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What is the difference between appropriation and appreciation? | Q: I bought a pair of moccasin boots and I love them and I pictured myself wearing them all summer with floaty dresses. I purchased them from an Indigenous collective, and I did research the company and it is Indigenous owned. But Im still unsure whether I will hurt anyone by wearing them (Im white): what is the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation? S.R., Toronto First of all, the summer outfit plan sounds great! A floaty dress in a park sounds like heaven right now. But listen, I, too, worry about hurting anyone with my clothing choices, and I am also hazy on the boundaries of cultural appropriation. Sounds like you have put in some research energy into the brands you support as a consumer, so cheers to that. The past year has seen (the beginnings of) a revolution in amplifying BIPOC voices and lived experiences. Im also keenly aware I dont want to add to anyone elses emotional or other labour in the name of my own education. But that is why publications have advice columns, to connect to the right experts to answer your questions. I am grateful to Sage Paul, who graciously agreed to break down her thoughts on this subject for us. Paul is an urban Denesulin tskwe (which means woman in the Dene language); she is an artist, costume designer for stage, film and television, and an advocate. She is a founding collective member and the artistic director of Indigenous Fashion Week (IFW). She teaches a course in Indigenous fashion at George Brown, and is an adviser to Ryerson School of Fashion. First of all, Paul agrees that this past year has been a huge shift across all spaces. I really do feel it, she says, of the conversations about representation and inclusion that are starting to happen. IFW, which features fashion, textiles and craft works, has been growing since its 2018 debut; last year saw a swift pivot from live presentation to fashion shows presented as films (working with AbTeC.org, pioneers in the work of new media Indigenous narrative). Another first driven by the pandemic was the IFW makers virtual marketplace, which sold out on its first day. The reach of online is incredible, says Paul, and for the first time, my family in northern Saskatchewan could see the work [at IFW]. Pauls ancestral community is the English River First Nations. It has allowed us to connect to our communities, she says. And interest and viewership has come from around the world. As to the question, is wearing moccasins appropriation, Paul jumps right in: I know it is scary, the idea you will get called out for wearing something. But, she says, the support of consumers is critical to grow small, local businesses. It is important to buy Indigenous makers, to appreciate the people and the culture and it contributes to our local economy. Of course, it is important to buy goods from Indigenous designers, as opposed to mass chain retailers who have been known to rip off Indigenous, and other, cultures in the name of fashion. Yes, you might feel awkward, she says. But dont worry about that fear, get over it, because if someone is purchasing from Indigenous makers, the pieces should be worn with pride. After all, she adds, think of the fact that Indigenous people are afraid just walking into most stores, that they will be followed around, by clerks assuming they intend to steal something. A great point: Understand your fear of being called out is small in comparison to many Indigenous peoples very real fears. Education is an ongoing process, but Paul suggests you start by talking to the makers themselves. Its a very complicated question, and I believe when artists and designers are selling their work, its important to speak with them and understand whether its OK to wear the work. Most are not going to sell something sacred or ceremonial or not meant to be worn. The work, she says, comes from an authentic place of individual cultural expression. Most artists are thrilled to talk about their work. There are conversations to be had around the process and the meaning behind the piece. The important thing is the way we treat the work, and the way we treat the people who make the work. The more you know, the more you see the value of that work, and that in turn creates a level of respect for the maker, and the makers culture. Many Indigenous designers have turned to Instagram as a way to keep their small businesses afloat and connect directly with consumers. Paul points to the debut collection launch from Scott Wabano, which sold out immediately. Wabano is a 2Spirit Cree stylist-turned-designer, who has also done a very special collaboration with Lesley Hampton as part of the collection. Hampton is of Anishinaabe and Mohawk and Scottish heritage, and is a star of Toronto Fashion Weeks past. Lizzo has recently been wearing Hamptons fabulous exercise gear on repeat, as seen in workout shots on social media. The made-to-order Hampton x Wabano jackets, which nod to Jingle dresses designed by the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island used for healing ceremonies, are a clever blend of traditional fashion and contemporary luxury. Inspired by healing, the work represents the struggle faced by Indigenous youth to uphold their identity and culture after the ravages of colonialism, according to Wabanos site. It features turquoise and ruby red metal jingles from Anishnaabe Bimishimo, the only Indigenous-owned jingle retailer in Canada. It is not a ceremonial piece, however, adds Wabano; he and Hampton feel a responsibility to ensure all buyers learn about what they are buying: This is now the start of our people, not only reclaiming back our culture and our teachings but also providing the proper knowledge and education the Western world needs about Indigenous peoples and our ways of life. So, wear and enjoy fashion and art by Indigenous makers with pride. The next iteration of IFW, a hybrid of IRL and digital, is scheduled for June 2022. In the meantime, the ifwtoronto.com site has an excellent resource list of makers and creatives to help you track down your next favourite piece Shop the advice Supporting local Indigenous designers is great, but make sure you understand the culture and intent behind the art Hampton x Wabano jacket, $550, scottwabano.com The jacket mimics the sound of rain falling, says Wabano. Rain is significant to healing for Indigenous peoples and our Earth. The cone colours hold meaning: Red cones are used to bring awareness to the MMIWG2S+ Inquiry; the turquoise cones for Addictions and Intergenerational Trauma. He notes it is not a ceremonial piece. All versions are still available, made-to-order, and come in a range of sizes, from XS to 4XL. Manitobah Mukluks moccasins, $130, manitobah.ca When Oprah ordered herself a pair of moccasins from this Indigenous-owned Winnipeg-based company in 2009, the exposure brought accolades and orders from the world over. Today, Canadian filmmaker and activist Sarain Fox is a brand ambassador; we loved the white, beaded booties named for her, but sadly they were sold out! We love these simpler ones, too. Warren Steven Scott earrings, $40 pair, warrenstevenscott.com Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Scott is a member of the Nlaka pamux nation in what is now B.C. He grew up on a steady diet of Fashion File, and went on to graduate from Ryersons School of Fashion. His work is available online and at select boutiques and galleries across the country. These feather earrings are acrylic and sterling silver and can be mixed, matched and worn in multiples. Niio Perkins Designs earrings, $35, nioperkins.com Perkins handmakes her beadwork in Akwesasne Mohawk Territory in upstate New York. She employs Haudenosaunee symbols in her designs, which merge traditional and contemporary styles. MDW Jewelry necklace, $95, mdwjewelry.com Designer Meghan Weeks is Cree and English, a member of Sucker Cree First Nations. Her work, like this delicate sterling silver beaded necklace, is made to order. She says her work reflects teachings from the matriarchal side of her family and her childhood memories. She also says it is informed by her struggle of being part colonizer and part the colonized. When you make a purchase through the links in this article, we may earn a small commission. Our journalism is independent and not influenced by advertising. Learn more | https://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_style/2021/05/14/what-is-the-difference-between-appropriation-and-appreciation.html |
Will Kris Hutson push for bigger role as Oregon Ducks Y receiver? | With spring practice over, The Oregonian/OregonLive is reviewing Oregons depth chart position by position. We continue the 25-part series by looking at the Y receivers. The receiver spot with arguably the most flexibility on Oregons depth chart is in the slot. With Jaylon Redd out for most of the spring with a left foot injury, Mycah Pittman worked back inside, Kris Hutson got extensive work and Josh Delgado saw time at Y as well. Redd will return to the Y position and when he does it could allow Pittman to move back outside more often, but there will still be ample depth. In base 11 personnel, Oregons slot receivers are all of similar stature: Under 6-foot and 200 or less pounds. Theyre agile, shifty and elusive. Post-spring depth chart Jaylon Redd: 5-foot-9, 187 pounds, senior OR Mycah Pittman: 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, sophomore Kris Hutson: 5-foot-11, 171 pounds, freshman Josh Delgado: 5-foot-11, 190 pounds, sophomore Oregon wide receiver Jaylon Redd is tackled by Iowa State defensive back Isheem Young, left, during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) APAP Co-starter Though he missed most all of spring, Redd is clearly going to be a regular contributor. He led the Ducks with 25 catches last season for 281 yards and a touchdown and also had three carries with a score. Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead likes to get Redd the ball in space and allow his speed to do the rest. In the right matchups he presents real problems for a defense. Oregon's Mycah Pittman, right, looks for extra yards against Arizona's Christian Roland-Wallace, left, after a pass reception during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2019, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)AP Co-starter Were listing Pittman as a co-starter at both Z and Y coming out of spring due to the injury to Redd and because of Pittmans versatility. Hes played both roles and can continue to do so. Yes. One area where Pittman does need to improve is his run blocking and in bunch and tight sets when hes closer to the tackles hes matched up with bigger defenders and has had a tougher time. Oregon receiver Kris Hutson makes a catch during practice. Next wave Hutson had four catches for 37 yards as a true freshman last season. He had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown during the spring game. Hes clearly behind more experienced players but also appears to be the future of the position for the Ducks in at least 2022. With a full offseason, Hutson should see the field more and should have a spot on the two-deep in the fall. Josh Delgado had three catches for 36 yards last season. Hes also capable of playing inside or outside, but is behind multiple players at either Y or Z with talented freshmen coming in as well. Summer arrivals Isaiah Brevard is likely going to begin in the slot at the Y position. At 6-foot-4 he doesnt fit the mold of Oregons other slot receivers but having a bigger slot receiver besides split out tight ends will be useful as well. Quotable Obviously theyre good players. Theyve made a bunch of plays, theyve played a bunch of ball. But the approach that they bring every single day in our room really, really helps. - receivers coach Bryan McClendon on Jaylon Redd and Johnny Johnson III | https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2021/05/will-kris-hutson-push-for-bigger-role-as-oregon-ducks-y-receiver.html |
Is a small B.C. citys renoviction bylaw coming to Toronto? | Toronto-area politicians say they intend to push to implement laws similar to those adopted by a B.C. city to combat so-called renovictions in Ontario. New Westminster recently won a court challenge to a bylaw it adopted in 2019, which has been credited with eliminating renovictions that is, landlords evicting people under the guise of making renovations only to rent their units out for far more money. Weve just been waiting for somebody to find out what the key is to unlock this problem with renovictions, particularly in this really difficult time around housing, and it looks like they may have, Paula Fletcher, councillor for Toronto-Danforth, said on Friday afternoon. New Westminsters bylaw holds landlords of purpose-built rentals responsible for the alternate accommodation of their tenants if they need to leave a unit so it can be renovated and requires them to send the tenant a written offer to move back into their unit or another one at the same rate. The bylaw is backed up by fines and the prospect of not having business licenses renewed if owners dont comply. Landlords can also appeal to city council if they feel they have a legitimate reason for not accommodating a tenant. Late last month, a challenge to the bylaw from a property owner was dismissed by the B.C. Court of Appeal on the grounds the provinces Community Charter gives the city the right to implement and enforce the bylaw. In the three years prior to the bylaw, the city, a Vancouver suburb of more than 70,000, had 333 known renovictions and the number has had none since 2019. Jessica Bell, housing critic for Ontarios opposition NDP, said renovictions have been a huge problem through Toronto, where she represents the downtown riding of University-Rosedale. Between 2015 and 2018, data from Ontarios Landlord and Tenant Board shows a 149-per-cent increase in applications to remove tenants during renovations. From April 2019 to the end of March 2020, the LTB received 582 applications to evict tenants for demolitions, conversions, repairs or renovations. And Bell worries that rising market-rent costs will only provide an incentive for further renovictions. We expect, with the continuing boom in housing prices, for more renters to be screwed, she said. So she supports assessing whether the New Westminster approach could legally work somewhere like Toronto. John Mascarin, partner at Toronto law firm Aird Berlis, says the two provinces arent too different in terrain. He noted that Ontarios Municipal Act and the City of Toronto Act are very similar in structure to British Columbias Community Charter. Mascarin said theres actually many parts of Canada with laws similar to those of B.C. I can certainly see why theres interest in this case across the country, Mascarin said. Most of the jurisdictions across Canada are probably quite similar to the B.C. community charter, so you could probably see these renoviction bylaws popping up throughout the country. One question, he said, was whether there was anything laid out in the provinces relationship with municipalities, or residential tenancy laws, that could bar such a bylaw. But landlords say the measures arent needed. President and CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, Tony Irwin, said regulations meant to protect tenants and landlords are adequate. The Ontario government did make changes, they did strengthen tenant protections through Bill 184 and we think those protections are very strong, Irwin said. The bill, passed last year, increased fines on landlords who conduct illegal evictions. Renters charge the fines dont deter landlords, but Irwin said the fines are significant and can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a corporation. Three Toronto city councillors, on Friday afternoon, said theyd support exploring whether the measure could be adopted in the city. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Fletcher pledged to raise the matter of New Westminsters approach at a city housing committee next week. I will be bringing a letter to Planning and Housing next week, asking staff to report very quickly on if any of these options could work in Toronto, and then we can start moving in that direction. A Toronto version may have to look slightly different, Fletcher cautioned, owing to different rules about residential rentals and the requirements on landlords. In Toronto, apartment owners with three-plus stories or 10-plus units currently have to register via the RentSafeTO program. But if there was a way to use city powers to crack down on renovictions, its worth exploring it as quickly as possible, she said. The tenants really feel very, very vulnerable (during) renovictions, she said. I think were ready to really look at some concrete actions here. Coun. Mike Layton, who represents the same ward as Bell, supports the approach. Layton said sometimes, it takes one brave municipality going out on a limb with an innovative policy for others to follow suit. Whatever opportunities or avenues that exist for us to have more accountability is worth the undertaking, he said. Coun. Ana Bailao, mayor John Torys advocate for affordable housing, agrees. But she also believes staff have already been eyeing the rule changes in New Westminster, noting that the executive director of Torontos housing secretariat is a recent transplant from B.C., herself. Bailo said the issue was bigger than just introducing new rules; the task was also to ensure rules on the books are enforced, and that tenants know what rights they already have. Dania Majid, a lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, believes the responsibility falls on the province. Landlords looking to make cash off renovictions will just move to the next municipality if they cannot do it in Toronto, she said. It could have broader impact, but, ideally, we would not want to see a patchwork approach in Ontario, she said. We really need the province to take control of this issue. with a file from Emily Mathieu | https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/05/14/is-a-small-bc-citys-renoviction-bylaw-coming-to-toronto.html |
Why is violence flaring up in Israel and Gaza? | At least 126 Palestinians and seven Israelis have so far been killed in the most severe violence to occur in the region in years. Here's a look at why it's happening. There were two main triggers that ignited the current crisis. Protests erupted after attempts were made to evict a number of Palestinians from their homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Those specific evictions have been paused by Israel's Supreme Court, but they're part of a long-term campaign supported by the Israeli government to move Jewish settlers into Palestinian neighborhoods in the disputed area of east Jerusalem, which was occupied after the 1967 war and later annexed by Israel in a move that has not been recognized by the international community. There were also restrictions imposed on Palestinians during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended on Wednesday. For years, Israeli-Arabs and Palestinians have gathered at the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem's Old City to celebrate during Ramadan. This year, Israeli police erected barricades in the area and restricted the number of people permitted to enter. After a series of protests the barricades were removed, but then Israeli police stormed the area around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Temple Mount, one of the holiest sites in Islam and Judaism, currently managed by an Islamic endowment called the Waqf. Muslims are allowed to pray there, but Jews and Christians are not. The Israeli police said they were responding to Israeli Arabs having gathered stones to use in a later riot. Palestinian witnesses said fighting began after police entered the compound and fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. Hundreds of Palestinians were injured in the raid. The Israeli police said at least 21 officers were also hurt. One of the two main Palestinian territories, the Gaza Strip, is run by the Hamas group. Considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel, Hamas issued an ultimatum to Israel to remove its forces from Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa. It then started firing rockets into Israel, prompting the Israeli military to launch airstrikes. Tanks have also since been used by Israel to target tunnels that run between Gaza and Israel, according to the Israeli Defense Force. At least 126 Palestinians in Gaza and seven Israelis have so far been killed. Hundreds of Palestinians have demonstrated in the West Bank, and at least 11 have been shot and killed by Israeli police during clashes there, according to The Associated Press. There has not been such a severe escalation of violence in the region since the Israel-Gaza war in 2014, where 2,251 people were killed in Gaza, 1,462 of them civilians, according to the United Nations. 67 Israeli soldiers were also killed in the fighting, along with six civilians, the U.N. said. While the last week has seen the most significant rocket fire since then, there's a key distinction between that conflict and the violence playing out now. Fighting has broken out in mixed Jewish and Israeli Arab communities around the country, with reports of neighbors attacking one another and mob violence. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin likened the situation to a "civil war." "I can't remember, at least in my lifetime, ever seeing that sort of consequence within Israel's internationally recognized borders, prior to the occupation that began in '67," Dr. H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C., told CBS News. "This is between citizens of the same country," said Dr. Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think-tank in London. Mekelberg said he hoped the unrest wouldn't be used as evidence that Jews and Palestinians simply can't live together. "They are destined to live in the same place," he told CBS News. "The question is how. It's how to really reconcile and talk to each other about it in a very honest and open way." "Issues that go back decades" "The confrontation over the past week isn't about the past week. It's not even about the last few weeks or the last few months," Hellyer said. "There are many underlying issues that go back decades, and the key issue in that regard is the ongoing military occupation of the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and the dispossession and disempowerment of the Palestinians that goes along with it." Palestinians who are born in east Jerusalem, the West Bank or Gaza are not given Israeli citizenship, though those born in east Jerusalem are given a form of Israeli permanent residency that means they can later apply for citizenship. Many of their day-to-day movements are restricted by Israeli checkpoints. Mekelberg said these among other inequalities have left an "unresolved, ethno-religious conflict between two communities, which should have been resolved [with] a two-state solution in which there is recognition of the right of self-determination of both. But there is only one country that enjoys self-determination, or group of people, and the other does not." He said that underlying inequality leaves tensions always simmering just below the surface, and "when something triggers all of these underlying issues, at one point or another, it explodes." | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-gaza-why-is-violence-flaring-up-now/ |
What are the playoff scenarios in play for the Milwaukee Bucks in the last two games? | Milwaukee's win Thursday kept the Bucks in the conversation for the No. 2 seed (and maybe even the No. ), but Thursday's slew of outcomes didn't offer any additional clarity as to which team might garner the No. 6 seed and open the playoffs against No. 3 a slot that currently belongs to Milwaukee. The Miami Heat and New York Knicks the two likeliest teams for that assignment both won their contests. Milwaukee can still climb from its No. 3 spot The Bucks (45-25), one game back of the Brooklyn Nets after Thursday, face the Heat (39-31) on Saturday, then finish at the Chicago Bulls (30-40) on Sunday. If Milwaukee wins both games and Brooklyn (46-24) loses one of its last two, Milwaukee will leapfrog the Nets on tiebreaker and take command of the No. 2 seed. The downside: Brooklyn has two home games remaining against lesser opponents, the Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers (22-48). There's also a scenario where the Philadelphia 76ers (47-23) lose their final two games, and Milwaukee leapfrogs the 76ers for the No. 2 or even the No. 1 seed (if the Nets also lose). But both of Philly's final two games are against lowly Orlando Magic (21-49), making such a scenario highly unlikely. If the Bucks do match or bypass the Nets, they'd get the winner of the No. 7 or No. 8 seed game in the play-in tournament (Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers or Washington Wizards). If the Bucks stay where they are in the No. 3 spot, they'll be pitted against the No. 6 seed, almost certainly facing off against either Miami or New York. Who's the likely foe at No. After a win over Orlando on Thursday, Atlanta (40-31) can fully lock up the No. 4 seed with a win over the last-place Houston Rockets (16-54) on Sunday, which naturally seems likely. But, technically, the Hawks aren't out of the equation for the No. 6 just yet. If Miami goes 2-0, New York goes 1-1 or better and Atlanta loses that last game, the Hawks get the No. 6. Miami (39-31) owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against New York, so if Atlanta wins as expected and both Miami and New York (39-31) have the same record over their last two games, the Knicks will have the No. 6 spot. If the three teams all end up tied, the order will be: Atlanta (No. 4), Miami (No. 5) and New York (No. 6). Miami closes with the Bucks and Detroit Pistons (20-50), so it's reasonable to assume the Heat will at least get one win. New York finishes with Charlotte (33-37) and Boston (35-35), both teams with playoff aspirations but both games at Madison Square Garden. Bucks fans understandably wary of Miami after last year's playoff debacle might be asking themselves, 'Would the Bucks be better off if they just let Miami win Saturday?' thereby making it increasingly likely that Miami doesn't face the Bucks in the first round. With the No. 2 seed still in reach a prize that would guarantee no clash with the Heat in the first round among other benefits it seems imprudent to pull for a Bucks setback. Since the Heat finish with a lesser foe in Detroit, and it stands to reason Miami will win that game, the Bucks could win and Miami could still lock up a spot in the 4-5 matchup with a Knicks loss in either of their last two games. But if Bucks fans surrendered their hope for the No. 2 seed, it's true that if the Heat beat the Bucks, Miami would only need a win over the Pistons (or one Knicks loss) to assuredly miss Milwaukee in the opening round. The Bucks are 1-2 against the Knicks, but one of those losses came with a lineup that featured just one regular starter (Brook Lopez). The Bucks split two games on back-to-back nights with Miami, but that was back in late December. The Bucks are 2-1 against Atlanta this year. Final games are set The NBA finalized the start times for the Bucks final two games of the season. The team will conclude their home schedule Saturday night at Fiserv Forum against the Miami Heat at 7 p.m. Central. They will then end the regular season in Chicago on Sunday night at 8 p.m. Elijah Bryant officially signed Thursday afternoon the Bucks formally signed guard Elijah Bryant, who recently played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. Bryant played for the 2019 Bucks summer league team, which was coached by current assistant Darvin Ham. He definitely made a very good impression on all of us, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. Theres nothing like being the coach of the team and having a good feel, in this case Darvin, for what Elijah did. I think hes continued to grow and develop ad a player just an opportunity. I think we talk about (general manager) Jon Horst and the front office, theyre always looking for opportunities to make us better. "We just feel like this is another one of em. Keep trying to find good players to add to the roster, add to our core, and Elijahs done a lot of things well with us and since that summer league. Hes knocking on the door. In order to make room for the 26-year-old, the Bucks waived Rodions Kurucs on Wednesday. NBA names social justice award for Abdul-Jabbar The league announced the creation of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award on Thursday, which will be presented annually to a current NBA player for pursuing social justice and upholding the leagues decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion. More:50 years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were NBA champions: An oral history of the 1970-71 season Each team will nominate one player for the award, and the finalists and winner will be chosen by a committee of former NBA players, league executives and social justice leaders. The player who wins the award will choose an organization to receive a $100,000 donation on his behalf while four other finalists can choose an organization to receive $25,000. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nba/bucks/2021/05/14/two-games-play-what-playoff-scenarios-bucks/5088759001/ |
What Does A Path Forward Look Like For Israel And Palestinians? | Enlarge this image toggle caption Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Overnight, violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel accelerated to the brink of all-out war. Israel deployed artillery and warplanes to attack the tunnel systems of Hamas. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least 126 dead. That dramatic escalation was a response to around 2,000 rockets fired by Gaza militants into Israel, killing at least 11 Palestinians. The international community is mobilizing to de-escalate this violence or at least the latest surge of it. The U.S. is sending Hady Amr, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel and Palestinian affairs, to meet with leaders from both sides. The Biden administration is also speaking to other regional diplomats who may have some sway. Israeli political analyst and journalist Akiva Eldar, a contributor to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza spoke to NPR's All Things Considered about what life on the ground is like for each of them, key players who may be able to de-escalate the situation and the role of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Mkhaimar Abusada: The situation here in Gaza is that Gaza is under fire, under attack, for the past five days. We have been under intense Israeli bombardment on different areas of the Gaza Strip. Last night was the worst in terms of the intensity of the bombing. In the north side of [the] Gaza strip, around two areas called Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. I have my mother, who lives in Beit Lahia, and some of my brothers. Last night they were screaming all night long; it was very horrific for them. And as a matter of fact, my mother and one of my brothers evacuated their home in Beit Lahia and moved into Gaza City, where I live right now. They were very much afraid that Israel will bomb the area again tonight. Akiva Eldar, I don't know where you are. Akiva Eldar: Well compared to my friend, Professor Abusada, we are safe. I live in Netanya, which is 25 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. But we had a couple of alarms here. You know, I'm really embarrassed because I know I look at what's happening in Gaza and compared to them, it's paradise. Professor Abusada, I want to talk about the players involved who might be able to contribute to de-escalation. Abusada: There is no one who is going to win out of this current escalation. Both Palestinians and Israelis are big losers out of the current escalations. We see dead people on both sides; we see carnage and destruction on both sides, probably more in Gaza because of the intensity of the Israeli bombing, as I just mentioned. And we do hope there is an immediate ceasefire that will be in effect anytime soon. Today, the deputy assistant to the U.S. secretary of state, Hady Amr, who is responsible for the Palestinian-Israeli unit in the U.S. State Department, has arrived in Israel. Now supposedly, he will try to negotiate a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinians and Israel. Whether he succeeds or not, it will be seen even though that we know that the U.S. is very supportive of Israel and the U.S. is not an honest broker in this Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But we still hope that the current U.S. administration led by President Joe Biden will be at least semi-neutral to the Palestinian-Israel conflict, unlike the previous U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump who was very biased towards Israel in many ways. As you say, a U.S. representative is coming. Abusada: Still, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the chairman of the PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organization] which recognized Israel. But at the end of the day, the fighting is going on in Gaza. ... Hamas is in control of Gaza. But Hamas has [a] very good relationship with the Qataris, with the Turks, with the Egyptians. The U.S. still classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization, which would mean that Hady Amr would not be able to talk directly to Hamas. Akiva, I want to come to you because obviously, the last peace negotiations collapsed I think this was back in April 2014 under then-Secretary of State John Kerry. Eldar: You touched the bottom line of this event: This [is] the future of Prime Minister Netanyahu. I believe that we can reach, now, true ceasefire because Netanyahu got what he wanted, and what he wanted is to destroy the possibility [of peace] and to put an end to this tangle between the right, left and center in Israel. Eldar: What I will be following closely is whether the international community, the U.S., is going to deal with this cancer ... I don't see any way where the Israelis and Hamas can reach an agreement as long as the Israeli government is held by the Israeli right-wing parties who don't believe in a two-state solution and in Gaza, what the Hamas managed to do is to unite the Palestinian communities in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel proper. And this is not going away if we don't deal with it in the roots of this seriously. Abusada: Let me just interrupt here and say let's agree on one thing here, that the continuation of the Israeli occupation of [the] West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem which has been going on for more than half a century now, since 1967 and the creeping annexation with settlement expansion on Palestinian territory is the source of the problem. Let's agree that if Israel puts an end to its occupation of Palestinian land and accept international law and UN security council resolution 242 and 338, there is a good possibility for peace. There is a good possibility for security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. Eldar: I fully agree with you, my friend. | https://www.npr.org/2021/05/14/996956087/what-does-a-path-forward-look-like-for-israel-and-palestinians |
Does Student Loan Cancellation Stimulate The Economy? | Heres what you need to know. Student loan cancellation stimulates the economy Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a leading advocate for student loan cancellation, says that student loan forgiveness will stimulate the economy. If her legislative plan passes in Congress, 36 million student loan borrowers would get their federal student loans cancelled completely. Democrats in Congress have also proposed to forgive student loans with 4 changes. Supporters, like Warren, say that student loan cancellation will lead to new business formation, increase consumer spending, increase geographic mobility, increase the marriage rate, help people buy more homes, and save for retirement, among other benefits. In this regard, proponents who support one-time student loan forgiveness say your economic life, whether or not you have student loans, will get better. Student loans: a massive wealth transfer However, student loan cancellation means different things to different people. A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed called student loan cancellation a massive wealth transfer that charged taxpayers for the debt of student loan borrowers. The U.S. Department of Education noted that student loan borrowers collectively have saved $5 billion a month since student loan payments have been paused through temporary student loan forbearance. Paused student loan payments will continue through September 30, 2021, which could cost taxpayers another $25 billion. As of September 30, 2021, student loan borrowers will get approximately $90 billion of student loan cancellation since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. While student loan borrowers welcome those monthly savings, federal taxpayers may be less celebratory. Federal taxpayers like you are covering the cost of that $5 billion every month, and you could pay for student loan cancellation too. This would be true regardless of which of the two main paths to student loan cancellation occur. For example, $10,000 of student loan cancellation could cost taxpayers approximately $400 billion. If there is $50,000 of student loan cancellation, the amount could be as high as $1 trillion. Ultimately, federal taxpayers would pay for student loan cancellation. Economists can debate the impact of student loan cancellation on the economy. Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) say student loan cancellation will provide a major boost to the economy. Importantly, however, $50,000 of student loan cancellation does not provide $50,000 of potential incremental consumer spending. Student loan forgiveness helps a borrower save a principal and interest payment each month, not the entire outstanding student loan balance. So, a borrower could have $50,000 of student loans, but only would save a $300 monthly payment from student loan cancellation, for example. Then, theres no guarantee how much, if any, would be spent in the economy. For example, a borrower may use the funds to save for retirement or pay other debt. While this certainly can help borrowers financially, theres not a guaranteed link to economic stimulus. Student loan cancellation could mean this Moodys found that the economic impact of student loan cancellation would be relatively minimal and would be similar to the stimulus effect of a tax cut. That said, Moodys believes that wide-scale student loan cancellation would increase household formation, small business formation, home ownership (long-term). Moodys also found there would be a modest increase in household consumptions and investment. However, Moodys also found that higher income earners could benefit from student loan cancellation, even if they could afford to make student loan payments. For example, current legislation in Congress would provide student loan forgiveness to borrowers who earn up to $125,000 in income. This is $50,000 higher than the income cutoff for the stimulus check, which had a $75,000 income cap. Finally, Moodys found that student loan cancellation could lead to moral hazard. Schumer has said that Congress could cancel student loans more than once. If this happens, future student borrowers could have an incentive to borrow more student loan debt if they think their student loan debt will be forgiven. If you follow the latest updates on student loan cancellation, then you would know that Biden or Congress didnt include student loan cancellation in the latest stimulus package. One can speculate on why it was excluded, but its possible the reason is related to whether wide-scale student loan cancellation has any material impact on the economy. There are already 5 signs that Biden wont enact student loan cancellation. The president and members of Congress will weigh several legal, policy and political benefits and risks in determining their support or opposition to student loan cancellation. Central to that determination is an overall assessment of student loan cancellation and its impact on the economy and cost to taxpayers. There are certainly other considerations, but as America continues to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic impact will be top of mind. If you have student loans, make sure you understand your options for student loan repayment and how to get out of debt. Here are some potential options to consider, all of which have no fees: Student Loans: Related Reading | https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2021/05/14/does-student-loan-cancellation-stimulate-the-economy/ |
Can Sony reclaim its former glory? | Ever since the iPod debuted on October 23, 2001, Sony has been in trouble. Apple's music player instantly made Sony's MiniDisc and Memory Stick WalkMan devices seem antiquated. The iPod could hold up to 1,000 songs on its (at the time) roomy 5GB hard drive. Sony, meanwhile, also released a WalkMan that same month with a 128MB Memory Stick, the largest size available at the time. The iPod became a cultural phenomenon, cementing Apple as a consumer electronics innovator beyond the world of computers. It took Sony until 2004 to produce its own music player with a hard drive, effectively killing any relevance it had in the world of mobile music. Whoops. That was just the beginning of a downward spiral for Sony. The company also famously missed out on e-readers (despite hitting that market before Amazon's Kindle) and smartphones (even though Sony Ericsson feature phones were fairly popular). It's had such a rocky time over the last few decades that Engadget's Mat Smith dubbed Sony the catch-up king in 2014, after abandoning its VAIO PC business. That was a notable defeat for Sony; VAIOs were practically the only stylish PCs throughout the '90s and early 2000s. Even Steve Jobs was known to admire Sony's PC designs, so much so that he tried to get the company to produce VAIO machines that ran Mac OS X in 2001. Obviously, those discussions never went anywhere. Sony PlayStation 5 Even now, as Sony is riding high on the PlayStation 5 and focusing on being an entertainment giant, the company's influence is far from its heyday. Sony used to dominate the TV world with its Trinitron CRTs, an innovation so far beyond early color TVs that it won an Emmy in 1973 a first for any consumer electronics product. The Walkman practically took over the world, popularizing the idea that you could listen to your favorite tunes anywhere. Outside of the PlayStation (which now makes up the bulk of its business), Sony has a reputation for following. It has a strong lineup of mirrorless cameras, but so does Nikon, Fujifilm and Canon. It leads the image sensor market, but that has mainly translated to better cameras on the iPhone, rather than making people want to buy Sony phones. (Admittedly, the Xperia 11 was very nice, but that came after years of forgettable hardware.) Story continues Sony Xperia 11 To be fair, Sony has done a solid job of turning its business around from its miserable 2000's. Howard Stringer, the company's first English-speaking CEO, tried to bring some Western-style management into the very traditional Japanese company. But that wasn't enough to help Sony successfully weather the 2008 economic crisis, or deal with the rise of consumer electronics newcomers like Samsung and other low-cost competitors. Kazuo Hirai, the former PlayStation lead who took over the CEO mantle in 2012, turned to layoffs and cost-cutting measures (like the aforementioned PC abandonment) to stabilize the company. He completed his goal in 2018, when Sony was finally able to report a strong profit, and promptly announced his retirement. Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony's former chief financial officer and current CEO, was also instrumental in helping the company recover. But for Sony to recover its former glory, it needs to do more than survive: It needs to figure out a way to thrive again. Sony could try to mimic a more dominant competitor like Samsung, but that'll be difficult, according to Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. "It's very tough to compete with Samsung because of their tremendous marketing budget, their broad portfolio, their carrier relationships, and their consumer ecosystem that is (a distant) second to Apple's," he said. A better option may be to follow in Microsoft's move towards the cloud, which was more about serving professional users and vertical markets (i.e., delivering something that multiple companies can use). That's basically what Sony is already doing with its camera sensor business, but according to Rubin the company could potentially build on that: "The future of imaging sensors is bright as we'll see these go into all kinds of new devices. I could also see them being active in a broader VR/AR headset market beyond PSVR." While the VR market has been slow to truly take off, devices like the Oculus Quest 2 prove that it's possible to make them cheaper and easier to use. And all eyes are on Apple as it pursues its augmented reality strategy. AR glasses have the potential to impact the world as much as the iPhone did. After all, smartphones put connected supercomputers in our pockets; AR specs would just move much of our mobile experience right into our field of view. (You can practically just hear marketers salivating at the thought.) According to a Technavio report, the augmented reality market could grow by $77 billion come 2024. But of course, thats a best-case outcome that assumes well actually see successful AR products. Given the huge potential for augmented reality, it'd be smart for Sony to make sure it can power that category for others. But given just how well the PSVR turned out (and how promising its sequel looks), it's not hard to imagine that Sony also has a shot at building AR glasses of its own. To truly compete in that arena, and to avoid the mistakes of its past, Sony will need to match Apple's software and usability prowess. That's a tough thing for an aging company to learn overnight. I also can't think of many companies Sony could partner with (Google has its own usability issues when it comes to consumer devices). The only real solution is for Sony to hunker down, hire fresh new designers and confront its weaknesses head-on. It's not as if Sony is afraid to dive into bold new technology. It just can't make a dent in a world dominated by Apple, Samsung and Google. The real key to innovating is figuring out which new ideas can actually reshape the way we live as much as the Walkman did. Sony is at least well aware of its current creative quagmire. The company launched a New Business Creation department in 2014, with the goal of speeding up innovative new product development. But that mostly led to niche products that never really took off, like the Wena smartwatch and Aerosense drone. Again, they're both examples of jumping into existing markets without really adding much. In 2019, Sony booted up an internal startup accelerator that accepts ideas from anyone in the company, but that hasn't amounted to much at this point. Pragmatically, Sony's best choice may be to focus on professionals, like Rubin suggests. That just makes the most sense when you look at the company's existing portfolio. But I also hope that Sony can take a page from Microsoft and leverage that potential success with industry-shaping consumer products, like the Surface PCs. Those devices werent always perfect, but they pushed the PC world to consider bold new designs, like detachable tablets and rotating screens. Its perhaps impossible for Sony to relive its Walkman-era of innovation, but it still has a shot at reminding the tech world why it matters beyond video games and Spider-Man movies. | https://finance.yahoo.com/news/can-sony-reclaim-its-former-glory-120028019.html |
How do I properly install a rear-facing car seat? | When it comes to making sure a childs car seat is properly installed, it is important to do your research, said Sgt. Jason Kraft, of the Toronto Police Services traffic services unit. The Toronto Police Service notes on its website that approximately 80 per cent of child car seats are being used incorrectly. This may be because of how it is being installed, how a baby is being secured in the seat or that a car seat is being used where its condition and age are unknown. A rear-facing child seat should be used for children who are less than 20 lbs., but it is recommended you keep your child in one for as long as possible. Most collisions result in a frontal impact where, with all the momentum, the inertia and the energy, it is better for the child to be rear facing to protect them from that energy, Kraft said. Car seats should be installed in the back seat or the second or third row of larger vehicles and away from the airbags. They should also be installed only in spots where the seatbelt has a shoulder and lap strap. Rear-facing seats come with a level indicator sticker or information in the manual about the correct angle it should be installed at. Once you have it positioned correctly, you route the vehicles seat belt or Universal Anchorage System strap through the seats proper attachment points and use your body weight to fasten it into place. The seat should not be able to move more than 2.5 cm in any direction. When you place your child in the seat, the harness straps should pass through the correct slot, so they are at or below their shoulders and the clip on the harness lies flat against their chest at armpit level. If you pinch the straps at the collarbone, there should be no slack. | https://www.thestar.com/autos/advice/2021/05/15/how-do-i-properly-install-a-rear-facing-car-seat.html |
Is it OK if I never update Windows 10? | Q: I have a 2015 Dell laptop with a 32-gigabyte solid-state drive running the original 2015 Win 10 Home version. Ive never been able to update Windows 10 due to insufficient disk space. I only have 5 gigabytes of free disk space no matter what I do. Ive tried disk cleanup and deleted unused programs but still only see a marginal improvement in disk space. When the unit was still under warranty I spoke with Dell support about this issue. They said essentially just live with it, that it wasnt a big deal. The laptop works reasonably well and I dont want to create a problem and wind up with a nonfunctioning computer. J. Needham A: Im afraid it IS a big deal. If you cant update Windows youre not getting security patches, leaving your computer vulnerable. So Id invest in a fast external solid-state drive (SSD) and move as much of your data over to that drive as is needed to free up the 20 gigabytes needed to install the 64-bit version of Windows 10. (Youll only need to free up 16 gigabytes if youre installing the 32-bit version.) Related Tech Q&As Read more from Patrick Marshall here >> Q: I have an HP desktop computer with Windows 10 operating system. I am mostly using the Microsoft Edge browser. Starting about a month ago when I put the computer in the sleep mode it will go to sleep but will wake up after a few minutes. I have a friend that has the same problem with his laptop. This may have started after one of Microsofts Windows updates. James Lowndes, Renton A: There are a lot of potential causes for your computer coming out of sleep mode. Advertising The first thing to do is to check on what Windows itself reports woke it up. At the Start menu scroll down to the Windows System folder. In that folder right-click on the Command Prompt then select More/Run as Administrator. Finally, in the command prompt that pops up, type: powercfg -lastwake. Of course, what you do after that depends on what Windows reports. It could be a misbehaving device, a network adapter or even malware. Q: Wow. Last night I watched the Netflix production Our Social Dilemma. It was chilling. I hope all users of social media watch this program, especially parents who allow their children to use social media. I immediately deleted my Facebook account, but I want to continue to access the internet. Ive been a solid Chrome user for years, but no more. Lisa, Bow A: In large part for its privacy features, the browser I most often use is Mozilla Firefox. But its not just the browser youll want to consider. If youre using Firefox but using Google as your search engine youre still exposing a lot of personal data. Thats why I use DuckDuckGo as my primary search engine. Their promise: Our privacy policy is simple: we dont collect or share any of your personal information. | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/is-it-ok-if-i-never-update-windows-10-because-of-insufficient-disk-space/ |
Can Labor Come Back? | Why the answer may be yes. The recent Teamsters strike, The Los Angeles Times declared, "has served as a reminder of how much the union's influence has waned." The outcome, The New York Times wrote, showed how the union's "power has shrunk." There is some truth in these statements, but they reveal more about the national press's attitude toward labor than about the Teamsters union. During the twenty-four-day strike, the longest in Teamster history and the first since 1979, the union achieved almost 100 percent support from its rank and file, in spite of violent dissension in its upper ranks. In the provisional settlement the union made concessions on the use of rail to replace trucks, but it won wage and benefit increases and halted the replacement of full-time union workers with part-time non-union help. The deal was not a spectacular union victory, but the strike itself was a sign that the labor movement, which has slumbered for the past fifteen years, is slowly beginning to awake. There are other signs of stirring. Although union membership steadily declined from 22 million in 1975 to 16.4 million in 1992, it actually grew last year, to 16.6 millionthe first gain in fourteen years.Unions are winning strikes they would have lost a decade ago; late last year both the American Airlines flight attendants and the United Mine Workers (UMW) concluded successful actions. Workers are more receptive to joining unions. "We're walking into situations where workers are begging us to organize," says Richard Bensinger, the director of the AFL-CIO's Organizing Institute, which trains union organizers. "There is a new anger when we go into the field." And a new, militant leadership has emerged atop many of the major unions. Last fall, after the AFL-CIO's lobbying failed to block the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), there were also pronouncements that labor had lost its clout in Washington. But while the AFL-CIO couldn't buck Clinton on a treaty that may have little impact on its membersAmerican firms were already moving to Mexico without NAFTA's encouragementlabor has gotten Clinton to cooperate on appointments and legislation that matter more. | https://newrepublic.com/article/77435/can-labor-come-back |
Was the Failed Union Drive in Bessemer a Net Positive for the Labor Movement? | Yes A consistent theme of the postmortems on the failed union drive at Amazons warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., is that the organizers just werent ready to take on the tech behemoth. If the labor movement is going to beat a corporate giant, the argument goes, it needs to be smarter and more strategic. It must provide organizers with new and better skills and more carefully pick and choose the sites of its campaigns. To win a single-site union vote or even a broader one against a regional employer, this may be true. But organizing Amazon is taking aim at the core of the global economy. Its the kind of campaign in which victory could spark a labor surge that brings millions of people into unions and shifts the balance of workplace power for generations. And these sorts of fights rarely happen at the time and place of our choosing.1 In Bessemer, disgruntled employees reached out to a local union that had recently notched some big wins; it was what we in the labor movement call a hot shop. And the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union did what it could to control the terrain and timing of the campaign, but existing labor law makes that nearly impossible. Still, organizers should take on these potentially paradigm-shifting struggles wherever they emergeeven if they lose more often than they win.2 Successful movements grow out of these sorts of failures. We celebrate, for example, the civil rights victories of the Birmingham campaign in 1963 but rarely discuss how the seeds of this success were planted in a failed desegregation campaign two years earlier in Albany, Ga.3 As the National Labor Relations Board adjudicates the RWDSUs accusations that Amazon illegally interfered with the vote, we can draw inspiration from the workers in Bessemer and turn their very public loss to labors advantage.4 From The New York Times live vote ticker to the edge-of-your-seat coverage in the business press and mainstream media, I have never seen a union drive receive so much attention. The whole country saw how the vote pitted a mostly Black, low-wage workforce against one of the wealthiest corporations in the world. People saw how the government agencies charged with protecting workers right to organize were unable to prevent an all-out assault on a free and fair election. People saw Amazon draw from the standard anti-union playbook (captive-audience meetings, expensive union-busting consultants, coercion) while adding some of its own innovations: installing a mailbox on company property, surveilling workers on a second-to-second basis, and even changing the traffic light pattern outside the warehouse to make it harder to canvass workers. Oliver Morton and Amy Westervelt While employers with the wealth and power of Amazon will always try to prevent their workers from organizing, the PRO Act would ban some of the tactics used in Bessemer. Employers, for instance, would no longer be able to change the size of the bargaining unit (the group of workers who qualify to be in the union) in the lead-up to an election. In Bessemer, Amazon insisted on a size almost four times as large as the one the workers claimed. The union had to try to organize thousands of new workers just as the anti-union campaign was heating up.6 While this campaign generated opinions from all corners, it has had another significant effect: raising the profile of other organizing efforts at Amazon. Weve seen Teamsters leaders from California to Iowa debating recognition strikes, job actions from Amazonians United in Chicago, and a renewed interest in the organizing efforts at the Twin Cities Awood Center, whose largely East African workers have led multiple strikes at Amazon warehouses and won significant concessions from management in recent years.7 Current Issue View our current issue None of these efforts will succeed on their own, but in the wake of the Bessemer campaign, we can begin to see the contours of what worker power at Amazon might look like. We wont get there through a perfectly staffed and centrally coordinated strategy. Multiple lines will need to converge at key moments. To confront corporate domination, we will need international solidarity as well as support from local communities. We need those fighting for Black lives and environmental justice to make worker rights central to their battles. We will need public officials willing to stand on the side of human rights, and we will need workers in facilities around the country to act together. There is no single tactic that will make this movement succeed, but the courageous workers in Bessemer have surely opened the door to many future efforts.8 Bessemer was just one fight, and there will be many more ahead. One thing is clear: Only a fighting labor movement can grow, and so its up to us to build on what happened and create opportunities for even bolder activity, not to shrink from the challenge and wait for the ideal circumstances that may never come.9 Alex Han10 No Working people are stuck, and the failed campaign to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., is illustrative of the problem. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union came in to help the workers who wanted a union. The RWDSUs organizers were the experts; they were to guide the workers toward victory. They moved forward with many a traditional unions boilerplate plan: Get 30 percent of the workers to sign union authorization cards, petition the National Labor Relations Board for a vote, and then push to win by a narrow margin. The election became a media spectacle centered on this bureaucratic maneuvering. Given the RWDSUs tactics, it should have been no surprise when Amazon routed the union, with 1,798 workers voting against unionizing and only 738 in favor.12 In organizer trainings, you often encounter the acronym AEIOU, for agitate, educate, inoculate, organize, unionize. Its the Industrial Workers of the World strategy. But RWDSU skipped over the first four vowels and went straight to unionize. With this approach, as our friends at the worker organization Amazonians United said in the lead-up to the vote, the campaign in Bessemer was bound to fail. The union seemed to want quick returns on its investment. The campaign was shortjust several monthsand was based around an election. My organization, Target Workers Unite, uses an entirely different model that requires being rooted in workplaces for years. We think organizers should be workers, not the paid staffers of big unions. That takes time, but its the best way to build the power necessary to confront giant corporations like Target or Amazon.13 Ive read a few stories about how the RWDSU is a scrappy union with limited resources, but compared with us, it has a massive war chest at its disposal. It just doesnt seem to use it for deep organizing. Its superficial campaigns only give credence to the notion that traditional unions are third parties that come in, take your money, and add bureaucracy while supplying few benefits for workers in return.14 In my community in Christiansburg, Va., the United Food and Commercial Workers, the parent union of the RWDSU, represents Kroger grocery workers. But Kroger pays many of its workers here less than $10 an hour, while Target starts us at $15. What evidence would you have in your life that unions work?15 The RWDSU launched a union vote campaign last year at a Target warehouse in Perth Amboy, N.J., but dropped it with no follow-up. It used the same practices for that flash-in-the-pan campaign as it did for the Amazon campaign. It carted in politicians for publicity but didnt make the effort to turn employees into worker-organizers.16 These labor campaigns will appear to confirm the worst clichs about unions. Whats worse, sometimes the stereotype that big unions are outsiders disconnected from the workers is accurate, and that makes it harder for others to organize.17 During the last wave of wildcat strikes in the 1970s, workers learned the importance of rank-and-file independence. They revolted not just against capitalists but also against the unions that they saw as having sold them out. Too much of the left uncritically thinks unions = good, but we should remember the lessons of the past: Actual worker organizing is good, but sometimes unions abandon that activity and take the struggle off the shop floor. Nelson Lichtenstein In many places and sectors, its normal for unions to focus on votes, contracts, and lobbying and not on actual worker power. This affects our efforts as a truly worker-centered labor organization. At Target Workers Unite, when we approach our coworkers, they project these experiences of unions on us without knowing the difference between us and a traditional union that may not bother to learn about our jobs, our working conditions, or even our communities. We believe that you cant parachute in and expect to win workers trust in a matter of months. It takes years of persistent effort to win over coworkers and shift the culture in a community. The type of organizing we saw in Bessemer will push people away in the long term and rarely build enough power to scare the bosses. The other type of organizing will build solidarity within our workplaces and communities to help fight not just declining living standards but deaths of despair and other symptoms of alienation. Labor organizing needs to be about more than just winning a vote or securing a contract. It should be about transforming communities and setting the foundation for a new, egalitarian society.19 Adam Ryan20 | https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bessemer-amazon-organizing-labor/ |
Why Do We Eat Bad Food? | Illustration by Tim Robinson. Mark Bittman writes the way he cooks: The ingredients are wholesome, the preparation elegantly simple, the results nourishing in the best sense of the word. He never strains; theres no effort to impress, but you come away full, satisfied, invigorated. Books in Review Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, From Sustainable to Suicidal By Mark Bittman Buy this book From his magnum opus, How to Cook Everything, and its many cookbook companions, to his recipes for The New York Times, to his essays on food policy, Bittman has developed a breeziness that masks the weight of the politics and economics that surround the making and consuming of food. In Animal, Vegetable, Junk, his latest book, he offers us his most thoroughgoing attack on the corporate forces that govern our food, tracking the evolution of cultivation and consumption from primordial to modern times and developing what is arguably his most radical and forthright argument yet about how to address our contemporary food cultures many ills. But it still goes down easy; the broccoli tastes good enough that youll happily go for seconds. Bittman starts Animal, Vegetable, Junk with the early hominins. As these human ancestors learned to walk upright, they began to forage across larger areas and hunt with comparative ease. Bittman notes that they also started to develop more flexible diets: a variety of fruits, leaves, nuts, and animals, including insects, birds, mollusks, crustaceans, turtles, small animalsrabbits, and fish. Eventually, with the nutritional boost of this new diet, they soon learned how to track faster prey (which was easier to do in groups and thus produced more social behavior) and to cook over fire. With more nutrients and more advanced methods of gathering and cooking food, the early hominins already sizeable brains grew bigger. Hardwired to eat what we can, when we can, they had diets that differed from place to place: Some humans had diets high in fat and protein, and some had diets in which carbohydrates dominated. But despite these differences, the emerging food cultures and diets had one thing in common. The epoch of hunting and gathering produced a period of greater longevity and general health than in almost any other time before or since. Eventually it also produced a new trick: how to stay in one place and grow crops whose surplus could be stored. That transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture was welcome in many ways, but it came at a price, Bittman writes. Yes, it supported larger populations, but diets became monotonous and less nutritious, life spans declined, and work hours increased. Bittman is not the first to make this argument. Jared Diamond memorably called farming the biggest mistake in human history, and so Bittman doesnt belabor the point, accepting that we now live on a planet where food is something we raise, not something we hunt or gather. For Bittman, the central drama of this story begins in the course of the last century, as agriculture and food processing became mass industries, and as we moved from having two types of food (plants and animals) to being overwhelmed by a new third typeone that was more akin to poison. These engineered edible substances, barely recognizable as products of the earth, are commonly called junk. This junk food has created, Bittman argues, a public health crisis that diminishes the lives of perhaps half of all humans. Through its dependence on an agriculture that concentrates on maximizing the yield of the most profitable crops, it has done more damage to the earth than strip mining, urbanization, even fossil fuel extraction. Current Issue View our current issue Any number of data points illustrate this new reality, but lets choose a couple that show what happened to farming. In the decades since World War II, chicken production has increased by more than 1,400 percentwhile the number of farms producing those birds has fallen by 98 percent. This kind of industrialization is obviously unkind to animals and to those who once raised themthe former live in tiny cages, and the latter, depending on where in the world they reside, often move to shantytowns on the edges of capital cities. And the damage to the natural world is every bit as great. In Iowa, for instance, stock living in CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, produce as much waste as 168 million people, or 53 times the states population. This manure is housed in giant lagoons that sometimes flood; it is perhaps not surprising that the largest municipal water treatment plant in the world is required to allow the people of Des Moines to drink the tap water. The ability to produce massive quantities of a few commoditieswheat, corn, and corn syruphas enriched not farmers but a few giant middlemen (companies like Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill) and implement dealers (John Deere makes four times as much money providing credit to struggling farmers as it does selling tractors). And it has created a new problem: what to do with the massive amount of calories that this commodity-focused agriculture produces. The system, Bittman explains, now delivers a nearly uninterruptible stream of food, regardless of season, and in the process it has created junk: the processed food that now dominates the Western diet and, increasingly, many other diets around the world. Junk made it possible to encourage people toreally, [made] it difficult for them not toeat too much non-nourishing food over a prolonged period. As Bittman notes, the calories have to go somewhere, andthanks in no small part to the advertising industry, which attached itself to the food industry like a remora to a sharkthey went inside us; we look the way we do because of the need for the Krafts and Heinzes of the world to keep their profit margins growing by finding new ways to get us to consume their limited line of basic commodities. Global sugar consumption has nearly tripled in the past half-century, he writes, and so has obesity; the number of people worldwide living with diabetes has quadrupled since 1980. Two thirds of the worlds population, Bittman tells us, lives in countries where more people die from diseases linked to being overweight than ones linked to being underweight. Its not just our bodies that suffer from this commodity agriculture; it does huge damage to communities as well. Bittman discusses how small Black farmers, especially in the South, have been systematically sidelined by federal policy and how a fairly stable system of peasant agriculture in Mexico was destroyed by the North American Free Trade Agreement, which dismantled the economic protections that allowed it to persist and flooded the country with cheap American grain. Since it took 17.8 labor days to produce a ton of corn in Mexico, and 1.2 hours to do it on industrialized farms in the American Midwest, the result was never in doubt. Now the United States supplies Mexico with 42 percent of its food, which should give you some idea of why so many people needed to come north. Adds Bittman: NAFTA also brought junk food to Mexico. Imports of high-fructose corn syrup increased by almost 900 times, and soda consumption nearly doubled, making Mexico the worlds fourth largest per capita consumer of soda. It also now leads the worlds populous nations in obesity, and diabetesalmost always caused by a modern Western dietis among the countrys leading killers. This amounts to a domination more subtle than the Opium Wars or the overthrow of Central American governmentsbut not by much. When something this big has gone wrong for this long, it becomes hard to imagine alternatives, or at least to imagine how those alternatives might possibly overcome the power of the ruling system. In the United States, for instance, there are 15 or 20 states whose senators largely represent corn; thats why the Farm Bill, each time its renewed, is a gift to the industrial combines that control those states. Bittman does discuss some interesting initiatives that are taking hold in different parts of the world and beginning to have a larger impact. Countries from Uruguay and France to South Korea and Taiwan have passed laws limiting junk-food advertising to kids, and they seem to work. Quebec, which banned such ads 40 years ago, has fewer overweight children than other parts of North America. In 2012, Chilewhere half of 6-year-olds were overweight or obesepassed the worlds strongest food labeling and advertising laws. Any processed food high in calories, sodium, sugar, or saturated fat carries a stop-sign-shaped black label and cant be advertised to kids under 14 or sold in schools; almost instantly Chilean children went from seeing 8,500 junk food advertisements a year to seeing next to none. Mexico has also fought back as best it can; a tax on soda has driven consumption down 12 percent. Bittman cites more notable successes on the local level. Belo Horizonte, Brazils third largest metropolitan area, has bankrolled Peoples Restaurants that sell high-quality lunches at affordable prices and cooked-from-scratch school meals emphasizing more vegetables and fewer processed foods; the government also subsidized farmers markets that sell staples at reduced prices and funded urban gardening programs. As a result, hunger in the city has been nearly eliminatedwhile fruit and vegetable consumption and farmer income have risen. Even in the United Statesthe belly of the beast, as it wereBittman finds some interesting developments. He describes the Good Food Purchasing Program, which began in Los Angeles in 2012 and sets standards for nutrition, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and treatment of the labor force. When LA schools signed on, their main distributor started reaching out to wheat farms that could meet the new standards, which led to 65 new full-time, living-wage jobs. Cities from Boston to Oakland have signed on to the GFPP, and New York is about to join. But more dramatic change will only come with initiatives like the Green New Deal, which with carbon neutrality as a starting goalwould necessarily supportsustainable agriculture. In fact, by the end of the book, Bittman uses the food crisis much as Naomi Klein did the climate crisis in her landmark This Changes Everything: as a lever for thoroughgoing change. Instituting fairness in race and gender means in part undoing land theft, racial and gender-based violence, and centuries of wealth accumulation by most European and European American males, wealth accumulation that is still being compounded. This means land reform, this means affordable nutritious food regardless of the ability to pay. This means wholesale change. Indeed it does. Whats for dinner? has always been among the most basic of human questions. Now, asked honestly, its among the most unsettling and the most explosive. | https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mark-bittman-animal-vegetable-junk/ |
Will Nick Siriannis offense fit Eagles QB Jalen Hurts? | Despite several attempts to obtain clarity on Jalen Hurts, Nick Sirianni remained resolute about the second-year quarterbacks status: He will compete for the Eagles starting job. Hes done well in learning the new offense despite limited opportunities. And any discussion about his long-term future is premature. Im not even to that point right now of what 2022s going to look like, to be honest with you, Sirianni said Friday during a video news conference. Its such a long process. Indeed. Sirianni has yet to even see Hurts on the practice field, even if the start of rookie camp Friday offered a soft opening for the new Eagles coach. But he and his coaches have finished constructing their playbooks -- or at least the bulk of -- and what is in or not in the offense could go a long way in dictating Hurts success in 2021. Despite a narrative from some corners that the Eagles havent shown enough of a commitment to the former second-round draft pick, the teams offseason moves at quarterback -- or lack thereof -- said plenty. Hurts will be the No. 1, free-agent veteran Joe Flacco will be the No. 2, and beyond this season is yet to be determined. The Eagles are clearly prepared, with possibly three first-round picks, to acquire a replacement high in the draft or via trade next offseason. But its not as if general manager Howie Roseman and Sirianni sent discouraging messages to Hurts with their actions the last several months. They hired Brian Johnson, who has known the Texas native since he was 4, as quarterbacks coach. They expended their first round selection on receiver DeVonta Smith. And, most important, they didnt acquire a quarterback who would supplant him, although Flacco will provide the nominal competition. He showed enough promise in four starts last season to succeed the traded Carson Wentz. But Sirianni has a vote, as well, and will likely need to see Hurts in his offense for an extended period before reaching any conclusions. Jalens done a heck of a job learning the offense, Ill say that, Sirianni said. Hes impressive in there. Hes really got a good control of it. When were in these virtual meetings doing virtual walk-throughs Jalens just done a good job of taking the plays that have been taught to him. He can rattle off exactly what hes supposed to do on every single play. But knowing and doing are two separate things. The Colts offense that Sirianni is expected to incorporate was vast enough to accommodate three disparate quarterbacks in Indianapolis -- Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, and Philip Rivers -- in three seasons. I dont believe thats good coaching, when you just say, Heres our offense and lets go. You learn it, Sirianni said. Thats just not good offensive football. Of course, Jalen has strong qualities of being able to extend plays and move around. So were definitely looking at those things and doing those things. Siriannis offense, like most in the current NFL, wont be based on a traditional system like the West Coast or Air Coryell. Frank Reichs scheme with the Colts could accurately be described as multiple, with the former Eagles offensive coordinator piecing together an offense that he took from his stops as player and coach. He also took from his assistants, like Sirianni, and from Rivers, who preferred some of the deep passing concepts he learned under Norv Turner. But the deep over plays -- dovers as Sirianni called them during a film review he did with the Eagles website last month -- were always a part of the Colts base offense. It didnt matter if it was Jacoby, if it was Andrew, or if it was Philip, Sirianni said, we were running these plays in Indianapolis. But they ran them much more with the latter two than with Brissett, who struggled to throw downfield. Hurts lack of accuracy downfield -- at least based upon a small NFL sample -- would suggest that deep crossing routes wont be his forte. His tendency to scramble if his first few reads arent open wont help either. READ MORE: 2021 Eagles schedule: Our beat writers analyze the season game-by-game and predict some surprises When Sirianni first started installing the offense with his coaches, there wasnt much in terms of the quarterback read run game or run-pass option plays, two team sources said. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland brought some of that package into the fold, but it remains to be seen whether Sirianni scripts game plans for Hurts that favor those plays. All great players in their own right, all like to do things differently, though, right? Sirianni said during the film breakdown. And our job as coaches is to adapt to the players we have, and run the plays they like, but we also have a system. Sirianni stressed the importance of creating explosive plays. But there are other ways to generate chunk yards than just airing the ball out. The Colts offense was also designed to get it out quick and create yards after the catch. Those plays have a shelf life over the course of a game, but if you have the weapons -- and the Eagles have a few established ones (Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert) and a few potential ones (Jalen Reagor and Smith) -- the short passing game could benefit Hurts. Brissett has mobility, but quarterback reads and RPOs were just one facet of the system Reich and Sirianni included for him. The reasons for his struggles in 2019 were manifold, but his limitations as a thrower were the most prominent. Hurts completed just 52% of his passes in his rookie season. He will need to improve his repetitive accuracy -- perhaps the most important trait for an NFL quarterback. No matter how much Sirianni caters his scheme to Hurts, there are certain downfield throws he will need to make if he is to thrive. But it would be foolish to try to jam an athletic quarterback into a traditional offense. While there is still a question as to whether mobile quarterbacks give teams a better chance at winning Super Bowls than pocket passers, Russel Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray have challenged that notion. And even if the bones of Siriannis offense are conventional, the best schemes are living, breathing, and evolving creations. The future hasnt been written and certainly not in regard to Hurts. READ MORE: 2021 Eagles schedule: New coach Nick Sirianni, QB Jalen Hurts face a tough first six weeks | https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/nick-sirianni-jalen-hurts-eagles-offense-colts-20210515.html |
Can Horse Racing Survive? | What happened at the Breeders Cup World Championships in late 2019 looked like the end of horse racing in California, maybe in America. It was the twelfth and final race of a two-day series, at Santa Anita Park, the storied track near Los Angeles. Sixty-eight thousand people packed the Art Deco grandstand, the apron, the infield, the high-priced suites. The handlethe total betting for the daywas a healthy hundred and seventeen million dollars, but thoroughbred racing itself was on life support. Since the beginning of the year, thirty-five horses had died at Santa Anita. Public dismay had risen to the point that Gavin Newsom, Californias governor, had told the Times that racings time is up if it did not reform. Dianne Feinstein, the states senior senator, had released a letter calling the Breeders Cup races a critical test for the future of horseracing. Outside the track, animal-rights activists had been heckling racegoers under a banner that read HORSERACING KILLS HORSES. They had a call-and-response going, street corner to street corner: Horses dont want to be forced to run! Just like us! Horses feel pain! Just like us! Heather Wilson, a nurse anesthetist, wore huge fake eyelashes and an absurd cocked hat. Im making fun of the women who think that killing horses is glamorous, she told me. My hat is quasi-glam. She had been arrested at a previous protest at Santa Anita. Right now, our focus is on California, she said. Just get it on the ballot. She meant a statewide referendum, which she felt sure would result in a ban. Santa Anita management and Breeders Cup officials were desperate to have their event run smoothly. Their foremost concern, they told anyone who would listen, was the safety of their equine athletes. They had flooded the zone with veterinarians and expensive imaging equipment, screening for prexisting conditions. The animals were repeatedly tested for banned drugs. During morning workouts, vets used binoculars to study their gait on the track. Thoroughbreds, which can weigh twelve hundred pounds, have notoriously delicate ankles. The Breeders Cup Classic, which is a mile and a quarter and offers a six-million-dollar purse, came late in the day. The sun was sinking into the palm trees west of the stables as the horses, eleven of them, were loaded into the gate. Mongolian Groom, a dark-bay four-year-old gelding, had beaten the favorite, McKinzie, just a few weeks before, right here on this track. The handicappers didnt think he could do it again; he was a 121 shot. The whole group had raced together, in various combinations, at Saratoga and Churchill Downs, Belmont and Del Mar, in Pennsylvania and Louisiana. They were all campaigners, with maxed-out airline-loyalty accounts. Some seemed more enthusiastic than others. One thing you could safely say about the horses was that they were thirsty. They had all been injected that morning with Lasix, a diuretic, noted on the racing form with a boldface L. The given reason for Lasix is to prevent pulmonary bleeding, which hard running causes in many horses. The bleeding can be dangerous, and can certainly be unsightly, leaving horse and jockey painted with bloodnot a good look these days. But only a small minority of thoroughbreds are serious bleeders, and for decades nearly every thoroughbred in the U.S. has received race-day Lasix. The drugs diuretic function causes horses to unload epic amounts of urinetwenty or thirty pounds worth. The advantage of running light is obvious, as is the reason that critics consider Lasix a performance-enhancing med. Race-day Lasix is banned in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The activists outside, suggesting that horses dont like to race, were half right. Running fast comes naturally to thoroughbreds, but racers need to be trained to outrun opponents. Most, it is thought, need encouragementwhippingto continue going hard when theyre tired. Racehorses, especially those running on oval tracks, give their lower legs a terrible pounding, straining ligaments, tendons, joints. Mongolian Grooms lower hind legs were wrapped in blue bandages, which is not uncommon; horses tend to kick themselves. He wore a heavy blue hood, to keep him concentrated on whats in front of him, and a shadow roll across his nose. Horses can startle at shadows on the ground, and the roll reduces the number they see. At the starting gate, Mongolian Groom balked. Bettors like to look at a horses coat in the walking ring before a race. If its bright, rippling with just the right amount of sweat and muscled excitement, the beast is believed to be ready to run. It looked bright enough. His rider, Abel Cedillo, a journeyman from Guatemala, was patient, the gate staff slightly less so. The horses owner was there that day: Ganbaatar Dagvadorj, a Mongolian tycoon who made his first fortune in post-Communist supermarkets. He and his friends wore traditional robes, big leather belts, and velvet caps that came to a shiny point. The eleven horses finally settled, and broke cleanly from the gate. The track was dirt, rather deep and slow. War of Will, that years Preakness champion, took an early lead and held it around the clubhouse turn. Mongolian Groom was just off the pace, with McKinzie, a small-framed bay, a nose behind him. Horses are prey animals, who instinctively prefer the safety of the middle of the pack. But being in the middle of this pack would have been miserabledirt getting kicked in your face, nothing to see but horse butts. In the backstretch, the pack started running into the last of the sun. From the shadowed grandstand, horses and riders were drenched in pinkish light, moving with huge strides and hypnotic smoothness. War of Will had the inside position, hugging the rail, but on the far turn you could see that he was tiring, despite his jockeys whip. McKinzie and Mongolian Groom surged past, with McKinzie a half length ahead. Then, at the top of the stretch, Vino Rosso, a big chestnut colt, made a powerful move on the outside. Sixty-eight thousand humans switched from cheering to shrieking. (Betting on a horse is a known intoxicant. Also a stimulant.) The Classic turned into a two-horse race, Vino Rosso and McKinzie, and mass hysteria seemed to crackle the air. Vino Rosso pulled away and won by four lengths. I was on my feet in the press box, along with dozens of other reporters. But I noticed a turf writer next to me, peering through binoculars at the top of the stretch. There was a commotion on the trackworkers throwing up a green tarp wall, a van, a pickup, a bigger van. It took me a moment to realize that a horse was missing. Mongolian Groom had disappeared from the race, pulled up by his jockey, Cedillo. The bigger van was an equine ambulance. The show went on, with television lights illuminating a scene of jubilation: flower wreaths, a shining horse, exultant connections. The liquored-up crowd partied on. The turf writers hustled down to get a quote from the owners, Vinnie Viola and Mike Repole, who were incoherent with joy. But the news, it seemed to me, because Im not a beat reporter, was back on the track, in the gathering dusk. Are you going to eat this sandwich I made for you, or are you just going to snarl at me from the monkey grass? Facebook Twitter Email Shopping Cartoon by Frank Cotham Mongolian Groom, we eventually learned, had broken his left hind leg. A small stress fracture had propagated upward, splitting a ligament and smaller bones and shattering the cannon bone and the fetlock joint, damaging soft tissue and blood supply. That is a fatal injury. The vets who euthanized him could have fought a hopeless battle for a few days, with the horse in agony, if they had wanted to postpone this announcement for publicity reasons. That wasnt what they did. The day that Mongolian Groom died, Nick Alexander had a horse at Santa Anita, too. His filly Just Grazed Me, the reigning star in his stable, won the days first race: the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes, named for a politician from Fresno who supported racing. Alexander grew up down the street, in Pasadena, and he knew the track in its heyday, in the fifties. When I was growing up, horse racing was pretty much the only game in town, he said. No Dodgers, no Lakers, just the Rams. But I was already a Dodgers fan, because of Jackie Robinson. We were both from Pasadena. Alexander, who is seventy-eight, lanky, and blue-eyed, with a sun-blistered nose and a white soul patch, names horses for old-time Dodgers: Johnny Podres, Pee Wee Reese. First bet I placed here, when I was ten or eleventwo dollars on Gold Man, he told me. Won twenty dollars. Ill never forget it. As a teen-ager, he landed a job as a get-ready boy at a car lot. He later had his own dealership, which he advertised on the radio with the slogan Nick cant say no! Old locals still greet him with that one. KNX, everybody listened to it. Santa Anita used to advertise on there. Theyd broadcast the stretch call, from the eighth pole. Really excitingyou could hear the crowd. I say we should do that again. | https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/24/can-horse-racing-survive |
How did Bill Gates end up owning $13 billion worth of Canadas biggest railway? | The second-biggest divorce announcement ever made on Twitter was perfectly choreographed, with two matching tweets each posted at exactly 4:30 p.m. EDT on Monday May 3. Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates said in identical statements they planned to end their 27-year marriage, a bombshell breakup that came two years after Jeff Bezos, the worlds richest person, announced his own split on the website. Speculation from the Wall Street Journal to gossip site TMZ is now swirling about the cause of the relationship breakdown between the Microsoft co-founder, 65, and French Gates, 56, who together are worth more than $127 billion (U.S.) according to Forbes. Their three children are grown their youngest daughter is expected to finish high school this year but many are still wondering who will get the house, a sprawling estate dubbed Xanadu 2.0, after the mansion in Citizen Kane. Reports say the house alone is valued at around $130 million (U.S.) small change compared to the rest of their fortune. Yet, behind the scenes on that Monday, there were already signs the pair planned for an orderly financial uncoupling. Along with the perfectly timed tweets and a divorce filing in a Seattle court, a series of stock transfers was underway. Cascade Investment LLC, the holding company that controls the majority of Bill Gatess wealth, transferred more than 14 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co. to his soon-to-be-ex. The CN stock was worth almost $1.9 billion (Canadian) and represented about two per cent of total shares in the company, Canadas biggest railroad. Even after that transfer, Gates remains CNs largest shareholder: Cascade alone owns 87 million shares and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust owns almost 14 million shares. Combined, Gates has direct or indirect control over 14.2 per cent of the stock, worth $13.6 billion as of the date of the divorce announcement. That one investment would make him the second- or third-richest person in Canada. Gates has also amassed power in the CN boardroom. Cascade senior investment manager Justin Howell took a seat on the companys board last month. The day after Howells appointment, Cascade reiterated its public support for the railroads efforts to outbid Canadian Pacific and acquire Kansas City Southern. Asked about the rationale for Cascades CN investment, a spokesperson for the firm declined to comment for this story. CN chief executive officer JJ Ruest said in a statement that Cascade has been a valued investor in the company for more than 20 years. We are honoured that Melinda French Gates is now also a shareholder and that CN will benefit from her support, in addition to Cascades support and long-term perspective on corporate strategy and financial performance, Ruest said. The back story includes Gatess decades-long relationship with his ultrasecretive money manager, one of the most famous railroaders in the business, dozens of meetings with Canadian officials and the influence of one of Gatess best friends, Warren Buffett. Its not just the story of CN, but one about how Gates invests his money and what will be left to fulfil his and French Gatess philanthropic visions. Two decades ago, when Cascade owned about five per cent of CNs stock, Paul Tellier, a former high-ranking civil servant who was then CEO of the railway, spent some time getting to know the investors. After one meeting between CN and Cascade, Tellier told Hunter Harrison, CNs chief operating officer at the time, he was surprised that the conversation had also touched on golf. Harrison, who died in 2017, summed up his recollection of what happened in this anecdote to Howard Green, author of Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-time CEO Hunter Harrison. Harrison said he told Tellier that was a good sign. S--t Paul, if they want to talk about golf, let them talk about golf. It means were good! Gates hired Michael Larson, now the business manager of Cascade, in 1994, after a story in the Wall Street Journal revealed Gatess previous money manager had been convicted on charges related to bank fraud years earlier. A recruiter found Larson, who was 33 and had a squeaky clean past, according to a 1999 profile in Fortune Magazine. He had earned an MBA from the University of Chicago at 21 and had spent time doing mergers and acquisitions work, then managing bond funds for Putnam Investments in Boston. He was looking to start something of his own when the Gates opportunity came up and after an in-depth screening process he moved to the shores of Lake Washington. Larson works in an unmarked office out of a lowrise shopping centre near the harbourfront of Kirkland, a pleasant Seattle suburb. When the investment firm was set up in 1995, he picked the name Cascade because, Its real generic-sounding in the Pacific Northwest, Larson told Fortune. Callers to this day are greeted with a discreet, Good afternoon, Investment. It would have been hard to predict, but the job has lasted close to 30 years and seen Larson preside over Cascades vast holdings as well as the foundations endowment. With only one client to keep happy, Larson has been free to focus almost exclusively on investing strategy, a money managers dream. Michael has a very low profile, but he has tremendous respect on Wall Street, says Andy Serwer, the editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Finance and author of the 1999 Fortune article, one of the only times Larson ever granted an interview. Its such a unique job. Its a ton of money (to manage) but hes stayed there and obviously Bill loves the results. Initially, Serwer says, Larson needed non-tech investments to balance out Gatess Microsoft shares, which were worth about $76 billion (U.S.) at the time of the Fortune article. That means he was naturally steered toward the industrial side of the economy. Enter CN. The company listed on the public markets in 1995 and managers worked quickly to rein in inefficiency at the railroad. But there was further to go. CN bought Illinois Central in 1999 in a $2.4-billion deal that saw it pick up a north/south U.S. route just a few years after the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed. It also came with a key player: Harrison, the Memphis, Tenn. native who worked his way up from the rail yard to CEO of Illinois Central. It took some coaxing his family would stay in Chicago and he got access to a corporate plane but Harrison agreed to join Montreal-based CN. He slashed costs and brought his precision scheduled railroading approach to CN, pledging to start quoting arrival times to clients in hours rather than days, and was named railroader of the year by an industry magazine in 2002. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... In October 2000, when Cascade first disclosed it held more than five per cent of CNs stock, it was valued at $30 per share. By 2003, when Harrison took over as CEO of CN, the share price was close to $43 and by the end of that year, it surged past $63. Cascades stake, valued at about $300 million in 2000, was worth more than $960 million by the end of 2004. Harrison liked making money for shareholders, Green writes in Railroader. In a scrapbook of correspondence, he saved a note Gates once scribbled to him that read: I do hope you stay even longer as CEO! You have done an amazing job. Still, when Harrison did leave CN in 2009, Cascade stuck with the bet. In 2011, CN disclosed that Cascade and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust together owned more than 10 per cent of the companys stock. By the end of 2015, Gates controlled 14.9 per cent of CN. But now there was a problem. According to legislation from the time of CNs privatization, no shareholder could own more than 15 per cent. CN occasionally repurchased some of its shares for cancellation, which reduces the overall number of shares, and in 2017 the company said that pushed the Gates holdings to more than 15 per cent. Cascade began a mini-campaign to change the rule. Federal lobbying records show that representatives from the firm as well as an outside consultant met with or spoke with dozens of government officials over a period of about two years. The government eventually introduced a sweeping new transport law, which received royal assent in 2018 and changed the rules on foreign investment in airlines. It also contained a small provision increasing the maximum percentage of CN shares one shareholder can control to 25 per cent. By the end of 2019, Cascade and the foundation owned 16.6 per cent. Problem solved. Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO in 2000 but has remained in the public eye. The hard-nosed executive who faced allegations of anti-competitive practices in the 1990s has remade himself into a statesmanlike philanthropist preoccupied with climate change and global health. He has a blog about books (he added Railroader to a 2019 list), published his own this year, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, and occasionally delivers commencement addresses. He gave a TED talk in 2010 on reducing carbon dioxide emissions and another in 2015, issuing a prescient warning on the risk of the next pandemic. While Elon Musk tweets about dogecoin and races against Bezos for space domination, Gates takes a measured approach, focused on investments that will make a lasting impact on Earth, since he and French Gates have pledged to give most of their money away. He rarely talks about his own investments, but in a 2016 TV appearance, Gates referenced the influence of one of his best friends. The philosophy that Warren Buffett has put forward, that if you can find great companies and invest in them, then the macroeconomics can go up and down and the basic value of what youre holding on to there will be maintained through that, he said. Gates could have held on to his shares in Microsoft and done just fine, but hes been steadily selling off his stake for years. Serwer says its worth remembering Microsoft stock was in the wilderness from 2000 until around 2014, when Satya Nadella became CEO, adding, I think Bill probably always had philanthropy in mind, so he was looking to have a more balanced portfolio. Larson has managed the holdings of both Cascade and the foundation and the publicly known investments are conservative and long-term oriented. They include a major stake in Berkshire Hathaway, Buffetts diversified holding company, plus other large positions in Waste Management Inc., Caterpillar Inc., and Walmart Inc. Like CN, these are safe bets, most of which pay regular dividends, and offer competitive advantages. Gates makes his own biotech investments and has backed at least two Canadian startups working on technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. His interest in innovation-based solutions has attracted criticism from some, such as Montreal-based writer and activist Dru Oja Jay, who argues that this leads to a last-resort approach where technology is deployed to fix the mess capitalism continues to make. Jay is also critical of Gatess investment in CN, noting the railroad ships crude oil from Alberta to market. Maybe not so much. CN maintains it is among the cleanest railroads operating, stating it uses less fuel than the industry average, and argues shipping by rail results in lower emissions than transport trucks. Cascade has made a few other forays into Canada over the years. For a while in the 2000s, the firm owned a significant stake in Vancouver-based Pan American Silver Corp. Larson was even on the board but eventually sold off its shares. And in 2007, the investment firm bought a 47.5-per-cent stake in Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. Still, most of the firm and the foundations investments are focused on the U.S. The couples split has become tabloid fodder, with TMZ running a stream of stories on everything from the share transfers to Tinder taking steps to ensure would-be daters on the app arent duped into believing theyve matched with the real Bill Gates. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the couples lawyers have been negotiating for more than a year and have already reached a separation agreement. While they each have their own side ventures, the pair say they plan to remain co-chairs of their foundation, to which they have donated more than $36 billion. Thanks to Larson and Gatess Buffett-like approach to investing, the financial future of one of the worlds wealthiest philanthropy projects seems secure. Read more about: | https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/05/15/how-did-bill-gates-end-up-owning-13-billion-worth-of-canadas-biggest-railway.html |
Can Civics Save America? | This is not a mandate, not a curriculum, Dub told me. The education system is too localized for that, and the public too polarized. The implementation really does need to be reflective of the values of the community in which Educating for American Democracy lives. Our goal is not, as it was in the past, for there to be a standard way of teaching this. Thats very hard for some people to accept, but I think thats the only way to succeed. She added that students are more likely to retain facts when they are absorbed in debating important questions and learning how to participate as citizenswhich would put them in the same position as the Founders of the republic. You wouldnt want students taking action knowing nothing, Dub said, and you wouldnt want students who are encyclopedias with no knowledge of how to get things done in the real world. In the middle of our protracted domestic civil war, it might be a goo-goo fantasy to imagine that civic education can do what a majority of both Republicans and Democrats hope. Reports like Educating for American Democracy have a way of producing fine ideas that die quiet deaths. But I came away from reading it, and then speaking at length with the conservative Carrese and the liberal Dub, with the feeling that an effort to make young Americans more skilled and empowered as democratic citizens must begin with something like this. Simultaneous with the report, a bill is moving through Congress that would appropriate $1 billion to support the teaching of civics and U.S. history at every level. The bill, called the Civics Secures Democracy Act (coincidentally, an earlier version was the Educating for American Democracy Act), has bipartisan supportthe Senate co-sponsors are Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. Though the report and the bill in Congress have nothing to do with each other, Dub said, they stand on the same precarious middle ground. Theyre working in parallel. Clearly, the Civics Secures Act is providing funding at a level, if it were to pass, that would be necessary to do the big, bold change and progress making that EAD is calling for. The report and the bill have come under immediate attack from the right. The pro-Trump outlet American Greatness called the report a Trojan horse for woke education. National Review, the Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation all warned of a conspiracy to impose a national left-wing agenda on American schoolchildren. In a barrage of polemics by the writer Stanley Kurtz, National Review zeroed in on the term action civics, described in the report as learning by direct engagement with a democratic system and institutions, and reflection on impactin short, activism. Kurtz and other conservatives deplore activism and seem to believe that children in 21st-century America can be made to sit quietly at their desks as they did in 1957, learning how a bill becomes a law, and leave it at that. But, as Carrese told me, Were not talking about organic chem here. Were talking about citizens being self-governed, meaning they have to participate in self-governing. Aristotle would say this is a practical science. | https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/civics-education-1619-crt/618894/?utm_source=feed |
Has The Pandemic Actually Helped Women Find That Elusive Work-Life Balance? | Women! The job description comes from Greg Hanover, CEO of customer service platform LiveOps. The company, and others like it, are helping put a significant number of women, sidelined by the pandemic, back to work - from home. And in jobs that give them flexibility, with good financial incentives. LiveOps gave me the ability to go to nursing school while making a steady income because I could pick my own hours, said Shanti Harris, a customer service agent supporting one of LiveOps luxury retail clients. Finding That Perfect Work-Life Balance Working from home balancing life getty While weve learned a lot over the past 15 months, one of the most important things is just how productive women can be from home. In a recent PWC survey, 83% of employers said the shift to remote work has been successful for their company. Of course, juggling work, childcare and household responsibilities from our home offices can prove challenging. But stripping away commutes, eliminating the need for childcare, reducing gas and dry cleaning expenses and gaining convenience and flexibility is enabling us to work better and smarter and may just help us find the holy grail of working women - that elusive work-life balance. Its clear that more and more women are seeking work-from-home opportunities. 58% of employees working remotely over the past year said theyd look for a new job if they werent allowed to continue working from home post-pandemic, according to a survey by FlexJobs. But Women Are Still Absent From The Workforce While companies are catching on to the benefits of working from home, actually getting women back to work at pre-pandemic levels is proving difficult. This months bleak jobs report shed light on the continued plight of American workers, particularly women. In April, 5.6% of women reported being unemployed (compared to only 3.1% right before the pandemic) and in March, a staggering 1.5 million fewer mothers of school-age children were working than in February of 2020. And women face additional hurdles to entering the workforce like gender pay disparities, at-home learning and expensive or difficult-to-find childcare. This makes the case for work from home even stronger. Fortunately, The Pandemic Has Created New Work From Home Opportunities For Women Its tough to put a positive spin on Covid-19, but the pandemic has in fact resulted in increased demand in certain sectors that favor women and lend themselves to at-home work. Virtual call centers like LiveOps, for example, seek empathetic, competent people for online customer support. And women are filling those roles in record numbers. LiveOps saw a 12% jump in the number of women in their workforce in 2020 and almost three quarters of their agents now are women. I was relieved to find a job and be able to work from home during Covid, said Susan Clatterbaugh, who learned about LiveOps from a friend. Clatterbaugh, who has only filled her gas tank twice since starting work, is not technically an employee of LiveOps, but rather an independent agent who provides customer support from the ease and comfort of her own home. Clatterbaugh selects shifts in 30-minute increments and controls when and for how long she works. My friend told me about LiveOps. I love the convenience of working from home, the flexibility to choose my own schedule and the privilege of being my own boss, says Harris. Working from home makes juggling other responsibilities, and in Harriss case other jobs, manageable. Im also a nurse, added Harris. I love that I can use the empathy and communications skills I learned in school to help customers for the luxury brand I serve through Live Ops as well as the patients I treat as a nurse. Returnships Getting Women Back In The Game Clatterbaugh and Harris were lucky to have their jobs during the pandemic. However, millions of women, victims of pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs, were not. Returnships, offered by some of the largest and most well-known companies like Amazon, Goldman Sachs and Merck, offer women who have been out of the workforce for some time virtual, paid internships. These programs allow women to refresh their skills and often lead to full-time work. Sites like irelaunch.com and pathforward.org are useful tools as they offer up-to-date returnship opportunities for women. Women like Harris find juggling family, home and work difficult. If I had to go into an office 9 to 5, I wouldnt be able to do it all, she explained. If there is one positive that emerged from Covid-19, its this. The pandemic has forced companies of all shapes and sizes to think outside the box, break free from traditional norms and find creative ways to attract and retain female talent. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/janehanson/2021/05/15/has-the-pandemic-actually-helped-women-find-that-elusive-work-life-balance/ |
What time does the Preakness Stakes start? What TV channel is it on? | The second leg of horse racings Triple Crown doesnt have quite the fanfare as the Kentucky Derby. In fact, raise your hand if youre going to a Preakness party. Thought so. But this year, there is so much off-the-track drama that it just might generate more interest than normal. Well start in Los Angeles, where it is in its usual mid-afternoon position of 3:47 p.m. Moving east, it means 4:47 p.m. if you are in the Mountain time zone, 5:47 p.m. in Chicago and 6:47 p.m. if you are munching on crab cakes in Baltimore. And you can find coverage of the race on your local NBC station starting at 2 p.m. in Los Angeles. (You can make the time adjustments for where you live. ) If you are into some of the lead-up races, which are pretty good, you can find coverage on NBCSN starting at 11 a.m. Pacific time. Its probably the last Preakness Day coverage for NBCSN, as the station is being discontinued soon. Advertisement There are some traditions that mirror the Kentucky Derby at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Instead of My Old Kentucky Home, there is the singing of Maryland, My Maryland. The Derby has the blanket of roses, while the Preakness has a blanket of Black-eyed Susans, which happens to be the state flower of Maryland. The race is actually shorter than the Kentucky Derby by 1/16th of a mile or, in horse racing parlance, half a furlong. That makes the race 1 3/16 miles. The drama this year is centered on Derby winner Medina Spirit, who tested positive for betamethasone, which is a legal medication except on race day. Its not considered a performance enhancer but nonetheless is prohibited on the day a horse runs. If Medina Spirit wins the Preakness, with a possible disqualification in the Kentucky Derby months or years away, it sure will make things interesting when the final stop on the Triple Crown road takes everyone to New York for the Belmont Stakes in three weeks. | https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-05-15/what-time-preakness-stakes-2021-start |
Will the legend of Andrei Vasilevskiy continue to grow in the playoffs? | TAMPA The construction of a legend is a meticulous thing. It takes time, and it takes wonder. You can be halfway there and, a few bleak years later, end up in a crowd of forgotten faces. Thats why its risky to skip ahead too many chapters whenever youre tempted to attach that description next to a young players name. So, naturally, thats what Im about to do. Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is 26 and already in skating distance of some legendary feats. He has his name on both the Stanley Cup and a Vezina Trophy and, if the coming weeks go his way, he could have one more of each. That would be an extraordinary thing, and I mean that in the most literal of ways. Since the WHL-NHL merger in 1979, there have only been three goaltenders with both multiple Cups and multiple Vezinas. Those three players are Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek and Martin Brodeur, basically the hockey trinity of goalies in recent generations. Of course, there is a lot of hockey to be played between the start of the postseason this weekend and the winning of the Stanley Cup. While Vegas oddsmakers seem to think Vasilevskiy is the favorite to win the Vezina, the odds of winning the Cup are considerably wider. So well not focus on that. Instead, well consider Vasilevskiys value to the Lightning, which is considerable, yet may still be understated. The Lightning began this season by losing a couple of defensemen to free agency. And Nikita Kucherov to hip surgery. Eventually, they lost Steven Stamkos, the division lead and, finally, home-ice advantage. The one constant was Vasilevskiy and he, more than anyone else, kept Tampa Bays fortunes from becoming too worrisome. He was unreal this year. He was so great for us every single night, said forward Yanni Gourde. Obviously dealing with a lot of injuries over the course of the season, he was phenomenal. He was definitely our best player this year. The advanced statistics bear that out. According to hockeyreference.coms goalie point shares, Vasilevskiy was the best in the NHL in 2021. Natural Stat Trick had him second in the league in both the number of high-danger saves and high-danger save percentage. His overall save percentage (.925) is identical to his Vezina season in 2018-19 and his goals-against average (2.21) is even better. Story continues And after a disappointing series against Columbus in the first round in 2019, Vasilevskiys 1.90 goals-against average in the playoffs last season was the best of any goaltender with at least 15 postseason starts since 2013. Vasilevskiy grows every year he plays in the league. He came in as a physical, athletic specimen; everything you want in a goaltender, he possesses it, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. But its what goes on in a goaltenders head. And that, I think, is the sign of good goalies becoming great, and great goalies becoming elite. And I think thats what Vasy has done. Its been awesome just to have a front-row seat to watch it all happen. For all the deserved attention Tampa Bays scorers get, its important to recognize that Vasilevskiy plays a role in the offense. The Lightning are able to be more aggressive and sometimes get overly aggressive because of the faith they have in Vasilevskiy stopping the occasional rush. That confidence may be best reflected in Tampa Bays winning percentage this season. With Vasilevskiy in the net, the Lightning took 31 of 42 games for a .738 winning percentage. With other goalies, the Lightning won only 5 of 14 games for a .357 percentage. That means Tampa Bay was more than twice as likely to win with Vasilevskiy in the lineup. More than anything, Vasilevskiy allows the Lightning to begin every game in the postseason with a sense that they are the better team on the ice. When youre up in a series, you know that other team is extremely desperate and you know youre going to get their push, defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. If you have a backbone like we do here and he understands that and doesnt get flustered by that and stays within the moment and trusts his instincts, it creates a little bit more of a calming factor. Vasy was awesome at that last year when there were moments teams were pushing on us. When teams were getting looks, he made the stops and made the calming saves and gave our group even more confidence. Its far too early to start assessing where a 26-year-old goaltender fits in NHL history, but dont be surprised if, two months from now, Vasilevskiy has made you reconsider. John Romano can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @romano_tbtimes. Sign up for Lightning Strikes, a weekly newsletter from Bolts beat writer Eduardo A. Encina that brings you closer to the ice. Never miss out on the latest with the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, Florida college sports and more. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Twitter and Facebook. | https://sports.yahoo.com/legend-andrei-vasilevskiy-continue-grow-130800133.html?src=rss |
Is Inflation A Long-Term Threat, Or Just A Temporary Pop? | Inflation is up, up, up. To judge by the stock market on Wednesday, with the release of the latest Consumer Price Index data, that would be the stock market. The S&P 500 slid 2.1% on the news that day. But Mr. Market, as the great Benjamin Graham dubbed the world of equities trading, is always changing his mind. He tends to calm down from a panicked spell once he has rationally assessed the situation. In this case, after the shock of the CPI news wore off, a sense of proportion returned. Come Thursday, things were looking a whole lot better, with a 1.2% index bounce back. And with Fridays 1.5% advance, the market had recovered its inflation freak-out losses. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that inflation may blip up a bit, due to the economys reopening, then settle down. As Fed Governor Lael Brainard remarked right after the new inflation report appeared: A limited period of pandemic-related price increases is unlikely to durably change inflation dynamics. Odds are, these two central bankers are right. Sure, sure, economics can make fools of smug forecasters. Remember what the conventional wisdom was in 2007 about the beginning of the sub-prime mortgage bust: Its manageable. This time, however, the experts may end up vindicated. One thing was that ever-volatile food and energy were big drivers of the surge: The overall CPI rose 4.2% in April, but strip out food and energy, and it was 3%. OK, either one of those numbers is larger than the mild inflation weve gotten used to for many years, with CPI growth well below the Feds 2% target. But the year-over-year measurement is suspect because April 2020 was a large down month as the economy closed up shop and people walled themselves off at home, while the epidemic tightened its grip on daily life. Bank of America BAC calculates that 0.7 point of the increase is related to goods shortages and re-opening costs. Prime example: used cars. These vehicles, which obviously sell at a discount to new models, saw their prices soar 10% in April. Now, the previously owned (as the euphemism goes) autos have long been a factor in restraining the overall car-buying financial burden on U.S. consumers as a group. Not anymore. With the drastic 2020 shrinkage in travel, auto rental outfits reduced their fleets. And the rental companies have historically been a major contributor to the used-car sales inventoryafter a certain amount of mileage, Hertz and the like sold their cars to dealerships to unload. This time, a lot fewer such cars were on hand to ship to the dealers. Result: a much smaller supply of cheap conveyances, as demand ramped up again Low supply equals higher prices. As new-car production is restored when the chips shortage is solved (another result of the shutdown economy) and a normal used-car market returns, the imbalance will correct itself. More broadly, the macro inflation-containing dynamics that Brainard mentioned are unlikely to disappear. So watch for these forces to re-assert themselves as people re-emerge into the sunlight and the economy begins to hum anew. One of these is the diminished power of organized labor. The share of American employees who are union members was cut in half from 1983 through last year, to just over 10%. Back in the hyperinflation 1970s, unions pushed for ever-higher incomes to keep pace with rising prices, thus fueling the fire more. That phenomenon now is a relic. Another potent inflation-inhibiting, headcount-shrinking dynamic is the rise of automation and digitalization. Robots now are common on the factory floor and other, less physical tasks performed by humans have been rendered less necessary or superfluous. Think bank tellers or data entry workers. Thats not going to change. A lot of truck drivers will be out of work. All that has a downward effect on wages, and on inflation in general. And then theres globalization. The pandemic, not to mention fears over a rising China, has pushed the narrative that the U.S. will try to make more goods at home. And indeed, the virus put a brake on sending jobs abroad last year. That was then, though. Assembly of TV sets still is more cost-effective in Asia. For these reasons, dont expect any long-lasting hike in inflation. True, all the money Washington has pumped into the economy will have an effect and help elevate CPI a bit. Yet that wont last forever. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencelight/2021/05/15/is-inflation-a-long-term-threat-or-just-a-temporary-pop/ |
How Can I Tell If My Machine Learning Model Is Working For Me? | AI (Artificial Intelligence) concept. Deep learning. GUI (Graphical User Interface). originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Ash Fontana, Author of The AI-First Company, on Quora: Businesses must eventually sustain themselves beyond external funding sources by turning profits. Whats talked about less than ML itself is how one can leverage machine learned models to generate profits. Ive got a whole sub-section of the book that shows how to account for the revenues and costs of building a machine learning system, using traditional accounting concepts. Essentially, data learning loops bring about profit and create investment opportunities for the AI-First vendor: better predictions can lead to more automation, which lowers operating costs, which in turn means more gross profit that can be invested in research and development (models and data), leading to better predictions, and so on. Eventually the business is so profitable on a gross basis that it covers all of the operating costs and thus nets a profit. The other way to think of this is from the customer acquisition perspective: greater prediction accuracy can lead to more automation, attracting more customers or encouraging existing customers to use the product more, thus generating more data, leading to bet- ter predictions, and so on. Figuring out if you have these loops going requires digging into the unit, research, data, and other costs (which I explain how to do in the book). AI Model Ash Fontana This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2021/05/15/how-can-i-tell-if-my-machine-learning-model-is-working-for-me/ |
Could Houston Texans Rookie QB Davis Mills Start Post-Bye Week? | While Tyrod Taylor os presumed by most to be the Houston Texans' number one quarterback at this time, one Houston reporter has predicted that they may be looking to start rookie quarterback Davis Mills after the Week 10 bye. Not 'if.' Big Houston Texans Odds - And Payout On Friday, the Houston Chronicle's John McClain gave his opinion on when he expects to see the highly anticipated Stanford product. "We will see him after the bye week for the last eight games because they (Houston) have to see him for a good part of the season so they'll know what they have," said McClain on SportsRadio610 with Clint Stoerner and The Show. "Because if by some miracle he could be 'the guy,' that he can show them that, it would change next year's draft considerably. And if he's not then of course they're going to have to get a quarterback in next year's draft." Many believe Mills has the talent to be a first-round pick, but his lack of college starts (11 overall) led to his falling to Houston in the third round. Something that McClain believes will prevent him from seeing the field early on in the season. "The tough part for Davis Mills, he'll have the mental part down, it's when he has to get on the field and start doing things, that would've helped him to spend another year in school and on the football field would've made that transition much easier," suggested McClain. With the future of Deshaun Watson in question, and if nothing else his career in Houston presumed by most to be over, the Texans are clearly looking forward given that they signed not only Mills but veterans Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Finley. READ MORE: 'I Went Crazy': Texans DT Blacklock On Houston Drafting TCU Teammate Wallow At the moment, ask almost anyone and they'll say that Taylor is the presumptive starter. A former Pro Bowler, he's an experienced dual-threat QB with experience with head coach David Culley, QB coach Pep Hamilton, and offensive line coach James Campen. However, while he will likely start Week 1, his history of injuries when being used as a stop-gap starter is troubling. "Last year when Pep Hamilton was his coach with the (LA) Chargers he got hurt with that freak injury, had his lung punctured on a pain-killing shot, and (rookie) Justin Herbert had to start before the Chargers wanted him to," said McClain, and it wasn't just in LA where he's had this happen. "2018, [the] third game he got hurt and they (Cleveland Browns) had to start (rookie) Baker Mayfield before they wanted to." McClain later suggested that he believes they will start Mills when he's ready out of necessity as they prepare for next year's draft. However, if lightning strikes a third time and Finley struggles as his replacement, then Mills may well see action sooner than would be ideal. But McClain also made the salient point that the key is to not throw him to the dogs when he's not ready. Former Texans wide receiver Cecil Shorts followed this up by pointing out that this is exactly what happened with both Blaine Gabbert and Blake Bortles while he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, both of whom are now perennial backups who never quite hit the heights expected of them. Ultimately, if McClain is right and the Texans wait until the final eight games to see what Mills can do, that would mean his debut would come in Week 11 at the Tennessee Titans, with his first home game being the following week against the New York Jets. | https://www.si.com/nfl/texans/news/could-houston-texans-rookie-qb-davis-mills-start-post-week-10-bye |
Could Covid-19 Worker Shortages Create A $15 Minimum WageEven Without A New Law? | Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. ASSOCIATED PRESS Companies facing labor shortages are offering bonusesand even higher starting salariesto attract new employees. To the dismay of progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a $15 minimum wage stands no chance of passing the U.S. Senate. For now, the federal minimum wage remains stuck at $7.25 an hour, where its been since July of 2009, even though its been eclipsed by higher minimums in 29 states and the District of Columbia and lost a chunk of its buying power to inflation. Workers making just $7.25 an hour effectively earn 18% less than their counterparts did in 2009. At the same time, the combination of Covid-19 dislocations and (Republicans argue) too-rich benefits in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan President Biden signed in March a federal unemployment insurance supplement of $300 per week plus those $1,400 per person stimulus checkshave left some businesses reporting they face a labor shortage. We are having a bit of challenge staffing our hotels, Marriotts new CEO Tony Capuano told CNBC last week, pointing specifically to leisure markets like Arizona and Florida where demand is already roaring back. Marriott is not alone hererestaurants, other types of leisure businesses and even construction businesses say they are struggling to hire. That shortage has the potential to push up salaries at the bottom, effectively raising the minimum wage. (Capuano has indicated that Marriott is a supporter of hiking the federal minimum above $7.25 per hour, Newsday reported last week.) Let's be clear, Sanders tweeted Friday. The problem in America is not that unemployed workers are receiving an extra $300 a week in emergency benefits during a horrific pandemic. The problem is that too many employers in America are exploiting their workers by paying starvation wages with no benefits. After McDonalds announced last week that it would raise hourly wages by an average of 10% for more than 36,500 workers at its company-owned stores (pushing average hourly wages to $15 per hour by 2024), one political Facebook group broadcast the news to its 31,000 followers with the message, looks like we just found a way to raise wages. Consumer giants Amazon, Costco and Target have all voluntarily increased wages in recent months to meet or exceed the $15 threshold as they expand and need to staff up. For employers looking to staff up, offering a livable wage and benefits is the only way to stay competitive in the current market, Mathieu Stevenson, CEO of hourly work platform Snagajob, opined in a Friday statement. Perhaps. But William Rodgers, a professor of public policy and the chief economist at Rutgers Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and the former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, says that using a traditional model of economic analysis, if the U.S. is indeed facing a labor shortage, he would expect to see the market respond with wage growth in the sectors that have been hit hardest by the pandemic and are now attempting to staff back uplike retail, hospitality, and leisure. Rodgers, for one, isnt convinced that the $300 a week benefit is at the root of the labor shortageif one does exist. He notes that Aprils jobs number, while disappointing, was not enough to constitute a trend. Only 266,000 jobs were added over the course of the month, far fewer than what economists were expecting and far fewer than the 916,000 jobs that were added in March. A bigger factor than the $300 supplement, he says, are the childcare and caregiving challenges posed by the pandemic. I think there's a host of parentsparticularly momswho made a conscious decision at certain points within the pandemic that they are going to leave the labor force, he says. Millions of women dropped out of the workforce during the pandemic and the labor force participation rate for women in April was just 56.1%prior to the Covid-19 crisis, the last time the rate was that low was 1987. Similarly, the difficulty of working during the pandemic apparently hastened some Baby Boomers decision to retire. According to Pew Research Center, 3.2 million more Boomers reported their status as retired in the third quarter of 2020 than in the same quarter the year before. Thats more than twice the number who had moved into retirement the previous year. (Surprisingly, there are about five million minimum wage workers who are 55 or older.) Analysts from Goldman Sachs said in a note Thursday that the ratio of unemployed workers to job vacancies has now reached levels that are associated with much tighter labor marketssimilar to conditions just before the pandemic, when unemployment was at a historic loweven though record numbers of Americans are still officially considered unemployed. The analysts attribute the pattern to a quick reopening thats happening even as labor supply is still limited by both the $300 per week unemployment supplement and virus-related concerns about returning to work. The effect is more pronounced in low-paying, public-facing industries like leisure and hospitality and health and education, the analysts found. For whatever reasonsthe $300, the childcare challenge, the fear of Covid-19workers salary expectations are rising too, especially on the lower end of the pay spectrum. Goldmans analysts point out that the New York Feds measure of the average self-reported reservation wagethe lowest wage a worker says they will accept for a new jobhas grown 21% since the fall for workers making less than $60,000 annually. For workers earning more than $60,000, the salary expectation has remained in line with previous years. Goldman analysts say that discrepancy shows how lower-income workers are gaining bargaining power in the labor market thanks to that extra $300 per week in UI benefits. Of course, one could also reasonably argue that the need to pay for child care while children are home from school and the sense that taking a job involves a health risk are also factors that might raise the minimum pay a worker will accept. An Amazon associate places a label on a package at the Amazon Robotics fulfillment center during its first public tour on April 12, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. NurPhoto via Getty Images Whatever the cause, workers higher wage expectations seem to be producing results as companies ramp up hiring. Amazon said Thursday that it will offer $1,000 signing bonuses in some locations as part of a push to hire 75,000 workers at average salaries of $17 per hour$2 more than the consumer giants usual $15 starting wage. Thats on top of the companys announcement last month that it would raise wages by up to $3 per hour for more than half a million workers at a cost of more than $1 billion to the company. The Sheetz chain convenience stores announced last week that it will raise wages by $2 per hour for all of its 18,000 employees. It will also pay employees an additional $1 per hour through September as part of its Summer Stimulus Program. Sandwich chain Jimmy Johns will offer signing bonuses in some of its stores, the Wall Street Journal reported, as will the Wawa chain of convenience stores. Chipotle announced last week that its rolling out referral bonuses and hiking pay for workers. Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants said earlier this year that it would increase wages for about 20% of its hourly workers to at least $10 per hourincluding tips. The national minimum wage for tipped workers is just $2.13, but many states enforce higher minimums. Other employers are getting more creative: the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware is offering a case of beer to new hires, according to the New York Times, and a McDonalds restaurant in Florida was paying $50 to candidates who show up for interviews as of last month, Insider reported. And in what seems to be recognition that labor reluctance is about more than just pay, Pharma giant AbbVie says it will help eligible employees with childcare and remote learning expenses. Taco Bell is boosting benefitsincluding 12 weeks of parental leave and four weeks of paid vacationfor general managers, according to Restaurant Business. Theres more than anecdotal data to suggest that in some ways, market forces are pushing wages up. Experts at Bank of America said Friday that while salaries overall are rising in the United States (the average annual salary on a job posting was $50,150 in April compared to a pandemic low of $47,400), the service industry has seen stronger wage growth recently as demand comes roaring back and restrictions on businesses are lifted. But market forces, while potentially powerful in the short-term, dont necessarily guarantee lasting change the way a statutory increase in the minimum wage would. Goldman Sachss analysts expect the mismatch between labor supply and demand to persist through the summerand grow wages by more than 3% in the near-termbut abate by mid-September in most of the United States. That slowdown in wage growth could come even sooner given the growing number of Republican-led states that are announcing the end of the $300 weekly supplement. I would rather err on the side of providing people unemployment insurance benefits, and then force employers to raise wages and compensation to attract and retain workers, Rodgers says. But even if that does drive wages up across the board, a rising tide doesnt always lift all boats. Rodgers adds that despite booming economic growth in the Trump era, prosperity wasnt shared across all groups. You have to have [government] institutions....to make sure that the economy's fair in the sense of non-discrimination, ending structural racism, addressing structural sexism. Further reading Amazon Hiring 75,000 Workers, Offering $1,000 Signing Bonus in Some Locations (Forbes) Sanders Urges Biden Administration To Block Red States From Cutting Some Federal Unemployment BenefitsEven If Governors Want To (Forbes) Cities Can Use Their Federal Stimulus To Cover Up To $25,000 In Hazard Pay For Grocery Store And Other Essential Workers (Forbes) | https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2021/05/15/could-covid-19-worker-shortages-create-a-15-minimum-wage-even-without-a-new-law/ |
Can U.S. LNG Compete In An Increasingly Crowded Market? | The global LNG market has witnessed a remarkable period of growth and expansion where the proliferation of liquefaction technology and the rise of renewables has had a positive effect on the sector. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, shook the global economy, disrupted economic activities, and hit the LNG industry hard. With vaccination programs advancing in most industrialized countries, economies are carefully reopening and demand for commodities such as natural gas is on the rise again. Ever since fracking technology was applied on a massive scale in the U.S., oil and natural gas production has soared, driving an increase in LNG exports. The produced volumes following the shale boom were so large that the U.S. economy, once a significant importer, started exporting oil and natural gas. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple LNG FIDs were planned for another round of expansion. As demand is rising again, several projects are advancing to secure funding. However, uncertainty remains as the U.S. LNG industry still faces many hurdles. Nat Gas During the past 12 months, the global LNG market has seen massive price swings. The spread of the novel Coronavirus and the ensuing economic crisis hit demand for LNG and lowered prices significantly. The sector's luck changed again during the 2020-2021 heating season when a combination of factors, especially unusually cold weather, raised prices to extreme heights. The East Asian JKM benchmark briefly hit $32.50/MMBtu in January. While exporters welcome the news, importers buckled under the financial strain. The record prices in January were especially favorable to U.S. exporters whose natural gas is sold under Henry Hub-indexed prices which remained below $3/MMBtu. Competitors mostly rely on oil-indexed pricing which is currently approaching $70/barrel and has been on the rise for a while. Therefore, U.S. exporters have an advantage over their adversaries. Although the list of project proposals awaiting FID has shortened during the past 12 months, the situation is changing and becoming favorable for the remaining proposals. According to Rystad, three to four U.S. LNG projects of the following list could receive FID: Plaquemines LNG Phase 1, Port Arthur LNG train 1, Freeport LNG train 4 Driftwood LNG Phase 1, and Rio Grande Phase 1. ICIS, however, is more skeptical regarding its outlook which reports that there has been limited progress in commercial discussions that several would-be exporters are having with customers. Story continues Related: U.S. Oil Rig Count Soars As WTI Recovers Despite the somewhat bullish expectation of the U.S. LNG sector, several large-scale projects have already been discontinued over the past months citing sustained uncertainty in global markets. In January, for example, NextDecade scrapped its plans for the Galveston Bay LNG project in Texas. Also, Annova LNG canceled plans for the Port Brownsville facility in Texas with a proposed capacity of 6.5 mtpa. Besides economics and uncertainty concerning global demand, geopolitics is also a headache for the LNG sector. Growth in the coming years will mostly come from Asia, with China being the main driver. According to Wood MacKenzie, Asia will account for 95 percent of the growth due to resilient demand, weak domestic production, and supportive policies. The political tension between Washington and Beijing could impede commercial deals as the Chinese could be wary of becoming dependent. There are also competitors that threaten the U.S. LNG industry. For example, Novateks second massive LNG project in Siberia, Arctic-2 LNG, has already struck a deal with its partners. The plant is supposed to produce a massive 19.8 mtpa starting in 2023 which the partners Total, CNOOC, and Mitsui have signed a 20-years contract for. Also, Qatars recent announcement to lift the self-imposed moratorium on the worlds largest gas field, North Dome, could be bad news for U.S. exporters seeking FID. Qatar Petroleums plans include a production expansion of 40 percent by 2026 to 110 mtpa from 77 mtpa. This move by Qatar has added to the risk factor for any parties considering a long-term investment in U.S. LNG. Therefore, expansion remains uncertain for the short term. The pie is simply not large enough yet to justify another round of explosive growth. However, expect American companies to respond rapidly if global demand growth is rosier than expected, fueled by cheap feed-in gas from fracking. By Vanand Meliksetian for Oilprice.com By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Read this article on OilPrice.com | https://news.yahoo.com/u-lng-compete-increasingly-crowded-180000057.html |
Why, after years of quiet, did Israeli-Palestinian conflict explode now? | JERUSALEM Twenty-seven days before the first rocket was fired from Gaza this week, a squad of Israeli police officers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, brushed the Palestinian attendants aside and strode across its vast limestone courtyard. Then they cut the cables to the loudspeakers that broadcast prayers to the faithful from four medieval minarets. It was the night of April 13, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It was also Memorial Day in Israel, which honors those who died fighting for the country. The Israeli president was delivering a speech at the Western Wall, a sacred Jewish site that lies below the mosque, and Israeli officials were concerned that the prayers would drown it out. The incident was confirmed by six mosque officials, three of whom witnessed it; Israeli police declined to comment. In the outside world, it barely registered. But in hindsight, the police raid on the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, was one of several actions that led, less than a month later, to the sudden resumption of war between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the outbreak of civil unrest between Arabs and Jews across Israel itself. This was the turning point, said Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand mufti of Jerusalem. Their actions would cause the situation to deteriorate. That deterioration has been far more devastating, far-reaching and fast-paced than anyone imagined. It has led to the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in years not only in the conflict with Hamas, which has killed at least 139 people in Gaza and eight in Israel, but in a wave of mob attacks in mixed Arab-Jewish cities in Israel. Advertising It has spawned unrest in cities across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians on Friday. And it has resulted in the firing of rockets toward Israel from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, prompted Jordanians to march toward Israel in protest, and led Lebanese protesters to briefly cross their southern border with Israel. The crisis came as the Israeli government was struggling for its survival; as Hamas which Israel views as a terrorist group was seeking to expand its role within the Palestinian movement; and as a new generation of Palestinians was asserting its own values and goals. And it was the outgrowth of years of blockades and restrictions in Gaza, decades of occupation in the West Bank, and decades more of discrimination against Arabs within the state of Israel, said Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Israeli parliament and former chair of the World Zionist Organization. All the enriched uranium was already in place, he said. But you needed a trigger. And the trigger was the Aqsa Mosque. It had been seven years since the last significant conflict with Hamas, and 16 since the last major Palestinian uprising, or intifada. There was no major unrest in Jerusalem when then-President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israels capital and nominally moved the U.S. Embassy there. There were no mass protests after four Arab countries normalized relations with Israel, abandoning a long-held consensus that they would never do so until the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been resolved. Advertising Two months ago, few in the Israeli military establishment were expecting anything like this. In private briefings, military officials said the biggest threat to Israel was 1,000 miles away in Iran, or across the northern border in Lebanon. When diplomats met in March with the two generals who oversee administrative aspects of Israeli military affairs in Gaza and the West Bank, they found the pair relaxed about the possibility of significant violence and celebrating an extended period of relative quiet, according to a senior foreign diplomat who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak freely. Gaza was struggling to overcome a wave of coronavirus infections. Most major Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, were looking toward Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for March, the first in 15 years. And in Gaza, where the Israeli blockade has contributed to an unemployment rate of about 50%, Hamas popularity was dwindling as Palestinians spoke increasingly of the need to prioritize the economy over war. The mood began to shift in April. The prayers at Al-Aqsa for the first night of Ramadan on April 13 occurred as the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, was making his speech nearby. The mosque leadership, which is overseen by the Jordanian government, had rejected an Israeli request to avoid broadcasting prayers during the speech, viewing the request as disrespectful, a public affairs officer at the mosque said. So that night, the police raided the mosque and disconnected the speakers. Without a doubt, said Sabri, it was clear to us that the Israeli police wanted to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque and the holy month of Ramadan. Advertising A spokesman for the president denied that the speakers had been turned off, but later said they would double-check. In another year, the episode might have been quickly forgotten. But last month, several factors suddenly and unexpectedly aligned that allowed this slight to snowball into a major showdown. A resurgent sense of national identity among young Palestinians found expression not only in resistance to a series of raids on Al-Aqsa, but also in protesting the plight of six Palestinian families facing expulsion from their homes. The perceived need to placate an increasingly assertive far right gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel little incentive to calm the waters. A sudden Palestinian political vacuum, and a grassroots protest that it could adopt, gave Hamas an opportunity to flex its muscles. These shifts in the Palestinian dynamics caught Israel unawares. Israelis had been complacent, nurtured by more than a decade of right-wing governments that treated Palestinian demands for equality and statehood as a problem to be contained, not resolved. We have to wake up, said Ami Ayalon, a former director of the Israeli domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet. We have to change the way we understand all this, starting with the concept that the status quo is stable. Sponsored The loudspeaker incident was followed almost immediately by a police decision to close off a popular plaza outside the Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. Young Palestinians typically gather there at night during Ramadan. A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said the plaza was closed to prevent dangerously large crowds from forming there, and to head off the possibility of violence. To Palestinians, it was another insult. It led to protests, which led to nightly clashes between the police and young men trying to reclaim the space. To the police, the protests were disorder to be controlled. But to many Palestinians, being pushed out of the square was a slight, beneath which were much deeper grievances. Most Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and later annexed, are not Israeli citizens, so they cannot vote. Many feel they are gradually being pushed out of Jerusalem. Restrictions on building permits force them to either leave the city or build illegal housing, which is vulnerable to demolition orders. So the decision to block Palestinians from a treasured communal space compounded the sense of discrimination that many have felt all their lives. It made it feel as though they were trying to eliminate our presence from the city, said Majed al-Qeimari, a 27-year-old butcher from East Jerusalem. We felt the need to stand up in their faces and make a point that we are here. The clashes at the Damascus Gate had repercussions. Later that week, Palestinian youths began attacking Jews. Some posted videos on TikTok, a social media site, garnering public attention. And that soon led to organized Jewish reprisals. On April 21, just a week after the police raid, a few hundred members of a far-right Jewish group, Lehava, marched through central Jerusalem, chanting Death to Arabs and attacking Palestinian passersby. A group of Jews was filmed attacking a Palestinian home, and others assaulted drivers who were perceived to be Palestinian. Advertising Foreign diplomats and community leaders tried to persuade the Israeli government to lower the temperature in Jerusalem, at least by reopening the square outside Damascus Gate. But they found the government distracted and uninterested, said a person involved in the discussions, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Netanyahu was in the middle of coalition negotiations after an election in March the fourth in two years that ended without a clear winner. To form a coalition, he needed to persuade several far-right lawmakers to join him. One was Itamar Ben Gvir, a former lawyer for Lehava who advocates expelling Arab citizens whom he considers disloyal to Israel, and who until recently hung a portrait of Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish extremist who massacred 29 Palestinians in Hebron in 1994, in his living room. Netanyahu was accused of pandering to the likes of Ben Gvir, and fomenting a crisis to rally Israelis around his leadership, by letting tensions rise in Jerusalem. Netanyahu didnt invent the tensions between Jews and Arabs, said Anshel Pfeffer, a political commentator and biographer of the prime minister. Theyve been here since before Israel was founded. But over his long years in power, hes stoked and exploited these tensions for political gain time and again and has now miserably failed as a leader to put out the fires when it boiled over. Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, rejected that analysis. Exactly the opposite is true, Regev said. He has done everything he can to try to make calm prevail. Advertising On April 25, the government relented on allowing Palestinians to gather outside the Damascus Gate. But then came a brace of developments that significantly widened the gyre. First was the looming eviction of the six families from Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. With a final court decision on their case due in the first half of May, regular protests were held throughout April demonstrations that accelerated after Palestinians drew a connection between the events at Damascus Gate and the plight of the residents. What you see now at Sheikh Jarrah or at Al-Aqsa or at Damascus Gate is about pushing us out of Jerusalem, said Salah Diab, a community leader in Sheikh Jarrah, whose leg was broken during a recent police raid on his house. My neighborhood is just the beginning. Police said they were responding to violence by demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah, but video and images showed they engaged in violence themselves. As the images began to circulate online, the neighborhood turned into a rallying point for Palestinians not just across the occupied territories and Israel, but among the diaspora. The experience of the families, who had already been displaced from what became Israel in 1948, was something every single Palestinian in the diaspora can relate to, said Jehan Bseiso, a Palestinian poet living in Lebanon. And it highlighted a piece of legal discrimination: Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim land in East Jerusalem that was owned by Jews before 1948. But the descendants of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes that year have no legal means to reclaim their families land. Advertising Theres something really triggering and cyclical about seeing people being removed from their homes all over again, Bseiso said. Its very triggering and very, very relatable, even if youre a million miles away. On April 29, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority canceled the Palestinian elections, fearing a humiliating result. The decision made Abbas look weak. Hamas saw an opportunity, and began to reposition itself as a militant defender of Jerusalem. Hamas thought that by doing so, they were showing that they were a more capable leadership for the Palestinians, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political expert at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. On May 4, six days before the war began, the head of the Hamas military, Muhammed Deif, issued a rare public statement. This is our final warning, Deif said. If the aggression against our people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood does not stop immediately, we will not stand idly by. War nevertheless seemed unlikely. But then came the most dramatic escalation of all: a police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 7. Police officers armed with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-tipped bullets burst into the mosque compound shortly after 8 p.m., setting off hours of clashes with stone-throwing protesters in which hundreds were injured, medics said. Police said the stone throwers started it; several worshippers said the opposite. Advertising Whoever struck first, the sight of stun grenades and bullets inside the prayer hall of one of the holiest sites in Islam on the last Friday of Ramadan, one of its holiest nights was seen as a grievous insult to all Muslims. This is about the Judaization of the city of Jerusalem, Sheikh Omar al-Kisswani, another leader at the mosque, said in an interview hours after the raid. Its about deterring people from going to Al-Aqsa. That set the stage for a dramatic showdown on Monday, May 10. A final court hearing on Sheikh Jarrah was set to coincide with Jerusalem Day, when Jews celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem by dint of the capture of East Jerusalem in 1967. Jewish nationalists typically mark the day by marching through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and trying to visit Temple Mount, the site on which the Al-Aqsa Mosque is built. The looming combination of that march, tensions over Al-Aqsa and the possibility of an eviction order in Sheikh Jarrah seemed to be building toward something dangerous. The Israeli government scrambled to tamp down tensions. The Supreme Court hearing in the eviction case was postponed. An order barred Jews from entering the mosque compound. But police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque again, early on Monday morning, after Palestinians stockpiled stones in anticipation of clashes with police and far-right Jews. For the second time in three days, stun grenades and rubber-tipped bullets were fired across the compound, in scenes that were broadcast across the world. At the last minute, the government rerouted the Jerusalem Day march away from the Muslim Quarter, after receiving an intelligence briefing about the risk of escalation if it went ahead. But that was too little, and far too late. By then, the Israeli army had already begun to order civilians away from the Gaza perimeter. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday, the rocket fire from Gaza began. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-after-years-of-quiet-did-israeli-palestinian-conflict-explode-now/ |
How Could Travel Impact the Jaguars' 2021 Schedule? | ESPN's Brian Burke presents data to give us an idea. The NFLand subsequently Jacksonville Jaguarshave been pushing the upcoming 2021 schedule as the biggest season ever. A 17th game has been added for everyone, stretching the season to 18 weeks, the International Series in London has been reestablished after a year off from COVID and its presumed fans will be allowed back in the stands. For the Jaguars in particular, trips to the West Coast, up the Eastern Seaboard and across the pond make for a 2021 season that already seemswelltiring. This will be the case for many teams, however. The key will be managing it all, of course, but a favorable draw relative to opponents can also help. Brian Burke of ESPN has put together a scatter graph highlighting the differentials in net travel and net rest difference. The Jaguars are the closest to dead center of all 32 teams. Of course that means nothing without first understanding what each axis represents. Lets start with net travel. This is essentially the differential in what one team is traveling relative to their visiting opponents. For example, the Jags' net travel in this situation is measured by calculating the entire travel Jacksonville must do for the season, minus what their opponents must travel to play them (in Jacksonville and one game in London). The Jaguars will travel 13,284 miles during the 2021 regular season, including eight away games and one home game at Londons Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The teams trip to London is the longest of the season (4,250 miles), followed by Seattle (2,443) and Los Angeles (2,153). On Burkes chart, the Jaguars are on the line for net travel miles. Because despite the sheer number of miles the club will travel, they welcome teams after long trips as well. For example, the London trip features two Florida teams (the Jaguars face the Miami Dolphins) so the net travel balances out. And despite the Jags traveling to Los Angeles and Seattle, they will also welcome the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos. The 49ers, who travel to Jacksonville in November, have the largest net travel differential of any team. In total (not net), San Francisco will travel over 28,000 miles round trip. The Las Vegas Raiders have the most beneficial net travel total. The perpendicular axis is net rest difference which Burke explains as the sum of the difference in days between games. So if a team came off Monday Night Football to play a team that played last Thursday, that would be a -4 for that team that week. The Jaguars continue their 13 year streak of no Sunday Night Football games and 10 year streak of no Monday Night Football games into this year. The silver lining being though that there will be few short turnarounds for the team with a Thursday night game and a bye week following the London trip. Related: 6 Observations on the Jaguars Schedule: Coaching Matchups, Disrespect and a Tough Stretch The Carolina Panthers are in the most beneficial spot in terms of net rest difference, while the New England Patriots are at the bottom. The Pats will face three teams coming off of their bye week. The Jaguars wont be one of them though, as Jacksonville will head to Boston on January 2 after a December 26 meeting with the New York Jets. The Pats will spend the 26th playing the Buffalo Bills in Boston. The Jaguars dont play the Chicago Bears this season but the Bears are seemingly in the worst position overall; while not in the worst spot for net travel miles or net rest difference, the Bears are in the lowest spot for the average between the two. Its a tie between two clubs. The Philadelphia Eagles (who the Jaguars dont face in 2021) and the Cincinnati Bengals. As of now, the Bengals are the only primetime game on the schedule for the Jaguars, as the two will face each other on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 (September 30). The Jaguars have one of the more favorable schedules through the first four weeks, before diving into a wood chipper beginning Week 9. In a way, the season balances itself out in that way. The same could be said for the net travel miles and rest difference data that puts the Jaguars firmly in the middle of the pack. In the end though, the only thing that will truly matter is how the Jacksonville Jaguars handle it all on the field. | https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/news/how-could-travel-impact-the-jaguars-2021-schedule |
Should WR Dede Westbrook Consider 'Prove-It' Deal with Detroit Lions? | The Detroit Lions are still in search of some wide receiver help, and Dede Westbrook just may be the answer. This past offseason, the Lions added Breshad Perriman, Tyrell Williams, Damion Ratley and Kalif Raymond in an attempt to overhaul their wide receivers room. The 27-year-old wideout presumably may only be offered a 'prove-it' deal by interested teams at this stage of free agency. Bob Self via Imagn Content Services, LLC Westbrook, a fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2017, has recorded 160 catches for 1,720 yards and nine touchdowns in his first four seasons in the league. He was only able to appear in two games last season due to suffering a season-ending ACL injury in October. Westbrook was one of just 23 players to have catches 66 or more receptions in both 2018 and 2019, according to CBS Sports. NFL reporter Josina Anderson reported earlier this week that members of the Kansas City Chiefs roster reached out to Westbrook last weekend to gauge his interest in joining them in their efforts to win the Lombardi Trophy again. At this point, multiple organizations have expressed interests in his services -- including the Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. If the Lions are able to secure Westbrook's services, it would be a fairly safe, low-risk, high-reward type of signing by Detroit's front office. More from SI All Lions: Pros and Cons of Trading OL Tyrell Crosby 5 Keys to Success for Jared Goff in 2021 Lions' Biggest 'Roster Hole' Left to Fill List of Lions' Rookie Minicamp Participants Released Lions Sign DT Alim McNeill to Rookie Deal | https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/should-lions-target-dede-westbrook |
Will teams double-team Joel Embiid or not? | The 76ers playoff run is going to be interesting. The Sixers secured the Eastern Conferences No. 1 seed on Friday with a convincing 122-97 win over the Orlando Magic. They have an MVP candidate in Joel Embiid and a front-runner for defensive player of the year in Ben Simmons. Yet, the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are garnering more hype than the Sixers (48-23), who garnered home-court advantage through the conference finals. A lot of that has to do with the Nets Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving and the Bucks sweeping their three-game series with the Sixers. While an elite team, the Sixers benefited by playing the easiest schedule down the stretch. So its going to be interesting to see how they perform in the postseason, because teams will have time to prepare and scheme. We should be intrigued to see how teams defend Embiid. Its going to be interesting to see what they do against Simmons and sharpshooters Seth Curry and Danny Green. Surely, teams will have a plan for Tobias Harris, but Embiid is going to be the main guy. Those are basically going to be the two options teams will have. Teams can try to shut down Embiid and see if the other guys can beat them. They could, instead, try to shut down his teammates and see if the four-time All-Star center can beat them by himself. Those philosophies can change throughout a game. Opponents can start out playing Embiid one-on-one and try to shut down the others. Then at some point, try to double Embiid, get the ball out of his hands, and see what happens. But its definitely going to be interesting to see what teams do, especially when Embiid is double-teamed. It will also be interesting to see how theyll rotate out to defend other players. So its definitely going to be interesting to see all those scenarios. The Sixers are expected to play Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series against a to-be-deteremined opponent on Saturday. Theyll find out who theyll face on Thursday, when the league will conduct the Eastern Conferences second-round, play-in tournament game to determine the eighth seed. The Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, and Washington Wizards are the conferences play-in participants. The Celtics are seventh in the conference standings. On Tuesday, theyll face the eighth-place team. The winner will earn the conference playoffs seventh seed. The other two teams, the ninth- and 10th-place finishers, will also play Tuesday with the winner advancing to the second round. The winner of the 9-10 game will face the loser of the 7-8 matchup. The second-round winner will claim the eighth seed, drawing a first-round matchup against the Sixers. The Sixers shouldnt have a problem getting out of the first round. They have a combined record of 11-1 against the Celtics (3-0), Hornets (3-0), Pacers (2-1), and Wizards (3-0). Their lone loss against the Pacers came Tuesday when the Sixers blew a 16-point, second-quarter lead to lose, 103-94, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Both teams were undermanned. Embiid (non-COVID-19 illness) and reserves Furkan Korkmaz (sprained right ankle), Shake Milton (sore right knee), and Thybulle (bruised right hand) were sidelined. Meanwhile, the Pacers were without Malcolm Brogdon (sore right hamstring), Aaron Holiday (sprained right toe), Jeremy Lamb (sore left knee), Edmond Sumner (left knee contusion), Myles Turner (partial plantar plate tear, right toe), and T.J. Warren (out since December with a stress fracture in his left foot). The Wizards are an intriguing team because of the guard tandem of Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, if healthy. Beal, who missed Washingtons last three games with a left hamstring strain, is the leagues second-leading scorer at 31.4 points per game. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double (22.2 points, a league-best 11.8 assists, and 11.5 rebounds) for the fourth time in five seasons. As the No. 1 seed, the Sixers were awarded the easiest path to the conference finals. Barring an upset, the Sixers will face the winner of 4-5 playoff series in the second round. Clinching the top seed enabled them to avoid a second-round matchup against the Nets or Bucks. The Sixers are expected to face one of those teams in the conference finals. But getting there wont be a guarantee. As we found out in Thursdays 106-94 loss at the Miami Heat, the Sixers arent good enough to just show up and win. Teams are going to have more time to come up with game plans and attack the Sixers weaknesses. Of course, its the same thing for the Sixers, who will likely unveil something weve havent seen all season. This postseason run is definitely going to be interesting. | https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/philadelphia-sixers-joel-embiid-nba-playoffs-challenges--20210515.html |
How'd 'The Real Richard Sherman' React To Dallas Cowboys Rookie Nahshon Wright Apology? | "I hopefully get to do the same things that Richard Sherman did. So we spoke and we have kind of a mutual respect." - Nahshon Wright FRISCO - Nahshon Wright was trying to pay a compliment, in a way, to the greatness of Richard Sherman. But the rookie's comments to the media shortly after being taken by the Dallas Cowboys were also designed to ... well, pay himself a compliment. "I look at myself as a more athletic and agile Richard Sherman,'' said the Oregon State cornerback, who is 6-foot-4 but was otherwise thought of by many NFL Draft experts as a reach when Dallas selected him in the third round. READ MORE: Dallas Cowboys CB Nahshon Wright: 'I'm The Next Richard Sherman' Naturally, the quote raised eyebrows and went viral, many NFL veterans and long-time NFL observers coming to the defense of the future Hall-of-Famer Sherman, a long-time Seattle Seahawks star in the same part of the country as where Wright played collegiately ... and yes, they share a body frame type and now they share a connection with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who likes that body type and once coached Sherman in Seattle as he will now coach Wright in Dallas. "I wanted to reach out to him personally and just kind of clear it up and tell him that I actually model myself after him, I emulate my game after him," Wright said Saturday here at The Star following the Cowboys' second rookie minicamp practice. So the Cowboys rookie cornerback did so, sending Sherman a direct message via social media, explaining the draft-night quote Sherman, for his part, first responded to the quote with an eye-popping GIF on Twitter. "He told me if I ever needed help that I could reach out to him," Wright said. "Richard is a great guy." Wright explained that his quote was not meant to demean, but was rather about his self-confidence - a feeling backed up by a Saturday performance in which he registered an interception. READ MORE: Dallas Cowboys Rookies Jabril Cox & Nashon Wright Get INTs "For me, I think it was just general confidence in myself and me looking up to someone like that," Wright said. "He played under Dan Quinn, so now I have the opportunity to play under him, and hopefully get to do the same things that Richard Sherman did. So we spoke and we have kind of a mutual respect." | https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/howd-the-real-richard-sherman-react-to-dallas-cowboys-rookie-nahshon-wright-apology |
How is Iran influencing the conflict between Israel and Hamas? | Tensions between Israel and Hamas have escalated to levels not seen since the 2014 Gaza War, and national security analyst Rebecca Grant joined Fox News Saturday to discuss Irans intentions and influence in the region. Since early last week, Hamas and Israel have exchanged rocket-fire, and air strikes, reigniting unrest in the Middle East. With sirens echoing across southern Israel and civilians finding safety in bomb shelters, many have questioned Irans influence in the growing conflict. PRO-IRAN TWITTER ACCOUNTS GOT ANTI-SEMITIC HATE TRENDING AS HAMAS ROCKETS SPED TOWARD ISRAEL "Iran is a huge factor," Grant said. "I see Iran all over this from the call from the commander of their Quds Force, talking to Hamas. Of course, its Iran who has supplied a lot of the missiles and the missile technology for these ongoing strikes that were seeing." President Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas Saturday, and during the phone call with Netanyahu, Biden echoed his support for Israels right to self-defense and committed to a negotiated two-state solution. Netanyahu spoke to the Israeli people following his call with the U.S. President saying, "Our aim is to send Hamas a message that its not worth sending rockets next time they want." President Biden has come under fire for his stance on Israel as several prominent Democrats within his own party showed disapproval. LIVE UPDATES: BIDEN SPEAKS WITH ABBAS, NETANYAHU AS ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT ESCALATES "This is really turning into a deepening crisis for Biden. He also has splits within the Democratic Party of those who are more assertive about Palestinian rights and those who are defenders of Israel" Grant said. Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib criticized the President on the House floor Friday, claiming he did not recognize the "Palestinian humanity." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Commander In Chief has also faced heavy criticism after announcing the administration is opened to easing U.S. sanctions on Iran. U.S. and Iranian diplomats have traded talks to negotiate a reconstructed deal following former President Trumps abandonment of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. The Biden administration also announced this week that the U.S. will be releasing aid to the Palestinians. Rebecca Grant raised concerns over President Bidens diplomatic responses to Iran saying, "Id like to see the Biden team step back from talking about reentering that nuclear deal with Iran. Its too bad Biden already released money to Gaza, the Palestinians through the U.N. It would have been great to have that hold over their heads. We need to see really a much stronger response and a demand for a cease-fire." | https://www.foxnews.com/world/how-is-iran-influencing-the-conflict-between-israel-and-hamas |
Will the Government take the poverty crisis seriously? | Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talk before Ardern delivers a speech to business leaders at Eden Park. Photo / Dean Purcell This week's Budget is a chance for the Labour Government to take the crisis of poverty and inequality seriously. They can do this by delivering something serious or even transformational for those suffering at the bottom of the heap in New Zealand. In particular, a big increase in core benefit rates would be the most effective way they could tackle the worsening problem. Of course, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has already faced campaigns to increase benefits, and firmly said "no" to these as recently as December you can see my roundup of this issue then: The Left's challenge to Labour's inaction on poverty and inequality. However, pressure to deliver to those most in need is now just too great for the Government to ignore, and rumours are building that a benefit increase will be announced. Last week, Finance Minister Grant Robertson even signalled the Budget will include measures to deal with inequality and poverty, and Ardern came up with the term "The Compassionate Budget" for what is coming. Business journalist Liam Dann forecast in the Herald yesterday some big spending to put more money in the pockets of the poorest: "There will undoubtedly be some big, new spending packages in this Budget. They will likely target child poverty and those suffering most from inequity" see: Budget 2021: Why Grant Robertson won't match big spending Aussies (paywalled). And Dann outlines how pumping money to the poor will tick both moral and economic boxes. Arguments for a big 'benefit boost' If the Government ever needed permission to boost benefits, it received this in a landmark survey released in February showing overwhelming public support for increased income support for the poor see Harry Lock's Survey finds 69% want income support for those in need increased. The question was asked whether "the Government should increase the amount of income support paid to those on low incomes and not in paid work". Across all demographics, incomes, and voting alignments, the result was clearly in favour of government action. Even Act Party supporters tended towards an increase in income support. Responding to the poll, the ActionStation advocacy group said this about benefit increases: "The time for excuses is up. This poll shows the government has a clear social licence and mandate, on top of its moral obligation, to lift inadequate welfare payments to 'liveable' levels, and it needs to be done now, in this Budget round." Plenty of high-profile voices have also been urging Labour to do the right thing. For example, recently political journalist Andrea Vance highlighted that while Ardern had come to office on a promise to reduce inequality, she hasn't done so yet see: The social welfare net is threadbare can Grant Robertson mend it?. In this, Vance suggests giving beneficiaries a proper payment increase as well as modernising the whole welfare system. Similarly, writing in February, Branko Marcetic argued that lifting benefits is the "bare minimum" that the Government should be doing to work on fulfilling its promises. But he admits a benefit rise would have a downside for the Government: "Doing this will certainly mean Robertson may have, at first, less impressive debt numbers to show off to business leaders at lunches and breakfasts held in luxury hotels" see: NZ's economic "bounce-back" is a myth but lifting benefits would bring it closer to reality. Humpage also points out that the Government's own Welfare Expert Advisory Group made a number of recommendations for reform, which the Government is largely ignoring: "It made 42 key recommendations but only a handful have been addressed. Almost two years on, we are still waiting for real action." Latest "grim" poverty statistics out More evidence of the "grim" situation came out on Thursday, with the release of the Government's first Annual Report for the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and another report on Child Poverty Indicators. The most significant finding from these reports was that 20 per cent of children live in households where food runs out either sometimes or often. For details, see Rebecca Moore's Advocacy groups slam 'racist', ''discriminatory' system after Government releases child poverty report. The article reports the response of Child Poverty Action Group's Janet McAllister, who says "We should be angry about this" and she admonishes the Labour Government for only taking "small steps to address these big issues", saying although there are indications of slight improvements in poverty levels, "It's not okay to be a little bit better than four years ago." She concludes that "The Government has power to change this terrible situation we've been in for far too long." Guardian journalist Tess McClure labelled the stats as representing "slow or non-existent progress" on dealing with child poverty see: Ardern faces calls to boost child poverty spending in budget amid glacial progress. She reports Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft's statement in response, that there was "an inarguable need to increase benefits", calling "for more spending for children in the upcoming budget". Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivering a speech to business leaders at Eden Park. Photo / Dean Purcell The Prime Minister is also quoted defending her record, saying "Many of the issues facing children, young people and their families are complex, stubborn and intergenerational, so we know change will take time, and will require sustained action across Government and across our communities". Similarly, researcher Max Rashbrooke's message is to have more patience, because "Child poverty is like a huge oil tanker it takes a long time to turn around", "It takes time to convert income into greater wellbeing", and "Some of the problems are so ingrained, that you spend a lot of money erasing the problems of the past". But he lamented that the Government is "not willing to commit to the massive increases in benefits that would really see us slashing the rates of child poverty". Rashbrooke has also written recently about his attempt to track down planning for how the Government is going to deal with the poverty crisis, coming up empty-handed see: Plan and budget both Awol in child-poverty fight. He says: "we need Ardern to tell us exactly how she will meet her long-term targets, how much it will cost, and where those funds will be found. The issue also cuts to the heart of her Government's credibility." This article follows on from an earlier one by Rashbrooke in which he argues that the Government's lack of a plan on poverty is troubling, and that making inroads will require much more boldness than is currently on offer see: Economist Brian Easton also responded critically yesterday to the latest poverty stats, suggesting that any purported improvements are just "statistical noise", but that this shouldn't be surprising "because the policy changes have been small, if trumpeted loudly. Therein lies the challenge. The assumption seems to have been that small incremental policy measures can eliminate child poverty. I am sceptical unless the increments are larger and more focused than what has occurred so far. The statute says where we are to end up, but it does not provide a path to get there. So we are gingerly navigating our way; there is no map." The lack of a plan for dealing with poverty was also criticised earlier in the year by a Stuff editorial that said "we're on a track that remains only half-built and the path ahead is anything but clear and, even now, we don't really know where we stand" see: The newspaper cites the arguments to increase benefits by between 12 and 47 per cent as the official advice dictates, and adds that the Government has a mandate to be much more radical: "the result of the previous election was nothing if not a mandate for boldness on fronts such as this." Also writing about this time, leftwing columnist Gordon Campbell said: "Voters gave Labour a sweeping mandate to pursue transformational solutions for this country's most serious problems", but that they're taking "tiny, barely discernible steps to reduce poverty" see: On Labour's fudging on child poverty. Hardly." If a benefit boost does eventuate in Grant Robertson's Budget on Thursday, the crucial issue will be how much they rise by. There seems to be a near-consensus amongst progressives and welfare advocates that such an increase would need to be in the range recommended by the Government's Welfare Expert Advisory Group of 12-47 per cent. Anything less than a $100/week increase for single jobseekers, as recommended, will leave many on the left disappointed. Some would even like to see benefit rates doubled. Writing in the Herald last week, the Auckland City Missioner, Helen Robinson, looked at this issue of how much benefits needed to rise by, and suggested: "The $490 weekly Covid Income Relief Payment for full-time workers who lost their job during the pandemic is a good starting point. That level of investment, compared to the little over $250 a week received by a single person over the age of 25 on Jobseeker Support, is a more realistic weekly income. Economically this is possible" see: Impossible choices deprive our people of hope (paywalled). Robinson commented further on this yesterday, saying to break the poverty cycle "the benefit needs to increase by around $200 each week" see RNZ's Major rise in benefits needed to get children out of poverty Auckland City Missioner. The City Missioner also points out that official statistics released last week on child poverty are out of date, and that things have got much worse due to the impact of Covid. As an example, she says "the mission before Covid was doing about 25,000 food parcels a year and this year we'll get to somewhere between 45 to 50,000 food parcels so the need has significantly increased." According to the Child Poverty Action Group, they could start indexing Working for Families payments in line with the wage index, as is done for Superannuation and benefits see Melanie Carroll's Working for Families falls behind wage rises: Child Poverty Action Group. According to this article, the "Government had not increased payment rates for Working for Families since 2018", and research shows that the lack of indexation has left "some families up to $1900 worse off over two years". Additionally, Working for Families could be reformed, to provide the "In-Work Tax Credit" to the families of beneficiaries, as recommended by the Child Poverty Action Group see Janet McAllister's What the annual child poverty stats tell us. In this piece McAllister also complains about the low rates of benefits, suggesting that Labour's approach is still too rightwing: "Ruth Richardson's Mother of All Budgets still has more influence on the miserly social welfare system than Jacinda Ardern does. In fact, net benefits and child assistance (Working for Families) combined are still lower now that they were immediately after Richardson's social welfare cuts, as a percentage of net average wages." The free school lunch programme could be extended, as it is currently only funded for about a quarter of students. This is a call backed by the Children's Commissioner, who says "free lunches for schoolchildren should be 'a birthright'" see Lana Andelane's . However, the Prime Minister has responded negatively to this, saying that such a universal approach would cost too much. Finally, for a clever and satirical communication of "how New Zealand's post-Covid economy has benefited some while hurting others", see cartoonist Toby Morris' | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-will-the-government-take-the-poverty-crisis-seriously/73SL2UUPYBQLGBBKKXMVDVN3MU/ |
Will Republicans back a commission to investigate the Capitol breach? | House Democrats are poised to adopt legislation to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Capitol attack, in a move that will force Republicans to either embrace an inquiry that could embarrass Donald Trump or turn a blind eye to a deadly insurrection. The proposal, endorsed by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, would establish a 10-member commission evenly split between Democrats and Republicans and allow the top ranking members from each party to jointly authorize subpoenas, in addition to doing so by majority vote. Crucially, it would focus narrowly on facts and causes relating to the attack on the Capitol on 6 January by a pro-Trump mob and the interference with the peaceful transition of power. Five people died amid scenes of chaos and violence that shocked the US and the world. Whether Democrats can seize the moment and push the legislation through Congress remains unclear. The Democratic-led House is likely to swiftly adopt the bill, but it could falter in the 50-50 Senate should Republicans insist on a commission with a mandate to investigate their own political priorities. The push from Pelosi and senior House Democrats underscores their resolve to investigate Trump and hold him accountable for what they consider to be his role in inciting a deadly insurrection that shook the core of American democracy. Complicating matters is the fact that the current Congress is far more polarised than it was after the September 11 attacks, with the parties sceptical of each others motives. Democrats see some Republicans as complicit in fuelling the 6 January attack by perpetuating lies about a stolen election. While some Republicans, including Liz Cheney, have backed the idea of a commission, most of the partys lawmakers say they wont accept a proposal that could give Democrats the upper hand in determining the course and conclusions of the commissions work. The proposal for the commission is modelled closely on the commission Congress established in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, where recommendations led to reshaping of congressional oversight authority and intelligence gathering. Negotiations over creating a commission had been stalled for months over disagreements about the panels structure and scope, until the top Democrat on the House homeland security committee, Bennie Thompson, and the top Republican, John Katko, announced a bipartisan agreement on Friday. Pelosi deputised Thompson to lead talks as she felt the homeland security committee was an appropriate venue, and as Katko was one of only three House Republicans to accept Bidens election win, impeach Trump and punish extremist congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for endorsing executions of Democrats, according to sources familiar with discussions. The current draft of the commission proposes an equal split on membership and subpoena power, after Republicans denounced Pelosis initial plan that envisioned a committee with seven members appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans. Liz Cheney, who was removed this week from the House leadership, has backed the idea of a commission. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters But the scope of the commission is still tightly focused on 6 January, with Pelosi unwilling to entertain Republicans who want its mandate expanded to cover violence during last summers Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and racism. The announcement of the compromise gives House and Senate Republicans a bruising conundrum: embrace the commission, sure to embarrass Trump and spark a backlash that could jeopardise support from his voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, or effectively turn a blind eye to the insurrection. Democratic aides involved in the negotiations were unsure whether Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, would extend his support, the sources said, in part because members of the House GOP conference increasingly seek to downplay or even outright deny the violence that took place on 6 January. Democrats also note that McCarthy has since hired the former White House political director Brian Jack, who was involved in planning the Stop the Steal rally that immediately preceded the attack raising the spectre that either McCarthy or one of his own aides could come under investigation. Liz Cheney, who was ousted from House Republican leadership this week over her repeated repudiation of Trump, told ABC McCarthy, who spoke to Trump during the attack, should absolutely testify before the commission, either voluntarily or via a subpoena. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, remained mum on Friday as to whether he would endorse the commission. However, he has taken issue with its mandate, saying appointees, not House Democrats, should dictate investigation parameters. Pelosi has suggested to her leadership team in recent weeks that she would be receptive to forming a select committee to investigate the Capitol attack as a fallback, should the bill not receive sufficient support in the Senate, the sources said. But the speakers preference would be to create a commission, they said. Introduced two days after Trump was acquitted by Senate Republicans in his second impeachment trial, the proposal to create a commission signaled Pelosis intent to pursue the former president. She ran into Republican resistance, with McConnell slamming the idea as partisan by design and McCarthy condemning Democrats for trying to move ahead unilaterally. Even if Congress fails to create a commission, it is still likely to get some answers. Seven House committees including judiciary, intelligence and oversight are conducting investigations into the intelligence and security breakdowns that allowed the mob to breach the Capitol. In near-identical letters sent in March to 16 agencies across the executive branch and Congress, the committees demanded all documents and communications relevant to the certification of Bidens election win. The investigations are similar to House Democrats efforts to investigate Trump during his first impeachment inquiry, when Pelosi huddled regularly with six committee chairs before the House impeached the president over the Ukraine scandal. House and Senate committees have held hearings to investigate the Capitol attack and heard from witnesses including the current and former chiefs of Capitol police and defense and national security officials. Pelosi has said all information gathered during committee hearings will serve as a key resource for either a commission or a select committee. | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/16/us-capitol-breach-commission-republicans-democrats |
Is it hi or bye to hybrid workplace? | Levy cites the need for trust among employees to accomplish goals, the feeling of belonging fostering productivity, and the dangers of working at home becoming too convenient. Yet if your commute takes 45 minutes each way, then you gain roughly an eight-hour day each week by working from home. Further, Levy makes it seem as if no productivity is lost by office gossip, in-person competition for attention, and personal business being done on company time. In The hybrid workplace probably wont last (Ideas, May 9), Jon Levy cites an academics claim in 2006 that face-to-face interactions are necessary in the workplace. However, the fact is we did not have the Internet tools in 2006 that we have now. Advertisement I have found that while you do get to know fellow workers better in person, real relationships still find a way to be fostered remotely. I believe that the most important qualities in business are honesty and trust. When someone says they will do something and then does it, you tend to entrust that person with more responsibility. It doesnt matter whether its online or in person keeping your word is valued by everyone. Finally, Levy does not suggest a solution where people come to work a couple of days a week and work at home the rest of the time. Youd have the on-site contact but also the personal convenience. Seems like a no-brainer. Philip Kling Wayland Jon Levys Ideas piece generated more than 250 comments online. Here is an edited sampling: Way to promote archaic work models that put employees needs last. Shmeh. (JSAILS) Employers pay you to do whats best for the business. Not the other way around. (RSull) My company has been successfully using a hybrid model since the summer of 2018. Productivity has improved, workers are happier, and the company is attracting better workers. (78sman3) Advertisement If it was a good idea and better for corporations, we would have been doing it long ago. Its not. (ElJefeGarcia) All well and good when the team all knows each other from physical interaction pre-COVID. But when employees leave and new ones get hired, and you only see and know them from a Zoom box, nope . . . doesnt work. You cannot sit in a dining room chair for eight or more hours a day. (rkiley2) | https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/05/16/opinion/is-it-hi-or-bye-hybrid-workplace/ |
Do people believe Covid myths? | Like viruses, false information spreads through networks. In March 2020, more than a quarter of the top Covid-19 related videos on YouTube contained misleading claims and those had more than 60m views worldwide. The World Health Organizations Covid myth-busters page counters ideas such as the notion that eating garlic protects you against infection. University of Cambridge researchers found in an online survey that about 15% of UK respondents thought it was more reliable than not that the coronavirus is part of a global effort to enforce mandatory vaccination, while 9% supported the new 5G network may be making us more susceptible to the virus. They found the most important factor linked to resilience to misinformation was numeracy. While we are fully aware that correlation is not causation, it encourages the idea that greater data literacy in the population could help bring some critical awareness of the dubious claims circulating on social media. In the meantime, research has shown that an effective strategy is to vigorously pre-bunk misinformation essentially inoculating people against fake news by getting in the warnings first. Nevertheless, we should be cautious about accepting claims about what theories people believe. Another survey made headlines when it found that one in five people agreed with: Jews have created the virus to collapse the economy for financial gain. However, that survey used an imbalanced scale: there were four options to agree and only one way to disagree. Acquiescence bias means some people like to be agreeable and some just want to get through the survey quickly. A subsequent survey with a balanced response scale still found 11% support for this statement. Falsehoods may have real adverse consequences. The Cambridge researchers found that a one-point increase on a seven-point scale of susceptibility to misinformation was correlated with a 23% (17%-28%) decrease in intention to get vaccinated and the recent surge of the Indian variant is linked to areas of low vaccine uptake. Trusted community leaders and healthcare workers have the vital task of countering claims that could be contributing to this threat. | https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/commentisfree/2021/may/16/do-people-believe-covid-myths |
Could engineered coral save the planets reefs from destruction? | This weekend, conservationists will put the final touches to a giant artificial reef they are assembling at London zoo. Samples of the planets most spectacular corals vivid green branching coral, yellow scroll, blue ridge and many more species will be added to the giant tank along with fish that thrive in their presence: blue tang, clownfish and many others. The scene will then be set for Mondays opening of the zoos new gallery, Tiny Giants, which is dedicated to the minuscule invertebrate creatures that sustain life across the planet. The coral reef tank and its seven-metre wide window will form the core of the exhibition. The aim of the new gallery goes beyond merely demonstrating the wonder and glory of coral reefs, however. It will also showcase the research that is now being carried out in a bid to halt the destruction of the worlds reefs as global heating warms the oceans and bleaches and destroys their coral. Coral reefs are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and we want to show people how wonderful they are, said Paul Pearce-Kelly, senior curator of invertebrates and fish at the Zoological Society of London. However, we also want to highlight the research and conservation efforts that are now being carried out to try to save them from the threat of global warming. We want the public to see what is being done to try to save these wonders. Corals are tiny animals, known as polyps, that have mouths surrounded by tentacles for capturing food. These polyps are clear but get their brilliant colour from algae that live within them. The algae get protection while their photosynthesising of suns rays provides nutrients for the polyps. Jeremy Simmons, London Zoos senior aquarist, puts coral into the Tiny Giants main tank. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer This comfortable symbiotic relationship has led to the growth of coral reefs that cover 0.1% of the planets ocean bed while providing homes for more than 25% of marine species, including fish, molluscs, sponges and shellfish. As a result, they are sometimes described as the rainforests of the sea, though the comparison is disparaged by some naturalists, including David Attenborough. People say you cannot beat the rainforest, Attenborough has stated. But that is simply not true. They are hiding in the trees, of course. No, if you want beauty and wildlife, you want a coral reef. Put on a mask and stick your head under the water. The sight is mindblowing. Unfortunately these majestic sights are now under very serious threat, with the most immediate problem coming in the form of thermal stress. Rising ocean temperatures are triggering bleaching events that strip reefs of their colour and eventually kill them. And that is just the start. Fish swim over staghorn coral on Australias Great Barrier Reef. Photograph: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Other menaces include ocean acidification, sea level increase, storms, deoxygenation and ocean current changes, while the climate crisis is also increasing the threat of disease and exacerbating habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution by humans. As a result, vast areas including massive chunks of Australias Great Barrier Reef have already been destroyed, and scientists warn that more than 90% of reefs could be lost by 2050 unless urgent action is taken to tackle global heating and greenhouse gas emissions. You can think of the coral reefs as the canary in the mine, said Pearce-Kelly. They have to survive really harsh conditions crashing waves, erosion and other factors and when things start to go wrong in the oceans, then corals will be the first to react. And that is exactly what we are seeing now. Coral reefs are dying and they are telling us that all is not well with our planet. Decisions taken this year at the Cop26 climate meeting in Glasgow will be crucial in slowing down global heating and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that are absorbed by the sea, a process that leads to ocean acidification. Both could help protect threatened coral reefs. However, scientists are working to try to pinpoint hardy strains that could survive our overheated oceans, and some of this research will be carried out at London zoo. Behind our new coral reef tank we have built laboratories where scientists will be studying coral species, said Pearce-Kelly. One aim will be to carry out research on species to find those that can survive best in the warm, acidic waters. Another will be to try to increase coral reproduction rates. Coral spawn just once a year, he added. However, aquarium-based research has enabled some corals to spawn artificially, which can assist coral reef restoration efforts. And if this can be extended for all species, we could consider the launching of coral-spawning programmes several times a year. That would be a big help in restoring blighted reefs. Research in these fields is being worked on in laboratories around the world, with the new London zoo facility linked to this global network. Studies carried out in one centre can then be tested in others. These can then be displayed in the tank in Tiny Giants. The crucial point is that the progress we make in making coral better able to survive in a warming world can be shown to the public and encourage them to believe that we can do something to save the planets reefs, said Pearce-Kelly. Saving our coral reefs is now a critically important ecological goal. | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/16/could-engineered-coral-save-the-planets-reefs-from-destruction |
What will China's rover be researching on Mars? | Perseverance and Curiosity have company. The China National Space Administration successfully landed its Zhurong rover on Mars on Saturday, state media reports, making China the third country after the United States and Soviet Union to touch down on the Red Planet (the 1971 Soviet mission failed shortly after landing). It's considered a major achievement for Beijing's space program, which is growing more and more ambitious. Zhurong will soon be deployed from the lander for a three-month mission, joining the aforementioned operational NASA rovers. CNN and The Associated Press report that it will be searching for signs of ancient life, but the mission appears to be a little more specific than that. The Scientific American reports that Zhurong's landing site, Utopia Planitia, is "a rather bland expanse of rock-strewn sand," a good spot for a touchdown, but "decidedly sub-par for addressing cutting-edge research questions, such as whether Mars harbors past or present life." That said, the mission should come in handy, Agnes Cousin, a planetary scientist at the Institute for Research and in Astrophysics and Planetology in France, told The Scientific American. "For the overall geological implications for Mars, its very nice to have a new location to compare," she said. Among other things, Zhurong is equipped with the first magnetometer sent to Mars, which reportedly could possibly reveal details of how Mars lost its magnetic field and, subsequently, its atmosphere and water billions of years ago. Read more at The Scientific American and The South China Morning Post. More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about Liz Cheney's ouster There's growing speculation that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will name their daughter 'Philippa' The Wuhan lab-leak hypothesis deserves relentless investigating | https://news.yahoo.com/chinas-rover-researching-mars-153600922.html |
How will isolation affect long-term immunity? | Every time you kiss another human being intimately for 10 seconds, more than 80m bacteria are transferred from mouth to mouth. If youre at a party and double dip your tortilla chip into the salsa three times, around 10,000 bacteria will be transferred from your lips to the dip. Say hi to your co-workers as you sit down at your office desk and youll also be greeted by over 10m bacteria on its surface. Disturbing as these figures may seem, many scientists believe that exposure to these microbes helps fine-tune our immune systems the network of cells and molecules that protect us from diseases. In 1989, epidemiologist David Strachan first proposed the hygiene hypothesis the idea that being too clean causes defects in the immune system, leading to a rise in inflammatory diseases, such as asthma and allergies. While Strachans theory is debated and hygiene saves countless lives, decades of data support the idea that exposure to microbes helps the immune system develop. But hang on a minute. For most of the last year, many of us havent been kissing strangers, double dipping at parties or sitting down to work in a crowded office. Instead weve been locked up at home by ourselves, sanitising our hands every time we go to the shop and holding on to distant memories of restaurants and gyms. Graham Rook, a microbiologist at University College London, proposed an alternative to the hygiene hypothesis in 2003. Rooks old friends hypothesis posits that as humans evolved, our immune systems learned to cope with the microbes around us in the natural world. Rook argues that we need to be exposed to these old friend microbes in order for our immune systems to develop properly. (Strachans hygiene hypothesis focused on infections, while Rooks focuses on more harmless micro-organisms.) Our immune system is a learning system, just like the brain, Rook says, explaining that the system has two branches. We are born with an innate immune system encoded in our genes, but this is tuned by our adaptive immune system, which collects data from the microbes around us to determine which are safe and which are dangerous. Without the right data, the immune system starts attacking things it shouldnt, causing allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases (when the immune system targets your bodys own tissues). So first, the good news. By the time youre an adult, youve already encountered a whole host of microbes. Your microbiota the trillions of microbes living on and in you is fairly stable and established, says Rook. A year of isolation, then, is unlikely to severely damage your immune systems regulatory mechanisms. But when it comes to children, Rook and other scientists have concerns about the effects of lockdown measures. A child on the 24th floor of a tower block is simply not meeting the appropriate microbiota, Rook says, explaining that staying indoors away from the natural world and other people limits the microbes encountered, as does having an unvaried diet (which he fears may be a problem for children going without school meals). It is worrying. Pet protection: children who grow up with dogs have a lower risk of developing autoimmune diseases. Illustration: Lehel Kovcs/The Observer Byram W Bridle is an immunologist at the University of Guelph in Canada. Early on during global lockdowns, Bridle wasnt too concerned for childrens immune development because, after all, kids often get stuck at home for a few weeks when theyre ill or over the summer holidays. But the issue is now, we are over a year and counting, Bridle says. Were talking about a big chunk of development of the immune system. So its hard to imagine that this cannot have a negative impact on our children. Like Rook, Bridle worries about a rise in immunological disorders caused by lockdown limiting childrens exposure to the natural world even before the pandemic, scientists documented that those who grow up in large urban centres tend to have a much higher incidence of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases. Bridle explains that while the immune system doesnt fully mature until adolescence, birth to age six is the critical period for its development. Various studies have posited that problems can arise when infants have limited microbial exposure. It has been shown that children born by caesarean section are exposed to less of their mothers microbiota than others they are also statistically more likely to suffer from allergies and inflammatory diseases. One 2014 study from the University of Pennsylvania and Bloomberg School of Public Health found that children who are given repeated courses of antibiotics early in life face a greater risk of obesity (the researchers theorised that the medicine killed off the good bacteria in the childrens guts). Rook says as well as allergies and autoimmune diseases, poor immunoregulation can cause chronic inflammation which can lead to diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Its a pretty impressive list. Lets take a moment to press the big dont panic button in our brains. While childrens microbial exposure may have been limited by lockdown, it remains to be seen just how much. As we have been in and out of lockdown in the UK, many of us havent actually been isolated for an entire year. Many children may also have been outside more than usual one global analysis in the Journal of Forestry Research found that lockdown restrictions correlated with more visits to parks. There has also been a boom in puppy purchases over the past year: studies have shown that children who grow up with dogs have a lower risk of developing autoimmune diseases. Then theres the fact that microbial exposure isnt everything: our immune response is also determined by our genes. Sheena Cruickshank, an immunology professor at the University of Manchester, is more optimistic than Rook and Bridle. With the best will in the world, how super-duper clean are kids? she says. Cruickshank notes that research about our immune systems is continually ongoing: Both of them could be partially right, both of them could be partially wrong, she says of the hygiene hypothesis and the old friends hypothesis. Its something that were very much investigating. Bridle stresses that while his concerns are based on sound scientific principles they do, of course, remain speculation: We wont know for sure until we actually see how all this plays out. It may yet be a few years before we know whether the children of lockdown have higher rates of immunological disorders. It takes about five years for asthma to really kick in, says Brett Finlay, co-author of Let Them Eat Dirt: How Microbes Can Make Your Child Healthier. The data is not there yet, its too early, but were imploring people to look, he says. When it comes to the common cold, Cruickshank says we dont have too much to worry about. We dont really build up a long-term resistance, she explains and, weve got an advantage coming out of lockdown now, because were going into the warmer seasons and that typically means people are outside more colds do better in small, enclosed spaces. Every time we change our world, we also change our microbes Between October and November 2020 in Hong Kong, schools reopened after a three-month closure and a large number of common cold outbreaks were reported. Ron Eccles, founder of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University, says such outbreaks are to be expected when children crowd together after being apart. Thankfully, however, he says, Theres very little to indicate that just because youve not had a cold for a while the next one you get is going to be more severe. Yet when it comes to the flu, Bridle has concerns. In January 2021, data from the Royal College of General Practitioners revealed that flu rates had plummeted to a 130-year low researchers argued that travel bans, social distancing and hand-washing helped stop the spread. While this might sound like good news, Bridle says it puts us on the back foot when it comes to our next flu season. We deal with the flu virus on an annual basis because it mutates rapidly, he explains. From year to year, were actually dealing with fundamentally different variants. This means flu vaccinations are also constantly changing every year, scientists base the vaccine on the predominance of variants spreading the year before. We will potentially be dealing with vaccines that are based on variants that were circulating two years ago instead of one. Bridle says our immune responses will also be a year out of date. Our immune systems and the vaccines that were using are going to be targeting a virus that has now been able to accumulate two times the mutations than what we would normally be facing. Although there is a counter-argument that, with so little flu virus in circulation, it will have had less chance to mutate and therefore using last years formulations is an acceptable strategy. Nevertheless, Bridle says this is most concerning for the two ends of the spectrum the elderly and the very young. Rook also has concerns that limited microbial exposure could affect the elderly. Although there is little evidence that having a less-diverse microbiota means youre more susceptible to viruses, the kind of isolation induced by lockdown that affects microbial exposure could have knock-on effects in terms of bacterial infections that might otherwise have been less of a problem. One 2012 article in Nature found that the gut microbiota of people in long-term care was less diverse than those out in the community and, in turn, loss of community-associated microbiota correlated with increased frailty. Younger and middle-aged adults arent totally off the hook while they are not at the highest risk for flu complications, there is evidence that both loneliness and stress can weaken the immune system. Rook says children should continue to be exposed to the natural environment and run around in the park as often as possible. Finlay advises to think from a microbial exposure point of view go outside, hug a dog, and also eat fruit, nuts, legumes, all the stuff your mum tells you to eat as nutrition is crucial for a healthy immune system. Cruickshank says the immune system can also be mobilised by moderate exercise. Crucially, dont be misled into throwing away your disinfectant lack of hygiene does not lead to better immunological development and its important to continue to keep clean in order to ward off harmful pathogens. Finally, Rook also stresses that its imperative to keep up to date with your childs vaccination schedule. Not only do vaccines stop you from getting the infection that they are targeting, they also help with the training of the immune system in a nonspecific way, he says. Many questions remain. Our innate and adaptive immune system will develop regardless of whether we are exposed to the microbial world or not. The question is, will they develop appropriately? Bridle says. Personally, he is concerned. In some of our children as a result of this excessive isolation, we are likely causing irreparable harm. Its frustrating as a scientist when you consider this in the context of children being at an extremely low risk from the Sars-CoV-2. The data isnt here yet its too early to see the lasting effects of lockdown. Finlay hopes that scientists will use this opportunity to learn more about microbial exposure. Heres, I think, one of the biggest experiments weve ever been able to do with humanity weve got the whole globe involved, he says. Lets make use of this opportunity and characterise the microbes over time and follow these things. Lets see what happens to us because its really an experiment thats happening right now. | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/how-will-isolation-affect-long-term-immunity |
How worried should we be about the Indian variant of Covid-19? | The rapid spread of the Covid virus now known as the Indian variant may force the government to postpone the lifting of final lockdown next month. Professor Adam Finn of Bristol University talks about the risks that Britain faces. At present we do not know just how infectious it is and that is a cause for anxiety. The vaccines ability to curtail transmission is OK but not fantastic which means that a much more infectious organism could spread rapidly despite the high levels of immunisation we have achieved. So it is a potential worry. On the other hand, it could fizzle out. More than half the UK population has received at least one vaccine dose. There are still a fair number of people in families and communities that are not very well immunised. In addition, many people have had only one dose and, of course, the vaccines are not perfect. You can still get sick and die even if youre immunised. When you add up those factors, you could end up with a wave of a lot of hospitalisations though I certainly hope it will not be as bad as it was in January. On the other hand, thousands of new cases is still something you do not wish to see. That is a good question. We dont know yet but that is something that we are working on in Bristol. We just dont know yet just how much of a danger this is going to be, though it is clearly going to be something of a problem. It remains to be seen whether it is going to be bad enough to derail the easing of lockdown in a month or turn into a bump that we can get over. However, I dont think we will have to wait for long. It will become quite clear in a few weeks. | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/how-worried-should-we-be-about-the-indian-variant-of-covid-19 |
Is zero a 'fair share' of taxes? | Scott A. Hodge Opinion contributor President Biden declared during his recent speech to Congress that he doesnt mind people becoming billionaires as long as they pay their fair share of taxes. The president has never been forced to put a number on what he means by fair share so we can assume he believes that the 40% of the income tax burden currently borne by the top 1 percent of taxpayers is not fair enough. And while the president and other Democrats decry the loopholes that Congress has put into the tax code that purportedly allow the rich to avoid that 40% share, Bidens tax plan would expand existing middle-class tax breaks, such as the Child Tax Credit, that have increasingly knocked millions of taxpayers off the income tax rolls over the past three decades. History of the Child Tax Credit The history of the Child Tax Credit has lessons for both parties. Tax Foundation economists estimate that in 2021, 58 million low- and middle-income taxpayers will pay no income taxes because of the American Rescue Plans expansion of the Child Tax Credit. This means nearly 40% of all filers will have no income tax liability, and many will also get sizable refunds because of the generous nature of these credits. Congresss Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that most taxpayers earning less than $75,000 will pay no income taxes this year due to these expanded tax benefits. This is not likely to be a one-time event because Democrats want to make these tax benefits permanent and have the IRS pay them out monthly, what looks to be a dress rehearsal for a form of universal basic income from the government to all taxpayers. The income tax code has always exempted a certain amount of income from taxation to protect the poor. Indeed, in any given year there are an estimated 15 million people who earn some income but not enough to file a tax return. But, since the creation of the Earned Income Tax Credit in 1975, lawmakers have enacted a succession of policy changes that have removed millions from the tax rolls. The percentage of these filers with no income tax liability began to grow after the Tax Reform Act of 1986 expanded the zero-tax bracket. But it was the creation of the Child Tax Credit under Clinton that accelerated the ranks of the non-payers to historical levels. In the early 1990s, conservatives promoted the $500 per-child tax credit to then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich as part of a larger plan of deficit reduction and supply-side tax cuts that became the Contract with America. It made sense to House Republicans then politically: Republican congressional districts had more eligible children than Democratic districts and, thus, would receive more tax relief. Facebook and Trump:Despite Facebook ban of Donald Trump, social media remains a mess. Here's how to fix it. Little did Congress know the snowball that was beginning to form. President George W. Bush doubled the credit to $1,000 and made it partially refundable for taxpayers with no income tax liability, thus increasing the percentage of non-payers to over 30% of all filers. The Republican-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017increased the credit to $2,000 and allowed greater refundability. A year later, the number of non-payers jumped by 4 million to 53.3 million, accounting for nearly 35% of all tax filers. In a twist, it is now the Democrats who are pressing to expand the Child Tax Credit under the claim that it will reduce childhood poverty. On paper, it may appear to reduce poverty like any government program. Indeed, Tax Foundation modeling shows that the CTC does increase after-tax incomes for eligible taxpayers. However, our model also shows that the credit does nothing to incentivize work, create jobs, raise real wages or increase economic growth. In other words, the CTC reduces tax burdens, but it does not raise real living standards over the long term. Schools and reopening:We're finally back to school after COVID-19 but it's complicated, confusing and strange For Republicans, the credit has undermined dreams of true tax reform, such as the Flat Tax, because flattening tax rates now will only benefit the rich and 58 million non-payers will never get back on the tax rolls. For Democrats, the credit has undermined the narrative that the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes. In fact, the rich and a diminishing share of the middle class are the only ones paying income taxes these days. Scott A. Hodge is president of the Tax Foundation. | https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/05/16/rich-middle-classes-income-tax-and-child-tax-credit-column/4963567001/ |
How can we build trust in the workplace and correct imbalances of power? | This is the weekly Careers newsletter. If youre reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Careers and all Globe newsletters here. Kimiya Shokoohi is a writer and filmmaker based in Greater Vancouver There is an unspoken rule in many workplace settings: Make your manager look good and you, too, will do well. Story continues below advertisement Sometimes it works. In positive cases, the successful performance of an employee reflects well on the manager and the whole team, which leads to greater opportunities overall. But this dynamic can also easily slide into exploitation, especially when an employee is younger, a woman or from an under-represented group. Sometimes employees dont get their due or are even fired. Entrenched groups continue to maintain power despite the illusion of inclusivity and diversity within the organization, and the cycle of abuse and resulting distrust continues. There are numerous examples of such incidents in real life. In Silicon Valley, women have quit their jobs at Google because of racialized misogyny, while others have been advised to go on mental-health leave when they complained about racism and sexism. In Toronto, temporary workers have risked their lives during the pandemic to help others but have barely earned enough to get by, while others have had to sound the alarm after not being paid for performing shifts on a trial basis. With just 37 women listed as chief executive officers among Fortune 500 firms, and just three of them racialized, its no wonder exploitation persists across the workplace. We tend to think of exploitation as an issue predominantly affecting marginalized communities, migrant workers and those in low-wage jobs. But poor business practices cut across demographics. Exploitation within an organization reveals institutional flaws in systems that have allowed unethical behaviour to flourish and diminish trust and collaboration among colleagues. The number one thing that workers look for is respect at work and that speaks to the power imbalance, said Pam Frache, a spokesperson with Toronto-based Workers Action Centre, a non-profit that works to defend the rights of workers and change outdated labour laws. Story continues below advertisement Even if its big reputable employers, they [workers] dont get all their wages and dont get holiday pay. Theres gaslighting for people who experience racism in the workplace, said Frache. Im not sure we can eradicate it, as long as someone has the power to fire someone else, but we can try to mitigate it and ensure theres due process. Less than half of full-time employees place a great deal of trust in their employer, boss or colleagues, according to a 2016 Ernst & Young study, which surveyed 9,800 workers between 19 and 68 in eight countries. Their research found Gen X is least likely to trust their bosses among the generations, with 41 per cent indicating trust, while baby boomers worldwide and millennials sampled in the U.S. were most likely to trust their bosses, at 52 per cent. In order of prevalence, the factors for determining trust include: delivering on promises, providing job security, providing fair compensation and good benefits, communicating openly and transparently, providing equal opportunity for pay and promotion and operating ethically. For women compared to men, more emphasis is placed on opportunities for equal pay and promotion, as well as diverse hirings. There are two types of trust, explains Heidi Gardner, faculty chair of Harvard Law Schools Accelerated Leadership Program. There is competence trust and interpersonal trust. Competence trust translates directly to professional competence, while interpersonal trust relates more to human connection and integrity. There are also two different types of trust personalities: automatic trust and evidence-based trust. Automatic trust aligns with the notion of innocent until proven guilty, where trust is given until broken. The evidence-based methods withhold trust until there is adequate evidence to instill it. One line of defence in preserving the balance of power is to encourage hiring managers to offer more employee support and appreciation to foster trust with their direct reports. Among colleagues, providing more communication and information will set the relationships off in a helpful direction, suggests Gardner. Beyond that, its up to companies to ensure that employees are feeling included, and their ideas and interests taken into meaningful account. Story continues below advertisement In the meantime, one way to ensure harm is reduced in the workplace is to strengthen the laws that ensure just-cause protection for workers. We need much stronger investment in the human rights tribunals and investment against discrimination in the workplace, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia in the workplace, said Frache at the Workers Action Centre. Still, as efforts endure to make amends for a more just society, its worth remembering that stories of oppression and exploitation dont stay buried forever. To reference Martin Luther King Jr., there is justice in the long arc of the moral universe. What Im reading around the web If youre interested in learning more, read this piece in the BBC for a further breakdown of Heidi Gardners research on trust in the workplace, as well as how to build rapport with colleagues working remotely. The intention isnt to sow distrust but to build better skills in knowing how to trust, when and why. If theres anything the pandemic has awakened, its the realization that life is finite. But there has to be a division between work-life and life-life. Meredith Turits at the BBC asks whether extreme working culture is worth the big rewards, challenging the boot camp culture so often endorsed by corporate leaders. Drawing examples from some of the biggest names in finance, the piece examines whether we can change deeply ingrained work culture. Lets talk about loyalty and how it can lead to our biggest blind spots. Perhaps, as Jennifer Finney Boylan writes in The New York Times, where loyalty truly belongs is not with individuals or institutions but with ideas for the common good. To rephrase philosopher Josiah Royce, we can be loyal to loyalty itself. More from Globe Careers Virtual onboarding guides easing new graduates into the remote work force of the pandemic The coronavirus pandemic upended what starting a new job looks like for everyone, but especially for many new grads in Canada who are entering the professional work force for the first time. Why remote work should be more like a Business of One To be more successful at remote work, you may need to incorporate. Not literally, but figuratively. You must organize the pace and timing around your own priorities and goals, rather than the lingering industrial model of a standard eight-hour work day. The hybrid workplace is here to stay three ways to make the most of it The big question is how to enable a hybrid way of working where workers have the choice to be co-located or remote that maintains or increases productivity and engagement, writes Naomi Titleman Colla. In Nine-To-Five, our weekly career advice column, a reader wonders how to maintain a good relationship with her current employer if they intend to start freelancing instead. Leadership Lab The normalization of free work for exposure especially hurts early-career creatives, writes Karen K. Tran, a writer and recent graduate. Unfortunately, the problem has become worse over the years, especially as the freelance and small-business market has become more competitive, and influencer culture picks up steam. Leadership Lab is a series where executives, experts and writers share their views and advice about the world of work. You can find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here. You can send us a note here. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/article-how-can-we-build-trust-in-the-workplace-and-correct-imbalances-of/ |
Is going 20 or 30 km/h above the speed limit a big deal? | I dont know anyone who thinks its okay to drive while texting or while drunk. But I know a lot of people, including my adult children, who think nothing of going 20 or 30 km/h above the speed limit. They say everybody speeds because speed limits arent realistic, I say speed limits are there for a reason. Joyce, Edmonton When it comes to speeding, everybodys doing it doesnt mean its safe. Theres this presumption that speeding doesnt kill, but about 400 people are killed a year by speeding in Canada, said Robyn Robertson, president and CEO of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). A large proportion of drivers admit to doing it, but theres an exponential increase in crash risk. Story continues below advertisement Going just 10 km/h over the speed limit doubles your chances of getting in a crash, Robertson said. If youre going 20 km/h over the speed limit, youre six times more likely to get in a crash than if youre going the limit. I think speeding is one of the most dangerous things you can do on the road, especially when youre talking speeds over 20 km/h above the posted limit, said Shabnem Afzal, vice president of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP). Driving at 10 km/h over the speed limit has the same risk of collision as driving while impaired [with a blood-alcohol level] over .08. In Canada, speed plays a role in about one in four fatal crashes. Research has shown that a one km/h increase in vehicle speed results in a three per cent increase in the risk of a crash that could cause an injury, Robertson said. If youre driving super fast, you dont have time to respond to the light changing or pedestrians crossing, Afzal said. Your vehicle isnt able to respond either. The faster youre going, the longer it takes to stop. If youre driving at 90 km/h, it will take you 83 metres to stop thats your reaction time plus your braking distance, Robertson said. But at 130 km/h, you need 150 metres. Thats longer than a football field. Story continues below advertisement Plus, the faster you go, the worse the crash and the worse your injuries. Its basic physics the crash energy increases exponentially with the speed of the impact, said Joe Young, spokesman for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). Driving just a little bit faster makes a crash more likely and makes that crash more severe. In crashes between cars and a pedestrian or cyclist, thats true even at lower speeds. If a pedestrian or cyclist is hit by a car by a car going 30 km/h, they have a 90 per cent chance of surviving. If the car is going 50 km/h, they have a less than 20 per cent chance of surviving, Robertson said. About 20 per cent of drivers say they speed excessively, Robertson said. Thats because they tend not to appreciate the risk, Robertson said. There are a lot of myths associated with speeding that drivers tell themselves to rationalize their behaviour. Story continues below advertisement For example, theres the idea that its safer to drive the same speed as the traffic around you, even if everyone else speeding. So, the thinking goes, if youre driving 110 km/h and the cars around you are going 130 km/h, its safer for everyone if you speed up. But thats not true even if everyone else is speeding, its still safer to go the speed limit because you have more time to react to other drivers and stop, Robertson said. Everyone thinks Im a good driver, it would never happen to me, " said Robert Martin, chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police traffic safety committee. People think speed limits are arbitrarily set, but theyre set for a reason by the people who designed the roads. Martin said hes heard people say that roads are designed for 140 km/h or higher, but its not true. When British Columbia hiked speed limits to 120 km/h on some highways in 2014, the number of fatal crashes doubled. Theres so much research to show that raising speed limits is a good way to get people killed, CARSPs Afzal said. The easiest is for people to speak up and talk about the risks, Robertson said. But there are also tech solutions, Robertson said. Several provinces, including Ontario, are allowing insurance companies to use telematics devices that track risky driver behaviour. For example, you may get a discount if you dont speed. If you do speed, you could, potentially, see a rate hike. Or, your car could stop speeding for you the European Union is requiring all new cars to have electronic speed limiters by 2022. Drivers can choose to override the systems. Also, photo radar has been proven to slow down drivers without requiring police to make potentially risky traffic stops, Robertson said. Photo radar has been a very controversial issue in Canada, Robertson said. Send it to [email protected] and put Driving Concerns in your subject line. Emails without the correct subject line may not be answered. Canadas a big place, so let us know where you are so we can find the answer for your city and province. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/drive/culture/article-is-going-20-or-30-kmh-above-the-speed-limit-a-big-deal/ |
What happens when parental pressure boomerangs? | If you really want to get something done, youve got three options: Do it yourself, pay top dollar or forbid your teenager to do it. You probably recognize the truth of that adage from your own teenage years. Imposing authority can be counterproductive because teenagers tend to resist such attempts at control. Nothing illustrates the boomerang quality of parental pressure on adolescent behavior quite as clearly as a phenomenon known as the Romeo and Juliet effect. The term refers to Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the ill-fated teen characters who defied, with tragic consequences, all parental attempts to keep them apart. In research done with 140 Colorado teenage couples, parental interference made the pairs feel greater love and desire for marriage. As the interference intensified, so did the love experience. When the interference weakened, romantic feelings cooled. The Romeo and Juliet effect should not be interpreted as a recommendation to always accept teenagers romantic choices. New players at this delicate game often benefit from the direction of an adult with greater perspective and experience. In providing guidance, parents should recognize that teenagers, who see themselves as young adults, will not respond well to being treated like children. Dont rule your family with an iron fist. Prohibition and punishment are the least artful means of influence. Do ask teens what they think is the right thing to do. Listen intently. Then ask: What would you advise a friend to do in the same situation? or What are the pros and cons of each option? When you show respect and curiosity about their perspective, they will be more likely to do the same when you offer yours. Robert Cialdini is a persuasion scientist and author of the newly expanded Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, out this month. This piece was adapted in part from Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Harper Business, 2021). Cialdini guest-wrote this weeks UpBringing column for Angela Duckworth, founder and CEO of Character Lab and a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. You can sign up to receive her Tip of the Week actionable advice about the science of character at characterlab.org. | https://www.inquirer.com/life/upbringing-character-lab-romeo-juliet-effect-20210516.html |
Could another rookie goalie help the Canes win a title, 15 years after 2006 Stanley Cup? | The first Stanley Cup finals Alex Nedeljkovic remembers watching, he was 10 years old and he had $1 bet on Game 7. He collected when the Carolina Hurricanes won, thanks in part to a rookie goalie who didnt even expect to play in the playoffs, but found himself being handed the Conn Smythe Trophy at center ice by Gary Bettman when they were over. What happened to Cam Ward 15 years ago remains a fairy tale for goalies, the kind of bedtime story goalie parents tell their kids, especially the ones who arent playing that much. Stay ready! You never know what could happen! You could end up playing and winning the Stanley Cup! As Nedeljkovic put it this week: Just to have a rookie goalie come in, play well, stand on his head, go down and win the Conn Smythe. So here we are again with the Hurricanes heading into the playoffs with another rookie goalie ready to step in, and in Nedeljkovics case, perhaps even start Game 1. Thats the biggest difference between the two, among others Nedeljkovic is not only an older rookie but carried the Hurricanes through the dog days of the season, while Ward was used sparingly until the playoffs but theres still a sense of the familiar to the scenario. Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic makes a pad save on a shot from Tampa Bay Lightnings Ryan McDonagh as Steven Lorentz (78) defends during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson) Nedeljkovic is a 25-year-old rookie, with a slightly longer and more winding path to the NHL than Ward. He was a first-round pick who was fast-tracked to the league and was only 22 with one full AHL season under his belt when he made his playoff debut. But Nedeljkovic has also had some measure of career success of his own by now, winning the AHL Calder Cup with the Charlotte Checkers in 2019, then making the most of the opportunity created by Petr Mrazeks injury this season to jump into the mix, stabilize the Hurricanes net and insert his name into the Calder Trophy conversation as the NHLs rookie of the year all after being put on waivers and going unclaimed in January. Once I kind of figured it out and got to the right mental space, I was telling myself its just another game, youve been doing this your whole life, Nedeljkovic said. Theres nothing new, really. Just playing against better players. Youve got to believe in yourself, that youre good enough to be here. Good enough to make the saves. Story continues He also became the first rookie to be awarded the Josef Vasicek Award by the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, recognizing cooperation with the media. (Ward won it as well, in 2008.) Looking up to Cam Ward It has been a long time coming for Nedeljkovic, who first came to training camp with the Hurricanes for the first time in 2014 after they drafted him in the second round. He had some of Wards hockey cards and a puck and a plaque of Ward holding the Conn Smythe growing up. That fall, his biggest challenge before being sent back to juniors was how to get Ward to sign one of his hockey cards without it being, you know, super awkward. I remember telling him one time that I was just holding the fort until he was ready, Ward said. It appears he has taken that next step and hes ready to take on a more important role. Theres no better time to do that than in the Stanley Cup playoffs, if he gets that opportunity. Its kind of crazy watching him this season, how things evolved. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, presents Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward with the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2006. Things evolved quickly for Ward in 2006 when the Hurricanes first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens started to go south. The Hurricanes went north down 2-0 after losing the first two games at home, and goalie Martin Gerbers subpar performance was a big part of it. Gerber had been an absolute rock for the Hurricanes all season -- it was hard, at times, to even find spots for Ward to play but he wasnt quite right to start that series. After Ward came out of the bullpen and played well in an overtime loss in Game 2, coach Peter Laviolette pulled him aside at the team hotel in Montreal to tell him he would start Game 3 -- thrown to the wolves in a frenzied Bell Centre where Habs fans sensed not only victory but revenge for their elimination at the hands of the Hurricanes four years earlier. The Hurricanes won Game 3 in overtime and never really looked back. Wards lesson for Nedeljkovic, if he gets his chance: Have fun, a phrase Ward used to write on the heel of his stick. I remember in the warmups for Game 3 taking a moment and just looking around and soaking it all in, Ward said. I remember telling myself, no matter what happens tonight, I was going to enjoy this moment. I think when you do that you play loose, you play with feeling. Fortunately, things all went great for myself in that first year. With saying that, I soon realized how difficult it was to get back in a situation like that. You never know how many opportunities youre going to get. Rod BrindAmours decision at goal is uncertain Ward and BrindAmour combined for only one more playoff appearance as players, in 2009, but BrindAmour has led the Hurricanes to three straight postseasons as a head coach doing things very much his own way. That includes being on the record saying that the paranoid NHL practice of obfuscating whos starting in goal is pointless, but as BrindAmour tries to decide who gets the start in Game 1, hes holding his cards uncharacteristically close. The argument for Mrazek is that if the Hurricanes are going to win the Stanley Cup, Mrazek being at the absolute top of his game gives them their best shot, and denting his confidence before the playoffs even start is not going to get him there. The argument for Nedeljkovic is that hes played the best of the three down the stretch, and if he falters, theres still always the option to go back to Mrazek at any point. Theres even an argument for James Reimer, whos third on the list statistically but has had the most success of any of the trio against the Predators this season. This much is certain: Just as it has been in the last two playoff campaigns, BrindAmours decision-making is informed by his experience as a player. In 2002, the Hurricanes had to go from Arturs Irbe to Kevin Weekes and back to Irbe to make the Stanley Cup final, and Irbe even gave them a chance to pull a momentous upset there. In 2006, Laviolette consulted BrindAmour, his captain, on the switch from Gerber to Ward. The Hurricanes would end up needing both, with Gerber returning to win a critical start in the conference finals against the Buffalo Sabres when Ward lost his edge, temporarily. Alex Nedeljkovics moment has arrived As a coach, BrindAmour has never been a one-goalie guy. And whether through necessity, as when Mrazek got hurt in 2019 and Curtis McElhinney completed a second-round sweep, or entirely by choice when he gave Reimer the start in the third and final game of the Hurricanes preliminary-round sweep of the New York Rangers last August, hes never been shy to switch. You guys ask so many questions about goalies, and I spend so little time thinking about that, BrindAmour said. I guess when you have two, or three now in our case, that you feel pretty good about, Ive got a lot of other fish to worry about. So whether Nedeljkovic watches Game 1 or starts it, hes unlikely to remain in either position for too long. Ward, in 2006, didnt know his moment had arrived until it did. Nedeljkovic knows his has, whether thats now or later. Wards past laid the ground for Nedeljkovics present. Weirdly enough, Wardo (was) in this kind of similar situation that Ive been in right now, Nedeljkovic said. Well see going forward what plays out. Predators at Hurricanes Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round One When: 8 p.m., Monday Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh Watch: CNBC, BSSO | https://sports.yahoo.com/could-another-rookie-goalie-help-104500304.html?src=rss |
Could Craig Anderson change goalie dynamic in Bruins-Capitals series? | originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston One of the advantages the Boston Bruins had over the Washington Capitals entering their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series was goaltending. Capitals goalies Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov came into the 2021 campaign with zero playoff experience, and both struggled against the B's during the regular season. On the other side of the ice, Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask has more than 94 games of postseason experience and the fourth-best playoff save percentage among all active netminders with 25-plus appearances. Vanecek started Game 1 and couldn't make it through the first period. He suffered an apparent injury on Jake DeBrusk's goal at 13:10 of the opening frame and was forced to leave the game. And just like that, Craig Anderson was thrust into the spotlight for his first playoff appearance since Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Final when he played for the Ottawa Senators. The 39-year-old veteran appeared in just four games for the Capitals during the regular season. Despite the limited action, Anderson stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced as the Capitals earned a 3-2 overtime victory in Saturday night's series opener at Capital One Arena. The Bruins made Anderson's life easy by failing to hit the net on more than half of their shot attempts, but you have to respect his gutsy effort in relief. "When opportunity knocks, you make the most of your opportunity," Anderson said after the game. "I've been here before, so I can share my experiences with Vitek and (Samsonov). To now get the opportunity to live what I've been telling them, it's a great feeling to be involved and be a part of it." We don't know the severity of Vanecek's injury. Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette didn't provide any concrete details in his postgame press conference. Story continues Game 2 is Monday night. If Vanecek isn't able to play and Samsonov isn't ready after exiting the NHL's COVID-19 protocols Saturday, Anderson would be the only good option left for Washington. And he's certainly not a bad one, either. Consider this: Anderson's .929 career save percentage in the playoffs is the second-highest in league history among goaltenders with at least 40 games played. He plays the game with great poise. You're not going to rattle him easily. In his 2017 playoff run with the Senators, he played four overtime games against the Bruins in the first round and won three of them. He's now 5-2 versus the Bruins in his postseason career. Anderson also is one of the most experienced goalies in the 2021 playoffs. He's in his 18th year with 652 regular season appearances and 47 postseason matchups under his belt. Of course, it's possible Vanecek's injury is minor and he'll be good to go for Game 2. Samsonov might even be able to start Monday night. Game 1 could be Anderson's only action of this series. But if Anderson does continue to start, Washington's disadvantage in net won't be as glaring as it was before the series. That's not an insignificant development for a Capitals team with the offensive firepower and championship experience to give the Bruins a hard time in this first-round matchup. | https://sports.yahoo.com/could-craig-anderson-change-goalie-042841793.html?src=rss |
Can California save the EV revolution before car makers ruin it? | T he electric vehicle revolution is here. And its looking bigger and dumber than many of us had hoped for. Electric Hummers will soon to be a thing. As will massive electric Ford F-150 pickup trucks. Its not hard to imagine cheaper electric behemoths will soon follow. These offerings represent progress of sorts. Gas-powered giants are bad. Battery-powered giants are better. But not all EVs are created equal. And the purpose of vehicle electrification isnt to give us marginally improved toys to play with; its to help prevent catastrophic climate change. On this front, size matters. All BEVs emit zero carbon emissions, explains Michael McCarthy, vehicle program specialist with the California Air Resources Board, but zero does not equal zero. Just like eating a 500-calorie salad made from veggies you grew in your backyard isnt the same as a 500-calorie bag of Doritos, theres a huge difference in impact between an electric Hummer and a tiny Nissan Leaf. All things considered, bigger and heavier vehicles are less efficient. Meaning to sustainably charge an electric vehicle fleet composed of SUVs and pickup trucks, you need to generate a whole lot more renewable energy than may be humanly possible. McCarthy says California can green its transportation sector. But the models CARB is using to make that determination assume behavioral changes, in additional to technological ones. There are over 26 million vehicles on the road in California. Transitioning that fleet to EVs will play a role. But more Californians also need to bike, walk and take public transit to meet air-quality and climate goals. And those of us who do use private vehicles cant all drive giant electrified battering rams. Hummers and other large EVs arent just less efficient than smaller vehicles, their size and bulk present a danger to other road users. Kids, pedestrians and cyclists are all vulnerable to crashes with large vehicles. Cycling and pedestrian deaths have skyrocketed in California and across the nation as SUVs and pickup trucks dominate the auto market like never before. We need people to bike and walk. But they wont if theyre terrified of being plowed over. Perhaps. But the government also helped create this ogre. When the Obama administration made the rules that govern how fuel-efficient our cars have to be, it created a carve-out for SUVs and other light trucks. The bigger the car, the more gas you can waste. So automakers have exploited that loophole by making their cars bigger. And dirtier. And more dangerous. Theres nothing inherent about Americas current preference for big cars. And if we dont stop this quirk of Obama-era regulation from saturating the EV market, it could ruin our best chance of stopping catastrophic climate change. Thankfully, California can do something about it. In 2019, under dubious legal grounds, Trump took away Californias ability to regulate auto emissions. Joe Biden, however, has already suggested he will take the necessary legal steps to restore those powers. According to CARB officials, that could happen as soon as next month. Lets use those powers. Government regulation incentivized the spread of SUVs and pickups; government regulation should fix the problem. It is within CARBs authority to regulate any element of Californias auto fleet that prevents the state from meeting its climate emission and clean-air goals. McCarthy and other CARB officials I spoke with say they feel confident that both President Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg are aware of the problems with Americas steroidal auto fleet and will act to remedy the problem. But if the feds dont have what it takes to keep the auto industry in check, California should step up and do the dirty work. Electric Hummers are not progress. They are harbingers of a dumb and self-destructive future. Kill it before it grows. Matthew Fleischer is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MatteFleischer | https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Can-California-save-the-EV-revolution-before-car-16178595.php |
Do old vines really make the best wines? | Old vines have a strange effect on winemakers. They exert an emotional pull close to enchantment a kind of sylvan magic that becomes more powerfully bewitching the older the vine is. You notice it most keenly when youre with a winegrower in their vineyard. You see the affection as they pat the trunks of the oldest plants, the wistful misting over of the eyes as they proudly reel off the vines age. The relationship may be emotional, but its not irrational, even if the science on the subject is somewhat sketchy and undeveloped. Vine age is not a guarantee of quality in wine: many very bad wines are made from very old vines, and many good ones are made from relatively youthful plants. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of winemakers agree: an unusually high proportion of the worlds most beautiful wines are the product of vines between 50 and 100 plus years old. Indeed, the hunt for a neglected plot of old vines the more remote, the better has become a rite of passage for ambitious winemakers. Their discoveries, from Spains Sierra de Gredos mountains to South Africas Swartland and Californias Santa Cruz mountains, have transformed the received wisdom about where its possible to produce great wine. Of course, for an old vineyard to be rediscovered it first has to be neglected. These are some of the questions that a new initiative, The Old Vine Conference, grappled with in its inaugural event, which earlier this year brought together an international cast of the wine trades most committed old vine enthusiasts via Zoom. The answers can be boiled down to competing ideas of how to make a living from wine and how best to balance quality and quantity. Old vines are all about the former: the grapes they produce provide natural balance and depth. Compared to young vines, theyre expensive to work since you cant mechanise an old vineyard, meaning everything must be done by hand. And theyre nothing like as productive: a 70-year-old vineyard might yield 4,000kg of grapes per hectare; a 10-year-old would be more in the 50,000kg per hectare range. The purpose of the conference is to find ways to protect and raise awareness of the value of old vines. In part that value is environmental: old vines tend to require far fewer treatments and thrive without irrigation. Its also about conservation: the age of the vines make them an important part of the wine worlds heritage, worth preserving for that reason alone. Most valuable of all, however, are the spellbinding wines that they make. Six of the best old vines wines Arnaud Aucoeur Vieilles Vignes Blanc Beaujolais-Villages 2018 (12.75, yapp.co.uk) Its rare to find a white beaujolais, but, thanks to the quality of both winemaker and vines, this is a lovely alternative to pricier burgundy, all bright and focused in chablis-esque fashion, with a pristine Coxs apple crispness. Kloof St Old Vine Chenin Blanc Swartland, South Africa 2020 (from 13.95, vinvm.co.uk; etonvintners.com; honestgrapes.co.uk) South Africas plentiful stocks of old vine chenin blanc have led to the creation of a genuine modern classic wine style, characterised, as here, with verve, real depth of apple and peachy fruit and a pithy, lip smacking quality. Gini La Frosc Soave Classico Italy 2016 (18.88, justerinis.com) If you thought soave was all about refreshing-bordering-on-neutral dry whites, then heres a wine that shows the regions true potential and the value of 90-year-old vines. There are hints of blossom and thyme, and a wonderful rounded, resonant palate. Grant Burge Filsell Old Vine Shiraz Barossa, Australia 2015 (from 20, winedirect.co.uk; noblegrape.co.uk) South Australias Barossa Valley has led the way in cataloguing and protecting its fabulous old-vine heritage, responsible for characteristically deep but balanced and nuanced rich reds such as this nourishing shiraz. Its from a vineyard planted in the 1920s. Bodegas y Viedos Alnardo PSI Ribera del Duero, Spain 2018 (27.95, corneyandbarrow.com) Peter Sisseck is the star winemaker behind this typically stylish, polished but gloriously deep and resonant, mulberry-scented red. He calls the PSI label his save the whale project, set up to use and protect the old-vine heritage of Ribera del Duero. Birichino Besson Vineyard Grenache Santa Cruz, California, USA 2018 (28.99, or 21.99 as part of a mixed six, majestic.co.uk) Californian wine might be thought of as a modern phenomenon but heres a taste of its deeper history. Made from a plot of 100-year-old grenache, this shows the varietys evocatively herb-flecked, red-fruited, aromatic and slinky side to gorgeous effect. | https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/may/16/do-old-vines-really-make-the-best-wines |
Which rookie could be a surprise gem for the Colts? | The Indianapolis Colts dont have a massive rookie class in 2021 as they typically do, but there is still a chance general manager Chris Ballard found a gem or two throughout the process. Given their draft capital, no one would be truly surprised if pass rushers Kwity Paye and Dayo Odeyingbo turned into cornerstones of the defense. In fact, the Colts are banking on that becoming a fact when the latter returns from his Achilles rehab. But some of the Day 3 picks could wind up turning into gems for the Colts, and the player with the highest potential to do so may just be the fourth-round tight end in Kylen Granson out of SMU. It seems Granson has already gotten the ball rolling in his favor after showing out at rookie minicamp following the draft. Hes already impressed the Colts during that big weekend, and he has a clear path to production as a rookieeven if he is TE3 behind Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox. The Colts love using tight ends on out breaking routes against linebackers (which is smart if you have the athletes to do it). Trey Burton is an excellent route runner who uses a stair-step technique to separate. Kylen Granson uses the same technique in a similar route pic.twitter.com/q01s6EiDJN Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 15, 2021 The explosiveness is evident on tape, and that could play well in the Colts offense. Though he may be a bit undersized for a tight end, his versatility as an H-back could help him carve out a role quickly in Frank Reichs offense. The Colts can line him up in the backfield, inline or detached in the slot to use as a weapon in the passing game. The Colts needed to surround new quarterback Carson Wentz with talent this offseason. Granson can provide that given his explosiveness and speed in the open field. Its easy to see why Reich was pining for Granson on Day 3 of the draft and if the rookie continues to show out at OTAs and in training camp, he could be wind up being another gem for the Colts. Related | https://sports.yahoo.com/rookie-could-surprise-gem-colts-110758896.html?src=rss |
Is the jinx finally up for Robert Durst, a most unusual accused serial killer? | Durst's case an unlikely tale of wealth, gore and notoriety appeared to be headed toward a resolution in court. But wait, there is a new twist Photo by Alex Gallardo/Pool via Reuters/File Article content When Robert Durst goes on trial for murder in Los Angeles there will be a single victim listed on the docket Dursts friend Susan Berman, 55, killed by a bullet to the back of her head in December, 2000 but two other deaths will loom large for the jury. The unsolved death of Dursts wife 40 years ago provides a potential motive, and another killing of a former merchant seaman in a Galveston, Texas, rooming house illustrates Dursts bizarre life on the run as a suspect. In that time, he posed as a mute woman, dismembered his neighbour after shooting him in the face, got arrested for shoplifting a sandwich, got acquitted of murder by a jury, then allegedly confessed to being a serial killer on a hot mic to documentary filmmakers while he was going to the washroom. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Back to video It is an unlikely tale of wealth, gore and notoriety, so when a judge last month denied a defence motion for a mistrial due to pandemic delay, and allowed evidence from the previous killings, there was the feeling of potential resolution. But wait. In the latest twist in the tale, Dursts legal team filed an emergency motion on Thursday, asking to delay the Monday start of trial due to his declining medical state from cancer and other illnesses, including malnutrition. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Durst, 78, is the eldest child of a family real estate empire in Manhattan. His late father Seymour inherited a real estate business from his father and built it into a major holder of residential and commercial real estate, including several midtown skyscrapers, and a stake in the One World Trade Center. Seymour was also the creator of the National Debt Clock, a live running tally of American national debt, which he first place on a building near Times Square, but is now on the Bank of America Tower. Durst worked in the family firm, but has been estranged since Seymour handed control to his second son Douglas in the early 1990s. By that time, Robert Durst was a suspect, though never charged, in the disappearance of his wife Kathleen. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Cut out of his family business, but rich from a settled lawsuit, Durst made for a unique sort of fugitive. The investigation into Kathleen Dursts disappearance had gone cold, but was picking up again in part due to her familys pressure. Near the end of 2000, a crisis moment approached. Susan Berman, 55, was about to be questioned by police. She was a writer, the daughter of a mobster connected to Las Vegas organized crime, and a very close friend of Durst, a sort of spokesperson for all the attention he endured over his wifes disappearance. That interview never happened, however, because someone shot her at her Los Angeles home, showing no forced entry. This is the crime for which Durst is now being tried. The jury selection is due to start May 17. No one has ever been charged in Kathleens disappearance. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Police learned of the Berman murder from a strange handwritten delivered to them, saying they would find a cadaver in her home. In his opening statement before the trial was postponed last year, Dursts lawyer acknowledged Durst wrote that note, but only because he discovered her body on a planned visit and panicked, wanting to make sure she was discovered without involving himself. Photo by HBO and files Now at least a person of interest, if not the prime suspect, Durst bolted to Texas, posing as a mute woman named Dorothy Ciner in order to keep his identity secret, but still rent a room. He reportedly kept that going until he once accidentally set his wig on fire while lighting a cigarette in a bar. His neighbour across the hall was Morris Black, 71, a man with a cantankerous reputation and a thing for guns, which is how, in Dursts later telling, they came to be arguing in Dursts own apartment over a gun Black allegedly stole from him, which ended with Black being shot in the face. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The prosecutions theory was simply that Durst killed Black to steal his identity. Indeed, after fleeing Texas, Durst was eventually caught shoplifting a chicken salad sandwich in Pennsylvania, driving a car he rented using Morris Blacks identification. By then, police had connected the dots and he was a triple murder suspect, allegedly a most unusual serial killer. But Dursts lawyer managed to convince a jury otherwise. The defence story was that Dursts undiagnosed autism caused him to act like an automaton after the accidental shooting. He chopped up the body, wrapped it neatly in plastic and dumped it in the ocean, where fishermen found it, all but the head, which is still missing. There was, however, a newspaper with an address label on it, which led police to Dursts blood-stained apartment. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content He was acquitted in 2003, and served time only for evidence tampering for what he did to the body. Things might have stayed that way for a more common criminal, but in Dursts life, things have a tendency to get weird. So when he saw a fictionalized movie about his life starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, he got in touch with the producers and offered to talk. This was a fateful decision. When it came out in 2015, the documentary The Jinx came with an incredible backstory, putting it in a league with Tiger King as an improbable story of a possible murder, but the real climax was at the end. The filmmakers had shown Durst the cadaver note and compared it to a sample of his own handwriting. He acknowledged similarities. Even Beverly Hills was misspelled in the same way. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Then he went to the washroom, still wearing his mic, muttering to himself, There it is. Youre caught. What the hell did I do? he said. Killed them all, of course. The filmmakers did not even realize what they had accidentally recorded until an editor heard it two years later. After reflecting on the ethics of the situation, and the danger that, by going to police too soon, they could become de facto agents of the police and their evidence could be excluded in court, the filmmakers did eventually go to the police in 2013. The degree to which those comments were edited out of sequence for the documentary, and other mutterings over several minutes in the bathroom not included, is expected to be a major aspect of the trial, with the filmmakers as potential witnesses. The Berman investigation kicked into high gear, and Durst was arrested in 2015, at a Canal Street hotel in New Orleans, signed in, naturally, under a false name. Just a few days later, the final episode of The Jinx went to air. Share this article in your social network Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shopping essentials Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NP Posted Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending | https://nationalpost.com/news/world/is-the-jinx-finally-up-for-robert-durst-a-most-unusual-accused-serial-killer |
Which Florida Gators Have the Best Chance of Being Drafted in 2022? | The Florida Gators will be undergoing a transformation during the 2021 season, but there's still plenty of players to watch as it pertains to the 2022 NFL Draft. The 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone. Rookies are back out on the practice field with their newfound teams, and college programs have kickstarted their offseason programs to train the next slew of athletes to take their game to the next level. This year, the Florida Gators sent 11 players to the NFL; eight via the NFL Draft and three via undrafted free agency. While Florida has sent plenty of talent to their next occupation, there's plenty of reason to anticipate more movement as the year moves forward. This can be said for at least several Florida athletes who look to test their fate in the 2022 NFL Draft. Emory Jones Jones is a pure projection. Slated to become the Gators' full-time starting quarterback for the first time in his collegiate career this season, he's already receiving a lot of national buzz. With a blend of size, athleticism, and a powerful arm, Jones has the makings of a quick-riser in terms of the NFL Draft and the scouts will certainly keep a watchful eye on him as the season moves forward. Over the past three seasons with Florida, Jones has played in a total of 24 games, completing 55 out of 86 (64%) of his passes for 613 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also thrown one interception. But, what has stood out over the years has been his ability to make plays with his legs. Jones has attempted a total of 92 rushes for 514 yards and six touchdowns. His dynamic play-making ability will vault him up the rankings, granted he has a successful season this fall. Kaiir Elam Elam will likely be the highest-selected Gators player in 2022, depending on how Jones does this season. He has the makings of a true shut-down cornerback in the NFL if he should play to his potential. While Elam did not necessarily shoot up the charts in 2020 due in large part because of the play around him, he still has shown plenty of ability in the past to make up for it. The expectations surrounding Elam are at an all-time high. He will be expected to shut down any top-dog receiver that ventures to his side of the gridiron, and for good reason. Over the past two seasons, Elam has played in a total of 20 games, making four interceptions, 49 tackles, 15 pass breakups and one forced fumble. Last season was his first year as a full-time starter. At 6-foot-2, 193 pounds, Elam has plenty of size and length to match up against any receiver that lines up across from him. According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed 33 catches from 77 targets for 434 yards over his career. He's exactly the prototype to play in the NFL and should become a hot name in a short time. Jacob Copeland The Gators have a knack for sending receivers to the NFL. Over the past two seasons, Florida has sent six receivers to the NFL via the NFL Draft or undrafted free agency. They've also had a receiver selected in either the first or second round over the past two seasons. Copeland could be the next to see his work pay off, even if he hasn't been the most productive player in college football over the course of his career. Now in his fourth season with the Gators, Copeland finally has an opportunity to showcase his talents as the team's unquestioned starter at receiver, and should see plenty of targets from Jones as a result. At 6-foot, 203 pounds, Copeland possess the size and speed necessary to make an impact at the next level. Over the course of his career, Copeland has tallied 45 receptions for 724 yards and five touchdowns. Zachary Carter Carter ought to be the next big-man defender to come out of the University of Florida and into the NFL. After opting to return to the program for his final season in pursuit of his degree, he's slated to make a major and immediate impact on the Florida defensive line as its unquestioned leader upfront. After playing multiple positions throughout his first three years at the university (Carter redshirted his first year at Florida in 2017), the defensive lineman is ready to settle into his natural position as a strongside defensive end, proficient against the run and pass. At 6-foot-4, 277 pounds, Carter offers plenty of upside for any versatile front in the NFL. Last season was his most productive year, playing the majority of it on the outside while spending time inside during the earlier portion of the year. He would account for 35 tackles (14 solos), nine tackles for loss and five sacks on the year. He has a total of 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in three years combined. Don't be surprised to see Carter as one of the first names to come off the board for the Gators in 2022. Daquan Newkirk A transfer from Auburn, Newkirk has a real shot of being selected following a successful season at Florida in 2021. He offers plenty of upside athletically and has a knack for penetrating an offensive line. While he has played in just 19 games over the past three seasons, he has plenty of experience with not only the Tigers but in junior college too. Over the past three seasons, he's accounted for 40 tackles (12 solo), five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He has a long way to go, but his athletic profile matches nicely with what the NFL looks for, and as a starter on the Florida defensive line this season, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him selected. Brenton Cox A former five-star pass rusher, Cox transferred to the University of Florida just two seasons ago. After spending a year with the practice team due to transfer rules, Cox would finally make his way to the gridiron at Florida as the team's starting BUCK, replacing Jonathan Greenard (Houston Texans) from just a season ago. Cox possesses everything you would want in an NFL pass rusher from the physical standpoint. He's listed at 6-foot-4, 252 pounds and carries his weight incredibly well. Talented with the speed and power to rush off the edge, Cox is in store for a real breakout season at Florida this year. Donning the No. 1 jersey with the Gators, his talent level speaks for itself. While he managed just 3.5 sacks last season, that stat didn't truly showcase his abilities, as he led the team in QB hurries with 18. Look for Cox to be a big name to watch as the 2022 NFL Draft inches closer over the next year. Dameon Pierce While he may not be the most explosive running back, the NFL is always looking for talent at the position, especially from a respected program such as Florida. Over the past three seasons, Pierce has rushed for a respectable 1,232 yards on 229 carries (5.4 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. He has played primarily as a rotational piece for the Gators, though he received more of a workload last season as one of the lead tailbacks. While his receiving ability leaves much to be desired, he fits well in a scheme that utilizes heavy power-run principles that allow him to showcase his strength. At 5-foot-10, 215 pounds, Pierce's role in the NFL would likely be as a goalline, short-yardage back, but it would largely depend on his athletic testing during his pro day or the NFL combine. Regardless, don't be surprised to see Pierce in the NFL in a short time. Stewart Reese Reese, returning as a sixth-year student, transferred to UF last summer and quickly transitioned into a member of the starting lineup after spending four seasons with Mississippi State. A Dan Mullen disciple, Reese fit exactly what the team was looking for and played well overall during his first season with the team. This year, Reese will likely transition to left guard, making way for Joshua Braun at the right guard position, but his versatility allows him to play multiple positions inside, including center. Regardless, Reese at 6-foot-6, 350 pounds, should make for an intriguing player at the next level. His ability to be drafted will depend on not only his play this season, but also his athletic testing. Ventrell Miller Miller was an unquestioned leader for the Florida defense last season and will look to continue that this year as he uses his last year of eligibility. His return should bring a presence to the middle of the Florida defense. He presents an intriguing player entering his potential final season with the team. Over the course of three seasons, he's accounted for 87 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. His speed inside is unquestioned, but his sideline-to-sideline ability could use some work. Miller's ceiling as an NFL player has yet to be known, but an impressive season this year coupled with a standout performance in athletic testing should do him well moving forward. | https://www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-2022-nfl-draft-chances-emory-jones-projection |
How Can I Get My First Programming Job? | Young man at a job interview talking with two developers. They are running startup developer company ... [+] from their home. Selective focus to young candidate over their shoulders. originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Chuck Severance, University of Michigan School of Information and Coursera Instructor, on Quora: Lets assume that you are learning to program outside the traditional college or university. You dont have access to career services and are figuring it out on your own. First never stop learning. Just because you can write one kind of Python program after you took Python for Everybody - that might not be the skill your first job opportunity will need. Keep going. You dont need to rush but move along at a pace where you are enjoying learning - perhaps learn about how we write Python based web applications in Django for Everybody. You will learn about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - that is a lot more than just Python. Perhaps you take PostgreSQL for Everybody and get some solid database skills. The more topics you learn the more confident you will become with the topics you already know. A very common way to get a programming job is to evolve your current job so that you are doing some programming. Lets say you work in sales and each month there is a spreadsheet of results for each sales person for the month. Perhaps you can write a simple Python program to produce a clever report that would be hard to make by hand. Show the report to your boss and ask if there are other reports that might be useful. The next thing you know you are spending a few hours per week doing data analysis. Turn the report into a graph. Then there is the web site redesign committee You see the pattern - if you have skills, tasks will find their way to you. What is cool about this is that you can choose your next learning topic based on what you see your company needing next. If you are unemployed or not working at a job where you can slide into a more technical role slowly it is more difficult. First lets talk about why it is so difficult to get an entry level job from outside an organization. I have a small company with two full-time employees and five part-time employees. We could use some help. It would be great if I could find an entry-level programmer who could be productive on simple tasks right away, and was fun to be around, and wanted to learn more and grow into new roles with increasing responsibility. I would get 100s if not 1000s of resumes and inquiries. I own the company - but it is part time on nights and weekend for me. I dont have time to read all 500 resumes and pick the right ten people to interview and then do the interviews and get down to one person. Then I have to hire and train the person. Yes - I can decide to let them go and hire someone else and start it all over again. I just dont have time to evaluate, hire, train, manage, let go and re-hire enough people so I get that right employee. Here is a mostly real example. One of my current employees mentions a friend they know during one of our touch base phone calls: I know this young person. They have a job that under-uses their skills - but they are very good at it. They know a bit of coding - not an expert. But they are a hard worker, have a great personality, ready to learn, and willing to work on some of our less exciting tasks to get started. We could start them a few hours per week and see how it goes. They can keep their other job during the startup period and we can re-evaluate things after a few months. If it does not work out - there will be no hard feelings. This solves all of my problems and all I had to do is listen to a person I know and trust on a phone call. I can hire this person - they already have a built in mentor and I might get an awesome employee and it will be fun to watch them develop and grow. But expectations are low and I wont feel bad if it does not work out. Larger companies have internship programs and other soft ways for a company and potential employee to get to know one another. But internship programs take staff time and need to be organized and managed - but they do allow a relationship to build in a low-expectations way. Keep learning (I am sure I already mentioned that). If you have a current job, keep at it and do it well. The same habits that make you a good employee in a non-technical job help you in a technical job. For entry level jobs - people connections are more useful that giant sites with thousands of resumes. During the pandemic making new friends is much more difficult. But get social one way or another - find your local Python User Group or Django Girls or perhaps your town has a group for IT employees that meet from time to time. Figure out if they have monthly Zoom meetings - go hang out in the back and listen and learn. Figure out the kinds of jobs in the community - figure something out about the skills needed for those jobs and who works for what organization - you might be surprised that there are small local businesses that do technical work. I often tell students that if they are in the right place their career will walk right up to them and find them. Volunteer - there are often small non-profit organizations that need some technical help on their web site or to handle some data that they need to process. This is where a breadth of skills comes in very handy - these organizations use crufty technology solutions - not like the perfect self-contained little programming assignments we give you in a programming class. The real world is messy. You get paid when you can handle uncertainty and messy complex stuff. If you look at the work they need done and think I will just wait until a perfect little job comes along that only needs the one skill I already have - you will likely wait a long time. Also, look for a job at a company that you like and get a non-technical job. Perhaps there is a small technical company and they need someone in shipping or in their call center. Take that job - and do it well - at that job you will meet people and learn how the company works and what the company needs. Perhaps even take another class if the company uses some weird technology that you never were trained to use. If you are in the door, you are half-way to a technical job. Summary Keep learning, make friends, volunteer, find social events with technology folks. In my 40-year career - I have *never* been in a job interview with a complete stranger. My first technical job came through a fellow student in a Calculus course who said, I work as a student consultant for people trying to use computers -we need a few more people - are you interested?. It was part time and $4 per hour. But for me it was where it all started was an offhand comment from Kirk M. in a Calculus class. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2021/05/16/how-can-i-get-my-first-programming-job/ |
When does the first loss come for Oklahoma football in 2021? | Everyone knows the expectations for the Oklahoma Sooners heading into the 2021 college football season. Their eyes are firmly locked on a return trip to the College Football Playoffs. To get there, they will have to do what they have the last six seasons, Sooners must win the Big 12 Conference. They have seen some adversity under their head coach Lincoln Riley during his four-year run as the head coach. With a career record of 45-8, they win a lot more than they lose. Last year the team lost to Iowa State and Kansas State early on which led to many analysts questioning if this was the year a team finally knocks the Sooners off the pedestal. The answer was no as Spencer Rattler and company rattled off seven consecutive wins to secure the conference yet again. They got their revenge against Brock Purdy and the Cyclones when it mattered most. Related Re-grading the Oklahoma Sooners hire of Lincoln Riley five years later Recently, Riley Gates of 247Sports predicted the first loss for every Big 12 Conference team. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth) What 247Sports Says Oklahoma might very well be a team that runs the table this year. Thats how talented Spencer Rattler is at quarterback and now hes got a year of experience on the field under his belt. Oklahoma doesnt have a very difficult nonconference schedule, with Nebraska being the toughest test, and then it opens Big 12 play with a home game against West Virginia and a road trip to Kansas State. The Sooners will be the pick to win the Big 12 and might actually go unbeaten. But the Texas game with a new head coach in charge will likely be the toughest test they face in the first six weeks and perhaps all season. Away from home, Oklahoma might get tripped up. List 2021 Oklahoma Sooners game-by-game predictions Circling the Red River Shootout in Dallas, Texas, is never a bad way to start. However, dont forget about Kansas State or Iowa State for that matter. The Wildcats come up on the schedule before the Texas Longhorns with kickoff set for Oct. 2. Kansas State under head coach Chris Klieman has a 2-0 record against the Sooners. That is the most important game early on for Oklahoma. Provided Riley gets retribution against the Wildcats, then Texas under Steve Sarkisian could draw first blood. However, throw it all out in rivalry games. The Sooners are looking to send a message that they still own the state. | https://sports.yahoo.com/does-first-loss-come-oklahoma-150622028.html?src=rss |
How Did Detroit Lions Conduct Rookie Minicamp Without a Quarterback? | Dan Campbell explains why the decision was made not to have a traditional quarterback at rookie minicamp for the Detroit Lions. When the official roster of the participants at this weekend's rookie minicamp was released by the Detroit Lions, one position that was absent became quite noticeable. Lions head coach Dan Campbell, addressing the media ahead of Sunday's final minicamp session, explained the reasoning and how drills were conducted, with coaches stepping up when called upon. "We like the three quarterbacks we have on our roster right now," Campbell said. "We feel like we're in a good spot there. We would have had to sign a tryout player at quarterback. There's nothing wrong with that to get through a practice." We would rather use one of those spots and let's bring in a tight end, let's bring in a defensive back. Let's get eyes on somebody we think can make this roster. And so, we've got some coaches on this staff that actually can throw a little bit. So, we've used their arms somewhat. I would say this -- there's been a lot of ice, a lot of icing after practice, been a lot of heat pre- practice. We're getting it done, and they look pretty good." Mark Brunell is the quarterbacks coach, but assistant coach Tanner Engstrand has been "steering the ship," according to Campbell. "Tanner (Engstrand), one of our assistant coaches, has actually been really the one kind of steering the ship a little bit. He's done a good job calling plays in the huddle with them and then throwing routes on air. So, it's been really good." Pros and Cons of Trading OL Tyrell Crosby 5 Keys to Success for Jared Goff in 2021 Lions' Biggest 'Roster Hole' Left to Fill List of Lions' Rookie Minicamp Participants Released | https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/who-was-the-quarterback-at-detroit-lions-minicamp |
What threat does Indian Covid variant pose and do vaccines work against it? | The number of identified cases of the Indian variant in the UK has more than doubled in a week, from 520 to 1,313, according to the most recent figures. The areas with the highest numbers so far include Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen, Erewash in Derbyshire and Bedford, all in England, and Moray in Scotland. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said on Sunday that it was quite likely this would become the dominant variant across the UK, just as the Kent variant did after it emerged in December. Cases are being detected in new places every day, including Essex, Cambridge and London in recent days. That is the key question that is concerning scientists and ministers. According to the minutes of a meeting last Tuesday of the governments Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage), advisers believe the transmission of B.1.617.2, as the Indian variant is known, is currently faster than that of the B.1.1.7 variant the Kent variant. Cases are doubling in a week or less in some areas, Sage reported. Hancock said on Sunday that it could spread like wildfire among the unvaccinated groups. In Bolton, the vast majority of people in hospital with Covid linked to the Indian variant had not taken up their offer of a jab, he added. Prof Sir Mark Walport, a former chief scientific adviser to the government, has said the pandemic is at a perilous moment. Prof John Edmunds, a member of Sage, said that while the Indian variant represented a new threat, the UK was in a much better position than it was before Christmas, soon after the Kent variant was discovered. I think we should be concerned but not panicking. Were in a much, much better place now than we were when the Kent variant first hit us back in November, December, Edmunds said. There is cautious optimism that they do. Hancock said new, very early data from Oxford University gave confidence that the vaccines in use in the UK Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna do confer protection against it. As a result, the planned next step of reopening society can safely go ahead on Monday, he believes. John Bell, the regius professor of medicine at Oxford, is similarly upbeat. He told Times Radio this weekend: In terms of severe disease, hospital admissions and death, I think the vaccinated population are going to be fine and we just need to pump our way through this. But Dr Kit Yates, a member of Independent Sage, cautioned: Vaccines do not work 100%. If Covid is allowed to circulate at high levels among the unvaccinated population, there will still be a small proportion of vaccinated people who may get the disease and become severely ill. | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/what-threat-does-indian-covid-variant-pose-and-do-vaccines-work-against-it |
Is an AT&T-Discovery media marriage in the works? | Dallas-based AT&T Inc. is in talks to combine its media business with Discovery Inc. in a deal that would create a new entertainment giant, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a surprising move for a company that spent $85 billion to acquire Time Warners assets less than three years ago. A deal could be announced as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The idea is to combine Discoverys reality-TV empire with AT&Ts vast media holdings, building a business that would be a formidable competitor to Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. Any deal would mark a major shift in AT&Ts strategy after years of work to assemble telecommunications and media assets under one roof. AT&T gained some of the biggest brands in entertainment through its acquisition of Time Warner Inc., which was completed in 2018. Through its WarnerMedia unit, AT&T owns CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and the Warner Bros. studio. Discovery, backed by cable mogul John Malone, controls networks including HGTV, Food Network, TLC and Animal Planet. It also is involved in a joint venture with Fixer Upper stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, whove formed the Magnolia Network. Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav has helped Discovery bulk up through acquisitions, including a purchase of HGTV owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. that closed in 2018. Discoverys class A shares have risen more than 18% this year, valuing the company at almost $24 billion. AT&T has gained 12%, giving it a market capitalization of $230 billion in New York. The companies are still negotiating the structure of a transaction, and details could change, the people said. Representatives for AT&T and Discovery declined to comment. Selling Assets AT&T CEO John Stankey has been cleaning house at the sprawling telecom titan, cutting staff and selling underperforming assets. The company has been funneling money into rolling out its 5G wireless network, which requires billions of dollars of investment, as well as expanding its fiber-optic footprint. The company has been boosting movie and television production to attract subscribers to its HBO Max streaming service. It also needs cash to pay down debt. Any move involving AT&Ts content assets would come just months after it reached a deal to spin off its DirecTV operations in a pact with buyout firm TPG. AT&T agreed in December to sell its anime video unit Crunchyroll to a unit of Sony Corp. for $1.2 billion. The company has also parted with its Puerto Rico phone operations, a stake in Hulu, a central European media group and almost all its offices at New Yorks Hudson Yards. Ed Hammond, Bloomberg | https://www.dallasnews.com/business/local-companies/2021/05/16/is-an-att-discovery-media-marriage-in-the-works/ |
How Does Evan Mobley's Strengths and Weakness's Compare To Other NBA Prospects? | With the NBA draft still months away, offseason draft analysis and projections are in full-swing. CBS Sports college basketball reporter Kyle Boone recently dropped a report, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the top 14 NBA draft prospects. Here is his analysis of USC's Evan Mobley, a uniquely talented big man with 7-foot frame and 7-4 wingspan Strengths Uniquely talented big man with 7-foot frame and 7-4 wingspan Fluid athlete who can drop his hips and defend multiple positions from post to perimeter Elite defensive weapon who can block shots and anchor a defense Talented scorer who can score in variety of ways Weaknesses Developing shooter: made 30% of 3-pointers at USC and was 69.4% free-throw shooter Skinny, high center of gravity and still needs to add muscle to huge frame Pro Comparison Chris Bosh Boone is spot on when evaluating Mobleys strengths. His combination of size and athleticism allows him to be a mobile, rangy defender that can cover a lot of ground. But one strength Boone forgot to mention is Mobleys natural passing ability, and potential to be an initiator at the next level. The idea of Mobley turning into a Nikola Jokic level passer is highly unlikely, but that doesnt mean he cant be a Marc Gasol distributor. Gasol is one of the best at setting his teammates up for easy buckets from the high-post or the perimeter, and Mobley could do the same. When looking at his weaknesses, his developing shooter label can actually be considered a strength. It's not easy to to find seven-footers that are knockdown shooters from deep and not liabilities from free throw line. Mobley showed more than enough flashes of his shooting ability to give any team confidence, and it will continue to improve. Plus, his perceived poor free throw percentage is a little overblown because he made the second most free throws among all Pac-12 players. Not many bigs that can say that. His pro comparison of Chris Bosh is definitely warranted when comparing the skillset of the two players. If you told a team before they draft Mobley that he will be the next Chris Bosh, they will sign up for that scenario every time. Bosh was the third best player on a team that won two titles. Pair Mobley up with the next Lebron James, and he will certainly bring rings to the city that drafted him. ---- [Mock Draft Shows NBA Team Adding Evan Mobley To Young Core] [Evan Mobley Wins Best Defensive Player Award, USC Announces] ---- Be sure to stay locked into AllTrojans all the time! Follow AllTrojans on Twitter: @SI_AllTrojans Follow Millard Thomas on Twitter: @creatorthomas24 Like and follow AllTrojans on Facebook For more USC news visit www.alltrojans.com | https://www.si.com/college/usc/basketball/how-does-evan-mobleys-strengths-and-weaknesss-compare-to-other-prospects |
Whats the story with brain fog and menopause? | Pat Lea, 72, a longtime friend who lives in England, began forgetting words midsentence when she was 48, impairing her ability to speak in public and provoking countless embarrassing moments. Lea, then a housing benefits manager in a London borough, tried making light of it, then began writing her notes in advance, but things only became worse. It seemed innocuous at first, but became more intense, she says. One day, while delivering a presentation about new government legislation to an audience of about four dozen, someone asked her a question and her mind went blank. It was as if a fog had descended into my brain, she says. She attributes her brain fog and memory lapses during that time to perimenopause, the stage before menopause when hormones fluctuate and periods become irregular. And she is not alone. Women often report these and other symptoms depression and inability to focus, for example as menopause approaches. I have patients complaining all the time about their brain function, says Cindy Parnes, a gynecologist and founder of the New Jersey Womens Wellness Center in Montvale. They are worried. But I tell them there are many Hallmark cards about [midlife forgetfulness], and if Hallmark is making cards, its because a lot of people can relate to it. Advertising The Department of Health and Human Services Office on Womens Health says up to two-thirds of women in perimenopause report cognitive problems, although estimates as to the extent of affected women differ among experts. Its also still unclear what causes these deficits hormones or other factors and whether they continue postmenopause. With all the uncertainties, however, scientists dont doubt these problems exist, and can be disruptive. Growing evidence says this is real, says Miriam Weber, associate professor of neurology and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester, whose research suggests that symptoms typically begin during perimenopause. Multiple studies have shown declines in memory and attention, Weber says. What we dont know is whether it persists. So far it seems like it may be temporary, just through the transition from perimenopause through menopause. One recent study of low-income women of color, some of them HIV infected, suggests that cognitive declines may linger into postmenopause for some, although demographics also may influence this, says Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), which published the research in its journal, Menopause. These findings, which differ from those of prior studies, may be a result of lower income women with multiple risk factors for cognitive dysfunction, says Faubion, citing low education, mental health disorders, trauma exposure, substance use and infections such as hepatitis C and HIV, which could make them more vulnerable to longer-lasting cognitive changes in menopause. Advertising Pauline Maki, past president of NAMS and professor of psychiatry, psychology and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and one of the study authors estimates that 1 in 10 women will have clinically significant menopause-related cognitive changes, even into the postmenopause years. She says more research is needed into how long and why these symptoms can last. We need a better understanding of who is vulnerable to persistent menopause-related cognitive changes and why, so that we can personalize strategies for maintaining cognitive health into the postmenopause, she says. Researchers believe hormones are involved, although they arent sure how or to what extent. We think it does have to do with hormonal changes, but memory problems are also related to things like depression, sleep disturbances and hot flashes, Weber says. However, we know that even when we control for those, we still see these effects. So they arent the whole story. Studies find that hormone replacement therapy doesnt prevent or improve cognition deficits in menopausal women. But research suggests that it can prevent the onset of depression upon entering perimenopause. I think its very clear that a subgroup of women do develop depression, for some for the first time in their lives, and there is evidence that declining estrogen contributes to its development, says Peter Schmidt, chief of the behavioral endocrinology branch at the National Institute of Mental Health and one of the study authors. Replacing waning estrogen does seem to be effective in improving mood, he adds. Advertising Also, he points out that depression itself may harm cognition. When you get depressed, it does affect your attention and retention of information, Schmidt says. While the majority of women go through the transition from normal reproductive life to menopause without any problems of depression and cognitive change, a subgroup does report changes in mood behavior as well as cognition. So its real for some women but not all. Maki agrees. Some women experience no symptoms and others experience clinically meaningful symptoms, she says. The severity and duration of menopause-related declines in memory likely depends on many factors such as the level of memory skill a woman had before menopause, the severity of sleep and vasomotor symptoms, mood changes, lifestyle factors, a womans sensitivity to changes in estrogen, and life stressors. The latter life stressors could be an important contributor, Parnes says. Think where they are in life, she says. I do think hormones affect cognition, but there are so many factors, its not just hormonal. These are middle-aged women with more expenses, kids in college, elderly parents there are a lot of things they worry about. Weber and other experts suggest physical exercise as one way to cope, along with the often-recommended array of stimulating activities for the brain, such as crossword puzzles, reading books and newspapers, even engaging in thoughtful discussions, with other people. Also, finding ways to ensure good sleep will help, especially since sleep disruptions during menopause have an effect on brain function. If you dont sleep well, your memory and cognitive abilities are going to suffer, Parnes says. Sponsored Women shouldnt assume they are fated for cognitive difficulties or worse, Weber says. Many women experience memory changes and worry they have Alzheimers, she says. The message is: Its unlikely you have it this early, and this is not uncommon. Lea says she thinks that stress probably deepened her problems. Her former husband with whom she shared a daughter died unexpectedly without leaving a will. He never remarried, and it fell to Lea to sort out his estate. Simultaneously, work pressures increased. Theres some doubt as to whether my memory loss issues were solely the result of me going through menopause, or because of the stress that I was experiencing at that time, she says. The memory loss continued after her periods ceased in 2002, but to a much lesser extent, Lea says. I still forgot words, and the fogginess went on for some time, particularly on waking in the morning, not knowing what day it was or what I was meant to be doing, she says. But after starting a new job in 2004, her symptoms improved rapidly. I was fortunate to have a support position with a much lesser amount of responsibility, and I began to feel useful again, Lea says. I havent noticed anything severe in terms of memory loss from that time onwards. | https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/whats-the-story-with-brain-fog-and-menopause/ |
Is Alastair Clarkson still the right fit for Hawthorn? | Every coach in the land knows professional football is a results business, but nobody knows it better than Alastair Clarkson. The Hawthorn mentor was the mastermind behind one of the greatest teams in living memory, dragging the Hawks from the doldrums of mediocrity and transforming them into winners. Those times have past. Clarkson might be the finest, most erudite coach in the game, but whether he is still the right man for Hawthorn is another thing. Clarkson assumed the reins in 2005, improving the Hawks from 14th position to premiers inside four seasons. It set both club and coach on their way and moulded a devotion to triumph that exists to this very day. When I first arrived at Hawthorn, I thought that for teams to rebuild its going to take seven or eight years and that was the forecast I gave to the players in the club and everyone, and we were all invested in that, Clarkson told Fox Footy last month. But we turned it around in four years, wed won silverware within four years. Thats the theatre of the game. Those Hawks would go on to win three more flags, claiming three on the spin from 2013 to 2015 in a golden era of near invincibility. Like the last reveller at the party Hawthorn have tried to keep the good times going; they have gone about their work in the ensuing years with the hope, expectation even, that another premiership is just around the corner. It is not. The music has stopped and the silence is deafening for a club that has refused to rebuild but now has no option. On Saturday, the Hawks plumbed new depths when they coughed up a 32-point lead against North Melbourne to go down by seven points. It was the Kangaroos first win of the season and their first since they beat Adelaide in round nine last year. Hawthorn are now 2-7, their worst start to a season under Clarkson, and will finish nearer last than first. The spiral downwards is unmistakable: after finishing fourth in 2018, placings of 9th and 15th will likely be joined by a resting place even lower in 2021. The Hawks are now reaping what they have sown The time has come, however, for Hawthorn to no longer judge themselves on their win-loss ratio, but on how they are positioned for the future. Right now, the Hawks look further away from a premiership than any club in the AFL. Clarkson, though, is still plotting a course for that next victory. Theres only one way, and thats to go back, work hard on the training track and try to do it for a little bit longer next week against Carlton, he said after the loss to North Melbourne. Hopefully its a lot longer and we can secure ourselves a win. Hawthorn players leave the ground after their shock defeat to North Melbourne. Photograph: Steve Bell/Getty Images The Hawks are now reaping what they have sown. To keep the party going, Hawthorns modus operandi has been to trade away draft strength in exchange for experienced bodies from rival clubs. In recent years the likes of Brian Lake, James Frawley, Josh Gibson, Jaeger OMeara, Tom Mitchell and Chad Wingard all top-end talent have walked through the doors but at the cost of youthful players required to take the club to the next phase. Were trying to defy what the competition is, Clarkson has said of Hawthorns equalisation-opposing stratagem. Though injuries are playing their part including to Will Day and Denver Grainger-Barras, Hawthorns only high draftees of recent times the mix is not working. There was nothing pedestrian about their midfield in Launceston, on paper at least, but not for the first time this year they went missing as the opposition strung together unanswered goal after unanswered goal. It is time for Hawthorn to look hard into the mirror and commit themselves to a full-blown rebuild. His current deal is up at the end of next season. Last year, club president Jeff Kennett raised many an eyebrow when saying, We wont be sacking Clarko, Clarko wont be sacking us, when the time comes we will come to an agreed position and I suspect it will be at the end of this contract. They were words that put the rest of the AFL on notice and Clarkson would be coveted by any club keeping a cursory eye on the market. Collingwood would be obvious contenders for Clarksons signature; even Greater Western Sydney would be in the picture despite Leon Cameron last year extending his current deal to the end of 2023. A fresh challenge would be of obvious appeal but for his part, Clarkson is all-in at Hawthorn. Im excited for it and Ill do it for as long as the club and I see fit that were making progress, he said. Clarkson, however, is a man wired for success. The Hawks have a way to go backwards before they will again go forward, with or without him. | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/17/is-alastair-clarkson-still-the-right-fit-for-hawthorn-afl-north-melbourne-hawks |
Who owns Australia? | Researchers who have been pushing for a more transparent land use data say knowing who owns Australia is essential not only for proper management of our national resources but to understand who we are as a country. Dr Laurence Troy, of the University of Sydney, was one of three researchers who worked on a 2012 report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, which developed a framework for analysing national patterns of ownership change, aggregation and fragmentation of agricultural land. I see [ownership] as a central question in how our society operates, Troy says. There is a lot of wealth and power tied up in property it is important for a whole load of transparency around the structure of property and who owns property. The report began as an attempt to track the fragmentation of rural land through housing developments and subdivisions into lifestyle blocks. It found that, as farmland near cities was being broken up, agricultural land in more remote areas was being consolidated into large holdings by big corporate players. Both forces for change in rural Australia consolidation and fragmentation are driving up property prices. According to the 2021 Australian Farmland Values report by Rural Bank, the median price per hectare for agricultural land in Australia increased by 12.9% in 2020 to $5,907 a hectare, the seventh consecutive year of positive growth. The consolidation of agricultural land is not inherently bad, says a report co-author, Dr Melissa Neave. There is no guarantee that a small family-run enterprise will engage in better land management practices than a large corporation. But, she says, the separation of land ownership from land management seen by some corporate players can be problematic. Changes in Indigenous-held land Maps show areas of Indigenous land rights and exclusive possession Indigenous-held land 1788 1965 1993 2018 Indigenous-held land 1788 1965 1993 2018 Indigenous-held land 1788 1965 1993 2018 The reality is that the bigger companies have started to consolidate our resources within Australia so the issue is one of to what extent do we control, does the government control, the resources within the land itself, she says. Even though a company owns the land, the natural resources are generally owned by state governments. To what extent can [the state] actually ensure the health and wellbeing of that long-term management of those natural resources? Identifying landowners allows for better management of those natural resources, like soil and water, Neave says, and provides a basis on which to measure the impact of land management on agricultural productivity. It could also potentially allow for landscape-wide planning, rather than viewing every property as a private fiefdom. Colonial ideas around what land means and what property is were really tied up with the notion of improvement, meaning that you needed to actively use the land, to improve it, she says. And if you werent seen to be improving the land meaning fencing, clearing you could lose it but that means there can be a disconnect between the agenda of landowners versus the agenda of the community or of environmental values. A national register of land use, or at least nationally consistent data standards, would help encourage big agricultural investors, according to the National Farmers Federation. The NFF wants to grow farmgate output to $100bn by 2030 but reaching that target will reportedly require $8.7bn a year in capital investment. To do those kinds of things, you need ready access to data, says Ash Salardini, the NFFs general manager of trade and economics. At the smaller end of town, where farms are still run by family units, the perceived privacy risks of such a register outweigh the potential benefits. Privacy concerns have grown after a number of high-profile trespasses on meat production businesses by animal rights activists in 2019, linked back to an unofficial register of farm ownership. Its a family farm environment as well, its not just a business, Salardini says. So some of those privacy concerns need to be addressed. | https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2021/may/17/who-owns-australia |
What Christos Stylianides Should Know As He Takes The Post Of The Special Envoy On Religion Or Belief Outside European Union? | On May 5, 2021, the European Commission appointed Christos Stylianides as Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside European Union (EU Special Envoy on FoRB). Christos Stylianides has significant crisis management background, having served as the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management between 2014 and 2019 and as the European Unions Ebola Coordinator. As we have seen over the years, in many cases, dealing with violations on grounds of religion or belief outside European Union will mean dealing with crisis scenarios. European flags wave in front of the Berlaymont building - European Commission (EC) headquarter - in ... [+] Brussels, Belgium, on January 14, 2019. (Photo credit: Michele Spatari/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images According to the online announcement, [EU Special Envoy on FoRB] The Special Envoy will establish a dialogue with national authorities and other stakeholders in countries suffering from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. He will support for intercultural and interreligious dialogue processes, including encouraging dialogue between representatives of different faiths and the setting up of joint initiatives. He will put in place measures to target de-radicalisation and prevention of extremism on grounds of religion or belief in third countries. In cooperation with authorities from third countries, he will promote religious diversity and tolerance within educational programs and curricula. The mandate of the EU Special Envoy on FoRB is relatively new. It was established in a February 2016 resolution on Daesh atrocities with the first appointment made in May 2016. At that stage the mandate was for a year, with the possibility that it would be renewed. This was the first mandate of its kind. However, in recent years, it has become very clear that the mandate needs to be strengthened to maximize the impact of the office. Among others, the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance, in its 2017 report, called for refining the mandate. The report identified that, as it stood, the formal position of the Special Envoy is weak. It is not a full-time activity and with limited resources. Similar recommendations on strengthening the mandate were subsequently made by Mr Andrzej Grzyb, the Rapporteur for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, who in his report on the EU Guidelines and the mandate of the EU Special Envoy on the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU recommended for the mandate to be extended to periods of a few years rather than for one year and renewed on a yearly basis. These recommendations have not been adopted yet. The post of the EU Special Envoy on FoRB has remained empty for almost two years. The appointment of Christos Stylianides is a welcome sign that the European Commission continues to recognize the importance of engaging on the topic of freedom of religion or belief internationally. Not boredom, thats for sure. A brief glance at the most egregious atrocities, many of which meet the legal definitions of genocide or crimes against humanity, confirms that there are several situations requiring urgent attention. While we may not hear much about Daesh at the moment, there are still over 10,000 active members in Syria and Iraq. Daesh fighters have been using the pandemic to consolidate and so pose a renewed threat to religious communities, such as Yazidis and Christians. Furthermore, the communities once targeted for annihilation by Daesh continue to be in urgent need of assistance, let alone of psychological support. Those communities remain without justice. In Myanmar, while international focus is on the coup, Rohingya Muslims, once targeted by the Burmese military, face renewed threat - their perpetrator now rules the country. Despite consideration by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, the atrocities against the Rohingyas are far from resolved. Similarly, other religious minorities in Myanmar face dire situations that continue to be overshadowed by the bigger picture. In China, Uyghurs are subject to atrocities which legal experts determine meet the legal definition of genocide. Thousands of Uyghurs are detained, forcibly indoctrinated and subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, rape and sexual violence, forced abortions, forced sterilizations, removal of children to another group, and much more. Beijing denies the atrocities. In Nigeria, Boko Haram and Fulani militia tore the country apart killing anyone who opposes their destructive ideology, both Christians and moderate Muslims. In North Korea, being a Christian is the equivalent of a death sentence. In Ethiopia, Orthodox Christians have been targeted with deadly attacks. Churches have been the scenes of massacres with hundreds of killed and mass-graves filled with bodies. This is without even mentioning violations of the right to freedom of religion of belief other than international crimes discussed above, whether acts of violence based on religion or belief, acts of harassment, marginalization or discrimination. While the EU Special Envoy on FoRB, Christos Stylianides, will have plenty to engage with, having Christos Stylianides with his significant experience of working on crisis management, will be an important skill that can make a difference. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2021/05/16/what-christos-stylianides-should-know-as-he-takes-the-special-envoy-post-on-religion-or-belief-outside-european-union/ |
Did offseason changes make Raiders offense more explosive? | The Raiders made some surprising changes to the offense during the offseason. While it creates the potential for improvement, it might take time to come together. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr warms up before the start of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium, in Denver, CO. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto The Raiders made some surprising changes and additions to the offense during the offseason, and while it creates the potential for a more explosive and efficient unit, it might take awhile for it to come together. The luxury of time, though, is not exactly available to the Raiders. So expediting the process comes down to players making adjustments and Raiders coaches making the best of their time to work with players. Here is a position-by-position look at where the Raiders stand on offense: Quarterback Starter: Derek Carr Reserves: Marcus Mariota, Nathan Peterman Overview: Going into his fourth season under Jon Gruden, Carr last year oversaw the 10th-highest scoring offense in the NFL and threw for more than 4,000 yards for a team-record third straight season. But that doesnt mean there arent areas he needs to improve. If he again has to compensate for a porous defense, his ability to address his weaknesses could be the difference between the Raiders making the playoffs or going home early again. Specifically, a problem has been his play in the red zone, where he was 18th among his peers while completing only 53.8 percent of his passes. Carrs drop-off in the red zone reflected a team-wide problem and contributed to the 54.4 touchdown percentage in that area of the field, which ranked 23rd in the NFL. Clearly, the Raiders need to convert more red-zone visits into touchdowns, and Carr plays a big role in that. Mariota is among the best backups in the league, but Peterman has yet to distinguish himself as a viable backup. His time might be running out. Bottom line: If the Green Bay Packers make Aaron Rodgers available, it behooves the Raiders to get involved. Short of that, though, they have a quarterback who can get them into the playoffs. Mariota provides a solid security blanket. Running back Starter: Josh Jacobs Reserves: Kenyan Drake, Alec Ingold (FB) Jalen Richard, Theo Riddick, Garrett Groshek, Trey Ragas Overview: Jacobs became the first Raiders running back since Marcus Allen to rush for more than 1,000 yards in successive seasons last year. However, partially the result of flux along the offensive line and another late-season bout with injuries, his per-yard average plunged from 4.8 yards in 2019 to 3.9 in 2020 and his per-game rush total was down from 88.5 yards to 71. Getting that squared away was a huge point of emphasis for the Raiders, and it included getting younger and more physical on the offensive line and investing in a quality backup running back. While the investment in Drake raised eyebrows, it not only made perfect sense but also was a shrewd move on multiple levels. Drake will be RB 1B to Jacobs RB 1A, playing in conjunction with him at times and in lieu of him at others. The objective is to get both players to the end of games and the final stretch of the season healthy. Drake also will come in handy in the red zone, where his ability to line up at wide receiver will add a new flavor to Grudens playbook. Bottom line: Between the potential of the Jacobs-Drake tandem and a return to health of valuable fullback Alec Ingold, dont be surprised by a big surge from this group. Wide receivers Starters: Henry Ruggs, John Brown, Hunter Renfrow Reserves: Bryan Edwards, Willie Snead, Zay Jones, Marcell Ateman, Trey Quinn, Keelan Doss, Dillon Stoner, Caleb Scott, D.J. Turner Overview: The next step in the process for Ruggs is becoming more of a weapon with the ball in his hands rather than just as a decoy. For that to happen, he needs to improve physically and as it relates to the finer points of playing wide receiver. But Gruden also has to figure out more ways to get him the ball. Edwards has a chance to develop into the big, dependable wide receiver the Raiders have been lacking, but he needs to stay healthy. Renfrow continues to be a trusted ally of Carr. In Brown and Snead, the Raiders added veterans who bring starting quality resumes and can provide much-needed depth and versatility. Bottom line: Renfrows 56 catches were the most among Raiders wide receivers last season. Nelson Agholor was second with 48. But those numbers ranked 57th and 82nd in the NFL. Its an absolute must the Raiders get more production from their wide receivers to help offset the dominance of tight end Darren Waller. Ruggs and Edwards have the potential to be those players, but it has to happen soon. Tight ends Starter: Darren Waller Reserves: Derek Carrier, Foster Moreau , Matt Bushman, Nick Bowers, Carson Williams Overview: Waller is among the best at his position in the NFL. Moreau is healthy after suffering a devastating late-season knee injury in 2019. His ability to find the goal line could change some of the red zone dynamics. Carrier is a valuable blocker and special teams player, but Bushman, an undrafted free agent from Brigham Young, has long-range potential and could win a roster spot. Bottom line: The Raiders have a nice blend at tight end, especially if Moreau can re-emerge. Offensive line Starters: LT Kolton Miller, LG Richie Incognito, C Andre James, RG Denzelle Good, RT Alex Leatherwood Reserves: T Brandon Parker, T Jaryd Jones-Smith, T Devery Hamilton, T Kamaal Seymour, T Marquel Harrell, G John Simpson, G Lester Cotton, C Nick Martin, C Erik Magnuson, C Jimmy Morrissey Overview: The Raiders took a calculated risk by making major moves along the offensive line. In their quest to get younger, more physical and less expensive, they traded veterans Trent Brown, Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson. Brown was mostly AWOL since the final month of the 2019 season, so his loss isnt significant. Jackson and Hudson, though, leave big shoes to fill. The Raiders are putting a lot of faith in offensive line coach Tom Cable to make it work, beginning with his faith in James, who is on target to replace Hudson, and extending to the support he showed during the draft for Leatherwood, who is expected to be the starter at right tackle. That leaves the two guard positions to be settled, with Incognito and Good the odds-on favorites to claim them. But Simpson isnt about to concede anything, and Martin might be too good not to get in the lineup even if he gets beat out by James. Miller has developed into one of the NFLs better pass-blocking left tackles. Bottom line: The Raiders are hoping they can get a full season from their projected starting offensive line after last years group gave them just five snaps together. They also hope to create depth with Simpson and Martin and by bringing along two of the young tackles. Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected]. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter. | https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/raiders/did-offseason-changes-make-raiders-offense-more-explosive-2355578/ |
Where does average age of Bengals roster rank in NFL? | The Cincinnati Bengals no longer have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. As the team heads into year three of the Zac Taylor era, the roster reset has continually added more and more veterans, bumping the average age. According to post-draft metrics from Andrew Walker of the Colts official website, the Bengals rank 12th in terms of average age at 25.04 years of age. Thats still not terribly far off the No. 1 spot (Rams, 24.62), but its a pretty good sign the Bengals are exiting the rebuild phase and the excuses that come along with doing things such as struggling in one-score games or on prime time. Heres a look at the full list of roster ages in the NFL currently: According to rosters on all 32 team websites, the #Colts currently are tied for the eighth-youngest roster in the NFL, with an average age of 24.98. Here's the rest of the list, @JimIrsay. pic.twitter.com/5lN1Ga4qkS Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) May 15, 2021 List | https://sports.yahoo.com/where-does-average-age-bengals-205049590.html?src=rss |
Does roadside assistance cover electric vehicles? | Today's electric vehicles can get up to 300 miles on a single charge, but that can produce "range anxiety" the fear of running out of power. That thought was on the mind of several Drive readers who e-mailed in after reading a recent Star Tribune article about whether the electrical grid has the capacity to power the proliferating number of electric vehicles hitting the roads. They wondered if owners of electric vehicles qualify for roadside assistance should their batteries go dead. The answer is yes, said Jesse Simon, senior manager of marketing and communications for AAA Minneapolis. But the services the auto club offers depend on the type of vehicle a member owns. AAA provides jump-starts, fuel delivery and battery replacement for members with gas-powered vehicles and most hybrid vehicles. The club does not provide jump-starts or battery replacements for drivers whose vehicles are 100% powered by electricity. Not to worry, Simon said AAA won't leave a motorist stranded on the side of the road. "If a member with an EV calls for battery-related service, we most likely would tow their vehicle to a service station, dealership or charging station," he said. "We can still provide many services for members who drive electric vehicles. This includes mechanical first aid, flat tire service, lockout service, extrication and towing." AAA and many of its tow providers don't have mobile battery charging service, "as we haven't identified this as a significant need by our members," Simon said. As demand for EVs grows nearly 60% of all passenger vehicles sold by 2040 will be electric, according to an analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an arm of the Bloomberg news and research firm Simon said AAA anticipates that "we'll need to expand our service offerings for EVs at some point in the future." Allstate Roadside can provide on-site jump starts if an electric vehicle is a hybrid meaning it is equipped with a 12 volt battery, said spokeswoman Tanya Robinson. A fully electric vehicle must be towed to a charging station, or the vehicle owner's home, she said. But that could change. Though not yet offered in Minneapolis, Allstate is able to bring a portable roadside charging station and offer a fast charge to stranded EV motorists in cities such as Austin, Texas, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. "More are coming online in the very near future," she said. State Farm's Emergency Roadside Assistance offers an array of services and pays the cost incurred by insured drivers who experience a breakdown, and the service "applies equally to any vehicle covered under this policy," including electric vehicles, said spokesman Ben Palmer. Work begins on Hwy. 12 A treacherous stretch of Hwy. 12 in western Hennepin County notorious for fatal crashes is about to be made safer. The Minnesota Department of Transportation on Tuesday will begin adding a center median barrier from County Road 6 to Baker Park Road and a roundabout at County Road 90 in Independence. Hennepin County is building a roundabout and bridge at County Road 92. The two-lane highway, which city leaders and the Highway 12 Safety Coalition have dubbed the "Corridor of Death," will be closed between County Roads 6 and 92 through Sept 17. The detour will be via Watertown Road. Follow news about traffic and commuting at The Drive on startribune.com. E-mail [email protected], tweet @stribdrive or call Tim Harlow at 612-673-7768. | https://www.startribune.com/does-roadside-assistance-cover-electric-vehicles/600057941/ |
Will 'digital nomads,' grounded by pandemic, return to Vancouver? | Photo by Francis Georgian / PNG Article content Sabrina Chammas-Doumets co-working space in Gastown saw enough business from so-called digital nomads travelling through Vancouver before the COVID-19 pandemic that she isnt going to give up on the struggling business, betting on what might come once its over. Im trying to hold on because I do believe that it will pick up again, if I just stay put, said Chammas-Doumet, who has run LAtelier, a 3,000-foot space, since 2016. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Back to video Travellers are grounded for now, and office workers remain mostly sequestered at home, so Chammas-Doumet estimates LAtelier is currently operating at about 40 per cent of usual revenue, helped out by the virtual mailbox services it offers members. However, she is betting that the awareness among many white-collar workers whove been pushed out of their offices for safetys sake that they can work pretty much anywhere, will make for better business, especially in a place like Vancouver. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content I feel like (Vancouver) attracts a lot of digital nomads in the summer, because of the beauty of the city and all the nature activities that people can do, Chammas-Doumet said. Canada is an easy place to travel for a lot of Europeans and Australians and New Zealanders. Photo by Francis Georgian / PNG Despite the pandemic, Vancouver still shows up on the promotional website Nomadist.com as a popular destination, thought not at the top of its landing page. The firm behind a web-based resume assistant resume.io, however, boldly declared Vancouver the digital nomad capital of the world, but based only on the number of Instagram photos hash-tagged #digitalnomad that originated in the city. That conclusion was based on a small sample, 90,000 Instagram posts out of 3.3 million tagged #digitalnomad, but the company deemed the results representative enough to estimate trends as a soft science study, according to Luke Doyle, with the firm NeoMam Studios, which worked with resume.io on the release. And based on the premise that freelance occupations are on the rise, resume.io posed the question of where might these new nomads roam, presuming that their freedom to do so will return soon. However, it does stand to reason that the pandemics mass discovery that a lot of jobs dont need to be tied to a specific location creates potential for the trend to carry on, according to Simon Fraser University innovation academic Terri Griffith. I dont think organizations can unlearn the fact that they could to it, said Griffith, the Keith Beedie Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser Universitys Beedie School of Business. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content They cant say oh, well, you cant do that at home anymore, because we know thats not true. And people for themselves figure out how it fits for them. Griffith said it is a trend that has grown out of more digitally oriented occupations with employers that dont exactly have physical locations themselves. She recalled corresponding with a former student employed by the firm that owns a prominent content platform, but was doing so from Italy. ' Griffith added, which neatly summed up the nomad mindset. Now anchored in Victoria, Steffani Cameron is a bonafide former full-blown nomad who travelled through 25 countries between 2015 and 2019 and doesnt doubt Vancouver will remain popular. People have been really on the game with promoting themselves through social media in Vancouver for a really long time, said the longtime blogger, freelancer and film-industry remote worker. We just have a legacy that way. True nomads, Cameron said, are people who have given up a physical address in their home countries, which means taking on a lot of risk, (because) it puts you at the mercy of whatever country, whatever climate youre in. Nomads are also typically looking for lower-cost destinations, which kind of limits Vancouver to travellers already from countries with stronger currencies and higher standards of living, Cameron said. And the citys outdoor orientation, with lots to do in a climate that is fair, but not tropical, is another attraction, in her estimation. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content A lot of people want it to be easy, said Cameron, which is one of the downsides for some destinations. (Nomads) are going to cities where theres a strong expat vibe, and dont necessarily absorb the local culture. As for the future, Cameron said digital nomads will try to pick up where they left off, though they are likely to face higher post-pandemic airfares and accommodation prices. I think I would go even slower if I was to do it again, and I probably will travel for a few months here and there, Cameron said. But I dont think Ill ever go all in again. [email protected] twitter.com/derrickpenner Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday by subscribing to our Sunrise newsletter here. 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Why Photography Now? | In the l9th century the sheer abundance of photographic imagery and the pace at which it was created was immobilizing. It was something which could not be controlled, and for the intellectual community, accustomed to works of a more measured and reflective sort, photography was a threat to the established order. Quite apart from the favorable attention on the part of some artists and writers in observational or realistic art, the photograph, like so many advances in science and scientific thinking, undermined the prevailing value structure. Photography may be seen as the first true substitute for experiential reality. The photograph gave the illusion that what was in the picture was real and by experiencing it one could experience truth itself. Not only that, but the photographers believed that what was true, or at least apparently so, was also relevant and interesting. Instead of attempting to understand these interpretations more fully and to either accept or expose them, the intellectual community shied away altogether. Writing about photographs was pretty much left to those who also made the pictures. At the beginning of this century Alfred Stieglitz attempted to change this, and in some measure during the years of his Photo-Secessionist organisation, he was strikingly successful However, beginning in the '20s when he sought to articulate his philosophy of photographic esthetics through his photographs which he called "equivalents," the world of self conscious artistic photography again closed. Unfortunately this turn to estheticism had the reverse effect of essentially turning off for several years a great number of people, including perceptive critics. I believe that even though this school of photographic thought continues, two essential changes have happened to alter the general critical situation today. The first is the continuous evolution of the journalistic or documentary realistic photograph which, since the '30s, has been typified by the work of Cartier Bresson and Walker Evans respectively. These artists have been generously promoted by major museums around the world and the clarity and apparent directness of their vision has liberated many from the prejudice of a narrow elitism for or against the medium. Their work, and that by the younger contemporaries who have followed them, has caused an enormous interest in the medium by critics and the public alike A second occurrence, less precise, is that the literature of the more esthetic side of the medium has increased over the years, especially since World War II, and so has the reservoir of rich substantive imagery; for instance, that by Minor White, Aaron Siskind, and Frederick Sommer. Perceptive critics, sensing a meaningful evolution which was seemingly occurring without them, have now begun to express a serious respect for the medium in spite of some early hesitancies and, indeed, even a continued hostility toward the work of the Stieglitzian school. The important point, however, is not the opinion of these critics, but the fact that they have joined a kind of literati which always existed in the most inner circles of the medium and thus have closed a gap and brought photography into the arena of public concern and opinion. Commercial dealers were quick to follow on board when it was discovered that the public's interest, once encourage, extended to the purchasing of actual images, and that this public which was being so impressed did not necessarily harbor the reservations of some of the critics, but tended to follow the guidance of the historical chroniclers who had identified the major in the development of the medium regardless of esthetic or stylistic persuasion. Collectors and curators are still largely following this age-old approach to self-confidence in such matters; that is to select acquisitions from the list of historically established figures indexed in the most respected nr widely read history texts. This situation should not surprise anyone who has similarly followed the rise in the postwar print market. These same issues and manifestations which have applied to critics and the public have attracted practitioners to the field. There are probably no more serious photographers working today than in the past, but through the vehicle of publication, of gallery and museum exhibition, their notoriety has in creased There used to be a strong sense of working in a precious, yet privileged vacuum. This situation has now been replaced with a certain pride in the medium itself, perhaps even a sense of political avant-gardism which is pleasantly combined with t h e first opportunity to receive some monetary reward for their efforts. But in spite of these positive manifestations the photographic community still harbors an apprehension about it all. I think this is nonsense and that the state of the art is only now approaching maturity. | https://newrepublic.com/article/92376/why-photography-now |
Who makes All-NBA First Team? | MMA Weekly Top ranked lightweight Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier reacted to Charles Oliveira capturing the 155-pound title at UFC 262 on Saturday. Oliveira was badly hurt by Michael Chandler in the first round of the main event title bout, but survived. In the opening moments of the second frame, Oliveira landed a left hand that sent Chandler crashing to the canvas. Chandler quickly got back to his feet but Oliveira continued to connect until Chandler was back down on the ground and the referee had no choice but to intervene. Following Oliveira's career-defining moment, Poirier congratulated the newly crowned champion and also sent a message to the defeated Chandler. "Congratulations @CharlesDoBronxs you earned that the hard way! Head up @MikeChandlerMMA highest of the highs and lowest of the lows," Poirier posted on Twitter. Conor McGregor addresses Charles Oliveira, teases hes next Congratulations @CharlesDoBronxs you earned that the hard way! Head up @MikeChandlerMMA highest of the highs and lowest of the lows. The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) May 16, 2021 Oliveira's path to a UFC title was record setting. Oliveira not only became the fighter with the most amount of fights before winning a title with 28, he also passed Donald Cerrone for the most finishes in UFC history. Poirier could have fought for the title, but the former interim champion opted to face Conor McGregor in a trilogy bout in the main event of UFC 264 on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas instead. | https://sports.yahoo.com/makes-nba-first-team-233400057.html?src=rss |
Is Matthew McConaughey getting more serious about a Texas gubernatorial run? | Axios The first line of the Axios Manifesto is "Audience First." That's why we created our unique Smart Brevity style to get you smarter, faster, on topics that matter. But it also means we won't shy away from important stories that are worthy of more detail and more of your time, like our Deep Dives, Axios Investigates and now this deeply reported series, "Off the rails. If you're in a hurry, check out the highlights:Episode 1: A premeditated lie lit the fireEpisode 2: Barbarians at the OvalEpisode 3: Descent into madnessEpisode 4: Trump turns on BarrEpisode 5: The secret CIA planEpisode 6: Last stand in GeorgiaEpisode 7: Trump turns on PenceEpisode 8: The siegeBonus episode: The craziest meeting of the Trump presidencyStay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeBeginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios special series takes you inside the collapse of a president.Our podcast on the series is called "How it happened: Trump's last stand." Episodes will be released each Monday, beginning on Jan. 18.Episode 1: A premeditated lie lit the fire Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesTrumps refusal to believe the election results was premeditated. He had heard about the red mirage the likelihood that early vote counts would tip more Republican than the final tallies and he decided to exploit it.Read the full story.Episode 2: Barbarians at the Oval Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesTrump stops buying what his professional staff are telling him, and increasingly turns to radical voices telling him what he wants to hear. Read the full story.Episode 3: Descent into madness Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe conspiracy goes too far. Trump's outside lawyers plot to seize voting machines and spin theories about communists, spies and computer software.Read the full story.Episode 4: Trump turns on Barr Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Drew Angerer, Pool/Getty ImagesTrump torches what is arguably the most consequential relationship in his Cabinet.Read the full story.Episode 5: The secret CIA plan Photo illustration: Ada Amer, Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty ImagesTrump vs. Gina The president becomes increasingly rash and devises a plan to tamper with the nation's intelligence command. Read the full story.Episode 6: Last stand in Georgia Photo illustration: Ada Amer/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer, Raymond Boyd/Getty ImagesGeorgia had not backed a Democratic presidential candidate since 1992 and Trump's defeat in this Deep South stronghold, and his reaction to that loss, would help cost Republicans the U.S. Senate as well. Georgia was Trump's last stand.Read the full story.Episode 7: Trump turns on Pence Photo illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios. Photos: Elijah Nouvelage, Alex Wong/Getty ImagesTrump believes the vice president can solve all his problems by simply refusing to certify the Electoral College results. It's a simple test of loyalty: Trump or the U.S. Constitution.Read the full story.Episode 8: The siege Photo illustration: Ada Amer/Axios. Photos: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty ImagesAn inside account of the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6 that ultimately failed to block the certification of the Electoral College. And, finally, Trump's concession.Read the full story.Bonus episode: Inside the craziest meeting of the Trump era Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Getty Images photos: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post, George Frey/BloombergIn this bonus edition, we take you back into the final weeks of the Trump presidency to one long, unhinged night a week before Christmas, when an epic, profanity-soaked standoff played out with profound implications for the nation.Read the full story.Episode 9: Trump's war with his generals Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesMonths after he left office, an important piece about Trump's final days as president began to emerge: His last-minute bid to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan and swaths of the Middle East, Africa and even Europe ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration and why he blinked.Read the full story.About the seriesOur reporting is based on interviews with current and former White House, campaign, government and congressional officials as well as eyewitnesses and people close to the president. Sources have been granted anonymity to share sensitive observations or details they would not be authorized to disclose. President Trump and other officials to whom quotes and actions have been attributed by others were provided the opportunity to confirm, deny or respond to reporting elements prior to publication. "Off the rails" is reported by White House reporter Jonathan Swan, with writing, reporting and research assistance by Zach Basu. It was edited by Margaret Talev and Mike Allen and copy edited by Eileen O'Reilly. Illustrations by Sarah Grillo, Ada Amer and Eniola Odetunde.More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free | https://news.yahoo.com/matthew-mcconaughey-getting-more-serious-191810594.html |
Why is the Queen asking people to plant trees? | PA Media The Queen has launched the Green Canopy scheme to encourage the public to plant more trees People are being urged to take part in a brand new scheme, fronted by the Queen, to help protect the environment. Communities, schools, gardeners and companies are being encouraged to plant trees as part of a special initiative called the Queen's Green Canopy scheme to mark Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee. People will be able to plant trees in lots of different places including their own gardens, in schools, or big cities as part of the scheme during tree-planting season from October 2021 through to the end of 2022, to mark her 70 years on the throne. The Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees around the world throughout her reign! Schools and community groups will be able to apply for three million free saplings from the Woodland Trust so they can take part in the project. People are being encouraged to plan their tree Jubilee projects over the summer and be ready for the start of the planting season in October, when they will be able to upload details and images showing where they've planted trees on an interactive Queen's Green Canopy map. Getty Images The Queen has planted lots and lots of trees throughout her reign including this one in Belfast back in 2014 The Prince of Wales joined the Queen for the first jubilee tree-planting in the grounds of Windsor earlier this year when the project was launched, where he encouraged people to plant what he called a "tree-bilee". "It is absolutely vital that more of the right species of trees are planted, in the right places, and that more woodlands, avenues, hedgerows and hedgerow trees and urban planting schemes are established, whilst ensuring that we also protect and sustain what we already have," he said. "Whether you are an individual hoping to plant a single sapling in your garden, a school or community group planting a tree, a council, charity or business intending to plant a whole avenue of trees or a farmer looking to create new hedgerows, everyone across the country can get involved." To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. How mass tree planting is helping the environment (Dec 2019) Trees play a really important role in our world today. The plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen into the air. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming and climate change, and trees can help to slow down their negative effects. Trees can also reduce wind speeds and cool the air around us as they lose moisture and reflect heat upwards from their leaves - and that's not all! The plants can help remove pollutants from the air, prevent flooding and soil erosion and boost wildlife. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/57141026 |
Who are the favorites in Western Conference? | Reuters After a mid-match wobble, Nadal turned up the heat in the decisive moments of his 57th meeting with top seed Djokovic - the pair's ninth in Rome - to secure the victory over the defending champion in two hours and 49 minutes. "I was lucky in some moments, especially against (Denis) Shapovalov," Nadal said, referring to the round of 16 match he won in a tiebreak in the decider. Nadal broke to go ahead 6-5 in a tight opening set and staved off a late comeback attempt from Djokovic to take the early advantage in the contest with a searing inside-out forehand that caught the Serbian off guard. | https://sports.yahoo.com/favorites-west-041600263.html?src=rss |
How did Covid slip through Taiwans gold standard defences? | A worsening coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan has raised urgent questions about how the virus slipped past Taiwans gold standard defences, and if the country can quickly return to a zero-Covid life. In 2020, the island state of 24 million people was producing extraordinary numbers: fewer than 1,000 cases, about 90% of them detected in recent arrivals, zero infection leaks from quarantine, a death toll of 12, and 253 days without a single local case. On Friday, the numbers turned when health authorities reported 29 local cases, followed by 180 on Saturday, 206 on Sunday, and 333 on Monday. Most are in the north, with large clusters in Taipei city and New Taipei city, where testing stations have reported 10% positivity rates. About 91% of Taiwans total local caseload has come in the past four days. The outbreak began in late April, connected to flight crews from the national carrier, China Airlines, and a Taoyuan airport Novotel, which was hosting both quarantining flight crews and Taiwanese flight enthusiasts who had booked in as part of a domestic tourism promotion. Both the airline and hotel have since been fined. The first cases were reported in two pilots on 20 April. Ten days later, the Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) announced an investigation into the possible risk of transmission among staff who had quarantined at the Novotel in the previous two weeks. The cases confirmed fears about the governments decision to steadily relax required quarantine time for flight crews, down to just three days by mid-April. By the time of the investigation many crew members had checked out and some were later found to have visited public venues while infectious. Dr Chiou Shu-ti, former health commissioner of Taipei, said authorities were playing with fire by relaxing the requirements while being complacent with testing of arrivals. By early May, 18 airline and hotel employees and 11 family members had tested positive, and soon cases emerged in counties without a known link to the airport or hotel. By Monday, there were cases in nine cities or counties, all reportedly the same UK variant of the virus. In response, the national and local governments have announced caps on gatherings, the closures of some businesses, public venues and schools, reduced non-Covid medical services, and tighter border restrictions. Residents are urged to increase hygiene and avoid travel. But the measures vary across Taiwan, and even the stricter rules in Taipei and New Taipei dont come close to a full lockdown. Taiwans health minister, Chen Shih-chung, acknowledged his intent was to allow businesses including indoor dining to keep operating, saying: The spirit of level three is to reduce the risks of coronavirus spread, to reduce the scale of any gathering. Dr Chiou, who said her history as a one-time political candidate had coloured responses to her advice, warned authorities against following the mitigation strategies of the UK or US instead of aiming for elimination. She called for an immediate nationwide quasi-lockdown (with government financial support for workers) and then mass testing. The [CECCs] restrictions will slow down the transmissions, sure but if they dont get to zero then after they relax the curve will go up again, she said. She said Taiwan had been stupid in focusing testing on people who presented with symptoms and also had a travel history or connection to a confirmed case, rather than one or the other. As of Monday, rapid testing was only established in Wanhua, meaning there were potentially many more cases undetected. Everyone knows that Covid-19 can spread before the onset of symptoms, she said. Chiou pointed to three recent mass travel events that could contribute to a spread but would not be detected yet: the 8-9 May mothers day weekend, last weekends high school entrance exams, and students returning to their home towns after universities switched to remote learning on Sunday. Hassan Vally, associate professor of public health at Melbournes La Trobe University, said after 16 months it still wasnt proven exactly what worked in terms of lockdowns but short sharp ones could be very effective if for no other reason that they just buy you a bit of time where things dont get worse while you assess the situation. Vally said Taiwan had the gold standard of responses in the beginning, and the high community cooperation with non-mandatory requests to stay home was a huge plus. Its effectively a lockdown without enforcing it, he said. The answer will probably be revealed in the next seven days. | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/17/how-did-covid-slip-through-taiwans-gold-standard-defences |
Will scholarships persuade Ohio parents to get their kids vaccinated? | Starting May 26, every Wednesday, the state will randomly draw a 12-17-year-old to win a scholarship for five weeks. The award will include tuition, room and board, and books to any state school in Ohio. An electronic portal will open to register on May 18. Following federal approval, children ages 12 to 15 began receiving their first dose of Pfizer vaccinations in Ohio on Thursday. Parents are vaccine-hesitant for many reasons -- there is no simple answer, said Gretchen Chapman, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies judgment and decisions in health. Chapman said along with the safety worries of their children, parents can also face barriers to vaccination such as easy access, transportation, taking days off from work to care for a child sick with side effects, and more. There are randomized experiments in the literature showing that monetary incentives do increase vaccination rates, said Chapman. So Id predict it will have a small effect (although well never know for sure because there no control group in Ohio).. Certainly money talks, said Eileen Anderson-Fye, director of Education, Bioethics and Medical Humanities, at Case Western Reserve Universitys School of Medicine. As a medical and psychological anthropologist, she studies how adolescents and young adults adapt to changes in their environments in ways that both advance and harm their well-being. As a parent of three daughters herself, Anderson-Fye said while she can understand some parents hesitancy, it was a no-brainer for her. I do a lot of international travel for my work in global health, in addition, to being very active in the community, Anderson-Fye said. So for me, I wanted to be vaccinated as soon as I could be. She noted while financial incentives for education could absolutely have an impact, adolescents themselves may still be ambivalent. One of the complications, when youre dealing with adolescents who are going through so much developmental change and coming into their own, is much different than taking your baby to be vaccinated, who has no choice, said Anderson-Fye. Anderson-Fye said the micro-culture in a students particular school or environment could profoundly affect adolescents thinking. At the end of the day, one of the things that Im seeing for adolescents that is so important, as with anything else, what their peers think matters a lot, said Anderson-Fye. Dr. Shelly Senders of Senders Pediatrics supports any initiative to get teens and preteens vaccinated so that they can go to school safely. The pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of children and adolescents, and the governors scholarship offer is a great carrot to encourage fence-sitters to get vaccinated, Snyder said. But he said factual information from trusted sources is more important in encouraging families to get vaccinated. We have found, however, that most politics are local, he said. Glitzy initiatives are fine but in most situations are not necessary. We have found that by providing thoughtful and evidence-based guidance in the context of a patient-provider relationship, most families are willing to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. | https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/05/will-scholarships-persuade-ohio-parents-to-get-their-kids-vaccinated.html |
Did Chris Olave secretly have Ohio State footballs greatest receiving season in 2020? | COLUMBUS, Ohio The college football world is well aware of Ohio State footballs 1-2 receiving punch. Pro Football Focus already said Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are the nations top two returning receivers. Most 2022 NFL mock drafts have both as first-round picks next April. Before we could completely turn the page to 2021 on Mondays Buckeye Talk podcast, we took one final look back at a 2020 season that was more special than we first realized. Wilson obviously took the leap expected after his promising freshman year. He turned 43 receptions into 723 yards and six touchdowns. If you stretch that over the full 15-game season OSU would have played if not for the pandemic, those numbers balloon to 80 receptions, 1,355 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bar none, that would rank among the greatest seasons ever for an Ohio State receiver. Except Olave would have been even better. Despite missing the Big Ten championship game, Olave led the Buckeyes in receptions (50), yards (729) and touchdowns (seven). So even if you chop off that missed game, his full-season totals would pro-rate to 100 receptions, 1,458 yards and 14 touchdowns. That reception total would have eclipsed Parris Campbells record of 90, set in 2018. The yards would have surpassed David Bostons record of 1,435, set in 1998. Terry Glenn would have held on to his touchdown record of 17, set in 1995. That phantom full season for Olave, though, with its across-the-board excellence, would stand above all others in Ohio State history. Obviously that is not how records work. Olave and Wilson should both have a full season to add to their legacies. Olave enters the season within reach of all of OSUs all-time records if he has a huge season. RECEPTIONS Leader: K.J. Hill 201 Olave: 111 (90 behind) RECEIVING YARDS Leader: Michael Jenkins 2,898 Olave: 1,775 (1,123 behind) RECEIVING YARDS Leader: David Boston 34 Olave: 22 (12 behind) If Olave were the only great receiver in this offense, that sort of monster season might be within reach. It could be considerably harder while sharing targets with a talent like Wilson. If youve never listened to Buckeye Talk, try it now. And subscribe to Buckeye Talk on any of these podcast platforms or wherever you listen to podcasts. Buckeye Talk on iTunes Buckeye Talk on Spotify Buckeye Talk on Google Play Fields Bears jersey: Ohio State football fans can purchase Justin Fields new Chicago Bears jersey here. Its available in white, blue and orange and in mens, womens and youth sizes. Theres also a cheaper T-shirt option. - Buy Buckeyes gear: Fanatics, Nike, Amazon, Lids More Buckeyes coverage Whats the deal with 2021 recruiting target J.T. Basketball sets conference opponents for 2021-22 season Tyreke Johnson, former five-star CB prospect, enters transfer portal | https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2021/05/did-chris-olave-secretly-have-ohio-state-footballs-greatest-receiving-season-in-2020.html |
Do the Cleveland Indians offensive woes run deeper than something even Owen Miller can solve? | CLEVELAND, Ohio In the last two weeks, infielder Owen Miller has 21 hits in 44 at-bats through 11 games for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. His hit total is higher than seven of the 13 active position players on the Cleveland Indians big league roster right now. Millers six extra-base hits would already rank tied for seventh on the team with shortstop Andres Gimenez in nearly half as many at-bats. Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti is not the only person taking note of the 24-year-olds rapid development. Miller has seven multi-hit games including five starts where hes collected three hits each. Someone asked me this morning, Hey, is Owen Miller OK? Antonetti said Sunday. Im like, I think so. Why, what happened? They said, He only got two hits last night. Millers hot start has led to the inevitable speculation that he could soon find himself heading to Cleveland in hopes of injecting some life into an offense that is struggling to get runners on base at times, much less push runs across the plate. While Antonetti acknowledged Millers very productive offensive approach at the outset of the minor league season, he also recognized that bringing him along at this point requires a position to become available at the big league level. Miller has seen time defensively at every infield position on the diamond, including his natural shortstop and one game at first base. Owens doing everything he can to take advantage of the opportunity he has and prepare himself for that major-league opportunity when its there, Antonetti said. But promoting Miller right now feels almost like slapping a Band-Aid on a bigger problem, a problem that might go beyond the current composition of the clubs major league roster. Following Sundays 3-2 loss to Seattle in which the Indians went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, manager Terry Francona said some of the teams offensive shortcomings have to do with youth. At 27.7 years, the Indians active roster is the youngest in MLB ahead of Detroit and Seattle. That creates the issue of inexperienced players trying to do too much at the plate instead of sticking to their game plans. Were trying to hit too many pitches, Francona said. Sometimes youve got to have a plan and stick to it. You cant hit everything. As the Indians work through these growing pains, getting even younger seems counter-intuitive. The Indians are languishing in the doldrums of a league dominated by the three true outcomes of walk, strikeout or home run in the preponderance of plate appearances. Meanwhile, some of Clevelands minor league affiliates are flourishing offensively after a dozen games each. The Indians .208 team batting average is second-worst in the American League, just ahead of the Mariners (.205) and theyve scored the third-fewest runs (151) of any team in the AL. Clevelands 83 weighted runs created plus (wRC+) is 17% below league average and only slightly better than last-place Detroit (82). But affiliates such as the Clippers, who rank seventh out of 20 teams in the Triple-A East Division with a .324 batting average on balls in play, and the Double-A Akron Rubberducks who rank sixth in the Northeast Division with a .396 team slugging percentage, are finding ways to put runs on the board. In Low-A Lynchburg, the Hillcats lead the East Division in nearly every offensive category with an .828 OPS and 90 runs scored in 12 games. The club is averaging 10.7 hits per contest. Team RUNS/G AVG OPS Cleveland (MLB) 4.0 .209 .662 Columbus (AAA) 4.6 .243 .751 Akron (AA) 5.4 .245 .716 Lake County (High-A) 4.1 .235 .647 Lynchburg (Low-A) 7.5 .299 .828 The difference is a matter of approach. At the big league level, teams and players are ultimately going to strive for what generates runs and what prevents runs, because that plays a bigger part in how players get compensated. Based upon the current environment, its still a lot easier to hit home runs to score runs than it is to string a bunch of singles together, Antonetti said. Some of that is because of the advances in pitching. When you look at the quality of stuff that is showing up on major league pitching mounds every night, its pretty clear that pitchers have never been better. Combine that with the way teams have gotten inventive with deploying those pitching strategies and pitching resources, it just provides so many advantages for pitchers right now that its really difficult to string a bunch of hits together in a row, Antonetti said, So therefore, the best way to score runs is still to find a way to hit the ball over the fence, and until we change some of that and change some of those underlying dynamics, its gonna be hard. Antonetti said hed like to get back to seeing more batted balls put in play and more action on the field, but the greater conversation that surrounds the issue is creating incentives for players and teams to do that. So, even bringing a guy with Millers exceptional bat-to-ball skills up to the big leagues wont make much of a difference unless you have an entire roster of guys who care more about getting on base 2-3 times a game than bashing their way toward their next contract. Antonetti has voiced his support of Major League Baseballs ongoing efforts to come up with ways to balance the scales between run prevention and run creation. The advantages that pitchers have right now combined with the offensive approach has skewed things more favorably toward pitching, Antonetti said. I think were seeing that play out. Antonetti said the league is actively trying to shape what the future of the game will look like with experimental rules throughout different levels of minor league baseball. The hope is that as some of those changes are adopted, the balance shifts back away from pitching and more toward the center, where run creators are not at a disadvantage. I dont think its great for the industry and I dont think its a product our fans want to see when we have more strikeouts than hits. - New Indians face masks for sale: Heres where you can buy Cleveland Indians-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All MLB proceeds donated to charity. Podcast | https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2021/05/do-the-cleveland-indians-offensive-woes-run-deeper-than-something-even-owen-miller-can-solve.html |
Will the versatile Kadarius Toney be a fantasy stud in New York? | MMA Weekly Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman suffered a horrific leg injury in the first exchange in his UFC 261 rematch against Uriah Hall on Saturday. Reminiscent of former middleweight champion Anderson Silva's leg injury against him at UFC 168 in 2013, Weidman's leg snapped when Hall checked a leg kick. Weidman didn't realize that he was so badly injured until he tried to step back and put weight on the leg. He immediately fell to the canvas in agony and disbelief. He was removed from the Octagon on a stretch after his leg had been stabilized. During the UFC 261 Post-fight Press conference, UFC president Dana White gave an update on Weidman's condition. The former champion was transported to a Jacksonville, Fla. hospital and was being prepped for surgery on Sunday. Weidman had the surgery and is now recovering. His wife, Marivi, gave a post-surgery update on her husband via instagram. "Well that was horrible. Freak things happen in life and plans get crushed. Its been a lonnnggg day but so happy to finally see this man of mine post surgery. Everything went well thank you Lord! Very thankful for the medical staff, UFC family @danawhite @reedharrisufc#allieraimondo, our management team @vaynersports@sarahzemonek and our family and friends here rallying to help with the kids," she posted on Sunday. "My heart breaks for my husband because I know the work and dedication that he puts into his training everyday and the great man that he is, so I only want the best for him. While this absolutely sucks in the moment and for some weeks to come, we are completely overwhelmed by the love and support we have far and wide and are very aware how blessed we are. All of that overpowers the awfulness of this situation. We are blown away by our friends and family offering to hop on flights to come help us without hesitation. We are so grateful and love you all!! Its been a crazy year so far but us Weidmans are a force and covered in Grace and Mercy everyday! We were reminded this year how precious each day is and I am so thankful to be spending another day on earth next to my love even if its in a hospital room far from home. #teamweidman," read her post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marivi Weidman (@mrsweidman) Watch Anthony Smith's live reaction to Chris Weidman's broken leg (Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube) | https://sports.yahoo.com/versatile-kadarius-toney-fantasy-stud-032458503.html?src=rss |
How can Canada prevent a fourth COVID-19 wave? | Open this photo in gallery People get the COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile clinic for members of First Nations and their partners in Montreal on April 30, 2021. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press Its the first spike in numbers that Canadians will want to see. In the past four months, almost 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were delivered to Canada. In the next two months, that number is expected to more than triple. The upward swing in shipments paves the way for provinces and territories to dramatically increase the speed and scale of their vaccination campaigns. On Thursday and Friday, several provinces moved up their timelines and opened bookings for younger groups. The latest rules by province Whats changed is the massive increase in vaccines in the next few weeks, Major-General Dany Fortin said this week. After months of supply disruptions, the latest numbers from the federal government show that by the first week of June, enough vaccine doses are expected to arrive in Canada to cover the first shots for all eligible Canadians. By the end of the same month, the government figures show Canada expects to have enough vaccine to also cover the second shot for about 17 million people. The federal government has released limited information about the delivery of vaccines in the summer. However, it says that by the end of September, Canada will have received a total of at least 100 million doses. Based on that, The Globe and Mail estimates that by the end of July, the country should receive enough doses for all eligible people to be fully vaccinated. When your wait for the shot will likely end Based on publicly available information from the federal government, The Globe crunched the numbers to estimate when you will get your shots. Because little has been disclosed about the deliveries from Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine, estimates are conservatively based on two-doses. As of April 29, the federal government had distributed 14.7 million doses. By early June, Canada should receive about 33 million doses, enough for everyone eligible to get their first shot. * Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. By the end of July, Canada should receive about 65 million doses, enough for all second-shots. By the end of September, Canada is expecting to receive at least 100 million doses. * So far Health Canada has approved vaccines for people 16 and over. MARIEKE WALSH AND JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA When your wait for the shot will likely end Based on publicly available information from the federal government, The Globe crunched the numbers to estimate when you will get your shots. Because little has been disclosed about the deliveries from Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine, estimates are conservatively based on two-doses. As of April 29, the federal government had distributed 14.7 million doses. By early June, Canada should receive about 33 million doses, enough for everyone eligible to get their first shot. * Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. By the end of July, Canada should receive about 65 million doses, enough for all second-shots. By the end of September, Canada is expecting to receive at least 100 million doses. * So far Health Canada has approved vaccines for people 16 and over. MARIEKE WALSH AND JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA When your wait for the shot will likely end Based on publicly available information from the federal government, The Globe crunched the numbers to estimate when you will get your shots. Because little has been disclosed about the deliveries from Johnson & Johnsons single-dose vaccine, estimates are conservatively based on two-doses. As of April 29, the federal government had distributed 14.7 million doses. By the end of September, Canada is expecting to receive at least 100 million doses. By early June, Canada should receive about 33 million doses, enough for everyone eligible to get their first shot. * By the end of July, Canada should receive about 65 million doses, enough for all second-shots. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. * So far Health Canada has approved vaccines for people 16 and over. MARIEKE WALSH AND JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GOVERNMENT OF CANADA So far, Health Canada has only approved vaccines for people 16 and older, meaning 31.6 million people are eligible. The first phase of Canadas vaccine rollout in the winter was punctuated by supply disruptions that led to a stumbling start. The risk for more delays was underscored on Friday with the news that Health Canada is stopping the distribution of the first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over quality concerns with part of the manufacturing process. The federal regulator says its seeking more information from the company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ensure the vaccine meets quality, safety and efficacy standards. No time frame was given for a decision from Health Canada. Despite that uncertainty, officials are more confident of their projections for Canadas vaccine rollout because most of it depends on Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Canada has bought 129.5 million doses of approved vaccines Health Canada has authorized the use of four COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government says at least 100 million of the doses will arrive in Canada by September. Thats a drop from what was previously committed, but still ensures at least 50 million people can be fully vaccinated. The age eligibility rules for the vaccines mean that so far just 31.6 million of Canadas 38 million population canget their shots. VACCINE (type) DOSAGE Pfizer/BioNTech (mRNA) 48 Moderna (mRNA) 44 Oxford-AstraZeneca (Adenovirus vector)* 23.9 Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (Adenovirus vector) 10 *This includes the vaccines that Canada bought through COVAX and from the Serum Institute of India. MARIEKE WALSH AND JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: Public Services and Procurement Canada Canada has bought 129.5 million doses of approved vaccines Health Canada has authorized the use of four COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government says at least 100 million of the doses will arrive in Canada by September. Thats a drop from what was previously committed, but still ensures at least 50 million people can be fully vaccinated. The age eligibility rules for the vaccines mean that so far just 31.6 million of Canadas 38 million population can get their shots. VACCINE (type) DOSAGE Pfizer/BioNTech (mRNA) 48 Moderna (mRNA) 44 Oxford-AstraZeneca (Adenovirus vector)* 23.9 Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (Adenovirus vector) 10 *This includes the vaccines that Canada bought through COVAX and from the Serum Institute of India. MARIEKE WALSH AND JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: Public Services and Procurement Canada Canada has bought 129.5 million doses of approved vaccines Health Canada has authorized the use of four COVID-19 vaccines. The federal government says at least 100 million of the doses will arrive in Canada by September. Thats a drop from what was previously committed, but still ensures at least 50 million people can be fully vaccinated. The age eligibility rules for the vaccines mean that so far just 31.6 million of Canadas 38 million population can get their shots. VACCINE (type) DOSAGE Pfizer/BioNTech (mRNA) 48 Moderna (mRNA) 44 Oxford-AstraZeneca (Adenovirus vector)* 23.9 Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (Adenovirus vector) 10 *This includes the vaccines that Canada bought through COVAX and from the Serum Institute of India. MARIEKE WALSH AND JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: Public Services and Procurement Canada Pfizer is supplying 61 per cent of Canadas shots until the end June and has been the most reliable vaccine maker: Its deliveries have arrived complete and on time each week since February. Moderna has not delivered a shipment on time since March 11, but Maj.-Gen. Fortin said Thursday the government is negotiating a more consistent schedule. Story continues below advertisement With those two vaccines alone, Canada expects to receive 92 million doses by the end of September. However, uncertainty persists in the delivery schedule for AstraZeneca. On Friday, in a statement to The Globe, the government downgraded estimates for the total number of doses expected by the end of September, to 100 million. It previously expected all 125.9 million. The new number is more than enough vaccines for every Canadian to be fully vaccinated, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said. Proportion of population who received at least one dose of vaccine, by age group Data as of April 24 0.17% Dose 0-17 Male 0.26 Female First 6.30 Second 18-29 13.90 9.55 30-39 17.80 17.33 40-49 25.65 31.99 50-59 38.14 59.38 60-69 63.36 83.81 70-79 84.73 88.27 80+ 87.64 JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA Proportion of population who received at least one dose of vaccine, by age group Data as of April 24 Dose 0.17% Male 0-17 0.26 Female First Second 6.30 18-29 13.90 9.55 30-39 17.80 17.33 40-49 25.65 31.99 50-59 38.14 59.38 60-69 63.36 83.81 70-79 84.73 88.27 80+ 87.64 JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL SOURCE: PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA Proportion of population who received at least one dose of vaccine, by age group Data as of April 24 0.17% Dose 0-17 Male 0.26 Female 6.30 First Second 18-29 13.90 9.55 30-39 17.80 17.33 40-49 25.65 31.99 50-59 38.14 59.38 60-69 63.36 83.81 70-79 84.73 88.27 80+ 87.64 JEREMY AGIUS/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA The overall increase in supply means that concerns about what might limit the success of Canadas vaccination campaign shift from supply to vaccine hesitancy. The barrier to increasing numbers will be whether people want the vaccine. Right now, the barrier is whether theyre eligible and whether we have enough vaccines, said Caroline Colijn, a mathematics professor and Canada 150 Research Chair at Simon Fraser University. Epidemiologists and infectious disease experts told The Globe there is a right way and a wrong way to get through this next phase of the pandemic. One leads to a summer that is similar to, or better, than last year, when patios were open and haircuts were an option. The other leads to a fourth wave that would challenge the latest one. I expect that there will be a fourth wave, but how severe that fourth wave will be depends on a lot of different factors. In the worst case scenario, its as bad and maybe even worse than what were experiencing now, said Jane Heffernan, director of the Centre for Disease Modelling at York University. Story continues below advertisement In the best-case scenario, its so minimal that we will barely see it. To avoid the worst-case scenario will require most eligible Canadians to get their shots and for case counts to drop dramatically. For people in parts of the country with rigid restrictions such as school closings and stay-at-home orders that also means keeping those rules until some time in June, experts suggest. If people can stick with the restrictions for the next six weeks I think we can get to a summer that looks like last summer, said Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist and member of Canadas COVID-19 immunity task force. Vaccine uptake is one key in determining how soon restrictions can start to lift. Experts are still grappling with unknowns, including how well vaccines will defend against variants, and how much more transmissible variants will be when contacts among people increase. However, modelling by Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Colijn shows that virtually all adults need to get the shot to make up for the fact that children and most teenagers dont yet have access to vaccines. The youngest people who can get a Health Canada authorized shot are 16, and their only option is Pfizer. The shots from Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have been approved for people 18 and older. Vaccine makers are working on trials for younger people, and Health Canada is reviewing an application from Pfizer to include people as young as 12. If younger people become eligible, then Dr. Colijn and Dr. Heffernan say that the pressure on adults will ease. Story continues below advertisement Surveys by the Angus Reid Institute show the level of vaccine hesitancy is dropping in Canada, but its still too high. Results released on Monday show that 10 per cent of Canadians will not get vaccinated and six per cent are unsure, according to the institutes research. We want to be able to have a birthday party, with other people in our house. We want to go to a club. We want to go to work, Dr. Colijn said. For that I think we are going to need more like 90 to 95 per cent coverage. As the country navigates this latest phase of the coronavirus pandemic, Britains experience is instructive, Dr. McGeer said. Like Canada, Britain opted to delay second doses of COVID-19 vaccines and faced a surge driven by B.1.1.7, a faster-spreading and potentially deadlier variant of the coronavirus. Vaccination rates in OECD countries Doses per 100 people Canada G7 countries OECD countries April 29 Jan. 29 120 Israel has maintained the highest rate of vaccinations 100 Chile saw one of the largest increases over the past three months 80 U.S. Britain 60 Canada 34.8 40 Germany , Italy France 20 Japan 2.5 0 Jeremy Agius/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: OUR WORLD IN DATA Vaccination rates in OECD countries Doses per 100 people Canada G7 countries OECD countries April 29 Jan. 29 120 Israel has maintained the highest rate of vaccinations 100 Chile saw one of the largest increases over the past three months 80 U.S. Britain 60 Canada 34.8 40 Germany , Italy France 20 Japan 2.5 0 Jeremy Agius/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: OUR WORLD IN DATA Vaccination rates in OECD countries Doses per 100 people Canada G7 countries OECD countries April 29 Jan. 29 120 100 Israel has maintained the highest rate of vaccinations Chile saw one of the largest increases over the past three months 80 U.S. Britain 60 Canada 34.8 40 Germany , Italy France 20 Japan 2.5 0 Jeremy Agius/THE GLOBE AND MAIL,SOURCE: OUR WORLD IN DATA The U.K. now is coming out of lockdown and seems to be quite stable, Dr. McGeer said. So I think theres every reason to hope that things are going to get much better. Britain, a country of 67 million, saw infection rates skyrocket in December and January as B.1.1.7 gained a foothold, outcompeting older versions. In early January, Britains seven-day average of new daily cases peaked at more than 60,000. Now that average is sitting around 2,400 per day, or about 35 new cases a day per million residents. Canada, by contrast is logging an average of 211 new cases per million a day. COVID-19 deaths in the United Kingdom have plummeted as well, from an average of about 1,300 a day in the third week of January to 16 per day now. Story continues below advertisement Much of the international attention on Britains success has focused on its vaccination campaign, which has been among the fastest in the world. But British experts say the steep decline in cases had more to do with the imposition of one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world than it does with vaccines, although there are encouraging signs the shots are contributing now. The initial drop-off in January and February was completely lockdown-driven, said Caroline Walters, an infectious disease modeller at Imperial College London who is working on Englands REACT study, a research project that involves about 150,000 people taking an at-home COVID-19 test every month to measure community prevalence of the coronavirus. The REACT data showed infection rates plummeting in all age groups, Dr. Walters said, despite jabs going mostly to the elderly in the early weeks of the campaign. Now, 65 per cent of adults in England have received a first dose and 27 per cent have received a second. The U.K. waited until infection rates were low and first-dose vaccine coverage significant before it began, slowly, to relax restrictions. In England, in-person schooling resumed on March 8. Non-essential retailers and outdoor dining reopened about three weeks ago, and many other restrictions remain. Emily Cameron-Blake, a research assistant at Oxford Universitys Blavatnik School of Government, is part of a team that developed a stringency index to compare the public-health measures countries have used to control the coronavirus. In general, she said, countries that have imposed more stringent restrictions faster and for longer have had the most success in controlling COVID-19. Britain is just beginning to test those questions. Story continues below advertisement Its too soon to see with the vaccines, to be honest, Ms. Cameron-Blake said. Ms. Cameron-Blake, who is originally from Prince Edward Island, will be able to judge how the reopening goes in her adopted city of Edinburgh. Scotland waited even longer than England to begin reopening. Patios at pubs and non-essential retailers were permitted to open again just this past week, on April 26. By that point, Scotland had vaccinated more than 60 per cent of its adult population with a first dose and more than 25 per cent with a second, and effectively suppressed the virus. On Friday, Scotland, which has a population of about 5.5 million, reported just 191 new cases of COVID-19, with a test positivity rate of 1.1 per cent. The Greater Toronto Area, with a population only slightly larger than Scotlands, reported 2,677 cases on Friday, and about a third of all adults vaccinated with at least a first dose. Know what is happening in the halls of power with the days top political headlines and commentary as selected by Globe editors (subscribers only). Sign up today. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-how-canada-can-prevent-a-fourth-covid-19-wave/ |
What picks do the Cleveland Browns have in the 2021 NFL Draft? | CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns began the 2021 NFL Draft with nine picks, and used their first one -- 26th overall -- on Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II on Thursday. On Friday, though, the Browns made a deal, moving up in the second round from 59 to 52 to grab Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. In the deal with the Panthers, the Browns also received the 113th pick (fourth round) while giving up 59 (second round) and 89 (third round). The Browns now have three picks in Saturdays fourth round. Here is a round-by-round look at what picks the Browns have left following the trade with the Panthers: 2021 NFL DRAFT First round: 26 - Greg Newsome II, Northwestern, CB. Second round: 52 - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame. Third round: 91. Fourth round: 101, 113, 132. Fifth round: 169. Sixth round: 211. Seventh round: 257. - Browns playoffs shirts, hats for sale: Heres where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team qualifying for the 2020 NFL playoffs. CB Greg Newsome II selected at No. Berry and wife Brittan welcome third child, Eden Ruth Berry Browns most important draft pick this century was three years ago: Pluto Mayfield throwing to Landry, Higgins, others in south Florida this week NFL Draft 2021 preview: Everything to know for the Browns, Ohio State and Cleveland | https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/05/what-picks-do-the-cleveland-browns-have-in-the-2021-nfl-draft.html |
Who is Pittsburgh Getting in Pat Freiermuth? | The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth in the second round, making him the third Nittany Lion picked in the 2021 NFL Draft. Freiermuth became the fifth Penn State tight end to be drafted since 2010 and joined Mike Gesicki as a second-round pick. The 6-5, 250-pound Friermuth was the third-ranked tight end in the draft, according to NFL Draft Bible. Though he dislikes the nickname "Baby Gronk," Freiermuth certainly draws some parallels, particularly as a downfield threat. Here is NFL Draft Bible's scouting report, along with an assessment from former NFL head coach Jim Mora. NFL Draft Bible "Despite all the hype surrounding 'Baby Gronk,' the most exciting part of his evaluation is that there is great room for improvement. His long, lean, frame has yet to fill out, as Freiermuth owns great height and athleticism, to go along with excellent quickness. When he tucks the ball and lowers his shoulders, Freiermuth has shown the propensity to run defenders over with a full-steam-ahead running style after the catch; he has flashed a devastating stiff arm, too. "His size also makes him a significant red-zone target. That being said, while hes an adequate blocker, Freiermuth isnt a killer seeking out contact at the second level; he has bypassed some opportunities to make his presence more known. "His route-running has improved but remains a bit rough around the edges. He has been timed at 4.72 in the 40, with a4.17 short-shuttle time, has a max squat of 575 pounds and 354-pound power clean. The Massachusetts native was used in an array of ways during his time in Happy Valley, often lining up in the H-back position. "Stories about his intense matchups during practice with all-star linebacker Micah Parsons have become folklore. Now, he needs to start filling out his frame and getting stronger in order to reach elite level. If Freiermuth reaches his full potential, he owns All-Pro potential at the NFL level." Jim Mora "He has the size, he has the stature and he has the length. He's what the NFL is looking for right now in a tight end, and that's a mismatch down the field on defensive players. Pat is a guy who causes defensive coordinators headaches, because you have to figure out a way to cover him. If you play man coverage on him, the defensive backs aren't big enough, and linebackers and defensive ends aren't fast enough or athletic enough. These guys are rare and so valued. He's a guy who's going to create problems." Read more Micah Parsons has early 'All-Pro potential' Odafe Oweh ready to take the NFL by storm Shaka Toney could be a late-round steal | https://www.si.com/college/pennstate/football/penn-states-pat-freiermuth-in-the-nfl-draft |
Is QB Mills The Right Call for Texans Future? | With the 67th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans drafted Stanford quarterback Davis Mills. With the 67th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans drafted Stanford quarterback Davis Mills. A 2020 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Mills stands tall at 6'4" 225 pounds. He possess a big and accurate arm, can take a hit from inside the pocket and is tough to bring down. He can even do a pretty decent Nick Foles impression when acting as a receiver. Given the uncertainty surrounding Deshaun Watson's future and that both Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Finley are on short-term deals, the Texans have taken Mills sliding as an opportunity to look to the future. Frankly, no. It's also one that does come with questions knowing the immediate need at a multitude of positions. There were a number of players still available that would have been able to contribute immediately, like Joseph Ossai, Milton Williams, Elijah Molden and Josh Palmer. Fellow standouts like Dyami Brown and Alim McNiel and Ifeatu Melifonwu are other high-end players that could be starters Week 1. The Texans need options at corner. Their defensive front is a mismatched patchwork of short-term free agents. They need to upgrade a wide receiver after losing DeAndre Hopkins in 2020 and Will Fuller in 2021. As such, if you're grading this pick with the short-term lense, it's somewhere around a D. Keeping the future in mind the Texans front office clearly knows that 2021 is something of a tester year. Come 2022, they will have first and second-round picks once again, they'll have a better idea of the type of team head coach David Culley wants to build, and the future of Watson should be figured out. If Watson is traded, one could be looking at multiple Day 1 and 2 selections come next April. Selecting Mills now gives him a year to sit and learn from QB coach Pep Hamilton, before potentially starting with a more rounded and settled team next season. With this in mind, we'll up it ... and go for a C-. Yes, he has potential. That's where we will put our hopes. | https://www.si.com/nfl/texans/news/is-stanfords-mills-the-right-call-for-texans-future |
How do I check my tires air pressure? | Ensuring your tire is properly inflated is important for a number of reasons. Not only will it result in a smoother ride, but proper tire pressure also results in, for example, better fuel efficiency and smoother steering. Both Michelin and Bridgestone, two major tire manufacturers, recommend you check your tires PSI (pounds per square inch) every month to ensure they are properly inflated. On its website, Bridgestone offers a comprehensive and useful guide to checking tire pressure. It recommends you start by grabbing a piece of paper and mapping out your vehicle, identifying the front and rear left and right wheels. Then, using your owners manual or the information located in the door jab on the drivers side of your vehicle, mark down what the recommended PSI is for your front and rear tires. Both companies advise you check your tire pressures only when they are cold, meaning they have not been used in at least last three hours or driven less than 1.6 kilometres. Begin by removing the valve cap from the tire you are checking and placing the pressure gauge on the valve and pressing down until the hissing sound stops. The gauge will then give you a PSI reading that you should write on the piece of paper next to the corresponding tire. You then repeat the process on your vehicles other tires (and dont forget to check you spare). Michelin recommends that you invest in a good tire pressure gauge. Depending on the model you purchase, the pressure gauge will either give a digital readout or, in the case of the pencil-shaped gauge, will feature a bar that moves upward with measurement units etched on its side. Once you complete all the wheels, you can use an air compressor to fill your vehicles tires to the correct PSI. If you do not have one at home, many gas stations have them available for public use for a fee. You fill each tire by placing the hose over the valve stem and pressing the hoses lever. Once you fill the tires you should check your PSI again. If you over filled your tires, you simply let some air escape and then recheck the reading. Do not drive on overinflated tires, Bridgestone warns, as overinflation can result in decreased traction, premature wear and decreased impact absorption. One note: if you drove more than the recommended 1.6 km to the gas station to fill your tires, the wheels wont be cold. Bridgestone recommends you set their pressure to 4 psi (14 kPa) above the recommended cold inflation pressure and then you recheck your tire pressure once they are cold again. | https://www.thestar.com/autos/advice/2021/05/01/how-do-i-check-my-tires-air-pressure.html |
Who is Robert Mueller? | Sign Up For Newsletters It's Biden's speech, but Harris and Pelosi also made history Full text: Biden's speech before a joint session of Congress Biden calls Capitol riot "a test of whether our democracy could survive" Biden says it's "within our power" to end cancer CBS News poll: Most viewers approve of Biden's speech GOP Sen. Tim Scott accuses Biden and Democrats of divisiveness Biden declares "it's good to be back" in speech that highlights ambitious plans Police discover possible human smuggling ring in Houston Navy SEAL teams plagued by "lawlessness" within their ranks Pentagon halts border wall construction paid for with defense funds U.S. investigates suspected energy attack near White House U.S. withdrawal puts freedoms for Afghan women in peril Vanessa Guilln reported sexual harassment before her death: report What's in Biden's $3.5 trillion plan to tax the rich U.S. restricting travel from India amid raging COVID outbreak President Trump's Justice Department has appointed a special counsel -- former FBI Director Robert Mueller. President Trump's Justice Department has appointed a special counsel -- former FBI Director Robert Mueller. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On | https://www.cbsnews.com/video/who-is-robert-mueller/ |
Why would Google suddenly need to know my birthday? | I have had a Google account for many years. I appreciate any enlightening information you may have on this subject! Anne Kuck, Bothell A: I havent found a legal requirement for Google to ask for your birthday. But heres what Google support says: When you sign up for a Google Account, you may be asked to add your birthday. Knowing your birthday helps us use age-appropriate settings for your account. For example, minors may see a warning when we think theyve found a site they may not want to see. If youre like me, you may not want to give up personal information. Fortunately, theres no checking on the date you enter, so feel free to get creative. Ive used both for several years now with no apparent conflicts but since upgrading to version 2004 of Windows 10 Home edition, Ive recently encountered something going on. While working to resolve a first-time Malwarebytes problem with its license server, they had me remove Norton to see if it was all of a sudden interfering. I did so but the Malwarebytes problem remains. I then reinstalled Norton but first they specifically said to remove Malwarebytes. I did so successfully but when I then reinstalled Malwarebytes, the license server problem still exists. Malwarebytes told me I dont need to have Norton since Malwarebytes does it all. Ive double-checked my M/B license key & ID and both are currently valid. M/B is still working this issue. Advertising But since both products have been working together for a long time AND since I had major problems with the Windows 10 version 2004 upgrade (the O/S was reinstalled three times), Im currently blaming any anomalies on this upgrade. All my Google search results say the software should exist together but the dates on these are 2019 and earlier. Ted Landreth, Sammamish A: Im not aware of any conflicts between Norton 360 and Malwarebytes, though if youre running real-time protection in both programs that could result in conflicts. And generally its not a good idea to run two programs that are trying to detect viruses. They can potentially see each others actions as indications of a virus or other malware. My suggestion is to at least temporarily uninstall Norton 360, then reinstall Malwarebytes. If everything goes fine and you still feel you need additional anti-virus protection try Windows Defender. Ive experienced no problems running the two programs together. Ive inquired at Geek Squad and they tell me it would require hacking, which is against their company policy. Karen Lund A: Actually, if all you want is the files on the drive you should be able to get at them without hacking. Just remove the drive from the server and then use a SATA-USB adapter to plug it into your computer. As long as the drive is not encrypted, that should do the trick. If the drive is encrypted, however, youd need the decryption key before you could access the data. As for computer help for seniors regardless of income in King County I suggest contacting Komputer Enthusiasts of Greater Seattle (KEGS) at www.kegs.org. They are currently conducting meetings over Zoom. | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/why-would-google-suddenly-need-to-know-my-birthday/ |
Who will get zapped when Ohio redraws congressional maps? | WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ten years ago, a small group of Ohio Republicans huddled in a Columbus hotel room they called the bunker with census data and a mapmaking program to redraw Ohios congressional maps to their partys maximum advantage. In a state where the Democratic share of the presidential vote hasnt fallen below 40 percent since George McGoverns 1972 loss to Richard Nixon, Republicans left Democrats with just 25 percent of the states 16 congressional seats. When redistricting begins again later this year, Democrats hope that a new map-drawing process approved by Ohio voters in 2018 as a way to eliminate gerrymandered districts will bring the states congressional seat ratio more in line with the proportion of the states Democratic voters. Because Ohios population hasnt grown as quickly as other states, the Census Bureau announced Monday the states congressional seats will be reduced to 15 for the 2022 elections, as more populous parts of the country gain seats. While political analysts expect the new rules will provide a more regular shape to some of Ohios most peculiarly configured districts - such as the duck-shaped 4th district represented by Champaign Countys Jim Jordan - they expect Republicans will still find a way to stack the deck in their favor. The stakes for doing so are high, as every congressional seat matters to Republicans in Washington who are eager to regain House of Representatives control in the 2022 election. The new Ohio rules allow the states GOP-controlled legislature to approve temporary congressional maps that would be good for just four years by a simple majority if the bipartisan procedure set forth by voters doesnt produce a consensus map. Thats what many political operatives predict will happen. The current gerrymandered map of Ohio's congressional districts, which include some oddly shaped ones. (Rich Exner, cleveland.com) Dont bet on Democrats gaining seats University of Virginia political analyst Kyle Kondik, an Ohio native who serves as managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball, anticipates that three safe Democratic seats will be created in the redistricting process - one centered in Cleveland, another centered in Columbus, and a third centered in Cincinnati - with Republicans continuing to hold their current 12 seats. I think, with the way Ohio is now, a fair map would probably be 9-6 Republican, or 10-5 Republican, but I would expect Republicans to probably have more of an advantage despite this new system, Kondik recently told the Cleveland Club of Washington. Kondik and other political prognosticators anticipate dismantling of the 13th Congressional District seat that Niles-area Democrat Tim Ryan will leave to run for the U.S. Senate, with much of its turf absorbed by districts to the north and south now represented by Republicans Dave Joyce of Bainbridge Township (14th district) and Bill Johnson of Marietta (6th district). When it was first drawn, it was drawn to essentially be a safe Democratic seat, taking in a bunch of Democratic voters in Northeast Ohio, Kondik says of Ryans district. He said Republican former President Donald Trumps 2020 performance in the district indicates its really not even that safe a Democratic seat anymore. But it will probably be ripped apart in in the redistricting process. A map of the Ohio's 13th Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat Tim Ryan. Kapturs district a likely target Baldwin-Wallace University political scientist Thomas Sutton and others expect Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kapturs snake on the lake 9th district will be split up as well, with all its Cuyahoga County portions absorbed by the 11th district that Democrat Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights represented before becoming U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Its remaining lakefront turf could go into nearby districts represented by Republicans Jordan, Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River (16th district) and Bob Latta of Bowling Green (5th district). Republicans drew the district along Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo a decade ago as a way to force out Kaptur or former Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, whom Kaptur bested in a 2012 Democratic primary, when Ohio lost two congressional seats after the 2010 Census. The 2012 remap also put former Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton of Copley Township into the same GOP-leaning district as former Republican Rep. Jim Renacci for a contest Renacci won. Gonzalez now represents that district. To safeguard Republican-held districts in the Franklin County area, the remap put a big chunk of the countys Democratic voters into a new 3rd district that was won by Democrat Joyce Beatty of Columbus. It also put Beavercreek Republican Rep. Steve Austria into the 10th congressional district with Dayton Republican Rep. Mike Turner, prompting Austria to retire rather than run against Turner. Cook Political Report redistricting analyst David Wasserman, whose nonpartisan newsletter analyzes congressional elections, said that one reason Kapturs district will be in the crosshairs again is that the Toledo area votes more Republican than it used to. Even if you were to draw a district centered on Toledo, as Kapturs district used to be, it would only have gone for Biden by a point or two, says Wasserman. Kaptur - the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives - released a statement on Monday that said Ohios legislature and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine have an obligation to the voters that Ohio will adopt bipartisan map drawing, and declared that every single Republican in power at the state level in Ohio should be held accountable to that promise. If Republicans follow the law and honor the will of Ohio voters, we can have fair districts that accurately reflect the political makeup of our state and make Ohio much more competitive politically, added a statement from Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters. A map of Ohio's 9th Congressional district, currently represented by Toledo Democrat Marcy Kaptur. Wasserman is skeptical that Democrats redistricting wishes will come true. He says Republicans in Ohio might be able to limit Democrats to as few as two safely Democratic congressional seats - Beattys Columbus-centered district and Fudges former district - if theyre seeking the greatest advantage for their party. Even if all of Democrat-leaning urban Cincinnati goes into one district, Wasserman said Republicans could keep control of it by putting the city in the 2nd district that Cincinnati Republican Brad Wenstrup currently represents, and counterbalancing it with Republican-leaning turf stretching as far east as Portsmouth. In that scenario, the rest of Hamilton County could go into a safe Republican seat for incumbent Steve Chabot of Cincinnati, who represents the 1st district. However, splitting Hamilton County, where President Joe Biden defeated Trump by 57% to 41%, in a way that would keep the Democrats from winning a seat there appears highly difficult. Under the gerrymandering reform and based on the most recent population estimates, Cincinnati cannot be split, and efforts must be made to keep one district wholly within the county, said Richard Gunter, a professor emeritus of political science from Ohio State University who worked closely on the reform language. Only about 30,000 Hamilton County residents would be left over to be split into other counties. Upper Arlington Republican Rep. Steve Stivers upcoming retirement to head the Ohio Chamber of Commerce means his territory will be represented by a new Congress member when redistricting occurs, so the 15th district he currently represents could be altered significantly if they need to move incumbents around, says Wasserman. Turf represented by any other Congress members who retire or seek other offices before the maps are drawn would also be ripe for redistribution. Daytons Turner says hes weighing a run for U.S. Senate, and weak first quarter campaign fundraising from Holmes County Republican Rep. Bob Gibbs has fed speculation he wont seek re-election in the 7th district. Jordans duck-shaped district will likely be reshaped, but Wasserman says theres too much Republican turf in west central rural Ohio for him to not have a seat. One way or another, Jim Jordan will have a safe district to run in, said Wasserman. Nobody wants to primary him. Wasserman believes theres a strong chance Ohios untested redistricting process wont create the neutral maps its designers intended because theres too much incentive for Republicans to push through a partisan map that would be good for just four years. While Democrats seem confident that the Ohio Supreme Court would act as a backstop against a really aggressive gerrymander, Wasserman doesnt think thats a sure thing. If theres one district thats entirely in Hamilton County and includes all of Cincinnati, that would be a Democratic pickup, says Wasserman. If Republicans are drawing the map, that is probably not going to happen. Likewise, there could be an additional competitive seat in the Columbus suburbs, a competitive seat in Akron and a seat in Toledo. That would be as many as four or six seats for Democrats out of 15. And thats a big swing from two seats. There is a lot on the line in Ohio. A map of Ohio's 4th Congressional district, currently represented by Republican Jim Jordan. The new rules The new redistricting rules imposed by the 2018 reform require that at least 65 of Ohios 88 counties remain in a single congressional district, allow up to five counties to be split between three districts and let 18 others be split two ways. They require that efforts be made to wholly contain a single district within the states three largest counties: Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton. Cuyahoga is now home to four separate districts, none wholly in the county. Hamilton County has parts of two districts. Of Franklins three current districts, only Beattys is totally within the county. The new limits also say that Cleveland and Cincinnati cant be split between multiple districts, as both are currently. The large-city rule doesnt apply to Columbus because Columbus is too big to fit in a single district, but reform language requires a significant portion of Columbus to be in one district. The legislature still has control over approving the new map, but the new rules require 50 percent support from members of each of the two major political parties. If that fails, the work will be turned over to a separate, seven-member commission of statewide elected officials and representatives from the legislature. But that commission cannot approve a new map without at least two votes from each party. If that fails, the legislature eventually could approve a new map without any minority support, but that new map would be good for just four years instead of the usual decade, and added requirements would be imposed in an attempt to protect local communities and the party in the minority. Map of Ohio's 11th Congressional district, which was represented by Democrat Marcia Fudge before she became Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Why gerrymandering is problematic The Republicans who drew Ohios current congressional districts 10 years ago maximized their numbers by packing as many Democrats as possible in the fewest possible districts. The rest of the states Democrats were put into safely Republican districts where they were so outnumbered their votes would be unlikely to sway elections. The theory behind this years procedure is to produce districts that are more electorally competitive and more geographically compact. University of Akron political scientist David Cohen observes that not a single one of Ohios current congressional seats has switched parties in the decade since theyve been drawn. That means party activists who vote in primary elections select the states congressional representatives, rather than general election voters. Thats an abomination for a representative democracy, says Cohen. Politicians are picking their voters, not the other way around. Thats unethical and really, it is immoral for a democracy to function that way. When we have that situation, representatives arent accountable to their voters. The fact that Summit County is split among four congressional districts can make it an afterthought for all its representatives, presenting the possibility that it wont be a priority for any of them, Cohen says. This new redistricting process will be fascinating to watch, says Cohen, who suspects Republicans angered by Gonzalezs vote to impeach Trump might try to unfavorably alter his district as payback. If the parties cant agree on a map, it will mean the districts will last for only four years and in 2025, thy will have to go back to the drawing board and do it all over again. Thats in nobodys interest. Map of Ohio's 16th congressional district, currently represented by Republican Anthony Gonzalez. Democrats aim for input The Census Bureau wont be able to supply the local population data needed for redistricting for several months due to coronavirus-related delays in the decennial population count, but Democrats already have a good sense of what they want. They say they should keep the four seats that would be safe for Democrats if the letter of the new law is followed: the new Cincinnati district, as well as the Fudge, Beatty and Kaptur districts. They also believe districts in the Akron/Canton region and Columbus area could be drawn in a way that would be competitive enough for them to win. Katy Shanahan, who serves as Ohio state director of All on the Line, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, says her organization is trying to increase public engagement in every step of Ohios redistricting, and build public awareness of gerrymanderings negative effects. As the mapping process unfolds, her organization will publicize opportunities to engage in the process so what comes out in the end are fair maps that are representative of Ohioans. She says gerrymandered legislative districts increase polarization, and impede progress on issues the public cares about. The solution is to fight for the fair maps that we deserve, says Shanahan. Ohio Senate Minority leader Kenny Yuko, a Richmond Heights Democrat, said he anticipates holding redistricting hearings all over the state this summer to get citizen input on how districts should be drawn. If somebody wants to have a behind the door, we cant stop them, said Yuko. Its human nature to try to skirt the issue. Yuko and Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat, told reporters Friday they hope the state will produce a 10-year map. Sykes said that forcing a four-year map would be a decision made solely by Republicans. We are happy to be a part of this process, want to be a part of this process and think that the best version will be one in which both parties are able to fully participate and agree to something that can give us a 10-year map, said Sykes. Adam Kincaid, who serves as executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, said his organization coordinates with Republicans in all 50 states to make sure theyve got the tools and information they need to draw maps that comply with federal and state laws. If Republicans need to file redistricting lawsuits, Kincaid said his group can connect them with attorneys. He said his organization hasnt dedicated staff to Ohio because the states Republicans already have a great staff and people who know what theyre doing. His organization also isnt engaging in the sort of redistricting-related activism that its Democratic counterpart is doing in Ohio. Kincaid says Democrats are trying to show up at committee hearings and that sort of thing because the states political representation means their party wont have as much control over the process as Republicans. The nature of our engagements are different, says Kincaid. Republicans have control over the legislature and the ability to draw the lines. They dont have that control. It is a different strategy for them. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, contributed to this story. Read more: Senate candidate Tim Ryan kicks off his campaign with endorsements from Democratic party leaders, online visit with nurses Rep. Steve Chabots ex-treasurer charged with embezzling $1.4 million from his campaign Rep. Jim Jordan sets new record for conservatism, group says U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan announces run for U.S. Senate Jim Jordan seeks answers from Major League Baseball on decision to move All-Star game HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge cancels Trump administration move to deny service to homeless transgender people Ohio anti-fracking activist joins Greta Thunberg to decry fossil fuel subsidies at Earth Day congressional hearing Dont hold your breath on passing marijuana banking legislation, says Senate banking chair Sherrod Brown Sen. Sherrod Brown hopes Biden package will extend Medicare buy-in option to people 50 and over Rep. Anthony Gonzalez resumes push to let college athletes make money from their names and images Rep. Dave Joyce introduces bill to let VA prescribe medical marijuana U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez has double the campaign war chest of Trump-backed challenger Max Miller | https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/05/who-will-get-zapped-when-ohio-redraws-congressional-maps.html |
Why Is Lyme Disease Increasing In North America? | Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Each year, approximately 35,000 cases of Lyme Disease are reported to the CDC, which is about three times as many cases as were reported in the late 1990s. Whats even more worrisome is that these reports represent only a fraction of the total number of cases. Insurance data suggest as many as 476,000 people were diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually from 2010-2018, up more than 20% from around 329,000 cases per year during 2005-2010. Lyme disease is increasing in the United States. Scientists dont know exactly why the incidence of Lyme disease is increasing. However, there are several contributing possibilities. Tick expansion in time, number, and space The black-legged tick. Graham Hickling The black-legged tick (scientific name Ixodes scapularis, also known as the deer tick) is responsible for most cases of Lyme disease in the US, and seems to be increasing in abundance. The number of counties reporting the presence of the black-legged species has more than doubled over the past twenty years. Black-legged ticks are also expanding in Canada, which has led to the introduction and expansion of Lyme disease there. Its not entirely clear why tick populations are expanding, but one explanation is the increase in the number of deer. Adult female ticks feed on deer and changing forest practices, including reforestation, resulted in an explosion of the deer population in the twentieth century, particularly in the Northeast where Lyme disease is most prevalent. As the food source for ticks has increased, so has the tick population. Related, because tick development, survival, and activity are influenced by temperature and humidity, its quite possible that climate change has played a role. One study predicts that rising temperatures will boost the number of cases of Lyme disease by more than 20 percent by mid-century. Exposure Another contributing factor is the extent to which people come into contact with ticks. As Vox has reported, Duane Gubler, a former director of the CDC Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases and world authority, believes that suburbanization, which is the population shift from urban areas to greener suburban neighborhoods, has caused people and ticks to come into contact more often than they used to. Outdoor recreation has also been growing steadily, according to a technical report from the USDA National Center for Natural Resource Economics Research. Awareness Of course, another possibility is that there has simply been an increase in reporting. But there are several reasons to believe this doesnt account for the pattern. One would expect an increase in reporting rate over time in areas where Lyme has only recently been detected. However, case reports are also increasing in places where the disease has been present for decades. Although there havent been serological surveys in people, which would assess the true extent of the disease regardless of case reporting, there have been surveys in dogs. These surveys confirm a general correlation between canine seroprevalence and human case reports. So, the trend is probably real. Finally, a survey of 6 million laboratory tests for Lyme disease shows an increase in test positivity (the fraction of tests that come back positive). If cases were going up just because of more intensive testing, then one would expect test positivity to go down. As the weather warms up, people will spend more time outside. This should help to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic, but it will increase opportunities for contact with ticks. Indeed, a recent study found that the ticks that transmit Lyme disease are as common around beaches as they are in the woods. Its not that either beaches or woods need to be avoided. But protective measures like wearing long sleeves and pants and using insect repellent (which works, even though ticks arent insects) are a good idea. Symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes, and many people develop a characteristic bulls-eye rash at the site of the bite. See your doctor if you think you have been exposed. If caught in time, Lyme disease is readily treated with antibiotics. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/johndrake/2021/04/30/why-is-lyme-disease-increasing-in-north-america/ |
Are Finance Bros Taking Stimulus Check Funds From Homeless Americans? | Buried in an already disheartening article about how homeless Americans are struggling to get their ... [+] stimulus checks is an even more depressing accusation: finance bros are offering to help homeless people get stimulus payments in exchange for a hefty fee. getty Buried in an already disheartening New York Times article about how homeless Americans are struggling to get their stimulus checks is an even more depressing accusation: finance bros are offering to help homeless people get their stimulus payments, not out of the goodness of their heart, but in exchange for a hefty fee. The anecdote was shared by Steven Todd, who lives at the Mainchance homeless shelter in Manhattan. Todd told The Times Andy Newman that educated guys who work in finance had approached homeless people and offered to get them their stimulus money for a commission of several hundred dollars. People were happy to get anything, Todd added. It wasnt fair. Todds account wasnt further substantiated by Newman and similar accounts werent easily identifiable in the news; however, if true, the account is another black eye on a stimulus program that has simultaneously propped up millions and left many Americans behind. Stimulus Checks Not Easily Accessible For Homeless More than 156 million households have already received their third stimulus checks. However, there are still many who are waiting not only for their third payment, but also for the first and second. Those who havent received their money can be segmented into two categories. First are those who are entitled to payments, but didnt receive it automatically because they did not need to file tax returns. Many of these individuals either havent bothered to apply because they didnt think they were eligible or have been stymied by bureaucracy. Second are individuals who were explicitly left out by Congressional policy, including spouses and children of undocumented immigrants. Most individuals experiencing homelessness fall into the former category. Many are eligible for stimulus checks given that anyone with a Social Security number who earns less than $75,000 and cannot be claimed as someone elses dependent is eligible. However, some of the people who would benefit most from the money are having the hardest time getting their hands on it, wrote Newman. Theres this great intention to lift people out of poverty more and give them support, and all of thats wonderful, Beth Hofmeister, a lawyer for the Legal Aid Societys Homeless Rights Project, told The New York Times. But the way people have to access it doesnt really fit with how most really low-income people are interacting with the government. Many Homeless Eligible For $3,200 In Stimulus Checks Given eligibility criteria, many homeless individuals should be eligible for all three stimulus checks: $1,200, $600, and $1,400. This is not an insignificant amount of money and yet it highlights a broader problem. While the federal government has deployed trillions to help Americans, aid often fails to reach the poorest Americans. The IRS and the federal government should do more to ensure that every qualifying American is able to receive their stimulus payments. People do not need a permanent address or a bank account. They dont need to have a job, the IRS writes. For eligible individuals, the IRS will still issue the payment even if they havent filed a tax return in years. While the IRS has worked with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on a campaign to spotlight banks and credit unions offering no- or low-cost accounts, the barriers for homeless individuals are higher. The IRS needs to create an information campaign to help eligible individuals file a basic tax return and propagate the message that they dont need a permanent address to file their return. An individual experiencing homelessness can put the address of a friend, relative or someone else he or she trusts. The individual may also put the address of a shelter or a drop-in day center, where he or she will be able to collect mail. Lisa Rowan of Forbes Advisor provides good advice in an article titled, How To Get A Stimulus Payment If Youre Homeless. She says that community-based social service organizations can often help. Many of these organizations will allow individuals to use their organizational business address to enable the homeless to receive their benefit checks, tax returns or other important documents, Laura Scherler, senior director of economic mobility and corporate solutions for United Way, told Rowan. Another option is to contact a place of worship about receiving mail there or going to a local post office and applying for mail service. The Upshot Stimulus payments have helped millions of Americans struggling due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is incumbent on the government to ensure that as many eligible individuals have the knowledge and the opportunity to receive their stimulus checks. Moreover, no one should prey on those experiencing homelessness by taking a portion of their payment in return for helping them receive a stimulus check. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/shaharziv/2021/04/30/are-finance-bros-taking-stimulus-check-funds-from-homeless-americans/ |
How Did Unconventional Thinking Become Part Of Our New Normal? | Imagine for a moment that its 1990. A new pandemic is spreading rapidly and indiscriminately across the world, and it carries a significant risk of deathin particular for older people and for those with preexisting medical conditions. Governments in the United States and elsewhere advise their citizens to work from home if possible, and to go out only for exercise and for essential supplies. Augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality have also been used to add an extra layer of reality to online purchase decision making. getty It was just over a year ago that the coronavirus pandemic began to unfold, and thanks to technology, we were far better prepared than we would have been at the end of the 20th century. And one area where unconventional thinking had suddenly become the norm is with robotic and AI devices. Although manufacturing robots have been around for many years, autonomous robots seemed destined always to remain a technology of the future, waiting for their time to arrive. We appeared to feel slightly uneasy about machines that resemble humans too closely. But suddenly robots and drones are our friends, safely performing everyday tasks like grocery deliveries and basic personal care where human contact is not advisable. Automating Healthcare Wuhan, China, where the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 was first identified, provided one of the earliest examples of how 5G can help us cope with this sudden change. PwC reports that a dozen 5G-connected robots were used in one of the citys hospital wards in spring 2020, tasked with taking patients temperatures, delivering their meals and disinfecting the facility. Not only did this mean patients received more potentially lifesaving attention, but it also ensured that healthcare workers were distanced as much as possible from the infection and that the hospital was kept safer. The speed and reliability of 5G were integral to the ability to manage the robots and schedule their tasks. Under the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, 2020 made lesser-known use cases and modalities popularand 5G could eventually transform these experiences in even bigger ways. Telehealth is an obvious onenot only carrying out remote video consultations, but also providing remote patient monitoring and AI-assisted diagnosis, along with the use of wearable devices and mobile apps to promote a healthier lifestyle and to give an early indication of problems like raised blood pressure or abnormal heart rhythm. The need for streamlined front-line care efforts became all too common in the wake of Covid-19. In the 5G era, first responders could benefit from broad, fast and reliable cellular connectivity to serve communities from urban to rural. For example, 5G connectivity could enhance responders ability to stream high-definition video footage from an incident scene to ensure appropriate resources are sent to deal with the situation. 5G could also help paramedics relay a patients information, vital signs and health history to a hospital to quickly coordinate care teams for potentially better outcomes. Retail Therapy At A Distance Robots have also begun to find employment in shopping malls, where they can meet and greet customers, make AI-inspired suggestions, fetch stock and take payments, to limit contact with staff. The American Marketing Association had identified this trend even before the start of the pandemic, but the incentive to accelerate it quickly became apparent. Augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality have also been used to add an extra layer of reality to online purchase decision making, particularly with large-scale domestic purchases like furniture that can now be visualized in the home setting. Forrester Research had also explored the potential impact of 5G connectivity in enabling multisensory shopping experiences using AR, which would fundamentally change the way brands and consumers interact in a brick-and-mortar retail setting, but we can now see this being extended to shopping from home. Robots have found a role in internet shopping too, providing last-mile deliveries from suppliers to the home. Technavio Research has forecast that the use of autonomous delivery robots will rise at almost 20% per year up to 2024, driven by an increase in e-commerce, with 44% of this growth set to occur in North America. Rethinking Restaurants During what T-Mobiles CEO Mike Sievert called The Year of Missing, restaurants and bars were among the hardest-hit businesses, with as many as 110,000 American restaurants reported to have closed either permanently or long term during 2020, according to National Restaurant Association research. Those that survived were the ones that worked creatively, pivoting to takeout, delivery, online classes and pop-up locations, as well as outdoor dining. Focusing on maintaining customer relationships and good service has been key to keeping business moving. Mobile apps for ordering and paying for food, even when eating on site, could ensure minimum contact between server and customers. Events Take To The Virtual Space Among the experiences weve missed most are those that make life enjoyabletravel, sports events, theater performances, live music. The businesses that support these events have suffered massively too. Virtual platforms have developed rapidly to provide new ways for us to interact with these experiences, helping to enrich the lives of people whose physical world has shrunk immeasurable due to lockdowns. Some of these experiences could not have been created without 5G, while for others, 5G enables us to be present virtually from a wider range of physical locations. Mixed reality and real-time 3D video let us watch sports or theater from novel perspectives, attend concerts and explore faraway places in the company of a local guide, all with startling authenticity. One example is the use of 5G-powered cameras mounted on the caps of Major League Baseball players during batting practice in the run-up to last Octobers Fall Classic. Fans were able to see exactly what the player could see with a real-time, 360-degree immersive view of the action. Its also been demonstrated that choirs and bands could perform together from distanced locations. The latency of standard video meeting software is too long to allow real-time musical collaboration, but European researchers working with a choir competition have developed a 5G platform that can replicate singing together in person. The conference and expo industry has also turned to the use of virtual platformsnot using 5G yet, but its easy to see how a virtual reality headset powered by 5G might add a flavor of the real experience to the mix. The End Of Conventional Thinking Among the lessons we have learned in the past 12 months is that unusual times demand unconventional solutions. Taking this attitude forward as things hopefully return to their almost-normal state, we should be in great shape to take advantage of all the new ways of working that 5G promises to offer us. We say 5G for all. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/tmobile/2021/04/30/how-did-unconventional-thinking-become-part-of-our-new-normal/ |
Why do dead whales keep washing up in San Francisco? | The 45ft carcass lay belly-up in the surf at Fort Funston beach, just south of San Francisco, drawing a small crowd of hikers and hang gliders. The stench lingered on the evening breeze as seabirds circled the animal, a juvenile fin whale. The whale was the fifth to wash ashore in the area this month. The other four were gray whales giant cetaceans who migrate an astounding 11,000 miles each year from Alaska to Baja and back all found on beaches near the city over a span of just eight days. Each was a startling scene that raised immediate concerns for many observers. Whales are an important part of the ecosystem, often looked to as markers of ocean health, and their deaths can serve as indicators that something is amiss. But scientists say the picture is more complicated. Investigations into the whale deaths continue and so far, experts say, there isnt a smoking gun. Some marine researchers believe the deaths may be more cyclical than a sign of catastrophe. At first glance, it sounds horrific, says Joshua Stewart, a research associate with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). But this is not an isolated event and to some extent that puts me at ease, personally. After nearing extinction in the 1950s, gray whales have had a remarkable recovery, rebounding to levels that enabled their removal from the endangered species list in 1994. Now they are among the most frequently sighted along the California coast as they migrate south for the winter and north in early spring. They are also one of the most studied marine mammals, with data that goes back to the 1960s. Each time a whale winds up ashore, it gives scientists a new opportunity to learn about the state of seas. However, the gray whale population on the west coast has declined in recent years dropping by roughly 24% since 2016. Today there are an estimated 20,580 whales left, according to data from Noaa. And this months high spate of deaths was not the first in 2019, Noaa declared an ongoing unusual mortality event when 122 whales washed up across the western shore from California to Alaska, more than four times the previous 18-year average of 29. Stewart, who tracks gray whale population numbers, notes that, even with the declines, the population is still close to an all-time high. Despite these downturns that, at the time, are very distressing, they have bounced back multiple times, he says, adding that they are a highly adaptable and resilient species. We want to know if this decline is continuing or a temporary thing. Gray whales are among the most studies marine mammals. Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images On 8 April, there were two whales to examine in the Bay at the same time. One carcass had been floating for days before it wound up lodged at the Berkeley marina. The other washed ashore on Muir Beach, just north of San Francisco. Teams from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences conducted necropsies, which includes taking tissue samples, assessing the internal organs and reproductive tract, and evaluating the ribs and vertebrae for signs of trauma or impact. Moe Flannery, senior collections manager of birds and mammals for the California Academy of Sciences, was on the scene for the necropsies and says teams havent concluded their investigations though culprits could include a lack of food or disease. There are no real answers yet, she says, adding that despite the deaths, scientists are hopeful the gray whale population will bounce back. They are a resilient species and I think it is concerning, but we have hope that this is just a little blip in time and that the species itself will rebound as it has in the past. Ship strikes have already been identified as the cause of some deaths, including the fin whale found on Friday. Unlike the gray whales, fin whales are still listed as endangered. There are only an estimated 3,200 left along the west coast off California, Oregon and Washington, and ship strikes are the biggest threat to their survival. It goes to show how many threats these whales are facing, says Callie Steffen, a project scientist at the Benioff Ocean Initiative. Steffen works on a team that developed the Whale Safe project, which uses data to help mariners map where whales are when they plan voyages off southern California. The system, which she says is like a Smokey the Bear fire warning but for whales, has had a positive impact. But whales may be traveling closer to the coast, putting them at higher risk of harm from ship strikes, loud disruptive noises from ports, chemical pollution and entanglement, according to a 2019 study from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Authors of the study believe the change has something to do with the whales biological clocks. Ari Friedlaender, a marine ecologist who teaches and heads a lab at the University of California at Santa Cruz, says that whether whales are killed by malnutrition or ship strikes, their deaths should be seen as red flags. Even if we cant point our finger at a singular cause behind the decline, human activity from shipping to the climate crisis is driving changes that negatively affect the whales. It means people are likely affecting and altering the ecosystems that these whales require food from, Friedlaender says. There are so many downstream effects and impacts from the things we do in our daily lives. The actions we take locally can have consequences and impacts very far away and over longer periods of time. We need to keep our eyes open. | https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/01/why-do-dead-whales-keep-washing-up-in-san-francisco |
Should protest occur near private homes? | Protest the legitimate, effective kind is the art of throwing punches in the air. That's a metaphor. We don't intend it literally, nor as belittling. While some demonstrations erupt spontaneously in response to events, and while all are driven by emotion, most also involve a degree of strategy. What must be finessed: how to agitate with enough potency and unpredictability to fix attention on the cause, while taking care not to alienate potential allies and helping them believe a mutually agreeable response exists. Taking protest to the private homes of public officials, while generally legal, runs high on the alienation scale. Several local public figures have been targeted in such a manner. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey attempted to engage demonstrators outside his home in June 2020 and was heckled away. Later in the year, beleaguered Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman sold his home at a loss, an outcome activists who had engaged in visitations viewed "as a big victory." The potential for harm runs both ways. A vulgar outburst at the exurban home of Minneapolis police union boss Bob Kroll in August disgraced one of the protesters, aspiring legislator John Thompson. Thompson apologized, though, and went on to win his seat "at the table." In April, Brooklyn Center City Council Member Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she cast a vote she didn't believe in because she feared retaliation by protesters otherwise. Not exactly a profile in courage for an elected official, but it shows how insidious intimidation can be. The most recent examples have occurred outside the home of Washington County Attorney Pete Orput, who drew prosecutorial duty in the killing of Daunte Wright by Kim Potter, then a Brooklyn Center police officer. As Wright tried to drive off during a traffic stop, Potter threatened to stun him but shot him instead. Two subsequent videos from Washington County have made news. In the first, which unfolds over 20 minutes, Orput comes out of his house to engage with protesters led by activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. Levy Armstrong points out that the group has been peaceable, which Orput acknowledges. Then she begins to grill him. He comes across as quick to anger, frequently springing toward Levy Armstrong as he responds. He blusters. Levy Armstrong, an attorney herself, stays in a steely cross-examination mode. She never hands him the microphone. What she and her fellow protesters want, of course, is something Orput can't give on the spot, if at all: a reversal of his professional judgment that a manslaughter charge is the only one he can successfully prosecute against Potter. Orput's example, like Frey's, shows that there's little to be gained, but credibility to be lost, engaging protesters, however earnest the intent. Protests have an agenda, and it isn't negotiation. That happens elsewhere, as state Rep. John Thompson realized. Yet if the first exchange from Orput's neighborhood was unproductive, the second was downright humiliating for well-meaning Minnesotans. A man and woman who live nearby are captured on camera swearing at the protesters, and the woman pairs that with a racial slur. To their faces. The couple may have been intoxicated, but as one protester said, that might just have revealed their truth. If the couple had been in better form, people might have understood their frustration over the activity in their neighborhood. But a public street, even a residential one, is a public forum, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Nonetheless, the court determined in 1988 that protests directed at a single residence can be prohibited if the ordinance is applied regardless of the content of the demonstration, among other limits. A Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling in 1993 piggybacked on that decision. So if targeted protests continue, expect more municipalities to weigh in. The broad racial-equity protests of the last year, sometimes in regrettable ways, riveted attention and stirred possibility. But the end goal is structural change, and the means is an accretion of support, wherever it can be drawn from, however long it takes. So we'd ask activists to consider whether targeted residential protests, which in the video-everywhere age thrive on the embarrassment potential of their theatrics, not on their substance, serve the cause well. It's an age-old conflict the passion of a protest and the dispassion of the legal process. It's not soluble on a suburban street. | https://www.startribune.com/should-protest-occur-near-private-homes/600052283/ |
What time does the 2021 Kentucky Derby start? What TV channel is it on? | Its the question thats asked every first Saturday in May (or the first Saturday in September last year) with an answer that is usually in the ballpark of the previous year. But, in honor of Jeopardys search for a new host (I like Anderson Cooper, so far), lets do it in the form of a question. Answer: 3:57 p.m. in Los Angeles, 4:57 p.m. in Denver, 5:57 p.m. in Chicago and 6:57 p.m. in Louisville. Its shown on NBC (Ch. Advertisement So, theres your answer, in the form of a question. The reason its asked every year is it is a moving target. There was a time when the race was about 20 minutes earlier so NBC could make its time block by ending at the top of the hour. But recently, the network has sprung for the extra half-hour, so the race has moved accordingly getting it closer to primetime on the East Coast. And, as those of us on the West Coast know, its all about the East Coast. The Derby is actually pretty consistent compared to some other entertainment events, such as a big boxing match or a concert. Although in boxing, they do care about the West Coas,t often sending off the main event at midnight on the East Coast. And how many times have you waited and waited for the main event to come on stage. So, you should be happy the Kentucky Derby is run pretty much run at the time its supposed to. Its not unusual for it to go a couple minutes late if they have problems with the load of the 20 (or this year 19) horses. Still, there is plenty of pageantry to the Kentucky Derby from the singing of My Old Kentucky Home to the obligatory shots of people with too much alcohol in their system trying to stand up straight. So, thats all for two weeks until the game is played again. Advertisement Answer: Preakness Stakes Question: Question: Moderator: I guess no one has rung in. | https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-05-01/what-time-2021-kentucky-derby-start-what-tv-channel-horse-racing |
Did the Jets Make a Mistake Not Picking North Carolina RB Javonte Williams 34th Overall? | Heading into the second round, a running back made sense for the New York Jets. In 2020, 37-year-old Frank Gore led the team in rushing yards. Rookie La'Mical Perine, taken in the fourth round last year, accumulated just 232 yards on the ground. Even if New York addressed its running back room this offseason, adding Tevin Coleman in free agency (a familiar face for Robert Saleh and Mike LaFleur), there was one player on the board that had the potential to be a playmaker in green and white. That's Javonte Williams out of North Carolina, one of the best runnings backs in the nation last season. Instead, the Jets went with Ole Miss wideout Elijah Moore at pick No. 34. Last year at North Carolina, Williams rushed for 1,140 yards in 11 games, compiling 305 yards through the air on 25 receptions. Williams finished with the third-most touchdowns in the nation (19) along with the sixth-most yards on the ground. It didn't take long for another team to swoop in and snag Williams. The UNC product was picked just one selection after the Jets by the Denver Broncos. Williams was the third running back taken in the 2021 NFL draft after Najee Harris (Steelers) and Travis Etienne (Jaguars) came off the board in round one. New York got tremendous value in Moore slipping to the second round, a player general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh raved about later on Friday night, but the Jets didn't necessarily need to add a wideout. With Corey Davis and Keelan Cole joining Gang Green in free agency, set to line up alongside Denzel Mims and Jamison Crowder, rookie quarterback Zach Wilson had several playmakers already at his disposal. That's more than Sam Darnold ever had under center, that's for sure. Alternatively, New York could have addressed their defense at No. 34, specifically the secondary, or traded back to recoup more picks after moving up in the first on Thursday night. Williams looked like he could've been a good fit in Mike LaFleur's offense, a player that would use his power and ability to break tackles to make big plays. A solid running game would also open the door for Wilson and the passing game. Bottom line, considering how pleased the Jets are to come away with Moore at No. 34, they won't feel any regrets. Taking Moore isn't a bad pick by any means, he has the potential to do some damage with Wilson in green and white. If Williams ends up a stud at the next level, though, New York might be kicking themselves a few years down the line. MORE: Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), on Facebook (also @MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Jets Country and check back daily for news, analysis and more. | https://www.si.com/nfl/jets/news/did-new-york-jets-make-mistake-not-picking-rb-javonte-williams-with-34th-overall-selection-elijah-moore |
Can Capitalism Be Fixed? | The 2008 financial crisis is widely credited with reviving the American left, from the tent cities of Occupy Wall Street to the proliferating chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. Yet it is not just street protesters and millennial Marxists who have put capitalism under scrutiny: Liberal pundits and policy-makers have also become analysts of capitalisms ailments. Since Thomas Pikettys 2013 breakout hit, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, the publishing industry has churned out new books on capitalism, inequality, and economics at a furious pace. The past two years alone have seen the publication of Pikettys follow-up, Capital and Ideology; Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saezs The Triumph of Injustice: How the Rich Dodge Taxes and How to Make Them Pay; Heather Bousheys Unbound: How Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It; and Anne Case and Angus Deatons Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, to name just a few. Even capitalisms erstwhile champions now find themselves on the back foot: None other than globalizations manic hype man Thomas Friedman has turned to mea culpa, admitting that we broke the world by letting capitalism run too rampant. (We?) Books in Review Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World By Branko Milanovic Buy this book The growing body of liberal capitalism studies can be found throughout the academic disciplines, but it is most pronounced in economics, where a new cohort has loosened the formalist strictures of a previous generation and embraced a more historical and sociological approach. Instead of perpetually refining idealized and abstracted models, these economists ground their analyses in an accumulating mountain of empirical evidence documenting the growth of gargantuan fortunes at the top, the deteriorating health of those at the bottom, the decline of upper-bracket tax rates, and the stagnation of most peoples wages. Although its analyses and prescriptions are radical by the standards of the past few decades of Anglo-American politics, this work is hardly revolutionary. Yet it has forced many liberals to finally reckon with the features of capitalism that leftists have long lamented: the production of vast poverty amid obscene wealth, the convergence of economic and political power, and the proliferation of crises that disrupt the systems promised stability and undermine human health and happiness. The economist Branko Milanovic has been a central participant in the debates of this emerging field, as well as one of its most idiosyncratic contributors. Born in Belgrade when it was part of Yugoslavia, Milanovic wrote his dissertation on income inequality in his home country long before it was a fashionable topic. He went on to research income inequality as an economist at the World Bank for nearly two decades before taking up a string of academic appointments; he currently teaches at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. But he is not your typical World Bank economist: Milanovic knows his Marx and, though not a Marxist himself, has long insisted on the value of class analysis and historical perspectives to economics, while also dabbling in political-philosophy debates about distributive justice. His experience of life under actually existing socialism, meanwhile, gave him critical distance from the end-of-history narratives that were trumpeted in much of the West after the fall of the USSRas well as from the end-of-the-end-of-history hand-wringing that has proliferated since 2016. The discourse, then, seems to be catching up to where Milanovic has been all along. With several books to his name already, Milanovics breakthrough came in 2016 with the publication of Global Inequality, as his longstanding research interests converged with the mainstreaming of the study of inequality. The book took stock of globalizations effects on income around the world and brought an international focus to what in many countries had been treated as a domestic issue. It garnered attention for its famous elephant curve graph, which showed that since 1988, the working and middle classes of emerging countries have made huge gains and the working and middle classes of the developed West have lost incomeall while the rich around the world made out like bandits. The graph was notable not because it contradicted the conventional wisdom on globalization but because it presented stark and clear evidence of an oft-discussed trend. Milanovic argued, moreover, that the graph was not all bad news: While the working and middle classes of the North Atlantic were struggling, their peers outside the West were doing better than ever. Even if capitalism distributes prosperity unevenly, Milanovic observed, it remains a powerful engine for generating wealth. Capitalism, Alone, his latest book, takes on still bigger game, offering an account of capitalism itself. This ambitious undertaking can perhaps be read as a tribute to Marx. Whoever studies Marx, Milanovic wrote in 2018, can never forget the grandiosity of the questions that are being asked. The point of economics is to understand the world as a whole. And for Milanovic, what is novel about capitalism today is that it spans the whole world. In previous epochs, capitalist societies coexisted with those that organized production differently: hunting and gathering, slavery, serfdom, subsistence farming, and, of course, the socialism of the Soviet Union. Since the latters fall, capitalism has become not only the worlds dominant economic system but, functionally, its only one. Like his previous book, Capitalism, Alone blends empirical research with creative analysis, bringing an eclectic mix of Marxian class analysis and Weberian sociology to bear on economic data about inequality, corruption, growth, and migration. But where Marxists typically seek to delve beneath the realm of appearances to understand how capitalism really operates, Milanovic stays at the surface level, analyzing capitalisms effects as they appear in the data and developing typologies accordingly. For him, moreover, clarity about capitalisms defects does not translate into a call for its demise. In fact, Milanovic argues that no such thing will happen. He is not deluded about capitalism but rather reconciled to it. The books philosophy can be summed up as: It is what it is. Current Issue View our current issue Milanovic opens Capitalism, Alone with a definition of capitalism borrowed from Marx and Weber and likely familiar to most of his readers. Capitalism, in this account, is a system in which production is organized for profit using legally free wage labor and mostly privately owned capital, with decentralized coordination. This system has long existed, he contends, citing the Roman Empire and sixth-century Mesopotamia along with the more familiar examples of Italian city states and Dutch tradersan argument that runs counter to those made by many scholars of capitalism, who disagree on its precise starting point but rarely place it quite so far back in history. But today, instead of competing with or encroaching upon other forms of production, capitalism operates without any true competitors. For Milanovic, then, the study of contemporary capitalism means recognizing internal differences within a unitary system. He identifies two main types: the meritocratic liberal capitalism of the West and the state-led political capitalism of China and a number of other countries. Like his brief history of capitalism, this schematic is both unremarkable in its generalities and idiosyncratic in its details. Notably, his use of liberal is not a reference to liberalism as it is usually conceived in terms of individual freedom, the rule of law, and democratic governance. Rather, his system of liberal meritocratic capitalism is loosely inspired by two of the possible distributive systems in John Rawlss A Theory of Justice. The liberalism of Western capitalism, Milanovic argues, is found in the fact that goods are, at least in theory, distributed meritocratically and that social mobility is liberalthat is, aided by policies like inheritance taxes and free education so that individuals opportunities are not constrained by arbitrary conditions of birth. His analysis of political capitalism, by contrast, highlights the relationship between the political and economic spheres: In political capitalism, political power is used to achieve economic gains instead of the other way around. Todays liberal capitalism, Milanovic argues, must be distinguished from two earlier strains of capitalism: the classical capitalism of the 19th and early 20th centuries and the social democratic capitalism of the mid-20th century. He derives these categories not from an assessment of their underlying distributive principles or how their industries were organized but from a set of empirical features. In classical capitalism, capital was highly concentrated and received a rising share of income; those who owned capital were rich, married one another, and transmitted their benefits to their children. In social democratic capitalism, this maldistribution was at least partially checked, with an increasing share of income going to labor and with rich people less likely to marry one another as social mobility rose. Although liberal meritocratic capitalism in Milanovics account has retained some elements of the social democratic compactaccess to public education, however attenuated, and taxes on inheritance that limit the intergenerational transfer of wealthit is in many ways a return to the conditions of classical capitalism and the acute inequality that characterized it. Milanovic surveys a range of explanations for this change, most of them familiar. He observes that a decline in the cost of capital, particularly computing power, has made it efficient to replace labor with technology, while the decline of labor unions, and with them labors bargaining power, has resulted in a decreasing share of income going to labor. He also observes a shift in social and cultural mores: In the period of classical capitalism, the wealthy were often idle, living off capital income alone, but in the period of liberal meritocratic capitalism, the owners of capital tend to have high-paying jobs. Likewise, through assortative mating, people of similar wealth and educational status marry one another and confer these advantages on their children, not only passing on their wealth but investing in their human capital. As a result, the novel social and economic patterns of liberal meritocratic capitalism have reinforced the wealth of the already wealthy and stunted intergenerational mobility. And if that werent enough, the rich exert influence over the political process to advance policies that further solidify their position. June 21, 2018 Author page What makes the inequality of liberal meritocratic capitalism particularly slippery, Milanovic writes, is that a number of its features appear morally acceptable to many. Liberal meritocracys beneficiaries rule through economic power and ideological domination. They do not need to violently suppress the lower classes; their status is legitimated by social norms, including their ability to pay for an elite education that confirms their intellectual superiority. This phenomenon is at the heart of Pikettys recent doorstopper Capital and Ideology, which both explores and condemns ideological justifications of inequality. But Milanovic is more ambivalent about the work that norms do. People should be able to get rich by working, he argues, and its better to have hard-working wealthy people than a leisure class. The tendency for people to marry those of similar education and income levels reflects little more than the greater participation of women in the labor force, social norms that value paid work, and a preference for partners who are similar to ourselves. He acknowledges that these norms have pernicious side effectsthe fact that people who receive income from capital also work for money makes it harder to hike tax rates, for example, since todays wealthy are seen not as parasites but as people who have earned their money. But rather than interrogate these beliefs, he simply notes them in passing as one of the many barriers to change. Milanovic points out plenty of others. In his view, the social democratic tool kit of the pastunions, mass education, high taxes, social transferswill not suffice to fix the current state of income inequality. Service workers are difficult to organize and are unlikely to attain the power of unions in the heyday of manufacturing. Mass education has hit a ceiling and is likely to deliver diminishing returns to a new generation of young people. High taxes and social transfers have also become politically difficult to achieve in a globalized economy without risking capital flightand in any case, as Milanovic notes, the large middle class of rich countries now looks upon such transfers skeptically, unconvinced that it will benefit from them. Perhaps most significantly, a new wave of economic migration presents a challenge to welfare states, one that threatens to send them into a vicious cycle of cuts. (Ill return to this shortly.) For Milanovic, then, liberal meritocratic capitalism describes a system in which a small elite has managed to entrench its position even though equality of opportunity is ostensibly the norm. In defining political capitalism, he shifts gears, setting criteria focused not on an empirical analysis of the ruling elite but on the systems form of governance. Here Milanovic turns to Weber for his baseline definition of political capitalism: a system in which actors use political power to achieve economic gains. As an ideal type, its key features are an efficient bureaucracy, absence of the rule of law, and the autonomy of the state. In the absence of democratic mechanisms, state legitimacy stems from the ability to deliver growth; if growth falters, other aspects of the system may come into question. Growth is managed by a technocratic and meritocratic bureaucracy, yet laws are arbitrarily applied, ignored, or modified in pursuit of the goal of adequate growth. Corruption is endemic to political capitalism, at least to a point: Taken too far, it damages the growth that legitimizes the system in the first place or increases inequality to a point that delegitimizes the bureaucracy that manages it. The real aim is not to plunder the system but to retain control over it. Whereas liberal democratic states have largely been captured by capitalists, political capitalist states are autonomous insofar as they alternately encourage and rein in the private sector according to the national interest. Milanovics argument about political capitalism, which draws on his past research on socialist economies, is also partly genealogical. While his account of the development of liberal meritocratic capitalism follows a familiar trajectory, he identifies political capitalism as the outgrowth of communism. Communism, he maintains, is hard to understand within what he describes as the teleological narratives advanced by both liberals and Marxists. Marxists have traditionally thought that capitalism was a necessary stage on the way to communism: Capitalism would develop the forces of production, which communists would then seize and put to use for the benefit of all. Liberals, meanwhile, expect linear progression towards richer and freer societies. Yet in Milanovics view, neither the Marxist nor the liberal account offers a satisfactory explanation for the rise and fall of communism: The rise presents a problem for liberals, the fall for Marxists. Moreover, neither account is well-suited to explain the specifically Third World path to development, instead assuming that such countries will simply follow the trajectories of the developed West. Milanovics approach is to invert the traditional Marxist view: He contends that communism acted as a way station to capitalism rather than the other way around. Communism, he writes, was a social system that enabled backward and colonized societies to abolish feudalism, regain economic and political independence, and build indigenous capitalism, noting that communist movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America did the work instigated by bourgeois revolutions in the West, with the added challenge of overthrowing not only feudal powers but colonial ones. Once in power, communist parties built infrastructure, educated populations, and developed extensive bureaucraciesall of which ultimately paved the way for capitalism once the Cold War ended. One might note that it is strange to describe a system in terms of what it gave way to, which after all is easier to see in hindsight. But Milanovics point is that communist societies modernized under the control of powerful states, many of which have retained an authoritarian stamp even after their transition to capitalism. From these broad brushstrokes, Milanovic outlines a set of empirical features with which to identify systems of political capitalism: They are characterized by single-party rule and political structures that emerged after an anticolonial independence struggle, usually a violent one. In some of these states, a left-wing party stewarded the transition to capitalism. It is not entirely clear what these criteria have to do with communisms evolution into political capitalism, and Milanovic doesnt explain, which is particularly striking given that this definition of political capitalism is notably constructed so as to exclude the former Soviet Union. In fact, Milanovic asserts that only 11 countries fit his description: China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Algeria, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Although these countries share some historical trajectories, the huge variability among them (not all, for example, were communist) raises questions about how useful a category political capitalism is as Milanovic has constructed it. More generally, the fact that most of the worlds countries do not fit into either of his categories suggests further limitations to this scheme for parsing capitalism. In any case, of the political capitalist states Milanovic identifies, only China receives sustained attention. Unlike in the West, he observes, in China wages across all strata have risen significantly over the past several decades, but as in the West, the wealthy have rocketed ahead of the rest. So far, however, they have yet to become a class for themselves acting politically to advance their economic power; the state stands ready to keep them in check and maintain its control. Milanovic thinks it unlikelybut what is certain is that China will play an increasingly significant role in the future of capitalism and the international institutions shaping it. Indeed, although Milanovic purports to be analyzing the two major strains of capitalism today, Capitalism, Alone is best understood as a book about two countries: the United States and China. Its publication comes during what appears to be the early stages of a transitional moment. As talk of a new Cold War between the US and China intensifies, his argument that both are part of the same capitalist system has important implications. Disappointingly, Milanovic says little about how liberal and political capitalism interact within the now-total global system. Instead, he focuses his discussion of capitalisms current dynamics on what he sees as the key feature of globalizationgreater mobility for both capital and laborand the political challenges that result. Here, the upshot of Milanovics distinctive blend of normative political theory, empirical economic analysis, and ostensibly pragmatic policy recommendations becomes most concrete and its limitations most apparent. Milanovic approaches the political dynamics of migration very much as an economist. He describes the disparities in income and welfare state provision between poor and rich countries as a citizenship premium (a term introduced in Global Inequality). Nationalism is not simply an affective phenomenon, he argues, but an attempt to hold on to a source of rent: Citizenship is a joint monopoly exercised by a group of people. Although citizenship is a valuable asset, it is for the most part not a marketable one. For now, at least, it is mostly distributed politically, through control over borders and documents. On the basis of this economic analysis, Milanovic makes a political argument: As long as there are differentials in national income, labor will move in its pursuit of higher wages. But this movement, he adds, will always be contested. As living standards, wages, and welfare benefits decline in the West, the working classes of the developed world will seek to protect what remains of the premium they receive for being citizens of a wealthier country, and they will often do so not just through protectionist policies but by trying to keep others out. Closed borders are Milanovics worst-case scenario. They are bad for migrants, but they are bad, he argues, for most other people too. He would prefer that labor and capital move freely, and he is genuinely opposed to the injustice of an international system in which accidents of birth determine most peoples fate. But if he is a cosmopolitan, Milanovic also styles himself a pragmatist. Since he accepts that the backlash to migration is inevitable, he also argues that we must accept some demands that the mobility of labor be restricted. If not, an even greater backlash against globalization might occur. Milanovic doesnt seem to seriously consider the opposite approachrestricting capital while letting labor move freely. But his analysis also suffers from a weakness of much so-called realism: It advocates policies based on a set of assumptions about what the working classes prefer in terms of labor mobility and migration, while also assuming that those preferences are fixed in advance rather than shaped through politics itself. What emerges from these assumptions is a draconian proposal: Pending an age when technology makes it possible for people in one part of the world to work in another without actually moving, he argues, states should create a tiered system of citizenship and rights. To preserve the preferential status of current citizens, migrants should not receive the full citizenship premium; rather, they should have a curtailed set of economic rights. This tiered system of legal migration, he continues, must be paired with a strict border policy that would end illegal migration entirelywhat Milanovic bluntly describes as a ruthless cracking down on excess migration. If this sounds familiar, it is because most countries already utilize multitiered immigration systems along the lines that Milanovic prescribes. The United States, for example, grants different rights and privileges to different groups of workers. People with H1-B visas for skilled but temporary work are eligible to stay in the country for three to six years, while those with H2-A visas for short-term, usually seasonal agricultural labor may be authorized to stay for as little as a monthand that is to name only two of the 20 categories of temporary workers recognized in the United States. Meanwhile, green card holders can reside here permanently but are subject to deportation if they are convicted of certain crimes. And while they are technically eligible for some public benefits, a regulation introduced under the Trump administration was intended to prevent those who might eventually draw on government assistance from receiving green cards in the first place. Only naturalized citizens receive all the benefits of those born citizens. This system treat migrants as a source of more or less disposable labor for the companies on which they are dependent, leaving them vulnerable to employer abuse, and it effectively allocates more privileges to the better-off. But if this hierarchy of rights is indefensible morally, it also fails to achieve Milanovics purported aim: The existing tiered system has not diminished anti-migrant politics. And Milanovics proposal to, in effect, retain the existing system while hardening bordersthat is, to accept a rightward swing on immigration policyis arguably more likely to fuel anti-migrant flames than to douse them. In any case, immigration restrictions have not protected the citizenship premium that Milanovic claims is at the core of anti-migrant politics, and putting more of them in place is not likely to either. Migration is not the reason for capital flight, and closing borders does not restore unionized manufacturing jobs, as Milanovic surely knows. His ostensible pragmatism, then, simply reinforces an ideology that scapegoats migrants for the actions of capitalists. Any egalitarian politics must seek to challenge this common sense rather than concede to its mistaken premise. The tone of matter-of-fact compromise with an unsatisfying and dysfunctional status quo that Milanovic proposes in the context of migration pervades Capitalism, Alone. Where the globalization literature of the 2000s was exultant with promise, Milanovics book frankly admits the limitations of actually existing capitalism and resigns itself to making the best of things. And yet his answer to such questions is an old one: There is no alternativeor a bit more precisely, capitalism is the worst system, except for all the others. Capitalism has a side of lightness and a side of darkness, Milanovic declares. The light side is the side of doux commerce, what Montesquieu described as commerces tendency to inculcate kinder, gentler behavior. The dark side is its encouragement of competitive and acquisitive tendencies. A sales agent may be friendly, but dont be fooledno one is here to make friends. The pursuit of money is fundamentally amoral at best. As Marx said of the Dutch colonialists engagement in the slave trade in Java, Das ist der doux commerce! But while we might wish that economic life were more pleasant, Milanovic thinks we should face reality. Capitalism has channeled our private vices into public benefits, directing human acquisitiveness into forms of competition that increase our overall well-being. All we can really do is soften it around the edges. Capitalism, he argues, has successfully transformed humans into calculating machines endowed with limitless needs. We may be disturbed by the way these calculating tendencies have burrowed into our private lives and eroded our moral commitments, as many left-wing critics of commodification are, but we have chosen to participate, and now theres no going back. To illustrate his point, Milanovic considers the calls for more leisure put forth by heterodox economists like Kate Raworth and basic income advocates like Rutger Bregman. Though well-intentioned, such proposals are little more than fantasies, he insists. Individual people who adopt lives of greater leisure will find themselves falling behind their hard-working peers, while nations that attempt to set shorter work weeks will find themselves overtaken economically, to the point that the citizens of richer nations will buy the very land out from under them. Although Milanovic does not address the socialist revival within the world of liberal meritocratic capitalism directly, his response would presumably be the samethat socialism can succeed only on a global scale. Here, as elsewhere, many on the left would agree with the diagnosis: Although change must begin somewhere, capitalism ultimately must be challenged globally. But Milanovic thinks it is simply an impossible task to convince enough people to withdraw from capitalism and the commercial delights it offers. In short, efforts to opt out of the incentive structures of global capitalism, whether at the level of an individual, a community, or a nation, are futile. Like it or notand you are justified in the lattercapitalism is here to stay. A few pages before the books abrupt end, Milanovic does offer a few suggestions as to how this world can be made more tolerable, commerce more douxat least in liberal capitalist societies, which might yet evolve into a peoples capitalism or an egalitarian capitalism. Capital, he argues, could be equalized through changes in tax policy that encourage the middle class to hold more high-yield financial assets; measures could be taken to increase employee stock ownership; there could be a wealth tax. Intergenerational opportunity, meanwhile, could be evened out by erasing the disparities between public and private schools. Many of these ideas are fine as far as they go, and some have already been championed by left-leaning politicians. Others, like the encouragement of middle-class asset ownership, have long been policy. But they are hardly adequate to address our contemporary economic and social crises, and in any case they do little to solve the political problems that Milanovic has identified. Oddly, for a book centered on capitalisms future, climate change appears only briefly. Milanovic addresses the fate of the planet across which capitalism has spread on precisely one page, where he dismisses what he calls the lump of raw materials and energy fallacythe fear that we will run out of raw materials. Not to worry, he soothes: As any given resource becomes scarce, its price will rise, driving technological innovations that either use it more efficiently or substitute something cheaper and more abundant in its place. This analysis of the economics of natural resources has been the standard response to concerns about resource use since the 1930s. Yet it completely misunderstands the ecological problem we face today: not that we will run out of raw materials, but rather that we will destroy the ecological functions that keep the planet habitable. The problem with oil is not that we do not have enough of it, as theories of peak oil suggest, but that we have too much: If we use all known reserves, we will destroy the conditions of life as we know it. The ecological resources that are growing scarce, meanwhile, are those that have no price and that do not appear to have technological substitutes. To ignore climate change is not only irresponsible but indicative of the larger limits of Milanovics project. It is folly to think that one can reform capitalism without considering the changes reshaping the earth itself. Climate change will not bring capitalism to an endat least in the immediate futurebut it will drastically alter the conditions under which it operates and present grave new challenges for both liberal and political capitalism. Moreover, climate change is merely one example of the fact that capitalism does not actually exist alone on a planet that operates according to its own rules. We are right now living through another such example: the Covid-19 pandemic. So if the legitimacy of political capitalism depends on growth and stabilityand it seems to me that the legitimacy of liberal capitalism does, toothen capitalism itself faces a rocky road ahead, one that inheritance taxes alone will not smooth. The turmoil of Covid-19 and the economic mayhem it set in motion are extraordinary but also portentous: They offer a glimpse of future trends. Further increasing the stock portfolio of the middle class will do little to halt ecosystemic breakdown, extreme weather, and emergent disease. Capitalism in all its varieties will be hard-pressed to respond to these supposedly external threats; legitimacy will rely not only on sheer growth but on the ability to protect populations from life-threatening catastrophes and disease, not least so that growth can eventually continue in some form. The two great crises of the 21st centurythe 2008 financial crash and the Covid pandemichave revealed the centrality of the state to todays global capitalism. Central banks have propped up asset prices and prevented a nosedive into depression despite an unprecedented plunge in economic activity, itself caused by public edicts. Governments, meanwhile, have undertaken unprecedented fiscal stimulus to boost demand. Indeed, contra the small-government paeans of the 1980s and 90s, the future of capitalism now looks brightest in places where states play a more active role in managing the economy, whether tilting the scales toward solar power or managing emergent public health crises. This new terrain calls for greater attention to the political dimensions of capitalism and the evolving role of different kinds of stateswhether the Feds outsize power to shape financial markets, Chinas remaking of the worlds physical infrastructure, or the European Unions massive regulatory apparatus. Milanovics account of capitalism today is most useful in gesturing toward a comparative analysis of capitalisms, detached from the liberal teleology of the past three decades. Yet for all his criticisms of an earlier era of liberal economics, he too seems stuck in the globalization paradigm of the 1990s; a more smoothly connected world remains his lodestar. He has worried recently that the pandemic, by leading countries to place restrictions not only on migration but on travel and trade, will derail progress toward that goal. The pandemic has surely made global value chains appear more vulnerable and will no doubt lead to forms of restructuring. And tensions between capitalisms core powersthe United States and Chinahave intensified dramatically. But globalization is not likely to be reversed altogether. Milanovic is not wrong in saying that no challenger appears in sight or that it is hard to imagine a serious one emerging, even in the face of the current crisis. But this should be worrisome even to capitalisms defenders. Capitalisms most serious challenges may be those that are the product of its own successwhat Marxists might call its contradictions. Capitalism, Alone demonstrates the limits of studying capitalisms empirical effects without a theory of how the system actually worksor especially, how it doesnt. | https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/branko-milanovic-capitalism-alone/ |
Is it time to rethink college savings? | Dear Liz: My wife and I have three kids ages 4 and younger. We have been diligently saving in our states 529 college savings plans for all of them. Now with various concepts of free college and student debt relief gaining traction, Im wondering if we would be better off simply investing future amounts elsewhere that dont lock it into educational expenses, which may look very different in 14 to 18 years. Answer: Politics is the art of the possible. Although some student debt relief is possible, as is some expansion of free college options, its hard to imagine a U.S. where college educations are entirely free for everyone. Even in states that currently offer free two- or four-year public college options, the aid is typically limited to free tuition, which means students still have to pay for books, housing, meals, transportation and other costs. Some programs are need based, which means not all students qualify, and many students choose other non-free options, such as private colleges and graduate school. Advertisement So the advice hasnt changed: If you can save for college, you probably should. You may not be able to cover all the costs of your childrens future education, but anything you save will probably reduce their future debt. In an uncertain world, 529 college savings plans offer a lot of flexibility. The money can be used tax free for a variety of college expenses, and any unused funds can be transferred to a family member including yourself or your wife, should either of you want to pursue more education. If you withdraw the money for non-education purposes, only the earnings portion is typically subject to income taxes and the 10% federal penalty. What to consider before taking a lump sum Dear Liz: I had a pension from a previous employer that was going to pay me $759 per month at 65. They offered me a lump-sum buyout about five years ago of around $65,000. I ran the numbers and decided that was definitely not enough money and declined. Then last year they upped the offer and the new lump sum amount was $125,000. I ran the numbers again and this time decided to grab the money and roll it into an IRA. Im 63 and plan to retire at 70. I can hopefully grow that $125,000 to $250,000 by that time, which would give me that much more to live on, plus it gives me more discretion on using that money than just getting the monthly payment the pension would have paid me. After reading one of your latest columns, I am now questioning whether I made the right decision to take the lump sum. Answer: There are a number of good reasons for opting for a lump sum versus an annuity. For example, people with large pensions may not be fully protected by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. if their pension fund fails. Others may need more flexibility than an annuity offers. But a pension is typically money thats guaranteed for life, in good markets and bad. If youre choosing the lump sum just because you think you can earn better returns, you need to consider how youll protect yourself and your spouse from fraud, bad decisions and bad markets. Advertisement Bull markets can lull people into thinking theyre good investors, but markets can go down and stay down for extended periods. That poses a special risk to retirees, who are at increased risk of running out of money when they draw from a shrinking pool of investments. Even a short bear market can cause problems, while an extended one can be disastrous. Youll also want to consider how youll manage when your cognitive abilities begin to decline. Our financial decision-making abilities peak in our 50s, but our confidence in our abilities tends to remain high even as our cognition slips. That can lead to bad investment decisions and increased vulnerability to fraud. Finally, consider your spouse. A fee-only financial planner could discuss these issues with you and help you create a plan to deal with them. Advertisement Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner, is a personal finance columnist for NerdWallet. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the Contact form at asklizweston.com. | https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-05-01/529-college-savings-student-debt |
How might Joe Bidens presidency transform America? | A PORTRAIT of Franklin Roosevelt hangs in the Oval Office, where Joe Biden convenes historians to share how his hero began changing the country in his very first weeks as president. But the new president faces tough trade-offs to secure his ambitious agenda. Historian Niall Ferguson tells us presidents learn the wrong lessons from those who came before them. The Economists Washington correspondent Idrees Kahloon and data journalist Elliott Morris also join. John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman. Runtime: 41 min Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher | TuneIn For access to The Economists print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod | https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2021/04/30/how-might-joe-bidens-presidency-transform-america |
What is qualified immunity? | EIGHT YEARS ago police officers in Fresno, California raided the homes and businesses of two men suspected of operating illegal gambling machines. Neither man was ever charged with a crime. When the investigation was over, police said they had seized $50,000 in cash. The two men sued, alleging that in fact the officers took $276,380 in cash and rare coins, keeping the difference for themselves. (The officers and the city of Fresno denied the allegations.) Their lawsuit failednot because the court found their accusation false, but because the police were protected by qualified immunity, which is a judicial doctrine first formulated by the Supreme Court in the late 1960s. It was intended to protect public employees who accidentally violate the law from being sued. It has evolved into a far more expansive and troubling shield. In the wake of the American civil war Congress passed, and the states ratified, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the constitution, known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments. Respectively, they outlawed slavery except as punishment for a crime; defined citizenship and promised citizens due process and equal protection; and forbade states from denying citizens the right to vote on account of race, colour or previous condition of servitude. Congress then passed legislation to enforce these acts, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which gave people the right to sue state agents who violated their constitutional rights (a Supreme Court ruling in 1971 affirmed that this right also applies to federal officials). But in 1967, in Pierson v Ray, the Supreme Court held that police officers who violated someones rights could defend themselves by claiming to have acted in good faith and with probable cause. This defence came to be known as qualified immunity. The court held it was part of 19th-century common law (that is, law derived from judicial precedent rather than statutory language), though many have since disputed that finding. More practically, the court worried, not unreasonably, that police officers would not do their job well if they were constantly worried about being sued. Fifteen years later, however, the Supreme Court dramatically expanded the scope of qualified immunity, holding that it could fail as a defence only when state agents have violated clearly established constitutional or statutory rights. Courts have since interpreted clearly established to require extraordinary specificity. The officers in Fresno, for instance, were entitled to qualified immunity because, although the alleged theft may have been morally wrong, the officers did not have clear notice that it violated the Fourth Amendment. A federal court in Texas held that police officers who fired 17 shots at a mentally disabled man carrying a toy gun, then chased him down and tasered him, killing him, used excessive forcebut still granted qualified immunity, because, they explained: We cannot conclude that [the disabled mans] right to be free from excessive force was clearly established here. A bipartisan array of judges and policymakersincluding Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor, two Supreme Court justices at opposite ends of the political spectrumhave decided that, however sensible the initial justification for allowing a defence of qualified immunity, the doctrine has metastasised beyond reason. Several jurisdictions, including Colorado, New Mexico and New York City, have passed legislation aimed at reining in the scope and availability of qualified immunity as a defence. And Don Willett, whom Donald Trump appointed to the federal bench, has decried the kudzu-like creep of the modern immunity regime, noting that to some, qualified immunity smacks of unqualified impunity. All of which suggests that the federal court system is reconsidering the scope of this doctrine, and that the days of virtually limitless qualified immunity may be nearing an end. | https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/04/30/what-is-qualified-immunity |
What Role Will Kadarius Toney Assume With the New York Giants? | Former Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney is headed to the Big Apple to perform under the lights. Partaking in an eventful first round, the Giants would trade back from 11 to the 20th pick with the Bears, allowing general manager Dave Gettleman to gather more draft capital while equipping Joe Judge with an offensive weapon that changes the way the team operates. As the Judge enters his second year as head coach, the focal point for the Giants roster construction has been adding weapons to the mix for quarterback Daniel Jones in his junior NFL campaign. Selecting Toney as the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Giants would capitalize by selecting a high upside athlete that they believe will successfully aid the offensive stagnancy seen in New York in the past. Attempting to provide life into their franchise, the Giants gained an affable locker room presence who brings swagger, maximum effort and exhilaration to the Giants squad, especially with the ball in his hands. Excitement. Energy. Juice. Whatever you want to call it, Toney is a spark whose skillset and big personality fits perfectly into the bright lights of New York and the identity the Giants have begun to create this offseason. Seeing a massive jump in his development and production in the 2020 season, Toney catapulted himself in first-round territory with an impressive senior season, accounting for 1,145 yards on 99 total touches a remarkable 12 yard per touch and 11 touchdowns. Playing in a way that emphasizes suddenness and unpredictability, Toney slashed through defenses at the college ranks with ease, bringing a nearly unstoppable force to the Dan Mullen-led offense. Looking to continue that trend at the next level, Toney is set to fill the role as an explosive playmaker in the Giants' offense. Making moves in free agency to acquire Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and John Ross III to pair alongside Darius Slayton and Evan Engram, the Giants have been adamant about giving Jones weapons to work with as he enters what is a crucial third year in his career. As a result, the Giants' skill position makeup contains a desirable mix of exhilarating youth and dependable experience. With the explosive entities of Golladay who fits in as the teams true X and number one wide receiver and Ross who looks to showcase his speed in New York after a failed start to his career in Cincinnati the Giants have built their offense to be home-run hitters through and through. Likely to operate as the Y receiver out of the slot for a majority of his snaps, Toney will be used in rotation with Ross, providing opposing defenses a number of different looks. However, Toney was not drafted to merely be a rotational piece. More likely, the former Gators was brought in to be an explosive feature piece to utilize alongside the likes of Golladay and Saquon Barkley. As the epitome of versatility, Toney allows the Giants to be creative in the way they get the ball in his hands, likely to see time in the backfield as well as the slot for Big Blue. Equipped with tremendous balance, body control and lateral quickness in the open field, Toney is able to make opponents miss on a consistent basis, providing a juice for a Giants offense that has been rather dull in recent memory outside of Barkleys dominance in his rookie season. Pairing those tools with deceiving strength that allows him to fight through contact at point, Toney is a beast to bring down in one-on-one scenarios. With the addition of Toney, the Giants now sport one of the most explosive lineups in football for Daniel Jones to utilize at his disposal. Now, the big men upfront and the signal-caller of the New York offense will be the deciding factor for how much damage the talented unit is able to do. | https://www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-kadarius-toney-nfl-draft-new-york-giants-fit |
What Can Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah do for Browns Defense? | The Cleveland Browns selected Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah from Notre Dame, so now it's a question of what they do with him. The Cleveland Browns selected one of the more unique prospects in this draft class in 6'1 1/2" 221 pound Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah from Notre Dame. Perhaps entirely semantics, the Browns front office insists he's a linebacker, but it's really difficult to believe he's not more than that, even if takes him to get there. For Notre Dame, where Owusu played rover, he lined up in the slot (680 snaps) more often than in the box (433) according to Pro Football Focus. The Browns, meanwhile, play their often two linebackers almost exclusively in the box. In order to play Owusu in the slot and still maintain gap integrity, they would basically have to put another linebacker on the field in the box, which is something they at least say they don't want to do. Owusu thrives with a runway in front of him. He flies downhill to attack the opponent and the less he needs to correct his angle, the more explosive he can be. To this point, Owusu is not great at taking on contact, which is fine at linebacker in this defense so long as he's protected by the defensive line they have constructed. The addition of Jadeveon Clowney looks even more prudent with Owusu in the mix. Still, as Patrick Queen showed with his struggles for the Baltimore Ravens last year as a rookie at middle linebacker, it's easier said than done. Owusu most closely resembles Malcolm Smith of players that are on the Browns roster. Smith played 559 snaps on defense (51.86 percent) as largely a coverage focused linebacker in 2020, though part of the reason he played as much as he did was due to injuries. Perhaps the Browns are content to have Owusu play in that role initially while letting him grow into more on his own schedule. If the Browns want to get Owusu on the field more, it's much easier to accomplish if he plays as a third safety, something defensive coordinator Joe Woods has been talking about in recent weeks. That also most closely resembles the role Owusu played at Notre Dame. None of this prevents Owusu from playing in the box. Karl Joseph and Ronnie Harrison both played in the box at points last year, operating basically as a linebacker and disrupting the opponent. NFL.com even compared Owusu to Derwin James. It's also not easy to simply project Owusu into a full time starting role as a linebacker. For starters, the Browns really like Jacob Phillips, who is a weak side linebacker, the position Owusu would play. He came out at 229 pounds last year. A pair of knee injuries largely wiped out his rookie season, but he impressed the Browns early with his ability to process information, read and react accordingly. As he prepares for year two, the hope is he has added strength to his frame, whether or not that necessarily comes with additional weight. Along with Anthony Walker at middle linebacker, that gives the Browns the size to take on the run inside. That might be all the more reason to put Owusu is out in the slot. He can fly around and make tackles, blitz or operate in a coverage role, which is exactly what he did in South Bend. Owusu excels in space, where he plays bigger than his size would suggest and can be downright intimidating as a devastating hitter. If he straddles the line between linebacker and safety, it would also provide depth for a room that could really use it. Grant Delpit is coming off the ruptured Achilles' and it's difficult to simply assume he will be 100 percent of what he can be out of the gate. If Owusu can operate in that slot/rover role, it also enables Ronnie Harrison to play in multiple roles as he did last year. Ultimately, it's wait and see when it comes to what the Browns plan to do with Owusu. They are in a position where they don't necessarily need a big impact from him as a rookie to be an effective defense. Nevertheless, with his talent, he could find his way on the field in multiple roles, adding an extra ingredient that could enable the Browns defense to be special. READ MORE: What Greg Newsome Allows Browns Defense to do | https://www.si.com/nfl/browns/browns-maven-features/jok-in-browns-defense |
Will the Lions Attempt to Acquire More Draft Picks on Day 3? | In general manager Brad Holmes' first NFL Draft with the Detroit Lions organization, there is a clear and identifiable type of player the front office is looking for: big and bold. Through two days of the draft, the Lions have selected four players, three of whom are linemen. Day 3 will conclude this year's draft class, as rounds four-seven will take place this weekend. For Detroit, two more potential picks await, if Holmes & Co. stand pat and do not make any deals to acquire more picks. Following Day 2, Holmes was asked if he felt comfortable only having two remaining picks and whether he would consider adding more. Well just see how it falls. Again, when you say accomplish everything, that everything would be to get as many good football players as we possibly can with the picks that we have," Holmes explained. "If theres some moves (that) happen, where we happen to acquire extra, then, itll fall that way. Were not going to pass on good football players just to acquire an extra pick, unless we feel like well still be in position to get them." He added, "We had some dialogue with several teams throughout the day, before the start of the round and throughout the round. We just decided to stay where were at, because we really liked those players that we ended up picking. Thats kind of how it fell out. But, you know, it gets to the point where you can identify the areas of weaknesses or areas that we need to improve depth. But, you cant get everything in one draft. I think that were on a good path about sticking to what our vision is; getting the best football players. Detroit's two remaining draft picks for 2021: Round 4, Pick 7 (112 overall) Round 5, Pick 9 (153 overall) How to watch 2021 NFL Draft | https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/will-lions-add-more-picks-nfl-draft |
When Will the Titans Draft Receiving Help? | Two days and three rounds into the 2021 NFL Draft, general manager Jon Robinson has not addressed the need at wide receiver or tight end. If you looked at mock drafts ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, nearly every one of them projected the Tennessee Titans would add a wide receiver (maybe two) in the early rounds and tight end at some point. To the surprise of pretty much everybody, general manager Jon Robinson and company have not yet added a pass catcher. Instead, the Titans have selected three defensive players, including two defensive backs and a linebacker through the first two days and four rounds. The only addition made to the offensive side of the ball thus far has been tackle Dillon Radunz, their second-round selection. Robinson, in a press conference Friday night, said the Titans have been interested in adding a wide receiver or tight end, and expressed confidence about the quality of players they can get Saturday in Rounds 4-7. Tennessee is scheduled to make six picks in those four rounds two in the fourth, one in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh which would account for more than half of their total picks. I think that we have proven that with players that we historically have selected in the third day, guys that have came in here [linebacker Jayon] Brown was a fifth-round pick that worked and earned playing time as a starter for us, Robinson said. We tell these guys, It doesn't matter where you're selected, what matters is you come in here and you're committed to improving and you're committed to being coached, and we feel like certainly these guys that we've picked the last two nights are about that. Hopefully looking to add six more (Saturday). After cutting veteran wide receiver Adam Humphries in a salary-cap-related move, and losing 2017 first-round pick Corey Davis in free agency, the Titans have few tested options outside of Pro Bowler A.J. Brown. They signed wide receiver Josh Reynolds in free agency, and he figures to have a much larger role with the Titans than over the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. After him, the depth chart features 2020 undrafted rookie Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and a host of other unproven options. The Titans tight end room is in similar condition after Jonnu Smith signed with the New England Patriots and MyCole Pruitt became a free agent (he remains unsigned). At that position, the Titans most experienced players are Anthony Firkser, and Geoff Swaim. Both have spent at least one season with the team, none of them have posted consistent receiving numbers due to having limited roles behind Smith. There are some players still left, Robinson said. We've got six picks (in Rounds 4-7), and there are still some players on the board that we like. If the Titans do indeed spend one or more of their six draft picks on a pass catcher on day three of the NFL Draft, here are some options: WIDE RECIEVER Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State (5-11, 193): A slot option who averaged 78.0 yards per game as a Cowboy. He had 14-career 100-yard games, which is fifth-most in program history. He finished his collegiate career ninth in Big 12 Conference history in receiving yards. Austin Watkins, WR (6-1, 210), Alabama-Birmingham. His cousin is veteran NFL receiver Sammy Watkins, and Austin Watkins has the same kind of speed and ability to beat press coverage. Combine that with his competitiveness at the catch, and he should be the kind of deep threat on the outside that will keep defenses honest. Others: Shi Smith (South Carolina), Cade Johnson (South Dakota State), and Trevon Grimes (Florida). TIGHT ENDS Brevin Jordan, Miami (6-3, 247): Jordans athleticism compares Jonnu Smiths. This past season, he finished as a finalist for the Mackey Award, which is given to the nations top collegiate tight end. Over three full seasons as a Hurricane, he caught 105 passes (at least 32 each season) for 1,358 yards and 13 touchdowns, including a career-high seven scores this past season. Others: Zach Davidson (Central Missouri), Kyle Granson (SMU), Noah Grey (Duke), Dylan Soehner (Iowa State). | https://www.si.com/nfl/titans/news/tennessee-titans-2021-nfl-draft-waiting-on-receiving-help |
What are Jaelan Phillips odds to win 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year? | originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston The 2021 NFL Draft has officially begun, and as you might have expected, offensive players -- particularly quarterbacks -- took hold of the first few selections in the draft. Clemsons Trevor Lawrence was picked No. 1 overall, and Zach Wilson (BYU) and Trey Lance (North Dakota State) followed behind. While teams made it clear that they needed offensive reinforcement, the defensive positions also made a mark in this years draft. Jaycee Horn -- a cornerback from South Carolina -- was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall pick, and Patrick Surtain II from Alabama was the second cornerback off the board at No. 9 to the Denver Broncos. The 2021 NFL Drafts first round produced 14 defensive players, reminiscent of the 14 defensive players drafted in the first 32 picks of 2020. Washington defensive end Chase Young was named the NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year after a masterful performance in 2020. The 2020 second overall pick completed one of the best rookie seasons in Washington Football history. Young appeared in 15 games in his rookie season and finished the year with 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits. Though a rookie, Young led Washingtons defensive team with poise and maturity. Only three linebackers have been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the year in the past 10 years, and Micah Parsons could be the fourth. If he does win, Parsons would become the first Dallas Cowboy to ever take home the award. Parsons is out to a strong lead as the +350 favorite in the opening odds to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Following Parsons on the lists of favorites is Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who didnt hear his name called until the Cleveland Browns took him at No. 52 on Friday night, and Surtain II. Story continues Here is a look at the current odds to win 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to our partner PointsBet. Micah Parsons +350 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah +700 Patrick Surtain II +800 Kwity Paye +1200 Jaelan Phillips +1200 Caleb Farley +1200 Zaven Collins +1200 Jaycee Horn +1200 Azeez Ojulari +1500 Jamin Davis +1500 Trevon Moehrig-Woodard +1500 Nick Bolton +2000 Greg Newsome II +2000 Gregory Rousseau +2500 Ronnie Perkins +2500 Jabril Cox +2500 Asante Samuel Jr. +2500 Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links. | https://sports.yahoo.com/jaelan-phillips-odds-win-2021-143352223.html?src=rss |
What are Patrick Surtain IIs odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year? | originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea The 2021 NFL Draft has officially begun, and as you might have expected, offensive players -- particularly quarterbacks -- took hold of the first few selections in the draft. Clemsons Trevor Lawrence was picked No. 1 overall, and Zach Wilson (BYU) and Trey Lance (North Dakota State) followed behind. While teams made it clear that they needed offensive reinforcement, the defensive positions also made a mark in this years draft. Jaycee Horn -- a cornerback from South Carolina -- was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall pick, and Patrick Surtain II from Alabama was the second cornerback off the board at No. 9 to the Denver Broncos. The 2021 NFL Drafts first round produced 14 defensive players, reminiscent of the 14 defensive players drafted in the first 32 picks of 2020. Washington defensive end Chase Young was named the NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year after a masterful performance in 2020. The 2020 second overall pick completed one of the best rookie seasons in Washington Football history. Young appeared in 15 games in his rookie season and finished the year with 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits. Though a rookie, Young led Washingtons defensive team with poise and maturity. Only three linebackers have been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the year in the past 10 years, and Micah Parsons could be the fourth. If he does win, Parsons would become the first Dallas Cowboy to ever take home the award. Parsons is out to a strong lead as the +350 favorite in the opening odds to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Following Parsons on the lists of favorites is Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who didnt hear his name called until the Cleveland Browns took him at No. 52 on Friday night, and Surtain II. Story continues Here is a look at the current odds to win 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to our partner PointsBet. Micah Parsons +350 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah +700 Patrick Surtain II +800 Kwity Paye +1200 Jaelan Phillips +1200 Caleb Farley +1200 Zaven Collins +1200 Jaycee Horn +1200 Azeez Ojulari +1500 Jamin Davis +1500 Trevon Moehrig-Woodard +1500 Nick Bolton +2000 Greg Newsome II +2000 Gregory Rousseau +2500 Ronnie Perkins +2500 Jabril Cox +2500 Asante Samuel Jr. +2500 Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links. | https://sports.yahoo.com/patrick-surtain-ii-odds-win-143652343.html?src=rss |
Can Zaven Collins win this years Defensive Rookie of the Year? | originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest The 2021 NFL Draft has officially begun, and as you might have expected, offensive players -- particularly quarterbacks -- took hold of the first few selections in the draft. Clemsons Trevor Lawrence was picked No. 1 overall, and Zach Wilson (BYU) and Trey Lance (North Dakota State) followed behind. While teams made it clear that they needed offensive reinforcement, the defensive positions also made a mark in this years draft. Jaycee Horn -- a cornerback from South Carolina -- was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall pick, and Patrick Surtain II from Alabama was the second cornerback off the board at No. 9 to the Denver Broncos. The 2021 NFL Drafts first round produced 14 defensive players, reminiscent of the 14 defensive players drafted in the first 32 picks of 2020. Washington defensive end Chase Young was named the NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year after a masterful performance in 2020. The 2020 second overall pick completed one of the best rookie seasons in Washington Football history. Young appeared in 15 games in his rookie season and finished the year with 44 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits. Though a rookie, Young led Washingtons defensive team with poise and maturity. Only three linebackers have been named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the year in the past 10 years, and Micah Parsons could be the fourth. If he does win, Parsons would become the first Dallas Cowboy to ever take home the award. Parsons is out to a strong lead as the +350 favorite in the opening odds to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Following Parsons on the lists of favorites is Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who didnt hear his name called until the Cleveland Browns took him at No. 52 on Friday night, and Surtain II. Story continues Here is a look at the current odds to win 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to our partner PointsBet. Micah Parsons +350 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah +700 Patrick Surtain II +800 Kwity Paye +1200 Jaelan Phillips +1200 Caleb Farley +1200 Zaven Collins +1200 Jaycee Horn +1200 Azeez Ojulari +1500 Jamin Davis +1500 Trevon Moehrig-Woodard +1500 Nick Bolton +2000 Greg Newsome II +2000 Gregory Rousseau +2500 Ronnie Perkins +2500 Jabril Cox +2500 Asante Samuel Jr. +2500 Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links. | https://sports.yahoo.com/zaven-collins-win-defensive-rookie-142338417.html?src=rss |
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