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Are pastel colored toys sexist? | CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For Christmas, both my kids got Legos from family members. My 8-year-old son was wowed by the Marvel Super Heroes Avengers: Infinity War The Hulkbuster Smash-Up set, its red-and-black box showing a war scene. My daughter was thrilled by the Lego Friends Snow Resort Ski Lift, its purple package showing five girls hugging. Both kids were happy with their presents. Im happy they like the building challenge Legos provide. Sure, the Lego Friends set says its made for boys and girls ages 8 to 12. And I think my son would happily help construct the working winch of the ski lift. But the pastel colors scream NO BOYS ALLOWED! Theres this cue even if it doesnt say girls on it theres this cue that all the pink things are for girls and everything else is for boys," Rebecca Hains, advertising and media studies professor at Salem State University, told the Canadian Broadcasting Co. You can see pinkwashing everywhere. Pink Little Tikes Cozy Coupes and basketball hoops. A pink Fisher Price chair and a yellow one. Pastel toy organizers and primary colored ones. And what that means is that for families who have kids of both genders, they often feel compelled to buy two of everything so theyre [toy companies] selling twice the toys that they would have if everything was just primary colors, said Hains. At least the colors are no longer formally labeled girl vs. boy. Akron mom Abi Bechtel helped remove gender labels from Target in 2015. Akron mom pushes Target to stop labeling boy and girl toys: Multitasking Moms and Dads The trend may finally be reversing. Groups like Let Toys Be Toys are pushing for stereotype-busting toys and marketing. Gender stereotypes hold us all back and help to drive assumptions about who does the caring, they cause toxic masculinity and hold women and girls back in terms of the career choices they perceive as being for them, the womens rights group Fawcett Society Chief Executive Sam Smethers told CEO Magazine. Follow Shatter on Facebook. | https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/02/are-pastel-colored-toys-sexist.html |
When will Canada take action for girls who endure FGM? | Giselle Portenier is a Vancouver-based journalist and filmmaker Open this photo in gallery This photo taken on Jan. 30, 2018, shows a warning sign against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Katabok village, northeast Uganda. YASUYOSHI CHIBA Not long ago, I sat with Hadija (not her real name), a beautiful young Canadian woman, tears streaming down her face, as she told me about her summer holiday back to her birthplace in Somalia, where she came face to face with a razor blade in a mud hut and was forced to endure female genital mutilation at the age of 14. Wednesday is International Zero Tolerance Day for female genital mutilation (FGM) with activities worldwide, but in Canada it will again be greeted with a deafening silence. This, despite the fact that the Canadian government knows Hadijas case is not unique; FGM is an issue here too. Government documents released to journalists under the Freedom of Information Act show that thousands of Canadian girls may be at risk of this torture. Story continues below advertisement Theres evidence girls are taken abroad for vacation cutting, and that cutters with their razor blades are entering Canada to do their dirty work here; and yet our government, much of civil society and the media remain silent. FGM is the single worst systematic human rights abuse committed against girls and women in the world today. It predates both Islam and Christianity and is defined as the alteration of the female genitalia for non-medical purposes. Its an extreme form of sexual control of girls, and is a fact of life in 28 countries in Africa, and elsewhere too; Asia Indonesia, Malaysia, parts of India; pockets of the Middle East, including Egypt; pockets of South America; Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistan, and now, with immigration from practising countries, in the West. The most serious type of FGM, practised almost universally in Somalia where many Canadian immigrants hail from, involves removing the external part of the clitoris, the labia minora and majora, and then sewing everything shut, leaving only a tiny opening. Its not difficult to grasp the serious health implications that result post-traumatic stress, difficulty and excruciating pain passing urine and menstrual blood, complications in child birth even death. Never mind the right to pain-free, joyful sexual intimacy that every human being is entitled to. According to the World Health Organization, there are 200 million FGM survivors worldwide, and more than three million girls at risk each year. Some of those girls are right here in Canada; recently a teacher in Greater Vancouver told me of a mother who confessed to having taken her own daughter to India to be cut; the teacher did nothing. Theres been a law against FGM in Canada since 1997, but there hasnt been a single prosecution. Unlike other Western countries, in Canada there are no protocols to save girls from FGM; no training for teachers, no systems in place to spot girls and save girls who are in danger. For survivors who came here already cut and that includes young women who arrived here as small children there is virtually no specialized help. No specific counselling, no specially-trained doctors, nurses or midwives. Nothing. Contrast this with other Western countries: In Britain, survivor activists have forced the government into action. There are now helplines for girls at risk; specialized clinics for survivors; training for teachers to spot vulnerable girls; a mandatory reporting requirement of FGM cases for all health and social services professionals and teachers. And just last week they had their first conviction, of a mother who forced her three-year-old daughter to undergo FGM. In Canada, there arent even any official statistics analyzing the scope of the issue. An informal analysis of the 2011 Canadian Census looking at immigration from affected countries and UNICEF statistics on the prevalence of FGM indicates there may be upward of 80,000 survivors of FGM in Canada, and yet this is not an issue addressed by any government department. This distinct lack of action is fuelled in part by the fear of stigmatizing the communities involved, and is encouraged by the adults of the communities themselves, who enforce a strict code of silence. The silence is also the by-product of cultural relativists mostly white, who argue that FGM is a cultural prerogative, when in fact its an unacceptable abuse of a girls human rights, plain and simple. Indeed, in Africa the campaign to end FGM is driven by Africans themselves. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement So far, no Canadian survivor has galvanized action on FGM. But that is no excuse for inaction. We are completely failing Canadian girls: those at risk, and young survivors like Hadija crying out for help. It is a disgrace. By worrying so much about the cultural sensitivities of the adults, we are sacrificing the human rights of the children. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-when-will-canada-take-action-for-girls-who-endure-fgm/ |
Is Beauty In The Eyes Of The Colonizer? | Enlarge this image LA Johnson/NPR LA Johnson/NPR Quick think of the most beautiful person you know. That's amazing!) There are a million different reasons we find certain people beautiful. But there's no denying that a lot of current beauty standards in the U.S. are based on a particular type of beauty one that centers a type of white femininity that's only accessible to a select few. So this week on Ask Code Switch, we're answering a question from Cecilia Fernandez, of Ann Arbor, Mich. She tweeted at us to ask: "Besides the natural hair movement, what other ways have women of color gone to decolonize their beauty routine?" Cecilia this is a really great question. As someone who spent years flat-ironing my curls and suffering through orthodontia I was also quite curious about this. So to begin, let's talk about what it means when we say our notions of beauty are "colonized." Think about why that person is beautiful. To begin with, a lot of current Western beauty standards celebrate whiteness not some objective, biological, evolutionary thing, but literally just being a white person. In fact, if you go back and look at the work of some early racial theorists people like Christoph Meiners and Johann Blumenbach they defined the category of "white," or "Caucasian," as being the most beautiful of the races. "It was important for [those racial theorists] to be superior in all areas," says Nell Irvin Painter, an artist and historian who wrote The History Of White People. She says the group of academics who first created these racial categories were white supremacists, so, "they not only wanted the people they called 'their women' to be the most beautiful, and 'their men' to be the most virile. They wanted 'their countries' to have the best politics. So they wanted to have everything better. And that included beauty." That association between beauty and whiteness has proven hard to shake. There's a reason that so many people still think of an "all-American beauty" as a thin, blonde, blue-eyed white woman. It wasn't until 1970 that a woman of color was allowed to enter the Miss America pageant. Before that, the official rules stated that contestants had to be "of good health and of the white race." Decisions about who society holds up as beautiful also have a lot to do with class. Nell Irvin Painter notes that a lot of the things we consider beautiful are actually just proxies for wealth. Think of how much it costs to get cosmetic surgery, or braces, or even a facial. (It's worth noting that there's a fair amount of overlap between beauty routines and health or grooming routines. People brush their teeth to prevent cavities, sure, but so many toothpastes also have whitening products. And you could be blowdrying your hair to get it dry, or to make sure it's shiny and voluminous. In this context, we're thinking of the purely aesthetic parts of a routine not ones that have to do with health, functionality or hygiene.) A lot people talk about the importance of buying makeup or fashion designed by women of color. But throughout history, a lot of the most effective movements have been about expanding our ideas of what it means to be beautiful. Let's come back to the natural hair movement for a moment. That came out of the broader Black is Beautiful movement in the 1960s and 70s. That movement which came in the midst of the broader Black Power and civil rights movements was about affirming aspects of blackness that had been considered ugly by white, colonial standards. Organizers of the movement started to embrace the political power behind the idea that all aspects of blackness were beautiful. Nell Painter says the movement had a huge effect on both her and her family. She says she didn't start to think of herself as beautiful until she was in her thirties, around the time "black is beautiful" sprung up. A similar thing happened to her mother, who was born in 1917: "My mother was very beautiful. But my mother was dark-skinned, so she never thought of herself as beautiful. ... For black people, the idea of black as beautiful, that was a real breakthrough. And so my mother emerged as a beautiful person, and people told her she was beautiful, and it took her a long time to accept that. I don't know if she ever really did." There are other movements that have tried to address beauty as a political force. There was the indigenismo movement in Mexico. One of its icons was the artist Frida Kahlo. In her self-portraits, she painted herself dressed in pre-Columbian clothes and hairstyles, with visible facial hair and hair between her eyebrows. Many have described those artistic choices as being a radical rejection of white, colonial beauty standards. And these days, a lot of women push back on the idea that they should remove facial and body hair in order to be considered beautiful or hygienic or professional. The activist and model Harnaam Kaur has spoken about how her life changed once she decided to stop shaving her beard: "I feel a lot stronger and liberated to be who I am and accept who I am freely. ... I'm here as a woman who's wearing something that's supposed to be in quotations "supposed to be" a man's feature." The body positivity movement and the fat-acceptance movements have also consistently pushed back on the idea that thin, young, white, able-bodied women are the epitome of beauty or that beauty should be a precondition for respect to begin with. One thing to keep in mind is that beauty is a facet of power. Being considered beautiful can help you gain access to certain spaces, or increase your power in certain settings. By the same token, a perceived lack of beauty, or a refusal or inability to conform to certain beauty standards, also has really tangible consequences. Noliwe Rooks is a professor at Cornell University who teaches about the politics of race and beauty. She says that women are placed in different categories depending on "how they appear in the world," and that attempts to decolonize one's beauty routine often lead to pushback from the outside world especially for black and brown people. She cited Hampton University in Virginia, as an example. The historically black institution made news in 2012 for a policy in the business school that said male students couldn't have dreadlocks, because they were considered unprofessional. Rooks says, "If you're someone who feels like for body positivity and self affirmation, and adornment, this is what I'm going to do, 'I want dreadlocks' yes you can do that. You can decolonize that look in the way that you feel is important to you. But you can't go to that school like it. ... Until recently you couldn't serve in the military. ... There's all manner of corporate jobs that if you're decolonizing your body you can't have." Keep in mind, Rooks says, that fighting against beauty norms is probably going to be really hard. Obese women, old women, queer women, women of color and all the intersections get particularly scrutinized, even when they're trying to conform to beauty norms let alone when they push back against them. "We can live in a world where we try to do battle with those overarching narratives," Rooks adds. "But the forces pushing back against it in many parts of the world it's quite a headwind." When we're talking about personal beauty, having a beauty routine at all means that you are, consciously or unconsciously, accepting the idea that you need to change. The way your hair falls or the shininess of your skin or the curl of your eyelashes it will be more beautiful if you spend time and money to make it different. You could argue that a profound way to decolonize your beauty routine would be to have none, and simply say, "My body and face and are valuable and beautiful without modification." The other really radical thing could be to try reject personal beauty as a measure of worth. Many have argued that beauty should not be a prerequisite, as it so often is, for being treated with respect, kindness or personal autonomy. Any way you go about it, the process of decolonizing your beauty routine is probably going to result in a lot of people being uncomfortable with your appearance. It's also the only way beauty norms have a chance of changing. So you have to know your politics. We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected], with the subject line "Ask Code Switch," or fill out this form and tell us the deets. | https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/02/06/685506578/is-beauty-in-the-eyes-of-the-colonizer?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr |
Who was Alan Turing? | Science Photo Library Alan Turing has been named the most "iconic" figure of the 20th century, fighting off competition from international leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela. He was chosen as the greatest scientist in a category that included Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Tu Youyou. Turing was picked by the public during a live broadcast of BBC Two's 'Icons: The Greatest Person Of The 20th Century'. Alan Turing was a mathematician who cracked codes during World War Two. It is thought that Turing and his fellow code-breakers shortened the war by several years. He worked for the British Government's Code and Cypher School before the Second World War broke out. In 1939, he began working at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire - where top secret work was carried out to crack Germany's military codes. Tristan Appleby/ Getty Images Enigma cipher machine, used by Germany during World War Two to encrypt and decrypt messages Turing's main job at Bletchley was to crack something called the 'Enigma' code. The Enigma was a type of machine used by the German army to send secret messages. Turing and another code-breaker called Gordon Welchman invented a machine known as the Bombe. This device helped to significantly reduce the work of the code-breakers. During his life, he worked almost entirely in secret, and it wasn't until long after his death that the legacy of his life and work came to light. His war-time efforts had a huge influence on the development of computer science and artificial intelligence. Turing died on June 7 1954. Today he is the most celebrated figure of the 20th century, a father of computing, war hero and genius. Alan Turing was gay and arrested because of this in 1952. Being homosexual was illegal in Britain at this time. In 2013, he was pardoned for this 'crime'. Being pardoned after death is called being posthumously pardoned. In 2017, the government agreed to officially pardon men accused of 'crimes' like this, meaning they will no longer have a criminal record. This pardoning has come to be known as the Alan Turing law. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47142948 |
Is Kim Jong Un Really Ready to Make a Deal? | LISTEN TO ARTICLE 4:48 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email Tokyo (AP) -- President Donald Trump used his biggest stage of the year to announce he will hold his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump announced during his State of the Union address that he intends to meet Kim on Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam, saying that although much work remains to be done toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, his relationship with Kim is a good one. Here's why the stakes will be higher this time around. ___ LOWERING EXPECTATIONS Trump's announcement of the summit's timing and location was expected. He had been teasing it for weeks. But he kept his North Korea remarks surprisingly short. After dramatically asserting that if he hadn't been elected president, the U.S. and North Korea would be fighting a major war now, he acknowledged that much work remains to be done. That's quite a shift from his claim right after his June summit with Kim in Singapore that the nuclear threat from the North was over. The president's tune changed in other ways as well. The word denuclearization was nowhere to be found. Neither was anything specific about what he achieved in Singapore or what specifically he intends to get out of another meeting. Trump is smart to give himself a lot of wiggle room. U.S. intelligence chiefs believe there is little likelihood Kim will voluntarily give up his nuclear weapons or missiles capable of carrying them. Nevertheless, efforts to nail down the logistics and an agenda for the summit do appear to be on track. Just before Trump spoke, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, reportedly flew to Pyongyang to try to flesh out summit logistics and an agenda. ___ GOOD REASON FOR CAUTION After a year of heightening threats, and in sharp contrast with the standoffish policies of President Barack Obama, Trump got a lot of credit for simply being willing to open a dialogue with the North and to meet directly with Kim. Trump's claim that he has played a big role in calming things down is also true, though he helped raise those tensions to begin with through his inflammatory rhetoric and policy of "maximum pressure" to further squeeze the North's economy and isolate it from the global financial system. But now that the ice has been broken, just sitting down with Kim won't likely win Trump more kudos. Previous presidents refused to meet with Kim and his predecessors because they did not want to legitimize them or bolster their status. Kim got all that and more in Singapore. Trump needs to prove his relationship with Kim has a purpose that goes beyond photo ops. In his speech, Trump stressed that the North has returned Americans who had been jailed and has not launched any long-range missiles in 15 months. Kim announced all of that before the Singapore summit, however. There's a real risk this time around that if Trump can't nail down a significant win on the denuclearization front, he could find himself working in direct opposition to his own main objective. Instead of getting Kim to give up his nukes, any tacit acceptance of the status quo could embolden Kim to dig in further as the leader of the world's newest nuclear power. ___ KIM'S MULTIPLE TARGETS In the hope of getting sanctions relief and possibly a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War, Kim has offered Trump some goodies. He has suggested he is willing to dismantle some nuclear and missile-related facilities, and as Trump pointed out, has maintained his self-proclaimed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing. But he has been careful not to put all his eggs in Trump's basket. Rebuilding ties with South Korea and China is the cornerstone of Kim's bigger strategy. He has already met Chinese leader Xi Jinping four times and South Korean President Moon Jae-in three times. Kim has an immediate interest in wooing the Chinese and South Koreans. He wants investment and trade to bolster his economy and help fund infrastructure projects. Beijing and Seoul are already suggesting they believe sanctions against the North should be eased sooner rather than later, despite the Trump administration's stance that denuclearization must come first. Weakening Seoul's security alliance with Washington is another of Kim's goals. He scored big in Singapore when Trump agreed to put off joint military exercises with the South, and again when Trump started publicly questioning the value of such exercises and demanding Seoul pay a bigger share of the cost of its own national defense. Seoul just agreed to boost its share, so that's a win for Trump. But the reportedly rancorous process appears to have also undercut the South's confidence in Washington. The biggest annual U.S.-South Korea exercise, meanwhile, is normally held in March or April. It was postponed and scaled down last to year to ease tensions during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. U.S. officials have said it will likely be scaled down this year as well. ___ Talmadge, the only American journalist who works regularly in North Korea, has been the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-06/analysis-is-kim-jong-un-really-ready-to-make-a-deal |
Which MLB teams are actually trying to win in 2019? | Baseball has lurched to the one-week mark until almost every spring training camp opens, and of course youre well-aware dozens of unsigned players wont be walking through those doors. But never mind the unknown destinations of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a cadre of others who can greatly improve your hometown nine. At this point, were not even sure what entire teams are up to, despite having more than 100 days to build a roster. While all this can change with a couple expensive strokes of a few pens, heres a look at the apparent intentions of all 30 clubs, even as future Hall of Famers wait to discover their permanent homes: In It To Win It (11) Red Sox: The defending champs return nearly intact. Even if theyre still down a bullpen arm, a dropoff from 108 wins is hardly cataclysmic. Yankees: A decade removed from their last title and still pinching pennies, the Bombers nonetheless got better with James Paxton, D.J. LeMahieu and a true bullpen of death. Rays: Hey, everything's relative. The Rays return a 90-win core, dropped a franchise record $15 million per year on Charlie Morton and did their standard hunting and pecking on the fringe of the roster. Indians: They certainly need outfield help that may yet come. But by not trading any of their dominant pitching, the Indians all but ensured another crack at October. Astros: And maybe Dallas Keuchel, against all odds, comes back to them. Braves: Havent yet gone for it in the bigger manner some anticipated, but a $23 million rental of Josh Donaldson says plenty. Phillies: Theyll still get a chance to spend that stupid money; the $74 million for Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson still feels like mere prelude. Nationals: Slowly but surely becoming the gold standard for giving a damn. Brewers: More sock with Yasmani Grandal and more fortifications to come. Cubs: A terrible winter for the Ricketts, but a good team still in place. Dodgers: A.J. Pollock and Joe Kelly make them better as several stars flee division rivals. Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor hit 38 homers in 2018. (Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports) Need Some Breaks (6) Twins: Nelson Cruz can nudge them over .500; best-case outcomes from Jonathan Schoop, C.J. Cron and Michael Pineda might make them contenders. Athletics: Must get repeat performances from lineup and bullpen while hoping several rotation questions are answered positively. Angels: If small bets on Matt Harvey, Trevor Cahill and Cody Allen pan out, Mike Trout may yet find himself in a playoff chase. Mets: Friends of the GM Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie make them better. Any pitching injuries could douse the good vibes quickly. Cardinals: Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller cost them hardly anything. Rockies: Teams churn through relievers all the time but deleting Adam Ottavinos 112 strikeouts feels like a big deal. What Are You Doing?! (6) White Sox: Kelvin Herrera and Ivan Nova lend some stability to the pitching staff. But until the Harper/Machado returns are in, tough to say what their deal is. Rangers: You want to drop them right in the Tanking Tank, then notice the top six hitters in their order are reputable, and that they spent $30 million on Lance Lynn. Pirates: Augmented an 82-win club with Francisco Liriano, Lonnie Chisenhall, Erik Gonzalez and Jordan Lyles. Reds: A fun dash for relevance as they add Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Sonny Gray, Matt Kemp and Tanner Roark. Barring another move, however, all but Gray will walk after this year. Padres: Still pointed toward 2020 with the signing of rehabbing Garrett Richards. Still in play for Machado and Harper. One year after the Eric Hosmer signing, another wild February on tap in Peoria. Giants: All signs point to significant teardown under new boss Farhan Zaidi. We wont be fully convinced, however, until all the bigs have found homes elsewhere. Wait Til Next Year At Least (7) Blue Jays: Any other division, and the holdovers and kids on the way would make them a threat. Meanwhile, the natives are getting restless. Orioles: A long road to contention begins with the knowledge that anything less than 115 losses is an improvement. Tigers: Might win a few more than expected since no one seems to want Nick Castellanos. Royals: Adalberto Mondesi leads off and Billy Hamilton finishes which is probably how youd arrange them on a 400-meter relay team, too. Marlins: J.T. Diamondbacks: Theyre not terrible, which makes you wonder if the emotional fallout of dealing Goldschmidt was worth the return. | https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/02/06/mlb-2019-odds-favorites-winners/2781459002/ |
Who Will Feed The LNG Monster? | In the previous article, I discussed the global nature of the oil markets. But the shale oil boom in the U.S. temporarily increased the localized impact on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark. As a result, its price diverged from that of international crudes for a few years. The natural gas markets, on the other hand, are far more localized due to the difficulty in transporting natural gas. That means that natural gas in the U.S. could be $3 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), but double or triple that level in Japan or Europe. Natural gas production in the U.S. has exploded since the beginning of the shale gas boom. From 2005 to 2015, U.S. dry natural gas production increased by 50%. Natural gas prices fell in response. From 2005 to 2008, annualized natural gas prices hovered in a range from just under $7/MMBtu to nearly $9/MMBtu. In 2009, the average annual price of natural gas fell below $5/MMBtu, and it has never been above that level on an annualized basis since then. On the other hand, the annualized price has been below $3/MMBtu in four of the past ten years. But natural gas demand has been strong. Natural gas exports to Mexico have now exceeded 5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), equal to about 7% of U.S. daily production. Consumption by the electric power sector increased by nearly 50% from 2005 to 2016, reaching 27 Bcf/d. Industrial demand has also increased by 30% as some manufacturing relocated to the U.S. to take advantage of low gas prices. Demand has also increased from liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. The Energy Information Administration recently announced that LNG exports reached 3.9 Bcf/d in December. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to what is forecast. In its Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) 2019 with projections to 2050, the EIA projects a surge in LNG exports: This expected surge begs the question of whether U.S. natural gas supplies can continue to keep pace. I read an article earlier this week that correctly noted that to date, most of the U.S. natural gas production growth has been in the Appalachia Region. Appalachia production has exploded since 2009 from below 2 Bcf/d to more than 30 Bcf/d in 2018. The EIA forecasts that the Appalachia will continue to produce 52% of cumulative production of U.S. shale gas through 2050. The article I read questioned whether Appalachia growth could continue its blistering pace, but it overlooked an important new source of U.S. natural gas. The associated gas (co-produced with oil) in the Permian Basin is beginning to have a large impact on the natural gas market. There is so much gas being produced in the Permian that it has outstripped the pipeline capacity to get that gas to market. New pipelines are being built, but in the interim there has been significant flaring and even natural gas prices falling below zero at times in the area. Natural gas production in the Permian Basin has reached 13 Bcf/d, which is what the Appalachia Region produced in 2013. That reflects a doubling of production there in just over two years, and is now second only to the Appalachia Region's 31 Bcf/d. Further, Permian Basin gas production should continue to grow along with the region's oil. A new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that there is 281 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas in the Permian. That's enough gas for 58 years of Permian production at 2018 rates. So it looks the Appalachia Region and the Permian Basin will provide sufficient gas to feed the monster LNG demand growth that is forecast over the next decade. The implication of this surge in LNG trade will be to make natural gas a more globally traded commodity. It won't be quite as fungible as crude oil, but the impact should be to decrease some of the natural gas price disparity seen around the world. U.S. natural gas prices should increase, while those in Asia and Europe should decline. The beneficiaries will be U.S. natural gas producers, global natural gas consumers, and the environment -- as natural gas displaces coal in many Asian markets. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2019/02/06/who-will-feed-the-lng-monster/ |
How Much Does Experience Really Matter In Sales? | People tend to assume that experience equals expertise. I've discovered that experience is vastly overrated as a useful characteristic of salespeople. Yes, experience often leads to the development of an effective sales skill set. But in and of itself, it is merely an indicator of a persons ability to survive in a role, not their ability to perform exceptionally and sell effectively. Expertise certainly can come from experience, but there is no guarantee that success will come with it as well. In other words, there are countless young, successful salespeople in the world who have very little experience, yet they are able to outperform their more seasoned counterparts. If you think about it long enough, you can see some variances you may not have thought about. For example, experience can lead to the development and persistence of bad habits. It can also make salespeople overly rigid in their approaches; they become set in their ways, which is rarely a positive quality. Sure, they may have learned some helpful tricks throughout their long careers. But that doesnt make them automatically successful at sales. This is why when I led sales teams, I often preferred inexperience that I could train and develop. To me, it all comes down to building habits related to these three key characteristics: 1. Professionalism 2. Proficiency 3. Productivity In terms of a salespersons ability to operate with a high level of professionalism, experience is completely irrelevant. I have seen young, fresh-faced salespeople in their 20s conduct themselves much more professionally than those with decades of experience! Proficiency is also not necessarily related to experience. Heres a telling comparison Experienced salespeople often stick to what worked for them early in their career. Successful salespeople with less experience are always looking for the best way to make a sale and match their skills to the moment (notice how I said "successful"). They adapt quickly and make a habit out of constantly updating their skill sets. Well, sometimes experience teaches people what they have to do to simply get by and produce the bare minimum. However, productivity is determined much more by a salespersons willingness to work hard on the right things than the number of years theyve been selling. And that usually means that those dedicated folks are paying conscious attention to developing regular habits that support them in their work and help them stay motivated. The Bottom Line Experience can be useful for salespeople, but it doesnt make sales happen. In todays world, salespeople need to be professional, proficient and productive. And adaptable. The buying landscape for both consumers and organizations alike has dramatically changed with the advent of technology and digital disruption. By having an always-learning mindset, being open to possibilities and constantly working their craft, salespeople can win at both sales and self-belief. And that is a recipe to produce the best team you have ever seen. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/02/06/how-much-does-experience-really-matter-in-sales/ |
Can microtransit work in Canada? | With this article, correspondent Jason Tchir begins a series on urban mobility subjects. The second annual Drive Summit on urban mobility and related technology takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 12, during the afternoon, at the Globe and Mail conference centre. To attend, free of charge, register here: www.globeandmailevents.com/mobility19. Spaces are limited. Two new Calgary neighbourhoods dont have enough people yet for a regular bus route, so the citys thinking smaller. Theyre very close to a major transit hub but theyre far enough away that you cant walk, said Jyoti Gondek, city councillor for Calgarys Ward 3, where the city is looking at proposals for its first microtransit pilot. It doesnt make economic sense to put on a full bus route until theres a critical mass of people, so were asking what can we do to get people that last mile. Story continues below advertisement Cities such as Los Angeles and Austin, Tex., are looking to microtransit what has, so far, mostly been private companies running app-based, on-demand shuttle services to reach people in areas where buses dont go often enough, or at all. Its not cost-effective for us to provide traditional routes providing fixed-schedule bus service through low-density areas, said Eric Miller, director of the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute. We do it, but we dont do it with the frequency of service that people need the only people on these buses are people who have no choice. We spend a lot of money for poor service. The basic idea behind microtransit is that people can use an app to request a bus. Think Uber or Lyft, but for buses. The idea isnt new but apps and computing power are finally making it possible to deliver on-demand transit without making users wait forever. On-demand transit as a concept has been around since the late sixties but nobody could make it work, Miller said. A flurry of microtransit startups first launched in 2013 and 2014 mostly as an alternative to public transit and private vehicles. They promised a better transit experience, with less waiting and comfier, private buses at a lower price than a taxi or transportation network company (TNC) such as Uber or Lyft. Ford-owned Chariot, a shuttle-van service which ran in cities including San Francisco, New York and London, is shutting down at the end of the month, joining other microtransit startups that couldnt make it. Chariot worked mostly like a traditional bus service users would go to a specific address along a set route and use the app to hail the next van. But the 14-seater vans were, reportedly, often nearly empty. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Frankly, asking Does microtransit work? is like asking Does capitalism work? it depends on the practitioner, said Chris Snyder, senior vice-president of expansion for Via, a microtransit platform. Via doesnt use a fixed bus route instead, the stops change. It takes requests from users going in the same direction, calculates a route and directs the users to a location where the next vehicle will stop. While Via runs a private service in a few cities, including New York, it has mostly partnered with local transit agencies in cities such as Sydney, Auckland and Singapore. So far, it has one Canadian pilot in Longueuil, Que. The concept is still evolving and agencies are realizing that microtransit doesnt always have to be an actual shuttle bus. If we think about microtransit as on-demand mobility more broadly, maybe its a sedan, maybe its a taxi, maybe its a TNC," said Susan Shaheen, a co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. For microtransit to work, it has to be affordable and seamless. Story continues below advertisement If youre making separate payments, thats just not good, Miller said. The total cost of the whole trip has to be reasonable and competitive with the cost of taking a car. Toronto said it hasnt made any decisions on adopting microtransit. In British Columbias lower mainland, TransLink is running a microtransit pilot on Bowen Island that will pair an app with its existing shuttle buses. And whatever the microtransit service ends up looking like in Calgary, it will be a temporary solution until enough people move in to justify a full bus route, Calgary councillor Gondek said. And, it will give the city data such as where and when people are calling for a ride that will help them plan that route. You typically take a guess when you put up a bus route, Gondek said. Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price. Stay on top of all our Drive stories. We have a Drive newsletter covering car reviews, innovative new cars and the ups and downs of everyday driving. Sign up for the weekly Drive newsletter, delivered to your inbox for free. Follow us on Instagram, @globedrive. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/drive/culture/article-can-microtransit-work-in-canada/ |
How do I make a great salad in winter? | Open this photo in gallery istock A well-made salad is lively, palate-pleasing and beautiful to look at, not limp, tasteless or dull, which is the issue with many winter salads. But this time of year encourages you to look at what is in season. Most lettuce is not in season in winter and what you find is of debatable quality. However, by using sweet potatoes, apples, beets, Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms, cactus pears, tamarillos and various citrus such as blood oranges and Meyer lemons, salads become more substantial and more stimulating. If you must have lettuce, turn to chicories such as radicchio, Belgian endive and escarole. They shine in winter. Because of the robust taste of these lettuces, the dressings need to be more assertive. Add chopped shallots or red onion to a basic oil and vinegar dressing, and whisk in some grainy mustard to give it some bite. Tomatoes are even worse in winter. Sometimes you can buy good cherry tomatoes, but larger ones are tasteless and flabby. There is a way around this, though. Bake them on a parchment-lined sheet at 350 F for 30 minutes and what flavour they have will intensify. Dont use them with lettuce, mix them with cucumbers, fennel or drained white beans. Add some chopped onions, a whisper of garlic and some capers and anchovies for a fabulous veg-based dish. Cooked vegetables also make excellent salads. Steamed or roasted vegetables such as carrots, cabbage or squash are improved with more unusual dressings. Miso ginger is my favourite for this kind of salad. Whisk together cup light miso, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, teaspoon grated ginger root, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and teaspoon sesame oil. This dressing is also good over noodle salads. Use tahini instead of miso, but stir in a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise. Avocados are easily turned into a salad. Dice the avocados, add chopped red onion, diced cucumber, diced cherry tomatoes (if you can find good ones), pickled jalapeno and a vinaigrette based on guacamole with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon lime juice and teaspoon ground cumin; stir together. Dust salad with chopped cilantro. Dont forget salt on the avocado and in the dressing. White beans with celery, radish, apple, baby kale and an Italian vinaigrette also make a good side salad with chicken or pork. Another great combination is beet, feta, red onion and pumpkin seeds with a dill vinaigrette. Crunch or texture is important in salads for mouth feel. Use roasted nuts, sunflower or other seeds, roasted chickpeas or wasabi peas. Unflavoured popcorn chopped up a bit also works, as do croutons, crisp fried onions or onion rings. Sprinkle some sugar on nuts and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes for a sweeter crunch. Try roasting grapes for another sweet touch or add grated apple into a dressing for some texture. As citrus is especially good at this time of year, slice oranges or grapefruit into a salad. A great combination is oranges, shaved radish, thinly sliced red onion and olives. Get your imagination working and come up with your own splendid seasonal salads. Send your questions to [email protected]. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-what-do-i-use-to-make-a-winter-salad/ |
What makes a severance package fair? | Daniel Lublin is the founding partner of Whitten & Lublin, Employment & Labour lawyers These are the two workplace law questions I am asked most often: How much severance should I receive?" Start with whether an employee signed a contract that defines the severance amount, which has become more common. If there is a valid clause (and validity itself can often be challenged), courts almost always provide the employee with just what the contract requires, no matter how long or meritorious his or her service. If a contractual clause does not apply, then the employee is entitled to a fair and reasonable severance package. There are five main factors to consider. Age: The older the employee, the greater the severance. Older age usually renders re-employment prospects far less likely. An employee who is 60 years old will receive far more severance than an employee in his or her mid-30s, even if the nature of the work they perform is the same. Tenure: Just as older age will engender a greater severance package, longer tenure will do so, too. An employee who has worked for the same company for his or her entire career will have a far more difficult time securing comparable re-employment elsewhere. Position: Although this is a factor of declining importance, it is still a relevant consideration. Employees in senior roles receive better severance payments than colleagues in junior positions, even if their age and tenure are comparable. Executives often receive the highest severance awards. Conversely, administrative employees often receive the lowest. Availability of comparable employment: The harder it is for a dismissed employee to find other comparable work, the longer the severance should be. Employees who work in a specialized field, where there are fewer available opportunities to re-employ, receive better severance compared with individuals who should quickly find other comparable work. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Precedent: This is the most important consideration. Two employees with similar characteristics should expect to receive similar results. To provide some context, here are some of the severance awards in cases I was involved in: a 61-year-old executive with two-years tenure was awarded eight-months severance; a 34-year-old senior IT role with one-years tenure was awarded four-months severance. a 47-year-old administrator with 22-years tenure was awarded 16-months severance; a 30-year-old marketing manager with five-years service was awarded six-months severance. The goal of severance is to protect an employees income until such time as he or she finds another job. Therefore, a severance package is not supposed to provide any kind of windfall. For example, if a court awards an employee 12 months severance, the judge is first required to deduct, dollar for dollar, any other income the employee received during those 12 months from what was otherwise owed. In addition, if an employee fails to reasonably look for other work of a comparable nature, the judge can also reduce the amount of severance that would have otherwise been awarded. For these reasons, most severance packages in one way or another address the possibility of an employee finding other work by requiring him or her to report it to their former employer, resulting in some form of offset from what they were owed. The most common scenario used by employers is to reduce the employees remaining severance by half the amount once he or she finds another job. If an employee with a 12-month severance package finds a similar paying job in six months, then the employer pays out half the remaining amount, or three months, such that the total severance payment is nine months. Story continues below advertisement Not only are these clauses legal, employees are generally better off agreeing to them when compared with what a court would do. In this same example, a court would deduct all of the income earned by the employee from the other job such that he or she would only receive six months pay. Agreeing to the employers severance package, even with the 50-per-cent cut-off upon finding other work, provides a financial benefit. Stay ahead in your career. We have a weekly Careers newsletter to give you guidance and tips on career management, leadership, business education and more. Sign up today. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/leadership/article-what-makes-a-severance-package-fair/ |
Will Trump administration tax cuts, spending hikes blow up deficit and doom economy? | Trump's big tax cuts and spending increases have substantially widened the deficit the annual gap between government income and expenses to nearly $1 trillion, lending fresh urgency to a debate that seemed to have vanished from the halls of Congress in recent years. Some economists and think tanks say the red ink could ultimately crimp the economy by pushing up borrowing costs for Americans and hampering the governments ability to spend in a crisis. That could mar Trumps economic legacy, much as a big debt run-up in the 1980s tainted President Reagans. Meanwhile, the sum of all annual deficits and surpluses, the national debt, is an eye-popping $21 trillion. The ratio of national debt held by the public which excludes things like Social Security to gross domestic product is at 78 percent, the highest level in 70 years, according to the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group. The 35-day partial government shutdown, resolved at least temporarily on Jan. 25, raised questions about whether a divided Congress can pass a new spending deal this year that begins to tackle the budget gap. In early January, Fitch Ratings warned that a failure to grapple with the deficit could eventually prompt it to lower the nations credit rating, a move that would roil markets and the economy. Given that the president and Congress cant agree on simply keeping the government open, there is little prospect they can agree on addressing the nations fiscal problems, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moodys Analytics. President Donald Trump is pictured speaking to reporters at the White House. More Also placing renewed focus on the deficit: The economic lift fueled by the Republican tax and spending measures is expected to fade this year. Thats sparking questions about whether the lingering hangover higher deficits will ultimately slow or derail an economy already set to cool. Other analysts downplay any tangible economic impact from the deficit. They note interest rates remain low and bondholders seem to have a limitless appetite for financing U.S. borrowing, especially when other countries are far less financially stable. "Even with a big deficit, the U.S. is still a pretty good bet" for bondholders, says economist Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics. "I'm not sure why ... people will start to panic in another month or two or in a year." Tax guide: When to file and what big changes to expect Planning your finances: Why you need to create a financial planning calendar for the year During the Great Recession of 2007-09 and its aftermath, when President Obama spearheaded a $787 billion stimulus to resuscitate the economy, Republicans in Congress grumbled routinely about the mounting debt burden. But many of those deficit hawks have receded from the spotlight. The loudest, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R- Wis., retired last month after embracing the Trump tax and spending laws. Some economists, however, says the calm may belie a coming storm. I think of (the deficit) like climate change, Zandi says. "We know if we dont do something, its coming, but we dont know when. Its corrosive. Deficit approaches $1 trillion The budget deficit is expected to reach $900 billion in fiscal 2019 and hover at about $1 trillion or above for the next decade, up from $779 billion last year, according to Congressional Budget Office projections. At least 40 percent of the increase can be traced to the tax and spending measures. Trump vowed that the sweeping tax cut would pay for itself by generating more economic growth that swells government coffers. | https://news.yahoo.com/trump-administration-tax-cuts-spending-100105940.html |
Can Papa John's Turn Things Around With a Cash Infusion and a New Chairman? | In the hypercompetitive restaurant industry, the last thing a chain needs is a public relations black eye and subsequent pullback in advertising activity. That's what happened to pizza chain Papa John's (NASDAQ: PZZA) after ousting founder and former CEO John Schnatter from his position as chairman of the board over the summer of 2018. To say the least, the stock has had a rough go of it. Shares have tanked 49% since the start of 2017. It would be easy to simply blame Schnatter for Papa John's struggles as of late, and there's no doubt the pizza company's image has suffered as a result. Activist investor Starboard Value thinks the chain can rebound, and backed that up with a recent investment and a couple of additions to the board of directors. The fact is, though, that Papa John's woes are from external factors as much as from internal ones. Papa John's fourth-quarter 2018 preliminary results sum up the type of stretch the company has been having. Comparable-store sales (a combination of average store foot traffic and guest ticket size) fell 8.1% in the fourth quarter in North America, capping off full-year 2018 comparable declines of 7.3%. Things haven't improved much to kick off the new year. January comps are reportedly down another 10.5% from a year ago. That should be cataclysmic news for a restaurant operator, but shareholders are taking some solace in the fact that the company just inked a deal with activist investor Starboard Value. The news concludes a multi-month review of "strategic options" the board of directors was exploring as it mulled over life without its founder. (Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International was apparently interested in a purchase, for example.) Starboard has experience in the beleaguered restaurant department. The investment group took on Olive Garden years ago, with Starboard's head honcho, Jeffrey Smith, chairing the board of Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants as it oversaw the company's turnaround strategy. Smith is now getting appointed to Papa John's board and will become the new chairman. Two other board positions were added as well, one an independent seat -- former CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Anthony Sanfilippo -- and the other for Papa John's new CEO, Steve Ritchie. In addition to the new board seats, Starboard is also purchasing newly created preferred stock for $200 million, with the option to buy $50 million more by the end of March 2019. The new shares reportedly dilute Schnatter's ownership in Papa John's from 31% to 26%. The company plans to use half of the proceeds to pay down debt and the other half for "operational flexibility" as it tries to chart a rebound. A pizza on a table with a slice being pulled from it. More Image source: Getty Images. Maybe, but it's a risky move that not every investor out there should bet on. The restaurant industry has been riding a decade-long wave of expansion since the financial crisis of 2008, as consumers have continued to be generous in their eating-out habits. As the money has flowed into restaurants, competition has been especially fierce. That shows up in the numbers for 2018. Although the U.S. Census Bureau reported a massive 6.2% increase in overall spending on eating out over 2017, industry research group TDn2K has been reporting average location comparable-sales increases of only about 1%. Restaurant chains are opening up more locations than consumers can fill up. | https://news.yahoo.com/papa-john-apos-turn-things-141500338.html |
Do iRobot's cloud-stored maps of my home represent a major privacy risk? | I guess when I tweeted about using a cloud-connected robot that maps the inside of my home in conjunction with an always-on microphone that persistently uploads data over the Internet, I should have expected privacy advocates might be triggered. Rightly so, as its only been in the last couple of years that my home has suddenly become connected to the Internet and the tech giants behind it in more ways than just a laptop and a smartphone lying around. I have two smart assistants Google Home and Amazon Echo Spot units are found throughout my condo a PetCube camera that peers into my living room, and more recently an iRobot Roomba i7 vacuum, which Im reviewing for our Smart Home section on ITBusiness.ca. I already own the Roomba 690, which is also Wi-Fi connected, but the newest Roomba model bears the distinction of mapping the inside of your home. This data, which Ive observed to vastly improve the performance of the autonomous robot, isnt stored locally on the robot but uploaded to iRobots servers. Testing the @iRobot Roomba i7 for our recently launched smart home section on @itbusinessca. Connect with my Google Home so now I can just shout Hey Google, clean the dining room. and pic.twitter.com/ExAR6DXbJu Brian Jackson (@brianjjackson) November 23, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js After I shared the details of my futuristic living arrangements on Twitter, I was flagged to the potential privacy train wreck awaiting me. Robin Wilton (@futureidentity) November 23, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js After some discussion, a communications representative from iRobot reached out and offered to answer my questions. I took him up on the offer and asked for a phone call. He offered to answer questions by email, and so I sent them. Brian, happy to answer any questions you have on this topic when Im back at the office on Monday. In the meantime, heres more info: https://t.co/me2MF1VC0P James Baussmann (@boz1200) November 24, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Heres how that went below is nearly the full text from the exchange. Or you can scroll down for the TLDR. Roomba privacy Q&A with iRobot Brian Jackson: This Reuters article details iRobot plans to share data for free with other technology partners that make smart home devices. iRobot: iRobots privacy policy already allows customers to share data with third parties for the customers benefit, but only if they choose to. For example, customers can currently choose to enable voice control of the robot using Alexa enabled devices or the Google Assistant. The data shared is limited to only the data required to enable the voice control service. BJ: Consent is an important point of consideration when it comes to sharing user data. iRobot: Yes, of course. Our customers invite us into their most personal spaces their homes because they trust that our products will help them do more. iRobot takes that trust seriously. And we believe that our customers have a right to privacy in their homes. That belief guides everything we do, including our Privacy Policy. Regarding sharing data with third parties which, today, is limited to enabling a Roomba vacuum to work with IFTTT, as well as Alexa enabled devices and the Google Assistant the customer must opt-in to these services through the iRobot Home App. This opt-in process to unlock third party features and services would be no different in the future. BJ: I understand the data collected from my i7 model is a map of the inside of my home, including where items like the sofa, bed, and coffee table reside. iRobot: Weve answered this question in multiple sections below. On the type of data Roomba products process: A Roomba robot vacuum does not know where items like the sofa, bed and coffee table reside. Roomba vacuums with mapping capabilities can simply show via Clean Map reports in the iRobot HOME App where the robot has cleaned. The Roomba i7 is capable of retaining a users map of a floor and remembering specific rooms, which are labelled by the user. However, the Roomba i7 robot vacuum does not know what or where the couch is. It simply knows that there is a boundary or an obstruction that it cannot pass, and marks it as such on the map. On all Wi-Fi connected robots, usage data (e.g. how long did it clean, how far did it go, did it encounter any error codes, is it functioning correctly) can be sent to the cloud so it can be shown on the customers mobile device. iRobot Roomba 900 and i Series robot vacuums build a map of a home as they clean using a combination of onboard sensors, including a low-resolution camera. The low-resolution camera, angled toward the horizon of the room, doesnt see things like humans do. Instead, the camera perceives its environment as a pattern of light and dark contrast points in its field of view (e.g. between the corner of a windowsill and a wall clock). It uses these contrast points to localize its position on its map, enabling the robot to efficiently navigate and clean an entire level of a home. The Roomba does not take video or transmit any images to the cloud. If a user agrees to having their map data viewable on their mobile device, then the map that the Roomba creates during a cleaning job is sent to the cloud where it is processed and made visible to customers in the iRobot Home App after a cleaning job is complete. These reports show total area and duration a Roomba 900 or i Series vacuum cleaned for up to 30 cleaning jobs. Leveraging Dirt Detect an iRobot patented feature only found on Roomba vacuuming robots Clean Map reports also provide 900 Series users with information about where the robot encounters higher concentrations of dirt or debris. If a customer chooses to send map data to the cloud, Dirt Detect events are stored in the cloud and sent to the App when the Clean Map is rendered. On encryption of the data: All the data collected from iRobot products as per the Privacy Policy is handled with care and high levels of security. The data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Data access is controlled strictly and limited only to authorized iRobot customer service personnel to do their job and help improve your product experiences. Data in transit : All iRobot connected products communicate with the iRobot cloud service using robust encryption. Currently, iRobot use AES 256-bit encryption and Transport Layer Security (TLS v1.2). Data encryption is augmented through strong identity management. All iRobot connected products have identities when they come out of the factory and those identities are validated upon each new cloud connection. Data at rest: Within iRobots cloud (built on top of AWS), customer data is stored encrypted. Customer data has multiple encryption keys which are rotated on a regular basis to reduce the risk of the data being compromised even in the event of a key exposure. Mapping data: Maps that can be accessed in the iRobot Home App are pulled from the cloud when accessed in the app. The maps are sent from the robot to the cloud over encrypted transmission. The iRobot Cloud presents a certificate, which is verified by the Roomba, to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Once the maps are uploaded to the cloud, they are processed and encrypted using a unique key protected in the cloud infrastructure. That unique encryption key is unique per map. In other words, no two maps share the same encryption key. Furthermore, the maps are associated with the specific Roomba vacuum that created the map. And the iRobot Home app can only request maps related to the Roomba vacuum to which it has been paired. iRobot: No. The landscape of security threats is ever evolving, as is the security at iRobot. iRobot continuously trains, researches, and exercises processes that improve the maturity of the companys overall ability to identify, react to, isolate and resolve security issues within our company and our products as quickly as possible. Additionally, we actively promote and sponsor private bug bounty programs and collaborate with the broad security research community to supplement our own security efforts. iRobot: Yes, iRobot has taken substantial measures to enhance security and privacy to ensure the company is meeting GDPR requirements. Our DPO is Mazars LLP, located in the U.K. TLDR main points For me, as a Roomba user, the key points of what Ive learned from this comes down to: iRobot has taken measures to adhere to strict privacy compliance standards and has a sophisticated approach to encrypting data throughout its lifecycle. The only third-parties that it is sharing information with at present are Google, Amazon, and IFTTT. Ive opted into two out of three of these services, as I havent thought of a good IFTTT script for it yet. If a hacker ever did unlock the treasure trove of data from iRobots cloud, theyd see a representation of my condos floor layout thats about as good as the one you see in real estate listings. Theyd also be able to tell how much of a slob I am if they got access to the patented Dirt Detect events, which isnt exactly blackmail material. The sort of rigorous questions posed by privacy professionals around smart home technology are important to ask. Never before have people willingly placed hardware with such powerful surveillance capabilities in their private domiciles. The track record of large firms suffering huge data breaches of private information makes it important to demand that personal information is only stored when absolutely necessary, used only for the purpose it was originally intended by the owner, and that consent is collected before collecting personal information. For now, I havent heard anything that will cause me to do away with the modern conveniences of my automated robotic cleaning device. Ill happily continue to live in the future I used to imagine when I was a child. But Ill keep an eye on out for the turn towards surveillance dystopia, with a little help from vigilant privacy advocates. | https://nationalpost.com/pmn/technology-pmn/information-technology-pmn/do-irobots-cloud-stored-maps-of-my-home-represent-a-major-privacy-risk-2 |
Are the Stansted 15 being treated like terrorists? | Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Stansted 15 broke through a fence at the airport in an attempt to reach a jet taking 60 people to three African nations Clip, clip, clip go the cutters as the perimeter fence is cut. "Go, go, go!" says a man in the dark and rain - and 15 anti-deportation campaigners break into Stansted Airport in March 2017. Minutes later, they reached stand 505, where a jet was preparing to transport some 60 people to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. All the passengers were being removed from the UK by the Home Office after it deemed they had exhausted their rights to remain in the country. Before the police and security knew it, the protesters surrounded the jet. Four of them used a sophisticated set-up to lock themselves together around the nose wheel. And that's where they remained all night. Image copyright Stansted 15 Image caption The campaigners say they were guilty of nothing more than a peaceful protest The campaigners stopped the flight because they believed that the removals were unjust. Many of those on board had not had a final decision in their case and were being subjected to a now-abandoned policy of "deport first, appeal later". But while they may feel vindicated, all of the 15 are today convicted criminals after a jury unanimously found they were guilty of the serious offence of disrupting an airport. The campaigners say they were guilty of nothing more than a peaceful protest - they would occasionally have a singalong during the long damp hours. Their conviction for what they say is a terrorism-related offence is a massive abuse of process, they claim. The Stansted 15 prosecution appears to set a legal precedent. Civil disobedience, or "direct action", has long been part of the British tradition of radical political protest. But when protesters interfere with the rights of others - such as laying down in front of a bulldozer that has permission to tear down trees for a road - the police tend to reach for the relatively minor offence of aggravated trespass. And that's been the charge used against other political protesters at airports. After being carted off by Essex Police, the Stansted 15 were also charged with aggravated trespass, which can lead to up to three months in jail. But four months later, the Crown Prosecution Service charged all of them with the far more serious offence of endangering safety at an aerodrome. And in extreme circumstances this can lead to a life sentence. The short answer is no - but it can be, in some circumstances. In 1990, Parliament passed the Aviation and Maritime Security Act. That was part of an internationally-agreed plan by governments to toughen up global airport security. The 1970s and 80s had seen a series of hijackings - and the the law had terrorism squarely in its sights. Ministers and MPs debated and approved the legislation in the wake of the Lockerbie bombing, in which an airliner was brought down while flying over the Scottish town. But here's the thing: the eventual legislation doesn't mention terrorism at all. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lawyers for the 15 insist they will be proved right at the Court of Appeal It describes the crime as disrupting the services of an airport in such a way as to "endanger or be likely to endanger" its safe operation. In other words, it goes far wider than simply targeting groups that are ideologically bent on violence to achieve their aims. David Anderson QC, the former terrorism laws watchdog, says the offence isn't a terrorism crime - unless the prosecutors say so when they bring the case to court. This is similar to crimes like murder or kidnapping, where a terrorism motive can be shown to the jury and influence the sentence. The Stansted 15 jury was not told by prosecutors that the defendants were alleged terrorists - or that their break-in amounted to terrorism. Crucially, the UK's specialist counter-terrorism prosecution unit did not run the case - nor did the CPS call in specialist barristers who manage these sensitive cases. So it's simply not the case that the 15 were convicted as terrorists on a terrorist charge. During sentencing mitigation, Kirsty Brimelow QC - one of the country's top human rights barristers - told the judge he needed to balance protecting the airport with the rights of the defendants to take part in political protest. Ms Brimelow argued the courts had long respected the tradition of political resistance and civil disobedience, saying handing substantial sentences to protesters would seriously interfere with the demonstrators' rights. Judge Morgan said he acknowledged those arguments, but the jury were sure that the 15 had endangered the safety of Stansted. The protesters had cut through the perimeter after dark - triggering a major security operation. Police scrambled a helicopter because they did not know who else was "airside" and what they had with them. Nobody knew if a foreign object had been left in a location where it could be sucked into a jet engine with devastating consequences. "Prosecutors select charges which reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending on the facts of each individual case and give the court adequate powers to sentence," says Chris Long, chief crown prosecutor at CPS South East. "The evidence in the case supported the charge - that their actions were likely to risk the safe operation of the aerodrome." During the trial, the jury heard the airport's operations chief felt he had no choice but to close the runway for more than an hour while staff carried out a costly security sweep. As well as the delays to take-offs, 23 incoming Ryanair and EasyJet flights were diverted to Luton, Birmingham, East Midlands, Gatwick and Bristol. Image copyright Stansted 15 Image caption The 'Stansted 15' prosecution appears to set a legal precedent Ten were then refuelled so they could take off again for Stansted - while seven plane loads of passengers had to sit on buses back to where they should have landed. All of this evidence together, the CPS argues, amounted to a serious risk to public safety that justified asking the attorney general to approve charging the 15 with the far more serious offence. The defendants argued during their 42-day trial that their actions were justified: that even if they had technically broken the law, they had a good reason for doing so. But the judge told the jury they could not consider that defence - and so for this, and other reasons, lawyers for the 15 are seeking to overturn the convictions in the Court of Appeal. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47144318 |
Why Do We Tolerate Social Media's Dark Side And What If We Made Them Pay For It? | Facebook-owned Instagram has been in the news again this week over the use of its platform to normalize and perpetuate teen suicide, from relentless bullying to fostering an environment accepting of suicide rather than providing resources and support to prevent it. The company went as far as to write an op-ed this week acknowledging that it had considerable work to do, underscoring the growing furor around the role the platform plays in teen suicide and its failure to make meaningful progress in combatting it. Much like the web itself, social media has evolved from its early roots as a way to bring people together into a medium that tears society apart, fostering trolling, bullying and all manner of toxic, hateful and violent speech. Its effects are particularly damaging to societys most vulnerable, who cannot escape its wrath in todays globally connected world. Twenty years ago, a relentlessly bullied teenager could transfer to a different school or move to a new city to escape their tormentor. With social media, that teen today can never truly escape their attackers even if they move to the other side of the world or change their name. The digital connections of themselves and their parents will eventually give them away, while facial recognition and the myriad ways in which social platforms silently stalk us from afar will forcibly reconnect them to the very people they have so desperately tried to escape. In a world in which geography no longer plays any role, it is not just schoolyard bullies those teens must escape. Now anyone anywhere in the world can sign on to the role of tormentor. The anonymity of platforms like Twitter shield those bullies from scrutiny, while their global broadcast nature ensures those bullies toxic attacks are seen all across the world, encouraging others to pile on. Something as innocent as a teenager acing a test that her schoolmates failed could devolve in just hours into a relentless and worldwide onslaught of hate speech and death threats, doxing and deep fakes. Such is the dystopian world in which we live today. For their part, social platforms have resisted calls to hold themselves accountable for the horrific content they publish and profit from. It is important to remember that social media platforms profit handsomely from hate speech, threats of violence and suicide glorification. Every hateful and toxic post sells ads and user data and generates behavioral and interaction data that make the companies even more profitable. Like arms dealers that profit from war, social media platforms profit from all of this horrific speech. When asked whether they would consider refunding the profits they make from hate speech, toxic content and terrorism recruiting, the companies remain steadfastly silent. We cant even begin to estimate the dollar amount this would generate because we have such a poor understanding of just how much toxic speech is present on the platforms and they are loathe to cooperate with independent external audits. However, even if the total revenue in terms of raw dollars was relatively low, the accountability and auditing required to generate those reimbursements would require companies to finally begin systematically and robustly tracking toxic speech on their platforms. Companies today have zero incentive to invest in more actively purging toxic content from their platforms. After all, they actually make money from all that material. If they were compelled by law to reimburse the money they made from that content or pay it in fees to the government, they would of course have a new incentive to absolutely minimize their reporting by attempting to misclassify all toxic speech as non-toxic speech to avoid having to relinquish the money earned from it. However, once money and the law are involved, suddenly there are external accountability practices that can be brought to bear. Though companies have proven adept at avoiding paying taxes by exploiting the myriad loopholes in tax law, they are still forced to invest heavily in managing that risk. In similar fashion, companies are likely to find any number of ways to work around such new anti-toxic speech laws, but the investment in doing so would alter the cost-benefit ratio of publishing such content to the point that companies might be willing to take greater action to combat it. Combatting toxic speech is a hard problem. What one person might consider protected speech under the First Amendment here in the US another might consider dangerous hate speech. At the same time, there is immense room for combatting content for which there is broad societal agreement should not be permitted, such as active terrorist organization recruiting, death threats, calls for specific targeted violence and encouraging or promoting topics like teen suicide. The problem is that doing so costs money. Automated AI filtering can assist with a lot of the rote matching, but human review is still a critical component, especially when it comes to offering a robust appeals process. Social platforms simply dont want to spend money on issues like combatting toxic speech. Much as AI companies refuse to spend money on creating high quality data to train their algorithms, so too do social companies refuse to spend money to build sufficiently large human review teams. Rather than building socially responsible platforms that treat their users with respect and dignity as real human beings, the companies bombard mothers of stillborn babies with relentless advertisements of happy healthy babies, reminding them every moment of their loss. Rather than acknowledge their role in facilitating genocide or acting as a marketplace for human trafficking, the companies refuse to accept responsibility and happily keep all of the money they made in promoting and assisting these crimes. In the end, we cant complain about the business practices of social media companies when we refuse to boycott them or force our political leaders to take legislative action against them. While we may lament our loss of privacy and safety online through our words, our actions tell the companies we are willing to accept ever more. If we dont do it soon, it will likely be too late. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/02/06/why-do-we-tolerate-social-medias-dark-side-and-what-if-we-made-them-pay-for-it/ |
What's Driving Snap's ARPU Expansion? | Snap published its Q4 2018 results on Tuesday, posting a smaller than expected loss while beating expectations on revenues. The companys revenues for the holiday quarter grew by 36% year-over-year to $389.8 million, while its net loss shrank from $350 million in the prior year period to $191.7 million. Below, we take a look at some of the trends that impacted the companys earnings and what they could mean for Snap going forward. We have created an interactive dashboard analysis on what to expect from Snap in 2019. Users can modify any of our forecasts and drivers to arrive at their own estimates for the companys revenue. We note that the dashboard is not yet updated for 2018 actual figures. DAUs Stabilize As ARPU Trends Higher Snapchat stabilized its daily active user base at 186 million users after two straight quarters of sequential declines after the companys poorly received app redesign. While the companys base of iOS users rose, its Android user base has been on the decline and the company noted that it was rolling out a rebuilt version of its Android app, which offers better performance and a more streamlined experience. While Snap didnt discuss future growth rates, it said that it does not anticipate a sequential decline in its user base over the next quarter. Snaps progress on the ARPU front was encouraging, with the metric rising by 37% year-over-year to $2.09, driven primarily by growth in markets outside of North America (Europe up 57%, Rest of World up 120%), where the companys shift to self-serve ads is enabling it to enter new markets more quickly. Under this model, advertisers of all sizes can buy and manage ad campaigns on Snapchat, without having to go through Snaps ad sales team. Snaps redesign also appears to be driving the ARPU expansion to some degree, as the new layout emphasizes premium content, and the company noted that about 30% more users were watching its publisher stories and shows every day. Snap has an internal goal of achieving profitability in 2019, and the company has been making reasonable progress on this front. Snaps gross margins rose to about 48%, compared to 36% in Q4 2017 and 36% in Q3 2018, driven by the growing revenue base as well as the companys move to improve efficiencies, by lowering infrastructure costs by optimizing bandwidth usage on the Snapchat app. The company noted that its operating expenses for the quarter also declined by 9% year-over-year and 3% sequentially, as it witnessed declines in its R&D as well as SG&A driven by lower employee-related expenses. Its likely that the increasing mix of automated ad sales is also helping the company keep costs low. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/06/whats-driving-snaps-arpu-expansion/ |
Will Contactless Card Payments Kill OEM Mobile Payments And Does It Really Even Matter? | A new survey from Juniper Research has found that OEM (original equipment manufacturer) pay solutions (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay) are on the decline in the US, with contactless card payments rising. Their conclusion is that the window of opportunity for the large OEM distributors (e.g. Apple Pay and Google Pay) is running out. Researchers from Juniper cite recent releases of contactless card functionality from large US banks and increased consumer interest in these as the key reason for the decline. I think they are wrong. About why OEM is failing, that is. Consider the functionality of both an OEM pay solution - like Apple Pay - and the contactless card. Both require the user to tap their device or their card against a third-party device when paying. Neither gives the person making the payment any specific advantage over the other - any perceived time advantages are purely semantic. The in-store merchant accepting the payment derives no differential benefits to those of accepting any other kind of chip card-style payment. These payment methods dont allow them access to any insights that help them improve their business. For example, when a person pays with a card or a card-funded OEM mobile payment, the recipient business doesnt see any previous spending behaviour or know anything specific about the person paying. They cant use this payment method to communicate with this person in any way nor can they form any meaningful insights based on the buying behaviour of similar groups of people. Lets compare this to e-commerce. When you buy something online, regardless of the payment method used, the payment recipient - the merchant - automatically becomes a lot more powerful in their marketing abilities. For the most part, they have access to far more data about you and all others making purchases from them. They can, just as an example, use this combined data to offer up personalised and re-targeted advertising and send you follow-up offers and discounts on products their analysis has shown youre likely to respond favourably to. Further, all this data, with time spent on thorough analysis, gives e-retailers a shrewd advantage. Their business plans will inherently have significantly less room for error based on guesswork given the sheer volume of data they have to work with. Unless you can rely on your customers using a digitally integrated loyalty card every time they shop, in-store merchants dont have nearly as many data-led advantages as their online counterparts. There is an exception here, however. Results from 2018 found that the most popular mobile payments solution in the US was, in fact, the Starbucks app, with Walmart and Dunkin Donuts not far behind. Due to the popularity of these payment apps, Starbucks, for example, is able to gain all the insight advantages - those listed above and many still beyond these - of an online retailer. No. Heres why: While the Starbucks app is a payment app, allowing customers to pay for their purchases, this isnt why customers use it. They use it for the benefits and convenience it provides. For example, customers can pre-order their drinks to their exact specifications and pay, skipping the queue when they walk in five minutes later to collect it. Going even further beyond this benefit, the user experience of the app has been very cleverly thought out. Its simple to use and includes fun features designed to increase digital engagement and customer loyalty. Further, they can use it regardless of which device they use or who they bank with. Its the same thing for the likes of Uber, as another example. Uber is, fundamentally, a mobile payments app (enabling you to pay for a ride). It gives customers something of value in return for payment. In this case, its being able to easily find a taxi when you need one, and seeing it on a map as it heads towards you. My point here is, in the longer term, it doesnt really matter whether contactless cards beat OEM mobile payments. The functionality and benefits of both are essentially the same. The card companies and their issuing banks cant afford to feel too smug about this short term win as there are bigger challenges for them on the horizon. They have to provide the Starbucks and Uber convenience and value while being a universal payments solution for all merchants and all consumers. That's the hard part. OEM mobile payments are not remotely close to becoming that and plastic cards cant go beyond what they are - a piece of payment facilitating payment. They have no interface. The core reason people dont care if they pay with card A, B or C or their phone which is acting as a card, is because it makes no real difference to them at all. Dont forget, the current OEM payment companies are also some of the worlds biggest tech companies. They know very well that their existing functionality simply replicates that of a contactless card and they know this isnt innovation - it doesnt solve any fundamental problems. The primary issue holding these companies back is regulation. Current payment regulations make it difficult for the likes of Apple or Google to launch a mobile payments solution that goes beyond basic functionality. In the EU, the very same regulatory changes are coming this year in the form of the second payments services directive (PSD2). One of the most hyped payments shake-ups, PSD2 mandates that banks must open their account APIs to allow licensed third-parties to offer direct account access to their users. Suddenly, any subscription-based company paying a third-party fee to a card company, for example, can instead make a compelling offer to their users encouraging them to connect payment direct to their account. For most users, it makes no tangible difference, but for the company taking monthly payments, it will mean potentially saving millions each year. In India the state launched a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standard - a government-backed system initiated to encourage digital payments. This allowed Google the ability to launch a mobile payment solution (originally called Tez) designed to challenge existing market players such as PayTM. Indias UPI allowed Google the ability to have users connect directly to their bank accounts. With features such as peer-to-peer payment, bill settling, loyalty and the ability to be used on any phone - not just Android - Google Pay in India is suddenly so much more than just an OEM mobile payment solution. Figures from October last year show that the app grew from zero to 30-million monthly active users in just over a year. Google now has a tested model which works, ready to roll out in markets that its allowed to. They also have an e-money license from Lithuania, allowing them payment processing access across the EU. This technically means that later this year, when theyre able to under PSD2, they can launch a customised-for-Europe version of the same feature-rich and problem-solving solution which continues to grow in India. Because regulatory protections, as is shown with changes designed to shake the industry up under PSD2, can only hold innovation back so long. Payment services, to maintain long-term relevance, must serve both the consumer and the merchant. Banks and others offering or creating new mobile payment services need to (and many are trying to) create an "all scenario" solution - the Starbucks experience for everyone. Its not just a far-off reality. Its happening already in many regions. For example, this is what Alipay in China and the Nordic banks have done in Scandinavia. They catered to both sides. Their solutions know the user and the merchants and see everything in between. They facilitate a powerful and valuable connection between consumers and merchants, meaning cards in their current form don't stand a long-term chance. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieldoderlein/2019/02/06/will-contactless-card-payments-kill-oem-mobile-payments-and-does-it-really-even-matter/ |
Did Apple's AR Ambitions Just Suffer a Big Setback? | Three years ago, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) hired Avi Bar-Zeev, the co-creator of Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) HoloLens, to join its secretive AR (augmented reality) team. That team was reportedly developing Apple's long-rumored AR headset. But news came out this week that Bar-Zeev left Apple last month to work as an AR consultant and develop his own projects. Published reports say the departure was on good terms and he could still do some consulting for Apple. On the face of it, the move sounds like a significant setback for Apple's fledgling AR efforts, since Bar-Zeev's job description on LinkedIn stated that he was developing "key prototypes" for the company. A man "fades away" as he wears an AR/VR headset. More Image source: Getty Images. In recent years, Apple acquired AR/VR firms like Metaio, Faceshift, Emotient, and Flyby Media. It also filed patents that depict an AR headset for the iPhone, and added depth-sensing cameras and computer vision chips to its newer iPhones. In 2017 Apple launched ARKit, an API (application programming interface) that lets iOS developers build AR apps that can access a device's depth-sensing camera, CPU, GPU, and motion sensors. Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google offers a similar API called ARCore for its higher-end Android devices. Apple also assembled a "dream team" of AR/VR experts, including Avi Bar-Zeev, Virginia Tech professor Doug Bowman, NASA scientist Jeff Norris, computer vision engineer Zeyu Li, Apple audio chief Tomlinson Holman, research scientist Yury Petrov, and former Dolby exec Mike Rockwell, who is reportedly the group's leader. Last year, CNET claimed the team was developing a stand-alone wireless AR/VR headset, codenamed T288, with an 8K display for each eye. The report said that the device probably wouldn't launch until 2020. Baby steps vs. bold moves Apple's moves into the AR and VR markets might seem ilke baby steps compared to other efforts across the industry. Two people look at a holographic projection of a city. More Image source: Getty Images. Microsoft launched the first developer version of the HoloLens in 2016, and it's expected to release an upgraded developer version this year. The HoloLens' high price tag of $3,000 prevented it from becoming a mainstream device, but it gave developers an opportunity to build AR "mixed reality" apps. A recent patent filing indicates that Microsoft could eventually shrink the HoloLens for mainstream consumers. | https://news.yahoo.com/did-apple-apos-ar-ambitions-151500419.html |
How Should Americans Tackle Anti-Semitism? | Our country and many others around the world have entered a dark period when virulent nationalism and bigotry are on the rise, says Atlantic staff writer Emma Green. In a new Atlantic Argument, Green explains how the recent uptick in anti-Semitism is particularly alarming in Europe; a recent CNN poll revealed that a quarter of Europeans believe Jews have too much influence in business, finance, and wars across the world. So how do we stop this? Green says in the video. The question we should be asking is whether the latest wave of anti-Semitism can be stopped with elections alone. | https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/581626/anti-semitism/?utm_source=feed |
Is Rodney Hood enough for Portland, or do Trail Blazers need to make another trade? | The Portland Trail Blazers made a trade on Super Bowl Sunday, getting veteran wing Rodney Hood from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for guards Wade Baldwin, Nik Stauskas and future second round draft picks. In Hood, the Trail Blazers get a versatile wing who is both a reliable shooter and capable defender with playoff experience, something the Blazers have coveted as they look to make a postseason push. While the move hasnt made much of a splash across the league, it was a smart trade from President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey who basically shipped out two players who couldnt crack the regular rotation for a player who can sep in immediately and help the Blazers in areas of need. Now, Trail Blazers fans are likely wondering if Rodney Hood is enough to put this team over the top. A look at the players rumored to be on the trade market who could be a good fit with the Trail Blazers. Portland Trail Blazers could be a dark horse team to trade for Anthony Davis, per reports Several news reports mention the Blazers could be in the running to acquire Anthony Davis. | https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2019/02/is-rodney-hood-enough-for-portland-or-do-trail-blazers-need-to-make-another-trade.html |
How Did I Do? | They can be found everywhere; they even appear when we're asleep, they ambush us when we're least expecting them and they drive us crazy. You know what I'm talking about, customer satisfaction surveys of course. They have become part and parcel of almost every consumer (and more besides) interaction we ever have. The last time I flew to the U.S. earlier last month, I received a survey via email from the airline asking how the flight had been and that was before I'd even landed! My personal favorite, however, is of one at the exit of the public toilets at Victoria Station in London with the caption 'did our facilities meet your expectations?'. Yes, they did thank you, I expected them to be gross and they were. Which goes to show that the question being asked and the context in which it is being asked matter. A lot. Car manufacturers have embraced customer surveys with a vengeance. When collecting my car from having its annual service recently, I was asked to complete a survey and gave them an overall eight out of ten, which I thought was pretty good. 'Oh sir', came the response, 'why have you marked us so low?' It transpired that anything other than a ten would result in the dealer being taken to task by the manufacturer. This to me would appear to be a fairly pointless exercise, obfuscating any real underlying issues. Seeking feedback in this fashion to satisfy some opaque corporate metrics seems to be the very opposite of customer centricity. The days of running a retail business on sales per square foot alone are rapidly receding. Savvy retailers are now realizing that understanding customer sentiment drives something far greater than just short term sales figures. To help understand this, I spoke to Georgina Nelson, Founder and CEO of feedback company TruRating. 'Traditionally, there has been something of a disconnect between customer experience and store operations' she says, adding 'how do you operationalize customer experience in the store?' Eschewing the traditional means of capturing customer sentiment that most review sites provide, capturing customer sentiment in real time at the point of purchase has proven to be very revealing for online purchases and in-store alike, but it is in identifying gaps in the latter experience where much of the interest lies. It's not just about spend in the moment, it's about the customer's propensity to come back and spend more Georgina Nelson, Founder and CEO, TruRating And with an astonishing 85% response rate, it is proving to be a pretty accurate barometer of store performance linked to the customer experience. Georgina gives the example of one customer, London based Chinese restaurant chain Ping Pong, who now have had more ratings than Disneyworld! Intriguingly, just asking one simple (anonymized) question at the point of transaction is providing insights which have their roots in psychology more than anything else. Just addressing the customer by name, for example, has shown a 30% increase in average transaction value. In the relentlessly competitive and challenging landscape in which retailers now find themselves, capturing customer sentiment might just be the difference between survival and oblivion. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbusby/2019/02/06/how-did-i-do/ |
Will The China Bulls Turn Out For The Year Of The Pig? | Happy Year of the Pig! This week marks the start of Chinas Spring Festival, during which an estimated 3 billion trips will be made using the countrys massive transportation network of roads and rail. That figure is a slight rise from the same period last year, despite slowing economic growth prompted by trade tensions with the U.S. and a strengthening dollar. Ctrip, Chinas largest online travel agency, forecasts that more than 400 million people will travel across the country for family reunions, while some 7 million will go abroad. To prepare for the additional travel demand, China built as many as 10 new railways at the end of last year and expanded the length of its high-speed rail system to 29,000 kilometers, or around 18,000 miles. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) expects more than 532,000 flights to be scheduled during the week-long travel rush, a 12 percent increase from last year, according to China Daily. Since the start of 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Chinas top economic planner, has approved 27 large-scale infrastructure projects, totaling nearly $220 billion. Among the largest is the expansion of the Shanghai Metro, already the worlds largest transit system by route length. The $44 billion project, to be completed by 2023, will add six new subway lines and three intercity railways. Looking for a Resolution to the Trade Dispute If youve been paying attention, you might have noticed that much of the news involving China right now is negative. Its manufacturing sector is slowing, and economic growth in 2018 was at a nearly-30-year low. I believe this is only a temporary lull as we await a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war and a fall in the U.S. dollar, which has made American goods more expensive to its trade partners. So I remain bullish on China and the surrounding region, and I believe now might be an advantageous time to gain exposure. The U.S. and China reportedly made tremendous progress during last weeks high-stakes talks between President Donald Trump and Chinas Vice Premier Liu He. Although technology and intellectual property rights remain sticking points, China is slated to substantially increase its purchases of U.S. crops, energy and services. Case in point: Just two days after the January 31 talks, Chinese state-run agricultural conglomerate COFCO Group and Sinograin reported purchasing at least 1 million tons each of American soybeans. This marked the Asian countrys first order of soybeans from the U.S. since summer of last year, when purchases were halted as a result of escalating trade tariffs. The good news here is that the U.S. and China appear to be working toward a resolution. Official Chinese outlets called the talks candid, specific and fruitful. President Trump affirmed that, although much work remains to be done, progress is being made. Looking ahead, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will meet at least once with Chinese President Xi Jinping sometime later this month. And Trump is reportedly considering planning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, possibly near the time of the summit with North Koreas Kim Jong Un. Ongoing U.S.-China Tension Expected to Divert Trade to the European Union Im confident that a resolution will come sooner rather than later, as neither side has anything to gain from continued trade hostility. In fact, they have much to lose. This week, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD) estimated that the tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing will do very little to protect the respective economies, and that a majority of the bilateral trade will instead be diverted to firms in other countries, most of them European. Those in Mexico, Japan and Canada would also stand to benefit. Overall, European Union exports are those likely to increase the most, capturing about $70 billion of the United States-China bilateral trade$50 billion of Chinese exports to the U.S., and $20 billion of U.S. exports to China, the report reads. I think its safe to say that neither China nor the U.S. wants this, which drives me to believe that well see a satisfactory resolution in the coming weeks. Hopefully then Chinas manufacturing sector and gross domestic product (GDP) growth can recover. -- Holdings may change daily. Holdings are reported as of the most recent quarter-end. None of the securities mentioned in the article were held by any accounts managed by U.S. Global Investors as of 12/31/2018. All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). This does not mean that we are sponsored, recommended, or approved by the SEC, or that our abilities or qualifications in any respect have been passed upon by the SEC or any officer of the SEC. This commentary should not be considered a solicitation or offering of any investment product. Certain materials in this commentary may contain dated information. The information provided was current at the time of publication. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/06/will-the-china-bulls-turn-out-for-the-year-of-the-pig/ |
Can Business Drive Meaning And Meaningfulness In The Workplace? | Last week, the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) was once again held in Davos, Switzerland. A majority of us have the perception that the WEF is some kind of a billionaires club. In some ways, it is, though I discovered during last years attendance that it is not exactly true. It is an event many executives of highly prestigious companies gather in, dining and wining separately from the rest of the crowd some throwing lush parties at their very own venues; yet, there is also a community of leaders, subject matter experts, and activists invited, who have undoubtedly devoted their lives to a particular cause they wish to bring visibility and offer global voice to. Unfortunately, this years event seems to highlight the missing common purpose between those two parties in attendance. As much good as there always is in the debates and conversations, I was told, unlike last year, there were a number of leadership attitudes and behaviors in question both in front and behind the curtains. That lack of common purpose and shared values play into the current picture and unfolding of Industrial Revolution 4.0. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is rightly characterized by three main drivers of change: (1) increasing globalization resulting in value chains that transcend territorial boundaries, (2) digitalization resulting in a flood of new and intelligent technologies, and (3) democratization resulting in a number of system issues ranging from data protection to privacy to equity. At the same time, there is the reality of our global economies shaping our local societies in culture, in education and in work experience. Throughout history, we never had the unpredictability of economics and the pace of change with such growing visibility of a gap between impacted and interested parties. Although inarguably humanity in collective has been benefiting from the advances of globalization, digitalization and democratization over the many years, there is a clear hollowing out of the middle-class, depowering of specific worker groups and growing disparity of productivity & wages across timelines. According to development charity, Oxfam presented at the WEF the wealth of the worlds top billionaires increased by 12% per day over the course of last year alone while the poorest half of the world, around 3.8 billion people, saw their wealth shrink by 11%. Although the womens work is now a growing part of our economies, men continue to earn 23%more despite the attention the topic gets in discussions. Christine Lagarde of IMF, Jack Ma of Ali Baba and Justin Trudeau of Canada all shared punctuations around how better gender equality in the system can help drive holistic cultures of more wisdom and care. The growing gap between rich and poor, women and men, majority and minority along with the decoupling of work hours and wage and our digital and analog experiences is a direct result of our current world systems and decisions made by our world leaders. The dividing issues are not necessarily raised by the factors of change as listed as much as the lack of global governance and the lack of real experiences lived to drive the evolution. The observed lack of ownership and an absence of accountability in the system then is naturally resulting in an overwhelming sense of anxiety and fear across our societies. As Saadia Zahidi, the Managing Director of Center for the New Economy and Society at the forum put it in too many economies, there is a sense that opportunities for the next generation are dwindling rather than expanding. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has cut the tethers to our familiar reference points and left us with lingering insecurity. Whether we like to admit it or not, it is becoming unarguable that todays governments are not yet prepared for the kind of transformation required to bridge the economic, environmental and social aspects of our humanities; nor are our political leaders equipped to enhance our human experiences. Meanwhile, there is a growing movement around loving ones work potentially misguiding a number of new generation workers into thinking they can simply hussle through this transitionary period. For me and for many others across the global business community, the gaps described are the sweetest spot for the businesses of the future. We have a potential opportunity to maximize the human-based competitive advantages in a world ever so fast, ever so dynamic, ever so complex. Unfortunately, only some of us feel prepared. About a year ago, Deloitte ran a first-time report exploring global business readiness for the 4th Industrial Revolution to find out 86% of C-level executives interviewed were doing all they could to create a future workforce. Interestingly, this year, almost a half, about 47% said they are feeling ready to lead change. The forces of change have liberalized global trade and helped serve hundreds of millions of people, pulling communities out of poverty and into the middle-income range. Yet, there is a clear decline in energy and hope towards increased harmonization and unity despite. The opportunity seen is not to get all warm and fuzzy towards work and/ or our colleagueship, it is to have businesses become the role model of sustainable change, reinventing capitalism by serving and complementing our humanities. The opportunity is also about having business leaders step up to role model connection through better transcendence of self, becoming a holistic guide in serving others. Pulling from conversations at the forum and across academic circles, Id like to share a number of things 21st-century businesses can consider in redefining both meaning at large and meaningfulness in the workplace. A Common Purpose Through Inclusion The number one aspect of business moving forward has to be around purpose gathering through inclusion. This is not about paying a lip-service on a catchy term! This is also not about creating a new headcount to demonstrate value. This is about rethinking companys life mission to serve something greater than just profits. Human beings are sense-making organisms that inquire for deep understanding and belonging. Sense-making is a term used to describe how we structure the unknown as to be able to work with it. Recognize sense-making in an organizational context (for example in a family, inside a corporation or in a given society) is never a solitary exercise, it needs to be socially constructed. This is where businesses can play a role in creating meaning at large. Instead of investing in intelligence that motivates societal polarization, by the virtue of digital and analog infrastructures, businesses must and can consider the creation of new frameworks that actively connect people at an emotional level and support domination of equal opportunity. Only then, we can find meaning at large as our human belonging is not a one-time event nor an end state, rather an on-going phenomenon of the day-to-day. In both advanced and emerging economies, businesses can play a key role in the creation of a social contract that restores safety and provides basic security for all of us as to complement our identities and belonging. In doing so, businesses can become visible examples of a positive meaning formation. Integrated Digital Platforms Another key aspect of the business has to be around investing in the creation of frameworks and infrastructure that integrate digital and analog experiences in education, life services, and work. It is important to recognize adapting existing platforms is not having the required impact for human benefit. In their research paper Making technological innovation work, Anadon et al., conclude current institutions (rules, norms, and incentives) shaping technological innovation are often not aligned toward the goals of sustainable development because impoverished, marginalized, and unborn populations too often lack the economic and political power to shape innovation systems to meet their needs. Thats because patching is not the same as experience design. Experience design requires us to consider moments of engagement or touch points between ideas, emotions, behaviors and through people, technologies and products. It is about creating a whole new end to end processes that support the formation of a new context. In addition, we need the development of value-based metrics that measure impact for digital and integrated platform economies and the development of new regulatory frames to complement our new ways of living. The objective for businesses here has to be to leverage technology in the reduction of barriers to reach of moral value and in addition to productivity then, not the other way around. Work and Leadership Solutions Through Innovation The named factors of change are significantly transforming the way we work. Unfortunately, the majority of the systems preparing people for work have remained so static and underinvested for so many years that they are no longer able to meet the needs of new generation businesses adequately. We have leaders and processes that feed on individual and organizational biases resulting in the creation of inequalities and inefficiencies. A third aspect then for business is to rethink the way we work and the way its organizations develop and deploy leadership. This will require not only breaking down of silos but also unlearning work and leadership practices to learn new ones. Fostering the kind of transcendence will not only require a provision of cosmology, a comprehensive system of beliefs to constitute a new reality, and enactment and promotion of continual trust and integrity. We need innovation in language, we need innovation in organizational and leadership practices. We need to enhance the experience of our tasks, roles, routines and networks, which in return will bring value to the characteristics of group membership, contribute to new culture formation and refined meaningfulness in the workplace. The role of business is clearly changing. There is a pull from global society for businesses to reconnect to its original purpose in serving our humanities. Not only multi-nationals represent a significant part of our economic and cultural development, more and more of us across the globe expect leaders to be role models in every aspect. This is a moment we want to know what every business stands for. We want businesses to reconnect to a purpose and serve our societies. We want leaders to represent and honor our common humanities. It is not to say we demand a lack of performance; it is the contrary, we demand responsibility and legitimacy in reaching the kind of performance. Some of us may think there are a number of good reasons for our way of doing in business, Id ask them to recognize reasons are often considered highly personal in scientific terms and often carry little significance on the real cause of our beliefs. As a result, the reasons we often put out as a gable wall end up serving poorly our holistic well-being. As economist and Nobel Memorial Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz said in the forum GDP is not a good measure of economic performance, it is not a good measure of well-being. We are on the verge of imagining beauty in business. The imagination beholds a feeling of curing, connecting and cultivating our humanities. The imagination beholds a human leadership that cares equally about our well-being. In the next few weeks, I will start publishing on a set of attributes we have identified together with Stanford Universitys Center for Compassion, Altruistic Research and Education (CCARE) through a two-year scientific journey; a core set of human attributes that can serve the transformation of our individual imagination. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/sesilpir/2019/02/06/can-business-drive-meaning-and-meaningfulness-in-the-workplace/ |
What will Miami Heat do before 2019 NBA trade deadline? | Yes, the Heat stands at 25-27. Yes, the Heat is facing a $9.7 million luxury tax bill if it doesnt shed salary before the end of the regular season. Yes, a playoff spot is far from a sure thing for this Heat team. All signs point to a busy 24 hours for the Heat leading into Thursdays 3 p.m. trade deadline. But that doesnt mean coach Erik Spoelstra has taken time to address trade speculation this week. Some seasons he feels its necessary, some seasons he doesnt. I would say in my 11 years, there may have been a handful of times Ive talked about it. This year is not one of them, Spoelstra said, with the Heat spending Wednesdays off day in Portland, Oregon, before traveling Thursday to Sacramento Fridays game against the Kings. I just havent felt the need to with this group. I think they understand what time of year it is and how much noise is out there and know how to compartmentalize. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald And all of this doesnt mean the Heat will necessarily make a move before the deadline. While Miami would prefer not to pay the luxury tax, there is no ownership mandate to get below the tax threshold. There are also challenges that come with trying to accomplish that. The obvious one is shedding the $6.3 million the Heat needs to unload to get out of the tax. Trading Wayne Ellington and his $6.3 million salary without taking any money back is one of the most realistic ways Miami could move closer to escaping the tax, which is why hes one of the Heat players whos heard his name mentioned in rumors most. Same as every other day, Ellington said when asked how hes approaching the hours leading up to the trade deadline. Just coming in and my mind is just here. I cant think of anything else. It probably would be unprofessional if I did that. I come in with the same approach every day. Sports Pass for $30 per year Get unlimited access to all Miami Herald sports stories and videos for $30 Subscribe now #READLOCAL Entering this week, there were only six NBA teams that could absorb Ellingtons $6.3 million salary without sending anything back in return: the Hornets, Mavericks, Nuggets, Thunder, Kings and Wizards. The Hornets would cross the luxury tax threshold by acquiring Ellington without sending money back to the Heat, which takes them out of the picture. The Thunder and Wizards are already in the tax, so theyre out, too. So, that only leaves the Kings, Mavericks and Nuggets as realistic options. Of course, the Heat could get creative and orchestrate a multiplayer or three-team deal that could get it below the luxury tax line. But another obstacle Miami must overcome is the fact Ellington cant be traded this season without his permission because he signed a one-year deal and has full Bird Rights next summer. Ellington would have to approve any trade. As of Tuesday afternoon, Ellington said he had not notified the Heat which teams he would approve a trade to, but obviously, Ive spoken to my agent. Its been an emotional season, said Ellington, who has fallen out of Miamis rotation and has been an active scratch in 15 of the past 20 games after re-signing with the Heat on a one-year deal last summer. If theres any emotion, of course its been an emotional season for sure for me. So Im just fighting my fight, man, every day. Just control what I can control. The Lakers and 76ers seemed like fits because they needed three-point shooting and were attractive enough spots for Ellington. But both of those teams addressed its need for shooting this week, as Los Angeles reportedly agreed to trade for three-point threat Reggie Bullock, and Philadelphia is reportedly set to add talented forward Tobias Harris in a trade with the Clippers. There are other moves the Heat could make, though. Miami could look to trade Rodney McGruder, who could become a restricted free agent this summer. Miami could also try to deal some of its bigger contracts that run through 2021 (James Johnson, Dion Waiters or Kelly Olynyk) for another big contract that has fewer seasons remaining to create more cap space in 2020. Another possibility is trading point guard Goran Dragic, who is expected to return from right knee surgery at some point after the All-Star break, to a contender who is looking to make a win-now move. This could prove difficult because Dragic is currently injured, but it would allow Justise Winslow to keep playing as the Heats starting point guard. The Heat would probably have to throw in some type of sweetener in a deal to make that happen. That sweetener could be in the form of its 2019 first-round pick (Miami is prohibited from moving its 2020 or 2022 first-round selections because it already traded its 2021 pick) or a young asset on a team-friendly contract like Josh Richardson, Winslow or Bam Adebayo, but the Heat doesnt seem interested in moving these core pieces unless its to land an All-Star. There are definitely reasons the Heat should be active leading into the trade deadline. It just doesnt guarantee Miami will make a move. The noise has increased to such a deafening level now in todays day and age with everything thats out there and so easily accessible, Spoelstra said of the trade discussion swirling around the NBA as the deadline nears. The news line just changes constantly and everybodys looking at it and 90 percent of it, if not more, is false. Its probably a challenge for everybody in pro sports to negotiate through the madness. | https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article225583725.html |
Should Trump take credit for the number of women in Congress? | President Donald Trump, never known as a real champion of women, spent a substantial portion of the State of the Union speaking about women's issues, covering topics from reproductive rights to the threat of violence facing many women crossing the southern border. When the president began touting the high rates of employment among women, the women of the 116th Congress stood up and cheered. Trump clearly felt proud of the changing demographics, but others say he missed the point. PERSPECTIVES During the speech, Trump bragged about the high rates of employment among women in the United States during his tenure. In response, the women of the 116th Congress jumped to their feet and began cheering. Per the New York Times: No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the newly created jobs last year. (Women cheering in the crowd) You weren't supposed to do that. Thank you very much. All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before... After the cheering subsided, the president told the women to remain standing, before going on to explain it was the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Don't sit yet, you're going to like this. And exactly one century after Congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in Congress than at any time before. That's great. Really great. And congratulations. Yet while Trump may, in some way, be responsible for the large constituency of women now in Congress, it is probably not in the way he would hope. As noted by columnist Frank Bruni in the New York Times, most of the women are Democrats, elected on a wave of anti-Trump sympathies to push back against his agenda. There are 102 in the House. But here's the thing: That group includes 89 Democrats and just 13 Republicans. History was made courtesy of the party that he worked hard in the midterms to defeat, that he works hard all the time to diminish and that he repeatedly trolled in the rest of his remarks on Tuesday night. If he'd had his way and sway, those rows of white would have been sparser. But he neither exhibited any awareness of that nor made any resolution to improve his party's stubbornly miserable record of recruiting and promoting female candidates. Trump taking credit for there being more women in Congress is like the Fyre Fest guy saying "You're welcome for the documentaries!!" #SOTU -- Chase Mitchell (@ChaseMit) February 6, 2019 The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | https://www.nola.com/interact/2019/02/should_trump_take_credit_for_t.html |
How Does The Tobias Harris Trade To 76ers Impact The Nets? | On Nov. 17 while the Los Angeles Clippers prepared to face the Nets for an early evening game, Tobias Harris was surrounded by reporters. Then he was about eight months away from free agency and since he is a Long Island native and a power forward, the conversation topic was about his free agency since adding him would make sense for the Nets this summer. It still does for the Nets but the price to get it done may have just significantly increased. Before torching the Nets for 27 points, his comments on possibly coming to the Nets next season were diplomatic. "Im just focused on the team that I put a jersey on every single night for, he said prior to playing the Nets. I think it wouldnt be fair if I had my mind somewhere else at this time. Im just focused on helping this team and lets see how far we can go. At 2 am Wednesday while most were sleeping reports surfaced about Harris being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in a multi-player deal and 11 hours later it became official. Their intention is not only to go for it all this year but also retain Harris and Jimmy Butler, whom they obtained five days before Harris faced the Nets. Butler and Harris are both unrestricted free agents and since they now are 76ers, their Larry Bird rights can be used to go over the salary cap to retain them. And Butler and Harris qualify since they have played three seasons without being waived or changing teams as a free agent. Both changed teams via trades and when the trade becomes official, it will be the fifth trade for Harris, seven if you count the fact the pick Charlotte used to select him was traded twice before he was the 19th overall pick in 2011. Harris is playing on the part of a four-year, $64 million contract he signed with Orlando after averaging 17.1 points in 2014-15. He lasted 49 games before being dealt to Detroit and then spent nearly two years as a Piston before being dealt for Blake Griffin. Now the Sixers can offer him a five-year, $188 million deal while the Nets can offer him as much as a four-year, $145.5 million pact. While those figures may not be devoted to Harris, keep in mind that he rejected a four-year $80 million extension from the Clippers last summer and then went on to produce the best numbers of a career that has seen him play for six teams when he debuts for the 76ers. Power forward has been a noticeable void for Brooklyn in recent seasons with evidence being four of their five starters are participating in All-Star weekend activities. While younger options with more team-friendly contracts could be acquired, Harris would significantly upgrade the position Heading into the season, he was ranked as the sixth-best power forward set to hit the market by Forbes contributor Tommy Beer. In terms of rankings at the power forward spot Harris is fourth at 20.9 points per game, 12th in field goal percentage at 49.6 percent and leads the league in 3-point shooting at 43.4 percent. By comparison, Ed Davis is tied for 41st amongst qualified power forwards at six points per game and the Nets do not have any qualifiers at power forward in 3-point shooting or field goal percentage. As of today, the Nets have about $54 million in salary commitments for next season and that does not include D'Angelo Russell who is a restricted free agent. With the salary cap projected to be maxed out at 109 million according to Spotrac, the Nets will possess about $55 million in space. Assuming Butler opts out, Philadelphia will possess about $51 million in commitments and own approximately $58 million in salary cap room. A lot can happen between now and July 1, but with Philadelphia desiring to go all in this season and beyond with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Harris, the pursuit may have just increased in difficulty. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryfleisher/2019/02/06/how-does-the-tobias-harris-trade-to-76ers-impact-the-nets/ |
Are Giants and Bryce Harper a match? | For the first time since Farhan Zaidi took over the Giants baseball operations, theyve reportedly expressed interest in an elite free agent. With spring training fast approaching, the Giants have two holes in the outfield and only center fielder Steven Duggar penciled in as a projected starter. Wednesday morning, reports surfaced that the Giants not only have interest in Bryce Harper (Randy Miller of NJ.com) but have met with the prized outfielder (Jon Heyman of MLB Network). Harpers agent is Scott Boras, who had been expecting to push for a record contract exceeding Giancarlo Stantons $325 million over 13 years. But as teams prepare to open camp, Harper remains unemployed. In a Chronicle interview during the general manager meetings, Boras called the Giants a perfect fit for his client. I think he likes the absolute feel of the ballpark and the fans, Boras said. Its a great fan base. You know youre at a ballgame, and he loves the enthusiasm and their success. NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 12: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals looks on against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on June 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 12: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals looks on against the New York Yankees during their game at Yankee Stadium on June 12, 2018 in New York City. 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Asked whether the massive brick wall in right field at whats now called Oracle Park is intimidating, Boras said, Not when you have Bryce Harper. At the winter meetings a month later, there was an indication that the Giants could enter the sweepstakes at a later date. But on Jan. 2, in a Chronicle interview, Zaidi downplayed expectations for a big-splash acquisition and said he was being patient with the slow market and that he was focusing on moves that would improve a team that wasnt one or two players from being a contender. Then on Jan. 23, the day of the Drew Pomeranz signing, Zaidi hinted he could circle back and pursue a player who previously wasnt considered realistic. As the market evolves, there might be guys that you had questioned or doubted the feasibility at one point that you circle back around on, Zaidi said. Its our job and responsibility to keep tabs on all parts of the market, and were continuing to do that. I think things could change. Your target list evolves over the course of the offseason. With Wednesdays news that the Giants appear in on Harper, the focus seems to be changing as pitchers and catchers prepare to report for spring training. They have a successful model, Boras said of the Giants at the GM meetings, and I always tell Larry (Baer), This fan base has rewarded you. Youve got a stadium thats paid for. Youve got a rocket ship of a financial model. So the Giants should be successful every year and can use free agency, trades and development in a way that allows them to compete. No different than the major market franchises because they are one. John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicles national baseball writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @JohnSheaHey | https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Are-Giants-and-Bryce-Harper-a-match-13594439.php |
Who is Trump's World Bank president pick David Malpass? | Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Malpass was part of President Trump's 2016 election team US President Donald Trump has nominated David Malpass as his pick for the next World Bank president. Mr Malpass, a Trump loyalist, was a senior economic adviser to the US president during his 2016 election campaign. The 62-year-old has criticised the World Bank in the past, along with other institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, for being "intrusive" and "entrenched". After senior roles in the US Treasury during the Reagan and George HW Bush administrations, Mr Malpass became chief economist at Bear Sterns bank. He was there for 15 years before the bank's near collapse in the 2008 banking crisis. Bear Stearns narrowly avoided insolvency in March of that year after hedge funds got spooked by the investment bank's exposure to subprime mortgages. It was bought by rival JP Morgan for a fraction of its former value, with the backing of the US Federal Reserve. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Malpass had a senior role at Bear Stearns when the investment bank almost collapsed Mr Malpass left Bear Stearns three months later. He was subsequently criticised for an August 2007 Wall Street Journal article in which he urged investors not to panic about the credit market. "Housing and debt markets are not that big a part of the US economy, or of job creation," Mr Malpass wrote before the impending economic crisis. "It's more likely the economy is sturdy and will grow solidly in coming months, and perhaps years." The New York Times also criticised Mr Malpass for that and other Wall Street Journal articles, saying partisan bias towards Republican policy by economists had "unquestionably contributed to their forecast errors". After leaving Bear Sterns in 2008, Mr Malpass founded research group Encima Global, and held a number of directorships at finance firms. In August 2017 Mr Malpass again took up a senior role at the US Treasury, becoming undersecretary for international affairs. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption His comments ahead of the global financial crisis were heavily criticised Since then Mr Malpass has pushed for the World Bank to halt lending to China, which he says is too wealthy to deserve such aid, and has harsh lending practices to other countries. And last year, he was part of negotiations over a package of World Bank lending reforms. The US agreed to back a plan for shareholders to inject $13bn (10bn) into the World Bank and its private lending arm, with conditions that aimed to limit the bank's lending, and focus resources more on poorer countries. The reforms are aimed at pushing more middle-income countries towards private sector lending, and limiting World Bank staff salary growth. To become World Bank president Mr Malpass has to win approval from the institution's executive board, which has 25 members. The US holds a 16% share of board voting power and has traditionally chosen the World Bank's leader. China is the World Bank's third-largest shareholder after Japan, with about a 4.5% share of voting power. Justin Sandefur, a senior fellow with the Center for Global Development, said the nomination of Mr Malpass showed that the Trump administration was trying to undermine a key global institution, and urged other countries to nominate alternative candidates. "They have a choice. It's a simple majority vote, the US has no veto in this election and there are many better candidates," Mr Sandefur said. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47137298 |
Which Employee Perks Increase Productivity And Which Are A Waste Of Time? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Cameron Mitchell, CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Restaurateur and Author, on Quora: Being in the hospitality business, with crazy long hours, we find that some of the best perks are days off, in particular, we close our restaurants for seven major holidays and super bowl Sunday so our associates can be with their families. We understand people are our most important asset and are committed to supporting them in whatever their needs may be. I cite several examples of this in my new book, Yes is the Answer. We foster a family feeling within each of our restaurants and our company and so the associates feel like a part of something and feel cared for and respected. Yes, pay is important, and we do pay our associates well, but it is not the most important thing. We hire and promote from within as much as possible. If you work hard and embrace our culture, then you are rewarded with opportunities for advancement. To feel you have found a career in a company is a great perk. People have a sense of intrapreneurship and attach their horse to our wagon and we move ahead together. On top of medical, dental, and disability insurance, we also offer 401k and a match because we also care about providing for our associates with retirement and security. One perk I dont feel is effective is a bonus plan. It has been my experience that those can actually be demotivating and cause people to cut corners just to make numbers. It takes the care and concern out of the equation which is the opposite of what we want to achieve. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/02/06/which-employee-perks-increase-productivity-and-which-are-a-waste-of-time/ |
Will Tesla's Latest Price Cut On The Model 3 Entice Buyers? | Tesla is proving that those federal tax credits for the purchase of their electric vehicles were really just a kickback to Tesla and not a boon for consumers. Government tax credits for the purchase of preferred goods were meant to incentivize Americans to buy certain desired items, such as a more energy efficient dishwasher, better insulated windows or a Tesla. This is part of the effort to conserve power or decrease fossil fuel emissions. However, in effect, the tax credits have served to enrich the vendors of those goods by allowing them to sell the goods for more than an efficient pricing model would indicate. At the start of this year, the tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle was halved. Now we have seen Tesla lower the price of its base version of the Model 3 twice in the first five weeks of the year. The total cut in sticker price in 2019 is now $3,100 for this car, the least expensive in Teslas fleet. This was a direct response to cuts in tax breaks. In the simplest terms, efficient pricing happens when there is a meeting of the minds between a seller and buyers. There is often overlap between what the buyer will pay and the seller demands. In some cases, the two cannot meet, and the item will not be sold. That is what happened with government subsidies for electric vehicles, and Tesla just provided the evidence. When the tax credit was decreased, Tesla realized it needed to lower prices to accommodate the demands of buyers . After all, buyers werent willing to pay the $46,000 sticker price for a Tesla unless the government kicked in that $7,500 tax credit. Tax credits do not encourage people to buy products at the market price; they encourage sellers to sell products above market price. If not, further price reductions could be in the cards, not only for Tesla, but across the electric vehicle industry. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenrwald/2019/02/06/will-teslas-latest-price-cut-on-the-model-3-entice-buyers/ |
Can the What We Do in the Shadows series live up to the film? | The first trailer for Taika Waititi's What We Do In The Shadows TV series is here and it does not disappoint. The new series follows the same flatshare dynamic as the film, but introduces a whole new cast of characters, powers and a whole new setting, in Staten Island, New York. If you were concerned the move to America might suck the dry Kiwi humour out of the series, the trailer will put your fears to rest as right from the start, the vampires' human familiar Guillermo wakes up his master and congratulates him on a "very cool, very scary" entrance. They then discuss "general hygiene" in the flat in way which anyone who has ever sat through an awkward flat meeting will immediately recognise. Advertisement The series, written and directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, follows Laszlo, Nandor and Nadja (Matt Berry, Kayvan Novak and Natasia Demetriou) - a trio of European vampires who are navigating life in modern America. They're also joined by Guillermo (Harvey Guillen), and their American roommate Colin Robinson, a vampire who, instead of sucking blood, sucks the energy out of his victims by boring them to death. The series is due to screen in New Zealand on SoHo later this year. | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12201518 |
When we debate carbon pricing, can we at least stick to the facts? | Open this photo in gallery The Syncrude oil sands extraction facility is reflected in a tailings pond near the city of Fort McMurray, Alta., on June 1, 2014. Economists are virtually unanimous in the view that carbon pricing reduces greenhouse-gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press Elizabeth Beale, Don Drummond and Glen Hodgson are economists and members of Canadas Ecofiscal Commission. As a group of economists, we still believe that facts should matter when it comes to making important policy decisions. Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the Canadian climate policy debate appears to agree. Myths and rhetoric are pushing the real facts to the sidelines. The result is a mix of confusion and polarization that is poisoning our public debate, and we are losing patience. As a case in point, Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently claimed that carbon pricing will be a total economic disaster for the country and cause a carbon-tax recession." Despite the fact that this claim strongly contradicts almost all of the available empirical evidence on carbon pricing, were hearing it repeated more often. Story continues below advertisement So, lets start with this fact: Economists are virtually unanimous in the view that carbon pricing reduces greenhouse-gas emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. Other policy approaches such as intrusive and prescriptive regulations, or generous production or consumption subsidies will cost the economy far more to achieve the same outcome. In fact, carbon pricing appears to have negligible impacts on economic growth when it is well-designed. British Columbia has had carbon pricing since 2008, and its economy is one of the strongest in Canada. Quebec has had carbon pricing since 2013, and it is now experiencing an economic renaissance. Carbon pricing isnt causing the growth in either case, but neither is it preventing it. No economic disaster in these provinces. Ditto for California, the United Kingdom and, for that matter, Ontarios carbon-pricing system that lasted from 2015 until its repeal last year. Yet Ontarios leader doubled down on the claim after the contrary evidence was presented. Mr. Ford pushed back on Twitter, questioning the credibility of economists, experts, and evidence. The only evidence his government cited, meanwhile, was a report from the Conference Board of Canada but its authors immediately weighed in to clarify that their analysis did not support the premiers claim. Heres another carbon-pricing fact: Under the federal policy that begins this spring, roughly 80 per cent of households will receive rebates that actually exceed the amount they will pay in the carbon tax. But because these rebates are entirely independent of the tax itself, they dont undermine the households incentives to reduce emissions. You can collect the rebate and avoid paying the carbon tax by taking actions to reduce emissions, in which case you will be ahead of the game. But if you choose not to do anything different, youll lose nothing in terms of your income or purchasing power. So the federal carbon tax wont be the tax grab its opponents claim. Yet this fact hasnt stopped various commentators and politicians from misrepresenting academic research and vastly overstating the costs for average Canadians. Everyone listening to this debate should keep an important idea in mind. A well-designed carbon tax isnt about raising revenue: its about altering prices to drive behavioural change in a way that reduces emissions. Its not about bigger government; its about smarter government. Heres a third important fact about carbon pricing: When designed well, carbon pricing protects the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. The carbon-pricing systems in Canada including Albertas policy, the planned federal backstop and Quebecs cap-and-trade system were explicitly designed to protect business competitiveness by reducing costs for large emitters. These policies still create financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but by improving performance rather than reducing activity or shifting it to other jurisdictions. Yet the federal Conservative leader continues to frame this approach as an unfair exemption for businesses. Andrew Scheer is right to object to any exemptions, both for economic and political reasons. But he is wrong that protecting business competitiveness is akin to an exemption. Companies still have a powerful economic incentive to reduce emissions because their costs will fall by doing so. Thats the essence of a carbon price. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement These three facts about carbon pricing are not disputed by the people who have seriously examined how these policies work, whether in Canada or elsewhere. Yet political opportunists continue pushing the myths and rhetoric, while disregarding the actual evidence. This is no way to have a serious policy debate. Canadians need a real debate about climate policy. Those who oppose carbon pricing should either admit that they dont care about climate change or they should propose a serious alternative policy. Maybe its the use of prescriptive regulations; maybe its the use of subsidies to low-carbon technologies; maybe its something else altogether. Whatever the choice, we need to debate the options based on actual evidence and solid analysis. Lets start hearing from those opponents about their alternative policies, and why they promise lower costs and more effectiveness at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We doubt their options will actually be better than carbon pricing, but were certainly open to the discussion. Either way, its long overdue that we stop the myths and the fear-mongering. Canadians deserve the truth when it comes to debating something as important as climate policy. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-when-we-debate-carbon-pricing-can-we-at-least-stick-to-the-facts/ |
Are electric cars only for the rich? | In the backyard of California's Capitol sits Franklin Boulevard, a largely industrial area where many residents earn a living keeping old vehicles on the road. The state, which has been aggressively pushing toward an electric-car future, has made few such inroads in this working-class neighborhood. "Electric vehicles are for the rich. It's not for us," said Mike Bokan, who owns an auto-repair shop on Franklin Boulevard, explaining a prevailing attitude. The median income here is $30,000. One solution for making electric vehicles accessible to low-income Californians is coming from an unlikely ally: Volkswagen. In 2016, after admitting to lying about excessive emissions from its diesel vehicles, Volkswagen agreed to pay $14.7 billion in penalties. The settlement also earmarked $2 billion to be invested by Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary, in building a nationwide network of highway chargers that allow long-distance road trips in an electric vehicle. But California, which will receive $800 million from that pool, is requiring 35 percent of the funds to be spent on low-income and disadvantaged communities. Among the first investments are three new all-electric, eight-seat shuttles that will be put into service along Franklin Boulevard courtesy of Electrify America. Bokan, who is also president of the local business association, welcomes the shuttles, due by July. They will be a small relief from the exhaust coming from Hwy. 99, a diesel-choked trucking route that borders the area. Across town, Sarah Quismondo, a retired nursing staff coordinator, lives in Riverview Plaza, a low-income senior apartment complex. In a neighboring parking lot are two Kia Soul electric cars that are part of a car-share program that began in May 2017. The program provides free access to the cars, and Quismondo signed up right away. The Whispering Pines apartment complex in Sacramento has Volkswagen e-Golfs for a car-sharing program that began last fall. She was so enthused by the experience "I love driving these cars, they're very quiet," she said that she became an official representative of the program, Our Community CarShare. She signed up six other residents, and gives rides to fellow retirees at Riverview Plaza who no longer drive. The program, run by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, served as the blueprint for another Electrify America program in the city, just underway, to put 140 all-electric Volkswagen e-Golfs at 70 low-income apartment complexes for car-sharing. The air district's boss, Alberto Ayala, is a longtime leader in California's clean-energy efforts. His previous work as the chief enforcer of the state's vehicle emissions regulations was instrumental in exposing Volkswagen's diesel deceptions. After the scandal fully came to light, the company agreed to pay huge financial penalties worldwide, two Volkswagen executives were sent to prison and Ayala's city is now teeming with E.V. experiments. Outside the Edge Water affordable housing complex opposite the county jail, Ayala points proudly to two more shared electric cars. "We just don't want more rebates for Tesla buyers, because they don't need it." (The first Tesla cars cost upward of $100,000, and the company is pressing to bring its Model 3 to the mass market.) Ayala added that programs to democratize electric vehicles were "the only thing to keep people like me that were involved in the Volkswagen case going." He said that for many years, the state's goal was to lift sales numbers of electric vehicles regardless of how wealthy the buyers might be. "But the thinking evolved," he said. "Our political leaders said that's not going to cut it anymore." For nearly a decade, California has offered consumer rebates, as much as $7,000 per car, to make EVs more affordable. Since 2011, 15 residents of the 95824 ZIP code that surrounds Franklin Boulevard used the rebates. In the dense 95814 ZIP code where Quismondo lives, 71 did. The combined population of 40,000 in those two ZIP codes received $163,900 in state rebates. By contrast, in the affluent 94025 ZIP code, home to a similarly sized population near Tesla's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. buyers received $2.4 million in rebates. Persuading people to use the e-Golfs stationed at low-income apartment buildings could be a challenge. They cost 15 cents a minute or $9 an hour to use. Ayala cited obstacles to adoption in his organization's car-share program, which is free. He said many residents don't have driver's licenses or credit cards, which are needed to activate the service. I paid three visits to the Whispering Pines apartments, which was included in the service by Electrify America on Nov. 1. Each time, I found leaves collecting in the charging ports of the two cars, as if they had not been moved for several days. Envoy Technologies, which operates the program, declined to share usage rates for the cars at Whispering Pines. In yet another Sacramento-based experiment financed by Electrify America, a program called Gig recently started to put the first of 260 all-electric Chevrolet Bolts on city streets in a 13-square-mile zone between downtown and midtown. Seventy percent of residents in this zone are considered low-income. Users can locate a Bolt via a mobile app, unlock the door, start it up and drive for $2.50 a mile or $15 an hour. When the ride is completed, members can park the car in any legal spot in the designated zone, lock the door and move on. These activities, which have turned Sacramento into a test bed for equitable access to EVs, are being conducted in the first $200 million cycle of the Electrify America investment. The company says these programs have taken about a year to develop and won't bear fruit until later this year. | http://www.startribune.com/are-electric-cars-only-for-the-rich/505462472/ |
Should Ottawa help mosques, synagogues and religious schools prepare for attacks? | OTTAWAWhen a gunman opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue, there were some in the congregation who knew how to react. Thats because just the previous month, retired FBI agent Brad Orsini had trained leaders at the Tree of Life synagogue for just such a terrifying scenario, teaching them skills to deal with an active shooter, advanced first aid and the survival mantra run, hide, fight. A memorial at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 30, 2018. Eleven worshippers were killed when a gunman opened fire at the synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. ( HILARY SWIFT / NYT ) Its believed those newly-learned skills helped save lives on a horrific day when 11 worshippers were killed at the synagogue. The rabbi changed his protocols and started carrying his cellphone. He was the first one to call 911. He got people out of the front rows that he could. We think training is paramount, said Orsini, director of Jewish community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. We basically prepare our organizations to live for three to five minutes prior to law enforcement arriving. We give them options on what to do, like run, hide, fight, he said in an interview. Article Continued Below Now the federal government is being urged to use the upcoming budget to provide funding for that kind of training for leaders and members of at-risk religious sites here in Canada. Orsini said its critical. In the chaos of a shooting, training kicks in and helps prevent people from being paralyzed with fear, he said. We know that a trained mind is going to lead to some sort of action, he said. Our goal is to get our community to commit to action, whether its running like hell or hiding or, last resort, fighting back, said Orsini, who served 28 years with the FBI before taking on his current role. He said the training is done in stages and includes classroom lectures on situational awareness, active shooter and first aid and then moves to actual drills on evacuations, lockdowns and barricading a room. Its unfortunate but you have to prepare people just like we prepare children for fire drills, he said. The Pittsburgh synagogue attack and the 2017 shooting at a Quebec City mosque that killed six awakened many to the potential threat. Article Continued Below I think it really has exposed for many that we live in a time where this sort of thing is possible and we need to reduce the threat to the extent that we can, said Steve MacDonald, director of policy for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. His organization is pressing for changes to the federal Security Infrastructure Program which provides funding to communities at risk of hate-motivated crime to pay for measures such as surveillance cameras and improved lighting at facilities such as mosques, synagogues and religious schools. In 2016, the federal government doubled funding to $10 million over five years. That extra money was applauded by community groups but in the wake of the recent tragedies, the government is being urged to make further changes to reflect the new realities of security. Taking the lessons from Pittsburgh, Macdonalds organization wants Ottawa to allow program funding to be used to pay for life-saving training programs, such as advanced first aid and drills for active shooting scenarios. In terms of dollars invested for potential lives saved, training is one of the best things you can do for any community, MacDonald said. Leila Nasr, communications co-ordinator at the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said her group has not made any recommendations for the coming budget. But she said the program is well used by Muslim communities, especially in the wake of the mosque shooting. She said mosques and other institutions are often the target of incidents that dont make the news but threaten the sense of peace and security of many mosques and other Islamic organizations. When the 2017 shooting occurred, I think it really brought those fears to the forefront, Nasr said in an interview. Given the increase in hate crimes reported by Statistics Canada and others, not just against Muslim communities but against the Jewish community, Sikh community and others, more funding certainly wouldnt hurt, she said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted last November that more assistance was coming when he spoke about anti-Semitism past and present. The occasion was an apology for the 1939 decision by the then-Liberal government to turn away the ocean liner St. Louis and the more than 900 German Jews onboard. The ship returned to Europe and many of those passengers were murdered in the Holocaust. Trudeau said that anti-Semitism is still prevalent today, noting that Jewish institutions and neighbourhoods are vandalized. He highlighted how the Pittsburgh attack just weeks earlier left Jewish Canadians feeling vulnerable. Places of worship are sacred, and they should be sanctuaries for all faith communities, Trudeau said. He noted the clear calls to enhance the infrastructure program, adding, I pledge to you now, we will do more. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday said the government is reviewing recommendations from community groups for further improvements. Im a great believer in making further improvements where you can. So Im hopeful, Goodale said. Toronto lawyer Arnold Recht, a member of the Chabad Flamingo synagogue on Bathurst St. reached out to Goodales office seeking the governments help in the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting. I was asking what does the government intend on doing. I said it was a dire situation, Recht said in an interview. His own synagogue has introduced further security measures in addition to the police officer who is on paid duty at the synagogue on the Sabbath. Even what weve done, that doesnt guarantee our security, he said. While the synagogue attack in Pittsburgh has gone from the headlines, the horror of the incident and the unsettling sense of vulnerability has not diminished for members of Rechts congregation and those at other synagogues, he said. Its just something that most people cannot get out of their mind, Recht said. Bruce Campion-Smith is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics. Follow him on Twitter: @yowflier Read more about: | https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/02/06/should-ottawa-help-mosques-synagogues-and-religious-schools-prepare-for-attacks.html |
Can Trudeau get elected by only campaigning in town halls? | He could do worse. Politicians should play from their strengths. Theyre all potential disasters. Neither audiences nor questions appear to be screened. He takes what comes. Some are lobs, others sputter with rage and contempt. Sometimes he loses it, mostly he doesnt. He even calms rancour among audience members and they accept it. His record is at best mixed. OK on Syrian refugees, legal pot and child tax credits. Weak or failed on pipelines, Indigenous matters and electoral reform. Theres the trade deals but theyre not worth much electorally. If nothing else, his flair for town halls refutes the chart that teaching high school has nothing to do with running a country. Its looking like rather good prep. Those classrooms can be rough. Andrew Scheers equivalent is sitting before a business audience and sounding preprogrammed. Jagmeet Singh gushes, which isnt a great way to connect. | https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/02/06/can-trudeau-get-elected-by-only-campaigning-in-town-halls.html |
What Is the Legacy of Communist Chinas Fine Art? | In a tiny gallery on Henry Street last week, the young artist Chang Yuchen taught me one of her fathers drawing lessons: There is no line in the real world. A subzero wind blew outside as she held up two fingers pressed together. You see a line between them, she explained, but thats an illusion: Its really just the place where two forms meet, and thats what the artist must remember as they draw. We think of drawing as a means of merely depicting the visible world, and the line as a neutral tool in that process. But drawing is a technology that has a generative force all its own, and like all technologies it is soaked in ideology. In Changs case, the technology came down from her father, who had been trained in the Chistyakov system at Beijings Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA). As a child, he had stumbled across a banned book of Tang poetry. He was so drawn to the imagery of traditional Chinese literature, Chang told me, but he couldnt practice Chinese traditional painting, because it was considered anti-Revolutionary back then. Instead, he was trained in a strict new pedagogical system, imported from Russia. Before the Revolution of 1949, fine art in China was dominated by ink painting, particularly in the sensitive literati style (wenrenhua). But the new communist government of the Peoples Republic of China condemned ink painting as feudal, and instead encouraged a new national art form in the socialist realist style, similar to the kind of painting being produced in the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong named CAFA himself. In 1955, the Russian oil painter Konstantin Maksimov arrived at the prestigious art school, sent as a kind of cultural ambassador by his government. Maksimov, a Stalin Prize winner, immediately found great popularity among the CAFA faculty. He organized a two-year postgraduate course in oil painting, which burgeoned into a wave of influence that effectively institutionalized his style there. Changs work is a radical reconsideration of the pencil drawing. Chang Yuchen / Assembly Room One of Maksimovs most enduring legacies was his introduction of the drawing system designed by Pavel Chistyakov. A nineteenth-century educator, Chistyakov emphasized a technique that requires the student to break down what they see into planes, practicing over and over again until the artist is capable of producing a three-dimensional effect on the canvas. Chistyakovs own paintings had an expressive texture. His figures leap brightly from the canvas, and you can see in them the seeds of socialist realism: the faithfulness to life, the romanticized activity. | https://newrepublic.com/article/153081/legacy-communist-chinas-fine-art |
Will Seahawks make a move with Kam Chancellor? And what might happen with Frank Clark and Russell Wilson? | Former NFL agent Joel Corry gave us some thoughts on those topics this week. I caught up this week with former NFL agent Joel Corry, who now writes about salary cap issues for CBSSports.com and other sites, to get his thoughts on those three topics. KAM CHANCELLOR The Seahawks have something of a deadline this week with Chancellor, whose 2019 base salary of $5.2 million becomes fully guaranteed if he is still on the roster as of Friday. But as Corry notes, its a moot point for now if Chancellor cant pass a physical, which he likely cant (Chancellor detailed his injury situation last fall, painting a pretty dire picture, after having posted to social media last July that he would not be able to play again). Because that salary, part of a three-year, $36 million deal Chancellor signed prior to the 2017 season, is fully guaranteed for injury, Seattle has to pay it if Chancellor cant play again and they also cant cut him and not pay it. That Chancellor is due the money is also why he has not officially retired since to do so would be to give up any remaining money he is owed. That the salary is guaranteed for injury leaves Seattle with few good options. But Corry said all point to Chancellor remaining on the roster for now. Chancellor is due to count $13 million against the salary cap in 2019 and $14.5 million in 2020. But as Corry notes on the off chance he can pass a physical they could cut him with $5 million as the only cap charge. Thats unlikely to happen, of course, but does maybe give some motivation for not making a move for now. The other is that Seattle can save more against the cap by releasing Chancellor as a post-June 1 cut. If he is cut prior to June 1, Seattle could save $8 million against the cap this year and $12 million in 2020 while taking dead money hits of $5 million and $2.5 million. But as a post-June 1 cut, his dead money would be $2.5 million in 2019 and the savings $10.5 million (the 2020 numbers remain the same either way). None of it is great, as Corry notes. Unless he can immediately pass a physical you are kind of stuck either way, he said. But waiting does provide a few better options that would seem to mean that for now, Chancellor will remain on Seattles roster. Its also worth noting, as OvertheCap.com pointed out, that receiver Tyler Lockett has a guarantee of $3.9 million for 2019 that also becomes guaranteed Friday. Theres obviously no reason to question that that will happen. FRANK CLARK Clark is Seattles marquee impending free agent, rated this week by Pro Football Focus number four among all NFL players who can become unrestricted free agents beginning on March 13. But Corry echoes the growing conventional wisdom that he thinks Clark will likely have been slapped with a franchise tag prior to then, assuring he stays in Seattle for at least the 2019 season and allowing the two sides to continue working toward a longer-term deal in the future (teams can place franchise tags on players beginning Feb. 19 through March 5). Youre almost going to have to franchise him based on the comments that (Clarks agent) Erik Burkhardt made (to ESPN last fall) about not being afraid of the franchise tag and knowing the value of a pass rusher, Corry said. If Im him, Im not doing something like Danielle Hunter (who re-signed with Minnesota prior to last season to a five-year deal worth $14.4 million annually that was quickly regarded as a bargain for the Vikings and has turned out to be even more of one after he finished fourth in the NFL this year with 14.5 sacks). Youre almost going to have to franchise him. Indeed, given that context, Burkhardts comment to ESPN last fall about Clark and the franchise tag is worth revisiting. Frank and I are not scared of the franchise tag, Burkhardt said. Thats going to come in at about $18 million next year for a D-end on a one-year, fully guaranteed deal. Its what (Detroits Ziggy) Ansah and (Dallas Demacus) Lawrence have done. They get that top-of-the-market value for one year, and 12 months later will get their long-term deal as well. Thats winning. The three potential top free agents listed above Clark by PFF this week also are all edge players Houstons Jadaveon Clowney, Lawrence, and Kansas Citys Dee Ford. All could be tagged. And Corry also says he thinks the agents of each could be waiting for one of the other to make the first move. They are all going to be kind of waiting for someone to re-set the market, Corry said. And the guy who goes last should use the other deals as a bench mark. Thats why I dont think anyone wants to go first. There also remains the issue of how committed the Seahawks are to wanting to give Clark the kind of deal it would likely take to sew him up for the long term right now PFF estimated Clarks value at five years, $87.5 million with $53 million guaranteed, which would make him the second-highest paid player on the team after Wilson. Corry noted this is regarded as an especially strong draft for pass rushers, which could influence how Seattle deals with Clark right now. Maybe you go year-to-year with him, Corry said. If there is ever a year to get a pass rusher in the draft this is it. This year you could maybe get a guy in the mid-to-late 20s that most years goes in the mid-teens. RUSSELL WILSON ESPNs Adam Schefter reported over the weekend that the Seahawks have yet to talk to Wilson about an extension of his contract, which runs through the 2019 season. I wrote why that shouldnt really be viewed as anything to worry about yet given that Seattles usual mode of operation on extensions is to get those done in the spring and summer after dealing with the free agency and, typically, the draft. Corry agreed. Its early, Corry said. They didnt get a deal done until July last time anyway so I dont think there is anything to read into that. I wouldnt have expected it to really heat up until after the draft, anyhow. The NFL is a deadline-driven league and last time he set a deadline of training camp (and it got done then). As for what happens then, Corry wrote an extensive piece about that last month. But he reiterated he thinks it wont be an easy negotiation for Seattle, in part because Wilson now has made money that sets him up for life and this time can wait to get what he really wants out of the deal, whether that is being made the highest-paid player in NFL history or potentially becoming a free agent. Its a different dynamic now, Corry said. Hes made a whole lot of money since then (he signed a four-year, $87.5 million deal in 2015) so he can afford to be patient this time. | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/will-seahawks-make-a-move-with-kam-chancellor-and-what-might-happen-with-frank-clark-and-russell-wilson/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Did Mandy Heldt Donovan just ruin her wine? | Your typical California winemaker would be in despair if her efforts had resulted in the kind of wine that Mandy Heldt Donovan just made. But Donovan did it on purpose. Donovan inoculated a wine with brettanomyces, a spoilage yeast that most winemakers here spend their careers desperately trying to avoid. Brettanomyces or brett, to winemakers can live in winery environments and can imbue wines, if it gets into them, with a spectrum of off-putting flavors: manure, Band-Aid, horse sweat. Challenge accepted. I was just curious, says Donovan, whose wine label is called Merisi. Is this a tool we could use? Thats a sacrilegious notion in some circles, especially Napa Valley, where Donovan lives. Here, brett is regarded as an uncontrollable agent of destruction. Often called the junkyard dog of wine yeasts, brett will feast on anything from sugars to acids, making it not just unpleasant to taste but also prone to proliferation, capable of overpowering all of a wines native fruity flavors with that smear of manure. Everybodys scared of brett, says Donovan. The prevailing wisdom, she believes: This is why you dont have a gorilla as a pet. Its a wild animal. Brewers like Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. and Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey have been making bretty beers on purpose since the late nineties sometimes even letting brett perform the primary fermentation, leaving out the typical beer and wine yeast, saccharomyces cerevisiae, altogether. In recent years the bretty beer category has exploded, with local breweries like Southpaw, Pedro Point, Almanac, Sante Adairius and the Rare Barrel getting in on the action. And craft beer drinkers, including Donovan herself, seem to love it. So in 2017, Donovan siphoned off a little bit of Carneros Pinot Gris shed made, took it to her home basement she was careful to keep this experiment separate from the winery where she makes her normal wines, which taste clean and not at all funky and inoculated it with a strain of brett she had purchased from a craft beer supplier. I chose a fruity strain of brett, she adds, one that the yeast supplier promised would not taste like Band-Aid. (Brett has many hues, as well learn later.) In that first year, Donovan made just 30 cases; in 2018, she made 50. The resulting wine, called the Merisi Manic White, has something in common with a saison beer: It smells fruity, gingery, bright. The barnyard character, bretts hallmark, appears most strongly on the finish, but before you get there you taste soy, green herbs, some smokiness. Donovan left a little bit of residual sugar to balance the wines sourness. It is strange, undoubtedly an acquired taste, and you may be more likely to enjoy it if you stop thinking about it as a Pinot Gris. Its true that natural wine fanatics, who tend not to mind when wines arent squeaky-clean and flawless, might be the most receptive audience to the Manic Whites funky characteristics. Yet the Manic White is far from a natural wine, not least because it relies on commercial yeast rather than ambient strains. In fact, if part of natural wines imperative is relinquishing control over the winemaking process, Donovan is doing the opposite: attempting to harness the unharnessable. The Manic White is a science experiment one that engages with a crucial question posed by our current culinary moment. To be clear: Brett has always had a fan club. For centuries, before the modern era ushered in antiseptic hygiene regimens, European wine cellars and breweries teemed with brett (many still do), and the yeast was considered an integral part of the beverages made there. That je ne sais quoi in old vintages of Mourvedre of Domaine Tempier, or Chateauneuf du Pape of Chateau Beaucastel; the Flanders red ale of Rodenbach or the lambic of Cantillon yep, thats brett. Donovan became fascinated with brett during graduate school at UC Davis, while working in the lab of Dr. Linda Bisson, a yeast microbiologist. There, she got a crash course in wine sensory analysis, and began to see brett as a multifaceted, even potentially beautiful, component of wine. How you process smells is totally tied to the emotion center, Bisson explains. What were calling the putrid character, which can take on a rotten, almost vomit-like flavor for a lot of people, that just tastes like cheese. It all depends on whether your brain links that taste sensation to a positive memory. If you accept that premise, the idea that any aroma or flavor is intrinsically good or bad feels as wrong as assigning a value judgment to, say, a color. In 2013, Bisson created the brettanomyces aroma wheel, a diagram that categorizes the different sensory qualities that 83 different brett strains can express. They range from the familiar barnyard and horse sweat to burnt beans and sour milk, and even to pleasant aromas like lilac, maple syrup and tamarind. Donovans education in brett continued and intensified after graduate school, when she went to work at Cain, a Napa Valley estate where brett occasionally makes its way into the wines. Most people are too afraid to experiment with brett in a winery, Donovan says. But as she stuck around with Cain winemaker Chris Howell, she saw that brett didnt make the Cain wines taste like manure or Band-Aid. Instead, the yeast contributed floral, earthy characteristics that she liked. Howell is probably California wines most masterful brett whisperer, but even after 30 years at Cain he still doesnt understand how the yeast works. Everybody thinks that once your cellars infected with brett, everything goes, Howell says. But its just not true. Wine from certain Cain vineyard sections tends to go through a brett fermentation more often than others, suggesting that the winery building itself isnt the only vector. Is the microflora part of the terroir? Howell asks. Donovans work in the Cain lab was crucial to deepening the winerys understanding of bretts mysterious ways, Howell says, especially her discovery of patterns in the timing of brett fermentations, which were picking up after wines had already been in barrel for almost a year. Mandy really helped us look at brett as an organism, not a malady, says Howell. We dont know everything about brett, but I know that if it were gone Id miss it. We want to know how to work with it, not kill it. Thats precisely what Donovan has been devoting herself to ever since while, of course, also making plenty of non-bretty wines. (For the record, the rest of the Merisi wines are made with little manipulation, starting with a native-yeast fermentation.) She sees a potential audience for Manic White in aficionados of sour beer, who may have more positive emotional responses to the flavors and aromas of brett than longtime wine drinkers. Ive never minded a small amount of brett in a wine Cain, for instance, has long produced some of my favorite Cabernets in Napa but I admit that I find a total brett takeover in a wine or a beer hard to swallow, literally. When that sour funk overpowers everything else, I miss the taste of fruit. Then again, I spent years training my palate to identify brett as a flaw. The strength of the wine industry is tradition, but its also the weakness, Donovan continues. Were very reticent to change. As recently as the 1980s, she points out, California wineries were reluctant to embrace malolactic fermentation in white wines, now a standard practice. Ultimately, though, what drives Donovan to work with brett is not the intellectual exercise. She just thinks that brett, if we can understand it and to some degree control it, can be beautiful. I know not everyone agrees, she says, but I just dont think the flavor of brett is that out of reach. Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine critic. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob | https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Did-Mandy-Heldt-Donovan-just-ruin-her-wine-13595160.php |
Whats behind Kevin Durants mysterious silence? | When doors opened to media Wednesday morning for Warriors shoot-around, Kevin Durant wasnt on his usual practice court. For a few moments, he lingered in the adjacent weight room, only to disappear through an exit. This is the ninth straight day that Durant hasnt spoken publicly, a media drought that coincides with the Knicks trading a package that featured Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas last week to free up two max-salary slots. Its well-chronicled that Durant tends to grow sullen when put under intense media scrutiny. The only other time Durant shirked his press responsibilities this season was in mid-November, when his on-court spat with Draymond Green was a national talking point. As Durant continues to avoid news conferences or media scrums, Klay Thompson an All-Star who claims to abhor interviews has emerged as somewhat of a team spokesman. Twice in the past four days, Thompson, who will also be an unrestricted free agent in July, has vowed that the chatter surrounding free agency hasnt affected the locker room. I think were handling it great, Thompson said Wednesday. You can only control what you can control. You cant listen to media coverage or speculation. There always will be speculation in anything that you do. Thats what we signed up for. Nearly two-thirds of the way through his 12th NBA season, Durant surely recognizes as much. In 2015-16, his final season with Oklahoma City, he seldom went a day without hearing chatter about his upcoming free agency. However, Durant is highly emotional. His history of tweeting under a burner account, juicy sound bites and regrettable Instagram comments has shown that he sometimes makes decisions that only fuel the narrative hed like silenced. By simply reiterating a six-word statement he offered earlier this season (Im not talking about free agency), Durant could at least help quell questions about his mental state. Instead, a player who has been honored for his cooperation with media has gone mysteriously silent. Durant left Oracle Arena after recent games against the Lakers and 76ers without sitting down for his typical news conference. After practice Tuesday, he barely broke stride as he shook off team PR staffers. The only interviews hes done in the past nine days were exclusive sit-downs with TNT last Thursday, CCTV last Friday and 60 Minutes on Monday. Durants next opportunity to speak publicly will be after Wednesday nights Warriors-Spurs game. Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @Con_Chron | https://www.sfchronicle.com/warriors/article/What-s-behind-Kevin-Durant-s-mysterious-13595352.php |
Who Is Matt Duss, and Can He Take On Washingtons Blob? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Forty-five years after Congress passed the War Powers Resolution over Richard Nixons veto, the Senate finally invoked its power to end a war. This past December, 56 senators voted to cut off all US support for Saudi Arabias horrific military campaign in Yemen, which began in the final years of the Obama administration, sharply escalated under Donald Trump, and has led to the deaths of an estimated 85,000 children due to starvation.1 Ad Policy The morning of the vote, Bernie Sanders addressed his Senate colleagues next to a photo of an emaciated Yemeni child and urged them to pass the resolution, which hed introduced along with co-sponsors Mike Lee, a Republican, and Chris Murphy, a Democrat. We have been providing the bombs the Saudi-led coalition is using, refueling their planes before they drop those bombs, and assisting with intelligence, Sanders said. In too many cases, our weapons are being used to kill civilians.2 As the Vermont senator spoke, a 6-foot-5, bespectacled bear of a man sat quietly beside him. Matt Duss, 46, has recently become one of the most significant figures reshaping progressive foreign policy in the Trump era. Since February 2017, when Sanders hired him as his foreign-policy adviser, Duss has played a key role in advancing the Yemen resolution and has deeply informed Sanderss growing emphasis on international affairs.3 I give Matt an extraordinary amount of credit on Yemen, says Representative Ro Khanna, who introduced the joint resolution in the House. Hes the principal reason that Sanders took this huge risk in introducing the War Powers Resolution in the Senate and agreeing to [support] what we had introduced in the House.4 Related Article The American Empires History of Amnesia Tom Engelhardt Sanders is reportedly about to announce a second presidential run, and attention is already turning to his foreign-policy views. In his 2016 campaign, Sanderss primary focus was on domestic economic issues, and many critics regarded him as a lightweight on foreign policy. This time around, Sanders has won over skeptics in the foreign-policy establishment with substantive speeches in 2017 and 2018, laying out a comprehensive vision for Americas role in the world. Beyond wanting to end or prevent wars in the Middle East, Sanders has also linked the global rise of authoritarian populism to wealth inequality, and has called for an international progressive movement to combat authoritarian leaders and kleptocrats from Russia to Brazil. And while Duss doesnt want to take credit for what he says are his bosss deeply held views, he has had a hand in all of this.5 To the extent that Sanders is raising new ideas and challenging the interventionist consensus that has long dominated Washington, it makes sense that hes relying on the advice of a relative outsider. The nations capital is infamously a town of straight-A students who hustled their way through the most elite schools and prestigious internships in pursuit of power. Duss took a more meandering path, playing in bands and working odd jobs for years before finishing college in his early 30s. He then spent the next decade influencing the public debate, mainly as a blogger, before finally emerging as a Senate staffer.6 Duss is now gaining prominence at a pivotal moment for progressive foreign policy. Since the end of the Cold War, leading Democrats have broadly subscribed to the liberal-internationalist doctrine, with its emphasis on free-trade pacts, military coalitions to overthrow dictators and prevent atrocities, and, since 9/11, ruthless prosecution of the War on Terror; any differences with their Republican colleagues have often been more of degree than kind. Foreign-policy critics on the left, meanwhile, have generally been relegated to academia and the alternative media, and have focused mainly on challenging the excesses of empire, not on articulating a more positive and ambitious global vision.7 Current Issue View our current issue More than most policy-makers, Duss is a product of that left-leaning tradition. His ascension was in many ways made possible by the political earthquake of 2016not just Trumps election, but the defeat of Hillary Clinton, the enduring influence of Sanders, and the emergence of a new generation of progressives who have grown up amid endless wars. The open question is whether Duss and others like him are capable of taking on the foreign-policy worlds entrenched status quo.8 Duss was born in 1972 in the Hudson Valley town of Nyack, an hour north of Manhattan. His mother, a nurse, came from a family of truck drivers in rural western Pennsylvania; his father, a journalist and aid worker, was born in a displaced-persons camp in Germany after his family, some of whom had been kulaks in Ukraine, survived famine under Stalin and some of the worst carnage of World War II. When Dusss father was 2, his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Brooklyn. Despite their very different origins, Dusss father and mother shared an evangelical faith; they met while attending a missionary-training college in Nyack, where they eventually settled.9 Were a family of refugees, Duss tells me over brunch near his home in northern Virginia. Thats always been part of my understanding of where we came from. Because of his family history, Duss says, he never had any illusions about Soviet communism, but he does identify as a man of the left, a strong social democrat perfectly at home with Sanderss political program.10 Duss himself grew up in a tight-knit community of evangelical Christians. While he wrestled with his faith throughout his teens and early adulthoodhe describes himself as pro-choice, proLGBTQ rights, and very liberalthe communitarian and humanitarian aspects of Christianity remain central to his life.11 In 1983, his family relocated for a year to a refugee-processing center in the Philippines to work with a Christian NGO there. From age 10 to 11, Duss attended a Christian boarding school while helping refugees from Southeast Asia prepare for life in North America. He was in Manila at the time of the assassination of opposition politician Benigno Aquino, a critic of the US-aligned dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It was an interesting vantage point for how the US was perceived elsewhere, he says. Obviously, I couldnt fully understand or engage with the political conversation therebut still, it made an impression.12 Exposure to the wider world left Duss feeling more isolated from his peers back home. Once a promising student, in junior high he became disengaged from school, grappling with his religious upbringing and preferring music to homework. At 15, he took up guitar, his influences ranging from Van Halen to indie groups like the Replacements, the Pixies, and Dinosaur Jr. It was through playing in bands that he found his peer group, which included an Iraqi-American singer who helped personalize the first Gulf War for him. I just was uncomfortable with America sending troops around the world, Duss says.13 After two and a half years at a small Christian college in Massachusetts, Duss found himself unmotivated and returned home to Nyack, where he worked in a variety of menial jobs while pursuing his true passions: playing guitar and writing fiction. In 1994, he moved to Seattle, where he met his wife, and where he first became involved in politics via anti-globalization activism and Ralph Naders 2000 presidential campaign.14 Duss became fascinated with the Muslim world on a trip to Istanbul for a friends wedding in 2000. He found the experience of being awakened by the morning call to prayer transformative, and began reading obsessively about Islamic history and politics. The 9/11 attacks the following year left him frustrated and concerned about the way the US media portrayed Muslims and the Middle East, and for the first time in his life he felt a sense of political mission. At a time when many US policy-makers were encouraging open-ended war across the Muslim world, Duss dedicated himself to understanding the societies that would bear the brunt of such a policy.15 In 2002, Duss transferred from community college to the University of Washington, where he finally earned his bachelors degree at 31 and his masters at 34 while studying Arabic and raising a newborn. He wrote his thesis on Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric who had become the political and spiritual leader of the insurgency against the US-led coalition occupying Iraq.16 After finishing his academic work, Duss and his family moved back east and settled in Alexandria, Virginia. Duss quickly took to the Beltway blogosphere and started several websites, including one dedicated to monitoring the Islamophobic writings of Marty Peretz, then publisher of The New Republic. He began receiving wider recognition writing about the Middle East for The American Prospect. That eventually earned him a staff job at the Center for American Progress, where in early 2008 he became editor of the national-security team for the liberal think tanks affiliated blog, ThinkProgress. If TAP was like getting signed to Sub Pop, says Duss, referring to the indie label that launched bands like Nirvana and Sleater-Kinney, going to CAP was like a major label.17 His success is an argument for all kinds of diversity in the foreign-policy community, says Heather Hurlburt, a former State Department official during Bill Clintons presidency. Perhaps ironically, its also a vindication of [CAP founder] John Podesta, of all people, whose early vision for the Center for American Progress was that it would hire and pay talented young people who didnt come from super-privileged traditional backgrounds.18 At the same time that Duss was starting at CAP, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were engaged in a heated presidential primary. During a January 2008 debate, Obama contrasted his opposition to the Iraq War with Clintons initial support for it. I dont want to just end the war, Obama said. I want to end the mind-set that got us into war in the first place. For Duss, this line was like hearing [Jimi Hendrixs] Voodoo Child (Slight Return) for the first time. Its like, That is rock and roll.19 Matt has always been willing to challenge underlying assumptions about the conduct of American foreign policy, says Ben Rhodes, one of Obamas closest national-security advisers. He rightly seized on President Obamas statementand he held us to that standard for eight years.20 The Obama administration often struggled to hold itself to that same standard. The idealism that appealed to Duss and many others produced some significant achievements, notably the Iran nuclear deal, the reestablishment of relations with Cuba, and the Paris climate accord. But Obama didnt end US military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he launched new, undeclared wars in several other countries in the Muslim world. He authorized record sums of military aid to Israel and Saudi Arabia despite the atrocities they committed in the Gaza Strip and Yemen. He championed the Arab Spring, then stood by the Gulf monarchies and the Egyptian military junta as they snuffed it out.21 Obamas foreign-policy record disappointed many activists and writers on the left. But inside the Beltway and among key Democratic institutions, it had plenty of defenders, including some who would clash directly with Duss once hed entered the think-tank world.22 Duss worked at CAP until 2014 and blogged prolifically for ThinkProgress, where he was an outspoken voice against military interventionism, a critic of Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories, and an advocate of diplomacy with Iran. He co-authored a report on Islamophobia in the world of conservative donor networks and think tanks, making his share of enemies in the process. He also helped identify and recruit like-minded writers to the site, including Ali Gharib (now an editor at The Intercept) and Eli Clifton (now a fellow at Type Media Center).23 Initially, Duss had a significant degree of freedom to express his opinions at ThinkProgress, which he attributes to Podestas hands-off approach. Asked whether that approach continued for the entirety of his time at CAP, Duss says simply, No, it didnt.24 In 2011, the year that CAPs current president, Neera Tanden, took over from Podesta, Dusss team drew the ire of pro-Israel organizations and media outlets in Washington. Following an article in Politico by Ben Smith (now editor in chief of BuzzFeed News) spotlighting ThinkProgresss critical coverage of Israel, Duss and several other CAP writers felt targeted. The goal of that piece was definitely to start a campaign against us, says Duss, who adds that he has no personal resentment toward Smith and respects much of his work. It was clear he was working off of an opposition document that had been shopped to him that was later leaked. Duss specifically calls out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), The Washington Free Beacon, and some members of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for coordinating a campaign against him and his colleagues.25 Reporters get information from all sorts of places, and from people with all sorts of motives, Ben Smith says in response. That was an accurate story about the differences on Israel inside a Democratic institutiona story that is obviously still playing out in the party. In any case, Gharib and Clifton would voluntarily leave CAP after what Duss says was significant internal pressure that interfered with their work. Duss remained at the organization for three more years, essentially daring the higher-ups to fire him.26 Faiz Shakir, who ran ThinkProgress at the time and hired all of the writers targeted by AIPAC, still speaks warmly of Duss. Matt was advocating for the Iranian deal long before it was mainstreamed; he was also warning of the consequences of [Israels] settlement expansion long before the Obama administration tried to take a hard line on the issue, says Shakir, now the ACLUs national political director. For his work, he obviously engendered opposition from powerful groups who didnt want to see ideological movement on those issues.27 Tandens only comment for this profile was delivered via her communications director: While at CAP, Matt Duss made important contributions to our national-security team, and he has done critical work since.28 While its clearly a sensitive subject for all parties involved, the tensions from the CAP incident presaged deeper divides within progressive policy circles. Tanden was an outspoken critic of Dusss future boss Sanders during the 2016 Democratic primaries and remains so today. CAPs acceptance of funds from the United Arab Emirates, which started during her tenure, was recently a source of significant internal turmoil, as was Tandens 2015 event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whereas Duss has vociferously criticized both the UAE and Israeli governments for years. His experience at CAP speaks to the limits of trying to challenge donors and policy-makers within powerful Democratic Partyaligned organizationslimits that Sanders will likely run into again if he seeks to reform foreign policy in a progressive direction.29 In 2014, Duss left CAP to become president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, a small nonprofit that provides grants to Israeli, Palestinian, and American civil-society groups. While at FMEP, Duss participated in working groups in coordination with Ben Rhodes to support the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran, which faced significant opposition from hawks and pro-Israel groups in Congress.30 Several times during Dusss tenure at both CAP and FMEP, some neoconservative and pro-Israel critics accused him of anti-Semitism, a charge that he finds hurtful and absurd. A 2013 article in The Washington Free Beacon insinuated that Duss, his brother, and his father are all hostile to Jews, largely relying on their persistent criticism of the Israeli occupation as evidence. In 2015, a Republican congressman issued a press release accusing Duss and his family of anti-Sematic [sic] ties, again citing as evidence their criticism of the Israeli government. Any fair reading of my workand, frankly, my liferefutes that plainly, Duss says.31 Dusss deep interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict is rooted in both his Christian upbringing and his humanitarian instincts. The first of his many visits to Israel and the occupied territories was in 2003, in the middle of the second intifada, while his brother was doing relief work there. A bus had blown up in Jerusalem a week before, so the reality of terrorism is there; you have to recognize it, Duss says. But at the same time, watching the daily indignity and humiliation and violence that is visited on Palestinian civilians in multiple ways theres no justification for that.32 The public conversation about Israel has shifted in the past few years. Younger Jews on college campuses and elsewhere have become disenchanted with Israel and more critical of the occupation, and this has created more space in the media and in politics for views like Dusss. The new Congress includes several Democrats who have endorsed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, a position that many other Democrats not only oppose but are trying to make illegal. Neither Duss nor Sanders has endorsed boycotting Israel, but both have defended the right to engage in such boycotts, and in 2015 Duss testified before Congress that it is a mistake to focus on the BDS movement while ignoring the main reason for its continued growth, which is the failure to end the occupation. While some BDS activists may consider that a moderate position, no one has ever voiced it in the context of a presidential campaign.33 During the 2016 Democratic primary contest between Clinton and Sanders, Duss bemoaned the absence of a real foreign-policy debate. At the time, many progressives were frustrated with Clintons reflexive hawkishness, on the one hand, and Sanderss perceived lack of a serious interest in international affairs, on the other.34 Had Clinton defeated Trump that fall, Duss expected to remain at FMEP and attempt to push the new administration toward a more progressive approach to the Middle East. Instead, mere weeks after Trumps shocking victory, Duss met with Sanders in person and soon found himself working for the Vermont senator, taking a pay cut in order to directly shape policy on Capitol Hill. Hes very much like he is in public, except funnier, Duss says of Sanders, and thats how I immediately knew we could work together.35 While they come from very different backgrounds, Sanders and Duss share something important in common: At least by Washington standards, they both spent their 20s adrift. After graduating from the University of Chicago, where he was more interested in activism than in grades, Sanders moved to Vermont and worked as a carpenter while making radical film strips and writing for alternative publications. He didnt win an election until he was 39, didnt go to Washington for another decade after that, and has only emerged as a leading national figure in the past few years. Like Duss, Sanders has stubbornly held onto a set of core ideals and waited, at whatever cost to his career, for the national debate to shift his way. As Duss puts it, both mens identities were fully formed outside the Beltway.36 People with Matts views dont always work within the US government, so I was glad he took on his current role as an adviser for Bernie, Ben Rhodes says. Its good for the Senate to have a progressive activist in that role, and its good for someone like Matt to learn how to navigate the complexity of being a Senate staffer. Rhodes, who rocketed to international influence at 29 on the basis of his mind meld with Obama, is the most obvious example of the kind of role that Duss might be expected to play in a Sanders administration. Rhodes was also a critic of the US foreign-policy establishment, which he dubbed the Blob, and its interventionist consensusand during his time in the White House, he made many of the same enemies that Duss has.37 Related Article Washington Trained Guatemalas Killers for Decades Greg Grandin and Elizabeth Oglesby In the lead-up to the 2020 Democratic primaries, a number of the expected major contenders have tacked left on the domestic-policy issues that Sanders staked out in 2016. But no one has indicated as clearly as Sanders that there needs to be a break with the foreign-policy consensus that Clinton embodied and would have reinforced. No one besides Sanders has hired an adviser with such a clear track record of defying the Blob. But while foreign policy could be an issue that attracts activists to Sanders, it will also likely inspire attacks, especially with regard to Israel. In fact, Ann Lewis, a pro-Israel Democratic operative who pressured CAP over Duss and his cohort in 2012, now co-chairs a well-funded new organization, the Democratic Majority for Israel, dedicated to countering the growing criticism of Israel among progressives.38 Then again, the world has changed a lot in the past decade, and some Democrats are optimistic about ending the status quo. Matt represents a real break from interventionist thinking, says Ro Khanna, and its why foreign policy is going to be an advantage for Bernie Sanders if he runs. Last time, they said he was naive on foreign policy. This time, hes responsible for the biggest foreign-policy success of the past few years, with the Yemen vote. And I would give a lot of credit to Matt Duss.39 Duss himself is insistently modest, refusing to claim any special credit for Sanderss perceived new outspokenness. He compares his boss to the legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. One of Miless real geniuses was as a band leader, assembling the best players of the moment and getting them to play better than they ever had beforeand in many cases than they ever would again, Duss says. This is the best band Ive ever played in.40 | https://www.thenation.com/article/matt-duss-bernie-sanders-foreign-policy-blob/ |
How Can The San Antonio Spurs Acquire Nikola Mirotic? | Anthony Davis requesting a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans has spiraled into other players becoming available, as general manager Dell Demps faces a potential rebuild. Julius Randle, eligible to become a free agent, is one name, but Nikola Mirotic might offer more appeal, and he's available, per Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. The Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers expressed interest in the sharp-shooting big man. Not only them, but the San Antonio Spurs, who have been sporadically linked to players in the lead-up to Thursday's 3:00 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. If the Spurs want Mirotic, they may have to surrender a first-round pick; O'Connor added that as New Orleans' asking price. In 2018, after DeMarcus Cousins ruptured his Achilles, the Pelicans paid a first-round pick for Mirotic, but on a year and a half of control. This isn't even a half-season rental, but roughly 30 games for anyone that acquires him. The Spurs sit in position to make this kind of move, though, with an extra first-round pick to move. They have a protected 2019 first-round pick from the Toronto Raptors, via the Kawhi Leonard trade, that goes to them if below 20th. So while a potential overpay for a player that hasn't stayed healthy in 2018-19, if it tops other teams' bids, maybe Mirotic becomes realistic for San Antonio's playoff hopes amid a congested Western Conference. A sharp-shooting big man already exists on the Spurs roster in Davis Bertans, who shoots an incredible 47.2 percent on three-pointers and has played a career year in general. In an era of unlimited outside shooting, however, there's no reason Bertans and Mirotic can't co-exist, even if the latter provides more of an all-around game. That leaves the actual trade scenario. Mirotic makes $12.5 million, and the Spurs have shopped Pau Gasol's $16 million contract, per Mitch Lawrence of Sporting News. The 38 year old is under contract for 2019-20 at another $16 million, but just $6.7 million is guaranteed. He can work a buyout with New Orleans, if necessary, but at his age and declining skills, it's difficult to assume how much interest other teams would have. So along with Gasol, the Spurs can send the aforementioned first-round pick from Toronto. Even with the protections that make it two second-rounders if between 1-to-20, the Raptors are 39-16 and third in winning percentage. Barring a spectacular failure, this pick should convey in June's draft. Alternatively, if the Spurs don't want to trade a first-round pick, they can make it two second-rounders in 2019 and 2020 or 2021. That may be more realistic, especially as O'Connor's report added how one executive called the Pelicans' asking price "excessive." However the Spurs acquire Mirotic, they'll have another player to spread the floor. It takes minutes from Bertans and potentially sidelines Jakob Poeltl, who profiles as a classic big man and not a floor spacer. The Montenegran big man can play off LaMarcus Aldridge primarily a mid-range shooter and become an option on drive-and-kicks from the point guards. The Spurs have fewer than 24 hours to work something for Mirotic or anyone else on their radar. At 32-23, they currently have a playoff spot, but it's just two games out of the eighth seed. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwolkenbrod/2019/02/06/how-can-the-san-antonio-spurs-acquire-nikola-mirotic/ |
How Is China Implementing Blockchain Technology? | From digital payments to robotics, China has been able to leverage quickly and efficiently its role as an economic leader and drive mass technology adoption. The country has built a blockchain wall, an ecosystem composed of three major layers/bricks. At the base of the blockchain-powered nation, forming the foundation of the wall, are institutional investors linked to corporate players: Chinese blockchain projects connecting with powerful CEOs and traditional venture capital firms to raise money. Less importance is placed on marketing and more on the actual technology and product design. Essentially, these projects secure institutional support, then develop real-use cases and pilots, before finally focusing on marketing. It is a top-down approach rather than a bottom-up one, with a high level of pragmatism. The second layer of the wall is composed of a diversified network of universities and incubators that facilitate the growth and development of blockchain initiatives through hackathons and blockchain labs. This solves the main challenge of sourcing talent and helps in building a community of nodes. Due to their younger age, students have higher technology adoption, which represents a key element for any projects development. For blockchains to ultimately succeed, they need the final layer of the wall: a dynamic financial environment and fast-moving regulatory implementation. Despite the gap between the regulated banking industry and the decentralized nature of many blockchain projects, some of the largest financial institutions are considering implementing the technology to improve their processes and their operational efficiency. Bank of China is also expected to increase investment in the development of blockchain technology. On the regulatory side, the fast-paced nature of the technology requires ongoing reviews and improvements. China could benefit from its political structure to move quickly and provide rapid development and approval of any rules related to the technology. China has the right credentials to make massive advancements in the blockchain world. Its not a matter of how or whether it will; its probably just a matter of time. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/fiorenzomanganiello/2019/02/06/how-is-china-implementing-blockchain-technology/ |
Will Eagles Be Able To Trade Foles After He Exercises $2 Million Option To Become Free Agent? | It was the worst kept secret. The Eagles would pick up Nick Foles $20 million option. Foles would then exercise the $2 million buyout clause to void it and set himself free. And then the fun would begin. Well, it appears to be Game On, because according to several sources thats precisely whats taken place within the last 24 hoursjust as Forbes.com projected on January 18. The most likely scenario, though no ones saying a word publicly, is that its all part of a well orchestrated plot. More than likely Foles agent, Justin Schulman, has already tested the free agent waters and has a pretty good idea of which teams are interested in his client and to what extent theyll go to attain his services. At the same time the Eagles, who have enough other situations to deal with, would love to have the matter settled before free agency actually begins, March 13. Thats a distinct possibility if theyre working in concert with Foles and Schulman. For the moment Foles has all the leverage, at least until February 19 when teams can begin to franchise players. That would leave just over three weeks to work things out between the Eagles, Foles and his prospective new team, assuming general manager Howie Roseman can find a partner. They have until March 5 to tag him and while trades can be verbally agreed to at any point--like the 2018 Alex Smith deal between the Chiefs and Redskins--nothing becomes official until the 13th. Well, that may be what eventually happens. But suppose Team A doesnt want Foles to hit free agency, where it would have to be in position to outbid Teams B, C, D, etc. One way to ensure that is to trade for himeither at franchise tag value or else at a prearranged long-term deal. While Foles cant prevent that from happening one expert makes it clear hes still calling most of the shots He wont sign if he doesnt like the team, said Adam Caplan of Sirius XMs NFL Radio. He controls a lot of this. He doesnt necessarily have to sign a long-term deal. Foles can also play the waiting game, since contracts are guaranteed as of March 13 when teams have to be under the salary cap. The Eagles best hope is that hes willing to work with them finding his new address. While some may shudder at the prospect of him signing with the NFC rivals Giants and Redskins, its not unreasonable to believe the last thing Foles wants to do is face his old team twice a year. Meanwhile, the man hes replaced at the end of each of the last two seasons, Carson Wentz, recently met with a half dozen Philadelphia reporters to discuss his current situation. In a no-holds barred session the 26-year-old Wentz addressed issues ranging from the published report where unnamed teammates criticized him for being selfish, uncompromising and playing favorites to his physical struggles over the past year. While Wentz made it a point not to deny some of the charges, he emphasized he intends to take it to heart and become a better teammate. I know Im not perfect, said Wentz, who was having an MVP season in 2017 before tearing up his knee late in the season, which he concedes hampered his mobility this season. I know I have flaws. "So Im not going to sit here and say it (the story) was inaccurate and completely made up. I realize I have my shortcomings. Yes, I can be selfish. I think we all have selfishness inside of us. But Ill be straight up. It hasnt been the easiest last year for me on the physical level, just battling the injuries, but then just personally going through it, sitting on the sideline and then playing and then sitting on the sideline again. "So I realize like I maybe wasnt the greatest teammate at times because I was emotionally kind of all over the place. As for his relationship with Foles, its complicated. Theyre good teammates who respect each other and cheer when the others on the field. Yet they're fiercely competitive, which is why it would never work with them both still being Eagles. Obviously, it was frustrating watching, continued Wentz, who's hopeful the fracture in his back which was diagnosed late in the season will be healed in time for him to be ready for OTAs and mini camp late in April and May. So I want to do everything I can to be healthy, to stay healthy, and not have to do that again. But I think it was awesome for Nick to show there wasnt a fluke. Nick's a heck of a player. But at the same time, theres the real emotions that, I want to be out there. By the time hes cleared to go Nick Foles will almost certainly be a memory. A memory of glory days which Carson Wentz & Co. can only hope to someday relive. Now thats an even worse kept secret. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarks/2019/02/06/will-eagles-be-able-to-trade-foles-after-he-exercises-2-million-option-to-become-free-agent/ |
Whats next for the Heat entering Thursdays trade deadline? | At the start of Wednesday, the Heat faced a luxury tax bill of $9.7 million. By the end of the day, that tax bill had been trimmed to $1.8 million. A deal that sent Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson to Phoenix a day before the NBAs trade deadline eliminated most of the Heats tax burden. Miami received 6-foot-10 power forward Ryan Anderson in return. [Read Barry Jacksons story on everything you need to know about the trade] Anderson, 30, has had a solid NBA career. He averaged 19.8 points for New Orleans in 2013-14 and 17 points for the Pelicans in 2015-16. But this move wasnt about adding another rotation player to the roster, after all Anderson has been in decline in recent seasons and averaged 3.7 points in a very limited role for the Suns this year. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald Wednesdays trade was a cost-cutting one. It was about trimming the tax bill and inching closer to escaping it completely. The Heat is now just $1.2 million over the luxury tax threshold. Miami has until the end of the regular season to make moves to get completely below the line to avoid paying the penalty. Heres some stuff to consider ... A minor move like trading Rodney McGruders $1.5 million salary could get it done. Or trading a player on a bigger contract like Dion Waiters, James Johnson or Hassan Whiteside for one on a slightly cheaper deal could be enough to push Miami over the edge. Whatever Miami decides to do, it has less than 24 hours to make another trade if it wants to finish the job before Thursdays 3 p.m. trade deadline. And Miami technically has to shave off a little more than $1.2 million because it currently has just 13 players on its roster, and will need to sign another to get to the league-wide minimum of 14 players within two weeks. In reality, though, the Heat is far closer to getting out of the tax than it seems. As Heat Hoops cap expert Albert Nahmad pointed out, center Kelly Olynyk has a $1 million bonus in his contract for this season if he plays 1,700 regular-season minutes and a $400,000 bonus if the Heat makes the playoffs. Since he accomplished both last season, both bonuses are included into Miamis current team salary. But its unlikely that Olynyk will reach the 1,700-minute mark this season. Hes played a total of 987 minutes and averaged 20.2 minutes through the Heats first 52 games and would need to average 23.8 minutes of court time the rest of the season to unlock the bonus. The playoff bonus is still very possible, with the Heat currently in the Eastern Conferences eighth spot and 1.5 games ahead of the ninth-place Detroit Pistons. Even if the Heat makes the playoffs, though, the Heat could actually be less than $1 million away from avoiding the luxury tax. Because Olynyks $1 million bonus for minutes played will be subtracted from the teams salary at the end of the season if he doesnt meet the requirement, which hes not expected to at this point. To be clear, Miami is not intentionally limiting Olynyks playing time to make this happen. Its evolved organically because of Miamis crowded frontcourt that has coach Erik Spoelstra splitting minutes between Hassan Whiteside, Bam Adebayo, James Johnson and Olynyk. The clock is ticking with the trade deadline just hours away, but what looked like a tall task Wednesday morning turned into a real possibility by the end of the day. The Heat is almost out of the tax. A QUESTION FOR THE OFFSEASON While Andersons $20.4 million salary for this season is locked in, hes due $15.6 million next season if hes waived by July 10, which would be expected. If Anderson is not waived by the Heat before this date, his guaranteed salary for 2019-20 would jump to $21.3 million. Another option the Heat has is to use the stretch provision when waiving Anderson this upcoming offseason. That would split up his $15.6 million salary into a $5.2 million annual cap hit over the next three seasons and would give Miami an an extra $10.4 million in cap space this summer. But the Heat might not want to add a $5 million commitment to the books for the 2020 and 2021 offseasons, when its expected to have enough cap space to be a major player in free agency. | https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article225612270.html |
Why do people take pictures at crash scenes? | Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Police investigate a crash that killed six in Birmingham - a scene at which, hours before, the public took images of the deceased Fatal accidents and disasters are, unfortunately, nothing new. What is new is people coming across these scenes and taking out their smartphones to photograph the dead. People can lose their jobs, reputation and even liberty over it. At the end of November, a police officer was sacked for showing his colleagues footage from the aftermath of a fatal crash between a motorbike and lorry. Andrew Parry transferred the images from his body cam to his mobile phone and played it to peers, who reported him to bosses. Staffordshire Police said his actions amounted to "disrespect" and he had betrayed his "responsibilities" to the deceased. One might expect more of a police officer, but such acts are not uncommon. There were similar incidents throughout last year, although in these police criticised the public rather than one of their own. Image copyright PA Image caption The family of one of those killed in the Birmingham crash said pictures taken by the public robbed the dead of their dignity In August, a 30-year-old woman was killed in a crash in Derbyshire. This time, photos of the scene were not only taken but posted on Facebook. Police described the images as distressing. The same term was used for onlookers' photos of a crash which killed six in Birmingham just over a year ago. These pictures were circulated on social media too. After inquests in May, a victim's family slammed those responsible for the images, saying they had lost their humanity and robbed the dead of dignity. Dr Lasana Harris, an associate professor in experimental psychology at University College London, has researched the behaviour of people at emergency scenes. He has a theory on why people reach for their phones - it's not so much what goes through their minds, it's what doesn't. "We live in a culture where [photography on phones] is what people do; it's normative behaviour." Dr Harris thinks the recording of the dead or the injured is accordingly "mindless" - people pull out their phones automatically, for scenes "good, bad or indifferent". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption "We live in a culture where [photography on phones] is what people do; it's normative behaviour" Omega Mwaikambo took photos of a body recovered from one of the UK's highest profile disasters - the Grenfell Tower fire. His explanation to BBC Newsnight seems to underscore the very mindlessness Dr Harris explores. Using an iPad, he began photographing - at a distance - a plastic-wrapped corpse in the courtyard at his nearby flat. Then he lifted the sheet to take close-ups. The reasons, he said, eluded him. Mr Mwaikambo then posted pictures of the body on Facebook. "God knows what I was thinking in my head. It just happened. No explanation. Why would anybody do such a thing?" Image copyright UK NIP Image caption Omega Mwaikambo later told BBC Newsnight he had no explanation for his actions Images of crash scenes taken by professional photographers for use in the news rarely feature bodies, though broadcasters will occasionally choose to show the dead in the context of some stories. The reports come with warnings and the displayed images are brief and rarely graphic. Should outlets then share their reports on social media, the tweets and posts do not feature the pictures. That is in contrast to the online sharers whose grim imagery is presented starkly and at a fixed point, leaving those who stumble across it no choice in whether they see it. Dr Harris thinks this type of sharing - in a culture of ubiquitous tech - is another act of mindlessness. "Often we're just running on autopilot and we're not thinking - and that's why it doesn't seem intrusive to those doing it." Notions of privacy might seem straightforward, but the concept is arguably muddied once applied to photos taken after death. The law's view on this is simple - it is concerned with protecting the public from what it deems indecent, rather than protecting those who have died. And it means that while the photography is not prohibited per se, the sharing of distressing imagery can be. It is the convergence of indecency and distribution the law dislikes. In the case of Mr Mwaikambo, he was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to breaching the 2003 Communications Act by posting offensive images on social media. The first count involved two photos and a video of the body bag, the second related to five photos of the person therein. In the case of the Derbyshire crash, police made an arrest on suspicion of offences under the associated Malicious Communications Act, although there have been no charges. PC Parry - whose actions did not involve a social media component - was convicted of misconduct in a public office, for which he was given a suspended 12-month prison sentence. "If you were to press people, I think they'd say they were helping," posits Dr Harris. "We know that if something is made public, it has the power to change opinion, and so some people may think they're fulfilling that purpose." But some may argue it is the opposite of helping, because filming in a crisis is nothing like practical assistance. In fact, Dr Harris points out, it's non-intervention: "You're less likely to help if you're fiddling with your phone." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption When "fiddling with phones" becomes "diffusion of responsibility" He believes this is where the issue starts to merge with the so-called bystander effect - the name given to incidents in which a group ignores a needy person, because, psychologists say, they fear other bystanders judging intervention. According to the theory, people assume that if no-one else is acting, there's no need to. And taking cues from each other, the larger the crowd, the greater the chance of inaction. These elements seem to feature in an "air rage" incident on a Ryanair flight in October. One passenger began racially abusing another in a row over seats - an exchange filmed and posted on Facebook by fellow passenger David Lawrence, who said onlookers were "frozen". The footage shows a man eventually intervening. But Mr Lawrence suggested his more passive approach had its own usefulness - his post went viral, and thus he helped "the world know" the victim's story. "If I had stepped in I don't think you would have seen the footage that I captured," he told the BBC. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The incident was captured by passenger David Lawrence, who spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live about what happened There can even be real-time benefits to such filming, believes Jackie Zammuto, a project manager at Brooklyn-based Witness. The organisation teaches people how to shoot video on phones to document injustice. She told BBC Radio 4's The Digital Human that by filming, and being seen to film, tension can sometimes be defused and attacks deescalated, despite a lack of physical intervention. It's hard to imagine how onlookers helped by filming a bruised and shocked police officer after a crash in Coventry. Dr Harris thinks for graver scenes, saying a photo can help is an act of self-deception by those who regret their actions. "You can come up with explanations - 'I was documenting' - to preserve the belief you're a good person," he says. "You find ways to save your moral selves. But it's an afterthought, to later justify their behaviour. Again, in the moment, I don't think they are thinking." | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45839351 |
Will the 1-percenters now flee Californias high taxes? | Reality a new reality is hitting home as Californians work on their 2018 federal income tax returns. Some are seeing smaller federal tax bites and bigger refunds, thanks to a more generous standard deduction in the tax overhaul that a Republican Congress and President Trump enacted in 2017. But those accustomed to writing off state income tax and local property tax payments are feeling the pinch due to one of the most contentious aspects of the revised system. It limits deductions for state and local taxes to $10,000 on a joint return, which has the intended effect of increasing federal taxes, particularly on residents in high-taxing states such as California. This week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared that his state collected $2.3 billion less in income tax revenue during December and January than the state budget expected and blamed the shortfall on a flight of high-income taxpayers to states that have low or no state income taxes, especially Florida. If even a small number of high-income taxpayers leave, it has a great effect on this tax base, Cuomo said. You are relying on a very small number of people for the vast amount of your tax dollars. Cuomo and governors of other high-tax states whose politics tend to be, of course, deeply blue grumbled as the tax overhaul was being written that it would encourage high-income residents, unable to write off their state and local taxes, to flee. It was politically diabolical and also highly effective, Cuomo said this week. And if your goal is to help Republican states and hurt Democratic states, this is the way to do it. They are investors, they have accountants, they are making informed decisions, Cuomo said of the New Yorkers who headed south. This is going to be the tipping point and people will now be making a geographical change. After Cuomo complained, the Wall Street Journal reported that Florida is, indeed, seeing a wave of well-to-do transplants from New York, New Jersey and other high-taxing states, sparking a real estate boom. The Wall Street Journal noted that both Nevada and Arizona are seeing their populations grow rapidly. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown sponsored an increase in income taxes on those in higher brackets, generating a windfall of revenues and helping him balance the state budget. But later, he worried aloud that the federal limit on state and local tax deductions could entice the rich to flee his state. There have been anecdotal accounts about such flight, but no one has documented a mass migration. That said, it wouldnt as Cuomo pointed out take much of an exodus from California to have an impact, given that California is similar to New York, where a few high-income residents generate so much of that states revenue stream. The top 1 percent of New Yorks taxpayers supply 46 percent of the states income tax revenues. In California, the 1-percenters share of income taxes is slightly higher, and our top marginal income tax rate, 13.3 percent, is considerably higher than New Yorks 8.82 percent. California Controller Betty Yee tracks state tax receipts and expenditures monthly and reported recently that through December the first six months of the 2018-19 fiscal year general revenues were $2.5 billion under budget estimates, including a $1.9 billion income tax shortfall. Preliminary data indicate the monthly shortfall continued in January. Dan Walters is a columnist for CALmatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to www.calmatters.org/commentary | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Will-the-1-percenters-now-flee-California-s-13595899.php |
How Big Is Macy's Cash Stash Now? | Macy's (NYSE: M) wrapped up its 2018 fiscal year last week. The iconic department store giant won't report its full results until later this month, but it already reduced its full-year earnings per share guidance to a range of $3.95 to $4.00 in an early January investor update. (On the bright side, that's still higher than Macy's initial EPS forecast for fiscal 2018.) However, despite this earnings miss -- which was driven by a revenue slowdown in December -- Macy's likely ended the fiscal year with quite a bit of cash on its balance sheet. That could give the company the flexibility to restart a meaningful share buyback program this year. The fourth quarter is the time for cash flow Like most of its peers, Macy's generates the vast majority of its annual cash flow in the holiday quarter. In recent years, the company has typically generated operating cash flow of at least $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter. M Cash from Operations (Quarterly) Chart More Macy's Cash from Operations (Quarterly), data by YCharts. While the holiday season didn't quite live up to Macy's expectations, $1.5 billion still seems like a reasonable estimate of its operating cash flow for last quarter. Based on management's full-year guidance and Macy's capital expenditures for the first three quarters of fiscal 2018, the company probably spent between $300 million and $400 million on capex during the period. That would put its quarterly free cash flow between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion. Macy's used most of this cash flow for a massive debt tender offer last quarter. The company repurchased $750 million of its debt in December, strengthening its balance sheet. Macy's also used approximately $116 million to pay its regular quarterly dividend. While the debt repayments and dividends represented a significant use of cash, Macy's still should have had at least $200 million to $300 million left over to add to its cash reserves. Asset sales will add to the haul Macy's also completed several asset sales during the fourth quarter, representing an additional source of cash. Most notably, the company completed the sale of the I. Magnin building -- part of its San Francisco flagship store -- just before the end of the fiscal year, reaping proceeds of $250 million. The exterior of Macy's Union Square flagship store in San Francisco More Macy's recently sold the I. Magnin building (left) in San Francisco. Image source: Macy's. | https://news.yahoo.com/big-macy-apos-cash-stash-022000570.html |
Can Jordan Spieth rediscover putting touch in Pebble Beach Pro-Am? | PEBBLE BEACH Jordan Spieth won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am two years ago. That propelled him to a strong season in 2017, with two more victories (including the British Open) and 12 top-10 finishes in all. Now he returns to Pebble in a decidedly different state. Spieth, once the worlds No. 1 player, has dropped to 21st in the rankings. He hasnt won in his past 33 PGA Tour starts and hasnt even finished in the top 10 of any tournament since July. Thats not very Spieth-like. The obvious explanation: He isnt making putts the way he previously did. Spieth tied for 123rd on tour last season in strokes gained/putting, a startling contrast to his ranking the previous season (39th) or, most notably, in 2015-16 (second). Spieth spoke confidently during his news conference Wednesday, insisting hes starting to rediscover his touch on the greens. Ive seen a lot of improvement over the last five or six months, back to where I need to be and really close to where its been in the past, he said. Im in a good place right now. I feel like my games trending in the right direction. Sometimes, that means results are coming soon and sometimes it means theyre coming later, but theyre coming. Spieth and his amateur partner, Jake Owen, will tee off at 8:11 a.m. Thursday at Monterey Peninsula, alongside Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky. Rules chatter: Rickie Fowler nearly fumbled away the Phoenix Open when his chip shot scooted into the water Sunday on No. 11 and then he incurred another penalty when his next ball, at rest, also rolled down the slope and into the water. Fowler was nowhere near the ball at the time and did nothing to cause it to move. Thats why Tony Finau joined the chorus of players questioning the logic of the rule that punished Fowler. I watched that transpire and couldnt help but think, This is not what the integrity of the game is about, Finau said Wednesday. He didnt do anything to make the ball move. If the rules arent going to protect the integrity of the game, then theyre wrong. Golfs rules are a timely topic on the eve of this years Pro-Am. One example: Many players have criticized the new rule prohibiting caddies from lining up their player before they hit a shot. Denny McCarthy was assessed a two-stroke penalty during Fridays second round in Scottsdale, Ariz. and, after much criticism, PGA Tour officials reversed their decision the next day. I feel like some of the new rules dont make a lot of sense, Finau said. Ron Kroichick is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/golf/article/Can-Jordan-Spieth-rediscover-putting-touch-in-13596184.php |
Will the Botched Doctors Be Able to Give a Patient With "Paper Thin" Tissue New Breasts? | Rejection is awful in all aspects of life! On Wednesday's all-new Botched, new patient Jessie turned to Dr. Terry Dubrow and Dr. Paul Nassif after several failed boob jobs left her with one breast. Per Jessie, she pursued her first breast augmentation after being cheated on twice. "At this point in my life, I'd loved two men and both of them cheated on me with women with big boobs," Jessie shared in a confessional. "I decided enough's enough, maybe having bigger boobs would make my chances less likelysomebody cheatin' on me." Thus, Jessie decided to get massive implantsand faced rejection of a different kind. Apparently, after two weeks, one of Jessie's implants ruptured her incisions and came out of her skin. Unfortunately, this implant rejection occurred a total of three times, leaving Jessie with only one breast for six years. "There isn't a day that goes by when I don't regret getting my boobs done just to keep a man," an emotional Jessie added. "I just want to live free, not trapped by this breast. It consumes so much of my life!" | https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1012224/will-the-botched-doctors-be-able-to-give-a-patient-with-paper-thin-tissue-new-breasts?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories |
Is Patriots Julian Edelman an NFL Hall of Fame candidate? | As is his wont, our pal Adam Schefter blew our collective mind Sunday night. But it wasnt some breaking-news bomb that set off the Internet. No, it was a Hall-of-Fame take. As the MVP of this years Super Bowl, Patriots WR Julian Edelman is playing himself into a spot in Canton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Schefter tweeted after Edelman won Super Bowl LIII MVP for his 10-catch, 114-yard performance. Lets get the pros of this argument out of the way first. Edelman has proven himself to be a clutch receiver, especially in the playoffs, for a team thats gone to four Super Bowls in five years and won three of them. Along with his hardwarethree rings and Super Bowl MVPhes alone in second for playoff receiving yards and 833 yards away from Jerry Rices record. Hed need four postseasons at his current clip of 78 yards per game for a chance to catch Rice, but he would conceivably retire comfortably in second place in that category. The other pro is that history smiles favorably upon dynasties, and after Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, Edelman would be the next-best offensive option to be enshrined in Canton. But thats also a double-edged sword. Working against Edelman is the idea that as long as the Patriots have Bill Belichick and Brady, they can plug and play with whomever. Edelman has zero All Pros or Pro Bowls to his name. (Remember what Brady had to say about Pro Bowls?) In nine seasons he has 5,390 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. Hes No. 248 on the all-time list for receiving yards, with 29 active players ahead of him. Of those 28, 21 are receivers, and only five of the 21 have been in the league longer than Edelman. Hell enter next season at 33 years old with his ACL repair two years behind him. Even if Edelman tallied 1,000 receiving yards in each of his next five seasons, he likely still wouldnt be in the top-50 all-time by the end of the 2023 season. Its also not as simple as placing someone in the Hall of Fame. Think of Canton like All Pros or Pro Bowls. Before you say someone got snubbed, figure out who you would take out in place of the snub. There are 27 receivers in Canton. Only seven played a snap in this millennium, and really only three of themMarvin Harrison, Randy Moss and Terrell Owenscould be considered receivers of the 2000s. Thats to say that its an incredibly elite class that still hasnt let in Isaac Bruce even though he retired in 2009 behind only Rice in receiving yards. Bruce, Torry Holt, Steve Smith, Reggie Wayne, Hines Ward and Calvin Johnson are all retired receivers who deserve consideration before Edelman. Then theres Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Brown and Julio Jones who are sure to get into Canton five or six years after they retire. And thats before we even begin to start projecting the careers of Edelman contemporaries like Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins. Edelman is going to need a lot more Super Bowl LIII performances and Super Bowl LI catches before he has to decide how much beard his bust should have. Sign up for The MMQBs Morning Huddle. HOT READS NOW ON THE MMQB: Andy Benoit breaks down the tape from Super Bowl LIII. Conor Orr writes that the mystery of Todd Gurley remains unsolved. Several NFL commentators gave their exit interviews to Jacob Feldman. Some AFC storylines for you to follow this offseason. and more. WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: A look at the true value of Trey Flowers. Robert Klemko breaks down THE play of the Super Bowl. Assessing whether this is curtains for Gronk. and more. PRESS COVERAGE 1. The San Francisco 49ers are flexing their territorial rights on the Oakland Raiders. 2. ESPNs Mina Kimes on why the retirement decision wont be an easy one for Rob Gronkowski. 3. The leagues only black general manager introduced the leagues only minority head coach from this hiring cycle, writes Jason Reid of the Undefeated. 4. Longtime Falcons kicker Matt Bryant was informed of his release Tuesday night. At 43, he made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts last season and should be scooped up quickly in free agency. 5. The Patriots will name former Bucs head coach Greg Schiano as their new defensive coordinator, replacing the departed Brian Flores. THE KICKER The NBA trade deadline is upon us, so I wont be scheduling anything today between the hours of 1-3 p.m. EST. Let the team know at [email protected] | https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/02/07/julian-edelman-patriots-nfl-hall-of-fame |
Should schools be required to disclose the number of unvaccinated students to parents? | A bill from Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would allow parents to obtain immunization information about a specific school without filing an open records request, which is the current policy. If Im a parent and Im trying to look at immunization rates to decide where to send my child to school, I can only see exemption rates for the school district not the school, said Rekha Lakshmanan, director of advocacy and public policy for the Immunization Partnership, a Houston nonprofit. Senate Bill 329 would require schools to give their immunization rate to parents who ask for it. They would have to identify, by vaccine type, the number of students without up-to-date vaccinations, the number with nonmedical and medical exemptions and the number who have been admitted with pending immunization documents. The bill would also require the state health department to produce biennial reports on outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization rates. The Texas Education Agency would have to produce annual reports on the immunization status of students for each school district and school campus. | https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2019/02/06/schools-required-disclose-number-unvaccinated-students-parents |
Is anti-Semitism on the rise in the UK? | To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. Jenny went to meet Jewish children to talk to them about anti-Semitism (February 2015) A new report says that there was a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK last year. The Community Security Trust (CST) revealed there were 1,652 incidents in total, which is 16% more than the 1,420 recorded the year before. Anti-Semitism is actions or language promoting a dislike towards Jewish people. The result of it can be that a Jewish person or group of people are treated unkindly, unequally or unfairly because of their faith. If the anti-Semitic incident is particularly serious, it can be a form of hate crime, which is against the law. Commenting on the new figures, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: "All acts of anti-Semitism are utterly despicable and have no place in society." The report revealed that 2018 was the third year in a row that the number has gone up, suggesting that the problem of anti-Semitism in the UK is growing. Almost three in every four incidents happened in Greater London or Greater Manchester, which have the two largest Jewish communities in the UK. The CST - which works to monitor anti-Semitism and protect the Jewish community - said it was also the first year that more than 100 incidents were reported every single month of the year. John Mann - a member of Parliament who is head of a group working to tackle the issue - added that he believes the problem is actually bigger than the figures suggest because not all cases are reported to the police. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47149545 |
Why did Sainsburys fail to deliver the goods on all fronts? | Last November I was due to receive my online shopping order from Sainsburys. It didnt arrive, causing me great inconvenience as I had run out of nappies for my toddler. After a long period on hold, I was told the delivery would not be happening, but with no explanation. I was assured someone would call the next day to arrange a new slot. No one did. This happened twice more over the next five days with promised calls that never came. I eventually asked for my money back and was told this would be credited back to my card. It wasnt. I complained via the website, and wrote to head office, but two months later have had no reply. ZE, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Two months on Sainsburys has discovered that your order was processed incorrectly. Because the prospect of a headline energised it to address the complaint it was happy to ignore before. Its now refunded you and added 50 to soothe your feelings. If you need help email Anna Tims at [email protected] or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Submission subject to our terms and conditions | https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/feb/07/order-sainsburys-failed-reason-why-deliver |
How can I back up my bookmarks and access them online? | I have a lot of bookmarked sites for medieval manuscripts on my laptop, which it took a long time to collect. Jenifer As you know, Google is closing Google+ in April. I currently use the site as my online bookmarking tool. EC First things first, Jenifer. You should have a backup of your whole hard drive in case your laptop dies. Your operating system almost certainly includes usable backup software. Otherwise, there are more than 30 free third-party alternatives for Windows including BackUp Maker, AOMEI Backupper Standard and EaseUS Todo Backup Free. Fortunately, almost all browsers let you save bookmarks into a single file in the webs HTML format. Double-clicking this file will load it in a tab in your default browser, where you will be able to click the links to your hearts content. In fact, some people find that having their bookmarks as a local webpage is handier than folders of bookmarks. The saved document isnt updated when you add a new bookmark. Manually saving bookmarks In a well-designed browser such as Vivaldi, you can go to the File menu and simply select Export Bookmarks to create a backup file. Opera is almost as good you select Bookmarks then Export Bookmarks but most browsers now make it more complicated. In Firefox, for example, you have to use the obscure Library button, or press Ctrl-Shift-B (for Bookmarks), then click the drop-down menu item for Import and Backup. In Google Chrome, you can press Ctrl-Shift-O (for Obscure, I assume) to load the bookmark manager or, like me, type chrome://bookmarks in the address bar and hit enter. After that, click the three dots in the blue Bookmarks bar and select Export bookmarks. In Microsoft Edge, click the three dots for Settings, or press Alt-X, then the Import from another browser button. The export routine has been cunningly hidden behind the import routine. Once you have saved a file called Vivaldi_Bookmarks-20190207.html or something similar, you can stow it somewhere safe. The options include an external hard drive, a USB memory stick, an SD card and so on. You should also load the file drag and drop usually works into one or more of your free online storage spaces such as Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Dropbox or whatever you prefer. Once the file is online, you can access it from other PCs, smartphones, tablets and other devices. You can even store your bookmarks in a Microsoft Word document, which will preserve any layout and provide Ctrl-clickable links. I do this by loading the HTML file into a browser, saving it as an MHTML or MHT file, loading that into Word and then saving it as Word file (eg as a doc, docx, rtf file, etc). Internet Explorer can save files in the standard MHTML format. Chromium-based browsers such as Google Chrome, Vivaldi and Opera can also save MHTML files if you edit the settings (chrome://flags or vivaldi://flags or opera://flags etc). Alternatively, add a browser extension such as SingleFile, which works in both Firefox and Chrome. (MHTML usefully encapsulates whole web pages in a single file, without creating a subdirectory to hold loads of separate js, css and other files.) Syncing bookmarks and bookmark managers Facebook Twitter Pinterest Vivaldi is one of many browsers that offers a syncing feature designed to keep your bookmarks up to date across different computers. Photograph: Vivaldi Browsers generally use folders and subfolders to manage bookmarks. Many of them including Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi and Edge also have synchronisation systems built in to sync bookmarks across different devices, which can be used to restore them onto replacement computers should the worst happen. However, folders can become unwieldy when you have hundreds or thousands of bookmarks, which is where bookmark managers come in. Bookmark managers generally allow you to add tags, notes and comments. Tags are useful because you can give each link multiple tags, which is like putting them in multiple folders. Bookmark managers should also provide an extension or bookmarklet so that you can bookmark sites from your browser, without going to the bookmark managers website. Google has one of the simplest bookmark managers, which is deservedly obscure, but could suit some users. Apples iCloud Bookmarks is rather better, and works in several different browsers Safari, Firefox, Chrome, IE but not Edge on many different devices. I have not used many bookmark managers or checked for online apps, so youll have to try a few to find something you like. The options include start.me, Bookmark Ninja, Dropmark, Raindrop.io, Bookmax, Atavi and, for Chrome only, Booky. Sadly, two of the most popular sites in this category Delicious and Xmarks have closed down. Theres also the excellent Pinboard, which now costs $11 a year. Pinboard is run by its founder, Maciej Cegowski, who bought the remains of Delicious. Guardian Technology used Pinboard for a few years for linkbucket blog posts. Pocket which is incorporated into Firefox but available for Chrome would work as a bookmark manager, but is generally used for saving pages to read later. Instapaper does much the same thing. Most researchers who need Zotero will already know about it, though it could well suit someone who likes medieval manuscripts. Otherwise, people who habitually use Microsoft OneNote or Evernote will know they can work really well as bookmark managers, as well as storing web clippings, photos, documents and many other things. Social bookmarking Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pinterest is one of many sites that might be a good replacement for Google+ as a social bookmarking service. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance Archive/Alamy Bookmarks graduated from being personal directories to shared resources on sites such as Delicious. This gave rise to social bookmarking and, from 2005-07, a boom in folksonomy or collaborative tagging. In other words, lots of different people adding tags to public links. Delicious was the archetypal example of the genre. Lots of us loved it. Folksonomy was replaced by #hashtagging. This is exactly the same thing, except that hashtags can be applied to anything, not just bookmarks. The main hashtagging sites include Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. But they are social networking sites, not bookmark managers. I would not have suggested Google+ as a bookmarking site, but perhaps its failure as a social network helped make it viable for that purpose. You could replace it with Bookmax (where free accounts are limited to 1,000 links) or Raindrop.io, but Pinterest might be the best alternative. The basic idea of Pinterest is to create public displays, but you can have any number of secret boards. These are private by default, though you can share them with selected people. You could create a separate board for each set of bookmarks to cover news, movies, music etc. Goodbye Google+ Either way, you should download your data from Google+ before it closes on 2 April. The download page lets you select posts from your page and Google+ Communities in HTML format, plus contacts from your Circles. These are in vCard format by default, but you can select CSV, HTML or JSON instead. It doesnt matter because you only get their name, nickname (if any) and their doomed G+ address. You dont get their email addresses, phone numbers, job titles or anything else that might be useful. You can have your takeout data sent to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox or Box, or download it from an emailed link. In my case, it was only a 9MB download, 17MB when unzipped. Email it to [email protected] | https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/feb/07/back-up-bookmarks-google |
Who is Donald Tusk? | You might have seen this man in the news a lot recently. Donald Tusk has been one of the most important people in deciding how the UK will exit the EU. Getty Images Donald Tusk has been helping to negotiate a deal for Britain's exit from the European Union Donald Tusk is President of the European Council. He's one of Europe's most senior politicians. He's not voted for directly by the public but is appointed by the European Council which is made up of the leaders of the 28 EU member countries. Together, they help decide the political direction of the European Union, but it does not make or pass laws. Before this, Donald Tusk was Prime Minister of Poland for seven years. Mr Tusk has been working with Prime Minister Theresa May to decide a deal for Britain's exit from the European Union. However, this work has been very difficult. The deal that Prime Minister May agreed with EU leaders on was rejected by the UK Parliament. The UK is due to leave the EU on March 29 2019 - and it could be that they leave without a deal if nothing can be agreed. I've been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted #Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Donald Tusk , European Council president on social media Donald Tusk thinks leaving without a deal is bad for the United Kingdom and has said that he believes Brexit is a mistake for the UK, full stop. Theresa May has been having meetings with Mr Tusk about changing the terms of her deal - especially about how the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be managed. She hopes that if that can be changed, she will be able to get MPs to vote for her deal in time fore the March 29 deadline. But Mr Tusk, so far, says the EU won't change what it has agreed. This week he took to Twitter, saying that he is angry about UK politicians who campaigned for Brexit but had not decided what Britain's exit deal should be beforehand. He said he's wondering what a "special place in hell looks like" for those who supported Brexit without "a plan to carry it out safety". Many people, including many people who support Brexit, are angry at Donald Tusk's comment. Former UK Brexit Secretary David Davis said in response, "When people throw insults around it says more about them than the people they're insulting." To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. The European Union is a group of 28 European countries that was created to make trade and travel between the member countries easier. It has its own parliament, anthem, and a list of rules and benefits for all of its members. In 2016, the UK voted to leave this group of countries. To do that they had to work with the European Union to decide how they should leave, and what their relationship with the EU should look like after they have left. But lots of people have lots of different ideas about what Britain's exit from the EU should be, and what a future relationship should look like. One of Prime Minster Theresa May's most difficult jobs is working out a way through this complicated issue. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47154523 |
When is a TFSA a better option than an RRSP? | Open this photo in gallery Canadians have become so conditioned to think of the RRSP first, they dont really realize the potential power the TFSA could hold for them, says Darren Coleman of Coleman Wealth stockstudioX/istock Tis the season for registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) contributions, that is. February is a busy time for financial advisors as they work with clients to make last-minute contributions to their RRSPs before the March 1 deadline. Yet, the timing also couldnt be better to get clients focused on their overall retirement plan a discussion that doesnt always have to revolve around the RRSP. Story continues below advertisement In fact, the discussion also may involve the tax-free savings account (TFSA), says Darren Coleman, senior vice-president, private client group, and portfolio manager at Coleman Wealth, a division of Raymond James Ltd. in Toronto. Canadians have become so conditioned to think of the RRSP first, they dont really realize the potential power the TFSA could hold for them, adds Mr. Coleman. But it is very much a choice: Which one will work better; which one is the priority for them? Seeing a contribution strategy that largely favours the RRSP is a common occurrence when meeting clients for the first time, even though their situation may call for greater emphasis on the TFSA, Mr. Coleman says. The oversight is hardly surprising, says Ian Wood, assistant vice-president, business development, at Cardinal Capital Management Inc. in Winnipeg. After all the RRSP has been with us for decades, but the TFSA has been around since only 2009 and it began with a modest $5,000-limit contribution. But now with a [cumulative lifetime] contribution maximum of $63,500 [for residents of Canada who were 18 years of age or older as of 2009], and a lot of these accounts having grown to more than $100,000, [the TFSA] can have a much bigger impact on retirement plans, Mr. Wood says. In addition, the TFSA is particularly top of mind this year because the annual contribution maximum rose to $6,000 from $5,500. Then again, the marketing for RRSPs at this time of year is so pervasive that Mr. Wood says its an advisors job to start the discussion around the TFSA. Then, its a matter of helping clients come to an informed decision by running the numbers on their investment returns, and current and future tax situations, within the context of their unique needs. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement When were looking at the long-term projections, were going to consider pensions, the [Canada Pension Plan (CPP)] and the [Old Age Security Pension (OAS)], whether they own a corporation, and then figure out how they may draw on all that for income, he says. We look at every source they have in retirement so we can especially get a good idea of where theyre going to land in the tax brackets. Olivia Yu, an advisor with Edward Jones in Burnaby, B.C., says the decision between the RRSP and the TFSA ultimately boils down to the tax deferral clients see today from the RRSP contributions compared with the tax savings they might experience when they withdraw their assets from the account during retirement. Typically, clients with higher incomes should look to the RRSP first because they are unlikely to pay higher taxes in retirement than they do today. In contrast, clients with lower incomes should favour a TFSA because if they make a contribution toward their RRSP today, their tax savings are unlikely to be more than in retirement. In fact, the concern is that they will pay more taxes in retirement. But its not just taxes today versus taxes tomorrow, says Ms. Yu. Will their retirement income from their RRSP impact social benefits [negatively]? Taxable income from an RRSP or a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) can result in OAS benefits being clawed back; or, in the case of lower-income individuals, their guaranteed income supplement being reduced as well. With more immigrants coming over, they often dont have much income when they turn 65, so there should be thought given to maximize the guaranteed income supplement, Ms. Yu says. Story continues below advertisement Thus, the TFSA is the ideal tool to help keep taxable income low for seniors who may not have a workplace pension or much, if any, CPP. Yet, its not just low-income individuals who should consider a TFSA over the RRSP. Workers with good pension plans particularly those who have a defined-benefit pension plan also may want to consider contributing to a TFSA. Although the immediate tax relief from RRSP contributions is indeed desirable for these clients, it may not be the best strategy long-term because their pension income combined with CPP, OAS and large RRIF payments could push them into a higher tax bracket in retirement. Thats why running those projections is vital, Mr. Coleman says. For example, RRSP contributions monthly and lump sum may still work for a couple if one spouse has a good pension and higher income and the other spouse has no pension and lower income. In that case, a spousal RRSP might be valuable, he adds. Mr. Coleman might also advise individuals a year or two out from retirement to shift their RRSP contributions to a TFSA instead as the tax picture becomes clearer. They might even shift their RRSP and RRIF assets in-kind to a TFSA incrementally once theyre retired and at a lower bracket so that the money might be withdrawn later on for greater tax efficiency. Story continues below advertisement Ms. Yu notes that a similar strategy, but in reverse, can work well for younger clients. They put money aside [throughout the last year] in a TFSA and then when we meet this year, I review last years income and come up with strategy for how much from their the TFSA they should move into their RRSP. The biggest challenge for advisors is finding the option that fits their client best. In isolation, none of the strategies is a bad or good idea, Mr. Wood says. Every person has to find out whats best for them because theres no one-size-fits-all plan and thats where advisors can help. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/globe-advisor/advisor-funds/article-when-is-a-tfsa-a-better-option-than-an-rrsp/ |
Is Fear Driving Sales Of Dicamba-Proof Soybeans? | Enlarge this image toggle caption Dan Charles/NPR Dan Charles/NPR The biggest, most valuable new technology on Midwestern farms these days is a new family of soybean seeds. But some farmers say they're buying these seeds partly out of fear. A new lawsuit claims that the company Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, violated antitrust laws when it introduced the seeds. Bayer is asking the court to dismiss the complaint. The seeds go by the trade name Xtend. They're worth an estimated billion dollars a year to Bayer. Dennis Wentworth, a farmer in central Illinois, is totally onboard with the new product. "One hundred percent of the soybeans that we plant are Xtend soybeans," he says. These new soybeans have been genetically tweaked so they don't die when sprayed with an herbicide called dicamba. This weedkiller has been around for decades, but it normally kills soybeans. Now, Wentworth can spray it right over his fields of dicamba-tolerant plants. "It controls the weeds," he says. "Kills the weeds. That's the bottom line. It doesn't affect the crop." In just the past three years, Xtend soybeans have taken over 60 to 75 percent of the American soybean market. Farmers say they made the switch because dicamba can kill weeds that other herbicides can't. Some farmers--and Bayer--also say these new seeds produce a bigger harvest. But a lot of farmers say there's also a third reason. Enlarge this image toggle caption Derek R. Henkle/AFP/Getty Images Derek R. Henkle/AFP/Getty Images "I just had to go along with the dicamba program whether I liked it or not," says Randy Brazel, who grows soybeans in southeastern Missouri and western Tennessee. In early December, Brazel had already ordered his seeds for next year but not the new Xtend soybeans. He was planning to use the same weedkillers he'd used in the past. Then, in mid-December, he got a phone call. "I have a neighbor, a friend. He calls me and says, 'I am going to have to go dicamba,'" Brazel says. That phone call changed Brazel's plans completely, because dicamba has a well-known problem. After being sprayed, it sometimes blows across property lines into neighbors' farms. Lots of people have tried to stop this. Pesticide companies have reformulated the product. Government regulators have imposed restrictions on how and where farmers can spray it. All those rules are on the product's label. And still, dicamba fumes from fields of Xtend soybeans have curled up the leaves of sycamore trees and millions of acres of traditional soybeans across much of the Midwest and South. Brazel wasn't willing to take the risk of that happening to his crops. He cancelled his entire order and bought the new dicamba-tolerant soybeans instead. "Then I have to get on the phone and call every other neighbor and say,'Listen, I did not want to do this. But I am going to be forced to go dicamba.' Well, then that forces all those neighbors to call all their neighbors. And eventually what you have is a monopoly," he says. Among the losers in this situation are seed companies that are sell competing products, like Rob-See-Co, in Elkhorn, Neb. "We don't believe in Xtend," says Rob Robinson, CEO of Rob-See-Co. "It's too complicated. It's very difficult to meet the requirements on the label, and it causes too many issues with neighbors" because of conflicts over damaged crops. Robinson says he's lost customers who've decided to plant those Xtend seeds. Most of them, he says, are buying this product at least partly to protect their crops from harm because their neighbors are spraying dicamba. He says it's part of the sales pitch for these new seeds. "At least on a local basis, they're being sold with this idea. It's actively part of the sales process," he says. Seed companies will remind farmers that if they plant Xtend soybeans, they won't see any damage from dicamba, so they won't have those fights with neighbors. "Now, how far that goes up the management chain with Monsanto, now Bayer, I can't tell you, but I know that locally, that's the message," he says. Several law firms now have filed a lawsuit on behalf of farmers against Monsanto, arguing that the company violated antitrust law by selling dicamba-tolerant seeds. The lawsuit claims that the company understood that the risk of drifting dicamba could drive competitors out of the market. Bayer, which now owns Monsanto, has asked the court to dismiss that lawsuit; a decision is pending. Bayer declined NPR's request for an interview about this issue. In its public statements, the company insists that if dicamba is used properly, according to all the rules, it will cause no harm to any neighbors. The company also says that farmers are buying Xtend seeds solely because they offer better weed control and higher yields. It also points out that reports of damage from drifting dicamba were down sharply last year after the company and other organizations held hundreds of training sessions for farmers. The company's critics, though, say fewer crops are getting damaged in part because so many farmers have decided to buy Bayer's product: crops that dicamba can't harm. | https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/02/07/691979417/is-fear-driving-sales-of-dicamba-proof-soybeans?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr |
Can honeybees do maths? | Getty Images Honeybees are able to do basic maths like adding and subtracting, that's according to scientists in Australia. This new study, led by researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, shows that bees can be taught to recognise colours that represent addition and subtraction, and they can use this information to solve maths problems. Researchers say that solving maths problems involves being able to manage numbers, and to use you long-term and short-term memory. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. Professor Adrian Dyer said: "You need to be able to hold the rules around adding and subtracting in your long-term memory", while working things out with specific numbers in your short-term memory. He think that more non-human animals continued: "Our findings suggest that advanced numerical cognition may be found much more widely in nature among non-human animals than previously suspected." The study hopes to get a better understanding of the relationship between brain size and brain power. Getty Images Scientists trained honeybees to visit a Y-shaped maze. The bees got a reward of sugary water when they made a correct choice in the maze, and got a bitter-tasting solution if the choice was incorrect. When a bee flew into the entrance of the maze they would see 1 to 5 shapes. The shapes were either blue, which meant the bee had to add, or yellow, which meant the bee had to subtract. The bee would then fly to another room where it could choose to fly to the left or right side of the maze. One side had an incorrect solution to the problem and the other side had the correct solution. The correct answer was changed randomly throughout the experiment to avoid bees learning to visit just one side of the maze. According to researchers at the beginning of the experiment, bees made random choices until they could work out how to solve the problem. They eventually learned that blue meant +1, while yellow meant -1. The bees could then apply the rules to new numbers. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47154810 |
Will Lamar Alexander Turn on Trump? | Only one Republican senator might shift from protector to prosecutor, as Baker did, and bridge the trust gap: Bakers protg, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. As Alexanders former student and speechwriter, I can attest to the senators rectitude. Democrats set on impeachment should realize that Alexander is their pressure point. He was made for this moment, in part because he made his career in Bakers image. Alexander served as Bakers first legislative aide, in 1966, and worked again for him in the late 70s. Like Baker, Alexander has unassailable party bona fides. He is regularly endorsed by the National Rifle Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the National Right to Life Committee. And he has bipartisan credentials, too. He and the Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington worked on medical research, education, and opioid addiction as the Senate leaders of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The two made a valiant attempt at fixing the Affordable Care Act. Murray, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other Democrats have spent time at Alexanders cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Read: Why Democrats have suddenly started talking about impeachment This way of doing business descends directly from Baker, who liked to quote his father as saying, You should always listen to the other fella. He might just be right. Alexander shares Bakers talent for eloquent listening, a phrase Alexander used when he eulogized his mentor in 2014. For all their similarities, Alexander has eclipsed Baker. Alexander was a popular two-term governor, university president, U.S. secretary of education, and presidential candidate. But his ability to talk about the country with the country is what truly separates him from other political leaders. A jaded Harvard grad student, I was surprised to find myself inspired when a conservative from East Tennessee connected the intricacies of election reform to the national narrative and the strengths of the American character. With candid optimism, he bridged our differences. Alexander has the stature to help Congress and the country navigate through possible impeachment and removal proceedings. And, as luck would have it, hes retiring at the end of his term, so he doesnt have to worry about repercussions from the still Trump-infatuated Republican base. Of course, the fact that Alexander is right for the job doesnt mean he wants it. In recent interviews, he has dismissed the idea that retirement offers a chance to play a mediating role in Washington. They took Trump and they didnt take me, he told Vox. Democrats looking for an ally should ignore that quip, which undersells his five decades of service. Instead, they should look to Lamar Alexanders Little Plaid Book, the paperback he published in 1998 that describes his 311 rules for living. In it, he tells a story about a Dwight D. Eisenhower Cabinet meeting. It was rife with indecision. Each secretary was protecting his particular interest. Ike nearly lost his cool. The president finally boiled the chaos down to one essential question, which became Alexanders Rule 151. When stumped for an answer, ask yourself, What is the right thing to do? Then do it. | https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/lamar-alexander-could-help-democrats-impeach-trump/582079/?utm_source=feed |
Will the Departure of Arconics CEO Derail Its Turnaround Plan? | Arconic (NYSE: ARNC) CEO Chip Blankenship is out after barely a year on the job, further unsettling a company that has had a chaotic run since being spun off by Alcoa (NYSE: AA) in 2016. Blankenship's restructuring plan was central to the Arconic bull case, and his sudden departure hints at a broader boardroom battle behind the scenes. Investors should tread carefully as the latest chapter in the Arconic saga plays out. The fourth CEO since 2016 Arconic said before markets opened on Wednesday that Blankenship, who took over as CEO in January 2018, had been replaced by chairman John Plant, the former CEO of TRW Automotive. Plant will serve as CEO for one year, with fellow director Elmer Doty also joining the company as chief operating officer. The departure comes barely two weeks after Arconic walked away from talks to sell itself to Apollo Global Management in favor of remaining independent. I believe that decision was a long-term win for investors who now have the opportunity to reap the benefits of a turnaround instead of Apollo. But activist fund Elliott Management, holder of 10.75% of the company as of Sept. 30, was said to strongly favor the transaction. Aluminum Alloy Coils More Image source: Arconic. Elliott feuded with Blankenship's predecessor, Klaus Kleinfeld, who stepped down in April 2017 after the board said he showed poor judgement in his interactions with Elliott. Between April and January, the company was run by interim CEO David Hess, meaning Plant is the fourth CEO in Arconic's brief history. Arconic's statement announcing the CEO change offered few details, but news reports paint an unsettling picture. Blankenship was said to be in favor of the buyout, which would give him more freedom and flexibility to orchestrate his plan without the constant spotlight -- and quarterly reporting requirements -- of a public company. Arconic's board, however, was against the deal, and tensions between Elliott Management and Plant, who was originally appointed to the board at Elliott's request, are said to be running high. The New York Post reported Tuesday that investment bankers pushing the deal gave out Plant's personal information, including his mobile number, to key shareholders after the deal was rejected in hopes the investors would pressure the board chairman to reconsider his decision. Internal struggle, external challenges If the Post is correct, Arconic is in a difficult position. When Blankenship first arrived, he described a company in disarray, implying that Kleinfeld, while still with Alcoa, had done a poor job integrating the numerous acquisitions that were combined to create Arconic. "While the company has many strengths, there are clearly areas that need improvement," Blankenship told investors in February 2018 shortly after taking the job. "In the end, it comes down to execution, and I am working with our team to improve here." He made solid progress in the quarters since, picking low-hanging fruit like moving the company's headquarters out of high-cost New York City and seeking buyers for its building and construction-systems business and other slower-growing businesses, in order to focus on aerospace and other better-performing sectors. The company reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, raised full-year earnings guidance, and reaffirmed that guidance when announcing Blankenship's departure. | https://news.yahoo.com/departure-arconic-ceo-derail-turnaround-110300921.html |
Who are the top 10 high school football recruits in Michigan for 2020? | CLOSE Rashawn Williams, the No. 3 prospect in Michigan for 2020, talks his recruitment, and Michigan and Michigan State. Joey Delgado, For the Detroit Free press National Signing Day has come and gone (both of them) and coaches have already turned their attention toward the Class of 2020. When it comes to the best prospects in Michigan, many have not verbally chosen their college destinations yet. The highest ranked committed recruit in the state is Belleville's Andre Seldon, who has verbally committed to Michigan. Here are the top 10 recruits in the state in the class of 2020, ranked per the 247Sports composite: Buy Photo Warren De La Salle's Brett Stanley is tackled by Oak Park's Justin Rogers on Friday, November 2, 2018 at Oak Park High School in Oak Park, Mich. (Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press) Justin Rogers, Oak Park Vitals: 6-3, 311 247 composite ranking: 5-stars; No. 1 in state; No. 14 nationally; No. 1 OG Offers: 42 total, including Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and LSU. Enzo Jennings, Oak Park Vitals: 6-1, 185 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 2 in state; No. 95 nationally; No. 7 ATH Offers: 18 total, including Michigan, Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State and Tennessee. More: 4-star Enzo Jennings on Michigan-Michigan State: You could feel the hatred Rashawn Williams, Detroit King Vitals: 6-1, 185 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 3 in state; No. 156 nationally; No. 29 WR Offers: 26 total, including Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri and Ohio State. Buy Photo West Bloomfield safety Makari Paige returns an interception against Clarkston. The junior has a 4-star rating and has received over a dozen scholarship offers. (Photo: Wright Wilson/For the Detroit Free Press) Makari Paige, West Bloomfield Vitals: 6-3, 182 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 4 in state; No. 200 nationally; No. 11 S Offers: 16 total, including Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State. Andre Seldon, Belleville Vitals: 5-9, 154 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 5 in state; No. 285 nationally; No. 24 CB Offers: Received 8; Committed to Michigan in June, 2018. More: Michigan football commit Andre Seldon helping recruit the class of 2020 Braiden McGregor, Port Huron Northern Vitals: 6-5, 248 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 6 in state; No. 323 nationally; No. 18 SDE Offers: 23 total, including Michigan, Michigan State Notre Dame, Alabama and Clemson. More: Port Huron Northern's Braiden McGregor 'shocked' by Alabama offer Buy Photo Detroit King's Peny Boone is tackled by Muskegon's Ray Williams, during the Division football state title at Ford Field on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press) Peny Boone, Detroit King Vitals: 6-2, 225 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 7 in state; No. 339 nationally; No. 29 RB Offers: 20 total, including Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee. Bryce Mostella, East Kentwood Vitals: 6-6, 235 247 composite ranking: 4-stars; No. 8 in state; No. 343 nationally; No. 14 WDE Offers: 19 total, including Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Penn State. Earnest Sanders, Flint Beecher Vitals: 6-2, 190 247 composite ranking: 3-stars; No. 9 in state; No. 388 nationally; No. 73 WR Offers: 8 total including Michigan State, Kentucky, Central Michigan and Bowling Green. Bryce Austin, Southfield Vitals: 6-2, 260 247 composite ranking: 3-stars; No. 10 in state; No. 389 nationallty; No. 31 DT Offers: 14 total, including Michigan State, Missouri, Purdue and Minnesota. | https://www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/02/07/michigan-high-school-football-top-10-recruits-2020/2796951002/ |
Will Americans Pay Attention to What Matters in 2020? | As the presidential rollouts begin, the contenders will tell us what to expect of themas they calculate what to expect of us. Donald Trump has shaped that test for all who hope to succeed him, and were about to find out what that means. Here comes as diverse and intriguing a crop of contenders as weve seen in years. But when a perfectly worthy candidate like former mayor Julin Castro talks about how I have a strong vision for the countrys future or Senator Kirsten Gillibrand tells Stephen Colbert that I would bring people together to start getting things done or Senator Elizabeth Warren stands in front of her microwave only to invoke those who work hard and play by the rules, my attention wanders. Weve now lived with prolonged exposure to constant shock, to the adrenaline jolt of hearing something we never thought wed hear from a public figure, whether about trade or tariffs or women or walls. It makes me wonder whether Trump has so accustomed us to surprise that any script, however sincere, sounds phony and forced. Before they can start talking about vital needs or fresh ideas, candidates have to persuade us to listen. That task has perhaps never been harder, and not because we dont care. We may just no longer know how. Elections have consequences; so do campaigns, and Trumps never actually stopped. Unlike his predecessors, he saw no need to shift from running to serving, never moved past the performance art of his massive rallies where he could repeat the same outlandish promises over and over, thrilling the crowds, appalling the fact checkers, confounding his adversaries. The universe of political discourse swelled, crashing through boundaries of truth, tradition and at times decency. The audience grew too, as people never much interested in politics were drawn to the dazzle. Meanwhile, traditional gatekeepers have found themselves at a loss for how to react, other than to overreact, overread messages, overplay hands. Shared stupefaction binds us like an audience at a horror movie, our lizard brains alight. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now Trump is not responsible for our attention economy. He just got in early and looked to corner the market. All this had been a long time coming, the technologies hooking us on cheap and constant stimulus, our reflective reflexes weakening to the point that the last remaining political sin is now uncertainty. Our political conversations have become not just dismal and mean but also way too focused on the combat instead of the contextlike which problems most need solving, who has the best solutions and whether there is enough common sense left anywhere to find common ground. The Democrats in the midterms showed great discipline, and saw great success, by focusing on health care and economic fairness and all but ignoring the President; but that is harder when someone takes him on one-on-one. Senator Kamala Harris also drew huge-at-this-stage crowds and donations while gesturing in this direction: the Presidents only working pronoun is the first person singular; she made hers plural, with her admonition that We Are Better Than This. Before 2020 arrives, well quickly get a sense of who can succeed on the field Trump has createdor who can even build a new one. While agile social-media technique may not be the same as governing, it is now a necessary part of leadership. Hence the glow emanating from the coverage of a rookie member of Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose dominant use of social media has taught a world of wonks how to inject a debate over marginal tax rates into the political bloodstream. Even her name has proved too cumbersome for this restless age, now compressed to AOCa JFK for the Twitterati. Time is not money; attention is. It will be telling to see how people use every new tool and tactic that technology, and even Trump, has delivered unto usnot to divert and divide, but to shape a more honest, more subtle, more substantial campaign than the last one. We know how easily we can be distracted; Im counting on the candidates who show us how we can be healed. Gibbs, a former editor-in-chief of TIME, is the visiting Edward R. Murrow Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Contact us at [email protected]. This appears in the February 18, 2019 issue of TIME. | http://time.com/5523785/2020-election-what-matters/ |
What Does it Take to Force a Politician to Resign These Days? | Ralph Northams career looked cooked. On Feb. 1, Virginians learned that their governors 1984 medical-school yearbook page included a picture of a person in blackface alongside another in a Ku Klux Klanstyle robe and hood. Within hours, everyone from local legislators to the chairman of the Democratic National Committee had called on Northam to resign. But as political junkies counted the minutes until the Democrats exit, Northam did something few anticipated: he apologized for the photo, denied he was in it and refused to quit. Even as the party struggled to understand the impact of that surprise, a separate allegation emerged about Northams would-be successor, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. California political science professor Vanessa Tyson claimed that Fairfax had sexually assaulted her in 2004. Fairfax immediately denied the charges, describing them as a smear perpetrated by political rivals. And on Feb. 6, the third in line to the job, Attorney General Mark Herring, disclosed that he too had donned blackface in 1980. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now If all three go without appointing another successor, a Republican would become governor. The cascade highlighted how changing norms are posing new challenges for politicians and their parties. Heightened awareness of racial inequality is casting once overlooked bigoted behavior in a new light. And the #MeToo movement is giving women courage to say they were victims of assault at the hands of men whose earlier denials would have gone unchallenged. The events also showed how todays mercurial media will shape the 2020 cycles inevitable political flare-ups. On the one hand, the high-speed news cycle accelerates fringe posts into the mainstreamboth the Northam photo and the Fairfax allegation were first reported by a right-wing website. On the other, the same news pace can shorten the danger zone for an accused politician. Hunkered down in Richmond, Northam might be looking at the GOP for lessons on how to survive. Some Republicans called for then candidate Donald Trump to leave the 2016 ticket after he was heard bragging of groping women on a decade-old tape that emerged in October 2016. He declined and went on to win the presidency a month later. When sexual-assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh surfaced last year, he looked doomed. He forcefully denied them. GOP Senators stood by him. He now stands to shape the country for a generation. A majority of Senate Democrats, by contrast, exiled Minnesota Senator Al Franken in late 2017 in the wake of sexual-misconduct allegations. Unlike Trump, Franken acquiescedwhich many Democrats now regret. No one knows. But the slate of potential Democratic challengers to Trump is already filled with a diverse group of candidates intent on elevating gender and racial justice to the fore. As for Northam, he seems to think a dose of defiance and voters fleeting attention span may spare him. After all, Trump is in the White House. Write to Philip Elliott at [email protected]. This appears in the February 18, 2019 issue of TIME. | http://time.com/5523802/ralph-northam-justin-fairfax-mark-herring-virginia-resign/ |
What major announcement will Nashville MLS make on Feb. 20? | CLOSE New CEO Ian Ayre, a Liverpool native, quoted one of the more famous members of his home town, Beatles member John Lennon in his introduction speech. Autumn Allison, USA TODAY NETWORK- Tennessee Nashville MLS will make a major announcement Feb. 20 concerning the future of the franchise. The event will be free and open to the public at 5 p.m. at Marathon Music Works. According to a statement announcing the event, attendees will witness "Nashville sports history and the next step in the 'March to MLS.'" Former ESPN personality Sara Walsh, now with Fox Sports, will serve as the host along with other special guests. To reserve a spot, RSVP here. Two days after the announcement, Nashville SC will play future MLS foe New York City FC at 7 p.m. at First Tennessee Park in a preseason friendly. Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter. More: Nashville MLS team to open play in 2020 and play home games at Nissan Stadium More: Tennessee congressman's state fair group sues Nashville seeking to stop MLS stadium | https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2019/02/07/nashville-mls-announcement-feb-20/2790456002/ |
Who won the Sixers-Clippers trade? | The Los Angeles Clippers dealt Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott to the Philadelphia 76ers. In exchange, they got Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, the Sixers' 2020 first-rounder, the Miami Heat's 2021 unprotected first pick and two second-round picks in 2021 and 2023. Many think Philadelphia won the trade making a team with four All-Star level players. Others think the Clippers got essential assets for a quick rebuild. PERSPECTIVES Forget about a Big Three. The Philadelphia 76ers have a Big Four and are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Harris would've easily been an All-Star if he was in the Eastern Conference and was only snubbed because the West was so stacked. Now, he gets to ply his efficient trade on the Sixers who already have Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons -- three All-Star-level players who currently have Philadelphia in fifth position for the NBA Playoffs. Getting Harris is both a short-term and long-term win for the Sixers. They won the trade. The Sixers are budgeting to re-sign and keep a new Big 4, including free agents Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler this summer, league sources tell ESPN. Philadelphia has long-term plans for Harris, Butler, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together. -- Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2019 The Clippers gave up an All-Star-caliber player, but what they got in return is the ability to easily upgrade that slot in the 2019 free agency period and draft picks to build a talented young team. Los Angeles is estimated to have over $46 million in cap space this summer to sign one max contract and build around that one player. They also get draft picks that can either be traded or used to get a great rookie. Harris is gone, but the Clippers won the trade. The Jerry West/Clippers era is amazing. -- Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 6, 2019 NBA trade rumors: Updated NBA title odds after Tobias Harris deal The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | https://www.nola.com/interact/2019/02/who_won_the_sixers-clippers_tr.html |
Is Starbucks an Expensive Stock? | After stagnating over the course of two and half years, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) stock is showing signs of perking up. In fact, since its summer swoon, better-than-expected earnings have catapulted shares a handsome 40% off their July 2018 lows. With the stock now trading at a P/E ratio of 30 times trailing earnings and over 25 times forward earnings estimates. It's hard to make the argument that Starbucks is cheap. The answer depends on what kind of stock you (or the market) think Starbucks is. The argument that Starbucks is expensive There are plenty who will scoff at Starbucks' valuation. Twenty-five times earnings estimates may be a reasonable figure to pay for a high-growth company, but Starbucks' recent guidance calls for only 5%-7% revenue growth in FY 2019. That's hardly "high-growth." A man in a suit looks up, the bow of his glasses touches his lips. Image source: Getty Images. In addition, there are other dominant brands we use every day - mostly in the technology space that are growing much faster, yet sport lower valuations. For instance, Alphabet and Facebook are each growing much faster than Starbucks, yet both have lower forward P/E ratios. Check out some stats for the three companies in the following charts. SBUX PE Ratio (Forward) Chart More SBUX PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts As you can see, both Alphabet and Facebook are growing revenue 20%-30% yet both have forward P/E ratios of about 22.5, below Starbucks' 25. Not only that, but Alphabet and Facebook also have huge amounts of excess cash on their balance sheets. When stripping this out, they are even cheaper by comparison. Check out the net debt of Starbucks, Alphabet, and Facebook in the following chart. | https://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-expensive-stock-130000468.html |
Can FMC (FMC) Keep the Earnings Surprise Streak Alive? | FMC Corporation FMC will release its fourth-quarter 2018 results after the bell on Feb 11. The chemical maker saw its profits jump roughly 32% year over year to $72.8 million or 54 cents per share in third-quarter 2018. Adjusted earnings of 98 cents per share for the quarter topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents, reflecting a positive earnings surprise of 6.5%. Revenues surged roughly 60% year over year to $1,035.6 million, also exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,009.6 million. The companys Agricultural Solutions business delivered strong results in the quarter on the back of solid demand and execution of commercial strategy, especially in Brazil. The company beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average positive surprise of 7.6%. Shares of FMC are up around 1.7% over a year, outperforming the industrys decline of roughly 19%. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider Last month, FMC raised its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter factoring in strong performance of its Agricultural Solutions unit and lower than expected taxes. The company now expects adjusted earnings for the quarter to be in a band of $1.62-$1.67 per share compared with its earlier guidance of $1.33-$1.43 per share. The Agricultural Solutions segment witnessed strong demand across all regions in the fourth quarter, leading to an 18% increase in revenues for the division on an adjusted basis. Higher EBITDA for the segment also drives roughly 8 cents incremental adjusted earnings per share vis--vis midpoint of earlier guidance. Moreover, a significant reduction in tax rate is forecast to contribute an additional 15-20 cents incremental adjusted earnings per share vis--vis the midpoint of earlier guidance. The company also expects revenues to rise 4-6% in 2019 versus adjusted 2018 revenues. It also expects total EBITDA growth of 5-9% versus adjusted 2018 EBITDA, despite significant headwinds from raw material costs and currency. Moreover, FMC expects adjusted earnings per share for 2019 to be in the range of $5.55-$5.75, barring any impact from share repurchases. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues for FMC for the fourth quarter stands at $1,173 million, reflecting an estimated year over year growth of 19.7%. Net sales for Agricultural Solutions for the fourth quarter is expected rise around 20.6% year over year as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1,044 million. Results in this business, in the third quarter, were driven by DuPonts Crop Protection asset buyout as well as strong demand. The same is expected to continue in the December quarter. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales for the Lithium business stands at $127 million, reflecting an estimated 12.4% rise on a year-over-year basis. We expect FMC to provide an update on its progress on the separation of the Lithium business which has been now rebranded as Livent Corporation. Livent started trading on the NYSE in October 2018 after its initial public offering (IPO). FMC plans to spin off its roughly 85% stake in Livent to FMC shareholders on Mar 1, 2019, in the form of a pro-rata distribution of Livent shares. | https://news.yahoo.com/fmc-fmc-keep-earnings-surprise-122412887.html |
How Did The Universe Expand To 46 Billion Light-Years In Just 13.8 Billion Years? | The answer seems obvious: 13.8 billion light-years, since a light-year is the distance light can travel in a year, and nothing can go faster than that. Unfortunately, like a great many answers that seem obvious when you apply your logical common sense to them, that's not how things actually work. In reality, if you were to look at the most distant thing of all you can possibly see, and ask "how far away is it," the answer is much farther than that: 46 billion light-years. That might sound impossible, but it's not. You just have to expand your way of thinking. Traditionally, the way you most often think of a distance is by taking two points and drawing a line between them. It's something we learn to do as kids, and keep with us into adulthood. For most applications, there's no problem in doing this, whether we use a ruler, an odometer, or a light clock: by measuring the amount of time it takes a light signal to take either a one-way or round-trip journey. But this assumption isn't strictly valid when it comes to the Universe. Distance isn't necessarily defined by a straight line, nor do those distances remain the same over time. The reason for this is something we don't think about in our day-to-day experience: space isn't flat, and it's also inextricably linked to time, in the form of spacetime. The "space isn't flat" part is perhaps easier to understand. When you think about the Earth revolving around the Sun, you probably think about it the same way that Newton did: in terms of an invisible, attractive force acting from one object (the Sun) on another (the Earth). This is the way we thought about gravity for centuries, and it literally took a genius at the level of Einstein to go beyond it. It isn't that mass at a certain distance causes a force, but that mass is a type of energy, and energy causes the fabric of the Universe to curve. The fabric of the Universe isn't just space, but a quantity known as spacetime, where anyone and anything in it experiences space and time together, dependent on how they're moving relative to everything else in the Universe. One of the things we learn about a Universe governed by Einstein's laws General Relativity is that it cannot be both static and stable if it has matter in it. A Universe that's static, where the overall fabric of spacetime doesn't change over time, would be in trouble if you put matter down into it. Over time, that matter would gravitationally attract, and would draw itself together towards a point. In a static Universe filled with matter, there's only one possible fate: contracting down to a black hole. Don't worry; that's not our fate. Because our Universe is doing the one thing it can do to prevent it: it's expanding. The best way to imagine the Universe is as a loaf of dough in some zero-gravity oven, where the dough is filled with raisins. Each individual raisin represents a gravitationally bound structure in the Universe: a star cluster, a galaxy, a group of galaxies, or something even larger. Each raisin also isn't bound to any other raisin; they are far enough apart that gravity will not bring them together, even given an infinite amount of time. Because the dough is rising. And that dough represents the fabric of spacetime. As time goes by, the Universe expands, and distant raisins (galaxies) appear to move away from one another. This is the key point that's so hard for most people to understand. The expansion of the Universe isn't about a speed. The Universe doesn't expand at the speed of light, the speed of sound, or any other speed. If you were to look at a raisin that's close by you, it would appear to move away from you relatively slowly, and a light signal sent from it to you would only take a short amount of time to get there. But if you were to look at a raisin that was much farther away, it would appear to recede much more quickly. A light signal sent from it to you would take a very long time to get there. The reason is because the expansion of the Universe depends on how far away an object is from you. It's not a speed; it's a speed-per-unit-distance. This is why, when we talk about the measured expansion rate of the Universe what we sometimes call the Hubble constant it comes along with such weird, foreign values: something like ~70 km/s/Mpc. This tells us that for every megaparsec (Mpc, or about 3.26 million light-years) a galaxy is distant from any other galaxy, it appears to recede at 70 km/s. So if an object is presently 100 Mpc away from us, it appears to move away at 7,000 km/s. If an object is 4,300 Mpc away from us, it appears to move away at around 300,000 km/s, or the speed of light. And if an object is 14,100 Mpc away from us, it appears to move away at around 987,000 km/s, which is a crazy large number. But I keep saying something you may be glossing over: it appears that these objects move away from us at these speeds. In reality, the objects themselves aren't moving, just like the raisins aren't moving relative to the dough that they're in. Instead, what's happening is that the fabric of spacetime itself is expanding, and the light coming from these objects is getting stretched to longer, redder wavelengths as the Universe expands. This is why we talk about the redshift of distant objects: because their light gets stretched as the fabric of the Universe expands. It's the matter and energy density of the Universe that determines how quickly the Universe expands, and we have to add up all the different types of energy, including neutrinos, radiation, dark matter and dark energy, to get the right answer. Today, there's light arriving at our eyes from all sorts of different objects at all sorts of different distances. The objects that are 13.8 billion light-years away from us now were much closer in the distant past. When they first emitted the light that's reaching us today, this occurred at a time that was already billions of years ago. That galaxy might be 13.8 billion light-years away right now, but the light didn't need to travel for 13.8 billion years to reach us; it traveled a shorter distance and for a shorter amount of time. In fact, we can see objects that are farther away than 13.8 billion light-years today, all because of the fact that the fabric of the Universe itself is expanding. If you do the math, you get an incredible answer: 46 billion light-years. (Or 46.1 billion light-years if you want to be even more precise.) If our Universe had more dark energy and less matter, the answer would be slightly larger; if the Universe had more matter and less dark energy, the answer would be slightly smaller. But that's how we get to the edge of the observable Universe. This doesn't mean we can reach everything in the part of the Universe we can see! The most distant parts of the Universe are only visible during the earliest stages. In fact, everything that's more distant than about 4,300 Mpc (or 14 billion light-years) today is at the limit of how far we can reach at the speed of light. The object more distant than that can still be seen by us, but only as they were in the past; similarly, they can only see us as we were in our past. Someone more distant than 14 billion light-years from us, even with an infinitely powerful telescope, could never observe human civilization as it is today on Earth. The fact that we can see the Universe we do tells us that it must be expanding, a fantastic match of theory and observation. It also tells us that we can extrapolate back in time to as early a stage as we want, and find all sorts of interesting milestones that happen as far as the size of the Universe is concerned compared with its age. When the Universe was a million years old, its edge was already some 100 million light-years away. When it was just a year old, we could see for nearly 100,000 light-years. When it was just a millisecond old, we could already see for a light-year in all directions. And today, 13.8 billion years after the Big Bang, the farthest thing we could possibly see, corresponding to the light emitted at the first moment of the Big Bang, is 46.1 billion light-years distant. Given the contents of our Universe, it couldn't have turned out any other way. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/02/26/how-did-the-universe-expand-to-46-billion-light-years-in-just-13-8-billion-years/ |
What Causes Toxicity In The Workplace? | In previous articles, weve looked at how toxicity can thrive in the workplace and also how to spot it. Its helpful to be able to identify toxicity but what weve not looked at yet is what may cause it in the first place. Below are some potential causes of toxicity, these cases ultimately lead to toxic ways of being and doing Deficiencies Earlier In Life - Toxic leaders have often experienced deficiencies during the formative years of their life. These deficiencies can include a lack of positive role models, deficiencies in praise, care and compassion from caregivers and also deficiencies in balance. Deficiencies in balance often revolve around success and failure. More often than not its caregivers that set the tone for this and hold success and winning in very high regard. They may have an expectation that nothing less than winning is acceptable. Anything deemed as failure may be highly criticized and judged. When there is a deficiency of balance in this way and an all or nothing influence it shapes how an individual navigates the world and views themselves. Unhelpful Ideology and Values - An individual raised with the deficiencies mentioned above may have also developed unhelpful ideologies and values around success and failure. When raised in this way they can become molded to do and be the best, prioritizing personal success over the experiences of others. That becomes core to their values system and ideology they live by. Theyll stick close to these values and ideas and seek praise and positive reinforcement. Theyll work hard for this praise and approval but if they dont get it from the world they may turn inward and lavish it upon themselves. They may become even more distanced from the experiences and needs of others as they try to meet their own through these values and ideals. These kinds of values can be highly damaging though and negatively influence a persons life as well as their behaviors, relationships and interactions. Lack Of Self Awareness - We all have thoughts, beliefs and patterns that shape us and our interactions. Some are really helpful, some are extremely unhelpful and negatively influence our behaviors and treatment of others. When we have self-awareness we can acknowledge and understand the unhelpful parts of us that may need to adapt or heal. When we are aware of them we can also have more choice about how we behave in response to them and ultimately how we live, work and treat others. When an individual lacks self-awareness, however, they will work and live in a more robotic and thoughtless way. Never questioning the how or why of who they are. Never stopping to reflect on themselves and their experiences. This leads to them ultimately working and living in a way that means they dont understand how they have been impacted by those around them and how they now go on to impact others. Ego - Toxic behaviors are often caused by a big ego that needs a lot of protection. When an individual is guided by their ego they will seek success and praise in order to reinforce the positive things they want to believe about themselves. Theyll want to avoid anything that bruises their ego at all cost and ignore any shortcomings they might have. Whats under a big ego is usually quite a fragile person who may have very genuine and deep-seated feelings of inadequacy. Toxicity arises when an individual doesnt dare to face those fears and feelings. Instead, theyll guard their ego at all costs, go all out to win, play up everything they feel is great about themselves and make sure their ego stays aggressively protected at all times. There are many other life experiences and causes that lead to toxic behaviors, these are just a few of the most common. There is always a story behind who a person is and why they behave the way they do. However, that doesnt justify negatively impacting those around them. In the final article in this set on toxicity, well look at what perpetuates toxicity in the workplace and how we can distance and protect ourselves from it. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/carleysime/2019/02/26/what-causes-toxicity-in-the-workplace/ |
Should children be allowed time off school to strike? | Thousands of pupils walked out of their classrooms on the Friday before half-term to protest against the lack of action on climate change. Though many headteachers privately support the strike, the issue has divided the school community. In a letter to the Guardian, more than 200 academics backed the students stand, but the two headteacher unions said it was disruptive for schools and raised safeguarding issues. Diane Reay professor of education, Cambridge University Yes, definitely. Id like to think that had I still been teaching in a school, I would have taken a stand and gone on strike in support. The older generation has really let young people down with short-termism and by prioritising self-interest, and I think young people in the UK lack opportunities for democratic engagement. Most of those involved in the strike are too young to have a vote. Protesting is one of the very few ways in which they can take political action and be part of a participatory democracy. I encouraged my niece to go and she came back full of enthusiasm, and also much better informed about the state of the environment. Some people have argued that children are missing out on learning. Well, I think its a positive learning experience to come together collectively in a common cause. Richard Sheriff executive headteacher, Harrogate grammar school, and president of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) No. I dont agree with pupils taking strike action as a protest against climate change. The cause is vital to humanity and I feel personal shame that my generation has allowed this crisis to happen on our watch. But a pupil strike is not the right approach. Each days learning is important for their life chances and their potential to go out and change the world. Schools are also in loco parentis and it is a concern if pupils are off site. We had a small number of very able and principled students let us know they planned to take strike action. Colleagues met them and explained why this was difficult for the school to support as we would struggle with our duty to keep them safe. The head and deputy voiced their support for the cause and showed them what the school was doing to respond to the challenge of climate change. We are not aware of any students who were absent because of strike action. Tom Eames A-level student, Brighton, Hove and Sussex sixth-form college Yes, we should be allowed time off. I think if you care passionately about something enough that it makes you want to go on strike, you should be able to. I say that as someone who values my education, especially right now, with my A-level exams coming up. Missing a day of sixth form meant a lot to me it was very costly for me to go when I am right in the middle of revising for my mocks but I think it was important the strike took place during the school term. If it had not, it would not have been so impactful or controversial. I have heard people arguing that young people went on strike to get out of school. Those people are not taking us seriously, they are not taking the issue of climate change seriously, and that attitude is part of the reason why we went on strike. When I read the statistics about global warming and what is going to happen in the future, I dont think enough is being done by older people. If I can do something to make a difference, even if its just making everyone around me aware that Im concerned, then Im going to jump at that. If older people dont want us to strike, they need to act. My parents signed me out of college along with my younger brother, who is in secondary school, so they took responsibility for safeguarding us that day. I know other young people whose parents didnt want them going, and schools that didnt allow it. And those young people felt silenced. Caroline Barlow head, Heathfield community college, East Sussex Id like to say yes, but Im struggling. A school cannot authorise absence for this purpose. A parent can withdraw their child, but must be willing to accept the consequence of a fine. Headteachers rightly have safeguarding concerns for those who miss school yet whose whereabouts are unknown in uncoordinated events such as Fridays marches. However, I believe peaceful, powerful protest has a valuable place in a civilised, democratic society; much good has historically come from it. Teenagers must be able to form, express and share their views. Adults need to listen to young people. They are voters of the future and dismissing or patronising their actions and views now may be something politicians later regret. Toby Spence head, Sibford school, Banbury, Oxfordshire Yes. The school community felt very strongly about the strike and I was happy to authorise the absences of those who wanted to take part. I sense a great deal of exasperation from children that political leaders of the world today seem to be unable or unwilling to take decisive and unilateral action on climate change. Instant gratification and myopic political point-scoring blindly trumps all. As the head of a Quaker school that takes its responsibility towards the environment seriously, I believe it is incumbent upon us to support the children of today in making their voices heard. If we do not have a planet to live on, then there is not a lot of point in learning about Pythagoras or Shakespeare. Whatever the debate about climate change, there is clear and troubling scientific evidence, which cannot be ignored. Many children rightly have a sense of urgency and they absolutely should have a voice. | https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/26/should-children-be-allowed-time-off-school-to-strike |
Why did an insurer make things more difficult after my daughter died? | My daughter, who had cancer for more than three years, died last November. She had still been driving and just before her death renewed her car insurance with Hastings Direct. She was always full of hope she would overcome her illness. When I contacted Hastings Direct it said a refund of 371 was due. I confirmed that as there was no will, the cheque would have to be paid directly to me as the close family member dealing with her estate. The problem is that Hastings keeps sending cheques payable to the executor claiming this is the only way it could issue a refund, unless a grant of probate letter was provided. I was then told it could pay up to 250 directly to me. Reluctantly, I agreed just to bring the matter to a close. Now it says the cheque should be paid into my daughters bank account, which has been closed. I am frustrated with my dealings with them at this difficult time for the whole family. NM, Cornwall Very happy to intervene and, in fairness to Hastings Direct, staff moved very quickly to put this right. They called you to apologise and a cheque has been sent in your name. Lets hope lessons have been learned. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions | https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/feb/26/hastings-direct-death-car-insurance-policy-refund |
Can a sitting U.S. president face criminal charges? | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Constitution explains how a president can be removed from office for high crimes and misdemeanors by Congress using the impeachment process. But the Constitution is silent on whether a president can face criminal prosecution in court, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not directly addressed the question. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during campaign rally at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S., August 2, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo The question looms large with Special Counsel Robert Mueller preparing a report on his investigation into Russias role in the 2016 U.S. election, whether President Donald Trumps campaign conspired with Moscow and whether Trump unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. The U.S. Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, indicating that criminal charges against Trump would be unlikely, according to legal experts. Here is an explanation of the rationale behind the Justice Department policy and whether it applies to Mueller. In 1973, in the midst of the Watergate scandal engulfing President Richard Nixon, the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel adopted in an internal memo the position that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Nixon resigned in 1974, with the House of Representatives moving toward impeaching him. The spectacle of an indicted president still trying to serve as Chief Executive boggles the imagination, the memo stated. The department reaffirmed the policy in a 2000 memo, saying court decisions in the intervening years had not changed its conclusion that a sitting president is constitutionally immune from indictment and criminal prosecution. It concluded that criminal charges against a president would violate the constitutional separation of powers delineating the authority of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. government. The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions, the memo stated. The 1973 and 2000 memos are binding on Justice Department employees, including Mueller, according to many legal experts. Mueller was appointed in May 2017 by the departments No. 2 official Rod Rosenstein. But some lawyers have argued that the nations founders could have included a provision in the Constitution shielding the president from prosecution, but did not do so, suggesting an indictment would be permissible. According to this view, immunity for the president violates the fundamental principle that nobody is above the law. Possibly. The Justice Department regulations governing Muellers appointment allow him to deviate from department policy in extraordinary circumstances with the approval of the U.S. attorney general, the nations top law enforcement official. Trump appointee William Barr currently holds that post. Some legal experts have suggested Mueller could invoke this exception if he has uncovered serious wrongdoing and lacked confidence in the ability of the divided Congress to hold Trump accountable. Some lawyers also have said Mueller is not bound by the 1973 and 2000 memos because he is not a typical employee of the department. Ken Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton in the 1990s in the somewhat different role of independent counsel, in 1998 conducted his own analysis of the question of whether a sitting president can be indicted, indicating he did not consider the 1973 Justice Department memo binding on him. Starr did not indict Clinton in his investigation involving the presidents relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky, but lawyers in his office concluded he had the authority to do so, according to a once-secret internal memo made public by the New York Times in 2017. After the independent counsel statute under which Starr was named expired in 1999, the Justice Department devised procedures governing the appointment of special counsels to handle certain investigations. Mueller was named after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who had been overseeing the agencys Russia probe. Yes. There is no debate over whether a former president can be indicted for conduct that occurred while in office. In fact, President Gerald Ford, who succeeded Nixon after his resignation, was mindful of this when he granted a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed. The statute of limitations - restricting the time within which legal proceedings such as a prosecution may be brought - may work to Trumps benefit if he is re-elected in 2020 and serves a full two four-year terms as president until January 2025. Many federal crimes have a five-year statute of limitations, meaning prosecutors have five years from the date the conduct at issue occurred to bring an indictment. That means criminal charges against a re-elected Trump could be time-barred. Some lawyers have said that, as a matter of fairness, the normal rules on timeliness of charges should not apply to the president. The issue potentially could be resolved in the courts. | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-indictment-explainer/can-a-sitting-u-s-president-face-criminal-charges-idUSKCN1QF1D3?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 |
What do Mikael Granlund, Wayne Simmonds bring to the Predators? | David Poile cashed in his "phone a friend" Monday as the NHL trade deadline approached. The Predators general manager, who had been stonewalled in acquiring Mark Stone from the Senators, was in jeopardy of running out of time. So he phoned Wild GM Paul Fenton, his assistant for 12 seasons in Nashville, and played "Let's Make a Deal." That deal turned out to be sending Kevin Fiala to Minnesota for forward/center Mikael Granlund, whose fiancee had begun the process of having a baby when the news was delivered. JOE REXRODE: Predators got good additions with Mikael Granlund, Wayne Simmonds. MORE: Predators trade deadline moves: Fans react to Kevin Fiala, Ryan Hartman deals The move capped a busy Monday during which 32 players were moved in 20 deals across the league, followed by a night when another trade acquisition, Brian Boyle, scored the winning goal in a shootout victory against the Oilers. CLOSE PK Subban reacts to Predators' trades on deadline day after win over the Oilers Paul Skrbina, The Tennessean Not long before the Fiala-for-Granlund deal, Poile traded last season's trade-deadline acquisition, Ryan Hartman, to the Flyers for Wayne Simmonds and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft that turns into a third-round pick should the Predators win a playoff series this season. While Simmonds will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and could turn out to be a rental, Granlund has one more year left on his contract, which carries a $5.75 million cap hit. Poile said he has every intention of trying to keep Granlund, and he never would have made the deal if not for his contract status. TRADES FISHER-APPROVED: Predators honor former captain Mike Fisher CATFISH CORNER: Sign up for Preds news, analysis delivered to your inbox Poile also was able to escape deadline day by not giving up any prized prospects hello, Eeli Tolvanen and Dante Fabbro and addressing two important needs in power-play presence and physicality. The Predators are last in the former and were sorely lacking in the latter, especially after losing Austin Watson to an indefinite suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. CLOSE Preds coach Peter Laviolette on trade deadline acqusitions Wayne Simmonds, Mikael Granlund Paul Skrbina, The Tennessean "We're going to see, aren't we?" Poile said. "If I hadn't done anything today, which you never know how this goes .. I would've probably used that line with you today. I would have said that we've had some inconsistencies but I don't feel (there's) any reason why we couldn't get it together and be a top team. "Having said that ... I believe our team is better today than it was yesterday. I'm all in, as you can see." Mikael Granlund The 27-year-old forward/center is in his seventh season and could be the second-line player the Predators have lacked/coveted. Granlund provides consistency and is on pace for his third straight 60-point season. Status: Granlund has one year left on his deal, giving the Predators and Granlund some time to evaluate the situation. Stats: He has 15 goals, 34 assists and 18 power-play points this season. Subscribe to Catfish Corner: A Predators Podcast Spreaker | iTunes | Google Play Music Where he fits in: Poile has stressed the importance of production from the second line. Granlund could very well fit that bill playing alongside Kyle Turris and Craig Smith, when he returns from injury. Poile pegged him as potentially one of the team's top scorers, up there with Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson, and even hinted he could play on the top at times. They'll have to wait, though, for him to report due to his family situation. Why it makes sense: Fiala is just 22. Poile labeled him a 30-goal scorer someday and said he may someday regret the move. But Fiala has been wildly inconsistent this season and has had confidence issues. Granlund is on pace for his third straight 60-point season. Quotable: "There's no question we've been looking for more secondary scoring. Wherever our coach puts Granlund, whether thats breaking up our first line or enhancing our second line, I'm very confident were going to be more of a threat than we were previously." Poile on Granlund. Wayne Simmonds NEWSLETTERS Get the Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Top and trending sports headlines you need to know for your busy day. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-342-8237. Delivery: Daily Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters The 30-year-old, one-time All-Star is in his 11th season. He played for Predators coach Peter Laviolette for three years in Philadelphia. Has two 60-point seasons under his belt. Status: Unrestricted free agent after this season. Stats: Has 16 goals, 11 assists and five power-play goals this season. Where he fits in: At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Simmonds isn't the biggest guy. But he's not afraid to protect his teammates and he's not shy about being a net-front presence, which the Predators, with the exception of Brian Boyle, have mostly lacked. Figure Simmonds could see a lot of time on the third line with Nick Bonino and Calle Jarnkrok. Why it makes sense: The Predators gave up a first-round pick, a fourth-round pick and Victor Ejdsell for Hartman at last year's trade deadline. Hartman struggled in the playoffs, had shoulder surgery last summer and went two months without a goal recently while bouncing around from line to line. This move essentially allows Poile to erase the move he made last season. Quotable: "Wayne Simmonds brings not only the offensive consistency, but he's a presence on the power play In addition, he gives us that physical element we probably wanted to add a little bit more, a complement to Brian Boyle, if you will." Poile on Simmonds, who is expected to play Tuesday against the Blues. MORE: As NHL trade deadline approaches several Predators know the uneasy feeling Reach Paul Skrbina at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina. | https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2019/02/26/predators-trade-deadline-wayne-simmonds-mikael-granlund-what-it-means-david-poile/2973569002/ |
Is there such a thing as too much Kyrie Irving? | originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com BOSTON -- This season began with a level of heightened expectations this Boston Celtics franchise hasn't had to deal with in nearly a decade. Scroll to continue with content Ad They were bona fide title contenders from the jump, and a lot of that lofty status had to do with having Kyrie Irving in the fold. As the Boston Celtics (37-23) sit in the fifth spot in the East riding a two-game losing streak, there's still time for them to accomplish most if not all of the goals they set out to do this season. But for those dreams to come true, they will need Irving's talent - particularly in the clutch - to have that everyone-lives-happily-ever-after kind of season. It becomes a relevant topic of discussion in light of what we've seen the last two games - both losses - for the Celtics. BULLS 126, CELTICS 116 A six-time All-Star, Irving has played 40 or more minutes in back-to-back games in the regular season for the first time as a Celtic. Both games ended in a defeat. Depends on who you ask. Coming back from the All-Star break, there's a certain amount of rust players and coaches have to shake off at first. But you also have to factor in who the Celtics were playing in the first game after the break. There's no shame in losing by a single point at Milwaukee which boasts the best record in the NBA, a game that Irving played a major role in helping rally the team back into it. Story continues But it was Irving's woeful shooting to start that game (he missed 13 of his first 15 shots, but made seven of his last 12) that put the Celtics in the midst of such an uphill battle most of the night. Against Chicago, the Bulls charged ahead by as many as 25 points and spent all but 26 seconds of the fourth quarter leading by double figures, which is when Irving scored 18 of his team-high 37 points to go with 10 rebounds. While time, score, opponent and rhythm certainly play a role in how many minutes Irving will play, having him log major minutes has not been a formula for success in Boston or his previous stop in Cleveland. With the Cavs, Irving had 55 games in which he played 40 or more minutes. Cleveland finished with a 28-27 record in such games. In Boston, the Celtics' record in games in which Irving plays 40 or more minutes is 2-4. With the Toronto Raptors on the schedule next, no one should be surprised if Irving plays 40 or more minutes for a third straight game on Tuesday considering how talented the Raptors are and how big a deal this game is for both teams. As Irving's playing time rises, it has come at the expense of Terry Rozier, who has played 20 minutes or less in each of Boston's last two games. But the cut in minutes is understandable considering how Rozier has shot the ball the last couple of games (3-for-17 which includes missing nine of his last 10 three-point attempts) with many of the looks being wide open to lightly contested. Both Irving and Rozier have opened up recently about the healthy rivalry that has developed between them over time. "He's like a big brother that I want everything that he got," Rozier said in an interview for NBC Sports Boston's Post Up show. "It's never hating on him or nothing like that, but it's just I want everything you got. So, I'm going to challenge him every day and he's going to challenge me." That internal competition is becoming more lopsided by the day with Rozier struggling and Irving consistently putting up big numbers and in doing so, getting more and more opportunities to play more minutes. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device. | https://sports.yahoo.com/thing-too-much-kyrie-irving-183047644.html?src=rss |
Are AI And ML The Answers To The Data Tsunami? | In our digital age, advanced analytics including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have become valuable tools in business decision making. Businesses are gathering and processing more data than ever before and investing considerable resources to drive analytics-based decisions. With an exponential volume of information flowing on a daily basis, businesses have struggled to keep pace with advanced technology and make the best use of their data. AI and ML are the solutions everyone seems to want to employ, although few understand the difference in those technologies or how to effectively employ them. Benefits Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning While the terms AI and ML are both part of the advanced analytics lexicon and are often used interchangeably, there is a difference. Machine learning defines a computer system that has the ability to learn how to do specific tasks, which includes using past data to make decisions or predictions without human interaction. Artificial intelligence refers to "computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages." Many AI systems use machine learning techniques to function. One of the key similarities between both AI and ML is that both technologies become even smarter with data. They help us create actionable information from the incredible amount of data we have access to, therefore allowing us to have more meaningful interactions with our customers. They can help us answer the age-old questions of "Who are our customers?" and "What do they want to buy?" For example, a music subscription service uses AI and ML to evaluate what a user has listened to in the past in order to make recommendations for future listening sessions. Voice-activated assistants and chatbots use AI and ML to perform tasks, like responding to a user when they a question about a product or service. When consumers shops online, businesses will use an algorithm to feed them advertisements for similar products the customers are likely to purchase based on their shopping or viewing history. As consumers, we get a more personalized experience with the apps and programs were using on a daily basis. As businesses, we gain vital information on those who are interacting with our brand. Challenges Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning One of the challenges associated with AI and ML is having a sufficient amount of data and the type of data required for a system to learn over time. For example, as people have used search engines over time for answers to all kinds of life questions, those search engines have relied on that data, along with AI and ML systems, to generate more accurate and relevant responses each time someone searches. Cross-device identification has added another layer to this data tsunami a user might search a term on their laptop, and then conduct a separate search on a cell phone later that day. A business must be equipped with the right tools to identify that consumer and keep up with their interests and habits. There is also a transparency factor when it comes to AI and ML. If a business uses an ML system to predict a users next playlist or song choice, the results might be skewed if the users friend takes over the music during a road trip. The machines next few suggested songs or playlists might not make sense to the user until the algorithm starts to learn again with the original user. In addition, businesses need to be mindful of legal implications and customer privacy before utilizing AI and ML. In a regulated industry such as banking, advanced analytics can be a convenient tool to help businesses make lending decisions based on their consumers spending habits and credit histories, but expandability and compliance are both concerns. While the impact of product sales is important, in that AI and ML help to increase sales and contribute to the businesss bottom line, the decision doesnt have the same implications as a regulated decision. When a customer applies for a loan, a financial institution can face a large-cost implication if it wrongfully rejects or accepts an application. When a machine helps make the decision, it becomes hard to provide the reasoning. In addition, it becomes harder to ensure non-static decisioning models are compliant. You might be able to ensure they are compliant to begin with, but as they learn and adjust, you can no longer prove that model is still compliant. A Future With Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning As more data is created, more sources become available and more data sets are created, the ability to start thinking about alternate ways to manage the data becomes more relevant. While AI and ML have their challenges and benefits, both have become increasingly important. When used correctly, they both can help businesses sell more, make better predictions and create satisfied customers. There is still plenty of room for growth and improvement, but as long as a business determines what its objectives are, the outside factors that might impact a data-driven business decision and any potential implications for an undesired outcome, the answer is yes: AI and ML can help us better ride todays data tsunami. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/02/26/are-ai-and-ml-the-answers-to-the-data-tsunami/ |
What Does Socrates Has In Common With Wine? | I am having a drink in Paris, would you like to join me? It seems like the beginning of a novel taking place in the glorious French capital and maybe it is. I am listening to the phone conversation of this middle-aged man, seated a few tables away. It is a sunny day at the end of February. The air is crisp and I am having breakfast at one of the many caf parisiens, deep into the winding streets of the literary neighborhoods. I will soon find out that this man is a small winemaker from Lombardy and produces about two hundred thousand bottles per year. Not exactly tall, he has this seemingly innocent smile printed on his face (like a real Parisian viveur), a silk scarf in between his shirt collar and purple pants. He seems to be from another era, totally at ease in this bohmienne atmosphere that surrounds us. What brought me to start the conversation with him was a particular sentence I heard him saying: We have to be simpler. I nod subconsciously like I am supporting the idea, a battle I find myself completely involved in. As fellow soldiers on a defensive line, I can feel mutual solidarity. And thats how we started to talk. Sometimes faith has way more creativity than we do. Together we traced the profile of the average drinker (DISCLAIMER: average means that falls within the average, it is not a value judgment! ): An individual who feels overwhelmed by the wide range of brands, labels, wine types, and barely understandable guarantee certificates. Feeling lost, he/she tries to find an anchor, a reference point to be guided while choosing. Right, the choice. First of all, by avoiding consumed and tricky words such as soft tannins, flintstone scent, mineral aroma. Secondly, by guiding them in comprehending their own taste. We could use the Socrates method, also known as maieutics. A form of cooperative argumentative dialogue he used to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions, instead of imposing his own point of view. The Greek philosopher used this dialectical method based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking. This led him to act as a midwife. Just like a midwife brings new-borns to life, Socrates brought his students ideas and beliefs to light. Maieutics, eventually, is not the art of teaching, but of helping. This is the reason why Socrates did not want his students to memorize information that has been provided for them but wanted them to gain a deeper understanding of concepts and elaborate on their own truths. When it comes to wine, it is exactly the same. We have to let people talk about themselves in order to learn their tastes and therefore be able to help them while they are choosing THEIR OWN wine. This approach though implies to be particularly close to the disciple. A connection that concretizes in the retail experience. A well-finished and taken care of experience in store, simplified by more comprehensive labels that support literacy training. This is exactly what I try to pass on every day through my actions and my job. Simplicity. As I am always in contact with people and often talk with young boys and girls, I was absolutely certain. We need simplicity. For this reason, too many entrepreneurs, due to their ignorance (in terms of communication and digital illiteracy) are getting away from the only possible way to get people closer. We have to be inclusive, not exclusive. The job of a producer is to bring more people to buy more products, more often. Thats it. Simplifying. Please note, I am not against beer (I actually love it), but this happens because beer is easier to understand, it is more intuitive thanks to a communication that is closer to people. Its a refreshing drink, perfect with pizza. This is the winning narrative of beer, a thousand-year-old background of a beverage that was (and still is) produced in monasteries around Europe. Lets try to tell it in a different way. Yes, to tell it. So much has been said about wine storytelling into the digital era. Simplification. To carry out a complex action in a simple way. This is what the experts should do, they should look for a vocabulary that takes wine down from that pedestal and democratizes it. Something that makes it more comprehensible. People need to have the right set of words to be able to share and talk about their experiences. A sort of map of the anatomy of taste based on which they can be oriented. Otherwise, it will always be an auto-reported activity or worse: something you experience while busy doing something else. The worst possibility ever. Because to talk about wine, whether you are a producer or a distributor, besides skills, you need courage. A new (and different) kind of courage. Wine is not only knowledge and terroir, but also a feeling, an identity. It is not only an organoleptic issue (young people really dont care that much about tannins) instead it has become a sort of lifestyle. Or even more than one. Until next time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find Matteo Parisi online on Vinhood, Linkedin and Facebook. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/matteoparisi/2019/02/26/what-does-socrates-has-in-common-with-wine/ |
Should Therapists Treat Climate Change Denial As A Psychological Disorder? | Reporter Olivia Goldhill recently described a talk by psychoanalyst Donna Orange, an adjunct professor at New York University, urging that therapists address not just the demons of a patients subconscious, but the horrors of climate change. In her talk, Orange noted: Together with the colonialist past we all share, this history of slavery and its ongoing effects, of which we rarely speak, blinds us to the misery that our carbon-and-methane spewing lifestyles are creating in the global south. Dr. Orange believes that therapists can draw attention to the threats posed by climate change, and then challenge the mental defenses that prevent people from responding to climate change. I fully support the right of any medical or mental health practitioner to speak out on issues of importance to them and to advocate associated political action. I respect everyones right to free speech whether or not I agree with the specific views being advocated. However, Im leery of medical and mental health practitioners introducing their personal politics into the treatment room. And Im especially uneasy with the prospect that certain unpopular political views (for example, skepticism about climate change) might be labeled with psychoanalytic diagnoses such as dissociation or regression. Individuals can arrive at controversial views by a variety of means, both rational and irrational. The beauty of a free society is that rational discourse can allow sound views to take hold and displace irrational views. This process can take time and energy, but its also the best way to get buy in at the broader cultural level. In my own lifetime, Ive seen tremendous progress on contentious issues such as racial equality, acceptance of sexual minorities, abortion rights, gun rights, and drug legalization. However, this process of organic cultural change is endangered when advocates on one side attempt to declare opposing views as out of bounds on either medical or legal grounds. Wikipedia has an excellent (and heart-breaking) list of the many historical abuses of psychiatry in countries such as China and the former Soviet Union to stifle political dissent by labeling unpopular views as mental illness. Nor is the United States immune to similar problems. Psychiatrist Jonathan Metzl has described how mental health practitioners in one hospital in the 1960s diagnose[d] African Americans with schizophrenia because of their civil rights ideas including the patients displays of aggression and hostility. Other environmental activists go even further and want to declare climate change denial not just a psychological issue but as a literal crime to be punished as murder in some cases. I dont have strong views on the climate change debate one way or another. Im glad to let those who feel strongly on either side to apply their time, energy, and expertise to make their best possible cases to the American people with respect to the relevant scientific and public policy issues. But I want to caution against the temptation to use the medical system (or the legal system) to stifle much-needed discussion on this and other controversial topics. Medicalizing (or criminalizing) the views of political dissenters threatens our basic free speech rights and ultimately does us all a disservice. Robust and spirited debate on contentious issues is our best way of arriving at the truth, and supporters in a free society should settle for nothing less. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2019/02/26/should-therapists-treat-climate-change-denial-as-a-psychological-disorder/ |
Should cigarettes be banned? | Tobacco causes 6-7 million deaths per year around the world. Some argue an outright ban on cigarettes is necessary in order to address the massive public health risk they pose to smokers and nonsmokers alike. Others say banning cigarettes violates personal freedom. An estimated 34.3 million Americans smoke cigarettes. A ban would mean massive changes in addictive behavior for each of them, but it could also mean saving the lives of the people they interact with. In the United States alone, cigarette smoking causes 480,000 deaths every year, making it the leading cause of preventable death. Secondhand smoke causes 41,000 deaths per year. Cigarette smoking can lead to lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Although smoking in the U.S. is on the decline, an outright ban on cigarettes would help prevent the one billion projected tobacco-related deaths in the 21st century. The BMJ Journal of Medical Ethics explains: The weightiest factor supporting a ban, we argue, is the often substantial well-being losses many individuals suffer because of smoking...The potential gains in well-being and equality, we argue, outweigh the limits a ban places on individuals freedom, its failure to respect some individuals autonomous choice and the likelihood that it may, in individual cases, reduce well-being. Update: People still smoke cigarettes with their kids in the car but yes please ban straws. Jackie Bouvier (@jackiembouvier) February 12, 2019 Although banning cigarettes would certainly help the public health of the country, it would also contribute to inequality. If the U.S. placed a ban on cigarettes, a significant portion of its population could find itself addicted to a newly illicit substance. If lawmakers take the ban a step further and make possession of tobacco illegalas was attempted in an 2013 Oregon billsmokers could face fines and prison time. The last thing the U.S. criminal justice system needs is more drug-related crimes. Banning cigarettes would mount inequality and bias. ever notice the government wants to ban cigarettes . I mean I dont like them, I dont like em around me but what I dont like is that government is telling you what you can and cannot do & its getting tyrannical..... Yankee Doodle Boi (@luissxxmartinez) February 11, 2019 Hawaii might be the first state to put a cigarette ban into effect. According to State Representative Richard Creagan, taxing cigarettes is not enough. As long as people are still dying from cigarette use, there's something more their government can do to help prevent those deaths. KRON4 reports: Creagan dismisses the argument that his proposal would take away a smoker's civil liberty, saying it is something the tobacco industry has long cited. Creagan plans to roll out the ban in phases so the state can reallocated tax revenue to account for its losses from cigarette sales. He also looks forward to increased tourism as a result of the ban, implying that "if Hawaii becomes the first cigarette-free destination, visitors will flock here." Our beaches will be free of cigarette butts, our parks, all of that. Kids wont be exposed. You wont have to worry about your baby or your dog chewing on a cigarette butt, I mean, well be the first state to be cigarette-free and i think thats really cool. Hawaii could be first in US to ban sale of cigarettes Smoking is already villainized in the public discourseand rightfully sobut smokers themselves should not be subject to the same demonization. One smoker writes on Quora: ... the government should not be able to ban us smokers because we know the harm it does to our bodies. I have the same opinion about the government trying to ban or tax more highly the purchase of soda over a certain size, its up to the individual drinkers what they want to put in their body, if they like soda, they shouldnt be penalized for it. To a point, you have the right to choose what you put into your body. By grouping cigarettes in with other illegal substances, the government would be interfering with individual liberty. I don't smoke, but this is a slippery slope....nope. sassy_nach (@sassy_nach) February 5, 2019 A ban on cigarettes could work help level the playing field in the long run. According to the BMI Journal of Ethics: Of course, not all disadvantaged people smoke, and not all smokers are disadvantaged, socio-economically or otherwise. In the aggregate, however, a ban could help reduce inequalities in health outcomes. Studies suggest that, in Europe, smoking could be the largest single contributor to socio-economic inequalities in health, particularly among men. In the UK, tobacco is considered the cause of about half of the socioeconomic status difference in death rates. Good. Cigarettes are killers and tobacco companies make a fortune on the misery of other people jezmund (@jezmundzmusic) February 10, 2019 A ban on cigarettes will not change the behavior of thousands of Americans overnight. One smoker writes on Quora: To be completely honest if youre going to ban smoking and there will be notice given (whether you want it or not) Im going to start growing my own tobacco because I will not give it up that easily. I will continue smoking it because I enjoy it. I enjoy the smells, tastes, and sight of the plumes of smoke rising out of my pipes and cigars. A ban on cigarettes would only turn many Americans personal decision into an illegal activity, and even then, a nominal ban would not result in the actual absence of cigarettes. I think that if Hawaii works to ban cigarettes, it will create more of a black market and increase crime. More people will want them and work harder to get them even though they are illegal. It is difficult to change behavior with laws. Zoe F. (@Zoe_Alxa) February 19, 2019 | https://www.nola.com/tylt/2019/02/should-cigarettes-be-banned.html |
When is I-40 reopening at North Carolina-Tennessee line? | Drivers should be able to use Interstate 40 to travel between North Carolina and Tennessee by Saturday afternoon, ending more than a week of 50-mile detours caused by a rock slide, says the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Engineers predict that the last bit of debris from the slide will be removed by 4 p.m. For the latest conditions on the road, visit DriveNC.gov. All lanes are currently closed between Exit 20 (U.S. 276 south) and Exit 451, just past the Tennessee state line. The rock slide is blamed on days of heavy rain that also caused flooding in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Another landslide occurred Sunday across U.S. 74, north of Sylva in Jackson County, the NCDOT reported. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer Investigators with NCDOT say the rock slide on Interstate 40 occurred about 7:30 p.m. Friday, prompting engineers to declare the road unsafe in both directions. Some of the rocks were the size of a wheelbarrow, said an NCDOT news release. An estimated ... two dump truck loads of rocks fell from atop the slope and bounced into the westbound lanes, said the NCDOT release. Later in the evening, smaller rocks ricocheted over the median, necessitating the closure of eastbound lanes. Debris was still falling over the weekend, said NCDOT. In all, about 27,000 cubic yards of dirt, rock and trees must be carted off before the interstate can reopen, officials said. | https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article226795249.html |
When it Comes to the Financial Industry, What Does it Take to Gain Trust? | The war for trust is being waged hot and heavy. These days, any commercial by a financial services company (insurance companies, stock brokerages, etc.) prominently displays a rainbow of humanity paired with an overly sincere professional (actor) trying to convey the message of trust. These ads, created by marketing gurus and hyper produced by ad executives, attempt to bridge the gap between an under-educated public and the sales professionals who wish to separate you from your hard-earned cash. I must ask the following questions. Something just doesnt add up. According to the CFP Institute and Edelman Investor Trust Study (2013), only 51% of retail investors trust investment management firms to do what is right. The study goes on to say that the financial services is the industry least trusted by the general population. According to the study, there are three major practices that build trust: 1) Transparency and open business practices is the leading response, followed closely by 2) Taking responsible actions to address an issue or crisis, and 3) Has ethical business practices. Well, here we are in 2019 and it doesnt appear that the industry, as a whole, has inched any closer to action gaining the publics trust. We seek advice from people we trust, says Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University and author of Finance for Normal People and What Investors Really Want. Trust, however, has downsides when misplaced, evident in Ponzi schemes. Advisors who provided services that build trust suffer lower withdrawals, whole those with the ability to steal from their clients suffered greater withdrawals. Consumer education is key in making prudent decisions when it is in conjunction with the stated requirement of accountability, transparency, and ethical behavior. The CFA Institute published their 2016 Trust to Loyalty Survey that states that investors would be willing to pay more in return for: ethical behavior in all interactions, full disclosure of fees and costs, and taking time to understand priorities and dynamics with different stakeholders. Well if that isnt a hue and cry for making a hard left turn into a more consumer-friendly lane. What is being asked for is ethical behavior and transparency! Instead, we get commercials that say all the right words but the firms paying the freight dont walk the talk. Here are a few things you can do: 1. Read, but understand the point of view of the writer. 2. Demand transparency. Real trust cannot be attained unless you are able to see for yourself. 3. Do your research (brokercheck.org). Make sure you understand the background of the person and organization with which youre working. If theyve been fined over and over again, ask yourself why you are supporting their bad behavior. 4. Acknowledge that change is challenging, but if your current financial advisor isnt transparent or acting in the highest ethical standard (Fiduciary Standard), then consider making the switch to someone who will act in your best interest. Check out NAPFA.org to find a financial advisor who will. 5. Ask questions-Ask questions-Ask questions. Dont settle for answers that dont specifically address your concerns or demonstrate that you are being heard and understood. 6. Begin with your values and make sure your life and those in it align best with your values. Whether its the relationship that brings more sadness than joy, the job that has more moments of frustration than satisfaction or the company that has promised a service but never seems to satisfactorily deliver, we find ourselves exhausting every possibility to make things better. Often this pattern occurs because we place an inordinate amount of the blame on ourselves. We believe that if we can finally get it right, all will be fine. There is an important distinction between personal responsibility for mistakes and righteous indignation at a situation that had let us down. It takes wisdom and objectivity to tell the difference. Before catapulting toward self-blame, critically assess something that isnt working, ask for input from those you trust, and know that making a change can open a new world of glorious possibilities. You deserve financial success. While you might not feel your financial acumen is sufficient to go it alone (and youre probably correct), make sure the firm, organization, team, or individual you put your faith in (and your financial success) is worthy of that trust. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkay/2019/02/26/when-it-comes-to-the-financial-industry-what-does-it-take-to-gain-trust/ |
How Can Competition With Luckin Coffee Affect Starbucks' Valuation? | Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) recently reported its Quarter 1 results (ended December 2018) for the Financial Year 2019. The company beat the consensus in revenues and earnings and posted $6.6 billion and $0.61, respectively. The total revenue is up by 9% year on year and comparable sales are up by 4% globally driven by 3% in average ticket size. Chinas comparable sales are up 1% YOY but the Total stores are up by 18% YOY. The company opened 541 net new stores. Of those, over two-thirds are outside the US and about 50% are licensed stores. This takes the Total Store count to 29,865 at the end of December 2018. We maintain our $66 price estimate for Starbucks. In our interactive dashboard How Will Starbucks Valuation Be Affected If Average Store Sales In China Fall By 10% in FY 2019 we provide a scenario in which we estimate Starbucks Share Price in a situation where the average store sales falls by 10% due to recent competition from the domestic brands like Luckin Coffee. In addition, here is more Consumer Discretionary data. Luckin Coffee has emerged as a very strong competitor to Starbucks in China. The Chinese coffee chain opened its first store in Beijing in 2018 and already has more than 2,000 locations. The company says that it is targeting a total of more than 4,500 stores in China by the end of 2019. This would take it past Starbucks, which has long dominated the Chinese coffee market and currently has over 3,600 stores there. Recently Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said Starbucks Corp is unlikely to cede its leading position in China, the companys fastest-growing major market, to Chinese startup Luckin in 2019. One of Luckins advantages is the price, which is 20-30% less than Starbucks products. The company also attracted customers with a sales campaign offering a free third coffee with the purchase of two cups. Luckin is also using a recruiting strategy which would hurt Starbucks. It is offering monthly salaries of 20,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan ($3,000 to $4,400) for staff with more than a decades experience in cafes. In contrast, the average office worker in Shanghai makes 10,000 yuan a month. Inducements such as this could cause a significant number of employees switching toward Luckin. In this scenario analysis we calculate the effect on Starbucks valuation if the competition with Luckin pulls down average revenue per store in China by 10%. Overall for this Scenario, this estimate would result in a downside of $1.40 (2% of the current Trefis Price of $66). China is important for the growth of Starbucks, but the company is well diversified so that it is not very largely affected, even if the average revenue per store in the country falls by 10%. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/26/how-can-competition-with-luckin-coffee-affect-starbucks-valuation/ |
Did Trump Win His War on the Russia Investigation? | Trumps implicit offer of pardons appears to have played a role. The Russia investigation always operated under this sword of Damocles. Presidential pardons dont affect state prosecutions, however, making the latter a fail-safe of sorts in case the president started to shut down Muellers inquiry. The special counsels office reportedly began working with the New York attorney generals office in the summer of 2017 on the financial-crimes portion of Manaforts case. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. is also reportedly preparing to file charges against Manafort soon. Trump has been signaling his views on the pardon power for years. In August 2017, he pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for racially profiling Hispanic motorists despite a judges order to desist. Last summer, Trump also wiped away conservative filmmaker Dinesh DSouzas conviction for campaign finance violations. Both men staunchly support the president and blamed politicized investigations for their downfall. While Trump isnt the first president to misuse the power of mercy, the two pardons made it unusually clear that he would wield pardons for purely partisan gain. After a Virginia jury convicted Manafort on multiple charges last August, Trump became even less subtle. The president publicly lauded his former campaign chairman for refusing to make up stories in order to get a deal while harshly criticizing Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, for cooperating with investigators. Hours later, Rudy Giuliani told reporters that the president wouldnt be issuing any pardons until the investigation had wrapped up. Taken together, the two messages suggested pardons would be on the table if their potential recipients kept quiet. The New York Times reported earlier this month that Trumps lawyers made similar assurances in private as well. These efforts havent gone unnoticed by the special counsels office. In a sealed hearing earlier this month, Muellers team offered two motives for why Manafort lied to them about part of the investigation. One of those motives is obscured by a thicket of partial redactions in the official transcript; the other is that telling the truth could have negative consequences in terms of the other motive that Mr. Manafort could have, which is to at least augment his chances of a pardon. Most discussions of the Russia investigation center around the most important line of Muellers inquiry: whether the Trump campaign illegally conspired with the Russian government during the 2016 election. But even if Mueller doesnt find evidence of this, his investigation has already proven its worth by uncovering a vipers nest of illegal conduct during the 2016 election. He shed light on how Russian operatives used social media networks to manipulate and influence public opinion. He uncovered suspicious contacts between Russian operatives and Trump campaign officials, and showed how they lied to keep those contacts hidden from the public. He also may have uncovered serious wrongdoing by the Trump Organization and the presidents inaugural committee, both of which are now under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York and Washington. | https://newrepublic.com/article/153160/trump-win-war-russia-investigation |
What caused the Genoa bridge collapse and the end of an Italian national myth? | On 14 August last year, the city of Genoa in northwest Italy woke to a strong summer storm. By 11.30am, the rain was so heavy that visibility had fallen dramatically. Videos captured by security cameras show vehicles slowing down as they crossed Morandi Bridge, which grew progressively more enveloped in a grey mist. A few minutes later, a 200-metre section of the bridge collapsed, including one of its three supporting towers. The tragedy killed 43 people and left 600 homeless. It also dealt a hammer blow to Italys once-proud engineering history and the countrys confidence in its mastery of a key construction technology: concrete. Show Hide Our species is addicted to concrete. We use more of it than anything else except water. Like that other manmade wonder material, plastic, concrete transformed construction and advanced human health. But, as with plastic, we are only now waking up to its dangers. Concrete causes up to 8% of global CO2 emissions; if it were a country it would be the world's worst culprit after the US and China. It fills our rubbish dumps, overheats our cities, causes floods that kills thousands of people and fundamentally changes our relationship to the planet. This week Guardian Cities celebrates the aesthetic and social achievements of concrete, while investigating its innumerable harms, to learn what we can do to bring about a less grey world. Chris Michael, Cities editor A little more than a kilometre long, crossing the Polcevera valley, a river, a railway depot, a densely populated area and several large factories at an average height of 45 metres above the ground, Morandi was one of the longest concrete bridges in the world when it opened in September 1967. The 1960s were Italys boom years. For the first time, many Italians could afford a car. But the countrys roads many of them narrow, meandering up mountains and twisting through city centres needed modernising. Morandi Bridge was the centrepiece of a brand-new network of highways connecting Milan and Turin in the north to the tourist hotspots of the Ligurian Riviera, bypassing a congested Genoa and ultimately completing the coastline highway that runs from southern France to Tuscany. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Riccardo Morandi demonstrates a model of Morandi Bridge to the then Italian president, Giuseppe Saragat, during the bridges inauguration. Photograph: Handout/AFP/Getty Images Named after Riccardo Morandi, the engineer who designed it, the new bridge was a multi-span, cable-stayed bridge similar to the Brooklyn Bridge: regular towers, from which a series of exposed steel cables stretched to the bridges deck. But, although similar in shape, Morandi Bridge was very different in other ways. The deck was entirely made of reinforced concrete, and it had only four cables per tower, instead of the usual dozens. Crucially, the cables were covered in pre-stressed concrete a type of treated concrete invented by the French engineer Eugne Freyssinet. Unlike normal reinforced concrete, which is generally best suited to resisting compression, the new pre-stressed concrete was specifically designed to resist traction. As a result, Morandi Bridge was stronger and lighter, with minimal use of steel, than any other bridge of its era and boasted a clean, distinct design that quickly became a symbol of Italian engineering, tangible proof of the countrys technical abilities. The bridges concrete structure wont need any maintenance, boasted an article in La Stampa newspaper ahead of the bridges opening. Neither will its stayed cables, which are protected from atmospheric agents by their concrete vest. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Morandi Bridge under construction in 1965. Photograph: Handout/AFP/Getty Images Morandi himself became one of the most respected engineers in the nation going on to use the same technique elsewhere, including at Romes airport and a bridge over Libyas Wadi el Kuf that was the highest single-span bridge in the world and helped Italy earn the reputation as the nation that could bend concrete. He died in 1989. The material was perfectly suited to postwar Italy. The country couldnt afford the amount of steel necessary to build something like the Brooklyn Bridge: steel was expensive to import because of international sanctions against the fascist government, and Italy lacked the resources to produce steel domestically. It was, however, rich in the clays and river sediments necessary for concrete production. Led by Morandi, the countrys engineers learned how to achieve the same results with concrete that they would with steel. Thousands of concrete viaducts, tunnels and bridges that together form a vast engineering triumph. Today, the country is still one of the top cement producers and is home to the eighth largest cement company in the world. Morandi, for us engineers, is still a reference and considered to be a precursor, says Marco di Prisco, a professor of construction science at the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and researcher on the life expectancy of concrete buildings. But being an innovator, Di Prisco notes, often comes at a cost. Every time you create something new, you take some risks. In the 1960s little was known about the interaction of materials, or the effects of pollution and climate on corrosion. Traffic volumes were very different, and concepts such as the durability or lifespan of a building were not commonly discussed. Back then, you didnt really think in terms of durability, Di Prisco says. Whereas today we focus much more on how to extend a buildings life. We even come up with a maintenance guide to keep structures in good conditions. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Demolition work on Morandi Bridge in February 2019. A new bridge designed by Renzo Piano is due to open in 2020. Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA Why exactly the bridge collapsed last August is yet to be understood. A team of experts working with the investigators issued a report this month stating that the bridge samples analysed showed evidence of corrosion and some construction errors, but they steered clear from attributing a cause to the collapse. A bridge is like a car, says Luigi Gambarotta, professor of structural mechanics at the University of Genoa. You cant overload it, and to keep it working you need to change the broken parts. That was difficult in the case of Morandi Bridge: the cables were difficult to inspect, and it was unclear how they were coping with increased traffic loads. When I visited the bridge in the early 1990s for a documentary on Morandis work, I was [surprised] to see fissures and corrosion just 20 years after its completion, says Giuseppe Imbesi, an architect who worked with Morandi on a bridge proposal for the Strait of Messina. Morandi himself was surprised to see the structure age faster than he had anticipated. In 1979 he issued a report detailing a number of interventions to protect the structure against pollution from nearby factories and the salty sea air. Little, however, was done, and by 1992 the trademark concrete cables were heavily corroded. The company that managed the bridge, Autostrade per lItalia then owned by the state decided to add extra new cables around the corroded ones, rather than replace them. It also neglected to retrofit the remaining two sets. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The collapsed Morandi bridge in August last year. Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA It was a criminal, criminal act not to intervene, says the architect Antonino Saggio, who is leading a campaign to save what remains of the bridge. Despite Saggios efforts, the bridge is currently being cut into pieces and torn down. A new bridge designed by Renzo Piano is due to open in 2020. Despite Italys rather notorious reputation for criminal infiltration into public works, few suspect mafia involvement in the bridges collapse. According to the concrete historian Tullia Iori, a professor of architectural engineering at the University of Roma Tor Vergata, the concrete industry was largely family-owned at the time and was easier to investigate, and there was a robust tendering system for public works, which were assigned directly by the state and included a high level of technical scrutiny. Instead, it was probably simple neglect that felled the bridge. In April 2018, Autostrade now a private company finally decided there was no more time to waste, and issued a tender offer to retrofit the bridge. The repairs were supposed to start last autumn. They waited 25 years and then the bridge collapsed. This is how things go in Italy you start something and you never finish it, says Saggio. It was apocalyptic: the police officer whose sniffer dog saved six people in the Genoa bridge collapse Read more Morandis legacy, and with it the Italian national myth of concrete mastery, is now in doubt. He was an engineer with an incredible creativity, and was the best Italian bridge designer we ever had, says Emanuele Codacci-Pisanelli, a bridge engineer who helped restore Morandis Wadi el Kuf Bridge. But his structural ideas, despite being sound on paper, were difficult to execute. Imbuing stayed cables in pre-stressed concrete is such a difficult technique. Its pretty complex, explains Codacci-Pisanelli. Morandis bridge was the most beautiful, the largest and the most audacious bridge we had in Italy, says Iori. It was the symbol of the countrys rebirth. We should have preserved it. Guardian Concrete Week investigates the shocking impact of concrete on the modern world. Follow Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use the hashtag #GuardianConcreteWeek to join the discussion or sign up for our weekly newsletter | https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/feb/26/what-caused-the-genoa-morandi-bridge-collapse-and-the-end-of-an-italian-national-myth |
Will the NFL punish Robert Kraft and the Patriots over prostitution allegations? | The NFL has its latest controversy, with the twist being that this time it involves an owner rather than a player. On Friday, news broke that police were charging New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with soliciting sex at a Florida massage parlor, something authorities uncovered while investigating an alleged sex trafficking ring. On Monday, police issued an arrest warrant for Kraft for two separate misdemeanor charges. This turn of events has created yet another controversy for a league already plagued with them and has provided embattled commissioner Roger Goodell with yet another challenge. According to police reports, Kraft visited the parlor on two separate occasions, one being the day of the Patriots AFC title game last month, and paid for a sexual act. In addition, police claim to have video evidence of one of those encounters. Kraft faces two charges of soliciting prostitution. If he is convicted, he faces up to one year in jail, a $5,000 penalty and 100 hours of education and community service. Robert Kraft: documents say Patriots owner solicited sex on day of AFC title game Read more In response, Krafts spokesperson issued the following statement: We categorically deny that Mr Kraft engaged in any illegal activity. It could be quite a big deal. Since Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994, saving them from a potential relocation, the team has turned into the NFLs most successful franchise. Under head coach Bill Belichick, who was hired during Krafts tenure, the team has won six Super Bowls, including the most recent. Because of this, Kraft has become one of the most high-profile and influential owners in the league. When the NFL ended its lockout in 2011, many within the league recognized Krafts efforts during the negotiation process. Now, if this were just the matter of a rich man engaging the services of a sex worker, the incident would possibly rank as more embarrassing for the league than anything else. However, officials allege that the Orchids of Asia Day Spa is involved with sex trafficking. If that ends up being the case, and it needs to be emphasized that we currently only have law enforcements side of events, it would be the story of one the most powerful people in the NFL being complicit, whether knowingly or not, with what amounts to modern-day slavery. Thats a big deal and the league would have to treat it as one. Thats the question going forward. The league has received a huge amount of criticism for its disciplinary policy with, for example, cases of domestic violence being less severely punished than drug offenses. If theres clear evidence that Kraft is guilty, the NFL will need to punish him or risk opening themselves up to legitimate charges of treating owners more leniently than players. It should also be pointed out that the league can issue punishments even if Kraft is not found guilty in court. Goodell himself has said everyone in the NFL needs to be treated the same. When Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance in 2014, the NFL gave him a six-game suspension and a $500,000 penalty. Yes. In 2007, the league fined the team $250,000 and took away their first-round draft pick after an investigation revealed that Belichick illegally taped opponents signs. In addition, Belichick was also fined $500,000. In 2015, the team was fined $1m and lost two draft picks, including another first rounder, after quarterback Tom Brady was caught using improperly deflated footballs. Brady was also suspended four games, a punishment he eventually served after a lengthy court battle. Since this latest scandal doesnt directly involve the team the allegations involve Krafts private life the Patriots are unlikely to be punished. the most likely punishment for Kraft would be a suspension and a hefty fine, although that wont hurt a man worth billions too much. Although, again, attempting to predict what Goodell and company will do when it comes to issuing punishments is extremely tricky. In an article for the New York Daily News, Jane McManus makes a convincing argument that, should Kraft be found guilty, he should be banned from the league. McManus points out that Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was essentially forced out of the league after sexual harassment allegations and she argues that this case would justify a similar result. Goodell and any owners who dont want to be tainted by these alleged actions need to investigate and send a message, she writes, you cant appeal to women if owners exploit them without consequences, whether that is on the field, as employees or even in their private lives. According to Sports Illustrateds legal expert Michael McCann, that is highly unlikely, as it would require the votes of 23 of 31 eligible owners. McCann does allow for the possibility that the Kraft could be persuaded to hand over control of his team in order to save face. Krafts son Jonathan, who already plays a large role in the organization, would be the obvious successor. The case, it needs to be emphasized, is far bigger than football. Kraft is just one of hundreds who have been charged with soliciting prostitution as part of this investigation. There is a legitimate sports story here involving how the NFL will treat the matter, especially considering past failures when it comes to employees mistreating women. It should not, however, overshadow the fact that the larger story appears to involve women who have been exploited and forced to work under terrible conditions. They are the real victims here, and, in comparison, the trials and tribulations of an NFL team are inconsequential. | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/feb/26/robert-kraft-allegations-prostitution-nfl-punishment-new-england-patriots |
What is the history of the Grand Canyon? | Getty Images On 26 February 1919 - exactly 100 years ago today - the Grand Canyon in Arizona in the US became an official National Park. Lots of events are taking place throughout the year to celebrate this park's big birthday. Millions of people visit the canyon every year, but for a long period of history, it was an unexplored part of the world. The canyon was created as a result of water erosion of the Colorado River, which flows through it. It is believed the river made its course through the canyon about six million years ago. People knew about the Colorado River - which stretches from its source in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of California - but the Grand Canyon section remained a bit of a mystery. Getty Images The Grand Canyon was created as a result of water erosion of the Colorado River, which flows through it Now, we know that people have been based in and around the canyon from over 10,000 years ago, when hunter gatherers used to pass through. We know this because of archaeological evidence, such as homes, artefacts and food storing areas which they left behind. But there is still more to explore. The first Europeans to reach the Grand Canyon did so in the 16th Century. Spanish explorers first ventured into the south rim in 1540, but they didn't find anything of value so they turned back. It was many more years before European explorers would turn their attention back to the area. Even as late as the mid-19th Century, the Grand Canyon was still known as 'The Great Unknown' because that's exactly what it was. It was even left as a blank area on maps! In 1857, an army lieutenant called Joseph Christmas Ives took a 50-foot steamboat up the river to explore the area. His boat crashed and he continued on foot, becoming the first European American known to reach the river within the canyon itself, although he did not explore the full length. Getty Images This travel poster to encourage tourists to visit the Grand Canyon is from 1939 He wrote about his expedition: "The extent and magnitude of the system of canyons is astounding. The plateau is cut into shreds by these gigantic chasms, and resembles a vast ruin. "It seems intended by nature that the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed." He couldn't have been more wrong. The man credited as the first main explorer of the canyon was someone called John Wesley Powell. In 1869, along with nine men in four small wooden boats, Powell headed up the Colorado River, through the canyon. Getty Images Major John Wesley Powell came up with the name that we all use today - the Grand Canyon It was a treacherous trip and by the end, with few supplies left, it became a fight for survival. Many of his notes from this trip were lost and there are no photographs. But he survived and led another expedition in 1871, which gave the world the first reliable maps of the Colorado River. He was even responsible for giving the area the name we use today - the Grand Canyon. Getty Images This picture shows John Wesley Powell's boat called Emma Dean, which he named after his wife, on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon during his second trip Over the years, the canyon has also served as a mine, after a man called Dan Hogan came to the canyon in 1890 and explored it for mining potential. He also set up tourist facilities and around the turn of the century, the tourist industry around the Grand Canyon really started to take off. Hogan sold his business to Madeleine Jacobs in 1946 who, at first, didn't realise the canyon's mining potential and focused more on the tourist side of things. But when Jacobs realised the rich uranium available, according to the official National Park Service website, the canyon operated as "one of the most productive uranium mines in the region, in operation from 1953 to 1969". Mining would eventually stop here when the market for uranium declined and it became very expensive to ship. The first US president to really begin to protect the canyon as a place of national importance was Theodore Roosevelt. Getty Images The first US president to really begin to protect the canyon as a place of national importance was Theodore Roosevelt He visited it in 1903 and, in 1906, signed a law that made it the Grand Canyon Game Reserve. Two years later, he made it a national monument. "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it," he said. Later, on 26 February 1919, US President Woodrow Wilson made the area a National Park by law. And on 26 October 1979, it was designated a World Heritage Site, which means that you're not actually allowed to pick up chunks of rock and take them home with you as a souvenir, although you can buy them at tourist shops. When it first opened as a National Park, around 45,000 people visited it each year. Now, this figure is around 6 million people. You can find out more about the Grand Canyon here. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47362852 |
What Does It Mean to Support Free College? | Every day now, it seems, another Democratic candidate announces his or her 2020 presidential run. Among the most popular ideas these hopefuls campaign for is a tuition-free secondary education. A free-college proposal has practically become an entrance fee, says writer Adam Harris. In a new Atlantic Argument, Harris explains that while this is an intriguing idea, it is also a vague and sweeping one, and voters want policy specifics. The nuts and bolts of education proposals in the 2020 election, Harris says, are critical to understanding whether or not, six years from now, the student-debt bubble reaches $2.5 trillion, or even $3 trillion. | https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/582727/free-college/?utm_source=feed |
Are Concerns About Age Discrimination By Employers Overblown? | Talk to a job seeker over 50 and youll likely hear frustration, if not anger, about perceived age discrimination by employers. Many 50+ job hunters believe their age has kept them from getting hired or even getting a job interview. But Philip Taylor, a respected Australian professor specializing in age and the labor market, thinks that age discrimination concerns may be overblown. In fact, Taylors research says, younger men face more workplace age discrimination than older men. I heard Taylor, who is associate dean, research at Federation University Australia and professorial fellow at University of Melbourne, make these provocative arguments a few months back at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) conference I attended as a GSA Journalists in Aging fellow. Though I dont agree with all of Taylor's views on the subject, I wanted to learn more about them. So I rang him up and heard him expound not only on misperceptions of age discrimination, but why some older applicants need to up their skills and why employers need to do more to help their older workers. Professor Philip Taylor: To a large extent. I think it is complicated and nuanced. In Australia, theres a tendency among advocates of older people to state that age discrimination is endemic. My view is that the evidence is not there to support that claim. Research by my colleages at the University of Melbourne shows that the reported incidence of age discrimination among experienced older job seekers has been in a long-term decline. And if you look at some other data we analyzed, we find the reported incidence of discrimination is quite low. Also, research has indicated that people are more likely to report every day discrimination thats not ageism or sexism. Things like perceiving that they missed out on promotions unfairly or hearing insulting jokes or comments. And when you look at the data, its young men who are more likely to report such experiences than older men. Among women, there are no age differences. So the picture is complicated. One thing thats important to stress: I dont believe age discrimination is a phenomenon thats only experienced by older people. I think its useful to rethink age discrimination from a generational solidarity point of view. If we argue that age discrimination can happen to anyone, that then opens a discussion between older and younger about issues of work, so were not pitting the young versus the old. You may believe you experienced age discrimination when you didnt get hired. Maybe there were other factors at work. It could have been your skill set was not suitable. Advocacy organizations need to be careful how they approach this issue and not tell older people they will be discriminated against because of their age. Thats a mistaken approach to tackling age discrimination. Last year, AARP found that 61% of Americans age 45 and older it surveyed said they have experienced or seen age discrimination at work. There may be something peculiar about the U.S., that older people are more likely to feel age discrimination. I believe age discrimination by employers exists and probably affects older job seekers more than other workers, generally. I would be very cautious about making that argument. Older job seekers often say they cant hired because of their age. Age discrimination is an issue; dont misunderstand me. But whether age discrimination explains all of the situation, Im doubtful. The OECD [The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an intergovernmental group with 36 countries] says age discrimination is everywhere. If you look at our data, it certainly isnt, from a workplace perspective. Employers may use age stereotypes with people who are looking for work, but they are less likely to apply the stereotypes to the people they know inside their workplace. Advocates for older people argue that older workers are supposedly more reliable, more loyal and will be with you longer as an employer. I think these advocates are firmly drawing on age stereotypes. Saying older workers are more reliable is an inference that younger workers are unreliable. I have an intellectual problem with advocating for older workers by using age stereotypes. Employers view these stereotypes as very unimportant reasons for hiring older workers. Theyre not viewed as positives; theyre often viewed as negatives. The loyalty argument can also suggest to employers that older workers are set in their ways and resistant to change. So loyalty and reliability have negative connotations. Some older workers worry about losing their jobs because theyre the highest paid and have the most expensive benefits. And employers often do fire them when they need to reduce headcount. Employers making judgments around cost reduction might target older people not because they happen to be older, but because they are paid more. There are moves in some workplaces towards flatter wage structures, so you dont automatically get year-to-year pay increases. That is a challenge for businesses and one that needs to be looked at. Some older workers are stepping back and downshifting; that might mean a win/win. We need to look at these sorts of options for retaining older workers. Employers need to look at retooling workers over their working life. Older workers arent getting training as they age and then employers say their skill sets are outdated. In most nations, we still tend to view training as something that happens to you when youre young. People talk about lifelong learning; we need to make it a reality, so that when you hit your fifties or sixties you dont have outdated skills. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2019/02/26/are-concerns-about-age-discrimination-by-employers-overblown/ |
What do people think of May's plan for vote on delaying Brexit? | LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday offered lawmakers the chance to vote in two weeks for a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit or to delay Britains exit from the European Union if her attempt to ratify a divorce agreement fails. Here is some reaction to her proposal OPPOSITION LABOUR LEADER JEREMY CORBYN They say ... history repeats itself, first time as tragedy, second time as farce. By the umpteenth time, it can only be described as grotesquely reckless. This is not dithering, its a deliberate strategy to run down the clock. The Prime Minister is promising to achieve something she knows is not achievable, and is stringing people along. PORTUGALS PRIME MINISTER ANTONIO COSTA If the sovereign decision of the UK is to leave the European Union, we will regret it, respect it and negotiate it that way. If the sovereign decision of the UK is to continue in the European Union for little longer we will be satisfied. And if the UKs decision is to remain permanently in the European Union we will be very satisfied. CONSERVATIVE EUROSCEPTIC LAWMAKER JACOB REES-MOGG If its being delayed, which is my suspicion, as a plot to stop Brexit altogether then I think that would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit. It would be overthrowing the referendum result, two general elections - one to call for the referendum and one to endorse the referendum - and would undermine our democracy. CONSERVATIVE LAWMAKER OLIVER LETWIN Very good news. PM statement does what is needed to prevent no deal exit on 29 March and enables MPs to forge cross-party consensus on new way forward if PMs deal does not succeed on 12 March. No need now for Cooper-Letwin Bill. CONSERVATIVE EUROSCEPTIC LAWMAKER ANDREW BRIDGEN The prime minister has said over a 100 times that we are leaving the European Union on March 29 with or without a deal, he told Reuters. The question she has not answered which way she and the government will vote if the revised agreement again fails to pass and theres a subsequent vote ... on whether to accept leaving with no deal. If its line with her previous policy ... clearly she and the government should be voting to leave without a deal. We all remember that the PM also said that no deal is better than a bad deal I reiterate that what we do know is that if no deal is taken off the table then we will have no leverage over the EU for them to continue with negotiations. DUP LAWMAKER JEFFREY DONALDSON Were focused on March 29 and believe there is still time to secure changes that are needed to allow parliament to approve the Withdrawal Agreement. Thats the mandate the prime ministers been given and we support her in seeking to have the necessary changes that will reassure parliament on the backstop. SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER NICOLA STURGEON PM still not acting in best interests of UK or any part of it. This is all just cynical maneuvering to try to bully MPs into accepting her bad deal - a deal which would remove us from EU/SM/CU (European Union, single market, customs union) with no clarity about what comes after. No one should fall for this. BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DIDIER REYNDERS We are not against (a delay). Of course it will be easier to do that with a roadmap, knowing what we are doing in fact. Because if it is just to prolong the result its more difficult. Like some weeks ago, we are waiting for some decisions in London. It will be that, the first step. BMW BMWs board member in charge of purchasing, Andreas Wendt, told German trade weekly Automobilwoche in remarks released before May confirmed her plan: A slice-by-slice delay of the start date would not be a good scenario for us. INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS Parliament must feel and accept the weight of responsibility that is on their shoulders... Seeing the impasse continue may not be comfortable for businesses, but a disorderly exit could bring unbearable disruption for firms. While an extension is not an end in itself, it may become a necessity to achieve an orderly exit. CITY OF LONDON CORPORATION Any extension to Article 50 must not be a bridge to nowhere. Clarity is required on what a short limited extension means in practice, adding that the plans were still welcome news. Politicians must ensure that the UK does not crash out of the European Union next month without a deal A deal needs to be agreed by the Government, Parliament and the EU in order to enable City firms to plan for the future with confidence. Only then can we move on to the crucial next phase of negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU. | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-reaction-instantview/what-do-people-think-of-mays-plan-for-vote-on-delaying-brexit-idUSKCN1QF1MW?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29 |
How can a vegan take part in the rodeo? | My mother used to bake pancakes drenched in butter and slap freshly sizzled bacon on a plate for me to devour. Friday night takeout was reserved for either double cheeseburgers from Burger King or triple cheese pizzas from Domino's. This meat-and-dairy diet followed me into high school, when a whole pack of thinly sliced turkey and American cheese on white bread became a lunch staple. Growing up in Houston, with barbecue joints on every corner and billboards flaunting Whataburger's newest triple bacon cheeseburger above every freeway, I never saw flaws in our typical American diets or had reason to question the clothes I wore. A few years ago, though, I went to my first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I couldn't help cringing at the meats cooked without any shame of where they came from. People were digging their teeth into turkey legs as though they had ripped them straight from the bird. Layers of barbecue sauce failed to hide pigs' hooves and snouts. There were so many foods on a stick, and, for many, the stick was just the animal's bone. And that was just the food. In temperatures as hot as 95 degrees, animals were stuffed in cages, cramped and paraded around. Sitting in the stands, I watched teenagers chase down baby cows and rope them to the ground. Many of the teens choked the animals to stop them from moving and then yanked them with ropes tied on their faces. Even from the stands, I could see the piles of dirt the calves kicked up. As the crowd cheered, I dug my face into my boyfriend's shoulder. Somehow, looking away was easier. We walked out of the stadium so I could forget what I saw and inhaled a large pile of fries covered in chili cheese. Clearly, calf roping wasn't enough to change me. It wasn't until 2017, when I watched a documentary, "What the Health," that I made the choice to become vegan. The documentary graphically showed me broiler chickens so overfed they couldn't hold themselves up, beheaded cows hung upside down to drain their blood, pigs so sick from being force-fed in tight cages surrounded by fecal matter and dead animals that their bodies swelled from infection and oozed pus. The documentary showed me the death inherent to the American diet I grew up enjoying. I gave up eating meat, eggs and dairy. No more of my mom's pancakes. No more of the breakfast sausage, bacon, turkey sandwiches, fajitas, steak, flautas and empanadas I grew up loving. I started eating fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds. I stopped wearing leather boots and clothes made with animal products. Since then, I have been unable to justify any act of cruelty regardless of how "good" it tastes or looks. It's not so simple. The rodeo increases regional employment, pumps millions of dollars into our economy, provides scholarship opportunities and brings together communities from all over the state. It's a tradition. As a native Houstonian, I recognize that the rodeo is a huge boost to our city every year. And I recognize that raising and caring for animals can help young people learn responsibility and empathy. The rodeo is an important cultural part of our city and our state, with roots that stretch back decades, all the way to the 1930s. My conflict is not just with the food or the leather boots, it's with animal welfare, too. Sometimes, it feels as though I'm in conflict with the very essence of Texas. For years, protesters have rallied outside the rodeo to raise awareness about these issues and provide a voice that people can understand, because the cries of animals can be easily ignored, especially when the crowds are cheering. This year, a petition asking Cardi B, an animal lover, to cancel her performance scheduled for March 1, has received more than 22,000 signatures to date. I know I can still order veggie burgers, fried pickles, homemade potato chips and watch Panic! at the Disco in faux-leather boots and do my part to make purchases that support the least amount of cruelty. But, in the end, I would be lying if I said that I do not feel conflicted by the fact that I would like to see a concert at the rodeo but do not love that I have to give money to an organization that makes food, products and sport out of animals. I know I could always just not go, but ignoring and avoiding the problem is not a solution, either. It's tough, sometimes, in Texas. Samantha Lopez is an intern at the Chronicle. Email Allyn West. Get the Gray Matters newsletter. Vegans can participate. | https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/vegan-rodeo-houston-animal-welfare-13643195.php |
What's Going on With Chip and Joanna Gaines' TV Network? | Their long-awaited return to TV is nigh. During an earnings call, Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealed new details about the Magnolia Network that's in the works. During the call, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav revealed the TV network will also feature a direct-to-consumer offering. "We also have Chip and Joanna who are hard at work, and we have been down to Waco," Zaslav said. "We think that is a very unique opportunity to enhance a channel and grow a channel. No other media company in the last couple of years has been able to go on offense and grow as many channels, in fact most media companies haven't launched any new channels," he said. | https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1018687/what-s-going-on-with-chip-and-joanna-gaines-tv-network |
What Will It Take For Apple To Succeed In The Streaming Video Business? | Apple is likely to unveil its new video streaming service at an event held in March, according to a report from Bloomberg. The new offering, which could launch sometime in the summer, is likely to be Apples most high-profile services launch since Apple Music was introduced in 2015, and comes at a time when Apple is counting on digital services to drive growth with sales of its major hardware products cooling off. However, Apple is entering a crowded market, with multiple players ranging from tech giants to media companies competing for share. In this note, we take a look at what it would take for Apple to succeed in the market. We have created an interactive dashboard analysis on Breaking Down Apples Services Revenue. You can also see all of our data for Information Technology Companies here. Apples Has The Cash And Has Been Amassing Talent. While Apple has a large installed base of devices and strong tech backing to drive its streaming foray, the quality of content will ultimately decide the uptake of the service, and early examples of Apples original TV content have been relatively underwhelming. The companys Carpool Karaoke series was critically panned, while its Planet of the Apps show was also relatively poorly received. However, Apple could come up with a hit. It has shows lined up with big Hollywood players including Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, with an executive team of highly-regarded Hollywood veterans with deep industry relationships overseeing its streaming plans. The company is apparently looking to create a niche for itself, sticking to family-oriented fare, focusing on high-quality shows with a broad appeal, unlike many other streaming players which offer edgier content. The company apparently earmarked about $1 billion for content spending in 2018. While this is well below the estimated $12 billion that Netflix spent in 2018, Apple could scale this up significantly considering its massive cash holding. While original content could make up a meaningful part of the titles, we expect Apple to tap into programming from other media players as well. For instance, there is a possibility that Apple could buy libraries of content from smaller studios such as MGM or Lionsgate. Although its not clear what business model Apple will follow for the streaming offering, its likely that the company will make it a paid service with a monthly subscription, potentially offering an initial free trial, as it did with Apple Music. We expect that the service will be largely platform-agnostic, working with smartphones and streaming hardware from various platforms, as it would broaden its reach although we expect that Apple users will be the biggest initial drivers of the service. To be sure, it could take a few years for the service to scale up and gain significant traction. If we assume that Apple prices the video services at $7.50 per month (Netflix HD starts at $13 and Hulus Ad supported tier now starts at $6), while garnering about 50 million subscribers by 2022 (less than 5% of its total device installed base), the service could add about $4.5 billion to the companys top line. There is also a possibility that Apple could eventually bundle multiple services offerings (music, video streaming, and the rumored News subscription service) into a monthly package, along the lines of Amazon Prime, to improve customer loyalty. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/26/what-will-it-take-for-apple-to-succeed-in-the-streaming-video-business/ |
Is Kosovo About To Get A National Flag Carrier? | Speculation is mounting that Kosovo, the partially-recognized Balkan state that declared independence from Serbia in 2008, could soon have a functioning national airline. The scenario is considered possible after news broke that Leyla Ibrahimi-Salahi, a Swiss national with Kosovan ancestry, has completed a takeover of Germania Flug, the Swiss subsidiary of insolvent airline Germania. The acquisition was made through her investment company Albex Aviation. Germania Flug was unaffected by Berlin-based Germanias bankruptcy this month and continues to operate flights primarily from its Zurich base to leisure resorts in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Swiss company has longstanding ties with Ibrahimi-Salahi as it also operates charter flights on behalf of Air Prishtina, a Kosovan virtual airline that she steers as chairwoman and chief executive. Despite having no aviation assets of its own, Air Prishtina markets itself as an airline catering for ethnic traffic from Switzerland, Germany and Italy to Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania. Its business model echoes that of Kosova Airlines, the countrys historic flag-carrier, which stopped flying in 2006 but continues to sell air tickets through partnerships with foreign carriers. On February 19th, Germania Flug announced in a press release that it is now 100 per cent in Swiss hands without providing a breakdown of its shareholding structure. Switzerlands Handelszeitung later quoted board member Urs Pelizzoni as saying that Ibrahimi-Salahi is now the sole owner of Germania Flug. The newspaper claimed that Germania had held 40% of the Swiss airline prior to its bankruptcy, while the remaining 60% stake was controlled by unknown Swiss investors. It is not clear whether Ibrahimi-Salahi was the original unidentified Swiss investor, or if she bought out additional parties to attain full ownership. Either way, she will now be driving the companys effort to disassociate itself from the tainted Germania brand. Chief executive Tobias Somandin has already pledged a rebranding and a modified corporate identity for Germania Flug. He also said its summer 2019 schedule which involves growing the Zurich operation to five aircraft will continue as planned. But the airlines long-term strategy looks hazy, particularly given the loss of a strategic ally in Germany and competition from a larger, more cost-effective rival in Switzerland (Edelweiss Air). Locally-registered airlines bring profound benefits to countries by enabling them to open air-corridors in strategic national interests, rather than leaning on foreign entities for overseas links. They also foster prestige for governments and pride for citizens. At the same time, though, Europe is a notoriously challenging market for small airlines. Hungary and Lithuania are among the countries that have abandoned their flag carriers, deeming them commercially unviable. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2019/02/26/is-kosovo-about-to-get-a-national-flag-carrier/ |
Which NCAA Tournament seed is projected for LSU this week? | There are four games left in the regular season and No. 13 LSU is still projected to have a high seed after losing to Florida, but beating Tennessee. Bracket forecasters are still high on LSU, as the Tigers appear in all 112 brackets on bracketmatrix.com and are seeded highly at that. The Bracket Project compiles bracket forecasts from all over the web, tracking teams movement in projections all season long. Currently, LSUs average seed in those 112 brackets is 3.46 slightly higher than last week meaning plenty of bracket forecasters have LSU at either a No. 3 or a No. 4 seed. The highest seed LSU is currently receiving is a No. 2 seed (four bracket forecasts) and the lowest is a No. 5 seed (one bracket prediction). Many of the more notable bracket predictions out there all have LSU seeded highly, too. Nothing changed from last week in Joe Lunardis Bracketology for ESPN. He has the Tigers as the No. 4 seed in the East, facing No. 13 seed Hofstra. That game would be played in Jacksonville, Florida. Jerry Palms Bracketology for CBS Sports, on Monday, has LSU as the No. 3 seed in the East, facing No. 14 Montana. That game would be played in Jacksonville. Sports Illustrateds Bracket Watch has LSU as the No. 3 seed in the East facing No. 14 Texas State. USA Todays latest Bracketology has LSU as the No. 3 seed in the West, facing No. 14 Radford. That game would be played in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Athletic releases its Bracket Watch on Wednesdays. Last week, before LSUs loss to Florida or win over Tennessee, the Athletic had LSU as the No. 4 seed in the East, facing No. 13 Liberty. That game would be played in Jacksonville. LSU hasnt been higher than a No. 4 seed since 1981 when the Tigers were a No. 1 seed. The last time the Tigers made the NCAA Tournament was in 2015, and they were a No. 9 seed that year. LSU was a No. 8 seed in 2009, and a No. 4 seed in 2006. Will Wades VCU teams in 2016 and 2017 were No. 10 seeds both years. | https://www.nola.com/lsu/2019/02/which-ncaa-tournament-seed-is-projected-for-lsu-this-week.html |
What is 5G and when will the UK get it? | Superfast 5G internet is coming to the UK this year and promises speeds much faster than we have now. You've probably seen the 4G or 3G icon on your phone - that's what connects it you the internet when you're out and about. 5G is the new version of this and is short for fifth generation mobile networks. It's all about making internet connections faster and enabling more devices to access the mobile internet at the same time. Big tech companies are getting excited, showing off their latest phones and gadgets that will take advantage of the new mobile network. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47379168 |
Will new Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Gerry Gdowski call plays like Andy Ludwig? | Many critical Vanderbilt fans were happy to see offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig leave, but Gerry Gdowskis similarities to Ludwig are part of the reason he got the job. Ludwig, who left in January to become Utahs offensive coordinator, had a good partnership with coach Derek Mason over the past four seasons. They competed in practice with Mason scheming his defense to stop Ludwigs offense. They worked well together in tweaking the offensive game plan during the week. And on game days, Mason found a balance of lightly tinkering but mostly letting Ludwig call the plays. Now Gdowski takes over as offensive coordinator, beginning with the opening workout of spring practice Wednesday, and he wants to make some minor changes to the offense. For this 2019 group, well try to put our stamp on it pretty early, Gdowski said. Dont expect either answer to stray too far from the template that Ludwig set. The big thing in this transition for all (of) us offensively was that we didnt want a whole bunch of big changes, said Gdowski, who has served in numerous roles on Masons staff since 2014. It really comes down to the nuts and bolts of what we do in communication and terminology. Weve got four years invested. Its really Andys system. Having that much time invested, we didnt want to change the nuts and bolts of what we do and how we call this. Gdowski, Mason partnership goes back 15 years Gdowski and Mason have worked together in an offensive meeting room previously. When Gdowski was New Mexico States offensive coordinator in 2004, Mason was hired as his wide receivers coach. In 2005-06 at Ohio, Gdowski coached quarterbacks and Mason coached wide receivers. Vanderbilt's Gerry Gdowski has served as tight ends coach, quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator under Derek Mason. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019. (Photo11: Vanderbilt) When Mason became a first-time head coach at Vanderbilt, Gdowski followed him to Nashville without knowing his position on the staff. The first couple weeks I was wide receivers (coach) and then I ended up with tight ends (and then quarterbacks coach in 2016-18). Its been fun, Gdowski said. Under either Ludwig or Gdowski, Vanderbilts offense was going to look different this season because of a new style of quarterback. Kyle Shurmur, a pro-style quarterback, left as the programs all-time passer. He will be replaced by either dual-threat quarterback Deuce Wallace or Ball State graduate transfer Riley Neal, who passed for 7,393 yards and 46 touchdowns and rushed for 1,363 yards and 15 touchdowns in his Ball State career. Ludwigs offensive terminology will remain. Vanderbilt running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn rushed for 1,244 yards on just 157 carries last season. (Photo11: Shelley Mays/tennessean.com) (Vaughn) can be a special guy. If he can stay healthy and be consistent, the sky is the limit, Gdowski said. Now, he is a running back, so there are a lot of things that go into that. There are five guys up front that have to block people. He understands that. In addition to Vaughn, Vanderbilt returns wide receiver Kalija Lipscomb and tight end Jared Pinkney, both All-SEC performers. With that trio, Vanderbilt averaged 28.5 points per game, the programs fourth-highest mark since World War II. Gdowski thinks his most important jobs are choosing a quarterback and getting the ball to those proven playmakers. A big part of it will be the quarterback spot, Gdowski said. But when you have a guy like KeShawn Vaughn, a guy like (Jared) Pinkney, a guy like Kalija (Lipscomb), youve got a pretty good place to start from. Its not that hard. Get those guys the ball. Figure it out. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get Vanderbilt football news from The Tennessean on your mobile device COACH CONTRACT: Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason gets contract extension QB BATTLE: Ball State transfer Riley Neal's signing starts Vanderbilt quarterback competition Reach Adam Sparks at [email protected] and on Twitter @AdamSparks. | https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2019/02/26/vanderbilt-football-offensive-coordinator-gerry-gdowski-andy-ludwig/2975585002/ |
Will Robust Volume/Mix Plus Synergies Affect Keurig Dr Pepper's Top Line And Profitability In 2018? | Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE: KDP), a leading coffee and beverage company in North America, is set to announce its Q4 2018 results on February 28, 2019, followed by a conference call with analysts. This would be the second quarterly results of the company after its merger with Dr Pepper Snapple. The market expects the company to post adjusted earnings of $0.30 per share in Q4 2018, 25% higher than $0.24 in Q4 2017. Total revenue is expected to be approximately $2.84 billion in Q4 2018, which would mark a whopping increase of 72.9% on a year-on-year basis. Higher revenues and superior adjusted earnings would likely be a reflection of robust volume/mix which is attributed to improved shipment volumes for Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Core Bai and BODYARMOR brands, continued growth in the ginger ale category, expansion of and market share gains in the coffee portfolio, along with a lower tax expense following the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, partially offset by higher interest expense on the back of increased debt as the company assumed DPSs debt after the merger. We have summarized our key expectations from the companys 2018 results in our interactive dashboard Keurig Dr Pepper Likely To Achieve Better Top Line Growth Due To Robust Volume/Mix In 2018. In addition, here is more Consumer Staples data. Key Factors Affecting Earnings Growth in coffee: The global ready-to-drink tea and coffee market size is expected to reach $135 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 8.4%. Thus, the coffee segment provides immense growth opportunities for KDP, which is seeing volume growth of pods and brewers. Further, it is expanding the coffee portfolio on the back of unit growth for the single-serve pod category as well as improved market share for pods produced by Keurig Dr Pepper. In Q3 2018, this segments net sales growth was fueled by volume growth of approximately 3% for pods and 8% for brewers, although the pricing remained weak. The company is aiming to drive its household penetration through the launch of new coffeehouse brewers the K-Caf and the K-Latte and updated version of its K-Mini brewer platform. Bai Brand: As the young generation is shifting away from carbonated soft drinks due to changing preferences, increased awareness, and health concerns, demand for healthier alternatives is increasing. This trend is likely to help KDP as Bai is the front-runner for the company in terms of healthy-beverage options. In Q3 2018, Bais volumes increased by about 22% driven by distribution gains, product innovation, and promotional activity, as well as higher sales to third party bottlers in the Latin America Beverages segment. Additionally, while there are still distribution opportunities for its enhanced water product, opportunities also lie in other platforms, such as Bubbles, Super Tea, and Black. The Latin America beverages segment is expected to witness revenue growth of 8% in 2018. Ginger Ale: With the millennials preferring more authentic, quality beverages having natural flavors, the company has witnessed steady growth in the ginger ale category. Ginger, a sought-after flavor, was also ranked in the top 10 in Googles 2017 Beverage Report. Additionally, ginger beverages have been gaining traction in markets such as US, UK, Spain, and Mexico. Sales of ginger ale is likely to remain strong in Q4 2018 and beyond, contributing to higher sales from the beverage concentrates segment. We expect revenues from this segment to grow by 3.5% in 2018 followed by a 3% rise in 2019. Profitability: KDP expects merger-related synergies totaling about $600 million over the next three years, with $200 million in savings expected per year. This is expected to help in providing a fillip to margins. Additionally, lowering of the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% following the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2018 is expected to lead to lower tax outgo and thus boost margins. However, we expect the upside in the net income margin to be limited due to higher interest expense. With the merger with DPS, Keurig Dr Pepper has assumed all of DPSs senior unsecured notes amounting to approximately $12 billion, which has led to almost a three-fold rise (y-o-y) in the consolidated debt of the company at the end of Q3 2018. Higher interest expense along with currency headwinds is likely to adversely affect margins in 2018. We expect net income margin to increase to 18% in 2018 from 16.1% in 2017. The upward trend is expected to continue in 2019 as well. We have a price estimate of $27 for the company, almost in line with its current market price. Management recently announced a quarterly dividend program and declared its first dividend of $0.15 per share. Thus, we believe that improving margins, coupled with managements renewed focus on enhancing shareholder returns, would support KDPs stock price in the near future. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/26/will-robust-volumemix-plus-synergies-affect-keurig-dr-peppers-top-line-and-profitability-in-2018/ |
What's Wrong With Being A Likeable Woman? | Ive built my entire careerheck, Ive built my entire lifearound being likeable. Not only was the like button being introduced for brands on Facebookbut being likeable was what got me ahead for most of my career. I would meet people, they would like me. Theyd take a chance on me. Even if I wasnt the most qualified, or the smartest, or the most badasswhen I was hired, it was generally because I was good enough, and because someone, somewhere, liked me. And yet, as a woman leader, I cannot be likeable. Youve surely seen the research already. A 2007 report from the Catalyst Group reveals the double-bind dilemma women face in the workplace: Women leaders are perceived as competent or liked, but rarely both. If we live up to gender stereotypes of being kind and submissive, then were regarded as nice but incompetent. Yet if we behave in ways that are typically viewed as masculine, then were competent but unlikeable. Put in this lose-lose situation, more and more women are choosing to just not care about being likeable anymore. Chimamanda Ngozi, author of We Should All Be Feminists, advises, If you start thinking about being likable you are not going to tell your story honestly, because you are going to be so concerned with not offending, and thats going to ruin your story, so forget about likability. Her point about staying true to yourself is well taken. As Marianne Cooper wrote in the Harvard Business Review: What is really going on...is that high-achieving women experience social backlash because their very successand specifically the behaviors that created that successviolates our expectations about how women are supposed to behave. Women are expected to be nice, warm, friendly, and nurturing. Ultimately, thats the problem with the likeability debate: Its being held in the unfair context of sexist perceptions. After all, it shouldnt be unlikeable for a woman to be tough and assertive. It shouldnt be unlikeable for a woman to be decisive and confident. It shouldnt be unlikeable to for a woman to be honest and flawed. It shouldnt be unlikeable for a woman to be human. In the political arena, as female candidates like Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren enter the 2020 US presidential race, many women are already bracing for the unlikeability conversation that has plagued plenty of female politicians in the past. And yes, yes it does. As Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership and management at the Harvard Business School, explained to The Washington Post, Any kind of derision leads to fear leads to conformity but never creativity and ingenuity. Youre not going to get new thinking from fear. Ever. The problem, of course, is that women face far more backlash for being toughor even cruelin the workplace than men ever do. The answer isnt to just embrace being unlikeable leaders. Its to start holding men to the same standards that we hold women in power. Heres the thing: Likeability does matter. Whether you like it or not, it matters in politics. It matters in business. And it certainly matters in our personal and professional relationships. We dont need to forget about being likeable in order to get ahead. We need to change the way we talk about likeability. For me, likeability is when someone has come out of the experience of working with you and enjoyed it. No leader can truly succeed without the ability to make people feel good about the experience of working with them and being led by them. As women, the choice between being respected and being liked is a false one. Just look at Jenna Lyons, the former president and executive creative director of J. Crew who was responsible for turning the fashion brand into an arbiter of styleall while making sure her team actually enjoyed working for her. As one employee once said: She knows how to make you feel appreciated, even if you need to be redirected. Theres nothing wrong with being likeableand women shouldnt feel shamed for wanting to be so. In fact, if all of uswhatever our genderfocused on being more likeable, wed have better businesses, better governments, and a better world. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriekerpen/2019/02/26/whats-wrong-with-being-a-likeable-woman/ |
Will Old Navy Continue To Drive Growth For Gap Inc. In Q4? | Gap Inc. had a fairly strong first three quarters of 2018, as the company managed to grow its revenue by just under 8% in the first 9 months of the year. This performance was primarily attributable to solid growth both by Old Navy and Athleta brands, as well as improved digital sales and a lower effective tax rate. We expect these trends to continue in the near term, though continued subpar performance from the namesake Gap brand should slightly dampen its Q4 results. Nevertheless, we expect the company to announce another solid quarter when it reports its Q4 results on February 28. Below we take a look at what to expect from GAP for Q4. We have a $36 price estimate for Gaps stock, which is slightly higher than the current market price. Our interactive dashboard on what to expect from Gap in Q4 details our expectations for the companys earnings. You can modify the charts in the dashboard to gauge the impact that changes in key drivers would have on the companys earnings and valuation, and see all of our Consumer Discretionary company data here. Factors That May Impact Future Performance 1. Continued Strength of Old Navy: Old Navy accounts for nearly half of Gaps overall revenues, and has been the second fastest growing segment of late. Over the first three quarters of 2018, the brand has not only consistently delivered comps growth, but also increased its market share. Old Navys store traffic has consistently outpaced industry trends, and its online segment saw a meaningful acceleration over the first nine months of 2018. As a result, we expect the holiday season to drive growth for the segment for Q4. The fact that the brands merchandise tends to be skewed towards the affordable segment has worked in its favor. Seeing its impressive performance, Gap has accelerated Old Navy store openings, with over 54 in the first nine months of 2018. Management believes the brand remains under-penetrated when compared with its peers, and we expect the increasing store count to help improve its market share and revenues. 2. Introduction Of Plus Collection: The womens plus-size market is estimated at north of $20 billion and is growing at a higher rate than the overall apparel market. Old Navy is expected to launch its online exclusive plus-size collection in 75 select stores. According to NPD, even with just the online business, Old Navy falls within the top 10 womens plus-size brands, and the expansion of the category in the stores represents a substantial growth opportunity. 3. Athleta: The Athleisure segment remains a major growth driver for the apparel industry. Sales in this category continue to grow, and the U.S. market is estimated at around $50 billion currently, with further growth expected. Hence, it is no surprise that Gaps Athleta brand has been performing well in fact, it is growing at a much faster rate than the segment overall. The brand has been the fastest-growing segment of late, and we expect the momentum to continue through Q4 2018 and into 2019. 4. Improvement In Online Business: The online and mobile business remains a key growth driver for retailers, and Gap has invested heavily in boosting its digital presence. The company has one platform for all of its brands, ensuring customers can purchase items for any of them in one place. This has also ensured its new brands get the recognition that may not have been possible if they had had a separate web presence. An upshot of this is that the company was able to deliver strong growth from its online and mobile channels in the third quarter, and is on track to garner over $3.5 billion in digital sales this year. The company has also focused its investment into the native mobile apps and on improving site speed. These factors should ensure the growth of this revenue stream in the future. 5. Lower Tax Rate: As a result of the lowering of the corporate tax rate, Gaps effective tax rate is expected to be around 26% for fiscal 2018. This would represent a significant drop from the roughly 40% rate the company has been averaging for the past couple of years. This should help to boost the net margin and overall earnings. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/26/can-old-navy-drive-growth-for-gap-inc-in-q4/ |
Do Dwight Evans And Darrell Evans Deserve Spots In Baseball Hall Of Fame? | Dwight Evans and Darrell Evans are not related. But they do have a relationship. According to Bill James, father of baseball sabermetrics, both should be considered for the Baseball Hall of Fame. James says Dwight was the best player in a Red Sox outfield that also included Fred Lynn and Jim Rice (who eventually reached Cooperstown on his last try) and calls Darrell the most underrated player in baseball history. In The Bill James Handbook 2019, the author, analyst, and mathematician has a section called The 25 Best Players Who Are Not in the Hall of Fame. Dwight Evans is ranked No. 4 and Darrell Evans No. 7. The former spent all but the final season of his career with the Boston Red Sox, playing for the team in the 1975 and 1986 World Series. The 6'2", 180-pound righthaded hitter was best-known for his spectacular defense in right field, were he won eight Gold Gloves. He also made the American League All-Star team three times. Evans, a durable star who played the entire 162-game schedule twice, played for 20 years from 1972-91, earning a peak salary of $1,600,000 in 1988. That was a year after his most prolific power season, 1987, when he had 34 home runs and 123 runs batted in. By the time he played out the string with the Baltimore Orioles, Dewey Evans had 385 home runs and a .370 lifetime on-base percentage nearly 100 points higher than his batting average. The differential in Darrell Evans was even more dramatic. He had a .361 on-base percentage but only a .248 batting average. The 6'2", 200-pound lefthanded batter began with the Atlanta Braves, where in 1973 he was part of the first trio of teammates (with Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson) to hit 40 home runs in the same season. Primarily a third baseman, the native California clubbed 40 home runs in both leagues, leading the American League with 40 in 1985. His final count was 414. Although he won a World Series ring with the 1984 Tigers, Evans always said the thrill of his career was scoring ahead of Hank Aarons 715th home run on April 8, 1974. He also had a career highlight in 1984, when he homered in his first at-bat with the Tigers. Coached and managed by Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews, another lefty-hitting slugger who played third base for the Braves, Evans drew 1,605 walks, eighth on the career list at the time his 21-year career ended. The two-time All-Star had great baseball bloodlines: both his mother and aunt played professional softball. Darrell Evans never made more than $1,083,333 in a season but would earn significantly more in todays inflated market. Hes never mentioned when the various Veterans Committees come up their annual 10-man ballots every December but perhaps that should change. At least Bill James thinks so. In his book, he compares Darrell Evans to Graig Nettles, another lefty-hitting third baseman who hit for high power but a low average. Nettles was a better defensive third baseman and retained his value longer, James writes, but Evans rates higher as a Hall of Fame candidate because of his extremely high walk totals. He has the same career batting average as Nettles and about the same home run total but his OPS (on-base plus slugging) is 42 points higher mostly because of his walks. When these guys played, people just couldnt imagine that a .250 hitter could be a really valuable player because of his walks and homers. James gives the other Evans even higher praise. I wrote a long article for Grantland a few years ago, arguing that Evans should be in the Hall of Fame, he says in the 622-page paperback. Great defense, power, walks. Another victim of the batting average illusion like (Bobby) Grich, Darrell Evans, Graig Nettles, and others. But Dwight didnt hit .248. He hit .272. The only players listed ahead of Dwight Evans in the James book are Ted Simmons, Lou Whitaker, and early 20th century shortstop Bill Dahlen. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschlossberg/2019/02/26/do-dwight-evans-and-darrell-evans-deserve-spots-in-baseball-hall-of-fame/ |
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