home hubby is plastered to the PC planning lessons until bedtime. So I've spent about 15 minutes in total using the internet for non-work purpoes this week. I'll try to chisel hubby away a bit more next week!

Anyway, nothing interesting's happening at the moment so you're not missing out.


A Traumatized Parrot Gets Picky

I’ve had plenty of avian patients over the years, and each has a different squawk: cockatiels, love birds and sun conures head the list. The bird with the most diverse vocal range and skills at mimicry is the African Gray parrot. Their vocal prowess and high intelligence have been known for some time in the world of bird enthusiasts.

Their intelligence, however, can cause other health issues, as it did for a patient of mine.

Mrs. Santos brought Hugo, her 12-year-old male African Gray parrot, to our clinic for a condition called feather picking. “Well, Doc, it has happened again. Hugo plucked out a bunch of his feathers. It seems to get worse every time. This time, his chest and under his wings are completely bare. What am I going to do?,” lamented Mrs. Santos.

Hugo sat in his carrier cage, muttering to himself. Although he looked rather odd with so many feathers missing, I couldn’t help but be amazed at his vocalizations that sounded so much like a muffled conversation. We went over all the possible causes of Hugo’s self-mutilation. Skin conditions, external parasites, metabolic diseases and toxins were all discussed at some length. I explained to Mrs. Santos that despite all the testing that can be performed, in the end, it often boils down to a psychological stressor.

“Hmmm …” Mrs. Santos pensively uttered, “I don’t think Hugo is stressed. I mean, he gets home-cooked meals and enjoys interactive play time with me and my husband.”

“Did you remove any of his toys?” I probed. “Are there loud noises from construction next door? Are there any new pets in the house?”

“Actually, we don’t have any new pets but we did lose a cockatiel the other day,” replied Mrs. Santos. “Poor Petey was eaten by our dogs.”

Hold on. Eaten by dogs?

Mrs. Santos explained how they let their birds out of the cage in the morning before going to work. Their wing feathers are trimmed so that they can’t fly far but with time the feathers grow back and some of their flock fly before their wings are trimmed again. Their three dogs are fenced in the kitchen and on occasion, one of their cockatiels flies into the fenced area.

“So, Petey was the most recent casualty. When we return home from work, all that’s left are a few feathers which mean the dogs … well, you know. We’re down to our last two cockatiels,” explained Mrs. Santos.

“By any chance, can Hugo see the kitchen area?” I inquired.

“Could he have seen what happened to Petey?”

“Actually, his cage is the closest to the kitchen. He has a good view into …”

Mrs. Santos stopped and went wide-eyed. She had just realized that Hugo was witness to the crime scene. In fact, we traced the history of his feather picking and linked it to each of the previous cockatiel disappearances.

We both gazed sadly into Hugo’s cage. Hugo paced back and forth while muttering to himself incoherently. What was he saying? Who knows? My skill at interpreting bird sounds had its limits, as did Hugo’s sanity. johnkaya808@gmail.com


Stillwater Seeks Public Input

The City of Stillwater is excited to announce the launch of Polco, an innovative engagement platform where residents can have input into the community decision-making process. By increasing civic engagement through web-based polling, there is an opportunity to meet Stillwater residents where they are.

Stillwater’s rollout of Polco will focus on elements of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The City will release Polco questions focusing on perceptions of public safety, community quality of life, performance of local government, taxes and more. This is an opportunity to let the City know what is valued most, what may need to be improved, and what opportunities there are for the future.

Residents become active users by downloading the Polco app or by visiting and creating an account by answering a few brief questions. Polco is committed to a strict privacy policy where they only share aggregated de-identified results. Participant detailed data and votes are never shared (not even to the City of Stillwater). This service is free to all community members.


American Revolution and Colonies

Topics: American Revolution, British Empire, Boston Tea Party Pages: 11 (3648 words) Published: October 27, 2010
The Road to Revolution, 1763–1775
PART I: Reviewing the Chapter
A. Checklist of Learning Objectives
After mastering this chapter, you should be able to:
[ 1 ].Explain the ideas of republicanism and radical Whiggery that Britain’s American colonists had adopted by the eighteenth century. [ 2 ].Describe the theory and practice of mercantilism, and explain why Americans resented it. [ 3 ].Explain why Britain adopted policies of tighter political control and higher taxation of Americans after 1763 and how these policies sparked fierce colonial resentment. [ 4 ].Describe the first major new British taxes on the colonies and how colonial resistance forced repeal of all taxes, except the tax on tea, by 1770. [ 5 ].Explain how colonial agitators kept resistance alive from 1770–1773. [ 6 ].Indicate why the forcible importation of taxable British tea sparked the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the outbreak of conflict between Britain and the colonists. [ 7 ].Assess the balance of forces between the British and the American rebels as the two sides prepared for war. B. Glossary

To build your social science vocabulary, familiarize yourself with the following terms. [ 1 ].patronage A system in which benefits, including jobs, money, or protection are granted in exchange for political support. “The Whigs mounted withering attacks on the use of patronage and bribes by the king’s ministers. . . .” [ 2 ].mercantilism The economic theory that all parts of a nation’s or empire’s economy should be coordinated for the good of the whole state; hence, that colonial economic welfare should be subordinated to that of the imperial power. “The British authorities nevertheless embraced a theory called mercantilism. . . .” [ 3 ].depreciate To decrease in value, as in the decline of the purchasing power of money. “. . . dire financial need forced many of the colonies to issue paper money, which swiftly depreciated.” [ 4 ].veto The constitutional right of a ruler or executive to block legislation passed by another unit of government. “This royal veto was used rather sparingly. . . .” [ 5 ].monopoly The complete control of a product or sphere of economic activity by a single producer or business. “Virginia tobacco planters enjoyed a monopoly in the British market. . . .” [ 6 ].admiralty courts In British law, special administrative courts designed to handle maritime cases without a jury. “Both the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act provided for trying offenders in the hated admiralty courts. . . .” [ 7 ].virtual representation The political theory that a class of persons is represented in a lawmaking body without direct vote. “Elaborating the theory of ‘virtual representation,’ Grenville claimed that every member of Parliament represented all British subjects, even . . . Americans. . . .” [ 8 ].nonimportation agreement Pledges to boycott, or decline to purchase, certain goods from abroad. “More effective than the congress was the widespread adoption of nonimportation agreements. . . .” [ 9 ].mulatto A person of mixed African and European ancestry. “. . . Crispus Attucks [was] described . . . as a powerfully built runaway ‘mulatto.’. . . ” [ 10 ].duty (duties) A customs tax on the export or import of goods. “. . . finally persuaded Parliament to repeal the Townshend revenue duties.” [ 11 ].propaganda (propagandist)  A systematic program or particular materials designed to promote certain ideas; sometimes but not always the term is used negatively, implying the use of manipulative or deceptive means. (A propagandist is one who engages in such practices.) “Resistance was further kindled by a master propagandist and engineer of rebellion, Samuel Adams of Boston. . . .” [ 12 ].boycott An organized refusal to deal with some person, organization, or product. “The Association called for a complete boycott of British goods. . . .” [ 13 ].inflation An increase in the supply of currency relative to the...
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This is another installment of the moon series I did yesterday.  Unlike yesterday’s painting, the sunset and cranes are the main subjects in this painting.  In fact the moon is barely noticeable here.   Every year when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, we would celebrate Autumn festival or moon festival as many called it.  There are so many stories about the legend of moon festival in the internet.  I particularly like the one told by a historian named Thomas W. Chinn.  If you are interested here is the link to the story told by him.

practice 431


My Cart

You Wouldn't Want to be a World War II Evacuee

You are a 10-year-old girl living in London with your family in 1938. When the German air force begins dropping bombs on the city, the government decides to evacuate you and thousands of other children to the English countryside. An uncertain life of rural hardship, bullying and loneliness awaits you. "You Wouldn't Want To Be" is a constantly-growing library of exciting titles which transport the reader to the grisliest times and places in history. The first-person narrative approach puts the reader in the shoes of some of the most unfortunate people ever to have lived. Humorous cartoon-style illustrations bring the characters to life, while informative captions explain processes or chronological events.

Publisher: Scribblers

ISBN: 9781911242468


Why did Sophocles write Anitgone?

Expert Answers
lmetcalf eNotes educator| Certified Educator

Antigone, as the daughter of Oedipus, has lived a challenging life, but she is strong and determined to do the right thing, which seems to be a characteristic she shares with her father who was determined to find the truth, even when the truth ended up destoying him.  Antigone is determined to see that her brother is buried in a proper ceremony, even though it is a direct violation of the orders given by her uncle, King Creon, who declared him a traitor and and a criminal to the state.  Antigone knows that the laws of the gods are always more important than the laws of man, and she refuses to apologize for her actions or back down in any way.  In th end, she commits suicide rather than betray what she knows to be right. It is by these actions that Creon sees the error of his ways and tries, too late, to save Antigone.  Both the Oedipus stories and this one illustrate the theme of hubris, which by a strict Greek definition is excessive pride -- pride that suggests that a person thinks they know better than the gods.  Oedipus thinks he can out-wit the oracle of Apollo, and Creon thinks that he can change the laws of buriel.  Both men live to suffer with the knowledge of just how wrong they are, thus the series of plays in total illustrates variations on that theme of the dnager of hubris.

M.P. Ossa eNotes educator| Certified Educator

Well, basically he wrote it to complete the cycle of plays of the Oedipus story, of which Antigone is the last. So, you could say that it was a necessary thing to do in order to "finish the drama". The plays back then were completed in series, one following the other. So, Antigone is one of those series of plays, only this one (which is about the conflict of duty versus fate) is at the end because the theme denotes that the protagonist is about to meet a fate that cannot be controlled, hence leading to the end of it all.


Ruling party congress discusses ideology

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has addressed the congress of Russia’s ruling political party United Russia as its leader. In his speech he talked about Russia’s current and future policies, including the so-called ‘Strategy-2020’ programme, in lig

In addition United Russia’s ideology is discussed at the congress. The three main divisions of the party say ‘Russian conservatism’ should be declared United Russia’s main ideology, in that it should be based on the traditional Russian values as well as sovereign democracy, political course succession, the necessity of responsible social policy and the protection of middle class interests.

The party’s charter is set to be changed as regards the rotation of its ruling bodies. It is expected that the party’s leadership will be able to hold office for not more than two terms in a row.

The congress also officially approved the party’s merger with the Agrarian Party.

United Russia is currently the biggest, most popular and strongest party of the current four in Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma. There United Russia controls two-thirds of the seats, giving them enormous political power.

Polls show that this is the party the majority of politically active Russians are likely to support.

And it is also the party which fascinated State Duma deputy Tatyana Voronova from the very beginning of her political career.

“Going through my files recently I found a photo there of when I first received my party membership card. I remembered my excitement then. Decisions like that are made for a lifetime. My motives were purely ideological. We were looking for a force which would let us implement our ideas and which was close to our spirit,” United Russia member Tatyana Voronova says.

Seven years on Tatyana still skips a beat when holding that small piece of plastic. The card that Tatyana is so proud of is just one of two million cards belonging to United Russia party members all over the country.

And the party has made clear it that an increase in membership is likely, but not everyone can enter. “We're introducing a six-month trial period for new members – enough time for them to prove they're ready,” said Boris Gryzlov, United Russia Superior Council chairman. Those already in the party are not immune either.

“We checked the party members on the official list. There were some people who shouldn't have been there. It's clear they'd joined the party for their own gain. We got rid of them,” added Gryzlov.

Vladimir Putin agreed to lead the United Russia’s electoral list last October, and the relations between the Prime Minister and the ruling party seem to be close to ideal.

The only one thing the party is still missing is that Putin himself is not yet one of their members. His presidential duties prevented him from taking political sides, but as Prime Minister he's no longer bound by a promise of non-partisanship.

Russia will come out of the crisis stronger – Putin

In his address to the congress of the United Russia party, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the on-going financial crisis a “natural disaster” that was almost impossible to prevent.

However, he said that Russia proved to be less vulnerable to it than other countries. According to him, significant state reserves will help Russian economy to remain stable and the state government won’t have to solve the financial problems at citizens' expense.

The Prime Minister stressed that Russia has to come out of the turmoil a stronger nation with a more effective and competitive economy.

“Relying on the accumulated potential we are obliged to reach new frontiers, to grow stronger and more competitive and to use the crisis to increase our competitiveness,” he said.
Vladimir Putin outlined measures the government and the central bank have already taken to combat the crisis, including a five trillion rouble injection into the financial sector.

Putin pointed out, however, that it is essential to control redistribution of the state's financial aid.

“Tough control must be established to ensure the funds reach the real economy, and not wasted on financial machinations,” he said.

Still, the Prime Minister noted that Russia's economy remains largely dependent on world markets due to its low effectiveness, weak financial sector and poor diversification.

He stressed that the task of further strengthening the banking and the real sectors of economy is the main thing to address on the agenda.

Putin suggested that the practice of commercial banks purchasing bonds from the country's largest companies should be expanded.

“Long-term money must appear in the economy for the realization of long-term, capital-intensive projects, and in this regard I think it would be justified to significantly expand the practice of commercial banks purchasing the bonds of the largest domestic companies,” he said.

The Central Bank should refinance banks using these bonds as collateral, he said.

The Prime Minister pointed out that with the configuration of the global economy changing, opportunities to create a world financial center in Russia are appearing.

“A concept for the creation of a financial center is currently being drawn up in the government,” he said.

Vladimir Putin also added that the current situation in the world improves Russia's chances to turn the rouble into a “regional reserve currency.”

Along with measures to strengthen the national economy, the Russian Prime Minister stressed the need to support private business initiatives.
“Starting this year, the government intends to sizably increase the amount of financial aid to small business,” Russian Prime Minister said.

To do so, the Development Bank will allocate 30 billion roubles ($1.2 billion) while the federal budget will provide 10.5 billion roubles.
“This money will go towards crediting, the subsidizing of interest rates and state guarantees, the development of infrastructure of small business (technology parks and business incubators), grants and educational programs for beginning entrepreneurs,” Putin explained.

He proposed changes in taxation and procedures that would create a comfortable atmosphere for entrepreneurship in Russia “so that people, who would like to begin their own business but are still hesitating, then decide in favor of doing so.”

Also, in light of the on-going crisis Vladimir Putin suggested allocating over 50 billion roubles to prevent the bankruptcy of defence plants.

“I suggest larger interest rate subsidies, larger fixed capital investments and additional allocations in 2008-2009 in order to prevent bankruptcy of defence  plants: the overall amount of the resources may exceed 50 billion  roubles,”  Putin  said.
He stressed that the world financial crisis “should have no effect on defence programs.”

“We should bear in mind the long production cycle and limited funds of the defence sector,” the Prime Minister said.

Medvedev and Putin propose ways to tackle social problems

The social sphere was placed at the centre of both the President’s opening words and the Prime Minister's speech. Medvedev pointed out that despite the growing burden of the global financial crisis. “During these difficult times, the government vows to fulfill its social obligations to its citizens”.

In order to achieve this, the President stated that there must be a constant level of two-way communication between people and government in order to reach a complete understanding of the problems which are currently faced.

The Prime Minister confirms the need to focus on social issues as part of the government programme:

“We will aspire towards stabilising the population, raising the life expectancy to 72 years for women and 55 years for men, providing all citizens with access to high-quality healthcare and education, as well as guaranteeing worthy pensions”. All these issues are the focal point of the government's visionary project for Russia in 2020.

The latter issue concerning pensions was paid special attention to within the Prime Minister's speech.

“By the end of 2009, the average state pension should not be lower than the cost of living for a retired person. By the end of 2010 the average size of an old age pension will be nearly 1.5 times that of 2008,” asserted the Prime Minister.

The investments within education, healthcare and other social services will pay off as an economic boost in the future, Putin pointed out. According to him, the Russian economy has long been people-oriented and will continue to be such despite the growing burden of the world financial crisis. Businesses will be supported in their projects to educate their staff. Putin pointed out that tax cuts will be initiated in such cases.

According to Russia's Prime Minister, all of these goals will be achieved in spite of the world economic crisis. The social sphere will continue developing adequately and will remain well-funded.

“With the appropriate balance,” Putin said, “we will continue to be effective in the social sphere, overcome the crisis and improve our economy”. The businesses will not lack government attention either:

“To alleviate the financial burden of small businesses and to create additional motivation for its development, I propose that the regions are allowed to reduce the rates from ten percent to five percent,” the Prime Minister pointed out.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister noted that he had not forgotten the issues related to the delayed returns of VAT.  Putin voiced several complaints intended for the tax services:

“I believe that the tax services need to fundamentally reconsider their work in this direction and to radically reduce the term of VAT return. We are bound to propose an optimum model for large tax-payers”.


Composers Kevin Volans and Kaija Saariaho were among the winners of the UK's Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards. Volans, who was born in South Africa, won the chamber-scale composition award for his piece viola:piano. Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's Notes on Light, for cello and orchestra, won the large-scale composition category. Violinists Alina Ibragimova and Leonidas Kavakos were beaten to the instrumentalist award by pianist Stephen Hough. The London Sinfonietta won the ensemble award.


No. of Recommendations: 0
I guess it depends on how you define threat. If your defination is that it wouldn't be a surprise if they attacked us tomorrow, then terrorists are the only threat.

But I think that definition is too narrow.

We could define a threat to mean that it is anyone that may potentially feel that we are doing something which hurts them in some way.

But that definition is so broad that every nation on earth would be a threat to us.

We could define it as all nations that don't like us very much, but I really do have a hard time seeing Fiji as a threat.

But there are a number of nations with whom we have a strained history and they have a lot of military capability. Russia, for example.

That we are not currently on the brink of war, does not mean they are not a threat.
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Open-Economy Inflation-Forecast Targeting

Text-only Preview

Open-Economy Inﬂation-Forecast Targeting∗
Kai Leitemo
Monetary Policy Strategy Unit, Research Department
Norges Bank
May 2002
This paper extends previous research on simple inﬂation-forecast targeting by considering
its eﬀect in the open economy. It discusses the eﬀect of the forecast-targeting horizon on
interest rates and the exchange rate, and moreover what role it plays in determining the
rational expectations equilibrium. Inﬂation-forecast targeting may not comply with the
Taylor principle, as a suﬃciently long horizon may not provide a adequately strong interest
rate response to the determinants of future inﬂation. A long horizon causes the short-term
real interest rate and the exchange rate to ﬂuctuate persistently, producing inﬂation and
especially traded sector output volatility.
Keywords: Inﬂation targeting, forecast targeting, monetary policy, small open economy.
JEL codes: E52, E47, E43.
∗Comments and suggestions from Steinar Holden and Lars E.O. Svensson have been particularly useful.
Comments from Larry Ball, Alex Cuikerman, Petra Geraats, Henrik Jensen, Marianne Ness´
en, Simon Price,
Øistein Røisland, Frank Smets, Ingvild Svendsen, Ulf S¨
om, Bent Vale, Anders Vredin and participants in
seminars at the University of Oslo, Norwegian School of Management BI, the CEPR/ESI conference “Old Age,
New Economy and Central Banking” and the ECB workshop on “The Role of Policy Rules in the Conduct of
Monetary Policy” are gratefully acknowledged. I thank Gunnar B˚
ardsen, Ragnar Nymoen and Kenneth Wallis
for making data available and Janet Aagenæs for editorial assistance. This paper has made use of modiﬁed
computer algorithms originally created by Paul S¨
oderlind. Any remaining errors are entirely my own. The views
expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of Norges Bank (the Central Bank
of Norway). Address of the author: Research Department, Norges Bank, PO Box 1179 Sentrum, 0107 OSLO,
Norway. Tel/Fax: +47 22 31 69 58. E-mail: [email protected]

1. Introduction
A large number of countries have either formally or more informally adopted inﬂation targeting
as a framework for monetary policy throughout the 1990s. Following the idea that inﬂation
targeting implies using all available information eﬃciently in minimizing the variance of inﬂation
around a target level1 (possibly by stabilizing other variables as well), the implementation is left
to the discretion of the analysts and policymakers in the respective central banks. Due to the
traditional arguments of lags in the monetary policy transmission mechanism, e.g. as modeled
in the inﬂuential article by Svensson (1997), the inﬂation forecast plays an important role in the
conduct of monetary policy. The argument is that since the monetary policymaker’s instrument
has its strongest impact on its goal variables several quarters ahead, optimal monetary policy
is forward looking and the instrument should respond to the determinants of future inﬂation
(i.e. the forecast) and possibly other target variables. Since in most models, nominal inertia
implies a trade-oﬀ between nominal and real variability, the inﬂation targeting central bank
should aim to bring inﬂation in line with target over time. Short-sightedness should be avoided,
since such a policy could produce high output and interest rate volatility. In the open economy,
the exchange rate channel opens the possibility of stabilizing inﬂation at a very short horizon,
leading to high real variability (Svensson, 2000).
This paper extends previous research on the implications of a simple inﬂation-forecast target-
ing strategy where the central bank sets an interest rate level which, if kept constant throughout
the forecast-targeting horizon, produces a conditional inﬂation forecast equal to the inﬂation
target level.2 This rule has seemingly strong intuitive appeal: the monetary policy stance is
set in such a way that if the economy evolves as expected, policy is in line with achieving the
inﬂation target at some horizon. Rudebusch and Svensson (1999) discuss this strategy within a
backward-looking, closed-economy model of the US economy. This paper extends the analysis
of the properties of inﬂation-forecast targeting by considering its open-economy implications.
Particular emphasis is put on describing how the forecast targeting horizon eﬀects the traded
and non-traded sectors through implied exchange-rate and interest rate dynamics and what
role the choice of horizon plays in determining the rational expectations equilibrium. Moreover,
the paper also discusses what role the inﬂation target plays in pinning down long-run inﬂation
expectations under inﬂation-forecast targeting.
1Lars Svensson has suggested this deﬁnition of inﬂation targeting in several papers, for instance (Svensson,
1999b, 2000).
2This policy should be contrasted to optimal inﬂation-forecast targeting, explored in Svensson and Woodford
(1999) and Svensson (2001), where the forecasts of the target variables satisfy the ﬁrst-order conditions of optimal
inﬂation targeting, i.e. a situation in which the policymaker minimizes a quadratic loss function.

Inﬂation-forecast targeting requires strong movements in the interest rate when the forecast-
targeting horizon is relatively short. If a shock hits the economy, the policymaker needs to
stabilize the inﬂationary impulses quickly which requires strong interest rate responses to the
factors determining future inﬂation. With a longer forecast-targeting horizon, there is less need
for strong interest rate responses since the policy multiplier increases with the forecast-targeting
horizon. In models that respect the long-run superneutrality of monetary policy, an equilibrium
rate of inﬂation is achieved without monetary policy following a state-contingent rule, but
rather satisﬁes conditions for having the equilibrium inﬂation rate equal to target. Extending
the forecast-targeting horizon brings it closer to the time it takes for the nominal inertia to
have worked itself out and the equilibrium rate of inﬂation achieved. Hence, a longer forecast-
targeting horizon implies a greater degree of interest rate stabilization around its equilibrium
In order to address the open-economy implications, we develop a New Keynesian, small open-
economy macroeconomic model similar to the one-sector model developed by Batini and Haldane
(1999) and used as a policy model at the Bank of England.3 Our model is, however, extended
in several respects. Recently, Ball (2000) has argued that analysis should be carried out within
multi-sector models in order to shed light on the role and sectoral inﬂuence of the exchange
rate in monetary policymaking. In this respect, we add a competitive, traded sector to the
model in order to reﬁne the view of how monetary policy inﬂuences the real economy. We show
that the nominal interest rate stabilization implied by a long forecast-targeting horizon implies
that inﬂation will ﬂuctuate more, causing the short real interest rate and the real exchange rate
to ﬂuctuate persistently. As the real exchange rate aﬀects the traded sector relatively more
than it does the non-traded sector, we show that if the inﬂation-forecast targeting central bank
chooses a long forecast-targeting horizon, the traded sector will be relatively more exposed to
ﬂuctuations than the non-traded sector. Thus, merely extending the forecast-targeting horizon
does not necessarily provide more real stability. Inﬂation variability will, however, increase.
The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 starts by deﬁning what we mean by inﬂation-
forecast targeting in this context and discusses the simple intuition behind it. In the ﬁnal
part of Section 2, we derive the policy rule implied by inﬂation-forecast targeting and discuss
some model-independent features of such a rule. Section 3 introduces open-economy elements by
considering a model in the New Keynesian, open-economy model. Section 4 ﬁrst discusses issues
of rational expectations determinacy and the so-called Taylor principle with respect to inﬂation-
forecast targeting within the model and then goes on to discuss its stabilizing properties. Finally,
3See Bank of England (1999).

Section 5 concludes.
2. Inﬂation-forecast targeting
Goodhart (1999) suggests that the instrument should be adjusted so as to stabilize the forecast
of inﬂation at some appropriate horizon at the target level. Formally, such a policy target can
be denoted by
πt+h|t = π∗,
where h is the inﬂation-forecast targeting horizon; ¯
πt+h|t is the central bank’s forecast of the
four-quarter inﬂation rate at time t + h made at time t; and π∗ is the inﬂation target level. If h
is set equal to the shortest lag at which the instrument of the central bank aﬀects inﬂation (the
inﬂation control lag), (1) is equivalent to strict inﬂation targeting, in Svensson’s terminology,
as this policy would imply a use of the instrument that would minimize the variance of inﬂation
(and inﬂation only) around the target level. If, however, h is a number greater than the length of
the inﬂation control lag, equation (1) does not fully determine policy. There is then an inﬁnity
of instrument paths that are consistent with this formulation. For concreteness, assume that
the forecast-targeting horizon is three periods and the inﬂation control lag is two, and that the
prevailing inﬂation rate is above target. The policymaker can now either choose to follow a lax
policy in the ﬁrst period and a more contractionary policy in the second period or do this in
the reverse order; in either case the target can be reached at the speciﬁed horizon.
In order to pin down policy, we need to place additional restrictions on policy. One common
restriction is that the interest rate is constant within the forecast-targeting horizon. Let a policy
of setting the instrument so as to have the constant-interest-rate forecast of inﬂation at a given
horizon on target be denoted by
πt+h|t(i) = π∗,
where policy is well-deﬁned in a mathematical sense. The interest rate is now set at the rate
which, on the assumption that it is kept constant throughout the forecast-targeting horizon,
will ensure that the inﬂation forecast is on target. If the forecast of inﬂation at the forecast-
targeting horizon is not on target given the prevailing interest rate level, the interest rate is
exactly adjusted to correct for this.4 This is the deﬁnition of inﬂation-forecast targeting used
in this paper.5
4Smets (2000) discusses a similar targeting procedure, where the central bank minimizes a loss function subject
to inﬂation being back on target within a speciﬁed time.
5Our deﬁnition of (simple) inﬂation-forecast targeting is distinct from optimal inﬂation-forecast targeting,
as pointed out in footnote 3. Simple and optimal inﬂation-forecast targeting will, however, coincide when the
forecast-targeting horizon is equal to the inﬂation control lag and inﬂation is the only argument in the loss

Several central banks provide constant-interest-rate projections of inﬂation in their inﬂation
reports and discuss their policy stance in relation to these projections. The reason is that these
projections show the most likely outcome of inﬂation if the policy stance is kept unchanged,
thereby providing a helpful benchmark to guide the policy assessment (See, e.g. Bank of England,
2001, p.58). Some researchers have even claimed that inﬂation-forecast targeting comes very
close to describing the actual policy procedure at some central banks.6 Considering the intuitive
and simple appeal of inﬂation-forecast targeting, together with the claimed empricial relevance,
make it altogether an interesting strategy to analyze.
2.1. Time inconsistency, inﬂation dynamics and credibility
It is important to note that forecast targeting does not necessarily imply that inﬂation will be
back on target at the end of the h-period forecast-targeting horizon, if h is a number greater
than the shortest lag at which the monetary policy instrument aﬀects inﬂation. Under forecast
targeting, the chosen interest rate will attain the inﬂation target (in expectations) provided
that the interest rate is kept constant within the forecast-targeting horizon. If the central bank,
however, follows inﬂation-forecast targeting also in subsequent periods, the condition of interest
rate constancy will in general not be valid. The reason for this is that as time passes, the end
of the forecast-targeting horizon moves forward and the relevant forecast changes which may
necessitate a change in the interest rate. For these reasons inﬂation-forecast targeting is time
inconsistent. This time inconsistency will, however, disappear if the forecast-targeting horizon
exceeds the inﬂation control lag. Time inconsistency implies that the forecast-targeting horizon
is not equal to the expected time at which inﬂation will have returned to its target level.7
This form of time inconsistency may not be as harmless as it may seem at ﬁrst sight.
As a constant-interest-rate inﬂation forecast potentially deviates considerably from the rational
expectations path, it may contain limited information for agents who strive to base their nominal
contracts on the most likely future development of inﬂation. For agents who do not understand
the time-inconsistency implications of inﬂation-forecast targeting, the updating of policy each
period which creates the “postponement” of the time at which inﬂation should attain its target
6Goodhart (2000), former member of the UK Monetary Policy Committee, states: “When I was a member of
the MPC I thought that I was trying, at each forecast round, to set the level of interest rates, on each occasion,
so that without the need for future rate changes prospective inﬂation would on average equal the target at the
policy horizon. That was, I thought, what the exercise was supposed to be.” Svensson (2001) asks whether “[it
is] possible to provide more optimal, but still operational, targeting rules than the Bank of Englands and the
Riksbanks ‘the constant-interest-rate inﬂation forecast about two years ahead should equal the inﬂation target?’
”. 7It should be noted that the forecast-targeting horizon, as deﬁned in this paper, is distinct from the forecast-
feedback horizon, as discussed in Batini and Nelson (2001). The latter concept refers to the forecast-lead of
inﬂation when used as an argument in an interest rate reaction function.

level, may be interpreted as the central bank not being fully committed to its stated inﬂation
target. Such beliefs would possibly induce a loss of credibility for the central bank and be a
problem for reasons outlined in Svensson (1999a). If private agents do not believe inﬂation
will quickly stabilize around the announced inﬂation target, the informational content of the
target is reduced and agents will undertake the costs of forming expectations based upon other
indicators with larger informational content. This may reduce the central bank’s ability to
stabilize inﬂation without causing large output movements, i.e., increase the sacriﬁce ratio.
In order to understand what inﬂation dynamics inﬂation-forecast targeting may induce,
it is useful to study some stylized examples. Figure 1 shows three possible developments of
inﬂation under two-period inﬂation-forecast targeting within diﬀerent model settings where the
interest rate aﬀects inﬂation with a one-period lag. The solid line in each panel shows the
expected evolution of the inﬂation rate after a shock to inﬂation. The dashed lines show the
constant-interest-rate forecasts made in each period for two and three periods ahead. Note that
the two-period forecasts are on target, while the three-period forecasts in general deviate from
the target value. The constant-interest-rate forecasts coincide with the expected development
during the ﬁrst period, but then deviate as policy is updated to conform to the new forecast
Panel A illustrates a state of the economy and a model in which the three-period inﬂation
forecast undershoots the target level. As time passes, and assuming no new information arrives,
the previous three-period forecast becomes the two-period forecast at the prevailing interest
rate, and due to the undershooting, the interest rate is lowered accordingly. In this situation,
forecast-targeting induces a monotonic convergence of inﬂation toward the target level. In the
situation illustrated by Panel B, the three-period inﬂation forecast overshoots the target level.
As time passes, the overshooting requires a tightening of monetary policy and the interest
rate is raised accordingly, causing a further decline in the inﬂation rate. Inﬂation converges
non-monotonically toward the target level, but monetary policy does cause inﬂation to deviate
persistently from the target level. Panel C shows that forecast-targeting may induce oscillations
in the inﬂation process. If the model implies that the assumption of a constant interest rate
induces the two-period and three-period forecasts to move in the opposite directions, inﬂation-
forecast targeting may produce erratic movements in the interest rate and hence possibly in the
inﬂation rate.
Although the intuition behind forecast targeting may be quite seductive, these simple ex-
amples show that time-inconsistency makes this intuition somewhat deceptive. This intensiﬁes
the need for analyzing inﬂation-forecast targeting in models we have conﬁdence in, as most of

P a n e l A
M o n o t o n i c c o n v e r g i n g p r o c e s s
P a n e l B
O v e r - o r u n d e r s h o o t i n g c o n v e r g i n g p r o c e s s
P a n e l C
O s c i l l a t i n g c o n v e r g i n g p r o c e s s
Figure 1
Constant-interest-rate forecast targeting illustration.
its properties are likely to be highly model dependent.
2.2. Deriving the policy implications
An inﬂation-forecast targeting central bank is concerned with choosing an interest rate each
period that minimizes its loss function given by
t =
θ ¯π
t+h|t i − π∗ 2 + (1 − θ) yt+h|t(i) − y∗ 2 ,
where ¯
πt+h|t i and yt+h|t(i) are the constant-interest-rate forecasts of four-quarter inﬂation
and output respectively, and y∗ is the output target, assumed to be equal to the natural rate.
For the remainder of the paper, the inﬂation target (π∗) and the natural rate (y∗) are both
normalized to zero. According to (3), the central bank is concerned about both having the

forecast of inﬂation close to its target and the forecast of output not deviating too far from
its natural rate. θ ∈ [.5, 1] is a parameter reﬂecting the central bank preference for inﬂation
forecast stabilization relative to output stabilization.8 A lower value reﬂects a central bank that
is relatively more concerned about stabilizing the output forecast, denoted a ﬂexible inﬂation-
forecast targeter. The ﬁrst order condition of (3) is
t+h|t i
t+h|t(i) y
πt+h|t i + (1 − θ)
t+h|t(i) = 0.
According to (4), the central bank targets a weighted average of the inﬂation and output
forecasts. The weights are partly determined by the preferences of the central bank, but also by
the policy multipliers, i.e. the eﬀect a change in the interest rate has on the respective forecasts.
An inﬂation-forecast targeting central bank with preferences for output forecast targeting, i.e.
θ < 1, accepts over- or undershooting of the target in accordance with the distance of the
forecast of output from the natural rate. This can easily be seen by rearranging (4) as
t+h|t i = − (1 − θ)
which implies a conditional inﬂation target. If the output forecast is well below the natural
rate, the inﬂation target rises above its normal rate, e.g. to the upper level of the target band.
Equation (2) is equivalent to equation (5) when θ = 1, that is, under strict inﬂation-forecast
In order to derive the policy implications, i.e. the interest rate reaction function, under this
procedure, consider a general backward-looking model in state space form
Xt+1 = AXt + Bit + t+1,
where X is a vector of state variables; i is the policy instrument, i.e. the short nominal interest
rate within this framework, and
is a vector of disturbance terms with zero expectations and
ﬁnite variance. A is the transition matrix of the model and B is the vector of parameters
describing the direct eﬀects of the interest rate. By subsequent substitutions, the h-period-
8It seems appropriate to restrict θ downwards to a value of .5, as a smaller number would be more in line with
output-forecast targeting than inﬂation-forecast targeting.

ahead forecast is written as
Xt+h|t = AhXt +
where the forecast of the state variables is a function of the state of the economy at the time
of the forecast, the policy assumptions in the forecast period and the economic model being
analyzed. Under the assumption that the interest rate is kept constant in the forecast period,
it+j|t(¯ı) = it for h > j ≥ 0, we can write the constant-interest-rate forecast of the state variables
Xt+h|t(¯ı) = AhXt +
We may also write the target variables as functions of the state variables
πt = KπXt,
yt = KyXt,
where Kπ and Ky are vectors that relate inﬂation and output to the state vector.
Correspondingly, the constant-interest-rate forecasts of the target variables are then given
by ¯
πt+h|t i = KπXt+h|t(i) and yt+h|t(i) = KyXt+h|t(i). Using (2.5) we can write these forecasts
as functions of the interest rate and the current state,
πt+h|t i = KπAhXt + Kπ
yt+h|t(i) = KyAhXt + Ky
where the policy multipliers associated with the inﬂation and output forecasts are
t+h|t i
= Kπ
= Ky

Substituting the expressions for the forecasts and the policy multipliers into (4) gives

AjB KπAhXt + Kπ
AjBit + (1 − θ)Ky
AjB KyAhXt + Ky
AjBit = 0,
which may be expressed in terms of the interest rate as

j=0 AjB
= FcirXt,
where Ω =
j=0 AjBKπ + (1 − θ)Ky
j=0 AjBKy . Equation (9) denotes the CIR
targeting central bank’s reaction function and yields the following proposition.
Proposition 1
Given that A is positive semi-deﬁnite and has eigenvalues within the unit circle, extending the
length of the forecast-targeting horizon reduces the absolute value of the coeﬃcients in the
reaction function (9).
There are two independent eﬀects that produce this outcome. The ﬁrst, which refers to
j=0 AjB in the denominator of (9), is the eﬀect of the interest rate level on the forecast when
extending the inﬂation-forecast targeting horizon. A given constant interest rate level is more
eﬀective in inﬂuencing the determinants of the forecasts if it remains in place for a longer period
of time. Thus, the reaction to the underlying determinants does not have to be as strong as
under a shorter forecast-targeting horizon. The second eﬀect refers to the inherent properties
of the forecasting model and its transition matrix, A. If A is ‘stable’, that is, has all eigenvalues
within the unit circle,9 the state variables in the model will approach their equilibrium values
even without any response from policy since Ah → 0 as h → ∞. In the case of a long forecast-
targeting horizon, the inﬂation targeting central bank will exploit these eﬀects to a greater
degree than a central bank with a shorter horizon. The result is less need for monetary policy
to respond to disequilibrium conditions, but rather instead satisfy the equilibrium conditions
for having inﬂation equal the target level.
9For an important class of models, this conditions will fail to hold. If the backward-looking model includes
an accellerationist Phillips curve, there is a unit root in the A matrix, and the model is not self-stabilizing with
respect to the inﬂation rate. The ﬁrst eﬀect will still ensure that a long forecast-targeting horizon will imply
more interest rate stability.


What You Need to Know about the Medications Used to Treat Bone Cancer Symptoms

Bone cancer symptoms can be painful. Here are some of the medications your doctor may use to treat the disease and minimize its symptoms, and the side effects that these drugs may cause.

Bone cancer is the type of cancer that creates malignant tumors which can damage the normal bone tissue in your body. It is a rare form of cancer and accounts for less than one percent of all cancer cases. The usual and not-so-common bone cancer symptoms include pain in the bones, inflammation and tenderness in and near the affected area, numbness and tingling, problems in movement, weaker bones that are susceptible to fractures, fatigue, unusual weight loss, and fever. If you have been experiencing any of these bone cancer symptoms, report it to the doctor at the earliest. These symptoms may also occur due to some other health condition and most people tend to mistake them for some less-serious problem, but getting it checked at the earliest is vital.
There are treatment options available for bone cancer, and your doctor may recommend one depending on the specific type of cancer you have, the stage of your bone cancer, and other health issues that you may have. To treat the various bone cancer symptoms, the doctor may suggest some oral medicines. It is important for you to know about the medications that may be prescribed by your doctor to treat bone cancer symptoms. In addition, being aware of the side effects that these medicines may cause can help you understand what you can expect from your treatment. Here are some of the medications that may be recommended to provide relief from your bone cancer symptoms.

For pain that is mild to moderate

If you have been experiencing pain due to bone cancer and the pain is mild to moderate in intensity, you may be given over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), or some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). NSAIDs include tablets like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.) While taking acetaminophen in heavier doses may cause liver damage, NSAIDs can cause side effects like irritation and bleeding in the stomach, kidney damage, and easy bruising.

For pain that is moderate to severe

One of the most common bone cancer symptoms is bone pain, and it can range from being tolerable and mild to quite severe. To treat pain that ranges from moderate to intense, you may be prescribed pain medications known as opioids. These medicines include codeine, OxyContin or Roxicodone (oxycodone), Duragesic (fentanyl), Vicodin, and methadone. These can provide considerable relief from the pain, but at the same time have side effects like sleepiness, nausea and vomiting, or constipation. If the side effects are too severe, you can ask your doctor for additional medications to minimize the effects.

For brittle bones

Another of the bone cancer symptoms that patients experience is weak and brittle bones, which may increase your chances of getting a fracture easily. To treat this symptom, doctors often use bisphosphonate drugs, which are also used to treat osteoporosis. In addition, such medicines are also used to reduce cancer-related pain as they work towards strengthening your weakened bone tissue. Zometa (Zoledronic Acid) and Aredia (pamidronate) are two drugs that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used for this purpose. After taking these bisphosphonate medications, you may experience certain side effects, which include fatigue, fever, cold and flu-like symptoms, and irritation in the esophagus and stomach.

For the sensation of tingling and burning from pain

Many bone cancer patients report symptoms like numbness, tingling, and a burning sensation, which is caused by the pain they have been experiencing. To treat such bone cancer symptoms, nerve-related (neuropathic) medications are often prescribed. The drugs used for this purpose include antidepressants and anti-seizure drugs. Neurontin (gabapentin) and divalproex are some of the anti-seizure drugs used to treat these bone cancer symptoms, but they can cause side effects like fatigue, light-headedness, and liver damage. If you are put on antidepressants like Elavil (amitriptyline), and Tofranil (imipramine), you may experience some side effects that include dryness in the mouth, dizziness, sleepiness, and constipation. However, remember that the doctor has prescribed antidepressants just to target your bone cancer symptoms, and it does not mean that you are suffering from depression.

Your doctor may try different drug combinations in order to reduce your specific bone cancer symptoms, and you can help by noting down the reactions or side effects that each medicine has on you. This will help your doctor to understand what medications work the best for you, and which are to be avoided.

About TheLifeDigest


Up Close and Musical (UCAM) was founded in 1989 by Colorado Symphony cellist Eric Bertoluzzi and music education proponent Susan Dreisbach. The organization’s principal activity during its first ten years was music education enhancement performances in the Denver metropolitan area and has now grown to include workshops and auxiliary instructional programs.

Up Close and Musical’s chamber orchestra of Colorado Symphony musicians gives 45-minute presentations, primarily in elementary schools, designed to stimulate students’ interest in music and motivate them to participate as future performers and audience members.  Performing without a conductor, the ensemble plays a variety of light classical music featuring the various instruments.

Over the years, UCAM has customized its presentations for middle and high school audiences, adding workshops and clinics with student orchestras and bands, and creating instructional programs involving individual and small groups of musicians. UCAM also gives formal concerts each year and has taken five tours of Colorado.

Now in its 27th year, UCAM continues to build upon it programs, repertoire and numbers of Colorado residents served. UCAM has performed for more than 300,000 throughout the state.


Observations | Major Business

Home > What we do > Observations > Lightning Detections

Lightning Detections

Lightning Detections

Lightning is a flash of light that is caused by a sudden electrical discharge in the atmosphere and strikes when there is a thunderstorm. There are three types of lightning: cloud-to-ground lightning which is lightning discharge that occurs between the cloud and the ground; cloud-to-cloud lightning which occurs between two or more separate clouds; and intra-cloud lightning which happens within the cloud itself. As a typical lightning stroke carries an electric charge of several million volts, it can cause massive damage. Therefore, the KMA has been making an effort to detect and predict it to protect people's lives and property.

The past, present and future of lightning detection network

In 1987 the KMA started employing Lightning Location and Protection (LLP) system to detect lightning phenomena in the Korean Peninsula for weather forecasts. However, as the system becomes old and obsolete, in October 2001 the administration installed Improved Accuracy from Combined Technology ․ Lightning Detection And Ranging Ⅱ (IMPACT ․ LDAR Ⅱ) system. Compared to the LLP system, the IMPACT ․ LDAR Ⅱ system is capable of detecting inter-cloud lightning which is known to account for about 90 percent of all discharges. In 2014 this system was replaced by LIghtning NETwork (LINET) system manufactured by a German company, nowcast GmbH. In the LINET system one sensor can detect both cloud-to-ground and inter-cloud lightning with high accuracy and efficiency, and detection data such as time of occurrence, location, intensity, and polarity of lightning strokes are processed into images to be distributed to the public on websites and mobile apps.

Map of Lightning Detection Network

<Map of Lightning Detection Network>


Chuck Schumer explains how Donald Trump’s candidacy could break gridlock in Congress

Chip Somodevilla / Staff

US Senator Chuck Schumer has a theory: Donald Trump will help break the gridlock in Congress.

Schumer spoke Friday in front of a tech-industry audience at Civic Hall in New York, where he asserted that Trump had “torn the hard right apart.”

He also said the Republican frontrunner had helped expose ideological fault lines that could help build bipartisan compromise on some issues after the election.

“I do think that the gridlock will be broken, partially because Trump showed the fundamental contradiction between the Tea-Party voter and the oligarchs who have always funded the Tea Party and all these hard-right places,” Schumer said.

Schumer argued that Trump was the only Republican candidate who is “not in obeisance to the Koch brothers,” the billionaire businessmen who pledged to spend around $1 billion to help elect right-leaning lawmakers in the 2016 election cycle.

He continued, pointing out that Trump showed how many voters are not motivated by staunch ideological opposition to welfare programs, government spending and higher taxes.

The Tea Party people are not for cutting Medicare and Social Security. There’s only one Republican candidate who’s not for doing that. Trump. The Tea Party people are against free trade. Whether you’re for it or against it, there’s only one Republican candidate who opposes it. Trump. The Tea Party is not for taxing carried interest or increasing taxes on wealthy people. There’s one Republican candidate who said he would do carried interest and other things: Trump.

Far from endorsing Trump’s political positions, Schumer qualified that Trump’s positions and rhetoric on many issues is “awful.”

Schumer hasn’t always attempted to cast Trump as an agitator within the Republican Party.

Last month, the senator told a Texas radio station that Trump and the Republicans in Congress had the “same agenda.”

“Donald Trump and Senate Republicans share the same agenda, and Senate Republicans who are obstructing on the Supreme Court are doing everything they can to make sure that Trump chooses the next justice,” Schumer said. “Donald Trump won’t make America Great Again, but he will make Republicans the minority again.”

On Friday, Schumer, likely the future Democratic leader in the US Senate, also put an exact number on how many Electoral College votes he believes former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will win by in November.

“My prediction, this is just a prediction, I’ll stick my neck out. I’m for Hillary Clinton, I think Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democratic nominee. I think she is going to win by 325 electoral votes.”