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Will hemp be on the Iowa Legislature's agenda? | Below is the closed-captioning text associated with this video. Since this uses automated speech to text spelling and grammar may not be accurate. little more than week before the start of the 20- 19 legislative session in iowa - we are hearing if hemp will be on the agenda. hemp ia legislature-vo-1 lowerthird2line:iowa officials to discuss hemp regulations kimt news 3 last year - the iowa senate introduced a bill that would allow industrial hemp production - but it died in the house. new legislation is expected to be introduced this year. iowa attorney general tom miller and ag officials are set to meet later this month to discuss what regulations should be put in place. state senator waylon brown says that if lawmakers pass a hemp production law - there are some concerns he would like to see addressed.xxx hemp ia legislature-sot-1 lowerthird2line:state sen. waylon brown (r) st. ansgar "the way hemp gets harvested versus corn is different, so there's gonna be some equipment costs for farmers. also where are the markets going to be and are those established?" / depending on what action is taken - brown says farmers may be looking to start planting hemp crops as early as 20-20. / for a second | https://www.kimt.com/content/video/503924022.html?ref=022 |
Is The Walking Dead on Netflix? | The Walking Dead, Frank Darabonts zombie epic based on the comic book of the same name, has long been one of the most popular shows on television, and with writers stating they have enough material to last into 2021, it looks set to stay that way for the foreseeable future. The show follows a group of survivors in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, led by former sheriffs deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). Its eighth season will premier in October 2017. In the UK, the show is broadcast on Fox UK. Seasons 1-6 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. All seven seasons have previously been available to stream on NOW TV, or on Sky On Demand for Sky subscribers, although currently they are not on either service. Sadly no, The Walking Dead isnt shown on Netflix. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2019-01-05/is-the-walking-dead-on-netflix/ |
Can the jobs report predict the future of the economy? | Listen To The Story Marketplace Embed Code <iframe src="https://www.marketplace.org/2019/01/04/economy/can-jobs-report-predict-future-economy/popout" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="240px"></iframe> The Labor Departments jobs report for December was unequivocally strong, but it can be hard to square a good month of hiring with predictions of an economic slowdown and the market turbulence as of late. But when it comes to economic data, theres a difference between learning how the economys been doing and how the economy will do in the future. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. I think the best compliment I can give is not to say how much your programs have taught me (a ton), but how much Marketplace has motivated me to go out and teach myself. Michael in Arlington, VA As a nonprofit news organization, what matters to us is the same thing that matters to you: being a source for trustworthy, independent news that makes people smarter about business and the economy. So if Marketplace has helped you understand the economy better, make more informed financial decisions or just encouraged you to think differently, were asking you to give a little something back. Become a Marketplace Investor today in whatever amount is right for you and keep public service journalism strong. Were grateful for your support. BEFORE YOU GO | https://www.marketplace.org/2019/01/04/economy/can-jobs-report-predict-future-economy |
How can I build a balanced portfolio of stock market investments? | Marcus Buck of London wants some help with investing in the stock market Marcus Buck, who is 30 and lives in London, has opened a stocks and shares Isa with Interactive Investor, and needs to choose the stock market investments in which to put his money. Marcus, a brand and innovation manager for the fast-food chain KFC, wants to invest about 200 a month. He says he has a good amount of savings as a buffer and my mortgage is manageable, so he could stretch to 300. I do not need to touch the money for at least five years, and probably up to ten, he says. I am willing to be quite adventurous. I am not looking at anything that is moderate or cautious it just needs to be a decent, well-managed fund. I was looking at | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-can-i-build-a-balanced-portfolio-of-stock-market-investments-fn0mlcdc7 |
Will Space Tourism Ever Be A Viable Business? | Ten years ago, I wrote a story about the space tourism industry, centered around Mojave, California, a bit more than an hours drive north of Los Angeles. Mojave and the area around it, particularly Edwards Air Force Base, have been a cradle of rocket-powered flight since Chuck Yeager and the X-1. My space tourism story followed a very early morning in 2004. That day, I let my son play hooky from middle school. Instead, we drove to Mojave to see the launch of the first private manned space flight, SpaceShipOne. We craned our necks to watch the tiny craft detach from its mothership and zoom up to a record-breaking height of over 300,000 feet. It seemed we were on the verge of a new erathe era of private suborbital spaceflight. SpaceShipOne was to be the precursor of Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo, unveiled in December 2009. At about 48,000 feet, the craft would detach from its White Knight mothership. Two pilots would then fly the six space tourists on board for a brief trip to the edge of space, including six minutes of weightlessness. The craft would then glide to a landing on a giant runway. Although hardly mass-tourism, it was thought millions of people around the world could potentially afford what was projected as a $250,000 flight. But as its turned out, there is an enormous difference between space tourism and private space flight. The latter began as early as 1982 and appears to be a working business model. Elon Musks Space X achieved 19 launches in 2018, crowning the year with the successful December 2018 launch of 64 satellites. Space X is just one of several private space contenders, such as United Launch Alliance (a Boeing/Lockheed Martin joint venture) Europe's Arianespace, and Jeff Bezos Blue Origin, which, in addition to readying its New Shepherd suborbital rocket (which will sell tickets for suborbital flights "soon"), recently won a multi-billion engine development contract. Most customers are commercial or governments. The picture is not quite so rosy with the development of space tourism as a viable enterprise. To date, only seven people have made a total of 8 space tourism flights between 2001 and 2009, all on Russian Soyuz spacecraft through Space Adventures. These space tourists, (who included one woman, scientist Anousheh Ansari), reportedly paid between $20 and $40 million, participated in rigorous training and blasted off a Russian launchpad into orbit. But as the US space shuttle program ended in 2011 and US astronauts had to fly on Russian spacecraft to get to the ISS, it seems there were no more Soyuz seats for tourists. Suborbital space tourism had different, typically financial, problems. The launch I saw in 2004 may have been the crest of the space tourism "movement", not the beginning. SpaceShipOne, built by Scaled Composites, was one of more than 25 entries built to compete for the $10 million Ansari X Prize. But after SpaceShipOne won (and its design would be used in Virgin Galactic's suborbital bid) most of the other contenders shifted to other areas or went out of business. For other, technical setbacks led to business failures. Two competitors, Rocketplane and Armadillo Aerospace (funded by John Carmack of video game DOOM fame) eventually went belly-up. In what may have had troubling similarities to what happened in New Mexico, Rocketplane got significant tax subsidies from the state of Oklahoma, including access to an old Air Force base, then filed bankruptcy. Xcor was the company that most people considered Virgin Galactic's closest competition, promising a two-seat Lynx space plane that was supposed to fly four times a day. Xcor planned to have Lynx get up to suborbital space on its own power--no mothership. The story was exciting and the tickets were affordable, at $100,000. More than 280 people put down their hard-earned money, only to be left holding the bag when Xcor filed for bankruptcy in November 2017. Unlike all the other contenders, the company did not seem to lack for money. As of November 2014, the Financial Times reported that some $600 million had been invested in Virgin Galactic, about two-thirds of which came from Abu Dhabi. In 2017, an additional one billion investment by Saudi Arabia (with an option for an additional $480 million) was announced, but at the end of 2018, billionaire Richard Branson, founder, and chairman of Virgin Galactic, said he was temporarily suspending the Saudi partnership, after the disappearance of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in October. The state of New Mexico also invested $220 million in the Spaceport America facility, beating out Southern California. Yet to date, not a single passenger has flown out of the spaceport in the desert about 20 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences. The hundreds of thousands of tourists who flocked to Florida's Cape Canaveral to watch fifty years of US manned space launches have also failed to appear. Virgin Galactic had other problems. As even space booster SpaceNews note, the company "originally anticipated beginning flights a decade ago. But technical problems slowed developed. Then, in 2014, there was a problem on a test flight. The subsequent crash in the Mojave killed the co-pilot and injured the pilot. The investigation slowed progress even further, but Virgin persevered. Finally, in December 2018, Virgins SpaceShipTwo finally flew into space on a test flight, earning the pilots their astronaut wings. After ten years of promises, the best indefatigable promotor Branson could come up with was, Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship built to carry private passengers reached space. Hype seems inescapable in the race for private space. Even Wikipedia, the replacement for encyclopedias which were supposed to be collections of facts, has fallen victim to wishful thinking. The Space Tourism entry reads, As of 2018, no suborbital space tourism has yet occurred, but since it is projected to be more affordable, many companies view it as a money-making proposition." Burt Rutan, the designer of SpaceShipOne, is less sanguine. We got nothing done! he said in a 2017 podcast. But Virgin Galactic customers are still keeping the faith. The company has taken deposits for a decade and has about 700 customers whove plunked down their money for a place in space. Branson continues to promises he will be among the first passengers. If he does so, Branson (69 in July 2019) would be the second-oldest person in space, behind only the incredible John Glenn, 77 during his space shuttle flight in 1998. Other have bet against Branson and lost. But fifteen years later, the suborbital tourism business has yet to take off. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2019/01/04/will-space-tourism-ever-be-a-viable-business/ |
Should Activision Stock Be Bought on Weakness? | After years of winning, owners of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI ) stock suffered a major loss at the end the year. Activision stock, which jumped as high as $85 this fall, is trading around $47 today. Of course, Activision is far from the only stock thats dropped sharply recently. Many tech stocks have gotten punished during this correction, and gaming companies have been hit especially hard. Activisions rival, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA ), is down 45% from its recent highs, for example. Regulatory Issues on the Horizon One of the biggest fears of investors is potential government regulation. Well, for those who have invested in video-game companies, its time to be nervous. Much of the run in gaming stocks over the past few years was sparked by the increased recurring revenues that companies in the sector have been generating. Among the sources of such revenue are subscriptions, downloadable content, and in-game purchases. The latter source, which has been responsible for a large portion of the companies recurring revenue, could be coming under fire. A November article in Broadcasting & Cable discussed the Federal Trade Commissions investigation of in-game purchases in general and loot boxes in particular. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked whether the FTC was looking into the matter. Markey mentioned potentially problematic practices, such as in-game characters who continue to cry if a child doesnt purchase content, using real money. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) cited industry analysis suggesting that selling video-game content could grow into a $50 billion industry. She noted that the industry has sought to obtain much of its in-game revenue from children and suggested that loot boxes which offer random payouts could be a form of problematic gambling. Needless to say, the gaming industry does not want one of its fastest-growing sources of revenues to undergo that type of scrutiny. In particular,discussions about targeting children and creating gambling addictions have to be seen as major threats. Fears about government scrutiny may not hit ATVI stock in 2019, but owners of Activision stock should closely monitor the issue. Once the government goes after a sector, the sectors stocks are often badly hurt. Analysts Are Cutting Their Targets on Activision Stock Perhaps not surprisingly, given the huge drop in Activision stock, analysts are trimming their price targets on the shares. Needham, for example, slashed its price target from $90 to $60, but maintained a buy rating on the stock. Predictably, the firm cited reductions in its earnings per share and revenue estimates as justification for the target reduction. Its worth asking just what analysts were baking into the stock when its price-earnings ratio was 30. Activision and other gaming companies have been on a hot streak for years. At some point, the good times had to slow down because the whole industry couldnt keep growing at its recent, breakneck pace forever. JPMorgans analyst actually upgraded ATVI recently from a hold rating to a buy rating while at the same time cutting the price target on the shares from $72 to $66. Esports Are Losing Steam Cracks are showing in ATVIs esports business. For one thing, amidst struggling viewership numbers, the company eliminated its Heroes professional sporting league earlier this month. The company wrote: Weve also evaluated our plans around Heroes esportsafter looking at all of our priorities and options in light of the change with the game, the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019. This was another very difficult decision for us to make. The love that the community has for these programs is deeply felt by everyone who works on them, but we ultimately feel this is the right decision versus moving forward in a way that would not meet the standards that players and fans have come to expect. This sort of news puts esports in perspective. Bulls have been touting the huge fan interest in and viewership numbers of these esports leagues. Theyre not wrong. But they dont realize that video-gaming communities can come and go very quickly, whereas traditional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA have endured for decades, thereby proving their staying power. Some wildly overly optimistic assumptions about the value of esporting leagues were published earlier in 2018. These estimates required us to believe that these games would remain popular forever. Instead, it seems that players and fans are willing to embrace new games fairly quickly. Already, it seems that the Fortnight sensation is stealing everyone elses thunder. Activision has invested heavily in Overwatch, and investors are betting that its professional league will be a major source of value generation. But Overwatchs streaming numbers are declining amid tough competition from Fortnight. The Bottom Line on ATVI When considering whether you should buy Activision stock, its important to consider the risks facing ATVI, as weve done in this article. But its also important to note that Activision stock has plunged around 40% in the last few months. If youre bullish on gamings long-term trends, and I think there is good reason to have that view, ATVI certainly makes more sense now than in the past. The selloff of ATVI has a silver lining because it has forced investors to reevaluate their overly optimistic assumptions about things such as the future growth of esports. Trading at 18 times its earnings, Activision stock still isnt cheap, but its reasonably priced for a growth company, and it could bounce back this year. Just remember the risks that the company is facing. At the time of this writing, Ian Bezek held no positions in any of the aforementioned securities. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek. | https://investorplace.com/2019/01/should-activision-stock-be-bought-on-weakness/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InvestorPlace+%28InvestorPlace%29 |
Where can I stay in New York on a budget? | Q Im going to New York with a couple of friends in May for a long weekend. We would like to stay in Midtown and each want our own room. One of us is budget constrained, but were too old for hostels. I was hoping we could get somewhere for about 150 each per night. Maxine Drabble, via email A If you were travelling this month, youd have no trouble finding a single room in a fun, clean Midtown hotel for 150 a night. In May, however, its just not possible, even if you book now (I certainly wouldnt wait). The best deal I could find is at Pod51 (pod51.com), where three nights in | https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/where-can-i-stay-in-new-york-on-a-budget-8q9dbzw9h |
What new businesses are opening in Centre County in 2019? | Even though Centre County lost some notable, longtime businesses last year, 2019 brings the anticipated openings of several new businesses. Where one Giant closes, another opens A Giant food store will be opening at the previously vacant spot at Hills Plaza in College Township. And with that opening, the Giant store at 2222 E. College Ave. will close. Giant Food is leasing 68,000 square feet at Hills Plaza, 2121 S. Atherton St., from Vita & Vita Reality Corporation. Construction for the new store began in October 2018. Digital Access For Only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. The 80,000-square-foot former department store is getting divided and renovated into two stores and receiving areas, according to PA Business Central. A new mansard, storefronts, loading docks, a parking lot, landscaping and energy efficient lighting are being added as improvements. A Starbucks is also reportedly planned. The opening of a new Giant will be the first time a tenant has occupied Hills Plazas largest anchor store space since Ames closed in 2002, amid a mass closure of Ames stores due to corporation-wide bankruptcy. Construction is continuing on the a new Dunkin Donuts on the Benner Pike on Friday, Jan. 4, 2018. Abby Drey [email protected] Benner runs on Dunkin A new Dunkin Donuts, located at 2780 Benner Pike in Benner Township, is opening for business soon, Centre County Planning Director Robert Jacobs told the CDT last month. The new Dunkin Donuts is 2,300 square feet with a drive-thru and full seating area. It will also employ about 30 to 40 people, franchisee Eric May of May Brands told StateCollege.com in September. The Bellefonte location will be the sixth Dunkin Donuts franchise in Centre County and the first in the county outside of State College. The building that formerly was the Gamble Mill at 160 Dunlap Street in Bellefonte is still on the market, as its most recent deal fell through. Abby Drey [email protected] Taking a gamble on the mill The Gamble Mill in Bellefonte has been the subject of much rumor and speculation over whether anything will occupy its historic walls. But brothers Jonathan and Chris Virgilio are planning to close on the property at the end of January, according to Bellefonte Borough officials. The brothers entered into a sales agreement for the former Gamble Mill property at 160 Dunlap St. in Bellefonte in June. They were scheduled to close in late November, but there was a delay related to the property near the mill on which the former Bellefonte water works building sat. Jonathan Virgilio, a math teacher at Bellefonte Area High School, told StateCollege.com there was a possibility they might open a restaurant on the Gamble Mill property, but no plans have been submitted publicly yet. Repurposed materials were used to build the greenhouse on Windswept Farm, home of the future RE Farm Cafe. Abby Drey [email protected] A REsource for the community RE Farm Cafe, a brainchild of longtime State College area business owners Duke and Monica Gastiger, is set to open in March or April of this year. The concept behind RE Farm is a restaurant located on Windswept Farms in Patton Township, which the couple purchased in 2016, serving food sourced from the restaurants backyard and other local farms. Connecting people to the land and then to each other is the vision of our project, Duke Gastiger said. Once the cafe opens, he said, patrons can look forward to a menu with variety. One evening a week we will offer a very special dinner feast of 16-20 delicious small plates ... the absolute best way for anyone to savor the freshness of Windswept and the creativity of REs chefs! Gastiger said. Windswept Farms community volunteers have put in nearly 3,000 hours of work, said Gastiger. The farm also has seven full and part-time workers to oversee the crops, greenhouse and hundreds of lambs, pigs, chickens and ducks. Last year, the farm launched its own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The Gastigers previously owned State College staples The All-American Rathskeller and Spats Cafe and Speakeasy, and are also trying their hand at incorporating local food into the menu at Spats at the Grill, a reimagining of the Allen Street Grill. Construction of the Nittany Valley Sports Centre on Bernel Road is underway on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. Abby Drey [email protected] A long-awaited sports center The Nittany Valley Sports Centre five years in the making is set to open in February, General Manager Michael Lee told the CDT in November. The 70,000-square-foot sports center will be located at the intersection of Fox Hill and Bernel roads in Patton Township. Inside, the sports center will offer recreational and competitive sports activities for all ages, along with space for meetings, charity events and team-building seminars. The year-round facility will have playing fields for soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball, softball and flag football with youth and adult leagues for all skill levels, as well as early childhood development programs based around sports and summer camps. Additionally, Centre Elite Gymnastics, Energy Rehabilitation and Training and Parisi Speed School, a national agility, strength and skills training organization, will be located inside. A possible second phase of the center will include a large space for hosting tournaments and other large sporting events. BRGR will be coming to the former Citizens Bank building at 122 W. College Ave in State College. Phoebe Sheehan [email protected] Not your grandmas burger BRGR restaurant, a Pittsburgh-area chain owned and operated by the S+P Restaurant Group, is opening soon at 122 W. College Ave., the site of the former Citizens Bank building. The eatery specializes in gourmet burgers and handmade shakes, and has four locations in Pittsburgh and one in Cranberry. Patrons can order one of the restaurants signature burgers or craft their own from a long list of toppings, including mushrooms and peanut butter. The menu also features a variety of other dishes, like salads, tacos, fried pickles, bacon mac n cheese and short rib grilled cheese. Melissa Stitzer of The Cakery, which is coming to a storefront in Bellefonte this spring, does a caramel drip on a carrot cake with cream cheese icing on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018. Abby Drey [email protected] Bellefonte takes the cake The Cakery, a cake and baked goods shop, is coming to a storefront in Bellefonte this March. Melissa Stitzer, owner, told the CDT in September that she is moving her catering business to 135 W. High St. in Bellefonte, the former location of Bone Bar and Boutique. The Cakery will feature retail cakes and pastries, custom orders for any occasion and in-house consultations. Stitzer said she plans to sell individual cupcakes, cookies, European pastries and full cakes. Everything she sells individually will also be available in multiples. The store will have part-time hours when it first opens, and eventually move to operating five days a week, Stitzer said. | https://www.centredaily.com/news/business/article223866400.html |
Can Intuitive Surgical Stock Regain Its Momentum? | Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG ) will be reporting its Q4 earnings later this month, on Jan. 24. Given its position on the blurry line between a tech company and a medical device company, the big tech selloff didnt hit it as hard as it hit other tech firms. Thats largely because ISRG makes robots that conduct various surgical procedures. Under the name da Vinci Surgical Systems, Intuitive Surgical has been a pioneer in developing robots to conduct minimally invasive surgical procedures. You can imagine how valuable these types of machines can be both from a hospitals point of view and from an insurers point of view. A machine doesnt charge billable hours like a trained surgeon does, which means the hospital doesnt have to pass that charge on and insurance companies are more willing to allow smaller operations without as much nitpicking. This is also very helpful for hospitals and outpatient facilities which more and more health insurers are operating as subsidiaries because machines dont need to rest or work odd hours. Theyre always available and ready to work within exacting parameters. This is what has made Intuitive Surgical such a hot stock. ISRG stock is up 160% in the past 3 years, which is more than 50% growth per year. And last year, even after the major selloff, it finished the year up nearly 25%. And this is precisely what I was saying about the stock being slightly sheltered from the direct tech stock meltdown. Remember, the major averages ended the year in negative territory. And even its sector peers only averaged a sub-2% return last year. Meanwhile, ISRG is executing on its long-term plan and its being rewarded for it. Its also why it rates an A in my Portfolio Grader. Opportunities in ISRG Stock There are a lot of opportunities with ISRG that go beyond simply providing consumers with products. This company is focused on consumers, but not on the retail level. It is driven by powerful, long-term global trends in healthcare. Most industrialized nations populations are getting older. That means chronic diseases are becoming more common. Between new MedTech solutions like ISRG delivers and better diagnostic equipment and biotech solutions, the future of healthcare is treating the graying demographics. This is precisely why big healthcare insurers are vertically integrating into these types of services. Its a way to control costs and better manage outcomes and profits. And Intuitive Surgical doesnt simply sell the machines which are not cheap. It also supplies the equipment that the machines use for surgery and also help maintain the equipment. In this sense, ISRG is like a defense contractor that sells a big ticket plane but then also has proprietary support and maintenance contracts. Whats more, because the medical industry is very conservative about introducing new technologies, ISRG is building a very effective competitive moat around this business. Louis Navellier is a renowned growth investor. He is the editor of four investing newsletters: Growth Investor, Breakthrough Stocks, Accelerated Profits and Platinum Growth. His most popular service, Growth Investor, has a track record of beating the market 3:1 over the last 14 years. He uses a combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis to identify market-beating stocks. Mr. Navellier has made his proven formula accessible to investors via his free, online stock rating tool, PortfolioGrader.com. Louis Navellier may hold some of the aforementioned securities in one or more of his newsletters. | https://investorplace.com/2019/01/can-intuitive-surgical-stock-regain-momentum/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+InvestorPlace+%28InvestorPlace%29 |
Why do floppy-eared dogs seem friendlier? | You see a German shepherd and a golden retriever at a park. A lot of people might perceive the German shepherd with its pointy, upright ears as a little more off-putting and maybe even scary. But the floppy-eared retriever seems friendly and sweet and just asking for a cuddle. We all make judgments about dogs (and people, for that matter) based on certain characteristics. In dogs, one of those things is the shape of their ears. Recently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been using more floppy-eared dogs to sniff out explosives because the agency says pointy-ear dogs are scarier. "We've made a conscious effort in TSA ... to use floppy ear dogs," TSA Administrator David Pekoske told the Washington Examiner. "We find the passenger acceptance of floppy ear dogs is just better. It presents just a little bit less of a concern. Doesn't scare children." Around 80 percent of the 1,200 canines the agency uses in the U.S. have droopy ears, according to the TSA. The agency uses seven types of dogs: five with droopy ears (Labrador retrievers, German short-haired pointers, wire-haired pointers, vizslas and golden retrievers) and two with pointy ears (German shepherds and Belgian Malinois). But even though the dogs are friendly looking, they still have a job to do. Floppy-eared or not, they aren't to be approached when they're on duty, says the TSA. A look at science Charles Darwin thought a lot about ears when considering evolution, as the NPR video above explains in more detail. "Our domesticated quadrupeds are all descended, as far as is known, from species having erect ears," Darwin pointed out in "The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication." "Cats in China, horses in parts of Russia, sheep in Italy and elsewhere, the guinea-pig in Germany, goats and cattle in India, rabbits, pigs and dogs in all long-civilized countries." In many species, ears seemed to flop when they no longer needed to be erect to catch every passing sound, Darwin mused. He called the phenomenon domestication syndrome. More recently, in a 2013 study, Jamie Fratkin and Suzanne Baker at James Madison University in Texas showed 124 participants images of a dog. In one, it was the identical dog, but it had a yellow coat in one photo and a black coat in another. The other photos showed the same dog but in one image it had floppy ears and in the other it had pointed ears. Participants found the dogs with a yellow coat or floppy ears to be more agreeable and emotionally stable than the dogs with a black coat or prick ears. Pointy-eared German shepherds are often associated with working K-9s. There are no studies that show prick-eared dogs are less friendly than their floppy-eared counterparts, says Elinor K. Karlsson, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and founder of Darwin's Ark, a citizen's science project centering around genetics and pets. Instead, it's likely that people base their opinions on past experiences they've had with dogs. "If people do perceive floppy eared dogs as being 'friendlier looking,' it could be just because dogs they've known personally are more likely to be floppy eared," Karlsson tells MNN, pointing out that Labrador retrievers, the most common breed in the U.S., have floppy ears. In addition, many of the working police and military dogs people meet are breeds such as German shepherds and Belgian Malinois, which tend to have erect ears. So people may associate the ears with the working dogs which are in protector, not friendly, roles. Karlsson says this kind of "perception bias" can affect how people see and interact with dogs, which is why she's very interested it this theme in her research. "People do have a habit of assigning characteristics to things based on general groupings," she says. "People do this to humans as well. It's the way ours brains work." Dogs with floppy ears seem nicer than those with pointy ears. | https://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/why-do-floppy-eared-dogs-seem-friendlier |
Did Amazon Turn Walmart Into an Even Bigger Competitor? | When Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced its acquisition of Whole Foods Market in the summer of 2017, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) investors got worried. Amazon has a penchant for cutting margins to the bone in an effort to take market share, and the grocery business has thin margins already. However, Walmart stepped up to the challenge. Not only did it defend its market share in traditional brick-and-mortar grocery sales, but it also accelerated its investments in digital grocery sales with great success. Amazon has historically led digital grocery sales, thanks to its overall dominance of online commerce; it took an 18% share of the market in 2017 compared to Walmart's 9%. But Walmart is shrinking the gap, and even surpassing Amazon by some measures. Over the past year, consumers' destinations for online grocery shopping have shifted considerably. A survey from The Retail Feedback Group asked online grocery shoppers where they made their most recent purchase: Over the past year Walmart has stepped up its expansion of online grocery order and pickup. It now offers the service at over 2,100 locations throughout the United States, and 600 of those stores offer home delivery. Walmart has also invested in marketing the service via television commercials and mailer coupons. The investments have paid off. Walmart is winning customer clicks, and they're coming at the expense of Amazon. Amazon may be growing its online grocery sales, but Walmart is growing faster and winning more new customers. That's corroborated by an October statement from Deutsche Bank analysts that Walmart had an 11% share of the market. The analysts expect its share to climb to 17% by 2025, although that would still trail Amazon's 19% share. Amazon is prepared to fight back Advertisement Walmart's biggest advantage over Amazon is its proximity to shoppers: There's a Walmart location within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population. By comparison, Amazon has just 450 Whole Foods stores, largely concentrated on the coasts and in urban areas. But Amazon is planning an expansion of the Whole Foods footprint in 2019. The company's late arrival to the bricks-and-mortar business could prove fortuitous long term. Amazon has the ability to design new stores with online ordering in mind. Amazon's current plans include extra storage space in new stores to help fulfill Prime Now orders. Amazon is also considering expanding its Amazon Go concept to reach as many as 3,000 locations by 2021. Those locations could provide a boost to Amazon's grocery business by providing plenty of shopper data it can use to direct customers to other grocery products when they log onto Amazon. Amazon's physical footprint expansion is necessary if it plans to compete in the digital grocery market. Shoppers have shown a preference for the click-and-collect model, as it allows them to examine their items before completing a transaction. It also means they don't have to sit around the house waiting for a delivery during a two-hour window. Walmart was quick to leverage its physical footprint to grow its presence in digital grocery sales. With a footprint 10 times larger than Whole Foods', Walmart may see the benefits of its brick-and-mortar stores in online grocery sales for years to come. Walmart has certainly become a much bigger competitor in the space in just the last year and a half -- but Amazon is fully capable of fighting back. 10 stocks we like better than AmazonWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market. * David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Amazon wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of November 14, 2018 John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. | https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/did-amazon-turn-walmart-into-an-even-bigger-competitor?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxbusiness%2Flatest+%28Internal+-+Latest+News+-+Text%29 |
Whats happening at Carnegie Library? | Carnegie Public Library is pleased to announce a new group for local early birds! Curious Minds is open to all ever-curious adult patrons. This group will meet in new places, tour spots in Fayette County, and hold informal discussion on a variety of topics including books, movies and more! The first meeting takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 9 a.m. in the library meeting room. Attendees should bring a thirst for knowledge and their own coffee. Please enter through the East Street doors for a planning session. In Washington Court House: Welcome to storytime! Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. is Preschool Storytime. This program is for children 3 5 years old, while Thursdays are Books & Blocks for children 1 3 years old. Each week features a new theme! Siblings are welcome at either session. Also, each Tuesday at 11:15 a.m., the library will host Books & Babies! Books & Babies is a 15-minute session specifically created for our youngest patrons to look at board books, do finger plays, bounce on laps and explore. This early literacy time will introduce your baby to the library and the world of books! On Friday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m., kids ages 6-12 are invited to Nacho Friday! Say ol while testing out the hottest jalapenos with Anne while making her favorite nachos! Teens and tweens: Have you heard about Code Club? The library is looking for coders (and non-coders) ages 8-18. On Thursdays from 4 p.m. 5 p.m., attendees will learn to make games, apps, websites and animations! Code Club is relaxed, so come when you can and learn at your own pace. In Jeffersonville: As always, Tuesdays at 11 a.m., little ones are invited to listen to stories, play instruments, create crafts and socialize with other little friends at Toddler Time! On Thursday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m., children of all ages are invited to Winnie the Pooh Party! Play themed games including Pin the Tail on Eeyore! Information about all of our programs can be found on the librarys website, www.cplwcho.org, or by calling the Washington Court House Library at 740-335-2540 and the Jeffersonville Library at 740-426-9292. All programs are FREE, unless otherwise noted. Check us out on Facebook; follow us on Twitter @cplwcho. | https://www.recordherald.com/features/local-features/34877/whats-happening-at-carnegie-library-163 |
Is Warren Buffett sending a signal about the bond market? | Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp is issuing 30-year fixed-rate bonds to refinance US$950 million of floating-rate senior notes that mature at the end of next week. The decision to switch from floating to fixed could be viewed as a bet on where interest rates are headed. Omaha, Nebraska WARREN Buffett is wading into the bond market with a new deal, leaving traders wondering whether the "Oracle of Omaha" is making a prediction about the direction of interest rates. Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp is issuing 30-year fixed-rate bonds to refinance US$950 million of floating-rate senior notes that mature at the end of next week. The decision to switch from floating to fixed could be viewed as a bet on where interest rates are headed. Or, at the very least, it could indicate that the company sees the steep decline in long-term yields over the past two months as a market-timing opportunity that's too good to pass up. Berkshire, with the third-highest credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings, was expected to price the debt on Thursday with a spread of 150 to 155 basis points above benchmark Treasuries. The 30-year US yield fell to 2.91 per cent on Thursday, the lowest since January 2018. The recent bond rally equates to millions of dollars of savings a year for Berkshire, if its plan all along was to convert from floating to fixed rate. sentifi.com Market voices on: The other interpretation is that the company chose to refinance with long-term fixed-rate debt because it sees the big drop in 30-year yields as unsustainable. After all, if a borrower expects interest rates to rise in the future, it would prefer to lock in a fixed rate now rather than face higher payments down the road. Now, the Berkshire unit also issued 30-year bonds in August to refinance a portion of floating-rate notes. But before that, it hadn't issued debt with such a long maturity since May 2013, which just so happened to be right before the "taper tantrum" that sent interest rates soaring. Mr Buffett said at his annual meeting ahead of the offering that he felt sorry for savers who depend on fixed interest payments, given the low yield levels at the time. Regardless of the exact motivation for this week's deal, Berkshire is borrowing at a time of growing angst among traders about the path of interest rates. In a recent Bloomberg News roundup of forecasts for 2019, BMO Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley said the 30-year yield will fall to 2.85 per cent by the end of the year, while JPMorgan Chase & Co predicts it will rise to 3.55 per cent. NatWest Markets is the most bearish on the long bond, calling for the yield to climb to 3.8 per cent. Yet it's not exactly the worst time to be a floating-rate borrower, either. In a first, bond traders on Thursday were pricing in a full 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its September 2020 meeting. And Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said on Thursday that the central bank should pause rate hikes "in the first couple of quarters of this year". Of course, for corporate issuers, yield spreads also matter. Berkshire's expected premium to the benchmark is right in line with the average spread for the Bloomberg Barclays US Corporate Bond Index, which has soared to the highest since mid-2016 amid the turbulence in equity markets. At 154 basis points, that penalty is still just half of what it was for issuers in July 2009, after the last recession ended. That context matters because one of the most reliable indicators of an impending downturn - the flattening yield curve - reached a new post-crisis low on Wednesday. When it comes to tapping the bond markets, Berkshire has no shortage of options. Its decision to issue 30-year fixed-rate bonds, rather than going with a shorter maturity or even sticking to floating-rate debt, has to factor into traders' thinking about where rates and credit spreads are headed in the new year. BLOOMBERG | https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/investing-wealth/is-warren-buffett-sending-a-signal-about-the-bond-market |
What Is Oregon Going to Do With Over a Million Pounds of Excess Weed? | Three years after its recreational cannabis law went into effect, Oregon is experiencing a growing glut in its marijuana supply, driving down prices and putting many of the industrys licensed growers and retailers on precariously thin ice. While the state has raked in tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, supply has far exceeded local demand, and Oregons legal industry is currently sitting on approximately 1.3 million pounds of perfectly good pot that state and federal laws prohibit them from selling outside state lines for now, at least. According to the Statesman Journal, in 2019, Oregon lawmakers are considering proposed legislation that would be the first major step towards legalizing interstate exports of marijuana. Oregon has been growing cannabis for generations, Adam Smith, founder and director of the Oregon small business association Craft Cannabis Alliance, tells Rolling Stone. Since 1998, weve had a thriving above-ground medical marijuana industry. After all that time, we had thousands of mostly small artisan growers, both medical and illicit. So when the state legalized [recreational] cannabis, it did something very wise and very Oregon we legalized the industry we had. Oregon legalized recreational weed in 2014, but the program didnt go into full effect until the start of 2016, when the Oregon Liquor Control Commission began issuing licenses, many to existing growers, just months before cannabis retail locations were permitted to open for business but unlike other states that have legalized weed, Oregon doesnt have a cap on the number of available licenses. Initially, legal supply was low, demand was high and business boomed. When a particularly powerful extratropical cyclone hit the Pacific Northwest that fall, it naturally constrained the supply, even though there were a lot of cultivators, according to Beau Whitney, a senior economist with Washington, D.C.-based cannabis think tank New Frontier Data. Then state lawmakers made the controversial decision to lift a restriction that barred out-of-state investors from owning a controlling stake in the states cannabis industry; with few barriers to entry and increased access to funding, the number of licenses being issued by the state exploded. The first big warning sign of the bust came in October 2017, when the fall harvest produced more than twice the amount of marijuana as the previous year, while demand hadnt and still hasnt changed. What we didnt fully think through when we legalized the industry we had is the fact that it was also primarily an export industry, Smith tells Rolling Stone, referring to the amount of marijuana Oregon growers were producing for the illegal, out-of-state black market, before going legit. So suddenly you had one of the best and most prolific growing regions in the world was hemmed into a market of less than 4 million people. Smith has been working with lawmakers on proposed legislation that would allow Oregon to start exporting pot to other legal states by 2021, and hopefully save remaining local small businesses from imminent collapse. When the legislative session begins in a few weeks, Democratic Sen. Floyd Prozanski is planning to reintroduce provisions from Senate Bill 1042, proposed in 2017, which would have permitted interstate transfer with adjacent states like Washington and California, required all exported cannabis products to meet Oregons testing, packaging and labeling rules, and taxed out-of-state transactions at 17 percent. [Interstate exporting] would create more of a market in which quality and branding and other things would come into play more so than just pure price, Whitney told the Statesman Journal. It would either slow or stop the price declines, because there wouldnt be any more excess. While the original bill failed to pass, a lot has changed since it was first proposed especially the volume of unsold marijuana and interstate exporting has seen a significant increase in support from lawmakers and the local media, including the Statesman Journal and the Bend Bulletin. Were looking at hundreds of millions of dollars of local capital that is at imminent risk, Smith tells Rolling Stone. This is real money out of peoples pockets, in a state that cant afford this kind of economic devastation over a short period of time. Many of these businesses are growing some of the best cannabis in the world, as efficiently as anyone anywhere. It matters that we understand that this is not an oversupply problem, its a political problem, a market access problem and a prohibition problem. | https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/oregon-excess-weed-mairjuana-export-plan-774986/ |
Can China walk out of economic difficulties by relying on its old playbook of debt? | China is banking on a new wave of debt-fuelled infrastructure spending to arrest a deepening economic slowdown, but the surge in local government debt may complicate Beijings long-term efforts of reining in financial risks in its economy. In an unusual move last week, Chinas National Peoples Congress Standing Committee authorised the central government to allocate the local government debt quota ahead of schedule, breaking what is only a ceremonial arrangement that Beijing has to include a nationwide debt quota in its budget report approved by the parliamentary gathering in March before it can allocate quotas to local authorities. Beijing is seeking to implement a proactive fiscal policy to stimulate economic activities when Chinas growth is set to decelerate further after the headline gross domestic product growth rate dropped to the lowest level in a decade in 2018. The government immediately approved local governments to issue bonds worth 1.39 trillion yuan (US$202 billion), made up of 810 billion yuan (US$117.82 billion) in the special purpose bonds, and the remaining 580 billion yuan in general bonds. Special purpose bonds differ from traditional local government general bonds in that they are repaid by returns on projects instead of by the government. At the same time, the jury is still out whether the projects financed by the bonds can generate incomes as expected, especially roads in remote areas, parks and shanty town redevelopment. For instance, Xiongan New District, designated by President Xi Jinping as an example city for the future, issued 30 billion yuan (US$4.36 billion) worth of bonds in late December, including 15 billion yuan worth of special purpose bonds, to finance infrastructure development. As the government also plans to cut taxes again this year, spending on infrastructure is still seen as the favourite method to stabilise Chinas economy. Full speed ahead for Chinas high-speed rail network in 2019 The full gross bond issuance quota in 2019 is expected to be increased to around 3 trillion yuan (US$436.36 billion), analysts said, compared to 2.18 trillion yuan in 2018. At the moment, talk is all about pro-growth measures now, said Iris Pang, Greater China economist at ING Bank. The most important issue is to stabilise jobs, and to halt a downward spiral in the economy. We can worry about the debt problem again afterwards. Local government bonds approved by Beijing are viewed as a transparent form of front-door financing by local authorities compared to murky back-door financing activities via so-called local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), a fact that allows Beijing to have a better control and oversight of local government borrowing. When Chinas economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis a decade ago, debts at LGFVs ballooned to create a big threat to Chinas economic and financial stability. In 2014, local governments were allowed to sell bonds for the first time as Beijing aimed replace opaque, high-risk government debt accumulated via LGFVs with bonds. Nevertheless, the local government debt problem still has not been resolved, and the scale continues to grow with repayment pressure increasing further, especially when repayment abilities of many municipal governments are weakened by slower fiscal revenue growth and smaller land sales incomes amid an economic slowdown. The rise of local government debt and the fall of repayment abilities have rekindled worries that these local infrastructure projects, some of which are potentially loss-making, often take years to generate investment returns, raising the risk of default as it is poorly collateralised and project cash flow estimates are often overstated. As most of the local government bonds are sold to state-owned banks via the interbank market, it is binding Chinas fiscal risks and financial risks together, analysts said. Amanda Du, senior analyst at Moodys Investors Service, warned of risks related to unclear disclosure of special bonds. Although the lower-tier regional and local governments may be the one using the special bond proceeds, it is their respective higher-tier provincial level government that issues the bond and takes ultimate responsibility for its repayment. As such, bond documents are only required to disclose the fiscal and economic data of the provincial level government, and not of the lower-tier government that may use the proceeds, resulting in possible information mismatch, Du said. The special bonds will eventually be supported only by the project revenue rather than government implicit guarantees, making them riskier to investors. These bonds do not fall under local governments fiscal budget. Local government debt remains safe as long as the future needs to rely on infrastructure to boost the economy, said Liu Yi, analyst at Guotai Junan Securities. But the size of local government debt keeps growing, and this means once conditions are ripe, deleveraging policies will re-surface again. | https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2180688/can-china-walk-out-economic-difficulties-relying-its-old |
Why isnt there a single medical licence for all doctors in Canada? | Open this photo in gallery Dr. Mike Benusic, medical resident, ER doc and spokesperson for Medical Residents of Canada poses for photos in a Roncesvalles clinic in Toronto, Ont. on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. J.P. MOCZULSKI Monika Dutt has worked as a doctor in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Ontario. Although she has been practising medicine since 2005, a combination of family medicine and public health, each move has required Dr. Dutt to go through the frustrating and expensive process of getting a new medical licence. Thats because, while there is a standard set of requirements physicians need to meet to apply for a full licence to practise medicine in Canada, all 13 provinces and territories have separate licensing requirements and fees. Story continues below advertisement The Ontario application required 42 documents, right back to my medical-school transcripts, said Dr. Dutt, who is now the CEO of the Timiskaming Health Unit in northeastern Ontario. There were also thousands of dollars in fees. For example, the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons has an annual fee of $1,950, plus an additional $975 if the fee is paid after July 1. A temporary licence costs an additional $850. There are also fees to review qualifications, $550, and a documentation fee of $450. A copy of a diploma costs $75 and a letter confirming a physician is a member is $40. Physicians who do locums (temporary postings) pay $250 more a month. Other provinces have similar fees. Universities and hospitals also charge fees for documentation. It really adds up, Dr. Dutt said. She said she understands why rigorous licensing is necessary to weed out the small number of physicians who have done awful things but it is not clear why the provinces and territories dont recognize each others licences. Dr. Dutt is not alone in asking that question. A growing chorus of medical groups including the Canadian Medical Association, Resident Doctors of Canada and the Canadian Federation of Medical Students are pushing for some form of national licensing. After all, training is similar in Canadas 17 medical schools and in residency programs across the country, and patients are not appreciably different. The physician groups pushing for change argue requiring separate licences in every jurisdiction makes it difficult, and sometimes impossible, for physicians, particularly in rural and remote parts of the country, to find doctors to fill in for them while theyre on holidays or when they wish to reduce their hours as they grow older. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement The onerous licensing rules also discourage interprovincial co-operation for example, a Vancouver orthopedic surgeon cant easily go to St. Johns to do hip replacements, even if there is a desperate need. The current fragmented system doesnt just create annoyance for physicians, it creates real barriers to patient care, Mike Benusic, the lead on national licensing for Resident Doctors of Canada, said in an interview. He said RDC believes the onerous relicensing provision is an unfair restriction on labour mobility and, as such, violates the Canadian Free Trade Agreeement. He splits his time between working as a public-health resident in Toronto and lending a hand in family practice in rural Alberta which means having two licences. Like many young physicians, he does locums in clinics or hospitals, often on weekends and holidays. Locums allow you to check out places, to see if you would like to practise there. They also pay well, so you can pay off some student debt, he said. Locums are also an important recruitment tool, especially for rural and remote communities, who use them to woo doctors. Story continues below advertisement According to a survey by Resident Doctors of Canada, 18.5 per cent of medical residents say, once they are in practice, they are planning to do locums in another province or territory. But 52 per cent said they would do so if it did not require the hassle and expense of getting additional licences. Dr. Benusic understands the hesitancy. He was asked to help out temporarily in a family practice in rural British Columbia, but realized the licensing process would take months and bring additional costs. A B.C. licence costs $1,700, requires a criminal record check and a plethora of other documents. Meanwhile, there were 800 patients waiting for care, he said. So who are these rules serving? Linda Inkpen, president of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC), which shares best practices among jurisdictions, said regulation is a provincial/territorial responsibility in medicine, just as it is in law, engineering and other fields, and thats not going to change. Constitutional issues put up major barriers to the idea of a national licence, she said in an interview. Dr. Inkpen added, its also not clear how much its really needed either. While there are surveys showing what physicians might do in theory, theres very little data on how many actually practise in more than one jurisdiction. Story continues below advertisement The CMA, in a small survey, found 10 per cent of physicians were licensed in more than one province or territory. But only 1,300 of the countrys 80,000 physicians were surveyed, and those who responded are likely those most interested in the issue of national licensing. Some physicians feel the colleges are merely protecting their turf and their income by maintaining separate regimes in each jurisdiction, but Dr. Inkpen said that is unfair. We are there to uphold standards and we take that role seriously, she said. (However, the standards are more or less the same in every province and territory.) She added provinces and territories hold regulatory bodies very close to their chest, as demonstrated by the lengthy federal-provincial battle over a national securities regulator. Dr. Inkpen said FMRAC has spent considerable time and effort breaking down provincial barriers, spurred by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement that come into force in 2017. For example, the application process is now similar in each province and territory. FMRAC, in conjunction with the provincial and territorial regulators, is looking at some sort of trusted physician licence (similar to a Nexus card for frequent flyers), which would provide expedited clearance for physicians to work temporarily in other jurisdictions. But that falls short of the portable locum licence that the residents group is looking for. The mandate of regulatory authorities is to protect the public and we support that fully, Dr. Benusic said. But we think a single licence would do that as effectively maybe even more effectively than separate licences in every jurisdiction. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-why-isnt-there-a-single-medical-licence-for-all-doctors-in-canada/ |
What is impeachment and how long does the process take? | Impeachment is a rarely used tool used to oust a sitting US president from power, and since Donald Trump became president chatter around the "I" word has increased in Washington circles. It first arose following accusations last year that Mr Trump has obstructed justice, but speculation began growing after the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in November in the midterm elections. Nancy Pelosi declined to rule out impeaching Mr Trump as she was sworn in as speaker for the US House of Representatives, kicking off the Democratic Partys control of the body. The Republican leader faces allegations he asked his FBI director James Comey to halt a probe of a senior former advisor, and dismissed Comey in a bid to curb an investigation into his campaign team's possible collusion with Russia. Some Democrats have mentioned impeachment as a possibility for the 45th president, although initiating the procedure remains a hypothetical. Here is a look at exactly what impeachment is and where it's been used before. Impeachment is the process by which Congress puts certain officials, namely the president, on trial. The constitution lays out a broad scope of offences that can lead to impeachment: Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Impeachment does not mean a president will necessarily be kicked out of office. It proceeds like a bill passing through legislature. First, a majority in the House of Representatives - 218 out of 435 members - must approve articles of impeachment previously approved in committee. The make-up of the House before Tuesday's midterm elections favoured Mr Trump, with Republicans holding 238 seats while Democrats held 193. (Four seats werevacant.) Now, however, the Democrats have won back at least 23 seats, meaning they control the chamber. Second, it goes to the Senate, where a two-thirds majority vote is needed to convict the president and consequently remove him from office - even getting the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster would be difficult. Given the Republicans kept control and even gained seats in the Senate on Tuesday, it is highly unlikely Congress would remove him from office. In the unlikely event Mr Trump was impeached, Vice President Mike Pence would immediately take the oath of office and become president. Should Mr Pence be impeached too, then the Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, would take the top job. Impeachment is a political process, not criminal. Congress has no power to impose criminal penalties on impeached presidents or officials. However criminal courts could try to punish officials if they are believed to have committed crimes. "There isn't any judicial review of impeachment decisions, so Congress just needs to be satisfied that Trump committed high crimes or misdemeanors," Jens David Ohlin, a law professor and associate dean at Cornell Law School said. "They are the ultimate judge of what meets that standard." | https://news.yahoo.com/impeachment-long-does-process-081206417.html |
What If Everyone Got $100 To Donate to the Candidate of Their Choice? | Democracy vouchers, explained, democracy vouchers noun 1. When the government gives voters money that can be donated to a political candidate Democracy vouchers were like winning the lottery for a first-time, non-wealthy, nontraditional candidate like me. Teresa Mosqueda, elected in 2017 as the youngest member of, and only renter on, the Seattle City Council. God, nobut we might need different money in politics. Currently, donors are disproportionately old, white, male and wealthy. Candidates, then, are beholden to the wrong interests. Democracy vouchers would encourage and enable the poor, those who typically couldnt afford to donate, to participate. Then candidates might actually start listening to them. In 2015, Seattle voters approved a property tax increase to finance Democracy Dollars, becoming the first city to institute the program. Every registered voter gets four $25 vouchers that they can donate to the municipal candidates of their choice. (The funding, however, is limited, so potential donors must act fast.) For now, yes. But Albuquerque, N.M., will likely see democracy vouchers on the ballot in 2019, and the policy is gaining momentum from Austin, Texas, to New Hampshire. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced a Democracy Dollars Act in Congress in 2018, proposing that each registered voter receive a voucher for federal elections: $25 for the president, $15 for the Senate and $10 for the House. Other variations on the public financing of elections exist already. New York City, for instance, matches small-dollar donations at a rate of 6 to 1; in Maine, candidates who meet a fundraising threshold can get state funding in lieu of accepting further private donations. Early evidence suggests yes. While big donors havent stopped giving in Seattle, small donor numbers shot up in 2017, as 18,000 residents used at least one voucher versus only 8,200 people who donated at all in 2013. And evidence shows voucher users skew younger and lowerincome than the typical donor. This shift subverts the conventional political calculus. Multiple candidates eschewed large donations entirely, relying largely on voucher donors; this changes who you try to rub elbows with on the campaign trail. City Council candidate Jon Grant, for instance, running on an affordable housing platform, gained support by enrolling homeless people in the voucher program. (He survived the primary but lost the general.) As more progressives across the country reject corporate money, democracy vouchers could help fuel a base of small-money donors, allowing these candidates to compete with the corporate-backed Right. This is part of The Big Idea, a monthly series offering brief introductions to progressive theories, policies, tools and strategies that can help us envision a world beyond capitalism. This New Study Has It. and Maine Leads the Nation in Campaign Finance Reform. | http://inthesetimes.com/article/21603/the-big-idea-democracy-voucher-donations-candidates-seattle-city-council/ |
What's the diagnosis for Donald's state of mind? | Rob Woutat (Photo: Contributed image) Its particularly important today that we remember what we learned in school about the end of the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was hit by a stroke in the last year of his second term and was incapable of carrying out his duties, but his wife Edith covered for him, and only a very few of his close associates knew the extent of his incapability. He lived to complete his term of office. There was no provision at the time for the transfer of powers to another elected figure. Today more and more mental health experts are speaking out and questioning the mental well being of President Trump, an act that used to be forbidden unless the expert had interviewed the subject and administered several tests. But today its easy to find on the Internet professional observations on the behavior of a man who is so oblivious to his self-revelations, so eager to present himself to the public and display his numerous self-contradictions, his scattershot animus, his excessive vanity, and his overwhelming obsession with Self as opposed to a concern for others. How to label this condition is the problem. While others display these characteristics, its difficult to think of anyone who does so with the eagerness and openness of the President. It may err on the side of caution to say he has a significant personality disorder, but some experts go well beyond that. Dr. Bandy Lee, a Yale School of Medicine forensic psychiatrist, organized a conference called Duty to Warn, to discuss what she and some colleagues considered the necessity of alerting Americans to the threat posed by the mental health of Donald Trump. Lee is careful not to diagnose the President, having never interviewed him or tested him, but she makes observations on the basis on his numerous public appearances since he became a candidate. After convening a group of 27 mental health experts, she says. There was a universal agreement that Mr. Trump was dangerous because of mental instability. Should mental health experts discuss this, she wondered. They came to the conclusion that overwhelmingly we should, for ethical reasons. But not many showed up to the conference, and actually not many were speaking up, because they feared for their own personal and familys safety. They were also afraid that they would be vindictively litigated against. Lees greatest concern about the President is violence. Future violence is best predicted by past violence, she says, pointing out how candidate Trump encouraged has violence at a rally, how he is prone to verbal aggression and likes powerful weapons, how many women have accused him of sexual aggression. She refers to a report from the Washington Post saying that the problem is getting worse, that in the first six months of this year, he quadrupled the number of lies that he told last year. In other words, in six months he had told [almost] double the number of lies that he did in the entire first year of his presidency. Lee refers to the increasingly belligerent tweets, his inability to vary his responses to situations. For example, he cannot let a criticism go. He has to fabricate reality to situations that are distressing to him. And the thing about pathology, as opposed to normal reaction, is pathology actually becomes more rigid and more predictable. A healthy individual might be able to vary their response, especially if its strategy. They can choose to act differently if something is not working. Whereas pathology tends to become more and more rigid as it worsens. And what were seeing is simple repetition now, and worsening, greater frequency of his poor coping mechanisms. If my family began worrying about me and a propensity for me to do something violent, there is a legal process they can follow to determine whether its safe for me to be at large. The question is far, far beyond politics. And the outcome is enormously consequential, not just for us today but for generations well beyond our own. Contact Rob Woutat at [email protected]. Read or Share this story: https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/01/04/rob-woutat-whats-diagnosis-donald/2476333002/ | https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/01/04/rob-woutat-whats-diagnosis-donald/2476333002/ |
Could Chandigarh be the Next Silicon Valley of India? | Being the centre point of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, in particular, enjoys certain attention from young entrepreneurs looking to venture into the world of start-ups January 4, 2019 4 min read You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. The entry of 8 startups in the unicorn in 2018 proved that Indias startup ecosystem is gaining momentum. With multiple government initiatives pushing the young talent to take up entrepreneurship, the nation has witnessed plenty of unexpected innovations happening to solve the real issues in recent years. As Bengaluru races to become the startup hub of the country, regions like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Gujarat are soon catching up. Unlike popular belief of Punjab, which has been termed as the land of entrepreneurs, lacking in the space, the state has registered more than 140 start-ups with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) as of August 2018 and the number is increasing every passing day. Being the centre point of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, in particular, enjoys certain attention from young entrepreneurs looking to venture into the world of start-ups. So much so that it has the potential to become the next Silicon Valley of India. In the recently released Startup Ranking 2018 by DIPP, the city was ranked among the start-up beginners. Nonetheless, the regions potential for growth was acknowledged. Governments Push While many unregistered start-ups are operating in the region, youngsters are coming forward to get their ventures registered with the centre to avail incentives offered by the Central government. According to DIPP guidelines, the freshly registered start-ups are exempted of income tax along with the taxes on capital gains and investments for three years. In addition, they can avail 80 per cent rebate on patent filings along with other incentives. Like other state governments, Punjab government has also taken the lead to promote their start-ups via offering waiver in the stamp duty and electricity duty for a period of seven years. The start-ups are also being given exemption from payment of change of land use (CLU), property tax and investment subsidy by the way of reimbursement of state good and service tax (SGST). For further strengthening the states position in the startup ecosystem, Punjab government is aiming to facilitate 1,000 startups in coming 5 years, to set up 10 incubation centres and to facilitate over 50 entrepreneurship development centres in the colleges by establishing strong links with major institutions. Developing an Ecosystem Of the most popular locations in Punjab to start-up, Mohali has been developed as an information technology (IT) hub by the Punjab government whereas Chandigarh has seen a mix of start-ups entering the ecosystem. From education platforms like WizIQ and Edurev to e-commerce start-ups like Jumbo Basket and Pumpkart, the city is producing various gems. Working as a testimony to Chandigarhs developing ecosystem, we have the on-demand auto rickshaw platform, Jugnoo, which has now expanded to over 30 cities and is now looking to go global. Slowly but steadily, the young entrepreneurs from Haryanas capital are carving a niche for themselves in Indias startup community by bringing their creative ideas to life. To further push their dreams towards reality, organizations like Chandigarh Angels Network are coming forward to fund the start-ups with growth potential. While there have been ups and downs in the journey for the majority of new ventures, the end success is what matters. Increasing Awareness While the youth today is well-aware of the opportunities present in the field of entrepreneurship, various initiatives by both the government and private organizations have further fostered the start-up culture in Chandigarh. One such upcoming opportunity is Franchise Indias FRO Expo 2019 which is India's premier and most trusted business & Tradeshow. FRO Expo 2019 is one of the largest emerging platforms for business aspirants to socialize and learn. The exhibition will provide a perfect platform for highly evolved prospects & qualified investors and entrepreneurs from across India, neighbouring countries and delegations from the other parts of the world to have meaning conversations with some of the most accomplished Business Ideas, attend unparalleled Business Summits & Seminars and learn more about India & fast growing MSME industry in India. To register for the event, visit here. | https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/325794 |
Did The American Economics Association Book The Wrong Trio? | You need to login to view this content. David Stockmans Contra Corner isnt your typical financial tipsheet. Instead its an ongoing dialogue about whats really happening in the markets the economy and governments so you can understand the world around you and make better decisions for yourself. David believes the world -- certainly the United States -- is at a great inflection point in human history. The massive credit inflation of the last three decades has reached its apogee and is now going to splatter spectacularly. This will have lasting ramifications on how governments tax and regulate you the type of work you and your family members will have available and what you get paid the value of your nest egg and all other areas comprising your quality of life. | http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/did-the-american-economics-association-book-the-wrong-trio/ |
Is deze Batmobiel het politievoertuig van de toekomst? | Bij achtervolgingen komt hij steevast te laat. Maar daar dient dit futuristisch wagentje dat de Brusselse politie mag uittesten ook niet voor. De cabine is uitgerust met een 360-gradencamera en bij grote drukte kunnen zelfs beelden worden gemaakt tot op 4 meter hoogte. Ideaal dus om toezicht te houden op drukke plaatsen. We noemen hem onze Batmobiel, lacht politiecommissaris Olivier Slosse van de Brusselse politie. De UMS-viseo, zijn officile naam, is geen patrouillewagen. Ook al draagt hij de kleuren en logos van de politie. Het is eigenlijk een mobiele vaste camera die op een telescopische antenne staat die vier meter hoog kan uitgeschoven worden om over de mensen te kijken. Ideaal om toezicht te houden op drukke plaatsen of massa-evenementen zoals de kerstmarkt, klinkt het. De UMS is volledig elektrisch en haalt snelheden tot 45 kilometer per uur. De bestuurder zit achter kogelwerend, geblindeerd glas. Wij hopen er vooral een lacune in onze cameradekking mee op te lossen. Er zijn voldoende evenementen in de binnenstad waar we gebaat zijn bij een beter overzicht en meer cameras, zegt de politie. Of de politie het wagentje na de testperiode ook zal kopen, staat nog lang niet vast. | https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20190104_04078744 |
Was the Saints pass rush better in 2018? | Improving the pass rush was the biggest priority for the New Orleans Saints last offseason. They made a big move to draft Marcus Davenport, re-signed Alex Okafor, and brought in linebacker Demario Davis. To find out, well compare their results through 16 regular season games in 2018 against the numbers from the year before. In 2017, the Saints defense collected 42 sacks and 81 quarterback hits. In 2018, the group produced 49 sacks and 98 hits. So, yeah, thats sizeable improvement. Heres the top Saints pass rushers from 2018: DE Cameron Jordan: 12 sacks, 21 hits DT Sheldon Rankins: 8 sacks, 15 hits LB Demario Davis: 5 sacks, 11 hits DE Marcus Davenport: 4.5 sacks, 12 hits DT David Onyemata: 4.5 sacks, 6 hits DE Alex Okafor: 4 sacks, 9 hits And 2017: DE Cameron Jordan: 13 sacks, 28 hits DE Alex Okafor: 4.5 sacks, 9 hits DB Vonn Bell: 4.5 sacks, 6 hits LB Hauoli Kikaha: 4 sacks, 4 hits DE George Johnson: 2.5 sacks, 4 hits DT Sheldon Rankins: 2 sacks, 9 hits Put another way, heres the top pass rushers from 2017 charted out: A couple of things are immediately clear: Jordan was fully deserving of his listing on the 2017 All-Pro first team, as he collected nearly as many pressures (41) as the next four players combined (43). He was really working by himself for most of the year, especially after Okafor went down with an Achilles injury. Four of the top six pass rushers logged 11 or fewer pressures. Two of those players arent on the team anymore. Now, compare that chart against the production from 2018: Jordans numbers receded a little bit (down to just 33 pressures from 41) but it was to the benefit of everyone around him. Rankins exploded onto the scene, and newcomers Davenport and Davis had more pressures (16.5 and 16) than any non-Jordan player the year before. Onyemata had the fewest pressures of the group at 10.5. The median pressure total leapt up to 16.3 from 10.8. On top of that, all but one of these players should be with the Saints for the forseeable future Okafor gets to decide whether he exercises an exit option in his contract in March. In review: the Saints got a great return on their investments in the defensive front, and several developmental players stepped up into big roles. The pass rush is far from finished, sure. But fans should feel optimistic about where this unit is headed. | https://saintswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/04/new-orleans-saints-cameron-jordan-marcus-davenport-alex-okafor/ |
Are Canon and Nikon taking mirrorless seriously? | Canon and Nikon have long been the two brands that may people look to when choosing a new camera, and the two Japanese companies still have practically the entire DSLR market to themselves. Anyone looking for a new compact system camera (CSC), however, is likely to consider a slew of offerings from rival manufacturers first. Read more: Canon EOS M50 Its precisely because the duo have dominated the DSLR world for so long that other manufacturers have had to innovate elsewhere and they've now been doing so for long enough to have carved something of a niche for themselves. Fujifilm, for example, has typically gone after the user who may have been drawn to the styling and size of Canons PowerShot G series, championing retro design and innovating with its sensors, with the line bolstered by a range of high-quality optics. Olympus has also focused on style, although by exploiting the size advantage of the Micro Four Thirds system its ensured that its PEN and OM-D systems have appealed to both novice users who are looking for something small and light, and seasoned users who may wish to keep using their older lenses (something thats far easier here than on other systems because of the relatively short distance between the lens mount and sensor). With its focus on excellent video quality and shoehorning full-frame sensors into small bodies, meanwhile, Sony has made bold moves to steal away pro videographers and enthusiasts who might be drawn to the likes of Canons EOS 5D line. Panasonic has also made video a key focus for its Lumix line, differentiating itself from rivals by bringing 4K recording to even very junior models. The EOS M and 1 J1 were the first mirrorless cameras from Canon and Nikon Canon and Nikon came to the CSC party relatively late, in 2012, with the Canon EOS M and Nikon 1 J1 respectively, so both were up against well-established ranges from the start. To date, both companies have focused more at the junior end of the spectrum than the enthusiast side, an approach thats perfectly logical, but one with limited appeal given how few models their lines contain. One theory is that the companies dont want to compromise sales of their existing DSLR lines, and so have deliberately made less of an effort here than other manufacturers. By offering a mirrorless alternative, they at least provide an option for brand loyalists who want to remain invested in a single ecosystem; it shouldn't come as a surprise that both manufacturers quickly made adapters for their DSLR lenses available for these models, often bundling them together as a kit package. Nikons decision to use a smaller 1-inch sensor for its 1 system models has proved somewhat controversial, particularly when you consider that such cameras are intended for the more discerning user. Nevertheless, this has allowed for very compact bodies, and a more clear separation between its different interchangeable-lens systems. The Olympus 300mm f/4 is incredibly compact for a 600mm f/4 equivalent With its high crop factor and very fast burst-shooting capabilities, the system appears as one of the finer choices for telephoto-based action photography. Yet, anyone with more than a passing interest in what Olympus and Fujifilm has been up to recently will know how strongly these companies have attempted to target the same market. Having a greater number of competitors isn't just an issue in terms of shelf space; it also provides a better frame of reference for performance. And while the models in both Canon and Nikons ranges have had their merits, many have also fallen short in many key areas, such as with autofocus and battery life. When more limited lens ranges and less obvious upgrade paths are taken into account too, the proposition of each system as a whole becomes less appealing than the multi-tiered lines of Fujifilm, Panasonic and others. For many people, the solution to making each system more credible is obvious: bring out a full-frame alternative. This has long been rumoured for both Canon and Nikons lines, and is something manufacturers have been repeatedly asked about. Nikon did recently confirm that it was considering how this could work, although this in itself raises many other questions (and its worth remembering that this was not enough to keep Samsung in the game). The main issue is that doing so would no doubt require a new lens range, one whose imaging circle can sufficiently cover the full frame. Of course, such a body could also be designed to work with Nikon's FX format lenses, although you lose the point of a smaller-format system with such a design (as we saw with the ill-fated Pentax K-01). How long, and how much investment, it would take to develop such a system of cameras and lenses is another issue and, naturally, the competition would not be idly standing by in the meantime. Canon and Nikon's full-frame offerings are impressive At least for the time being, its reasonable to expect compact system cameras to continue to co-exist alongside DSLRs in particular Canon and Nikons professional DSLRs, whose fast phase-detect AF systems, excellent handling and compatibility with decades worth of acclaimed pro-oriented optics mean they remain the obvious choice for the professional sports and action photographer. Very few professional photographers working in these disciplines have traded everything in for a mirrorless model, although those working in other genres portraiture, landscapes and video, for example have done just that. Its not been entirely a one-way transition, however, and some photographers who have made the switch to mirrorless have subsequently gone back to their previous DSLR systems for various reasons. Perhaps the novice audience at which Canon and Nikon has largely targeted their mirrorless lines is not thinking as far ahead as investing in an enthusiast-level camera with a larger sensor, and it only makes sense to develop such a model if it's believed there's a demand for it. This is obviously a big investment, and one that becomes more difficult to justify as more capable rivals come onto the market. Give the reputation of their brands the two companies should have an advantage but this obviously isn't enough. A broader lens range is important, as is greater transparency to enable users to buy into a system with confidence, but ultimately it's only through innovating and focusing on providing technology that's better than that in competing systems regardless of level that will mean they have a chance of remaining relevant. | https://www.techradar.com/sg/news/are-canon-and-nikon-taking-mirrorless-seriously |
How to explain the return of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants? | Nigeria's Islamic State West Africa Province, a faction of Boko Haram affiliated to the Islamic State militant group, has intensified attacks against the army in the northeast of the country at an alarming rate, and the military appears to be struggling. Here are the principal reasons: Better-armed jihadists Fighters from the Islamic State-affiliated group, known by its acronym ISWAP, have managed to assemble a potent arsenal thanks to raids on military bases and capturing weapons in attacks, but also through arms smuggling from other African countries. On December 27, the jihadists showed their force again during a brief takeover of Baga town: In just a few hours, the militants had routed around 500 soldiers from the multi-national MNJTF force comprising of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. As with many attacks, after the soldiers fled, the militants took advantage to captured weapons, ammunition and vehicles at the strategic base on the shores of Lake Chad. "The truth of the matter is that Boko Haram are better equipped than soldiers which is why they keep attacking and forcing soldiers out of military bases," Sanda Kime, a pro-government militiaman in the Lake Chad region, told AFP. "There is a paucity of arms and ammunitions for our fighting troops. It is a serious problem," said Amaechi Nwokolo, a security analyst with the Roman Institute of Security Studies in Abuja. There are increasingly more voices from within the ranks of the military decrying the poor state of their equipment, such as bullet supplies that are incompatible with the army's standard rifles. The increase in arms-trafficking in sub-Saharan African has also allowed ISWAP to acquire "more sophisticated" equipment, most notable from the Horn of Africa and the Middle East via Sudan, according to Yan St Pierre, a counter-terrorism expert with MOSECON, a Berlin-based security consultancy. Demoralised army Nigeria's security situation has deteriorated rapidly in the last few years, forcing the army to deploy on numerous fronts in several parts of the country. "The morale of troops is low. They have been pushed to breaking limit," said Abuja analyst Nwokolo. In August, hundreds of soldiers invaded the runway of Maiduguri airport, in Borno state, firing their weapons in the air to express their exhaustion after four years on the frontline without much leave from the fight against jihadists to see their families. The army managed to make important military progress against jihadists at the end of 2015 chasing the militants out of areas under their control but since then the fighters have adopted guerrilla tactics that are more complex to counter. "The soldiers are fatigued. Sometimes they withdraw when Boko Haram attack their base after a brief encounter or without putting a fight at all," said one Nigerian security source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters. Militant recruitment In his New Year's message, Nigeria's Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Sadique Abubakar said jihadists had added experienced IS foreign fighters to their ranks. "In the fight against Boko Haram, we saw the emergence of new tactics as well as the introduction of highly experienced and skilled fighters and technology, as ISIS elements, dislodged from Syria, relocated to the North East of our country," he said. Rumours about Boko Haram bringing foreign fighters into its ranks are not new, but in recent months several witnesses and experts have added weight to reports of such recruitment. For security expert St Pierre, IS military defeats in Iraq and Syria, and the group's expansion in the Sahel region and the Sahara, has "considerably" improved the mobility of militant fighters in Africa. The analyst said ISWAP has conducted an intensive recruitment campaign in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries such as Niger and Chad for six months, where its radical imams present the jihadist group as a "credible and legitimate" alternative to government. On Christmas Eve, ISWAP militants stormed a military base in Kukareta, Yobe State in the northwest Nigeria, killing 17 soldiers. One local chief said the fighters were likely Chadians by their physical appearance and the language they spoke. Militant change in strategy One Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau used suicide bombings and mass horde attacks in assaults that nowadays seem like tactics from another era. Boko Haram split into two -- Shekau's faction and the ISWAP -- in mid-2016 over ideological differences. Shekau pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, but the IS group gave its formal backing only to ISWAP. ISWAP disagreed with Shekau's indiscriminate use of violence against civilians and vowed to only hit "hard" military or government targets. In 2016, Islamic State named a new local leader Abou Mussab al Barnaoui who looked to attract more support from the local population. "ISWAP fighters have focussed on military bases and what they consider to be the symbols of oppression and government repression," security consultant St Pierre said. As a result, civilians are often locked up in camps for displaced people in areas under tight army control, but a semblance of normal life has returned in areas under Islamist militant influence. "Where the army ordered the markets shut down and supply lines cut, they have restructured trade" in fishing and farming, which are the principal sources of revenues for the region, the MOSECON consultant said. The new strategy of winning support of local populations is much more dangerous than militant chief Shekau's old tactics in the face of the Nigeria's army's impotence, he said. | http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/how-to-explain-the-return-of-nigeria-s-boko-haram-militants/article/540235 |
How to explain the return of Nigerias Boko Haram militants? | Published on 05.01.2019 at 03h54 by AFP Nigerias Islamic State West Africa Province, a faction of Boko Haram affiliated to the Islamic State militant group, has intensified attacks against the army in the northeast of the country at an alarming rate, and the military appears to be struggling. Here are the principal reasons: Better-armed jihadists Fighters from the Islamic State-affiliated group, known by its acronym ISWAP, have managed to assemble a potent arsenal thanks to raids on military bases and capturing weapons in attacks, but also through arms smuggling from other African countries. On December 27, the jihadists showed their force again during a brief takeover of Baga town: In just a few hours, the militants had routed around 500 soldiers from the multi-national MNJTF force comprising of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. As with many attacks, after the soldiers fled, the militants took advantage to captured weapons, ammunition and vehicles at the strategic base on the shores of Lake Chad. The truth of the matter is that Boko Haram are better equipped than soldiers which is why they keep attacking and forcing soldiers out of military bases, Sanda Kime, a pro-government militiaman in the Lake Chad region, told AFP. There is a paucity of arms and ammunitions for our fighting troops. It is a serious problem, said Amaechi Nwokolo, a security analyst with the Roman Institute of Security Studies in Abuja. There are increasingly more voices from within the ranks of the military decrying the poor state of their equipment, such as bullet supplies that are incompatible with the armys standard rifles. The increase in arms-trafficking in sub-Saharan African has also allowed ISWAP to acquire more sophisticated equipment, most notable from the Horn of Africa and the Middle East via Sudan, according to Yan St Pierre, a counter-terrorism expert with MOSECON, a Berlin-based security consultancy. Demoralised army Nigerias security situation has deteriorated rapidly in the last few years, forcing the army to deploy on numerous fronts in several parts of the country. The morale of troops is low. They have been pushed to breaking limit, said Abuja analyst Nwokolo. In August, hundreds of soldiers invaded the runway of Maiduguri airport, in Borno state, firing their weapons in the air to express their exhaustion after four years on the frontline without much leave from the fight against jihadists to see their families. The army managed to make important military progress against jihadists at the end of 2015 chasing the militants out of areas under their control but since then the fighters have adopted guerrilla tactics that are more complex to counter. The soldiers are fatigued. Sometimes they withdraw when Boko Haram attack their base after a brief encounter or without putting a fight at all, said one Nigerian security source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters. Militant recruitment In his New Years message, Nigerias Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Sadique Abubakar said jihadists had added experienced IS foreign fighters to their ranks. In the fight against Boko Haram, we saw the emergence of new tactics as well as the introduction of highly experienced and skilled fighters and technology, as ISIS elements, dislodged from Syria, relocated to the North East of our country, he said. Rumours about Boko Haram bringing foreign fighters into its ranks are not new, but in recent months several witnesses and experts have added weight to reports of such recruitment. For security expert St Pierre, IS military defeats in Iraq and Syria, and the groups expansion in the Sahel region and the Sahara, has considerably improved the mobility of militant fighters in Africa. The analyst said ISWAP has conducted an intensive recruitment campaign in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries such as Niger and Chad for six months, where its radical imams present the jihadist group as a credible and legitimate alternative to government. On Christmas Eve, ISWAP militants stormed a military base in Kukareta, Yobe State in the northwest Nigeria, killing 17 soldiers. One local chief said the fighters were likely Chadians by their physical appearance and the language they spoke. Militant change in strategy One Boko Haram faction led by Abubakar Shekau used suicide bombings and mass horde attacks in assaults that nowadays seem like tactics from another era. Boko Haram split into two Shekaus faction and the ISWAP in mid-2016 over ideological differences. Shekau pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, but the IS group gave its formal backing only to ISWAP. ISWAP disagreed with Shekaus indiscriminate use of violence against civilians and vowed to only hit hard military or government targets. In 2016, Islamic State named a new local leader Abou Mussab al Barnaoui who looked to attract more support from the local population. ISWAP fighters have focussed on military bases and what they consider to be the symbols of oppression and government repression, security consultant St Pierre said. As a result, civilians are often locked up in camps for displaced people in areas under tight army control, but a semblance of normal life has returned in areas under Islamist militant influence. Where the army ordered the markets shut down and supply lines cut, they have restructured trade in fishing and farming, which are the principal sources of revenues for the region, the MOSECON consultant said. The new strategy of winning support of local populations is much more dangerous than militant chief Shekaus old tactics in the face of the Nigerias armys impotence, he said. | https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/how-to-explain-the-return-of-nigerias-boko-haram-militants-2/ |
Is Google Phone launch imminent? | This is what the Google Phone could potentially look like - and a UK launch date could be just two weeks away, according to reports Google could be about to release its Google Phone in the UK in the next two weeks, if fresh reports from India are to be believed. Previous speculations have put the Google Phone launch down for early 2008. But reports now state that Indian service providers are in talks with Google about an exclusive launch of the much-awaited handset, according to Rediff's India Abroad. Google is said to be in discussions with India's first and third largest telecommunications companies, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, about the Google phone. The report adds that a launch of the handset in the UK, Europe and the US could be just two weeks away, with separate announcements in India and Asia. The only potential problem is that Google needs approval from regulatory agencies before releasing any products. Google Phone prototype A few weeks back, Google was reported to have shown a Google Phone prototype to mobile phone operators in the US, and was said to be in talks with handset makers. A Google spokesperson said the company never comments on rumours. The Google Phone rumours have been around for almost a year, ever since the firm first mentioned a possible free, ad-supported handset. | https://www.techradar.com/au/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/is-google-phone-launch-imminent-154668 |
How Should Doctors Determine Brain Death? | The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) called for uniform brain death laws, policies, and practices in a new position statement. The position paper, published in Neurology, defines brain death -- otherwise known as death by neurologic criteria -- as the individual's death due to irreversible loss of function of the entire brain in accordance with the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), a model state law that was approved for the U.S. in 1981. The statement has three goals, lead author James Russell, DO, MS, of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, told MedPage Today. "First, it provides AAN, American Neurological Association, and Child Neurology Society endorsement of the [UDDA's] conclusion, which identified brain death as equivalent to cardiorespiratory death," he said. Second, it provides endorsement from all three organizations that the 2010 guidelines for adults and 2011 guidelines for children are "the currently and widely recognized medical standards for brain death determination," Russell added. And third, it offers guidance about how to "reconcile requests to abstain from brain death testing or to continue organ-sustaining technology after a diagnosis of brain death has been rendered," he said. To the AAN's knowledge, no cases have occurred in which the adult or pediatric guidelines led to inaccurate determination of death with return of any brain function, including consciousness, brainstem reflexes, or breathing. But so far, only Nevada has adopted legislation that requires using the guidelines as the medical standard for determining brain death. Every state has accepted the UDDA definition of brain death as legal death, but in most states, medical standards for determining brain death are unspecified. This lack of specificity, coupled with inconsistencies within institutions, has led to differing interpretations in high-profile legal cases. "The AAN statement was prompted by several recent medicolegal cases that highlighted controversies in brain death and questioned whether it should be considered an accepted and valid medical standard," said James Bernat, MD, of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, who helped develop the conceptual foundation of brain death that formed the basis of the UDDA. The AAN's position provides an "authoritative consensus declaration on the practice of brain death determination," Bernat told MedPage Today. "It clarifies that, despite legitimate areas of controversy, physicians conducting a brain death determination can feel secure that it represents the medical standard of care." The problem is not just uncertainty about what constitutes brain death, noted Arthur Caplan, PhD, director of medical ethics at NYU Langone Hospital in New York City, who was not involved with the AAN paper. "It's uncertainties about what power family members have to compel the continuation of treatment, even in the face of death," Caplan told MedPage Today. "We see a swinging of the pendulum toward patient autonomy. Some doctors have become nervous and think they have to listen to patients, even when they're asking for things that are impossible, or outside the standard of care, or simply wrong." "This paper affirms that parental and family rights have limits, and family members shouldn't be allowed to coerce treatments, while recognizing they do need accommodation in terms of explanations or meetings with ethics committees," Caplan continued. "But death is not a state that requires continuation of treatment, and this paper says that pretty clearly." The AAN position statement provides guidance for clinicians when families do not accept a determination of death and request continued life support. It also supports legislation modeled after the Nevada statute in every state, uniform policies in medical facilities that comply with brain death guidelines, and programs to credential physicians to determine death by neurological criteria. The Brain Death Summit, subsequent meetings, and conference calls of the Brain Death Working Group have been nancially supported by the American Academy of Neurology. Authors report no disclosures relevant to the manuscript. 2019-01-03T16:30:00-0500 | https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/generalneurology/77259 |
Which Bariatric Surgery Needs Most Revisions Over the Decades? | Over the course of 20 years, just over one-quarter of bariatric surgery patients underwent revisional procedures, researchers reported. In a follow-up analysis of participants from the Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study, 27.8% of adult patients underwent a first-time revisional surgery -- accounting for 559 patients out of 2,010 -- Stephan Hjorth, PhD, of the University of Gothenburg, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Surgery. Among these revisional surgeries, conversions to other bariatric procedures were the most common, making up nearly 18% of these surgeries. This was followed by around 6% of revisions accounting for corrective surgeries, while 4.5% were reversals back to normal gastrointestinal anatomy. The reasons for revisional surgery included weight-associated indications; band- or staple-related technical complications; and surgical-associated complications including infection, stoma stenosis, stoma dilatation, pouch enlargement, reflux, and nausea. Between the three surgeries assessed -- banding, vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), and gastric bypass (GBP) -- people who underwent banding were the most likely to undergo any type of revisional surgery over the maximum 26-year follow-up period. Nearly 41% of patients who underwent banding had a revisional surgery. Revisions were less common for vertical banded gastroplasty patients, occurring in around 28% of patients. Revisions were the least common among those who underwent gastric bypass, with only 7.5% of these patients undergoing revisions. As for reversal surgeries, those with banding were five times more likely to have a surgery reversal compared with those with VBG (40.7% vs 7.5%; HR 5.19, 95% CI 3.43-7.87, P<0.001). Banding and VBG patients were most likely to undergo a reversal or a conversion to gastric bypass. However, when it came specifically to corrective surgeries -- which mostly occurred within the first 10 years postoperatively -- these generally had similar rates of incidence between all three types of surgeries, ranging from 5.3% of those with VBG to 7.1% of GBP patients. "The greater weight loss after GBP is the likely main reason for a lower request for conversions in this subgroup compared with the subgroups that undergo banding and VBG," wrote the researchers. When broken down by surgery type, the most common reason for a revisional surgery among those who had banding was band-associated problems, such as migration stenosis or slippage. Among banding patients, nausea and weight-related indications were also common reasons for revision. As for VBG patients, the most common indication for revisional surgery was staple-related disruptions, accounting for 10% of these patients. Nausea due to stenosis and collar migration were also common indications for revision. The most common indications for revisional surgery for gastric bypass patients were reflux-associated and esophagus-associated complications. "The dominant reason for corrective revisional surgery was bile reflux (including esophagitis), which occurred only in patients with loop technique GBP," the researchers noted, adding how "this demonstrates the superiority of the Roux-en-Y technique with regard to the need for secondary interventions." In an accompanying commentary, Ricardo Cohen, MD, of Oswaldo Cruz German Hospital in Brazil, praised the study, writing that "although the SOS study started in the 1990s and operative techniques have evolved, it brings answers about bariatric revisional surgery and raises thoughts regarding choosing the best index bariatric procedure." Cohen also pointed out that although the small percentage of gastric bypass patients included in the cohort was a limitation, it's still apparent that this surgery accounted for fewer revisionary surgeries. "Among more than 200 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures, only five (2.3%) required any reoperation," he said. "Revisional surgery carries a higher complication rate than the primary procedure, but if needed, it should not be denied," Cohen added, also noting the growing number of reported revisions with the recently popular sleeve gastrectomy. Ultimately, he said, "maybe a wiser movement is to start with the right choice and curb the need for reoperations." The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Svenska Vetenskapsrdet, and a Sahlgrenska University Hospital ALF Research grant. Nslund reported fees for consulting and lectures from Baricol AB, Sweden, outside the study; no other study authors reported disclosures. Commentator Cohen reported financial relationships with Ethicon-JJ and serving on the scientific advisory board of GI Dynamics. 2019-04-01T00:00:00-0400 | https://www.medpagetoday.com/endocrinology/obesity/77253 |
Can businesses ever trust the remote worker? | Working from home is increasingly becoming commonplace. The progress of technology means that employees can keep in contact with the office and the boss. Also, workers can now request flexible working arrangements as of last June. Employees with more than 26 weeks of service can apply to bosses to work remotely. But just because you can work from home doesn't mean that you should. A recent survey by IT security firm Imation found that a quarter of employees admitted breaking security policies to work remotely. But another study, this time from private cloud provider ConnectSolutions, found that 77% of employees report greater productivity when working remotely. Changing the infrastructure It is clear that businesses need to start thinking about implementing changes to their IT infrastructure, and consider the types of solutions their remote staff require regular access to. "A good place to start would be to conduct an audit of all the software programs the business currently uses," says Maria Nordborg, director of Customer Relations at Projectplace. "The next step is to evaluate how many of these solutions can still be used by staff remotely." She adds that it may be the case that you need to find cloud alternatives for some of the office-based software to make it easier for staff to access the programs they use on a daily basis. There are a few pieces of technology that can be used to keep employees on track with their work while at home. For example, "Presence" services built into Unified Communications platforms such as WebEx or Microsoft Lync will tell you instantly in real-time whether an employee is where they should be. "Online meeting services such as WebEx Event Centre and Training Centre will monitor attentiveness and the level of interaction of anyone attending and generate a real-time report for the host," says Steve O'Reilly, online meeting expert at MeetingZone. He adds that other technologies such as CRM combined with proactive and systematic line management (setting goals, regular reviews, etc) also help to ensure levels of productivity remain high. "The staff that are unproductive at home tend to be the same ones that are unproductive in an office environment," adds O'Reilly. When trying to ensure productivity, blocking access to particular websites (such as social media sites) could be counterproductive. "Working life has changed and we live in an ever more connected society. The majority of people are always available either by social media or through instant messaging, email, or via their phone," says Chris Martin, Chief Technology Officer at Powwownow. "Since we are more responsive through these channels, we tend to work longer hours. Restricting access to the outside world is therefore like locking the doors to the building." He adds that employers need to be careful not to hinder employee creativity and communication with the world, otherwise staff members and the business as a whole will become introspective and the business will fall behind with society trends and behaviours. | https://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/management/can-businesses-ever-trust-the-remote-worker-1288699 |
Why Was Tony Soprano Such a Welcome Guest in American Homes? | When television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz speak about HBOs legendary series The Sopranos, they can say without fear of contradiction: We told you so. From The Sopranos debut on January 10, 1999, both longtime television critics consistently evangelized about the shows acting talent and production quality. By February 2, 1999, Seitz had already pronounced James Gandolfinis Tony Soprano one of the richest roles in TV historymaybe as rich a role as any actor has ever had. After 20 years, bold statements like that will look ridiculous or brilliant. Seitz called that shot. Its easy to put Gandolfini on TVs Mt. Rushmore, Sepinwall told The Daily Beast, with Andre Braugher or Bryan Cranston, but he rose above. Right from the start of The Sopranos, what he was doing was so special, so unique, so powerful. In their new book, The Sopranos Sessions, Seitz and Sepinwall take a well-earned opportunity to reexamine their two decades of investment with the show. They offer in-depth perspectives about its 86 episodes, and with far more than triviathey rewatched the show bolstered by observations compiled during the shows original run, to now guide readers through creator David Chases methodical plan. For instance, in only the series fifth episode, College, Chase confidently allowed Carmella Soprano to reveal her fatal flawcomplicity. As Sepinwall and Seitz write, Her confession to Father Phil, delivered on the same couch where her family watches TV, sums up this series fascination with evil and compromise, false faces and self-deception. I have forsaken what is right for what is easy, allowing what I know is evil in my house. Allowing my childrenoh my God, my sweet children!to be a part of it. Revelatory soliloquies are more common in a series finalethe dramatic climax years in the making. Viewers saw Carmella confront that moment in week five, and then, for the next eight years, never change. In the same episode, Tony Soprano visits Bowdoin College with his daughter, Meadow. He sees a paraphrased Nathaniel Hawthorne quote placed above a doorway: No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true. Carmella wished she was one kind of person; her actions revealed another. Its a journey the audience also began, on their own couch, starting a vicarious trip into mobster life. In early 1999, that voyage wasnt yet defined. The Sopranos faced comparisons to Analyze This, with Billy Crystal and Robert DeNiro as baffled psychologist and wacky mobster. College ended those comparisons, Sepinwall and Seitz write, featuring Tonys personal and graphic murder of Febby Petrulio, a turncoat mobster hiding out in Maine: The most frightening thing about Tony is the way he seems to trade depression for euphoria when hurting people. James Gandolfinis face splits into a predatory grin, practically a leer were watching an apex predator stalk and kill its prey. The murder climaxes with strangulation by garrote, arriving at the Shakespearean viciousness of Tony choking Febby so hard that the cords are cutting his skin. Other Sunday night entertainment that 1999 evening featured a cookie-cutter miniseries The 60s on one broadcast network and Touched by an Angel on another. Nights would now, Sepinwall and Seitz remind us, be different: Four episodes in, viewers had seen murders and violent death but Tony didnt commit any of the acts. And although it seemed unthinkable that hed go through the series without ordering at least one persons death, a killing like [Febby} seemed equally unthinkable, because TV protagonists didnt get down in the muck like that. That was what henchmen and guest stars were for. In conventional television dramas, Sepinwall said, if the protagonist killed somebody in cold blood (he cites a famous episode of Magnum P.I. ), the villain was made so monstrous that it was acceptable. And it was over very quickly, Sepinwall told the Beast. Fire gun. Roll credits. In College, we see the severity and the finality [in Febbys murder] and how much effort was involved. Our conventional wisdom in 2018 says that a main characters amorality, villainy, and violence is a typical dramatic arc. In the context of 1999, the sit-com leads of Friends and Frazier never encountered choices that werent resolved in 30 minutes. And ER, the 90s perennially-top-ranked series, certainly featured no Very Special Episode revealing Dr. Ross was a serial killer. In The Revolution Was Televised, Sepinwall writes that NYPD Blues crusty but benign Andy Sipowicz was that eras far edge of a complex character. Its not that different in 2018, with top shows The Big Bang Theory, This Is Us, and a lot of football. But the last 20 years have seen a growing cast of morally-ambiguous lead characters to loveWalter White, Vic Mackey, even Midge Maisel and Veronica Mars. Fatal flaws arent new anymore. But in 1999, inviting a sociopathic mobster into ones home on a weekly basis, versus renting the unedited Godfather from Blockbuster for one special night of viewing, that was new. HBO was the network of the 80s The Hitchhiker, which took full advantage of cable TVs loose standards, and had broadcast ultraviolent prison drama Oz since 1997. But in Oz the bad guys were behind barseach savage comeuppance placed outside mainstream society, and the shows protagonists were at least nominally the prison warden and his top assistant. The Sopranos now asked its audience to invest directly with Tony Sopranos face contorted in euphoric rage, his front teeth framed by his snarling mouth, they write. Seitz told the Beast that viewers are essentially forced to imagine youre part of this world, with an alternate morality. You cant judge it or feel superior to it but look at the world on its own terms. Theres no character whose job it is to [tell the audience] thats horrible. Gandolfinis bearlike figure was easily capable of bare-hands murderat 61 more width than depth. Then-President Bill Clinton was slightly taller, but little else about Clinton physically resembles Tony Soprano. In the pairs self-destructive choices, the costs paid by their acquaintances, and their disregard for wives and children, that connection was somewhat closer. The same week that College debuted, Clintons impeachment trial neared its Feb. 12, 1999 conclusion. Republicans excoriated Clinton for criminal conduct they claimed was obvious, demanding his removal from office. Clintons defenders said his behavior was a disappointment, but no high crime. Our real world also had worlds of alternate morality, and there was certainly no script writer giving us one voice to trust, to tell us thats horrible, above all the self-interest and hypocrisy. Viewers of College would have known that Clintons acquittal seemed generally assured. Fifty Republicans would uphold their values and vote for conviction, while not rocking the boat with actual consequences. No Democrat supported impeachment. The process was a high-quality congressional compromiseprinciples less important than keeping up appearances. Chase compromised with Collegea little. In a Sopranos Sessions interview, Chase tells Sepinwall and Seitz that HBO executive Chris Albrechts first reaction to Tonys execution of Febby was, We gotta do something about this, not in a good way. It was because that murder was really great, Chase said. I dont think a lot of TV actors would have done that, the way Jim did. He had spit coming out of his mouth. Chase said that narratively it didnt matter if Febby was living peacefully with his wife and daughter. If Tony doesnt kill that guy, [Tonys] a scumbag. [Febby is] a traitor and an informant. He has to be killed. But the lead character of their marquee Sunday night drama committing such a graphic murder was a bridge too far for HBOthey needed Chase to keep up appearances. Chase begrudgingly turned Febby into a low-level drug dealermaking his strangulation a standard comeuppance within a crime shows acceptable moral boundaries. Which was to me, Chase told Sepinwall, a terrible cop-out. In the years to come, Tracee the stripper is vividly beaten to death, Tony Blundetto viscerally shotgunned on a porch, elderly Minn Matrone painfully suffocated on her floor. Its easy to see Chase, who came up as a writer in the dont-go-too-far network world of The Rockford Files, seeing himself in the words of gangster Phil Leotardo: Twenty years in the can, I wanted manicott. I compromised. I ate grilled cheese off the radiator instead. You see where Im going with this? In The Sopranos Sessions interviews, Chase reaffirms his supposed belief that The Sopranos would never go more than one season anyway (Chase was a pessimist, Sepinwall clarifies), so he could stand on principle for almost any creative choice. Its a good humblebrag, but HBO had renewed the prison rapes and savage murders of Oz for a third season, and The Sopranos was lauded by critics from the start; it seems unlikely that HBO wasnt entirely on board with Chases violent vision, a few tweaks aside. Even kingpins like Chase need the world to believe they are lone visionaries standing tall against The Man. Chases validation did come quickly. College won Emmys for writing by Chase and James Manos Jr. and for Falcos acting. In total, the first season received 16 nominations to lead all shows, the first time HBOor any cable channelmanaged such a feat. Those Emmy nominations were announced July 23, 1999, just days after real estate developer Donald Trump had coyly bantered with CNBCs Chris Matthews about seeking the presidency in 2000. Can you imagine how controversial Id be? Trump said. You think about [Clinton] and the women. Can you imagine? Youd be close, but theres no cigar, Matthews made a salacious joke. They might like my women better, too, Trump replied. Affairs, impeachment, national cynicism, and shamelessness. Plenty of tragedy too: on July 16, John F. Kennedy Jr. crashed his plane into the Atlantic Ocean. It wasnt his death that felt so sad, but losing the dignity, myth or not, that he represented. Pop had Genco, look what I got. Our grandfathers and fathers had Dwight Eisenhower and Tip ONeill. In 1999, we got stuck with Clinton, Trent Lott, and Dennis Hastert. In that 1999 environment, the laughs about the presidency were no joke to the scheming Trump. His friendswho might have been himselfhad put out the buzz that Trump was interested in exploring a Reform Party candidacy. A poll had landed him in double digits (10 percent), behind wishful dreams like Colin Powell, and gadflies like H. Ross Perot, and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. 'America is a place that thinks it has perpetually renewable innocence. We lost it with JFK, lost it at Watergate, lost it in 9/11. When were we ever "innocent"?' Matt Zoller Seitz But by February 2000 Trump pulled his cards for a better hand. He returned to real estate, soon to television, and eventually the market of Russia, where in 2000 Boris Yeltsin had given way to an ambitious former KGB officer. The Russians understood that maybe the world would be great with a strongman to tell them what to do. In early 1999, our public face demanded dignity and maturity. In private, we sat on the family couch and turned to the TV screen, wallowing in a satisfying, predatory evil. Movie director and sometime-actor Peter Bogdanovich arrived in The Sopranos to play Dr. Melfis own therapist. Dr. Melfi stood in for the viewers, horrified of Tonys crimes, but attracted to the darkness. Included in The Sopranos Sessions morgue of several previous articles is a 2000 interview between Seitz and Bogdanovich, who recognized how The Sopranos found its moment: [Bogdanovich] says its the right show for the dawn of a new century when people arent quite sure if the old rules still apply and are concerned that the past and its values might be fading away. [Bogdanovich said] On this show, values arent black and white. That reflects whats going on in the country. I get the sense that people arent entirely sure whats right anymore. Onto this weak foundation would soon land the debris of 9/11. The government traded due process for waterboarding, courtrooms for Guantanamo. Bogdanovichs sense eventually reached its natural conclusion. Trump knew to change. The Trump of 1999 was no Tony Soprano, not in public, anyway, where he played a breezy blowhard, good-natured and self-deprecating, a fine fit for that sunset era. Today, Trump gives his audiences what they once craved in private and now applaud in public. His hulking body language and self-pitying rants, jutting chin and coterie of grotesque sycophantsits Tony Soprano brought to life. Repulsed or not, we spent 1999 to 2007 being told someone like that was worth paying attention too. Moral confusion is hard to navigate. Its too vicious. Its so boring. Viewers rode those tides, and critics celebrated the overall excellence. Seitz and Sepinwall rated it their second-best TV series (behind The Simpsons). College was ranked by TV Guide as the #2 best episode of any television show ever, and the series best episode by The Daily Beast, Slate, and Entertainment Weekly. Its Sepinwalls top choice and Seitzs #2 selection (behind University, the episode featuring the series' most brutal deathTracee the young prostituteI dont ever need to see [that episode] again, Seitz told the Beast). The Sopranos represented qualityin acting, writing, visionnever seen before. The full experience meant a decades investment with a mobster and his murders, but maybe a program this groundbreaking deserves that moral compromise. Seitz isnt really having that debate. You have to accept that we had innocence to lose. I cant get behind that reading, he told the Beast. America is a place that thinks it has perpetually renewable innocence. We lost it with JFK, lost it at Watergate, lost it in 9/11. When were we ever innocent? Still, in January 1999, we didnt know where both series and the nation were ultimately headed. Nathaniel Hawthornes quote in just that fifth episode feels like a clear warning. Sepinwall laughs, a little, at Sopranos fans who empathize with the characters more than maybe they should. One woman felt bad about one of Christophers misadventuresmaybe Paulie had given that young scamp a hard time yet again. Hes a good boy, she told Sepinwall. Never mind Chris sent his fianc Adriana to her murder in the woods. But she did rat him out; in The Sopranos alternate version of morality, the bitch had it coming. Like Chase said, anything else would be a terrible cop-out. In 2018, Sepinwall and Seitz can say we told you so about recognizing The Sopranos revolutionary quality, and The Sopranos Sessions is a fun look back at the series entire narrative. David Chase can also say I told you so, about the culture that College predicted. That was a revolution too, but without the fun. | https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-was-tony-soprano-such-a-welcome-guest-in-american-homes?source=articles&via=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29 |
Where is Ross Chastain going to go in the Xfinity Series? | Ashley Albrecht FOLLOW CONTRIBUTOR News 9 // 05 Jan 2019, 09:00 IST SHARE Share Options Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Google+ Email NASCAR Xfinity Series Whelen Trusted To Perform 200 - Practice Xfinity racing fans have been wondering where Ross Chastain is going to go next after he lost his Xfinity Series ride for the Chip Ganassi Racing team for NASCAR Xfinity Series. The watermelon farmer in Florida did win his first race in Las Vegas evening race where he got his first career win in the Xfinity Series. We are still wondering where Ross Chastain will land an Xfinity ride, and who is going to sponsor Ross for the Xfinity Series. There is another Xfinity team who has lost their rides, as we are unsure where Ryan Truex is going to land next, and who will sponsor Truex when he finds an Xfinity ride, or maybe he can go back to the Truck Series race, or maybe K&N pro series race. Roush did shut down for the Xfinity Series due to lack of sponsorship. Here's the statement from Chip Ganassi: "Due to lack of sponsorship funding, we will cease operation of the No.42 Xfinity team in 2019. This was a difficult decision for me to make and it comes with much anguish as this is a championship caliber team (having won six races and finish second in the owner's championship) and more importantly because it affects a number of good people's livelihoods. Running a car without proper funding is difficult to do". Chastain has won a few stages, and gained points in the Xfinity series. He was so close winning in Darlington NASCAR Xfinity series, before an accident between him and Kevin Harvick. Neither of them won the race. For now, we have no idea who will sponsor Chastain, or who will give him an Xfinity ride for the 2019 season in the NASCAR Xfinity series. He does have a 300 Cup start in Monster Energy Cup series. Advertisement | https://www.sportskeeda.com/motorsports/what-s-next-after-42-team-shut-down-in-xfinity-series |
Can the Seahawks Upset the Cowboys in a Battle of Red-Hot Playoff Teams? | Before wild-card weekend, Andy Benoit is giving a blueprint for the four underdogs to win on the road. Heres his plan for the Seahawks in Dallas. On offense Seattle pounds the rock more than any NFL team, and sustaining that ground game is crucial for sidelining a Cowboys offense thats also built on high-volume running. But in todays NFL, your running game is only as effective as the explosive passes you build off it. The Seahawks have been stellar with downfield play-action, highlighting Russell Wilsons arcing deep ball, which might be the best in football. How the Eagles Can Upset the Bears Typically against a zone-based defense like Dallas, you attack by sending wide receivers on deep crossing routes through the zone area of a linebacker or box safety. Dallass backers and safeties, however, are well-schooled at spotting these and have the speed to defend them. But when a linebacker or safety turns and runs with a receiver, he leaves a void in his zone. Thats where Seattle must attack. Think Tyler Lockett running deep across the field and Doug Baldwin, a great intermediate route runner, trailing and throttling down inside. The question is whether Wilson has the discipline to wait on these throws, and whether Seattles vastly improved offensive line can fend off Dallass talented pass rush long enough. It will help if those deep shots come on 1st and 2nd down, where the Seahawks will be playing with a sixth offensive lineman (George Fant) and the Cowboys likely wont be blitzing. On defense Story continues The Seahawks must load the box and make Dak Prescott, not Ezekiel Elliott, beat them. Prescott is an excellent ball-handler and distributor on loosely defined pass plays, where hes afforded extra time and margin for error. (Bootlegs and rollouts are the best examples.) If he were a point guard, hed be Rajon Rondo. Just like how opponents try to force Rondo into long jump shots, Prescott must be forced into downfield throws. He can hit these, though hes not an innately precise passer, and he doesnt throw with great anticipation. So dont panic if Prescott finds Amari Cooper or Michael Gallup on a few in-breakerskeep loading the box and make him do it again and again. The Seahawks still run their foundational Cover 3 zone, but quietly, designer pressuresusually involving linebacker Bobby Wagnerare also part of their scheme. Bringing these on 2nd downs, not just 3rd downs, would give the defense a nice texture while doubling as a run-stopping tactic. BENOIT: After Splitting Regular Season Matchups, How the Colts Can Upset the Texans in the Rubber Match Teams have been a little less eager to load the box and come after Prescott since the Amari Cooper trade. Thats the mismatch the Seahawks must live with. They should be comfortable when Cooper aligns on the offenses right, across from cornerback Shaquill Griffin. Its when Cooper aligns left, opposite fifth-round rookie corner Tre Flowers, where nerves will tighten. Flowers has improved over the course of this season but, being so long-bodied, he still struggles to transition against in-breaking routes. And so when Cooper, a great direction-changing route runner, is over there, Seattle must bring pressure from the other side, allowing a linebacker to sink back into Coopers window. Chance of an Upset: 35%. The Cowboys have a lot of speed on defense and Elliott is coming in fresh. Email us at [email protected]. | https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/seahawks-upset-cowboys-battle-red-120543842.html?src=rss |
Why Press Pass? | I am of a generation that loves experiences. Just as the Greatest Generation touted frugality and the Baby Boomers were all about the American Dream, we Millennials crave traveling to far-off places, sitting down to a well-plated meal and curling up before the fire after a long day of skiing and then maybe sharing those moments on Instagram. Sure, its a stereotype, but for many my age, the stereotype fits. We grew up hearing, Money cant buy me love, You cant take it with you and The journey is the thing. These truisms took. Markers of success no longer include the latest TV, the fanciest car or the biggest house. Instead, we would rather dig into what we did last weekend or where our next adventure will take us. Enter: the experience economy. Two decades after the term was coined in a 1998 piece by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore in Harvard Business Review, the experience economy is taking off. When I lived in New York, I couldnt make it a block without running into a pop-up or miniconcert or guided tasting. The trend is growing in Sheridan, too, with cooking classes at Verdello and Cottonwood Kitchen + Home, an open pottery studio at Red Bison even an Escape Room. While Millennials are receiving all the credit, a recent study by Expedia and the Center for Generational Kinetics shows that 74 percent of Americans of all generations prioritize experiences over products. The change could be because we have been burned by the recent recessions; it could be a natural progression from the service economy. Regardless of the reason, I love the direction. With supercomputers at our fingertips at any time, we could easily retreat into the digital world of information and entertainment. Instead, this trend toward experiences shows a value for real-life interaction that connects us to our community, to each other. Since moving back to Sheridan, I have found myself immersed in experiences I grew up around and now appreciate more than ever, from mountain music festivals in the summer to backcountry snowshoeing in the winter. Our county has so much to offer, thanks to the regional businesses who continue to sponsor, maintain and plan. For more than 130 years, The Sheridan Press has reported and distributed news across the county. Throughout our history, we have strived to evolve with the times, following our mission to inform and engage the community. And now, we are taking our game to the next level. Enter: Press Pass. We have created an all-new membership program, my favorite special project yet. Press Pass will unlock exclusive seasonal experiences offered by our regional business partners. Think: comped tickets to the WYO Theater; a VIP tent during the inaugural Sheridan WYO Winter Rodeo, courtesy of Black Tooth Brewing Co; behind-the-scenes visits to the Brinton Museum in Big Horn; and many more. And, since we are, above all, dedicated to exceptional journalism, the membership features a premium online subscription to The Press with a customizable homepage and additional content. Members will further connect with Sheridan County, new local experiences will blossom and The Press will continue to progress. Press Pass registration opens Wednesday, Jan. 9. If you have any questions or experience suggestions! email me at [email protected]. | https://thesheridanpress.com/100294/why-press-pass/ |
Why light manufacturing? | Multiple studies over the years have identified manufacturing as an ideal economic development target for our part of Wyoming. It isnt that experts want to move huge, smokestack factory manufacturing to our state, but instead, we are a good fit for what is best described as niche, light or advanced manufacturing. Small firms, with employment of a half dozen to dozens, with the potential to grow, fit into Wyomings economy. Typically, these firms make precision, custom or semi-custom products, in small batches. Wyoming is not unique in this regard. For years America off-shored its manufacturing, sending jobs south to Mexico and Central America, or overseas to Asia. In recent years, that trend has reversed with a trend to onshoring, or bringing home the work that involves smaller manufacturing batches, more precise work and faster turnaround. For remote areas like ours, the trend got a boost by the deregulation of the trucking industry. Before that, manufacturers tended to huddle close to the cheapest form of transportation waterways. Truck deregulation lowered transportation costs as a percent of the final total price of a product, enabling companies to consider inland locations. Because of the energy industry, we already have firms that engage in custom repair and fabrication. As those firms seek to diversify their product base, they expand beyond energy, and in doing so, help diversify the local job base. Light, niche manufacturing was also identified as a good fit for our region because we had some firms that had spontaneously arisen in that sector. The idea, then, is to encourage that natural growth and to help more firms start business here, or to relocate here. Mostly, though, manufacturing is an ideal economic development goal because it just seems that making things is a natural fit for Wyoming. There is a hands on, do-it-yourself flavor to life in a rural town. Ranch life, too, is like that. Shop class is a fixture of local high school life, with solid programs that impart the skills needed in manufacturing. Finally, light, niche manufacturing is a good fit for this area because of Northern Wyoming Community College. With a presence in Sheridan, Johnson and Campbell counties, Sheridan College has strong programs in machining and welding. That has been encouraged by people of vision, such as the late Tom Kinnison, the boards of Whitney and other local foundations, and the college trustees, executive leaders and faculty. Today, there are hundreds of light manufacturing jobs in Sheridan and Johnson counties. Like manufacturing nationwide, these firms suffer a lack of skilled labor. Lacking a pool of local, qualified applicants these firms are forced to recruit throughout Wyoming and in surrounding states. These are good paying jobs and could be filled by many local folks, if only they had the necessary training. That will be the subject of my next column. Dave Kinskey represents Wyoming Senate District 22, which consists of Johnson County and eastern Sheridan County. A businessperson and former mayor of Sheridan, Kinskey can be reached at [email protected] or 307-751-6428. | https://thesheridanpress.com/100290/why-light-manufacturing/ |
Where will West Palm's new license plate readers be? | WEST PALM BEACH The West Palm Beach Police Department will be installing license plate readers around the city to help solve crimes and missing person cases. Temporary readers, which capture plate numbers of cars on the roads, are already installed and the department will soon put up permanent devices. The police department will only use them to search for plates that are related to reported issues such as carjackings or silver alerts, spokesman David Lefont said. They will be installed in strategic locations around the city, Lefont said. He clarified that this wouldnt necessarily mean they will be placed in high-crime areas, but are likely to be placed on roads that lead into these areas. He declined to comment on specific locations saying they did not want the devices to be removed. He added that he did not believe this is a privacy issue because license plates are visible to all people. Test readers helped the department find various violations from stolen cars to expired licenses. The cameras continuously scan cars driving past them. Police say its an efficient way to catch a criminal in real time. One at Lake Avenue found 110 expired tags, 14 stolen plates and dozens of drivers whose licenses were suspended during a test in May. The license plate readers are part of the citys Real Time Crime Center, a $2.2 million project to help the city catch crimes. It also includes sensors that help the department determine where guns were fired. The department started the high-tech Real Time Crime Center in response to increases in crime, particularly a 150 percent increase in murders in 2017. Other area cities, including Wellington, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach, Manalapan, Riviera Beach, Juno Beach, Tequesta, North Palm Beach and Lake Worth also decided to implement license plate readers: - In Wellington, the village council awarded a contract of $463,000 to Vetted Security Solutions for an automated license plate reader system in August. Money will come from seized and forfeited assets. - In Boynton Beach, the city agreed to 23 automated license plate readers in December 2017. The vendor Boynton uses for its red light camera program gave them the plate readers for free. The city already had two readers in place. - In Lake Worth, commissioners unanimously passed a motion to use $332,012 in surtax funds to buy 22 license plate readers cameras and 20 more surveillance cameras. @rachelfrazin | https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190104/where-will-west-palms-new-license-plate-readers-be |
Will former Eagles kicker Cody Parkey be the difference for the Bears on Sunday? | Parkey has been something of a nightmare for the Bears, who believed he would return to his 2014 form. Parkey tore groin muscles three games into the 2015 Eagles and was cut out of training camp the following summer. The Browns picked him up for the rest of that season but waived him the following September. The Dolphins claimed him for 2017. He made 21 of 23 field goals and 26 of 29 PATs for Miami, which prompted the Bears to sign him to a four-year, $15 million contract with $9 million in guaranteed money, a contract with salary-cap ramifications that likely saved him from being released by the Bears. | http://www.philly.com/eagles/eagles-bears-playoffs-cody-parkey-kicker-contract-jake-elliott-nfl-20190105.html |
Will there be adults in the room when tokens disrupt the financial order of venture capitalists and angel investors? | After regulatory action against issuers of initial coin offerings (ICO) seriously dampened investor enthusiasm this year, some blockchain evangelists are gearing up for another offshoot of start-up fundraising, which they believe could even disrupt the traditional venture capital model security tokens. Start-ups working on various blockchain projects have in recent years been raising funds through ICOs mainly bitcoin and ethereum and in exchange issue investors with utility tokens that give them access to their application or service. But a number of fines imposed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission this year on ICO issuers including one in which the regulator imposed a lifetime ban on two executives involved in a fraudulent ICO project has flagged the potential legal pitfalls that could undermine an ICO. Worse still, a recent study by the consultants EY in October found that 71 per cent of the 141 ICO projects launched in 2017 failed to bring any working products to the market. But proponents of securities token, such as Ciarn Hynes, managing partner of Boston-based venture capital firm Cosimo Ventures, are gearing up to launch a tokenised venture capital fund, initially targeting US$20 million some of it from Asian investors. Blockchain is disrupting and turning venture capital model on its head, said Hynes. The liquidity options from a security token venture fund is more attractive than what has been available under the traditional venture capital fund. Different from a traditional venture capital fund, Hynes said its security token fund, Cosimo X, will issue security tokens, each representing a US$1 par value in the fund, for investors to subscribe using bitcoin and ether, or US dollars and euros. The Cosimo X fund will be listed on securities token exchanges. Cosimo Ventures will use the proceeds raised to invest in four to five tech start-ups seeking Pre-series A round financing. Besides blockchain, Cosimo will also invest in those specialising in internet of things, augmented reality and cybersecurity tech. Hynes said he expects sufficient liquidity in the tokens as they would be listed. Once listed, investors would be free to trade their security tokens if they see that the net asset value of the token appreciates. Additionally, once a portfolio company makes an exit, Cosimo Ventures will allocate up to 50 per cent of the proceeds to investors, while reinvesting the other half back into the fund for making new investments. The fund will be open-ended, meaning that the manager will continuously issue new security tokens to meet additional demand from investors. Hynes said he expects the fund would appeal to investors focusing on short term returns and those who want to cash in on their investments readily. It would appeal to high net worth individuals or family office investors, rather than financial institutions such as an endowment or pension funds that are used to the long holding period of this asset class that ranges from eight to 10 years. With the popularity of crowdfunding platforms in recent years, which allow investors to pick and choose their own companies and investment horizons, we see a change in mentality among investors. They want to make better return earlier, said Hynes. Cosimo Ventures is finalising a partnership arrangement with a licensed manager in Hong Kong to help with the fundraising and distribution. Listing private equity or venture capital funds is not new. Some industry players estimate that there are close to 100 such funds trading on traditional exchanges globally, although secondary market liquidity has been focused on just about a fifth. Due to lack of trading interest, it is not uncommon to see many of these listed funds trading at a discount to their net asset value (NAV). A funds NAV is the sum of all its assets minus liabilities, and then divided by the number of all outstanding shares. It therefore remains to be seen what mechanism the manager of these security token funds have in place to address issues like lack of trading interest, or tokens trading at a discount to NAV. In Hong Kong, Jehan Chu, managing partner of blockchain focused investor Kenetic Capital, which is also gearing up to launch a security token fund in partnership with asset manager Venture Smart Asia early next year, sees them as being able to untangle the barnacles that have been weighing down the ship of capital market progress. He said security tokens can be the future foundation of capital markets as we evolve past programmable money, that is bitcoin, into an era of programmable assets. Imagine a future where your equity not only has increased liquidity, but increased intelligence powered by AI, machine learning, IoT, and more thats the true potential of security tokens, he said. The Cayman-domiciled Kenetic Opportunities Fund, whose initial size he refused to disclose, will also be an open-ended fund that will invest in both security tokens or related infrastructure, as well as utility tokens that are already trading on crypto-exchanges. Chu said the fund will targets investment in up to 40 such tokens. However, the performance of utility tokens post-ICO has been poor. According to the EY study, nearly 86 per cent of the 141 ICOs surveyed were trading below their listing price in 2018 and 30 per cent have lost substantial value. EY also found high risk of fraud and theft by start-ups seeking funds via ICOs. We will help these listed ICO start-ups manage their finances, apply best practices to ensure that they have healthy cash flows, said Chu. As utility tokens in an ICO do not confer equity ownership to their holders, this is one reason why many venture capital firms have not invested in ICOs as this goes against their ethos of owning a minority stake in a start-up, and also having a say to shape the business operations. While Kenetic Capital does not operate as a venture capital manager, Chu described the funds investment approach as taking a venture capital approach akin to hedge fund-like, stock-picking strategy. Given the poor performance of some of ICO tokens after their listing, Chu said the fund will seek to pick undervalued tokens that are not trading at the right venue and include them in its portfolio for potential price upside. In Hong Kong, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in November launched a regulatory sandbox to explore whether to regulate and license cryptocurrency asset trading platforms and exchanges. It will accept eligible exchange and platform operators into the sandbox to jointly explore proposed regulatory requirements in addressing risks and provide investor protection. Currently cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong, which trade bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ethereum, are not regulated. The SFC has said they do not fall under its definition of securities or futures contracts. But this might change if the SFC decides at the end of the sandbox to regulate and license these platforms. The SFC said in its framework document that if an operator is interested in being licensed by the SFC, it should offer the trading of at least one or more virtual assets which fall under the definition of securities on its platform, as only then would the platform operator fall within SFCs jurisdiction and grant it a licence for regulated activities. But industry players say they are unclear if in the future a licensed platform operator or exchange could indeed list and trade a security token in Hong Kong. In both Hong Kong and US, regulators have said that many digital tokens offered in an ICOs may qualify as securities, which would then entail the issuers to be licensed or register their tokens as such with the regulators. But it remains unclear how many security token offerings have been successfully filed and registered in both jurisdictions. Kevin Loo, co-founder of cryptocurrency fund manager CryptAM, said so far his firms funds have not invested in any ICOs or securities tokens. Going forward, if the regulatory environment proves to be favourable for security tokens, he might consider including them. While we welcome the introduction of security tokens in the future, bringing further innovation to the fintech scene, we are mindful that the road ahead for regulatory approval for security token offerings is likely some way off into 2019, said Loo. | https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2179295/will-there-be-adults-room-when-tokens-disrupt-financial-order |
Was soll ich mit den vielen Wachsresten anfangen? | Bitte sagen Sie mir doch mal, was mit den Kerzen los ist! Der Docht ist viel zu dnn im Verhltnis zu den kiloweisen Wachskrpern. Christian Frank* Christian Frank Ob eine Kerze schn abbrennt oder nicht, hngt von verschiedenen Faktoren ab. Sowohl die Qualitt der Kerze als auch der Standort beim Abbrennen spielen dabei eine Rolle. Das Wachs der meisten im Handel angebotenen Kerzen besteht aus Paraffin, Bienenwachs, Stearin oder einer Mischung dieser Rohstoffe. Paraffin ist als Nebenprodukt der Erdlraffination das meistverwendete Produkt. Stearin wird aus Palml oder aus Rinder- und Schweinetalg, einem Abfallprodukt der Fleischproduktion, gewonnen. Der Docht besteht seit Urzeiten aus Baumwolle. Die meisten dieser Rohstoffe sind in der Produktion nicht ganz unproblematisch fr die Umwelt. Whrend Erdl nicht erneuerbar ist, wird Palml oft nicht umweltfreundlich produziert. Tierisches Fett ist fr alle Veganer ein Tabu. Folglich gilt auch bei der Kerzenwahl dasselbe wie bei vielen anderen Produkten: Lieber weniger konsumieren, dafr in hoher Qualitt. Qualitt der Kerzen Ob eine Kerze schn abbrennt, hngt mit der Qualitt der verwendeten Rohstoffe und der optimalen Abstimmung der Dochtdicke auf den Kerzendurchmesser zusammen. Leider kann die Qualitt nicht anhand des Aussehens, des Duftes oder des Preises der Kerze beurteilt werden. Einen guten Anhaltspunkt gibt aber das RAL-Gtezeichen (www.kerzengte.de). Dieses garantiert die Verwendung qualitativ hochstehender Rohstoffe und ein sauberes Abbrennen. Idealerweise werden Kerzen aus den zahlreichen Zentralschweizer Kerzenmanufakturen gekauft. Sie garantieren qualitativ hochstehende Schweizer Produkte. Doch leider ntzt auch die beste Qualitt nichts, wenn die Kerze im Durchzug steht. Ein vor Zugluft geschtzter Standort ist also ebenfalls wichtig fr ein sauberes Abbrennen ohne Tropfen und grosse Wachsreste. Wachsrecycling Sptestens wenn der Docht ganz abgebrannt ist, bleibt ein gewisser Wachsrest brig. Obwohl gemss Auskunft der Kerzenhersteller gerade in der Adventszeit die Nachfrage nach Recyclingwachs gross ist, nehmen die Kerzenhersteller in der Regel nur grssere Mengen Kerzenreste von Grosskunden zurck. Ein eigentliches Kerzenwachs-Recyclingsystem existiert nicht. Der Privatkunde kann aber Kerzenreste auf verschiedene Arten selber recyceln. Die Reste knnen zusammengeschmolzen und in alten Gefssen oder Konfiglsern zu neuen Kerzen gegossen werden. Den dazu notwendigen Docht kann man im Bastelladen kaufen oder auch Baumwollgarn verwenden. Wer nicht gerne selber bastelt, kann auch ein Schmelzfeuer kaufen: ein Keramiktopf, worin Wachsreste mithilfe eines nicht brennenden Dauerdochts aus Glasfasern recycelt werden. Zur Entsorgung gehrt Kerzenwachs in den normalen Hauskehricht. Da der Kehricht in der Schweiz verbrannt wird, wird die im Abfall enthaltene Energie zumindest thermisch genutzt. Dies sorgt dafr, dass zahlreiche Haushalte mit Fernwrmeanschluss wohlig warme Wintertage verbringen knnen. | https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/leben/ratgeber/was-soll-ich-mit-den-vielen-wachsresten-anfangen-ld.1082577 |
Is The World Safe From Global Conflict In 2019? | The answer is a definitive No. As 2018 ended, the potential for war was looming and Russian President Vladimir Putin even refused to rule out a nuclear war. But then, the statesmen grappling with international security also know that nukes are useless. They serve the purpose of deterrence but cannot be used as offensive weapons. In fact, the nearest we came to a nuclear flashpoint was during last year over North Korea. But that point is well behind us. North Korea is no longer considered as a great threat to global security although it is fairly clear by now, thanks to satellite imagery and other reports, that claims that Pyongyang was shutting down its nuclear weapons testing must be taken with a pinch of salt. Defusing the crisis with North Korea stands out as President Trumps most successful summit diplomacy so far. Coming back to Russias tensions with the West, no one thinks of the likelihood of the tensions cascading to a doomsday, either. Putins startling remark can be put in perspective. These days, what is uppermost on his mind is the planned US exit from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Putin has repeatedly warned that if the US scuttles the INF Treaty, it would trigger a Russian response. Suffice to say, when Putin made the seemingly ominous remark lamenting that the global fears of a nuclear war have ebbed, he had a political agenda to draw attention to the growing instability due to the tensions in Russias relations with the West and the ensuing great depletion of a common agenda apropos international security today. What Putin implied was that if the relations continue to be in free fall, a point may come when the situation regarding nuclear weapons may spin out of control. As a Russian analyst noted, Putin believes that nuclear weapons are Russias ultimate argument that should influence Western politicians thinking. However, the likelihood of western sanctions against Russia getting lifted in 2019 is practically nil. Russia has survived the sanctions but they have and are taking a heavy toll on the Russian economy. Apart from limiting imports of Western energy and other technologies, Russias access to international capital markets remains blocked and international investors feel discouraged to have dealings in Russia. Indeed, Russias pivot to China is an outcome of the western sanctions and the political relations with China are at their highest level at present. The mutual trust at the leadership level is unprecedented and in overall terms, China remains Russias largest and strategically most significant partner in Asia. Nonetheless, as an influential Moscow pundit wrote recently, Its no secret that amidst the war in the financial sector that the United States is waging against Russia, Chinese companies and banks were in no hurry to create mechanisms to bypass these (western) sanctions. Often they refused to work with Russian clients, which contrasts with the highest level of political relations between the countries and the mutual trust of their leaders In this regard the exacerbation of the face-off between China and the United States could be both a boon and a bane for Russias foreign policy. In the final analysis, an improvement of Russias relations with the US will depend on the conclusion of the ongoing inquiry on Trumps alleged Russia collusion. The possibility of such a thing happening cannot be ruled out. At any rate, the chances of the inquiry getting carried over to 2020 appear rather slim. But, on the other hand, 2020 also promises to be a turbulent election year in US politics, which precludes a controversial foreign policy initiative such as on a radical improvement of relations with Russia on Trumps part. Equally, Candidate Trumps campaign for a second term in the 2020 November presidential election will also prevent any sharp deterioration in the US-China relations through 2019. The two countries are almost certainly coming to an accommodation on the trade disputes and related issues. Maintaining economic interdependence with the US is important for Chinas economic growth. Thus, Beijing may address the crux of the trade war its ambitious Make in China 2015 plan, which has become a bone of contention for the Trump administration. A change to Chinas manufacturing blueprint cannot be ruled out. Some policymakers in Beijing have signaled that that the MIC 2025 program could be replaced with a new vision that one the one hand encourages foreign investment while on the other hand drop its previous market share targets devolving upon domination by Chinese companies in short, diluted to reflect key concessions to the US critics. Arguably, even the 2025 timeline might be pushed back. Of course, this will not mean that Beijing will abandon its quest for developing indigenous advanced technology or for reducing its reliance on Western know-how, but, simply put, new industrial goals may be set discreetly under the rubric of Chinas ongoing structural reforms. There have been reports that Beijing may likely announce fair competition norms for state-owned, private, and foreign enterprises based on the market-oriented concept of competitive neutrality that ensures level playing field to Chinese and foreign participants. Equally, it must be noted that the Trump administration should be aware that a trade war with China in an election year is not desirable. Quite obviously, the supply glut in the US market for soybeans already makes a telling political story. China is not in the least interested in a New Cold War with the US. A senior Chinese diplomat last weekend even called for a responsible US withdrawal from Afghanistan. They [US] have been in Afghanistan for 17 years. If they are leaving the country, they should try to leave in a gradual and a responsible way, said Lijian Zhao, deputy Chinese ambassador in Islamabad, while speaking to the Pakistani television. Lijian added, If a civil war broke out after the U.S. withdrawal, the first countries affected will be Pakistan, will be China, and it will be the immediate neighbors. So, we have to sit together with the parties concerned so that we start a peace process. The Chinese diplomat admitted that Beijing worries about the East Turkestan Islamic Movement using Afghanistan as base to foment violence in Xinjiang. Lijian said, They are still in Afghanistan. They are still posing a threat to the national security of Xinjiang, of China. What they want is to establish a separate state, to separate Xinjiang out of China. This is totally unacceptable to China. So, we will work with the Afghan government to try to eliminate this group. (VOA) No matter the Chinese motivations, it will get noted in Washington that Beijing will not gang up with Moscow and Tehran to act as a spoiler and derail the Afghan peace talks that the quadripartite group of US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan is promoting. The bottom line is that China is not breaking international rules or order. Nor can China be isolated, given the high degree of integration of its economic system into the world economy. If the US fights with China, it will lose more allies. Nobody wants to choose sides. Everybody wants to stand by China cannot leave the world, and the world cannot leave China. So, you cant isolate China. This is very different from the Soviet Union, to quote veteran China hand Ambassador Charles Freeman in a recent interview. | https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-04/world-safe-global-conflict-2019?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29 |
Can Suns end up with 10 more wins than last season? | CLOSE Phoenix Suns first-year head coach Igor Kokoskov talks about where the team is right now near the halfway point of the 2018-19 season. Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic Clippers' Patrick Beverley (21) and Montrezl Harrell (5) force a steal on Suns' Devin Booker (1) during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Ariz. on January 4, 2019. (Photo: Patrick Breen/The Republic) Phoenix would have to win 32 of its last 42 games just to finish with a .500 record at 41-41. That's not happening, especially with the Suns (9-31) reeling on a five-game losing skid, after falling to the Clippers 121-111 on Friday. It would still be a fifth straight losing season, but a 10-win increase from having the NBAs worst record of 21-61 last season would be a noticeable improvement. Other teams are in the midst of making that kind of leap. Sacramento (19-19) is in the playoff mix after winning just 27 games last season while the Los Angeles Lakers (21-17) have nearly exceeded last seasons win total (25). Adding LeBron James has played a little part in the Lakers' resurgence. Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James (23) gestures after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018, in Los Angeles. Going into Fridays games, 14 of the remaining 24 teams on Phoenixs schedule have a .500 or losing record: Cleveland (8-30) New York (9-29) Chicago (10-28) Atlanta (11-26) Washington (15-23) Detroit (17-19) Minnesota (17-21) New Orleans (17-22) Utah (18-20) Memphis (18-19) Charlotte (18-19) Dallas (18-19) Miami (18-18) Sacramento (19-19) Dec 13, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson (20) dunks against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports (Photo: Joe Camporeale, Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports) The Suns play the Jazz four times, the Kings and Pelicans three times and the Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, Timberwolves and Cavaliers twice. They face the Heat, Knicks, Bulls, Pistons, Wizards and Grizzlies one more time. Phoenix should look at Cleveland, New York, Chicago and Washington as must-wins. The Cavs have a worse record, the Hawks nearly do, and neither is more talented than the Suns. Phoenix already beat New York by 18 at Madison Square Garden. It shouldnt lose the rematch at home. The Suns lost at Chicago. They shouldnt get swept by a team thats having just as bad a season. Then theres the Wizards, whom Phoenix shouldve beaten in regulation before losing in three overtimes. Dec 21, 2018; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Trevor Ariza (1) shoots over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports (Photo: Brad Mills, Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports) That game should feature Trevor Ariza returning to Phoenix after a short stint that ended in an early trade. Fans will be up for that one, and Suns players should be, too. Wins over the Knicks, Bulls and Wizards as well as each remaining pair against the Cavaliers and Hawks would put Phoenix at 16 wins. That leaves Detroit, Minnesota, New Orleans, Utah, Memphis, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami and Sacramento for a total of 19 games. All these teams have playoff aspirations. Theyre going to be tougher outs, but lets say Phoenix beats the Hornets, Mavericks, Kings, Timberwolves and Pelicans, avenges losses to Miami and Detroit and beats Memphis at home. Throw in two wins over Utah. After all, Kokoskov knows all that Jazz from having just coached there. Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov in the first half during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) (Photo: Rick Scuteri, AP) Thats 10 more wins thatd give them 26 and leave the Suns with five more for 31. Now it gets tough. Check out the remaining 10 teams Phoenix has left to play: Milwaukee (26-10) Toronto (28-12) Denver (25-11) Golden State (25-14) Indiana (25-12) Houston (22-15) Portland (22-16) San Antonio (22-17) Los Angeles Clippers (22-16) Los Angeles Lakers (21-17) The Suns play the Rockets three times and the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Warriors and Lakers twice. They face the Spurs, Clippers, Bucks, Raptors and Pacers one more time. Thats a total of 16 games. Dec 11, 2018; San Antonio, TX, USA; Phoenix Suns small forward Josh Jackson (20) has his shot blocked by San Antonio Spurs small forward Rudy Gay (22) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports (Photo: Soobum Im, Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports) The Suns owe the Lakers, Blazers and Spurs for handing them embarrassing losses. With two more against the Nuggets, they should want to split one of those. They had a chance to beat Indiana at home. They stunned Milwaukee on the road and should have the confidence to upset the Bucks again. There are few of what would people would call sure victories on Phoenixs schedule. However, the more wins the Suns get against teams theyre not supposed to beat, the better chance they have of finishing the season with 10 more wins than they had last season. Twenty of Phoenixs last 42 games are at home. The Suns are currently 5-16 at home. A lot of factors go into this: Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton steals the ball from Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams on Dec. 28 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic) Injuries. They happen over the course of 82 games. Timing. Phoenix has a four-game stretch when it follows up a home game against Portland with three on the road against Denver, the Lakers and San Antonio. On the flip side, Milwaukee concludes a five-game trip in Phoenix in March. Trades before Feb. 7 deadline. With a young team looking just as much into the future as the present, if not more, a trade is highly possible. Flow. All of this is subjective. Some Suns fans might want them to tank another season to increase the odds of bringing Zion Williamson or R.J. Barrett to the desert, but a fourth straight season of 20 or so wins wont sit well with most. Back to 31. | https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2019/01/04/can-phoenix-suns-end-up-10-more-wins-than-last-seasons-mark/2487170002/ |
What does India need in 2019? | default This is an election year, which increasingly signifies a season of hate rather than dialogue. Our country often appears to be running on dwindling reserves of empathy. Representation pic A close friend of mine said something to me in the last week of 2018 that resonated enough to make me question a lot of things about myself. 'India has enough engineers, doctors and lawyers,' she said. 'It doesn't have enough people who are kind.' At first, I wanted to point out that the comparison between career choices and behavioural traits was completely inappropriate. I stopped myself though, because I realised that questioning her would simply reiterate the point she was trying to make. She wasn't attacking the need for more engineers or doctors, merely pointing out that we weren't spending enough time on things that ought to matter more. The statement made me realise, rather late in the day, that we really don't have enough kind people among us. Maybe they exist in the privacy of their homes, where they feed stray animals, care for ailing grandparents and sing children to sleep. They don't appear much in public though, which is sad given how our country often appears to be running on dwindling reserves of empathy. It's obvious if we ever stop to notice. There is a lack of empathy from the minute we step outside our homes. Our watchmen are rarely treated as human beings, their right to space, privacy and leisure ignored consistently as we go about our business. The people who drive us to work don't matter either, nor do those engaged in public transport who often have to bear the brunt of our anger at poor infrastructure they have no control over. Our fellow citizens are ignored at the best of times, given how easily we shove them aside, and there's no point discussing how little concern we show the weakest members of our society, from children to senior citizens, when it comes to celebrating festivals that supposedly matter to us alone. This is going to be an election year. Once upon a time, this meant we would have to listen to speeches about how one group of people would make our lives better, while other groups put forth their own solutions to our problems. This is no longer the case, because we have long moved past development to a space where only differences matter. What the British began, by implementing their policy of Divide and Rule, has been taken to heart by politicians across India. Speeches today are only about how some Indians are out to get rid of other Indians. There is no talk of how our lives are to be improved. It is almost always about 'us' versus 'them', migrants versus locals, and one set of religious beliefs over another. To expect this to change is naive, given how huge the payoffs are for those who shout loudest, but there may be things we can do on our own, away from the clamour of relentless hate we are subjected to in public, to change the narrative in our private spaces. The older I get, the more I start to question messages we send out, not just to our peers but to the youngest among us. We push them into extracurricular activities they have little interest in, emphasise the importance of MBAs and fat salaries, and rarely talk about love or the need for acceptance. Some of it has to do with our reticence about dealing with feelings, which may explain our fear of public displays of affection. Some of it also has to do with the fact that so many of our elders spoke about the need to study more than the need to love our friends and neighbours. There is no magic wand that can transform us all into a nicer bunch of people. I intend to spend 2019 trying harder to be nicer though, not simply because I believe this can make life a little better for those around me, but because I think of it as an antidote to the barrage of hate I often find myself swimming through, online and offline. I want to counter the relentless rage that comes so easily to us in the face of indifference, with little gestures that resonate powerfully the way my friend's comment did with me. We will collectively step into 2019 a little older, more tired, bracing for bad news in a country more obsessed with statues, religion, gods and goddesses than human beings. I hope we can step into the year with kindness though, and the wisdom it inevitably brings. That, for me, will be a Happy New Year. When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira Send your feedback to [email protected] Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates | https://www.mid-day.com/articles/what-does-india-need-in-2019/20195199 |
What's playing in Salem movie theaters this week? | CLOSE The teaser for Disney's upcoming 'Mary Poppins Returns' gives us a first look at Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack, a lamplighter. Jay Ellis, Taylor Russell, Logan Miller and Tyler Labine try to make it out of the upside-down world of "Escape Room." (Photo: David Bloomer) New releases Escape Room: Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive. Stars: Taylor Russell, Deborah Ann Woll. Director: Adam Robitel. 100 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Independence Cinema 8 Recently released At Eternity's Gate: A journey inside the world and mind of Vincent Van Gogh, who, despite skepticism, ridicule and illness, created some of the worlds most beloved and stunning works of art. Stars: Willem Dafoe, Mads Mikkelsen. Director: Julian Schnabel. 110 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Salem Cinema CLOSE Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is forced to deal with his connections to the surface world and the underwater one in director James Wan's "Aquaman." USA TODAY Aquaman: ( out of four) Aquaman finds himself caught between the surface world and Atlanteans who are ready to revolt. Stars: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman. Director: James Wan. 143 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema 8 Bohemian Rhapsody: ( out of four) Singer Freddie Mercury of Queen battles personal demons after taking the music world by storm. Stars: Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee. Director: Bryan Singer. 135 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Bumblebee: ( out of four) On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee the Autobot finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. When 17-year-old Charlie revives him, she quickly learns that this is no ordinary yellow Volkswagen. Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena. Director: Travis Knight. 114 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema 8 Creed II: ( out of four) Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed, who is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family's past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone. Director: Steven Caple Jr.. 130 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub CLOSE The trailer for "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" is here. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: ( out of four) Magizoologist Newt Scamander joins forces with young Albus Dumbledore to prevent the devious Gellert Grindelwald from raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings. Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law. Director: David Yates. 134 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11 The Favourite: ( out of four) In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead. When a new servant Abigail arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone. Director: Yorgos Lanthimos. 120 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Salem Cinema First Man: ( out of four) The riveting story of NASAs mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong, and explores the sacrifices and the cost on Armstrong and on the nation of one of the most dangerous missions in history. Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Joy. Director: Damien Chazelle. 138 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub CLOSE Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen's characters come from two different social worlds, but the common ground they find in "Green Book" can speak to us all. USA TODAY Green Book: ( out of four) Two men confront racism and danger while taking a road trip through the Deep South in 1962. Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali. Director: Peter Farrelly. 130 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11 The Grinch: ( out of four) When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: he must steal Christmas. Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch. Director: Scott Mosier, Yarrow Cheney. 90 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11 Holmes & Watson: A humorous take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly. Director: Etan Cohen. 91 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema. The House with a Clock in its Walls: ( out of four) A 10-year-old boy accidentally unleashes a secret world of witches and warlocks. Stars: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett. Director: Eli Roth. 105 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Emily Blunt in "Mary Poppins Returns." (Photo: Jay Maidment/Disney) Mary Poppins Returns: ( out of four) Beloved nanny Mary Poppins takes Michael, his three children and his sister on a magical adventure. Stars: Emily Blunt. Director: Rob Marshall. 130 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema 8, Palace Theatre, Star Cinema Mary Queen of Scots: Explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart, who after becoming Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, defied pressure to remarry and returned to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie. Director: Josie Rourke. 124 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Salem Cinema Mortal Engines: ( out of four) A mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw, emerges as the only one who can stop a giant, predator city on wheels devouring everything in its path. Stars: Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar. Director: Christian Rivers. 128 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Cinebarre Salem The Mule: ( out of four) A hard-charging DEA agent pursues a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. Stars: Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne. Director: Clint Eastwood. 116 minutes. Rated: R . Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema 8 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: ( out of four) A young woman and a soldier must retrieve a magical key to restore harmony to an unstable land. Stars: Keira Knightly, Mackenzie Foy. Director: Joe Johnton, Lasse Hallstrom. 99 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Once upon a Deadpool: Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool joins forces with a team of mutants to fight the all-powerful Cable. Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin. Director: Tim Miller. 99 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Ralph Breaks the Internet: ( out of four) Ralph and Vanellope embark on an adventure inside the internet to find a spare part for a game. Stars: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman. Director: Phil Johnston, Rich Moore. 112 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Regal Santiam Stadium 11 Robin Hood: A war-hardened Crusader and his Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography and a timeless romance. Stars: Taron Egerton, Eve Hewson, Jamie Foxx. Director: Otto Bathurst. 116 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Roma: A story that chronicles a year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. Stars: Yalitza Aparicio, Nancy Garcia Garcia. Director: Alfonso Cuaron. 135 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Salem Cinema Second Act: Maya is a 40-year-old woman struggling with frustrations from unfulfilled dreams. Until, that is, she gets the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as book smarts. Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens. Director: Peter Segal. 104 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11 Smallfoot: ( out of four) A Yeti named Migo stirs up his community when he discovers something that he didn't know existed a human. Stars: Channing Tatum, James Corden. Director: Karey Kirkpatrick. 96 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: ( out of four) Spider-Man mentors a teenager from Brooklyn to become the next web-slinging superhero. Stars: Jake Johnson, Shameik Moore, Brian Tyree Henry. 117 minutes. Rated: PG. Where: Regal Willamette Town Center 11, Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Cinebarre Salem, Independence Cinema 8 Venom: ( out of four) Reporter Eddie Brock develops superpowers after becoming a host to an alien parasite. Stars: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams. Director: Ruben Fleischer. 113 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Vice: ( out of four) Vice President Dick Cheney uses his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world. Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams. Director: Adam McKay. 132 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11, Independence Cinema. Vox Lux: In the year 1999, on the eve of the 21st century, teenage sisters Celeste and Eleanor survive a seismic, violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, catapulting Celeste to stardom. Stars: Natalie Portman, Jude Law. Director: Brady Corbet. 114 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Salem Cinema CLOSE Steve Carell and the director of "Forrest Gump" create an unexpected world in a new movie, "Welcome to Marwen." USA TODAY Welcome to Marwen: ( out of four) A man creates a miniature World War II town that comes to life with astonishingly realistic dolls. Stars: Steve Carell, Leslie Mann. Director: Robert Zemeckis. 116 minutes. Rated: PG-13. Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11 Widows: ( out of four) The story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. Stars: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson. Director: Steve McQueen. 128 minutes. Rated: R. Where: Northern Lights Theatre Pub Read or Share this story: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/2019/01/04/whats-playing-salem-cinemas-week-theaters/2464612002/ | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/2019/01/04/whats-playing-salem-cinemas-week-theaters/2464612002/ |
How do I call off my engagement? | She is an amazing girl and I fell in love with her. She dots the Is and crosses the Ts for me. I started to picture our lives together. On my birthday in the presence of many who came to celebrate with me, I asked her to be my wife and she accepted. We were doing just fine, until I met this other woman about a month ago, and she has taken over my heart. I havent felt this way in a while. I wake and sleep with thoughts of this new woman on my mind. I dont just know, but I have developed serious cold feet towards my marriage plans to my fiance. She has not done me any wrong in particular, I am just not interested in marrying her again and I cannot lay my hands on any reason for my cold feet. I guess love fades. Im acting up, spoiling for fights, looking for the easy way out so as to blame calling off the engagement on her because I dont know how best to tell her it is over after this whole time. I dont think I can confront her one on one neither can I stand the hurt or feeling of betrayal. I am tempted to break up with her via text message. Please, what best way would you recommend that I use to call off our engagement and not be the bad guy? Anonymous When it comes to marriage, I believe no one should marry anyone out of pity. You are still engaged to her because you are looking for the easy way to blame calling off the engagement on her rather than taking full responsibility. You want her to live with the guilt and only cowards do that. Man up and tell her the truth if you are not feeling her any longer. She deserves better and you deserve more. Love should happen naturally. It should never be forced. Call her up, meet with her and tell her the truth. Explain to her that it is no fault of hers. Ask for her forgiveness and be remorseful about it. You know that shes the one who is wearing the engagement ring about, people already know theres a man, and now shes also left to go about without the ring, and explain to whoever asks that she is single again. Breaking up with her via text message will be a low blow to say the least, do not do that to her. If you think you are in love with this new girl, think again sir. A new relationship is like acquiring something new, it is exciting, but give it time and you will tire yourself out. Law of diminishing return sets in, you will get bored and want something better or new. You dont have to quit your relationship whenever you develop cold feet or anxiety except there are red flags, because cold feet will always happen even in marriage. It is very normal to have post-engagement doubts, because it is a life-altering decision. | https://www.sunnewsonline.com/how-do-i-call-off-my-engagement/ |
Did Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik break up again? | Its been weeks since Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid were last seen together and fans are starting to wonder if Zigi has called it quits. According to some hardcore Zigi fans, the evidence of a breakup is out in the open for all to see. Like the fact that Zayn no longer follows Gigi on Instagram and their obvious absence from each others social media accounts in general. The model, 23, and the singer, 25, did not post any photos of each other over the holidays as they have in years past. Hadid instead shared a throwback pic on Tuesday, December 25, of her family with Santa, while Malik opted to stay silent on social media. Related: Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik announce split in loving messages Most recently, Malik spoke out about his relationship with Hadid for the December issue of British Vogue. Everything is great, he said. Shes super-organized and Im really not. It helps that she can get things together for me a little bit. I lean on her a lot. Hadid and Mailk, who were first linked in November 2015, split for the first time in March after two years of dating. They announced their breakup in lengthy statements on social media at the time. Less than two months later, however, the pair were spotted packing on the PDA in New York City. | https://www.samaa.tv/culture/2019/01/did-gigi-hadid-and-zayn-malik-break-up-again/ |
Which Nottingham Forest players are out of contract this summer? | Get Weekday Nottingham Forest FC updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email As the January transfer window opens Nottingham Forest might well be looking to expand their squad. However, there are also players entering the final six months of their contracts. Here, we look at those players and consider if they will be offered fresh terms. Danny Fox (Image: Dan Westwell) From a figure of derision to a borderline cult hero, Fox is a player transformed at Forest. The 32-year-old struggled to cut the mustard as a left-back, the position he was signed to play, but he has often excelled in the centre of defence. Fox has played 19 times so far this season and will likely hope to extend his stay at the City Ground having joined in January 2014. Much will likely depend on what division Forest are in next season as he is a proven Championship player. If they do go up then perhaps the Reds will look elsewhere. Jamie Ward (Image: Dan Westwell) Ward signed a four-year deal in 2015 when he joined on a free transfer from Derby during a time when Forest were under embargo. The Northern Ireland international has drifted further down the pecking order in the last couple of seasons and found himself on loan at Charlton until January 1. The League One side are keen to take him back if the terms remain the same wages wise after he scored once in 13 games. Either way, the 32-year-old's days look to be numbered at Forest. Stephen Henderson (Image: Dan Westwell) Forest's fourth choice goalkeeper played three games on loan at Wycombe as he helped them out during an injury crisis. The 30-year-old has not played for the Reds since September 2017, when Chelsea put five past him in the Carabao Cup. It remains highly unlikely the former Portsmouth keeper will ever play for the Reds again. Loans and Under-23s Wingers Diogo Goncalves and Gil Dias are on loan until the summer, as is right-back Saidy Janko. In the Under-23s, goalkeeper Liam Bossin, former Manchester City defender Joe Coveney and striker Virgil Gomis are among those out of contract in June. | https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/transfer-news/nottingham-forest-players-out-contract-2379481 |
What Is Constructivist Art? | Russian artist El Lissitzkys Proun Room (1923), another exemplary work of the Constructivist movement, is an installation of dynamic abstract formsprimarily rectanglesthat appear to float, propelling the viewer around the space. Lissitzky and other Constructivists sought to activate the viewer, thereby awakening a mass consciousness. Similarly, Lissitzkys Abstract Cabinet (192728), made for the Landesmuseum of Hannover, Germany, but destroyed in World War II, was a modular space that actually responded to the viewers participation. The walls, constructed of a series of vertical laths, would change in appearance as the viewer walked by, from dark to light and back again. Alexander Rodchenko would craft objects from a similar impulse, such as his Spatial Constructions (191821), which consist of concentric geometric shapes. When suspended from the ceiling, the Spatial Construction transforms from a flat, two-dimensional artwork into a kinetic sculpture responsive to its environment. This kind of experimentation with activating a viewerand, by extension, the masseswould go well beyond the space of the art museum. Constructivism made leaps and bounds in the field of graphic design, primarily at the hands of Rodchenko, who advocated for the incorporation of avant-garde art activity into everyday life. Rodchenkos bold designs, using stark geometric forms and striking diagonal lines, were used in propaganda posters, such as his famous Books (Please)! In All Branches of Knowledge poster, made in 1924. The photograph of a woman shouting the titular cry appears within a frame of crisp, linear forms that extend outward, giving the artwork a sonic dimension. | https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-constructivism-brought-russian-revolution-art |
What happened to Evansville's Bicentennial Tree? | CLOSE The lighting of the City of Evansvilles official Christmas tree in front of the Civic Center. MaCabe Brown - Digital Content Producer Buy Photo The oak tree along Locust Street was planted as a living tribute by the Evansville Bicentennial Council in December 1976. (Photo: Mike Hartz / Evansville Courier & Press)Buy Photo EVANSVILLE, Ind. A 42-year-old Evansville tree on Civic Center's property was mistakenly cut down last week, officials said. But it wasn't just any old tree. It was Evansville's Bicentennial Tree planted by the city in 1976 on Locust Street, across from the Old National Events Plaza. American Eagle Tree Service "jumped the gun" by cutting down the tree prior to getting approval from Building Authority officials and RiverTown Construction, said Dave Rector, director of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority. "The tree service acted without our knowledge or direction and that certainly is not the way it should have occurred," Rector emphasized. However, there was talk around cutting the tree to help make a way for the Locust Street project. No final decision or course of action had been finalized when the tree was chopped down, Rector stated. The $175,000 project funded by the Building Authority is set to widen Locust Street between southeast ninth street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. "It's going to be nice when we close the street for festivals," Rector said. "We're going to pick up another 18 to 20 parking spaces for Civic Center, Old National Events Plaza and Ford Center patrons. The flow is going to be smoother." The project went out to bid in September. An alternative bid recommended waiting until early April to start on the six-week project, which is set to be completed by June if all goes well. Rector planned on speaking to the tree board soon to discuss the tree. "It was probably going to come down because of the expansion," he said. "The project's procedures weren't able to be followed as intended because it was taken down before we got to the tree board." Buy Photo The plaque remains after the centennial oak tree was cut down. (Photo: Mike Hartz / Courier & Press) Now that the tree is gone, Rector plans on discussing the possibility of planting a new tree in the same area after the project is completed. "It's a small consolation, but at least it wasn't a tree in the memory of someone. We do have some of those on the property here too," he said. "We'll plant another tree that is appropriate for that area, and we'll have a re-dedication with that plaque." Here's why. Environment: Boonville solar project aims to keep sewer costs down Indiana: Marijuana, machine guns: 4 Indiana bills that aren't boring | Webb Celebrity: Evansville nurse gets high-profile makeover on NBC's 'Today' Read or Share this story: https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2019/01/04/what-happened-evansvilles-bicentennial-tree/2481824002/ | https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2019/01/04/what-happened-evansvilles-bicentennial-tree/2481824002/ |
Is 2019 the Year of Non-Alcoholic Beer? | If youve been following beer news for the first four days of the year, you wouldnt be faulted for wondering if 2019 is the year that beer goes alcohol-free. The Italian brand Peroni (now owned by Asahi) announced its first ever foray into non-alcoholic beer with Peroni Libera 0.0% in the United Kingdom. Similarly, Heineken officially launched its much-ballyhooed Heineken 0.0 in the United States. And news broke that even Leffe a brand of Belgian abbey ale dating back to 1240 (and now owned by Anheuser-Bush InBev) would be releasing a zero-alcohol iteration of the brew in the coming months. With the concept of Dry January proving to be a hot topic right now, the timing of all these announcements probably isnt coincidental. Still, last year, we also saw major brewers like Guinness and Budweiser expand their non-alcoholic beer offerings: Clearly, a lot of big names are banking on non-alcoholic beer. The easy answer is that brewers are following the money. Many major breweries have seen sales stagnate or fall in recent years, but the sales of non-alcoholic beers continue to increase especially in Europe. As Reuters reported in 2017, from 2010 to 2015, the zero alcohol beer segment in Europe saw sustained growth while the overall beer market shrank. Heineken cited these kinds of stat with its initial 0.0 launch. You could expect 10 to 15 years down the road this would be more or less the global trend, brand director Gianluca Di Tondo was quoted as saying. That growth is primarily believed to be spawned by a general switch towards healthier lifestyles, especially with younger people and that applies not only to an interest in drinking less alcohol, but other unhealthy beverages as well. As a result, brewers are hoping to position zero-alcohol beer not only as a beer alternative, but potentially as an alternative to sodas too. And circling back to money, as Reuters also pointed out, non-alcoholic beer can potentially offer brewers higher margins because they are subject to lower taxes. In America, the non-alcoholic beer market is extremely small accounting for just 0.3 percent of off-premise sales according to Brewbound. But the site also points out that 30 percent of Americans dont drink alcohol. When you take into account that overall U.S. beer sales dropped by about 1 percent in 2017, the biggest names in the industry are getting desperate for renewed growth. For the time being, the thought appears to be that the status quo wont cut it. Instead, catering to the health-conscious younger crowd and the untapped non-boozing market appears to be one of the answers. Its not just about 2019, but the future of the beer category, Katharine Preville, the lead brand manager for Heineken 0.0, told Brewbound. The Dutch brewing giant even believes that non-alcoholic beer could account for five percent of its U.S. sales by 2023. Translation: Expect to hear about even more new non-alcoholic beer launches in the future. | https://www.foodandwine.com/news/non-alcoholic-beer-trend-heineken-leffe-peroni |
Will Sanjay Joshi be given some important assignment in the BJP after Gordhan Zadafia? | India oi-Vinod Kumar Shukla New Delhi, Jan 5: After former minister of state for home in the Gujarat government Gordhan Zadafia has been made in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) now wants one of its most favourite leaders and former organising secretary of the party Sanjay Joshi to be given some responsibility in the party which the prime minister Narendra Modi has always opposed to. Sources said that the matter has been discussed in the RSS and has been communicated to the central leadership of the party. Sources further said that the matter has been communicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the final decision on this issue will be taken only by him. Also Read | Pact between Mayawati and Akhilesh firming up ahead of 2019 polls Actually surveys conducted by the party in Uttar Pradesh has not been very positive. The popularity of the BJP in the state is going down. This could be one of the reasons for the RSS asking the BJP leadership to employ him in the state as he has very good influence over the party workers all across. He can once again rejuvenate the party workers there. BJP national president Amit Shah has this idea that the condition of party is getting deteriorated by the day so he is looking for some ways for damage control. Sanjay Joshi has become untouchable in the party after his differences with Narendra surfaced. He is living a life of political exile from very long. If the PM decides to forgive Sanjay Joshi, he might be given some important assignment in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has an arduous task of repeating its performance in the state which had won 73 Lok Sabha seats out of 80 in 2014 Lok Sabha elections along with its alliance. Sources are saying that the issue of Sanjay Joshi was also discussed when PM visited Uttar Pradesh last Saturday. Joshi has the reputation of a very good leader for the organisation purposes. He is also considered to be an expert in micro management of elections. Also Read | Role of about a dozen smaller parties very crucial in Uttar Pradesh for LS polls Sources said that Joshi has already visited the state for several times and meeting with the party workers. Gordhan Zadhapia had also some differences with the PM and had contested against the BJP in 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections but now he is with the BJP. The RSS has been trying from very long for the comeback of Joshi but the final call will be from the PM only. | https://www.oneindia.com/india/will-sanjay-joshi-be-given-some-important-assignment-in-the-bjp-after-gordhan-zadafia-2832289.html?utm_source=/rss/news-india-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.50.225.237&utm_campaign=client-rss |
Do female candidates bear a special likability burden? | Expect to see plenty more whiny articles like this one in todays Washington Post called Women still bear special demands for likability. ' Annie Linskey and Dave Weigel note that just hours after Elizabeth Warren announced her plan to run for president, a question began surfacing about a possible weakness. . .Is she likable enough to be president? They go on to assert that comparable demands to be likable are not placed on male candidates. But Linskey and Weigel provide no support for this proposition. Indeed, they provide no comparative analysis of male and female presidential candidates at all. In reality, male presidential candidates suffer if they are not likable. The very first presidential election I followed, in 1960, was probably determined by the fact that Richard Nixon was significantly less likable than John Kennedy. Bob Dole is another case in point. Whether his opponent was Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush, or Bill Clinton, Dole labored under the burden of being the less likable candidate. In the most recent cycle, theres reason to think Ted Cruz suffered from a likability deficit. More than a few conservatives told me that were not supporting Cruz, or were supporting him reluctantly, because there was something about his personality they didnt like. Rand Paul may well have had a similar problem. A bright libertarian Senator should have performed significantly better in Republican primaries than Paul did. But Paul didnt come across as likable an occupational hazard, perhaps, for libertarians. Ironically, Republicans ended up nominating Donald Trump who, to my mind, is considerably less likable than Cruz and Paul. But then, the Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton, an unlikable female. Unlikablility is a drawback, but not necessarily a deal breaker, for both male and female candidates. Linskey and Weigel also misdiagnose the case of Elizabeth Warren. Her main problem isnt rooted in unlikability, but rather inauthenticity. I doubt voters would be fond of a male candidate who falsely claimed, to his professional advantage, to be part Indian. Linskey and Weigel struggle to apply their thesis to the rest of the potential female presidential field. Amy Klobcuhars middle name might as well be Likable. Kamala Harris image is still a work in progress. She may or may not have a likability problem. I havent heard anyone say that Kristen Gillibrand has such a problem. Linskey and Weigel observe that some conservatives are casting her as Hillary Clinton lite. But Clinton had deficiencies in addition to non-likability, some of which Gillibrand appears to share. Most notably, Gillibrand lacks a consistently held ideological stance. Even more so than Hillary, her positions seem to depend on what is most advantageous to her at the moment. This is an authenticity problem (albeit different from Warrens), not a matter of likability. Linskey and Weigel lament that some Democrats may be reluctant to nominate another woman in the wake of Clintons surprising (and for Dems, unforgivable) defeat. I dont whether this is true or not. The authors quote Ed Rendell who says there will be hell to pay if there is not a woman on the ticket at least. If so, it sounds like being female is a plus, not a minus, for Democrats who desire national office. It would be too generous to call the Linskey/Weigel article an argument in search of evidence. Its actually a cliche unconcerned with evidence. The authors assume that evidence is unnecessary because Post readers subscribe to the cliche. The authors know their audience. STEVE adds: James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal was all over this theme today on Twitter, noting the times the Bezos Bulletin (aka, the Washington Post) had written about the likability problems of male candidates. Here are a couple of screen caps of his thread: | https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/01/do-female-candidates-bear-a-special-likability-burden.php |
Can Trump Build the Wall? | Whether President Trump needs Congress to authorize construction of additional fencing at the Southern border is an open question. Given the invasion taking place there, many observers believe that the president, exercising his powers as Commander in Chief, can simply order the Army Corps of Engineers, or another appropriate branch of the military, to proceed with construction. Of course, that construction would have to be paid for. But I assume there is enough money rattling around the executive branch that could be brought to bear on one basis or another. I think that view is probably correct, and I also think that the present Supreme Court would likely agree with italthough the wall could be finished long before the Court could rule. Today on Instagram, President Trump told the world that he has reviewed the question, and thinks he has authority to order construction of the border wall. He is giving negotiation with the Democrats a shot, but retains the option to leave Nancy Pelosi in the dust and proceed with construction: I would like to see the president exercise his authority to resume construction of the wall. Illegal immigration is a crisis that desperately needs to be addressed. The Democrats have made their position clear. It will be up to the voters to decide whom to reward and whom to punish. | https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/01/can-trump-build-the-wall.php |
When should I take my Christmas tree down? | If youve still got your Christmas tree up, dont worry. Youre carrying on the tradition of the 12 days of Christmas. According to the traditional Christian calendar, tonight marks ''Twelfth Night,'' or the Eve of Epiphany, the end of the 12 days of Christmas. Epiphany Eve is the traditional time to take down Christmas greenery. In the old English tradition of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, Twelfth Night was a time to light celebratory bonfires for the burning of the greens at the conclusion of Christmas. Not many people still celebrate with 12 days of gift-giving from Dec. 25 to Jan. 5, as in the famous Christmas carol. But quite a number of churches do observe the ancient feast of Epiphany on Jan. 6, a holiday associated in western churches with the coming of the magi to honor the infant Jesus. On Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. at St. Marys-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church at Five Points South in Birmingham, children dressed as the three kings will present an Epiphany pageant, complete with barn animals including a camel and sheep. The hymn We Three Kings will be sung at many churches on Epiphany. While Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist and other Western churches celebrate the coming of the Magi to adore Jesus, the Eastern Orthodox church commemorates the baptism of Jesus on Epiphany. Icons representing the baptism of Jesus are on special display. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Christmas celebrations in America took place sporadically between Dec. 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, and Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany. The earlier onset of U.S. Christmas celebrations and decorations in the modern commercial era may create a sense of anxiety for the holiday to be over. After a Christmas shopping season that for many Americans begins right after Thanksgiving, people tire of the holiday season and are ready to move on. In Eastern Christian traditions, Epiphany far predates Christmas and is the most important day in the celebration of the Christmas season. In early church tradition, Epiphany celebrated the Nativity and the appearance of Jesus at the River Jordan for baptism. Churches usually celebrate Epiphany on Jan. 6 or the Sunday between Jan. 2-8. The Feast of Epiphany begins a season that continues until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the season of preparation for Easter. Around the world, Christmas is celebrated as late as Jan. 27 in the Coptic Church of Egypt. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Christmas is celebrated through Jan. 27. Epiphany for Catholic and Episcopal churches celebrates the visit of the Magi, which is connected to Christmas, although if the visit is historical, the Magi would likely have arrived long after the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew says that when the Magi visited Herod and told him of the birth of a new king, Herod responded by ordering the slaughter of male children under 2 years old, which would suggest a long lapse of time between the appearance of the star and the arrival of the Magi. According to the Gospel of Matthew, the magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The next big date on the Christian calendar is Ash Wednesday, which falls on March 6 this year and begins Lent, a 40-day season of preparation for Easter Sunday on April 21. The day before Ash Wednesday is known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, the last day of partying before the beginning of fasting for Lent. | https://www.al.com/life/2019/01/when-should-i-take-my-christmas-tree-down.html |
Will the Shutdown be Shutting Down SNAP/Food Stamps? | The Effects Being Felt by Benefits Recipients in the Northland DULUTH, Minn.- With the government shutdown entering its third week, effects are already being seen in the Northland. The shutdown hasnt reached SNAP benefit recipients just yet, but that safety only lasts this month. President Trumps recent declaration that he is prepared to keep the shutdown going for months, or even years, spells out danger for SNAP Food Stamp recipients across the country. Currently, the SNAP Program is being funded by the Federal Reserve. But once January ends, the future is uncertain. Nothing is decided yet for February onward. Currently we roughly have about 10,000 households or 15,000 individuals on the SNAP benefits, said Dusty Letica, Director of the Financial Assistance Division at St. Louis County Health and Human Services. So we know a lot of families are dependent on the benefits to feed themselves and their households, so were hoping that there will be some kind of resolution. A resolution, Letica said, could be one of three outcomes: continuing funding SNAP with the Federal Reserve, finding a new way to fund it, or ending the shutdown entirely. Director Letica tells us that because Congress already approved funding for healthcare, those on Medicaid and Minnesota Care will not be affected by the shutdown, but they only have enough money to cover Family Cash for 6 months. Meanwhile, Food Nutrition and Consumer Services, the division of the USDA which oversees SNAP, is experiencing severe cutbacks. They lost 95% of their staff after 5 days of the shutdown. | https://www.fox21online.com/2019/01/04/will-the-shutdown-be-shutting-down-snap-food-stamps/ |
How Long Do The Insects Repellents Last On The Mosquito Nets? | The duration of insecticide on the surface of mosquito nets is being measured here in this study. How much of the insecticide is still found on the surface of these nets is going to help check the durability and effectiveness of the nets. Researchers from North Carolina State University and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have now come up with a technique that actually measures how much insecticide is found on the surface of these nets - paving the way for efforts to determine how long the nets are effective. "Until now, there was no established technique for measuring the distribution and concentration of insecticides on the surface of the netting," says Chuanzhen Zhou, a research scholar at NC State's Analytical Instrumentation Facility (AIF) and co-author of a paper on the work. "And that's important because only the insecticide on the surface is bioavailable and able to kill mosquitoes. ""We were looking for a way to address this problem - and we've now developed a way to measure two of the most common insecticides used on any type of netting," says coauthor Fred Stevie, senior researcher in the AIF. "And, presumably, we'll be able to extend the technique for other insecticides as well. "This has worldwide impact," Stevie says. "There are more than a billion nets out there, and our new technique can tell us how long the pesticide on those nets lasts and how often they need to be replaced. Ultimately, the technique could help us examine a range of fabrics embedded with insecticides, from military uniforms to high-end hiking gear. "The researchers began by focusing on permethrin, one of the most widely-used insecticides used in netting. The researchers analyzed a sample of permethrin using a mass spectrometer to obtain the insecticide's chemical fingerprint. They then used the same technique to obtain the chemical fingerprint of the netting material. This gave the researchers the baseline information they needed to tell the substances apart once they began analyzing permethrin-embedded netting.The research team then used a technique called time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to analyze samples of the permethrin-embedded netting.In ToF-SIMS, a sample is bombarded with bismuth ions, which ejections from the surface of the sample material. The ions that have been knocked loose are then collected, and the amount of time it takes each ion to arrive at the collection point tells researchers which atom or molecule the ion was part of; heavier ions are slower than lighter ones. Looking at the collective data, researchers can determine the overall make-up of the sample's surface.The researchers also utilized a technique that implants ions into the sample, allowing them to determine not only which materials are present but their relative abundance.Using both techniques, the researchers performed multiple analyses of mosquito netting samples that had seen varying degrees of use. The samples ranged from brand new netting to netting that had been in use for years. By comparing data on samples that still killed mosquitoes with data from samples that no longer worked, the researchers identified a level at which permethrin became ineffective.The researchers are continuing with their efforts to determine how long the netting remains effective under various conditions, and are working to apply this methodology to other insecticides used in mosquito netting.Source: Eurekalert | https://www.medindia.net/news/how-long-do-the-insects-repellents-last-on-the-mosquito-nets-184892-1.htm |
Will 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' Do Justice To Showing A Lesbian Love Story On Screen? | Since eons, Bollywood has given us scores of films that are basically Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge with a new twist. Girl loves boy, they face major hurdles and finally end up together the typical love story that is the crux of the majority of film plots. So, you can obviously feel my surprise (and shock) when the trailer of Sonam Kapoors upcoming film Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga turned the clichd love story on its head-, its a woman pining for another woman and for once a same-sex love story isnt presented as the comic relief in the film. Pooja Nair, who identifies as a homosexual and is an author at Gaysi Family, also has her own share of thoughts and inhibitions when it comes to our film industrys latest attempt at portraying homosexuality on screen. Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga | Official Trailer | Anil | Sonam | Rajkummar | Juhi | 1st Feb19 Some love stories are not simple, Sweetys is one such story. She has to contend with her over-enthusiastic family that wants to get her married, a young writer who is completely smitten by her, a secret that she harbors close to her heart and ultimately the truth that her true love might not find acceptance in her family and society. Gaysi Family is a platform which gives a voice and a safe space to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer and allows them to share personal opinions, coming out stories, poems, etc. Most of us are simply looking forward to it because its written by Ghazal, a trans woman. And secondly, because stories featuring queer narratives usually always are a part of a niche audience and are never made for the mainstream population. A DDLJ type film or a dharma style production has been a need because all of us deserve love stories with its own amount of tragedies and tunes we can hum for a long time, she said. Well, that remains to be seen. Fingers crossed! | http://www.indianwomenblog.org/will-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-do-justice-to-showing-a-lesbian-love-story-on-screen/ |
Where does 'super computer' predict Nottingham Forest will finish in Championship? | Get Weekday Nottingham Forest FC updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Its a new year and that means its the business end of the season for the Championship sides chasing promotion to the Premier League. If you cant wait until May to find out, the folks at TalkSPORT have done their best to predict what the final table will look like. All in all, its good news for the current top two as the TalkSPORT super computer predicts they will both return to the top division, with Norwich claiming the Championship crown and Leeds having to make do with their runners-up medals. Its a similar story in the play-offs spots as the current four occupants are expected to face-off in the end of season fixtures. Sheffield United are predicted to remain third, while Derby have been tipped to jump up to fourth, with Middlesbrough climbing above West Brom into fifth. (Image: PA) Obviously, that means heartbreak for the likes of Forest, Aston Villa, QPR and Birmingham who are expected to take the next four spots. On the other side of things, the computer is clearly a fan of Steve Bruce as it has predicted Sheffield Wednesday will climb up from their current position of 16th to achieve a respectable 11th-placed finish, with Bristol City filling out the top half. In another flourish of mild creativity, the computer has also predicted that the three teams currently in the relegation zone will be the ones to finish there, though Reading will have the bragging rights over Bolton as the team that nearly avoided the drop. But still, there is hope yet for those predicted to be on the outside looking in. Much has changed since the computers October simulation, when the current predicted winners Norwich were expected to finish ninth and the currently 13th-placed Hull were tipped for the drop. Check out the full predicted table below. 24. Ipswich (relegated) 23. Bolton (relegated) 22. Reading (relegated) 21. Millwall 20. Rotherham 19. Wigan 18. Preston 17. Blackburn 16. Hull 15. Stoke 14. 6000+ VOTES SO FAR We'll win the league Automatic promotion Top six Promotion through the play-offs Top half Bottom half 13. Swansea 12. Bristol City 11. Sheffield Wednesday 10. Birmingham 9. QPR 8. Aston Villa 7. Nottingham Forest 6. West Brom (play-offs) 5. Middlesbrough (play-offs) 4. Derby (play-offs) 3. Sheffield United (play-offs) 2. Leeds (automatic promotion) 1. Norwich (champions) | https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/super-computer-predict-nottingham-forest-2389076 |
Did Moscow arrest British citizen 'to set up spy swap' for Russian held in US? | The video will start in 8 Cancel Get daily news updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Moscow may have arrested a British citizen to set up a 'spy swap' for a Russian being held in the United States. Former US Marine Paul Whelan is in custody in the Russian capital after being detained last week on suspicion of espionage charges. The 48-year-old, from Novi, Michigan, was there to help plan the wedding of another former Marine because he had been to Russia several times, according to his brother. Mr Whelan who has British citizenship through his parents, was allegedly found with a USB memory stick with a secret list of Russian agents. He was accosted at the Metropol hotel, a historic art nouveau building two miles from the Kremlin. (Image: AFP/Getty Images) There has been speculation Mr Whelan may be used as part of a 'swap' with accused Russian spy Maria Butina who is currently being held in the United States. Last month, Butina admitted to US prosecutors that she had tried to infiltrate American conservative groups as an agent for Moscow. David Hoffman, a former CIA Moscow station chief, said it was "possible, even likely," that Russia had detained Whelan to set up an exchange for Butina. (Image: REUTERS) Commenting on a possible swap, Dmitry Novikov, a first deputy head of the international affairs committee in Russia's lower house of parliament, said Russian intelligence first needed to finish their investigations. "Then we'll see," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. Whelan's British citizenship introduces a new political dimension. (Image: Press Service of Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation) (Image: Getty) Relations between London and Moscow have been toxic since the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March last year. Britain alleges Skripal was poisoned by Russian intelligence agents posing as tourists, while Russia denies any involvement. Yesterday, Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned Russia not to use Brits as pawns in diplomatic chess games. (Image: PA) He said Mr Whelan was being given every support after it emerged he has dual British nationality. In Singapore, Mr Hunt said: Individuals should not be used as pawns of diplomatic leverage. He added: We are giving him every support that we can, but we dont agree with individuals being used in diplomatic chess games. Because it is desperately worrying, not just for the individual but their families and we are extremely worried about him and his family. (Image: MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA) The US embassy in Moscow advised the British embassy in Moscow on Thursday that a US citizen detained by the Russian authorities on December 28 informed them that he holds British citizenship. Mr Whelans lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov said he had appealed to the court against the detention and requested he be released on bail. He said: I have sent an appeal against Whelans detention. In my appeal I am asking to change my clients measure of restraint from arrest to release on bail to the sum determined by the court. Mr Zherebenkov said Mr Whelan, who faces a jail term of up to 20 years if convicted, remained in good spirits when he spoke to him on Wednesday this week. | https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/moscow-arrest-british-citizen-to-13814964 |
Are Plymouth Argyle close to signing former Hibernian defender Efe Ambrose? | Get Daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Plymouth Argyle manager Derek Adams could be close to bolstering his defence with the signing of Efe Ambrose. Adams was linked with a move for the 30-year-old by the Scottish Sun last summer as a replacement for Sonny Bradley. Bradley's contract was set to expire with the Pilgrims and he eventually secured a move to fellow League One side Luton Town. (Image: Dave Rowntree/PPAUK) But a move for Ambrose never transpired, he instead stayed on with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian. But the defender has now left the club in order to 'pursue an opportunity elsewhere'. Ambrose, who has over 50 international caps with Nigeria, has rejected a new three-year deal with Hibs and has instead triggered a clause in his existing contract to leave the club. He played 86 times for the side, 24 of which came this season, scoring three goals and registering three assists. A statement from Hibernian said: "A popular figure with players, staff and supporters alike, the club made every effort to keep Efe but respect his decision and thank him for his contribution. "He leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Hibernian." Adams is keen to bolster his defence and is already set to bring former Pilgrim Oscar Threlkeld back to Home Park. Threlkeld will compete with Joe Riley and Tafari Moore at right-back but the club also need to strengthen the centre of their defence. The side have conceded 47 goals in 26 games in League One this season, with only Scunthorpe United conceding more. | https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/plymouth-argyle-close-signing-former-2392454 |
What time is The Voice UK on tonight and how long is the ITV show on for? | Get celebs updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email With the end of one singing talent contest (the X Factor), so another begins when The Voice UK 2019 launches tonight. Fans of the show will be pleased that there are no major changes to the well oiled format with the hopefuls auditioning to the back of the celebrity coaches chairs, who are facing the audience. If one of the coaches likes what they hear they bash their big red buzzer and their chair swings round so they can see the auditionee for the first time. However for the first time, this year trios will be allowed to audition as well as duos and individuals , which could introduce an exciting new level of competition. The coaches this year returning are legendary Welsh crooner Sir Tom Jones, X Factors Olly Murs, US warbler Jennifer Hudson and of course, the rapper / producer extraordinaire will.i.am. Taking on hosting duties once more is telly fav Celebrity Big Brother presenter Emma Willis. Heres what you need to know about the launch and how long it runs for. (Image: ITV) The show launches on Saturday January 5 on ITV1 at 8pm until 9.35pm. ITV will be hoping this series is a huge success, especially since its going directly up against the BBCs brand new, much hyped dancing talent contest, The Greatest Dancer. Anyone who misses it can watch it on plus 1 or on the ITVPlayer. The show will run for 14 episodes (13 weeks) and therefore finishes on Saturday April 6, when the winner of The Voice UK 2019 will be announced. | https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/what-time-voice-uk-tonight-13813462 |
Why has Hull City's FA Cup tie at Millwall been selected for overseas broadcast? | Get Hull City updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email It might have been an entertaining fixture when Millwall and Hull City shared four Championship goals at The Den back in December, but the decision to select the same fixture for overseas broadcast in the FA Cup third round has been met with widespread surprise. Most had expected City would face the Lions as a traditional Saturday 3pm fixture but instead it will be staged on Sunday 6 January, with a 2pm kick-off. We, just like you, have been wondering why. As is so often the case with modern football, TV money is at the heart of this decision. Under a new six-year international deal that has begun this year, a total of 14 third round ties have been selected for overseas broadcast on top of the six ties that will shown domestically by BT Sport and BBC One. (Image: Getty Images) The new TV contract is thought to be worth 820m to the Football Association and means just 10 of the 32 third round ties will kick-off at 3pm on Saturday 5 January. Citys trip to Millwall has been pencilled in for 2pm on Sunday, along with the equally unappealing contests between Fulham and Oldham, Preston and Doncaster and QPR and Leeds. The very simple answer is a cheque for 50,000. Although all games televised by BT Sport or the BBC will guarantee an income of 150,000 to the clubs involved, the overseas broadcast fee is a third of that. Millwall and City will also split the gate receipts, while the winning club will pick up a further 135,000. The FA have said today that all Emirates FA Cup matches are scheduled in collaboration with the clubs, the local authorities and the police and that could be an indication why Citys tie has been moved. Seven London clubs, including Millwall, were drawn to play at home in the FA Cup third round and three of those have been moved to the Sunday. Grimsby Towns trip to Crystal Palace, for example, is another game picked for overseas broadcast and will kick-off at 5.30pm on the Saturday, while West Ham will host Birmingham at 12.30pm on the same day. A long day. Its a 400-mile round trip to The Den and probably at least eight hours on the road. It promises to be little easier going by train. The earliest direct service is the 08.58 out of Hull that gets you into London Kings Cross at 12.36. By the time you get to London Bridge and then South Bermondsey, itll be less than an hour to go before kick-off. Engineering works on that weekend means even a direct service between Hull and London will take over three and a half hours. Supporters will be able to pay on the day at The Den. Adult tickets are priced at 12, with concessions at 6. | https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/sport/football/hull-city-millwall-fa-cup-2313426 |
Do czego doprowadzi proces w sprawie mierci Khashoggiego? | Pewne jest jedno: na awie oskaronych w sdzie w Rijadzie zasiado dzi jedenastu oskaronych. Maj odpowiedzie za mier znanego dziennikarza Jamala Khashoggiego, ktry zosta zamordowany na pocztku padziernika w saudyjskim konsulacie w Stambule. Saudyjskie media poinformoway jedynie, e pierwsza rozprawa rozpocza si przy obecnoci wszystkich oskaronych i ich obrocw, ktrzy poprosili o akt oskarenia, eby si zapozna z nim przed kolejnym posiedzeniem. Jego termin nie zosta jednak na razie wyznaczony, nie podano te nazwisk oskaronych. Wiadomo jedynie, e dla piciu z nich prokurator zada kary mierci, nie jest jasne, jakie kary gro pozostaym. Osdz potki, nie grube ryby Khashoggi, ktry narazi si Saudom, agodnie krytykujc w swoich tekstach saudyjskiego nastpc tronu, potnego ksicia Muhammada ibn Salmana, zgin 2 padziernika. Do konsulatu w Stambule poszed po papiery potrzebne do lubu, jednak nigdy z budynku nie wyszed. Zosta zamordowany przez kilkunastu agentw nasanych z Rijadu, ktrzy po zabjstwie powiartowali i ukryli albo wywieli jego ciao. | http://wyborcza.pl/7,75399,24332719,poczatek-procesu-w-sprawie-smierci-kashoggiego.html?disableRedirects=true |
What does the CPU market have in store in 2019 and beyond? | If you've only been a PC enthusiast for the last decade or so, you'll likely be aware of two big stories regarding the CPU market: Intel's decade-long dominance and AMD's more recent return to competition. That latter one is still playing out of course, with Zen 2 and 7nm on the horizon for AMD in 2019, and in many ways it's the company's biggest test since Ryzen's launch last year. Looking ahead to 2019 first, and we're already seeing early speculation about just what is in store with 3rd generation Ryzen. Increased core counts are probably on the cards seeing as that's what it's already confirmed with its new Epyc CPUs, so moving Threadripper up in core counts is a distinct possibility, in turn paving the way for more than eight cores on its mainstream Ryzen CPUs without stepping on Threadripper's toes. Just how accurate the latest rumours were with 16-core Ryzen CPUs being available for less than $500 is highly debatable. Even if AMD does double the core count for its flagship mainstream CPU from eight to 16, I'd be very surprised to see it retail for so much less than the current 16-core Threadripper, which will set you back around 800. Sure, you get quad-channel memory support and plenty more PCIe lanes with AMD's X399 platform, but it still needs to make money. That said, seeing as the eight-core Ryzen 7 2700X currently retails for $300, a $500 price tag might not be completely out of the question, but I'd put the price closer to at least $600, if indeed the so-called Ryzen 9-series exists at all. Even if the rumours are partly true, it will make for a very grim time for the lower end of Intel's HEDT CPU stack. The rest of the rumours point at major up-shifts in core counts, with the bottom of the stack starting at six cores. The ability of a smaller manufacturing process to pack more cores into a given area as well as AMD turning to a chiplet design might seem to point at it being financially viable to do this too, but I echo the scepticism I've seen about the lack of a quad-core CPU at the very bottom of the line-up. AMD's strongest area both in terms of performance and value is certainly multi-threading, and it's one reason I think we will see more cores next year. However, I'm not convinced we'll see the cheapest Ryzen CPU (or indeed APU) sporting a minimum of six cores unless the new design under the hood really does usher in a much cheaper and easier way of doing so. Intel still doesn't have a concrete plan in the public domain for what we'll actually see next year, but it has at least pointed things in the right direction, seemingly ditching Cannon Lake and instead opting for both 'Process' and 'Architecture' steps forward all in one move (i.e. 10nm Sunny Cove). We've also heard rumours of a 10-core mainstream CPU, but as yet we have no idea if or what will land from the blue team next year, although with all 9th generation CPUs being relatively recent, any reply to AMD will likely occur after Zen 2's launch, which we expect to be in the first half of the year. Thankfully, cores aside, both companies are promising IPC gains with their next generation CPUs too, and given how different Intel's Sunny Cove architecture and AMD's Zen 2 sound from every angle compared to what we saw in 2018, this raises the prospect of a complete reset with a very new range of CPUs for both companies. For this reason, I hope the gap between their launches isn't too huge, as this could prove to be the most exciting CPU battle in over a decade, eclipsing even 2017. I've seen some interesting comments online about the situation too, specifically about how Intel would (or can't) respond if AMD does indeed add many more cores to its mainstream CPUs as well as a decent IPC and frequency boost. It's easy to let your imagination and/or fanboyism run away with you, but getting back to my first line statement, there is a risk of history repeating itself here, and that history is one that plenty of people seem to be forgetting or are simply too young to remember. Just over 10 years ago I'd owned AMD CPUs for a few years, starting with single-core Athlons then making my way to a dual-core Opteron. Then in 2006, after years spent working on its failed Netburst architecture which lead to AMD gaining the upper hand in everything from desktop to server markets, Intel released its Core architecture, creating CPUs that were so fast and efficient, nothing AMD had even came close apart from a few very small niche areas of multi-threading until Ryzen was launched 11 years later. My point is that Intel has come from an even more precarious position than it's currently in, ploughed some serious R&D cash into the equation, and practically monopolised the industry for over a decade with a single architecture. AMD's ability to get to 7nm first is certainly a great achievement, but there's more to performance than just lithography. Intel finally has some promise in that it seems to be getting to grips with its 10nm manufacturing process, so the past could easily repeat itself. Thankfully, Zen 2 has all the hallmarks of being something other than a K10 or Bulldozer architecture, both of which were disappointing and lacklustre for AMD. Things could easily swing either way, especially if Intel doesn't improve its own situation in 2019. To write it off at this stage, though, is to be ignorant of some very recent history. Let's enjoy what 2019 has to bring with this rivalry and revel in the fact that it's not just 2019 that looks set to be a great year for the CPU market; with AMD and Intel having exciting plans well beyond this year, the battle is set to rage a while yet, and that can only be great for us as PC enthusiasts. | https://www.bit-tech.net/blogs/tech/cpus/what-does-the-cpu-market-have-in-store-in-2019-and-beyond/1/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bit-tech%2Fall+%28bit-tech.net+feed%29 |
How will a no-deal Brexit hit travel in and out of the UK and Europe? | It's prime time to start booking summer vacations, but for millions of people the looming threat of Britain crashing chaotically out of the European Union could transform their annual break into a misery of delays, cancellations and bureaucratic nightmares. Travelers seeking to head in or out of the UK face so many uncertainties that it's almost impossible to plan effectively to avoid them. Air transportation Airlines Airports Brexit Business and industry sectors Business, economy and trade Continents and regions Europe European Union Government organizations - Intl Insurance Northern Europe Passports and travel visas Tour operators Tourism Transportation and warehousing Travel and tourism Travel arrangements and reservations United Kingdom Perhaps it'll be business as usual. Perhaps they'll spend hours, days even, trapped in snarl-ups at English Channel ports or airport lounges, with the rising heat of exasperation and anger -- dampened only by the inevitable downpours of the British summer. Disrupted vacations might seem trifling weighed against the huge trade deals at stake in the Brexit negotiations, but tourism across both sides of the UK border is worth billions of dollars and annual summer getaways are vital to the well-being of millions of key workers. Later in January, the UK's parliament is due to vote on a Brexit deal thrashed out by Prime Minister Theresa May, but with few expecting it to pass, the likelihood of the UK leaving the European Union without a deal is high. So much of modern British life -- from airport management to cheese production -- is tangled up in European legislation that the sudden severing of ties, scheduled for March 29, just days before schools break up for Easter, will have huge implications. Those traveling to and from the UK can expect significant disruption, according to travel industry experts. Aviation, currency, insurance, mobile phone roaming and passport control are all likely to be affected. "Preparing for no deal is now an operational priority for the UK government. So we have to entertain that nightmare," says Tom Jenkins, chief executive of ETOA, the European Tourism Association. Border delays Jenkins says that a no-deal scenario could cause growing queues at passport control, with the European Union intending to treat UK passengers as those from a "third country" rather than those enjoying full EU rights under freedom of movement. "This adds 90 seconds of border checks on each passenger," says Jenkins. "This is hours of delays disembarking any flight, and days of delays at Channel ports. It will be a spectacular introduction to the red tape of Brexit." Queues are likely to grow at both UK and EU airports, he added. Not everyone forecasts doom and gloom. "Tourism is big business in the UK, just as it is in Europe, and huge quantities of money are spent from both sides each year by visitors from all over the world," says Matt Dunne, operations manager at tour company Healing Holidays. "Therefore, the UK government and the EU will be keen to ensure this continues." While some, including Dunne, say airfares could rise in the event of no deal, air travel itself is expected to continue between the UK and EU even if an agreement isn't struck. The European Union issued guidance in December 2018 saying it intended to allow flights from the UK into its airspace. However, it was quick to clarify that this would only extend to "basic connectivity." Britain's exodus from the the EU's Single European Sky initiative could have knock-on implications for air traffic management, significantly affecting airport runway capacities. In an attempt to preempt post-Brexit confusion, budget airline Ryanair, one of Europe's largest carriers, is among several that have set up UK-based subsidiaries to get separate UK certification needed if Britain crashes out. Meanwhile, the UK's EasyJet has had to set up a European base. The UK government has said it is studying the EU's proposals, but that consumers could still book flights after March 29 in the event of no deal, "...with confidence." "Both the EU and UK have made it very clear that both parties want to ensure flights between the UK and EU continue in any scenario," says Reigo Eljas, lastminute.com's country director of the UK and Ireland. "The importance to retain the aviation links, which bring significant economic and cultural benefits, is clearly understood by both sides." Assurances have been made by the EU's legislative body that visas will not be required, at least initially. "The European Commission announced in November 2018 that, even in a no-deal scenario, UK travelers can still visit the EU without a visa, providing the same is offered to European citizens visiting the UK," says ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents. However, the Commission has also confirmed that as of 2021, UK visitors to the EU will have to pay 7 (about $8) for the European Travel Information and Authorization Scheme (ETIAS), which can be bought online ahead of travel. This will last three years and ensure smooth entry at EU borders and airports, similar to the current ESTA scheme many tourists use to travel to the United States. The UK government is also advising citizens to ensure they have at least six months' validity left on their passport when entering the EU, up from the current 90-day limit. EU travelers heading to the UK are unlikely to face visa restrictions, as long as the UK reciprocates the EU's offer. However, the UK has yet to finalize its post-Brexit immigration strategy, adding further confusion. UK travelers are also likely to face major changes when it comes to insuring themselves while traveling within the EU. Currently, travelers who need to use health services can show a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to access free medical care in any EU country. Yet ABTA sounds a worrying note, confirming that, "In the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK registered EHICs will no longer be valid." "British travelers need to check their travel insurance policies carefully to ensure that they provide sufficient cover," says Jo Mackay of Bookings For You, a holiday lettings firm specializing in France and Italy. "It is likely that insurance premiums could rise in the short term." ABTA, meanwhile, is advising UK travelers to check existing policies to see if they have emergency cover, as this will be required to cover costs if medical attention is needed and the UK and EU have not secured an agreement. Those driving to the EU from the UK via the Channel Tunnel and major ports in southeast England will benefit from the fact that train and ferry travel are protected by EU rail regulations and international maritime law respectively. However, drivers may need to get a special license in order to be fully compliant when on the EU's roads. In official guidance released in September 2018, the UK government said, "If there is no deal with the EU, you may need to obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in the EU." Similarly, concerns have also been raised about the cost of using mobile phones in the EU when traveling. EU-wide agreements which came into place in 2017 saw punitive roaming charges banned, but consumers are being advised that a no-deal Brexit could mean EU mobile networks charging UK travelers to access data, make calls and send text messages, with the UK being seen as a "third country" in this case. "Whilst the major UK providers have made clear statements that they currently have no plans to raise charges on roaming services post-Brexit, the loss of this EU regulation could leave consumers without a safety net when it comes to the cost of data whilst abroad in the future," says Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at UK consumer site Uswitch.com. The cost of travel for UK citizens is also likely to increase, although it could be beneficial to those traveling into the country as exchange rates are affected. "With a no-deal we expect sterling to further weaken and make the UK an even more attractive place to visit," says Rob Russell, joint CEO of AC Group, a UK-based tour operator. "Two of our biggest US clients have already seen an increase in sales for 2019." That said, the Britain that awaits them could be a vastly different place from that depicted in the holiday brochures if apocalyptic warnings about food, medicine and other shortages come to pass, not to mention the possibility of civil unrest. Russell also sounds a note of caution. "No-deal could have a huge impact on tour operators," he says. "It is that knock-on effect that is potentially very damaging; it will put people off booking short weekend breaks, or making confirmed bookings. It might seem inconsequential to most people, but for tour operators it's their bread and butter." Despite both sides initiating no-deal planning in a bid to ameliorate the worst effects of such a scenario, there remains a heightened sense of uncertainty within the travel industry. That in turn has left consumers unclear as to how the world will look if a deal isn't signed off before the March 29 deadline. All eyes will be on the UK's parliament over the coming weeks, with travel experts hopeful that some kind of compromise can be reached. | https://www.waaytv.com/content/national/503941202.html?ref=202 |
Is Fortnite making its finale? | A survey of friends and family suggests that while Fortnite is losing some of its popularity among tweens, teens and young adults, a strong legion of game-obsessed players still exists. Although the market is flooded with video games, Fortnite has several characteristics that make it quite attractive. The Pluses of Play The Battle Royale version released in September 2017 is free. It is also afforded applause because it is time-limited, winnable, and easy to play. Unlike many other games, each battle is discreet; players are not required to progress by passing complicated levels of play. It is also a game that can be won by the average player. The rules are straightforward and simple. The game is interactive and social. Gamers can play as individuals, in pairs or in squads of four. It is available on multiple platforms including game consuls, computers, and phones. This allows players to strategize with each other through live chat or phone. The game offers less socially savvy and/or shy kids a new way to engage with their peers, an opportunity to feel part of the social scene. Accolades abound for anyone who becomes a strong player. It is also a great way for friends and family to stay connected. Kids away at college for example, can play with the siblings they left behind. Parents can engage with their kids through play. Defining the Downsides CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fortnite can be addicting. As with any type of technology, parents should monitor how much their kids are playing and with whom. The live chat capability on game consuls means kids could be interacting with anyone including unsavory strangers. Multiple game platform capability could result in all day play. Its also important to understand that it is a battle game. While the graphics dont feature blood and gore the object of the game is kill or be killed. Parents should also be aware that while the basic game is free, players can purchase game enhancers. While fees are nominal, a few quick clicks on a consul connected to a credit card account can easily add up to hundreds of dollars. Fortnite will continue to forge ahead for now. You can actually purchase apparel. | https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/is-fortnite-making-its-finale |
How no-deal Brexit will hit travel in and out of the UK and Europe? | (CNN) It's prime time to start booking summer vacations, but for millions of people the looming threat of Britain crashing chaotically out of the European Union could transform their annual break into a misery of delays, cancellations and bureaucratic nightmares. Travelers seeking to head in or out of the UK face so many uncertainties that it's almost impossible to plan effectively to avoid them. Perhaps it'll be business as usual. Perhaps they'll spend hours, days even, trapped in snarl-ups at English Channel ports or airport lounges, with the rising heat of exasperation and anger -- dampened only by the inevitable downpours of the British summer. Disrupted vacations might seem trifling weighed against the huge trade deals at stake in the Brexit negotiations, but tourism across both sides of the UK border is worth billions of dollars and annual summer getaways are vital to the well-being of millions of key workers. Later in January, the UK's parliament is due to vote on a Brexit deal thrashed out by Prime Minister Theresa May, but with few expecting it to pass, the likelihood of the UK leaving the European Union without a deal is high. So much of modern British life -- from airport management to cheese production -- is tangled up in European legislation that the sudden severing of ties, scheduled for March 29, just days before schools break up for Easter, will have huge implications. Those traveling to and from the UK can expect significant disruption, according to travel industry experts. Aviation, currency, insurance, mobile phone roaming and passport control are all likely to be affected. "Preparing for no deal is now an operational priority for the UK government. So we have to entertain that nightmare," says Tom Jenkins, chief executive of ETOA, the European Tourism Association. Border delays Jenkins says that a no-deal scenario could cause growing queues at passport control, with the European Union intending to treat UK passengers as those from a "third country" rather than those enjoying full EU rights under freedom of movement. "This adds 90 seconds of border checks on each passenger," says Jenkins. "This is hours of delays disembarking any flight, and days of delays at Channel ports. It will be a spectacular introduction to the red tape of Brexit." Queues are likely to grow at both UK and EU airports, he added. Not everyone forecasts doom and gloom. "Tourism is big business in the UK, just as it is in Europe, and huge quantities of money are spent from both sides each year by visitors from all over the world," says Matt Dunne, operations manager at tour company Healing Holidays. "Therefore, the UK government and the EU will be keen to ensure this continues." These air travelers were delayed by flight cancellations. Brexit could create more problems for fliers. JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images While some, including Dunne, say airfares could rise in the event of no deal, air travel itself is expected to continue between the UK and EU even if an agreement isn't struck. The European Union issued guidance in December 2018 saying it intended to allow flights from the UK into its airspace. However, it was quick to clarify that this would only extend to "basic connectivity." Britain's exodus from the the EU's Single European Sky initiative could have knock-on implications for air traffic management, significantly affecting airport runway capacities. In an attempt to preempt post-Brexit confusion, budget airline Ryanair, one of Europe's largest carriers, is among several that have set up UK-based subsidiaries to get separate UK certification needed if Britain crashes out. Meanwhile, the UK's EasyJet has had to set up a European base. The UK government has said it is studying the EU's proposals, but that consumers could still book flights after March 29 in the event of no deal, "...with confidence." "Both the EU and UK have made it very clear that both parties want to ensure flights between the UK and EU continue in any scenario," says Reigo Eljas, lastminute.com's country director of the UK and Ireland. "The importance to retain the aviation links, which bring significant economic and cultural benefits, is clearly understood by both sides." Currently UK passports are marked "European Union." Assurances have been made by the EU's legislative body that visas will not be required, at least initially. "The European Commission announced in November 2018 that, even in a no-deal scenario, UK travelers can still visit the EU without a visa, providing the same is offered to European citizens visiting the UK," says ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents. However, the Commission has also confirmed that as of 2021, UK visitors to the EU will have to pay 7 (about $8) for the European Travel Information and Authorization Scheme (ETIAS), which can be bought online ahead of travel. This will last three years and ensure smooth entry at EU borders and airports, similar to the current ESTA scheme many tourists use to travel to the United States. The UK government is also advising citizens to ensure they have at least six months' validity left on their passport when entering the EU, up from the current 90-day limit. EU travelers heading to the UK are unlikely to face visa restrictions, as long as the UK reciprocates the EU's offer. However, the UK has yet to finalize its post-Brexit immigration strategy, adding further confusion. Your insurance may no longer cover you. PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images UK travelers are also likely to face major changes when it comes to insuring themselves while traveling within the EU. Currently, travelers who need to use health services can show a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to access free medical care in any EU country. Yet ABTA sounds a worrying note, confirming that, "In the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK registered EHICs will no longer be valid." "British travelers need to check their travel insurance policies carefully to ensure that they provide sufficient cover," says Jo Mackay of Bookings For You, a holiday lettings firm specializing in France and Italy. "It is likely that insurance premiums could rise in the short term." ABTA, meanwhile, is advising UK travelers to check existing policies to see if they have emergency cover, as this will be required to cover costs if medical attention is needed and the UK and EU have not secured an agreement. Those driving to the EU from the UK via the Channel Tunnel and major ports in southeast England will benefit from the fact that train and ferry travel are protected by EU rail regulations and international maritime law respectively. However, drivers may need to get a special license in order to be fully compliant when on the EU's roads. In official guidance released in September 2018, the UK government said, "If there is no deal with the EU, you may need to obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in the EU." That call from the beach could become more expensive after Brexit. Sean Gallup/Getty Images Similarly, concerns have also been raised about the cost of using mobile phones in the EU when traveling. EU-wide agreements which came into place in 2017 saw punitive roaming charges banned, but consumers are being advised that a no-deal Brexit could mean EU mobile networks charging UK travelers to access data, make calls and send text messages, with the UK being seen as a "third country" in this case. "Whilst the major UK providers have made clear statements that they currently have no plans to raise charges on roaming services post-Brexit, the loss of this EU regulation could leave consumers without a safety net when it comes to the cost of data whilst abroad in the future," says Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at UK consumer site Uswitch.com. The cost of travel for UK citizens is also likely to increase, although it could be beneficial to those traveling into the country as exchange rates are affected. "With a no-deal we expect sterling to further weaken and make the UK an even more attractive place to visit," says Rob Russell, joint CEO of AC Group, a UK-based tour operator. "Two of our biggest US clients have already seen an increase in sales for 2019." That said, the Britain that awaits them could be a vastly different place from that depicted in the holiday brochures if apocalyptic warnings about food, medicine and other shortages come to pass, not to mention the possibility of civil unrest. Russell also sounds a note of caution. Related content 25 of the best places to visit in the UK "No-deal could have a huge impact on tour operators," he says. "It is that knock-on effect that is potentially very damaging; it will put people off booking short weekend breaks, or making confirmed bookings. It might seem inconsequential to most people, but for tour operators it's their bread and butter." Despite both sides initiating no-deal planning in a bid to ameliorate the worst effects of such a scenario, there remains a heightened sense of uncertainty within the travel industry. That in turn has left consumers unclear as to how the world will look if a deal isn't signed off before the March 29 deadline. | https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/how-brexit-will-affect-travel/index.html |
What Does 'dead' Mean? | These are among the wide-ranging questions explored in a new special report, ("Defining Death: Organ Transplantation and the Fifty-Year Legacy of the Harvard Report on Brain Death,") published with the current issue of the Hastings Center Report. The special report is a collaboration between The Hastings Center and the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. Editors are (Robert D. Truog), the Frances Glessner Lee professor of medical ethics, anaesthesiology & pediatrics and director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School; (Nancy Berlinger), a research scholar at The Hastings Center; Rachel L. Zacharias, a student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a former project manager and research assistant at The Hastings Center; and (Mildred Z. Solomon), president of The Hastings Center. Until the mid-twentieth century, the definition of death was straightforward: a person was pronounced dead when found to be unresponsive and without a pulse or spontaneous breathing. Two developments prompted the need for a new concept of death, culminating in the definition of brain death proposed in the Harvard report published in 1968. The first development was the invention of mechanical ventilation supported by intensive care, which made it possible to maintain breathing and blood circulation in the body of a person who would otherwise have died quickly from a brain injury that caused loss of these vital functions. The second development was organ transplantation, which "usually requires the availability of 'living' organs from bodies deemed to be 'dead'," as the (introduction) to the special report explains. "Patients determined to be dead by neurologic criteria and who have consented to organ donation . . . are the ideal source of such organs, since death is declared while the organs are being kept alive by a ventilator and a beating heart." | https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/01/05/0454215&from=rss |
What would be 2019 Jets' ideal defensive depth chart? Demarcus Lawrence? Morris Claiborne? Leonard Williams? | AP Photo | Michael Ainsworth Here, we take a look at how the Jets could fill out their 2019 two-deep on defense in a perfect world. It's worth noting that, even within the confines of this idealized offseason, we still tried to make some realistic assumptions. Players that are currently under contract and cannot realistically be released were kept around. Free agents and college players were fair game for addition, but money is still an object -- at least to a degree. We also kept a 3-4 base defense, even though that could change as a result of the current coaching search. | https://www.nj.com/expo/sports/g66l-2019/01/be65f637eb7904/what-would-be-2019-jets-ideal.html |
Will Vidya Balans big Tollywood wish come true? | Bollywood actor Vidya Balan will be making a big mark in the southern film industry when the NTR biopics (Kathanayakudu and Mahanayakudu) hit the screens in the first quarter of the year. The first of the two has fixed its date for the 9th of January and will take a grand release around the globe with premieres in many overseas centres. Vidya Balan plays the role of Basavatarakam, the wife of NTR. In her recent interviews during the promotional run of the film, Balan said that she is waiting to star in a film directed by SS Rajamouli. The interesting fact here is that SS Rajamouli already has her name in consideration for one of the roles in his upcoming period action drama RRR which is currently being shot. The ace director has taken his own sweet time to finalise the heroines and the female cast and is yet to send out an official word on the same even though there have been many speculations and guesses on the names. It would be really great if the announcement does come by with Vidyas name on it. Rajamouli had taken a break from the shoot of RRR to conduct his sons marriage which was the recent glitzy event in Tollywood. The director will be resuming the shoot for the Ram Charan NTR starrer after the Sankranthi festival. | https://www.in.com/entertainment/regional/will-vidya-balans-big-tollywood-wish-come-true-280811.htm |
Has Sasikumar pitched his period action drama to Suriya? | Despite his numerous acting commitments, including the latest big one in superstar Rajinikanths Petta, Sasikumar has always been working on his scripts that he will ultimately be directing someday. The actor had recently shared all his ideas with his close friend Samuthrakani, who had helped him with the map hereon. According to the latest sources in Kollywood, Sasikumar has pitched his period action drama to Suriya. Earlier, the director had narrated the same storyline to Thalapathy Vijay, who had decided not to work on the project as it was not in his comfort zone. With Suriya now hearing the script and showing positive signs, it looks like the project will finally take up shape sometime this year. Sasikumar, who is currently busy with a couple of acting outings, is expected to finish them off before he dons the directorial hat. On the other hand, Suriya is now held up with two of his much-awaited projects in NGK and Kaappaan. While the former is a socio-political drama directed by Selvaraghavan, the second is an action thriller which also stars a superb cast in Mohanlal, Arya, Sayyeshaa, Boman Irani and others. NGK is said to be the first of the two to hit the screens, with a possible release date set for the Tamil New Year festival in April. Kaappaan will see through a release in July-August. | https://www.in.com/entertainment/regional/has-sasikumar-pitched-his-period-action-drama-to-suriya-280797.htm |
Does It Pay to Be a Writer? | Writing has never been a lucrative career choice, but a recent study by The Authors Guild, a professional organization for book writers, shows that it may not even be a livable one anymore. According to the survey results, the median pay for full-time writers was $20,300 in 2017, and that number decreased to $6,080 when part-time writers were considered. The latter figure reflects a 42 percent drop since 2009, when the median was $10,500. These findings are the result of an expansive 2018 study of more than 5,000 published book authors, across genres and including both traditional and self-published writers. In the 20th century, a good literary writer could earn a middle class living just writing, said Mary Rasenberger, executive director of The Authors Guild, citing William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway and John Cheever. Now, most writers need to supplement their income with speaking engagements or teaching. Strictly book-related income which is to say royalties and advances are also down, almost 30 percent for full-time writers since 2009. Writing for magazines and newspapers was once a solid source of additional income for professional writers, but the decline in freelance journalism and pay has meant less opportunity for authors to write for pay. Many print publications, which offered the highest rate, have been shuttered altogether. The decline in earnings are also largely because of Amazons lions share of the self-publishing, e-book and resale market, according to Rasenberger. The conglomerate charges commission and marketing fees to publishers that Rasenberger said essentially prevent their books from being buried on the site. Small and independent publishers, which have fewer resources and bargaining power, have been particularly hard hit. Book publishing companies are passing these losses along to writers in the form of lower royalties and advances, and authors also lose out on income from books resold on the platform. | https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/books/authors-pay-writer.html |
How metal is Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce? | WHATS THE MOST ILLEGAL THING YOUVE EVER DONE? On tour with Chelsea Grin in South America, we had a whole hotel floor to ourselves so we totally trashed it. We tried to pay for the damage but they wanted punishment instead. The police held our plane home on the runway to arrest me they thought I was a fugitive but Id only trashed a hotel so they let me off. The next time we went to the country, my name had obviously travelled round because my hotel room had no pictures, no fridge, just a bed! WHATS THE MOST METAL ALBUM YOU OWN? Slipknots Iowa I still think thats the most metal album in the world, its so filthy and raw. It was innovative and fresh at the time but it still hasnt been replicated nobodys ever been able to deliver a record as aggressive as that. WHATS THE WORST INJURY YOUVE EVER HAD? I came off a motocross bike on a sand dune with no protective gear. I fell on it and the gear shaft got stuck in my shin. When they took it out, my bone came out of my shin. Months later, I told the doctor it wasnt ready to have the stitches taken out of it but she cut them off and it all burst open again. WHATS THE MOST YOUVE EVER BEEN SICK? Me and James [Cassells, drums] had a drunken fistfight in England once, but I threw up for two and a half days afterwards because I gave myself alcohol poisoning. My closest friend for two days was the toilet seat. Toilets dont make an arse shape, they make the perfect shape to wrap your arms around. Whoever invented the toilet mustve been a drinker! WHATS THE GROSSEST THING YOUVE HAD IN YOUR MOUTH? It was last year at Gathering Of The Juggalos. Theres no rules and the police stay away so all sorts of crazy shit happens. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BLED? The last day of the last tour! Years ago, I used to go on stage hammered and punch my guitars and thered be blood everywhere. When Danny [Worsnop, vocals] rejoined, I got pumped again and I spent the entire tour punching the shit out of my guitar and bleeding everywhere. WHATS THE RAREST PIECE OF MERCHANDISE YOU OWN? I have one of the first editions of Metallicas The Good, The Bad & The Live and its still in great condition. WHATS YOUR MOST PAINFUL TATTOO OR PIERCING? Sam [Bettley, bass] was getting tattooed on the tourbus and I went back there pissed as a fart, dropped my trousers and said, Tattoo me! Sam grabbed the needle out of his own arm, jabbed it into my arse and scrawled Noon Groovers across my butt cheek, because apparently I like to groove at noon. Our tattooist said hed never seen a needle go so deep into someones flesh! WHATS THE MOST METAL PICTURE YOUVE GOT ON YOUR PHONE? Ive got a picture of my guitar covered in the blood I mentioned earlier! Final Score: 9 10 Its a new record! Ben literally bleeds for his art and is a true heavy metal hellraiser. ASKING ALEXANDRIA HIT THE UK WITH PARKWAY DRIVE IN APRIL | https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-metal-is-asking-alexandria-guitarist-ben-bruce |
Is international scrutiny of Japan's criminal justice system fair? | The Nov. 19 arrest of ousted Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, his 23-day detention, his subsequent arrests and lengthy stay in detention has resulted in international scrutiny of Japans criminal justice system. Shin Kukimoto, deputy public prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, defended the practice at a news conference in the capital last year. Each country has its own history, culture and systems, Kukimoto told reporters. I wonder if its appropriate to criticize our system just because its different. Attempts to dismiss criticism of Japans criminal justice system as Western prejudice really only work if one ignores numerous voices of dissent that have been raised by criminal defense lawyers in addition to opposition from prosecutors and judges. Nobuo Gohara, a former prosecutor, believes the criminal justice system in Japan is based on a hostage mentality. If you admit to the crime youre arrested for, youre released on bail relatively quickly, Gohara says. However, if you dispute the charges or claim innocence, you will be detained longer. You wont be released on bail and your detainment will last weeks. Youre basically held hostage until you give the prosecutors what they want. This is not how a criminal justice system should work in a healthy society. Not only does the application of such a system fly in the face of the widely accepted notion of being innocent until proven guilty, it encourages false confessions. It also punishes those who have the audacity to deny any charges laid against them and even if you are released from detention without an indictment, the odds that your job will still be there 23 days later are rather slim. So long as the police and the prosecutors are correct, Gohara believes hostage justice can work. However, no sooner than they make a mistake and grab an innocent person, he says, the whole system becomes a terrifying weapon. In the past, backroom deals have been struck to elicit a confession. On Nov. 24, 2015, the Tokyo High Court ruled that a 51-year-old fraud suspect had been coerced into confession by the police who promised him a lighter sentence if he confessed. He had been charged with multiple counts of fraud, allegedly because he refused to confess to the initial charges. The defendant later retracted his confession and pleaded innocent. His lawyer asked to cross-examine the police officers who had interrogated the subject, but the court rejected the request. The defendant was sentenced to five years in jail; the sentence was appealed. The suspect then called the arresting officers and recorded them admitting to making a deal with him. On that basis, the Tokyo High Court ruled that the case should be retried and sent it back to the lower courts. In the summer of 2012, a hacker used compromised computers to have four people wrongfully arrested on charges of making online death threats. All of those arrested initially denied the crimes, but two eventually admitted guilt after being held in detention for a number of days. They were all released in October 2012, when the real culprit sent emails to authorities containing details that could only be known by the actual criminal. The prosecutors had coerced a false confession from one suspect, while another believed he was covering up for a crime that his girlfriend might have committed. The Japanese media, which relies on being drip-fed scoops by prosecutors, didnt delve deeply into the matter. In 2011, the Tsuchiura branch of the Mito District Court delivered a verdict of not guilty to Shoji Sakurai and Takao Sugiyama, both 64, who were sentenced to life in prison in 1970 for the robbery and murder of Shoten Tamamura, a 62-year-old carpenter. The pair had already served nearly 30 years in prison before the court ruled that their confessions had been forced. Once youre in the system, youre in trouble. Japan has a 99 percent conviction rate, but this is because prosecutors drop roughly half the cases they are given. Once youre indicted, however, you have a slim chance of being released. Hiroshi Segi, a former Supreme Court judge, wrote in a book titled The Hopeless Court that judges who dare to find people not guilty get punished professionally. Hiroshi Ishikawa, a former prosecutor, wrote in detail about the abuse of prosecutorial power and the ability to detain suspects in a book titled Kenji Shikaku. Ishikawa himself had been implicated in a case of false confessions before resigning. He says theres enormous pressure on police and prosecutors to obtain a guilty verdict by any means. I was taught that foreigners and gang members have no human rights, he once told me. I was taught that winning is everything. And with the de facto power to detain someone who insists theyre innocent all the way up to their trial, we usually win. However, that doesnt always mean that justice is served. Dark Side of the Rising Sun is a monthly column that takes a behind-the-scenes look at news in Japan. | https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1678619&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+%28The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories%29 |
Do we need to name all our nieces and nephews as beneficiaries? | Q. We have no children or dependents. We do have numerous nieces and nephews. We have little or no relationship with some and very close relationships with others. We worry that not including family members could result in the will being contested and we want to avoid this. It would be a substantial estate. Elizabeth A. Dear Elizabeth, you must satisfy all your legal and moral obligations in your will. After that, you have testamentary freedom when making your will. Youre free to distribute your estate as you choose. You need not include every niece and nephew in your will. There is no danger in not naming all of them provided they have no claims to your estate. You may choose to leave all of your estate to any niece or nephew, or as many as you wish. You should specifically name them in your will. To all my nieces and nephews is not specific enough to avoid trouble. Nor is this an easily identified group. You ask if excluded nieces and nephews can contest your will. Generally, persons who can contest wills are those named in the will as well as those claiming: Any impropriety in the making of the will You had breached promises to them that could be enforced They were being supported by you They would inherit on an intestacy or if there is no valid will You did not mention if your nieces or nephews have any claims to your estate. If you are not directly or indirectly supporting them, then they may not be entitled to a share in your estate. You said it was a substantial estate and you are concerned. Your will lawyer can advise you about specific potential risks from any excluded individual niece or nephew. Your reasons can be documented in case there is a problem later. Ed Olkovich is a Toronto lawyer and certified specialist in Estate and Trusts Law MORE ABOUT ASK A WILLS EXPERT: | https://www.moneysense.ca/columns/ask-moneysense/do-we-need-to-name-all-our-nieces-and-nephews-as-beneficiaries/ |
What can I do with my real Christmas tree now that the holiday season is over? | Real Christmas tree sales have increased this season on Christmas 2017 levels, with most sellers reporting an increase in sales. This is according to chairman of the Irish Christmas Tree Growers, Christy Kavanagh, who offered suggestions on what householders can do with their old Christmas tree. What we suggest is that people put the tree out in the garden and plant sweet pea or runner beans around it. Kavanagh explained that the branches on the tree act like a trellis for plants like sweet pea to grow on. Kavanagh believes that more people are opting to buy real Christmas trees for the festivities because there is a move away from the plastic tree to the real tree and people are putting more than one tree in their homes now. Plastic is becoming a bad word. People are becoming more responsible for the environment and they like to do their bit. | https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/what-can-i-do-with-my-real-christmas-tree-now-that-the-holiday-season-is-over/ |
Whos going to win Dancing on Ice 2019? | Strictly is a distant memory, but ITVs sub-zero counterpart Dancing on Ice is skating back on our screens this January to fill the entertainment void. Advertisement The shows stellar line-up this year (including none other than Gemma The GC Collins taking to the ice) promises a hell of a show to kick off 2019. RadioTimes.com has caught a sneak peak of the celebs in action during the Dancing on Ice press day and there were plenty of surprises. While some contestants impressed, others looked to have slipped off the pace in training. Heres who were banking on becoming this years Dancing on Ice champion Dancing on Ice 2019 favourite: Jane Danson Soap actors have a history of doing rather well on Dancing on Ice, with Corries Brooke Vincent coming second last year to former X Factor alumnus Jake Quickenden. Jane Danson looks set to follow in her footsteps, having been paired with Corrie pal Samia Ghadies husband and Dancing on Ice stalwart Sylvain Longchambon. Stepping out gracefully on the ice, Jane was confident in her skates, able to stop and start with little aid from her professional partner. Speaking about her decision to do Dancing on Ice this year, she told hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Ive always wanted to do the show, but this year I turned 40 and I realised that it was now or never. The chance to do meet head judges Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean proved to be an emotional one for Jane. My first memory was watching them doing the Bolro and it was such a surreal dream meeting them that I ended up crying, she confessed. Highly fancied: Richard Blackwood Richard Blackwood appeared nonchalant on the ice as he skated in a circle with partner, new pro skater Carlotta Edwards, as if hed done it a million times before. Turns out, he may well have done. The former EastEnders star, 46, let slip he previously used to skate to school every day when he lived in Sweden, before moving back to London when he was nine. But Richard believes thats unlikely to make a difference to him competing on Dancing on Ice. Yeah, that was back when I was 9; Im now 46, he told Holly and Phil. It was a very long time ago. Outside bet: James Jordan As a professional dancer, youd expect James Jordan to be good, and he certainly has the poise and grace youd expect as he took to the ice with pro dancer Alexandra Schauman. But the 40-year-old former Strictly pro claims its actually been far more difficult for him to learn to dance on skates, as everything he learned on terra firma is reversed. James is also struggling to be a pupil instead of a teacher on the show. Im used to being good at things, and I prefer telling people what to do, he told Holly and Phil. But Alexandra is a great teacher. Whether James is truly passionate about taking the Dancing on Ice trophy is yet to be seen, but there is one thing he definitely wants to do. Im really nervous but as long as I beat Brian McFadden, Im happy! he said. The dark horse: Gemma Collins Few genuinely thought Gemma Collins would make it on to the ice, after reports of diva strops and tantrums but the TOWIE star has proved everyone wrong, and is actually really rather good. The 37-year-old loved the admiring crowd as she skated alongside Matt Evers, waving as she skated (almost) unaided. So confident in her abilities on the ice, Collins announced that she was prepared to take Torvill and Deans Bolro crown. Theres been tears but I just love it, she said. I am at one with the ice. I love her. I may never be Torvill and Dean but you never know, I could be taking their Bolro trophy. Its very therapeutic on the ice. Saira Khan It might be a little mean to say Mark Little is unlikely to go far in the competition, because we didnt actually see him skate (hes been starring in panto and missed the press day). But pro partner Brianne Delcourt seemed doubtful theyll be going too far in the competition, saying that theyve at least had a laugh. Loose Women star Saira Khan may be at risk from an early exit from Dancing on Ice: taking to the slippery floor alongside partner Mark Hanretty, she was kept steady by her partner and didnt appear confident on the ice. I may be a Loose Woman, but Im not loose on the ice, the 48-year-old admitted. Ive never been skating in my life and my kids shamed me into it. Though I was voted most improved. Advertisement Dancing on Ice launches Sunday 6th January 2019 at 6pm on ITV | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-05/dancing-on-ice-2019-winner-favourites-first-out-odds-itv/ |
Was ndert sich 2019 in Erlangen? | Hhere Gebhren, Infos zum Thema Pflege und Vorteile durch den ErlangenPass - vor 44 Minuten ERLANGEN - Auch fr die Erlanger Brgerinnen und Brger gelten ab dem Jahr 2019 neue gesetzliche und organisatorische Regelungen. Hier eine bersicht der wichtigsten nderungen. Innenstadtbewohner drfen sich freuen: die Gebhr fr die Fahrbahnreinigung fr die kommenden zwei Jahre sinkt um durchschnittlich 2,1 Prozent. Fr alle anderen dreht sich die Gebhrenschraube ab 2019 nach oben. Hubert Bsl Innenstadtbewohner drfen sich freuen: die Gebhr fr die Fahrbahnreinigung fr die kommenden zwei Jahre sinkt um durchschnittlich 2,1 Prozent. Fr alle anderen dreht sich die Gebhrenschraube ab 2019 nach oben. Foto: Hubert Bsl Mit dem neuen Jahr steigt die Gebhr fr die Fahrbahnreinigung fr die kommenden zwei Jahre von jhrlich 4,44 Euro auf 4,56 Euro pro Meter. Das entspricht einer Steigerung um 2,7 Prozent. Die Gebhren fr sogenannte Mehraufwandsgebiete mit erhhtem Reinigungsintervallen (Reinigungsklassen X, Y, Z) diese liegen berwiegend in der Innenstadt sinken hingegen um durchschnittlich 2,1 Prozent. Bei der Gebhrenanpassung sind unter anderen der letzte Tarifabschluss im ffentlichen Dienst bercksichtigt sowie notwendige Ersatzbeschaffungen im Gertebereich. So setzt die Abteilung Straenreinigung unter anderem verstrkt auf umweltfreundliche Techniken und akkubetriebene Gerte. An der Kompostierungsanlage Neuenweiherstrae 11 in Frauenaurach ndern sich ebenfalls die Preise fr die Anlieferung von Gartenabfllen ber ein Kubikmeter von 10,80 Euro auf 11,60 Euro pro Kubikmeter. Fr Kompost sind knftig 17,50 Euro Kubikmeter statt bisher 16 Euro fllig, fr Kompost/Humus-Gemisch 21,70 Euro pro Kubikmeter statt bisher 19,50 Euro. Beim Kompostsack steigt das Entgelt von 2,40 Euro auf 2,70 Euro. Die Anlieferung von Gartenabfllen aus Erlanger Privathaushalten bleibt bis zu einer Menge von einem Kubikmeter weiterhin kostenfrei. Ausgebaut wird 2019 zudem das Beratungsangebot rund um das Thema Pflege. In der regelmig aktualisierten Pflegeplatzbrse finden sich unter www.pflegeplatzboerse-erlangen.de neben einer bersicht freier Pflegepltze zahlreiche Informationen rund ums Thema. Ferner bietet ab Mitte Februar der Bezirk Mittelfranken eine Sprechstunde im Rathaus der Stadt Erlangen zum Thema Hilfe zur Pflege (ambulant und stationr) an. Bezieherinnen und Bezieher des Arbeitslosengeldes II erhalten mit dem neuen Jahr je nach Alter zwischen fnf und acht Euro mehr. Bereits seit Dezember gelten in Erlangen zudem neue Mietobergrenzen. Weitere Vergnstigungen gibt es zudem mit dem ErlangenPass, den unter anderem Empfngerinnen und Empfnger von Arbeitslosengeld II, von Grundsicherung im Alter und bei Erwerbsminderung, von Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt und Wohngeld sowie Asylbewerberinnen und Asylbewerber erhalten. So ist ab sofort der Eintritt ins Kunstpalais frei und die Jahresgebhr der Stadtbibliothek entfllt. Bereits in den vergangenen Monaten wurden einige Ermigungen auf 50 Prozent angehoben (Brgertreffs, Volkshochschule) oder die Angebote erweitert. en | http://www.nordbayern.de/region/erlangen/was-andert-sich-2019-in-erlangen-1.8461134?rssPage=bm9yZGJheWVybi5kZQ== |
Is Epilepsy Drug Use in Pregnancy Linked to ADHD? | FRIDAY, Jan. 4, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- When a woman with epilepsy uses the anti-seizure drug valproate during a pregnancy, the odds that her baby will go on to develop ADHD rise, a new study suggests. The Danish report can't prove that valproate causes attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in these cases, only that there's an association. But in the new study, fetal exposure to valproate was tied to 48 percent higher odds of a child developing ADHD, according to a team led by Dr. Jakob Christensen at Aarhus University. The study included more than 900,000 babies born in Denmark between 1997 and 2011. The children's mental health was tracked from birth until they averaged about 10 years of age. Christensen's group concluded that "maternal use of valproate during pregnancy was associated with a small but significantly increased risk of ADHD in the offspring, even after adjusting for maternal psychiatric disease, maternal epilepsy," and other factors. Other epilepsy drugs appeared to have no effect on ADHD rates, the researchers noted. The findings were published online Jan. 4 in JAMA Network Open. Two U.S. experts said that most women with epilepsy are already counseled to avoid valproate during pregnancy. "This study provides yet more data highlighting risks of using valproate in women of childbearing age," said Dr. Fred Lado, who directs epilepsy care for Queens and Long Island as part of the New York City Northwell Health system. According to Lado, it's been long known that "valproate produces birth defects in up to 10 percent of children exposed in utero." The drug also "reduces average IQ [in exposed offspring] and increases the likelihood of behavioral problems," he said. The new study "adds to the already compelling list of reasons for avoiding valproate use in women of childbearing age," Lado said. In most cases, women can switch to another anti-seizure medicine, but "in the rare cases where there is no alternative to valproate, women should be informed fully about the risks and counseled on the use of contraceptives," he added. | https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/20190104/is-epilepsy-drug-use-in-pregnancy-linked-to-adhd?src=RSS_PUBLIC |
What Lessons Can We Learn From The 2013 Government Shutdown? | NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Michael Steel, who was Press Secretary for Speaker Boehner during the 2013 government shutdown, about the current government shutdown that is in its 14th day. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: And we begin this hour talking numbers. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Let's start with 420,000. That would be the rough estimate of the number of federal employees currently working without pay because the government has deemed them essential. CORNISH: Three hundred eighty thousand - about that many federal workers are furloughed, which means they're not working, and they're not getting paid. KELLY: Two - that's the number of times the president has met with party leaders in the White House Situation Room in the last 72 hours. CORNISH: Sixteen - that's the number of days the 2013 government shutdown lasted. Democrats and Republicans were fighting over the Affordable Care Act and raising the debt ceiling. KELLY: Twenty-four billion - dollars, that is - that's a Standard & Poor's analysis of how much that 16-day shutdown cost the government. CORNISH: If the current government shutdown lasts until Monday, it will be the second longest in history. KELLY: We are going to turn to someone now who played a key role in that 2013 government shutdown. Michael Steel was press secretary for then-Speaker of the House John Boehner. So he had a front-row seat for that standoff. Michael Steel, welcome to the program. MICHAEL STEEL: Good to be with you. Trump is now saying it could last months or even years. STEEL: President Trump is a president unlike any other, and this is a shutdown unlike any other. Most government shutdowns result from Congress, which under our Constitution has the power of the purse, trying to force the president to do something. This is exactly the opposite. This is the president shutting down the government essentially trying to force Congress to do something. It's kind of a "Blazing Saddles" approach, taking himself hostage. STEEL: Well, the 2013 shutdown was ultimately a mismatch between priorities and tactics. People believed that - people opposed the Affordable Care Act at that time. It was not popular by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, shutting down the government in an attempt to defund it was also not very popular. And what we ultimately did was weather the political attacks from Senate Democrats, from President Obama until Republicans in moderate seats in the House were willing to join with Democrats to reopen the government and provide funding for the Affordable Care Act. This is a very different situation in the sense that it's hard to see any coalition coming together in either house, really, that would be able to pass a bill that included funding the government and this additional $5 billion that the president is demanding for his wall along the border. KELLY: One other thing that seems really different is the lack of urgency that we seem to be seeing now versus in 2013, where, I mean, now we are two weeks in and there really hadn't been any real talks until the last few days. STEEL: No. It's really strikingly different in two ways from that point of view. The first is that the usual rule of a government shutdown is the way you win a government shutdown fight is by making the public - convincing the public that you don't want to shut down the government. You have to show people that you have gone to every extent possible to avoid shutting down the government, and President Trump went exactly the opposite direction on that. He says that he is responsible for the shutdown. He wears it proudly. He's just - he's accepting responsibility or blame in a way that hasn't been typical. And the second way is, yeah, as you said, part of it is due to the fact that only a portion of the federal government is shut down. It's not a complete federal government shutdown, so critical areas including the Department of Defense are fully funded. But it is really striking the degree to which there's not a sense of urgency, there's not a sense of emergency. There's not that same sense of crisis that we've seen in past shutdowns. KELLY: You have a lot of experience working with Republicans on the Hill, so I want to ask you about one of the most, perhaps the most prominent Republican on the Hill this time around, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, who now is dealing with two Republican senators who have broken ranks and are urging a compromise. STEEL: No. Senator McConnell is actually kind of in the catbird seat. He has, the way he usually does, drawn a scenario where he doesn't think that the Senate should lead on this. There will be no more test votes, no more show votes. Nothing will happen until we have a proposal negotiated between House Democrats, agreed to by Senate Democrats - who have to provide at least ten votes in the Senate in order to get anything done or almost 10 votes in order to get anything done - and President Trump himself. And, well, that position allows senators up for - Republican senators up for re-election and potentially swing states like Colorado and Maine to favor opening the government, it allows most Senate Republicans who, look, want better border security. They think that an additional $5 billion is probably a pretty reasonable sum. They understand that a physical barrier in some portions of the border makes a lot of sense. But they understand that politically shutting down the government to accomplish that goal is not popular and also unlikely to succeed. KELLY: That's Michael Steel. He was press secretary for Speaker of the House John Boehner. He's now with Hamilton Place Strategies. Michael Steel, thank you. STEEL: Thank you. Copyright 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. | https://www.npr.org/2019/01/04/682350024/what-lessons-can-we-learn-from-the-2013-government-shutdown?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=allthingsconsidered |
When does the 2019 January transfer window close? | Get daily updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email The January transfer window is here - and fans hope Manchester United and City will be active. For the first time, deadline day was brought forward in the summer in order to close before the new Premier League season started. This meant clubs had less time to build their squads - especially with many of the world's best players on international duty at the World Cup for much of the summer. Manchester City brought in one player over the summer, breaking their transfer record to sign Leicester's Riyad Mahrez for 60m. Pep Guardiola wanted to bring in midfielder Jorginho, but the midfielder chose to join Chelsea. Over at Manchester United, Brazilian midfielder Fred arrived for 53m, young full-back Diogo Dalot signed for 19.8m, and veteran goalkeeper Lee Grant joined for 1.5m. However, United's main priority was a central defender and despite identifying a number of targets, the club were unable to bring any of them in before the summer window shut. Given both clubs did not complete all of the business they wanted, they may return to the transfer market in January. In 2018, Manchester City used the January transfer window to buy defender Aymeric Laporte for what 57m - a club-record transfer at the time. Manchester United were also active, bringing in Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a swap-deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Here is everything you need to know about the January transfer window. The window opened at midnight on Tuesday, January 1, 2019. Clubs have until 11pm on Thursday, January 31, 2019 to complete any transfer dealings. | https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/when-january-transfer-window-shut-15010734 |
Is Food Addiction Real? | When Lays potato chips challenged Americans with their slogan betcha cant eat just one! in the 1960s, the company was making a pretty safe bet. Potato chips, like pizza, ice cream, and fries, make the list of the top 10 most addictive foods. We know that certain features of these foods, like being high in sugar and low in fiberthe kinds of foods that are designed to burn fast and taste really goodtrigger your brains pleasure center and make it difficult to stop eating. Its a controversial question among researchers. Food addiction is not universally recognized by medical professionals, but there are individual practitioners who believe, based on their view of current research, that it is a concept that has utility, says Chevese Turner, chief policy and strategy officer for the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). Unlike alcoholism or addiction to narcotics, you wont find food addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Yet, you will find programs akin to Alcoholics Anonymous that treat food addiction. Despite the addiction not being universally recognized in the medical community, there are people out there trying to fix it. RELATED: 9 Ways to Help a Friend With an Eating Disorder Unlike alcohol or narcotic addiction, though, trying to get treatment for food addiction could be dangerous. Eating disorder experts worry that a treatment plan that asks supposed food addicts to abstain from certain foods could encourage disordered eating. And, to be honest, the symptoms of food addiction, according to Food Addicts Anonymous, are a little questionable. Do you avoid social interactions because you feel you do not look good enough or do not have the proper fitting clothes?" It's easy enough to imagine just about any plus-size person who lives in the United States answering yes to these questions. People who have drafted themselves into the anti-fat-person army feel comfortable and justified in judging fat peoples food choices. Whether they are shaming us for eating something that they dont think we should be eating, or congratulating us for eating something of which they approve, fat people can find ourselves dealing with all kinds of inappropriate interactions involving food, fat activist, Ragen Chastain, wrote in her blog Dances With Fat. We live in a culture that polices food intake and shames and bullies people of a certain size. Of course not. RELATED: 10 Body-Positivity Moments of 2018 That Were Major Wins for All Women Other symptoms listed by Food Addicts Anonymous sound more legitimate. "Have you found yourself vomiting, using laxatives, diuretics, or exercising a lot to avoid a weight gain after you have eaten a lot?," the website asks. This kind of symptom certainly points to disordered eating, if not food addiction. Perhaps the closest recognized eating disorder to food addiction is binge eating disorder. But BED and food addiction are not the same thing. Food addiction is defined as causing a preoccupation with foods that provide intense pleasure and dopamine increases like drugs, alcohol, shopping, gambling, Turner says. While people with BED may binge on highly palatable foods, bingeing is only one part of the behaviors associated with the disorder and, therefore, treatment is complex. Often, people who binge also engage in restrictive behaviors like over-exercising and fasting, Turner says. People who have BED also tend to have depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other mood disorders. While treatment for food addiction typically calls for avoiding white flour, sugar, and other so-called addictive foods, treatment for BED is more involved. BED treatment tries to address underlying issues, including traumatic experiences and mental health, as well as decrease the urge to binge and restrict food. Body image and acceptance are a big part of BED recovery as well, Turner says. In treatment for food addiction, restriction not only typically goes unaddressed, its encouraged, Turner says. While eating disorder experts agree that some foods are engineered to be as tasty and addictive as possible (like those Lays potato chips), many worry that the concept of food addiction could be more harmful than helpful. If you are struggling with an eating disorder and are in need of support, call the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. For a 24-hour crisis line, text NEDA to 741741. To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter | https://www.health.com/food/food-addiction-real |
What are we all playing this weekend? | So were back, and weve brought a new year with us. Well, were mostly back half the team splurged with holiday days and skipped this week, the dogs. But next week we should be properly back. I dont work that way myself but I know some people find em helpful and satisfying. Dish! Heres what were clicking on! Alec After months of gazing at it, guilt-wracked, in my Steam library (and always, always clicking on Slay The Spire instead), I finally threw myself at Prey Mooncrash. Id been gazing at it with all the suspicion of an Essex pensioner spotting a sign for vegan sausage rolls, concerned that all this roguelikey, pointsy funny business was entirely inappropriate for a slow-burn game of lonely exploration. Here I am, back in Arkanes sinister bosom, as happy as can be once again. Alice Bee This weekend my mum is visiting and were apparently going to go to the Transport Museum. Around that Im going to probably play Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, which I picked up over the break. Its another Tomb Raider game, which is fine! Im actually enjoying it a lot. Also I have started holding my breath for the length that Lara has to when shes scrabbling through collapsing underwater caves. So I could die this weekend, is what Im saying. Alice L Alice has been fired. Alice O Okay but look, me once again saying Im playing Destiny 2 doesnt mean Im trapped in an MMO hole because now Ive reached the end-game with raids and stuff and I dont really need to power up and grind gear anymore I can just play the bits of Destiny 2 I enjoy. Ive been having a grand time raiding with the RPS community clan, improving at PvP murders, and all that. And finding good hats. And I can play that for fun and stop whenever because I dont need to dig myself out this hole anymore okay. Brendan Brendan has been fired. Dave This weekend is going to mainly consist of playing some of the games I played over the Christmas break as I found myself being busier than anticipated. I did finish Return Of The Obra Dinn, This would be some more Monster Hunter: World, and a bit more CS:GO for its battle royale-like mode. I also began Gris, so will probably continue that too. Graham Ill be punting friends into the air in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. This is because the Team Jump ability, where you can spring your allies across the map, is a total joy. After years of turn-based strategy games being about hiding, tired and near-death behind low walls, Im in love with something that says: you can jump really far between low walls. John John has been fired. Katharine Having been away for most of Christmas and now stuck in Lake Tahoe for a friends wedding, my PC has been sitting lonely and unloved for several weeks now. I played a bit of Yokus Island Express on my Switch on the plane over here, but it wasnt long before I got stuck and quickly reverted back to a bit of Smash Bros. This combo will likely repeat until Im back from CES at the end of next week. Matt Matt has been fired. Matthew Im at a wedding on Lake Tahoe. The only game Im playing is Will Matthews Post-Christmas Belly Fit Into His Suit?. Steam reviews are mostly negative. Ollie I appear to be the only one left on the RPS team not sick of battle royales, so this weekend Ill be filling my plate with enormous helpings of Fortnite and CS:GO Danger Zone, both of which scratch the battle royale itch in very different but equally wonderful ways. | https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/01/05/what-to-play-this-weekend-101/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%29 |
What time is The Greatest Dancer on tonight and how long is the BBC show on for? | The video will start in 8 Cancel Get celebs updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Its been hyped for what feels like forever but the day is finally here The Greatest Dancer starts today. Former Girls Aloud star Cheryl Tweedy, Strictly Come Dancings Oti Mabuse and singer-songwriter and dancer Matthew Morrison are all on the panel of stars watching the dancers auditions. The hosts are Britains Got Talents Alesha Dixon and Diversitys Jordan Banjo who will introduce the dancers and show each week. Theres a 50,000 prize for the eventual winner, so the stakes are high. The Beeb will be hoping their new talent show venture has what it takes to beat ITVs singing contest, The Voice because they start at exactly the same time tonight. Heres what you need to know about the start of The Greatest Dancer and how long its on for. (Image: BBC/Syco/Thames/Tom Dymond) The Greatest Dancer launches on Saturday January 5 at 8pm until 9.10pm. The show's format means the auditions take place behind a mirror. If the audience like them enough they vote for them to go through to the next round. It will be available on BBCiPlayer for those who want to catch up. The series will run for eight episodes (seven weeks) and so the last episode, when the winner is crowned, will be Saturday February 23. | https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/what-time-greatest-dancer-tonight-13812859 |
Was ndert sich 2019 in Mitte? | City Wirtschaft, Wohnen, Weiterentwicklung: BILD hat bei den Bezirks- amtsleitern nachgefragt, was sich 2019 in ihrem Zustndigkeitsbereich tut. Heute spricht Mitte-Chef Falko Dromann (45, SPD). Er sagt: Die Sanierung der Wasserlichtorgel in Planten un Blomen steht ebenso im Fokus wie die des Bismarck-Denkmals oder von Kinderspielpltzen, z. B. in Finkenwerder und Mmmelmannsberg. Wohnungsbau: Hier liegen die Schwerpunkte im Osten der Stadt. Am Rckerskanal (Hamm) z. B. sollen 840 Wohnungen entstehen. Straenbau: Die grten Baustellen sind Billbrookdeich (1,2 Millionen Euro), Carl-Petersen-Strae und Kaltenbergen (je 1 Million Euro). Quartiersentwicklung: Um Mieter vor Abzocke und Luxussanierung zu schtzen, will der Bezirk sein Vorkaufsrecht hufiger nutzen. 2019 wohl auch in St. Georg und der Neustadt. nas | https://www.bild.de/regional/hamburg/hamburg-aktuell/wohnen-und-wirtschaft-was-aendert-sich-2019-in-mitte-59370934.bild.html |
Should Derby County 'birthplace' get official recognition? | Get Weekday Derby County FC updates directly to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email It was all the fun of the fair at Norwich last Saturday. Just when travelling Derby County supporters were hoping that there was no electrician to hand, the lights at Carrow Road were restored and the Rams took full advantage. What an afternoon! The men who started it all in those gas-lit days when Queen Victoria ruled over an empire where floodlights were not needed because the sun famously never set could never have imagined how their club, and the game of football itself, would grow. It was May 1884 when, according to the Derby Daily Telegraph: The Derbyshire County Cricket Club has decided on the formation of a football club under Association Rules and desires to render football worthy of the patronage blessed upon it by the public by endeavouring to arrange matches with first-class clubs which will enable the public to witness matches in a higher order than have hitherto been played in Derby. That historic meeting was held at The Bell Hotel in Sadler Gate and now Rams season-ticket holder Liam Flynn wants to see a commemorative plaque erected there so that everyone may be aware of this important connection. He tells me: I contacted Maxwell Craven of Derby Civic Society about this and he informed me that, to have any chance of success, such a plaque would need to be tied to a famous name in the history of Derby. Mr Craven also suggested that we would need a co-sponsor from Derby County to increase the likelihood of success. I have previously e-mailed the club about this matter but received no firm response. However, I think marking the birthplace of Derby County is just too historically important to the people of Derby to let this wither. As we know, football and the football club plays such a central part in the lives of Derby folk that it demands being marked and celebrated. I posted a topic on a Derby County fans forum some time ago and the idea to have a commemorative plaque was enthusiastically supported. My motivation was further piqued when I visited Nottingham Lace Market and saw the plaque outside the hotel in Hockley marking the birth of Notts County. Im hugely enthusiastic about local history, social history and the part that football has played in giving the city an identity and of bringing its people together. 0+ VOTES SO FAR Yes No I started to support Derby County in 1969; I was four at the time. It wasnt a bad year to choose the Rams but I lived and grew up in Burton, so regardless of their subsequent success I knew I was a Derby fan for life. When away at university in the late 1980s I used to travel up from Bristol for home games. Im 53 now and a season ticket holder along with my two sons, Edward and William, 16 and 24 respectively. One of my proudest moments was the 5-0 victory over Forest when Edward was mascot and led the team out on to Pride Park. Living in the heart of West Bridgford at the time gave it extra poignancy for Edward. What a day that was! Back to those formative days, Samuel Richardson, honorary secretary of the football club and assistant secretary of the cricket club, made an early stab at bringing to Derby County the sort of notoriety for which the Rams would occasionally become infamous. In February 1890, Richardson was the target of a stormy annual meeting of the cricket club at which he was accused, by none other than the clubs Australian Test star, Fred Demon Spofforth, of embezzling funds. In fact, he had been steadily siphoning off money for 10 years and not just from the cricket club but from the football club, too. With his wife and several of his six daughters and 1,000 of the clubs money Richardson fled to Spain, opened a tailors shop (hed run a similar business at 40 Babington Lane), obtained the patronage of King Alfonso and lived to the ripe old age of 93. | https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/should-derby-county-birthplace-official-2388843 |
How many women have been nominated to be US president? | Just before 2018 turned into 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren announced she would be exploring a run for president in the 2020 US election. If the Massachusetts Democrat is chosen as the presidential candidate by her party, she will join a list of women who have run to be US president (though none so far have won). Female Democrats show Capitol Hill's new face but some traditions persist Read more Its a simple question that is surprisingly tricky to answer, but heres an estimate: 31 women have been nominated to run as president by their respective parties. Since many of those women have run for president multiple times, the total number of times women have been nominated totals 41. Where possible, the race of the candidate has been illustrated in the chart here. The women include Charlene Mitchell, who ran for the Communist party in 1968; 54-year-old Margaret Wright, described as a grandma when she was nominated by the Peoples party in 1976; and Lenora Fulani, who was the nominee of the New Alliance party in 1988 and again in 1992. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A clip of the 9 October 1975 Star News. Photograph: Star News, 1975 The total shown here is higher than the list provided by Center for American Women and Politics, but thats because it includes the likes of Gracie Allen, who ran for the Surprise party in 1940. Allen was a comedian who ran as a publicity stunt and says she chose the name of her party because her mother was a Democrat, her father a Republican, and she had been born a surprise (her running song included the lyric Vote for Gracie to win the presidential racie). She retired her candidacy before the vote took place, saying she wanted the serious campaigning to go ahead. But she still managed to gain thousands of write-in votes. However, Allen was not the first woman to run for the presidency. That accolade goes to Victoria Woodhull who, in 1872, ran for the Equal Rights party alongside Frederick Douglass. Not long before announcing her run, Woodhull gave a lecture calling for marriage laws to be completely rethought (the press covered it as a theory of free love and derided the idea). It took 144 years after Woodhulls run for any woman to be considered a serious contender for the White House. When Hillary Clinton ran in 2016, she won the popular vote (gaining 2.9 million votes more than Donald Trump) but didnt become president. She ran alongside five other women who ran for the Green party, Peace and Freedom party, Socialist Workers party, Workers World party and the Revolutionary party. Some of those parties have a long-held tradition of nominating female candidates to represent them in their presidential bids. The Workers World party has had six female candidates, while the Socialist Workers party has had three. Clinton was the first ever woman to be nominated to run as the candidate for a major political party. If chosen by the Democrats, Elizabeth Warren would be the second woman nominated by a major party to run for president but she would be only the 32nd woman nominated by a party for a White House bid. This is a new column that illustrates numbers from the news each week. Write to me: [email protected] | https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2019/jan/05/women-nominated-run-us-president-history |
Can anybody compete with Vodafone's cheap fibre broadband deals? | Broadband can be a pretty competitive market, each supplier undercutting the other to get the title of best fibre broadband deal. The deals in reference are Vodafone's Superfast 1 and 2 packages which have received big price cuts recently knocking them down to some seriously cheap prices. The standout deal for us is Vodafone's Superfast 1 package which you can now get for 20 a month. That's average speeds of 35Mb for a very low price. Well BT has always been a favourite of ours, mainly due to it's big reward cards. Right now you can get BT Superfast Fibre for 29.99 with average speeds of 50Mb. While that is already a great deal, the 100 BT reward card you get with it really sells it. If you wanted something a bit extra with your fibre then Virgin has dropped the price of its Player Bundle. That's superfast fibre speeds averaging 108Mb, over 70 TV channels and the ability to rewind and record TV, all for 32 a month. You can see all of the deals mentioned in full down below but if for whatever reason you're needing something a little bit different then you can find all of the options available in the UK on our best broadband deals page. Vodafone's cheap fibre deals Vodafone Superfast 1 | 18 months | 35Mb avg speed | Line rental inc. | FREE upfront | 23 20 per month This was already a pretty cheap fibre broadband offer but Vodafone has come along and slashed the price even more. For just 20 a month you get average speeds of 35Mb (that means downloads of over 4MB per second). That is 3 a month less than the old price so you know you're saving money on your broadband. View Deal Vodafone Superfast 2 | 18 months | 63Mb avg speed | Line rental inc. | FREE upfront | 29 24 per month You rarely see speeds like this for a price so low. For 24 per month you can get your hands on Vodafone's superfast 63 Mb average speeds (that works out at 7.87 MB/s). And not to mention there's no upfront fee - this is an overall great bargain on some seriously fast broadband. View Deal The best of rest fibre broadband deals Virgin Media Player Bundle | 12 months | 108Mb average speed | Weekend calls | 70+ channels | 25 upfront | 37 32 per month This is the package for those who want a little bit more with their broadband. Not only are you getting superfast speeds but you also get access to a huge array of channels and the ability to pause, rewind and record live TV and all for 32 a month - doesn't get much better than that. And not to mention this contract is only 12 months long, perfect for those who don't want to be tied in for 18 months.View Deal BT Superfast Fibre | 18 months | Avg. speed 50Mb | Weekend calls | 9.99 router delivery | 29.99pm + 100 reward card BT's cheapest fibre broadband. For 29.99 a month you can get average speeds of 50Mb and not to mention BT will throw in a free 100 reward card to sweeten the deal. You do have to pay a 9.99 router charge but after that it's just the monthly charges. View Deal | https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/can-anybody-compete-with-vodafones-cheap-fibre-broadband-deals |
Will my salary come between us? | I don't want it to become an issue. Monetary issues shouldn't matter if two people in a relationship talk about it like reasonable adults. I have a great boyfriend who loves me a lot. We have a great time and he is a nice human being as well. The problem is there's something wrong with me that prevents me from appreciating him as much as I should. When we are together, I sometimes find him boring even though we still have a great time. When we are apart, I miss him. I am aware that this makes no sense, but I don't know what to do about it. He knows there's something wrong, but he has been very patient and gives me a lot of space, which only makes me feel guilty about my behaviour. I really want to be with him, and want this relationship to work out, but also think I would be happier by myself or with someone else. Please help me. It sounds as if you need to spend a little more time by yourself to try and evaluate what you want and why you feel the way you do. Talk to family and friends about it, if possible, because airing these views in public may allow you to articulate why you feel this way a lot better. Also think about listing the pros and cons an admittedly soulless thing to do of being with your boyfriend, to get a sense of how important he is to your life. Talk to him about this too, because getting him to understand why you feel this way may change your relationship in some way. To not say anything to him would be unfair, because he is emotionally invested in this even if you aren't. The inbox is now open to take your most carnal and amorous queries. Send your questions on email to [email protected] Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates | https://www.mid-day.com/articles/will-my-salary-come-between-us/403954 |
How do our emotions affect our immune response? | New research uncovers fresh evidence to suggest that frequent exposure to negative emotions may have an important impact on the functioning of the immune system. This could affect how your body reacts, researchers warn. This could affect how your body reacts, researchers warn. Many studies have shown that chronic exposure to stress, anxiety, and negative moods generally can affect physical health to a large extent. As Medical News Today reported only last year, researchers have found that chronic stress has a negative impact on memory. Also, feelings of distress can raise the risk of cardiovascular events, such as stroke. Now, a study conducted by specialists from Pennsylvania State University in State College has found that negative moods may change the way in which the immune response functions, and they are associated with an increased risk of exacerbated inflammation. The results of the research which was led by Jennifer Graham-Engeland, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University appear in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Negative moods and inflammation The scientists collected the data for the study via a two-tiered approach. They used questionnaires that asked participants to record their feelings over time and in the moment. These assessments took place over 2 weeks and allowed the team to map out the participants' emotional profiles. The scientists also assessed the immune response of the volunteers by collecting blood samples from them and looking for markers of inflammation. Inflammation occurs naturally, as part of the immune response, when the body reacts to infections or wounds. However, high levels of inflammation are associated with poor health and a range of chronic conditions, such as arthritis. Graham-Engeland and team noticed that individuals who experienced negative moods several times per day for extended periods of time tended to have higher levels of inflammation biomarkers in their blood. The scientists also note that if they collected blood samples from participants soon after they had experienced a negative emotion such as sadness or anger, inflammation biomarkers were all the more present in the blood. However, experiencing positive moods even for a short while before the collection of a blood sample was associated with lower inflammation levels. However, this was only true for male participants in this study, the investigators specify. 'Affect is modifiable' The scientists are confident that their study adds crucial evidence regarding the impact of negative affect on health especially since their participants belonged to diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Nevertheless, they caution that to confirm these findings, they will need to replicate them in further studies. They point out that the recent research was the first to explore the link between both momentary and long-term mood reports and measures of inflammation. "We hope that this research will prompt investigators to include momentary measures of stress and affect in research examining inflammation, to replicate the current findings and help characterize the mechanisms underlying associations between affect and inflammation," explains Graham-Engeland. In the future, they hope that this and similar studies may allow specialists to come up with better strategies to improve mood and thus protect aspects of physical health. | https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324090.php |
Will Saturday be a washout in South Jersey? | Thank you for Reading. Please purchase a subscription to continue reading. A subscription is required to continue reading. Thank you for reading PressofAtlanticCity.com. If you are a current subscriber you are granted an all-access pass to the website and digital newspaper replica. Please click Sign Up or Login to activate your digital access. If not, please click Sign Up to subscribe and continue to enjoy valuable local news and information, or you can come back at the end of your 30-day period for another 10 free articles. Thank you for reading PressofAtlanticCity.com. Please click Get Started. If you are a current subscriber you are granted an all-access pass to the website and digital newspaper replica. If not, we ask that you purchase a subscription and continue to enjoy valuable local news and information, or you can come back at the end of your 30-day period for another 10 free articles. | https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/will-saturday-be-a-washout-in-south-jersey/article_a5a2c48b-a2fb-566e-b0cf-6e54c4aeccc4.html |
Did CS Rashid Echesa Give Special Passes To Pakistani Prostitutes? | Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa is in the middle of a human trafficking investigation. The CS is said to have issued eight girls from Pakistan with special passes into the country as cultural dancers. The girls were arrested at Bella Bella Club in Parklands and according to lawyer Evans Ondieki, the girls are in Kenya with CS Echesas permission. Ondieki argued that the eight had paid Sh45,000 each to the Immigration Department for the special passes and are legally in the country until January 18, 2019. Arent they serving the same regime, the defense lawyer said. Senior principal magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot ordered the women to be kept in a safe house and under the care of Nadeem Khan, the director of Blue Heart, a non-governmental organization that specializes on human trafficking, violence and child abuse. This was after the advocate urged the court to release the girls on humanitarian grounds. On humanitarian grounds I urge this court to release these girls as they have not bathed for the last one week, health rules require women to freshen up and bath as many times as they can afford, he said. Read: Judge Otieno Odek To Stand On The Witness Dock Againt Ojienda Police have since arrested Bella Bella Club owner Safendra Kumar Sonwani and the manager Mika Osichiro. The girls will appear in court on January 8 as will the Bella Bella managers. Email your news TIPS to [email protected] Also WhatsApp 0708677607 with your news tips Like this: Like Loading... | https://www.kahawatungu.com/2019/01/05/rashid-echesa-give-passes-pakistani-prostitutes/ |
Does domestic violence protect a tenant from eviction? | Y.A.s boyfriend called her names, pulled her hair, and punched her. He took her bank card and only let her use it in his presence, then emptied her bank account, so Y.A. couldnt pay rent. Finally, after the man choked Y.A. to prevent her from leaving the house, she broke up with him. Y.A. told her landlord at the Boston Housing Authority about the abuse and asked for time to make her payments. But Y.A. had by that time negotiated multiple payment plans with the Housing Authority. The Housing Authority moved to evict her, and a Housing Court judge ruled that the authority could go ahead. The federal Violence Against Women Act protects domestic violence victims from eviction, if their inability to pay rent is due to the abuse. The Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments on Monday in the case Boston Housing Authority vs. Y.A. about the extent to which these protections apply, and how the federal protections interact with state law. The court will decide whether Y.A., who has two children, can stay in her home. The case could also clarify how public housing landlords and housing courts must treat domestic violence victims who struggle to pay rent. For victims trying to leave a domestic violence situation, the ability to have safe housing is critical, said Jamie Sabino, an attorney with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute who filed an amicus brief with other domestic violence advocates in support of Y.A. Were she not to be able to stay in her apartment and have to try to find a home for herself and her children, there might be a possibility of having to go back to the abuser at some point. Y.A. is the pseudonym for the woman used in court documents. According to court briefs filed by Y.A. and the Boston Housing Authority, Y.A. has lived in the public housing apartment since October 2013. In 2014, she entered a relationship with an abusive man. The abuse, and the mans control of her finances, directly impacted her ability to pay rent. The Boston Housing Authority entered into five payment agreements with Y.A. between 2014 and 2017, but Y.A. did not pay the money. By 2017, she owed more than $7,000 in rent. In October 2017, after freeing herself from the relationship, Y.A. told the Housing Authority about the abuse. A Housing Court judge in January 2018 ruled that despite the abuse, the Boston Housing Authority had given Y.A. multiple chances and could proceed with eviction. Y.A. still lives in the apartment pending the appeal. Y.A. 's attorneys will argue before the states highest court that the Violence Against Women Act protects her from eviction, since her nonpayment of rent was due to domestic violence. She says the Housing Authority could have taken additional steps, including accepting a payment she offered them in January 2018, to stop the eviction. The Boston Housing Authority argues that it acted reasonably by offering Y.A. five payment plans in less than five years, and Y.A. continually failed to pay her rent. The authority says years of missed payments go beyond the temporary failure to pay rent protected by the Violence Against Women Act. The case applies to public housing because it is federally funded, so the Violence Against Women Act applies. A group of Massachusetts advocates who provide services to domestic violence victims and a separate group of state and national domestic violence groups have filed court briefs in support of Y.A. The Massachusetts groups, which include Jane Doe, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Casa Myrna, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute and others, said there is a clear connection between domestic violence and homelessness in Massachusetts. Some victims must leave their homes to escape an abuser; others cannot pay rent because of the abuse. Here, Y.A. ended an abusive relationship, which drastically impacted her ability to pay rent, the advocacy groups wrote. Now, she must rebuild her life. ... Faulting her, or any other survivor, for taking time to do so is not only inappropriate, it is against the stated goal and core protections of VAWA. | https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/01/does-domestic-violence-protect-a-tenant-from-eviction.html |
Could Apple Finally Be Succumbing To Gravity? | The publication of a letter lowering Apples projected revenue due to declining sales in China and other markets, along with the companys reliance on its core product, the iPhone, prompted a 10% drop in the price of its shares, part of a loss of 38% in the last 90 days, and trading was briefly halted. The fall in Apples value over the last three months is higher than the total value of Facebook. This is a nightmare scenario for any company: a loss measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars, taking Apple from the worlds first trillion-dollar company to the markets fourth-most valuable Apples results, logically, drove the market down overall, to be expected when a company that usually sails past its quarterly targets revises them down for the first time in a very long while. None of this is good news for anyone. The trade war being waged by Donald Trump and attacks against Chinese companies such as Huawei is destabilizing not only Apple, whose products have been boycotted, but all Western companies with a stake in Chinas vast market. The problems facing these companies are in large part due to the fact that the worlds largest economy is now run by an impulsive and childish politician prepared to even shut down government because Congress wont authorize funding for his maniacal wall. That said, Trump isnt entirely to blame. Apple has pushed its strategy to the limit: its devices are now so expensive and the improvements to them so minimal that many users prefer to fix them and postpone buying a new one, which is causing problems in emerging markets, where it is experiencing lower growth and retention than in the West. The smartphone market has reached maturity, terminals are becoming commoditized and Apple is a company whose results depend heavily on sales of the iPhone. A problem of growth and without doubt, a major challenge. And yet, and despite everything, I t think the company will overcome its problems in the medium and long term. My impression is that Apple is going through a difficult period, but that it has all the ingredients it needs to emerge unscathed. I dont play the stock markets, but if I did, this would be, in my opinion, the perfect moment to buy and hold Apple shares. In the future scenario of technology and consumer electronics, I see Apple and its stance on privacy giving it a much more sustainable position in an increasingly regulated future than most other technology companies I know. In addition, the company continues to show a strong vocation for innovation, setting the agenda for the entire consumer electronics industry; it has the most valuable distribution network in the world, generates more money per second than any other, it is still a well-run company with principles, with a growing and very profitable orientation toward services and continues to invest significantly in research and development. Apples size leaves me in little doubt about its future, and in all honesty, right now, Im more worried about the future of the United States and China and its possible impact on the global economy than on the future of Apple. Its never good news when a companys share price falls, but in my opinion, the doom and gloom much of the media has been predicting in recent days is vastly exaggerated. | https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2019/01/05/could-apple-finally-be-succumbing-to-gravity/ |
Who is a voter? | Opinion / Columnist We have a problem with who the voter is in Zimbabwe. Only at election time do our politicians start thinking about who will vote for them. I'm afraid this is where the politics in Zimbabwe goes to the mortuary. It simply dies there. Even the contestant can not identify his voter. How can he. He is as empty as the voter is, except for hefty parliamentary perks which are the catalyst for corrupt politicking. The voter does not understand the importance of his decision as to who to vote for and why.Politicians should stay with their voters and not go to them only when the election is by the corner and they want their vote - no. This is abusive pollitics because they then resort to bribing them with cheap presents. They know what they want, dont they, but they will only remember that at election time, why. We don't give them respect and a chance by equiping them enough to be able to decide their destiny in a more informed manner. We take advantage of their political ignorance and pounce to our advantage. Perks!! People don't vote for a candidate of their choice - no, they vote for a political party needs and needs that have nothing to do with improvements of their livelihoods. Oh please!According to the Zimbabwe electoral laws, the Electoral Commission is responsible for voter education throughout the country. What is the content of this 'voter education'?Why do they not vet and register some non governmental organisations to assist them conduct voter education. Build a political rights conscious curriculum starting from 'how to select your candidate' as a voter - a bit of socio defensive politics to avoid loading our parliament with sociopaths, because right now, it is really stuffy in there. Have a thorough program of training of trainers workshops using a fine tuned curriculum. We should have done this in 1980 by the way, instead we chose human slaughtering for a voter campaign and so far we have slaughtered +30 thousand people just for political mileage and maintenance of power.Zanu pf is doing that and apparently they are still in power. What an animal way. It is so flabbergasting to read some artitles telling us to give zanu pf a chance. This is exactly the reason why we have a confused electorate. An electorate that is less informed, with not even the basics of politics and at most afraid of an independent decision. In the rural areas, the political mentors happen to be war veterans with a mentality demented by political indoctrination and operating as zanu pf propaganda machinery.Its all distortion here and reality is far far away. When is sanity going to reign so our people are liberated from this incarceration by these barbaric maurauders calling themselves democratic politicians. Right now, out of a population of +13 million we have only +2 million voters , why. I'm not surprised because how does the current government leadership even qualify for public office. Not surprised either when you can have Mnangagwa for president and Obert Mpofu for home affairs. These people are not motivated by eagerness to perform for their country, no, they are afraid their past will come to haunt them. Some offences here may be carrying more than life sentences, I mean in a sane world. So its a case of maintaining the status quo, and what status quo may that be by the way. Dont be fooled.If you can't feel the nusty taste, you probably don't have a tongue for it. | https://bulawayo24.com/opinion/columnist/152857 |
Is the Vodafone share price an unmissable FTSE 100 bargain? | Unfortunately, the stock has disappointed over the longer term as well. According to my figures, 10,000 invested in the company back at the beginning of 2014 would be worth only 8,250 today compared to 11,800 for an investment in This was a sharp turnaround from 2017 when shares in the telecommunications giant lept 24.2%, outperforming the FTSE 100 by 12.2%. Shares in FTSE 100 dividend stalwart Vodafone (LSE: VOD) plunged in 2018, sliding a total of 29.2% including dividends over the past 12 months. Over the same period, the FTSE 100 slumped 8.7%. Vodafone underperformed the market by 20.5% in 2018. I would like to receive emails from you about product information and offers from The Fool and its business partners. Each of these emails will provide a link to unsubscribe from future emails. More information about how The Fool collects, stores, and handles personal data is available in its Privacy Statement. Register by giving us your email below to continue reading all of the content on the site. Soon you will also begin to receive our FREE email newsletter, The Motley Fool Collective. It features straightforward advice on whats really happening with the stock market, direct to your inbox. Its designed to help you protect and grow your portfolio. (You may unsubscribe any time.) Shares in FTSE 100 dividend stalwart Vodafone (LSE: VOD) plunged in 2018, sliding a total of 29.2% including dividends over the past 12 months. Over the same period, the FTSE 100 slumped 8.7%. Vodafone underperformed the market by 20.5% in 2018. This was a sharp turnaround from 2017 when shares in the telecommunications giant lept 24.2%, outperforming the FTSE 100 by 12.2%. Unfortunately, the stock has disappointed over the longer term as well. According to my figures, 10,000 invested in the company back at the beginning of 2014 would be worth only 8,250 today compared to 11,800 for an investment in the FTSE 100. Going back to the beginning of 2009, 10,000 invested in Vodafone at this point would be worth 19,329 today, compared to 21,700 for the FTSE 100. These numbers show clearly that the FTSE 100 would have been a better investment than Vodafone over the past 10 years. Looking at the figures above, it might seem silly to suggest that Vodafone could be a FTSE 100 bargain. Indeed, the stock has underperformed for the past decade. But the numbers are somewhat misleading. If I strip out last years dire performance, Vodafone has outperformed the UKs leading blue-chip index by several percentage points per annum since 2009. I think there are several factors. Firstly, theres Brexit, which has sent investors from all over the world running from UK equities. The business cant control this, and many other businesses in the FTSE 100 are seeing the same effect. Only time will tell if Brexit is going to be a big deal for Vodafone or not. Second, theres the companys debt. Vodafone has a tremendous amount of net debt (30.2bn to be exact), and the City is starting to become concerned that the group has borrowed too much. The 19bn acquisition of Liberty Globals central European cable networks, which is yet to complete, is only exacerbating analysts concerns. Last year, rumours started to circulate that the group was going to cut its dividend to free up more cash for debt repayment. As it turns out, the stories werent true, and towards the end of 2018, management pledged to maintain the dividend at the current level despite unveiling a first-half loss of 7.8bn following asset writedowns. The company is planning an aggressive cost-cutting program to free up more capital instead, and this has allayed dividend concerns for the time being, but the share price has been slow to recover. Now Vodafone has guaranteed its dividend for the near future, I think the firm does look attractive as an income investment particularly after recent declines. The stock currently supports a dividend yield of 8.4%, making it one of the highest yielding shares on the market today. Even if it does eventually cut the payout by 50%, that will still leave investors with a yield of 4.2%. Put simply, I think it is worth considering the company as an income investment after recent declines, but I would stop short of calling it an unmissable FTSE 100 bargain. | https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2019/01/05/is-the-vodafone-share-price-an-unmissable-ftse-100-bargain/ |
Will FTSE 100 income champ British American Tobacco thrive in 2019? | Heading into 2018, the stock had outperformed the FTSE 100 over the previous decade by a high single-digit percentage on an annualised basis. Now, after losing nearly 50% of its value in just 12 months, over the past 10 years, holders have seen a total return of 7.7% per annum, compared to 8.8% for Unfortunately, for shareholders of British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) this performance wiped out a decade of market-beating gains. Last year, one FTSE 100 stock performed significantly worse than every other index constituent, sliding 46% throughout the 12-month period, underperforming the broader index by 37.2% when including dividends. I would like to receive emails from you about product information and offers from The Fool and its business partners. Each of these emails will provide a link to unsubscribe from future emails. More information about how The Fool collects, stores, and handles personal data is available in its Privacy Statement. Register by giving us your email below to continue reading all of the content on the site. Soon you will also begin to receive our FREE email newsletter, The Motley Fool Collective. It features straightforward advice on whats really happening with the stock market, direct to your inbox. Its designed to help you protect and grow your portfolio. (You may unsubscribe any time.) Last year, one FTSE 100 stock performed significantly worse than every other index constituent, sliding 46% throughout the 12-month period, underperforming the broader index by 37.2% when including dividends. Unfortunately, for shareholders of British American Tobacco (LSE: BATS) this performance wiped out a decade of market-beating gains. Heading into 2018, the stock had outperformed the FTSE 100 over the previous decade by a high single-digit percentage on an annualised basis. Now, after losing nearly 50% of its value in just 12 months, over the past 10 years, holders have seen a total return of 7.7% per annum, compared to 8.8% for the FTSE 100, an underperformance of 1.1% a year. Multiple headwinds With governments around the world set on stamping out smoking as part of a global drive to improve public health, there have been question marks hanging over its business model for some time. However, in an attempt to offset these concerns, the company has been working flat out to develop and increase sales of so-called reduced risk products, such as heat-not-burn cigarettes and e-cigarettes. This strategy seemed to be working until early 2018 when suddenly, sentiment towards these reduced risk products changed. Sales growth started to slow, and regulators announced that they would be paying more attention to them going forward. At the beginning of 2018, British American was viewed as a company that offered the best of both worlds. An attractive, well-covered dividend yield and the potential for growth through the development of those reduced risk products. Investors rushed to buy into this rare combination of income and growth, paying a premium to do so. At one point in 2017, the shares were changing hands at 23.5 times forward earnings. Crashing back to earth The situation has changed dramatically since 2017. With sales of the reduced risk products slowing, and sales of traditional cigarettes declining at an ever increasing rate, British American no longer looks like a growth investment and some analysts are now starting to question if the companys formerly gold-plated dividend is sustainable. In my view, a P/E of 23.5 was never a sustainable valuation. I reckon a multiple of around 13 is more suitable, which implies a share price of 3,783p (City analysts are currently forecasting earnings per share (EPS) of 291p for 2018). When it comes to the dividend, there is a chance the distribution could be cut as the firm has quite a lot of debt, which it built up when it acquired its American peer Reynolds American in 2017. That being said, the distribution is currently covered 1.5 times by EPS, so I dont think there is an immediate threat. The dividend yield of 8% looks to be here to stay for the near future. The bottom line Overall, after considering all of the above, I think British American looks undervalued at current levels and with this being the case, I think the shares could bounce back in 2019. | https://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2019/01/05/will-ftse-100-income-champ-british-american-tobacco-thrive-in-2019/ |
Was ist eigentlich ein Schleimbeutel? | Ich habe eine Schleimbeutelentzndung. Diesen Satz haben Sie vermutlich schon mal gehrt oder auch schon mal gesagt, insbesondere sportlich aktive Personen knnen damit zu tun haben. BILD fragte Professor Dr. Sven Ostermeier, leitender Orthopde und Schulter-Spezialist der Gelenk-Klinik Gundelfingen, wofr Schleimbeutel eigentlich gut sind und was im Falle einer Entzndung hilft. Im menschlichen Krper gibt es ber 150 Schleimbeutel, wei Professor Ostermeier. Wir finden sie an mechanisch besonders beanspruchten Krperstellen, etwa an den Gelenken von Knien oder im Schulterbereich. Dort dienen sie sozusagen als Dmpfer zwischen zwei Gelenken und schtzen diese somit vor Reibungsschden, so der Experte. Werden die mit Gelenkflssigkeit gefllten Polster einem zu langem Druck oder einem Sto ausgesetzt, knnen sie sich entznden, was sehr schmerzhaft sein kann. Meist ist der Auslser eine mechanische berbelastung, zum Beispiel durch berkopfarbeiten. Relativ hufig betroffen sind Maler, Fensterputzer und Tapezierer, aber auch Golfer und Tennisspieler. Vielfach sind auch Sportunflle, Ernhrungsumstellung, Diten oder etwa Stoffwechselerkrankungen Ursachen einer Schleimbeutelentzndung. Mgliche Folgen sind Schwellungen, Rtungen, Gelenkergsse und schmerzhafte Bewegungseinschrnkungen. Normalerweise heilt eine Schleimbeutelentzndung von selbst aus, so Professor Ostermeier. Besserung bringen Hochlagern und Ruhigstellen durch Gips oder Schiene sowie khlende Salben, entzndungshemmende Schmerzmittel oder Kortison. Hilfreich ist zudem die Zerstrung von Kalkablagerungen per Stowellentherapie. Dadurch lsst sich in vielen Fllen eine operative Entfernung des Schleimbeutels vermeiden, erlutert Professor Ostermeier. Falls mglich, sollten Dauerdruckbelastungen vermieden werden, so der Experte. Fr gefhrdete Berufsgruppen empfehlen sich zudem Gelenkschoner. Und vor dem Tennis- oder Golfspiel immer gut aufwrmen, rt Professor Ostermeier. | https://www.bild.de/ratgeber/gesundheit/gesundheit/was-ist-eigentlich-ein-schleimbeutel-59244180.bild.html |
When does Cleaning Up start on ITV? Whats it about and whos in the cast? | Wherever theres Sheridan Smith theres usually a good drama. And it looks like ITVs new series Cleaning Up is no exception. Advertisement The series, previously known as Clean Break. stars Smith in the lead role and lifts the lid on the dangerous world of insider trading. Cleaning Up will air in six parts starting on Wednesday 9th January at 9pm on ITV. Created and written by screenwriting newcomer Mark Marlow, Cleaning Up centres around office cleaner Sam, a woman juggling life as a working class mother with her unlikely involvement in insider trading. Sam is strapped for cash and has an online gambling addiction, but when she discovers she has access to valuable stock market information, she sees a way out of her money troubles. ITVs head of drama Polly Hill said: Its such a wonderful script that finds real humour and joy in the human struggle to survive. Bafta-winning actor Smith famed for her roles in Cilla and Mrs Biggs , to name a few stars as Sam, alongside a cast including Jade Anouka (Trauma), Kirsty Philipps (Will) and Neil Maskell (No Offence). Advertisement Smith who was last seen on TV screens in 2017s Ratburger is also set to star in forthcoming dramas Adult Material and Care. | https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-01-05/cleaning-up-sheridan-smith-itv-air-date-cast-plot/ |
How does the price of being a mascot at Forest and County compare to other East Midlands teams? | Last week Swansea City was among clubs facing criticism after it emerged they charge more for children to be a mascot than many top flight clubs. A BBC investigation found it costs up to 478 for a matchday mascot 'package' at the Championship club, while only three teams in the Premier League charge more. Leicester City was among the most expensive, charging up to 600 for young fans to lead the club onto the pitch. The news prompted criticism from many quarters, including Leicester legend Gary Lineker, who tweeted: "Oh come on, this is awful. Dreadful avarice". Many clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, offer the chance to be a mascot with no fee. Following the news, we decided to take a look at other East Midlands clubs, to see how the cost of the mascot experience compares across the region. Leicester City (Image: PA) That 600 package is the club's most expensive and includes a full replica kit, a stadium tour and a visit to the dressing room, as well as corporate hospitality and a three-course meal for four guests. The standard mascot package costs 355, while the club also offers a free mascot package randomly offered to junior members and season ticket holders. Demand is high for the mascot package, with a waiting list currently in place. To ease demand the club also has 10 player escorts who walk out with the players, which are all free of charge, and are offered to local junior football clubs and schools. Nottingham Forest (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post) Forest advertise their matchday mascot scheme as a "wonderful way to celebrate a special occasion" , and it is open to children aged seven to 12 years old. The mascot and three guests can go to a game and enjoy a two-course meal in hospitality, hosted by a "Forest legend". Their guests can then watch the game from the Peter Taylor Stand Family Area, while they have access to the players' dressing room. As part of the package the mascot will receive commemorative photos and have their picture in the programme and their name read out on the stadium PA. Prices for the 2018-19 season depend on the fixture, with the most expensive costing more than at Leicester. Prices Bronze fixture: 500 + VAT Silver fixture: 550 + VAT Gold fixture: 600 + VAT Platinum fixture: 650 + VAT Notts County (Image: Dan Westwell) The League Two side's mascot deal is cheaper than Forest, costing a maximum of 300. For that, young fans can go behind the scenes, meet the team, and join in with the pre-game warm-up, while their two guests are welcomed into the Club 155 suite for a meal. Without the meal, the mascot package costs 200. Derby County (Image: Press Association) The Championship side offers the chance to be a mascot to all members of the Rams Squad aged between five and 12. Those who are successful will receive two tickets for the allocated fixture (one for themselves and one for an accompanying adult) and a behind-the-scenes tour of Pride Park. They can also meet the team in the changing room, lead them out before kick-off, and return to the pitch at half time to take penalties against club mascot Rammie. Membership of the Rams Squad costs 30, and grants free entry to all games in a season, when accompanied by a paying adult. | https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/how-price-being-mascot-forest-2390074 |
Who will we be talking about in 2019? | With a diverting burst of midnight sparkle dust, another year has launched itself into our petrified faces and with it, its celebrity signposts. You've come to the right person. Like Zoltar, the animatronic puppet in Big, I know the future. It's hot, the future. And robot slavery, probably. Follow me as I peer into my mysterious crystal ball, also known as an "entertainment release schedule", to sum up the year ahead before it's properly started. The comeback kid By her own standards, Meryl Streep had a quiet 2018. No prizes, no funny voices, not even a goofy wig (not in public, anyway). She's primed herself for maximum impact in the upcoming return of HBO hit Big Little Lies, where she's reportedly been "stealing scenes" as the mother-in-law of Nicole Kidman's Celeste Wright. If any TV event can swipe headline space from the behemoth that will be Game of Thrones' finale in April, it's Meryl Streep as a disapproving mother-in-law. | https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/who-will-we-be-talking-about-in-2019-20190102-p50p6u.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |
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