17 minutes ago Ina Fried writing for Axios had this to say: The complicated future of augmented and virtual reality THE BIG PICTURE: "The road that VR and AR are on is well-paved in tech. Initial buzz leads to overheated enthusiasm, then a "trough of disillusionment." After that, there's a steady march in which the technology ends up meeting or surpassing expectations even while taking far longer than anyone anticipated. . ."IMPACT on proposed $164M ASU Creative Futures Lab ??? . . . The problem for AR and VR is that several key ingredients — battery life, screen resolution and comfort — aren't where they need to be for either technology to go mainstream, especially for consumers. What's next: At last week's Snapdragon Summit, Ina Fried had a chance to try out technology from startup Spatial, which aims to create virtual collaboration for business users across different kinds of devices and platforms. (See video here.) _________________________________________________________________________
Official Lies exposed after 18 years of unjustified war The Washington Post won the release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle
The Afghanistan Papers A secret history of the war
Since 2001, more than 775,000 US troops have deployed to Afghanistan, many repeatedly. Of those, 2,300 died there and 20,589 were wounded in action, according to Defence Department figures.
The interviews, through an extensive array of voices, bring into sharp relief the core failings of the war that persist to this day.
They underscore how three presidents - George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump - and their military commanders have been unable to deliver on their promises to prevail in Afghanistan.
“Every data point was altered to present the best picture possible,” Bob Crowley, an army colonel who served as a senior counterinsurgency adviser to US military commanders in 2013 and 2014, told government interviewers. “Surveys, for instance, were totally unreliable but reinforced that everything we were doing was right and we became a self-licking ice cream cone.”
John Sopko, the head of the federal agency that conducted the interviews, acknowledged to The Post that the documents show “the American people have constantly been lied to.”
The interviews are the by-product of a project led by Mr Sopko's agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Known as Sigar, the agency was created by Congress in 2008 to investigate waste and fraud in the war zone . . .
-- excepts from https://www.independent.co.uk/news
_________________________________________________________________________ The Graveyard of Empires Strikes Back - The British-Afghan War of 1919 I THE GREAT WAR 1919
» SOURCES Adamec, L.W. Afghanistan, 1900-1923: A Diplomatic History, Berkley, 1967 Barthorp, Michael (2002) [1982]. Afghan Wars and the North-West Frontier 1839–1947. London: Cassell. Beattie, Hugh: Afghanistan , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2016-09-02 Heathcote, TA. The Afghan Wars (Spellmount, 2003). Jacobsen, M H. The Third Afghan War and the External Position of India, 1919-1924. Defense Technical Information Center Archive report ADA195401, 1988. Monro, Charles. Despatch from His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief in India regarding the operations against Afghanistan, to the Secretary to the Government of India, Army Department. Second Supplement to the London Gazette, 15 March 1920 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/i... Molesworth, George (1962). Afghanistan 1919—An Account of Operations in the Third Afghan War. New York: Asia Publishing House Robson, Brian (2007). Crisis on the Frontier: The Third Afghan War and the Campaign in Waziristan 1919–1920. The History Press. Sykes, Percy. A History of Afghanistan vol II. (London Macmillan 1940) Wyatt, Christopher M. “Change and Discontinuity: War and Afghanistan 1904-1924,” Asian Affairs, 01 September 2016, Vol.47(3): 366-385. __________________________________________________________________________________
The protest marks yet another instance of the politicization of public school teachers by union leaders and organizers of the #RedforEd movement. . ." QUESTION: What does Andrew Breitbart not know about the Arizona State Constitution? . . and it looks the opposite of Non-Partisan politics
"A well-funded and subversive leftist movement of teachers in the United States threatens to tilt the political balance nationwide in the direction of Democrats across the country as Republicans barely hang on in key states that they need to hold for President Donald Trump to win re-election and for Republicans to have a shot at retaking the House and holding onto their Senate majority. This teachers union effort, called #RedforEd, has its roots in the very same socialism that President Trump vowed in his 2019 State of the Union address to stop, and it began in its current form in early 2018 in a far-flung corner of the country before spreading nationally. Its stated goals–higher teacher pay and better education conditions–are overshadowed by a more malevolent political agenda: a leftist Democrat uprising designed to flip purple or red states to blue, using the might of a significant part of the education system as its lever."
In the afternoon, DeVos used Arizona's ESA program as an example of a state promoting what she called "expanded education freedom"
"Arizona is loving their ESAs,"she said.
Ducey also commended Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, which directly gives qualifying families taxpayer money to send a child to private school or cover other designated education costs if the child fits into a qualifying category, including being a foster child or attending a failing school
Hizzoner John Giles has signed a joint letter with other mayors > that's old news! Looks like his intention was to plug one thing > SkyBridge Arizona . . . Presser yesterday put out by MesaNow The City of Mesa Newsroom
Giles Applauds USMCA Deal;
Joins Mayors to Urge Swift Passage
December 10, 2019 at 2:06 pm
". . .The successful passage of the USMCA agreement is vital to Mesa and Arizona's economy. I am glad to see that both sides were able to come together and reach a compromise on this important trade deal," Giles said. "Thanks to businesses like SkyBridge Arizona, Mesa is perfectly poised to expand international investment and create high-wage jobs."
"Even as the U.S. economy hums along at a favorable pace, there is a vast segment of workers today earning wages low enough to leave their livelihood and families extremely vulnerable. That’s one of the main takeaways from our new analysis, in which we found that 53 million Americans between the ages of 18 to 64—accounting for 44% of all workers—qualify as “low-wage.” Their median hourly wages are $10.22, and median annual earnings are about $18,000.
The smoldering mystery over Ember Conley remains for sure, but attention to one more mystery has snagged anew what's been visible hovering overhead for weeks in the clear night skies over Mesa.
What a relief it is get diverted!
Return of the mystifying glowing sphere that releases smaller spheres above Mesa, Arizona
Last Sunday, December 8, 2019 many people witnessed a strange glowing sphere above the East Valley, Mesa, Arizona.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence but the entire sighting is similar to the sighting in December 2004 when a Long Beach Police helicopter captured on the infrared camera (FLIR) a glowing sphere releasing smaller spheres towards the ground too.
MESA, AZ — Mysterious lights hovering above the east Valley have many wondering if we’ve had a close encounter. “It was pretty bright, it was about straight up over here, and it went straight that way, stopped, and it didn’t seem like it was too far,”said DJ Maier and Kerri Burnett, describing what they saw... Maier immediately posted the video to Facebook, and the comments rolled in. But none had any explanation for what they were seeing. “Some said it may be an aircraft, others said aliens or a comet,” said Maier. . . ABC15 reached out to several aviation experts who theorized the lights seen Sunday could be from parachute flares used by the military or even helicopters or other aircraft dropping flares during training. In fact, the Outlaw Military Operations Area sits not far from where the video was shot. But video found online of those types of exercises just doesn’t seem to match. “There were no navigation lights, even the military has to have navigation lights on, that’s an FAA rule,” said Maier. ABC15 reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration, Luke Air Force Base, and the Army National Guard, but none could say for certain what it was.
Beginning May, 2019 the Planning & Zoning Board will meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month at 4:00 pmThe seven members conduct hearings and make recommendations to the City Council on requests for changes in zoning and on required site plans. They also consider and recommend changes in the City's long-range plans and in the Municipal Code concerning planning and zoning matters. Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years. Meetings are broadcast live on Mesa Channel 11.
Planning and Zoning Board Members Date Appointed Term Expires Michelle Dahlke, Chair 07/01/14 06/30/20
Dane Astle, Vice-Chair 07/01/15 06/30/21
Jessica Sarkissian, Board Member 07/05/16 06/30/20
Tim Boyle, Board Member 07/05/16 06/30/22
Shelly Allen, Board Member 07/03/17 06/30/20
Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, Board Member 07/02/18 06/30/22
Prior to joining the City of Mesa, Kusi Appiah served as the Development Services Manager for Adams County, Colorado
Prior to his employment with Adams County, Nana worked as a city planner and planning supervisor for the City of Denton, Texas
Appiah began his professional career in Polk County, Florida
a doctorate degree in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas
a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University
a bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners
He has completed the Executive Education Program in Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
_______________________________________________________________________ STUDY SESSION 3:00 PM Council Chambers - Lower Level Wednesday, December 11, 2019
1 Call meeting to order.
2 Review items on the agenda for the December 11, 2019 regular Planning and Zoning Board Hearing.
item 3 Planning Director's Updates.
a. Update of City Council's decisions on Land Use cases.
Item 4 PZ 19145 Review and discuss sample Planning and Zoning Board By-laws from the cities of Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert and Miami, and provide staff direction on drafting proposed By-laws for the Board.
Review and discuss sample Planning and Zoning Board By-laws from the cities of Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert and Miami, and provide staff direction on drafting proposed By-laws for the Board.
ZON19-00706 District 5. Within the 2400 block of North Val Vista Drive (east side). Located south of McDowell Road on the east side of Val Vista Drive. (4.6± acres). Rezoning from RS-35 to RS-35 PAD; and Site Plan Review. This request will allow for the development of a single residence subdivision. Joe Burke, Allen Consulting Engineers, applicant; NuSash Investments, owner. Planner: Kellie Rorex Staff Recommendation: Continue to January 8, 2020
ZON19-00710 District 6. Within the 7000 to 7600 blocks of East Guadalupe Road (south side) and within the 2800 through 3100 blocks of South Sossaman Road (west side). Located south of Guadalupe Road and west of Sossaman Road. Rezone from NC-PAD to RS-6-PAD (6.7± acres); and modification of an existing PAD (213.7± acres). This request will allow for the development of a single-residence subdivision. Sean B. Lake, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; B & K Land & Investment Co., owner. (Companion case to preliminary plat “Desert Place at Morrison Ranch”, associated with item *5-a). Planner: Evan Balmer Staff Recommendation: Continue to January 8, 2020
“Desert Place at Morrison Ranch” District 6. Within the 7000 to 7600 blocks of East Guadalupe Road (south side) and within the 2800 through 3100 blocks of South Sossaman Road (west side). Located south of Guadalupe Road and west of Sossaman Road. Preliminary Plat. (6.7± acres). Sean B. Lake, Pew & Lake, PLC, applicant; B & K Land & Investment Co., owner. (Companion case to ZON19-00710, associated with item *4-b). Planner: Evan Balmer Staff Recommendation: Continue to January 8, 202
Amendments to Mesa City Code Title 11, the Zoning Ordinance, by adding Chapter15: Leisure and Recreation Zone District to Article 2: Base Zone; and by adding the Leisure and Recreation Base Zone to Chapter 3: Designation of Zoning Districts, Zoning Map, and Boundaries to Article 1: Introductory Provisions. District. (Citywide). Continued from November 13, 2019. Planner: Rachel Prelog Staff Recommendation: Approval
Giles Applauds USMCA Deal; 
